Desmond approached Ben’s headless corpse. Around two meters above the body, there were 7 different colorful floating orbs: one gold, one purple, one blue, two green, and two gray. Each orb was about the size of a golf ball, so Desmond instantly knew they were the same things he had found in his own soul.
Desmond quickly put together a working theory. If someone is killed, their soul orbs leave the Soul Realm and come to reality. It was the only thing that made sense. He had just never been able to see them before because despite them coming to reality, they still remained a part of the soul. Therefore, he was likely unable to interact or even perceive them until he got [Mirror to the Soul]. It was a working hypothesis for now, at least until he had a larger sample size. Desmond reached out and touched the faintest gray orb. Knowledge seemed to be transferred into his mind, and he instinctively knew what it did.
[Lessor Intellect](Common): +6 Intellect.
“Well, that seems meager,” Desmond stated as he reached out and touched the other slightly brighter gray orb.
[Lessor Intellect](Common): +9 Intellect.
Had Ben gotten these from beast cores? Desmond expected that the ‘Common’ was referring to the rarity of the orb. This would mean that these soul orbs were much more prevalent than he initially thought. He reached out to the green orb.
[Improved Wisdom](Uncommon): +19 Wisdom.
Now, that was something new. What stat was it referring to when it said Wisdom? The only thing that would fit was the Mana stat, but he would need more information before he could fully link the two. Desmond touched the other green orb.
[Improved Intellect](Uncommon): +24 Intellect.
It would seem that both gray and green orbs followed a pattern. But how come Ben only has Intellect and Wisdom orbs? Assuming Wisdom is the Mana stat, then these would be the best two stats for a mage. Does this mean that an orb’s stats are not randomized, but specific to the person receiving them?
Desmond pulled out a tier 4 beast core from Ben’s spatial ring. Observing it closely, he could see a light green orb in the center of it. He couldn’t get any information about the soul orb as it was stuck in the beast core itself. He was tempted to break the core open and see if the soul orb already had a stat, but ultimately decided against it. Tier 4 beast cores were worth a lot of money. So he would just have to find and break a lower-tiered one later. Desmond found he had too many questions without answers, so he moved on and touched the blue rare orb next.
[Greater Intellect](Rare): +63 Intellect.
That orb still followed the pattern for names, and was a significant step up from the uncommon orb in the stats it provided. Did each rarity have a specific range for the stats it could give?
All that was left now was the gold and purple orbs. Desmond knew the gold orb was of Legendary rarity, and based on the brightness, he expected the purple orb to be below that. So he reached out and touched the purple orb.
[Living Fire](Epic): +1 Fire Affinity. Allows the holder to treat all fire like an extension of their own body.
Now that right there, had been Ben’s trump card, to think he got it from a soul orb. It would seem that at least by the time they hit epic rarity, orbs would get unique names. But what really stood out was the +1 Fire Affinity. Desmond had never seen or heard of anything that would improve a person’s magical affinities. Besides, affinities were graded on a low, mid, high, epic, mythic, and so forth scale. So what even did a +1 do?
The skill that came with it seemed impressive. Desmond had seen how Ben bent fire to his will even at great distances, which is generally a limitation of magic. It also sounds like it might give you control over another person’s fire magic, making you the world’s greatest living fire mage. But then again, maybe not. Desmond didn’t exactly have the best understanding of fire magic. Ben had been known as a great fire mage, but he was certainly not known as the best fire mage. Desmond touched the final orb.
[Heart of the Phoenix](Legendary): +1 Fire Affinity. Allows the holder to totally regenerate to a perfect state. (48 hour cooldown)(will trigger upon holder’s death)
Desmond wasn’t really surprised by this. Ben had told him he got his regeneration ability from single-use talismans he had somehow come by. But then again, Desmond never believed anything Ben told him. Ben’s regenerating ability had always seemed overly powerful. It was not something he should have been able to achieve at the disaster level, and certainly not something that could come from a simple enchanted talisman. But now Ben’s soul orb and all the power it contained was his.
