Unvex

RotDG Chapter 79: Aspirations

Myrla couldn’t believe what she just heard. 

It had been almost half an hour since Eli regaled the story of what happened with Sonia. It had not been a long tale— nor was it a tall tale. It was a relatively straightforward and short story, really. But despite this fact, even until now, the young girl’s head was still spinning, trying to process everything she had been told. It was insanity. It made no sense. It didn’t sound real.

And yet, Eli had spoken with a straight face— he had insisted that it was all true. There was no reason for him to lie. Myrla knew him. She knew he wasn’t the type to make such an outrageous claim for the sake of a joke. Like it was a prank.

But even if this was a prank, he would have admitted that it was one by now. After all, the only reason he would lie about all this was to see her reaction. He wouldn’t have dragged it on for so long.

Besides, Myrla had seen the two Artifacts of Death that Eli had on him with her own eyes. While she had never seen one before, and she wasn’t too familiar with the essence emanated by death magic, they looked real enough to her.

So that meant everything Eli had said was true. It had to be— and yet, he was so nonchalant about it all. Why?

She pursed her lips as she eyed her friend from behind, slowly trailing after him as they made their way through the dense forest.

“Hm, I would have thought we would’ve been far enough away from Albus we would have found at least a few monsters by now…” he said as he swept his gaze over the surrounding trees.

Myrla barely paid any attention to him as she took in a deep breath. She was trying to see things from his perspective— she understood that she came from a more sheltered environment than him. Being raised as the daughter of a baron, her environment while growing up was going to be significantly different than a commoner who grew up as an orphan.

So he had to have an entirely different worldview from her, and it was showing right now. Even still, Myrla found it incomprehensible. Perhaps she could empathize with him when he said he wanted to study the Artifacts of Death— she had always been… curious about these dangerous and forbidden weapons.

How could she not want to know of their origins? And of what power they possessed? 

But it was always just an idle curiosity, nothing that would have actually compelled her to do something beyond thinking about it. However, she could have understood it… to a certain extent… if he had just found these items on the ground and decided to take a look at them.

Knowing that they were stolen from the Church of Life though? That completely baffled Myrla. She truly was at a loss here. Of course, she was going to keep her promise.

However, she just wanted to understand why?

Was Myrla just being close minded? Perhaps that was the problem— Sonia was also completely fine with this, and she was a commoner too. This might have been the reason why Eli also didn’t think there was anything wrong with this.

Because, as commoners, they might have had to steal just to survive. Or at the very least, grew up around people who stole or committed other crimes, like it was not a big deal at all. Meanwhile, as a noble, Myrla was raised not only with strong values against any such activities, but also she grew up in a household where she could pretty much have everything she wanted.

Well, her father did not always approve of her actions. However, that didn’t mean he was ever against her, nor did that mean she wasn’t given a proper noble upbringing.

So perhaps her position on this matter came from a place of privilege. Maybe Myrla needed to get off her high horse and understand that not everyone was a baron’s daughter like her. That was the problem— she needed to be more understanding of Eli’s background.

And finally, it all clicked in her mind.

Myrla nodded to herself as she realized that the problem was her worldview. She wasn’t trying to see things from Eli’s perspective— she wasn’t trying to walk in his shoes. And if she, too, had to grow up, living in the streets, she probably would not have felt like stealing an illegal item was exactly taboo.

“Alright—” she started as she looked back up.

And Eli suddenly came to a halt, holding up a hand. She bumped into his back as she blinked. 

“Careful, do you hear that?” Eli said as his eyes flickered.

“Hear what?” Myrla frowned.

She glanced around, looking in the same direction as her friend. But she saw nothing. However, he held up a finger and hushed her.

“Shh, it’s coming.”

“What’s coming—” the young girl started.

And from the bushes nearby, a shadowed figure shot out. It was a large creature— at least six feet in length. It moved swiftly, snarling as it went straight for Myrla. She backed away as her eyes grew wide.

She saw it coming. Of course she did. Perhaps she could have even reacted in time. But as she was about to raise her shield, Eli moved quicker.

He pointed up at the figure and unleashed a spear of ice straight at it. The creature whimpered as it flew back, the attack piercing it straight through the chest. It collapsed onto the ground as Eli stepped forward, staring at what it was.

Myrla blinked a few times, watching as a physical coat of shadows melted off the creature, revealing what it was.. 

“Just a darkwolf,” Eli said as he shook his head. “Barely a Silver Rank threat. I’m surprised you didn’t notice it.”

“How could I have noticed it?” Myrla sputtered, gesturing at the dead monster. “It was using its shadow magic to hide itself from us!”

Eli shook his head as he strode forward. “Well, just do what I did, and listen better next time.”

Furrowing her brows, Myrla just watched her friend continue onward.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

But he didn’t answer.

***

I had studied up on most of the monsters that inhabited this forest. I knew that the most dangerous of them all were darkwolves, stalker mushrooms, and crysbats. In general, they were all Silver Ranks— but a few of them could have reached the next Rank and become Gold.

For example, an alpha darkwolf was a Gold Rank threat, and so was a giant stalker mushroom. A swarm of crysbats could also be considered a Gold rank threat— but that was a classification made by the Adventurer’s Guild Bestiary. At the end of the day, it was just a bunch of Silver Rank threats clustered together, and that designation was for adventurers to not get themselves killed.

Anyway, this just meant that I had known what to expect from the monsters in the area. They were weak enough that I thought that this would have been a pretty relaxing day out for both Myrla and I.

Or at least, that was what I thought. Unfortunately…

“Wait, wait, wait, where did that mushroom come from—”

Again.

“Bats? In the afternoon? I thought they were nocturnal animals…”

And again.

“But I thought it was just a cute bunny!”

And again and again, Myrla somehow almost got herself killed by the monsters in the forest. Well, she would’ve actually been fine, since the enchantments on the armor she wore pretty much made her invulnerable to anything that wasn’t at least a Platinum Rank threat.

But the way she carried herself was so incredibly reckless, I was genuinely surprised. Whether it was trying to pat a horned rabbit because she thought it was a normal animal, or ignoring the crysbats flying overhead because she thought they were just ordinary birds.

That was not to mention that she didn’t notice the group of stalker mushrooms that were following us, even though I had purposefully let them get as close as possible, hoping that she would react to them eventually.

But she just didn’t— she was just oblivious to it all.

The thing was… it wasn’t that she froze up when faced with a monster or anything. She had already proven herself to be quite capable when she had fought that mawdrith alongside me. In fact, that had impressed me, even though she was obviously protected by her armor.

She just had no survival instincts at all.

“You know, I never realized just how lacking you are in real-world combat experiences,” I said as I rolled my eyes, walking away from the young girl as she panted and leaned against a tree.

Her brows snapped together and she glared up at me. “Hey! I’m just not used to— eek!”

She squealed and jumped back as I hurled the dead horned rabbit back her way. I just chuckled, and she hurriedly gave chase to me.

“That wasn’t very nice!” the young girl harrumphed.

And I shook my head at her. “Well, you’ll just have to get used to seeing dead things. So I’m helping you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She crossed her arms indignantly. 

“I mean, aren’t you going to become an Inquisitor?” I said simply as I raised a brow. 

But Myrla just scoffed in response. “What? No, I have no intention of becoming an Inquisitor.”

“You don’t?” I gave her a dubious look. “But don’t most [Paladins] choose to become an Inquisitor?”

She just nodded and huffed. “They do— and that’s exactly why I don’t want to become an Inquisitor.”

“Why not?” I asked as I tilted my head back, all the while continuing to lead her through the forest. “Kai is pretty cool, isn’t he? Don’t you want to become like him?”

“Absolutely not!” Myrla grumbled as she folded her arms and trailed after me. “That would make my father finally proud of me, and I’m not doing all this to earn his validation.”

I cocked my head back at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That means that my father will try to take credit for all the hard work I’ve put in myself when he never supported me,” the young girl said as she raised her head. “And I don’t want him doing that, so I have a different goal.”

“And what is your goal?” I asked her curiously.

She smirked at me as she came to a sudden halt. Pointing a finger to the sky, she spoke declaratively, her voice echoing all around us. 

“My goal is to become the next Headmaster of the Holy Academy!”

“Huh.” 

I stared at her in surprise when I heard that. After all, being the Headmaster of the Holy Academy was… a rather boring job, from what I heard about it. 

It was not a prestigious job that came with a lot of glory like being an Inquisitor was, nor did it give you any real power like becoming a Templar did. As the Headmaster of the Holy Academy, you spent all your time carrying out administrative duties, which was utterly dull.

In fact, I heard that Headmaster Kaelen Angelus was an Emerald Rank adventurer before he retired to his current job. It was meant to be more of a… retirement kind of job, which offered plenty of benefits in exchange for its tedious nature.

But Myrla ignored this as she beamed at me, folding her arms across her chest. 

“I know, it’s quite a pretty impressive goal, isn’t it?” she said.

“It is surprising. But I wouldn’t exactly call it impressive.” I shrugged at her, before continuing forward.

Myrla scoffed as she followed after me. “Hmph, you’re just jealous because you probably have a much more generic dream.”

Oh, trust me, I most definitely don’t, I thought in response as I chuckled.  

RotDG Chapter 78: Time To Hunt

It was finally time.

As soon as Myrla woke up, she threw her blanket into the air, before hopping off her bed and rushing to get changed. By the time her blanket fell back onto the ground, she was already out of the room, racing through the halls of the College of Luminosity.

She didn’t have a roommate— her family had paid for an individual boarding room for her, here in the Holy Academy. Only those who couldn’t afford the upgrade had roommates. But if she did have a roommate, they’d be complaining about all the commotion she was causing so early in the morning on one of their only few rest days.

But Myrla Arthus was not going to take today to rest, even if it was the weekend. Because it was finally time for her to go hunting with Eli and learn the truth about what happened with Sonia.

She  couldn’t contain her excitement. She was practically bouncing on her feet when she met the younger boy waiting for her at the gates of Lux. He nodded at her, but she grabbed him before he could even speak and dragged him straight through the gates and into the inner city of Albus. A few folks watched the two children as they made their way towards the outer city without any supervision.

But Myrla ignored their staring. She didn’t care what anyone thought. All that mattered was that she was finally going to get some answers… and maybe finally catch up to her rival…

***

When we exited the gates of Albus, I finally managed to pry Myrla’s hands off me after convincing her that I wasn’t going to run off on my own.

“You’re not going to make any more excuses, alright?” she said as she placed her hands on her hips. “I’m getting tired of waiting, so you better explain everything.”

“Yeah, yeah, I promise…” I said as I sighed, trailing after her.

Once the both of us were far enough away from the city, we began to head off-road, delving deeper into the dense forest nearby. It was still relatively early in the morning. But that would benefit us, since most monsters in the area would very likely have not eaten yet and be very hungry— which meant they would attack us when they saw us.

And that was exactly what we wanted. We were hunting for the monsters in the area, hoping to kill them so that we would level up and grow stronger. 

But why were we doing this? Well, that was the lie I had told Myrla to explain why I was out here a week or so ago, when I had just been trying to speak to Vorth in private. I told her that the reason why I was so much stronger than I should be… was because I was leveling extremely quickly by hunting monsters while using my healing magic to stay alive. 

And when she heard this, she made me promise I would bring her out with me the next time I went. 

The lie worked as I had intended. Well, it wasn’t technically a lie. The principles of everything I said were true— I just wasn’t actually doing it myself. It was simply a useful distraction to get Myrla to not ask anymore questions.

Unfortunately for me, shortly after that event, the both of us had a little run-in with Sonia and a few thugs which ended up becoming an entire incident that involved an Inquisitor and the Artifacts of Death. I had kept Myrla in the dark about pretty much the entire thing, but she wasn’t going to stop pestering me until I explained everything I learned to her. 

And that was what she wanted from me right now. 

When we were far enough away from the main road and deep enough into the forest where nobody was within earshot, Myrla turned to me and crossed her arms.

“So…” she said as she gave me an expectant look.

“So?” I repeated after her, playing coy.

Myrla glared at me and stepped forward. “You know what I want— don’t pretend you forgot.”

“Alright, relax. I’m just joking.” I chuckled as I raised my hands placatingly.

The young girl harrumphed, but didn’t say another word. Instead, she just waited silently for my explanation. I took in a deep breath as I closed my eyes.

Over the last week, I had pondered over what kind of a story I should weave for Myrla. There were a thousand different lies I could have told her. But each one would have been too complicated to keep up with. Especially if she ever asked Sonia any questions.

So after a week of deliberation, I had made my decision on what to tell the young girl.

I was just going to tell her the truth.

“You see, Myrla…” I said as I met her gaze. “The truth is that Sonia was being hunted by those thugs for the Artifacts of Death she had in her possession.”

And Myrla’s eyes crossed when she heard that. “...what?”

“Yep, I was pretty surprised myself.” I shook my head, before continuing casually. “I didn’t think she’d have such illegal items on her— and when she told me she stole them from the Holy Academy too? My jaw dropped, I’m telling you.”

“She… what?!” Myrla exclaimed as her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.

I nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly my reaction!”

Myrla stumbled back as she rubbed her temples. It took her a moment to process this, before she sat down on a large rock.

“Gracious Goddess, you’re being serious, aren’t you?” she said, swaying where she sat. 

“Very serious,” I replied simply.

I pretty much expected this reaction from the young girl. But this was the best option for me. She had already shown herself to be capable of keeping a secret for me in the past, and She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly for a few moments, trying to calm herself down. When she did, she looked back up towards me and rose to her feet.

“But what did Sonia want to do with those Artifacts of Death? And where are they now?” Myrla asked with a frown.

“Sonia just wanted some information about her father— but those thugs betrayed her,” I explained with a shrug. “I told her I’d get her the information she wanted, in exchange for giving me the Artifacts of Death.”

“Wait, you have them on you?” Myrla gaped at me.

And I nodded as I pretended to reach into the Bag of Holding I had on me. But instead, when my hand was out of view, I summoned the Lesser Death Dagger and the strange mirror I had acquired just the other day into my palm.

“Yeah, right here,” I said as I produced the pair of items.

I decided to keep the boots and my other dagger hidden, since there was no point in showing the young girl everything, even if I wasn’t intending to tell her the truth.

Well, at the very least, the same so-called truth that I told Sonia.

Myrla immediately backed away and fell onto the ground, making a face in revulsion. “W-w-w-hat? Why would you do that?!”

She pointed at me as she sputtered. I hid the Artifacts of Death, before making them vanish back into my Dimensional Storage Unit as I spoke dismissively.

“Because I was hoping to study them— to learn about their origins. That’s why.”

It was the very same excuse I had told Sonia. And, well, there was an element of truth to them. But I also wasn’t going to shy away from using them if I ever needed them in a battle as the Bloodied Blade.

“That’s insane!” Myrla said as she finally got back up to her feet. She waved her arms wildly in the air. “If anyone finds out about this, you’ll get in trouble!”

“As long as you don’t tell anyone about it, I won’t get in trouble,” I countered simply. “And you won’t tell anyone about it, right?”

I raised my brow at her, giving her an expectant look. She hesitated and bit her lower lip.

“That’s…” she trailed off, averting her gaze.

I sighed, feigning disappointment. “Oh, that’s a shame. I thought we were friends…”

“No!” Myrla protested as her gaze snapped back towards me. “I just—”

“I mean, it makes sense. Since you see us as rivals, I guess it will benefit you by getting rid of me. And here I thought you’d have at least tried to win fair and square.” I shook my head as I looked away from the young girl, wearing a dejected face.

Myrla placed a hand on her chest. “I’m not that kind of a person, Eli!”

Gritting her teeth, she lowered her head as I peered at her. Her hands balled into fists as she spoke insistently.

“My father may be, but I hate him and his stupid politics— I’m really not!”

“So are you going to tell anyone about this?” I asked, cocking a brow at her.

“N-no!” she started, before catching herself. She steeled herself as she met my gaze. This time, she spoke with a lot more determination in her voice. “Absolutely not.”

“Are you sure?” I gave her a dubious look.

But Myrla nodded as she stepped forward. “Let the Death God strike me down where I stand if I am lying— I swear I will not tell a single soul about what you told me here today.”

Even if she was just giving me her word, I knew she could be trusted. She had already helped lie for me before, and while this was a significantly bigger lie for her to keep, I also saw the look in her eyes. It told me that she could be trusted.

I had dealt with many folks from many walks of life in my past life. There were many instances when I had been tricked— betrayed by those close to me. But I had learned from those experiences, and now it was no longer so easy to deceive me.

And considering that Myrla was barely a teen… well, if she somehow had tricked me, I would be very surprised.

Besides, it was not like I was telling her I was the Death God or anything.

It was a significant secret, but it was not something that would have gotten me executed and killed. There was a very valid explanation for my actions that could get me off with a relatively light slap on the wrist if I was ever exposed.

Especially with the help of Archdeacon Emmett and my friends at the Luna Gez Sect…

If Myrla decided to expose me, I would be fine. Not that that was going to happen.

“Alright, good,” I said as I drew back. I clapped my hands together and started deeper into the forest. “Now that we got that over with, let’s start hunting some monsters.”

Myrla blinked, before she hurried after me. “Oh, right, I forgot that was why we were here.”

And the two of us made our way through the forest as the sun continued to rise overhead. The further we went from Albus, the more dangerous it was going to get. After all, monsters often kept away from such large cities, unless they amassed in a large enough number.

But for a city as large as Albus, even monster hordes would be foolish to try attacking it. Perhaps if there were a monster tide, they might try it…

However, I had studied up on the fauna in the surrounding area, and I knew that adventurers were regularly sent out to keep the monster population low and bring down any powerful monsters to protect the visitors who regularly came and went from the city. So I knew that not only were a majority of the monsters Bronze Rank threats, but the most dangerous ones were Gold Ranks, and they were far and few in-between.

Which meant there wasn’t going to be anything here that was too much for the both of us at Silver to handle…

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 77: Interlude - Aria VI

The Grand Temple of Light. It was a different building from the Basilica of Lux. While the latter was a public cathedral where worshipers from all around the world could gather and pray to the Goddess of Life, the former was the official residence for Archbishop Walden, the Most Venerable Mother, and the Seven Cardinals of the Virtues.

Most of the archdeacons and bishops who resided here in Lux would also carry out their administrative duties while living within the Grand Temple of Light. However, their residence there was not a requirement, and they could live elsewhere if they wanted.

As the Lady of Light and [Hero] ordained by the Goddess of Life, Aria had hoped she would also find herself living within the lavish walls of this ancient gilded building when she was first found by Archbishop Walden. But, unfortunately for her, her early years of life were spent living in the dirty barracks of the Inquisitors, forced to study and train with them every single day, so that when the time came, she could become powerful enough to slay the Death God. 

That time had long since passed for her, and now, she spent her days living in luxury in the Grand Temple of Light. It should have been the perfect life for her— she fulfilled her destiny, and now she got to reap the rewards of her hard work.

But, unfortunately, life wasn’t always so kind. And as she strode through the ornate halls of the Grand Temple of Light, her mind was plagued by the dark thoughts of the revelations that had been made to her over the last few months…

The Birthpools of Death and their origins.

The Master of Fate and his puppets.

The true fate of Nox the Death God and his survival.

But most of all—. 

As she turned a corner, her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of [Priests] who were locked in a quiet discussion.

“...but do you really think he could be—”

“Hush, this isn’t something we should even be talking—”

They immediately froze when they saw Aria. She just nodded at them, greeting them curtly.

“Greetings, gentlemen.”

“Greetings, Lady of Light,” the first [Priest] said as he bowed stiffly. “We were just discussing matters regarding the Holy Academy.”

The second [Priest] shifted back hesitantly and nodded in agreement. “We heard rumors about a young prodigious talent in this year’s batch of Initiates— a [Healer] who goes by the name of Eli. We were merely curious about his future prospects in the Church of Life.”

Aria didn’t know exactly why the two [Priests] were telling her this, nor why they looked to be so nervous, but while she would have ordinarily been quite interested in hearing more about this [Healer]— in fact, in the past, she would have probably been open to the idea of meeting him and inspiring him, since he was one of the future generation…

Right now, she had too much on her mind to put more than a moment’s thought to this juvenile matter.

“I wish this young Eli well,” she said as she nodded at the two [Priests]. “Perhaps one day he can also walk the halls of the greats who have come before him.”

And with that, Aria took her leave, not lingering for long to converse with either of the two [Priests]. They just exchanged a glance as she left— she didn’t even notice when they sighed in unison as soon as she turned another corner.

Because her mind was far too preoccupied by other matters of importance. 

Even though it was already a few weeks back, Aria was still internally laboring over the implication of everything she had learned on that fateful day— during her brief encounter with Hyperius. 

He had been a strange-looking man— ancient in age, with skin tinted in a shade of purple that she had never seen on any person before. He called himself the Master of Fate, and he had created puppets— each one as powerful as at least any Ruby Rank threat— to lure her into a cave full of Avatars of Death.

It had been a ploy to trap her. To distract her with the Avatars of Death that were so powerful, they could have endlessly rampaged across the Sanctus Empire without ever being stopped, unless she had intervened. 

And then he used a God Skill against her.

She hadn’t stuck around to see what the impact of Hyperius’s God Skill would have done, instead calling for help from Archbishop Walden to save her. And yet, even though she had returned safely, she had yet to regale any of her experience to anyone.

She had yet to take any action with the information she had learned. 

Because she wasn’t sure if she could trust anyone. Not when what she learned related to the very man who had raised her and ruled over the Church.

It was not just the Birthpools of Death and their origins. It was not just the Master of Fate and his puppets. It was not just the true fate of Nox the Death God and his survival.

It was the secrets of the Church of Life and Archbishop Walden that kept Aria from speaking out.

Because, for whatever reason, Hyperius and Walden knew each other. And yet, Walden never once uttered a word about Hyperius to Aria. Even though Hyperius was the Master of Fate— even though he wanted Aria dead. Walden remained silent about Hyperius’s existence all this while.

The question was simple: why? 

Why was it kept a secret?

Was Aria the only one who wasn’t in the know? Was everyone else in the Church of Life aware of Hyperius’s existence? Were they aware that he was the one who was responsible for pulling the strings of fate?

Were they aware that for the cycle of destiny to be fulfilled, Aria had to die?

Aria didn’t know what anyone else in the Church of Life knew. All she knew was that she couldn’t trust any of them. All she knew was that there was only one person who she could truly trust.

And it was someone she had thought was long dead.

Someone she had believed to have killed herself.

Someone she had thought was the embodiment of evil.

Nox the Death God.

But… where could she even find him? Aria didn’t know. For now, though— she was going to stay put here in Lux as she dug into the history of the Church of Life…

***

“I apologize for the trouble, Jaxon,” Aria said as she bowed her head apologetically at the man standing in front of her.

Well, when you looked at the height difference between the both of them alone, you would be hard pressed to believe that he was a man— you would think he was a boy. But when you saw his stout stature, and the bushy ginger beard sprouting from his face, you’d realize that he was just a dwarf.

Still, it was a rare sight to see here in Lux. The dwarven population in the city state was extremely small— which was to be expected, since these were human lands, far away from the dwarven countries.

So most of them would have experienced some kind of discrimination, leading them to be rather abrasive and irritable. But Jaxon was unlike those dwarfs in that he wore a cheery and jovial demeanor, which was a stark contrast to the dark and dank basement they were in.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Ms [Hero],” Jaxon said as he waved a hand dismissively, before grabbing a torch from the side wall. “Not very many people come down here that often, it’s honestly refreshing to see an outside face for the first time in weeks.”

“R-right…” Aria pursed her lips, feeling bad for the dwarf.

It was true that this place was rarely visited by… well, anyone in general. But that was because those who actually had unrestricted access to enter this place were far and few in-between. Archbishop Walden, the Most Venerable Mother, and Aria herself were some of those who could enter without any prior approval.

In fact, Aria was certain that only the likes of Zander Clay and the Seven Cardinals of the Virtues were not allowed down here without special permission granted to them. 

So that was why Jaxon would scarcely get any visitors to this place. That was why he spent most of his time around here in the darkness.

But he didn’t seem to mind as he just hummed all the while he led her through a narrow tunnel that was dripping with water from the ceiling. 

“See, sometimes I get jealous of my brother— you should know him, he’s the [Librarian] of the Grand Library of the College of Luminosity— but when I think about having to deal with all those students every single day, I realize I have it quite easy down here.”

Jaxon just guffawed, and his laughter echoed down the empty tunnel. Aria gave a nervous chuckle in response, uncertain how she was even supposed to react.

The two of them continued until they reached the end of the tunnel. There was a large metallic double door there, its surface rusted, but the magic that was protecting it was as powerful as ever. Jaxon stepped forward and placed a hand on the doorway as he exhaled softly.

An intricate spell circle formed on the surface of the double doors, before spinning and shifting. The runes and sigils that shone within the spell began to disassemble as the magic briefly faded away. Finally, the spell circle vanished, and Jaxon heaved the double doors open.

“Welcome to the Holy Archives,” he said as he turned and grinned back towards Aria.

The Lady of Light just smiled gratefully at the dwarf as she stepped past him. “I really appreciate this, Jaxon. And please— keep my visit a secret from anyone who asks.”

Perhaps it was because he was a dwarf, but Aria felt like she could trust him— that he would at least keep this visitation of hers to the Holy Archives discreet. He gave her a thumbs-up as he drew back down the tunnel.

“Aye— and if you need anything from me, just be sure to ask!”

And with that, Aria was left alone in the Holy Archives.

It was not the most luxurious room she had ever been in— in fact, it looked more like an ancient wine cellar, rather than a library that stored the historical records of the Church of Life. Even still, there were piles and piles of books stored here. Some of them were kept on dusty shelves, while others were simply stacked up against the dull gray walls.

Despite the wizened state of the Holy Archives, there was not a single living creature other than Aria inside of the room. No rats, no roaches, no spiders— nothing. Not even ants.

It was a room that was completely devoid of life, completely sealed in by the spell that protected it.

Nodding to herself, Aria began to get to work. “Alright, if I remember correctly, the further back you go, the older the documents are…”

The Lady of Light wanted to go back to the inception of the Church of Life— when Lux the First [Hero] slew the Death God to save the Goddess. So Aria made her way all the way to the back of the Holy Archives in search of anything that could help her make a more informed decision.

It was a relatively long walk. Well, at least, to make it to the other side of such a narrow room. But eventually, she reached the end of the Holy Archives, and she sifted through the aged leather bound books that were shelved there.

“The Principles Of Light Magic, Dark Versus Light, The Death Of Times… no, don’t need any of those,” she muttered to herself as she shook her head. But then she paused when she pulled out a book she had never heard of before. “The Chronicles of Solarin? This could be useful…”

The words etched onto the surface of the book were almost faded— barely decipherable. But she thought she would have found something useful inside of it anyway, so she unlatched its cover and flipped through its page…

Only to pause at what she saw.

“...what?” Aria blinked a few times.

But her eyes weren’t deceiving her. The book was empty. No— it wasn’t that the ink had faded from the parchment, leaving behind a blank page. It was that the pages of the book themselves had been ripped out. 

“I don’t get this, why…? Who—” 

And she paused as she thought of the only other person who would have had such freedom of access to the Holy Archives. The only person who had something to hide by ripping the pages of these books.

Aria gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes. “Walden… just what exactly are you trying to hide?”

The [Hero] didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to rest until she figured out exactly what it was.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 76: The Class Of Solarin

I wanted to sigh in relief as soon as Headmaster Kaelen Angelus and Deputy Headmistress Claire Verena took their leave from the cafeteria. After all, my worst fears did not come true— they hadn’t discovered that I was in possession of four Artifacts of Death.

