Calling it ‘a bit of a walk’, as it turned out, had been a gross underestimation. It wasn’t quite a lie, but Alarion had spent enough time in Vitrian company that their dislike of dishonesty had rubbed off on him. He was annoyed and he did his best not to let it show as they traveled along row after row of what he now knew to be ‘data servers’.

Alex had at least kept the walk from becoming boring. There were critical gaps in the digital man’s memory, the so called fragmentation, but what he’d been able to convey had been elucidating.

Alarion asked with a frown.

Alex scolded from his wrist, though the words were stiff, a sign that the translation software Alex was using to communicate had struggled to find comparable words in Ashadi.

Alex sighed audibly.

Alarion interjected, his mind on an entirely different track after a thought occurred.

The young man frowned at that, reviewing his quest on the subject:

> Mercy Kill

>

> Success Conditions: Destroy the remaining Soulless beneath the spire.

Did the system not know? It gave him experience for destroying the soulless when he’d defeated them, but from Alex’s explanation, they could have been put into other bodies if some were available. Dar had explained that his skill could not give him information he did not already know, but this still felt deceitful. As though the System had somehow lied to him by omission.

Destroy the soulless, not kill them, despite the name of the quest.

Alex continued, oblivious to Alarion’s attention on his quest screens.

Alex was silent for a long while. When he spoke again, it was with some hesitancy.

Alarion asked, a hopeful note in his voice that did not quite reach his eyes.

Alex dashed his hopes as neatly as they’d come.

Alex’s voice was solemn as he spoke, perking up only slightly as he said.

True to his words they had finally reached the end. Not for the first time, Alarion wondered if there was some sort of dimensional trickery at play. The spire was enormous, but looking back, Alarion had trouble reconciling the sheer volume taken up by emulation.

Ahead of him lay the nerve center of it all. Thick bundles of cable converged along the ceiling then down into a trio of intricate glass and metal. A dozen screens glowed around them, full of arcane writing that Alarion could not hope to decipher. The core itself had sigils carved into the glass. Familiar ones. An hour-glass. A skull. And a flame.

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Alarion asked, gesturing at the symbols.

Alex seemed perplexed as he responded,

Alex answered after some hesitation, as though he thought he were missing something obvious.

Alarion responded.

Came his non-committal response. There were further questions on Alarion’s mind, not the mention debate on the number and nature of gods, but Sierra weighed more heavily. She would be trying to chase after him, of that he was certain. The sooner he disabled the soulless, the safer she would be.

The cacophonous sound of metal rending metal cut Alex short as Alarion’s greatsword shattered the glass exterior and carved through the top five racks of servers in a single fluid motion. Sparks flew and a small fire erupted amidst tangled wire, an overhead suppression system triggering to immediately douse the area in a cloudy wave of pressurized gas.

Alarion relaxed visibly but Alex was practically vibrating on his wrist as he continued.

Misunderstanding his confusion, Alarion shrunk the greatsword in his hand, then enlarged it, repeating the process twice more as Alex gathered himself.

Alex was still struggling to put his complaints into words as he tried again.

The young man offered helpfully.

Alex responded his voice frazzled.

After the last few days, Alarion could relate. More importantly, he understood as timelines began to click into place.

Alarion quickly switched to Vitrian as he drove home the point. “The System?”

Alarion nodded.

The young man could not see the emulation’s befuddled expression. But he could imagine it.

He asked at last.

Alarion answered briskly, before he then added,

Alex’s words seemed on the verge of madness, a million questions all ready to be asked at once. Only one predominated his mind, however.

Alarion did not answer in words. Instead he let his sword grow once again, and flourished it slightly.

There was a drawn pause, a silent scream.

Alex could be heard audibly drawing a breath he did not need.

Alarion let Alex have his existential crisis as the gas dissipated, allowing him to return to his work. His second swing was more effective than the first, now that he knew what he was up against, cutting straight through the remaining servers in a neat line. Certain that the light had died out, Alarion moved to the next for similar results and was rewarded with a flood of notifications as he destroyed the last of the third.

> You have slain [Soulless Sentry – UCL 96] – Bonus Experience earned for slaying an opponent above your UCL.

>

> You have slain [Soulless Laborer – UCL 43] – Bonus Experience earned for slaying an opponent above your UCL.

The message repeated dozens upon dozens of times, flooding him with notifications of the destruction of over fifteen different varieties of Soulless.

> [Quest Complete – Mercy Kill]

> Alternate Reward: One Rare Savior Box

> Would you like to claim your Rewards? Yes/No

> Level Up! Congratulations, Your Stubborn Swordsman Class has advanced to Level 18! STR +54. AGI +42 VIT +48. INT +30. PER +42. WIL +30.

>

> Level Up! Congratulations, Your Orphan Class has advanced to Level 9! STR +10. AGI + 10. VIT +15. INT +5. PER +15. WIL +20. Luck +252.

> Soulless Bane

>

> Description: Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a pattern. One hundred is a vendetta.

> Requirements: Kill more than 100 Soulless.

> Effects: Increase all damage dealt to Soulless targets by 5%. Reduce all damage dealt to you from Soulless sources by 5%. Gain 10% increased XP for killing Soulless opponents.

Alarion lurched in surprise. He’d been so caught up in his gains that he’d momentarily forgotten the emulation was still at his wrist.

He answered.

That didn’t help matters.

Alarion shrugged as he mentally clicked the accept button on his quest. The air vibrated with the electric zip of his item box materializing in mid-air and he quickly cut in to forestall any more questions.

Assuming Alarion could keep his attention away from the New Skill Available notification long enough.