When the Misfits finally left the base camp, it was like being excused from punishment. They were finally allowed to use their mana and potions as the group traveled along a winding road between mountain ranges, marching toward their first stop, the city of Akrelia. It was a mid-sized city with around two hundred thousand souls living in it. Originally, it was a mining town that was constantly expanded, and part of it was etched into a mountain that was rich in iron. Sadly, all those resources ran dry thoroughly during the 3rd Era. Yet, it did not mean the end of the city itself. When there was nothing more to mine, the Amarin leadership decided to change the city's function from a mining community into a holiday spot.

While digging deeper and deeper, they constantly ran into spots where steam burst out violently, filling the caverns with searing-hot water, causing many injuries, accidents, and deaths throughout the existence of Akrelia. Many experienced mages came here over the centuries to clear away the 'problem' and contain the dormant volcano underground, reining in nature's power. This gave the Amarin leadership the idea to turn those many deep caverns into places where naturally hot pools of water formed, and they changed the old mines into resorts. People could now come, relax, and submerge themselves in the thermal waters, relaxing their tired bodies from years of hard work. Hotels and luxurious resorts were set up inside the mountain, and now the city of Akrelia was a prime spot for adventurers, wanderers, and on-leave soldiers to come, relax, and bathe in the hot springs underground.

"I can see it!" Koa shouted from afar, acting as their sentry with Keily in tow. The two were standing on a tall rock formation, pointing towards the north where the city's buildings glittered in the setting sun's golden rays. There were no walls around Akrelia, letting the native residents' houses sprawl out comfortably. They all had their own gardens, giving out an incredibly peaceful aura and painting a beautiful image with the colorful flowers planted around them in abundance.

"We are not here to go on a vacation." Solren reminded her as they all caught up, letting their single-file marching formation break up.

"I know!" She replied, rolling her eyes, making Keily sigh softly as he was interested in what was happening inside the mountain, hearing about it from Koadriana nonstop in the past few days.

"Should we go forth and announce our arrival?" Aurora asked, looking at Solren, who just tilted his head, thinking.

"They should be ready for us," Lia answered instead of her brother. "Isn't that true?" She nudged Solren.

"Yes, but our pace was good." He agreed calmly, "They think we only arrive by tomorrow."

"Major, weren't you saying we must keep marching if we want to arrive on time?" Sion asked, twitching his mouth as Aurora shot him a gaze, telling him to remain silent instead of questioning his superior.

"I like arriving ahead of time." He answered matter-of-factly, "Let's go; Simbad should have already set up our camp in the Cavern of Echoes!"

"We are going inside?" Koadriana asked, getting excited once more as they started walking again.

"Yes. The city leaders have been screening the populace for months by now. The finalists should already be selected and waiting for the final test there."

"Oh? What kind of test will it be?" Ceiline chimed in, getting excited about it.

"It is up to you."

"What?" The Misfits stopped at once, looking at Solren, who raised an eyebrow at them.

"You are going to screen them in your own way! I am going to refer to Lia's final verdict to enlist those who she chooses! Those who fail will go into the armies of our subordinate territories! Those who passed the preliminary screening but did not reach the finals were already re-assigned. We are here to check on the top talents only!"

"You could have briefed us… Major!" Lia grunted the only one who would dare talk like this to her superior and brother.

"It shouldn't be hard." He smiled at her, unbothered, "You have the whole night to come up with something before we move on to the next city! We are rounding up our territory's best talents and are not here to host festivities! So make it simple, Misfits!"

"Somehow, the words simple and misfit feel weird to hear in one sentence…." Raufon whispered to Keily, who simply chuckled, walking after the group as they arrived at their first destination.

…

….

……

More than a hundred tunnels were sneaking up and down inside the mountain, carved out at a time when the workers followed the veins of iron, mining it out throughout the centuries. Today, 90% of these tunnels were closed and often filled in by magic to ensure people would not wander in and get lost in the old labyrinthine system. Still, some had to be left alone; even if unused, they were going through maintenance every 3 or 5 years. These so-called emergency routes ran parallel to the primary and lit 'underground highways' leading to the multiple caverns and vacation spots built up inside.

In such a corridor, labeled simply as E-44, only the dim, orange emergency lighting was on, barely illuminating the smooth, concrete ground and the grey, reinforced walls with directions painted on them with fluorescent materials. This particular route should be unused as it was just under maintenance a month ago and was now left alone for emergency use only. It was the perfect place for Cabrao, who managed to sneak in undetected not that long ago and had lived in it ever since.

"Soon…" He thought, returning to his borrowed body, emerging from meditation as he cracked his arms and shoulders. By now, he was completely used to his new vessel and reinforced it thoroughly to follow his mind and not buckle under his own strength. "I need to be careful. If stronger judges arrive at the finals, they could discover me."

With a simple crack of his neck, he let his mana retract, hiding inside the deepest part of his body as his white hair started to fill in with color, turning black. At the same time, his eyes switched from their emerald color to an onyx-like one with a dull but greenish hue. He had used this disguise multiple times now, exploring the city and the tunnels, gathering information and scouting, marking mages who would suffice as suitable vessels for stronger disciples of his Sect. Being a Grand Elder, he could only hide his powers for a limited time, maybe an hour at most. After that, the illusion would break, and even middle-ranked or lower-tiered mages would catch onto his 'scent,' knowing an Undead was amongst them, spying on their ranks.

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"The 'drawbacks' of power!" He chuckled as he made his way to the point where he could slip into the main tunnel and act like someone traveling to the city from inside the mountain. "Be too weak, and you can't mask our souls well enough… be too strong, and you can't do it for long~! I wonder if I finally become a Supreme Elder, will I even be able to do so? Probably not… A few more meals and my soul strength would be too overbearing to successfully mask it." He grinned to himself as he slipped in when nobody was around and headed straight to the outer part of the city, looking for rumors and news.