However, I couldn’t revel in my relief for even a single moment, before both Myrla and I were immediately swarmed by our fellow students gathered in the cafeteria. They inundated the both of us with a deluge of questions about the incident with the mawdrith that transpired a few days ago.

“Did you two seriously fight off a greater demon?”

“I heard one is capable of destroying an entire town on its own!”

“How did you two even survive?!”

“Wait, wasn’t Sonia Redheart involved in the incident too? Where is she?

“Did something happen to her? I don’t see her—”

I just scratched the back of my head as both faces I recognized and didn’t recognize surrounded me from all sides, keeping me boxed in from escaping.

Certainly, a rampaging mawdrith would be capable of pretty much slaughtering most of Velmond on its own— perhaps it would eventually be taken down by the sheer number of Silver Ranks it had to face. But that was not before causing the deaths of at least a thousand innocent lives, while leveling entire neighborhoods into rubble and dust. 

We were fortunate that the mawdrith that had attacked Sonia, Myrla, and I was commanded to focus its attention on us. Otherwise, the streets of the outer city of Albus would have been painted red.

But even if I wanted to explain all these details to the crowd of students— which, I did not, because it would have contradicted the story I had told the authorities— I couldn’t even say anything under the cacophonous weight of their voices.

Of course, while most of the students surrounding us were excited for us despite their disbelief, there were other students who were simply skeptical of what happened. 

They were mostly those who were from the other classes. Those who I had never interacted with before— from the Class of Caelrix, the Class of Noctis, and the Class of Viridane.

“You don’t seriously believe this, right?” a tall and slender brown-haired man said as he shook his head. “There is no way a couple of Initiates like us were capable of fighting a greater demon.” 

Next to him, a rather chubby girl nodded in agreement. “That’s right, they probably just ran away from it until an Inquisitor showed up…”

“I bet Headmaster Angelus is only praising them because they’re kids,” another guy, although he was more imposing, being tall and muscular with the build of a [Warrior], scoffed as he crossed his arms.

I furrowed my brows as I looked towards the three voices who spoke up. The crowd of students all around me parted ways, letting them through as I blinked a few times. They weren’t my classmates, since I didn’t recognize them at all. Not even in my summoning class, which had a mixture of students from different classes. However, Myrla seemed to know who they were as she piped up next to me with a serious look on her face.

“Owen Aurashard of the Class of Caelrix, Nel Chamberlain of the Class of Noctis, and Jakob Miller of the Class of Viridane.”

She introduced them respectively as they smirked and snickered back at her. I just raised a curious brow her way.

“You know them, Myrla?” I asked the young girl.

And she rolled her eyes back at me. “Gracious Goddess, Eli, do you even pay attention to anything that goes on on campus?” 

I gave her a shrug. “Not really, no.”

She sighed, “They’re the top students of their classes, and they all come from powerful families— but I don’t mean just in terms of noble houses either...”

Myrla shook her head and looked back at the three students standing right across from us.

“Nel Chamberlain is the daughter of Bishop Lawson Chamberlain, and Jakob Miller is the son of Templar Commander Denise Miller,” the young girl explained as she nodded at each one of them. “And Owen Aurashard’s father is Evan Aurashard the Archmage of Lightning of the Sanctus Empire.”

“Oh?”

I wasn’t impressed by either of Nel or Jakob’s parents, but I paused when I heard of Owen’s family lineage.

First of all, there were only seven [Mages] in the entirety of the Sanctus Empire who were given the Title of Archmage— each and every single one of them was extremely powerful, typically having reached Emerald Rank, which was a feat very few individuals ever achieved in all of Parvos.

But also, I was pretty sure I knew Owen’s dad. Because when I had slain the previous Archmage of Lightning in battle about thirty or so years ago. I remembered how he had an apprentice by the name of Evan— I didn’t kill him, because he posed no threat to me, so I spared his life.

So that kid became the Archmage of Lightning himself, huh? And now he has his own kid too, I thought as I placed a hand on my chin. I’d say I’m happy for him, if not for how annoying and stuck-up his kid seems to be…

“Oh, I’m surprised you heard of us, Myrla Arthus of the Class of Spoiled Brats,” Owen said as he grinned back at her. “I thought you and your classmates of nobles would’ve been too rich and important to pay attention to us commoners.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Myrla frowned at him.

And it was Nel who snorted in response. “Don’t play daft with us— everyone knows that every year, the Class of Solarin is packed with incompetent students who only got in through their noble heritage. That’s why we call it the Class of Spoiled Brats.”

I raised a brow when I heard that. Was the Class of Solarin known for having a higher number of noble children than the other classes? Honestly, that explained a lot, since practically everyone I knew from my class came from a noble heritage… 

I just thought it was normal for everyone in this school to be from a noble family, I thought as I pursed my lips.

“Oh, shut it you jerks,” Myrla snapped as she crossed her arms. “I’m literally just the daughter of a baron— your parents are far more influential than my father will ever be. If anything, you three were the ones who used your parents’ influence to get you into the Holy Academy.”

“What an interesting story,” Jakob piped up with a grin. “It’s almost as interesting as that whole greater demon story you made up. You’re really good at this, aren’t you?”

Myrla ground her teeth together. “These guys are really getting on my nerves. Eli, back me up here, will you?”

“I mean, is there even anything for me to say?” I said, shaking my head. “I doubt they’ll believe us, no matter what we say or do.”

“That’s true, but…” Myrla trailed off.

“At least one of you realizes just how stupid this lie is,” Owen chuckled as he interrupted the young girl. Next to him, both Nel and Jakob snickered too.

When the watching crowd heard this, they exchanged hesitant glances, almost convinced by their arguments. The students from the other classes whispered amongst themselves, now overcome with a skepticism they didn’t have earlier.

“Is it really true?”

“I mean, look at them— they’re kids!”

“Well, the teachers will say we’re kids too. But I do find it hard to believe how a couple of thirteen year olds could fend off a greater demon, even if only for a minute…”

But then a young man’s voice from the side spoke over them, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“Except, they’re telling the truth.”

There was a sudden pause in the chattering as they faced who it was. Even I was taken aback by what I saw. Because the student who spoke up in our defense was none other than—

“That’s… Prince Claudius?”

The watching students gasped as the Seventh Prince of the Sanctus Empire strode forward with a grin plastered across his face. He came to a halt right before Owen, Nel, and Jakob, before placing a hand on his chest.

“As a fellow student of the Class of Solarin, I have seen firsthand the capabilities of my fellow classmates in battle. So while you may sit and stew in jealousy, calling them liars. I can place my honor in the line as a member of the royal family to vouch for their abilities.” 

I blinked a few times, staring at Claudius in disbelief. …what? 

Was he seriously defending me? That made no sense— I was under the impression that he hated me. In fact, it was not an unfounded idea that I came up with, considering that he spent the better part of the first two weeks of school trying to bully me.

And yet, here he was, standing up for Myrla and I and arguing with the other three students from the other classes.

“So you really expect us to believe that a group of prepubescent teens were capable of fighting a greater demon?” Owen asked, giving the prince a flat stare.

“Before I even counter the bulk of your argument, let me be clear, Sonia Redheart, who is not currently present, is no prepubescent teen— she is very much the same age as us,” Claudius said as he held up a finger. “But more than that…”

He spun around and gestured at the both of us as he spoke almost exaggeratedly.

“Eli here is the youngest student to ever be admitted into the Holy Academy, and he has shown time and time again why he deserves that incredible achievement. You can ask your classmates who are in the elective summoning class, but even as a [Healer], he was capable of summoning and defeating a spectral sentinel in battle. Of course, with the help of some artifacts…”

Claudius nodded at me, before turning to Myrla.

“And Myrla Arthus has consistently proven herself to be a top student in all aspects of combat. Even during the entrance exams, she was the only one who won five duels in a row, while going up against much older examinees.” 

Owen, Nel, and Jakob exchanged dubious glances, but the other watching seemed to nod along, following what the Seventh Prince was saying. And he continued as he cleared his throat.

“That is not to mention that Sonia Redheart is the daughter of Natalia Redheart… so her reputation speaks for itself.”

A few of the watching students piped up.

“Is this really true?”

“I mean, I knew Sonia was the daughter of a famous adventurer, but I never realized her mother was Natalia Redheart!”

“Well, I can also say that Myrla girl really did hand my ass to me during the entrance exams…”

Some of the students I didn’t quite recognize nodded, agreeing with what Claudius was saying. But I knew one student in particular who piped up to sheepishly defend me.

It was Julie— my former seatmate in my summoning class.

“It’s all true, I saw Eli defeat a greater spirit on his own, it was really amazing…” she said as she shifted her feet, speaking barely loud enough for the others to hear.

Owen, who was from the same class as her, snapped his brows her way. “You can’t be serious, right? You don’t have to lie for them, Julie.”

She scratched the back of her head in response. “But it’s true…”

In response, Claudius just raised his head triumphantly as he addressed the crowd of students. 

“So you see, the strength and valor demonstrated by these two— that is what you all should expect from the Class of Solarin!” he exclaimed as he placed a hand on his chest. “So doubt us as you may, but we of the Class of Solarin will continue to embody the true meaning of what it means to be a student of the Holy Academy!”

And all around him, our other classmates from the Class of Solarin cheered. Meanwhile, the students from the other classes looked on in both awe and amazement at Myrla and I, leaving only Owen, Nel, and Jakob as the ones who didn’t believe this story. The three of them just gritted their teeth, evidently annoyed, but choosing to remain silent for now.

I watched this entire scene unfold, before rubbing my eyes. When I blinked my eyes back open and I was certain what I was seeing was real, I just shook my head.

“Yeah, I’m just going to go to my next class now,” I said as I drew back.

Myrla nodded next to me, before following suit. “Yeah, same.”

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 75: Congratulations

I probably should have been more… gentle when I was relaying what I learned from Wyll to Sonia. But I also didn’t really know the black-haired girl that well. She was usually quite stoic, and I didn’t think that this matter was that important to her.

After all, I wasn’t really someone who grew up with parents before. The only reason why I knew that I made a mistake was because of the influence of Eli’s soul— the vague recollection of memories from his life that I possessed made me feel extremely bad for Sonia after I casually told her that her father was dead.

Well, not like there’s anything I can do to change it now, I thought as I left her room, heading for the cafeteria.

It was lunch time, and I still needed to get something to eat to energize myself for the rest of the day. Especially since I was actually physically exhausted after staying up all of last night to hunt down Wyll.

Fortunately for me, there was still plenty of time for me to eat and relax even though I arrived at the cafeteria about half an hour after everyone else. When I was finally there, I had only barely just gotten my food, when Myrla suddenly spawned in behind me and dragged me to her table.

I didn’t even have time to react. After only a moment, I found myself seated across from the young girl as she leaned over the table and grabbed me by the collar of my uniform.

“You’re not running away from me this time!” she whispered harshly. “You’re going to tell me exactly what Sonia told you after we saved her life!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” I said as I held my hands up. “There’s no need to be so rough.”

Myrla narrowed her eyes, before letting go of me. She settled down back into her seat and looked at me expectantly. I just started eating.

“After I finish my lunch,” I added as I chewed on a mouthful of steak.

The young girl crossed her arms and glared daggers at me. With that look alone, I almost choked on my food. I steeled myself and nodded at her.

“This weekend,” I finally replied, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

“This weekend?” Myrla raised a brow dubiously.

“I promised you I was going to bring you out on a hunting trip outside of the city with me, didn’t I?” I said as I nodded at her. “So when we’re doing that, I’ll explain everything to you.”

“Are you sure? Because I’m getting tired of being left out!” Myrla harrumphed and held her chin up. “Remember, I saved your life, so you owe me!”

“I promise, I’ll tell you everything, alright?” I said reassuringly. “So don’t worry about it, all you have to do is just wait a few days…”

I trailed off, before adding internally …for me to come up with a believable story to tell you.

“Fine, but I’ll be really upset if you put it off again,” Myrla huffed and leant back in her chair. “And you won’t like me when I’m upset.” 

“What’re you going to do? Steal my blankets so I’ll have to sleep in the cold?” I chuckled, and she snorted.

“Even worse— I’ll spill water all over your food so it becomes soggy and disgusting and you won’t even want to eat it anymore.”

“I think you’re the only one who’ll get upset about missing lunch, Myrla.” I grinned back at her.

She shrank back and covered herself in embarrassment. “Are you calling me fat?!”

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but I agree with Eli,” a voice piped up from the side.

Both Myrla and I looked up to see Kelton approaching us with a smirk plastered across his face. He sat himself down next to us as Myrla rolled her eyes at him.

“So what are we talking about?” he asked, looking between the young girl and I.

“Sorry, Kelton, but it’s a secret,” Myrla responded simply. 

“Come on, we shouldn’t keep secrets from friends. You two have been acting weird for the last few days. Can’t you let me in on this? I promise I’m good at keeping my mouth shut.” Kelton leaned closer and looked pleadingly at us.

Myrla hesitated when she saw that, before she looked my way. “Eli… should we tell him?”

“I mean, maybe?” I said with a shrug.

If it was only about the brief confrontation with the mawdrith, we could at least tell Kelton that much. Although, we had been tight-lipped about it so far, not uttering a word about it to anyone else. Now if we mentioned it here— even if Kelton kept it a secret— someone could overhear what we told him. Which would result in rumors being spread across the campus, and would eventually lead to people asking questions.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted that. Especially since the whole ordeal could eventually lead to the discovery of the Artifacts of Death in my possession— since they were what Sonia had stolen from the Holy Academy in the first place.

However, before I could make a decision, a susurration began to sweep over the cafeteria, drawing my attention. Myrla and Kelton looked up too, hearing the whispered voices and seeing the pointing fingers. 

At first, I thought that it was just a group of students who were causing a commotion. But then I spotted the two figures that were drawing everyone’s attention, making their way across the large dining hall, and even my eyes grew wide in shock.

The first figure that was striding across the cafeteria was a tall man dressed in white robes and a white pointed hat. He had long gray hair, but he didn’t look old. In fact, he looked young— perhaps in his late twenties at most. But the look in his eyes exuded an aura that indicated he was wise beyond his years. He walked with a wooden staff at his side, and he wore a kindly smile as he nodded at all the students who were staring at him.

Behind him, a middle-aged woman trailed along, wearing glasses on her face, and black hair tied up into a bun. She carried a book underneath her arms as she shot stern looks at each and every student she passed, like she was analyzing whether each and every single one of them were keeping up with the dress code.

These two weren’t students— nor were they even ordinary members of the faculty. They were the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress of the Holy Academy respectively.

Headmaster Kaelen Angelus, and Deputy Headmistress Claire Verena.

I blinked a few times as I watched them make their way through their cafeteria. But why are they here…?

However, it was clear that they were making their way towards me, and that made my ring finger instinctively twitch. I hid my hand behind my back as the possibilities of why they were here raced through my mind.

Could they have figured out— but how? I tried to wrack my mind to find a way out of this mess.

My gaze drifted across the room, searching for Sonia, but she wasn’t here. I had left her in her room just half an hour or so ago. I had thought that she was going to just be moping around, trying to feel better. But was it possible that she could have ratted me out?  

No, it doesn’t matter even if she did, I thought as I focused on the situation at hand. What matters is I need to get out of this situation.

But I hesitated, unable to come up with a course of action, so I decided to just wait and see before I reacted. And that was when Headmaster Kaelen Angelus came to a halt right before my table, before Deputy Headmistress Claire Verena stepped up right next to him as the susurration sweeping over the cafeteria grew louder.

“Attention!” she said, her voice echoing throughout the dining hall. 

In an instant, the entire cafeteria hushed up. All the whisperings died down, and heads turned to face both the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress.

The latter cleared her throat as she stepped to the side. “Headmaster Angelus has something to say, so please remain silent and direct your attention towards him.”

“Thank you, Deputy Headmistress Verena,” Kaelen said as he smiled at her, before taking a step forward.

He swept his gaze over the cafeteria as all the staring students just looked back at him in awe. And why wouldn’t they? It was not every day they could see the Headmaster of the Holy Academy— ordinarily, Deputy Headmistress Claire Verena was the one who would be walking around campus and updating students on the day-to-day news of the school.

“Greetings Initiates of the Holy Academy,” Headmaster Kaelen Angelus said as he placed a hand on his chest. “It has been a while since I have addressed you, but today is a special occasion because an incident from outside of the school that involves a few of our students has come to my attention.”

I paused when I heard that. I relaxed my hands, letting them hang limply from my side. I realized that I was worried for nothing— that I had forgotten what the city guards of Albus had said. I just calmed myself as I listened to the Headmaster of the Holy Academy continue.

“Two days ago, there was an altercation in the outer city of Albus which involved a rampaging greater demon. Fortunately, with the brave intervention of three of our students who held off the greater demon until the timely arrival of a passing Inquisitor, there were only a handful of minor injuries amongst the evening crowd.”

Headmaster Kaelen Angelus spoke as he nodded first at Myrla, then at me. Most of the watching students in the cafeteria failed to notice this subtle gesture. Instead, they exchanged shocked looks, some of them even breaking out into quiet discussion.

“A greater demon?”

“But how?”

“It had to be a group of Disciplines—”

As they spoke amongst themselves, only a single student’s gaze seemed to dart my way, noticing Kaelen’s nod. It was Cecil— my elven roommate, and a saint. He narrowed his eyes at me when he heard that. But he said nothing more as the Deputy Headmistress cleared her throat, and the chattering students quietened down in an instant.

The Headmaster of the Holy Academy continued.

“When I heard this, I was impressed by the actions of these brave students of the Holy Academy, and I believed that they deserve to be rewarded for what they did. But I wasn’t quite able to come up with an adequate reward for them that wouldn’t be unfair to the other students of the school.”

I furrowed my brows when I heard that. I didn’t know where he could be going with this— but neither did the rest of the students in the cafeteria. So we had no choice but to wait and hear the headmaster out.  

“You see, in the past, I have been criticized for the seemingly arbitrary criteria for being chosen as The Headmaster’s Honored,” Kaelen said, shaking his head, before a smile spread across his face. “That is why I decided to take this opportunity to come up with not only an adequate reward for these brave students of ours, but also to solve these past criticisms that have been levied my way.” 

He held up a finger as he spoke simply.

“Distinction Points.”

Headmaster Kaelen Angelus swept his gaze across the room as he explained.

“They can be earned through receiving a distinction grade in your classes, but they can also be earned through accomplishing an extraordinary feat in an extracurricular activity. And if you end off the school year with the most amount of Distinction Points, you will be chosen as The Headmaster’s Honored.”

I placed a hand on my chin when I heard this, intrigued by this concept. But I wasn’t too excited about it either, considering that I didn’t even know much of what being The Headmaster’s Honored entailed.

However, the rest of the listening students began to perk up in excitement— even Myrla and Kelton looked around with wide eyes when they heard that. But the Headmaster of the Holy Academy wasn’t finished.

“Now that I got that explanation out of the way,” Kaelen said as he looked towards Myrla and I. “Come up, Eli of Velmond, and Myrla Arthus of Rucius.”

The excitement of the students in the cafeteria vanished when they heard that, immediately replaced with shock. Cecil nodded to himself, looking like he expected this. Meanwhile, Claudius and his goons just blinked in confusion, not processing what this meant.

Both Myrla and I did as the headmaster said, leaving Kelton behind as he stared at us, realizing what this meant. 

Kaelen continued as Myrla and I came to a halt before him.

“As recognition for what the two of you— alongside Sonia Redheart of Albus— did just the other day, saving hundreds of innocent lives by risking your very own lives, embodying what it means to be a student of our esteemed institution, you three will be the first recipients of a Distinction Point.”

The Headmaster of the Holy Academy smiled at both Myrla and I as he placed a hand on our shoulders, before he finished.

“Congratulations.”

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 74: Trade Completed

“You know, master, you told me to have my fun, but I’m going to be honest, I found that whole battle to be very boring,” Vorth said as I came to a halt just a few dozen feet away from Wyll’s corpse.

I glanced back at the spirit and rolled my eyes at him. “Of course not, you won’t be having fun unless you’re on the verge of death, and I have to come in and save your life.”

“It’s the thrill of the battle, master— when your blood gets pumping and you feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins!” the spectral sentinel exclaimed. 

“You literally do not have any blood in your body, V. You’re made of metal and fire.” I gave him a flat stare.

“It’s a figure of speech.” He shrugged back at me.

I rolled my eyes at that. 

We were done here, but I didn’t take my leave just yet. After all, I had to evaluate the aftermath of it all. So I sat myself against a pile of rubble as I waved dismissively at my summon.

“Get rid of the bodies— but make sure you loot them before you burn them.”

“Yes, master.”

And Vorth got to work as I looked down at myself.

First of all, since I hadn’t partaken in much of the battle— especially against Mike, who was a Platinum Rank— I only leveled up once.

ding! 

You have reached Level 34!

+2 [Strength]

+2 [Dexterity]

+1 Free Point

Name: Nox (Eli)

Race: Human

Rank: Silver - Level 34

Class: [Soulfire Healer]

Class Skills: [Greater Holy Fireball], [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Holy Fire], [Basic Light Magic Conjuration], [Boon Of Vitality], [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Strength], [Purifying Touch], [Lesser Poison Resistance]

Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

General Skills: [Spirit Summon: Vorth the Spectral Sentinel], [Elemental Magic Proficiency], [Quick Dash]

Attributes:

[Strength: 102]

[Speed: 100]

[Magic: 616]

[Vitality: 115]

[Dexterity: 117]

Free Points: 1

Perhaps if I had been the one to deal the finishing blow on both Wyll and Luke, I would have been able to level up maybe two or three times in total. However. I wasn’t too concerned about speeding through the Ranks right now, so I wasn’t too bothered by the lack of levels I got.

Besides, there was something else I had acquired from this. Well, it was something I already had in my possession. But now, it was officially mine.

And they were the Artifacts of Death which Sonia had given me in exchange for getting all the information I could out of Wyll.

I looked down as I let my Lesser Death Dagger vanish back into my Dimensional Storage Unit. But with a flash of light, I summoned a Bag of Holding into the very same hand. I yanked it open and looked at the contents that were inside.

There were three Artifacts of Death in there. Each of them was stolen directly from the Holy Academy of the Church of Life— from Headmaster Kaelen Angelus who should have destroyed them.

If they were discovered to be in my possession, I would get in quite a lot of trouble. But I also wasn’t going to just give them up, because not only was I planning on studying them, I was also planning on using them to my advantage if the need ever arose. And they were truly going to be useful for me in those instances.

A grin spread across my face as I picked out the first of the Artifacts of Death that was inside of the Bag of Holding. It was actually not a single item. Rather, it was a pair of boots that were a pure black and looked to be made of metal.

I tried them on, before pausing as I felt a surge of power wash through me. But it wasn’t power as in a boost to my physical strength. Rather, I felt like I could move much faster than even before— and when I checked my Status, I found myself being given a +100 to my [Speed] Attribute.

That was quite literally doubling my speed. Like the effects of a Potion of Greater Speed. Except, its effects would be permanent. And with it, I was quite literally as fast as a Gold Rank [Rogue] would be.

But that was not all. If it was just a pair of boots that gave me speed, it wouldn’t be an Artifact of Death.

It would just be called Boots of Speed or whatever, rather than… well, I didn’t know what they were actually called. I was going to assume they were called something like Death Boots of Speed.

Because with it, I was also capable of using a brand new Skill that I wasn’t able to use before.

A Temporary Skill.

ding!

You have gained the Temporary Skill: [Death Defying Instincts]

Judging by its name, it’s probably a Skill that gives me momentary precognition if I am about to be struck by a fatal blow… I mused over its name as I rubbed a hand on my chin.

I was not surprised about being given a Temporary Skill. Most artifacts that were C-grade or above would actually give a Temporary Skill to the user when they were properly attuned. For example, when I actually tried to attune myself to my Lesser Death Dagger, I was capable of using [Greater Death Magic Conjuration]... although it was not a Skill I really needed to know, so I never bothered to attune myself to the artifact.

This Death Boots of Speed… they were likely a C-grade artifact as well since they weren’t exactly superior to my Lesser Death Dagger, but they were far more useful for me and my situation. 

“Alright, pretty good, but what else is there?” I wondered aloud as I removed them and placed them back into the Bag of Holding.

I produced the second Artifact of Death that was inside, and it was much smaller than the first. In fact, it could fit perfectly on the palm of my hand. Because it was a small pocket mirror.

“I guess they are called Artifacts of Death, not Weapons and Armors of Death, huh?” I muttered to myself, slightly disappointed since I expected a weapon.

I held it up to my face, hoping to see what it would do. But there was nothing there— not even my reflection. I frowned at that.

Even though it was seemingly innocuous, I could tell it was an Artifact of Death, because of the death magic it emanated. But compared to the Death Boots of Speed, it was weak. Almost like it barely did anything.

However, it had to do something— probably related to its lack of reflection. I would have to study it further, but as of right now, I set it aside as I shook my head.

“I guess not all Artifacts of Death are made equal.”

It was probably a very specialized-use artifact, so I was going to have to study it later to figure out what it did. For now, I was more interested in what the final Artifact of Death inside of the Bag of Holding was.

I reached inside of it and pulled out—

A Lesser Death Dagger.

It was almost identical to the one I already had. The only difference was that it was slightly longer than mine by about two or three inches.

Beyond that, I was certain it was an exact replica of the one I had, just based on the death magic I sensed from it. And when I held it close to my chest, attuning myself to its powers for a moment, I knew I was right.

ding!

You have gained the Temporary Skill: [Greater Death Magic Conjuration]

“Not only do the Artifacts of Death vary in quality, but there can also be duplicates. Makes sense.”

I nodded as I stored the Lesser Death Dagger back into the Bag of Holding. Just like when I removed the boots earlier, the effects of the Temporary Skill vanished, no longer usable for me now that the weapon was not equipped.

“Well, that’s about everything I wanted to do for now. There’s more to do tomorrow. But are we done here?”

I turned around, looking towards Vorth. The spectral sentinel was— lying on the ground,  curled into a ball and snoring. I sighed as I walked up to him and poked his side.

“Wake up, V.”

“Huh, what?” He sat up blearily and looked towards me. “Oh, you’re finally finished. Took you long enough, master.”

He yawned and stretched his back as I crossed my arms at him.

“You know that I know that you don’t need sleep.”

“I know, but I was so bored,” Vorth chuckled. “It’s not my fault.”

I ignored that remark and shook my head. “So the bodies are gone.”

It was less of a question, and more of a statement. I already noticed that the corpses had been disposed of— no longer littering the ground— before I even approached my summon.

Even still, he eagerly nodded back at me. “Yes, master. I did everything you asked of me.”

“And the items?” I asked, raising a brow.

He held out his giant hand, before dropping a bag that was brimming full of trinkets and coins inside of them. I nodded approvingly as I picked it up and stored it inside of my Dimensional Storage Unit.

But Vorth wasn’t finished.

“Also, this—” he said as he held out his other hand, dropping a bloodied seal onto the ground. “I found this on that whiny [Mage]’s body. I’m sure you’ll need it to prove you completed your end of the deal to your classmate.”

“Right, thanks.” I picked up the seal and eyed it, remembering my deal. “I guess I have to get that over and done with now too…”

***

Sonia Redheart had thought that it would take Eli at least a week— maybe even over a month— to uphold his end of the deal. So when he said he needed to speak with her just two days after they agreed on their trade, she didn’t expect him to tell her he was done.

In fact, she had thought he was going to ask her for any leads she could give him about Wyll. Instead—

“I found Wyll,” the boy said as he handed over a bloodied seal to her. “Got him to tell me everything he knew about your father before I did so.”

