Chapter One

Jackson did not enter the portal to Aetherius right away. Oh, he wanted to; he was sick and tired of this place, this dungeon. It was here he had forged his bond with Lazarus and fallen in love with Melanie. Yet, it was also here that he had lost both his mentor and his love, ripped away from him as easily as one might take candy from a baby.

Lazarus was nothing but ashes now, and Melanie was somewhere in the city that lay beyond that portal. Gods, he wanted to burn that place to the ground to find her. For that, though, he needed one simple thing: power. Jackson rubbed a hand through his black hair. Lilith chose that moment to offer advice.

“Power is the way of the world, Jackson Grey. Those with strength thrive. Those without die or shelter under those that do. It is for the best that you are learning this now, mortal.”

Jackson whirled to face her as hot anger erupted within him, a volcano exploding in his chest, its lava flowing through his veins as his head and heart began to throb in time with his rage. He flung a bloodfyre blade at her, which a part of him knew wasn’t going to do anything, but it was an outlet for the rage.

“It was best I learn it now?! You think this was a good thing, you crazy, violent monster!”

Jackson was snarling at her. And she didn’t care. The angel weathered his rage as calmly as a rock during a storm. Her violet eyes were steady, her expression serene, and her back straight. Her crimson dress swayed a bit, and the part of Jackson's mind that was still thinking underneath the hot rage wondered how that could be; she wasn’t a physical being. In fact, Lilith existed primarily in his head and Domain.

Lilith spoke calmly, her voice as serene as her face.

“Once, it was in my power to boil the blood in your veins. I no longer have that power. Yet do not doubt me, mortal; I can still inflict horrors upon your mind. I have not done so because I know that you are in pain. The rage that you feel now is an attempt to distract from it, to feel better by lashing out. It is a very mortal way to act.”

Lilith flashed, and suddenly her violet eyes were very close to his, glowing.

“Yes, Jackson Grey, it is good that you learn this lesson now. It is good that this happened so you understand how the world works. At some point, that illusion was going to be popped; it is better that it happened early.”

With that, she vanished, likely retreating somewhere deep within Jackson's mind. Wherever it was she went when she wasn’t manifesting in his perception around him. The rage that boiled in him was still there, but it began to ebb away as he breathed. Jackson had to admit, the angel was right. In a way, at least. He had been lashing out as a way to cope with the grief that was still pulsing in his chest.

It took him a few moments, but he managed to calm himself down. There was nothing to be done. What had happened, had happened, and more importantly, Melanie needed him. Every minute he spent being sad was a minute she had to spend wherever she was, and he doubted it was pleasant. That also meant that Lilith was right again; in order to take her back, he needed power. He needed to be the strong one, or he was going to die in the attempt. There was no way that Delathorn had put her with anyone not dangerous.

With a sigh, Jackson pulled up his notifications.

You have slain Lazarus, you are now level 51.

He scowled. He hated that he had gotten anything out of killing his mentor. He opened the next notification.

Congratulations! You have cleared The Catacombs, a Journeyman Rank Dungeon! You have stopped this dungeon from being corrupted! Failing to stop corruption leads to horrible things befalling Eden and a breakdown of the world itself. As such, you have been rewarded 10 levels and are now level 61. You have also been rewarded one extra stat point. Your skills and weaves have increased by 10 levels.

Jackson whistled. That was quite the reward. He suspected it was increased because of stopping corruption. He highly doubted he would have received such an excellent reward otherwise. With the amulet he had, that was twenty-three stat points he had to spend. He brought up his attributes.

Attributes

Mind: 15, Strength: 16, Dexterity: 17, Constitution: 25, Will: 25

Jackson recalled Lazarus’s words. He would need at least two skills at level one hundred and twenty to reach expert tier with his Domain. That was something he was beginning to understand, that he would need lots of attribute points. He smiled wryly at himself; he had a feeling he was going to be attempting to complete a couple more dungeons, all in the hunt for power.

It would at least be easier with the amulet Lazarus had given him. Two attribute points per level were going to give him an edge. Or at least, he hoped so. The truth was that he had no clue what others in the wider realms of Eden might have. There could be items and amulets that increased stats by three or more for all he knew.

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He doubted it, though. Something told him that his amulet would be very sought after if anyone knew what it did. They might even kill him for it. Jackson rubbed a thumb along his jaw as he thought. Advancing his Domain the way he was supposed to meant he had to focus on two attributes and pretty much only those. With those thoughts in mind, he put twelve points into constitution, bringing it to thirty-seven. He put the last eleven into willpower, bringing it to thirty-six.

If Jackson wanted to get to expert tier, he was going to need a whopping eighty-three more attribute points for constitution and eighty-four of them for willpower. He almost groaned at that. He would need at least forty-three levels if he wanted to reach that rank. That meant he would be at least level one hundred and four. Whoo whee. That felt like a lot.

Jackson glanced over his skills and weaves, wanting to see where they stood.

