The tabaxi was beginning to show signs of moving. There was no time to hesitate. Jean abruptly pulled the tabaxi's shoulder away and equipped the dagger. This time she was finally able to strike at the neck. However, there was something she wasn't expecting.
“Holy shit!!! She's tough!”
Simple attacks failed to penetrate her skin deeply. She imbued the dagger with four effects. This time she aimed elsewhere. The eyes were a vulnerable area. Four precise thrusts that spent almost all her mana allowed her to end her life. She was finally able to store the inert body.
Blocking the wound with both hands, she devoured the tabaxi to accelerate the healing process. Fortunately, this time she had not lost any body parts, but the scar was a different matter. “Fuck! At this rate I'm going to look like Shrek's gingerbread cookie!”
[You have devoured your first »Tabaxi«. You have gathered a lot of new genetic information. After combining it with the material you have already obtained, you have created the following skills:]
[You have learned Projectile Control — Basic Rank.
Allows you to channel your mana to control the trajectory of a projectile launched by you. Applicable to magical projectiles as well.]
[You have learned Weightless — Basic Rank.
Allows you to channel mana to slightly reduce the strength of gravity over your body.]
[Identify has increased to Expert Rank.
Now you can get more information from the world around you.]
[Chameleon has increased to Advanced Rank.
Allows 20% presence concealment. In the shadows it's twice as effective, and quadruples if you are standing still. High mana consumption when moving.]
Whispers announced that she had gained two more levels. She could now level up 3 times.
“Really?! ... I don't think that's enough for a being that was almost 30 levels above.”
“[Your current attributes are not those of a level 10 player. Without the corruption, they would be equivalent to those of a level 27 player, and when you raise those three pending levels, they would be as if you were almost level 33. That's another reason why your class was forbidden.]
“If you expect me to feel bad about that, you can sit down! Corruption takes away almost a quarter of what you say!”
“[And you don't feel bad for Dih? Her soul looks much worse than before... Did you have something to do with it? Maybe something you should feel guilty about…]”
“Asshole!”
Jean struggled to her feet. The healing from devouring largely restored her, but the rest would depend on her own healing magic. She looked in the inventory and found, among several of the tabaxi's items, three more of Yusthor's accessories; two rings and an earring. They were not there collecting souls by chance. Now it only remained to know if they were looking for Jacob or he found them.
Jean equipped the five accessories. She instantly felt different. It wasn't just because the sounds and smells had been amplified by the extra attributes. The whispers of the souls around her had become more understandable. Among the most common were cries for revenge, for blood, for death.
Overwhelmed by so much screaming, she looked for the one she had fallen on. It didn't take long to find it.
»Dying soul«
Level 31
Name: Dih
Marks: [Traidor], [Killer]
Details: You can now collect this soul and store it in your inventory. Be warned that destroying a soul is condemned by the Gods. Whatever the soul is. You will be haunted for eternity if you break this rule.
“Even more?! Really? ... And what about Jacob? He's fucked other souls and I don't see anyone caring that he tried to do the same to me!”
“[I don't know how he got away with it. His abilities are beyond my knowledge. He may even be able to attack you from your inventory. I wouldn't be surprised if he did the same with the tabaxi.]”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“[As long as you don't interact with his soul everything will be fine. Jacob's soul will remain asleep in your inventory. If not, you will give him what he wants! Direct access to you! Although ... he won't stay quiet for long. You must prepare quickly or he'll attack when you're off guard.]”
“How?”
“[Increasing your Resistance will be the first step.]”
“Is there a skill that will allow me to fight like they did on the plane of soul?”
“[I couldn't see from here what happened, but the skills of the dead are a sort of reminiscence of what they got in their lifetime. A temporary concession. Maybe Thitad's friends know how to defeat the dead. Although they like to keep them as slaves.”
“Motherfuckers! That explains everything! ... Red Eyes and the fire gnome wanted to be free!”
“[It's time to explore, Child of Nimireth! Go through the portal and learn so you can defeat them someday. Maybe then you'll find out who they are and why they want you alive. I don't think Thitad will tell you any of that.]”
Jean brought her hands close to Dih's flickering soul as the whispers asked her what she wanted to do through an emergent panel out of the combination of Identify and Linguist.
[Thanks to Yusthor's accessories and your skills, you can store Dih's soul in your inventory. But before that you can also:
» Communicate with her.
» Give her mana.
» …]
“Why would I give her mana?”
“[Souls also need mana to survive, but they can't absorb it from the ether planes as easily as you can!]”
She recalled the fight. “So that's why her plane kept getting destroyed when she consumed mana!”
“[What the…! Give her mana as soon as possible! Don't let her disappear!]”
Jean approached the soul and concentrated mana in her hands for a few seconds. Nothing happened. The soul was not absorbing anything. That was frustrating. “How the hell do I do this?”
Whispers came to the rescue, creating a bridge between the two planes. Only then did the mana flow. The soul glow increased slightly at the same time Jean finished healing. “Why do you care so much about these souls? Were they your friends?”
“[Your heart and mine are very different, Child of Nimireth!]”
“You expect me to feel sorry for those who attack and despise me?”
