I was awake, but I didn’t want to be.
There was no reason to open my eyes, as we were still underground, and I wouldn't be able to see anything if I did, but that didn’t stop me from checking my surroundings with Sense Mana.
Considering we weren't ambushed while asleep, it was safe to say we were temporarily in the clear, but one could never be too sure.
The soul horror ambush was fresh in my mind, so I took extra time scanning the empty rooms surrounding us, the thick walls of the ruins, and any other gaps I had previously glossed over. Thankfully, though, everything was silent as a crypt.
Next to me, Tabitha’s breathing was steady, which was a good sign.
"Are you asleep?” I couldn't tell if Tabitha was awake yet, so I kept my voice just above a whisper, but even that sounded loud in the dark.
“Not anymore,” Tabitha’s tired voice answers back.
"Well, if that's the case, any idea how long we were out for?" My stomach felt empty, but I could've been out for a few hours or a few days with how much I needed to heal.
I hear Tabitha sigh beside me and groan as she slowly shifts around on her back. “I say we’ve been out for about two days.”
"Is that so?" I lazily comment, not at all surprised that she sounded confident or that we were possibly out that long.
“It is a miracle either of us is alive. The goddess of death must not have seen fit to take our souls while she had the chance." I can hear the mirth in Tabitha’s voice. Of course, she was joking, but she didn't realize how right she was.
I don’t move to clasp my hands together or do anything like that, but I do silently say a prayer to Goddess Ebeon and, to a lesser extent, her sister, Ilia. Of course, I wouldn't devote my life to the two as a priest would, but I fully recognize what the two did for me and am thankful.
Plus, I was worried that my already lousy relationship with Goddess Ilia might become dangerous if I didn't show her at least some appreciation.
I gathered from my interactions with them that the gods can only interact with people at specific times. One was unlocking a tier 6 skill, something your average person was never likely to do. Seeing how I've met the duo twice in less than a year, my luck was either incredibly shitty or I needed to start buying lottery tickets. That, or be on the watch for lightning, whichever was least likely at this point.
I was complaining, but honestly, we needed all the luck we could get. We survived the soul horrors by the skin of our teeth thanks to Soul Devourer, but the final boss was still slithering above our heads. I still couldn't sense him, but I was sure the winged serpent was nearby, waiting for us to emerge from our hole.
Speaking of which, "What do we do now?" I nervously ask Tabitha.
"What else? We heal to the best of our abilities," she replies matter-of-factly in her usual bland tone. "We lick our wounds and devise a plan to escape the winged serpent. Maybe we can sneak away, or possibly- Fuck…...” Tabitha swears out of nowhere and suddenly stops talking altogether.
“What is it?” I sit up and start scanning our surroundings for whatever made Tabitha swear. For as long as I've known her, Tabitha seldom swore, so I was already mentally preparing myself for another life-or-death battle for her to react like that.
Only.... there was nothing there. Meanwhile, with Sense Mana, I noted Tabitha was staring upward with her mouth wide open.
“Is it your danger sense skills?” I nervously ask, still scanning our surroundings, but Tabitha doesn’t answer me. She doesn’t even turn her head in my direction.
“Tabitha, are you alright?” I was starting to freak out at this point.
Tabitha was mumbling about something I couldn't make out, so I leaned closer. "What was that?" I ask, using my hands to check Tabitha's arms in the dark. I wasn't sure if the potion did its job, so I made sure not to shift anything while examining them.
Sense Mana helps me check the state of her arms, and they appear to be healing nicely. The bones were mending at the rate expected of someone of Tabitha's level, and I was about to tell her as such, but she finally said something audible.
"My status page," Tabitha’s voice quivers.
“Is it your health?” Did channeling the soul horror experience into Tabitha damage her in some way? "Do you need me to grab the remaining health potion?" I quickly offer.
I don't know if my question brought her back to reality or if she naturally came to her senses, but Tabitha thankfully snapped at me, "Don't you dare; we might need it to escape."
Letting out a sigh of relief, I can’t help but smile in the dark. I was worried for a second there, but it looked like she was okay. Of course, Tabitha still needed time before her arms could fully heal, but if she had the energy to snap at me, well then—
"Fine, no potion," I do my best to sound like a pouting child. "Last time I worry about you," I make sure she can hear me rolling my eyes. "Why were you acting so weird?"
