《Blood Magus》 Chapter 1 A voice from behind whispered into Zeth¡¯s ear as he walked through the tunnel. ¡°If you go down there, you¡¯ll die.¡± He spun around, searching the mineshaft for the person who''d made the ominous statement, but only found a bustling crowd of his guildmates. ¡°Huh?¡± he asked. ¡°Who said that?¡± They continued pushing past him, none paying his words any heed. ¡°Hey!¡± a voice ahead of him shouted. He turned to see the leader of his mining contingent beckoning him forward to the rest of the group. ¡°C¡¯mon. Boss is gonna kill us if this cave-in crap delays the guild even one more day.¡± With the shake of his head, Zeth kept moving. It must¡¯ve been a dumb prank or something. And who was to say the person was even talking to him? He might have caught a snippet of someone else¡¯s conversation. As he caught up to his seven-man team, Nestor looked over to him and sighed. ¡°Sorry to make you do this job last minute. It¡¯s just, you know how Garon is. He heard how long my estimated completion time was and his whole face turned red. Started screaming about how we¡¯re gonna get fired and how our incompetence is gonna cost the guild however much coin. I¡¯ve learned to tune most of his rants out, at this point.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know how Garon is,¡± Zeth scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s a jackass. People like him could benefit from being tied to the back leg of a racehorse and dragged through the street for a few hours.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you get put on unpaid leave for a week last time you threatened to kill our manager? And don¡¯t you have parents and a sister you provide for with this job?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got a little bit of money saved, I can handle another week off,¡± Zeth said with a chuckle. Then he frowned. ¡°...By the way, did you hear someone talking to me back there? Something about¡­I dunno, ¡®don¡¯t go down there¡¯ or whatever.¡± Nestor frowned, looking over at their fellow teammates, who all shrugged. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Why, you hear something weird?¡± ¡°Thought I did. But who knows, maybe I misheard something. Just¡­try to be careful while we¡¯re investigating this potential cave-in stuff. I have a bad feeling about it.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think we have time to be careful. But Garon promised me up and down that if he even felt the slightest tremor in the ground, he¡¯d send as many mining teams as he could muster to come rescue us within minutes.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, I¡¯ll trust Garon¡¯s word when he manages to reprimand a guild member without permanently damaging their ears.¡± ¡°I think you give him too much of a hard time,¡± Nestor said. ¡°He¡¯s tough on us, sure, but you know he¡¯s just as overworked from his higher-ups as we are from him.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t see me shouting insults at the ores we dig out of the ground.¡± Nestor shrugged. ¡°Seriously, man. I trust him to save us if there¡¯s trouble.¡± There was trouble. Down in the deep reaches of the mine, Zeth found a crack in the wall. It was about two inches wide and webbed all the way up and across the ceiling. He stared at it. ¡°Hey guys, found something.¡± The other six members of his team looked over at him, and Nestor stepped forward, squinting at it. ¡°...Yeah, looks like a problem. A crack like that probably means we need to reinforce the supports,¡± he said, slapping his palm against one of the wooden beams lining the stone walls. ¡°If one of ¡®em gives out, it could lead to a collapse.¡± Zeth nodded, taking out a piece of parchment. ¡°I¡¯ll document this one, you guys move ahead to look for more signs of trouble.¡± He started jotting down the dimensions of the crack and where it was located as the others turned and walked off, the sounds of their footsteps echoing down the mineshaft. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But before he could finish, he was blinded by a brilliant flash of light. The entire mineshaft glowed bright red, the deafening sound of crackling electricity filled the cavern, and the ground began to rumble. He threw his head around to see what was going on, and found the source of the light. Up ahead, his team was grouped up as they walked deeper into the tunnel, but they¡¯d frozen. They were looking down at a massive, intricate circle that¡¯d lit up beneath their feet, drawn on the ground to cover the eight-foot-wide mineshaft¡¯s floor wall-to-wall. Red light blazed across the design. Before he could think of what to do, all of his guildmates simultaneously began screaming in pain and collapsed to the ground. Pink lightning arced from their skin to the lines of the ritualistic circle painting the stone. Then, as he watched, they began to sink into the rock. Passing straight through the ground like it was sand, they were being slowly swallowed by the circle. They flailed and shouted as they sank, Nestor clawing at the ground as he tried to find something he could hold onto. Zeth sprinted over, stumbling slightly because of the shaking ground, and dove forward to grab Nestor¡¯s hand. ¡°H-help me!¡± Nestor choked, desperately clenching his hand around Zeth¡¯s. His torso was under the stone at this point. Zeth yanked as hard as he could, but it was impossible to pull Nestor even an inch out of the ground. Despite pushing his feet against the floor, wrenching at Nestor¡¯s arm with so much force he was afraid he might tear it out of its socket, all his friend did was sink further and further into the stone. A few feet away, one of his teammates disappeared completely into the stone, his head being completely enveloped. The moment he was gone, the circle began glowing brighter, the electricity crackling louder, and the rumbling growing more intense. Another passed all the way through. Then another, and another. Each time one did, the magic seemed to grow even more powerful. Zeth couldn¡¯t stand even if he wanted to with the earth quaking around him, his teeth clattering against each other and his eyes feeling like they¡¯d vibrate out of his skull. Soon, Nestor and Zeth were the only ones left in the room. ¡°Just¡­a little¡­harder!¡± Zeth screamed through clenched teeth, his arms aching from the strain he was putting them under. ¡°Please,¡± Nestor whispered, up to his neck in the stone. His voice was barely audible through the cacophony of noise that surrounded them.. ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to¡ª¡± His mouth passed beneath the stone, eyes going wide for a moment before they disappeared, too. Then the rest of his head. The palm of his outstretched hand sank at the same time, and Zeth was left with no more to hold on to. He watched helplessly as the last of Nestor¡¯s fingers were swallowed up. Nothing was left behind. The sound stopped instantly. No electricity, no rumbling¡ªit was like the entire world had fallen into a hush. Zeth was left alone in a mineshaft, the glowing light from the ritual circle the only evidence that there was ever anyone else with him. He climbed to his feet and backed away from the circle, suddenly aware of how close he¡¯d been to touching it that whole time. What would have happened if he did? Would he sink, too? Then, in the silent cavern, Zeth heard footsteps. They came from behind him, back up the way he¡¯d come. He turned around, searching for the person making the noise. ¡°Hello?!¡± he called, voice ragged. ¡°Who¡¯s out there? We need help!¡± The footsteps stopped. Zeth stepped forward, calling out again, ¡°Please! There¡¯s, there¡¯s been an attack. We need someone who can dig up this stone, and¡ª¡± The person started moving again, this time sounding like they were running in Zeth¡¯s direction. As they did, Zeth had a thought. His guildmates had fallen victim to some sort of strange magic. So wouldn¡¯t the caster be nearby? A figure rounded the corner, wearing a heavy cloak that obscured their whole body. The person behind the hood stared at Zeth, and he stared back at them. He couldn¡¯t make out their face, but by their body language, they seemed surprised to see him. It had to be the mage. The figure sprinted forward, their cloak billowing behind them. Zeth went on-guard, ready for a fight, but he quickly realized they weren¡¯t charging at him, they were desperately running for the ritual circle behind him. He had no idea what would happen if they got to it, but he knew he was going to keep it from occurring. If they wanted it, he wanted the opposite. Without a Class, Zeth was at a natural disadvantage against a magic user like this, but he didn¡¯t care. There was no way he was about to let them by without them getting punched in the face at least once. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. He stood between the mage and the glowing circle, the red light it emitted casting a long shadow across the mineshaft. They dashed to the side, attempting to go around him to reach it, but he dove forward to tackle them and block their way. They tried to leap forward to dodge, but were just barely too slow, and Zeth¡¯s hands gripped onto the base of their boot. He caught a glimpse of the logo on the back, and for just a moment, he could make out the words ¡°Otis & Roul¡¯s Mining Guild.¡± The same guild he worked for. But before he could process the implications of that, Zeth¡¯s face slammed into the ground, the mage falling helplessly forward as Zeth continued to grip tightly onto their leg. He crawled forward, eager to throw his fist into this person¡¯s nose, but before he could, they lifted a hand and pointed it at him, exposing a small slice on their palm. A bullet of blood shot out of the cut in their skin, aimed directly for his forehead. He just barely twisted to the side in time to avoid it colliding with his skull, but it still hit his cheek, and instead of harmlessly splashing against him like any normal liquid would do, it cut straight across his face, leaving a line of pain and the feeling of his own blood leaking from the wound as the mage scrambled to their feet. Not letting himself stay stunned for more than a moment, Zeth leapt up and chased after them. They were just a few feet away from the ritual circle now, with Zeth too far behind to stop them. They were going to reach it. He couldn¡¯t let that happen. Acting before thinking, Zeth lunged forward, shoving the mage away from himself as he took their place. He flew through the air straight toward the glowing ritual circle, and then impacted the painted lines on the stone floor. Instantly upon touching the circle, he felt the room start shaking again¡ªmore intensely than it ever had before. Electricity latched onto Zeth, and the lines began glowing even brighter. For a moment, he was worried he might start sinking into the floor like everyone else had. But he stayed safely on top of the ground, the pink electricity dancing harmlessly across his skin. The mage sat up from where they¡¯d landed a few feet away, staring at Zeth. Whatever emotion they were feeling was indecipherable to him since he couldn¡¯t see their face, but they certainly didn¡¯t seem happy. Trying to climb to his feet, Zeth suddenly realized he couldn''t move his body. He was frozen there, lying on the trembling ground. The mage stood and took a step forward, but a boulder dropped from the quaking ceiling just as they moved, almost crushing them beneath it. They stumbled away as more rocks fell, covering the ground and threatening to pull the entire mineshaft down. The rumbling from the ritual circle only grew more and more intense. Between the falling rubble, Zeth could see the mage glance at him for a long moment, then turn and run away, seeming to value their life more than whatever this circle could bring them. Just as another boulder fell and plugged up the gap in the rocks that allowed Zeth to see the mage, the pain started. It was like the electricity that should have been hurting him all along suddenly decided to make up for lost time, shooting liquid fire through his veins. Only, he was still paralyzed, so he was stuck lying motionless on the ground, his wide eyes the only indication he was feeling anything at all. Every section of skin the dancing lightning touched was plunged into agony, and each second the sensation only grew more intense. Soon, as the rumbling seemed to reach a crescendo, the pain became too much to bear. It¡¯d reached his head now, squeezing his brain into a pulp. He couldn¡¯t think, or feel, or perceive the world around him in any way. Just sit and feel the ritual as it seemed to reject his body in the most violent way possible. And then, the world went black. Zeth was surprised when he awoke, because he hadn¡¯t expected he ever would. He sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes and glancing around only to find that the world around him was pitch-black. There was some sort of System message in the back of his mind, but he currently faced a much more pressing question. Where was he? Still completely disoriented, he felt around himself, rubbing his aching hands across the cool stone floor. Every bit of his body ached, actually, like he was moving rusted machinery that hadn¡¯t functioned in centuries. His finger bumped against a glass object, and he grabbed it. It was his lantern. Feeling across its surface and letting muscle memory take over, he twisted the dials and knobs to configure the guild-standard magic object, soon seeing its glow light up the area, flickering slightly as it still needed to be fine-tuned. In front of Zeth was a collapsed pile of stone and gravel. It completely filled the mineshaft, spilling across the tunnel and coming close to touching his feet. He remembered now. There¡¯d been a cave-in, which now blocked his way back up. And before the cave-in, there had been¡­ He glanced downward, seeing a dark red chalk marking the ground below him in ridiculously intricate symbols. Instantly, he leapt to his feet and dove out of the circle, tumbling to the safe ground by his side. Dust was kicked up by his every motion, his own body covered just as much as everything else. Looking back, though, the circle no longer seemed active. It looked, really, like a totally mundane drawing someone had made on the floor. Not a dangerous piece of magic capable of¡­what it had done. Zeth¡¯s mind forced him to remember. His guildmates¡ªNestor, and everyone else¡ªhad died. He had failed to save them. And, upon seeing the person who may very well have been the one to personally set up this circle, he failed to avenge them, too. And now, he was sitting in an underground tunnel, nothing he could do but remember everything he could have done differently. If he¡¯d been the one to go ahead of them, he might have triggered the trap instead. If he¡¯d only recognized who those footsteps belonged to before he said anything, he could have set up some sort of ambush. If he¡¯d just listened to the voice telling him not to go down here in the first place, then¡­ Zeth blinked. Someone had told him not to come down here. That person someone was going to kill him and his guildmates. Why hadn¡¯t they done anything? Stopped Zeth and told him exactly what was going on, gone and told Garon about the situation, hell, they could¡¯ve come down here personally to help fight that son of a bitch mage. So why whisper a vague warning in Zeth¡¯s ear and refuse to elaborate? The System message itched the back of his mind once again. For a moment, he wanted to ignore it and continue trying to figure out his situation, but he decided against that. The message might¡¯ve told him what had happened when he¡¯d passed out, or even just informed him of a new useful Skill unlock. He¡¯d be foolish to ignore it any longer. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the itching in his brain. [Ritual complete: Ancient Evolution. Over a duration of three years, you have fed sacrifices to the ritual and claimed the completed circle. Sacrifice given: 666 human lives. Unlocking evolved version of Blood Mage Class.] Zeth stared at the notification. It thought was the one who completed the ritual? He¡¯d¡­fed sacrifices to it? He thought back to when he was holding onto Nestor¡¯s hand, trying desperately to pull him out. Or maybe when he told them to move ahead while he documented the crack in the wall. Did the System really think done this? He almost threw up. Being labeled as such a thing¡ªas a monster that would participate in this magic¡ªhe wanted nothing to do with it. He hadn¡¯t ¡®fed¡¯ anyone to anything. The mere idea of killing so many people just for some¡ª Zeth thought as he glanced back at the notification¡ªfor some evolved version of your Class? was what his friends had died for? And this had been going on for many years? To many people in total? Rage seeped into Zeth¡¯s mind. he thought, opening his Status and looking at his unlocked Classes. Sure enough, there it was. [Ready to claim! Blood Magus Rarity: S Time left to claim: 3 minutes, 12 seconds.] The time left to claim was just over three minutes. Since newly-unlocked Classes gave you one hour to decide whether or not you wanted to claim them, that meant he¡¯d been knocked out for close to that full hour duration. He didn¡¯t think it would¡¯ve been possible to stay knocked out for fifty-seven minutes just from something like getting hit on the head by a rock, but¡­Well, what knocked him out? He couldn¡¯t remember anything specific, so maybe it was part of whatever this strange magic was. The timer ticked below three minutes. A little longer, and it¡¯d be gone forever. He just wished that time would come sooner; he wanted nothing more than to get rid of this marker of what had happened. Obviously, he wasn¡¯t about to claim the damn thing. A Class like that, using human sacrifices to fuel its powers, was off the table. Sure, its Rarity was¡ª That was¡­high. He supposed it only made sense the Class would be so high-quality, given the horrible things a person was required to do to complete that heinous ritual. Most of his guildmates had taken the Miner Class¡ªsomething Zeth only avoided because he didn¡¯t want to lock himself into working for a mining guild for the rest of his life. But the Miner Class¡¯s Rarity was the lowest a Class could be¡ªE¡ªso it would give its holder three Stats every time they increased its Level. Blood Magus, an S-Rarity Class, gave thirteen. Remembering the amazing things his guildmates could do with a Class that was literally less than a quarter as good as this one, Zeth couldn¡¯t help but imagine. He shook his head. No. No, it wasn¡¯t even worth considering. He needed a Class that could make him money, something that could give him decent job prospects. Sure, this Blood Magus thing would give him a ton of Stats, and the quality of its Skills would probably be pretty insane, too, but if they all required human sacrifices like that, then it simply wouldn¡¯t be usable. And besides, a Class like that was probably outlawed to begin with; he¡¯d be arrested if it ever got out that he had it. If he wanted to go around slaughtering people, it¡¯d be supremely useful. But to live a quiet, normal life? Did he really want to end up like the mage, killing people to get stronger? Zeth¡¯s face twisted in anger at the memory. His friend¡¯s bloodcurdling scream choked out as they sank through solid stone, consumed by the ritualistic magic. Human lives, given in exchange for some Class. That mage was still out there. They¡¯d gotten away without consequence. Even if Zeth could find them, how could he prove anything legally? It would be one person¡¯s word against another¡¯s. And he wasn¡¯t confident he¡¯d be able to take them down in a fight. They hadn¡¯t used any extremely powerful magic in their scuffle¡ªother than that ritual that ate his guildmates¡ªbut even then, the Stats and Skills offered by a Class would put them at a massive advantage, and he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to catch them by surprise again. ¡­But if he had this powerful Class, he may still be able to deliver judgment. The time left to claim passed below one minute. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for power. If he passed it up, could he ever forgive himself for letting his friends¡¯ killer escape? And if he didn¡¯t get strong enough to protect himself soon, that person might hunt him down to tie up loose ends. Zeth closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the part of his mind screaming at him to avoid having anything to do with this thing. He filled his heart with resolve¡­ And he claimed the Class. [Class Slot 1 has been filled. You are now a Blood Magus. Use rituals, demons, and the magic of the occult to slaughter your enemies. Use the corpses of your enemies to fuel yourself and gain more power. Use your power to subjugate the world. The Blood Magus Class is one-of-a-kind, only able to be held by a single person at a time. For the Blood Magus, the lowly rituals of a Blood Mage have had their limitations removed, your contact with the Thirteenth Realm has been made permanent, and your Level-ups will grant exclusive world-shaping Skills. The Blood Magus is fated to be a lord reigning over the lesser Blood Mages. A lord reigning over the entire world. What will you do with your potential?] Chapter 2 There was no way out. Once he didn¡¯t have the Blood Magus Class¡¯s claim time limit rushing him, Zeth took a moment to catch his breath and find his bearings. He stood and wandered the ruined mineshaft, using the light from his lantern to try and find a passage that led out of this place. Only, there was none. The tunnel was a dead end, and the way back was blocked by a massive swath of collapsed stone. Zeth tried digging himself out for some time, but quickly realized those efforts were in vain. He¡¯d starve to death before he even made a dent in the wall of rock. Which, considering he didn¡¯t have any food and only enough water to last a few more hours, that death was looking pretty close on the horizon. He already knew he¡¯d been passed out for an hour and there was no sign of rescue so far. He hoped that was just because the efforts were delayed for some reason, not because they weren¡¯t coming at all. That mysterious voice from before had literally told him he¡¯d die down here¡ªsurely they would go get help, if they were so concerned about his survival? For now, though, all he could do was wait. He opened up his Status, looking at the changes made from the new, mysterious Class he¡¯d obtained. [CLASS Class Slot 1: Blood Magus - Level 0 Class Slot 2: (Locked) Skill Points: 11 STATS Strength: 3 Endurance: 6 Dexterity: 0 Awareness: 0 Poise: 0 Influence: 0 Shaping: 0 PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS (None) UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Ritual Circle Mastery - Cost: 1] For the most part, it was all the same. The only addition was, of course, his new Class, and the ¡°Class-Exclusive Skills¡± section. There was also another section he could open up, showing all of the Universal Skills he¡¯d unlocked and purchased, but those were also all the same as he remembered. For his whole life, those Universal Skills were the only ones Zeth had access to. Unlike Class-Exclusive ones, Universal Skills were ones that anyone could unlock and purchase, regardless of what their Class was, or even if they had one in the first place. Of course, it was much more difficult to obtain the Skill Points necessary to purchase those Skills when you didn¡¯t have a Class¡ªwhich was why he¡¯d only ever purchased six Universal Skills in his whole life so far, most of them relatively inconsequential¡ªbut it was still possible. Now, though, he could access Exclusive Skills. Much more powerful, and typically cheaper, too. And the higher the Class¡¯s Rarity, the better they¡¯d be. Which, seeing that the one Exclusive Skill he currently had unlocked only cost a single Skill Point, that was a very good start. [Ritual Circle Mastery - Cost: 1 Skill Point Allows you to draw ritual circles with mana and activate them using empowered blood sacrifices. For each Rank in this Skill, the amount of mental effort required of you to draw ritual circles is decreased by 0.1% per point you have in the Shaping Stat.] So this was what gave the foundational magic of the Blood Magus Class. No wonder it was so cheap¡ªZeth doubted he¡¯d be able to get anywhere without it. He currently had eleven hard-earned Skill Points, and this cost one of them. Certainly not , but it wasn¡¯t a price he¡¯d need to worry about. Every time you Ranked a Skill up, you¡¯d get one Skill Point as a reward¡ªup to the maximum Rank of ten, of course. Effectively, that meant that every Skill had its Point cost reduced by ten as long as you eventually got it to max Rank. So, for a Skill that cost than ten Skill Points, you would end up profiting Skill Points once all was said and done. This rule was what let Unclassed people get Skills in the first place. With a Class, you¡¯d get free Skill Points every Level, but when you didn¡¯t have one, you¡¯d have to unlock and purchase these ¡°profit Skills¡±¡ªwhich, the Universal profit Skills were typically pretty awful, both useless in effect and being extremely difficult to Rank up¡ªand then use the Skill Points earned from that to purchase the ones you actually wanted. So, with a cost of 1 Skill Point, Ritual Circle Mastery would profit Zeth a total of 9 Skill Points, bringing him up to 20 once he¡¯d Ranked this Skill up to its maximum. It was an easy choice to make. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Ritual Circle Mastery. -1 Skill Point. You now have 10 Skill Points.] Now, it was just time to practice. The moment he purchased the Skill, Zeth felt a small bit of knowledge enter his mind. A starting point. Following the instinct provided to him, he placed his finger onto the ground, closed his eyes, and focused. With a 0 in his Shaping Stat, Zeth had no System assistance when it came to magic. He had no more mana than was naturally given to every human¡ªthat was, not much at all. So the moment he felt the mana seep out of his finger and manifest as a red, chalk-like substance on the mineshaft floor, exhaustion instantly began to overtake him. He barely drew a single inch of a curved line before he was forced to stop. His brain ached, throbbing like it¡¯d been bound by a tightly-coiled rope. Mental exhaustion had slammed into him so quickly, he already felt like he could use a full night¡¯s sleep. This would take a while, it seemed. Zeth continued drawing his line, bit by bit. It was time-consuming, with him being forced to take at least a few minutes to recover before he could even think about continuing each time he traced his finger another inch. But eventually, there was just one last section to draw before he¡¯d have a simple circle drawn on the ground in the red finger-chalk. It was just a few inches in diameter, nothing even close to that massive circle the mage had drawn. That thing was not only eight feet wide, but also had the inside filled with all of those intricate designs¡ªthe loops and swirls and drawings¡­ It had taken Zeth over an hour to draw this, and it was just a plain circle. He had no idea how long it would take him to draw something like that. Years, at least. But for now, he just needed to finish this simple circle. His knowledge stated that it would be ¡°completed¡± once he drew that last portion of the line, though he had no idea what that really meant. He placed his finger on the ground, slowly tracing the final bit, and¡­ [Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 1. +1 Skill Point. You have 11 Skill Points.] Zeth smiled. Before he could think any more, though, another notification came through. [Requirement fulfilled: Rank 1 Ritual Circle Mastery You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Empowerment Ritual.] His smile widened. Another Skill already. [Empowerment Ritual - Cost: 10 Skill Points The sole method of increasing the Blood Magus Class¡¯s Level. Uses a ritual circle to attempt to Level Up the Blood Magus Class. Required ritual circle size, time required to draw it, upkeep time required, and strength of the sacrifice required for a successful empowerment ritual each increase as Blood Magus Class Level increases. Strength of sacrifice required: Very Low Required ritual circle diameter: 2 feet Minimum time required to draw: 2 hours Upkeep time required each day: 1 hour] Zeth frowned as he read through the description. This was a little more complex than the other one. But one phrase stuck out to him: Level Up. So Blood Magus Leveled Up in a different way than most combat classes, then. Typically, a Class that was oriented toward fighting would increase its Level when its owner used its powers to fight and kill strong opponents. But Blood Magus seemed to Level up by completing whatever this ritual was. Though, Zeth supposed that the acquiring of a powerful enough ¡°sacrifice¡± would probably involve some fighting. For this one, though, he¡¯d need a sacrifice with a strength of ¡°very low.¡± Surely that wouldn¡¯t be hard to come by? Either way, this Skill was his only method of Leveling Up, which would be the path to unlocking more Skills, increasing his Stats, and getting more Skill Points. So, once again, the decision wasn¡¯t very hard to make. With a cost of ten Skill Points, once he got the Skill to max Rank, he¡¯d simply have recouped the cost, making this one effectively free in the long run. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Empowerment Ritual. -10 Skill Points. You now have 1 Skill Point.] It would probably be best to go ahead and get to work on making this thing and figure out the sacrifice later. At worst, it¡¯d just be a waste of time. And, considering help still hadn¡¯t come, he still had time to kill. Pushing the doubting thoughts away, he hunched back over the stone floor, glancing over the description again. In the end, it took Zeth a healthy amount of time over the minimum to draw the circle. He didn¡¯t know much time he went over the minimum by, but he felt a switch flip in his mind the moment two hours had passed, the Skill informing him that the requirement had been fulfilled. He¡¯d still had much more line to draw, so he kept working until he had that requirement finished, too. Maybe it was because Ritual Circle Mastery had Ranked up, or maybe it was just from him generally having some more practice, but he found that he worked much faster now compared to the time needed to finish the practice circle, which was a fraction of this one¡¯s size. Well, it was still several additional hours added to the work time, but it wasn¡¯t several like he thought it might take. The moment he drew the last line of the simple red circle, he got another notification informing him that Ritual Circle Mastery had Ranked up to two. One Skill Point added to his total, up to two. He smiled and sat back, looking at his work. Yep, it was a circle, alright. A big red ¡®O¡¯ sat on the stone. Zeth thought back. In his one example, the sacrifice had been¡­ He took a breath. The sacrifice had been six human lives. And when the thing finished, it said the total number of sacrifices had been in the hundreds. That must have been an insanely high sacrifice cost. For something ¡°very low,¡± it wouldn¡¯t be nearly that steep. At first, Zeth wondered if he¡¯d need to go find some weak animal to feed to the circle, but maybe¡­ He bent over and picked up a shard of stone from the cave-in¡ªone with a sharp, jagged edge. Holding the point to the tip of his finger, he pushed, pricking his skin. After a brief sting of pain shooting through his flesh, he drew the rock back, and watched as a drop of blood bubbled out of the tiny wound. Hovering his finger above the circle, he watched the droplet of blood trickle down his finger, tugged by gravity to the very end of his pinkie. It fell. The instant it touched the ground within the circle, the red chalk glowed bright pink for a moment, the familiar crackle of electricity filling Zeth¡¯s ears. He panicked for a moment, the memory of Nestor¡¯s hand slipping out of his forcing itself into his mind. But then the moment ended. The light faded and the mineshaft quieted, and he got a notification about Empowerment Ritual Ranking up. But Zeth was paying much more attention to the other set of notifications he¡¯d received. [Ritual complete: Empowerment Ritual. Sacrifice given: Minor amount of weak human blood. Level Up!] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 1. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 9. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 1. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 2. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 7. +3 Skill Points. You have 6 Skill Points.] [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 1. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Hellfire Ritual.] Zeth felt a surge of energy flow through his body. He¡¯d increased his Stats before, spending a few Skill Points on it when he was a kid just to see what would happen, but when you did that, you¡¯d exchange one Skill Point for three points in a single Stat, meaning they would always only increase three at a time¡ªand in his case, it had been limited to Strength and Endurance. Now, he suddenly got a full thirteen additional Stats all at once, split among several different categories. His body slightly hardened from Endurance, and he got the distinct impression that he could probably run a little longer than he used to. From Awareness, his vision and hearing sharpened just barely, and from Poise, he suddenly felt a little more in control of his mind. The largest shift was from Shaping, where he suddenly felt like he had a hint of a perception he hadn¡¯t ever felt before¡ªmana filled the world around him and flowed through himself, like an infinite river that ignored all laws of reality. He saw that his own body was depleted currently, likely from spending so much on the ritual. He glanced over the Hellfire Ritual Skill he¡¯d just unlocked. It seemed like a sort of fire trap¡ªyou draw the ritual circle, then activate it with a sacrifice, and the next person to touch the circle would burst into flames. Useful, but out of his price range; the Skill cost thirteen Skill Points while Zeth only had six. But he had one main method to get more¡ªcomplete more rituals. Just like the Empowerment Ritual description had said, requirements went up. The diameter went from two feet to two and a half, the minimum time required doubled from two hours to four, and the ¡®upkeep time,¡¯ whatever that was, also increased slightly. But the most important part was the fact that the minimum sacrifice strength also increased, from ¡°very low¡± to ¡°low.¡± He hoped his own ¡°weak¡± human blood would still suffice. So, he got to work. Once again, Zeth¡¯s speed at drawing the massive circle increased. With his increasing familiarity with the process, the Ranked up Ritual Circle Mastery and Empowerment Ritual Skills, and a few extra points in his Shaping Stat now, he actually finished in time than it¡¯d taken him to finish the first, despite the diameter requirement increasing. It still took longer than the required minimum, but Zeth really felt himself getting the hang of this. He completed the circle, this time not getting any extra Ranks in Ritual Circle Mastery. Unfortunate, but it was natural that Rank-up requirements would increase. The real prize was just ahead. He pricked his finger and let the blood drop onto the circle, and¡­ [Ritual progress: Empowerment Ritual. Sacrifice given: Minor amount of weak human blood. Sacrifice requirement: 1% met.] He frowned. Letting a few more drops fall onto the circle, he felt disappointment wash over him as he watched the progress refuse to budge from 1%. Maybe a huge amount of his blood would be enough, but he wasn¡¯t about to gut himself open. Seemed like this was where his progress stopped, for now. It also meant he no longer had anything to distract himself with, which meant he had to face the conclusion that had become obvious hours ago. Help was not coming. It had been way too long. No sound of rocks being excavated, no distant shouts, no indication whatsoever that the world hadn¡¯t moved on without him. Maybe if he could¡¯ve kept Leveling up, he could unlock some new Skill that¡¯d blow up the mountain of rubble in his way or teleport him to the surface, but that didn¡¯t seem to be possible¡ªnot with his utter lack of sacrifices to provide. Zeth had to find another way out. So he looked. There had been no mineshaft passages dug to continue this one, but that didn¡¯t mean there was nothing here at all. One of the reasons the tunnels were shut down when there were even slight signs of instability was because collapses opened up the chance of walls separating the artificial mineshafts from natural caves breaking down. Normally, those untouched, unexplored caves were some of the most dangerous things one could encounter down here. Now, Zeth was hoping for them. There were a few known caves under the mountain that connected to the surface. One was empty, having been cleared of monsters long ago. Another had a portal opened in it to the Beast Realm, with many of the deadly monsters from that realm still remaining within. Another was pretty much completely full of water. There were a few more that were even less desirable, but Zeth just hoped he could find the empty one. He walked the tunnel, closely examining the walls and looking for signs of weakness¡ªanything to show the cave-in might¡¯ve broken a passage through. As he wandered further and further, he grew more and more desperate, seeing nothing. But then, at the very end of the mineshaft, he saw the smallest of holes, showing pitch black space behind. There it was. He pulled his pickaxe from where it was attached to his backpack and grinned. It took Zeth a while to open a passage wide enough for him to squeeze through. The moment it was, he held his lantern out and gazed through the hole. Solid, dry ground below, with nothing else in sight. The uneven floors of the cavern on the other side shimmered with the flickering light of his poorly-tuned lamp. It really was a natural cave. He stepped through. Standing on the other side, he looked back, gazing through the hole in the wall at the mineshaft he was leaving behind. After about half a second of introspection, he found his answer. He turned back around and continued forward. The room he arrived into was large, he found¡ªlarge enough that his lantern¡¯s light couldn¡¯t even reach the furthest wall. Staring into the pitch black, he couldn¡¯t help but imagine a massive, toothy maw waiting just beyond his vision to reach out and swallow him whole. He tried to calm his breathing as he walked. see His thoughts stopped in their tracks, as did he, when he spotted a figure at the edge of his light. Lying on the ground was not a natural animal, and not a monster from one of the Beast Realm portals, either. This four-legged thing had black, warted skin all over, each of its legs bending in unnatural places. Its head was turned away, but as Zeth crept around to look at it, he saw that there wasn¡¯t a head at all. Instead of a head, attached to the beast¡¯s neck was a massive eye with a dark black center. he thought, examining it. The thing was clearly dead, lying there without moving, but¡ª A horrible smell entered his nostrils, like diseased meat. [Poise check failed.] Instantly, pain filled his body. He collapsed to the ground, legs suddenly unable to hold his weight and stomach feeling like it would have overturned itself had he eaten anything in the past few hours. His skin was pierced by countless needles, bones crushed by hammers, mind blended into a paste. He was dying. He was going to die. He was¡ª sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. And then it was over. In an instant, Zeth found himself lying on the ground in the fetal position, completely unharmed and feeling absolutely no more pain. The beast was still dead on the ground. With a shaky breath, he glanced around the empty cavern. What that? He wanted to avoid feeling it again at all costs. he thought, looking back at his notifications. It¡¯d happened when he smelled the monster, so¡­He got up and backed away from it, holding his breath so he didn¡¯t inhale more of the fumes. Then, pulling his sweaty tunic over his face to ensure the scent couldn¡¯t enter his nose, he crept back over and examined the beast more closely. It was obviously from one of the deeper realms. With its alien physiology and innate magic, that much was obvious. He might have thought it came from the Fourth Realm¡ªthe Elven Realm¡ªbut that place normally had much more color in its monsters, from what he knew. This thing was dark, purely constructed of black and gray, and felt like its presence alone twisted reality into a horrible reflection of itself. Really, judging from its appearance, it could have been¡­ It was then that he noticed liquid leaking from underneath the monster. He used his foot to lift it up, and dark blood began pouring out from a massive series of lacerations on the thing¡¯s underside. Zeth had known it was dead, but this was pure mutilation. Looking at the size of the cuts, clearly much larger than the monster¡¯s own claws, it was obvious that this thing wasn¡¯t killed by another of its own species. It was killed by something else. Something bigger. Something in this cave. Zeth stared down at the leaking corpse. He grabbed the minced monster corpse, hauled it over to the already-drawn Empowerment Ritual circle, and tossed it in. The blood seeped from the beast¡¯s veins and sank directly into the stone. [Ritual complete.] Chapter 3 Zeth tossed the minced monster corpse onto his ritual circle. Empowerment Ritual Ranked up to two upon receiving the sacrifice, and¡­ [Ritual complete: Empowerment Ritual. Sacrifice given: Large amount of moderate-strength monster blood. Level Up!] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 2. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 12. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 2. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 4. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 14. +3 Skill Points. You have 10 Skill Points.] [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 2. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Unholy Strength.] It looked like this new unlock, Unholy Strength, was also out of his budget¡ªthis time even more than the thirteen-cost Hellfire Ritual, this one would set him back eighteen Skill Points. So unless he really saved up, it wouldn¡¯t come for a while. Though, its effect, temporarily increasing his Stats by a decent margin upon completion of a ritual, was certainly something he was interested in eventually picking up. For now, though, he needed to continue into the cave he¡¯d found. There was something lurking there, but ideally he¡¯d get lucky and wouldn¡¯t see it. And if he did, he just hoped¡­ Zeth wandered down passageways and through winding tunnels in search of a way out. Just a hint of natural light, and he''d be free. And he¡¯d rather get out of here sooner rather than later; the longer he was down here, the more likely he was to run into one of those eye dog things while they were still alive. Despite his caution, peering around every corner and hoping his light would reveal any nearby threats before he noticed them, Zeth was still left with very little to actually do as he walked. He looked over Hellfire Ritual¡¯s description. [Hellfire Ritual - Cost: 13 Skill Points Uses a ritual circle to create a hellfire trap. Upon completion of the ritual, the trap will become armed, and any being other than you who comes into contact with the circle will trigger it, causing it to burst into a powerful inferno. Strength of sacrifice required: Low Required ritual circle diameter: 6 inches Minimum time required to draw: 1 hour Upkeep time required each day: 20 minutes] So, if he encountered a monster, all he¡¯d have to do was lure it into the trap, and boom¡ªit¡¯d catch on fire, burn to death, and the fight would be won. Though, there was obviously a problem with that hour-long drawing time. He¡¯d either have to somehow know he was going to get into a fight an hour beforehand, or he¡¯d have to prepare an area with the trap and then lead the monster all the way back to that area in order for his strategy to work. Either way, though, he¡¯d rather have the Skill than not. But he couldn¡¯t just sit down and spend hours down here drawing circles in chalk. Not just because of the possibility of being attacked, but Zeth was on a natural timer, too. His mouth was already dry. He needed water. He needed to keep moving. Spotting a flat rock lying on the ground, Zeth got an idea, bending over and grabbing it. Turning it over and looking for a flat surface, he eventually decided on an area to draw, and began tracing his finger along the stone as he walked, lantern hanging from his belt. The rock was relatively small, and the ritual circle seemed to refuse to go over edges or large bumps, so he had little surface area to work with, but it was enough. Once he¡¯d finished the base circle, he decided to go further this time, mimicking the swirls and designs he¡¯d seen in the mage¡¯s massive circle. Instinct guided him as he worked. A short line there, a curve there, connect these two lines here, copy it on the other side for symmetry¡ª He hit something and dropped the stone, breaking his focus. Looking ahead, he realized he¡¯d walked straight into a wall. He picked the stone back up, looking at the surface he¡¯d been drawing on. The chalk had been smudged. The knowledge given to him by his Skill told him even a small smudge like that meant the whole thing was ruined. He¡¯d have to start again. So he did exactly that, rubbing the chalk off and beginning the process from scratch, this time taking care to pay more attention to his surroundings. He remembered the line from Ritual Circle Mastery, ¡°For each Rank in this Skill, the amount of mental effort required of you to draw ritual circles is decreased by 0.1% per point you have in the Shaping Stat.¡± He definitely agreed that he could use a boost in his mental abilities while working, considering how much the circle seemed to absorb him the moment his finger touched the stone. But with the Skill only at Rank two and with a Shaping of fourteen that only translated to slightly below 3% in total. Not exactly useful yet. But that was just even more reason to Rank the Skill up. It didn¡¯t take much time at all for Ritual Circle Mastery to reach Rank three. He absentmindedly traced his finger along the rock as he walked, doing his best to keep his attention primarily focused on his surroundings, and eventually received the notification telling him he¡¯d pushed it even further, up to Rank four. He got to his hands and knees, crawling through a tighter space as he smiled to himself. Once he was on the other side of the crawlspace, he got back up and kept walking. If he just drew out a few more of those practice circles, he could finally afford Hellfire Ritual. He stopped, frowning. He could hear a sound echoing through the dark cavern. Was that¡­running water? Hurrying to the next corner, Zeth turned, hoping to see salvation. But as he did, he caught a whiff of decaying flesh. He dashed back behind the cave wall, hurriedly covering his nose with his shirt, but it was too late. [Poise check failed.] Pain invaded his senses, assaulting his body and mind. He did everything he could to not scream out in agony, but fell to the stone ground all the same. After an unknowable number of seconds, the sensation ended. Zeth was lying on the ground, drenched with yet more sweat. In the distance, he could hear something. Steps. Something was heading his way. He scrambled to his feet and began backing away as silently as he could, protecting his nose with the fabric of his shirt, and watched as the hound¡¯s figure prowled around the corner. Its massive eye that acted as a head stared into him. The warts covering its body twitched, growing more active the closer the beast came. Then, in an instant, it charged. Zeth turned to flee, running off as quickly as he could move without tripping. He had no idea what that thing would do to him if it caught him¡ªdid it even have a mouth to eat him with?¡ªbut whatever it was, he didn¡¯t want to find out. It could probably just suffocate him with that horrible pain smell. He dove to the ground, sliding into the crawlspace he¡¯d passed through, and frantically kicked his way to the other side. The warted dog was slightly too big to comfortably fit, but it bent down and began squeezing its way inside to try and get to Zeth. Hurriedly searching the small room he was in, Zeth found a large enough rock to block the passage and rolled it in front. It didn¡¯t block the way through perfectly, but it was at least large enough to stop the monster from squeezing its way through. Seconds later, the dog got to the blockage and threw its body against it. The rock rolled slightly out of the way. Zeth instantly got to the ground and pushed the rock back into place before the monster could hit it again. He stayed there, leaning back against the stone as the monster slammed into it in an attempt to get to him, and prayed. After a few attempts, the monster stopped trying. Zeth waited a minute, then leaned over to peer through the gap left between the boulder and the wall, and¡­ The thing was lying down in the middle of the crawlspace, staring straight at Zeth. When it saw him no longer holding the rock back, it instantly stood and charged to ram it out of the way once more. Zeth rushed to push back against it and hold it down. The thing had been waiting for him. He couldn¡¯t leave, or the hound would just push the rock out of the way and start chasing him again. Maybe he could find a couple more boulders and pile them all up at this crawlspace entrance in time to keep it from getting through, but not only was that risky, it¡¯d also block Zeth from getting to the other side, too. He¡¯d heard running water coming from down that tunnel. He knew he had. Zeth was tired and ready to lie down in a nice bed, but most importantly, he was If there was a chance to sate that need, he knew he had to take it. Not to mention, if there was water running through this cave, it had to lead somewhere. And the surface was a likely guess as to the flowing water¡¯s destination. But lying in his way was this dog. Zeth took a cautious breath in from underneath his shirt, trying to think. What could he even do, other than hope he could wait this thing out? That is, hope that he could wait it out while it was on the side that had access to water, and he was on the side that didn¡¯t. Right. He needed to figure out a better plan than that. Trying to calm his breathing, Zeth leaned over and started tracing his finger across the ground. It took drawing two separate six-inch-wide circles, but eventually Ritual Circle Mastery Ranked up to 5. [Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 5. +1 Skill Point. You have 13 Skill Points.] [Requirement fulfilled: Ritual Circle Mastery Rank 5. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Vile Focus.] A second, unexpected notification came through notifying Zeth of a new Skill unlock, but he wasn¡¯t extremely interested in that. Glancing at Vile Focus¡¯s description, it seemed useful¡ªa solid passive Skill to have later on¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t something he was about to spend his valuable Skill Points on right now. Not when that hound was still waiting on the other side of the boulder, eager to slaughter him. Nose stinging with the stink of his own sweat, having kept his shirt pulled over his nose the entire time he¡¯d worked, Zeth reached into his mind and purchased the Skill he needed. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Hellfire Ritual. -13 Skill Points. You now have 0 Skill Points.] He was banking on this working. The two circles he¡¯d drawn in front of the entrance to the crawlspace were the right size for Hellfire Ritual, so all he needed to do was activate them with a sacrifice. Only, the sacrifice was the difficult part. The requirement was ¡°Low,¡± which was the same as what Empowerment Ritual showed when he wasn¡¯t able to activate it using just his own blood. He hoped this was on the lower requirement end of the ¡°low¡± spectrum than Empowerment Ritual, but there was only one way to find out. Still keeping his back planted firmly against the rock keeping the monster away, Zeth picked at the scab that was just beginning to form on his finger, feeling that same irritated prick of pain as he opened the small wound back up so that blood began leaking out once again, and then wiped it on the ritual circle in front of him. [Ritual progress: Hellfire Ritual Sacrifice given: Minor amount of weak human blood. Sacrifice requirement: 3% met.] But then, Zeth heard movement from behind him. At first, he just assumed it was the monster guarding the crawlspace shifting its position like it¡¯d done a couple times before, until he glanced back to check. A second of the eye hounds had arrived. The first stood and looked over at the other, each making strange gurgling sounds at each other. As Zeth watched, the two dogs turned to stare at him, seeming to form an agreement between themselves, then charged at the rock together. He braced against it as they slammed into the stone, pushing him forward with much more force than just one of the dogs could have applied. They both began backing up as Zeth scrambled to reposition himself against the rock, pushing back with his legs as hard as he could. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. One lucky hit was all it would take for them to squeeze through. And the hounds seemed to know this, preparing to charge again. Zeth took a shaky breath. Placing the stone shard¡¯s jagged blade against his forearm, Zeth grit his teeth, then sliced his skin open. Pain shot up his arm as blood seeped out of the long wound, and he quickly pressed his arm against the ritual circle, where the streaming blood sank into the ground below. Sucking air through his teeth in a gasp of pain as he rubbed the open wound all along the rough stone surface, he watched as the percentage counter for Hellfire Ritual¡¯s progress quickly ticked up from his sacrifice. Within a few seconds, he got a notification. [Ritual complete: Hellfire Ritual Sacrifice given: Moderate amount of weak human blood. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hellfire Ritual circle has been armed.] The moment it finished, he frantically moved his arm to the second circle. A sudden force jolting Zeth forward told him the monsters rammed the stone again. He fell forward, catching himself on his elbows, and blood from his wound went everywhere, totally wasted on the mundane non-ritual stone. Grunting in pain, he hurried to push himself back up against the rock with his feet as he planted his arm back onto the half-finished ritual circle, hoping to get it ready in time. [68%] [74%] [80%] Another force slammed him forward, and he rushed to press his bloodied arm back onto the circle once again. [86%] [92%] [98%] One last push came quickly after, stronger than the ones before, and Zeth was thrown to the ground as the two eye hounds came bursting through the passage, stone thrown aside. He scrambled to his feet, facing them and slowly backing away, their features only partially illuminated by his flickering lantern. In the dim light, the whites of their gigantic head-sized eyes shined through the darkness, staring straight at him. The quivering warts covering their bodies wiggled and pulsed with each step. Occasionally, one would burst, opening up like a flower and spewing tiny black motes of dust into the air. Zeth wondered if that was what created the painful scent. One of them took a step forward, clearly ready to pounce on Zeth. The other did the same. Only, the second hound placed its foot into the space directly in front of the crawlspace entrance, which was where the armed Hellfire trap had been placed. It lit up, pink electricity crackling for a fraction of a second before a much larger, brighter light source took its place. Hellfire. The hound¡¯s entire body burst into bright red flame, illuminating the entire room and singeing Zeth¡¯s skin even from his place a dozen feet away. The fire burned tall and wide, licking the cave ceiling and almost engulfing the other hound standing nearby. Zeth could only barely hear the monster¡¯s howl of pain over the crackling of the hungry inferno, and that howl only lasted for only a moment before being cut short as the thing collapsed to the ground. The fire died shortly after, only lasting a few seconds in total. All that was left behind was a charred corpse, barely resembling the monster it had been mere moments ago. The other hound had leapt away from its companion the moment the flame appeared, and was now left in the corner of the room, staring cautiously at Zeth, clearly wary of accidentally catching itself aflame, too. ¡°Uh, shoo!¡± Zeth said, trying to motion the hound away, while also clutching his still-bleeding arm to his chest. ¡°Get!¡± Its stare seemed to bore through Zeth¡¯s skull. Then, slowly gaining confidence, it took a step forward. ¡°No, no no no, get out of here!¡± Zeth shouted from beneath his tunic, voice shaking. But the monster paid his words no heed, now approaching more quickly. ¡°What are you even gonna do to me?!¡± he shouted, hoping his words could function as an animal¡¯s roar and miraculously scare the thing off. ¡°You¡¯ve got an eyeball for a head! What, do you plan on beating me to death with your own eye?! Get out of here!¡± Now just a few feet away from him, the monster paused. And then its eye-head opened up, four flaps splitting at the pupil and unfolding to reveal a mouth filled with row upon row of razor-sharp teeth. It let out a gurgling screech, and pounced straight at him. Ducking down and throwing himself to the side as quickly as he could, Zeth barely managed to avoid the teeth of the eye-mouth-head monster thing. He heard a wet impact behind him as he dashed away, turning back to see it picking itself off the ground, seeming confused at the fact that it wasn¡¯t munching down on tasty human flesh right now. Once it was back on its feet, Zeth expected it to take off after him. But instead, it paused, folding its mouth back up into an eye, and glanced around the room. The moment the monster spotted Zeth, it ran at him again. But once again, when it got close, it was forced to take a moment¡¯s pause to unfurl its eye into a mouth before pouncing, and during that moment it was blind, meaning Zeth could once again just barely dive out of the way to avoid the attack. He frowned. In the moment of freedom he had where the monster was getting back to its feet after the missed strike, Zeth turned and ran to the opposite side of the room with the crawlspace¡¯s entrance. With no time to struggle through the tight tunnel, he was effectively cornering himself against the wall. The monster saw Zeth once again, turning and charging at him, but he didn¡¯t move from where he stood. He bit his lip hard, tasting the iron flavor of his own blood seeping out onto his tongue. The hound¡¯s gigantic pupil dilated with excitement, seeing its prey backed against a wall. It stopped just a couple paces from him for the half-second necessary to unfurl its eye and reveal its salivating mouth¡­ ¡­And Zeth spat on the floor below it. His saliva mixed with the blood that¡¯d leaked from his lip splattered against the ground the hound stood on, marked with his almost-complete ritual. [100%] It sparked to life just as the monster pushed to leap at him, electricity crackling to life between the lines of the circle. And then flames illuminated the room once again. From just a foot away, Zeth could feel the full brunt of the heat the hellfire brought, like he had built a tower to the sun and stood atop it. He slid along the wall, away from the burning monster as it collapsed to the ground, killed almost instantly by the absurdly powerful magic. Breathing heavily, he stared, enraptured by the horrible beauty of such deadly flames. And then, a few seconds later, they died out. Zeth stood alone in a dark room, his lantern¡¯s dim light seeming like nothing in comparison to the blinding fire. He was frozen for a few seconds, catching his breath and simply trying to process what had just happened. Then, he chuckled. His expression grew into a smile, and soon he burst into full-on laughter. His howling cackle echoed across the cavern. ¡°Haha! Holy shit! Take that, fucking , bitches!¡± It was like this was the first time he¡¯d ever been alive. Like every other day he¡¯d experienced¡ªworking on his parents¡¯ farm during childhood, working in Garon¡¯s mine in adulthood, all of it¡ªhe¡¯d lived through it while in a half-coma. Not truly experiencing anything. He threw his fists into the air, boundless energy dancing through his body from the victory. ¡°Dumb as shit eye-mouth-dog things, no matter how many fucking teeth or weird-ass pain spore warts you have, you can¡¯t beat my badass fire magic!¡± He couldn¡¯t wipe the grin off of his face. His hands were shaking, breath heavy. He knew this was objectively probably the worst day of his life, but he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about how it was somehow It was pure exhilaration. His pounding heart seemed to agree. Still keeping his nose covered with his shirt, Zeth took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm himself slightly. He let his shoulders relax and closed his eyes, counting backwards from one hundred in increments of seven. Technically, these were techniques his mom had taught him to calm his anger after he¡¯d gotten into two fistfights in a single day when he was younger. The first was with a teenager for pushing his younger sister down a hill, and the second was with the guy¡¯s dad when he tried to break the fight up. The dad had given him a black eye, so he wasn¡¯t able to hide the fight from his mom that time, and she decided, ¡°you need to learn to calm yourself down.¡± In this case, it actually worked quite well. He opened his eyes once he was finished with the exercise, gazing around the room with a slightly calmed mind. Part of him wanted to drop to the ground right here and start drawing an Empowerment Ritual circle to feed the two dead monsters into so he could get another Level Up before departing. However, not only was he desperate to find that water source so he could finally sate his thirst, he also wasn¡¯t sure if sticking around in this place was a good idea. The whole fight had been loud and bright, these corpses probably smelled quite strongly to whatever in this cave was hunting them down, and this area was clearly crawling with monsters. If any came to check out the disturbance during the six hours required to draw the circle, he¡¯d be in trouble. But still, it seemed like a waste to just leave these perfectly good corpses behind. For a moment Zeth considered hauling them along with him or something, but then he realized. He glanced down at his empty waterskin. It took some time to figure out how to drain the monsters¡¯ blood into the container, but eventually he figured it out. The waterskin didn¡¯t quite hold all of it, but it certainly held a lot¡ªhopefully enough to fuel his next Level. He¡¯d also gotten two Rank-ups for Hellfire Ritual that he¡¯d ignored during the fight, meaning his Skill Points were looking to recover from the purchase pretty quickly. Once he was finished, he stood and headed out, toward the sound of water. As he walked, ducking through tunnels and glancing every which way to avoid getting surprised by any more monsters, he listened for the sound growing louder and louder to guide him. And then, ducking past a hanging stalactite, Zeth saw it. A river! A massive, rushing river that ran straight through a large room that was full of boulders. A manic grin spread across his face. He ducked behind the nearest boulder, eyes wide. He was right. That thought he¡¯d tried to forget¡ªthe origin of the hound monsters. They certainly weren¡¯t mundane animals from his realm, so what other realm could they have come from? Standing hunched over at the river¡¯s bank was a large humanoid figure, arms and legs much too long to actually be human. It must¡¯ve been at least nine feet tall, skin so pitch black that Zeth hadn¡¯t even seen it until his light illuminated the thing¡¯s silhouette. He¡¯d heard about it during some particularly horrible bedtime stories¡ªthe kind parents told bad kids to scare them into not making trouble anymore. Monsters came from realm portals, naturally opening at random points across the world¡¯s surface and connecting the mundane human realm to the fantastical. The most common realm that portals connected to was the Second Realm¡ªnicknamed the Beast Realm for its massive monsters. They were dangerous, more so than any normal animal, but manageable for people with a decent combat-oriented Class. Next was the Third Realm¡ªthe Dwarven Realm¡ªwith its underground tunneling beasts and its natural inhabitants of dwarves living among them. Then the fourth¡ªthe Elven Realm¡ªwith the magical monsters that would kill you in the most beautiful way possible. The Fourth Realm was more dangerous than the Third, which was more dangerous than the Second, which was more dangerous than the base realm that humans inhabited, the First. Oceans were particularly dangerous, with how a portal to the Fifth Realm¡ªthe Submerged Realm¡ªwould occasionally show up and let countless horrible krakens and leviathans through to haunt the seas. But as you moved further and further into deeper and deeper realms, while they get more dangerous, they also became much less common to see portals to. So most people would rarely ever see creatures that came from anything deeper than the Third, maybe Fourth Realms. Zeth heard the monster standing on the other side of the room move, scraping its heavy feet along the stone ground. It was called a fleshtaker. The hallmark monster of the Sixth Realm¡ªthe Realm of Horrors. That was where the hound monsters had come from. And this monster was their natural predator. Zeth thought, taking a shaky breath. He¡¯d barely caught a glimpse of the thing, only seeing its silhouette before diving to cover, but he knew what it was. At least, what he¡¯d seen was what all the stories agreed on. Tall, dark, lanky, dangerous. They disagreed on the rest of the details¡ªwhat their faces looked like, what they sounded like, and how, exactly, they actually killed people. Zeth supposed anyone who got close enough to figure any of that out ended up unable to spread their knowledge. Sitting back against the boulder, Zeth waited, and listened. He listened for more footsteps, hoping he would hear none. And he didn¡¯t. But what he heard instead was sniffing. From behind the rock, Zeth could hear the fleshtaker smelling the air. Feet shuffled across the floor. It was slowly moving toward him. That was the other thing the stories all agreed on. The things had a supernaturally intense sense of smell. And it seemed that the fleshtaker had smelled him. Zeth grit his teeth and stood up, creeping to the other edge of the boulder he hid behind. He wouldn¡¯t be able to conceal his presence much longer, with how steadily the monster was currently making progress toward him. With a shaky breath, he took a moment to gather his confidence, then leapt out from behind the boulder. Sure enough, standing in the middle of the room, between Zeth and the rushing river, was the hunched-over silhouette of the fleshtaker. It was hunched over, slowly stepping toward the boulder he¡¯d hid behind. Only, even as Zeth stood in plain sight, it didn¡¯t move toward him any faster. It didn¡¯t seem to see him at all. Looking closely at the monster¡¯s face, he discovered that such a thing only made sense. It had no eyes. Zeth also immediately understood why descriptions of the fleshtakers had always been so conflicted. Covering the entire thing¡¯s head were holes. Some were obviously mouths, with long pointed tongues lashing out of them and flinging themselves every which direction, while others were less obvious. He had to assume the other holes were either nostrils or ear canals, but it was impossible to tell them apart. And, scattered across the rest of the face and head, like acne on a teenager, were teeth. Yellowed and whitened alike, they simply protruded from its skin at random points in random directions. Some were sharp, some blunt; it didn¡¯t seem to matter. But nowhere on this one¡¯s face were eyes. He stared at the fleshtaker as it smelled its way to his previous location. He was frozen for a moment, surprised he was even allowed to get a glimpse at one of these things in person without dying instantly. But after the moment passed, he realized two things¡ªone, he was about to die once that thing reached the end of his scent trail, and two, he would rather die. Which meant he needed to move. It would probably be best to move fast. He still had no idea what its capabilities actually , just that it was apparently unstoppable once it actually found people. But he wouldn¡¯t give this thing the opportunity. Full speed, Zeth sprinted toward the river. The instant his feet impacted the ground, the fleshtaker¡¯s head turned in his direction, as though it were trying to get as many ear canals facing him as possible. Moments later, it tore off after him, still partially obscured by the shadows of the room. The thing bounded away on all fours, too-long arms tipped with spiked fingers digging into the stone ground, propelling it toward Zeth¡ªits marked prey. But by the time it noticed him, he was already by the edge of the river. He breathed, giving a mock salute to the pursuing monster. Then he fell backwards into the rushing water, and it quickly began carrying him away. From his position, being tossed around in the river as it pulled him downstream, Zeth barely caught sight of the fleshtaker stopping by the edge of the river, sniffing the air but not finding its target. But then, it turned back around, following the original scent trail it had followed, to the rock Zeth had hid behind, and then further, up the tunnels where he¡¯d come from. he thought. And then the river followed a downward slope, pulling him underwater and slamming his head against a rock. Zeth awoke in the middle of a lake, heat beating down on his face. The moment he opened his eyes, he closed them back immediately, unused to the intense brightness. He felt like he hadn¡¯t been exposed to the sun in years. He opened his eyes again and glanced around, quickly pushing his body upright and treading water. Trees and dirt surrounded him, floating out in the middle of a wide lake. Off in the distance, he saw a short waterfall coming from inside the mountain his town was built around. ¡°Holy shit!¡± he exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. He laughed. ¡°I¡¯m out of the cave! I¡¯m alive!¡± He ducked his head under the water, then threw it out, shaking the moisture from his hair. ¡°Haha! Fuck you, cave! Can¡¯t kill me no matter how hard you try! I¡¯m fucking immortal, bitch!¡± His memory was fuzzy as to what had happened in the moments before he¡¯d been knocked out¡ªsomething about leaping into the river and hitting his head?¡ªbut that didn¡¯t matter for now. Immediately, Zeth started kicking his legs, swimming to the nearby shoreline and feeling his side for his waterskin full of monster blood. It was still there. Chapter 4 Zeth eagerly awaited his next Level. Despite how much he wanted to just sprint right to town, see his parents and his sister, fill his belly with food, and get rest in a quality bed, he had an obligation. Get as strong as possible, as quickly as possible, so he could kill that damn mage. That meant doing the Empowerment Ritual now and not later. Besides, he had no idea where he¡¯d even do something like that in town without getting seen. So after drinking his fill from the stream, he sat on the bank and found a good place to work. His hands shook slightly from the hunger¡ªnow that he could see the sun, he realized it was morning, meaning he must¡¯ve gone all day and night without food or sleep¡ªbut he pushed through. Just a few hours of work and he¡¯d have it. Zeth found a wide, flat stone a dozen feet off shore that was large enough to fit the Empowerment Ritual circle, glancing at the Skill¡¯s requirements to double check. Strength of sacrifice required was still Low, the diameter had moved up to three feet, the minimum time required to draw was up to an insane six hours, and the upkeep time required each day¡ªhe still didn¡¯t know what that meant¡ªwas an hour and ten minutes. The six hour drawing requirement was the tough one. It¡¯d consistently gone up by two additional hours per Level so far. Though, he hoped he might have some recourse against that growing requirement. Back when he¡¯d hit Ritual Circle Mastery Rank 5, he¡¯d unlocked a new Skill that seemed extremely useful. [Vile Focus - Cost: 8 Skill Points Your mind is sharpened and honed while creating ritual circles, allowing you to make fewer mistakes and become less distracted during the art. Decreases each of the required diameter of your ritual circles, the amount of time required to draw ritual circles, and the upkeep time required each day by 2.5% per Rank in this Skill.] Zeth currently had only two Skill Points, having spent them all on Hellfire Ritual and only Ranked it up twice so far, so the eight point cost for Vile Focus was out of his price range, but he felt like that was likely what he wanted next. If he could get it up to Rank ten, that would cut down on the requirements of his ritual circles by a significant margin. Besides, at a cost of only eight Skill Points, it would end up profiting him points by the time he got it to the maximum Rank of ten anyway. So, hoping this next Level would bring him another Skill to add to his plan-to-purchase list, Zeth got to work drawing. By now, he¡¯d gotten pretty good at the routine. He first used his finger to trace the wide base circle, which only took a couple hours, and then he got to work on the detailing. Really, it was almost fun to work on, creating complex sigils and designs within the circle itself, guided by his subconscious as to what they needed to look like exactly. Occasionally he¡¯d sit back on his feet, sighing and gazing upon his partially-complete creation, before getting back to work. Originally, much of the difficulty of drawing ritual circles had come from mental exertion, the withdrawal of mana being an extremely taxing thing to do for someone as untrained as him, but at this point, it wasn¡¯t so bad. Blood Magus¡¯s Rarity was S, giving him an absurd thirteen total Stats per Level, with seven of those Stats being dedicated to Shaping¡ªmore points were given to that single Stat than many Classes gave in total. So even with just a couple Levels under his belt, Zeth¡¯s fourteen in Shaping was still quite the massive number. Really, he almost felt like the physical exertion of drawing was the worst part now. Maybe it was just because he was so hungry and tired, but his arms ached from drawing the intricate patterns on the stone for hours on end, his knees sore from supporting his weight for so long and his joints throbbing with pain. But regardless, he carried on. Eventually, he finished. It took a long time¡ªthe sun was now halfway through the sky¡ªbut he was done. His largest circle yet. Zeth stood and sighed, gazing down at his masterwork. He unscrewed the cap to his waterskin and unceremoniously turned it upside-down, the liquid gushing out and sinking into the rock below. As the last few drops hit the stone, the completion percent hit one hundred, and he got the notification he¡¯d been waiting for. [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 3. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 15. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 3. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 6. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 21. +3 Skill Points. You have 5 Skill Points.] he thought. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 3. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Forbidden Knowledge.] He smiled. With growing anticipation, he read through the Skill¡¯s description. [Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Skill Points The first Skill that is entirely unique to the Blood Magus Class. If used properly and carefully, can be the strongest font of power provided by the Class, but can also be what brings about the holder of the Class¡¯s ultimate destruction. Forms a tenuous connection between the holder of this Skill and the Eighteenth Realm, allowing both communication and gifts to travel between.] Zeth¡¯s excited smile morphed into a horrified frown as he read and re-read the description. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zeth knew first-hand how horrifying the Sixth Realm was, and he¡¯d only seen the most basic monsters that came from that place. A portal opening to a realm beyond that would be an empire-wide event. He¡¯d heard stories about a powerful Skill that could open a portal to the Ninth Realm¡ªthe Fae Realm¡ªand how much chaos was brought to the area when a powerful person was stupid enough to actually use it. The Eighteenth Realm. He repeated it over and over in his head in disbelief. As you got deeper and deeper in the list of realms, the gaps in power grew more and more intense. Some argued that the gods were what resided in the final realm. The final realm was the Nineteenth. Zeth was being told he could form a connection with the Eighteenth. He was terrified by the fact that he even had this Skill listed on his Status, much less with the idea of purchasing and activating it. What would it even do? It allowed ¡®gifts to travel between¡¯ the Eighteenth Realm and his own? What were these gifts? Could some unknowable being decide ¡°my gift for you is death¡± and that was it? Zeth hadn¡¯t even looked into what scholars theorized was contained within the Eighteenth Realm. He¡¯d heard offhand mentions of the Realms enough to be able to remember the first ten or so, but when it got that far, did anyone even have the faintest clue as to what was there? He breathed. He got his Stats and Skill Points; that was all he needed. Technically, he could¡¯ve put some number of Skill Points into increasing his Stats further¡ªeach Skill Point could be exchanged for three points in any single Stat¡ªbut at least for now, his Skill Points were much too valuable to waste on something like that. Zeth sighed, forcing thoughts of that Skill out of his mind and allowing a smile to spread across his face. He was going home. For some reason, he missed it dearly, despite the fact he¡¯d only been gone for less than twenty-four hours. It was like his subconscious felt like he¡¯d been gone for much, much longer. Maybe facing death just did that to you. Either way, he was eager to return. He oriented himself, then set off. It didn¡¯t take long before buildings came into view. Zeth trudged forward, filled with a new wave of energy. Civilization was in sight. He almost collapsed when he felt the cobblestone roads beneath his feet. Maybe it was relief, or maybe he was far hungrier than he realized, but he felt like he was about to pass out. Leaning on the edge of a nearby house, he caught his breath, then forced himself to keep walking. A couple people gave him some weird looks as he passed them by. This neighborhood was on the opposite side of town that he lived in, so most of their faces weren¡¯t familiar, but he imagined anyone in any neighborhood would do a double-take at an exhausted, mud-covered man walking through the streets clutching a laceration leaking blood all along his arm. A minute later, he was walking through the town square, dozens of people bustling around and shopkeepers shouting their offerings out into the crowd. Coming from the empty, silent caves, Zeth felt slightly overwhelmed returning to such a busy place. He stopped for a second in the middle of the square to catch his bearings. Then, someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, and Zeth almost turned and threw a punch right there. Was it the mage? He hadn¡¯t thought they would recognize his face from the dark mineshaft, or that they¡¯d attack him in the middle of a populated area even if they did recognize him, but maybe¡ª ¡°Zeth?¡± a voice said. He turned, frowning at the face staring back at him. ¡°Turin? Wait, no, you¡¯re not¡­¡± Standing in front of him was a man who almost looked like his friend Turin, but couldn¡¯t possibly be him. Turin was clean-shaven, and his hair was shorter, while this man looked like he¡¯d grown out his beard for at least a month. Who was he? The man¡¯s face broke into an expression of relief. ¡°Oh, thank the gods! You¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°I¡­Yeah, I am. But, who are you?¡± At Zeth¡¯s words, his expression immediately morphed to worry. ¡°Did you lose your memories, or something? Where have you worked for the past few years? What¡¯s this town called?¡± ¡°What? No, I didn¡¯t lose my memories. I work at Otis and Roul¡¯s, and we¡¯re in Mountainfort right now.¡± He frowned. ¡°Then¡­I¡¯m Turin. You know me, right? Where have you been this whole time?¡± ¡°...No, you can¡¯t be Turin,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Turin didn¡¯t have a beard, to start with.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, right, I stopped shaving after you disappeared. Listen, are you okay? You¡¯re acting weird.¡± ¡°No,¡± Zeth said, ¡°you are. How did you grow out a whole beard in such a short time?¡± He glanced around himself. Had he fallen victim to some sort of illusion magic? Was someone trying to impersonate his friend? ¡°Zeth.¡± The voice of the man claiming to be Turin called Zeth¡¯s attention back to him. He wore a worried frown on his face. ¡°How long do you think you¡¯ve been away?¡± ¡°...A day, maybe?¡± ¡°No, Zeth. It¡¯s been four months.¡± Chapter 5 Zeth stood with the man who was apparently his friend, exchanging words with him for the first time in what had apparently been four months. ¡°Where you, man?¡± Turin asked. He had no idea what was going on. ¡°I¡­underground, in the mines. Nestor asked me to help his team with the cave-in thing, and¡­¡± Turin¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°You were in the cave-in? Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t reported going down there. I, I just thought I¡¯d get Nestor to let Garon know once it was done. Listen, what do you mean I¡¯ve been gone for¡ª¡± ¡°Are the rest alive?¡± Turin asked, interrupting him. ¡°They¡ªeveryone caught in the cave-in was pronounced dead. There were funerals and everything. Are they¡­I mean, can we¡­¡± Zeth shook his head. The small movement felt like it took all of his energy. ¡°¡­I was the only survivor.¡± ¡°How did you survive? I mean, there wasn¡¯t any food or water down there, right? And how did you dig your way out?¡± Zeth opened his mouth, but no words came out for a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­I didn¡¯t need to eat or drink. It was only a day.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t, man. I¡¯m telling you. You¡¯ve been gone for¡­¡± he trailed off, eyes filling with tears. ¡°We thought you were dead, man. The funerals for Nestor and the rest, and then you disappear at the same time¡­It was hard. For all of us. Don¡¯t play with me, man. Where were you? What happened?¡± Zeth¡¯s face flushed white. ¡°My family. Sophie, she thought I was¡­¡± Turin nodded slowly. Zeth set off, walking briskly down the road. ¡°I need to see them.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Turin called, running after him. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t eat or drink anything the But hunger was the least of his worries right now. He needed to tell Sophie he was alive. ¡°I drank some water out of the river down south when I escaped.¡± ¡°Wha¡ªwhen did you get to the river?! I thought you were in the mines!¡± Zeth turned to look at Turin, who was hurrying to walk beside him. ¡°Why did nobody come for us?¡± He frowned. ¡°What?¡± ¡°There was a cave-in, and no rescue came.¡± ¡°Nestor said Garon him that he¡¯d send down a rescue team if, and I quote, ¡®he felt even the slightest tremor in the ground.¡¯ I remember those words exactly because they were some of the last ones he said to me. So what happened? Was there some sort of disaster up here?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Turin faltered. ¡°Garon didn¡¯t want to send down a rescue team. He said¡­he said that there was no use, he knew from the feeling that there was no hope of anyone surviving something that intense.¡± Zeth wanted to shout. ¡°Why not send people down there anyway, in case he was wrong?¡± He asked through clenched teeth, fighting to keep his voice calm. ¡°Some people tried to convince him, but¡­He, he said it would be a waste of money. That paying the Excavators for something like that would cost the guild a month of profits. I tried, man, I did everything I could, but¡ª¡° ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you,¡± Zeth said. He tried to calm his anger. ¡°Thank you for trying. I know Garon is a¡­He makes it hard to get things past him.¡± He kept the rest of his jumbled thoughts silent as they raced to his parents¡¯ farmhouse. He frowned. No. No, the answer wasn¡¯t something insane like time dilation. He thought back to when he¡¯d first woken up when he got his Class. His whole body had ached and felt stiff, like his limbs hadn¡¯t been used in forever. It would only be possible if the ritual had preserved his body somehow, keeping him from dying of thirst and starvation in his stupor, but that sort of thing something he¡¯d heard of. The Inquisitor Class had a pretty famous Skill that forced them to meditate for several days, sitting perfectly still, in order to read a person¡¯s Status, and they never had problems with dying of thirst during that time. It was entirely possible that the ritual had just applied a much longer version of that Skill¡¯s effect. The only thing that could even remotely be considered an upside to all this was that the mage probably didn¡¯t expect to see him. Unless the time it would knock him out was some sort of exact recorded science, which he doubted if the ritual took years to conduct and there could only be one Blood Magus in the world at any given time, then they would have no idea when he¡¯d be waking up¡ªin fact, they may have just have assumed he died in the cave-in or something. And if he was lucky, then it was possible they didn¡¯t even know passing out for that long was a part of it at all. Maybe the Skill didn¡¯t tell you that sort of thing would happen, or it only happened because Zeth didn¡¯t have the Blood Mage Class to start with¡ªthe ritual had said that Blood Magus was an ¡®upgraded version¡¯ of Blood Mage, after all. It was completely possible he¡¯d have the drop on them. He exited the main residential town areas, Turin following behind. All of the houses there were technically owned by the mining guild, having been built to house their employees close to the mountain, and over time, more and more people unaffiliated with the guild started moving in as well. Though, for whatever reason, the town never really evolved away from Otis and Roul¡¯s being the dominant entity. Even when they had a lord ruling over the land, appointed by the empire once population reached a certain level, there wasn¡¯t much commerce that wasn¡¯t directly controlled by the guild. His parents were some of the people trying to break that mold. He¡¯d been raised on their struggling farm, helping them with the work as they attempted to make ends meet for his whole childhood. They never really got the place off the ground, and when Zeth was coming into his teenage years and made it clear he intended to go and work for the mining guild¡ªthe only place he could actually make money¡ªwhen he reached working age, they decided to have another kid¡ªhis sister, Sophie. Since then, he¡¯d been the main one paying for his family¡¯s expenses. He knew his parents were wasting a lot of it on their farm, but Sophie had potential. He knew just by talking to her that she was gonna grow up to be great. So if he had to be the one to pay so she could eat enough every day, maybe get an education, then so be it. It didn¡¯t take long after leaving the residential area for his parents¡¯ farm to come into view. There were very few people still trying to till the land out here, the fact that doing anything other than mining in this town would end with you destitute having long since been common knowledge among its residents. Zeth practically sprinted to the door of the house. The crops surrounding the place were different, but not unfamiliar. Really, now that he thought about it, it should¡¯ve been immediately obvious that so much time had passed¡ªthe summer weather had practically ended, a chill now barely permeating the air. And the crops planted in the ground confirmed it. It was already almost autumn. But he barely paid attention to any of that. The moment he got to the doorstep, he didn¡¯t hesitate in throwing it open and charging inside. He glanced around the living room, finding nobody, then moved into the kitchen. Empty. ¡°Hello?¡± he called out. No response. Turin ran in after him, leaning on his knees and out of breath. ¡°They¡­They¡¯re probably outside working.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zeth nodded and turned, ready to go find them, but Turin pushed a hand out to block him. He gasped another breath. ¡°You don¡¯t go. You haven¡¯t eaten in months. I don¡¯t know how you survived so far, but you need to put something in your mouth right now. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re gonna suddenly collapse and die if you move any more.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Zeth was about to argue, but at the mention of food, it was like his stomach realized how hungry it was. He was weak, his vision was spotty, and now, looking at the chairs around the dinner table, the faint smell of breakfast still lingering in the air, he had a hard time resisting. ¡°¡­Okay. Fine.¡± Turin nodded, guiding Zeth to a chair and then walking over to the cabinets lining the countertops. ¡°Where do you keep your food again? I haven¡¯t been here since I¡¯d come to sleep over when we were, like, twelve.¡± ¡°Should be some in those bottom cabinets in front of you,¡± Zeth said weakly. He was really feeling the exhaustion now. ¡°Ah, here.¡± Turin pulled out some of the stockpiled food grown from the previous season. There were always plenty of leftovers that they couldn¡¯t manage to sell¡ªtoo much, in fact. ¡°Uh¡­I don¡¯t know what all of this is good unprepared; I¡¯m just gonna grab a few handfuls and bring it to you.¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡± The moment Turin placed the food in front of him, Zeth began grabbing items at random and shoving them into his salivating mouth. He was hungrier than he¡¯d realized. He snapped carrots off between his teeth, bit into juicy tomatoes, and shoved whole sticks of asparagus down his throat. He¡¯d never understand why these crops wouldn¡¯t sell well. They were absolutely delicious. Turin, after staring in awe for a moment at the sheer volume of food Zeth was consuming, went and grabbed him a cup of water, as well. After setting it down, he nodded slowly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go look for your parents.¡± Zeth swallowed. ¡°You can wait for me to finish and I¡¯ll come with you.¡± ¡°No, no, you just rest, man. And¡­maybe take a bath while I¡¯m looking for them? If you have the time and energy, I guess. It¡¯s just¡­you¡¯re in kind of a sorry state, and I don¡¯t want them to worry. Covered in dust and dirt and¡­is that blood?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Zeth said. ¡°And please hurry.¡± ¡°R-right.¡± Turin took one last look at him, like he was afraid his friend would disappear if he let him out of sight for too long. But after that moment, he turned and rushed out the door. Zeth did, in the end, have some time to wipe himself off with a wet rag. He couldn¡¯t do anything about his tattered clothes¡ªall his replacement outfits were in his employee housing in one of the guild neighborhoods¡ªbut he could at least wash the blood off himself. Or, most of it. The wound torn across his forearm was still quite visible, even if it wasn¡¯t actively bleeding anymore. Stolen story; please report. As he finished eating and started cleaning himself, he got an unexpected notification that made him chuckle. [Requirement fulfilled: Eat two days¡¯ worth of your average daily consumption of food in under one hour. You have unlocked Universal Skill: Binge Eating.] He glanced at the Skill just for posterity¡¯s sake, but like most Universal Skills, not being limited to any specific Class led to it being much less powerful than his Blood Magus options. Basically, for sixteen Skill Points, it would allow him to store more food in his stomach. So, he could eat a few days¡¯ worth of food all at once, then not eat for the next few days and still be perfectly comfortable. It seemed neat to have, but definitely not worth the cost. However, the unlock did remind Zeth to take some time and organize his thoughts. Making some sort of a plan when it came to what Skills to buy in the future was basic practice for most Classers. The way he saw it, he had a few goals right now: 1: Don¡¯t get killed by the Blood Mage who murdered his guildmates; 2: Confront Garon for leaving him and everyone else to die; 3: Don¡¯t get arrested for having what was almost certainly an illegal Class; And 4: Level Up, which helped with the other three goals. Right now, he wasn¡¯t quite strong enough to reliably complete any of the first three. Avoiding getting seen and arrested would be difficult if he intended to continue practicing his ritual magic, and he didn¡¯t really have the ability to fight back or escape currently. And, similarly, doing anything about the mage that wasn¡¯t ¡°hope they don¡¯t notice me¡± wasn¡¯t entirely within his ability, either. So, Leveling Up would be his main priority for now. He looked over his Status. He was only Level 3, but he¡¯d already earned more Stats in the past day than some people would obtain over the course of their whole life. The only four Stats that¡¯d changed were the four he got inherently from his Levels¡ªEndurance, which had started at 6 from him having used a couple Skill Points to increase it when he was younger, was now up to 15, Awareness at 3, Poise at 6, and Shaping, his highest by far, at 21. Then, there were Skills. [PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Hellfire Ritual - Rank 2 Empowerment Ritual - Rank 3 Ritual Circle Mastery - Rank 5 UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Vile Focus - Cost: 8 Unholy Strength - Cost: 18] He had five Skill Points right now, which wasn¡¯t enough to buy anything he¡¯d unlocked. Though, he was close to Vile Focus, whose requirement-decreasing effects he certainly felt would be of serious use. Now running the risk of being discovered at any moment while he was working on a ritual circle, he¡¯d want to take as little time drawing them as possible. Though, the Skill didn¡¯t actually make him any stronger in combat, which was something he sorely lacked currently. He wouldn¡¯t always have the luxury of taking a couple hours to set up some Hellfire Rituals and hoping his enemies stepped on them. There were also his Universal Skills, which he¡¯d mostly disregarded so far. [PURCHASED UNIVERSAL SKILLS Exercise - Rank 10 Steady Hands - Rank 10 Butchering - Rank 10 Meditation - Rank 10 Prayer - Rank 10 Human - Rank 10 UNLOCKED UNIVERSAL SKILLS Binge Eating - Cost: 16 Dig - Cost: 21 Darkvision - Cost: 18 (28 more)] The list of Universal Skills that he¡¯d unlocked but not purchased over the course of his life was much too long to read through in its entirety, but most of them were in the same camp as Binge Eating¡ªway too many Skill Points for way too niche of an effect. And he¡¯d already grabbed up any of the ones that cost less than ten Skill Points¡ªthe profit Skills. Those were Prayer, Meditation, and Exercise. Plus Human, which everyone began with for free to get them started. The only two Universal Skills he¡¯d ever bought that cost more than ten¡ªthe ones he¡¯d actually Skill Points to acquire¡ªwere Butchering and Steady Hands. Both of which he regretted taking. Back when he was ten or so years old, his mom had started wanting him to get seriously involved with the family farm. They¡¯d been failing with crops, so now they wanted to go all-in on animal product, and ten-year-old Zeth was the one who she put in charge of the operation. His father had tried to help out where he could¡ªhe¡¯d always been less gung-ho about the farm idea, and he was clearly opposed to forcing Zeth to start working at such a young age¡ªbut he was still busy with his own duties, so Zeth was the primary person raising the pigs, cows, and chickens. And, of course, when the time came, he was the one to slaughter them. So, to help with his cutting of the meat, his mom ended up convincing him to purchase Butchering and Steady Hands. The Skills certainly helped him cut better pieces of meat, and Zeth had gotten better and better at his job the more he worked, but by the time a few years rolled by it became clear that selling animal meat was simply not profitable. So the animal endeavor ended up failing, as anything related to the farm usually did. Too many animal casualties to monster attacks out in the relatively unprotected outskirts, and too much competition with traders who came in from out of town with their own meat, preserved using specialized magic items. Turning a profit in those conditions would be tough for anyone. Zeth just wished his mother could have figured that fact out before making him spend a total of twenty-seven Skill Points on those two Skills¡ªa seven point net loss after getting them both to Rank ten. He would have certainly loved to have seven more Points now, that was for sure. If he found some time, one thing he could do was find another Universal profit Skill to purchase and train. Prayer and Meditation were the two that were the most well-known to give good Skill Points in return for the work put in, and Exercise was probably the most popular third choice after them, but stopping by the library to find some others that were worth unlocking and purchasing could be beneficial. Especially now that he had a Class, the options available as to what would be feasible to train had widely expanded. But that was for later. Now, Zeth waited to see his family. He didn¡¯t really feel like he them¡ªhe¡¯d seen them just a couple days ago, from his perspective¡ªbut he was still filled with nervous anticipation, hoping he hadn¡¯t been away for any big events. But overwhelming all of those feelings was the desire to make things right. His family had him stolen from them, and he¡¯d had months of his own life stolen, as well. He just hoped things could go back to relative normalcy. It was only after a few minutes of waiting at the kitchen table after washing himself that Zeth heard the door open. He immediately shot to his feet and turned to look at the doorway. The first person through, sprinting into the room like an arrow shot by the highest-Level Archer in all the land, was Zeth¡¯s little sister. She tackled into him, burying her face into his stomach. Zeth coughed, laughing at the sudden impact. ¡°Woah, Sophie! You¡¯re strong! Careful, or you¡¯ll break my ribs.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ever leave again!¡± she shouted, face still smothered in his tattered shirt. He sighed and hugged her. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Another voice came from outside. ¡°¡­It can¡¯t be.¡± Hesitantly walking through the door, as though afraid she¡¯d see that Zeth wasn¡¯t there after all, was his mother. Tears were already welling in her eyes, hands clasped to her mouth the moment she saw him. Her dirtied blue dress told him she¡¯d been working on her knees outside all morning. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it,¡± she said, standing in the doorway. ¡°I¡¯d lost hope. I¡­¡± Sophie looked up, long blonde hair a mess across her face. She¡¯d gotten their dad¡¯s hair, while Zeth had gotten their mom¡¯s brown curls. Sniffling, she huffed out a breath. ¡°I always knew you were coming back! I knew for sure.¡± ¡°She never stopped looking,¡± their mom said, smiling. Sophie looked back at her angrily. ¡°You told me to stop wasting my time and go back to working! You were wrong, it wasn¡¯t a waste.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°I thought she wasn¡¯t working on the farm yet. She¡¯s only nine.¡± His mom sighed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just¡­Look, let¡¯s not argue right now. I know you disagree, but I¡¯ve been doing the best I can. It¡¯s not important right now, besides. Where even were you?!¡± Zeth shook his head, unsure how to begin explaining. ¡°I can barely understand what happened, myself. I was in the cave-in, and¡­Actually, where¡¯s dad? I want to see him, and it¡¯d be pointless to explain while he¡¯s not here.¡± Zeth¡¯s mom gave him a strange look, and Sophie shoved her face back into his shirt. ¡°Mom,¡± he said. ¡°Where¡¯s dad?¡± ¡°¡­He started working really hard after you disappeared, since we weren¡¯t getting the income from your work anymore. And, and we needed to expand our farmland some, anyway, so we could try some new crop I¡¯d bought, so¡­¡± Zeth looked at her. She¡¯d been watery-eyed since she walked in, but now the tears were flowing down her face. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°About two weeks ago, he¡­he was out tilling some land near the forestline. He was supposed to be in long before dinner, and he wasn¡¯t coming, so I went to check on him, but when I found him, he¡­Oh, gods.¡± She stopped, unable to continue, and sobbed into her hands. Zeth tried to step forward and comfort her, but Sophie was latched onto his torso harder than ever, holding him in place. ¡°Hey,¡± he said gently. ¡°Mom.¡± She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. ¡°Um, it was bandits. They were Wicked thralls. I¡¯m not sure if it was in the news before you disappeared, but a gang of them popped up around the outskirts not too long ago. They went after him because he was alone, I think, and they had combat Classes, so¡­I, I stumbled upon his body, and it didn¡¯t look like he went without a fight.¡± The blood drained from Zeth¡¯s face. ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°They, they didn¡¯t even take anything,¡± she got out between sobs. ¡°Just¡­senseless! Like he was nothing but a Level to them.¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­?¡± ¡°We had the funeral the day after,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°He is not!¡± Sophie shouted, words muffled. ¡°Dad¡¯s coming back too!¡± ¡°Sweetie,¡± their mom said, voice broken. ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­I don¡¯t think it¡¯s healthy to keep hoping for something that isn¡¯t possible.¡± ¡°Zeth came back,¡± she said. ¡°Zeth wasn¡¯t, well, he was missing. We thought he was gone, but we weren¡¯t sure. But your father¡­We know where he is.¡± ¡°Dad¡¯s coming back!¡± she shouted again. ¡°I know he is. You¡¯re wrong. I know he¡¯s coming back for sure.¡± Zeth fell into his chair. His legs couldn¡¯t support his body. His mouth couldn¡¯t move. His mind couldn¡¯t bear reality. He stared at a blank wall. ¡°¡­Bandits did this?¡± he eventually asked. ¡°They were Wicked thralls? Where are they?¡± ¡°They were caught, eventually. They¡¯re in jail awaiting trial.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t dead?¡± ¡°No, the Inquisitors aren¡¯t coming for a few more months.¡± ¡°What do you need Inquisitors for?¡± She gave him a confused look. ¡°They¡¯re the only ones who can legally carry out executions. L-look, I don¡¯t think this is a good thing to talk about. If you need rest, then¡ª¡° ¡°I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t need to rest.¡± legally She took a breath and nodded. ¡°Okay, honey. And, um, you can stay with us from now on, of course. I can fix up your old bedroom in no time, and¡ª¡° Zeth blinked. ¡°Wait, what? Why wouldn¡¯t I stay at my house?¡± Her face fell. ¡°You, you haven¡¯t heard. Oh, it¡¯s just one bad thing after another, I know.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Zeth asked, brows furrowed. ¡°When you went missing¡­Well, once you were gone for a few days, your manager, Garon, came by and informed us he¡¯d, er, replaced your position. So, if you came back, you would be out of the guild.¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°Garon fired me. And kicked me out of my house.¡± ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sure we can find work for you on the farm. If you¡¯d like, you can pick up working as a butcher again¡ªwe still keep a couple animals, and we can always try to get the whole process working better this time. Maybe people will be more willing to buy from us? Oh, and now that you¡¯re back, you can go and pick up your last salary, too! So maybe that can fund us for a little while longer.¡± ¡°Last salary? Why wouldn¡¯t Garon just give that to you? He knows you¡¯re my mom.¡± ¡°W-well, I saw him at, er¡­at your father¡¯s funeral. He just happened to be passing by on the street, and I came up to him and asked about it, and he said that he didn¡¯t technically need to give that out since you weren¡¯t around to claim it. And, since the guild only pays out to family in the case of a confirmed death, and we couldn¡¯t prove one way or another where you were¡­But, but now that you¡¯re back, you can go and get the money! So, it¡¯s all okay. No need to worry. So, if you go and do that, we might have enough to afford another pig or two in addition to¡­¡± Zeth had stopped listening. It was like he was so angry, it looped back around to perfect calm. He focused on 4. He needed to get as powerful as possible, as quickly as possible. That meant he needed more sacrifices. ¡°Hey mom,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll work as a butcher again.¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°Really? You will?¡± ¡°I will. You still have that old shed I can work in, right?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, of course, whatever you need.¡± ¡°Great. Just get me some animals I can kill, and I¡¯ll do what I need to do.¡± Chapter 6 Zeth slept for about eighteen hours. He went to bed soon after reuniting with his mom and sister, which was around midday, and awoke the next morning. For a moment he had the irrational urge to check if it had somehow been another four months, but when he left his room, he was greeted by his mom eating breakfast, notably not looking like he¡¯d been missing for another third of a year. ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡± she asked. ¡°You were asleep for a while. We don¡¯t need to call a Healer, do we?¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m fine,¡± he said, taking a step toward the door to leave. His plan was to go to the library today to do some research on all of this unknown Class stuff, so¡ª ¡°I still haven¡¯t been able to ask you, what happened?¡± his mom asked, interrupting his movements. ¡°You said you were stuck in that cave-in?¡± He stopped and turned to her. ¡°Uh, yeah, that¡¯s pretty much it. I eventually found my way out through a natural cave.¡± ¡°There weren¡¯t any monsters in it, were there? I¡¯ve heard closed-off cave systems often have portals naturally form within them, so the guild has to call in soldiers to fight off infestations all the time.¡± He shook his head. ¡°No. I guess I got lucky.¡± He still hadn¡¯t gone in-depth about what had happened in the cave, though he had told them the basics. But talking about the specific details¡­What could he even say about the Blood Magus Class? He didn¡¯t know the first thing about it, and didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d be executed upon speaking his first word regarding owning it, either. ¡°But¡­¡± She frowned. ¡°Turin, when he came to get me and your sister, he said you were delusional. You wouldn¡¯t believe you¡¯d been gone for so long. What was that about?¡± That, too, was something he¡¯d have trouble explaining without talking about the ritual. Even if he didn¡¯t admit to owning the Class, if word spread about someone in the guild conducting rituals in the tunnels, the mage would know Zeth was alive, and would come to silence him. As well as anyone he gave the info to. He took a breath, then told the lie he¡¯d come up with that morning. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s kind of embarrassing, but I hit my head pretty hard during the cave-in, and I think it messed with my mind a little. I got really dazed and confused, and from there¡­I don¡¯t remember much else. I think the thirst and hunger started getting to me, too. So by the time I got out and drank out of the river, all I remembered was getting hit, then walking through the cave and toward the outside. I just¡­I guess I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d missed so much.¡± Her eyebrows knit together. ¡°That sounds serious. Are you sure you¡¯re okay now?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure,¡± he said with a wave of his hand. Technically, what he¡¯d said was a half-truth to begin with. When he¡¯d gotten out of the cave, he remembered jumping into a river or something and hitting his head. And his memories fuzzy about what¡¯d been going on when he¡¯d jumped in. There had been some sort of monster, or something? But he¡¯d gotten away from it, so there was no danger now. ¡°If my memory starts acting up again, I¡¯ll let you know right away.¡± She nodded slowly. ¡°Okay. Because Turin really made it sound like you were out of it. He said he would come by today to check on you, actually, so maybe you can talk with him when¡ª¡± Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Before either of them could even walk over to see who it was, it swung open and Turin walked in. ¡°Miss Valerian, Zeth¡¯s still okay, right? I¡ª¡± He stopped when he saw Zeth standing in the room. ¡°Oh, hey,¡± Turin said. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re alright?¡± ¡°Why do you say that like it¡¯s a question?¡± ¡°I mean, I dunno, I hadn¡¯t heard you talk yet. You could¡¯ve been some ghoulish mindless creature walking around with no soul.¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Right. Should¡¯ve guessed that was your assumption. Well, no, I¡¯m feeling fine now that I¡¯ve gotten some rest. Thanks for checking up on me, though. And thanks for helping me yesterday. I honestly was a lot closer to death than I¡¯d realized then, and may not have made it without your help.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making me any more confident in you being fine, talking like that. I mean, how you think it¡¯d only been a single day since you were gone?¡± He took a breath. ¡°Take a walk with me and I¡¯ll explain?¡± It took the whole walk to the library for Turin to finally stop questioning Zeth¡¯s well-being and accept that his memory loss story was not, in fact, a sign of extreme brain damage that spelled his imminent death. Once they arrived, Zeth nodded to his friend. ¡°Okay, if you¡¯re satisfied, I do need to go inside now.¡± ¡°If you start experiencing any further symptoms, tell someone immediately.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he said, reaching for the door handle to head inside. As he did so, his sleeve rode up his arm a little, revealing the scabbing cut along his arm that he¡¯d given himself to power the Hellfire Ritual in the cave. ¡°Oh gods, what happened to your arm?¡± Turin said, immediately reaching forward to look more closely. ¡°I thought I saw blood on you yesterday before you washed off, but I hadn¡¯t expected a cut that bad.¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s fine,¡± he responded, drawing his hand away. ¡°I just scratched myself on a rock on my way out.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯ve been doing a little bit of studying while you were gone, and I think cuts like that can bring infection.¡± ¡°Studying? So you¡¯re serious about Healer¡¯s school, then?¡± Zeth asked, desperate to dig himself out of this conversational hole. He knew that as he Leveled Up and increased his Endurance Stat, he¡¯d be protected from mundane disease, but if he mentioned that, it¡¯d just bring on yet more questions about how he expected to get so many Stats like that so quickly. Turin nodded. ¡°Hopefully I can get in soon. I¡¯ve even purchased one of the Skills needed to unlock the Class.¡± ¡°Healer¡¯s got a Rarity of C, right? So you¡¯d need to max out that Skill plus eight others in total?¡± ¡°Yep. Some of the ones required are pretty expensive, so it¡¯ll take a while, but at least the first one was pretty cheap. Medicine, which only cost thirteen Skill Points.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Zeth said. He¡¯d gotten his own Class in quite the unconventional fashion. Typically, a Class had a list of Universal Skills one would need to purchase and bring to max Rank before it¡¯d become available to take¡ªthe number of Skills required going up as the Class¡¯s Rarity went up. All Classes with a Rarity of E would have a list of three Skills you¡¯d need, D would need six, C would need nine, and so on. But there were some specific circumstances that would allow one to obtain a Class without getting the Skills required¡ªand sometimes certain Classes could be obtained through these unordinary methods¡ªand it seemed like Zeth had stumbled into one of them. He nodded to Turin. ¡°And then you¡¯ve just gotta scrounge up the funds to pay for school, huh?¡± ¡°And to pay for travel to get to a city. The guild doesn¡¯t pay much, and the monsters in the surrounding wilderness have only gotten worse in the past few months you¡¯ve been gone, so finding Classers to escort you through the roads is getting more expensive by the day. I don''t have a clue why the town hasn¡¯t invested in a proper military to clear them out already.¡± Zeth bit back a comment about the guild¡¯s pay and how it was all you needed to see in order to know how much they cared about their workers. ¡°Well, if I ever need medical attention, I¡¯ll be sure to come straight to you, I guess. Thanks for walking with me.¡± Turin nodded. ¡°See you, man.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Once Turin had walked off, Zeth turned and went inside the shabby library and greeted the librarian¡ªhe knew most of the people who worked there, since he often came in to buy books for Sophie. But today, he was interested in some different literature. You couldn¡¯t take the books out of the building unless you were willing to pay a fee, but reading inside was completely allowed, as long as you didn¡¯t stay too long. He intended to utilize that policy today as much as he could. To start with, he grabbed a tome from the front of the System information section that listed every known Class and some basic information on each one. They were listed in alphabetical order, so all he had to do was flip to the ¡®B¡¯ section, follow down, and¡­Ah, there was Blood Mage, so directly under it would be¡­ Zeth frowned. Blood was there, but Blood wasn¡¯t listed at all. He glanced back up at Blood Mage, reading through the listed info. As expected, it was mostly advice on how to beat a Blood Mage. Ironically, Zeth also wanted to know how to do that, but even then, it didn¡¯t really tell him anything he didn¡¯t already know. It was good to have the information of its Rarity, at least; his own Class¡¯s Rarity was S, but the basic Blood Mage Class was Rarity B¡ªtwo steps below. That meant he¡¯d be getting significantly more Stats per Level, and more importantly, it told him that whatever changes this new Class made to his Skills would likely lead to an insane increase in power. He¡¯d already seen one Skill that said it was exclusive to Blood Magus¡ªthat absurd ¡®Forbidden Knowledge¡¯ one that opened up a link between himself and the Eighteenth Realm. What else would he get? And even if Blood Mage had versions of the other ones he had, how were his different? There was also that interesting tidbit about the fact that his ritual circles would automatically be erased if he ever moved them once they were drawn. It was uncommon that a Skill would have such an extreme restriction without ever saying anything like that in the description itself. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He hadn¡¯t really thought about putting a circle on an object and then taking that object around with him, but it was good to know that wasn¡¯t an option ahead of time. Actually, it would probably be a good idea to test something like that, in terms of its restrictions and allowances. Zeth glanced around to ensure the library was empty, then subtly began drawing a tiny circle on the current page of the book with his thumb. After a couple minutes, it was finished. So then, if he tried to move the book or turn the page, that would count as moving the object and the circle would be erased? He tried giving the book a gentle shake. The circle stayed. Then a more intense shake. It stayed. Zeth frowned, stood, and started walking. Step after step after step, the ritual circle stayed planted on the corner of the page, until he was all the way across the room. He glanced around again, then erased the circle with his finger. How had that not counted as movement and erased his circle? He thought for a moment. Maybe, the Blood Mage version of the Ritual Circle Mastery Skill¡¯s description include that bit about not being able to move them around, and the reason his didn¡¯t have it is because he just¡­could? Blood Magus didn¡¯t have the same restriction that Blood Mage had? That was certainly interesting. Then Zeth got an idea. A terrible idea. A terrible, horrible, idea. Hellfire Ritual, once armed, would activate and engulf someone in flames the moment they touched it. Only, it didn¡¯t have to be that they touched the circle. It could be that the circle touched them. If Zeth put the circle on something like a plank of wood, then slapped something with the wood¡­ It was clearly dangerous. He¡¯d already seen how powerful the Skill¡¯s flames were, and being so close to someone he used it on would likely burn him. But it probably wouldn¡¯t kill him. Maybe he could get some basic fire resistance Universal Skill to avoid getting second-hand burns from being so close to his opponent when he caught them aflame. That could work, right? At the very least, a strategy like that would eliminate the main weakness of Blood Mages that the book claimed they had¡ªhe could bring his ritual circles around with him. It would be like was his ¡®lair.¡¯ And if the book said that nobody under any circumstance should enter the lair of a Blood Mage¡­ Once he was done reading up on Blood Mage, Zeth moved on to searching for two specific things: Skills that could profit him Skill Points, and Skills that could let him resist fire. That meant Universal Skill compendiums, which meant a lot of reading. Unlike the ease of finding exactly what he was looking for out of that Class book, finding the right Universal Skill was a matter of brute force. First off, there were a whole lot of them. And second, he didn¡¯t have any particular name to search for. So the alphabetical ordering was much less useful. There were technically books that sorted the Skills differently, like books consisting exclusively of profit Skills, or of Skills that had a specific use, but those all cost money to access. So, opening the massive tome of Universal Skills, he went straight to the ¡®F¡¯ section, looking for any Skill that began with the word ¡®Fire¡¯ or ¡®Flame.¡¯ Unfortunately, he found nothing particularly useful. But next, he went to the ¡®H¡¯ section, looking for ¡®Heat,¡¯ and hit exactly what he was looking for. would So, at max Rank, this would effectively give an extra seventy-five Endurance worth of heat resistance for the cost of four Skill Points, after counting the ones he¡¯d get back for Ranking it up. Considering the cost of purchasing seventy-five points of Endurance outright would be twenty-fiveSkill Points, this would be very worth it, as far as Zeth was concerned. Only, he have to Rank it up. Which would require him to get severely burned a bunch of times. That was probably why the cost was so low. Speaking of low costs in return for harming oneself, Zeth also found some profit Skills worth considering. There was Breath Holding, which would require him to almost drown a few times over in order to unlock, there was Dirt Eating, which would require him to eat a ¡°significant amount¡± of dirt to unlock, there were a bunch of other resistance Skills for different poisons and venoms, which would require him to repeatedly subject himself to a specific poison for each one¡­ Most of them sounded pretty horrible, to be honest. And for the most part, they all cost seven, eight, even nine Skill Points. He¡¯d only get a tiny bit of profit for Ranking them all the way up to full, so it would simply be more efficient to purchase something like Vile Focus for now, anyway. But one did catch his eye. That one was cheap, profiting seven Skill Points after Ranking it to max, and even had a seriously beneficial effect¡ªuncommon to see in profit Skills. At max Rank, it¡¯d increase his healing speed to ten times what it would normally be. The thought of an injury that would normally incapacitate him for an entire week suddenly needing less than a single day to recover from was certainly tempting. Only, its unlock requirement¡­Talk about a downside. Oh, just bring yourself to the brink of death, no big deal. And continue doing that over and over again to Rank it up. That¡¯s all. So maybe not now. But if he could find a way to unlock it, that would certainly be beneficial. Zeth¡¯s stomach grumbled. Had it been that long already? He didn¡¯t want to leave, but also wasn¡¯t about to voluntarily skip a meal¡ªnot after feeling such voracious hunger yesterday. So he headed home. He¡¯d gotten what knowledge he could from the library, now it was time for action. He didn¡¯t anticipate being left alone by his enemies for very long, so it was time to get that ¡°butcher¡¯s workshop¡± going, do some rituals, and prepare for a fight. Chapter 7 After coming home from the library, Zeth walked back through the front door of his parents¡¯ house, calling, ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m¡ª¡± He stopped, face turning to stone. He cleared his throat. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m home,¡± he said in a smaller voice. After his mother came to meet him at the doorway, he sat and ate with her and his sister. One thing he¡¯d always missed about living here were the home-cooked meals; the stuff he got living in guild housing was awful in comparison. ¡°Where were you this morning?¡± his younger sister asked. ¡°I just dropped by the library,¡± he responded. ¡°Ooh! Did you get me anything?!¡± ¡°No, I was just there for myself this time. I¡¯ll get you a new book some other time, though.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Her face fell. ¡°Well, don¡¯t leave without telling me! I tried to find you and got scared.¡± He winced. ¡°Ah, right. Sorry.¡± It was still difficult for Zeth to remember that he¡¯d really been gone for so long. The world, everyone¡¯s lives, they¡¯d just¡­kept going that whole time. ¡°What did you do at the library?¡± his mom asked. ¡°When you left, I¡¯d assumed you were going out to speak with Garon at Otis and Roul¡¯s.¡± ¡°Hm? Why?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± She pursed her lips. ¡°You looked a little angry when I said he fired you. I was worried you might go and tell him off. Besides, you do still need to go and collect your last pay. We could use the money.¡± ¡°Oh, right. I forgot about that.¡± ¡°Maybe you could go today?¡± ¡°Uh, maybe. I¡¯ll definitely do it soon.¡± Zeth hated to be dismissive of the obvious money issues his mom was going through, but he wasn¡¯t about to walk into that guild until he was sure he could survive an attack from the mage. He knew what he¡¯d seen on that person¡¯s boot during their fight¡ªthe logo for Otis and Roul¡¯s. The mage worked in the guild. Walking into a place he knew they might be seemed like a great way to get murdered. He knew he¡¯d have to go there eventually, though¡ªnot just to get that money, but also to investigate. If he was going to kill the Blood Mage, he¡¯d need to figure out who they were. And besides, there was also that person who warned him before he went into the mine in the first place. They¡¯d said ¡°If you go down there, you¡¯ll die,¡± but didn¡¯t elaborate any further when he tried to figure out who it was. Why didn¡¯t they do any more? And who were they? If he wanted to get answers, he¡¯d have to go looking. But right now, it would be too dangerous to go near there. He needed to figure out more about what was going on, and hopefully reach a baseline of being able to protect himself first. He swallowed his last bite. ¡°Mom, do you have any pigs ready for slaughter? If we want to make some more money, we¡¯ll need to get that ball rolling sooner rather than later. That last bit of coin from the guild can be a nice boost if we need it, but we need something sustainable.¡± ¡°We have one that¡¯s around that age. Sophie, can you show him where we keep the pigs?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Okay!¡± Zeth¡¯s sister leapt from her seat and ran to the door, looking toward Zeth. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go!¡± It turned out the shed was too cluttered to do work in, so Zeth first needed to clear it out. Sophie had shown him where they were keeping the pigs, so he knew where to go once he was ready, but in order to work, he first needed space. Not just for the animals and meat they produced, but also for the more illegal activities he¡¯d be doing with their blood. Sophie, after showing him where the pigs were kept, decided she wanted to help clean. He wasn¡¯t sure if she would actually help all that much¡ªespecially since he was secretly also preparing this shed to be a ritual room in addition to a butcher¡¯s workshop¡ªbut he just didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her ¡®no.¡¯ The room was full of random clutter; bags and crates and a dozen different farming implements covered every surface inside. However, underneath, Zeth still saw potential. He and Sophie started clearing it out, throwing trash in a pile outside and sorting the rest neatly. Or, Zeth was the main one sorting stuff and carrying all the heavy stuff, while Sophie dragged out most of the smaller planks of wood or random scraps of garbage. Once enough floor space was cleared, he let her sweep instead. ¡°So¡­has mom been working you hard while I was gone?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°Kind of,¡± she responded. ¡°It¡¯s fun to take care of the plants. But she never plays any games with me. And I wish I could read more.¡± ¡°Are you working so much that you don¡¯t have time?¡± ¡°Mom says I shouldn¡¯t waste so much time reading. And she never buys me any books.¡± ¡°Well, you at least have a bunch from before, right? I¡¯m sure with the money I¡¯ve given her to pick books out for you, you¡¯ve got a big shelf of stuff you haven¡¯t read yet. I think I asked her to buy some math books for you last, have you gotten around to those yet? It can be useful for working with the System.¡± She looked away, face turning red. ¡°...I don¡¯t know.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t read any math.¡± ¡°Well, what all have you read?¡± ¡°Um, I mostly re-read a bunch of stuff. I read again, and He chuckled. ¡°You really like those, huh? I should probably try to find another book about magic Classes if you¡¯re already re-reading , what¡­the fifth time now? What about I thought I asked mom to get you the first and third volumes a while back, do you just like the second one more?¡± ¡°U-um, yeah. B-but you should definitely get me more magic books! Those are the best and I don¡¯t have any!¡± ¡°Man, what is mom getting you if you still don¡¯t have any more magic books? She knows those are your favorite, right?¡± She averted her gaze even more. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­stuff¡­¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Zeth stared at her. ¡°...Sophie, she has been buying you books with the money I gave her, right?¡± She didn¡¯t say anything, turned away and fiddling with the broom in her hands. ¡°Sophie, she promised me she¡¯d buy you books with that money. If she¡¯s been lying, you need to tell me.¡± Suddenly, she spun around on a heel, shouting, ¡°You can¡¯t tell her! She said she¡¯d get really mad if you ever knew! M-mom needed to spend the money on the farm, so she hasn¡¯t really gotten me anything. But please don¡¯t say anything!¡± he thought with a sigh ¡°It¡¯s okay, I mainly asked her to get them for you because I was so busy with the guild. I¡¯ve got a lot more time now. Which books hasn¡¯t she gotten for you? I guess you haven¡¯t gotten those math books that I asked her to get you the last couple months, anything else? The one before that was¡­an animal encyclopedia, right? I can go and grab those with the last of my savings, or something.¡± ¡°U-um, she hasn¡¯t gotten¡­any of them.¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± A sniffle. ¡°She, she never got me any books. The only ones I have are the ones you got me. Please don¡¯t say anything to her! She¡¯ll get mad!¡± he wanted to scream. With fists clenched, Zeth took a deep, shaky breath. ¡°Any. I¡¯ve been giving her an extra few silver every month for your education for the past, what, year and a half? And she has not given you a single book?¡± ¡°...No.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? She knows you want to go to the Wizard¡¯s College when you¡¯re older, right? She knows how tough those entrance exams are?¡± ¡°U-um, mom actually said¡­she said that we didn¡¯t have the money for me to go there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it,¡± he immediately said. ¡°It should only be the cost to travel out to the city and maybe the first year of tuition; being able to say you¡¯re attending the Wizard¡¯s College should help you get a solid job out there.¡± ¡°No, um, she doesn¡¯t think she can keep running the farm without me. So, she wants me to keep working here.¡± Zeth saw red. ¡°...Are you mad?¡± ¡°Do you want to work for her?¡± he asked. ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°...No, not really.¡± ¡°You still like reading? You still want to get an education?¡± ¡°Y-yes. But it¡¯s okay if I can¡¯t, I can just¡ª¡± ¡°Sophie, I can do the rest of the cleaning by myself. You just go back to the house, please. Thanks for the help.¡± ¡°...Um, okay,¡± she said after looking up at him for a moment. Then she turned and started walking out of the shed. The door creaked open as she stepped through, pausing for a moment and looking back at where Zeth stood, frozen in the middle of the room. ¡°Um, Zeth, can we play Scrim later? I haven¡¯t really played it since you were gone, and¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, for sure, Sophie. We can play tonight if you want.¡± ¡°...Okay.¡± She turned and left. Zeth watched her walk through the fields toward the farmhouse until she eventually disappeared behind a distant line of crops. He turned around and slammed his fist into the wooden chopping block. ¡°The fuck is wrong with her?!¡± he shouted, voice echoing through the shed. Another hit. Pain radiated through his knuckles. He took a breath in an unsuccessful attempt to calm himself down. ¡°Does she just want to trap Sophie here for the rest of her life? Refuse her education so she has no choice? That doesn¡¯t , dumbass. She keep working here, no matter what her other options are, because she will fucking starve to death under poverty. You all will. She¡¯ll have to work at the fucking mining guild too, and wow, look at how that turned out for me.¡± Another deep breath. But he couldn¡¯t be calm. He needed to act. ¡°No way are you doing that to her. I got fucked over, but she won¡¯t be. She¡¯s a fucking genius, don¡¯t you see it? What nine year old to read an adult level math textbook for fun? What nine year old can beat any adult she plays at Scrim? What nine year old is interested in the theory of magic beyond ¡®I wanna cast spells and shit?¡¯¡± Another punch against the wooden desk. A third deep breath. He couldn¡¯t get distracted from his current goals. Helping Sophie was absolutely something he needed to do, but it wasn¡¯t as urgent as everything else going on. Right now, peoples¡¯ lives were in danger. Some rogue Blood Mage was on the loose, likely killing and sacrificing more innocent people to fuel their own rituals. He needed to figure out their identity and slay them. And to do that, he needed power. And to obtain , he¡¯d need to get a ritual circle made in this workshop. So he got to work. At this point, creating an Empowerment Ritual would require eight hours of work to finish. Clearing out some space on the dusty floor of the decent-sized shed wasn¡¯t too difficult to do, but working on his hands and knees for eight hours without being discovered? That was harder. He worked with a massive cloth hung up between the door and his ritual working area, hiding himself from anyone unexpected who might have walked in, and with another cloth sitting on a nearby table he could use to cover up the ritual circle in an instant if he ever heard the door open. With that setup, he drew for the full eight hour requirement. His main goal was just to work quickly enough that he could get the thing done by the minimum time, not needing to go for any longer. At three and a half feet of required diameter, it was getting seriously large in size¡ªsomething he suspected would have been borderline impossible for him to draw at his beginning level of skill. But now, he was a little more used to pushing mana through his mind and tracing the intricate swirls and designs across the ground. And the extra points in his Shaping Stat didn¡¯t hurt, of course. By the time it was dark out, he finally finished drawing it. His entire body shook, aching so much from the work of such intricate, flawless labor performed for such a long time, only one break offered to him when he was called by Sophie to come and eat dinner. He¡¯d exerted himself to such a degree that he finally understood why Blood Magus, a magic-based Class, would be given a Stat like Endurance on Level-up, when most magic Classes received none of those physical Stats at all. If he¡¯d be doing this every day, the time and effort required to complete these circles only increasing with his Level, he¡¯d need it. But it was finally done. Once that was completed, he went out and led the pig ready for slaughter into the shed. He¡¯d done the whole process plenty of times earlier in his life, back when this was his appointed job on the farm. So it was simply a matter of rediscovering his muscle memory. After taking it away from the rest of the herd, he took a poleaxe from the shed and swung the flat end into the hog¡¯s head, caving in its skull. It fell limp instantly. From there, he tied its back legs to a pulley system in the back of the shed¡ªin the area behind his curtain¡ªand strung it up directly above the ritual circle. Usually, the next part would be to slit its throat to drain it and let the blood flow down the slanted floor into the gutter leading out of the back of the shed, but in this situation, Zeth had a very specific use in mind for what was usually considered a waste product. Uncovering his ritual circle, he took a deep breath, double-checking outside to ensure nobody was around, and then went back over, grabbed a simple knife from the table, and cut the pig¡¯s neck open. Liquid gushed from the laceration, pouring out onto the floor where the circle was drawn. Only, instead of splashing out and ruining everything within five feet, it instead sank straight through the floor as though nothing was there. A stream of blood came out of the pig and went¡­nowhere, like there was an invisible portal opened up by the circle. It got Zeth wondering about where the blood actually went. But he was distracted from that thought by the ritual circle¡¯s sacrifice progress quickly filling up as more and more blood disappeared into the ground. Thirty percent, then fifty, then seventy¡­ Realizing the pig would probably be more than enough to complete the ritual, and once it was complete, the blood would cease vanishing and start splattering against the ground like normal, he took a step back to avoid getting covered. Eighty¡­ninety¡­ninety-nine, and¡ª [Ritual complete: Empowerment Ritual. Sacrifice given: Large amount of weak animal blood. Level Up!] [Empowerment Ritual¡¯s Rank has increased to 3. +1 Skill Point. You have 6 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 4. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 18. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 4. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 8. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 28. +3 Skill Points. You have 9 Skill Points.] Instantly, the pig¡¯s blood began obeying the laws of reality, splashing against the floor like normal. Zeth read through his notifications as the sound filled his ears. Just then, he felt more information burst into his mind. He blinked, reading through what he¡¯d just received. Then he barked out a chuckle, face breaking out into a grin. The chuckle evolved into full laughter, manic cackling combining beautifully with the sound of pork blood drizzling onto the stone floor. Chapter 8 Once Zeth was finished with his Empowerment Ritual in the shed, he went back to the house. It was late, and he needed to sleep soon. He crept through the dark rooms, trying not to wake anyone up, but as he did, he found everyone wasn¡¯t asleep yet, after all. His mom was sitting in the living room, knitting something with a pair of needles. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re up late,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯re you working on?¡± ¡°Sophie needs some warmer clothes for the winter,¡± she said, not looking up from the piece. ¡°This¡¯ll be her first cold season out in the fields.¡± Zeth took a slow, deliberate breath. He wanted nothing more than to yell at her for stealing his money, breaking her promises, for siphoning potential from Sophie¡¯s life into keeping this dying farm running for another few months, but it would serve no purpose. ¡°You were out late too,¡± she continued. ¡°Working hard?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he responded. He¡¯d properly butchered the pig after the ritual and taken the meat to the far-too-expensive magic coldbox they¡¯d bought back when they first started making him work as their little slaughterer. ¡°Did some renovations which took up the majority of the time, but I did get the pig killed and put away.¡± She smiled, still looking at the cap she was sewing. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you finally coming into your proper role, rather than continuing in that little mining phase.¡± He bit his tongue. ¡°Anyway,¡± she said, ¡°you should probably go off to bed. You¡¯ll need to be up early tomorrow to work on that pig.¡± ¡°Right.¡± He turned and walked off to his bedroom. Opening the door and walking in, Zeth glanced around. He still wasn¡¯t used to living here again, after spending all those years working for the guild and living in the same-y member housing. This old room was full of memories, compared to those places. His bedside table, notches cut into it when he first got a pocket knife as a kid and wanted to test it out on something, the floorboard that could just barely be lifted up where he used to stow away snacks to eat later¡­ The only thing that¡¯d changed since he¡¯d left it were the contents of his closet. The door cracked open, he could see it was chock-full of old shirts and coats and pants¡ªnone of them his. He recognized them as his late father¡¯s. His mom must not have been able to handle seeing them in her own bedroom every day once he was gone, so now they were here. Though, his dad had always been bigger and taller than him, so all of these would be completely oversized for him. He walked over and flopped into bed. Closing his eyes and glancing over his Status, Zeth was reminded that he¡¯d just gotten three new Skills from his most recent Level Up. he thought, mental energy naturally building back up and a smile spreading across his face. [Compact Rites - Cost: 12 Skill Points Improves your ability to tightly weave mana into the crevices of your circles, decreasing the required diameter of your ritual circles by 5% per Rank in this Skill, as well as another 2.5% for each 25 base points you have in the Awareness Stat.] [Speedy Rites - Cost: 12 Skill Points Improves your ability to quickly trace mana into the world, decreasing the minimum time required to draw your ritual circles by 5% per Rank in this Skill, as well as another 2.5% for each 25 base points you have in the Dexterity Stat.] [Secure Rites - Cost: 12 Skill Points Improves your ability to make your mana sustain itself in the world through sheer force of will, decreasing the upkeep time required each day to maintain your ritual circles by 5% per Rank in this Skill, as well as another 2.5% for each 25 base points you have in the Influence Stat.] The three were pretty similar to one another, each affecting a different requirement for his rituals and each being boosted by a different Stat. They were somewhat similar to Vile Focus, as well, except, where it boosted all three of those requirements by a small amount, these would boost a single one by a much larger margin. Zeth was immediately drawn to Speedy Rites as the best out of the three; the minimum time required to draw a circle was his current main bottleneck in how quickly he¡¯d be able to Level Up, and cutting it down by so much after bringing the Skill to Rank ten felt like the best option out of those choices. However, that was assuming he¡¯d be getting any of these at all. Currently, Zeth had nine Skill Points¡ªnot enough for any of them. But it enough for Vile Focus, which only cost eight. And the difference between the prices of Skills that cost below ten and above ten Skill Points was massive; one would end up gaining you Skill Points when it got to max Rank, while the other would only end in a net loss. So then, for now, Zeth would want to go with the all-rounder Skill Vile Focus, go ahead and start training it up, and reap those profits sooner rather than later. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Vile Focus. -8 Skill Points. You now have 1 Skill Point.] Now, he just needed to figure out how hard it would be to Rank up. He wasn¡¯t too tired just yet, so he figured he¡¯d go ahead and try drawing a couple ritual circles and see if that would be enough. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He grabbed an old shirt and flattened it out on the floor, then started drawing a six-inch circle on the cloth. There was something he wanted to try. After working for about half an hour, he felt a new notification enter his mind. Sure enough, Vile Focus had Ranked up to one, bringing him a Skill Point, and causing the Skill to start imparting some benefit. At such a low Rank, it only offered a two and a half percent discount, but Zeth felt even that seeping through his rituals and changing their very nature. Empowerment Ritual¡¯s minimum diameter went from four feet to three feet and eleven inches. Hellfire Ritual¡¯s required time went down by a minute and some change. A single Rank wasn¡¯t much, but as he got more, the changes would quickly add up. He continued working on the same circle for another half hour to finish it, and then he was done. He¡¯d drawn a Hellfire Ritual circle on the fabric, completed in just under the hour it would normally take because of Vile Focus. All it needed to become armed and ready to annihilate anything it touched was some blood. Now, Zeth took the shirt and carefully folded it up. The circle itself would need to be six inches in diameter, but if he could put it on a more transportable surface like this, maybe something he could shove into a pocket and then take out when in trouble, then¡­ Once it¡¯d been folded a few times over, he unfolded it again, hoping to see the circle undisturbed and still ready to be activated. His face fell. Everywhere the cloth had creased, the red chalk-like substance had rubbed completely off of the fabric, leaving large lines missing in the intricate swirls and designs of the circle. That was ten, fifteen full minutes of work erased, at least. So pretty much completely unusable in the middle of a fight. So then, he couldn¡¯t put the circle on a piece of parchment and fold or crumple it up; it¡¯d need to be kept on a flat surface. As he tried to think of a way to keep something that large hidden on his body, he set to fixing the damaged circle. It¡¯d make for good Vile Focus practice, at the very least. Soon enough, he¡¯d fixed the circle, and even earned another Rank in Vile Focus for his efforts. Up to three Skill Points, and his ritual requirements were down to 95% of their original costs. Or, they were down to 95.06%, because of the multiplicative nature of discounting Skills like Vile Focus. Generally speaking, unless otherwise clarified, they wouldn¡¯t add together, but would multiply. With that done, he decided he should probably go ahead and sleep. Couldn¡¯t stay up all night. He didn¡¯t want to destroy the circle and waste the hour he¡¯d spent making it, so instead, he took the old shirt and slid it beneath his bedframe, taking care not to fold or crumple it and damage the circle, and covered it up with a pile of other old clothes to hide it. He didn¡¯t anticipate anyone sneaking into his room in the middle of the night or anything, but with the Blood Mage out there, he couldn¡¯t be too careful. And with that, he lay in his bed, readying himself for another busy day tomorrow. Zeth had closed his eyes for only five minutes when he heard a scream. It was far-off, coming from the direction of the more packed-together residential areas, but hair-raising all the same. After that, a crash, like a building being demolished. He leapt out of bed, hurriedly throwing on some clothes and grabbing his old dagger. Was there a bandit attack? Wicked thralls? Monsters from the forest? Hopefully the town guard would be able to take care of this. Running to the door, he glanced over to see his mother, still wearing sleepwear and with clear grogginess in her eyes, also coming over to see what was causing the commotion. He opened the door and gazed out across the fields, where he could just barely see the town illuminated in the night sky. Some people seemed to be fleeing from the town, judging by all the silhouettes, dark figures moving across the lit up backdrop of the residential area. Only, how was the town being illuminated? In the middle of the night, the moon would never be bright enough to¡­ He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the source of the yellowish light spreading across the densely-packed houses in the distance. Was that¡­fire? ¡°What¡¯s going on out there?¡± his mom asked sleepily. ¡°I think someone¡¯s house caught aflame,¡± he responded, eyes locked on the area of the disaster. ¡°It¡¯s spread to the whole block by now, it looks like.¡± ¡°...What?¡± she rubbed her eyes, peeking out the doorway, herself. ¡°That can¡¯t be right. Water Mages would¡¯ve extinguished it far before something like that could happen.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what else could be happening.¡± ¡°Wh¡­¡± She gazed over at the burning buildings. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. I haven¡¯t seen a fire that bad in all my life here. Normally the Water Mages are much faster than this. There must be something distracting them.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°What, like another fire on the other side of town?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be that the site of the flames is too dangerous for them to enter right now. Maybe they¡¯re afraid of getting trapped under fallen rubble.¡± Zeth frowned, staring down the road. ¡°...Right. Yeah, maybe.¡± His mom kept talking, but he wasn¡¯t listening. What was that figure, walking up the road, away from the disaster? He¡¯d originally thought it was just someone running away from the fire, but they almost looked inhuman in proportion. It kind of reminded him of¡­ His face drained. Zeth¡¯s memory of what had been going on as he¡¯d escaped the cave had always been fuzzy; he was pretty sure he¡¯d hit his head or something. But upon seeing this thing walking down the road, it all came flooding back. When he found the river he¡¯d used to float to safety, a monster had been guarding it. The whole cave had been infested with monsters from the Sixth Realm¡ªmostly just the weaker ones that served as prey to the true horrors. But one of those predators had been there, near the river. A fleshtaker. The blind monster hadn¡¯t seen him as he¡¯d entered that room, but with the countless ears and nostrils covering its head, it quickly sensed him regardless, forcing him to take a dive into the river and pray it wouldn¡¯t follow him. And thankfully, it didn¡¯t. The water had been enough to mask his presence. However, the monster hadn¡¯t given up chase. He now remembered¡ªjust before he¡¯d been pulled under the water and hit his head, the monster had turned around to backtrack, following the trail of Zeth¡¯s scent back through the cave. It would¡¯ve gone to the mineshaft, where it¡¯d be stopped by the cave-in. But if it was strong enough to break the rocks and dig its way through¡ªor the guild had finally cleared out the cave-in and freed the damn thing in these past couple days¡ªthen it¡¯d continue following his trail as it left. Out the mineshaft and into town, where it¡¯d pick up the newest trail he¡¯d left on his way through when he came directly to this house. The silhouette of the monster shambled up the street, occasionally stopping to sniff the ground before continuing in its path directly toward Zeth. People fled from the sight of it, but it didn¡¯t look bothered by them as long as they didn¡¯t get too close. Seemed like it wasn¡¯t about to let its prey get away a second time. As he watched it come closer and closer, only visible because of the flaming disaster it left behind, Zeth had one thought running through his mind. Chapter 9 As quickly as he could, Zeth rushed to his room, yelling back to his mom to stay inside. He still had that shirt with the Hellfire Ritual circle written on it; maybe he could use that to¡ª ¡°Zeth?