<Jarek, I’d like to suggest that you reconsider your strategy.>
I had barely taken 10 steps after eating the Soul Shard. What now?
<You need to consider the nature of these tunnels.>
I thought this was a dungeon, I said, confused. What is there to consider?
<Dungeons wouldn’t form in the first two weeks of Acclimation,> Samantha replied. <This is either a Secret District, or a Secret Region.>
And?
<At first, I figured we could hope this was a Secret District. If it’s a Secret District, then when you kill the boss, you get one Town Token. You already killed the Crystal King Crab and gained a Town Token. One Town Token isn’t of any use to you—you could make a town, but then you would need several more to build a Teleportation Circle. But these tunnels are continuing past the Crystal King Crab, which means this is more than just a Secret District. If this is a Secret Region, then you could kill the District Lords, and then kill the Region Lord. Then you could build a city which could teleport you out of here.>
I know what you want, I shot back. You’ve always been focused on making me fight harder and harder opponents. Why can’t I just find my way back?
<First of all, thanks to the earthquakes, there is no guarantee that there is a path out. Or, even if there is, it might be a complicated maze. This is the way the Schema works, too—I’m not the only one that encourages people to fight. It is likely that many paths will lead towards the Region Lord, while if we are lucky, there is one path that leads up and out.>
That sounds like bullshit, I said. All I have to do is pick the uphill path.
<I understand that you are used to me lying to you. But at least you can try to kill the boss monsters as they appear? That way you’ll have the Town Tokens ready in case you do have trouble finding your way out.>
Fine.
<Excellent,> Samantha preened. <Then I should tell you that in the cave up ahead, there is probably something that can control spirits. You see, those spirits that attacked you just now were unusually coordinated. Since we wouldn’t be at the Region Lord yet, it is probably around level 50. Most likely a ghoul. So, keep your Ghostbiter ready, your Mana Sensing and your Soul Shield Amulet active, and once you’re at full mana, let’s march!>
You sound way too cheerful, I said.
The cavern up ahead of me was similar to the ones I had already passed. I could see stalactites hanging from the ceiling, but there was no pool of water this time. The ceiling, floor, and walls had half-buried F-rank Earth-attuned Mana Beads.
There were about twenty more spirits, the best I could make out, spread out throughout the cavern. In the center, I could see a semi-corporal humanoid figure. It didn’t look like it was formed out of flesh and blood, but it felt like there was some substance behind it, not just shadows and darkness like the shade. It looked like a skeleton, wrapped in shadowy rags.
<A ghoul has ties to the physical and spiritual planes,> Samantha said. <This one is able to control the spirits around it, obviously.>
We stood in a stand-off. I hadn’t left the tunnel, and none of the spirits tried to attack.
Samantha’s combat shadow threw two knives at the ghoul in quick succession, and I followed suit.
The knives traveled directly through the spirits that blocked my path to the ghoul, but the ghoul was able to float its body to the side to avoid both knives.
It was strange, that despite its apparent legs, the ghoul chose to fly. The movement was unnatural, with no hint of muscles twitching—it just seemed to glide easily out of the way.
So far, the ghoul hadn’t budged a muscle. But then it opened its mouth and shrieked.
It was a painful, shrill sound, that immediately cracked my Soul Shield Amulet.
Then the sound continued, reverberating to my core and unsettling my heart. It was dizzying, but I was able to stand my ground.
At the same time the ghoul shrieked, a dozen spirits rushed towards me.
I felt, somehow, that my control of my body was weakened. Like there was a thin film, between what I wanted my body to do, and what it was doing.
<20 points to luck, 30 points to Agility,> Samantha said.
It took me a split second longer to complete than usual, but then I was ready, following Samantha’s combat shadow, backing away from the ghoul, further down the hallway faster than the spirits approached.
At the same time, my left hand reached into my Interdimensional Pouch, drawing out another Soul Shield Amulet.
My retreat continued for four or so seconds, until the shriek stopped.
The whole time, I stayed just ahead of the spirits chasing me, so they never touched me.
The moment the ghoul’s shriek ended, the spirits retreated, but I was faster.