Sonia stared at the seal with wide eyes, recognizing it as belonging to Wyll. It was the very same seal he used to sign the contract of their agreement. Which meant… Eli was telling the truth.

“That’s— but how?” Sonia’s jaw hung wide open as she looked at the boy with wide eyes.

Right now, it was lunch period, and the two of them were alone in her room to discuss this. She had no roommate, so they were free to discuss this without any interruption.

Steeling herself, she met Eli’s gaze seriously. “What did you learn?”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much,” the boy said apologetically. “As it turns out, Wyll isn’t a really good information broker, that’s why he was going after those… you know…”

Eli gave Sonia a knowing look, but she already knew he was referring to the Artifacts of Death, even without any other indication.

He continued as he shook his head. “Yeah, he needed those items because he was already in trouble for being a bad information broker.”

“I… see…” Sonia’s shoulders sagged when she heard that. 

Even still, she held out hope— that maybe there was something useful in what little information Wyll had given Eli.

“But Wyll did tell you something, right?” she asked, unknowingly clutching her chest.

“Just that your father is probably someone from your mother’s old team,” Eli said simply. “And that only your mother knows the answer for sure.”

“But if that’s the case, then doesn’t that mean…?” Sonia trailed off, feeling her heart sink.

All the hope she had clung onto just moments earlier suddenly vanished. A pit opened up in her stomach, and she lowered her head.

“Right, I forgot about that.” Eli scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that so casually.”

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault,” Sonia replied as she rubbed her temples “I just… I just need some time to process this. But thank you.”

And with that, she led the boy out of the room, before she collapsed back into her bed. She closed her eyes as she tried to process what she had just been told.

My father’s most likely dead… she thought as she felt her head spinning. If what Wyll said is true, then I will never be able to meet my father, no matter what.

Her mind just raced with thoughts as she tried to not think. But one thought stood out above the rest.

Is this why mother refuses to ever tell me about my father? 

If it was, then perhaps Sonia finally understood where her mother was coming from. But she didn’t even need to meet him anyway, right? She just needed to know who he was. That was the closure she was looking for, right?

…right?

Sonia didn’t know. So she just continued to lie there as her thoughts drifted, wondering if there was even a point in finding out who her father was…

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 73: Underworld Investigation, Aftermath

As I had expected, Vorth was much stronger than he should have been as a spectral sentinel. Just like me, he had inherited some of his past life’s capabilities, making him beyond even a Platinum Rank— at least in his Attributes.

There was still a stark difference between a Platinum Rank and a Sapphire Rank due to a variety of reasons. However, one of the deciding factors was the introduction of Power Skills, which were far more potent than an ordinary Skill could ever be.

From Unranked to Platinum Rank, the jump in power was relatively linear. But from Sapphire to Diamond, it was practically exponential.

Of course, that also meant that every Rank Up afterwards became… different. In some senses, more difficult. But not necessarily so either.

Not that any of this mattered right now, other than the fact that I wasn’t going to risk Vorth’s life by making him go up against a Sapphire Rank right now, if the situation arose. Because, very likely, he would die. 

Anyway, I pushed aside those thoughts for now, focusing on the matter at hand as I began my interrogation of Wyll.

“I want to know everything you know about Sonia,” I said as I met his gaze. 

He was kneeling on the ground before me, and he blinked a few times when he heard what I said.

“You mean Sonia Redheart?” he said, evidently in a daze. “So you are one of her friends—”

“Answer the question,” I cut him off as Vorth took a step forward behind me.

Wyll flinched and hurriedly nodded. “She’s the daughter of Natalia Redheart— a Ruby Ranked adventurer! She is currently enrolled in the Holy Academy as—”

“I know that,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m not asking you to tell me about her biography. Tell me what you know about her father.”

“That’s…” Wyll hesitated when he heard that. 

It looked like he wanted to say something that was probably related to how I was definitely one of her friends. However, I didn’t care, I just wanted answers right now.

Eventually, Wyll just sighed and shook his head. “Look, I promised her that I’d look into her father, and I did. But I couldn’t find much information about him. The most I could find was that he was very likely one of the adventurers in her team when they were Platinums— I don’t know more than that!”

“And you didn’t dig into it further?” I asked, frowning at that.

“I couldn’t, because they were all killed during a mission eighteen years ago,” Wyll said, shaking his head. “The only one who could possibly know who Sonia’s father is is her mother herself!”

“I see…” I nodded slowly, realizing that this was all I was going to get from the information broker.

Sonia probably wasn’t going to be happy about that. However, I upheld my end of the bargain, so she had no choice but to accept the answer I was going to give her tomorrow. 

And while I was technically done here— I could have just taken my leave now— I decided to press Wyll with even more questions.

“Now, tell all there is to know about the Crimson Covenant,” I said, changing the subject.

Wyll hesitated when he heard that. “But if I do that, then the boss will kill me!”

“Either he will kill you, or I will kill you,” I scoffed as I took a step forward, holding up my Lesser Death Dagger dangerously towards his neck.

He gulped, stumbling over his words when he replied. “B-but there is so much— where do I even begin?”

“Start by telling me about Rin— this Prophet of Change I’ve heard so much about.” I tilted my head curiously as I asked the question. “Who is he? And where did he come from?”

I wouldn’t say that I wanted to make an enemy out of Rin, but he piqued my curiosity. After all, he was someone who was open to using not just death magic-related abilities such as blood magic and demon summoning rituals, but he was also searching for the Artifacts of Death.

For someone to be this open to using death magic here in Albus… well, it sounded almost completely suicidal. So why would he be doing all this?

Could he have been someone from my past?

Someone I vaguely knew?

Someone I had saved?

It was also possible that he wasn’t related to me at all. While it was hard for me to fathom the fact that a regular citizen of the Sanctus Empire could have been so open to using death magic so soon after the end of the War of Fate, it wasn’t impossible. After all, Zerek had been one of my closest friends in my past life, and he had been someone to throw his entire life as a noble away in the pursuit of studying necromancy.

Even when he first came to me, I thought he was insane. Because my predecessor, Val the Death God, had gone on a mindless rampage that resulted in the death of millions across all of Parvos.What could have possibly spurred Zerek to have given up his cushy life as a duke’s son to seek me out?

A similar question lingered in my mind now as I pressed Wyll for answers about Rin. Unfortunately for me, it seemed that getting answers was not going to be as easy as I thought.

“The boss just… showed up one day. I don’t know.” Wyll shook his head as he spoke exasperatedly. “Nobody really knows who the Prophet of Change truly is— I don’t even know if Rin is his real name, or a fake name he had come up with.”

“Then what do you know?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“I know that his rise to power has been meteoric,” Wyll said hurriedly, gesticulating wildly. “That he had hardly even been a Gold Rank when he first showed up just about two years ago, but now he’s already become a Sapphire Rank, and he’s well on his way to becoming a Ruby Rank too!”

“Oh?” I raised a brow when I heard that.

That was certainly quite some fast growth— even I found it impressive for an ordinary person to go from Gold to Sapphire in such a short amount of time, especially considering the hurdles that came with Ranking Up at that point. 

However, there was something else that drew my curiosity in what Wyll had said.

“So the Crimson Covenant has been around for two years, and neither the Sanctus Empire nor the Church of Life has put a halt to their activities yet? That is quite odd…” I observed.

Especially considering that the Prophet of Change was not only Sapphire Rank, but was collecting the Artifacts of Death. At the size they would have been a year ago, they should have been crushed with relative ease.

But Wyll just shrugged helplessly in response. “I don’t know— the Church of Life normally doesn’t involve themselves in Albus’s businesses, so that’s to be expected. But I believe Rin has some sort of a connection to the Sanctus Empire. I believe that’s why they have been mostly overlooking his activities...” 

“Some kind of blackmail then?” I asked, placing a hand on the chin of my mask. “Is that why he was searching for more information on the royal family?”

“I’m not sure,” Wyll said as he pursed his lips. “All I know is that the boss specifically wanted me to get any information I could about the third princess. He didn’t give me a reason why, nor did he ask me to find out anything in specific about her.”

I nodded as the information broker gave me his explanation. But I was getting mildly annoyed. So far, this conversation has not been very informative to me. All it had done so far was raise even more questions, rather than giving me any answers.

“And what about the Artifacts of Death?” I pressed Wyll, hoping to at least get something useful out of him. “Why is the Prophet of Change collecting them?”

I was expecting another non-answer from the so-called information broker. But, surprisingly, this time around, he was actually able to give me an explanation.

“That’s because Rin believes in effecting change in this world,” Wyll said as he scratched the back of his head. “Or at least, that’s what he says.”

“What does that mean?” I narrowed my eyes.

“I’m not exactly sure either, but he said something about how he believes that our aversion to death magic is backwards— that if we were to embrace it, we would all learn to benefit from its powers. So the reason he seeks out these Artifacts of Death is to learn from them, since there is nobody within all of Albus who is capable of teaching him death magic.”

Wyll finished his explanation, and I pondered over it for a moment.

Interesting, I thought as I tapped a finger against my mask. The more I heard about this Rin, the less I wanted to be his enemy. At least, as of what I knew of him right now. Perhaps that could change in the future. But he could be a very useful ally for me too…

“That’s really all I know,” Wyll continued, interrupting my thoughts. “Please, can I go now?”

He looked pleadingly at me, and I shook my head. I had one final question for him that he could definitely answer. And it was—

“Why did you even want to join the Crimson Covenant anyway?”

Wyll blinked when he heard that. Then he chuckled nervously, rubbing his hands together. “Well, I am an opportunistic individual, but I have also made some mistakes in my time. Unfortunately, a few months ago, I… accidentally drew the ire of the Sapphire Stalkers

I gave him a flat stare when I heard that, although he couldn’t exactly see it through my mask. “And how exactly did you do that?” 

“Well, a higher-up of the Sapphire Stalkers who goes by the Title of the Black Hand came to me, asking me to get him information on the Crimson Covenant relation with the royal family. I agreed, but I asked to be paid up front, and I wasn’t able to get him what he wanted…” Wyll pursed his lips as he trailed off.

“Seems like you really suck at your job, huh?” I snorted.

And Wyll took offense to that. “Hey— I don’t suck at my job, I’m playing both sides! If I managed to get what Rin wanted, he would protect me. And even if I didn’t, I’d just tell the Sapphire Stalkers that I was carrying out an undercover operation for them and give them the information they wanted. I’d argue that I was being intelligent.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” I dismissed him as I drew back. “Well, you’ve told me everything I wanted to know— or at least, everything that you knew about what I wanted to know. So I’m done here.”

Wyll perked up as he rose to his feet. “That means I can leave now, right?”

I paused, before giving him a silent look. He shuffled his feet nervously as I didn’t respond.

“...right?” he repeated himself.

I just chuckled and turned away from him, before Vorth stepped forward, looming over him. He realized what that meant as he exclaimed, pointing at my back.

“But you promised you wouldn’t kill me! You… you liar!” he practically screamed.

“Well, you see…” I said, not even glancing back at him. “I said I wouldn’t kill you.”

I came to a halt and looked towards my summon as he cracked his knuckles. 

“I never said anything about V killing you.”

“You’re so cruel, master,” Vorth said.

“Indeed,” I agreed as I looked away. “But only when I have to be, and you already know that, don’t you?”

“Of course, and that’s what I like about you,” my summon chuckled as he brought his hands together and raised them over his head like a hammer.

Wyll glanced between us desperately as the realization settled in. “No, no, no! You can’t do this— I can’t die!” 

I heard the crackle of electricity, followed by a flash of light behind me. Wyll screamed as he unleashed an attack straight at Vorth.

“I will not die here—”

And he was promptly cut off as a heavy splattering sound erupted behind me as the ground shook. His screams disappeared into the night, before I heard Vorth’s metallic footsteps approaching me from behind.

“It has been done, master.”

“Good,” I said as I ignored the notification that popped up before me. “Now let’s get out of here.”

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 72: Underworld Investigation VII

It was a spectral sentinel.

A greater spirit.

Standing at nearly ten feet tall, it was a behemoth made of metal. Like it was a living knight’s armor. Blue flames which turned gold at the edges burned inside of the visor of its helmet, and a fiery cape blazed from its back, flashing in and out of existence with each passing second. 

It towered over Mike who stepped back with round eyes, and it slowly swept its gaze over its surroundings, quickly assessing the situation. It looked towards Mike, then Luke who was lying on the ground, before finally looking towards Wyll. It didn’t even give a second glance to the five remaining Bronze Rank men working under Luke.

“Are you in trouble, master?” it asked in a tinny voice, turning back to the child standing right behind it. “Is this an urgent matter?”

“No,” she… he… whatever said, shaking their head. “You can have your fun, V. Just make sure nobody escapes.”

“Yes, master.”

Wyll snapped out of his stupor when he heard that. He backed away as he called out to his friend.

“Mike, get out of the way!” Wyll said, conjuring up a spear made of ice. 

Immediately, Mike moved, rolling out of the way. The ice spear launched forward, arcing straight for the spectral sentinel as it raised its head, unable to react in time. The ice spear struck it in the chest, causing it to recoil as it exploded into a mist of ice.

But that was only a distraction. Mike jumped back forward as he took advantage of the opening. He swung out with his spiked fist, aiming straight for the giant knight’s head.

“Got you!” 

There was a loud metallic clang as the spectral sentinel reeled, its head twisting back. Mike grinned, and Wyll felt himself sighing in relief. 

While a spectral sentinel was certainly a Platinum Rank threat, it was up against both Mike and Wyll— a Platinum Rank [Brawler] and a Gold Rank [Mage] respectively. So they had the numbers advantage.

And with it, they would win—

But then as the mist cleared, Wyll paused at what he saw. The spectral sentinel just stood there, its head cocked back slightly, some frost left covering its chest. But, otherwise, it was completely unharmed. 

It slowly turned its head back to the front, forcing Mike’s fist back as he blinked a few times. And then he leapt back as it stepped forward.

“Both of you are so weak,” the spectral sentinel said, seemingly cracking its fists. “I won’t even need to use magic to kill you two.”

“Well, you should keep Wyll alive, I’ll deal with him myself,” the kid piped up from the back.

“Of course, master.” The spectral sentinel nodded as it continued to stride forward.

Mike and Wyll just stared at this scene as Luke’s five remaining men exchanged a terrified glance. In the background, Luke shouted angrily at them, waving his axe in the air.

“What are you idiots doing? Go and stop that thing!”

And that spurred them to act. They charged straight at the spectral sentinel all at once, swinging their swords and axes at its legs. But even though the spectral sentinel wasn’t defending against their attacks, it wasn’t slowing either.

It was like watching a group of children desperately kick and punch at the legs of a fully-grown man. 

Even by just walking, the spectral sentinel managed to knock a few of them to the side. Wyll cursed when he saw this, before conjuring up a spell as his fingers crackled with electricity. 

Meanwhile, Mike just charged forward and joined the group of men, swinging out with his fist.  This time, the spectral sentinel actually responded. It swung out too— knocking aside half of the men surrounding him as it did.

Mike and the spectral sentinel clashed fists as the ground almost seemed to shake from the impact. The two of them exchanged punch after punch after punch as the rest of Luke’s men were knocked back and forced to watch from the side.

It almost looked like the spectral sentinel and Mike were equal in strength. That was— until his spiked knuckles broke. When it did, they clashed fists once more, and this time, there was a cracking sound. His fist bent upon impact as he screamed out in pain, before stumbling back.

Then a follow-up punch from the spectral sentinel landed on his face, sending him flying back a hundred feet, before he crashed through one of the abandoned houses. The building collapsed as dust and debris shot into the air.

“Dammit—” Wyll clicked his tongue when he saw that. But he steeled himself and pointed at the spectral sentinel as he finished preparing his spell. “How about this? Take my strongest attack— [Frozen Lightning]!”

All at once, a blast of lightning shot out from his fingertips, exploding straight for the spectral sentinel. The attack tore across the landscape— even zipping past one of Luke’s men and both burning him and freezing him an instant, leaving him dead— before it struck its target.

The spectral sentinel braced itself by raising both of its arms, but the attack exploded upon impact, covering the area in a layer of thick mist. Wyll lowered his hand as he stared at the clearing mist.

And the spectral sentinel had slid back only a single foot from the attack.

“How are we supposed to kill that thing…?” Wyll whispered as he stared at the greater spirit.

But before he could even get an answer, Mike exploded out of the rubble in the distance, his veins popping as a red aura overcame him. He bounded forward like a feral animal, using his broken hands like they were perfectly fine. Wyll recognized that power immediately. It was blood magic— it was called [Blood Frenzy].

It sacrificed some of his [Vitality] to give him a significant boost to all his other Attributes. It was a last resort Skill that Mike had been taught since he joined the Crimson Covenant. It was not something to be used lightly.

However, this was not a light situation.

Mike moved much faster now, darting around the spectral sentinel as it wasn’t able to react. And that was when he struck. He landed a powerful fist onto the giant knight’s back, causing it to stumble forward, before he quickly backed away. It tried to swing back at him and missed as he darted out of the way.

This repeated a few more times as Mike continued to land strikes while avoiding being caught by the greater spirit, and Wyll found himself perking up in excitement.

That’s right, we can still win this— he thought as his lips curled up.

But then as Mike got closer to land another punch, this time, the spectral sentinel spun around and caught the punch. It held onto Mike’s fist, refusing to let go even as he pulled back.

“Most impressive, you’re stronger now. But—” it said, nodding approvingly at him. He roared and tried to headbutt it, causing it to stumble back. And then it sighed. “You’re still weak.”

With that said, the spectral sentinel responded with its own headbutt. But its attack completely caved in Mike’s skull. He fell back as it let go of him, collapsing to the ground.

“Mike!” Wyll cried out.

But his friend’s body just lay there limply, face practically smashed open. Already dead.

Wyll stared at Mike’s corpse for a moment as he tried to process what just happened. It was so quick— it was only a single attack. However, perhaps it was because Mike had sacrificed his [Vitality] after already taking massive damage, that single attack was now more than enough to finish him off.

B-but… the thought tried to cross Wyll’s mind. It’s only a single spectral sentinel… we outnumber it— how is it so strong…?

Unfortunately for Wyll, he wasn’t going to get any answers as his thoughts were interrupted by the terrified voices of the last of Luke’s men. 

“Fuck this, I’m out of here!” one of them said, before dropping his weapon and running off.

The rest hesitated, but a second one fled the scene as well, screaming in fear. And that was enough to break the morale of the last of them. They all took off running— some of them even crying— as they tried to get away from the scene.

“What are you damn fools doing?” Luke said as he finally managed to hobble back to his feet. He was barely standing, since missing a leg made it very difficult for him to even be upright. “Don’t run, fight—”

But he was cut off as one of his men just shoved him to the side, knocking him back onto the ground. 

“I’m not going to kill myself for you, you fat bastard!” 

And while they fully intended to flee, the spectral sentinel had a different idea. It raised a hand as flames sparked out of its back, creating different fiery weapons that floated above its head. 

“Unfortunately for you, my master said to leave none of you alive,” it said simply. “So none of you are going anywhere.”

And right as the words left its mouth, the weapons shot out, flying straight for the fleeing men. One after another, they were crushed by the giant fiery blades. Their screams erupted for a moment, before being promptly cut off as they were killed.

W-what…? Wyll backed away as he watched this happen. This entire time, the spectral sentinel had been capable of using magic. And yet, it was fighting with only its fists? It’s been… holding back?

And yet, it had been completely slaughtering them with ease. The last of Luke’s men perished as Wyll repeated himself for what felt like the tenth time.

“But how…? I just don’t get it—”

The spectral sentinel stepped to the side as the kid— no, the monster casually strode past the greater spirit, shaking their head.

“Perhaps if V was an ordinary spectral sentinel, it would have been overwhelmed by you and your men. But, unfortunately for you, that is not the case.”

Wyll staggered back, his knees growing weak in fear. He tripped over nothing as the kid drew closer. 

“Just who are you?” Wyll asked, trying to catch his breath. 

But he couldn’t. He was practically panting, unable to even breathe normally because of the bands of terror he felt tightening around his neck.

“I told you, I’m the Bloodied Blade,” the kid said without missing a beat.

Behind him, Luke managed to get back to his feet once again and shouted. “You’ll be bloody dead, that’s what!”

He hurled his axe straight for the Bloodied Blade. But before the attack could land, a crimson whip shot out from behind his back, knocking aside the flying axe, before striking Luke in the neck.

The burly man dropped to the ground as he clutched at his neck, making a gurgling noise, unable to speak. He lay there, trying to breathe— but he couldn’t. And he slowly drowned in his own blood.

Wyll’s eyes widened when he saw that. “Blood magic too…?”

His mind raced with the possibilities of who this kid could be. And, finally, it all clicked.

“I get it— you were sent by Rin, weren’t you?” Wyll said as he pointed accusingly at the kid.

The Bloodied Blade came to a halt before him, before pausing curiously. “Rin?” 

“Don’t play dumb with me— I’m talking about the Prophet of Change!” Wyll exclaimed, shaking his head. “He’s upset because I got one of his mawdriths killed, isn’t he? He’s doing all this to make me pay for my failures!”

That had to be it. That was the only explanation. The blood magic— the Lesser Death Dagger. Even the greater spirit that was summoned. It could have only been orchestrated by the leader of the Crimson Covenant.

But even though Wyll had been convinced that this was what was going on, the kid just shook their head and chuckled.

“No, I’m not sent by your boss. I just have a few questions to ask you, that’s all.”

Wyll tried to work his jaw. “...questions?” 

“That’s right,” the Bloodied Blade said. “You’re an information broker, aren’t you? So answer my questions, and I’ll let you live.”

“You’ll let me live?” Wyll repeated after them, processing what was going on. “Will you really spare my life?”

If this was really true, then he would tell the Bloodied Blade absolutely anything and everything— all just to survive. And what he heard in response instilled enough confidence in him to make a decision.

“Yes.”

The kid’s eyes twinkled with a crimson glow underneath their skull-like mask as they nodded.

“I promise.”

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 71: Underworld Investigation VI

I followed Mike and Wyll as they made one more round around the same area, before they finally diverted, going down a different path. Whether they were trying to lose me by confusing me with going in circles across the side streets, or they were just confirming that I was on their tail— it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that I wasn’t going to give up my pursuit of them, because not only was this my only chance of getting what I wanted, but I was also prepared for anything they could throw my way. Unlike when I was meeting with the Iron Maw, I felt comfortable enough to use blood magic, so I had already cast a [Sacrificial Blood Barrier] on myself to protect me a few hours earlier, when I was staking out The Broken Dagger.

And now, after both Myke and Wyll went down a different side street for the first time in the last half an hour, I readied myself, summoning my Lesser Death Dagger into my hand as I kept an eye out watching behind my back. 

The two men made their way out of the crowd of side streets, heading for an emptier part of the outer city. There were less tall buildings here— lots of makeshift shacks that were barely even capable of standing on their own. Shadowed figures lay scattered across the ground, huddling underneath thin layers of blankets. There were lampposts lining these messy streets, only a few small garbage fires haphazardly interspersed and surrounded by shivering beggars that lit up the night.

I had known this when I first arrived in Albus, but when you looked away from the main parts of the outer city— where the market streets and farmland were located— there were plenty of slums like these scattered throughout.

It was very obvious that someone like Wyll, who was a Gold Rank [Mage] and a relatively rich information broker, wasn’t going to be dwelling in a place like this. This was evidently where he would find backup waiting for him.

So I followed along as they made their way through the slums, until they arrived at a different area that was still within the slums. Here, there were no beggars lying around, crowding the ground, and the area was much more well-illuminated with actual torches instead of trash heaps lit on fire.

There were over a dozen or so figures moving around in the shadows up ahead, and each of them was armed. They were evidently nothing like the poor folks sleeping on the side of the dirty road I had passed by earlier.

One of the men— a burly man with an axe hanging from his side— approached Mike and Wyll as I stayed behind, continuing to watch from the shadows. The three men briefly exchanged words, before the burly man barked out an order.

The rest of the group gathered around them as Wyll turned around, looking in my direction.

“You can come out now,” he called out as he stepped forward.

Next to him, Mike nodded and cracked his fists. “Yeah, we know you’ve been following us since we left The Broken Dagger. Now stop being a coward and show yourself.”

I stepped out of the shadows, walking slowly into view of the group of men standing there with their weapons raised. They were mostly Bronze Ranks, although the burly man was probably a low-leveled Gold Rank [Warrior]. They paused when they saw me. Since I wasn’t wearing my heels to help with my stealth, I was significantly shorter than them. Which made it evidently clear to them that I was no adult.

“A kid?” The burly man blinked. “I thought you said it was a member of the Sapphire Stalkers.”

“I said that that was my best guess— how could I have known it was just a little girl?” Wyll said, before shaking his head. He turned to me with a frown on his face. “Who exactly are you? And what do you want?”

“I’m the Bloodied Blade,” I replied simply, my voice still distorted, which was probably why they thought I was a girl. “I’m here because you have something I want.”

Mike scoffed when he heard that. “Sorry, girlie, never heard of you. Anyway, we don’t have any toys here. Now get out of here before you get yourself hurt.”

He eyed me dangerously as he spoke. I shook my head as I strode forward, not concerned by their threats. I flourished my Lesser Death Dagger, making it clear that I was serious.

Their eyes immediately darted to the weapon, recognizing what it was in an instant. 

“That’s…”

“...it can’t be…”

Well— at least Mike and Wyll did. The burly man and his men didn’t seem to know what it was, and he just looked at the other two men in confusion.

“What’s going on?” the burly man asked.

Mike shook his head. “Don’t you recognize it, Luke? That’s an Artifact of Death!”

“But how could a kid…” Wyll started, before narrowing his eyes at me. “Unless—”

There was almost a flicker of recognition on his face, however there was still some disbelief holding him back from saying anything. I expected this. It was not too much of a leap of logic to assume that since I was a kid with an Artifact of Death, I could be related to the other group of kids with Artifacts of Death he had encountered just a day or two ago.

However, it didn’t matter what conclusion he came to. Because he was not going to survive the end of the night. I strode forward as the burly man— Luke— snorted and approached me.

“Well, if it’s an Artifact of Death, shouldn’t we just kill the kid and take it off her?” he said as he drew his axe from the side. “Come on, the boss will give us a big reward if we bring it to him.”

“Wait, Luke—” Mike called out.

But the burly man just sneered, walking up to me as he hefted his axe over his shoulder. “Hand it over if you know what’s best for you, kid.”

I tilted my head back at him, giving him a simple response.

“And what will you do if I don’t?”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” Luke snorted, before sighing. “Well, whatever. I’m not going to waste anymore time. Just hand it over—”

He snarled as he reached for the Lesser Death Dagger in my hand. I stepped under him as the weapon was overcome with a crimson glow. I swung out, aimed for his leg. And in one smooth motion, his feet came cleanly off the rest of his body.

This was the power of [Aura Blade]. It was my first time using the Title Skill since I got it— at least, in battle. I had tested it out in my own free time beforehand. But to see it cut so cleanly even against a Gold Rank [Warrior] with a high [Vitality] like Luke had me impressed.

He dropped to the ground, screaming in pain as he clutched at his ankle. 

“Y-you… you bastard!” he screamed as he tried to pick himself up and failed, falling flat on his face.

I ignored him as I stepped forward, flourishing my Lesser Death Dagger. I turned to the rest of the group as I gave them a dangerous look.

“Anyone else want to get in my way?” I asked as I swept my gaze over them.

Mike and Wyll exchanged a glance, but before either of them could say anything, Luke shouted at his men.

“Kill that kid! Make her pay for what she’s done!”

All at once, the dozen or so men standing there charged my way. Obviously, I had caught Luke off-guard when he came at me, which was how I was able to incapacitate him so easily in close-quarters-combat. But against this many weak enemies, I was certain I could deal with them on my own without my magic.

