There were two heads on the ground. One belonged to a decapitated man, and the other to a man buried below the neck.

Leaning against the shovel, Unknown looked over at them. “This should do it. Alright, whenever you’re ready, I got cold water to wake him up. Just to clarify, you two ask questions, I’ve no idea what to ask.”

While he was laying down, she had started burying the corpses, at some point deciding to also halfway bury the last living one. With a grunt, Thomas pushed himself off the ground and stretched. “If you have extra, I’d like some water to wash off… This entire robe just reeks of sweat now.”

“Mhm, that can wait. The night is long. Literally. I don’t know exactly how or what is doing it, but time is getting skewed. It might take a week until dawn at this rate.”

Putting half a loaf of bread into Tom’s hands, after she ate three herself, Theresa addressed her. “According to your words, this is instigated by a Divine being? It is not much of a surprise that they would have enough power to blanket a single city in a shroud. Though it may just be the side effect of the sickly magic that seems to be surrounding us.”

That’s a bit jarring, a week long night. I guess something like that could happen back on Earth but… How does that even work? You just make the Sun not come up against a single city? Or do they literally just mean a shroud in the sky.

Taking another deep breath, he smelled the dry blood again, but this time, a new sensation came with it. Very similar to the smells, there was a feeling running through his body reminiscent of slaughter. Underneath it, there was a sense of nature, but covered just like the smell of the forest was covered by the blood.

“I can’t say I’ve ever been to one, but I swear that feels like an abandoned butcher’s shop…”

“Yeah, that’s the magic. I could tell you what that’s about if I actually killed that cockroach, but he got away from the body. Well, that’s what this guy is for now.”

Taking a bite of bread, he focused on the feelings. Under his skin, he suddenly took notice of a new feeling, not too dissimilar from blood rushing through veins.

He could tell it was something like what he felt earlier, but instead of slaughter, it reminded him of smoldering wood.

Is this the reason I felt like I burned? Ooh, since this is magic, does that mean I could throw fireballs around?

Focusing back to the outside, he gulped down the last piece of bread, before coming to a realization. “Wait, does this mean I'm supposed to interrogate him?”

Quest received!

Quest:

Interrogate the cultist.

Reward:

Three skills from .

Yep, it's on me.

“Hey now, it's you two who want to save the city, so put in the effort, yeah?” With those words, she put her helmet back on, and strode off to the side, looking towards the city.

“Do not worry too much, torture should not be necessary. I sincerely doubt he will find a reason not to speak. Before we wake him, perhaps think of what to ask?” Theresa consoled him, making no effort to come near the interrogated. “Their numbers, beasts, plans. There is not much to learn, but it would be useful nonetheless.”

Tom frowned. “I guess. It's not like it's a sneak attack at this point…”

What is there to consider? I don’t know much about what’s important… How much could a lackey know in the first place? As they said, I guess I should keep it to the big stuff. Their numbers, their plans, stuff like that. There ought to be a plan behind a siege, right?

Crouching in front of the buried man, he studied his face. Pale, sunken eyes with dark bags, dried lips, very short hair, slightly longer than a buzzcut.

Besides the hair, he and Unknown have the exact same expression. Like they need a bucket of coffee.

“Hey there buddy,” Tom spoke, lightly slapping the man on the side of his face. “It's the end of nap time, wake up.”

Waking up in a daze, he soon panicked for the entirety of about five seconds, looking around and tensing up, before realizing he could not move to begin with.

Starting out with a burst of laughter, reminiscent of a hyena, he spoke with a raspy voice. “Oh deary me, what a predicament to find myself in. It’s a surprise I have lived this long.”

“And if you’d like to keep it that way, then I’d appreciate if you didn’t resist the interrogation. I can’t promise what those two will do,” he pointed towards where the priestess now stood with the knight, “but I can at least try to keep you alive.”

“Hah, that’s better conditions than I can expect from my higher ups, so I’ll take it. What do you want?”

Thomas went silent for a moment, studying the man.

He doesn’t seem to be lying, and it’s what Theresa told me would happen. I had expected some semblance of loyalty, but I guess this is what happens when you don’t care about your underlings. I bet they don’t even get days off.