Tabitha scoffs at me like I'm being unreasonable. "You would, too, if you opened your states page and saw something that shouldn't be possible,” she rants in a manner I’ve never seen before.
With the threat of danger gone, my body untenses, and I can’t help but laugh. I laughed because Tabitha sounded crazy, not because we won, but because we were alive, and laughing was the only thing I could do to not think about the challenges ahead of us. "How so?” I sputter between giggles.
“You don’t understand,” Tabitha sounds frustrated. “I leveled!”
“How's that crazy? We just escaped a dragon; you deserve a level." I congratulate Tabitha, doing my best to sound as bland as she usually does. Part of me wanted to slow-clap, but I didn't want to sour the occasion, and honestly, I was just too tired to do so.
"You're not getting it." Tabitha sounds like she wanted to throttle me, which wasn't exactly new, but I don't understand why. It takes her a full minute to find her voice, but when she does, I finally learn what had her freaking out.
"I didn't gain one level; I gained seven!”
I let out a long, high-pitched whistle that reverberated off the stone walls. "Sweet, congratulations."
Based on her following words, that was obviously not the reaction Tabitha was expecting.
"I gain over twenty-seven million experience points, and you congratulate me like it's no big deal!" Her tone shifts as she becomes more frustrated, but she doesn't yell, which could be considered risky.
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“Whoa, don’t move,” I gently push against Tabitha’s arms, pinning them to the ground, as she tries to reach for me.
"Why are you so calm? " She growled in my face, not in the least bit happy that I was holding her down.
“Well, because I thought you knew this was going to happen," I sheepishly responded.
“What! Why would you think that?” Tabitha interrogates me in the dark.
“I told you I absorbed the soul horrors,” I remind her. “Remember, you said to share the pain. So, I transferred most of the extra experience to you.”
Tabitha went silent and stopped squirming in my grasp. "That was experience?"
“Yeah, what did you think it was?” I frowned in confusion, but she couldn't see what face I was making.
“I thought it was a form of ghostly poison," Tabitha replies in a hollow voice, finally realizing what I did. "I thought you could move it with your weird hands."
Oh, that's why she was so confident she could take it. Tabitha thought her Poison Resistance skill would help her when, in fact, it couldn't.
“I guess that’s one way you could put it,” I awkwardly rub at the back of my head, releasing Tabitha in the process.
Now that I think back on it, Tabitha only ever told me ghosts were fragments of souls left behind; she didn't know that what remained were experience points congealing together after the soul's core had passed on.
"You already knew?" I could feel Tabitha's accusing gaze on me even though I couldn’t see her in the dark.
“Maybe?” I hesitantly answer.
“And you knew I would level?"
“There was a high probability," I reluctantly answer, expecting Tabitha to berate me for not telling her about such a massively important skill.
But the verbal tongue-lashing never comes. Instead, Tabitha asks me a question in a quiet, hollow voice. “Have you always been able to do that? Is that why Master is going to such lengths to recruit you? He never told me,” Tabitha sounds disappointed, and I think I know why.
Tabitha thinks Pacore knew about my skills and kept silent because he didn't trust her, but that wasn't true. I could push all the blame onto Pacore, but it would eventually get out that I was lying, and I didn't want to do that to Tabitha. So, I tell the truth.
“Pacore knows nothing about the skills I used," I tell her. "Not even my parents know about them; you’re the only one. And no, up until now, I couldn’t transfer experience to other people. I only just now learned how to do that."
"You know how big of a deal this is? What a skill like yours could do?" Tabitha asks darkly. I wish I could see her face to better judge her reaction, but my mana pool was still recovering.
"Will you silence me? Now is your chance," Tabitha morbidly suggests.
“Yeah, because I worked so hard to save you, only to kill you myself," I reply with overwhelming sarcasm so that even though Tabitha couldn't see me rolling my eyes, she knew I would never do that.
“I see,” Tabitha hums in thought. “Then what is your plan going forward?”
That was a good question. But sadly, I didn't have an answer at this time. “I don’t know,” I huff. “Do we have to talk about this now? I don't know about you, but I'd rather have our heart-to-heart after we escape. Then, we can sit down and chat. Is that okay with you?”
"If that is what you wish," Tabitha replies in her familiar monotone voice, which, for some reason, puts me at ease.