¡± Sophie¡¯s voice came from within his room as he rushed up to the door. ¡°Where are you?¡± What? Why was she in his room? He pushed the door open to see her staring at his empty bed. She got down to the floor and looked underneath¡ªwhere he¡¯d put the hellfire circle. ¡°Are you gone?¡± she called out, voice trembling. She reached out to grab the shirt and move it aside. ¡°Hey!¡± Zeth shouted frantically, stepping forward. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Immediately, she withdrew her hand and hopped to her feet, looking back at him. ¡°Zeth! There was a loud noise, and I couldn¡¯t find you, and¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, uh, I¡¯m sorry, I went up front to check things out,¡± he said, glancing at the slightly disturbed shirt under his bed. The dark red of the circle¡¯s writing was barely visible. Close call. ¡°Hey, listen, there¡¯s some dangerous stuff going on. You should go to your room and go back to sleep. Maybe barricade your door.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on? I wanna see!¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°What? No, you can¡¯t see. There-there¡¯s something dangerous coming, and if it notices you¡ª¡± A crash sounded from outside. It was nearby. Zeth heard his mother calling his name. ¡°Listen, I need to go and deal with this. . And don¡¯t come out no matter what.¡± He walked over and grabbed her arm, pulling her away and out of his room despite her shouts of protest, then closed the door. The moment she was gone, Zeth rushed over to his bed and crawled underneath, dragging his shirt out from beneath it. It was only slightly wrinkled, so the ritual circle drawn onto its fabric was still perfectly intact, emanating a dormant power that Zeth¡¯s recently-acquired perception of mana sensed, causing his hairs to stand on end. Opening the shutters covering his window and gazing out, he saw the fleshtaker still walking steadily up the road toward them, following his scent. He could climb out of the window to get to the thing, but what about once he was out there? Anyone who glanced over would be able to see him. And he assumed that the massive pillar of flame the Hellfire Ritual created would draw quite a bit of attention. A loud banging echoed across the house, and Zeth whipped his head to its direction¡ªit was coming from the direction of the living room, where his mother was. He glanced back out the window, only to find the fleshtaker still down the road, slowly creeping in their direction. The banging sounded out again. He heard someone open the front door to the house, and then he heard a voice. ¡°Miss Valerian, thank the gods you¡¯re safe!¡± Turin continued speaking. ¡°Th-there¡¯s some sort of monster, it crawled out of the mines and started attacking town! A fire broke out, and the guild¡¯s combat teams got preoccupied, and¡ªit¡¯s coming your way. I ran out here as fast as I could, but it¡¯s close. You need to get out of here.¡± Zeth glanced over to his closet, his father¡¯s clothes hanging inside. Hurriedly, he went over and ruffled through several different pieces of oversized clothing, looking for something that would hide his face and figure. Soon, he found a long full-body black coat with a hood that totally covered the top of Zeth¡¯s face when drawn. He¡¯d never seen his dad wearing this thing, and it looked relatively unused¡ªat least, compared to all the other torn shirts in the closet, covered in sewn-on patches to close up their countless holes. This thing was even bigger on Zeth than all the other clothes, so it¡¯d probably been too big for his dad, as well. He wrapped it around his body and buttoned it up, the bottom of the coat almost passing his knees. Then, he grabbed the ritual circle shirt and held it close to his body, careful not to let it fold or crease anywhere. With one last deep breath, he gathered his courage. After ensuring his knife was tucked securely into his belt and locking his bedroom door, he raised a leg and slipped out of the window, dropping down into the tall grass surrounding the house. In the cover of the night and hiding beneath the foliage, he hoped he wouldn¡¯t be seen coming from his room. He moved as quickly as he could while still trying to move slow enough that he wouldn¡¯t draw attention, crawling through the grass in the direction of the road and listening to the fading voices of Turin and his mom arguing with each other. His mom was refusing to abandon the farm, since the monster would kill their animals if they weren¡¯t there to protect them. He just hoped she¡¯d keep refusing. If she tried calling for him to flee only to find he wasn¡¯t in the house, it¡¯d cause issues. As he got further and further away, the sounds of their arguing were drowned out by the gentle rustling of grass, screams from town, and blood rushing through Zeth¡¯s ears. Once he was far enough away, he popped his head out above the plant cover, squinting out across the pitch-black roads to find the fleshtaker. For a moment, he thought he lost it, but after a few seconds of scanning up and down the dirt path, he spotted its dark skin, blending in with the pitch black night to make it borderline impossible to spot if you didn¡¯t already know where it was. But he could just barely catch a glimpse of its pure white teeth chomping in the air as it stalked up the road toward his family. And flecked across those white teeth were small bits of red blood speckled across them, still wet and dripping onto its tongues. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. He took a breath, trying to remove all self-doubt from his mind before he had to confront this thing. He couldn¡¯t be afraid¡ªnot when everything was on the line. No, he could not let nerves be what ended him and killed his family. needed to be the fearsome one. needed to be the one in control. needed to be the one to slaughter his enemy and strike fear in the hearts of anyone who witnessed it. would be the monster in this fight. Zeth charged. Wind rushed across his ears as he pushed his boots against the hard dirt, quickly closing the distance between him and his opponent. It only took a few steps before the fleshtaker snapped its head in his direction, tongues licking all over its own face in all-consuming hunger. And then, in an instant, it changed direction and sprinted to meet him. It moved much faster than Zeth did, threatening to close the gap between them before he could even react. Quickly, he grabbed his knife from his belt, gripping it with white knuckles. He held it out¡ªnot aimed toward his enemy, but rather toward himself. He¡¯d been dreading this, waiting until the last moment so there wouldn¡¯t be a risk of accidentally triggering it on the wrong target, but he had to do it now before it was too late. With a swift motion, he set the blade of the knife on his arm, pressed down, and sliced himself open once again. Blood seeped out of the stinging wound, placed right next to his previous one, soaking into the fabric clinging to his skin, and Zeth quickly threw the ritual shirt against the wound, wincing as more pain shot through his arm with the added pressure and friction. He breathed heavily, stepping back and keeping wide eyes on the charging monster tearing toward him while keeping his mind on the slowly climbing completion percentage. Just as the monster was about to reach him, he felt it hit one hundred percent, and the Hellfire Ritual was armed. Bright pink light covered the dark field as the lines covering the old shirt glowed with activity. Even the fleshtaker, dashing forth to catch its prey, slowed when it felt the magic whir to life. But its hesitation didn¡¯t last long, and soon enough it was back to full speed, galloping on all four of its spindly limbs with each of the mouths covering its head chomping in anticipation of the meat it wanted so badly to taste. ¡°What the¡ª?¡± A voice came from the house, which Zeth only barely paid attention to. Was that Turin? ¡°What¡¯s going on out there? Is someone there? Watch out! Monster!¡± Zeth planted one foot back on the ground, readying himself for his do-or-die moment. The fleshtaker was twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten. ¡°Hey!¡± Turin¡¯s voice continued to echo over the fields. ¡°Hey, you there, look out! There¡¯s a monster headed right for¡ª¡± The fleshtaker lashed a claw at Zeth, who stumbled back to avoid it tearing his face open, but it still caught his forearm, pointed fingers each digging holes into his flesh. He felt the horrible sensation of skin and muscle giving way to the claws as he used his other arm to throw the shirt out and press it against the monster¡¯s face. But just before the lines of the ritual circle made contact with it, the fleshtaker lurched forward, pushing Zeth to the ground and kneeling atop him. Drool dripped from its mouths onto his face, tongues flailing wildly with excited snarls escaping its throat. His head hit the ground and the shirt slipped from his grasp, landing just a few inches away from the tips of his fingers. The fleshtaker¡¯s claws sank deeper into Zeth¡¯s other forearm as it leaned forward, preparing to bite a chunk out of his cheek. He was pinned to the ground by the massive beast, unable to move his body, reaching desperately to grab his dropped weapon. ¡°What¡¯s going on out there?!¡± Turin shouted from inside the house once again. ¡°Hey! Someone! Help! That person¡¯s being attacked!¡± Then he heard another voice coming from the same place. Sophie¡¯s, shouting in annoyance. ¡°Mom, why can¡¯t I see?! Zeth told me to stay in my room and now he¡¯s not coming out either. What¡¯s happening?¡± More words, more arguing, more shouting back and forth. ¡°I wanna see!¡± Sophie yelled once more, and then came the sound of an opening and slamming front door. From his position in the grass, Zeth could barely see the silhouette of a young girl run out of the house and out into the fields, toward him. Their mom opened the door back up and shouted after her to come back, but she didn¡¯t dare take one step out of the safety of the house, leaving Sophie to sprint toward danger on her own. Zeth thought as he fought off the fleshtaker. The monster snapped at him and he moved his head out of the way just in time, leaving it to bite empty air. It took a deep breath as its head came by his profusely bleeding arm, its claws still dug into it, seeming to savor the scent of his open wound. Iron invaded his lungs as well, mixed with dirt, sweat, and the fleshtaker¡¯s own scent of rotting meat. He took a deep breath, taking in all of those horrible smells, and reached one last time for the fallen shirt, still lit aglow with deadly magic waiting to activate. His hand fell a couple inches too short once again, but this time, he didn¡¯t give up, raking his fingers across the dirt in an attempt to pull himself ever so slightly closer to it. The fleshtaker¡¯s claws, stabbed into Zeth¡¯s other arm and pinning him to the ground, didn¡¯t budge. But his body did. More skin and muscle tore asunder, ripping away to allow Zeth to pull himself just barely closer to the shirt. The fleshtaker¡¯s mouths each widened into a grin and the thing took in another deep breath as blood poured from his widening wounds. It leaned over to his arm and began lapping up the blood that leaked from his screaming arm. Tongues flickered against his skin and dug into the holes in his body, drinking the blood straight from his own veins. Disgust mixed with pain as Zeth winced and cried out, wishing more than anything that his fingers would just reach a hair further. Then, his pinkie touched fabric. He instantly gripped tight, pulling the shirt into his hand and swinging it against the beast¡¯s body. The shirt fell flimsily onto its charcoal skin, and Zeth watched as the glowing pink lines of the ritual circle fluttered down and grazed against it. There was a crackle of electricity, and then flames spilled out across the fields. A pillar of fire illuminated the sky like the approach of a second sun. And the claws that were still dug into Zeth¡¯s body turned white hot. As the monster screeched out a dying breath, each of its mouths letting out its own terrible tone, Zeth let out his own scream of pain. Its flaming body fell against his own, and he could feel his skin smoldering. Within seconds, he would begin to melt. He placed his hand on the monster¡¯s fiery chest and pushed as hard as he could, wincing and feeling another scream escape his lungs as his hand began charring. The fleshtaker tumbled off of him, however, finally giving him an escape from the intense heat of the flames. That is, he had an escape from the supernatural hellfire. The natural fire that caught alight on the coat he wore and on the grass he lay in continued to burn him alive, and he quickly realized he was still very much dying. He kicked his way out of the flaming grass and tore the cloak off of himself, tossing it over by what was now the motionless corpse of the fleshtaker, which had already succumbed to the fire that had engulfed it. Zeth was busy trying not to succumb to his own fire, though. He¡¯d shed the most intense flames, but there were still smaller flares and embers scattered across his body, burning deep into his skin. He dropped on the ground and rolled back and forth until he was confident they were extinguished, the cuts and burns covering his body screaming for him to stop the whole time. Only when he glanced across his body and found no more active flames did he stop and take a shaky breath, giving his body a moment of rest. He¡¯d done it. The damned thing was dead. Lacerations leaked blood into the grass and the burns on his chest, arms, and hands cracked to make new cuts, all stinging in intense pain that Zeth suspected his brain was still not allowing him to feel the full brunt of. Though ironically, his most worrying wounds had been cauterized by the fire, which stopped their bleeding. Before he could get to his feet, however, Zeth heard the unmistakable scream of his sister, Sophie, coming from only a few feet behind him. Chapter 10 Upon hearing Sophie¡¯s scream, Zeth instantly pushed himself to his feet, adrenaline the only thing that allowed him to walk with the pain coursing through his body. He wildly glanced around, searching for her and hoping she didn¡¯t see his face, but thankfully, he spotted her standing over by the corpse of the fleshtaker, staring at it. He couldn¡¯t see her expression in the darkness, silhouette only barely visible from the embers covering the monster¡¯s body. She didn¡¯t even glance in his direction, gaze instead fixed on the scene of the charred monster still twitching in a pile on the dirt. ¡°Stay away from that,¡± he said, gasping for breath and deepening his voice to ensure she didn¡¯t recognize him. In the dark night, he was sure she wouldn¡¯t make out his face as long as he stayed away from the fire. ¡°Wh¡ª¡± She turned to look at his silhouette standing above the foliage and stumbled back. ¡°U-um, who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the guy telling you to keep away from the monster,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Run back home, little girl. This doesn¡¯t concern you.¡± He started walking toward the dead fleshtaker, but Sophie didn¡¯t budge, instead standing there and watching him. ¡°Um, did you make the fire?¡± ¡°Yes. These monsters are extremely dangerous, and the fire is even more dangerous. It¡¯s magic, unlike anything you¡¯ve ever seen before. If you even barely touch it, you¡¯ll¡ª¡± Sophie instantly took a step forward, face coming into view by the firelight. Her eyes grew wide. ¡°It¡¯s magic? You can do magic?!¡± For a moment, Zeth was almost proud of her that his threats of danger didn¡¯t push her away from trying to sate her curiosity, but right now, his sister¡¯s hunger for information was extremely inconvenient. He bent down and grabbed the charred cloak that had been extinguished by now, still keeping his face angled away from her, and put it on, drawing the hood to hide his identity. ¡°It¡¯s¡ªlisten, you need to get away from here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone who could use magic as strong as that before! Can you teach me? My brother¡¯s bought me some books about magic, so I already know a little, and I promise I¡¯ll be good if you¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Zeth said forcefully. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. Look, stand there and watch if you want. But get any closer.¡± He bent over and used his dagger to cut the fleshtaker¡¯s body open, watching dark blood pour out of it. Then, he grabbed the shirt covered with the now-impotent ritual circle lines and dunked it into the thing¡¯s body, sopping up as much of the liquid as he could with the fabric. This thing was strong¡ªits blood would be great fuel for further rituals. It¡¯d be a waste to let the authorities drag it away and dispose of it before he could get some. Turin¡¯s voice came from the distance. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on over here?!¡± Looking up, Zeth found him running over, stopping when he found Sophie and the scene of the fight. In his shaking grip was a small hand crossbow, held to point at the mutilated body of the fleshtaker. ¡°W-who are you?¡± he asked Zeth. The shirt Zeth was using to sop up the blood had been completely covered by now, unable to absorb any more, so he set it on the ground and pulled his arms inward to take off the shirt he was currently wearing, leaving the heavy coat on as he did so. Once he had it off, he pulled it out from under the coat and bent back over to place it inside the laceration he¡¯d made in the corpse, and looked up at Turin, who was still awaiting a response. ¡°You should really take her out of here. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I killed the monster. But, uh, latent magic in the area could still cause significant harm to anyone not acclimated to it. You won¡¯t feel it causing changes in your body until it¡¯s too late.¡± He¡¯d made up a fake excuse to get them away from there, and it looked like at least Turin bought it¡ªSophie only looked more intrigued at his mention of magic. Grabbing Sophie, he started pulling her away from the area, still facing Zeth. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt us, okay?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you if you don¡¯t hurt me,¡± Zeth said simply, eyeing the crossbow still held in his hand. He knew Turin wasn¡¯t the type for senseless violence, but he didn¡¯t quite trust those shaky fingers. Eventually, once they got far enough away, Turin took one last look at Zeth, then turned and ran, still dragging Sophie behind him. Zeth heard him mutter to her, ¡°What happened? Did you see?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°He used super powerful magic to kill the monster with a big fire! It went all like ¡± she responded, mimicking the inferno with her hands. ¡°And there was this loud crackle before, and pink electricity¡ªI think that was what caused the magic¡ªand the man caught on fire too but put it out, even though the monster couldn¡¯t put the fire out, so I think the fire was also magic, plus the pink electricity, so¡ª¡± ¡°Pink electricity?¡± Turin asked, and Zeth spotted him glance back at him sopping up yet more blood. ¡°So he electrocuted the monster?¡± ¡°No, no, the electricity came from him, and the monster caught on fire.¡± Turin brought a hand to his chin. ¡°Pink electricity¡­that sounds familiar. What Class have I heard of that used that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± she responded. ¡°I¡¯m gonna look it up in the library tomorrow! I wanna get a Class like that one, it looked so cool! Turin, Zeth said you¡¯re practicing magic, can you show me yours?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do it yet,¡± he responded. From his tone, Zeth was pretty sure he¡¯d checked out of the conversation, instead preoccupied by his thoughts. He sure hoped Turin wouldn¡¯t suddenly remember that it was Blood Mages who used pink electricity with their rituals, and come try to expose his identity or something. Though, Turin could¡¯ve also just been focused on keeping an eye out for more monsters, not trying to remember a random detail about a Class. Once the second shirt had absorbed all the blood it was going to absorb, Zeth picked them both up, staining his fingers red, and slinked back into the grass. Definitely didn¡¯t wanna stick around out here. So he hurried back to his room, hoping he could get over there before anyone noticed he¡¯d been gone. By the time he got to his window, Zeth was exhausted. Not just tired from it being late and him having gone through too much stress in these past few minutes, but the toll taken on his body was starting to catch up to his mind¡¯s ability to ignore the pain. Every movement shot aches through the arm and shoulder that had been stabbed, every minute motion causing his coat to rub against his burns and make his entire upper body feel like its skin was tearing off. There was absolutely no way he¡¯d be able to hide this from his family. Even if he could try to ignore the pain in daily life and wear long sleeves to conceal some of his injuries, he hadn¡¯t even seen his face yet. And if there were any cuts or burns there, there¡¯d be no way to keep people from knowing. So, instead of climbing back into his room and hoping nobody would notice his absence, he took off the coat, used it to bundle up the bloody shirts, and hid everything in the tall grass below his window. After that, he ran back toward town. If he couldn¡¯t hide the injuries, he¡¯d just have to hide the method through which he got them. Sneaking now-shirtless through the grass away from his home, Zeth got his first decent look at his own body. His Endurance Stat was only at eighteen, but even that much had clearly been enough to help him avoid serious harm¡ªand work together with Poise to dull the pain somewhat, he suspected. The fire had been touching his skin for far longer than it should have, but he spotted no areas where his skin had outright melted, instead only seeing some bubbled-up sections and lots of blistered patches. Which, compared to some of the horrific sights he¡¯d seen from accidental friendly fire caused by the combat teams that sometimes went into the guild mineshafts to clear out monster infestations, he had clearly avoided the worst. They liked to use flame-based Classes since it offered great power and didn¡¯t have as much chance for collateral damage due to the stone walls of the caves, but when an ally caught a stray fireball¡­ Zeth shuddered and pushed the memory of the woman on the stretcher from his mind. He definitely looked better than that, at least. But his arm was aching more and more with every step he took, energy wearing away as he left the danger behind. At least his legs were uninjured, so even if he could barely flex his shoulder without pain shooting through his upper body, he could still put one foot in front of the other. So he hurried down the road, trying to get to town as quickly as possible. Every second counted right now; if someone found him before he did what he needed to do, it¡¯d all come crashing down. As Zeth came into town, he entered one of the guild¡¯s residential areas. Countless copies of the same house were plastered all around, lining each street with a dozen buildings constructed from the same template. He knew these places well; he¡¯d lived in one for several years, until he¡¯d been fired just a couple days ago. Or, rather, four months ago. It was at the edge of this neighborhood that one of the fires had broken out. And it wasn¡¯t just one of them. Off in the distance, Zeth could spot two or three more pillars of smoke coming up from behind the buildings. That fleshtaker had wreaked total havoc on its way to him, it seemed. Flames were all around him as well, though. Entire neighborhood blocks had been engulfed by this point, buildings near the center having collapsed into charred rubble as the disaster spread further and further outward. What could have caused so much damage? When Zeth first saw the fires from afar, he assumed it was just a stray fireball. But this much¡­it almost reminded him of what his own Hellfire Ritual might do if it went off in the middle of a housing area. Had the Blood Mage done this? Did they have secret Hellfire Rituals set around the town streets, or something? That was irrelevant for now, though. Currently, he had to make a sacrifice for the sake of his identity. If his family saw Zeth with unexplained holes in his arm and burns covering his body after watching some unknown individual sustain exactly those injuries fighting the fleshtaker in front of their house, they¡¯d obviously realize he was that person. But if they saw another explanation for why he¡¯d have injuries like that¡­ Zeth walked up to a building on the edge of town. It was on the edge of collapse, completely charred at this point. The fire had mostly moved on from it, having eaten up all of the wood and left behind blackened crumbling logs. In front of him was a support beam holding up a ceiling that covered the entrance to the house. After a moment of mental preparation, Zeth lifted his leg and threw out as hard as a kick he could into the crumbling pole, and it instantly snapped in half. The beam fell, and the ceiling caved in on Zeth, trapping him underneath. Chapter 11 It took about a half hour before someone found Zeth buried beneath the rubble. He knew these cookie-cutter houses like the back of his hand, and chose a section to collapse on himself that he knew had little above it other than basic roofing, leaving most of what fell to be dust and a few lighter chunks of hollowed-out wood. However, it certainly hurt to be crushed beneath the support beam. It fell onto his stomach and midsection, pressing his body into the wooden planks beneath him in a way that wouldn¡¯t kill him, but certainly wasn¡¯t comfortable. Still, despite all the care he¡¯d taken to ensure he¡¯d be safe, it still hurt like hell. As he lay there, he glanced inward at his Status. It hadn¡¯t been the main purpose, but a part of him had hoped this stunt would bring the extra benefit of unlocking the Self-Destruction Skill, which would be extremely useful to him. But apparently not. Just how much would be necessary to unlock it? Was it even possible? So it was there he was stuck, crushed underneath the support beam, waiting for someone to come find him. When Turin¡¯s face popped into his vision, desperately shouting his name, it didn¡¯t take much acting skill to look relieved. Turin reached down and helped pull the log off of Zeth¡¯s body, gasping when he saw the injuries and burns covering him. ¡°Good gods, man, what happened?¡± ¡°I ran into town when I saw the fire,¡± Zeth said with a weak cough. ¡°Tried to help people out of the burning buildings. But when I was in this one, the fire got to it too fast, and it collapsed onto me. I think I extinguished most of the fire fast enough to save myself, but I couldn¡¯t pull the log off.¡± Tears welled into Turin¡¯s eyes. ¡°What were you thinking, man? Your family just got you back. You can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°I know,¡± Zeth interrupted in a soft voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just¡ªwhen I was in the cave, I guess I realized just being alive isn¡¯t enough. I have¡ªI have to something. I have to make something of myself, not sit around and survive until I keel over.¡± That, too, didn¡¯t take any acting skill to say. Zeth believed that more than anything else. It was just that his wasn¡¯t as broad as being a hero who saved people from a fire. He had a specific list of people who he needed to do something about. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get you home,¡± Turin said, helping Zeth up and draping his arm around his shoulders. ¡°I have some medical equipment with me, I can get you fixed up over there.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did such a thing,¡± Zeth¡¯s mother said, pacing around the living room of the house as Turin wrapped a bandage around Zeth¡¯s arm. ¡°Bruising as expected,¡± Turin muttered to himself as he worked. ¡°All along where you got pinned by that beam. Some pretty heavy burns, too, but nothing deadly. More deep cuts than I¡¯d have thought from getting crushed. Did you get stabbed by a nail or something?¡± Zeth nodded to Turin, and his mother whirled around to glare at him. ¡°Do you even understand how worried we were when you disappeared? You can¡¯t just run off like that without telling anyone! We just got you back and then you¡ª¡± her voice broke, and she continued in a whisper. ¡°Did you even think about how that made Sophie feel? How that made feel?¡± As she sighed and looked away again, pacing back and forth across the room, Turin muttered, ¡°You did a good thing. But probably tell them next time.¡± She looked up to the ceiling as she walked. ¡°Good gods, I mean, running off to go try to be some hero in town. Didn¡¯t you stop to think at least once that there are some things you just can¡¯t do? There are some things a normal person just can¡¯t achieve? I¡¯ve tried to beat it into your head over and over for your whole life, Zeth. I¡¯m ordinary. My mother and father were ordinary. mothers and fathers were ordinary. What made you think you were different? But you don¡¯t listen, do you? So let me tell you one more time: you are an ordinary, typical person. You have to be content with an ordinary, typical life. Ordinary people don¡¯t shout insults at authority figures. Ordinary people don¡¯t belong in prestigious colleges. And ordinary people don¡¯t haphazardly run into burning buildings and expect to survive. I¡¯ve told this to you, I¡¯ve told this to Sophie¡ªI don¡¯t know what else I can do to help you understand our place in the world.¡± ¡°Sophie¡¯s not ordinary,¡± Zeth rasped, pain and exhaustion turning his voice into a shallow whisper. Not having heard him, she looked over again, worry evident in her eyes as she gazed at his injuries. ¡°Ugh, look at your arm. You could have , Zeth. And how will you be able to continue working like that? Did you even think? You not only put yourself in danger, but now the farm is in danger, too.¡± Turin spoke up. ¡°...To be fair, Miss Valerian, there was a monster over here, too. He¡¯d have been in danger no matter where he went.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you butt in on this. If he¡¯d stayed, he would¡¯ve seen that there was someone powerful here to protect us. We were safe. And ordinary people like us need to leave feats like that to the heroes. You can¡¯t just suddenly decide that¡¯s who you¡¯re going to be when it¡¯s not a role you were made for.¡± She sighed. ¡°We¡¯re already running low on funds. And the meat from the pig you just slaughtered will go bad if we don¡¯t get it cut in time for sale.¡± ¡°He needs time to heal,¡± Turin said. ¡°It¡¯ll be a week at minimum before I¡¯d ever recommend he puts his body to work. Probably longer.¡± ¡°I can do it,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep working. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± At those words, the anger and frustration left his mom¡¯s expression, if only somewhat. She let out a breath, looking at him, and her face seemed to age five more years before his eyes. In an instant, she rushed forward and threw her arms around him. ¡°Oh, Zeth, honey, what did you do to yourself? I was so worried. If you had¡ª¡± ¡°I know, mom,¡± Zeth said, wrapping the arm Turin wasn¡¯t working on around her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But I have to do some things. And sometimes I¡¯ll get hurt doing them. I might even die. But if I don¡¯t do them, I won¡¯t be able to live with myself.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just live a safe, quiet life? Help out on the farm? Get old, marry a nice woman, give me some grandkids?¡± Zeth thought for a moment. He really, truly considered it. Today, he faced the first few consequences of the life he¡¯d picked out for himself. Blood Magus wasn¡¯t a normal Class. It didn¡¯t involve shooting some fireballs from a safe distance, or swinging a sword from behind a shield. It didn¡¯t involve receiving gratitude from those you helped, or getting an ego boost from seeing all your friends gawking at your power. And it certainly didn¡¯t involve clean, noble fights that ended in total uninjured victory. But it sure as hell involved getting shit done. He¡¯d just killed a monster someone twice his Level wouldn¡¯t normally even dream of killing. And no matter how many consequences Zeth faced for utilizing that power, he wasn¡¯t about to give it up because someone thought he¡¯d be happy living a life that was picked out for him before he was even old enough to say ¡®no thanks.¡¯ This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°No thanks,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Really, thanks, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the life for me.¡± Turin finished applying the bandage as Zeth stood. ¡°Don¡¯t take that off for a few days, and come see me daily for a checkup while it heals. Don¡¯t exert yourself physically, or at least try not to. Stay off your feet in general. And make sure you don¡¯t stretch your body too much, either¡ªthe skin might tear. Oh, and if the flesh starts getting red around the edges of those wounds, that¡¯s likely a sign of¡ª¡± ¡°Just let him go to sleep,¡± his mother said, shooing Turin away. ¡°Ugh, I need rest, too. Too much has been going on lately.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow,¡± Zeth said to Turin with a nod, getting to his feet and turning to walk off to his room. ¡°Thanks for taking care of me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem, man. Good practice for me, really. See you.¡± With a wave, Turin walked out of the house. Once the door shut behind him, Zeth¡¯s mom turned and looked at him with her hands on her hips. ¡°So that¡¯s it? I give you perfectly good advice, and you ignore me?¡± ¡°Listen,¡± he replied, ¡°I¡¯m not ignoring you. I¡¯ll help around the farm, and I¡¯ll do what I can to repay you for letting me live here for the time being. But it¡¯s not going to be the purpose of my entire life. And I won¡¯t lie to you about that.¡± ¡°Oh, because making the point of your life dying in a house fire is so much better. You really think you know better than me, making choices like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying I know better. I¡¯m saying that sometimes, there¡¯s not a choice you can make at all. There are some things you just have to do.¡± She shook her head. ¡°We can talk about this later. I¡¯m¡­exhausted.¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Me too. And for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry for making you worry.¡± With that, he turned and walked off to his room. Before he could walk inside, though, he heard a small voice from the room next to his. ¡°Zeth?¡± ¡°Sophie?¡± he asked, placing his ear up against the crack of her door. ¡°Are you still awake?¡± ¡°Are you alive?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°Still kicking around.¡± She opened the door and immediately attacked him with a hug. He stumbled back as she held him tightly, looking up at him with just her eyes. ¡°Is mom mad at you?¡± He put an arm around her and rubbed her head. ¡°You heard us talking?¡± ¡°A little bit.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just some grown-up stuff.¡± ¡°What kind of grown-up stuff?¡± ¡°Tell you what. You play a game of Scrim with me, and if you win, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± She snapped her whole head up to look at him, eyes like bright beams of light. ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll set it up!¡± Sophie did, of course, win their game of Scrim, as she typically did these days. It happened about a year ago, when she finally got good enough to start beating him every time. He loved watching it happen, the way she¡¯d always hold the right cards back in her hand, never letting him really know what was coming next, perfectly preserving her resources as she systematically dismantled every single attack he sent at her. It was like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. Nothing but pride surged through his heart. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, setting down his hand of useless cards as she killed off the last of his units. ¡°You win.¡± ¡°Yay! Can we play again? Best two out of three?¡± Zeth chuckled. ¡°You know, normally the loser is the one to suggest that to try and get a second chance.¡± ¡°So you want to play again?¡± ¡°We can play again tomorrow,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°But I can talk for a bit before you should probably go to sleep.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she said, gathering the cards up off the floor and shuffling them back up into the deck. ¡°Was mom mad at you because you left the house while the monster attacked? She sounded worried.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°She was worried about me. And I got hurt, so she¡¯s upset about that, too.¡± She looked at the bandage covering his arm. ¡°Are you gonna die?¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°No, Sophie, I¡¯ll live,¡± Zeth replied with a laugh. ¡°I can always use some Skill Points to push up my Endurance if it gets worse.¡± ¡°Should I use my Skill Points to increase my Stats?¡± She asked. ¡°Nah, save them for Skills. You¡¯ll need Skills to get a Class, and Stats don¡¯t matter for that. And once you get one, it¡¯ll give you more than enough Stats. How many Points do you have right now, anyway?¡± ¡°Eighteen.¡± ¡°Ten from Human, and four from Prayer and Meditation each, eh?¡± She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. If you wanna get a magic-focused Class, you¡¯ll need a good amount. Those are all higher in Rarity, I think. You probably won¡¯t see any lower than C.¡± She was silent for a moment, looking down as she collected the last of the cards. Eventually, she spoke. ¡°Why did you leave? Were you scared?¡± He sighed. ¡°No, nothing like that. Well, I afraid. That monster was pretty scary. But, uh, when I saw the fire, I realized there was more to life than my own safety, you know? Not that I actually managed to get any people out of the buildings; I think everyone had already gotten out by the time I got there. But when I arrived, one of the buildings collapsed on me.¡± She looked back up, frowning. ¡°Why¡¯s mom mad at you for that? Isn¡¯t it nice to help people?¡± ¡°I guess she thought I was taking an unnecessary risk, y¡¯know? We just disagreed on what was the right thing to do. That¡¯s okay, sometimes.¡± ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s good to save people from a fire.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably a good thing to believe. You¡¯re gonna do a lot of good when you grow up, I bet. A lot of people will end up knowing the great name of Sophie Valerian.¡± ¡°Only if I learn how to do magic. So be sure to get me a really good teacher!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± he said with a chuckle, then stood up from the floor, wincing from the pain shooting through the seared parts of his body. ¡°Alright, kiddo, it¡¯s really late. Time for you to go to sleep.¡± ¡°Are you going to sleep, too?¡± ¡°In a minute. I¡¯ve just got to do some things before I head off to bed.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± He waved a hand. ¡°Nothing much. Just working on something.¡± ¡°Okay. Um, goodnight.¡± ¡°Night, Sophie.¡± As he¡¯d said, Zeth did not go to sleep right away. He still had more to do before he could rest. Once he was sure everyone in the house was asleep, he snuck outside and went around to his room¡¯s window, where he¡¯d left the clothes soaked in fleshtaker blood. Some of the liquid had dried out, but the shirts were far from useless. With a smile, Zeth grabbed them and took off to the storage shed where he¡¯d made his makeshift workshop. Out in the silent night, he first went out to the animal pen and grabbed a rope, then used it to lead the next pig ready for slaughter back to the shed. After tying it up to a nearby fencepost, he entered the building. He was relatively confident that these rags of blood would be a powerful enough sacrifice considering the beast he¡¯d taken them from, but just in case he needed a little more juice after they ran out, having another source of blood nearby would be useful. After walking past the curtain that separated the butchering portion from the ritual magic portion, he set the bloodstained rags on a table and took a deep breath. He¡¯d done it. A monster had come¡ªa real, actual monster. Something he¡¯d have no hope of defeating without a Class. And he¡¯d destroyed it like it was no big deal. As if in response, a throbbing pain rippled through the holes in his shoulder. He took another deep breath, smile settling on his face. He killed it. Holy shit, he fucking killed that thing! The fleshtaker, the fearsome, unkillable foe, no match for his badass fire magic! A chuckle escaped his mouth. Give him an hour of prep time to draw up a circle, and he could kill a fleshtaker, he could kill whatever thing in the Sixth Realm ate fleshtakers, he could kill fucking He slammed his fist into an open palm, bolt of pain shooting across his whole arm. But even that wasn¡¯t enough to wipe the smile off his face. That was his first taste of real, true power. The power to see something, decide he wanted it dead, and then a bit later, it was. And he was not about to let himself go very long without experiencing that feeling again. He looked over at the bloody rags on the table. Sleep could wait. It was time to start working on that Empowerment Ritual. Chapter 12 The newest Empowerment Ritual would need to have a diameter of four feet in order for Zeth to draw it. Well, it would actually need to be 3.8 feet in diameter, thanks to Vile Focus¡¯s discount, but the difference wasn¡¯t very large when the Skill was so low-Rank. Thankfully, a circle that wide was still able to be held by the walls of the shed he worked in. But soon enough, that would change. This whole ¡®working in the shed¡¯ thing was a temporary arrangement that he¡¯d have to find a replacement for rather soon. Zeth was struck with grandiose thoughts of a massive, sprawling base full of rooms for rituals to be set up in, defenses to fend off intruders, and animal farms to create and store blood. Then he arrived back in reality, in the shed in his mom¡¯s backyard. Certainly not ideal. But for now, it worked just fine. So he got to work. He figured he¡¯d spend a couple hours out here in the dead of night getting started on the ritual circle, then cover it up, go to bed, and when he woke up way later than everyone else, pass it off as him recovering from his injuries. His mom probably wouldn¡¯t be a fan of him sleeping in, but as long as he got some stuff done later in the day she shouldn¡¯t have had a problem with it. With the adrenaline from his recent battle still powering his body, he knelt and began tracing lines along the floor. The methodical work of drawing the ritual circle was somehow relaxing and engaging at the same time, able to perfectly fit what his mind needed, and he easily sank into his work, painting the pastel red magically coming from his finger across the stone. Zeth continued working, losing himself in the ritual magic as he slowly, neatly drew the lines on the shed floor. With the curtain drawn to separate this back section of the shed from the entrance, he was blocked out from seeing the outside world as he labored¡ªthough, he probably wouldn¡¯t have even noticed anything going on outside, with how razor-focused he was on the circle. That focus was broken when a knock sounded out from the door. ¡°Zeth?¡± Sophie¡¯s voice called from outside. ¡°Zeth, are you in there?¡± He blinked, feeling like he¡¯d just been broken out of a trance. What was going on? Where was he? He glanced down at the ritual circle. It was¡­almost done. How long had he been¡ª ¡°Zeth, did you fall asleep in there? It¡¯s time to wake up! Mom made breakfast!¡± With a deep breath, he tried to regain his bearings. Light shone through the curtain. It was morning already? He hadn¡¯t even noticed the time passing. It must¡¯ve been at least eight hours; how did this happen? ¡°I¡¯m coming in,¡± Sophie called, and he heard the door creaking open. Her voice echoed from within the building, ¡°Hey, why¡¯s there a pig tied up outside?¡± He took another shaky breath, climbing up to his knees and hurriedly looking around for something to cover the circle with. ¡°U-uh, yeah, I¡¯m up. Sorry, I did fall asleep. Go tell mom I¡¯m coming!¡± Sophie giggled a laugh that Zeth would¡¯ve thought was adorable had he not been frantically grabbing the cloth lying on the table nearby and throwing it over the massive circle. From the sound of her footsteps, he could tell she was stepping further inside. ¡°How did you even fall asleep in here? It¡¯s so gross! What were you doing?¡± ¡°Uh, hey, don¡¯t come back here! Just¡ª¡± Sophie pulled the curtain open just as he pulled the cloth to cover up the majority of the circle. The edges poked out, but in the low light, he just hoped she wouldn¡¯t see them. ¡°Woah,¡± she said, staring at him. ¡°You look sick. Are you okay?¡± At her mention of it, he did feel sick. Or, rather, he felt tired. Exhausted. He¡¯d stayed up working all night and hadn¡¯t even noticed how much of a toll it¡¯d taken on him until just now. ¡°Um, yeah. Sorry. Just shaken up after the whole monster attack thing last night. So¡­¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think you should be scared. It lit on fire. I saw it myself! And it looked really weird and ugly, so I don¡¯t think it came from here. It probably came from another realm. So, there aren¡¯t any more of them around, I bet.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, that¡¯s probably true,¡± he replied. ¡°Good thinking. Um, anyway, let¡¯s get going out to¡ª¡± Sophie gasped and pointed at the ritual lines by Zeth¡¯s feet. ¡°Woah, what¡¯s that on the floor?!¡± ¡°We¡¯re going now,¡± Zeth said, rushing forward and dragging her out of the shed. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°No, look back there, under the blanket,¡± she said, craning her head to look behind her. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s animal blood,¡± he said. ¡°Blood and guts and corpses, all mushed together in a super gross stew that spilled out on the ground. Don¡¯t look or you¡¯ll get too grossed out and throw up.¡± ¡°Ew!¡± She laughed, but turned back around as he guided her away from the shed. Zeth chuckled nervously. ¡°Yeah, I was trying to clean it all up when you came in. Sorry. But, uh, don¡¯t mention that to mom, alright? I don¡¯t want her to know I made such a mess.¡± ¡°Mom says it¡¯s not good to keep secrets. What if she gets mad?¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it. This is just¡­I don¡¯t want her to get worried and go in there and see the mess. I¡¯ve seen a lot of animal guts before, but she hasn¡¯t, and I don¡¯t want her to get sick. Get it?¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± ¡°Right. Hey, how about a game of Scrim later, huh? I wanna try to get better at it so that I can at least give you challenge. Soon enough you¡¯ll have nobody to play against!¡± A smile broke out across her face. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go play right now!¡± As she ran ahead toward the house, Zeth took another deep breath. He was tired. How had he not noticed the time passing? It was like all that time working was a dream, having passed in an instant. In a sense, it was sort of a good thing. Drawing those circles was boring and hard work, and he got to skip it. Eight or so hours of progress put toward the requirement of ten. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! He blinked. Speaking of progress¡­ Gazing into his mind, he looked at the System notifications he¡¯d missed in the eight hours of semi-consciousness. [Vile Focus¡¯s Rank has increased to 3. +1 Skill Point. You have 4 Skill Points.] [Vile Focus¡¯s Rank has increased to 4. +1 Skill Point. You have 5 Skill Points.] [Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 6. +1 Skill Point. You have 6 Skill Points.] Zeth frowned. Vile Focus. In its description, it said he¡¯d get ¡°less distracted¡± while drawing ritual circles. He felt like, if anything, he was getting distracted while drawing them, unable to perceive anything in the outside world. But maybe that was the wrong framing. He was paying less attention to things that distracted him the rituals. He forgot the time, where he was, the fact that he needed to stop soon. And because he had no idea he was even being affected like that, he¡¯d allowed himself to get completely carried away. Was Vile Focus doing that? He¡¯d need to pay attention to that next time he worked. Most of the time, Skills like that would come with some sort of implicit ability to switch their effects on and off. Now that he knew about Vile Focus¡¯s ¡®less distracted¡¯ effect, he should¡¯ve been able to ignore it¡ªor at least control it so he didn¡¯t lose track of time like that again. While looking at his Status, he also noticed a new Universal Skill that he¡¯d unlocked and hadn¡¯t noticed¡ªHeat Resistance. The one he¡¯d been planning on unlocking anyway. [Heat Resistance - Cost: 14 Skill Points When you are dealt heat-based damage, treats your Endurance Stat as though it were 25 higher for the purposes of reducing said damage, plus an additional 5 for each Rank in this Skill.] He must¡¯ve gotten it when he got burned by the Hellfire Ritual he¡¯d used to kill the fleshtaker. Those injuries still hurt like hell, so he figured it made sense that would¡¯ve counted as ¡°severe burns¡± by the System in order to unlock it. Though, the other Skill he¡¯d wanted to unlock¡ªSelf-Destruction¡ªstill hadn¡¯t appeared. That one said it¡¯d require him to cause ¡°life-threatening harm¡± to himself in order to unlock it, and apparently, those burns didn¡¯t count as life-threatening, and neither had the building he¡¯d collapsed on himself. Zeth wasn¡¯t sure whether to feel relieved that he apparently wasn¡¯t in that much danger, or insulted that the System was downplaying his situation. Regardless, he only had six Skill Points right now, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to purchase any of this stuff anyway. He¡¯d want to Rank up his Skills and finish that Empowerment Ritual so he could Level Up before he really considered what he¡¯d want to go for next. Who knew¡ªmaybe this next Level would bring him his most powerful Skill yet. Not that such a thing was likely, considering the still-baffling effect of Forbidden Knowledge. He was still unsure about whether to avoid that one at all costs, or rush toward purchasing it as soon as possible. Though, at Level four currently, his next Level Up likely unlock something majorly powerful. Zeth had heard about other Classes, how they typically got their most powerful Skills at certain milestones, and the milestones that came every five Levels often brought with them massive benefits. Entire purchase strategies often revolved around ensuring you had enough Skill Points every five Levels to afford the newest Skill that¡¯d be unlocked at that point as soon as possible. Though, there was always the possibility that Zeth would have no use for whatever he got, so he didn¡¯t want to get his hopes up much. Instead, he continued ahead, following Sophie as she eagerly ran toward the house. After his game with Sophie¡ªshe won once again, of course¡ªZeth ate with his family, trying his best to hide his exhaustion and pretend that he¡¯d gotten a full night¡¯s sleep. He took a bite of the roasted potatoes his mom had made and frowned. ¡°Are you planning on selling these? I think they may have been harvested a little early. They taste funny.¡± ¡°Oh, I know,¡± his mom said with a sigh. ¡°With your father gone, we don¡¯t have the time to go out and protect the outer areas of the farm near the wilderness from monsters. Another beast realm portal opened up not too long ago, and the guard is still working on clearing them all out. And you know how even the less dangerous ones eat up all of our crops. So I just went ahead and harvested them as soon as I could, and they turned out bad.¡± ¡°I thought the guard patrolled far enough out from the farm¡¯s edge that they took care of most of the monsters before they got to your crops,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Was it really that bad of a portal? Let that many monsters out that they couldn¡¯t deal with all of them?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯ve just been slowly decreasing the area they patrol over the years,¡± she replied. ¡°I guess most of that happened after you were off working for Otis and Roul¡¯s, so you wouldn¡¯t have noticed. But monsters have become an increasingly large problem for us lately. And with taxes for farmers increasing, I¡¯m not sure if it would be profitable in the first place to try and sell these unripe potatoes.¡± Zeth sighed. ¡°And you still don¡¯t think it would be a good idea to sell the farm and try doing something else?¡± Her nostrils flared in anger. ¡°I¡¯ve already said I do want to have this discussion with you, Zeth. I¡¯ve explained to you countless times why¡ª¡± ¡°Why not at least try farming somewhere else?¡± he interrupted. ¡°Move to another village with the money from selling this place, or something, if the location is causing so many problems. I don¡¯t see how it¡¯d be so impossible to¡ª¡± She cut him off in response. ¡°Traveling costs a lot more money than you seem to think it does. And there¡¯s more to consider here than just money. We inherited this farm from my mother, and she inherited it from her father before her. To abandon it would be to abandon our ancestors.¡± ¡°I doubt traveling costs as much as running an unprofitable farm. And I hate to break it to you, but the previous owners of this place are already dead. Abandoning them shouldn¡¯t be a concern when you¡¯re avoiding doing so by stifling the potential of your daughter. Have you ever even considered her needs?¡± ¡°Considered her needs?¡± She scoffed. ¡°Says the man who ran away from a monster¡ªfrom us¡ªto go get crushed by a building last night.¡± Zeth¡¯s hand clenched around the side of the table, knuckles turning white. There were a million different things he could say, but he chose not to. She continued. ¡°You keep talking about this nebulous ¡®potential,¡¯ while completely ignoring the much more important of your own family. Not just then, but constantly! Who in their right mind would encourage their baby sister to move out of the house and travel countless miles away to go to some far-off magic college?! Do you understand how dangerous such a thing would be? She¡¯s much better off right here. So don¡¯t you even pretend¡ª¡± A knock on the door cut her off. Zeth turned away before she could continue. ¡°I¡¯ll get it.¡± He glanced over at Sophie as he got up. She¡¯d shrunken down at the table, looking between him and their mom in obvious fear. he thought. Whoever was at the door knocked again¡ªa hard, unfriendly rap on the wooden surface. Was it Turin? He said he¡¯d be coming by to check on Zeth¡¯s injuries again today. he thought. He walked over and opened the door, only to find himself face-to-face with a set of three well-armed guards. They wore silvery breastplates emblazoned with the emblem of the Oberian Empire on their chests, scabbards with swords at their sides, and extremely serious expressions on their faces. ¡°Lieutenant Jandor Smill,¡± the one in front announced, ¡°here to investigate reports of illegal Class usage in this area. Specifically, there were several witnesses to what we believe to be a Blood Mage¡¯s magic being cast right by this house. Do you mind if we come in?¡± Chapter 13 Staring at the guards standing on his doorstep, Zeth found himself unable to respond. His heart was beating in his ears as he fought to keep a straight face. ¡°Who is that?¡± his mom called from the dining table. ¡°U-um, it¡¯s the guards,¡± he shouted to her, then looked back at them. ¡°I, uh, I don¡¯t own this place, or anything. Do you want me to get my mom? She¡¯d know more about all this stuff.¡± The lead guard gave a curt nod. ¡°Whoever can give us some answers about these reports.¡± One of the guards off to the side sighed. ¡°An illegal Class holder is just what we need after the aftermath of that Sixth Realm monster. If we start getting abductions, random killings, escaped demons¡­This town¡¯s going to shit.¡± ¡°Can it,¡± the lead one said to the one on the side. Then he looked back at Zeth. ¡°Just go get the owner of this residence.¡± ¡°Uh, right.¡± He turned and hurried away from them. Seemed like they at least didn¡¯t suspect him in particular. But if they were here, at this house, things weren¡¯t looking particularly good no matter how well this individual meeting went. As he walked up to his mom, he found her looking at him with a curious frown. ¡°You said it was the guards? Are they here because of the monster attack yesterday?¡± ¡°Uh, something like that,¡± he replied. ¡°Oh!¡± Sophie leapt up from her seat. ¡°I want to go talk to them, too! Do they know what kind of monster it was?¡± Within a couple minutes, the guards were sitting inside at the table, with Zeth, his mother, and his sister all sitting to face them, Zeth the only one feeling any kind of anxiety. His mom was just getting them something to drink, and Sophie certainly had nothing to worry about. She kept pestering them with questions the whole time they walked inside. But once everyone was settled, the lead one cleared his throat, leaning forward. ¡°So, we¡¯re here because last night, a fleshtaker came down the street near your house. It¡ª¡± ¡°Where did it come from?¡± Sophie asked, interrupting him. He looked at her with an annoyed expression. ¡°It came from the guild¡¯s mineshaft. Now, the monster was intercepted on its way down that road by an individual who, from all reports we¡¯ve been given, had their face hidden by some sort of a cloak or a hood. Nobody could give us any information on narrowing down this person¡¯s identity. Did any of you happen to see their face? Or even just get a good sense of their build, height, catch any sort of a glimpse of them?¡± Zeth¡¯s mom frowned. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re trying to identify this person because¡­?¡± ¡°There is a warrant out for their arrest.¡± ¡°What? Why? I mean, they saved our lives. Didn¡¯t those people tell you? That person was the one to kill the fleshtaker. I saw it with my own eyes; you shouldn¡¯t arrest them, you should be giving them some sort of an award.¡± ¡°That person killed that fleshtaker using an illegal Class.¡± the lead guard said. She frowned. ¡°...Oh.¡± ¡°At least, we believe that was the case. The reports we heard said that the magic they used caused a flash of pink electricity, and then the monster caught fire. Does that align with your memory of events?¡± ¡°...Yes, yes, that sounds about right.¡± ¡°I remember the pretty pink lightning, too,¡± Sophie said, nodding sagely. ¡°Well, those two effects are the exact description of a Skill the Blood Mage Class has access to. As you may already know, owning the Blood Mage Class in any capacity is grounds for execution, as it encourages individuals to commit assault and murder, and allows access to the summoning of demons. This person being allowed to continue operating unimpaired would likely lead to countless deaths, even if they happened to help you this time. Additionally, if they were capable of defeating that monster this close to the house, you and your family may be in extreme danger right now.¡± Her eyes grew wide. ¡°What? Why? Do you think they¡¯re still around here?¡± ¡°They could be, but that¡¯s not the issue. The Blood Mage Class uses things called ritual circles. They must be drawn on the ground prior to being used, and cannot be moved from place to place. So, if the Blood Mage was capable of defeating the monster out in the middle of the field, that means they must have had that Fire Ritual circle set up hours, maybe even days in advance.¡± ¡°But how could that be?¡± she asked. ¡°How could they know the monster was coming before anyone else?¡± The guard took a breath. ¡°Short answer is, they probably didn¡¯t know. Blood Mages typically set up these traps all over the place, readying them to be used at a moment¡¯s notice. And where they¡¯ve set up one circle, they¡¯ve likely set up more nearby. So, if this happened near your house¡­¡± ¡°Oh, my gods!¡± She immediately stood, looking at the seat below her as if she¡¯d suddenly find a ritual circle there. Holding out his hands, the guard attempted to calm her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if you do accidentally make contact with one of these, they need to be armed first using a blood sacrifice. That said, I would strongly recommend you exercise caution while moving around in this area. You can normally see these ritual circles when they¡¯re laid out on the ground, but Blood Mages can sometimes get tricky with how they hide them.¡± Zeth thought. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Ca-can you search our property for the circles?¡± his mom asked as he thought. ¡°Our house, our farm¡­I don¡¯t want to suddenly catch fire like that monster did.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± he responded. ¡°Oh, and we¡¯ve got a shed out back, too. My son does some butchering work in there, so it might be a little messy, but if there¡¯s some sort of fire trap waiting to kill him, we need to know.¡± The man nodded. ¡°Of course. We won¡¯t rest until we¡¯re sure this place is safe.¡± Zeth¡¯s face drained. The gigantic Empowerment Ritual circle was still sitting on the ground in the shed, ready to be found. And there was no way they wouldn¡¯t make the connection in that case. ¡°Officer Arinn, Officer Pine, you two go get one of those mages,¡± the lead guard said to his subordinates. Then he turned back to Zeth¡¯s mom. ¡°We¡¯ve got some specialists who will be able to detect the circles even if they¡¯re hidden. They¡¯ll go get one, and then we¡¯ll get to looking. In the meantime, I can stay here and keep you and your family company. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you so much.¡± The two guards stood and one of them nodded to us. ¡°We¡¯ll probably be back in an hour or so. Depends on how soon one of the mages will be free. They¡¯re all busy sweeping the city right now, but it shouldn¡¯t be long.¡± With that, they left and shut the door behind them, leaving the lead guard in the room with Zeth and his family. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. One hour. Zeth had one hour to figure out some way to hide that ritual circle in the shed, or he¡¯d be doomed. There was no way they would see a gigantic, obvious circle in the middle of his exclusive workspace and buy an excuse like ¡°whoops, I must¡¯ve missed that one despite working here all day, every day.¡± He had to either figure out a way to erase it or figure out a way to prevent them from entering in the first place. Both of which seemed pretty impossible, considering he was stuck in this room being surveilled by a law enforcement officer. ¡°So what¡¯s your Class?¡± Sophie asked the lead guard, breaking the silence. ¡°Can do magic?¡± Her mom looked at her. ¡°Sophie. It¡¯s rude to ask questions like that.¡± The guard waved his hand to dismiss her. ¡°It¡¯s alright, ma¡¯am. I¡¯m a Swordsman, specialized in a defensive combat style. There are a few Skills you¡¯re required to have when you¡¯re a town guard, so that much is public knowledge. Why, young lady? Do you want to be a town guard one day? It¡¯s a very noble¡ª¡± ¡°So you can¡¯t even do magic?¡± she asked. He blinked. ¡°Well, there isn¡¯t much on a System level that differentiates what most people consider ¡®magic¡¯ from any other Skill, beyond the fact that ¡®magic¡¯ is influenced by the Shaping Stat. Some of my Skills can allow me to move more quickly than a normal human would, for example, which could be considered magic from some perspectives.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not magic,¡± she said, arms crossed and back straight, speaking as though she were educating him in a classroom. ¡°Magic is when you shoot fireballs and teleport and stuff. You can¡¯t do magic.¡± He chuckled awkwardly, clearly not sure how to respond. ¡°Um, alright.¡± She gave him a look. ¡°The Blood Mage person could do magic.¡± His face went flat. ¡°That person is using an class. Their magic is . Young lady, no matter how much you like magic, a person like that should not be your role model.¡± ¡°Evil magic is really cool, then,¡± she muttered. ¡°Sophie!¡± their mom hissed, slapping her arm. The man sighed. ¡°It¡¯s alright, ma¡¯am. Kids her age go through a rebellious phase sometimes. I don¡¯t take offense to children making a game out of making inflammatory statements.¡± Clearly eager to change the topic, he looked over at Zeth, who was still covered in bandages. ¡°I imagine you must be Classed, too, if you¡¯re getting into fights that end with you looking that bad. What are you, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°Uh, I actually don¡¯t have a Class,¡± Zeth responded. ¡°I just got hurt in the fire down in the residential area. A building fell down on me.¡± His eyes widened. ¡°Oh. I¡¯m very sorry. The fires got out of hand extremely quickly; we¡¯re still not sure what the original source was for any of them. But any disaster of that magnitude is a failure of us as a guard, so I apologize profusely for the¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t apologize,¡± Zeth said, holding his hands out to stop him. Even the slight movement irritated his burned skin, like it might split open on its own if he wasn¡¯t careful. Then he paused. He needed to get out of here and do something about the ritual, but he didn¡¯t know what excuse he could make to get out on his own. Except now, he had the barest inkling of an idea. He continued, ¡°Besides, I got fixed up well enough by a friend of mine. I trust him to handle my injuries. But I appreciate you and your department so much for doing what you could to handle the fires. Can I get you anything to eat as thanks?¡± The man shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Really, I insist,¡± Zeth said, getting to his feet. As the guard tried to convince him to sit back down, Zeth intentionally caught his foot against the leg of the table, tripping and heading straight for the floor. He held up a hand to catch himself, feeling the burnt flesh of his chest crack and split open as he stretched his skin. Everyone shouted in surprise as he impacted the floor, dozens of wounds reopening the moment he hit the ground. Blood splattered across the wooden planks as he coughed and groaned in pain. [Requirement fulfilled: Cause life-threatening harm to yourself. You have unlocked Universal Skill: Self-Destruction.] ¡°Zeth, oh my gods!¡± his mom cried, jumping out of her seat and rushing over to him. His sister screamed in horror, sprinting over to him as well. ¡°Zeth!¡± ¡°Good lords, are you alright?¡± the guard asked, getting to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll call a Healer over right away.¡± ¡°W-we don¡¯t have the money for a Healer¡¯s services,¡± Zeth¡¯s mom muttered, hands shaking as she knelt over him. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Zeth got out through his groaning. The trip was an act, but his suffering absolutely was not. he thought, glancing over at his System notifications. He felt like he¡¯d live through this, though¡ªwhich was perfect; the plan was going swimmingly. Slowly, he placed one hand on the floor, then another, pushing himself up to his knees. ¡°Zeth, no, don¡¯t exert yourself,¡± his mom said. ¡°Stay where you are. I-I¡¯ll figure something out.¡± He shook his head, getting to his feet and leaning against the wall. Looking down at himself, he saw that his entire shirt was soaked in blood. ¡°I can stand. It''s okay. Mostly just some reopened wounds from the burns, I think.¡± ¡°Sir, I really think you should sit down,¡± the guard said. ¡°No, really, it¡¯s fine,¡± he murmured. ¡°I needed to go to Turin¡¯s for my checkup anyway, so now¡¯s as good a time as any. He can get me patched up.¡± His mom nodded. ¡°Okay. Stay here, and I¡¯ll go get him.¡± He shook his head again. ¡°No, I¡¯ll go. You stay here.¡± ¡°What? No! What are you saying? You need to sit still and rest.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be quicker if I went.¡± He forced himself to take a step toward the front door. ¡°If you have to go all the way there and then bring him all the way back, it¡¯d be twice the trip compared to me just walking down there myself. Besides, my legs aren¡¯t hurt at all, so I can move just fine.¡± She opened her mouth, then closed it, panic still clearly in her eyes. ¡°F-fine. I¡¯ll go down there with you, and¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯ll go alone. It¡¯s dangerous outside, with the Blood Mage on the loose. I¡¯m really fine on my own, and it¡¯d be a needless risk to have everyone leave the house during this time.¡± ¡°Zeth, you can¡¯t expect me to let you walk around alone in your state! If you think it¡¯s really that dangerous, then you need to have me there to protect you, don¡¯t you?¡± He looked over at the guard. ¡°Sir, you know the most about this stuff. Would having her with me help if I did step into one of those armed ritual circles? I mean, from the way I hear it, a monster as powerful as a fleshtaker was killed in seconds by one of those Hellfire Ritual things.¡± ¡°They¡¯re actually called ¡®Fire Rituals,¡¯ but yes.¡± Zeth fought the urge to frown at the incorrect correction, and continued on. ¡°Well, still, surely having someone else around wouldn¡¯t do anything to protect anyone, but would just make it twice as likely that someone would step on one. Right?¡± ¡°I¡­I suppose you¡¯re right,¡± he responded. ¡°Still, sir, I can¡¯t recommend¡ª¡± ¡°Just go already!¡± Sophie interrupted with a scream. ¡°Zeth¡¯s hurt! He¡¯s going to die! Everyone, stop keeping him here and let him go get help!¡± ¡°I promise I¡¯ll live,¡± Zeth reassured Sophie. ¡°You have my word.¡± With that, when everyone was still frantic and confused, he stepped out the door and closed it behind him. He started stumbling down the road toward town, glancing back behind him to see if anyone came out after him, but after a couple minutes with nobody in sight, he turned and headed into the grass, circling back around the house and into the shed. The pig still tied to the fencepost stared at him as he entered. ¡°Good gods,¡± he gasped, falling to the floor of the shed after closing the door behind himself. He was severely sleep-deprived, covered in reopened wounds, and in extreme danger. If those guards came back sooner than expected and started searching the property in the next few minutes, it¡¯d be over. He had to work quickly. Throwing the curtain open and ripping the cover off his Empowerment Ritual circle, he stared down at the project he¡¯d been working on over the past eight hours. Throwing it all away by erasing the thing would be painful. Then he glanced over at the shirts he¡¯d used to soak up the fleshtaker blood. The rags were sitting in a corner, almost completely dried after having been left out for so long. If he had to redraw the whole thing later today, there was no way they¡¯d have any usable blood left in them anymore. This horrible timing was going to cost him an entire Level-up. And Levels would need stronger and stronger sacrifices as he went on. Who was to say mundane farm animals would work for this next one? Level five was a big milestone, likely to unlock an extremely useful Skill. If he threw away this opportunity, when would he next be able to find a sacrifice strong enough to get him to that point? His body certainly wasn¡¯t in shape to fight more monsters and claim blood. The guards said they¡¯d be gone for an hour. He wasn¡¯t totally sure how much longer this circle would need to be finished, but with Vile Focus discounting the normally ten-hour requirement down to around nine, it was possible he¡¯d have enough time to finish it and get back into the house before they got here. He had to try. The Blood Mage would likely realize he was alive and well after a spectacle like him killing the fleshtaker, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before they came hunting him down. If he wasn¡¯t prepared to strike them down by then, all of this would have been for nothing. Zeth crawled over to the almost-complete ritual circle, forcing his body to move despite the pain, and got to work. Chapter 14 With every minute that passed, Zeth¡¯s heart beat faster. His own blood dripped from his chest and arms, his hands leaving red prints behind anywhere he planted them. He felt his fingers shake from the pain he felt, taking care to not allow himself to sink into his work in the way Vile Focus allowed him to do. It would¡¯ve let him pass the time without feeling any of it, but he also wouldn¡¯t notice if the guards came back ahead of schedule and he had to erase the circle and flee. Vile Focus, despite Zeth ignoring its secondary effect, still Ranked up once as he worked, apparently not needing him to indulge it in order to make progress. Zeth was extremely glad to see it happen, since even the extra two-point-five percent discount to the time required could make a difference here. Soon, as he traced line after line of the intricate pattern, he felt the circle begin to near completion. The twenty-eight Shaping he¡¯d accumulated so far allowed him to feel the latent mana energy emanating from it, growing stronger and stronger as he continued to work. Eventually, he could practically feel the air around the circle humming with power. It was at that moment he heard a distant knock. Three bangs echoed out from the house, followed by a shout. ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯re back to search the area!¡± He heard the door of the house open and faint conversation as his mom spoke with the guards. Holding his focus on the ritual, he continued frantically drawing, hoping against hope that he¡¯d be able to complete it in the next couple minutes. He could it getting closer and closer. He knew it wouldn¡¯t be long. But that didn¡¯t happen. After a brief conversation he couldn¡¯t make out the contents of, Zeth heard a group of people walk out of the house, shutting the door behind them. For the first time since he started drawing, Zeth paused his work and stood up, his arms shaking from the constant pain and exertion, and crept over to the door of the shed to peek out. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t seem like they were making a beeline for the shed. The group of people¡ªhis mom, Sophie, the three guards, and another woman who must¡¯ve been the mage here to do the actual detecting¡ªwere first searching the area around the house. The mage slowly examined every surface, squinting at the grass and stone foundation, presumably in search of any chalky red lines. The guards just tagged along, keeping his mom and Sophie in their sight. Zeth supposed that was just a security measure to ensure they didn¡¯t run away in case one of them end up being the Blood Mage. The moment he saw they weren¡¯t coming for him yet, he dove back to the floor and continued working. He traced line after line, the internal pattern of the circle growing more and more complex, absorbing more and more mana from Zeth with every motion. The time remaining must¡¯ve passed below a minute now; he could feel the circle whirring to life beneath his fingers. Just then, he heard a voice from far off. It was his mom. ¡°Is that the house done? Oh, good, I¡¯m so glad it¡¯s safe. But, before you search the rest of the farm, do you mind checking this shed we have out back? It¡¯s where my son works, so I want to know as soon as possible that it¡¯s safe. He¡¯s been acting so recklessly lately, I¡¯m worried he might not notice something dangerous like that even if it there.¡± He leapt back up to his feet and peered through the crack in the door. Just barely in sight was everyone walking around the house and toward the shed. If he waited even a second longer, they¡¯d have the door to the shed in sight and would see if he left. He had to leave if he wanted to keep himself from getting caught. He just needed a few more moments. Any sort of a distraction. His eyes fell on the pig he¡¯d tied up by the doors. Without hesitation, he reached out and untied the rope that kept it bound here. It stared at him without moving. So, he raised a foot and kicked it in the butt. With a loud squeal, the pig bounded off, running over to a nearby crop field in its panic. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Is that¡­? Oh, gods, that¡¯s my pig!¡± his mom shouted, and he could just barely glimpse her changing direction, running off after the animal as he closed the door and dropped back to the ground, shoving his finger back into the lines of the circle. ¡°Ma¡¯am, get back here!¡± one of the guards shouted. ¡°It¡¯s going to eat my crops!¡± she yelled back. The sounds of many feet running around in the field commenced¡ªand none of them were headed toward the shed. he thought, willing with all the might of his mind that the circle glow to life this instant. And then, as if it finally decided to listen to his command, it did. He felt the circle finally meet the requirements for Empowerment Ritual and instantly reached over to grab the hardened shirts, slamming them against the circle. The vast majority of the dried blood stayed right where it was, refusing to be absorbed by the circle. As he¡¯d suspected, it needed to be in liquid form for the ritual to accept it. But there were just a few drops within the cloth that had retained their wetness, hidden deep within the folds of the fabric, and Zeth watched as they were drawn out by the circle as if being sucked up. They sank into the floor, the completion percentage leaping by massive bounds with each droplet absorbed. After a number of seconds that felt like an eternity, it finally hit one hundred percent. [Ritual complete: Empowerment Ritual. Sacrifice given: Small amount of strong monster blood. Level Up!] [Empowerment Ritual¡¯s Rank has increased to 4. +1 Skill Point. You have 8 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 5. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 21. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 5. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 10. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 35. +3 Skill Points. You have 11 Skill Points.] [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 5. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Demonic Covenant.] [Requirements fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 5, Vile Focus Rank 5. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Resonant Whispers.] Before he could read any of the System notifications he received from his Level-up, Zeth grabbed the cloth he¡¯d used to cover up the circle and swept it across the floor. The chalk disappeared easily with just a few swipes. The moment it was gone, he leapt to his feet and sprinted over to the shed door, glancing back and forth to see if the coast was clear. ¡°I will not be delayed any further!¡± the mage woman¡¯s voice carried across the plains, over the panicking people and squealing of the pig. Zeth was pretty sure he could even hear Sophie running around giggling as she played with the escaped animal in the cacophony of noises. The woman continued, ¡°You said there might be something in the shed, I will check the shed. There are too many other people¡¯s properties on my list to waste any more time here. Guards, keep an eye on them. I¡¯ll do this myself.¡± He saw the tip of her head cresting a nearby hill, but she wouldn¡¯t be able to see him just yet. So he rushed out the door and ducked around to the other side of the shed before she came too close. Once he was on the other side, he pressed his back against the wall, praying that she¡¯d check the inside before the outside. ¡°You said your son does butchering in here?¡± the woman¡¯s voice called from the other side of the shed. ¡°He sure leaves a mess behind. There¡¯s dried blood on the door handle. Or¡­is it wet? Has he been here recently?¡± Zeth cursed himself. He¡¯d been covered in blood that whole time, dripping it everywhere. He heard his mom¡¯s voice draw closer, clearly out of breath as she¡¯d been forced to chase a loose pig around the fields. ¡°He hasn¡¯t been in here for the past few hours, I don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°Well, someone has.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was grim. ¡°Blood is not a good sign. Guards, come over here! Woman, child, stay behind me. There may be danger.¡± Slowly, the sound of the doors creaked open, and Zeth heard a set of footsteps walk in. ¡°Is there a monster in there?¡± Sophie asked. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°No, honey, I think it¡¯s empty,¡± their mom replied. ¡°But don¡¯t go any further in, okay?¡± ¡°Hm. No obvious sign of ritual circles¡­¡± the woman muttered. Her boots stepped further into the shed. ¡°What is this curtained-off section?¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know,¡± his mom replied. ¡°It wasn¡¯t there when I was last in here.¡± ¡°Oh, I saw it this morning,¡± Sophie supplied. ¡°Zeth was working behind it. I think he had a dead pig behind it and put the curtain there so I wouldn¡¯t see.¡± A boot splashed in a puddle. ¡°It certainly looks as though dead animals have been here. But not as long ago as this morning. The blood would have dried by now. This is recent.¡± Zeth winced, wishing he¡¯d had the time to clean that mess up. ¡°So you think the Blood Mage has been here? Conducting those rituals?¡± his mom asked in a fearful voice. ¡°Let me see.¡± After the woman said that, the shed went silent, and slowly, a blue glow began emanating from inside the shed, peeking out through tiny cracks in the walls. As the seconds passed, the glow only grew brighter and brighter, until the blazing light grew so intense, it rivaled the glory of the sun. Zeth frowned, gazing at the light spilling out of the cracks and coloring the grass bright blue in thin lines. ¡°Woah¡­¡± Sophie muttered. ¡°Oh my¡ªoh my gods,¡± the woman gasped. Her cool composure had completely broken. ¡°This is¡­!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Zeth¡¯s mom asked. ¡°This is supposed to be a visual representation of the mana that¡¯s passed through the area in the past few days,¡± she muttered. ¡°And this¡ªthis is far more than I¡¯ve ever seen in my life.¡± ¡°What? What does that mean?¡± There was the shuffling of clothing, like the woman had grabbed onto his mom¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Ma¡¯am, it is likely that one of the most powerful casters in this town¡ªno, in the entire empire¡ªhas been here, personally performing magic in your shed.¡± Chapter 15 Zeth crouched behind the shed, eyes wide at what this woman was saying. ¡°N-never in my life¡­I¡¯ve had this Skill react in such a way. The magic in this area is so abundant¡ªso teeming with energy.¡± ¡°Is it safe for us to be here?¡± his mom asked. ¡°Y-yes; there¡¯s nothing showing any active spells or rituals in this shed. You¡¯re fine. But what¡¯s been done in the past¡­This is not the work of a low-Level Blood Mage. I¡¯m beginning to question if it was a Blood Mage at all. Good gods, never in my life¡­¡± The glow ended. ¡°Little girl,¡± the woman said, ¡°you saw what happened last night clearly, yes?¡± ¡°Y-yeah,¡± Sophie responded. ¡°And you are absolutely certain you saw pink lightning?¡± Silence. Zeth assumed she nodded. ¡°Once the pink lightning ended, what happened?¡± ¡°The monster caught on fire.¡± ¡°Was there any sort of projectile? Did it look like someone fire at the monster?¡± ¡°No. It just caught on fire, all at once.¡± ¡°Everywhere on the monster¡¯s body? Or just one part?¡± ¡°Everywhere.¡± There was a pause, before eventually, the woman spoke again. ¡°It was definitely a Blood Mage. She¡¯s describing a Fire Ritual perfectly. Ma¡¯am, you said your son works in this shed regularly?¡± ¡°Are you accusing my son?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question, which I expect you to answer.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Zeth is this Blood Mage you¡¯re talking about. He would never take an outlawed Class to do¡­gods know what with.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am. Does he work in this shed?¡± ¡°...Yes, he does.¡± ¡°Does anyone else work in this shed? Has anyone ever been in here to your knowledge within the past few days?¡± ¡°...Not that I know of. But I don¡¯t keep an eye on it at all times. Someone might have snuck in.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of the possibility. Just gathering evidence for who may or may not be our outlaw.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seriously think my son is this Blood Mage, do you?¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°All evidence points to him so far, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°But-but how do you even know that this mana test thing was showing Blood Mage spells? What if it was totally innocent magic?¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, there are two explanations for the result we¡¯ve just seen. One, your son is the most powerful magic-user residing in this town, and has for some reason hid this fact from you and everyone else he knows, or two, someone has been routinely breaking into your shed and using it as a hiding place while they use the space to cast extraordinarily powerful spells. Do you expect me to believe that, in either of those scenarios, there is nothing illegal going on regarding the nature of this magic? There is clearly blood covering the floor from whatever sacrifice was used to fuel the most recent ritual. If your son did not butcher an animal here in the past thirty minutes, then it was spilled in the process of casting whatever magic was used here. It is clearly the work of a Blood Mage, and currently, the most likely suspect is the person who is in this shed most often.¡± ¡°But Zeth couldn¡¯t do it!¡± Sophie shouted. ¡°He¡¯s hurt right now. You said someone was here only a little bit ago, but he¡¯s been far away at Turin¡¯s house this whole time!¡± ¡°And how do I know you¡¯re not lying on his behalf? Or he didn¡¯t lie to you?¡± ¡°Actually, ma¡¯am,¡± the lead guard spoke up. ¡°I was there when he got hurt. He had some bad injuries from the fire in town last night, and tripped while we were waiting for you to arrive. I saw him; he was in extremely bad shape. He left the house immediately to get medical attention.¡± Once again, there was a moment of silence before the woman replied. ¡°Are you certain those wounds were genuine?¡± ¡°As certain as I can be. Looked close to death, frankly. I doubt he could have done much in that state.¡± An even longer period of silence. Zeth almost wanted to just take the opportunity and run off now, but he had to know if people were about to go try and arrest him and he¡¯d need to flee town. Finally, the woman spoke once more. ¡°Ma¡¯am, rest assured, your son is no longer a suspect.¡± ¡°R-really?¡± Zeth¡¯s mom sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°You are mistaken. That is bad news¡ªnot good. That means the person sneaking onto your property to conduct extremely powerful, extremely dangerous magic is someone with no ties to you. If it were your son, you wouldn¡¯t be in much danger, and we would be able to arrest him on the spot. But this mystery person is someone we have no leads on, and they may be planning to harm you or your family.¡± ¡°I-I see,¡± she said. ¡°But still, how can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Because, if Lieutenant Smill is to be believed, your son is not nearly strong enough to be a high-Level Blood Mage. The Class increases your Endurance by two with each Level-Up. And in order to use magic of the caliber we just saw, he would have to be extraordinarily high-Level with the Class to do so. Additionally, some Blood Mages continue to purchase more points of Endurance with their Skill Points on top of the natural growth, because of the¡­harmful nature of their magic. That is to say, if your son was injured to such a degree by a simple fall, there is no chance he had such high Stats, and therefore, there is no chance he is high enough in Level to use such powerful magic.¡± Zeth decided that was all he needed to hear. He wasn¡¯t suspected, which meant he needed to go to Turin¡¯s immediately so his story would line up. He took off through the grass and down the road, desperate to finally lie down. Once the farmhouse was out of sight and Zeth was no longer at major risk of someone spotting him, he felt his heart finally slow its rapid pace. He also felt the full brunt of the pain and exhaustion wracking his body. He thought he¡¯d been able to feel it this whole time, but he was wrong. Now that there was no longer any distraction, every square inch of his burnt flesh stung, his muscles ached, and his eyes felt like they may shut on their own and he¡¯d pass out in the middle of the town streets. But in the moment of calm, he organized his thoughts and began planning. It seemed like the sheer power wielded by the Blood Magus Class had saved him. Evidently, even at a low Level, it threw so much mana around when doing rituals that it imitated an insanely high-Level Blood Mage when being looked at through the lens of whatever Skill that woman was using. He hadn¡¯t even known that there a way to detect mana having been used somewhere days beforehand; he was lucky it hadn¡¯t ended up getting him caught outright. But now that he knew, he¡¯d have to be far more careful about where he used his magic. And that house would probably be crawling with guards and investigators from now on anyway, meaning he definitely needed to find a new place to work. But that was later. Right now, Zeth could identify one main threat to his continued presumed innocence: even if he got to Turin¡¯s place right now, if someone spoke with him and he said Zeth had arrived over an hour later than he should¡¯ve arrived, it would rouse suspicion. He needed to find some way to prevent that from looking suspicious. He didn¡¯t have much time to figure out a plan, so he took the first course of action that came to mind. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. On his journey to Turin¡¯s house, Zeth took a turn down a side street and stopped by the library. He¡¯d forgotten he was still absolutely covered in blood, though, and the employees refused to let him enter. ¡°Please, can I just run in and grab one book?¡± Zeth asked the woman at the front desk. ¡°I promise, I¡¯ll be in and out in a matter of seconds.¡± ¡°Sir, you are dripping blood where you stand; you absolutely cannot come in. If you touch a book, you¡¯ll stain it red.¡± He sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers, inadvertently staining his face red as well. ¡°Uh, okay. Can you just go get one for me? I¡¯ll pay extra.¡± ¡°Okay, fine. What book?¡± ¡°Anything is fine. Just, uh¡­get a book about magic. Like, some sort of a guide. Something you could learn from.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t care which one?¡± ¡°First one you see. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she said with a shrug, then turned and walked off into the halls of bookshelves. Within a minute, she returned. ¡°Okay,¡± she said, looking at the cover, ¡°this is ¡®A Traveler¡¯s Guide to Magic and¡ª¡¯¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect,¡± Zeth said, not bothering to let her finish. He fished into his purse for the last coins he had, shoved them into her hand, grabbed the book, and ran off to Turin¡¯s. With the book in his possession, he had everything he needed. All he had to do was show it to Turin and tell him he¡¯d made a stop by the library to get a surprise book for Sophie, and that if anyone came by, he should say that Zeth had arrived an hour before he actually had, that way the surprise wouldn¡¯t be ruined for his sister. Now that the matter of his alibi was sorted, Zeth just needed to head to Turin¡¯s house, get patched up, and hopefully it would be relatively smooth sailing from here. He certainly looked forward to finally getting rest. Hopefully his wounds would fully heal before he got hurt time. Now that he¡¯d unlocked Self-Destruction, he wondered if it would be a good idea to go ahead and purchase it to accelerate his healing. He¡¯d almost forgotten the whole source of this trouble. He¡¯d Leveled Up! And in the process, he¡¯d gotten two more Skills. And with the crisis averted, he finally had time to look at what they were. Gazing inward, he read through their effects as he walked. [Resonant Whispers Cost: 9 Skill Points The strands of blood magic within your soul communicate more clearly with your mind, allowing the dark art to whisper in your ear. Provides you with an inherent instinct for how effective any nearby blood will be at fueling your rituals.] This first one he¡¯d unlocked seemed interesting. Certainly nice to not be forced to do guesswork in the future. Plus, it only cost nine Skill Points, meaning once he got it to the max Rank of 10, it would have profited him one Skill Point. But the moment he started reading through the other Skill he¡¯d unlocked with his Level-up, all thoughts of the first left his mind. [Demonic Covenant Cost: 15 Skill Points Uses a ritual circle to attempt to summon a demon from the Thirteenth Realm. The demon will be bound to the caster¡¯s word, and can be dismissed at will. Strength of sacrifice required: Moderate Required ritual circle diameter: 8.81 feet (originally 10 feet) Time required to draw: 4.41 hours (originally 5 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 3.52 hours (originally 4 hours)] Zeth¡¯s eyes were stuck wide open. He¡¯d heard a few mentions of Blood Mages being able to summon demons lately, but he¡¯d assumed an ability that powerful would come at something like Level fifty¡ªcertainly not . Though, maybe a Blood Mage got it way later, and the Blood Magus just broke all System balance and got it sooner than would ever be considered reasonable. Currently, Zeth had eleven Skill Points, and was at a bit of a crossroads in terms of what he should purchase next. He went ahead and looked over his list of Skills. [PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Vile Focus - Rank 5 Hellfire Ritual - Rank 2 Empowerment Ritual - Rank 4 Ritual Circle Mastery - Rank 6 UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Resonant Whispers - Cost: 9 Demonic Covenant - Cost: 15 Secure Rites - Cost: 12 Speedy Rites - Cost: 12 Compact Rites - Cost: 12 Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Unholy Strength - Cost: 18] On top of his list of Exclusive Skills, there were also two Universal Skills he was considering¡ªHeat Resistance, which cost fourteen, and now Self-Destruction, which cost three. He could, if he wanted to, go ahead and buy Resonant Whispers right now, which was certainly tempting. Considering it was a profit Skill, he basically knew he¡¯d take it eventually, and the sooner he got it, the sooner he¡¯d be able to start Ranking it up and earning back those Skill Points. And with a cost of nine, it¡¯d leave him only one Skill Point away from being able to purchase Self-Destruction right after and begin benefiting from the accelerated healing factor of that Skill. On the other hand, he could also wait a little bit to Rank up one more Skill to push up to twelve Points so he could afford one of the Rites Skills. Reducing the time to conduct a ritual or the diameter of his circles could prove extremely useful, especially now that he¡¯d Leveled up once more and the time required to draw his next Empowerment Ritual had gone up once again. If he wanted to keep Leveling at the rate he currently was, Speedy Rites would be an absolute necessity. But then, he¡¯d need to continue finding sacrifices to conduct the Empowerment Ritual, as well. Especially now. When he looked at its requirements¡­ [Strength of sacrifice required: Moderately Low Required ritual circle diameter: 3.96 feet (originally 4.5 feet) Time required to draw: 10.6 hours (originally 12 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 1.25 hours (originally 1.42 hours)] The sacrifice requirement had finally gone up, from ¡°Low¡± to ¡°Moderately Low.¡± Even though he knew the requirement went up every time, it wasn¡¯t always enough to change the term used. The fact that the requirement had moved up an entire category now had to mean it¡¯d be far harder than before. There was no way a single farm animal would cut it at this point. He¡¯d need to find a better source. And with his only means of attack being the extraordinarily dangerous Hellfire Ritual, it didn¡¯t seem particularly reliable to just go out and hunt monsters out in the forest. His burns stung just thinking about something like that. So, when it came to the decision of what to spend his Skill Points on, there was also the option of waiting a little longer until he got the fourteen Skill Points necessary to afford Heat Resistance. Though, if he was in the market for more sacrifices, there was one Skill that was clearly better than the rest. Demonic Covenant would give him access to an insanely powerful warrior from an insanely deep realm, and it seemed like it¡¯d be forced to follow his commands. He¡¯d only heard of demons in passing before, but he knew those things were far, far beyond the capabilities of any normal human. Though, he¡¯d also heard plenty of different stories in history about ¡®a deal with a demon gone wrong,¡¯ where some mage would summon a demon and make some sort of bargain with it that ended up with the destruction of this or that village. So he also knew they were not to be trifled with. He¡¯d be surprised if the Skill he¡¯d just unlocked really functioned as cleanly as it stated. However, anything that gave him access to such tremendous power needed to at least be considered¡ªespecially at the cost it was being offered at. Now, even if it was relatively cheap, that didn¡¯t mean it was free. Zeth would still need to come up with enough Skill Points to make that cost, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d be capable of Leveling Up anytime soon. Which meant Ranking up four of his Skills to earn the difference in Points. Hellfire Ritual was the lowest-Rank Skill he currently had, meaning it would be the easiest to Rank up, but he didn¡¯t exactly have anything to use it on right now. Zeth thought. He didn¡¯t have the luxury of infinite time and freedom anymore. He¡¯d have to be careful about what he did and where he did it, with those investigators able to detect any place he performed his rituals for days after he did them. He¡¯d need to move quickly but carefully. And that meant not getting distracted by lesser Skills. Speedy Rites would be convenient, and Self-Destruction would certainly offer a lot of comfort, but Demonic Covenant would be the most obvious increase in his power. It had to be that one. And with law enforcement crawling around now, they might even spook the Blood Mage into fleeing town, which would mean Zeth would have no chance of tracking them down and getting his revenge. And that was not an option. He arrived on Turin¡¯s doorstep. Raising a still blood-covered hand¡ªit¡¯d fully dried onto him now¡ªhe rapped his knuckles against the door. Instantly, stinging pain ran up his entire arm. He knocked again, much more lightly this time to spare his arm. But there wasn¡¯t any response. So he reached down and opened the door, stepping in and raising his hand to wave. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m¡ª¡± Instantly, something flashed across his vision and searing pain stabbed through his hand. ¡°Agh!¡± he shouted, stumbling back. He looked down. Sticking all the way through his palm and coming out the other side was a crossbow bolt. A whole new fountain of blood poured out of his wound as Zeth struggled not to collapse to the ground in agony. A voice shouted from inside the house. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare move, or the next is going straight through your skull!¡± Chapter 16 Zeth fell to a knee on the doorstep of the house, staring at the crossbow bolt sticking through his shaking hand. He had no Hellfire Ritual circle prepared to defend himself with, and without his magic, he had nothing to fight with. ¡°Help!¡± he shouted at the top of his lungs, falling back and kicking away from the house. ¡°Someone, help me!¡± ¡°Wait,¡± the voice from inside said, and Zeth frowned, recognizing it. ¡°Zeth, is that you?¡± ¡°Turin?¡± Zeth called into the house. ¡°Did-did you just shoot me?!¡± He heard footsteps running to the door, and Turin¡¯s head popped out from the doorway, his hand crossbow held out. He looked down at Zeth, eyes going wide. ¡°Oh my gods, Zeth, you¡¯re covered in blood!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Zeth replied, trying to control his shaking voice. ¡°You shot me through the hand.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry, I thought¡ªJust, get inside, quick.¡± Turin held out and grabbed Zeth¡¯s good hand, helping him to his feet and hurriedly ushering him into his house. Upon stumbling in, Zeth found that the place was not as he remembered. Furniture was pushed up against windows, and the dining table had been flipped over in the center of the room. ¡°W-what happened here?¡± Zeth asked, clutching his hand to his chest. Turin shut the door behind him and ran over to a couch that had been pushed up against his back door. ¡°Here, lie down. I-I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯ll get you patched up.¡± As Turin rushed off into the other room, Zeth sat down on the couch, taking care not to jostle his hand or catch the bolt sticking through it on anything. He could feel every movement, the slightest air resistance flowing across his exposed innards. He gazed around the house, trying to distract himself from the excruciating sensation. It was almost like the whole place had been barricaded against intruders, with every single entrance covered by something. And was Turin waiting with his crossbow pointed at the front door this whole time? Turin returned from the other room with a kit of medical supplies in his hands, running over and hurriedly dabbing Zeth¡¯s hand with a wet towel. Everywhere it touched him, the wound stung like it was on fire. In response to Zeth¡¯s groans of pain, Turin spoke as he worked. ¡°This towel has a concoction on it that will help prevent your injuries from getting worse due to infection or disease. P-please hold still while I apply it; I don¡¯t want to make the wounds any worse and make you lose any more blood. It already looks like you¡¯ve lost a lot.¡± ¡°Turin, what in the gods¡¯ names is going on?¡± Zeth demanded. ¡°Y-you just shot me through the hand. And your place is trashed. , that hurts.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m so sorry, I just thought you were that Blood Mage at first, and¡ª¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m the Zeth asked as he leaned forward, deathly serious. The pain in his hand practically disappeared. ¡°No, no, I was just mistaken. I-I don¡¯t even know where to begin. Listen, let me get you patched up first, then I¡¯ll explain everything.¡± He looked over Zeth¡¯s body. ¡°Gods, what to you, man? Practically all of your wounds have reopened. And it looks like you¡¯ve got some bruising here on this side of your body, and a lot of your burns got torn apart, too. I-I know I shot you, and I¡¯m really, sorry about that, but something happened before that, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, I took a¡ª¡± Zeth was cut off, grunting in pain as Turin swabbed a particularly nasty cut with that rag soaked in the mystery solution. ¡°I took a fall. Tripped a little bit ago, and had to come here. But it doesn¡¯t look like coming here to get fixed up was a good idea, if my best friend Turin was just going to shoot me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Turin said. ¡°Can you apologize by explaining why you did it? Because to me, it looks like you went insane, flipped your house upside-down, and then hid behind your dining table planning to kill anyone who walked through your front door.¡± ¡°I¡­Okay, that last part is kind of right,¡± Turin said. ¡°Here, once I¡¯ve finished wrapping you in bandages and it looks like the bleeding¡¯s stopped, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Zeth reclined on the couch, cradling his bandaged hand. Turin had removed the crossbow bolt after doing a lot of work cleaning everything up and ensuring he wouldn¡¯t die of blood loss or anything, and after quite a bit of time, Zeth had reached what Turin considered to be a ¡°stable position.¡± Seemed like all the research and training he¡¯d been doing regarding becoming a Healer had paid off. Once Turin wasn¡¯t frantically scrambling around the house anymore, he took a breath and sat down next to where Zeth lay. He reached down to the floor and picked up a dropped object¡ªhis crossbow, Zeth saw¡ªand held it in his hand. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with that book you brought? You dropped it on the floor.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s something I got for Sophie,¡± Zeth said, remembering he¡¯d intended to use this visit to escape suspicion before the whole ¡®getting shot¡¯ thing happened. ¡°I stopped at the library on my way here in secret to get it for her, so don¡¯t mention it to her or my mom if you see them? And, uh, tell them I got here, like, an hour earlier than I actually did. That way they don¡¯t get suspicious.¡± ¡°Ah, gotcha,¡± Turin said. ¡°Wait, you were seriously injured and found time to walk around in the library for an hour?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t hurt. Just a little bleeding. The librarians were nice about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s extremely unsafe. Next time you find yourself with wounds that bad covering your body, come to me immediately. Better yet, find someone who can heal you who¡¯s closer than I am. I don¡¯t even want you walking from your house to mine like that.¡± There was a faint sound from outside, and Turin glanced over at the front door, the hand that held his crossbow twitching. Zeth frowned. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing that all day.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Turin looked back over at him. ¡°Doing what?¡± ¡°You keep looking at the door like something¡¯s gonna burst through and attack you. And you obviously thought something like that was happening when I walked in. What¡¯s up?¡± Turin took a breath. ¡°Okay, so you know the fleshtaker attack yesterday? I was there when the monster got killed. I saw the Blood Mage myself.¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Yeah, I heard about that. You and Sophie saw them up-close, huh?¡± ¡°Right. And, well, now I¡¯m worried that he might come after me. I mean, I heard his voice. I saw him use his magic, man. That means I¡¯m officially a witness to a crime. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s not gonna consider coming by to tie up loose ends, right?¡± ¡°...Right,¡± Zeth said. ¡°But who¡¯s to say he¡¯s that bad of a guy, though? All we know about him is that he saved everyone from that monster, so maybe it¡¯s a ¡®using a bad thing for good purposes¡¯ type of thing.¡± Turin shook his head. ¡°I thought the same thing at first. I mean, he seemed nice enough when I saw him. But earlier today, I went to go and report what I knew about the Blood Mage to the guards, and they told me something. Apparently, they¡¯re pretty sure what caused the fire in town wasn¡¯t some random accident¡ªit was a demon.¡± Zeth leaned forward, suddenly very interested. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Yeah, man. A demon went on a rampage in town, killing people and setting fires all over the place before it randomly disappeared. But that got me thinking; no way the Blood Mage is a good guy if he¡¯s setting demons loose in town, right? Hell, maybe he sicced that fleshtaker on everyone in the first place! And even if he a good guy, if he¡¯s got demons doing his bidding, there¡¯s a chance another of them might go rogue and escape his command to try and hunt me down on its own! So, when you opened the door, all I saw was your hand, and it was red, and¡­I just freaked out. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I¡­It¡¯s alright,¡± Zeth said. The hole in his hand wasn¡¯t even in his thoughts anymore. ¡°You¡¯re sure there was an actual demon that got summoned, though? That isn¡¯t just a rumor?¡± He shrugged. ¡°The guards were talking about it like it was true. I dunno.¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zeth frowned. He certainly hadn¡¯t done anything like that; he couldn¡¯t even summon a demon yet. Had it been the work of the real Blood Mage, then? Maybe they decided to summon a demon to protect themself from the fleshtaker, or something. Or maybe it was just hearsay that the guards just believed because they knew there was a Blood Mage around. Still, if that was true, there was no way Zeth would be able to take them down without a demon or two of his own to fight back against the raw power of his enemy¡¯s summons. ¡°Was it just one demon?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°Or more?¡± ¡°No idea,¡± Turin responded. ¡°I ran and hid out at home as soon as I could after hearing about it. Just hoping he¡¯ll forget about me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be okay. I mean, really, how would the Blood Mage even find you after just seeing your face for a couple seconds? And think about how many people probably saw what happened from afar. Even if he did want to tie up loose ends, there¡¯d be way too many people to kill in order to get it done. I¡¯d recommend you just forget about it. And probably don¡¯t go to the guards reporting anything else you find out about him from now on. Just in case, right? Don¡¯t wanna accidentally make an enemy out of him.¡± ¡°...Yeah. Yeah, you¡¯re right. I should just stay out of all this. It¡¯s too much for me, anyway, man. I just wanna finish my Healer training, get my Skills, get the Class, and get out of this town. Too many weird things happening all at the same time. I¡¯m honestly beginning to think it¡¯s all connected¡ªthat weird cave-in with you, the fleshtaker, and now this Blood Mage business? I mean, nobody actually expected a cave-in to ever happen down in that one branch of the mine, right? They¡¯d been talking about how it was unstable and threatening to collapse for years without it ever happening. And then the moment you and Nestor and the other guys go down there, it just happens to fall in on itself? Sounds kinda suspicious, right?¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°...You¡¯re right. You should probably just stay out of it.¡± ¡°Y-yeah. Yeah, man. I¡¯m just asking for trouble, talking like that.¡± After that, Turin needed to leave to go to work¡ªapparently management at Otis and Roul¡¯s decided overtime was mandatory for all employees to repair the damage caused by the fleshtaker¡¯s escape, so he had to work even on the days he would normally have off. He told Zeth to stay for as long as he wanted, and actually recommended lying right where he was for at least a few more hours, if not the rest of the day. Zeth was happy to accept the offer. He planned on maybe finding somewhere he could safely practice his Skills and earn a Skill Point or two, but finally lying down after being awake for so long, Zeth felt exhaustion taking his body over, and soon enough, his eyes dropped shut, and he got his long-needed sleep. Zeth awoke to the front door of the house opening and closing, finding Turin entering the house and glancing over at him. ¡°You¡¯re still feeling okay?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Zeth replied, situating himself on the couch. ¡°Well, not okay, but not any worse than I felt earlier. Hand¡¯s still killing me.¡± ¡°I sewed most of the wider wounds closed, but a hole straight through your hand will probably need more than simple stitching. You might need to see a real Healer to do some magic on you for that one.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, Healer services have long since been out of the budget for our family, and are definitely not possible now that we can¡¯t even rely on my miner¡¯s salary, even as little as it was. I don¡¯t suppose you have any connections that you can pull favors with to get me discounted services?¡± Turin chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not even a student yet, much less on the level to start pulling favors. I mean, I can definitely help you pay, since I did it to you, but I don¡¯t have enough money to single-handedly fund something like that. I¡¯ll start saving in case you can¡¯t get anything figured out sooner, though. Maybe you could try to ask Garon? You worked loyally for years, man, so even if you don¡¯t work there anymore, it¡¯s possible¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather die of blood loss than ask him for help. Not to mention there¡¯s no chance in Hell that a greedy bastard like him would ever willingly give money to another human being for nothing in return.¡± ¡°...Uh, right.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re right; he rich. Maybe I could break into his house and steal all his valuables, or something.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bad that I¡¯m only halfway confident you¡¯re joking about that. But if you¡¯re not gonna be able to pay for a Healer, I guess your only option is to raise your Endurance on your own to help improve your healing speed. Or maybe find a Skill that can help you with it. Not sure it¡¯ll ever get back to normal without some System help.¡± Zeth looked down at his heavily-bandaged hand. ¡°Yeah, guess I¡¯ll figure something out with that. Thanks for the help, though. And I forgive you for shooting me. You thought you were protecting yourself.¡± He rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Well, thanks, but I should¡¯ve been more cautious anyway. You had nothing to do with all that; there was no reason to bring you into my problems.¡± Zeth thought. ¡°Either way,¡± Turin continued, ¡°feel free to sleep on the couch tonight. I know it¡¯d probably be rough to walk home alone at night in your state. Tomorrow, if your family doesn¡¯t come by to walk you back, I can help you get there.¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Thanks. Yeah, I think I¡¯ll sleep here.¡± It was late night at that point, and Turin went to sleep in his bedroom shortly after. But Zeth had just woken up from an all-day slumber, and wasn¡¯t about to waste all night sleeping as well. He got up and silently exited the house, walking down the street and toward the forest on the outskirts of town. The guards did a bad job of keeping the monster population out there culled, meaning it was extremely dangerous for anyone to spend an extended time in the wilderness, to the point where most travelers needed to pay for bodyguards to keep them safe the whole way. But Zeth would have to take the risk. And besides¡ªif the guards didn¡¯t regularly go out to kill the monsters in the forest, that also meant they wouldn¡¯t go out and find his ritual site, either. Drawing ritual circles seemed to leave behind some sort of mana residue that the investigators could detect, so it wouldn¡¯t be safe doing it somewhere they might check. Out in the middle of nowhere, even if they find residue, it wouldn¡¯t lead back to him. Plus, for Zeth, blood was liquid gold. He¡¯d just changed jobs from extracting gold from the ground to extracting it from his enemies. And heading into this forest, full of powerful creatures that needed to be exterminated anyway, was like striking a vein that would last a lifetime. He¡¯d just have to ensure he didn¡¯t die in the process of mining it. Chapter 17 Zeth stood in the middle of the forest outside town, scanning his surroundings for danger. The natural wildlife shouldn¡¯t have been too threatening, but any time a Beast Realm portal opened up and spilled out its armies of monsters, the entire ecosystem shifted to account for its new entrants. Many natural animals went into hiding to avoid being killed by the larger, more dangerous beings, and the new apex predators went around killing everything in sight. They wouldn¡¯t last long living outside their natural habitats¡ªeven if the adults could adapt, any babies they had wouldn¡¯t be able to survive the strange conditions compared to their own realm¡ªso eventually everything would die out and the woods would return to normal. But Beast Realm portals were common enough that a forest completely lacking any monsters was rare. He¡¯d left Turin¡¯s house in the middle of the night so he could practice his rituals without worrying about the danger of being caught, but all he¡¯d done was replace that threat with the new danger of being mauled to death by the nine-fingered claws of a Torogorn or pierced through the back by a Vorathede¡¯s stinger. Still, he preferred the latter to the former. At least he could fight back against monsters; the strong arm of the law was too overpowering compared to his current strength for him to do anything but run away. Traversing through the wilderness, Zeth replayed over and over his memory of his narrow escape, hiding behind the shed and eavesdropping on the investigation, trying to extract every bit of information he could from what he¡¯d heard. That blue light seemed to show all the places Zeth had done his magic¡ªbut what counted and what didn¡¯t? It hadn¡¯t illuminated any path leading away from the shed, only the interior, so it seemed like the residue wouldn¡¯t follow Zeth around or stick to him after he finished and walked away. Rather, it seemed to specifically only care about the location he physically drew his ritual circles. That meant, as long as he did the actual drawing out here, he¡¯d be safe from detection. He still didn¡¯t know if it would be okay to bring an already-completed circle with him, so for now, he¡¯d avoid doing so unless he found it absolutely necessary to have one. But he¡¯d have free rein to do whatever he wanted while he was out here. Zeth glanced around himself. He was in a clearing a good distance away from the town¡¯s borders, and with flat enough terrain that he felt this would be a perfectly fine location for drawing. So, eager to waste no time, he knelt on the ground and placed his finger on the dirt. First would be protection. As he was now, if any monster showed up¡ªor even some of the local mundane animals¡ªhe¡¯d have no defense against them and would be forced to flee. He needed to set up something to help him fight off danger, and currently, his only option for that was Hellfire Ritual. Ideally, he¡¯d be able to surround himself with the circles, that way he could devote full focus on his work without having to worry about checking around himself for danger. Even if a monster snuck up on him, the moment it got too close, it¡¯d step on one of the circles and roast itself alive without Zeth even needing to lift a finger. The only problem was, he wanted to draw a forty-eight inch Empowerment Ritual circle out in this clearing. Which meant he¡¯d need to surround that entire area with small, five-point-three inch hellfire circles that took fifty minutes each to draw. He didn¡¯t need to do any math to know it¡¯d take days of work to accomplish that. And what happened if a monster stepped over the line of circles he made to get to him? Ideally he¡¯d want to double or even triple up on them in order to ensure nothing could come close without stepping on one. No way that would be possible. So what else could he do? Just make a single Hellfire Ritual circle off to the side somewhere and hope he¡¯d notice any coming monster while he worked so he could trick it into stepping onto it? That sounded unreliable. It was a frustrating situation. Ironically, Vile Focus¡¯s effects were actually a detriment to his plans currently, as the Skill lowered the required diameter of his circles. With each Rank, his hellfire circles would grow smaller and smaller, and therefore become even harder to step on. It was strange; typically, any Skill with a potentially detrimental effect would allow you to disable it at will to avoid situations like this. Zeth frowned. He glanced over the descriptions of his Skills once again, and this time, something caught his eye. Immediately, he got to work tracing a circle with a diameter of a full foot¡ªover twice the ¡°required¡± size of Hellfire Ritual. If it was truly a specific requirement, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it for the Skill. But if he was able to¡­ After spending an hour drawing it, meeting the minimum time requirement, Zeth gazed down at his work. Since the circle was larger and inherently took longer to draw, he didn¡¯t need to do as much work on the internals of the circle than he normally did for Hellfire. Typically, he quickly finished the outer ring with upwards of forty minutes to spare, meaning he¡¯d have to continue drawing intricate designs within the circle to fill the time requirement. But since this one¡¯s diameter was so much wider, not only was there much more space to fill in the same amount of time, but it took longer to draw the outer circle to begin with. Once it was done, he breathed. He already had plenty of rags covering his body that were soaked in blood, so he simply unwrapped a few of his bandages and pressed them against the circle, the wet blood quickly getting sucked into the dirt and leaving the once soaked bandages far whiter than before. Once he did this with enough of them¡­ [Ritual complete: Hellfire Ritual Sacrifice given: Moderate amount of weak human blood. Hellfire Ritual circle has been armed.] [Hellfire Circle¡¯s Rank has increased to 3. +1 Skill Point. You have 12 Skill Points.] Zeth felt his mouth spreading into an excited grin. That was very, very good news. About five hours later, Zeth was calmly drawing the circle for his Empowerment Ritual in the ground, having partially let Vile Focus take hold, removing the boring monotonous feeling of the task but still ensuring he kept his wits about him, when he heard a sound from behind him. He allowed Vile Focus¡¯s effects to wear off of him, suddenly feeling much more present in the world, and glanced back at the source of the noise. For a moment, he didn¡¯t see anything, but then he spotted a barely dissonant piece of the scenery outside of the clearing. A coat of camouflaged scales sat perfectly still behind the bushes and trees, waiting to strike. From the simple glance, Zeth wasn¡¯t able to identify what those scales belonged to¡ªand, chances were, he wouldn¡¯t be able to identify what the monster was even if he could see it clearly. There was such a large variety of species in the different realms that it would take years of dedicated study to memorize them all. A pang of fear struck Zeth¡¯s heart as he fought his urge to flee the clearing and run back to town. he thought to himself. Still keeping the monster in the corner of his eye, Zeth continued drawing the Empowerment Ritual and pretending he hadn¡¯t noticed. He traced the complex lines, feeling mana seep from his finger into the ground as the monster began to creep forward. The slightest crunch of leaves, the barest shake of a bush¡¯s branches told him it was gaining confidence, preparing to strike. He took a shaky breath. The creature lunged. It flung itself straight at Zeth from its cover, finally giving him a clear view of what it looked like during the split second it was exposed to the open air. It was horrifying, standing on four legs, a mass of sinewy muscle that was barely covered by slick scales. Its open jaw reached out eagerly toward its prey, unhinging like a snake¡¯s. Zeth flinched back, away from the beast¡¯s charge. But the moment its foot touched the dirt around him, the ground lit up in bright red and pink, a flash of electricity danced across Zeth¡¯s vision, and flames burst out in front of him. The monster didn¡¯t even have time to take another step before it collapsed to the ground, dead. Its corpse continued burning five or six feet away from him as the lines beneath its feet burnt out and went inert. The entire clearing dimmed. Zeth stood, looking around himself, and let out a held-in breath. It worked. He hadn¡¯t just gotten lucky that the monster had stepped in the right place to roast itself, of course. And there weren¡¯t rows upon rows of tiny Hellfire Rituals protecting him, either. In fact, there were just three. Zeth had found that not only could he make his ritual circles as large as he wanted, he could also put circles other circles¡ªas long as there was space. He had to detail the inside of the circles only if he¡¯d finished the outer ring and still had required time remaining. Which meant that, if the outer ring was large enough that just finishing it took an hour, then he wouldn¡¯t have to draw a single line on the inside of his hellfire rituals. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. So, he¡¯d simply drawn a twelve-foot diameter Hellfire Ritual that surrounded him and his entire workspace, then another that was eleven feet in diameter inside the first, and then another that was ten, the three rings surrounding him on all sides and protecting him from anything that dared approach. And, judging by their performance here, it seemed like they wouldn¡¯t need their targets to specifically touch the lines themselves¡ªjust be within the circle. Zeth still wasn¡¯t sure exactly how the ¡°minimum time¡± requirement worked in terms of how he could and couldn¡¯t get around it. It felt pretty arbitrary; who cared how much time he spent drawing the thing? What difference did it make if he could get it done in one hour or two? The instinctual knowledge granted to him by his Skills told him there was something more technical being abstracted by it, but what exactly was going on, he wasn¡¯t sure. He knew, for example, that he wouldn¡¯t be able to intentionally slow down his drawing in order to get the circle done without needing to put down as many lines. It would simply not count some of that time as being spent drawing to compensate for his slower work. But he couldn¡¯t tell why. Either way, he¡¯d figured out a way to utilize the mechanics effectively. And in the process of drawing those three circles, he¡¯d even gotten another Rank-up on Hellfire Ritual, up to four, which meant he was only two Skill Points away from being able to afford the fifteen-Point cost of Demonic Covenant. With the monster dead, one of the three overlapping circles was spent, which meant that after two more monsters came and died, he¡¯d be left with nothing more to stop his enemies from getting close. So he probably needed to go ahead and redraw the spent circle so he¡¯d have maximum protection. He didn¡¯t want to get caught defenseless against a group of pack animals. But as he walked over to the outer edges of the circles, he felt light glare into his eyes. The sun was rising, peeking through the trees. It was time to return to town, hopefully soon enough that Turin didn¡¯t notice he was ever gone and he didn¡¯t need to come up with an excuse for his absence. He¡¯d just leave all of this as it was for now. His Empowerment Ritual was about a quarter done, so he¡¯d just have to come back later and finish it when he found more time. After dragging the corpse of the scaled monster into the center of the protected area¡ªhe¡¯d want to keep it safe from scavengers so he could use the blood later¡ªhe let out a breath, then turned and headed back toward town. Zeth got back to Turin¡¯s in time before his friend woke up, and slipped back onto the couch so it would seem like he¡¯d been sleeping all night. But after a few minutes passed as Turin snoozed away in his own room, he grew impatient, finding that pretending to sleep wasn¡¯t the best use of his time, and decided he¡¯d just head back home. He was obviously fine to walk on his own, so he just wrote a note explaining he¡¯d woken up and gone to his mom¡¯s house and left it behind for Turin before grabbing the book he¡¯d bought for Sophie and walking off. Upon reaching his destination, Zeth was surprised to see that nothing had changed. He¡¯d expected it to be surrounded by town guards or something, considering the fact that the last time he¡¯d been there, he¡¯d witnessed an investigator confirm there had been rituals done on the property. But it looked like it always had¡ªno law enforcement in sight. Maybe after he left, they decided it wasn¡¯t actually as likely as they¡¯d thought that it had been blood magic performed there, after all. That would certainly be good news. Before he could reach the door, he heard an excited shout. ¡°Zeth!¡± He turned to see Sophie running toward him wearing oversized work clothes, gloves flopping around on her fingertips. His mom trailed behind. ¡°Hey!¡± he responded, reaching out to catch her charging hug-slash-tackle. She collided with him and pushed him back as he let out a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡± she said. ¡°I told you he¡¯d be alright,¡± his mom said as she caught up with her daughter. ¡°See? It was a good idea to get started on pulling weeds now. If we¡¯d used up all the cool morning time walking down to meet him, we¡¯d be stuck working in the middle of the hot day.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I made you worry,¡± Zeth said. ¡°But, as an apology, I got you a surprise.¡± Her eyes lit up. ¡°Really? What is it?¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He held up the thick book he¡¯d been hiding behind his back. Before he could even say anything, she squealed in delight. Behind her, Zeth could catch a glimpse of exasperation from his mom. He ignored it for now. ¡°Oh, oh, what¡¯s it called?!¡± she asked, grabbing the book from his hands and holding it out to examine the cover. ¡°¡®A Traveler¡¯s Guide to Magic and Combat.¡¯ Woah¡­¡± ¡°You got her a book about his mom asked in an accusatory tone. ¡°Uh, yeah. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s mostly self-defense and that sort of thing,¡± Zeth responded, not sure if what he said was true. He certainly hadn¡¯t had time to read the thing after the librarian had randomly picked it off the shelf for him. ¡°Probably good to know with the Blood Mage stuff going on, right?¡± She frowned. ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°Mom, can I please take a break so I can go read?¡± Sophie begged. ¡°Please? I promise I¡¯ll pull weeds twice as hard when I¡¯m done!¡± ¡°You¡¯d be wasting perfectly good morning hours.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can work when it¡¯s hot!¡± ¡°No, Sophie. Go back to pulling weeds. I¡¯ll tell you when you can read.¡± Sophie groaned in disappointment, then looked back at Zeth. ¡°Thank you.¡± Zeth forced a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure the hours will pass in no time. Tell me what you think of it once you finish!¡± That seemed to cheer her up. With a nod, she ran off to go continue with her weed-pulling, leaving Zeth and his mom standing in the field. ¡°You¡¯re feeling okay?¡± she asked, eyeing the bandages covering his upper-body. ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Turin hurt my hand a bit, but I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Oh? What happened?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± Zeth lied, ignoring the still-throbbing pain of the hole that had pierced through his palm. He was aiming to heal from that wound much faster than one normally would by picking up Self-Destruction after he bought Demonic Covenant, and his Endurance would accelerate his healing as well, so downplaying its initial severity would hopefully help make that more believable. ¡°Just an accident. Anyway, he said most of my injuries were skin-level and stuff, so I¡¯ll be good to go after some time.¡± She sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into you lately. You¡¯re too reckless.¡± ¡°I tripped and fell. Not sure what that has to do with recklessness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that. I¡¯m talking about all the time, lately.¡± ¡°What have I done?¡± ¡°A mother knows, Zeth. Something¡¯s going on with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to acclimate back into normal life after the cave-in. Sorry if I feel different,¡± he said. Then, eager to change the subject, he brought up what he¡¯d noticed earlier. ¡°So, what happened with the investigation? I left before I could hear whether anything came of it. Half expected to come back to see the place crawling with guards.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s something I needed to talk to you about. You can¡¯t go into that shed you were working in anymore.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± Zeth asked, already expecting the answer she¡¯d give. They¡¯d found evidence of ritual magic in there, so obviously it would be too dangerous. ¡°The guards set a trap for the Blood Mage. I don¡¯t really know how it works, but the way they worded it, anyone who goes in there may as well be killed on the spot. I wasn¡¯t too eager to volunteer my own property like that, but they didn¡¯t give me much of a choice. Tried to tell them that we had nothing to do with it, but apparently finding any evidence at all on our property was grounds for them to do whatever they wanted. Still, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t mind the protection. Just until you hear what they found inside. There was this test with a bright light¡ªit really was very strange, I tell you.¡± That was more than he¡¯d expected. Suddenly, Zeth was extremely glad he¡¯d stuck around to see the results of the investigation before he¡¯d left the day before. If he had wandered into the shed to do his rituals last night¡­ She sighed and shook her head exasperatedly. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t get into it right now. All you need to know is it¡¯s going to be a little dangerous here for a while. That Blood Mage fellow has been poking around our land for a while now, apparently. It¡¯d be unwise to continue working the farm with someone like that around here.¡± Zeth raised his eyebrows. ¡°So, what? Are you going to be taking a break?¡± ¡°Oh, no, of course not. I was thinking, you still have that pay you haven¡¯t picked up from the guild yet, so I¡¯m going to use that money to hire mercenaries to guard our property and make sure no strangers come onto our land.¡± He couldn¡¯t keep his mouth from hanging open. You don¡¯t really think you can afford that.¡± ¡°No, no, I went and talked with some people yesterday after the guards left, and I think I can get a good deal for their services. They had good combat Classes, they seemed competent¡­I mean, they weren¡¯t high-Level, but they¡¯re in the high teens, so they should be more than enough to scare off this evil mage. With the coin from the guild, it should be enough to keep them around for a week or two, maybe.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s profitable. Paying that much just so you don¡¯t have to skip a week of work?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just a week of work. If we¡¯re stuck in the house all day for that long, we¡¯ll risk losing quite a lot of money¡¯s worth of crops. We might even ruin the entire season¡¯s output. That would be much more expensive than a small protection fee.¡± ¡°Okay, but how do you even know we¡¯re even in that much danger? Surely there¡¯s not that much risk of this person coming and attacking everyone. I mean, it¡¯s not like they¡¯ve done anything so far, right?¡± She shook her head. ¡°They were in the , Zeth. Doing magic and rituals and whatnot. I know you weren¡¯t there when they found this, so you don¡¯t know how big of a deal this is, but there¡¯s no way that person isn¡¯t up to no good. Maybe they didn¡¯t attack us during the monster fight, but who¡¯s to say they¡¯ll stay that way?¡± Zeth bit his tongue. How could he convince her that the ¡®mysterious Blood Mage¡¯ posed no threat without outright telling her that was the culprit? She sighed. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to use your money to hire them, fine. But you can¡¯t convince me this isn¡¯t necessary. I don¡¯t want you or Sophie getting hurt, and I refuse to let my mother¡¯s farm die just because I was too cheap to protect it. I¡¯ll find out some way to make a few extra coins and¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine,¡± Zeth rushed to say. This mess was all his fault; he wasn¡¯t going to make her pay for it. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to Garon and pick up my pay. I¡¯ve been meaning to do that anyway.¡± It felt too soon to go to the guild already, before he¡¯d gotten powerful enough to repel an attack, but with all the heat coming down from this investigation team trying to find the identity of whoever was practicing blood magic in town, he¡¯d need to figure out the identity of his enemy sooner rather than later. Chances were they¡¯d be just as afraid as he was of getting caught. The team was technically following Zeth¡¯s trail right now, but what they didn¡¯t realize was that there was more than one criminal in town. If they ended up chasing after the Blood Mage instead of Zeth, things could end badly. They could get scared and run off, which would make it almost impossible for him to chase after them, or they could simply get caught on their own, which would be just as bad. If that person died by the empire¡¯s executioners rather than by Zeth¡¯s own hand, he¡¯d never forgive himself. Even if he wasn¡¯t ready for a fight, Zeth needed to start making moves. Chapter 18 Zeth stood in front of the mineshaft¡¯s entrance. The last time he went through there, he watched his entire mining contingent die, met their murderer, and then went missing for four months. But the personnel manager¡¯s office was in there, so if he wanted to get his salary from Garon, that was where he¡¯d have to go. A group of four people walked past him, chatting among themselves. He glanced at the backs of their boots. The exact same emblem that was on the back of the Blood Mage¡¯s boot, back in the mines on that day. Any one of these people could be the one. Zeth angled his face downward, avoiding eye contact with the people around him. It had been dark in that cave, and everything had gone fast enough that it was unlikely the Blood Mage got a good look at him. Plus, it¡¯d been four full months from their perspective since they last saw him. It wasn¡¯t likely they would recognize him just from a passing glance. But he wasn¡¯t eager to give them the chance. So, he walked in at a brisk pace, unwilling to risk staying here any longer. He passed by a few people he recognized and plenty he didn¡¯t, going through the wooden doors and entering the mineshaft proper, and turning down the familiar hallways to find the section that would have the personnel manager¡¯s office. He remembered the route better than most because of the number of times he¡¯d been called here to be reprimanded for disrespect or mouthing off or ¡°anti-guild conversation,¡± whatever that last one meant. They never fired him¡ªonly threatened to¡ªbecause he always accomplished his tasks just fine. But Garon certainly didn¡¯t like him. And it seemed like the moment he found an excuse, he got Zeth out of there. Once he reached the door to the office, Zeth took a breath, preparing himself. He¡¯d only been rid of Garon for a few days from his perspective, but he was already not eager to talk to the man again. If he had his way, the only time he ever saw the man for the rest of his life would be the day he killed him. Though, hey, maybe Garon had transformed into a new, better person over the past four months he was gone. Zeth laughed to himself. He opened the door and strode in, ready to demand his missing pay from the bastard. And maybe give him a verbal beating, too. For old times'' sake. But when he gazed at the person sitting behind the desk, Zeth found a completely different person. ¡°Hello,¡± the woman said in a monotone voice, not looking up from her paper. Her wrinkled face barely moved when she spoke, like she was dedicating as little energy as possible to communicating with him. ¡°Why¡¯re you here?¡± Zeth blinked. Who was this woman? He took a step forward. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m here to get my last salary. I was removed from the guild and haven¡¯t received it yet.¡± She still didn¡¯t look up. ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°How long ago did you leave the guild?¡± ¡°Oh, there was an incident, so it¡¯s been a while. Four months.¡± ¡°And you still haven¡¯t claimed your last salary?¡± ¡°No. This is the first opportunity I¡¯ve got. Do you need my name, or¡­?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be able to do that for you. I replaced my predecessor, Garon, more recently than you left. I don¡¯t have records of your leaving or your pay dating that far back. You¡¯d need to speak with Garon about that.¡± ¡°Wait, you replaced Garon?¡± Zeth asked. He had a wonderful thought. Had Garon, too, been fired? Oh, the bliss he¡¯d feel if that fucker went broke and was out living on the streets now. ¡°Yes, I replaced him around three months ago, when he was promoted to overseer.¡± The excitement slipped off Zeth¡¯s face like he was made of ice. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find his office in the outside building.¡± He sighed. ¡°Got it.¡± Dejectedly, Zeth turned and walked out of the room, down the same hallways, out the same door, finding himself aboveground once again, and started toward the large office building located near the mineshaft. This was where all the higher-level managers resided, making decisions related to trade and legality and all that other complicated stuff. Evidently Garon had gone and gotten himself a nice, cushy job to replace one where he actually had to look his employees in the eye. When the building came into view, though, Zeth saw it halfway demolished. An entire wing of the large wooden structure had been burnt to the ground, and the rest was only barely standing. Scorch marks covered the entire thing, rubble surrounded it, and almost every wall had some sort of hole or crack. Countless builders surrounded it, working to fix the most egregious sections. Seemed like this place took a beating from the fleshtaker attack. Or, rather, it took that beating from the fire. Which, if Turin¡¯s knowledge was to be believed, that fire was caused by the Blood Mage he was hunting. A demon apparently got on the loose, huh? Maybe this was where it had been released. Zeth walked up to the front door, which was only partially destroyed, and opened it, gazing around. He¡¯d never been in here apart from the brief visit when he was first hired, so the interior was still relatively unfamiliar. Plus, it was in the middle of being rebuilt, which certainly added to his disorientation. He walked into the entrance room, full of chairs and benches, and asked for directions from the young man at the front desk. He was given directions to go down some series of hallways to find the overseer¡¯s office, and off he went. It seemed that the portion of the building that housed the overseer¡¯s office was one of the more destroyed sections. Entire hallways were missing walls, exposing Zeth to the open air as he walked, and several doors were completely gone, allowing him to glance at employees working in offices, dark storage closets, and many other mundane things. He wondered if it would be rude to just step through one of the broken sections of wall and take a shortcut outside to get to Garon¡¯s office. Eventually, though, Zeth did reach the room he had been directed to. Its door looked brand new¡ªlikely already replaced. He took a long breath, trying to re-prepare himself to see the man, and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened the door and stepped through. ¡°We expended three in the fleshtaker attack, so get those replaced,¡± a familiar, ugly voice was in the middle of saying when he entered. ¡°And assign Denton and Maine to work on the other¡ª¡± The voice stopped. Zeth opened his eyes, seeing the man he hated and trying to keep his face from automatically twisting into a scowl. ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± Garon sat behind a desk, looking as irritating as Zeth had always known him. He was partially balding, having combed his hair over in a failed attempt to hide it. Zeth remembered how he would always get pissed at anyone who mentioned his hair, like it was fault he didn¡¯t do literally anything else to keep it from looking horrible. His face was slightly chubby, sagging at the cheeks, but the rest of his body looked weak and skinny. It honestly made Zeth angry just looking at him. ¡°U-um, sir, should I leave?¡± a small, hollow voice asked. Only then did Zeth¡¯s tunnel vision end and he realized there was someone else in the room, sitting in a chair on the other side of the desk, holding a pencil and paper like he was taking notes. This person made even Garon look like he was a bodybuilder, with sunken cheeks and wrists you could wrap a single finger all the way around. He looked like he hadn¡¯t eaten in a week. And by his baggy, exhausted eyes, he probably hadn¡¯t slept in just as long. Garon ignored the man, staring at Zeth. ¡°Well? Tell me what you want or get out. And what¡¯s with that expression?¡± He blinked. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s me. Zeth.¡± ¡°Alright, Seth, tell you what,¡± Garon replied. ¡°You go ahead and stand right there, and some nice men are gonna come, remove you from my office, and put you outside. Go and play with a rock or something.¡± ¡°What? No, I¡¯m Zeth. I used to work for you. I¡¯m here because you fired me and haven¡¯t given me my last pay yet.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Garon said with a sigh. ¡°Just go away and I¡¯ll get it to you when I get it to you.¡± ¡°No. The money is rightfully mine. You have to give it to me when I¡¯m fired, and you haven¡¯t yet.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll go ahead and leave,¡± the small man said, getting up from his chair and hurrying out the door. Garon paid him no mind, but Zeth turned and watched him go, frowning as he looked at the man¡¯s shoes. Unlike everyone else in this building, this guy wearing a uniform for Otis and Roul¡¯s. Where did he work, if he was taking orders from Garon? Maybe he was one of the construction workers? But Zeth knew Otis and Roul¡¯s had their own personal construction division they used for stuff like this¡ªthey wouldn¡¯t use people from outside the guild. ¡°Who was that guy?¡± Zeth asked after the man disappeared. Garon¡¯s face twitched. ¡°That¡¯s not information the likes of you need to know. Just get out of my office.¡± ¡°Again, no,¡± Zeth said. He took a step forward. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving until I get the money you owe me.¡± ¡°Damn lowlife piece of shit, bothering me when we¡¯re already busy with this crisis,¡± Garon muttered, glancing downward while rubbing his forehead. Then he looked back up, speaking directly to Zeth again. ¡°If you¡¯re so insistent that I¡¯m breaking the law by not giving you this money within a fraction of a second of you demanding it, why aren¡¯t you flanked by guards right now? How about, if you¡¯re so convinced you¡¯re in the legal right, you leave me alone and come back when you¡¯ve got them with you.¡± Zeth took two more steps forward, closing the distance between him and Garon before he slammed his hands against the man¡¯s desk. ¡°How about instead, if you don¡¯t give me the money I am I just cave your fucking skull in?¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Garon flinched back instinctively at Zeth¡¯s sudden advance before quickly composing himself. ¡°S-step away from me, scum. Threatening me like that, you can¡¯t say that to me without there being consequences. Damn lowlife commoners People like you need to learn your place.¡± ¡°Consequences? Yeah, like what? You¡¯ll fire me? Withhold my pay? Maybe make me work overtime? You¡¯ve already done all you can, dumbass. I don¡¯t work for you anymore¡ªyou have no leverage over me.