New Life of a Summoned Demoness
Elania’s life is about to change in ways she could have never expected.
Summoned to a strange new world by demon-worshipping cultists, she flees before she is bound to their will by an unbreakable contract.
Forced to fight for her survival against creatures she thought would only exist in a D&D manual while adjusting to her new body, what can a girl do when status screens and system elements have the power to change her very being?
In this action-packed LitRPG Fantasy Adventure, we follow Elania as she tries to find her own way back to the surface while seeking a way home.
Available on both RR & SH - Read there if you prefer a certain site! Early Access Chapters are in this document. Chapter titles bring you back to the Table of Contents. ^^
RR - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36308/new-life-of-a-summoned-demoness
SH - https://www.scribblehub.com/series/184286/new-life-of-a-summoned-demoness/
===Public===
Chapter 10 - Mushroom Conflict
Chapter 13.5 - (Bonus) Darkwalker Hunting
Chapter 15 - Hunter’s Ascendance
Chapter 16 - King of Darkwalkers
Chapter 20 - Questions and Answers
Chapter 29 - Two Steps forward, one step back
Chapter 37 - Welcome to Neftasu
===Cultist===
===Lesser Demon===
Chapter 45 - Tessa (Continued)
Chapter 48 - The Real Artificers (half a chapter)
===Future===
Chapter 49 - Artificer Row
Chapter 50 - Yolani
A whole percussion orchestra was performing inside Elania’s head. She distantly heard someone groaning, and it wasn’t until she found her way to consciousness that she realized the sound was coming from her. Thoughts stirred slowly in her muddled mind as she recalled the night before. The term paper for her history class was due, and she had spent the last two days suffering a procrastinator's fate, consuming an alarming amount of various energy drinks.
Why did her head hurt so much, and... her eyes sprang open, realizing that she was naked and not in her bed. Aside from soft flickering yellows that revealed the chamber's size, everything around her was shrouded in darkness.
‘Oh my god, I've been kidnapped by some sick freak!’
"She's awake."
"Send for the bishop!"
Panic settled in. There were two of them... no, from what one of the voices had said, there were at least three. She started groping for something—anything that might help her. As her eyes adjusted even more, she found she was nestled in soft pillows. Those sick freaks had stolen her clothes!
The floor was cold and hard, some type of stone and the cushions were laid out in a circle around her. As far as Elania could tell, aside from the pillows, the room was devoid of any other furniture, but the shadows weren’t helping her to be sure. Staying on the ground made her feel vulnerable, so she stood.
"What do you want with me?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Please, mistress, wait for the bishop. He will explain everything! We are just devoted initiates who don't deserve your attention!"
Her eyes continued to adjust much more than she had thought possible, even muted colors somehow finding their way back into view as the darkness lifted and everything seemed to be bathed in a dim ambient light. She almost wished that wasn’t the case as the first thing she saw was that the circle and symbols around her were drawn with blood.
She looked around and didn't see a corpse as she half-expected. She hoped it was only a chicken or something. Maybe it was just something that looked like blood. Glancing back at one of the kneeling figures, the black robe and shady undertone didn’t lend much hope for that thought.
‘Insane. These people are totally insane!’
Taking a step back, she decided to make a run for it and escape the room. Except as soon as she touched the circle, a light flared, and a great pulse of something like static electricity burst up to burn her hand.
"Wait, Mistress! The summoning circle has not been dismissed yet. His unholiness was waiting for you to awaken!"
She would have thought they had put something like an electric fence around her to shock her... if a green screen with black text hadn't appeared suddenly for her to stare at.
[A Demonic barrier is unbreakable with your current power.]
She waved her hand through the image as if it wasn't physically present. This kind of holographic projection was too much. What was going on? She tried to press the black 'X' in the corner of the message, and a sudden stream of information appeared.
[Status update.]
[You have arrived from another world!]
[You have earned the title, 'Summoned from Another World!']
Elania felt her blood turn cold. An ex-boyfriend had been a serious closet Otaku and had introduced her to all kinds of anime and manga. She had actually enjoyed them herself, and long after they had broken up, she still sometimes indulged in a few favorite shows, but... she had never met Truck-san! Why was she here!
The panic and silly thoughts had her giggling madly at the insanity of the situation. All the while, the initiate that had remained behind began to sweat in fear.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up," Elania mumbled to herself as she bit her lip and tried to calm herself enough to think.
What was real, and what was imaginary? Her hand still hurt from the electric shock, and she hadn’t snapped awake or anything of the sort. At least she could feel pain along with a cold breeze that suddenly coursed through her body, making her shiver. It was hard to tell whether it was from the chill, fear, or both, but Elania had never felt so vulnerable in her life.
‘Take a deep breath, Elania,’ she advised herself, and doing so, she tried to take an objective inventory of what she knew. She had no clothes and was trapped in some kind of magic circle made out of blood. The 'cultists' were bringing someone called 'The Bishop' to talk to her and possibly let her out... she wasn't sure if she believed or wanted that.
It was like one of those bad Isekai LitRPG novels she had read in her spare time.
Weren't there commands or skills those characters could conjure up to their minds? What was it called?
Profile? Inventory? Attributes? Status?
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 1
Power: 0/100
Karma: 12
Attributes: [Locked]
Skills: [Locked]
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
A hand instantly went to her heart in a panic as she took in the words 'Lesser Demon' on the status screen. She checked her head, horns weren't present, and neither did she have a tail or wings. That was a relief. Her body seemed to be perfectly normal. Maybe that would have been a disappointment to some, but she had never been one to have a problem with her own body.
But what did this Status mean? She was absolutely weak: Level 1, no power, most of the functions locked. In every novel she had read, the protagonist had received amazing abilities and powers to wipe away whatever came at them. Apparently, she was so weak she couldn't even access all the functions.
The clink of something metallic striking stone drew closer as someone approached, and Elania glanced at the hall leading out of the chamber. She didn't have to wait long, though, as a few moments later, a man appeared in her line of vision. Her stomach turned.
The new arrival ticked off all her mental boxes for an insane cult leader. The man was older, age lines covering his face where his long gray pencil straight beard didn’t hide them. He was clothed in a black robe embroidered with red hems, but it was the accessories that stood out to Elania.
Staff topped with a skull, check. Some dark leather-bound tome for dark rituals, check. Antlered skull for headwear, double-check. Flanked by subordinates who looked equally terrified of him, check.
Elania barely contained her laughter. The costume might have been ideal for cosplay at some expo or convention. Only the precariousness of her position in this 'new' world and the man's serious expression kept her from moving or making any sound. Did the man realize how ridiculous he looked?
He came to a stop outside the circle. The lackeys spread out in a semi-circle around her and knelt, putting their heads down like the one who had been waiting all this time. The metal staff clanked against the stone three times, and then the 'Bishop' held his arms outstretched in some grandiose gesture.
"Great Queen, we welcome you to Eladu. We have awaited your arrival for countless years and are overjoyed that you have responded to our summons!" He lowered his arms and finally looked at her. "We beseech your greatness to sign a contract with us and lead us to victory against the overworld!"
Elania felt a slight twitch under one of her eyes. Everything was so over-the-top that she wanted to scream at them. Demon-worshiping cult ostracized and at war with the rest of society? Hell-no!
[Cult of the Black Candle wishes to make a contract with you!]
[Do you wish to see the contents of the contract? Y/N]
"No way." She waved her hand, and the screen obediently disappeared. "Send me back."
The prostrating followers immediately straightened up and looked at her in shock. Almost in unison they began to speak.
"N... no!"
"Please, mistress!"
"Don't abandon us!"
The sudden pitiful outcries could almost make Elania feel sorry for them. Almost. The fact that she was still naked and they hadn't offered her any clothes was a sticking point for her.
Unlike the others, the Bishop remained silent, but he couldn’t disguise the pained expression on his face either. Maybe his black book didn't have any suggestions on what to do in this instance.
Elania wasn't sure what her position really was... she desperately needed more information. She might have already made a huge mistake with her refusal, but something about the initial desperation of the lower-ranked members made her hope otherwise. Perhaps they would send her back to Earth or wake her up... although she wouldn’t hold her breath.
"Great Mistress, we did not summon you unprepared. We have much to offer you. In addition to our loyalty and obedience to your will..."
The Bishop gestured toward a dark wooden chest banded in metal. Two of the men rushed to the chest and then struggled to lift and bring it closer. When the lid opened, Elania expected a spill of gold coins, and she was correct. The majority of it was gold coins, but it was the captivating lights mixed with the precious metal that caught the eye.
‘Gems. Wait, no.’ Elania stared at the glittering stones and realized they were giving off their own internal light. Some brighter than others, but all of them possessed multiple hues that sparkled in the dim room. ‘Some kind of mana stones or something?’
Elania’s lack of reaction prompted an explanation by the Bishop. "Great Mistress, we know this must seem paltry considering the great wealth and abundance of mana shards in the demonic realm, but this represents years of our preparations so you might empower yourself quickly here on Eladu."
Elania decided she would play the role for them. Mainly because she was tired of being naked in front of the crowd.
"Remove the circle and give me some clothes, and I'll consider it."
Surprised and incredulous looks passed between the cultists, while the Bishop appeared shocked at her request. The silence that fell in the room was deafening.
Finally, the Bishop cleared his throat. "Great Mistress, I am but your humble future servant, but I have to ask... what is your name?" he asked apologetically.
‘Shit.’
Had her demand somehow given her away? Surely they didn't expect her to stay in the nude forever, and hell would freeze over if that was what they wanted! Maybe... they couldn't remove the circle without a contract? Or was it something else she had said?
They all looked at her expectantly, and a defeated thought whisked by. ‘Well, I doubt I could keep tricking them forever that I'm some Demon Queen. I should just tell them the truth.’
"Elania. My name is Elania."
She watched their faces for a reaction, and—much to her surprise—most looked relieved or excited.
The Bishop nodded and lowered his head. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Dark Queen Elaniaonbe'tila. I beg your forgiveness. I lack the power to remove the barrier without you signing a contract."
"I can help with that," said a voice from the hall, and everyone's head whipped around toward the entrance.
Elania’s eyes widened when she took stock of the newcomer. He was tall and broad-shouldered, clad in silvery-white plate trimmed with gold, complete with a full winged helmet. He had his sword drawn, and the blade gave off its own blue-hued light. She felt her breath catch in her chest when she noted red dripping down the tip. The blade had been recently used.
All of a sudden, the cultists snapped out of their haze, and a myriad of chants erupted. The thought that was he was here to rescue her was quickly dismissed. ‘He's here to kill me!’
Multiple orbs of different types of elements flung themselves toward the charging knight, but most of them missed or were useless as they struck and dissipated on the polished metal.
The cold fear filled Elania to the core. She didn't want to die, but she was at a loss of what to do, being naked and trapped in the circle.
The Bishop finished his incantation and pointed his staff at the man. Darkness sucked out the light in the room as a dark purple-hued tentacle rose from the floor and swung for the knight. He didn't seem to care as he continued forward. At the last second his blade flashed up and cleaved through the ethereal limb.
A second tentacle appeared and tried to slap the holy-knight-maybe-a-paladin, but a second slash took care of it just as quickly. Then he collided with the Bishop. Staff met sword, and sparks suddenly flew as the two objects resisted each other. Magical weapons? Elania thought the Bishop was putting up a good showing, the knight was a head taller and encased in metal, but the Bishop didn't give an inch.
As if the Paladin had heard her thought and sought to dispel it a gauntleted fist flashed through the space between the locked weapons and smashed into the Bishop's face. He flew back, and the horned skull flew off his head. The old man bouncing off the ground in a nasty impact.
‘Super strength?’ The thought was numb, and Elania was horrified as the knight then turned toward her and approached the barrier. He was getting dangerously close. Small bursts of the weaker magic orbs continued to hail down on him from the cultists, but they didn’t faze him. Raising his sword, he swung it through the air at the circle.
The blade stopped, catching in an invisible barrier for a moment before a bright light flared up from the indentations on the floor. The blood in the channels rapidly dried up into a mist and then nothingness before the light flickered and finally died completely.
Then he stepped over the empty circle. "Demon, you can show your power before I send you back."
If she had any powers to show, she would have appreciated the gesture, but Elania could only shake her head and take a few steps backward, trying to keep the distance between them. Another step back, and she lost her footing as she slipped on one of the pillows. A yelp escaped her as she fell backward across the now dead circle.
Elania struggled to get back to her feet, but she wasn’t fast enough. She went completely still as the cool tip of the blade pressed against her left breast. All she could do was look up at the metal-clad man.
Now that he was towering over her, he appeared even larger. Suddenly, the sword's pressure surged painfully, and she retreated until her back was fully pressed against the cold stone floor. In her daze, she thought she let out a frightened whimper, but his voice came out clearly.
"Eziel?" The confusion and question in his voice were evident.
The man paused and withdrew the blade for a moment before pressing it to her throat and then drug the metal across it. At first, she thought he had intended to cut through it, but the utter dullness to the blade saved her. The knight seemed confused and began to poke and prod her with the sword less than gently.
Elania had no idea how long that lasted. She felt tremors shake her body as the bastard continued to torture her with the length of steel. Thankfully, she was rescued when a whip-like crack erupted from behind the knight as a tentacle slammed into his back and sent him flying through the air and into a wall with a loud crash.
‘He totally deserved it.’
The impact left the whole room shaking as plaster, dirt, and dust fell from the ceiling. Elania coughed as she tried to regroup herself. The source of the attack was evident, and the whole room had filled up with dozens of the large tentacle arms. On the other side, the Bishop had gotten back to his feet and was waving his skull-topped staff around.
"Kill the Lightbringer!"
The command came out in a hoarse angry voice, and a volley of fiery red orbs flew into the cloud of dust, surrounding the area where the knight had crashed into the wall. Elania had no clue how he could still be alive. That kind of impact was surely enough to kill anyone.
‘I have to get out of here.’
No one was paying attention to her anymore, and she was no longer trapped. Quickly, she got to her feet and ran for the exit, only pausing when she saw one of the shining stones. Acting on impulse, she snatched it up as she was passing by.
There was shouting and dust swirling everywhere, but somehow, she managed to cover most of the distance without any problem. Elania was about to reach the corridor when one of the cultists stepped in front of her and held out his arms in an attempt to block her.
"Stop, Mistress! We—"
She didn't even have to think about it. Without slowing down, she drew back her hand with the glowing stone and slammed it into the man's face. She had expected to cause some damage but didn’t anticipate his immediate collapse.
[ ???? - Human - Lvl 33 has been neutralized!]
[You have gained multiple levels!]
[You have gained a level in Unarmed Combat!]
Ignoring the screen, Elania dashed into the hall, leaving the chaotic fight behind her.
Elania lost her sense of direction in the maze of the dimly-lit corridors. Numerous closed doors dotted the hallway, but she didn't bother trying them. The sounds of the battle echoed behind her, and she desperately needed to put some distance between her, the cultists, and the paladin. ‘Preferably a million miles and a rocket ride home, but…’
She was still naked, so once she made it around a few long hallways and turned what felt like a few dozen corners, she thought to try a door. It was unlocked, revealing a seemingly unused old furniture storage unit. She skipped that room and then tried another, and another. She was growing frustrated with each door she tried, the rooms all looking alike until the fifth door revealed a candle-lit room.
Elania didn't have time to waste, but she needed something to wear. Unfortunately, the closet only contained the large black robes the cultists had been wearing. The ground shook beneath her feet, and she hurried with her ransacking, putting the garment on in a hurry. The garment wasn’t close fitting, and despite how comical it looked on her, she managed to pull the corded belts tight enough to fit her… or at least stay in place.
In the dresser, she found a sharp-looking dagger and stuffed it in the robe's oversized side pockets, along with the mana shard she was still carrying. Elania grumbled inwardly as she looked for anything else that would be helpful, but the dresser didn’t have anything else in it except a heavy black book that she discounted as useless.
‘These guys are almost as bad as monks who have taken a vow of poverty.’
Since there was little else of value in the room, she focused on what she did have. Looking at the remaining robes in the closet, she thought of making some kind of makeshift knapsack, but another resonating shake of the room had ceiling dust falling on her head. Elania grabbed two extra robes from the closet and fled, she hoped she would find something to use them for later.
Racing down the halls turn after turn revealed nothing but the same never-ending dark walls and candles. Elania had lost count of how many turns she had been forced to make. Only when the combat sounds became distant did she feel some relief. She assumed that she was getting farther away from the battle.
Her elation was short-lived, though, because as she rounded another corner, she slipped and almost fell on a puddle of blood. She halted quickly, taking in the two bodies that were splayed on either side of the corridor. The knight had slashed them...?
Elania carefully stepped around the bodies and made her way to what appeared to be the exit. The cut stone of the corridor suddenly stopped as it poked out into a large cavern. Despite the size of the underground space, it was brighter than the candle-lit corridors.
All kinds of bluish-green glowing mosses hung from the ceiling, and in some places, the carpet of moss had begun to spread down the walls as well. The floor was spotted with patches of strange purple, fluorescent fungus. The colors were stunning, and under other circumstances, Elania would have loved to inspect their pretty luminescence closely.
Pushing into the cavern had her cursing after only a few dozen steps. The ground was mostly rock and pebbles, which had painfully poked at her bare feet. She didn't even consider stopping, though, she couldn’t afford to. The cavern was wide open and if anyone was chasing after her, they would easily spot her.
She preserved and as the first cavern opened up into a second, and then third she realized each one resembled the other, and that upset her a little. How big could the cave be? Shouldn't she be at the surface by now? Was that too much to hope for? Distance was hard to gauge, but she’d come at what she considered at least a mile already.
Elania had a vague idea she was slightly moving uphill, and she worried that she'd need a guide to find a way out. There had been several turn offs she had ignored along the way and she realized that the area might not have such a straightforward layout as she first surmised. The thought of being trapped underground for the rest of her life shook her.
‘Lead us to victory against the overworld.’
Elania frowned as she looked up at the continuously glowing ceiling. Overworld. Did they live completely underground? She had never been very religious, but she considered offering a prayer for her chances of finding a way out.
It felt like hours passed as she trudged through the caverns. Each section was slightly different in shape and size, but they all seemed to follow the same turquoise and purple hues. Elania tried to go in a straight line, but time and time again, she was forced to choose a direction at a junction as the caves began to branch out in different directions.
She was about to stop, rest, and try to make sense of her situation when the overhead moss went dark. It was like someone had flipped a light switch off, and the sudden dimness made her heart pound violently in her chest. ‘What is going on?’
Thankfully, the fungus was still glowing, so it wasn't absolute darkness, but she didn’t want to think what would happen if those lights went out as well.
For the time being, she decided to stop exploring. Quietly, she backtracked the way she had come a few minutes ago, until she found a smaller section of the cave with an elevated hump against one wall. It wasn't much, but at least she'd have the high ground if anything found her, plus there was fungus near both entrances, the light they provided there might help her spot anything approaching as soon as it entered the room.
Setting one of the robes she had been carrying on the ground, she sat on one. As soon as her feet were off the ground, she realized how badly they hurt. She had never been what one would be considered as an 'athlete,' but she was neither unhealthy nor overweight. Back home, she often ran or cycled for exercise—‘With shoes on, though.’
It wasn’t the first time her feet hurt or raw blisters were starting to form, but the hard surface and being barefoot had caused a lot of damage. Her feet hadn't been prepared for the pebbly surface, and she contemplated what to do about footwear. It was obvious she’d need to wrap them in something. She just hoped infection wouldn’t become an issue.
‘They probably don’t even have antibiotics here.’
She wasn’t sure what to do and a few moments later she decided to put it off for a moment and try to figure out the status screen again.
‘Status.’
[You have previously unread messages.]
[ ???? - Human - Lvl 33 has been neutralized!]
[You have gained multiple levels!]
[You have gained a level in Unarmed Combat!]
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 5
Power: 4/100
Karma: 12
Attributes: [Locked]
Skills: [Locked]
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
[You have sufficient requirements to unlock Skills. Unlock Skills? Y/N]
Reading over the information, she noted the small differences from before and swiped her hand over the 'Yes' button. The status screen suddenly disappeared, and a new one popped up in its place.
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 1 (Activated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 1]
[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 2, Darkvision Lvl - 2 (Activated)]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 1, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3]
Her highest skills were in talking, reading, and writing. Great. That would be really useful in the current situation. Was it because she was a college student? If that was the case, shouldn't she have some more skills? ‘How about wake-up-quick-or-be-late, or survival-cooking-with-ramen!’ Granted, she didn’t really expect those to be skills, but what she had received seemed sparse. She frowned, unable to hide her disappointment while looking at the list again, trying to piece it together.
Four skills stood out to her—[Demonic Aura,] [Mana Manipulation,] [Darkvision,] and [Identify.] [Demonic Aura] and [Darkvision] appeared to be toggleable, but she didn't remember ever turning them on or... maybe she had them on all along. That would explain her sudden ability to see so well in the dark.
Biting her lip lightly, she decided to try and test things out. "Demonic Aura, Deactivate!"
The sound of her voice made her wince. Her words echoed around the room chaotically and the volume was amplified by the quiet silence that seemed to permeate the caverns. Fortunately, that quietnes quickly returned as the echo slowly died.
Even more disappointing was that nothing had actually happened with the skill. ‘Talk about embarrassing.’
So, she thought to try once more, but this time without speaking. ‘Demonic Aura. Demonic Aura!’
Still no response, and she checked the skill screen to make sure.
[Demonic Aura - Lvl 1 (Activated)]
Maybe skills didn't respond on command or thought. Somehow she was doing it wrong. The cultists had been chanting something to use their magic, hadn’t they? Did all the things follow the same set of rules? Did she need a secret set of words to turn off the skill? That seemed like it would be very unfair since the stupid thing did not come with a user manual.
A sense of defeat washed over her, and she pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees. She hadn't cried from the shock and fear of the events yet, but now it seemed to catch up to her all at once and her eyes watered.
‘I just want to go home.’
Time lost its meaning in the dark. Eventually, Elania wiped her eyes and glanced around the room she was huddled in. Without the hanging moss illuminating everything, it was much darker. She gave thanks to her [Darkvision] skill for letting her see at all, even though it did cast everything in a dark shade of purple or violet from the sparse fungi scattered around the room.
Absently, she wondered whether either the fungus or the moss was edible because, while she might not have been hungry yet, she was pathetically low on supplies and knew she'd need to eat and drink eventually.
The thought of trying to eat fungus made her stomach turn. The thought was highly unappealing and there was no way of telling if it was poisonous or dangerous. At least not that she knew of. Maybe if she had been a biology major...
If there was fungus and moss, that meant there had to be a source of water or humidity somewhere nearby to sustain them. At least she hoped so.
Not having moved in a while, Elania stretched out and felt the rigid form of the rock in her pocket poking at her leg. The glowy stone. Right! She could use that if she needed to see and keep moving, even without the moss.
She pulled it out of the pocket but then had to shield her eyes. It was much brighter than she had remembered. Had something changed in it, or had her eyes naturally adjusted to the darkness?
Holding the stone caused a tingling in her fingers, and the answer to her question seemed to be answered as colors slowly replaced the shadowy purple hues. Everything was mostly drab grays and greens, with only a few exceptions like the fungus and moss. She supposed color wouldn't matter much to cave species if it was dark most of the time.
She stared at the crystal and frowned. ‘I wish I really knew what this was...’
[Mana Shard (Condensed)]
Her eyes widened at the response from the [System] as she had decided to call it. Was this the [Identify] skill? She had used its somehow!
She hadn't called it by name. She had just wanted to know what something was. Even if the information was... lacking, she wondered if that was because of the skill's low level or her understanding of the thing was poor.
Pulling out the dagger from her other pocket, she repeated the process.
[Steel Dagger]
Again, not helpful, but at least it was a start. Quickly, she turned the rock toward anything she could find.
[Glow Moss]
[Black Robe]
[Rock]
[Fenicia's Fungal Growth]
The last tidbit of information surprised her a little. The purple-hued mushrooms had a proper name she had never heard of before. That at least told her the skill didn't just name things as something generic using her own knowledge. It was able to provide her with answers she didn't already know!
She wondered if leveling it up would increase information or add descriptions, but she wasn't sure how or even if she could level it up. She knew from video games that using the skill was the usual way of increasing their proficiency, and this entire [System] thing had that kind of flavor to it.
[Identify] worked when she asked information about something, so what about [Mana Manipulation], would it work in the same sort of way? She picked up the Mana Shard and the faint sensation of tingling returned to her hand. She wondered whether she could do something with that.
Cupping the mana shard in both hands, she closed her eyes and tried to make something happen. There was no response at all and she let out an annoyed puff. Maybe she needed some kind of intent. Trying again she pictured the tingling sensation moving up her arms and away from her fingers.
After a while, she thought she felt a change, but it was small—almost imperceptible. Frustrated, she put the crystal on the ground beside her. Elania realized that the tingly sensation in her hands hadn’t stopped. That gave her an idea.
She tried to picture the sensation in her hand being forced out of her hand and out of her fingertips. The tingling seemed to resist for a moment before it suddenly concentrated and her fingertips began to burn. She yelped and whipped her hand away from her as if she was burned and the sudden heat was released.
Dozens of sparks flew from her fingertips, small little glowing red embers that didn't put themselves out despite flying through the air. They started as dim white flecks that changed hue as they followed through their trajectory ending up a deep yellow-orange as they neared their end.
The sparks bounced off the far wall of the room, falling to the stone floor. Most of them sputtered out except for a few that seemed to cling to the wall. Her eyes widened when she realized they landed on the Glow Moss.
She watched with growing horror as dim sparks began to grow brighter. ‘The moss is flammable!’
The small sparks quickly grew into small burning patches, and a burnt chemical smell filled the room almost immediately. ‘What have I done?’
Scooping up her few belongings, she rushed for one of the exits and was glad she did, considering the fire behind her was growing stronger. Fast. The moss wasn't thick in the small corridors between the larger caverns, but that didn't stop the spread. The flames continued to rush along the ceiling and sides of the cave in every direction. Wildfire seemed like too tame a word to give the growing conflagration. ‘Am I starring in one of those volcano movies now?’
Despite Elania's head start, the light and heat began to catch up with her.
‘Fuck! You've really done it now, Elania.’
She struggled to pick up her pace, but the cavern continued as before, unsympathetic and unending. There was a lot of light to see by now, and she did her best to ignore the pebbles under her feet and run.
It seemed the corridors acted as choke points, and the fire slowed down considerably at them, but once it was in one of the larger chambers, all the moss rapidly caught fire. Was it some type of natural chemical in the moss, or was it just super dry and ready to burn? ‘The moss didn’t feel that dry, so it must be the former.’
As she moved through the next corridor, she froze. On the other end, there was a faint light, growing closer and getting brighter. She had either gone in a circle, or the flame had found a shorter path and somehow got in front of her.
Elania looked back over her shoulder. The cavern's ceiling and walls were brightly lit, and ash and burning tangles of moss were falling on the floor in small flaming piles. She needed to find another path!
Problem was that once in the cavern, she didn't see one. Wasn't this about time for a new, previously hidden path to be revealed so she could escape a painful and firey death? Trudging up to the middle of the room her only choice seemed to be a small depression. It was the furthest point from the ceiling, and had a bit of cover from the walls, so it seemed like the safest point she would find. Flames raced around the room and across the ceiling from every direction rapidly.
Elania didn't know enough about her skills yet to know if they'd be of any help. She didn't see how they could stop this. She hunkered down as the heat and light from the walls bathed her. Ash began to fall, and a small hot piece landed on her left hand. Quickly, she brushed it off, wincing in pain. She wrapped one of the extra two robes around her arm while pulling the other over her head, hopefully blocking any more debris from landing on her.
Several times, a burning jumble of moss fell and landed on her upraised arm and she batted them away. At least the robes didn't seem as flammable as the moss. ‘Probably because the moss burns itself out so fast.’
As the flames began to calm down and the raging heat was slowly replaced by a cloud of smoke, she had overestimated the danger of the fire spreading and burning her alive. Running out of clean air was suddenly at the top of her worries instead.
She still wasn't sure whether the fire had somehow spread around her faster or if she had been going in circles. And then another—more dreadful thought came to her. What if she had been going in circles the entire time and was still near the cultists' lair? That thought wasn't palatable.
As she came out from underneath the now slightly-singed robes and examined the aftermath, a new message appeared.
[You have met the requirements for Ash Demon evolution.]
[Do you wish to evolve your race to Ash Demon? Y/N]
Elania agonized over the choice presented to her. It seemed like an opportunity to increase her 'strength’ or gain new abilities, but she had no idea what becoming an Ash Demon or evolution entailed.
Ultimately, she swiped the message away. She didn’t want to change and become a monster no matter what the status screen said. She was quite happy with just being normal Elania. Becoming another type of demon might help her now, but what about later? Until she learned more, it wasn’t wise to jump into potentially irreversible things. Besides, she still had her own doubts about the [System].
The room's heat was slowly dissipating, but smoke continued to pour out of the few smoldering remains. The cavern's air was thick with the smoke even though most of it was swirling around the ceiling. Pulling out the Mana Shard for a bit of extra light, Elania decided to look for a more hospitable location.
As she passed through the next choke point, she remembered her earlier thought about going in circles and decided to test that notion by placing a small rock in the middle. Now she would know if that was the case.
Several more passages went by, all touched by the flame. The ash and soot in the air began to fall like snow on her head as it began to settle. The air quality that had been bad before managed to plummet further, and it made her cough and choke a few times. She might not have had a clock or any way to tell time, but she knew she was getting tired.
Frustration gnawed at her as everything around her was nothing but endless caverns that didn't change. She checked the junctions in both directions on the few times she came to one, hoping that one way or another might be different.
[You have gained the poison resistance attribute!]
Elania stopped suddenly and frowned. 'Why?'
She thought it might mean she was being poisoned, but how? She hadn’t had any encounters and was still not desperate enough to eat anything. Nor had there been any sources of water.
Then it dawned on her, the chemical smell in the air from the fire... Was the air turning poisonous then? Was that why she had begun to feel tired and sleepy suddenly?
The realization made her pick up her pace and continue through the caves.
She almost missed it. The staircase had been nestled behind several large boulders and was pretty well hidden halfway through the cavern. That was the point she was usually paying the least attention before hurrying to the next.
'Stairs.'
That wasn't natural, and it was the first sign of anything other than the 'natural' cave system she had found since leaving the cultist's lair. The stone of the steps was roughly hewn, or, rather, it looked like it had suffered abuse without repair for a long time. However, it didn't crack or crumble as she stood on the first step like she had feared. There wasn’t any evidence of the prevalent moss growing into the space and the air seemed to be a bit better. Elania didn’t see any other choices presenting themselves so with the help of the Mana Shard’s light, she carefully made her way up.
Stairs meant people, and she was worried that whoever she met might be worse than the cultists or the holy knight who had meant to kill her. Still, she wasn't about to give up this opportunity to possibly escape the monotonous caverns below. As fantastical as the caves had been she really didn’t like ones that went up in flame faster than a Cali brushfire.
The spiraling stairs seemed to go on forever, and in several spots, they had crumbled, forcing her to climb over the rubble to continue. Realizing just how old the steps had to be reassured her that she was unlikely to meet whoever had built them.
Her legs felt like jelly when she reached the first landing. The stone room wasn't large, and a second staircase continued to lead upward. There were openings where, at one time, there might have been doors, but they had long ago worn away.
Elania decided to explore the rooms and rest before continuing her ascent. Except for rubble, there was nothing in the rooms, so she decided to take over the one furthest from the staircase. She didn't find any other entrance or exit, so possibly the people who had made the stairs had used this place as a rest spot when traveling up or down just like she planned to do.
As she got off her feet a pained wince creased her face. If they had been sore before, now they were raw and burning in protest of her long march. She shined the light over them to take a closer look and gasped. Her feet were covered in grime and dried blood. She realized that the blood was probably from when she had slipped before. Luckily, she didn't see any open wounds or cuts. ‘That will change really fast if I don’t rest and find something to cover them with.’
With no water, she had no way to clean up. Not having any water or food would soon become a problem, even though she didn't feel thirsty or hungry yet. That seemed strange considering how long she'd been moving, but maybe it was because of how stressful everything had been so far.
Since she was finally off her feet and set on staying for a while she decided to improve the situation at least a little. Examining one of the extra robes closely, she made a few plans in her head. The dagger came out, and she began to cut the material.
Elania would never have claimed to have been a resourceful person, but after some work, she had three large serviceable strips of fabric along with a lot of extra scraps. Without any other tools, she wasn’t sure what the small bits would be useful for, but she stuffed them back into a pocket.
Taking up one of the long strips she had made she began to wrap it around the base of her toes in a weave that went up to her leg, ending above her ankle. It seemed to work well, although she found herself wishing she had an Ace bandage instead. She repeated the method around her other foot and after tying them off, they seemed like they'd stay in place. The third strip was wrapped around her chest, and she fastened it on the front. That was a relief as all the running had been quite unpleasant with her breasts completely unsupported.
[You have gained the skill Improvised Crafting - Lvl 1!]
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 5
Power: 47/100
Karma: 12
Attributes: [Locked]
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
She immediately noticed that the mention of 'Skills' being locked had disappeared, and 'Power' had increased substantially. She wasn't sure what power indicated or why it had risen.
She pulled up her 'Skills' next and confirmed that [Improvised Crafting] had been added to her list.
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 1 (Activated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 1]
[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 2, Darkvision Lvl - 2 (Activated)]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 1, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3
Improvised Crafting Lvl - 1]
She had gained poison resistance as well, but it wasn't listed. Then she realized that the [System] said it had been an 'Attribute,' not a skill! However, according to her [Status], the attribute function was still locked, and when she tried anyway, nothing happened. What did she have to do to unlock it, and what about titles?
A yawn took her by surprise and she realized that she really felt tired and exhausted after stopping. Wrapped up in the oversized robe, she pocketed the Mana Shard and dagger. Then it was relatively easy to fall asleep in the quiet darkness.
It was the increasing warmth that woke Elania from her deep sleep. She quickly pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around the dark room. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she felt like the air was incredibly cold as it touched her bare skin.
Despite the lack of light sources anywhere, she could make out the flat shape of the walls and ceiling and the small piles of rubble. The all-pervasive silence permeated everything.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she got her bearings but realized the heat wasn't going away. It didn’t come from the air either, but seemed to be coming from within her.
Was it somehow related to the poison? She went to check her [Status] to see if anything changed, and her eyes widened at the volume of messages she had received while sleeping.
[Your body is reaching the limits of its capacity for power!]
[Your body has reached the limit of its capacity for power!]
[Find a stronger body or reduce your current power!]
[Your body has exceeded the limit of its capacity for power!]
[You have gained a level in Demonic Aura!]
[Your body is experiencing slight thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
[You have gained a level in Darkvision!]
[Due to your excess power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
[Due to your excess power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
[You have gained a level in Demonic Aura!]
[Due to your excess power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body has greatly exceeded the limit of its capacity for power!]
[Find a stronger body or reduce your current power!]
The moment the status screen appeared, Elania knew the reason for this deluge of messages.
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 5
Power: 168/112
Karma: 12
Attributes: [Locked]
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
Whatever 'Power' was, there had been a dramatic increase since she had last checked. Even the maximum limit had increased. What she didn't know was why! She tried to think of a reason but couldn't come up with one.
There was no one to ask for an explanation, no helpful manual to explain concepts that were probably self-explanatory to someone who was a native of this world. Elania choked back a laugh as she pictured a school of children being taught what their status screen meant and wished she could participate in one.
Power, maybe it was like mana? The concept of health, mana, and stamina was familiar to her from video games, but they didn't seem to apply in this world.
She closed her eyes and wished someone would appear to help her. That, of course, didn't happen. She had no one to rely on but herself. Well, since she had made it this far, she wasn't going to give up.
Despite her slight nausea and the heat that didn’t go down, she felt well-rested. That had to count for something. Elania got up, rolled the last extra robe up, and carried it under her arm.
As soon as she stood, she smiled slightly and shifted her weight on her feet. She could tell the footwraps were already working, and that was enough to improve her mood. Since her vision had adapted so well while she had slept, she didn't bother taking out the crystal to help her see.
The other rooms were just as she had left them—bare, empty, and crumbled.
There was no other option but to continue climbing the endless staircase.
The ascent had turned into a mindless trudge, and Elania nearly missed the first signs of light seeping down at her.
Reaching the landing, she stopped and stared out in amazement. The colors were a feast for her eyes as she took in the multi-hued landscape before her. It was a massive cavern, dwarfing all the others she had seen so far.
The ceiling was a tremendous distance above, and a brilliant lime-green covering of moss dominated it. Massive stalactite formations broke the carpet up in spots, but even they shined with orange and reds of some other types of a plant.
[Brilliant Glow Moss]
[Red Tangle]
[Underground Creep Vine]
It lit up the entire landscape below.
She realized that not everything around her was natural. Far away, she could see the remains of stone buildings. It seemed pretty clear that they were not inhabited... or at least not maintained very well. Maybe whoever lived in them liked the ancient ruins vibe.
[Stone]
[Worked Stone]
[Ruined Stone]
A few of them had been nearly destroyed by the massive, towering mushroom trees that had sprouted inside them and continued to grow to be larger than the building. The entire landscape was dotted with those same 'trees' in various shapes and sizes. A few gave off their own vibrance.
[Fungal Growth]
[Fungal Wood]
[Tree-cap]
Bare rocks no longer dominated the landscape. Small groups of shorter plants—mostly mushrooms of various colors—formed a random patchwork pattern. Past the buildings, a small stream of water was flowing, and the space around it seemed to have the thickest growth.
[Water Spore]
[Fenicia's Fungal Growth]
[Rock Blight]
[Scour-Stone Moss]
[Itch Moss]
[Water]
‘Water!’
That was important, and she almost beelined for the stream, but she paused. It was almost a complete ecosystem, but where were the animals or other creatures? Shouldn't there be at least insects?
She scanned the terrain carefully, not wanting to get caught off guard because she was careless. After a few minutes of scanning for movement, she still hadn’t spotted a single thing.
‘Maybe they are shy.’
Elania decided to investigate the buildings before she went to the stream. Despite her long journey up the staircase, she still wasn't hungry or thirsty. She wasn’t sure why. The water wasn’t going anywhere though, and the buildings were closer.
She was sure of that as the sound of running water trickled through the air. It was a welcome change to the complete silence of the earlier caves. She made her way around the fungal growths and mosses, making a point to avoid the ones with Itch or the like in their name. [Identify] was a useful skill to have.
[Due to your excess power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
Elania swiped away the messages again. She frowned in annoyance, not needing a message to remind her. The heat in her core and the sweat that continued to drip down her forehead was reminder enough. It was enough to have already soaked the wrap around her chest and certain parts of her robe.
It was getting hotter. She desperately needed to find a way to stop whatever was increasing her 'Power' and bleed off the excess, or she’d burn up.
[Power 188/116]
[You have gained a level in Demonic Aura!]
‘The excessive power is affecting the Demonic Aura as well I guess... I still don't know what it does.’
Maybe it was because of the density of the buildings. Elania had hoped to find something useful in them. The first one was disappointingly bare, but the second contained something that sent a shiver down her spine.
Bones. Thousands of bones of all different sizes and shapes. Whatever had accumulated them had not been picky about the selection. A few seemed to stand out as a bit oversized to Elania, but that was because most were small or broken into pieces. She backed out of the building and hurried to the next one, hoping she wouldn't meet whatever called that building its lair.
The rest of the buildings were all bare, except that a few had some stone furniture remains. Judging from the size of it, whoever or whatever had created it had at least been about the size of a human. Maybe even a dwarf or elf! Elania managed a smile at that bit of knowledge. At least she wouldn't be surprised if she ran into someone from a race like that.
As she left the last building, it was only the faint sound of a few pebbles shifting and falling that alerted her. Spinning around, she lifted her head and came face-to-face with a pair of large blood-red eyes and a savage expression full of teeth.
It immediately leaped off the roof and fell straight toward her.
[ ???? - Lesser Demon (S Rank Monster) - Level 57]
The only reason [Identify] had fired up was that she had been making a habit of using it on everything she came across. There was only enough time for a single, “Oh Shit” before the thing slammed into her, knocking her off her feet.
As she fell it managed to grab hold of her shoulder as she tumbled, and a sudden burning pain erupted in her left bicep. Releasing a scream, she grabbed at the thing and tried to throw it off her.
That resulted in a bite on her wrist and then more bites on her arm as she rolled about on the ground, in a poor attempt to get rid of it.
‘It is trying to eat me!’
Blood poured out freely from the deep bites the jagged teeth had left. After another vain attempt to free herself from its grip she managed a solid punch to its head, and the thing flew off of her. It rolled as it landed coming to a stop on its arms and legs before levering itself up and dashing back at her.
Without thinking, Elania reached into her pocket and pulled out her dagger and pointed it at the demon. The imminent threat made it pause, giving her first good look at it.
[ ???? - Lesser Demon (S Rank Monster) - Level 57]
The monster was shaped like a short and stocky person akin to a dwarf, but the resemblance ended there. Its face was elongated and scrunched up in a snarl, revealing a bloody mouth full of sharp looking teeth. That was her blood, and it stared at her with glowing crimson eyes that stood out against its alabaster white skin, giving it a possessed look. It was wearing a single thin brown piece of hide.
‘It's the same as me? We are nothing alike!’
It snapped and snarled at her as it slowly circled her, eyes riveted on the dagger as it sought out a chance to lunge at her again. It made a few aborted attempts, and she realized it was wary of the weapon. Maybe it had fought against someone armed before. The creature couldn’t have known that she had no idea of how to use the dagger or fight.
Warmth trickled down her arm, and she noted she was still bleeding from the bites on her arm. She winced in pain as she shifted to keep the dagger in line with her assailant.
[Your physical Status is degrading.]
[Due to your excess power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
"I fucking know!"
The creature snarled back at her in response, making a longer dash straight at her, but it turned away right before it could come within reach.
Through the pain and frustration, she started to get angry. If she had so much fucking power that it was eating away at her insides, where the hell was it? She thought she might be able to do the spark thing again, but she doubted she'd be able to hit the thing with them while it was moving so much.
Suddenly, it lunged at her again, and this time it didn't dart away at the last second. Elania swung the dagger in a horizontal arc, hoping to slash it, but it was faster. As the demon ducked under the wide swing it jumped straight for her and grappled her. Despite the impact, Elania managed to keep her feet. Bringing her arm back down, she tried to slam the pommel into its head, but it latched onto her, immobilizing her arm with the dagger and then biting down on her robed arm again, tearing with its teeth.
Pain flared on her skin, and she tried to shove the thing off of her, but it held on firmly, claws digging through the robe and into her sides, adding to the pain.
Her other arm was already mangled, bloody, and weaponless. Elania attempted to punch it again, but it had a better grip this time and it didn’t seem to care if she punched it or not. Another painful bite ensued, this time on her shoulder. Finally, she grabbed the thing by the side of its thick neck and tried to push its face and teeth away.
‘I can't miss from here!’
She didn't have the Mana Shard in her hand, but she should have her own mana—at least that was what she was hoping for. She tried to repeat her earlier spark attack, but this time, she was in pain and desperate.
Rather than a few sparks, her entire hand was suddenly engulfed in a brilliant flare. That hurt even more than the bites. Her entire hand felt like it was burning away. The pain was intense but mercifully short-lived as the agony was rapidly replaced by a tingling numbness before turning to complete nothingness.
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
The effect was tremendous, though, as she realized she had pushed her forearm through the creature's entire throat and out the other side. It immediately released her and scurried away, arms grasping at its head as it rolled wildly across the stone in a mad frenzy. It was eerily quiet as it did so, its throat and vocal cords totally disintegrated and missing.
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[Your physical Status is degrading quickly.]
Elania wasn't in very good shape herself, and she slumped down on the ground. The flare covering her hand went out, and she looked at the ruined limb in horror. Her hand was completely blackened and charred. ‘That is probably why the pain in my hand stopped. There are no nerves left to feel pain,’ her own relatively calm voice in her head offered.
Leaning over, she promptly threw up the contents of her stomach, which was mostly liquid as she hadn't eaten anything. She told herself to try and keep it together.
[Your physical Status is degrading quickly.]
"What about my mental status?"
[Your physical Status is degrading quickly.]
With her still-mobile hand, she reached into the front of her oversized robe and pulled at the knot holding her breast wrap together. It took a few tries, but it finally came loose. She considered the numerous bite marks that were still bleeding, although many had slowed considerably.
"I'm going to die of infection anyway."
Tears were streaming down her face, and she decided to use the wrap on her arm that was not a burnt crisp. It was the one the thing had chewed on the most, and the bites on her burnt arm had mostly stopped bleeding anyway. Wrapping her own arm wasn't easy, but she managed it with a combination of teeth and body movement. The exertion seemed to take the last remains of her energy and the adrenaline high from the fight was wearing off.
As she leaned against a boulder, trying to stay still and ignore the pain, a new message appeared.
[You have slain ???? - Lesser Demon (S Rank Monster) - Level 57]
[For slaying a being over 50 levels higher than you, extra experience is rewarded.]
[You have gained multiple levels!]
[You have reached level 10. The attribute function is unlocked.]
[You have gained multiple levels!]
[You have gained 12 Karma for slaying an evil aligned being.]
She looked over to where she had last heard the rolling and scrambling sounds of the creature. Sure enough, it had stopped moving and was lying still.
[Your physical Status is degrading quickly.]
The bandage wasn't helping much, then. Elania realized she was probably going into shock.
‘What about my [Status?] I unlocked the attribute function…’
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 11
Power: 112/124
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
‘Oh, my power is fixed. I guess I only had to lose my hand to get it in check.’ Despite the fatalistic thought, Elania quickly called up the new screen.
"Attributes."
[Attributes: Elania Reyes]
[1 Available Attribute Selection]
[Current Attributes:
Demon Contract (1 Available)
Demonic Self-Sustenance
Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)
Immunity (Darkness)
Resistance (Poison, Mana)
Weakness (Holy)]
[Available Attributes: Weakness Negation, Resistance Improvement, Resistance Selection, Physical Ability Improvement, Body Manipulation, Regeneration, Reactive Adaptation, Power Absorption (Touch)]
Elania scanned the list, the reason she hadn't felt hungry or thirsty yet becoming clear. She already had several attributes that had been helping her, along with the poison resistance she had gained during the moss wildfire.
When she reached the available attributes, her eyes widened. Several of them looked rather impressive, although there was only one that she latched onto, considering her current rapidly deteriorating condition.
‘Regeneration.’
[Do you wish to select Regeneration as a new attribute? Y/N]
"Yes."
Nothing happened for a second, and she was about to try again when the message suddenly appeared.
[You have gained the Regeneration attribute!]
[You have spent all your available attribute selections.]
[Due to your high power, Regeneration is enhanced!]
[You have met the requirements for Bone Demon evolution.]
[Do you wish to evolve your race to Bone Demon? Y/N]
The healing wasn't instantaneous, but she felt better immediately. The bites and claw marks healed first, and she wondered if her body was replacing all the lost blood as well. Staring up at the ceiling of the cavern, she didn't even consider the question of becoming a 'Bone Demon.' Elania had no desire to be related in any way, shape, or form to that monster.
Sitting up, she looked at the charred remains of her hand and frowned. It was lifeless, and there was no sensation. If it was already dead, how would it heal?
As if to answer her question, the skin further up her arm near the burnt tissue began to bubble and then extend over the charred remains.
‘Oh.’
It progressed fast as the rest of her body finished healing itself, and then the pain started.
Curling up into a ball, Elania was distantly aware that her screams were echoing through the entire cavern before she passed out.
Elania traced the side of her face with her fingers as she stared at her reflection in the quick running stream of water. Her long hair had been braided like she usually kept it, but now was becoming a tangled and split mess, with debris thoroughly mixed with blood. What had put her in her current fugue was her eyes. Her irises glowed back at her, a deep crimson red. That was new, and disturbing.
She tried her best to clean up, but the results were less than ideal without any soap or brush.
‘We have to get used to new normals or go crazy.’
"Right, Mr. Rock?"
The mana shard continued to shine in silence on the rocky stream bank, although she had noticed it had begun to dim slightly since she had taken it from the cultists. She checked her Power for the fourth time since setting it down.
[Power: 102/128]
‘I was right.’
When she had finally regained consciousness, her Power had overflowed again, and she had been in a mild panic. It was when she had taken off the tattered bloody robe with the mana shard still in it that she realized the excess began to bleed off.
It was hard to tell the time in the caverns, but she thought it was taking about an hour for one point of Power to drain. That was with her [Demonic Aura Lvl - 4] and [Darkvision Lvl - 3] both active. She also suspected that her [Demonic Self-Sustenance] and [Regeneration] attributes were draining Power as well.
That didn't seem like much, considering the mana shard intended to boil her alive with extra 'Power' whenever she had it on her person. Mana and Power... she wanted to know if they were the same thing, just named differently, and if they were different, why didn't she have a mana stat in her [Status] screen? Where were her hitpoints?
And there was another thing. While she didn’t have the need for any food or water while she had 'Power,' what would happen when she ran out? Elania remembered she had started with zero Power, but she had a gut feeling she wouldn't survive for long like that unless she had food and water.
No, looking at it again she was certain the mana shard was getting dimmer over time as she used it. She needed to find another way to charge her ‘Power,’ or she'd end up having to try and find the cultists and make a deal with them for the mana shards... Not an idea she wanted to entertain.
There were no fish in the stream that she could see, which ruled out catching one and seeing if eating something would help. Even though she wasn't hungry, she still had the desire to try good food, and a picture of a nicely-cooked fish sitting atop a blanket of rice had her craving some sushi.
The sound of a rockslide echoed deeply from somewhere distant and the sound brought her out of her reverie.
‘Right. Keep it together, Elania. We aren't out of danger yet.’
She had thoroughly soaked the robes in the water along with her wraps. All the cloth had been drenched in blood and grime, and while she didn't have any way to get the stains out, she had been able to use her hands to wring and scrub the worst of it off.
The robe she had been wearing when the Bone Demon attacked was a tattered mess, so she would have to figure out something else to use it for. The extra robe she had been using as a blanket was in much better condition, and she decided to wear that one for now.
Still, she needed a place to camp out in and let everything dry. The idea of staying out in the open, exposed, and butt-naked wasn't appealing. After much deliberation, she eventually decided to try the nearby buildings again. She would be out of sight, and she was hopeful that she would somehow be able to rig some sort of line up to hang the clothes.
On the way back, though, she realized there would be a problem—the Bone Demon's corpse.
Elania didn't like the idea of touching it, but she couldn't leave it near the buildings. The thought of it attracting attention and drawing predators or carrion-eaters to her while she was sleeping was enough to strengthen her resolve to drag it away.
She was prepared to drag it by its feet, but a surprising message appeared when she touched a foot.
[Absorb the lingering Power from ???? - Lesser Demon (S Rank Monster) - Level 57's corpse? Y/N]
The question of how common Demonic beings were and if they often cannibalized each other for Power came to Elania. Since she didn't feel any kinship to the thing in front of her though and she decided to give it a go.
The corpse began to disintegrate into dust. Despite the seeming stillness of the air, it blew away in some type of wind as the fragments turned to ether and then disappeared. As the process continued, Elania felt her core warm up again. By the time the corpse was entirely gone, she felt like she was on fire and plagued by the same messages from earlier.
[You have absorbed 115 Power!]
[Your body has reached the limit of its capacity for Power!]
[Find a stronger body or reduce your current Power!]
[Your body has exceeded the limit of its capacity for Power!]
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
[Due to your high Power, [Regeneration] is enhanced!]
[Power: 211/134]
It was hotter than before but not as much as the numbers indicated. She idly wondered if that was because of how much her power had exceeded its capacity. Elania wished she knew the exact adverse effects and worried about permanent damage. However, the mention of [Regeneration] being enhanced calmed her a bit.
‘[Regeneration] heals me from the damage of being over my Power limit... then it’s a bit like power leveling. It just makes me a bit… sweaty.’
After returning to the building she had selected, she started to clean out a corner. She used her dagger to cut and tear off several long strips from the ruined robe and tied them into a line to hang the rest of her things on. That let her set them to dry just as she had planned.
Finding a spot in what she now considered her corner, she decided to check her full [Status] and decide what to do next.
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 11
Power: 211/134
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 6 (Activated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 7]
[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 2, Darkvision Lvl - 3 (Activated)]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 2, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 1, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 1]
[Attributes: Elania Reyes]
[Current Attributes:
Demon Contract (1 Available)
Regeneration (Normal)
Demonic Self-Sustenance
Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)
Immunity (Darkness)
Resistance (Poison, Mana)
Weakness (Holy)]
‘I need to try and practice my [Mana Manipulation] skill... it killed the Bone Demon, but it almost killed me in the process. Really, I need to plan on how I can defend myself. I doubt that demon was the only unfriendly thing I will run into.’
---
Elania continued to experiment with her skills while camping out in the building. She had avoided exploring or looking for anything farther than the stream, other than one foray to gather some of the [Fungal Wood] she had spotted nearby.
After that short trip, she decided to use the excess 'Power' she had received from the Bone Demon to develop her skills and abilities. The mana shard was kept in the opposite corner of 'her' building. It provided something like a night-light which was comforting to her and useful to her as she practiced.
She passed two days like this, or at least she had slept twice. There wasn’t much distinction without any way to tell time that she could tell. She'd gained a new skill [Athletics] when she had done some pushups and sit-ups to burn some nervous energy. It had been put under the [Mundane] group, so she wasn't sure what it did other than act as a counter for how much work she had put in.
Elania had also made a lot of progress with her [Mana Manipulation], although she quickly realized that it was easily her most 'Power' intensive skill. The costs seemed to go down as it leveled, and she had finally managed to hold a spark above her hand for an indefinite amount of time around the time she reached level 10.
She wasn't exactly sure how useful controlling the spark would be, but she had found other ways to use the energy as well. It was difficult but she could direct the energy to specific parts of her body without setting them on fire, giving her a boost of strength. That was the kind of thing she thought would be really useful in an emergency.
Between practice sessions of her various skills, she had worked on the [Fungal Wood] to make a primitive spear. The wood turned out to be quite flexible, and it was sliced easily by her dagger, so she didn't think it would do well if she had to face someone with actual weapons. It was the best she could manage, though, and she did gain two more levels in [Improvised Crafting], so that was a bonus.
Nothing had prepared her for what happened when she figured out how to deactivate her [Demonic Aura], though.
The once quiet cavern erupted into all kinds of sounds, and Elania was sent scrambling to gather her things before climbing to the roof of the building and looking out at the landscape.
Elania gasped in surprise. The cavern that had been silent for days came to life before her eyes. Mounds of what she had assumed was moss-covered stone got onto their legs, letting out a strange “Garooo” sound that echoed everywhere. They each showed up as [Ralfot] and were actually some type of quadruped covered in moss. Was the moss part of their skin or did it grow on them as a symbiote? On a few the moss was getting quite long and she wondered if that made them into something like an underground sheep-cow.
Then something drew her attention to the ceiling, and she looked in amazement at the several wispy creatures floating there. They looked like jelly-fish but somehow were able to float in the air. The [Jellv] seemed to have some way of directing their movement and assembled to the brightest patches of glow moss, packing themselves as close as possible.
Shadow patterns began to form on the ground in the cavern, and as the Jellies moved in large groups, those patterns moved across the floor, adding another visual effect to all the luminescent flora.
'They don't have levels, and that seems to separate them from the people I’ve seen so far. Although I'm not sure I'd classify the Bone Demon as a person.'
