CHAPTER 162: Initiate’s Test

Adam was smiling as he sat in the low-back chair. It hovered above the floor, adjusting to the height of a person as they sat or stood. In front of him was a table, although this time there were no magic circles or places to put his hands. As far as he could tell, it was just a normal table. Of course, normal was relative with magic, considering the table was suspended in the air a little above his knees with no support from table legs.

The room was small. The table was only two feet wide and long. Another chair was on the other side of the table. From the sides of the table there was an open three-foot-wide walkway on both sides of the room. Then behind Adam was the door he had entered from, while a second door was on the opposite side behind the other chair.

Once again, Adam was excited. Every moment since he entered the tower had been exciting. Fun even. He had learned so much, even if that hadn’t been his cup of tea in the past, reading as many books as he could in the library, avidly listening to all the lectures. Some of his pseudo-skills from both of his status sheets had been unlocked, though he had not yet found or watched the memories associated with those skills. Learning a few more berserker skills had come from the study they had done over the thousands of known [System] classes and tens of thousands of skills. That didn’t even include some of the extra skills he had unlocked from older Adam’s [Soul Forger] class.

Truly he couldn’t have gained so much staying back on Earth. And now…now, he would be gaining his first class. The class, what he wanted the most since the [System] came, was why he was in this room. A class and a path to increased power that he could use, instead of being stuck as he was while being manipulated and affected by the corruption.

Concern and fear were always there too, since he had come to the tower. Having them find out more about him, or exploring his soul, had kept him on edge just as much as the excitement of making progress and improving. So far, there was no indication that he was being treated differently than any of the other potential apprentices.

After a period of waiting, of trying to prevent his thoughts from running away with him, the instructor entered the room from the opposite side. Tithixal’gx’Guntraz had been diligent in teaching. He had been thorough and showed no favoritism to any student, remaining patient until each one learned the lessons he was teaching. At the same time, Tithixal didn’t seem interested or invested in anything either. He was neutral through and through.

“As we have discussed,” started the instructor, “this is the next step to becoming an initiate of the tower. In this meeting there will be a lot of information that you cannot and must not share with anyone ever. It is not the first step on your path nor the last. However, should you fail this step then there is no future for you. We have done everything possible up until now to prepare you for it, and you have done acceptably, so I don’t anticipate any issues.”

He looked at Adam meaningfully. Adam resisted his body’s urge to panic, to stress about the possibility of failing. As much as he was enjoying his time, there was no doubt that once he no longer fit their expectations, he would be killed.

Adam nodded to Tithixal.

“Good, then before we get to the test, I will be giving you a one-on-one lesson. This is confidential information that must be given personally to each student. As you know, the Red Clan’s racial ability is to consume and assimilate souls. The experience we get for leveling, once we have a class, is an energy that enriches our souls. The [System] helps shape and solidify that energy into two things.

“The first is our class and skills. The energy is shaped within us so that our souls can take action through our bodies to alter the world around us. A skill to heal converts mana into a physical expression of a body repairing. A barrier skill converts the mana into a protection of some type. Our skills are the explanation of how to do these acts, which our bodies can use to manipulate the energy around us. Without the skills to guide us, doing these actions is outside of our capability.

“The second thing that coalescing this energy in our souls does is it strengthens the bond between our souls and body. This bond is expressed through our stats, which can either be earned by leveling your class or your body directly. The soul and body bond is necessary to handle the increased energy and control that we take in with the energy we call XP.”

Adam thought about what he said. Most of it was information he had been provided with previously, however this explanation of the body leveling resonated with him more. All the energy he had inside, even if he didn’t have the skills solidified in his soul directly, damaged him because the link between his body and soul couldn’t handle such strong energy. If he could improve this bond, then many of his problems would be solved. Of course, once he received a class, that would be possible without finding a workaround.

The bond sounded like a safer and more automated way to manage what his skill [Body and Soul Shaping] did. What his skill did was adjust the flow, while the leveling bond strengthened the body so it could be strong enough to withstand the energy flowing from the soul.

“All that said, the advantage that the Red Clan has when it comes to souls is that when we consume souls and life energy, we increase the size of our soul. This allows us to accumulate more power within than other races. It also gives us the space for more unique classes to be shaped by the [System]. No other race can increase their soul size without [System] interference, and if the [System] is involved then the person will already have their class, making it impossible for them to take a soul class early on in their evolutions like we can.”

The look the instructor gave Adam was a hard one, his translucent skin and black veins giving an eerie feel to his harsh red eyes.

“I see you understand. Good. Now we are approaching this test. To be a part of the tower, an apprentice that can rise in rank, you need a soul class. To get a soul class you need to increase the size of your soul by consuming another. You must fully consume it rather than just drain a bit of blood or life. However, this can’t be done with just any soul. It must be a compatible soul. This will unlock the ability to select a class that the tower will nurture within you.

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“The tower searches thoroughly to find candidates. You’ve gone through many tests and evaluations, since before you were even selected and brought here. Some of those evaluations were done without your knowledge to ensure you could meet the requirements. One of those requirements was that we found the compatible soul for you before any of this happened.”

Adam suddenly felt cold inside. This wasn’t what he expected. He wasn’t sure what he should have expected, but eating a person’s soul wasn’t one of them. Could his soul even get large with two extra classes shoved into him as memories?

And to think there was already someone selected for him to consume. Was it possible for him to eat someone from the Red Clan, or did that mean they had chosen a human?

This was the moment. The moment that Adam had been waiting for, and suddenly he wished he was anywhere but here. The voice in his soul had pushed him to do things that pre-[System] Adam wouldn’t have been willing to, but that voice had been absent since he got to the tower. Eating another person’s soul, Adam was pretty sure he couldn’t…that he wouldn’t. But the alternative was death. He looked apprehensively at the instructor and then at the door behind him.

