Chapter Twenty-Six
Jackson sighed and looked at Lazarus.
“Well, there’s no getting around it now. I have to tell her.”
Lazarus shook his head and lifted his hands.
“I guess I should have expected this. Go on then, but I would warn her thoroughly first.”
Melanie looked from the spirit to Jackson, her face twisting into a look of annoyance.
“Can we not talk about me as if I’m not standing right here? Thanks; that would be appreciated.”
Jackson gave her an apologetic look, took a breath, and then said,
“Listen, I will tell you if you want, but trust me, you don’t want to know. I know we’ve said it before, but this is dangerous stuff. There are things Laz here still hasn’t told me because of how dangerous it is. If I tell you what I do know, you could be in danger. The gods of Eden will apparently kill us if you know this information.”
Melanie cocked her head, blinking.
“What keeps them from killing you?”
Jackson waved a hand.
“I have something—an ability—that hides information about me from everyone, even gods. You don’t have this ability, though. It won’t hide you.”
Melanie nodded and bent her head forward, clearly thinking. She lifted her head, and her eyes met Jackson's.
“I’m a big girl, Jackson. I want to hear this.”
Jackson nodded slowly, biting his inner cheek. Then he told her everything.
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Melanie looked at Jackson as if she were seeing him for the first time.
“So, you’re a vampyre, and gods want to kill you because you can suck them dry and kill them no matter how powerful they are?”
Jackson nodded.
“That’s about the long and short of it, yes. It’s how I killed the wolf. It’s also dangerous; the hunger can overcome me if I’m not careful. It's also how I killed Riselle.”
Melanie’s eyes flashed with inner fire, but she took a breath.
“That’s still a sore topic, but Riselle did attack you first. I’m not really sure what to think about all of this. It isn’t that strange, not when compared to everything else going on. You’re right, though; I can understand why you didn’t want me to know.”
Jackson looked at her and took a deep breath.
“I get it if you don’t want to travel with me anymore. We aren’t exactly friends.”
Melanie studied his face and then looked away, fidgeting. Her gaze flicked to the wolf, and a shudder passed through her. She looked back over at Jackson,
“Listen, Jackson, I know you’ve just defended yourself, and I know that you didn’t purposely kill Adaran. I know these things logically. My heart still wants to blame you, and that isn’t fair. I get that. I’m willing to travel with you because being together is better than being alone, but no, we can’t be friends yet. Until we leave this dungeon, I am willing to be your travel companion, but that’s it.”
Jackson nodded, not really surprised by her words. It made sense that she wouldn’t just get over it that quickly.
“Well, I understand that. We need to get going; I think I have an idea for how we can get out of these woods.”
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Getting out of the woods was easy to figure out once you paid attention. You simply had to watch the wind. Clarity had come to Jackson after he had killed the wolf and talked to Melanie. It was a stray observation, really. He had looked at the woods and noticed the weaves pulling in a different direction. The wind was blowing a different way than it had before. There was not a single reason why it would be doing what he could think of other than showing them the path forward. Getting through the woods was clearly a puzzle, and the wind seemed to be the only clue present.
With that in mind, they followed it, and it wasn’t long before they found themselves leaving the woods and facing a wide-open area. Off in the distance, Jackson could see the pitch-black mountain they were supposed to make their way to. It loomed, a dark fortress set against the azure sky.
Shouts filled the air as their gazes moved over the open plain, and Melanie pointed,
“Jackson, look!” She was pointing at what looked to be a settlement of some kind. It was small, and he couldn’t make out too much except for the wooden wall that surrounded it, but what he could absolutely make out were the small blackish-purple creatures that were attacking it. Some looked to be defending the wall, attacking with blades and weaves. Some of the creatures were covered in flames and blasted with force.
Despite that, the defenders were clearly losing. There were simply too many of the creatures.
“We have to help them,” Melanie said.
Jackson let out a small puff of breath and nodded.
“Alright, let’s go then.”
They took off on a light jog. It took some time, but they managed to enter the fray just as one of the creatures leaped at one of the defenders, maw open and revealing sharp black teeth. Jackson launched a blood lightning at it. The crimson lightning bolt slammed into the creature's head, and it exploded into viscera and purple blood.