Elania noticed smaller, less visible creatures as well. A small pack of scaled creatures about the size of rabbits came up from hidden burrows to hunt down and nibble on the [Fenicia's Fungal Growth] and the ground moss. The sheer number of them had her wondering if the people here had the same sayings for [Elnats] as people on Earth did for rabbits.
As she continued to watch all the creatures emerge and go about their business of... well, most of them seemed to be looking for food, she wondered about how they had all stayed hidden for so long.
Had her [Demonic Aura] made them all hide because they thought she was a dangerous predator? If these small creatures were so capable of hiding like that, then Elania didn’t even want to think about how the real predators in the caverns would be like. She doubted a human could have hidden for that long without making some noise, even if it was in their sleep!
[You have gained a level in Identify!]
Oh! That'd be useful. Maybe it would show more information. Much to Elania's dismay, there didn't seem to be any changes with a single level. 'I've been cheated!'
Even bugs and other insects came out, although they didn't seem attracted to her mercifully. She hated gnats, mosquitoes, and pretty much every type of insect that could fly. The biggest example she spotted was the small cloud that followed the Ralfots.
‘Another thing they have in common with cows. The creatures are a lot less aggressive than I’d expected.'
Looking down at her makeshift spear, she frowned. Should she try to hunt something? She wasn't hungry, and the thought of killing things to eat them when she didn't need food to survive didn't sit well with her. But what if she ran out of ‘Power’? She could absorb a demon's ‘Power,’ but what if that didn’t apply to other things? She needed to know.
Elania watched the creatures for a while longer before finally making up her mind. Since the Ralfots were too large, she'd go for one of the Elnats.
As she made her way down the roof, heading deeper into the cavern, she wondered if she should try to be sneaky about it. Maybe she'd learn a new skill? Trying it out, she picked her way around the rises and dips in the rock carefully, trying to keep out of view of her prey as she moved.
Arriving just one bend away, she sat down against a boulder for a moment. Disappointment at not earning any 'stealth' skill gnawed at her, and her heart was pounding faster than it had any right to do so. The approach hadn't been difficult at all, so it was definitely her nerves. She had never hunted anything before. She was a genuine city-girl.
The thought had her bite the inside of her bottom lip as the idea brought back memories she had struggled to keep locked down. She had been camping with her family, and she even remembered her father suggesting they go hunting once, just in case she ever wanted or needed to at some point.
'No time to think about that, Elania. No need to break down into tears right now, either.'
Taking a deep breath, she tightened her hold on the makeshift spear and quietly slid around the rock. She hadn't planned out what she intended to do, and she thought to throw the spear at one when they started to run. She had decided to try and get as close as possible before that happened, though.
The Elnats were still in the same group as earlier, each one spread out a few feet from the others, nibbling on moss and fungus. If they had been furry, she'd have called them cute. They looked more like grumpy lizards, though.
Inching closer, she got the feeling they already knew she was there. When one turned its head, and a single black bead of an eye fixated on her, she almost broke into a sprint. The thing didn't rush or stop its nibbling, though, and she continued her slow approach.
She got closer and closer with slight disbelief forming since the things weren't dashing off. As the distance closed to the last few yards, the thought that even she might be able to hit one with a thrown spear flittered by as she took the last steps. All of the little creatures had one of their eyes fixed on her, but none had moved.
Elania was at a loss and her plan was in disarray. She was close enough to simply stab the one she had approached, but it only moved slightly to get to a bit of moss that was out of reach.
'It wouldn't be right.'
Plan discarded, she crouched down, looking at the [Elnat] closer. The small animal didn't seem alarmed at all, and Elania impulsively scooped up some moss and held it out to the thing's nose cautiously. Her gesture was rewarded a few moments later when its tongue licked out, and then it moved closer to the moss Elania had offered. A stupidly pleased grin appeared on her face. "You're pretty much tame, aren't you?"
'Not everything is trying to kill me, at least.'
After feeding her new friend, she decided to explore the rest of the cavern. As she levered herself up, a strange musty odor reached her along with a sound she hadn't heard before.
"Glua-Glua-Glaa!"
Her head snapped in the direction of the sound, and her eyes widened as she took in the newcomer.
[ ???? - Mushroohum - Level 17]
'A mushroom man!' was her first thought. The resemblance was unmistakable as the human figure's head ended in the classical shape of a mushroom, and his skin seemed to have been made of wood. It was carrying a spear and shield, with some type of belt with other implements hanging off it. That was its only attire, though, and she guessed it worked fine considering the thing didn’t appear to have any genitalia. She was almost sure that ???? was a given name, or maybe a class. After seeing the Elnats and Ralfots, she was certain it indicated intelligence.
He seemed agitated, and although he didn't look very agile, he was striding toward her, aiming his spear at her. It continued to make the "Glua-Glaa!" sound repeatedly in a higher and higher tone.
As Elania took a step back, a sudden shriek erupted from below and realized she had stepped on the Elnat she had fed. 'Oh, that's why they are so tame.' She had almost hunted and ate someone's pet!
The Elnat seemed unharmed, but suddenly they all bolted away from her. Before she could try to communicate or explain, the Mushroom Man made a decision. Watching in horror, it pulled the spear back and then launched it at her like a javelin.
It was well aimed, but the distance meant she had just enough time to throw herself out of the way.
[You have gained a level in Dodging!]
"I'm sorry!"
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to suffice, or it didn't understand her because it continued its attempts to shout at her. At least, it had stopped approaching her.
That was until a second one showed up. Then a third, and fourth. Suddenly there were Mushroom Men all over, carrying spears and more than ready to come after her.
“I’m really sorry!”
She decided to retreat. As she rounded the last boulder she had hid behind before reaching the Elnats, a loud clack sounded near her head. One of them had thrown another spear, and it had bounced off the rock.
He had made damned sure that the entire complex was thoroughly cleansed, yet he had failed in his mission. The summoned demon had easily managed to escape, and the leader of the cult had nearly killed Anton before using a teleport spell to vanish.
It wasn't often that a cult's location was revealed to the Order, and he had fumbled the chance to eliminate them.
Scrubbing every bit of the thick cloud of demonic aura from the area had taken way more time than he had to spare. He had to go through each and every room to purify it, turning all the items, ingredients, and even furniture into scrap. Everything in the entire complex was now dust except for the final room where the main confrontation had taken place.
The ceiling in one corner of the room bulged down, having collapsed from the stress of the battle. He had already made gouges across the floor, turning the summoning circle grooves into an unreadable chicken-scratch of rubble.
Anton glanced over at the pile of lower-ranking initiates. The death of so many arcanists and the loss of a base and the supplies would set back the Cult of the Black Candle for quite some time he hoped. Only the fact that he had lost his chance to take out one of their seven 'Unholy Bishops' soured his mood.
There was a silver lining in all of this, though. The cult had not managed to bind the lesser demon to their service. Anton was sure that he had prevented any contract between them. The fact that the monster had escaped was unfortunate, and partly his fault, but having one more wild demon roaming in the Underdark was not that much of a concern.
The demon had taken the shape of a young woman, and her terrified face came back to him, as he remembered trying to end her. That had been a source of significant confusion.
Kneeling, he opened a heavily reinforced chest to reveal numerous Mana Shards of distilled essence, utterly free of any other influence. There were only two types of beings that could use that type of power without being harmed.
Drawing Eziel from its sheath, he placed the blade's tip on the mana shard, and the light immediately dimmed before the crystal suddenly disintegrated into dust.
It was the stuff meant for Seraphs and the divine. The fact that some demons had found a way to corrupt the power to their own ends was one more reason for Anton to put an end to their depravities and evil.
His sword wasn't just a typical artifact. Its blade had been forged from the soul of a dying angel, Eziel, The Judgement, Arch-Seraph of Light. It was one of the seven holy relics the Lightbringer Order possessed and was granted to Anton upon his anointment as Paladin.
Sometimes, the blade would send him premonitions or guidance in his dreams, but it had become silent as of late. Anton hoped the mana contained in the shards would help with the blade's fugue. The sword had never failed to harm a demon before, but it had prevented him from harming the monster. He had feared that the Cultists had somehow found a way to corrupt the weapon, but it hadn't had any difficulty severing their heads.
As Anton finished dealing with the Mana Shards, he turned to look at the rest of the room. With a wave of his hand, a pulse of light flared from his palm, and the corpses, along with what remained in the room, turned to dust. His work there was done.
He would have to return to the city he hated next, a place infested with corruption and demonologists, in order to hunt for clues and where the Bishop had gone to lick his wounds. Anton didn’t hold much hope on that front, but he would have to remain in the Underdark until the High Cardinal summoned him back into the light of day.
Elania's heart pounded as she tucked herself behind another boulder.
Clack, clack, clack, clack.
Another volley of spears missed their mark, but the fact that they fell so closely around her position meant that despite her efforts to throw the Mushroom Men off, they were still getting closer and had brought even more spears than she thought possible.
[You have gained a level in Athletics!]
She had been running from them for a while. She was fast enough to outpace them for a time, but whenever she stopped, they would catch up, and they were increasing in number!
Elania didn’t want to fight them. It wasn’t only because she was hesitant to seek confrontation, but also the whole thing felt like a misunderstanding. She never meant to step on the poor Elnat! She hadn't even known they weren't wild animals!
She had slowly come to understand the setup in the cavern... at least she thought she did. The Mushroom Men had domesticated the animals there at some point. She didn't doubt that the Elnats and Ralfots were probably their herd animals. Elania hadn't seen any predators in the cave, and the Mushroom man had seemed quite upset when she stepped on the Elnat.
Maybe they were so hostile to her because they had been acquainted with the vicious Bone Demon she had fought. The vast cache of bones she had found in one of the ruined buildings definitely suggested it had munched on more than a few Elnat and Ralfots at some point.
Having caught her breath, she jumped up and set off at a run again. The now-familiar "Glau-Glaa" cry went back and forth behind her.
She had already circled the majority of the cavern. There had been several large exits to other caverns, and two had been blocked off with large fungal growths. She wondered if those had been built or grown by her pursuers.
As she returned toward the stream and the ruined buildings, she drew back and slid to a stop. A Mushroohum swung heavily with his spear, the tip barely missing Elania's face.
[You have gained a level in Dodging!]
A second return swing came back at her without delay. This time, she raised her own spear, and the two wooden shafts collided. The Mushroom Man was larger than her by at least a foot, and she could feel the difference in their size and weight as it pressed down on her.
[You have gained a level in Blocking!]
The weight grew heavier as Elania's opponent gained more leverage, and she felt her crude spear flex perilously in between her hands.
[You have gained a level in Blocking!]
The unpleasant musty odor she had smelled earlier was thick as the Mushroom Man breathed down on her. It seemed like it was going to crush her if her spear broke, and the menacing look of its face had her frantically searching for options.
'I have other skills.'
She'd burnt off her excess power earlier when practicing, but she still had her reserves. It was time to put her rigorous training into practice.
Casting sparks and melting her own hand wasn’t her only option. Focusing on her power had become easier as the skill leveled. It did take a bit of concentration, which was hard when she was being pressed down onto a knee by the fungus. She forced it to work, anyway.
A white aura began to wisp around and off of her, and the pressure lessened. She was gaining physical strength, and the Mushroohum let out a "Glau-Glaa!" when Elania suddenly grabbed his weapon and then she shoved him with ease, sending her large opponent falling backward.
[Power: 112/142]
Elania let out a strained breath and released the mana coursing through her. She'd burnt over thirty points of her 'Power' just for that single feat of strength!
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[You have gained a level in Battle Concentration!]
'At least I got a new skill. I wonder if---'
She realized her self-distraction with the [System] had allowed the Mushroohum to start scrambling off the ground. It was still prone, and she could easily stab it with her spear while it was vulnerable.
A fit of anger took hold of her, and she raised her spear to do just that. Hadn’t it chased and cornered her when she obviously didn’t want to fight? Its ugly looks and musty smell, its sheer strangeness called out for her to do just that, but... Wasn't she the invader here?
"Let's stop fighting and be friends."
Unfortunately, the "Glau-Glaa" answer was cut short by a volley of thrown spears, one managing to scrape her shoulder. The others had caught up to her, and she took off in a random direction. 'Right, no mercy for Elnat stompers.'
She turned on her Demonic aura again hoping it would help. The Mushroohums closest to her slowed down and stopped for a moment, seemingly agitated. Their 'Glua-Glaa' screams reached a peak as the ones further away continued forward, passing them by quickly. Elania didn't wait to see how long they'd remained stopped.
'Well, all the armchair generals back home will be happy, but that wasn't as useful as I hoped!'
Fleeing once again, she traced a path around the stream to an area near the cave wall she hadn't explored yet. A few other water sources flowed together, and she realized a small pond was surrounded by various larger growths, although none of them came close to the size of the imposing [Tower-Cap] trees.
Elania found herself looking down at the rocky bank and she decided to go around it since the stone looked damp and possibly slippery. Unfortunately, when she turned to explore another escape route, there were a half dozen Mushroom Men in front of her in a semicircle. All of them let loose one of their spears at the same time.
The only thing that saved her was they had all thrown too accurately, and when she hurled herself to the side, the majority of them flashed through the space she had previously occupied.
[You have gained a level in Dodging!]
'Useful skill--- AH!'
Despite having managed to not be hit, one of the spears tangled up between her legs and robes. Elania tripped, twisting sideways as she fell, and then rolled and bounced down a slope and into the stream with a splash.
It was deeper near the cave wall, several streams had come together to fill a sizable pool, and she soon found out that it had a strong undertow as well when the water suddenly snatched her and pulled her under.
'I can't swim!'
As she thrashed around in the water, she was forced to let go of the spear she had been holding. Several times she painfully smashed into a rock or boulder. Even her [Darkvision] didn't seem to work underwater, as nothing but blackness greeted her.
The impacts with the rocks had knocked out what little breath she had managed to conserve, and the burning in her chest grew, causing her to panic even more.
Temporary relief only came when she suddenly found herself falling through the air amidst a giant roar.
'Waterfall...!'
Then she smashed into the shallow pool and rocks below.
The first sensation Elania registered was a chilling cold that seemed to be seeping into her core. It was enough to make her take the first steps toward waking up. Her first restless movement elicited a frantic grab at consciousness as she realized she was still face down in the water.
'I'm not breathing!'
Thrashing into the water, her hand landed on a nearby stone, and she found enough leverage to pull herself out of the calm pool she had ended up floating in. Her first reaction upon leaving the water was to try and take a breath. That had her choking and vomiting a copious amount of the water than had found its way into her lungs.
When she was finally finished, Elania crawled a bit further from the bank, finding a dry spot and sitting against a rock in an attempt to recuperate. A few new messages chimed for attention, but her eyes were fixed on scanning her surroundings.
It was dark, and she could still make out the faint luminescence of the fungus, but compared to before, everything was shades of purple and black that made it impossible to see anything. When she finally opened her [Status], the reason became clear.
[Your power is low. Your toggleable skills have been deactivated automatically.]
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 11
Power: 26/152
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 6 (Deactivated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 13, Battle Concentration Lvl 1]
[Physical: Dodging Lvl - 4, Blocking Lvl - 3, Unarmed Combat Lvl - 2, Darkvision Lvl - 3(Deactivated)]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 4, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 4, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 3]
[Attributes: Elania Reyes]
[Current Attributes:
Demon Contract (1 Available)
Regeneration (Normal)
Demonic Self-Sustenance
Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)
Immunity (Darkness)
Resistance (Poison, Mana)
Weakness (Holy)]
Elania stared at the paltry amount of power she was left with, and it was no wonder everything was so dark! Reactivating [Darkvision], everything brightened into clarity. She needed to recharge her power, but a familiar "Glua-Glaa!" had her freezing in place.
Luckily, it had come from the other side of the room, and she quietly slid around the stone she was against to keep it between her and the sound's direction. 'Was it just one?'
She chanced a look, but what she saw wasn't what she expected. There were four Mushroohums, but one was bent over, holding a shining rock.
'No... not a shining rock! My Mana Shard!'
Panic and anger warred in her chest, she needed that Mana Shard to survive, and they were taking it!
More of the Mushroom Men arrived, most of them fixated on the stone, but one fished out a scrap of black cloth from the water with its spear. Elania frowned and checked her pockets. She still had her dagger and makeshift clothes, but that was all. Some of the remaining scraps must have escaped for them to find.
The noise from the Mushroom Men became louder, and she thought they might have been arguing. When they finally broke off into groups, her heart stopped as she felt they might scour the entire cavern looking for her.
She didn't have to worry for long, though, as they quickly filed off and left the cavern—the largest group of five taking the Mana Shard with them. The thought of chasing after them and somehow taking the Mana Shard back was quickly discarded.
She was weakened, and most of her 'Power' had been used up either from [Regeneration] healing her while she tumbled through the water or when it prevented her from drowning.
She wasn't going to let them keep it, though. She had a pretty good idea about where to find the Mushroom Men's lair.
---
Despite her frantic arrival, the small pool and cavern she'd ended up in turned out to be relatively calm. It had only a few choke points to enter, and while she had heard quite a few noises coming from the connected areas, she hadn't seen any wildlife.
Elania quickly got down to work, gathering lengths of wood from some of the larger growths nearby. When she had a half dozen, she set the largest length shaft aside and began to carve the others into javelins.
Each one gave her the same system message.
[You have gained a level in Improvised Crafting!]
Finished with the smaller javelins, she turned to the longer shaft. 'Let's see if those levels made any difference.'
The fact that the levels had been so easy to get made her doubt whether there would be much improvement. [Identify] didn't seem to change between levels one and two, but...
[Improvised Crafting Lvl - 8]
The making of the thicker spear went well, but it didn't look any different.
[Makeshift Fungal Spear]
It was the same as before, maybe there was some kind of threshold she had to reach before crafting better things, or perhaps the material was too poor. Sighing, Elania set it aside with the growing pile of javelins, her hand coming to a sudden pause over the weapons.
A telltale whisper of a sound had her look toward the entrance and in the shadows a dozen feet away, two yellow orbs glared at her. As soon as she met the predator's gaze, it pounced. Feline in shape, it was the size of a large dog, with black fur and thick limbs.
Elania reacted without thinking, bracing her spear against the rock behind her. As the [Darkwalker] flashed through the air, it impaled itself through the chest.
A loud growl and hiss let spittle fly into Elania's face as the enraged predator swiped and struggled to reach her. Instinctively she reached over and grabbed one of the javelins while trying to balance her rapidly bending spear.
That was a good move because the stressed fungal wood finally flexed and snapped, allowing the creature to close the distance. It did not move as fast as before, having been dealt a mortal blow by the impalement. Still, the snapping jaws were just as deadly, and it went for Elania's throat.
Wielding the javelin like a stake, she slammed the pointed tip into the creature's eye, and it went limp. It still landed on her, at least a hundred pounds of once lethal muscle. She could still feel the heat from the thing's breath on her face as her mind tried to catch up with her rapidly pounding heart.
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]
It took a moment for her to shove the corpse off of her and then calm down. Thoughts whirled in her head. It wasn't the first time she'd faced death, but at least this time, she had not been badly hurt. The feeling that she was flailing her way through, attempting to survive in this horrible underground world, and not having any real idea of what she was doing, threatened to shatter her earlier determination.
"I guess the least you could do is give me your 'Essence' since you attacked me."
Almost immediately, the corpse began to disintegrate, just as the Bone Demon had.
"Wait!" She suddenly realized her mistake. Since she had finally hunted something, she should have tried to harvest some meat from it!
It was too late, though. Still, a few [Status] messages appeared and clued Elania in on just what absorbing 'Essence' did.
[You have absorbed 4 Power!]
[You have gained a level in Stealth!]
[You have gained Darkwalker Affinity!]
[Consume more Darkwalker Essence to enable Darkwalker Transformation!]
A roil of emotions and more questions assailed Elania. At the very worst, she could survive by hunting things and consuming their 'Essence' and maintaining her self-sustain attribute. She had no idea what 'Affinity' really entailed, but the fourth message...
Was the system telling her she'd be able to turn into a Darkwalker if she hunted enough of them? Did that apply to anything? Was that a unique skill of Demons, or could anything absorb Essence and transform into things?
Looking at the snapped spear, she knew what she needed to do. For what felt like the first time, she had an actual goal.
Grabbing her dagger, she got herself ready for hunting. She needed to get her power back up to maximum.
Elania gathered and crafted more spears to replace her broken one, and upon leveling [Improved Crafting] to level 10, she got an [Improved Makeshift Fungal Wood Spear], which seemed to be slightly more sturdy.
Then she started using the smaller lengths of wood to work on something new. After numerous tries with the remaining torn fabric, she was able to tie together a [Woven Fungal Wood Shield] that seemed sturdy enough to protect her while giving her the chance to maybe stab something back.
Other than the wood, there wasn't much else for her to use in the small grotto, and she had already used up most of the workable lengths. It was time to move on.
Hunting Darkwalkers had proven much more complicated than Elania first imagined. She half-expected to be able to find a field of them, conveniently located nearby with them spread out far enough for her to deal with one at a time, regroup herself, then move to the next.
The next cavern reminded her that she wasn't living in a game world. The smell of a rotted Ralfot carcass greeted her long before it came into sight. Small bugs and things that looked like worms wiggled, making their way out of the rot. Immediately, Elania dismissed the thought of getting near enough to touch it to see if she could still absorb anything.
Elania quickly realized that there weren't many caverns that were as highly populated as the Mushroohum one with the Elnats and Ralfots.
'Probably because things in the open, like me, get eaten...'
After that, she tried her best to stay between depressions in the rock or go through a more shaded area. She wasn't sure how much it would help her to actually be stealthy, but at least she wouldn't be silhouetted against the bright mossy ceiling.
[You have gained a level in Stealth!]
Elania wandered through several more caverns before her first encounter. The entrance to the cavern had her on a raised ledge that overlooked a small pool of water. A group of something that looked like the Ralfots was congregated, most of them head down while they drank.
[Ralfot]
The [System] called them Ralfots as well, but these seemed larger and more weathered. Taking another look, she concluded that the horns made all the difference. They were thick curved curls that looked like they'd make a good battering ram.
Despite their dangerous number, she realized they'd have a hard time going around the cavern to reach her elevated position. She was in a perfect spot for ambushing them with her javelins.
Elania had made a ‘lot’ of javelins. Some as practice, but also because she had no idea how many she'd need. The Mushroohums carried one to three each, but since there had been a bunch of them chasing her, she’d made a dozen for herself even if it had seemed a bit excessive.
Setting her shield, spear, and the bundle of javelins quietly on the ground, she untied the small scrap of cloth she had used to tie them together. A little shred of guilt had her pause, but a thought overcame it.
'You've never been a vegetarian, Elania! The supermarket only lets you pretend you were. These are just juicy hamburgers with giant fucking horns that'll crush you if you're not careful.'
She took up a javelin in each hand and carefully picked her target: a smaller [Ralfot] that was close to her position. Although she'd never thrown anything as a weapon before, she knew the basics. More distance meant less accuracy. She should start off easy.
Excitement coursed through her body as she tossed the first javelin through the air.
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
Almost immediately, Elania could see that the throw wasn’t going to land anywhere near her target. Disappointment flashed, but she moved the second javelin to her main hand and tossed again before scooping up two more projectiles.
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
The first javelin landed well past the herd of wild Ralfots, and their reaction was immediate. The whole herd let out angry cries and advanced toward the ledge she was on. That movement caused the second throw to miss a once stationary target.
On the bright side, the sound had misdirected the herd which had thought that the danger was elsewhere. In reality, though, they actually moved closer to her!
Not wanting to give up her chance, she tossed the rest of the spears in quick succession.
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
[You have gained a level in Throwing Weapons!]
She gained a level for each throw at first, although that quickly dropped down to multiple throws per level. Her accuracy didn't seem to improve much, and Elania found herself thinking that levels weren't all that great, even if they were easy to gain.
She managed to get two hits on the same Ralfot. That was her only success as the herd stampeded out of the cavern with the one she injured following, although at a slightly slower pace.
"Shit!"
She hadn't expected to hit something and it not actually die right away! She only had one javelin and her main spear left. She definitely wouldn't be able to take on the whole herd, especially if she didn't maintain the ledge advantage.
Still... Elania didn't want to just give up. The [Ralfot] was wounded, and as she made her way to the lower area, she noticed a significant trail of blood. Leaving the thing to suffer with her two javelins lodged in it seemed cruel as well.
She decided to follow after them, albeit stealthy as she could, and see if she could find another opportunity. The exit formed into an unfamiliar type of terrain. It was a long and wide tubular tunnel with impossibly smooth walls. The lack of rocks and fungal growth had her feeling exposed.
It led to a cavern highlighted in a completely different color scheme than what she had seen before. The ceiling was yellow, with hints of deep reds coming off the fungus. Elania blinked several times and rubbed her eyes as her vision adjusted to the brighter and more saturated colors. She found it easier to see, but everything was so vibrant it almost hurt to look at the cave flora.
It also made it harder to spot the trail of red blood.
[You have gained a level in Tracking!]
[You have gained a level in Stealth!]
Elania was racking up new skills and levels at a rapid pace, but it was hard to feel accomplished when they didn't seem to do much. Maybe she had set her expectations too high for the [System] to make things easy on her.
---
'How far does the stupid thing have to run? Why don't you just bleed the fuck out already?'
She followed the blood trail for a half dozen caverns and for what felt like hours. While pretty, the new caves seemed just as sparsely populated as the other areas she'd wandered through except for the Mushroohum cavern.
As she turned into the next cave, she finally ran into something which released Elania's worry that she'd never catch up to her wounded prey.
"Yes!"
The [Ralfot] was no longer moving, lying on its side near an incline up to another cavern entrance. Giving up her pretension of stealth, she broke into a jog to her prize. Except a loud "Glua-Glaa?" erupted as soon as she made a bit of noise, and Elania was sent scurrying for cover behind a rock.
[You have gained a level in Stealth!]
Taking a closer look, she cursed under her breath. A Mushroom Man had found her quarry, too. He was looking in her direction, sitting on a stone beside the wild Ralfot, a sharp-looking knife in one hand and a pile of skin at his feet.
Without wasting any time, he started skinning her kill! That angered Elania. She had worked so hard to bring it down. Looking back the way she came, she confirmed she hadn't been followed. That would give her an escape route if her new impulse led to 'Bad things.'
She broke out of cover and approached the Mushroom Man with spear and shield in hand. He didn't notice her at first. Was she moving that quietly with her increased stealth skill? Still, there was a limit, and when she entered a brightly-lit area, the Mushroom Man looked up and let out a familiar exclamation, immediately reaching for its own weapon.
Elania stopped and scanned the area, confirming there weren't any more Mushroom Men present. Then, she confidently pointed at the carcass.
"Mine!"
Rather than threaten her, it responded, although it still seemed wary of her.
"Glua-glaa?"
Unfortunately, her breakthrough in interspecies communication with the strange Mushroom Man was interrupted by one of the Darkwalkers pouncing from the shadows onto her conversation partner's back.
Elania froze in place as the Darkwalker pounced on the Mushroom Man. A rapid flurry of 'Glaa!' erupted as he was thrown to the floor, while the Darkwalker slashed and tore at his back.
Without weighing her options and acting on a sudden impulse, Elania decided to help the Mushroohum. Having discarded the idea of throwing something, she sprinted forward. The two combatants were struggling and rolling, and she didn't want to hit the one she was trying to help.
By the time she had arrived, the struggle had decidedly become less one-sided. The Mushroohum wasn't weak by any means and had managed to roll onto his back and place the shaft of his wooden spear in the Darkwalker's mouth. Unfortunately, that left the beast's claws free to rake and tear at the Mushroom Man's skin. Elania had just enough time to consider it strange that there was a distinct lack of blood from the wounds.
The Darkwalker was so preoccupied with its prey that it didn't notice her. She didn't let out a cry or warning yell, either. Instead, she tightly gripped the spear and held it in front of her as she charged. The spearhead slammed into the beast’s side, right behind its front leg. Elania felt the sharp point sinking deep into the flesh before the shaft began to bend and flex.
[You have gained a level in Weapon Mastery!]
The force was enough to throw the Darkwalker off the Mushroohum, who immediately gave up his spear and scrambled back to his belongings. Elania didn’t fault him for that retreat, she was pretty sure the Darkwalker had mauled him pretty savagely.
Elania let go of the spear as the Darkwalker lurched away. 'That should kill it.'
Unfortunately, her assumption wasn’t exactly correct. Despite the spear being lodged deep in its side, it didn’t collapse. Instead it turned, dislodging the spear and counter attacking. She yelped, doing her best to dodge the lunge and swing with her shorter javelin.
She managed to rake the sharp tip of the javelin across the Darkwalker's face, eliciting another hiss and growl. The spear wound had registered on the beast, and it was losing steam, moving slower.
Outnumbered and wounded, the black-furred predator turned to flee. Elania chased after it, but halted in surprise when a javelin arced through the air and impaled the Darkwalker in the neck.
'The Mushroohum! I completely forgot about him!'
Spinning around, she saw that the Mushroohum had rearmed himself with a spear, looking directly at her.
Right, she had helped him on impulse, but that didn't mean she'd accomplished her goal of communicating or claiming her kill.
"Glua-Glaaaa!"
"Uhh, yeah, those claw marks look like they hurt, but at least you don't actually bleed."
The Mushroohum tilted his head as she spoke. Maybe he could understand her after all?
"Glua-Glaa!"
Maybe not.
Gestures and hand-miming?
Elania pointed to herself and spoke slowly. "Elania."
Then she pointed to the Ralfot corpse. "Mine."
"Glaa?"
Elania held back an exasperated sigh. This wasn't working well, but thankfully, he hadn't stabbed her in the back when she wasn’t looking. In reality, he didn't seem eager to fight either. He was just staying vigilant.
Elania looked back at the Darkwalker corpse. 'Well, if he is claiming the Ralfot, I should get the Darkwalker.'
She kept an eye on the Mushroohum while backing up to the corpse, then placing a hand on its flank.
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]
[You have absorbed 4 Power!]
[You have gained a level in Stealth!]
[You have gained Darkwalker Affinity!]
[Consume more Darkwalker Essence to enable Darkwalker Transformation!]
Like before, the corpse wisped away into nothingness, and she received the same messages from the system.
"Glaa!"
Elania stared back at the Mushroohum, focusing on the sound he made. Was that surprise she heard?
Elania still hadn't found any meaning in the seemingly two-word dialect of the Mushroom People's language, but she thought she noticed a slight change in tone. Slightly. Maybe she was going crazy and there wasn’t any connection at all.
The Mushroom Man seemed to tense up when Elania picked up her spear, although she wasn't sure why that should make a difference. She already had her javelin in hand.
"Hey. Uhh. I'm friendly and don't want to fight."
Elania looked at the Ralfot carcass again, trying to judge if it was worth claiming it. Despite her initial anger, getting the Darkwalker somehow seemed fair to her.
She used her javelin to gesture to the carcass. "I was hunting that one. Me. Javelin. Ralfot."
She did her best to mime her meaning.
"Glaa."
The same sound, this time, a slightly lower pitch came from him. She was losing hope that they'd be able to communicate when the Mushroohum moved to pick up one of the scattered items around his makeshift work area. Then he held up one of her javelins.
'Oh.'
Right, the Ralfot had one of her javelins in it. That proved her story. Not that she was sure how much it understood from what she had said. Perhaps he could tell that she had made both of them. The lengths of wood did look alike.
He held the javelin out to her horizontal, and it seemed like a perfectly understandable gesture. Elania cautiously closed the distance to accept her weapon back.
"Glaa."
"Yes."
"Glaa."
"Yes."
That went back and forth for a bit with no real meaning that Elania could discern. Eventually, he knelt and picked up the squares of rawhide he had produced.
[High-Quality Ralfot Skin]
Elania eyed the stack warily. While the idea of having some leather or cloth to work with appealed to her, she didn't have the skills. Raw hides and skins did not equal leather. They’d have to be preserved and tanned first and She hadn't the faintest clue of how to go about that. She dimly recalled it needing some kind of tree-bark… or animal brains? That thought was disgusting.
Grudgingly she accepted it, though, and that had the Mushroohum turn his attention to the carcass again, hopefully having decided that a peace accord was somehow reached.
Elania settled in a crouch nearby as she watched him work. The knife work was swift and efficient, although she couldn't judge the skill displayed. The system, however, thought highly of it.
[High-Quality Ralfot Steak]
[High-Quality Ralfot Skin]
[High-Quality Ralfot Steak]
Elania wasn't squeamish, but the work wasn't exactly clean. The thought that some of her girlfriends back home would have run screaming made her feel a bit accomplished. It was hard to imagine that this would upset her more than... well, everything that had happened since she arrived in Eladu.
"I can't just call you Mushroom Man. You need a name. How about Skinner? I think that works."
Skinner looked up at her when she talked, but didn't respond or show any understanding and was quickly back to cutting out what she assumed were the valuable bits of meat. It wasn't long before he was done.
"Glua-glaa."
The statement was followed by Skinner sliding a pile of raw meat on a square of skin toward her. Elania frowned; she had acquired animal skins and some meat, but what was she going to do with it? She could always cook the meat... if she could start a fire. Even thinking of trying to start a fire had her remember the horrible wildfire in the lower caves and set alarm bells going off in her head.
She didn't have the skills or knowledge to use these things. Then she noticed Skinner cleaning his knife and sliding it into a sheathe on his leather belt. That gave her an idea.
"Hey, what about a trade?"
The words didn't draw any attention, but she tried again more forcefully to claim Skinner's attention.
Gesturing to the skin and meat she had sitting in front of her, she then pointed to Skinner's belt and backpack. "Trade." She tried her best to mime the action of exchanging items and then waited.
At first, there wasn't a response, then what she thought might have been a surprise "Glaa?" erupted.
"Yes. Trade."
She pushed the skins and meat forward to him halfway, then stopped. There was a long pause as if considering her proposal, and then magic happened. Skinner took off his belt, removing the knife and copying her gesture of placing it halfway between them. She had hoped for the backpack too, but...
The scraps weren't worth much to her, and having a belt would be more useful.
Carefully, she took the belt and slid the scraps over to Skinner. "They're all yours now, Skinner."
"Glaa."
Elania sighed. For a moment, she wished they could speak, but eventually, she gave up. "Glaa, yeah."
Skinner's large eyes widened even more. "Glaa! Glaa?"
"No, I don't understand the Glaa."
Elania had left Skinner behind with his [Ralfot] carcass. She had decided that it'd be best to put some distance between herself and any distractions before she went on to fashion new javelins and make good on her idea for the belt.
Before long, she'd found an out-of-the-way cave with the [Tree-cap] she needed, and she went to work. She was quickly becoming very good at making javelins, carving the sharp points out of the staves she gathered with her dagger. For this bundle, she added a small notch to each javelin.
Then she got down to business on the leather belt. Taking a few scraps of her tattered robe off the bottom to tie small loops, Elania tug-tested them, making sure they didn't slide up or down. Satisfied, she slid one of her new javelins through the loop, and the small notch caught on it successfully.
A smile formed on her lips. Now she would be able to carry four javelins on her back, and everything she needed was somehow sorted. It was time to move on and look for more Darkwalkers.
After hours of wandering, she thought she spotted one, but whatever that creature was— much to her disappointment—disappeared immediately. She did gain a few levels in stealth, so there was that for a minor consolation prize.
Eventually, she found a herd of Ralfots, quite possibly the same herd she had molested earlier. Dejected by her progress at finding another [Darkwalker], Elania took a break to observe the herd while it idled and grazed on the glowing fungus in the cavern.
That proved to be a wise decision.
Her hiding spot was relatively quiet and it wasn’t long before she began to nod off. She was completely oblivious to a growing nervousness that began to spread through the [Ralfot] herd, at least until a sudden roar had her surging back to wakefulness.
A [Darkwalker] duo appeared suddenly, dispersing the frightened herd animals. Elania had pegged the Darkwalkers as solitary predators rather than pack hunters so she was a bit surprised. She certainly hadn't planned on taking on two of the beasts at the same time and hesitated. She briefly considered moving off while they were distracted chasing down the Ralfots.
But when one of said Ralfots was caught and tumbled to the ground right in front of her, the opportunity was too great to pass up. The [Darkwalker] was completely focused on strangling the young [Ralfot], jaws clamped tightly around its throat, in a bid to suffocate the poor thing.
That's when Elania let loose her first and second javelins. She was close enough that she could smell the blood from the rapidly exsanguinating animal. Both weapons flew true, impacting the Darkwalker's side. One bounced off, striking a bone, but the other sunk into a fleshy area around its flank.
The pained roar of the beast temporarily drowned out the frantic cries of the Ralfots. Immediately, the Darkwalker leaped away from its prey with a snarl. Yellow orbs snapped onto Elania as the beast sought out the source of the attack.
Elania didn’t hesitate and immediately threw her other two javelins. Both of these missed, despite the messages that she'd leveled up her skill twice.
'Bullshit!'
The wounded hunter let out a roar of challenge as it charged at her. Even though her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, she was prepared, spear leveled at it, she repeated the same tactic she had used for her first [Darkwalker] kill. They might not have tusks, but when charging, they resembled a rampaging boar.
That was fine with Elania as she had faith in a tactic that had already proved to work. She calmly held the spearpoint straight-on with the beast's chest and braced herself for the impact.
Just as before, the beast's weight bent the length of the spear, nearly snapping it as it impaled itself. The fact that she had chosen a thicker shaft than her first spear helped considerably. The [Darkwalker] spit a defiant growl at Elania one last time before going limp.
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]
A startling roar from nearby had Elania snap her attention toward it.
'Oh, crap! The other one! Absorb! Quick!'
She struggled to pull the spear from the corpse as it began to disintegrate. The second [Darkwalker] charged at her in a mad frenzy.
'Shit, did I kill its mate or something?'
It reached her just as she gained control of the spear, but it was too late to set the point. Instead, she ended up sideswiping it in the neck with the shaft, in a quick deflection that sent it hurling to the side.
Except that the creature had the reflexes of a cat. Spinning around it and pouncing on her again before she could do anything but place the shaft of her spear into a set of slobbering jaws. The rumbling roar it let out as it tried to crush the soft wood in its mouth was deafening.
Despite the fury and onslaught, Elania was stronger than the smaller predator. Realizing she needed something for an up-close fight, she released one hand on the shaft and frantically struggled to retrieve the dagger from her pocket.
Claws raked her side and arm, and the next snarl from the beast elicited a scream in reply from Elania. She fell backward, the sudden tumble sending them rolling down a slick stony bank of moss and blood-covered stone.
Elania lost her hold on the spear, and the [Darkwalker] recovered first, darting in to chomp at her throat. She barely managed to raise her arm in time to intercept the bite. It felt like her bones would be crushed under the massive pressure of the Darkwalker’s bite. Ignoring the searing pain, her fingers finally found what she was looking for, and the steel dagger came flashing out of her robe.
The dagger's steel tip caught a glint of luminescent light as it plunged into the side of the Darkwalker's neck. It sunk through flesh and slid past bone in a sickening easily way before Elania pulled it free and proceeded to stab the beast over and over, screaming with all her might.
Only when the message came up did she stop, her chest heaving from the exertion and adrenaline.
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]
She leaned down against a rock, as [Regeneration] finished its work and she was made whole. Checking her [Status], she realized the 'Power' cost of the healing was almost as much as she had taken from the [Darkwalker] duo.
'But I gained skills in the process.'
Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind and body to catch up with the events. Considering that she didn't know her options, she needed to increase her skills and be more prepared if she was going to keep doing this.
A mewl had her eyes snap open. It sounded like a [Darkwalker] but was strangely high-pitched. It wasn't hard to spot the source of the sound. It was a young [Darkwalker], only a quarter of the size of the ones she had seen.
It let out another cry and continued to search the cavern cautiously. Eventually, the kit noticed her and let out a howling scream.
Elania felt a roil of emotions at the sound. 'I killed its mom and dad.'
She didn't feel guilty at killing the two Darkwalkers, they had been predators themselves, and the young dead [Ralfot] was still lying nearby. But she did feel a sense of empathy for the little guy.
"I'm sorry. They're gone."
It cried back at her, whining. She didn't think it really understood what she was saying, but she knew that it somehow knew what had happened. It approached her, following its parents' scent trail, before stopping out of her reach and hissing at her.
"Yeah. I would hiss too."
Elania stood and took a step forward. The kit spun and started to scramble and run away. She was much faster and bigger, though, and caught it by the scruff of its neck. It hissed and struggled a bit as she held him up and determined that he was a boy. His upset wiggling intensified but instead of letting him go right away, she deposited him next to the dead [Ralfot.]
[Do you wish to absorb the Ralfot's Essence? Y/N]
She refused and watched him sniff at his parent's kill before she moved away. He spun in circles growling and hissing at first, but then seemed to get the idea as he began to eat.
"That's all I can do for you. I'm not ready to adopt."
She didn't leave immediately, though. Instead, she found a dark corner and used her ability to hide. Eventually, the kit finished its meal, then found its own spot along the cave's edge, curled up, and went to sleep.
That was enough for Elania. He'd survive or not, based on his instincts. Now she needed to remake her javelins and spear. The shield had been useless as she had not been able to switch to it in time, but she hoped to get better at handling the weapons.
Elania realized she didn’t need a camp. She could make do with what she had at hand, and anchoring herself to a spot wasn’t necessary. Once she caught some prey, she could search and stalk another without returning to a base.
It would have been nice to have one for when she slept, but that was a luxury. It wasn't going to make much difference if she found a hidden nook somewhere else to take the two or three-hour naps she required now.
Elania spent what felt like weeks practicing her ability to hunt. She had parted ways amicably with Skinner, but hoped that they would meet again. She felt lonely with little idea of what she should do, other than keep hunting and trying to memorize the caverns' layout.
She was grateful for the leather belt that she had turned into a sheath that went across her shoulder. Now she was able to easily draw up to four javelins from it, although it had cost her the last four scraps of cloth she had been carrying.
Still, it was well worth it because of how many projectiles she could now carry. That was important because she found that throwing javelins without a target didn't seem to help her level her [Throwing Weapons] skill.
She had figured out that it was essential to level those skills. She hadn't noticed much difference in them at first, but that was because the effect they had was terraced at every five or ten levels.
Calling up her [Status] screen, she looked at the results of her hard work.
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 21
Power: 125/152
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana, Darkwalker]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 6 (Deactivated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 12, Battle Concentration Lvl 1]
[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 4, Darkvision Lvl - 3 (Activated), Dodging Lvl - 18, Block Lvl - 12, Stealth Lvl - 16, Throwing Weapons Lvl - 24, Combat Mastery Lvl - 9]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 4, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 9, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 19, Tracking Lvl 4]
[Attributes: Elania Reyes]
[Current Attributes:
Demon Contract (1 Available)
Regeneration (Normal)
Demonic Self-Sustenance
Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)
Immunity (Darkness)
Resistance (Poison, Mana)
Weakness (Holy)]
She hadn't experimented any more with her [Mana Manipulation] because, without the Mana Shard, she wasn't ensured a free 'Power' ration. With her Aura off, the consumption of 'Power' had reduced below what she had measured before, so it had been easy to keep it climbing with each kill.
More than ever, she was more appreciative of just how much having that Mana Shard had saved her life at first. She'd never have survived the encounter with the other Demon if she hadn't been jacked up on 'Power' like an addict.
As the amount of essence and 'Power' she had increased, so too had all her abilities seemed to expand across the board. She was faster, stronger, and didn't feel as much fatigue. It wasn't nearly as exaggerated as when she had gone over her power limit, but the effect was certainly easily felt.
Even then, she had almost been killed twice since meeting Skinner, and the cost [Regeneration] had meant that she couldn’t let herself take injuries needlessly. Luckily, like food and water, she needed little sleep, only bothering to take a nap for a few hours between long expanses where she stalked her prey.
'Absorbing the Dalkwalkers felt good.'
Ralfots had the same effect but immensely less potent. They did, however, have good use other than just absorbing. They made good bait.
The whole concept of absorbing the Darkwalkers began to scare her a little. Deep down, she knew that it had changed her... if only a little. She didn't want to lose herself.
By the time her ‘Status’ was reporting her ‘Power’ was nearly full she felt she had improved her skills enough that it was time to get back her Mana Shard.
Elania kept to the shadows as she made her way toward what she had started callingthe Mushroohum Fields, which was the place she had first encountered the Bone Demon… and stomped on the poor Elnat before being chased away. She'd avoided those areas mostly, not wanting to get in a fight with the Mushroom Men, despite her success dealing with Skinner.
The cavern hadn't changed, but she had. She'd absorbed enough [Darkwalker] essence that [Stealth] had become her highest leveled skill, and as her 'Power' had risen, it showed. She wasn't quite capable of sneaking up on the Darkwalkers yet, but she could get close enough to throw a javelin as long as she took her time.
Ralfots and Elnats were now child's play in comparison, especially since she kept her distance with no intent to hurt the Mushroohum's herd animals.
Elania was torn between contacting them and trying to communicate, or sneaking in and trying to make a plan on retrieving the Mana Shard.
'Both options suck.'
Still, she had to try, and scouting the outskirts would be the first step.
Except things didn't go according to plan. Once she got closer, it became clear that the Elnats and Ralfots she'd been 'sneaking' past were absent. The fungal growths that acted as the Mushroohum village’s gates had been torn apart somehow, with giant gaping holes in the fungal walls.
For a moment, Elania felt torn between wanting her Mana Shard back and worrying about the Mushroom People. Whatever their differences, she had never really wished them harm.
Elania didn't blame them for taking the shard or even attacking her when they found her with their animals. If the last few days had taught her anything, it was how predatory the caverns were.
As she moved closer to the breaches, she could hear sounds coming from inside. Growls and hisses and roars that she'd recognize anywhere.
'Darkwalkers?'
Why, how? They were predators that usually hunted alone or in small packs as far as she knew. It would have taken a dozen or more of them working together to tear down the wall. As far as she knew, they were just beasts that followed their instincts to stalk and hunt the wild Ralfots.
Slipping through a hole in the wall, she started up a narrow tunnel that slightly sloped downward. A musty odor filled her nose as the air turned more humid and warm. It wasn't long before the sounds grew louder, and the faint ‘Glua-Glaa’ of the Mushroohum's was barely discernible. Whatever battle lay ahead was still in progress.
When Elania finally reached the end of the tunnel and stepped out onto a small ledge, she felt her breath catch.
It was a circular cavern, with a steaming lake centered in the middle of the caldera-like formation. Numerous buildings, much like the one she had taken shelter in surrounded the water in a semicircle, while the rest of the cave was dotted with the all-familiar fungal growths. The glowing moss blanketed the ceiling thickly, although it looked like it had been pruned back from the wall edges purposefully.
The sight and sounds of the battle riveted her attention as she took in the rapidly evolving action. There were dozens of the Darkwalkers, and they were tearing the Mushroohums to pieces.
Little groups of spear and shield-wielding Mushroom Men still stood defiantly, huddled in small circles, or falling back into the stone buildings. Some had been cut off in the open and fought back to back, while others were pulled down as they attempted to run. Spears and javelins poked back against tooth and claw, but the Darkwalkers seemed to have the advantage.
It didn't make sense to Elania. Had she been totally wrong about the Darkwalkers being small pack hunters? What could have prompted them to work en masse to assault the Mushroohums? Judging from her previous encounters with the beasts, she never pegged them as the cooperating kind. So what was driving them?
'I should get out of here and come back later. There are too many, and the Mushroohums might even attack me.'
It was a very human emotion that held her captive before eventually winning out. Greed.
Dozens of [Darkwalker] corpses were strewn in lines, mixed with even more Mushroom Men. Elania jogged toward the battle. There was no sign of any rearguard or tactics on the part of the Darkwalkers, only pure fury and a forward driving attack. It left Elania free to come in behind them, making a beeline for the nearest corpse between her and the conflict.
She just had to reach the corpse and touch it. The sight of the body turning into essence and mist was no longer novel.
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]
[You have absorbed 4 Power!]
[You have gained a level in Stealth!]
[You have gained [Darkwalker] Affinity!]
[Consume more [Darkwalker] Essence to enable [Darkwalker] Transformation!]
She sped down the line, repeating the same process for each corpse until suddenly she skidded to a standstill to stare at the new [System] prompt.
[Absorb the lingering Power from ???? - Mushroohum - Level 27's corpse? Y/N]
She'd absorbed a [Ralfot] and many Darkwalkers already, but she'd considered them animals, or in the Darkwalker's case, something more like a monster.
Mushroohum's were people. They smelled like old laundry, were awful to look at, and came with a terrible attitude, but they were still people.
The Bone Demon didn't actually count. It might have been a person at one time, but Elania hadn't discerned any humanity left in the thing as it tried to savage her. The thought of her becoming like that was terrifying.
She immediately refused the system's suggestion, leaving the dead Mushroohums alone, but continued to pick up the Darkwalkers in her path.
[Your body is reaching the limits of its capacity for Power!]
[Your body has reached the limit of its capacity for Power!]
[Find a stronger body or reduce your current Power!]
[Your body has exceeded the limit of its capacity for Power!]
[Your body is experiencing slight thermal degradation!]
That was fine. She felt the heat building inside her, but she could handle a little discomfort and trusted [Regeneration] to handle anything worse.
She came upon a [Darkwalker] that hadn't died yet but was still squirming on the ground, Mushroohum spear still impaling it to the ground. Elania paused briefly, just long enough to finish it off with a quick thrust from her own weapon.
She felt light on her feet. She was high on the 'Power' now that she had gotten used to how it flowed through her.
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
The shouts and noises of the conflict in front of her grew louder with every step she took, and for the first time, one of the Darkwalkers turned on her with a snarl. That seemed to alert the other beasts, and suddenly half a dozen monsters stopped attacking a haggard Mushroohum formation and charged at her.
Taking in the four beasts charging at her, Elania paused slightly. She should have turned and run or looked for some sort of high-ground that would give her a defensive advantage.
She didn't.
Instead, she continued forward before suddenly stopping and hurling a javelin at the one in the lead. Despite the Darkwalker’s zig-zagging course, the thrown weapon intercepted it just as it landed from a leap. Somehow she had known exactly where it was going to land and the sharp point of her weapon buried itself in the beast’s eye, causing it to stumble sideways and collapse before going still. The ability to predict its path shook her slightly. It was like instinct or an omniscient prescience that somehow came from her absorbing so much [Darkwalker] essence so quickly.
Elania took off in another charge to meet the second [Darkwalker] head-on, lunging forward with her spear and managing to impale it through the throat. However, the thrashing animal managed to pull her weapon out of her grip as it lurched away from her.
Pulling out her dagger, she spun around, raising her shield above her head. The snarl and rage of the [Darkwalker] pouncing on her from above was lost in the din of combat in the cavern.
The beast was heavy as it landed on her shield, digging its front and back claws into the wood even as it tried to rip it off her arm. Elania slammed her dagger right through the loose weave of the wood and into the beast's chest several times before she tossed it and her shield to the side.
She didn't have time to calm her breathing, though, as a sudden heat flared in the back of her left leg. 'Fuck!'
She tried to turn around, but the beast had a firm grip on the back of her leg and moved with her, claws raking forward to try and do more damage while toppling her over.
Two more Darkwalkers had abandoned the main attack on the Mushroohums and were coming for her. That was when it became clear to her that the one mauling her leg was doing its best to try and pin her down for them.
Elania couldn't let that happen. She kicked forward her leg the beast had attached itself to while jumping backward, landing on the ground. It was an acrobatic move that only worked because of the ridiculous strength coursing through her. Being on the ground with a ferocious beast with massive claws and daggers for teeth was at best a very calculated risk to take, and the [Darkwalker] immediately pounced at her going for her throat.
She had known it would, and she swung just at the right time to intercept it mid-air and pin it to the ground herself. Steel flashed, and she shoved her blade right behind an ear and into the beast's skull, forcing it to go still instantly.
'I'm turning into Lara Croft. Maybe I'll get a movie or a book.'
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N]
She didn't even think about it before accepting it, quickly repeating the process with the other two nearby.
[Your body has dramatically exceeded the limit of its capacity for Power!]
[You are nearing the absolute limits of your body!]
[Due to your high Power, Regeneration is enhanced!]
Next, Elania checked her Power. The overwhelming feeling of being invincible was warring with the fire that burned in her chest and the thick sheen of sweat pouring off her.
[Power: 295/160]
'I need to try something new, or I'm going to burn myself to bits.'
The thought of not absorbing the essence didn't come to her. It was like a drug that felt good. Better to burn off the extra 'Power' so she could absorb more than let it go to waste.
She drew another javelin and let it fly, impaling the first of the new attackers. The second [Darkwalker] wasn't far behind, but she went into a crouch with her dagger in hand. When it leaped at her, she pointed the blade at it and closed her eyes, and focused.
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
Elania felt the heat lessen inside her as it poured out of her body and into her weapon. Staring down at it, she confirmed that the tip of the blade was glowing a brilliant white that suddenly surged and then leaped like an arrow at the Darkwalker.
The light punched through it like a ballista bolt, not slowing down at all as it left a bloody gaping hole left in the Darkwalker's chest. It continued all the way through and slammed into the side of a Mushroohum building before exploding into a massive cloud of dust and debris.
The cloud sent Darkwalkers scurrying away and yelping in surprise, and the beleaguered Mushroohums dragged their wounded companions inside.
[Power: 180/168]
Elania barely succeeded in suppressing a maniacal giggling fit as she considered the ridiculousness of the magic attack. As the dust settled, she had to admit it had been undeniably effective at suppressing the beasts locally. However, across the entire area, there were still pockets of Darkwalkers taking down stragglers.
Several more Darkwalkers peeled off from the group, and she moved to meet them. As the group and her dashed toward each other, she realized she had another skill that she had been neglecting to try.
[Demonic Aura(Activated)]
The effect was staggering. Every single [Darkwalker] in the cavern stopped and howled, homing in and rushing toward Elania. The ones closest to her were smashed out of the air and flattened against the ground like a massive hand had suddenly fallen and slapped them.
'Well, that pissed them off.'
That made it incredibly easy for her to go up to each one and stab her dagger into an eye socket as they struggled to move. She quickly absorbed their essence and eyed the rest of the pack rushing her. There were at least twelve.
'They aren't getting flattened as they get closer like these were.'
[Demonic Aura(Deactivated)]
[You cannot activate Demonic Aura for 30 minutes.]
'Dammit. I guess that would have been too easy.'
Tre'gat'aru was one of the most experienced hunters and skilled javelin throwers of the Mu'roya tribe. Countless young shrooms had tried to mimic him, only to be cut down before they could even complete their first hunt.
The [Ralfot] and Elnat caves did not prepare them for the harsh tunnels that were full of Darkwalkers and other cunning predators.
Despite his experience, the others had no wanted to risk him in the melee below, so he'd been forced to take his current position on the roof of the trade hall, with several thick bundles of spears while the younger warriors tried their best to stop the onslaught of the beasts attacking the village.
Tre'gat'aru had never seen so many beasts come together in one place before. Something must have smoked or burnt them out of the deep tunnels below where they mostly dwelled, but he had no inkling of what could have caused such a massive exodus.
Things were looking grim as the large numbers of the beasts slowly picked away at the more inexperienced warriors, even as he did his best to support them from afar. He never expected the sudden blast of blinding light to send the Darkwalkers scattering, or that he would recognize the source of the explosion.
It was the demon. The demon with the shape of a human that he had met in the caverns and traded with. The one that was reported to have haunted the cave before attempting to kill one of the village's Elnats.