I pounced on them immediately, swinging my blade in large arcs. Each arc pierced the center of the spirit-like clouds of mana, and my blade flew quickly enough that three of them had fallen before the first attack landed on my Soul Shield.
The first attack wasn’t strong enough to break it, and so I continued my own strikes, the more I killed, the easier it was to dodge the remaining spirits, until just a few seconds later, all of the spirits in the tunnel had fallen to my blade.
I ran through the tunnel towards the cavern that held the ghoul and the remaining spirits.
About ten spirits left, and the ghoul.
With 50 mana already invested in the battle, it was a waste to draw it out.
As I approached the ghoul, the ten spirits fanned out, attempting to surround me.
To my surprise, Samantha allowed them to, and I charged directly towards the ghoul.
The ghoul raised a withered, bony arm, and a bolt of black lightning flew towards me.
But I wasn’t moving in a straight line—Samantha always kept my movements unpredictable, and with my boosted Agility, I was able to doge the lightning. It struck a spirit behind me—missing its center—and I saw the mana cloud all around the spirit pulse frantically.
I put the spirit out of its misery with a well-placed strike at the center of the cloud, and then I charged towards a spirit that was now between me and the ghoul.
The spirit moved to the side, and the ghoul raised its finger again, but I moved to the side with the spirit, keeping the spirit between me and the ghoul.
Then I struck, a single blow killing the spirit in front of me.
The moment I did, black lightning flew towards me again, but I was already dodging away, behind another spirit.
This one somewhat resembled a tadpole. It charged towards me, but I sidestepped, and with a light swing of my blade, the tadpole’s center dissolved into ambient mana.
Each of my movements was succinct, purposeful, and deadly. It was almost like Samantha was showing off. Like, this is the power of the dark side… together, we can rule the world…
At least we were on the side opposing force lightning.
I was a dancing whirlwind, always one step ahead of the ghoul and spirits, but never actually attacking the ghoul.
I tried to pay attention to how Samantha managed it. Really, it came down to incredible situational awareness, and an ability to predict my opponents.
So I started working on predicting Samantha’s movements, guessing where she would take me next. It was futile, though, because Samantha was intentionally being unpredictable, to fool the ghoul.
By the time there was only one spirit left, I only had 5 seconds left on my boosted Agility and Luck.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Normally, I stored up the mana I gained from Mana Regeneration throughout my body, and used that mana in 30 second intervals. But just because I waited 30 seconds didn’t mean I had to. By placing everything in my Mana Pool and all the mana that I had generated throughout my body in the last 25 seconds into Luck, I was able to raise my stats significantly higher than my Mana Pool would normally allow.
Suffice it to say, the ghoul didn’t stand a chance. With about 90 Agility for 5 seconds, I rushed towards it, easily dodging the black lightning, and I decapitated it with a single blow.
To my surprise, the combat shadow continued after the decapitating blow, dismembering the ghoul’s arms and legs, until I received a notice announcing the ghoul’s death.
The moment it died, the one remaining spirit tried to escape, but I used my last second of Agility to easily slice through its center.
Finally, the only sound I could hear was my own heavy breathing and the occasional drip of water from the ceiling of the cavern.
The ghoul’s corpse was just a pile of bones, that had previously been held together by mana.
Lying among the bones, was the Ghoul’s mana core and several books. The core was a pure black gem, about the size of a raspberry.
Ghoul Core (D-rank): Grants Soul Magic Affinity (D-rank Low). If you already have Soul Magic Affinity (D-rank), it advances Soul Magic Affinity by one small step.
<The “small step” part of the description is talking about the way affinity is ranked. If you already had Soul Magic Affinity (D-rank Low), then it would move to D-rank Intermediate.>
<If you ever feel like getting on Cy’s good side, you should give him the bones. Primogenitors need a template to work with—often bones or a mana core. He seemed pretty fond of that shadow of his—I bet he would appreciate having a few ghouls among his children.>
Please don’t call them children.
Next to the ghoul was a Town Token.
Glancing at the Town Token, I realized there was something that had been bothering me at the back of my mind for a while.
If these monsters are District Lords, then why are they so high leveled? The District Lords I fought over by Reed Town were only Level 35.