You have killed a demonic kobold, level 29.
Oh, fantastic, demons. A burst of air ruffled Jackson's hair as Melanie’s arrow slammed into another demonic kobold, slamming into its puss yellow eye, causing it to burst open. The kobold clutched at its face and then promptly fell forward, dead. A swordsman cut down another, but he wasn’t paying attention, and another kobold attacked him from the side. Luckily for the poor man, Jackson saw this and launched another blood lightning bolt, the crackling destructive lightning taking the demon in the chest and knocking it back. It took a second bolt to kill it. Jackson ignored the notification, as one of the kobolds had decided that simply allowing him to sling lightning around unchallenged was not a good idea. It ran up and launched itself at him.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Jackson managed to duck out of the way, and just to make sure he would have the speed he needed, he wove destructive infusion. With the weave empowering him, it was almost trivially easy to dodge the kobold’s next attack, and it was even easier to weave a blood lightning bolt, grab the kobold by the head, and ram the bolt of lightning through its back. Purple blood burst from its chest, and it screeched out a death cry, dying soon after.
You have reached level 29. Your blood lightning has increased to basic level 15.
The demon kobolds broke, running away as fast as they could over the open plain, toward the mountain. Melanie and Jackson managed to take out a couple more, him with his blood lightning and she with her arrows empowered with glowing emerald weaves.
Congratulations! You have reached level 30! Class evolution is available!
Jackson's brows furrowed, and then his eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected message. Class evolution? It looked like Melanie received the same message, as her face had a similar look of surprise. They couldn’t address it at the moment, however. The players they saved were approaching them. A brown-haired man with deep-set brown eyes held out a hand.
“Well now, sure appreciate the save there, folks. I’m Bob Tanner; the lovely lady beside me here is Janice Rain; and that there is Brittany Pool and Tommy Banner. Without you two, we’d surely be dead or worse. I can’t say we have much to offer in the way of reward, but we have a settlement here, and you’re welcome to stay. Rest a spell.”
He pointed to the gate of their settlement. The gate was part of the wooden wall, and while the wall was clearly put up in haste, it was sturdy. Scrapes and bits of the wood were missing, clearly evidence of weapon attacks. They followed Rob into the settlement after the gate opened. Large tents were erected here and there, with signs by them that marked what they were for or who lived there. Lazarus looked around him with a frown on his face as his gaze lingered on a tent that was larger than the others; it was marked as the medical tent.
Bob led them into a tent marked “Mess Hall,” and it opened up into just that. Basic tables were lined out, and there was a kind of kitchen in the back. If you counted a makeshift stove top, a small water basin, and a small cupboard that served as a pantry, it was a kitchen. A large, jovial man worked the makeshift stove, basting some kind of meat in a pan. He whistled as he worked. A serving woman passed out drinks, which were really just water from the basin.
They sat at an empty table near the entrance, and the willowy serving woman placed water in mugs in front of them with a smile. Only Bob had accompanied them; the others were breaking off and heading for other tents. Bob gestured around him.
“I know it ain’t much to see, but it’s home.”
Melanie spoke up, asking a question.
“But why? Why haven’t you tried to make it out?” She took a sip of her water.
Rob drummed his fingers on the table, clearly thinking about what he wanted to say.
"Why, ya say? Well, here’s a question you may not have thought of, miss, but why leave in the first place?”
Melanie’s jaw dropped, and Jackson blinked. It hadn’t ever occurred to him to stay. That hadn’t been a possibility for him. Bob chuckled at their expressions.
“Ah, your faces. That right there is hilarious. Honestly, we hadn’t considered staying either. We used to number a lot more than you see in this camp—a whole guild, in fact. We banded together early on and intended on getting out, establishing ourselves in this wide world of Eden we found ourselves in.”
Bob got a far-off look in his eyes as he spoke his next words.