Tre'gat'aru watched in awe as the demon sprang forward, thinking nothing of the six Darkwalkers charging at her. She threw her two remaining javelins with deadly accuracy and then spun and danced as the remaining four leaped around her, trying to find room to pounce and claim her, only to find themselves slashed or countered by perfect timing and grace.
Then he shivered as the demon consumed the beast's souls. He felt fear along with a slight amount of hope, though, as his eyes slowly rose across her previous path and noticed that the bodies of the fallen warriors had not been consumed. She had spared their souls. They would remain to nourish the next generation.
Elania's lungs burned as she took in great heaves of breath while she leaned on a rock, surrounded by a mound of corpses and staring at the plethora of [System] messages.
The sounds of the battle had settled off, but the cavern was far from quiet as "Glau-glaa!" was intermixed with the pained cries of the wounded. A few remaining Darkwalkers that still clung to life added their whines and growls to the battlefield.
[Do you wish to absorb the Darkwalker's Essence? Y/N] x16
Elania checked her 'Power,' and it was still dangerously high, although she knew that just by the burn in her chest.
[Power: 340/196]
She didn't know what would happen if she absorbed more, but she still wanted to do it. The pull of more [Darkwalker] essence called to her.
But a single message was enough to freeze her to immobility, an inner debate warring inside herself.
[You have achieved maximum [Darkwalker] Affinity, do you wish to take [Darkwalker] Transformation? Y/N]
She never hated the [System] more than now. Why didn't it explain to her what [Darkwalker] Transformation would do to her? Was it permanent? Would she become a Darkwalker? Did it increase her skills?
Would it use some of her 'Power' so she could claim more of the [Darkwalker] essence she craved?
She was dimly aware of the Mushroohums in the background. A few had taken up watch of her, a safe javelin's distance away, but the rest had set about looking for wounded and recovering their dead. They specifically avoided coming any closer to her unless they had to.
It was better than their first meeting when they chased her for stepping on the Elnat, and with her experience with Skinner, she hoped that they'd be friendly after helping them.
Before she could decide what to do about the offered Transformation, a larger group of the Mushroohums approached. She bristled. The new arrivals' posture didn't seem friendly at all, and they all were brandishing spears. Even in her jumped-up state, she'd be hard-pressed to dodge two dozen spears thrown in a volley.
A single large Mushroohum that dwarfed the others pressed its way to the front. Unlike all the others, he was wrapped in a crimson red cloth, which she decided meant he probably held some authority. A noble of some sort? Did mushrooms have nobility? If she went by Mario then they should have a princess at least. The new arrival didn’t seem to qualify though as he pointed at her and shouted in the loudest voice she had heard from the Mushroohums.
"GLUA-GLAA!"
The entire formation of Mushroohums raised their arms and aimed their spears, ready to throw at her.
Elania's first instinct to attack was restrained when she realized the group had just been ordered to be ready. When the spears didn’t come at her she wasn’t sure if she should bolt toward them, or try and escape. Her mind was muddled and leaped from one alternative to the other as the excess Power and the high concentration of Darkwalker essence made everything hazy. The constant incomprehensible shouting of rude mushrooms wasn't helping her state of mind, either.
"Glua-Glaa! Glua-Glaa!"
Elania watched their leader point its spear at her and shout angrily. At least she thought it was angry. That wasn't entirely clear, but the thing it was trying to communicate was: ‘Leave. Leave now.’ The threat with the ready spears was implicit.
Elania didn't move. She couldn't. A small rational voice was shouting at her to go, that it wasn't a good idea to antagonize them, and how she needed friends. She could barely hear it, for the other less-rational one was screaming with all the loudness of the ‘Power’ coursing through her, warning her that they were going to take her kills and the Darkwalker essence she hadn't absorbed yet. That it would be easy to leap forward and end them all.
The Leader's shouting reached a crescendo, and she thought he was about to throw his spear at her first in a mad rage. Ever so slightly, she altered her stance, so she would be able to leap out and slit his annoying throat first.
A larger Mushroohum finally managed to push its way to the front and grabbed the Leader's arm, pulling the raised spear down. An angry exchange began, but Elania was focused on the newcomer. She recognized him.
Skinner had some kind of clout over the other Mushroohums because the others in the military formation relaxed and lowered their spears as the two in front argued. The exchange grew in intensity, with the gestures becoming erratic. She frowned and felt frustrated that she would never understand the frantic 'GluaGlaa' they spoke.
Elania wasn't sure what she could do other than wait when a roar echoed throughout the cavern. It came from the path Elania had used to reach the village, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. It was easily two heads taller than her, and the dark feline shape was unmistakable. How had it grown so large?
[ ???? - Lesser Demon (S Rank Monster) - Level 87]
'Identify is useless! That's not a demon, it's a massive fucking Darkwalker!'
"Glaa!" erupted from the assembled Mushroohums, and they scattered and ran for the buildings. The massive Demonic Beast was fast approaching seemingly seeking revenge for the deaths of all the smaller Darkwalkers. No one was going to make it back to any sort of safety of the stone buildings.
Unless she somehow slowed it down.
Elania could only think of one thing: to use a [Mana Manipulation] attack. Pulling out her dagger, she focused. Somehow the beast sensed the threat immediately, and her eyes widened as it changed the trajectory of its charge straight toward her.
It caused her to panic and release the ‘Power’ before she had pooled enough of it for a massive attack like earlier, but the light shooting out of the tip of her dagger was still impressive. It was a thin stiletto of ‘Power’ that intersected the Demon Darkwalker's chest. Unfortunately, it cost a huge chunk of her 'Power' that she had stacked up.
Worse, it had little effect.
Elania accepted the messages to absorb the Darkwalker essences, just seconds before the beast slammed into her. She went flying and then tumbling as she landed on her back. She didn't manage to get back on her feet before the beast snapped its jaws around her arm, yanking her back and forth and dislocating her shoulder.
She realized she was screaming while stabbing at her assailant. Steel found flesh creating a shallow nick that came close to the beast's face, and it let go of her roaring as she fell to the ground.
[Your physical status is degrading.]
She heard and felt her shoulder pop as it went back into place on its own, and the seeping wounds on her side quickly knitted themselves back together. Except then, the Demon Beast raked her front with a set of massive claws.
It was much worse than the Bone Demon, the massive Darkwalker's claws cutting deep like razor-sharp knives. Her dagger was too short, her javelins used up, and she had no idea where her spear and shield had gone, not that the flimsy wooden weapons would do much good against a monster like this.
[Power: 320/200]
Despite absorbing the mound of corpses, her ‘Power’ was draining rapidly, and she hadn't even managed to scratch the Darkwalker Demon. A massive claw raked down again, but this time she managed to roll to the side and slash with her dagger, drawing a thin line of blood through the thick fur.
'It's like trying to fight a bear with a butterknife!'
She scrambled away, but pain flared as it caught her leg in a pair of jaws and tossed her again. This time she managed to lessen the impact by tumbling into a dodge-roll, but the assault didn’t stop as it quickly chased after her with a follow-up attack.
"Glua-glaa!"
Elania was unaware that the fight had led them close to the village, and the nearest building had a dozen Mushroohums atop the roof. Briefly, she got a glimpse of them brandishing spears before they let loose a volley. Straight at her! No, she realized, they were directed at the Darkwalker Demon; she was just where it was going to be when they arrived!
She continued her evasion, and sure enough, the Demon pounced after her, right into a thicket of falling spears. It roared in a fury, now ignoring her, and rushing toward the building in zig-zagging leaps that made further volleys useless. Elania cursed under her breath. If it got close to them, it’d destroy the Mushroohums.
They didn't heal as she did.
She summoned her ‘Power’ again, preparing for another magical ranged attack. The Darkwalker Demon paused immediately and sniffed the air, before turning and roaring at her just as before. But she was prepared this time, and even as it charged at her, she kept her focus.
Her dagger had long reached the blinding white light from before and surpassed it. It was so much that her hand felt like it was burning just from being near the metal. Still, she kept hold of the ‘Power’ until the last second, just as the Demon Darkwalker pounced.
The light leaped forward through the rapidly shortening distance between them. The blast was enough to physically lift the Demon back up into the air and send it flying away, with trails of smoke and the smell of sizzling skin and burnt fur filling the air.
Elania wasn't unhurt herself as the pain flooded up through her arm. The skin of her hand was knitting itself back together, and that was as nearly as painful as when it had been completely incinerated.
The Darkwalker Demon crashed with a heavy thud, and for a moment, she thought that the fight was over. Before she could celebrate her victory, the creature stood up and roared in warning. Elania felt the blood drain from her face. How could this be? It was wounded, and she could clearly see the massive gouge across its chest that continued all the way down its side.
It charged at her again.
[Power: 112/204]
She didn't have ‘Power’ for another blast. She'd used it all on the last one! Looking down at the remains of her ruined dagger, Elania felt a sense of defeat. The blade was no longer straight or sharp, but a rounded melted mess. She had no chance against it in close combat, unless...
She stared at the message she hadn’t answered yet, and a ray of hope tinted with a hint of fear overtook her.
[You have achieved maximum Darkwalker Affinity. Do you wish to take Darkwalker Transformation? Y/N]
[You have achieved maximum Darkwalker Affinity. Do you wish to take Darkwalker Transformation? Y/N]
Elania eyed the Darkwalker Demon barreling down on her. What other option did she have? Her heart pounded in her chest, and an icy cold replaced the warmth when she finally answered.
'Yes.'
---
Tre'gat'aru watched with a respectful silence as the Dark God barreled down on the smaller Demon. Only in the most ancient stories of the tribe was the Underworld God mentioned, always the forebearer of doom and destruction.
So it was with absolute awe that the Mushroohums had watched the smaller Demon challenge the massive beast with only a small blade. All had expected her to die from a single bite, and then the fury and death would be upon the village.
Tre'gat'aru wasn’t so sure because the smaller Demon had shown uncommon abilities during the battle. In all probability, she could have made short work of Jal'yar'tin and his hastily assembled hunters if she had wanted.
The fight went almost as expected with the Dark God pummeling the smaller demon to and fro. The hunters had even tried their best to help her which seemed futile until the little demon unleashed the massive blast of power. He even had a small hope that the Dark God would be dead. When it stood up, he released a breath he did not know he had been holding and watched as it began its attack anew, wounded but not hampered by the mighty blow.
Eyes turned to the little human Demon. Tre'gat'aru took in her tattered attire and now-useless weapon. She had done her best to help them, and all of the Mushroohums watching knew that, no matter their prejudices. They'd tried to help her in the fight by drawing the Dark God's attention with their spears, but it had shrugged them off, dodging them effortlessly.
It would come after them next, and the tribe was doomed to be devoured, just like the legends had foretold.
The younger warriors urged the older craftsman to flee, as groups ran piecemeal toward the far entrance and possible escape. All of them knew it was unlikely they would find safety if they left the cavern, but it seemed the only chance they had. Older warriors, or those who thought it would make a difference, stood around Tre'gat'aru and prepared for a final battle in the hopes of slowing the Dark God down.
A scream erupted from the human Demon, and she fell to her knees, holding her head. Tre’gat’aru watched on in confusion as a swirl of dark mist seemed to surround the small demon, and the Dark God roared in protest as it halted at the edge of the cloud.
Then the unbelievable happened. A second Dark God flung itself out of the cloud, straight at the other! No... Tre'gat'aru realized it wasn't a second Dark God but the human Demon! Somehow it had turned into a Dark God... or was it a Dark God all along and just now showing its true form?
It had helped the village through the entire attack... Why did it fight its own kind for the village? Tre'gat'aru didn't understand, but deep down he hoped the new one would continue to help them.
The two beasts clashed, tooth and claw flashing at one another. The... Human-Dark God was slightly smaller and seemed to be cornered at first, but her wounds healed while the larger Dark God was already wounded by the magic energy the human-demon had struck it with. There was no magical healing for him.
The two massive demons tumbled and rolled as they both sought to seek advantage. Tre'gat'aru’s heart went cold when the Human-Dark God got pinned on the stone for a moment, and the other clamped down on the back of its neck. She managed to roll loose, but only barely, and Tre'gat'aru realized the outcome was far from certain.
The Mushroohum warriors had a chance to make a difference. He raised his spear and let out a vocal cry along with a horde of spores that would communicate his meaning to the others.
"We must help the new Dark God defeat the Old if the village is to survive! Brave ones, follow me!"
---
The whirlwind of power and essence pooled around her, and then she felt herself change. It wasn't painful, but it was sudden and disorienting. It was harder to think clearly as she stretched her new claws and dragged them across the hard stone. She had four powerful limbs, a tail that seemed to swish on its own accord, and a powerful set of jaws.
A roar erupted from nearby, and her set of glowing crimson eyes snapped up instantly, seeing through the dark mist easily and locating the source. Her new instincts flared, and it was clear to her. This was an enemy.
The enemy. The one who hurt her. One she must bring down.
She lurched forward, leaping through the air effortlessly. The other had not been able to peer through the cloud of essence that had shrouded her, and the element of surprise was hers. She clawed savagely at its throat, snapping down on a shoulder before he threw her off and spun to face her.
Elania hissed and bared her fangs before pouncing again, but he was larger, stronger, and just as fast. They clashed together, and claws rent skin asunder as both endeavored to clamp down on the other with vicious fangs. They broke apart with snarls before leaping at each other again, but with the same inconclusive result.
There was a pause in the repeated clashes, and as they pulled further apart, the taste of blood filled her mouth, and the strong smell of blood overwhelmed her senses. Using her long tongue to lick her lips, she let out another roar in challenge. She felt strong, and her wounds were healing, unlike her enemy's.
She was winning. Leaping forward again, she went for his throat, but he spun and dodged while somehow pouncing on her from behind. She roared in pain as he clamped down on the back of her neck and then tried to shake her head off.
She struggled to dislodge him, the attempt seemingly hopeless, but she didn’t give up, sending them both in a tumble down a bank of stone. A cloud of dust shot up into the air, and she caught sight of him leaping atop a rock. She jumped after him, slamming into his side and sending him skidding sideways.
He spun and hissed at her, his claws flashing and barely coming short of her eyes. She fell backward, and then he pounced, managing to rake a set of claws down her side and pinning her to the stone. She roared and tried to regain her feet, but his weight was heavy. He growled, but the searing pain of a bite to her throat never came.
"Glua-Glaa!"
Little sticks clattered around them, and she noticed that it had distracted the enemy. Several of them had stuck into his skin, and he had turned to the new threat. She lurched back onto her feet and charged, teeth clamping down on his flank as she clawed at his back.
He spun, but she refused to release her bite until he finally rolled away. She came back up with a large chunk of his flesh hanging in her jaws. She swallowed what she could, and the wet meaty chunks warmed her throat pleasantly.
A small moving mushroom ran forward and thrust its spear at the enemy. It was the first time she realized that anyone existed but him and her. She marked them as 'they,' and as she moved forward to attack again, one got in her way.
She let out a furious roar that sent it tumbling onto its flank before she rushed forward to attack once more. He rose and let out a deafening roar that was powerful enough to give everyone pause, even her.
She stopped halfway through her attack and stared at him. Blood oozed out of dozens of wounds. Any other creature would have faltered from just a few of those deep rents left by her claws, but he stood powerful and still strong. The sound of his roar was undeniably male, just as she knew she was female.
Why was he the enemy? She should have been pleased to have such a strong mate to sire her kits. As if reading her thoughts, his tail slowly raised up straight into the air, an unmistakable feline gesture for peace and she felt a flush of warmth as her own responded to the gesture.
A Mushroohum shouted its war cry, then stabbed at him with a spear. Demon Darkwalker effortlessly dodged and pounced, jaws gripping the Mushroom Man's head before twisting and ripping it from its body.
He was the enemy! Despite the fog in her mind, she did remember. The small ones were to be protected as they had to return something to her.
She would not accept him as a mate! Fury coursed through her, and she charged with a roar. He whirled around toward her, and they clashed once more. Claws raked her shoulders, but she had darted in faster than he could react. He was getting slow from the massive loss of blood.
Her teeth found his throat, and he tried to shake her off. She roared into her clamped down teeth as she held on, refusing to let go no matter how much he battered her with his claws. She could feel him weakening, his strength draining as his lifeblood beat out into her mouth.
She forced him onto his back and pinned him down until his heart beat no more. Triumph overwhelmed her senses, and raising her head, she roared her victory.
[You have met the requirements for Darkwalker Demon evolution.]
[Do you wish to evolve your race to Darkwalker Demon? Y/N]
Why was that a question? She was a Darkwalker, guided by her new instincts. Just as she was about to agree, a sound drew her attention.
"Glua-Glaa."
She looked down from her kill to one of the Mushroohums. It had come much too close to her, and her kill. She leaped up and opened her jaws to tear his neck.
Before her teeth clamped down, the glint of recognition brought her to a halt as she stared at the two objects, he was holding up to her. It was a leather belt and a brightly glowing rock.
Her breath caressed the Mushroohum’s flesh before she bent her neck and took the belt, hooking it on a tooth. The stone belonged to her. It was her belt. She knew this.
Elania refused the Darkwalker evolution.
[Your ‘Power’ is low, all active abilities have been disabled, and your transformation will reverse.]
She felt herself shrinking, her body changing. A terrible cold filled her, and pain coursed through her entire body, from head to toe. She was now as naked as the night she was summoned, and brought her arms around her to protect from the cold.
"Glua-glaa."
She didn't respond as she collapsed against the blood-soaked body of the Darkwalker. Before she could read the message that appeared in front of her, darkness claimed her.
Skinner looked down at her, he was grateful for all she had done. A few moments later after directing the others he returned to where she had collapsed. She did not weigh much as he picked her up and carried her to the village.
"Glua-glaa."
A massive panther hunted her in the dark. No, she recognized the shape of a Darkwalker. It thought she had no inkling it was slowly creeping closer. Water dripped from the dark stone above, and a single drop plunking into a puddle was the hunter's sign to attack. Except she turned toward it as it pounced, and opened her mouth to reveal a massive set of deadly sharp teeth and swallowed the beast whole.
Elania snapped awake, the vivid imagery of the dream... or nightmare, staying with her. Everything seemed dark, except the flicker of white light near her. She decided to check her screens quickly.
Elania's eyes widened. The sheer number of level up messages filled the screen and threatened to spill out into separate pop-up boxes. Apparently, they didn't appear in moments of intense pressure once so many had accumulated. Instead, they had waited until now when she could deal with them. That was polite of them. She swiped them away, choosing to view her Status to get a general overview instead of trying to read them all out one by one.
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 36
Power: 56/208
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana, Darkwalker(Complete)]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 6 (Deactivated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 24, Battle Concentration Lvl 4]
[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 4, Darkvision Lvl - 3, Dodging Lvl - 28, Block Lvl - 16, Stealth Lvl - 31, Throwing Weapons Lvl - 34, Combat Mastery Lvl - 32]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 4, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 12, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 19, Tracking Lvl 4]
[Attributes: Elania Reyes]
[Current Attributes:
Demon Contract (1 Available)
Regeneration (Normal)
Demonic Self-Sustenance
Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)
Immunity (Darkness)
Resistance (Poison, Mana)
Weakness (Holy)]
Nothing seemed out of place. She felt fine, albeit tired, but her [Status] said she was okay. She was fine. Then why was her heart still pounding? Was it just the aftereffects of the dream?
Her eyes slid away from the [Status] window, and it blinked out. A faint light cast shadows across the dimly lit room, and she mentally flicked on her [Darkvision] without effort. Everything brightened considerably as she found herself in some type of primitive storage room.
The walls were lined with baskets made of some type of wicker, and spears sat in neatly tied bundles beside them. There were some shields stacked on top of each other as well. Elania recognized them as the Mushroohum's weapons.
The other side of the room had different tools and instruments, like hoes, pickaxes, and shovels. They had metal tool-heads and looked like something she might have found in Home Depot or Ace Hardware. Just with a self-made flair, as the tools didn’t have the machined smoothness that she remembered. As she took a closer look she realized they were all probably made by hand by real blacksmiths.
As she propped herself up and took in the remainder of the room she slid her hand through the simple bedding. It was soft to the touch, a mat made of some type of woven grass, or was it moss?
'Ralfot? Oh, it's made from the Ralfot moss.'
Elania stroked the fiber of the mat, it was better than straw, but it wasn't going to beat simple linen. It did make for the softest sleep surface she had experienced in the caverns so far though. The simple luxury had her thoughts turn inward and she wondered how long she had been unconscious, and she began to probe her last memories.
The battle was a haze, but she did remember the transformation or at least part of it. One specific part set her cheeks aflame and she was extremely grateful no one would ever know it had happened. She hugged herself just to confirm she was still human before looking for some clothes. There didn't seem to be any in sight. What did finally catch her eye was the singular light source in the storage room. It was her Mana Shard; it had been returned to her.
'That's how I got more power after running out. I'm lucky they put it close enough.'
'Why do I keep ending up naked? This world sucks.'
She did see her belt, javelin loops empty, hanging near the crystal. She sighed, then choked back a laugh at picturing her running around naked wearing nothing but the belt, armed with javelins hunting Darkwalkers. ‘Ok, not funny, what if they don’t have any clothes?’
She collected her things before heading to the single door. She hesitated as her hand went toward the latch.
'It isn't safe to transform or absorb essence. I almost lost myself.'
Most of it was a haze even if she had picked out a few details, but the one thing she remembered clearly was how she'd almost really become a Darkwalker. The worst thing about it was that it had all felt so... right to her at the time.
'I have to be more careful, I'm just fooling around with things I still don't understand fully.'
She eyed the Mana Shard; it seemed a little dimmer than when she had first taken it. How long could it sustain her? If she had to go back to absorbing essences, she'd have to be more careful. She'd compared it to a drug before, but it was a drug that, instead of fucking you up, would make you super strong and turn you into a monster.
Taking a deep breath, Elania finally settled her thoughts and turned the latch. She pushed through into another, bigger room. Three Mushroohums turned in unison toward her. She felt herself tense up, but they didn’t offer any sudden movement or hostility to her which was a relief. Maybe they would actually talk to her now? She wasn’t sure of her status at all, was she a prisoner, or a guest? She had helped them, which she hoped might give her a little status and maybe make up for stomping the poor Elnat, or whatever she had done to piss them off at first?
The silence lengthened, and they seemed to look between each other, a faint scent of musty odor filling the room. She wondered about that, did they release some kind of smell when they got nervous? As the silence lengthened Elania began to fidget, and she wrapped an arm around her front in a poor attempt to cover herself. ‘Great, so much for finding something to wear before having an audience.’
Finally one of them stepped forward to speak.
"Glua-glaa."
'At least they don't look angry. That has to be an improvement.'
"Where's Skinner?"
"Glua-glaa."
"Fuck."
---
On one of the roofs, Elania discovered a rather comfy place to sit and watch the cleanup. She hadn't found Skinner, but the other Mushroohums treated her with an almost reverent deference. Thankfully, she’d convinced them to give her a set of leather, and she had spent a few hours converting it into a simple sleeveless top and skirt.
Having a needle and some thread made everything so much easier, although the outfit was far from fashionable and made her look like a cavewoman.
From her vantage point, she watched the Mushroohums work. They had tied ropes around the Demon Darkwalker and were dragging it out of the cave. She had considered going after it and trying to absorb it for the power, but she felt a bit wary. Even if it was still absorbable after however long she’d been asleep, she didn’t want to risk going native again. At least not without a really good reason.
Other movements in the cavern caught her eye, as others carried corpses to a large mound. There were already a dozen bodies stacked up, while others had some powder they were throwing on them.
"What's the purpose of that?" Elania murmured.
Her eyes widened when she tried to identify it.
[Fungal Spores]
[You have gained a level in Identify!]
[Identify has gained the ability to reveal additional information.]
'Ask, and ye shall receive.'
[Fungal Spores (Mushroohum)]
Elania eyed the mound and then the Fungal Spore dust. 'Oh.'
They were going to grow new Mushroohums from the dead. Did they even have females? She hadn't been paying attention to it, but she did realize that despite being mostly naked, the Mushroohums looked mostly the same, and she couldn’t think of any instance of seeing a Mushroom Woman. ‘I guess Mushroom Men is literal.’
Her thoughts on Mushroom Man's gender were suddenly interrupted when a horn sounded. It was near the entrance, where the Mushroohums were pulling the Demon Darkwalker's corpse.
The horn was not a Mushroohum sound. The Mushroom Men had formed a line, allowing the party of newcomers to pass by.
Elania stood from her seat and stared at the entrance trying to get a better view. She couldn't see much yet, but what she saw filled her with hope, dread, and anticipation.
The newcomers were human.
---
Taniel stared at the massive Darkwalker that the Mushroohums had been dragging out of the cavern. It was obviously a demon variant, and he had no idea how the poor fungus people had managed to bring it down with their primitive weapons.
A laugh at the head of the group had Taniel shiver. Of course, Marcus would laugh, their leader would find a dead demon pleasing, his bound-demon had been devoured earlier on the route by this very monster when it had ambushed them.
She had been caught outside the wards that had protected the rest of them. The loss was a relief in Taniel's mind as Marcus loved to taunt the rest of them with her. He'd actually set her on poor Tanyan, in an attempt to break his vow of chastity, which would have ruined his [Holy Monk] class just to see if the monk was serious about it or not. Considering she’d been a succubus-type meant that resisting her was harder than it sounded.
Tanyan looked back at him and pointed at the Darkwalker.
"Look at the wounds. Looks like a bigger beast found it and mauled it to death."
Taniel looked again and saw what the other man meant. He had expected the body to have an array of puncture wounds from spears and the like. It was clear that the Mushroomhums hadn’t been the ones that killed it. "What could have done that?"
Another laugh came from the front, and Marcus was looking back at them.
"Don't worry, lads, I'm sure we will find out when we meet the village chief. If it’s scarier than the Demon Dalkwalker, I'll protect you."
Taniel tried to hide his distaste for the man. Marcus was the expedition leader, but he wasn't a member of the Conclave of Neftasu. He was a mercenary, one of the rangers hired out by the monks to lead them through the Underdark's winding caverns.
In Taniel's mind, his only redeeming quality was that he was exceedingly capable of doing his job. The man's character wasn't a concern by the elders who desperately needed the special moss the Mushroohum's could supply. That meant it was up to Tanyan and him to watch over the novices.
Looking at the village, it appeared to be undamaged, or at least mostly intact from the Darkwalker's attack. It was hard to tell because the Mushroohums lived in the ruins of a lost Underdark city that had been forgotten long ago.
Two red dots glinted in the distance, and Taniel blinked and looked again, a sudden fear sending his heart beating faster. He blinked and looked again and saw nothing. He was seeing things. There surely wasn't an unbound demon in the village. The Mushroohums were still alive.
Elania had retreated from the roof and into the building to gather her things. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she wanted to be prepared. Being on the run was exhausting, and even more so when circumstances and monsters conspired to kill her.
For all she knew the newcomers would try to kill her as soon as they saw her, like the paladin. Somehow she thought that was a bit unlikely, the Mushroohums had gone through the trouble of keeping her alive, so it seemed like it would be counterproductive to let her stay if the new arrivals were going to start a fight with her in the middle of their village.
The new information from [Identify] was interesting, though. She had taken the chance to use it on them before turning away.
[Novice Monk - Human - Lvl 43]
[Novice Monk - Human - Lvl 39]
[Novice Monk - Human - Lvl 41]
[Novice Monk - Human - Lvl 37]
[Holy Monk - Human - Lvl 87]
[Martial Monk - Human - Lvl 95]
[Ranger - Human - Lvl 276]
Gathering up several of the Mushroohum spears she had worked on, she slid them into the loops on her javelin harness and fetched an extra spear. They were much better than the ones she had made herself. In all probability, the village had someone who spent their time leveling their crafting skill on them.
She did her best to sort her outfit she had improvised. It was barely acceptable in her mind, but it was better than having another encounter without any clothes at all.
She looked over to the Mana Shard and scooped it up, going to put it in the new backpack they had given her. It had been a pleasant surprise, and its craftsmanship gave it away as one of the items the Mushroohums imported. It certainly had plenty of pockets along with metal clasps to keep them closed.
She turned her attention back to the Mana Shard, and [Identify] gave her some further information on it as well.
[Mana Shard (Condensed) 701/1456]
She frowned because, according to that, it meant it had already used half of its stored Power. She didn't want to waste the Mana Shard’s power, but that meant figuring out a way to absorb monsters' essence without the side effects… or a way to charge the Mana Shard?
There wasn't anyone present in the storeroom, and once she was ready, Elania decided to wait. So far, the Mushroohums had been friendly, and she was going to have to put her trust in them, so she found a chair in a corner and sat down.
It was a while later when a knock came at the door, and then Skinner entered. Seeing him again reminded her of just how big he was compared to the other Mushroohums. There was a discolored scar on his head from the wound he’d received when they had fought the Darkwalker and it almost sent her down a theory-crafting trip about Mushroohum biology.
"Glua-glaa." He made a beckoning gesture as if he wanted her to follow him which put her out of her woolgathering.
"Right. I guess it’s time to meet the guests."
She had always been anxious when she had to present something in front of the class in school. Elania wasn’t exactly one of the social butterflies in her peer group, but she was fine with her small circle of friends.
Meeting other humans that might or might not want to kill her turned out to be just as anxiety-inducing as the class presentations she despised.
'Kidnapped to a strange world and given superpowers, and they couldn't bother to cure nerves. The fucking gall.'
Mercifully, it wasn't far to their destination. The red-clothed Mushroohum was sitting atop a ramshackle looking wooden throne. She wanted to quip about petty tyrants, but it was the man standing at the front of the party of humans that caught her attention.
There was a murmur of 'Glua-Glaa,' upon her arrival but the humans remained silent. The man at the front was holding out some type of a glowing golden ball. The Mushroohum chief had a similar item in his hand, but his was silver and considerably less bright.
Was it magic or an item? Elania honestly couldn't tell because of the magical hue around the orbs. She tried to use Identify.
[???????]
It spit out a useless array of question marks, although that at least told her it was an item. What did quickly become apparent was that it was allowing some form of communication between them. The ranger talked, but no voice seemed to carry through the air, but the Mushroohum’s responded as if they understood exactly what he was saying. A fit of petty jealousy blossomed in her.
'I really needed one of those. I wonder how common magic items here are if they show it off so blatantly? Or is that just some type of show of strength?'
As she settled into place beside Skinner, the monks noticed her. They reacted like they had been prodded with a hot poker. One looked terrified, and the man beside him actually had to grab his arm to hold him still. Another pointed at her, and a quiet whispering made her ears burn.
Elania couldn't make out what they were saying, which was exceedingly annoying. At least they hadn’t suddenly attacked her, although one of the monks glared at her hatefully as if he were ready to try and kill her at a moment's notice. She was glad that Skinner was standing just in front of her. Even if she couldn't speak to them, the Mushroohums felt a lot safer than the one who was staring daggers at her.
The monks had brought packs of metal tools, like the ones she'd seen in the storage shed. Some type of trade was taking place, and judging by the looks of it, there was an argument over price. The more baskets that were brought into the hall, the angrier the chief Mushroohum became.
Elania's gaze fell back to the man with the orb, who looked like he had little in common with the others. He was plastered with belts and pouches and what she assumed were sheaths for knives, whereas they had poofy oriental looking outfits that were in a completely different style.
The Ranger had two swords hung on his belt, and a bow strung across his chest and a quiver was peeking out from behind a shoulder. It was almost humorous because he looked like a video game character that fit the armed to the teeth trope. This wasn't a video game though, and the fact that he probably knew how to use them all was a bit worrying.
He was older than the others as well, maybe in his thirties or early forties. The monks looked like they were much closer to her in age, if not a bit younger.
The ranger must have noticed her staring as he glanced at her and offered her a smile before turning back to the negotiations. Somehow, that didn’t reassure her much.
More and more baskets arrived until finally, the angry Chief Mushroohum stood up and shouted, "Glua-Glaa!" Then pointed directly at her. Everyone's attention was directed at her, and she shifted uncomfortably.
What, were they going to argue about her??
The ranger relayed something to the monks, and the one that had glared at her started yelling at him. When the ranger conveyed whatever was said to the Chief a gesture from the Mushroohum suddenly had baskets disappearing.
That elicited a panic from the two monks that seemed to be in charge as they seemed to change their tune, and yelled for the baskets to return.
After another exchange of ‘orb talk’ the baskets returned and some type of settlement seemed to be reached. Elania noticed that Skinner was now highly agitated. He stepped forward and suddenly shouted out a loud ‘Glaa!’ that set the other Mushroohums to silence.
The musty smell she had learned to associate with the Mushroohums filled the room, and she suddenly realized what it meant. ‘Do they communicate via smell or something?’
Skinner and the Mushroohum Chief seemed to lock their attention on each other, but whatever struggle going on between them was silent. Eventually, the others began to speak up and the smell intensified. Whatever argument there had been, the Chief seemed to have lost when he picked up the orb and started to hammer at the arm of his throne with a fist.
Whatever had been discussed was relayed to the two monks in charge, and the one that disliked her shouted. “Like hell we will!”
Elania had even been able to hear it clearly, despite the murmuring Mushroohums.
Another furious exchange occurred and the Chief became livid. Another basket came forward to be added to the village’s offering. The ranger relayed that to the monks, and the two were divided on the response before the older man seemed to break the tie. With the argument decided the losing monk settled into an angry glare at her. He didn't seem happy that he had lost.
Skinner's hand settled on her shoulder lightly and urged her to step forward. She let out a breath that she hadn't known she had been holding and followed his lead. Looking over the monk party again, they seemed to all draw inward and avoided meeting her gaze.
Except for the leader. He smiled at her again and started to talk.
"They tell us you killed the Demon Darkwalker... and you have a bit of a communication problem with the locals."
After an awkward pause, Elania found herself struggling with what to say.
"I guess it intruded into your territory...?"
Her territory? Demons had territories? Maybe the area had been the Darkwalker Demon’s territory, and when it had sensed her, it had come up to investigate. She had her Aura on for a while without knowing what it did, plus the whole moss-fire escapade… she hadn’t really been subtle with her exploration and escape from the cultists.
When she didn't answer and only looked more confused, the hint of a frown appeared on the Ranger’s face.
"You do speak common, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
‘Seems like English to me, but maybe that’s what Universal Speech does, but why doesn’t it work for the Mushroohums? Because they use smell or something?’
For a moment, he was taken aback by her curt answer, but the next tidbit was something she had been worried about. Other than skinner, she hadn’t failed to notice the local inhabitants' wary looks, even if few were outright hostile like the chief.
"They want us to take you away. The chieftain doesn't want you remaining in the village regardless of however much you aided them. Naturally, we would take care of you if you refused to leave."
The implied threat and statement that they could take ‘care’ of her was worrisome. Elania wasn't entirely surprised about the threat or the Chief’s reaction. Skinner wasn't the one really in charge, and he had likely taken a considerable risk when he saved her from the spears. She owed him a fair bit for that. Causing any trouble would not be the best way to repay him.
“That’s not all. Your friend managed to convince most of the others that simply throwing you out wasn’t right after you fought for them. He basically coerced the chief into forcing us to accept payment for escorting you to Neftasu.”
“What’s Neftasu?”
“The largest city you’ll find in the region.”
She had so many questions to ask.
“You’re a new one aren’t you?” He glanced at her as he asked, and Elania felt a little apprehensive.
“A new what?”
“Demon.”
Right. She wasn’t sure how much information she wanted to give away to him. Something about his vibe screamed at her to be careful, but lying about her experience wasn’t going to help and she didn’t know enough to make it convincing anyway.
“Yeah.”
“I’m surprised you were able to gain a new form so quickly.”
She frowned, although the story of her fight with the Demon Darkwalker was probably the first thing the Mushroohum’s had told him. She wasn’t sure why her turning into a Darkwalker was the first thing he brought up though.
“I’ll go with you. I don’t want to overstay my welcome here, and a city sounds like a good place to go. I do have some questions I’d like to ask you.”
The ranger looked at her for a long moment, as if he was measuring her, before nodding. “Yes I imagine you do. The village is hosting us until tomorrow, they’ll want you to stay with us until we leave.”
She nodded in acceptance, yet couldn't help but give an accusing glare at the red-robed Mushroohum Chieftain. He was an asshole, and she was now sure that this trait extended to some Mushroohums just like humans. As she stared at him he shrank in his throne before looking away from her.
“Glaa.”
She turned away and looked at Skinner who was still at her side. She owed him a lot, and while she wasn’t sure how traveling with the monks was going to go, she felt very thankful that he had put himself forward to negotiate for her. Being cast back out into the wilds alone would have felt like a step backward.
Suddenly she stepped forward impulsively and hugged the big Mushroohum. He didn’t really react, but he didn’t push her away either. They’d never been able to talk, but somehow they had managed to communicate at least a little.
“Thank you, Skinner.”
“Glaa.”
The monks had already left with their baskets, and the Ranger was waiting impatiently at the entrance. She turned and followed.
Elania followed a few steps behind the Ranger--- Marcus was the name he had given her, as they stepped out of the Mushroohum Chieftain's hall. The Mushroom Men who had not been able to fit themselves into the building were out and about doing whatever business or task they had. As she studied the ranger’s back she wondered why having the strange non-human people about felt comforting to her. Shouldn’t she have felt relief at finding some other humans that she could talk to?
A little voice of doubt filled her as she continued to follow along. The memory of the Paladin trying to kill her wasn’t that old, but the monk party hadn’t reacted the same way. The one monk made his dislike of her very obvious, and that was actually a good thing; she’d prefer outright antipathy rather than covert maliciousness.
The monks were already well ahead of Elania and the ranger, carrying the baskets toward one of the buildings she assumed was going to be their quarters for the night. The thought that she didn’t actually need to sleep much meant that she’d probably be able to spend some more time around the village with the Mushroohums if she chose. That would be good if she found the company of the monks unbearable.
One of the novices tripped over his own feet and fell face first. The lid to his basket flew off and the familiar turquoise hue of the Glow-Moss spilled out of the wicker. ‘Seems like they are going through a lot of trouble for some flammable moss stuff.’
“So, Little Demon, how’d you end up out here? Some poor group accidentally summoned you? Group of unlucky cavers run into you and you turned them into snacks?”
Marcus’ questions distracted her from the Monk’s mishap and the contents of the basket.
“I was summoned. On purpose, though.”
“Ah, yes. A group of incompetents dealing with something well beyond them. Probably didn’t even realize a newly summoned Demon’s favorite snack is essence-brimming sapients. And now here you are.”
Elania didn’t want to mention the Paladin or the Cultists yet as he theorized her history. What did surprise her was the realization of what had been meant by the ‘New Form’ comment from earlier--- they thought she ate humans and became one of them! Before she could say anything he was already continuing.
“You’ll want to be careful around the monks. Their Conclave doesn’t have much love for demons--- especially ones that have slipped their contract. Too many orphans with demon-gobbled parents there. Fix your unbound status and most won’t care enough to give you trouble.”
“Unbound? What does that mean, and how do you know I don’t already have a contract?”
He smiled at her like he was glad that was her question. Had that been his intent to steer her toward it?
“As a fresh off the circle demoness, you’ll probably not have any experience with contracts yet, since you ate your summoners. Your eyes are red, so at the very least you aren’t under a contract at the moment.” He paused and grinned at her which set the skin on the back of her neck prickling. “One thing a demon can’t do is hide their eyes.”
[Identify] that told everyone she was a demon, eye color based on contract status, Elania started to think that being a demon had a lot of inconvenient tells.
They had caught up to the monks who had fully filled into the building with the baskets. It didn’t even have a front door, if the party tried anything, she’d be able to yell for help she told herself. From what she had observed, she didn’t think Skinner or the Mushroohums that had supported him would have sent her into an ambush, and there was that huge deal about adding an extra basket to ‘pay’ them to take her away.
If it was the chieftain she wouldn’t have had much hope, but she didn’t think Skinner would have allowed her to go with them if they were going to turn on her as soon as they left the village. She really wished she could borrow the communication orb and ask the Mushroohum.
“The thing you used to talk to them… could I borrow it to talk to Skinner?”
“Skinner? You mean the old one that argued for you? And no. It’s a bound item that only works for the user, they are quite expensive. It’s half my business from those who need to converse with Demi-humans who can’t speak.”
“So there’s more than just the Mushroohums?”
“Oh, you’re lucky that you didn’t get caught by the Arachums. They’d have webbed you and kept you that way until you dehydrated… or I guess in your case ran out of Power.”
“Sounds like a fun bunch.”
The conversation had delayed them at the entrance, but then Marcus finally moved inside. Elania took a breath and crushed the bit of doubt she was having. Mentally it was easier than entering a spider nest at the very least. Mushroohums suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
As she entered the room was much the same as the storeroom she had been in before, just without the supplies and goods stacked along the walls. The monks had placed the baskets full of Glow-Moss along the back wall and were setting up bedrolls. The one who had been glaring daggers at her most of the time was kneeling at what Elania realized was a firepit, doing his best to send a spray of sparks on some kindling.
“Hey! Isn’t that dangerous?” Elania looked between the sparks and the baskets full of moss with alarm. The ‘wildfire’ incident wasn’t one she was about to forget anytime soon.
He stopped and looked up at her in surprise, and the small flame he had almost coaxed to life went out. He almost immediately realized his mistake and then glared at her. “What the fuck are you on about?”
The others had stopped what they were doing as well and Elania realized they were all staring at her warily. She cleared her throat and pointed to the baskets. “Aren’t those really flammable? Is it really safe to have fire in here with them?”
‘Angry monk’ stopped glaring at her and went back to striking the sparks without answering. The other monk that seemed to be in charge answered instead.
“The Glow-Moss is only reactive to mana. Regular flame won’t set it off which is why Taniel is using the flint instead of the sparker.”
“Oh.” That was good to know, having a campfire without the danger of everything turning to ash was nice. She hadn’t wanted to consider eating anything raw, and a campfire had seemed like a bad idea even if she had had the tools to make one herself before.
Marcus had set down his pack on the single table in the room, and out came what she assumed was the company’s mess kit. One of the novices brought out some potatoes and other staples, it seemed a meal was on the menu and the prospect pleased her. Even if she didn’t need to eat, she missed it.
While the monks worked on cooking, Elania found a spot against the wall near the entrance and watched the efforts play out. The group seemed organized in their manner of unpacking, which probably meant they were well experienced. Marcus didn’t bother to help them with the stew preparations and had his bedroll unpacked. He noticed she was standing off to the side and patted a spot near him. “Come sit and talk.”
“I’m fine standing, thanks. How far is it to the city… Neftasu?”
He shrugged, “About a week’s travel, depending on the Razorscale migration. It isn’t the best time to be traveling through the area between here and the city.”
A week, depending on how much travel in a week they could do, that meant the city was probably way too far to find on her own without a map or guide. She considered that sticking with them until then would be the best bet for her to find civilization, but she wasn’t sure how much she could trust them.
The issue of time brought up another thing she really wanted to know and had been driving her crazy. “A week, ok. How do you tell what time it is? I didn’t see you having anything like a clock or watch…?”
“Just look on your system screen.” One of the novices interjected, looking at her like she was stupid.
“She doesn’t have a clock yet. There’s no binding stone around here, the nearest one is in Neftasu and the clock is based on that.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” The novice offered a sheepish apology before being pulled away by Taniel to work on the food preparation.
“Binding stone? Don’t tell me if you die you resurrect at those?”
Marcus shook his head. “Fun idea, but no. It’s an artifice that provides certain functions to those who reside in the area. Clock, maps, the ability to call the guards, among other things.”
That did sound useful but Elania couldn’t help feel a bit skeptical of getting all that for free, and the word ‘binding’ seemed to suggest being stuck with it somehow.
“I guess I will be without a way to tell time for a while then… just to confirm there are twenty-four hours in a day, and seven days in a week, right…?”
Marcus nodded, “Four weeks to a month, thirteen months to a year.”
‘Thirteen? Oh well, that isn’t so bad as to be too confusing.’
Before she could ask something else, Taniel interjected.
“Why are you bothering answering her stupid questions? Just offer her a contract before she gets hungry and decides to have one of us for a snack.”
Elania did not like his suggestion or where it led. She had no intention of signing any contract until she knew it wasn’t some sort of slavery thing. She’d rather take her chances escaping into the caves and hiding with the Dark Walkers than anything like that. She held up a hand.
“I don’t plan on making any contracts until I understand everything more,” she paused mid-way to frown at Taniel, “And I am not going to eat anyone for a snack. The only thing I’ve absorbed is another demon, some Ralfots, and Dark Walkers.”
“So she’s lying to us too, Tanyan, don’t you need some extra karma for your next skill? Why don’t we just dispose of her so you can earn that.”
What made him hate her so much that he would suggest killing her? Marcus had mentioned the orphan thing, but the hostility radiating from the man was chilling. Tanyan, the other senior monk, along with the novices looked like they were taken a bit aback at the sudden suggestion as well, although no one came to her defense. There was a moment of quiet only broken by two of the novices working on stirring the stew.
The sudden silence was too much for Elania and she offered another question.
“What’s Karma do anyway? I only have 24, but I didn’t see anything relating it to skills?”
“See, she killed 24 people already if they were all -1s, just get rid of her.”
“No, I have positive 24, I started with twelve points and I didn’t kill anyone unless you count that other Lesser Demon which gave me positive twelve.”
They all seemed to stare at her, except two of the novices who were doing their best to ignore the conversation. Marcus and Tanyan looked at her with skepticism, while Taniel only continued to offer a defiant glare.
Marcus eventually asked, “24, and not -24? You didn’t actually kill anyone when you were summoned?”
“That’s not possible.”
Marcus looked at Taniel and shook his head. “It is, although rare.” He looked back to Elania and asked, “So, you were a human before being summoned?”
“Well, yes.”
“She’s lying, obviously,” Taniel said immediately.
There was another awkward moment of silence, but it was the other senior monk that broke it.
“Elania, show us your ‘Status’ screen,” Tanyan said.
“Eh?” Her confused look prompted an explanation.
“Normally It isn’t polite to ask, but in this case it’s an easy way to prove what you’re saying.”
“I don’t actually know how.”
Marcus chuckled, addressing the others like she wasn’t even there and Elania felt an instant dislike toward him.
“She’s like a kid who doesn’t know the way around her own system.”
He turned back toward her with a condescending smile.
“I assume you know how to open your status? Do that and then simply will it to be visible to us the same way you open it. Nothing’s easier.”
Showing them her Status didn’t seem to be too bad. She would have worried more if they had wanted to see her skills or attribute pages, though.
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 36
Power: 56/208
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
The page in the air appeared obediently. The next part was a bit more complicated, but after a few seconds of ‘willing’ it to appear to the others a few of them reacted. She noted that each person seemed to have their own way of accepting the request, as the screens suddenly appeared in the air in front of them.
It was weird, being able to see her own status screen floating in the air for each person.
“Woah! Look at her ‘Power’ cap! It’s over 200!” One of the novices commented, and another pointed out her level.
“Level 36? It’s a bit high for just being summoned?”
“I killed a bunch of Darkwalkers, that seemed to give me a lot of them. Is killing things the only way to level?”
Marcus gave her that same condescending smile and she felt really glad she wasn’t sitting anywhere near him.
“Killing things is the main way, yes. Non-fatal combat will give some eventually as well, especially at lower levels. Crafting is a safe way, but it takes years. A lot of skilled artisans go adventuring early on to gain attribute points they can use to boost their trade of choice.”
“So leveling gives attribute points, I got one at level ten, but none since then?”
Tanyan offered the answer, “One, Ten, Fifty, and then every Fifty levels, 100, 150, 200, etc.”
Elania looked at Marcus and frowned, he was the highest level and that meant he had seven or eight attributes? She remembered the list that had been offered her, and some of those had seemed pretty powerful. She’d picked [Regeneration] in a hurry, but considering how fast she had been leveling, it wouldn’t be long before she got another chance to choose another.
“Does everyone get the same attribute choices?”
A loud clunk interrupted, Taniel hitting the now boiling stew with the metal scoop.
“Why are you all entertaining her? The levels, the high power-cap? She’s obviously older than she is letting on and probably just picked up the good karma by farming it off some negative people.”
Nothing seemed able to convince Taniel that she was anything other than an evil demon, and Elania tried to tamp down the worry that a lot of people would react the same way. That was starting to seem more likely, though. She hadn’t been able to read much off Tanyan although he was at least not hostile. Meanwhile, Marcus was giving off all kinds of red-flags despite all the very useful information.
“I don’t really get the whole Karma thing. It seems like you gain it by killing people? I got it from killing that other demon, but it seemed really evil that seemed normal?”
“Oh, people learned how to game the system long ago, girl. Killing a fellow sapient will earn you one big ol’ negative point. Kill someone with negative points and you’ll get half that many as positive points. It’s a shit system for keeping track of who’s good or bad. There’s slave markets in the west that have whole stables for sale that aren’t based on anything other than their merchandise’s negative karma.”
“And something like that unlocks a [Holy Monk] skill? That seems a bit off…” She looked to Tanyan and frowned.
“Well, we can write a letter and send it off to one o’ the gods with the complaint they set the world up wrong.”
“What’s your highest skill, Elania?” Tanyan asked, and it almost surprised her, he had been pretty quiet for most of the discussion. He seemed the most friendly of the three and she thought about it.
“[Demonic Aura] and [Mana Manipulation] in the Magical tree. [Throwing Weapons] and [Combat Mastery] in Physical now after the big fight. For Mundane it’s [Athletics] but [Universal Speech] and [Identify] are at five now. Oh! [Improvised Crafting], I leveled it up a lot so far making spears. Maybe [Reading] and [Writing] are good too?”
“Well, with [Universal Speech], [Reading] and [Writing] were you a noblewoman? Those aren’t very common skills.”
“Uhh, no. I was a University student.”
“So from a rich family then.”
Her family was middle-class back home, but that probably would count for rich here, considering all the modern amenities middle class Americans enjoyed. She didn’t think they would be much interested in that though so she just nodded. There was one question that she hadn’t asked yet that was very important to her.
"How do I get home?"
Elania waited for what felt like way too long as Marcus paused, looking at her, considering his answer.
"Normally, you don't. Can I ask how you were summoned?"
She took a deep breath, and briefly went through the course of events from her arrival in the summoning circle up to the point where she escaped the cultist compound.
“So, that explains how you got out without a contract then. I’m more surprised that you didn’t end up dead.”
Elania wasn’t going to argue, she knew exactly how lucky she had been to survive up to this point. The monks looked to Marcus. Elania realized that he knew a lot more about Demons than they seemed to.
“I don’t know any way to send Demons back. I’ve never even heard of it being attempted. Most Demons are animals or monsters when they are summoned or form naturally. Wild Demons that live long enough generally evolve into the demon form of whatever they devour. Summoned ones evolve into whatever their master’s feed them. It’s not hard to form a contract with a summoned demon, most are quite stupid and easily tricked into accepting anything as long as they get more essence from their summoner.”
“So… people summon demons and turn them into slaves with a contract, then turn them into whatever they want? That’s… terrible.”
“Ahh, it’s more tolerated than the Karma markets of Ravost. There’s a Demon market in Neftasu. Every major city, really.”
Her race was generally regarded as useful slaves, or as a dangerous monster. Marcus gave her a smile that made her feel hunted. “Don’t worry, Little Demon, contracts aren’t always one-sided. You have a huge advantage in negotiating a contract compared to a beast whose only desire is essence.”
“Stew’s ready,” Taniel announced.
It had taken only one bite of the stew for her to realize something was wrong. Marcus had warned her, and the looks from the others had hinted at what was about to happen. She had ignored them anyway, the enticing smell teasing her as she poured herself a bowl of the still steamy stew. She refused to hesitate as she brought the spoon up to her mouth and even managed to chew for a few seconds before reality came crashing down on her.
It had smelled like real food, it was warm like real food, but it tasted like dirt and she barely managed a single swallow without throwing up. Tanyan had hurried over and given her a waterskin of some type of sweetened drink to wash the taste out of her mouth.
At least the drink hadn’t made her sick, apparently sweet drinks were fine. Alcohol, she had been informed, was fine. Any type of vegetables or cooked meat? Bad. She was now an obligate sweet-tooth and drinker. Oh, and essence muncher. When raw meat was mentioned she had wanted to plug her ears.
Taniel had brought up that her ‘Power’ was only a quarter full, and she would be a danger to the group. That led to Marcus suggesting she make a nice contract with him to keep her fed, but she’d declined immediately. She told them she would go hunt some Darkwalkers instead. In reality she found a quiet place to think outside the village and spent some quality time with her Mana Shard. She still hadn’t disclosed it to them and was pretty sure it was going to remain her secret.
Looking out at the cave, she watched the Ralfot and Elnats go about their business while a few Mushroomhum’s stood watch. They knew she was there, and she wondered what they thought about having a scary demon perched on a rock nearby.
Elania thought if she ran for it, they would not bother to hunt her down as long as she stayed away from the Mushroohums and avoided contact with anyone. She’d be able to survive just hunting things in the caves. Where would that leave her though? Maybe eventually she’d be able to find civilization on her own, but from what she understood there were things in the Underdark that were much more dangerous than Darkwalkers.
Then there was the fact that surviving on her own would be lonely. Even if she didn’t trust the monks or Marcus, at least she could learn about the world from them. Even if the Mushroohums had invited her to stay with them, they couldn’t talk to her.
The stories about ‘Civilization’ and how demons were treated did give her pause. Becoming a slave was not something she wanted to experience. She also needed to be careful not to get tricked into becoming a slave or worse. That meant getting stronger so others couldn’t take advantage of her, too. Maybe get a set of magical armor or a magic sword? That seemed like the proper RPG thing to do. ‘Need to be careful not to mistake this world for a game. It’s way darker.’
At some point, she had made the decision to accompany them to the city. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was not. Most of all, she did not want to be left in the caverns alone again.
Elania kept pace behind Marcus, with Taniel and Tanyan leading the monks behind her. She wasn't sure what the purpose of putting her second in line was, but she suspected it was because the monks wanted to keep an eye on her.
That suited her purposes just fine, Marcus or Tanyan were the most likely to answer her questions, and the novice monks had avoided talking to her altogether.
“If reading isn’t a common skill, how do people use their system? You implied everyone has one?”
She directed the question toward Marcus, but it was Tanyan that answered. “Everyone has their own way of interpreting the [System]. One person might hear a voice in their head while another reads the information on a scroll that only they can see. Scholars debate about the efficacy of different methods, but generally, it’s accepted that everyone’s [System] adapts to what is most efficient for that person and can even change as they get older.”
‘So, I get blue RPG screens, how traditional. Wait. When I showed everyone my ‘Status’ screen, did they get to see my screen or their own? Because I saw them looking at mine.’
“When I showed you my screen---”
“We each saw or heard our own version of it, yes.”
“It looked like you were all reading it, though? I thought that was a rare skill?”
“It is. I can read, but the others cannot. If you send a screen to Taniel, he gets a talking head that conveys the information to him.”
Elania glanced at the other monk and had to stifle a laugh. No wonder he was so grouchy and angry. ‘If I had to worry about floating talking heads suddenly appearing, I’d glare at everything, too.’
Tanyan cleared his throat. “I have a question for you myself.”
Elania smiled and almost tried on a rock which caused Marcus to turn and frown at her. She offered a sorry wave before looking back to Tanyan.
“Sure, you’ve all answered a lot of mine, what do you want to know?”
“What’s the demon world like?”
“Eh?”
“Your world. What’s it like?”
“My world… there aren’t any monsters other than the human-type. There is not any [System] that people use. We have technology instead.”
