CHANGE OF PLANS
Moments after midnight, I noticed that the heat from the walls was warming my back. I exhaled and climbed to my feet to pull down the wall of earth, letting out thick plumes of smoke. I was sure to hold my breath while I hurried in, pressing the tip of my staff against the circular wall of the pit. I created a blanket of dirt to seep out from above the pile's burned remains, forming a crude cone of dirt. I rushed back out and remade the earthly wall to trap the smoke and smell.
PAIN
A pathetic burial,
I muttered solemnly.
PAIN
But they deserved something.
Once I finished, I left to feast on the remaining Blades. While gathering their bodies, I saw why they were so young. From the looks of it, this cave was a mixture of mining and training for these... Blades. The second tunnel led to rooms meant for teaching, noted by the rows of wooden log seats and parchments. Near the end of the second tunnel were the barracks—several rows of bed rolls lined the room, leaving a narrow path down the middle leading to traditional beds that were seen against the back of the barracks—I assumed for the instructors.
The third tunnel branched off into multiple rooms; a training room filled with wooden dummies, several storage rooms filled with supplies, a study room, a meeting room noted by the crudely built wooden table surrounded by log seats at its center, and lastly, a tiny cave pond used for bathing.
Back near the cave's entrance, I stepped back and eyed the pile of gathered bodies. How ironic, it nearly replicated the pile of defiled ladies; granted, this heap of bodies was of young gents.
As I commanded the blood from the corpses of Blades, I wondered if I should haul these items to my lair or relocate my lair to this cave. Hmm...
Vampor Increased:
Lesser Night Vision(17%)
Lesser En Vitality(15%)
Lesser Sound Vision(11%)
Lesser Blood Control(11%)
Lesser Blood Manipulation (10%)
Lesser En Scent Detection(11%)
Lesser Danger Sense(11%)
Lesser En Reflexes(10%)
Lesser Quickstep(24%)
Lesser En Stamina(37%)
Lesser En Strength(31%)
Lesser En Hearing(34%)
Lesser EnSight(37%)
Lesser Heat Vision(29%)
Lesser Interference(55%)
Lesser Body Control(44%)
Petty Mana Sense(73%)
Petty Day Vision(41%)
Ugh... My head pulsed with the amount of vampor after gulping down the gigantic orb of blood.
I figured the percentage difference was due to my current knowledge, practice, and constant use, like Petty Interference. I constantly use it to understand signals from my familiars, so I was not surprised it was reasonably close to becoming Lesser.
All that remained of the Blades were shrunken husks of their former selves and bits of sealed enchantments. Telekinetically, I ripped off the few enchanted pieces of jewelry and placed them upon a nearby crate. After telekinetically ripping off the armor and clothing, I left the corpses for my familiars to feast upon. Before we exited the cave, I helped myself with Vials of Health from a crate within the second tunnel.
At the cave's entrance, I expended heaps of mana to form a series of hardened dirt walls to hide the entrance to the cave. I had no doubt that curious minds would come searching from the Earth Kingdom. But after flying above the camp, I saw no roads, passages, or trails leading out from the camp. I would certainly notice a trail of some sort if they were hauling crates of heavy iron puri bars anywhere.
Hmph—whatever. It's time to head back and prepare my attack on Dagon. I rotated in the air and faced the direction of the town with a soft smile. The amount of vampor I could obtain from a town ripe with people—the thought alone made the hair upon my neck stiffen and my heart thump with excitement and uncertainty.
*****
I returned just as the moonsun began changing into the sun. Curiosity took hold of me, and while my familiars sought shelter within my lair, I took to the skies and squinted at the speck that was Dagon City.
My sight was getting better ever so slightly, and from recalling the size of the speck just the other day, there were more wagons around the town. I have to find out who from the Kingdom of Fire came to visit this town. I would hasten my plans to attack the town if it were worthless messengers. Hmm... what if it was a Lord? My stomach churned as fearful nausea set in—Lords were rumored to harm dragons and could wipe out an entire city of low-class soldiers.
I lowered back down, entered my lair, and distracted myself by emptying my Inventory within the Oval room. Afterward, I lay down in my room and drifted into a deep sleep.
Active Acquired:
Spell: Stone
Spell: Fyre
I jolted awake at the acquisition of new spells. There was definitely something I was missing about my immortality—I was obtaining power at an unbelievable pace.
But I shoved away the confusion and accepted the pace of my growth—I would rather not jinx it and lose it all by constantly questioning it.
Later that morning, within the Chamber, I gave Stone a test and saw that it was almost impossible to manipulate—I could only form spherical, smooth balls of stone within my hand upon casting Stone. I welcomed the challenge, and like the many barriers and challenges I face, I will overcome it.
Putting it bluntly, I was starting over with Earth when it came to Stone. Using the ground as a medium made casting Stone faster. Compared to when I started with Earth, Stone ate double the mana.
Transmuting the stone embedded in the Chamber floors was as difficult as manipulating Stone, but with enough casting time and effort, I could slowly transmute the stone into crushed stone or a pile of pebbles.
Taking a break from Stone, I tested Fyre and noticed the bright yellow color of the flames before wincing in pain as the heat engulfed the entire Chamber—I only cast the spell once!
I hurried out of the Chamber, into my room, and squatted down at the platform to rinse my face with the cold water of the ravine. I exhaled with relief—to hell with Fyre for now. With the collapsed tower on my mind, the benefits of Stone were far greater, so I continued my practice with Stone.