And that was what I did. I didn’t bother summoning Vorth just yet, since he would kill them all with a single swing of his fist. I wanted to test my physical capabilities against these weaklings first.

The first of the group of thugs reached me, raising a shortsword as he shouted. 

“[Savage S—” he started, his blade blurring.

And I just moved forward with a [Quick Dash], cutting straight through his neck with my [Aura Blade]. He fell limply to the ground behind me as the other thugs slowed for a moment, pausing to stare at their dead friend.

But I didn’t falter, despite their disbelief. Instead, I ran straight at the next thug and cut him down just like I did the first, silently tearing through their numbers with nothing but my own physical capabilities and my bladesmanship technique.

***

What is going on? Wyll stared in disbelief as the little girl— was she even a girl? It was hard to tell with the mask and distorted voice… 

But no, that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that she was cutting through the twenty or so thugs with ease. Their screams erupted one after another, echoing through the night as the next one was stabbed or delimbed.

Luke was still trying to get back to his feet, barking out orders at them to kill the kid.

She had to have been a low-leveled Silver Rank [Spellsword] of sorts, judging by her speed. But even then, she should have struggled at least a little bit against this many opponents, even if they were weaker than her. But, somehow, she was fending them off with complete ease.

It was like she knew who to target when she was surrounded to break free from being trapped in. And even if she was being flanked, she instinctively dodged out of the way before the attack could land.

Wyll had heard of Skills that heightened one’s instincts in combat, but this was beyond anything he had ever seen before. If this was a Skill, it had to be a Platinum Rank Skill at the very least. But this girl couldn’t possibly be that strong, right?

The little girl cut down another one of Luke’s men, leaving only about half a dozen or so remaining after just under a minute of fighting, and Wyll quickly dismissed this question that was in his mind.

He had known that Luke and his men weren’t the strongest— they were a small gang that ruled over this area of the slums before they had joined the Crimson Covenant, and the only reason that Wyll had gone to them was because they were within the vicinity. 

If they had been followed by allies of the Sapphire Stalkers like Wyll had initially thought, then Luke and his men would have just been there to mainly serve as a distraction. But since it was one strong opponent, it didn’t matter. Because, as a Platinum Rank, Mike could have handled it with ease.

So Wyll turned to his friend and started, “Mike, you—” 

“Yeah, yeah, I got it…” Mike sighed as he strode forward, equipping a pair of spiked knuckles onto his fist. 

The little girl cut down one more of Luke’s useless men, and the remaining few backed away in fear as Luke hurled out insults at them in the background about how they couldn’t even kill a kid.

“Get out of the way,” Mike said as he shoved one of them to the side. “I’ll end this in one second.”

The little girl paused as she watched him make his approach. She watched him draw closer, before he grinned. Raising a fist, he leapt forward as he shouted.

“[Bonecrusher—” he started.

But the little girl raised a hand, whispering softly in response.

“V, it’s time for you to come out and play.”

And a spell circle flashed beneath her feet, before a giant metallic arm reached out and caught Mike’s fist. There was a loud clang as the spiked knuckle struck the metal hand. 

He blinked a few times, his attack completely halted. Then he watched with wide eyes as a massive figure crawled out of the spell circle. A spectral sentinel pulled itself up right before the little girl, towering over the man.

“What… but that’s— just how…?” 

And Wyll’s jaw dropped as he stared at the looming greater spirit in shock.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 70: Underworld Investigation V

I had overpaid for the information I was looking for— I knew I overpaid, but that was on purpose. I wanted to prove a point. That the Blood Swords were no longer what he thought of them under my leadership. 

Back when Marlowe met Nicholas, the latter had only just inherited the Blood Swords as their new leader. As such, they were not only just weak, but relatively broke too. After all, there was not much coin to be made when essentially functioning as an unregulated militia that survived by collecting an arbitrary amount of protection money every month.

Perhaps under Nicholas’s leadership, the Blood Swords would have been able to at least double their revenue from just doing this by squeezing as much coin as they could from the people of Velmond. But the original leadership of the Blood Swords had good intentions, and they did not place profit over people.

So that was why Marlowe thought the Blood Swords weren’t able to afford this information without bankrupting themselves. Because they were poor when Nicholas had met him. However, as much as I disliked the original Bloodied Blade, I had to pay him his dues, since he had made quite some changes in a short amount of time that greatly increased their wealth.

However, even for the Blood Swords that was under his leadership, affording to pay for this information I was looking for would have been extremely pricey— definitely not something I could have paid for without a second-thought, let alone pay over double the price for just like I did tonight.

But that was because I had elevated the Blood Swords even further. A few hundred gold coins meant nothing to me when I had about twenty thousand or so gold coins that I had taken from the Gold Skulls after destroying their bandit group.

Sure, that was still most of the money I had brought with me to Lux. But almost anything I wanted could be provided to me by the Luna Gez Sect, and if there was something I really needed gold for, I could simply ask Nicky to bring over a few thousand gold coins to me if need be.

That was why I did what I did. To rehabilitate the image of the Blood Swords, all the while securing myself a potential future alliance with the Iron Maw.

Anyway, after I paid my payment, Marlowe and I discussed the details of the information I wanted. According to him, Wyll typically kept to the parts of the outer city of Albus that were under the Crimson Covenant’s control. 

This meant that if I wanted to confront Wyll, I would either have to be extremely stealthy, or I was going to have to inadvertently cause a small ruckus. Preferably, I would have liked to keep this entire ordeal discreet. However, I was prepared to slaughter a few unsavory individuals if it meant getting what I wanted.

And while I wasn’t searching for the information broker to kill him, I knew I was going to kill him once I got what I wanted. After all, I didn’t intend to let him live after he tried to kill me and my friends.

Well… Myrla was my friend, but Sonia was still an acquaintance right now. That could change in the future. For now though, that didn’t matter.

I set off for the location which Marlowe gave me. It was supposed to be a tavern that Wyll frequently visited— however, there was no guarantee that the information broker would be there when I arrived. I decided to pay the place a visit anyway, just to see if he was around.

But I kept my guard up as I got there, because Marlowe had warned me that this was a place where plenty of members of the Crimson Covenant and their allies frequented— meaning that not only were there probably going to be a handful of Gold Ranks there at all times, but perhaps even a Platinum Rank member within the vicinity too.

I knew I could have dealt with them all on my own. However…

I would have preferred to avoid causing a massacre if possible. So when I arrived at The Broken Dagger— the tavern which Marlowe told me about— I simply camped out the area, waiting to see if there was any sign of Wyll’s presence.

The chances of running into him right now was quite low, but I was planning on visiting this tavern every night for the next week or so to see if I could find any leads to Wyll. If, unfortunately, I found nothing here, I was going to have to go back to the Golden Gryphon and have a word with Marlowe to figure out what was going on.

Perhaps I could have tried to enter The Broken Dagger. But judging by the guards standing outside of the entrance and turning away most folks who approached, it was evident that this was an exclusive location with limited entry.

I assumed entrance was probably only allowed for those who were affiliated with the Crimson Covenant. That was why I stayed in the alleyways, watching from the shadows and carefully taking note of each and every figure that entered and exited the building.

I also tried to eavesdrop on most of the passersby who walked by my alley. I wanted to glean anything I could from their conversations. Perhaps they would give me some information about the Crimson Covenant, even if it wasn’t related to Wyll.

However, since it was now much later in the night, almost every conversation I overheard was nothing but drunken slurring.

“I can’t take it anymore… those damn rats are going to drive me insane!”

“Urk, I want to puke—”

“...I miss her…”

But after just over an hour of staking out the location, I was met with a stroke of luck. I was surprised it even happened, really. Not that I was going to question it.

I spotted a familiar figure stumbling out of the tavern, arms slung around the shoulder of another man who was helping him walk.

It was Wyll, and he was extremely drunk. He could hardly walk straight. His friend was holding onto him to prevent him from falling over. I furrowed my brows when I saw this. So it seemed that Marlowe didn’t lie to me. I would have to thank him the next time I saw him.

Wyll groaned and doubled over at the side of the building for a few minutes, coughing and occasionally throwing up. His friend sighed as he stared at the state the information broker was in. Meanwhile, I edged closer, hoping to overhear parts of their conversation.

“...you know the boss won’t be happy—” the other man said.

“Ugh, I know, don’t remind me…” Wyll sighed.

I didn’t hear anything substantive. Not until I was much closer.

The other man shook his head. “The boss didn’t bring you in for this. You’ve got to get your act together. Otherwise, you’re going to get kicked out.”

“Look, I paid my way in fair and square with those artifacts,” Wyll snapped.

My brows scrunched together when I heard that. By artifacts… they mean Artifacts of Death?

“And you promised him more of them. But so far, you haven’t gotten any. Not only that, you got one of his mawdriths killed. His patience is running thin, and I can’t cover for you much longer.”

“I almost got him more of them just the other day. However, you know what happened.”

Wyll glared at his friend as he spoke. But that just about confirmed it for me. The Crimson Covenant was collecting Artifacts of Death— for what reason? Were they perhaps worshipers of the Death God (me)? Or did they just seek the power those weapons gave them? I didn’t know, but I was going to have to just listen more to find out.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have lost to a bunch of school kids.”

“Perhaps that wouldn’t have happened if you had come with me like you were supposed to, Mike.”

Wyll crossed his arms as his friend— Mike— shrugged.

“My point isn’t to antagonize you, Wyll,” Mike said simply. “I’m just trying to give you some advice— as your friend. You know the boss trusted you, that’s why he gave you that mawdrith to protect you. But now…”

Wyll pursed his lips when he heard that. “I know. There’s no such thing as being kicked out of the Crimson Covenant.”

“Exactly.” Mike nodded, a grim look on his face. “So you better get him that information he’s looking for about the royal family, otherwise…”

“Right…” Wyll closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. “We shouldn’t be talking about this out here anyway. Let’s just head back for now. It’s late. I don’t want to think about this until tomorrow.”

Wyll shook his head as he straightened. Mike nodded. And I watched as the two men left The Broken Dagger behind, heading down a side street. 

My interest was piqued by their conversation— so Wyll was brought on by the Crimson Covenant to gather information on the royal family of the Sanctus Empire, huh? Or, well, he bribed his way in and offered his services.

I was curious as to why he even wanted to join the Crimson Covenant. Especially since it sounded like he would be killed by his boss— the man known as the Prophet of Change— if he was incompetent at his job.

But I was more curious about why the Prophet of Change even cared about the royal family. I mean, wasn’t the Crimson Covenant a criminal organization? What would noble politics have anything to do with them? Wasn’t their feud with the Sapphire Stalkers?

I didn’t know. However, I was soon going to find out after I interrogated Wyll.

I kept my distance from the two men as I followed them through the maze of side streets. They turned corner after corner, making their way away from the busier streets, chatting about mundane topics as they stumbled along. I trailed after them, but I began to notice an odd pattern in the path they were taking through the alleyways.

It almost seemed like they were walking in a circle. Like they were lost. 

And I actually thought that they had gotten themselves lost in the side streets because of their drunken stupor for a moment. 

Just a moment.

But when they purposefully turned left in the same intersection they did just five minutes ago, I realized what was going on.

Somehow, some way, they must have realized that I was there. They were walking in circles to confirm that I was actually tailing after them. And now that they confirmed this, they were very likely going to try to lead me into a trap.

And knowing this, I decided to follow along with it anyway.

Because while I had initially wanted to keep things discreet, I also knew that that wasn’t going to be possible any longer. If I left now, I might never have the chance to find Wyll again— he might have avoided returning to The Broken Dagger, knowing that he was being followed, only to be killed by his boss for his incompetence.

So this was my one and only chance to get what I wanted.

That was why I followed him, even though I knew I was walking straight into a trap. Even though I knew that this was no longer going to be a discreet operation, but a massacre.

Well, at the very least, I thought to myself as I tilted my head back. Vorth will be able to have some fun.

After all, just based on Mike’s appearance, I could tell he was a Platinum Rank [Warrior] of sorts. And as I already knew, Wyll was a Gold Rank [Mage]. 

Perhaps they were leading me to more Gold Ranks— probably a bunch of Silver Ranks too— but it wasn’t going to matter. Because while Vorth was a spectral sentinel, he was no ordinary greater spirit either.

He was once the Dark Warden.

My greatest summon.

And I knew that he was going to be able to fare perfectly fine…

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 69: Underworld Investigation IV

The [Innkeeper] led me further down the stairwell, before coming to a halt right before a heavy set of wooden double doors. I could see magic woven onto its surface, suppressing the noise that was coming from the other side, despite the visible crack underneath the doorway.

She heaved, opening the door as the clamoring from the other side leaked out, before she gestured for me to enter.

“Welcome to the Gryphon’s Talon,” she said as I stepped inside.

The basement of the Golden Gryphon was actually not much larger than the common room itself. But the crowd that was gathered was no more mellow than the one above. They were ostentatious and loud, laughing as they rolled a dice or played games with cups and cards. 

I saw exotic dancers gathered near every other table. Personal servers for every customer group— and every customer was gathered in a group. Most of them were older men who had a couple of women slung around their arms. There was even a singer who sang in an operatic voice on top of a stage at the back of the room. 

A server approached me as I stood there, sweeping my gaze around the room.

“Greetings… uh, Madam?” he asked as he met my skull-like mask. “Welcome to the Gryphon’s Talon, how may we serve you today?”

“I’m looking for Marlowe,” I said simply, not responding to his confusion about me.

That made the server pause. “Master Marlowe? But we’re not expecting any visitors—” he started.

And I cut him off, holding out a gold coin in the palm of my hand. “Tell him it’s from a former client of his.”

“That’s…” The server blinked, before I handed it to him. He accepted it as he straightened and cleared his throat. “Right this way, Madam.”

He evidently thought that I was a girl based on my lithe frame and my height— and I wasn’t going to correct him. I was going to let him believe whatever he wanted as he led me to the back of the room.

There was a doorway covered by a velvet curtain there, and the server gestured to me to wait outside.

“One moment please,” he said, before disappearing into the room.

I waited as I glanced back to the rest of the gambling den, hearing a raucous laughter erupt behind me. But the server returned a moment after as he pulled the curtain to the side.

“Master Marlowe will see you now.”

“Thank you,” that was all I said as I stepped into the room.

The curtains fluttered shut behind me as clouds of smoke briefly distorted my vision. But my eyes quickly adjusted to it as I found myself greeted by a man sitting in the middle of a sofa. He wore a leather vest, and he had a cutlass at his side. His hair was shaved to a buzz cut, revealing the tattoo of a gryphon from his nape to his crown.

There were two young ladies at his side— exotic dancers, by the looks of it— and he took a puff from a long pipe, before he set it back down onto the table. One of the girls tried to feed him a grape, but he lightly smacked her hand away as he exhaled, letting out a plume of smoke from his nose.

“I would say I don’t remember ever meeting you, but I’ll recognize that corny mask anywhere,” the man— Marlowe— said as he met my gaze. “And yet, you are not Nicholas the Bloodied Blade, are you?”

I just silently walked up to him as he grabbed a glass of beer and chugged half of it, before I came to a halt before him. He slammed the glass down, burped loudly, and then snapped his fingers as he looked back up to face me.

“Ah, I know you— you’re his sister, aren’t you?” 

Marlowe shook his head as I said nothing. He wiped his mouth as he nodded to himself, continuing regardless of my lack of response.

“He told me about you,” he chuckled as he grabbed a small brownie in the shape of a cube and broke it in half. Behind him, the two girls just shifted uncomfortably where they sat, unsure of what to do as he continued. “Nicholas did say he had a little sister who didn’t approve of what he was doing. So that’s why he never came back for more of my… precious goods.”

As he spoke, he inspected the brownie halves, before finally tossing them behind him at the pair of exotic dancers. They quickly fumbled to catch their pieces of the brownie, before biting into it. They sighed satisfactorily as they swallowed it.

“Get out of here, you two,” Marlowe said as he glanced back at the women.

They hurriedly nodded, before exiting the room. The man turned back to me when we were alone as he took another puff of his pipe.

“So what happened to your brother, huh?” he asked, letting smoke out of his nose. “Bit the dust early, did he? He was quite the ambitious fellow, and unfortunately for most of us, ambition kills…”

I ignored pretty much everything Marlowe said, instead replying simply, “Nicholas is dead, I killed him. I’m the leader of the Blood Swords— the Bloodied Blade— now.”

“Are you now?” The man raised an amused brow at me. “And what does the new Bloodied Blade of the Blood Swords want from me?” 

“I heard the Iron Maw is willing to dabble in any business for the right price,” I said as I nodded at him. “And I’m looking for information.”

“Everyone is looking for information these days, young lady,” Marlowe replied, narrowing his eyes at me. “But we are no information broker, so even if you have the right price, we may not have the right information for you. So tell me, what or who exactly are you looking for?”

As of right now, everything was proceeding quite smoothly. But I knew that once negotiations began, things might change. That was why I remained on guard as I explained what I wanted.

“I’m looking for a man who goes by the name of Wyll. He’s a Gold Rank [Mage], and a former information broker.”

I kept things as vague as possible to prod what Marlowe knew— to see if he was going to try to bluff me and scam me of my money. However, it seemed that he did know at least something about Wyll.

He tapped a finger on his chin. “Wyll, huh? Yes, I know of him. He’s… affiliated with the Crimson Covenant. I’m sure you’ve heard of them, even if you’re not a local around these parts.”

I just nodded. Marlowe continued, shaking his head as he spoke.

“They’re a dangerous bunch, you know? And while we certainly know of his general whereabouts, acquiring information about someone from the Crimson Covenant is going to fetch quite a high price. I mean, I don’t want to accidentally draw their ire— not especially against such a small-time organization like the Iron Maw…”

Marlowe trailed off for a moment, pausing as he tilted his head back. And then he leant back forward as he placed a hand on his chin. 

“But before we discuss that, tell me: why exactly do you want to find Wyll?”

I pondered over his question as he peered into me. I could have tried to come up with a lie— maybe even weave a whole story about why I was searching for the man. But I knew that it would come back to bite me if I withheld this information here.

So I just told the truth.

“Because I want him dead, that’s why.”

***

This was a waste of time. 

Marlowe had dealt with the Blood Swords before, and he knew that they were a small-time gang from the very outskirts of the Sanctus Empire. Even when he had done business with them before, he had gone out of his way— as a token of goodwill for a future partnership— to give them a significant discount on their first shipment of drugs they had ordered.

And it wasn’t just any ordinary drugs. They had been elven drugs— imported all the way from Dryz. They normally fetched a premium. But, perhaps foolishly, Marlowe had chosen to offer Nicholas kindness.

He was not going to make the same mistake again. Not especially with Nicholas’s sister, who was probably the reason why their previous business venture failed to materialize into anything substantive.

Besides, this was the Crimson Covenant that they were talking about. Wyll might have been a brand new member of the organization, but from what Marlowe knew, the former information broker was placed considerably high up in the chain of command. 

For what reason could a random Gold Rank be given such a privilege? There were plenty of Gold Ranks within the Crimson Covenant— in fact, there were supposedly dozens of Platinum Ranks, and their leader was even a Sapphire Rank.

While they certainly weren’t strong enough to topple over the criminal empire that was the Sapphire Stalkers right now, they were growing in strength extremely fast, and they were more than powerful enough to crush the Iron Maw. 

Regardless, Marlowe didn’t know why Wyll was placed relatively high up in the chain of command. And it didn’t matter.

Because this girl… whatever her name was… wanted to kill Wyll. Which was practically impossible for her. Again, because the Blood Swords were a small-time gang from the outskirts of the Sanctus Empire. That was not to mention the fact that she probably wasn’t going to be able to afford this single piece of information without bankrupting her gang.

That was why Marlowe decided to put an end to this discussion— he had already entertained it long enough.

“Ms…” he started, looking expectantly at the young woman standing before him.

“I’m the Bloodied Blade,” she responded in her warbled, high-pitched voice.

He pursed his lips when he heard that. Like brother like sister, huh? Both weirdos…

“Alright, Ms Bloodied Blade,” Marlowe sighed as he shook his head. “I am aware of the Blood Swords reputation— where you come from, you guys are big shots. Everyone in your little town is scared of you. But this is the big city. Gangs like yours and mine are a dime a dozen, and the Crimson Covenant can crush both you and I with their thumb.”

That’s not to mention that the Iron Maw can probably destroy your little gang in a single night too, Marlowe added in his mind. But he didn’t vocalize those thoughts, keeping things civil and amicable, before finishing what he was saying.

“So just a little word of advice— save your money, and forget this idea you have, alright?” 

But the Bloodied Blade didn’t falter. 

“If the Crimson Covenant ends up crushing the Blood Swords, that is none of your concern. You will still get your payment, and I assure you, there will be no trouble that comes your way.”

Marlowe crossed his arms when he heard that. He was getting tired of this conversation— he was trying to be nice, but that was only because he was trying to leave the door open for potential future business opportunities. However, his patience had its limits too.

“Look, I spoke with Nicholas in-depth about the Blood Swords’ finances,” Marlowe said exasperatedly. “And unfortunately for you, I do not believe that we will be able to make a deal materialize tonight to give you the information you are looking for. So if you can please just take your leave, I will not be forced to call over the guards to escort you out of the premises.”

Even while annoyed, Marlowe still kept a somewhat cordial tone. But it was evident from the look on his face that he was getting annoyed by this. And for a long moment, the Bloodied Blade remained silent. 

Was she offended by what he said? Probably. Her ego was definitely hurt, considering it was the first time she was not taken as a big deal in her life. But Marlowe didn’t care.

Nicholas had been a mere low-leveled Gold Rank. At most, his sister was probably a mid-leveled Gold Rank. Meanwhile, Marlowe himself was a high-leveled Gold Rank— and that was not to mention that they were surrounded by dozens of Silver Rank guards outside of this room who would answer to him. So he could take her on in a fight if one broke out.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Bloodied Blade moved. But she didn’t move for the doorway. Instead, she just raised a hand.

“Your information about our finances and strength is… outdated,” she said simply as she opened the palm of her hand. 

Marlowe opened his mouth, about to snap for real this time. But then with a flash of light, gold coins started pouring out of her fingers— like they were being created out of thin air.

“Things have changed since I have taken over the Blood Swords.”

She continued as the pile of gold coins at her feet grew taller and taller. There had to be over a hundred gold coins now, and the pile was still growing larger. 

Marlowe blinked a few times as he processed this, before the gold finally stopped pouring.

“I do believe that this payment will more than suffice for the information I am looking for,” the Bloodied Blade said as she met his gaze. “Consider the extra payment as both an assurance for a future, meaningful business relationship between the Blood Swords and the Iron Maw, and an apology for our failed past business ventures with our previous leader.”

“Well, that is… really generous of you.” Marlowe tried to work his jaw as he stared at the pile of gold coins. 

At most, he would have asked for a hundred or so gold coins for the information about Wyll’s whereabouts. But this was nearly triple that amount. Were the Blood Swords now truly so rich they could afford paying such an outrageous amount for simple information? 

Evidently, that had to be the case, because the Bloodied Blade didn’t even flinch at handing over such a large amount of coin. And if that were the case, then wouldn’t that also mean they were truly as capable as she was saying too? 

Marlowe didn’t have time to ponder over this as she pressed him.

“Or do you believe I still have to take my leave even now?” the Bloodied Blade asked him almost facetiously.

And in response, he cleared his throat as he straightened. “Ah, no. My apologies, Ms Bloodied Blade. It appears I was mistaken, and I am sure that the both of us can come to a mutual agreement…”

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 68: Underworld Investigation III

There were three different organizations within the city of Albus which had prior connections to the Blood Swords— three groups I could turn to for information regarding Wyll and the Crimson Covenant.

The Nightshade Pact, the Hollow Blades, and the Iron Maw.

I considered each and every option and what Nicky had told me about them in her letter. Immediately, my attention was drawn towards the Nightshade Pact. At first glance, they seemed like the best bet to go for to get what I wanted, since they very likely dealt with Wyll before. After all, they were an illegal weapons trading organization, and he was searching for the Artifacts of Death, so it was within the realms of a very realistic possibility that they had at least at one point in time been in contact with one another.

However, that was also the problem— the Nightshade Pact was only in the business of selling weapons. They did not delve into any information brokering operations. And if they did, their potential clients would not want to work with them, out of fear of being sold out.

Perhaps the Nightshade Pact would be willing to give out such information to their close allies. But even if they were the closest thing to allies of the Blood Swords here in Albus, the Blood Swords were not considered anywhere near close allies to the Nightshade Pact.

That was why I dismissed the idea of approaching them first. 

Meanwhile, the Hollow Blades were mercenaries. I highly doubted that they would be able to offer up much in information, considering it was unlikely for them to have ever crossed paths with Wyll. And even if they did, the chances of them offering up information was unlikely at best.

So that left only the Iron Maw. And I knew they were my best bet at giving me the information I wanted.

Sure, there was hardly any history between the Blood Swords and the Iron Maw. In fact, there was some possibility of bad blood, since my predecessor— Nicholas the Bloodied Blade— had promised them more business opportunities in the future.

However, he suffered an untimely passing by my hands, which brought the relationship between the two groups to an abrupt halt. 

But the Iron Maw was also an organization that dabbled in any and every business venture. Or at least, that was what Nicky. So that should have included trading information. So they would be not only more willing to give me— but also more capable of giving me— what I wanted than either the Nightshade Pact or the Hollow Blades respectively.

So I made my decision as I left my room. I sent another message to Nicky, requesting information on how to contact the Iron Maw. Then I waited at the rooftop of a small chapel-like building away from campus as I summoned Vorth.

It was the roof of a dormitory for [Nuns]. But I was let in, because all of the [Nuns] who resided in this building were Sisters of the Luna Gez Sect. Frida had told me in the past that if I ever needed assistance and she wasn’t available, I could ask to speak with any of the [Nuns] there to give me what I wanted.

And all I wanted right now was privacy as I spoke alone to my summon. I explained the situation to him— what happened with Myrla and Sonia after I had dismissed him the other day— then told him of my current plan of action.

“I will wait before I can summon you again, before I meet up with the Iron Maw for anything,” I said as I stared out into the city of Lux as the night sky hung overhead. “And I will only summon you if things are starting to go south— so I need you to be prepared for anything.”

“Of course, master,” Vorth said as he bowed his head to me. “I will give my life for you again if it is necessary.”

“Thank you, V—” I smiled back at him, almost saying his name, before pausing. 

I looked around the area. While there was ostensibly nobody eavesdropping on our conversation, I couldn’t be too certain. 

Especially not here in Lux. 

“By the way, I’ll have to come up with a different name to call you around others,” I said as I shook my head at the spectral sentinel. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“A few do come to mind,” Vorth said as he placed a hand on his ‘chin’. “For example, I believe calling me your favorite summon would be ideal.”

I gave him a flat stare. He crossed his arms in thought.

“And if that is not to your satisfaction, I believe a name such as ‘the greatest summon of all time’ would be even better.”

“I’m just going to call you V, how about that?” I sighed.

Vorth just pouted in response— even if he didn’t have a face. “Fine.”

I dismissed him for now, so that the cooldown time I had to wait later to summon him again would not be too long for me. And I just waited for my follow-up message from Nicky with all the details to find out how to contact the Iron Maw.

It didn’t take too long for me to receive that message. When I did, I immediately set off, leaving the city state of Lux, navigating through the inner city of Albus to make my way to the outer city to find the Iron Maw.

***

According to Nicky, one of the Iron Maw’s points of contact in Albus for the Blood Swords was going to be found in a rather famous inn located at the outskirts of the outer city. It was called the Golden Gryphon— but the actual place I was looking for was in the basement of the inn.