“No [System]? How do you do anything? You would not even be able to cook! You’d all starve to death!”
“You just cook. There isn’t any numerical skill or anything that affects your ability to do or not do anything, it just takes your own talent and well… skill into account.”
“So, there are skills in your world?”
That was not what she meant, ugh, it was hard to explain without using the ‘skill’ word, which obviously had a different implication in Eladu.
“Skill in my world is just what you practice. It doesn’t help you do anything better or worse, and there is no numerical value or way to see it.”
“So, you have hidden stats in your world?”
“I guess.”
“Most demons don’t remember anything of their old world by the time they become sapients. So, it isn’t common to be able to ask.”
“Do you deal a lot with demons, Marcus said your ‘Conclave’ deals with them or something?”
“The Conclave is a holy order that protects the city. We only really get involved with criminals the Watch or Guard cannot handle. Sometimes that’s a rogue demon.”
“Rogue Demon?”
“If a demon somehow gets out of its Contract, they usually have a lot of resentment and go on a rampage until dealt with…”
Elania did not answer immediately. ‘Maybe those Demons have a reason for having so much resentment if they are enslaved and then controlled by their masters?’
Taniel decided to interject into the conversation.
“Don’t forget that, Demon. You will be watched. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t associate those red eyes of yours with carnage.”
Taniel’s words were a reminder and painted a poor picture of what she could expect when--- if they reached the city. She was not willing to stay in what amounted to the wilderness forever, and she didn’t want to live as a cavewoman running around hunting things with spears either.
That meant she was going to have to deal with navigating around people who didn’t like her, or were looking to abuse her, and if she couldn’t do that with a small group like this… Elania didn’t think it would be any easier with more people around.
The flow of the conversation died, and she focused on her feet and following Marcus. That didn’t stop her from getting lost in her thoughts again.
Neftasu. The city had a whole series of waystations and travelers’ camps spread through the region for parties like theirs. She had learned that the flora and fauna of the caves frequently changed, and this influenced the caverns' layout. That meant there could be danger on any of the well-traveled routes in the Underdark. The way they had to go to get back to the city wasn’t even on one of those ‘well-traveled’ routes.
Most travelers or caravans relied on guides who moved about frequently enough to keep up with any changes to a growing and stupidly complex web of waystations. When she had commented that Darkwalkers weren’t much trouble for her it was hinted that they weren't the worst creature they could end up meeting. Traveling through the Underdark caverns was a perilous undertaking.
That underlined just how important this [Glow-Moss] was to the group. That had piqued her curiosity and apparently, it was an important alchemical ingredient. Healing potions, ‘Mana’ potions, energy potions. Apparently, they were so expensive that only the very wealthy could afford them, but Elania could see why such items would have a lot of value.
The [Glow-Moss] didn't grow anywhere there was a sizable population nearby, and only in the deeper caverns.
'Probably because it vaporizes if someone spills ‘Mana’ on it.'
After all the ordeals earlier, the hike was not that arduous. Even with her power level only at three-fourths her max, she found it easy to keep the pace. She had been checking her [Status] periodically and keeping an eye on her ‘Power’ level. It had been slowly creeping up thanks to the Mana Shard, but she had managed to acquire a bedroll before leaving the village and had stuffed the Mana Shard inside of it. The insulation seemed to help prevent her from absorbing the 'Power' too fast.
Elania did not want to drain the Mana Shard, not until she knew if it could be recharged or how she could get another one. Overcharging her 'Power' slightly and increasing her maximum capacity might have been a good idea if she was not worried about draining it completely, but she was apprehensive about the long-term prospects of relying solely on hunting for essence. There were still the ramifications of transforming into a Darkwalker to consider...
She didn’t want Taniel’s input again so she sped up her step a bit until she was closer to Marcus so she could ask him her question.
"So, acquiring a lot of a single essence will turn me into what it came from?"
"Generally, yes. Although it would take a lot of concerted effort, the majority of your 'Power' would have to be compatible. I'm told it’s like a compulsion, you become whatever you absorb. That is why I'm surprised you didn't totally become a Darkwalker Demon; you must have a strong sense of self or familiarity with your current form."
Well, she was born human, so she hoped she had a lot of familiarity with being herself. The suggestion that it was possible that she might devolve into a monster or animal was alarming, even if she had suspected it from all the effects she’d experienced from absorbing the Darkwalker essence.
Marcus raised a hand and cut her off with a quick hush. The whole party came to a standstill, everyone becoming fully alert. Elania heard the noise just as Marcus urged them against a cave wall. It was faint, but Elania swore she recognized the sound.
"Flatten yourselves!"
Hooves. It sounded like a stampede of thousands of hooves, and the roar was getting louder with every passing second. The group found a usable indent along the wall.
A herd of wild Ralfots, the largest she had yet seen, were hurling themselves down the tunnel like their lives depended on it. Despite their speed, Elania had no trouble tracking their movements and her eyes fell on a few specific ones she realized were slower or weaker than the others.
The strongest of the beasts passed them first, then the mid-sized ones. One slammed into one of the novice monks, pushing him back and smashing his nose on the rock.
Elania could smell the blood immediately despite them being a good distance away. The way the smell hit her was not normal. 'What the fuck?'
The massive herd continued to pass them by, slowly thinning out. No one else got hurt, and Elania did her best to ignore the injured man and focus on the Ralfots. The few smaller ones had a hard time keeping up with the herd.
Elania found herself leaning forward singling one Ralfot near the back out. She already knew the distance and trajectory she needed to pounce on it. She felt her muscles tense up. She was ready, it was time...
A hand fell on her shoulder, and she froze, looking to her side. Marcus shook his head.
'The Darkwalker essence is affecting me. Was it triggered by the herd?'
She swallowed and stilled herself. Marcus had already looked past her, dismissing her momentary predatory lapse, and was signaling the monks.
"Come on, we need to get out of here before what was chasing them catches up. There is not— Dammit. You fool!"
Marcus glared at the novice monk with the bloody nose. Elania didn't think there was much to do about that, Tanyan was wiping the blood away with a bandage. She had been wondering if he had healing magic of some sort because of his class of [Holy Monk], but either he did not or this was too trivial an injury to warrant it.
They did not have time to respond before a deafening roar had Elania pulling free a javelin, and the others also whipped around to look at the source.
Elania found herself more immune to gawking at all the strange things she'd been seeing, but as she took in the tan-colored fur of the three heads, and what seemed to be giant bat wings on the torso of a giant lion, she couldn't help herself. ‘That’s a fucking monster.’
[Manzitore]
It flew past the group on its wings, intent on chasing the Ralfots when it banked and came to a halt midair... The monster landed smoothly somehow, then whipped around on its four paws and roared once at the bloodied novice.
"Taniel! Get the others to the next waystation. Now!"
The monks scattered, and the beast went after them, but Marcus already had his bow out and an arrow readied. Elania's eyes widened when the arrow burst into a blue flame when it launched itself at the Manzitore and adjusted its flight in midair to slam into an eye on its middle head.
She raised her weapon, ready to hurl it towards the monster, but a hand touched her shoulder.
"Mundane weapons aren't going to hurt that, get going with the others, or you're going to die!
Elania turned without missing a beat and hurried after the monks. If Markus didn't need any help, he didn't need any help, and she didn't want to have to fight that thing herself anyway!
It didn't take her long to catch up to the monks who hadn’t hesitated to flee, and the sounds of battle behind her gave her sprint a little more speed. There was an explosion behind her, followed by more roars and a gust of wind, interspaced with what sounded to be falling rock and heavy thumps.
'What the fuck is going on back there?'
"Maurice! Hurry up, we can't slow down."
"I'm sorry, Taniel! That rock took a chunk of my HP, it's slowing me down."
‘H-fucking-P?’ Elania almost brought up her status screen to confirm she hadn’t missed anything. Why didn’t she have any HP?
"Dammit!"
The novice complaining was slowing the group down. She knew that the higher her ‘Power’ was the stronger she was, did the others have the same sort of thing with a hitpoint mechanic? She hadn’t noticed anything refusing to die because it had some HP left in a bar, but then again, she hadn’t seen any health bars at all--- maybe the system somehow awarded damage perfectly… or something? If so, why was he complaining that a broken bloody nose was slowing down his legs.
A thunderous shake of the cave walls sent everyone scrambling for balance, including her.
"Come on, we need to go!" Taniel shouted from the front. The group started to move again, Elania now at the back. It wasn’t long before the others outpaced Maurice and she was the last one behind him.
“I can’t keep up!”
The group stopped again and Tanyan looked at the novice in a near state of panic. “There isn’t enough time to heal your HP! Just try!”
Seeing that Maurice wasn't going to pick up the pace, Elania stepped forward. “I’ll carry you.”
That got a range of reactions from surprise to Taniel’s dubious glare. Maurice wasn’t huge, but Elania wasn’t a large woman herself, but she knew she’d be able to handle it. Tanyan shook his head.
“I don’t think you---”
Maurice didn’t resist as she lifted him up and over her shoulder. It was a strange feeling to her as she easily lifted him up, despite him being larger. Taniel looked like he was about to protest, but a hand on his shoulder from Tanyan had them moving again. His weight settled and the party continued their escape.
Despite the bulk and weight, he held still and held on, and the bouncing didn’t slow her down. The group was able to move even faster, as they had been slowing themselves slightly trying to let Maurice keep up.
The offshoot from the tunnel they had been traveling along quickly reached another section, and they continued in what Elania hoped was the right direction. She didn't really have any choice and had no idea how Tanyan was navigating for them.
As they rounded a corner, a Darkwalker roared as it stood in their path. The group momentarily slowed, but upon seeing their number, the beast did the sensible thing and fled in another direction.
Suddenly, there was a mighty rumble, and the cavern roof exploded downward just behind them. The Manzitore slammed onto its back before it recovered and stood to challenge them. Rocks levitated around the monster and then flashed forward at an alarming speed.
Elania only caught the glint of an arrow flying down to intercept one of the rocks before it erupted into a massive explosion sending the group flying off their feet. A whirlwind of hot air and dust filled Elania's senses.
The pit in her stomach told her they were all going to die. Sure, the fight with the Darkwalker Demon had been more visceral, but she had been hopped up on monster essence at the time. This time she was just trying to get away, and the monster was using magic. The Manzitore seemed intent on her as well, as one head’s eyes unerringly glared at her. ‘Or the bundle on my shoulder? Was it really after Maurice because of his little nosebleed?’
The answer was seemingly yes as the Manzitore batted at Marcus sending him dodging away before leaping toward the group of monks and singling her out. She had the sense to leap away just in time, and claws on raked through air.
Before she landed though, she suddenly felt herself being yanked to a stop mid-air.
‘What!?’ She was being levitated in the air, although she was still able to spin in place. The Manzitore was getting closer. In the background she could see Marcus fighting and dodging stones as one after another hurled itself at him. It looked like he was trying to find a space to fire his bow, but the incessant barrage wouldn’t allow him the time.
The weight of Maurice on her shoulder suddenly lifted and only a instant reaction allowed her to grab at him as he was suddenly yanked away. She managed to get hold of his ankles, and he screamed as his body was pulled taut between her and the Manzitore.
The monster was using more of its telekinesis or whatever it was to try and steal the novice from her!
Maurice’s screaming reached a terrifying pitch as she was forced to tighten her grip or lose him. Elania had the sudden horrifying realization that he was going to be torn in half--- or at least something like it if she didn’t let go.
“Help!” She wasn’t sure anyone could hear her over Maurice’s screaming. Her entire view seemed to be taken up by the Manzitore’s three maws as Maurice and her were dragged toward it.
One of the novice’s ankles suddenly popped out of place and she had an extremely brief glimpse of his expression before a final tug pulled him out of her grasp and into the jaws of the Manzitore’s middle head.
It bit down on the man’s midsection, blood and viscera exploding out far enough to splatter her face. She could still hear the man screaming as it flipped his body up into the air and then swallowed him.
Everything seemed to stop as the realization that it had eaten the novice soaked in, but the momentary pause was broken when the Manzitore re-focused on her and she realized now she was flying toward a open mouth.
There was a short list of things to do that came to her in that short second, but the first was trying her [Demonic Aura] to somehow break the monster’s telekinesis.
[Demonic Aura (Activated)]
The now familiar surge of energy flooded through her, but she remained trapped in the air hurtling toward a set of massive bloody teeth. A tremor ran through her and she thought to try and grab one of her flimsy javelins off her back, but there was no time.
A heavy impact smashed into the side of the Manzitore in a fiery explosion that sent it flying toward a cavern wall. Elania suddenly found herself falling out of the air. She didn’t have time to brace herself before she landed hard on her side on a rock which sent her tumbling down a pile of stone rubble.
Dazed, she slowly started to sort herself when a hand suddenly pulled her up onto her feet. Taniel’s furious face was only inches from her own and she realized he was screaming at her.
“---et go of him, you stupi---”
Elania only caught the last part of what he was shouting as he cut off abruptly when Tanyan pulled him back. She wasn’t sure what he was angry at her for; She had done her best to keep hold of Maurice, but the monster’s telekinesis was way too strong.
A roar from across the cave prompted the three to look toward it, and Marcus was standing atop a rock, nocking another of his elemental arrows. He looked back at them and repeated his earlier order.
"I told you all to get out of here! GO!"
He did not need to tell her again. Elania pushed past Taniel, and toward the direction the group had been fleeing. The three remaining novices were already further ahead, and she set off in a jog that had her catching up to them. Another enormous crash and explosion erupted behind her, but she didn’t look back. She just wanted to get away.
Taniel pulled off the basket-backpack and strapped it to his front. Elania thought about offering to carry it for him, but despite its bulk, it was not heavy enough to slow him down.
They pushed through to the next cavern and the next one after, finally making progress at leaving the sounds of battle behind them.
---
The two senior monks caught up to her and the novices eventually, and Elania realized Taniel had a second basket of moss strapped to his front. Evidently it had been important enough to go back to get it from where Maurice had dropped his pack.
She settled at a pace that left her at the back of the group. She realized she was shaken and had to fight back a tremor in her hand. She had fought the Darkwalkers, but it was another thing to watch another person be eaten and then come so awfully close herself to that same end by the maws of the massive beast.
The fear of running into something else, equally as terrifying kept her from falling too far back. She realized that she very much was an outsider in the group, being forced to stay with them now, unless she wanted to try and find her own way. That didn’t seem like such a safe option anymore.
She was not sure how long it had been since they had last heard the combat. It must have been hours, at least. It felt like longer, even if nothing noteworthy had caught her attention other than making sure she was keeping up with the monks. The group trudged through the caves in a morose and defeated silence.
"Here!"
Elania looked up at the shout.
She realized the fungus and mosses had changed hues again at some point. Vibrant purples and reds filled her vision as she looked around the cavern. A small stream passed through the middle of the space. The others were ahead and stopped, and she realized there was an opening that was almost hidden against the wall.
As she caught up, she realized that Taniel had been giving orders to the others. He looked at her with a frown.
“This is it. The room in the far back is yours.”
Looking through the entrance she saw that the others had moved dispersed into the chamber. It was shaped like a small bubble, with the single entrance as a choke point. Elania realized that the walls were not just raw stone. They were smoothed, and all around the room, there were carvings and other small decorations. It was a ruin of some sort that had been repurposed into a campsite. A ‘waystation’ is what they called it.
She started to ask about the ranger, but Taniel had already turned his back on her and was walking away. She felt a spark of annoyance toward him but was ultimately too emotionally exhausted to do anything but follow him and enter the waystation to find her room.
Around the chamber there were rooms cut into the circular wall at regular intervals. A central area had stone benches and a depression for a campfire. A metal spit was built into the stone above where she assumed the fire would go. There were already bundles of the spongy Tower-cap wood set against a stone slab. She assumed they were meant for firewood. The waystation seemed well taken care of and if what she had gleaned from them earlier, they had just stayed here a few days before. So that made sense.
She doubted she would have been able to find this place on her own, and she didn’t think she would even be able to find her way back to the Mushroohum village if she wanted. The route became jumbled and maze-like after the Manzitore attack. She stopped and frowned, looking over to Tanyan who was inspecting the Glow Moss baskets.
"Tanyan, what about Marcus?"
He looked at her and there was a long pause as he considered.
"I don’t know if he could manage to kill a Manzitore. They have a lot of powers and are easily S-ranked, even when they are young. That one had three heads so it must have been ancient. It would probably take a whole party of experienced mercenaries to take it down. I think he probably waited until we got out of the area then escaped."
“Do you think he would be able to do that?”
“Escape? I think so. He’s a ranger and it’s hard to pin that type down.”
"How do you get a class? I don't have one."
"You need someone from the class you want to train you in the right skills. That or find a manual with details on the class. Once you have the skills needed for the class you need them at a high enough level as well.”
“What’s the requirements for [Holy Monk]?”
Tanyan smiled at her. She did not really expect him to answer, the requirements for classes were probably well guarded secrets but she ended up surprised.
“For starters you need [Elemental Manipulation (Light)] Level 500 and [Meditation] Level 250. There are a few others, but those are the main ones.”
‘Level what?’ Elania blinked and realized she had her mouth open and quickly closed it. Level five-fucking-hundred? Her highest skill was not even level 50!
“It actually isn’t that high, but the evolved class of [Holy Monk] has a lot higher requirements. Those are a secret, unlike the base class.”
“Just how high do levels on skills go?”
“It isn’t like all skills have the same limit. Some only go to level five, and you’re stuck with whatever level it is when you get it. Others go up to twenty-five or fifty and level very slowly. Those often evolve into other skills, too. Most go up to a thousand, and usually evolve into a more advanced skill once they max out. Some go up to five thousand, especially the menial or general ones that don’t usually evolve into advanced versions.”
So, she was starting from rock bottom, skill wise. [Darkvision], [Demonic Aura], and [Identify] were definitely in the ‘special’ category on levels. [Reading] and [Writing] also. The magic and combat ones she had picked up seemed to be the high-caps, which suddenly made sense why they were leveling up so quickly. She’d pushed them up a lot in a few weeks, but the levels needed to get a class meant no one would probably get a class without planning and working toward it.
“So, there are class evolutions, too? Does it replace your old class, or do you get multiple?”
“Neither. A class evolution does replace your old class. You can also have multiple classes, although it is not recommended unless you know what you are doing. It slows your leveling down considerably.”
Multiple classes sounded overpowered, but Elania realized she did not actually know what classes did.
“Tanyan, this might seem like a silly question, but what do classes… actually do?”
He smiled at her and chuckled.
“They increase the effectiveness of their class skills. A mage might practice with a sword or bow, and he can be quite skilled in it, but if a warrior or ranger puts the same amount of effort in, they’ll be much better at the same thing. Especially if they both max out the same skill.”
Elania considered the ramifications of that. If someone didn’t care much for attribute points, and base level in general, would it make sense to take a bunch of classes for the skill boosts? What if found out that base level was important for something else? Well, none of her skills were anywhere near what seemed to be needed for a class, anyway, so she would have plenty of time to figure it out. She hoped so, at least.
She was still theorizing when someone else stepped into the conversation.
“Tanyan? Set these out for me?”
Taniel pressed his pack into Tanyan's arms and nodded to one of the rooms. The [Holy Monk] looked at her and gave her an apologetic smile before heading to unpack.
‘He just did that to keep Tanyan from answering more questions.’
There were three different side chambers that were meant for guests. The novices had all piled into one room, and she guessed that Tanyan and Taniel were going to share another. That left her with the third one. She was suddenly glad that Marcus was missing; she would have a space to herself.
Elania left Taniel with the baskets and made her way around to her chamber. There were hooks above the entrance for some type of tarp to be hung for privacy, and the novices had already finished the process of setting up one for themselves. She didn’t have anything to hang up there, though, so she would have to do without.
She heard a faint sobbing sound come from the novice’s room and she suddenly felt her insides go cold. Maurice was dead, and he had been the novice’s friend. Elania had a flashback to the scene with the Manzitore’s open mouth, about to eat her and shivered. And she had been asking about fucking skills and classes just after they got to the camp? She looked over toward the room Tanyan had went to. He probably knew the novice, too. What was wrong with her?
Taking a deep breath and trying to push that thought aside she examined the furniture in the room. It was carved right out of the stonework, being part of the room itself. What she had assumed were bricks or blocks were actually engravings made right into the raw stone to make it look constructed. There was a bench and chair, that were little more than slabs. In a corner there was a larger slab she assumed was meant for a place to put down her bedding.
Elania pulled out her bedroll, leaving the Mana Shard in her backpack. The roll was little more than a sewn together wrap of leather. It was a far cry from the modern sleeping bag she remembered from camping with her family. It was a gift from the Mushroohums so that made sense, but she thought she was going to have a hard time resting on it.
She had companions she could talk to now, even if they did not trust her. Somehow that made her feel lonelier than when she had been alone. She did have hope that they would warm up to her, though. With no sleep since she woke up in the Mushroohum storeroom, she realized that she was tired. It was not a physical tiredness, but an emotional one. As soon as she laid back on the leather bedroll, she was fast asleep.
Elania managed to sleep for a few hours before waking up. She wanted more time to simply black out the world and tried to go back to sleep for what felt like an eternity, but her new body refused to cooperate. The stone walls seemed too close around her and a feeling of claustrophobia hit her, so she decided to step out.
The monks seemed to be fast asleep, she could hear snoring coming from both rooms. She peeked into the novice’s space. Their bedrolls looked a bit plusher and more well-made than hers, but she did appreciate the fact that she had an entire room to herself. The hanging leather curtains gave them an illusion of privacy, but it was not much better than simply being open like hers.
The campfire had been banked with just a few glowing embers remaining. She stepped up to the cave entrance when a voice to the side surprised her.
"Going somewhere, demon?"
Elania's head whipped around to find Taniel sitting on a rock just inside the entrance. He had taken up a position there, and she had to admit it was a decent hiding spot to ambush anything entering--- or leaving if they weren't looking up.
"Everyone else is asleep, and I just woke up."
"Go back to sleep. There’s still plenty of time until morning."
Elania frowned. "I can't. Already tried. I don't need much sleep anymore. What about you, don't you need to rest? I could keep watch instead."
"Like I'd trust a demon to keep watch. Who would keep watch on you?"
That stung slightly. She shouldn’t have expected anything else from him, and she kicked herself mentally for even bothering to suggest it in an attempt to be nice. It probably just made him suspect her of being the horrible monster he kept assuming she was.
"Well, I can keep watch with you then. Do you mind if I ask some questions?"
"Yes. I do, actually."
Elania bit her lip, suppressing her annoyance. No matter how wary of demons Taniel was, she hadn't done anything to warrant his behavior toward her.
"Well, I'm going to collect some wood to restart the fire, and work on my crafting."
"Suit yourself."
Ugh! She wanted to hit him, but that wouldn't solve anything, so Elania decided to be the bigger person and walked away. She could work on her own project while waiting for the others to wake up.
The cavern connected to the waystation was mostly bare except for moss on the ceiling, but the next cavern over had a water source, and there was a plethora of [Tower-Cap] for her to harvest. Having a knife or hatchet would have made the job more comfortable, but she managed to find smaller ones to manage with her bare hands.
'If people only knew that Minecraft got it right.'
Once she had a pretty sizable bundle under her arm, she headed back. Taniel let her pass without comment, and she deposited it by the fire. Then she went and collected several more. She'd have plenty of material to work with.
Satisfied with the four wood bundles, she broke one up into shorter sticks while laying them on top of the still red glowing coals. She didn't have to wait long before the fire was crackling again.
The first task was completed, and Elania turned with a frown to the other stacks. She wanted to practice making spears, but her dagger had been discarded when it had become a molten mess. She'd need a knife.
She'd have to ask Taniel, who watched her warily as she approached.
"Hey, I need a knife to do some carving."
"No."
It took her a second to register the flat out refusal.
"You don't have one?"
"I have one in my things, but you can't have it."
"Why?"
Taniel glared at her and didn't respond, which just irked her further.
"If you don't give me a satisfactory answer, I'm going to go wake up Tanyan and ask him for one. I don't know why you're acting so childish all of a sudden."
When he didn't answer immediately, she turned to do just that, but he stopped her.
"Wait. I'll get it. Don't wake Tanyan up. They're all exhausted."
Elania realized he didn't look too perky himself as he got down off the rock and headed to his sleeping spot. She followed along and waited on the other side of the leather tarp for him.
It didn't take long. Taniel handed her a small blade with a polished hilt.
"Here."
"Taniel, you should get some rest, too. You're going to be exhausted tomorrow if you don't. I can keep watch."
When he didn't respond right away, she continued.
"I can keep watch, and if I see anything, all I have to do is yell. I'm not tired because I only need a few hours of sleep each day, and I'll be busy carving so I won't be bored."
She saw the moment he finally gave in on his face before he said anything.
"Fine, but if you see anything—and I mean anything—wake us up immediately."
She nodded confidently, although inside she was ecstatic at the prospect of building a little trust between them. She definitely wasn't going to mess up now.
---
Guard duty had gone splendidly while she made short work of the wood bundles. Most of it had been usable. The ones who’d been a bit too misshapen or short for her use, she added them to the fire. It took a few hours to finish them all.
Elania wasn't sure how much time had passed while she had worked. She needed to ask how the others told the time because the lack of any timepieces really bothered her.
Settling down, she waited and waited… and waited. Sitting idle was not one of Elania's strong points. The thought of going and getting another bundle of wood crept up, but she discarded it as being a violation of her duty to keep watch. She wasn't that childish.
She decided to check her [Status.]
[Status]
Name: Elania Reyes
Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)
Level: 36
Power: 53/208
Karma: 24
Titles: [Locked]
[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]
Titles locked, power pretty low, everything else the same, blah blah blah. She'd left the Mana Shard with her bedroll. Nevertheless, she figured she could practice her [Mana Manipulation] skill as an idea popped into her head. Maybe, at the same time, she could level up her Battle Concentration.
Holding up one hand, she worked on forming a spark of light in her palm. It didn't take long, and then, while focusing on not losing her concentration, she took the knife and pressed the tip into the top of her knee.
She drew a little blood. It hurt a bit as she kept up the pressure. It certainly made it a lot harder to concentrate on keeping the spark alive and in her palm. After a short period of time that felt like it took forever, she was finally rewarded.
[You have gained a level of Mana Manipulation!]
[You have gained a level of Battle Concentration!]
She smiled and focused on sustaining the effort. The amount of power it took was not that much, although it did drain her a little. It was nice to see the level ups come every so often. She eventually realized the amount of time was increasing between each one, but she couldn't tell what the exact increase was without a watch or timer.
Eventually, she became so focused on the exercise that she blocked out every other thought.
---
"Hey."
The voice startled Elania, and she dropped the spark, which went out as it fell onto the stone. A thin trail of blood was dripping down her leg as she redirected her focus on the source of the voice.
It was Tanyan who was looking up at her with a worried look on his face. "You can take a break now if you want. The others should be getting up soon. If you want, you can help make breakfast."
"Okay."
Elania quickly put away the knife and mopped up the blood, but she worried what Tanyan might think of her. She wanted to smack herself. She'd been so focused on the skills that she would have failed as a watchman except for something loud and obvious enough to break her concentration.
The level increases weren't anything to scoff at, though.
[Skills: Elania Reyes]
[Class: None]
[Affinities: Demonic, Mana, Darkwalker(Complete)]
[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 6 (Deactivated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 36, Battle Concentration Lvl 28]
[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 4, Darkvision Lvl - 3 (Activated), Dodging Lvl - 28, Block Lvl - 16, Stealth Lvl - 31, Throwing Weapons Lvl - 34, Combat Mastery Lvl - 32]
[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 5, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 17, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 24, Tracking Lvl 4]
At least it wasn't Taniel that had caught her unalert. She doubted she would have liked his glare. She did feel a little guilty for not doing her best, but she'd know better than to volunteer for watch duty next time.
It was way too fucking boring.
Elania had managed to pry a bit more information out of Tanyan that morning before being shut down again by Taniel.
'Seriously, what is his deal?'
The basic information of knowing that levels unlocked attribute points at 10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, etc. was an important well-established fact and wouldn't hurt anyone for her to know. Yet when Taniel had heard Tanyan explaining, he had all but torn the man away from her blatantly, hidden under a veil of trying to hurry the group out of the waystation.
Still, it was a really important tidbit of information to consider. Suddenly, base levels seemed way more important. Grabbing multiple classes would be a huge drawback… especially as a demon. Her attribute choices seemed to be very powerful, and she wanted more of them. Grinding experience to level right now though, seemed like a bad idea, since hunting would mean leaving the group and crafting wasn’t nearly as effective as killing things.
While the others scarfed down their breakfast, Elania went to sort her things. Not that she had much to go through, but while the others were eating she needed to restore a bit of her 'Power' before they left. It was pretty much as low as it had been since she had first started keeping track of it. She had noticed feeling a bit… weak. She missed the feeling of lightness and effortless movement she had when it was close to max.
[Power: 24/208]
The difference between having about 50 power and now being below 30 was stark. She had concluded that her level of power acted as some type of multiplier, and while she hadn't figured out the exact multiplier ratio, the multiplier 'Power' gave her was logarithmic. Since it seemed to affect everything, she was fairly sure that was how she had managed to fight and keep up with the Darkwalkers. She wasn’t sure about the Bone Demon and Darkwalker Demon she had faced, but she though maybe she had managed those because she had more ‘Power’ than they did. She hadn’t seen them actively absorbing any corpses, but from what she had gathered that was also a natural demon ability.
The scary thing was, what if she had high skill levels too? She’d be super strong or good at… well whatever skills she had leveled. Why didn’t demons overpower everything? The only hint she had was that the others had considered her maximum ‘Power’ high. Maybe other demons had much lower power capacities, or couldn’t increase their maximum? The Bone Demon had given her a big chunk of power, but if it had been near max, it was still a lot less than her power limit was now.
'I hate math. High power good, low power bad.’
She hoped not to be affected the same way by using the Mana Shard as she had been by the Darkwalker Essence. That the shard might have been a pure form of energy, but she only had her gut feeling and guesses to guide her.
Picking up the crystal produced the same tingling warmth in her hand than it had in the beginning. But she didn't have time to absorb it slowly this 'morning' so she wanted to test out a theory.
Closing her eyes and focused on the mana—the tingling warmth from before filling her senses as she tried to draw it deeper into her body. There was a slight resistance, but then, like a dam breaking, the energy surged through her.
It took several seconds as she worked to slap an improvised wall down between herself and the crystal.
[Power: 55/208]
[Power: 68/208]
[Power: 79/208]
When she finally managed to rebuild the barrier, the power transfer rapidly came to a stop. Elania could feel the difference between the natural wall she had been relying on before and this new one that she had formed out of her own will, and she was able to slowly make the barrier slightly more permeable.
That was much better, a steady constant stream of energy flowing into her at a rate of one or two per second. She brought up her status and watched the power counter tick up until she cut it off when she was about 90% full.
[Power: 190/208]
Elania smiled, everything having worked out mostly to plan. She'd learned how to block the slow radiation of energy from the crystal as well, so she'd not be forced to wrap it up in a poor attempt to stop it from overcharging her.
Not that she had anywhere else to keep the crystal yet, she wrapped it back up in the bedroll and put it in her backpack since it was probably the safest place for it.
"We're going! Elania, hurry up!"
"Just a second!"
Annoyed, she blew a wayward strand of hair and checked the straps on her backpack and javelin bandolier before sliding a few of the spears into place on her back. That done, she headed out to join them.
There was a big pile of spears at the entrance. She'd leveled up her crafting skill by making them, but there wasn't a real way to bring them all. Maybe someone who used the waystation someday could use them, even if it was just for kindling and firewood.
As the group moved through the caverns again, Elania didn't have much to do but glower at Taniel's back. If he picked up on her mood, he didn't show any hint of it, and eventually, lost herself in her own head, thinking about what she should spend her next attribute point on.
There had been two selections that she focused on: [Reactive Adaptation] and [Essence Absorption (Touch)].
At some point, she remembered something concerning [Reactive Adaptation] from some comic she read about. If she remembered correctly, some super-heroine had it, and it provided the ability to protect against anything... or something.
She frowned, stretching her memory. She hadn’t been a massive reader of classic comics, and she couldn't be sure. She doubted whether it’d have the same effect anyway, considering it had been fiction from Earth. Although she had noticed a lot of similarities between Eladu and the portal fantasy fiction. Maybe someone had visited Eladu before her, and then found a way back and that was how people came up with the idea? The thought of someone getting back was encouraging.
The second skill she thought she had a much better read on. [Essence Absorption (Touch)] would allow her to gain essence from touching things, she thought. That would mean another way to gain 'Power' without killing things. That would be extremely useful when or if her Mana Shard ran out of energy. She didn't think essence from a person would affect her like monster essence seemed to. Although she was worried about whether it might hurt them permanently. She wished she knew the specifics, and of course someone who actually knew the exact effects or was willing to help her test it.
With a sigh, she decided to cross those bridges when she got to them. The other attributes looked useful as well, and the physical attribute ones looked like they would easily make her even more superhuman than she already was when her ‘Power’ was over-maxed. She wondered if normal people got the same choices she did for attributes, but she did not think she'd have luck asking that at the moment. Not with Taniel blocking most of her questions right now.
A halt had her snapping out of her thoughts and looking up. At first, she wasn't sure why they had stopped before she noticed the obvious rockslide. The tunnel between the current cavern and the next had partially collapsed, leaving only a narrow way through, wide enough for only a single person, and that was being generous. They were going to have to squeeze through, and not with packs on their backs either.
Taniel looked back at her and the others, assessing them, although for what she wasn't sure. Combat ability? His eyes settled on her, and she frowned. He wasn't going to send her first, was he?
Elania shifted uneasily on her feet until she had her answer. Thankfully, he didn't.
"I will go first, then Elania, Herrik, Garen, Berrick. Tanyan, you'll be last and keep watch while the others cross."
Elania found herself agreeing with the order. She didn't want to go first, and she probably was stronger than the novices at fighting. She didn’t have much to base that guess on other than their attitudes and status. It was hard to say how strong Taniel or Tanyan was compared to her. If her estimations were right, they were around her age but seemed to have had a lot of training. They were a lot higher level than the others, which probably meant they had killed more monsters than she had at the very least.
Still, while she was inexperienced, she wasn't weak. The lightness of her body from the power rush would not easily let her forget that.
Elania watched closely as Taniel started through the narrow space. He had to drag the basket of [Glow-Moss] alongside him as he went. Other than that, there wasn’t any trouble getting through. She wasn't precisely claustrophobic, but the thought of an earthquake at the worst moment did worry her a bit. At least her backpack would be a lot easier to manage than one of the baskets of moss the monks were saddled with.
"It's clear, come on through."
Taniel's voice echoed a little as it came back to them. Tanyan gave her an encouraging nod, and then she started through. At first, it wasn't that difficult, but once around the corner, the rock pressed in tighter.
The current state of her attire--- two pieces of leather didn't cover up much, and each time she bumped or scraped into the rock, the event was not pleasant. She didn't, or rather couldn't actually get harmed by the scrapes because of [Regeneration], but they still hurt. She wasn't sure how she would have managed one of the larger baskets or if she had a less athletic form.
'I guess all those track-meets paid off. I wonder how self-sustenance affects weight gain or loss? Maybe it’s possible to eat all the chocolate I want without worrying about getting fat?'
As she made it past the tightest point, things began to open up again. That was when she had a horrifying thought.
'What if chocolate doesn't exist in this world?'
"Hey Taniel, do you know what cho—"
"Quiet, there is something in the cavern with us."
"Wha—" Elania cut herself off and hurried to push through the rock. While she was pressed in the narrow passage, the idea of something attacking had her rapidly reconsidering her previous thought of not being claustrophobic.
The cavern wasn't as lit up like the ones they had been traveling through. The moss was absent, and there was very little of the glowing fungus. Should she call for the next person? She didn't want to call someone into danger.
Taniel was crouched nearby, peering over a rock, and Elania hurried over to him. The lack of ambient light meant everything was shades of black and gray, but her vision had adapted nicely, and she didn’t have that much trouble seeing.
"I can't see what it’s. It's too dark, my [Darkvision] isn't working, and the torches are with Tanyan."
Elania heard the worry in his tone and scanned the cave, looking for the source of the sound. ‘So he has Darkvision too, it isn’t just a demon thing.’
All her worries dissipated when she spotted some movement at the opposite end of the cavern.
"Don't worry, I can see just fine. It’s just a few Ralfo—"
[Ralfot Alpha]
[You have gained a level in Identify!]
Easily three times bigger than the others, and glaring straight at them as it scraped the ground with a massive hoof.
It was the biggest Ralfot she had ever seen.
[Alpha Ralfot]
The massive Ralfot even had a unique prefix! Considering the stupidly large size of the thing, it did seem to warrant the particular moniker.
"It's... an Alpha Ralfot with a few Ralfots scattered about. Taniel, it... knows we are here and isn't happy."
"Demon-cursed luck."
It took Elania a second to realize he wasn't referring to her but swearing. She didn't have time to fully appreciate the ramifications of her race being a swear word when the [Alpha Ralfot] began to charge.
"It's coming!"
"Obviously, I'm not deaf!"
Elania readied one of her javelins, but she was quite doubtful that the rampaging Alpha would notice the puny weapons. She found herself wishing she had a real weapon.
'A rocket launcher or a machine gun would be perfect.'
Unfortunately, while this world seemed to have magic in abundance, useful items were in short supply.
"Get back, let me deal with it."
Right. If the monk thought he could handle the two- or three-ton bull rushing them he didn't have to tell her twice, and she scurried back to the passage to watch whatever plan he had come up with.
A bit of doubt filled her as he just stood there for a moment. Then he started to do monk-things, starting with his arms stretching out to trace a circle in front of him before clasping them together at his chest. His hands flashed into a blur, moving so fast that Elania couldn't track his fingers.
'Oh, I've seen this before on Netflix. It's like Iron Fist! Magic Kung Fu!'
A faint orange glow surrounded Taniel as he continued to stand in the same spot. Elania loved kung-fu tv shows and Chinese martial arts movies and was fully expecting the monk to go full Shaolin on the charging animal.
She wasn't disappointed.
A second before the thick curled horns reached Taniel, he stepped forward and punched, fist impacting directly between the two protrusions of bone and into the beast's forehead. A shockwave of sound erupted from the impact point with a resounding thunk that Elania could feel in her chest.
'Wow. Scratch Iron Fist, maybe One-Punch Man?'
Elania couldn't believe her eyes, the punch had stopped the charge entirely and the massive Alpha Ralfot fell back a bit before shaking its head, seeming a bit disoriented. She found herself gawking as it slowly regained its feet. She had not entertained the idea that it might not be dead after the massive impact. 'It must have a really thick skull!'
The disorientation didn't last long as it suddenly surged forward again in an attempt to trample Taniel. He wasn't prepared for a second 'epic monk punch' and was forced to dodge backward to avoid getting skewered by the massive horns. Taniel landed a few normal punches before spinning around the beast's attack, but those hits had nowhere near the oomph of the first, and Elania began to get worried as his dodges turned into more of a frantic scramble than deliberate evasion.
Moving forward, Elania cast one of her javelins, aiming for the beast's flank. She doubted it could do more than bother the bull, but it was the only place she could aim without risking hitting the monk.
The bull bellowed in pain and spun as the projectile embedded itself in a hind leg. She'd thrown the javelin with as much strength as she could and was surprised by just how deep the projectile penetrated.
'It's the 'Power.' I'm a lot stronger than normal.'
The Alpha zeroed in on her and charged. Elania didn't waste any time, pulling out another javelin and throwing it with the same extraordinary force as before, aiming for an eye. She wasn't quite that good yet, and she let out a curse as the point struck one of the massive horns instead and shattered.
That didn't slow it down at all. Her eyes widened as it quickly devoured the space between them in a stampede of one. She locked down her shock and surprise at the Alpha's speed and came up with a plan.
"Elania! Get out of there!" Taniel was sprinting after it, an orange glow forming around his fist again as he did so, but he didn't have a chance of catching up in time.
'Nice to know you care at least a little.'
Elania braced herself, and just before the Alpha smashed into her, she hurled herself to the side in a powerful leap. There was a massive crunch and the whole cave seemed to shake, stone and dust spilling from the already damaged passage.
'Just call me Elania of Rivia!'
Elania was just a little giddy; the Alpha had done exactly as she wanted, smashing its head into the cave wall, leaving it stunned and disoriented. As she pulled herself back onto her feet, Taniel caught up to the Alpha and smashed a glowing fist into its side.
The blow was enough to cause the Ralfot's body to lift up off the ground before settling again, and Taniel followed up with a flurry of blows that seemed like overkill, thrashing what Elania quickly realized was a corpse even without the system message.
[Your party has defeated an Alpha Ralfot!]
[You have gained a level.] x4
'Those punches must have been strong enough to rupture its internal organs.'
The loud rush of a stampede drew her attention to the herd of Ralfots, they didn't seem to want to stick around after their Alpha died, and the dust cloud they kicked up began to spread and fill the cave.
"Taniel? Elania? Are you alright, what happ---"
Tanyan had hurried through the crevice next in a hurry to see if he could help. Elania shook her head; she wasn't sure she would have wanted to be stuck in that narrow passage while the cave was shaking.
"I'm alright."
She answered, then looked to Taniel, who was manhandling the [Alpha Ralfot] corpse. She watched as he forced the beast over onto its side before drawing a knife and starting to carve away at its chest. She wasn't sure what he was doing or even if he heard Tanyan's question. Elania took a step forward and frowned; what was he doing?
"Taniel?"
"Stay back demon, this one isn't for you."
He shoved his arm into the bull's chest and pulled out a red glowing rock, but Elania had lost interest in what he was doing and was pissed off at how he ignored Tanyan's question. Plus, he'd dropped back to calling her a demon again after she had just helped him beat the thing!
She reached down and set her hand on his shoulder, "Tanyan wants---"
To Elania's complete surprise, Taniel whirled around and punched her in the face. Hard. It lifted her into the air, and she flew backward. She realized with dawning horror that her nose and front teeth were shattered. He wasn't stopping either, he was sprinting after her, and the orange glowing energy she had seen him use on the Ralfot was accumulating around his fist.
“Did you think you’d get away with that? Trying to collapse the cave on them?”
That was bad. She didn’t have time to process the words he spit out even as another fist came flying toward her. Elania rolled away the second she touched the ground; Taniel's fist exploding the rock just behind her in an eruption of stone fragments. He wasn’t holding back.
'He's trying to kill me!'
Outrage warred with anger, and Elania gained her feet and tried to punch him back. The levels in combat mastery had helped her learn the flow of combat, and she had done very well against the Darkwalkers, but she quickly found that she was ill-prepared for this kind of fight.
Taniel seemed to move fluidly around her awkward punch, and a rapid flurry of jabs and punches followed that was very one-sided. Taking advantage of her graceless movements, he grappled her and locked her elbow joint before painfully forcing her forward and slamming her already bloody face onto the ground. She let out a scream of pain, and she could hear Tanyan distantly shouting.
"What the hell are you two doing!?"
Elania struggled against his joint lock, and she felt a blow slam into her back. She was stronger than him; she could feel him struggling to keep her pinned down despite the massive advantage his combat technique gave him. Pressing with all the strength in her free arm, she wrenched herself around as hard as she could. A sickening snap of her elbow followed an audible pop of her shoulder, the searing pain threatening to overwhelm her.
It gave her the leverage and position she needed. She only had a split second to see the surprise on Taniel's face as she kicked him in the side with a knee. Somehow despite the close quarters, he managed to intercept it with his arm, but the power of the blow was enough to send him hurling off of her.
He landed with a roll and then did a fancy monk stance. She was in too much pain to be impressed, only having managed to roll onto her knees as she felt every single bone fragment in her arm trying to wiggle its way back into place along with her face trying to reconstruct itself.
Then he started for her again. She wasn't sure what to do as she fumbled for her borrowed knife to try a mana attack. She knew close combat was not going to work; he was a bonafide fucking Shaolin-super-monk and she was not ready for this kind of fight.
A frantic plan to try and drop him with her aura and then melt his face off with a blast thankfully wasn't put to the test when Tanyan interposed himself between them. Taniel's fist came to a stop inches away from Tanyan but the [Holy Monk] didn't flinch or offer any resistance.
"Peace brother, unless you mean to kill me."
Taniel was frozen, and Tanyan reached up to the other monk's still clenched hand and pried his fingers open. A glowing orange orb fell into Tanyan's outstretched palm. The color around it flared brighter for a moment before it slowly turned a deep ethereal blue.
Whatever it was taken from Taniel, it suddenly caused the fight to go out of him. Tanyan opened his arms and took a step forward to catch the other monk in a hug as the other man collapsed.
Elania let out a curse as she felt her shoulder pop back into place, with the needles in her elbow settling into a dull ache. She was idly aware of the rest of the novices having arrived through the collapsed passage and the trio was goggling at the bloody battlescape.
Tanyan looked back at her and frowned as he set the other monk down. "Are you alright, Elania?"
"No."
Elania was in a foul mood as she hauled not only her backpack but also Taniel's basket of 'probably-won't-explode-moss' as well. Her teeth still hurt, although she thought that might have just been ghost pain because her injuries had all magically corrected themselves. The suddenly erupting new teeth to replace the missing ones was a horrible experience she was not in a hurry to relive.
Tanyan's explanation of the other Monk's sudden attack didn't exactly sit well with her either. She had put Taniel’s words together after the fact as meaning he thought she had attempted to collapse the cavern on top of the other monks as they went through the collapsed passage. That was horrifying, and she realized he did have a point, the passage was unstable, and she had caused it to shake more than just a little with the Alpha’s crash into the wall. That hadn’t been her intent, but she saw how he could have come to that conclusion… if he thought the absolute worst of her, which he obviously did.
Tanyan had handed her the once-orange-now-blue orb that came out of the Alpha Ralfot and told her it was a Monster Core. They formed in certain monsters near 'dungeons' and could amplify people's emotions and powers while being especially useful as crafting ingredients. It was hers now, as an apology for the attack.
Her first question as he handed it to her was if it was going to suddenly turn her into a giant like the Alpha or make her go off on a bloodlust filled rage like Taniel.
"It shouldn't affect you like the Alpha Ralfot, and you should be immune to the other effects."
Elania still wasn't completely appeased and glared at the little blue orb for a moment before tossing it in her backpack. If what he said was true the little blue orb had caused a lot of trouble, even if it was valuable.
In this instance, the ‘Core’ had affected Taniel’s animosity toward her, and not for the better. She had slightly zoned out during Tanyan’s long explanation about emotional resonances and how ‘Monster Cores’ worked, even though she should have paid attention. Elania found herself glancing over to the unconscious monk repeatedly, wishing she could shake him awake and shout at him.
That was a fun, but bad idea, but each time her arm bothered her, she couldn’t help but glare behind her at the novices and Taniel. It still felt like little bone splinters were working their way back into place.
The party continued on the stony path for several more hours, the monotone trudge being broken when one of the novices stumbled his hand catching on her backpack for support. That brought the ragged party to a stop. Tanyan looked back at the three novices, concerned about the unconscious Taniel who had almost spilled out onto the stone while Elania shot an annoyed look at the younger novice stammering an apology.
The Martial Monk still had not woken up since the fight, and although Tanyan had done some fancy healing magic that made his hands glow with yellow-white light, Taniel wasn't expected to wake for a day or two. That was highly inconvenient for the novices, as Elania had refused to help carry him, and Tanyan had to stay at the front as he was the only one left that had any inkling or clue about what path to take to reach the next waystation.
"How do you know we’re going the right way?"
"It was just a few days ago we went through here."
"Why didn’t we go around the cave-in then?"
"That was new. I might not know the way as well as Marcus or Taniel, but I can get us to the next station. It isn't much farther." Tanyan smiled at her in what seemed to be an attempt to reassure her, but Elania found it forces. Everyone was aware how tattered things had become with the downing of another party member.
Reaching the waystation was a good short-term goal, but Elania saw it as just a stepping stone to making it to the city of Neftasu. From what she understood, it was a small underground city, with thousands of people. It had some type of triumvirate system with three guilds overseeing the day-to-day workings with some type of noble council of mages being the rulers.
"What about an adventurer's guild?"
"A what? Why would adventurers have a guild?"
"Well... to do quests? For the nobles and other people who need things done?"
"No one would want to have a guild of adventurers. Those sorts are not well-liked anywhere. They cause all sorts of problems, looting ruins and unleashing undead curses. Riling up sleeping dragons in their lairs and causing them to go on fiery rampages. Ruining local economies with gluts of money. Consorting with d...”
Tanyan cut himself off before finishing his sentence, obviously for her benefit. He explained with such a matter-a-fact deadpan that made her have to accept it as not a joke—riled up dragons? Undead Hordes? What kind of fucking world had she ended up in?
“Most cities ban adventurers.”
The path was becoming less and less smooth, and now they struggled up multiple three-foot-high ledges. That was slowing them down, especially with Taniel lying comatose on a litter.
Right, so adventurers had a bad rap. Do not associate with adventurers, got it. Elania wanted to ask what the Conclave's duties were but skipped over it. Far more important was finding a way to earn some money and take care of herself while she figured out what she needed to travel to the surface.
"So, no adventurer's guild. What about the rangers? You said they act as guides for groups that need to travel?"
"Well, yes. There are guilds for various important professions. Ranger's guild. Mage's guild. The biggest is the Mercenary guild which contains all sorts. You generally aren't permitted to join more than one, they usually demand loyalty from members."
"But no adventurer's guild," Elania said, finding it a bit silly that specific one, which was the cornerstone of probably half the literature on earth, didn't actually exist.
"No, none of those."
She kept pestering him, trying to get a feel of what the city was like, and was relieved when he informed her she wouldn't be banned from the city for being a demon. Although they were all bound by contracts to mortals in general, demons were not that uncommon.
Being an unbound demon would cause issues because demons like her were considered a danger—mostly because they were not under someone's control. From what Elania had picked up, the authorities didn’t actually check to see a contract’s specifics, so it was entirely possible that it was often the demon who was pulling strings anyway, usually, to steal someone's soul. Classic. That, she had to admit, was a shitty thing to do, and probably why she had been getting such a cold welcome from everyone she met.
Why exactly Demons wanted to ‘steal someone’s soul’ wasn’t exactly made clear to her. The only thing she could put together and guess at was that it had something to do with Power and Essence and probably improving themselves. She wasn’t exactly sure how that worked nor had she any mechanics in the [System] that indicated a soul would be desirable to steal.
People had two general ideas about her race; She was either a cunning-soul stealer that tricked people, or a barely sentient monster that was only held in check by commands.
She eyed the [Demon Contract (1 Available)] attribute on her sheet. It was considered a potent magic that could enforce anything contained in them. Soul Magic.
'Don't sign the dotted light without reading the small print and making sure the other party isn't some super-genius lawyer-devil. Got it.'
Elania wasn't sure if souls and essence were the same thing, but if other Demons had 'Power' and needed it to survive, then it made sense they'd need a way to acquire some without killing everyone. Although that was exactly what she had been doing, which probably would not be an option for any demon living inside the city. It also made her wonder if demons had the same attributes she did.
Elania doubted it. The demons she had fought didn't have [Regeneration] at least. The bones the Bone Demon had left behind indicated he was often eating something… so he probably didn’t have [Self-Sustenance] either. She wondered just how that changed the equation of needing Power to survive for him as opposed to her. She already knew she could survive without breathing much less eating or drinking, as long as she has some Power in reserve.
Since it had come up, she wanted to figure out how the [Demon Contract] thing worked, so she tried to bring up the ability. She was getting better at manipulating and working with the menus and popups over time, and she was a bit surprised there wasn't a skill for 'System usage' in her list.
With a frustrated breath, she took a moment to figure out the exact process for bringing up the screen she wanted. When it finally complied, she quickly noticed drop-down boxes and open fields that could be filled out.
'Oh, that's handy... and it seems really free-form. I wonder what limitations it has?'
The screen was split into two sections, one for the 'Contractor' and the other for the 'Contractee,' which both had areas for requirements and failures. The default contract was a bit distasteful.
[Spoiler]
[Contractor: Elania Reyes]
[Contractee: None Specified]
[Duration: Indefinite]
[Essence Upkeep: Contractee 0.04/hr]
[Contractor Requirements]
[Contractee Requirements]
[Contractor Penalty Clause]
[Contractee Penalty Clause]
[/Spoiler]
The Contractee would instantly die and give up their soul if they broke the contract? She didn't like that—and just as the thought crossed her mind, the field suddenly turned blank. Seeing how easy it was to manipulate the contract terms, she immediately started playing with it and found everything completely customizable.
'Why can't everything else work this easily?'
A few minutes and one tripping accident later, she had a new contract that made her smile.
[Spoiler]
[Contractor: Elania Reyes]
[Contractee: None Specified]
[Duration: Two Hours]
[Essence Upkeep: Contractor 1/hr]
[Contractor Requirements]
[Contractee Requirements]
[Contractor Penalty Clause]
[Contractee Penalty Clause]
[/Spoiler]
The only thing she couldn't change was the 'Essence Upkeep' field, although she could change who had to pay it. However, the upkeep cost was exponentially higher if she paid for it. Her customized contract 'Questions!' contract would theoretically cost her one 'Power' per hour.
"Hey, Tanyan."
"What?"
"Want to sign a Contract with me?"
She almost felt bad as he stumbled and nearly fell as he turned to look at her in horror.
'Oh well, I should have expected that kind of reaction.'
"N—no. Members of the Conclave aren't permitted to consort with demons!"
How was she supposed to offer the contract anyway? Then she realized she still needed to fill out who the Contractee was.
[Contractee: Tanyan]
She filled out his name, which resulted in a green box with a checkmark forming at the bottom of the screen. She smiled and pressed it without hesitation. Her finger went through it without any tactile sensation, but it worked in any case.
'So easy! It’s nice to have something to press, too.'
The box flew away from her rapidly and settled in front of Tanyan. Judging by the way his eyes bulged, he could see the screen now, too. Or whatever version of his [System] showed him. That was neat.
The whole party was brought to a standstill. The novices all stared at Tanyan, murmuring to each other with disappointment.
"Senior..."
"How could he—?"
"Don't do it!"
To his credit, he did seem to consider the contract and read it before the screen turned red. He reached up and then spun it around in the air then pushed it toward her. Elania felt her jaw drop.
"Wow! You can move the screens around like that?"
Tanyan looked at her warily and turned away, gesturing for the party to keep moving.
"I told you, members of the Conclave aren’t permitted to consort with demons. Just ask your questions!"
Elania sat on a boulder just outside the Waystation entrance, humming her best rendition of Misty Mountains Cold. One of the novices had been in-and-out a few times to fetch water and had looked at her with a funny expression. Well, not everyone had her taste in music, or maybe he didn’t appreciate her mangled attempts. Even if she didn’t have a Singing skill, which was unfair, she was doing her best. Although as she thought about it, she wasn't sure if the look was for the humming or because she was spinning the contract screen like a spin-top balanced on her finger.
Learning that the [System] screens could respond to touch and direction was an incredible revelation. Most of the screens had been misaligned, as if they were for a taller person, and had forced her to lift her head or get in other uncomfortable positions. It wasn't just moving the screens; she could resize the screens, their colors, along with the text size and font. She could even move them a reasonable distance away.
She happily continued humming while rearranging elements and building what she considered her ‘Hud’ which was placed at a comfortable location in her vision and included some basic stats, but most importantly her ‘Power’ gauge. It was nearly full as she had topped up after the fight with the Alpha and Taniel. She was still angry about that.