Unfortunately, I barely made any progress with the spell by nightfall as I sat on the floor of the Chamber drenched in sweat. My eyes gazed over the clutter of smooth stone balls of various sizes. On the positive side, I was content with how much mana endurance training I was getting out of it.
I exhaled and climbed to my feet—it was time for me and my familiars to head over to scout the town. I gathered potions and some jerky while leaving the rest of my Inventory emptied—in case I came across loot I wanted to take back.
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*****
My journey to the outskirts of the town was dull, and so was my time sitting upon the branch of the tall trees. I was correct about the number of covered wagons surrounding the town's gates. By the looks of them, I assumed these wagons were a means to transport soldiers, and with that mindset, I was eager to find out who led them.
Positioning myself at my old spot to look out for traders, I saw that the north roads were bustling with wagons, gents on foot, peddlers, adventurers, and others appearing almost every other minute. How can I snatch one of them for interrogation?
I exhaled in frustration and focused my attention, squinting at the north gates. The guards were diligent as ever—checking and searching each person who left and came in, causing a small line to form.
A commotion caught my attention near the waterfall bridge—a thief! Petty Scan and seeing enchantments did not work at such distance as I watched the thief mug two older gents. The older gents fought well, but they had a vulnerable donkey the thief exploited.
I lurched forward as Recall Memory took notice of the thief—he had walked up and down the road a few times before. An idea came to mind as I watched the thief flee with two bags off the donkey—he Quickstepped off into woods east of the waterfall bridge, his arm bleeding badly from the lucky cut of one of the older gents.
Putting my idea into motion, I moved deeper into the woods and around the road, north and near the western end of the waterfall bridge. There, I sought out a few undead critters to slay, summoned my caballus, and fed it until it reached its final stage—looking lively and healthy.
I waited momentarily for the road to quiet down before I emerged upon my caballus. I hid my fangs and claws, which still felt annoyingly uncomfortable, and as the road sloped downwards towards the town, I came across three travelers; Claire, Kinan, Cleric, thirty-nine, who was armed with a short sword at her hip and wore (Aura Aptitude) Silk Borrow Robes, Petty En Aura Emission over thin leather armor. John, Kinan, Warrior, thirty-eight, armed with a greatsword upon his back and wore basic leather armor with (Poison Aptitude) Steel Bracers, Petty Poison Resistance. Lastly, Drake, Kinan, Brawler, thirty, armed with a short sword at his hip and wore a hooded dark cloak over iron-plated armor.
Their eyes fell on me, and I smiled back at them,
PAIN
A good night, fellow travelers!
Drake scowled at me while Claire responded with a smile,
CLAIRE
Hello. A good night it is, my fellow lady.
I came to a stop and asked,
PAIN
May I borrow your insight for just a moment?
Claire and John nodded—Drake folded his arm and looked into the distance.
PAIN
The wagons at the town. Any idea what may be going on there?
Claire's purple and orange patterned face illuminated,
CLAIRE
Oh, an important person is visiting from the Fire Kingdom.
She explained eagerly, and John nodded in agreement.
JOHN
With him, a squadron of soldiers. A perfect opportunity to trade goods and information.
Drake exhaled,
DRAKE
We don't have time for this.
He mumbled with a thick accent similar to the Blades—he must be from the Earth Kingdom.
JOHN
Judging from your accent, you must also be from the Fire Kingdom?
Hmph, guess I had that one coming. I nodded in response,
PAIN
Yes I am.
CLAIRE
Quite young, aren't you?
JOHN
You might know the noble that arrived—um, what was his name dear?
Claire shrugged,
CLAIRE
I... I don't remember—
DRAKE
He's not a noble. Name's Cain—
PAIN
Cain!?
I accidentally blurted out.
JOHN
Ah, so you do know of him,
John laughed lightly.
PAIN
Yes, barely. Would never think of him to travel here.
Drake squinted at me,
DRAKE
Ironic... because I heard he was looking for a gent from the Fire Kingdom.
PAIN
Is he now?
I sang before quickly following up with,
PAIN
Quite the few of them enjoying the life up in North Star.
DRAKE
Hmph, North Star. The fool's planning to check the eastern woods first—saw the lot of them gathering and planning to head scout out the aftermath of North Star's soldiers.
He tilted his head in thought,
DRAKE
Judging from what I heard, they might go south afterward...
He smirked maliciously to himself,
DRAKE
Hope he succumbs to the dead zone—
Claire scoffed at him,
CLAIRE
That's rude.
My thoughts exactly, but the enemy of my enemy is a friend, I thought.
CLAIRE
And how do you know so much?
DRAKE
It's my job to know. I can't leave it up to you thunderheads to remember a damn thing. Let's go. We're running late.
JOHN
Pardon our leave.
He bowed courteously, and the three parted away from me. I continued to listen in as we went our separate ways.
CLAIRE
You always say that, but we never arrive anywhere late.
DRAKE
Exactly.
JOHN
Always a first time—
He started to laugh.
DRAKE
I was late my first time—got nothin'. Get it through ya fucking heads lads—hundreds of scavengers are going to be waiting.
I had no idea what they were on about—not that I could care because Cain was here—Dammit all! Sure, I had grown stronger since my time alone, but it was not possible for me to face Cain head-on. Even Dean was afraid of the bastard, and Dean... to be honest, I had no confidence in my ability to face any instructor. It was only a matter of time before Cain and his cronies came across my lair to the south. I hurried back with fear and worry hammering against my conscience—I needed to plan my next move and avoid running into Cain, no matter what.