“Once I open that door, your meal will be brought in,” said Tithixal with a ruthless grin. “Your soul can only increase in size so much, and to maximize it you must only eat compatible souls until you reach capacity. With this person, you will drain them completely, otherwise both you and they will be killed.”

Adam was surprised at how calm his body was, his heart beating at a slow rate even as his mind desperately sought an answer or escape. Can one panic without the body feeling it?

“We have faith that you are up to this. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it this far. This is one more step on your path."

Adam willed his heart rate to speed up, his lungs to breathe more deeply. His body seemed outside of his control as he mentally struggled to control it without success. It was like his body had a mind of its own.

Then the door opened. A high-level guard walked in. When he stepped out of the way, the person with the compatible soul was behind him.

“Nononono...” Adam thought, once more trying to get his body to panic or heat up. The fear and disgust stayed in his mind. Yet, even without a conscious choice his body stood up.

“Adam? I’m so glad you’re alright!” said the familiar voice as Emily was no longer blocked from view by the guard. Tears formed in her eyes as she said, “I missed you so much!”

“There are none more compatible than a close blood relative,” whispered Tithixal in his ear. Now Adam felt his heartbeat speeding up. His body began to sweat. “Some aware families who are familiar with the tower have extra children so there is a spare should their primary progeny have a soul affinity. You may take your time with this but be sure to eat up.”

It was his sister! Emily! Adam’s mind tried to shut down, it tried to speed up.

“Think think think! There has to be a way out,” demanded Adam mentally. “Everything I did was to protect her. I can’t let it end this way!”

“What’s wrong, Adam? Why do you look so concerned?” Emily asked, hesitating. “Are you mad at me?”

Adam’s arms spread wide, getting ready to hug her, even with the distance between them. He slowly stepped around the table. Every movement was drawn out, halting. He would take as much time to get there as possible.

“I need to get her out of here, to save her!” continued his mental demands. “How did they even get her in the first place?”

No matter how much he willed it, his body didn’t stop. It continued towards Emily, every step sending Adam’s mind into a spiral, every thought its own new source of despair. Then something on the edge of his mind clicked, “If older Adam had a soul class, does that mean he consumed her soul? That in another life I was willing to consumed my own sister?!”

Adam looked at Emily, happy that her brother was coming in for a hug. Standing in place in front of the guard, she stretched out her own arms. Tears were still in her eyes, but a smile was on her face. Pure love shown across her expression, no trace of the anger or hate she had demonstrated in the last few months. She looked relieved and happy, the pure familial love that she had when she was younger.

As Adam approached her, expected not only to kill her but to eat her soul, Adam screamed in his mind.

“No…” insisted Adam. “NO!”

There was no voice in his soul shouting to conquer, no pulses of heat or raging of a river. Adam felt complete revulsion, disgust stronger than he had ever felt anything without the corruption’s involvement. He wanted to retch. He demanded that he retch, to vomit out everything in his life that kept moving him forward. This scene was one that would destroy who he was, kill all belief in his future and saving humanity. If he went through with this then there would be no hope for him, for he would hate himself more than the invaders, soul corruption or not.

He mentally pulled on his body as the arms reached forward, now in range of his sister. He tried to reach into his soul or memories to freeze himself. Crippling himself would be acceptable to prevent this tragedy from happening.

“I...will…protect…her…” Adam pushed the belief out with everything he had. His mind shouting it to the universe.

Still, his arms moved forward to grab their meal. His feminine arms with translucent skin and black veins. Long nails on his fingers, tinted red not through nail polish but through their natural pigmentation. His rows of jagged teeth opened as they approached Emily’s neck, set to drain her dry.

“What?!” his thoughts gasped in shock. “I’m not a Red Clan, I’m a human! This isn’t real! Am I watching a memory?”

If this was a memory, then it explained why he couldn’t control the body. He was just following along, watching and learning what someone else had. But he had always been able to leave memories before, so why couldn’t he now?

Adam looked once again at Emily and realized that there were two images there, both occupying the same space. One was his sister, and the other was a Red Clan boy, undeveloped jawline, translucent skin with black veins, and red hair and eyes.

“I missed you so much, Adam!” said his sister. "Cruxannith!" said the boy. Both voices overlapped. Both names were spoken at the same time. The memory played while Adam overlaid elements from his own life in it without realizing it.

Adam pushed, willing the memory to stop, pause, or change.

“I will not be stopped!” he growled, forcing the memory's lips to move slightly.

I…

WILL..

CONQUER!!!

The force of Adam’s will, the power of his beliefs broke through now that he knew where he was. Of course, he would never go to the Red Clans planet or to their tower, just as they would never bring him here as a student. He would die before leaving Jackson behind.

Furiously he thought back. He remembered being blindsided by that Scyrric after having his heat frozen. Then he had done…something…to the mind witch. Something with his soul that he didn’t quite understand, but he had done it with everything he had.

This memory would not hold him. The invaders would not stop him!

As Cruxannith’s teeth reached the neck of her brother, of the image of Emily, Adam roared. He released all the power that he had fought with, all the fury of the river. Except this wasn’t a pseudo-skill, or a [System] controlled power.

The line the instructor had said, "without the skills to guide us, doing these actions is outside of our capability," came into his mind. Adam wouldn't allow the need for skills to stop him.

Without skills he had used the memory to shape energy before, and he would again. This was what Adam had inside himself. All the memories of his wrath, his hate for the invaders, the love for his family and friends, the representation of his strength. He drew both the internal energy and the memories of his past actions, then blasted it outward with the intent of destroying everything.

As reality crumbled and the memory shattered, Adam’s will would not be denied!