"The caves," Sam said, hoping she wasn't making a mistake that would get them all killed. Because of Parish's raised eyebrows, Sam explained, "I have a mapping skill. It won't help us find our way, but it will map everywhere we've been." To prove her point, Sam shared her mini-map with Parish.
"Fascinating," Parish said, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the map in her vision. Then her brow furrowed, and she asked, "When were you in the Gloomwood Forest?"
Sam looked at Parish, trying to gauge how she should tell the Elven woman in a way that would keep her from fainting again. Not thinking of any good way to downplay the truth, Sam said, "Now, don't faint on me again when I tell you, but I arrived in this world in that forest a few weeks ago. Mostly naked, classless, and level zero."
Parish’s face went through many emotional transitions before she finally shouted, “You have gone from level zero and classless to being able to kill an e-grade monster in a matter of weeks!?!”
“Well, at least she didn’t faint this time,” Sam thought, then said, "Yep." She left it at that.
Parish snapped her mouth shut and looked at everyone else in the group. She shook her head and said wryly, "Level zero a few weeks ago, and you have already found two summon tokens. And gained enough power to slay an evolved monster above your grade." She smiled and hung her head a little, "Truly, looking at all of you here, I feel as though I am but a weak child among gods. None of you are at my level, yet I am not confident I could stand against any of you."
"And you should never have to," Sam said quickly, "Now can we get moving again? We are still escaping, right?"
Parish snapped her head up and nodded curtly, “Yes, you are correct. Follow me.”
They were at the road leading to the city in only a few minutes. Crossing without being seen proved more manageable than they anticipated, with Sam's map able to display everyone using the road when they got close in real-time.
After three more hours of picking their way through the rough mountainous terrain, they entered the cave system. Or at least one of the entrances, according to Parish, there are maybe five the Guild was aware of. When Sam asked why there wasn't a guard at the entrance, Parish explained that entering the Beastlands was not illegal. If someone wanted to risk their life to avoid paying for an escort, it was their choice.
"Prepare yourselves," Parish said as she took her own advice. Her light armor and battle robes appeared on her body. Then, the unlaced portion of her chest armor fell to the rocky ground.
Sam snickered, then couldn't hold it, and belly laughed at Parish's look of utter surprise when her armor fell off. Sam finally managed to say, "Here, let me help you," as she assisted the flustered Battle Healer in donning the armor that Sam helped her remove the night before.
The party enjoyed the cool breeze from the cave entrance as they prepared for what would likely be many dangerous encounters as they made the border crossing. Pulling Nul from its hiding place, Sam introduced it to Nara and Naris, who both greeted the Void Slime respectfully.
Nul decided to take up a position on Sam's head, which she didn't mind. Sam kind of liked it, in fact. The little slime melted over her head and ran down the back of her neck to keep itself secure from falling off. Pulling out a small mirror she had purchased her first time in the city, Sam guffawed at the image, staring back at her. It looked like she was wearing a white and black wizard hat with eyes.
They wound up moving about one hundred meters into the cave before stopping so Sam could top off Nara and Naris with energy and make a few dozen arcane arrows along with a handful of void arrows for Nara. When Sam formed a Mana crystal for Naris, Parish had a short freak-out session but calmed down quickly. However, she kept mumbling about overpowered aliens and how it was so unfair.
Sam was ecstatic when her Magismith skill allowed her to create constructs twice as fast! The skill was telling her there were other things it could do, but she decided to wait until she was in a safe zone before she dug into that aspect of the skill.
While she was charging Nara, Sam checked her flashing pain resistance.
Congratulations! Your pain resistance has leveled up to level 50 and reached a threshold. All pain from physical attacks is significantly reduced. You can now turn off your concept of pain entirely for up to 10 minutes with a penalty of experiencing double the pain received for the same amount of time after the time is up.
With her new Rebuild skill Sam, was curious about what would happen if the item that caused her damage would be pushed out so her body could rebuild itself or if she would have to remove it first. So, turning off her concept of pain, Sam asked her friendly Bloodmorph, "Lupie, would you please stab me in the heart with a tentacle and take my blood until I say stop?"