¡± Zeth chuckled, relishing in the fact that Garon couldn¡¯t order him around anymore. ¡°Also, who are you calling a commoner? I know you, Garon; you don¡¯t have a drop of noble blood in you. You¡¯re some random manager at a mining guild, for the gods¡¯ sakes. You¡¯re not some prince riding around in a golden carriage. Gods, you are so pathetic.¡± His face screwed up in anger. ¡°Ignorant little s-slug. There are more ways than bloodline that a person can be inferior.¡± Zeth rubbed his temples with his hands. he just wanted to break this man¡¯s nose over his knee. But right now, doing so would cause far more problems than it would solve. Though it certainly would solve some. ¡°Listen. You owe me my pay. You have owed me my pay for months, now. And I even heard that when a family member came by to ask you for it, you actively refused to give it to them. If I did what you¡¯re asking and actually went to get the guards and make a whole stink out of this, you understand they would inconvenience you far more than I am? If you want me out of your office, just give me my money and I will leave.¡± Garon shook his head in exasperation, then bent over and opened one of his desk¡¯s drawers. ¡°Lowlifes are so damn needy. Fine, Seth. I¡¯ll see if we actually owe you any money.¡± Zeth thought. If he¡¯d been forced to stay any longer, he really was afraid he¡¯d have no choice but to start beating Garon to death. Rifling through the drawer, Garon asked. ¡°What¡¯s your full name?¡± ¡°Zeth Valerian.¡± ¡°Seth Valerian, Seth Valerian¡­¡± ¡°No, . Not Seth.¡± ¡°Oh. Sure. Uh¡­Here we go.¡± He sat back up, holding a sheet with fine writing on it. Dragging his finger down one side as he scanned down the page, he hummed until he eventually found Zeth¡¯s name. ¡°Okay, here we go.¡± ¡°See? I¡¯m still owed some pay.¡± ¡°Right, right, we owe you¡­¡± Garon paused, then let out a chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s it? Just a few coins? Heh, I guess for a little commoner like you, a single handful is quite a bit of money. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d even notice if that much went missing from my purse.¡± ¡°Just get me my money,¡± Zeth said through clenched teeth. Was this guy physically incapable of going ten seconds without another snide fucking comment? Did he have some sort of parasite in his brain that forced him to become the most insufferable human being in the entire realm every time he opened his mouth? Rolling his eyes, Garon reached into another drawer in his desk and pulled out a pouch and a few coins, slipping them in and drawing the pouch¡¯s string before throwing the pouch to the other side of the desk. Only, he misjudged the force he tossed them with, and the pouch sailed right over the edge, hitting the planks by Zeth¡¯s feet with a ¡°Whoops,¡± he said with no remorse in his voice. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna come pick it up for me?¡± ¡°No, you go ahead. I¡¯m quite the busy man. Besides, I¡¯m sure someone like you should be well-practiced in scrounging around for coins lying on the ground.¡± ¡°¡®Busy man,¡¯¡± Zeth repeated with the roll of his eyes as he bent over to snatch up the coins. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure the guild would collapse without you around to push pencils. What do you even do here? Come up with new ways to commit safety violations? Brainstorm excuses for why you¡¯re cutting pay again this year?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, I¡ª¡± Garon cut himself off, apparently deciding against whatever he was about to say. But after a moment¡¯s silence of him wearing an unsatisfied scowl as Zeth picked up the money, his expression morphed. ¡°Actually, I working on a project I think you¡¯ll be just delighted to hear about.¡± Zeth sighed, pocketing the money as he contemplated just turning and leaving right now before Garon could open his ugly mouth again. But it would probably be a good idea to at least hear what the man had to say. Hey, maybe he¡¯d tell Zeth about his new job as some sort of bottomless pit supervisor, and Zeth could just drop by tomorrow and push him in. ¡°Okay. What is it?¡± Garon grinned sadistically. ¡°I¡¯m going to be mayor soon.¡± Zeth froze. ¡°What?¡± His grin grew wider. ¡°Yes, the current old man is stepping down after deciding he¡¯s too senile to rule. And, due to my inherent ability to lead, he¡¯s chosen to succeed him.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Since when did you know the mayor?¡± ¡°Oh, a commoner like you wouldn¡¯t be able to comprehend the details,¡± Garon said, clearly relishing Zeth''s confusion. ¡°Nobody in their right mind would appoint mayor,¡± Zeth said. He genuinely didn¡¯t believe it. No way Garon wasn¡¯t just lying to get under his skin. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to figure out what my first decree will be. Maybe¡­Hm, how about making every citizen come kiss my feet and pledge their fealty to me? I wonder if you have any family members I could turn into servants or concubines¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about being a mayor, dude. Not the new ruler on high of the entire Oberian Empire. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re gonna have the power you seem to think you will. So, sure. Whatever. Go spend the rest of your days signing tax documents and trade treaties. See if I care.¡± Garon¡¯s grin turned into a scowl. ¡°We¡¯ll see if you keep that attitude for long. Things are changing around here, Seth. And you¡¯ll be the first to experience the new world when you get a knock on your door and find yourself face to face with¡ª¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He was interrupted by the door to his office opening and the sound of footsteps coming in. Zeth turned around to see who it was, and found that same small man from earlier. ¡°U-um, excuse me, sir,¡± the man said, bowing so low his forehead almost touched the floor. Then he looked over and saw Zeth standing next to him. ¡°Oh, that man is still here. Is he causing issues? Would you like me to remove him?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I was just leaving.¡± With that, he turned and walked out of the room. His fist clenched tightly around the doorknob as he closed it behind him. Zeth reminded himself. No matter how much he wanted to let out his anger on something nearby, it would be a bad idea. But Garon was acting strange. Stranger than he normally did. Who was that guy that acted so subservient to him? Otis and Roul¡¯s worked with outside entities¡ªeverything was done by an employee of theirs, whether it be digging in the mines, making equipment, or handling construction. And even if they did decide to break their streak and contract some other company to rebuild this office, that man certainly wasn¡¯t treating Garon like a business partner. He was treating Garon more like a king, or a slavemaster. Everything about that meeting was strange. The strange man, Garon¡¯s attitude, the weird mayor thing? And when something went weird, Zeth¡¯s mind immediately went to the mystery he was trying to solve. The unknown identity of the Blood Mage. Could it really have been Garon all along? Zeth wanted that to be the case. Honestly, the thought was borderline euphoric. Garon, that infinitely irritating jackass, actually being the person Zeth had been hunting this whole time? He¡¯d been planning on killing the man, but that would make him even more deserving of death. It¡¯d be killing two men with a single stab. Ugh, slitting his throat would be so cathartic. He couldn¡¯t get caught up in the fantasy, though. He had no real proof yet. All he had was one single interaction with a few strange details. Maybe Otis and Roul¡¯s just changed their policies in the four months he was gone, and the strange man was really just some random construction worker. Maybe Garon was just a normal asshole. Zeth couldn¡¯t jump to conclusions. But he felt the pull to find answers. Perhaps he could try to eavesdrop on the conversation between Garon and that man? Though, he was standing right by the door now and couldn¡¯t hear anything. If they were gonna discuss any sensitive information, they¡¯d probably do so in hushed tones, or somewhere a person like Zeth couldn¡¯t just barge right in. Where else could he figure out answers about what was going on here? Even if Garon wasn¡¯t really the Blood Mage, there was still something strange going on here. He¡¯d mentioned becoming mayor, which Zeth believed was a lie but still wanted to confirm wasn¡¯t true, but there was more beyond that. Why hadn¡¯t anyone come looking for him and everyone else back in the cave-in? Was it really just because it would¡¯ve been too expensive? And how was the Blood Mage able to keep their ritual circle hidden in the tunnels for so long? When it had been completed, it said it¡¯d been going for several years, with hundreds of people being fed to it. Surely that couldn¡¯t have gone on for so long without anyone knowing about it. If Zeth wanted answers, he¡¯d likely find them here. Maybe there was something hidden around here in one of the storage closets, or something. With the building half-destroyed and most of the rooms exposed, it gave Zeth a perfect, one-time opportunity to sleuth around. So, instead of returning back the way he came, Zeth continued down the hallway, trying not to look too suspicious while paying close attention to what was happening through the cracked doors in the rooms he passed. There were a few offices with well-dressed people sitting behind desks signing various papers, there was a room with a big glass box with carved lines squiggling all throughout its interior¡ªit looked like a three-dimensional map of the mineshaft and surrounding cave systems¡ªthere were rooms with big detailed drawings and diagrams on papers nailed to the walls of complex-looking mining machines with lists of every crafting Class and every Skill needed to create each one¡­It all looked very complicated. But then, he passed by one small room that seemed almost deliberately understated. There were simple shelves lining the walls with a few scrolls and papers piled atop them, and nothing else. And despite its boring looks, the room caught Zeth¡¯s attention more than anything else. He was drawn to it, like something inside was trying to connect with him. He glanced up and down the hallway to make sure nobody was watching him, then crept in. Once inside, Zeth grabbed a few scrolls from the shelves. Something about the air here felt different. Crackling. Powerful. He read the scroll, half-expecting it to be some detailed evil plan for world domination or recipe for cooking human meat. It was¡­an employee evaluation for someone named ¡°Lom Bepper.¡± He put it back and kept looking. Another piece of parchment described the in-depth history of every single pickaxe the company owned. When they were bought, whenever they were repaired, who was in current possession of which¡ªall tracked by a number carved into their handles. Not particularly interesting. Zeth glanced across the shelves, looking for something that would catch his eye. something, Then, down on the lowest shelf, he saw a familiar object. It was a stack of the same type of papers Garon had looked through to find how much money he¡¯d owed Zeth. Was this a copy of those? That could be interesting¡ªat the very least, Zeth would be able to figure out if he¡¯d been short-changed. He picked up the stack and fingered through the papers, looking for his own name, until he eventually found it. It had a simple sketch of his face, his name, info about his employment history¡­nothing remarkable. It said his ¡°withdrawal date¡± was three days after he¡¯d gone missing, so it seemed like that was the day Garon decided Zeth must¡¯ve been dead and fired him. he thought. He thumbed over to Nestor¡¯s page. It said he¡¯d been removed from the roster on the day of the¡­ Zeth frowned. He¡¯d been removed from the roster the day the cave-in? It must have just been an error in the paperwork; someone put down the wrong day on his file. Zeth went to the rest of the people who had disappeared, checking their sheets. Every single one said the same day. One day before they¡¯d actually died. Was Zeth getting his days mixed up? If this was genuine, and they actually put these people down as dead before they''d even left, then whoever was in charge of this paperwork must have known ahead of time they were going to die. They must have been the Blood Mage themself. It would be a huge piece of evidence to point toward¡ª [Awareness check passed.] Suddenly, it was like a veil had been lifted from Zeth¡¯s eyes. Something appeared on the floor. Or, no¡ªit had been there this whole time, and only now he could see it. Drawn on the wooden planks Zeth stood atop was a giant, intricate pattern, carved in the same chalky substance Zeth was deeply familiar with by now. A ritual circle. Chapter 19 Standing atop the giant ritual circle, Zeth fought the urge to immediately sprint out of the building at top speed. It was maybe six or seven feet wide? Looking at the unlocked Skill, Demonic Covenant would need a 10 foot diameter circle, so he wanted to say this ritual circle couldn¡¯t have been made for that purpose. But then, the Blood Mage could¡¯ve taken some of the Skills that decreased the minimum diameter of their circles to make it fit in a circle of this size, so it wasn¡¯t actually ruled out. Though, Zeth didn¡¯t know whether those Skills were exclusive to Blood Magus or not¡ªor if he had improved versions, and the basic versions wouldn¡¯t do nearly as much as his did. Effectively, he had no real idea what this could be for. It could be an Empowerment Ritual, an oversized Hellfire Ritual like the ones he¡¯d made, or one of any of the other Skills he hadn¡¯t discovered yet. At the very least, it didn¡¯t seem to have received a sacrifice yet, so it wouldn¡¯t be capable of doing anything right now. Zeth almost wanted to reach down and quickly erase the thing before he left. Destroying a circle this large would mean hours upon hours of progress down the drain for his enemy, and there was nothing he savored more than the opportunity to hurt someone he hated. But he resisted the urge. Now wasn¡¯t the time. This circle had been hidden somehow¡ªhe¡¯d gotten a notification about passing an Awareness check before being able to see it, so it was likely a Skill that hid it from people with Stats below a certain threshold. Which meant if this was erased, the Blood Mage would know it couldn¡¯t have been done by some random person passing through. Though, looking at his own Status, Zeth¡¯s Awareness Stat was only at five. Surely that would mean anyone with a couple Levels with any Class that gave out the Stat would be able to see it too? How hadn¡¯t it been discovered by anyone else yet? He didn¡¯t have time to think about it now, though. Zeth was already somewhere he wasn¡¯t supposed to be, and now that fact was made double by this ritual circle. As much as he hated to admit it, he had no defenses currently, no rituals set up to protect him, and was standing in the middle of enemy territory, which he had just found proof been set up with rituals to be activated at any moment. No matter how much he wanted answers, he needed to flee. Right now. Zeth turned to open the door and leave the closet, but just as he reached for the handle, the door swung open on its own. Standing on the other side was a bald man with a stern face. ¡°Sir,¡± the man said, ¡°are you authorized to be in here?¡± Zeth stammered, unsure what to say. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize you. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I, uh, I¡¯m sorry. I was here to talk to Garon, and got turned around. Not used to these offices.¡± ¡°You don''t work here?¡± ¡°No. Well, I used to work as a miner, but I was told to come here to talk to Garon about getting my last salary for leaving. So¡­¡± Zeth was trying his hardest to not look down at the ritual on the floor in his peripheral vision. This guy obviously wouldn¡¯t be able to see it, and some random person staring at a random point on a blank floor would clearly raise suspicion. After a moment of silence where it seemed like the man was deciding on what to do about the situation, he finally spoke. ¡°You were here to speak with Garon?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was.¡± ¡°And if I ask him, he¡¯ll say he had a conversation with you?¡± ¡°Absolutely. I think I just went the wrong direction out of his office, so, y¡¯know. My bad. I was looking for a map of the building in here, but couldn¡¯t find one.¡± The guy rubbed his eyes and muttered something beneath his breath about ¡°stupid miners¡± and ¡°good for nothing but their muscle,¡± then spoke more loudly, ¡°Sir, don¡¯t poke around in places you can¡¯t be. These are classified documents. Things you shouldn¡¯t see.¡± ¡°Right. Sorry.¡± Then, for a split second, Zeth saw the man glance down at the floor¡ªthe floor that should have been totally blank from his perspective. His eyes lingered on the spot with the ritual circle for just a moment too long before snapping back up to Zeth¡¯s face. ¡°Come with me. I¡¯ll escort you out.¡± Zeth tried to keep his face from showing how absolutely flabbergasted he was as he left the office building and started heading back home. Was that random bald guy the Blood Mage? Zeth definitely could¡¯ve just been imagining things, but it certainly looked like he¡¯d stared right at the ritual circle for a couple seconds. Obviously, if he could see the thing and he the Blood Mage, he¡¯d have said something, if not left the room right then to report it to the guards. Zeth had no idea if he¡¯d just narrowly avoided death by the hands of his friends¡¯ killer, or simply been a mild annoyance on some secretary¡¯s run to grab an extra inkwell from the storage closet. He hurried home, unwilling to spend a second longer than necessary out exposed like he was on the streets. Did they suspect him? Was the Blood Mage following him home, watching his every move? Was it Garon, who now knew Zeth was alive? Was it that man from the closet? Hell, it could¡¯ve even been that random guy speaking with Garon in the office. He was acting pretty strange, too. Zeth had no idea, and he hated it. When he got back home, he gave the money to his mom and went right to the window, gazing out. There was nobody coming after him. And, ironically, the guards¡¯ suspicion of this house was a great help to his safety; if the Blood Mage did come after him out here, they¡¯d be more than prepared to catch and subdue them. It seemed like he hadn¡¯t alerted any overt suspicion from his enemy. Or, at least, if he had, they weren¡¯t taking any immediate action while he was in the protected area. At this point, it may have been best to stay in the house for a few days before going back out to the forest to finish his ritual, just to make sure he was safe. Finally seeing another ritual circle made by someone that wasn¡¯t him¡­It freaked him out. It was the first real, solid confirmation he¡¯d received that the Blood Mage was still here, ready to kill any who got in their way. It took until deep into the evening for Zeth¡¯s nerves to calm themselves. Holed up in the house, he had no choice but to rest. And, considering his wounds, taking some time to recover was probably a good idea, anyway. His mom was in a good mood after receiving the coin infusion of Zeth¡¯s last salary, so she didn¡¯t make Sophie work any longer that day, and Zeth decided to celebrate with her with a game of Scrim. They sat in her room, cards lying between them, chatting as they played. ¡°I¡¯m gonna use my firebomb card to kill your legion,¡± Sophie said, pointing at the only defensive card Zeth had left on his side of the board. He groaned, moving it to the discard pile. ¡°It feels like you always have the perfect card whenever you need it.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She pushed her own three unit cards forward. ¡°I attack with my whole army. And you don¡¯t have anything to block with, so¡­¡± ¡°So you get to destroy some of my buildings. Yeah, yeah.¡± ¡°My army actually has enough power to destroy of your buildings.¡± Zeth sighed. ¡°I stand alone, a king of rubble.¡± ¡°You still have some cards left in your hand. Don¡¯t give up yet!¡± Zeth looked down at the cards in his hand, hidden from his opponent. None of them would save him from this onslaught. ¡°My turn¡¯s over. Your turn!¡± she said. Going through the motions of mounting what pitiful resistance he could, Zeth mocked a sigh. ¡°I honestly have no idea how you seem to pull ahead every game.¡± ¡°I just use my cards when I need them, and don¡¯t use them when I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I do that, too?¡± ¡°No.¡± He chuckled at her matter-of-fact statement. ¡°How could you know that?¡± She straightened her back, taking a more authoritative tone. ¡°Well, on your fourth turn, you used your assassinate card to kill my royal advisor. You shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± ¡°What? Why? It was letting you draw extra cards.¡± ¡°But I had this great general card in my hand that I played two turns later,¡± she said, pointing at the card that had been making trouble for Zeth all game long. ¡°You should have saved your assassinate to kill . Then you wouldn¡¯t have lost all of those battles, and your army would have been way bigger right now.¡± ¡°How could I have known you¡¯d been hiding a great general in your hand, though?¡± ¡°I played a recruit card on my second turn. It let me go through the deck and pick out any soldier I wanted to put into my hand. What did you think I got?¡± Zeth frowned. When she put it like that, it seem obvious to save his assassinate to use later. ¡°I guess I wasn¡¯t thinking that far ahead. Still, it¡¯s not like you can expect me to always know every card you have hiding in your hand.¡± ¡°I know every card in hand.¡± Zeth looked at her. ¡°Okay, tell me.¡± ¡°You have a great general of your own, a twelve-headed hydra, and some card that would draw extra cards for you. Probably a royal advisor, but it could also be a scholar or a library.¡± He looked down at his three cards. Great general, twelve-headed hydra, and royal advisor. Then he looked back up at her, staring smugly at him. ¡°How did you know that? Are you cheating?¡± ¡°I can tell from how you¡¯ve been playing. You also played a recruit card earlier in the game, when you had two legions in your army, so you¡¯d probably want to get a great general to increase their power. And you keep trying to increase your gold even though you already have a lot saved up, which means you must have a really expensive card in your hand, which is probably the hydra. And the last one¡­I don¡¯t know. I can tell. It¡¯s not a unit to add to your army or anything that can kill my units since you would have played those already. I just pay attention. If you¡¯re good enough at the game, there¡¯s no such thing as hidden information. You always at least know what they¡¯re doing right now, which means you can always guess what they might be hiding.¡± ¡°...Huh.¡± Zeth frowned. Had he really been that predictable? ¡°Well, you obviously know you¡¯ve basically won by now, if you know what¡¯s in my hand. Good game.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± she said with a giggle, instantly leaving her scholarly persona and going back to being a normal nine-year-old girl. ¡°Can we play again?¡± He chuckled. ¡°We¡¯d play all day if it was up to you. Why don¡¯t you go read that book I got you?¡± ¡°I already did.¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°What? It was over two hundred pages long.¡± ¡°Yeah. After I finished working for mom I went to my room and read through it all. And once I finished, I asked you to play Scrim.¡± ¡°So it took you¡­what, four, five hours?¡± She shrugged, picking up the cards from the floor. ¡°I guess. Why?¡± ¡°I just didn¡¯t realize you tore through books so quickly. I¡¯ll have to find a way to get some extra coin so I can buy you more. Maybe I can convince mom to let me take you to the library for a day and you can pick some out for yourself.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Later on, though. I don¡¯t know how I could get the money yet.¡± ¡°Can we just go there and I can read the books without taking them out?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t let you read whole books there without buying them. It¡¯s one thing to look up a specific piece of information. But reading them front to back isn¡¯t allowed. Still, I guess if you read through the one I got you that enthusiastically, you liked it?¡± She nodded. ¡°It was really cool! It wasn¡¯t like the other ones you got me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Zeth said, relieved she ended up liking it. He hadn¡¯t even skimmed through it himself, since he¡¯d gotten it in such a panic. ¡°Wait, it was different? How?¡± ¡°Well, the other magic book was about how to magic, and all the different types of magic you can do, and that stuff.¡± Zeth glanced at the book he¡¯d given her, sitting on her bedside table¡ª¡®A Traveler¡¯s Guide to Magic and Combat.¡¯ It certainly seemed like it¡¯d be about the same sort of thing. Maybe more focused on the combat applications of magic, but it still seemed like an educational type of book. ¡°The one you gave me,¡± she continued, ¡°wasn¡¯t about how to magic, it was how to fight magic. Like, if you get attacked by someone who can do magic, how can you kill them, and stuff.¡± ¡°Oh. And you liked that?¡± She nodded fervently. ¡°It was really cool! I got to learn about all kinds of magic that the other book didn¡¯t talk about.¡± ¡°I thought the other book talked about every different type of magic.¡± ¡°That book said it wasn¡¯t allowed to teach about magic that wasn¡¯t legal,¡± she said. ¡°But this book said it was, since it was just teaching about how to fight against it! I even read a chapter that was about that Class the guards were talking about yesterday! The Blood Mage Class!¡± Zeth¡¯s eyes widened, and he fought to keep a straight face as he nodded. ¡°...Oh. That¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Yeah, it talked all about their rituals and what you should be prepared for if you¡¯re going to fight one. It even talked about that one ability the Blood Mage here used, where he caught the monster on fire! The book says you should always have a potion crafted by someone you trust with the Alchemist Class that can help you resist heat if you ever think you might fight a Blood Mage. I¡¯m gonna tell mom that we should get some potions tomorrow.¡± ¡°Y¡¯know what? It might actually not be that good of an idea to tell mom about that book. She may not appreciate you learning about that sort of thing.¡± ¡°Okay! Still, I learned about a lot of other illegal magic, too! Like explosion magic, and plague magic, and necromancy¡­I definitely want to get a magic Class soon.¡± Zeth chuckled nervously. ¡°Uh, not one of the illegal ones though, right?¡± She silently shrugged, not meeting his eye. ¡°...Right. Well, you¡¯re a really hard worker, kiddo. I¡¯m sure that if you try, you¡¯ll be able to get any Class you want. Just, be sure to really think about which one you want, alright? It¡¯s super tough to get a second Class, so chances are, you¡¯ll be stuck with what you choose for life. And you probably don¡¯t want to stick yourself with an illegal Class unless you have a really good reason.¡± ¡°Why are some types of magic illegal?¡± she asked quietly. ¡°Some Classes can really hurt people if you¡¯re not careful. The empire doesn¡¯t care what your intentions are; if you get into something like plague magic, you can end up with the power to kill a whole city. They just wanna protect people, I guess.¡± ¡°But what if you don¡¯t want to hurt people?¡± Zeth didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°They can¡¯t know for sure what you want. Um, kiddo, did that book make you want to take an illegal Class?¡± She looked away. ¡°No.¡± ¡°...Uh-huh. Well, if you ever want to talk about that sort of thing, I¡¯m here. I promise I won¡¯t be mad at you, or whatever.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± With one more lingering look at her, Zeth stood and turned to walk out of the room. It could''ve just been a fleeting interest; she read some cool anecdote about someone who wielded explosion magic blowing up a forest or something, and she thought it was neat. Hopefully, she¡¯d be over it in a week. Though, he hadn¡¯t ever known Sophie to be the fickle type when it came to aspirations. Chapter 20 Night eventually fell, and Zeth retired to his room to sleep. His conversation with Sophie kept gnawing at him, though. Not just the suspicion that she might end up pursuing an illegal Class like him, but also the more innocuous talk about Scrim they¡¯d had. One thing she¡¯d said stuck in his mind. Zeth felt like he had no idea what the Blood Mage was planning. There was simply no way to tell. But really, there was. Maybe he couldn¡¯t quite see the line of reasoning right now, but there was always way to tell what your opponent was planning. What they might know that¡¯s still hidden to you. He wanted to be cautious and stay in the house, just in case the Blood Mage was waiting to attack when he left the protected area. But could he figure out for certain what they were planning? There was a ritual circle sitting in the middle of some storage closet in the guild. Zeth had been focusing on what that meant for him, but why would the Blood Mage do that? They¡¯d hidden it somehow, but Zeth¡¯s own finding it proved that their method wasn¡¯t perfect. And they probably knew as much. They knew they were taking a risk by putting it there. So why take that risk? He didn¡¯t know the function of the circle, but clearly, something about their plan needed the circle to be put in a populated area. Specifically, a populated area that was easily accessible by any normal person. There were a few different reasons someone might need to do that. Maybe the circle had a defensive function, and the Blood Mage wanted to be able to easily reach the circle in case of emergency to activate it. Maybe they needed to frequently return to the circle, and having it within the building they worked in was convenient. But no matter the reason, they must have known they were taking a massive risk every day by keeping it there. And the only reason someone would take a risk like that was if they were planning something big. Something that would make the risk worth it. And, judging by the fact that the Blood Mage¡¯s last ¡®something big¡¯ included killing hundreds of people to fuel the acquisition of a special Class, Zeth knew he wanted to prevent this next one from happening. Then there was the matter of whether or not the Blood Mage suspected him. The matter of Zeth¡¯s own life and death. If he guessed wrong and walked out of the house and into the forest, where there were no witnesses, all while a demon tailed him, he¡¯d be dead the moment the mage said ¡®go.¡¯ But when analyzing his opponent¡¯s actions and considering what they might be aware of, he realized he may not have been in as much danger as he thought. Regardless of whether or not he¡¯d been figured out, if the Blood Mage had some massive, risky plan they were in the middle of enacting, they wouldn¡¯t waste precious time and attention going after Zeth. Whatever that ritual circle was for, it needed babysitting and surveillance. And, from the Blood Mage¡¯s perspective, it¡¯d been four whole months since they¡¯d last seen Zeth without him causing a single problem for them. They had no idea if Zeth was even hostile to them in the first place. So, if they somehow figured out that Zeth was for sure alive and active as the one and only Blood Magus, they likely wouldn¡¯t come after him immediately. Worst-case, they¡¯d probably wait until whatever they were doing with that ritual circle was finished, come investigate what was happening with him. Besides, if they were really as gung-ho about finding Zeth as he worried they were, wouldn¡¯t they have found out about his existence from the town guard after the monster attack? Maybe he was just an afterthought to them¡ªsome random guy who got in their way one time and who they¡¯d resolved to look further into once they were done with their current plans. Really, Zeth could be almost certain that he was safe to act for at least a little while longer. But he could also be almost certain that he¡¯d need to do something quickly if he wanted to kill his enemy. Which meant laying low would be the exact opposite of what he needed to do right now. So, after making sure he was the only one still awake, Zeth crept through his room¡¯s window and through the fields, heading back into the forest. He had a ritual to finish. Upon finding his old spot in the woods with his ritual circles, Zeth found that something was wrong. To start with, the monster corpse he¡¯d left behind to be used for his rituals was missing. He¡¯d left it in the middle of the active Hellfire Ritual circles so that any scavengers coming to take it would be killed, so that shouldn¡¯t have been possible, but it simply was not there. He briefly considered the idea that some massive flying monster from the Beast Realm may have come and taken it without ever touching the hellfire circles on the ground, but upon closer examination, there was clearly a trail of blood left behind from the original spot the corpse had been left, leading off into the woods. Zeth wasn¡¯t sure that he wanted to follow it. It was during that closer examination that Zeth found why whatever had dragged the corpse away hadn¡¯t been roasted alive by his circles. They¡¯d all been disabled. They hadn¡¯t been stepped on and activated, and yet Zeth could tell just by looking at them that they were no longer armed like they once were. The subtle glow had disappeared from their lines. And, when he looked even closer, he realized that a part of their lines had even been erased. He¡¯d need to repair the missing pieces before being able to offer a new sacrifice to enable the traps again. Zeth immediately went on guard, glancing around himself and searching for any hidden attackers. This couldn¡¯t have just been the work of some strange monster, if someone had come tampered with his magic. But nobody was around. At least, not now. After a moment, he went and searched the entire nearby area for evidence of a human being nearby, but the only boot prints were his own, and other than that, all that was left were the tracks of whatever animal had dragged off the monster carcass. It was like the circles had erased themselves. So he went back to look at them again. Instinct told him about twenty minutes of progress had been erased for each Hellfire Ritual circle, but it wasn¡¯t as obvious as a big line being dragged through the chalk. It was as if the most recent twenty minutes of drawing he¡¯d done had simply vanished. The lines had unwritten themselves. And the Empowerment Ritual circle in the center, too, had been partially erased in the same way. It hadn¡¯t been finished, so he had to work off his memory of how much he¡¯d completed before leaving it, but as it was now, the circle was almost completely gone. It seemed like at least an hour of progress, maybe even an hour and a half, had been erased while he was away. He frowned, staring at the circles, then glanced through the Skills themselves, looking for an explanation. Nowhere did it say anything about the ritual circles erasing themselves. So did someone find this place and use a Skill of their own to erase them? But then, in the Skill descriptions, he realized. The line of text at the bottom of all of his rituals that he¡¯d all but ignored up until now explained it all. Zeth had never really considered what ¡°Upkeep time required each day¡± might have meant, but now he realized that this was definitely it. If he left his ritual circles out for a full twenty-four hours, they¡¯d get partially erased, forcing him to come back and redraw a portion of them. And the times lined up as well. For Hellfire Ritual, the amount of upkeep time required was around eighteen minutes after being reduced by Vile Focus, and for Empowerment Ritual, it was an hour and twenty minutes. Both fell exactly within the amount of time he assumed he¡¯d need to dedicate to repairing the circles back to the point they¡¯d been at before. So then, he wouldn¡¯t be able to just draw up a circle and leave it sitting for days and come back later, it seemed. At least, not without greatly lowering his upkeep time requirement first. And now that Empowerment Ritual was getting to the point where he¡¯d probably need to start dedicating multiple days¡¯ worth of drawing time to completing it, that seemed like it would get in the way. Hell, if the upkeep time requirement grew to be over twenty-four hours, it would become literally impossible to actually complete the ritual. Though, it didn¡¯t seem like the ritual¡¯s upkeep time was growing nearly fast enough to get there any time soon. Either way, he wasn¡¯t too much of a fan of this development. It wouldn¡¯t have been as much of a problem if he could just work on his rituals every day without having to worry about getting caught, but as things were, every moment he could steal away to work was hard-earned, and there may come times when he wouldn¡¯t be able to come out here for several days in a row, which could possibly lead to all of his ritual circles being erased. He needed a permanent base, where he could wake up each morning and simply fix up his rituals with one hand while he ate breakfast with the other, or something. would be nice. But that was all just a future aspiration. Not practical in the current moment. For now, he just needed to draw his circles and finish this Level-up before morning came so he could finally afford to purchase Demonic Covenant. And draw his circles Zeth did. After taking some time to repair the Hellfire Circles, he found that he didn¡¯t need to give a new sacrifice to bring them back online. The moment he drew the final line, they lit right back up, seeming to retain the blood he¡¯d given them back when he¡¯d first armed them, which was nice. Once he was finished with that, he went right back to the Empowerment Ritual, drawing away with as few breaks as he could manage. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He tapped into Vile Focus to help the monotonous work pass by more quickly, barely having his attention pulled away during the two times he felt the Hellfire Circles around him light up in a flash and some animal nearby go up in a bright blaze of death. The first time was a false alarm, unfortunately¡ªsome rabbit wandering into the kill zone before Zeth could shoo it away¡ªbut the second time, a much larger, likely predatory beast came and died to his magic. It was a gigantic mess of long fur dangling down to the dirt from its body, a head with two gigantic tusks protruding from its mouth ready to charge and rip Zeth apart before it stepped into the clearing and caught alight. After that, it fell to the ground within seconds. Zeth was beginning to realize just how powerful Hellfire Ritual was. He remembered how people talked about Blood Mages having access to something called ¡®Fire Ritual,¡¯ and how he¡¯d always assumed they simply didn¡¯t know the real name of the Skill. But surely something powerful wouldn¡¯t be offered to just anyone to pick up the Class? He was beginning to suspect that pretty much all of his Skills were made to be completely overpowered compared to whatever the basic Blood Mage Class got. Simply judging by the response of the guards in town, he knew they weren¡¯t aware of just how powerful their culprit was. At least, if Zeth knew someone was out there in town with the ability to kill almost anything they wanted just by drawing a picture on the ground and waiting for them to step into it, he¡¯d call a state of emergency, not allow anyone to leave their house, and throw the entire hand of the law at the issue until they were certain they¡¯d found the culprit. But they thought they were looking for a Blood Mage, not a Blood Magus. And clearly, they didn¡¯t consider it to be enough of an issue to do more than some cursory investigations and interviews. Zeth had to use some precious time both times the rituals went off to re-draw the circles that killed the beasts before going back to working on his Level-up, though he wasn¡¯t too upset about needing to do so. He¡¯d have to find a sacrifice before he could finish the ritual anyway, so when the sacrifices came to him, he was more than happy to accept the gift. The sun had risen by the time he finished the ritual. When brightness overcame the horizon, he¡¯d made the decision to simply buckle down and keep going until he was done, considering how close he was to finishing. Even if his family may have been awake by now and he¡¯d have to come up with some excuse for why he¡¯d been gone all morning, it would be worth it to finally acquire his next bit of power. So, after drawing the finishing line on the circle painted across the ground, Zeth stood up and took a breath, admiring his handiwork. His biggest one yet, and it looked absolutely beautiful. Lines and patterns curving and overlapping, joining and splitting all across the circle to make a masterpiece. ¡°Now,¡± he muttered to himself, looking at the charred monster corpse he¡¯d set aside, ¡°to douse it in the blood of whatever this thing is.¡± He pulled out the knife he kept on his belt and cut the monster¡¯s belly open, allowing blood and guts to spill out across the dirt, where it sank into the lines of the circle and disappeared, ticking the progress marker upward. It wasn¡¯t going up too quickly, though. So, once the blood stopped pouring out of that slice, Zeth made another, and another, tearing his dagger across the leathery skin of the beast everywhere he felt he may be able to reach a new supply of the stuff and speed up the process. Eventually, blood stopped leaking from the monster¡¯s body. He¡¯d done all he could, but the progress tracker was stuck a little over ninety percent. But when he grabbed the rabbit¡¯s corpse and held it by its feet over the circle, cutting its neck and letting the blood drain from its corpse into the circle, too, that last gap was closed, and he finally got the notification he¡¯d been waiting for. [Ritual complete: Empowerment Ritual. Sacrifice given: Blood from various sources. Level Up!] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 6. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 24. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 6. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 12. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 42. +3 Skill Points. You have 16 Skill Points.] [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 6. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Otherworldly Excellence.] He sighed and smiled at the notification. He¡¯d finally hit the fifteen Skill Point requirement to purchase Demonic Covenant. Plus, he¡¯d also unlocked a new Skill in the process¡ªsomething called Otherworldly Excellence. Before he opened up its description to see what it did, he started back to town. It¡¯d be best to get back home as soon as possible, now that morning had come. Hopefully, he could get back soon enough after everyone woke up that it¡¯d be believable to everyone that he¡¯d simply gone on a walk in the early morning. So, traveling through the forestline that had now become relatively familiar to him, he trekked back across the wilderness to arrive home soon. And while he walked, he looked at this new Skill he¡¯d obtained. [Otherworldly Excellence - Cost: 17 Skill Points The second Skill that is entirely unique to the Blood Magus Class. Sets the leader of all Blood Mages apart from the rabble by granting mastery in a Stat beyond what would normally be considered possible. Upon purchasing this Skill, choose a Stat. Whenever this Skill Ranks up and whenever you Level up with the Blood Magus Class, increase the chosen Stat by 5.] Zeth stopped in his tracks. So this one was also completely exclusive to his Class, it seemed. It certainly deserved to be, considering what it did. At a cost of seventeen, once it reached max Rank, it¡¯d only have ended up costing Zeth seven Skill Points to obtain. That seven Point cost was nothing compared to the fifty total Stats it¡¯d give him when it reached max Rank. And that was ignoring the fact that the Skill would increase the Stat whenever Zeth Leveled up, which would mean this Skill could theoretically have infinite returns all for the measly cost of seven Skill Points. It was absolutely absurd. A part of him wanted to immediately drop his plans of purchasing Demonic Covenant and wait a little longer to get one more Skill Point so he could afford this new Skill, but he held off. It was a common newbie blunder to get distracted by whatever shiny new Skill you just unlocked and forget about the older ones that you still needed to purchase, and he didn¡¯t want to make that mistake here. He¡¯d been focused on getting the ability to summon demons for a reason¡ªhe needed power, and he needed it And unfortunately, this new Otherworldly Excellence would take a little while before it got up and running. Unfortunately, though, any Levels Zeth got before purchasing this Skill would effectively mean wasted Stats. It didn¡¯t seem like this would count retroactively, so waiting a long time before acquiring it would be a bad idea, too. Zeth did some quick math in his head. If he went with his original plan and took Demonic Covenant now, he¡¯d still be capable of getting the seventeen Skill Points necessary to afford Otherworldly Excellence just by Ranking up his existing Skills. He wouldn¡¯t need any of the extra Skill Points gained by Leveling up to afford it. So then, he could effectively get both without any downside¡ªsimply wait until he got Otherworldly Excellence later on before he tried conducting any more Empowerment Rituals. Obviously, the Skill had its limitations. Mainly, it would only ever be able to increase a single Stat, and he¡¯d have to pick it the moment he purchased the Skill. So if he chose poorly, it could lead to him missing out on what would end up being a far more powerful option. He might be stuck with an ever-increasing Stat that he barely ever needed. But he put the problem out of his mind for now. The question of what he¡¯d choose was one for future Zeth. For now, he¡¯d be focused on the questions and problems he was sure were going to arise when he tried his hand at demon summoning. With sixteen Skill Points, he could finally afford to pick up Demonic Covenant any time he wanted. With his mind set, he started walking again. He technically didn¡¯t need to spend the Skill Points until he was ready to start performing the Demonic Covenant ritual, so he¡¯d just hold on to them for now. Though, he¡¯d likely end up starting that ritual soon enough anyway. As long as no big crisis happened to delay him. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zeth cut back onto the main road leading to the farm once he was far enough away from town that nobody would see him coming out of the woods. Squinting, he could barely make out a group of people all standing outside the house talking with each other. More than just his mother and Sophie. Were they chatting with some neighbors, or something? Looked like he¡¯d need to use that excuse he¡¯d come up with. Approaching the farm, he mentally rehearsed the story. But as he drew closer, he realized that the people talking with his mom and sister weren¡¯t neighbors. They were dressed in familiar armor. It was the town guard. He immediately tensed up, hoping this didn¡¯t have anything to do with him. But he pressed forward so he didn¡¯t look suspicious. From everything he knew, they had no reason to think he was the Blood Mage¡ªnot after he was ¡®proven¡¯ innocent when they visited the last time. He just needed to act natural; maybe they were only here to check on the place and that was all. When he got close enough, his mother glanced in his direction, eyes growing wide as she ran over to meet him. ¡°Oh, Zeth, thank the gods you¡¯re okay,¡± she muttered breathlessly, hugging him and quickly separating to look him up and down, patting his upper body as if to feel for any more injuries he may have received. He winced in pain as she rubbed her hands across some of his worse burns. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Y¡¯know, just woke up in the morning and felt a little restless, so I decided to go on a walk and¡ª¡± ¡°Zeth!¡± Sophie¡¯s voice interrupted him, and he looked over to see her sprinting down the road to meet him as well. ¡°I knew you¡¯d come back!¡± ¡°Yeah, um, I just lost track of time,¡± he said, reaching over and bringing her into a hug. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to make you two worry.¡± Sophie drew away from him and looked up to meet his eyes, looking strangely excited. ¡°They caught the mage!¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°That trap they set in the shed,¡± his mom explained, ¡°it went off early this morning, apparently. We woke up to a group of guards swarming the place. They say it¡¯s definitely the Blood Mage they were looking for in there. Seems like she came back to continue doing magic, and they got her. She¡¯s still in there; they¡¯re debating what to do with her.¡± She nodded over in the direction of the shed, where, sure enough, there was a whole group of guards all standing around talking in hushed tones. Zeth blinked once again. Chapter 21 Zeth instantly marched over to the shed, ignoring his mother tugging on his arm in an attempt to pull him away. ¡°They said it¡¯s still too dangerous for us to approach,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re curious, you¡¯re not allowed to¡ª¡± ¡°I just need to see,¡± he said, trying to keep his voice under control. They¡¯d caught the fucking Blood Mage? The person he¡¯d been hunting ever since he got out of that cave? How? It was who had been working in this shed, not them. Why would they even come out here? Had everything seriously ended right now, without him ever even seeing it? As he came closer to the shed, one of the guards walked up to him with a gauntleted hand out. ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Please move out of my way,¡± he said, sidestepping the man and continuing in his stride. About a dozen guards were milling about near the shed, plus the two guards that had been personally speaking to Zeth¡¯s mom over by the house. Seemed like, whether or not this really was the Blood Mage, they were taking it seriously. ¡°Sir!¡± the guard shouted after him. A few more glanced over from near the shed and rushed over, forming a wall of personnel to keep him from advancing. The guard walked up from behind Zeth. ¡°Sir, I understand you live here, but this is a matter of town security. You don¡¯t understand how dangerous an unsecured location under control of a Blood Mage can be. One wrong step can mean your death.¡± ¡°I want to see this person,¡± he said. ¡°You can see her later. Right now, it is far too dangerous.¡± ¡°The danger comes from their Fire Ritual traps, right?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°They activate when you step on them. I don¡¯t see any of you catching on fire, so it looks like the ground immediately around the shed is fine. If you¡¯re really that scared for my safety, then you can lead the way and I will step in your footprints, that way you can know for sure I¡¯ll be safe. All I want is a peek through the door.¡± The guard stared at him. ¡°Where did you learn that? Information on the Blood Mage Class is heavily restricted.¡± ¡°Zeth, honey, why do you care so much?¡± his mom asked, still holding onto his arm. ¡°Stop bothering them while they work; we can hear about it later.¡± ¡°I learned it from the last time you guys came to speak with us,¡± Zeth responded to the guard. ¡°If you have an issue with what I know, take it up with your captain, or whatever. He told me. But that¡¯s the danger you¡¯re worried about, right? I won¡¯t go running into the shed or touch stuff I shouldn¡¯t be touching, I just want to see their face. That¡¯s it.¡± He sighed. ¡°...Fine. But you need to go back into your house directly after, and listen to exactly what I say. If I tell you to run, you run. No questions, no hesitation. Okay? Same is true for any of the other guards here. They all know more than you ever will about Blood Mages.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Can I come too?¡± Sophie begged, bobbing back and forth on her heels. ¡°I wanna see the mage. Do they have any magic active right now?¡± The guard looked down at her, then up at Zeth and his mom. ¡°No kids. The suspect is heavily injured; the sight will likely upset a child. Also¡­we believe the suspect is a Wicked thrall.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Zeth¡¯s mom drew backward at the statement, grabbing Sophie¡¯s arm and bending down to her. ¡°Sophie, honey, we should head inside, alright?¡± ¡°Why?¡± she whined. ¡°I wanna see!¡± ¡°Honey, this woman is a Wicked thrall. That¡¯s not something a child should witness.¡± Zeth¡¯s own face hardened. A Wicked thrall? He remembered what his mom had said to him when he¡¯d first come out of the cave¡ªwhen she told him his dad was dead. He¡¯d been killed by Wicked thralls, too. Could it be that the two were connected? If this even the Blood Mage. As Sophie and his mom walked off, the guard led Zeth toward the shed, whose doors were currently shut tight. He stepped over and gripped the handle, looking at Zeth. ¡°Brace yourself for some obscenities. She¡¯s a shouter.¡± Before Zeth could respond, the man cracked the door open, and Zeth caught a glimpse inside. Within the shed, a woman was impaled by a gigantic steel spear stuck in the ground. Her entire body had been lifted in the air, held suspended by the pole that refused to budge, ratty black hair covering her face. The moment a stream of light came through the crack in the door and hit her eyes, her previously unmoving body spasmed, limbs flailing uselessly in the air as she fought to twist her head around to look at Zeth properly. Her eyes met his¡ªwild, like an animal¡¯s¡ªand she screamed out, voice ragged, ¡°You! Motherfucking shitstain! I, I don¡¯t recognize you, you¡¯re not a guard?¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°I¡ª¡± She interrupted him immediately. ¡°You¡¯re an ugly whore¡¯s son, you know that?! She takes it so far up the ass it comes out her mouth! Fucking kill yourself, you worthless shit stick! I¡¯ll¡ª¡± The guard closed the door, and Zeth looked at him, not sure what to say. ¡°She¡¯s pretty far gone,¡± the guard said, apparently sensing Zeth¡¯s shock. ¡°I take it you haven¡¯t seen a Wicked thrall up-close before?¡± ¡°I¡­No, I haven¡¯t,¡± Zeth said, frown stuck on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize they¡¯d act so¡­She¡¯d been impaled all the way through the gut, right? How was she not in pain?¡± ¡°She almost certainly was,¡± the guard replied. ¡°But when it¡¯s that bad, you stop caring about your own survival. Pain doesn¡¯t even register.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t the whole deal with Wicked thralls that they want to maximize the misery of people around them? Surely they have to understand that to do so they have to stay alive.¡± He shook his head. ¡°How much do you actually know about thralls?¡± Zeth shrugged. ¡°The basics, I guess. Just what you hear in passing. They¡¯re people who got stuck with the Wicked Skill from committing an unjustifiable act. It¡¯s one of the only Skills that cost zero Skill Points, and is automatically purchased the moment you unlock it, with an effect that reduces how much you care about other people. So with each Rank in it you just keep caring less and less and become willing to commit more and more horrific acts, until around Rank five, you get to the point where you feel no emotions toward other people at all. And if you keep raising it past Rank five, it flips around, and instead of feeling nice when you help other people, you start wanting to hurt other people. So now it¡¯s not just removing your normal emotions, it¡¯s replacing them with an active desire to commit those unjustifiable acts that Rank it up in the first place. By the time it hits Rank 10, your mind is basically replaced, and your sole goal in life becomes to hurt as many people as you can.¡± He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the basics, sure. But you¡¯re a little off on the specifics. Wicked thralls aren¡¯t just people with a different ¡®goal¡¯ to their actions. The nature of their behavior is more¡­animalistic. Really, they essentially animals. You¡¯re pretty correct about the Skill up to Rank five¡ªall it does is remove the empathy we feel for others. That voice in your head that tells you not to hurt someone for your own gain. Really, a person who has just one or two Ranks is pretty hard to tell apart from any other decent citizen. Of course, having even a single Rank in it is still punishable by death because of what you have to do in order to get it in the first place, but the Skill doesn¡¯t do too much at that point. Even at Rank five, with all of that empathy and emotion stripped out of them, they can still blend in with society by just pretending.¡± ¡°So why was that woman so¡­like that?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°Because she brought it past Rank five, it looks like. It¡¯s after that point where the Skill starts taking a more hack-and-slash approach to changing your psyche. From my understanding, it pretty much starts making a person feel pleasure whenever they think they¡¯ve hurt someone else. Small at first, but it quickly grows more and more intense. By Rank eight, they¡¯re getting such an intense feeling that they can¡¯t resist an opportunity to harm another person when they see one. And by ten, all you¡¯re doing is chasing that reward. It¡¯s so extreme that pain is nothing in comparison. And they¡¯re so short-sighted that self-preservation is totally thrown out the window, too.¡± He nodded toward the shed. ¡°She probably got the Blood Mage Class, killed a few too many innocent people in pursuit of whatever ambition she had, and picked up the Skill. From there, it¡¯s all downhill.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened to her,¡± Zeth said. ¡°It¡¯s a little scary to think about; you make one mistake and suddenly your mind is just¡­taken over.¡± He shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not one thing that¡¯ll do it, and it¡¯s not a mistake, either. You only get the Wicked Skill if it¡¯s an action that you, yourself would find morally reprehensible. You¡¯ll know in your heart when what you¡¯re doing will get you the Skill. And you can try to repress it, or convince yourself it¡¯s not true, but the System knows. But you¡¯re right about one thing¡ªat this point, the mind is long gone. You¡¯re more a puppet being controlled by the Skill than anything else. Only, when you¡¯re impaled through the gut and stuck to the floor of a shed, you¡¯re not left with much else than your words.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why she was just hurling insults around?¡± ¡°Yep. Depending on the person, they might try to sweet-talk you into giving away valuable information that they can turn against you, or try to convince you to hurt the people near you. Or, for the dumber ones, they might just devolve into shouting random obscenities and hoping it offends you. We see stuff like that all the time when making arrests. Though, of course, we don¡¯t ever know for sure whether a person has the Wicked Skill until the Inquisitors come to town and confirm their Status. And the Inquisitors do the honors of executing them, too, of course. As you can see, though, it¡¯s normally pretty obvious when someone¡¯s got the Skill at a high Rank.¡± Zeth nodded, mulling over the information. He thought back to when he¡¯d seen the Blood Mage, himself. Back in the mineshaft, they certainly hadn¡¯t been uncontrollably throwing insults at him the whole time. In fact, when confronted with Zeth standing in between them and the activated ritual circle that would give them the Blood Magus Class, they actively chose to run Zeth in an attempt to get to the circle. They weren¡¯t in some mindless mode of doing whatever they could do to cause human suffering as quickly as possible; if that were the case, they¡¯d have just gone up and killed him. Whoever that person was, they weren¡¯t even close to being this far gone with the Wicked Skill. ¡°They can¡¯t fake being a normal person when it¡¯s this bad, right?¡± Zeth asked the guard. ¡°Like, if someone had this many Ranks in the Skill, there¡¯d be no way for them to act like they didn¡¯t?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not as far as I know. You don¡¯t need to worry about any of your friends secretly being monsters.¡± ¡°And how quickly could someone feasibly Rank the Skill up? Say, if someone was around Rank five or six, how long would it take for them to get to the point this woman¡¯s at?¡± The guard took a long breath. ¡°I dunno; I¡¯m no expert. From what I¡¯ve seen, you normally end up needing to do quite a lot to get a Rank-up by the time you¡¯re in the latter half of the Skill¡¯s progression. So, assuming you¡¯re not talking about someone who could fly around and blow up entire villages at a moment¡¯s notice or anything, it¡¯d probably end up taking at least a couple weeks. Though, that¡¯s as fast as I could see it possibly happening. Normally, it takes years.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Again, you don¡¯t need to worry about your friends turning on you. Sorry if I scared you by showing the suspect. But I warned you.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine,¡± Zeth said absent-mindedly, frowning as he stared off in thought. If that was all true, then there¡¯d be no way for this woman to be the same person as the Blood Mage he¡¯d seen down in the mines. She had to be a different person. But then, why was she here? ¡°So why do you think she¡¯s the Blood Mage?¡± Zeth asked. He chuckled. ¡°Getting info out of the dumber Wicked thralls is easy. All you gotta do is convince them you¡¯d be real upset if they told you what you wanna hear, and they immediately spill their guts. Of course, we¡¯ve got specialists back in town who¡¯ll conduct proper questioning, but most anyone can ask a few basic questions. She told us she was a Blood Mage within seconds of us pretending to chat with each other in her earshot about how much we¡¯d hate it if we knew what her Class was. Made up a little story about how the captain forbade us from knowing that information because it was classified, and we¡¯d be fired if we ever knew. She shouted it out instantly.¡± Zeth¡¯s frown deepened as he nodded along. ¡°...Uh-huh.¡± ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t have any more questions, you should probably run back into your house while we deal with this. Always happy to help out a curious soul, though. You seem like you¡¯d do well on the squad; come by if you ever want to become a guard. I¡¯ll put in a good word for you.¡± He chuckled and lightly slapped Zeth¡¯s arm. ¡°Just don¡¯t become a criminal in the meantime, huh?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Just¡­Thanks for catching the Blood Mage.¡± ¡°Eh, just doing my job, cleaning up the town. Someone has to.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Zeth said with a nod. ¡°Someone has to.¡± Once he was back inside with Sophie and his mom, Zeth sat down on the couch in the living room and chatted with them. Sophie was standing by the window, staring intently through it at the shed, while their mom leaned against the wall, also gazing out at the guards. ¡°So,¡± Zeth said to his mom, ¡°you glad they caught the Blood Mage?¡± She frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure they really catch whoever was out here fighting that monster. Sophie, you said it was a man, right?¡± Sophie nodded. ¡°It was.¡± ¡°Do you think they might¡¯ve just been doing a deep voice? Or using a Skill to change the way they sounded?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Hm. Well, I told the guards what we knew, but they seemed confident enough that this was their Blood Mage. As far as I¡¯m concerned, we¡¯ve done what we can to help with their investigation.¡± She shook her head, the exhaustion of sustained anxiety showing on her face. ¡°Still, the thought of a Wicked thrall coming onto our property¡­Whether or not that woman¡¯s the Blood Mage, I don¡¯t think that we¡¯re safe here. I¡¯m definitely going through with hiring those mercenaries, as soon as I can.¡± ¡°How do you plan to pay for it?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°My last pay from the guild will only go so far.¡± She sighed deeply. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll just have to figure something out. We¡¯ll wake up earlier and stay out later. But I refuse to be here, on the outskirts of town, relying on guards who evidently only ever come do their jobs when there¡¯s a murderer literally trapped in our shed. It¡¯s just not enough anymore.¡± Zeth thought for a moment. He was faced with two problems. One, he needed a better excuse to steal off and have time alone to work on his rituals, and two, his family needed money. Not only because his mom was under the assumption that the person who had killed the fleshtaker¡ªZeth¡ªwas someone dangerous to them and thus felt the need to hire protection, but also because this family genuinely in danger. Maybe not from Zeth, but that woman had to come from somewhere. She certainly wasn¡¯t the Blood Mage he was looking for, which meant she really was just some random extremely dangerous Wicked thrall who had stumbled onto the property. Or perhaps something else was going on. Either way, it wasn¡¯t good. He agreed with his mom¡ªthey needed some sort of protection. And for as long as Zeth wasn¡¯t yet prepared to offer it to them with his own power, mercenaries would have to do. There was one solution he could think of that might help with both problems. ¡°Hey, mom,¡± Zeth said, ¡°do you think I should start working again?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, now that the shed¡¯s cleared out, it would be good if you went back to butchery. I¡¯m not sure if we have anything quite ready for slaughter yet, but¡ª¡± ¡°No, like, somewhere else. I know the guild¡¯s not an option, but maybe I could pick up an apprenticeship somewhere? I don¡¯t know; I could look around.¡± She frowned. ¡°Why would you need to do that? You can work right here.¡± ¡°Well, the guild paid a lot more than what I was doing on the farm, for one.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°The guild also pays more than any other job you could find in this place. Taxes are too high. You know those same taxes are what land in financial trouble, too.¡± ¡°Okay, but it can¡¯t hurt to at least look, right? If I find something that could cover the cost of the mercenaries, it could help out a lot.¡± ¡°Unclassed labor isn¡¯t exactly in high demand. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll find anything with good pay.¡± Zeth couldn¡¯t tell her his other reason for wanting to find a job¡ªthat with it, he could lie and say he had to work an extra day when in reality he¡¯d be out in the forest working on his rituals¡ªbut he still needed to convince her. ¡°Well, y¡¯know, I also think it¡¯d be good for me to have an excuse to go into town every day, anyway. With all this craziness going on, I could talk with the guards there and get news on what¡¯s going on, I could check and make sure Turin¡¯s okay¡­That sort of thing.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m still not convinced you¡¯ll find something that gives you a good reason to go into town, but sure. If you think it¡¯d help, feel free to look around for today. The guards seem like they¡¯ll take a while to clear the shed out, anyway, so it wouldn¡¯t cost you any time working here.¡± Zeth nodded and stood up, walking over to the door. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go ahead and head out, then. Don¡¯t expect me back too soon, though. I¡¯m gonna spend a while looking around.¡± ¡°Okay. Stay safe!¡± ¡°I will,¡± he said, and stepped through the front door. Right. He going to spend a good while trying to find a decent job, but only after he finished what he¡¯d been working on for what felt like far too long. He took a shaky breath, excitement coursing through his veins. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 22 As he walked down the street and prepared to cut into the forest to find his clearing-turned-ritual site, Zeth glanced over the requirements to conduct Demonic Covenant. [Strength of sacrifice required: Moderate Required ritual circle diameter: 8.81 feet (originally 10 feet) Time required to draw: 4.41 hours (originally 5 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 3.52 hours (originally 4 hours)] They were pretty strange. To begin with, the required strength of sacrifice needed to activate it was the highest he¡¯d seen¡ªEmpowerment Ritual had only recently risen up from ¡®Low¡¯ to ¡®Moderately Low,¡¯ and even that was getting difficult to manage at this point. So something all the way up to what he assumed was the next level, ¡®Moderate,¡¯ was almost certainly going to take quite a lot to activate. On top of that, the diameter was also gigantic. Once again, when compared to Empowerment Ritual¡¯s now-4.41 foot requirement, Demonic Covenant doubled the size of the circle. At least the smaller time requirement was nice¡ªthough, four and a half hours still wasn¡¯t exactly a breeze. The strangest part of it all, though, was the upkeep time requirement. Zeth finally understood precisely what it meant¡ªthe circle would effectively undo that many hours of his work each day, meaning he¡¯d need to spend that much time repairing it if he wanted to keep it ready for activation from one day to the next. For all of his other rituals, that upkeep time was always a small fraction of the total time needed to draw the circle. But here, it was almost fully equal to the initial requirement. Effectively, this meant that, unlike a Hellfire Ritual, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do something like draw a few of these and keep them prepared for when they¡¯d be needed in the future. Rather, if he wanted to summon a demon, he was likely going to be drawing the entire circle that very day. Which meant it would be basically impossible to summon a demon on short notice. And, with its massive diameter requirement, he wouldn¡¯t be able to carry something like this around with him to activate whenever he needed to. At least, not unless he could reduce the diameter of his circles by an insane amount. Maybe that would happen eventually. For now, though, he just needed to draw the circle, and he needed to acquire a sacrifice to activate it. The circle was simple enough; he¡¯d just need to draw new rings of Hellfire Rituals that would be wide enough to protect him while he drew the larger circle. But before he could do that, he¡¯d need to acquire a sacrifice. With Demonic Covenant¡¯s extreme upkeep cost, he wanted to be sure he had a sacrifice secured before he did all the work that may have been erased if he took too long finding one. And that sacrifice was the harder requirement by far. He doubted he could rely on a strong enough monster just coming to him. Instead, he¡¯d need to go out in search of something, and harvest its blood. A part of Zeth¡¯s consciousness wandered to what he¡¯d read in the library back when he was researching the Blood Mage Class. It had said that the Class Leveled Up far more quickly when its victims were humans, rather than anything else. He was willing to bet that meant humans worked more efficiently for rituals, not just to Level Up. It was likely his own blood was an exception to that, with how quickly it fell off in usefulness, but anyone else¡ªespecially anyone with a Class of their own¡ªwould almost certainly work wonders in powering his magic. Only, acquiring human blood would provide an entire suite of its own problems. Legally, of course, breaking into someone¡¯s house, dragging them out into the middle of the woods, and tearing their gut open to spill their blood onto the soil sounded like it might break one or two laws. But also, Zeth wasn¡¯t about to do something like that even if he knew he could get away with it. His vendetta was with only a few people: the Blood Mage, Garon, and the Wicked thralls that killed his father. He¡¯d certainly be killing them and harvesting their bodies for all they were worth. But the rest of the people in this town did nothing wrong, and slaughtering innocents just to get to the people who actually wronged him wasn¡¯t a line he wanted to cross. Not to mention the risks of accidentally committing an act unforgivable enough that he¡¯d be stuck with the Wicked Skill. Not all murders would land you with it, but if even you didn¡¯t think what you were doing was right, there was a good chance the System would agree. But then, other than human beings, his only option would be to hope he came across a monster in the forest powerful enough to work as a sacrifice. Or maybe kill a large amount of weaker ones and pile them all up in the circle. Either one sounded like it¡¯d take far longer than he preferred. And be more dangerous than he¡¯d like, too. It was one thing to stay in a defensible position in the clearing that could easily fend off a monster or two while he worked¡ªit was a whole other to actively go looking for them. While Zeth could take his ritual circles around with him, something a normal Blood Mage wouldn¡¯t be able to do, he knew from the fight with the fleshtaker that making physical contact with a monster using those circles was harder than it sounded. And when he wouldn¡¯t even know what he¡¯d be going up against, it sounded like a great way to get killed. Really, he almost liked his chances more against law enforcement. Maybe he could find some way to harvest a person¡¯s blood without killing or hurting them? Or find someone he could feasibly get blood out of that he was okay with hurting a bit? Or¡­ He frowned, stopping dead in his tracks halfway down the road. There a person who would be easier to get some blood out of, and also was definitely not a morally upstanding citizen. Turning right back around, he headed up the road toward his home. Or, more specifically, toward his shed. Zeth hid out in the tall grass, spying on the shed that contained the Wicked thrall woman impaled through the gut by a metal rod. He wouldn¡¯t even need to do anything to her in order to obtain her blood; it was already splattered across the floor. Only problem was, out of every single person in this entire town, she was probably the individual under the most surveillance. But there was one thing working for him. The shed had a drain built into its floor to let out all the blood leaking from butchered animals into a bucket out back. And, considering how intense her injuries were, he was certain it¡¯d be full. This woman, impaled by a spear going all the way through her body, would be pouring blood out onto the floor, and from the quick peek he¡¯d gotten at her, he knew she was positioned above that sloped section of floor that would let the blood run out the hole in the wall and into the drainage bucket. If he could just get to that, he could grab it and run without having to alert the woman contained inside. He just needed to get them away from the shed for a little bit. Right now, they weren¡¯t exactly expecting to have to stop any intruders, so they were mainly just standing around and talking. But even if it was possible for Zeth to reach the back wall of the shed without anyone seeing him, even one stray glance, one person walking around back to stretch their legs, would mean failure. He had to play things safe. Which, ironically, meant playing things a little dangerous. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. First, he looped around to the pig pen, where he¡¯d previously gotten animals to slaughter. It was out of sight of the shed and the farmhouse, so he wouldn¡¯t need to worry about being seen. And it was there that he enacted his plan. To begin with, as most of his plans began with these days, he sank to the ground and began drawing. Some of the pigs sniffed him curiously, but they didn¡¯t bother him as he drew up his circle. Zeth kept his ears out for footsteps the entire time he drew, ready to dash off if it sounded like someone was headed his way, but he was left undisturbed by the time he finished fifty minutes later. This was technically eating into precious time he wanted to use summoning demons, but he needed that blood. After he was done, he set up the scene, drawing up a few half-complete mock circles across the field. These he didn¡¯t put near as much time or effort into as the real one¡ªhe just dragged his finger across the grass until he had something that would look like a functioning ritual circle to someone who didn¡¯t know any better. Once he had a few, he returned to the real one, beckoning a nearby pig to come over to him. It waddled across the field toward him after some encouragement, and he pulled out his knife, staring down at it. ¡°Sorry, buddy, but you were probably gonna end up becoming bacon anyway.¡± After situating it to stand over the Hellfire Ritual circle, he tackled it to the ground and cut its gut open, watching the blood spill out over the painted red lines. It squealed and kicked Zeth away, and he tumbled away from the wounded animal. But before it could get up and run, the circle received its full necessary sacrifice, lighting up and letting out a crackling flash of electricity before igniting the pig with a tall, roaring flame. Instantly, shouts came from the other side of the farm, and Zeth sprinted off to avoid detection. He dashed into a field of tall crops and began making his way over to the shed as he listened to a group of metal boots clanking over to the site of the ritual magic in a hurry. ¡°It¡¯s a Fire Ritual!¡± one of them shouted, and Zeth heard the boots come to a sudden halt. ¡°Men, we need to approach carefully. There may be more armed traps lying around. Probably put down by that woman before she got caught in the shed.¡± The voices faded out as he saw the roof of the shed come into view above the tall grass, and risked standing up to catch a glimpse of it. It was all but deserted¡ªthey¡¯d left two soldiers behind to guard the woman while everyone else went to go check out the disturbance. And the two left behind were standing attentively right by the entrance¡ªopposite the side that the blood would be draining out of. Perfect. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As carefully yet quickly as he could, Zeth crept up to the back wall of the shed, where he found the bucket of blood resting innocently in the grass, a spout coming from inside dripping the occasional droplet into the pool of liquid. He grabbed it, taking care not to make any noise, and hurried off, away from the building. It was only once he got to his typical ritual site in the forest clearing that Zeth¡¯s heartbeat steadied. Walking around with a bucket of human blood in his hands wasn¡¯t very good for his attempts to look inconspicuous, so he was forced to sneak into the forest and run through there, hoping the smell wouldn¡¯t attract any monsters. Once there, he fell to his knees and began preparing according to plan¡ªfirst, expand the protection of his Hellfire Ritual circles, then get to work on the massive Demonic Covenant circle. Zeth wasn¡¯t sure what to expect from the ritual, if he was being honest with himself. He knew demons were powerful, to the point that he¡¯d heard tales of them single-handedly taking down massive swaths of soldiers in the past. However, his information was extremely limited. Who knew if only certain demons had capabilities incredible¡ªmaybe he¡¯d just get some random weakling. Not that anything that came from a realm as deep as the Thirteenth would be truly , but still. Looking at the description as he worked, he tried to glean as much as he could. [Demonic Covenant - Cost: 15 Skill Points Uses a ritual circle to attempt to summon a demon from the Thirteenth Realm. The demon will be bound to the caster¡¯s word, and can be dismissed at will.] The phrase ¡®attempt to summon¡¯ made him worry. Could the attempt fail? Would he need to do something to ensure it would succeed? He hoped the effort and resources he sank into this wouldn¡¯t be wasted. At the very least, though, he did feel like, in the case he did successfully summon a demon, he¡¯d be safe. The Skill seemed to give him two safety valves to use against the demon¡ªhe could make them do whatever he wanted, and could get rid of them if necessary. At the very least, it was unlikely that summoning a demon would carry with it true danger. Worst-case, it would just be a waste of time. Though, even in that worst-case scenario where it ended up failing, Zeth still wouldn¡¯t have gained nothing from the ritual. After all, there was more than one reason he wanted to use this Wicked thrall woman¡¯s blood to conduct it. Supposedly, she had stated to the guards that she was a Blood Mage. And supposedly, that information was reliable because they had tricked her into saying it. However, Zeth wasn¡¯t convinced at all that she was the Blood Mage he was looking for. In fact, he was all but certain she wasn¡¯t the one. But that didn¡¯t necessarily mean what she had said was total falsehood. There was still a possibility that this woman was Blood Mage. The only way to actually read a person¡¯s full Status was locked behind a specific Skill exclusive to the Inquisitor Class, and a group as powerful as the Inquisitors would have no reason to stick around these parts, so Zeth wouldn¡¯t be able to do something like genuinely confirming her Class for himself. But what he could do was use her blood in this ritual and see what the System called it. If it was ¡®weak¡¯ human blood, then chances were she didn¡¯t have a Class. But if it called her blood ¡®strong?¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t mean for certain that she truly was a Blood Mage, but it at least meant she had sort of Class. And if it turned out there really were more Blood Mages crawling around this town than just the one he¡¯d scuffled with, chances were they were connected. And if they were connected, then that meant all Zeth needed to do would be to catch a single one of these Blood Mages, and that one would lead him straight to the one he wanted. Thinking of these other Blood Mages, his mind wandered to the question of whether this Demonic Covenant Skill was different from what a normal Blood Mage would get. It seemed like they had a Skill called ¡®Fire Ritual¡¯ instead of his own Hellfire Ritual, and he knew his Ritual Circle Mastery Skill was different from theirs, too, since it let him move his circles around while theirs had to stay stationary. So then, how was Covenant different? Was it just cheaper and easier to obtain? Or was there some key difference¡ªa limitation built into theirs that he didn¡¯t have to deal with? he thought with a smile. Once he was finished with his hellfire circles, Zeth crouched down at the edge of the ten-foot section of ground he¡¯d cleared out. It was time to cross the point of no return. He took a breath, staring at his sum of Points and his list of available Skills. [UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Otherworldly Excellence - Cost: 17 Resonant Whispers - Cost: 9 Demonic Covenant - Cost: 15 Secure Rites - Cost: 12 Speedy Rites - Cost: 12 Compact Rites - Cost: 12 Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Unholy Strength - Cost: 18] Now was his last chance to decide to save up and purchase Otherworldly Excellence instead of Demonic Covenant. Or he could¡¯ve gotten almost any other of the Skills offered to him. Though, he was still notably far off from being able to afford Forbidden Knowledge¡ªif he even wanted it. Still, he had plenty of options. Was Covenant really the correct one? He took another breath. After the moment of hesitation, he placed his finger on the ground and prepared to start drawing. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Demonic Covenant. -15 Skill Points. You have 1 Skill Point.] Chapter 23 It was dusk when Zeth finished the ritual circle. He¡¯d gotten another Skill Rank-up¡ªthis one for Vile Focus, bringing it up to six¡ªbut Skill Points were the last thing on his mind right now. He was staring down at something that cast a much wider shadow across his consciousness. At eight and a half feet in diameter, the circle was massive, as he knew it would be. But such a gigantic, detailed circle in person¡ªby far the most intricate one he¡¯d done so far¡ªit was beautiful, in a way. Like one of those floor-to-ceiling paintings he¡¯d heard about the emperor commissioning for his palace. A work of art so grand, it made Zeth feel tiny just standing on it. Only, unlike a painting, this circle represented something real. Something that really gigantic in comparison to him. In just a few moments, a demon would be standing in front of him. Zeth couldn¡¯t stop his hands from shaking. It wasn¡¯t from fear, though. While he was certainly afraid at the thought of such a powerful entity even having him in its gaze, another emotion had overtaken that one by leaps and bounds. Excitement. The anticipation of that same powerful entity being to command¡ªto bring his will upon the world, to bring his will upon the people who had long since deserved suffering. A tool that existed to kill anyone and everyone he pointed it in the direction of. He reached down with trembling hands to grab the bucket of that woman¡¯s blood. This would be the moment of truth¡ªwhat would the System say about her strength? Was she really the possessor of a powerful Class? Or just an Unclassed liar? Whether or not she was Blood Mage, he knew the real Blood Mage¡ªthe one he wanted¡ªwas still out there. And with the help of this demon, he¡¯d find them. Air escaped Zeth¡¯s lungs in a light chuckle. But slowly, his chuckle grew more and more intense until it eventually broke into full-on maniacal laughter. The blood in the bucket rippled from the quakes in his body as he doubled over, his voice echoing through the clearing. With a shaky breath, Zeth calmed himself and stood up straight again, a wild grin still stretched across his face. If any reasonable person saw him out in the middle of the forest, clutching a bucket of human blood in his hands as he cackled wickedly, preparing to conduct powerful demonic ritual magic to summon a being from the Thirteenth Realm, there was no doubt in his mind they¡¯d assume he was the most over-the-top evil villain out there. But his motivations weren¡¯t so broad as destroying the world. No, such a thing would bring him no satisfaction at all. He was here to destroy a small set of very specific people. And he accomplish that goal. Standing in the middle of the ritual circle, he slowly began to turn the bucket over. The blood slowly flowed toward the bucket¡¯s lip as he turned it further and further, Zeth¡¯s breath growing heavier and heavier, until finally it spilled over the edge and down into the ground. His eyes grew wide with glee as he saw the completion percentage of the ritual leap upward from just the slow dribble of liquid. No way that woman didn¡¯t have some sort of Class of her own. Typically speaking, with anything System-related that cared about the strength of a person, the difference between someone with a Class and someone without one was like the difference between a mountain and a pebble. It was one of the reasons so many people intentionally forewent obtaining a Class their whole lives¡ªbandits with combat Classes would go out of their way to kill the Classed people whenever they robbed anyone, since doing so would give such massive progress toward their next Levels. Either way, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t going to even need the whole bucket of this woman¡¯s blood to complete the ritual. As he got to just about a quarter left, a notification entered Zeth¡¯s mind. [Ritual complete. Sacrifice given: Moderate amount of moderate-strength human blood. Circle has been powered. Touch it to send a beacon to the Thirteenth Realm. Once a response has been found, the subject will be summoned and placed under your control. An immutable covenant will be formed between you.] Zeth looked over the words. His mind only lingered on that train of thought for a brief moment, however, as the next lines drew his attention to them. He knelt down and placed his hands on the lines. The moment his skin made contact with them, the gigantic sigil lit up, painting the entire clearing a bright glowing pink. Electricity arced across the lines and up and down Zeth¡¯s arms, dancing harmlessly across his skin. The loud crackling filled his ears. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Seconds passed as the pulsating pink light of the circle¡¯s lines continued to burn across Zeth¡¯s retinas. The electricity continued to run across the field. But nothing else happened. He could feel the ritual examining his mind, as if testing to ensure he did, in fact, want to ¡®send out a beacon,¡¯ as it had said. He did everything he could to say ¡®yes¡¯ to this question, but it didn¡¯t seem to really be asking for a yes-or-no response. It was just looking. The seconds turned into minutes. Zeth stayed kneeling there, the light and sound never letting up their assault on his senses, but never growing any more intense, either. Was the ritual failing? Was this its way of rejecting him? Just sitting there, making its noise and its light, but never actually summoning anything? It certainly looked like it was working on , but that something certainly wasn¡¯t summoning a demon like it was supposed to. Zeth told himself. But the minutes stretched on. From just a couple to ten, to fifteen, to thirty. His body ached from the unending kneeling, being forced to keep constant contact with the circle in fear that moving away would shut off the ritual and everything would be gone. But he stayed steadfast. He couldn¡¯t accept that he¡¯d simply wasted fifteen entire Skill Points and an entire day¡¯s worth of work and received nothing in return. He would get his demon. And if it took an hour, then he would wait an hour. The ritual could keep shooting out its damn electricity all day, but he¡¯d sit here and force it to keep going until it did what he commanded it to. And the time did, indeed, stretch into the realm of hours. Zeth couldn¡¯t keep track of how long this was taking, but the sky had turned orange from the sun beginning to set as he kelt there, mentally exhausted from the ritual. It seemed to be slowly dripping mana out of him as he sustained contact with the lines, though he had no idea what for. If this took much longer, he¡¯d be forced to crawl away from the circle or else the mana drain would kill him. But he¡¯d keep going until the brink of death; he knew that much. If the ritual was taking mana from him, it had to be doing with it. And that something had better have been finding the biggest, baddest demon in the entirety of Hell to personally gift wrap and deliver to Zeth. He wouldn¡¯t accept any less. It was as his eyes were slowly shutting, his mind barely containing the power to even keep him conscious, that the electricity suddenly shut off. The light went out, and Zeth found that it was dark out, the sudden switch from blazing pink to dark evening light practically blinding him. He took a heavy breath, rejoicing in the feeling of finally reclaiming mana from the environment rather than having it constantly sucked out of him, and fell back onto his rear, scooting away from the center of the circle. After catching his breath, he raised his dirtied hands and rubbed his eyes, looking around. The clearing was empty. No sign whatsoever that anything had been summoned. Zeth¡¯s face fell into his palms. It seriously failed? So the entire day was wasted, after all. Most of that ultra-powerful blood, too. He didn¡¯t have enough to try the ritual a second time even if he wanted to. After a minute of him staring dejectedly at the dirt, he received a System notification. [Demonic Covenant¡¯s Rank has increased to 1. +1 Skill Point. You have 4 Skill Points.] He scoffed at the delayed notification. What, did it wait so long to tell him just so it could mock him? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But then, he felt the air heat up. All around him, an unfamiliar orange glow spread through the atmosphere. There was no particular source, but the entire clearing was bathed in otherworldly light and the feeling that Zeth was out on the hottest day of summer. And then it grew even hotter, like he was standing next to a roaring bonfire. And then hotter. He kicked back, afraid his clothes may catch alight. The glow grew brighter and brighter, too, until Zeth almost felt like he was in the presence of the sun itself. Only, once again, there was no real source for this light whatsoever. It was just Even as he pushed himself back to the very edge of the clearing, watching the center from behind the trees, Zeth could still feel the heat growing more and more intense by the second. If it kept up, the entire forest may have burned down. But just as it felt like the heat couldn¡¯t safely increase by a single degree more, it stopped. The heat and the orange glow disappeared instantly, like a candle being blown out. And in the same moment, a new source of light and heat burst out from above the center of the ritual circle. This time, though, that source was real flame. A whirlwind of fire blazed out from nothing, like it had simply been placed there by a god and willed to ignite midair. It burned so high it licked the low branches of the trees, crackling loudly in the silent forest. And then, only seconds later, it extinguished, too. And standing in its place was a being. A red-skinned thing, standing on two feet and with a set of arms and a head that approximated a human body if it had been shredded to perfection by a regimented workout routine. Muscle rippled across its every limb, what little clothing it wore mere scraps of leather that did nothing to hide the beast¡¯s war-torn physique. Scars of a lighter red covered its entire body, some long lines from bladed weapons slicing all the way across its chest, and others starred dots that resembled the tips of hooked arrows. It turned its face to glance around its location, a permanent scowl etched across its expression, before its slitted eyes eventually landed on Zeth, still sitting back on the ground at the edge of the clearing, dumbfounded at what he was looking at. He was face-to-face with an honest-to-the-gods demon. Chapter 24 Zeth sat at the edge of the clearing staring at the demon as it glanced around at its surroundings. And then, just moments after it appeared, he got a notification. [Influence check failed.] Instantly, the most intense sensation of fear he¡¯d ever felt flooded Zeth¡¯s mind. He gasped in horror, kicking away from the source of his terror, feeling his heart pounding in his ribcage and his entire body trembling as he did. The appearance of the demon seemed to twist and morph to fit the needles of fear stabbing into his mind. The scowl screwed into its humanoid face became a hungry snarl on a bloodthirsty monster¡¯s. The calm, indifferent stance it held became one ready to lash out and slaughter the first living being it spotted. Drool dripped from its sharpened teeth, ready to tear into Zeth. It was going to kill him. It was going to kill him! The demon¡¯s eyes met Zeth¡¯s, seeming to carry with them the murderous intent of an enraged god. Even the slightest moonlight glaring off the white in its eyes was like a beam of energy, piercing his heart and preventing him from moving a single inch more. Its red irises seemed to glow a fiery light, like Zeth would instantly catch aflame the moment the thing decided he should die. In the back of his mind, Zeth knew something was wrong. He knew he¡¯d failed a Stat check and what he was feeling was clearly an artificially enhanced sense of fear, but that knowledge did nothing to change the dread clutching his chest, closing his blood vessels and petrifying his muscles. He felt like he may black out if this kept up. The fear was so intense it was painful. As shaky breaths escaped his lungs, Zeth watched the demon take a step forward, toward him. Instantly, the feeling doubled. The entire earth fractured and crumbled beneath its feet. Its murderous gaze was fixed on him. Its drooling mouth was open, ready to swallow him whole. Zeth had no idea what was real and what wasn¡¯t. The beast took another step, and he felt like his heart might stop beating. It was pumping as hard as it could, pushing energy through his body to escape from his imminent death, but he couldn¡¯t move. He sat and stared, gasping for air as the demon continued in its stride toward him. His sight flickered between what existed in the physical world and what his compromised mind was trying to show him. One moment, he was faced with a calm, muscular demon wandering over toward him with a curious, displeased look on its face. The next, he saw a beast with sharpened claws, fiery energy surrounding it as it dashed at him, face ever morphing between more and more terrifying monstrous depictions of the exact same expression¡ªunending hunger. It stopped in front of him, beside his trembling body as he lay on the ground, and stared down at his face. ¡°You¡¯re clearly new to this,¡± it said, voice garbled between a deep masculine tone and a snarling growl. The first voice held the intonation of an unimpressed remark, while the other sounded like it was saying ¡®you¡¯re new and innocent, which will make you taste all the better.¡¯ It continued, ¡°The summoning felt different. Do you have some sort of evolution to the normal Skill I haven¡¯t heard of? It almost feels like¡­¡± The demon trailed off as Zeth finally found the ability to move his legs. With shaky, jerking movements, he kicked back, desperate to get as far away from the murderous figure as he possibly could. Every instinct in his mind screamed at him that he was the luckiest man in the world to have survived this long, and he couldn¡¯t count on his luck to continue. Death was just around the corner. The demon was just about to kill and eat him. His mind felt like it was simultaneously shutting down from stress and cranking into overdrive, sending signals haphazardly across his body in hopes that maybe it would randomly stumble upon the combination of movements that could get him out of here. ¡°Huh,¡± the demon said, stepping forward to follow him. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re basically comatose. You must¡¯ve had no warning whatsoever. Well, may as well get a free kill in while I¡¯m here. Classed humans give such juicy rewards.¡± It reached down to grab Zeth¡¯s throat, and for once, it felt like Zeth¡¯s fear-enhanced perception agreed with physical reality. This bloodthirsty beast was going to murder him. ¡°D¡ª¡± Zeth could barely force his vocal cords to move. ¡°Don¡¯t h-hurt me.¡± The moment the words left his mouth, the demon froze, then frowned. It straightened back up and sighed, looking off across the forest. ¡°Oh well. You had to come from some settlement, I guess.¡± With that, it strode off into the trees. And with every step it took away from Zeth, he could feel the weight of the fear lessening. He could form coherent thoughts again. Reality seeped back into his vision. He felt the cool breeze blow against his body, drenched in sweat. He stared at the back of the demon as it walked off, choking in quick breaths as his consciousness fought against the fear that still attempted to invade it. What had it said? His memories were jumbled. He still had no real idea what had just happened¡ªall he could remember was the fear, the sensation that he was about to die. But buried in there, had the demon said something about finding the place he came from? Was it trying to find more humans to kill? ¡°S-stop!¡± Zeth shouted, and once again, the demon froze. Mid-stride, it stopped exactly where it was, incapable to even turn its head to look back at Zeth. With his wits only barely collected, Zeth shakily got to his feet, sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes. This thing was bound to his word, right? He could command it to do whatever he wanted. There was nothing to fear. He chanted it to himself. He took a long, deep breath. ¡°Turn around.¡± Still stuck in place about thirty feet away from him, the demon slowly turned to face Zeth, body moving in mechanical motion. Its scowl looked much more genuine now. ¡°Looks like you found your nerve. Most don¡¯t get to the point of speech so quickly.¡± ¡°S-stop using that Skill on me,¡± Zeth commanded. ¡°The one that caused the Influence check.¡± ¡°Ignorant slug,¡± the demon spat. ¡°It¡¯s not something I can turn off. Get used to it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Zeth sighed, exhaling deeply as he attempted once again to calm his rapidly pumping heart. He was doing everything he could to keep himself from turning around and fleeing. ¡°You look like you¡¯re about to have a heart attack,¡± the demon said. Zeth still caught flickers of its face morphing into a sadistic grin, like it was about to charge ahead and tear his ribcage asunder. ¡°Go ahead. Die for me. All you worthless beings are good for is fueling our power.¡± Zeth closed his eyes to try and shut out the disorientation. His mind was playing tricks on him, and it seemed like the demon knew as much. It was playing into the trick. He opened his eyes, chest rising and falling with each heavy breath he drew. ¡°No. No, you have to obey me.¡± The demon chuckled. ¡°Have to? Ugh, you really are ignorant. No, slug, I do not ¡®have to¡¯ obey you. I¡¯m currently choosing to do so until I hear your terms. Which, I¡¯m going to go ahead and ask you what they are.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°Your terms. What are you¡ª¡± it stopped and rolled its eyes. ¡°I do not have time to educate worthless things like you. You probably don¡¯t even have the mental capacity to understand.¡± ¡°Tell me,¡± Zeth demanded. ¡°Commands as general as that won¡¯t work,¡± the demon said. ¡°But I¡¯ll tell you anyway, I suppose. I accepted your summons, which does indeed mean that, for as long as I am physically manifested in your puny realm, I am forced to do your bidding. However, I can leave whenever I want. If I don¡¯t find my time here to be worthwhile, I will simply dematerialize and return to my own realm.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zeth asked. He hadn¡¯t known that. Was this demon really about to just leave after all the work he¡¯d gone through to summon it? ¡°Th-then what would make it worthwhile to you?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It tilted its head, and Zeth couldn¡¯t tell whether the sadistic smile he saw in the expression was true or if it was simply his fear-addled mind interpreting everything it did in the most hostile way possible. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± the demon asked. ¡°I¡¯m here to kill humans.¡± Zeth frowned, taking a shaky breath. ¡°Why?¡± The demon groaned in frustration, muttering something about how ¡®slugs like this one are so much trouble.¡¯ Then it spoke up. ¡°As pathetic as you things are, you¡¯re worth quite a lot, as far as the System is concerned¡ªit overvalues you, for some reason. I have a combat-oriented Class, meaning I only Level up from killing. And nothing in our entire realm is worth more toward a demon¡¯s next Level than taking a human life. So, I¡¯m here to get stronger. Presumably, you¡¯ve summoned me because you¡¯re too weak to kill someone yourself, and you want me to do it for you. So, little slug, point me in that human¡¯s direction, and I¡¯ll end them for you.¡± Some small part of Zeth¡¯s mind felt enraged by the constant insults coming from the demon, and wanted to command it to stop speaking to him that way. But the terror shoved that part down, desperate to do nothing that might anger it. He clenched a fist, digging his fingernails into his palms, as if the pain would distract him from the fear. What did he need the demon to do for him? Killing someone certainly sounded nice, but he wasn¡¯t sure that he was ready to send a demon into town and start ripping people apart just yet. Really, what he wanted was more information about that ritual circle he found in that storage closet in the guild offices. He needed to know who had drawn it. More specifically, he needed to know whether or not it was Garon. ¡°I-I don¡¯t want you to kill anyone right now.¡± It stared at him blankly. ¡°Do you have a prisoner I could kill instead?¡± ¡°What?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any prisoners for you. Listen, I just want you to go investigate someone. Maybe I¡¯ll end up needing you to kill him, maybe not. I don¡¯t know. But just sneak around, tail him for a bit, and report back to me if you find him doing anything suspicious. After that, I can figure something out for you.¡± The demon chuckled mirthlessly. ¡°You understand nothing, slug. I¡¯m not doing anything for you unless you can make a deal with me where I am guaranteed to take a human life at some point along the process. That is the cost of doing business with a demon. Instead of having me ¡®investigate¡¯ this human, simply ask me to kill him, and I will do it easily.¡± Zeth¡¯s mind screamed at him to accept all terms and do everything the demon wanted, but he forced himself to take another calming breath and think before responding. He couldn¡¯t let this demon go over and kill Garon right now. Not only would it be ridiculously dangerous to do something as big as that without at least thinking about it first, but he also needed to know whether or not Garon was the Blood Mage before he died so that Zeth would know if he still had to be on the lookout afterward. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. I need information on him first. Besides, will be the one to kill him. Not someone else. If I were going to have you help me kill him, I¡¯d let you protect me from his lackeys or something while I did the deed. There¡¯s a chance he¡¯d be summoning demons to fight for him, too, so I¡¯d need you on my side to do so anyway.¡± It frowned. ¡°Your target is a Blood Mage?¡± ¡°Oh, I guess it would be a problem for you to fight other demons and Blood Mages, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Zeth asked, sighing to himself. Were these demons really going to be so useless for him? ¡°I have no standing deals with any of the societies of Blood Mages that would prevent me from killing theirs, nor do I have qualms with attacking other demons while in this realm,¡± it replied. ¡°The summoning you Blood Mages perform only brings a demon¡¯s physical body to this place¡ªnot our souls. If we were to fight, ¡®dying¡¯ would only send our consciousnesses back to our own realm to be placed back in our souls, where a new body would be formed around it with the help of the mana you put into that spell of yours. I am effectively immortal while here.¡± ¡°So you¡¯d have no problem with it?¡± ¡°Do not put words into my mouth, slug. I said no such thing. While there is no risk of death while here, there certainly a risk that my time and effort will be wasted¡ªsomething that is happening right now. If I were to die before taking any human lives and I was forcibly unsummoned, that would mean all of my time spent in this disgusting realm was wasted. As such, if you are to have me try to investigate a man who may be guarded by demons, I absolutely will need up-front payment. If you cannot guarantee me that right now, I am leaving.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to ensure you don¡¯t just kill whoever I let you kill, and then you leave anyway?¡± ¡°Just how ignorant are you, little slug? Were you taught nothing? The Skill that allows you to call me here and issue commands allows you to give conditional commands as well as simple ones. If you were to say ¡®you are allowed to kill this man only if you stay in this realm afterward in order to attempt to complete this task for me,¡¯ I would be bound by your word after killing him. Such a type of command is the only way to prevent me from voluntarily leaving this realm.¡± It was difficult for Zeth to take in everything the demon was explaining to him in his current state, every word that entered his ears being twisted and morphed to drip with venom, shadows creeping all around him. He tried to stay focused. ¡°Fine, okay. So, if I get you some sort of up-front payment, can you go and look into this guy for me?¡± ¡°If you are to give me a conditional command, you will need to give a more direct order than ¡®look into this guy,¡¯ as you have so uncouthly worded it.¡± Zeth took a shaky breath, rubbing his temples. ¡°Okay, yeah, sure. I¡¯ll figure that part out later. But can we just unofficially agree for now that the offer¡¯s on the table? I get you someone you can kill, and you just tail this guy without getting noticed? Demons can do stealth and stuff, right?¡± The demon stared at Zeth with obvious impatience. ¡°You slugs have no end to your ignorance, it seems. Calling upon higher order species without even knowing of our capabilities. Yes, slug, I am perfectly capable of staying hidden from the dulled senses of humans. Simply ask me to attempt to hide while gathering the information, and I will do so. However, you seem to assume I will sit here and wait around for you to secure a bargaining piece. I would never make any sort of an ¡®unofficial agreement¡¯ with you, slug. You have done nothing but prove yourself as an unskilled, ignorant, weak little thing during our entire interaction¡ªeven when compared to other members of your species, you are especially worthless. I have no confidence whatsoever that you would be able to acquire a human before the time limit ran out.¡± ¡°Time limit? What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Really? The slug in front of me is not only this ignorant, but cannot even recall information? Every summoner I have ever met has known that any demon you summon will be forcibly unsummoned in twenty-four hours. You have seriously conducted this ritual without even stopping to think about what you¡¯ve been told? Are you so utterly stupid that you would not think to do that? Or is there a hole somewhere in your head that the knowledge simply slipped out of? I cannot fathom¡ª¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Zeth interrupted, his anger finally reaching a breaking point that pushed him to speak up despite his fear, ¡°nobody ever told me that, dumbass. You sit there and act like you know every little thing that¡¯s going on, but you¡¯re pretty clearly just a stupid fucking egotist that can¡¯t help but say whatever mean thing you can think of to feel good about yourself.¡± The demon narrowed its eyes at him. ¡°...What is your game here, slug?¡± ¡°There is no ¡®game,¡¯ dumbass. I¡¯m trying to get something done, and I that the demons, with all that they¡¯re talked about as being so bafflingly powerful and cunning, would, I dunno, be any help whatsoever to that goal. But apparently, no! Turns out, you fuckers are just a bunch of stupid, selfish bastards who can¡¯t even understand the concept of doing something without being fed human lives in exchange. Turns out, you¡¯re completely fucking useless to me! So yeah, go ahead and leave, I guess. I¡¯ll figure out a way to do this without your¡ª¡± ¡°No, not that,¡± the demon said, its voice carrying with it much less hostility now. Though, Zeth wasn¡¯t sure if the demon was genuinely being less hostile, or if his rising anger was simply fighting off the magical fear effect and allowing him to hear how the demon¡¯s words truly sounded now. It looked at him curiously. ¡°What do you mean, you didn¡¯t know about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying no one ever fucking mentioned it, dumbass. I don¡¯t have some cabal of Blood Mages helping me out and feeding me information. So it looks like you were mistaken. Are you so surprised? Is this the first time you¡¯ve ever been told you were wrong about something?¡± ¡°...Fine, I abide by your casual agreement. Find a human I can kill within two hours, and I will do what you ask.¡± Zeth paused. ¡°Wait, really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He stared at the demon¡¯s face, its expression unreadable not only because he wasn¡¯t familiar with the species, but also because the fear effect kept throwing flickering hallucinations across his sight. It was impossible to see anything that wasn¡¯t some variation of murderous aggression. But even so, the demon¡¯s words seemed genuine. Which only left the question, how Zeth get this demon people it could kill? He¡¯d started bargaining hypothetically, just so he could see if there was any way he could score its help, but now that he was faced with the problem of kidnapping and murdering a random person, he realized how problematic the situation he¡¯d gotten himself into was. ¡°So then, slug, what will it be?¡± Zeth frowned, realizing something. An opportunity. Quite the opportunity, in fact. ¡°Can you help me acquire this sacrifice? It¡¯d be risky for me to try and get it on my own.¡± ¡°If it is dangerous for you, it would be the same for me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t need you to do anything afterward. You can go right home after you help me acquire them. Sounds good, right?¡± ¡°Fine. If you give me¡­hm, two humans from this acquired sacrifice, I will assist you in taking them. What will your methods be that put you at risk?¡± ¡°Two¡¯s fine,¡± Zeth said. ¡°You see, there¡¯s this group of humans I¡¯ve been meaning to kill for a while now. They murdered my dad. And right now, they¡¯re sitting in a comfy little jail cell waiting to be executed when the next round of Inquisitors come in town a while from now.¡± ¡°And what will you do about this?¡± Zeth turned and looked in the direction of town, already creating a mental map of the area they would need to infiltrate. ¡°What do you think? We¡¯re gonna break them out of prison.¡± Chapter 25 Standing in the middle of the clearing in the woods, Zeth pointed at the demon. ¡°You stay here. Defend yourself from wild monsters if necessary, but don¡¯t make a ruckus. And don¡¯t fight humans; just hide from them.¡± ¡°And if the situation becomes such that I cannot hide any longer?¡± the demon asked. ¡°Do I fight in that case?¡± ¡°No,¡± Zeth replied. ¡°Dismiss yourself if you can¡¯t hide. Ideally you actually get found.¡± Its expression soured. ¡°Understood. I will also dismiss myself if you take too long to return. Staying in this realm for too long is extremely uncomfortable.¡± S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll be back in a few hours at most. Don¡¯t cause trouble.¡± With that, he turned and walked away, feeling his chest lighten with each foot of distance he put between himself and that thing. He realized he¡¯d been around the demon for long enough that he¡¯d gotten slightly used to the fear aura, not even realizing how horrible it had been until he was away from it. It was like a cloud was lifted from his mind and body, finally allowing him to exist unimpeded. He sighed. The fact that the demon couldn¡¯t keep it from affecting him was unfortunate, sure, but he could live with it. Really, from an objective standpoint, that fear effect was amazing for him. He couldn¡¯t possibly imagine a person fighting a demon head-on without tripping over themself and getting killed instantly, considering how much it¡¯d affected him when he in immediate danger. And if he was going to try to break these murderers out of prison to use as sacrifices, he¡¯d need something to keep them obedient. A demon¡¯s mind-altering aura seemed perfect for that. For now, though, he needed to scout out the area and make sure everything was clear. Whether or not the demon could be stealthy enough to keep from being seen, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be capable of keeping itself from being by everyone within a few dozen feet of it. They¡¯d have to do this when night fell and the streets were clear, and they¡¯d have to make sure they knew exactly what they were doing ahead of time. A single misstep would not only cost Zeth the mission, but also most likely his life. Getting found out while accompanying a demon¡ªwhat further evidence would they need to instantly execute him? And if they decided Zeth was the Blood Mage they were looking for and took care of him, the one would have free reign to do whatever they wanted without scrutiny. He scowled as he walked. No way that would happen. He refused to meet his end before he was able to witness the beautiful sight that would be his enemies dying in agony. Once he was far enough away, Zeth slowly felt the fear effect bottom out, his mind having finally shed those bindings. He could think completely clearly. And with that clarity of thought, he went back over his encounter with that monster he¡¯d summoned. His first thought was, His second thought was, That thing was a rude, nasty, egotistical creature, and also seemed to be one of the strongest beings he¡¯d ever seen. His specific memories of the encounter weren¡¯t perfect¡ªit seemed like even once he was out of the fear aura, his memories of his time inside of it were still tainted¡ªbut he could practically the power exuding from the demon the entire time it was there. He knew just by looking at it that it could probably slay anyone in the entire town with the flick of a finger. Of course, there were costs to using demons, it had become clear. They¡¯d need constant human sacrifices to motivate them, and they¡¯d do everything they could to skirt his orders and kill more people than necessary. As things were, demons would be a powerful but unreliable tool in Zeth¡¯s belt. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what might happen if he were able to get his hands on a demon whose goals aligned with his. One that would be a genuine ally. That was probably too much to wish for, of course. But he¡¯d want to do further research into demons anyway; if there was some method he could use to choose a demon to summon rather than picking one at random, he might at least be able to work with ones who weren¡¯t so awful to speak to. But for now, this was the one he had, and he¡¯d use it to its fullest potential¡ªeven if that potential was simply to get more sacrifices to summon more demons. Once he was back in town, Zeth began walking toward the guard precinct. He wasn¡¯t sure where his father¡¯s killers were, but he assumed whatever jail cell they¡¯d been stuck into would be near there. And while walking, he scanned around for anything interesting money-wise. He¡¯d promised his mom earlier that he would find a job out here that he could do for some extra coin, and he intended to uphold that promise. Though, he really just wanted something that¡¯d pay a decent bit and give him an excuse to disappear for a few hours every now and then. Summoning demons was time-consuming. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He made mental notes of some of the places he passed. There weren¡¯t too many options¡ªall of the blacksmiths and leatherworkers were directly employed by the guild, so it wasn¡¯t like he could become an apprentice, and it was a similar situation for plenty of other low-skill labor jobs. The town had decided that all major infrastructure would be handled by the guild¡¯s construction team, so he couldn¡¯t even become a bricklayer without going through them. In the end, most places outside the guild¡¯s jurisdiction were like the farm¡ªsmall, family-owned operations that certainly weren¡¯t making enough money to bring on outside help. Really, the only source of work he could hope to find would be¡­ There. He¡¯d heard about a traveling merchant coming into town recently, and it seemed like they were still around. Off in the town square, he saw a cart set up with dozens of oddities on the shelves. Exotic foods, literature, and materials were set up and displayed to the public, alongside more typical necessities one would expect to find a merchant selling. And in the center of the cart stood a woman, shouting out at passers-by about random items in her wares that they might like. It wouldn''t be guaranteed, but maybe Zeth could convince the woman to let him haul around stock or something. At least then he¡¯d have a job until she left. He walked up to her as she waved a bundle of some strange-looking grass at a man, yelling after him about its medicinal properties as he strode by, ignoring her. Unlike some other merchants who dressed in fine furs and covered themselves in jewelry, she looked far more modest; her clothes were clearly high quality, but not needlessly fancy, and her straight black hair seemed to have been professionally cut. That was good¡ªhe was hoping she¡¯d be wealthy enough to afford to take on some help, but not so wealthy that she could afford better options than a random farmboy. ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said, standing in front of her. ¡°I was¡ª¡± ¡°Oh! Do want my ocean mountain grass?¡± She asked, turning to him and looking at him with an intensity in her eye that matched her energetic way of speaking. ¡°What? Ocean mountain grass? No, I¡ª¡± ¡°Are you sure? It has plenty of potent medicinal properties, taken straight from the point where the rivers of the high mountains of Harinkar and the oceanic waters of the Eastern sea meet. This grass can only be found in that one place in the whole world, and can cure nausea, blindness, and even regrow lost hair! All you have to do to absorb its nutrients is to put one or two blades up your¡ª¡° ¡°No, no,¡± Zeth interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m actually not here to buy anything at all. I was wondering if you¡ª¡° ¡°If you aren¡¯t here to buy anything, please leave. I need to be talking to customers right now, not wannabe acquaintances.¡± ¡°I have a business proposition for you,¡± Zeth said. ¡°If you¡¯d just listen¡ª¡± ¡°Then talk to me when I¡¯m closed. Goodbye!¡± She reached out over the counter of the cart and started pushing him away, and when he stumbled out of her reach, she began making speedy shooing motions. ¡°Bye! Leave now!¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Zeth said, ¡°where can I find you? What¡¯s your name? When will you even¡ª¡± ¡°That one tavern on the eastern end of town, my name is Hilia, and you can meet with me tomorrow morning or evening. Now Zeth sighed. ¡°Alright, sure. Bye.¡± The moment he turned around, she began shouting again, yelling at some woman on the other side of the square about shoes that were fitted with such soft cloth she¡¯d never get blisters again. Zeth thought as he walked off. He just hoped that attitude meant she was committed enough to her business to bother hiring people to help. It wasn¡¯t a sure thing, but he had something to show for his efforts, at least. And that was all he needed before going to scout out these jail cells. So, facing himself in that direction, he headed off once again. When he got to the guard precinct, Zeth did a few nonchalant laps around the building, checking out its shape and general structure. The Wicked thralls he was looking for were technically still yet to have gone on trial¡ªthe town was waiting for the Inquisitors to arrive so those people could go through their process¡ªso he assumed they¡¯d be kept somewhere different from normal long-term prisoners, and he needed to figure out where that place would be. And the most likely place to have that information would be this place. If he could find some sort of paperwork referring to where and when they were checked into whichever building, he could just head over there and break them out with the help of his demon servant, hopefully with less trouble than he¡¯d get compared to breaking into a guarded, high-security prison. So then, he¡¯d need to get in here and get to their documents. He¡¯d hoped to find a window that led straight into a storeroom or something, but couldn''t find anything. He supposed a literal guard station would have better security procedures than that. Maybe one day, he¡¯d have the power to simply have a demon bust through the wall and grab what he needed, but not yet. Doing something like that would draw far too much attention. Seemed like the front door was his only option for now. So, he walked inside. The front office area was technically open to the public, allowing anyone to come in and tip off law enforcement about crimes one saw being committed or similar. There were two portly guards sitting at a front desk idly chatting with each other in the otherwise empty area. And leading out were two doors on opposite sides of the room, each one looking to be locked. He¡¯d seen from the outside that there were two wings of the building that split off from here, and these doors seemed to lead into each. It¡¯d be troublesome if he tried sneaking through one only to end up in the complete opposite portion of the building that the records he was looking for would be held in. So randomly wandering around was likely not an option. He¡¯d need to find some sort of map that would point him in that direction. He frowned. Zeth walked up to the front desk. When he approached, the skinnier of the two men stopped talking and looked over at him. ¡°Yes?¡± He glanced down at the man¡¯s chest, where a nameplate pinned to his lapel read ¡®Kirik.¡¯ He cleared his throat. ¡°Uh, hi, I¡¯d like to report some information? It¡¯s about the Blood Mage stuff that¡¯s been going on.¡± The two guards shared a glance. show Chapter 26 Zeth stood in front of the two guards sitting at the desk, awaiting their response. ¡°What do you have to report?¡± the one named Kirik asked, not looking very interested. He cleared his throat. ¡°Right, so, about a month ago, my dad was murdered. There was a group of Wicked thralls arrested for the crime already, and I do believe they did it, but I also believe you haven¡¯t realized something about them. I think they were aligned with the Blood Mage going around now, who assisted them with the killing.¡± ¡°If something like that were the case, we would¡¯ve heard about it already,¡± the man said. ¡°Either from interrogations or other witnesses. We¡¯ve gotten lots of people like you in here, deciding that the shadow on the wall must¡¯ve been a spectre of death or the latest monster that came through a realm portal. I¡¯m not going to waste my time listening to another bout of hysteria.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± the other man said, leaning over to Kirik. His name tag read ¡®Pombus.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s at least hear him out? Doesn¡¯t look crazy to me.¡± Kirik rolled his eyes. ¡°They never do.¡± Pombus looked at Zeth. ¡°I¡¯m not busy right now. Shoot. Tell me your theory about the conspiracy to kill your family.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡ª¡± he sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not a conspiracy. I¡¯m just trying to tell you what I saw. My dad went out on the edge of the forest for a few hours, and when we went out there later to look for him, he was dead. My mom went back to report it, but I stayed behind and continued investigating. And while I did, I caught a glimpse of something strange in the treeline. At the time, I was in shock and didn¡¯t think too closely about it, but after everything that¡¯s happened now, I have reason to believe the Blood Mage in this town was working with the Wicked thralls to kill my father.¡± Kirik leaned back in his chair, silently shaking his head. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°And that reason is¡­?¡± Pombus asked. ¡°I saw two things. One was a person in a brown hood¡ªI could just barely make out some of their features. I think it was another of the thralls. But standing next to that person was a beast¡ªa hellish monster. Now, looking back on it, I believe I saw a demon.¡± At that, Kirik chuckled. ¡°Everyone all over town is seeing demons these days.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but he¡¯s right,¡± Pombus said. ¡°Could you describe the demon for us? Some people see things like wild animals or the shadows from trees and assume the worst.¡± ¡°Gladly,¡± Zeth responded. ¡°It stood about a head or two taller than a human would, with deep red skin and a muscled body. Its fingers were tipped with claws, and horns came out of its head. And it stood perfectly still, as if awaiting a command from the person next to it.¡± Slowly, as Zeth continued perfectly describing the looks of a demon, the two guards¡¯ eyes widened and they began to lean forward in their chairs, paying much closer attention to Zeth¡¯s words. ¡°Oh, and one more thing,¡± Zeth said. ¡°You might just think I¡¯m a coward or something, but I swear, I felt the strongest fear I¡¯ve ever experienced in my life. Like my heart was gonna stop any second. I think there was some sort of mind-altering magic going on.¡± The guards exchanged a look, then Pombus adjusted his posture in his seat. ¡°Um, alright. What¡¯s your name? We¡¯re gonna have to get you in a room with a head guard, or something. This is above our pay grade.¡± ¡°Oh, my name¡¯s, uh, Alan,¡± Zeth lied. He nodded and jotted the fake name down, then looked back up. ¡°Okay. How about this: come back tomorrow and we¡¯ll have the head guard come in to talk to you. He¡¯ll get every detail of your story he can when you see him.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Zeth said, ¡°I¡¯m¡­not sure I want to do that.¡± Kirik narrowed his eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid,¡± he said, hoping his acting skills could carry his lie. He¡¯d never been too good at faking emotion¡ªalways pretending not to feel something when he really did, rather than pretending to feel something he didn¡¯t. ¡°This Blood Mage seems extremely strong. And ruthless. And that demon¡­I never want to even be in the range of fifty feet of it again, much less to be in a situation where it¡¯s hunting me down. And if I give you the information I know, it might get their attention.¡± ¡°I assure you, you have nothing to worry about,¡± Pombus said in a reassuring tone. ¡°I¡¯ve heard talk of someone being caught lately who may actually be the Blood Mage themself. And we can keep you safe here if things go poorly, too¡ªbut I don¡¯t think it would even come to that.¡± Zeth shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I can do it. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You come in here and convince us you have valuable info, then refuse to give it?¡± Kirik asked, looking extremely frustrated. ¡°What can we do to assuage your fears?¡± Pombus asked. ¡°It¡¯s possible the person standing next to the demon wasn¡¯t one of the thralls, but was instead the Blood Mage themself,¡± Zeth said. ¡°If that really was the Blood Mage, and they got a good look at my face, then they might come after me if I start talking. But if it was just another of the thralls you¡¯ve already arrested, then the Mage wouldn¡¯t know my face and I¡¯d be safe to talk. So, could I see them? The Wicked thralls you have arrested? That way I could confirm for myself.¡± The guards exchanged another glance. Then Kirik looked back at Zeth. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think that¡¯s really allowed.¡± ¡°I dunno,¡± Pombus said, ¡°technically prisoners are allowed visitors. This could just fall under that.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Right, but visitors are supposed to have a personal connection to the prisoner.¡± Zeth stared at them. ¡°They killed my dad. It¡¯s pretty personal.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Kirik sighed. ¡°Okay, sure, that¡¯s fine. Doubt the boss¡¯ll get mad at us for bending the rules to get such good info, anyway.¡± Zeth nodded, barely keeping his face from breaking into a wild grin. ¡°Lead the way, then.¡± Pombus decided to go with Zeth while Kirik stayed behind at the desk. First, they went through one of the doors in the lobby and down the hall, passing by a few other guards as Pombus tried to remember where the record room was. Eventually, he found it, and walked in with Zeth. ¡°Alright,¡± Pombus said, ¡°it¡¯s not really part of my job to be doing stuff in this place, so I¡¯m not totally sure where to find the records of those thralls. Just give me a minute.¡± After a bit of time searching, he found the right folder in a box on one of the shelves, opening it up and glancing through at the papers within. ¡°Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see¡­Ah, here we go,¡± he said, grabbing one of the papers and holding it up. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re gonna be¡­Hm. That¡¯s strange.¡± Zeth glanced at Pombus¡¯s frowning face, then down at the paper he was looking at. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, I just don¡¯t recognize this symbol.¡± Pombus pointed at the paper, where a list of names were scrawled down from the top to the bottom in little boxes. Next to each box with a name were other boxes with information like the date they were taken in, when they would be released, and where they were being held. But next to some of the names were little ¡®X¡¯ marks written in red ink. ¡°That¡¯s not normally there?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Like I said, I¡¯m not typically the one to deal with these documents. But in the few times I have, I haven¡¯t seen them. Then again, I¡¯ve never dealt with the documents for Wicked thralls before. Maybe something¡¯s different with them.¡± ¡°All of the thralls we¡¯re looking for have the X marks?¡± ¡°Not all of them. Just five of the ones we¡¯re talking about. Anyway, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing. Looks like they¡¯re being held in this very building, so it shouldn¡¯t be much of a walk.¡± Zeth fought back a groan. They were being held in the one place in town that had the guards in it? Great. ¡°How many do you have?¡± ¡°Looks like sixteen in total. I hope the man you¡¯re looking for is there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get what I¡¯m looking for.¡± Pombus nodded. ¡°Let me show you the way to our holding cells.¡± Zeth did his best to memorize the route to the holding cells as he was led there, visualizing where each turn put him in the building. But when they went down a long staircase into a dingy looking basement, he frowned. Down in the dungeon, Zeth was led past a number of different cells, all lined with walls of stone and iron bars keeping them from escaping. Each one held three or four prisoners in them, all looking at him and Pombus with angry eyes, but not saying much. They didn¡¯t seem to be thralls, considering what Zeth knew from the encounter Zeth had with one recently. Far too quiet. Finally, they reached the far back of the hall, where there were sixteen smaller cells that each only housed a single person. These people were tied down with chains and rope, with gags in their mouth to keep them from speaking. As Zeth watched, the moment they saw him and Pombus appear in front of their cells, they began frantically wriggling around, as though they were desperate to do anything they could to cause suffering to the people they saw. Pombus shook his head, looking at each of them through the bars. ¡°It¡¯s a shame, seeing people turn into these things.¡± Zeth looked at each of the cells, too, pretending to examine the peoples¡¯ faces, but really studying the cells¡¯ defenses, planning his future break-in. When he got to the cells at the end of the hall, though, he blinked in surprise. They were empty. ¡°There are supposed to be sixteen thralls, right?¡± Zeth asked. Pombus nodded. ¡°Then why are there only eleven? These last five cells don¡¯t have anyone in them.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Pombus walked over and looked through the bars. Sure enough, there were no people in them. None of the chains or restraints either, like any evidence that there was supposed to be someone there had been removed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°There were five names with X marks, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, there were. I guess they got transferred or something.¡± ¡°Then why did it say they were located here?¡± ¡°I dunno. Maybe they died in confinement?¡± ¡°Is there not a regular protocol for something like that?¡± ¡°Well, yes, they¡¯re supposed to have their names removed entirely when that happens. But whatever. Did you find the person you saw in the forest? Are you ready to tell us the details of your story?¡± Zeth had no idea what was going on with these missing prisoners. It was unfortunate to only get eleven people instead of the full sixteen, but he suspected there was something more going on here. What kind of guard precinct would just misplace a bunch of prisoners? Either way, the oddity would make a perfect excuse for him. He sighed audibly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is too weird for me. I didn¡¯t see anyone who looked like the man I saw, and now there are a bunch of these people missing?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not missing, I¡¯m sure someone knows where¡ª¡° ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. I have to think about my family. I can¡¯t tell you what I saw; please lead me out of here.¡± Pombus looked at Zeth with a clearly disappointed look on his face. ¡°¡­Okay, fine. I understand.¡± As Zeth was led back into the lobby and he turned to head out of the building, Pombus walked back over behind the front desk and sat next to Kirik. ¡°So he¡¯s gonna be back tomorrow?¡± Zeth heard Kirik ask. Pombus sighed. ¡°No. He didn¡¯t find the guy, and got spooked.¡± Kirik groaned. ¡°Great. What a waste of time. Let¡¯s just keep this out of the boss¡¯s ears, eh? I don¡¯t wanna get yelled at.¡± With that, Zeth left the building and smiled. When he returned to the clearing, Zeth found the demon waiting for him in the same spot he left it. It turned to look at him. ¡°Are you ready? I¡¯ve long since grown tired of this place.¡± The fear stabbed Zeth like an ice-cold nail through the heart. But he was far too excited for it to fully permeate through him. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready,¡± he said with a shivering grin spread across his face. ¡°Let¡¯s go kill some motherfuckers.¡± ¡°Vulgarity is unbecoming of a slug like you,¡± it said, but not with as much disdain as its voice once held. It stared at him strangely, like it was deep in thought. Eventually it blinked, shaking its head slightly, and spoke once again. ¡°But I agree. Let us depart.¡± Chapter 27 Zeth stood in the treeline, gazing at the moonlit town. The guard precinct was just barely in view. Next to him, the demon stood, its aura of fear not helping with his nerves. He did, at least, have one piece of protection. Before they left the clearing, Zeth spent fifty minutes drawing up a Hellfire Ritual on a larger leaf he found that could fit the circle on it. With the reduced diameter requirements shrinking the circle down to just five inches, he just barely managed to squeeze it in on the surface of one after spending some time looking. He hadn¡¯t yet sacrificed the blood to arm it, and hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to, but gripping onto the piece of greenery offered him some slight security with the aura of fear sending a shiver through his very bones. At least something like a leaf didn¡¯t look out of place in his hand, unlike a big wooden board with a ritual painted on it, or something. If someone saw him, they¡¯d hopefully think nothing of it. Though, standing next to a demon out in the forest surrounding town certainly made it unlikely that anyone who saw him would interpret the situation positively. It was with those thoughts running through his anxious mess of a head that Zeth tried his best to think of a solid plan. Busting into the building and trying to find their way to the basement while running from the guards sounded insanely risky, and sneaking through those tight hallways felt borderline impossible, too. They¡¯d been forced to take the long way to this side of town, circling all the way through the forest until the building was in sight, so quite a bit of time had passed already, bringing the moon high in the sky. That meant at least the streets were deserted, but that certainly didn¡¯t mean the guard station was empty of defenders. ¡°I do not understand what is so hard about this,¡± the demon spat. ¡°Simply say the words, ¡®you are free to act as you see fit in order to bring the previously mentioned prisoners to me,¡¯ and it will be done. Unless the guard station is fuller now than you saw before, or the military force of this measly settlement is more powerful than I imagine, I would be capable of simply walking through the front door and killing anyone who stands in my way.¡± ¡°I already said that isn¡¯t an option,¡± Zeth whispered back. ¡°Not only are there decent people in there who don¡¯t deserve to die, but it would also draw needless attention to me. Ideally, they just think the thralls broke themselves out, or something. Or they had help from more of their own. They certainly do not need to know it was a demon.¡± It groaned. ¡°Your insistence on stealth and the sparing of your foes¡¯ lives is endlessly vexing.¡± ¡°Well, unless you help me come up with an actual plan, you¡¯re going to continue to be vexed. C¡¯mon, you know your abilities. Are you really so incompetent that you have no way of getting in and out undetected?¡± ¡°Do not call me incompetent, you ignorant slug. Of course I can do something as simple as that.¡± ¡°So then? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± It sighed. ¡°You have said the prisoners are being kept underground?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°And you know their approximate location relative to the surface?¡± ¡°Uh¡­yeah, probably.¡± ¡°Then I could dig.¡± ¡°Dig?¡± "I will dig underground from here, and create a tunnel underneath the town that leads to the basement they are being kept in. Once I find it, I will break through the wall and take them out into the forest through the same tunnel.¡± ¡°Uh, how long is that gonna take? I don¡¯t have weeks, you know.¡± ¡°Are you so ignorant as to believe I would suggest a method that would leave me in this accursed realm for even an hour longer than necessary? Your spell will automatically force my departure twenty-four hours after it summoned me, regardless, so that would be impossible anyway. It will take me no longer than an hour. Perhaps two, if there are issues with the basements of other structures getting in the way.¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s, like, a hundred and fifty feet of tunnel you¡¯ll be digging. You¡¯re gonna do it in an hour? How?¡± ¡°We demons are more than adept at digging underground structures. Our claws are made for it. And in dirt as soft and malleable as the kind that appears in your realm, it will be trivial to dig a simple tunnel.¡± ¡°Why are demons so good at it?¡± It looked at Zeth with a bewildered expression. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious. Why are you so good at it? Do demons dig underground a lot?¡± It stared at him. ¡°Why are you asking me that?¡± ¡°I already told you. I¡¯m just curious. I don¡¯t have any reason, you just said something interesting about yourself and I¡¯d like to know more. Do you not know what that means, or something?¡± ¡°I am capable of understanding your words, slug. I was simply caught off-guard at your benign question.¡± ¡°Why would a question catch you off-guard?¡± ¡°Humans do not normally act like that. Asking questions with no purpose. You are strange.¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think it¡¯s all that weird. People ask questions for no reason all the time.¡± ¡°Then they do not do so around demons.¡± It shook its head. ¡°The reason we are adept at digging is because we live in underground structures. The surface of the Thirteenth Realm is deadly to exist on for extended periods¡ªwe only go up for short durations before we must return underground.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s it so deadly?¡± It stared at him strangely. ¡°The sky in our realm is not like the sky in yours. We have an everlasting sun¡ªnighttime such as this does not exist. And our sun is much more powerful than the coddling thing that exists in your realm. If you were to take a steel bar and leave it in direct light, it would be a matter of minutes before the steel melted into a puddle. As such, we must take frequent breaks to cool down underneath the surface, and if such a need occurs when there is no underground structure around, a demon must dig one of their own. Of course, a slug like you would burn to dust before you could even take a second step in our realm. It is not for the likes of humans. ¡°Wow,¡± Zeth muttered. ¡°Sounds like it¡¯d be tough to survive in a place like that.¡± ¡°Not many can. Many of our own die before maturation.¡± Silence permeated the treeline for a moment. ¡°I will begin digging with your permission,¡± the demon eventually said. ¡°Oh, right. Uh, dig a tunnel from here to the guard precinct. Ensure you are not detected by any humans and do so as quickly as is reasonable.¡± It nodded and bent over, sinking its razor-sharp claws into the dirt as though it were water. With a simple motion, it flung a massive amount out of the hole and scattered it across the forest floor behind it. It sank its other hand in and did the same thing, removing more dirt than Zeth could even carry with each scoop. Within only a few seconds, it¡¯d already removed several cubic feet of soil. It would¡¯ve likely taken Zeth an entire hour just to do that much. It glanced over at him. ¡°You may return to the clearing if you wish. Simply order me to take the prisoners to that place and I will return with them when I am able to reach them. Your presence here will only get in the way.¡± ¡°I want to stay,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Just in case you get spotted or something goes wrong.¡± With a sigh, it returned to digging. ¡°It seems you are determined to exert your will whenever possible.¡± As the demon had said, it didn¡¯t take long for the entire tunnel to be constructed. It dug it to be short and thin so a collapse would be less likely, and frequently sent Zeth back to the surface to look around and ensure it was going in the right direction. They needed to make a couple detours to go around peoples¡¯ basements, but overall, it was a smooth trip. One thing Zeth had been worried about was the demon¡¯s fear aura. Even if it was below the surface, it¡¯d still be close enough to some people as they walked along the road or it passed them in their houses that they¡¯d be affected. But when he raised his concerns to the demon, it explained. The fear effect would enhance a person¡¯s fear, no more. It was up to their mind to decide what they were afraid of at that moment. In Zeth¡¯s case, because he was around the demon and knew how powerful it was, he was obviously most afraid of it. But if a person couldn¡¯t see the demon, they¡¯d just become afraid of whatever else was going on. If they were walking down the street, they¡¯d become afraid they may be robbed. If they were eating, they¡¯d suddenly be afraid they might choke. Of course, there was the issue of anyone who fell victim to this fear aura getting a System notification telling them about the Influence check that it performed to see if it would affect them, but even that didn¡¯t necessarily tell them there was a demon about¡ªonly that they caught some stray spell that made them afraid for a little while. And for most people, the fear was so intense that they often wouldn¡¯t even notice they¡¯d received a System notification until after the demon was gone and the aura disappeared. So while some general panic may have been caused, it wasn¡¯t likely that people would go searching for this tunnel. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Eventually, though, they got to a barrier of stone bricks that Zeth recognized to be the outer wall of the basement the prisoners were being held in. Zeth breathed, trying to push back his anxiety. It was likely just because he was spending so much time around the demon that he was so afraid, but that didn¡¯t make it any less bearable. ¡°Okay,¡± Zeth said. ¡°You ready to break through?¡± The demon nodded. Zeth took off his tunic and wrapped it around his head, leaving only his undershirt to cover his body, so that it covered the bottom and top of his face while still leaving his eyes exposed to see. Then, he nodded as well. ¡°Do it, then.¡± It reared back, preparing to strike the wall with its fist. ¡°You would do best to stand back.¡± Zeth took a couple steps backward, putting some space between himself and the wall. And then the wall was destroyed. Zeth didn¡¯t even see it happen. The demon had swung its fist with a single, swift motion, too fast for his eyes to catch. It was simply standing in one position one moment, and in another the next. A gash was carved into the wall, sized exactly like the demon¡¯s fist, that followed the line of its swing. For a second, all was silent, the only sound coming from pebbles hitting the ground and the only light peeking through the cut in the dungeon wall. And then, with a crash, the entire rest of the wall collapsed in on itself. Gasps and shouts of alarm broke out from among the prisoners¡ªespecially the ones in the cell that the demon had just broken into. These were not Zeth¡¯s targets¡ªjust people from the cell they¡¯d happened to enter. The four people gasped in horror, falling to the ground and kicking away as they stared at the demon¡¯s face with broken expressions. Had that really been how Zeth had looked when he¡¯d first laid eyes on the thing? Among the screams from everyone in the dungeon¡ªas well as shouted questions about what was going on from people in cells that didn¡¯t have a view of Zeth and the demon¡ªZeth could pick out one voice in particular. Far down the hall, a solitary guard drew his spear and pointed at the darkened cell. ¡°What¡¯s going on back there?! Show yourself!