Desmond was tempted to consume the orb on the spot. This power would quite literally represent a second life to him in most situations. But he stopped himself just short of consuming the orb. Something about the full sensation he got when looking at his own soul orbs concerned him, so he decided against it for the moment. He also had some kind of revulsion to the orb that he couldn’t quite place.
Besides, he was still out in the Expanse, and this was no place to experiment. He wouldn’t want to collapse out here for a day or two because of some silly mistake, after all. Desmond chuckled a little at his own thoughts as he collected all the different soul orbs into his new spatial ring, which was also donated by Ben to a better cause.
Desmond then walked over and grabbed the panther’s leg before slowly setting off towards his old camp. As he crested the crater’s ridge, he stopped and took one last look at the battlefield. Most of the damage had come from Ben and was contained within the crater itself. Ben’s body was still lying there headless, but Desmond honestly didn’t care enough to do something about it. In his opinion, Ben’s body rotting out here and being picked apart by scavengers was better than he deserved.
As long as there was no direct proof that he killed Ben, then the Lodge wouldn’t act. Also, since most people disliked Ben, he was not expecting a lot of questions from the Lodge on this matter.
The only issue Desmond could foresee would come from the Duke. Judging by the contents of the spatial ring, Ben had been getting significant support. But Desmond didn’t see any way to escape the Duke’s suspicion, as to anyone who really looked into it, there were clear signs that he murdered Ben. Desmond decided he would simply deal with the consequences if they showed up.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Desmond took a slow, deep breath. This chapter of his life was now closed, and he would have to move on from it. Desmond didn’t have the slightest clue what his future would hold. But with his revenge complete, and his newfound power over the soul, he was starting to look forward to it. Desmond felt a small smile come to his face. He was experiencing a clarity of mind, or perhaps a clarity of soul that he had not felt in a very long time. Turning back, he set off to his camp.
***
Desmond ran through the underbrush, carrying the massive panther over his shoulders. He was close to the Lodge now and would arrive there any moment. Desmond was now fully clothed, and the night had passed without incident in the relative safety of the camp enchantments. At first light he had set off, running back to the Lodge.
Early on in the journey, Desmond had to change how he was carrying the corpse since simply dragging it through the forest was proving significantly burdensome. Now, he had its torso draped over his head so that only the hind legs were dragging on the ground behind him. The front paws were hanging down close to the ground due to the creature’s sheer size. From a distance, it looked like the corpse was running on its own, given that Desmond was almost entirely hidden by the large body.
The Lodge was a large international organization with significant sway in every major power that boarded the Expanse. It was similar to the Adventure Guild concept from Desmond’s past life but with a few differences. The first difference was that the Lodge didn’t get involved in anything unrelated to the Expanse. Although its members could hold any affiliation they wanted, the Lodge as a whole would always remain neutral in the political sphere. This led to the second significant difference, which was that outside of a few core facilities, every other Lodge outpost was directly affiliated with one of the continent’s great powers. The Lodge he was currently approaching was affiliated with the Tarco Empire. It was the only human-dominated great power on the continent, and the land that, for better or worse, he was born into.
Through the thick shrubbery, Desmond finally laid his eyes on the Lodge. It was a massive wooden structure, more like a compound of several different buildings connected together and surrounded by wooden palisades. The main structure he was heading to stood over 3 stories tall and was the central hub for all hunters in this section of the Expanse. The forest itself continued almost right up to the doors of the building, as the structure relied far more on its magical defense than its physical. Desmond knew for a fact that if he didn’t have permission to be here, hunters would have intercepted him long ago.
As Desmond approached the doors, he put Ben’s ring into his pocket. Desmond wasn’t really worried about people finding out he killed Ben, since he knew he couldn’t really hide it. He was more concerned with Duke Valmesh asking for the ring back if it became known he had it.
Desmond kicked open the wide double doors of the Lodge and walked inside. The main lobby area he had just entered was where hunters tended to gather between outings. It doubled as a place to get hunts and to let off steam, giving it a tavern sort of vibe. More than 20 tables were set up within the large wooden room, and most were full of drunk or soon-to-be drunk hunters. All were stunned into silence, seeing the massive panther come through the door.