<Two reasons,> Samantha responded. <The monsters that appear the second week, as a whole, are much more powerful than the monsters the first week. At the same time, the monsters that are District, Region, and Zone Lords will be strengthened. This was why Lord Ignatius was so excited to defeat the shade before today.>
<And the second reason,> Samantha continued, <Is that we are in a Secret Region. Secret Regions tend to have more challenging monsters, in exchange for greater loot.>
I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that not every District Lord out in the world now would be over level 50. It was challenging enough for me, dealing with these creatures. And I was one of the strongest people in the world…
I turned back to the ghoul’s loot, examining the two spell books that it dropped.
Cursed Lightning (D-rank): When activated, casts cursed lightning at a target, ignoring Physical Defense and targeting the soul. Requires Soul Magic Affinity (D-rank). Cost: 50 mana. Cooldown: 24 hours.
Soul Communion (D-rank): Every time you kill a creature with a soul stronger than yours, the creature’s dying soul will slightly strengthen yours.
<Soul Magic Affinity is hard to come by,> Samantha said. <Fortunately, if you swallow the Ghoul Core, you should be able to gain it, and then you’ll be able to learn Cursed Lightning and Soul Communion. Ghouls have been hunted to near extinction for their cores.>
Be honest—are there any downsides to learning a “cursed” spell? Or eating a Ghoul Core? Or this Soul Communion skill? Any zealots or cults that will stop at nothing to kill me?
<No,> Samantha said, with a bit too much force. <Well, there is an obvious stigma, but it’s mainly from the general public. Every faction has their share of darker spells. For the most part, people look the other way.>
<I really recommend that you consume the Ghoul Core, because it will make you much stronger at no cost. Consuming cores grants you affinities—in this case, magic affinities. You can only consume three cores before level 50, and for the most part, you can only ever have three affinities. Those three cores will be assimilated into your own body, and in order to breakthrough to level 50, you will need to advance one of those affinities to the next rank—in your case, C-rank. Soul Magic Affinity allows for some badass skills if you can find them—like the Soul Explosion skill that the shade dropped, in addition to the two skills that you see here. So the only downside is that it will be a bit more challenging to break through to level 50, but I have a plan for that. As you hopefully know, I do take your advancement seriously.>
Way too seriously. Samantha, I think you know me well by now. Will I, at any point, regret eating this Ghoul Core? Before you answer, I want you to think about how you will be in my head for a lifetime. Every lie you tell me makes it that much harder for me to trust you.
<You won’t regret it. The only small chance you could regret it, is if you find two better cores to consume. Then, I would regret it as well. But this is very unlikely.>
On your head be it, I thought back, swallowing the Ghoul Core in my palm.
You have swallowed a Ghoul Core (D-rank).
You have gained Soul Magic Affinity (D-rank).
The next thing to do, was to decide if I actually wanted to learn “Soul Communion.” Doesn’t Soul Communion sound dark to you?
<Ghouls actually live off of other creatures’ souls,> Samantha replied. <Fortunately, you don’t require souls to survive. Think of it like experience. You basically get an extra type of experience whenever you kill something with a stronger soul. The only catch is that there is no “soul” stat, so it is hard to track.>
You mentioned that before. Why is that?
<Souls operate on a much higher level than the Atropos Schema. Legend has it, when the Schema first originated, it never mentioned souls at all. The Schema hadn’t “incorporated” souls. Souls are a higher order of existence. Over the years, the Schema has figured out ways to represent souls—like adding a Soul Affinity. Think of it this way. The Schema has such incredible control of your body that it gives you a choice for how to convert the energy released from the death of another creature. You could convert that energy into making you stronger, faster, or you could give yourself access to more magic. Converting that energy into “stats” means that the Schema has authority over your body and those attributes. However, the Schema has very little ability to directly affect your soul. Even skills like Soul Explosion or Cursed Lightning function outside of the Schema’s direct control. It’s like the Schema is copying and pasting code that it doesn’t completely understand. That doesn’t mean it’s able to directly go in and increase the strength of your soul on your own.>
<It is important to realize that for each additional Stat Point you have, your soul is a bit stronger. But there are plenty of other factors that affect the soul’s strength, so you should never reduce a soul to just the total number of stats a creature has. For example, for most people over level 100, dying of old age actually means dying because entropy’s pull on your soul has gradually grown stronger, not because your body is falling apart, or because your stats are decreasing. All this is to say that you should definitely learn Soul Communion.>
It was a bit more of an explanation than I had anticipated, but I figured I didn’t have any right to complain, since I had asked for it.
