The journey after the fight was much more exciting. It was partially because he got to walk on his own two feet again, but also because he had new skills to choose from. The rest of the party picked up what was going on when Daniel started staring at open space and remained silent. Perhaps it was common etiquette in this world.

Name: Daniel Willow

Class: Soul Reaper (Legendary)

Level: 6

Job: None

Available jobs:

Exorcist of the Night (Rare)

Stats:

STR:10

VIT:15

DEX:12

INT:17

WIS:17

LUK:13

Available points: 7

Skills:

Gate of Reincarnation (Legendary)

Phantasmal Puppetry (Rare)

Reaper’s Eyes (Rare)

Mana Manipulation (Common)

Soul Scythe (Common)

Available skills:

Marked for Death (Rare)

Spiritbound Shield (Rare)

Last Echo (Rare)

List of Souls:

13x Medium Soul

Marked for Death (Rare)

A mark to never escape. The wielder may place a mark on a single soul, allowing them to unerringly find their target. Upon death, the target’s soul will seek out the wielder’s underworld. The mark cannot be removed except by death.

Spiritbound Shield (Rare)

Encase oneself in laments. When harvesting a soul, a piece of its essence will linger, stored as a charge of the shield. A single charge can absorb a single blow. The wielder can only store 3 maximum charges.

Last Echo (Rare)

Their deepest regrets. Allows the wielder to sense any death within a certain radius. Upon retrieving the soul, the wielder will see the last minute of the soul’s life.

Was he greedy if he wanted them all? Last Echo would make him the world’s greatest detective, and within a city filled with millions, it would prove invaluable. Marked for Death was similar to the red river leading him to his bounty, which would allow him to spy on a different creature whenever he wished to do so.

So it was with regret that he chose Spiritbound Shield, the only skill actually useful for combat. He desperately lacked a way to defend himself, and the ability to block any blow was way too powerful to pass up on. Not to mention that it would help his current situation the most. Had he been in the city, and had he chosen a different bounty, he would have given Last Echo a lot more thought.

“Anything good?” Finnean asked, seeing him sigh.

“Yeah. I made my choice,” he said, not willing to share more. Keeping the knowledge of Soulbound Shield secret could one day save his life.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

He brought both WIS and INT to 20 and added a single point to LUK. While it did make him more likely to live a less mundane life, it also made him luckier, which he felt he needed right now.

“Listen, Thalia. The next time we see something, if you must charge straight in, at least let me animate a few puppets to go with you. It should only take a few seconds,” Finnean, the great war leader, advised. Daniel was doubtful whether his words even reached her.

“You should let me fight one of them. We can establish a hierarchy of strength, and the strongest will make all the smart decisions!” she shouted, spinning Ophelia around in a whirlwind. To her dismay, Finnean declined.

The party atmosphere had thawed after the fight, which made the next few hours of travel much more bearable. Along the way, the only prey they managed to kill was an eagle tipped with quills, which Corvin shot down from the sky. Upon harvesting its soul, a strange weight settled in Daniel’s soul for a moment. He guessed it was related to his new skill, but he would have to wait until he was alone to investigate it.

The sun was beginning to set when they stumbled onto a small farming village. Immediately, Daniel’s stomach grumbled, and even the weird plants around him didn’t stop his hunger. To his left was a field of blue corn, their kernels replaced with translucent bubbles. To his right, a crooked tree grew the mixture of apples and dragon fruits, liquid flames constantly burning around them.

“Come on. Look at this place - it’s so nice. Let’s just stay here,” Corvin pleaded, but it was already decided.

Truth be told, Daniel didn’t want to sleep outside in a bedroll, but Finnean and Thalia were so firm on the matter that it wouldn’t matter either way.

“While you guys are finding a hunter, I need to go ask the villagers a few questions. Reconvene here in half an hour?” he asked, and despite the suspicious looks, the rest of his party nodded.

The village was fairly big, though it lacked any of the grandeur of the city. Dirt paths trodden by human and lizard feet wove between wooden houses with thatched roofs, constructed by the villagers themselves. They looked sturdy and well-made, likely due to someone’s skills. Above the door to every house was hung a dream shaper, woven from spider silk with dark-green feathers hanging below.

Not many people were out in the village, but before long, he spotted an older-looking man with a basket of berries passing by. Putting a charming smile on his face, Daniel slowly approached him.

“Hello, sir. Can I help you with carrying that?” he said, pointing at the basket.

The man stopped in his tracks, looking Daniel up and down. One of his ears was missing and he was tanned from the sun, but besides that, he looked healthy.

“Yer a nobleman? Suppose I don’t get the honour every day,” he said, coughing into his palm, spitting phlegm to the side.

“My house is over yonder,” he pointed as Daniel picked up the basket.

“What’dya need? Don’t bother buttering me up, either I’ll tell ya or I won’t.”

He reconsidered his words, slowing his pace to match the elder.

“How long have you been living here?” he asked.

“Over thirty years now. ‘fore that, I lived in Blackburry. ‘Twas destroyed by wyverns. My wife wanted to move closer to the city, but I ain't no city boy - even this is too close,” he harrumphed.

“I’ll live here ‘till I die. Even got a pretty grave picked out in the graveyard. The bloody witch says I should get cremated, but that’d be blasphemy against Agores,” he spat once again, a look of anger crossing his face.

“Around five years ago, a group of warriors headed west from the city. Know anything about that?” Daniel asked.

The old man hummed and hawed, muttering to himself in the meanwhile. “Now that ya mention it, I do remember. Whole village came to look. We was thinking they were out to slay a dragon with all the weapons they had.”

“Anyone stop and talk to them? Did they say where they were going?”

“Nay. Thems looked like proper warriors, and who knows what could happen to an innocent farmer if you upset them,” he stopped, looking into the distance. “Should ask the witch. She sticks her nose into everything, knows everyone ‘round here.”

As they were talking, they arrived at the man’s house, and he beckoned Daniel to come in. The inside looked lively - personal possessions neatly placed where they should be. Everything looked too proper for the couple to have any kids living with them. Daniel placed the basket on an exquisitely carved table and sighed. His own home was like a crack den compared to this.

“And where can I find this witch?” he asked as the old man placed two wooden bowls on the table, filling them with black berries that looked like stars. They popped in his mouth as he crunched on them, and he winced from how sour they were.

“Half a day north, inside the Myst Bog. She’s got markings every few hundred feet, practically impossible to get lost,” he replied, grabbing a handful of berries.

Because he had sat down, it took fifteen whole minutes to convince the old man he didn’t want to stay for dinner and meet his wife. In the meanwhile, he learned all about the latest rumours - Krissy was getting married to a posh city boy, and the whole house was in chaos because of it. How exciting.

He found the party waiting for him when he returned, and Corvin, annoyance on his face like a mask, spoke to him.

“The local hunter didn’t say anything useful. What a shame. Finnean here, goddess bless his soul, found out that there’s a half-ruined village to the south. That’s where we’ll be setting up our camp.”

Unfortunately, it was the opposite direction of the witch. Still, Daniel quickly settled on a plan. If he was to keep his matters secretive, he would just wait until the day they had to return to the city. Unlike his party members, he wasn’t bound to any guild, and he had no obligation to report back to them.

“Right. Chop chop. Let’s arrive there before nightfall so I can set everything up properly,” Finnean smiled. Daniel wondered how long the optimism would last.

“It’s time. Tomorrow, we shall slaughter everything that moves,” Thalia cackled as if a demon had possessed her.