¡± The demon casually stepped out into the prison cell, glancing around at its surroundings, and Zeth followed it, trying to keep to the darker corners. He may have had his face covered by his shirt, but he still wanted to avoid anyone getting a good look at him. The guard cautiously strode closer, spear still held out, pointed in their direction. ¡°What made that noise?! Who¡¯s there?!¡± ¡°Knock him out,¡± Zeth muttered to the demon. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him.¡± Instantly, the demon reached over to the wall, sinking its claws into the stone bricks and snapping off a chunk of rock. It held its arm back, then flung it forward, sending the stone hurtling toward the guard. With a painful , the rock collided with his head and sent him stumbling back, where he fell to the ground, unmoving. ¡°Now get us out of this cell,¡± Zeth said. The demon obliged, walking up to the iron bars and examining the door for a moment. Then it grabbed the hinges on the top and bottom and squeezed tight. With a squeal and a crunch, the hinges snapped immediately under the intense pressure, and the door slowly tilted forward, falling straight to the ground. The loud clatter of steel on stone echoed across the hallway. Zeth glanced at the staircase on the end of the hall¡ªthe only entrance to this lower level from the main building. ¡°That noise probably got some people¡¯s attention. Uh¡­Can you wedge that iron door between the walls of the staircase, so nobody can get through? ¡°Easily.¡± The demon picked up what was likely hundreds of pounds of metal with a single hand, casually carrying it over to the staircase, where it slammed one end of the door into the stone wall on one side of the stairs, sticking it deep inside and sending shards of rock flying, then pushed on the other end until it, too, was stuck into the wall on the other side. Nobody would be getting through that without either an incredible amount of physical Stats or a lot of time. A muffled shout came from upstairs once the demon was done. ¡°Hey, what was that noise? Thom, what was that? ¡­Thom? You down there?¡± The guard in the hallway¡ªapparently his name was Thom¡ªbegan to rouse from his slumber on the floor. ¡°Lock him in a cell so he doesn¡¯t cause us trouble,¡± Zeth said. Then he looked around at the prisoners in the cell they¡¯d broken into. He didn¡¯t know what they¡¯d done, but it probably wouldn¡¯t be good to let them escape through the tunnel they¡¯d made. He was only here to break one group of people out. ¡°Actually, get these people too. Just throw them all in a cell and lock them in somehow. Then we can work on getting the thralls out.¡± The demon sighed, muttering about how things would¡¯ve been so much easier if he just let it kill them, but it obeyed, picking Thom up and holding him around the waist like a sack of dirt as it carried him over to another cell¡¯s door and used its claw to slice the lock in half. It opened the door and threw the guard in¡ªmore roughly than Zeth would¡¯ve liked, but the man was still certainly alive¡ªand then walked over and did the same with each of the four still-whimpering people in the cell where Zeth stood. Once they were all in, it snapped a bar off of the cell they¡¯d broken into, then walked over and twisted it around the bars of the other cell and its door, keeping it shut. The guards could figure out how to open it again when Zeth was gone. As shouts echoed from the top of the stairwell¡ªas well as the sound of metal against metal from people beating their weapons against the iron door wedged between the walls¡ªthe demon walked over and started breaking the cell doors down of each of the Wicked thralls. They were all still chained up and restrained through countless different means, so Zeth was in no way afraid of them running off during the escape. He just stuck to the shadows, watching the operation. ¡°Sir!¡± A voice echoed down from the stairwell. ¡°We believe there¡¯s a prison break going on down there, but we can¡¯t get in. We¡¯ve sounded the alarm, but there isn¡¯t much else we can do until someone can break through.¡± ¡°Get some of the demolition specialists,¡± a deep voice responded. Seemed like there wouldn¡¯t be much more time. Zeth turned to the demon. ¡°Are you almost done?¡± Another snap of breaking metal sounded out from the end of the hallway. ¡°That¡¯s all of them.¡± ¡°Great. Get them all and come out with me.¡± ¡°There are eleven of these slugs. It doesn¡¯t matter how light they are, they won¡¯t fit in my arms for one trip.¡± A loud echoed from the top of the staircase. Far louder than any of the others. Sounded like those demolition specialists were here. Zeth groaned, dashing out of the jail cell he¡¯d been hiding in and running over to where the demon stood, holding two of the thralls with one in either arm, looking at the cells of the other nine. It turned to him. ¡°I could get maybe one more without crushing or killing them.¡± ¡°That''s four trips,¡± Zeth said. Another echoed through the hall. It sounded like snapping metal. ¡°Not an option.¡± ¡°Then let me kill them, and I can take their squashed corpses with me in¡ª¡° ¡°Also not an option.¡± Zeth looked at the remaining thralls in their cells. They were bound in leather jackets that pinned their arms to their sides, with chains around them that attached to the walls, and gags in their mouths. ¡°Break the chains off the walls and pull them along by the ends. You can get them all and just drag them across the ground that way, right?¡± It chuckled, moving to do so. ¡°I like the way you think, human. Pull them through the dirt like the slugs they are.¡± As it snapped the chains off the walls and began collecting the ends in its hands so it could pull them all behind it at once, Zeth heard the loudest clang yet from the top of the stairs, followed by the sound of metal tumbling down the stone stairs. A large section of the iron door clattered from the top of the staircase into view, landing on the floor at the bottom. Zeth looked at the demon. ¡°We need to leave.¡± It collected the last chain, then nodded, following Zeth back over to the tunnel. Eleven people wrapped in leather restraining jackets tumbled behind it, the metal attached to them clattering together with every movement as their muffled shouts mixed together with the noise to fill Zeth¡¯s ears. He rushed through the broken wall of the cell they¡¯d entered through and into the tunnel, beckoning the demon to move faster with its precious cargo. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± As he ran through the dirt hall, occasionally checking back to ensure the demon was close behind him, he heard the clattering metal of soldiers rushing into the basement and looking around for him. On the other side, he climbed to the surface, where he could hear alarm bells ringing out from the precinct. ¡°Collapse it behind you!¡± he shouted to the demon as it squeezed all the people it was dragging through the tight passageway. It yanked on the chains, bringing the people closer to it, then dragged its claws along the walls and ceiling of the passage as it exited, creating deep gashes in its structure. Once outside, it slammed its fist against the dirt, and the earth began to fall. Zeth caught a narrow glimpse of a face peeking through the tunnel before the entire ceiling collapsed, closing it off to anyone else who wished to pass. As Zeth threw his head around, trying to catch his bearings, he saw the doors of the precinct slam open and dozens of guards pour out, quickly spreading throughout the town. ¡°Run,¡± Zeth said to the demon. ¡°Just get deeper into the forest.¡± He took off with it behind him, dragging all those people alongside itself. And it seemed eleven bodies being hauled across the forest floor made more than enough noise for some people to catch on, as Zeth quickly heard footsteps drawing closer behind him. When he glanced back, he saw the sheen of metal armor through the trees, right behind them. He bit back a curse. It wasn¡¯t a desirable situation, but he knew he had one last resort. They¡¯d have to fight. Or, rather, the demon would. ¡°Stop,¡± he said. The demon instantly halted in its tracks, looking at him with a curious expression, and he slowed down as well, watching it from a dozen feet back. He called out to it, ¡°fight against the guards that are coming after us, but do not kill them. They¡¯ve done nothing to deserve it. Injure them, knock them out, scare them off, whatever to get them away from us. You just can¡¯t kill them, and can¡¯t do anything severe or permanent to their bodies.¡± Its constant frown morphed into the slightest grin. ¡°I would rather I be able to kill them¡­But still, I prefer this to running. You will finally be witness to my skill set.¡± ¡°I sure hope it¡¯s good enough,¡± Zeth said. It chuckled. ¡°Believe me. By the end of this, those puny slugs will be you would let me kill them.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°No overt torture, either.¡± The bushes rustled, and a group of six armored guards dashed through, taking stances in a semicircle around them with weapons at the ready. ¡°Stop, in the name of the law!¡± one shouted, and Zeth recognized his face. It was Kirik, from the front desk earlier. Didn¡¯t look like he recognized Zeth, at least, as he continued speaking. ¡°Release those escaped prisoners back to us at once, and we may just reduce your sentence.¡± Zeth took a breath from behind the tree. ¡°Alright, demon, impress me. Go.¡± Chapter 28 Six armored guards faced off against Zeth and the demon, weapons drawn and at the ready. Back behind his summoned fighter, Zeth hid in the foliage as the combatants stared each other down. Maybe he¡¯d be capable of fighting these men if he¡¯d had time to prepare¡ªno, he¡¯d be easily able to defeat six people with enough prep time. That was the strength of his Class, after all. Hellfire Ritual was truly a monster of a Skill. But he only had a single circle prepared on a leaf gripped in his hands. Not nearly enough to fight off everyone in front of him. That said, he wasn¡¯t too worried about that particular issue. The demon took a step forward, and simultaneously, the six guards¡¯ faces broke out into terror. Sweat beaded their brows, and they took cautious steps back. Seemed like the fear aura had taken effect. One of the guards¡¯ breathing became ragged. His voice cracked as he whimpered out, ¡°D-demon?!¡± None of the others could even find the nerve to respond. After a moment, it seemed like whatever spiral his thoughts had gone down arrived at the conclusion that the demon was unbeatable. Because he clenched his fists, screwed up his face, turned straight around on his heel, and sprinted away. He headed right back for town, releasing his grip on his weapon and dropping it to the dirt as he ran. Zeth could hear the faint shouts from him as he ran, crying out warnings of ¡®demon!¡¯ and ¡®run away as far as you can!¡¯ The remaining group steeled their resolve, knuckles turning white on the hilts of their weapons. ¡°So then, the five of you will be my opponents,¡± the demon said in a bored tone. ¡°I am not dishonorable. If any more would like to flee, now would be the time.¡± Zeth doubted this was any more than an act to scare them off¡ªno way that thing would ever willingly spare a human¡¯s life if it was really allowed to kill them. The remaining guards¡¯ hands shook. They clenched their teeth, and looked as if they may drop dead that instant. But they did not run. Kirik, standing in the middle of them, muttered something to himself under his breath. ¡°Cannot¡­run. Have¡­to¡­protect them.¡± S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zeth thought. too He took a breath. It looked like he¡¯d need to do a little bit of acting, himself. Stepping out from behind the tree he¡¯d been hiding behind, Zeth adopted the most regal pose he could muster, standing up straight and holding his head high. He was sure he looked ridiculous with the shirt wrapped around his face to hide his identity, but it¡¯d have to do. ¡°Foolish humans,¡± he spat, voice muffled from the cloth in his mouth. ¡°You know not who you face. You¡ªum, if you value your lives, you will flee this instant.¡± ¡°W-why?¡± Kirik asked, voice shaking. ¡°So you can stab us in the back? Turn us into mincemeat before you move onto your main course of the town?¡± He turned to the demon. ¡°Show them the meaning of true power.¡± Instantly, it tore forward, planted its foot on the ground right in front of them, and spun around to throw a kick directly into the chest of the guard on the left. The impact dented his chestplate and sent him flying back, where he hit a tree and slumped over. The other guards hadn¡¯t even been given enough time to react. Their ally was twenty feet behind them in an instant, with their attacker standing right before them. It slowly turned to look at them. With a shaky warcry, one of the guards raised his sword above his head and swung it down at the demon. Zeth expected it to dodge with its incredible speed, or use its strength to deflect the attack away, but instead, it stood perfectly still and simply allowed the blade to hit it. But instead of cutting into the demon¡¯s flesh, the sword bounced off the surface of its skin, having done absolutely no damage. ¡°Such weak weapons,¡± the demon said, looking at the blade that was now dented from hitting a solid object at full force. ¡°Those puny blades cannot even tickle my senses.¡± It reached out and grabbed the sword by the blade, squeezing tight as the guard frantically tried to pull it from the demon¡¯s grasp. But its grip was so tight, the metal folded and collapsed beneath its fingers. ¡°You are defenseless,¡± the demon said as it flicked its wrist, instantly yanking the hilt from the guard¡¯s hands and sending the sword flying into the air. ¡°Flee now.¡± The man did just that, turning and running off toward town. But as he did, Zeth thought he could hear some sort of commotion coming from that direction. Not just the panicked shouts he¡¯d expect, but a loud voice, calling out as though it were trying to organize and motivate people. He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on over there, but he didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Hurry up,¡± he said to the demon. ¡°Knock the rest out and we¡¯ll leave.¡± In an instant, it spun and swung its fist downward at the nearest guard, slamming it into her head and crumpling her to the ground. The second tried to thrust his spear at it, but the demon simply leaned to the side to dodge the strike, grabbed the spear, and pulled on it, bringing the guard stumbling forward within arm¡¯s reach. With a single motion, it thrust out its foot, sweeping the man¡¯s legs out from under him and sending him falling backward. As he was falling, the demon lifted its arm up, and then slammed its elbow downward into his forehead. He impacted the ground with a hard The last one remaining was Kirik, standing there shaking in his boots. ¡°Wait,¡± Zeth said to the demon. ¡°Sir, leave. I do not want to hurt you, but I will if necessary. Flee now and you will be spared from harm.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. With a breath and a nod, Kirik slowly began backing away, keeping the demon in his sight until he was a few dozen feet away, where he turned and ran. ¡°Good,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Okay, pick up the chains again and let¡¯s get moving. I think something¡¯s happening back in town; they might be mustering a larger force. And I don¡¯t wanna see what¡ª¡± A ray of blinding white light suddenly burst through the trees, shining across the entire area. It turned night to day, forcing Zeth to look away from its source in the direction of town and shut his eyes tight to avoid burning his eyes. A shout of pain came from near him. Was that¡­the demon? He barely opened his eyes, squinting so just the barest sliver of light peeked through. It looked like the demon was cowering before the light, holding up its hands to shield its face. Its skin bubbled and blistered everywhere the light touched. Zeth frowned. The light was covering him, too. So why wasn¡¯t he getting hurt? He shook his head. That was beside the point. If there was someone there capable of harming the demon, he needed to get out of there as soon as possible. ¡°Demon!¡± he shouted over its groans of pain. ¡°Grab the thralls and run! Get them back to the clearing.¡± It stumbled to its feet, blindly collecting the chains into its hands before it began retreating past Zeth, further into the depths of the forest. The light shut off, and Zeth finally found himself able to see again. A female voice called out from its direction, ¡°Stop where you are if you value your life, unholy beasts!¡± Zeth turned and ran. He didn¡¯t know who that was, but she was clearly too dangerous to fight. As powerful as the demon was, it was clearly not invincible. And if she could hurt it, she would certainly be able to hurt him. He sprinted through the trees, quickly seeing the demon disappear in the distance¡ªeven in its injured state, dragging over a thousand pounds of weight behind it, it was still far faster than he was. If anyone was going to be captured here, it would be Zeth. Technically, he could¡¯ve ordered the demon to stay behind and fight that woman to keep her occupied while he escaped, but that would¡¯ve also meant leaving the thralls behind. Not only would that mean this entire mission would¡¯ve been for nothing, but the guards would certainly raise security for not only these thralls, but prisoners after tonight. He would not get the opportunity to kill his father¡¯s murderers again. If this failed, he would never forgive himself. ¡°Leave me behind!¡± he shouted ahead to the demon. ¡°Get them to the destination, then stay there with them! If I die¡­If I don¡¯t arrive in twelve hours, you may kill them all yourself.¡± He could practically hear the grin spread across the demon¡¯s face as it doubled its speed to get to the clearing, quickly leaving Zeth¡¯s sight. He was left alone in the forest, the sound of several pairs of metal boots close behind him. However, as the demon left the vicinity, its aura of fear also quickly left his mind, and rational thought flooded in. He¡¯d gotten better at thinking while under its influence, but he was still far from unaffected, and he could already feel his breathing steady as he ran. They had been able to hurt the demon, sure, but it was clearly still alive¡ªall they¡¯d done was land a single attack. And that attack had hurt Zeth, meaning it was probably specialized against demons in some way. He may have been in less danger than he¡¯d initially thought. Still, with only one ritual circle prepared as a last resort, he was still far from being prepared for combat against several high-Level foes. He¡¯d have to get them away from him somehow, but returning to the clearing wasn¡¯t an option. It was impossible to hide there¡ªnot only would he be exposed to plain sight, but so would his ritual circles and the thralls. Sure, the Hellfire Rituals he had set up there were useful against monsters who didn¡¯t know any better, but no reasonable person would willingly step into them and kill themselves. Even if he made it in, they¡¯d simply pepper him from afar with ranged attacks while he could do nothing to defend himself. What he needed was a real home base. A defensible position that had already been prepared for something like this. But he had nothing of the sort. ¡°I see him!¡± A man¡¯s shout from behind pulled him out of his head and back to the chase. Zeth glanced back and saw the shine of metal from between the trees. They were gaining on him. He needed to figure something out. Fighting would end badly for him¡ªhe knew that. But didn¡¯t. What was it he¡¯d read about Blood Mages in that library book? Never enter their lairs without prior preparation? Well, even if Zeth didn¡¯t have a lair, how would they know? Wouldn¡¯t it be possible in their eyes that he was purposefully leading them somewhere dangerous? They certainly seemed knowledgeable about the Class, if they had specialized Skills to deal with demons. And he could exploit that knowledge. He took a sudden turn, heading straight through the forest in a pointed direction, pretending to have a specific destination in mind. As he ran, he scanned his surroundings, looking for anything he could pretend was prepared ahead of time. He just needed something¡ª. As his legs grew tired, Zeth spotted a patch of particularly dense foliage in the distance. Trees and bushes all grouped tightly together in one flat area. he thought, and changed course to head there. The sound of his pursuers drew closer by the second, and when he glanced back one last time before ducking into the bushes, he finally saw the entire group. It was just three people¡ªa woman and two men. All three were wearing much fancier armor and weapons than the guards before; the woman wore the heaviest armor, with full plate of shining silver, and wielded a greathammer in a single hand¡ªher Strength had clearly been raised quite a bit for her to be capable of doing that. The two men behind her seemed to be magic users, on the other hand¡ªboth dressed in light robes and holding staffs to enhance their spellcasting. Zeth had never seen any of these people before, or even heard of them. And he was certain he¡¯d have heard of who walked around in full plate. Not to mention Sophie would have certainly found out about the magic users and told him about them. Were they newcomers? He had no time to ponder those questions, though. Once he had fully disappeared into the bushes and left the sight of the three people, he hurriedly bent down and placed the leaf holding his Hellfire Ritual circle on the ground, right in the path of anyone who tried to follow him. He pressed it into the ground as best as he could, making it look like it¡¯d been sitting there for a while, and then dashed off, continuing through the thick bushes. Of course, even though the ritual circle was there, it wouldn¡¯t actually anything. He didn¡¯t have the time to give a sacrifice and activate it, so it technically did absolutely nothing to protect him. But they didn¡¯t know that. If these people knew anything about Blood Mages, just seeing a single ritual circle would put them on high alert. And sure enough, as the three people caught up with him, he heard the woman shout out, ¡°Alfon, Erza, stop! There¡¯s a circle here.¡± ¡°Do you think this is his lair?¡± one of the men asked. ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± she responded. ¡°He¡¯s clearly led us somewhere that was prepared beforehand. No way he could¡¯ve drawn this thing in such a short time. Exercise caution.¡± ¡°Are you sure, Rosalie? He¡¯s gonna get away.¡± ¡°Yes. Your lives are more important than catching that scum.¡± Zeth burst out the other side of the bushes and continued running, listening to them poke around the area and carefully examine every bit of ground before they stepped on it. Even if they realized he wasn¡¯t in there anymore, there was no way they¡¯d just throw caution to the wind and run ahead after him now that they¡¯d seen such a deliberate trap that, according to their knowledge, could kill them instantly if they so much as touched it. As he ran, the sound of their voices faded out further and further, until he could finally no longer hear them. All that was in the forest with him were wild animals. He¡¯d escaped. He¡¯d gotten away with it. Now, he just needed to get back to the demon. Chapter 29 Zeth did his best to get back to the clearing as quickly as he possibly could. Not only because he wanted to make sure his pursuers didn¡¯t find him again, but also because he could barely contain his excitement for what was to come next. Eventually, after sprinting through the forest and leaving himself thoroughly out of breath, he got back to the familiar part of the woods by his house. As he retraced the steps he always took to get there, he suddenly felt a System notification come through. [Influence check failed.] Fear struck his heart, but his expression didn¡¯t waver. As the clearing came into view, Zeth saw the demon sitting atop a pile of humans by his ritual circles wrapped up in their restraints, with chains strewn across the grass. He¡¯d made it. He fell to his knees in the grass, breathing so heavily his lungs burned, and slammed his fist into the ground. ¡°Fuck! Yes!¡± Still gasping for breath, Zeth looked up to the sky, where the moon peeked through the treetops. It was beautiful. Everything in the world was beautiful. ¡°Holy fucking shit,¡± he muttered through smiling lips. ¡°I did it. I got them.¡± Hearing a groan of disappointment, he looked over at the demon, where it sat on its throne of prisoners. ¡°Don¡¯t sound so happy to see me,¡± he said through ragged breaths. But even this thing¡¯s attitude couldn¡¯t get him down¡ªnot with the addictive sense of elation coursing through his veins right now. ¡°After a command like the one you gave me, you¡¯ll understand that I was hoping you would not return.¡± ¡°Ah, right. I guess you were probably hoping I¡¯d stay gone for twelve more hours so you could kill them all. Well too bad, motherfucker. I¡¯m back.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Not that me being here means anything good for those pieces of shit.¡± ¡°The bargain was that I would receive the lives of two prisoners in exchange for my help in obtaining them.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± He stood up, trying to calm himself down at least a little bit. He thought about his plans for the future for a moment before continuing. ¡°Pick out the two from among them that you think are the strongest. Highest Level.¡± With jackets restraining their movements and gags in their mouths, the only thing the prisoners could do in response was widen their eyes and wriggle back and forth in protest, which they did profusely as the demon bent over to examine each one. Zeth had no idea what Rank each of their Wicked Skills were at¡ªhow much of their minds they still had available to them. Would those with a maxed out Wicked Skill even fear death at all? Maybe some. After all, how could you continue to cause human suffering if you were dead? But he didn¡¯t care one way or another whether these people were afraid. They¡¯d killed his dad. They¡¯d killed his fucking dad. And there was no earning mercy after that. As the demon poked around the pile, it glanced over at Zeth, wearing a strange expression. ¡°You do not seem to be as afraid as you once were. Do you have a high enough Influence Stat to resist my Skill?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s affecting me,¡± he said, staring at the terrified faces of the thralls. ¡°I¡¯m just too excited to feel it.¡± It frowned, turning away and continuing to move the prisoners around, laying them side by side as he examined them. Eventually, it said, ¡°Why did you send me ahead of you? Would it not have been more logical for me to protect you from your enemies?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I am curious.¡± ¡°I thought you said earlier you didn¡¯t understand why someone would ask random questions just to satiate their curiosity.¡± ¡°Indulge me.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Well, I wanted to make sure you got them. These guys getting locked back up and put out of my reach was the worst-case scenario.¡± ¡°Would your death not be the worst-case scenario?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­No. No, I don¡¯t think so. Second worst, sure. But not number one.¡± Once again, it frowned, saying nothing as it absent-mindedly poked and prodded at the skin of the different prisoners. ¡°Hey, how were those people able to hurt you, by the way?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°I thought you were strong enough to be basically invulnerable to humans.¡± It sighed. ¡°While you slugs are all pathetic and worthless as a species, the System unfortunately grants a few of you the power to touch the mighty form of a demon. There are some cheap tricks offered to the higher Levels in a select few Classes available to your species that frequently get in our way. That was one of them.¡± ¡°What was the Skill? And the Class?¡± ¡°I have no idea. I do not waste my time learning the intricacies of feeble human resistance. I simply identify the problematic slugs among you and eliminate them. Unfortunately, my ignoramus of a summoner forbade me from doing such a thing, and so I was unable to fight back in that particular moment.¡± Zeth rolled his eyes. ¡°Are all demons this eager to insult the person that summons them?¡± ¡°If by that you mean to ask whether all demons have an accurate assessment of the slug they are forced to work alongside, the answer is no. Some demons have an even lower opinion of your species, refusing to ever answer any summons whatsoever so as to avoid being in your presence. However, I prefer to look at things from a more logical standpoint. No matter how mind-numbingly pathetic it feels to take orders from one of you slugs, I am willing to endure that feeling in order to gain my Levels. Speaking of which,¡± it grabbed two of the thralls and held them up in the air, ¡°I have finished selecting who are likely the two strongest humans from among these. May I kill them now?¡± ¡°In just a few minutes. First, put them down in front of me. I want to speak with them.¡± It tossed the two prisoners on the ground, where they tumbled to a stop in front of them. A man and a woman, looking up at Zeth with wide eyes as they wriggled back and forth. He stepped forward and bent down, pulling the gag out of the mouth of the man. ¡°So,¡± Zeth said, ¡°do you remember, about a month ago, ambushing a man while he¡ª¡° ¡°Yes,¡± the man interrupted. ¡°Yes, I did it. I killed someone. The one you love. It was¡ªyou said a man? It was your husband. I killed him. He screamed and cried and begged for his life, but I tortured him anyway. He died on his knees. A worthless, pathetic testament to human weakness and the¡ª¡° Zeth pushed the gag back into the man¡¯s mouth, frowning. Seemed like they¡¯d confess to whatever he asked if they thought it¡¯d upset him. The man shouted muffled words, trying to spit the gag back out of his mouth, but Zeth ignored him. Was there any way he could get an honest answer out of these people? Though, he supposed the real question was, did he care? They were all monsters. And some number of them had killed his father. All of them deserved to die, though. So then, he supposed he would simply kill them all. He didn¡¯t care which ones specifically were responsible. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Though, there the question of the five individuals that had been missing. The ones that had ¡®X¡¯ marks next to their names on that one list Pombus had showed him. If the ones that had killed his dad were the ones missing, he¡¯d have to find them next. Not that any of that meant these people were getting spared. These were his sacrifices. His blood bags. And the two in front of him would be first. For posterity¡¯s sake, he undid the gag of the woman, just to see what she had to say. ¡°Alright,¡± he said as she spat fibers from her mouth, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you in just a few seconds. Do you have anything to say before that happens?¡± ¡°I have a lower Wicked Rank than the others here,¡± she said with a cough. ¡°Please, you can join our group. C-cull the others if you want; they¡¯re unreliable anyway. But I¡¯m knowledgeable. And y-you clearly have the power to change the way this town is run¡ªthe way this is run! Join us; I know the trade routes of all the merchants in a ten mile radius. All the caravans you could ever dream of raiding, and with your demon, you can kill off their bodyguards for extra Levels!¡± He stared at her blankly. Her words became more desperate. ¡°Please! I¡¯d be a valuable teammate. A-a valuable servant! Yes, I¡¯d serve you. I¡¯d do anything you want! S-surely you can¡¯t resist what I can offer? I¡¯ve tortured and killed dozens of people for countless scraps of information that can help with any raiding you might do. I''m a Level 12 Assassin¡ªa-an illegal Class, high Rarity, y-you won¡¯t see anyone else like me! I have a stash of coin I can lead you to, if you just let me out of my restraints¡­P-please! A-and I¡¯ve even worked with Blood Mages in the past, so I know¡ª¡± ¡°What?¡± he interrupted. ¡°Who?¡± She furrowed her brows. ¡°I-I thought you were working together. Do you not know about¡­?¡± ¡°Just tell me everything you know about them,¡± Zeth said, voice low. Seeming to sense danger in his tone, she shook her head with wide eyes. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know you were rivals, I swear! I never even saw who it was! I-I just got messages¡ªnotes and payments telling me to do things.¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°And those things were?¡± ¡°Mainly just odd jobs. Killing specific people, ambushing certain incoming caravans. That sort of thing.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°What, so you were going and collecting money and corpses for the Blood Mage to use?¡± ¡°No, no, we didn¡¯t hand anything over. If we stole any money, it was ours to do with as we pleased. B-but the deal can change with you! We can give you everything we take, if you want!¡± ¡°I am growing impatient,¡± the demon said from behind the two people. The woman glanced at it with wide eyes, then back at Zeth. ¡°I swear I can be useful! I promise! J-just untie my bonds, and I can lead you to a stash of money further out in the forest. More coin than you can dream of. Then you can tie me back up, kill me, it doesn¡¯t matter. Just let me show you first, please!¡± Zeth ignored her repeated attempts to coax him into a trap. ¡°So you don¡¯t know their identity? Hm. Do you remember who you killed?¡± ¡°I-it was a lot of people.¡± ¡°What were the last ones you did before you got caught, then?¡± ¡°Summoner,¡± the demon said, ¡°I completed the task for you, and as per our deal, am now allowed to take the lives of these two prisoners. You cannot delay further; we laid out the conditions in advance. Regardless of your requests for me to wait, I will soon be allowed to move freely.¡± ¡°I-I really don¡¯t remember much,¡± she pleaded. ¡°B-but if you just give me a little more time, I promise I can remember! J-just take off these restraints for a moment. I need to move around t-to get my mind going. Yes, please, just let me move around for a little while before you kill me, that way I can remember! G-get my blood flowing.¡± The demon began walking toward her, the deal apparently automatically going into effect as it¡¯d said. Zeth stared at her. ¡°I guess it would be nice for your blood to flow.¡± Her eyes widened in relief as she misinterpreted his words, and Zeth looked up from her to meet the eyes of the demon and nodded. As it approached them from behind, the woman¡¯s relieved expression quickly transformed into one of horror. ¡°No, please, don¡¯t! I¡¯ll do anythi¡ª¡± She was cut off as Zeth secured the gag back around her mouth. The man next to her flailed wildly, but was unable to move more than a couple feet wiggling his body back and forth. Zeth looked between the two of them, his breathing growing heavier and heavier from anticipation. He felt the corners of his lips tugging, begging to spread into a grin. Neither of these people had technically given him reason to believe that they, specifically, had been the ones to kill his dad, but it didn¡¯t matter. They were clearly both connected to his death, and apparently to the Blood Mage, as well. He unconsciously leaned forward, closer to the pair as the demon knelt to the ground between them. ¡°Don¡¯t waste any blood,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I want to use their corpses after they¡¯re dead. But, y¡¯know. Feel free to make it slow and painful.¡± It chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°You know, human, you have done quite a bit of moral grandstanding about my species being worthless scum that will only help you if we get to take a life. But I do not believe even I have been as excited to kill as you are to see these two humans die.¡± ¡°...No, I think it¡¯s different.¡± ¡°How might that be?¡± Zeth broke eye contact with the woman, her eyes begging for her life when her mouth couldn¡¯t. He shifted his gaze to the demon, who was looking at him curiously. ¡°Well, you¡¯re killing these two people for power. You¡¯d kill anyone if it meant getting your next Level. It¡¯s so impersonal.¡± ¡°As opposed to?¡± He chuckled softly, a gleeful breath that pushed life into the silent clearing. Perhaps it was delirium from lack of sleep that made him feel this way right now, but in this moment, he didn¡¯t care. ¡°You don¡¯t see it? I¡¯m doing this because it makes me happy.¡± After a moment¡¯s silence as it stared at him, the demon looked down and grabbed the necks of the two prisoners, pushing their faces into the dirt as they continued to let out muffled shouts and screams. As it calmly went through these motions, it spoke slowly, ¡°Despite your oddities¡ªor, no, perhaps because of them¡ªyou have been an¡­interesting summoner. So, I will grant you a moment of honesty before I leave.¡± Zeth looked at the demon curiously. It met his eyes for a moment, then looked back at the prisoners. ¡°I have had a number of memorable summoners. Many were far more powerful than you. I have had summoners that commanded armies, and ones whose lairs spanned the underground of entire cities. I have been handed items to use during my missions that turned thousands to dust in a mere second. But you are the first human I have ever met that has made me feel afraid.¡± It paused, letting out a laugh. ¡°I get the sense that even when I am back in my realm, unable to ever be reached by you again, I may still occasionally be struck with a mood that forces me to check underneath my bed to ensure you are not lying in wait for me to fall asleep.¡± Zeth furrowed his brows . ¡°What are you talking about? Why is that?¡± It shook its head, laughing again like Zeth had just told a joke. ¡°Goodbye, human.¡± With that, it held out a single clawed finger from each hand, gently resting them on the backs of the necks of each of the two people. And then, with a single movement, it pushed downward, piercing the spot right where their spines met their skulls. After a momentary jolt of movement, the man and woman fell still. The moment they died, the demon disappeared, simply blipping out of existence like it had never existed at all. Zeth stared at the two corpses, breathing heavily. He¡¯d done it. The two of them were dead. A breathless laugh escaped his throat, low at first but slowly gaining intensity. As his cackling echoed across the clearing, the rest of the prisoners¡ªnine remaining now¡ªshifted around in their restraints. He looked over at them, all lying next to each other in the dirt. A part of him wanted to go and slaughter each and every one of them right now, running on the high coursing through his brain. But he closed his eyes, doing his best to re-center himself. Taking a deep breath with each number he counted down, he eventually finished and opened his eyes. He was calmer; the demon leaving at least let the artificial fear flow out of his brain. But his mind was not totally quiet. This was a big, win. And not just because he¡¯d completed one of his main goals. Each and every one of those prisoners was worth one favor from a demon. And judging by what he¡¯d been able to accomplish with just a single one working for him for just a couple hours, he couldn¡¯t imagine what nine more would be capable of. The demons weren¡¯t omnipotent or invincible, of course¡ªespecially not with that woman with the shining light running around¡ªbut they were stronger than the vast majority of people in this town. And, after working for so long totally alone, having sort of a helping hand was more than welcome at this point. His mind raced with the possibilities. Now wasn¡¯t the time for daydreaming, though. Now was the time for action. Even now, those two bodies were leaking perfectly good blood. His gaze shifted over to the ritual site. Seemed like it would be yet another sleepless night for him. He¡¯d lost track of how many straight hours of continued consciousness he was on now, but with his heart pounding in his chest the way it was, he pushed it back just a few hours more. He could sleep after this. But not yet. He looked between the two bodies, then over at the nine more people waiting to be killed. ¡°Lotta blood at my disposal, huh? Better get to work.¡± Chapter 30 It had been a very long time since Zeth had last slept, and his body had long since begun feeling the cost of such a thing. The twenty-four Endurance he¡¯d gotten from Leveling up helped with his exhaustion quite a bit, but not nearly enough to fully counteract the negative effects of not only the sleep deprivation, but also the physical toll of all the running and drawing he¡¯d been doing. Really, in any other situation, he¡¯d have dropped everything and passed out right on the ground. But he had his father''s killers right in front of him. And that not only meant he had an opportunity for vengeance, it also meant that for the first time since acquiring this Class, Zeth had more blood and bodies than he knew what to do with. And he was not about to waste that boon by sleeping and letting them escape or get eaten by some monster. Unfortunately, Zeth wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his living prisoners protected from wild animals inside of a Hellfire Circle like he had with monster corpses in the past. There was no way to selectively protect some people from activating one when they touched it, which meant his usual method of simply drawing a particularly wide circle and putting what he wanted to protect in the middle of it would just kill them. Instead, what Zeth wanted was some sort of structure he could keep them in. If he had a home base that he could just trap the entrance of, it¡¯d solve all of his problems. Not just with his storage issues, but also his issues of staying safe when being chased like he had been before. He¡¯d been forced to throw off his pursuers, which had fortunately worked in that instance, but he wouldn¡¯t always be so lucky. He needed a location he knew would be safe, defensible, and, most importantly, hidden. At least, more hidden than a clearing in the middle of the woods. Right now, all that was preventing people from finding this place was the fact that nobody knew to look out here. But they¡¯d likely start searching now, after the jailbreak. This clearing was on the entire other side of town than where he¡¯d fled into¡ªhe had circled all the way back around to get here¡ªso hopefully it¡¯d take them a while to try looking in this area, but it was only a matter of time. So, he thought, he suddenly found himself with access to quite a bit of demon labor, with all of these prisoners waiting to be killed. And if demons were so adept at digging, there was one obvious option when it came to bases. An underground complex. Systems of tunnels and rooms, all defended to the maximum to repel anyone foolish enough to enter. With a place like that, keeping himself and his possessions safe would be trivial. But to dig out such a massive area, he¡¯d need demons. And if he wanted demons, he¡¯d have to conduct more rituals to summon them. So he bent down and got to work. [Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 7. +1 Skill Point. You have 4 Skill Points.] Zeth spent time thinking about what his negotiating strategy would be while he drew the ritual circle for Demonic Covenant. And after the almost five hours required, he was just about ready to activate it. Zeth remembered the ridiculous amount of mana he¡¯d had to pour into the ritual in order to summon a demon the last time¡ªhow long it¡¯d taken and the strain it¡¯d put him under¡ªand braced himself for a painful, exhausting couple more hours. He was already on the brink of passing out, but Vile Focus helped him ignore his discomfort while he was drawing. Unfortunately, though, pushing mana into the circle after it had already been drawn wouldn¡¯t count for Vile Focus. He just hoped he¡¯d find the mental fortitude to push through. His Poise Stat would likely help with ignoring mental pain like that, so he was glad the Blood Magus Class at least gave him a couple points each Level. As he drew the final line of the circle, Zeth breathed, feeling the wave of exhaustion hit him once again as Vile Focus¡¯s effects faded away. Just a little more, then he could sleep. But not now. Not yet. He dragged one of the two bodies over to the ritual circle and flipped it over, letting blood spill out of the hole in the back of the neck. Judging by how quickly the requirement filled, it seemed like the demon had been correct in choosing these people as the strongest of the bunch. Who knew what their Levels were¡ªhow many people they¡¯d killed. He still needed to widen the neck wound with his own dagger to get enough blood out to complete the ritual, but it was certainly not the entire body¡¯s worth of blood. There was plenty to spare. Once the percentage hit one hundred, he received the familiar notification telling him the ritual was complete, and he¡¯d need to touch the circle to summon the demon. The lines of the circle glowed their bright pink, awaiting his activation. he thought, And he placed his hands on the circle¡¯s edge. Instantly, he felt the power begin to drain from his inner self. It was slow and subtle¡ªbarely even an uncomfortable sensation. But he knew how awful it would begin to feel after long enough. , he told himself. An ache struck through Zeth¡¯s head, interrupting his thoughts. them Zeth¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden notification. [Demonic Covenant¡¯s Rank has increased to 2. +1 Skill Point. You have 5 Skill Points.] He blinked, looking up at his surroundings. The pink light had shut off¡ªthe ritual circle was inert. It almost looked like it had when Zeth had completed the Demonic Covenant ritual before, but that couldn¡¯t be right, could it? It hadn¡¯t been longer than a few minutes since he started activating it¡ªfar less time than the several hours it¡¯d taken before. He stared cautiously at the center of the ritual circle. Had he accidentally done something wrong? Shut it off early? He certainly hoped he could do the ritual again without having to redraw the circle or offer a new sacrifice¡ªwasting those resources on a failed cast would sting, especially if he didn¡¯t even know what he did wrong. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. But then, the center of the circle began to glow orange, and the air started heating up. Zeth¡¯s eyes widened as he hurriedly stood and began backing away. It was seriously activating? After only a few minutes? What had he done differently this time? Sure enough, after the light and heat reached their peaks, the air above the circle burst into flame, and as the fire faded away, Zeth was faced with yet another demon. [Influence check failed.] The demon¡¯s aura of fear struck into him, and he felt his chest immediately tighten, suddenly aware of every minor noise in the forest and shifting leaf on the edge of his vision. He felt surrounded by enemies, like the guards had found him and were preparing to strike at any minute. But he took a deep breath, calming the irrational emotions. It was much easier to overcome the fear this time, compared to the last demon he¡¯d summoned. Maybe he was just getting used to it? Examining the demon, he found it clearly looked different from the one he¡¯d summoned before. Its skin was a lighter, more pale shade of red, its horns curled outward instead of upward¡­But none of that was what he noticed first; while the first demon had seemed generally masculine in body shape, this one looked far more feminine¡ªnot just in the obvious areas of its chest, waist, and hips, but even its face seemed to radiate a sort of cold, threatening beauty, with long lashes over its murderous eyes. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Do demons have genders?¡± Zeth absentmindedly muttered to himself as he watched it glance around at its surroundings. It looked over at him, eyes finally settling on his face. ¡°What did you just say to me, slug?¡± He blinked, realizing he needed to start laying down some orders. ¡°Do not harm me. And don¡¯t leave the bounds of that circle for now.¡± It rolled its eyes. ¡°To answer your question,¡± he continued, ¡°I was just wondering if demons had genders, like humans do.¡± ¡°Were you stabbed through the head as a child? Of course we do.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. So you¡¯re a woman?¡± ¡°Yes, I am, you ignorant fool. Perhaps you need me to stick my claw through your skull and stir the contents of your damaged brain? I cannot think of another way to fix such irreparable stupidity.¡± ¡°I did miss this,¡± Zeth muttered as the demon instantly got to threatening his life. ¡°Why would you even need to know such a thing?¡± she asked. Then she squinted, staring suspiciously at him. ¡°¡­Please do not tell me you are one of those deranged fetishists who summon our kind with the hopeless goal of luring them into your bed and¡ª¡° ¡°What? No, no, no,¡± Zeth interrupted her, unable to help his disgust. Maybe it was just the fear aura influencing his perception, but the idea of having sex with one of those horrifying things was unthinkable. He was able to control his actions around them so he didn¡¯t collapse in fear anymore, but the emotions underlying those instincts remained the same. It would be like trying to sleep with a tornado, or the theoretical concept of death. Unthinkable. ¡°Ah, good,¡± she said. ¡°So, you require my combat talents, then? Tell me, which of your kind shall I be hunting today?¡± ¡°Uh, I actually don¡¯t want you for that, either,¡± Zeth said. He pointed at the ground. ¡°Can you just dig me a big hole?¡± She blinked. ¡°A¡­big hole?¡± ¡°Yeah, like, a home base. Somewhere to do rituals, store stuff, all that. And it should be hidden. So if you could make some sort of hatch system that covers the entrance and looks like natural ground while closed, that¡¯d work.¡± For a moment, she almost seemed like she was in shock. She simply stared at Zeth, saying nothing. But eventually, she sputtered out, ¡°D-Dig a hole for you?! I am not some puny human common worker, , I am a being that exists on a completely different level to you. To think a slug could be so ignorant as to believe is the best use of my talents¡ª¡° ¡°Are you gonna do it, or not?¡± ¡°Why would you not just get some of your human lackeys to do such simple labor? This is simply below me.¡± Zeth chuckled, furrowing his brows at her. ¡°I don¡¯t have ¡®lackeys,¡¯ lady. I¡¯m just trying to get something built that I can hide out in, and I can¡¯t do it myself.¡± ¡°Can you even offer me anything in return? Or are you so ignorant that you did not even think to¡ª¡° Zeth pointed at the pile of thralls lying at the edge of the clearing. She shut up. He could practically see her salivating at the sight of a bunch of gift-wrapped humans. ¡°You can have one of them if you perform eight hours of labor to the best of your ability for me,¡± Zeth said. ¡° I will dig for one hour and no more in exchange for one human.¡± ¡°Absolutely not. The last two demons I summoned were perfectly happy working for eight hours,¡± Zeth lied, pointing at the two corpses as evidence. ¡°Then you have been extraordinarily lucky with who you summoned. You must have gotten the only two demons in the entire Thirteenth Realm that would work for that long.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I can¡¯t do one hour. That¡¯s barely anything.¡± She folded her arms. ¡°Then I will leave. This is a waste of my time.¡± Zeth shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think you will. You¡¯ve got an opportunity to get a guaranteed human with no real effort on your part, and no risk of dying in combat and getting nothing for your time. Far from disrespecting some stupid sense of pride, I¡¯m offering you one of the best deals you¡¯ll ever get from being summoned.¡± Standing there with her arms folded, she continued staring Zeth in the eyes for a few moments. Eventually, she said curtly, ¡°Two hours.¡± Zeth barked out a laugh. ¡°Six.¡± ¡°Four.¡± ¡°I can do absolutely no less than five. Otherwise I¡¯ll simply unsummon you and get someone more agreeable.¡± She sighed in frustration. ¡°Fine. Five hours of work and no more. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand staying in this disgusting realm for any longer.¡± Zeth nodded, internally celebrating. He had no idea what would be considered standard, but that felt like a good deal. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll take two humans to work for ten hours, then?¡± ¡°Absolutely not. And the fact that you would even suggest I stay for so long is¡ª¡± ¡°Okay, cool. Let me show you where to start and I¡¯ll give you my specifications, and then I¡¯ll leave while you work. I¡¯ll probably be back before your five hours are up, though; I just have some stuff to do.¡± She rolled her eyes, muttering, ¡°Good. At least I won¡¯t have to work near a slug.¡± After giving the demon her orders¡ªmainly just to dig out the structure in the way he wanted, with some wiggle room to change plans if it seemed like something wouldn¡¯t work, as well as to defend his stash of prisoners and corpses from any monsters that came by, and a whole list of instructions on what to do if she saw any humans¡ªZeth departed and began heading back home. He had technically told his mom he¡¯d be back by nightfall, but hopefully she¡¯d just assumed he had been out late looking extra hard for some work and didn¡¯t worry too much before going to sleep. He crept up to the house and headed over to his bedroom window, sneaking in through there so as to not wake anyone up. Every step he took felt like they filled his legs with stone, his eyes feeling like they¡¯d fall shut any moment now. His breaths were heavy purely from the exertion of staying awake so long. And as he gazed through the window at his waiting bed, he realized that nothing he had ever laid eyes on had been so beautiful. He wouldn¡¯t be able to rest for very long¡ªit was extremely late at this point, and he¡¯d be woken up soon¡ªbut any amount of sleep would be a lifesaver at this point. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to sleep for too long right now; he needed to get back to the demon before she left so he could ask her some questions. His encounters with these beings continued to leave him more and more interested in the world they came from, and what he could do to get the best value out of his rituals. The idea of somehow finding a demon who could be a genuine ally, not just a temporary hire, refused to leave his mind. As he fought to crawl through the window, he received a notification. [Requirement fulfilled: Deprive yourself of sleep until your body begins to shut down on its own. You have unlocked Universal Skill: Sleep Deprivation.] He chuckled internally at the unlock requirement. He couldn¡¯t even muster up the energy to look at the Skill¡¯s effects right now, though. As far as he was concerned, anything that wasn¡¯t time sensitive was a job for future Zeth. Right now, he just needed to sleep. And so he collapsed into his bed and did exactly that, dreaming of the base that was being constructed as he lay in rest. Chapter 31 Zeth awoke far too early to Sophie leaping directly onto his face. ¡°Uhhgh,¡± he moaned into her stomach. ¡°you¡¯re up!¡± she said, climbing off of him and hopping back down to the floor. Then her smiling face shifted to a pout. ¡°You didn¡¯t come back last night.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, sorry.¡± Zeth groggily rubbed his eyes. ¡°Busy looking for work, you know. I hope I didn¡¯t worry you.¡± Her pout shifted right back into a proud smile. ¡°Mom got worried, but I didn¡¯t. I knew you¡¯d come back.¡± He chuckled as he sat up. ¡°Glad you had faith in me, kiddo.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t leave so much. It¡¯s boring to be here alone.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. Just busy, you know? There¡¯s a lot of stuff going on.¡± ¡°If you get a new job, can you buy me a new book? One of the ones about magic! The last one you got me was awesome!¡± He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m working on it. You liked it that much, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah! I wanna learn more about those Classes.¡± ¡°Well, how about for the next one, I¡¯ll look for one about the more legal side of magic Classes?¡± ¡°No! I want one that¡¯s more about those ones.¡± ¡°What? Sophie, you won¡¯t be allowed to get any of those. Seems like a bit of a waste to¡ª¡° ¡°But they¡¯re cool.¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He chuckled, half nervous about her getting herself into trouble, half proud that she was undeterred by the promise of adversity. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. But if you¡¯re going to look more into that side of things, the forbidden Classes¡­Listen, all I can say is you¡¯re gonna need a much better reason to get one of them than ¡®it¡¯s cool.¡¯ If you get a legal one, you¡¯ll be able to practice as much as you want, without having to worry about getting caught. With an illegal Class, everything will be harder, and there¡¯ll be far less information to go off of. That means fewer books, and less time you get to spend with it.¡± She nodded solemnly. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you actually want one or if you¡¯re just interested, but I don¡¯t expect you to tell me. And that¡¯s okay. You¡¯re allowed to have secrets. But just remember that. If you want one of the ones you read about, it needs to be for a good reason. If that¡¯s not the case, you¡¯ll be left facing a whole lot of problems with nothing having been gained for it.¡± She was silent for a moment, staring at the floor looking deep in thought. Eventually, she looked up. ¡°¡­Can you help me find something out about one of them?¡± His heart sped up. Was she seriously considering taking one of those things? Once again, conflicted feelings filled his chest. ¡°...Of course, kiddo. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Well, I just want to know if one of the Classes would be able to do something. Um, let me go get the book to show you.¡± She stood and began walking over to exit the room so she could get the book he¡¯d given her, but before she left, their mom¡¯s voice called from the front of the house. ¡°Sophie, honey, is Zeth awake?¡± She froze, then called back, ¡°Y-yep!¡± ¡°Will you bring him over here?¡± ¡°Sure! Just one second!¡± Zeth looked at her as she stood, still frozen in the doorway. He adjusted his seat on the bed. ¡°¡­Are you still gonna go get¡ª¡° ¡°Um, it¡¯s nothing,¡± she said in a quiet voice. ¡°Nevermind.¡± Before Zeth could respond, she dashed out of his room and in the direction of hers. He considered going after her to ask what was up, but his mom called once again, ¡°Zeth, are you coming? I need to talk to you!¡± He thought as he got up and left the room. Arriving in the kitchen, Zeth found his mom sitting in one of the kitchen table chairs putting on her work boots, getting ready to leave the house. She looked over. ¡°Oh, Zeth, honey, there you are.¡± He rubbed his eyes once again, trying to ease his continued exhaustion. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± She stood, looking relieved to see his face. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay. You heard there was a jailbreak last night, while you were in town?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. That¡¯s what kept me so late, you know¡ªthe alarm bells started ringing, and everything got so chaotic, I just found a place to hide until it calmed down. I¡¯m sorry if I made you worry.¡± With a shake of her head, she smiled, her eyes beginning to water. ¡°I¡¯m just relieved to hear you took your own safety into account, sweetie. I know you¡¯ve been a little shaken up since you got lost, and it made you reckless, but with everything going on with this Blood Mage stuff and that Wicked thrall woman on our land, you just need to make sure you have as little to do with it all as you can.¡± ¡°...Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯ll do my best to stay safe. You do that, too. You and Sophie. And, hey, I ended up getting a meeting with a traveling merchant scheduled for today. No promises or anything, but it might be possible for me to get a job working with her for as long as she stays in town. And merchants are normally pretty rich, so if I can land a job, I bet it¡¯ll pay pretty well. Should be more than enough for a mercenary to keep you two safe.¡± ¡°You mean all three of us,¡± she corrected, eyeing him. ¡°And yes, that sounds like it could work just fine. Oh, I wonder if you could convince her to give you a portion of your pay in the form of her stock! I know merchants occasionally bring in crops or seeds from elsewhere, and it might be possible that some of them could grow in our soil! If we could get something exclusive that nobody else sells around here, that¡¯d be wonderful!¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, I¡¯ll ask her about it,¡± he said. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll probably be gone for most of today, too. Gonna talk to her about that, try to secure the job, and if I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll just keep looking around for the rest of the day.¡± ¡°You seem really intent on getting some sort of job in town.¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess I¡¯m just pretty dedicated.¡± After that, Zeth headed right back to the clearing, eager to get some semblance of a base made and move everything in there. With the extra focus that¡¯d likely be put on this forest now that he¡¯d been seen fleeing into the wilderness after the jailbreak, the sooner he hid away all evidence of rituals being performed in this clearing, the better. As he walked, he rubbed the wounded areas across his body. Turin¡¯s treatment had helped, but certainly not fixed any of the holes in his flesh. He needed to heal. And there was one thing that could do exactly that for him. [Self-Destruction - Cost: 3 Skill Points Increases the speed at which you recover from injury by 300%, plus an additional 60% for each Rank in this Skill.] He¡¯d been holding off on purchasing the Self-Destruction Skill so he could get Demonic Covenant as quickly as possible, but now he had it. And thanks to a few recent Skill Rank-ups, he now had enough points to purchase the healing Skill. Currently, he was trying to save up for Otherworldly Excellence, which cost seventeen, and he wasn''t sure how easy it''d be to Rank a Skill like this up, but subtracting three from his current total wouldn¡¯t be that big of a step back. So, eager to rid himself of his injuries, he went ahead and purchased the Skill. [You have purchased Universal Skill: Self-Destruction. -3 Skill Points. You have 2 Skill Points.] When Zeth arrived at the clearing, it must¡¯ve been only around four hours since he¡¯d previously left¡ªnot much time at all. At least, being gone for only four hours was criminally short from the perspective of the still exhausted part of him that had wanted to sleep for a minimum of fifteen hours. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. However, upon arrival, Zeth found that quite a bit more than a typical five hours of work had been completed. Out in the middle of the forest, he found a large, perfectly square hole going straight down. It was around four feet in width, with some trees having been chopped down and cut up into planks to be made into the hatch that would cover it. Peering down into the hole, Zeth found that its edges were lined with stones, turning what would be soft dirt walls into more suitable rock, and planks had been fitted into the walls and attached to a beam made from a log that stuck straight up the center of the hole to make a spiraling staircase going downward. Deep in the hole, he heard the continued sounds of digging. So, after testing the stairs to ensure they wouldn¡¯t collapse, he cautiously began descending. It took over a full minute just for him to get to the bottom of the staircase, with how deep down the hole went. He¡¯d planned for this base to go extremely deep underground, both to help prevent the possibility of collapse, and to reduce things like noise from inside from being heard up on the surface. And, judging by the number of steps he had to descend to get down here, it certainly was extremely deep. As he descended, the dirt walls fitted with rocks slowly transformed into walls made of pure, natural stone, all carved to perfection by the demon¡¯s sharp claws. And when he finally reached the bottom, he found himself standing in the main structure. After arriving at the bottom of the staircase, he found himself walking down a narrow hallway that twisted and turned a few times seemingly at random. Of course, that random movement was a feature he¡¯d intentionally designed into the plans¡ªif intruders came down here, they¡¯d have to come through these tunnels in order to reach the rest of his base, and the natural choke point created in the hall would be perfect to fit with all kinds of traps and ritual circles that invaders would be forced to pass through. And with the only natural light coming from the hole, the long, snaking hallway would quickly become pitch black, leading to them easily stepping into any traps laid on the ground. Of course, he realized as he walked the tunnels, that also meant would be unable to see down here. He had no idea how his demon worker was working in these shadows that whole time¡ªmaybe they could see in the dark? Frowning, he placed a finger on the stone wall of the rectangular tunnel and went through the familiar motions of pushing mana through his body, leaving that chalky substance behind where he dragged his finger. He knew his ritual circles glowed when they were activating, but maybe¡­ Ah! In the pure darkness of a cavern like this one, he could see what had been too faint to notice before. Even when it wasn¡¯t a part of any ritual circle, this chalk stuff still let off the barest glow. When compared to even the tiny flame of a candle, it was hardly any light at all, but it was still technically something he could use to see. So, tracing his finger next to him as he walked, he made his way through the winding tunnels. Eventually, he reached the end, finding the narrow passageway quickly opening up into a wide open room¡ªwide enough that this dim chalk lighting wasn¡¯t enough to even illuminate the opposite wall. But in the darkness, Zeth could still hear the sounds of his demon digging through the stone, carving it away with her claws and leaving a pile of rubble behind her. ¡°Hey,¡± he called. There was no response. He frowned and drew closer, following along the wall to continue dragging his finger across and spread the illumination. Eventually, she came into view, repeatedly digging into the stone and scraping away huge chunks of rock at a time. As the pinkish light spread across her face, she glanced over at him momentarily, then went back to working, the look of disgust that seemed to permanently cover every demon¡¯s face not budging from its place on hers. ¡°Working hard, huh?¡± he asked. Still, she didn¡¯t respond. ¡°So is there any particular reason you¡¯re ignoring me, or¡­?¡± She turned around. ¡°If you need to give me a new order, simply give it to me, slug. I do not need your petty preamble.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not here to give you new orders, or whatever,¡± he said. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been getting through those plans I gave you pretty well.¡± ¡°I will not be able to even come close to finishing everything you told me to do in the five hours we agreed on,¡± she said. ¡°If you want this complex built, you will need to summon more of my kind to finish.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to. Just do everything you can. This¡¯ll be my only room for now¡ªit should be able to fit most of everything I want to do¡ªand later on I¡¯ll be able to add storage, dedicated rooms for separate rituals, prison cells, and anything else I may need.¡± She shook her head in exasperation. The pale red shade of her skin¡ªmuch lighter than the demon he¡¯d summoned before¡ªshined in the pink light. ¡°You slugs always have such ambition. It¡¯s embarrassing. Attempting to build so much using the strength of others when you, yourself, are so powerless.¡± ¡°So all demons just think of themselves as these godly beings who humans could accomplish nothing without the help of, huh? You¡¯ve just decided that all advancement in society is purely because some demon came in to save the day? Not sure you¡¯re as smart as you think you are, talking like that.¡± She scoffed. ¡°As though you slugs don¡¯t constantly borrow power from other humans as well. Look at this massive structure you¡¯re having me dig out. Likely something you were simply ordered to build by a superior, no thought put into it on your own. No argument, no drive, no fire in your eyes. You slugs are all the same pathetic creature, each one living for others so as to fend off your eventual extinction. It is against nature.¡± Zeth¡¯s face involuntarily screwed into a frown, but he ignored her words, taking a moment¡¯s pause to consider his next words. He¡¯d come here because he wanted to ask her some questions, not argue about some random topic she clearly knew nothing about. ¡°When I summon demons, there¡¯s some sort of waiting period between when I complete the ritual and when the demon actually appears. What is that? What determines how long it takes?¡± ¡°Why would know how magic works, slug?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one being summoned by it. How does it work on your end?¡± ¡°Ignorant, worthless being. You don¡¯t deserve the knowledge of¡ª¡± ¡°Answer my question,¡± he commanded. With a sneer, she took a breath and spoke, ¡°A sort of beacon is placed down in our realm. An invisible sphere that¡¯s only a few inches wide, set in a random area. If a demon is inside the borders of the sphere, they are notified that they may answer its call and be summoned to the First Realm under the command of its owner. Of course, a demon happening to be in the exact area the beacon is placed is extremely unlikely, and as there is no way to see a beacon or tell where it might be, nobody goes looking for them. So, when the beacon¡¯s call is not immediately answered, it slowly grows in width, going from being only inches wide to being several feet, and eventually even miles in width, waiting for a demon to answer its call.¡± He nodded, deep in thought. ¡°So then, when I summoned you, since it only took a couple minutes, that means the beacon must¡¯ve been placed right next to you?¡± ¡°Yes. I was in my home in the settlement of Eitu Fini, and¡ªugh, what am I saying, an ignorant slug like you would have no idea what that place is. I was in my home in a relatively populated settlement, and felt the beacon notify me, meaning it must have been relatively small at the time, or else enough others would have already been contacted by the beacon that someone would have taken the offer by then.¡± ¡°Hm. But the last time I did the ritual, it took hours for it to finally summon a demon. What, did I just get insanely unlucky and it got put down in some spot that didn¡¯t have anyone around for a hundred miles?¡± She shook her head in exasperation. ¡°You slugs don¡¯t realize how coddled you are here in this pathetic realm, do you? In the Thirteenth Realm, the vast majority of land is uninhabitable. There is only one source of drinkable liquid in the entire realm¡ªa single river that runs for a relatively short distance through a plain. Any demon in the realm¡ªor any living being at all, barring a select few¡ªwill have to be in a settlement by the river, or they will die of thirst. So, it is much more likely that your beacon was simply placed anywhere in the wasteland that covers most of the realm.¡± He deflated. ¡°So it¡¯s the opposite, then. I didn¡¯t get unlucky the first time, I just got lucky the second. Pretty much all of my summonings are gonna take hours upon hours to wait for the beacon to grow large enough to get to that one river?¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°Is there any way to keep that from happening?¡± ¡°Once again, I am compelled to remind you that it is Skill you are asking about. I have never used it before. It is the height of foolishness to assume I would¡ª¡± ¡°I got it,¡± Zeth interrupted. ¡°And I don¡¯t think it¡¯s all that hard to just say ¡®I don¡¯t know,¡¯ by the way. Gods, it¡¯s like you¡¯re to annoy me.¡± She ignored his words and went back to digging while Zeth thought over his new findings. Was demon summoning seriously dependent on luck? And he still didn¡¯t know how far away from the river his beacon was during the attempt that¡¯d lasted several hours. It was possible that he might end up finding the beacon being placed even further away in a future summon and being forced to wait twice the time. He seriously wasn¡¯t sure if he could even survive something like that. There was no way, right? He had to be missing something. Thinking back over his memories of the two summonings he¡¯d completed, he tried to figure out what actions he may be able to take that would do something like moving the beacon or making it grow faster. Maybe it was just an issue of him not having enough in his Shaping Stat? More Shaping meant more mana, and the beacon grown using his mana, so that could help. But surely that couldn¡¯t be the only answer, right? Just then, a detail came to mind. When he¡¯d first placed his hands down and activated each of the rituals, it almost felt like he was being asked something by the Skill. He¡¯d always assumed the question was simply ¡®do you want to summon a demon,¡¯ and did whatever he could to answer ¡®yes,¡¯ but maybe that wasn¡¯t it. Maybe it was asking for a location, not a confirmation. Normally, when a Skill asked a question like that, you¡¯d find yourself with a mental image being presented to your mind of the area you were being asked to name a location in. Except, Zeth had no idea what the Thirteenth Realm looked like, so there would be no base knowledge in his mind for the Skill to present him with an image to select from. That felt like it left Zeth with no good way forward when it came to solving this issue. Presumably, in order for him to have some idea of what his options were, he¡¯d have to have an accurate knowledge of the Thirteenth Realm, which meant he¡¯d have to physically travel there. Obviously, that was not an option. But maybe there was another way for him to get just good enough of an idea of that place for him to be able to consistently select a populated area and skip the waiting period. ¡°Hey,¡± he said to the demon, sitting down and preparing to draw a map on the floor. ¡°I want you to give me the most detailed description of the Thirteenth Realm that you possibly can.¡± Chapter 32 As the five hours of work Zeth had contracted from the demon came to an end, he asked her to bring the prisoners down into the single-room base underground and pick one out to kill. Before she did, he tried once again to interrogate this person, but to no avail. This man was much further gone than the woman he¡¯d been able to get some basic information out of before, spouting out insulting gibberish like the others he¡¯d seen. So, after a minute or two of failed conversation, he told the demon to go ahead and kill him. The moment she did, she disappeared, apparently eager to leave as quickly as possible. He looked around the room, now alone except for the bound and gagged thralls all lying in the corner. She¡¯d done quite a bit of work in the little time she¡¯d been here. Technically speaking, this room, the hallway, and the staircase leading down to it would work just fine as a humble, defensible base from him to operate out of. But he had eight more prisoners here, and that meant eight more demons to summon. And if he had eight demons available, he was sure as hell going to use them. With them, this small, humble room would transform into a massive complex with more defenses than the entire town combined could hope to get through. It likely wouldn¡¯t even take all eight sacrifices to get the base into peak condition, too. So Zeth could theoretically hold on to a few of them and save them in some prison down here for an emergency when he needed a favor from a demon with no way to quickly find a life to offer in exchange. Though, the idea of keeping prisoners long-term carried with it a whole host of problems like getting food and water to them on a regular basis, but he was sure he could figure something out. Regardless, he wanted to go ahead and summon his next demon. Not just to continue working on this place, but also because he wanted more information about the Thirteenth Realm. Being able to choose where he put that beacon down wasn¡¯t just helpful because it let him skip the waiting period; if he got enough information about the different locations in Hell, there was a possibility he may be able to find a place where the demons weren¡¯t so horrible to work with. As such, he spent the next three and a half hours drawing up another circle. Down in this protected bunker, he didn¡¯t need to focus nearly as much on his surroundings listening for monsters, so he could just relax and allow Vile Focus to take over the drawing process itself. By the time he was done, he found himself bent over a completed, eight-and-a-half-foot ritual circle with a notification tickling his mind. [Vile Focus¡¯s Rank has increased to 7. +1 Skill Point. You have 3 Skill Points.] Vile Focus was getting close to hitting its maximum Rank now. At this point, it was reducing all of his ritual requirements by a little over fifteen percent¡ªwell worth the cost, considering it¡¯d only been eight Skill Points to purchase. And by now, with seven Points recouped, it¡¯d effectively only cost him one. His next goal would be to purchase Otherworldly Excellence, which cost seventeen Skill Points, before he tried Leveling Up again. At three right now, he was still a ways away from that goal, but he assumed he¡¯d be earning quite a few extra Points from Ranking up Demonic Covenant, considering how many times he planned on performing that ritual in the future. Speaking of, he was about to try and complete his next demon summoning in record time. The circle was ready and waiting for his input, so after feeding it a sacrifice from one of the corpses he had lying around, he knelt down and placed his hands on the chalky lines. This time, he closed his eyes and focused inward as he felt the mana being drawn from his body to feed its effects. He could feel that tiny question in his mind, open-ended and waiting for him to give it his answer. So, directing his thoughts in its direction, he pored over his memories of the description that had been given to him by that demon woman, concentrating on creating a picture in his imagination of what she¡¯d described. Hell was, apparently, hot. And the words of the first demon Zeth had summoned backed that fact up, as well. The sun there was so hot it would melt a human¡¯s skin right off their bones in a fraction of a second, and even if demons were more resilient to heat, they weren¡¯t immune. As such, their homes and structures were all underground, not spending more than maybe an hour at a time on the surface. Though, she had been vague about that timing; maybe some demons could resist it longer than others? Regardless, demons lived in sprawling underground structures beneath gray, lifeless dirt. Completely devoid of water, the soil there was more packed dust than anything, cracking apart into mere particles in the air when disturbed. Really, it sounded like the entirety of the Thirteenth Realm was devoid of most color. Far away from the lush green forests and sparkling blue oceans of the First, the majority of what one looked at in Hell would either be gray or black, with the only color appearing in that Realm coming from the skin of its denizens, and the ever-plentiful fire constantly erupting across its landscape. With the general idea of what things looked like in his mind, Zeth moved on to trying to pick out a specific location. He¡¯d made a map of everything the demon had described to him, but she, herself, had admitted it was faulty. She really only knew the specifics of her local area, with most of everything else just being vague descriptions of ¡°there¡¯s a settlement far east¡± or ¡°that territory¡¯s closer than the others.¡± So, any specific information he got ended up centering around the settlement she¡¯d said she lived in¡ªEitu Fini. Technically, he¡¯d have the most success putting his beacon down in that same place once again, but he wanted to try and get someone from another spot. Not only would he get a wider breadth of information about the Thirteenth Realm by asking questions to as many people from as many different places as possible, but he also wanted to try and find different cultures of demons across the realm. If there was some place where the demons were a little kinder, or were willing to accept payment in the form of something other than human lives, it¡¯d be a phenomenal discovery. There were three settlements near enough to Eitu Fini that she¡¯d known enough about to give a detailed description. That settlement was apparently north of some sort of river central to all demon society, on the western side of it, and so were these other three. One went further north, away from the river, another went further west, upstream, and another went east, downstream. Picking effectively at random, Zeth decided to try and summon someone from the eastern settlement. This one was apparently called Onzerfor Fisi. He focused on the map of the realm he¡¯d created in his mind, envisioning himself zooming in on the settlement he¡¯d chosen, the location slowly gaining more detail as he kept focusing on the singular location. A wasteland of gray, dry dirt, dozens of houses and structures dug into the ground below. And as he focused on this singular image, he felt something click in his mind. Like the question the ritual was asking was a lock, and the picture in his mind was a key he¡¯d slid into place. From there, he had nothing left to do but wait. Hopefully, if all had gone well, the wait wouldn¡¯t be too long. Otherwise, he¡¯d have to¡ª [Demonic Covenant¡¯s Rank has increased to 3. +1 Skill Point. You have 4 Skill Points.] Almost instantly, the ritual finished. Zeth¡¯s eyes shot open as he barked out a laugh. . As flames shot up from the center of the circle and licked the ceiling of his cavern, he watched in anticipation of his newest guest¡¯s arrival. The demon appeared, and he looked over its appearance, lit by the few scraps of fire that floated through the air before they disappeared. This one seemed male, with extremely dark crimson skin¡ªfar darker than the other two demons he¡¯d summoned. Other than that, this one looked relatively as expected when it came to demonkind. Tall, muscular structure, and a sneer etched across his face. Yep¡ªthat was a demon. [Influence check failed.] A familiar bolt of anxiety shot through Zeth¡¯s chest as the fear aura kicked in. Though, unlike the other demons, this one was far, far stronger. It dug into his mind, a worm that practically forced him to glance around the dark lair, checking for intruders hiding in there with him, ready to strike. His imagination created eyes peering at him from the corners of the room, disappearing when he tried to focus on them. His ears heard footsteps approaching from behind, a blade scraping across the stone floor. ¡°Gods,¡± he muttered, ¡°why¡¯s it so bad now?¡± The demon looked over to find Zeth standing on the edge of the circle. He tilted his head, as if curious, and began walking toward Zeth. He drew a sharp breath, realizing he hadn¡¯t limited the demon¡¯s movement yet. ¡°Stop!¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The demon froze, a look of disappointment flashing across his face. ¡°W-what¡¯s up with the fear?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯ve summoned demons before, but yours is way worse than theirs.¡± ¡°Then the disparity between my Influence Stat and yours is higher than it was between theirs and yours,¡± he answered in a deep, grizzled voice. Zeth let out a shaky groan. ¡°So if I want a stronger summon, I¡¯m gonna have to deal with more of this, then, huh?¡± He shrugged. Zeth frowned. ¡°The l-last demon I summoned had a much weaker fear effect, and her skin was much lighter. Yours is stronger, and your skin is darker. Is there a correlation there? Like, the darker your skin, the stronger that Skill is?¡± ¡°Not quite,¡± he replied simply. ¡°Our skin grows darker the longer we stay out in the sun; it technically has nothing to do with our power. However, one might imagine that spending a long time in a sun as murderous as our own would require one to be much stronger than the others of our species.¡± ¡°Oh. So, how long can you stay out?¡± The demon chuckled. ¡°I see you are a curious one of your kind. I have met a couple of you during my lifetime; if I continue answering questions without any promised compensation, we may find that time has run out before I can claim my prize for coming to this place.¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s negotiate.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While this demon was much less prone to randomly insulting Zeth, he also seemed much more adept at negotiations, calling out any subtle lies or tricks Zeth tried to use to convince him to work for longer in exchange for a human life. At first, he¡¯d assumed the demon must¡¯ve had some sort of sixth sense for detecting deception, but then he realized that the aura of fear coming off of this demon was so strong, any time he tried lying, his voice involuntarily shook. It made him wonder whether that Skill was really made for combat, or if it was really more useful for situations like these. In the end, he just barely managed to convince the demon to work for four hours. Not great compared to the five hours he¡¯d managed to conscript the previous one for, but he had to imagine a demon as powerful as this one would be able to get more work done in less time compared to the others. So, once he got the demon set up with his orders and instructions for the creation of his base, Zeth stood and set off to go meet with that merchant woman. Hopefully, he¡¯d be able to get a cushy, well-paying job asking him to simply move some boxes around for as long as she was in town. On his way through the streets, heading to the tavern she¡¯d asked to meet in, he let out a wide yawn, feeling his eyes threaten to droop closed with each step. really He frowned, a memory from the previous night coming back to him. Looking into his Status, he found exactly the Skill he¡¯d been thinking about, unlocked and promptly forgotten about by his severely sleep-deprived self. [Sleep Deprivation - Cost: 10 Skill Points Increases the amount of time you can operate at peak capacity without sleeping by 25%, plus an additional 2.5% for each Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 10% for each 25 points you have in the Endurance Stat.] really At max Rank, it¡¯d increase the amount of time he could stay awake by fifty percent, which was already solid, but really, the Skill alone wasn¡¯t what he was so excited about. It was the second part of the description, which increased the amount of time he could stay awake more and more as his Endurance Stat increased. More Endurance already helped a person operate without sleep by a relatively small margin, but this Skill would increase that effect by leaps and bounds. Currently at just Level six, Zeth already had twenty-four Endurance¡ªone off from hitting that first ten percent bonus increase. He could hardly imagine how useful that Skill would end up being once his Level started pushing into the double digits. Going entire without needing to worry about sleep? It sounded amazing. And all that at just a ten Skill Point cost. It was effectively free, once he Ranked it up. Though, that was also likely where a more hidden cost would come into play. In order to Rank the Skill up, he¡¯d have to continue doing what he did to unlock it in the first place¡ªgo so long without sleeping his body began to shut down. Sounded pretty miserable. Still, could he really turn down so much extra time being handed to him practically for free? Right now, though, he wouldn¡¯t be taking it. Not just because, with only four Skill Points, he couldn¡¯t afford it, but also because he was currently saving up for the seventeen-cost Otherworldly Excellence. It¡¯d definitely take quite a while to Rank Sleep Deprivation up, and while it would end up free, he didn¡¯t want to wait that long before he could finally afford such a devastatingly powerful Skill as one which gave him so many free Stats every single time he Leveled Up. In the end, as always, it simply came down to time. He needed more time to practice¡ªmore time to Rank up his Skills and earn more Points. And that meant getting this job so he could start using it as an excuse. So, as he rounded a corner and the tavern came into view, he marched up to it and swung the door open. Sure enough, he spotted the woman with her neat black hair from across the room, sitting alone at a circular four-person table. He walked up to her. ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± she looked up at him. ¡°Oh! You¡¯re that boy who kept bothering me.¡± ¡°Uh, right. You said you¡¯d be willing to meet me here to discuss that business proposal?¡± ¡°Did I?¡± ¡°...You did.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± She sighed. ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± ¡°...Right, so,¡± he took a seat across from her as he spoke, ¡°I was thinking, you¡¯re likely busy moving inventory around to keep your cart stocked. So, as a physically capable guy, I thought I could help with¡ª¡± ¡°Nope, not interested.¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°Are you sure? Think of the time you¡¯d be able to save if you just had me do all that stuff instead of¡ª¡± ¡°Not interested. Goodbye.¡± ¡°I¡¯d at least ask you to hear out my full proposal. I won¡¯t charge much, and I can do a lot more than just¡ª¡± ¡°Goodbye! I¡¯m busy, I don¡¯t want to talk to you, goodbye!¡± He sighed. Seriously, all that for her to cut him off halfway through his sentences and force him out? ¡°C¡¯mon, can¡¯t you think of I can do? I¡¯m gonna be fully honest with you here, I¡¯m a little desperate.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve got a completely functioning setup here. I sell things, my bodyguards protect me and move stuff around if it needs to be moved around. No room for some random townie to interfere.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t think you could use one more bodyguard?¡± She looked him up and down, eyes stopping on the several bandages covering his body. ¡°You don¡¯t seem like you¡¯re very able.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know, I just¡ª¡± ¡°Nope! Bye!¡± His mind raced, trying to think of anything he could say just to convince her to hear him out. ¡°How do you know your bodyguards don¡¯t need help? Haven¡¯t you heard of the Blood Mage stuff that¡¯s been going on? Jailbreaks? Demons being summoned? I even personally saw a fleshtaker destroy entire portions of this place¡¯s residential district. I¡¯m a local here; I know plenty about all this stuff that you have no idea of.¡± She brought a hand to her chin, finally seeming to actually consider his offer. ¡°Hm¡­¡± ¡°I can bring you information if it seems like it¡¯ll be particularly dangerous. If you need to flee, I can take you through shortcuts I know will be safe, and I¡¯m not too shabby of a fighter, either. Plus, like I said, I offer physical labor if you ever need it. My price will be low, too.¡± She stared at him for a moment with narrowed eyes, stroking her chin. ¡°Hm¡­My answer¡¯s gonna have to be¡­no.¡± Zeth¡¯s head fell into his hands. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m in perfectly capable hands as-is.¡± ¡°Alright, I guess.¡± He stood up and dejectedly turned to head out of the building. ¡°Thanks for hearing me out, at least.¡± ¡°Wait. I said don¡¯t need your assistance. I didn¡¯t say there was nobody else who did.¡± He turned back around to look at her. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some bodyguards who might be looking for help. Not in guarding me, of course, but they have a couple other projects they¡¯re working on. Pay will have to come from them, but if they want help, maybe you can offer it.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, that¡¯d be great,¡± Zeth said. ¡°What projects?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t pay attention to that sort of thing. Let me go get them and they can tell you. They should be just outside.¡± With that, she stood and walked out of the tavern, leaving Zeth sitting alone at the table. For a minute, he wondered if this was just her way of escaping the conversation and she was already halfway across town, but eventually she returned, walking right back through the door and up to Zeth. She pointed at him, looking back at a group of three people who walked in behind her. ¡°He¡¯s right there.¡± With that, she stood aside and let them approach him. And as they came fully into Zeth¡¯s view, he felt his chest tighten and his heart instantly start pounding five times as hard. He¡¯d seen their faces before. He¡¯d seen their armor and weapons. The woman in front wore shining silver plate armor, impossible to confuse with anyone else, and had a greathammer on her back¡ªa weapon meant to be held with two hands, but he knew she wielded it with one. And the two magic users behind her wore their familiar robes, each one holding a staff in his hands. They were the exact same trio who had chased him off into the forest back when he¡¯d broken the thralls out of jail. The ones who had been able to actually harm his summoned demon. And the ones who seemed to be more eager than anyone else to kill him. As he stared at them, the woman in front narrowed her eyes. Had she recognized him already? ¡°Hi there,¡± she said, sitting opposite Zeth at the table. The other two men sat as well. He gripped the wooden surface with white knuckles, preparing to run at the slightest provocation. ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°So,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s talk.¡± Chapter 33 Zeth sat at the wooden table, facing the three people who had been trying to kill him just one night ago. ¡°I¡¯m Rosalie,¡± the woman in plate armor said. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s nice to meet you,¡± he responded. She stared at him. ¡°...And you are?¡± He bit down on the inside of his mouth. Should he give a fake name? Would that even stop them from tracking him down? Surely, giving a fake name would only make them suspect him more, right? He had to respond quickly, so he just said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Zeth. Sorry.¡± ¡°Uh-huh,¡± she responded, continuing to look at him intently. ¡°Well, I¡¯m Erza,¡± one of the robed men said, holding out a hand to shake. He was dressed in cool blue cloth that looked just as well-crafted and expensive as the plate armor Rosalie wore. His blond hair was shaggy and unkempt, contrasting with his well-maintained robes and the polished staff in his hands. From the looks of it all, most of the objects on his person were magic in nature. Zeth even noticed the staff, his robes, and some items on his belt were letting out some sort of strange, otherworldly glow. He stared at the items, trying to parse out what was causing it. Erza cleared his throat, and Zeth looked back up at his face. He was wearing a curious expression, but it shifted back to a polite smile after a moment. He nodded over at the other man sitting across from him, who wore white robes, with short, plain brown hair and a much simpler appearance overall. An indifferent expression rested on his face. ¡°That¡¯s Alfon.¡± Alfon nodded to him, laid his head down on the table, and closed his eyes like he was going to sleep. ¡°R-right,¡± Zeth said, ¡°it¡¯s nice to meet both of you, too. Uh, listen, I¡¯m not sure¡ª¡± ¡°So you wanted to work with us, right?¡± Rosalie asked, that same intense look persisting in her eyes. ¡°We heard from our employer that you were talking about being an assistant, or a squire.¡± Zeth chuckled nervously. How could he escape this situation? ¡°Y-yeah, I was asking her about that.¡± She nodded. ¡°What are your skills? Anything you¡¯re particularly good at? Do you have a Class?¡± The mention of a Class sent anxiety shooting through Zeth¡¯s spine. ¡°Um, nope, no Class. Just some physical strength from working in the mines and stuff; I was really just asking your employer if she needed someone to carry heavy stuff around for her.¡± ¡°Hm. I suppose it would be nice to have someone around that could carry some of my gear. Though, I¡¯m not sure if someone without a Class would be capable of lifting any of it. If you¡¯d like, I could let you try, but¡ª¡± ¡°Nah, I doubt I could,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Oh, well. Thanks for coming and meeting with me, but I guess I should be going.¡± Just as he was about to stand up, though, the man in the blue robes, Erza, spoke up. His voice was suspicious. ¡°Wait a second.¡± Zeth froze. ¡°...What is it?¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°You said you don¡¯t have a Class?¡± Zeth fought to keep himself from sweating. Could this guy detect he was lying, or something? Zeth had always thought the only way to read someone¡¯s Status was with the Inquisitor Class, and they could only do so after a difficult, extended process. Not to mention nobody was even allowed to have that Class unless they joined the Empire¡¯s squad of them. Whatever. It was too late to go back on his word now. He put his best nonchalant voice on. ¡°Nope. None.¡± Two seconds of silence passed, but it felt like two hours. Zeth¡¯s legs tensed, ready to take off the moment he felt a hint of movement. But eventually Erza just said, ¡°How would you like to work for me?¡± Slowly, Zeth settled back into his seat, practically screaming inside his head, He just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. ¡°...Why do you ask?¡± Once again, Erza was silent for an unnaturally long moment before speaking. ¡°Just a hunch.¡± Alarm bells were ringing in Zeth¡¯s head. He chuckled nervously. ¡°Uh, well, I appreciate the offer, but I guess I¡¯m just looking for a safer job than one that would entail working with you guys. Y¡¯know, risking your lives fighting and all that. Sorry for wasting your¡ª¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t involve any fighting,¡± Erza said. ¡°No need to worry.¡± ¡°...What would it be, then?¡± ¡°Like Rosalie said, you¡¯d mainly just be hauling around some gear for me and helping me keep track of it all.¡± He looked over at her and chuckled. ¡°Only, I¡¯m not a total meathead, so you might be able to actually pick some of it up.¡± She rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Zeth¡¯s fears were somewhat assuaged. At least this guy was relaxed enough to be making jokes. It sure sounded like he knew , but he at least didn¡¯t seem to know Zeth was the man they were looking for. Unless he was pretending to be relaxed. Was Zeth just being paranoid? He decided to put the issue aside for now. He just needed to find some sort of excuse he could use to decline Erza¡¯s offer and get out of here. ¡°So, carrying around gear? What, uh, situations would I be carrying it into?¡± Erza smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much. I¡¯m not asking you to charge into battle for me. Think about it like, I just want you to manage my inventory. Handle storage. Now, the three of us trying to catch some criminal that¡¯s apparently been running around, but we don¡¯t even know where that person is, so currently we¡¯re just looking for leads on where to find them.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°W-who is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Blood Mage,¡± Rosalie said, disdain clear in her voice. ¡°We found him commanding a summoned demon, causing mayhem in town, but weren¡¯t able to catch him. And when we asked around after he got away, it sounded like he¡¯d been terrorizing this place for the past week. The guards seemed to think they¡¯d already caught the culprit for some reason, but obviously not. We ended up negotiating with the local precinct for a reward if we managed to find the criminal, so now we¡¯re working on that after hours.¡± Erza scoffed. ¡°More like negotiated while you offered to do it for free. Your fanaticism really gets in the way of my entrepreneurial efforts, Rosalie.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Zeth said. ¡°W-well, I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s too good an idea to go after someone like that. They seem pretty dangerous to mess with, and it¡¯s not like people are out dying in the streets, y¡¯know?¡± Rosalie shook her head. ¡°You clearly don¡¯t understand the kind of person you¡¯re talking about. I won¡¯t try to claim that who has a prohibited Class is some kind of horrible person; things like unlicensed explosion magic have been used by good people in the past. But a Blood Mage? Nothing but bad news comes from a Class whose main method of Leveling up is committing murder. And just the fact that they¡¯d summoned a demon¡ªnot many people know this, but in order to secure a demon¡¯s help, you to allow it to kill at least one person, if not more. The fact that there was a demon in this town means it¡¯s confirmed this Blood Mage has a body count. There¡¯s no excuse for that.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°...Mhm,¡± Zeth said with a cautious nod. Just how much did she know about Blood Mages? Ironically, he might end up learning something from her about what kind of Skills his enemy may have. Erza chuckled. ¡°You seem like you¡¯re getting nervous. Don¡¯t worry; we¡¯ll have your back in case something unexpected happens. Rosalie¡¯s got some specialized countermeasures against stuff like demons, and I¡¯ve got about a hundred tricks up my sleeves. I can capture people and hold them in place, I can hide myself with stealth magic, and, of course, if all else fails, there¡¯s always good old Fireball.¡± ¡°And when we do catch them,¡± Rosalie said, a dark look on her face, ¡°we¡¯ll be sure they pay for everything they¡¯ve done. Wielding a horrible Class like that¡­They¡¯ll it was just the guards that caught them.¡± Erza rolled his eyes at her. ¡°Do you think implying torture in front of someone you just met is a good idea when trying to hire them? Not everyone is as insane as you.¡± She just stared at him intensely. As Zeth listened to their argument, the other man who had yet to speak so far¡ªErza had introduced him as Alfon¡ªyawned, shifting slightly in his resting spot on the table. Zeth, however, was feeling anything but bored. More and more, he got the sense that he needed to leave this building immediately. What would they do if they realized who he was? Zeth had the feeling this Rosalie woman wouldn¡¯t be particularly eager to hear out the reasoning for his actions. He chuckled nervously. ¡°I¡ªI dunno, this all just seems¡­I came here to just talk about working with a merchant. And now you¡¯re talking about bounty hunting, and¡­¡± Rosalie sighed. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to work with us, don¡¯t. It¡¯s dangerous; I understand why you wouldn¡¯t want to do it. Go ahead and leave, and we can¡ª¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Erza interrupted, looking at her incredulously, ¡°this is potential apprentice you¡¯re talking to! Don¡¯t try to chase him off! I think he¡¯d make a valuable addition to the team, so if don¡¯t care, then don¡¯t talk to him. I¡¯ll handle negotiations, yeah?¡± ¡°Why do you even want this guy so badly?¡± she asked. ¡°If you want an apprentice, go ask someone who¡¯s eager to work under you. He doesn¡¯t have a Class, and from the sounds of it, he doesn¡¯t have any experience with magic. Just leave the poor guy alone.¡± He placed his hands on the table, ignoring her words and turning to look straight at Zeth. ¡°Alright. How much do you want?¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Money. How much do I have to pay you? We can say it¡¯ll be by the hour worked.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Zeth said, frowning in confusion. What was all this about? ¡°You don¡¯t know how much money you want? Isn¡¯t this what this was all about earlier? You need money? How much do you need?¡± Zeth shrugged. ¡°A million gold pieces.¡± Erza rolled his eyes. ¡°Be reasonable. Look, where did you work before now?¡± ¡°...I worked at Otis and Roul¡¯s.¡± ¡°Otis and Roul¡¯s?¡± ¡°The local mining guild.¡± ¡°And you quit because they weren¡¯t paying you enough?¡± Zeth pursed his lips. ¡°...Uh, no. They fired me.¡± ¡°Well, whatever. How much were they paying you?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Zeth breathed out. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to match it. They pay more than anyone else, and taxes are way too high for non-guild work for you to be able to¡ª¡± ¡°Just tell me.¡± He shook his head in defeat. ¡°I dunno; it depended on the job. Normally I could expect maybe¡­ten, eleven copper at the end of a day¡¯s work?¡± Rosalie¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°They were paying you ten copper?! For eight full hours of manual labor? That¡¯s barely over a single copper an hour! And you said this was the anyone in this town paid?¡± Zeth blinked in surprise at her reaction. ¡°...Actually, a normal work day for them would be closer to twelve hours.¡± ¡°They pay than a single copper coin per hour?,¡± she asked, voice just as aggressive as it¡¯d been when she was talking about what she¡¯d do to the Blood Mage. ¡°Are they insane?!¡± ¡°I, uh, yeah,¡± he stuttered, taken aback by her sudden anger. ¡°I mean, I know they¡¯re pretty awful to work for, but why are you¡­?¡± ¡°That is a ridiculously low amount of money,¡± she said. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t any other company come and offered better wages?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like I tried to tell you,¡± he said. ¡°Non-guild work is taxed really heavily. Most businesses try to offer five times what they do, but it still comes out as less by the time it reaches our pockets.¡± ¡°And why is this guild exempt from these taxes?¡± Zeth shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m in the room when they work out the deals. The guild¡¯s built a lot of infrastructure for the town and stuff, though, so I assume it¡¯s as repayment, or something.¡± Her face fell into her hands. ¡°Gods, it¡¯s worse than I thought. You people are being exploited. Far more than you seem to realize.¡± Erza held out a hand in front of her. ¡°Hey, I said I¡¯d do the negotiating, remember?¡± He looked back at Zeth. ¡°How much until I break through those taxes? I could offer, say¡­three copper per hour.¡± He pursed his lips. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how it¡¯d work out, but that¡¯d probably end up as something more like half a copper per hour after taxes. L-listen, I think we¡¯ve gotten way off-track. I never said I¡¯d take this job, and honestly, I kind of agree with Rosalie¡¯s questions regarding why you even want me so much in the first place. So I think I¡¯m just going to leave, if that¡¯s all you¡ª¡± ¡°How about fifty copper per hour?¡± Zeth froze mid-word. ¡°By your math, that¡¯d work out to be something like eight copper after taxes? Almost ten times what that guild paid you.¡± ¡°...Are you serious?¡± Rosalie looked at Erza with wide eyes, as well. ¡°That¡¯s¡­a lot of money.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Shame most of it¡¯ll be thrown to the government. Still, I wouldn¡¯t have taken you for one to complain about coin, Rosalie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not complaining,¡± she said. ¡°Just surprised you¡¯re so eager to give your money away.¡± He grinned. ¡°Well, if you¡¯d like to help out this struggling commoner, feel free to give away some of your own, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather just cut down whoever is responsible for these predatory tax laws.¡± ¡°Probably not a good idea to come into a new town and start threatening to kill government officials, yeah?¡± Zeth sat and listened to them, still in shock at the massive figure Erza had thrown out. He looked over at him. ¡°So? You ready to work with us?¡± ¡°...You¡¯re serious about the money?¡± Erza nodded. Zeth felt trapped. Erza was acting extremely suspicious¡ªespecially now that he¡¯d quoted this insane sum¡ªbut what would be even suspicious would be if Zeth refused. He¡¯d explicitly stated already that he was here to make some money after losing his old job, and they were clearly offering the best job available, with no reason to refuse. Meaning if Erza really was offering so much money because he was suspicious about Zeth, refusing the offer would only confirm those suspicions. And presumably, this entire situation was created on purpose by the man. Zeth was being tested. Accept, and be proven innocent, or refuse, and be proven guilty. Also¡­that was a of money. If Erza was genuinely going to pay him that much, how could he not at least consider the possibilities? Forget paying for those mercenaries his mom wanted to hire, Zeth could buy anything he wanted after a couple weeks. It dangerous to work so closely to these people, but really, it may have given some additional advantages to counteract the risk. In this one conversation, Erza had mentioned several of his own abilities that Zeth would need to look out for. And why would the man actively inform Zeth of his capabilities if he was just planning on killing him? Though, that wasn¡¯t to say there wasn¡¯t strange going on with Erza. He¡¯d been consistently dodging the question of why he cared so much about specifically convincing Zeth to work for him¡ªto the point that even Rosalie asked him what was up. It made Zeth extremely suspicious about the man¡¯s motives. But on the other hand, it also made Zeth suspect that even if he said no here and walked right out, he wouldn¡¯t be left alone. Perhaps it really was the wisest decision to simply say yes, lay low, and figure out what this guy¡¯s deal was. He took a breath. At the very least, this job made for a good excuse for why he might be missing at any given hour. And really, that was all he was looking for. ¡°Okay. Sure. I¡¯ll work with you.¡± Erza grinned. ¡°Fantastic. I look forward to getting to know you better, Zeth.¡± Chapter 34 Once they¡¯d gotten the matter of payment fully settled and some of the other logistical details figured out, Erza asked a question Zeth realized he wasn¡¯t quite ready to answer. ¡°So, what day will you be ready to work with us?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± he asked. ¡°I mean, for the first few days, I¡¯m just gonna be getting you used to the equipment and having you help me move some stuff around. So, ultimately, what day you start working is up to you.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Really, Zeth didn¡¯t have a day in mind at all. He hadn¡¯t even thought he was gonna take this job to begin with until a couple minutes ago. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I guess sometime in the next few days.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Erza looked down and stroked his chin. ¡°How about¡­¡± ¡°If I may,¡± Rosalie cut in, ¡°it¡¯d likely be best if you got him trained and ready sooner rather than later. We heard this place was going to be holding some sort of meeting in the town square for everyone to attend, remember? I think it was five days from now. If you¡¯re going to be taking on help, we¡¯d want him ready by then.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°What meeting? And why would you need me for it?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t heard?¡± she asked. ¡°It must not have been announced to the public yet. We just heard from our employer¡ªshe was told she wouldn¡¯t be able to set up shop that day because it would be taken up during the announcement. I¡¯m not entirely sure what it¡¯s going to be about, but apparently enough people are supposed to be there that they¡¯ll have to shut down the entire area to fit everyone..¡± ¡°So you just want me to help put everything away, or something?¡± ¡°No, no, we¡¯ll do that before the announcement starts. We need you for what¡¯s going to happen during it.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Erza groaned. ¡°Rosalie, we¡¯ve talked about this. It¡¯s not like anything¡¯s guaranteed to happen¡ªyou¡¯ve always been paranoid about these things.¡± ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°She¡¯s worried the Blood Mage will attack during the announcement.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the perfect time for him to strike,¡± she said. ¡°Everyone will be grouped together in the same spot. If he brings in a demon and lets it loose in the middle of the crowd¡ª¡± ¡°No one would be that bold. And what would the motivation behind such carnage even be?¡± She scoffed. ¡°Do you really have to ask such a thing? Scum like that would take any opportunity they could to create more corpses. Gain favor with the demons, empower their rituals¡­They have plenty of reasons to kill senselessly. They¡¯re worthless people who deserve nothing else but death.¡± Zeth found himself wondering, listening to her words. this He chuckled nervously. ¡°I¡¯d hope we aren¡¯t dealing with someone that evil. I mean, they had a demon in town during the jailbreak and didn¡¯t kill anyone, so maybe they¡¯re not so bad?¡± Rosalie glared at him. ¡°If you¡¯re too afraid to help, then don¡¯t get in our way.¡± ¡°I never said I was afraid to help,¡± he said. He certainly didn¡¯t plan on doing any of the stuff she was talking about, so there wouldn¡¯t be any issues being there to help keep everyone safe. And really, there was always the chance that she actually was right, just not about him. Maybe the other Blood Mage was planning on doing exactly what she said they were. It could be a good chance to corner them during a moment of exposure. ¡°I¡¯ll be there. If there¡¯s something I can do to catch this person, then I want to help.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Erza said. ¡°Then let¡¯s meet up a day beforehand so we can get you trained.¡± They spent a bit more time getting the exact time and meeting place figured out before Zeth headed off. He¡¯d meet with Erza one day before the town meeting and do whatever he¡¯d meant by ¡°training.¡± Over the course of the next few days, Zeth continued patiently building his underground base. For the most part, he was mainly waiting for his Skills to Rank up so he could get enough Skill Points to purchase Otherworldly Excellence, slowly practicing what he could, setting up defenses, and getting settled in his new routine. Now that he had an arrangement set up with Erza, Rosalia, and Alfon, he had a real excuse for why he was disappearing for long stretches of time¡ªeven if he hadn¡¯t actually started working with them, his mom and sister never spoke with them, so he could lie to his heart¡¯s content about going to help out with their duties. Which, he¡¯d also stretched the truth a bit regarding what he was actually doing for work. He didn¡¯t want anyone worrying about him, so as far as his family was concerned, he was simply a manual laborer, lugging around boxes. Not that Zeth knew exactly what Erza planned for him to be doing, anyway. Still¡ªhis mom had no idea these people had anything to do with the Blood Mage, and he wanted to keep it that way. In the time before the meeting, he managed to get the underground complex into a state he considered to be just about ¡®finished¡¯¡ªat least for now. The entrance was just about the same as how it¡¯d started¡ªa concealed trap door hiding a circular staircase that led a few dozen feet down into the earth, where a person would be forced to navigate some dark, thin tunnels where Zeth had hid a good number of Hellfire Circles all along the floor. From there, the complex opened up into a series of rooms and hallways, where he had several wide places he could work on rituals without being bothered, a jailhouse where he kept his prisoners, stores for food, water, and other materials, and even some bedding made of straw he could sleep on. The food and water was mainly there to keep the Wicked thralls alive with¡ªhe couldn¡¯t offer their lives to demons if they starved to death first¡ªbut he also kept extra materials stored in case he got stuck, too. In a situation where his identity got found out, this would be the safest place to retreat to, and he¡¯d want to be able to hide out underground for as long as possible before poking his head out for resources. In total, he estimated he could maybe hole up for a week or so with what he currently had down here; he¡¯d had his demons gather water from the nearby stream and boil it before storing it in some containers he brought to them, so that wouldn¡¯t be a problem. For now, his constraint would be acquiring a high volume of food that wouldn¡¯t spoil. Though, all of this was just a contingency¡ªhopefully it would never come to that. All-in-all, standing in the middle of the well-hidden, well-defended, multi-room, multi- living and working quarters that¡¯d been made in just a few days, he felt pretty fucking satisfied with himself. But that wasn¡¯t all he¡¯d accomplished in his days of downtime. With all the practice he¡¯d been getting in his Skills, this was what his Status looked like at this point: [CLASS Class Slot 1: Blood Magus - Level 6 Class Slot 2: (Locked) Skill Points: 11 STATS Strength: 3 Endurance: 24 Dexterity: 0 Awareness: 6 Poise: 12 Influence: 0 Shaping: 42 PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Demonic Covenant - Rank 4 Vile Focus - Rank 8 Hellfire Ritual - Rank 8 Empowerment Ritual - Rank 4 Ritual Circle Mastery - Rank 8 UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Incendiary Intensification - Cost: 13 Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Otherworldly Excellence - Cost: 17 Resonant Whispers - Cost: 9 Secure Rites - Cost: 12 Speedy Rites - Cost: 12 This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Compact Rites - Cost: 12 Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Unholy Strength - Cost: 18 PURCHASED UNIVERSAL SKILLS Self-Destruction - Rank 0 Exercise - Rank 10 Steady Hands - Rank 10 Butchering - Rank 10 Meditation - Rank 10 Prayer - Rank 10 Human - Rank 10 UNLOCKED UNIVERSAL SKILLS Sleep Deprivation - Cost: 10 Heat Resistance - Cost: 14 Binge Eating - Cost: 16 (30 more)] That new Exclusive Skill in his Status¡ªIncendiary Intensification¡ªhe¡¯d unlocked once he brought Hellfire Ritual up to Rank five. The requirement had apparently been Hellfire Ritual Rank five and Blood Magus Level five, and after looking over its effects, he definitely liked what he¡¯d seen. [Incendiary Intensification - Cost: 13 Skill Points If rituals are conducted near a large amount of fire, blood sacrifices provided to ritual circles are treated as though they were 50% stronger, plus an additional 5% for each Rank in this Skill.] At max Rank, it would effectively double the strength of all his blood sacrifices¡ªthat meant double the rituals. An absolutely massive upside, considering its relatively low cost. It did technically come with the requirement of needing Zeth to conduct his rituals near a ¡°large amount of fire,¡± but he assumed he¡¯d be able to get something like that set up just fine. For now, of course, he was focused on saving up for Otherworldly Excellence, but he imagined he¡¯d be getting this new one soon enough. On top of that, there were the Rank-ups. Most of his Skills had gone up in Rank at least once, and Hellfire Ritual had increased by a significant margin from all the drawing he did lining his base with traps. By his estimation, Demonic Covenant would be the next one due for a Rank-Up, likely the next time he performed the ritual. After that, he¡¯d have twelve Skill Points to his name¡ªjust five away from being able to afford Otherworldly Excellence. He¡¯d be glad to get that purchased and start raising his Stats again, even faster than he had been before. And with his new base of operations, it¡¯d be safer and more convenient than ever to do so. Currently, Zeth was sitting in said base, watching a summoned demon finish up the last of the rooms¡ªthis one was a storage room specifically dedicated toward keeping blood. The corpses of the prisoners killed by his previous summons had started to go bad pretty quickly, their rotting smell filling the entire complex, so he hurried to empty the bodies of their precious blood, putting it all in some airtight barrels the demons made. Though, he still did have some living prisoners with perfectly usable blood coursing through their veins. Plenty of them, in fact. Over the last few days, he¡¯d summoned an additional five demons to finish the base, counting the one in front of him. That brought his prisoner total from eight down to four, with the one for this demon having been set aside from the other three to be killed when this one left. There was a part of Zeth¡¯s brain, way in the back of his mind, that worried about how much he¡¯d gotten used to thinking of these people as mere resources to be expended in pursuit of more demons and better rituals, but he pushed those thoughts away. The people back in town, those were real human beings, with valuable lives that deserved protection. people were bandits, murderers, and probably even worse. And most importantly, they¡¯d killed his dad. He still hadn¡¯t found the one that¡¯d committed the real killing blow, but he¡¯d gotten admissions out of several that they remembered being there on that day. Apparently the memory of a far-gone Wicked thrall was borderline nonfunctional, so he¡¯d only really gotten anything of use from the ones with a lower Rank. Perhaps the one who¡¯d killed his father was already dead, their blood already filling one of those barrels. Perhaps they were one of the four still living, and would be killed soon. Either way, he was going to be sure to slaughter every last one of them, just to be certain he¡¯d gotten them. ¡°So,¡± Zeth called to the demon in front of him as he dug large swaths of earth from the wall of the room to be hauled out of the base later, ¡°do you mind describing the area around where you live?¡± The demon grunted. ¡°Why do you want to know, slug?¡± He¡¯d had this conversation plenty of times at this point, so he knew what to expect from the ones who needed further explanation. Apparently, most Blood Mages didn¡¯t ever bother to ask what the Thirteenth Realm was like. Zeth assumed it was because their version of the Demonic Covenant Skill didn¡¯t allow them to choose a location, like Zeth¡¯s did, so they didn¡¯t see any reason to do so. Perhaps at the beginning of his time summoning demons, Zeth would have agreed with that assessment; the demons were rude, obnoxious, and generally unpleasant to share any number of words with, so he certainly wouldn¡¯t have voluntarily entered into a conversation with one when he wouldn¡¯t gain anything from it. But after spending so long talking with them, he found that it was actually fairly interesting to learn more about their world and culture. ¡°I¡¯m trying to create a map of the Thirteenth Realm,¡± Zeth responded to the demon¡¯s question, ¡°and don¡¯t have many details around the area you¡¯re from.¡± The demon chuckled and shook his head. ¡°A map of a place you would die if you ever entered? Typical human nonsense. Okay, slug, what do you already know?¡± Zeth thought back to the information he¡¯d gathered from the previous demons. ¡°The place you¡¯re from should be contained within an empire called the River Powers. I think you¡¯d be in a small village called Onthirfi Fise, which would have some big valley to the East, and a forest of something called ¡®void trees¡¯ to the North. Down to the South would be the ¡®River of Fire,¡¯ which, if I understand correctly, is some big river that has the only water in the entirety of Hell, so every demon settlement needs access to it or else it can¡¯t survive. I know more about some other settlements to the West, but not much about anything further East, so¡­¡± Zeth trailed off as the demon burst out laughing at his words. ¡°...What is it?¡± he asked. The demon groaned, his laughs dying down into a low chuckle. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m simply amused by your stupid, meager, oh-so-very understanding of how our realm works. Go on, go on.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°Was one of the place names wrong? I¡¯m working off of geography knowledge provided to me by other random summons, so some may not be very accurate.¡± ¡°No, none of the information you received from my demon brethren was wrong. It is simply clear that you have been making assumptions about our world based on what you know of your own. It would almost be cute, if it wasn¡¯t so pathetic.¡± ¡°Just tell me what I got wrong,¡± Zeth said, rolling his eyes. ¡°It seems that you heard the name ¡®void tree¡¯ and assumed that the specimen you heard about was similar to the trees found in this realm. They are not. Void trees are not plants, they are animals. Therefore, it is not a ¡®forest¡¯ of void trees, it¡¯s a . However stationary they may be, they certainly do not feed off the energy from our sun. And, more egregiously, the River of Fire does not contain you moronic little thing. Use your mind and look at the name.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°It¡¯s called a river, though. You¡¯re saying it¡¯s just some big long valley that¡¯s on fire, or something?¡± He gave Zeth an exasperated look. ¡°No, it is not ¡®on fire.¡¯ As you said, it is a river. Therefore, fire flows through it.¡± ¡°So¡­Lava?¡± ¡°No. Fire.¡± ¡°But fire isn¡¯t a liquid.¡± ¡°Then what is it? Solid?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But it certainly doesn¡¯t behave like water does.¡± ¡°Most fire doesn¡¯t. Some fire does. Like the fire in the River of Fire.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The ignorance of you slugs truly knows no bounds, does it?¡± ¡°Wait, hold on. So you¡¯re telling me that when the other demons I was talking to were speaking about from the River of Fire, they were¡­?¡± ¡°We drink fire, yes.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that hurt?¡± ¡°Certainly. Most infants resist at first, their parents forced to shove a bowl of fire into their mouths during their first few drinks. But, as our species is not exclusively made up of pathetic, worthless cowards who know no hardship, we simply get used to it. Unlike your pampered people.¡± ¡°...Huh. Well, uh, anyway, I didn¡¯t get anything else wrong, did I?¡± Something Zeth had noticed in his hours of speaking to demons was how it seemed to get a little under their skin whenever he just ignored their insults and moved on in conversation. And judging by the microscopic little twitch in this one¡¯s eye, he felt it was working on him, too. ¡°No. Nothing else that would be considered basic fact, at least. You wrong about where I come from, however. I¡¯m not from that settlement you mentioned¡ªOnthirfi Fise. I was located a couple miles further East when I was notified of your summon request.¡± ¡°Oh? The summon location must¡¯ve been off by a little bit.¡± That happened occasionally, normally when he had one or two details wrong about his target and so he couldn¡¯t imagine it correctly. ¡°What settlement were you in, then?¡± ¡°I was in no settlement when you called me,¡± the demon said. ¡°I was on a battlefield. I am a soldier.¡± Zeth¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A soldier? Really? Wait, were you in the middle of a battle?¡± His face crumpled with disgust. ¡°Absolutely not. I would never abandon my post. Such a crime is punishable by death. We are currently in a standoff, and when I was notified of your summon, I received permission from a superior before answering.¡± ¡°But what if the enemy attacks while you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°It seems they felt the risk of one soldier being away during a battle was worth the potential of me coming back stronger than before. And more informed; I don¡¯t believe our strategists knew of the void trees to the North¡ªthat¡¯s valuable information.¡± ¡°So who are you fighting, then?¡± ¡°Some insignificant little kingdom that¡¯s decided to rebel against us. The River Powers have a right to the land they claim to own.¡± ¡°Oh. When¡¯s the battle going to be?¡± It scoffed. ¡°Only a slug as stupid as you would ask me to predict the future to tell when a battle will occur.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know anything? You said it was possible the enemy could attack, so apparently you think it could happen in the next few hours, right?¡± His nose twitched. ¡°I suppose I could give a rough estimate. Our forces will likely be finished crushing them within the next day or so, most likely. Perhaps slightly longer. Why are you even asking such a question?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about whether I want to summon another demon in the same place after your battle¡¯s over so I can hear about the result,¡± Zeth said. He gave Zeth a strange look. ¡°Your obsession with our realm is one I have not seen before.¡± ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯m just better than your previous summoners,¡± Zeth said, standing up. ¡°At least, hopefully I am. Anyway, I¡¯ll be going soon. I have an errand to run.¡± ¡°You will be leaving me here alone?¡± ¡°For a few hours.¡± ¡°Give me more freedom of movement, then. In case something happens that needs my attention.¡± Zeth frowned. Generally speaking, it was best to keep demons restricted to a small set of actions. They were always plotting to claim an extra kill. ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°Then, do you wish for my assistance during your errand?¡± ¡°Again, no¡ª¡± He stopped himself. Today was supposed to be his meeting with Erza¡ªa meeting which put his heart on-edge. He still wasn¡¯t totally sure what that man knew about and what he may have suspected about Zeth. He certainly didn¡¯t know why the man had been willing to pay so much in order to hire him in particular. So, perhaps it may be a good idea to bring along some protection. ¡°Actually, I may just take you up on that offer,¡± he said. Chapter 35 The question of whether or not Zeth should bring a Hellfire Ritual circle along with him when he went to meet with Erza had been the subject of endless back-and-forth thought. On one hand, he still wasn¡¯t sure whether or not the man suspected him of being a Blood Mage, and in the case he did know, Zeth would definitely want some sort of protection to fight back against a potential trap. But on the other hand, if Erza know, bringing a ritual circle along with him was one surefire way to get found out. Ultimately, with what he¡¯d seen that guard woman do to detect his mana residue in the shed, he decided carrying a piece of potent magic around a powerful mage was likely more risk than it was worth. However, just because Erza might notice if he had a Hellfire Ritual when they met didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t use one to protect himself. As he walked into town from his base in the woods, he carried in his pocket a scrap of cloth with a Hellfire Ritual painted onto it. Just having it on his person as he navigated the streets filled him with anxiety. Every time he saw a guard glance over at him, every time a passerby brushed against his shoulder, a shudder ran down his spine. But with the now dozens of hours he¡¯d spent around the terror-inducing demons, he¡¯d learned well how to control his facial expressions when confronting intense fear. As he walked to the tavern he¡¯d agreed to meet them at, he glanced around, looking for a place to stow it where nobody would go looking. He spotted a barrel that looked like it¡¯d gone at least a few weeks without being touched sitting in front of a small shop right by the tavern. Perfect. He walked up to it, pretending to simply be catching a break in the shade the building created as he leaned against the barrel and slid the cloth in a crack between two of its boards, on the side facing away from the street. Hopefully, the inconspicuous little square would draw no attention from the people passing by, hidden from most peoples¡¯ sight, while he¡¯d still be able to return here to retrieve it in case of a crisis. Aside from that, his other piece of safety preparation had already been completed and was currently on standby¡ªoff somewhere in the woods, he¡¯d asked the demon to hang out nearby. He¡¯d set the demon up with some strict standing orders while in the woods to avoid a crisis. Primarily, the demon was explicitly not allowed to attack or kill anything under any circumstances, and in the case he was spotted, he was simply to dismiss himself immediately. The demon was far away from town, too¡ªjust barely in earshot. They apparently had good enough senses that if Zeth screamed, even as far away from each other as they were, the demon would be able to hear. And, considering how fast they could run, help would be here in no time. Not that doing such a thing would be very subtle; if he shouted for help and a demon showed up, he¡¯d be announcing to everyone around that he owned an illegal Class, and every guard in town would be on their way to execute him. It was a last resort measure for sure. But having he could do in the worst-case scenario was far better than simply resigning himself to die. Though, his final preparations would hopefully help with that issue. Walking through the streets, Zeth had on a simple, loose-fitting tunic and some cheap patchwork pants¡ªwhat he usually wore. But underneath, he had on an outfit he¡¯d spent the last few days preparing. A tight-fitting black cloth outfit hugged his body under his typical clothes. Apparently, even though Zeth had never developed a skill for stitchwork, demons were forced to frequently repair rips in their clothes caused from monster attacks, and had to work with much, much tougher materials than the simple cottons and wools of the First Realm. So, when he asked one to help make some clothes, they were more than capable. And not only did Zeth have a bodysuit that he could comfortably wear under his clothes, but he also had a hood and facemask that could fit in his pocket, which he was carrying with him as well. All of this meant that, at a moment¡¯s notice, Zeth could find a secluded area, strip off his normal clothes, throw on the mask to hide his face, and emerge looking completely different from before, identity now protected while he conducted illegal actions. Perhaps all of this was overkill. Perhaps Erza had completely innocent intentions. But Zeth wasn¡¯t about to take a risk like this without at least rigging the odds as much in his favor as was possible. If this was some sort of ambush, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill the man. With those preparations ready, he entered the tavern. Erza was sitting at a table, the other members of the group¡ªRosalie and Alfon¡ªnowhere to be seen. Part of Zeth worried about them being hidden somewhere, ready to strike, but he supposed those two weren¡¯t the ones hiring him, so maybe they just didn¡¯t consider this to be their business. Upon seeing him, Ezra raised his hand and waved Zeth over. ¡°Alright,¡± he said, ¡°you ready to learn some magic?¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°I thought I was just helping you move stuff.¡± ¡°I may have stretched the truth a little. C¡¯mon, follow me. It¡¯s stored out back.¡± He stood and started heading out of the tavern, and Zeth walked after him. ¡°Hey, listen, I didn¡¯t sign up to do anything weird, alright?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be okay. I told you before, I wanted you to carry around some magic items, right? Just wanna make sure you know enough to carry them safely. So I¡¯ll be teaching you a little. If anything, that¡¯s an upside¡ªfree education.¡± Ezra led Zeth around to the back of the tavern, where a small building was set up with several doors lining it, each labeled with a different room number.¡± ¡°Is this where you¡¯re staying?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°Hm? No, no, the inn I¡¯m staying at is nearby. This is just some extra storage space I rented.¡± ¡°Storage space? What for?¡± Ezra walked up to one of the doors, inserted a key, and swung it open. An enchanting glow cast out from inside, shining across Zeth¡¯s face. ¡°¡­Oh,¡± he said. Inside, the room was filled to the brim with magical items. Weapons, armor, and clothing, all decorated with expensive-looking whites and golds, colorful gems encrusted into their surfaces, and strange runes carved into their surfaces. Dozens upon dozens of ancient-looking books, each with an unknown language scrawled across the cover. Tucked into every corner of the room was some little trinket or bauble, each with its own distinct look and, likely, function. And, of course, they were all glowing. Every single object gave off its own light, each one a slightly different shade and brightness. The same kind of strange glow Zeth saw come off of the equipment Erza carried with him. Only, considering the sheer number of items in the shed, it was dozens of times brighter than the dim, barely-noticeable glow coming from his gear. Was this some magical property of theirs? ¡°What is all this?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°These are the items I can¡¯t fit on my person,¡± Erza said. He glanced at Zeth. ¡°If the light¡¯s too much, I can throw a blanket over the brighter ones.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hm? No, no, it¡¯s alright. Why are they glowing like that, anyway?¡± He nodded, eyes squinting slightly. As always, he wore an inscrutable expression on his face that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking. ¡°Magic items glow according to the mana put into them. The more mana, the more intense the light. You just probably haven¡¯t seen it before because it¡¯s pretty easy to suppress the glow¡ªmost people do that with their gear. But I¡¯ve got enough that doing so would be quite the hassle. Which is actually why I wanted your help. See, there are a couple items that I want to bring into my arsenal, but I don¡¯t feel like going through the whole process on my own with each and every one of them. So that¡¯s your job.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be¡­getting rid of the light? How?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something you have to do on a consistent basis, but with most of my gear it¡¯s pretty easy since I keep up with it. The first time you do it is always the hardest. Here, let me give you an item and I¡¯ll help you figure it out.¡± He walked over and grabbed a small ball made of winding metal bars, turning it over in his hand. Its glow was one of the brighter ones. ¡°Try this one,¡± he said, holding it out for Zeth to take. Zeth didn¡¯t touch it yet. ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°Oh, this is a bomb.¡± He backed away. Erza chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it''s not armed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna take a bomb and start messing around with it. Sounds like a really good way to blow myself up.¡± ¡°It also isn¡¯t kind of bomb. It¡¯s a mana bomb. When activated, it¡¯ll shove all the mana inside out into the world nearby, and since it has quite a lot of mana stored inside, the amount that washes over the surrounding area is enough to disrupt most magic constructs it touches¡ªif for a little while.¡± ¡°Which means¡­?¡± ¡°Basically, it deactivates anything magical for a time. The more powerful and sturdily-made the magic construct, the less like this is gonna be to turn it off, and for less time. But generally speaking, if someone hasn¡¯t intentionally built their construct to be immune to mana bombs, it¡¯ll work just fine.¡± ¡°...I see,¡± Zeth said. ¡°So, would it work against the Blood Mage¡¯s ritual circles?¡± ¡°Precisely. Glad you catch on so fast. This is one of the best ways to get through a Blood Mage¡¯s lair unharmed¡ªif you see a circle, just throw this ahead and it¡¯ll shut the thing off for some time. And that¡¯s why I need to get it ready. They¡¯re normally too unwieldy and situational to carry around all the time, but if we know our enemy¡¯s a Blood Mage, having a way to disable their main method of attack would be extremely helpful.¡± ¡°It certainly would,¡± he replied, taking mental note of how the device worked. He was very glad to know about that¡ªif there was a bomb that could turn off his ritual circles, he¡¯d need to shift around the design of his base to accommodate that. Don¡¯t cluster circles together so a single bomb could take out multiple, for one. Plus, if he had a circle on his person, a single one of those being thrown at could disable his own weapon in the middle of a fight. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s totally safe. Even if it were to go off right now, you¡¯d be fine. Unless you have some sort of magic effect keeping you alive.¡± ¡°Uh, no, nothing like that.¡± ¡°Great! Then go ahead and take this and I¡¯ll guide you through the process.¡± Zeth still hesitated. ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not lying?¡± Ezra stared at him. ¡°What reason would I have for blowing up a random citizen of a town I¡¯m staying in?¡± He bit his lip. Maybe he was being overly cautious. If Erza wanted Zeth dead, he¡¯d have plenty more methods of killing him than trying to convince him to blow himself up. ¡°Fine, sure. Just a little uneasy around this stuff. The most complex magic item I¡¯ve ever used were the lamps the guild uses.¡± As Zeth reached out and took the sphere, he felt an energy inside his body instantly connect through his fingertips with the object. And instantly, information came pouring into his mind. Erza hadn¡¯t been lying¡ªthis thing was a mana bomb, used to disrupt magical constructs, and it wasn¡¯t armed. Zeth had no idea how he knew these things, he just them. Like the sphere was sharing the information with him directly. ¡°Feel it talking to you?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, sorta. Like¡­instructions?¡± He nodded. ¡°Yeah, that happens because¡­Well, anyway, let¡¯s just focus on getting you to be able to suppress that light. Generally, it¡¯s not a good idea to walk around with all of the gear you¡¯re holding screaming out how expensive and powerful it is. So, first, you just need to close your eyes and feel around for a bit. Explore it.¡± ¡°...Are you sure I won¡¯t accidentally cause it to go off?¡± ¡°No, that shouldn¡¯t happen if you don¡¯t mean it to. Anyone can do this sort of thing.¡± Zeth hesitantly did what Erza said, trying his best to focus on the object and figure out what he was supposed to notice. Inwardly, he sighed. Just doing some normal physical labor would¡¯ve been so much easier than this. Eventually, he found what he assumed Erza was talking about. There was a sort of energy field around the object that he could somehow sense. And when he pushed his perception to examine it more closely, it was like there were holes in the field of energy. Most were miniscule, but some were larger, tearing through a whole fifth of the field¡¯s area. And coming through those holes was a different type of energy¡ªa more wild, unrestrained type¡ªthat leaked into the surrounding world. That must¡¯ve been the light. ¡°Okay, I think I see what you were talking about,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s like a bunch of gaps in some sort of covering. How do I close them?¡± For a moment, Erza didn¡¯t speak. But eventually he said, ¡°Is it not intuitive?¡± ¡°Hm? No. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve emphasized this enough, but I really have no idea what I¡¯m doing here.¡± ¡°Just¡­Hm, how do I describe this? Use your mind to stretch the fabric across the holes, but be careful not to make new ones.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± Zeth started focusing on one of the hundreds of tiny holes, trying to see if he could manipulate the field. For a few moments, he had no luck, simply staring at the thing with his mind¡¯s eye attempting to will it into moving, but eventually, as he mentally pushed in every way he knew how, one of the random movements he made caused it to shift slightly. Slowly, bit by bit, he managed to stretch and pull the covering to close up the hole, and the flow-y energy stopped shining through it. After that, he moved to another nearby smaller hole. But this time, the moment he touched it, the original hole he¡¯d closed tore right back open. He frowned. This would probably take a while. Covering every single hole in the field took quite a while, but Zeth at least managed to get it done over the course of the next few hours. He got the hang of the small ones pretty quickly, but the massive gaps took forever before he could get even one closed without ripping another massive hole in the covering. When he¡¯d realized it would take that long, he moved to sit in the shed, eyes closed while Erza sat next to him, working on another mana bomb of his own. By the time he finished, of course, Erza had finished around two other items on top of the bomb, but Zeth supposed Erza felt that a little help was better than none, when it came to work as time-consuming as this. Zeth took a breath, finally opening his eyes and stretching his arms after being stuck in the same hunched-over position for so long. ¡°So, are we doing another?¡± Erza looked at him. ¡°Another? You¡¯re not tired yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to twelve-hour days in the mines. This is nothing.¡± He stood up, glancing around. ¡°No, no, I think we¡¯ll be done for now. I¡¯ve seen enough.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°Enough of what?¡± ¡°Evidence.¡± Zeth¡¯s blood turned to ice. ¡°¡­Evidence?¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Well, you see, I have something to confess. I¡¯ve been lying to you.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Most of it was the truth. I really am just a mage from out of town, here to guard a merchant. But I lied about what are. I¡¯m not sure you know, but the Shaping Stat affects quite a lot. System-granted Skill, the finesse with which you can control mana, and much more. It affects so much, an unpracticed user may not realize how much their perception of the world has shifted.¡± Zeth took a step back, preparing for the worst. ¡°The only people who can see the glow of magic items are mages. And you¡¯ve more than demonstrated that you could see it. In addition to that, it¡¯s completely impossible for someone who isn¡¯t practiced with magic to be capable of repairing their mana fields so that they shine no longer.¡± He stared at Zeth. ¡°So, I hope it¡¯s not offensive when I tell you, I don¡¯t quite believe you when you say you don¡¯t have a Class. And considering you¡¯ve been lying to me about it, I think I know which one you have.¡± Chapter 36 Zeth stood in the middle of the storage shed, facing Erza, who stood between him and the exit. Part of him just wanted to sprint out of there and never look back. But there was no way that would work. Erza knew his face and name¡ªif he spread word about him, Zeth would never know another peaceful day of his life. And, more importantly, it¡¯d become basically impossible to get the drop on Garon or to kill the Blood Mage. Plus, he had no idea how feasible doing such a thing would be. He was only now realizing just how much Erza had obfuscated his power. Sure, Zeth was able to glean some knowledge about a few of his capabilities, but he didn¡¯t know the man¡¯s actual Skills, what Level he was¡ªhells, Zeth didn¡¯t even know his Class. He was a complete enigma. If Zeth tried to run, there was a chance he¡¯d be instantly killed. Other than fleeing, he had two options for defense. He could somehow lead Erza back to where he¡¯d stowed the Hellfire Circle and use it on him, then run before anyone saw it was he who did it, or he could shout and call for his demon hiding in the woods. Both involved killing Erza and running a huge risk that he¡¯d be caught and exposed. And Zeth wasn¡¯t ready to do either of those things just yet. ¡°You have some sort of magic-based Class,¡± Erza said. ¡°That much is clear from everything you¡¯ve demonstrated yourself capable of.