Chapter 19 – The Weight of One’s Convictions
Aenon collapsed on his bed in exhaustion. Whatever he had done earlier had drained him significantly. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was he did, but he had a vague idea. It had felt like his body was on autopilot based on emotions and the subtle hints he was receiving from his latest Titles. He felt Allie’s presence boring down on him, so he decided to review his stats before he got sucked into another tedious conversation.
Title achieved: Dungeon Pioneer
Title upgraded: Arcane Wizard (2)
Title upgraded: Mana Touched (2)
Title upgraded: Goblin Bane (2)
Title evolved: Dungeon Pioneer to Dungeon Pathfinder
Title upgraded: Planetary Forerunner (7)
Title upgraded: Solo Player (2)
Title achieved: Corruption Cleanser
Title upgraded: System’s Chosen (2)
Title upgraded: Unfettered (2)
Dungeon Pioneer: Locate and enter a previously undiscovered dungeon
+5 PER
Arcane Wizard (2): Achieve intermediate mastery of natural mana on your own.
+20 all stats
Mana Touched (2): Interact with natural mana attributes without the System's aid.
+30 all stats
Goblin Bane (2): Kill more than 10 hobgoblins
+30 all stats
Dungeon Pathfinder: Clear a previously uncleared dungeon.
+10 all stats
Planetary Forerunner (7): First to clear an overflowing dungeon while solo
+60 all stats
Solo Player (2): Clear a dungeon solo.
+50 all stats
Corruption Cleanser: Directly cause the removal or suppression of ?? Corruption
+60 all stats
System’s Chosen (Hidden, 2): Achieve a favorable view from the System. Cannot be seen by anyone except the System.
Allows the ability to hide one or all titles from others, including Overseers.
Allows user to bypass certain System restrictions.
Unfettered (2): ???
+100 all stats
Skill (Unfettered): ??
Name
Aenon Fenrast (13 yrs)
Race
Human (F)
Level
0
Class
None
Level
NA
Subclass
None
Level
NA
HP
6940
MP
7020
HP/10 min
1386
MP/10 min
1420
Stats
Strength
694 (4+690)
Intelligence
702 (12+690)
Constitution
693 (3+690)
Willpower
710 (20+690)
Dexterity
698 (8+690)
Perception
700 (10+690)
Titles (690 x 6 = 4140)
Indomitable Soul (3)
+20 all stats
Planetary Forerunner (7)
+60 all stats
Overseers Favor
+5 all stats
System's Chosen (2)
(Can bypass certain System restrictions)
Nomenclaturist
+5 all stats
Savant Hunter (3)
+30 all stats
Arcane Wizard (2)
+20 all stats
Mana Touched (2)
+30 all stats
Unfettered (2)
+100 all stats (Skill: ??)
Apex Predator
+20 all stats
Underdog
+20 all stats
Goblin Bane (2)
+30 all stats
Solo Player (2)
+50 all stats
Dungeon Pathfinder
+10 all stats
Corruption Cleanser
+60 all stats
Prodigy (2)
+30% stat gained from Titles
First Blood (S)
+20% stat gained from Titles
Skills (Free SP: 6)
Weapons (Dagger, Unarmed, Traps)
Savant
Stealth (Woods, Urban)
Savant
Spells
Illusion (Basic)
Earth Manipulation (Basic)
Water Manipulation (Basic)
Overcharge (Basic)
Blooming Earth
Barrier – Physical (Basic)
He finally figured out how he was able to bypass the System barrier that protected human players. His System’s Chosen title had upgraded and allowed him certain privileges. If his guess was right, it had upgraded because of the Corruption Cleanser title. Unfettered was still a mystery but seeing that it had upgraded last meant certain conditions must have been satisfied. He didn’t know how, but he knew that it had bypassed the resurrection token and killed that man permanently. Closing his stat sheet, he turned around to address the elephant in the room.
