CHAPTER 21.

For a split second Amber considered trying to tank the Shadow Slashes, but all her senses told her she’d pay dearly for that. So she dashed to the side, using mana once more as the attack hit the wall. It narrowly missed her as a cross was carved into stone behind her. She heard the attack continue inside of the wall, but she paid it no mind as she turned towards the center of the room.

The woman was still unconscious on the ground, from what Amber could tell she was alive, so she didn’t move to help just yet. Instead, she focused on the fight. The flames enveloping the mage dissipated and he stood there basically unscathed, a translucent circle enveloping him. Amber was already making her way towards him when he turned in Liz’s direction.

“Flametouched,” he commented, his voice quiet. “From the Starkell family. And here I thought, you had been exiled, you must be back for your sister.”

He raised his staff, pointing at her. Liz was looking at the man with hatred now.

“Too bad you won’t get to see her again.”

Amber, with a dash, passed the unconscious woman and immediately used Cursed Stomp. The ground shattered, and the man clicked his teeth and slammed his staff on the ground. The cracks reached him and the translucent barrier shimmered with purple multiple times before it ceased to be.

“Cursebearer, why are you here?”

Amber didn’t answer his question and instead dashed to the man who frowned and pointed his staff at her. A moment later, a cut appeared on his arm from Curse Aura, blood immediately flowing faster than it should be. The mage gritted his teeth.

“Darkness Piercers.”

A barrage of needle-like projectiles was fired at her, but this time Amber’s senses told her to not give a shit. So she rushed⁠— she was pierced in dozens of places as Cursed Momentum immediately maxed out; the needles immediately came to a halt, shallowly piercing her as she rushed at the mage. His eyes growing wide.

“You are not a normal Cursebearer.” He slammed his staff and Amber swung⁠—

Cursed Cleave!

Her sword hit the barrier and cracked it, breaking it apart in a single hit. The mage barely dodged, a bead of sweat going down his forehead.

“You⁠—”

And Amber stomped, the ground shattered beneath the mage’s feet as he let out a pained grunt, lacerations rupturing all over his body as Amber quickly dashed towards him. She was going to put an end to it in a single attack. The man tapped his staff, blood spilling all over the floor as Amber extended her hand to reach at him. A moment later, he vanished and appeared at the end of the room⁠, Amber’s hand grabbing empty air.

The man was panting, and unsteady as he grabbed a potion from his robe and downed it⁠— an explosion of fire engulfed him as he screamed. Amber, however, didn’t let her guard down and charged at the man. A moment later, a purple light exploded from where he stood, all of the flames vanishing in a moment.

He raised his trembling arm at Amber. “Shadow Slashes.”

Two pitch black blades were shot, and unlike before Amber barely had time to react as she swung down⁠ using Cursed Cleave. The attacks collided and Amber gritted her teeth before she was flung back, taking steps forward as the man took deep labored breaths.

“Neither of you should be here,” he said before turning to Liz. “You should be busy trying to take your sister back from the Risnar family, and you.” He turned to Amber. “Cursebearer, I do not know what brings you here but I suggest you stay away from these affairs.”

Amber found everything weird, especially his willingness to dialogue. However, Liz spoke up before she could even do it.

“What do you mean to take her back from the Risnar family?” the blonde mage asked.

The man chuckled at that. “Could it be that you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

The man simply smiled and Liz pointed her staff at him, a small bead-sized flame forming at the tip.

“Don’t know what?” she asked again.

The man slammed his staff on the ground and another barrier was erected. He was still wobbling from heavy blood loss, and yet seemed to not have any plans of escaping. He simply aimed his staff back.

“Kill him after I shatter the barrier, charge forward, you won’t be affected by the explosion,” Liz said simply.

Amber nodded, and a moment later the man cast his spell.

“Shadow Cleave.”

A large black slash came their way and Liz used her spell⁠—

“Burst.”

An incandescent blur passed through the room, like a projectile shot at light-speed leaving a tracer behind⁠⁠— and it all exploded. The room quaked as the sound of glass shattering resounded along with a scream, and Amber dashed forward. She saw gigantic black cleave coming and⁠— it followed after her.