¡± Maybe Zeth could just charge at him? Erza wasn¡¯t too muscular¡ªat least, not compared to the workman¡¯s physique Zeth had built up from years in the mines¡ªand likely wouldn¡¯t have too many Stats in his physical attributes to back him up in a fistfight. Zeth might be able to catch him off-guard if he rushed him. And even if Erza did gain the upper-hand, Zeth could always go to his last resort of just calling the demon to come and slaughter him. He frowned. No, Erza was clearly too relaxed up-close. Even if he didn¡¯t have high Strength or a powerful physique, the number of magic items that surrounded them would definitely include at least one object that would allow Erza to fight Zeth off. A Stat-boosting piece of clothing, or a hidden weapon, or maybe just a real bomb. Perhaps it really would be best for Zeth to call the demon right now and kill Erza before anything bad could happen. Even if the man was far more powerful than he anticipated, he was confident nobody could get in a fight with a demon and not at least be kept busy for a while, which would give Zeth time to run. ¡°I would certainly like to know why you would hide such a thing. Did you conceal your Class out of an abundance of caution around strangers? Because your family wouldn¡¯t approve? Or because¡­¡± Erza looked at Zeth, ¡°you¡¯re the Blood Mage?¡± Okay, it was officially an emergency. Scorched earth time. Zeth braced himself to shout for help and watch the demon tear him to shreds. But then he hesitated. Why hadn¡¯t Erza just attacked the moment he figured it out? Why¡¯d he bother to explain everything? ¡°¡­Why are you telling me all of this?¡± he asked. ¡°Isn''t it obvious? I¡¯m a businessman. I want to make a deal with you.¡± ¡°I thought you wanted to kill the Blood Mage. Who you apparently think I am.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason I can¡¯t arrange a mutually beneficial relationship between the two of us. You don¡¯t get killed, I get to claim a bit of that mana of yours. I don¡¯t tell Rosalie about your secret, and you don¡¯t ask for any sort of payment for your services.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re blackmailing me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say anything so extreme. Plenty of good can come from a deal that was originally made in a¡­coercive environment.¡± Zeth sighed. It was almost not even worth calling his demon to come kill Erza. He wouldn¡¯t have time to get into his identity-concealing outfit, which meant calling the demon with people around would result in them seeing an otherworldly beast crashing through buildings to serve at his beck and call. It would definitely expose him¡ªexactly what Erza was threatening to do. At least if he took the man¡¯s ¡®business deal¡¯ now, he¡¯d be able to control his identity was exposed. It seemed like going along with the blackmail was the technically correct play. ¡­But then again, Zeth didn¡¯t want to give this asshole what he wanted. ¡°I have to admit,¡± Zeth said, ¡°considering who you believe me to be, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re talking to me the way you are right now.¡± ¡°Oh? And why is that?¡± ¡°Well, I won¡¯t claim to be an expert on these things, but from what I¡¯ve heard, Blood Mages are quite the dangerous foe. All the rituals they can perform¡ªflame traps, demon summonings¡­It seems that talking like you are could end up making you a very powerful enemy.¡± Erza chuckled. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to threaten me. Magic is my area of expertise; I know plenty about Blood Mages. Demons are obnoxious, difficult to summon, difficult to creatures that are only ever used as a last resort. The idea of someone using one for something so mundane as assassinating a single man with a little bit of dirt on you is ridiculous.¡± Zeth thought about the many demons he¡¯d summoned to construct his underground base, and the way they¡¯d been so surprised when he told them what they¡¯d be doing. If what Erza said was true about how people normally used demonic labor, maybe their reactions were more reasonable than he thought. But why would someone see such an awesome source of power and choose not to use it at every opportunity? What, just because it was a little dangerous? Seemed like a waste. ¡°And those flame traps,¡± Erza continued, ¡°are a joke. Sure, you can catch an unsuspecting victim off-guard and set them alight, but what if they can resist fire? What if they¡¯re near a source of water they can use to extinguish themself? What if they simply have the mental wherewithal to spot the ritual circle on the ground in the first place? An ¡®attack¡¯ that requires your opponent to step in the exact right place after you had to spend hours preparing it isn¡¯t an attack at all. It¡¯s a glorified tripwire. A child could set one up¡ªand make one that¡¯s more deadly than your pathetic magic.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so certain,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I heard the Blood Mage managed to kill a fleshtaker with a single ritual circle.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Erza blinked, clearly caught off-guard. ¡°What? A fleshtaker? How¡­No, you¡¯re lying. A blatant bluff to scare me off.¡± ¡°Ask anyone, and they¡¯ll tell you about it. Countless eye witnesses. The monster was attacking a hooded figure, and then suddenly it burst out into flames covering its body. Only took a few seconds before it keeled over.¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, no, you¡¯re describing a Fire Ritual right now. A monster as powerful as a fleshtaker would have enough natural Endurance to easily resist a low-Level Skill like that. You clearly know nothing about how Blood Mages operate if you¡¯re trying to make a claim as ridiculous as that.¡± ¡°Oh? Well, if I know so little about Blood Mages, then maybe I¡¯m not one.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be able to convince me you¡¯re just some random miner boy that easily. I¡¯ve seen your capabilities. I know you¡¯re a practiced mage. Perhaps not an one, but a practiced one. Clearly, you were not given proper tutoring. That is extremely common with those who take illegal Classes. You¡¯re just some power junkie, lusting after every bit of strength that could give you the ability to exert your will upon the world. You took the first thing that presented itself to you, and now you¡¯re facing the consequences for it. I have no sympathy for you. I took a proper, intelligent route to power. I went to three separate colleges and studied for twelve years before I even calling myself a mage. And then people like you come along, no discipline, no direction, no reason to do what you do, and tarnish our good reputation. It¡¯s a joke. are a joke. There is no possibility in my mind that you could be anything but a stupid, unguided holder of an illegal Class.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°You have all this to say, all this certainty in your voice, because¡­What? You saw me touch a magic item? You have no evidence that I¡¯ve done anything but hide the fact that I¡¯ve got some sense for mana. What if I just raised my Shaping a bit, huh?¡± He scoffed. ¡°A stupid peasant boy such as yourself wouldn¡¯t be able to do what you¡¯ve done purely by using their raw Stats. It takes an education to learn these things. And, while the gaps in your knowledge clearly show you haven¡¯t received a one, you certainly could have been provided with some knowledge from your bandit friends, or your little cabal of mages, or whoever it is you work for. There¡¯s no other explanation for how you could be able to patch up the holes in those mana fields so quickly.¡± Zeth stared at Erza. At first, he¡¯d assumed he was arguing with a genuine intellectual force. But at this point, the man was spouting out blatant falsehoods. He¡¯d correctly come to the conclusion that Zeth was who they were hunting, but he¡¯d done so through completely incorrect assumptions. This whole ¡®you could never do that without being told how¡¯ thing was objectively false. Zeth been taught how to do anything. He¡¯d just practiced his Skills, and evidently, gotten good enough at drawing ritual circles and manipulating mana that he was able to figure out the mana fields relatively quickly. It was almost frustrating being caught by an idiot who was completely wrong about this stuff than being caught by someone who had genuinely found him out. He didn¡¯t even know how to respond. ¡°Listen. I¡¯m telling you the truth¡ªI¡¯m no Blood Mage. I don¡¯t have any ties to bandits or cabals. I don¡¯t know what you think you¡¯re doing blackmailing some random¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even try to lie to me,¡± Erza said. ¡°If you can¡¯t come up with an actually explanation for what I¡¯ve seen, then be prepared to¡ª¡± He was cut off by a crash from outside. Zeth tensed. Was it backup? Had he called Rosalie and Alfon through some silent means? But Erza seemed confused, too, giving Zeth a suspicious look. And then a second crash echoed out. Erza whipped around, peering out to try and find the source of the noise. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°...I have no idea. You should probably go check it out.¡± Erza chuckled nervously. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere you tell me to go, mage.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you, I¡¯m not a mage.¡± ¡°Then how did you¡ª¡± A third crash echoed out, this time much louder. Zeth sighed. . He stepped forward. ¡°Stop me if you want to stop me.¡± After striding past Erza, who leaned back, apparently too cautious to even risk coming into physical contact with a potential Blood Mage, Zeth opened the door to the shed. It was completely empty outside, nobody around to be seen. Certainly nothing that could cause such a noise. It¡¯d sounded almost like an entire building falling to the ground. Or, no, maybe not a building. More like¡­ Another crash. This time, Zeth spotted the cause. An entire tree tipped over above the tops of the others, slowly tilting to the ground as the sound of a log being torn in two echoed across the townscape. ¡°What the¡­?¡± he muttered, gazing at the forestline. ¡°Is this your doing?¡± Erza demanded, peering out from inside the shed. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s going on. Did some lumberjack start cutting down trees where they¡¯re not supposed to, or something? Or, no, that didn¡¯t sound like an axe. It almost sounded like someone just the tree over.¡± ¡°But what around here could¡­?¡± Just then came another crash, this one closest out of all of them. And this time, Zeth could see the base of the tree that fell. And he could see what had knocked it over. A gigantic beast, standing at least three times as tall as Zeth, came charging out of the treeline. It had wooly, matted fur that hung down from its body, swaying back and forth with every step and covering even its own eyes. Horns as thick as Zeth¡¯s torso protruded from its head, curling out to either side, and tusks protruding straight out from its mouth. Every step it took shook the ground and pushed yet more trees aside to make room for its massive body. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As it came into view, charging at the town, panicked gasps and shouts started erupting out from the streets. ¡°What even is that?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°I-Is that a mannitor?¡± Erza gasped. ¡°It¡¯s from the Beast Realm¡ªdon¡¯t tell me you have a portal leaking into your forests.¡± ¡°A while back there was a leak, yeah,¡± Zeth said. ¡°And the monsters weren¡¯t cleared out already?!¡± ¡°Are you insane? We don¡¯t have the manpower to clear out a whole forest of Second Realm monsters. All the aggressive ones took care of themselves, anyway. At least, that was what we thought.¡± ¡°Mannitors are supposed to be peaceful. They don¡¯t even eat meat. I have no idea what could¡¯ve scared one into stampeding like this.¡± He groaned in frustration. ¡°Poor towns like these constantly find ways to piss me off.¡± ¡°Will this thing be a problem?¡± ¡°Perhaps. It¡¯ll certainly be too tough for your town guard. Now might be a good time to show off your Blood Mage powers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not a Blood Mage.¡± ¡°Fine. Then I¡¯ll handle it. You can just¡ª¡± He was interrupted when another crash sounded out. Then another, and another, until an entire cacophony of chaos echoed through the town. The earth quaked beneath their feet. Zeth¡¯s head shot back to look at the still-approaching mannitor, only to find that there wasn¡¯t just one. Behind it came an entire herd of building-sized creatures. A pack of the monsters, at least a full dozen in number, all charging straight at them. Erza stared at the approaching mob. ¡°...I won¡¯t be able to handle .¡± Chapter 37 As he watched the herd of mannitors stampeding at them, the mixture of the beasts¡¯ stomps and people¡¯s screams ringing in his ears, Zeth shouted back at Erza, ¡°Got any magic items that can handle this many of them?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know, Blood Mage?¡± he replied as he glanced back and dug through his pile of equipment. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and draw out a ritual circle to deal with the things?¡± Zeth groaned. The monsters were drawing close, and he had no idea why they were even attacking. If Erza was to be believed, they were apparently docile creatures¡ªcertainly not the type that would come crashing into a populated town and start stomping people to death. But then, perhaps believing Erza¡¯s words wasn¡¯t a particularly good idea to begin with. Whatever was going on, he knew he wanted to avoid causing a disaster. Not only was needless carnage something he¡¯d want to avoid to begin with, but if things got bad enough, the Blood Mage would be able to leverage the disaster to their advantage¡ªall those bodies, all that blood, they¡¯d be able to use it all for their own purposes and cause even more death and destruction. But Zeth wouldn¡¯t be able to solve anything as he was. He needed to get away from here. While Erza was still digging through the shed in search of whatever item he was looking for, Zeth used the most natural excuse he had. ¡°Yeah, this isn¡¯t my fight. I¡¯m out of here.¡± And with that, he turned tail and ran. Erza shouted something after him, calling him a coward and telling him to fight like a proper mage, but Zeth ignored his words. He fled down a road, away from people¡¯s sight, and then straight into the woods opposite the direction the mannitors came from. It¡¯d take too long to go all the way to his base and back, so he stopped once the wall of foliage was thick enough to block the sight of anyone watching. There, he threw off his overclothes and donned his mask. The tight undershirt and pants were made of simple black wool, covering the majority of his body, and the mask consisted of a hood to cover most of his head, and then a lower face covering to conceal everything but his eyes. In addition to the clothes, he had also been wearing one more thing underneath his baggy overclothes: a small belt, fashioned out of one he¡¯d already owned, modified to have some simple loops running around it. And within those loops were simple leather containers, like miniature waterskins. Each of them held a small amount of blood¡ªalready measured out beforehand to be the exact amount needed to activate a Hellfire Ritual. Only a couple were filled up, though, since he only had the one with him to activate. The moment Zeth finished changing into his gear, he ran over to another section of woods to ensure he wouldn¡¯t be seen going in and out from the same spot, then emerged, setting his sight on the part of town the mannitors had charged into. And when he did, he saw carnage. The mannitors apparently seemed to consider the largest things around to be the most threatening, so they¡¯d taken to destroying buildings first, ignoring the people who were running away from them. Already, there were several shops and structures that¡¯d been fully reduced to rubble, the mannitors slamming their tusks into the walls and stomping on the shards. What were they even doing? Surely this wasn¡¯t natural behavior. Zeth put the question aside for now. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like the battle was completely one-sided. Out of the dozen or so that had started charging at the town, Zeth saw three or four corpses lying in the streets. One was impaled by a shimmering spear that seemed like it was made of pure mana, another had all of its legs chopped clean off, bleeding to death in a pool of its own blood in the town square, and another¡¯s entire head had been caved in by some blunt object. And it looked like there was at least one or two more off in the distance that¡¯d been killed somehow. Even if they were large, they were at least mortal. But the majority of them were still alive, and still causing chaos. So, Zeth made a beeline for the building he¡¯d stored his Hellfire Ritual in the barrel by. The absolute first thing he needed was a way to protect himself. Not only were there monsters rampaging around, but people would also recognize the Blood Mage, and likely wouldn¡¯t respond kindly to the sight of him. As he ran to the building, he watched as a mannitor, still running almost aimlessly around as if in a panic, randomly changed course and began heading straight at the still-standing structure. With its massive stature and long legs, it quickly reached the building, kicking its massive hooves right into its walls. The brick shattered, crumbling down with the rest of the roof and the other walls quickly following. The beast stayed there, rearing up on its back feet and then slamming back down, breaking the larger chunks of wall and ceiling into shards. Seemed like it¡¯d be a lot harder for Zeth to find that scrap of cloth now. Maybe he could just wait for the monster to wander off before he went scrounging around in the rubble for it? He slowed in his sprint, jogging down the road for a bit before he found an alleyway he could duck into, and slid between the buildings there. The area of town he was currently in was still standing for the most part, the only destruction that¡¯d been wreaked here being caused by the quakes in the earth during the stampede itself, with plenty of pots and other loose items having been shaken off of their surfaces and shattering on the ground. As he stood in the glass and ceramic by the windowsill of an abandoned house, he heard a shout from behind him. ¡°Hey!¡± the voice said. ¡°Get out of here! Haven¡¯t you seen? Monsters are attacking!¡± Zeth turned around to see a guard standing right behind him, dressed in full combat gear. ¡°Go! We¡¯re evacuating to the fields by the¡­¡± The guard narrowed her eyes, looking at Zeth¡¯s strange clothes and identity-concealing mask. ¡°Wait. Who are you? What are you doing here?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Zeth stepped back, and the guard stepped forward, a cautious hand slowly reaching toward the hilt of her blade. He didn¡¯t know exactly what this woman knew or suspected Zeth of, but he wasn¡¯t about to risk a full conversation. As fast as he could, he turned and ran, headed straight for the monsters. No way anyone would follow him over here¡ªand at least the monsters wouldn¡¯t be hunting him down. Ignoring the guard¡¯s shouts after him, Zeth eventually arrived at the entrance of the portion under attack, where the monsters had done the majority of their damage. The one was still focused on destroying that random building as thoroughly as it could, but Zeth didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. Leaping over fallen beams and dashing between the still-standing structures, he made his way over to the towering beast as it split an entire support beam as thick as he was in two with the simple stomp of a hoof. In the chaotic mess of rubble, he managed to spot a glimpse of the barrel¡¯s lid, but waited for the mannitor to turn away from him before he tried searching. The moment it did, he dashed forward, ducking down into the rubble and tossing bricks and planks aside in an attempt to find the scrap of cloth. he thought, frantically searching for his one method of self-defense, Eventually, he managed to find the barrel, but as expected, the scrap of cloth was no longer stuck between the planks. Just as he tried lifting it up to search for his weapon, he saw a shadow form beneath him, glancing up to see a hoof flying down to crush his head. He kicked back to avoid certain death as the mannitor¡¯s hoof slammed into the rubble, sending shards of wood and stone flying. Flecks stabbed into his face, but he ignored the stinging pain, continuing to back away from the rampaging beast. The moment it lifted its hoof back up to kick into something else, he dove back into the rubble to begin searching once again. He did his best to split his perception between trying his best to find the single scrap of cloth as quickly as possible and trying to spot any sign of the monster coming back to crush him. Until eventually, as he tossed one last brick behind him, he spotted the barest corner of the familiar cloth. With one last glance around him to ensure he wasn¡¯t about to be splattered into a stain on the road, he snatched it from underneath the board it was stuck under, leapt to his feet, and backed away. he thought, breathing heavily as he threw his gaze around. He only realized then that, while it was far better to have the ritual cloth than not, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to do much more than kill a single monster using it. And once he did kill that single monster, he¡¯d suddenly be right back where he started, with nothing left to defend himself. Maybe he¡¯d be able to kill one of them in a flashy enough way that it would scare off the others? They certainly seemed like they were a skittish bunch. But that wasn¡¯t a gamble he was excited to take. He bit his lip. Maybe it was time to use his last resort¡ªthe demon he still had hiding out in the woods. He¡¯d been extremely reluctant to call that monster into a populated area like this one, but at this point, he wasn¡¯t sure what that thing could do that was worse than this horde of monsters. And if his goal was to scare off the mannitors, having a demon around to induce such a powerful fear effect would be helpful. Zeth was ripped from his thoughts as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the waving fur of a charging mannitor, and leapt to the side to dodge its path of chaos, landing with his face in the dirt. He needed to be on high-alert. As he got to his feet, he glanced behind himself only to see that this particular mannitor wasn¡¯t just running aimlessly around like the others; it had a pursuer. Erza himself was charging after the thing, dressed in some sort of wispy mana-based suit of armor that Zeth could just barely see through, each bound in his sprint a massive leap that sent him far enough to actually be able to keep up with the gigantic monsters. Erza held his hand back like he was holding something, and before his eyes, Zeth watched as a spear like the one he¡¯d seen before materialized in his grip. After the moment it took for the object to form inside the man¡¯s grasp, he reared back and threw it with supernatural might after the mannitor. It was certainly enough force to pierce straight through the beast¡¯s body, but Erza seemed to accidentally throw the spear a little too wide, and the projectile went whizzing past the monster¡¯s head, simply chipping off a piece of its horn. He looked down at his gauntleted hand, flexing his fingers back and forth, and Zeth heard him mutter under his breath, ¡°Damn." Seemed like all the fancy equipment in the world couldn¡¯t make up for a simple lack of practice with the weapon one was using. Erza glanced around to see Zeth standing there watching him, and frowned. ¡°What¡¯s with the mask, stranger? Have something to hide?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°You don¡¯t sound very urgent, considering the circumstances,¡± Zeth said, deepening his voice to disguise it as usual. Erza shrugged. ¡°Not my town. Besides, my teammates should be able to kill these things eventually. I¡¯m just enjoying the free target practice. I have to assume you¡¯re here for your own reasons? Perhaps gathering blood for your next ritual?¡± Zeth¡¯s irritation grew. Did this fucking guy just assume every single person he met was the Blood Mage? ¡°Perhaps I should take a break from the practice and move onto my true prey,¡± Erza said, stepping closer to Zeth. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Perhaps the people around here would be able to kill the gigantic beasts off, but there were clearly not enough to prevent mass casualties. Erza didn¡¯t give a shit about saving people, and most of the guards seemed more focused on keeping people out than actually killing the monsters. Maybe their plan was even to simply wait until the mannitors wandered off on their own. But Zeth wasn¡¯t the type to see something killing people and to just let it continue. He didn¡¯t care if it was a person or a beast, if he wanted something dead, he¡¯d kill it. Besides, he wanted to fuck Erza up, if just a little bit. As Erza held his hand out in the same position he had to summon the spear beforehand, Zeth took a deep breath, and then shouted out at the top of his lungs, Erza blinked in surprise, taking a step back and instantly swapping to a cautious posture, like he hadn¡¯t really thought the person in front of him was actually the Blood Mage. And in the split second he took to do so, Zeth saw the treeline shake, and, from a similar spot that the mannitors came from, a red figure burst out of the woods and came charging up to Zeth. At that, Erza¡¯s face morphed from caution to straight-up terror. As he watched the demon approach, he stumbled back and reached for an object on his belt, holding out the now-formed spear in his hand as if to deter attackers. [Influence check failed.] The demon slowed to a stop near Zeth, a sadistic smile on the beast¡¯s face as he watched Erza stumble back in fear. ¡°Do you have another deal to make with me, summoner?¡± Chapter 38 Zeth stood in the middle of a town as it was under attack, gigantic monsters rampaging all around him, staring at a demon and a man who wanted to kill him. ¡°Y-you summoned a¡­?!¡± Erza exclaimed, unable to even finish his sentence. In one hand, he held a book that was chained to his belt, and in the other, one of the mana bombs from earlier. As Erza continued to back away, staring at the demon in terror, Zeth turned to look at his summoned help. ¡°Disable him. Your priority should be knocking him out, but¡ª¡± ¡°That is not part of our deal,¡± the demon said. Zeth blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You offered payment in exchange for manual labor. We laid out those aspects of the deal. You cannot change it retroactively. And because you have not paid me yet, you also cannot force me to perform an action or else be unsummoned. Of course, if you would like to our preexisting deal, I would be open to such a thing.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Zeth said with a frown. ¡°What would it take for you to do what I ask?¡± ¡°Give me one thousand lives and I will kill this man and the monsters,¡± the demon said, staring Erza down. ¡°At least, assuming you want this man dead.¡± ¡°One thousand?¡± Zeth demanded. ¡°You¡¯re fucking insane.¡± Erza looked between the two of them, seeming horrified that Zeth was talking to a demon the way he was. ¡°There are plenty around to claim,¡± the demon continued, paying the man no mind. ¡°Most would be mercy killings, considering the number of destroyed buildings in the area. I would simply be wandering around, taking the lives of those already dying beneath the rubble.¡± ¡°Listen, we can talk about it later,¡± Zeth said. He nodded toward Erza. ¡°For now, attack that guy.¡± ¡°And kill him?¡± ¡°No, not right now. Just wound him, and I¡¯ll decide later what¡ª¡± ¡°As we already have a deal in place preventing me from unsummoning myself, I am given the ability to refuse orders outside the purview of that deal. As such, I refuse to do additional work without recompense. ¡± Zeth sighed. ¡°Fine. You can have another prisoner in exchange for your work right now. I really don¡¯t have time for bargaining.¡± ¡°One thousand lives.¡± ¡°Absolutely fucking not, you moron. In what world would I¡ª¡± Before Zeth could finish speaking, he heard something from Erza, turning to look at him. He¡¯d opened up his book, reciting a passage with shaky hands. ¡°W-wings of speed, grant me flight, so I may sleep safe tonight!¡± The moment the last word was uttered, a pair of wide white wings sprouted out from his back, spewing feathers everywhere, and began flapping to carry him into the air. Once he was out of reach, the wings began carrying him quickly across the field, far away from both them and the monsters. ¡°Ugh,¡± Zeth said, turning back to the demon. ¡°Now he¡¯s gone. Great. Just kill these monsters and I¡¯ll give you extra payment, promise.¡± ¡°I do not work in exchange for promises. If I am no longer to kill that man, I can remove one life from my price.¡± ¡°One thousand¡ªor any number near it¡ªis a non-negotiable no.¡± ¡°Then what can you give me instead?¡± Zeth rubbed his face in frustration. His heart was already pounding in his chest from the stress of the situation, and that damn aura of fear wasn¡¯t doing anything to calm him down. Why did this have to happen ? Why did these monsters decide to stampede out here for no reason? He frowned. Wait, why this happening? It really didn¡¯t make any sense at all. He turned to the demon. ¡°Tell me what you know about these monsters and their stampede.¡± The demon¡¯s face twisted. After a moment, it responded, ¡°These are monsters I found while waiting for you to call me in the forest. After drawing near to them, my aura of fear overtook their simple minds and caused them to flee in this direction. It seems the already terror-addled beasts saw the strange environment of the town and felt that it was threatening, and began destroying it.¡± ¡°Why did you go near the mannitors? I told you to stay still.¡± ¡°You told me to stay within earshot while in the forest, and to avoid being seen by humans. I could go wherever I wanted. And so I did.¡± ¡°So you did all of this shit on purpose. Perfect.¡± Zeth sighed, as though that would calm his running nerves, turning around to pace in a circle atop the fallen rubble. Faint crashes and monster roars filled his ears. ¡°So, what, you wanted to force me into an unfavorable situation that I would absolutely require your help to fix, right? And then you could demand some inordinate price in order to do it.¡± Perhaps he¡¯d gotten too comfortable using demons, after all. After having them perform mundane labor for so long, he¡¯d grown complacent. These things were monstrous beasts, barely kept in check by the limitations placed on them by his Skill. They didn¡¯t just get their value out of a summoning by being shrewd negotiators¡ªthey took everything they could by tricking, threatening, and murdering whenever possible. And this motherfucker standing in front of him was doing exactly that. He¡¯d decided that he¡¯d go and destroy Zeth¡¯s town, kill as many people as he could, and overall make the worst situation possible just for the sake of being able to scrape a little extra power out of Zeth. The demon was blatantly taking advantage of him. It pissed him off. It pissed him off. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°The circumstances no longer matter,¡± the demon said in a smug voice. ¡°It does not matter who or what caused this disaster. All that matters is that a disaster is currently in progress, and it needs to be solved. I am the key to solving it. And if you do not take my deal, I will simply refuse to do as you say. You have no power here. You have no chips to bargain with. I will give you the one allowance that, if you are truly that hung up on the lives that I take not being taken from this town, I can always go elsewhere to some far-off territory to claim my payment after saving you and your people.¡± ¡°One extra prisoner,¡± Zeth said, trying his hardest to control his voice. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m even offering that.¡± The demon chuckled. ¡°It seems you do not understand the position you¡¯re in. You to take my offer. There is no other choice. You, slug, are truly a worthless, pathetic, idiotic being if you believe you are in the position to¡ª¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His voice was cut off by a fist colliding with his jaw. Caught entirely off-guard, the demon stumbled back and fell into the pile of bricks behind him. Zeth stood looking down at him, knuckles aching like he¡¯d just struck a steel statue. He took a step forward. ¡°Don¡¯t get up. That¡¯s an order.¡± He may not have been able to order the demon to fight for him because of the preexisting deal, but that deal grant him the right to give orders regarding where the demon went. ¡°What are you¡ª?!¡± The demon began to demand, but was cut off by Zeth¡¯s boot kicking into his face. Once again, it was like hitting pure stone, and didn¡¯t actually seem to hurt the demon much, but he also looked extremely displeased about being stomped on by a human. ¡°What the fuck now?!¡± Zeth shouted down at him, lifting up his foot and slamming it back down into the demon¡¯s nose. ¡°What the fuck do you have to say now?! No, I¡¯m not taking your dumbass deal because I¡ª¡± he kicked him, ¡°don¡¯t¡ª¡± again, ¡°want¡ª¡± again, ¡°to!¡± The demon, unable to stand because of Zeth¡¯s commands, raised up his hands to protect his dirtied face. ¡°You dare place your boots upon the face of a being superior to your entire species?! You slug! Y-you¡­¡± ¡°Get out of here,¡± Zeth spat, breathing heavily. ¡°I¡¯ll figure this shit out myself. You sure as hell aren¡¯t getting anything for fucking me over.¡± ¡°A-are you serious? You won¡¯t take my deal? All I want are the lives of others, not the ones that are useful to you! You won¡¯t even see them die¡ªI will travel far off and kill all the children in some village that has nothing to do with you. Nobody will know which summoner was responsible for it. There is no logical reason for you to refuse my¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up, go back to base, and get the fuck back to work,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Now.¡± After another moment of hesitation, the demon got to his feet, brushed himself off, and left, moving so fast Zeth could barely track him with his eyes. He drew several long breaths, feeling the weight on his chest lessen as the demon left his presence and the aura of fear stopped clouding his mind. He¡¯d noticed in his time dealing with them that the demons¡¯ fear didn¡¯t just increase fear¡ªthough that was certainly its primary function¡ªbut it also made almost all negative emotional responses more intense. It was probably due to some way fear enhanced the way the mind perceived things that Zeth was far too uneducated to theorize about, but whatever reason there was behind it, he¡¯d found that his anger grew to new heights when he was around those bastards. Though, maybe part of that was because demons truly were just uniquely insufferable. A roar from behind him drew Zeth¡¯s attention. He whipped around to see a mannitor charging at him, frenzied look on its face. Behind it, he thought he could see someone¡¯s figure, hefting a weapon as they stood over the corpse of another of the monsters. But he didn¡¯t have time to analyze things. This one was headed straight for him. He gripped the cloth that held the Hellfire Ritual tightly in his hand. With his demon useless and gone, he had far less protection while out in the open than he¡¯d first assumed. That meant he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. But he¡¯d come here to kill off these monsters¡ªmonsters that, ultimately, it seemed he¡¯d been responsible for bringing. And if he had one Hellfire Ritual, that was at least one of them that he¡¯d be capable of killing. No way he was running off before doing at least that much. Besides, the demon had seemed pretty confident that he¡¯d be helpless against these things without that fucker¡¯s help. Zeth at least wanted to prove him wrong. So he held his ground and prepared for a fight. *** Rosalie stood on the edge of the carnage in town, gazing at the corpse of the mannitor she¡¯d just killed. Alfon stood next to her, eyes closed in calm meditation. Calm was the last emotion running through her own heart, though. The death and destruction that¡¯d been caused here¡­It was horrific. It was all she could do to keep herself from breaking down in tears right there in the barren streets. But she resisted. Allowing the weight of the lives lost to hit her could come later. Right now, this town needed a hero. These monsters, right after that disgusting Blood Mage broke those people out of prison? They were clearly trying to find allies, building some sort of cabal to take over town. It was sickening. And worrying¡ªRosalie wasn¡¯t so egotistical to think she¡¯d be able to defeat such a force on her own. She¡¯d already failed to catch the Blood Mage once. And now she was surrounded by more death she¡¯d failed to prevent. This town truly needed a hero. But she was no such thing. A shrieking roar came from far off, and she turned to see a monster charging away in the distance. ¡°Looks like one of the last is over to the north,¡± she said to Alfon, who couldn¡¯t open his eyes to see or else break his meditation. ¡°I think that¡¯s where Erza had headed off to, though, so he should be able to handle it. Come, let¡¯s try to lift up some of this rubble. There may be survivors buried beneath the fallen buildings.¡± Rosalie watched for a moment, waiting for Erza to run in wearing that ridiculous armor of his, but he didn¡¯t arrive. The monster continued in its warpath toward¡­ She blinked. Was that a person? It wasn¡¯t Erza; it was someone in a hood, standing right in front of it. Why weren¡¯t they running away?! They needed to get to safety! ¡°Come with me!¡± she shouted back at Alfon, taking off in a sprint after the monster. There was no way she¡¯d make it all the way over there in time, but maybe if that person could survive for long enough¡­ ¡°What is wrong?¡± Alfon asked calmly as he jogged after Rosalie. ¡°There¡¯s someone over there; they¡¯re being attacked by the mannitor. We need to¡ª¡± As she spoke, she watched as the person gripped something in their hand¡ªwas that a piece of cloth?¡ªand pulled a small bottle from their belt. They uncorked it and poured it out over the cloth, a suspicious red liquid leaking out. Once they¡¯d emptied it out, they stashed the bottle back into their belt, and took a fighting stance. She slowed to a stop, calling for Alfon to wait, as well. Pouring out a bottle of red liquid¡­Blood? But there was no way that was the Blood Mage¡ªBlood Mages weren¡¯t able to move their ritual circles around. The simple fact that they¡¯d been walking around with that cloth disproved the theory. But then, who were they? And what were they doing? She watched intently as the person took a stance against the monster. Beyond her questions about whether this person was the same Blood Mage she was looking for, a single word came to her mind. She saw it in the way they stood¡ªthe way they stared down the charging monster without a hint of fear or uncertainty in their body. The way their entire presence seemed to communicate victory. A single word. Hero. This was a hero. Chapter 39 Rosalie stared at the cloaked individual as their fingers tightened around the cloth. She was too far away to make it out, but it almost looked like something was written on it. It couldn¡¯t have been a ritual circle, but there was certainly special about the seemingly mundane object. The mannitor quickly closed the distance between itself and the mystery person, Rosalie watching intently. Just as it reached the person, stomping down to trample over their body, they jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding being crushed to death. The moment they landed, as the mannitor charged past them, they leapt to their feet and reached out with the cloth, as if they were attempting to press it against the monster¡¯s skin. However, they were just slightly too slow, and it ran past before stopping and spinning around, readying itself to charge once again. Just what this person¡¯s plan? They clearly didn¡¯t have too much in the realm of physical Stats, considering how slowly they were moving, but they seemed to be confident they could defeat this fearsome monster with the help of that cloth. Really, the way they were acting, it did almost seem like they had a Fire Ritual painted onto it. But Rosalie knew it was impossible to move a ritual circle around like that. Perhaps this person was merely trying to pretend to be a Blood Mage, and didn¡¯t know enough about the Class to know what they were pretending to do was impossible? But why would they fake such a thing? Were they trying to scare someone? But they wouldn¡¯t be able to scare a beast like a mannitor with an act like that, and there wasn¡¯t anyone else around but her and Alfon¡ªand she certainly wasn¡¯t about to be fooled by a flawed imitation of this Class. The monster charged, and the mystery person readied themself once again. They leapt out of its path right as it was about to hit them, landing more gracefully this time and pivoting to slam the cloth onto the beast¡¯s back leg. Rosalie leaned forward, eager to see what would happen when they did so, but their foot caught on the ground and they tripped, falling into the rubble scattered across the dirt. She frowned. This person clearly wasn¡¯t a trained fighter. It would only take a couple years of training or a few dozen points in Dexterity before a warrior would have enough control over their body to never make a mistake like that again. Was she wrong, then? Was this just some random insane person mimicking what descriptions they¡¯d heard of a powerful person in town? Did they even have a Class at all? The mannitor turned around again. At this point, it seemed furious that its previous two attacks had missed, and was ready to gore straight through this poor individual. She looked over at Alfon. ¡°We need to go kill that monster. That person is helpless. I don¡¯t think they have any defenses against¡ª¡± Rosalie was interrupted by a bright light blazing to life in the corner of her vision. She glanced back over at the person and the mannitor, only to find that the monster that had once towered over this hooded individual had crashed to the ground, being eaten alive by flames as tall as the buildings it had once smashed to bits. The fire burned so bright, she was afraid she may be blinded simply looking at it. It burned so hot that even she could feel the waves of heat wafting off from the corpse of the beast, hundreds of feet away. Nearby chunks of wood from fallen buildings sprouted their own flames simply from being too close to the inferno that covered every inch of the mannitor¡¯s body. The gigantic monster had died instantly. It hadn¡¯t even had time for its body to hit the ground before the fire had destroyed its body. Her eyes went wide, stumbling back from the explosion. ¡°W-what¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± she heard Alfon say. ¡°I feel heat. Is there an attack from the Blood Mage?¡± She continued staring at the burning corpse. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­But how did they¡­?¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her breathing began to quicken. She¡¯d only looked away for a second. What had even happened? Had they finally succeeded in pressing that cloth against the monster? But how had that translated into¡­this? This instant destruction of such a powerful beast? Even when Rosalie had been powered up by Alfon¡¯s magic, she was nowhere close to being able to kill a mannitor in a single hit. And the fire¡ªit certainly like a Blood Mage¡¯s Fire Ritual at first glance, but she knew for a fact that such a Skill had nowhere near that much killing power. Nor would it have even worked in this situation. Blood Mages couldn¡¯t move their rituals. That was one of the most universally understood things about the Class. So surely, no matter how much it like this person was the Blood Mage, they weren¡¯t, right? Right? Besides, with that amount of power at their fingertips, was there any hope left for this town if it was them? Was there any hope left for the empire? She backed away even further from the scene. ¡°A-Alfon, come with me. I think we need to retreat.¡± ¡°It sounds like there has been a crisis. Should I open my eyes?¡± ¡°N-no. Keep them closed. I may need your magic.¡± ¡°In case of what?¡± ¡°In case¡­I don¡¯t know. In case we¡¯re attacked. I¡¯ll explain later; let¡¯s just go.¡± Keeping her eyes firmly planted on the cloaked person, she began backing away, almost afraid this person would see her. She had no evidence they were a bad person¡ªin fact, all she¡¯d seen them do was slay a dangerous monster; they¡¯d done a favor to this town. But something in her chest screamed at her to run. So, once she was near the edge of the wrecked portion of town, she did. She turned on her heel and sprinted off, a confused Alfon in pursuit after her. *** Zeth let out a breath, satisfied that he¡¯d been able to kill this last monster. Now that he was done, he needed to get out of here quickly. Without the protection of his demon or his Hellfire Ritual, and with the possibility of Erza¡¯s return growing more and more likely by the minute, he didn¡¯t want to stick around any longer than he had to. Before he left, he reached into his belt and drew out some of the bottles he had lining his belt. They weren¡¯t too big, but what space they had was completely empty, ready to be filled with blood. And this mannitor was absolutely full of it. He filled up the small bottles, submerging the entire things inside a wound that¡¯d been torn open on the gigantic monster¡¯s side, but it obviously had far, far more blood than he could ever fit into a few tiny vials. It had more blood than he¡¯d be able to carry at all¡ªno matter how much storage he had on his person. Part of him wondered if he should take some time to figure out a method to gather up a bit more, but he didn¡¯t want to spend any longer out in the open like this. So, once he filled each of his bottles to the brim, he turned and fled into the forest, following the familiar path back to his underground base. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. When he returned, Zeth put the blood he¡¯d taken from the mannitor into his storage room, then took a breath. Quite a lot had happened in a single day. To begin with, Erza was going to be a problem. The man was still alive, and seemed convinced that Zeth was the Blood Mage. He wasn¡¯t sure if Erza¡¯s suspicions had shifted after their confrontation during the mannitor stampede, but Zeth certainly wasn¡¯t going to take any chances. He¡¯d need to do something about that man¡ªand fast, considering how quickly it would spread if Erza started talking. But Erza¡¯s theory was just that¡ªa theory. He didn¡¯t have any hard evidence. Which meant Zeth had a couple options. Either he could come up with a story to explain what Erza had seen and quell the rumor, or he could silence him in another, more violent, way. Ideally, he could at least attempt option one, while preparing for option two in the worst-case scenario. So then, he needed two things. First, he needed to research what this mana field stuff was, and what other possible explanations there could be for how he was able to do it without a Class, and second, he needed to draw up a way to fight against this new enemy. But before he did any of that, Zeth had one more task to complete. He walked through the various rooms of his underground complex, following the sound of claws digging through stone. After briskly striding down a hallway and into a side room, he found who he was looking for. The demon that had caused that whole disaster was in the room, carving away at the wall under Zeth¡¯s orders. As he walked into the room, the demon paused, but didn¡¯t turn to meet his gaze. Zeth came to a stop in the center of the room. ¡°Hey, fuckface.¡± The demon continued staring at the wall, like a dog that¡¯d misbehaved. ¡°So that¡¯s it? We¡¯re gonna pretend that you didn¡¯t just try and destroy my town so you could convince me to let you commit mass murder?¡± ¡°There is no discussion to be had,¡± he said. ¡°Our previous deal still stands. Unless you would like to propose an additional deal with additional payment, then leave me be. I have two hours and nineteen minutes until I am allowed to take the life that is owed to me, and then I will leave.¡± Zeth rubbed his fingers along the bridge of his nose. ¡°Should I expect every demon I summon to pull a stunt like that? Because at this point, I¡¯m wondering if it¡¯s even worth interacting with your species ever again.¡± He whipped around, furious expression strewn across his face. ¡°Every single one of you slugs believes that you are so very capable of reading those around you. Of reaching a perfect understanding of the people you speak with. I have no possible idea what causes you to come to that conclusion, as in my experience, your people are some of the most idiotic, ignorant beings I have ever been forced to interact with.¡± Zeth frowned, taken aback. ¡°What do you¡ª¡± ¡°Not everyone is raised in a perfect, quaint little human settlement in the peaceful, First Realm. Not everyone goes about their day assuming they will be given the privilege of being alive the next morning. of us have to fight to stay alive. And if you make the incorrect assumption that, if my choices are between slaughtering a few worthless little humans, or lying down and letting myself be killed, I should simply die, then that is not my responsibility. I need strength. I have attempted to barter with you to obtain it. You have refused. If you are not to give it to me, then we have nothing to discuss. I will not hear your pathetic, naive insults about morality when you so clearly do not care about my life whatsoever.¡± The demon took a deep breath, but the fury on his face refused to calm. ¡°I am a soldier. I am fighting in a war. I have no choice but to lay down my life for the empire that has subsumed my homeland. If you wish for me to be kind, and caring, and empathetic to the worthless little whelps that have never known hardship in their lives, then you will simply have to be content with disappointment.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you expect,¡± Zeth said, ¡°but I¡¯m not gonna feel sorry for someone who just tried to force me to let them kill a thousand innocent people. And whose actions just lead to the deaths of many more.¡± He scoffed. ¡°Do not worry. I have long since shed any expectation of understanding from your kind.¡± Zeth shook his head. This was exhausting. He absolutely hated working with demons. They were backstabbing, murderous sons of bitches and he didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d ever let one out of his sight again after this. He didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d even bother with summoning them. For the time being, he left the demon and went to another empty ritual room. He had more important things to do than sit around and argue with a monster. Zeth needed a way to fight back against Erza in case of an emergency, and he also needed to figure out how everything he spoke about worked. Because evidently, not knowing too much about the theory of magic would get him into trouble far more easily than he originally thought. Staring at the wall of the room, Zeth gazed at the lines of chalky substance decorating the room¡ªthe same ones he used to draw ritual circles. These weren¡¯t for any ritual purposes, of course; these were simple, straight lines that took seconds to draw and would have no uses for any of his Skills. They were just there because of the subtle glow they gave off, allowing him to see in the would-be pitch black structure. It was the lighting system he used throughout the entire complex. Only, as he stared at the simple lines, Zeth realized something. He¡¯d always known the glow they gave off wasn¡¯t quite the same as any normal light, but never thought much of it. But now, looking at them, he thought the light they gave off was remarkably similar to the light he¡¯d seen being given off from the magic items Erza had shown him. Of course, Erza¡¯s items gave off a brilliant radiance, while these ritual lines were simply a faded glow, but it was the same type. He stood and walked over to the wall, examining the ritual lines more closely. The chalky substance, wherever it touched the wall, gave off that strange, almost light, like it was flowing through the air. This must¡¯ve been the same mana leakage Erza had been talking about happening to his items. Zeth had never noticed the glow of his lines until he gained some practice with his ritual circles¡ªsomething he¡¯d always assumed was because he simply wasn¡¯t observant enough. But maybe it was that he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier because he simply wasn¡¯t capable of seeing it? Thinking back, he¡¯d drawn plenty of ritual circles back in the cave, and that was absolutely a dark enough environment to see this faint light. And back then, he¡¯d had little to no points in the Shaping Stat, whereas now, he¡¯d gained far more. So it was that Stat¡ªor perhaps his general practice with mana¡ªthat allowed him to see it, then. That also meant that anyone with a little bit of Shaping would be able to see a glow coming from his ritual circles, even if he concealed them. That is, they¡¯d be able to see a glow unless he went and patched up those holes in the mana fields like Erza had taught him to. Hopefully, if he did that, it¡¯d make his magic far more difficult to detect. The man had been useful after all, it seemed. Despite his flaws, he definitely had far more knowledge about higher-level magic than Zeth did. He needed to test this further. After getting a piece of fabric to draw on, Zeth began tracing the lines necessary to create a Hellfire Ritual circle. After around fifty minutes of drawing, he finished it, and gazed at the creation. Just like the lines on the walls, the circle was radiating out bright rays of mana. But it wasn¡¯t done yet. Next, he closed his eyes and placed his hands on the circle, trying to imagine the object beyond its physical existence. Just like with the magic objects before, within his mind he saw a mesh surrounding the circle, full of tears and holes ready to be patched up. So, Zeth got to work closing them. He was much better now than when he started out, but working with a ritual circle instead of a normal object presented its own challenges. Not only did the abnormal shape give the mesh a difficult form to work with, but everything just seemed¡­sloppier. The mesh had more holes, and the object was absolutely pouring mana out of it, unlike the slight trickle of the item Erza had Zeth repair. So much mana was coming out, it was difficult for Zeth to even see what he was doing with the mesh. He assumed that was because he had relatively little practice drawing ritual circles¡ªlittle mistakes he couldn¡¯t even see were accumulating and creating the mess in front of him. But he worked steadily regardless, patching up holes as the time passed. It only took a few minutes before he¡¯d gotten done with a few dozen of the smaller holes. Next, he¡¯d move onto one of the larger tears. First, he gripped onto the edge of it, then pulled¡ª [Vile Focus¡¯s Rank has increased to 9. +1 Skill Point. You have 12 Skill Points.] Zeth¡¯s eyes opened in surprise. A Rank-up for Vile Focus? He glanced around the room as if to confirm that he wasn¡¯t, in fact, drawing any rituals. Sure enough, his hands were still placed in the same position on the already-drawn hellfire circle. It must¡¯ve been that the requirements for Vile Focus were loose enough to consider working with his rituals to count as progress toward its next Rank? And, judging by how little time he¡¯d been patching those holes in order to get a Rank, it seemed to count far more strongly than actually drawing circles did. He hesitantly closed his eyes, settling back into routine and getting back to work. But only a few minutes later, another notification came in. [Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 9. +1 Skill Point. You have 13 Skill Points.] He stared at the pair of notifications. Seemed like he¡¯d be getting these two Skills to max Rank way sooner than he thought. Chapter 40 Zeth continued patching up the holes in his Hellfire Ritual, shifting his attention all across the area of the mana field, until he eventually finished. And when he finished that one, he moved on to drawing another. If Erza told Rosalie and Alfon about his theory, those two would be an issue as well, and he needed to be prepared. So, in total, he¡¯d need three circles. As he continued to work, the demon that had started all of this finished his allotted work time, and picked out one of the prisoners. After Zeth interrogated her¡ªonce again receiving nothing but mindless slurs and insults¡ªthe demon killed her and left. He was now down to three prisoners remaining. A part of Zeth wondered if that would be the last demon he ever worked with again. His sprawling underground base was likely larger than he¡¯d ever be able to fill, and he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever trust a demon to protect him in a time of danger after this last betrayal. Not unless he figured out how to negotiate airtight agreements with no room for exploits. And, considering demonkind had infinitely more experience than he did in that regard, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever develop the ability to perfectly keep them contained. At least for now, he wasn¡¯t about to trust them to protect his life¡ªor the lives of others. When asking them to do simple manual labor, he had all the bargaining power; he could tell them to do something, and if they made an exorbitant demand, he could simply unsummon them and perform another ritual. But when the two options were to either give in to their demands or lie down and let himself be killed, he was giving them far too much power over the situation. He¡¯d gotten complacent in all his calm dealings with them over the past days. But those things were pure evil, and far too dangerous to trifle with. Zeth¡¯s thoughts were pulled away from the topic when, as he worked on patching up the third circle, another System notification came through. [Vile Focus¡¯s Rank has increased to 10. +1 Skill Point. You have 14 Skill Points.] Another Rank-up. Just as he¡¯d seen earlier, for whatever reason, his Skills seemed to consider closing the holes in a ritual circle¡¯s mana field to be close enough to drawing them in order to progress in Rank. Notably, Hellfire Ritual didn¡¯t Rank up at all, so it didn¡¯t seem like that one had the same allowances. But sure enough, after a little more time¡­ [Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 10. +1 Skill Point. You have 15 Skill Points.] The moment he got that notification, though, Zeth received another in quick succession. [Requirements fulfilled: Ritual Circle Mastery Rank 10, Vile Focus Rank 10. You have unlocked Ritual Circle Mastery Evolution: Ritual Nexus Mastery (II).] His eyebrows raised, looking at that second notification. A Skill Evolution. He¡¯d heard of them, of course¡ªSkill Evolutions were something exclusive to those with Classes, where maxing out their Skills sometimes unlocked new, upgraded variants to be available for purchase. And it looked like Ritual Circle Mastery had an Evolution that unlocked when he brought it to max Rank alongside Vile Focus. There were countless different Evolutions possible for any given Skill, of course; it was just a matter of finding them. Who knew what other Evolutions Ritual Circle Mastery had the possibility of unlocking when maxing out other Skills? For now, though, Zeth just had this one option. So he looked it over. [Ritual Nexus Mastery (II) - Cost: 5 Skill Points Max Rank: 20 Replaces Ritual Circle Mastery Allows you to draw ritual circles with mana and activate them using empowered blood. For each rank in this skill, the amount of mental effort required of you to draw ritual circles is decreased by 0.1% per point you have in the Shaping Stat. While you are within 20 feet of at least one completed ritual circle, increases the natural effects your Stats have on your body and mind. This effect is intensified the more completed ritual circles you are near, and the more powerful those ritual circles are ] His eyes widened as he read it. The first two abilities were just the same thing Ritual Circle Mastery did¡ªwhich made sense, considering this Skill would replace it¡ªbut the last portion was new. For any normal Blood Mage, it¡¯d only be okay; receiving a boost while around your ritual circles would be nice, but you¡¯d have to be sitting in your prepared ritual site in order to get it. But for Zeth, who could carry ritual circles around with him, he theoretically could keep this boost active almost constantly. Increasing the natural effects of his stats would improve the toughness boost he got from Endurance, the mana-sensing abilities granted by Shaping, the sharpened senses and mind from Awareness¡­And with a minimum boost of twenty-five percent, that could result in a massive difference in ability¡ªespecially as his Stats continued to grow. Plus, that boost could theoretically go even higher if he was around multiple ritual circles, or if they were especially strong. It seemed incredible. And, really, it didn¡¯t matter what the effect did. Because more than anything else, Zeth¡¯s eyes were drawn most to the Evolution¡¯s cost. Since Ritual Nexus Mastery would replace Ritual Circle Mastery, it¡¯d start out at Rank ten. However, it would also increase the Skill¡¯s maximum Rank to twenty, meaning Zeth would be able to Rank it up ten more times, and therefore gain another ten Skill Points. And since this Evolution only cost five, he¡¯d be profiting an extra five Skill points if he took it. Plus, since the Evolution increased the Skill¡¯s maximum Rank, that also meant Zeth would be able to get even more benefit out of the part of Ritual Circle Mastery that decreased the amount of mental effort required to draw ritual circles by an amount that increased with each Rank he had in the Skill. The prospect of finding a Skill combination that would allow him to evolve Vile Focus, and thus increasing the maximum Rank of Skill, with how it decreased all the requirements to perform a ritual by a percentage with every Rank¡­It was enticing, to say the least. There were plenty of Evolutions one could theoretically unlock for any given Skill, and though you could only pick one of them, they would all increase the Skill¡¯s max Rank in the same way. So any Evolution at all would be incredible. He almost wanted to just go ahead and purchase this Evolution, but he held off. Now with fifteen Skill Points, Zeth was only two away from finally being able to afford Otherworldly Excellence. And, since the requirements to reach new Ranks in a Skill increased with each one earned, going from Rank ten to Rank twenty in Ritual Nexus Mastery would be far, far harder than getting the first ten Ranks. He wasn¡¯t sure how long it¡¯d take him to recoup that investment. And there was always the possibility of unlocking an even better Evolution option as he maxed out other Skills¡ªthough, considering this one¡¯s cost and effects, such a thing was unlikely. Ultimately, Zeth was just eager to start Leveling up again. Now that he had a base of operations, he was able to begin moving at a far faster pace than ever before. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. So for the time being, he put the Evolution unlock aside and moved to his next priority. It was time to do something about Erza. Currently, all the man had was a theory that Zeth was a Blood Mage. He hadn¡¯t gotten any hard evidence that it was Zeth underneath the mask during their confrontation with the mannitors attacking, meaning presumably, his theory would remain just that¡ªa theory. So he may run it by his companions as a possibility, but hopefully nothing more. If he spread that rumor to the entire town, there wouldn¡¯t be much Zeth could do about it. But if it was just the three of them¡­ He looked down at his three Hellfire Ritual circles, each painted onto a different cloth, each having finished going through their preparations to be concealed from a mage¡¯s eye. Zeth hoped to get things done nonviolently. But the key word there was ¡®hope.¡¯ If the situation took a turn towards fighting, he sure as hell knew he¡¯d ensure he¡¯d be the one walking out of it alive. So, after he carefully slotted them into the pockets on his coat, Zeth prepared to depart. When he returned to town, gazing at the area the mannitors rampaged in, Zeth took a moment to survey the damage. In the end, a solid portion of the buildings in the area were completely demolished. And while the majority of the area still technically stood, most had suffered at least some kind of damage. Carts had been tipped over and crushed, walls had webs of cracks running through them, and roads were peppered with craters from the beasts¡¯ heavy footfalls. The entire portion of town¡ªprobably comprising at least a fifth of the territory¡ªwas heavily damaged, showing scars of the battle that had occurred just hours before. And all of it was that demon¡¯s fault. All of it was fault for summoning him. For being too lax with his commands. He¡¯d originally seen his work with demons as a learning experience¡ªget used to the summoning Skill¡¯s abilities and restrictions so that he¡¯d be able to utilize demon forces more effectively in times of crisis. But this was no learning experience. It was a tragedy. Zeth wandered through the streets. Aside from guards and other personnel trying to secure the area, the entire area was empty. Only the sound of crumbling rubble filled his ears. Then, he heard something. A familiar voice. Zeth headed down the roads in search of the voice. Was it really¡­? Sure enough, standing in a cordoned-off section in the middle of a cleared-out area was Zeth¡¯s own friend¡ªTurin. He didn¡¯t notice Zeth, far too busy with his duties. Duties that were, apparently, treating the injuries of the stampede¡¯s victims. In the flat square, separated from the rest of the destroyed area by a simple rope tied between some posts in the ground, Turin had set up mats of hay with simple blankets atop them, where dozens of injured people lay atop. Some were profusely bleeding from various wounds, some had bones bending in places they shouldn¡¯t have bent, and an unlucky few were missing limbs entirely. It was a grisly sight. But Turin stood amidst the wounded, rushing between them in an attempt to offer treatment. He wrapped bandages around those who risked bleeding to death, applied medicine to their wounds, and attempted to splint the broken bones. Out of everyone in the roped-off area, he was the only one standing. Apparently, if there were any other medical professionals in town, none of them were willing to offer their services for free. Zeth approached as Turin knelt down beside a woman who¡¯d left the entire blanket she lay on sopping with blood. As he bent down to pass the rope, Turin finally noticed him, looking up with a mixed expression of surprise and relief. ¡°Oh, Zeth! I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re okay,¡± he said, sounding out of breath. ¡°Hey, can you give me a hand and lift this woman up? I need to wrap some bandages around her torso, and you¡¯re stronger than I am.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Zeth said, kneeling down as well. He was still confused about what this whole thing even was, but questions could wait until after these people were safe. He reached down and scooped his hands beneath the woman¡¯s legs and back, then lifted her up into the air. As he did, a look of worry flashed across Turin¡¯s face. ¡°Wait, no, you shouldn¡¯t be doing that with your injured¡ª¡± He stopped, staring at Zeth¡¯s arms. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°¡ªshoulder?¡± he finished. ¡°Have your injuries from that building falling on you healed already? You shouldn¡¯t be able to carry so much weight before those wounds close up.¡± Zeth blinked. His wounds had mostly healed at this point, thanks to the combination of his twenty-four Endurance enhancing his natural recovery and the Self-Destruction Skill then going and quadrupling that same healing rate. But he wasn¡¯t sure if it would be a good idea to tell Turin about either of those things. ¡°Uh¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°Whatever. Not important right now. Here, just hold her steady while I fix up her back.¡± For the next few minutes, Zeth assisted Turin in his healing efforts while his friend explained everything that¡¯d happened. Apparently, when he heard about the disaster in town, Turin had gathered up all of his healing supplies as soon as possible and rushed down to try and help the injured. And after pulling everyone he could find from collapsed buildings, he brought them all here and got to work. ¡°I met some adventurers in the area who¡¯re apparently here to serve as bodyguards to some merchant,¡± he said. ¡°In total, we found forty-nine people. Twenty-six we brought here¡ªa couple of them have already recovered enough to walk away¡ªand the other twenty-three were¡­They didn¡¯t make it. We took the bodies to another area so families can identify them.¡± Zeth bit the inside of his mouth. Twenty-three lives. That was the cost of his mistake. ¡°But, uh, it¡¯s not all bad,¡± Turin said, clearly trying to force a bright look onto his face. ¡°With the Skill Points I got from Ranking my Skills treating wounds a few days ago, I ended up purchasing a couple more of the required Skills to become a Healer. So, it¡¯s not all bad. Hopefully, if I can train myself up fast enough, I might be able to get the Class sooner than I thought. If I work hard enough, maybe it¡¯ll be soon enough that I can help give these people proper magical treatment for their injuries.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be good,¡± Zeth replied. He wasn¡¯t sure if he liked anyone talking about that demon¡¯s actions being ¡®not all bad,¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t like Turin could¡¯ve known this was an intentional attack on the town and not just some freak accident. ¡°Just, don¡¯t strain yourself.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t get to talk to me about straining myself when a few days ago you got trapped under a burning building that you , man. You said that sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do¡ªthis is my thing that I gotta do. I¡¯ve trained my whole life to help people. Not gonna leave them to die when the time finally comes that they need me.¡± He stood up from the woman they¡¯d been working on, turning to hurry over to another patient moaning in pain. ¡°Th-thank you,¡± the woman muttered, shakily reaching up to touch Turin¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m just doing my duty,¡± he said, tightly clasping his hands around hers. Then he began walking over to the next person. As he did, he called back to Zeth. ¡°Go grab me a bowl of tiskum grass powder, would you?¡± ¡°Tisk-what?¡± he asked. ¡°Tiskum grass. It¡¯s a grass native to the Elven Realm. The powder can be a powerful healing agent when combined with¡ª¡± ¡°What does it look like?¡± Zeth interrupted. Being around so many people injured like this stressed him out. He was more than used to blood, but not when that blood was coming out of innocent people. ¡°Purple and glowing,¡± Turin replied. ¡°It¡¯s the only thing on that table that clearly looks like it''s from another realm.¡± Zeth nodded and briskly walked over to the table where Turin kept his medical supplies, taking care not to step on anyone as he made his way over. Once he got to the table¡ªreally just a slab of wood that¡¯d been propped up so nobody would accidentally step in the valuable ingredients¡ªhe knelt down and began searching. ¡°Purple and glowing, purple and glowing¡­¡± he muttered to himself, glancing between the various dishes of powder, vials of liquid, and rolls upon rolls of bandages. Eventually, he spotted a powder that looked different from the others, like Turin had said, and grabbed it, standing back up and preparing to walk back over to give it to him. But as he stood up, gazing over the rope and at the damaged town around him, he saw a trio of individuals who were walking straight over to him. ¡°Hey,¡± Erza called out, flanked by Rosalie and Alfon. His voice was low and dangerous. ¡°I spotted you while flying around and thought I¡¯d say hello. We¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± Zeth froze. Stopping by the edge of the rope, only a few feet away from him, Erza glanced down at the injured people filling the makeshift beds that covered the ground, then back up at Zeth. ¡°Come with me, will you? We¡¯d like to have a chat. In private.¡± He¡¯d come here searching for this confrontation, and here it was. And from the looks of those three¡¯s faces, Zeth assumed it wasn¡¯t gonna go cleanly. Chapter 41 Zeth stood in the middle of the roped-off medical area, staring down Erza, Rosalie, and Alfon. His muscles tensed, ready to spring into action the moment they moved against him. His mind went to the three ritual circles stowed within his pockets. A second to withdraw them, and a couple seconds to arm them, then a couple more seconds to reach his enemies¡­He wasn¡¯t sure if he could do all that in less time than it¡¯d take for them to kill him. They hadn¡¯t attacked yet, though. That was a good sign. ¡°Come with us,¡± Erza said. ¡°We¡¯d like to talk.¡± ¡°About what?¡± Zeth asked, not bothering to hide the caution in his voice. From the looks on Rosalie and Alfon¡¯s faces, Erza had informed them of his theory, after all. ¡°It¡¯s not a conversation to have around others,¡± Erza said. For once, Zeth found himself agreeing with the man¡¯s words. If it really was gonna come down to a fight to the death, he certainly didn¡¯t want a couple dozen witnesses to his blood magic. There was at least a possibility, if nobody directly saw him do it, that he¡¯d be able to pass this off as some sort of accident unrelated to him. ¡°Zeth?¡± Turin called over to him from behind. He didn¡¯t dare take his eyes off of his opponents to look at his friend. ¡°Zeth, what¡¯s up?¡± he called again. He heard footsteps approaching. ¡°Who are those people?¡± Turin appeared at Zeth¡¯s side, looking between the three heavily armed individuals on the other side of the rope. Zeth glanced over at him. ¡°Hey, I got that powder you needed.¡± ¡°Oh, uh, thanks,¡± Turin said, looking down as Zeth placed the bowl into his hand. ¡°But seriously, are these people bothering you?¡± ¡°They¡¯re my employers,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Just here to talk.¡± ¡°No way, man! You never told me you got a new job. That¡¯s great! They pay well?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Erza said, ¡°this is the type of discussion we¡¯d rather have alone. You don¡¯t mind if we steal your friend away for a moment, do you?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, go ahead,¡± Turin said. ¡°I can take things from here. Thanks for your help though, man. Seriously appreciate it.¡± ¡°Uh, right,¡± Zeth said. ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse us,¡± Erza said, nodding to Zeth. Zeth took a breath, and stepped out of the cordoned-off area, sticking his hands in his pockets in the most casual way he could. His fingers gripped the scraps of cloth, ready to whip them out at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Come with us,¡± Erza said. ¡°We¡¯ll go a little bit further away before we talk.¡± He walked off ahead, with Rosalie and Alfon waiting for Zeth to begin walking so they could stand behind him. Unfortunately, Zeth had little choice but to simply allow himself to become surrounded like this. He certainly couldn¡¯t fight in front of everyone. So, he began walking, following behind Erza. As they walked, though, he frowned. He knew why wanted to get to a secluded area, but why did they? Wouldn¡¯t they want to be in an area with other people around, in case he got away? Certainly more eyewitnesses would be better for them. Something felt wrong here. He glanced around. In front of him, Erza strode ahead with a grim determination. To his left, Alfon was walking along, eyes totally closed. Zeth had no idea how the man saw like that¡ªprobably some Skill related to whatever Class he had. And to his right, there was Rosalie, marching forth with an unwavering gaze fixed on the horizon. She looked determined. Or¡­no, not quite. Zeth recognized her expression well¡ªit was one he¡¯d gotten quite used to wearing when around demons. The face of someone who was terrified out of their mind, but putting on a brave expression anyway. The eyes refusing to budge from an arbitrary point in the distance, the screwed-tight jaw as if to keep her teeth from chattering, the tensed neck muscles sending stress down the spine¡ªshe was afraid. He looked down at the hand which carried her warhammer. It was shaking. Just barely, but the metal gauntlet let out rings of steel on steel as the hand within it shivered. Why was she so terrified, though? Zeth glanced back at Alfon, examining his expression more closely to try and glean any information possible. This man¡¯s face was far less telling than Rosalie¡¯s, but it also gave off a strange sense of unease. Or, maybe it was skepticism on his face. Before Zeth could puzzle through why they would be feeling that way, though, Erza stopped and turned around to look at him. He nodded over to the side, bringing Zeth¡¯s attention to a tight alleyway between two buildings. ¡°In there.¡± Zeth glanced between Erza, Rosalie, and Alfon, then shot a look behind him, back at the medical outpost. Turin hurried around in the distance, still within his view. Zeth certainly didn¡¯t want to fight here. But in this alley of Erza¡¯s choosing? What if it was trapped? He looked over at the other side of the street, where another similar alleyway was located. He stepped in its direction. ¡°Let¡¯s go here instead. It¡¯s wider, so we can fit more easily.¡± But as he went to take another step in that direction, Erza glanced over at Turin, as if to ensure nobody was looking, then grabbed Zeth¡¯s collar and began dragging him toward the original alleyway. Zeth instantly reached to pull Erza¡¯s hand from his shirt, beginning to panic at the sudden contact, but Rosalie quietly grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, as well. ¡°Just come with us.¡± She easily yanked him between the two buildings with her superior strength, and for a moment, Zeth thought he was about to die right there. But then, after pushing him against a wall, she let go. Erza did too. Zeth breathed out, figuring he¡¯d try to at least try convincing them he was innocent¡ªno matter how unlikely it seemed they¡¯d believe him at this point. ¡°Okay, what is all of this about?! Erza, don¡¯t tell me you still think¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think, I ,¡± Erza interrupted, leaning forward. He was standing between Rosalie and Alfon, who both flanked Zeth, with him still pinned up against the wall. He had nowhere to go. ¡°After I saw you show up in that stupid face mask, ordering your demon around, it left little room for interpretation.¡± Zeth fought to keep a straight face as Rosalie lifted her warhammer, ready to smash his skull to pieces at a moment¡¯s notice. How the hell did Erza figure out that was him? He¡¯d concealed his face, he¡¯d changed his voice, and Erza hadn¡¯t said anything to imply he knew it was Zeth at the time. He had to buy time and find some way to fish those Hellfire Ritual cloths out of his pockets so he could defend himself. There was no other way out of this situation. ¡°L-listen. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re even talking about. But we can talk this out. So why don¡¯t you just put the weapons down¡­¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. His voice trailed away as he looked at Rosalie¡¯s hand, holding the greathammer. It was still shaking¡ªeven more now than it had been before. Zeth¡¯s mind went back to the first time Erza had accused him. That time, the man had seemed ready to kill him, but was really just pretending in order to try and blackmail Zeth with the information. Once again, Erza was threatening to kill him. But once again, if he was so sure, why would he do such a thing? Why would he have an entire verbal confrontation about this, trying to get Zeth to admit to his crimes? There was no reason if they knew he was guilty. And besides, what could Erza have said to Rosalie and Alfon to convince them? Zeth had used some magic one time? No way they¡¯d execute him for just that. This entire situation was staged. They were acting assured when they really had no evidence to try and scare Zeth into reacting carelessly. Well, if they were gonna try to trick him, he¡¯d just trick them in response. He took a shaky breath. ¡°P-please don¡¯t kill me. I-I know you tried to accuse me of being some kind of Blood Mage, but I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t know the first thing about those people!¡± Erza frowned, evidently not expecting such a reaction. ¡°Then how were you able to see the mana coming off of my magic items? And how were you able to patch up their fields? Why were you lying to us when you said you didn¡¯t have a Class?¡± ¡°I-I really don¡¯t have a Class, I swear!¡± Zeth said. Rosalie squinted, lifting her hammer back a little further with her still-shaking hand. In response, Zeth pressed himself flat against the wall, as though he was trying to get as far away from her as possible. ¡°I, I have a little sister. She¡¯s a total magic enthusiast¡ªabsolute genius, and sweet as can be. But she¡¯s got no mentor. Nobody to teach her. So I just thought, what if I raised up my Shaping a little, right? And if I messed around with mana a little bit, maybe learned a thing or two, maybe I could teach her what I know.¡± At that, Rosalie frowned. She glanced over to Erza. ¡°...Is that possible? I thought you said he had to have a Class.¡± ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t possible,¡± Erza spat. Then he frowned. ¡°Well, it¡¯s allowed by the System. All you need in order to see mana is Shaping. But the evidence was never that he could just mana, it was that he could manipulate it. He closed the holes in a mana field with no trouble.¡± ¡°I had a lot of trouble with it!¡± Zeth protested. ¡°It took me hours to do just one, and you did several in the same amount of time. Obviously I¡¯m not as proficient in it as you.¡± ¡°You could have just been pretending. Nobody with enough practice in the magic arts to be able to complete such a task would still be ignorant about a basic fact such as what a mana field is.¡± ¡°If I was pretending, I wouldn¡¯t have done it at all! I didn¡¯t even know I was doing something special. Like I said, I¡¯ve just raised my Shaping through purchasing Stats with spare Skill Points like normal, but I don¡¯t have any formal education.¡± He glanced down, muttering. ¡°Hmph. Well, I suppose you uneducated folk rather stupid.¡± Rosalie¡¯s once-shaking hand began to steady. She continued to stare at Erza. ¡°You said you ¡®basically knew for certain¡¯ that this man was who we were looking for.¡± ¡°He might be!¡± he responded. She shook her head, fully standing down from her combat-ready pose. Alfon did the same. ¡°If he were the Blood Mage, he would have killed us by now.¡± ¡°No, we had him cornered,¡± Erza said. ¡°He has no ritual circles set up here; we checked beforehand. And I saw him arguing with his disobedient demon before¡ªthere¡¯s no way for him to fight us! He¡¯s attempting to trick us with words because they¡¯re all he has left.¡± ¡°Erza, we¡¯ve already had this conversation. If what you said to me was true, and that man on the other side of town really was the Blood Mage¡­¡± Her voice wavered. ¡°If the man I saw fighting the mannitor was the Blood Mage, then he is far, far more powerful than we first anticipated. And if that man were the same as the man in front of us, I have no doubt that we would be dead right now. Demon or no demon.¡± Zeth blinked in surprise. Rosalie had seen him fighting the mannitor? That must¡¯ve been why she¡¯d been shaking in fear this whole time¡ªif she saw that fight, then she would know he could do more than a normal Blood Mage could. He wondered if that meant she knew he was specifically a Blood Magus, then¡ªor did she not know that much? Did anyone at all know about the existence of his Class? According to the message he¡¯d gotten when he first received it, it was apparently limited so that only one person could have it at a time, so maybe information regarding it had simply never gotten out. He let out a relieved sigh, and the two of them looked back over at him. ¡°So you believe me?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Rosalie said. ¡°...I suppose the Blood Mage I saw act differently from you,¡± Erza said. ¡°You¡¯re far more cowardly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry we harassed you like that,¡± Rosalie continued. She stowed her weapon on her back and clasped her hands together, bowing her head with closed eyes. ¡°I hope you can accept this humble Paladin¡¯s apology.¡± ¡°U-um, yeah,¡± Zeth said, taken aback by her sudden formality. ¡°I get it. You¡¯ve got an important job, catching a killer. Gotta make some sacrifices to do it.¡± ¡°But harming an innocent man should never be one of those sacrifices,¡± she said, straightening her posture again. ¡°It is never permissible to harm someone who even has the possibility of being innocent.¡± Erza frowned, looking at Zeth. ¡°One more thing. Rosalie, you said this Blood Mage fought using a ritual circle they carried around?¡± ¡°Supposedly.¡± He nodded to Zeth. ¡°Empty your pockets.¡± Zeth¡¯s heart instantly seized up. He had three separate ritual circles in his pockets right now. ¡°Um. Y-yeah. Sure.¡± Was this it? Did he have to fight after all? Taking a deep breath, Zeth reached into his left pocket and wrapped his fingers around the cloth that was inside. In as natural a movement as he could make, he pressed the cloth against his leg, ritual side facing him, and pulled it out while applying that pressure, so the chalky lines would be rubbed clean off by his leg. When he pulled it out of his pocket, he glanced down at it. No circle to be seen. ¡°Let me see that,¡± Erza said. Zeth handed it over, and he began to investigate it. As he did so, Zeth pulled the two other cloths out of his right pocket, doing the same maneuver with them, rubbing the circle off as he pulled them out of the pocket, and gave them to Erza as well. After that, he turned his pockets inside-out, showing that nothing else was contained within. ¡°What are these?¡± Erza asked, looking at the blank pieces of fabric. ¡°Uh, they¡¯re sewing patches,¡± Zeth said, thinking fast. ¡°Just in case I tear my pants open, or something. So I can just go and grab a needle and thread and sew the patch right on without any trouble.¡± Erza sighed. ¡°You small town folk are so weird. Rosalie, do these look like the same kind of cloth that you saw the Blood Mage using?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I was hundreds of feet away. It looked like it was some sort of cloth, but I have no idea what kind. But the object they were using had a ritual circle painted on it.¡± ¡°Well, they don¡¯t have any sort of mana residue from natural leakage that I can see with the naked eye. Seems perfectly normal to me.¡± He handed them back to Zeth. ¡°I suppose we don¡¯t have enough evidence to prove you¡¯re the Blood Mage ¡°For the gods¡¯ sakes,¡± Rosalie scolded him, ¡°leave the man alone. We just found him helping the injured with their wounds. Do you really think a Blood Mage would do such a thing?¡± ¡°Who knows? Maybe he¡¯s collecting blood from them for his next ritual.¡± ¡°No. Blood Mages are evil. If they wanted blood, they would the injured. Not patch up their wounds.¡± ¡°It could be the optimal solution to a blood shortage to simply pose as a concerned citizen while secretly¡ª¡± ¡°They don¡¯t care about doing what is Erza. Nobody takes a Class like that because it is simply the right decision. They take it because they are vicious, destructive people who wish for a Class that rewards them for doing what they already want to do. Hurting people.¡± ¡°You said this Blood Mage was killing a mannitor¡ªexpending their mana to help the town. So clearly, your theory isn¡¯t universal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± She looked downward, frowning. ¡°That¡¯s different. We don¡¯t know what this person was doing for sure. They like they were doing good, but if they¡¯re truly a Blood Mage, there¡¯s no way they didn¡¯t have some sort of nefarious purpose to their actions.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Zeth interrupted, ¡°can I¡­go?¡± Rosalie looked over to him. ¡°Oh, of course. I apologize once again for how we¡¯ve inconvenienced you.¡± ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°Just, one more thing first. Erza, I worked for you for about three hours or so, right? And the agreement was a base pay of fifty copper per hour? You still haven¡¯t paid me what I¡¯m due. So, y¡¯know. Cough up the coin.¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 42 In order to get his money from Erza, Zeth had to go to the tax office and report his income, paying them a portion of the coin he received the moment he got it. It was an annoying and cumbersome system, and one of the reasons many people preferred to work under the guild, where they didn¡¯t have to deal with it. If you didn¡¯t report your income, it was considered a particularly punishable crime; and the government had magical means of tracking the currency they controlled, so there wasn¡¯t much way around it. Rosalie decided to accompany Zeth and Erza as they went through the legal process, simply watching silently as she did. Once they were done, and Zeth had his share of the money in his pocket, Erza departed, but Rosalie stayed. ¡°What is the point of all this?¡± she asked as they stood outside the tax office building. Zeth frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Why not just send tax collectors once per year? Or base tax collection off of property ownership, rather than taking it out of all wages collected? Does this not punish the poor and needy, who need every scrap of coin they can scrounge together?¡± ¡°...Is this not how everywhere else in the empire does things?¡± ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Your town is quite unique. It is despicable, what the guild has done to it. Corruption seems to run all the way through to the top of your leadership.¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m beginning to believe that¡¯s the case more and more myself, lately. Do, uh¡­Do you think that might be connected? Y¡¯know, with the Blood Mage stuff?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of many reasons your own law enforcement would not have caught them already.¡± ¡°Well, to be fair, they aren¡¯t very robust. Apparently they¡¯ve been downsizing, or something¡ªthey don¡¯t protect too far out into the forest anymore.¡± ¡°And who do you think might be making the policy decisions to downsize your town¡¯s law enforcement?¡± she asked. ¡°What, you think the mayor might be the Blood Mage?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying the Blood Mage is controlling the mayor.¡± Zeth bit the inside of his mouth. The more he thought about it, the more his instinct told him it was Garon, maybe being helped by some other people in the guild who also had the Class. ¡°Anyway,¡± she said, ¡°I must be going. Thank you for forgiving my mistake in accusing you. I understand if you wish to never work with us again.¡± ¡°Actually¡­¡± Zeth felt the weight of the coins in his pocket. Now that he knew why Erza had originally decided to hire him, and that issue had more or less been resolved, he almost felt comfortable. He knew what Erza suspected him of, and why he suspected it. Zeth could work around it now. And, ultimately, no matter Erza¡¯s personality, he was clearly knowledgeable about magic. And Zeth knew how his personal ignorance of the topic could harm him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be opposed to continuing work.¡± She blinked. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Erza¡¯s paying me a lot of money.¡± ¡°I¡­see,¡± she eventually said, pursing her lips. ¡°I will do my best to ensure work goes smoothly for you, then. I hope you don¡¯t see this as putting your life in danger in order to earn a living.¡± And with that, she left, heading back in the direction of the attacked portion of town¡ªthe same direction in which many guards were still rushing. Zeth, however, had a different destination in mind. With his pockets finally full of coin, he was heading to the library. After a long time browsing, Zeth eventually settled on four separate books to purchase. Two of them were, of course, for Sophie, each with their own area of focus on magic. The first was a detailed history book, going over all the developments that had occurred in recorded history¡ªthe discoveries, wars, shifts in popular law, and everything in between. And the second was more explicitly a tutorial for aspiring magic users¡ªsomething she desperately needed if she was serious about that path. Zeth had skimmed through it in case he learned something important, but it was mostly full of information he either already knew or didn¡¯t need. Things like what mana was on a basic level, common Universal Skills people took to get used to mana control before getting their Classes, and overviews of all the most popular magic-based Classes. The other two books he got, though, were for his use. These two were explicitly about illegal Classes, full of every bit of information that was allowed by the empire to be spread. It was a bit redundant to get two books about the same subject, but he didn¡¯t want to miss a single scrap of info when the situation was life-or-death. Besides, they did ultimately have a few differences. One of them¡ª¡ªwas more traditionally a book about how to combat attackers who possessed illegal Classes¡ªa bit like that one he¡¯d given to Sophie, Only, this one was entirely centered around all illegal Classes, rather than simply containing info on the few that were considered to be magical in nature. This one also focused less on specifically the physical fighting aspects of the Classes. It seemed to talk about anything you¡¯d need to know if you were worried about them. Ways to spot whether a person has a given Class, where people who had that Class were most likely to be in the world, common ways they applied their abilities¡ªthat sort of thing. It certainly seemed useful not only when it came to Blood Mages, but also generally when fighting bandits, who often utilized plenty of different forbidden powers. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The second book¡­Well, it was a little suspicious. From its sensationalized title¡ª¡ªto its gaudy cover showing off poorly-drawn depictions of the hallmarks of various illegal Classes, with undead crawling around, assassins lurking in the shadows, and even an extremely inaccurate drawing of a ritual circle sitting in the corner, the book was clearly unprofessional. But when Zeth skipped to the chapter on Blood Mages to see what kind of nonsense it contained, he recognized several statements it made to be true¡ªand it gave away far more information than any other book he¡¯d read had. It spoke explicitly about how the Fire Ritual traps worked, gave details about demon summonings and how demons would ask for human lives in exchange for favors, and even mentioned the Level-up ritual and how its requirements expanded as the Class progressed in power. Zeth wouldn¡¯t have thought it¡¯d be legal to give all of this information away¡ªand it probably wouldn¡¯t have been for any normal book¡ªbut this one seemed to skirt those regulations through its medium. Instead of posing as a textbook, it was written as a simple collection of interviews conducted with various ¡®concerned eyewitnesses¡¯ who told the stories of what they¡¯d seen. So, it didn¡¯t teach the reader how to negotiate with a demon, it instead simply contained the account of someone¡¯s story where they snuck into a Blood Mage¡¯s lair and watched them speak with a demon. If a person believed these stories and drew their own conclusions from them, the book took no responsibility for it, Zeth imagined the argument was. Of course, if it really just a bunch of random stories, the information within would be of dubious reliability. Any one of those eyewitnesses could¡¯ve misremembered details of what they¡¯d seen, misinterpreted moments during a high-stress scenario, or simply made the whole thing up for attention. But Zeth suspected he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about that. The details in the stories of Blood Mages¡ªthe details he could verify, at least¡ªwere all perfectly correct; and the way the stories were written, it was almost like they were designed to give away information on those details. Zeth suspected that all of these ¡®eyewitnesses¡¯ were completely fake, and this book was really written as a way to get information about these Classes to curious readers while posing as a simple collection of stories. Which meant that potentially, it was a ridiculously valuable font of information. He didn¡¯t just want to learn how to fight against these Classes. That was important, of course, but there was more to his search for information. And it wasn¡¯t just about learning a bit more about what would come next in his own Class¡¯s progression, either. Now that Zeth was close to being able to afford Otherworldly Excellence, he¡¯d be able to go back to Leveling up. And with the extensive collection of blood sitting in his storage room, waiting to be used, he suspected he¡¯d be gaining power pretty fast. And if he was gaining power quickly, that meant he¡¯d soon hit his first true milestone. A Class Evolution. Similar to Skill Evolutions, Class Evolutions happened when a Class reached its max Level of twenty-five. Depending on the Exclusive Skills for that Class that an individual purchased, different Evolution options would present themselves to the user. That user could choose to Evolve the moment they hit Level twenty-five so as to not waste any time sitting at their max, unable to progress, or if they weren¡¯t satisfied with their Evolution options, they could wait, spending some additional time at the capstone to purchase additional Skills in hopes of unlocking new options before selecting one. Obviously, that would be an important choice whenever it was presented to Zeth. But it wasn¡¯t the one he was trying to prepare himself for. Zeth looked at the top few lines of his Class information. [Class Slot 1: Blood Magus - Level 6 Class Slot 2: (Locked)] Normally, a person could only have a single Class, with all further Class Slots locked. But after a Class Evolved, it would be moved up into the next Class Slot to reflect its more powerful form. That movement would leave its old Class Slot empty, ready to be filled with whatever a person wanted. Once Blood Magus Evolved into its next form, it¡¯d take Class Slot two, and Zeth could get another Class to fill the newly empty Class Slot one. That one would be unable to Evolve, since Class Slot two would be taken up now, but if he Evolved Blood Magus once more, moving it up to Slot three, then the Slot one Class would be able to Evolve and move up to two, and one would be emptied once again, ready for a third Class. Theoretically, this could repeat on forever, though it was rare that a person was able to even get a second Class in the first place, much less a third and beyond. Level-ups were simply too difficult to come by for most Classes¡ªespecially for combat-based Classes, which would require a person to put themself in more and more dangerous situations to continue growing stronger. Eventually, those risks would catch up to a person, and their Leveling would be put to an end for good. And things like crafting-based Classes would require you to continue pouring money into materials to Level them up. Zeth, however, was more optimistic about his prospects. He had a pretty incredible initial Class that put him to an extreme advantage when it came to pushing his Level to further and further heights. The only question was, what would his next Class¡ªor perhaps even Classes¡ªbe? This question had been poking at him from the back of his mind for the past few days at this point, and he¡¯d come up with a few strong contenders. Another magic Class would obviously be solid¡ªhe already had a strong Shaping Stat, so why not get another Class that would use it? Alternatively, he could go with a more melee-focused Class like Swordsman, which would help him in situations where he needed to get close to his enemies in order to hit them with a Hellfire Ritual. Hells, he could even take a crafting-focused Class like Blacksmith or Leatherworker to try and craft powerful magical gear for himself¡ªgods knew Erza had shown the power inherent to the strategy of relying on magic items for one¡¯s strength. But in the end, Zeth figured that, whatever his next Class might end up being, there was a good chance he¡¯d find it in one of these books. Another illegal Class. Those things were outlawed in part because of how powerful and difficult they were for the empire to control. Normally, the upsides were offset by the incredible downside of being hunted down by law enforcement for owning the Class, but ultimately, Zeth was already dealing with such a downside. So then, why not at least see what they had to offer? So, with a pile of books stacked up in his arms, Zeth set off back home. He had some gifts to give to his sister, and some research to do. And after that, it was time to get back to his lair and start pushing his Level upward. Chapter 43 When Zeth returned home, he was greeted by the mercenaries his mother had hired. It was a relatively small group, with just a handful of individuals, none of them too high in Level, and considering she was paying for discounted services, they didn¡¯t seem to ever take their jobs too seriously. Out in front of the house, he saw them playing cards at a table they¡¯d brought with them. They nodded to him as he passed. Despite how minor their protection was, he had to admit that he feel far more comfortable knowing they were around. Especially when he was gone, there was nothing protecting his mom and sister from a potential attacker. So even if they didn¡¯t actually anything, the sounds of fighting would at least serve as an early warning for them to run. At least, he certainly hoped so. When he got inside, he was glad to see that his mom was out at the time, so he¡¯d be able to dodge any questions about where he¡¯d been during the mannitor attack. With the number of disasters that¡¯d happened recently, all of them occurring at a time when he was suspiciously absent, he knew it was getting more and more likely by the day that someone close to him would eventually put two and two together. If Sophie did, he had no doubt at all that she¡¯d keep the secret for him. And Turin would probably hear him out before he did anything rash, as well. But his mom? Well, she certainly seemed to care about doing the right thing for him, but Zeth didn¡¯t know what her version of ¡°the right thing¡± would end up being. Ideally, she would never know more about him than he explicitly told her. While his mom may have been out, though, Sophie was inside. When he peeked through her open door, he found her sitting on her floor, playing with some dolls he didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°Hey,¡± he said, knocking on her doorway. ¡°I¡¯m back from work.¡± She looked up, eyes brightening when she saw him, and instantly climbed to her feet, running over to give him a hug. ¡°Zeth!¡± He returned it with a single arm, his other holding the books he¡¯d bought. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she looked back at the little set of dolls lying motionless on the floor now that she was no longer there to puppet them around. ¡°Mom made those for me.¡± He walked over to look at them more closely. They were all made of straw, in varying sizes. Two of them were larger, about five or six inches in height¡ªone wore a little tunic and pants, while the other wore a dress¡ªand then there were four smaller ones, each only two or three inches tall. Seemed like they were meant to be a little doll family. ¡°So, what, is that one the mommy, and that one¡¯s the daddy?¡± he asked, pointing the larger ones out. ¡°Oh, no,¡± she said, sitting back on the floor. She picked up the two larger ones. ¡°This one with the dress is the queen, and the little ones are her warriors. She¡¯s commanding their attack against the dark lord,¡± she held up the larger man, ¡°while he uses his strength to fight back. But they outnumber them, and the queen is a strategist.¡± ¡°...Uh huh,¡± he said, watching as she arranged their formation. ¡°So now, while the dark lord is busy fighting against these two who make up legion one, the queen will tell legion two to sneak around the chair legs, using the broken line of sight to set up a sneak attack,¡± she said, moving the dolls as she spoke. She tipped over one of the ¡®soldiers¡¯ who were fighting against the larger doll. ¡°Then, when legion one starts suffering major losses, the rest of the soldiers will pretend to retreat, over to the chair legs for safety, but they¡¯ll really be leading the dark lord into a trap.¡± As Zeth watched, she waddled the rudimentary dolls around the floor and underneath the chair, where the other two sat. Once the larger doll was there with the others, she picked them up and used them to push the large doll over. Zeth grinned. ¡°I dunno if that¡¯s what mom had in mind when she made those for you.¡± ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s okay. I think it¡¯s more fun this way.¡± As she picked her dolls up, she glanced over at his other arm, which was still holding the books, and her eyes grew wide with excitement. ¡°Are those new?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± he said, grabbing the two that he¡¯d bought for her and holding them out. ¡°Here.¡± She snatched them from his grip, instantly looking down and reading their covers, the enthusiasm in her eyes only growing more intense as she realized what they were about. ¡°It¡¯s more stuff about magic!¡± Zeth couldn¡¯t fight the smile off his face. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Thank you so much!¡± she said, tackling him with another hug before quickly moving to sit on the bed, where she opened up one of them and instantly began skimming through its introduction. ¡°Woah, this one¡¯s like a tutorial! It says it¡¯s gonna tell me all the Skills I need! This is awesome!¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought you might like it,¡± he said. ¡°Hey, um, just¡­Don¡¯t tell mom about these, alright? She might take them away.¡± The smile on her face faded. ¡°Oh. Right. Yeah, I won¡¯t tell her. I think I can find a spot to hide them.¡± He wanted to kick himself for erasing the passionate grin that¡¯d been planted on her face just moments ago, reminding her of her unfortunate situation, but it needed to be said. Zeth sighed, crouching down to meet her eye level. ¡°Hey, so¡­You really want a magic Class, right? That¡¯s seriously what you want?¡± She nodded. ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°Again, don¡¯t tell mom I said this to you, but¡­You should get a Class. As soon as possible. Whichever one you want, just go for it. I know everyone says to wait until you¡¯re an adult before making a decision like that, but you¡¯re a really smart kid. If you know what you want¡ªif you know what you want, and you¡¯re one hundred percent sure about it¡ªthen go for it. I don¡¯t think mom¡¯s gonna make it any easier on you as time goes on.¡± ¡°But she says I shouldn¡¯t,¡± Sophie said in a small voice. ¡°What if I¡¯m wrong? And I don¡¯t like it?¡± Zeth wanted to say. ¡°Then she¡¯s probably wrong. I don¡¯t know if this is a good thing to say to a kid, but¡­Sophie, mom¡¯s wrong about a lot of stuff. She¡¯s got some ideas, and she believes in them a lot. And she does care about you, I¡¯m sure. But I don¡¯t think you¡¯re as high a priority in her mind as you should be. And I don¡¯t think she¡¯s able to figure out what¡¯s best for you, even when she is trying to help. There¡¯s gonna come a time in your life when you¡¯ll have to start disobeying her if you want to be happy. I had to start doing that, myself. And I wish I¡¯d started doing it sooner. So, my advice for you is to go for it. If you know what you want, then just do it. Don¡¯t worry about what she says. Don¡¯t worry about what she thinks is best. I promise I¡¯ll back you up every step of the way.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. She sat silent for a few seconds. Eventually, she looked at him and asked, ¡°...Can we be a team?¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what that really meant, but wasn¡¯t about to refuse. ¡°Of course. One hundred percent.¡± The smile returned to her face, and Zeth¡¯s heart warmed. ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll start reading these right away.¡± He took a breath and nodded, getting back to his feet. As he did, he saw her eyes dart over to the two more books he still held in his arms. ¡°Oh! Do you have more books about magic?¡± ¡°Oh, uh, these are just for me,¡± he responded. She craned her neck to read what was written on their spines. ¡°What are they about?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he said, turning to keep her from doing so. It wouldn¡¯t be the end of the world if she knew what he was reading¡ªit was all completely legal literature straight from the library, after all¡ªbut he wanted to avoid any inconvenient conversations that he could. ¡°Anyway, uh, I was just stopping by to say hi, and drop those off for you. I gotta go again.¡± ¡°Where?¡± she asked. ¡°More work stuff.¡± ¡°You work a lot now,¡± she said, not quite in a whiny tone, but one that didn¡¯t hide the fact she was sad about it. ¡°Yeah, well, next time I get paid, I¡¯ll go find you another book to read, huh? I¡¯ll even let you pick¡ªwhat do you want it to be about? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s still some more magic stuff, or maybe general System theory¡­¡± ¡°What about war?¡± she asked. He blinked. ¡°War? Like, history books? I think you should already have one or two of those.¡± ¡°Not like that,¡± she said. ¡°Um, like, war strategy.¡± He looked down at the dolls she¡¯d been playing with, moving them around like they were soldiers on a battlefield. ¡°You mean like combat tactics? Generals talking about troop arrangements and stuff?¡± ¡°Yeah, that stuff!¡± she said, familiar glint of unstoppable enthusiasm reappearing in her eyes. ¡°I mean, sure, I can see if I can find something like that. But why?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I dunno. I don¡¯t have a book about it yet.¡± ¡°Huh. I guess that could be an interesting way to come up with new strategies for Scrim. It¡¯s just a card game, but you still do use those cards to move armies around and attack cities and stuff.¡± ¡°Yeah, I wanna learn more about Scrim,¡± she said, perhaps a little too hastily. Zeth looked at her for a moment, waiting for her to elaborate, but she didn¡¯t, instead averting her gaze back to her new books. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll look for one.¡± She nodded, smiling. ¡°Thanks!¡± He knew she was hiding something, but wasn¡¯t entirely sure what it was. Still, he trusted her judgment. Whatever it was she was planning on doing, he hoped she¡¯d think it over carefully. On his way back to base, Zeth tried to see if he could find the corpses of the mannitors. They still had quite a lot of blood in them, and the town would have to get rid of them somewhere. But when he looked for them in the attacked portion of town, it seemed like they¡¯d already been taken away. And no matter how hard he looked in the outskirts of town, in the forests, and everywhere else he could think to check, he found nothing. It was like the corpses had simply disappeared. An unfortunate loss of quite a bit of blood, but Zeth didn¡¯t let it get him down. He still had quite the exciting day ahead of him. With fifteen Skill Points collected, and Otherworldly Excellence costing seventeen, he only needed two more. Ritual Circle Mastery and Vile Focus has both been maxed out now, Empowerment Ritual he wouldn¡¯t be able to Rank without also Leveling up, Self-Destruction would carry with it some inherent risks when attempting to Rank, and Demonic Covenant would need him to summon a demon, which he wasn¡¯t particularly eager to do for no reason, after the disaster that came with his last one. That left one last Skill¡ªone which was conveniently sitting at Rank eight, ready to earn two more Skill Points. Hellfire Ritual. Spend some time drawing a few more of those, and he¡¯d finally have enough to buy the Skill. So, he figured, he¡¯d just prepare some in case of any future emergencies. Nothing wrong with a stockpile. It was for that reason that he found himself down underground, kneeling over a set of torn squares of fabric, painting ritual circles on each one. With Vile Focus at max Rank, Hellfire Ritual currently had an upkeep time of around fifteen minutes, down from twenty. He¡¯d been keeping track of his base¡¯s defenses as he made them; currently, there were a total of ten Hellfire Rituals drawn at different spots in the base. Most were in the entryway, but a couple more were spread out through other halls and doorways to pick off anyone who had a way to get past the first defense. With ten currently drawn, that meant he had around two and a half hours of total upkeep time to do on these circles each day, which was already relatively sizable. A big part of his morning routine had been keeping those things active ever since he got his base set up. And now adding these ones he was drawing, that time spent keeping up with his rituals would only continue to grow. Of course, most of these were simply for practice, and so Zeth wouldn¡¯t be upset if he ended up simply letting them fade away after a few days, but he still wanted to keep at least a couple around on these easily mobile pieces of cloth, in case he ever needed to go on the offensive. He planned to use all the hours left in the day to complete his mission. The base was done, he was defended, and he had a job¡ªnow was the time to consolidate his power. Zeth didn¡¯t want to spend even one more day stuck at Level six. So he worked. He drew one, then two, then three full circles, each one taking forty-five minutes, before he finally got a notification. [Hellfire Ritual¡¯s Rank has increased to 9. +1 Skill Point. You have 16 Skill Points.] That Rank was the easy one; he¡¯d already completed a portion of its requirements during previous days. The next one he¡¯d do the entirety of in this single evening. With no demon in the base to keep an ear out for him, Zeth avoided allowing himself to sink fully into Vile Focus, but he certainly used a portion of its ability to mentally skip past the monotonous yet intensive labor. And it was when he¡¯d finished five additional full hellfire circles that he was finally removed from this state of mind [Hellfire Ritual¡¯s Rank has increased to 10. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. +1 Skill Point. You have 17 Skill Points.] The moment he got the Rank-up notification, Zeth collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Even with his extra Stats and the natural muscle lining his body, this many hours of kneeling on the stone, carefully tracing his fingers along those scraps of cloth left his body feeling utterly destroyed. Zeth was a little disappointed he didn¡¯t immediately unlock an Evolution for Hellfire Ritual upon it hitting Rank ten; it seemed like he¡¯d need to bring some other Skill to max Rank before he¡¯d find any Evolutions for it. But really, he didn¡¯t mind. On his sweat-covered face lay a satisfied grin. He¡¯d done it. Seventeen Skill Points. Zeth looked over the Skill¡¯s description once more, reading one line in particular. [Upon purchasing this Skill, choose a Stat. Whenever this Skill Ranks up and whenever you Level up with the Blood Magus Class, increase the chosen Stat by 5.] There was still a little bit of time left in the day. Just enough, he hoped, to choose which Stat he was gonna give this incredible boost to. And gods, he had absolutely no idea which one he should pick. Chapter 44 In the depths of his base, Zeth sat on the ground, mulling over his options for which Stat to pick for Otherworldly Excellence. In total, there were seven different Stats. That meant seven options: [STATS Strength: 3 Endurance: 24 Dexterity: 0 Awareness: 6 Poise: 12 Influence: 0 Shaping: 42] Endurance, Awareness, Poise, and Shaping were the four Stats he got naturally with each Level-up, while Strength, Dexterity, and Influence were left alone. So, his first instinct was to throw out those first four and try to figure out which of the three left lacking would be best to raise. It¡¯d narrow down his choices by more than half, which would certainly make his decision easier. But then, that didn¡¯t really feel like a smart idea. While none of those three Stats increased with each of Zeth¡¯s Level-ups, it was completely possible for them to increase with each Level in the future. Not only could Blood Magus Evolve into a new version at Level twenty-five that may have given a different spread of Stats that focused on one of them, but he could also get a second Class after that which would have its own set of Stats to increase. So, while his Strength was currently stuck at three, there was a possibility it¡¯d end up growing later, just like the rest of them. It seemed like there was no way to ignore any of them as possibilities. Which meant he¡¯d have to go over the unique benefits and downsides of each one. So then, what would choosing Strength offer him? Obviously, adding to his physical power would help him out in a melee fight, which was a situation he¡¯d been finding himself in rather frequently as of late. And, considering how his main method of attack involved physically reaching out and grabbing someone to set them on fire, improving his ability to win contests of strength seemed like it would be useful. Plus, while he wasn¡¯t sure it would continue to always be this way, it worth considering that Zeth currently didn¡¯t increase his Strength from Leveling up, so the extra Stats would really be felt in that department. Endurance, on the other hand, offered less in terms of helping him win fights, and more in the realm of surviving them. He currently received three Endurance per Level-up, and was relatively confident that whatever Classes he ended up with in the future, they¡¯d almost certainly end up giving him at least a couple, but more was always appreciated. It was probably the most universally useful Stat¡ªwho wouldn¡¯t want to be able to shrug off sword swings and fireballs as though they were nothing? Endurance was definitely up there in his list of priorities for what to raise. But then, he already have Self-Destruction, which currently quadrupled his healing rate, and if he began going out of his way to Rank the Skill up, it¡¯d only get even better. So perhaps Endurance was slightly redundant, then. Then there came Dexterity¡ªthe first Stat he had zero of. Unfortunately, having no points in a Stat made it a little difficult to gauge how much it would help him to increase, but he¡¯d heard plenty from other people about what every Stat would provide in terms of direct effects. He¡¯d be quicker, more nimble, and more aware of his body. Things like tripping and falling would become a thing of the past with even the base fifty points in the Stat that Ranking up Otherworldly Excellence would give him. On top of that, he had something else to consider with Dexterity; one of the Skills he currently had unlocked¡ªSpeedy Rites¡ªwould improve in effect as he gained more of it. Specifically, the Skill would decrease the time taken to draw ritual circles by five percent per Rank, and then another two and a half percent per twenty-five Dexterity he had. If he was being honest, that felt just as significant as any of the physical effects of the Stat. The time taken to draw his circles was one of the big things holding him back, especially when it came to Leveling up, with how his Empowerment Ritual would grow in time required by two additional hours every time he conducted it. This was a way to counteract that growth, earning points in a Stat that would reduce the time with each Level, too. It certainly was a strong point to consider. Awareness was a mental Stat, as opposed to the three physical Stats above it, which sharpened one¡¯s sight, hearing, and all other senses. It even improved things like multitasking and the speed of thought. This was one that Zeth technically got with each Level, but only a single point. And, once again, he felt that the largest part of this Stat to consider was that Compact Rites, which decreased the minimum diameter of his ritual circles, improved as he obtained more of the Stat. Minimum diameter would be an extremely good requirement to reduce¡ªless because it made his Empowerment Ritual easier, and more because it helped him use Hellfire Rituals in combat. The smaller those could be, the easier they¡¯d be to keep somewhere hidden. Currently, at around four and a half inches in diameter, they were just barely too large to be convenient; he could see that with his easier confrontation with Erza, Rosalie, and Alfon. He had no way to access the rituals in his pockets. But if they were a little smaller, his options on where to keep them would expand greatly. He already had plans on where to put them if he could just shave off another half inch. After that was Poise¡ªthe mental equivalent to Endurance. It improved self control and emotional regulation, allowing you to more easily put yourself into a ¡®mind over matter¡¯ state and ignore discomfort. However, its most important aspect was that it was commonly used to defend against System-related mental attacks. The demons were relatively unique in that their own fear effect tested a victim¡¯s Influence, but Zeth remembered the monsters from the Realm of Horrors down in that cave¡ªthose had checked his Poise to see if they¡¯d inflict their pain attack on him. And, for most other Classes that dealt with attacking the mind, they¡¯d check the same Stat. While this seemed useful to have more of, it was probably lower on Zeth¡¯s list of priorities for now. He already got a couple points with each Level to ensure he never fell behind, and none of his current enemies were attacking his Poise Stat, so for now, if his priority was safety, it would be best to go for Endurance. Then there was the aforementioned Influence. The primary function of this Stat was to enhance a person¡¯s social abilities. Zeth didn¡¯t have any yet so he wasn¡¯t entirely sure how it worked, but from what he¡¯d heard, it effectively enhanced a person¡¯s perception to extremely minute detail when it specifically came to analyzing other people. So they¡¯d be able to pick up on subtle body language cues, tiny changes in facial expression, and fluctuations in vocal tone to sense how a person was feeling and respond to it. Apparently, it was an extremely popular Stat among nobles and businessmen, as having a high enough Influence could effectively turn a person into a human lie detector, calling bluffs and predicting backstabs. Of course, as Poise was a Stat that improved emotional control, and Influence was a Stat that detected bodily changes caused by emotion, there was a natural tug-of-war where raising Poise would negate someone else¡¯s Influence, and raising Influence could overpower someone else¡¯s Poise, so everyone had a way to defend against would-be mind readers. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Regardless, Zeth didn¡¯t anticipate using Influence for its inherent effects very much. Truly being able to detect lies didn¡¯t come until a person¡¯s Influence was unimaginably high¡ªat lower totals, it mostly helped you get a subconscious awareness for how a person was feeling. Instead, he was considering this Stat because it was what would help him resist the mental effects of being around demons, and because it was used to improve Secure Rites. From what he¡¯d heard when speaking with his summoned demons these past few days, it seemed like you¡¯d need an extremely high Influence Stat in order to fully resist their auras of fear, but every point in the Stat would remove a slight bit of its effect. And then with Secure Rites, every twenty-five Influence would reduce his rituals¡¯ upkeep times by two-point-five percent, just like the other two. Zeth was already feeling how his current upkeep times were acting as a bottleneck when it came to his defenses using Hellfire Ritual, so cutting that number down would raise his defensive capabilities just as much. Seemed extremely useful. And finally there was Shaping; Zeth couldn¡¯t tell whether it was at the very top of his list of priorities to raise, or at the very bottom. Obviously, as a magic-based Class, he used Shaping in order to do just about anything. However, as a magic-based Class, he already got seven Shaping every time he Leveled up. Adding five more to that would obviously be helpful, but proportionally speaking, it wouldn¡¯t even double his gain, where choosing something like Endurance would almost triple it, going from three per Level to eight, and choosing something he received absolutely nothing of would be a proportionally infinite change. But still¡ªincreasing his Shaping was something Zeth absolutely knew would always be helpful. So those were his seven options. And he had to narrow it down to just one. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. To knock out some of the easier ones, Zeth didn¡¯t think Poise would end up being the best choice here. He was sure there would eventually come a time when he wanted more of that Stat, but that time wasn¡¯t now, and he didn¡¯t think those situations would end up being common enough to warrant using his most powerful Skill yet on. Similarly, he ended up deciding Strength was out for the same reasons. There would be times where he¡¯d want more Strength, but when all Hellfire Ritual needed was for him to simply touch his enemies, not to apply any force with that hit, adding to his Strength didn¡¯t feel like it would be the best use of this Skill. After some careful consideration, he ended up deciding against Shaping, too. He already got so much of it that adding to that number was simply not as powerful as his other options. And while he¡¯d always benefit from having some more in the Stat, he didn¡¯t frequently feel like he found himself in situations where he didn¡¯t have enough. That left him with four options¡ªthese would be tougher picks. Endurance was extremely useful for obvious reasons, especially when his main method of attack involved igniting a raging inferno right next to him, and then Dexterity, Awareness, and Influence all improved the three Rites Skills he had available to purchase. He had a feeling he¡¯d end up acquiring all three of those Skills soon, but if he picked one of their respective Stats, they¡¯d go from being useful to downright fantastic. Trying to be harsher with his cuts, Zeth ended up figuring that Awareness would probably need to be the next to go. He already got a little bit of it from each Level, which didn¡¯t help its case, but more importantly, Zeth wasn¡¯t sure how much he¡¯d need to continue reducing circle diameter after already getting the benefit from Compact Rites. The Skill on its own would be enough to bring his Hellfire Rituals to a perfectly workable size, with how it reduced the requirement by five percent per Rank without ever needing him to touch his Stats, and none of his other rituals were currently too necessary to reduce the diameter of. Dexterity and Influence, though, affected requirements that Zeth absolutely want to continue reducing as much as he possibly could. So the same argument couldn¡¯t be made for them. And Endurance¡­ Zeth pursed his lips. Perhaps Endurance would have to be next. Once again, it was a Stat he already got through Leveling up, so simply improving that already-existing rate of increase wouldn¡¯t be nearly as much of a difference in potential as providing Zeth with a completely new Stat to start raising. And, while survivability absolutely something he¡¯d need to watch out for, he already had Self-Destruction to help him recover, and he still had Heat Resistance waiting to be purchased, which would at least help with his issues regarding blowback from Hellfire Ritual. And if there were any other weaknesses he ended up needing to shore up, there were always other Universal Skills he could go and unlock to help. But improving his rituals? That was something no Universal Skill would be able to help with. So then, Dexterity or Influence¡ªreduce drawing time or reduce upkeep time. Dexterity was also useful in his fighting; unlike Strength, which would have limited usefulness when it came to hitting someone with a hellfire circle, Dexterity could easily allow Zeth to maneuver around someone¡¯s body and hit them from behind, or dodge a blow and retaliate with one of his own. Thinking back to his fights against the fleshtaker and mannitor, both would have gone significantly better if he¡¯d been a little more dextrous. They¡¯d involved quite a lot of ducking and dodging, trying to avoid being hit while keeping an eye out for any openings he could exploit. Dexterity would assist quite a lot with that, reduce the time needed to draw his rituals. But then, Influence had its own unique benefit. While the slight social boost the Stat gave would be nice, the real assisting quality would be that it helped him resist demonic fear. Not just against his own summons, but also against enemy ones. While Zeth was getting more and more capable of thinking properly and acting in spite of that fear, it was supremely annoying to deal with. Not to mention, it¡¯d probably help in case he ever went up against the enemy Blood Mage¡¯s summons. So these were the final two it came down to. Zeth did his best to mull over the decision carefully. Dexterity represented faster rituals; that was useful with Hellfire Ritual and Demonic Covenant, but really, it mostly assisted with Empowerment Ritual. Not only was that one several times more lengthy than any of his other rituals at a current time of almost eleven hours, but it would continue to grow longer and longer as he grew in power. If he didn¡¯t find a way to stifle that growth in requirement, he could soon find himself spending over twenty-four hours working on a single Level-up ritual. Not ideal. But then, reducing his upkeep time with Influence would end up giving him extra time to work on that Empowerment Ritual in the first place¡ªand it would help ensure he could keep more rituals prepared in case of emergency. Not to mention saving him from the discomfort of being around demons. But ultimately¡­Zeth considered each point in each Stat¡¯s favor. When it came down to it, the natural effects of Dexterity simply beat out the convenience of Influence helping him with the fear. He had already gotten to the point that, while he wasn¡¯t mentally unaffected, Zeth could at least function while around demons, and he didn¡¯t even plan to utilize demon labor in the near future, anyway. And if an opposing demon got close enough for him to be in their aura? He¡¯d probably have little way to defend himself, anyway. Whereas Dexterity would actively assist him in combat, in daily life, and in keeping from being caught by those opposing demons in the first place. And when comparing the two Rites Skills, reducing the time taken to draw his circles simply seemed more important. Reducing the fifteen-minute upkeep time of Hellfire Ritual by two-point-five percent would barely do anything, even when multiplying it by upwards of ten or even twenty ritual circles to keep up with, whereas reducing the time to draw an eleven-hour Empowerment Ritual by the same percentage would be a sizeable decrease every time it happened¡ªnot to mention the fact that, as Empowerment Ritual grew in requirement, the discount would also grow. So then, it seemed like he¡¯d settled on Dexterity. Time to make the choice. After a bit more time thinking it over and ensuring he¡¯d made the right decision, as well as glancing through the books he¡¯d bought to double-check if they said anything that could inform him on this decision, Zeth breathed in and opened his Status. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Otherworldly Excellence. -17 Skill Points. You have 0 Skill Points.] [You have chosen Stat: Dexterity.] He let out his breath. It was done. He finally had it. He stared at the floor of the room he was in. Empty. Perfect to draw a ritual circle on. It¡¯d be a shame to purchase a brand-new Skill without testing it out, right? Yeah. He was way too pumped to just go to sleep. It was time to finally Level up again. Chapter 45 It was gonna take almost eleven more hours to draw his next Empowerment Ritual¡ªpretty much the entire rest of the evening, and then most of that night. But Zeth was determined to push through and do it. He was well aware at this point that ever since he¡¯d come out of that cave, he hadn¡¯t taken even a single minute to just slow down and live his life. He was aware of the toll it¡¯d been taking on him. The lessening hours of sleep, even if he technically had enough points in Endurance to help him shrug off some of the physical effects, had been taking a toll on his mind. Less time for rest, more time for work. Less time for unwinding, more time for near-death experiences. It wasn¡¯t good for him. But as far as Zeth was concerned, it was a necessary expense. Hopefully, though, this would all be over soon. Now that he could start Leveling up again, and now that Erza wasn¡¯t a pressing issue, he could shy away from the daily risking of his life. Even if it wasn¡¯t sleep, holing up in his fortified base and allowing Vile Focus to relax his mind as he drew away at Empowerment Rituals would be far more relaxing than most of what he¡¯d done recently. And, of course, once he killed Garon and the Blood Mage¡ªwho may have been one and the same¡ªthen he could really begin to relax. He wouldn¡¯t be totally off the hook, of course¡ªwith an illegal Class, his life would never be a cakewalk¡ªbut it would be better. His goal would be completed, and then he could focus on the smaller things. Helping ensure Sophie made a good life for herself, earning some money, and consolidating his power to ensure he would be able to get quick, painful revenge on anyone who ever wronged him again. That was the ultimate goal. And he wanted to get there quickly. So, he worked through the night, painting away on the swath of stone floor that he¡¯d set aside for the four-foot Empowerment Ritual. He allowed Vile Focus to take over, and rested his mind for a bit. His mind may have been resting, but when he finally finished the eleven hours of labor, Zeth¡¯s body ached. Part of him wondered if it may have been worth putting Otherworldly Excellence into Endurance just so he wouldn¡¯t have to feel this sensation rippling throughout his body after spending too much time drawing. But what was done was done. And besides, adding to his Dexterity would hopefully help with that issue in its own way, loosening his joints and muscles. He took a deep breath, staring down at the completed Empowerment Ritual. Down in his underground complex, there was no way to tell day from night¡ªno way to visually see how many hours had passed. But just looking at it, he could practically feel the time investment. It was half as wide as Demonic Covenant¡¯s ritual circles needed to be, but took almost three times longer to draw. And Covenant¡¯s circle was far from sparse when it came to inner detailing. So this one was truly, ridiculously intricate. Zeth was pretty sure he¡¯d figured out why the ritual circles had a required time to begin with. They didn¡¯t care about how many lines were drawn or how much chalk covered the floor¡ªthey cared about how much mana Zeth poured into them. Erza had taught him how to examine magic items and look inward at their mana contents. And when he¡¯d done so with his ritual circles, he¡¯d found just how insane they were in terms of the mana stored inside. Each bit of chalk was practically flooding with the stuff. It made sense that he¡¯d gotten so utterly exhausted from just drawing an inch or two at the beginning of his career as a Blood Magus; even the most basic Hellfire Ritual required an absolutely massive amount of mana to operate. And so, if the chalk substance was what contained that mana, it made sense that more powerful rituals would require more of that chalk to work¡ªmore mana to carry out their effects. Taking a Skill to reduce that time requirement, then, wasn¡¯t just decreasing some sort of arbitrary limitation the Class placed on him; it was effectively using Skill Points to make an up-front investment, making a one-time purchase of a Skill to permanently increase the rate at which he could pour his mana into the chalk and feed the circles. All that was to say, when Zeth looked down at eleven hours worth of mana through the inner sight he¡¯d used to see the mana fields around Erza¡¯s magic items, it was a truly absurd sight to behold. No wonder that investigator woman had freaked out so much when she¡¯d used that Spell back in the shed to detect all the mana that had passed through the area around that time. Zeth had performed Empowerment Rituals in there. To someone who knew what that light meant¡ªhow much mana that must¡¯ve represtend¡ªit must¡¯ve given her quite a scare. Using his mage¡¯s eyes to see the mana in the circle, Zeth was almost blinded. Even a single Hellfire Ritual contained so much that it was difficult to see; this was quite literally like that times ten. More than ten, actually¡ªHellfire Rituals only took forty-five minutes. He almost fell backward at the majesty of the power contained within the dormant circle, ready to all be unleashed at once upon receiving a sacrifice in order to flow back into him and power up his Class once more. Zeth wondered what was so special about a blood sacrifice to be what triggered that power-up. Surely the blood requirement wasn¡¯t just an arbitrarily-chosen number, if the time requirement wasn¡¯t, right? And what did the minimum diameter mean? Presumably the upkeep requirement represented the fact that these mana in his circles would escape containment and decay over time, which would force Zeth to refill them before use, but what about the other two? He supposed he¡¯d have to do some more research to find that out. Regardless, he¡¯d waited long enough to Level up¡ªnow wasn¡¯t the time to stand around waiting even longer. It was time to push his numbers up, and to unlock a new Skill. So, he walked out of the ritual room and went to his storage room, where the containers of blood were housed. Zeth had asked the demons who made them to ensure they were airtight so as to avoid the blood spoiling¡ªand to avoid any rotten smells from permeating his complex¡ªso everything kept here would work fine for activating his rituals. Once he grabbed one of the half-full barrels containing some of the executed prisoners¡¯ blood¡ªand the vials of mannitor blood he¡¯d obtained¡ªhe took it back over to the ritual circle, popped the lid open, and began slowly pouring it out. Since Empowerment Ritual still had a sacrifice strength of just ¡°Moderately Low¡±¡ªcompared to Demonic Covenant¡¯s ¡°Moderate¡±¡ªthe completion percentage rose quickly, and within just a couple moments, it reached one hundred percent. [Empowerment Ritual¡¯s Rank has increased to 5. +1 Skill Point. You have 1 Skill Point.] The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [Otherworldly Excellence¡¯s Rank has increased to 1. +5 Dexterity. You have 5 Dexterity. +1 Skill Point. You have 2 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 7. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 27. +5 Dexterity. Your Dexterity is 10. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 7. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 14. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 49. +3 Skill Points. You have 5 Skill Points.] sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. All at once, a slew of notifications came flooding into Zeth¡¯s consciousness, informing him of the many increasing numbers within his Status. Not only did he receive his Level-up, but he also had two Skills Rank up at the same time¡ªone of them being Otherworldly Excellence, which increased his Dexterity alongside his Skill Points. And so, in a single moment, he¡¯d gone from zero Points all the way up to five. He smiled. This was an absolutely phenomenal feeling. After that, another notification came in, and his smile widened. Another Skill. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 7. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Vascular Hypertension.] Zeth frowned, looking at the name. That was certainly a mouthful. He didn¡¯t even know what those words necessarily meant. Well, there was no better way to find out than to read the Skill, right? So he dove in. [Vascular Hypertension - Cost: 11 Skill Points Allows your body to hold more blood in it than physically possible. Your blood compresses within itself so that your veins hold 10% more per Rank in this Skill, plus 2% more per point you have in the Endurance Stat. Your blood decompresses before leaving your body, leading to you losing blood from injuries at a typical rate.] He stared at the description. That was certainly¡­an interesting effect. At the very least, the numbers on this Skill were quite insane. Ten percent per Rank was relatively normal, doubling the amount of blood he could store by the time it reached max Rank, but that clause about Endurance was absurd. Compared to something like his Rites Skills, which gave two and a half percent per twenty-five in a Stat, this Skill gave two percent for . That¡¯d lead to an incredibly high boost extremely fast. Even now, his current Endurance total would give over a fifty percent increase¡ªand Zeth was still only Level seven. The only question was, would he even want a boost like that? It didn¡¯t seem like it could be a effect, but how useful would it end up being? Sure, it seemed like it could delay the process of bleeding to death from a would-be lethal wound, but bleeding out was only one way to die. It¡¯d do absolutely nothing if he got stabbed in the heart, if his brain was crushed, if he drowned, burned, got sick, anything. It was a pretty specific thing to protect against. And sure, any protection was good, but was it worth the cost? At least for right now, Zeth ended up figuring he had more important priorities to pick up first. Sure, in the end, this Hypertension Skill would only effectively cost a single Skill Point, but that was only after he Ranked it up to full. And after all that time without getting the regular infusion of three Skill Points from his Level-ups, Zeth had a long list of Skills he wanted to obtain first. With its low cost, this was certainly on the list, but it was nearer to the bottom. As for what was at the top¡­ Zeth looked over his list of available Skills, eyes settling on one in particular that jumped out to him. It was the cheapest one: Ritual Nexus Mastery¡ªthe Evolution. At only five Skill Points in cost, it would begin doling out its profits extremely quickly. Especially when he had so much circle drawing planned in order to Level up. And right now, Zeth was wanting for those potential Points. There was the obvious possibility of continuing to wait before purchasing the Evolution to see if another, better option showed itself. And it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad idea to do that. Right now, with the three remaining Blood Magus Skills of his that had yet to hit Rank ten¡ªEmpowerment Ritual, Demonic Covenant, and Otherworldly Excellence¡ªany one of them maxing out could possibly unlock a better option for Ritual Circle Mastery¡¯s Evolution choice. But Empowerment Ritual and Otherworldly Excellence both Ranked up from Zeth¡¯s Level-ups, meaning it would likely take a while before either of them hit Rank ten, and Zeth wasn¡¯t particularly eager to continue conducting demon summonings right now. So, if he wanted to wait to see if something else unlocked, he¡¯d have to lock himself in for the long haul. And he wasn¡¯t sure if that would be the right play. Sure, he could possibly unlock a marginally better option, but the one he had in front of him was already extremely useful, and would bring with it a great profit in Skill Points. Plus, the sooner he got this Evolution, the sooner he could bring Skill to its max Rank of twenty, and start unlocking its own Evolution options. It just seemed like the most efficient play. So, with the five Skill Points he¡¯d just earned from this single Level-up, Zeth made his decision and purchased the Skill. [You have purchased Ritual Circle Mastery Evolution: Ritual Nexus Mastery (II). -5 Skill Points. You have 0 Skill Points.] With that, he looked over his newly-changed Status. [CLASS Class Slot 1: Blood Magus - Level 7 Class Slot 2: (Locked) Skill Points: 0 STATS Strength: 3 Endurance: 27 Dexterity: 10 Awareness: 7 Poise: 14 Influence: 0 Shaping: 49 PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Otherworldly Excellence - Rank 1 Demonic Covenant - Rank 4 Vile Focus - Rank 10 Hellfire Ritual - Rank 10 Empowerment Ritual - Rank 5 Ritual Nexus Mastery (II) - Rank 10 UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Vascular Hypertension - Cost: 11 Incendiary Intensification - Cost: 13 Resonant Whispers - Cost: 9 Secure Rites - Cost: 12 Speedy Rites - Cost: 12 Compact Rites - Cost: 12 Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Unholy Strength - Cost: 18] Damn, was it good to finally see some of those numbers increase again after so long. Next, though, Zeth needed to get some sleep. As much as Vile Focus helped him rest his mind, his body needed a break, too. His mind flitted over to that Universal Skill he¡¯d unlocked¡ªSleep Deprivation¡ªwhich would allow him to go longer and longer periods of time without needing sleep. It only cost ten Points, so ultimately it¡¯d end up free after Ranking it up. Yet another Skill to add to the plan-to-purchase list. At this point, it was far too late at night for him to be prowling through town and trying to sneak back into his house to catch some rest there. He¡¯d just sleep down here in his base. As he found a suitable spot to pass out, Zeth went over his plan for the following day¡ªtoday, technically, considering it was past midnight. There was supposed to be some sort of town meeting the mayor had called, which Rosalie had expressed concerns about the Blood Mage making some sort of move at. So he probably needed to go. Not to mention, considering the disaster that had happened just recently, there would probably be some genuinely important things being said by the mayor. He just hoped it wasn¡¯t any bad news. So, with anticipation filling his mind¡ªboth for the upcoming town meeting, and for his own progressing power¡ªZeth lay down and fought his mind to calm so he could finally get some sleep. Chapter 46 Zeth awoke around noon¡ªnot that he had any proof of that, considering the fact that he was sleeping underground, but he could still tell. He¡¯d found during recent nights that he had a sort of subconscious understanding of time as it passed; he couldn¡¯t tell exactly what time it was, but he normally had a general idea. Whether it was from the few points of Awareness he¡¯d gotten from Leveling up, or from his practice working with exact times from all the ritual circles he¡¯d drawn, there was no denying he had a slowly strengthening sixth sense for it. And, on top of that, perhaps because of the self-control granted by Poise, he¡¯d slowly realized that he had far more ability to determine when he fell asleep than he used to. Even if he was tired, he could keep himself up for later, and even if he was coursing with energy, he could still force himself into unconsciousness. And similarly, he could also determine when he woke up, to an extent. He supposed these small quality of life shifts were just what a person naturally received from growing stronger in their Class and pushing various Stats upward. So, since the announcement in town was meant to be a few hours after noon, that was when he decided he should probably be up. A part of him was tempted to skip the meeting and simply hole up down in his base, continuing to draw Empowerment Rituals until he used up the entirety of his blood supply, but there was a high probability that at least a portion of the announcement would be dedicated to his own actions, so he figured he¡¯d better not miss it. So, after spending some time doing daily maintenance for his base¡ªprimarily redrawing the lost upkeep times on his circles¡ªhe headed into town, carrying a couple Hellfire Rituals in his pockets for safety. After using one of his typical routes to slip into town unseen from the outskirts of the forest, he walked through the streets over to the town hall, which was housed on the other side from the attacked area. The announcement hadn¡¯t begun yet, but already a sizable crowd had formed¡ªlarger than Zeth had ever seen from any other announcement that¡¯d been held. Even the times that a new mayor had been chosen by the leadership council hadn¡¯t drawn as many people. But mayors swapped out at a fixed interval, so they wouldn¡¯t be seeing a new one for a while. He supposed everyone just wanted to know what was next, after the several disasters that had occurred in so little time. As he joined up with the crowd, he spotted the familiar sheen of silver armor. It was Rosalie, and next to her was Erza. She glanced over and spotted him, lifting up a hand to wave him over. ¡°Zeth,¡± she said, nodding as he walked up to them, ¡°it¡¯s good to see you here. Protecting the people while they¡¯re grouped up here, vulnerable to attack, is an important duty.