It wasn’t just its calamity class that made the corpse domineering. It was also its designation as a predator. Every hunter here knew of the 12 local predators. For a beast to get this title it would have to actively and successfully hunt the hunters. You could even say that the predators represented the single greatest threat to a hunter’s life out here. So, seeing one paraded around the tavern wasn’t an everyday experience.
As always, the lobby area Desmond walked into was particularly interesting. These people were some of the strongest in the entire Empire, and they really did come in all shapes and sizes. There was a man off to his right whose skin looked to be made of liquid metal. A woman sat alone at a table surrounded by several glowing orbs that were talking to her. There was a man whose hair looked to be actively on fire beside a man who was so hairy you could hardly recognize him as human. A woman was hovering in the air above a table with a plate of food. There was a whole hunter party at one of the side tables covered in what looked like magic tattoos, and these were just the humans.
Although this Lodge was managed by the Tarco Empire, which was human-dominated. The Lodge as a whole was an international organization, so there were many other races present here. Desmond could see a whole party of drow at one table, two aleric drinking at the bar, and several kintorn, rell, elves, and even a few beast clan mixed within the crowd. All things considered, it was a very diverse group.
Desmond slowly approached the counter before throwing down the beast with a loud thump. He sat down on a stool and waved over a barmaid. At that moment, the spell seemed to break as the conversations started again, and even the band resumed playing their awful excuse for music. The tavern was once more drowned in a cacophony of different sounds, just as Desmond liked it. He was always fond of this boisterous place.
Desmond was considering what to order when the barmaid suddenly stopped in her approach. She made a slight bow in his direction before turning around and going about her business. Desmond followed her line of sight to see Richard approaching from the other end of the bar. Richard came and stood across from Desmond and offered him a beer, which Desmond graciously accepted.
“Looks like your hunt was a success,” Richard stated while gesturing to the corpse.
“For the most part,” Desmond replied before taking a big swig of beer.
“I see, and Ben?” Richard asked while looking at Desmond’s bald head.
“Unfortunately, he passed while fighting the predator,” Desmond stated while trying his best to show a mournful expression on his face.
Richard was an average-looking man in almost all regards. He looked around 40, and the only thing that stood out about him was his bushy light gray beard that went down to his mid-chest. Alongside his short light gray hair, it gave him a Viking-like feel. He was dressed in the standard dull gray robes that were common for Lodge staff, but Desmond knew not to judge this man by his looks. Richard was one of the big players in the Lodge’s hierarchy, and one of the few apocalypse class hunters in the whole Tarco Empire. Richard was also clearly suspicious of Desmond. That is the only reason Desmond could think of, for why Richard came out to greet him personally like this. It was a statement to him, that he was being watched.
Desmond was sure that the Lodge would only act if they had indisputable evidence for this incident. Why would they hurt their relations with a new calamity class hunter for a dead man after all? Also, nobody liked Ben, which can go a surprisingly long way at times like this.
“That’s rough,” Richard finally said while showing no emotion on his face whatsoever. “I’m sorry for your loss. He was a good man.”
“Indeed, your sympathies are appreciated,” Desmond said before finishing the rest of his beer.
“I’ll make sure your hunt gets reported up and you get paid for the predator. So let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a calamity class hunter. Please keep up the good work for the Lodge,” Richard said flatly before taking his empty glass.
“Thank you,” Desmond said while still trying to determine how much Richard knew. Richard was a hard man to read. He always kept his voice flat and rarely showed any emotions, but Desmond knew him as a fair man.
“Great, now please get this corpse out of my lobby,” Richard remarked in his expressionless tone.
“Of course, right away,” Desmond replied with his best smile.
Richard took Desmond’s empty beer mug and moved through the staff-only door behind the counter, disappearing into the kitchen area. Desmond did plan to move the corpse, just not right now. He wasn’t quite done gloating yet. It wasn’t every day he got to bag a predator.
He decided to have one more drink. Then, he would talk to a few friendly faces he had seen in the lobby before finally heading off to find a buyer. Just as he was waving down the barmaid for the second time, Desmond heard someone approaching him from behind.
“Hi, handsome. Mind if I buy you a drink?”