He acted as someone who came to visit and spectate the exciting event of the Amarins recruiting that spurred the whole city into action. He attended many preliminary fights and competitions, and whenever someone showed up who caught his eye, he followed them to their lodgings and placed an undetectable trace on their souls. He already marked almost 20 bodies, fine vessels that would make good hosts for other Elders and Grand Elders. They just had to be captured and changed a little to accommodate their future masters.

"If all goes well… I can also get an even better host~!" He smiled happily as one of the finalists caught his eyes, and he was the only one he did not mark among them. He wanted him for himself. “A strong… and juicy one…” He murmured out loud, licking his lips while walking past a stall at the cavern's entrance, selling roasted beef to the sea of onlookers and their families.

As to what an Undead looked for when choosing their hosts and their bodies, it was something nobody understood more than they did. It was the answer to why some dead rose after being killed and some remained dead throughout Meriath's long history. They choose their targets not just by their mana's power but by their souls' flavor. Usually, the two did come hand-in-hand. Those who rose to high statuses and stepped into the 6th Tier and above were people with flavorful souls. Their will was strong, and their spirit was abundant with potential. The best snacks for those who followed the Soulbound Sect's teachings. They trained not the body but the mind and spirit, following a different path than anyone else on Meriath to attain power and, ultimately, immortality. The fastest way to improve oneself, to break through their bottlenecks, was the act of consuming another being's soul. The experience, knowledge, and feelings of someone strong like that often pushed the winner to a new understanding and a higher state than before. It was always their way, and it has stayed the same since time immemorial.

Cabrao himself had many rivals once. Other disciples, those who joined alongside him…, but none remained by now. They all died and became part of him as he consumed their souls, strengthening his own. Now that the Harvest was upon them again, it was the perfect opportunity to feast. Even though most of the dead souls would go to their Sect Master, nobody would notice if some leftovers fell to his faithful servants. When someone dies on Meriath with a soul that was highly compatible with their teachings, it gets conscripted into their Sect, his or her body taken over, and used as drones and scouts. Little training puppets. It did not matter if the soul was human, beast, or beast folk. If the soul was compatible, it was fished out of the confines of No-Space… or as they called it, the Sea of Souls. If nothing else, they were the perfect nutrients for the Elders to grow in power.

"Weaklings…" He thought to himself, smirking as he watched the many humans living in the city, nothing more in his eyes but cattle, feeble souls that were not even good enough to be consumed. They only provided enough nutrients if they were harvested in large numbers… meaning it had to be in the millions. Then, their wretched existence finally had some use. "Hm…?"

He suddenly felt as if someone had noticed him. He was sure that from somewhere, somebody looked at him, scanning him from head to toe multiple times. It took all his effort to not react and to keep casual, calm, and nonchalant in browsing the many stalls, acting like the other weaklings around him.

"Where?" He asked himself but dared not to expand his consciousness and just waltzed around a little more, blending in before heading back to his hiding spot. Then, he could meditate and observe his vessel from an outside perspective, examining all the details that the body and his soul picked up, like watching a recording of life itself.

…

….

……

"What is it?" Solren asked, stopping at the entrance to the underground passage as Lia stood still, watching the bustling city below them.

They were standing on one of the highest entrances and had a good look at Akrelia itself. Behind them, the city's leaders and subordinates of the Amarins were welcoming them feverishly. Simbad received Solren's message when they entered the city's premises and led the city council's surprised members to greet them. They looked extremely nervous as they expected them to come only tomorrow… this was abruptly early, and none had prepared any gifts. Not that Solren would have accepted any, but they did not know that. To them, the fact that two children of Reyra Amarin visited their city was something that had to be celebrated, as few places could boast about it happening even inside the territory of the House of Amarin.

"I don't know…" Lia answered, furrowing her brows. "I felt weird. Like brushing past something unnatural."

"Where?" Her brother wasn't doubting her words as his senses immediately covered half of the city, trying to scan it, but he felt nothing out of the ordinary. Undeads had a distinct identifying property. Looking at them was enough to feel horrible as if your soul would be ripped out and consumed at any moment now. They couldn't hide it, and it was their primary weapon to immobilize their enemies. If an Undead was present, they would have felt it. Even if the one was an Intelligent Variant and mind-controlled the others, newcomers would pick up on it at once.

"I can't pinpoint it… the feeling is gone by now." Lia shrugged, shaking her head, "But it was brisk… and it was like when traveling in No-Space. It tugged at my soul."

"Hmmm… you are more proficient with that than me or even our mother. If an Undead infiltrated the city…"

"Then they have new tricks up their sleeves." Lia finished it for him, turning away and following the rest of the Misfits into the tunnel.

"Tell me when you feel it again," Solren replied, going after his sister while crushing a talisman in his left hand. "I notified the army. We are going to put the city under quarantine until we investigate everything."

"..." Lia wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gulped back her immediate words. "I will be thorough. Don't do anything rash until then!" She whispered through gritted teeth as she was not about to cause the extermination of this beautiful city just because of her sudden suspicion.

"Are you the Major, or am I?" Her brother asked, but with a little smile, and rubbed Lia's head before continuing. "Worry not. We expected infiltrators… they happened back then too! Albeit…” He looked over his shoulder, watching the cityscape disappear from his view, "They could never blend into the crowds themselves and did it through mind-controlled puppets."

"Four eras went by, Brother Solren." Lia warned him with a severe look in her eyes, hastening her pace to catch up, "Expecting our old foe to remain stagnant is a sure way to a catastrophe."

"Mm." He nodded, watching the back of his sister with satisfaction. "I agree."