“Alchemy is much more difficult than I thought,” I mumbled to myself.

The scavenged alchemy equipment was strewn about my bedroom. I thought it would be straight-forward, but I had no clue how to use distillation, or what the exact steps were to make a potion. I did manage to grind down the alchemical ingredients and then dry them into powders. After that however, my attempts to add water or liquify it did not result in usable solution. In the process I wasted most of my gathered ingredients.

“I guess I really do need a magical teacher.”

It was the same with the library I procured from the skeleton mage. I did dabble in some science back in the real world, but I struggled at the advanced level, and could never do it without a tutor. Friendly mages, however, did seemed rare in this world. Neither Toberno nor Ferra knew anything practical about magic, and the only magic caster I've met so far has tried to kill me.

“Kid, not to interrupt, but are you just going to leave all this stuff here?” asked the skull.

“Is there a reason I shouldn't? It's a real pain to keep taking it in and out of my bag.”

The skull sighed disappointingly.

“Do liches have phylacteries?”

“Excuse me?”

“What I mean to say, is that you should protect your valuables. Somebody could just walk in here and steal all your stuff. Now, I'm not saying I would do it, but if it was me, I would totally do it.”

Calvar did have a point. It seems I have grown far too complacent and trustworthy as of late. If I let my guard down even for a second, it would be a perfect set up for future disaster. This inn was suboptimal as a base any way I thought about it. All you had to do to get in was get past Toberno, which was a trivial task. I would need somewhere more difficult to get to, which had protection from invaders.

After some brain scrambling, I thought of the perfect place to establish my secret base. It wasn't really livable at the moment, however, and would require some set up to get running. Still, it was something to prepare for the future. In the meanwhile I gathered up my supplies and headed downstairs.

Toberno the innkeeper stood at his usual spot, polishing his glass mugs. I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing all day, as customers were so rare these days.

“Oh, Eren. You had a visitor earlier,” he said.

Speak of the devil. I wondered who exactly would visit me. I just arrived in this world yesterday, didn't it? That should be impossible.

“Really? What did they want?”

“Well, it's a bit of a stretch to say it was your personal visitor. They were looking for the Black Paladin.”

I was reminded of the black armor donned around my body. Looks like its legacy will stay with me for a bit longer.

“Since Arma is missing in action, I figured you're the one who will take it in her stead. Are you still interested?”

This wasn't even a real question.

“Yes, of course. This is my responsibility, both as a man and as an adventurer.”

The innkeeper put down his glass and stroked his beard.

“A few hours ago, a small old lady wearing a brown robe dropped by. Apparently she was the last survivor of her village, a modest settlement which was wiped out by a surprise kobold attack. As a last will, she requested the nearby kobold fortress to be wiped out. ”

Kobolds were common monsters in Spirit of Darkness. They were a cross between a man and a lizard, around 3 feet tall, and not very menacing unless in groups. But the kobold fortress... that was one my marked locations.

“Did she offer any payment?”

“Nope. She said she had nothing left, and so pleaded for it to be done out of good will. It's pretty odd, if you ask me.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Kobolds aren't normally that aggressive. They don't typically attack humans unless they encroach on their territory. For the fortress to launch an organized attack against a human village? Something odd must be going on there.”

It might have something to do with the Demon Overlord. If the fortress is the location of a demon general, as I assumed, then it must be part of a coordinated attack. No matter which way you looked at it, I should check out this fortress.

“I'll do it. If she comes back, tell her she can count on me.”

Even if the fortress turned out to be unrelated to the Demon Overlord, clearing it would still reward me with aether. Either way, it's a win for me.

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“You'll take it down by yourself? Eren, I know you're surprisingly strong for how you look, but I don't want you getting in over your head. We've lost enough fine young men already. Losing your life for honor or glory is a fool's proposition.”

I reassured him that it was no problem.

“Toberno, I'm not some naive kid. I've done stuff like this many times in the past. I'm actually much older than I look, you know.”

Leaving him looking puzzled, I made my way outside. If I were to take down this new dungeon, I had to do something first.

In addition to the store and inn, the small town contained an abandoned church. The dusty interior contained many shrines, all similar to the one in the undead cave. To my surprise, there were many more than five. It made me wonder how many deities this world contained.

“Kid, what are you here for?”

“It's a bit of a long-shot, but I want to try something.”

My patron deity is currently Congeria, God of Chaos. One of the perks of worshipping this god is an enhancement of the luck stat. However, unless I were to procure and use the fabled Blade of Fate, this bonus was rather useless. I would much rather have someone like Amicietia or Lex as my patron.

In Spirit of Darkness, the choice of patron was permanent. But at the same time, SoD never had these shrines. This is purely conjecture, but perhaps I could change my choice of patron deity by using these shrines.

I looked the selection of shrines in the church. Eventually I found the five that I was familiar with it. After narrowing it down, I found the one that would be most optimal for my current situation. As I did earlier in the cave, I crouched down and prayed, keeping the chosen deity in the forefront of my mind.

I could see my aether once again. But this time, I could see it changing. My luck stat decreased! In its stead, my strength went up. It was a success; my patron deity has changed to Animo, God of Courage. The process has made me aware of the vast amount of aether I have procured from defeating the skeleton mage, and after some careful deliberations I have enhanced myself further.

Vitality 10

Strength 18

Dexterity 16

Intelligence 12

Luck 10

Lore-wise, this is as much physical strength as normal humans can have. I might even be strong enough to move those huge boulders now. If this was still a game, I would be worried about leaving my vitality at base level, but so far getting hit has not proven to be a problem. Even if I do, I'm confident in Arma's protective ability. In any case, it should be more than plenty to take on some kobolds.

“You did that praying thing again. Does that mean you can fly now?” the skeleton asked.

I was surprised at the comment. There was no flight spell in Spirit of Darkness.

“Flight is possible in Tristaria? That's pretty valuable information.”

The skeleton was disappointed.

“No, it was a joke. As far as I'm aware people can't fly, numbskull.”

My enthusiasm crushed, I stopped wasting time made my way outside. Map and compass in-hand, I ventured in the direction of the kobold fortress.

It was by no means a long trek – both the town and the undead cave were only minutes away. However, something didn't feel right, so I made a truck-stop halfway there. The skull agreed with my suspicions.

“So you felt it too, Eren? We're being followed. It was like that ever since leaving the town.”

A shadow moved along the bushes. Did it notice that we noticed? I calmed down and tried to sense its location. I heard the slight rustling of leaves coming right behind me.

Clang.

Just in time, I managed to draw my dagger and block the strike. The enemy has jumped from the bushes with their own dagger, aiming for my chest. The figure was small, about half my size, and wearing a brown robe. I realized it matched the description of the old woman who visited the inn.

Why would she attack me? Was this part of a trap? And for a poor old woman, she was awfully quick. If I didn't increase my dexterity before heading out, there was no way I could have blocked that strike. But something still seemed odd about the way she moved. The robe had bumps and folds that didn't match what I would expect. The skeleton suddenly voiced out his realization.

“That thing ain't human.”