“Go on, the Overseer is not listening in,” he told Allie who was on his hand in her trinket form. After a tense silence she spoke coldly.
“He… he killed his own flesh and blood to protect you? I have seen him eliminate family members who had become problems. But this, this doesn’t make sense. Why is he treating you this way? What is so special about you? Also, how in the world did you bypass the System barrier? And manage to kill them via a projection?”
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Aenon stayed silent for a minute, waiting to see if she would ask any further questions. He was growing tired of spoon feeding her information but decided to do it anyway.
“What makes you think he killed that Arbiter to protect me?” he asked.
“Are you serious? He killed my cousin after he dared question the decision to let you go. A decision even I am questioning. You are dangerous. The things you do, the things you are capable of, are unheard of. You are already past the threshold for an S grade evolution, and you are still a level 0.”
Aenon sat up on the bed at that. He removed the trinket and placed it in front of him. When she transformed into her elf form, he drew his dagger and placed it in between them.
“Go ahead then. Finish me off. The Overseer may kill you for it, but it shouldn’t matter. If I am such a threat, and you are truly as righteous as you think, then you should have no qualms in sacrificing yourself for the greater good,” he stared directly into her eyes while challenging her.
“You think I won’t?” she retorted while picking up the dagger and pointing at him. When he didn’t react, she drew her hand back and stabbed him in his chest.
-5800 HP (Critical Hit)
Status effect: Massive Bleed (-500 HP/min)
Aenon didn’t even flinch and continued to stare at her without emotion. She fumbled and stepped away from him, leaving the dagger in his chest. Her eyes went wide as she realized what she had done. She started looking around in a panic, before her presence disappeared from the trinket and it fell to the floor.
Aenon leaned back against the headrest of his bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t know why he let her kill him that easily, it wasn’t like him. But he owed her a life, and in his book now they were even. His feelings had been bothering him for a while now. He was not this emotional or trusting in the past, ever since his sister’s death. So, he wasn’t sure why he trusted the Overseer and the Arbiter that easily. But it didn’t really matter anymore. He was about to die, and that was that.
He had less than a minute to live, so he decided to recall the good memories from his past. It brought a smile to his face, as he felt his life slowly starting to fade away. Eventually he was flung back into his soul space which was in utter chaos.
There were cracks forming all over the shell that housed his soul and avatar. He estimated that the walls would collapse within an hour, which must be what decided the resurrection timer. With nothing better to do, he approached the clear crystal shard in his soul space. It just floated around, inert to his senses. He could mentally access it to browse all the information stored there, so he pulled up his social media profile. Something he had not done in so long.
He browsed his family pictures, reminiscing about the fond memories. He quickly created a collage of all the photos and videos and sat down to watch them as his soul space started falling apart. He ignored the collapse and just focused on the video before him. He laughed, he cried, but not once did he regret where his life had led him. As the video ended, he leaned back and just floated in silence, ready to pass on.
As the final sections of his soul space collapsed, he felt a sudden surge of mana pass through his soul space. Within seconds the shell was reformed, and he was ejected back into the real world. He looked around in confusion, his vision was blurry, and he had no strength to lift his arms. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as the dagger was removed. When his sight returned, he saw the panicking face of Allie sitting on top of him.
Before he could try speaking, he felt his face whipped to the side as she slapped him hard. His brain rattled in his skull from the force of the impact. That completely dispelled the grogginess from his eyes, and he was finally able to register that she was yelling and crying.
“You moron, you psycho…,” she bombarded him with insults.
“What? Stabbing me to death was too slow? You want to slap me to death instead?” Aenon said with a straight face. He was annoyed with her, but he could not shake off this … feeling that he had to forgive her. It was very disorienting.
She was stunned, speechless, just staring at him with her jaw hanging. She tried but failed to complete a full sentence.
“You… how can you…”
Aenon lay there, with his hands to the side, with her straddling him. Eventually he sighed and spoke softly.