[Power: 194/208]
She wondered if there was any magic that could replicate songs from her memory. There was a whole library of songs from Clamavi De Profundis that she'd like to import. The thought had her smiling; maybe she'd eventually be able to play boss music when fighting?
Sighing, she gave the contract screen another spin. The whole setup might have been mistaken for a really realistic VR setup, complete with customizable screens and tactile sensations. Except that wasn't possible. The technology for that kind of thing wasn't even on the horizon except in fiction, and nothing so far had given her any hint of this being a setup.
"Elania."
She looked up to see Tanyan, who was wringing his hands and looking a bit worried. He hadn't stopped being skittish since she'd brought up the contract. She had ended up feeling a bit guilty for teasing him and had stopped with all the questions.
Still, it wasn't her job to put him or the others at ease, "What's up?"
She restrained a smile when he actually looked at the ceiling for a second before shaking his head and continuing, "Taniel's still unconscious. I wanted to try a few herbal remedies to see if they would help. Could you go and find a few mushrooms for me?"
"Sure, but only if..."
"...if I answer a few of your questions. Right. Alright, I can do that. Are you sure you aren't some kind of Question-Demon?"
"No, I'm just an urban girl that fell down the rabbit hole further than Alice could have ever imagined."
"Right... I get it."
He didn't, but that was fine, and she closed her screens and hopped down off the boulder.
"So, what do you need exactly?"
"Most important ones are [Fenicia's Fungal Growth] and some [Bright Stem.]"
He pulled out a leather pouch, along with a leather glove.
"You'll want these. Don't get the Fenicia anywhere near your eyes, nose, ears, mouth or..." His gaze crept downward and then his cheeks turned a bit red as he failed to finish the list.
Elania wanted to know just who Fenicia was and why she had been sticking mushrooms between her legs, but she didn't figure the poor embarrassed monk would know. Scratch that. She didn’t want to know.
"I've seen the Fenicia before, but what does the [Bright Stem] look like?"
"They are the small ones that like to grow on the sides of rocks near the water, long spines with a bright glow that comes from underneath the cap."
"Right, got it. I think I saw them when we crossed the stream... but I think they were called [Green Caps] though...?"
"Right, they look almost the same, but the Green Caps have a slight green hue. You don't want to mix them up as the Green Caps are mildly poisonous."
Elania smiled and nodded as she took the glove and the leather pouch. 'Don't pick the poison mushroom, Elania. Don’t get the obviously capital B bad Fungal Growth between your legs either.’
"Ok, I'll be back in a bit."
"I need about half and half of each, the whole pouch full."
"Got it."
---
Elania scraped the stupid [Fenicia's Fungal Growth] with her leather glove with a frustrated scowl. The [Glow Stem] had been relatively easy to find when she knew what to look for; even if there was only one or two in each patch of [Green Cap], there were plenty of those along the stream, and they were simple to pick.
The [Fenicia's Fungal Growth] was not as common, but the real problem was it wasn't quickly plucked off the rock. It had grown like a coat of flaky paint. She was able to pull some off, but that left most of it still adhered to the stone surface.
She had considered using her knife, but after Tanyan's warning, she didn't want to risk contaminating the blade with something that might be... problematic later. Although if the stuff was as bad as he alluded to, it would probably make a nasty surprise for anyone wounded by it.
She'd been scraping at the stubborn stuff for what felt like forever and only had two-thirds of the amount Tanyan had asked for. She considered taking a break--- her hand was getting stiff--- when a shout drew her attention.
One of the novices was by the stream, and something with green scales and about the size of a bear was gnawing on his leg, trying to drag him into the water.
[Razorscale]
Elania hastily attached the leather pouch to her belt and stood. She didn't have her javelins or spear, just her knife. In just the few seconds it took her to take in the situation, it became clear the novice wasn't going to survive for much longer. There was no way she'd reach him in time, even at a sprint. That only left two options.
She slammed on her [Demonic Aura] and raised her knife. The [Razorscale] roared and spun, releasing the badly mauled novice and glaring at her. Elania didn't waste any time. She channeled her mana and her small knife began to glow. She was getting much better at directing the energy, and a slim stiletto of energy flew at the monster.
It struck it on the side of its massive jaw, spraying a bit of blood into the air, but that only seemed to anger it more. The [Razorscale] lunged forward and charged at her, and she looked at her power gauge warily.
[Power: 176/208]
[Mana Manipulation] was too expensive. She had kept the blast as small as she could just for that reason, but it still ate up a considerable amount of her reserve. She didn't want to make herself any weaker for the physical confrontation.
The [Razorscale] couldn't match the sheer size and weight of the [Alpha Ralfot], but it seemed fast and had a terrifying mouth full of teeth, along with a set of long wicked looking claws on each limb.
'Razorscale is a good name for it, I wonder if those teeth could be used as spearheads.'
She was used to things charging at her by now, and the [Razorscale] did not disappoint her expectation. Instead of waiting for it to reach her, she took off in a sprint to the side.
A little bit of self-doubt crept into her. Was she really doing this? She'd drawn the monster away from the wounded novice, but now she would have to find a way to deal with it herself.
"Elania!" Tanyan's voice sounded clearly through the chaos; he had her spear. He tossed it toward her, and she diverted her direction slightly to bring her closer to its trajectory. It didn’t quite reach her but as soon as it skidded to a stop on the ground, she scooped it up. It was just in time, as the [Razorscale] had quickly caught up to her.
She yelled as she changed direction and rushed forward, aiming the point of the weapon for its throat. It didn't slow down its charge at all, and she felt satisfaction as the point impacted exactly where she had aimed. Which instantly turned to horror as the wood point was deflected to the side and slid off the polished green scales.
It was on her instantly, claws stabbing into her arm as it bit down on her shoulder. Instinctively she turned the impact into a backward roll and planted her feet on the thing's midsection before throwing it off. It hurtled into a stone pillar with a resounding crash.
Her arm and shoulder burned like fire, and she realized the wounds weren't healing immediately. Blood seeped down her side in a light trickle, but the fire seemed to be expanding. Poison? Did poison slow down her [Regeneration]? Didn't she have Poison resistance? Why didn't that help?
A hand fell on her shoulder from behind, and she had to check herself as she whirled and almost punched Tanyan.
"Come on! You can't fight that thing!"
He was right. Her pathetic weapon hadn't stood a chance at harming the armored scales. Elania let him pull her toward their camp, a glance at the wounded novice she had saved causing her to place a hand over her mouth in shock.
The places on his body where he had been wounded looked like they had melted as if he was wax put to flame, a massive pool of blood and melted flesh forming around him. His eyes had disappeared in their sockets, and his face looked like it was frozen in a scream.
Mercifully, she did not have time to stare as a roar from behind sent Tanyan and her into a sprint. She could hear the stone crunching under the monster's feet as it closed the gap quickly. One of the novices had a terrified look on his face as he gestured for them to hurry.
The other was fooling around with a carved stone pillar. It looked like he was desperately trying to rotate one of the stones on the top of it.
"Wait! Wait for us to---" Tanyan was cut off as the activation stone on the pillar finally gave in to the novices frantic attempts and rotated into place. Suddenly a white bubble erupted at the entrance to the Waystation.
Tanyan skidded to a halt before Elania could, and she bounced off the now shimmering, nearly transparent but solid barrier, her eyes widening in the realization of what had just happened. The novice had trapped them outside with the [Razorscale] with some magic device.
Elania turned and shoved Tanyan as hard as she could manage in the few seconds she had to react. Time seemed to slow down for her, and she could see the shock on his face turn to understanding as he rotated through the air. She worried that she had pushed him too hard, but she didn't have time to watch to see if he recovered.
She pushed off the ground and dodged backward an instant later. It was barely in time as the [Razorscale] slammed into the spot they had just been occupying with an angry hiss. It didn't seem to notice the barrier and as it slid forward it impacted the invisible wall with a heavy thud before it began to batter the shimmering energy with its clawed limbs.
Somehow it was taking more offense at being stopped by the shimmering air than it wanted to chase her and Tanyan down for the moment. That was fine with Elania. The novice's horrified screams from just inside the barrier probably was helping draw its attention, and she was pretty sure the man would have to clean his pants later.
Tanyan didn't waste any time recovering from his tumble, and she realized that she needed to move while the [Razorscale] was preoccupied as well. They both angled their retreat so they would meet some distance from the raging monster when she felt a twinge of pain in her shoulder.
Elania wiped some of the smeared blood off of the new skin there. The injury had finally managed to heal itself, but it had taken much longer than expected. She suspected that it had been related to the novice. Was it poison or acid? She didn't think so; actually, she wondered if it was something like bacteria, like the Komodo dragon used back home. Just accelerated and on a ridiculous monster scale like the [Manzitore] and Darkwalker Demon.
"We need to get some distance and wait for it to lose interest." Tanyan breathed heavily.
She wasn't going to argue at the moment, although she did want to wring the one novice's neck for locking them out of the Waystation. The thought of leaving them there crossed her mind, but her Mana Shard was there. Taniel was still unconscious from the fight, and she still needed to yell at him for attacking her when he woke up.
A roar interrupted her thoughts. Tanyan put a hand on her shoulder and directed her toward one of the cavern's entryways. It was the path they had arrived from, and she tried to pull up her mental map of the route they had taken for a nearby hidey-hole. Tanyan took the lead, and after some time after the roars had become distant, he pulled her aside to an alcove that she hadn't noticed.
"How long until it goes away?"
"It took an entire night before. It's the same type of monster that ate Yena."
"Yena?"
"Marcus's demon. Same thing happened to her almost at the next Waystation. Got stuck outside of the protective barrier, and Marcus wouldn't lower it to let her in and a Razorscale ate her. Wasn't expecting to see it at this one though."
"Shouldn't it be getting safer as we get closer to the city? Cause it sure doesn't feel that way."
"There are different bands of danger, and the cave ecology moves around a lot. There aren't any set areas that are 'safe' or 'dangerous' ; it is all dangerous, even right up to the city entrances."
If the caves changed as much as he seemed to imply, it made sense to her. She wondered how much of a nightmare it made to guard the city, though.
Elania winced as her shoulder twinged again, and she rubbed at the sore ache that seemed to have developed. Tanyan noticed her expression, and a frown formed on his face as he eyed her bloody shoulder.
"It... didn't manage to bite or cut you? You did that banging into something?"
"Uh. No, it mauled me pretty good when the spear snapped."
A look of horror crossed his face, and he suddenly moved beside her. Elania looked at him warily but sat still and let him inspect her shoulder. "What?"
"It bit you and you're still alive somehow."
He put his hands over her shoulder and closed his eyes, and the white glow thing surrounded his palms and spread over to her shoulder. She wanted to ask how magic worked in general but managed to stay quiet as he seemed to focus. She didn't have to wait long before he stopped.
"There is a bit of a problem, while it seems the wound healed over, there is a... pocket of bad humors left from the beast that is sealed in your shoulder now. That's why you're still feeling pain. I'm not sure if it will heal on its own or not, and I don't think I can use my healing on you since it is Holy based."
Elania listened. Bad humors? Right, she was in the stone age, and she guessed they didn't have a concept of bacteria or microbes. At least that was her theory; the world did seem to work the same way, mostly.
"Uhh, right. An abscess or something from the Razorscale's bite. I do have a weakness to Holy, but can’t you lance it or something? Pretty sure if we drain out the pus I will heal naturally."
'Well, as natural as a demon with [Regeneration] anyway...'
She smiled at him as he looked at her in confusion.
"Uhh, what?" Tanyan stammered.
She almost sighed, pulling out the knife. She made sure to thoroughly wipe the blade off and make sure it was clean of any of the Fenicia residue before offering it to him.
"Here, you can use this. You were able to tell where the abscess was, right? Poke it and squeeze the pus out. Normally that's a bad idea and can spread the infection around, but I have Wolverine levels of healing so I should be fine."
"Uhh." He still looked at her blankly, like he only understood a bit of what she had said. She didn't want to push him, but she had noticed another consideration. Her 'Power' meter that she had managed to set up as a 'Hud' element was ticking downward at an increased rate.
"Look, I can't reach around my back and do it myself. I think it would heal on its own eventually, but it is sore and I think it is draining my 'Power' slowly. So drain the 'bad humors' out and everything will heal on its own."
It took a few more moments of him considering, but he finally agreed.
"Alright, I think I can do it, it is a bit deep and it is going to hurt a lot, but I should be able to 'lance' it with the blade then draw out the bad humors with magic. There isn’t any way I can ‘squeeze’ it manually. It'll be uncomfortable, but since you only have 'Weakness' and not 'Anathema' to Holy, the knife will probably hurt more."
New term. ‘Anathema’ --- things to avoid. Elania filed it away with all the other things she needed to learn as he took the knife from her and she turned away.
"This is going to hurt, going to need you to stay still."
"Don't worry. It'll be fine, Tanyan. Just do it."
---
Everything was not fine.
The knife had hurt, and without the rush she usually got during a fight, it was a lot harder to ignore.
But that wasn't the issue. No, when Tanyan used his magic to pull out the pus, pure agony radiated out of her back and through her entire body. She'd stifled a scream and tensed up, but that wasn't the worst of it.
She felt every little trace of his 'holy' magic as it spread inside of her, each little droplet of magic a small star of pain, until suddenly something rose up inside of her and started actively trying to force it out. Thankfully Tanyan had already pulled away his hand away and informed her he had been successful at getting the goopy crap out.
“It’s…done…”
She caught him as he leaned forward into her, suddenly passing out.
"Tanyan?"
He didn't respond, and she wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she adjusted his position to be more comfortable with his head on her lap. Did the magic use up all his energy? Was mana exhaustion a thing? He didn’t seem to be in any distress, he’d just suddenly fallen asleep. She decided she’d let him rest like this for a while. It was the least she could do since the primitive surgery had worked; her shoulder felt fine now.
'Fuck. Let's not try Holy Magic again though.'
She looked down at him and studied his lines. His face was a bit softer than Taniel's was, and she thought either of them would have easily been considered handsome. 'Not my type though... maybe if he grew a beard.'
Wait. Why was she thinking of something like that right now? She looked away in a hurry before fighting back a yawn. She realized she hadn't had her nap in... a day or two. She sighed and looked around the small cave to make sure everything was fine and then closed her eyes.
---
Ralfots were fleeing in a mad stampede through the caverns. She raised her nose and sniffed the air, their scent coming to her clearly, despite the stillness of the cavern air. Suddenly, she was a flash of movement, leaping from stone to stone, as she relentlessly devoured the distance between her and her prey. A young Ralfot suddenly yelled in fear as it turned a corner and almost ran into her.
She was the one in danger, as it nearly ran into her, and the stampede was right behind it. She leapt upward and perched herself on a rock, claws digging into the stone to keep her from falling into the mass of bodies below.
She waited. The timing needed to be perfect, and when the herd had mostly passed, she pounced. Flinging herself into the air and slamming into one of the slower Ralfots. It weighed more than she did, but the force was enough to knock it off balance. Her claws raked its side as passed and she clamped down on the beast’s throat. The sense of blood in her mouth filled her with a sense of success. The hunt was good.
Elania felt something stirring against her and she shifted her weight and stretched from head to tail as best she could. A small noise nearby had her ears rotating as she deduced it’s location and then something was yelling and tugging at her and making a lot more noise. She realized that the pliable warmth she had plastered herself against while napping was squirming fiercely. She wanted to ignore it all and nap a bit longer as she let out a large yawn.
The noise grew louder, and she cracked an eye open, but it was the sudden hand pulling an ear that caused her to act. It was a bit too rough! She twisted away from the hand and then headbutted the source of the twisting. The yelling stopped and she rubbed her cheek on his face before getting up and stretching her back pleasantly.
She moved over enough to sit on her rear haunches while licking a paw. The thing scurried away. It finally stopped some distance away in a sudden halt. She didn't chase after it; if she had been sleeping against it, it clearly wasn't a threat. Besides, she felt the need to clean between her claws.
"Elania?"
Elania tilted her head to look at the man, his face plastered with an unhealthy bit of worry. It was Tanyan. She remembered who he was though and tried to answer.
"Tanyan?"
The only thing that came out was a feline call through the filter of an oversized female Darkwalker. Tanyan obviously didn't understand her, if anything he looked even more worried, so she got up and approached him.
He looked torn between trying to flee and in amazement as she gave him a friendly nuzzle.
"Ha...Ha...Ha... Elania, why are you an oversized Darkwalker?"
She didn't know. She started to try and vocalize that when he held up a hand.
"I don't understand you, let's try yes and no questions, alright? Tilt your head left for 'No' and right for 'Yes,' alright?"
Ha! This was easy. She settled into a relaxed posture on her haunches and tilted her head to the right.
"Are you Elania?"
Head tilted to the right. 'Yes.'
"Ok... umm. Do you know why you are a Darkwalker?"
Hmm. Elania thought about it. She did know why--- it was that stupid transformation option she used in the big fight, now it was activating on its own--- but she didn't think that was what he wanted to know precisely.
She didn't know why she had transformed this time, so she tilted her head left. 'No.'
"Alright... do you know how to transform back?"
Uhm. Right, transform back. Elania wasn't sure what to do, and when she tried to call up her 'Status,' nothing appeared. Apparently, the [System] was now broke, or maybe it just didn't work when she was transformed?
'No.'
"Alright... well, just wait a moment. I'm going to try and see if the Razorscale is still nearby."
Her ears pricked up at the mention of the Razorscale. If he wanted to find it, she thought she could sniff it out now; everything had a much more distinct smell. Maybe she could even hunt it down. Her claws were sharp. Even if it was larger, she thought she would be faster.
She let out an annoyed breath out of her nose, she had no way to tell Tanyan this, so she had no choice but to let him do as he wished.
Tanyan sighed and looked toward the exit, and she watched as he traced his hand in the air, fingers taking on a white glow. He closed his eyes and seemed to focus, but Elania quickly lost interest in the scene.
She wasn't hungry. She could take a nap.
Unfortunately, whatever he was doing didn't take long enough, and he started to bug her right after she had made herself comfortable and closed her eyes.
"Nothing as large as the Razorscale between us and the Waystation. The barrier is still active, but that's to be expected. Let's head back." He reached forward toward her side as if he was going to wake her.
Her ears went back and she growled at him in a warning. Tanyan jumped backward and tripped, falling on his rear, which was a bit of an overreaction and uncalled for in her opinion.
"Elania, you remember not to eat me right?"
She tilted her head left.
His eyes widened, but then a bit of indignation formed. "That's not funny!"
She tried to laugh, but it came out as a deep purr instead. She tilted her head to the right.
Tanyan went to collect her things left on the ground, including her primitive leather outfit. Watching him pick up the scraps caused a surge of unhappiness to swell up in her, and a distinctly human thought came through clearly.
'I'm going to end up naked again when I transform back. Fuck.'
It was distinct and otherwise clean compared to the muddiness the Darkwalker transformation made of her mind.
One thing was sure though, Tanyan stayed a reasonable distance back as she passed him by; her now sour mood somehow conveying itself in her movements.
That mood didn't last long as they continued, and Elania found the ease of movement liberating. Suddenly she padded ahead to scout the next cave with a light step.
Elania felt the growl escape as she pawed the barrier in annoyance. Tanyan had been arguing with the frightened novices about not letting them in for an extended amount of time, and she wanted to get in and shake them until they knew their place.
"Elania! That's not helping."
Her grumble came out a bit more intimidating than she had meant, and the novice stepped back, looking at her with worry. The one who had been terrified was nowhere to be seen.
'Probably hiding in the back with his blanket over his head.'
The acerbic thought made her realize that it was getting a bit easier to think. They weren't going to be able to break in, and her antagonizing the novice was just setting things back. She needed to change back into a human form, but how?
She sat down on her haunches and did her best to imitate a good cat while trying to think of a solution. Tanyan continued to argue, but he didn't seem to be having any luck; the frightened man inside was way over his head and still terrified.
The desire to be a human didn't seem to be enough. How had she changed back last time? Running out of 'Power' then... That didn't seem right because that would be very troublesome.
"I'm not letting you in! You know the rules about demons, and you were alone with her! You might be under her influence already!"
Elania suppressed the rumble in her throat. The man's voice was annoyingly high pitched and frantic. There wasn't any reason to be so ridiculous. Rather than answer him, Tanyan looked toward the device's control.
"Taniel..."
Elania's gaze followed, and she stood up excitedly. Taniel was awake, turning the magic shield device in what Elania hoped was the off position.
The novice turned in a panic. "Nooo! Don't do that!" The man started over to stop Taniel, but then the barrier winked out of existence.
Elania surged forward and pounced on his back.
"Elania! No!" Tanyan's yell reminded her not to use her claws as she pinned the novice to the ground, and she let out a growl right over his head before she decided to sit on him.
When the other monks realized she hadn't pin cushioned the man, they seemed to relax. The same couldn't be said for the novice, who was sobbing. Elania couldn't muster much sympathy, though; he had kept them waiting outside and in possible danger for at least an hour.
"Calm down, I think you just made her mad."
"Get off of him." Taniel ordered, and Elania glared at him, just barely restraining a snarl. The novice underneath tensed up, sensing that she was about to leap.
"Elania, please."
Elania turned to look at Tanyan. She wasn't sure she owed him anything--- she sure didn't owe Taniel anything, but tormenting the novice didn't really accomplish anything, and she had gotten back at him.
Not wanting to cause further drama, unless it involved pummeling Taniel like a mouse for a bit, she moved off and found a spot to settle near the magic device. It looked interesting, and she could smell a faint... electronic smell?
She moved closer, and she noticed a faint light escaping from the base of the pillar. Surely magic devices weren't lit up like a nerd's LED-lighted PC case?
As she got closer, she realized the light was coming from crystals contained within the stone. It was held in a chamber inside, and there was a little stone grill that allowed her to see inside of it. [Identify] didn't activate when she tried it, and she wanted to sigh. The crystal seemed like a larger version of her Mana Shard.
She pressed her nose against the stone, trying to see more, when a sudden shock zapped her. A laugh followed as she jumped back in a hurry and hissed.
"A curious cat lives 7 times shorter."
Elania peered at Tanyan, who had made the joke, or was it a saying? It was different than the one she remembered on Earth, but she guessed that cats were the same no matter where you were. The thought comforted her that things were at least a bit similar.
She wanted to know what the device was, and she couldn't ask because she was now a giant black panther, [Darkwalker] thing.
'I'm not a cat, I'm a fucking human, goddammit.'
Something seemed to snap, and suddenly the black mist flowed off her skin, and she felt her body respond to her will. It was just as disorienting as the first time she transformed, even if it was in reverse from [Darkwalker] to human.
"Fuck!" Elania cursed and shivered as the air suddenly seemed cold, and she felt the sudden drop of temperature all the way to her core. The important bits of her 'Status' screen that she had designated her 'Hud' appeared, and she noticed her power had dropped from the fighting and transformation, although not as drastically as she had feared.
[Hud]
Power: 53 / 208
Level: 40
When she checked her skills, though, she was surprised. There were New Things, and she had not seen any mention of the skills being gained!
[Transformation Acuity Lvl - 1]
[Transformation Control Lvl - 1]
Was that because she was transformed when she got them? That seemed likely; she had not had access to her status. She felt a bit of relief. If she accidentally transformed again, at least she would be able to... not lose herself so much.
One particular memory was a bit fuzzy, and she felt her stomach turn in a bit of disgust as she remembered thinking the big Darkwalker would have made a suitable mate. Having kits was a good idea?
'Fuck. This transformation thing is dangerous.'
"Uhh... Elania?"
She looked up and Tanyan had a cloak in one hand and a bundle of clothes in the other. He held both out to her; the set was the same kind as the others were wearing.
"Your clothes were kind of ruined after you transformed, you can have one of our spares to wear."
She looked down and realized she was naked again. Sigh.
She did her best not to be embarrassed--- the world seemed intent on stealing her clothes, half the time with an audience--- but she felt a bit of heat on her cheeks as she realized everyone was staring at her. She pulled the cloak around her first and then took the bundle. Retreating to her room, she quickly got dressed.
The outfit was much more decent than the two-piece leathers or the cultist robe. It even came with footwear. The boots were fur lined, and while the pants were baggy and pooled out slightly, they were easy to tuck into the boots. The top was a cloth doublet, with a larger wrap covering her torso, before being topped by a cloak that covered her entire shoulders and chest. She’d have to manage to salvage together a breast wrap and smallclothes though.
It was a complete outfit, and she felt a bit grateful to Tanyan for giving it to her although it was somewhat tinted by being sort of a bribe for the other monk’s treatment of her.
'If there are any enchantments for clothing, I want durability first.'
She thought of how the transforming worked and worried.
'Would that even help? I'd need some kind of enchantment that made the clothes survive the transformation, and those kinds of things always seemed implausible to me, but who knows in this world?'
She sighed and pulled a length of her hair forward and examined it with a frown. While putting on the outfit, she had noticed a sliver of red highlights in the strands. Her long hair was becoming more of a problem as her braid had come undone at some point. She had it tied back in a ponytail, but it desperately needed shampooed, brushed, and rebraided.
Elania wished she had a mirror as she looked closer at the new color; she had always kept her hair its natural black color. She had never been one to go crazy with dying her hair. The change seemed to be the same as her eyes. Well, she hoped those amenities would come with Neftasu.
Elania decided she needed to top off her power again and went looking for her pack. She had left it in the Waystation before she had gone to look for Tanyan's mushrooms. She bit her lip; now that Taniel was awake again, the work she had done to get the Fenicia and Glow-Stem was probably wasted.
Her pack wasn't where she left it. It only took a few seconds to confirm it wasn't in the nearly empty room, and she checked the rooms to either side of hers with a frown, finding them empty as well. She turned to ask if someone had moved her things when her jaw dropped.
One of the novices was holding her bag, but more importantly, he held up her Mana Shard and was in the process of showing it to Tanyan.
'Oh the fuck no he didn't.'
Elania was furious and started marching over to them.
"HEY! That's MINE."
Everyone's attention snapped onto her at the shout, and the novice pushed the stone and backpack into Tanyan's hands with a terrified expression. Taniel, seeing her angry march toward them, jumped up from the campfire and placed himself in front of the two.
"Elania, calm down---" Taniel cut off as she ignored him and tried to brush past him, but then his hand came down and clamped down on her shoulder.
She was tired of people taking her things. Especially the Mana Shard. His attempt to stop her gave her the perfect excuse to respond in kind. She tightened her core and twisted, slamming her fist right into the center of Taniel's surprised expression as hard as she could. The blow wasn't as powerful as if she had been at full 'Power,' but it was more than enough to send him flying backward in a tumble.
He might have still been slow and recovering, or the strike came as a complete surprise as he didn't manage to mitigate the hit in any way. He didn't recover or get back up.
She whirled back around and glared at Tanyan and the novice.
"Elania---"
"Give it back."
Tanyan held up the backpack and [Mana Shard] without further protest and she took them back.
"Listen---"
She ignored him and tugged on the stone. Hard. It flashed to life with a bright light and she felt the rush of energy wash over her. Her 'Hud' counter went crazy, numbers spinning upward thirty to forty at a time. She went over her limit. She knew that was a bad idea, but she was angry.
[Mana Shard (Condensed 351/1456)]
She cut it off when she felt the heat in her core, spreading out through her body. She dismissed the normal warning messages that appeared, and then reached forward and grabbed the novice by his tunic and lifted him off his feet.
The asshole began to sob, and Tanyan started to try and repeat something when she let out an angry hisssss that silenced them both. "If any of you go through my things again without permission, I'll make you regret it."
She set him down with a bit more force than she intended, and he fell unceremoniously on his ass. She could smell the fear rolling off of the man, but she was too angry for that to unsettle her. Wanting to make some space between her and the monks before she ended up pummeling them, she turned and started to walk away.
"You should go check on Taniel and make sure he didn't die or something."
She didn't look back as she headed toward her room. The other novice was peeking out from one of them but promptly disappeared when she glared at him on the way to hers.
'Maybe they won't bother me for a while.'
---
It had turned out that the bit of fungus Elania had gathered was useful after all. She'd been coaxed out of her angry isolation when she saw Tanyan begin to work with a mortar and pestle, creating some type of salve. She was interested in that sort of thing, even if it wasn't particularly useful to her now that she had [Regeneration.]
Tanyan eyed her warily as she approached, "What?"
"I want to watch. How's Taniel?"
"He's unconscious again, so I'm making the poultice. It should wake him up, but it would have been far better if you hadn't have hit him again."
"He attacked me the first time, and he shouldn't have touched me the second." The conversation was already veering off onto a course she didn't like and she pointed to his work.
"How's the powder going to help wake him?"
"Elania, that Mana Shard you have is unbelievably valuable. You sho---"
Elania held up her hand and stopped him. Why couldn't he just answer her question instead of bringing up the Mana Shard?
"Tanyan, any of you touch my stuff again, we're done. I'll try and find Neftasu on my own. I appreciate that you all have been letting me tag along so far, but you've all treated me like shit. Taniel actually attacked me. Herrik and Berrick act like I killed their parents. Marcus --- some guide he turned out to be --- looked at me like I was a piece of meat. You..."
She paused to think, nothing Tanyan had done to her coming to mind right away. He picked up where she left off.
"I...? I'll take that as a compliment, then. Taniel's parents were killed by a demon, the others have never been out of the Conclave before. I don't know where Marcus is, but he's failed his charge and any payment he was due is going to be severely reduced when the Masters hear what has happened."
Tanyan sighed as he stopped with the mortar and set it aside, frowning at her.
"Elania, you told us that you were a human before you were summoned. Maybe you're a rare case, but almost every demon is a monster or demi-human at best when first summoned. That isn't to say there aren't a lot of human demons--- they are very common. That's because once they have taken enough soul essence from them, they can evolve, and humans are very rich sources of that essence."
He paused to let that sink in.
"Most people will think that you are a Darkwalker Demon that ate enough humans to transform, not the other way around."
"Now, can I explain about the Mana Shard, without you being angry? We aren't going to try and take it from you. Gerrick wasn't trying to steal it; he saw it glowing in your pack and wanted to show me because it can be dangerous."
Elania let out a long breath as she tried to unpack. It was a lot to process, even if not all of it was new. If everyone thought she ate people to become a demon, then maybe they were a little justified in being wary, but still... hadn't she proven she didn't have any ill intent for them? How devious were other demons to make them so guarded?
"Ok. What about it? I got it when I escaped, and I need it. It keeps my 'Power' up so I don't have to go hunt Darkwalkers so much."
Tanyan nodded. "Well, you are a demon so it makes sense that you can use it. Mana Shards contain pure essence energy that can't be directly used by normal races. Demons and Seraphs are the only two that can actually use it without harming themselves. At least not without making a construct with it first."
Construct? Oh! Elania looked over to the device used to activate the barrier for the Waystation. "The barrier uses the same energy as the Mana Shard? So it has a Mana Shard inside of it?"
Maybe she'd be able to get energy out of the object?
"The barrier is an example and uses the same type, yes. They often contain the Artificer's own elemental additions as well in the device. They are very expensive which is why the Waystations further out didn't have a barrier, and why someone might--- will try to steal that Shard from you if they know you have it."
He must have noticed her look toward the waystation’s power source as he continued, "No, you won't be able to use the power from it if that was what you were thinking. Part of the construction process the Artificer uses seals the crystal and trying to pull energy out will unravel the work... usually with an explosion."
That was what she had been thinking of, and she felt her cheeks heat up a little in embarrassment. She was a bit thankful at the warning, as she probably would have tried to pry out some extra power or transfer energy to her stone if she had been left to her own devices.
"Thank you for explaining. I'm really not like you think, I didn't eat any humans to be me. I didn't even absorb the Mushroohums... I was a human before coming to Eladu."
"I don't know if many will believe you or even care, but I think I might. You wear your feelings on your sleeve, you know."
"Ehhh."
"Let me show you the process to finish this powder into a Wakening Powder."
"Wait."
Tanyan held up a hand, and the party came to a standstill. Taniel looked back at them with a frown.
"What?"
"There's a group ahead in the next cavern, non-human. Maybe ten or twenty. Small, can't really tell other than that. A little too small to be Ralfots, but maybe Elnats."
Elania wanted to know exactly what type of skill or magic the monk was using to see ahead. If he was able to know what was around them, why hadn't he spotted the Manzitore or the Razorscale before they attacked?
"Should we go around then?" She didn't know what to expect, but avoiding more fights was high on her list of things to accomplish. Ralfots and Elnats didn’t sound dangerous, but she’d noticed how often predators went after them.
Tanyan and Taniel looked at her with a frown. There had been an uneasy peace bridged in the group, but it felt like it was razor-thin, and she had thought about going off on her own rather than stay with them.
Taniel shook his head, "No, that won't be possible. We'd have to back track almost to the previous Waystation, and the other route probably would be worse. It goes through a swamp-type biome that has a lot of Razorscale nests. We're right on the edge of it as-is."
Tanyan nodded and looked between her and Taniel up toward the direction of the big cavern ahead, "I think you and Elania should scout it out ahead of the rest of us. It's a big cavern, so there is a good chance we could find a way through without meeting them. The biggest danger would be if they ambushed us at the entrance. Herrik and Berrick aren’t going to do well in a fight."
‘That’s for sure.’ Elania frowned, her immediate thought about the novices was uncharitable, but accurate.
She didn't want to go with Taniel, and from the look he gave her, he wasn't excited by the thought either. "Tanyan, shouldn't you and Taniel go scout, or you and me? You can sense them, so I think that would be invaluable?"
"It doesn't work that way. I can't do it repeatedly, and it becomes hazier the closer to whatever it is I am trying to sense. Once in the cavern I'd only be able to sense that they were there, not any sort of location. Someone needs to stay with the novices, also."
'Maybe they don't want to leave me with the two dolts.'
Herrik was okay, she thought, even if he was a bit skittish. Berrick, however, she would have been happy to strangle after the barrier incident. She would have preferred being locked up in a room with Taniel than have to deal with the novice who even now was still jumping at every little shadow.
"Fine, I'll go with Taniel. If he thinks he can keep up."
"I'm going to be the one leading, what do you mean keep up? Aren't you the one who has no experience?"
"I seem to remember the score being 0 to 2 so far. Maybe I should take Tanyan since he hasn't been knocked out by an inexperienced girl twice already?"
Elania thought she might have gone a little too far when his eyebrow twitched, and he spun on a heel, heading up the path to the next cavern. Tanyan was watching her with a frown, but she just shrugged and followed after Taniel.
The thought of having to go back and go through a nest of Razorscales made her unhappy. They had to make it past whatever was up ahead because she was pretty sure that if the Razorscales came after them, she might be the only one to escape, and then she'd be lost and have no idea how to get to Neftasu.
A dozen small-sized humanoids didn't sound very good either, but maybe they wouldn't' be hostile? The only thing that came to mind was something like the demon who had ambushed her and tried to eat her, only for her to absorb him instead.
That made her think about the Karma she had got when she had killed it. She'd killed a lot of things since, but her Karma hadn't changed since. It didn't move when she killed the other demon, either. What was up with that?
"Pay attention."
She looked up to Taniel, holding up a hand for her to stop. They'd reached the tunnel to the next chamber. It wasn't as massive as some others, but it was pretty large, which suggested that the layout around the corner would be pretty open.
That meant they'd need to be careful instead of happily walking out in the open for whatever was in there to see. Right.
"We'll stay close to this side of the wall. Depending on what cover there is, we might switch or have to go prone."
All of that seemed reasonable to Elania, and she honestly didn't have any experience with this, other than her [Stealth] skill, so she hoped that would help a bit.
"Alright." She nodded and followed his lead. When she accidentally disturbed a rock on the wall that sent a shower of dirt falling on the ground, Taniel stopped to glare at her. She could only offer an apologetic shrug. 'One with the ninja, Elania!'
She managed to avoid further mishaps as they moved through the tunnel; about halfway through, Taniel gestured to the other side, and they switched to it. When they were closer to the edge, she saw why. There were ruins in the cavern. Massive ruins.
The chamber had just started to come into view, but there was a wall that managed to cut off the view of the rest of the cavern. A massive stairway traveled parallel with the wall to grant access to the top of it.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, Taniel peeked around the corner before disappearing around it. When she looked around the edge, she saw he had moved toward the broken ruins of a tower that was little more than a circle of stone now.
That wasn't what had her staring in awe, though.
They were near the top of the cavern, but the wall was bigger than she could have imagined. The wall itself was a massive ramp that lead down into the rest of the cavern, splitting it in half. The massive, crumbled gatehouses dotted it at regular intervals, and one had nearly fallen in on itself and off into the lake below.
'You could fit Pittsburgh's rush hour traffic on that.'
A massive waterfall was spraying through an arch to the lower side of the cavern, and formed an enormous lake that took up a considerable portion of the cavern. Elania hurried to catch up, and when she did, she tugged on Taniel's sleeve.
"What the fuck is all of this? Why didn't you mention it? What is that wall?"
He looked a bit taken aback, before looking away and scanning the stonework across from the tower.
"It's a Nevedun ruin. They are all over this area, it was built by a large Dwerven civilization a long time ago. Just the stonework left, though you'll find a lot of Dwerves in Neftasu in the Artisan's district."
Dwerves? Dwarves? The way he pronounced, it was funny, and she felt herself mouthing the word. Nevedun. Dwerves. Artisan's district. Right. She filed away the information for later. That wasn't as important as figuring out about the group supposed to be in here with them. The cavern was massive, but the wall acted as a choke point.
"Why didn't you mention any of this before? Don't you think you should tell me if there is going to be a massive fucking wall? Where do we have to go anyways?"
"Opposite end of the wall, upper section. Last time we just went over the top, but there is another ramp halfway through that leads to the same plateau with our exit on it. The wall all the way would be faster, but I think we might want to take the other way as it has more cover and isn't as obvious."
"We should get the others,” Elania looked back the way they had come, before looking back at the wall that went on far enough to disappear into the haze, “by the time we scouted that far ahead, we'll be way too far to support each other."
"The biggest concern was getting ambushed as soon as we came though. I'll go scout the top of the wall, you go call the others up." He turned away and started looking out at the wall immediately.
Elania frowned and stared at his back as she bit her lip. She didn't like being bossed around, and he had just assumed she would do as she was told, but in the end, she turned around and headed back to the others.
Without the need for stealth, it didn't take as long, and when Tanyan and the two novices were in sight, she waved them forward to join her.
"Why didn't you tell me there was a huge wall?" She repeated the question unhappily to Tanyan, who thought for a moment before answering.
"They are pretty common in the region around Neftasu. It was the center of a whole civilization. The city is built on top of the old capital of the Dwerves. It even has one of the Deep Dungeons."
"Right, what about the Monster Core? You mentioned they come from monsters or animals that are influenced by a Dungeon,” She sighed as her mind started to turn in a myriad array of directions at once, each one forming another question, “What's a Dungeon exactly? Are they built or naturally occuring? Monster spawner machines? Big Boss at the end?"
By now, Tanyan took her questioning in stride and simply answered as best he could.
"New Dungeons form naturally, but it is a rare occurrence. More often a new one will form where a old one was destroyed. The Dwerves built a massive complex on top of the dungeon inside their capital, turning it into a sort of training grounds. Somehow that dungeon expanded on their work and it isn't really known how deep it goes--- or where the core of it is. Monsters, especially the lower tiers of demons will form in them, so exploring them isn't exactly safe. Gathering Cores is probably the only reason anyone bothers with it now."
"Great, so add ‘Dungeon Core’ to the world. The Dungeons don't talk and go crazy while trying to murder you, do they?"
"Dungeon core, what?" That did get her a look of confusion from Tanyan, and she sighed.
"Nevermind. Do they talk?"
"No? What? How could a dungeon talk? Maybe an intelligent monster will infest one and turn it into a nest, but generally mercenaries are hired to clear those out."
The 'Mercenary' guild sounded like the place to be if you wanted to be an Adventurer. Elania didn't point that out, though, considering that Adventurers seemed to have a bad rap, according to Tanyan. Well, whatever they named themselves, it didn't really change their function? She'd have to see for herself, of course, but it sounded like it would be an excellent place to start if she wanted--- needed employment. Although if a demon like her could work without being attached to someone was another question.
It would have to wait, though.
"Where is Taniel?" Tanyan asked. They had reached the other side, and everything looked the same as before, but the other monk had disappeared. Elania scanned the background, but she didn't see him anywhere either.
"He said he would go ahead and scout out the wall." Elania offered.
"We better stick together; I don't think it would be a good idea to get split up more."
Elania glanced back at the novices. They were staying together a bit behind Tanyan and her. One thing she had noticed was that Tanyan and Taniel didn't talk much to the novices. She had been thinking of them as all being close together after Maurice dying had hit Taniel pretty hard. The last two days and the incident with the barrier had her rethinking that.
With the dwindling of the party, the extra burden of carrying the extra baskets of moss had fallen on the novices. She realized that while they weren't struggling with the extra bulk yet, they did look like they had been through a heavy workout already.
Elania thought she could help them carry a bit but decided to wait until after finding Taniel. If she needed to fight, it would be better if she wasn't saddled with anything extra.
They crossed the open area between the cave entrance and the wall without issue and reached the steps. The massive stonework towered above her, and she had to bend her head back to see the top. The stone had splotches of moss and fungus growing on it in a spotty patchwork of greens, blues, and vivid violets.
The steps were worn in places, a few having cracked or had chunks taken out of them. The center was in the best shape, the edge opposite the wall in the worst, so the group stayed away from the edge as they began the climb upward.
Elania decided to count steps as they climbed. 6.. 12.. 18.. 24.. 28..
The novices were slowing down as they ascended, but she didn't want to wait, excited by the prospect of seeing everything from the top of the wall. 48..60..62..64..68..
She reached the top at seventy-three, which put her somewhere around five or six stories up, and she wasn't even out of breath. Even with everything that had happened so far, that was a bit surprising.
'Never would have made it up that without breaking a little sweat on Earth!'
On Earth. She frowned as she looked down off the wall to the now-familiar cavern landscape below. The floating jellies were casting a strange light over the field of multi-hued fungi in the distance, and she wondered when she had accepted all of this as her new normal.
If she had been given a choice, she would have jumped at the chance to come visit and see such wondrous colors and scenery in person. It was the fighting, killing, and demon bit that held her back from thoroughly enjoying the lights.
What was she even planning to do? Make it to Neftasu? She didn't think she would have it easy there because of her 'race' and how everyone had reacted just to the sight of her. Demon markets and most of her race weren't even intelligent until humans or 'sapient' races enslaved them. Not to mention that the ones like her didn't have a good reputation because everyone thought they ate a village's worth of people.
So, travel to the surface? That was her first thought upon leaving the cultist's den, but would she be treated any better there? If the monks and paladin were anything to go by, she'd have better luck trying to make a deal with the dramatic cultist leader.
She sighed; really, she didn't have enough information to make detailed plans. She'd have to play everything by ear until she had a solid understanding of the world... the people... and her place in it.
"Elania? Elania!"
Eyes widening, she turned to see Tanyan waving her to follow. She'd been lost in thought, looking out at the scenery, and hadn't noticed the others catch up.
"Sorry."
"It is a pretty sight, isn't it?"
"I've never seen anything like it before."
"Well, I think you'll like Neftasu. Let's keep looking for Taniel?"
She nodded. "You don't think he fell off and into the lake, do you?"
For a second, he looked at her with a horrified expression which turned into a frown, "No, if he did, I imagine we'd already be hearing the shouting."
One of the novices looked over the edge toward the lake to check upon hearing her thoughts, and almost lost his balance. Tanyan reached out and pulled him back while steadying the man. "Careful, we don't need someone to actually fall down there, that'd be a nightmare."
'Not to mention they'd probably be dead as soon as they hit the water, even if they did miss the rocks at the base of the wall.'
She didn't say it, though. She felt a little bad for how much trauma the novices had been through so far.
The party continued down the wall and their destination. Elania was beginning to feel a bit of concern the further they got. Why had Taniel not waited at the top of the wall, and why had he gone so far ahead?
Something didn't feel right to Elania, and she noticed Tanyan was periodically looking over his shoulder and scanning the area. 'I'm not the only one who noticed.'
One of the massive gatehouses situated on the wall began to loom over them, and Elania thought she saw a shadow move inside the structure.
"Tanyan."
"I know, I saw it too."
Elania bit her lip and stared at the shadowed interior of the gatehouse. Tanyan and her had both seen something move inside, although it had only been for a brief second. Despite [Darkvision] letting her see in the dark confines of the caverns, she still had trouble when there were large differences in light levels. The wall and most of the cavern were bathed in the bio-luminescent light from the ceiling, while the gatehouse interior was not.
She’d be able to see once inside just fine, but that meant going in without knowing what was inside. She glanced at Tanyan with a bit of worry on her face.
He returned her look with apprehension writ on his face, apparently, they were in unspoken agreement about things having gone awry. Cupping his hands against his lips Tanyan called into the abyss, “Hello? Taniel? Is someone there?”
There was no reply. Right. Not Taniel then.
The two exchanged another worried glance before Tanyan sighed. “There is no way around, we are going to have to go through.” The monk held out his arm, and a golden orb suddenly appeared in his palm. Its light gave a clear view of the dark space in front of them, and it’s yellow hues were bright enough to bathe the entire group.
Elania realized they probably saw a whole lot worse than she did, she didn’t really need a light. When her skin began to itch and prickle she grimaced. She stared at the light in dismay.
‘Stupid [Holy Weakness]… I should think about negating that at level fifty…’
Tanyan glanced at her as if reaffirming she was okay. After Elania nodded, the monk flexed his palm, and the light was sent further into the abyss, lighting the way and almost daring the group to dive further into the hazy shadows of the ruin.
The interior itself was a mess and smelled of rotting flesh and fruits, while scattered bones, crushed leaves and dirt were spread across the stone floor. It looked like a wild animal’s home. It gave off an eerie vibe, one that Elania would have been comfortable with if this had only been just a game.
‘Dirt? Oh god, this isn’t dirt. No wonder it smells so bad.’
The further they went, the louder distant sounds of incoherent chatter became. Elania thought she picked out a word or two. Still, the jumble of sounds was too mis-mashed to make any sense to her. The light eventually illuminated another large room where Taniel was lying unconscious against a wall with his hands tied in frayed rope. A small dart stuck out of his neck.
‘A tranquilizer…?’
Besides that, he looked unharmed other than the Two short green creatures staring down at him. Both turned toward the group, and she could make out small warts that covered their exposed skin. Each was clothed in primitive garb, and she recognized what they were immediately. One had a small copper-hued sword while the other had a gnarled staff. [Identify] spit out information on them obediently.
[Shaman - Goblin (Rank C Monster) - Level 45 ]
[Fighter - Goblin (Rank C Monster) - Level 33 ]
A chittering of many voices erupted, and she saw that there were easily a dozen or more of the goblins climbing down the walls or vacating their hiding spots. The Shaman raised his staff and uttered a single syllable, and thanks to her [Universal Speech] skill Elania understood what it meant. “Eat!”
‘Fuck, Goblin Slayer was right.’
The goblins didn’t seem very intent on allowing their captured meal to escape, and as more streamed down, the numbers continued to grow in their favor. Elania was fairly sure she could fight them without issue; there was no way they were as strong as a Darkwalker individually. Tanyan would probably be able to handle himself as well, but the novices… There was no way this fight would go other than a chaotic melee, and she didn’t think they would survive.
There was one obvious skill that would be able to help even the odds.
[Demonic Aura (Activated)]
[You have gained a level in Demonic Aura!]
Elania felt the surge of power flow through and then out of her... The energy tingled across her skin, and she felt heavy and lighter at the same time. The two goblin leaders' eyes suddenly widened in fear, and the rest of the goblins found themselves frozen in place for a moment before chittering loudly and fleeing in the opposite direction.
“Your aura, Elania…?” Tanyan said, and she could hear the stiffness in his voice as she realized he was being affected as well.
It didn’t seem like he was having trouble moving, but he kept shifted uncomfortably where he stood.
‘So it affects allies too…’
Elania glanced back at the two novices who looked locked in place and almost afraid of Elania as they stared at her. She realized that people would fear her for what she was and for what she could do. If most of those like her were monsters before being summoned and then treated as slaves, she was afraid it wouldn’t matter if she were originally human.
They might still treat her like a… demon.
She sighed and turned to face the goblins again and took a small step forward, her hand going to her back to free a javelin. She was ready for them to pounce, but they seemed similarily effected as the novices. As she moved forward all the goblins, including the leaders, took a step back, and Elania suddenly smirked.
‘This is going to be easier than I thought.’
She continued taking steps toward the creatures, causing them to back away from Taniel and toward the exit on the other side of the gatehouse. Some even began to scramble up the walls and seek an exit through the holes in the stonework. She took another step, then another, until she finally decided to try something new.
Calling upon her [Mana Manipulation] skill, she flexed her ‘Power’ and pushed it into her aura in one colossal surge, sending a shockwave toward the Goblins, though it wasn't enough to injure them. In a chorus of squeals, they pushed and prodded each other out of the gate house’s dark stone walls and back into the darkness. Elania was surprised at how well it worked. Nothing had gone that smoothly before.
[You have gained a level in Demonic Aura!]
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
‘Thank God... I think half the smell went with them.’
She waited for a few moments, planning on keeping the aura on until they got well and far away, but when one of the novices groaned she cut it off. She wasn’t sure what the full effects would be on them, especially if it was damaging. She was sure that the aura had gotten stronger along with her raw ‘Power’ and [Mana Manipulation] skill even if the Aura itself had only leveled up once. That was worrying, because it was her only real ‘AOE’ skill and it had a cooldown.
[Demonic Aura (Deactivated)]
[You cannot activate Demonic Aura for 30 minutes.]
The novices both let out audible breaths of relief and sunk to their knees as the aura faded. “That w-was-what was that?” One of them asked in an almost frantic voice.
“Well, that worked, even if it was a bit uncomfortable.” Tanyan was shaking his arms and legs as if they had all fallen asleep. She noticed he wasn’t as affected as the novices who were slow to recover.
“I’m sorry.” Elania ran a hand through her hair. “I didn’t realize it would affect you too.”
The look Tanyan gave her was hard to read at first. His eyes narrowed as if he didn’t trust her. That wouldn’t have been a surprise to her, considering how the others felt. When he suddenly smiled and shook his head, she felt a bit of relief.
“It’s alright. Just tell us next time.”
Elania found herself smiling back. That surprised her as she had been having serious doubts about the party and finding ‘civilization’ in general. It still seemed like the best bet for her long-term survival, mostly if she wanted anything more than a primitive existence in the endless caverns. Tanyan’s acceptance told her she might be able to find the same with others when they reached Neftasu.
“I will. Thanks.”
The two novices shook their heads and stared at their hands, still trying to shake off the effects of her aura.
‘I’ll have to be careful about using that, I can’t imagine people would be happy if I accidently turned that on inside the city.’
Elania metal rattling from overhead had her looking up for sign of the goblins, but she didn’t spot any. Still it was a reminder. “I don’t think we should stay here. Let’s get Taniel and go.”
At the very least, the smell was going to make her sick, and she was doing her best to ignore that the walls were covered in excrement.
Tanyan nodded, and they both approached their unconscious party member. The [Holy Monk] knelt down and carefully removed the dart from Taniel’s neck. There was a short flare of light from Tanyan’s hand before he looked back at Elania. “I think he is fine; whatever they used just put him to sleep.”
“So, you can’t wake him up?”
“Not unless you want me to go to sleep instead.”
She shook her head and decided there was only one course of action.
“I’ll carry him.”
She knelt down and aligned his body then easily lifted him up and onto her shoulder. She’d seen a silly you-tube video once that showed what to do if you needed to ‘save’ your boyfriend from a fire. It worked just as easy as the video had made it look, although Elania suspected that was because of her abnormal strength.
“You sure you’ve got him?” Tanyan raised a brow, “He’s pretty heavy.”
“I think I’ve got him for now.”
With Taniel rescued, the group continued their way out through the gatehouse's back and onto the great wall. There was no sign of the goblins, although she imagined their ability to climb the stone that probably made sense.
“We’ll follow the wall through several more caverns like this,” Tanyan turned to grin at her, “It should only be a few more hours before we are at the last waystation before Neftasu.”
Elania smiled at him before she shifted her gaze to the wall that seemingly went on forever in the dark haze of the cavern. If the ruins led to the city, maybe… maybe going off on her own wasn’t such a bad idea. Taniel certainly would have preferred that she thought even as she was carrying him to safety. She knew the party had only been forced to take her by the deal with the Mushroohums and that once they arrived, there wouldn’t be any reason to help her. If she split off on her own now, maybe she would be able to hunt creatures for a while, level up, and get stronger.
What would she say to the guards at the city gate then, though? “Hi, I’m Elania, I’m a human-didn’t-eat-a-bunch-of-people-unbound-demon and would like to come in and sell some monster parts for some luxury items?” Somehow, she saw that as being much worse than having an introduction by the monks.
She glanced at Tanyan, he was leading the way and the two novices were trailing behind him like chicks following a mother hen. She was glad that she was at the back of the line; she didn’t want them to see the apprehensiveness in her eyes. At least one person in the group seemed to be warming up to her but being friendly did not necessarily mean he trusted her.
Elania glanced at the back of the man she carried. Taniel had made no secret of his animosity toward demons and that she was no exception to it. He had even tried to kill her when the Monster Core had sparked an uncontrollable bloodlust in him. Tanyan had stopped him, but the fact that he had thrashed her in hand-to-hand combat wasn’t easy to forget.
She sighed. They had already managed to cover most of the distance without the help of their missing guide.
‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stay. We are getting close and I’ve come this far with them already.’
---
They continued traveling along the top of the wall for hours. Despite the weight on Elania's shoulders, it didn’t bother her too much. She had noticed that her power was dropping slightly faster than expected, but that made sense. If ‘Power’ was food, then carrying Taniel on her shoulders meant she’d be burning a lot of calories, right?
“Put me down...” Taniel’s voice was gruff and muffled, and Elania let out a breath of relief. She had hated the though of him dying while he was on her shoulder.
“But I’m sworn to carry your burdens.” She answered in her best Lydia impression.
“I said put me down.” He snarled groggily.
Elania’s levity faded slightly as she placed Taniel back on his feet. She stepped back and let him stretch and work the stiffness out.
“You didn’t have to carry me.” He glared at her as he finished straightening out his appearance.
Elania stood awkwardly waiting for him to say more, and Tanyan and the novices all held their breath as the two looked at each other. Elania wasn’t sure if he even knew what happened. If he remembered being hit by the goblin’s tranquilizer or not... She half expected him to turn on her, and she steeled herself to fend him off if Tanyan didn’t intervene again.
Taniel opened his mouth to speak but sighed instead. “Thank you. I’m not sure what happened after they hit me with that tranquilizer, but I can guess.”
Elania blinked as she processed what he said.
‘Does that count as a ‘Flag?’ That’s the first time he treated me like a person instead of a monster.’
“You’re welcome.” Elania grinned, “But we should keep going. We’ve lost a bit of time.”
She decided that she would stay with them all the way to the city. If things continued to evolve like this, then she had hope that she’d be able to fit in despite her demon status.
Taniel grumbled, but his small smile was unmistakable, “Right… we should get going.”
The rest of the trek across the wall and through the caverns was uninteresting at best. The tunnels turned into a maze-like mesh. Elania realized that there was a distinct uphill incline to their path that had them moving upwards quickly.
Elania realized that the route they were on was well-traveled. The stone was smooth, and the fungal growths and moss had receded from the path. It hinted that others frequently traveled through the same way. As they came around a corner, golden light spilled up out through a window in the stone.