Parish freaked out again when Lupie, who had turned back into her monster form, stabbed a blood tentacle into Sam's heart and started sucking out her blood by the liter without hesitation. Ignoring Parish's cries of panic, Sam kept a close eye on her vital energies as her lifeblood was drained by Lupie. The quarantined parts of the three bars she had linked to the Rebuild skill were slowly ticking down. Other than that, Sam felt no pain or even discomfort at the large blood tentacle jammed into her chest. Looking down at the tentacle, Sam winced, "I probably should have removed my shirt first. I'll repair it later…along with my two destroyed armor sets. Not that the armor has done me any good since I've been here."
Sam waited until her Rebuild skill was half depleted and stopped Lupie, who immediately yanked her tentacle out of Sam's chest with a wet squelch. Everyone leaned in and inspected the wound. This time, it wasn't only Parish who freaked out.
"How?" Nara asked in amazement. She was referring to the flawlessly smooth skin where there had been an appendage the size of a mop handle only seconds before.
Parish touched Sam's chest and whispered reverently, "You chose the Rebuild evolution," as she massaged the restored skin in fascination.
"Yeah," Sam said, adding, "I would like to talk to your uncle about it when we meet if he's willing."
"I'm sure that can be arranged," Parish said, removing her hand and moving away, asking, "So, are we all ready now?"
"Give me a few minutes to refill my energies, and we can get moving," Sam responded.
After about twenty minutes, Sam stood up from her meditation, and the party began their journey to the Beastlands. As they marched, Sam marveled at the various hues from the different types of glowing mosses and mushrooms, giving the cave system an almost magical ambiance. She sighed, thinking, “This world has so much beauty for those who are adventurous and willing to risk their lives to see what it has to offer. Too bad there are stupid factions that are willing and able to hunt and murder innocents just to protect their misguided doctrines.”
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***
Alexander thrummed his fingers on the stone top of his office desk as he stared at Cara with a scowl. Cara finally broke the silence, “I appreciate you seeing me. I would have understood if you had not—”
"Are you still with the invaders?" Alexander asked curtly, cutting her off.
"I have not officially left their ranks, but I am no longer with them." Cara replied, then asked, "May I sit?" Gesturing to the chairs at his desk across from where he was seated.
Alexander steepled his fingers beneath his chin before answering her question, "That remains to be seen…tell me why you are here," he held up his hand to stop Cara's quick response, "Apart from needing my help, I know that already. I want you to tell me why you would dare show me your face after all these cycles." Alexander's voice was calm as always, but Cara knew he was inwardly furious.
She chose her following words carefully, "Not a day goes by that I don't regret what I did to you and…the others. I am ashamed to be coming to you now, but it isn't just for me…I'm worried about Parish."
Alexander hissed at that, snapping, "How dare you use her to influence me! Have you no shame!" He calmed himself and said, "Turn on your emotional suppression. I will activate my Logic skill. Let us find out the truth about your visit. Now sit!" Alexander pointed to the dark leather chair situated directly across from him.
Cara sat as instructed and activated Emotional Suppression, having to release five of her drones scanning the city when she did so. She waited to speak until a blue hue enveloped Alexander, and he gestured for her to continue her explanation. Cara's voice was now emotionless when she explained the reasons for her visit, "There is no one thing that has led me to give up on the church as a possible tool to get off of this planet and complete my mission. I never wanted to join the church due to their immoral doctrine, but I needed access to the crash site, and they were the quickest way to get it. What they forced me to do to you and the rest of our team after we cleared the ship hurt me in a way I have never felt before or since. But, as you know, that was not enough to get me to leave their ranks.”
Alexander grunted, but when he said nothing, Cara continued, "I began considering leaving the church a cycle ago when I stumbled on an old report embedded in one of the decommissioned spaceships the church uses as a temple. The report detailed how, upon leaving an occupied planet, the church uses local inhabitants desperate to join the ranks to detonate a mana drive on every habitable world in the solar system. It is a way to ensure the church never incurs the penalties for genocide. They will never allow those people into their ranks, even posthumously." Cara paused for breath.
Alexander's face had hardened as she spoke, and he pulled a stack of blank paper from his desk. Splitting the stack into two equal parts, he pulled out two quills and started writing franticly with both hands, one on each pile of paper.
Cara continued, "When I discovered the report, I stayed only as a precaution. I thought perhaps it had been left for me to find as some test. Although I have not ruled out that possibility, I have significantly lowered the odds of that scenario." Alexander nodded, staring her in the eyes as he continued writing. Cara finally reached the point, "I have left the church and have come to you now because Parish contacted me a few weeks ago saying she had received a System quest and might be gone for a while. She wouldn't go into detail about it over my communication device but said it was a strangely worded protection quest and that all six of her team had been given the quest, but none had yet accepted. I nearly forgot about it when, about a week later, I was present for a double resurrection of two low-level guild members who had been kicked out of the Guild after discovering they had been using a contracted Moonblight as their healer. They were tasked with locating or capturing the Moonblight, who had somehow been released from her contract after their death. The strangest thing was the Moonblight's release was on the same day Parish contacted me about the quest."