An uncomfortable silence falls over us, made worse by the dark, but my awkward self can't stand it for more than a few minutes before I try to fill the silence with idle chatter. "So, seven levels, huh? That's cool. Do you have any idea how you're going to distribute your points?"
Tabitha sighs with equal parts exhaustion and exasperation. "Typical; you have no idea what you've done for me.”
I wasn't expecting that kind of response, but that didn't stop me from answering honestly. "You've helped me so much; it’s only right that I help you in return." I nudge Tabitha affectionately in the dark. "We're friends, aren't we?"
"Friends," Tabitha slowly repeated the word as if it were a foreign concept. "You consider me a friend?" She sounded almost mystified.
“Friend, teacher, big sister, role model; I consider you a lot of things," I smile to myself, letting my words do the talking.
"I've grown to tolerate you as well," Tabitha replies in an awkward attempt at humor in her usual monotone voice, making me giggle.
“I appreciate that,” I playfully quip. And like that, the heavy air between us is gone or pushed aside for later. We can discuss my skills and my future place in Scholl later.
“Did you get anything else?" I keep the conversation going before the silence sets in again.
“Oh,” Tabitha let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak. "To be honest, I never made it past my level. As soon as I saw it, I was caught off-guard."
"Is that what you're calling it?" I playfully tease.
"What did you expect? Do you know what it’s like to suddenly jump so many levels, especially at my age!?” Tabitha defends her actions, but it just makes me laugh harder.
“I actually do," I giggle.
“Of course, you would say that,” Tabitha mocks, sounding slightly frazzled. "At least this explains your ridiculous level.”
“Stop stalling,” I try to come off as good-natured, but I'm mostly trying to steer the conversation away from my skills.
“Alright, give me a second to check.” There’s a short pause while Tabitha pulls up her status page, but a few seconds later, she can't help but exclaim again. "I can't believe I'm level 105 now. What is Master going to think?” I could practically hear the gears turning in her head.
“We’ll figure something out,” I casually remark.
“You mean lie?" Tabitha retorts, and I don't have a comeback. But, thankfully, that's all Tabitha says on the subject before moving on. "I didn't do much against the winged serpent, and I didn't help with the soul horrors, so my skills are all the same.”
“That's a bummer; I thought you'd at least get a new skill," I lazily comment.
"Give me a second; I'm skimming through all my skills for any changes." I forgot that not everyone has a well-ordered status page like me. Tabitha had to have many different skills and scan through them all before she reached the end, where new skills would appear.
"You're right; I unlocked a new skill, though I’ve never heard of it before?” Tabitha hums in thought.
“Maybe I can help,” I offer. “That is if you’re willing to tell me which skill you got.”
Let it be known I wasn't oblivious to the parallels between us. And while I would be bummed if Tabitha didn’t tell me which skill she unlocked, I wouldn’t hold it against her.
Okay, maybe I would— But only a little.
“I suppose it’s only fair. And if I don't know what it is, I doubt you would." Tabitha's casual remark is a knife to the heart, but I know she meant nothing by it.
"So, what is it?" I urge her to spit it out already.
“It’s called Sense Soul. I’ve never encountered it in my studies, but maybe Master will know. I'll ask him the next time I see him. What do you think it does?”
I sensed Tabitha turning her head toward me, and it was good she couldn't see my expression because my jaw was almost to the floor. Of all the skills she could've unlocked, it had to be that one.
“Aaliyah?” Tabitha calls my name, reminding me I haven’t answered her yet.
“Yeah?”
Tabitha doesn't need to see my expression to hear the hesitation in my voice. "I take it you know of this skill?" Like a slash to the vitals, Tabitha cuts to the heart of the matter.
Pacore already knows I have Sense Soul, so there wasn't a reason to hide what I knew about the skill since Tabitha had already unlocked it. It seems that no matter what I do, I can't avoid the subject of my skills. Well, at least it isn't one of the scarier ones.
"I do, and it’s a good one; you unlocked a tier 5 skill,” I give Tabitha the good news and wait for her reaction.
“What!” Tabitha begins to raise her voice in alarm, but she catches herself before she gets too loud. “A tier 5 skill!” She exclaims in a hushed voice. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I assure her, but I don’t think she was listening to me.
Tabitha was back to mumbling to herself. “I finally unlocked a tier 5 skill. I really did it. Me.”