“I always mean what I say Allie. It was not a rhetorical statement. You have saved my life previously. So, I would have been happy to just let you claim it. If you truly felt that I am a threat, that is.”
He looked into her eyes as a myriad of emotions ran through her mind.
………………..
Allie
Allie’s mind was flooded with adrenaline and emotions she had never felt before. She had met many warriors who spoke of their convictions with zeal and passion. She had also met many suitors who boldly claimed they would give their life to her. But time and time again she had witnessed those same bold warriors and suitors cower in the face of death, abandoning their resolve at the very thought of facing it.
So, when the boy before her had claimed to the Overseer that he would not regret facing the consequences for his actions, she thought it was just a false bravado. When he had boldly claimed that she could reap his life if she wished, she thought it was a false challenge. She thought he expected her to back off because of the Overseer’s protection. She thought he underestimated her conviction by eliminating a threat at the cost of her own life.
But the look in his eyes when the dagger plunged into his chest shattered all those beliefs. He had not even attempted to dodge or felt hurt that someone who had saved him, would so casually kill him. He had meant every single word he had said. She had realized in that moment that the weight of his conviction far surpassed her own.
She had desperately travelled in her real body to get here before the 60-minute resurrection timer was up. When she finally reached him, he had surpassed her expectations even further. In place of a man desperately clinging to life, she had found him leaning back with the most peaceful smile she had ever seen. When she started casting her spell, she had a brief glimpse of his soul space. Contrary to her expectations, the maniac was reliving his past in contentment. There wasn’t even a trace of regret, or doubt, or fear.
She had barely made it in time to bring him back. She didn’t know why she felt it, but the thought of losing him was unbearable to her. That angered her, and so she slapped and cursed him. And yet, the first words that came out of his mouth were so emotionless. Not relief at surviving, or anger at the betrayal of trust, just indifference. But the words that followed resonated with her very soul.
“I always mean what I say Allie. It was not a rhetorical statement. You have saved my life previously. So, I would have been happy to just let you claim it. If you truly felt that I am a threat, that is.”
It was at this moment that she understood what her grandfather meant by all those cryptic statements. Why did he hold this boy in such high regard. And, why he felt this boy was suitable for her. The conviction in those eyes as he lay defenseless below her said it all. She finally saw what her grandfather saw. And without thinking, she leaned forward, held his head in her hands, and kissed him on the lips.
She felt his body stiffen at the sudden contact. But slowly she felt him relax, as they both got lost in the sensation. There was no lust, no hunger in the act. It was a pure kiss born of innocence, of wanting to lay claim to the other and connect on a deeper level. When their lips parted, she opened her eyes and gazed into his. She could feel his rapid breath on her face, and all the questions running through his head. She had questions too, hundreds of them. But at this moment, this infinitesimally small moment, none of that mattered.
After what felt like an eternity, she slowly climbed off him. She was too embarrassed to face him, so she sat at the edge of the bed looking the other way. He too quickly sat next to her but stayed silent. She could feel the nervousness in the very air around them. She was shocked at what she had done. This was her first kiss. She had dreamed of this day for years, but not once had she expected that she would be the one taking the initiative. She believed that the guy should be the one taking the lead.
She felt nervous about what he must be thinking about her. Did he think she had done this before? Did he dislike how forward she was? She wanted to scream at him that this was her first kiss, but her vocal cords refused to work. But before either one of them could gather courage, she heard the one voice that she didn’t want to hear right now.
“Ahem. Hope I am not interrupting anything,” her grandfather spoke in a teasing tone with the biggest smirk she had ever witnessed on the old man’s face.
They both jumped up as though the bed was on fire and moved two steps away from each other. She hurriedly bowed to him, and her eyes stayed glued to the floor after that.
“Would you mind heading back for now, my dear. I need to have a conversation with the young man. I will meet with you in my library shortly,” the old man was obviously pleased beyond words and laid it on thick.
