Important note from the author

I have updated some parts of the first 9 chapters of Dark Harvest. For those of you who don't want to read it all over again, here is a summary of the most important:

1. Change in Jean's initial attributes and the increase of two more levels.

2. Jean starts with a minor Weapon Mastery proficiency, but acquires those ranks as she progresses.

3. Changes at the end of the second fight with Red Eyes, plus new skills. (Ch. 6)

4. Extended flashback to improve information gaps. (Ch. 6)

5. More clues about the children of Nimireth in the conversation between Thitad and Aham. (Ch. 8)

6. Expansion and improvement of chapter 9.

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Jean aimed at the ground about 5 meters ahead, anticipating the advance of the wave of black spiders. Her hand grew warm from the flow of mana coursing through it, but nothing happened.

“Eh? Why?”

“[You must touch the surface where you want the rune to appear.]”

Jean bent down to touch the ground with both hands. A small white glyph made up of dozens of runic symbols appeared at her feet. The whispers immediately demanded an effect, and the first thing that came to her mind was the effect that Thitad had included in her attack. A flash of yellow quickly changed the color glyph as she continued to apply mana.

“[Don't give it any more mana or it will be dangerous!]”

She backed away until the whispers warned her to stop. If she kept walking away, the rune would automatically detonate by the breaking of the link. That made sense, the further she moved while keeping the spell active, the more her arm and hand burned.

The spiders did not even recoil from the light. “They must be ravenous.”

She equipped the shield and waited for the spiders to reach the glyph. There were so many that darkness briefly reigned; the rune exploded seconds later. It was liberating, like releasing the burning handle of a heavy pot.

However, the spell didn't behave as she expected. There was no great boom. It was as if hundreds of fire needles with yellow trails spread in all directions. Deadly, fast projectiles that also flew in her direction. Jean was already prepared for that though.

She couldn't help but let out a smile as she saw the pile of dead spiders. The spiders on the other side weren’t so happy; they hissed like crazy.

The small spiders soon resumed their attack, although some stayed behind to eat their dead sisters. It seemed that everything was allowed in the pursuit of survival.

Jean charged the spell again, being aware that the mana required was excessive for so little reward. “I would have killed them with considerably less stress with my weapons, but...!”

“[... it wouldn't be as satisfactory.]”

“Come on! Don’t finish my sentences!”

The second detonation killed far fewer, but made it clear to them that it was not a good idea to chase her. The survivors fled in panic, leaving the injured to die beneath Jean's feet. The huge spiders could do little more than hiss behind the wall while Jean stored their young one by one into the inventory. When the hunger subsided, she transmuted a couple of rusty metal armor guards that she still had in her inventory.

The whispers made her understand that like the rats, these vermin were unaffected by the corruption. In addition, the genetic material to learn was much more abundant. However... "I know! I need a lot more!" Jean looked at the cracks, smiling faintly. "Do you think I'll be able to take the bigger ones?"

“[Don't even come close!]”

Jean frowned. She didn't know how big they were, but apparently, the whispers did. Oddly, they seemed to know about everything even if they didn't always say so. That was annoying.

"The corruption has subsided a lot since the spinning session with Narhad. If I can't match them, what level are they? ... Wait a second! Are they more dangerous than Narhad?!"

“[No, but they usually move in large groups. If they attack all together, even she would have problems.]”

After a couple of steps, a soul glowing in the distance hindered her descent. Its intensity was troublesome; it was probably one of those awakened souls.

“Since we were interrupted at the waterfall I wanted to ask you, what else can I do with the souls?”

“[With 2 accessories of the Yusthor set in your possession, you can't do much. If you had 3, and Linguist and Identify in Expert Rank, you could:

◦ Save the sleeping souls in your inventory.

◦ Interact with any soul.

◦ Attempt to dominate the most aggressive ones.

◦ …]”

"I told you I'm not interested in dominating anyone! Could I... devour them?"

“[...]”

“Hey, relax! It was just a doubt! They may think I'm a monster, but I'm not going to give them the pleasure of behaving like one! I just want to understand why everyone hates me. What is it that I can do that they are so afraid of? Besides devouring people of course.”

“[Do you swear you'll never do it?]”

Jean did not welcome the question. It was unusual. The whispers were part of her somehow, but now they felt different. Foreign.

"It's obvious you're hiding something! Spill it!"

“[There are rules, Jean.]”

"You mentioned those rules earlier. What are they?"

“[Rule number 1. Important information is never given to a newbie player, they must discover it for themselves. That includes all the other rules.]”

"Ok... At what level will I stop being a newbie?"

The whispers laughed. However, it wasn't a mocking or disdainful laugh, it was more like complicity. They would never tell her.

“[You haven't answered yet.]”

"I have no intention of doing so. I can't promise what I don't know if I will keep. If my life were in danger..."