Alexander stopped Cara with a hand gesture. He leaned back in his chair and looked deep in thought. His eyes glowed bright blue from the use of his skill. Cara waited patiently until he simply said, "Continue."
"Although I thought it odd the two were resurrected for what would be an easy job for the church, I thought nothing more of it until yesterday when I received the invitation to the raid event." Alexander smiled at the mention of the event, and Cara knew it was because he was happy the church had got their just due. His smile disappeared with her following words, though, "Of course, I was too high a level, but Parish messaged me she and her friends would be joining the raid if they could." A frown spread across Alexanders' face when she continued, "I know the event was won but not without casualties. I haven't heard from Parish since she told me she joined." The only thing that kept Cara from franticly blurting out her following words was her skill. As it was, even with her emotions suppressed, Cara still had a hint of panic in her voice, "I fear the church has inadvertently slain my daughter in a hunt for the blue star—”
Alexander moved so fast that he left an afterimage. He summoned a handful of wards and flung the small pieces of paper around the room so quickly that the walls instantly coated. The moment the last ward touched the wall, he shouted, "Silence!" All the wards lit up and painted the room. His eyes were now glowing bright red and Cara could feel the raw power her former friend was channeling as he processed all she said through his Logic skill. Cara hoped she had gotten out enough for him to see the truth.
A few moments later, Alexander's eyes returned to their usual light brown, and he fell back into his chair, looking weary. He stared at Cara as he pulled a flask from his robes and, unscrewing the cap, took a long drink from the small black container. He offered it to Cara as he began speaking, "There are too many variables to say definitively. Parish and her friends received the same quest we did so long ago. However, from what you have told me and knowledge I have that is unknown to you, I calculate there is a…" He shuffled the papers on his desk, looking for a specific one. Pulling the sheet from the stack, he read it and said, "Seventy-three percent chance it is the fabled quest."
Cara was a little surprised the sheet he pulled out was one of the first he had written on. Even after adventuring with Alexander for cycles, she still had no idea how his Logic skill worked; sometimes it would provide nothing more than a simple calculation, yet other times, the results bordered on pre-cognition or prophesy. Cara didn't question his answer, though; as far as she knew, Alexander had always been right when using his skill. With that in mind, she asked the only two questions she truly wanted an answer to.
Turning off her skill so she could keep her drones active, Cara asked almost in a whisper, "Is she…is my daughter…Parish, is she alive?"
Alexander's eyes softened, "Yes, Cara, there is no doubt she is alive." Cara sighed, but before she could ask her follow-up question, Alexander continued, "As for where she is, my calculations suggest she has fled the city with a Voidling and is likely trying to cross the border as we speak.”
Cara's brow furrowed when she realized Alexander had not consulted his writings to answer her. He noticed and chuckled, "Do you really think you are the only one with eyes hidden about the city?" He laughed, "Of course, I keep tabs on my goddaughter."
Alexander's words deflated Cara instantly. All the bottled-up anxiety she had been keeping dissipated, leaving her feeling as weary as Alexander looked. "Thank you," she said humbly, her head down.
Alexander grunted, then responded, "That doesn't mean we are friends again, Cara. I am only doing this for Parish." Cara winced at his words but kept her head down. He continued, "I stopped tracking her movement when she crossed the road moving north with a particularly eclectic group of individuals. You would be wise not to aggravate the violet-haired one when you meet her. That is all I am willing to disclose about her, though."
Alexander rose from his chair, and Cara mimicked his action, taking it as a sign she was dismissed. Scraping the silencing runes from the door, her former friend opened it for her. After Cara left the room, Alexander called out to her back, "I feel a visit to the Beastlands might be in my future…say maybe in a month or so?”
Cara whipped around to thank him; she hadn't dared to ask for his help with her plan, and she wanted to show her gratitude. But the door to his office was already closed when she completed her turn. Still, she was smiling as she left the eccentric inventor's shop. Turning east, Cara headed out of the city. She had a lot of questions for her daughter…after giving her a long hug.