Not knowing what to do, she hurriedly picked up her trinket and thrust it at Aenon before tapping her ring and appearing in her grandfather’s study. She had absolutely no idea what kind of discussion they were having, and that terrified her. Recalling the last five minutes made her face heat up, so she buried her face in her hands and screamed.
………………
Aenon
Aenon sat there with his eyes closed, completely ignoring the Overseer’s presence. His emotions were in turmoil, unable to reconcile with what had just happened. He had not had any such feelings towards the girl, despite his sister’s teasing. And although the kiss felt… no. He could not let his mind go in that direction. Even if he was to consider the relationship, there were too many strings attached.
“It’s alright young man,” he heard the soothing voice of the Overseer. For some reason he felt at ease by those words, like everything was going to be ok. He was worried the old man would have mistaken the situation and be angry at him. Aenon didn’t want that.
“I can expla…,” he started to speak but was interrupted by the Overseer’s raised hand. There was a calming smile on his face.
“The passion of youth need not be explained to an old man like me. I can guess what has transpired here. The question is, what are you going to do now?”
The question gave him pause. On the one hand, he didn’t really like Allie that way, she just wasn’t his type. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to anger or disappoint her mentor. It was weird but for some reason, the old man held an important position in his life now. He just wasn’t sure why. He needed more time to sort out his feelings, something he never had a problem with in the past.
“I… I need some time to think about it,” he muttered quietly while staring at the trinket in his hand. He didn’t want to entangle himself with her any more than he already was. “Could you please hand this back to her?”
The Overseer looked disappointed, something that bothered him a lot. It must have been his imagination, but he thought he also saw a hint of… anger? But the expression passed by too quickly for him to be sure. But he had to be resolute here, he had to clearly draw the lines. This was not the time for him to get mired in relationships.
“Of course, my boy. You are no longer leaking mana, so the trinket is no longer needed. What would you like me to tell my precious granddaughter though?” the Overseer asked with a warm smile. For whatever reason, that smile made him uncomfortable, as though…
“It doesn’t belong to me. Just tell her that,” Aenon said flatly. He hated owing favors, but from his perspective he had settled any favors she had done for him. She had saved his life, but just as easily taken it. Which meant his score was settled. And he didn’t want any more favors from her.
“She would be disappointed,” the Overseer said with a sad smile.
Aenon’s anger flared for an instant, and he almost lashed out. But that smile soothed his anger just as quickly. Ugh, this was going nowhere. He needed to get this old man off his back and take some time to consider things. He wanted nothing to do with Allie, but he couldn’t outright deny this wily old man.
“The trinket is too eye catching. Makes stealth harder,” Aenon said while trying to keep a straight face.
“How about this instead?” the Overseer pulled an obsidian bracelet from out of nowhere. It was small and discrete, but more importantly emitted different forms of mana wisps. Aenon knew just from a cursory glance that this was a priceless artifact.
Aenon felt his emotions getting restless again. He had no idea what was going on. He wanted that bracelet for some reason, like his soul craved it. This bothered him, because he hated taking freebies. Then why did he so desperately want this bracelet?
“I’ll think about it,” he said with gritted teeth. It had taken all his willpower to turn down the offering. The moment he said it, he saw the previous expression from the Overseer again. It was gone just as quickly, but since he was searching for it, he could make out what it was – annoyance.
“Well, keep it on you just in case,” the old man tossed the bracelet at Aenon, who caught it out of reflex. “When you decide to claim it, just put it on. And it shall be yours.”
Aenon said nothing. He took one last look at the bracelet, and despite the pull he felt from it, deposited it in his inventory. He gave the Overseer a terse bow but stayed silent. The Overseer regarded him for a moment longer before disappearing.
………………
Allie
Allie started pacing the room in nervousness, looking at the wall clock every 5 seconds. After 10 agonizing minutes, her grandfather appeared with a solemn look on his face. His expression made no sense to her, since he was grinning when she left them. A dread started creeping up her chest at the implications.
“What happened? Why do you look so tense?”, she asked nervously.
