Ethan opened the next entry and discovered red stains on the yellow pages. “Blood?” he asked, touching the page with his index finger, noting the familiar clogged sensation of dried liquid. He frowned but continued to read the text on the stained page.
The high mages betrayed us. I write this entry as soon as I returned from the staging grounds. It was a massacre. Half our forces were decimated, and we did not even see them coming.
They moved like empty air, not making a sound. No movement, no aspect powers, nothing. In one moment, we were bracing for the monsters to appear; at the other, they were already there. Our comrades were chewed up in seconds, whole chunks of them disappearing. As if the emptiness just swallowed them whole.
If not for the damn high priest himself, I would not be standing here, writing this. But, instead, the bastard decided to save whoever was left of the forces and confront the beasts himself. Damn him!
The north is too much for me. I am sorry, Marie. I hope you do not find my journal and come to this cursed place as I write this. Better think me dead rather than a coward. I will flee to the capital. If I survive, know that I love you.
Ethan finished the last entry and turned over the page discovering more blanks. He stared silently at the pages in his hand for a minute and put them on the table. Then, he looked ahead at the golem, who had not made a move since he started reading, and asked, “Your training partner got fucked in the end, didn’t he? And he left you here.”
The golem continued to stare ahead, not moving an inch. Ethan sighed, “Not that you care about that.”
“What the hell is out there?” Ethan asked himself, getting up from his seat and pacing around the table. After seeing the tiger monster, he thought it was the worst. Then the wails in the middle of the night from a massive beast, vibrations covering the whole building. What else could be out there hiding in the depth of the forest?
I should have identified the cat. If that and worse is what is out there, then there is nothing I can do against them, he thought and finally deflated, stopping his pacing. For Ethan, it was clear as a day that he was not going to be some great hero and save the world. Nor would he look for trouble if it did not find him first.
He had a straightforward goal in mind. First, he had to escape this damn castle in one piece and find some civilization. Then, he needed to find a way to get back home. But he knew it was not so simple.
He needed to get out of there first to find some answers. And it seemed that the answers were not north. No, I will go south. But if the captain was this master rank and got almost wiped out? How will a little old me, with apprentice rank, deal with the dangers?
He looked at the golem and understood that it would take time, blood, and sweat before he could make a move. And make a move, he would. His resolve renewed, Ethan summoned his blade, surprised that the golem did the same, even if he was not near the training mats. He shrugged, took a fighting stance, and advanced.
- - -
The golem and Ethan fought for the remainder of the day. As before, Ethan did not notice the passage of time in the brightly lit room and stopped only once he was thrown out of the makeshift ring. They really should have invested into some ropes or something, he thought, as he got up and wiped some blood from his mouth.
Noticing his stained hand, he paused for a moment and looked up at the golem, its lifeless eyes staring at him as if mocking, daring Ethan to ask for another round, knowing full well that he would defeat him all the same. Ethan obliged and jumped back into the fray.
- - -
Ethan regained consciousness on the cold stone floor. Then, opening his eyes, he saw the golem several meters away from where he lay. Still at it, bud? he thought and got up from where he was, groaning as always. Then, feeling the pain deep in his bones, he shook his head and said, “Sorry, mate, that is it for me today. I will go and explore my new digs and sleep the pain off. See you.”
And with that, Ethan left the hall, turned off the lights, and walked back to his new room above the training hall. The walk was short but unkind to Ethan’s knees. Everything hurt.
As he got to the room, he was delighted to see the mattress he had created, but he had other business to take care of before he could sleep off the pain. He crouched down and painfully slowly lit up the fireplace. Next, he closed the wooden window protections to stop at least some of the chilly wind. Finally, he slumped down on the bed and passed out.
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- - -
The morning came, and Ethan woke up in a rush. As before, every muscle and ligament in his body ached and hurt. Yet, he did not bother getting up and just lay in bed, looking at the cold stone ceiling above. He tried to recall what had happened yesterday, but everything seemed like a blur.
Then he remembered the notifications. Concentrating, he pulled up the skill progression notification and read it.