“That mountain... climbing it is no easy feat. Oh, following the trail is easy enough. It’s the challenges that come along with it that make it hell. We lost so many members and so many people. Fred, we watched these demonic wolves tear him apart and eat him as he screamed. Natalia, we watched her skin bubble and melt, sloshing off of her like melting wax. We killed the wyvern that did it, but I’m sure that was a little comfort to her. When we finally got to the summit...” Rob shuddered,
“Analyze said it was called a Bloodfyre Wyrm. We couldn’t determine its level, but its wings were violet fire; its scales were a dark violet and looked impenetrable. It was the size of two houses stacked together; there was no beating it. Not as we were. We fled, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. After we were away, we all had a frank discussion, and we concluded we didn’t want to lose any more of our friends. This isn’t even the last floor, ya know? We were lost, but I had a thought occur to me, a rather simple one. Why not stay? I mean, why continue on if more of us are just gonna die? We had these skills, these classes, and these Domains, why not make use of them and live here? Build a society here.”
Bob shrugged,
“So we did. We felled some trees, and we put up some tents we had bought from some merchants. It was going well until those demon kobolds started attacking. We dealt with them and decided we needed a defensible wall that ya saw. The attacks didn’t stop, though, and it made it hard to go huntin’ for things we needed. We were forced to attack the kobolds' den. Some of our people started gettin’ sick too, turning this sickly purple color.”
Bob hung his head.
“This world is a nightmare. An outright nightmare, and all we do is die. Most of us are on our last lives too.”
Jackson looked at Melanie, whose expression had turned into one of sympathy and sorrow. He looked back at Rob.
“Let me have a look at these sick people,” Jackson said.
Bob's eyes widened slightly, and he gestured for them to follow him out of the mess hall and toward the larger tent that Lazarus had noted earlier. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of herbs and the low moans of those suffering. Cots lined the tent, each occupied by a person who looked weak and frail, their skin tinged with a sickly purple hue. A woman with sharp eyes and graying hair, presumably Janice Rain, was tending to a patient and looked up as they entered.
"Janice, this here is Jackson. He wants to take a look at the sick folks," Bob said.
Janice nodded, though her eyes were wary. "If he can help, he's welcome."
Jackson approached the nearest patient, a young man whose breathing was shallow. He placed a hand on the man's forehead and wove a simple diagnostic spell. The weave revealed an unnatural corruption in the blood, something that resonated with a demonic essence.
"It's a demonic infection," Jackson said, looking up at Janice and Bob. "I've dealt with something like this before. I think I can help, but it'll require some of my blood magic."
Janice's eyes narrowed, but she nodded. "If you can save them, do what you must."
Jackson closed his eyes and began to weave. Blood magic thrummed through his veins, and he directed it into the patient, purging the demonic corruption. It was a delicate process, requiring precision and control, but after a tense few minutes, the young man's breathing steadied, and the purple tinge began to fade from his skin.
"One down," Jackson said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I'll need to do the same for the others."
Janice watched him closely but did not interfere as Jackson moved from patient to patient, repeating the process. Melanie stood by, watching with a mixture of fascination and concern.
By the time Jackson finished, he was exhausted, but the patients were already showing signs of improvement. Janice approached him, her expression softening.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "You've given them a chance."
Jackson nodded, too tired to say much. Melanie placed a hand on his shoulder, offering silent support.
Bob, who had been watching the entire time, looked at Jackson with newfound respect. "You did good, lad. Real good. If there's anything you need, you just ask."
Jackson nodded, "Thank you, Bob. We should rest for a bit before moving on. We still have a long way to go."
As they settled in for the night, Jackson couldn't help but think about the challenges that lay ahead. The mountain loomed in the distance, a dark reminder of the trials they had yet to face. But for now, they had a moment of peace, and for that, he was grateful.
Melanie sat beside him, the tension between them easing slightly. "You know, Jackson, for all your talk about being dangerous, you just saved a lot of lives today."
Jackson shrugged, "It's not about being dangerous. It's about using what I have to make a difference."
Melanie smiled faintly. "Well, you made a difference today. And maybe, just maybe, we'll get through this dungeon together."
Jackson looked at her, seeing a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Maybe we will," he agreed.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the stars begin to twinkle in the night sky. For the first time in a long while, Jackson felt a spark of optimism. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him going.