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± he said. ¡°Where¡¯s Alfon?¡± ¡°He¡¯s checking the perimeter. There¡¯s a Skill he has which makes detecting nearby people easy, even through stealth.¡± As they spoke, Erza eyed Zeth warily. ¡°So you¡¯re sticking with your story that you¡¯re not the Blood Mage, eh?¡± Rosalie sent him a sharp look. ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that when we¡¯re in public. You¡¯ll spread rumors.¡± ¡°Might be a good thing if the people learn to be on their toes around a potentially dangerous man.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I won''t hold it against you if you suspect me, but I ask you to trust me enough that you at least don¡¯t go around talking like that. You could put my family in danger.¡± ¡°Not sure if it¡¯s a good idea to trust someone who¡¯s lied to me in the past,¡± Erza said, ¡°but fine. On one condition: you keep working for me.¡± Zeth blinked in surprise. ¡°Really? I mean, sure¡ªI was kind of preparing to ask you for the same thing¡ªbut why are you interested in working with someone you distrust so much?¡± ¡°They way I see it,¡± Erza said, ¡°there are two possibilities here. Either you¡¯re telling the truth, and you really were capable of figuring out how to repair mana fields on the fly, in which case you have a lot of potential as a talented caster, or you¡¯re lying, and you¡¯ve got some special version of¡­that Class¡­that gives you the ability to work around its restrictions. Either way, you seem like a powerful ally to make.¡± ¡°I¡­see,¡± Zeth said. Ironically, both of those possibilities were true, in a way. ¡°As long as you continue paying me as much as we agreed on before, I¡¯m okay with that.¡± ¡°You both seem surprisingly okay with this arrangement,¡± Rosalie muttered. ¡°If I genuinely suspected someone of such a thing, I would gut them on the spot.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Erza said to Zeth, then turned to Rosalie. ¡°So you¡¯re saying I should kill him, then?¡± ¡°Absolutely not¡ªI said if suspected someone,¡± she responded. Then she looked at Zeth. ¡°And if someone suspected of such a thing, I feel that I would vomit on the spot. I certainly wouldn¡¯t do business with them.¡± Zeth reached out and shook Erza¡¯s hand. ¡°I guess we¡¯re both just results-oriented people. Even if the methods are messy, if they get stuff done, who cares, right?¡± Erza gave Zeth a half smile. ¡°Right.¡± Just then, Zeth heard someone call his name from behind. He turned around to see Sophie running at him, their mom trailing behind. ¡°Hey!¡± she said, coming to a stop in front of him. ¡°Have you been working ¡°Uh, no, no, I got some sleep,¡± Zeth said with a chuckle. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t stay out so much,¡± his mom said. ¡°With you not on the farm, our finances can¡¯t¡ª¡° ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± he interrupted, ¡°here.¡± He held out his hand, full of the leftover coins from after buying those books. She stared at the sum of money. ¡°That¡¯s¡­You already made that much?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± he said, deciding not to mention that he not only made even more than that, counting the amount he spent at the library, or that he¡¯d made this much just from a few hours of work, that he¡¯d set aside a portion of it as personal funds for his illicit activities. ¡°Should be enough to keep yourselves afloat.¡± ¡°Hi,¡± Erza said, stepping forward with his hand out, ¡°I take it you¡¯re Zeth¡¯s mother? I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met; I¡¯m his employer.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so good to meet you!¡± she said, looking between him and Rosalie. Even when seen through the eye of someone without any Shaping, it was obvious they were both equipped top to bottom with expensive, magical equipment¡ªErza especially. Upon noticing that, she squinted. ¡°So¡­what exactly does Zeth do for you?¡± Zeth wasn¡¯t sure if he liked these two people speaking with each other. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°General labor,¡± Erza said. ¡°I¡¯ve been training him to handle my magic items.¡± He stepped between them. ¡°Uh, yeah. Anyway, it looks like the announcement¡¯s about to start soon, so¡ª¡± ¡°You have items?¡± Sophie asked Erza, stepping forward. ¡°What do they do? Where did you get them?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I bought them.¡± ¡°Woah¡­¡± she said. Then she turned to their mom. ¡°Can we buy some magic items?¡± ¡°N-no,¡± she responded, still looking confused at the gear Erza and Rosalie were equipped with. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you people?¡± ¡°...We¡¯re bodyguards,¡± Rosalie said. ¡°Though, Zeth isn¡¯t hired as a bodyguard¡ªhe¡¯s hired to help us catch the Blood Mage terrorizing this town.¡± ¡°He¡¯s she asked. Zeth sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°I absolutely am going to worry about it! You¡¯re going out playing hero, and¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m earning the money you¡¯re relying on,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Not sure you¡¯re in any place to criticize that.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s relying on what¡ªI don¡¯t care about the money,¡± she argued. ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant when compared to your safety. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting you go out and try to fight some madman with an illegal Class.¡± ¡°Do what you can to stop me, then,¡± He¡¯d finally gotten a job to sustain himself, a base of operations that he owned, and a genuine plan for the future. Riding on that feeling of power, he finally felt capable of shutting her shit down. ¡°You don¡¯t care about money because I¡¯ve been taking care of you for this long. I promise, the moment you no longer get a free cash infusion every week, you¡¯ll suddenly start caring a whole lot more about avoiding death by starvation. So sure, if you don¡¯t wanna accept the money, don¡¯t. And when you inevitably can¡¯t provide for your daughter anymore, I will gladly take her in. But you do not get to order me around when am the one paying for to live.¡± She stared at him with wide eyes, unable to respond for a moment. Eventually, though, she took a deep breath, preparing to speak. ¡°You¡ª¡± But just as she spoke her first word, a loud, high-pitched noise echoed out from the top of the town hall steps, where everyone was gathered around. They all looked over to see what had made it, finding the mayor of their town standing on the stage, holding a voice amplification box. Zeth had seen the mayor a few times during other announcements like these¡ªhe was an older man, mostly bald on his head with a few stray hairs sticking out in random directions. His voice was gruff but not overly serious¡ªmore just sounding bored and tired. Today, though, he looked strange¡ªlike he¡¯d been losing sleep. His eyes were a bit more sunken, his posture smaller and more hunched, like he was eager to get out of there. ¡°Excuse me.¡± His words echoed from the box, across the entire square, and the crowd of chatting citizens silenced. He paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°Hello everyone. I¡ªI know I normally start things off with some lighter talk, but I suppose I should get right into the thick of things. Gods above know what you people need right now is not some old man wasting your time.¡± He chuckled, but nobody else made any sound. ¡°R-right,¡± he said. ¡°So, as you all know, there have been some¡­unfortunate events occurring throughout our lovely town in the past few days. The fleshtaker attack and subsequent fire, the prison break a few days after that, and now, just yesterday, a pack of mannitors trampled over an entire portion of our commercial district. In total, thirty-one lives have been lost to that most recent disaster. However, our guard is committed to preventing such a disaster from ever happening again. We have¡ª¡± ¡°Was the Blood Mage connected to the mannitor attack?¡± a shout from a member of the crowd asked. Murmurs rose up wondering the same thing. ¡°W-we have no evidence to suggest such a thing,¡± he said. ¡°Currently, all signs point to it simply being an unfortunately-timed accident. In addition, we have very fortunate news for you. The town guard has caught the Blood Mage.¡± At that, the confused murmurs intensified, and Zeth was right there with them. They¡¯d caught the Blood Mage? Had he missed something? ¡°Y-yes, it is indeed exciting news,¡± the mayor said. ¡°About one week ago, one of our town¡¯s members valiantly volunteered their residence to house a trap that would attempt to catch this Blood Mage. And soon after, it worked¡ªwe caught a Wicked thrall woman in the trap. And, after taking her in for questioning and testing, the guard has determined that she is the Blood Mage responsible for everything that has happened in this town.¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The murmurs grew louder. Someone shouted out, ¡°But what about the prison break?¡± Someone else yelled, ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t the Blood Mage do that?¡± ¡°Th-that has been determined to be an unrelated incident,¡± the mayor stammered, but even he didn¡¯t sound like he believed it. ¡°There was a demon!¡± someone shouted. ¡°I saw it!¡± said another. ¡°Rumors of demons have not been confirmed,¡± he said. ¡°And if there was one, it is possible that the demon was simply acting on old orders from before the Mage was captured. Currently, it is believed that there are no more Blood Mages residing in this town.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zeth heard Rosalie say from beside him. He looked over to see her baffled face. ¡°What is this man talking about? We personally reported what we saw to the guard. Erza, you watched them write that report, right?¡± ¡°They certainly wrote it down,¡± he responded. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like they listened, though.¡± ¡°The Blood Mage was right there, next to the demon the whole time,¡± she continued. ¡°And it was a man, not a woman. This is blatant falsehood.¡± Zeth agreed. It seemed clear that, whether or not the leadership of the town actually believed that the Blood Mage was captured, they were using that woman they¡¯d caught in his mom¡¯s shed as a scapegoat to quell peoples¡¯ worries. ¡°Quiet, please,¡± the mayor said over the various chatter. ¡°Quiet. Now, we have contacted empire leadership to ask them to send over a squadron of Inquisitors to confirm this woman¡¯s Class and to perform an execution. And, as we are so painfully aware of the suffering this Blood Mage has caused our beautiful town, we will be holding a public execution, so that everyone may witness as this rot is cut from our people.¡± As a halfhearted cheer arose from the still confused crowd, Zeth¡¯s face drained. Inquisitors coming? How soon? He¡¯d never had an up-close encounter with one, but from everything he knew about them, those guys were very bad news. For more reasons than just their ability to read a person¡¯s Status. They made up the empire¡¯s top squadron of soldiers for a reason¡ªthe Inquisitor Class was illegal to own for any normal citizen, likely because of the extreme power it offered. And if they came here and figured out the Blood Mage was still around¡­ Before he could continue that thought, though, Zeth spotted movement at the back of the stage the mayor stood on. It was raised tall enough that Zeth couldn¡¯t quite tell what was going on at the back¡ªhis view was blocked¡ªbut he saw the top of someone¡¯s head walking over, toward the mayor. It was just the person¡¯s hair, but Zeth recognized it. He squinted, staring at the person as they moved across the back of the stage. No way that was actually , right? ¡°Additionally,¡± the mayor said, ¡°I have one more announcement¡ªthis one on a more somber note. Because of these disasters¡­Because of these disasters, I have made the executive decision to step down as mayor of this town, effective immediately.¡± The crowd¡¯s murmur immediately exploded into a barrage of exclamations and questions, but the mayor kept speaking. ¡°The town¡¯s leadership committee has chosen my replacement. I thank you all. It has been a great honor serving each and every one of you in the great office of¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± a new voice said¡ªonce again, one Zeth recognized. His stomach dropped more and more as this scene continued on. From the back, that person walked up to the front of the stage, fighting the mayor away from the voice amplification box and pushing himself to the center as the mayor stumbled away. ¡°Hey there everyone.¡± Zeth stared at the man¡¯s face, white hot anger rising through his entire body. he thought. Garon smiled a toothy grin, waving at the crowd of people below him. He looked far too pleased with himself, like a child who had just gotten away with cheating their way to victory in a game. Zeth was going to kill him. This was it. Zeth was going to cave this fucker¡¯s skull in. It took all he could to avoid climbing right up onto the stage and beating the man to death. ¡°So,¡± Garon said, his ugly voice being distorted into an even worse sound by the imperfect amplification of the magic object. ¡°My name is Garon Orteenaz, one of the overseers of the great Otis and Roul¡¯s Mining Guild that has given this town everything it has. And basically, what¡¯s happening is, I¡¯m taking over.¡± Chapter 47 Garon¡¯s words echoed through the crowd of citizens, silencing them. Zeth¡¯s mind, however, was all but silent. he thought, unable to comprehend what had just happened. In a single announcement, with no prior notice to the town, the mayor had been replaced. Just like that. And by no less. There was obviously something going on behind the scenes here. ¡°Honey, isn¡¯t that your old boss?¡± Zeth¡¯s mom asked, leaning over to talk to him. ¡°From Otis and Roul¡¯s?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he said through clenched teeth. ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± ¡°Why did they choose him to be the next mayor, I wonder?¡± ¡°No idea.¡± He did have an idea, though. Garon was the Blood Mage, pulling the strings and connections Zeth the Blood Mage had with the town guard, with the guild, and apparently with the local government to take power in a moment of unrest. ¡°I¡¯m taking over,¡± Garon called out again over the crowd, ¡°and I¡¯m making this town a better place to live! There¡¯ll be no more monster attacks, no more crime, and no more Blood Mages rampaging through the streets. The old mayor had gone senile, I tell you¡ªmaybe he did a good job every now and then, but it¡¯s clear to me, and to everyone in this crowd, that he had no idea how to lead. But I promise you, I¡¯ll fix every problem that he created.¡± The crowd seemed to be warming up to his empty words. How they believed any single line out of that motherfucker¡¯s mouth, Zeth had no idea. But it seemed like they were desperate to believe someone could come along and fix their way of life. Zeth knew it was wrong, though. Garon was going to just exploit his new position of power to acquire yet more sacrifices, cause yet more destruction, and probably make life worse for everyone, just for the fun of it. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Rosalie muttered. ¡°How is he taking power like this?Is this man a noble from a nearby city?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Zeth said, contempt barely hidden from his voice. ¡°He¡¯s just some guy. A middle manager from the mining guild.¡± ¡°But who elected him?¡± ¡°The leadership committee. They¡¯re a group of people from all the major institutions within the town¡ªthere¡¯s someone from the guard, someone from construction, someone from the Otis and Roul¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°A person from a private company is on the committee that elects your mayor? And that committee elected a man from that exact company?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Zeth said. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much the summary.¡± Her expression hardened, looking back up at Garon atop the stage, continuing to make extravagant promises as he inspired false hope in the people below him. ¡°I have discovered a new facet of this town¡¯s corruption with every passing day I¡¯ve stayed here. Something must be done.¡± Sophie, not quite old enough to fully take in all the political speak Garon was spouting, had wandered away from their mom and over to Erza, who was watching the speech with a frown, his arms folded. Zeth watched as she tugged on his sleeve. ¡°Um, excuse me, you said you can do magic earlier, right?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± he asked, glancing down at her. ¡°Yes. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Can you teach me?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Unfortunately for you, education is rarely free. If you¡¯d like tutoring, feel free to ask your mother to discuss payment with me.¡± ¡°But she won¡¯t pay for it,¡± Sophie said. ¡°Can you just teach me a little bit?¡± He shook his head exasperatedly. ¡°No. Now, run along, little girl.¡± ¡°Please?¡± she begged. ¡°Just a little? I just wanna see! You don¡¯t even have to really teach me, just let me watch you work with Zeth, or something! I won¡¯t get it the way or anything, promise!¡± Zeth reached down to grab her shoulder, speaking gently. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re gonna be able to convince him. But I promise to teach you everything I learn when I work with him, alright?¡± As he said that, Zeth¡¯s attention was drawn back to Garon when the man changed his tone from the grandiose speech he¡¯d been doing to a more subdued, official way of talking. ¡°You will all be very happy to have me as your mayor,¡± he said. ¡°And I¡¯ll be conducting my first stretch of my future ruling from afar. I have lots of plans for talks and trade to conduct with neighboring territories¡ªit¡¯s all very boring, so I won¡¯t get into it¡ªand I¡¯ll be gone for a while to do all of that.¡± Zeth stared at him. He was leaving? Just like that? Hell no. Hell no, he was not getting away that easily. Garon continued, ¡°I¡¯m not sure when I will return, but I¡¯ll be leaving in a few days. However, during those days I¡¯m sure you will see a lot of change in this town¡ªfor the better. I¡¯ll assign someone to send messages to during my trip abroad, and so will be speaking to you through that person. Now, are there any questions?¡± Instantly, a dozen voices shouted out various concerns about what his policy on taxes may be, whether he planned to strengthen the town guard to what it once was, and plenty of other queries. Garon sighed, as if annoyed that anyone had the gall to actually ask anything, and nodded. ¡°Right. So, I¡¯ve heard you all, and have taken note of what you have to say, and will take it all into consideration. In the future, these questions will be answered. Anyway. Bye.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. And with that, he unceremoniously turned and walked away. As the crowd rushed to demand answers, Zeth¡¯s own mind rushed in its own way. Garon wasn¡¯t just leaving¡ªhe was leaving in the Zeth had only just gotten himself established and was planning on taking some time to consolidate his power¡ªhe certainly wasn¡¯t ready to go and assassinate his boss yet. And now that the man was the damn mayor of the whole town, he¡¯d be that much harder to kill. Zeth was barely prepared at all for this. He had to do it, though. Garon could not be allowed to leave. Even he had admitted he had no idea when he¡¯d return, and Zeth wondered if he would at all. He still had no idea what business the man had with being this place¡¯s mayor, but he probably had little plans to actually rule. Chances were, it was for something like political clout so he could gain favor with some noble family and fuck off to do business with them, never to return to this place. And for as long as that was even a slight possibility, Zeth wasn¡¯t about to risk losing hold on his target forever. If he was going to kill Gaorn, it had to be now. Right now. No more fucking around and slowly building up power. Zeth¡¯s heart beat faster and faster with a combination of frustration, anxiety, and unbridled excitement. Time was ticking now, and he had to do it. He had to finally fucking kill that bastard. Oh, how sweet that was going to be. ¡°I really had no idea they were even planning on replacing the mayor,¡± his mom said beside him. ¡°Oh, well. It makes sense that they would, after all of this. We¡¯ll see how the new one takes care of things.¡± Zeth barely listened. His ears rushed with blood. His mind hastily constructed a dozen different half-baked plans to sneak into Garon¡¯s house at night and slit his throat as he slept. ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s all,¡± she said. ¡°Come on, Sophie, let¡¯s go home. Zeth, are you coming?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± he said, blinking as he mentally caught up on what she was even asking. ¡°Actually, I was wondering if you could stay behind and help me with some more of my magic items,¡± Erza said. ¡°If you have time, of course.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can do that,¡± he responded, then turned to his mom. ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t. Work.¡± She pursed her lips, clearly thinking of their earlier conversation, but eventually sighed and shook her head. ¡°Alright. Come home soon.¡± ¡°Can I come with you and watch?¡± Sophie asked. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t get in the way.¡± ¡°No, Sophie,¡± his mom said. ¡°Zeth can go and do what he wants, but you¡¯re coming home with me. I won¡¯t let some deranged bounty hunters drench of my children in their bad influence.¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Erza frowned at her words, but said nothing. ¡°Please?¡± Sophie begged her. ¡°Just for a minute¡ªI really want to see.¡± Her mom pulled her away. ¡°Don¡¯t be disobedient. I said no. That''s final.¡± Zeth grimaced at the way she was treating his sister. Even if he agreed that he didn¡¯t really want Sophie hanging around Erza, it still upset him to see her get shut down like that. He committed to himself twice as hard to teach her everything he learned from this work. But right now, there was something far more time-sensitive he had to do.. He looked at Erza. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get some stuff done.¡± It only took a few hours before Erza was satisfied with the number of mana fields Zeth was able to patch up. So once he said Zeth could go, he hurried out. Erza had to call after him to remind him that he still needed to accept payment for his services, but after Zeth doubled back to grab his sack of coin, he said his goodbyes and headed out to the forest. The moment he arrived in his base of operations, Zeth took a deep breath, trying to calm his still-racing heart. What was he going to do? Gaon was leaving in ¡®a few days,¡¯ but Zeth had no idea whether that meant he had a week to prepare, or just forty-eight hours before the man was in a carriage headed off to who-knows-where¡ªHell, he it was possible he¡¯d even pay for teleportation. Whatever plan Zeth figured out, he¡¯d have to be able to complete it as soon as possible. Tonight, ideally. At the latest, tomorrow night. After that, he¡¯d begin risking a total loss. So then, yet another time the question ran through his mind¡ªwhat the fuck was Zeth going to do? The only preparations he currently had available to him were a bunch of Hellfire Rituals he¡¯d prepared on mobile pieces of cloth. But that was it. It was at this point Zeth had to face the truth¡ªit was far more likely than not that Garon was the Blood Mage he was looking for. And it was even more likely, especially after today, that the man had connections spanning the entire town. The entire local law enforcement was almost certainly in his pocket, and he probably knew¡ªno matter what the government said about that lady being the Blood Mage and how they didn¡¯t believe anyone else was out there¡ªthat Zeth existed, and was hostile to him. Maybe he didn¡¯t know it was Zeth specifically, but Garon knew to be cautious of a rival Blood Mage. Maybe that was another reason he was gearing to leave as soon as possible. What that meant was that Garon probably had a whole lot of guards posted outside his living quarters ready to protect him from intruders, and, even worse, he probably also had his entire set of Blood Mage powers set up and ready to kill anyone who made it past the wall of bodies. So then what was the plan, if Garon had so many defenses set up? Only, Zeth didn¡¯t actually what he had prepared¡ªor whether he had anything to defend himself, at all. Maybe the man wasn¡¯t the Blood Mage. Either way, he¡¯d have to die, but there was a chance that Zeth was worrying too much about something that wouldn¡¯t be troublesome at all. Not a chance, but there was a chance. The problem was, there was little Zeth could do to figure out what to expect other than to just try to kill the man and see what happened. But could he do it alone? Maybe he could somehow convince Erza to help in exchange for money? Probably not. Or he could get Rosalie¡¯s help¡ªhe could maybe reason with her more morally. But then, if he asked either of them for assistance, he¡¯d have to somehow convince them he wasn¡¯t a Blood Mage the whole time, which wouldn¡¯t be ideal. There was also¡­ Demonic Covenant. But he pushed the idea from his mind. For as long as he had any other option, he didn¡¯t want to rely on demons to protect him¡ªor do anything of importance whatsoever. They were good manual laborers, but they¡¯d take advantage of him if he tried to get their help in a life-or-death scenario. Especially when he¡¯d be taking them into a highly populated area. All it¡¯d take would be one ¡°accidental¡± stray attack to take a building down atop a family. Zeth didn¡¯t want to have to worry about figuring out a perfectly-worded contract to form with a demon while he was also dealing with Garon. he thought, trying to calm his racing thoughts. No matter what, it would be best to strike at night. Whether or not Garon was well-defended, Zeth would need to get away without being spotted, and a natural cover of darkness was the best way to do that. And other than that, there was one other thing he knew he¡¯d need to have prepared, no matter what his plan ended up being. Zeth walked over to the room where he stored his Hellfire Rituals. These were his weapons. Currently, they hadn¡¯t had their mana fields patched up yet, but if Zeth was going for a mission of stealth, he¡¯d absolutely need to do that. And, if he was already going to wait until nightfall, doing so would be a good use of his time until then. So he got to work, using the practice he¡¯d just gotten in with Erza. This was it. Today was the day he was going to kill his boss. Chapter 48 By the time night began to fall, Zeth had prepared five Hellfire Ritual circles for use. He didn¡¯t anticipate using all of them, but it was better to have too many than too little. He could feel the effects of his newly-Evolved Skill, Ritual Nexus Mastery, kick in as he worked, primarily enhancing his two highest Stats¡ªEndurance and Shaping¡ªto keep him feeling both physically and mentally spry even after the hours of work he¡¯d just performed. And he was going to need that energy for what came next. Because after he¡¯d finished, Zeth donned the identity-concealing outfit he¡¯d used during the mannitor attack, threw on some loose clothes over it, and headed back out into town. It wasn¡¯t fully midnight yet, so some people were still out on the streets, but that made for good cover. Right now, he just needed to gather information on his target. He knew where Garon lived from the long time he¡¯d spent working under him¡ªhe¡¯d even been forced to go and bang on his door to wake him up and convince him to come in to work on days that lazy asshole had slept in¡ªso he was at least somewhat familiar with the house¡¯s layout. Of course, considering it was guild housing, the entire thing would take the exact same layout as any other house that any other guild member lived in, so whether or not Zeth had seen it before, he¡¯d still know it like the back of his hand. And thankfully, as Zeth passed by the house, it seemed like Garon was still staying there. The unfortunate part, of course, was that Zeth could only tell Garon was staying there because of the dozen guards all posted outside the house. The single structure looked as well-guarded as a treasure vault. After passing by a couple times to see if he could spot any weaknesses in the defenses, Zeth sighed, bit his lip, and relegated himself to waiting elsewhere for the light to disappear completely from the town streets, so he was the last one around. He at least had a basic analysis of the objective. Now, he just had to complete his mission. As for how he was going to do that, he still had little idea. But he had to try. So, after taking one last deep breath and ensuring nobody was around, Zeth stripped off the loose clothes he wore over his undersuit, pulled the hood and mask over his face, and headed back over to the house. It was protected, but all he¡¯d seen were some normal town guards. Perhaps he could scare them off with some simple intimidation? Pose as the big bad scary Blood Mage, here to take their souls, and hope they run away? The black suit helped with stealth as he darted between buildings and alleyways, approaching Garon¡¯s house and peering at it once again. Unfortunately, none of the guards seemed to have left to sleep¡ªor at least, if they did, they were replaced with new ones. They stood around at attention, occasionally leaning over to chat with one another. He went over his mental blueprint of the house. It was ¡®L¡¯ shaped with a front and back door on either end, and at least one window on each wall. Each wall also had at least one or two guards posted by it though, so every possible entrance was covered by one. It didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d be able to sneak in. And, considering he was trying to get , a momentary distraction was unlikely to work, either¡ªafter distracting the guards, he would have to break in, after which they¡¯d almost certainly be suspicious enough to go in the house and check things out. And that was all relying on the hope that there was nobody else on guard inside, as well. Unfortunately, with just his Hellfire Rituals at his disposal, Zeth had little tools to get inside. And the only way he could attack a guard was by burning them to death, so it wasn¡¯t like he could just knock them out, or something. His mind went to Demonic Covenant as a possibility, but he pushed the thought away. Bringing a demon town after what the last one did? It was asking for another disaster. It really was feeling more and more like his only chance was to simply walk right up to them and try to scare them into stepping aside. But it would be idiotic to try that; if he failed to convince them to run off, he¡¯d be simply walking straight into the hands of law enforcement, with the only hope of escape being to kill every single one of the guards who were just doing their jobs. He stared at the house intently as he repeatedly went over his options, as if a new method to get inside would just appear before his very eyes. But as he did so, he heard a noise, like metal boots clanking against stone roads. Someone was approaching. Quickly, he slinked back, further into the shadows of the alleyway he was hiding in, to avoid being seen by whoever this was. As he crept behind cover, he watched the house. And it was then that he saw who it was. He recognized the unmistakable silver plate armor, the gigantic warhammer wielded in a single hand, and the straight, proper back of the woman who had gone from an ally to an enemy to an ally once again¡ªRosalie. She walked through the street, directly up to the house. Zeth cursed internally. Was she hired to be protecting this place? If so, he¡¯d likely just lost any chance of getting in; he was already hesitant about his ability to intimidate those guards, but Rosalie would absolutely never back down from someone claiming to be the Blood Mage. But then, he saw her stop in front of the house, the group of guards staring at her suspiciously. ¡°Excuse me,¡± she said in a matter-of-fact, official tone. ¡°I¡¯m going to be breaking into this building.¡± Zeth stared at her from his hiding place, slack-jawed. The guards stared at her with a similar expression. One of the ones in front stepped forward, holding his spear. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°I am going to break into this house,¡± she said simply. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with the man currently residing in it.¡± ¡°...You can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°I certainly can.¡± The guard looked at her like she was going insane¡ªan assessment which Zeth largely agreed with at the moment. ¡°Ma¡¯am, if you continue to threaten to commit such a crime, we will have no choice but to arrest you. This residence currently houses the new mayor¡ªhaven¡¯t you heard?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware. That is why I¡¯m asking to break in.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Hesitantly, the guard lowered his spear to point at her, though he looked more confused than battle-ready. The rest did the same. ¡°Ma¡¯am, I¡¯ve warned you. If you do not leave right now, we will not hesitate to arrest you.¡± She stared at them, and lifted her warhammer. ¡°If you challenge me to a duel, I will accept. However, I do not believe such a thing would be particularly wise. I am far, far stronger than you. Any of you.¡± The guards eyed her gigantic warhammer, held up like it was nothing. ¡°We outnumber you¡ªnot just the few you see in front of you, but the dozens of guards stationed throughout this town. Do you really believe you would be able to take us all?¡± ¡°No. But do you believe I would fail to defeat a single one of you? Certainly the first to strike me would be the first to fall, at the very least.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯ve trained to fight and die for this town. If you think you can threaten us into¡ª¡± ¡°But have you been trained to fight and die for this man?¡± she interrupted. The guard speaking to her faltered. ¡°This ¡®Garon Orteenaz¡¯ person is not your town. In fact, he seems to be prepared to abandon you all in the next day or two. You did not elect him, and you did not elect the people who elected him; he does not represent this town, and he certainly does not represent your people. Do you truly believe he wants what is best for you? For your family? Loved ones? Do you believe his continued rulership in this town will make the people you protect happier? You heard his speech¡ªhe believes in nothing, and his words are naught but lies. He wishes to siphon personal wealth and power from this town, and he is using you to do it. So I repeat: do you wish to fight and die for this man?¡± The guards were silent. ¡°I will not kill him.¡± she said. ¡°You have my word. I do not believe in cold-hearted murder, nor do I believe such a thing would solve a single problem this town has. The rot is structural; I wish to discover where that rot originates from so I may cut it out from the source. If you would like, you may personally oversee my conversation with the man inside. But I be having that conversation. The choice you have is whether that conversation will occur with you standing behind me, or with you lying on the ground.¡± They continued to stare at her in silence, but Zeth could see even from his far-off position that they had all but conceded. He supposed that was the option he hadn¡¯t considered. Simply convince the guards that they should let him in of their own accord. She seemed to sense the same thing he did, and strode forward. The guard that was blocking the front door quietly stepped aside, and she walked right up the door, and turned around to face him, holding out an open hand. ¡°Give me the key.¡± After another moment¡¯s hesitation, as though waiting for one of his comrades to step up and stop her, he simply nodded and unhooked the key from his belt, handing it over to her. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said as he dropped it into her palm. She turned and inserted it into the door, then opened it and walked inside. For a few seconds, none of the guards spoke with one another, simply staring at the wide-open door in silence. But eventually, the one who let her in turned around, paused for a moment as if to gather his courage, and stepped through the door, as well. The rest didn¡¯t follow. Zeth was left crouched in the alleyway, staring at the place. What in the world was happening? And what was she going to talk to Garon about? Whatever it was, he knew he had to hear. So, steeling his nerves, he crept to the edge of the alleyway, trying to listen. He couldn¡¯t make out any sound coming from the house, though¡ªwas he too far away? The guards were still staring at the door, not looking out for anyone else, so he took a chance and ran out into the road, dashing across to another, much closer alleyway and ducking behind cover in there. Now, he was only a dozen or so feet from the house, able to hear almost everything as he hid. From inside, there were sounds of metal boots stomping along the wooden floor. A door opened, then slammed shut. Then another, and another. Was she just randomly opening doors until she found the bedroom? It shouldn¡¯t have been too hard. After quite a bit of time opening and closing doors, tossing various objects around, and even moving furniture, from the sounds of it, Zeth didn¡¯t hear any conversation. But then, Rosalie spoke. Not to Garon, though¡ªit seemed like she was speaking to the guard that went inside with her. ¡°Where is he?¡± The guard muttered too quietly for Zeth to hear. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know?¡± she asked, sounding increasingly irritated. ¡°You were charged with guarding him as he slept. How do you not know where he is?¡± Once again, the guard said something in a low tone. Rosalie was quiet for a moment. ¡°So he somehow snuck out of the house, which you were specifically positioned around such that nobody would be able to get in or out. That¡¯s your position? What, is this some sort of trick? Are you buying time while he¡¯s turned invisible and running off?¡± At that, the guard rushed to say ¡°No, it¡¯s not that!¡± loud enough for Zeth to hear, before returning to mutter an incomprehensible response. ¡°Well then, where is he?¡± Her question was responded to by silence. After another minute or two, she marched out of the house, frown plastered across her face. She wheeled around to face the guards. ¡°Not a word about me, or what I said to you. Not to this new mayor, wherever he is, and not to any of your comrades. I suppose I¡¯ll have my conversation with him later.¡± And with that, she marched off. Zeth watched her as she walked away. She hadn¡¯t found him? No way, right? Why would the guards be asked to stand around an empty house? And how could they possibly have missed Garon leaving the house, if they¡¯d watched him enter? Zeth could think of at least one answer: Garon inside. He must¡¯ve had some secret entrance to an underground lair, like Zeth¡¯s, full of ritual circles and demons and stores upon stores of blood. There was no other explanation. Only, if that was the case¡­ Zeth looked down at his preparations. He had a few pieces of cloth with some Hellfire Rituals painted on them, and some vials of blood to activate them. Certainly not a bad set of weaponry when breaking into someone¡¯s house and killing them in their sleep, but breaking into an entire Blood Mage¡¯s lair? He wasn¡¯t so sure. Demons, traps, and whatever else a high-Level Blood Mage had at their disposal¡ªhe didn¡¯t think he could beat it alone. He needed help. Not just to get past the guards and into the house, but also to get through whatever onslaught of attacks would come at him the moment he found where Garon was hiding. His mind went to Rosalie. She was clearly perfectly competent, considering how easily she¡¯d made her way inside. She shared a common goal with him, she knew how to beat Blood Mages¡­and she¡¯d kill him the moment she found out he was one. Attempting to ally with her could very easily lead to certain death. But what other option did he have? How else could he quickly, easily make a powerful ally that would help him kill this man? As if his subconscious was speaking to him, Zeth¡¯s inner mind went to a single line on his Status. [Demonic Covenant - Rank 4] He stared at the Skill. He¡¯d sworn off demons. He had seen the disasters they could wreak on his fellow human beings. They were uncontrollable, horrible creatures that would exclusively use their immense power to inflict as much death as they could. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But they seemed to be his last hope to kill Garon. That man would have demons, too. And the most reliable way to beat a power like that was to simply get one of your own. He sighed. So he turned and headed back for the forest. Just this one last time. Then he could kill Garon, and it¡¯d be done. Chapter 49 Back in his base, Zeth lay on the floor and tried to get some sleep. It was already late at night¡ªenough so that if he spent four hours conducting Demonic Covenant, he¡¯d barely have any time left in the dark to hunt Garon down. So whether he summoned one now or later, he¡¯d have to wait until tomorrow night before he took any action. And he wasn¡¯t about to go to sleep with a demon sitting around in his base. Despite the fact that his Poise Stat helped him fall asleep when he wished to, Zeth had a very tough time forcing himself into unconsciousness. His heart was pounding, his mind racing. Tomorrow he would prepare, and that night he would do it. That would be his last chance¡ªhe¡¯d find Garon, wherever the damn man was, and kill him. He¡¯d put an end to all of this. Eventually, though, he ended up drifting off. When he awoke, Zeth went to do upkeep around his base, and when he finished that, immediately got to work on an Empowerment Ritual. After the one he¡¯d done on the previous day, this one would take a whopping twelve and a half hours to draw, but it looked like, if he drew and completed one and then instantly moved on to creating a Demonic Covenant circle, he¡¯d have just enough time to finish as the cover of night fell over town. From there, he¡¯d set up his demon with as strict a set of rules as he possibly could, and head out. Empowerment Ritual was getting to the point, now, that even with Vile Focus operating at full effect, it still felt like it was taking forever. Twelve hours was the majority of his waking time in a day; it wasn¡¯t really possible to skip past that and not feel a thing. He was even beginning to feel that signature mental exhaustion of overspending his mana once again, after not having felt much of it ever since he¡¯d left the cave. Ritual Circle Mastery¡ªnow Ritual Nexus Mastery¡ªwas supposed to protect him from that feeling, but he supposed it only did so much; it seemed like the intense time requirement of Empowerment Ritual was beginning to catch up to him. But that was all the more reason to hurry and Level up as much as he could, so he could push his Stats higher and be as powerful as possible when heading into the unknown situation that would be his attempt to kill Garon. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Ritual Nexus Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 11. +1 Skill Point. You have 1 Skill Point.] Eventually, he finally completed the ritual, collapsing onto the stone floor the moment he drew the final line on the ground. But he didn¡¯t have time for rest. After taking that moment to reorient himself, Zeth went and grabbed a container of blood, opened it up, and began pouring it out, where the liquid sank into the ground as usual. The sacrifice percentage filled and filled, and just as the container bottomed out, Zeth got a couple notifications. [Otherworldly Excellence¡¯s Rank has increased to 2. +5 Dexterity. You have 15 Dexterity. +1 Skill Point. You have 2 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 8. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 30. +5 Dexterity. Your Dexterity is 20. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 8. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 16. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 56. +3 Skill Points. You have 5 Skill Points.] Zeth set the now empty container on the ground next to him. With that one gone, and the one he¡¯d used for the previous Level also nearing empty, he was quickly running lower and lower on his once plentiful stores of blood¡ªespecially now that he hadn¡¯t been killing prisoners to replenish those stores for some time. He only had three Wicked thralls left¡ªthough, now that he was about to summon another demon, that number was likely going to decrease further¡ªso they represented a bit more. Still, it¡¯d be nice to get something sustainable going. Just as an idea began to form itself, Zeth¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by another notification. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 8. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Sanguine Renewal.] He shook his head. [Sanguine Renewal - Cost: 15 Skill Points When you are injured, as long as your body contains a healthy amount of blood, automatically consumes 1% of that blood per second to rapidly recover those injuries, prioritizing life-threatening ones first. The rate at which your body is healed depends on your normal healing rate and the amount of blood being consumed, and is increased by 1% per point you have in the Endurance Stat, plus an additional 1% per point you have in the Shaping Stat.] Zeth raised his eyebrows reading over the text. That was certainly interesting¡ªa healing Skill that would automatically recover his wounds, but at the cost of consuming his blood. Which, of course, if he was wounded, blood would likely be coming at a premium. This one didn¡¯t specifically say at what rate his injuries would be closed up, but it seemed like it¡¯d be pretty fast, the way the Skill was worded¡ªpresumably fast enough that he could get cut open during a fight, and then over the course of that fight his blood would be consumed and the cut would be healed. And this Skill specifically seemed like it¡¯d work extremely favorably with two others. First, considering that the rate of this Skill¡¯s healing would depend on his normal healing rate, it seemed like Self-Destruction boosting that healing rate would be an insane boost in power. Currently, Self-Destruction quadrupled his healing rate, so that meant this Skill would be four times as effective. And if it only consumed a fixed amount of blood per second, that meant four times the number of wounds it¡¯d be able to heal before his store of blood ran out¡ªan amount that would increase as he found ways to Rank up Self-Destruction. And secondly, this Skill also seemed to synergize intentionally well with the one he¡¯d gotten only a single Level earlier¡ªVascular Hypertension. That Skill increased the maximum amount of blood he¡¯d be able to carry within his body, which meant more blood that could be expended before he ran out. And, since Sanguine Renewal took a consistent one percent of his blood per second and grew more powerful the greater raw amount of blood was being consumed, having a larger amount of blood in his system would be a direct increase in the Skill¡¯s effectiveness, as well. This one seemed like an incredible find. It was relatively expensive, at fifteen Skill Points¡ªthat was as much as Demonic Covenant had cost¡ªbut seemed more than worth it. Especially when considering the fact that he had so many methods to grow its power not just through his Skills, but also with his natural Stat growth per Level. Regardless, it was currently outside his ability to afford, so he¡¯d figure out what order to purchase all these Skills he was unlocking later. Right now, he had business. It was time to summon a demon. He took a deep breath. This would be a repeat of the last time. He wouldn¡¯t let it kill more people or destroy more of his town. There was only one person dying tonight, and it was Garon. He would treat this thing as an enemy through and through; he would treat it as the monster it was. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Running those promises through his mind over and over, he knelt on the ground and began drawing. When he was finished going through the motions of drawing out his ritual circle, Zeth went to his storage room as usual, pulling down yet another container of blood. He really was going through the stuff faster than he thought he would. Once he returned to the ritual room and stood over the circle, blood in his hands, he opened the container. But he couldn¡¯t push himself to pour it out. Summoning another one of these things¡­ He closed his eyes and steeled his nerves. That disaster had happened because he it happen. He hadn¡¯t been strict enough, and allowed himself to be tricked. That would not happen this time. He would stay constantly vigilant, and would use the demon as a tool. A dangerous tool¡ªa tool that had to be respected¡ªbut a tool. He would use it for its purpose, and then discard it once he was finished. There was no other way of dealing with their species. With a deep breath, he tipped the container over, allowing blood to flow out and sink into the floor in the center of the eight-foot-wide circle. Once it had accepted the full sacrifice required, he set the container down, standing atop the active circle. Time to summon this thing. He placed his hands on the glowing lines of the ritual circle and focused inward on selecting a location. Zeth was reminded of the previous demon he¡¯d summoned¡ªhow that one had been a soldier on a battlefield, and how that battle was likely to have ended around now. He still curious about how that had gone, so if the winning side was still there to pick up the pieces, perhaps he could ask about it. With no other significant options for where to put down his beacon, he simply decided to put it down in that same place, in the middle of the battlefield. The moment he did, he got a System notification. [Demonic Covenant¡¯s Rank has increased to 5. +1 Skill Point. You have 6 Skill Points.] He blinked as the ritual surged to life and the warm glow of the summoning began filling the room. Wait, really? It was really that quick? It hadn¡¯t even taken a single second for a demon to answer the call; normally, it would take at least a minute or two. Even the shortest response he¡¯d ever seen had been twenty, thirty seconds. Did he happen to just place it right down on top of a demon? But surely they¡¯d have to at least take some time to think about whether they wanted to answer the call, right? As he backed away from the circle, staring curiously at the intensifying glow, he got another unexpected notification. [Requirement fulfilled: Demonic Covenant Rank 5. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Friend of the Unhallowed.] Oh, he got an extra Skill for bringing Demonic Covenant to Rank five. That name, though¡ªFriend of the Unhallowed¡­He wasn¡¯t sure he liked the sound of it. Still, it was always nice to get these extra Skills just for Ranking up his already existing ones. The extra options were always nice, considering he didn¡¯t have to Level up in order to¡ª [Requirements fulfilled: Demonic Covenant Rank 5, Empowerment Ritual Rank 5. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Empowered Summon.] he thought. Two Skills from a single Rank-up. Pretty interesting. Empowered Summon sounded like it¡¯d be¡ª [Requirements fulfilled: Demonic Covenant Rank 5, Hellfire Ritual Rank 5. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Unstable Anatomy.] Zeth stared at the third Skill unlock notification. This was getting ridiculous. Just how many new Skills would this single ritual give him? He was almost thankful when no more came through. Seeing so many notifications pop up unexpectedly almost made him uneasy. Still, with so many appearing, at least one of them would have to be pretty good, right? If not all three. His nervousness from the surprise quickly morphed into excited anticipation to see what he¡¯d just gotten. Seeing what all of those new Skills did would have to wait, though. His demon was almost here. As the glow reached its crescendo, fire erupted in the air above the ritual circle, and then quickly dissipated. And in its place stood a demon. But this one looked different from the rest he¡¯d seen. The broadest strokes were the same. Like all demons, her body rippled with muscle¡ªnot so much that she looked unnatural, but enough that Zeth found his eyes being drawn to her defined biceps and abs. And she had the same red-tinted skin and black horns protruding from her skull that all demons did, as well. No, what made her different were the details. All demons had differently-shaped horns. Some would curl in a circular fashion like a ram¡¯s, others went straight upward, and others pushed forward for an inch or two, only to curve around and point straight back. This demon, though, had horns that split. They branched out, like a hateful tree with spiked branches, eager to stab any bird that dared land on its bark. And unlike the natural, bony, slightly dirty-looking substance that made up other demons¡¯ horns, hers looked almost¡­shiny. Like someone had spent hours polishing them that very morning. The hair that flowed down her head was the same color as her horns, a void black that consumed all light that touched it. Her hardened face looked like every muscle it contained was under strict control, as if she had spent years practicing facial expressions in a mirror. Currently, they were arranged to show cold indifference¡ªthat same sneer Zeth had become intimately familiar with after the number of summonings he¡¯d performed. Really, taking any of the individual parts of her face one at a time, they almost looked cute. Pouty lips, soft eyes with dark irises, a button nose. But when put together, she seemed to perfectly¡ªalmost intentionally so¡ªportray the face of evil. And, of course, there was her skin. Zeth¡¯s mind was brought back to the third demon he¡¯d summoned¡ªthe one with the darker skin. That one had inflicted him with the most intense fear he¡¯d felt yet, and when he asked why, the demon had said that, effectively, the stronger the demon was, the stronger the fear would be. And an easy way to determine a demon¡¯s strength was by looking at the shade of their skin. As their skin grew darker with each hour they spent under their murderous sun, a darker color would naturally mean a more powerful specimen. And this demon had the darkest, richest red skin Zeth had ever seen. A truer color than even his own blood. It was all of these aspects¡ªthat flawless garnet skin, the intimidating expression signature of demonkind that was ironically made up of angelic features, the polished black horns branching out with spear-like tips, like they had been sculpted intentionally to look as fatal as possible, and the form that looked like she was capable of ripping a human apart with her bare hands and had done so countless times already. All of these aspects put together were what made her look so different. They were what made her look so striking, like her form was being seared into Zeth¡¯s mind with every second he looked at her. Then, the wave of fear hit. [Influence check failed.] Instantly, Zeth fell to the ground. It wasn¡¯t a wave of fear¡ªit was a tsunami. It was a meteor strike of fear, annihilating his entire world. Any idea regarding this monster left his mind, replaced exclusively with a single repeating word: He was back in the state of the first time he¡¯d ever summoned one of these things, his mind completely overwhelmed by the urge to get as far away from this thing¡ªthis horrifying, unnatural, heinous ¡ªas possible. Not a single thought existed in his brain other than those of figuring out how he could survive the next five seconds. Zeth tried to control his breathing. He tried to keep his heart from seizing up. He tried to keep his mind from overheating and killing him on the spot. In the back of his mind, he knew he was acting irrationally, but he couldn¡¯t help trying to end the unbearable mental agony that was this feeling of intense terror. As he kicked back, away from the demon in the ritual circle, she turned to look at him, eyes meeting his. Her expression of cold indifference had been morphed by his overanxious mind into one of murderous rage. And in that moment, Zeth realized that his jaw was shivering so much, he couldn¡¯t get the words ¡®don¡¯t move¡¯ out of his mouth. He couldn¡¯t even command her not to kill him. Was this really it? Was this how he was going to die? But she didn¡¯t charge forward and tear him to shreds. Instead, this demon did something that Zeth had never seen a demon do in his entire time working with them. This demon did something completely incongruous with the image of her that the fear had been spending so much effort building up. She got down on her knees, head bowed and hands clasped together, and begged, ¡°Please, please do not unsummon me.¡± The strange action loosened the grip her insanely intense fear aura had on his mind, and he felt himself regain control of his mouth. ¡°W-what? A-and don¡¯t hurt me. And don¡¯t leave that circle for now.¡± She didn¡¯t seem to pay any attention to the commands he was giving, staying in the pose that almost resembled one of prayer. ¡°Please, I beg of you. If you unsummon me, I will die. Allow me to stay here for as long as the time limit allows, and I will do whatever you ask.¡± Chapter 50 ¡°Allow me to stay here for as long as the time limit allows,¡± the demon begged, ¡°and I will do whatever you ask.¡± Zeth stared at her, still lying back at the edge of the ritual circle, his heart pounding so hard he felt it may snap his ribs in two. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She looked up, meeting his eyes. To Zeth¡¯s fear-addled mind, the intense stare almost looked as if it contained the souls of thousands of tortured men, screaming for him to run. But within that look was also a clear sense of desperation. ¡°I-I am speaking to my summoner, correct? Or does this process work differently from what I have heard?¡± ¡°I¡­Yeah, that¡¯s me,¡± he said, frowning. Had any other demon ever asked him that question before? How did she not know he was her summoner? ¡°Good,¡± she said, bowing her head once more. She almost looked like she was treating Zeth as some sort of royalty. ¡°Then please, if you would grant me my wish. Do not unsummon me, and I will follow your every order until the time limit is up and I am forced to return.¡± He stared at her. ¡°You¡¯ll do whatever I ask? You don¡¯t want any payment?¡± ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°My kind typically accept summons in order to secure human lives in exchange for favors, yes? I want no such thing. Please, allow me to make up for my inexperience with enthusiasm. I will not fail you.¡± This was strange. Suspiciously strange. What kind of demon spoke like this? So far, she hadn¡¯t insulted his intelligence, called him a slug, or even made the slightest implication that humans were an inferior species to demons. Zeth¡¯s mind, forced into paranoia by this demon¡¯s immensely powerful aura of fear, saw such a strange occurrence and instantly ran in every direction it could with her behavior. She was buttering him up before backstabbing him. She was just an illusion while the real demon was already in town, slaughtering people by the thousands. She was buying time while a demonic army was on their way to arrive on his doorstep. Most of the theories made no sense, but they all slammed into his brain at full force, keeping him from considering anything else. Her face morphed into a worried expression. ¡°Am I displeasing you? Please, tell me what I am doing wrong, and I will remedy my action immediately.¡± ¡°W-why don¡¯t you want payment?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°And why are you acting this way? You aren¡¯t like other demons.¡± ¡°What do you mean? How should I be acting?¡± ¡°Just answer the question.¡± She nodded slowly. ¡°Your summoning beacon, it landed in a place on the surface of the Thirteenth Realm near the River of Fire. That river is extremely important to us demons, as it¡ª¡± ¡°I know about it,¡± Zeth said. ¡°It¡¯s the only source of drinkable liquid in your realm, right?¡± She blinked. ¡°Oh. I did not know humans would be so knowledgeable about our home. Well, yes, then I will skip past the context. The River Powers empire is fighting against my homeland, the Thylmoor Kingdom, and I am a¡­a soldier, who was on the frontlines of a particular battle occurring over control of a particularly important patch of land. It seems that, by happenstance, your beacon was dropped right on the site of this battle, after it occurred. Right after our forces were driven to retreat, and after I was taken prisoner. I have been held captive for some hours now, and suspect that they will decide to torture me for information and execute me soon. So, when the beacon landed and I got the notification¡­¡± ¡°You took it so you could escape,¡± Zeth said, nodding. It was clever thinking on her part, really. Unfortunately, that was bad news for him. Clever demons weren¡¯t the type he wanted under his command. ¡°Not exactly,¡± she said. ¡°When demons are summoned, our bodies are taken to the First Realm. However, our souls are left behind, back in the Thirteenth. They are invulnerable to harm while our bodies are separated from them, but magic users can still manipulate the souls to an extent¡ªand that means moving them around, or keeping them in place. I have no doubt that my soul is still being kept in the same jail cell I was held in before, and when I am returned from your realm, I will be executed instantly.¡± ¡°...Oh,¡± Zeth said. ¡°So that¡¯s why you want to wait out the whole time limit? To extend your time to be as long as it can be before death?¡± She nodded. ¡°Perhaps¡­Perhaps it is a cowardly decision. But when presented with the opportunity to at least live another twenty-four hours, I suppose my instincts carried my decision-making. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. For a moment, poking through the bog of fear that currently swamped Zeth¡¯s mind, he felt a twinge of empathy for this poor woman. He was looking at someone in desperation, reaching out for the last lifeline she could take before being unceremoniously killed. He was witnessing her final moments. It was strangely intimate, in a way. Though, how she remained so calm if her story was true and she really was waiting out her final moments before death, he couldn¡¯t quite understand. ¡°And, as for why I am acting differently,¡± she continued, ¡°I have never accepted a summon before. So, I apologize if I do not know the proper etiquette. Please, tell me if I should change my behavior in any regard.¡± ¡°...No, no, you¡¯re good,¡± Zeth said. He certainly preferred this over the constant threats on his life. Of course, Zeth wasn¡¯t sure that he bought her story. Just some simple demon woman living her life in peace, never accepting any summons, never taking any lives? Fat chance. Especially not when she had easily the strongest aura of fear he¡¯d ever experienced. She was insanely powerful¡ªhe could feel it. No way she had been summoned before. However, if she wanted to lie, that was fine. He didn¡¯t particularly care about her personal history. If she was willing to take orders and didn¡¯t care about payment, that was fine by him. He¡¯d be cautious and ensure she couldn¡¯t backstab him either way. Now wasn¡¯t the time for conversation, regardless; he was running on a tight timetable. The town should have already been asleep by now, so he was burning away minutes that could¡¯ve been used killing Garon. Zeth got to his feet, taking a shaky breath. Even now that the strange situation had been mostly sorted, the fear persisted in his mind. This was not comfortable. ¡°Alright. Come with me, then. I¡¯ll give you some orders and explain what¡¯s going on while we walk.¡± ¡°Shall we exchange names?¡± she asked. He stopped, looking back at her. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh. Was I wrong to ask that? I apologize, we do not have to. I simply¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± he said, ¡°you weren¡¯t wrong. It¡¯s just, I¡¯ve never heard a demon ask that before. I¡¯m Zeth.¡± She nodded slowly. Once again, even through the aura of fear clouding his thoughts, Zeth could clearly tell this woman was terrified of angering him. She probably felt just as afraid as he did, ironically. Though, strangely, despite being the one to ask, she almost looked reluctant to tell him her own name. ¡°...I am Astrys.¡± ¡°Astrys, huh?¡± She stared at him, as though waiting for him to say more. But Zeth didn¡¯t have more to say. He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you then, I guess. Let¡¯s go. Here are your orders: you will walk in a straight line behind me, never straying more than ten feet from my person at any time. Don¡¯t make any unnecessary noise, or draw attention to yourself in any way unless I order you¡­¡± As he continued speaking, they made their way through his base, with Astrys looking at the dirt around them and the ritual lines painted along the walls with curious eyes. She¡¯d been wearing a controlled expression of indifference this entire time, but now, it seemed like that control was just barely beginning to slip, and a look of wonder was able to encroach onto her face. Zeth began questioning his suspicions¡ªmaybe this really her first time in the First Realm, considering how interested she seemed in such mundane things. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. He pushed the thought from his mind. Once again, it didn¡¯t matter what it was she was lying about. She was a demon; demons lied. He obviously couldn¡¯t take her word on anything she said. Zeth was reminded, as they walked, of the three Skills he¡¯d unlocked in the process of the summoning. Now wasn¡¯t a good time to sit down and read through their full descriptions, so instead, he simply glanced over the beginning of each one, checking their Skill Point costs. He found that he wasn¡¯t able to afford any of them with his meager six Skill Points, so for now, that was all he had to check. He would read through the detailed descriptions later, when he wasn¡¯t on such a strict schedule. As they walked through the maze of rooms, Astrys eventually asked, ¡°So, what is it you summoned me for?¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna go to my town and kill someone,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll be doing the killing, but he might have a demon of his own. There might even be more than one. So, ideally, you¡¯ll be able to hold them off long enough for me to finish the job.¡± She nodded. ¡°Any demons that stand against me will fall.¡± His eyebrows raised at that, remembering the first demon he¡¯d summoned. That one, too, he¡¯d told about potentially facing off against another demon, and the demon had flat-out said he didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be realistic for Zeth to expect him to fight a demon and live. It was inherently a fifty-fifty shot when asking whose demon was stronger, after all. But this Astrys woman seemed pretty confident. ¡°This town of yours,¡± she continued, ¡°will we be making the journey there on the surface? Or underground?¡± He looked at her curiously. ¡°On the surface. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°How far will the trek be? I do not know how long I will be able to endure your sun.¡± She nodded to her dark skin. ¡°In my own realm, I have built up a tolerance. But I am unsure about yours.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zeth suddenly realized how strange it was to be on the other side of this arrangement. He¡¯d spent so long asking demons about their alien environment, but he hadn¡¯t ever thought he¡¯d have to explain how the First Realm worked to one of them. ¡°You won¡¯t need to worry about it. You can stay out in the open all you want under our sun and you won¡¯t get hurt.¡± She stared at him. ¡°Your sun does not burn you? Does it provide any light?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, plenty. Though, it¡¯s nighttime right now, so you won¡¯t be able to see it. Just our moon.¡± ¡°Nighttime? Moon?¡± ¡°Oh. You guys don¡¯t have that, either, huh? Uh, yeah, so our sun only stays out for about two thirds of the day. The other third, it goes away, and the moon appears. It¡¯s like a weaker version of the sun¡ªnot bright enough to provide more than a tiny bit of light. Not even bright enough to illuminate the sky, so the stars come out at night, too.¡± ¡°And what is a star?¡± Zeth couldn¡¯t help but smile at her naivety. It was almost cute, the way she was asking so many questions. He couldn¡¯t explain why, but he felt slightly excited to show this woman her first starry night. ¡°Just walk with me; we¡¯re almost out of my base. I¡¯ll show you.¡± He strode over to the wooden spiral staircase that led up to the surface, stepping up onto it and beginning the ascent. Astrys froze when she saw it, though, stepping back as if on guard. ¡°What is it?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°Are humans immune to void trees?¡± she asked, looking at him in amazement. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Void trees. They are beasts that root into the ground and stay perfectly still, waiting for their prey to stumble too close to them so they may consume the person¡¯s flesh right from the bone. They are some of the most dangerous predators in our realm. The surface you are standing on, it looks almost identical to the material they are made of. Though, I suppose they must be exclusive to my realm, if you do not recognize the name.¡± Zeth remembered hearing about those things from another of the demons; he¡¯d written down the info and kept it in his map room. ¡°Oh, uh, I¡¯ve heard about them, but we don¡¯t have them here. This is just¡­a tree. A normal one. They¡¯re plants, and they¡¯re totally harmless; we cut them up and use them for building materials.¡± She didn¡¯t budge, continuing to eye the mundane planks of wood. ¡°And you are sure of this? You have seen other demons make contact with these ¡®normal trees¡¯ and survive?¡± ¡°...Yeah.¡± With a deep breath, she nodded and took cautious steps forward, until she was standing in front of the staircase. Slowly, she lifted a foot and crept her toe closer and closer to the wooden step, until it tapped against the material. Nothing happened. She let out the breath, lifting the foot up and placing it fully down on the surface, though she continued to watch it cautiously. ¡°It feels so strange, touching the flesh of a void tree. Or, I suppose, a ¡®normal tree.¡¯ Still, I wonder if this is what void trees feel like. Nobody has ever made contact with one without being devoured first.¡± Zeth just shrugged. Now that she was on the steps, he continued climbing upward. ¡°So, you¡¯ve really never heard anything about the First Realm from any of your demon friends? Nothing about what it¡¯s like here, or how everyone here is a weakling slug?¡± ¡°Perhaps occasionally,¡± she said. ¡°Do you prefer to be called slugs? I always took it to be an insult.¡± ¡°...No. I don¡¯t prefer that.¡± ¡°I see. Well, yes, I have heard some. But I suppose I was never too social, so I haven¡¯t heard much.¡± She said that last part with a slight bit of bitterness creeping into her tone. He nodded. ¡°Well, we¡¯re just about to the surface. We¡¯re on a tight schedule, so I¡¯ll show you the way, and explain the plan while we walk. Alright?¡± With that, he climbed up the last few steps, placed his hand on the trapdoor covering the entrance, and pushed it open. ¡°So,¡± he said, climbing up out of the hole and standing on solid ground, ¡°this is just the forest outside town. Don¡¯t worry, none of this stuff¡¯s dangerous. Follow me and I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± But as he walked in the direction of town, he glanced back to see Astrys still standing on the last step of the staircase, looking up into the sky with wide eyes and a jaw hanging open, the stars reflecting off of her pupils. At this point, the faux indifferent expression had been completely dropped. She looked absolutely spellbound. ¡°What¡­¡± she muttered, unable to finish her thought. Eventually, her gaze still fixated on the sky, she asked, ¡°...You live with this scene painted above you at all times?¡± ¡°Every night, yeah,¡± Zeth said with a nod. He glanced upward. The moon was full, reflecting a great deal of pale light across the forest, with a swath of little white dots scattered out around it. ¡°I guess it does look pretty beautiful, huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± After a moment of silence between them, Zeth cleared his throat. ¡°Anyway¡­¡± ¡°R-right,¡± she said, looking back down and hurrying up out of the stairwell, herself. ¡°I apologize for the delay.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he said. ¡°Just don¡¯t take any action against me, and you¡¯re good.¡± As she placed her feet down in the dirt, she blinked, looking down. ¡°Your ground is soft here. And these little green things poking up out of the dirt feel so strange.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. That¡¯s called grass. You really don¡¯t have much in the Thirteenth Realm, huh?¡± ¡°I suppose not,¡± she said, lifting her leg up and hovering her foot over the ground as she moved it back and forth, feeling the blades brush against her. After a moment of this, she shook her head, blinking once again and squaring her shoulders. ¡°Um, I apologize once again for the delay. Let us depart.¡± So they did, finally beginning the trek through the forest. Astrys occasionally spoke up, asking about whatever they came across, and Zeth explained whatever he could as they walked. But as they were getting close to arriving, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, going on alert. Zeth stopped too, looking at her. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I hear something approaching. Four legs, heavy stature,¡± she said, speaking in a completely different, militaristic tone of voice. Soon, he heard the approaching steps, too, slowly moving to stand behind his demonic escort. And sure enough, within a couple seconds, the nasty face of a monster came peeking out from between a pair of trees in the darkened forest. He¡¯d seen one of them before¡ªa mass of sinewy muscle that was taut from head to toe, like the beast was constantly ready to pounce on anything that dared move within its vision. Drool leaked from between sharpened teeth, dripping onto the forest floor as it slowly approached, two beady eyes fixed on them. But, of course, the moment it got close enough to Zeth¡ªor, more specifically, to Astrys¡ªit froze in place, its pupils dilating wide and eyes darting around, looking for danger. It¡¯d obviously just gotten hit by her fear aura. ¡°I do not know how powerful this monster is,¡± she said, having shifted into a combat-ready stance. ¡°Shall we flee?¡± ¡°You should be able to take it,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Go ahead and kill the thing¡ªquietly. At least, as long as you¡¯re as strong as the other demons I¡¯ve¡ª¡± Before he could even finish, she lunged ahead, closing the distance between herself and the monster in two steps, and thrust her fist forward, where it struck the head of the monster, split its skull open, drove through its brain, and protruded all the way through the other side. Its body fell limp, never having been given the time to react, as she held her fist straight out, the thing¡¯s body hanging off it like a piece of meat that¡¯d been skewered. She looked down at her own arm, seemingly in surprise at how quickly she¡¯d destroyed her foe. ¡°...It seems the monsters in this realm are quite weak.¡± Zeth nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. ¡°You are going to be absolutely perfect.¡± Chapter 51 From the edge of the treeline, Zeth pointed out Garon¡¯s house. ¡°See that one?¡± The demon next to him nodded. ¡°Right. That¡¯s our target. Just follow me, and I¡¯ll give you instructions as events occur.¡± ¡°You do not have any standing orders for me?¡± ¡°Well, I already gave you most of them. Don¡¯t kill anyone, don¡¯t draw attention to yourself, if it looks like anyone¡¯s going to hurt me, stop them from doing that. If my life is at stake, you¡¯re allowed to kill them to do so.¡± He looked at her. ¡°But keep in mind, if I ever get even the slightest feeling that you¡¯re trying to exploit my orders to take advantage of me, I will not hesitate to unsummon you.¡± Her face paled. ¡°...Please, if I am doing anything wrong, inform me before doing something drastic. I assure you, I will not intentionally disobey you, but I am ignorant of your world.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know, in case you¡¯re planning on pulling any tricks.¡± ¡°My life is on the line, sir. You have my word that I will not do so.¡± ¡°Good. Just keep that in mind, then. Because we¡¯re going in hot.¡± With that, Zeth breathed in and out, trying his best to clear his head, and began walking toward the house. His full identity-concealing suit had already been donned, so if anyone saw him, he had no doubt they¡¯d assume he was up to no good¡ªnot to mention, of course, he had a demon marching right behind him. But then, if there was trouble, he had a demon marching right behind him. So he wasn¡¯t too worried about some random guards. Speaking of, as they approached the house, the group of guards surrounding Garon¡¯s house noticed them, shouting out to stop where they were. In the dark night, it didn¡¯t seem like they recognized who they were speaking to just yet. ¡°I said, stop!¡± one of them yelled. ¡°Identify yourselves, or we will not hesitate to draw our¡­¡± The man faltered as his eyes landed on the face of the person walking behind Zeth. Just as Astrys became visible to him, his eyes widened and his voice was reduced to a whimper. Zeth recognized the man¡¯s full-body shivers as a clear sign that the demon¡¯s fear aura had completely overpowered his mind. Zeth remembered last night, when they hadn¡¯t even bothered to stop the singular Rosalie from breaking in. No way they¡¯d do anything against a demon. ¡°Step aside,¡± he said, ¡°and run.¡± The guard did just that. And as Astrys continued to draw closer, subsuming the rest of the guards fully within her aura of terror, their confidence, too, was sucked from their minds. Within seconds, the sounds of boots thudding against stone echoed through the otherwise silent town as the guards ran for their lives. There was a good chance they¡¯d go get help, but more guards wouldn¡¯t be an issue. If Rosalie and the others caught wind of this, they certainly would be one, but Zeth hoped to be in and out by the time they made it out here. ¡°Open the door,¡± Zeth said to Astrys. ¡°Feel free to break it. Just get me inside.¡± She walked up and tried the handle, finding it locked, so she just¡­pushed her hand forward. And, as if the door offered no resistance at all, her arm simply passed through the planks, snapping them in half as she moved, the doorknob and lock shattering before her might as well. With that, the door slowly creaked open on its own. He nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s head in.¡± Astrys led the way, slowly creeping through the house as she looked back and forth, checking the corners of each room before she fully passed into each one. They walked through the entryway, the living room, and the kitchen¡ªno signs of life. From there, he had her open up the door to the bedroom¡ªnothing, and the bathroom¡ªempty. They checked and double-checked every room, not finding Garon or anyone else anywhere inside. Zeth had expected that, though; it was exactly what Rosalie had found last night. Still, there was no way Garon had genuinely ordered so many guards to stand uselessly around an empty building, right? There had to be in here. Besides, they themselves had admitted the man had gone in at evening and hadn¡¯t come out. Even if he wasn¡¯t still in here, he had to have gotten out through some sort of secret exit. If they didn¡¯t find him, they¡¯d simply have to find that, instead. So, Zeth tried something. He closed his eyes, standing in the middle of the empty bedroom, and focused into himself, looking at the room a second time through a second method of perception. This was the way he looked at mana fields to repair him, so if there was something magical in the room, maybe looking in the same way would allow him to see it, too. But no luck. Nothing stood out to him in the empty room. Only¡­He frowned. Maybe something did. Not visually, but calling out to him in some sort of way. If his mana perception was his sixth sense, this was like a seventh. The barest, faintest little pull. Not leading him in any sort of direction¡ªit wasn¡¯t strong enough for him to tell that¡ªbut simply informing him that was around. It existed. The feeling was familiar. It was almost the exact same thing he¡¯d felt back when he was wandering through the Otis and Roul¡¯s offices and he¡¯d gotten a feeling calling him to search through a specific storage closet. And when he¡¯d followed that feeling, minutes later, it had been revealed that the exact closet he searched happened to house a massive ritual circle being hidden away by some Skill. If he was feeling it again here, in Garon¡¯s house¡­ Zeth turned to Astrys. ¡°Do you think you could rip the floor off of the ground?¡± She frowned. ¡°I believe so¡ªthis ¡®normal tree¡¯ substance doesn¡¯t seem to be particularly strong. However, this is meant to be a stealth mission, yes? I don¡¯t believe I could while keeping quiet.¡± Zeth shrugged. ¡°The guards¡¯ll probably talk anyway; our cover¡¯s already as good as blown. Besides, if all goes well, we¡¯ll be getting in and out pretty quickly after this.¡± ¡°Okay. But please, do not hold it against me if this goes poorly.¡± ¡°Just do it right.¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With one last glance at him, she nodded, kneeling on the ground and lifting her hand up. And then, in a single motion, she swiped it out in a downward motion, demolishing a half dozen entire planks of wood in a split second. Splintering cracks rang throughout the entire house, echoing across town. Breaking the door probably alerted the house¡¯s next-door neighbors; this woke up the entire neighborhood. Below the planks was nothing but plain earth. After revealing it, Astrys looked back up at Zeth. ¡°Keep going,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you reduce this entire building to rubble¡ªthere¡¯s something hidden here. Find it.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Okay,¡± she said. ¡°You should probably leave the building, in that case.¡± It took around fifteen seconds after Zeth stepped out the door for the walls to collapse. He couldn¡¯t see Astrys while she was in the darkened house, but after a few extraordinarily loud smashing sounds and some quakes in the earth that shook his feet, the building seemed to no longer be able to take it, and fell in on itself. After the dust settled, Zeth watched as a piece of roof tipped over to reveal Astrys, standing completely unbothered in the middle of the building¡¯s rubble. ¡°I found something,¡± she said. Zeth¡¯s heart erupted. ¡°Show me.¡± She cleared away some of the rubble that had fallen where the living room had been. ¡°When I attempted to break this section of floor, it resisted. It is clearly stronger than any of the other wood this house was built with. Sure enough, in the place she gestured at, where the rest of the floor had been clawed apart, a perfect square of planks sat undisturbed, as though they¡¯d been made indestructible. The foundation below the planks, too, looked untouched, while the rest of the house was cut open with slash marks all across. It looked like a little box of planks protruding up from the ground, the top of the box looking the exact same as the rest of the floor was supposed to. Clearly, this was something special. Some sort of reinforced hiding place, maybe? It was around the width of a person on either end¡ªGaron could¡¯ve been just inside, balled up in the fetal position. Just the thought of having his prey so close practically left Zeth salivating. ¡°What shall I do?¡± Astrys asked, breaking Zeth out of his thoughts. ¡°Oh, uh¡­Try breaking it again. I want to watch.¡± She took a battle stance once again, holding her claws back, then in a lightning-fast motion swung them with incredible force at the wooden box. They impacted the planks so hard, the force of the strike practically knocked Zeth off his feet. Wind blew into his face, pushing his hair back from the single swing. But her claws bounced right off the simple wooden planks. Zeth frowned, staring at the strange object. He reached out and rubbed his hand along the wood¡ªit certainly felt like this was a perfectly normal set of planks. What was making it so strong? He walked in a circle around the structure, examining it from all angles, not finding any ritual circles present on them. That tug on his subconscious, he found, been leading him here¡ªbut what was actually doing this? And how was he meant to break in? Surely there wasn¡¯t some sort of Skill that could genuinely make an object ¡ªhe would¡¯ve certainly heard of it by now. But if a demon as powerful as Astrys couldn¡¯t do it, what could? Zeth looked at her, then back at the structure. ¡°You can dig, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°Start digging around the box. See if those planks continue downward. Astrys got to her knees and began doing just that, pushing her fingers into the dirt and quickly scooping gigantic swaths of dirt from the ground, tossing them behind her. After a few seconds, having dug out about a couple feet of dirt that was next to it, she¡¯d revealed that the planks did, indeed, continue underground. ¡°Great,¡± he said. ¡°Keep digging and keep testing their strength. If there¡¯s something that can make a surface indestructible like that, no way it¡¯s cheap. There¡¯s got to be a point in this little tunnel of theirs where it stops being protected.¡± *** It was after the second crash that echoed across town that Rosalie finished donning her combat gear and left her room, finding herself alone in the empty nighttime streets. It¡¯d come from the direction of that detestable new mayor¡¯s house, right? She had never gotten answers from him; but perhaps this was the night she¡¯d get them. She began hurrying in the direction of the sounds. They¡¯d ended by now, but that didn¡¯t mean whatever was happening had stopped. She had a sneaking suspicion that the man was the Blood Mage she was looking for¡ªit only made sense that a corrupt man from a corrupt guild taking control of a corrupt town would wield a corrupt Class. But if it was him¡­If it was truly him, tonight would be bad. She¡¯d seen the Blood Mage fight. She knew what they were capable of. If that person brought their detestable powers into town, it could mean disaster for everyone. But then, that fight¡­Why had they fought the mannitor to begin with? There was no reason to kill the monster as it ravaged the town, unless they were trying to help people. But it wouldn¡¯t make sense for a man like that mayor to be helping people of his own free will. Something was up. She knew it. She cursed herself for even allowing the thought to cross her mind, but Rosalie almost found herself hoping this was just another monster attack. At least then, she¡¯d be capable of facing the foe. If those mysterious crashes were actually the Blood Mage¡¯s doing, then the fear currently gripping her heart would be the least of her worries. As she sprinted in the direction of the sound, Rosalie spotted a group of guards running in the opposite direction. She wanted to shout at them, away But she held her tongue. Perhaps they were running to inform the precinct of what was going on. She stopped in front of them. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where are you coming from?¡± ¡°Th-there¡¯s someone breaking into the new mayor¡¯s house!¡± one of the guards said. ¡°They¡­¡± Another spoke up. ¡°They had a demon with them.¡± Rosalie¡¯s face drained. ¡°Demon?¡± The guards nodded. The first sighed. ¡°We¡­We ran for our lives. Just looking at it was enough for us to tell we had no hope against it.¡± ¡°Have you evacuated the townsfolk?¡± They looked between each other. She wanted to smash their heads together. Had they received no training whatsoever?! But once again, she perished the thought from her mind, trying her best to practice empathy. It wasn¡¯t their fault¡ªof course an underfunded guard precinct wouldn¡¯t train its guards properly. She, herself, had abused this fact the mere night before to get into that same house. ¡°Come with me,¡± she said, taking charge of the situation. ¡°You will escort everyone in the area to safety.¡± ¡°But ma¡¯am, the¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Blood Mage. Or the demon.¡± She took a breath, trying to steady her pounding heart. ¡°Those will be my job.¡± *** Zeth stared down the hole Astrys had been digging. The wooden box had continued straight down for about ten feet, but as he watched the demon toss one more handful of dirt out of the hole, he saw the planks turn at a right angle, going from heading straight down to heading sideways. ¡°Okay,¡± he called down to her. ¡°Now, try to break that.¡± After a moment, she reared back, lifting up her clawed hand, and struck downward with all her might. And finally, after so many failed attempts to break the planks, the ones below her shattered. Astrys was forced to take a step back to avoid falling through the hole in the planks, which had opened up to reveal a tunnel¡ªit was too dark to see inside. Zeth¡¯s eyes grew wide. A smile spread across his face. This had been going perfectly. He approached the edge of the sloped dirt hole and slid down, stumbling to a stop next to his demon ally. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°Jump on down.¡± ¡°It may be trapped.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anyone who can handle a trap or two, it¡¯s a demon,¡± Zeth said. ¡°Now go. Get in there and see if it¡¯s safe.¡± With a deep breath and a look of fear creeping across her face, Astrys sat down on the edge of the planks, dangling her feet in the hole. Zeth felt a twinge of regret for making her do this upon seeing her obvious anxiety, but he pushed it from his mind. This was a he was dealing with. If he were in danger and she actually had a choice in the matter, she¡¯d let him die in a second. Hell, if she had a choice in the matter, she¡¯d be the one to kill him. It was no use feeling sorry for demons. The fear aura constantly mucking up his mind ensured he realized that. After the moment¡¯s hesitation, Astrys scooted off the edge and fell in. Zeth watched as she landed on the floor, glancing around for a moment before looking back up at him with a look of relief on her face. ¡°It seems to be safe. There is nobody here.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯m coming in,¡± he said, and jumped in, himself. He found himself standing in the middle of a wooden tunnel, looking at the plain floor, ceiling, and walls. Behind him was the section that went upward, into what once was Garon¡¯s house. And in the other direction¡­ He stared down a long hallway, sloped ever-so-slightly downward, whose features faded into darkness as the light of the moon, shining in from the hole in the ceiling they¡¯d made, failed to reach further in. That seemed to be Zeth¡¯s destination. This was it. This was the Blood Mage¡¯s lair. This was where he¡¯d find Garon, and this was where he¡¯d kill him. Chapter 52 When Zeth looked at the portion of the tunnel that went upward into Garon¡¯s house, he found a simple wooden chute with a ladder going up through it and a trapdoor handle at the top. All-in-all, it looked like a completely mundane structure. Or, it would have, if not for the ritual circles lining the edges. The interior walls had large circles going from one side to the next drawn across them, each one glowing with life. There were several on each wall, popping up once every few feet, and also one painted onto the trapdoor at the top. Zeth eyed the ritual circles cautiously, but they simply sat there glowing, clearly active, but doing nothing in particular. He had to assume these were what made the walls so tough. Must¡¯ve been some Skill that came at higher Levels; he certainly didn¡¯t have access to anything of the sort. But he wasn¡¯t here to investigate some ritual circles. Turning around, he gazed down the long, unlit hallway that extended far off in the distance, angled just slightly downward. He was here for . He turned to look at Astrys, who was staring vigilantly down the unknown corridor. ¡°You ready?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°This is the place you were looking for?¡± ¡°Seems so.¡± ¡°Is there any intelligence on what might be here?¡± ¡°Not that I haven¡¯t already informed you of. Keep an eye out for circles like those; there might be traps laid out on the floor.¡± She nodded. It felt strange for Zeth to talk with Astrys. Part of her was this militaristic soldier, but then he occasionally also felt a sense of fear coming from her. He supposed it made sense¡ªshe was confronting death in this fight, which no other demon he¡¯d seen had to do while being summoned. And, of course, in speaking with Zeth, she was also inherently speaking with someone who could kill her with a thought. But still, despite any fear he sensed from her, her face never shifted from that same look of indifference, and her voice never shook from its smooth yet curt tone. It made Zeth curious about what kind of life she must¡¯ve lived to get to the point she was at now. But there were more important things to do right now than making conversation. ¡°Lead the way,¡± Zeth said. The two of them began cautiously proceeding down the tunnel. After a short distance, the moonlight from the hole they¡¯d made stopped reaching them, leaving them blind in the pitch dark. Zeth frowned. Technically, he could use his own ritual circle lines to illuminate the space, but he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to mess around with that in an unfamiliar area. He had no idea what the capabilities of a higher-Level Blood Mage could be¡ªmaybe attempting to draw something in this tunnel would trigger some sort of trap. Besides, if someone found the beginning of the line, they could simply follow it and be led right to him. ¡°Do you have any way to light up an area?¡± he asked Astrys. ¡°Oh, yes,¡± she said, holding out a hand. At the tips of her fingers, a small flame burst into existence, hovering in the air right above her skin. ¡°Is this okay?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± he said, staring at the fire as they continued walking down the plain hallway. ¡°Is there some sort of Skill that lets you do that?¡± She gave him a strange look. ¡°Is fire a rarity in the First Realm?¡± ¡°Well, no¡ªit¡¯s pretty easy to make if you have the tools. But I¡¯ve never seen a Skill that could so easily make a source of fire with no setup like that.¡± ¡°It is a Universal Skill among demons,¡± she said, ¡°and only costs nine Skill Points. As such, most demons have access to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a demon make fire like that before.¡± ¡°I have heard from my comrades that most demons do not like using Skills while serving humans. You are considered below us, and as such, showing off our talents in your presence would be like a king trying to impress a beggar. Th-that is, so I¡¯ve heard. I do not believe such things; I apologize if saying it was offensive to you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± Zeth said, wondering what kinds of abilities his other summons had been keeping hidden from him this whole time. ¡°What other Skills do you have? What¡¯s your Class?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I am a Warlance,¡± she said, ¡°so the majority of my Skills will be of no use to you.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°Warlance?¡± ¡°Ah, I suppose humans would have their own set of Classes, wouldn¡¯t they? It is a combat Class primarily focused on riding atop a steed, using a spear as a weapon. As I have neither, most of my power will have to come from my Stats.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Zeth said. Then he frowned. ¡°Wait, steed? You have horses in the Thirteenth Realm?¡± ¡°No,¡± she replied. ¡°What is a horse? I ride atop a hellion. Do you not have them in your realm?¡± ¡°...No, we don¡¯t have hellions. If anyone¡¯s riding on anything here, they use horses. They¡¯re just¡­I dunno, normal four-legged creatures. People ride on their backs, or they¡¯ll draw carriages, or whatever.¡± ¡°Four-legged? So they do not burrow into the ground?¡± ¡°What? No.¡± ¡°Strange,¡± she said. Zeth shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten off-track. So, you¡¯d need a mount to use most of your Skills?¡± ¡°A mount for some, and a spear for others.¡± ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have either for you right now,¡± he said. ¡°I guess we can keep an eye out to see if there are any weapons being stored down here, though. Maybe they have something vaguely pole-shaped for you to use.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Having a pole weapon would be better than nothing, as that is what I am practiced with,¡± she said, ¡°but unfortunately, my Skills require an System-designated spear¡ªmeaning, it has to not only be a genuine weapon, but it has to have been made by someone using a crafting Class. That would not be something one would be able to find just lying around.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°Hm. Well, if you had a spear, what would you be able to¡ª¡± He stopped, staring down the corridor. As they turned a slight curve, he spotted a faint light glowing across the plain wooden walls. He turned to whisper to Astrys, but she seemed to already understand. As he looked at her, she shut off her Skill, extinguishing the fire and drowning the two of them in darkness once again. Listening closely, Zeth didn¡¯t hear anything yet, but if there was light all the way down here, that was a good sign that someone was close. So he and Astrys crept forward, keeping their eyes and ears out for anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, they realized that the light was coming from a door set in the walls of the long hallway, which continued past said door with no sign of stopping. But considering the light that passed from underneath the cracks in it, Zeth assumed that this was what they were looking for. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. They slowly moved ahead until they stopped right in front of it, and he nodded to Astrys. She gripped the doorknob, holding up three fingers, then silently counted down , and threw it open. But they found no fight past the doorway. Instead, they found yet another empty hallway. This one, though, was different. It was bigger¡ªboth wider and taller by a significant margin. The first hallway was just about wide enough to fit a single man lying down, so the bottoms of his feet and the top of his head would touch opposite walls, but this one could easily fit at least three people lying down one after the other¡ªperhaps more. And, of course, this one also had lights inlaid in the ceiling¡ªnot torches or any other mundane sources, but instead long, thin sticks that were attached to the planks, each one glowing brightly through some magical means. The sudden change from pitch dark to blinding artificial white made Zeth squint as he stared down this new hallway. And it a hallway. Even as large and well-lit as it was, he still couldn¡¯t see the end. It went straight out from this door for maybe a hundred or so feet before taking a curve¡ªwho knew how much further it went from there. Finding this hall, however, felt like progress. Not just because the new environment broke up the monotony of walking through that same dark tunnel, but also because this new hallway had something else. It had doors lining its sides. Each of the doors looked similar to the one Zeth and Astrys came through. They were simple wooden slabs with light spilling into the already bright room from underneath. So, hopefully, if Zeth was trying to find Garon, the man would be in through one of those passages. Still staying cautious in this new place, Zeth continued to silence himself as he crept over to the nearest door. They appeared somewhat randomly across the tunnel, once every twenty or thirty feet on either side of the long room. Zeth just hoped each one didn¡¯t also lead to another of these empty hallways. But when he threw open this door, that worry disappeared from his mind. In here was what seemed to be some sort of storage room; chests and crates lined the walls of the square space, each one sealed shut. Part of Zeth wanted to go over and begin cracking them open to see what was inside, but that wasn¡¯t his priority for now. He couldn¡¯t allow himself to grow careless. So he shut that door and headed over to the next one, still taking care to make as little noise as possible. Astrys stuck right by his side, ready to leap into battle the moment she sensed any danger. Zeth was, of course, still under the effects of her fear aura, but he had at least grown used to it; he¡¯d gotten plenty of practice at functioning while feeling fear so intense it tore his mind to shreds. And it helped that she was personable enough to keep him from feeling too afraid of in specific¡ªinstead, he felt far more anxious about being ambushed from behind by Garon, or stepping into a horrific trap. Ironically, having someone as powerful as Astrys with him helped assuage the exact fear she was causing. He threw open the next door, finding this one, too, to be a sort of storage room. But while the previous one had been full of boxes and chests, this one had clear glass jars full of familiar red liquid. Blood. They lined shelf after shelf¡ªeasily entire gallons of the stuff. Once again, Zeth was struck with a sense of greed, wanting to take the abundant resources for himself. But he was on a mission¡ªall of this could come with him during his trip of here. So he closed that door, then went to the next and opened it, and his eyebrows climbed up his face. In here, he saw something other than a storage room¡ªthough it was something he recognized. The hulking corpse of a mannitor was lying on the ground, its body having been cut open and its guts having spilled onto the floor. Sitting on a shelf beside it were more of those glass jars from the storage room, these ones empty. Looked like he figured out where the blood in there had come from, and where the mannitor corpses had gone. It was strange that the corpse wasn¡¯t rotting after sitting out in here for so long, but when Zeth moved his hand through the threshold of the doorway, he felt a strange sensation pass over him¡ªsome sort of magical effect enchanting the area. It must¡¯ve been preserving the body. He retracted his hand the moment he felt it, though; there was no telling what other effects whatever magic he¡¯d felt may have had. Zeth was growing more and more uneasy the longer he stayed down here, and he didn¡¯t think it was just his demonic bodyguard¡¯s aura of fear getting to him. The more he saw, the more he discovered just how wide-spanning this operation was. Entire mannitor corpses being stored in these rooms, gallons of blood sitting on shelves¡­Just what else would he find down in this¡ª He opened the next door, and his thoughts stopped in their tracks. This room was larger than the others, but it contained neither piles of boxes nor a monster¡¯s corpse. No, there was not a single object sitting on the floor. But there something painted onto it. The ritual circle must¡¯ve been at least thirty¡ªno, forty feet in diameter. And judging by the countless lines detailing the inside, it had to have taken entire weeks to draw. It was utterly insane in scale. And on its left was another, almost the exact same size with the same amount of detailing. And on its right, yet another clone. The room was wide enough to fit all three of the massive ritual circles, but otherwise completely empty. Zeth couldn¡¯t imagine the time and effort that would need to be taken to accomplish something like this. He stood there in the doorway, staring on in shock. Just what were these things for? But, strangely, he felt a certain energy coming from these ritual circles¡ªlike he had an inherent sense for what they were meant to be. And he knew what type of rituals they existed to conduct because he¡¯d conducted the exact same kind, countless times already. These were Empowerment Rituals. They were going to be used to Level up. Zeth knew his Skills weren¡¯t the same as the Blood Mage¡¯s, and that was the only hope he had. Because seeing a fifty-foot ritual circle only left one thought in his mind¡ª He could only hope their respective version of the Level-up ritual started out at something like forty feet in diameter to begin with. Because if it scaled in size the same way his did, he had no hope of catching up. But it was as Zeth stared at these gargantuan circles that another thought ran through his head. If these had been drawn out here on the ground, all three of them fully complete, why hadn¡¯t they been expended yet? There was a clear abundance of blood sitting just a couple dozen feet away in one of those storage rooms¡ªwhy draw all of these things out and not use them? Maybe they could¡¯ve been waiting on something to happen before they activated one of them, but all three? These things clearly took an absolutely massive amount of time to complete. An answer to the question came to mind, though. Zeth knew that you didn¡¯t have to be the one to draw a ritual in order to be the one to use it¡ªthat was how he¡¯d gotten the Blood Magus Class to begin with. If that was the case, what if a Blood Mage got some other Blood Mage to draw out their Empowerment Rituals for them? It would certainly save a lot of time. Could there be some sort of tiered hierarchy here, where there were several Blood Mages, and the low-ranking ones all served the high-ranking ones, preparing their Level-ups so they didn¡¯t have to? Zeth had an idea, staring at the three already-prepared Empowerment Rituals. He turned around to walk back to the blood storage room, ready to test it out, but as he did, he saw something. Further down the hallway, a door opened, and out from it stepped a figure that Zeth knew all too well. A figure that Zeth hoped to leave broken and unmoving down here, once and for all. Garon nonchalantly closed the door behind himself, turning around to glance up and down the corridor, and his eyes landed directly on Zeth. The two of them stared at each other frozen in silence for a moment, as though neither could believe the other was standing in front of them. Zeth was the one to break that silence. He set his shoulders and began striding straight toward Garon. ¡°Alright, you stupid motherfucker. Ready to die?¡± His old manager stumbled back in fear, as though afraid Zeth would somehow find a way to punch him in the face while they were still thirty feet apart. But after a moment, he seemed to find his composure, and reached underneath the collar of his shirt to pull out a strange necklace Zeth had never seen before. It was a simple leather cord, and on it hang five crystals, each one a different color. Garon gripped the red crystal in his palm and squeezed, the stone giving way beneath the pressure and crumbling to dust that fell to the ground. The moment the crystal broke, every single one of the white lights that lined the ceiling changed color, matching the vibrant red of the crystal that¡¯d just shattered. And once the lights turned red, a noise began to echo through the tunnel. Footsteps. A whole cacophony of doors being thrown open and slammed shut, distant voices shouting at each other, and the sounds of boots on the ground began sounding out, all coming from deeper down the wide hallway. Seemed like Zeth wouldn¡¯t have much more alone time with his old boss. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you think you are, or what you think you¡¯re doing,¡± Garon said, ¡°but you¡¯re clearly very, very ignorant if you¡¯ve chosen to come down here.¡± Zeth glanced over at Astrys. His heart swelled up with passion as reality set in more and more¡ªthis was really it. Garon was going to die today. He couldn¡¯t help but smile as he spoke to her. ¡°Keep me safe. But don¡¯t touch Garon if it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s about to kill me or get away. He¡¯s mine.¡± She nodded. ¡°I understand. I will not get in your way.¡± With that, he looked over at Garon and continued in his approach, not feeling very bothered at all by the apparent alarm system, or quickly approaching reinforcements. ¡°So,¡± he said, ¡°let¡¯s see how many punches you can take before you die.¡± Chapter 53 Zeth strode toward Garon, his enemy backing fearfully away from him. ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Zeth called out to him, ¡°aren¡¯t you confident in yourself? Can¡¯t you beat me? Come at me¡ªshow off some of your Blood Mage powers.¡± Astrys stood by him, ready to fend off any attackers. But none had come so far. The sound of footsteps had begun echoing out from deeper in the tunnels ever since Garon had broken that crystal around his neck and all the lights turned red, but nothing else happened yet. Seemed like they weren¡¯t quite prepared for an attack. Zeth drew out one of the five scraps of cloth with his Hellfire Rituals painted onto them and pulled a vial of blood from his belt, taking off the cap and tipping it upside down, dousing the circle as he walked. Once it ran out, the circle glowed to life. Garon¡¯s eyes grew wide as he watched what Zeth did. ¡°W-what? But you can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things you don¡¯t know,¡± Zeth said. ¡°But at this point, you should at least know one thing. Your time left alive is extremely, extremely limited.¡± With his weapon prepared, Zeth moved from a simple walk toward his foe to an all-out sprint, putting his newly-gained Dexterity to the test. His boots thudded against the wooden floor as he tore forth. Garon, too, turned and began running away, apparently unwilling to do battle with Zeth. Honestly, Zeth found that a little strange; surely, with as advanced as this place was, he should¡¯ve had plenty of countermeasures against a potential intruder? Or even just a few combat-oriented Skills of his own. Maybe he was leading Zeth into a trap, though¡ªhe reminded himself to stay cautious, no matter how excited he was. ¡°H-hurry¡­up!¡± Garon shouted down the hall as he ran. He was already breathing heavily, forced to take deep gulps of air after each word. ¡°We¡¯re¡­we¡¯re under attack, dammit! Get help over here fast!¡± As Zeth gained on his slower prey, some figures eventually emerged from the far end of the hallway, running quickly toward them. Five or six individuals, all holding the same simple daggers. Seemed like these people were the reinforcements Garon was calling for¡ªmaybe they were the allied Blood Mages that were the ones drawing those massive Empowerment Rituals? Zeth grinned internally¡ªanyone willing to protect Garon was someone he was excited to fight. But, almost unfortunately, it didn¡¯t look like any of them would arrive in time. Zeth was mere feet away from his old boss, the man running for his life as Zeth reached for his heels. The moment he could grab the man and pin him to the floor, the battle would be over¡ªhe¡¯d be able to touch him with a Hellfire Ritual at any time and kill him on the spot. And all of these people would take far too long to reach them if their goal was to prevent that. However, just as Zeth almost felt like he was close enough to tackle Garon to the ground, another figure emerged in the distance. Behind the squad of knife-wielding people, someone else turned the corner, charging in to help. Down in this bunker, everything was painted red from the colored lights, but Zeth could still tell that this person¡¯s skin would be a deep crimson even without that coloring. And from the dark horns protruding from their skull, he knew exactly what was coming for him. A demon. As the demon drew closer and closer, more detail became apparent. Short, dark hair, the same muscled figure, a look of determination to claim Zeth¡¯s life¡ªthis was a truly deadly foe. And, considering Zeth¡¯s main method of defense consisted of lighting his enemies on fire, he didn¡¯t believe he¡¯d have any way of beating a demon on his own. The beast tore past the few humans that were running alongside him, closing the distance between himself and Zeth, clearly under command to stop the intruder at all costs. He turned to look at Astrys. ¡°That¡¯s your job. Protect me from the demon.¡± She nodded and ran straight past Zeth and Garon to meet her enemy in the center of the hallway. As he faltered in his chase after Garon, suddenly far more concerned with his own survival in this moment when faced with an unstoppable monster headed straight for him, he watched as Astrys closed in on colliding with her enemy. He didn¡¯t know for sure whether this woman had been lying to him about having never visited the First Realm before, but it certainly seemed like she didn¡¯t have much experience with the place¡ªwhich meant she¡¯d likely killed very few humans in her time. Despite her dark skin and powerful aura of fear, he knew very well just how important demons considered killing humans to be¡ªdoing so regularly apparently offered them a massive amount of additional power. So he felt slightly worried about how his own summon might shape up against another, who likely would have far more human kills under their belt. It was with those fears in mind that Zeth watched them meet in the center of the hallway. Hopefully she¡¯d at least buy him some time. The moment the two demons got within striking distance of each other, the opposing man took a swing at Astrys. She raised a forearm to block, deflecting the heavy strike, and a shockwave blew back as they hit each other, the force apparently so great it shook the entire complex. Astrys¡¯s enemy threw another punch with his other fist, but this one she caught in the palm of her hand. Then, she used her grip on him to pull him closer, rearing her head back at the same time, and slammed her forehead into his nose. The demon stumbled back, clutching his face as he spoke through his hands. ¡°Ugh, you Listen, I get rewarded if I kill that man over there. Just go easy on me, and I¡¯ll let you go kill whoever you¡¯ve got to kill when we¡¯re done, alright? Makes no sense to put in real effort for these slugs.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She walked toward him, wordlessly rolling her shoulders back and preparing to continue the fight. As Zeth watched, the opposing demon narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Wait, you look¡­Are you¡ª¡± Zeth¡¯s attention was suddenly ripped away from their confrontation when a pink blur suddenly stopped right next to him. As he turned his head to look at the figure, something slammed into his gut, and he went flying backward. After soaring at least ten or twenty feet through the air, Zeth tumbled to a stop, feeling an intense pain in his lower chest. Had he just broken a rib? His eyes came into focus as he slowly sat up, seeing the person that¡¯d hit him walking over to his prone body. Pink skin, a dissatisfied face, and long black horns curling out from her head. Another demon. He cursed internally. They had of these things? And it looked like this one had snuck past Astrys. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Zeth could barely make out Garon¡¯s infuriating laugh as he fought to get to his feet. ¡°Haha!¡± the man shouted. ¡°Take that, you worthless little whelp! Not so cocky now, are you?!¡± Zeth¡¯s heart beat faster and faster out of rage as he heard that jackass taunting him. And, ironically enough, the pulse of invigoration sent energy through his body, allowing him to push his aching body to stand up just as the demon got to him. He wouldn¡¯t die¡ªnot yet. Not with Garon still alive, and not with him wearing a smile on his dumb fucking face. ¡°Astrys!¡± Zeth shouted, looking to his own summoned demon for help. But she was currently exchanging quick blows with her opponent, each strike sending shockwaves through the air. Her own attacks seemed to be stronger, sending the other demon stumbling back even as he blocked them, but he was clearly more practiced in hand-to-hand combat, dodging and weaving when possible and diving in for strikes the moment she let her guard down. Even in the moment Zeth shouted for her, with her only glancing in his direction for a split second, he dove in for an attack, tackling her to the ground and pounding his fist into her face repeatedly, cracking the wooden floor beneath them with each punch. She fought to throw him off, and it certainly seemed like if the fight went on long enough, she¡¯d be able to beat him, but Zeth didn¡¯t have time to wait. The demon facing him came to a stop nonchalantly in front of him, continuing with that bored look on her face. As Zeth tried to back away from her, she suddenly spun around on one heel, lifting her other leg as she moved with absurd speed to slam her foot into his side, but he managed to leap backward, mere fractions of an inch away from getting bisected by the demon¡¯s heel. When the demon planted her foot on the ground once again, glancing at Zeth only to see him alive, the only look that appeared on her face was annoyance¡ªas though Zeth¡¯s attempts at self-preservation were merely done to inconvenience her personally. He slowly stepped further and further away, keeping his attention solely fixated on her. The barest wrong move could easily end in death against an opponent like this one. She seemed a little weaker than most, considering her lighter pink skin¡ªhe suspected he¡¯d only survived that initial strike because of that fact¡ªbut even then, she¡¯d broken his ribs in a single hit. He wasn¡¯t confident in his chances taking another full-force strike like that. In a swift motion, she suddenly lunged forward and reached out a hand to grab at Zeth¡¯s head. He moved to react as quickly as he could, and to his surprise, just barely managed to do so. He certainly wasn¡¯t fast enough to dodge her attack entirely, but that wasn¡¯t what he was trying to do. Right as the demon¡¯s fingers closed around Zeth¡¯s face, he lifted his own hand up, holding the ritual cloth, and pressed it against her arm. The lines of the ritual circle lit up, sparking with electricity, and in an instant, flames burst up all across the demon. Every square inch of her skin was set ablaze with a fire hotter than physically possible. And, of course, her hand was still pressed against Zeth¡¯s face. So as that flame sprung up, it seared into his flesh. Zeth screamed in pain and stumbled back at the same time that his demon opponent shouted out in surprise and stepped away from Zeth, herself. But Zeth wasn¡¯t paying attention¡ªnor could he, with the burns covering his face and eyes. He raised his hands up to his skin to feel the damage; thankfully he¡¯d only been touching the demon for a split second, so it hadn¡¯t had time to do severe harm. But, from the feel of the tender skin across his nose, cheeks, mouth, and across his right eye, the shape of a hand had been imprinted into his skin by the fire. He looked up with his left eye, keeping his right shut tight as stinging pain stabbed across that entire side of his face, to see the demon he¡¯d set alight standing a few feet away, her entire body continuing to serve as fuel for the roaring fire covering her. However, she hadn¡¯t collapsed. She was hunched over, hands on her knees, grunting in pain, but not dying. And as he stood there, watching the scene, Zeth saw as the extreme heat from the fire on her body caused yet more flames to spring up across the wooden hallway. It seemed like the magical hellfire of his Skill would stay relegated to whoever the victim was, but the heat caused from the fire was certainly able to light other things aflame. In the past, the flames had only ever lasted a second or two when he¡¯d used them on a target before sputtering out, meaning they didn¡¯t ever have the time to cause any massive infernos, but it also seemed like the reason Hellfire Ritual only lasted a second or two wasn¡¯t because the Skill simply wasn¡¯t long lasting¡ªit was because the flames would automatically die when the target died. Now, when the target was staying alive through them, they lasted much longer. And, as such, had far more time to set their surroundings alight. In a completely wooden hallway. It didn¡¯t take long before fire had spread to a gigantic swath of floor and wall. And, unlike magical flame, this fire created smoke, quickly filling the underground bunker. Zeth backed away from the roaring flames, their source of the hellfire-covered demon still standing in the center of the disaster. ¡°Argh!¡± she grunted in pain once more. ¡°You bastard. This I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Still burning, she stepped forward to reach Zeth, looking far more determined to tear him limb from limb than she had before. But as she approached, a fist suddenly reached through the flame and smoke and slammed into her jaw, sending her flying aside and knocking her into a wall, where she smashed right through and into the dirt on the other side. Astrys stepped through the wall of fire, holding the other demon that was her opponent in a chokehold, her muscular arm wrapped around his throat as she dragged him across the hallway. He gargled out threats and insults as he clawed at her, but from his current position, his attacks were completely ineffectual. From there, she used her other hand to grab his horn, let go of his neck, and instantly flung him across the hallway as well, where he smashed into the other demon. Seemed like she¡¯d gotten the hang of hand-to-hand combat. Astrys looked back at Zeth. ¡°Go. I¡¯ll handle them.¡± He nodded. He still felt slightly uneasy giving a demon so much autonomy over how she fought and operated, but he simply didn¡¯t have the ability to micromanage her right now. He hated to admit it, but he¡¯d simply have to trust this woman to not stab him in the back. So he turned away, facing the wall of fire that was now tearing the complex apart. Garon was on the other side of the wall, though the smoke and flames were so thick that Zeth couldn¡¯t actually see through them to confirm such a thing. But that was where he¡¯d left the man. And now that the two demons were busy with Astrys, he¡¯d actually have a chance to finish him off. With a running start, Zeth charged at the fire. It¡¯d spread from one side of the hall to the other, but its edges near the walls seemed at least somewhat thin, so he concluded he¡¯d simply have to go straight through it. The still-stinging flesh on his face voiced its disapproval of this plan, but Zeth had no other choice if he was going to kill Garon. And he going to kill Garon. He didn¡¯t dare slow down as he came up to the wall of flame, leaping through as he felt the heat lick at his skin and sear him further. But the sensation didn¡¯t last long; as he landed on the floor and stumbled to a stop, he found he was on the other side of the fire. And ahead of him was his enemy. Those reinforcements he¡¯d called in had caught up to him by now, the five of them standing to form a barricade between him and Zeth. And behind those bodyguards he stood, staring at Zeth, who was still catching his breath and steadying himself after charging right through a bonfire. Garon stepped forward, holding out a finger to point at Zeth. He shouted out to his bodyguards, ¡°There he is! Kill him!¡± One of the people barked out a sickening laugh. ¡°If we disable him, can I¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Garon said, sounding annoyed. ¡°You can torture him, or whatever it is you thralls enjoy doing. Just get rid of this man.¡± With that, the five people charged ahead, brandishing their knives. Zeth stepped forward, reaching into his pockets for his ritual circles, and prepared for a slaughter. Chapter 54 Zeth faced off against his foes, the five of them charging at him at once. It seemed like Garon was determined to keep Zeth from reaching him. But Zeth wasn¡¯t about to turn around and run just because he was outnumbered. Pulling a ritual cloth out from his pocket, he uncorked a bottle of blood and splashed it across the circle, arming it in an instant as he sprinted forward to meet the group. With the extra Dexterity he¡¯d gotten these past couple days, he felt faster and more maneuverable than ever¡ªenough that he¡¯d even been able to dodge the attacks of a demon, if just barely. He couldn¡¯t underestimate his foes, but he knew he was at least stronger than each of them individually. The issue was just that there were five of them. As the five people came at Zeth, splitting up to surround him from all angles, he picked one and ran at him¡ªthe man that¡¯d asked Garon if he could torture Zeth before killing him. He wore a sadistic grin on his face, eyes wide open like he couldn¡¯t wait to dig through Zeth¡¯s insides. All five of these people must¡¯ve been Wicked thralls, if Garon was controlling them by offering torture in exchange for their services. The man swung his knife sideways at Zeth, but he ducked underneath the swing, lunging forward to press his Hellfire Ritual into the man¡¯s abdomen. But as he did, another enemy came at Zeth from the side, swinging her knife downward to stab into his back, and he was forced to step out of the way to avoid the strike, coming up behind the man. The woman tried to lunge around her ally to get at Zeth, swinging her blade out in a wide arc, but Zeth grabbed the man in front of him and pulled him over to act as a human shield, and the woman¡¯s knife cut into his chest instead. The man didn¡¯t seem to register the wound, though, instead just grunting in frustration as he spun around to face off against Zeth once again. The other three people were also slowly circling around him, trying to get behind him to attack while in a blind spot. He had to finish this fast, before they found a moment to exploit their greater numbers. The bleeding man, seemingly the one most impatient to cut Zeth open, stepped forward to swing at him once again, and this time Zeth reached out and grabbed the man¡¯s wrist before the blade could cut into him. As another two leapt at Zeth to attack him while he was occupied, he yanked the man forward and used his other hand to reach out and press the hellfire circle into his skin. Instantly, the man burst into flames as Zeth spun around and threw the burning man at his other two enemies, sending them stumbling away from the hazard as the man tumbled to the ground, unmoving. He¡¯d died so quickly, he hadn¡¯t even had the chance to scream in pain. Zeth used the moment to dig into his pocket for another ritual circle, but the last two individuals came at him while he was defenseless. One stepped forward and stabbed her blade at him, and he managed to sidestep away from the knife, but the other swung downward as Zeth stepped away from the woman¡¯s strike, the second attack coming straight at his head at an angle he couldn¡¯t duck out of the way from. With no time to think, Zeth raised up his arm to block, and the blade sank into his flesh, sending a sharp pain jolting through his entire body. Zeth at least had a decent sum of Endurance to keep the knife from cutting all the way to the bone, but the man had swung with all his might, and so the cut was still plenty deep enough to leave Zeth with blood spurting out of his forearm. He stumbled away, having drawn the ritual circle from his pocket but not having activated it yet, as the two enemies drew closer, looking to capitalize on his injury and finish him off. As quickly as he could, Zeth rubbed the ritual circle against his own wound, feeling as the blood covering his arm was absorbed into the lines, and then he dove forward, reaching out to slam the cloth into the gut of the woman on the left. He hit her with it before she could react, and she quickly went up in flames, falling to the ground. The man on the right ran at him, driving the knife downward to stab into him, but Zeth sidestepped the attack as the man stumbled past him. Then, Zeth walked over behind him, and kicked him in the butt. He fell forward, landing right on top of the still-burning woman. The man screamed in pain from the supernatural fire melting his skin, trying to push away from her, but Zeth stomped down on his back, holding his spasming body against the deadly heat. Within seconds, he was silenced, too. That left two more people. Zeth looked at them, finding them far more hesitant to approach than they¡¯d been before, now that three of their comrades had been killed. He reached into his pocket and drew out his last two ritual circles, grabbing two bottles from his belt and pouring them both out to activate them. As he did, the two thralls seemed to regain a bit of their confidence, and they charged, brandishing their knives. The man on the right got to him first, swinging at him in a quick motion, and Zeth backstepped to dodge, trying to reach out and touch the man¡¯s arm with his ritual circle in retaliation. But the man drew away the moment he realized his attack wouldn¡¯t hit, retracting his arm in obvious fear of getting tagged by the cloth. They¡¯d clearly figured out Zeth¡¯s abilities by now. The man stepped forward to swing at Zeth once again, this time as the woman came up on the left at the same time. They¡¯d caught him in a pincer here¡ªhe couldn¡¯t dodge both. So instead of trying to dodge to one side or the other, Zeth simply lunged right at the man, charging straight into his attack. He seemed to catch him off guard with the reckless maneuver, and luckily didn¡¯t get hit by the man¡¯s knife. The woman¡¯s blade cut uselessly through the air, too, as Zeth ran toward the man and away from her. As he did so, though, the man quickly pulled his arm back and swung it downward, aiming to stab into Zeth¡¯s chest now that he was close. Zeth was faster, though, and whipped the hellfire circle out to hit his skin. Just as the man began to catch fire, however, Zeth felt a sudden pain in his gut. He turned around to see the woman pressing the entire blade of her knife into the side of his abdomen, a horrific squelching sound coming from the deep hole being bored in his stomach. He instantly reached out with his other hand, pressing his last ritual cloth against her face, and she lit up with flames just like the rest of her comrades. As both the man and the woman thudded against the floor and their screams died out, Zeth let out a shuddering breath, trying to pull his thoughts from the intense pain radiating from where the knife was still stuck deep into him. He glanced around, finding Garon standing in the middle of the hallway, in the exact same spot he¡¯d been in when he ordered these people to kill Zeth, staring at the man who refused to die with a terrified expression on his face. Zeth took a labored step toward Garon. Then another, and another. Each time he moved his legs, his entire upper body screamed in agony, but he pushed himself to continue walking. He utilized every single point he had in Endurance and Poise to push the pain away. Though, even in his tenacious pursuit after his enemy, Zeth recognized he didn¡¯t have any weapons left to help kill the man. He¡¯d been forced to use every last one of his rituals against the thralls, and from the sounds of the crashing and splitting wood on the other side of the wall of fire, Astrys was clearly still busy with her own opponents. Without access to any of his Blood Mage powers, Zeth was left as a weak, mundane person¡ªmade slightly more powerful from his Stats, but his several injuries more than made up for that advantage. And he still hadn¡¯t seen Garon fight yet. What was his Level? Sure, Zeth¡¯s Stat growth outpaced his, but with more Levels under his belt, Garon¡¯s Stats could¡¯ve easily dwarfed his. Not to mention whatever Skills a Blood Mage may have gotten later on. It was completely possible that Zeth was struggling this hard just to walk over to someone who''d kill him in a single second. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But he didn¡¯t stop moving. As he took step after step, Zeth reached down and shakily pulled the knife from his gut. The moment the knife exited the wound, blood only began to pour out of his body even more quickly, but at least now he had a weapon in his hand. Garon, apparently only now realizing that Zeth wasn¡¯t going to collapse from his wounds, stepped back away from him. At least he didn¡¯t look too confident in his own abilities¡ªthough Zeth didn¡¯t know if that was just him being a coward or if it was because he really was powerless right now. With wide eyes, still looking horrified by the fact that Zeth was continuing to move relentlessly toward him, Garon stepped backward more and more frantically, until, in his fear, he caught one foot against the other and tripped backward. Zeth advanced further as Garon was reduced to pushing against the floor to scoot away from his enemy, until they were mere feet away from each other. ¡°D-don¡¯t hurt me!¡± Garon shouted out, as though commanding Zeth to stop would make him do so. Zeth stepped down on his leg, taking a labored breath. ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°Wh¡­You broke in here and you don¡¯t even know?¡± ¡°Just tell me. What¡¯s all this for? Are you the mastermind behind it all?¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Garon chuckled nervously. ¡°N-no, of course not. I-I mean, I¡¯m an important member of the cabal, but I¡¯m not the leader, or anything. Just¡ª¡± ¡°So this place is made by a cabal of Blood Mages, then? How many? And who?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know everyone. Lots of new faces come in from out of town, and lots of them leave.¡± He stepped down harder. ¡°Who is a part of this organization? Is there someone in the guard? In the government?¡± Garon frowned in confusion. ¡°Why are you even this? Y-you¡¯re making a lot of enemies coming after us. You¡¯re a Blood Mage¡ªjoin us, and you¡¯ll receive power beyond your wildest¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking for the fucking sales pitch,¡± Zeth said, kneeling down and holding the knife up to him, ready to drive it through Garon¡¯s throat. ¡°Give me answers. Who, exactly, is involved with you?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! It¡¯s basically everyone! At least, everyone important. Not all of them know they¡¯re working with Blood Mages, but the leaders at the guard, the old mayor, they¡¯ve all colluded with us. That¡¯s how it¡¯s always been. I-if you want exact names, give me some time and I get can them to you, but¡ª¡± ¡°What about the other Blood Mages? Is there anyone else in town who has the Class?¡± ¡°Again, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen their faces¡ªall the Mages keep their faces covered when they practice magic. It¡¯s all very secretive. L-listen, I just follow their orders; they said to prepare to become the mayor, so I did! I don¡¯t know much, I promise.¡± ¡°I thought you said you were an ¡®important leader.¡¯¡± ¡°Well, you know, they all respect my intelligence and take my words into consideration, but I don¡¯t technically have an leadership role.¡± Gods, Zeth had forgotten he was dealing with an idiot here. ¡°Okay. Were you the one who was meant to obtain the Blood Magus Class? The one who was down in the cave when it collapsed?¡± He blinked. ¡°Blood Magus? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The evolved version of Blood Mage. If it wasn¡¯t you, who was meant to get it?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Zeth rubbed his eyes in frustration. ¡°There was a ritual being conducted down in the mines¡ªthe branch that was shut down because of structural issues. It consumed over six hundred lives and took three years to complete. You¡¯re saying you¡¯re ¡®respected¡¯ here and yet never knew about this?¡± ¡°O-oh, yes, I helped with that! They never told me what it was for, but I worked on it, yes.¡± ¡°How did you work on it? Like, you helped draw it?¡± ¡°...No, I sent miners down to be sacrificed. Well, most of the sacrifices were thralls after we¡¯d used them up¡ªthey¡¯d be sent down there, and I¡¯d be tasked with ensuring nobody saw them.¡± Zeth narrowed his eyes. ¡°Used them up? What do you mean?¡± Garon shook his head. ¡°H-how do you even know about this place, if you don¡¯t know our practices? You really¡ª¡± Zeth lowered the knife closer to Garon¡¯s throat. ¡°Just tell me.¡± ¡°R-right. We take Wicked thralls from the prisons¡ªbandits and the like¡ªand have them do our dirty work for us. Sometimes we have them obtain the Blood Mage Class and get them to draw rituals, but most of the time, they¡¯ll be tasked with doing anything that could Rank up the Wicked Skill. Assassinations of problematic people, obtaining sacrifices when we run low¡ªthat sort of thing. That way, the leadership can avoid ever getting the Skill.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t ordering someone to commit murder just as easily get you the Skill as actually killing the person?¡± ¡°It¡¯s far easier to detach yourself from the situation when you never even see the person¡¯s face.¡± Garon frowned. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know this? You¡¯re a Blood Mage, too; what¡¯s your Wicked at? Four? Five? You know what it¡¯s like, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Just keep explaining.¡± ¡°Um, yeah. So, after their Skills got high enough that they couldn¡¯t follow orders anymore, we¡¯d just send them down to be sacrificed. Since they were supposed to be executed anyway, it was easy to do¡ªnobody ever suspected anything. Only, it was also slow, so occasionally I¡¯d send a squad or two of miners to juice it up a bit more.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Zeth said with a nod. Then he frowned, realizing Garon had just said something strange. ¡°Wait, what do you mean the Wicked thralls did ¡®assassinations of problematic people?¡¯ Who around here have you had killed? Like, political rivals?¡± ¡°Sometimes, sure. There have been growing pains where leaders of certain organizations refuse to take bribes or listen to threats. But other times, undistinguished citizens see something they shouldn¡¯t, and we¡¯re forced to do something about it. Again, we normally like to just rely on threats to keep people quiet¡ªpeople get suspicious if their family members disappear¡ªbut sometimes they don¡¯t listen. When that happens, we¡¯re forced to do something about it.¡± Zeth stared at him, a thought beginning to form in his mind. ¡°So, what, you just order the thralls to kill these people off and make it look like an ordinary mugging?¡± He nodded. ¡°We normally have a bandit camp or two around town. They¡¯re allowed to operate as usual, but we keep tabs on them, and send requests as things become necessary.¡± ¡°And who have you ordered them to kill?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t remember all of them off the top of my head. Is that what this is all about? We killed someone you needed alive? If, so I promise it was nothing personal¡ªjust business! I¡¯d have never acted against someone as powerful as¡ª¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Zeth said. If anything, it was that all of these killings were ¡®just business¡¯ to Garon. At least if he believed in something, he¡¯d have been a misguided zealot. Now, he was just a plain murderer. ¡°You had an employee named Zeth Valerian. Do you remember him?¡± Garon blinked in shock at the change of subject. Zeth was, of course, still wearing his mask to hide his identity, so Garon didn¡¯t recognize that the very man was staring him down as they spoke. ¡°Zeth, Zeth¡­Oh, right, I remember him. He came and annoyed me while we were dealing with rebuilding after the incident with the fleshtaker and our demon got loose. Something about trying to get some money¡ªI don¡¯t remember exactly. What about him? Are you trying to have him killed, or something? We can arrange something like that.¡± Zeth grit his teeth. ¡°No. His dad¡­His father was killed by Wicked thralls a few weeks ago. Did you have anything to do with that?¡± He frowned. ¡°Another Valerian? Hm¡­I thought that name sounded familiar¡ªdid we do something like that? I-I can¡¯t remember for sure.¡± Zeth had to restrain himself from beating the man to death right there. ¡°Try harder.¡± ¡°Uh¡­Do you know why we would¡¯ve had him killed? Any info? Why do you want to know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you would do it, that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you,¡± Zeth said, barely keeping his voice under control. A mixture of unbridled rage and bottled-up grief caused his words to waver. ¡°He was¡­He was killed at his home, on the edge of the property, tending to his farm. He¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, the farmer!¡± Garon said. ¡°Right, I remember him. Yes, I ordered that.¡± Zeth¡¯s mind went blank. Completely, totally blank. ¡°I don¡¯t remember all the details¡ªthose aren¡¯t important, are they? But he¡¯d stumbled across some classified information, or something. Just some old hick being too curious. Like I said, we don¡¯t like assassinating people as a first resort in moments like those, since normally a decent threat¡¯ll take care of them and then we can arrange some slower, quieter means to take them out rather than just sending Wicked thralls to their doorstep. I just had one of our people slip him a letter telling him if he said anything, we¡¯d kill him and his family¡ªthe usual stuff.¡± It took everything Zeth had in him to keep himself from slitting this man¡¯s throat right then and there. ¡°And why did you kill him?¡± ¡°Oh, I think he ended up figuring out what we were doing down in the mines with that big ritual you were talking about. He¡¯d tried to secretly pay someone to sneak in there for him and prowl around doing something, and that was the day it went wrong. I was never told how, but apparently, after that person walked around in the crowds for a while, some guild member showed up to gum everything up. Obviously they were told by the person he hired. They asked me if I had any idea who could¡¯ve leaked the information, and that Valerian man was our most likely suspect. I took some time to see if I could figure out who he¡¯d told, what that person had been hired to do, just walking among the guild members before leaving, but couldn¡¯t really find much out. Eventually, I just cut my losses and offed him. So, what, were you trying to get info out of him, too? If you let me go, I can go try to find everything I can.¡± Zeth didn¡¯t respond, completely frozen. He couldn¡¯t believe it. He was taken back to that fateful day when he¡¯d gotten trapped down in the mineshaft. Before he went with Nestor and the rest of his coworkers, a voice had spoken to him, telling him if he went down there, he¡¯d die. They¡¯d muttered it so quietly and quickly that by the time he turned around, they¡¯d disappeared into the crowd, and he¡¯d just brushed it off at the time. At least, he¡¯d brushed it off until he realized what it was that they¡¯d been talking about. The identity of that person, why they¡¯d warned him, and why they hadn¡¯t taken the time to give him a more extensive warning if they knew it was dangerous, had always been a mystery to him. Until now. Had it been someone hired by his own dad, that whole time? And had it seriously been fucking that had killed him for it? He fought to keep his voice stable. ¡°Who was meant to claim the ritual once it was done? It wasn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°N-no, of course not. Something like that¡ªI never knew for sure what it was, but if they weren¡¯t telling me, it must¡¯ve been mighty important. You said it was some sort of special Class unlock? What was¡ª¡± ¡°Who was it?¡± ¡°Oh, um, the one who went down there to finish it was Otis.¡± Zeth blinked. He¡¯d been suspecting the people he knew for so long, the unfamiliar name caught him off-guard. ¡°Otis? Who¡¯s that?¡± Garon gave him a strange look. ¡°What do you mean ¡®who¡¯s that?¡¯ Y¡¯know. Otis.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know, you fucking idiot. Explain.¡± ¡°Otis. Like, the name of the guild? ¡®Otis and Roul¡¯s?¡¯ It¡¯s Otis.¡± Chapter 55 Zeth knelt over Garon, the options fighting each other in his mind to either slaughter him right now or to continue interrogating him for any information he could ask about. ¡°The Blood Mage who was meant to claim that ritual was the owner of the entire guild?¡± he asked. ¡°Wait, so this whole guild is just a front for a Blood Mage cabal?¡± ¡°...Yes? You didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Where is Otis?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. There are guild branches in plenty of different towns. He doesn¡¯t come by often.¡± ¡°What does he look like, then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Like I said, they all kept their faces hidden. B-but he¡¯s a public figure, so maybe you could find out¡­somehow¡­?¡± Somehow, after finding out who the Blood Mage behind all this was, Zeth only felt from his goal. He¡¯d been treating this whole thing as a sprint¡ªjust get the bare minimum amount of power, kill some random asshole in his town, and be done with it. But it was seeming more and more like this would be a much longer race. ¡°L-listen, are you gonna let me go?¡± ¡°What about Roul?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Otis and Roul¡¯s.¡¯ You¡¯ve told me about Otis being involved in all of this. What about Roul?¡± ¡°I-I dunno. Maybe. Like I said, I really don¡¯t know much. It¡¯s just random little tidbits I¡¯ve overheard. I certainly haven¡¯t been able to personally meet them or ask them any questions.¡± ¡°Gods, you are so fucking stupid. Okay, then. What¡¯s next for your cabal? What are your plans? Is Otis coming to town anytime soon?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Zeth glowered at him. ¡°I really don¡¯t know! Promise! I-if you keep me alive, I can maybe listen more carefully and feed you information. But all I know is my own job. I was meant to serve as the new puppet leader after the old mayor started getting unruly. They¡¯d give me orders when I needed them. They were gonna send me out on some sort of mission tomorrow, but I didn¡¯t know what it actually was, so¡­¡± Zeth heard a shout from up ahead, further down the hallway. Yet more boots began thumping against the wooden floor as people ran toward them. He hadn¡¯t gotten all the answers he wanted out of Garon, but it didn¡¯t seem like this dumbass actually knew much to begin with. Still, what he¡¯d gotten was far, far more than nothing. Zeth finally had a basic foundation to work off of. ¡°You mentioned bringing Inquisitors into town in your speech. Why would you do that? If you¡¯re working outside the law, using Wicked thralls as your servants, wouldn¡¯t Inquisitors only cause more problems? Were you lying about calling them? Or are they all in your pocket, too?¡± ¡°No, no. They¡¯re the empire¡¯s soldiers¡ªwe don¡¯t have nearly enough influence to totally undermine them like that. Leadership asked me to call them because the Inquisitors have to come on a regular basis, and our time for another visit is coming soon. So, if we called them now, we could get it out of the way early, and keep them busy while they were here with some big public execution ceremony. And, with the rogue Blood Mage running around¡ªI-I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s you¡ªthey supposed they could use you to their advantage, have the guards point the Inquisitors in your direction, they¡¯d kill you, and once you were dead, they¡¯d assume the problem was solved. The Inquisitors aren¡¯t corruptible, but the rest of town is, and they have to get their information from someone. It¡¯s easy to keep them under control as long as they only know what we want them to know.¡± ¡°So they really are coming into town soon, then? When?¡± ¡°I-I didn¡¯t actually finalize that yet. I just announced it.¡± Another shout came from down the hallway¡ªthis time much closer. ¡°So you have nothing left to tell me, then? You¡¯re just some random Blood Mage working for this cabal? You know nothing else?¡± ¡°U-um, I¡¯m not a Blood Mage.