He stayed quiet before retrieving something from his pocket. It was her trinket that she had given Aenon before she left. She felt her heart drop to the floor when she saw that.
“He said he doesn’t need this trinket anymore, since his soul is fixed now. Said it was too flashy and precious to be wearing around,” her grandfather said in sad voice.
She felt a sharp pain in her chest as her vision started getting blurry. He had rejected her, just like her grandfather predicted he would. And it was completely her fault. She had provoked and taunted him every chance she got. She even tried killing him twice, almost succeeding the second time around. On top of that she had thrown herself at him, without any regard for his feelings.
“He said something a bit more discrete would be better. Like a locket perhaps. I had recommended a ring, but he insisted it was too soon for that, and he wanted to be the one to acquire one if it comes to that.”
The words didn’t register in her head for a full thirty seconds. When they did, her head snapped towards him so fast, she felt her spine crack in protest.
“Huh?” she asked, lost for words.
She noticed the corners of his lips struggling to suppress a grin. Her left eye twitched before she screamed and started hurling spells left and right. He hastily erected a barrier before breaking down into full blown laughter.
She kept throwing random spells for the next thirty minutes and only stopped when she ran out of mana. She collapsed on the ground in exhaustion before proceeding to cry uncontrollably.
“That was mean, even for you,” she managed to say in between sobs.
The Overseer calmly hugged her and started stroking her head. He wasn’t laughing anymore, but there was a warm smile on his face.
“Sorry little one, couldn’t resist. I wanted to tease you, yes. But I also wanted to see how serious you are about him. It seems I underestimated that man yet again. Making my precious little girl fall for him that hard,” he said in a soothing voice.
She punched him gently for that but hugged him back and stayed there for several minutes. When she had calmed enough, they both headed for the recliners by the fireplace and sat down.
“What did you two talk about?" she asked nervously after a while.
“Well, that’s between the two of us, my dear. All you need to know is that he has decided to officially take you to court,” he replied with a straight face.
She felt her cheeks turning hot at the mention of courtship but started giggling at the memory. Her grandfather merely smiled at her reaction. After a moment, she decided to ask about a few serious things going through her head.
“Grandpa, about my cousin…,” she asked hesitantly.
“What about him?” he replied while sipping his tea indifferently.
“Why did you kill him? It was not to protect Aenon’s secret, was it?”
“And what makes you say that?” he asked.
“He said so himself. Or rather asked me why I felt he was killed to protect him,” she replied doubtfully.
“That boy is more perceptive than any one from your generation,” he replied with a smile. “Basically, it was a veiled threat to the other girl in that room not to reveal the incident. But the main purpose was to punish him for failing his duty as an Arbiter. Vile scum like the two Aenon killed have no place in our society. Your cousin should have known that.”
Allie nodded in understanding. Regretting not figuring it out herself. There was one other thing she wanted to ask but was too scared to. Her grandfather noticed her discomfort but stayed silent, waiting for her to gather courage.
“I think you were right that he deserves someone better than me. I always mess up about these things and today I… I almost killed him. In my own hubris, I thought he was a threat, not regarding all these things,” she admitted with guilt.
“There is nothing to worry about. At least five of my previous wives have stabbed me for one reason or another. Like me, your man is sturdy enough to take it,” he said mischievously.
“Please stop. I am serious right now.”
“Alright, alright. In all seriousness, the blame is not entirely yours. I may have overprotected you while growing up. But that’s the reason why he is such a great fit for you. He can fulfill the things you lack and vice versa,” he said with a warm smile.
“But… he doesn’t lack anything. I am stronger than him now. But at the rate at which he is growing, he will outpace me sooner than we think,” she asked in frustration and fear.
“He does lack something, my dear. And it is your job to figure out what that is,” her grandfather said in his usual cryptic way.
She nodded in understanding and steeled her resolve. She was unsure of what the future held, but she was determined not to lose to him in strength. She wanted to be right by his side no matter what.