There were four more men surrounding them, all wearing rippling black cloaks that seemed to disguise their movements and hide their features. Making them look like specters. They snaked around Nathan and Arnold, stepping over the body of their friend as the Echo dissipated into the air.
They were surrounded. Blades bristled like spines beneath the folds of black fabric. Faint puffs of breath crystalized in the air from beneath the spectral men’s hoods. Arnold and Nathan were pressed up against each other’s backs, their weapons held protectively before them.
“You’re either much braver, or much stupider than I thought,” Arnold said as they slowly turned in circles, feet shuffling across the stone street. All was still and quiet.
“I’d like to say braver,” Nathan replied. He couldn’t see the eyes of any of the specter’s surrounding them, their faces too hidden in shadow. That put him at a disadvantage. It was difficult to anticipate a foe's actions when you couldn’t see their eyes. “But it looks like that isn’t quite the case.”
Arnold let out a short, terse laugh. Then the men descended upon them.
Nathan swept his blade out in a wide arc, forcing the men back like wolves with a torch. He continued the sweep into a spin, his free hand billowing with emerald flames, a whirlwind of ghostly fire and steel. He moved as if his weapons had a life of their own.
The men jabbed at him, testing the waters like hyenas testing a lion. One of the reapers fell back with a shriek as their hand was cut from their arm.
He was like the flow of a river, constantly moving and changing. Steel glinted in the night air around them, striking out viciously toward him or Arnold. None landed their strikes. He was unstoppable, a force of nature. Attacking, maiming, killing. Blocking, protecting, saving.
This was what he would be. More than a directionless killer. More than a mindless weapon. Still fighting, still killing – another man in black fell with a blade through his throat – but doing it with a purpose.
A part of him tried to slip out. Tried to revel in the bloodshed, drink it in, savor it. But he shoved that part down. He would not be that man again. He would be more.
94 EXP gained
106 EXP gained
124 EXP gained
88 EXP gained
Level Up!
Level Up!
Nathan pulled his blade back, crouching with one foot forward, one back, blade held in a one-handed grip, his other hand extended to the side. Adrenaline pumped heavy in his veins. Sweat dripped slick upon his brow.
All four of the black cloaked men were slain around him. Arnold stood, ax held in stunned hands, gaping. Four men – dead. And not a scratch on either Nathan or Arnold.
He let out a deep breath and lowered his weapon. His hand hurt although it wasn’t burned. The fire had never harmed him before – it hadn’t even felt hot.
But his hands. It felt like his very veins had pulled out, used as a jump rope, then shoved back into his skin.
Did I overuse my Ability? I didn’t know such a thing was possible.
He would need to be careful about overusing his magic before he fully understood what the consequences could be. The last thing he wanted was to permanently disable himself because he didn’t know what he was doing.
Upon further testing, he was unable to summon the flames again. Each attempt was met with an intense burning sensation.
Definitely overuse. Have to let it rest like any good muscle.
“Who… are you?” Arnold asked, his eyes slowly sweeping over the corpses of the men. Pools of blood gradually expanded on the cobbled stone ground beneath them, the crimson liquid flowing into the small channels between stones, like molten metal filling a mold. Their eyes stared up toward the sky, dead.
Except for one man. His eyes were husks, burnt and smoking – his jaw locked in a scream.
Nathan didn’t even remember killing the man with his flames. He’d been too consumed by the action of battle. That should mean he had another Echo that he could summon, but he wasn’t sure how to check.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“I’m just a man trying to be better than he was yesterday,” Nathan said with a sigh, sliding his blade back into his belt. It wasn’t a true sheath, but it worked for now.
Arnold grunted and raised an eyebrow. “Alright, you cryptic bastard. That tells me just about nothing.” He shook his head and then began to stalk off down the street, presumably toward where David should be. It was a while before they spoke again.
Nathan thought back to his screen of Abilities, Traits, and information that he had seen back when he’d first arrived here. In all of the chaos he had forgotten to distribute his Stat Points from reaching level two. God, that was less than a day ago… So much has happened so fast, I haven’t even had time to rest. And it appeared before him.