It was the Gryphon’s Talon. It was supposed to be an illegal and exclusive gambling den that was operated by the Iron Maw. There, I was going to have to ask for a man who went by the name of Marlowe. He was the one who had been responsible for selling those elven drugs to Nicholas, and he was also one of the higher-ups in the Iron Maw.

If anyone was going to be able to help me get the information I wanted, it was going to be him.

When I arrived at the Golden Gryphon, I didn’t immediately enter the establishment. Instead, I scouted around the area as I waited until I was certain I could summon Vorth into battle if the situation arose. 

The inn itself was relatively busy— the main hall had a bar and tavern that was bustling with life. All kinds of folks gathered here, from adventurers to merchants. All just to wind down after such a long day at work for them.

There was music being played by a [Bard], and I could see the silhouette of couples dancing with each other through the window. A drunkard stumbled out of the front door of the inn, before slumping over the side of the entrance. But it didn’t look like he was kicked out— just done for the night.

Even if it was pretty early into the night.

Eventually, my cooldown for my [Spirit Summon] Skill came to an end, and I knew I could call Vorth to my side in an instant again. So I readied myself to make my entrance.

Tonight, I was no longer going to be Velmond’s Blessing— the [Healer] who had cured the Blight and enrolled into the Holy Academy. Instead, tonight I was returning to being the Bloodied Blade.

The leader of the Blood Swords.

So I donned my skull-like mask, covering my white hair with a hooded cloak. I wore a pair of heels to stand taller than I normally was, and to finish my disguise off, I used a speaking stone to mask my voice so it was impossible to tell who I was from my voice either.

I went above and beyond doing what I had to do to hide my identity. After all, there weren’t very many white-haired thirteen-year-old boys wandering the city of Albus who were capable of fending for himself. Especially if I ended up in a predicament where I needed to summon Vorth.

The less anyone knew about me, the better. Even if they thought I was a teenager or a young woman, it didn’t make a difference to me. I was the Bloodied Blade right now, and I simply wanted to separate myself from… myself as much as possible.

Finally, before I headed into the inn, I looked over my Status one last time.

Name: Nox (Eli)

Race: Human

Rank: Silver - Level 33

Class: [Soulfire Healer]

Class Skills: [Greater Holy Fireball], [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Holy Fire], [Basic Light Magic Conjuration], [Boon Of Vitality], [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Strength], [Purifying Touch], [Lesser Poison Resistance]

Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

General Skills: [Spirit Summon: Vorth the Spectral Sentinel], [Elemental Magic Proficiency], [Quick Dash]

Attributes:

[Strength: 100]

[Speed: 100]

[Magic: 616]

[Vitality: 115]

[Dexterity: 115]

Free Points: 0

I was a Level 33 Silver Rank now, after the battle with the mawdrith. Since then, I had distributed all my Free Points mostly equally between my Attributes, although I placed a heavy emphasis on my [Dexterity], just so I could always react quickly if the situation arose.

Of course, there were some situations where I was not going to be able to react in time if my enemy was that much faster than me. That was why I cast both [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Vitality], and [Basic Blessing Of Life] on myself before I entered the establishment.

They were all Silver Rank Skills— although, [Aura Armor Of Light] was probably equal to a Gold Rank Skill since I was casting it beyond its maximum output to keep myself as safe as possible. And while I couldn’t have used a direct death magic protection spell like [Protection Of Vindication] because it would have left too much of a trace with the death magic mana it left behind, I could have used a blood magic spell like [Sacrificial Blood Barrier] since it was more subtle to fully ensure my safety here in the inn.

Unfortunately, since the Crimson Covenant were known blood magic users, I wasn’t going to take a risk using blood magic around the Iron Maw either. After all, they were loosely allied with the Sapphire Stalkers, making the Crimson Covenant their enemy by association.

Or at least, that was a possibility— I didn’t know for certain. If the Iron Maw were as mercenary as Nicky described them to be, it was possible they wouldn’t care who they were doing business with no matter what.

But I wasn’t going to take that risk.

Instead, I just entered the inn, protected by multiple defensive spells, ready to summon Vorth if things went awry. I approached the [Innkeeper] who was standing at the front desk, just watching the bustling crowd dancing and drinking in the common room.

She was a short older lady— which meant that I was just slightly taller than her with my heels. And she looked up to me with a bright smile as I approached.

“Welcome to the Golden Gryphon, how can I help you?” she asked as she clapped her hands together.

In response, I slid a single gold coin towards her as I said the code word which Nicky had told me about.

“The Gryphon never sleeps.”

Her eyes widened when she heard that, before she quickly pocketed the coin. She straightened and drew back from the counter. 

“Of course, I will show you to the golden room immediately.”

And with that, she led me towards a door behind the counter, before bringing me down a stairwell that descended for dozens and dozens of steps. Until, finally, I arrived at my destination.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 67: Underworld Investigation II

The next day came, and Myrla continued to pester me for an answer even throughout our classes. She wanted to know what Sonia had told me— but I couldn’t just tell the young girl the truth, could I?

Well, maybe I could, I considered the idea for a moment. But she has to give me a reason to trust her first, before I’ll freely give up that information.

While Myrla was my friend, she was also the daughter of a noble family in the Sanctus Empire. Her opinion of death magic and anything related to it would very likely be… skewed. 

Especially since she was so young, too. So she would less likely have as much of an open mind as someone like Sonia who was not only older, but also a commoner. Even if the black-haired girl came from a renowned and rich family, she would still have less connections to the Church of Life growing up than someone who was from a noble family who would be raised to work within Lux from a young age.

Of course, most commoners were less educated than most nobles— this made them more susceptible to the Church of Life’s propaganda as well. But that was only in areas where there were temples with a strong influence over the local community.

Sonia grew up here in Albus, but she was also probably insulated from the Church of Life’s influence by coming from a rich family that did not have the same obligations and connections as noble families did. That was probably why she was not so bothered by the idea of stealing some Artifacts of Death to get what she wanted.

This was in addition to her desperation, of course.

Conversely, the people who resided in the outer city of Albus were much poorer and less educated than her. But since they were also more insulated from the Church of Life like her, they were more open minded towards death magic and the like— hence why there were folks like Wyll or those in the Crimson Covenant who sought after the Artifacts of Death and employed demon summoning to win their battles.

And since Myrla didn’t fall under either of these two categories of people, I highly doubted that she would be willing to consider what I would have to tell her— even if it was the same half-truth I told Sonia.

As of right now, I was absolutely certain that Myrla was going to tell me to just destroy the Artifacts of Death, even if I said I was intending to study them. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she went as far as to report me for keeping them in my possession if I refused to get rid of them.

Unless she gave me a reason to trust her, I wasn’t going to blindly give her my trust.

So I just brushed her aside whenever she pestered me, telling her that I couldn’t talk about it here in the Holy Academy, much to her chagrin.

“Seriously, you promised you would tell me about it later!” she said as we sat across from each other in the cafeteria during lunch.

“And I haven’t broken my promise,” I countered her with a grin. “I will tell you about it later.”

Meanwhile, Kelton would just look between the both of us quizzically, clearly confused by what was going on. He hadn’t known of what happened— neither Myrla, Sonia, nor I have mentioned a word about it to any of our classmates.

And while the city guards of Albus supposedly reported our act of heroism to the Holy Academy, none of the faculty had approached us to question us about the incident. I assumed this meant that either the school didn’t want to mention it to avoid encouraging students from going out of their way to do the same thing as we did, or perhaps the city guards hadn’t yet finished writing up their report.

Either way, neither of us explained anything to Kelton, leaving him in the dark.

Throughout the rest of the day, I dodged Myrla’s interrogating questions until I could finally escape from her during our final class— which was a free period for me, since it was our electives, and I had already passed my accelerated exam.

So I left her behind and searched for Sister Frida. I found the aloof [Nun] where I usually did— waiting in a garden outside of the Holy Academy. She was sitting quietly amongst a group of chatting [Nuns] when I arrived. 

Immediately, she gave the [Nuns] a look, and they left us alone. She bowed her head to me when it was just the both of us. 

“What is it that you need of me, [Healer] Eli?” she asked in a low voice.

She spoke in a deferring tone as she faced me, and I couldn’t help but remember how she treated me when we first met back in Velmond. At that point, she had been dismissive of me— slightly rude, even. And that was all because she had refused to believe that I was the next [Hero] like Reverend Donovan of Velmond had thought I was.

But now that she thought I was the next [Hero], her attitude had completely changed. Which was actually mildly amusing to me, since she was right the first time around, because I was definitely not the [Hero].

In fact, as the Death God, I was quite literally the opposite of the [Hero].

Regardless, I liked Frida now, especially since she was always useful to me when I needed help— being my main point of contact with the Luna Gez Sect and all. But more than that, she never asked me any questions. She just did what she was told to do. That was why I sought her out.

“I need you to find me any information you can about a certain individual,” I said as I took a seat next to her. 

She straightened and sat next to me as the [Nuns] who had left us waited nearby. They were still talking amongst each other like nothing happened, but they were speaking louder now.

And my eyes flickered as I sensed a spell wash over us like a kind of bubble. I recognized this spell— it was a kind of silencing spell that wouldn’t simply muffle what we were saying. Instead, it would replace our conversation with another conversation that matched our lips, so it wasn’t suspicious that we were talking without a sound.

It must’ve been cast by the other [Nuns] who had been with Sister Frida. They were all evidently members of the Luna Gez Sect. And this was why I was here— to take advantage of the vast access to resources they supposedly had.

“His name is Wyll,” I explained as I met Frida’s gaze. “And he’s an information broker who resides in the outer city of Albus with potential ties to the Crimson Covenant.”

Sister Frida placed a hand on her chin with a curious look on her face. “The Crimson Covenant?”

“They’re an upstart criminal group here in Albus or something. I don’t know too much about them beyond that they are known to summon demons and use blood magic in battle.” I paused as I recalled what Wyll was after, before I continued. “They might also have an interest in the Artifacts of Death, but that’s only a rumor.”

“I see.” The [Nun] nodded as she rose to her feet. “Unfortunately, as you already know, I have not been present here in either Albus or Lux for the last decade or so. As such, I am not up to date with the current news surrounding the city, so I will have to ask around, before I can return to you as soon as I have more information.”

“Understandable,” I said in response.

This was pretty much the response I expected when I came to her for information— I knew I probably wasn’t going to get anything too informative right away. However, that didn’t mean I had to just sit around and wait for the Luna Gez Sect to get back to me with an update.

Especially since it was entirely possible that they couldn’t offer me much either.

While I was sure they would at least be able to find out something, I wasn’t going to discount the possibility that their information network was limited to within the Church of Life, so anything beyond the borders of Lux would be beyond their reach.

That was why I was going to do what I could with my own personal information network. With my own gang that I took over back in Velmond.

With the Blood Swords.

“By the way, I’ll also need to send a few messages back to Velmond,” I added, drawing Frida’s attention back towards me. “Same contact as before.”

“Of course, I’ll arrange that for you as well,” Frida said as she rose to her feet. “Is there anything else, [Healer] Eli?”

I nodded back at her gratefully in response. “For now, that’s all. But if I need further assistance, I’ll let you know.”

“Yes, [Healer] Eli,” she replied, before drawing back and leaving me alone in the garden.

***

I returned to my room after my conversation with Frida. And with the Luna Gez Sect’s help, I sent a message back to Velmond, contacting my right-hand-woman in the Blood Swords. The only one in the gang who knew my true identity as the reincarnated Death God.

Nicky.

Eli (Lux):

I need a list of all contacts the Blood Swords has in Albus.

It didn’t take too long for me to receive a reply. But even still, since I went through most of my classes already today, and it was already evening, so I didn’t have much time left to act for the day. I wanted to act quickly— get this over with as soon as possible. So when I received a reply, I rushed her for what I requested.

Nicky (Velmond):

I’ll prepare a list as soon as possible. But may I ask why you need this list?

Eli (Lux):

Unimportant. I’ll keep you informed when it pertains to you.

Nicky (Velmond):

Got it, boss!

I waited for a little bit longer before I received the next letter with the list that I was looking for.

Nicky (Velmond):

• The Nightshade Pact

  • The closest contact of the Blood Swords in Albus, having done business with each other since the previous leader. They are an independent underground weapons selling operation, doing business with anyone.

• The Hollow Blades

  • A group of mercenaries that had been hired to aid the Blood Swords a few times in the past. They work closely with the Sapphire Stalkers, refusing to sell their services to any enemies of the Sapphire Stalkers.

• The Iron Maw

  • An organization that deals in all kinds of illegal businesses from offering assassinations to selling slaves. My brother… Nicholas purchased a shipment of elven drugs from them once before. They are loosely tied with the Sapphire Stalkers.
    
    

Interesting, I thought as I looked over the list. It was a relatively small list, if I was being honest. But that was to be expected. The Blood Swords was never a large gang— it was a small-time gang that ruled over a small town in the outskirts of the Sanctus Empire.

But I guess it was about time for us to establish a foothold here in Albus and make a real name for ourselves.

I burned the letter she had given me as I made my decision, leaving my room to start my investigation into the underworld of the city as the sun began to set over the horizon, bringing about darkness.

***

And as classes came to an end for the day in the Holy Academy of the Church of Life, Cecil returned to his room to find his roommate missing once again. 

Just what secret are you keeping, Eli? the elf wondered as he pursed his lips.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 66: Underworld Investigation I

I hadn’t actually known that Sonia’s Bag of Holding was full of Artifacts of Death. It was an educated guess I made from the death magic I had sensed earlier. And while it was possible that her Bag of Holding was carrying something else that emanated that death magic— such as a few reanimated skeletons— that was highly unlikely, since I knew she was not a [Necromancer].

That was why I was confident in my assumption that they were Artifacts of Death. And that was why I wanted to keep them.

I wanted to learn more about the source behind these mysterious Avatars of Death. Since the Artifacts of Death were supposedly created upon their demise, I believed that studying these weapons would clue me into the origins behind the Avatars of Death.

Right now, I only had a single Artifact of Death in my possession. And not only did I not have much time to study it thus far, it was also relatively weak— a Lesser Death Dagger. So having more items that were like it to study would help me understand these Avatars of Death even further.

So I made my proposition.

“You’ll… help me?” Sonia said, staring at me with round eyes.

And I corrected her, repeating myself, “Only in exchange for your Bag of Holding and the items you have inside of it.”

Sonia nodded slowly in response. “R-right.”

There was a moment of hesitation where she said nothing. But it was evidently clear she was considering my proposal. So I just waited expectantly, remaining silent as she mulled this deal over. Finally, she spoke up as she averted her gaze.

“But do you even know what I’m after?” 

“No, I don’t,” I said with a shrug. “But will it really make a difference if you tell me what it is right now?”

“I guess not…” The black-haired girl shifted her feet uncomfortably. She tried to work her jaw, before shaking her head. “But why do you want these… items? What purpose do they serve you?”

“Well, they simply pique my interest,” I half-lied as I met her gaze. “I’ve always wanted to study them, and I never really had the chance. Until now.”

“I… see,” Sonia replied.

But I knew she wasn’t fully convinced by my explanation. Not that she had much of a choice here. She already knew that I was willing to use these Artifacts of Death to blackmail her if I didn’t get what I wanted. After all, even if I wanted them, she was the one who stole them. 

So if she ever reported me to the Holy Academy, she would be the one who was in bigger trouble. Besides, she was already willing to give them away to get what she wanted…

That was why I pressed her, because I already knew what her answer was going to be. 

“So have you made your decision?” I asked, raising a brow at her. 

Sonia took in a deep breath, looking like she was thinking it over one last time. And then, she sighed as she nodded.

“I accept your offer,” she finally said. “As long as you promise me you won’t use them for harm.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything bad with them,” I chuckled as I waved a hand off. I took a step back as I let the silencing spell dissipate, grinning at the black-haired girl. “Good, we have a deal.”

***

Since I was already in possession of the Bag of Holding, Sonia and I both agreed I should just keep it, since it was safer for the both of us that way. Besides, it was not like she was going to have to be worried about me running away with the Artifacts of Death— we went to the same school, and we saw each other every day. 

Before we left the alleyway, she also briefly filled me in on what she wanted to learn from Wyll. Apparently, she didn’t know who her father was, and she wanted any information she could get on him.

I found that to be a bit odd, considering she could just ask her mother that question. But I said nothing, since I wasn’t someone who should speak when it came to family matters— after all, I only experienced what it was like to have a family for only a single month just recently, before I left for the Holy Academy.

Anyway, we left the alleyway and returned to where Myrla was waiting. The city guards of Albus were already there, and the young girl just finished explaining what happened to the guard captain when we made our approach. She drew back and huffed when she saw me.

“...and these are the friends I was talking about,” Myrla said, crossing her arms. “Thanks for ditching me to deal with the hard part for you, Eli.”

I grinned back at her in response. “No problem. Next time I’ll have you do my homework for me too.”

She rolled her eyes as the guard captain turned to us. Even though he was a guard captain, his armor was not nearly as ornate or well-crafted as even a regular Inquisitor Guard in Lux. His chestplate shimmered with a protection enchantment, but that was about it. And just based on his looks, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was a mere Gold Rank.

“So you kids are from the Holy Academy too? And you can confirm what this little girl is saying?” the guard captain asked as he furrowed his brows. “Because, I’m going to be honest, all this sounds a little bit hard to believe.”

I opened my mouth, but a voice spoke up from behind him.

“Everything they’re saying is true.” 

Blinking, the guard captain spun around to see Kai emerging from the nearby side street. The Inquisitor shook his head as he turned to Myrla.

“I was there, and it is exactly as they said. These children did good work today. We should be thanking them for what they did.”

The guard captain straightened and saluted Kai. “Yes, sir! My apologies, sir!”

Even though Inquisitors were not actually part of the Sanctus Empire’s military hierarchy, they were unofficially recognized as a part of it, since they worked closely with the Sanctus Empire anyway. This was unlike the Templars who were seen almost as a rival military by the Sanctus Empire, making them regularly clash with one another.

Not that I knew much about any of this back in my previous life— these were all things I had been told ever since I arrived here to study at the Holy Academy of the Church of Life.

Kai continued to debrief the guard captain as Sonia, Myrla, and I watched from the side. Myrla leaned over to me as this happened, whispering into my ear.

“So what did you learn?” she asked curiously.

But I just waved a hand dismissively in response. “Well, it’s complicated. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Hey, you can’t just—” she started.

However, she was cut off when Kai approached us after finishing his conversation with the guard captain. “Well, they’ll still have to write up a report. But none of you are in trouble. In fact, your achievements today will even be reported to the Holy Academy. So you should all rest easy.”

“Thanks, Kai,” I said as I nodded gratefully at him. But then I looked down the side street he came from and tilted my head. “But what about that thug who ran off? Did you catch him?”

The Inquisitor pursed his lips as he answered, “Unfortunately, I searched the area, and I couldn’t find any trace of him. Not only that, but the two other thugs you mentioned were already… dead when I got to them. So I’m not sure we’ll be discovering what their motives are any time soon.”

“I see…” I tapped a finger on my chin as I ignored Myrla’s half-glare behind me. “Do you really have no idea what they could have been after?” 

Kai pursed his lips. “Well, I cannot say anything for certain, but…”

He glanced around the partially-destroyed street, before sighing. He met my gaze as he explained.

“Well, recently there has been some things that have been going on here in Albus,” he said as he scratched the back of his head. “And I’m not someone who really delves into the whole underworld scene of the city either. But I’m sure you’ve heard of the Sapphire Stalkers?”

“Aren’t they a famous gang or something?” I said, pretending to not know much about them.

In truth, I was well-aware of the Sapphire Stalkers. In fact, I had even once worked alongside them in my previous life— but they weren’t ever truly my allies. Our interests simply aligned back then.

“Well, they’re more of a syndicate,” Kai corrected me as he waged a finger. “But I’d rather term them as… a criminal empire. Arguably the largest and most influential one in all of Parvos, and they are based here in Albus.”

“I see.” I nodded, listening along as he continued.

“But, recently, there has been a new… organization that has appeared here in Albus that has challenged the Sapphire Stalker’s influence. And they are causing quite a lot of trouble for the city guards— gang members from both sides clashing with each other in the open street, many of them Gold Rank or Platinum Rank too.”

“A new organization? What are they called? And how are they related to this incident?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

The more information I gathered here, the better— it would help me with figuring out how to find Wyll. 

“They call themselves the Crimson Covenant, and their leader calls himself the Prophet Of Change,” Kai said as he shook his head. “They are rumored to not only use blood magic in combat, but they also summon demons to aid them in battle. Which is why the city guards of Albus have been enlisting the help of us Inquisitors to quell their activities.”

I placed a hand on my chin when I heard that. “And is that why you were here in the outer city?” 

“No, I was just passing through. I’m actually part of the teams of Inquisitors who are usually helping Aria the Lady of Light in dealing with the Avatars of Death.” Kai spoke proudly, puffing up his chest.

He knows Aria, huh? My curiosity was piqued when I heard that. Perhaps I won’t even need the Luna Gez Sect’s help to meet her if I can get close to him…

But that was not my priority as of right now. Instead, I needed to gather as much information as I could.

“So you think this ‘Wyll’ works for the Crimson Covenant?” I asked, rubbing my chin.

“That’s my only guess right now. Unfortunately, I can’t know for sure. It’ll be up to the city guards to investigate and figure that out.” Kai shook his head and drew back.

It seemed that that was the extent of everything I could get out of Kai. He turned to Myrla as she piped up to ask him a few questions— mostly about what he was even doing here. But it was nothing relevant to finding out more about Wyll.

And I was right. Eventually, the conversation ended, but Kai still offered to escort us all the way back to the Holy Academy. I was grateful for that, since Myrla couldn’t pester me with questions about what happened with Sonia while he was still around. I was going to have to figure out what I would tell the young girl later— if I just told her a half-truth, or lie about the entire situation.

But that was not the most pressing concern for me at the moment. Because I knew that I was going to have to do some investigation of my own to even track him down.

Fortunately for me, I had quite a few resources I could use to help me in this endeavor…

After all, not only was I the leader of the Blood Swords, I was also an ally of the Luna Gez Sect. So I was certain I would be able to learn enough about Wyll to find him by the end of the week.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 65: Stealing and Dealing

It had been a long day for Sonia Redheart. She hardly even understood what was going on at this point. All she had wanted was to finally learn who her father was supposed to be— it was something her mother had refused to ever tell her.

Every time Sonia asked the question, her mother would deflect instead of giving an answer. Most of the time, the conversation would end with her mother dismissing her by saying something along the lines of, “Does knowing who your father is really matter, Sonia? Your mom is Natalia Redheart— the Crimson Vale herself! Isn’t knowing that you’re the daughter of a Ruby Rank adventurer enough for you?”

But that was exactly the problem for Sonia. Her mother was a Ruby Rank adventurer. This meant that Natalia was hardly ever around at home, spending most of her time away taking on jobs that would take months to complete.

So that left Sonia at home alone with nobody who truly cared for her. Sure, she was treated like royalty— in fact, she was certain she lived a life better than even most other nobles in the Holy Academy. She had servants who tended to her every need, bodyguards who always kept her safe from harm’s way, and private tutors who taught her everything she ever wanted to know.

But they were all simply adults doing their jobs— paid to take care of a famous adventurer’s daughter. She could never truly connect with any of them like she would with her mother. And since her mother was never around anyway, she thought that if she found her father… he would be there for her in ways her mother never could.

At least, that was the reason why she had always wanted to meet her father as a child. Now, she was almost an adult— she was seventeen at the moment, but in a few short months, she’d be eighteen years old. And as a student of the Holy Academy, it wouldn’t make much of a difference in her life if she reconnected with her father now.

After all, she was used to being alone for all her life. It was something that was now almost… comforting to her. That was why even though she now had the chance to make friends— to actually connect with people around her who were her age— she didn’t even try.

Because she didn’t care about making such pointless connections. They were unnecessary. Completely irrelevant. When she was growing up, being alone didn’t make her life any worse, so what difference would making friends have now?

All she wanted was to figure out who her father was, just to understand why her mother kept it a secret. Was he such a terrible person that it was better off for a child to not know about him? Or was it because he was also an adventurer— but one who met a terrible fate? Just who exactly was he, and why did Natalia refuse to ever speak about him?

Sonia didn’t know. But these questions had plagued her mind for her entire life. And she wanted answers now that she was soon turning into an adult.

That was why she had sought out Wyll about half a year ago— to hire his services as an information broker to figure out who exactly her father was supposed to be. Most other information brokers she had approached already turned her away at that point, and he was the best one who was even willing to hear her out. So she was desperate. She was willing to pay him anything to get what she wanted. 

But he had made a strange request instead.

He had seen her desperation and rejected the bag of gold coins she had offered him. Since he was an information broker, he knew about her, and he knew she was soon enrolling into the Holy Academy of the Church of Life at that point. So he had asked her to collect a few… illegal items that were currently in the possession of Headmaster Kaelen Angelus himself.

Wyll hadn’t revealed what they were supposed to be right away. He had simply probed her willingness to do this for him in exchange for the information she was looking for. Even though Sonia had her apprehensions, she eventually accepted this job.

And when he filled her in on the details of what she agreed to do, it was already too late to back down. So she did as she was told. But it took time for her to gather the illegal items he had asked her to gather.

To steal the Artifacts of Death from Headmaster Kaelen Angelus.

But when she finally got Wyll what he asked for… well, the events of the last hour or so was what played out. Wyll had betrayed her and tried to get her killed, before she was saved by two of her classmates from school. She knew their names— Eli and Myrla— and she knew of their reputation. 

The both of them were the two child prodigies of the Holy Academy: they were the two youngest students in this year’s batch of Initiates. In fact, Myrla would have been the youngest student to be enrolled into the Holy Academy in the last few years… if not for Eli, who was the youngest student in the Holy Academy’s entire history. 

The two of them were friends. Sonia had seen them spending most of their time together— such as during lunch break, or chatting during class. But while they certainly had seen Sonia around too, they had barely even interacted with her. And yet, for whatever reason, they both had risked their lives to help her.

Even when Wyll had somehow summoned a greater demon to kill them, the two never ran away, despite being completely unaware of what was going on. Or so Sonia thought.

But, somehow, Eli had realized that Sonia was carrying something she shouldn’t be carrying in her Bag of Holding. Was he aware what the exact contents of the bag were exactly? Sonia didn’t know.

However, he had helped her store her Bag of Holding in a Dimensional Storage Unit while everyone else was distracted. And now, he was dragging her with him down to a distant side street as she tried to process everything that happened.

Finally, when the two of them were just alone in the dark corner of an alleyway, Eli came to a halt. He spun around and met Sonia’s gaze with a serious look. It was almost an odd sight, considering that the young boy was over a full head shorter than the black-haired girl. 

But Eli paid no mind to their height or age difference, instead just raising a brow expectantly at her. 

“So…” he started.

“So… what?” Sonia countered.

She didn’t exactly know how much he knew when he decided to help her hide her Bag of Holding. It was entirely possible that he saw her body language and could simply infer there was something inside there that she shouldn’t have. But for him to know that she possessed three different Artifacts of Death inside?

It was extremely unlikely.

Or so Sonia thought. And that was why she remained obtuse.

But Eli just chuckled as he waved a hand dismissively. “Come on, there’s no need to pretend with me. You and I both know what kind of… illegal items you possess inside of your Bag of Holding. Your little toys of…”

He leaned closer as she backed away, practically pressing up against the alleyway wall. She stared at his lips as they moved and mouthed the words, “Death.” 