“Alright buddy, see, that’s the issue. As far as I know, we don’t know jack shit about you or your people. Or at least I don’t. So, if you want to live, try to convince me that you’re useful.”

It was the man’s turn to be silent for a moment, as he stared off into the distance. Perhaps he would even stroke his chin, if he could.

Then, his expression drastically brightened. “I see now! You aren’t a man of this world, are you. Yes, yes, that makes sense. I will assume that we have quite a bit of time, since I doubt others will come here right away. After all, the one I am currently under, Hazathel, got wiped by the Knight over there, correct?”

“Yes, I don’t know, and probably. I’ve been here for a grand total of what feels like maybe two hours, but I think the… Haza guy got away somehow. She called him a cockroach.”

“Yes, that would be reasonable. He is quite a tricky mage. Though I don’t know the full extent of his power, I believe he is around level 70. His specialty is dealing and avoiding fatal wounds, but he can use many spells below his level. His versatility is quite frightening. Do you mind if I get out of this hole? I’m feeling a bit stiff.”

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“Uh, sure? I don’t have any issues with that, just don’t try anything stupid. I haven’t seen her fight, but she seemed to be in a bad mood last I checked. Be a bit more specific with the levels, I have no idea what those numbers mean.”

“I didn’t see much either, but I do know when I am severely outclassed.” Pulling his hands out of the ground with a grunt, he pushed himself into a sitting position, feet still dangling. Stretching his arms a bit, he continued, “As a general rule… Well, his level is powerful. This region is at best around level 40. The Hunter Wolves we brought here are around that level, but honestly, they’re wasted with that. Their main strength is their intelligence as a hunter, not fighting head-on with no regard for their health. Right, they’re just sacrificial pawns.”

“See, surrounding this land, the forest would serve as a natural barrier, but right now, it’s only locking the people in. They’re preparing a really strong ritual, one that’s meant to gather the strength of the dead. So, even if they’re fighting poorly, their deaths are only to our benefit. Right now, the Miasma of Death it’s called, is weak. Once it ramps up, the destruction will only go up alongside it. And, if it reaches that point, which should be likely, it will serve as a catalyst to allow a temporary descent of the God we follow, ensuring the damnation of the city.”

Tom couldn’t help but respond with a frown. “So no matter what, if anyone dies, it will progress the plans. That’s quite an evil God you chose to follow.”

The cultist stared at him for a moment, then chuckled. “You’re not wrong. In my defense, I had little choice in these matters. Many of us didn’t. This world is about power. Sometimes your only choice for survival is evil. Oh, but that doesn’t mean you should feel bad about their deaths. Anyone who is a part of this is morally gray at best, myself included.”

“I gave up worrying a while ago. You were the ones who chose to fight, while many in the city didn’t. I don’t have the time to figure out whether someone deserves something or not.”

They both sat in silence for a while after Thomas spoke those words.

“Right. I should get back to explaining things. I’ll spare you the names, but there are two more powerful mages. I don’t know exactly what they do, but they should be even higher level, though lacking the versatility. Their main magical alignment should still be in the same domain though. Alongside those, there are two fighters, a Brute and a Warrior. Again, little I can tell you about those, besides them being very strong. Lastly, I heard there’s some kind of Assassin, though I’ve never seen them. They fit the role of stealth well, I suppose. All of them are similarly high level.”

“Following those, all of us pawns are generally similar to the leaders, albeit much weaker. The exception are the few like me, whose priority is dealing with the mobs. Around here, it is mainly the Hunter Wolves. Everywhere else though, there are other Wolf-type monsters, some humanoid monsters, and a few Golems.”

Thomas memorized most of what was said, even if he could barely understand the meaning. Thankfully, most of it was self-evident, but some of it could still be left to imagination.

“As for strategy… I guess there isn’t much to say, but just so you know, the leaders rarely care for our lives, and vice versa. If you manage to pick them off, there won’t be much resistance from anyone that manages to survive. On the other hand, that also means they might just throw countless lives at you before emerging. Ah, there are rations for roughly a week that get distributed, but that might be pointlessly difficult to cut off. It’s managed by too many people.”