“[Would you kill an innocent to survive?]”

Jean stopped dead. The whispers had been one with her thoughts until now. Something wasn't right; a knot in her stomach let her know.

“You should know that! There is no such thing as innocent! There are only the weak and the strong. The weak do what they can to survive, while the strong do what they want.”

“[It's a bit of a drastic way of thinking, don't you think?]”

"I wasn't done talking! Depending on the situation, you can feel strong or weak. Only when you feel strong it is really clear who you are. That's when you show your true nature! Your greed, your selfishness..." She clenched her fists. "Your determination!"

“[Even if it was given to you?]”

"For example, a child is not innocent just because he is a child. The weak often behave like cowards, and therefore appear innocent, but you could not be more wrong. If a weakling becomes strong, you will soon see how little innocent he is. Give an ant or a snail to a child and you'll see what he is like. You will see whether he crushes them, ignores them, or pushes them aside to protect them."

“[Interesting! I now understand why Nimireth chose you. You looked like a wimp, but you were just weak.]”

Jean felt a shudder that she disguised with a crooked smile. Whispers had never spoken like that. The sound of their voice was now more individual. Less like a whisper and more like a single voice.

“[Who said those words to you? Joseph?]”

Upon hearing that name, Jean couldn't help but look down on the brink of tears. "Don't ever mention him again," she muttered in a broken voice.

“[Joseph was your hero, but... Was he to your mother? ... No. To her he was just an idiot who paid her bills. You still remember how she reproached him for all the debts at his grave.]”

Jean couldn't help it, tears welled up. "Enough!," she shouted, letting out anger she had been repressing for years.

A mist of ghostly appearance appeared several meters away. Its shape resembled a cloud, but that didn't stop Jean from immediately adopting a defensive stance.

The ghostly cloud didn't even flinch; there wasn't a body to attack. Did that mean it was a ghost? She could see them thanks to the pendant too?

“What is this?” she asked the whispers, even though she now knew the discordant whisper was the one answering.

“[A spirit!]”

“Like Nimireth?”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“[Whispers don't know when I simulate their voices, and apparently, neither do you!]”

Jean felt the knot in her stomach intensify. “Who are you and how long have you been doing this, motherfucker?”

“[All the time!]”

"Why?!"

The ghostly mist began to move away. “[Follow me!]”

“You're delusional if you think I'm going to listen to you!”

“[I have followed you! Besides… I have answers to all the questions I know you have. Don't you want them?]”

“Fuck you! You've been deceiving me all this time! Do you really expect me to follow you?!”

“[Deceiving you? Hmm… Interesting way to see all the help I've provided you with.]”

“Help? Bullshit! … It was your idea that I didn't ascend to the surface. It was your idea that I went into that damn grotto all the way to the waterfall. It was you...”

“[... who suggested an escape route which, thanks to the pendant, worked out well. Narhad detected it when you touched her waters and that's why she only tried to throw you out of them. Otherwise, you would have died in an instant! I knew they were after you from the moment Red Eyes detected you!]”

“W-wait a second! Do you work with the tabaxi? That’s why they didn’t help me or let me pass?”

“[No! I just knew they would let you live as soon as they got to know you a little. Although, to be honest, I almost regretted helping you when you asked if you could devour souls.]”

"You expect me to believe that you have good intentions? If you had, you would have been clear from the beginning. Tell me! What do you want from me?!"

“[Do you think this is the first time I do this? Do you think I put so much effort into saving the children of Nimireth out of boredom or hatred? … Do you really think so? Of course not! You are not stupid! … I don't want them to find out I'm helping you!]”

Jean didn't know what to expect from the spirit; she was clouded with distrust. Too many false friends had deceived her in her life. Was that really the only reason he hadn't told her anything from the beginning? It couldn't be just to find out her true intentions and not be detected. What was at stake for him?

“[Let me enlighten you about whispers so that you never get the wrong idea again! Whispers are part of you as a link that connects your player body with your human soul. It's a necessary resource for us inferior races to be players.]”

“Inferior races? Are you a player too?”

“[Do you think our human brain ever counted on us for anything back on Earth? All the time we lived there we were controlled like puppets. ... You don’t believe me?! Do you control or manage all the chemical processes in your body to make a simple digestion?]”

“That has nothing to do with this.”

“[How could the use of your nutritional resources not be related? The management of your energy, your sleep, the creation of antibodies, the choice of the person you like, and a million other processes that you wouldn't have the slightest idea if it weren't for science and medicine.]”

The spirit had captured her attention; Jean couldn't help but remember high school science classes and some casual documentaries. Certainly, all the processes that went on in the brain when you fall in love were all chemistry. It wasn't random, nor was it something she could control. That was just one of the thousands of things a human brain did without asking.