I collected the other Soul Shards on the ground, and then took out a meal square from the Imperial Scouts’ loot and sat down for a brief meal.
As I ate, I learned Cursed Lightning and Soul Communion. I really hoped Samantha wasn’t turning me into a Sith…
My Mana Pool only needed about two minutes to recharge, but it was really my Stamina that needed to recover, now. Fighting with greatly elevated Agility, even if it was just for 30 seconds, took a lot out of me. Even with over 30 Strength, I was still winded and needed a break.
Samantha, I’m tired of wasting my time. I want you to lead me out of this place.
<I’m flattered that you think so highly of me,> Samantha responded. <But I have no clue how to get out. As I mentioned, I am suspicious that most paths will lead to more monsters, and eventually to the Region Lord. If I were to lead you incorrectly, then you would just blame me when we keep fighting more monsters.>
That’s bullshit. You just want me to get lost and encounter more monsters. I need to find my family!
<Think about your own mentality, Jarek. You’re being very antagonistic. The only way I could convince you of my good intentions is if I lead you directly to the exit, which is something I am simply incapable of doing. Yes, I memorized the path down here, but it was blocked by the earthquake, remember?>
Whatever. I’ll find the way out myself.
<table width="624">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Name:
</td>
<td width="175">
Jarek
</td>
<td width="148">
Level:
</td>
<td width="164">
24
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
HP:
</td>
<td width="175">
34/34
</td>
<td width="148">
Physical Defense:
</td>
<td width="164">
18
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Strength:
</td>
<td width="175">
31 (+5)
</td>
<td width="148">
Mental Power:
</td>
<td width="164">
13
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Dexterity:
</td>
<td width="175">
10 (+5)
</td>
<td width="148">
Agility:
</td>
<td width="164">
10 (+20)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Perception:
</td>
<td width="175">
20 (+2)
</td>
<td width="148">
Luck:
</td>
<td width="164">
11
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Mana Pool:
</td>
<td width="175">
75 (+10)
</td>
<td width="148">
Mana Regeneration:
</td>
<td width="164">
32 (+10)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Available Points:
</td>
<td width="175">
0
</td>
<td width="148">
Coins:
</td>
<td width="164">
155,227,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Class:
</td>
<td width="175">
Mana Modulator (D-rank)
</td>
<td width="148">
Profession:
</td>
<td width="164">
Rune Master
(E-rank)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Titles:
</td>
<td colspan="3" width="486">
Region Lord (E-rank)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Skills and Spells:
</td>
<td colspan="3" width="486">
Identify (E-rank)
Mana Modulation (D-rank Core)
Death’s Defier (A-rank)
Mana Sensing (E-rank)
Healthy Magic (E-rank)
Don’t Mind Me (D-rank)
Aquatic Respiration (E-rank)
Polyglot (E-rank)
Soul Communion (D-rank)
Cursed Lightning (D-rank)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Affinities:
</td>
<td colspan="3" width="486">
Internal Mana (D-rank Low), External Unattributed Mana (E-rank Low), Soul Magic (D-rank Low)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Equipment:
</td>
<td colspan="3" width="486">
Vampiric Blade (D-rank): +5 Strength, +5 Agility.
Bloodied Battle Robes (D-rank): +5 Mana Pool, +5 Mana Regen.
Boots of a Feather (D-rank): +10 Agility.
Greedy Gloves (D-rank): +5 Mana Pool, +5 Mana Regen.
Bonded Blades (D-rank): +5 Dexterity, +5 Agility.
Goat Mask (D-rank): +2 Perception.
Interdimensional Pouch (D-rank):
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137">
Missions:
</td>
<td colspan="3" width="486">
Zone Offense
Renegade Bounty Hunter
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>