They’d reached a waystation that was completely unlike the cold empty ones they’d been through before. She realized there was a large wooden door banded with iron reinforcement beside the stone window, and a guard stood half-asleep leaning against the wall beside it. He was dressed in chainmail and leathers, with a halberd propped up beside him.
Taniel looked annoyed that the guard was neglecting his duty and, no doubt, placing the current inhabitants in at least a little more danger because of it. Tanyan shook his head, though.
“Not a surprise the man is asleep. The Guard sweeps through here daily.”
“Doesn’t mean he should be asleep.”
Elania felt her cheeks burn and felt a little sympathy for the watchmen as she distinctly remembered getting lost in [Battle Concentration] training when it was her turn to stand watch a few nights earlier.
As they approached the entrance, instead of eerie silence, there was light chatter and a sweet, crisp, refreshing smell in the air, and the new brightness was a welcome shift from the darkness of the labyrinth of caverns they had been traveling through for what felt like weeks.
“Well, we made it.” Elania smiled and took in a breath. She felt pleased, but also a thread of worry. She would need to be on her guard. She thought that she might make a cheap contract with someone to change her eye color to one that wouldn’t scream ‘unbound’ to everyone who saw her suddenly seemed like something to consider.
‘I hope no one freaks out when they see my eyes.’
“Yes, we’ve made it.” Taniel replied, but all four monks seemed to be relieved that they were out of danger.
The guard was startled awake as they approached and then did his best to appear to have been alert the entire time. Tanyan nodded to the man, but Elania kept her head down, worried that he’d speak up when he saw her race or eyes. The man didn’t notice either--- or they weren’t as problematic as she was led to believe when she was allowed in with the others without challenge. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.
The waystation was much larger than any of the others; it was a round cavern with many buildings, most of which had candles or lights shining out of open or leather-covered windows. Elania realized that the leather covers were the norm. Maybe wood was expensive in the deep caverns, so wood shutters didn’t make sense.
“Ah, there you are!” A familiar voice sounded through the air, and Elania stiffened as she and the others turned to face Marcus. He looked perfectly fine, a heavy bag of something in hand, and a grin on his face.
Elania couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d long assumed the Ranger had ended up dead at the hands of the Manzitore when he didn’t catch up to them several waystations back. The same surprise she felt was mirrored on Tanyan and Taniel’s faces.
Taniel was the first to react. His eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of the man who had abandoned them on the road.
“You!”
Tanyan placed his hand on Taniel’s shoulder, but the angry monk surged forward anyway, grabbing Marcus’s cloak into a fist and pulling the older man close.
Even from where she was, Elania could take in Marcus’s scent. It was fresh, clean. It looked like he’d been doing well for himself since he’d split off from the group. At the very least it hinted that there might be soap somewhere. She bit her lip as she tried to pointedly ignored her sudden bout of enhanced sense of smell. ‘Fucking Darkwalkers.’
She wondered if he had abandoned them immediately after she dealt with the Mantizore or if he had even tried to meet back up with them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Taniel snarled, “Two of us are dead because of you, you bastard. I should-”
“Don’t make a scene, monk.” Marcus’s eyes shifted to the people around them. The few people who had been out and about in the waystation had turned to stop and stare at the commotion beginning to brew. Even though Taniel’s anger was justified, Elania noticed multiple guards coming watching from afar. They didn’t seem to appreciate the breach of peace.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to stay with you for a bit, but you all made it here safely, yes? Isn’t that what’s important?”
Tanyan’s nails dug into his palm as he glared daggers at Marcus. It was clear he was about to snap along with Taniel. Two guards on a level above them were looking down from the roof of a building, and she realized that if something didn’t stop Taniel from attacking Marcus, they might all end up in serious trouble, which was not something she wanted to risk.
“We just arrived and should get something to eat, find some rooms and wash up?” Elania chimed in, stepping forward to put a hand on Taniel’s shoulder in an attempt to reign him in. He grunted, and to her relief, released the other man’s clothes.
“Listen to the girl, she’s basically a newborn and has more brains than you. The Conclave has no authority in the waystations.” Elania smiled nervously, silently praying that Taniel wouldn’t take the bait.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.” She was distinctly aware that she was the only one in the group who didn’t actually need to eat, but it was all she could think of to redirect and break the tension.
Marcus and Taniel glanced at Elania, then at one another, and there was a silent truce formed between the two as Taniel backed off and retreated to Tanyan’s side.
“Yes, that’s a great idea! I’ve already found a splendid Inn and I’m sure it still has space for the four of you. They’ve a roast Ralfot on the spit, and we’ll get this all sorted on a full stomach.” Marcus urged the group to follow with his arm, and the party reluctantly followed.
The silence of the party made the tension all the more obvious, and Elania was quickly considering finding a place to slip away on her own. She’d probably need to split off from the group soon anyway, but she needed to figure out how things worked now that they had reached civilization.
She focused on the bag that Marcus was carrying along beside him. It was full of something, and she realized she could periodically catch a scent from it with her heightened senses. It smelled like [Razorscale], which meant he had followed the same route they had? What was he doing with parts of that monster that had killed one of the novices?
Despite the short distance, the oppressive silence of the other party members made it feel much longer.
Marcus led them down a large street that left the central area of the waystation. It seemed to be one of the main drags for the inhabitants and there was a bit of foot traffic. Elania realized that it might be ‘nighttime’ as there were some large crystals hanging from the ceiling of the cavern but only one in five were lit up.
‘That makes sense if they do what I think they do. Who needs electric lights when you can have magic crystals you can turn off and on?’
The first hint at their destination was the sounds of people talking--- loudly. It sounded as if a party was in swing, and as they moved to one of the larger buildings it slowly confirmed her suspicion that this was the ‘inn’ that Marcus told them about. Yellow light spilled from open windows, and the cut stones of the building seemed more worn than the rest. Maybe it was an older building?
“There is an empty room in that?” Taniel asked, and Marcus laughed and nodded.
“Certainly! I’m sure there’s several. The Prancer is the largest inn here at Waystation Four.”
“Sounds like the most popular one, too…” Elania added, the front door was just a stone frame, and she could clearly see tables and patrons all drinking and eating together. It looked like the building was packed.
“Well, I already have a room paid for, so they will need one less for you all.”
It sounded like he had been waiting for them to her. She didn’t understand his motivations. He’d abandoned them, was he expecting them to still pay for his escort? The way Taniel had reacted told her they wouldn’t but then again, why were they following him to the Inn if the agreement was over? She wasn’t exactly privy to the details of whatever deal they had, but she expected she’d learn soon enough.
As she passed through the threshold, she felt a strange pressure go over her skin like she was being squeezed through some sort of high pressure air. Tanyan looked over and must have noticed the look she had made because he felt the need to comment.
“Don’t worry, it’s an anti-monster barrier. It’s tuned to permit demons though.”
Marcus grinned. “Owner has a pair of Ash Hounds, wouldn’t do if his pups couldn’t go out to piss.”
The atmosphere was boisterous, and the patrons barely even acknowledged the group’s entry. A young woman with her hair in a bob and a smile plastered on her face approached.
“Welcome back, sir. Party of 6 for the common room?”
Marcus nodded and she led them to one of the few tables with open seats left. There was a man eating alone on one end, but he didn’t seem to mind their addition. There wasn’t really enough space for everyone to not share.
What was a problem was the Monk’s baskets full of moss. There wasn’t any space for the bulky things in the common room.
“Will you all be staying here tonight? If so, we can have your things taken to your room before you order. Room is a silver leaf per night. Four to a room max.”
“That’s expensive for a single night.” Taniel muttered but fished out a large silver coin.
Elania was easily able to make out the silver leaf that seemed to be stamped on both sides. At least it appeared stamped, the artwork seemed too neat for the coin to be handmade. That seemed interesting to her; She’d already had hints by the clothing and gear, but maybe they weren’t entirely in the stone-age. If they had advanced metalworking abilities… and they must have some crazy good engineering to have built those massive constructions like ‘The Wall’ then maybe they’d have at least some amenities?
She realized everyone was looking at her expectantly. ‘Four to a room max. Oh.’
Taniel, Tanyan, and the two novices. Elania looked to Marcus who suddenly was giving her a predatory grin.
“Haha, if you can’t afford a room, you can stay with me. Bed will be nice and cozy snuggled up together. Definitely more fun that being alone.”
Suddenly the restriction on numbers to a room felt entirely arbitrary to Elania and she grimaced at the ranger’s un-subtle hints.
“You know I don’t have any money… and no thank you, I’d rather sleep in the gutter than in a room with you.”
“Ah, don’t be like that, girlie. Ye’ve not seen the gutter yet.”
Someone yelled for more ale from another table, and the Waitress seemed to becoming a bit impatient. “Can’t sleep outside in the waystation. Against the law.”
Even more arbitrary, although maybe there was a reason for it that made sense, but she had no idea. It seemed unfair to her though. Lodging had a price, but she realized she did not really need to sleep. She could just find a place to wait while the others did so. Elania felt a bit of panic. She was not going to sleep in a room with Marcus. Before she could think of an answer, Taniel spoke up.
“Here, she’ll have her own room.” Taniel fished out another coin.
“Ahh, you’re no fun, monk. Won’t your precious masters call you to account for wasting your funds?” Marcus asked.
“We’re obligated to get her safely to the city. Unlike you who goes off and abandons your charges, the Conclave does not.”
The novices and the waitress began to sort out the baskets and take them off to a hallway when Tanyan chimed in.
“That’s between us and the masters anyway. They won’t be missing a single silver leaf when we bring back an extra basket of the moss anyway.”
Marcus grunted and didn’t seem to have anything to add, and found a spot at the table while the rest of them followed suit.
“You’re the one who should be worried about the masters. Two of our group are dead. Do you think they will still pay you?” Taniel added.
“They’ll still pay. As long as they get their goods, they’ll still pay. Do you think they actually care about a set of lost orphans?” Marcus laughed and glanced away, looking for the waitress to return. Elania felt there must have been some truth to the ranger’s words because while Taniel looked furious he did not say anything else.
While waiting, Elania took a more thorough look around the room. The bustle and activity at the tables was still energetic and noisy. Most of the occupants were human and looked to be equipped as fighters of some sort. Everyone had a weapon, even if it was just a dagger, and she suspected most of them were combatants. They still weren’t to the city yet, so that made a bit of sense to her. The caverns wouldn’t be kind to anyone who couldn’t handle themselves.
Since the room was mostly a mass of humanity, it was the non-humans that caught her eye and she used her [Identify] to read them.
[Shadow - Felcat - Lvl 176]
[Bastion - Dwerv - Lvl 356]
[Arcane Archer - Elvian - Lvl 401]
Cat-person - Dwarf - Elf, Elania mentally corrected, and much to her surprise her [System] rearranged the identifiers to suit her.
[Shadow - Cat-person - Lvl 176]
[Bastion - Dwarf - Lvl 356]
[Arcane Archer - Elf - Lvl 401]
That was… useful, but she worried that if she renamed too many things it might cause her to trip up if she needed to talk to someone. She resigned herself to only renaming things when necessary. The Cat-person went back to being a ‘Felcat’ but she kept the Dwarf and Elf rename, since those being so close to her ‘classical-earth-fantasy’ knowledge was going to bother her more.
Suddenly her gaze reached two sets of deep blue glowing eyes. She felt her breath catch. ‘Those must be the Ash Hounds.’
“Recognize each other? Maybe a set of lost cousins?” Marcus laughed as he caught her attention on the demon hounds. Elania ignored his question and the waitress and novices returned drawing away his attention.
The hounds were resting on two plush looking pillows, but they were staring directly at her. They didn’t look or seem bothered by anything else. That felt a bit unnerving, but if no one else had remarked about her demon-hood, they were. The waitress didn’t seem put out by her at least, but maybe that was because everyone here seemed to be very high level and she was in company.
“So, what’s the girl having?” The waitress asked, and Elania realized it was her turn to order. There didn’t seem to be any point in asking for a menu, so Elania just shrugged.
“Uhh, I don’t have any money, I don’t need anything.”
“That’s no good. Get the girlie a Firewater. I’ll pay for her.” Marcus grunted, and Elania shot him a wary look. ‘Firewater’ sounded dangerous.
“That’s---” Tanyan started to object, but the ranger cut him off.
“She’s a bonafide demon. Ain’t going to be drunk off a full Firewater, even if it’d put you under the table, monk. When’d you get so protective over ‘er anyways? You having regrets about not taking up with Yena and bed this one?”
Tanyan sputtered and Elania felt a bit of indignation, but neither of them answered his bait.
Their waitress was the epitome of efficiency though, because their drinks had already arrived and whatever response Marcus was waiting for was lost in the shuffle of large wooden mugs. The monks received a set of two, apparently they would be sharing, while Marcus had one large one to himself.
Elania eyed the one that slid down to her. It was the smallest of the lot, but something about ‘Firewater’ sounded… well she hoped it wasn’t going to be like vodka or something.
She had never been a big drinker back on Earth, although she certainly had ended up with her share of hangovers, she really preferred a light beer and having fun with friends over actually getting drunk.
Taniel, Tanyan, and Marcus were arguing. The novices had their heads together and were talking quietly. The room was warm and as she took the first sip from her tankard, she felt her insides warm up, too. The drink burned and almost made her choke. She smiled weakly as Marcus laughed, but the light, sweet after-taste was pleasing. She took another sip as she retreated into her own corner and let the noise of the tavern room wash over her.
Elania’s head was pounding as she slowly woke up. She dimly remembered closing and locking her door before falling into the decidedly plush bed. She had not figured out how to dim the bright white crystal that was now glaring down on her face much to her dismay. It did confirm that she wasn’t going to wake up summoned to another world after every hangover though.
The light in her eyes was enough to prompt her to sit up, hand going to rub the side of her face. She’d slept in her clothes. That was something she’d gotten used to doing since arriving in Eladu and suffering with no actual bed to sleep in. Now it seemed like a lost chance she had missed.
She glanced back at the pillow and covers, and realized just how dirty she’d been, anyway. The once white sheets were covered in a film of gray dust and grime, just form touching her. ‘Oh, the housekeeping will love me dearly.’
Thankfully, they were only staying for one night.
The notice of just how much filth clung to her made her feel nasty. She’d been ignoring it since being coated by all the smoke from the wildfire disaster. Now it was thrown in her face and she had to do something about it. The picture of Marcus being there, in a clean outfit that obviously pointed to there being some sort of cleaning service and bath gave her hope.
Elania looked around the room and took stock of the furnishings for the first time. The wooden furniture in the room was polished and clean with a pleasing color that would have pleased her to have at home. She had expected everything to be roughhewn and of poor quality, but she realized that maybe that was because she had been expecting things to be like the Mushroohum village. There was even a polished standing mirror in the corner, and her eyes widened as she took in the clear picture of herself.
Her heart crumpled at the sight. Her face was black with smudges, her hair was no better, and was a strange mix of black, red, and dirt. The clothes Tanyan had given her were already showing signs of needing washed, but she could feel the nastiness that they hid underneath. The most noticeable thing though, was her eyes. They glowed back at her, like a deer in headlights, except she didn’t even need to shine a light at herself and the color was distinctly crimson red. No one would need to use [Identify] to tell that she wasn’t exactly normal.
Elana frowned and though back to Taniel’s words a few days before. ‘There isn’t anyone who doesn’t associate those red eyes of yours with carnage.’
Except… she didn’t seem to have received such a terrible welcome to the waystation? She didn’t think it had really even been remarked on. She didn’t think the monk had been lying or exaggerating when he had said it, but now she wasn’t sure what was going on. Maybe it was just because they hadn’t reached the city yet? It made a little sense that out on the outskirts would be where the rough types congregated, and maybe they were used to seeing dangerous things all the time… but…
An itch pulled her attention to her back. She was dirty and the sudden clean surroundings drove that point home.
She thought she remembered one of the monks mentioning washing up and…
In one corner there was a small door and she headed to it, sliding it open. Bathroom. There was a small seat with a hole, and as she looked down it, there was running water in a channel below it. A small stone cubicle was offset with an indentation on the floor that would stop water from spilling out into the rest of the room.
‘No way.’
There was an obvious rope to pull, and she couldn’t resist testing it after deducing what it did. Water sprinkled down, the water pressure left a lot to be desired, but it was warm water sprinkling down on her arm and the stone. She had to stop herself from stepping under it with her clothes still on.
‘Shower Shower Shower.’
Elania chanted in her head as she quickly took advantage of the shower. She wasn’t prepared for it to be an illusion and disappear on her.
There wasn’t any free sampler soap, but there was a small washcloth and towel. A comb and brush were there, too. That was a wonderful addition. She didn’t care to question why or how there was a shower in her room, she simply took advantage of it, hastily pulling off the multi-layered monk outfit before divesting her poor-quality self-made smallclothes. Then she stepped under the falling warmth, closing her eyes as it spread down over her.
Sometime later Elania had found out another advantage that [Regeneration] afforded her. She’d scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was raw, but the irritation healed right away. She had taken the time to compulsively remove all the caked-on muck that had attached itself to her. She’d pulled out her Mana Shard and topped off her power to a satisfying 100%. The little crystal was still glowing at her, and she felt like it might have been reproaching her for being greedy. Or maybe she was just a bit giddy at finally being clean.
[Power: 212/212]
[Mana Shard (Condensed 207/1456)]
Mr. Mana Shard was definitely down a bit, though. She thought about asking Tanyan if it was possible to recharge it. She doubted that would be possible without her putting power back into the stone and that meant she’d not actually be gaining any net energy. She’d have to go hunting or find another source of essence somewhere.
She made a note to ask when Marcus wasn’t around. While the monks had ferreted out the Mana Shard’s existence, she didn’t want the mercenary to know about it, too. He seemed more like the type who would filch it from her rather than give her advice and Tanyan had warned her about how valuable it was.
Elania exited the bathroom again and found herself in front of the standing mirror again. She felt her breath catch and a bit of worry go through her as she examined her own image. Somehow, it hit her more now, after she was clean and there was no pretending that the changes she’d seen were part of the dirt clinging to her. The eyes were still the most obvious change, but it was now impossible to ignore the red sheen of her hair. Her body was slightly different as well, although it was more subtle.
She had always been athletically lithe, and she most definitely fit that description still, but she looked... more healthy. Somehow, she had filled out, and whatever small imperfections or asymmetries existed had disappeared. A scar she had on her hip from wrecking on her bike when she was a teenager had vanished. She raised a hand to her chest and cupped a breast gently, noting that they seemed slightly fuller.
She’d not eaten anything really since her arrival in Eladu, and as best she could tell that had been weeks. Despite the changes, she felt relieved she wasn’t going to waste away and turn into a starved husk or balloon up because she over-absorbed too much Power. However, the [System] worked, it seemed committed to turning her into a specimen of perfect health. She smiled and imagined importing that to Earth, she’d put all the weight-loss fads out of business overnight.
A lose strand of hair escaped from its place and she blew it away from her face. Focusing back on her hair, she decided to deal with the tangle it had become. She still couldn’t help but object to the new color. She didn’t remember ever playing with coloring since arriving in Eladu, but the new pinkish-red hue was... not her choice. The layer of smoke and grime might have hidden the change from her, but it wasn’t as if she had been presented with a mirror before or had paid too much attention to it.
‘That’s something I should have noticed a lot sooner… all the running around, fighting, and things have really made me crazy.’
The color seemed deeper now, too, after she had cleaned up. She realized that might not have been just from the cleaning, but she had done another thing. She’d topped off her power. That thought had her realizing her eyes were a bit brighter as well and she put the pieces together finally. The higher her power was, the more her eyes glowed and her hair tint changed. That was... strange, but there was nothing she could do about that, so she collected the brush and comb from the bathroom before pulling up the rooms single cushioned chair in front of the mirror.
She spent a long time losing herself in the simple work of brushing and braiding her hair back the way she liked it. It formed into a single long plait, before tying the end off with a single piece of cloth. The end was left loose below the tie, and she smiled at herself in the mirror. She’d left enough hair free that it still draped down behind her shoulders, but most of it was contained in the braid and she let out a sigh of contentment. “That’s much better.”
Elania stood and put the chair back where it had been, and cleaned up the little mess she had made, but stopped when she eyed the pile of dirty clothes on the bed.
She was so clean now. The same couldn’t be said for the borrowed monk outfit. There was no way she was going to be able to wash it in the shower, or dry it out later. Just shaking it and hoping to get the dust off was going to leave her dirty again. Why didn’t she get some type of super cleaning spell she could use to keep everything nice and tidy around her?
A knock at the door startled her, and she looked at it in a little fear. She’d forgotten for a little while the world outside of her cosy room, and its temporary nature. A second knock came and she looked around in a panic, realizing she was still naked.
“Elania? Are you awake yet?” Tanyan’s voice was muffled as he yelled through the stout wooden door. Giving up her attempt to get dressed in a hurry, she hurried over to see what he wanted.
“What is it?” She shouted back finally just as a third set of knocking started then stopped.
“Can I come in a moment?”
“No!” There was a silent pause as she felt a bit of embarrassment. “Can’t you just... Tell me what you want?”
“Everyone’s up and eating breakfast. They sent me to make sure you’re awake and ready for when we are ready to leave.”
Oh. Elania had assumed she had more time, since normally she didn’t sleep very long. Maybe she’d been out of it a bit longer than she though, and she had spent a long time cleaning up. Keeping track of time was still something she’d lost the grasp of since her arrival.
“Ok. I’ll be done in a bit.”
She missed his short, muffled reply as she turned about and scanned the room, making a plan of action. She grabbed the dirty monk outfit and took it into the bathroom where she began to beat the dust out of it roughly. While beating the dust out she had an epiphany seeing the brush, and quickly went to work brushing it clean as well. That seemed to work well, and the light multi-layered garment came out in much better shape than it had been in.
Her underclothes weren’t really salvageable though, at least not without a thorough washing, and she discarded them. She set the outfit out on the cushioned chair then went and took another shower, although she kept it short, just enough to rinse off the light coating of dust she’d received. It probably wasn’t necessary, but it felt just as wonderful as the first one. One thing was certain, whatever her new normal became in Eladu, it needed to have these showers, even if it meant she had to make a deal to work for the Prancer’s owner forever.
Well, maybe that was going a bit far. Still, she knew what the cost of the room was for a night, and her first chance at dropping some more questions would be to figure out how money worked here.
After drying off, she began to reassemble the Monk outfit. She eyed the tunic and trousers and then the loose grouping of wraps with holes in them. Spending a little time she figured out how to turn one piece into a chest wrap while the other became makeshift underwear. She desperately wished she had a modern sports bra, but the tight restrictive and uncomfortable wrapping was infinitely better than trying to sprint, dodge, and jump around without one.
Looking in the mirror she smiled. She didn’t have the wraps to go around her shoulders anymore, but the simple tunic and trouser look suited her fine she thought. It was simple to use her javelin holster around her middle as well, and that worked out since the small knife and pouch Tanyan had let her keep were attached to it. She didn’t have any javelins left anyway, so using it as a bandolier over his back wasn’t needed.
Elania took a deep breath and gave herself a final look over. She felt a lot better at the very least.
She checked her pack and made sure all her things were sorted and tucked away, before going to the door. She hesitated a moment, staring at the locked latch, before moving to open it and step into the hall. As soon as she was out of the room, she wanted to retreat back into it and shut door and lock it again. She tried another deep breath before steeling herself and heading to the common room. Somehow she knew if she broke down now and tried to shut everything out things would only get worse for her. At least if she kept pretending that everything was fine and pushing onward she could tell herself everything would be alright at the end of it.
Elania heard the murmurings of the common room before she reached it. There was a [Warrior – Human – Lvl 201] leaning against a door who suddenly stood and eyed her warily as she passed. She hurried her step and moved past him without confrontation, but as soon as she entered the tavern room, the conversation died down and it seemed like everyone was staring at her. The others weren’t in the same place they had sat the night before, and as she scanned the room with her eyes the silence grew, and she could feel everyone examining her. The growing anxiety in her stomach didn’t release itself when she caught sight of one of the novices waving to her.
The entire group was sitting alone at a table and she hurried over to them. No one moved to bother her, and the conversation in the room resumed although she caught a few words here and there that made her cheeks burn. ‘Demon’ ‘Unbound’ ‘Red-eyes’ were just a few confirmations that everyone’s attention was on her.
She thought she had been spared last night, and things weren’t going to be so bad, but now she was quickly doing a reevaluation. What had changed overnight?
Marcus, Taniel, and Tanyan hadn’t bothered to look in her direction, but that quickly changed when she slid onto a seat beside Tanyan. They were staring at her as if she had grown a second head; the two monks even had their mouths hanging open!
“What?” She said, a tad too loudly. Marcus just laughed.
“Princess, you clean up quite well, it really is a shame you didn’t accept my offer…”
“You look… a lot better.” Tanyan confirmed, and Taniel shook his head and went back to eating. The novices were once again lost in their own world, doing their best to ignore everything. Maybe they had been traumatized too much.
Elania smiled, happy that her efforts to clean up had gone well, but she knew that she wasn’t that stunning to have turned everyone’s head as soon as she entered the room.
“Why is everyone staring? I heard them... but it wasn’t like that last night?”
Marcus grinned at her before catching a link of sausage on his fork and taking a bite.
Tanyan started to speak, but the older man cut him off and finally answered.
“Last night you looked the part, Princess. A little filthy unbound demon of no note hidden under some layers of rags, hauled in with a small party. Master probably died between wayposts, and you’re well under control and probably slated to get a new master when you return to wherever we are going.”
It took her a moment to unpack his statements, and she realized that he was saying what he expected the other tavern-goers to be thinking when they looked at her. She frowned and started to ask a question when he interrupted her and continued.
“Now this morning, in walks a pretty young woman, except she’s a low level demon and unbound, no one accompanying her and she looks a little lost and vulnerable. Half the men in the room probably wants you to sign a contract with them so they can teach you to ride their dicks, because that’s all they think about. The other half want you to sign a contract so they can teach you to watch their back--- and then ride them later, because they aren’t man enough to handle a real female companion that could probably chop their cock off and hand it to them. Oh, and all the women are jealous and hate you for taking all the attention of the lot of them.”
Elania’s cheeks were flaming, and she looked around, but no one was paying her much attention anymore. Thank god, because the way Marcus put it, they were all going to try and force her into a contract that included fucking whenever they wanted.
“I’m... not sure that’s fully accurate, but he is right that unbound sapient demons aren’t common, especially low-level ones. Most of them are high level servants.”
“Don’t get used to such a warm welcome, Princess. The ones here are all veterans and can handle themselves and aren’t afraid of you. Once inside Neftasu’s wards, most people are prey. You’ll be the danger and they’ll fear you. Unbridled fear is a nasty emotion to have to live with so they’ll probably want you dead.” Marcus smiled at her, “Of course, you could sign a contract with me, and you’ll not have to worry about any of that.”
Elania smiled back at him, “Thank you, but the answer is still the same.”
As much as she didn’t like his attitude, the information he’d been providing her really was vital. It was eye-opening to know how this society viewed things, and she realized the monks weren’t nearly as good at putting things in such a... pragmatic light.
The waitress from the night before arrived and smiled at the group, not even missing a beat at Elania’s eyes.
“Do any of you need anything else?” When the others declined, she looked to Elania, “What can I get you? Some fruit?”
“Oh... no thank you. I don’t have any money to pay for bre---”
“Get the girl some bloody fruit. Last time she nearly killed herself trying to eat some cooked stew.”
The waitress raised an eyebrow then looked back to Elania, looking for confirmation. Elania didn’t want to repeat Marcus’ rudeness and offered a hesitant smile and nodded. If there was any question of the waitress having missed Elania’s demon eyes, it was settled now. She worried the waitress would suddenly react, but the other girl was either a professional and ignored Elania’s status or wasn’t bothered by it.
“Sure, I’ll be right back.”
Elania felt a bit of surprise. That Marcus would get her some fruit, and at the waitress not caring about her demon-status. Maybe... she was used to demons? Elania’s eyes crept over to where the Ash Hounds were the night before and found them both to be staring at her again. It was unnerving to her that whenever she was present, they would be so intent on her.
She imagined everyone seeing her look at them with glowing eyes like that, only red instead, and shivered a bit before composing herself. The others had begun to focus on finishing the breakfast her arrival had interrupted.
Still, she had some questions about money that she thought was important for her to know, so she didn’t hesitate to bug them.
“So, could one of you explain money to me? I really appreciate the room last night, and the fruit.” She smiled at Marcus, but the ranger seemed to ignore it and continued to focus on his food. Taniel finally chimed in for the first time.
“Ten small coppers to one large, ten large coppers to a small silver, ten small silver to a large, ten large silver to a small gold. You get the idea.”
Elania nodded, and the waitress dropped off a small plate of sliced fruit. There was a yellow one that reminded her of pineapple, and the other was pale and looked something like an apple.
[Pinetal]
[Aptal]
“A room like the one you had last night should only cost a small silver, but in the Waystations the prices are a lot higher, so it was a full Silver Leaf.”
“The Silver Leaf is the large silver?”
“Right. Its named that for the marking on it. All coins are minted by The Guard in Neftasu under the direction of the Council.”
“Ok.”
“If you are going to survive, you’ll need work. Don’t think yer gonna to be cut out for something menial, so ya should sign up with the Mercenary Guild as a novice. You’ll get missions and work with a crew at first until you know the ropes enough to take on jobs on your own.”
Taniel shook his head, “Don’t listen to him, of course he’d suggest the Mercenary Guild, he’s a high-tier member, probably would make a deal with the clerk to use you whenever he wants.”
“Tsk, unlike the Conclave the Mercenary Guild doesn’t play loose with the rules, or favorites.”
Tanyan had his own idea on what she should do.
“For starters, you should sell that Monster Core. Worth a lot, Gotta be examined though.”
Elania nodded and hesitantly took one of the slices of the Pinetal. She didn’t miss the sudden look of appraisal Marcus was giving her, and she realized Tanyan had just let out she had something valuable. She wanted to kick him. At least he hadn’t mentioned the Mana Shard. Wanting to change the subject, she brought up their destination.
“How long until we reach the city?”
Taking a cautious nibble, she found the Pinetal sweet and tangy, and her eyes widened a bit. She started making the rest of it disappear in a hurry.
“We’ll be there today. Going through the checkpoints will take a few hours.” Tanyan answered.
“Checkpoints?” Elania licked her fingers and looked at Tanyan, wondering why ‘checkpoints’ would be the main delay in getting into the city.
“You’ll see. The Guard is serious about the security of the city.”
Marcus suddenly stood up, and then Taniel did as well. She realized the others had all been finished, and she captured the last few bits of fruit in a hurry. The novices were carrying two baskets apiece and already heading for the door.
Why was she always playing catch up?
Elania followed along, and the group headed through the waystation’s street toward the same way they had entered. Her thought that they would immediately head out and start toward the city turned out to be wrong. Marcus lead them to a stop with a few crates in the open market area and stopped. The monks seemed to be just as confused as she was at the sudden halt.
“What are you doing, Marcus?” Tanyan asked.
Instead of answering the monk, the mercenary held up the bag he had the night before. That didn’t really explain anything to Elania, but Taniel objected.
“You’re hired to escort us, not play merchant.”
“Technically, meh contracts to get those baskets of moss from the Mushroohums to yer precious Masters. Run along if ye want, this shan’t take long.”
Taniel spat a few curses and insults at the ranger, but he didn’t seem perturbed. The party settled down and waited. That gave Elania to inspect the market area, although only from a distance. She didn’t feel confident enough to go inspect the few stalls that had already set up and were showing things for sale.
Marcus was right, it didn’t take long before a man arrived, and his eagerness showed as soon as he saw the bag.
“They’re all the same quality as the sample you showed?”
“Of course, wouldn’t waste time bothering with less.”
The man reached down and pulled a purse out of an inner pocket of his jacket. The more Elania inspected his outfit the more she became convinced he was some type of merchant, and she was happy to see her guess was right when [Identify] responded.
[Trader - Human - Lvl 187]
The purse changed hands before Marcus inspected the contents with a frown.
“Paying in silver, couldn’t be bothered to change it to gold?”
“The money-changer's fees are expensive. Really, does it matter?”
“Tsk. Fine. Easier to spend anyway.”
The merchant disappeared as fast as he arrived, bag in hand. The monks stirred, and Taniel urged them to get a move on. She had expected there to be some haggling and there to be an exact amount of coin exchanged for an exact amount of [Razorscale Scales] instead of the rough and quick trade that just took place.
As they headed toward the exit, Marcus homed in on her and surprised her by holding up the bag of money he had just received.
“That Monster Core o’ yers, I’ll pay you this bag and a bit more for it. Two small golds worth at least.”
Elania bit back her first instinct to outright refuse. At some point she had concluded that any deal proposed to her by the ranger would be to his own benefit. But…
She considered this offer. She did need money, and it was entirely possible that it would be a good deal for her. Maybe he’d be able to get more out of the Monster Core than her, but she would have to figure out where to sell it, how to sell it, and not get ripped off by that person too. The bag of coin jingled in front of her, and having money in hand as soon as she got to the city instead of the potential of money might be worth it.
“Don’t do it. You’ll get more in the city. It’s a Monster Core. Even a common one’ll double that.”
Elania frowned and looked between Taniel and Marcus. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the monk was just trying to spoil whatever Marcus wanted more than help her out, but double did sound like it would be worth waiting.
Marcus shrugged and smiled at her, quickly hiding the money purse.
“Suit yerself.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of his easy acceptance, but it felt a little out of character to her.
The entire Waypost wat lit up more brightly from the hanging crystals above, and Elania noticed that there were a lot more people moving about. She guessed that they had arrived quite late the day before and they had moved into the ‘day’ cycle. As they approached the gate, one of the armored guards stared at her, and she found herself gravitating toward the center of the group.
Maybe her movement had aroused his suspicions, but when they reached the exit the man blocked the group’s path.
“What is the Conclave and Mercenary guild doing smuggling an unbound demon through a Waypost then?”
Marcus stepped up to the front. “Mercenary and Conclave business, likely, and not yours to worry about Guard.”
“Anyone suspected of committing a crime is my business, and you lot are up to something.”
Taniel had already pulled out a plate from a pocket, the copper-hued metal being shaped like some small shield with a ribbon layered behind it. The guard frowned as he looked at the symbol.
“Conclave business. Let us through.”
Whatever the badge was, it seemed to have some effect on the guard as the man looked at them unhappily. Marcus laughed and fished out a badge of his own from inside his jerkin. He had a badge, too. It was the same type of shield, but i was steel colored and without a ribbon.
“Mercenary business. Let us through.”
“You lot---” The guard was cut off by another who just arrived. The man had the same type of armor and gear as the gate guard, but a silver sash was wrapped around his breastplate.
“Keep them moving soldier.”
“But captain, the---”
“That’s an order.”
The captain stared at Elania as they started to move through, and she felt like she could still feel eyes boring into her back as they made their way out and back onto the cave path. She let out a sigh of relief when they finally turned the corner and were once again moving toward their destination.
After a few minutes, a hand fell on he shoulder, and Marcus pulled her to a stop. The others noticed and looked back, but he waved them forward. “Go on, I’ve something to say to ‘er. We’ll catch up in a moment.”
The others looked a bit concerned; She felt a bit wary of being left alone with the ranger, but as soon as the rest of the group were out of earshot, he spoke.
“Princess.”
“Uhm?”
“Yer going to have to stop actin’ like prey in front of e’ryone. That trick wit the badges ain’t gonna work at the checkpoints, and if the Guard suspect ya enough they’ll hold you.”
She started to protest, but he held up a hand.
“If it come to it, that lot’ll leave ya behind to get their precious moss to where it needs to be. At the end o’ the day their purposes fer it far outweigh their concern fer a single little demon. An ye ain’t worth pissin’ off a Gate Captain who ‘as decided yer trouble. N’if ye trust the helpful one, ye’ll be disappointed.”
‘So I should trust you?’
No, he hadn’t implied that either, but before she could figure out what to say, he turned and didn’t give her a chance to reply. She stared at his back, and she realized he was right. This wasn’t Earth, or the US of A. It wasn’t her ‘safe’ campus ground. If she acted like a victim, the people here were going to make her one. She was obviously in over her head, but that meant she had to adapt… and one thing she was sure of was that ‘demons’ like her were good at adapting.
As she hurried to catch up, the feeling of being watched didn’t diminish despite her realization. She glanced back to see two pairs of glowing blue eyes staring at her from inside a darkened cave shadow.
As soon as she caught up with the group, Elania mentioned the eyes. Much to her chagrin, the blue orbs had disappeared, and Taniel added a biting remark about scared girls. The rest weren’t any better, suggesting that she had been seeing things.
She thought she had seen the shape of two dogs behind the eyes, but in the shifting shadows of the caverns, it had been too hard for her to tell even with her [Darkvision] making things easier. The group's dismissiveness didn’t stop her from glancing back every so often, and she still felt like they were being watched.
The first thing to come to mind was the Ash Hounds from the Prancer, they certainly had not made any attempt to hide their fixation on her, but she didn’t know why they would be following her. If they were contracted to the Innkeeper shouldn’t they have been back at the Inn with him? She had assumed that since they were hounds and were kept in the Tavern as some type of pet or guard animal.
Despite the constant feeling of being followed and watched, nothing happened, and Elania started to feel a bit silly. When the first traveler met them coming in the opposite direction, she tensed, but the others didn’t react, and she realized that this close to the City, they would likely start seeing more and more other travelers.
They met several others along the way, and other than a customary greeting or acknowledgment, no one stopped. Elania was starting to feel some anticipation at reaching Neftasu, when a sudden growl brought the party to a halt.
One of the Ash Hounds stepped out from around a corner, its blue eyes standing out starkly against the bioluminescent cave walls. The frame of a large man that would tower over everyone she had seen so far followed. He had a thick beard dusted with specs of gray, and was clad in a set of light leather armor. In one hand he carried a large iron banded club.
[Innkeeper – Human – Lvl 487]
Elania was suddenly struck by a feeling of being oppressed, the lightweight feeling she had being pulled away by a sudden new burden. She wasn’t the only one to suddenly tense up, and the novices suddenly crumpled onto their knees. Only Marcus seemed to be unaffected, and one of the ranger’s hands went to his sword belt.
‘The Innkeeper is using an aura on us.’
Elania flicked her own aura on in response, and the crushing feeling suddenly melted away, although the two novices collapsed the rest of the way. Tanyan and Taniel looked back at her both with pained expressions, but didn’t say anything.
The look on the Innkeeper’s face was scary and he levered the huge club onto his shoulder as he continued to approach, the second demon hound suddenly leaping out from behind a rock and joining at his heels. The other hound snarled and shook its head as it began to let out a low growl. The huge man covered half the distance between them at the slow nonchalant walk before Marcus took a step forward and held up a hand.
“That’s close enough.”
The Innkeeper stopped, the club coming down to thump heavily onto the ground as he planted the head of it in front of him.
“Marcus, unless ye’ve been hired to protect the thief on yer coattails, step aside.”
Elania’s mind was set racing. He was after her. She hadn’t done or stolen anything that she knew of though.
“You’ve got the wrong group, Innkeeper.” Tanyan stepped forward, shaking off the two auras, although a hint of pain tinged his voice, “We’ve nothing of yours.”
“Oh aye, ye’ve nothing of mine.” The Innkeeper leveled a finger directly at Elania, “She’s got a belly full o’ it though, and skipped out just a tid bit ago without paying for it. That’s what I’ve come to collect, ‘n interest to boot.”
“I didn’t, Marcus...” Elania felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as the mercenary grinned at her. “He...” She managed to stammer out an approximation of the events from her point of view, but the man held up a hand and silenced her.
“Yer the one that ate, and Shelly told me yer the one that ordered it. Now, I cannae let any o’ me patrons skip off without paying.” The Innkeeper began closing the distance again, and Elania could feel the pressure of his stare as he bore down on her.
“Wai---” Tanyan started to speak when one of the Ash Hounds cut him off with a growl and positioned itself in front of him. The holy monk stepped back, and Taniel put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
“Not our fight.”
A cold numbness filled Elania. She knew Marcus had set her up for this, and Taniel’s refusal on behalf of the monks was another betrayal that she had suspected. Deep down, she had hoped that Marcus’ warning earlier would have been wrong, but now she knew just how shallow their comradery had been, if it even existed in the first place.
Tanyan didn’t give up though, and he fished in his pocket and pulled out a coin.
“Here! We’ll pay for her. She obviously didn’t skip out on purpose, sir.”
The man didn’t stop or even look at Tanyan as he continued forward straight toward Elania, “I don’t want yer coin, monk. If’n we ‘er in the Waypost she’d be subject ‘o the law o’ The Guard, but ‘ere on the outskirt, the aggrieved is their own ultimate justiciar ‘en juror. Unbound like ‘er has more value as a servant ‘n lesson than yer coin.”
Elania gave the monk a weak smile. Well, at least he had tried the simplest form of appeasement, but she knew he wasn’t going to break rank actually to fight for her. The monk looked about to protest the Innkeeper’s words, but a vicious snarl from the hound silenced him. Both hounds had positioned themselves ready to deal with the monks if they dared to intervene anyway.
“Princess.”
A screen appeared in front of her. A contract offer. So this was his plan.
All the other roiling emotions that had been paralyzing her were replaced by a cold anger as she scanned the proposal. It was exactly what she had suspected of the bastard.
“Fuck you.”
Elania flipped the screen and all but threw it back at him, wishing the red text would smash into his face. The only satisfaction she got was the surprise at her rejection. Oh, the contract wasn’t the worst possible contract, but it left enough hooks that he’d be able to make her into nothing but a slave the more he ‘assisted’ her. Maybe he thought he had been more subtle, or she was too stupid to realize that.
Running seemed like a futile thing, as the Innkeeper came to a stop a short distance away. She could feel the strength rolling off the man. She was sure he was stronger than Marcus, and both wanted her.
“Contract. Accept it,” the Innkeeper said.
The window appeared again, and she read it. It was not nearly as bad as the one Marcus had sent her. It promised that she’d be treated well and protected, and she’d serve the same role as Shelly, the waitress, without any ‘extra’ duties. He’d supply all the essence she needed to live. The problem was the duration as she wasn’t sure just how many years the old man was going to live.
Still... she considered it. She found herself reassessing the man. He wasn’t as bad as she first thought, lumping him in the same category as Marcus. Although it was still slavery.
“The duration and cance---”
“Accept,” As soon as she started to try and negotiate, he stepped forward his large hand coming down to clamp on her shoulder painfully. He was going to try and force her to his will. Elania’s entire body clenched as a searing hatred of all of them took hold of her. She had had enough of everything.
Marcus and the Innkeeper were impossibly strong; she didn’t have a fraction of their raw skills or experience. All she had was one single trump card and surprise. She was still able to feel the fuzzy existence of the Mana Shard in her pack, and she yanked as hard as she could on all the power that was still inside of it.
[Power: 432/208]
Her hud suddenly turned red in the corner of her view, the sudden influx of Power setting her insides on fire. She didn’t just feel it; she could see the red of her eyes reflecting off the Innkeeper’s sudden surprise.
The man reacted impossibly fast and the pain from her shoulder suddenly doubled into agony as she felt herself being lifted into the air as he prepared to fling her away. But he had stepped so dangerously close...
Elania focused everything into her fist as she swung at him. She forced all her power into it, turning her hand into a temporary star of light.
It was over in an instant, a red squelch erupting through the tunnel in an explosive spray that covered everything.
“Sweet Divines!”
Her forearm was gone.
So was the center of the Innkeeper’s torso.
The pressure crushing her shoulder stopped, and suddenly she had to hold onto his arm to keep from flying away as she reached the top of the arc he had been about to fling her through. For a single weightless moment, she caught the blank look of death on the man’s face. She didn’t even know his name.
The timeless moment ended, and she landed on the bloody corpse with a bounce, barely managing to protect her face with her good arm.
“Fuck!”
Elania looked up as she recovered and watched as the two demon hounds attacked. The red fury in their eyes shined like hot coals as they rushed forward together. One lunged for Tanyan, and Taniel intercepted it with a glowing fist. The other was rushing for her.
It did not get far as Marcus was suddenly there planting a dagger through its neck, eliciting another viscous spray of blood across the stone. A white orb flew from Tanyan’s hand that homed in on the other hound as it tried to dodge Taniel’s attacks. Snarls turned to yelps as it was suddenly covered in the white light, and then it ceased moving altogether.
[Power: 33/212]
She was tapped; she’d dumped almost four hundred power into the man’s chest. The blood pouring out of her arm slowed to a stop, but the pain of [Regeneration] flaring and rebuilding it didn’t come.
[Your physical status is degrading!]
[Your Power is insufficient for Regeneration! Your body will heal slower.]
The pain made it hard to think, and reading the expanding cloud of messages was impossible, so she swiped them all away. What she was focusing on was more important.
Marcus was staring at her, and so was Tanyan and Taniel. Marcus had stopped the hound, which had helped her, but she saw the sudden flicker in his eyes, and she felt like she could almost read his thoughts. He didn’t see her as a toy to play with anymore but as a danger.
He started to reach for his bow off his back, and Elania knew exactly what he could do with it from the fight with the Manzitore.
She hadn’t seen the prompt, but she didn’t need to see it. She slammed her intent into the Innkeeper’s corpse to absorb his Power. The [System] response was almost eager in its rush to oblige as the entire area that was splattered with his gore began to mist over. Elania could feel the fountain of Power flowing over and into her. The flow didn’t finish immediately, either. It was providing a rapid but steady tick of Power, as evidenced by her self-made Hud.
[Power: 55/212]
[Power: 77/212]
[Power: 99/212]
[Power: 111/212]
[Power: 140/212]
Marcus was already reaching for an arrow, and Elania realized she had to act. The ranged attack she could do was wholly inadequate. It was so much less potent than the close-range one was, and she knew she’d never make it close enough to reach the ranger.
Her gaze slid to the two unconscious forms nearby.
“Wait!”
“Stop!”
Elania ignored the chaotic shouts, she didn’t have time to hesitate, and she launched herself through the air, landing with a slide before lifting one of the novices up into her lap and turning back toward the others.
Marcus had his arrow trained on her, but she had just barely made it in time. A strap on one of the bulky baskets of Glow Moss snapped off the man’s back as she hugged him tightly to her chest, and then she reached up and broke off the wicker lid that held the highly reactive Glow Moss inside. The green glow escaped casting her and the novices in an eerie light.
“One spark and all your moss and the novices will melt away,” Elania’s voice came out cold and calm, which was terrifying to her. “Put it down.”
Much to her relief Marcus complied, although he kept his bow out. Taniel and Tanyan looked at her in shock.
The sudden flaring pain in her stump was a reminder of the damage she’d already received, and when she read the number on her Hud she realized she might be in trouble.
[Power: 379/216]
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
[You have gained a level in Demonic Aura!]
[Due to your high power, Regeneration is enhanced!]
[Due to your excess power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body has greatly exceeded the limit of its capacity for power!]
[Find a stronger body or reduce your current power!]
It was still ticking up. She couldn’t feel the Mana Shard in her pack either, although she hadn’t yet figured out how to fill the damned thing even if it wasn’t dust in her pack. She bit down on her lip as the pain in her stump intensified, and she quickly pointed it away from the baskets when motes of yellow-white energy started to float off of it as it began to reknit itself.
Apparently, the process became more flashy the higher over the cap she was. At least it seemed the effort was slowing down the speed of how fast her Power was still rising. She realized the mist was still pooling, and she hoped suddenly that the amount of mist didn’t represent just how much Power she was expected to absorb.
“Over 200%!”
“That’s not possible, they can’t exceed their maximum.”
“She’s obviously doing it.”
“What is she?”
Elania wasn’t sure who the voices belonged to, but in the combat's lull with her focus being torn away by the sudden ‘healing’ that didn’t seem as important as breaking the standoff with her still being alive at the end.
She had the tools she needed, and they understood the concept of hostages. Elania pulled up her contract menu and began to edit. Creating a loophole-proof legal document while her arm was reknitting itself into existence and her insides were melting was not a simple task, but she gritted her teeth and focused. She kept it simple out of necessity.
[Spoiler]
[Contractor: Elania Reyes]
[Contractee: Tanyan]
[Duration: Until Contract Termination]
[Essence Upkeep: Contractee 0.04/hr]
[Contractor Requirements]
Contractor shall make every reasonable attempt not to harm Contractee’s group or goods.
Contractor may terminate the contract at any time.
[Contractee Requirements]
Contractee shall provide Contractor with sufficient essence to sustain them for the contract's duration.
Contractee shall prevent members of the Conclave or Mercenary guild from harming the Contractor for the contract’s duration.
Contractee may terminate the contract in a public place in the City of Neftasu while the Contractor is not in any current danger.
[Contractor Penalty Clause]
Contractor shall forfeit their life immediately upon failure or any violation of their requirements.
[Contractee Penalty Clause]
Contractee shall forfeit their life and soul immediately upon failure or any violation of their requirements.
[/Spoiler]
Her vision was blurring with tears from the pain, but she pulled her hand out of the [Glow-Moss] basket and pushed the contract toward Tanyan before rubbing at her face. As the screen reached him, she saw his eyes widen, and he began to read it.
She didn’t have any effort to spare for threats or more gestures. She saw the first bits of skin on her good arm beginning to float away, small motes of yellow light flaking off into the air. Her Hud had stopped working at some point, and she realized that her forearm had fully restored itself. The pain was from the excess Power. One of the motes of light landed in a novice’s hair, and she realized it would take just one of those landing on some of the Moss to end the three of them. She looked up to Tanyan.
Marcus and Taniel were yelling at him, but he looked up at her at the same time she lifted her head.
“Ok. I accept.”
Ding!
[You have gained a level in Contracting!]
[You have been reclassified as a Manager.]
[You have unlocked the Contract Management Screen!]
[You have gained the title Contractor!]
[You have 1 Contractee.]
Burning excess Power while holding onto hostages and keeping track of Marcus and Taniel while her arm was rebuilding itself and her insides were melting was a trial of endurance. Elania let off several blasts of energy into a far-off wall, which caused the others to start demanding things of her again while Tanyan frantically tried to rein them in. The truth was she wasn’t happy about it either; using mana so close to the Glow-Moss, Elania was intensely aware if she damaged the moss or harmed the novices now… she would die thanks to the contract.
There wasn’t much choice, though, as if she had let the Power build up anymore, she was going to disintegrate or catch on fire or… or… Something bad.
Elania didn’t dare let go of the novices, though, as the others were still arguing. Taniel was gesturing at her, Marcus had his bow, and Tanyan was frantically explaining something to them. It all felt a bit surreal, as she realized she couldn’t hear anything except a ringing in her ears. She’d stopped blasting away at the rock when her Power had stopped climbing off the charts. With no more ways to get more Power, she’d left it topped off well above what felt tolerable.
[Hud]
Power: 476 / 246
Level: 48
It seemed that she’d gained some levels from the Innkeeper. She’d knocked a hole right through his chest like it was nothing; She had killed him. Suddenly a wave of nausea rolled over her, and she released the novice she was clinging to and threw up. The acidic bile added another burning sensation to her throat, and to top it off; she didn’t feel much better.
Tanyan came over to her and offered her a cloth. She hesitated to take it but ultimately deciding wiping off her face was worth it.
“..ear me?”
God, how it hurt.
“Fuck all of you.”
Elania pushed herself up off the ground and stood, a slight wave of vertigo, making her wobble, and Tanyan reached forward to steady her. She wasn’t having it, though, and brushed away his arm.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m not the enemy, Elania.”
“But they are.”
“They were just frightened. They didn’t know you could do something like that, and Saren was someone well-known around here.”
“Saren,” Elania mouthed the dead man’s name. He’d… He had left her no choice; anything short of her lethal response would have meant him easily overpowering her, and then…
Her thoughts kept clipping themselves off before finishing as she looked to the others over Tanyan’s shoulder; they were checking on the novices and securing the baskets of moss.
“Could you turn off your aura,” Tanyan gave her a weak smile and looked over at the others with her, “It’s a bit intense right now, I’m not sure they are going to wake up if you don’t.”
Besides suppressing the novices, keeping her aura up didn’t seem to serve any purpose, so she obliged. She had determined that it seemed to spike in intensity when she first activated it, so having it off cooldown would probably be a good idea anyway.
[Demonic Aura (Deactivated)]
[You cannot activate Demonic Aura for 30 minutes.]
“I explained to them the contract. It was smart.”
Elania nodded weakly, but the thought that her safety was only really guaranteed by taking hostages meant her heart wasn’t in it. She thought she had been making progress, but she realized how naïve she had been. The group wasn’t really even a group, Marcus was in it just for the job, and while the monks were together, she was most definitely an outsider to all of them.
Get to the city. Get money. Find a place to stay. Get things she needed. Join an organization that could protect her; if one existed. Maybe she'd be better off going back out into the caverns on her own, but the monsters they had faced already seemed to suggest that was a poor idea unless someone was well-prepared. She knew she needed to get stronger if only so she wouldn’t have to use lethal force to… subdue anyone trying to force her into things she didn’t want. That seemed to be the only plan she had.
She looked at Marcus, who’d just finished shaking a novice awake and standing the younger man awake. He seemed to sense her looking at her, and he turned to stare at her in return. She could feel the difference in how he looked at her, the way his face was set. She was not some low-hanging fruit but a dangerous threat. Well, that would be better than him trying to set another trap for her. She wondered what the monk's elders were going to have to say about it when they received their cargo.
[Your body is experiencing thermal degradation!]
[Your body is slightly adapting.]
[Due to your excess Power, your body is exceeding its limits!]
[Your body has greatly exceeded the limit of its capacity for Power!]
[Find a stronger body or reduce your current Power!]
She wished the stupid messages would stop bothering her. It wasn’t like the sweat on her forehead or her insides being on fire were not reminder enough. She swiped the messages away; she would try and find a way to make them less obtrusive later.
The group had started to finish shaking itself back together, and although the bastard had just tried to rope her into a slave contract and set her up as a thief, she had a question.
“Marcus, does the mercenary guild accept demon recruits? As members, not slaves.”
He didn’t answer at first. She thought he was going to ignore her when he suddenly grinned.
“I misjudged you, girl. Not something someone who has lived as long as me often does. It might raise eyebrows, but nothing prevents it,” Marcus looked away towards the two demon corpses still laying about, “If you don’t mind ‘cleaning up’ those, that would be for the best. Not a wise idea to leave evidence behind.”
Elania wanted to protest, but she didn’t know if someone would come hunting her or if she would be going to jail for killing someone. Marcus seemed to notice her sudden agitation and guessed at the source.
“Saren was well liked, I wouldn’t advertise that you’re the one responsible for his disappearance. Even if you were protecting yourself.”
So, she wasn’t going to be reported directly to whatever the police where here. ‘The Guard’ she supposed. That was a relief but also drove home how different law was compared to 21st century America. It would probably be better in the city. Didn’t they mention a ‘Binding Stone’ that allowed calling the guard? That would be something to look for as soon as they arrived.
“Well?”
Elania realized she hadn’t replied at all, and nodded, “Ok. I’ll get rid of them.”
First, she needed to see about her Mana Shard; she was already way over her normal limit, although the excess was slowly melting off and her maximum ticking upward.
Pulling off her backpack, she fished inside but felt her heart crumble when she found a pile of dust in the bottom of it. She took a handful and held it up, a stream of it flowing back down into her pack like sand.
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Elania looked up at Marcus with a frown.