Aspect [Flux]: Apprentice rank
Progress: 5%
He groaned at the incremental progress he had made. “Really? Just four percent? Actually, why do I even care? It is not like there is some progress. It feels just the same. Only gets harder and harder to beat the bastard,” Ethan ranted and pulled himself up from the bed, trying his hardest to ignore the pain. His stomach rumbled, and he fished out his breakfast from the storage space and dug in, eating two portions after the missed dinner.
His hunger and thirst sated, Ethan tried to recall his experiences and calmed down. He was wrong. While no new magical powers were gained by fighting the shadow golem, he was making progress. Slow but steady progress.
He recalled that he could hold his conjured sword longer, his mana depleting slower. The sword felt somehow faster and firmer when it clashed with that of the golem’s. He called the ability description forth.
[Karma transfer] (spell)
Rank: Apprentice (5%)
Base cost: Varies
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Absorb and accumulate a small portion of mana from every monster killed.
Discharge saved or own mana in any form or matter.
The amount and rate of mana that can be accumulated and discharged depends on the ability's level and the user’s soul potential.
The constructs formed using stored mana will deal true damage to targets with weaker soul potential.
“Oh, look at that. There is some progress, after all. I guess it will be the same as my overall progress until I get more aspects,” Ethan told himself as he got up from the bed, rested enough. I should train the [Warpstep] more, he thought, shuddering at the displacing sensation, shelving the thought.
- - -
Ethan continued fighting the golem for the days to come. By the fifth day, he lost count and stopped counting altogether. He had only one piece of information in mind - his progress.
From time to time, he tried to incorporate [Warpstep] into his attacks but was rewarded handsomely for his efforts with a smack to his face and passing sickness left by the ability. As hard as Ethan tried, he could not easily shake off the disorientation after appearing elsewhere.
Nevertheless, he continued to fight the golem. He felt he was getting more proficient at using the ability, sometimes surprising the golem with a calculated slash at the back of his neck.
After weeks of getting smacked around, he had developed a rhythm of fighting the shadow and knew that his tricks worked only once or twice before the golem retaliated. On one such occasion, he got distracted again and was kicked out of the training ring. Pausing to catch his breath, Ethan checked his progress.
Aspect [Flux]: Apprentice rank
Progress: 67%
He jumped up in the air, feeling victory of progressing and forgetting all the pain he had endured up to this point. “Yes! More than fifty percent on the way,” he exclaimed before calming down. I will need to find other aspects to get new powers, he thought, wondering what a hundred percent would bring him.
Ethan discovered that his conjuring ability was as versatile as his imagination during his sparring with the golem. He was not limited to using his constructed sword but could summon smaller blades to support his attacks.
Blades, shields, whips, and even a spear were possible if he would spend the mana for the conjurations. Albeit weaker, the summoned weapons allowed him to employ new tactics. Such that his opponent did not enjoy them, constantly smacking him down when Ethan tried something new.
While versatile, he was not used to utilizing unfamiliar weapons besides his sword and almost always employed it during his fights, as it felt more familiar. After all, he had more experience with such a weapon.
After trying out fighting with a shield in one hand and sword in the other and getting thrown out of the ring for his troubles, Ethan stopped for the day. “I guess that is it for today, Gloomy. I cannot take more of this abuse. You know it would be easier if you instructed rather than threw me around?” Ethan asked the golem, who watched him impassively.
He sighed and got up, examining the room and the mess he had made over the weeks. The stones were smashed and broken in places. Some of the training poles were knocked over. How did I manage that? Actually, have I become more resilient? I have not seen a cut on myself for a while now, he thought for a few seconds and shrugged.
“Tell you what, Gloomy. With the progress as it is and all, I am more ready to look around below. What do you say?” The golem kept silent and stared ahead.
“Eh, who am I asking,” Ethan commented offhandedly, waving at the golem and returning to his room to look at the time. He had not seen the sun yet and was happy to discover it at its zenith. Then, seeing the lush forest below, he decided, “Yes, let’s see how bad it is down there.”