She frowned, Amber pondered her choices for a moment before she charged straight ahead. They had to kill the mage, there was no way around it. She extended her hand towards the slash of darkness that seemed impossible to dodge, and as it touched her palm she used her skill⁠—

Curse Battery⁠—

The slash exploded into nothingness as it was erased from existence at that moment. Amber continued charging as her hand throbbed in pain. She wondered about Liz’s instructions for a moment before she heard her voice once more.

“Again.”

And another explosion engulfed the room as another scream echoed, one that quickly turned into laughter.

“You people can’t kill me! Your companion should be critically injured from Shadow Cleave, and now⁠—” and he paused as he saw Amber through the curtain of dust. “How⁠—”

Amber dashed with a burst of speed and her sword pierced through the man. His eyes looked at her with surprise.

“You shouldn’t be able to⁠—” He coughed blood. “Dodge that…”

“I didn’t dodge it, I destroyed it.”

His eyes looked lost as he spat. “Ridiculous.”

And a moment later, he went limp and a notification resounded. Amber stared at the dead man for a moment before she let him slide off from her sword, and as she looked down she gave the same apology she gave everyone she killed.

“I’m sorry.”

[You have defeated a [Mage. Lvl. 75].]

Less experience for defeating an enemy as a group.

For defeating an enemy 15 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!

She decided to ignore her notifications for now and instead turned to Liz who was collapsed on the ground panting.

“Fuck, that was tiresome, at least the levels were worth it…”

Amber blinked at that.

[Mage. Lvl. 46]

“You are quite high level now, huh,” Amber observed.

“Yeah…” Liz nodded, breathing heavily. “Four levels from the caravan and eight from killing this… bastard,” she spat.

Amber found it impressive that Liz had gotten so many levels from this, but instead of focusing on that, she decided to focus on what the man had talked about.

“Do you think he was related to… your family?” Amber asked.

“I do not know, and right now we should worry about getting that woman to safety, she’s still alive.” Liz gestured at the unconscious person. She was covered in some ash, but otherwise looked completely unharmed. “I made sure to avoid her with my spells, and the mage seemed to do so as well, for whatever reason.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Amber nodded and sheathed her sword, then went to pick up her dagger, and ignored the man’s dagger given it was just a Common Quality item. She still felt a sharp pain on her hand, but she dared not look at it⁠— the attack had probably gone quite deep into her palm. Instead, she approached the unconscious woman and hefted her up over her shoulder.

Liz was now standing, albeit her steps slightly wobbly.

“You should take a potion,” she said after looking at Amber who was bloodied all over.

“It’ll heal, most of the injuries are already closed.” She shook her head. “Let’s go now.”

Amber nodded, and soon after they left the room.

* * *

With Liz’s help they found a city-guard and got the woman to safety, they also explained what happened which got a lot of confusion. But after members of the guard verified their claims, they were taken with great concern. Amber supplied information that it reminded her of the demon incident in Laria, which the guards seemed to be vaguely aware of and said they would investigate.

Apparently, if it wasn’t for Liz waving her family’s name around, they would’ve gotten held up for investigation, which Amber appreciated.

After that, they were dismissed though Liz made sure to insist that she wanted to speak with the unconscious woman whenever she woke up. Which was met with reluctant agreement. Upon leaving the guard Amber was prepared for Liz to give her an earful, however that didn’t happen.

“You know, if I wasn’t exhausted I’d suggest we go save my sister right now⁠,” she said simply.

“What he said was… slightly alarming.” Amber nodded.

“Yeah, I am worried.” Liz looked at the night sky.

Amber saw the sparkling stars and the twin moons as well; a sight that usually captivated her was reduced to just something to look at due to the situation. Finally, after a few moments she decided to thank Liz.

“You know, I really appreciate you coming along to the sewers, thank you for that.”

Liz sighed. “I was planning on really drilling into your head how grateful you should be to me, considering I had gone out of my way to help you, but now… I guess I should be the one thanking you?”

Amber blinked. “Why?”

“I gained a lot of levels, and… I may have also learned crucial information in regards to my sister,” she stated simply. “Tomorrow, we will begin preparations and rescue her at the end of the day if all goes well.”

Amber nodded at that.

They continued walking through the mostly empty streets, though the few passersby that were present all gave Amber very confused and concerned glances. And honestly, she understood that sentiment given she was bathed in her own blood and her clothes had multiple holes. However, she also couldn’t do anything about them yet.