Sonia’s eyes widened when she heard that. Her heart practically jumped out of her chest. But how? It was impossible— there was no way he could have known what was inside of the Bag of Holding. Unless he somehow had a Skill that let him detect any kind of death magic residues, even if they were hidden away inside layers of concealment spells.

But… was that even possible?

He is a [Healer], Sonia thought. Maybe it is possible with some kind of life magic Skill…

Shaking her head, Sonia watched as Eli drew back from her with a grin plastered on his face.

“...what do you want?” she asked, trying to keep her cool.

“I just want to know why,” Eli replied as he peered into her. “Why exactly do you have these items with you? How exactly did you get them? And what were you hoping to achieve by meeting up with that thug?”

Sonia glanced around the empty alleyway. Even though the two of them appeared to be alone right now, that didn’t mean there couldn’t be anyone eavesdropping on them. So the black-haired girl took in a deep breath and looked back at the young boy.

“Are you sure we should be talking about this here?” she asked hesitantly. “Someone could be listening.”

Eli nodded as he gestured at the air around them. “That is true. That is the reason why I casted a simple silencing spell around us before we entered the alleyway. Now, someone can still eavesdrop on us, so I suggest we still remain as… vague as possible. But you can answer my questions without worrying too much.”

Sonia blinked. She hadn’t even noticed Eli doing that— but it was true. When she looked around them with a discerning eye, she saw a magical distortion. Like a subtle spell was in effect, and its mana was causing a minor disturbance in the air.

When did he do this? she wondered, but the young boy’s voice immediately drew back her attention.

“So are you going to give me answers? Or will I have to turn in your illegal items and report you to the guards?” Eli said as he took a step back.

Instantly, Sonia tensed. She grabbed him by the shoulder as he just raised an amused brow.

“You can’t do that!” she exclaimed, losing her composure completely. “Please, I’ll tell you anything!”

“Then answer my question: where did you get that Bag of Holding?” Eli asked as he brushed her hands off his shoulders.

“From the Holy Academy,” Sonia answered as she took a step back.

Eli tilted his head. “So you stole them?”

There was a moment’s pause, before Sonia nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m surprised you are capable of stealing from the Holy Academy,” the young boy said, tapping a finger on his chin. “I’d have thought security measures are tighter than that.”

“They’re usually well-guarded, except for last weekend,” Sonia explained as she shook her head. “These… items… they’re sent to Headmaster Kaelen Angelus to be purified. But it requires a difficult ritual to do this, so he usually waits until he has a few dozen of them in the school’s vault before he carries out the purification process.”

Eli nodded along as he listened. Sonia continued.

“Last weekend was when the purification process was supposed to happen. Most of the security was focused on the vault or escorting these items to the ritual chamber, but the ritual chamber itself was left mostly unguarded until the purification process was to begin. Since they brought these items to the ritual chamber in different groups, I snuck in in-between groups and stole a few of the items that were just lying there on the ground.”

“And there weren’t any guards at the vault?” Eli asked, giving her a dubious look.

“There were some guards, as I said,” she replied. “But they were Inquisitor Guards— most of them aren’t too adept in magic. So all I had to do was down a Potion of Invisibility, and I could sneak past them into the ritual chamber with ease.”

“Right, right. Makes sense.” Eli nodded in response. Then he gave her a suspicious look once again. “But why exactly did you want them?”

“I didn’t,” Sonia said simply. “Wyll wanted them. And he had something I wanted. So I was making a trade.”

“Until he betrayed you,” the young boy pointed out.

Sonia sighed as she closed her eyes. “Yes, until he betrayed me.”

“I think I understand it now,” Eli said as he crossed his arms. “You must’ve been really desperate to be willing to do this, huh? Especially since you used a Potion of Invisibility for this— those are rare and expensive…”

“...yes, I was,” Sonia whispered. She remained silent for a moment, before she raised her head and opened her eyes. “Anyway, I answered all your questions. Are we done now?”

She hoped that he would say yes, return her Bag of Holding, and leave her alone. But he just smirked as he replied casually.

“Nope, we’re not done here.”

Sonia pursed her lips when she heard that. Her fingers inched towards her rapier hanging from the side of her belt as she stared suspiciously at Eli. While they were classmates— and he had saved her life— it was starting to seem like he wouldn’t drop this subject.

Like he was going to blackmail her with this information.

And if that was what he was going to do, then she was willing to do whatever it took to protect herself. Even if it meant—

“How about we make a deal?” Eli said, interrupting her dark thoughts.

“What?” Sonia blinked when she heard that.

Eli just smiled as locked eyes with her. “I’ll help you extract the information you want out of Wyll. And in exchange—”

Sonia’s head spun as she processed what he was saying. But she was not prepared for what he was about to say next. He placed a hand on his chest as he finished.

“You let me keep these… toys of yours in my possession.”

Next chapter

Book 1 now up on Amazon KU!

Hey all!

Some people have asked me the question why am I choosing to publish my book so soon, well it's because that was always the intention. I am not really a fantastic serial author, since I'm more of a book-writer. I struggle to write cliffhangers, and I struggle to keep the pacing as fast as needed for serial-writing. However, I was recommended by a friend to post on RoyalRoad anyway to at least let free readers here have a taste of my writing, and I'm very glad that I did. The support I've received here has truly blown me away, and I assure you, I will post with more frequency soon.

Unfortunately, I've been really busy preparing for launch which is why my uploads over the last month have slowed, but now, Reincarnation of the Death God is available on Amazon KU! If you've enjoyed the series, please give it a download if you have KU, and leave a rating to help support the series. I would truly appreciate it a lot. Thank you all for your support <3

Amazon.com: Reincarnation of the Death God Book 1: An OP MC LitRPG eBook : Unvex: Kindle Store

RotDG Chapter 64: Lying, Not Omitting

I stared at the man standing before me. His red hair swept with the wind, and his plate armor shimmered with a faint golden light. He twirled his spear and slammed it to the ground as if emphasizing his presence. Behind him, nothing remained of the mawdrith except for a black stain on the ground.

He was an Inquisitor. A young one at that. Which meant he was especially talented. Probably well-known, too.

And considering the reaction of the watching crowd at his sudden appearance, I was right.

“T-that’s Kai! The Lightbringer of Ortaz!”

“Wait, you mean the famed Inquisitor who slew the Vrogg the Orc Chieftain of the Ortaz Plains?”

“What is Valan’s Indomitable Champion doing here in the outer city?”

“That doesn’t matter— he saved us!”

“He’s truly amazing…”

“—and handsome too…”

A young lady added the last part as she covered her mouth, followed by a few of her friends giggling next to her.

The Inquisitor— Kai— just held out a hand, placating the staring crowd. “Thank you, thank you. However, your gratitude is misplaced. I was just running some errands when this brave young girl came running to me and informed me of what was going on here, and it was her friend who held off this rampaging greater demon for as long as he did before I arrived. So it is both of them that you should thank.”

He smiled, directing the crowd’s attention towards Sonia and I. I blinked as she just shifted back. The crowd turned towards us, a few folks nodding in agreement.

“That’s right— we’d be dead if not for those kids from the Holy Academy!” an old man said as he stepped over a destroyed food stall. 

Kai just turned back towards Sonia and I in approval as the crowd continued to talk amongst themselves in excitement.

Even though I knew Kai couldn’t possibly have known about my true identity, I still felt a slight bit tense around him, just because he was an Inquisitor. But logically speaking I understood that there was not going to be a problem, that was why I was still able to keep my cool around him.

But unlike me, Sonia should have had zero issue with his presence. After all, she was an ordinary teen who was attending the Holy Academy, right? In fact, she was also supposedly the daughter of a famous adventurer. 

There was no reason for her to be evidently nervous around Kai.

And yet, I saw her demeanor— the way she averted her gaze when he looked her way. I watched as she backed away slowly, shuffling her feet uncomfortably. Like she didn’t want to be here for much longer.

As I eyed her curiously, my eyes were drawn towards the Bag of Holding she had slung over her shoulder. And that was when I realized the reason why she was nervous.

It wasn’t even just because of Kai— it was because of all the people who were staring at her. She was afraid that, somehow, some way, they were going to discover the contents of what she was carrying inside of that bag.

I didn’t know for certain what was inside. I presumed they were Artifacts of Death because of what I had sensed, but they could be anything related to death magic. And if this were discovered…

Well, I fully understood her apprehension. So I knew I needed to help her— especially if I wanted to figure out what was going on with her.

And I took my opportunity when Myrla emerged from the side of a broken house, groaning and rubbing her head. Kai turned to her and blinked, somehow recognizing the young girl.

“Myrla?” The Inquisitor stared at her, before rushing to her side. “Wait, you were here too? Are you ok?”

“I-I’m fine… my armor is enchanted with a protection spell…” she said as she wobbled where she stood. “It absorbed most of the impact…”

But it was evidently clear that she was still in a daze from being thrown back at such high speeds. She nearly fell over as she groaned, and Kai caught her.

“If your mother found out you’re out here in the outer city—” he started.

Myrla immediately grabbed him in a panic as she cut him off. “Please don’t tell her that this happened—”

And as their commotion drew the attention of the crowd, I immediately turned to Sonia. She frowned at me as I reached out for her.

“What are you…?” she started.

But I grabbed her Bag of Holding as her eyes went wide. She recoiled, ready to snatch the bag away from me. However, the ring on my finger flickered. And her Bag of Holding vanished, hidden away in my Dimensional Storage Unit.

At the same time, since the wound on my back had fully healed up, I let my [Lesser Domain Of Light] disperse, using the flashing light as a further distraction from what I was doing.

Sonia paused, realizing that her Bag of Holding was gone. She looked up at me in alarm. But I leaned over and spoke into her ear. 

“Don’t worry,” I whispered as I gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’ll give it back to you afterwards. Let me just hold onto it for now.”

“I…” She hesitated, gaping at me as she tried to work her jaw. “But how do you know…? Why are you helping…?”

However, I turned away from her as I approached Kai from behind. He was still fussing over Myrla who was trying and failing to shove him off her.

“...but are you hurt? I can heal you if you need—”

“Stop treating me like a child, I’m fine!” 

“Inquisitor Kai—” I said, cutting them both off.

Kai blinked as he looked at me. In that moment of distraction, Myrla took the opportunity to escape from his grasps, pushing him back as she got to her feet. She dusted herself off as she straightened.

Meanwhile, Kai just smiled at me as he placed a hand on his chest. “Please, you may just call me Kai. I take it you are Myrla’s friend?”

I nodded back at him as I smiled, speaking politely. “Indeed I am. My name is Eli, and the girl who called for your help is Sonia Redheart.”

“Sonia Redheart?” He furrowed his brows, evidently recognizing the last name as he looked towards the black-haired girl behind me. “So you’re all students of the Holy Academy, huh? But what were you doing so far from your campus so late at night?”

“We don’t really get the chance to go out too often since we’re so busy,” I lied, gesturing at the three of us. “But since our midterms just ended, we had some free time and decided to go out and explore Albus together. Unfortunately, that was when we were attacked by a group of thugs.”

Myrla raised a brow, hearing the story I made up. Sonia just lowered her head. Kai placed a hand on his chin as he listened. Most of the watching crowd had dispersed at this point, the excitement from earlier gone. Those who remained seemed to want to talk with Kai, rather than ask any questions about what happened. 

“A group of thugs, you say?” Kai asked with a curious look.

“That’s right— we managed to take down two of them. In fact, they might even still be alive, although the greater demon could have gotten to them. I don’t know.” I shook my head. “But when we were about to apprehend the third and final thug, he summoned this greater demon to attack us, before fleeing the scene.”

“I see…” Kai nodded as he tapped a finger on his chin. “And these thugs… did you happen to catch any of their names?”

“I believe the one that got away was called Wyll,” I said, scratching the back of my head. “He might even still be in the area, but I assume he got away. Why do you ask though? Have you heard of him?”

“No, I can’t say I have. But…” Kai trailed off as he looked down the alleyway. “I’ll search the area for this Wyll. You three wait here until the guards arrive. Then you can explain what happened to them while waiting for my return.”

The Inquisitor spoke as he started away from me. I nodded back at him.

“Alright, will do,” I said, watching him go.

He vanished down the side street. But I highly doubted that he would find anything, and I simply sent him off as a distraction. After all,the last thug was probably long gone by now, and I knew the other two incapacitated thugs were dead. The notifications I received during the chase confirmed that.

In fact, I had received even more notifications now that the battle with the greater demon was over. 

ding! 

You have reached Level 27!

+3 [Dexterity]

+1 Free Point

…

ding! 

You have reached Level 33!

+2 [Magic]

+1 [Strength]

+1 Free Point

I leveled up a few times. But since I wasn’t alone in bringing down the two thugs— needing Myrla’s help— while also not being the one to bring down the greater demon… I didn’t gain nearly as many levels as I could have.

Just a mere 5 levels. Even still, I was inching closer and closer to Gold Rank.

Not that it mattered much to me at the moment. Because my focus was still on the situation at hand—

I turned around as Myrla approached me with a suspicious look. 

“So… Eli,” she said as she came to a halt before me. “Why exactly did you lie to Kai?”

Now that the Inquisitor was gone, the last remaining onlookers had left. Although, we were still in the main street, so it was not completely empty. However, everyone seemed to be minding their business now— some of them were just walking by, while others were food vendors looking over their destroyed stalls.

“I didn’t exactly lie,” I said with a shrug. “I simply didn’t tell the whole truth.”

Myrla snorted. “No, you definitely lied.”

“Alright, I did. But I was just trying to help out Sonia.” I nodded past Myrla, looking towards the black-haired teen who was standing quietly to the side, apprehensively glancing around at any passing person.

“But why? Do you even know what Sonia was up to back there? I mean, she was acting pretty suspicious— it looked like those thugs even knew her!” The young girl shook her head.

“You’re right, I have no idea what’s going on,” I said, agreeing with my friend. “But that’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Myrla eyed me dubiously.

“I’ll bring her somewhere private and talk to her,” I explained simply as I patted Myrla on the shoulder. “You just stay put until the guards arrive and tell them the same thing I told Kai.”

“But what if Kai returns?” she asked, looking back down the alleyway. “What do I say to him if he asks where the both of you went?”

I waved a hand dismissively as I walked past her. “Just say we needed to use the bathroom or something.”

“Seriously? As if he’s going to believe that!” the young girl exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Then make up some other excuse to tell him. You’re smart, aren’t you? And the both of you are friends too. So I’m sure he’ll believe you.”

“That’s…” Myrla hesitated.

I changed the subject as I chuckled. “Anyway, I’m just surprised you know such a famous Inquisitor, Myrla. As your rival, I feel like this is something you should’ve shared with me sooner.”

“Look, he’s just a family friend, that’s all.” Myrla crossed her arms and scoffed. “I have no reason to bring it up.”

“Well, I’m jealous.” I grinned at her. “I wish you’d introduce me to your family friends. I could learn a thing or two from them.”

“I can’t just do that— I don’t even get that much help from them!” Myrla said, before shaking her head. “Anyway, weren’t you going to talk to Sonia or something?”

“Right, right… I’m on it,” I said, still grinning as I drew back.

And with that, I was finally free to speak to Sonia to figure out what was going on.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 63: Mawdrith

It was a mawdrith. A greater demon. A monster made of flesh and bones. Even though it resembled the shape of a giant wolf, its body was utterly deformed, chunks of its skin melting off and dripping onto the ground.

From what I knew about mawdrith’s, they could range anywhere from being a Gold Rank threat to a Platinum Rank threat. And judging by the size of this one, it was definitely the latter.

It growled as it stood protectively over Wyll. Although, the sound it made was more akin to a chittering— like the chaotic chirping of a thousand birds in the far distance, echoing softly all around the alley. Its gaze darted between both myself and Myrla who were blocking the only exit, before it craned its head back to look at Sonia who was cornered and backed against a wall. 

The mawdrith looked ready to lash out. However, it was evidently waiting for its master to give it a command.

But how is someone like him able to summon a greater demon? I thought for a moment as I eyed Wyll. After all, he was only a Gold Rank [Mage]. And judging from his brief battle with Sonia, he wasn’t even a high-leveled one at that. 

Unfortunately for me, my question wasn’t going to be answered anytime soon as the man placed a hand on the side of the mawdrith, speaking callously.

“The fact that I was forced to summon you, Burz, is quite inconvenient,” Wyll said, evidently addressing his summon. “I will need to take my leave before the guards arrive. So do me a favor, kill these children and leave no evidence behind. Not even those two incompetent idiots.”

The mawdrith’s eyes flickered towards the two incapacitated thugs then back towards us as Myrla tensed. But I grabbed her by the hand, quickly casting both [Lesser Domain Of Light] and [Aura Armor Of Light] at the same time.

“Myrla, stick close to me,” I said as my aura of light began to spread out.

“Wha—” the young girl started in confusion.

But the mawdrith moved. It lashed out, swiping out its claws at us. With [Quick Dash], I managed to drag Myrla with me to narrowly avoid the initial strike by running past the Wyll and leaving the exit open. The two of us stumbled right next to Sonia who was just backed up against the wall, frozen in fear.

She had barely said a word— even though we had come to save her, she hadn’t even voiced either her surprise or thanks. Not that it mattered at the moment. 

“Listen to me,” I said, drawing both her and Myrla’s attention. “Don’t say another word. But when I say run, I want you to follow me. Got it?”

As I spoke, my [Lesser Domain Of Light] finished its expansion, covering dozens of feet around us, spanning half of the alleyway. Meanwhile, the mawdrith spun around to face us as Wyll stepped out of the side street.

“By the way, Burz?” he said, briefly drawing the greater demon’s attention. His gaze focused on Sonia who was tightly clutching her Bag of Holding to her side. “Don’t forget to retrieve that bag for me when you’re done killing them.”

The mawdrith just nodded as he left the alley. Then it turned its gaze towards the three of us, and Myrla spoke urgently next to me.

“Eli, we need to leave, now!” she exclaimed.

“Just trust me, and don’t say a word,” I said as I held a hand out, stopping her from running off on her own.

Myrla hesitated, but she did as I told as the mawdrith just took pawing step forward. It growled, eyeing us with its beady eyes as it drew closer and closer, before it finally leapt forward. With a snarl, it slashed out with its claws as I tensed— 

And it smashed through a mirror reflection of the three of us, before crashing into the back wall of the alley.

The brickstone collapsed onto the greater demon as I turned to Myrla and Sonia.

“Run!” I shouted as I conjured up a [Greater Holy Fireball].

The three of us rapidly made our way out of the alleyway as the mawdrith picked itself up, shaking off the rubble covering its back. But I sent the sphere of silver flames back down the alleyway right as we exited, and the fireball exploded out behind us.

However, I knew that wasn’t enough to stop the greater demon. As did Myrla and Sonia.

“What do we do now?” Myrla asked in a panic as we continued sprinting down the complex network of alleyways.

“Fighting that thing in these side streets would be a death sentence,” I said, shaking my head. “We’ll have to lead out to an open area— then we stand a chance of bringing it down!”

Even then, I knew it would be difficult to win this battle. At least, not without one of us getting badly hurt. That was why our best course of action right now wasn’t even to fight it, but to buy some time. After all, I only needed a few more minutes before I could summon Vorth again.

Then he would dispose of the mawdrith with ease.

However, when Myrla heard my plan, she just stared at me with wide eyes. “But what about all the passersby? They’ll get hurt!” 

“That’s—” I opened my mouth.

But Sonia spoke over me, addressing us for the first time since we saved her. “It’s either us or them. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not choosing them.”

Her figure flashed with a blue light, and she sped up, hastened by the same speed spell from earlier. She headed straight for the exit of the side street. I could already see the busy main street beyond. And behind me, the mawdrith exploded out of the alleyway it had been in, before bounding down straight after Myrla and I.

“Sonia’s right,” I said, before trying to reassure the young girl whose pace was faltering out of hesitation. “But we’re that greater demon’s target, so as long as we keep its attention on us, nobody else will have to get hurt.”

There was evidently still some apprehension on her face. But as the mawdrith drew closer, its heavy footsteps booming louder and louder as it tore through the side street, she eventually nodded.

“Right.”

And with that, she picked up her pace, before the two of us sprinted out of the alleyway. As soon as we did, we began shouting at the passing bystanders to get moving.

“Everyone! Get out of here! There’s a greater demon on the loose!” I shouted at the crowd as I began to conjure a [Greater Holy Fireball].

It was less crowded than before, since most people were already back at their homes to retire for the night. 

Where did Sonia go? the thought briefly crossed my mind as I looked over the busy street. But she was nowhere to be seen either, having left us behind because of our hesitation. I quickly dismissed the thought. Doesn’t matter— 

Because there were still dozens— at least a hundred— folks walking down the main street at this very moment, and their lives were all in danger if they didn’t move. They all turned to me with confused looks on their faces.

Myrla continued, gesturing wildly for them to get moving. “Call the guards! Please, you all have to leave right now!”

For a moment, they just stared at us quizzically, and I was certain that they were just going to laugh us off. But then a susurration washed over them as they pointed at us. 

“Is this a prank?”

“Maybe, but—”

“Wait, those uniforms they’re wearing…”

“They’re students of the Holy Academy!”

“That means they have to be telling the t—”

They began to back away as the realization that we were telling the truth settled in. However, they were still too slow, because a moment later, the mawdrith exploded from the same alleyway we came from, letting out a terrible screech.

The staring passersby screamed in terror, many of them turning tails and fleeing as quickly as they could, while others stumbled back and tripped over each other, falling to the ground. The greater demon swept its gaze over the scattering crowd, only for a blast of silver flames to engulf it again.

The flames washed over its body, doing no damage to any of the surroundings. However, it barely hurt the mawdrith, simply drawing its attention towards me standing at the other side of the street.

It snarled as it sprinted straight at me. But it simply tore through another one of my mirror-like reflections I conjured up with my [Lesser Domain Of Light], before crashing into a food stand. Even more screams echoed from around the main street as the crowd continued to scatter.

And the greater demon picked itself up, shaking its head. It spun around, scanning its surroundings for me, ignoring the other running figures in the distance. But it was met with dozens of copies of myself surrounding it, all of them similarly conjuring a [Greater Holy Fireball]. It took a confused step back, only to be struck from the side by a glinting broadsword.

“[Oathbound Strike]!” Myrla exclaimed as her attack landed, causing the greater demon to recoil.

It snapped its gaze towards her as she leapt back, but before it could react, I sent my [Greater Holy Fireball] at it. The blast distracted it once again, all the while washing over Myrla and causing her no harm.

[Holy Fire] is seriously such a convenient Skill, I thought as I created another [Greater Holy Fireball].

And as the flames blocking the greater demon’s vision faded away, Myrla vanished behind the sea of mirror-like reflections I now conjured up of her. The mawdrith’s eyes darted around in confusion, seeing the dozens of figures of the both of us surrounding it, unable to react for a long moment— which we both took full advantage of. 

Without Sonia with us, it was just Myrla and I, so we had to do our best to fend off the greater demon for as long as possible, so that I could eventually summon Vorth and end the battle. The both of us tag-teamed the mawdrith for a full minute, before it finally snapped. It spun around, its tail bone-like growing in size and whipping out, destroying all the mirror-like reflections at once.

I managed to use [Quick Dash] to move out of the way, but Myrla was too slow. 

“Myrla!” I called out as she was sent flying back from the attack, crashing into a nearby building.

But I couldn’t even check up on her as the mawdrith intercepted me. It swiped out with its claws as I failed to roll out of the way in time. The attack ripped through my [Aura Armor Of Light] and drew blood, causing me to stumble. I gritted my teeth as I felt the searing pain cling onto my back, before I started to heal myself whilst simultaneously boosting myself with my [Boon Of Vitality].

As I backed away from the mawdrith, I tried to conjure up another [Greater Holy Fireball]. But it moved, ready to pounce at me—

And a flash of lightning struck the greater demon from behind, causing it to stumble back. I blinked as I watched the lightning crackle, before fading away as a figure leapt back, landing right next to me.

I paused as I recognized the black-haired girl now standing to my side.

“Sonia? You came back?” I stared at her in surprise as she flourished a gilded rapier, flickering with electricity.

“I didn’t go anywhere— I was just getting help,” she said as she shook her head.

I narrowed my eyes when I heard that, and she turned her head towards the sky. But my attention was drawn to the mawdrith as it regained its bearings and growled. It leapt forward at us as I tensed.

And a spear came crashing down from the sky like a bolt of golden lightning. It tore straight through the greater demon’s back, impaling it and pinning it to the ground as it screeched in pain. 

Then a figure clad in an ornate armor slowly descended from the sky, landing right next to the squirming mawdrith as it tried and failed to snap its jaw at him. 

“That’s…” My eyes went wide.

It was a young man— perhaps in his mid twenties at the oldest. He had crimson red hair, and a charming smile plastered on his face. But that was not what I paid attention to. Instead, I saw the symbol that was carved into the chestplate of his armor.

A symbol that was all-too-familiar to me. A symbol that was proof that he was— 

“An Inquisitor,” I whispered.

And the red-haired man just snapped a finger, before a golden pillar of light shot up from the spear, engulfing the mawdrith in an instant, completely ripping its body apart.

Until there was no trace of the greater demon left.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 62: Alleyway Attack

“Are you sure…”

“Yes…”

“...check—”

I narrowed my eyes as I watched the three thugs surround Sonia. I could barely make out what they were saying, since not only were they over a hundred feet down the alley, they were also speaking in hushed voices.

Right now, it seemed like they were just talking, which was reassuring. Because if they had attacked Sonia, I would have to intervene. Which would be difficult for me right now since I couldn’t use my death magic abilities here, and my Skill to summon Vorth into battle was still on cooldown for a little while longer, since I had only just dismissed him not too long ago. 

Besides, if I had to guess, each of the thugs were roughly Gold Rank in strength just based on their appearance alone. Now, while it was true I was capable of bringing down a spectral sentinel which was beyond Gold Rank in power, I had only won because I used a mixture of strategy from knowing their weaknesses alongside a variety of artifacts I had prepared beforehand.

Meanwhile, outnumbered against three Gold Rank thugs in such a narrow alleyway and without any of those artifacts, it was not going to be an easy battle if it came down to it. Especially since I would be fighting with—

“Hey, what’s—” Myrla started as she peeked over the corner.

But I quickly grabbed her by the mouth, shutting her up before she could say another word. She struggled for a moment as she tried to speak up, before pausing when she spotted what was happening down the alleyway. When I was sure she wasn’t going to make a sound, I let her go, and she quietly backed away from the corner.

She grabbed me by the arm, dragging me with her until we were a few dozen feet away from the intersection of side streets. Then she turned to face me and pointed down the direction we came.

“What’s going on? Who are those guys? What do they want with Sonia?” she asked me, speaking in barely a whisper.

I shook my head at her. “I don’t know. But if they’re causing trouble for Sonia, we need to help her.”

My eyes flickered as I omitted the part where I had sensed her carrying a Bag of Holding that very likely held an Artifact of Death with her. Besides just helping her because she was my classmate, I wanted to figure out both why she had them and how she even acquired them in the first place.

“Those are grown adults, and we’re children!” Myrla stepped back, staring at me with wide eyes. “We can’t intervene on our own— we should get the city guards to help us!”

Ignoring the fact that the average city guard would only be in Silver Rank just like us, I wasn’t going to get them involved, since they would confiscate Sonia’s Bag of Holding when they arrived. So I hesitated, before my attention snapped back down the alleyway as I heard a loud yelp.

Myrla blinked. “That’s… Sonia’s voice?” 

I gritted my teeth, before quickly devising a plan. “You get the guards, I’ll protect Sonia until they arrive!”

“But—” Myrla started.

“Just go!” I said as I dashed down the side street.

