We took the time to bury the members of the patrol. Not just because it was the right thing to do, no. But because we needed to conceal the evidence of our battle with them. If there was one patrol in these lands, there was a good chance that there were more. We couldn’t give them any reason to increase suspicion in the area, at least until we’d accomplished our mission.

Still.

There was something unspeakably grim about digging a mass grave.

We’d gathered all thirty-two members of the patrol and sort of…stacked them together next to the spot where they’d be buried. We deliberately didn’t do much to their bodies, trying to afford them the barest amount of respect. No looting of any kind happened.

We were taking turns on the digging. Currently, it was Azarus and Venix out there, shoveling away at the earth. I was watching them, sitting up against one of the wagon wheels, having just finished my turn and handed my shovel to Azarus. I’d been surprised that we had a few as part of our supplies, but when I’d questioned Azarus about it, he’d just grunted at me dourly.

I didn’t blame him for being standoffish. I think everyone in our group was processing the battle differently.

I know I sure as hell was having a hard time of it.

I crossed my arms, letting my gaze drift away from the two digging. Grey was above me somewhere, where he had pulled out a pipe for the first time since we’d met. I couldn’t see him from my position, but I knew that he was gazing out onto the horizon where Tarus was beginning its descent and puffing away. I don’t know where Sylvia was. Sometimes she just…vanished into thin air and we would only see her later.

I won’t lie, I was tempted to do the same. I’d discovered that hunting was a very meditative thing for me, and I longed for that kind of focus right now. Anything to drive the thoughts from my head.

I was knocked out of my introspection by someone plopping down into the dirt next to me. Casting a gaze sideways, I found that it was Aurum, the last member of our little party. Despite being our healer, he hadn’t needed to do much for us post-battle. Grey had been telling the truth to Captain Dallens, right before his death. None of us had been injured, beyond a few minor scrapes and bruises. I hadn’t seen much of him after the battle, having been busy with digging.

Whenever I’d spoken to Aurum, he had seemed like a fairly friendly kind of guy. None of that was evident on his golden features right now, though. Instead, the usually jovial Sculpted was solemn. He was sitting next to me with his knees drawn up to his chest, hugging them like a child.

“This isn’t my first battle, you know,” He told me quietly. He glanced at me from the corner of his golden eye. “Was it yours?”

I drew in a slow breath, memories of Addersfield flooding my brain. In particular, I was remembering our frantic escape from the town, and the guard that I had killed then. “I guess…it depends on what you call a battle,” I told him, just as quietly. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to kill, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Aurum nodded slowly. “I get that,” He murmured. It was silent between us for a few moments before he broke it again. “I…haven’t really had the chance to know much else than this, you know?” He told me, letting his metallic head thunk back onto the wagon wheel. “Since we all woke up, it’s been nothing but battle after battle, in more ways than just…fighting,” He waved a limp hand at the pile of corpses that we’d made of the patrol. “Sometimes…”

I turned to face him more, since he’d trailed off. I saw that the Sculpted man had a troubled look on his face. “Sometimes what?”

Aurum gazed out into the sunset with an unfocused gaze for a moment before turning to face me. I was surprised at the level of sadness I found in his eyes. “I wonder If any of this is worth it.”

I furrowed my brow. “You mean the Uprising?”

Aurum nodded, troubled. “So much death. So much suffering. Ever since we woke up, I’ve never seen Herztal in a state other than…bickering, and fighting and death,” He drew in a shuddering breath, even though I doubted he needed it. “Sometimes I think we’re a curse on this land. If we had never existed, none of them would have had to die today.” He finished, nodding at the remains of the patrol.

I sighed, turning to face Aurum. “I get it, but let me ask you something,” I said to him, trying to be as compassionate as I could. “Do you think the Sculpted deserve to be slaves?”

The golden Sculpted reared back as if I had struck him. “What?! No!”

I tilted my head at him. “But that’s what they,” I nodded over at the remains of the patrol. “Want you to be. That’s what they died fighting for. The right to enslave an entire race of people, at the command of a bunch of greedy nobles. Let me tell you something that I’ve learned. You know all that stuff the Captain talked about before his death? Honor, and loyalty, and oaths?”

Aurum nodded at me hesitantly. “Yes? I’ve had many people try and tell me about them since I woke up. They’re supposed to be really important.”

“It’s all bullshit,” I told him bluntly. “It’s not that they’re not important in some way. I won’t argue that they can’t be motivating factors for some people, but they get twisted into worthlessness so easily. What honor is there in collaring another person? What oath could possibly be worth consigning another to a life of slavery? Any person that demands that kind of twisted loyalty isn’t worthy of it in the first place!”

Aurum stared at me with wide eyes. Blinking, I noticed that I had gotten to my feet and been shouting at the end, and had drawn attention from Azarus and Venix. Slowly, I sat back down, letting the diggers get back to work. I let out a heavy breath once I’d drawn my legs back underneath me. “They’re all just trappings of society. And when that society is broken in some way, hypocrites twist words like honor to justify their atrocities. When that happens, they don’t matter at all. Let me ask you something else. Have you ever wondered why there are humans that are fighting for the Uprising as well? Why so many of the noble houses are split on the issue, and threw their lot in with you at all?”

“Um,” Aurum stuttered. “Yes? I asked some humans why they were helping us, and they just told me it was the right thing to do.”