Skills

Phoenix Regeneration (Expert Level 11*), Consume Blood (Journeyman Level 11), Hidden Bloodline (Expert Level 11*), Enchanting (Apprentice Level 34), Analyze (Apprentice Level 3), Unarmed Combat (Journeyman Level 35), Blood Lord’s Gaze (Apprentice Skill Level 31), Bloodfyronesis (Journeyman Level 50), Wings of Desolation (Journeyman Level 50)

Weaves

Blood Lightning Surge (Journeyman Weave Level 35), Ebon Eruption (Journeyman Weave Level 45), Bloodfyre Blades (Journeyman Level 50)

The numbers looked nice; Jackson had to admit that he had come a long way. Of course, he no longer had Veilstrike. Normally, he would have felt more annoyed by that, but it was a price he had to pay, and he had needed to pay it. Plus, he had another way of paralyzing foes.

That done, Jackson analyzed the Eden Seed next.

This is a seed of Eden. Eden Seeds allow you to claim an unclaimed realm, forming a faction.

His considerations complete, Jackson eyed the portal, sighed, put the Eden Seed in his bag and entered it. It was time to head to the big city.

Jackson stood on a hill overlooking the city. The portal behind him closed with a snap. Briefly, he wondered how that worked. Were the portals random? Or did he have to be in a specific spot? Perhaps it was a little of both. There was a path leading to a field below that was just outside a truly massive wall. The wall was a gleaming dark silver, and glowing golden runes shimmered all over it. As his eyes scanned the field below, Jackson noticed a group of people going through the gate. It was open, and he could see some guards stopping the group. He could pick out a larger man in armor, another in robes, and finally a young woman in leathers.

It looked like a classic adventuring group. They seemed a bit animated, talking to the guards and pointing back towards the fields. The big guy in armor moved both hands, gesturing to indicate something huge. Jackson flicked his eyes to the rest of the field. He could see some monsters running around, as well as some caves in some rocky overpasses.

To the east, he could make out a swamp, dark green leaves of stooping trees swaying. There were dark gray buildings in that swamp, but he couldn’t make out anything more than that. Nodding to himself, Jackson made his way down the path and towards the gate that stood open.

He really didn’t feel like fighting any monsters. Even so, he ran across one—a large lizardman wielding a spear. He analyzed it.

Lizardman Spear Warrior, Level 70: Lizardmen are often found in swamps, though they are known to hunt far from their homes. They are highly aggressive towards non-lizardmen.

It was clear that the Judge was giving Jackson a little bit more information on things now. He guessed that had something to do with the fact that Analyze was in the apprentice tier now. He thought it was interesting, but he didn’t give it a lot of thought. Right now, the monster in front of him was feeling more like a chore than anything else.

The monster was a good bit away from him, but it was charging. Jackson sighed.

“I’m not in the mood for this. I don’t suppose we could just talk this out?”

The lizardman hissed.

Jackson took that as a no.

He hit it with Blood Lord's Gaze, and the lizardman promptly locked up and fell to the ground. Jackson strolled over and wove a single bloodfyre blade, the dark red fire smoldering, warping the air around it. He had to use his bloodfyronesis skill to shape it the way he did, but the entire process took a single instant. He used the blade, blazing in his hand, to chop the lizardman’s head off, the fire cutting cleanly through its mottled green skin as easily as one might cut into water or a loaf of bread.

Jackson felt it as the monster's life force flooded into him. It topped him up, and he sucked in a breath at the rush of sweet power that coursed through him. He didn’t run into any more monsters after that. He saw quite a few, but it seemed like the path he was taking was well-trodden and somewhat safe. Monsters mostly left him alone as long as he stuck to it.

Eventually, Jackson came to the gate, and two guards stood out front. They were dressed in dark armor and were armed with halberds in their hands. One was a dark-haired blond with square, chiseled features. He had a full brown beard and warm brown eyes. His partner had longer hair; it was black and thick, and his eyes were also brown, but his weren’t warm; instead, they looked like jaded rocks. He was clean-shaven, though his features were rounder.

Their halberds snapped together as Jackson approached, and he could feel their gaze on him. He felt their analyze wash over him. He scowled.

“I had always been told that analyzing someone without asking was rude. Is this how you greet guests to your city?”

Always was really only twice that Jackson had been told analyzing people without asking was wrong, but it was still technically true. The guards shared a look before their attention snapped back to him. The blond spoke, and his voice was a deep bass.

“Right to know who’s entering the city. Standard practice to analyze. What’s your business in Aetherius?”

Jackson arched an eyebrow.

“You’re awfully blunt, aren’t you? Well, my business is my business, I would say. I will say that I am looking for a Frederick. He’s a smith, an orc. Maybe you know of him?”

The blond grumbled, but it was the black-haired guard who spoke.

“I know of him. Crafter’s district, you can find him there. We’ll let you in, but make sure you keep your nose clean. The Iron Legion comes down hard on those that cause problems in our city.”

Jackson nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He would too. No reason to cause trouble with an entire faction if he didn’t have to. The guards shared another look, but their halberds parted, and Jackson walked through, entering the city of Aetherius for the first time.