Name: Nathan Fleet
Race: Human*
Class: Ferryman
Level: 4
Stats: (Stat Points: 9)
– Strength: 25
– Agility: 27
– Endurance: 23
– Intelligence: 11
– Charisma: 14
– Luck: 7
“Arnold,” Nathan asked.
“Yes?”
“How do Stats work?”
The tavernkeep stopped, turning back to look at Nathan over his shoulder. His eyes were narrowed as he studied Nathan.
“What?” Nathan asked. He reached down and grabbed a black cloak off one of the fallen men. Its former owner had died from a blade to the neck, so there were no rips or tears in it.
“Every word you say and thing you do makes less and less sense to me. How you're as strong as you are and don’t know how stats work,” he said with another shake of his head. “They’re fairly self explanatory, unless you’ve got a squirrel for a brain. Strength makes you stronger, agility makes you quicker, endurance makes you tougher. Intelligence and Charisma are a bit more mind or ability related I think, not quite as obvious as the others. And luck is its whole own beast.” He eyed Nathan. “You don’t have a squirrel for a brain, do you?”
“Last time I checked, no,” Nathan said, moving to follow the man. He threw the cloak over his shoulders, fastening it with a pin above his breast.
“Good. That would be a problem.”
He’s not the best teacher, but I suppose that’s what I get for trying to get magic lessons from a bartender. At least there’s no wooden spoon this time. Nathan eyed Arnold’s ax. Its head was still the milky white color that allowed it to pass through objects. Although, I’d be a fool to assume that he was just an ordinary bartender.
Nathan fell in line beside Arnold as they walked toward their destination. He pulled the hood of his new cloak up and over his head.
“Wearing this cloak won’t reveal that we just killed five more of their men will it? I didn’t see any signifying marks, but I’d rather not get shot at for my choice of fashion,” said Nathan.
The man grunted in thought. “Nah, you’ll be fine. Won’t be anything suspicious about it.” He paused, then his mouth split into a cold smile. “Course, considering they just tried to have us killed, they already know about our coming. They’ll probably shoot you no matter what you choose to wear.”
The Night Hunt’s guild building was only a couple more blocks from where they were. They continued the rest of their travel in silence. Nathan could feel prying eyes watching them from shadowed alleyways and darkened windows.
I didn’t believe David when he told me that the guilds probably knew of Cleo and I as soon as we stepped into the city. But I do now. I almost feel more surveyed here than back on earth.
Nathan’s hand fingered the hilt of his blade. If he felt the need to, he could still run. Leave this city and place behind and start over somewhere that wasn’t so filled to the brim with corruption. Unfortunately, he would have to bring Cleo along as well. If they got too far from one another the Soulchained Trait would weaken them both, but by how much was yet to be seen.
Still looking through his stats, Nathan decided to place two Stat Points in each stat except for intelligence, where he placed one. He had tried to put some points into Luck, but for some reason had not been allowed to.
His ability – Echo of the Dead – looked to be highlighted. Its letters glowed stronger and pulsed with a more powerful light.
Abilities:
– Echo of the Dead: All souls must journey across the waters, but some need a guide. Enables the user to absorb and store Echoes of any entities slain by Echo of the Dead.
The user can summon any stored Echoes, commanding them as they please. When the summoned Echo dissipates, it is then Ushered and can no longer be summoned. Ushered Echoes grant you a portion of their power and can also grant a temporary ability.
Echoes Stored: [1/3]
Total Echoes Ushered: [2/2]
Nathan reached out to see what that meant. As soon as his finger touched the floating letters, they dissipated into hundreds of globules of light that reformed into new words.
You have Gained and Ushered sufficient Echoes.
Echo maximum increased from 3 to 5.
Upon Gaining and Ushering sufficient amounts, you will be granted the option of selecting a new skill or upgrading an already known skill.
Current Available Selections:
New Ability Options:
– Mists of the River: You journey across the waters, and they answer your call. You may summon the mists around you in a thick fog to conceal and obfuscate.
– [God Class Ability] Aspiring: You have not yet reached the grand heights that you wish. There will be more to your life.
Upgrade Current Abilities Options:
– Flowing Flames (Echo of the Dead): What is a Ferryman without his oar? You usher most souls to their next destination, not with your flames, but with your blade. Your weapon becomes an extension of yourself, allowing you to channel your flames onto it.