So the only strategy we can probably achieve is directly heading for the ones at the top, since that should leave the most alive. Manages to stop the ritual from progressing, but it also feels preferable to avoid slaughter. I guess we could regroup with someone inside the city walls, but I’m not sure how my side is willing to do that.

“Know yourself and know your enemy to win, something like that? I imagine the info you gave will be useful one way or another, cheers. I’ll try to convince them to keep you alive.”

“Yeah, it’s simple. Start running,” Unknown spoke, appearing right next to the two of them, evoking surprise from them, “because someone else might be here soon. Your… allies, they have withheld from here, for now, but if you wish to get out of here, do it now.”

The man stood up, even paler than he was before. “Al-alright, I’ll do that then…” Then, he stood still for a few seconds, staring at the Knight, expecting her to do something. With a sigh, she regarded him again.

“Since he promised to keep you alive, I’ll at least do this,” Saying so, she pressed her fist against his chest. “Break.”

The air surrounding them trembled, and Thomas with his new sense felt an oppressing force. The man doubled over, falling to his knee while holding the spot she had just pressed.

“The pact with your god is broken. A cheap price for your life, no? You’re weak now, so start running.”

After gasping a few times, he looked at her, eyes somewhere between awe and fear, then nodded, stood up and turned to leave. Though slow and limping at first, he quickly accelerated into a desperate run.

“Ah, I forgot to ask his name,” Thomas looked at the back of the man.

“Meh, one of you will be dead by the next chance you get to meet. Here, enjoy this,” Unknown swiped at the air, causing the interface to pop up again.

Quest completed!

Interrogation was found satisfactory.

Skills unlocked:[Break],

[Endure],

[Witness].

“Oh, this one’s what you just used. You’re not even gonna check what he told me before you reward me?”

Although he said that, his mind was already moving towards the rewards. He was expecting it to be broken again, but it was much better than before.

SKILL: Break

Passive: Become harder to defend against.

Active: Gather power to break target.

SKILL: Endure

Passive: Damage received is reduced.

Active: Temporarily cease body, massively reducing all incoming damage and effects. Warning, prolonged use is dangerous for living beings.

SKILL: Witness

Passive: See what is hidden.

Active: See beyond sight.

“I was listening. He didn’t lie, so I kept your promise. Well, there was a bit more to it, but…” She paused for a second, then swapped topics, “Be careful with those skills, they’re beyond your level. They’re meant to overwhelm, so definitely don’t use the first two against anyone obviously stronger than you.”

That’s great, so I just got these but I shouldn’t use them. At least it’s got passive parts. Those seem nice.

“Oh, alright. By the way, what’s my level supposed to be? I don’t have it written anywhere, supposedly it should be in my status interface.”

In response, she rummaged through empty air next to her hip, pulling out a stone that roughly fit her palm, then tossed it to him. “Try that. You won’t be getting an exact number, for multiple reasons, but it should be close. Well, having said that, you should be able to hit above your level anyways, since you’re inheriting my abilities.”

Catching it with a frown, Tom stared down at the stone in his hand.

It’s smooth, sure, but it doesn’t feel special otherwise. Am I supposed to use mana on this?

Thinking that, he focused, gripping it harder. Instinctually, he could feel the smoldering flow throughout his body, and tried to move it. It was like trying to flex a muscle, except the wrong one reacted.

Then, before he could manage to fully grasp it, the stone crumbled. While he was focusing, he gripped it with his full strength unconsciously, and it gave way.

As he was looking at the pieces in his hand, confused, an amused Unknown called out to him. “It was an interesting thing you tried to do, but you were supposed to just squeeze it. It was just a regular stone. Since that was your physical strength, you should be overall about as dangerous as one of the wolves.”

He was at a loss for words. He hadn’t been in this world for long, and now he was crushing stones. Not to mention, weren’t the wolves meant to be about as strong as it gets around here? What the hell is with this progression, and just how strong are these two women?

“Wait,” he looked around, confused. “Where is Theresa?”

“Oh, right. She left while you were talking.”