Kal glared at the trial’s second objective. It was bullshit, not so much the objective itself but the fact that it was going to waste twenty-one days of the trial’s time limit assuming he lasted that long of course.
It was a miracle he hadn’t felt hungry earlier, honestly. Kal had been on an all-demon diet for a while now, he had even gotten a title for the effort. His last meal was the one given to him by Fyborh the Haunch of the Red Death and Blood of the World Serpent. His mouth watered at the thought of eating something like that again but his stomach chose that moment to make itself known and the pang of hunger ruined the memory.
“Well, how am I going to eat anything in this bloody place?” Now that Kal’s voice was stronger due to his body now being better than a human-shaped charcoal statue he expected it to echo or something but instead it sounded muted. It felt lonely.
Kal’s thoughts drifted back to Dalen and the others. He hoped they managed to escape. Kal’s memory of the time, while his core was broken, was practically useless, the only thing he remembered being tiny fragments of his fight with the lumixet. Had he done anything else during that time? What if he had killed all the people he was trying to save…
No. He couldn’t let himself think like that. For all he knew they were fine and back in their own world by now. But that didn’t stop the sudden loneliness he felt. In Fallen Kartha he had been alone as well but there he was constantly on the move between battles of life and death. It was different. Despite how close he had come to death in the time he was there Kal knew he thrived in that environment. It felt right but at the same time despite his loneliness, he felt no desire to reenter the slaughter.
That was strange. Ever since he had discovered his birthright and or soul he had felt the need to fight. Sometimes the urge was more severe than others but it had been a near-constant presence in his mind, but now that was gone.
With his body healed and the urge to fight and kill muted or gone, Kal felt… Normal.
Kal entered his core space to inspect his new core but besides its higher quality and unity of attributes due to his extra experience during its creation, it seemed no different. It no doubt had better confining properties but he didn’t think that was the cause for the change. He looked into his core at the burning crimson of his soul and his eyes widened. It was calm. Quiet. More quiet than it was in Fyborh’s presence. Its usual roaring flames instead swirled calmly around the inner wall of his core more like a gentle current than a raging furnace.
Why?
Because he was alone? Truly alone? A disturbing thought entered his mind, “Am I only lonely because there is nothing to kill?...”
Kal discarded the thought, “No idiot. You're allowed to just be lonely.”
He would look into this more later but for now, he had to figure out a way to not starve to death. As for how he was going to do that? Kal had no fucking idea…
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Dalen sat on the ground in his tent staring hard into his cauldron as he manipulated the fusing essences. Red, black, and blue fluids moved in a spire around the edge of the cauldron.
“He was right there!”
The fluids suddenly surged with power and slammed together and became one in a flash of crimson light and foul-smelling fumes. The mixture roared inside its vessel enough to shake the cauldron but Dalen moved to begin the separation process and fill up more of his bomb shells.
Alchemical Item Complete!: Shredding Death x 6
Level up!
Dalen didn’t stop, he dumped the waste materials on the floor of his tent before grabbing the assortment of roots and herbs at his side. An instant later the ingredients he used were replaced by a meek-looking laborer. Dalen didn’t bother thanking the man, he would only snap at him if he tried instead he dove back into his work.
If only he was stronger maybe then he could have done something, anything to help Kal. His friend had grown stronger, stronger than Dalen would have believed possible. Somehow Kal had ascended on his own and then proceeded to outpace everyone he knew and what had Dalen done? Make some pathetic bombs and not even level up enough to keep up with the others.
“Pathetic!”
Alchemical Item Complete!: Pathetic! x 8
Elder Jaliete’s voice entered his mind but he blocked it out. She could wait. Another laborer stepped into the tent but was smart enough to not say anything as he dropped a box of bomb casings and scurried away.
Dalen seethed, the laborers ran away even when any one of them could probably beat him to a pulp. He was in over his head but that had gone on long enough.
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Alchemical Item Complete!: Enough! x 10
Level up!
Dalen reached for another batch of herbs to harvest for its essence but found the box empty. He growled and shot to his feet ready to go outside and start chewing out the first poor bastard he could find but his rampage was cut short as Melisia, Leo, and Elder Jaliete stepped into his tent.
Elder Jaliete opened her mouth to speak but Dalen spoke right over her, “What in the pits do you want? Unless we’re leaving I have better things to do.”
Ever since they had escaped the path with Kal’s help the order had been frozen in indecision, no not the order the gods damned elders were the ones dragging their feet. What was worse, Dalen couldn’t really blame them. Many of the order’s strongest members were still debilitated from foreign mana crushing their cores.
