It took me half an hour to go through what had happened to me. We had moved to my old room, which Bryan had kept booked since the battle. He remained silent as I spilled all of my secrets. The only thing I held back on was the involvement of the god Bael.

It would be easier to set the cult and the bandits as a target rather than an actual god.

“So, you did die, but you got sent back.” Bryan took a long drink of his water. The receptionist had given us two big jugs when she saw me help Bryan to the stairs, and he had finished a full one by himself.

“Yeah.” I nodded, though the fact he had sent me back didn’t make me too happy. He had said it was impossible to bring Claire back, but it was unlikely he knew her soul was my passenger. Even so, I didn’t want to get Bryan’s hopes up. “Listen, about Claire…”

“It’s fine, Rook. We have stories of gods who tried to revive people in the past, it never went well.” Bryan waved me into silence. “The main issue you have is the groups you're up against. Your still level six, right? They’ll rip you apart.”

“What do you recommend?” It would be best to follow Bryan’s advice. This wasn’t my world, he would know much more about these people than I did.

“Well, the cult hides in the shadows. Ray is a good example of that.” Bryan stared into his mug hatefully. “The bandits are the opposite, but they’re like mayflies. Every one you take out is replaced by three more.”

“Well, an obvious target is better than a hidden one. Bandits first, then.”

“I like your confidence.” Bryan smiled at me as he pushed himself up from the desk. “I need to get some rest, let’s talk more tomorrow?”

“Before you go… what happened to Karen?”

Bryan paused at the door for several seconds before he turned back to me. His smile had wilted a little as he sighed.

“She moved to the Holy Kingdom capital with her little brother. The bandit attacks got her worried, and you know how Robbie is. She was scared he would do something stupid.”

“Ah, I guess that makes sense. It’s good that she’s OK, though.”

“Yeah. She did say she’d move back if the bandit’s made another treaty with the town.” Bryan shook his head. “Optimistic, but it could happen.”

“Maybe.” I didn’t share the full extent of my plan. It was possible my actions would put a wrench in their hopes, but it needed to be done either way. Bryan waved at me and walked out of the room. As he pushed the door open, he turned and tossed a small object to me.

It was a key.

“I bought this room from the guild before. It was our present to you for joining the group.” A faint smile tugged at his lips as he gave me one last look. “Keep it, it should come in handy.”

Before I could respond, Bryan left the room and closed the door behind him. As the lock clicked shut, I bounced the key on my palm. Claire, Susan, John and Bryan. These four people had taken me in as one of their own. Claire had known I was truthful with them, but that alone wouldn’t have made them act in such a way.

They truly did enjoy my company and wanted to help me succeed.

It was a heavy burden. This key was like the last gift from Claire, a keepsake of our time together. Bryan had most likely kept it in her memory, as he would have never imagined I would return. After he had passed the key to me, the loop was closed.

Before the depressive atmosphere could set in, I put the key away and pulled out the book. The old god had given it to me on his last visit before Rose had appeared. If he had told me then it was the last time we would meet before he sent me back, I wouldn't have left without asking a few choice questions.

No matter what else he had done, the end results was that he saved my life. It was for his own end goals, but he still helped me every step of the way. My enhanced abilities were in large part due to his assistance. This book should be important, but why did he wait so long to give it to me?

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

‘A history from the end of the world: The Saints and how they failed’

What the hell.

My curiosity was at its max as I peeled open the first page. A small note dropped out onto the bed. After a quick check, it was clear who had written it.

‘Hello Rook,

You did well to distract yourself for a year. Most humans would have gone insane. Maybe you already were a bit mad?

Either way, you did your best. I exhausted my energy to bring you back, so now it's up to you. The next time we meet, you’ll be able to return the favour when we take Bael down and bring my sister back to her senses-’

“Wait, the goddess is his sister.” I shook my head. “No resemblance at all.”

‘I know you probably just said something rude, so I’ll give you a slap for it later. Look forward to that.’

A slap from a god… I guess I’m planning to fight one anyway, so why not.

‘Either way, this book is the collected knowledge. You won’t be able to read past the current events for each saint.

Everything you do will change the events of the future, so the book will be a bit less accurate as you go.

It’s better than nothing though, so do your best. Don’t die again, or I really will kill you next time we meet.

Good luck,

Drake’

“He was called Drake? I guess it makes sense why he didn’t mention it before.” I folded the note and placed it inside my pocket. A quick test confirmed the book's pages were glued together with some magical force, save for the first two. After the blank entry page, the next two were filled with a dense script from end to end.

It described the saints, who they were and their known locations. Whoever had written it was obviously not omniscient, so it was couched in terms of guesswork and rumours. Several of the saint's movements were well known, but the others were well hidden. One name jumped out at me as I read through the vague descriptions.

‘The Bandit King’

‘known Location: Main bandit camp in the central lands. Leads bandits after failed coup, wife lost during battle.

Class: Warrior

Attribute: Rage

Weapon: Two-handed Axe’

It had various other bits of information, but most of them were fluff at best. The old man… Drake had given me several books to explain the common concepts of the world. They had taught me about the seven attributes, eight if you included Novice, which made up the population. When people reached level ten, their basic Novice attribute would mutate into one of the seven major attributes.

I guess that makes sense.

I still used plain mana. The bar was light blue and my guild card, which had been replaced by the receptionist, showed a blank space under attribute. The colour and title would change when you reached level ten, which shouldn’t be too far off. After I tapped against my chin, a small drop-down menu appeared which stunned me into silence.

All seven attributes appeared in a line. Six were split into groups of two. Holy, Dark. Focus, Rage. Elemental, Spirit. The last was by itself with no corresponding attribute. Power sat all alone, with nothing to oppose it. All of the options were greyed out, but when I tapped on one at random, the voice spoke in my ear.

**You cannot use the Holy attribute. This will be unlocked once you have experienced the source of Holy energy.**

“Oh, thanks. That clears it up.” I grumbled at the voice, it couldn’t be blamed when it told me the truth. After I had stored the guild card again, my next goal was obvious.

I couldn’t waste the rest of my day.

I left my room and locked the door behind me. Bryan would need the rest of the day to recover, so this was the perfect time to test myself. The receptionist gave me a small bag when she saw the book, which was tied once again to my waist. After so long without it, the subtle weight of the bag was quite nostalgic.

“Inventory.” I muttered softly. A quick test confirmed the book, and even the bag itself could be stored in my invisible space. There might be a capacity limit, so it would be best to hold off. When I tried to put myself in as a test, the voice spoke to me with a stern tone.

**Sentient beings cannot be placed into the inventory.**

“Alright snappy.” I shook my head and moved towards the centre of the town. John and Susan had not been at the guild, but Bryan would inform them of my arrival when he had recovered sooner rather than later. We could catch up once everyone was together.

Bryan would pass on what had happened to me, so that would save another awkward conversation. They would have questions, sure, but if I could answer that was another matter entirely. For now, my goal was a little more selfish. My combat ability had risen, but by how much was uncertain without trying it out.

Luckily, there was one place in the town where I could test myself.

I wandered into the stone-fronted building and waved at the guard by the desk. He watched me without interest as I walked to his desk and glanced along the corridor.

“Is the dungeon free?” I smile at him. “Single, basic, please.”