“Yep, you sure did,” I casually interject to remind Tabitha that I was still here.
In the dark, Tabitha's head slowly turns in my direction. "I unlocked a tier 5 skill—but you already have it." She wasn't accusing me of anything; it was more like she was trying to process everything.
“Yeah, and before you ask, Pacore knew about this one."
How did I explain this properly? “You know the skill I use to judge levels? It's Sense Soul, though you need to level it before you can sense other people’s souls.”
It was surreal and oddly liberating to talk openly about one of my higher-tired skills. Due to all my paranoia, I rarely mentioned any of my stronger skills to anybody else, and the few people who did know about Sense Soul weren't aware of my other skills or what they could do.
Any information I had on Sense Soul should be considered a major secret, but after how much Tabitha has helped me, it felt right to tell her the few things I discovered or at least point her in the right direction.
I start by warning her, "Be careful not to focus too closely on your soul, at least when you're not somewhere safe."
"And why is that?" I could sense Tabitha hanging on my every word; is this what it feels like to teach someone?
“It’s a defensive mechanism. If you try to look at the core of your soul, your conciseness will be dragged in there. It’s a great place to meditate and rest, but you'll expose your body to danger if you aren't careful."
“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t use the skill until we’re back at the village," Tabitha immediately understood what I was hinting at.
"That's probably best. Getting used to it will take a lot of meditation and practice."
"Just my luck," I hear Tabitha grumble lightly. "I unlock a tier 5 skill and it doesn't suit me at all."
“Sorry?” I confusingly reply.
“Ignore me,” Tabitha brushes off my concern. “I know I shouldn't complain; most go their whole lives without unlocking a tier 5 skill. It's just— I've dreamed of this day since Master Pacore accepted me as one of his disciples. I just thought any tier 5 skill I would get would be something more physical, like Master's. Or maybe something to do with my sword skills, which I’ve spent my whole life honing. Instead, I got a skill I have no idea how to use. It sounds more like a mage’s skill than anything else."
“But you know magic; I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it,” I offer Tabitha some encouraging words, but she just huffs in amusement.
“I am no mage; I only know enough magic to charge my gear and cast the most basic spells. I despise meditating and anything else that requires me to do nothing for hours on end. I'll trust you that it's a valuable skill, but it isn't me,” Tabitha lets out another tired sigh. “How did I even unlock such a skill?”
I cough into my hand embarrassingly. "That was probably my bad. The hands you saw coming out of my back were touching your soul. So, it only makes sense you'd start noticing it after suffering through such a thing. And I don’t know what other tier 5 skills are like, but I’m sure you’ll find Sense Soul more useful than it sounds. Trust me.”
That wasn't just me trying to make Tabitha feel better, either. Tabitha wanted a tier 5 skill she could use in battle, but I spoke from experience when I said physical skills weren't everything.
Sense Soul, Soul Manipulation, and Soul Devourer were all overpowered in different ways, and two out of three were considered passive skills. I could only imagine what a tier 5 sword would look like by comparison, but I wouldn't trade any of them for the world. Each had saved my life in one way or the other and would likely continue doing so long into the future.
"If you say so," Tabitha didn't sound entirely convinced, but I was sure with some time and some help from me, she’d come to appreciate the skill she was given.
"Now, enough about me," Tabitha suddenly decided to flip things around. "Tell me, how many levels did you gain?"
"What?" I answer back dumbly.
"Come now. Don't tell me you forgot to check your status page?" Tabitha chuckles mockingly, but not in a bad way, more like a sibling. “You helped me escape the lesser dragon, saved my arms, and protected me against the soul horrors. If I gained this much, I'm almost afraid to hear what you got."
I can't help but blush, partially from Tabitha's praise but mainly because I was embarrassed. It wasn't my fault I forgot to check my status page; Tabitha was the one who distracted me....
Okay, so it slipped my mind.
The truth was, between resting and everything going on with Tabitha, it never crossed my mind to check my stats.
I pushed the majority of the soul horror experience into Tabitha, but I still had a lot to process myself when I passed out. If she said she got twenty-seven million, how much did I keep?
Only one way to find out.
"Alright, give me a second,” I tell Tabitha as I pull up my status page.
Let's see what almost turning into a soul-sucking monster earned me; it better be good.