“[Our human brain did that for us because it never counted on our decisions. It only cared about the survival of the individual and the perpetuation of the human race. The whispers do something similar here. The players' bodies are too complex for a human mind to manage. Don't you remember?! You have to find a balance between desire, enthusiasm and control.]”

She was perplexed. That was what he had told her the first time he had helped her. "Then it's true! The whispers are the intermediaries with the magic core. I’ve never contemplated that possibility.”

"Very educational, but that doesn't change the fact that you deceived me!"

“[Whispers are not your partners in the game. That's why I make the children of Nimireth believe so. To guide them, to bring out the best and the worst in them.]”

“What is your problem with the children of Nimireth?”

“[I understand your indignation, but if you had known your predecessors, you would understand me. Nimireth's taste in choosing her children is questionable to say the least.]”

That outraged Jean. What horrible things had her predecessors done?

The spirit motioned again for her to follow him to the large lake. Despite her reluctance, Jean followed him keeping her distance. She didn't trust him, but she wanted those damn answers.

“Why have you decided to reveal yourself now? Why not continue with the damn whisperer's game? It didn’t amuse you anymore?”

“[This is no game, Jean. This is very, very serious. Besides, I've already told you. I have no interest in you devouring any souls. If you do, they disappear forever. They would die without any chance of coming back.]”

Each of his words weighed on her. “You could have done that subtly, just as you have done so far. You have revealed yourself for more reasons. What are they?”

“[Patience! It's better if you see it with your own eyes and feel it in your flesh.]”

“That didn't sound good at all! Are you going to stab me in the back too?”

“[Do you really think that with all the opportunities I've had to betray you? Please... I would appreciate it if you don't insult all my efforts.]”

All the way back, Jean huffed, trying to contain her indignation. Too many times in her life she had been betrayed by people who had been just as kind.

They soon reached the beginning of the tunnel. The columns with runes were again visible in the distance, but they didn't come any closer. After seeing Narhad talking to 3 individuals, the spirit motioned for her to crouch down.

“[Chameleon, quick!]”

She obeyed. From the center of her chest a warm stream of mana surged again, coursing through her body from head to toe. Invisibility arrived slowly, but it also covered any object she carried.

“Who are they and what do they talk about with Narhad? Are they after me too?”

The spirit didn't care about their presence. He simply moved close to the wall, keeping as far away from the lake as possible.

Puzzled, Jean followed slowly. Mana was dropping at an alarming rate. Her admiration for Eyes-Eyes grew as she realized the oppressive conditions he had fought in while combining it with strategic stops to activate Calm Mind. That bastard was good.

“What do you want me to see that's more important than those four conspiring?"

Both advanced silently, but Jean couldn't take her eyes off the three who were talking to Narhad. Although they were far away, she could tell that they were healthy humans. Narhad had no qualms about shaking their hands. Where had they come from? She felt left out until she remembered that everyone hated her.

Halfway through, the crabs turned around despite the camouflage. She had passed very close to them and that alerted one of the individuals near the portal. Despite being quite far away, Jean stopped. She didn't want any trouble, and the skill worked best standing still.

“[Keep going! These guys won't attack you, but they won't invite you to their birthday parties either! Don't blame them! Your predecessors were real bastards!]”

In the end, all the humans ended up running towards the columns with runes and disappeared among them, leaving slight ripples in the air.

"Have I seriously been that close to a portal?"

“[Don’t worry! You wasn't prepared to cross it anyway.]”

Jean was beginning to get annoyed by his constant evasive answers with crumbs of information. “Where have they headed?”

“[To try to save the world in their own way... even though they won't achieve anything!]”

“What do they need to save the world from?”

“[Of beings like you, Jean. Monsters that only care about themselves and have the potential to become aberrations who destroy everything in their path.]”

She didn't see herself that way, but she couldn't deny the evidence either. She had left nothing alive in her path.

“I understand that you were once human, so... Why have we been kidnapped from Earth to be players?”

“[The quick answer would be the selfish whim of some gods. What once began as a way to test the potential of the races of the universe, rapidly spiraled out of control.]”

“What was then, some kind of arena? A forced PVP?”

“[Hundreds of years ago I would say yes. Now it's just a big express pot about to burst.]”

“Explain yourself!”

“[You can now deactivate the invisibility. The crabs won't attack you now.]”

"Really?! I turned invisible just so the damn crabs won't attack me? I thought..."

“[Narhad is particularly fond of them. She has even given them names. If you touch one, she will kill you. That's as true as no one trusts you but me.]”

“You've already made sure that I won't devour souls?

The spirit pointed to a dark, narrow grotto. He then sat down. “[Go as far as you can and then come back! … Be careful!]”

“Why aren't you coming?!”

“[I tend to limit communicating with you for a reason. I'm exhausted! Let me rest!]”

She was about to question him when the spirit interrupted her.

“[I think I've made it clear enough, but I will repeat it once more! Be very careful! The answer awaits near the end.]”