“I couldn’t figure out how where you were getting your Power. Normally it must come from somewhere. Pity you melted a Mana Shard though, but I suppose anything less would have ended things in a different way. Still not sure how you went over your maximum though. That shouldn’t be possible.”
Elania shrugged and decided to deal with the corpses, “I’ll need to release some energy while absorbing them.”
“What’s your maximum? 200%?”
Elania smiled, “You can see my ‘Power’ but not the exact number? How do you see it? Identify?”
“At level 20 [Identify] will show HP and Mana, or Power for demons.”
She turned away from him, and he frowned.
“You didn’t answer me.”
“No, I didn’t,” Elania said, a small smirk emerging.
Marcus grunted and went back to help the monks, while she considered the two Ash Hound corpses. It would have been simple just to absorb them and dump out a lance of energy to bleed off the excess. But… she found herself wondering if there was a way to use the extra Power to level up. Sending surges of Power in a blast did level up her [Mana Manipulation], but it seemed to be based mostly on the number or duration of those rather than how much Power she used…
She didn’t need her knife to focus on anymore to send a bolt of energy, and she started sending weak lances of the light into the wall. They dissipated without any effect, and each one cost a point of Power, but she managed to gain a few messages.
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[You have gained a level in Mana Manipulation!]
[Power: 426 / 254]
She wasn’t sure how much Power the Ash Hound was worth; she doubted it would be anything like the tidal wave that…
She avoided thinking about him and instead focused on the first demon corpse and started the absorption process. The misting corpse began to float into the air, and she watched as her Power ticked up. It was a lot less than she had expected, only giving her ten points.
‘I guess they didn’t have much. I guess he kept them weak, but… they seemed loyal to him.’
She quickly absorbed the second one with the same result and didn’t waste any more Power. As it was, she’d already dropped over fifty points of Power, in return for three levels of Mana Manipulation and eight points to her max Power capacity.
She’d lost track of how many levels she’d gained and had not looked at her [Status] screen in a while to check the changes, but before she could do so, Tanyan called over to her.
“Let’s go,” he waved and gave her a brief smile.
She paused and followed the group from a little way behind. He seemed to be unphased. But for her, she had finally realized they weren’t her friends. She just needed them to get to the city and answer her questions.
---
There was a subdued tone that had taken hold of the group as they moved towards the city. The anticipation and excitement of almost finally being there after so many troubles and trials along the way had completely evaporated for Elania.
Instead, she was focusing on a new menu that she had found.
[Essence Management]
[Power: 384 / 266]
[Rank: Manager]
[Contractees: 1] [View]
[Contract Essence Income: 0.00 PU/hr]
[Essence Composition: 79% Human, 19% Darkwalker, 2% Other]
[Corporeal Upkeep: 0.04 PU/hr]
[Excess Drain: 48 PU/hr]
Some of it was obvious, but she had to puzzle a lot of it out. Corporeal Upkeep? Was that how much it cost to keep her alive? The Excess Drain seemed to be how much was bleeding off because she was over her Power limit. And… Shouldn’t her ‘Contract Income’ be positive? It was in one of the clauses with the contract she had made with Tanyan. Maybe that was because she was over her limit right now. She would check that later when the extra bled off.
It was the voices that made her head snap up, and she spotted another group ahead of them going in the same direction. They were getting close. She hurried her step and closed the distance, so she wasn’t so far away from Tanyan and the monks. The subdued silence didn’t abate as Marcus continued to lead them through a narrowing tunnel. The width halved on them, and was down to twenty feet apart when she could hear murmuring voices indicating a crowd ahead. As they turned a corner, the tunnel widened out, and she saw the Checkpoint.
A metaled wall and gate cut off the tunnel from the ground up to the ceiling thirty or forty feet above. Two worn purple banners with a symbol of a dagger hung on either side of the gate’s raised portcullis. Torches were lit and set in holders around the bottom of the wall, but faintly glowing crystals hung from several chains hooked to points in the ceiling. They cast everything in a slight purple hue.
The large metal gates were closed, and everyone was seemingly being shuffled through a pair of smaller wooden doors built into the wall. A half a dozen guards were in sight, and there were several balconies set in the wall with doors behind them, which hinted to her that the fortification had room for many more. A small line was standing about waiting, and Marcus lead them to join the waiting people.
The line moved at a steady pace, and when the group in front of them was ushered forward, one of the steel-clad guards nodded to Marcus.
“Party of six?”
“Aye.”
Elania couldn’t help but fidget when the man’s eyes fell on her, and a frown creased his face.
“One’s a demon,” the guard said. A second guard looked over and nodded, then went inside the gate and disappeared. “Your group will receive additional screening.”
“Fuck,” Marcus cursed and then pulled out the badge he had used at the waypost and gestured to the monks. “Licensed Mercenary, en a party of Conclave Monks with valuable goods. Cannae ye cut us a break?”
The guard grinned as if he was happy to cause them discomfort.
“No exceptions to random screening.”
Elania wanted to comment that he would have made a perfect TSA agent but managed to remain silent.
Marcus seemed ready to argue; Taniel stepped forward and put a hand on the ranger’s shoulder.
“Let’s just get it over with,” Taniel said.
Their baskets of Moss were taken and set aside under the eye of another guard while their escort led them through one of the smaller doors. There was another entryway they had to pass through and then a short but maze-like path through the stone walls. The shiny metal exterior had led Elania to believe the interior would have been the same, but it was closer to the stonework of the ruins she’d seen or the cultist dungeon. She was excited to see the crystal lights that replaced the torches, though, and it was more evidence like she had seen in the Waystation that the world wasn’t entirely a medieval as she had thought.
For one thing, there were a lot of metaled decorations despite the structure being stonework. The walls were periodically reinforced with beams with metal bandings, and the crystals were held in metal sconces. Although the metal did look like it could use a good dusting, it didn’t show any wear or rust.
There was a [System], so why not Arcanepunk too? What she had seen wasn’t quite the level that she remembered in Skyrim’s ruins or on an Eberron Campaign, but she wasn’t going to be picky if it meant things like showers. The next turn ended in a smaller room with a less armored guard sitting at a desk.
The man--- No, the officer--- didn’t look up at them as they entered, instead focusing on some paper report in his hands. Elania took in the naval blue of his beret styled hat and uniform. It looked almost like something she would have expected from a world war one museum. The way the cloth and buttons were styled suggested that the Guard was more polished than she had thought from her encounter at the Waystation.
Her eyes homed in on one thing, though.
‘Paper!’
Her exciting discovery was interrupted by their escort’s announcement.
“Lieutenant Gaston! Six for additional screening.”
“Separate them.”
“Sir, one is a Demon.”
That had Gaston’s attention as he carefully set the paper down and looked at the group for the first time. She noticed he had a narrow face, but then his eyes inevitably fell on her, and she shrunk a little from his quiet yet intense gaze.
It felt like he was examining her forever before he spoke.
“Which one of you is the Demon’s master?”
When no one answered, he frowned, a flash of annoyance crossing his face.
“The Mercenary Guild I’d expect to be lazy about protocol, but the Conclave? Tssk.”
“She’s…” Tanyan clipped off and was silent as Taniel put a hand on his shoulder.
“Separate them. I’ll talk to them each individually.”
The plate armored guard saluted, then turned to them and grinned, “You heard’em. Move.”
Elania didn't like the idea of being separated from the others, but she was following their lead, and they complied without further argument. It really did feel like going through airport security at Pittsburgh International, although she'd never actually received additional screening there. She had read and heard about racial profiling, though, and her being a demon seemed to be the trigger for them being held.
Through the next door, there was a long hallway lined with stout looking doors on one side. Two other guards were standing at the end of the hall, guarding another entrance that she assumed led deeper into the fortification. This was their stop, though.
Marcus was first, then the novices, then Taniel and Tanyan. Being last, she expected some harassment, but the guard remained professional and shut the door behind her as soon as she stepped through.
Without any other entry or exit, the room was nondescript and lit by a single set of light crystals. A table with two chairs were placed in the center.
'Great, I'm in a detective novel now. Is this world made up of nothing but fucking literary devices?'
She took a seat and sat down in the one that placed her back to the wall and not the entrance. That was a habit of hers she had picked up even back home. She hated having the majority of any crowd to her back, especially in restaurants and the like, and would always claim the seat with the best observation potential if she had the chance.
'Now it's a waiting game.'
After a few minutes, she decided to take a nap, put her head on her forearms, and block everything out. She didn't quite make it to a nap state when the door finally opened. Looking up, it was the Lieutenant.
"Hi, Lieutenant."
"Who is your master?"
He frowned when she didn't answer, and didn't enter the room; instead, he left the door open and leaned back against the wall. She thought that was a bit strange, but then she realized he was likely wary of her. Well, that was smarter than others had been, had the others told him about the innkeeper?
"We will leave that then. Do you plan on going on a rampage inside the city?"
"No."
"Are you afflicted by any contagious diseases magical or non-magical in nature?"
'Thank god I didn't get the Fenicia on me.' She shook her head, "No."
"Are you in possession of any dangerous artifacts, objects of mass destruction, or items that might cause undue damage to people or property?"
"I don't have anything like that."
"Do you plan to harm any inhabitant of the city?"
She started to answer the standard 'No' again but stopped herself, "Only if they try to harm me first."
The first crack in the Lieutenant's business-like demeanor appeared as a slight smile, "I'll put that down as 'No' as anything else means being refused entry."
He stepped forward and pulled back the chair to sit down across from her, "Who is your master?"
Elania licked her lips and stayed quiet, still trying to think of a decent answer. Maybe she should just tell him the truth, but she wasn't sure that would be safe, even if he represented whatever passed as the police for the city.
He didn't seem angry at her refusal to answer, though, and he moved on to the next question, "What’s your purpose in Neftasu?”
“Are all these questions really necessary?”
“You tell me.”
Elania decided to be honest,
“I plan on selling some loot, a Monster Core I picked up from an Alpha Ralfot. Then I plan to upgrade my equipment, and then hopefully do some mercenary work while keeping my head down.”
He didn’t have a notepad; shouldn’t he have a notepad? Maybe not; he looked more like a World War One officer rather than an L. A. Noire detective.
“That is very interesting, Elania.”
“Very well, I don’t see any reason to hold you, but I will caution you to keep your head down.”
Elania wasn’t sure what part of that was interesting to him; she felt a bit of elation when she realized she would be let go without any further issue.
---
Elania fingered the small steel badge she had been given and breathed a sigh of relief as they filed out of Lieutenant Gaston’s office. She was told to keep it on her, as a token that she’d passed ‘inspection’ and had been permitted to traverse the barrier. That made her feel like livestock, but she was happy to be let through. The exit led them into an arched tunnel that she figured was on the other side of the metal gate. It reminded her of a hatch from Fallout, except it was square and in the shape of medieval doors. She realized maybe it wasn’t exactly the same after all. The walls were lit with torches rather than the crystals; as she looked further down the tunnel, she noticed there was some type of shimmering barrier.
“Like that do ye? Is the reason we hafta’ listen to those Guard bastards, the city barrier can only be unlocked and traversed at the Checkpoints,” Marcus said to her.
“Is it like the one at the Waypost Inn?”
“Aye, tis like that. There are three o’ them. The first is the lightest and supposed to keep the smaller bad things out, ‘s well as diseases en’ the like.”
At least it wasn’t going to spray them with some kind of decontamination mist or quarantine for a few weeks. Although it did make her wonder just how many infectious things were lurking around in the world.
The Guard escorting them stopped in front of the barrier and turned toward them, “Keep going through. When you get to the inner barrier, make sure to have your tokens ready.”
Elania’s hand squeezed the badge in her hand a little tighter, glad she hadn’t already stuffed it away in her backpack. The small oval-shaped piece of metal wasn’t really going to protect her, but it was a little comfort that it would be the key to letting her get into the city. A slight smile erupted on her face as she thought Lieutenant Gatson was not all that bad, even if she had not enjoyed the light questioning or being held.
Stepping through the shimmering barrier was almost anti-climatic, as it felt like stepping through a sheet of thin plastic for a second before the sensation disappeared.
The distinct smell of ozone hit her, but the other side of the barrier was a long tunnel, seemingly the same as the one they had just gone through. She noticed that a few of the crystal lights were dimmer than others, and one was even flickering.
‘Would fit right in beside an old subway. Although it is hardly creepy since I’m not alone.’
The trip through the corridor was made in silence, and they were to the door on the other side in a few minutes. Marcus went through first, and she noticed the others pulling out their little symbols. She got hers ready as well and then moved through the door last.
The room was square, and the ceiling shot up to tower well above them with tons of empty and unused space throughout. There weren’t any of the crystal lights because there wasn’t any need for them. A massive shimmering yellow wall of light neatly severed the room in half, and it was just a haze that could be seen on the other side. Whatever it was, it was magical for sure and the source of the ozone smell. Someone had been ahead of them, and she watched as they hurled themselves into it and then disappeared into a hazy cloud on the other side.
A guard was waiting and inspected their passes, then explained.
“Don’t take too long in the barrier. You’ll want to jump through it in one go.”
“Ye know we’ve all went through it before ta get out of the city ‘afor, rookie?”
Elania bristled and wanted to yell at him that she hadn’t been through it before and that she’d like a more detailed explanation. Marcus had already started hurrying toward the barrier when Tanyan spoke up.
“Elania is a demon. She can’t just walk through it.”
The guard looked at them blankly like he didn’t understand when a more senior guard showed up. It didn’t take long before he was chewing out the guard that had greeted them.
“You trying to fry someone crossing over, recruit? It was explained what to do in the case of non-human races.”
“I didn’t realize she wasn’t human, sir.”
“You mean you didn’t even [Identify] them, then? That’s the first thing you do for everyone.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Go get the barrier device while I consider your punishment.”
The man in charge turned to look at her and frowned but didn’t say anything or apologize for what she assumed would have been cooked-Elania meat.
“Thank you, Tanyan,” she said.
He looked at her and nodded, but she realized he had been obligated to protect her by the contract. She wanted to think that he would have done so without it, but now she wasn’t sure if that was true or not. Maybe they would have been happy to have the little demon following along with them to sizzle.
She shook her head and pushed away from the thought. That wasn’t fair, as Tanyan had been the only one of them who had been friendly toward her, although she had realized he wasn’t someone she could rely on.
A rattling sound drew her attention, and her eyes widened as she realized what was approaching. It was a metal doorway on trolley wheels, and it made a loud racket as it rolled over the uneven paved stone.
The doorframe trolley cart looked a bit ridiculous, but the guard rolled it right up to the barrier.
“Listen girl, I’ll only explain this once. Once the hole’s in place, you go on through and don’t dawdle. Protocol says more than thirty seconds is a violation, but if ye take more than half that I’ll yank it out and fry your ass.”
“Ok.”
Everyone was watching the noisy cart, but they appeared a bit uninterested. Considering that they had a ‘protocol’ in place, it stood to reason that others like her came through the barrier from time to time as well.
The rest of the party had hesitated, and Elania realized that the possibility of going through with her might have slowed them. The officer must have come to the same realization as he waved them on, “No doorway for the rest of you, go on.”
Tanyan was the last to go through, looking back at her briefly before hurrying through the shimmering light. The whole ordeal of going through the checkpoints was starting to make Elania feel impatient. She just wanted to get to the city, now, and all the barriers and delays were getting in the way.
The officer walked her up to the spot she presumed was the opening point, and the guard rolling the trolley looked at him for confirmation. “Don’t dawdle.”
The reminder seemed unnecessary to her, and she nodded her acceptance, but when that didn’t seem enough, she confirmed, “I won’t.”
Come to think of it, was nodding even a universal gesture? Tanyan had her rotate her head left and right, and she hadn’t thought of it at the time, but wouldn’t up and down have been easier?
A hand pressed into her back and she realized the doorway was in place. She could clearly see the group looking back at her waiting for her to cross.
She almost jumped through. The barrier wasn’t that thick she realized, only six or eight inches wide, but whatever magic that powered it must have been incredible since it seemed to cover a massive area. Not that she had very many things to compare the size and scope of the magic with, other than her own abilities she barely understood.
“Thought ya’ had decided to stay on the otherside.” Marcus commented.
“No, just contemplating the details on the barrier thing.”
“It’s powered by the city’s celestial-engine, so it is a bit impressive.”
Celestial-engines, alright. Divine-magic-tech? Would she be dealing with theotechnicans now? Honestly, everything was so thrown together, Elania thought she might have been able to do better world-building than whoever came up with this mess.
Her curiosity had burnt itself out and a weary, “Ok,” escaped her lips. Selling the monster-core and finding a place to rest and stay at for a while seemed to jump out at her as a huge priority.
The last barrier seemed almost anti-climatic as it seemed to just be a metal wall and door, with a few guards near it. What set it apart was there was a building beside it, with a shop counter. A poorly painted sign stood askew above it that simply read, “Taxes.”
Elania frowned right away. She didn’t actually have any money to pay anything yet.
It turned out money wasn’t the ‘tax’ being sought, though.
An older man appeared from inside, with a glowing orb. His movements were jerky, and Elania swore that he make a creak just by moving. His voice carried clearly, though, and his eyes moved purposefully between each one of them.
“Ey, you lot not paying in coin ar ye?”
“Mana.”
“O’ course. No one pays in coin anymore, not after the Immortals raised the price.”
Marcus set his hand down on the orb, and for a brief second, a dim light appeared in the crystal then died. Taniel repeated the gesture without a word, and finally, Tanyan. The Holy Monk’s donation seemed to cause a bit more of a reaction in the sphere, but it was still faint. The gesture from the novices was barely able to be seen.
Then it was her turn. Well, it didn’t look so hard, so Elania was confident when she placed her hand on it. The crystal was cold to the touch, and at first, nothing happened.
Then the deluge of system messages appeared.
[Manager tag-detected.]
[Management interface enabled.]
[Core drain status: Enabled, 5%]
[Core capacity: 433/799]
[Please select an option.]
[Core transfer.]
[Standard interface.]
[Unlink.]
It was a lot, and by the time she read it all, she realized the others were frowning at the non-reaction. She realized it wasn’t the same for her for whatever reason, and she wondered if it was the first bit about being a ‘Manager.’
Elania didn’t know what any of the options did, and wanting to avoid any more scrutiny, she quickly accepted the [Standard interface] one. The box disappeared and was replaced with a new one, the orb lighting up much more strongly than for even Tanyan.
[Core Link, 5% Power tax.]
She could feel the sudden surge, and then the message box disappeared as it glowed, noticeably brighter than before, but quickly turning back to its normal color. She noted that her power had dropped down about 5% give or take, which put her just under her new maximum.
The old man seemed surprised, but the monks and Marcus looked like they had expected something like this and were bored. Well, she had given them a graphic demonstration of her Power capacity.
Without any more fanfare, the old taxman was satisfied, and he waved to the guards. The smaller door in the gate opened and they filed through.
Elania couldn’t help but think whoever had designed the multiple layers of the city’s defenses seemed to have been paranoid. What kind of things were they planning to keep out? There had been mention of diseases and the like, but she has a chilling thought that maybe the barriers were to keep people in.
She didn’t think anyone was going to manage to forcefully make it out through all the things they’d just went through.
As they crossed over the threshold, one of the guards uttered a bored welcome, “Welcome to Neftasu.”
It was almost anti-climatic as she took in the nondescript tunnel on the other side of the gate. It was just another tunnel like all the others they’d been through. It was sloped downwards annoyingly, and she had to watch her step. It was quite a ways down to the first flat spot, which then turned at a 90-degree angle.
“I thought there was supposed to be a city,” Elania complained.
“Just wait, the view is up ahead,” Tanyan answered.
It was a faint sound that reached her first that told her something was changing. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but she could tell the air had a slightly crisper feel as if the temperature had dropped and it was slightly more humid.
Reaching the turn, Elania suddenly understood what he meant by ‘the view.’
The downward slope turned into a long set of stairs that would have violated every safety requirement about staircase length ever made as it plummeted hundreds of steps down without a break. The ceiling didn’t follow them, instead of carving itself upward into what would have been a massive dark expanse above, except for the hundreds of massive chains that were bolted into the rocky ceiling. Each length had hundreds, if not thousands, of light crystals of varying sizes hanging below them.
It lit up the entire spectacle of the city, which was still miles away. A massive lake covered the closer side of the cavern to them, and a gigantic waterfall that would have challenged Niagara falls plummeted into a black abyss that disappeared into a black mist that even her [Darkvision] didn’t penetrate.
But it was the lights from the city that drew her attention the most. The light crystals were built into the structure of everything, and the myriad display showed that even if it was a city buried deep underground, it had taken the ‘city of lights’ to a whole new level.
The massive scale of everything threw Elania off. She realized that the city still had a huge wall, two or three stories high, built around it, but at some point, the population had expanded out of that confine and throughout the entire cavern. Massive towers jutted out from the chaotic sprawl, with spiraling works of unbroken crystal dancing up their structure. They were all topped with lighted beacons, and she realized that all the towers were connected to a central structure in the city center by wires.
‘Really long power poles?’
That was the first thought that came to mind, but that seemed silly to her.
“Are you coming?”
Elania looked down at Tanyan, who had paused to look back at her, the awed expression on her face prompting a bit more, “We’ve seen it all our lives, so I guess it has lost its effect. This is definitely the best view any of the checkpoints have though.”
She just found herself nodding. Topping the sight would be a major challenge.
---
She’d been lied to. They had spent hours climbing down the cliff-like path down to the floor of the cavern and then winding their way around to reach the city. There hadn’t been any more checkpoints, and the press of humanity had slowly become more apparent as the ‘road’ they were on became more cluttered with people.
That was something she had to get used to, as the weeks being nearly alone has ill-prepared her for the sudden noise and press of people even if the waystation had been a small inkling of what was about to come.
But for all of that… getting through the checkpoint had not meant they’d arrived in the city. Thus the lie.
The buildings alongside the main road they were on all had the same run-down appearance. They were made of solid stone, though, and she supposed that the area was not prone to earthquakes, or half of them would have collapsed by now. Despite their appearance, she noticed the people didn’t seem to be in too sorry a state, with few beggars or others in sight.
The reason for that soon become evident when she noticed two guards ganging up on a haggard-looking man. He looked the part, anyway, and when he tried to escape, the guards had beat him and lifted him up and dragged him away between them.
“What did he do?”
“Not our concern. Don’t ya go poking yer nose in things, girl, if ye plan to stay here.”
Marcus’ non-explanation made her feel bad, but she decided he was right. Whatever the man had done, she needed to add other people’s trouble to her own. She already had enough problems.
They were heading up into the ‘Old City’ within the walls. It was there that the main markets and the Conclave was housed, along with the other important quarters of the city. The sprawl outside the wall was mostly housing with smaller markets geared for domestic use. One thing was made clear to her, she needed to find an artificer if she was going to sell her Monster Core, and they were mostly in the Artisan district inside the walls.
Maybe it was because they stuck to a main route through the city, but Elania couldn’t help but notice the overabundance of guards stationed at every intersection, and sometimes even at the entrances to smaller alleys. As expected from such a thick concentration of them, everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. That didn’t even change when they entered the first market square, which was full of raucous and over excited merchants hawking everything from questionable produce to furniture.
Tanyan put his hand on her shoulder and filled her in.
“This is the only open market allowed in the Artisan district, and they are forced to pack up every night. Prices are a lot lower if you head to the Mercenary district and things are about the same, so it is usually best to avoid the bazaar. Shopkeeps if you want quality here though can’t be beat.”
Elania wasn’t sure what prompted the explanation, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She suspected she needed to find an ‘artificer’ shopkeep somewhere around here to deal with the monster-core and a few of her questions she had about her now destroyed mana shard.
She was actually feeling quite excited at the prospect of finally getting away from the monks and Marcus and going off on her own. There was the worry about her ‘eye color status’ but she hoped now that she was in the city and was not just dealing with the annoying prejudiced members of her group it wouldn’t be as big an issue.
Maybe she could even find someone else that could explain half of the million questionable things about her demon abilities and the ‘Management’ thing. The fact that the tax orb had reacted like she was its boss was a bit worrying. She hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but she realized maybe having been classified as a ‘Manager’ was important.
Why that had happened at all was beyond her, and the entire combat with the innkeeper and taking everyone hostage was still a blur. Elania shook her head and hurried her step, as the others had pulled ahead while she was thinking. Leaving the bazaar behind, they picked their way up a street that gently sloped toward a larger building at the top of a hill.
It still boggled her mind that the cavern was as big as it was, hosting the entire city and more inside of it, the massive light crystals dangling down overhead casting an eerie but unbroken ambient glow over everything. The overall color changing from area to area based on whatever color crystal was hanging above.
She found the effect drowned out the colors of everything and muted them a bit, and that was something that continuously reminded her they weren’t simply in a nice-aboveground-type-of-city.
The architecture was stranger than the people. She’d visited Paris once, and some of the older sections of the city were the closest thing she could compare the Neftasu she had seen so far with. The cobbled streets didn’t have traffic on them other than people and the cart pulled by white colored Ralfots.
Those had been a bit of surprise but considering how many of the things she had seen on the adventure to reach the city, she wasn’t surprised to see them domesticated in the city and used as pack animals. It was only the color and texture of their skin that had been off as it seemed people bleached or did away with the moss that grew on the wild ones.
The buildings were less made of individual stones though, and more like they had been carved and smoothed directly out of a single solid stone. That was strange, and although it was sometimes broken up by a wall or building that looked like it had been put in after the fact, the strange ‘texture’ of most buildings was that of smooth melted stone.
Elania wondered how old those buildings were, and maybe if the current occupants hadn’t been the first owners. The massive wall that they had crossed when approaching the city, and the mention of dwerves made her think of Lord of the Rings and the massive cities the dwarves made there. Even the name Dwerves that the monk had used seemed too big a co-incidence. Maybe the stupid [System] had decided to translate like that to emphasize the similarities? Or differences between what she knew from Earth fiction and what was real here?
Did the system really take that much active notice of her and what she thought? Elania swallowed, the dizzying array of questions threatening to sidetrack her once again and distract her from what was important. Money. Shelter. Hide in safe place for a few years.
The incline of the street angled upwards even more, and she felt a slight tightness in her legs that she knew would have been torture if she’d been expected to keep this pace back home. The others didn’t slow down though, and she found herself wondering just what kind of conditioning the monks had been given. They hadn’t slowed down much over the trip, and she realized that she really had not given them credit for that.
Not that it mattered. She was done with monks, and the rest of them. Tanyan was nice, but she suspected he’d be punished by whoever was in charge just for being nice to her. At least that was the impression she got from Taniel and the stupid novices.
The further they climbed the more and more houses were decorated with glowing crystals and other embellishments, and she realized that the pervasive dim light from above was being drowned out by the chaotic rainbow colors of the townhouses. Ahead she realized a massive building was beginning to tower over them, although it was only partially visible from the angle they were at. It reminded her of one of the massive cathedrals she had visited in Paris, which gave her an eerie sense of deja vu.
Except nothing she had seen in France was painted by psychedelic rainbow crystals, and her family was replaced with people she barely trusted.
‘Bad train of thought, Elania. Let’s dwell on what we can deal with.’
When they finally crested the top of the hill the street opened up into a large square. After everything else the massive cathedral-esque building that towered stories above them still managed to be impressive. A fifteen foot stone wall was built directly into its sides, and it stretched out across the entire plaza and she realized it didn’t just make a small box, but encircled an entire other district. It was built directly into the cave side, and buildings and structures towered up above them like some type of massive cliffside fortress.
“Always impressive the Conclave. They really know how to do their entrances, don’t they?”
“The Conclave is older than you, Mercenary, and will be there long after you’re gone.” Taniel answered, before waving the novices forward. Elania realized for them, home was in sight and she guessed the ordeal they had all been through would be over soon. Hers wasn’t going to stop.
Tanyan turned to her and smiled. “This is the end of the road. You should head back down to the market and see about finding that Artificer. There are a few Inns here in the square you could stay at after you have some coin.”
He nodded toward one in particular, “That’s the Dancing Lion, I’ve been there a few times, if you want, we could meet there in a few days so I can check on you. We can use returning that outfit as a pretense for the meeting, assuming you have one of your own by then.”
She looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing the borrowed monk outfit. It had never been said that she’d have to return it, but she realized that she had taken a lot of things for granted in the name of basic necessity.
“Ok,” Elania smiled and nodded but it was hardly the same line of thought going through her head.
‘Check on me? What a load of crap. The fact we need a pretense at all says everything. Well, no point in refusing and burning bridges.’
Why had she followed them all the way up to the Conclave square anyway? It would have made more sense to cut off on her own at the bazaar. She realized it had become habit, that she’d followed them because she had been following them for what felt like weeks. She needed to clear that thinking.
“I’m going to end the contract now.”
A sudden bit of fear filled her, that wasn’t going to help her position much, ending the contract.
“Tanyan do you think you could---” a sudden message interupted her request and she felt her heart fall.
[Contractee Initiated Contract termination.]
[Contract Completed]
[No violations have been assessed.]
[All clauses fulfilled. System-termination of Contract completed.]
That message seemed a lot more wordy than a lot of the other system prompts, and Elania wondered if there was a reason some parts of the system felt different to her. Especially the Contract and Management screens compared to the normal status messages and the like.
She still hadn’t managed to ask about that to them, but she felt like she’d be able to find someone else to give her answers. She frowned at Tanyan who looked at her apologetically.
“Ok. Well, I guess we could meet at that Inn in two days, then? If you really want to. Hopefully I will have settled in by then.”
“Let’s do that then. Good luck Elania.”
Marcus waved at her as well, “Yer gonna need the luck, girlie. ‘Specially now. Sure you don’t want to cut a ‘contract with me now?”
Elania stared at him until he finally broke the uncomfortable silence, “Worth a try. I can understand ye dislike for the idea, but I’d not treat you unfairly. Not ‘eeryone will be able to say that.”
She wasn’t sure what his definition of ‘unfair’ was, but she didn’t feel any regret when he turned away.
It was Taniel who was last to say goodbye. “Don’t think you are a bad demon. Hell, you might even be just about normal for a person. Goodluck.”
“Uhh. The same to you?” She shrugged and he nodded, and then the group was going on toward the massive building without her and she was alone.
Or at least as alone in a city as a person could be. The square wasn’t crowded, but there were still people sitting and talking and walking about. Cities it seemed, were about the same everywhere, whether on earth or in some strange fantasy place.
She turned around to look at the path they had just come up, and then began to take stock of herself and her belongings. It also took the others out of her view. It felt strange. She was alone again, and for all the issues of being part of the strange group that had got her here, she had been part of something. Had someone to watch her back at least a little. Even if she had to worry about them stealing her things or worse, now she was alone.
That was a liberating and scary feeling. She’d known the risks and had grown used to watching out for Marcus trying to trick her or the novices getting handsy with her backpack. Taniel taking a swing at her... just...
It was a new beginning now, she told herself. There wouldn’t be any [Darkwalker] or [Manzitore] coming to eat her.
Looking out at the small stream of moving people, why didn’t she feel relieved?
Elania decided that keeping on the move was her best bet and pulled her backpack strap tight and headed back down to the large market bazaar. Maybe she would have some luck looking for that artificer.
It turned out finding the shopkeeper she wanted wasn’t as straightforward as she had been led to believe.
She had strolled back down to the Bazaar and no one had paid her any attention. That was to her liking as it gave her time to observe without any pressure. A cart that wasn’t being pulled by any animal or creature had almost run her over. At first, she though it had somehow gotten loose and was flying down the street, but it kept going even as it reached the bottom and rounded a corner.
A car?
It had been totally silent, but somehow steering was obviously built in, and she wondered if it was powered by magic. It hadn’t looked anything like a car though, more like an oversized wagon that would have been better served being pulled by animals.
The encounter left her with the realization she needed to keep her mind open about what was possible and what wasn’t when there was magic involved.
The market was still bustling, but as she finally reached it she realized she had made a mistake. She’d forgotten to ask about the stupid stone... thing that told time and could call the guards.
‘Oh god, I’m so stupid, how could I forget about something so important?’
She didn’t even remember the name that Marcus had called it, so asking someone random was going to be a challenge... if she even dared to bother someone.
The thought of asking a random stranger was worrying and she looked up and scanned the crowd of moving faces. Everyone seemed to have a place to be or a purpose, and it just exacerbated the feeling of disconnection she had from all of them as well as the feeling of someone watching and examining her every move. She identified that last as anxiety, something she had always struggled with, and did her best to squash it the way she normally did. She made a plan.
Elania took a deep breath and looked at several of the bazaar stalls from afar before taking a determined step forward into the chaotic chatter of the market. She didn’t make it more than a few stalls into the mass of temporary merchant stalls before hawkers were trying to drag her attention to their wares.
Jewelry, fabrics, pottery, furniture, and even polished knives were just a few of the initial offers presented to her by eager sellers, undeterred by her interest and quickly moving to target the next shopper passing by.
It was fabric that finally caught Elania’s attention. Not the lengths of untailored fabric offered to her earlier, but clean looking cloth in the form of new clothes. She could even detect the fresh scent of linen, or something very close to it as she stepped closer.
The stall was manned by a young man who looked almost Arabic in origin to her with a browned complexion and black hair to go with it, although from the huge mix in the market that didn’t seem to mean anything.
He looked bored and unlike many of the others he wasn’t bothering to actively try to pull in customers and didn’t even notice her approach the stall so Elania decided to examine things herself.
She immediately spotted a few things that she really needed, several pairs of small clothes, a non-descript and probably cheap tunic and pair of trousers. She squeezed her toes that were basically glued to the simple cloth wraps she’d used as footwear. Maybe she should have looked for someone selling the sandals that she had noticed the city people seemed to favor.
A sudden shout from inside the stall had her look up in surprise. An old man was glaring at the younger and pointed to her before disappearing behind a divider. Elania wondered if it was a family business as the young man hurried over to assist her. She felt slightly nervous and avoided looking him directly in the eye, instead focusing on the merchandise.
“I need a set of small clothes for sure, and a pair of trousers and shirt. Do you have any sandals, the ones most people are wearing?”
He didn’t answer immediately, instead he gaped at her in shock and Elania felt a worried twist in her gut. If this was how the very first person she talked to reacted to her being demon then how possibly was she going to...
“Of course, Mahlessi. Grandfather has many pair to choose from on the other side of the stall. If you’d like to select what you like, I’ll grab a pair of Sassani for you.”
“Ok,” Elania responded quickly, but as he turned away she realized he hadn’t been surprised by her race. She wasn’t sure how she could tell, but she was sure they had been speaking in an entirely different language. What was a little shocking was she spoke to him in the different language before he even spoke... unless it was whatever the older man – his grandfather --- had yelled that prompted the change?
Sassani were obviously the sandals, and she guessed that Mahlessi was a polite title of some kind. Elania hoped he wouldn’t start calling her something else when he learned she had no money to pay for anything with.
Now she felt bad, he was getting up and getting her something, and she hadn’t actually intended to buy anything just yet. She wasn’t even sure exactly how much she should be paying. She had just wanted to point the things she wanted out, and then ask where she could find an artificer so she could come back and buy them. That plan seemed to make sense in her head as a good way to get a fair answer.
The young man returned and she asked right away, “I don’t actually have the money to buy the things on me right now, I need to find an artificer, can you point me to one so I can come back and buy the clothes?”
The half cheer on his face turned into a frozen polite stare she knew was the normal look of an annoyed service person dealing with some entitled customer. She hated to be that person, but after a moment of silence he started clipping off some directions for her in a hurry. She had to ask him to slow down and for some clarifications because she wasn’t familiar with the area at all, but eventually thought she had a good idea of where to go.
“Once you find one, you’ll find a whole row of them.”
“Thank you, and if you keep those things set aside, I’ll be back to get them!”
He nodded, but she could tell that he did not exactly seem to believe her. Well, she would once she had the money, she really needed a new outfit. Or two. They hadn’t agreed to a price, maybe she’d be able to get a few changes which would be great. That made her wonder about how they did laundry, and she suddenly had a trepidation that she’d have to wash everything by hand.
What were those tubs that wild west women were always shown using to clean things? She didn’t even know the name, much less how to use anything other than a washing machine and dryer.
‘Let’s not get ahead of myself, I don’t have any money or clothes yet.’
She took off and hurried through the market, the bustle was still there and a few times she found herself slowing down just to look at the more stranger looking assortments. There was one booth that was full of pottery that was all shaped like snakes. That was pretty neat. She wasn’t sure how practical it was, but it looked cool, and so did other people apparently, because the seller had all kinds of customers.
Then there were the sellers who had little more than small blankets on the ground with an assortment of things laid out. They reminded her of Paris, and the sellers who had all kinds of little Eiffel towers who’d try to trick you into buying an overpriced souvenir.
A few even started to try and stop her to look at their wares, but somehow she managed to stop them without having to say anything with just a look. That was the biggest confirmation to her that she was definitely still a scary ‘bad’ demon.
Elania was feeling as if the monks and Marcus had quite exaggerated some of the stories of her status and prospects in the city. She wouldn’t exactly say they had lied, but she wasn’t exactly being hunted down by soldiers or captured and locked up after Tanyan had dissolved the contract.
She was almost out of the market, having walked the entire length almost, although barely scratching the real depth of the place. Someone wanting to browse randomly could have wasted an entire day or two there exploring everything. Elania just wanted to get through and sell the ‘Monster Core’ and then get a room and maybe an outfit of clothes or two. Thankfully, she didn’t even need to worry about finding food, too. That simplification of logistics would help.
A woman with a child in tow came around the corner at the same time Elania did. The other woman was looking down and yelling at the kid while hurrying and almost ran into her. A curse erupted when the mother did notice her, which turned into a high-pitched scream as she jumped backwards and away, tripping over her own child and falling onto the ground.
Elania’s mouth widened in surprise as the woman pointed at her and shrieked even louder. The small boy added his own hysterical cries to the mix. Elania realized everyone nearby had stopped what they were doing and was staring at them, two soldiers in uniform had clubs out and were hurrying over as well.
If the guards had police cars, Elania thought she would surely be handcuffed and in the back of one right now. As it was, the guards had confused when she hadn’t offered any resistance and had only taken her aside and away from the woman before they started asking questions. Her protestation of innocence was met with skepticism; apparently, women didn’t just drop down on their knees and start shrieking, even in the face of demons.
It didn’t help that the woman had immediately launched into massive exaggerations of all the horrible things Elania had done to her, loud enough that Elania could hear some of the more fantastical claims. At first, Elania was terrified that the guards would arrest her or lock her up or... even believe a tenth of what the woman was saying.
She realized the guard was getting annoyed at the woman, who managed to constantly come up with more to say. The second guard spent the time questioning nearby people, and the fact that dozens of witnesses had stayed to watch the hysterical woman, it wasn’t hard to locate them.
When the interviewing guard returned and whispered something into the interegator’s ear, both seemed to have come to a conclusion and where done with listening to the ravings.
“Ma’am, you’re going to have to calm down.”
She wasn’t ready for them to stop listening to her because the shrieking reached a new pitch, and she grabbed hold of the guard’s arm to try and keep him listening to her.
That was the wrong thing to do because the guard’s response was swift and merciless. The one she had grabbed quickly spun her around and locked her arm behind her back in one smooth motion while cursing and yelling something to the other. He drew the stout cudgel at his side and smashed it into the woman’s face.
Elania was sure she would have crumpled instantly, but the first guard held her up and she received several more savage blows, randomly distributed to her face or stomach. The crowd and everyone watched on frozen, and Elania wanted to yell at them to stop, that it was enough, but couldn’t find her voice.
Thankfully, she didn’t need to as the guard finally released her to crumple to the ground in a mess, blood and teeth scattering onto the paved stone. The sudden silence evaporated in the chammering of the crowd, punctuated by the shrieking cries of the mother’s young boy draping himself over her trying to shake her back to consciousness.
The guard with the cudgel turned and pointed at Elania. “I think we figured out what happened. Go on, get out of here and don’t cause any more trouble.”
She wanted to protest that she hadn’t started any trouble, even as she felt terrible and guilty at the woman getting beaten down, even if it was their own stupid fault. She looked over the bloody mess the guards had wrought, and the kid was looking at her – not the guard – with a glare of hatred.
If she had been a hero, she’d have stopped the guards and somehow made everything turn out alright. If she had been given super healing and happy love powers, she’d of healed everyone and made everything alright with a pretty smile. She wasn’t a hero, and didn’t have those kinds of powers. The guard was frowning at her, and she pulled on the straps of her backpack and shrunk a bit, nodding to him and putting her head down and moved on in a hurry.
She didn’t want to end up a bloody mess on the street, too. Elania had no interest in seeing how many guards it would take to turn her into a pulp. Taniel had hinted that irate demons were dealt with in special ways anyway. Finding out that there were Conclave Iron Monkey style hit-monks out looking for her would not be fun.
Elania hurried away toward her destination and the crowd that had been witness to the spectacle parted for her without issue; in her head, the directions she’d received were now a chaotic mess, but she hoped she still had the right direction at least.
---
Elania blinked at the wooden sign; the lettering on it couldn’t possibly be English. Somehow she knew it said ‘Artificer’s Row’ anyway, but there was no way anyone had ever got that many letters to fit neatly on such a small square sign. At least she had found what she was looking for, she hoped. The road was much cleaner than the area with the market, and there were much fewer people in view. The people she did see, though, were unmistakably better dressed, and a few that she had passed by had looked at her unhappily as if trying to tell her she didn’t belong.
They usually picked up their pace and hurried past her whenever she decided to look them in the eye and offer a polite smile.
Elania had thought the ‘Artificers’ would be in a much more industrial district; they were the ones working on the fancy lights and other magical devices she had seen so far. At least that was what Tanyan had explained to her. Maybe ‘Artificing’ was a relatively clean industry, or her idea of a giant factory from earth was outdated.
Suddenly her own picture of an army of swiss watch-makers hammering away with tiny tools made her smile. Maybe it was that kind of thing!
She skipped the first shop on the block. That was something of a silly quirk she’d picked up from her mom. ‘Always skip the first shop on the block, Elle. It’ll be less crowded and picked over than the rest.’
She wasn’t sure such advice was very relevant here, but she applied it anyway.
The front door was unlocked, but Elania didn’t miss the metal reinforcements woven over the doorframe. The entire storefront was covered in the stuff, and she wondered if Artificers and Pawnbrokers shared notes on how to secure their stores. Once inside, though, the environment was very classy and clean. The polished wooden floors shined in the light of several bright and well-positioned light crystals, and a man behind a glass counter was smiling at her.
‘A forced smile.’
It was plain the man wasn’t happy to see her, or rather he had taken in her somewhat disheveled state and didn’t like the look of her.
“What are you doing girl? There’s no charity or food here. You’ll scare the clientle away, please leave.”
“I’m not here for charity, I have something to sell,” Elania wasn’t deterred and continued toward the counter, but that seemed to agitate the man further.
“Stop, we have security.”
Elania eyes followed the man’s head as he turned to look in a corner. Sure enough, there was a big brute of a man, clad in plated armor and with a big cudgel already at hand. Elania stopped immediately and started to pull out the Monster Core to show the man, so maybe he’d calm down and stop thinking she was some thief or something.
“I’ve a Monster Core! I just want to sell it!”
“Get her out!”
Elania’s hope for some resolution plummeted as the bouncer like security headed straight for her. A flashback of the tunnel with her plunging her arm through the Innkeeper’s chest went through her head, and she stopped and backed out toward the entrance.
She didn’t want that kind of thing to happen again; she wasn’t even sure she could repeat such a thing without her mana-shard anymore. Her maximum Power had risen considerably, but that didn’t seem to be as easy to access as when she went over her max.
“I’m going, calm down.”
The brute didn’t seem to be in a hurry, content with slowly following after her as she retreated out the door. She slammed it shut behind her with a bit more force than she intended and then hurried away when a few people looked at her strangely. Her nerves were shot, and she looked at the next shop with dread filling her.
---
She had tried two more shops, with much the same reactions. She’d even tried approaching with the Monster Core obviously on display in her hands, but the shopkeeper hadn’t even blinked an eye. All of them seemed to have some security, and in the second one, she had seen another customer.
The artificer shops were like upscale jewelry shops selling things to very wealthy rich clients. All of them were definitely racist and discriminatory against her shabby appearance, to the point she wasn’t even sure if they had noticed she was a demon! It was true that with all the extra light, her eyes probably didn’t shine as much, but still, it had been made a huge deal to her by the monks and Marcus, but it seemed poor people were just as bad or worse in the eyes of some people than demons were.
She spotted another shop that she hadn’t tried yet but had lost her motivation to try it. The shops were so wildly different from what she had imagined an Artificer shop would be like, that she started to question if she was even in the right place.
Suddenly, the lights above the city dimmed considerably, and Elania found herself looking up in surprise. The light cast had shifted, and now everything was being bathed in a dim blue. It left shadows everywhere, although after a few seconds, her eyes adjusted and she could see normally, although much of the color had leeched out of her sight.
It felt like someone was playing with her turning the Photoshop saturation down to annoy her. Still trying to come up with a plan, she wandered down the street back in the market's direction, so she didn’t notice that the people walking the street has thinned considerably as soon as the lighting had changed.
“Hey, girl! You planning to break curfew?”
Her aimless meandering had caught the attention of a guard.
Curfew? No one had even mentioned a curfew to her. That seemed like an important thing to forget to mention, and she felt it was just another betrayal by everyone for failing to mention it to her. Tanyan could have, at the very least, told her.
As soon as she turned toward the guard, she noticed his demeanor change almost immediately. The intent way he was staring at her and the way his hand had slipped down to his sword had her freeze. He must have used [Identify], or maybe it was her eyes, but he went from treating her as a wayward youth to a demon right away.
“What curfew? The Conclave monk didn’t mention anything about a curfew.”
Elania did her best to appear non-threatening, and she watched the confusion play over the man’s face. She decided to continue on with an explanation.
“I was looking for an Artificer that would buy a Monster Core I got while hunting. Except all of them threw me out of their shops without even listening to what I had to say.”
The man’s blank expression didn’t change for another moment; then he did turn his head and look over at one of the Artificer shops before swiveling back to her. Something that resembled sympathy flashed over the man’s face, and he shook his head.
“Wrong kind of Artificer. Wrong district even. You need to head over to the Mercenary district, and find a craftsman Artificer. These shops are just resellers that cater to the nobility. Who sent you here?”
“I asked a clotheseller in the market for directions... my party left me outside the Conclave to find things on my own.”
“Huh, not a very good party then, eh? As for asking a bazaar merchant, they probably don’t know the difference either. Ain’t many of them that ever owned any Artifice, much less deal in it. If they did, they wouldn’t be in the bazaar.”
“Oh.” She did her best to encourage him to continue, and thankfully he did.
“No curfew in the Merc District, no patrols, either. You’ll want to get over there, now in any case. Curfew in the Uppers starts at 19 Heure. It’s a good walk from here, but you should be able to make it easily.”
“Uhh, how long exactly until then?”
The guard frowned, rubbing his forehead in a bit of exasperation, ”Demon’s tit’s! They didn’t even show you the binding stone? There’s a dozen across the city, one in front of the Conclave, even. Can’t imagine they couldn’t have stopped at one and let you use it.”
That was her thought exactly, and when, if, she saw Tanyan again, she was going to let him have it over that one. “Yeah, they didn’t do a good job did they. Were more interested in delivering their Glow moss to their masters than making sure I was acclimated to the city...”
“I see, that’s what you were doing with the monks...” He paused and looked over to another guard and waved at them.
“Wait here a second. I’ll show you the binding stone on the way to the Merc Dis and at least get you pointed in the right direction.”
Elania added a clock to her Hud, which was wonderful all by itself. The other features of the binding stone presented themselves in yet another menu that she could call up, the most relevant of which to her was ‘Call Guards’ since she was still following Henri toward the Mercenary district.
“Don’t expect a fast response in the Merc’ District though. Unless you have a upgraded callsign, most calls in there go unanswered. It’s just not patrolled well enough and is too large for that. Mostly the mercenaries and some gangs keep the order without steppin on each other’s toes. The dwarves have their own union as well and the factions generally don’t mess with each other.”
Henri was a godsend, Elania thought. He’d already filled her in on ten times as much as the monks or Marcus had about the city, as well as telling her exactly who she needed to find and where.
“So, going about at night isn’t going to be wise, curfew or no, so you’ll want to find a well-lit tavern and wait there. Most of ‘em are open all night and day. You’ll see why.”
He paused as they turned around a corner, and a large two-story-tall gatehouse appeared; it had circular towers built directly into the gate and was part of the inner city wall. The mercenary district was part of the vast sprawl that left the walled confines of the older part of the city. It was impressive, but not so much as just how massive the cavern was to hold the entire city.
“What about earthquakes, isn’t anyone afraid the roof could collapse? It doesn’t make much sense that such a huge cavern stays intact?”
“Engine has its own field that prevents that.”
“Engine?”
“Really? You’ve never heard of the Celestial Engines? One of fourteen Celestial Engines that maintain the world, reality, and the system? What kind of rock did you...”
He paused, looking at her and frowning, maybe for the first time considering that she was a lesser-demon and not a lost young woman. Although Elania would have assured him she was definitely both.
There were a few guards idling at the gate; they didn’t seem to be checking anyone that passed through in either direction, although there was only one or two trickling through at the moment. That changed when they saw Henri, and one of them waved questioned them.
“Henri, what did you find a new girlfriend already? Digging in the gutter for them now after Aleah dropped you?”
“Uhh, no. Girl needed help with some directions.”
“So you escorted her all the way from your post to here.”
Another guard still leaning against the wall chimed in, “Always the knight, bleeding heart Henri.”
“That’s why he’ll be a lieutenant soon.”
“Ain’t worth the effort, pay is the same.”
“That’s just to weed out the slackers, and isn’t about the pay, but the access you get even higher.”
“Life-long commitment to the guard isn’t everyone’s cup.”
The rapid back and forth was a bit too much for Elania, so she just stood there and smiled while trying not to look anyone in the eye or bring attention to herself. Something that turned out to be useless in a world where [Identify] existed.
One of the guards had stopped leaning against the wall and had half drawn his sword, “Hey! She’s a demon!”
Elania sighed inwardly for what felt like one time too many. The chatter died instantly, and all the guards suddenly went on alert.
“Fuck, she’s not even bound! Look at her eyes!”
That sent them over the edge, and Henri held up his hands in protest.
“Guys, calm down, I don’t think she’s dangerous, she came here with a party of Conclave monks and if they weren’t concerned about---”
“I’m sure she told you that, how can you believe anything it says, Henri? Are you stupid? What are you bringing it here for anyway? Don’t you know we have enough problems in the Merc Dis’ without a rampaging demon running about?”
“Hello, I’m right here. I’m not rampaging or anything, you know?” Elania spoke up, and everyone went silent and stared at her. Well, that was a nice change; in her experience, men would keep talking over her unless she raised the volume. That, apparently, didn’t apply to lesser-demons, so score one for her new race.
She fished out the checkpoint badge she’d been given when first entering the city. She wasn’t sure it would serve any purpose, but it seemed like something to try.
“I already spoke with Lieutenant Gaston.” Ok, ‘spoke to’ might be a stretch since it was more like ‘interrogated by,’ but she didn’t think it was time to be too accurate. “He let me through the checkpoint without issue. The Conclave monks didn’t seem to be concerned when we parted ways either, I helped guard them for weeks to bring their stupid Glow Moss in from the Mushroohum village. Don’t you think if I was going to ‘rampage’ I would have started already?”
She saw that a few of them understood most of it, and the one that seemed to be in charge of the gate seemed to recognize the namedrop of the Lieutenant, but the one who had spotted her first seemed to be in the ‘anti-Elania or anti-Demon' crowd.
“None of that matters, she’s a bloody unbound demon! Letting her into the Dis’ will be a bloodbath. We’ll have to clean up the mess!”
“I’m not going to rampage! Maybe if someone attacked me, I’d beat the crap out of them.”
That elicited laughter from two of the other guards who were starting to calm down.
“She’s going to beat the ‘crap’ out of them.”
“That’s a new one!”
“Fitting.”
“Wouldn’t want to clean it up.”
“Hahaha.”
“Stop laughing, this is serious! Anyone she ‘beats the crap out of’ is going to be a bloody mess on the pavement, she’s a demon, not a girl!”
“Seems like she’s both to me.”
“This is se…!”
“…serious. Yeah, sure, but plenty of people end up as bloody messes in there, what’s the difference? We don’t get involved with those anyway. Just when things get really out of hand.”
“Like the last time the Mercs’ and the Dozers got in a scuffle and leveled a city block?”
“A demon could do that, too! We’d be responsible!”
The leader frowned and looked her over again. “She does have one of the checkpoint tokens, and she did mention Lieutenant Gaston.”
“You can get one of those anywhere, they hand them out like candy.”
“Maybe, but most people throw them away, and she did know that my Uncle was on the checkpoint today. That’s not something that is really publicized unless she actually went through it.”
“Just because your Uncle is a high-and-mightly lieutenant, doesn’t mean---” A raised hand silenced the anti-Elania Fanclub, and the guard who seemed to be in charge looked at her... Elania made a note to ask his name...
“What checkpoint did you go through then?”
Oh crap. She tried to remember which one it was, but she had forgotten.
“Uhh, I don’t remember the name. The one closest to uhh... Waystation Four? That’s the one we stayed at the night before.”
That seemed to be enough because he nodded. “That’s the one. I think if she went through the checkpoint and has been vetted by the Lieutenant we don’t have to worry about a ‘rampaging’ demon.”
“We should lock her up and send for a captain.”
“I don’t think we need to.”
The conclave district and the Mercenary district's differences didn’t become apparent until after she’d ventured several blocks away from the gate. The main avenue was still well lit, and others were walking by, but the guards and soldiers stationed regularly disappeared. The side streets were definitely off-limits, and she could see why. They were poorly lit and looked like people had littered them full of junk and trash for the most part. A few larger side streets looked somewhat well maintained, but they were definitely in the ‘Oh god someone is following me and it is dark category.’
Elburn, Lieutenant Anton’s nephew, had given her several pointers and suggestions on what to do along with Henri despite the objections of a few of the other guards who seemed intent on persecuting her for being a demon. Luckily, they either didn’t have the authority, or her two benefactors' social pull was more than enough because they ended up silenced and grumbling in the background.
While there was no curfew in the Mercenary district, it was still on the verge of ‘night’ and most business would be done with until the next day. That included the Artificer that she needed to find. Hanging out at the gate with the guards until the next day was unfortunately not an option, they’d be relieved at some point, and there was no assurance the next set of guards would be amicable toward her.
Not needing sleep or any food or anything was undoubtedly something that improved her situation, though. She had considered staying at the gate until Elburn left anyway, but the guards had a different suggestion.
So she was looking for a lively inn or pub along the main avenue where she could wait. They had assured her she wouldn’t actually need to buy anything, so not having any coin wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t uncommon for people to stay in a tavern's public room while waiting for others. If someone gave her issues about it, they told her she could just leave and head to the next one.
Elania was beginning to question the existence of such places, however. She had traveled quite a bit further down the main avenue than she thought she would have to, and just as she was about to stop and consider turning back, a bit of laughing caught her ear. She pressed forward around the corner, and there was a giant tavern set right in the center of the street and dividing the main path into a V. The extra people milling about certainly had them standing out compared to the relatively empty streets. One of them even had an ‘outdoor’ area, which she supposed made a lot of sense when there wasn’t a risk of rain or bad weather in the city.
She homed in on that one almost immediately. The outdoor tables weren’t all full, and she could tell it was a lot less noisy as she got closer, further solidifying her choice.