“[That Nimireth left you as her last card is confusing to me. In the end you're just like all the others.]”
Jean felt tremendously offended and was quick to offer more mana to the soul. It got to the point where its intensity was blinding. It almost seemed like an awakened soul.
“Happy?! Now what?”
“[Store it in your inventory.]”
Jean separated her hands from the soul. “Why?! You told me that souls with this intensity could attack me!”
“[Did she do it when you were with her?]”
She squinted. “She would have! All because she mistook me for someone from her past who looked like me! She even reproached me for something I failed to do!”
“[You know what it was?]”
“That doesn't matter now! When she realized I wasn't who she thought I was, she seemed ready to attack me anyway. She even knew I was a daughter of Nimireth. How?”
“[No idea! ... You'll have to store it to find out! And not only her. You will need to collect them all if you want to interact with the portal and get answers. No exceptions.]”
Jean remained thoughtful as she surveyed the sheer number of them. If she explored all the nooks and crannies, they could number in the thousands. “Won't my inventory be overflowing?”
“[No! But speaking of which, improve it as soon as possible. You waste a lot of time in combat because of that.]”
Jean asked the real whispers what else she could do with the souls in her inventory. Another panel emerged.
[Thanks to Yusthor's accessories and your skills, you can interact with the souls in your inventory in the following ways:
» Communicate with them.
» Give them mana. That provides them more time before they disappear.
» Dominate them. (Devourer's Minion is required)
» Devour them. The gods forbid it, but you can because of your abnormal condition.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
» Create exit destinations from the portal of the Guardians of the Nine.
X Learn from a soul.
X ...]
“Destinations ... How does the portal work?”
No one said anything. Jean smiled. “I see! Nothing for the rookie, eh?! ... I just want to know if the souls work as fuel to activate it.”
“[No, by the gods! The portal needs the knowledge of a player's soul to create a safe route.]”
“See! It wasn't so hard!”
“[…]”
“I see... That's why I couldn't use it before. I haven't been anywhere before nor do I have enough souls. By the way, who were those damn Guardians of the Nine? Wasn't there a more elaborate way to create portals?”
“[You are confusing a side effect of having equipped Yusthor accessories, with the true effect of more than 10 accessories along with being a true Guardian of the Nine.]”
Jean sighed. “Great! Half-way information again!”
She looked at Dih's soul and coated her hands with a purple aura. She didn't want any surprises. With the mere desire to store it, it disappeared from the ground. And the next one. And the next of the next. Before long, she had a hundred more. Souls that moved slowly throughout her inventory, creating great luminescence at certain points. Nodes that Identify recognized as places. Among them, the one that caught her attention the most was White Chapel.
“That's the temple where we fought with that asshole. Will it take me exactly there?”
“[It will depend on how much information you find common to that place. Take them all! All that you see. Don't leave any behind!]”
“Why?”
“[Please! Do you need me to implore you again?]”
Jean sighed and resumed descending into the depths, collecting every soul within reach. All except those that glowed menacingly.
“[I thought you'd stop and talk to Dih. Aren't you curious who to know who she mistook you for?]”
“I'm going to pass! I don't feel like it!”
Sooner than desirable, the remedy threatened to expire. “Better level up as soon as possible!”
“[Here?!]”
“I trust you will wake me up if someone comes!”
“[What about Jacob?]”
Fearlessly, she closed her eyes with only one idea in mind. Make things impossible for Jacob. “He won't be a problem after this.”
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 15 (+5)
Agility: 15 (+5)
Toughness: 20
Resistance: 15 (+15)
Wisdom: 20
Intelligence: 17 (+2)
Willpower: 20
Perception: 15
[Inventory has increased to Expert Rank.
◦ You have gained a 25% weight reduction.
◦ You have gained four more quick accesses to items. (6 in total.)
◦ Potions are consumed with a single thought without the need for quick accesses.
◦ Items with synergy between them will be grouped automatically. For example, souls, artifacts and other mechanisms.]
“Not bad!”
[Last Breath has increased to Expert Rank.
The pure essence of Nimireth shines within you. When you are on the verge of death, you will be teleported to your “Personal Plane”. Any skill Last Breath activates to keep you alive needs 10% less mana.]
“I'm starting to wonder what my personal plane is like.”
The whispers explained to her that she could only access and leave it voluntarily after acquiring certain rather unique skills. Without devouring the right enemy, they would be quite difficult for her to obtain. She wasn't too happy about that; it didn't seem like a very effective escape plan.
“A little question! If Jacob possesses me, will Last Breath save me?”
Whispers warned her to stick to her original plan. Last Breath was a skill focused on her body. Not her soul. “Got it!”
After waking up relieved that Jacob had not bothered her, she consumed a new remedy and waited for the corruption to subside to stand up again.
“[You were lucky!]”
“No, no, no! I know all about cheaters and liars. In the end, that bastard let himself be beaten so he could get inside me and take advantage of a moment of weakness.”
“[If you two fought, he will be weak for a while.]”
“Yes! And when I least expect it, he'll strike!”
When the corruption dropped to acceptable levels, Jean decided to test her improved speed, balance and fighting ability.