Upon reaching an inn, they paid for each of their rooms. Amber also requested extra clothes and a bath immediately, which ended up costing her a total of one silver and five copper coins. Liz went off to rest, meanwhile Amber cleaned herself off of all the filth and made herself look presentable again.

She didn’t like looking terrible, but sometimes the circumstances didn’t allow her to look anything but homeless.

After mostly cleaning herself, she finally managed to think a bit, and the only thing in her mind was.

I killed another person and… I feel even less awful about it than all the times before. It kind of bothered her, but she decided to not think too deeply about it.

Shortly after that, she finished bathing and went to her room and got in bed, finally taking a look at all her notifications.

[Sharp Instincts has ranked up. Sharp Instincts is now 2nd Rank level 1.]

[Sharp Instincts has reached 2nd Rank — level 1

You’ve barely survived, whether you can actually tell whether something is dangerous or not is unknown. This is an upgraded version of Keen Senses. You are now more aware of potential dangers and attacks, now it's on an instinctual level.

2nd Rank ⁠— Allows you to gauge how dangerous something is.]

Amber was happy at that, and if the 2nd Rank wasn’t deceiving it would also allow her to completely optimize Cursed Momentum, something that she was quite happy about. Aside from that, other skills had seen some level ups as well.

[Quick Dash has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 2 to 2nd Rank level 3.]

[Cursed Momentum has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 2 to 2nd Rank level 3.]

[Berserker’s Body has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 2 to 2nd Rank level 3.]

[Cursed Stomp has leveled up from level 9 to 10.]

[Quick Recovery has leveled up from level 8 to 9.]

[Curse Aura has leveled up from level 3 to 4.]

And finally were the actual level ups.

[You have reached level 60. 5 stat points awarded.]

…

[You have reached level 63. 5 stat points awarded.]

She had gotten 4 levels total in comparison to Liz’s 8, but she supposed that given the gap between their levels and the fact that Liz had contributed quite a lot to the battle it made sense. Amber nodded, and finally looked at her level 60 Core Skill.

[New Core Skill! For reaching level 60 as a Cursed Chosen Berserker you have been offered Cursed Rage Synergy ⁠— level 1.

You store attacks you receive as your own rage. Stored rage does not disappear. You can unleash your rage in a single attack or transfer it to improve your skill: Cursed Momentum, granting it great build up.

At higher levels the skill may improve Cursed Momentum’s enhancement.

Do you wish to replace one existing Core Skill for this? If the replaced Core Skill holds levels, all levels will be transferred to the new skill at the cost of losing one level on it.]

Amber blinked at what she just read. Then she turned to her own skill list and immediately got rid of Cursed Fury, the times she had gotten to use the skill to its full extent could be counted on one hand, meanwhile Cursed Rage Synergy was something else entirely. The stored rage didn’t disappear. She ignored the notification telling her she acquired Cursed Rage Synergy at level 4 after level conversions. Instead she focused on the new skill she had just gotten. Thinking about it made her giddy.

To think a skill directly interacts with another skill…

It was the first time she had seen such a thing and it certainly put a smile on her face. After that, Amber made sure to distribute her attribute points. Then, she looked at her status.

[Name: Amber | Level: 63

Class: Cursed Chosen Berserker | Unspent Stat Points: 0

Stats:

Vitality: 170

Strength: 130

Dexterity: 113

Endurance: 51

Intelligence: 32

Wisdom: 40

Free Core Skill Slots: 0 | Core Skills:

[Cursed Cleave - 2nd Rank Lvl. 4], [Quick Dash - 2nd Lvl. 3], [General Weapon Mastery - 2nd Rank Lvl. 3], [Cursed Momentum - 2nd Rank Lvl. 3], [Berserker’s Body - Lvl. 2nd Rank Lvl. 3], [Cursed Stomp. - Lvl. 10], [Curse Battery - Lvl. 5], [Recovery of Curses - Lvl. 10], [Cursed Rage Synergy - Lvl. 4], [Curse Aura - Lvl. 4]

General Skills:

[Supernatural Nullification], [Identify. Lvl. 2], [Toxin Resistance ⁠- 2nd Rank Lvl. 1], [Elemental Resistance - Lvl. 3], [Physical Resistance - Lvl. 6], [Sharp Instincts - 2nd Rank Lvl. 1], [Quick Recovery - Lvl. 9].]