Myrla would most likely get in the way, so it would be best for her to fetch the city guards instead. Hopefully, before they arrived, I’d be able to store the Bag of Holding inside of my ring. Then I could interrogate Sonia after they left.

I reached the intersection of side streets, turning right in time to see one of the thugs shoving Sonia back, all the while holding her Bag of Holding in the air.

The black-haired teen slammed into the ground, before looking up at the three thugs with round eyes.

“That was not part of the deal!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry, but the deal’s off,” one of the thugs— a scrawny man who looked to be the weakest of them all— said as the other thug handed him the Bag of Holding. “We waited four months for this, and unfortunately for you, things have changed in those four months.”

“You can’t do this, Wyll,” Sonia said as she rose to her feet. “I’ll tell the guards about this. I’ll tell—”

And the scrawny man, presumably Wyll, cut her off with a scoff. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll go off running to tell your dearest mother about this. That’s why we’re going to make sure you never utter another word about this to anyone.”

Sonia froze when she heard that. She backed away as the other two thugs stepped closer towards her.

“Y-you… can’t be serious, right?” she asked, staring at him in disbelief.

I didn’t know the black-haired girl very well, even though she was one of my classmates. She was normally aloof— quiet in class, keeping her distance from others. But from what I knew about her, she was ordinarily a calm and collected individual.

However, right now, that usual demeanor she wore was all gone, replaced with a sheer terror that gripped her entire being.

So I moved, bringing my hands together as the thugs continued to approach her. She fumbled for something from her sides, but she was too slow as the first thug reached her, raising a gauntleted fist.

And that was when I finally finished casting my spell.

“[Greater Holy Fireball],” I whispered, before unleashing a sphere of silver flames down the alleyway.

The three thugs paused when they noticed the glowing ball of flame rapidly approach them. Wyll was the first one to react, instantly raising a hand and conjuring a barrier of ice. Perhaps if it had been an ordinary [Fireball], his protection spell would have deflected it. 

But a [Greater Fireball] was a Gold Rank Skill. And while I hadn’t tested the power of a [Greater Holy Fireball], I assumed the two of them would be relatively similar— maybe a little bit weaker at worst.

And I was right.

The ice barrier Wyll conjured up was completely obliterated as the alleyway poured with silver flames. The sheer force of the impact of the blast sent the three thugs flying back as their bodies were burned. But despite the damage they received, the barrier had absorbed most of the impact, and the remains of the explosion was not nearly enough to kill them, even if they hadn’t been shielded by the last second wall of sleet.

Not that I had planned on it, knowing they were all Gold Ranks. 

Perhaps the attack could have killed Sonia if it had struck her directly. But as the silver flames filling the alleyway faded away, the black-haired girl just sat there, completely unharmed. Not even a single lick of a burn mark scarred her body.

That was the power of my [Holy Fire]. I could choose what to burn and what to leave unharmed.

And as Sonia swept her gaze over the alleyway in a daze, she spotted Wyll groaning as her Bag of Holding lay on the ground next to him.She moved quickly, her body flashing with a blue light that propelled her forward. Wyll raised his head, realizing what was going on, before he quickly scrambled for the Bag of Holding as well.

Meanwhile, the first of the other two thugs turned his attention towards me, while the other was still fumbling for his bag. It was evident that unlike Wyll who was a [Mage] of sorts, they had [Warrior] Classes. One of them raised a pair of gauntleted fists and charged straight at me, while the other pulled out a healing potion.

I watched the first [Warrior] with the gauntlets bound his way towards me as he shouted.

“I’ll kill you, you damn brat!”

Unfortunately for him, despite his words, he was slow. So I just conjured another [Greater Holy Fireball] and blasted him with the attack before he could get close. He raised his gauntleted fists in front of him, blocking the first attack.

He emerged from the fading silver flames, his body covered in even more burns. But he was still alive, even if his movement speed was greatly decreased. Letting out an angry roar, he took another three steps forward.

Before I blasted him with another [Greater Holy Fireball]. And another. And another.

I had blasted him with five [Greater Holy Fireballs] before he began to waver where he stood, lowering his arms. Then the next one I sent his way engulfed him entirely, sending him flying back down the alley.

Perhaps if I had struck with a [Greater Fireball], he’d be dead at this point. However, I quickly realized that a [Greater Holy Fireball] was weaker than a [Greater Fireball], just as I expected. Even still, the man lay there, his body half-charred and smoking, all the while he groaned and clutched himself in pain.

I looked past him for a moment, watching as Sonia backed away from Wyll. She held her Bag of Holding in her hand, having retrieved it before he could. And even though he was desperately trying to catch her, even sending a flurry of ice arrows her way, she moved faster than his attacks, her movements enhanced by a speed spell of sorts.

But my attention was quickly diverted away from the two of them towards the final thug towards the side. He had finally finished drinking his healing potion, and the worst of his wounds was gone now. So he unsheathed a shortsword at his side and turned to face me with a savage grin.

I began to conjure another [Greater Holy Fireball], aiming it at him. But then as he took a single step forward, his body flashed with a golden light. I blinked and watched as he suddenly reappeared about a dozen feet or so ahead of where he had been.

That Skill… that’s [Flash Step]? I thought, recognizing the familiar spell in an instant.

The realization settled in. The second thug wasn’t just a [Warrior], but a [Spellsword] of sorts. He blinked out of existence again a few seconds later as I finished preparing my [Greater Holy Fireball]. But I struggled to aim for him as he reappeared and disappeared once again, getting closer and closer to me with each [Flash Step].

Finally, he appeared right before me, cutting my spell in half as my eyes went wide. The silver flames flickered out of existence as I rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging his attack. But even before I could fully regain my bearings, the man was already on me, thrusting forward with his shortsword and aiming for in-between my eyes.

I instinctively began to conjure my [Aura Armor Of Light]—

But then a small figure struck the man from the side, sending him flying back. He cursed as he crashed into the wall as I looked up to see who had just saved me. I paused when I saw who it was.

“Myrla?” I stared at the young girl as steadied herself before me.

She held onto a broadsword that was comically large compared to her size with one hand and an ornate shield in the other hand. She was wearing a glowing enchanted breastplate on top of her uniform, although it was evident that she didn’t have time to equip the rest of whatever armor she had on her.

The young girl shook her head at me as she faced the man. “Sorry, I didn’t get the guards. I decided it’d be better if I helped out instead.”

“Thanks.” I nodded at her as the thug peeled himself off the wall. “Can you distract him for just a few moments? Keep him off me no matter what.”

“Of course,” she snorted as she held up her broadsword. “I’m a [Paladin], it’s in my Class to be able to protect others.”

“Whether it’s one or two of you damn kids, it makes no difference— you’ll both be dead!” the thug snarled as he lashed out at her.

But even though Myrla was ordinarily quite slow, her shield snapped up to block the attack in an instant. The thug vanished, before appearing behind her. But as he swung for the back of her head, her breastplate flashed with a golden light, creating a brief aura that protected her. He was taken aback for just long enough for the young girl to spin around and swing her weapon for his face.

However, he leapt back, avoiding her attack. And as the two of them clashed, I prepared another [Greater Holy Fireball]. 

The thug must’ve realized this as his eyes darted towards me, and he disappeared with a [Flash Step]. And when he reappeared, he was already swinging at me.

But Myrla was right by his side in an instant, her entire body overcome with a white light that propelled her forward. She struck him with her shield, knocking him back once more into a wall. And right as that happened, I finished my spell. 

I unleashed my [Holy Greater Fireball] at him as he looked up, his eyes growing wide. But he wasn’t able to [Flash Step] out of the way in time. The blast engulfed him, although it didn’t even ravage our surroundings.

Myrla braced herself, but was only knocked back from the shockwave. She blinked, watching as the silver flames harmlessly washed over her.

“How…?” She looked down at herself.

But I ignored her confusion, instead focusing on the thug as he collapsed to the ground. He lay there on the ground, his body burnt, all the while incapacitated. This thug wasn’t nearly as durable as his friend, and that was enough to keep him down for now.

So I shook my head and turned my attention back down the alleyway. Wyll had cornered Sonia— whatever movement spell she had cast on herself having worn off. She tightly clutched onto the Bag of Holding as he approached her, a spear of ice hovering over his head as he held out a hand.

“Hand it over,” Wyll demanded.

Sonia pursed her lips. But Myrla and I approached them from behind. Wyll glanced back, frowning when he saw the both of us, before looking at his half-burnt friends lying on the ground.

“That’s enough,” I said, raising a hand with silver flames wisping off my fingertips. “Give it up, the guards will be here shortly.”

Myrla held up her broadsword and her shield alongside me, but then she leaned over and whispered, “But, Eli, I didn’t get the guards…?”

“I’m… lying, Myrla,” I sighed as I slapped the palm of my free hand on my forehead.

“Oh.” She lowered her head in embarrassment. “Oops.”

Wyll just narrowed his eyes, before letting his ice spear melt away. He held his hands up in the air like he was surrendering. But then he shook his head and spoke up. 

“Hmph, if I had known those two fools would be so incompetent, I wouldn’t have even brought them along. After all, I could have just let Varkhon deal with you three from the start.”

“Varkhon?” Myrla blinked.

And my eyes widened as I immediately understood what he was trying to do.

“Myrla, get back!” I called out as I backed away. 

As soon as the words left my mouth, a crimson spell circle formed in the air above Wyll. And with a flash of light, a giant creature made from bone and flesh crashed down before him. The impact knocked both Sonia and I back, but Myrla managed to remain steady as she looked up in horror.

A giant wolf— about ten feet in length— stood there, protectively curling its body around Wyll. It was a twisted beast made from flesh and bone: its figure a horrible sight to see, only barely resembling the shape of a hound.

It was a mawdrith. 

A greater demon.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 61: Following

“I should be the one asking you that question!” Myrla huffed as she crossed her arms.

Next to me, Vorth tensed, looking like he was waiting for me to give him a command to incapacitate the young girl. But I raised a hand, indicating for him to stand down. 

He gave me a skeptical look that clearly meant something along the lines of, Are you sure, master?

Yes, I’m sure, I’ve got this handled, I silently conveyed to him with the reassuring smile I wore on my face as I stepped forward.

I raised a brow back at Myrla as I responded to her. “No, Myrla, I’m pretty sure I should be the one asking that question, considering you’re the one who followed me out here.”

The young girl immediately hesitated, shifting her feet uncomfortably as she tried to look away. “W-whatever could you mean? I was simply taking an evening stroll, and I happened to spot you here in this clearing…”

“And what exactly could have compelled you to take a walk to the outside of Albus all alone in the middle of the night?” I pressed her further.

She pursed her lips, before she finally threw her hands in the air. “Fine! I was trying to find you— but I was not following you, alright? I was searching for you, and after asking around for an hour, I eventually tracked you down here.”  

“That makes sense,” I said as I nodded. 

Not only was I still wearing my uniform from the Holy Academy, I was only a thirteen-year-old boy. It was not very difficult to track me down if you just asked a few questions.

“But that doesn’t explain why you were searching for me,” I continued, peering curiously into Myrla.

She chewed on her lower lip as she flushed. “W-well, I just thought that maybe I could’ve…”

And she added something in a small voice, which I didn’t quite catch. I blinked and leant forward.

“Sorry, what did you say?” 

Myrla gritted her teeth for a moment as she averted her gaze. Finally, she sighed out in exasperation.

“I thought that maybe I could learn from you— that maybe you had some sort of secret… I don’t know, method?” she said as she shook her head. “Or some kind of special technique— whatever it is— to help you learn and grow so quickly?” 

“I see.” I placed a hand on my chin. And then I grinned. “So you want to learn from me… even though you’re my rival?”

“That’s—” Myrla sputtered as she backed away. But then she steeled herself as she placed a hand on her chest. “But it’s exactly because I’m your rival, that I need to keep up with you! If not… if not…”

“If not?” I tilted my head.

And Myrla clenched a fist and harrumphed. “If not— Kelton, that idiot, will keep teasing me about being a bad rival!”

“I understand now,” I chuckled as I walked up to her.

But she just backed away as she pointed at me. “It’s not funny.”

“Yes, it’s very serious, Myrla,” I said, coming to a halt before her. I placed a hand on her shoulder as she paused, before I continued. “So I will help you.”

“Y-you… wait, you will?” Myrla blinked a few times.

I nodded at her as Vorth eyed me quizzically from behind.

“Of course, as you said, I’m your rival. And as your rival, I don’t want you to embarrass yourself by falling too far behind. That’s not what it means to be rivals, you know?” I smiled at the young girl.

Vorth finally piped up, “Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what it means to be rivals—”

But I held up a hand, cutting him off. Myrla just nodded back at me.

“E-exactly!” she agreed. “That’s why you should teach me your secret!”

“Alright, I will teach you my secret,” I said as I drew back from her. “In fact, it’s exactly the reason why I’m out here.”

I gestured at the forest all around me. Myrla furrowed her brows when she heard that.

“It is?”

Behind me, Vorth gave me a look of surprise that also seemed to say, It is?

I just took Myrla by the hand as I met her gaze. 

“But, if I tell you this, you must keep it a secret— promise me you won’t tell anyone about this, and I will help you,” I said as I gave her a serious look.

Myrla took in a deep breath to resolve herself, before she nodded at me. “I promise.”

“Alright.” I smiled as I took a step back, before clearing my throat. “So the secret behind my incredible fast rate of growth is…”

And Myrla leaned forward, waiting in anticipation as I took a moment to pause. Even Vorth gave me a hesitant look— like he thought that I was going to spill the actual secret behind my power.

That I was the Death God.

But, obviously, I wasn’t going to do that. Instead, I was just going to lie to Myrla.

“So, basically, I spend all my free time hunting monsters,” I said as I spread my arms wide. 

“You… what?” Myrla’s jaw dropped. 

I nodded as I mixed in some truth to make this lie believable. “Sure, learning new spells and expanding your knowledge on magical theory is good and all. But at the end of the day, if I’m a Silver Rank, I will usually be superior to a Bronze Rank, no?”

“T-that’s true, but…” The young girl shook her head. “Won’t it be better for us in the long-term if we spend more time practicing instead of just focusing on leveling?”

That was true— at Silver Rank, if I leveled up just from overpowering a strong monster with my sheer physicality, I might have gotten a +2 or maybe +3 to my [Strength] Attribute. However, if I regularly did strength-focused training every single day, before I eventually leveled up, I would definitely get a +3 or possibly even a +4 to my [Strength] Attribute.

So there was the potential to get up to nearly double the amount of Attribute Points gained from a level up.

This slow growth would maximize the benefits that came with each level up. However, as a counterpoint to that…

“Look, Myrla, what level are you?” I asked as I shook my head at the young girl.

“I’m a Level 15 Silver Rank,” she answered.

“And what level were you when we first met?”

“I was Level 13.”

I wagged a finger at her as I spoke in a lecturing tone. “So, back then, I was a Level 10 Silver Rank, and you were obviously better than me at pretty much everything, right?”

“Right…” Myrla said, following along.

“But now, I’m nearly Level 30, and that’s why I’ve improved so much in such a short amount of time,” I explained as her eyes went wide.

The exact numbers of the levels I gave her was a lie, but that was only to make the situation seem more believable to her. 

Myrla placed a fist on the palm of her other hand. “And you leveled up so quickly because you were out here killing monsters every night, right?”

“Not every night,” I corrected her, before I waved a hand dismissively. “But anyway, that’s a little ‘commoner’ secret for you, I guess. Unlike most of the nobility, we can’t all afford a cushy education to be as efficient as possible with our leveling. So we do what we can instead, leveling as fast as possible, even if it risks our life.”

While I myself didn’t have any experience with this in my past life, it was a subject which Laffyr regularly brought up when she was arguing with Zerek. So I was pretty much just regurgitating her argument here to make my lie seem believable to Myrla.

And it seemed she bought what I was saying as she placed a hand on her chin in thought. “I get you, it makes sense. But…” 

I watched as she gave me a worried look.

“Isn’t it dangerous? I mean, we could die!”

“It is dangerous,” I said in agreement. “You can get hurt, and you can even die. That’s why even most commoners don’t go out of their way to do this on a regular basis, and you shouldn’t either. But as a [Healer], I’m able to mitigate some of the risks, you know?”

“So what you’re saying is that as long as I go hunting for monsters with you, I’ll be fine?” Myrla said as she rubbed her chin.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. But not tonight. It’s getting late, and I’m already done for the day.”

“Of course. But the next time you sneak off, you’re bringing me with you. Or I’ll get mad.”

Myrla poked my side, and I nodded. “Yes, yes. Come on, let’s head back to Albus for now.”

I stepped past the young girl, and she followed me. As I headed out of the clearing, I glanced back and held a hand out to Vorth. A spell circle began to overcome him as I sent him back to the spirit world.

“I’ll summon you when I need you, alright?” I said, being careful not to say his name in front of Myrla.

“Yes, master,” he said, before vanishing behind me.

***

It was not a long walk back to Albus. So it didn’t take us long to arrive back at the Capital City of the Sanctus Empire. As students of the Holy Academy, getting through the checkpoint at the gate was quite easy. All we had to do was flash our student badges, and we were allowed to skip the line entirely— treated like we were nobles.

Well, Myrla was a noble, so she was used to this. But I remembered just how long it had taken me to get through the city gates when I first arrived. Not only that, but seeing just how long the queue to enter Albus had been as we skipped the entire line…

I was just glad that it wasn’t going to take me too long to get back, considering that I had to wake up early for classes tomorrow.

But as Myrla and I made our way through the outer city of Albus, the both of us spotted something peculiar. 

Or, rather, I noticed something peculiar, while Myrla was excitedly muttering to herself about how much stronger she was going to get with my help.

It was only for a brief moment, and it was extremely weak, but I sensed the essence of death magic coming from just up ahead. It reminded me of the magic that was emanated from the Lesser Death Dagger, except like it was being suppressed to be undetected. 

Looking past the evening crowd in the direction of where I sensed the death magic, I saw a familiar face. Even though she wasn’t wearing her school uniform, all the while trying to mask her face with a hood, I recognized her, catching a brief glimpse of her face as she looked down into a Bag of Holding.

“Isn’t that Sonia?” I asked, watching her quickly close the Bag of Holding shut.

The death magic I sensed instantly vanished as soon as she did that. She looked around nervously as if she was checking if she was being tailed, before she vanished down a quiet alleyway.

Myrla blinked as she raised her head a second too late. “Sonia? You mean our classmate Sonia Redheart? The daughter of the famous adventurer Natalia Redheart?” 

“Alright, you don't need to give her a whole introduction,” I snorted.

“Well, I don’t see her,” Myrla said, narrowing her eyes as she swept her gaze over the busy street. “Are you sure you weren’t just imagining things?”

“That’s because she went down that alleyway,” I sighed, before stepping forward. “Come on, let’s follow her.”

“Wait, but why do we have to do that?” she asked as she followed after me. “That’s an invasion of privacy!”

I paused right at the entrance of the alleyway, giving the young girl a flat stare. “Coming from you, that’s rich.” 

She flushed at that, before I shook my head and entered the side street, leaving the busy main street behind.

“I don’t know why, but Sonia was acting… suspicious,” I said, unable to give Myrla the full details as I snuck my way down the alleyway until I reached a turn. 

“But that still doesn’t mean—” she started.

However, I cut her off, raising a hand. 

“Shh,” I hushed her as I peered down the corner.

And there, all the way at the very end of the alleyway, was Sonia. She was standing there, now with her hood down, whilst holding up the Bag of Holding she was carrying. But she wasn’t alone. 

Three thugs surrounded her. But they weren’t ordinary thugs— I could tell just from a glance that every single one of them was Gold Rank in strength…

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 60: Catch Up

There was a lot I had to catch Vorth up on. After all, it had been six months since we last saw each other. Well, technically it had been about ten years. But for most of those ten years, the both of us were dead. And in death, time seemed to take both an eternity to pass and an instant to happen, almost like a dream. Besides, there was nothing either of us could have accomplished while dead.

So, practically-speaking, from my perspective, it had been six months since I last saw him, and from his perspective, it had only been a few hours. And so, I filled him in on what I had done during those six months.

We were now in the middle of a small clearing in the middle of the forest, protected by a simple silencing spell that prevented anyone nearby from eavesdropping on us. I could no longer see the city of Albus. And that was why I felt like I was able to speak freely… well, freely-enough.

Silencing spells weren’t infallible. Some divination or scrying spells were able to peer through them. However, I was adept enough at spellcasting that I was certain I could detect if someone was trying to break through my silencing spell to overhear what I was saying.

Of course, I couldn’t be too certain, especially considering my weakened state…

But even still, I felt comfortable enough to fill in Vorth with most of the details of what had transpired since I woke up as Eli. For example, I told him about my encounter with the Blood Swords, detailing everything from my time at the orphanage to the mystery of both the Avatars of Death and the Artifacts of Death.

“Interesting…” Vorth mused, kneeling with both legs before me and a hand on the chin-like edge of his helmet. “And have you encountered any of these Avatars of Death?”

“Nope,” I said as I shook my head. “And I’d rather not encounter them anytime soon. I’ve heard they’re quite dangerous, capable of taking down even Inquisitors.”

Vorth’s blue and gold flaming eyes flickered when he heard that. He leant forward excitedly as he placed his hands on the ground before me. 

“That’s all the more reason why we should seek them out!” Drawing back, he flexed an arm— even though his metallic arm couldn’t actually be flexed. “I wish to test my mettle against these powerful beings.”

I pursed my lips as I stared at my summon. I had forgotten just how much of a… battle-junkie he was. He always welcomed a challenge— even if the challenge was seemingly impossible for him to overcome.

In my past life, he had once challenged Duma the Goblin King to a duel. Even though Vorth had been a mere archdemon— one that was roughly Ruby Rank in strength at the time— while Duma the Orc King had been an Emerald Rank at the cusp of reaching Diamond Rank. It was a battle which Vorth certainly couldn’t win, but he still proposed the duel anyway.

And as expected, he lost the battle. The only reason he survived was because I had been there to bail him out and save his life. But right now, considering my circumstances, that was not a possibility if he ever bit off more than he could chew.

“I’m pretty sure that at our current strength, we’ll both die. So let’s not do that.” I spoke firmly to my summon— like I was talking to a child.

In response, he crossed his arms and pouted. Well, he didn’t have a face, so he couldn’t actually pout. But I imagined that he was trying his hardest to pout.

“...fine. But once I’m an archspirit, I’m going to fight an Avatar of Death, and you can’t stop me!”

“Right, right.” I rubbed my temples.

And although I sounded like I was tired of him, I was grinning. Because it was nice to see that even after death, Vorth hadn’t changed. He was still the same almost child-like and playful battle-junkie as he always was.

Vorth straightened, taking on a more serious demeanor now as he wondered aloud. “These Avatars and Artifacts of Death… do you think their sudden appearance could be related to your reincarnation process?” 

“That’s what I’m thinking, too,” I said as I looked down at the palm of my hand. I summoned my Lesser Death Dagger from my Dimensional Storage Unit, inspecting it for a moment. “Unfortunately, this is the only Artifact of Death I’ve acquired so far, and after studying it, I haven’t been able to come to a concrete conclusion— because it’s too weak.”

“That’s why we have to find one of these Avatars of Death!” Vorth excitedly spoke up.

I sighed as I let the dagger vanish from my hand into my ring. “Vorth…”

He just harrumphed in response.

“But yeah, it’s too much of a coincidence for there to be no connection between these Avatars and Artifacts of Death and my altered reincarnation,” I said as I placed a hand on my chest. “It seems like this whole thing has had a lot of unintended side effects, huh? I mean, a part of Eli’s soul merged with mine too…”

Vorth froze when he heard that. “The boy’s soul… merged with yours?”

“Oh, right, did I forget to mention that?” I scratched the back of my head as I shrugged. “Yeah, I’m not sure how it works, but even my Status reflects this, showing his name alongside mine.”

Vorth tilted his head at that. “...does that mean you’re not actually my master now?”

I rolled my eyes back at him, and he chuckled.

“Hey, that’s a valid question,” he said.

“No, it’s not,” I scoffed, before I continued catching him up.

Once I was finished regaling him about my time in Velmond, I told him about how I chose to become a [Healer] to enroll into the Holy Academy— alongside everything that happened since I left Velmond.

“From Death God to [Healer], this is truly quite the ironic turn of events, don’t you agree?” Vorth pointed out, his tone of voice almost like he was trying to mask a grin, even if he didn’t have a face.

“That’s right.” I nodded at him as I raised my hand, briefly casting a healing spell as a demonstration. “See?”

“As expected from my master.” Vorth gave me an impressed look, before pausing. “But isn’t it suspicious that you, a [Healer], was capable of defeating a greater spirit?”

I waved a hand dismissively. “It’s a little bit suspicious. But… most of my teachers think I’m the next [Hero], and I don’t really care what my classmates think of me. So it’s fine.”

“Oh.” Vorth lowered his head when he heard that. “So Aria the Lady of Light is dead. That is unfortunate to hear. I quite liked her, even if she was oftentimes our enemy.”

“No, she’s not dead.” I wagged a finger to my summon. “Just like I planned, I spared her life, which should have thrown off the cycle of fate. But, for whatever reason, she’s no longer a [Hero], and the next [Hero] has already been chosen.”

The spectral sentinel crossed his arms seriously. “That is relieving to hear, but it seems that subverting fate is not going to be that easy. However, that is to be expected. Especially with him still being out there…”

I raised a brow when I heard that. Even though Vorth did not utter his name, I knew exactly who was being talked about— the memories of the purple-skinned man flooded back into my mind, before I quickly dismissed it.

Shaking his head, my summon continued. “And if he gets to the next [Hero] first, we’ll be in trouble. So we’ll have to find them before he does and make an ally out of them.”

“Oh, that’s not going to be a problem,” I said, giving a reassuring nod. “Since I’m pretty sure I already know who the next [Hero] is supposed to be.”

“And who might they be?” Vorth’s flaming eyes flickered, peering into me curiously.

“Hannah,” I answered simply.

The greater spirit paused. “That girl from the orphanage?”

“Mhm.”

“The first friend you made after waking up as Eli?”

“And, also technically my sister, yeah.”

“You can’t be serious right?” If Vorth had a jaw, I was sure it would be wide open right now. Instead, he could only stare at me in disbelief. “What are the chances of that?”

“It is quite fortuitous, isn’t it? It’s almost like luck is on my side for once… like destiny finally isn’t going against me…” 

It was quite the coincidence. I did wonder if there was a deeper reason behind my good fortune. However, I couldn’t come up with any plausible explanation, so I just accepted it. Although, my summon was still skeptical, pressing the matter even further.

“But are you certain this Hannah truly is the [Hero]?” Vorth asked with uncertainty. “The chances of both the reincarnation of the Death God and the successor of the [Hero] coming from the same village— let alone the same orphanage— seems highly improbable.”

“Well, I’m not certain she is the next [Hero]. But based on what the Luna Gez Sect told me—” I started.

And Vorth piped up, “You mean that child-killing sect of [Nuns] who threatened your life?” 

“The child-threatening sect of [Nuns], actually,” I corrected him with a grin, before I continued. “Based on the information they provided me, I believe that there is a very high chance that Hannah is the next [Hero].”

“I’m not sure how much I trust the validity of their information, considering they just assumed you were the next [Hero], before they threatened to kill you if you weren’t…” Vorth trailed off.

“You’re really hung up on that point, huh?”

“How can I not? They threatened your life, master. As your most faithful servant, that is not something I can just ignore.” 

“Fair. Well, you’ll have to try to pretend it didn’t happen, since they’re my allies for now.”

“I will do my best, master.”

“...that does not instill a lot of confidence in me,” I sighed.