She slid her backpack off and in front of her seat to keep it safe from a quick snatch and grab. That was something she’d learned from her dad. He was always giving her safety tips like that, trying to keep her safe, and she wished she had taken him up on the karate lessons now.
Settling in for a long wait, Elania began to study the other patrons visible to her. She noticed that many of them were lower level, much lower than she had seen at Waystation Four and the checkpoint. People were a broad mix; the lowest was even lower than her! He was a young man, maybe even a teenager, and was only level thirty-three. The rest were around forty to seventy, with a few nearing one-hundred.
That’s when she noticed someone staring at her near the door. A slightly portly man, but he had some leather armor and looked dangerous. Elania immediately used [Identify] on him.
[Bouncer – Human – Lvl 245]
That made sense; from what Henri and Elburn had said, every place would need its own security in the district. He was not as high level as some she had seen, but she realized that made a bit of sense. The people in the Waystation had been those who lived out in the Dark fighting and killing things all the time. She was already almost level 50, just from a few weeks of travel, and had fought multiple monsters and even several demons.
But levels weren't the best judge of strength though, even if it was the most visible, Elania knew that very well. She might not know Karate, and she was still low level, comparatively, but she’d killed and fought things much higher than her and won with her special ‘demon’ abilities.
She took a deep breath and smiled and waved at the man, but his frown seemed only to crease harder. Maybe she had stared at him too long, or she wasn’t supposed to acknowledge him, or the obvious: she was a demon. Oh well. She looked away and tried to pretend to be interested in something else.
Which wasn’t hard, because she was interested in a lot of what she saw. The architecture here was different from the conclave district, but no less made out of stone. There was very little evidence of any wood, which was what she would have expected everything to be made out of, except they were deep underground, so it made sense. Using what was available and easiest to access was just what people did.
Elania was lost in thought, considering the differences between the carved stone buildings and the rough brick and gritty look of the Mercenary district, when someone coughed near her to get her attention.
A young man looked at her expectantly, although the little notepad and pen for writing down orders was missing. The world had paper, but maybe it was too expensive to waste on taking orders.
“What can I get you?”
“I’m fine for now, just waiting for a friend to show up.”
That elicited a frown, and Elania had expected that no matter what Henri or Elburn had said, but they shrugged and began to ignore her. She predicted that she'd have gotten a different response if the place had been packed completely full. The interruption had her watching the interplay of people rather than the buildings.
Most of the patrons were men, although there were a few larger mixed groups at some bigger tables. The open construction and lack of a front door and wide-open windows made it easy to see into the building. Of course, they didn’t really need doors or windows. If there was never any bad weather and the place was open all day and night, when would it need to close them?
When the waiter went to re-enter the tavern after taking the orders of a few others outside, he paused and whispered something to the bouncer, who just seemed to glare at her even harder.
‘Maybe I should find another place to wait.’
Still, maybe it would be best to wait here as long as she could before moving on. It didn’t seem that things were going to be as easy as the guardsmen had led her to believe. Their plan would probably have been fine for them, but she was definitely seen in a less favorable light than a guard, which considering where she was at, wasn't a very comforting thought.
Nearby, two blue eyes were shining brightly with interest at the newcomer. It wasn’t often that new demons arrived, much less one that wasn’t bound to a master.
The circular chamber was poorly lit. Tanyan couldn’t help but think that was by design, to better intimidate those who came to stand before the Council. There were no light crystals, only a few braziers tactically placed behind columns that created a dim flickering across the old stonework. He had given his report to the Proctor and then waited in his cubicle for what felt like days but had likely only been a few hours. Then he had been summoned.
The treatment wasn’t regular, but nothing about their expedition had been normal. As he had walked from his room toward the council building, many of the younger members had stared, and the customary greetings from his peers had been absent, a near-unanimous shunning that had his nerves on edge.
Upon arrival to the waiting chamber, he had started to smile upon seeing Taniel, but he silenced it when he saw Marcus waiting impatiently on a bench. They were arguing with each other.
“This is all your fault.” The quiet condemnation in Taniel’s voice was met by the mercenary's angry scowl.
Before Tanyan could figure out what was stirring, Proctor Harlsand emerged from the shadows.
“Silence. You have all been summoned to answer the questions of the Council.”
Marcus had his objection, however.
“Bastards, I’ve been waiting for hours. I’ll have my pay for delivering the moss to ye.”
Proctor Harland smiled but didn’t answer him, instead gesturing for them to enter the chamber.
Tanyan had to hide a grin from forming. Marcus had grown more abrasive and troublesome after they had left Elania in the district square. His insistence on being paid only growing stronger when he realized there might be issues taken up with his behavior.
Tanyan had stressed just how much Marcus had put in jeopardy the mission to collect the Glow-Moss with his obsession on replacing his demon with Elania and his fumbled attempt at framing her for theft and the consequent fallout of causing Saren's death.
Marcus let out an angry tssk, at his demand being ignored again, and moved into the chamber. Taniel stood and followed, and Tanyan moved to join them under Harlsand’s untelling expression.
Tanyan had spared no detail of just how close everything was to literally going up in flames and how it was squarely Marcus’ fault. Somehow, he hoped the elders would punish the man, and he doubted that Taniel had spared the mercenary his scorn and anger while being questioned.
With both their testimonies spearing the man, he hoped that the reprimand and punishment he’d receive would be fitting.
As soon as Tanyan crossed the threshold, he felt the temperature drop. He’d only been before the Council once before, for the ceremony that had raised him from apprentice to full member, and it was just as unnerving as it had been then.
It didn’t help that the Council hardly ever showed themselves to the Conclave, remaining completely aloof and apart and only communicating via their chosen Proctors from the main Conclave body. It had been thirty years since the newest Proctor had been chosen, and rumor was that the Council had achieved near immortality by reaching the pinnacle of their classes.
The door to the chamber clanged shut as the three of them reached the center of the chamber, the only part of the room that seemed to remain lit.
Proctor Harland moved to stand before them. “Journeyman Taniel, Journeyman Tanyan, Mercenary Marcus, you have been called to answer the questions of the Council for your actions regarding the Glow-Moss expedition.”
“Journeyman Tanyan, explain the details of the contract you made with the demon called ‘Elania’ and why you thought it was necessary to violate one of the core tenants of the order?”
Tanyan swallowed and began to speak, realizing this was going to be an inquisition.
---
Tanyan swallowed and slid down the wall to sit on the bench provided. They had grilled him first, without mercy, and he was sure Marcus had laughed at one point. The mercenary had obviously brought up the suggestion that he had ‘relations’ with Elania because a great deal of the questions had revolved around that. It was as if they were searching for a reason he had felt the need to help her.
In the end, the punishment had been heavy. Not just for him, but Taniel as well. The Council's displeasure was well conveyed by the Proctor, although the way the misty darkness billowed in the room, Tanyan swore he could sense the disappointment of the Council forming around them.
Their failings had been clearly laid out before them.
Taniel sat down heavily beside him, without a word. They had both been stripped of their journeyman rank temporarily, and Taniel had been ordered to a long list of menial tasks that would keep him busy doing useless things for months. That was almost a normal punishment, Tanyan thought, compared to his own.
“I have answered yer bloody questions, I want my payment, now!”
Taniel looked up in surprise, never having expected shouting coming out of the council chamber. How could anyone disrespect the elders or dare to make demands of them?
There was no shouted reply; rather, a body flew through the open council chamber doors and thudded into the marbled wall in front of Taniel and Tanyan with a heavy thud. Marcus fell and hit the floor with a second thump before groaning, but he recovered quickly and cursed, gracefully bringing himself back onto his feet.
Except Proctor Harland suddenly appeared and slammed a fist into the mercenary’s stomach. It was a dispassionate blow without any trace of emotion, but Tanyan could see the shockwave roll through Marcus’ body and the anger and rage crumpled out of him even as he spilled onto the floor.
“The Council is obviously displeased with your outburst, Mercenary. You’ll be paid as agreed, but you’ll follow the requirements the Council has stipulated as well, or you’ll face more than a complaint by the Conclave to the Guild.”
It took a moment for Marcus to recover from the blow, but the Proctor waited silently and without any apparent impatience. Tanyan found himself holding his breath when the mercenary did fully come to; it appeared he was about to draw a weapon and attack from the floor. Understanding of just how outmatched seemed to prevail, however.
“What’dya want me to do to the girl?”
“The Council requires you to find her, and watch her. Report back to us her activities. She is an anomaly that can’t be allowed to disrupt our plans. Do this and you'll get the rest of your payment.”
The Proctor opened his hand and loose coins spilled from his palm to clatter on Marcus' head and the floor before the unpassionate monk turned and re-entered the council chambers, the doors slamming shut without anyone touching them.
Tanyan felt the tension die, but knowing he’d likely see more of Marcus in the future didn’t put him at ease, especially with the hateful glare the man was directed toward the closed chamber.
Lieutenant Gaston watched as Captain Harrik sighed and leaned back at his desk, turning his attention toward the folder in his hands, leafing through the thing folio for show rather than reading anything.
“Lieutenant, can you explain to me just why you let an unrecorded and unbound demon walk right through your Checkpoint as if it owned the place?”
“Captain, the demon in question isn’t unrecorded, I submitted the initial classification, observations, and it is all on file. Wait... unbound?”
Captain Harrik tossed the report across the desk, and it almost slid off the other side, except Gaston managed to catch and recover it.
“Oh I know, I looked at it. Everything in order. Except for the small tidbit that she's apparently unbound and not contracted to anyone and running about as she pleases.”
“Sir, when she came through the checkpoint, she was clearly under contract to someone.”
A small wooden case on the desk held a treasure trove of the Captain’s favorite rolled cigars. He retrieved one and pulled out a gilded cutter. Gaston frowned and braced himself. It wasn’t the first time he’d been called to answer to his Captain, and he knew about the unpleasant cloud of smoke that was about to envelop the room. Smoking wasn’t a typical luxury found in the city. Tobacco and other smokeables weren’t strictly illegal in the city, but they were above-ground. At least in the countries surrounding the smaller city-state.
Why the Captain just had to break one out to smoke while he was there, Gaston didn’t know.
Captain Harrik let out another puff of smoke that seemed to fill the room with the unpleasant smell of smoke before waving his hand dismissing the protest.
“You know what time of year it is. There’s word that Magister Astolf has come to an understanding with Magister Relain. The fact that the Mercenary Guild and Syndicate haven’t had any flareups lately seems to prove the point. Can you imagine if the Council swings into Magister Relain’s hands? Do you think it would be funny if we were running on half the budget and the criminals in the Outer districts were getting what we lost?”
“Sir, I agree that would be a disaster, but how does any of that relate to the demon. There are hundreds of demons in the city.”
“All of which are neatly bound to someone who is responsible for their actions, whether it’s to the service of a Magister or some gutter scum. Who is responsible for this one? We are. You are, Lieutenant.”
“Sir, I don’t think she will be causing any problems. I don’t see how she could have any bearing on the Magister’s dealings anyway.”
“You don’t do you?”
The Captain raised two single pieces of paper and slid them over to Gaston before lighting his cigar.
“Already two incidents regarding her. One where a woman was nearly beaten to death and more concerning – she bothered an entire row of shopkeepers in the Artisan district enough that they sent a formal complaint.”
Of course, the Captain would consider the complaints from the Artisans a greater worry. They catered to the nobles who could complain to the Magisters. Gaston didn’t reply immediately, but eyed over the report about the woman, then shuffled the other in front to read it.
“Nothing to say, eh? She’s been in the city a single day and already caused trouble. I want you to deal with her, Lieutenant.”
“Sir. I don’t think she’s that much of a threat, from what the reports said she didn’t actually cause the first incident and the complaint by the Artisans – she didn’t cause any trouble other than show up and try and...”
“Dammit man! I don’t care what you think. I’m ordering you to deal with her. If that means hiring a Conclave hitman to take her out, the budget can afford it. If that means you tricking her into following you out of the city then dropping her down a deep hole she never climbs out of, that’s fine as well. Hells, if you want to force her into a contract to serve the fucking Guard or whatever, do that, too. All the others are collecting up these little pet demons like they are mascots, why not the Guard as well?”
“Maybe before we act on any of those options we enlist some surveillance on her? Just to, uhh... determine her value or threat. Sir.”
“Fine. Fine. But you are responsible for what happens Lieutenant. We don’t need any fuck-ups right now. I’m not just threatening you to be an ass, but the entire Guard is at stake this cycle. We’ll all be out in the gutter if things go sideways and Magister Relain becomes Magus-elect. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
There were only so many things to be interested in before the waiting became… boring. Elania sighed as she leaned her face against her hand and stared at nothing in particular. It wouldn’t be a good idea to pull out a knife and start practicing [Battle Concentration] like she had while guarding the monks. Heck, it hadn’t been a good idea even then.
No social media to check, no videos to browse, not even a blog to read. She should have been used to it, and for the most part, she had adapted, but these times when she had nothing to do but sit and wait brought her previous addiction to modern-day internet things to the forefront. The boredom wasn’t going to kill her, but losing track of her surroundings in a strange and unknown place just might. It was easier said than done, though.
The idea to move on and take a walk while looking for a new place to wait started to appeal to her. She should have planned on doing that in the first place, considering the ‘Bouncer’ had been giving her the evil eye for… Elania glanced at her new clock and smiled. For an hour and forty-five minutes or so.
She wanted to find Henri and give him a little hug for that bit of help; there was no way to describe how helpful being able to tell time again was. She’d almost made it two hours. Just seven or eight more to go until things started to open again. She groaned and planted her forehead on her forearm on the table. This was terrible.
Elania closed her eyes and just listened to the low drone of the tavern patrons, no conversation in particular catching her attention. She realized she was weary. Not physically, she didn’t need to sleep, but mentally exhausted. From everything. She needed a safe place to just rest in, and while that was her current aim by waiting, the process had turned into something that was much longer and drawn out than she had expected. Her former companions either hadn’t realized what kind of troubles she’d have, or hadn’t cared, or... had they set her up for failure, knowing she’d not be a problem for them anymore?
Elania frowned. Why was she even thinking about them? It was evident that she couldn’t rely on anyone else for survival now. Maybe she kept coming back to them in her mind because they were the only people she had interacted with more than in passing. Everyone in her old life had been suddenly cut off; hell, she hadn’t even thought of her parents since... some time before the Mushroohums?
The feeling of being cut off and without any support hurt. If she had a therapist, she was sure they’d explain everything to her, and how it was all normal. She doubted they’d have much advice on how actually to survive descending into a crazy new world, but at least she could be enslaved, die, or worse while being normal. If she had a therapist. God, she really was going crazy, thinking about an imaginary therapist in her head telling her it was alright.
“No sleeping here, demon.”
Elania’s head snapped up immediately, eyeing the sudden speaker. It was the Bouncer, and her eyes were drawn immediately to the heavy looking cudgel in his hand.
“Your kind isn’t welcome here, get lost.”
Something about the man, maybe his size and weapon, reminded her of Saren, and suddenly the dead innkeeper’s face was imposed on the Bouncer. Elania felt a wave of tremors wash over her. She wanted to protest that she hadn’t been sleeping, and fight the unfairness, but a saner voice in her head had her start to stand up. She could find another place to wait.
“I’ll g---”
“There you are!”
Both Elania and the Bouncer looked in surprise at the newcomer. She was wearing a black and white maid’s outfit, complete with the little frills and knee-length stalkings. The woman looked young, with a heart-shaped face and short yellow hair that ended in slightly darker tips. It was the eyes though, that captured Elania’s attention even before she brought up [Identify] in a hurry. They were a deep glowing sapphire blue.
[Knight – Lesser Demon – Lvl 589]
She looked right at Elania and gave an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I hope you didn’t get too bored.”
Then she turned to the shocked Bouncer, who was only starting to recover. “Why don’t you be a dear and go get us something to drink? A warm cider, maybe.”
She started to turn, dismissing the man who was easily a head taller and twice her size. The realization of that brought a furious scowl on his face. A flashback brought Elania right back to the scene of Saren reaching toward her.
And it did happen, the man reaching out in just the same manner, just with not the result Elania had expected.
The Demoness Knight turned at the last second, her hand snapping up in an instant to snatch the Bouncer’s wrist, and using his own momentum, tossed him toward the ground. She didn’t release his arm, though, keeping hold of it and bending it backward, forcing him to comply with her direction or have his shoulder dislocate.
As he landed on the stone with a thump, the Demoness followed, planting a knee in his back. Elania could see him attempt to lever himself back up with his other arm, but the pressure on the captured arm intensified until the man was bellowing in pain.
“What is with you Neftites that you think with your hands first? Don’t you know it is rude to put your hands on people, especially a lady?”
The only reply was a pained yell from The Bouncer.
Elania had been so focused on the scene that she didn’t notice the group coming out of the tavern until the one in front yelled.
“Oi! Let him go.”
They didn’t look like bouncers, the leader had a sword drawn and was coated in metal-studded leather armor, and the two beside him were equipped much the same. It was the fourth who stood a bit back that looked completely different, with a robe and a staff tipped with some type of crystal that Elania instantly translated into ‘Wizard’ in her head. She wasn’t too far off.
[Fighter – Human – Lvl 356]
[Figher – Human – Lvl 312]
[Warrior – Human – Lvl 309]
[Mage – Human – Lvl 340]
Elania caught a murmur from one of them. “Demons.”
Oh. They were looking at *her*, too. Elania immediately stood up and started to back away, not wanting a part in the conflict, but she didn’t make it far.
The Demoness Knight stood up immediately, and as the Bouncer started to get back up, she placed a kick in his side that sent him rolling through the air to land at the new group's feet.
“My master has given my strict orders on who I can, and can’t kill little humans. It includes those who try and touch me without permission, or threaten me.” She said it with a vicious smile, and Elania realized that her teeth were wrong. Or at least not human, they were narrower, with sharp points, and completely hidden until she was grinning ear to ear.
That seemed to set off the mage, who immediately started chanting something, but a single interrupting syllable escaped the Demoness in a rush.
“Zael.”
The glowing crystals all around visibly dimmed, and for a half-second, the only light was supplied from the massive crystals high overhead. Elania saw the swirling energy the mage had started to summon completely dissipate into the air. The man’s shocked expression was copied on the other’s faces as well.
“Relain’s Hound.” One of them whispered, and they suddenly looked petrified.
The light show hadn’t gone unnoticed either, and the conflict was suddenly gaining a lot more attention, especially from inside the tavern, with a dozen heads staring out the window while others moved to get further away. Elania took another step, wanting to disappear, but the other Demoness noticed and slipped an arm around her back.
“Surely you boys don’t think you can pick a fight with two of us, do you? Especially since she doesn’t have to worry about some silly master’s worry about collateral damage?”
It only took Elania a second to understand what the other Demoness was implying, looking at her in horror. Surely she didn’t expect Elania to do more damage to... things? That prospect combined with the Demoness Knight’s sickly sweet smile seemed to be the final straw that broke the mercenaries.
The leader gestured to the beaten Bouncer and barked an order to pick him up, and the group slowly backed away then retreated inside. It seemed the prospect of an all-out melee had disappeared, and Elania realized that all the patrons outside the tavern and from several of the nearby places had much better luck at disappearing than she did.
Without an audience, Elania found herself released from the hug.
“Hello, I’m Tessa. What’s your name?”
“Umm.”
“Umm? Are you sure that is your name?
“I’m Elania.”
The smile didn’t disappear, but the teeth did. Elania was sure the woman knew exactly how uncomfortable the sight of those made people feel.
“So, Umm-Elania, let's chat over a drink.” The woman gestured to the table Elania had just been sitting at. Elania felt sitting down and ‘chatting’ like the fight earlier hadn’t ever happened was ridiculous. Luckily the suggestion had an easy out.
“I don’t have any money for a drink.”
“Is that so, well then, I’ll pay for the both of us, if the tavern-keeper doesn't come out and offer to give them to us for free.”
‘Oh no.’
Elania felt the need to fidget as Tessa sat across from the round ‘outdoor’ table and stared silently. After the sudden violence, including ‘magic’ and counter-magic, that ended as suddenly as it had started, Elania felt more than just a loss of words. Fighting seemed to be taken as something that was a common occurrence, and she couldn’t imagine someone causing such a scene on Earth and getting away with it... although maybe that was just because she never visited such places on Earth.
“So, Elania.”
Elania’s eyes widened as her attention snapped back onto the other Demon with the realization she had been wandering off in her own head again during the dragging silence. The look caused Tessa’s lips to stretch into a smile revealing the teeth again. The discomfort Elania felt at the visible display of razor teeth must have been visible because Tessa quickly hid them.
“Sorry, I’m told it's a bad habit that makes others uncomfortable, but it is hard to remember.”
Elania had to hold back a frown, a sudden feeling of empathy going through her. How would it feel to be told smiling was a bad habit? Elania knew she had some bad habits herself.
“That’s alright. I try to tell myself not to get lost in my head, but it is hard to remember.”
Tessa smiled at her again, although this time with her lips closed. Elania still felt it was a bit unfair to be required to hide one's teeth, but Tessa’s were... scary. Something people would probably be able to get over seeing after a few times, but the first sight was always going to make people uncomfortable.
“Is that so? What type are you? You smell like a human, and the rest is so subtle I can't tell, which is strange. Normally your first form would still leave at least a little hint, and daydreaming could come from too wide a range .”
That was when Elania realized Tessa’s ears were pointed. Like elf ears. Elania knew a whole host of earth folklore and fantasy stories would fit Tessa right into them, except right now she couldn’t remember a single one of them. Tessa certainly wasn’t a Tolkien elf. Elania had seen some patrons at the Inn in the Waypost that resembled those, along with the name to go with it for their race. Tessa didn’t seem to match them. Maybe there were two...
Suddenly, Tessa reached across the table and took Elania’s hand, turning it palm up and bringing it to the center. Elania started to ask what she was doing when she leaned forward and bit her finger without warning.
Elania’s yelp came as she tugged her hand back. Tessa released it without complaint, and Elania held her now bleeding finger. Four bloody spots she assumed were teeth holes closed themselves up quickly, but still left traces of blood dripping down her hand until she wiped it off with a shirt sleeve.
“Why!?”
“You were lost in thought again, little kitty. So I thought I’d test your reaction speed.” Tessa licked her lips, which confirmed that Tessa was definitely of the more meat-eating variety if the teeth didn’t give that away. She tried to avoid thinking about how it was her own blood Tessa was licking, though.
“You have so much potential, Elania, its exciting. You’re very young, only level 48, and you don’t have a master controlling your every action. You seem to have a nice attribute, too, although I didn’t think feline hunters could take regeneration?”
That last was styled as a question, but Elania shook her head, wanting to deny the whole thing.
“I’m not a ‘kitty’ or anything else, I am... was a human.”
“Hmmmm.”
It was apparent Tessa wasn’t convinced, but the waitress picked that moment to show up. The way she was looking at them angrily told Elania that she, at least, wasn’t as afraid of them as the mercenaries who had beat a retreat inside.
“Are you two going to order something now, or are you going to keep manhandling the other patrons and poor Buno?”
Although Elania was included in the statement, the woman was clearly looking to Tessa for an answer.
“Poor Buno should learn to keep his hands to himself, and the other patrons should mind their own business. Everyone has a right to sit down and have a drink, yes?”
“Paying customers have a right to sit down and have a drink. This isn’t a hostel or a place to sleep.”
Tessa’s reply was to fish out a coin from a hidden pocket that Elania hadn’t even realized existed on the maid uniform. It was a large round gold coin, and Elania was sure it was the large gold that had been explained to her at the Waypost. It was worth ten of the smaller golds; surely a pair of drinks wouldn’t cost that much.
The waitress's surprise confirmed Elania’s suspicion, and for the first time she showed something other than annoyed anger.
“We’d like two Frujuices, whatever you have that is sweetest.”
“We have some fresh Apnels we got yesterday.”
“That will be fine.”
The waitress nodded and turned and hurried back into the tavern clutching the coin to her chest, ignoring a few customers calling to her to stop at them.
“Two uhh, Frujuices? Didn’t really cost that much did it?”
Tessa smiled at her without the teeth.
“No, of course not, most if it is for the trouble. The rest is for some goodwill. A Frujuice shouldn’t cost more than a small silver.”
“Oh. I see.”
Tessa had been paying to smooth things out for having roughed up the tavern’s patrons and beating the bouncer. Elania thought they all kind of deserved the thrashing they got, considering their behavior, but she also didn’t know what was normal or expected. She suspected Tessa had over-paid whatever reparation was customary from the look on the waitress’s face.
“About the drink, I don’t think I should be drinking anything alcoholic.”
“Alcohol? Why would I order that? Don’t you have regeneration anyway? Yours doesn't help with poison then?”
Elania started to reply but stopped, thinking about it. The razor-claw poison from its claws had been stopped, but she had also had a horrible hangover at the Waypost.
“I still get hangovers, at the very least. Otherwise, I think it might depend on what kind of poison... I haven’t exactly tested it.”
“Well, that’s probably for the best, in my experience poison testing isn’t pleasant.”
For the first time, Elania caught a hint of pain on Tessa’s face and wondered if she’d been forced to test poisons. She wasn’t sure she should ask, and Tessa quickly filled the gap in the conversation.
“Well, at least someone has already taught you to count money, although it looks like they didn’t do much beyond that?”
Elania frowned. Her previous companions certainly hadn’t given her any money. She should have demanded some, she had done Marcus’s job for part of the trip anyway, and while they had left her with one of their spare outfits, it seemed like they could have afforded her enough to sleep somewhere for a night or two.
“They taught me the conversions between coins, but not much else.”
“Well, remember a Frujuice is about one small silver. It’s one of the few things we Demons like to drink, even if we don’t really get anything from it. I’m sure you’ve figured out your [Demonic-Self Sustenance] by now?”
“Yes, it uses ‘Power’ and I don’t haven’t had to eat, drink, or... other things. How do you know I’ll like the Frujuice though?”
“Well, you might have a different preference in what fruit you like the most, but it is a common trait among all of us that we love fresh fruits. Even the ones that other races consider bitter or sour will taste sweet to us.”
Elania wanted to ask why, and she remembered the sweet drink that she had tasted before to wash away the terrible taste of the stew.
“Cooked meat and vegetables are bad though?”
“Anything cooked will be bad, you’d probably be fine eating them raw, but why? It wouldn’t taste good, and you won’t receive any power from it. So there’s no reason to.”
Elania frowned; eating dinner together with others seemed to be pretty important, but if there was no benefit to eating anything, then it would just be a social thing. Well, one thing was certain, her experience with cooked food was enough for her to believe Tessa easily. Not that she’d ever try raw meat to see if it was merely 'ok.' Fresh fruit it would be.
“You can’t really deny being part Darkwalker you know, after tasting it, I feel a bit silly that I couldn’t make out the scent, it seems obvious now. Your smell is very subtle though.”
“I absorbed the Darkwalkers after being summoned, not the other way around.”
“It really isn’t something to be ashamed of or to hide. Even if it was a lot of them. I imagine it was with how diluted you are. Did you get your master with them? Is that how you got free?”
“I was summoned by some weird cultists. They were trying to worship me or something, then some knight or paladin attacked and I escaped while they were fighting.”
Tessa looked at her like she was crazy and, for once, seemed to be at a loss of words.
“Huh?”
“They were all wearing black, and I was standing there naked. The stupid circle shocked me and the paladin cut it with his sword somehow, then the bishop attacked and I ran out. Then I spent… days or weeks running around the caves until I ran into the Mushroohums.”
Elania continued to retell her story, not skipping anything and including the role the mana shard played in events. Tessa stopped interrupting and listened attentively, only stopping her a few times to clarify a few things.
“You almost evolved into a Darkwalker?”
Elania nodded, “I had absorbed a lot of them and I transformed into one and it... was really strange. It was like I really was a Darkwalker.”
When Elania got to the part about meeting the Monks and Marcus, Tessa almost exploded.
“You showed them your status and skills screens? What in the hell were you thinking? Don’t ever do that for anyone! They shouldn’t have even asked!”
“Well... it felt... like I needed to gain their trust or something, and the Mercenary hinted that they would deal with me somehow if I didn’t go with them...”
Tessa shook her head, the disapproval was evident. “Don’t let anyone walk over top of you, Elania. Even if you have to fight them. You’re unbound and don’t give that up, no matter what.”
Elania started to continue, but their drinks arrived and interrupted. Tessa happily scooped up her glass, and Elania followed the example, finding that the large glass was chill to the touch, with condensate already forming on the outside.
“You.. Don’t have refridgerators here do you?”
“A what?” Tessa and the waitress asked simultaneously, and Elania shook her head.
“Nevermind, I meant to chill the drink down, its a think where I come from.”
“Oh, no. We get ice from the local ice mage and keep it in the coldbox. We keep the glasses in there to cool the drinks.”
Elania nodded. Ice Mage. Ice deliveries. Right. It sounded like she needed to avoid trying to explain condenser coils, refrigerant, and the concept of ‘iceboxes that kept themselves cold,’ or she’d probably end up waking up in an ice cube and the prisoner of some irate out of business ice wizard.
“Is it a problem? I could bring you a different glass,” the waitress asked.
“Oh, no its fine.”
Elania looked at the glass for another second, then copied Tessa and took a sip.
It was certainly sweet, and it tasted like the fruit she had back at the Waystation.
“It’s good right?” Tessa smiled at her and Elania nodded.
“Do you have any idea who the cultists and this ‘Bishop’ were?”
Elania frowned, she did remember a name from the contract that had been offered to her, though. “ I refused the contract they sent without looking at it. Something like... Cult of the Black Candle...?”
Tessa let out a breath at the same time the waitress let out a gasp. Elania felt like she had been caught in a trap as soon as the two reacted, Tessa letting out a breath and the waitress gasping a stereotypical hand going to her mouth.
Tessa turned to the waitress and shooed her away with a ‘thank you, that’s all’ then turned back to Elania.
“Don’t mention them, at least, not that loudly. ‘The Black Candle’ is a boogeyman that a lot of people fear. I think I know what paladin you are talking about, too. There’s been some talk of his actions in the city, and there was a bit of pushback when he was allowed to operate freely.”
“So.. You believe me then? I was summoned as a human and then escaped.”
“Well, I don’t think you’d insist so much on something so... very rare if you weren’t very certain of it. Still, I can’t think of any real example of another Demon summoned as a human, maybe because they were all discarded or... worse.”
Elania gulped, there were more questions she wanted to ask Tessa, but the sudden idea that she’d need to be ‘terminated’ or ‘dealt’ with because she was summoned was unwelcome. Maybe she shouldn’t mention it to others in the future. Better to fit in with what others thought you were than be something ‘different’ and feared?
“I have a lot of questions, especially about levels, attributes, and skills, contracts, and stuff...”
Tessa nodded, “I know. I can only imagine, there is a lot to go over, though.”
“Actually... why are you helping me? It isn’t like I don’t appreciate it, but so far everyone has... seemed to be taking advantage. Or worse, warning me about people taking advantage of me while trying to take advantage of me.”
“I might say that I don’t want to see you end up like me, but that isn’t all of it. You’re unbound, and you don’t realize how much potential just that gives you. Most of us don’t have any say in what skills or powers we take, its all decided for us. Usually not to our own benefit, or likes either. So if I help you now, which doesn’t cost me much or anything hardly now, you might be able to help me later. You’re sort of small, but I can tell your power density is high, too. So later you might be a very good friend to have.”
Tessa smiled, “Plus you’ve already given me a bit of information that might be valuable making this conversation really worthwhile for me, and for free. I might be able to leverage that into some favor from my master and get out again with it. It isn’t often I’m rewarded by being free to roam like this.”
“Uhh... I did?”
“Movements of the Paladin will be of interest to him, yes. He is on the council that rules the city, and having that kind of information might work to his benefit. The council is often contentious and some didn’t agree with allowing a forgeiner with powerful abilities the freedom of the city.”
“Ok..ok.. This is a bit much for me, though. I’m still trying to figure out things like what skills I should try to level up, what attribute to take in two levels, and how to find an artisan to sell my stupid monster orb thing so I can afford a place to rest while I figure it all out.”
“I can offer you a few suggestions, especially on --”
Tessa’s head snapped up as she spotted something, and Elania turned to look at where she was staring. A few armored men were walking toward the tavern, but they were still a block away.
“Shit, my handler’s have caught up with me. I have to go.”
Elania blinked, “I thought you said you were rewarded by being free to roam?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, it’s an unspoken agreement.”
Tessa suddenly fished out several silver coins, five small ones, and one large, then slid them across the table to Elania before standing up in a hurry.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find you again, it’s what I’m good at, anyway,” the statement was accompanied by Tessa licking her lips. Elania suddenly felt that wave of discomfort wash over again with the memory of Tessa making a snack out of nipping her finger.
“Just don’t make any long term contracts. Or short term ones, if you mess it up, it will bite you badly.”
Before Elania could respond, Tessa vaulted a wood railing and started sprinting down the street opposite of her ‘handlers’ with enough speed to draw attention all around.
One of them yelled almost immediately, “Stop!” It was no use, though, as the other Demon quickly disappeared around a corner. The two armored men hurried after her in pursuit, but as they passed by the tavern, one of them stopped and stared at her with a glare.
‘Oh shit, he saw me talking with her.’
Elania’s worst fears didn’t come to pass, as the man shook his head and then continued after his partner in pursuit of Tessa.
It took a moment for Elania to regroup. Tessa’s sudden disappearance had been as abrupt as her appearance. Elania still wasn’t sure what she thought of the more experienced Demon, but... she hoped that Tessa would show up again soon; she still wanted to ask her all those questions.
“Would you like another Frujuice?”
Elania looked up, not realizing the waitress had returned.
“Umm. They aren’t going to come out and get revenge on me now that she left, are they?”
“Don’t worry, I think they would have more a problem with her than you, and I’ll cut them off if they try.”
“Oh.. Alright.” Elania looked down at the few coins that Tessa had left her. She actually wanted another drink, it was a pleasant distraction, but would it be wise to spend one of her few coins on something she didn’t strictly need?
“It’s already paid for if that’s what you’re thinking about, after your friend left such a generous tip.”
“Ok then, I would appreciate another one then, thank you.”
“I’ll be back with it in a bit sweetie.”
Elania nodded, then settled into her chair, checking her clock. There were still hours to go, but she thought she would head toward the shops and scope them out before the opening time came, so that she wouldn’t waste any time getting lost again.
Elania was starting to rethink her plan to look for the Mercenary District’s Artificer Row as she walked down the side street. She had asked directions from the waitress again, just to confirm the ones from Henri and Elburn had given her. That, and that she hadn’t misremembered or scrambled them in her head, which was probably more likely she admitted to herself. Luckily, what the waitress said matched what Elania remembered, so after her fourth Frujuice and way too much people watching, she had set out to look for her goal.
She hadn’t needed to go far on the main row, as the side street she needed to turn off on wasn’t that much further into the district. She’d barely hesitated at the slightly dimmer lighting. Elania hadn’t appreciated just how much light the extra fixtures on the buildings had provided the main street, and the further she delved into the district, the less and less those were in appearance until they were only present on the block corners. The alleys didn’t have any at all and were darkened enough that her eyes would adjust into a near monochrome if she looked down them.
The fact she had a sort of night vision made them a lot less scary. However, they looked quite full of trash and debris and definitely not the type of place to spend any time in. She had spotted a few shadowy figures sleeping or moving about in a few of them as she went. That was enough to prod her to walk closer to the center of the street. The feeling of being watched started to prickle at her back, but the few times she peeked back the way she had come, there was no one there.
‘Maybe if I learned Demon-Jujutsu or whatever, I’d stop feeling so nervous.’
Or really, any real fighting ability would do. So far, she had flailed her way through everything, relying on her superior racial strength to survive. She had turned her [Mana Manipulation] into a weapon, but that was risky at best and limited in range unless she wanted to burn copious amounts of her reserves.
She had no idea where to even start with ‘Magic,’ so the idea of using some sort of ranged weapon...a bow or crossbow maybe, appealed to her. The memory of Marcus preparing to shoot at her was still fresh and outlined just how vulnerable she’d be to someone with a projectile weapon where she couldn’t get into ‘Power Punch’ distance.
The thought of having to learn to use a bow from someone like Marcus made her feel uncomfortable, though. Maybe if she met Tessa again, she could learn to use a sword and shield with a few lessons instead. With a class like ‘Knight,’ the other demon should know all about swords, Elania told herself. Although it was probably wishful thinking that she’d be free to teach anything.
Elania frowned and came to a stop at a large T-intersection. The path going straight ahead shrunk and grew almost as dim as the alleys she had seen, while the turn continued to be about the same. Her first instinct was to follow the better lit main path, but... the directions she had been given didn’t include any turns or junctions like this.
She was supposed to follow the street she was on until it ended in a square with multiple branches... that was definitely not where she was at now as directions and reality didn’t match up once again. Was everyone so bad at fucking directions? Elania bit her lip and looked down both paths again.
‘What I need is a map.’
Suddenly, she recalled a brief tidbit from Marcus of all people from one of their early conversations.
“Fun idea, but no. It’s an artifice that provides certain functions to those who reside in the area. Clock, maps, the ability to call the guards, among other things.”
Elania repeated the keyword in her head.
'Maps.'
Henri had shown her the stone, and it had been as simple as putting her hand on it and getting a simple status box to show it to her. Neither he, Elburn, or even Tessa had mentioned Maps. They had all given her directions when a map would have been much more straightforward, especially if it worked somehow like her [Status] or other screens.
Why had they not even mentioned it?
[User Binding: Neftasu]
[Clock: 5:18]
[Emergency]
[Locked]
[Other]
Yeah, that looked like it had earlier when Henri had shown her the Binding Stone. It had been easy for her to transfer the [Clock] function over to her custom [Hud] window, so she’d not used this screen more than once. Was the locked function the map? A quick glance around showed no one nearby, so she decided to test [Other] before going on.
[Unbind]
[Locked]
[Locked]
[Activate Management Interface]
Well, she didn’t want to ‘Unbind’ that would take away her Clock she guessed, and everything else seemed locked except the last option, which she wasn’t sure about. It was the only choice if she wanted to continue investigating, though, so she activated it and received a deluge of messages she wasn’t prepared for.
[Attempting to Grant Management Access]
[New Management Permissions Restricted]
[Management Authority Exceeds Current Management Authority]
[Overriding Management Permission Restrictions]
[Management Access Granted: City-State Neftasu, Elania Reyes, Full Access]
[Stripping Previous Management Requires Core Access]
[Resetting User Confidentiality Settings to Management Default]
[Management Interface Activated]
What the hell had she just done? Elania bit her lip, the messages stopped, and nothing else seemed to happen, so she activated the [Bind] screen again.
[Manager Binding: Neftasu]
[Clock: 5:19]
[Emergency]
[Map]
[Other]
There it was. For such a verbose response, just the first part of the screen had changed from ‘User Binding’ to ‘Manager Binding’, and the [Locked] function now revealed was a map. Rather than spend time panicking over the log messages, Elania quickly activated the [Map] function.
She was rewarded with a huge screen popping into place in front of her, the slightly transparent image expanding to several feet wide and tall. It was much too close and almost made her go cross-eyed. Elania took an instinctive step backward, but the screen followed her movement perfectly, which was even more disorienting.
‘Fuck, whoever designed this was near-sighted or something.’
Thankfully, she knew what to do to actually manipulate the screen and push it a bit further away, just like she had managed to customize her [HUD] screen.
The map was not what she expected. Google Maps might have spoiled her. The dark blue background has several weird areas where beige bled through in irregular patterns. Over that, a grid of darker black lines arranged all over it in what she assumed were buildings as she looked closer. There were absolutely zero labels of any sort, and she was barely able to get an understanding of the city’s layout. If the map was even the entire city. She’d been told the magic barrier she’d passed through was a sphere, and the map was shaped in a circle, which suggested what she was looking at was probably a top-down view.
Of course, there was no legend anywhere to be seen, but there was an odd-looking rectangle box in one corner. Elania was about to try to figure that box out when she realized that the blue and beige colors were shifting. She focused on one of the beige splotches that stood out, and sure enough, around the edges of it, the blue was shifting.
Zoom-In? Just her thought of looking for that function rewarded her with the map slowly responding, and she realized that the solid blue color was anything but solid. It was thousands of small blue dots. Most of them were stationary, but many were moving. It took a moment, but then she had a theory on what they were.
‘People. The dots are people, this isn’t a map of where to go, it’s a map of the population of the entire city.’
Suddenly, the blank rectangle in the corner made more sense to her.
‘Henri.’
The sea of blue dots disappeared, leaving just a neat beige with black lines all over it. That prompted her to Zoom-out and there it was. A single green dot sitting somewhere near the center right of the center of the city.
‘Tessa.’
The Henri-dot disappeared, to be replaced by another green dot, this one near the eastern, or what she assumed was the eastern side of the city due to her association with east being to the right.
‘This is why no one mentioned the map, and that function was locked, giving everyone a map that locates everyone in the city would be… dangerous.’
It didn’t explain why she suddenly was able to have this ‘Management’ ability, though, or why she’d be permitted to access it.
‘Elania Reyes’
[Confidentiality settings prevent this user from being displayed. Change status to visible? Y/N]
‘Oh, definitely not.’
Elania was quite happy that no one would be using this [Map] to track her. The question of just why she’d have more authority than the current management was a bit nagging though. She’d need to be careful and keep her access to the [Map] hidden, since she figured that someone would be rather miffed if they found out some random ‘Demon’ could locate just about anyone she wanted.
There was only one problem.
She didn’t know the name of any Artificer, and there were no street names or building labels at all, just a mess of black lines that indicated buildings, and only on a single level, at that.
Try as she might, whatever commands she tried failed to change that. The map was, in the end, a big people tracker, not a roadmap to the Artificer district.
Elania sighed and glanced down the two streets. She’d spent a good five or ten minutes just standing there, lost and looking at the map.
“Found another one, Mac.”
Elania’s heart leapt instantly as the voice cutting through the silence much too close behind her. Before she could turn around, an arm wrapped around her left side to grab her breast.
The sudden unwanted touch almost paralyzed her in fear; it would have done so before.
Elania the reaction after the brief hesitation was vicious as she reached up with her free hand to grab her assailant's hand and crush down on it with all her strength. Despite it being larger than hers, she felt the resistance he offered falter instantly as bone and sinew shifted under her fingers. The weakness allowed her to twist around in his grip to face him. The man had obviously not been expecting much resistance, if any, and while he was still reacting to the pain in his hand, she shoved him as hard as she could.
He didn’t quite go flying through the air. Her leverage had not been good enough for that, and the tight confines meant she hadn’t been able to produce enough momentum. He still staggered backward and tumbled onto his backside.
“Fucking bitch! I’ll kill you!”
Elania’s heart fell as she took in the scene; her assailant wasn’t alone. There were two others, standing just behind where her attacker had fallen. One was another man, and the other was a young girl that looked like she was maybe ten or eleven and had her head down looking at the ground.
[Bruiser – Human – Lvl 58]
[Rogue – Human – Lvl 78]
[Classless – Human – Level 15]
The one who had grabbed her was a Bruiser, while the one holding the girl was a Rogue. Both seemed relatively low level compared to everyone Elania had met so far.
As the man got off the ground and back onto his feet, his earlier words clarified their purpose as Elania phrased them in her head.
‘They’re grabbing girls off the street. Human-fucking-traffickers.’
A knife suddenly appeared but failed to produce any instinctive fear in her. She’d fought a Razorclaw with teeth bigger than the short length of metal, and she felt herself settling and preparing to counter whatever rush came at her.
The Rogue had apparently been doing his own examination because his hand settled on his partner’s shoulder and stopped him.
“Wait, Ned, she’s not a girl, that’s a Demon.”
Elania could feel the men’s attitude and posture change immediately from eager attackers to wanting to escape. Suddenly, she wanted to pounce on them, and teach them a lesson for attacking her. A system prompt suddenly appeared.
[Darkwalker Transformation, Y/N?]
‘At least if fucking asked this time.’
Turning into an oversized black panther monster seemed like it was a terrible idea in the middle of the city, though. It was good to know it was there if she needed it, but the last time, she’d had trouble turning back, and plus, she would end up naked and unable to carry her stuff.
“Don’t you two have identify?” Somehow Elania managed to bite back an expletive, but the tone in her voice seemed to convey enough sentiment to whip the Rogue at least.
“We’re sorry, didn’t mean to grab you.”
“Wait, she’s lower level than us, we could—”
“Don’t be a fucking bigger moron.”
Ned turned toward her and held up a hand toward her. “We don’t want any trouble, just a misunderstanding. Mac, let’s go.”
The bigger Bruiser, despite his bravado, seemed content to retreat with his friend, but Elania’s eyes settled on the young girl. The Rogue’s hand had never left the girl’s shoulder, and as the two men turned away the girl was pulled with them.
The memory of Marcus urging her to ignore others who were in trouble when they first arrived in the city came to Elania suddenly, a frown taking shape on her lips as she made a decision.
“Wait.”
The two men flinched in response to her command, halting midway in their turn. Elania let the time stretch for a second as they stared at her blankly.
“Leave the girl.”
The two men almost flinched when Elania ordered them to leave the girl. The girl responded as well, looking up from the ground for the first time to stare at Elania with widened eyes. A reddened splotch marred the side of the young girl’s face, and Elania felt her anger at the Rogue and Bruiser redouble.
The Bruiser recovered from his shock first, anger marring his face, “She’s only level 48 we can…”
“My master thought the same thing, but that didn’t make it any harder to pull his spine out of his back…” It was a lie. A bluff. Elania was grateful she’d taken that ‘All the World’s a Stage’ class as a Freshman. It hadn’t been required of a General Studies – Maybe a History Major, but she had been drawn to it from how fun the playacting activities were to do with her classmates.
She added a smile to the act, and suddenly wished she had terrifying teeth like Tessa did to add to the scene she had set.
The two men were frozen. Seconds ticked by Elania and felt like the bluff was eroding as the silence lengthened, that they might choose to fight instead. She did not want that, as it would almost certainly become a terrible mess in alley that she'd have a hard time explaining, although she felt quite confident at being able to handle the two thugs. She should have thought of that before she had acted.
‘Stupid, reckless, Elania.’
She changed her mask from casually polite to annoyed anger.
“I’m peckish, you two can stay if you wish. I’ll be more hungry later.”
Doubt gnawed at Elania’s core; what if she had misjudged the situation? What if the men knew the girl, or if they cared for her, and Elania had misjudged everything. Their actions didn’t seem to suggest that, but…
Elania focused some of her ‘Power’ into her hand, a slight yellow glow surrounding it. That seemed to spur the Rogue, who seemed to be the ad-hoc leader of the duo.
“Magic-type.” He said before suddenly shoving the girl forward toward Elania. The girl immediately lost her footing and went sliding on the rough stone, and Elania bit back a curse. The Rogue grabbed his partner’s arm and dragged him away, though, and the two quickly moved into a sprint down toward the darker street that she had been considering earlier.
The girl burst into sobs, whether from being hurt or fear – or even both, Elania wasn’t sure. Moving forward, she kept an eye on the retreating thugs to make sure they kept moving away while kneeling to help the girl.
“Hey.”
As soon as she spoke, the crying intensified, and Elania bit her lip. Maybe the whole insinuation that Elania would eat her had been overblown, but at least it had sent the thugs packing. The girl had obviously been paying more attention during the exchange than Elania thought, as that threat translated into terror as the girl finally looked up to stare at her.
‘Basics, Elania, Basics, let’s not terrify her more.’
“Hi. What’s your name?”
As Elania looked the girl over, she realized the mop of hair that she had thought was a light brown was blonde, molted over with dirt and grime. Her cheek was red where she’d probably been hit by the thugs earlier, and now she had some scrapes on her hands where she had fallen. The added layer of dust from the road barely seemed worth mentioning because the girl was already coated in a thick coat of grime.
It took another moment for the girl to bring her sobs under control, but Elania remained patient. A passer-by gave them an odd look as they walked past, probably because they were both sitting on the side of the street, but he hurried away without comment as soon as he saw Elania look at him.
“T… Tina…”
“Hello, Tina. My name is Elania.”
“A…are you going to eat me?”
“No. I just wanted to scare those men away. Did you know them, were they taking care of you?”
Tina’s head immediately started doing a tilt to the left that had Elania thinking the girl was having a seizure, then the situation where Tanyan had her tilt her head while a Darkwalker caused the gesture to click for her.
‘Ok, so nodding isn’t universal. Everyone’s probably been thinking I’m a weird head-up-and-downer everytime I’ve done it. Oook. Left-tilt-no, Right-tilt-yes. Don't confuse your directions or get them backward because the person facing you is looking the other way. Fuck.’
The answer confirmed one thing to Elania though, those thugs were definitely the bastard-creeps she’d taken them for, and she didn’t need to feel bad about kidnapping someone.
“Ok. Do you know where your parents are?”
“They’re dead.”
‘Way-to-go-Elania.’
“I’m sorry. Who is taking care of you? Do you know where you live?”
Tina looked away, and the sudden refusal to answer hinted to Elania that the girl didn’t have anyone and was probably living on the street or something. That certainly would explain the coat of grime on her. Elania frowned, considering what to do. Maybe there were some orphanages took in children? Did that kind of thing even exist in this fucked-up-world?
Tina’s stomach suddenly rumbled loudly, prompting Elania to ask, “Are you hungry?”
The rapid tilting of Tina’s head to the right had Elania bite her lip. Elania wanted to know exactly how head tilting had become a thing because just thinking about copying the gesture for very long made her neck hurt.
“I’m hungry too –“
Elania paused midsentence as she saw the fear crisscross Tina’s face again, before quickly resuming with a question.
“ – do you have any money?”
“N…No.”
“I don’t either. It costs money for food. Do you know your way around here? I haven’t been to Neftasu before and am a little lost.”
The girl blinked at her for a few seconds, but then Elania was greeted with the Eladu version of a nod.
“I… I know a little.”
“I’m looking for the Artificers, do you know where their street is?”
“The… the ones who sell to the nobles, or the ones who make things?”
God, even the little orphan girl, knew that much, and Elania was reminded of her earlier escapade and screw up going to the wrong shops. It also probably meant the girl knew a lot more about the city's locations and people than Elania did. An idea sprouted and took shape.
“Tina, if you help me find the Artificer I need, I’ll buy us some food.”
The hopeful look on Tina’s face made Elania smile.
“There is another thing. It will help me with trading with the artificer.”
Elania paused, suspecting the next ask would be a little troublesome, so she thought of a way to word it correctly.
“Do you know how red-eyed demons are more scary than blue-eyed demons?”
Tina hesitated as if her answer might offend Elania but ultimately tilted her head affirmatively.
“I need you to make a little contract with me. That way I won’t be so scary to people anymore.”
Before Elania even finished, Tina had a terrified look again.
“N... no! I don’t want to. Brucie says that is how demons eat people!”
Elania wasn’t sure who ‘Brucie’ was, but she didn’t have much to dispel that claim. Elania knew demons had a reputation for screwing people over with contracts… but the only way she could really disprove that was by offering one that the girl could hopefully understand was safe.
Elania quickly came up with as tame a contract as she could think up. There wasn’t really any need for penalties, so those went first. That made it relatively safe to leave the requirements open-ended. Either party could cancel at any time. Since Elania just needed the contract for the eye-color change, that seemed perfectly acceptable. She checked to make sure the Essence Upkeep was reasonable, not that she had much to go by that other than what Tanyan had accepted earlier. Still, it was a little less and seemed like a low amount.
“Please, Tina. Take a look yourself and decide if it is safe or not. I promise I’m not trying to trick you.”
[Spoiler]
[Contractor: Elania Reyes]
[Contractee: Tina]
[Duration: One Day]
[Essence Upkeep: Contractee 0.03/hr]
[Contractor Requirements]
[Contractee Requirements]
[Contractor Penalty Clause]
[Contractee Penalty Clause]
[/Spoiler]
Elania sent the contract, and to the girl’s credit, she stared at some air that Elania assumed was whatever form Tina’s system showed her. Elania stayed patiently quiet, although she was noticing more and more people walking by. None of them had said anything or paid them much heed, but the two of them were kneeling and sitting on the side of the road and that would probably draw attention to them sooner or later.
Attention was something Elania did not want, even if it kept happening.
Ding!
[You have gained a level in Contracting!]
The message and sound tore Elania’s attention back to Tina, who had accepted the contract.
“Ok… I’ll show you.”
Elania was relieved when Tina led her down the lighted street and not the darker one the Rogue and Bruiser had fled down. She had a slight worry the two would return and attempt to extract revenge of some sort, so she had opened the map and added the two names they had helpfully divulged while talking to the screen.
That was another revelation, she was able to have more than one specific person displayed on the map at once, and while she didn’t show up on it herself, Tina did. That allowed her to gauge the distance the two thugs had fled, and it was at least a little reassuring to see that they had moved all the way to the opposite side of the Merc’ District.
Elania tried to add ‘Brucie’ to the map, but quickly found out that there were a lot of Brucies apparently, and that gave her another revelation to how the map worked. If she knew someone’s name and had met them, the map would highlight that specific person on it. If she just had a random name, it was highlighting every single person that shared it.
She didn’t have time to experiment more, or go through and add everyone she wanted to the map as Tina picked up her pace.
The girl had rebounded quickly, and although she didn’t seem happy or cheerful, she picked their turns down the street with a seeming assuredness of someone who was used to traveling them and knew where they were going. At least it seemed that way to Elania.
[Clock: 5:59]
It was getting closer to the ‘opening’ time for things, although considering everything else, Elania wondered how much leeway and flexibility an opening time would be. The city was hardly a shopping mall with a synchronized time schedule. When they arrived, maybe they would be able to pick a few shops that seemed open already.
Elania flipped her backpack around to rest on her front, and started to rummage inside the main pocket. The ‘Monster Core’ was still safely nestled inside the bundle she had wrapped around it, which was comforting. She remembered he interplay of Marcus’ offer of two small golds and mentally made that the least she’d accept for it if she got desperate. Tanyan had said it was worth at least four if it ‘was a common’ one. Suddenly she wanted to know what made a core ‘common’ or better. If they had grades, how was she supposed to tell if it was better or worse?
Were better grades worth a lot more or just a little? Elania followed around the corner with the sinking feeling that no matter what she did she was going to get ripped off in the trade.
At least a few gold would be enough to live on for a while, judging by the drink prices and what she had learned about the cost of a inn room in the city, which was consierably cheaper than out at the waystation.
Elania’s thoughts stopped when Tina halted for the first time, looking down a small side street before turning to look back at Elania.
“We are almost there, but…”
Elania smiled encouragingly, “But?”
“There are usually guards all over the Artificer Row… they usually don’t let random people in… there is a side street here and we can get past that, but…”
Elania considered for a moment, but quickly discarded the idea of trying to sneak in. They were here for legitimate reasons at least.
“That’s alright, just take us to the main entrance, and I’ll talk to the guard.”
Tina seemed a bit doubtful but tilted her head affirmatively and then they were once again headed down the main street. A healthy stream of people had begun to appear, and a few times Elania and Tina had to switch from walking side-by-side to Tina leading single file.
Elania couldn’t shake the nervous feeling she got every time someone passed. The thought of some random person snatching the girl from right in-front of her was impossible to shake. It was a bit early to be ‘protective’ of her, but she was a Lifeline that Elania hadn’t realized she needed—someone who knew their way around, and the addition of the Contract and blue-eye thing didn’t hurt either.
At the very least, it would help get her accepted with a lot less question, she suspected.