¡± Zeth stared at him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Blood Mage. They just started paying me because I was a manager from the guild.¡± ¡°Do you have any Class at all?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°N-no, nothing. I-I promise, I¡¯m no threat to you, alright? If you let me go, I¡¯ll be like a spy! An informant! I won¡¯t tell them anything, and I¡¯ll just gather information for you!¡± Zeth tossed the knife aside, and it skidded to the edge of the hallway. Garon¡¯s eyes lit up in relief. ¡°Oh, thank¡ª¡± He was interrupted when Zeth slammed his fist into his nose. Garon¡¯s head was thrown back and thumped against the floor. He looked up at Zeth. ¡°Wh¡ª¡± Zeth threw another punch at him, exerting every bit of force he could to send his knuckles into the man¡¯s face. When he drew his hand back, he found blood leaking from a cut on his cheek. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. He got up to his feet, clutching the wound on his gut, and stomped his boot into Garon¡¯s head. At this point, the man wasn¡¯t responding, simply curling up into a ball to try and protect himself from the strikes. But Zeth kept stomping on him, using the full weight of his body to try and crack the man¡¯s skull open. ¡°You are a selfish, worthless sack of shit!¡± Zeth shouted, letting out every bit of anger he¡¯d built up at Garon. Not only had he been a horrible, exploitative boss all these years, not only had he worked with the Blood Mages to kill so many innocent people and order the executions of his own coworkers, but apparently, this man had killed Zeth¡¯s dad. After so long searching for the thrall who had done it, he found the culprit right here, lying in front of him. ¡°Fucking murderer! Did you ever meet the family members of the people you killed? Did you look your victims in the eyes? Or were you too much of a fucking coward to even do that?¡± He drew his foot back, then kicked it into Garon¡¯s body, sending him rolling across the floor, trailing blood behind him. He whimpered in fear and pain. Zeth walked over to him. ¡°You kill people by underpaying them. You kill them by refusing to follow safety protocols. And now, apparently, you kill them by just fucking killing them! Did it ever occur to you that maybe, , you should try to be functioning member of society?! To try and make the people around you happier? To use your life, and the abundant resources provided to you, to improve society, rather than draining it for everything it fucking has?¡± He kicked Garon again, sending him slamming into the wall, where he bounced off and rolled to lay flat on his face, totally motionless. ¡°You¡¯re not worthless. You¡¯re less than it. If you hadn¡¯t been born, the world around us would be a genuinely better place. Are you even fucking ashamed of yourself for that? Do you even realize how much of a colossal failure you are as a human being that I can say that about you?¡± He stomped the heel of his boot into Garon¡¯s unprotected head. His body spasmed under the impact. ¡°So don¡¯t you fucking dare feel sorry for yourself when I kill you! All I¡¯m doing is fixing the mistake you made every goddamn morning when you woke up, got out of bed, and decided to live another day. If you¡¯d just lay down and fucking died a decade ago, a whole lot of people would¡¯ve been alive right now. My coworkers¡ªmy own goddamn dad¡ªwould¡¯ve been alive right now. So what I¡¯m doing is too little, too late. You had the ability to do better by the world. But if I can at least correct that mistake now, you better fucking know I will.¡± He stomped down once again, this time feeling a wet crunch coming from Garon¡¯s skull. He lifted his boot up once more. ¡°So just. Fucking. He slammed his boot into his head one final time, and it sank into Garon¡¯s cracked-open head. A bit of pink goo squirted from the man¡¯s skull. Garon was dead. He¡¯d probably died a couple kicks ago. Zeth stumbled backward from the corpse, breathing heavy from the exertion¡ªboth physical and emotional. Instantly, reality crashed back in around him. Fire roared from behind him in the hallway, boots and shouts came from ahead, and his body was in agonizing pain. The stab wound in his gut, the laceration across his arm¡ªthey were both bleeding profusely, even with his Endurance doing what it could to keep him safe from death. ¡°Astrys!¡± he shouted. ¡°We need to get out of here!¡± There was a moment of silence. A part of Zeth wondered if she¡¯d been lying this whole time, and simply unsummoned herself at some point during that fight, leaving him stranded down here in this complex. But after a moment, her figure came bursting through the wall of fire, with her head swiveling around to look for him. Her eyes eventually landed where he stood, darting from the corpses around him back up to his own eyes. She almost looked taken aback, like she hadn¡¯t expected him to be surrounded by all the destruction. But she simply asked, ¡°How are we leaving?¡± ¡°Can you get me back through that fire without me burning to death?¡± ¡°Are humans susceptible to heat?¡± ¡°Very.¡± She nodded. ¡°Give me a moment.¡± After rushing over to the side of the hallway, where the fire was at its thinnest, she bent down, stuck her hands into the burning planks making up the floor, and ripped them off the ground, tossing them aside. She continued doing so, throwing away anything that caught fire, until a clear pathway of the stone foundation beneath the wooden planks had been made. She looked at him. ¡°Will this suffice?¡± Zeth nodded, and they hurriedly made their way through, Zeth ducking down to avoid the smoke as he walked along the stone walkway, flames to his either side. As they emerged, he glanced around to find her demon opponents nowhere to be seen. Looked like she¡¯d killed them. Or, rather, unsummoned them. Once they were on the other side of the fiery barrier, Astrys looked over. ¡°Will we be leaving the same way we came? If you are too injured to make the walk, I can carry you.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯re not leaving yet.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t? But I thought¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got one more thing to do.¡± Zeth looked over at the still-open door that led into the room with the three gigantic Empowerment Rituals, all waiting to be claimed. He¡¯d started this entire journey with three goals¡ªkill Garon, kill the people that¡¯d murdered his dad, and kill the Blood Mage who conducted that ritual. Garon was dead. And apparently, so was the person responsible for his father¡¯s murder. But the one goal that was left was a much, much larger goal than he¡¯d first realized. He had to take down Otis, of Otis and Roul¡¯s. Which meant he¡¯d have to find the co-owner of the wide-spanning guild, get to him, kill him, and get away unharmed. And not only that, it seemed like, even after killing him, Zeth would be leaving behind this whole cabal of Blood Mages. That, too, would be something he¡¯d need to clean up. He needed power. Lots of it. That would take a while. No longer would he be thinking short-term. He needed to work on growing himself before he¡¯d be able to take down an entire organization of Blood Mages and their leader on-high. And so if there was a free boost of three free Levels sitting right in front of him, he was certainly gonna take it. He turned and began walking over to a door on the opposite side. Once he reached it, he threw it open, finding the room lined with jars of blood on all sides. The sound of boots on wood drew closer by the second, and so did another sound¡ªnot leather boots from down the main hallway, but another sound that he could just barely make out. Metal boots, and the clanking of steel against steel, just barely sounding out from the opposite direction. Like someone in full plate armor was running down the hallway he and Astrys had come from. So he hurried in, grabbing as many jars as could fit in his arms. Then, he marched into the ritual room and went to the center, where the three ritual circles surrounded him. From there, he was standing right by the edges of each one. And so, he simply tossed the glass jars, two at a time, in the direction of each circle, allowing them to shatter on the ground and their contents to flow into the ground. Three simultaneous System messages informed him of the rituals progressing as the blood from the jars seeped into the stone. Eventually, all at once, the three rituals completed, and the Level-up notifications began rolling in. One, two, and three. Zeth grinned. Holy shit, that was a lot of progress made in a single second. Then, the Skill notifications popped up, and Zeth¡¯s smile grew even wider as he read through each one. Eventually, his eyes landed on the last one as it came into his mind. Now was interesting. Chapter 56 Zeth stared at the flood of notifications as they came in, the several repeated messages each combining together. [Otherworldly Excellence¡¯s Rank has increased three times to 5. +15 Dexterity. You have 35 Dexterity. +3 Skill Points. You have 9 Skill Points.] [Empowerment Ritual¡¯s Rank has increased to 6. +1 Skill Point. You have 10 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased three times to 11. +9 Endurance. Your Endurance is 39. +15 Dexterity. Your Dexterity is 50. +3 Awareness. Your Awareness is 11. +6 Poise. Your Poise is 22. +21 Shaping. Your Shaping is 77. +9 Skill Points. You have 19 Skill Points.] As his Stats each increased by such an incredible amount in that single moment¡ªespecially his Dexterity, which more than doubled¡ªhe felt his body and mind reinvigorate with newfound power. His skin hardened, and the stab wound that was slowly killing him felt like slightly less of an issue now¡ªthough, just slightly. His mind was sharper and more resilient. His mana sense skyrocketed to new heights, allowing him to see the residual light these rituals were giving off. And, of course, his entire body suddenly felt far more limber and quick to respond to his commands. He felt like he genuinely may have been able to move two or three times faster than he was only a couple days ago, back when he had a zero in Dexterity. And then, of course, there were Skill notifications. Since they all came in at almost the same time, the last one to appear was the first one Zeth read. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 11. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Massacre¡¯s Boon.] That one, he wasn¡¯t totally sure about. ¡®Massacre¡¯ certainly was a distasteful word to put in a Skill¡ªit felt like it was talking about the killing of helpless innocents, rather than genuine enemies. But perhaps it was speaking more generally about any type of combat? After that, though, he saw the next Skill notification. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 10. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Ephemeral Bloodforge.] That certainly sounded interesting. Like, a forge that was powered by blood, or something? Maybe he¡¯d be able to craft weapons and armor for himself without needing to set up a whole dedicated area for it, or needing to take a dedicated crafting Class. And the Skill came at Level ten, a big milestone for the Class, so he knew it¡¯d be powerful; at Level five, he¡¯d gotten Demonic Covenant¡ªsomething that had completely warped the way he operated. What would come of this Skill? But the one that he saw after those two was what really caught his attention. Just the name alone was enough to cause his eyes to widen like saucers. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 9. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Hell Portal.] He repeated the name over and over in his thoughts, as though running it by himself one more time would make it make sense. Surely, this couldn¡¯t do what he thought it did, right? He¡¯d heard of extremely high-Level Classes getting the ability to forcibly open up temporary Realm Portals, but typically they¡¯d only reach the shallower Realms. If this really did what he thought, and opened up a portal to reach the Thirteenth Realm, truly allowing to pass through without restriction¡­Even if it only did so for a few seconds, this Skill could genuinely lead to the end of the human species. He had to be wrong about it. He had to be making an incorrect assumption regarding its effects. Maybe it was just using the word ¡®portal¡¯ as some sort of metaphor for what it truly did? Just as he was about to open up the Skill descriptions to see what they did, he heard another shout from down the hallway. Astrys looked at him. ¡°Are you done here? It would be risky to stay any longer.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°R-right,¡± Zeth said, resolving to see what these things did later. He ran over to the doorway and joined up with Astrys and they hurried to the exit, heading back where they came from. As they went through the door at the beginning of this hallway, finding themselves back in the smaller, pitch-black hall that would lead them back to the surface, Astrys held out a hand and used her Skill to light a small fire above her palm, allowing them to see once again. He looked over at her. ¡°I heard someone in plate armor coming down this hallway, I think. And I believe I know who it is. We don¡¯t have time for me to explain, but she has some method to harm demons, and she¡¯s hostile. How quickly do you think you could dig a tunnel from here that¡¯d go back up to the¡ª¡± He stopped talking as he saw a shimmering light appear from up the hallway, where Garon¡¯s destroyed house would be. Astrys instantly shut off her flame, but the light was so bright, it illuminated them anyway. And before they could do anything, the creator of that light appeared. Rosalie approached, holding out her warhammer with its head letting out a silvery glow. The moment her eyes landed on them, she stopped dead in her tracks. Zeth, too, stared at her, unsure what to do. He certainly couldn¡¯t pretend to be innocent, standing right next to a demon, wearing the same disguise he¡¯d worn when he met with Erza on the battlefield with the mannitors. The silence stretched on between them, the only noise in the dark hallway, the slight shaking of Rosalie¡¯s armor. Astrys was the one to break the standoff. She asked in a determined voice, ¡°Shall I kill her?¡± Rosalie moved to take a defensive stance, her hammer held back to counterattack the moment an enemy approached. But Zeth spoke up before anyone could move against each other. ¡°No, don¡¯t.¡± Astrys frowned, but nodded. Rosalie, on the other hand, looked bewildered at Zeth¡¯s words. She scowled. ¡°What is this? Some sort of trick? You won¡¯t be able to lower my guard that easily, villain. What¡¯s going on here? What is this place?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Zeth breathed out, holding up his hands as a sign of peace. ¡°Look. I don¡¯t expect you to believe me¡ªI know you won¡¯t. You don¡¯t have any reason to. But I am not your enemy. In fact, I¡¯d say the two of us are just about as close to being each other¡¯s allies as we can be.¡± Her eyes went wide with rage at that last part. ¡°I would ally myself with¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± he interrupted, ¡°just¡­Listen. I¡¯m not with the other Blood Mages. I¡¯m working against them. I¡¯m trying to destroy them, in fact¡ªsame as you. I know it looks bad, with me using their same powers, but I¡¯m not the same as they are.¡± ¡°Other Blood Mages?¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°Give me names.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for an interrogation,¡± he said. ¡°And I don¡¯t have names, regardless. I tell you I just killed Garon Orteenaz, who was someone you were looking into already, right?¡± Her stance became more guarded. ¡°How did you know that?¡± ¡°I just¡ª¡± Zeth was interrupted by a chorus of shouts coming through the door behind him. It sounded like reinforcements had come across Garon¡¯s body. Once they found a way through the wall of fire, they¡¯d come upon him shortly. ¡°We don¡¯t have time. They¡¯re after me, and they¡¯ll come after you, too. If you like your chances against them, be my guest. I¡¯d recommend against it if you¡¯re alone, but please, just let me past you. You have my word I won¡¯t attack.¡± She didn¡¯t relax one bit. ¡°Why would I believe the word of a Blood Mage? Of a demon summoner?¡± ¡°Just¡ª¡± Zeth groaned in frustration. If she continued to block his path like this, things could turn disastrous. Not only could his enemies catch up to him any minute, but he was still actively bleeding from his arm and stomach, and his newly-gained Endurance could only assist with that so much. ¡°The guild. They¡¯re the whole guild. The town¡¯s leadership, the town guard, and the new mayor I just killed. They¡¯re all either Blood Mages or working for the Blood Mages. Go after , not me.¡± She pointed her hammer at him. ¡°I refuse to blindly follow words being uttered by someone who aligns himself with an evil Class. If you can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°In the guild offices, there¡¯s a storage room,¡± he said. ¡°It has a ritual circle in it. Find that. Capture and interrogate someone down here, if you think you can¡ªthey¡¯ll tell you the same thing, too. Don¡¯t believe me; believe them. I mean, c¡¯mon. Why would I be trying to talk to you, if I were your enemy?¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just trying to avoid a fight because you¡¯re injured,¡± she said, nodding to the blood dripping from his body onto the floor. ¡°And why would I be injured? I¡¯m coming from a fight¡ªa fight with the enemy Blood Mages.¡± Another noise came from through the door he stood beside, like rushing water. ¡°Please,¡± he said, ¡°just let me pass by this one time. We can talk more later. I don¡¯t want a fight. And I doubt you do, either. So I¡¯m going to walk past you. You can decide whether or not you¡¯ll follow.¡± With that, he began moving forward, putting a hand on the wall for support as he went. Astrys strode in front of him, putting herself between him and their potential enemy. Rosalie stood perfectly still, with a conflicted expression that made it clear she was in the middle of trying to figure out whether to do nothing or to attack. He wasn¡¯t sure if she really believed him, or if she was simply too cautious of his demon and his own unknown strength to instigate a fight. Whatever it was that made her hesitate, he just hoped that side of her won the internal battle she was having. As he got closer to her, Zeth was forced to push himself against the wall to squeeze past in the relatively small hallway, with Astrys continuing to stand between the two of them. Rosalie faced them the whole time, clearly on-guard, waiting to defend against a surprise attack, but of course Zeth ordered no such thing. The moment he was past her, he hurried back up the hallway, heading for the hole that would lead up to town. It looked like Rosalie had been reasonable, after all. They continued walking until they were out of her sight. ¡°Who was that?¡± Astrys asked ¡°Why did you wish to spare her life? She seemed to not want to offer you the same affordance.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just misguided,¡± he said. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know the whole situation. Definitely doesn¡¯t deserve to be killed.¡± Astrys looked at him. ¡°But she was in your way.¡± ¡°What, you think I should just kill everyone who inconveniences me?¡± ¡°No, I do not,¡± she said. ¡°But¡­Well, I suppose my impression of you was that you were the type of person to do such a thing.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zeth almost felt offended. ¡°Why would you think that?¡± She glanced back. ¡°...You seem to be a violent person.¡± He frowned. ¡°Well, okay, maybe. But I only killed those people because¡ª¡± Zeth was interrupted by his own grunt of pain when he tripped over a loose plank and stumbled forward, a sharp sensation radiating out from his gut. He doubled over in pain as his body screamed out for him to do something about the gigantic hole that¡¯d been torn through his organs. He had to get out of here first before anything else, though. ¡°Will you be okay?¡± she asked, looking at the blood dripping from his body. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Do humans have any healing Skills? Could you find help from someone in town?¡± He grunted in pain again. ¡°Not many people would help me for free, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to fix it instantly. My only healing Skill is one that accelerates my natural healing¡ªit works too slow.¡± ¡°Well, do you have anything unlocked?¡± ¡°No, I¡ª¡± Zeth began to say, then he stopped. He¡¯d almost forgotten about it in the swarm of new Skills he¡¯d been getting recently, but he unlocked a new healing Skill right before he summoned her¡ªSanguine Renewal. It was expensive, at fifteen Skill Points in cost, but he¡¯d just Leveled up three times over, and increased his Point total up to a staggering nineteen. That one explicitly said it would heal his wounds ¡®rapidly.¡¯ Hopefully that meant rapidly enough that it could stop him from bleeding to death. The optimizer in him wanted to take a moment to read over all the other new Skills he¡¯d gotten before he spent his Skill Points on this one, but Sanguine Renewal would only heal him at the cost of his own blood, and so if he waited until he didn¡¯t have enough blood in his body to spend on that healing, it¡¯d be useless. And with him losing more with every second that passed, now wasn¡¯t the time to double-check to see if there were any technically superior options. So, without another word, he quickly reached inward and purchased it. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Sanguine Renewal. -15 Skill Points. You have 4 Skill Points.] Instantly, Zeth felt his body reacting to the new Skill. He felt slight itching sensations in the holes in his stomach and arm and the burn mark on his face, like mana was being poured into them, rebuilding what damage had been done. Even his older injuries that had been mostly repaired by Self-Destruction reacted, tingling like they were waiting to be fixed once the others were done. But the most intense sensation wasn¡¯t the tickling in his wounds. It was the profoundly uncomfortable sensation of the blood being absorbed from straight out of his veins. Coldness spread through his body. It radiated from his heart, from the arteries in his neck to the veins in his toes. It was like a leech had somehow wormed its way directly into his blood vessels, gorging itself on the feast that was his body. However, he could also tell that was that leech. It wasn¡¯t being stolen, it was simply being¡­repurposed. Broken down into mana so that it could be funneled toward something more important. As he felt the blood being stolen away from his body, those itching wounds began to repair themselves. He could feel them closing¡ªhells, in the case of his face and the burn across his eye, he could literally the difference in his own vision. And as he looked down at the laceration in his arm, he watched as blood stopped leaking out, the flesh rebuilding itself from the deepest parts outward. [Sanguine Renewal¡¯s Rank has increased to 1. +1 Skill Point. You have 5 Skill Points.] Astrys watched him as this happened. Despite the intense sensation that he was draining his own internal blood supply, he felt , second by second. He stood up straighter, relishing in the sensation of the pain quickly disappearing from his body. [Sanguine Renewal¡¯s Rank has increased to 2. +1 Skill Point. You have 6 Skill Points.] ¡°Oh, thank the gods,¡± he muttered, and moved to continue in their trek up the hallway. ¡°You found a solution?¡± she asked, following him. He nodded. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about a Skill I had unlocked.¡± Before he could explain any further, though, the unmistakable sight of moonlight peering through a hole in a distant portion of ceiling appeared in his vision. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± he said, speeding up to reach the exit. ¡°For now, let¡¯s just get out of here.¡± Chapter 57 Rosalie sighed in relief when the man and his demon left. She¡¯d recognized that hood and mask¡ªthey were the same as what the person fighting the mannitor had been wearing. Perhaps it had been a mistake to let him go, but the way he was talking, her instincts told her to believe him when he said he wasn¡¯t her main enemy. Besides, from what she¡¯d seen in the past, and from what she felt coming from that demon, it likely wouldn¡¯t have been a good idea to engage them alone, anyway. If he truly had been evil, it would have been a moral failing to let him go regardless of how powerful he was. It was her duty to kill an enemy like that. But that demon¡¯s fear aura had been incredibly strong. As a Paladin, her Poise Stat was raised quite high, which helped her operate in spite of fear, but even she had been filled with the desire to turn and run at the sight of that wretched thing. It was strong. At the very least, if she made a mistake in letting that man go, making that mistake probably spared her life from being taken by the monster. If she just waited a day and came after him later, backed up by Alfon and Erza, maybe then they¡¯d be able to do something about it. But she was still down in these tunnels. He¡¯d said they were owned by a group of other Blood Mages, who were his enemies. At the very least, she needed to see if such a thing was true. So, holding her hammer out in front of her to illuminate the way, she hesitantly crept forward, keeping an eye out for traps. But as she went, she didn¡¯t see any. That was unusual, if this place truly was being used as a Blood Mage¡¯s lair, but not impossible. Especially considering these tunnels were kept secret, it could have been that they didn¡¯t want to spend the time managing traps in areas that wouldn¡¯t see intruders. Or there were enough Blood Mages collaborating with each other that they didn¡¯t want to get caught in each other¡¯s Fire Rituals. Those things wouldn¡¯t attack their owners, but anyone else was fair game. If there were a large number of Blood Mages all working down here, it could¡¯ve been for their own safety that there were no traps. She hoped such a thing wasn¡¯t the case, though. The man she¡¯d just confronted said there were a few colluding with one another, which was common with Classes like these¡ªoften three or four of them would work together to make a base and watch each other¡¯s backs. But if it was a whole camp of them, with numbers of seven, eight, nine? That would be a significant problem, especially if the man was also right in saying they had the town guard in their pocket. Her mind went to a more disastrous possibility¡ªwhat if the number of mages was in the teens? She doubted her little three-person group would ever be capable of handling something like fifteen Blood Mages, even if they were all lower in Level. She tried to calm herself down. Maybe this hallway originally trapped, and that man had just cleared them all out already. It certainly looked like something that would only be made for a small number of people. Perhaps this situation wouldn¡¯t be as disastrous as she¡¯d feared. She arrived at a door with a knob that¡¯d been smeared in wet blood. Seemed like this had been where that man had come from. Taking a breath, she gripped the knob, herself. He¡¯d come from some sort of fight, and said he¡¯d killed that new mayor. If he was telling the truth, presumably she¡¯d find a body right through here. So she cracked the door open, and peered through to see what was inside. It was a wall of fire. Smoke billowed from the torched walls up to the ceiling far upward in the much, much larger room. Corpses littered the floor, all either burnt to a crisp or¡­was that person beaten so hard his skull had been caved in? The brutality was so horrific, it made Rosalie feel physically ill. And, of course, those corpses weren¡¯t alone. Several people were running around the area, trying their best to put out the fire. About twenty people. They each wore identical robes, some carrying buckets of water which they uselessly tossed over the raging inferno. ¡°¡ªnot gonna be able to handle this,¡± one was saying to another. ¡°They already killed off the nearest thrall squad,¡± another responded. ¡°Not many people are down here right now, and they already killed the two nearest demons, too. We¡¯re the next best thing until one of the higher-ups arrives.¡± ¡°Do we even someone who can extinguish this much fire? What do the upper Levels of Blood Mage give you?¡± ¡°No clue. But if they get a couple demons in here, they can at least rip up the nearby wood so it can¡¯t spread. We just need to delay until¡ª¡± Rosalie shut the door. Twenty people. Entire squads of Wicked thralls. Apparently even more people who weren¡¯t currently present. High-Level Blood Mages. Demons, plural. She was entirely out of her depth. And that man she¡¯d just seen didn¡¯t even look bothered by all that. How many corpses were there? Six? And they said him and his demon had killed of their demons? And he was walking away from this insane disaster with a single stab wound that he didn¡¯t even look too bothered about. She backed away from the door. This was not a job for her. It wasn¡¯t a job for Alfon, or for Erza. This was far, far bigger than them. They needed reinforcements. She hated working with Inquisitors, but maybe they¡¯d be a necessary evil in this case. Or, maybe, if that insanely powerful man truly had been the one to cause all this destruction¡­ No way she could work with a Blood Mage. She just¡­She just needed to get out of here. It was too dangerous. She needed to warn everyone she could about what was present in this town. She needed to get the citizens to safety. So, she turned and ran. *** By the time Zeth returned to his own underground base, his blood seemed to run out, and the rapid healing of Sanguine Renewal stopped. He felt lightheaded, his vision just barely bordering on blacking out, but the Skill had done its job, mending the holes in his body enough that they¡¯d fully stopped bleeding, and even the burn on his face was no longer visible, according to Astrys when he pulled off his mask and asked her. And, in the process of that healing, it¡¯d even Ranked up a third time, up to three. Its progress was extremely rapid, especially when compared to the other similar Skill he had, Self-Destruction. That one was still stuck at zero; it¡¯d probably only progress in Rank when he continued taking life-threatening actions against himself. He probably wouldn¡¯t be doing that too much. Though, now that he had a new healing Skill, perhaps he¡¯d have more of an opportunity to work on it. For now, however, he was far too busy. He¡¯d dealt with the most pressing issue of Garon escaping. It seemed like he¡¯d at least dealt a decent blow to the cabal in the process, too, so hopefully whatever their retaliation would be wouldn¡¯t come for at least a while. At the very least, they didn¡¯t currently know where he was, so a counterattack would first require them to find him. Still, he felt himself running on quite the high after finally accomplishing so much. And he had a new long-term goal: destroy the cabal. That would require far more strength than he currently had. Even with his own ability to summon demons and use them to combat his enemies, they could do the exact same thing. And, considering how much they outnumbered him, they¡¯d likely have far more than he did. What he needed, then, was the ability to beat the demons, himself. Getting there would take a while. But he¡¯d made a lot of progress getting there today. Counting the Empowerment Ritual he¡¯d conducted before summoning Astrys, he¡¯d gotten four Level-ups all in a single day. He collapsed to the floor, wishing he had more proper furniture in this place to rest on as he felt the natural exhaustion lacking a significant portion of your blood would bring. That healing Skill was powerful¡ªextremely so¡ªbut came with a pretty clear downside. Though, that wasn¡¯t the only Skill he¡¯d gotten. And now that he finally had a moment, he was eager to go over the rest of what he¡¯d received. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. To start with, there were the Skills he unlocked when he¡¯d completed the ritual to summon Astrys, and Ranked Demonic Covenant up to five. [Friend of the Unhallowed - Cost: 7 Skill Points The natural fear-inflicting effects of the demon species have a diminished effect on you by an additive 10% per Rank in this Skill. By Rank 10, the effect will be completely nullified.] [Empowered Summon - Cost: 14 Skill Points Residual mana from the summoning process provides temporary power to your demons. Demons you summon have the natural effects of their Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity Stats increased by 50%, plus an additional 5% for each Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 5% per 25 points you have in the Shaping Stat. This effect decreases by 10% for every hour they remain outside of their home realm.] [Unstable Anatomy - Cost: 12 Skill Points When demons under your control are killed, their bodies explode into an inferno with strength equal to the flames of your Hellfire Circle, plus an additional 20% strength per Rank in this Skill.] Naturally, all three of these Skills had effects dealing with demon summonings. His mind wandered to Class Evolutions as he read through their descriptions¡ªmost of the time, as a Class Evolved, it would grow more specific in focusing on a single thing the Class was capable of, which would be determined by which Skills you purchased while using it. He wondered if there was a Blood Magus Evolution specializing in demons, unlocked by taking Skills like these. Out of the three of them, he was relatively skeptical of the usefulness of most of them. In his case, he really didn¡¯t want to be fighting by summoning a demon every single time something went wrong so he could rely on their strength. Sure, they were useful, but he didn¡¯t want to depend on them forever. Of course, that was different with Astrys¡ªshe was an entire topic in and of herself, and he had quite a lot of talking he wanted to do with her after he looked over his Skills¡ªbut Empowered Summon and Unstable Anatomy would both be borderline useless unless he was going all-in specifically on the idea of constantly summoning demons. However, Friend of the Unhallowed was not like those two. It looked quite good, in fact¡ªand made him glad he hadn¡¯t chosen Influence with Otherworldly Excellence in order to resist demonic fear, if this would do the job for him. While he had gotten used to operating under their fear auras, he certainly didn¡¯t doing so. Normally, the only way to entirely negate it would be to build up a truly insane amount of the Influence Stat, but this Skill seemed to do all of that for him. And at a rate that would profit him Skill Points, no less. The way he could just pick up some Skill that would completely turn off their ability against him, it almost felt unfair to the demons. Almost. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The fact that it was a profit Skill was what really sold it for him. Anything that would give him additional Skill Points over time was something he wanted to take. The only restriction, of course, was that he¡¯d have to Rank it up by spending a large amount of time around demons, meaning conducting a large number of costly summoning rituals, but he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have to worry about that. Once again, he was getting off-track. Next, he¡¯d gotten three more Skills, and these three were the big ones. Not given by just Ranking up a Skill he already had, these were given through his Leveling. These were what had been really consuming his thoughts ever since he¡¯d seen them. So he opened up, looking through in the order he¡¯d first seen their names. [Massacre¡¯s Boon - Cost: 13 Skill Points Blood sacrifices provided to ritual circles that come from at least 10 different human sources are treated as though they were 100% stronger, plus an additional 10% for each Rank in this Skill.] That was¡­certainly interesting. It seemed like it encouraged him to primarily source his sacrifices not just from humans, but from a large number of humans. His mind went to the mentions he¡¯d heard in the past of Blood Mages doing things like slaughtering massive swaths of villagers to use their blood to fuel their next Level-up rituals, rather than taking the risk of fighting a monster for its blood. Really, that was pretty much exactly what the cabal had been doing all this time. Zeth wasn¡¯t sure if this was something he¡¯d want. Currently, he had access to a decent bit of human blood from the thralls he¡¯d been sacrificing to his demons, but he didn¡¯t have many left, and their blood was running out, too. He imagined in the future, monsters would likely be his primary source¡ªcompletely unaffected by this Skill. So, feeling a bit unenthusiastic about this one, he moved over to the next. [Ephemeral Bloodforge - Cost: 16 Skill Points Grants you minor telekinetic control over your own blood, allowing you to draw blood from your body and shape it as you wish. At any point, you may turn a portion of your blood into a rigid object that can fit into a six inch cube. Objects created this way melt back into blood after one minute. Your ability to exert fine control with blood telekinesis and the speed at which you can move your blood using it increases by 10% per Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 2% per 5 points you have in the Shaping Stat.] His eyes widened as he looked over the Skill. That was quite the departure from the typical way his Class had operated thus far. The Skill¡¯s description was a little vague, but from the way it was worded, it looked like what Zeth would be able to do was pull blood out of his own body, and while it was floating midair, turn it into something like a weapon in the middle of a fight before he hardened it and was instantly able to start using it. It only said it gave ¡®minor¡¯ telekinetic control, so he didn¡¯t imagine he could do something like firing an arrow made of blood at high speeds purely using that telekinesis, but it look like it¡¯d be enough to shape it into whatever he wanted. So he could make a sword that he instantly used to strike the enemy, a shield right as someone attacked him so he could block it, or even a tool like a lockpick or a needle if he ever needed one. Of course, there some limitations that would make doing those things difficult. First, from the way it was worded, it seemed like he wouldn¡¯t be able to turn the blood into whatever he wanted with instant speed and perfect precision. And second¡ªand more importantly¡ªanything he made would have to fit in a six inch cube. That was pretty small; the length from the bottom of his palm to the top of his fingertips was only a bit longer than six inches. So, maybe he could make a small dagger, but not a sword. Perhaps he could make a little plate to deflect a blade off of, but not an entire shield. And, of course, there was the fact that all of this stuff would need to be made out of his own blood. A resource which, now that he¡¯d just taken Sanguine Renewal, was in very high demand. Additionally, the Skill didn¡¯t actually say how tough the ¡®rigid object¡¯ would be. Was it the strength of steel? Or would it splinter like wood? Still, it almost didn¡¯t matter how many restrictions were laid out in the Skill¡¯s description. It gave him the ability to create he wanted, all at will. That was worth any number of restrictions being placed on the ability. He already knew he¡¯d want to take this soon. And finally, after that was the one that he almost couldn¡¯t believe was in his list of unlocked Skills. [Hell Portal Cost: 10 Skill Points Uses a ritual circle to forcibly open a realm portal connecting the First and Thirteenth realms. Anything can pass through in both directions, and the portal will stay open until the ritual circle is disturbed, or until its opener wills it closed. Strength of sacrifice required: High Required ritual circle diameter: 15.53 feet (originally 20 feet) Time required to draw: 77.63 hours (originally 100 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 46.58 minutes (originally 1 hour)] Zeth stared at the Skill description. The Skill seriously just opened a genuine portal to hell. It¡¯d allow anything to pass through, meaning demons could cross over to the First Realm without being bound to a summoner whatsoever. Not to mention whatever other horrific things lived in the Thirteenth Realm. Actually, the Skill was even insane than what he¡¯d assumed from the title. Normally realm portals only stuck around for a limited time¡ªfrom just a couple minutes to a full few days¡ªbefore they dissipated. This thing could keep the portal open for an unlimited time. . That was unheard of. It was genuinely world-destroying. It could annihilate the entirety of the First Realm. And somehow, despite that, the damn thing cost a measly ten Skill Points. Zeth had to assume it had something to do with the ritual¡¯s absurdly high drawing time requirement, or maybe the fact that using it would naturally carry great risk of harming the owner made the System decide it deserved to be discounted. Maybe the Blood Magus Class was just so utterly ridiculous that this was considered a reasonable cost. But for some reason, this Skill would be free upon fully Ranking up. He couldn¡¯t even fathom what would be possible if he found a way to properly utilize it without killing himself and everyone else in the entire empire. His only solace was that, like demon summonings, he could at least end it at will, whenever he wanted to. So if things were looking bad, he could shut it off immediately. But would he have time to do so before something already came through? Currently, Zeth had seven Skill Points¡ªnot enough to afford most of this stuff, other than Friend of the Unhallowed. That was probably a good one to pick up to start out, as a profit Skill. But before he did anything, there was a conversation he needed to have with Astrys. He stood up and walked over to where she sat in the corner of the room. She was simply staring at a blank wall, lost in her own thoughts. He stopped in front of her. ¡°Hey.¡± She blinked, looking up at him. ¡°Oh, hello. Do you have another task for me before the time limit runs out and I¡­and I disappear?¡± ¡°Actually, that''s what I wanted to talk to you about,¡± he said. ¡°...Alright, it¡¯s probably easiest if you just let me give you the full rundown. I¡¯m not a Blood Mage. I¡¯m a Blood Magus. Really, I¡¯m Blood Magus.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± she asked, frowning. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean my Class isn¡¯t the one you¡¯ve heard your demon friends talk about,¡± he said. ¡°And I suspect that my demon summoning Skill doesn¡¯t work like the others. I suspect that there no time limit. You may be able to stay here forever.¡± Chapter 58 Astrys stared at Zeth. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure. But my Skill doesn¡¯t mention anything about a time limit on how long demons can stay. And the Class I have has a history of giving me Skills that are improved versions of Blood Mage Skills. So, if it doesn¡¯t mention the limitation, there¡¯s a good chance it simply doesn¡¯t have it.¡± Her normally dispassionate face broke, showing a mixture of shock, hope, and clear distrust. ¡°...So, you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll allow me to stay?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die if you return, right? Seems like a mutually beneficial situation if you stick around. You get to avoid death, and I get a demon that won¡¯t stab me in the back the moment they can.¡± She nodded slowly, her face settling once again. ¡°So you will be having me perform labor in exchange for my life. I understand.¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± he said. A moment of silence passed between them. In the back of his mind, he knew it¡¯d probably be better to try and establish a closer rapport with Astrys if he was going to be spending a large amount of time working with her, but quite frankly, he just didn¡¯t want to. Perhaps it was his older experiences with her kind influencing his reasoning, or perhaps it was simply her fear aura forcing him to see her in a distasteful manner. Most likely, it was both. But as far as he was concerned, the only healthy relationship he could ever have with a demon was one that was distant, impersonal, and strictly related to business. He had to always keep it in his mind that the only thing keeping this monster from slaughtering him alongside the entire town was that he personally wasn¡¯t letting her. He couldn¡¯t allow himself to feel sorry for her situation. Getting close to her would just open himself up to being manipulated. ¡°So,¡± he continued, ¡°it¡¯s still going to be some time before twenty-four hours pass and we know for sure whether this will be the case. Until then, I have some business to attend to elsewhere. You stay here.¡± She nodded slowly. ¡°May I ask something?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°What are your long-term plans? If I am to be chained to you, I believe it would be beneficial to at least know that.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see, I guess. Today was a pretty eventful day, so quite a bit is subject to change while we wait to see where the pieces fall. But generally? I plan to gather as much power as possible, and take down the people we were fighting tonight. As for what that means for you, we might be moving around as it¡¯s necessary, but hopefully I can stay in this base for as long as possible. And there¡¯s going to be a lot of fighting.¡± ¡°...I see.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be going now.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± she said. ¡°May I¡­ask something else?¡± He looked at her. ¡°While you are gone, may I spend time outside of this place? Up on the surface?¡± ¡°Why would you want to do that?¡± ¡°I just liked the way your sky looks. It is quite the sight. Spending time in this realm may not be so bad, if I could do so underneath your stars.¡± Zeth stared at her, trying to piece together her motivations. Once again, it may have been the aura of fear twisting her words so that they sounded as nefarious as possible, but all Zeth could think of when she asked that was the last demon he¡¯d summoned, and how his decision to let one up in the forest had caused the deaths of dozens of people. It didn¡¯t matter whether she was telling the truth or lying; he¡¯d be putting many at risk, including himself, leaving her out in the open like that. ¡°No. Stay down here. I¡¯ll give you some additional standing orders before I leave, but you are not to leave this place while I¡¯m gone.¡± She looked down, obviously dejected. Once again, Zeth¡¯s paranoid mind first went to the question ¡®is she faking?¡¯ before anything else. But after a moment, he realized he very well may have just shot down a completely innocent request. After a moment, he added, ¡°Uh, staying down here should remind you of home anyway, right?¡± ¡°I suppose so,¡± was all she said. After he gave her a set of more thorough orders for contingencies in case of something like an intruder coming in, Zeth left the base. The whole time, he was second guessing himself and his actions. A part of him wanted to be kind and empathetic to the woman who was just trying to stave off her own death, and the other part wanted to keep his distance from the being that very well may have been trying to manipulate him into letting her slaughter countless innocents. In the end, he erred on the side of pragmatism. was his motto here. Even if a part of him wanted to be kind, there was another part of him that saw the demon in front of him and wanted to punish her for the murderous deeds of the ones who came before her. So, ultimately, simply carrying a cold attitude with him was a bit of a compromise between the two. Once he left, he thought about his Skills. With seven Skill Points, he technically had enough for Friend of the Unhallowed, which was a very solid choice with it being a profit Skill, but he wondered if he should hold off on purchasing it until after he had some of his more foundational abilities. Zeth had been constantly speeding toward the next big thing¡ªfirst Demonic Covenant, then Otherworldly Excellence, and just now he¡¯d spent most of his Points on Sanguine Renewal¡ªand was still missing things like the Rites Skills, which all seemed supremely useful. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. So then, perhaps he should hold off on getting an ultimately unnecessary Skill like Friend of the Unhallowed until after he got some of these others? Speedy Rites would end up saving him quite a bit of time, which had consistently proven itself a bottleneck of his lately, so maybe it should be next. Regardless, he knew for sure he was at least gonna hold off on getting something like Friend of the Unhallowed until after he knew for sure that Astrys was gonna stick around past twenty-four hours, so he didn¡¯t have to make that decision until later. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. For now, he had some business to attend to. Zeth had finally killed Garon. The man was dead and gone, and with him, quite a bit of the pressure Zeth had been facing was gone, as well. Not pressures exerted on him by his enemies or by law enforcement, but rather the ones he put on himself. Garon was his most urgent problem, and had been for a while. And now that he was dead and Zeth had a better idea of what was going on, he finally had time to breathe. And because of that, he finally had some time to fully recognize his situation. Zeth¡¯s dad was dead. He¡¯d been dead for quite a long time now. But it only fully hit him now¡ªnow that there was nothing to about it, and he was just forced to sit with it. Garon was dead, the Wicked thralls were all either captured or dead¡­His dad was avenged. The killers were gone. But his dad wasn¡¯t coming back. And Zeth hadn¡¯t even been able to attend his funeral. So, with the pressing matters dealt with, Zeth felt like it was finally time he go and pay his respects. Late in the night, he entered his family¡¯s home and went over to Sophie¡¯s door, knocking softly on it. Maybe it was rude to wake her up, but he felt like he had to do this now. She opened it, looking at him with a groggy expression. ¡°Zeth?¡± ¡°Hey,¡± he said. ¡°...Do you mind showing me to dad¡¯s grave?¡± Zeth had never been to visit his father¡¯s body before. Sophie had, though, so she showed him where it was. The graveyard was on the outskirts of town, close to their house, so it wasn¡¯t a long walk to get there. As they walked, Zeth looked out for wisps of smoke coming up from the other side of town, but didn¡¯t see any. Seemed like they¡¯d gotten the fire under control. Part of him felt worried about walking around like nothing was going on right after he¡¯d killed the mayor of this place, but as far as he knew, there was nothing anyone could do to trace it back to him, so he was safe for now. Eventually, they arrived at the graveyard, and Sophie pointed out the burial site. It was off in the corner of the flat plain, a humble tombstone sitting atop the dirt that simply read ¡°Dannel Valerian¡± and nothing else. Zeth stared down at it, feeling a wave of emotion crash upon the shores of his mind. For once, the anger he¡¯d felt all this time about his father¡¯s murder was gone. Its wishes had been fulfilled. Now, all Zeth was left with was a somber emptiness. Knowledge that, no matter what he did, or who he killed, nothing would ever be the same again. But he didn¡¯t regret taking his revenge. He knew that if Garon were alive right now, he¡¯d feel far, far worse. His father had been killed, but the people who killed him at least got fucked over, too. Zeth ensured that they knew they made a big mistake coming after his family. He looked over at Sophie, who had plopped down on the ground and begun tracing lines in the dirt with her finger. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°A little tired,¡± she said. ¡°Yeah, uh, I¡¯m sorry for dragging out here. But I meant more¡­in general. About dad, and about everything that¡¯s been happening.¡± She scooted over a couple inches and leaned to the side, resting her head against his leg. ¡°I¡¯m glad you came back. From the cave.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t ever leave you behind.¡± She sniffled. Zeth suspected, in the dark night, that tears were falling down her cheeks. ¡°Why did dad leave me behind?¡± Zeth felt shards of glass stabbing his chest from the inside. ¡°He didn¡¯t, kiddo. He just¡­Someone took him. They did a horrible, horrible thing. And now¡­And now he¡¯s gone. Too early. But you know he didn¡¯t want to leave you. You know he¡¯d give anything to be back, if he could. But, well, that¡¯s just not possible.¡± ¡°Why did it happen?¡± she asked in a choked-up voice. ¡°Will¡­Will you leave like him? Or mom?¡± Zeth bit the inside of his mouth so hard he tasted blood. ¡°I don¡¯t know. People and monsters aren¡¯t too different, in some cases. And sometimes, there comes a person who¡¯s a lot more like a monster than anyone else. They want power, or wealth, or they just want to hurt someone. And so they do it. And it¡¯s never fair, or good, or reasonable. But they take things from people. Sometimes they take their lives. And this time¡­This time, they took dad. He shouldn¡¯t have been taken. But they did it anyway.¡± Sophie was silent, simply clinging to the side of Zeth¡¯s leg, like she was afraid he¡¯d leave, too. ¡°He loved you very, very much,¡± he said. ¡°Then he¡¯ll come back.¡± ¡°...What?¡± ¡°You came back. Mom said you were dead. Everyone did. But you came back. Dad loves me, so he¡¯ll come back too.¡± Zeth looked down at her. ¡°Sophie, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s healthy to think about. You can¡¯t reverse death. It¡¯s not possible.¡± She stayed silent. Eventually, they went back home. Zeth walked Sophie back to her bedroom, but once she was in bed, he left the house, planning to walk back to his base. He¡¯d spent quite a few nights away from home by now, and at this point, he almost felt more comfortable sleeping down in the dark stone rooms than in his own bed. At least then, if someone came to attack him, they¡¯d be charging into a defended bunker, rather than a plain house full of his own family members. So he crept through the fields, staying silent in the night, and followed his usual path into the forest and toward the hole leading down into his base. As he moved, though, Zeth felt a shiver run up his spine. The feeling¡­it was almost like he was being watched. Like a pair of eyes was boring into his back. He glanced around himself as he moved, looking out for any monsters lurking in the shadows¡ªor, worse, the familiar shine of a guard¡¯s armor¡ªbut didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. It must¡¯ve been a residual effect of Astrys¡¯s fear aura¡ªhis mind continuing to play tricks on him out of instinct. He¡¯d been around her for quite a while now, and her aura had been far and away the strongest out of all the demons he¡¯d interacted with, so it made sense. Perhaps it be best to purchase Friend of the Unhallowed straight away if it turned out Astrys would be sticking around. Still, figuring it¡¯d be best to operate with an abundance of caution, he decided to stay up a bit later tonight, just in case someone tried to come into his base while he slept. He¡¯d just work on some rituals while Astrys searched the area for any strange monsters or would-be intruders. Besides, it couldn¡¯t hurt to work on an extra Level before he went to sleep tonight. Chapter 59 Down in his base, Zeth spoke to Astrys. After giving her precise orders on how he wanted her to move, he nodded. ¡°So, those are your orders. Go up into the forest, search the surrounding area in the way I told you to, then come down here when you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°That is¡­An extremely specific method. Was there a reason you decided it was necessary to control the exact number of steps I took in each direction while searching?¡± ¡°Like I said, you get a bit more freedom if you see a human or monster, so it shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¡°I believe it would be more effective if I were able to move as I¡ª¡± Zeth raised a hand. ¡°No. I can¡¯t be certain what you will do if I give you freedom of movement. Now go up there and search.¡± Astrys seemed like she wanted to say something, but she was forced to turn around and head up the stairs, going up to the surface to look for anything suspicious. Zeth refused to allow another disaster to happen from his own lack of care while giving orders to his demons. Maybe it sounded rude, but he¡¯d much rather be rude than be responsible for the deaths of another thirty people. The first time something like that happened, it was a mistake. The second time and onward, it was unforgivable incompetence. He¡¯d already gotten the one strike he¡¯d ever allow himself. Once he heard her shut the trapdoor up above, he knelt down and began drawing. He figured it¡¯d make sense to spend another couple hours working before he went to bed to allow that unsettling feeling of being watched to fade away. It was at least gone now, having faded once he¡¯d disappeared down in his base, but who knew what may have been lurking up in the forest. Hopefully nothing, but one could never be too sure. For now, he¡¯d spend his time maintaining the hellfire circles that served as his defenses at the entrance to the complex¡ªthe ones right at the base of the stairs. They each needed about fifteen minutes of maintenance time per day, so it was possible he¡¯d simply end up finishing repairs for all of them by the time he got tired enough to go to sleep. At least then, the next day would have them all done ahead of time. As Zeth worked, he got an encouraging notification. [Ritual Nexus Mastery¡¯s Rank has increased to 12. +1 Skill Point. You have 8 Skill Points.] Finally, his Evolved Skill Ranked up a second time. It was always nice to get those little boosts in Skill Points. Now, next time he Leveled up, he¡¯d have eleven Skill Points. And if Otherworldly Excellence Ranked up alongside his next Level, that¡¯d bring him up to twelve¡ªenough to purchase Speedy Rites. Though, that would only be true if he didn¡¯t decide to buy Friend of the Unhallowed. He frowned as he worked, trying to work out which of the two would be best to purchase. But then, a noise pulled him out of his thoughts. Quickly, as though in a rush, the trapdoor that led into the base was thrown open and pulled shut. Zeth looked up at the spiral staircase, but his view was blocked from being able to see who came through. Had Astrys come back already? For a moment, there was silence, but eventually, footsteps began echoing down as the person descended. ¡°Hello?¡± Zeth called. The footsteps stopped. ¡°Astrys, if that¡¯s you, answer me,¡± he said, growing nervous. ¡°Right now.¡± No answer. Alarm bells began ringing in Zeth¡¯s mind. Had someone seriously found their way in here? A guard? One of the Blood Mages? Was it just one person, or was an entire squad of people about to burst in here and attack? And where was Astrys? Already dead? He stood and began backing away from the staircase, unsure of what to do. Part of him wanted to run off behind his defenses, grabbing the portable Hellfire Rituals he had stored in another room, but the other part wanted to rush right up these stairs to immediately attack whoever this person was. If they were the only one who knew his base¡¯s location, they absolutely could not be allowed to leave and spread that information. Before he could decide on what to do, though, the person suddenly began running down the stairs at full speed. Something about their footsteps sounded strange, though. He wasn¡¯t hearing boots on wood, like it was a soldier dressed for combat. Rather, the person sounded small and light, wearing normal daily shoes. It almost sounded like¡ª ¡°Zeth?¡± a voice called down. ¡°Zeth, is that you?!¡± He recognized the voice. And upon realizing who this was, Zeth didn¡¯t know whether to feel relieved that he was safe, or absolutely horrified at how much danger this person was now in. Sophie¡¯s face peered around the central pillar, instantly lighting up with excitement as she recognized her brother. ¡°It you!¡± Zeth stared at her, frozen in place. She hopped down to the final step, looking down at the lines painted only inches away from her on the stone, eyes growing wide. ¡°Woah! Is that¡­You really a Blood Mage! That¡¯s awesome!¡± Zeth thought. *** Rosalie sat in the quiet tavern, eating a bowl of stew as she contemplated what she¡¯d experienced this night. An entire cabal of Blood Mages, assisted by Wicked thralls and who knew who else, with their hands in the government, the guard, the guild¡­It was a disaster. A complete and total disaster. She had no way of combating this. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Even if she overpower all those people and slay everyone affiliated with the cabal, that would mean slaying every single person who ran things around here, and taking down the organization that employed all of these people. As horrible and exploitative as they were, ripping the guild away with no replacement would leave hundreds of families completely destitute. Someone like Rosalie was simply not equipped to deal with a problem of this scale. She was currently taking a short break after doing everything she could to warn people. She¡¯d started with everyone living closest to that new mayor¡¯s house, knocking on door after door after door explaining to anyone who would listen everything she knew about the cabal. Some people listened. Some people didn¡¯t. Most didn¡¯t even answer their doors, with how she was knocking in the middle of the night. She knew the danger she was bringing to herself doing something so loud and attention-grabbing, but she was at least doing about those despicable Blood Mages. If she could at least save one person by warning them ahead of time, it would be worth it. Still, that was only a temporary measure. Something¡ªsome¡ªhad to destroy them. Once again, her mind went to the empire¡¯s Inquisitors. Rosalie wondered if it would be a good idea to call for them. She could send a letter, or pay for instantaneous magical communication to a nearby large city, asking them to send anyone they could down here. She could get Erza and Alfon to do the same, and with them being able to say that the new mayor had been assassinated, she was sure they¡¯d come over. As an organization, the Inquisitors were certainly powerful enough to take on an enemy of this scale. Even on an individual scale, she wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if one of them could defeat everyone in this entire town in single combat. But that was precisely the problem. The Inquisitors were not people of morality, like her. Rosalie slayed evildoers because she wanted to help people. The Inquisitors, however, existed merely to enforce the law. Particularly, they existed to enforce the death penalty. The Inquisitor Class was one of the only ones in existence whose sole method of Leveling up was through killing other human beings. Most combat Classes could kill monsters to gain their strength, but for Inquisitors, that was not an option. This quality, of course, made the Class strictly prohibited for anyone not in the empire¡¯s squad to own¡ªit simply incentivised murder. But just being affiliated with the empire didn¡¯t suddenly make the official Inquisitors any less capable of atrocity. They were, essentially, a cleanup crew. Governments were not allowed to execute their criminals themselves¡ªthey had to wait for the Inquisitors to come by. For larger cities, Inquisitors would pretty much always be around, and for smaller towns, it might take a year or two for them to visit, with prisoners on death row continuing to fill up their jail cells in the meantime. And, once the Inquisitors visited, they¡¯d ensure each of these people were guilty of their crimes, and kill them, keeping them ever-skyrocketing in Level. But that wasn¡¯t all. On top of combat abilities, Inquisitors had methods of detecting pieces of a person¡¯s Status. And, as the official arm of imperial law, they were more than ready to dole out punishment to anyone who broke it. The issue came there. Perhaps some of them were okay, but from all of Rosalie¡¯s own encounters with the Inquisitors, they had shown absolutely zero empathy for the citizens of the towns they patrolled. They to kill people. Inquisitors Leveled from killing anyone, not just people who deserved it. If they could find any tiny reason, any possible reading of the law that allowed for someone¡¯s execution, they would decapitate that person before they could even beg for their life. It didn¡¯t matter if they were standing in front of a mass murderer, or a woman who had taken the Assassin Class to kill a monster threatening her child. Each one would be killed. She hated them, just as much as she hated anyone else who murdered for their own gain. Rosalie shook her head. No matter how much she felt she needed help, she wouldn¡¯t resort to begging people. Especially when she knew there was a Blood Mage in this town who had a possibility of not deserving death. That one man¡ªhe¡¯d killed the mannitor, and now he had supposedly set fire to the cabal¡¯s base. If what he¡¯d said was true, he didn¡¯t just deserve to live, he deserved to be commended for his heroism. Fighting against these Blood Mages, taking down their leaders¡ªhe was doing what she couldn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t know for sure, but it was possible he was doing the right thing. And for as long as there was even a possibility of his innocence, she couldn¡¯t call in a squad of soldiers she would find and kill him. Bringing the Inquisitors here would be as good as personally stabbing him in the back. She wouldn¡¯t do it. Eventually, she finished her meal and stood up from her lonesome seat in the tavern, turning and walking back out. With a belly full of food, she¡¯d go right back to knocking on doors and informing people of the danger present in this town. Hopefully, as dawn began to crack, people would begin waking up and she¡¯d be able to speak to more of them. Maybe she could even convince one or two to flee this place. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When she knocked on her first door once she left the tavern, finding an older balding man opening the door, she immediately went into her speech, having spoken it so many times by now it had almost become rehearsed. ¡°Excuse me, sir. I am an adventurer from out of town, and after coming here, I made a horrifying discovery. There is a cabal of Blood Mages operating underneath your town, and they have amassed a large amount of power. It is possible they may even have a hand influencing various governmental institutions. Please, I urge you to¡ª¡± The man chuckled. ¡°Well, that makes sense.¡± She blinked surprised at his response. Normally, people shut their doors in her face at what she¡¯d just said, muttering about how annoying it was to be bothered by crazy foreigners in the middle of the night. Or, at the very least, if they believed her, they¡¯d look horrified. But this man, what had he said? ¡°Excuse me? It makes sense?¡± ¡°Well, considering the news, y¡¯know? Makes sense that¡¯s what¡¯s going on. I was confused there for a minute.¡± ¡°Confused about what? What news?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t heard? I guess I only saw them a few minutes ago. Inquisitors have come to town.¡± Rosalie¡¯s heart dropped. ¡°They¡¯re already on their way?¡± ¡°They¡¯re already Saw a squad of them marching around the streets when I was getting dressed to head into the mines. Then you showed up. Thought it makes sense they¡¯d call in the Inquisitors so fast, if what you¡¯re talking about is true.¡± ¡°That makes no sense. How did they arrive so quickly? Did they fly in? Or teleport?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Hope they clear out that bandit camp you were talking about, or whatever it was. Anyway, gotta eat or I¡¯ll be late.¡± Before Rosalie could correct him and remind him of how serious this was, he shut the door. She turned around to face the street, and that was when she heard it. Synchronized footsteps¡ªmetal boots on cobblestone road. As she stared ahead, a whole squad appeared in her vision, walking perfectly side-by-side, like they were mere golems being controlled by a Skill. And the perfectly identical uniforms they wore, covering every bit of their skin from head to toe, certainly didn¡¯t help with their inhuman looks. Inquisitors. A lot of them. And from the looks of them, they were busy. Rosalie thought. Zeth’s Fully-Expanded Status Screen The following is the entirety of Zeth¡¯s Status, including the Skill descriptions of every Skill he has purchased or unlocked in the story. There are some Skills in this list whose descriptions have not yet been revealed in the story, but they are written here. So if you¡¯d like to see what they do, feel free to scroll through the list to find them. [CLASS Class Slot 1: Blood Magus - Level 11 Class Slot 2: (Locked) Skill Points: 8 STATS Strength: 3 Endurance: 39 Dexterity: 50 Awareness: 11 Poise: 22 Influence: 0 Shaping: 77 PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Sanguine Renewal - Rank 3 Otherworldly Excellence - Rank 5 Demonic Covenant - Rank 5 Vile Focus - Rank 10 Hellfire Ritual - Rank 10 Empowerment Ritual - Rank 6 Ritual Nexus Mastery - Rank 12 UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS Massacre¡¯s Boon - Cost: 13 Ephemeral Bloodforge - Cost: 16 Hell Portal - Cost: 10 Unstable Anatomy - Cost: 12 Empowered Summon - Cost: 14 Friend of the Unhallowed - Cost: 7 Vascular Hypertension - Cost: 11 Incendiary Intensification - Cost: 13 Resonant Whispers - Cost: 9 Secure Rites - Cost: 12 Speedy Rites - Cost: 12 Compact Rites - Cost: 12 Forbidden Knowledge - Cost: 25 Unholy Strength - Cost: 18 PURCHASED UNIVERSAL SKILLS Self-Destruction - Rank 0 Exercise - Rank 10 Steady Hands - Rank 10 Butchering - Rank 10 Meditation - Rank 10 Prayer - Rank 10 Human - Rank 10 UNLOCKED UNIVERSAL SKILLS Sleep Deprivation - Cost: 10 Heat Resistance - Cost: 14 Binge Eating - Cost: 16 (30 more)] PURCHASED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS [Sanguine Renewal Cost: 15 Skill Points Requirements: Level 8 Blood Magus When you are injured, as long as your body contains a healthy amount of blood, automatically consumes 1% of that blood per second to rapidly recover those injuries, prioritizing life-threatening ones first. The rate at which your body is healed depends on your normal healing rate and the amount of blood being consumed, and is increased by 1% per point you have in the Endurance Stat, plus an additional 1% per point you have in the Shaping Stat.] [Otherworldly Excellence Cost: 17 Skill Points Requirements: Level 6 Blood Magus The second Skill that is entirely unique to the Blood Magus Class. Sets the leader of all Blood Mages apart from the rabble by granting mastery in a Stat beyond what would normally be considered possible. Upon purchasing this Skill, choose a Stat. Whenever this Skill Ranks up and whenever you Level up with the Blood Magus Class, increase the chosen Stat by 5.] [Demonic Covenant Cost: 15 Skill Points Requirements: Level 5 Blood Magus Uses a ritual circle to attempt to summon a demon from the Thirteenth Realm. The demon will be bound to the caster¡¯s word, and can be dismissed at will. Strength of sacrifice required: Moderate Required ritual circle diameter: 7.76 feet (originally 10 feet) Time required to draw: 3.88 hours (originally 5 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 3.11 hours (originally 4 hours)] [Vile Focus Cost: 8 Skill Points Requirements: Rank 5 Ritual Circle Mastery Your mind is sharpened and honed while creating ritual circles, allowing you to make fewer mistakes and become less distracted during the art. Decreases each of the required diameter of your ritual circles, the amount of time required to draw ritual circles, and the upkeep time required each day by 2.5% per Rank in this Skill.] [Hellfire Ritual Cost: 13 Skill Points Requirements: Level 1 Blood Magus Uses a ritual circle to create a hellfire trap. Upon completion of the ritual, the trap will become armed, and any being other than you who comes into contact with the circle will trigger it, causing it to burst into a powerful inferno. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Strength of sacrifice required: Low Required ritual circle diameter: 4.66 inches (originally 6 inches) Time required to draw: 46.6 minutes (originally 1 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 15.5 minutes (originally 20 minutes)] [Empowerment Ritual Cost: 1 Skill Point Requirements: Rank 1 Ritual Circle Mastery Uses a ritual circle to attempt to Level Up the Blood Magus Class. Required ritual circle size, time required to draw it, upkeep time required, and strength of the sacrifice required for a successful empowering ritual each increase as Blood Magus Class Level increases. Strength of sacrifice required: Moderate Required ritual circle diameter: 5.82 feet (originally 7.5 feet) Time required to daw: 18.63 hours (originally 24 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 1.49 hours (originally 1.92 hours)] [Ritual Nexus Mastery (II) Cost: 5 Skill Points Requirements: Rank 10 Ritual Circle Mastery, Rank 10 Vile Focus Max Rank: 20 Replaces Ritual Circle Mastery Allows you to draw ritual circles with mana and activate them using empowered blood. For each rank in this skill, the amount of mental effort required of you to draw ritual circles is decreased by 0.1% per point you have in the Shaping Stat. While you are within 20 feet of at least one completed ritual circle, increases the natural effects your Stats have on your body and mind. This effect is intensified the more ritual circles you are near, and the more powerful those ritual circles are (minimum 25%.)] UNLOCKED CLASS-EXCLUSIVE SKILLS [Massacre¡¯s Boon Cost: 13 Skill Points Requirements: Level 11 Blood Magus Blood sacrifices provided to ritual circles that come from at least 10 different human sources are treated as though they were 100% stronger, plus an additional 10% for each Rank in this Skill.] [Ephemeral Bloodforge Cost: 16 Skill Points Requirements: Level 10 Blood Magus Grants you minor telekinetic control over your own blood, allowing you to draw blood from your body and shape it as you wish. At any point, you may turn a portion of your blood into a rigid object that can fit into a six inch cube. Objects created this way melt back into blood after one minute. Your ability to exert fine control with blood telekinesis and the speed at which you can move your blood using it increases by 10% per Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 2% per 5 points you have in the Shaping Stat.] [Hell Portal Cost: 10 Skill Points Requirements: Level 9 Blood Magus Uses a ritual circle to forcibly open a realm portal connecting the First and Thirteenth realms. Anything can pass through in both directions, and the portal will stay open until the ritual circle is disturbed, or until its opener wills it closed. Strength of sacrifice required: High Required ritual circle diameter: 15.53 feet (originally 20 feet) Time required to draw: 77.63 hours (originally 100 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 46.58 minutes (originally 1 hour)] [Unstable Anatomy Cost: 12 Skill Points Requirements: Rank 5 Demonic Covenant, Rank 5 Hellfire Ritual When demons under your control are killed, their bodies explode into an inferno with strength equal to the flames of your Hellfire Circle, plus an additional 20% strength per Rank in this Skill.] [Empowered Summon Cost: 14 Skill Points Requirements: Rank 5 Demonic Covenant, Rank 5 Empowerment Ritual Residual mana from the summoning process provides temporary power to your demons. Demons you summon have the natural effects of their Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity Stats increased by 50%, plus an additional 5% for each Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 5% per 10 points you have in the Shaping Stat. This effect decreases by 10% for every hour they remain outside of their home realm.] [Friend of the Unhallowed Cost: 7 Skill Points Requirements: Rank 5 Demonic Covenant The natural fear-inflicting effects of the demon species have a diminished effect on you by an additive 10% per Rank in this Skill. By Rank 10, the effect will be completely nullified.] [Vascular Hypertension Cost: 11 Skill Points Requirements: Level 7 Blood Magus Allows your body to hold more blood in it than physically possible. Your blood compresses within itself so that your veins hold 10% more per Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 2% more per point you have in the Endurance Stat. As the blood leaves your body, it decompresses, leading to you losing blood from injuries at a typical rate.] [Incendiary Intensification Cost: 13 Skill Points Requirements: Level 5 Blood Magus, Rank 5 Hellfire Ritual If rituals are conducted near a large amount of fire, blood sacrifices provided to ritual circles are treated as though they were 50% stronger, plus an additional 5% for each Rank in this Skill.] [Resonant Whispers Cost: 9 Skill Points Requirements: Level 5 Blood Magus, Rank 5 Vile Focus The strands of blood magic within your soul communicate more clearly with your mind, allowing the dark art to whisper in your ear. Provides you with an inherent instinct for how effective any nearby blood will be at fueling your rituals.] [Secure Rites Cost: 12 Skill Points Requirements: Level 4 Blood Magus Improves your ability to make your mana sustain itself in the world through sheer force of will, decreasing the upkeep time required each day to maintain your ritual circles by 5% per Rank in this Skill, as well as another 2.5% for each 25 points you have in the Influence Stat.] [Speedy Rites Cost: 12 Skill Points Requirements: Level 4 Blood Magus Improves your ability to quickly trace mana into the world, decreasing the minimum time required to draw your ritual circles by 5% per Rank in this Skill, as well as another 2.5% for each 25 points you have in the Dexterity Stat.] [Compact Rites Cost: 12 Skill Points Requirements: Level 4 Blood Magus Improves your ability to tightly weave mana into the crevices of your circles, decreasing the required diameter of your ritual circles by 5% per Rank in this Skill, as well as another 2.5% for each 25 points you have in the Awareness Stat.] [Forbidden Knowledge Cost: 25 Skill Points Requirements: Level 3 Blood Magus The first Skill that is entirely unique to the Blood Magus Class. If used properly and carefully, can be the strongest font of power given by the Class, but can also be what brings about the holder of the Class¡¯s ultimate destruction. Forms a tenuous connection between the holder of this Skill and the Eighteenth Realm, allowing gifts to travel between.] [Unholy Strength Cost: 18 Skill Points Requirements: Level 2 Blood Magus Uses a ritual circle to grant unnatural strength to the caster. Upon completion of the ritual, the natural effects of the caster¡¯s Strength Stat are increased by 60, and Endurance and Dexterity Stats are each increased by 30, plus an additional 2 to each per Rank in this Skill, for 10 minutes. Strength of sacrifice required: Low Required ritual circle diameter: 2.33 feet (originally 3 feet) Time required to draw: 3.11 hours (originally 4 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 46.6 minutes (originally 1 hour) ] PURCHASED UNIVERSAL SKILLS [Self-Destruction Cost: 3 Skill Points Requirements: Cause life-threatening harm to yourself. Increases the speed at which you recover from injury by 300%, plus an additional 60% for each Rank in this Skill.] [Exercise Cost: 7 Skill Points Requirements: Spend a significant amount of time physically exerting yourself. Decreases energy spent from physical exertion by 5%, as well as another 1% for each Rank in this Skill.] [Steady Hands Cost: 13 Skill Points Requirements: Become skilled at tasks that require you to move carefully and without waver. Assists you in keeping your hands steady and calm when working. Your Poise and Dexterity Stats are treated as though they were 20 higher, plus an additional 2 for each Rank in this Skill, for the purposes of retaining fine control of your hands when physically tired or mentally stressed.] [Butchering Cost: 14 Skill Points Requirements: Butcher an animal carcass Increases your skill, finesse, and knowledge regarding the butchering of corpses. Each of your Stats are treated as though they were 10 higher, plus an additional 1 for each Rank in this Skill, when their respective benefits would help you with the profession.] [Prayer Cost: 6 Skill Points Requirements: Spend a significant amount of time and mental energy in prayer Helps your ability to find hope in times of hopelessness. Your Poise Stat is treated as though it were 1 higher for each Rank in this Skill when you are sufficiently stressed.] [Mediation Cost: 6 Skill Points Requirements: Spend a significant amount of time and mental energy in meditation Helps your ability to shut out your environment and focus inward. Your Awareness Stat is treated as though it were 1 higher for each Rank in this Skill when you are becoming more conscious of yourself.] [Human Cost: 0 Skill Points Requirements: Be a human As a human, you are the weakest of the intelligent species found throughout the Realms. Your strength must come from your ingenuity, determination, and cooperation with one another.] UNLOCKED UNIVERSAL SKILLS [Sleep Deprivation Cost: 10 Skill Points Requirements: Deprive yourself of sleep until your body begins to shut down on its own. Increases the amount of time you can operate at peak capacity without sleeping by 25%, plus an additional 2.5% for each Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 10% for each 25 points you have in the Endurance Stat.] [Heat Resistance Cost: 14 Skill Points Requirements: Endure severe burns. When you are dealt heat-based damage, treats your Endurance Stat as though it were 25 higher for the purposes of reducing said damage, plus an additional 5 for each Rank in this Skill.] [Binge Eating Cost: 16 Skill Points Requirements: Eat two days¡¯ worth of your average daily consumption of food in under one hour. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Increases the amount of food you can comfortably store within your stomach by 100%, plus an additional 10% for each Rank in this Skill.] [(30 more)] Chapter 60 Zeth stood in the entrance of his underground lair, dozens of feet underground. The stone floor was covered in Hellfire Ritual circles, and the walls had lines of their own drawn across them, these ones merely existing to light up the area with their faint, otherworldly glow. Normally, he was alone down here, only ever occasionally accompanied by a demon. But today, he wasn¡¯t alone. Sophie stood on the bottom step, gazing down at the ritual circles he was just working on. ¡°You¡¯re that Blood Mage everyone was looking for!¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s so cool! Can you show me your magic?¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t move,¡± he said. ¡°This place is extremely dangerous.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There are traps all over. They¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°Did you put them there?¡± She leaned forward. ¡°What do they do?¡± ¡°Just stay still,¡± he said, trying to figure out what to do. Then he frowned. ¡°Wait, how did you even find this place? How did you get in?¡± She looked down, a guilty expression on her face. ¡°Well, I know you always go and work on magic stuff with that one Erza guy, and you said I wasn¡¯t allowed to watch, but I really wanted to see what you did. So after we got home and you left again, I followed you.¡± ¡°You followed me all the way through the forest? And then, what, you waited to come down here until¡ª¡± his eyes went wide. He¡¯d sent Astrys up there and explicitly told her to attack anyone she saw. If he¡¯d been slightly less lucky, she very well could¡¯ve killed his own sister. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run away when you saw the demon come out? Why would you come down here?¡± Her mouth hung open. ¡°That was a I¡¯ve read about them¡ªaren¡¯t they super super strong? Are you gonna fight it? Can I watch?!¡± ¡°What? No. Just¡­¡± He breathed out. ¡°You should really be more careful. You could¡¯ve been killed by a monster in the woods, or by the demon, or by stepping on one of the traps in here.¡± She shrunk back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought it¡¯d be safe, if you were here.¡± ¡°...Okay. Well, just, trust your better judgment in the future. I won¡¯t be able to protect you from everything.¡± She nodded, then began looking around. ¡°So is this place Erza¡¯s home? Can you really do magic?¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with Erza. That guy¡¯s completely separate from all this. And¡­¡± Zeth sighed. Where did he even start with his explanation? Did he even to explain? He shook the doubts from his mind. At this point, Sophie had seen far too much for him to try and spin up some lie. He¡¯d just have to trust her. ¡°Alright. Come with me, deeper into the base. I¡¯ll explain everything.¡± Zeth had to pick Sophie up and carry her past all his hellfire circles to ensure she didn¡¯t accidentally touch any of them as they crossed through the entryway into one of his main rooms. It was surreal having another human person in this place with him¡ªat least, another person who wasn¡¯t a prisoner. He almost felt self-conscious about the mess, with a random assortment of items thrown around in all the different rooms. Once he came to a stop in a room with no Hellfire Rituals in it and set her back down on the ground, Zeth took a seat, motioning for her to sit, as well. But she didn¡¯t seem to be paying any attention to him, instead looking around in random directions in the middle of the room. What was she doing? Eventually she spoke. ¡°Um, Zeth? Are you still here?¡± He blinked. What did she mean? He was sitting right in front of her. Before he could respond, she continued, ¡°Can you light a candle, or something?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here. Sorry, I totally forgot that you wouldn¡¯t be able to see.¡± She looked in his direction. ¡°Can you see?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. When you have enough in the Shaping Stat, you can see light coming off of anything magical in nature. It''s kind of like you¡¯re physically seeing the mana coming off of it. I guess you don¡¯t have any points in Shaping, so this place would look totally pitch black to you.¡± ¡°Wait, so this place is totally full of magic objects?¡± she asked, gazing around the room in wonder. ¡°And you have a lot of Shaping? How much? What about your other Stats?¡± ¡°One question at a time,¡± he said. ¡°But first, let me see if I can figure out how to let you see¡­¡± As he wondered if he could make a torch out of the materials he kept down there, Zeth heard the trapdoor open and close back in the entrance. ¡°Astrys?¡± he called. ¡°Yes,¡± his summoned demon replied. He let out a breath. Thank the gods there wasn¡¯t another, less friendly intruder. ¡°Come down here. You have that Skill that allows you to light a fire in your hand, right? I need you to use it to light up the room.¡± He¡¯d have to explain this new situation to her, as well. It¡¯d be easier to do when everyone was in the same room, anyway, if he was gonna go over everything. As he listened to Astrys come down the stairs and walk through the hallways as she headed toward them, Sophie asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Astrys?¡± ¡°She¡¯s that demon I mentioned before,¡± he said. ¡°By the way, did you just sneak by her to get in while she patrolled outside?¡± Sophie nodded. ¡°I¡ª¡± Suddenly, her voice caught in her throat, her eyes went wide, and she collapsed to the ground. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Zeth dove forward to catch her before her head could hit the stone. What had just happened?! Frantically looking her over, he saw her face was frozen in an expression of horror, her mouth moving to let out a choked whimper. At that same moment, Zeth got a notification of Astrys¡¯s fear aura taking effect on him, and he realized. He was so used to working alone, he¡¯d forgotten how awful it was to first experience. ¡°Back away!¡± he shouted to Astrys, worriedly staring down at his younger sister as he cradled her body. Gods, he was an idiot. Too frazzled by the sudden situation to properly remember something so basic about demonkind. He remembered how painful it had been when he¡¯d first experienced a demon¡¯s fear aura¡ªhe¡¯d genuinely thought he was going to die. And that was with a demon far weaker than Astrys was. He heard her footsteps hurriedly growing further away from him. She called out, ¡°What is the¡ª¡± ¡°Further back!¡± he shouted, still not feeling his own fear go away yet. He muttered to Sophie, holding her shaking body in his arms, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve got you. You¡¯re gonna be alright.¡± Eventually, Astrys got far enough away that Zeth felt the fear wash away. Sophie stopped shaking and her eyes refocused, but she still looked so out of it she was borderline unconscious. ¡°Sir,¡± Astrys called, ¡°if there is an emergency, I recommend you inform me of the situation so that I may¡ª¡± ¡°We have a visitor,¡± Zeth shouted back, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice. ¡°You let someone through in your patrol. Thankfully, this person was friendly. But now, you¡¯ve gotten close enough that your aura of fear almost killed her. That¡¯s the situation.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± She sounded like she didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I apologize profusely. For my incompetence and negligence during my patrol, and for harming an ally. It was not my intention to¡ª¡± ¡°Just back away further so she doesn¡¯t get hurt,¡± he said. He understood the part where Sophie got hit by the aura was his fault, but he annoyed that Astrys had let someone through while keeping watch. Even if it was a good thing this time that she hadn¡¯t found Sophie, what if it¡¯d been an enemy instead? He¡¯d specifically sent her out there to potential intruders. ¡°Z¡­Zeth?¡± Sophie spoke up, voice weak. ¡°Are you there?¡± He looked back down at her, holding her close. ¡°Hey. Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m here. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What¡­ that?¡± ¡°That was the demon. They have a Skill which inflicts anyone near them with artificial fear. None of anything you saw or heard right now was real¡ªthey¡¯ll cause tricks and hallucinations to make you more afraid when the effect is powerful enough. I¡¯m so sorry, I made a mistake and forgot you¡¯d be affected, and¡ª¡± ¡°That was amazing!¡± she interrupted. He stared at her. ¡°What?¡± She sat up. ¡°That was all just from a Skill? It made me feel so afraid! And I didn¡¯t even have a reason to! It was so awesome! You said all demons can do it? Can a human get the Skill? It said it was an Influence check¡ªdo demons do a lot of those? My book said normally mental effects would be a Poise check. Or is it different in their realms? Can I talk to the demon? Can they turn it on and off?¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­okay?¡± Zeth asked. He¡¯d certainly needed a few moments to mentally recover after the fear had shut off for the first time. ¡°No!¡± she said enthusiastically. ¡°It¡¯s so cool! I still feel all weird and tingly, like a big monster¡¯s about to eat me!¡± ¡°I¡­¡± He frowned. ¡°Alright. Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not upset. I was worried there for a second. Uh, you probably won¡¯t be able to talk all that well with the demon¡ªthey can¡¯t turn their Skill on or off at will, so any time you get close you¡¯re gonna be under its effect.¡± ¡°Woah¡­¡± Zeth breathed in and out, shaking off the stress of this whole situation. ¡°Okay, I guess we¡¯ll just have to do this in the dark.¡± ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to explain everything that¡¯s happened to me since the cave-in.¡± It took a while, but eventually Zeth finished telling Sophie his whole story¡ªbeginning to end. He censored a little bit of it, skipping over the bits where he killed people for the child audience, but he really did tell her everything. The Blood Mage who¡¯d killed his friends, him getting the Blood Magus Class, the journey back through the cave and the fights with the monsters from the Sixth Realm, all his run-ins with law enforcement and the insane things his Class could do¡ªall of it. It was beyond cathartic to finally explain everything to someone. Not a demon, who didn¡¯t care and wouldn¡¯t understand his predicament anyway, but a human being, who he knew and cared about. Unloading it all on an intent listener, who nodded along to everything he said, it made everything that¡¯d happened to him feel in a way it hadn¡¯t before. ¡°So you¡¯re really the one who killed all those monsters?¡± Sophie asked once he was done, eyes wide. ¡°The one in front of our house? And the ones that attacked town?¡± ¡°Just one of the ones that attacked town,¡± he said. ¡°And you can do all that stuff with your magic? Make fire and summon demons and heal your wounds?¡± He nodded. Then, when he remembered she still couldn¡¯t see him, verbally answered, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so awesome! My brother¡¯s the strongest mage in the whole world!¡± He chuckled. ¡°Not quite. I¡¯m still pretty low Level.¡± ¡°That just makes it more awesome! What are you gonna be able to do later?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to find out.¡± ¡°So, the evil mages, what can they do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet. Mostly, they can do weaker versions of some of the stuff I can, but a lot of them are higher Level than I am, so they¡¯ve got tons more, potentially.¡± He looked at Sophie. ¡°Listen. You absolutely, positively go looking for them. No asking about their magic, or trying to spy on them to see what their abilities are.¡± She nodded. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯re agreeing that easily?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re way better than them. So I don¡¯t care what their magic is like¡ªI wanna see yours! Can you show me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I show you. Most of my magic is combat stuff. I¡¯d need to have a target for Hellfire Ritual, and it¡¯s not like I can just summon a demon for no reason. Listen, it might be best if you just forget you ever saw any of this. I explained it to you because I trust you, and I think you deserve the truth, but you going around looking into all this stuff is just gonna put you in danger. I don¡¯t want you getting hurt because of me.¡± She looked down dejectedly. ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± Gods, Zeth hated making her look like that. But he certainly wasn''t about to get her mixed up in all this. ¡°Listen, you want to get a magic Class, right? You don¡¯t need to see me showing off crazy Skills to do that. Just follow what those books said, get the Skills you need to get, and learn magic the normal way. I¡¯m in way over my head¡ªyou don¡¯t wanna be like me.¡± ¡°But, the books said I need someone to teach me,¡± she muttered. ¡°I tried to learn everything I could without help, but now I can¡¯t. And I tried to get that Erza guy to help, but he said no. And if you say no, too¡­¡± Zeth saw tears beginning to form in her eyes. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m ever gonna do anything by myself.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re not by yourself,¡± Zeth said, reaching out and grabbing onto her. ¡°I¡¯m here. You¡¯ve got me.¡± She nodded. ¡°...Can you teach me, then?¡± He pursed his lips. He certainly didn¡¯t want her getting mixed up in everything, but¡­ ¡°Okay, how about this: I won¡¯t get you involved with my Class or anything relating to it, but I know some general magic principles. So if you know what it is you need to be taught, then ask me and I¡¯ll help you out. Mana sense and manipulation¡ªI¡¯m pretty good at all that stuff. So, every now and then, I¡¯ll give you a little lesson, alright?¡± Her face brightened. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, hoping this was a good idea. Though, Erza certainly seemed to find use in having a magic assistant to do all the brute force labor for him. Maybe Sophie could help Zeth while he helped her. ¡°So then, do you want your first lesson right now?¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 61 To start with, Zeth decided to teach Sophie what Erza had taught him¡ªmana fields. He drew out a small ritual circle on the ground, not giving it any sort of sacrifice so that it wouldn¡¯t have any effects, and presented it to Sophie in the dark room. He closed his eyes and focused his sixth sense on the chalky lines, and sure enough, he found that familiar covering of mana that all magic objects had around them, absolutely filled with holes both big and small where mana spilled out of it. These holes were what gave his lines their signature glowing effect. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, ¡°so, do you have any points in Shaping at all?¡± ¡°I only have three,¡± she said. ¡°The book you gave me said I should spend exactly one Skill Point to buy three points in it to start with, since you have to have at least a little bit to unlock some of the Skills for magic Classes. But when I got them, I couldn¡¯t figure out how to actually unlock the Skills.¡± He nodded. ¡°Alright. Well, I¡¯m not sure how much just three points will do you for what I¡¯m gonna ask, but it should at least let you see some of this stuff. Basically, what you¡¯re gonna do is¡­Hm, so, just, like, look inward. As if you¡¯re trying to perceive yourself.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zeth frowned. He hadn¡¯t ever explained how to do any of this stuff before. He¡¯d just figured it out on his own. How would a teacher explain something like this? ¡°Think of it like¡­Like there are two worlds, right? There¡¯s the physical world, and the magic world. Everything we see exists in both worlds, like they¡¯re mirrors of each other. But mana only exists in the magic world, and it collects in the areas that magic items exist in, and around people. That¡¯s how we have mana, and how we infuse it into things. We aren¡¯t really doing anything in the world can see, but we¡¯re moving mana around in the magic world. So what you¡¯ve gotta do is stop seeing the physical world, and start seeing the magic world.¡± ¡°But how do I do that?¡± ¡°Well, your eyes can only see the physical world, so you don¡¯t need them. Shut them, and focus on your mind. Your Shaping Stat is your eyes for the magic world. You haven¡¯t used it before, and you don¡¯t have much of it, so your sense will be really weak, but even the tiniest bit will give you amount of sense for this other world. You¡¯ve gotta find it in your head, and focus on it.¡± Zeth didn¡¯t know if what he was saying was true on a theory level¡ªhe had no idea if there really was a ¡®magic world¡¯ or not¡ªbut it was how he thought of things, and he imagined for Sophie, having sort of frame with which to think of things would be better than nothing. ¡°Okay¡­¡± she muttered. Zeth opened his eyes and looked at her, seeing her face scrunched up in the way it always did when she focused. ¡°I think¡­Maybe¡­¡± Her face lit up. ¡°Oh! I see it!¡± ¡°Really? Already?¡± ¡°Yeah! I think so. There¡¯s this weird circle thing on the ground in front of me. It¡¯s covered in a¡­net? A net of glowing lines. And this wavy flowy stuff is coming out of it. I can¡¯t see very well, but it¡¯s really really bright so I noticed right when I could see. I don¡¯t even know if I would¡¯ve noticed I was doing the right thing if it wasn¡¯t there!¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. So then, if you can see it, next I¡¯ll show you how it moves.¡± He put his hands on the ritual circle, closing his eyes again and focusing his perception on the mana field. ¡°All that ¡®flowy stuff¡¯ you mentioned is raw mana leaking out of the circle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mana? There¡¯s so much! Can every magic Class make this much?¡± ¡°Probably not at this low a Level,¡± he said. ¡°Mine¡¯s special. Here, focus on it, and I¡¯m gonna start patching up the holes in the field surrounding it, so that the mana can¡¯t escape anymore. Watch as it changes.¡± He did so, attending to a few of the smaller, easier ones so it wouldn¡¯t take too long. As usual, he slowly pulled on the strings of mana, taking care not to rip them apart as he tried gently weaving them together. After a little bit of time and a couple minor complications, he finished. ¡°So, did you see that?¡± ¡°Woah¡­¡± she muttered. ¡°That was amazing. How did you do it?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little hard to explain. Essentially, I¡ª¡± ¡°Can I try?¡± she asked, apparently too excited to wait for the explanation. ¡°I guess,¡± he responded. ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous, or anything. Just try to hone your focus in on a single tiny part of the covering, like you¡¯re grabbing onto it with your mind, and then pull it across the field to attach it to another. But be careful not to¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Zeth watched as a massive hole was torn in the mesh. ¡°...I¡¯m sorry,¡± Sophie said. ¡°It¡¯s fine, this one¡¯s meant for practice,¡± he said. ¡°What happened there was that you pulled way too hard. You¡¯ve gotta move really slowly with this stuff, or it¡¯ll rip apart.¡± ¡°But I tried to move as slowly as I could.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s probably a good problem to have that you¡¯re exerting too much force, rather than too little. But I¡¯m willing to bet your low perception from your tiny Shaping Stat isn¡¯t helping much at all with the finite movements. So don¡¯t worry too much if you¡¯re not able to get the hang of it. Just use this as practice for mana manipulation.¡± ¡°Are you meant to close all of the holes?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the goal,¡± he said. ¡°But, again, don¡¯t worry if you can¡¯t. Those ritual circles are crazy difficult to work with in the first place. Erza got me started with some little balls that didn¡¯t have too much mana in them by comparison, but these things are bursting with it, and they¡¯re made in an extremely complicated shape, so they¡¯re definitely not for beginners. It normally takes me a while to do a single one of them.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Can I keep practicing until I finish it?¡± ¡°What, like close up all the holes? You¡¯d be here forever. You saw how much trouble you were just having. Feel free to work at it for a little while, but you¡¯ve gotta go back home and go to sleep.¡± ¡°But I want to practice for longer!¡± ¡°If you stay up later, your mind¡¯s just gonna get fuzzier and you won¡¯t be able to work as well. Get a full night¡¯s rest, and then come back to it.¡± ¡°So I can come back in the morning?¡± Zeth winced. ¡°...Probably not. You can¡¯t spend all your time here¡ªwhat would you say to mom?¡± ¡°But¡­¡± He could hear the desperation in her voice. For the first time in her life, she¡¯d been given the opportunity to receive magic instruction¡ªreal, actual magic instruction¡ªand now it was already being torn away from her. Zeth absolutely hated being the one to tell her ¡®no.¡¯ but he couldn¡¯t see another way to make it work. ¡°Can I take it with me?¡± Sophie asked. Zeth blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Can you put the circle on something and let me take it home? Then I could practice whenever I want.¡± ¡°What? No,¡± he said. ¡°I mean, technically the ritual circles be moved around, but that¡¯d be insanely risky. You know what the guards would do if they found this with you, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be really careful with it! I can hide it in my room so nobody would be able to find it, and only practice when mom¡¯s out of the house.¡± ¡°Even then, it¡¯d be way too dangerous. Anyone with enough Shaping can see the glow coming off of these things when they haven¡¯t been patched up, and some Skills can make it even more obvious when it¡¯s been leaking mana all over the place. If anyone got suspicious enough to search your room with one of those Skills, they¡¯d find it immediately.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not a Blood Mage or anything, so they wouldn¡¯t ever want to search my room! I promise, I won¡¯t ever take it anywhere or tell anyone about it. Please?¡± The words ¡®No, and that¡¯s final¡¯ were just about to leave Zeth¡¯s lips when he looked at Sophie¡¯s expression. It was the exact same mixture of pleading and dejection that she wore when their mom told her she couldn¡¯t do something. He hated being put in this role. He absolutely, positively hated it. He hated the fact that, for her whole life, he¡¯d been the one to tell her to follow her ambitions and train as much as she could and to never listen to the people who suppressed her, and now he was the one preventing her from following those exact words. Realistically, how often could she safely come to his base to practice? Once a week? Even less often? She wasn¡¯t stupid; she knew he wouldn¡¯t let her come by very frequently, if ever again. And here he was, acting as the gatekeeper of magic, showing her all the cool stuff he¡¯d never teach her. He was playing the exact same part their mother did, telling her she couldn¡¯t learn magic because it was simply too dangerous. Maybe he had a good reason to say that, but their mom also seemed to believe she had a good reason. Zeth sighed. ¡°You understand the risks you¡¯d be taking if you brought this home with you, right?¡± She nodded adamantly. ¡°They¡¯d kill you. And they¡¯d probably look into killing me, too.¡± At that, she shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d kill me.¡± ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°If you give me a circle on a piece of cloth, I can just say that I was in town after the mannitor attack, and I found it on the ground. I picked it up and took it home because I thought it looked cool, but that was all. And since they wouldn¡¯t find anything else in my room, they wouldn¡¯t believe I¡¯m a Blood Mage, right? And if they called the Inquisitors and they searched my Status, it¡¯d prove me innocent.¡± He frowned. He hadn¡¯t really thought of it like that; she was probably correct. Chances were, they¡¯d treat a nine year old girl a lot more favorably than anyone else. If she pretended to just be some immature child who picked up everything she found lying on the road, they¡¯d likely believe her. ¡°Still, that isn¡¯t guaranteed. You¡¯d be putting yourself in extreme danger holding onto this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°You really think so? You¡¯re really okay with that? When things die down a little more, I¡¯d be far more able to teach you, with way less risk involved. You don¡¯t want to just wait for that?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to wait any more. I want to get started right away.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°You¡¯re willing to put your life on the line just for that reason?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± On a certain level, Zeth understood what she was saying. He even related to it. He knew what it was like to chase after a goal that ultimately wasn¡¯t logical or wise, but you just to do it. He¡¯d never be able to live with himself if he¡¯d let Garon escape alive, even if he¡¯d found a way to kill the man later. And similarly, Sophie wouldn¡¯t be able to live with herself if she allowed herself to go even one day longer without magic than was necessary. ¡°And what about me?¡± he asked. ¡°You¡¯d be putting me in danger, too.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t die.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± She leaned forward, a deadly serious look on her face. ¡°Zeth, you¡¯re the strongest person in the whole world. I know you won¡¯t die. If someone tried to kill you, you¡¯d just blow them up.¡± Somehow, his kid sister¡¯s words genuinely instilled him with confidence. ¡°I can¡¯t actually blow things up. I don¡¯t have any Skills for that.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯d blow them up anyway.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he said. He sucked in a breath, then let it out. ¡°Okay, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but fine. You can do it.¡± Her entire face lit up. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yeah. But listen, this does mean I¡¯m endorsing the idea, or that I think it¡¯s a good plan. It doesn¡¯t mean I think it¡¯s safe, or worth it. What I¡¯m saying is that I trust your judgment. I think you¡¯re a smart kid, and ultimately, what you do with your life is up to you. If you really think it¡¯s worth the risk to start a little earlier¡ªand you really, truly believe that¡ªthen I won¡¯t be the one to stop you. You know your goals, and your needs, and your limitations. You know what¡¯s worth it for you. I¡¯m gonna let you know that from my perspective, this seems like a bad idea. But nobody can tell you ¡®no¡¯ but yourself.¡± She nodded somberly, seeming to put her enthusiasm aside for a moment. ¡°Okay. Thank you, Zeth. I do think it¡¯s the right play. I think it¡¯s really, really, really important.¡± ¡°More important than your own life?¡± She responded without even a moment of hesitation. ¡°Yes.¡± He bit the inside of his mouth. Was this what talking to him was like? This reckless abandon, focusing on a single thing, making a person look completely insane to anyone who didn¡¯t ¡®get¡¯ it? Perhaps it ran in the family. "Listen, if at any point you feel like someone may find this, you can just erase it. Just rub the lines off with your fingers, and they''ll disappear. Ideally, you''d do this pretty soon. The moment anyone enters your room for any reason, or if you ever leave it unattended, you just erase it, and then later you can come back to me and I''ll get you a new one. Don''t hold on to it for long." She nodded. "You said you were thinking about taking an illegal Class, right? This can be like your test run. If you take a Class like that, you''ll have to hide it just like this for the rest of your life. If it feels stressful to do, or you frequently find yourself in danger, then this is a way for you to know that''s not for you. Figuring out that you don''t wanna deal with illegal Classes now is gonna be a lot better for you than figuring it out after you take one of them. So the moment you feel out of your depth, or like something bad might happen, back out immediately. Alright?" "Okay. I''ll be sure to get really strong, that way you don''t have to worry about me." ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°Let me grab a scrap of cloth somewhere, and I¡¯ll draw the circle for you.¡± Chapter 62 After drawing out a ritual circle on a piece of cloth and giving it to Sophie, Zeth walked her back to their house, taking a prepared Hellfire Ritual along with him to act as a weapon just in case he needed to defend her from any monsters. But none came, so after taking her home, he headed back to base.He did everything he could to disguise the appearance of the ritual circle on the cloth, drawing out an extremely small one and then smudging the rest of it with dirt and anything else he could find to try and make the circle itself blend in, so hopefully anyone who wasn¡¯t actively looking for it wouldn¡¯t notice. Even if they caught a glimpse, it¡¯d really just look like a piece of trash. Zeth had sent Astrys deeper into the base before taking Sophie out so that she wouldn¡¯t be in range of the demon¡¯s fear aura as she went back up the stairs leading out, so once he returned, he went to find her. After looking through a few rooms, he ended up spotting her sitting alone in a blank room, staring at the wall with an inscrutable look on her face, like she was deep in thought about something. Her aura of fear had, of course, taken effect on him, so his first thought was automatically that she was secretly plotting against him and waiting to slaughter his whole family, but he pushed that assumption aside and entered the room. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Hey,¡± he said. ¡°She¡¯s gone now.¡± She shot her head over to Zeth, apparently not having noticed him enter. ¡°Ah.¡± Zeth stared at her. ¡°...You gonna come out of here and come up to the main room?¡± ¡°If you would like me to, yes.¡± She stood and began walking with him as he left the room at the back of the base and moved to the larger room set up at the front, where the entryway led into. The whole time, she was strangely silent, walking ahead with her head fixed forward. When Zeth looked at her more closely, he saw her fist clenched so tightly it shook. Her breaths were unsteady, and even her face, which he¡¯d originally thought was completely calm and neutral as always, betrayed the slightest bit of emotion. Her brows were slightly furrowed, lips barely quivering. It was almost like she was holding back tears. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but pushed the issue aside. This demon was not someone to form a personal relationship with. He had to remind himself of that. For some reason, it was like he was instinctively being pulled to speak with her, to care for her, and get to know her on a more personal level. But those emotions simply made no sense. Perhaps if she were a normal human woman, they would, but he was working with a demon. A murderous monster, hellbent on the destruction of the human species. He knew it. His subconscious knew it, too¡ªespecially with the fear effect constantly existing in a corner of his mind. So why would that same subconscious be giving him completely contrary emotions? It was confusing, and frustrating. Simply existing near her had Zeth constantly questioning his actions. There was something weird about her¡ªhe knew it. No other demon had made him feel this way, and certainly no other human. But what it was that made her feel so different, he had no idea. Zeth heard the footsteps next to him stop, and he turned to see Astrys standing still in the middle of the room that was his destination. He hadn¡¯t noticed their arrival, being so lost in thought. She still wore that strange expression on her face, standing perfectly still with her arms set tightly against her sides. Just as Zeth was about to speak, she suddenly moved, pushing her body downward into a kneeling posture, one knee on the ground with her head bowed to look straight at the stone floor. ¡°I apologize for my incompetence!¡± she said forcefully, in an official-sounding tone. Zeth stepped backward, put on guard by her quick movement, before realizing what she was doing. He frowned. ¡°Wait, what?¡± She held the position, fist squeezed so tight her knuckles were turning white. ¡°My failure during my patrol allowed an unknown person to sneak past me, which put your life in danger. This is unforgivable, and I take full responsibility for the failure. My only request is that you show mercy on this lowly demon, and refrain from unsummoning me for at least some time. Please, allow me to learn from my failure so that I may never make that same mistake again. You have my word that I will¡ª¡± ¡°Woah, woah,¡± he said, ¡°don¡¯t you think this is a little¡­much? It all turned out fine, didn¡¯t it?¡± She paused, still not daring to lift her head. ¡°I mean, I also got a bit complacent and went into my base when I kinda already felt like I was being followed. So the blame is partially on me. I¡¯m certainly not about to unsummon you and have you killed just because you messed up once, right?¡± Slowly, Astrys raised her head, looking up at Zeth with an intense expression on her face. ¡°...Please, sir, do not give me false hope of survival.¡± ¡°What? No, I¡¯m not giving you false hope¡ªI¡¯m serious. I¡¯m not gonna kill you. You don¡¯t have to beg for your life. Why would you think I¡¯d do that?¡± ¡°You expressed your frustration to me directly after the person got into your base, correct? Or was I misreading the situation? You assigned the blame of the failure to me.¡± ¡°Well, yeah, I was a bit mad, but that was it. I got over it pretty quickly.¡± ¡°I-I thank you for your mercy, sir.¡± With that, she stood, bowing her head once again, and turned around to hurry out of the room. ¡°Woah, wait,¡± Zeth said. She froze. ¡°What was all this about? Seriously, why did you think I was gonna kill you? And why did you think when I said I wouldn¡¯t that I was intentionally lying to you so that¡­what, I could give you ¡®false hope¡¯ and then take it away? Just for the fun of it?¡± Astrys hesitantly turned around, taking a moment before speaking. ¡°I¡­I suppose I see you as a great and powerful warlord, and suspected that my weakness would not be tolerated by someone like yourself.¡± ¡°Great and powerful warlord? What are you talking about? I¡¯m just some guy with a special Class¡ªI¡¯m no warlord.¡± She chuckled nervously. ¡°Please, sir, there is no need to lie to me. I will not betray you no matter who you are.¡± ¡°No, seriously, I¡¯m not lying. What do you mean? What have I ever done to make you think I¡¯m a warlord?¡± ¡°You¡­Ah, I see. Perhaps you do not see things from my perspective.¡± ¡°Yeah. Explain.¡± ¡°I suppose from a human¡¯s view, you may not realize what Stat demons specialize in. Compared to the other denizens of the Thirteenth Realm, we do not have overwhelming Strength, nor invulnerable Endurance, nor razor-sharp Awareness. Demons typically have, above all our other Stats, an incredibly high Influence score. Our fear auras are made more powerful by the Stat, and are also resisted by the Stat, naturally leading to the demon with the highest Influence in an area becoming the de facto one in charge. Perhaps you do not understand, considering your own Influence Stat is extremely high, but the aura can be absurdly mentally overpowering to those who cannot resist it, so we must¡ª¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I don¡¯t have a high Influence Stat,¡± Zeth said. She stared at him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I actually don¡¯t have a single point in it.¡± ¡°...Then how do you resist my aura?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. I¡¯m under its effects right now.¡± Astrys gave Zeth a look consisting of some of the strongest emotion he¡¯d seen in her face so far¡ªa look of obvious unsettled terror. Like she''d just watched a man she stabbed in the heart stand right back up like nothing had happened. She took a deep breath, and slowly her face settled back into its neutral position. ¡°I¡­I see. Well then, I suppose you understand¡ªor perhaps you still do not¡ªhow important it is for a demon to have a high Influence Stat. That all is to say, my Influence easily dwarfs your Poise. As such, I am easily able to read your emotional state most of the time.¡± ¡°...Uh huh. And what does that have to do with any of this? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve really been hiding much from you.¡± ¡°Do even you not realize what I am able to pick up from you?¡± she muttered. ¡°Or, no, perhaps the emotion is so normal to you that you do not recognize it as remarkable.¡± ¡°What? What emotion?¡± ¡°Sir¡­in all my living years as a demon, and in all my time interacting with my peers, I have never in my life felt such an intense feeling of hatred coming from another person as I felt coming from you when you attacked that man in the wooden hallway. Despite my Influence¡ªno, likely of it¡ªthat sensation of realizing the state of your mind struck fear into my heart like nothing else has.¡± ¡°...Oh,¡± was all he could say. What else there to say? ¡®No, you¡¯re wrong?¡¯ There wasn¡¯t much room to argue here. Zeth thought back to his first ever time summoning a demon. That one had said something similar to what Astrys was talking about, when he was about to be unsummoned. Something about how Zeth had made him feel afraid, and when Zeth asked why, the demon disappeared without giving an answer. Was that why? Because he¡¯d been with Zeth when he captured those Wicked thralls? ¡°Well, okay,¡± he said, ¡°maybe I get a bit enthusiastic with my antagonism sometimes. But that¡¯s toward my enemies. You may be a demon, but you¡¯re working alongside me. You¡¯re an ally. I¡¯m not about to look at you the same way I look at them.¡± She shook her head. ¡°That is not true. I¡¯ve felt it coming from you ever since you summoned me. Perhaps not quite as strong, but you harbor an intense hatred for me. Me, and the rest of my species. I am only now realizing that such an emotion must be the reason you are able to act in spite of my fear aura. If you are telling the truth when you say that¡ªand everything my Influence says is telling me you are¡ªthen the only reason I could think you would be able to stand upright and face me the way you do is because you feel another emotion that is even stronger than the fear my Skill instills in you. You hate me more than you are afraid of me. I¡­I can feel that you are itching to kill me. You cannot wait to do it. A-and I do not hold it against you that you feel that way. I simply ask of you to have mercy for a time longer before my eventual execution. Perhaps it is a selfish request, but I do not yet want to die.¡± ¡°...Huh. Um, well, alright,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I guess you¡¯re a bit right. There¡¯s no sense in lying to you¡ªI don¡¯t like demons. I don¡¯t like working with them, I don¡¯t like talking to them, and I don¡¯t like being in their presence. But I guess, all I can really say is that I value usefulness over my own prejudice. I don¡¯t particularly like demons, but I haven¡¯t seen you personally do anything against me, so I won¡¯t hold what your predecessors have done against you. So don¡¯t worry so much about me wanting to kill you, or whatever. As long as you don¡¯t actively try to hurt me or subvert my orders, I won¡¯t unsummon you. Alright?¡± She nodded slowly, seeming to finally relax in her posture. ¡°Thank you, sir. I am truly grateful.¡± ¡°No problem. And, you don¡¯t really have to call me ¡®sir,¡¯ y¡¯know? You can just call me Zeth.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you, Zeth.¡± ¡°Alright. If that conversation¡¯s done, I¡¯m getting tired, so I¡¯m heading to bed,¡± he said. ¡°I see. Where should I sleep?¡± Zeth blinked, only just then realizing that Astrys would, in fact, need to sleep. He¡¯d only ever summoned demons for lengths of a few hours at a time, never having to deal with logistics like that. ¡°Uh¡­I guess in the same room as me? I normally just doze off here, so¡­¡± She almost looked taken aback. ¡°In the same room? Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, is that a problem? Seems like the right play, if you¡¯re going to serve as protection from any surprise intruders or whatever. I don¡¯t really have a second bed or anything though, so¡ª¡± ¡°That is no problem at all,¡± she interrupted. ¡°I have spent many nights sleeping on stone floors while camping on military excursions.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± he said, still a little put off by her weird reaction. Was she still afraid of him, and didn¡¯t want to be near him at night? He almost felt bad for putting her in an uncomfortable scenario like that, but he was doing the same, sleeping in the aura of a demon. And ultimately, he wasn¡¯t about to forego the protection of such a powerful bodyguard just because she didn¡¯t like being around him. So, after spending a couple minutes getting ready, he lay down on his little pile of straw, with Astrys laying on the floor in the opposite corner, and dozed off. The next morning, after going through his usual routine of performing upkeep on his ritual circles, Zeth left his base and headed toward town. He¡¯d asked Astrys to take care of the place while he was gone, so she would handle everything else, like the couple prisoners he still had sitting around. Especially considering the short confrontation he¡¯d had with Rosalie while escaping from the burning cabal lair the night before, Zeth was curious about what would be going on in town today. If all went well, maybe she¡¯d gone in and killed off a bunch of their forces, and Zeth wouldn¡¯t have to worry at all about their retaliation. Though, of course, there was also the possibility that his actions had pushed them into using more desperate measures which required more frequent human sacrifices from the town¡¯s citizens. He definitely wanted to check on the local news. So he headed in, set on finding Erza, who he was supposed to meet with for work anyway. When he entered town, he didn¡¯t see anything particularly alarming about its appearance¡ªcertainly no gigantic ritual circles ready to eat up random passers-by, at least¡ªso the worst of his worries were put to rest. As he wandered, he found himself walking through Turin¡¯s neighborhood. Zeth hadn¡¯t spoken to his old friend from the mining guild since the disaster with the mannitors, when he¡¯d set up that whole healer¡¯s camp to try and patch up peoples¡¯ wounds. Zeth still felt bad about making his friend spend his money and time helping victims of what was ultimately mistake. Perhaps he could go and see if Turin was home, then, if just to catch up. And hey, he was making much better money now from Erza, so Zeth might be able to pay his friend back for all the supplies he¡¯d used. So, he walked up and knocked on Turin¡¯s door. There was no response, so he knocked again. Still no response. He put his hand on the knob, feeling a distinct sense of deja vu when he did. Last time he¡¯d walked into his friend¡¯s house uninvited like this, he¡¯d been shot straight through the hand. Such a thing wouldn¡¯t happen again, though, right? Slowly, he pushed the door open, being sure to call out walking in, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s Zeth. You here?¡± However, what he found was not a crossbow bolt to the face. Instead, he happened upon an empty house. The door was unlocked, though. Why would Turin leave without locking it? Zeth looked down at the door and found something peculiar. The door wasn¡¯t unlocked¡ªthe lock was broken. The wooden bolt that usually held it in place had been snapped right off, like the door had been kicked in. He walked in, gazing around as he looked for his friend. Turin had at least put the house back together after barricading the entrances back when he¡¯d first gotten scared of being killed for being a witness to the Blood Mage, but it was still messy. Slowly, though, Zeth realized that this wasn¡¯t a normal mess. There was a half-eaten breakfast of eggs and bread sitting on the table, and a cup of water that¡¯d been knocked over, spilling its contents out across the floor. Furniture, though back in its original position compared to last time, looked like it¡¯d been knocked out of place, like there¡¯d been some sort of scuffle. And sitting on the floor was a candle, still lit, that¡¯d fallen off of something. Thankfully, it hadn¡¯t landed next to anything flammable, but the situation was clear. Turin had not left this house in usual circumstances. It didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d left willingly at all. He¡¯d been forced to flee. Or, perhaps, someone had broken in and pulled him out themself. Zeth backed out of the house, onto the street, and began running, heading to find Erza. It was a stretch, but maybe the man would be able to help him find Turin. And as he ran, Zeth¡¯s mind automatically went to the worst-case scenario. Chapter 63 Zeth sprinted through the streets, heading for his meeting place with Erza. He had absolutely no leads on what may have happened to Turn. Almost certainly, it was the Blood Mages, but why would they take him? And where would they be keeping him? Did they somehow find out Zeth was their enemy, and they¡¯d captured his friend to draw him out?Hopefully Erza, being an adventurer in contact with law enforcement, would know what was going on. Or, if not him, Rosalie would, and he¡¯d be able to find her by speaking with Erza. He was just desperate to do something about this kidnapping¡ªwhoever had taken Turin, he wasn¡¯t confident they¡¯d keep him alive for long. Normally, Zeth met with Erza back behind the tavern, where the storage room full of his magic gear was kept. However, upon arriving there, he didn¡¯t find the man. An empty field was all there was back behind the building. Zeth was technically a little late today, and Erza had never missed a meeting before¡ªthis was weird. Where was he? Had he heard of the kidnapping and was out looking for the criminals? Had even more people than Turin been stolen? Hoping to find his employer somewhere, Zeth looked around the outsides of the tavern, not finding him, and then went inside. And, sitting at one of the back tables with Alfon and Rosalie, there he was. Zeth¡¯s heart rate settled slightly¡ªat least not was missing. He hurriedly walked up to the trio, who were in the middle of what looked to be a serious discussion. Erza noticed Zeth''s approach, stopping in the middle of his sentence to address him as he walked up to the table. ¡°Ah, Zeth. Sorry, I don¡¯t have time to work today¡ªthere¡¯s been a development in the bounty situation. A few, actually. Rosalie was just updating me on everything she learned.¡± Rosalie nodded. ¡°This may be shocking to hear, but I discovered an entire lair which the Blood Mages¡ªmultiple¡ªwere operating out of. They¡¯re numerous, extremely powerful, and seem to hold a large amount of influence over your town. I have reason to believe they''re involved with your guild, and even that they have ritual circles in the storage closets of one of their office buildings. And in case you haven¡¯t heard yet, your newly-appointed mayor has been killed. He was a part of their cabal. So, while I understand it would be a drastic measure, I recommend you and your family pack up and leave town, preferably going as far away as¡ª¡± ¡°My friend¡¯s been kidnapped,¡± Zeth interrupted. Her expression morphed into one of concern. ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± ¡°My friend, his name is Turin. I went to his house today, and he wasn¡¯t there. Everything was a mess, like there¡¯d been a fight. Half-eaten breakfast, stuff was knocked over¡ªno way he just left like that. Either he¡¯s been captured by someone, or was forced to flee, or something.¡± Erza nodded, placing a hand on his chin. ¡°Do you think this could have something to do with the Blood Mages? Perhaps he was one of them, and the recent setbacks they¡¯ve faced convinced him to run off in a hurry.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not one of them,¡± Zeth said. Then he frowned. ¡°Wait, setbacks? Plural? Other than what Rosalie¡¯s talking about, what else has happened to them?¡± ¡°Inquisitors,¡± Erza said. His face was sour. ¡°They¡¯ve been called in, and arrived already. Likely got here so fast because the mayor was killed, so everything¡¯s pretty high-profile now.¡± ¡°Inquisitors are Right now?¡± Zeth asked. He hadn¡¯t thought they¡¯d be coming for a while, if at all¡ªGaron had said he hadn¡¯t even called them in yet when Zeth was interrogating him. ¡°W-whatever. I know Turin isn¡¯t with them, so it¡¯s gotta be something else. Do you think the cabal was pushed into drastic action by the arrival of the Inquisitors, then? They decided to try and conduct some massive ritual that needed a bunch of sacrifices, and so they started kidnapping people out of their homes to do so?¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± Alfon said. Zeth looked over at the third person at the table. He had never really spoken with Alfon beyond their initial introduction¡ªhe¡¯d always seemed far more quiet than the others, so he didn¡¯t know much about him. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Your friend was not captured by Blood Mages.¡± ¡°What? How do you know that?¡± ¡°His breakfast was lying half-eaten on the table, meaning this incident happened in the morning. Blood Mages would work at night if they were kidnapping people. They did not do this. This was done by someone who did not mind being seen by passers-by while they operated¡ªnot criminals.¡± Zeth frowned. He hadn¡¯t thought of that, but it certainly made sense. Whatever happened, it¡¯d happened in broad daylight. ¡°But then, who did it? They obviously had some sort of a fight, from the looks of his house. And I can¡¯t think of anyone who would be able to break down someone¡¯s door and wrestle them out of their own home against their wishes like that. At least, nobody but the guards, but I can¡¯t see why they would¡ª¡± Just then, the door to the tavern was thrown open, morning light spilling across the room. And through the door walked a group of about a half dozen people. Zeth would normally, upon seeing a group of people barging into a room like this, take note of their appearances and general builds. But with this group, he wasn¡¯t able to do that. All six of them wore identical sets of clothes and armor that completely covered every scrap of skin across their bodies. Primarily, their outfit consisted of steely plate armor, colored to look a marble white. From their heads to their toes, they were covered in bright metal. Their heads, though, weren¡¯t covered by typical helmets and faceplates. Instead, the face of their helmets were left totally open, with an item slotted in to cover them. Instead of a mask of steel with slots cut in to let them see and speak through, there was a solid slab of what looked like shining porcelain covering their faces, which was, itself, shaped like a face. Like someone had formed a piece of pottery to look like a generic-looking person, and these people had broken off a cut of that pottery and fit it right into their helmets. There were no eye holes or slots to breathe through¡ªfor all Zeth could tell these suits of armor were completely empty. The false faces shaped into their armor certainly looked lifeless. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Atop these suits of armor, each individual wore a sort of cloak¡ªa piece of fabric that draped over their chests and shoulders. For five of them, this fabric was colored the same white as their armor and masks, but the one in front was wearing a dark green cloak atop their shining plate. Zeth knew these people. Their signature armor, the identical masks each one of them wore, hiding every bit of their identity from onlookers, were infamous among not only this town, but every single settlement that existed in the empire. Inquisitors. The six individuals marched into the tavern, each one striding up to a different table and forcefully speaking to the people sitting at them, each one asking for the same information¡ªthe person¡¯s name, and whether they knew anything about the Blood Mages in this town. The entire building erupted into activity, with many people standing from their tables and backing away from the officers, others taking combative stances, ready for a fight, and a couple trying to slip out of the building before the Inquisitors noticed. Anyone who attempted to leave was swiftly grabbed by one of them, though, and thrown to the ground. Zeth was one of the people who backed away. He hadn¡¯t ever had an up-front interaction with these people. All he¡¯d ever seen were glimpses as they¡¯d marched through town in the past, on official business to conduct their executions before they left. Barging into taverns and interrogating patrons was usual business of theirs. As they spoke with random people they apprehended from the tables, Zeth noticed something strange. He turned to look at Rosalie, Alfon, and Erza, who were still seated, staring at the Inquisitors with cautious eyes. ¡°Why do they all sound the same?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Oh,¡± Erza said, ¡°you haven¡¯t heard Inquisitors speak before?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°It¡¯s their masks,¡± he explained. ¡°It¡¯s an artisan item from a crafting Class¡ªcalled the Mask of Anonymity. It covers your whole face, not allowing anyone to see through and identify you, but allows you to see through it just fine. That¡¯s the item¡¯s most obvious trait. But it also intercepts your voice when you talk, changing it to sound like someone else is saying it. All the masks look the same, and all of them change your voice to sound the exact same, too.¡± ¡°Why would they do that? Wear masks that hide their face and voice?¡± ¡°Empire says it¡¯s because you¡¯re not meant to see Inquisitors as individuals¡ªyou¡¯re meant to see them as mere extensions of the law. But personally, I think it¡¯s so people don¡¯t see their family members get executed and hunt down the specific person who conducted the beheading to try and get revenge. When they all look and sound the same, it¡¯s a lot harder to find out who you should be mad at.¡± ¡°They know they enforce unjust laws,¡± Rosalie spat. ¡°They know their wanton executions are immoral. They simply wish to escape the consequences of their actions.¡± ¡°Why are they here, then?¡± ¡°Trying to figure out the Blood Mage situation, it seems,¡± Erza said. ¡°Though, I haven¡¯t ever seen them this active in an investigation in all my time working in places that had them. I guess they take political assassinations pretty seriously. Just sit still and let them do their thing here. Don¡¯t want to get on these guys¡¯ bad side¡ªthey¡¯re like hornets. Kicking the nest will only anger them, and bring even more to come after you.¡± As they spoke, one of the Inquisitors walked up to their table. It looked like they¡¯d just been marching from one to the next, asking a few questions before leaving the people alone, so Zeth hoped this conversation would go just as smoothly. The Inquisitor stopped in front of them. This one was wearing one of the white cloaks. ¡°Citizens. Tell me your names.¡± The universal voice that came out of the mask sounded almost like if you went around and sampled the voice of every single human being in the world, then took the average of how everyone sounded, then added the slightest hint of a warbling magical distortion to it. Really, the voice sounded like the mask itself looked¡ªlike a completely average, mundane person with absolutely no identifying features. Not even distinguishably male or female. It was unnerving. Rosalie, Alfon, and Erza all supplied their own names, and hesitantly, Zeth added his own, feeling slightly nervous at the sudden invasion of law enforcement. Like he was afraid they¡¯d just pull their sword from its sheath and lop off his head right now. But these people didn¡¯t have any reason to suspect him, right? No way they¡¯d be able to figure anything out just from his name. They¡¯d just take his info and leave, probably just trying to get an idea of everyone in town as a form of census, or something. This would be a quick and easy conversation for him. But after they gave their names, the Inquisitor paused, staring at them. Zeth couldn¡¯t tell anything at all from looking at the false face of their mask, so he had no idea what they were doing, just staring ahead for so long. Was there some sort of information being displayed to them on the inside of the mask? Could they communicate telepathically with the others? After a stressful few moments, the Inquisitor turned away from them, and Zeth¡¯s heart stilled. But then, they called out, ¡°Captain. We¡¯ve got a couple.¡± Instantly, the one in the green cloak stopped their conversation with the table they were interrogating and began walking over to Zeth¡¯s table. Panic instantly spread through his entire body. Seriously? Had they figured out who he was the moment he got here, and all they needed to do was walk around and ask for peoples¡¯ names until they found him? He felt so stupid. Why hadn¡¯t he just given a false name? Sure, it would¡¯ve caused problems in the long run, but he at least could¡¯ve gotten out of here first. His mind raced through possibilities. Could he somehow run away without being caught? Was there a back exit? Could he fight these people off? Somehow convince them they were making a mistake? But as he strained his mind to come up with some sort of solution to the life-threatening situation he was in, the green-cloaked captain arrived, and the white-cloaked one looked over at them. ¡°Captain. Two of these peoples¡¯ names were on the list.¡± Zeth blinked. The white-cloaked Inquisitor continued, pointing at two of the people sitting at the table. ¡°That woman, Rosalie, and the man, Erza.¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. They weren¡¯t here for Zeth? He was safe? He silently thanked the gods, trying to avoid looking suspicious. But what were they looking for Rosalie and Erza for? ¡°Good work,¡± the captain said, then turned to look at the two named individuals. ¡°Citizens. You are both under arrest. Failure to comply with orders is a class one offense, punishable by immediate and unceremonious execution. You will both be coming with us.¡± Chapter 64 Zeth stared at the Inquisitors as they moved to grab Rosalie and Erza, unsure what was even happening.¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Rosalie demanded, moving to stand up as the green-cloaked Inquisitor captain fixed their grip around her wrists. ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake,¡± Erza said. He didn¡¯t resist as the white-cloaked one restrained him, though whether that was because he genuinely planned to go with them or because he didn¡¯t need his hands to use his magic, Zeth wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Do not attempt to wrestle free from my grip,¡± the captain said to Rosalie. After a moment, she hesitantly stopped moving, allowing her hands to be forced behind her back. ¡°What are our warrants?¡± Erza asked. ¡°What crimes are we suspected of committing?¡±. ¡°You are wanted for no crime,¡± the captain said. ¡°What?¡± Rosalie asked. ¡°So you know you¡¯re arresting a pair of innocent people?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You are absolutely not allowed to do that.¡± ¡°No. Town guards may only conduct an arrest if a person is formally suspected of committing a crime. Inquisitors are under no such restrictions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous! Let me go this instant.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Erza said, ¡°if you just give us a moment, I¡¯m sure we can work out some sort of agreement with you.¡± ¡°Stop talking,¡± the captain commanded. It sounded like the Masks of Anonymity removed much of the emotion from its wearer¡¯s words when converting their voice, but from the way the person was yanking on Rosalie¡¯s wrists to force her arms into a painful position, Zeth had to assume they were growing frustrated. A couple more inquisitors started walking over to the table, and Zeth slowly backed away as he watched, both wanting to know what in the world was happening, and wanting to ensure he didn¡¯t get caught up in it. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As he did, Alfon, who had been silent so far, calmly stood from his seat. ¡°Excuse me. My two companions seem to have a lack of understanding as to why this is happening¡ªas do I. I suspect, if we understood the situation better, it would likely be far easier for all parties involved. Would you please explain your reasoning behind these two arrests?¡± The captain looked at him, and for a moment, Zeth almost thought they were about to walk over and grab him to throw him in jail, too, but eventually, they said, ¡°We are collecting information about the Blood Mage crisis in this town. These two individuals, while they are not suspected of being directly related to it, both are recorded as having unique information regarding the Blood Mages, so we are going to interrogate them. This man, named Erza, has been seen having a confrontation with one of the Blood Mages during a monster attack, and this woman, Rosalie, has been seen stating that she personally discovered a Blood Mage lair.¡± Rosalie demanded. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re arresting us for? I would¡¯ve willingly given you the information I have.¡± ¡°Your opinion is irrelevant. We do not have the time to make a personal request of every individual we are interrogating. If this is to be a quick, efficient operation, we must not wait for our questioning to be convenient for citizens. You are under arrest. Now, come with us.¡± ¡°How can you claim to protect the people from criminals if you, yourself, are falsely imprisoning us?¡± she asked. ¡°You are all liars, thieves, and murderers¡ªthe only difference between you and a criminal is that your crimes are sponsored by the empire.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Erza said, ¡°we¡¯ll go willingly with you¡ªright now, even. There¡¯s no need to hold us forcefully.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± the captain said. ¡°You two are coming with us. Any further resistance will be met with¡ª¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± Zeth cut in. He didn¡¯t like doing anything to draw attention to himself, but the Inquisitor had said something that caught his attention, and he needed to figure out more. ¡°You said you were interrogating more people? And you¡¯re arresting them?¡± They nodded curtly. ¡°Is one of them named Turin?¡± ¡°Why would you need to know?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my friend; his house was broken into, and I¡¯m worried he was kidnapped. Was that you?¡± Once again, there was a pause, presumably as the captain did whatever they had to do to check this information. ¡°That name is on the list¡ªit seems the guards have record of him coming in and reporting a sighting of a Blood Mage in combat with a monster. I will double-check to ensure this individual is in our possession. If he is not, we will find you and take you in for further questioning regarding this incident.¡± Zeth certainly hoped he was with them. Both because at least then he¡¯d just be held captive and not actively in danger, and because in that case, the Inquisitors wouldn¡¯t come for Zeth. Getting taken in and held captive for ¡®questioning¡¯ would likely be very, very bad. To the point where, even if they were technically law enforcement, Zeth also worried for Turin¡¯s safety. Hopefully he¡¯d be let out later today, after he gave them whatever information they needed. The captain looked over at the other Inquisitor, gesturing to Zeth. ¡°I heard you say this man¡¯s name was Valerian, yes? That name, too, is on the list.¡± ¡°Last name Valerian, but his first name is Zeth.¡± ¡°Ah. Then it seems these two are the only individuals to take in from here. We will depart now.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Zeth said, ¡°are there other people with that last name that you¡¯re trying to arrest?¡± ¡°Hm? Yes. Do you have any aliases?¡± ¡°No, no,¡± Zeth said. ¡°That¡¯s not me. But those other names¡ªwhat are they?¡± ¡°You have no reason to know that,¡± they said curtly. ¡°This conversation has gone long enough. You two, come with us or face execution. Now.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. At this point, they were surrounded by the entire group of Inquisitors, and so when they marched, Rosalie and Erza were forced forward. The rest of the patrons had backed against the walls, giving the soldiers a wide berth as they led their new prisoners out of the building. Once they were gone, the doors shutting behind them, Zeth was left alone by the table with Alfon. ¡°Well, that is certainly unfortunate,¡± Alfon stated, sitting back down at the table. ¡°Are you seriously okay with this?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°They¡¯re practically holding the entire town hostage.¡± ¡°The Inquisitors are far too powerful a group to attempt to subvert. It is pointless to worry about something you can do nothing about. They may be overenthusiastic with their punishments, but I would not assume they will kill such large swaths of innocent people from this town. Erza and Rosalie, as well as anyone else they are holding, will likely be released soon. It is unfortunate that the bounty is no longer ours to claim, but at least the Inquisitors are serious about solving what is such an extreme problem.¡± Alfon seemed like he was ready to keep hanging out at the tavern and order some lunch, but Zeth had no interest in continuing this conversation. With the Inquisitors gone, he rushed out of the silent building, out onto the street, and began heading toward his home. He needed to find his mom and Sophie and get them out of there before the Inquisitors showed up. When the house came into view, Zeth was relieved to see no Inquisitors around. But upon drawing closer, he saw the door hanging open. ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± he muttered, speeding up his pace. But before he could even reach the house, he saw the familiar sheen of that white armor and porcelain mask pushing through the doorway. An Inquisitor walked through, followed by his mother, stumbling forward as she was shoved forward by another that was following behind her. She tightly gripped Sophie¡¯s hand, who walked meekly alongside her. Zeth stopped in the middle of the road. As they came closer, he saw blood running down his mom¡¯s cheek, with the front Inquisitor¡¯s gauntlet splattered with red as well. They fucking beat her into submission? He may have disagreed with her parenting, but these people were far, far stronger than a random Classless mother. There was no excuse to break into her house and punch her in the goddamn face. His eyes went to Sophie, at least seeing her uninjured. His mind did, though, go to the ritual circle he¡¯d given her the previous night. If these people found it while they were taking her in¡­ But he told her to erase the circle the moment anything went wrong. She must¡¯ve done that, right? He couldn¡¯t know for sure without asking her, though. So, clenching his hands into fists, he continued walking up the road, trying to talk himself off the ledge of just lunging forward and beating the shit out of these assholes. As they approached each other, Zeth¡¯s mom recognized him, and moved to run ahead and meet him. The moment she made the sudden movement, though, the Inquisitor behind her drew their sword, whipping their arm around to hold it tightly against her throat. ¡°Do not try to escape.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my son!¡± his mom shouted, but she didn¡¯t take another step. ¡°Let me tell my son what¡¯s happening. Please. He has to know.¡± ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Zeth asked, walking up to the Inquisitors. ¡°Why are you taking them?¡± ¡°These two are on record as being up-close witnesses of a Blood Mage,¡± the Inquisitor explained. ¡°They will be detained until we have received satisfactory information from them.¡± He tried to control his voice. Getting angry wouldn¡¯t help his situation at all. ¡°Where? In some jail cell? How long will you be keeping them?¡± ¡°We have set up a central base outside of your town which we will be operating out of. Witnesses will be kept there. You will be able to visit any imprisoned friends or family, though not today.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just take my family away like that.¡± He looked down at Sophie. ¡°She¡¯s nine years old. You¡¯re going to throw a nine year old in jail for no reason?¡± ¡°Witnesses will be provided food, water, bedding, and other amenities necessary for survival,¡± the Inquisitor said curtly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t fucking matter!¡± Zeth said. ¡°She¡¯s a ¡°Zeth,¡± Sophie said, looking up at him. Her eyes were sunken, like she¡¯d gotten no sleep the previous night. Had she been up the whole time working on the ritual circle he¡¯d given her? She continued, ¡°Don¡¯t. They¡¯ll hurt you.¡± The moment she spoke, the guard in the back, still holding the sword up to his mom¡¯s throat, reached down to grab her. But his mom spun around, apparently not caring about the blade against her neck, and shoved the Inquisitor¡¯s arm away, pulling Sophie into a tight embrace. ¡°Do touch her. I¡¯ll go with you, but you will not touch my daughter.¡± In the brief moment of disturbance, Zeth met Sophie¡¯s eyes, doing his best to send her a questioning glance that asked, ¡®Did you get rid of the ritual circle?¡¯ He had no idea if she¡¯d pick up on it, or if she did, that she¡¯d realize what it was he was asking. But thankfully, Sophie seemed to instantly work it out, and sent back a subtle nod, with a look that Zeth took to say, ¡®I handled it.¡¯ Zeth felt the slightest bit of relief at that. At least she was safe from the worst-case scenario of them finding the circle. He tried to tell himself that the Inquisitors would keep their witnesses safe from death or discomfort if they were trying to get information out of them, but he really didn¡¯t know anything about them or their practices. Surely, though, they¡¯d try to avoid killing them, if at least to avoid a riot. He already had no idea how they expected to deal with the angry mob that would inevitably form after they imprisoned so many innocents, but he doubted they¡¯d want to make it worse. ¡°Step aside, citizen,¡± the Inquisitor said, the dead eyes of their mask staring at him. ¡°Do not interfere with official business.¡± He hated doing it, but Zeth forced himself to take a step back, allowing the officers to pass him by undisturbed, his two remaining family members in tow. He wanted nothing else but to attack, but not only did he have few methods to do so right now, it would also clearly be a horrible idea to provoke them. He simply had no options but to let this happen for now. But then he thought of something. Something Rosalie had told him about, so he had a believable story as to why he knew it. ¡°Listen,¡± he said, ¡°I want to believe you¡¯re here to help us. So I¡¯ll tell you what I¡¯ve heard. Rosalie¡ªyou have her on your ¡®list,¡¯ or whatever¡ªtold me about what she¡¯d seen with the Blood Mages. If you want to find them, you need to look in two places: underneath the dead mayor¡¯s house, and inside the guild offices. She found tunnels running underneath Garon¡¯s house that led to a gigantic lair. They¡¯ve probably already destroyed the tunnels and covered them up, but check the guild offices. The mining guild, Otis and Roul¡¯s¡ªthey have a whole office building that she says is full of ritual circles. In the storage closets. If you want to find the Blood Mages, search there as soon as possible. The guild is connected to the cabal.¡± The Inquisitor looked at him. ¡°You said a woman named Rosalie told you about this?¡± ¡°Yes. You already have her imprisoned. I saw you take her. And when you find the Blood Mages in those guild offices, you let my family go. Got it?¡± ¡°I will let the captain know to ask her about that.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With that, they walked past him. Zeth¡¯s eyes lingered on the drop of blood running down his mom¡¯s cheek as they left. If they dared lay another finger on his family like that¡ª if they touched Sophie¡ªhe would stop at nothing to kill every last one of them. These people were already barbaric. But they at least had the excuse that perhaps his mom had genuinely done something like attempting to attack them with a knife when they burst in, and they just protected themselves. However, they¡¯d be in prison now¡ªcompletely helpless. If he came to learn that they did more to these innocent people, he would have no choice but to conclude they were pure evil. He was giving them once chance. One. The moment they were out of sight, Zeth turned and began heading back to his base. If they wanted to interrogate people and find the cabal, fine. If they wanted to falsely imprison people, they could go ahead. They could spend their time figuring out whatever they wanted. While they did that, he¡¯d be watching their actions. He¡¯d be making sure they didn¡¯t take one wrong fucking step. Because he¡¯d be preparing in the meantime. He¡¯d be growing stronger. And if those Inquisitors proved themselves to be his enemies, he would completely annihilate them. Chapter 65 As Zeth walked back to base from town, sneaking through the forest and doing everything he could to ensure he wasn¡¯t being followed by anyone, he tried to figure out his future plans.The Inquisitors had made a very loud splash in town, imprisoning so many people like that. And he did not approve of their actions. However, there was little about it that he could immediately do. He certainly wasn¡¯t ready to try and take on their entire group and break everyone out of jail right now¡ªnor was he particularly eager to draw more attention to himself and draw yet more Inquisitors to the area. And, while they were absolutely in the wrong for taking away so many people¡¯s freedoms like they did, he didn¡¯t necessarily automatically believe that made all of them evil and worthy of death. Overzealous, yes, but he agreed with them on the notion that drastic action should be taken to take out the Blood Mage cabal. So he was cautiously optimistic that they might actually provide some help toward his main goal. However, he did still know he would eventually have to do about them. Throwing his friends and family in jail like that¡ªespecially Sophie¡ªwas absolutely not okay. He hoped they¡¯d be alright having their life disrupted for just a couple days, but if the Inquisitors planned to keep these people held long-term, he would have to do something about it. So, despite not currently feeling like he was strong enough to fight them, Zeth knew he¡¯d have to plan for that eventuality. Looking through his list of Skills, Zeth searched for anything with offensive capabilities that he could use against them¡ªpreferably something that would help him against a large number of powerful opponents. One Skill he¡¯d mostly overlooked so far because of its high cost was Unholy Strength, which he¡¯d unlocked all the way back at Level two. [Unholy Strength - Cost: 18 Skill Points Uses a ritual circle to grant unnatural strength to the caster. Upon completion of the ritual, the natural effects of the caster¡¯s Strength Stat are increased by 60, and Endurance and Dexterity Stats are each increased by 30, plus an additional 2 to each per Rank in this Skill, for 10 minutes. Strength of sacrifice required: Low Required ritual circle diameter: 2.33 feet (originally 3 feet) Time required to draw: 3.11 hours (originally 4 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 46.6 minutes (originally 1 hour)] That one would certainly enhance his fighting capabilities, skyrocketing his Strength, but the cost of eighteen Skill Points was still pretty prohibitive, coming out at a net loss of eight after fully Ranking it. That was the equivalent of purchasing Compact Rites, Speedy Rites, Secure Rites, Vascular Hypertension, and even all of those combined came out as a net loss of only seven. And he want all four of those Skills. Unholy Strength¡¯s massive Stat boost was powerful, but it was expensive, awkward to use currently with its higher ritual requirements than Hellfire Ritual, and long-term, he anticipated his Endurance and Dexterity Stats eventually growing high enough that the Skill¡¯s boost in those wouldn¡¯t be particularly felt. So he wasn¡¯t sure if this would be what he wanted at the moment. Other than that, Zeth could also go down the demon summoning route, grabbing Empowered Summon, which would provide a Stat boost to his demons, and Unstable Anatomy, which would give them explosive deaths to take out their killers, and attempt to build up some sort of army to rival the army of Inquisitors. That tempting, but he still wasn¡¯t entirely comfortable relying so much on his ability to control a demonic force like that. Astrys had been a reliable companion so far, but her situation was special. He wasn¡¯t about to get more demons like her. Speaking of demons, there were also Skills. Forbidden Knowledge and Hell Portal. Both of them had completely insane effects, and Hell Portal in particular was almost frighteningly cheap. It was also the one that felt more controllable than the other. Maybe he could figure out a way to use the Skill to his advantage? The Thirteenth Realm certainly sounded like a dangerous place. If he could find a way to get specific items from there to use here, it¡¯d be a massive increase in power. Although, really, the best combat Skill he saw was Ephemeral Bloodforge, which would allow him to turn his own blood into weapons mid-combat. That would revolutionize his fighting ability, going from his current strategy of simply hoping he had enough Hellfire Rituals to beat all of his enemies to being able to far more proactively adapt to the situation at hand. It seemed like it¡¯d be the hardest Skill to use practice-wise. Balancing telekinesis, figuring out which weapon to make, and using those weapons effectively in the first place would be ridiculous to do all at once. So perhaps it¡¯d be best to take this Skill first to start getting used to it? Whatever he ended up going with, Zeth needed Skill Points. Which meant Rank-ups and Level-ups. It was time to get to work. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Once he got back to base, Zeth instantly began drawing out an Empowerment Ritual. He¡¯d gotten three Level-ups basically for free back when he¡¯d assaulted the underground cabal base, which had been a phenomenal boost in power, but it also came with the inherent downside of severely increasing the requirements of his next Level. So now, for this Empowerment Ritual, he¡¯d have to draw for a total of about eighteen and a half hours. That was an issue. He wanted to start getting to work acquiring his next combat Skills, but it seemed like he was long overdue for some Skills to decrease his ritual requirements. A detour for Speedy Rites would almost certainly be worth it. As he worked, he called Astrys over and began explaining the situation to her. He¡¯d want her to be as up-to-date as possible in case he ended up suddenly needing her assistance against the Inquisitors, so he told her everything he knew about who they were and what they were doing. ¡°So after they arrested those two mercenaries I was working with,¡± he said, ¡°they also took my family¡ªmy mom and little sister. Basically, what I¡¯m saying is, if it ever comes to light that they¡¯re hurting the people they have captive, I¡¯m instantly going scorched earth. And you¡¯ll be helping with that. If they¡¯ve got those creepy looking Masks of Anonymity on, they die. No questions asked. But hopefully it won¡¯t come to that.¡± ¡°Your family?¡± she asked, speaking up for the first time since he began explaining. ¡°You have family members in town with you?¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Hm? Yeah. My sister was the one who came down into the base¡ªdid I not tell you that?¡± ¡°You simply informed me it was a guest,¡± she said. ¡°I suppose you are close to this family, then, if you were upset about my harming her.¡± He frowned as he traced his next line. ¡°¡®Course I am. My sister¡¯s a good bit younger than me, so I basically helped raise her when she was growing up. And nowadays I like to hope I provide a helpful bit of guidance to her. What do you mean, asking that?¡± ¡°I see. I found it surprising, is all. My read on your personality was not one that included a¡­caring side.¡± ¡°I mean, caring for your family is just about the least you can do, right? I wouldn¡¯t think it¡¯d be so special.¡± ¡°Perhaps it is my own perspective that is warped, then,¡± she said. ¡°I did not grow up close to any of my family members. Do¡­Do you mind telling me what it is like?¡± Zeth glanced over at Astrys, his mind immediately going to the question of whether this was some sort of trick. Was she trying to pry for information about his family so she could use them as hostages? But he snapped himself out of it a moment later. ¡°Yeah, I guess. I mean, I won¡¯t claim that my own family dynamic is the same as all other humans¡¯, or even a particularly healthy one to begin with, but if you¡¯d like to hear about it¡­¡± ¡°I would,¡± she said, her voice quiet. ¡°Well¡­It¡¯s nice, I guess. I¡¯m mainly close with my sister¡ªshe¡¯s the best. An absolute genius, with the ambition to take advantage of it. I mean, sure, she¡¯s got her shortcomings¡ªdefinitely a lot more eager to take risks than I¡¯d personally like¡ªbut really, with kids, when they¡¯re smart in one aspect, they¡¯ve gotta be inexperienced in another. I have no doubt that when she grows up, she¡¯s gonna turn into the greatest mage this world has ever seen. I couldn¡¯t be prouder. It¡¯s just¡­I dunno, it¡¯s exciting to be able to be a part of her life. To be that person who enabled her dreams, and gave her the push she needed to fly.¡± Astrys nodded softly, a somber look encroaching on her stone face. ¡°Uh, sorry,¡± he said, ¡°guess I was rambling a bit there. What¡¯s your family like? I don¡¯t know too much about how that sort of thing works with demons.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± She blinked, suddenly looking slightly uncomfortable. Then she nodded to the floor beneath him. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve forgotten your work.¡± ¡°Oh, right,¡± he said, looking down at the ritual circle he was supposed to be drawing, and continued his work tracing out the lines. ¡°Thanks for reminding me.¡± The two of them didn¡¯t talk much for the remainder of the day, only finishing up the strategy discussion regarding the Inquisitors before Astrys shut off from more conversation. As he worked, Zeth¡¯s Ritual Nexus Mastery Skill Ranked up to thirteen, bringing him up to nine Skill Points, which was appreciated. And that reminded him, regarding Skills, he had a question he¡¯d been going back and forth on¡ªwhether to purchase Friend of the Unhallowed. It was a profit Skill, so he¡¯d want to purchase it eventually, but he wanted Skill Points fast right now, and didn¡¯t know how quickly he¡¯d be able to reclaim the seven point cost after purchasing it. If it took several days of hanging around in a demon¡¯s fear aura just to get a single Rank, he¡¯d want to wait until after he got his next combat Skill to avoid delaying any further. But if Ranks came quickly, giving him two or three every day as he stuck around Astrys, he¡¯d want to get it now. But trying to answer that question was pointless for now, since he hadn¡¯t gotten the most fundamental piece of relevant information yet. He stopped drawing his Empowerment Ritual partway through, resolving to finish it in a bit. Because it was just about midnight. And the previous midnight, Zeth had summoned Astrys. ¡°So,¡± he said to her, ¡°it looks like we¡¯re about to see whether my Skill really does lack the twenty-four hour time limit, and whether you¡¯ll get to stick around.¡± She nodded. Her expression had been growing more and more into one of anxiety as the day and night had passed, until it eventually progressed to how she looked now, sitting in the corner of the room, her knees drawn up to her chest. The childlike posture almost made him want to sit down and comfort her. ¡°Is there anything you wanna talk about while we wait?¡± he asked. ¡°Might be your last words.¡± She looked down. ¡°Can¡­Can I please sit up on the surface? If I am to die today, I would like to do it below your stars.¡± He grimaced. ¡°...I really don¡¯t think I can allow you up in the forest alone in good conscience. I hope you understand.¡± ¡°...I would be comfortable sharing the moment with you,¡± she said quietly. At that, he paused, pondering the request. If he was up there with her, it¡¯d certainly be a lot safer. And ultimately, as much as he tried to keep his distance from her, Zeth found himself at least wanting to give her a pleasant final moment, if this truly was her last. ¡°Alright. Sure.¡± Chapter 66 Zeth sat with Astrys up in the forest clearing. She lay on her back, gazing at the stars, as he sat nearby, leaning against a tree trunk. ¡°Do you remember the exact time I was summoned?¡± she asked, that signature inscrutable look on her face betraying no emotion. ¡°...No, unfortunately I don¡¯t,¡± he responded. ¡°But it was around this time. I guess we just wait. And if you disappear¡­¡± She nodded. ¡°...Then I disappear.¡± He stared at her. ¡°How do you deal with it?¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°This. All of this. I mean, you¡¯re facing your mortality, right? You might die soon. Don¡¯t you have unfinished business? Stuff you wish you did? And you¡¯ve basically been imprisoned here with me for the past twenty-four hours while you¡¯re forced to grapple with all of that. How come you aren¡¯t freaking out?¡± She looked up into the sky for a moment, but eventually, she said, ¡°This little period of time that I¡¯ve spent stuck in your realm¡­I didn¡¯t see it as a prison. It was more of a vacation.¡± He scoffed, smiling slightly. ¡°Y¡¯know, I always wondered why other demons haven¡¯t felt that same way, actually. It certainly sounds a lot worse where you¡¯re from.¡± ¡°Not like that,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°Not the environment. It is nice to not have to worry as much about the threats of my home, but it¡¯s¡­unnerving, in a certain way, being up here. Safer, yes, but less comfortable. Perhaps that is simply because I¡¯m not as used to this place. But my feelings are more specific to me, and my life. I don¡¯t want to die. I truly don¡¯t. But if I am to fade away¡­Now would be a good time for it to happen. I would not want to return to my life, after recent events.¡± ¡°Recent events?¡± She seemed to think for a moment, then subtly shook her head. ¡°Nevermind.¡± ¡°You seem reluctant to share about your life,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I¡¯ve kind of suspected this from the beginning, but¡­You¡¯re not a soldier, are you? You were lying about your circumstances when we first met. Can you at least tell me what¡¯s really going on that¡¯ll kill you when you return?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She sighed. ¡°I was lying, though not about what you think. I being held in a prison cell right now, and I be executed by enemy forces the moment I return. And I am a soldier.¡± ¡°Then what wasn¡¯t true about your story?¡± Once again, a moment passed where she just silently stared at the stars. It dragged on for so long, Zeth wondered if she¡¯d ever answer his question. But eventually she said, ¡°Perhaps it would be good to pass on my own perspective of my life¡¯s story, if at least to a single person. I¡¯ve long since relegated myself to living out the story that other people wrote out for me. I wonder, then, if the one I ended up writing for myself is worth anything at all.¡± He looked at her, unsure what all of that meant. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± For the first time since coming to the surface, Astrys looked away from the sky and glanced over at Zeth. ¡°When I came here, I told you that I hail from the Thylmoor Kingdom. Really, I was surprised, after you learned of my name, that you did not put the obvious pieces together. But I suppose those pieces are only obvious to one who knows of the context.¡± ¡°Your name?¡± ¡°My full name is Astrys Thylmoor, first sergeant of the second army of the Thylmoor Kingdom.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a sergeant? And, wait, you¡¯re named after the kingdom you come from?¡± ¡°It may be more accurate to say the kingdom was named after me¡ªeven if I did come after. My father is the king.¡± Zeth stared at her. ¡°You¡¯re a I¡¯m talking to royalty right now?¡± He suddenly felt very self-conscious of the state he¡¯d been forcing her to live in thus far, wondering what kind of a palace she must¡¯ve been coming here from. ¡°Yes,¡± she said, ¡°though not a very good one, considering the battle I come from. I led my soldiers to die. Perhaps I could make excuses¡ªthe enemy was more informed of the terrain, making use of a pack of void trees to the north as cover for a contingent of artillery bowmen that decimated our backrank. Our forces were slightly less numerous, and less well-equipped going in. But the leader of an army is to blame when that army is wiped out. And if the kingdom falls because of my mistakes¡­¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll be held accountable.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be accountable,¡± she snapped. ¡°I accountable. At least if I die now, I will not have to hold this memory in my mind for long. I understand it is cowardly of me, but I¡¯ve never deluded myself into believing I am brave. I simply wish for the torture to end. I never wanted to be a sergeant. I never wanted to fight. The more I think about it, the more I believe my executors will be doing me a favor.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t want to fight? Why did you, then? I would¡¯ve thought a princess, out of anyone alive, would be able to live without having to go fight on the frontlines of a war.¡± She looked over at Zeth again, this time gazing at him with an utterly baffled expression. ¡°What in the world do you mean?¡± ¡°What do you mean, what do I mean? You¡¯re royalty. You would¡¯ve got every bit of money and leverage you could ask for, growing up. I¡¯m not trying to tell you your life is easy, but wouldn¡¯t you have a lot more opportunity to choose your role in life? Go into art, or politics, or whatever it is you dreamed of?¡± Astrys stared at him like she had so many things to say, she didn¡¯t know where to start. ¡°...I suspect our two realms may have two different systems of royalty. Why, exactly, would a princess from your world be given infinite opportunity like that?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re the daughter of the king, right? Wouldn¡¯t the king want to ensure his kids have a good life? If he has a decent number of children, say three or four, then he¡¯d ensure they¡¯re all educated, well-raised, and ready to inherit the throne when he dies. Otherwise, the next in line has a chance of being some random kid with no education or experience. Sounds like it¡¯d be pretty bad if that happened.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. At his words, she nodded slowly. ¡°I see the origin of our misunderstanding. You said a typical number of children a king may have would be three or four?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I am four hundred and ninth in line for the throne of the Thylmoor Kingdom.¡± Zeth blinked. ¡°What, like, lineage gets passed to older cousins first, or something?¡± ¡°No. I have several hundred siblings. The vast majority of us have different mothers¡ªbut our father is the same king.¡± ¡°...Ah. So he does a lot of sleeping around then, I guess.¡± ¡°That is simply the way a king is expected to act. One might say that, compared to your realm¡¯s approach, we follow a more ¡®quantity over quality¡¯ philosophy. The king has children with whatever women he feels may birth worthy offspring, and every one of them is eligible to take the throne.¡± ¡°Why would you do things like that, though? If the oldest kid gets the throne, what¡¯s the point of having your hundredth? They¡¯ll never get a chance.¡± ¡°That would be another difference between our systems, it seems. Our decision of who takes the throne is not based on seniority. The king keeps a list ranking every single one of his children. In the event of his death, number one takes it. If they die before they have children, it goes to number two, and so on.¡± ¡°Ah. So you¡¯re not the four hundred and ninth birthed¡ªyou¡¯re the four hundred and ninth on this¡­list of favorites?¡± She nodded. ¡°Technically, nobody is meant to know the order of this list until the king dies, but¡­Well, I would imagine your realm has the same politicking royals that mine does. Word gets around. Though, one of your assumptions was incorrect: I am both in four hundred and ninth place, and four hundred and ninth born.¡± ¡°Oh. That¡¯s a weird coincidence.¡± ¡°Hardly. I have four hundred and eight siblings.¡± ¡°...Oh. So, you¡¯re the youngest, and you¡¯re dead last, is what you mean.¡± Astrys¡¯s face was somber. ¡°Precisely. I was never good at these political games. My youngest sibling is still several years older than me; most of our father¡¯s children were sired within the span of just a few years, as he was attempting to grow a batch of possible successors while touring across the land, looking for anyone exceptional to raise an exceptional child.¡± ¡°Wait, so, the king went around, having hundreds of kids during a short time, finished that, and then years later went and had you, and just you? Why?¡± ¡°Most of my siblings¡¯ mothers are nobles with far-reaching connections, military strategists, prolific poets, or heroic soldiers with stories of saving countless lives in battle. My father chose them so that they might pass the blood that allowed them to do their great deeds onto their children, to ensure the throne is taken by someone worthy. My mother was a high-end prostitute. I feel that her occupation speaks for itself in explaining how I came to be.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°There are a few members of ¡®royalty¡¯ like me with every generation of heirs. Most of the time, we are seen as scuff marks on the good name of whichever monarch sired us. However, my mother saw me as a blessing. A moment to finally move up in the world and take the spot in the limelight she so desperately desired. Having a princess for a daughter¡­Birthing a child of the king is one of the most common dreams among girls where I come from. One of the only ways anyone alive can turn into someone important. However, the truth is, that only happens if the king sires a child with you. In her case, the treatment she received left her wanting.¡± ¡°I see. Um, I¡¯m sorry about that. But how does that lead to becoming a military sergeant against your own will?¡± ¡°Well, my mother was always a competitive person. She paid for bodily modifications to ensure she was the most attractive woman she could be for her line of work, and it paid off¡ªclearly, considering the clientele she brought in. She was extremely ambitious. And, when the greatest competition in the kingdom suddenly had her own newborn daughter entered into it as a contestant, she wanted to win. She wanted to see the name of Astrys Thylmoor at number one of that list¡ªnumber one in line for the throne. But I don¡¯t believe she ever realized this was not a competition I could succeed in. It was a competition to win my father¡¯s favor. And when you¡¯re a living reminder of that time he slept with an escort while too drunk to remember birth control, you begin with quite the disadvantage.¡± Astrys sighed, staring upward. ¡°I forgive her, now. She just wanted to see her daughter happy. But she never quite realized that, while what she wanted me to do would make happy, it certainly wouldn¡¯t help me. She enrolled me in the arts first, but I was never good at poetry, and my fingers are too fat for musical instruments. Writing fiction never came naturally to me, either, and I never had the imagination for painting. Then she wanted me to be the next child genius, more knowledgeable in a subject than most adults. All children of the king receive a yearly stipend to ensure they live at a minimum level of comfort, and while I was excluded from being considered a ¡®real¡¯ daughter of the Thylmoor name culturally, I was still on the king¡¯s list, so my mother still got her money. And she educated me in all she could, hiring tutors and buying books, hoping she could find a subject I excelled in. I did fine in most, but never amazing, and in order to beat all four hundred and eight of your siblings, you truly must be exceptional. Then it was sending me off to balls, then it was teaching me to play a few sports, then it was trying to fabricate a story of me saving a group of children from dying after falling into the River of Fire. None of it worked, but I tried it all. I told myself it was just to keep her from getting mad, but perhaps I ended up truly believing that one day, somehow I could gain recognition. I could convince my father to move me up at least one place in the list. But it never happened. So, eventually¡­¡± ¡°...You went into the military?¡± ¡°Yes. It was my mother¡¯s last resort. Typically, the next ruler of our kingdom comes from children who had more refined upbringings than fighting in a war, but it was around this time that the River Powers empire began attempting to invade our home, and as our situation grew more and more dire, it became more and more apparent that if anyone managed to actually defeat them and end the war, they would be lauded as a hero. She had no reason to believe I was the one for the job, but she certainly had reason to hope. So that was where I went next. I¡¯ve spent many years fighting in battles, moving up the ranks of the military. I¡¯ve led so many charges, the Levels I gained from slaughtering my brethren brought me more power than many lower demons receive from doing summon work like this. I hated it. I always did. But I convinced myself that perhaps eventually, if I just did enough, the royal side of my family would accept me as one of their own. I deluded myself. I deluded myself enough that when my mother died three years ago from a disease passed to her by one of her clients, I continued trying. I was too cowardly to admit I had wasted my life. And now I truly threw it away. To my siblings, I was a lesser demon trying to cheat her way into competing on their level. To my father, I was an embarrassing reminder of his mistakes. To my mother, I was a failure. Perhaps it is selfish, and weak, and cowardly of me, but all I ever wanted was for someone to just¡­To not want anything of me, or have any expectations. To love me just for existing.¡± Zeth nodded. Silence spread through the clearing once again. After a minute passed, he asked, ¡°What do you think you would¡¯ve done, if you had been born to a normal father and mother?¡± She chuckled. ¡°I have no idea. But working for you, simply following orders, doing what is the equivalent of manual labor, really¡­It was a nice change of pace. You have consistently had low expectations for my performance. You planned for my failures. Perhaps it was because you always expected me to betray you, but still. I liked being around someone who didn¡¯t care. So, thank you for that. For giving me a final day of rest. Hopefully my death will be just as peaceful.¡± But, as the time passed, it became more and more obvious that Astrys¡¯s final moment would not be today. Because she never disappeared. They waited and waited, but she remained laying there on the ground. Eventually, Zeth realized that she¡¯d fallen asleep in their time spent silently waiting. ¡°Well,¡± he said to himself, sitting in the clearing, ¡°I guess I have to get back to work, then. But at the very least, I should let you take some time off.¡± So he stood up, brushing himself off, and walked over to her. He slipped his arms beneath her red-skinned body, and strained his body to lift her up into a princess carry. Demons were rather large, and she was no exception, but he was just barely able to hold her in his arms as he walked back down into his base, gently lying her in his bed as he hoped he didn¡¯t disturb her. And then, once that was done, he looked back over at his partially-complete Empowerment Ritual. Astrys was sticking around¡ªthat had some pretty massive implications. But those were for later. For now, Zeth wanted to finish this up and claim his next Level. So he got to work. Chapter 67 It took a while, but eventually Zeth finished drawing his Empowerment Ritual¡ªall eighteen and a half hours of it. He worked in silence as Astrys slept in the bed across the room, thinking about all the implications of the fact that not only was she going to stick around in this realm presumably forever¡ªor, at least, until either one of them decided to forcefully unsummon her¡ªbut also the fact that demon he summoned would have the same ability to remain in this realm. So far, he hadn¡¯t discovered any other demons that seemed like they¡¯d want such a thing, but perhaps he¡¯d be able to find more. Or, if not demons that would want to remain in the First Realm forever, at least demons that would be willing to make long-term deals that involved large payments in exchange for extended stays. Once he finished the Empowerment Ritual, though, Zeth realized just how much blood it would need to activate. All of its requirements climbed as he completed more and more of them, and the necessary sacrifice strength was not exempt from that. So when he emptied out a container of blood from his dwindling storage, only finding the entire thing having filled a fraction of the cost, he realized his days of being able to Level up as much as he wanted as long as he had enough time to draw up a circle were over. Sure enough, it took every single drop of blood in his storage to bring the percentage up above ninety-five. And he had to scrape the barrels clean of each and every drop to squeeze those last few percentage points out of his stockpile. By the time it finally hit one hundred, he had completely run dry. But he didn¡¯t let that news get to him as he read through the notifications that came with the completion of his ritual. [Otherworldly Excellence¡¯s Rank has increased to 6. +5 Dexterity. You have 55 Dexterity. +1 Skill Point. You have 10 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 12. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 42. +5 Dexterity. Your Dexterity is 60. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 12. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 24. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 84. +3 Skill Points. You have 13 Skill Points.] And after those two came another. [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 12. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Ring of Plague.] He frowned at the new Skill unlock. Ring of Plague? That sounded pretty sinister. Curious about this new Skill¡¯s effects, he went ahead and opened it up. [Ring of Plague - Cost: 28 Skill Points Completely exclusive to the Blood Magus Class. Uses a ritual circle to establish a ring of plague, which requires a sacrifice each day to maintain. All disease within 25 miles of the ring is greatly strengthened, both in its ability to spread and its ability to kill. All other beings within the ring¡¯s area of effect have their Endurance Stat¡¯s ability to fight disease reduced by 5% per Rank in this Skill. This portion of the Skill¡¯s effects can be resisted if a being has a higher Endurance Stat than your Shaping Stat. Strength of sacrifice required: Moderately high, once per day Required ritual circle diameter: 77.6 feet (originally 100 feet) Time required to draw: 42.7 hours (originally 55 hours) Upkeep time required each day: 7.76 hours (originally 10 hours)] Zeth stared at the Skill. That was completely insane. This thing would give him the ability to enhance disease within such a massive radius? And on top of that, it¡¯d reduce people¡¯s ability to fight that disease off. Chances were, if he drew it and kept it active for a couple months¡ªeven just a couple weeks¡ªit¡¯d end up killing off almost every single person within that radius. If he set it up near a populated city¡­ Sometimes, Zeth forgot what type of person this Class was made for. People of genuine evil. Theoretically, the Skill offered an amazing solution to the problems faced by a Blood Magus: you needed blood, and you needed to stay hidden. Those two goals were normally in conflict with one another, considering the fact that people were quite opposed to having their friends and family slaughtered for resources. However, with this Skill, you could simply set it up out in the middle of the woods, or in some hidden underground complex, and wait around for the people to die on their own, without you ever needing to see them. Just wait for the mysterious plague to kill off everyone in town, then go over and collect the bodies. Combined with that other Skill he¡¯d unlocked, Massacre¡¯s Boon, which would make his sacrifices more powerful if they came from a large number of humans, Zeth could see a certain strategy the Class was encouraging. Kill the weak, and use them to make yourself strong. It was evil, in the truest sense of the word. He was almost disgusted to even be using the Class at all, even if he knew he¡¯d never stoop to that level. But at the very least, for as long as he was using it, nobody else would be able to. So at least he was protecting the world from a more malicious holder of this absurd power. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. So then, Level twelve¡¯s Skill unlock wasn¡¯t particularly useful. No matter, though¡ªhe was still spoiled for choice with his existing options. Now with thirteen Skill Points, Zeth could afford Speedy Rites if he wanted to take it. However, now that he was out of blood in his storage, he¡¯d have to figure out a new source to fuel his rituals before he could start powering through Empowerment Rituals like he had been before. If he anticipated blood being his bottleneck, he could even instead purchase Incendiary Intensification, which would dramatically increase the power of his blood sacrifices as long as he conducted his rituals around large sources of fire. He didn¡¯t have to make any decisions for now, though, so he held off on picking one of them for sure. Things were extremely uncertain between the Inquisitors¡¯ arrival and Astrys now staying, so he¡¯d want to wait until he had a little more information before making any decisions. For now, he could just go to sleep and figure everything out tomorrow. So he walked over to the bed, preparing to get some rest. But just as he was about to lie down, Zeth heard a noise. It was faint¡ªthe barest disturbance of the typical silence in his underground complex. Voices. They were coming from the entrance hallway, where the staircase to the surface was. People were talking. He couldn¡¯t make out the words. But at the very least, it was clearly not a normal animal walking around up there. Zeth rushed to grab the few Hellfire Ritual cloths he had still prepared. Once he had them, he ran back and returned to gaze down the hallway, listening closely. The voices were still speaking, not sounding particularly closer or further away than they had been before. Who were these people? What were they doing? As he slowly crept closer and closer to the hallway, he determined from the sound of the voices that these people weren¡¯t currently inside his base¡ªthey were too muffled and far-off sounding. And, at the very least, they weren¡¯t shouting out or anything, instead mostly relaxed in tone. Maybe they were just random passers-by? Hunters looking for a monster to Level up with, or travelers taking a detour¡ªanyone who wasn¡¯t looking for him would be good news. Still, he couldn¡¯t risk not knowing. So he began moving through his hallway over to the staircase that made the base¡¯s entrance. He couldn¡¯t bring Astrys along with him¡ªin the case that he¡¯d gotten lucky and these people had no idea he was here, the sudden fear aura would obviously increase their suspicion. It was as he climbed up, step by step, that Zeth just barely began being able to recognize what these people were saying. It sounded like two people, talking as they walked around up in the clearing. ¡°...sure you saw a footstep?¡± one was asking. ¡°I thought so,¡± the other responded. ¡°You saw it¡ªit was hard to make out, but looked like boot tracks heading this way. No idea what else it could be.¡± ¡°Yeah, well I don¡¯t see anyone. And I haven¡¯t seen any more footsteps around here, either.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s further along.¡± ¡°If we haven¡¯t found whoever it was so far, we¡¯ve definitely lost them.¡± Zeth frowned, climbing further up. These two people were looking for someone, following footsteps. Had they seen one of his? He always tried to ensure he didn¡¯t leave any tracks when he walked out here, but it was possible he¡¯d accidentally left something to let these people track him out here. After a moment of silence between the two, one of them spoke up. ¡°Maybe we should just cut our losses and head back.¡± ¡°What do you mean? We have confirmation that there¡¯s out here. We can¡¯t leave now.¡± ¡°We definitely can leave. And we don¡¯t have ¡®confirmation¡¯ for shit. We have you swearing up and down that the smudge in the dirt came from someone¡¯s boot.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. Leave, if you want. gonna get that reward.¡± ¡°Oh, like they¡¯ll actually keep their word about that.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve paid us in full the last few times we did a job for them. I don¡¯t see why this time would be any different.¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Maybe because they¡¯re offering twenty times what they usually do? Listen, they barely gave us any info to go off of. Those little hit jobs they asked us to do, they were simple and straightforward. Find this person, off ¡®em. Now, they¡¯re asking us to search the forest for¡­what was it again?¡± ¡°A base or a lair, or a person or a monster or other evidence of a person or a lair.¡± ¡°Yeah, see? That¡¯s fucking stupid. They don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing this time¡ªthey¡¯re just grasping at straws, hoping we¡¯ll find something when they don¡¯t even know what they¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Listen. If wanna keep robbing caravans, feel free to do that. But I¡¯m trying to make it big.¡± ¡°Oh, make it big, like you¡¯ll move up to running a whole encampment one day. You¡¯re a fucking idiot.¡± ¡°Nah, nah. You know that one noble lady from that city our old base was near?¡± ¡°...From two years ago?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m gonna get rich, get some nice clothes, pay for some travel to go back over there, and convince her to marry me. And she¡¯s rich, too, so I¡¯ll just be able to live off her money for the rest of our life together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you¡ªshe wasn¡¯t giving you ¡®the look,¡¯ she was afraid you were planning to kill her. Which you were.¡± ¡°But I let her go, right? She¡¯s gotta be super grateful.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you kill her husband?¡± ¡°Yeah, so she¡¯s single, too. Perfect opportunity, right?¡± Zeth was able to slowly piece together the situation from listening in on their conversation. These two were bandits, paid by the cabal to search the forest for him. They must¡¯ve figured Zeth was hiding out here somewhere, so they¡¯d just get people to consistently search around until they found him. But it seemed like his disguised trapdoor was working¡ªneither of them had realized they were standing right on top of the thing they were looking for this whole time. If they just left without noticing anything, that¡¯d be ideal. So hopefully¡­ Suddenly, one of the two shouted out. ¡°What is it?¡± the other asked. Zeth heard the sound of a sword being drawn. ¡°W-what¡¯s going on? We¡¯re under attack!¡± the first one yelled. ¡°What do you mean? Where?¡± ¡°You mean, you didn¡¯t get it?¡± ¡°Get what? Explain, dammit.¡± ¡°The notification. It said I failed an Influence check, and suddenly I just felt this intense fear. But the moment I stepped away, it ended. It was right about¡­Woah! There it was again! Look, if I step right in this exact spot, I get the notification. You try it, too.¡± ¡°What are you¡­Holy shit! Good gods, you¡¯re right. What is that?¡± Zeth¡¯s heart sank as they spoke. A demon¡¯s fear aura expanded outward in a spherical radius. He¡¯d tried to ensure his base was deep enough that the fear wouldn¡¯t reach anyone if a demon was down there, but apparently it was just barely not deep enough for Astrys, and a tiny bit of her sphere escaped from underground. And these bandits had just happened to stumble across it. Seemed like he wouldn¡¯t be letting them go, after all. But hey, it wasn¡¯t all bad. At least he¡¯d found another source of blood. Chapter 68 Zeth stood at the top of his staircase, right below the trapdoor that led out into the forest clearing, listening to the people who had just discovered evidence of his base. ¡°I felt it,¡± one of them said. ¡°It was like a magically induced fear.¡± ¡° do you believe that there¡¯s something here?¡±. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, there is. Keep your guard up, there might be someone around.¡± ¡°What, like, listening to us?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Do you think they were listening to me pee earlier?¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up and keep your eyes on the treeline. They could be anywhere. If there¡¯s magic going on here, that means it¡¯s either some sort of automatic trap that¡¯s been set, or someone did it manually. Either way, it means we¡¯re in trouble.¡± Zeth had to do something before they decided to retreat back to their base and spread the word. If the cabal heard about their findings, he¡¯d have an army of Blood Mages¡ªas well as Inquisitors, most likely¡ªinvading within hours. As quickly as he could, he pulled out two hellfire circles with one hand and brought out his dagger with the other, bringing it down to make a small cut on his arm. As it sliced his skin open, he felt a stinging pain as he dabbed one of the ritual cloths on it to sop up his blood. It filled the completion percentage a bit, but then the wound quickly began closing back up, and he felt a small bit of the blood in his body being consumed to fuel Sanguine Renewal. He breathed out, having forgotten about that Skill, and brought the knife back down, making a much larger cut in his forearm, a bolt of pain shooting up through his bicep and shoulder as he did. Holding the two cloths down on the opening and watching the two completion metrics climb upward, he looked inward and pushed back against Sanguine Renewal to temporarily prevent its effect from activating and automatically healing his wound. The sickening sensation of blood being sucked out of his body by the two ritual circles spread through his veins until the moment the two rituals hit one hundred percent completion, and he released his mental block on Sanguine Renewal, suddenly feeling it go to work, consuming his blood to close the wound. It didn¡¯t fully patch it up in so little time, but the bleeding almost instantly stopped, and he could see the skin slowly growing back to close over the wound before his eyes. That was good enough. Now with two completed rituals, he climbed up the last couple steps, carefully laying his boots on the wood to ensure he made no sound, and pressed his ear against the trapdoor. The two bandits were no longer speaking with each other, but Zeth could still hear footsteps. They were walking around the area, likely searching it for whatever created the magical effect they¡¯d stumbled into. He had no idea how strong they were, or what capabilities they had; this wasn¡¯t a good situation to be in. But he had to do something. So, when he heard the footsteps start to grow softer, like they were walking away from the trapdoor, as slowly as he could, he pushed it open just a hair, so he could see through the tiny crack of light it created. He looked through, gazing through the tall grass in search of the two people. After scanning back and forth a couple times, he spotted the bottom of a boot as it slowly took a step. Next to it, another pair. It looked like they still may have been facing his way, so he waited, staying perfectly still as he held the trapdoor in place, allowing him to watch for an opportunity to strike. The two people kept wandering around, eventually turning to start heading toward the treeline, peering around the trunks for anyone hiding in wait. ¡°Maybe nobody¡¯s here,¡± one of them said. ¡°It could¡¯ve been an automatic trap.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it means there¡¯s something here worth protecting. Keep looking.¡± Zeth took that as his moment. As they were speaking, he used the noise of their own voices to throw open the trapdoor and leap out of his hiding place. Thanks to his heightened Dexterity Stat, he felt more capable than ever of swiftly and quietly getting out of the hole and sprinting ahead, closing the fifteen-foot gap between him and his opponents in a matter of seconds. The two people were dressed in padded leather armor made up of what looked to be monster skins, both of them facing directly away from him. The little noise he created caught the attention of the one on the right, but as he turned around to see him, his eyes widening and mouth opening to let out a shout, Zeth was already in arm¡¯s reach, and he lunged ahead in his charge, holding out the hellfire cloth and pressing it against the man¡¯s face. Instantly, the crackle of lightning filled the clearing, and flames burst out across every inch of the bandit¡¯s skin. They scalded Zeth¡¯s skin, and he drew his hand back, feeling yet more of his blood being consumed to automatically repair the burns that¡¯d spread across his palm in the split second it was touching the magic flame. Stolen story; please report. As the flaming corpse collapsed to the ground, the man that¡¯d been standing next to him, turned around and stepped back in surprise, holding his sword out to point at Zeth. ¡°Step back!¡± But Zeth didn¡¯t follow his command. He stepped forth, sidestepping an attempt at a stab, grabbing the hilt of the sword out of its owner¡¯s hand, and tossing it away. He kicked the man¡¯s legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground, and knelt down on his gut with one arm holding his sword arm down and the other hovering the ritual cloth mere inches above his face. ¡°If this touches you, you die instantly,¡± he said. ¡°Do not even think about attacking me. I¡¯ll kill you in an instant, just like your friend over there.¡± The man nodded shakily. ¡°Yeah, got it. L-listen, I don¡¯t want any trouble, alright? We were just poking around¡ªdidn¡¯t mean to intrude.¡± Zeth watched his hands. One was pinned down, but the other was lying free on the ground. Currently idle, but he didn¡¯t want this guy grabbing a dagger from a hidden compartment, or anything. ¡°Where¡¯s your encampment?¡± ¡°U-um, it¡¯s just over that way,¡± he nodded to gesture off in a direction away from town. ¡°A decent walk away.¡± ¡°How many people are there? Did any of them know why you were coming out here? Or where you would be searching?¡± He shifted nervously. ¡°Just a few, shouldn¡¯t give you any trouble. And¡ª¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He made a strange motion with his one free hand¡ªlike he was grabbing an imaginary object and sticking it into something. Zeth tensed up, moving to press the ritual cloth against the man¡¯s skin at the unknown movement, but before he could, a strange bluish light appeared in the corner of his vision. He glanced over to see a glowing spectral hand holding a dagger, flying forward through the air to stab it into his throat. Zeth couldn¡¯t move away in time, and the blade stuck into the side of his neck, driving several inches into his flesh. Intense pain spread all through his neck as his skin, muscle, and throat were split apart by the knife, and he fell over to the side of the man in shock. As he did, he dropped the cloth, leaving it fluttering downward, and the man attempted to sit up from his supine position and get back to his feet, but on his way up, he allowed the cloth to brush up against his face, and instantly lit aflame. Zeth¡¯s enemy was dead, but he was far from okay. As the man died, the spectral hand disappeared so it was no longer continuing to drive the dagger into his throat, leaving it to fall out of the hole in his beck and thump uselessly on the ground. Zeth, oo, was lying on the ground, bringing a shaking hand up to apply pressure on his wound, attempting to prevent any more blood from escaping. That dude had gotten him in the throat. The , where a massive amount of blood ran through. Liquid was squirting out of him as yet more was being rapidly consumed by Sanguine Recovery, attempting to do what it could to repair his body. But even with his synergies supercharging it, the Skill had its limits. It could only work so fast, and would need to constantly consume blood to do its work¡ªblood which Zeth was currently losing extremely, extremely quickly. He had to stop the bleeding. If he lost too much, the Skill would be left with no fuel, shut off, and he¡¯d bleed out right here. That motherfucker apparently either hadn¡¯t appreciated Zeth¡¯s warning enough, and now was about to get Zeth killed as well as himself. He glanced over at the still-burning corpse. Getting an idea with very little time to think it over, he quickly crawled over, glancing over the charred body, all of the clothes already having burnt away, until he saw a reddish light coming from his waist¡ªa belt buckle, now partially melted, and glowing with heat. . He reached down and grabbed the crumbling belt with his free hand, feeling his fingers growing hot even when several inches away from the buckle. After taking a shaky breath, he lifted his other hand up from his wound, feeling blood instantly resume its spew out from the hole now that the pressure had been lifted, turned his head sideways so the wound was facing straight upward, and dropped the belt down onto his wound. The red-hot buckle impacted his flesh, a sizzle sounding out as the metal seared into his skin, cauterizing the wound. He groaned out in pain; the sharp sensation from the stab wound was nothing compared to this. Gripping the charred leather of the belt in his hand, he used it to press the buckle harder into his skin for as long as he could bear to ensure he sealed the wound, then when the pain was too much, he pulled it back and tossed it aside, instantly feeling relief from the scorching of his skin. Slowly, he drew a trembling hand up to feel the wound, finding what felt like a mess of raw, leathery skin. But no more blood was squirting out of it. His entire neck still hurt like nothing else, and he felt a further painful sensation whenever he breathed, but it at least wasn¡¯t as bad as before, and he could feel Sanguine Renewal working to fix all the damage both his enemy had done to him and he had done to himself. Not that his current blood stores would be nearly enough, he could already tell. He stared at the corpse of the one who¡¯d stabbed him. , he cursed internally, though he blamed himself for this. The man had been far too easy to disarm of his sword. As a bandit, he¡¯d likely be a decent level, and the fact that Zeth could bypass his defenses like that proved he wasn¡¯t a melee-oriented Class. He should¡¯ve suspected magic from the start and killed the guy without trying to interrogate him. But in the moment, he¡¯d been too worried about something to consider that. He¡¯d wanted to find where these people were based. Because if they¡¯d told the other members of their little gang where they¡¯d be searching tonight, and then never returned to base, those people would suddenly have a very good idea of exactly where Zeth¡¯s lair was located. He looked at the two corpses, looking more like piles of ash than human people. They certainly wouldn¡¯t be returning tonight. That would be an issue. All he¡¯d gotten before the guy died was a general direction to search in. But he was currently in no condition to fight¡ªhe doubted he¡¯d be able to stand, with the pain still coursing through his body. The Blood Magus Class was powerful, and Sanguine Renewal was amazing, but damn if he didn¡¯t wish he could just have a Skill that protected him from being wounded rather than something that¡¯d heal him the wound was made. For now, he needed to clean this place up and get these bodies out of sight. After that, he could think about how he¡¯d go about handling this situation in the future. Chapter 69 [Sanguine Renewal¡¯s Rank has increased to 4. +1 Skill Point. You have 14 Skill Points.] It was a difficult, painful, and loud process, but Zeth eventually got the two bodies of his enemies down into his base, dragging them over to the staircase and shoving them down the steps. As he kicked them down each step of the spiral stairs, holding onto his aching neck whose stab wound had still far from healed, he slowly approached the bottom. The bodies tumbled to the stone floor, echoing out loud thumps and splatters along the way. As he leaned against the wall and caught his breath, he heard another voice¡ªthough this one he thankfully recognized. ¡°Zeth?¡± Astrys called from the main room. He tried to shout back to her, ¡°In here,¡± but what came out of his mouth was a garbled cough, followed by an intense stinging in the inside of his throat. He winced, taking a shaky breath as the pain throbbed all through his windpipe. ¡°Zeth?¡± she called again. ¡°Was that you?¡± He heard footsteps approach the entryway, then watched as Astrys¡¯s eyes peered out from around a corner, clearly on-guard. When she saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs, she relaxed. ¡°Ah, good. I was afraid there may have been¡­¡± Her voice faded away as she glanced down at the floor, eyes landing on the two corpses he¡¯d kicked all the way down here. They¡¯d both gotten quite beaten up, tumbling down so many steps after being scorched to a crisp, so they were more messes of burnt flesh and leaking blood than anything else. ¡°...Were there intruders?¡± Zeth nodded. ¡°Why did you not tell me about them? I could have assisted in battle.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how to express ¡®They weren¡¯t aware this base was here, but had found evidence of it, and seemed to be about to leave and report the evidence they¡¯d found to the Blood Mage cabal, which would¡¯ve been very bad, so I was forced to act fast and attack them on my own before they left¡¯ without using his words, so instead he moved the hand clasped around his stabbed and seared neck wound and turned his head, showing it to her. Then, he pointed to his lips and mouthed, ¡®Can¡¯t talk.¡¯ sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her eyes widened as she saw his neck. Zeth hadn¡¯t seen it himself, but from how it felt, he assumed it looked pretty gnarly. ¡°I assume human skin is not supposed to look like that.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Are there any more enemies?¡± He shook his head again. But then, after thinking about it, he changed his mind and hesitantly nodded. There weren¡¯t any more bandits around here, but there a whole camp of them somewhere around the area, and they¡¯d come looking for their lost friends soon. She frowned. ¡°What do you mean? There are more? Where are they?¡± Zeth waved his hand, trying to gesture the idea of ¡®far away.¡¯ Astrys stared at him, confused. ¡°I do not understand.¡± He breathed out, feeling another sting as air passed through his windpipe. Not being able to speak was frustrating. Just then, he had an idea. He turned around to face the wall, and brought up a finger to draw his ritual chalk on it, dragging his finger to trace out words. It was difficult to write using the magical substance since he didn¡¯t have any practice doing anything with it other than drawing ritual circles, but he managed. After a moment, he stepped back to reveal the message to Astrys. She nodded as she read the words written on the wall. ¡°I see. Do you know where their camp is?¡± He raised his hand, wiggling it back and forth to communicate ¡®sort of.¡¯ Then he turned and pointed in the direction that the bandit he¡¯d interrogated had given him. ¡°And they are powerful enough for it to be an issue if they attack?¡± He turned and drew on the wall again. ¡°So this is time-sensitive, then? When will you be departing to attack?¡± He frowned, unsure of the answer, himself. With his current injury, not only was he in bad fighting shape, but Sanguine Renewal was running him low on blood. That meant he¡¯d be unable to heal if he was hurt again, but it also meant that he was generally feeling unwell. The Skill said it would only consume blood for as long as he had a ¡°healthy¡± amount, but ¡®healthy¡¯ didn¡¯t mean ¡®top shape.¡¯ Zeth was tired, lightheaded, and felt weak. Trying to do something like infiltrate a bandit encampment was unlikely to end well for him. At the bare minimum, he needed a full meal and a full night¡¯s sleep before he could consider doing something like that. Astrys seemed to sense the uncertainty on his face. ¡°Shall I find them for you?¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Once again, Zeth didn¡¯t immediately have an answer for her. Not because he didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be helpful to have her act while he was unable to, but because, unfortunately, he still didn¡¯t know what Astrys¡¯s actions would be. Letting her out into the forest, unattended by him, brought with it the possibility of disaster. Especially in his current state, unable to speak, he wasn¡¯t capable of doing what he normally did, giving her a long list of orders and restrictions to ensure she wasn¡¯t able to betray him. Not only would writing all of that out simply take too long, but he wasn¡¯t even sure if giving orders through writing like that would work in the first place. Essentially, he was faced with a single question. One which was simple in its wording, but extremely complex in its implications. Did he trust Astrys? So far, he¡¯d effectively been playing both sides. Empathetic and understanding during interpersonal conversation, but rigid and cautious when actually giving orders. Now, he wasn¡¯t able to do so. Either trust her and hope she didn¡¯t use the newfound freedom to go on a rampage through town, or don¡¯t, and hope these bandits were slow-moving and wouldn¡¯t do anything for another day or two. Either way, he was opening himself up to danger. Zeth breathed out. If Astrys was going to be staying here forever, he¡¯d have to trust her eventually. He¡¯d simply have to make a calculated gamble here and let her loose. If she didn¡¯t betray him at this moment, it would mean she was loyal, and could be trusted in the future. If she did¡­Well, he didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d do. But he would just have to hope she didn¡¯t. He nodded, then wrote on the wall, She seemed surprised by his response, but simply nodded and said, ¡°Understood. Now?¡± He nodded again. And with that, she turned and began walking up the stairs. Zeth tried to tell himself she¡¯d still be under the general restrictions he¡¯d laid out in the past, and wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt innocents even if she wanted to, but he¡¯d also thought that would be the case with the previous demon he¡¯d summoned, and that one had still managed to kill several dozen people. Astrys was strong, and she was smart. If she really wanted to, out in the woods with nobody watching her, she¡¯d be able to find some way to do it. But he just hoped something good would come from this. If she was able to find the encampment, then she could watch it and ensure no communication went out to the Blood Mages, and he could go with her the next day to take them out for good. For now, though, he just stumbled down the hallway and into the main room, where he collapsed face-down onto his makeshift bed, where Astrys had been sleeping before him. It still had a distinct smell¡ªvery unique from anything else he¡¯d been around in his realm, but still pleasant¡ªlike a mixture of old herbs and a hint of burnt metal. The new sensation calmed him, allowing him to focus on anything but the pain still radiating from his neck. Unfortunately, Sanguine Renewal¡¯s description made it work in a very particular way. It consumed one percent of his current amount of blood every second, meaning the amount it consumed would decrease over time. But the amount it healed depended on how much blood it consumed. So, while it would start off consuming a rather large amount of blood and healing him very quickly, as time passed and Zeth¡¯s internal blood reserves ran lower and lower, it would heal him more and more slowly. And so, while it had initially been swiftly patching up his neck wound, stopping the bleeding and closing up the hole, quickly changing the situation from certain death to significant inconvenience, it was now working much slower. And soon enough, he¡¯d likely run out of blood for it to safely consume, and it¡¯d stop working altogether until his body produced some more. His Endurance would help increase that rate of production, as would Self-Destruction, most likely, but it would still take a while. Zeth just hoped he¡¯d be alright by the time he woke up. [Sanguine Renewal¡¯s Rank has increased to 5. +1 Skill Point. You have 15 Skill Points.] [Sanguine Renewal¡¯s Rank has increased to 6. +1 Skill Point. You have 16 Skill Points.] Zeth awoke to two more Sanguine Renewal Rank-ups, on top of the one he¡¯d gotten earlier. It really seemed to improve quickly, though he supposed that was only natural, considering he was getting severely injured pretty often these days. Thankfully, his neck had healed by leaps and bounds in his sleep. He still felt some pain, but it was more of a dull ache rather than a stabbing reminder of his dwindling life. Though he still felt extremely lightheaded¡ªit was clear his body had been having its blood drained out of it constantly throughout the night, and still hadn¡¯t recovered. As he stirred, sitting up in his bed, he realized what had woken him up. There was a loud thumping coming from the entrance to his base¡ªlike a crowd of people were running down his staircase. He leapt to his feet the moment he recognized the sound, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, fighting to push the little blood that still remained in his veins through his body. Had the bandits found him? The Blood Mages? It certainly sounded like an entire army was rushing down, considering the cacophony of stomps that echoed out from the entrance. Zeth hurried to his storage room, which held just a couple more scraps of cloth with Hellfire Rituals painted on them. Definitely not enough to fight off what he was hearing, but it was something. Maybe he could threaten them and stall for¡­something? He had no idea what he¡¯d even be stalling for. Where was Astrys? Was she still watching the bandits? Or doing something else? Maybe he could hold them off and hope she¡¯d come soon. Or maybe he could use the traps already set up throughout the base to pick off his enemies one by one. He had to see what was going on. Stowing the hellfire circles in his pocket, he rushed off to the entrance hallway, preparing to use every defensive circle he had set up to fight off his enemies. He crept through the winding hallway, painted with hellfire circles all along the ground throughout it as he listened closely. The pounding was still echoing out, though noticeably less now. It seemed like most of the people had come down the stairs, with just a few left. Were they waiting for everyone to get down here before they attacked? Why didn¡¯t he hear anyone talking? Was this an ambush? Would they strike the moment they saw him? Nearing the final curve in his hallway before the entrance would be in sight, Zeth steeled his heart, getting ready for his final stand. They wouldn¡¯t kill him. They wouldn¡¯t kill him. He wouldn¡¯t let them kill him. With one last deep breath, he leapt out from around the corner, ready to attack. But what he saw wasn¡¯t an army ready to invade. It an army, though. Zeth stared at a pile of corpses¡ªat least a dozen, if not more, lying at the bottom of the staircase. They were all dressed in the same armor as the two bandits he¡¯d killed had been in, and all had massive gashes through their bodies, some of them having been torn fully in half, spilling intestines across the stone floor. As Zeth watched, one more body tumbled down the staircase, making the same thumping sound he¡¯d mistaken for footsteps earlier. Now that he knew what it was, he realized it sound very similar to the sound he had caused when he¡¯d pushed his own two enemies down the stairs the previous night. This, though, was on a whole different level of scale. Astrys calmly walked down the stairs, following after the torn-up corpse. She was utterly covered in blood, her red skin having been painted a brighter, more vibrant shade by her victims. Her hair was soaking, dripping droplets of blood and chunks of gore alike onto the wooden planks she stood on, as she nodded to Zeth. ¡°Good morning. I handled the bandit situation, as you asked.¡± Chapter 70 Blood pooled at Zeth¡¯s feet. He was standing before what was practically a mountain of corpses, all of them mangled and slashed apart, piled at the bottom of his stairs. Astrys stood behind the pile, kicking one last body into the rest, and nodded to him. ¡°That was all of them.¡± Zeth cleared his throat, feeling a sting in his neck as he did, but nothing even close to as bad as yesterday. He rasped out, ¡°You killed the whole camp?¡± ¡°Yes. After spending some time searching in the direction you pointed toward, I eventually found them. I investigated for some time from afar before determining I would be able to win in a fight if I had the element of surprise. I left their camp empty, and carried the corpses back here. You did want the corpses, correct? I assumed so, since you use blood to activate your magic.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± He hardly knew what to say. ¡°I mean, yeah, the extra blood will be great. Uh, do you mind carrying them out of the entryway and into the storage rooms? I have some barrels we can fill up to help preserve it for longer.¡± She nodded, leaning down and draping a few of them over her shoulders. Zeth grabbed one, feeling his weakened body threaten to buckle under the weight, and carried it through the hallway alongside her. ¡°So¡­¡± Zeth said as they walked, ¡°I never asked you to kill them.¡± Her eyes darted to look at him, face betraying no emotion, but Zeth had interacted with her enough to know the small movement was a sign of fear. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I don¡¯t mean that in a bad way,¡± he hurried to clarify. ¡°What you did was good. But, I guess I was just¡­surprised. All I asked of you was to track them down for me, but you risked your life to kill them all, going up against unknown enemies. Why?¡± She relaxed at his words, looking ahead as she thought for a moment. Eventually she answered him, ¡°I thought yesterday would be my last day alive. But when I awoke, I found myself still here. That surprised me. It meant my life would extend on, far longer than I originally assumed. In my past, most of my life had been decided for me. But now, even though you have the capability to order me to do anything you wish at any time, I feel far more free. Perhaps it is because you at least give me freedom from judgment. Perhaps it is because I have not yet grown to resent you. Or, maybe, it is because I finally have an achievable goal in front of me.¡± Zeth furrowed his brows. ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I must return home and free myself from my captors. Currently, I am far from capable of accomplishing such a thing. But I have time, and time will be on my side. I simply must wait until I have grown powerful enough from my time in this realm to be able to break from whatever restraints they have put me in, and to be able to kill whoever is guarding me.¡± She nodded to the corpses in her arms. ¡°I will not grow stronger without killing humans. And I will not have enough time to grow stronger if I do not earn your trust.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± he said. ¡°Well, that makes sense, I guess. Did you Level up?¡± ¡°I do not know.¡± ¡°What? How don¡¯t you know?¡± She looked at him. ¡°Ah, you must not be aware. Demons¡¯ bodies are separated from their souls in the process of summoning. This is why some choose to forego the practice¡ªit can be seen as an act of self-tarnishing. We are rejoined with our other half when the summoning is completed, but for as long as they are separate, we cannot be affected by changes to our Status. The soul is what is connected to the System; when it changes, it transmits those changes to the body. With that connection broken, I am essentially stuck at whatever my Status was right before the summoning took place until it ends. It is still possible to Level up or purchase new Skills, but I will not feel the effects of this until I rejoin with my soul.¡± Zeth hadn¡¯t heard any of this stuff about souls and connections before, so he was forced to wonder whether he was simply uneducated, or whether it was something only demons believed. Either way, regardless of the reasoning, he had no reason to doubt her words. ¡°I get you. So, you¡¯re just trying to stockpile enough Levels for when you get back to be able to overpower your captors. How long do you think that¡¯ll take?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I have no idea.¡± ¡°Well, for as long as that is, I guess we¡¯ll be long-term allies, then,¡± he said. And he actually meant it this time. Astrys had proven that she was capable of doing more than he¡¯d ordered her to while she was out in the woods, and yet she hadn¡¯t killed any innocents. She clearly had a vested interest in sticking around. As far as he was concerned, that was evidence enough that he could relax around her and start thinking of her as more than a monster. At least, as much as her fear aura would let him. They spent some time gathering up all the bodies and emptying them of their blood. Zeth was consciously aware he was working with real human corpses as he did, but he¡¯d grown rather desensitized to death at this point. Sure, the smell was bad, but the knowledge that these were living, breathing individuals didn¡¯t bother him. They were bandits¡ªthey used that gift of life to threaten innocents, steal their belongings, and kill the Classed ones for cheap Level-ups. If anything, it was poetic justice that Zeth was able to turn right around and use them for his own Levels. Once they were done, Zeth leaned against the wall of the storage room, giving his arms a break from all the weight he¡¯d been carrying. ¡°Alright. So, did you clean up your tracks when you dragged these bodies over to the base?¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I carried them, so there was no obvious trail left behind, and was sure to kick the dirt and leaves behind me as I went to disturb any trail of blood.¡± ¡°Hm. What about the camp? How did you leave it?¡± ¡°I left it as it was.¡± ¡°It would probably be best to go back there and make it look like some monster attacked. Get into their food and toss it around, leave claw marks on the walls, that sort of thing. Or, if it seems more plausible, you could grab all their valuables to try and make it look like another group of bandits came and raided them. And double-check the path you took to ensure there¡¯s no way anyone would be able to track it back here.¡± She nodded. ¡°Understood.¡± Shortly after, she departed to take care of business, leaving Zeth in the underground lair. They had lots of work to do, but with a stockpile of fresh blood, Zeth knew what his job was going to be. His next Empowerment Ritual was going to take an absolutely absurd twenty hours to complete, basically guaranteeing it would take him several days to do, meaning its upkeep time would also kick in, adding another hour and a half to the total drawing time. That felt extremely suboptimal. If there was ever a time to pick up Speedy Rites, it was now. Technically, he could also afford Ephemeral Bloodforge, which he anticipated being his next massive increase in power, but Speedy Rites would only cost twelve Skill Points, and with the amount of drawing he planned to do, he hoped to Rank it up rather quickly, so hopefully he¡¯d be able to recoup that cost soon in case something happened that needed his intervention. Today marked one day since the Inquisitors had come and jailed half the town, meaning he was finally free to visit Sophie and his mom. So then, it¡¯d likely be best to show up and check on them to ensure they were okay before choosing what to purchase. He was anxious about Sophie, sitting there, stuck behind bars while being interrogated by those creepy-looking officers. Right. That would be the plan, then. Check on his family first. If they were alright, then he could focus on growth and take Speedy Rites. If not¡­ Well, he could always find a use for some more blood. *** A man sat at a desk in a damp, dark room. The western wing of the underground lair had been burned down by that blasted rogue Blood Mage, and so some of the higher-up cabal members had decided to use the town¡¯s Water Mages to come to the main guild offices and treat the whole place with a Skill that prevented surfaces from burning. And, as though this had to be spelled out, the Water Mage Class¡¯s fire-preventing Skill operated through spraying things with water. So now his office was wet, the smell of mold beginning to grow tickled his nose in a distinctly unpleasant manner. And since this action was conducted by someone of higher authority than him, there was little he could do about it. He was a Blood Mage, and that gave him privileges, but he wasn¡¯t even close to holding an actual leadership position. He sat at his desk, tapping the surface impatiently. He hated having to do business in here, and not just because of the mold. Sitting up in town, he was forced to be around all the peasants as they went about their days, as though those glorified bags of fuel were his equals. But he had to stay up here for most meetings to make sure things looked official and to maintain the ¡®hiding in plain sight¡¯ disguise that the guild served as. So he sat here, waiting for the person he¡¯d be meeting with to arrive, having no actual work to do while he sat in the smelly office. Eventually, she entered¡ªa scrawny girl whose name he¡¯d forgotten. ¡°Sir,¡± she said, nodding as she spoke in a hushed tone. These offices were supposed to have magic all around them ensuring their privacy, but it was best to speak quietly just in case. ¡°Skip the formalities,¡± he said. ¡°Tell me, have you found the rogue Mage yet?¡± ¡°Well, I went through with the plan with the bandits like you asked. I sent out a request to all of the groups that we were in contact with, promising high pay if they could find any evidence.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t heard anything particularly promising. Most said they searched the area and found nothing. Some tried to claim they found what we were looking for, but we made our request deliberately vague to avoid false reports, so upon further questioning it turned out that none of them had any leads, either.¡± ¡°Current intelligence is that he¡¯s hiding in the woods. We¡¯re in contact with several different camps, some of them relatively large. They really couldn¡¯t find anything?¡± ¡°He may be in an area that isn¡¯t within their territory,¡± she said. ¡°I tried to provide enough financial compensation that they¡¯d be willing to spend a lot of time and effort searching, but it¡¯s possible that they just haven¡¯t found him yet.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need to find him . We need to find him . He burned down our offices. He killed the blasted mayor. You think we can keep him around longer?¡± ¡°No, sir.¡± ¡°You think I can go to my bosses and give them this complete lack of anything?¡± ¡°No, sir. Sorry, sir.¡± ¡°Then give me something. Any leads. A starting point.¡± She chewed her lip. ¡°...Well, there were a few groups of bandits we haven¡¯t heard back from.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that?¡± ¡°The monetary reward was rather high, and required regular updates from any who accepted. Some accepted, but haven¡¯t sent in updates. I would imagine they¡¯ve just given up and don¡¯t feel like letting us know, but there¡¯s a chance¡­¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°...That one of them find the rogue Mage, but were killed before they could tell us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect,¡± he said, a smile spreading across his face. ¡°I¡¯ll let the higher-ups know that we¡¯re working hard on the rogue Mage issue, and we¡¯ll be sending out more individuals to investigate the area soon. Because we be doing that.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Understood, sir. I¡¯ll begin putting together a team.¡± He nodded, leaning back in his chair. He hoped that blasted Mage would be out of his hair soon. Invasions of their lair, assassinations of their puppets¡­It was really getting rather annoying. But annoyances were ultimately temporary. Just like the stinking mold growing in his office, the Mage would be an unpleasant thing to deal with, but would soon be found and exterminated. He just hoped it wouldn¡¯t take too long. Chapter 71 After asking around a bit, Zeth found his way to the place the Inquisitors would be holding their witnesses. At first, he¡¯d assumed they¡¯d be using existing prisons in the guard precinct, or at least building onto them somehow, but it turned out that they¡¯d made an outpost on the outskirts of town. So he went out in the direction he was pointed in, expecting to see some tents set up. But what he found was something else entirely. Out away from the buildings and roads, Zeth saw a large stone structure cropping up from the ground, looking completely new. It was made of gray brick, walls towering high enough that it seemed to be several stories tall, and wide enough to be classified as a complex, not a simple building¡ªit was like an entire office building, except made of reinforced stone and with defensive ramparts at the top. How had they made this thing so quickly? Zeth worried that the real reason they¡¯d taken so many people prisoner under the guise of ¡°interrogating¡± them was actually because they just wanted to put them to work slaving away on this gigantic outpost, but even that couldn¡¯t have been the case. It was expertly constructed, not a single brick out of place; it couldn¡¯t have been made by a bunch of people who didn¡¯t know what they were doing. He continued approaching, curious about the nature of this strange structure. As he rounded one of its corners, he found the entrance, with a small crowd of angry people in front of it. Several were shouting out for the Inquisitors to let the people go, or to leave this place and never return. Upon seeing this, he stopped, not wanting to continue closer and get involved with the protest. If it became a riot, the last thing he¡¯d want would be for them to assume he was a part of it and attack him. But as he watched from afar, Zeth realized the Inquisitors were taking a different approach to dismantling the protest. As the people shouted in front of the shut door, it suddenly opened up, and one of the Inquisitors stepped out, wearing their signature plate armor and unsettling mask. The moment they came out of the building, they approached one of the protestors. Zeth couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying, but the protester argued with them for a bit before calming down relatively quickly as the other ones continued to shout pointedly at the new target. But the Inquisitor ignored the others, and after a moment, they finished speaking, turning and walking right back into the building, bringing the person along with them, and shut the door. Hesitantly, Zeth continued walking forward, curious about what was going on. The crowd seemed smaller than he would¡¯ve expected, considering what the Inquisitors had done¡ªwere they just pulling people in one by one to disperse everyone? As he drew closer, he watched as the door opened once again. Now that he could see better, he noticed that as the door opened, several angry people attempted to push the soldier aside and shove their way in, but the Inquisitor clearly had more than enough Stats to shrug off their attempts to move them. The door also seemed to only open up into a small room which had two more Inquisitors guarding it, standing by another door that would let you further in. They clearly didn¡¯t want people barging in here. The Inquisitor walked up to another person, and this time, Zeth could barely hear their unsettling voice as they spoke to a random protestor. ¡°Do you have someone inside you would like to see?¡± ¡°Let them go!¡± the person shouted. ¡°Would you like to see anyone?¡± ¡°Y-yes, my brother. He¡¯s got a family to provide for! Let him go, or I¡¯ll¡ª¡± ¡°You may enter.¡± With that, the Inquisitor turned and began walking into the building, and the person hesitantly followed behind, the door shutting behind them. Zeth wasn¡¯t sure why the Inquisitors were bringing visitors in like this, but it seemed to keep the crowd relatively in-check. Splitting them up as they gave the people not what they wanted, but at least a small form of it, kept the crowd small and the people placated. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It seemed like, if he wanted to enter, he¡¯d have to come in through that entrance, though, so he walked up and stood by the door, next to the rowdy protestors. He empathized with them, but doubted their shouts of anger would ever change the Inquisitors¡¯ minds. With their powerful Classes, high Levels, and government sponsorship, there was nothing a few backwater peasants like them could do to threaten them, and Inquisitors didn¡¯t seem like they were the type to listen to emotional reasoning. After a few minutes, one of them opened the door and came out again, eyes landing on Zeth, who was calmly leaning against the wall of the building. ¡°Do you have someone inside you would like to see?¡± ¡°Yeah, a few. Is that alright?¡± ¡°You may enter.¡± The Inquisitor turned around. Zeth shrugged, and followed them inside. In the smaller guarded room, the Inquisitors stopped him and searched him for hidden weapons, of course finding none, and asked him who he wanted to see. He told them his sister and mom, as well as Rosalie and Erza, and they didn¡¯t seem to object to him visiting so many people, simply nodded and turning to walk him through the building. Zeth examined the interior of the building as they walked, finding it to be made of the exact same perfectly square stone bricks as the exterior. The floor, walls, ceiling¡ªall of it was made of the same stuff. The identical hallways felt strange; walking through them was surreal. Or, no¡ªhe frowned. It wasn¡¯t just the fact that everything looked the same that made this place feel so off. It was subtle, but there was an energy flowing through the place, he realized. Like the entire building, down to the very stones it was made of, was charged with mana. Not enough for him to see, but on the hairs of his arms, he could barely feel it tickling the edges of his person. Before he could think about the weird feeling for too long, they arrived at their destination¡ªa simple room with a couple chairs and a table inside. ¡°Sit,¡± one of the Inquisitors said curtly. Zeth still felt a little unsettled by these people¡¯s appearances and general demeanor, but sat at the table as he was told, and they left him in the room, with one other staying inside to silently stand guard. After a few minutes, Zeth heard the rattling of chains, and when he looked to the door, watched it open, with his mom walking through. She wore her own clothes, but with light shackles placed around her wrists and ankles. The moment her eyes landed on him, her expression lit up, and she ran forward as quickly as she could with the restraints placed on her. ¡°Oh, Zeth!¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m so glad to see you.¡± She came close to embrace him, but one of the Inquisitors standing by the door watching them loudly said, ¡°No physical contact. Sit in the chair.¡± She stopped, hesitantly complying and sitting in the chair opposite Zeth at the table. ¡°How are you?¡± Zeth asked. ¡°How are they treating you?¡± She sighed. ¡°Well, I certainly wish I was back home, but I suppose they¡¯re treating us like people. I get fed, and I keep up with Sophie when I see her to make sure she¡¯s getting fed, too. But it¡¯s been really hectic so far, so I haven¡¯t seen her much.¡± ¡°But you seen her?¡± ¡°Yes, we all eat together in a common cafeteria, so I¡¯ve made sure to find her each time we¡¯re together there. There have been some other times they let us go outside to get some sun, and I thought everyone was given the opportunity, but couldn¡¯t find her then. But she¡¯s okay.¡± He let out a breath he¡¯d been holding in ever since he watched the Inquisitors take them away. ¡°Good. So they¡¯ve been giving you everything you need?¡± She nodded. ¡°We all get private cells, and they even let us put in a request for them to go to our houses and retrieve some clothes from our rooms so we have something to wear. I really wish they¡¯d just let us go home, but it¡¯s at least better than prison, which was what I was expecting. But speaking of home, how¡¯s the farm doing? Have you been taking care of it?¡± Zeth pursed his lips. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Well, could you start? I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll be until I get back home, and the crops might die if it takes too long without anyone tending to them.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take care of an entire field of crops,¡± Zeth said. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± he interrupted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this isn¡¯t something you can argue with me about. I wish you were able to take care of it, but I can¡¯t do the work in your stead. I¡¯m busy, and I know you didn¡¯t sign up to be arrested, but I didn¡¯t sign up to do all that labor.¡± She looked at him for a moment. ¡°Zeth, this is our farm. It¡¯s what my parents handed down to me. They trusted me to take care of it, and I promised I would as my mother lay dying. You can¡¯t let her wish die like that. Please.¡± He bit the inside of his mouth. As much as he disagreed with her, Zeth never wanted to hurt his mom. She just cared about something he couldn¡¯t bring himself to care about, himself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Could you at least get someone else to look after it? Those mercenaries I hired to protect us, they could¡ª¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he said, ¡°wait, where were they when you got arrested?¡± ¡°...They backed off when they saw the Inquisitors. Said they didn¡¯t want to stop official business.¡± ¡°Okay, yeah, those guys have done nothing ever since you started paying them. If they wanna shirk their protection duties, they can do the farmwork instead.¡± ¡°You really should be more understanding,¡± she said. ¡°We couldn¡¯t have expected them to try and stop the Inquisitors.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Yeah, well, I don¡¯t really care. They¡¯re still on payroll. So they¡¯ll be in charge of the farm until you get back. How¡¯s that sound?¡± She sighed. ¡°I suppose, as long as you make sure they take care of the crops right. I taught you how, and you were always good at it, so just make sure you watch them. Oh, and if they¡¯re going to be distracted, you make sure you stay safe, alright?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°No, I mean it. Out there, all alone¡­You know, bandits and Wicked thralls target people who are by themselves far more often. So don¡¯t let anyone know you¡¯re in the house by yourself ever, okay? And if you ever see someone trying to hurt you, you just turn and run.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious. They¡¯ve got combat Classes¡ªyou won¡¯t ever beat them. If you see strange shadows on the fields, or see a group of people coming up to the door, don¡¯t even bother asking who they are and letting them know there¡¯s someone inside. Just jump out the window and run for town.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve got it handled.¡± She gave him a look. ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like you¡¯re taking my words seriously.¡± ¡°Mom, I promise. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± There was a relatively strict time limit on visitations, so pretty soon, Zeth¡¯s mom had to leave. But as they took her back to her cell, they brought the next person in, and Zeth¡¯s heart truly rested when he saw Sophie sit at the table opposite to him. Even in the stressful time, he felt a smile spread across his face as she climbed into the chair, feet dangling above the stone floor. ¡°Have you been okay?¡± he asked her. She nodded. ¡°The bed isn¡¯t too comfortable, and the food isn¡¯t as good as mom¡¯s, but it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°And the Inquisitors have been nice?¡± ¡°They¡¯re really weird and creepy,¡± she said loudly, as though not caring one bit that there were several Inquisitors in the room listening to her. But none of them reacted. She continued, ¡°They brought me into a room like this one and asked me about that time I saw the Blood Mage fight that monster and how he used that really cool fire power and stuff, but that was all. I only saw the fire power once and never saw it again, even though I wanted to see it again, so I couldn¡¯t say much to them.¡± Zeth stared at her, fighting back a smile as she sent him the most blatant secret message in all existence. But he doubted the Inquisitors would take her words as anything other than a kid being weird, especially if they¡¯d interacted with her already and she was like this with them, too¡ªwhich he had no doubt she had been. ¡°Alright. Did they say when you¡¯d be getting out?¡± ¡°No. I keep asking them questions, but they never answer me. Watch.¡± She leaned over to stare at the unmoving Inquisitors by the door and shouted, ¡°Hey! Mister! What¡¯s your name?¡± They didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Can you do any magic?¡± Nothing. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one of my pieces of meat from dinner tonight if you show me cool magic!¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Zeth said, ¡°I think they¡¯re just focused on the Blood Mage stuff right now.¡± ¡°Well, they aren¡¯t fun.¡± ¡°Have you been able to make any friends, though? Like, do they just have you sitting in your room all day, or what? Mom said nobody had any roommates, which I guess is good, but do you get lonely?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really talk to anyone but mom. Sometimes they let us outside to talk to each other, but that sounds boring, so I don¡¯t go.¡± ¡°What do you do instead?¡± ¡°I just sit in my room.¡± ¡°What? Alone? What do you do?¡± She shrugged, looking away. ¡°I dunno. I just¡­sit around, I guess.¡± Zeth stared at her. He¡¯d known her long enough to tell when she was lying. She clearly wasn¡¯t telling him something here, but couldn¡¯t ask her directly in case she was trying to keep it hidden from the Inquisitors. ¡°Huh. Well, alright.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± she said. ¡°I actually saw that guy you work for, that Erza guy, earlier at breakfast! He was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria, but maybe he could teach me something about magic! Do you think he¡¯ll teach me now that he doesn¡¯t have anything else to do?¡± ¡°Huh. Actually, he might. Couldn¡¯t hurt to ask. I¡¯m actually supposed to talk to him after you, so I could put in a word for you. He¡¯ll probably try to get some sort of favor out of me, but maybe I could¡ª¡± ¡°Do it! Tell him he should teach me all the stuff he knows. I promise I¡¯ll make it up to you, even if he charges you a million gold I¡¯ll go and get a job and get the money for you once I become a mage!¡± Zeth chuckled. ¡°If there¡¯s anyone who can earn a million gold by doing magic for people, I bet it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Yeah! So go tell him to teach me, right now!¡± ¡°You sure? I think we still have some visiting time left, so we can keep talking for a bit if you¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. You should talk to him instead.¡± Once again, Zeth got the sense Sophie was hiding something, and was maybe even doing what she could to make it obvious to him that she was doing so while keeping it a secret from the Inquisitors, but he still didn¡¯t know what it was. Either way, it seemed like she just wanted to get back to her cell, so he nodded. ¡°Alright, sure. But just, uh, be careful, y¡¯know? Don¡¯t do anything that would make the Inquisitors mad.¡± She nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± After Sophie, the Inquisitors brought in Erza. ¡°Hey there,¡± Zeth said. ¡°I¡¯m not paying you for this time,¡± he replied. ¡°What? I got you out of that stuffy cell. Surely this counts as working hours for me. I think I deserve my wages.¡± He stared at him. ¡°How have the interrogations gone?¡± Zeth asked, figuring Erza wasn¡¯t in the mood for banter. ¡°I told them what I know, which isn¡¯t much. Obviously not every tiny detail¡ªit¡¯s not like they asked for every single person I¡¯ve ever suspected¡ªbut all the important info.¡± Zeth nodded, taking that to mean Erza hadn¡¯t told the Inquisitors he had once suspected him. ¡°Alright, good. Glad they haven¡¯t tried beating anything out of people yet.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I doubt that¡¯s why they¡¯re keeping us. Seems like it¡¯s a combination of extreme witness protection and so they can easily grab us if they ever need to know more about the original statements we made. Plus, I guess if anyone in here happens to be the Blood Mage, they¡¯ll soon realize it, since all the incidents will suddenly stop for as long as the Blood Mage is in captivity. That¡¯d make their job a lot easier.¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± Zeth said, wondering if it was worth intentionally laying low for as long as possible to try and throw the Inquisitors off. Though, maybe that ship had sailed now that he¡¯d wiped out an entire bandit camp. ¡°Uh, a little off-topic, but my little sister¡¯s in here, and she was wondering if¡ª¡± ¡°They imprisoned a child?¡± he interrupted. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Yeah. She was a witness to the fleshtaker attack, so they took her and my mom in for questioning.¡± ¡°Why not you too?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t there at the time.¡± Erza eyed Zeth with just about as much suspicion as a look could convey. ¡°Anyway,¡± Zeth said, pointedly ignoring the man¡¯s gaze, ¡°you remember how she asked about learning magic the other day, right?¡± Erza nodded. ¡°She wants to learn from me now that I have nothing better to do?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°No.¡± Zeth deflated. ¡°C¡¯mon, she¡¯d really appreciate it. I would too. And she¡¯s a really easy student, I swear. She gobbles up information like nothing else.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s out of the question. I suppose you wouldn¡¯t know this, being as uneducated as you are, but you have to be careful about who you impart knowledge on. It¡¯s not about how difficult it would be to teach her. In fact, if she¡¯s as good a learner as you say, it would only make me more hesitant to do so. Knowledge is valuable, but it¡¯s only as valuable as it is scarce. For my education to remain valuable, I must protect it. And not only would it mean a loss of commodity for me, it would also be plainly irresponsible. Magic is a weapon; not everyone should own it. So, no, I will not teach her. Besides, if she really wants to learn, it should be plenty easy in a place like this.¡± Zeth frowned. ¡°A place like this? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Hm? You haven¡¯t realized? It¡¯s made out of mana. Likely the work of a Creation Mage¡ªthey can conjure up materials to build with out of mana itself, and as long as they maintain the materials they create on a daily basis, they can effectively create an entire building in a single day, and keep it standing for as long as they need to.¡± Zeth realized why this place felt so mana-rich. The stones he was standing on mana. He¡¯d heard of Creation Mages in passing before, but hadn¡¯t realized that was how their magic functioned. ¡°Huh. So you think she could learn by studying the building materials?¡± ¡°Quite frankly, I don¡¯t. If she¡¯s as inexperienced as you say, learning magic simply by sitting around in a building that¡¯s technically made from mana would be just as ridiculous as learning to be an expert warrior by sitting next to a sword for long enough. But if she really wants to learn, maybe she¡¯ll be able to find a way to unlock one of the basic magic Skills by messing around with the mana that permeates the air in here.¡± Just as Zeth was about to respond, he suddenly heard one of the Inquisitors call out from behind him, ¡°Citizens, leave the room at once.¡± He glanced behind himself, worried he¡¯d somehow done something wrong, but the Inquisitors didn¡¯t look hostile. Well, it was impossible to really tell anything about them from their appearances, but they hadn¡¯t drawn their weapons. Instead they just stood there, staring at him and Erza. Zeth hesitantly stood. ¡°I thought I had more time with him. And there was someone else I wanted to visit after him, too.¡± ¡°You may come back tomorrow, then.¡± ¡°...Can you at least tell me why I have to leave?¡± ¡°Come with me. I will guide you out of the building.¡± The Inquisitor turned and began walking away, leaving the others in the room to go and grab Erza and walk him back to his cell. Not wanting to get in trouble, Zeth hurried to catch up to the one that was supposed to lead him out. As he walked alongside the Inquisitor, he looked over at them. ¡°Hey, seriously. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, did I?¡± They just kept walking. ¡°Like, if I asked to visit too many people, you could¡¯ve just told me up front I could only see three, not four. No reason to do this whole¡ª¡± They looked over at him, mask stuck in a neutral face, but body language signifying slight annoyance. ¡°There is a guest who has arrived for questioning. All interrogation rooms were taken up by visitors. We needed room. As such, we have determined the questioning of that guest to be more important than your visitation, and removed you to make space. Come back tomorrow.¡± Zeth sighed. ¡°Alright. Fine, I guess.¡± As they walked through the tight hallways, Zeth saw another Inquisitor walking toward him with a man walking behind them, dressed in familiar garb¡ªit was someone from Otis and Roul¡¯s, wearing the guild uniform. Though he didn¡¯t recognize this man. From his skinnier build, Zeth had to assume the guy was an office worker, not a miner. He almost assumed the guy must¡¯ve been with the cabal just from the fact that he worked in the offices, but stopped himself. He didn¡¯t actually know how much of the guild had been genuinely subsumed by the Blood Mages. It could¡¯ve just been that only the higher leadership was with the cabal, and the other ninety percent was totally clueless as to who they were working for, like he had once been. The Inquisitor Zeth was walking with saw the other two heading the opposite way down the same hallway they were in, and turned to flatten themself against the wall. Zeth realized why the Inquisitor was doing this a little too late, as in the skinny hallway, there wasn¡¯t enough room for the pair of people to pass, and they came to a stop right in front of him. ¡°Excuse you,¡± the guild member said in an annoyed tone. ¡°Uh, right,¡± Zeth said, turning to let them squeeze past. ¡°Apologize.¡± Zeth stared at whoever this guy was who worked for the guild. He glanced at the man¡¯s chest, seeing a name tag that read ¡®Clin,¡¯ but not recognizing the name. ¡°Seriously? I moved. You can pass by.¡± ¡°Do not delay,¡± the Inquisitor who was accompanying the guild member said, and continued walking. He scoffed, throwing one more annoyed glance at Zeth, and walked by to catch up with the Inquisitor. Zeth had no idea what that was about. Afterward, the Inquisitor finished leading him out of the building, unceremoniously dumping Zeth back outside, where he continued to hear the shouts of the mob. He¡¯d been interrupted early, but he¡¯d at least figured out that the Inquisitors weren¡¯t immediately a threat to the safety of his family. Which meant he was safe to purchase Speedy Rites, and get to work Leveling up. So that was exactly what he¡¯d do. Chapter 72 Clin still quite miffed by the treatment he¡¯d been given by these Inquisitors. He¡¯d been busy with work in the office, trying to ensure everything with the bandits went well, when they burst into the building and started asking around for anyone in charge they could interrogate. Somehow, he had been chosen, and so they picked him up right there and began dragging him back to their outpost outside of town. He¡¯d already been annoyed, and then he had to go through those crowds of dirty peasants and pass by that irritating man in the hallway who refused to move out of his way¡ªit was just horrible treatment. So, when they sat him down at a table in the middle of some stone room, he was just eager to get out of there as soon as possible. He was forced to wonder what they were taking him in for, though. He certainly hoped they didn¡¯t suspect anything, but these Inquisitors were inherently a wildcard. All he hoped was that they¡¯d take things slowly over the next few days until he was able to find the location of the Blood Mage. Just saying ¡®I think he might be in the forest¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be enough¡ªhe needed to have a specific location before he could try siccing them on him. Their operatives would need to refine their search a little bit more and find some more evidence first. Presumably, though, this would just be a standard questioning. The guild was an important entity in this town, so they probably wanted employee information and that sort of thing. He¡¯d just hand all that stuff over and be on his way, then. They¡¯d only been here for a day at this point, so surely there was no way they¡¯d do anything too rash, right? An Inquisitor marched through the door and walked over to the chair opposite to Clin, sitting down as the loud clanking of their armor filled the room. They had a green cloth wrapped around their shoulders, whatever that meant. ¡°What is your position within the Otis and Roul¡¯s Mining Guild?¡± He blinked. ¡°Um, I am an overseer of general supply management.¡± The Inquisitor stared at him for a moment. ¡°Do you have knowledge of the office building you work in?¡± ¡°What? Yes, of course I do.¡± ¡°Have you seen any ritual circles painted on the floors there?¡± Clin froze. ¡°Particularly in the storage closets.¡± ¡°Um, no,¡± he said nervously. How had they figured out so quickly? ¡°D-do you suspect there to be a Blood Mage in the building?¡± ¡°Have you seen evidence of such a thing? Have any of your coworkers or employees acted strangely around you?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know,¡± he said, trying to buy time to think. Where could they have heard such a thing? What did they know? What could he lie about? ¡°Give me time to think. You¡¯re asking so fast, and I just have to consider everything before saying anything about anyone, you know?¡± The Inquisitor looked back at the other two that were standing by the door, then back at Clin. ¡°We will be investigating your office building. Come with us and ensure there are no problems. You can think on the way.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With that, they stood and began walking out of the room. ¡°W-wait!¡± Clin said as they left. They were doing The cabal had prepared for the Inquisitors to try and investigate near Garon¡¯s destroyed house, and for them to try looking for tunnels underground, but they had no idea these people would try searching the offices. Why would they suspect such a thing? The Inquisitors didn¡¯t wait, though. They simply continued walking without him. He stood and hurried to catch up. There were countermeasures to ensure wanderers didn¡¯t find any of the ritual circles they had in the guild offices, of course, but those were mostly for tricking random employees who went where they didn¡¯t belong. He had no idea what methods these Inquisitors might have to bypass such things, but they likely would have some way to do it. If they searched an area before someone could erase it, it¡¯d be over for him. Him and the rest of the cabal members in this town. It was an extended process, but Inquisitors could read a person¡¯s entire Status as long as they expended the resources to do so. It wouldn¡¯t be realistic to do it to the entire town, but checking everyone in the guild offices? That was more possible. The only hope would be to escape capture so they couldn¡¯t do it to you, but Clin was already in their hands. And his Status was far from clean. He wracked his brain, trying to come up with a solution as they silently walked out of the building and over to the road, heading straight for the offices. It was this Inquisitor with the green cape around their shoulders, as well as two others. He had to assume, if this was all they were bringing, that they didn¡¯t suspect the guild much¡ªjust enough for a cursory check. So maybe¡­ ¡°You know,¡± Clin said as they walked, ¡°now that I think about it some more, I think you may be right.¡± The one in green looked at him. ¡°There may be some sort of Blood Mage cabal operating out of the guild. But not out of the offices¡ªout of the mines. I¡¯ve seen those miners acting strangely for a while now, and at first I just thought it was nothing, but now that you mention this Blood Mage business, I¡¯m beginning to think it might be something else.¡± ??????????????¨ºS ¡°Strange how?¡± ¡°Um, well, there¡¯s been this mineshaft that¡¯s been closed for a long time now due to cave-in threats. And these miners, it was very often that some of them would go down there to check on the status of the cave-in, but would never return. And so, I think there¡¯s a cabal of miners operating out of their tunnels that¡¯s preying on their own coworkers. How else would so many people disappear down there without explanation?¡± ¡°Do you have evidence of this happening?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I do. It¡¯s actually in the offices. Lots of paperwork documenting these people disappearing. So I feel that you should search the tunnels before the office, to ensure they don¡¯t have time to escape.¡± ¡°Show us this evidence.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said. The tunnels were clean now, so they wouldn¡¯t find anything down there. And hopefully, after walking into the offices with these Inquisitors, everyone would begin erasing the ritual circles, and his stalling tactic of showing them all of this paperwork would give them enough time to ensure the office was clean, too. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Clin had been forced to think fast, so he hadn¡¯t fully thought over what the consequences of the Inquisitors searching the mine might be, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything bad happening off the top of his head. Chances were, it¡¯d just be yet another thing to waste their effort and give the cabal more time to find where the rogue Blood Mage was so they could give away his location. They were coming for him. There was no way he¡¯d avoid detection for long. *** Upon returning to his base, Zeth sat down and prepared to start on his Empowerment Ritual. He doubted he¡¯d be able to get the twenty hour requirement done any time soon, but he had a way to avoid that. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he reached inward and purchased his Skill. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Speedy Rites. -12 Skill Points. You have 4 Skill Points.] Instantly, the requirements for his Skills shifted downward. It was only a bit since the Skill was still Rank 0, but just from the sum of Dexterity he currently had, the twenty hour requirement had one full hour shaved off. But the real discount would come as he drew his circles. And that would come after he started drawing. So, he got to work. It only took a matter of minutes before Zeth received his first notification. And, minutes later, another. [Speedy Rites¡¯s Rank has increased two times to 2. +2 Skill Points. You have 6 Skill Points.] From those two Ranks, Empowerment Ritual¡¯s required time shot down to just around seventeen hours. Damn, this felt good. Within an hour, another notification; Speedy Rites was up to Rank 3 now, and he already had enough Skill Points to purchase Friend of the Unhallowed. It was Ranking up really quickly¡ªmaybe because it was such a low-Level Skill and he was essentially overqualified for it now? Hellfire Ritual was approaching thirty-five minutes now, and Demonic Covenant was at three hours. And, of course, Empowerment Ritual was all the way down to sixteen and a half hours, that old twenty hour requirement feeling like dust in the wind at this point. As he drew, excitedly awaiting another notification, Zeth heard the trapdoor leading into the base open and close, and footsteps echo out from the wooden stairs. ¡°I have returned,¡± Astrys called out as Zeth listened to her descend. ¡°Are you here?¡± ¡°In here,¡± Zeth called back, continuing to focus on his drawing efforts. She walked into the main room, seeing the beginnings of the six-foot ritual circle scrawled out across the stone floor. ¡°I have ensured there was no evidence left behind in the forest.¡± ¡°Great,¡± he said. ¡°If you aren¡¯t too tired, do you mind lowering the floor of the base by around a foot or so? Apparently your fear aura is strong enough to reach out into the surface, if just barely¡ªthat¡¯s what let the bandits know we were here in the first place.¡± ¡°I see. Yes, I will do so. Would you like for me to wait until after you are done with your spellcasting?¡± ¡°Nah, just work around me, and just don¡¯t do this specific circle of floor until I¡¯m finished," he said. ¡°I don¡¯t mind the company.¡± She nodded, and got to work, moving over to one corner of the room and beginning to carve away at the stone with her claws. As she did so, Zeth got yet another notification informing him that Speedy Rites had Ranked up to four. ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± he muttered, smile plastered across his face. Astrys looked at him strangely. ¡°Have you received fortunate news?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, no, nothing like that. I just got a new Skill recently to help with ritual drawing, and it¡¯s Ranking up really quickly.¡± ¡°I see. I did not realize such a thing would excite you so much.¡± ¡°Hm? Why not?¡± ¡°You seem to be relatively stoic, like I am. So finding enjoyment from something as common as a Skill Ranking up¡­¡± she smiled slightly. ¡°It feels¡­interesting. I did not realize you had such a side.¡± ¡°¡®Interesting?¡¯ What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps¡­it is cute.¡± Zeth chuckled. ¡°I guess I see what you mean. My younger sister is adorable when she gets excited about something. Wouldn¡¯t have thought to compare myself to a little girl, though.¡± ¡°R-right. I apologize if I said something offensive.¡± ¡°No, no, nothing like that. Though, I think you might have the wrong impression of me. I wouldn¡¯t call myself ¡®stoic¡¯ at all. I normally try to keep how I feel from showing on my face or in my voice, but really, I¡¯m a pretty emotional person.¡± ¡°Are you? Why would you hide such a thing?¡± ¡°Well, to tell the truth, I had some pretty bad anger issues as a kid. Any time I felt upset, I¡¯d let everyone around know it. I¡¯d yell, scream, whatever it took to ensure that whoever made me angry was miserable. Got into fights all the time, and honestly, I lost most of them. And the ones I won I¡¯m not too proud of. It wasn¡¯t good. But around the time my younger sister was born, I realized I was just hurting myself for no reason. I mean, I distinctly remember going through my memory and trying to find a single time in my life that getting angry actually helped me. Couldn¡¯t find one. So, from that point on, I just did my best to avoid acting on my emotions. Suppress it, ignore it, push it away, whatever. And, I mean, I was just a kid, so it took a while, but eventually it just became my first instinct upon feeling anything¡ªkeep it from influencing your actions.¡± ¡°That is¡­remarkably mature, for a child.¡± Zeth shrugged. ¡°Maybe. But, like I said, it¡¯s not like I just don¡¯t feel anything anymore. Really, I¡¯d still consider myself to be pretty intense, emotionally. I just don¡¯t normally show it unless I¡¯m alone.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Astrys looked at him for a moment. ¡°I do not know if such a thing is particularly healthy.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Demon society is highly based on emotion. Because of our auras of fear, a large part of something like a negotiation involves attempting to be as aggressive as possible in order to intimidate the other person into complying with your demands. I find doing so to be cathartic, in a way. Even if I personally feel that I am a more subdued individual, I enjoy negotiating. I enjoy getting angry, even if it is mostly an act, and saying anything I possibly can to strike fear into another. It allows for a release that nothing else can bring. Perhaps that is why I stayed in the military for longer than most of my other attempts for prestige¡ªit involved many discussions with other leaders, subordinates and superiors alike. There was quite a bit of room for me to speak my mind.¡± Zeth chuckled. ¡°Having someone as scary as you screaming in my face? Your poor soldiers.¡± She shook her head. ¡°All demons understand that this is simply how society works. Holding a grudge or getting upset over something said during negotiation would be the height of silliness.¡± He frowned, remembering the abrasive attitudes of all the other demons he¡¯d summoned. Had they just been conducting completely normal negotiations, from their perspective? ¡°Why were you so nice when you were summoned, though?¡± ¡°Nice? I was being pathetic,¡± she said. ¡°I was not negotiating with you, I was begging. There would be no reason to strike fear into your heart; I was not making a request to be your equal. It was surprising when you did not respond to my posturing with harshness like any other demon would. But, after spending some time here, I see that humans simply do not use fear like we do.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°Regardless, I suppose my point is¡­Feel free to express yourself around me. You said you do so when you are alone, yes? Then pretend I am not here. I would like to get to know you better¡ªnot your facade.¡± Zeth looked at her for a moment, feeling the inexplicable urge to take her up on her offer. For whatever reason, he genuinely felt like he could trust her. ¡°Alright, sure.¡± As he said that, he got another notification. Yet another Rank-up for Speedy Rites. Absolutely absurd. With a smile, he refocused himself on drawing, feeling an infectious good mood spreading through his chest. His next Level-up would come far sooner than he¡¯d first assumed, it seemed. Chapter 73 As the hours stretched on, Speedy Rites Ranked up to five, and then six, before its rate of growth finally seemed like it was beginning to slow down. By that point, Empowerment Ritual¡¯s requirement was at fourteen hours¡ªjust about what it was when he was only Level And Hellfire Ritual was now at only half an hour, with Demonic Covenant¡¯s being around two and a half. All-in-all, he was very glad to have finally purchased this Skill.After thinking on it some more, Zeth felt like he may have figured out why Speedy Rites had Ranked up so quickly compared to his other Skills. Judging from what he¡¯d figured out earlier, how Skills like Ritual Nexus Mastery and Vile Focus had Ranked up from him repairing mana fields of his circles as well as just from drawing them, it seemed like they really just improved from him working with mana¡ªand it was likely Speedy Rites was the same. So then, if the Skill had been unlocked at Level four, it would expect him to be working with Level four amounts of the stuff. But instead, not only did Zeth have a massively higher Shaping Stat, he also already had another Skill that reduced his drawing times in Vile Focus, which likely sped up his Rank progress even more. By now, it¡¯d been a while since Speedy Rites had improved to Rank six, so it seemed like it might start following a more normal trajectory for the latter half of its Ranks, which supported the theory; by now, the Skill would expect him to be stronger, and so it would expect him to be working on these larger, more powerful rituals. Regardless, the ritual was nearing completion. Astrys had worked alongside Zeth the whole time, carving away to lower the floor so her aura of fear wouldn¡¯t clip people walking above them anymore. They made some idle conversation as they both did their jobs, and Zeth really felt like he was growing more comfortable having her around now. It was nice, really, having someone to talk to instead of always just sinking into Vile Focus¡¯s unconscious work mode to skip the time. As he was drawing up the last lines of his circle, he thought of something, turning to her and asking, ¡°So, you said you covered your tracks to ensure nobody would be able to trace the destroyed bandit camp back here, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°What exactly did you do?¡± ¡°Other than literally covering any tracks I inadvertently left behind, I primarily did what you suggested, and ransacked their base to make the destruction look as if it were conducted by a monster. Your idea to pay particular attention to their food supplies was a good one, so I broke their containers open and removed a large portion of their food from the area.¡± ¡°Oh, good.¡± Then he frowned. ¡°Wait, you ¡®removed¡¯ it? Where¡¯d you put it?¡± ¡°Some I scattered around the area. But if I left it all there, it would become obvious to a careful observer that there was no animal here, since nothing had been eaten. So I took the rest here. I didn¡¯t know where you wanted it, so I left it all in the entryway.¡± ¡°Alright. Yeah, we can just store it here, then. I¡¯ve been having to buy food with my wages, but with Erza in prison that might become less feasible to do in the future. Having a stockpile would be good.¡± As he spoke, Zeth drew the last of the lines of his ritual, feeling it finally complete. With it done, he went and grabbed the newly-acquired blood from his storage and poured it in, watching the completion percentage slowly climb upward. The blood requirement was the one Zeth hadn¡¯t yet gotten any sort of reduction Skill for, and he was really feeling it. But, for as long as he had enemies, he had sources to draw from. After quite the volume of bandit blood was poured in, he felt the notifications roll in. [Otherworldly Excellence¡¯s Rank has increased to 7. +5 Dexterity. You have 65 Dexterity. +1 Skill Point. You have 11 Skill Points.] [Blood Magus¡¯s Level has increased to 13. +3 Endurance. Your Endurance is 45. +5 Dexterity. Your Dexterity is 70. +1 Awareness. Your Awareness is 13. +2 Poise. Your Poise is 26. +7 Shaping. Your Shaping is 91. +3 Skill Points. You have 14 Skill Points.] [Requirement fulfilled: Blood Magus Level 13. You have unlocked Blood Magus Skill: Reinforcement Ritual.] With the ritual complete, Zeth eagerly looked over the newly-unlocked Skill. [Reinforcement Ritual - Cost: 14 Skill Points Uses a ritual circle to magically strengthen the surface it is drawn on, which requires a sacrifice each day to maintain. The object¡¯s material hardness is increased by 25% per Rank in this Skill, plus an additional 1% per point you have in the Shaping stat. Strength of sacrifice required: Depends on size of object being strengthened, once per day Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Required ritual circle diameter: Depends on size of object being strengthened Time required to draw: Depends on size of object being strengthened Upkeep time required each day: Depends on size of object being strengthened] A far more defensive option, it seemed. Chances were, the Blood Mage version of this was what was used in those tunnels Zeth had seen, making the wooden walls nigh-impenetrable even to Astrys. Whoever drew those must¡¯ve either had a very high Shaping Stat, or had evolved this Skill a number of times to bring its Rank upward¡ªat least, presuming their version of it worked the same way his did. The Skill certainly looked good. With his Shaping having just risen above ninety, at Rank ten, it would give a three hundred and fifty percent boost to the resilience of whatever option he wanted. If he wanted a door his enemies couldn¡¯t knock down, this would be a pretty good way to make one. And he imagined there would be all kinds of other creative applications of an ability as broad as this. Unfortunately, it was pretty vague in its requirements, with every one simply stating they depended on the size of the object the circle was painted onto. So, a smaller object would need less while a larger one needed more, but he didn¡¯t actually get to know what those ¡®less¡¯ and ¡®more¡¯ figures would be. At least for now, Zeth didn¡¯t think this would disrupt his plans for the next Skills he wanted to buy, at least immediately. Experimentation would be good, but he wanted a few others first¡ªprimarily the combination of Vascular Hypertension and Ephemeral Bloodforge. Those two put together would greatly assist his versatility in combat, finally allowing him to fight effectively even after exhausting all of the rituals he might have brought with him into any given conflict. Still, though¡ªhe was curious about what Reinforcement Ritual could do. Taking it just for the sake of experimentation was tempting. For now, however, there wasn¡¯t much time left in the day, so continuing to work wouldn¡¯t bring much benefit. ¡°Hey,¡± he said to Astrys, ¡°you said there was some food you left in the entrance?¡± She nodded. ¡°Would you like to see?¡± They walked over through the hallway together, over to the staircase, and upon arriving, Zeth realized he had greatly underestimated the amount of food Astrys had taken. There was a practical mountain of smoked meat, dried fruits, loaves of bread, jars of pickled eggs and vegetables¡ªthere were even several foods that looked like they¡¯d been frozen through magic coldboxes. It was a completely absurd stockpile of preserved foods. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Zeth said. ¡°You found of this in their base?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she replied. ¡°It seemed as though all of this was stolen from various sources, as they were all stored in different types of containers. I left those and simply took the food with me.¡± ¡°This is incredible. But, uh, I don¡¯t know if we can keep all of it.¡± She frowned. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we could eat it all in a reasonable timeframe.¡± ¡°Would it not be a good idea to keep a stockpile, then?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He shook his head. ¡°We couldn¡¯t safely store it. It¡¯s not good to keep this much food just sitting around.¡± She stared at him, confused. ¡°Ah, right. I forgot you¡¯re not from this world. I guess in the Thirteenth Realm, you don¡¯t have things like rats or insects that¡¯ll come for your food if you don¡¯t store it properly? They¡¯re these little pests that can get in practically anywhere, and the more food you have, the more likely they¡¯ll smell it. With this much sitting around for so long, we¡¯d likely get an infestation, and at that point, it¡¯s basically impossible to get rid of them. We don¡¯t want that.¡± ¡°I see. Shall I take it back, then?¡± ¡°No, no, we want to ensure it looks like a monster attack.¡± Zeth looked down, deep in thought. ¡°Trying to scatter it through the forest for animals to eat wouldn¡¯t work, and we can¡¯t keep it here to eat¡­Burning it would create too much smoke, burying it would leave spots of disturbed dirt that someone could notice and would draw attention here¡­Maybe we could dump it in the nearby river, but if anyone noticed it as it floated away, it¡¯d be an issue¡­Hm. It¡¯s harder to get rid of food than I thought it was.¡± ¡°I apologize for creating an inconvenience for you.¡± ¡°What? No, don¡¯t. I mean, this is the definition of too much of a good thing, here. I¡¯ll keep a smaller amount of this stuff¡ªgetting that much is great. It¡¯s just when it¡¯s much that¡­¡± He blinked. ¡°Wait. Oh, I got it.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°The way we¡¯ll get rid of it. We just give it to other people. It¡¯s getting to be dark now, so in the middle of the night, we just sneak through town and give a little bit to every single house we can find. There¡¯s a lot of people who had the providers of their families stolen away by the Inquisitors, and suddenly they aren¡¯t getting income or food anymore. If we just give those people some of this stuff, they¡¯ll just assume it was a charitable donation from a stranger who wanted to help them out in their time of need. According to what Garon said, the cabal mostly just makes up the town¡¯s leadership, so even if some people notice the strange appearance of all this food, I doubt they¡¯ll go complain about it to the captain of the guard, or whatever. And really, since it¡¯ll be such a small amount to each person, they probably won¡¯t think it¡¯s such a big deal, anyway. And even if it get noticed by the cabal, they¡¯d have to connect this random act of charity in town to the bandit camp miles away that got ransacked by some animals, and somehow conclude that the two were connected. It¡¯s not a cover, but it¡¯s a good one. And honestly, it¡¯d be nice to help these people out. Wouldn¡¯t feel right throwing all this food away when people are starving.¡± ¡°I see,¡± she said. ¡°I would have never thought of such a thing.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m gonna need your help transporting all of this, and also your protection. Sneaking around in the middle of the night handing out all this food¡ªif someone connect this with the Blood Mage, that¡¯s fine, but if they also see me doing it, then it¡¯s over for me. So I¡¯ll have to put on my suit while I give it all away. Meaning, if the guards see me, they won¡¯t know my actual identity, but they attack. So it¡¯ll be good to have you watching my back.¡± ¡°You know, this scheme reminds me of a publicity stunt my mother would come up with for the sake of improving my reputation and my esteem in the king¡¯s eyes. Only, I don¡¯t think she would have actually done it. All the times I made some grand gesture, it was always faked, and always done in the most public way possible. It will be interesting doing the same thing for real, as secretly as possible.¡± Then she nodded. ¡°Would you like to depart now?¡± ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s do this.¡± Chapter 74 In the middle of the night, Zeth approached the edge of town, Astrys by his side. She carried a large barrel she¡¯d used to transport the goods to base in her arms, the only thing preventing her from holding more being that she couldn¡¯t fit more in her arms.¡°Alright,¡± he said, ¡°stay there so your aura doesn¡¯t affect anyone. I¡¯ll go ahead and start giving this stuff out.¡± After grabbing a handful of random food items from the barrel, he snuck ahead out into the streets, creeping up to the nearest house he could find. He¡¯d specifically gone over to the smallest, poorest guild housing, hoping to help people who wouldn¡¯t have as much money saved and would be hit the hardest from the lost wages. So ideally, he¡¯d actually be helping people as he dumped off his stolen goods. With his heartbeat thudding in his ears, Zeth crouched by the house, listening for any signs of movement within. Hearing none, he left a small bundle of smoked meat and dried fruit by the doorstep. He adjusted his cloak and mask, hoping they¡¯d be enough to shield him from any prying eyes in the quiet, moonlit streets. But as he turned to leave, he spotted the window of the house he stood at slowly light up¡ªit looked like someone was approaching with a candle. He darted away, hoping they wouldn¡¯t spot him flee as he ran over behind another house. Staying there for a moment, he listened as the door opened, followed by a bit of silence, then some soft, sleepy grumblings, and the door closed once again. He peered around the corner of the wall he hid behind to ensure nobody was out there, and it looked like they¡¯d headed back inside. Close call. They must¡¯ve heard him approach, or seen a glimpse of him through a window. More carefully this time, he approached the next house, crouching below the windows and being sure to make no noise as he stepped down the cobblestone road. This time, he managed to leave another bundle of food behind without alerting any attention. He went down the street, handing out individual meals worth of food at each doorstep. Since the houses were all perfectly identical, Zeth was able to build up a routine taking the same movements each time to ensure nobody detected him. Once he ran out, he went back over to Astrys and they moved to another location, he refilled his arms with food, and went out again, dropping off the presents on each person¡¯s doorstep. He went house by house, leaving each one with a little more to get by on. But as he did this time, Zeth saw in the distance as a light appeared around the street corner, and the shining white armor of the Inquisitors came walking in his direction, lanterns on their belts. He dashed off to hide in the alley between two houses, hoping the cover of dark would keep him safe as the Inquisitors passed. But as he hid, he heard the sounds of their walking pause for a moment, and they muttered between themselves for a moment. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. One of them shouted out in that same artificial voice they all had, ¡°This town is under curfew. Anyone caught out past midnight will be taken in for questioning.¡± They continued walking in his direction. Maybe they¡¯d seen a glimpse of Zeth, but hopefully they didn¡¯t have any suspicion it was actually him. As they came closer, he heard their voices as they made conversation. ¡°...think you saw?¡± one of them was asking. ¡°Some sort of movement. Likely nothing,¡± the other responded. ¡°Do you believe there is a Blood Mage here? Or multiple, as some witnesses have claimed?¡± ¡°The only evidence we have is stories others have told us. There is nothing else we have found, and even the anecdotes of the townspeople are vague. They speak of hooded figures and strange magic¡ªany could be mistaken.¡± ¡°There is the adventurer woman from out of town. She spoke more confidently than the others, and had far more information.¡± ¡°We are investigating it. If we find nothing in this guild¡¯s mines or offices, it may be necessary to do a scan of the area. If the number of individuals with the Wicked Skill are within normal ranges, then we will leave.¡± ¡°What of the dead mayor?¡± ¡°It could be that a political rival had him assassinated and blamed a nonexistent criminal. Or perhaps there was once a Blood Mage around, but they died. Whatever the reason, it would be pointless for the number of Inquisitors that are currently here to remain if there is no evidence that we are necessary.¡± Their voices faded out as the two walked past, not noticing Zeth crouched in the darkness. He let out a breath. Once they were long gone and he saw no more light, Zeth continued giving out the rest of his food, then moved on to the next area like usual. It seemed like the Inquisitors were eager to get out of here after spending so much effort and finding no hard evidence. He was surprised they¡¯d actually taken up his request to search the guild offices, though perhaps that just meant they were on their last resort of just looking at every single place they could think of, and if they found nothing, they¡¯d leave. As far as he could tell, it was a win-win either way. Either they found no evidence and left, and Zeth was rid of one hazard, or they find something and arrested the whole guild, and he was rid of the other. It seemed like the Inquisitors may not have been much more than a temporary problem after all. Zeth continued, refilling and swapping to new areas over and over as Astrys kept careful watch over him from afar. When Astrys¡¯s container ran out, he had her go off and refill it, coming back to get him some more, until eventually, they ran out of food down in his lair, with enough left for him to get by but not so much that he¡¯d never be able to store it all. He ran out handfuls of this last food until eventually, he emptied it out, with his last delivery to make in hand. So he went out, placing it all on the doorsteps like usual. And eventually, he got to his final handful, walking up the street to the house on the very end, where he¡¯d finish his little errand. As he walked up to the house, Zeth nodded to himself. He¡¯d had some close calls, but it seemed like he could be cautiously optimistic about not getting caught here. And once morning came and the food was taken, rumors may spread about who might¡¯ve done it, but Zeth highly doubted the Blood Mages in charge of catching him would piece this together with the slaughter of the bandits. And even if they did, it would be much better than them finding rats burrowing in and out of the ground near his base with scraps of meat in hand, leading them straight to him. He crept up to the door and left the package on the doorstep where he¡¯d left all the others. But as he did it this one final time, he felt something strange about this last house. The floorboards felt¡­soft. Like they had some give. Just then, he heard a loud , and he sank downward, stumbling as one of the wooden boards he stood on cracked in half. He hurriedly stopped back, off of the doorstep, and stayed perfectly still, hoping the person inside was in a deep enough sleep that they wouldn¡¯t awake from the sudden noise. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But as he stared tensely at the windows, he saw a glow fading in, coming closer and closer to the door. Instantly, he turned and started sprinting away from the house, glancing back and forth as he searched for somewhere to hide. But it was too late, and the sound of the door flying open rang out across the silent streets. ¡°What the¡­¡± he heard a female voice mutter. ¡°Is this¡­dried meat?¡± Zeth, still running away from the house and hoping the woman would be too distracted by the food on her doorstep to notice him, looked out down the street as he moved, seeing the silhouette of Astrys appear from the treeline and begin heading right for him. She sprinted at top speed in his direction, practically cracking the cobblestones below her heels from the pressure of her steps. Only, she wasn¡¯t heading in Zeth¡¯s direction. She was heading past him, right for the woman standing on her doorstep. His eyes widened as he saw her coming closer, and he frantically shook his head back and forth, holding up a hand to gesture as heavily as he could, Thankfully, she understood what he was communicating and slowed to a stop in front of him. Just then,a dim light shone out across the street. Zeth glanced back to see the woman holding up a candle to see out further into the dark, barely illuminating him and Astrys. He froze, looking away and hoping against hope she¡¯d just go out inside. But she seemed to recognize what she was looking at¡ªespecially Astrys, who was facing to stare right at the house. A terrified ¡°Eep!¡± escaped the woman¡¯s lips as Zeth heard her stumble back in fear. ¡°She noticed us,¡± Astrys said in a low tone. ¡°Shall I kill her?¡± ¡°No,¡± Zeth responded. ¡°But¡ª¡± he said more forcefully. ¡°She¡¯s innocent. Just walk away.¡± He began slowly walking off into the dark neighborhood, hoping even harder now that this woman would be smart and remain in the safety of her home. , he was begging in his mind. And this time, it seemed like his hope came true. No footsteps chased after him. Astrys hesitantly turned and began heading back to follow him as well, slowly leaving the light of the woman¡¯s candle. ¡°Th-thank you!¡± the woman shouted out as Zeth left her sight. After that, he and Astrys returned to base, moving the rest of the food into his storage and securing it well to ensure no rodents could get in. ¡°Alright,¡± he said once they were done, yawning widely, ¡°seems like it¡¯s getting late.¡± ¡°Do I need to do any more before sleeping?¡± Astrys asked. ¡°No, you¡¯re fine,¡± he responded. ¡°But, uh, do you wanna explain why you were trying to kill that lady back in town?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± She looked at Zeth, confused. ¡°I suppose my own question would be why you didn¡¯t want me to kill her.¡± ¡°She was innocent. She had no ill intent toward us.¡± ¡°But you said you wanted me to protect you. Her knowledge of your presence in town could lead to harm.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t see my face or anything, so it¡¯s fine. Besides, even then, she wasn¡¯t to hurt me. She hadn¡¯t done anything to deserve death.¡± Astrys frowned. ¡°Hm. I did not realize humans would value the lives of other humans so much.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you assume that?¡± ¡°Demons¡­do not speak about humans as though your lives are valuable. Perhaps it was foolish of me, but I did not realize you would feel differently about yourselves.¡± ¡°Do you not feel the same way? It¡¯s not right to kill someone without reason.¡± ¡°That is true; I do not believe in killing another demon without having a reason to. But a human¡­Regardless, I respect your decision to avoid killing your own. But do not expect me to cry over the corpse of a human. I do not know that I could muster so much emotion about a being that has been presented to me all my life as worthless.¡± ¡°...Uh huh. Yeah, well, as long as you treat human lives with respect, it¡¯s fine. Just, in the future, never try to kill someone who I¡¯m not trying to kill. Not unless I ask you to.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The conversation unsettled Zeth, but he understood where she was coming from. If he learned tomorrow that pigs actually lived rich, full lives behind closed doors and he never knew, he¡¯d certainly avoid killing them in the future, but he hadn¡¯t been raised to value the life of a meat animal on the same level as a human. He¡¯d logically understand that he shouldn¡¯t kill them, but mustering up emotion might be difficult. Really, he constantly felt himself wondering if these normal social interactions he had with Astrys were being influenced by the way her fear aura constantly permeated his mind. He¡¯d become excellent at controlling himself while experiencing it, but it was always , and when there were moments like these, where he felt a bit creeped out by something she did while understanding logically that she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, he wondered if that was him or the fear talking. He doubted it influenced him all that much, but it had to do , right? Astrys went to the corner of the main room opposite the one where Zeth slept, but he called out to stop her. ¡°Hey, hold on.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± she looked back at him. ¡°Do you mind sleeping over here for tonight, near me?¡± Astrys stared at Zeth for a moment, completely silent, before eventually answering, ¡°Why would you like for me to do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got this Skill unlocked that I think I¡¯m gonna purchase called Friend of the Unhallowed. It¡¯s supposed to reduce the effect your fear aura has on me, up to the point of completely erasing it at max Rank, but the main reason I want it is that it¡¯s a profit Skill. So, basically, I just wanna Rank it up really quickly. And I think your aura has a greater effect the closer you are, right? So if you sleep near me, I can just Rank it up overnight.¡± ¡°Ah. Right. That sounds like a useful Skill.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll see. The auras don¡¯t really do much to me unless they catch me off-guard, but it¡¯ll be nice to finally have this tingling sensation out of my head.¡± ¡°I do not believe my aura simply does not affect you, unless you have some other Skill I am not aware of.¡± Zeth shrugged. ¡°Well, regardless, I just wanna Rank up the Skill. So you can sleep wherever, just closer than the whole opposite side of the room.¡± She nodded, walking over to the other corner, so instead of being diagonally opposite each other, they now shared one wall in the square room. ¡°Alright, cool. That was all.¡± As Astrys lay down, Zeth got settled on the pile of hay he slept on, closed his eyes, and reached inward to look over his list of Skills. Seemed like Friend of the Unhallowed would be best, especially if the Inquisitors weren¡¯t going to be as much of a problem. He certainly felt like getting some more Skill Points would be helpful, so taking a profit Skill would be perfect. [You have purchased Blood Magus Skill: Friend of the Unhallowed. -7 Skill Points. You have 4 Skill Points.] The moment he purchased the Skill, Zeth got another notification. [Friend of the Unhallowed¡¯s Rank has increased to 1. +1 Skill Point. You have 8 Skill Points.] The difference was instant and extreme. Apparently, Astrys¡¯s fear aura was powerful enough to Rank the Skill up in mere seconds, but the simple minus ten percent that came from the Skill made an absurd difference. He realized how much of a mental weight had been on him until now. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d been completely mentally suppressed or anything¡ªmost of Zeth¡¯s mental faculties remained untouched¡ªbut anything and everything regarding Astrys suddenly felt far clearer. Like he¡¯d been looking at her through a veil this whole time with a bunch of scary drawings painted onto it, and had assumed that those drawings had been true parts of her this whole time. And now that veil was lifted, and Zeth got the distinct impression that he hadn¡¯t quite been seeing Astrys as a person as much as he should have been. He felt a little guilty for how he¡¯d treated her when she first arrived. But this was only the first Rank of the Skill. Surely this shock had just come from the first Rank because he hadn¡¯t been expecting it, right? He couldn¡¯t imagine he was seeing her in such an incorrect way. But the sudden drop in fear relaxed Zeth, and in the late night, that extreme sense of relaxation that hadn¡¯t been afforded to him ever since he¡¯d summoned her was very, very soothing. With his eyes already closed, Zeth quickly drifted off to sleep. And as yet more System notifications entered his mind while he was unconscious, Zeth dreamed about Skill Rank-ups.