“And they’re right, it is. But I guarantee that’s not all. I don’t know this country very well,” I said to him, forgetting for a moment that Aurum didn’t know I was a Precursor and was thus new to Herztal. I cursed to myself mentally, when he gave me a strange look but forged on anyway. “But this country had to be broken in some way, for things to have gotten to this point. There had to be deep-seated grudges and ideological issues that divided them. A civil war like this doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere, even over issues as evil as slavery. In the end, I think that the Uprising was just the excuse that some of the houses latched onto, in order to effect change. And it’s a damn good one. Any ruling body, any King or Council that tries to defend slavery deserves to be ousted. By force.” I finished, snarling. I couldn’t help but rub at my left shoulder when I was done, aware of the false brand that still lingered on my skin.

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I didn’t want to forget what had been done to me.

Aurum blinked at me rapidly. “Are you saying that you think the war…isn’t our fault?”

“I don’t know for sure,” I told him darkly, calming down slightly. “But historical examples tell me it’s likely.”

Aurum staggered to his feet. “I need to think about this. Um, thank you for the talk, Nathan.” Having said that, the Sculpted man wandered away from me, with a strange look on his face.

“Yeah,” I said to his retreating back. “No problem…”

I sat in silence for a moment, growing embarrassed. That guy hadn’t needed me going off on him about my own doubts and bitterness. I had to keep in mind that most Sculpted were only a few years old, and were likely extremely lost about their place in the world. I wasn’t surprised that some of them were uncertain about societal constructs like ‘honor’ and ‘loyalty’.

I was knocked out of my stewing by a voice from above me. “A very cynical worldview, Nathan.”

Looking up, I found that Grey was leaning over the side of the wagon and gazing down at me with a raised eyebrow. I flushed. I’d forgotten during my ranting that Grey was sitting up on a bench above us. He likely heard every word I’d subjected poor Aurum to.

I stood up to meet Grey’s gaze better. “Yeah, but am I wrong?”

Grey took a puff of his pipe and held the smoke in his mouth thoughtfully for a moment. Breathing it out into the evening sky, he met my gaze. “Not entirely. I will admit that things in the Kingdom had been strained for some time, even before the Second Initialization. With hindsight, I can see that the invention of the AutoVant was an unintended destabilizing factor on the fabric of Herztalian society. Despite my intentions, the reality is that the rich were growing richer and the poor were growing poorer. Tensions had been running high for some time, even before the introduction of the Sculpted as a unified force. However,” He said, raising a brow at me. “I would advise you to keep your thoughts on honor and loyalty to yourself. It would fair poorly among certain audiences.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I get it. I wasn’t even trying to say they’re inherently bad, you know?” I told him awkwardly. “It’s just…I think they’re often used to justify atrocities, like what happened to both of us.”

Grey smiled wryly at me, tapping his pipe on the railing of the wagon. Ash fell from it, to rest in the dirt below. “I didn’t say I entirely disagreed with you. Merely that it’s a cynical worldview, not very popular in Herztal. I don’t often see it in the young.” He sat his pipe down on the bench in order to clap his hands together twice. “Now! Enough gabbing. I believe our compatriots are done with the hole. We’ll need to properly lay the deceased in it now.”

I turned around to see that he was right. Azarus and Venix looked to be done, and had started to haul bodies to carefully lay in the grave they’d been digging. Grey swung himself over the railing of the wagon to land on the dirt below, surprisingly spry for such an old man. With one final nod to me, he walked over to them to assist.

I hung back for a moment, one final thought running through my mind. There was something that had happened the last few times I’d killed another person, and I was anxious to see if it had happened again. I called up Hidden Amidst the Spheres in order to see my Status.

You have gained 6 levels! You are now level 40!

Spear Proficiency has reached level 6! Knife Proficiency has reached level 4! Acting has reached level 5! You have sixty unspent Virtue points. Level 40 Class ability inherited. Would you like to review your Status? Y/N

Shit, like I thought. I selected yes.

I allocated my points in the same ratio I’d been using for months. Why fix what had worked for me so far? I took a look at my Status once I was done.

Name Nathaniel Eugene Hart Titles Unbound Liberator Level 40 Age 24 Sol Race

Human (Precursor)

Affinity Terrestrial Classes Thornblade Acolyte (Superior) Professions

Aetherial Melding Health 490/490 Stamina 100/100 Vitality 49 Strength 10 Spirit 10 Dexterity 88 Perception 49 Intelligence 127 Wisdom 127 Free Points 0 Options [Talent Page], [Skill Page], [Profession Page]

Well, I was level forty now. I'd even gotten a new class ability. And those levels had without a doubt come from killing other people. Something that was supposed to be nearly impossible.

I didn't care to see what ability I'd even gotten yet, from killing all those people.

Months ago, around when I’d first arrived on this planet, Grey and Azarus had told me that only killing other monsters granted a significant amount of level Aether. Something about how the Aether released on the death of a person was too personalized to integrate. I…don’t think that was the case for me. I’d noticed back in Addersfield after I’d killed Magnus that I’d gotten a few levels from it. I’d been too busy at the time to think about the implications too deeply, but I couldn’t deny the facts now.

I could level from more than just killing monsters and crafting. I could level from killing people. Hell, I even got way more Aether from my Professions than others did.

Not only that, but I’d somehow stolen a skill from Magnus at the moment of his death. That hadn’t happened today, which was honestly a little confusing. But it was something that I could do. Once I did that, I had a ‘special’ skill that allowed me to combine some skills together.

My skills and talents were too powerful, they had too much synergy between them. With the extra sources of level Aether I had access to, I could grow much easier and faster than most could as well. This was all too much to be a coincidence.

There had to be a guiding hand beyond the System granting me all this power.

I felt a chill run down my spine at the thought.

What the hell was a Precursor that someone, or something, wanted me to grow so powerful, so quickly?