It’s nice. She smiled at what she was seeing, and shortly after she went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Amber grabbed a light breakfast with her companion and then picked up her repaired armor. After putting it on, they visited the woman from last night. Unfortunately, all she could remember was a name: Oracle. Amber and Liz made note of it, but they didn’t know anything else.

Once that was done, they went shopping for alchemical ingredients⁠. Then, when they found a private place, Liz began to concoct something ⁠— a liquid of sorts. Amber wasn’t sure what the mage was doing but she ended up making two bottles of an unknown substance. Then, Liz began explaining.

“This concoction is a paralyzing poison, put it on your weapon and injure the guards. It should leave them out of battle for a while.”

Amber blinked. “And what if they have 2nd Rank Toxin Resistance?”

“Well, they’ll be out for over a minute depending on their level, but I can guarantee you they won’t have that. Why do you even ask?”

Amber didn’t know how to explain that she felt threatened by the existence of the bottle. So she just looked at it and Liz sighed.

“Don’t tell me you wish to be resistant to it or something? It loses effectiveness the more it is used, and its formula is a closely guarded family secret so it's not like you’ll be seeing it anywhere,” she explained.

Amber nodded at the explanation. “Is the resistance build up permanent?”

“It is, unfortunately,” Liz lamented.

“I want a bottle later.”

The mage blinked at that but simply sighed.

“Sure, I’ll give you one after all of this is said and done.” Liz waved dismissively. “Now we go get throwaway clothes and armor and maybe weapons too. Store that in my safe-house and we’ll be ready to go.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a safe-house.” Amber was surprised.

“Well, I only have it for this specifically so it’s not like I’d let us spend the night there.” Liz shrugged before beginning to walk away. “Let’s go.”

Amber nodded.

* * *

At the safe-house Amber got to wear a different armor and odd robes that covered parts of it. She was also made to wear a hat. Liz wanted her to use different weapons, but unfortunately that would’ve meant quite literally crippling herself. So in the end, Amber wrapped her staff in rags, and did so with the guards of her sword. Giving it a slightly different appearance. She also ended up moving the position of her weapons around to make everything less recognizable.

After they were done, Liz also explained the location of the safe-house and how easy it was to leave the capital from where they were. Mostly through the sewer system that was a mere dozen meters away from the safe-house. Upon finding the extent of her plans, Amber inwardly commended Liz’s foresight. She also saw the mage take a scroll with her.

With all preparations ready, they began to talk about last night’s event.

“First, we will go to the Starkell’s manor and see if my sister is there. There is a tree that can see directly to my sister’s room,” Liz explained. “If she’s there we’ll know.”

“And if she isn’t?”

Liz frowned. “Then we will go look for her at the Risnar residence. Though I do not believe the mage, he was our enemy.”

Amber nodded at that and then spoke sincerely.

“We’ll get back your sister and be done with this.”

Liz smiled.

Of course, Amber didn’t exactly know how much Liz had gone through after being exiled, but she knew that the mage hadn’t had it easy. So even though they weren’t best friends, she was still looking forward to seeing Liz be reunited with her sister.

Amber found that Liz looked nothing like her usual self, and the same applied to her. She was actually quite confident in being able to keep her own identity a secret with everything in place. They even had fake names for each other. And so, after going through their plan once more, they set off.

* * *

After walking for some minutes, they arrived near the Starkell residence, but Liz paused and they quickly hid behind an alley. There seemed to be a problem, and Amber was able to glean that it was due to the fancy carriage that was in front of the residence.

“That certainly doesn’t belong to my family,” Liz whispered.

Amber didn’t say anything in response, and a few moments later the door of the manor opened as a tall man came out. He had a neatly trimmed beard and sharp features. Liz didn’t seem to recognize him, as he gestured for someone inside to come. Soon, a woman came out, she had blonde hair and blue eyes but was shorter than Liz, overall having a smaller build.

Amber paused seeing the woman had a ring on one of her fingers, clearly signifying that they were engaged. And Liz too was shocked.

“That… the wedding is supposed to be in a few months…” she whispered in disbelief. “But if he’s here picking her up that must mean…”

Amber at that moment understood what the mage last night had been talking about.

Liz’s sister had already been married off.