She equipped a long sword with the shield and executed several attacks, jumps and spins while blocking. They felt faster and more efficient. Aiming with the spear also improved, and during an improvised attack with the two-handed hammer in whirlwind mode, she didn't lose her balance or get dizzy.
“I'm eager to try it on someone.” She muttered with a smile.
With renewed motivation, Jean kept collecting every soul within reach. No matter how awake they seemed this time, though not without taking precautions with the Resistance effect. None presented even the slightest opposition.
In barely 20 minutes, she had already collected several hundred souls. She had descended so far into the depths that she reached the end of the path. It ended abruptly at an enormous hole. It measured at least 50 meters in diameter and was of indeterminate depth.
Jean peered down slightly. The walls were made of normal stone, but there was something unusual. A viscous, foul-smelling liquid coated them. She thought it was due to corruption when suddenly a sudden fetid breeze made her recoil on the spot. It felt as if at the bottom was the mouth of a creature that had never brushed its teeth. That the tunnel continued on the other side of the hole reinforced that thought. Not only that, it also ascended to the surface where a greenish cloudy sky reigned.
“[Turn around! Don't let it notice you!]”
“What the hell is there?”
“[Exactly what it looked like! The end!]”
Jean retreated without looking back. “Is that what spreads corruption?”
“[No one knows for sure because no one has ever returned. Not even the most powerful... Now collect more souls and return to the lake.]”
“We're not going to keep talking about all this? Clearly you know a lot more.”
“[First worry about facing Mr. Krabs. You'll figure out later what to do with that creature.]”
Jean glanced down again. “No teeth or anything that makes one think it's nearby. Maybe I could reach the other side with Adherence and Weightless.”
“[The two arrows pointing down don’t lie!]”
“Arrows?” Jean took several steps back to open the map. Two arrows from the mission of retrieving Nimireth's essence pointed straight down. She let out a long sigh as she understood. There was most likely another abomination there that she would not be able to defeat.
Exasperated, she directed her steps upward while collecting all the souls in her path. Those around the great lake were not going to be the exception. In the process, Narhad showed no signs of life. That gave her a bad feeling.
««◊◊◊« »◊◊◊»»
After collecting all the souls that were within reach in the reasonably safe areas, she opened the inventory. What she saw was utterly astounding. The souls were moving at great speed recreating parts of a map. The most complete were some islands and at least 3 cities of which one seemed to be a seaport.
A tremendously loud shriek was heard in the distance. It came from the giant spider's grotto. She ran ahead, but as soon as she reached the narrow, web-covered area, she noticed that something was wrong. The whispers were restless, warning her of terrible danger nearby.
The last time she had passed by, nothing had made her feel that way. Intrigued, she checked the arrow once marked by the mother spider. “What's going on here? Wasn't that thing wedged in the damn crevice and couldn't move because it was so big? How the fuck did she get out of there?”
As fast as she could, Jean returned to the lake. Five new arrows were moving in her direction where before there was only one. That could only mean that other beings had eaten the spider or that she had divided her power among 5 of her offspring. Either option meant that she was safer near Narhad. However, before she reached the lake, a new visitor surprised her.
Narhad was talking to a hooded individual in front of the large portal. Jean disguised herself with Chameleon, but it didn't do much good. Narhad turned to her after motioning the individual to cross the ripples.
“[Come closer, Jean!]”
Jean took a step back, wary of her sudden friendly tone and the fact that she was calling her by name. Could it be that she had come to her senses and now wanted to give her a chance? Nah, it couldn't be. However, even though she knew it was too suspicious, curiosity got the better of her.
“What are you up to? Why do you let others cross it and not me?”
Narhad pointed to the portal. “[If you want it so badly, do it! Don't come crying later that it was too dangerous for you. She was level 29, you know!]”
Jean smiled confidently. “And what's on the other side?”
Narhad thought for a while before answering her. “[Opportunities!]”
That wasn't very enlightening, but she approached it anyway. This time, almost all the runes of the portal reacted to her presence. Linguist and Identify acted in unison again.
[This artifact keeps open a route to August 27, 433 of the Third Era in White Chapel.]
“Amazing! Only the weather forecast is missing!”
Jean looked at Narhad. She seemed on the verge of losing her patience. “[Get the hell in! Keeping this thing open is exhausting!]”
“Not without knowing first...”
“[I told you to enter!]”
Dozens of tendrils of water formed from Narhad's body, pushing her jointly. They both screamed from the mutual contact, but Narhad acted before Jean could react, grabbing her and throwing her at high speed towards the portal.
Her entrance through the portal felt like a plunge without a splash. As if the discomfort in her body was replaced by a cold so intense, it cut into her skin like a thousand spears. The pain started reaching disproportionate heights, but she was not heard screaming even though she did. Her voice vanished in the darkness that spread in all directions.
[The »Player 314.127AJ« is requesting an incursion.]
“What the heck are you talking about?”
[Request allowed according to the rules. Incursion initiated.]
In addition to the pain and despair, a sudden force pushed her into a tunnel of light that began to form around her. In just a few seconds, the feeling of vertigo was so strong that she thought her mind would break. Luckily, she only fainted.