The lower leveled people were the least affected by the attack but everyone suffered to some extent and would have died sooner or later if Kal had done what he did. Dalen had recovered quicker than most due to his low level and the unascended kids were virtually unharmed.
So the elders ordered them to wait so that their fighters could recover. Perfectly reasonable but that didn’t stop Dalen from hating it.
Melisia frowned, “Dalen, stop we need to discuss our next step. Kal has ch-”
“No. Kal hasn’t ‘changed’ Melisia!”
“Dalen you saw him, you saw the look in his eye just like the rest of us…” Leo said, his face still white as it had been since the attack.
“The man had just slaughtered his way through fuck knows how man demons! I think I can forgive him for looking a bit on edge! Oh and don’t forget once he killed every last demon feasting on the dead he walked away and fucking dragged the mana killing us from our cores and into himself. Oh, and we can’t forget about all the rest of the bloody stuff he yanked down from the fucking sky!” Dalen said, his voice oozing with anger.
The mention of the foreign mana made Melisia’s face lose what little color was left. Dalen brought his ire onto Jaliete, “I’ll join the next meeting when we are actually to get something done.”
“Leo didn’t mean we shouldn’t try to get Kal back Dalen, just shut up and listen.” Melisia came out of her stunned expression with just as much heat as Dalen felt, “Of course, we realize he saved us but we can’t ignore what we saw either. Kal was fighting more than just the demons.”
Leo nodded, “Agreed, I chose my words badly.”
Dalen knew he was being a prick, he had a habit of that, “Fine. What is our next step?”
Elder Jaliete spoke up, “I understand your frustration Dalen but I will have you know my goals have not changed, if anything they have only been reinforced in my mind, “ Elder Jaliete said evenly, “Kalum Lesta must return to our world.”
“But that does not mean we should ignore the dangers of doing so. I did not see Kalum but I did feel his presence. Any reservations I had on whether he was the one we were searching for are now gone.”
Dalen frowned but nodded for her to continue, keeping his mouth shut.
“What I am here to discuss will guide our next steps. Tell me, Dalen, why were you so resistant to Kalum Lesta’s presence? More specifically, how were each of you able to resist his first command to flee? I have spoken to several others about this over the last few days. While their fear drove them to flee, including my own, only five people resisted the urge. Melisia, Leo, Nyx, Eliza, and yourself.”
Dalen shook his head, “Why else? It was Kal if that gods damned flame hadn’t chased after us I wouldn’t have left, foreign mana be damned.”
“I am sure that is part of it but I believe there is more to it. Melisia, please explain what you have detected.”
Melisia didn’t look excited about what she was about to say but she stepped forward and summoned her journal, “While I was suffering under the effects of the foreign mana I was able to see some of what Kalum was doing.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “When he arrived something resonated with us. Everyone who was in close contact with Kalum in the camp and the chaos of the order’s raid and the moments before he was taken brightened slightly in his presence.”
Dalen didn’t really understand where she was going with this but he let her finish.
“But no one resonated as strongly as you. As he fought the resonance grew stronger. I am certain this resonance is what allowed us to resist the fear but there is one more thing. When Kalum put his hand on your chest and drew the foreign mana from your body something remained behind.”
Dalen frowned, “I don’t understand where you're going with this. Resonance? And what do you mean left something behind? What did he miss? some of the foreign mana?”
“I don’t understand it either but Dalen, I want to divine your core and see if he can discover what he left behind.”
“Wait, what about you two and Eliza? If you resonated with him as well wouldn't there be something to find in your cores as well?”
Melisia shook her head, “I have divined Leo’s and Elder Jaliete did the same to my own but we found nothing. There is either no trace remaining or the equipment we have on hand isn't capable of detecting it.”
Dalen sighed, he didn’t ask why she hadn't divined Eliza’s core, she was still mourning. Dalen wasn't keen on letting Elder Jaliete see his core but if it meant they would finally get back on the road faster he would do it.
“Fine, let's get to it then.”
The four of them left Dalen’s tent into a wave of heat. Dalen found himself immediately covered in sweat. He had forgotten how gods damned hot it was where they laid their camp. The order had given him a temperature-controlled tent to improve his alchemy results and after spending several days cranking out potions he had gotten used to the comfortable temperature inside.
They were in a jungle called the Serpent’s Abode somewhere to the far, far northeast of Farninghold. Apparently, it was still within the borders of the empire but Dalen had never heard of the place. He hadn't seen any serpents but what he had seen far too many of was bloody mosquitos. The fucking things were everywhere. Luckily their levels were very low but damned things were big enough to pierce the fabric of his blanket to try and suck him dry.
Dalen hated this place almost as much as he hated the fractured path.
“Fucking mosquitos…”