And if my summon had a mouth, I knew he’d be grinning right now.

“Anyway, that’s basically it about what has happened to me since we last saw each other,” I said as I leant back, looking up at the now night sky. “What about you?” 

I knew not much had happened from his perspective since, again, it was only a few hours for him. But I still would like to know how the war played out— and how he eventually died, alongside with my other three summons.

Vorth folded his arms across his chest as he mulled over my question. “There is not much to say. It was a losing battle as we thought. And the four of us— Kharvax, Velyss, and Zerith— we all fought valiantly to hold off the enemy until the very end. Unfortunately, I was the first to perish, so I do not know how my brothers and sister succumbed to their fate.”

“Wait, you were the first to die?” I asked, taken aback by that. 

Vorth was the strongest of my four Great Demon Generals— and each of them had been equal to a Diamond Rank in strength during the final battle of the War of Fates. The fact that he was the first to have been defeated took me by complete surprise, since I would’ve thought he’d be the last one standing.

“But how?” I pressed him further.

Vorth averted his gaze as he answered me, “I spotted Zander Clay the Grandmaster of the Templars in the middle of the battlefield, and when I sallied forth to avenge you for all the torment he has put you through… Aria the Lady of Light intercepted me.”

He spoke sheepishly, lowering his head. My eyes flickered when I heard that.

“Ah.”

“And, unfortunately, master, I am not as amazing or powerful as you. So, I…” Vorth trailed off, hanging his head dejectedly.

I walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. “There, there. You tried your best, and that’s what matters the most. Let’s change subjects, alright?”

Vorth made a sniffing sound. “T-thank you, master.”

“Well, for now, let’s just focus on our task at hand, alright?” I said as I drew back from the spectral sentinel.

“Of course, master—” Vorth started, before pausing. His head snapped back in the direction of the city of Albus. He spoke urgently as I raised a brow. “Master, someone’s coming.”

I narrowed my eyes as I peered deep into the thicket of trees, seeing a shadowy silhouette trying to hide behind a bush a few dozen feet away from me. I nodded at Vorth as I stepped forward.

“I’ll handle this, just stay quiet, but be prepared to fight at my signal,” I said right as I dismissed the silencing spell surrounding us.

My summon made a metallic sound in affirmation as he stood behind me. And I stepped forward, calling out into the forest.

“Who goes there? We know you’re out there!”

There was a pause. For a moment, nothing happened. But then I heard the rustling of bushes, followed by a soft set of footsteps making its approach towards me. My eyes went wide as I saw who it was stepping out into the clearing.

“...Myrla? What are you doing here?”

In response, the young girl crossed her arms and harrumphed.

“I should be the one asking you that question!”

RotDG Chapter 59: Candidacy

Cecil just stared uncomprehendingly at the scene that played out before him. 

After an intense battle where Eli had looked like he was on the verge of dying numerous times through, the young boy had finally emerged victorious. And now that it was all over, he also successfully tamed a greater spirit. 

Even though he was a [Healer]... even though he was barely thirteen years old… he had somehow outperformed everyone in his class. No— he had outperformed everyone who had ever taken this elective on spirit summoning before.

This was an accelerated exam that nobody had dared risk taking in the history of its offering. Of course, Archdeacon Emmett had only ever started offering it about a decade or two ago. Cecil wasn’t sure about the exact timeframe, but even then, it didn’t really matter at the end of the day.

Because what Eli accomplished today had stunned everyone in his class to silence. Even though there were dozens of other students in attendance at the audience, nobody even said a word. 

Not Claudius, not Dustin, not Roland, not Cecil. They all just sat there in silence. 

Only Julie was even moving, but she was just glancing around in confusion, trying to understand what was happening. She eventually turned to the elf and spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Wait, so was that it?” she asked, blinking a few times. “I’m confused— what just happened?”

Cecil hesitated as he glanced between her and the young boy in the arena. He opened his mouth to explain. But before he could speak up, the barrier that was surrounding the arena collapsed.

Archdeacon Emmett strode forward, entering the arena with a smile on his face. Even though this was something that had never been done before under his supervision, he barely looked surprised. Cecil’s eyes flickered when he noticed that.

Eli turned away from the spectral sentinel— which simply rose to its feet— before facing the approaching elderly man.

“Congratulations, Mr Eli,” Archdeacon Emmett said. “For your stellar performance and being the first of my students to ever complete this accelerated exam, I assure you, you will be awarded the top grade in the entire class. And I will offer the Headmaster of the Holy Academy my personal recommendation for you to be considered to become a Divine Scholar.”

A susurration washed over the class when they heard that. Cecil perked up, and Claudius practically jumped to his feet.

“What?” the prince exclaimed.

But he was completely ignored as Eli just bowed his head in response, smiling back at the elderly man.

“You’re too kind, Ardchdeacon Emmett. I only have you to thank for this opportunity to allow me to prove myself to you.” The young boy spoke simply as he glanced back at his spirit.

“Indeed,” Archdeacon Emmett said in response as he drew back. “Now come, let us discuss the benefits and drawbacks of having a spirit—”

The two of them spoke as they left the arena as the rest of the class stared on. All the while, Cecil couldn’t help but try to wrap his head around the lack of surprise coming from the elderly man. It was almost like Archdeacon Emmett knew something more about Eli.

But as much as the elf thought it over, he couldn’t possibly figure out what this thing could have been… however, after witnessing the royal duel and seeing the mastery over magic and now this, he was now determined to find out.

***

Name: Nox (Eli)

Race: Human

Rank: Silver - Level 26

Class: [Soulfire Healer]

Class Skills: [Greater Holy Fireball], [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Holy Fire], [Basic Light Magic Conjuration], [Boon Of Vitality], [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Strength], [Purifying Touch], [Lesser Poison Resistance]

Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

General Skills: [Spirit Summon: Vorth the Spectral Sentinel], [Elemental Magic Proficiency], [Quick Dash]

Attributes:

[Strength: 90]

[Speed: 91]

[Magic: 612]

[Vitality: 114]

[Dexterity: 98]

Free Points: 19

As much as I wanted to speak with Vorth to catch him up on what had happened since we last saw each other, I knew that this conversation was better had in private, away from the school grounds. So I dismissed him for now, sending him back to the spirit world as I discussed the results of the accelerated exam with Archdeacon Emmett.

“What you’ve done here today is unprecedented, young Eli,” the elderly man said as he led me to his office. “I’m certain you’re well-aware of this.”

I just nodded, stepping into the room as he shut the door behind me. He continued as he stood a seat.

“That is why I will be giving you a direct recommendation to be considered a part of the Divine Scholars. While my word alone is not enough to get you accepted, I can get you an interview, which is more than most potential candidates are even offered at this point in the academic year.” 

“Oh?” I raised a brow when I heard his explanation.

Archdeacon Emmett nodded. “Indeed, you must understand that as members of the faculty, we are only able to recommend three Initiates to join the Divine Scholars. That is why we cannot be… generous in our recommendations.”

“That’s understandable,” I said, before bowing my head to him. “I truly appreciate all the opportunities you have given me, Archdeacon. From enrolling into the Holy Academy to this, I cannot thank you enough for doing all this for me.”

“Nonsense,” he said as he waved a hand dismissively at me. “You opened these doors yourself. And based on your performance today, I would say that you are the most deserving student of all the Initiates to be a Divine Scholar. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that you should be The Headmaster’s Honored.”

But then Archdeacon Emmett paused as he tilted his head back.

“Unfortunately, to be considered The Headmaster’s Honored, a simple recommendation is not enough. Rather, your academic performance as a whole in all your classes have to be considered, before the Headmaster even chooses to review your candidacy.”

While I would have liked to become The Headmaster’s Honored eventually, since it would open up many opportunities for me. It was an achievement that most prominent members of the Church obtained during their time in the Holy Academy. For example, the likes of Zander Clay or Alric Shardlight, both of whom were the Grandmaster of the Templars and the Grandmaster of the Inquisitors respectively, were chosen as The Headmaster’s Honored in two out of their four years of enrollment.

But for now, I was quite content with being considered to join the Divine Scholars this early on into the academic year. Especially since it would open up a lot of extracurricular activities for me to network with the Holy Knights and the Inquisitors even before the year ended.

Shaking his head, Archdeacon Emmett changed the subject. “I will let you know when your interview to be a part of the Divine Scholars will be held at a later date. For now, I brought you here to give you this.”

I raised a brow as he slid a piece of paper my way. “What’s this?”

“It’s a certificate of proof that you have finished this class,” the elderly man said simply. “Now, you no longer need to attend my class, and if any other member of the faculty questions why you aren’t in my class during class hours, you can show them this.”

I stared at the certificate for a moment, processing what I was being told. Then a grin spread across my face as the realization that I would finally have some free time for myself now that I no longer had to attend my class on the Sacred Art of Spirit Summoning.

And I was going to absolutely make full use of this free time I had now been given.

***

The next day came, and I went about my day as usual. Since my class on spirit summoning was usually at the end of the day, I still had to attend all of my usual classes, before I could finally take advantage of my free time. But even though it was an ordinary day for me, there was something… different.

I could tell by the way that my classmates were looking at me that they regarded me differently than before. And when Lenn— a classmate I had never spoken to before— approached me to ask me a question, I realized why everyone was acting this way.

“Is it really true that you took down a greater spirit in a duel?” he had asked.

And he was not the only one who asked me a similar question. Of course, I remained truthful and said yes to all these questions. Which then spurred even more questions from them.

“But how?” they’d ask.

I wasn’t really sure how to explain it to them, but fortunately for me, Myrla was there to help me.

“He’s just a genius, that’s why,” Myrla said, nodding at me. “As expected from my rival.”

“Are you two even rivals at this point?” Kelton gave her a flat stare. “I mean, as far as I’m concerned, you’re not even in the competition.”

Myrla just glared back at him as I scratched the back of my head.

Throughout the rest of my day, not only did more and more students approach me asking me if the rumors were true, even those from other classes during our lunch break, but many of them had even asked me to show off my spirit summon.

Some of them wanted to see Vorth because they were skeptical of the rumors, while others just wanted to admire him. I decided to indulge them and summoned him to my side during my lunch break, which drew even more of a crowd towards me.

“No way, the rumors are true…”

“But he’s only thirteen! And isn’t he a [Healer] too? How did he do this?”

“Well, I heard he beat Prince Claudius in a duel. So maybe he’s some sort of battle [Healer]?”

I pursed my lips when I heard that last comment. That was not a rumor I wanted to spread around, because if it reached the members of the faculty, it could lead to me getting into trouble. But there was nothing I could do about it, so I just hoped that the full details of it became muddled as each person recounted a different story of how the duel went down. 

And while I was constantly pestered by my fellow students throughout the rest of the day, eventually though, I made it to my final period— which I had free to do whatever I wanted, since I no longer needed to attend my class on spirit summoning. That was when I bade farewell to Myrla and Kelton, leaving the campus behind.

But while they might have thought that I was going to just explore another part of Lux, I was actually leaving the premises of the city state entirely. I made my way out of the checkpoint gate, nodding at the guards stationed there, before returning back to the busy streets of Albus.

However, I did not summon Vorth just yet, despite being outside of the Church of Life, since I was still in the inner city of the Capital City of the Sanctus Empire. I didn’t want to take any chances of having my conversation eavesdropped on by any members of the Church, so I headed out of the inner city, making my way through the outer city too, until I finally exited Albus and found myself in the middle of a clearing in a forest as the sun began to set over the horizon.

I could still see the city in the distance, but I decided this was far enough, and I summoned my spectral sentinel to my side. Vorth emerged from a spell circle that shone before me, and I smiled when I saw him.

“Greetings, master,” he said, before he glanced around and saw that we were alone. He straightened and met my gaze. “Can we finally speak?”

“Yes we can.” I nodded as I waved a hand, casting a simple silencing spell around us to prevent any eavesdropping. “And there is a lot we have to catch up on.”

The spectral sentinel perked up when he heard that. He immediately leaned forward, giving me an excited look as he spoke up. “Of course, master! Please, tell me everything that’s happened since my passing!”

Even though he was a giant suit of armor, he was acting like a child. Or a puppy. But that was how he always acted. I chuckled at this sight as I began to recount the story of my new life.

“Well, let’s start with the basics, I guess. First of all, I go by the name of Eli now…”

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 58: Midterms, Aftermath

When the spectral sentinel was looming over me, its flaming maul raised over its head, I had to act quickly. Even though my [Aura Armor Of Light] was still on cooldown, I now knew I could at least partially protect myself with my [Holy Fire]. So that was how I knew I could blast the greater spirit with a [Greater Fireball]— even though it was standing just a few feet in front of me— and survive.

Of course, because of my close proximity to the explosion, I was badly burned by the blast too, despite the layer of [Holy Fire] protecting me. Maybe if I didn’t have my [Boon Of Vitality] still active, I wouldn’t have been willing to take the risk, since I very much could have killed myself in the explosion. But my death was certain anyway if I couldn’t distract my opponent.

So I angled the attack to ensure that I was as far away from the blast radius as I possibly could be. Even still, I was still at the periphery of the explosion, and it sent me flying through the air as my [Sacred Fire] dispersed.

But before I could crash back down into the ground, I focused on my [Lesser Domain Of Light]. It was a bubble of light that was always surrounding me, actively healing me and anyone I wanted to heal. However, I also knew that I could cast light magic spells with it, while also expanding its size.

And that was what I did. Firstly, before I crashed into the ground, I created a platform made of light to catch me. It was a weak platform— practically made from glass. So if I had tried to use it as a barrier of sorts earlier, it would have not done anything to dampen the blast. The best purpose it could serve was holding me up in the air as I expanded the range of my [Lesser Domain Of Light] until it was at maximum capacity.

Once I was finished expanding the range of my [Lesser Domain Of Light], I began to create more glass-like panels scattered around the arena. Because that was what the Skill allowed me to do— use [Basic Light Magic Conjuration] beyond what it normally enabled me to do. 

If I was not within my [Lesser Domain Of Light], my [Basic Light Magic Conjuration] only allowed me to create an orb of light or an arrow of light at best. Not because I lacked the finesse or mana capacity to do so, but because it was pretty much an Iron Rank Skill.

Maybe if I spent more time studying light magic, I would be able to easily upgrade the Skill to an intermediate or advanced version. But I was able to achieve the same results within my [Lesser Domain Of Light], so I hadn’t bothered to do so, especially since I was focused on my studies.

And that was how I was able to create those dozens of glass-like panels around the arena, before I refracted the light in the air to reflect onto their surfaces, confusing the spectral sentinel. Finally, while the greater spirit was distracted, I began to conjure up a spell I had never cast before.

It was a [Greater Fireball]. Except, it was different. It was the same spellwork, but composed of a different kind of fire.

My [Holy Fire].

The spectral sentinel was a creature that had an affinity to fire— but it was elemental fire. And even though this was certainly fire, it was a part of holy magic. That was why it was able to protect me from the flames of my [Greater Fireball] and the blue flames of the greater spirit. Because my [Holy Fire] burned anything that I wanted it to burn, which included ordinary fire.

So knowing that the spectral sentinel wasn’t resistant to my [Holy Fire], I created this brand new spell— [Greater Holy Fireball].

I unleashed it at two times its maximum output, the blast completely engulfing the giant knight armor and ripping across the arena. But the attack didn’t actually tear open the ground, nor did it leave behind any ashes.  

Because my target was only the spectral sentinel. So it was the only thing that burned from my [Greater Holy Fireball].

“He… did it?” Julie’s muffled voice barely resounded behind me.

A babble of voices broke out as my watching classmates discussed what just happened. But then Cecil spoke up, shaking his head.

“No— it’s not over yet.”

And the elf was right.

I watched as the flames cleared, revealing the spectral sentinel kneeling on the ground beneath me. Its armor was dented all over— entire sections of the metal had been broken off. The glowing flames in its eyes had dimmed. 

But it wasn’t dead yet. Although, I didn’t even want it dead anyway.

The watching crowd— my classmates— grew silent as I took a step forward to the edge of my glass-like platform, all the while my most grievous wounds faded away as I continued to heal myself. The spectral sentinel tried to raise its right arm, letting out a metallic groan from the movement.

However, I just conjured up an [Aquatic Harpoon], sending it down to pin the spectral sentinel’s right arm. Then I created a second one, pinning the left arm of the greater spirit. It struggled for a moment, but it failed to rise to its feet.

And when I was certain it wasn’t able to get up, I hopped off my platform and landed right before it with a grin on my face. It glared up at me with the two flaming orbs it had for eyes. I just chuckled as I came to a halt right before it.

“I’m not going to kill you— well, maybe, in a sense, I will,” I said as I met its gaze. “But I assure you, you will become stronger than ever before. And that’s what you desire more than anything else, don’t you?”

In response, the spectral sentinel just tried to force itself to its feet again. But it couldn’t get up. It just knelt there before me as I shook my head.

Behind me, I could hear Julie asking, “Wait, what’s Eli doing?”

“I’m taming it,” I said, rolling my eyes back at her. “That’s what I’m supposed to do, remember?”

She blinked, before flushing in embarrassment. I just chuckled as I turned away from her, looking back at the spectral sentinel. I took in a deep breath as I brought a hand to my chest.

“Alright, now I just have to imbue my essence into you, then it’s over,” I whispered.

If I was someone with no experience in drawing out the essence of my soul, I would be struggling quite a bit right now. But this was not my first time doing this, so I knew exactly what to do, and how to do it with ease.

I looked inward as I inhaled deeply, focusing on my soul— my core. The very same core that was molded and changed with every Rank Up I underwent. I reached for it. Not with my physical hands. But with my very being itself.

And what seemed like steam began to pour out from the silver sphere. It was light blue in color, and it shone in the darkness, just like the fiery pool of crimson that circled the core. Slowly, I drew this light blue steam out of my soul as I exhaled. 

The light blue steam poured out of my nose, coalescing around the palms of my hand as my fellow classmate intently watched what I was doing. Archdeacon Emmett raised an impressed brow, but I paid him no mind, instead focusing on molding the essence of my soul into the shape of a sphere.

The gas began to rapidly cool down, slowly forming into a solid blue sphere. Ordinarily, I would just have to maintain the shape of a sphere, and I would be done once it was fully solid.

However, that was not all I was going to be doing. Because there had been a reason why I wanted a greater spirit— a reason why I chose to have this accelerated exam. So as I continued weaving my hands around the swirling gas to maintain its shape, I began to cast another spell.

The palms of my hands began to spark with a golden light as I closed my eyes. This time, instead of looking into my soul, I saw something else. Flashes of my past life’s memories.

I remembered everything I had gone through, from the first time I woke up in the body of a young elf named Nox, to the final moments of my life, facing down Aria the Lady of Light. My entire past life flashed before my eyes. But I focused, wading through this deluge of memories.

I sifted through all the scenes that were playing in my head— all my triumphs, and all my regrets. And the whizzing memories came to a halt as I saw what I wanted.

I saw my younger self, standing bloodied and panting before a defeated knight. It looked similar to the spectral sentinel, but its armor was black, and its flames were a dark purple. It was the very first time I summoned and tamed a demon.

My very first summon. My most loyal follower, even fighting for me until the very end. Until he lost his life in the Final Battle of the War of Fates.

Vorth the Dark Warden.

I smiled as I remembered this scene, and the sparks that flickered off my fingertips began to turn into golden flames. I wove this golden flame into the blue sphere as I recalled more of my memories with my first ever summon.

When he had evolved into a greater demon for the first time. When he had gotten jealous of my second summon. All the times we fought alongside each other on the battlefield. All the times we had saved each other’s lives.

And the flames melded together with the essence of my soul, finally shaping into a blue crystalline orb with golden streaks. I stared down at this sphere, about the size of the palm of my hand.

Then I slowly strode forward to the thrashing spectral sentinel. I held the crystalline orb up against its chest as I closed my eyes. And I heaved, pushing the crystalline orb into the giant knight armor.

The crystalline orb almost seemed to melt into the greater spirit. But there was a moment where I struggled to shove the rest of it in, but I pushed harder, fighting back against the spectral sentinel’s soul.

The giant knight armor let out a tinny shriek as it desperately tried to break free. Unfortunately, it was too late. With a final push, I shoved the crystalline orb into the spectral sentinel, and its eyes dimmed. Its body went limp.

The spectral sentinel doubled over as I stepped back from its seemingly lifeless body. But then it suddenly jerked back awake, easily knocking aside the water tridents pinning it down, despite the dents that still remained on its body. My classmates gasped, however I remained calm, staring at the giant metal armor as it looked around in confusion for a moment. 

It swept its gaze around its surroundings, tensing as it saw the staring faces of the students of the Holy Academy. But then it paused when it saw me. It peered into me with its now-red eyes as we locked gazes for what felt like an eternity.

And even though we didn’t exchange a single word, I knew in my soul who it was staring back at me. It— no, he— knew who I was too.

He conjured up a blade of crimson flames as my classmates winced. But instead of trying to strike me down with the weapon, the spectral sentinel just dropped to a knee and thrust his blade into the ground.

“It is good to see you alive and well, master,” the newly-reborn Vorth said as he bowed his head deeply at me. 

I just smiled in response, nodding in agreement. “It is good to see you, too.”

This was the power of [Remembrance Of The Fallen]. It was not death magic— that was why I could freely cast this spell here in the heart of the Church of Life. Rather, it was life magic. 

And with its power, I was going to bring back all of my dead summons from my past life back to life.

ding! 

You have reached Level 8!

+2 [Speed]

+1 [Strength]

+1 Free Point

…

ding! 

You have reached Level 26!

+2 [Magic]

+2 [Dexterity]

+1 Free Point

ding!

You have gained the Class Skill: [Greater Holy Fireball]

ding!

You have gained the General Skill: [Spirit Summon: Vorth the Spectral Sentinel]

RotDG Chapter 57: Midterms VI

“No!” Cecil exclaimed as he watched the wave of flames engulf his friend.

Next to him, Julie squeaked, falling off her chair from his sudden shout. He briefly glanced down at her as he rubbed her back.

“S-sorry, you scared me,” she said, before picking herself up.

He didn’t respond, although he gave her an apologetic nod. The two of them had never spoken before, but they were both friends of Eli. And during the entire battle, they had both been silently yet nervously watching as their friend somehow kept up with the greater spirit with the help of some potions and artifacts.

But now, the tide of the battle had turned as the spectral sentinel unleashed a pulse of flames that washed over Eli. The entire audience was gripped in silence as they watched this happen. Even Prince Claudius remained quiet as a sense of nervousness about their classmate’s fate washed over everyone in the arena.

Peeking over the stands, Julie stared down at the dissipating flames, eyeing Eli’s silhouette through the smoke.

“Is he… alive?” she asked apprehensively.

Cecil narrowed his eyes as the smoke cleared. And standing there, body half-burnt, right arm limply hanging from the shoulder, was Eli.

The young boy was panting as he stood behind a collapsing barrier of white light. Whatever that protective spell was, it must have taken the brunt of the attack. The pale silver fire that was coating his body from earlier also faded away as he straightened, before a golden light washed over him as he started to heal himself.

“He’s still standing!” Julie exclaimed, wide-eyed with excitement. “He has a chance!”

But Cecil just shook his head. “No— this battle can’t be allowed to go on any longer. Eli’s going to die if we don’t stop this.”

And the young saint wasn’t the only one who realized this fact. A susurration swept over their watching classmates as the spectral sentinel began to rise back to its feet. 

“Gracious Goddess—”

“This is bad…”

“Someone needs to stop this!”

And yet, despite the fact that almost everyone realized this battle needed to be stopped, Archdeacon Emmett was just silently standing to the side, watching the battle continue. So Cecil couldn’t help but ask himself— why?

Why won’t you stop this? the young saint wondered. But he never got an answer.

***

As the flames rushed towards me, and the realization that I couldn’t dodge the attack settled in, I immediately summoned my [Aura Armor Of Light] to protect me. Even though my body was exhausted, my mind was still sharp. The decades of combat experience I had from my previous life kicked in, and I managed to save myself from being burnt to a crisp by the powerful blue fire. 

Unfortunately, my [Aura Armor Of Light] wasn’t able to completely protect me, holding up for a few seconds, before shattering under the pressure of the attack. I was knocked back, crashing into the barrier as my body was still burned badly by the wave of flames.

But as I picked myself up and healed myself, I realized something strange. Somehow, the parts of my body that had been coated with my [Holy Fire]— mainly my legs and my chest— had sustained less burns than the parts of my body which hadn’t been covered by the pale silver lames.

Interesting, I thought as my eyes flickered, watching the [Holy Fire] dissipate. It must have protected me because it’s holy magic, not elemental magic. And that means—

But my thoughts were interrupted as the spectral sentinel rose to its feet, creating another giant broadsword from its blue flames again. I stopped using [Heal] on myself as I straightened and began to move. As I did, I instead activated my [Lesser Domain Of Light], while giving myself a [Boon Of Vitality].

The former began to heal me, but it was to a much lesser degree than casting [Heal] on myself did. However, it allowed me to focus on the battle, letting the healing continue without putting my mind to it. Meanwhile, the latter gave me the strength to ignore my aching body and move.

So I circled around the greater spirit, no longer limping, although still exhausted. I reached into my Bag of Holding and grabbed one of my two stamina potions, taking only a single gulp from it, when the spectral sentinel let out a tinny roar. It swung down with its broadsword, unleashing a torrent of flames my way.

But the boost of energy I got from drinking the stamina potion gave me enough energy to use [Quick Dash], moving out of the way of the fire as it struck the barrier. I stumbled to a halt as the spectral sentinel’s gaze snapped towards me. And as it began to raise its broadsword again, I responded by conjuring another [Aquatic Harpoon].

At the same time, arrows of light flashed into existence all around my [Lesser Domain Of Light] with the help of [Basic Light Magic Conjuration]. They shot forward, pattering the spectral sentinel and distracting it for long enough for me to finish casting my spell. The water trident propelled forward, but the greater spirit reacted quicker this time around.

It leaned away as the spell only barely struck its side, tearing open a small hole in the metal where it grazed. I blinked as my arrows of light continued to rain down on the greater spirit, barely a nuisance to it as it turned to me, its broadsword still raised.

Then it swung down, once again sending a torrent of fire in my direction. This time, I didn’t have [Quick Dash] to help me move out of the way. And while I was able to run faster since more of my wounds had healed up, I still couldn’t fully escape the blast.

The flames crashed into the barrier as I narrowly ran out of the way, only to be knocked back and burnt by the shockwave of the blast. I tumbled through the air, but managed to land on my feet as the new burn marks on my body already started to heal. 

Looking up though, I watched as the spectral sentinel charged straight at me. I immediately began to conjure up another [Aquatic Harpoon] as I backed up.

And as the greater spirit sprinted across the arena, its body still crackling with electricity, I realized something. It was getting faster. Or rather— its movement speed was returning back to normal.

The spectral sentinel swung down at me, and I rolled out of the way. As I circled behind it, I finished casting my spell and sent my [Aquatic Harpoon] at its back. The greater spirit recoiled as the attack pierced its armor, but it simply spun around and swung wide with its broadsword.

I managed to leap back in time, before I downed the rest of my stamina potion. The spectral sentinel continued to charge at me, its broadsword changing shape into something else. I ran back from the greater spirit as I created another [Aquatic Harpoon]. I sent the attack at it as it got close, but it must have anticipated this.

The spectral sentinel’s broadsword finished morphing into a shield and it blocked the oncoming water trident. I watched as my attack pierced the surface of its shield, but failed to reach its face. And that was when I knew I needed to end the battle soon. 

Otherwise, I was going to lose, even before the effects of my Potion of Weaker Speed came to an end.

Because the spectral sentinel’s movements would soon no longer be impeded any longer. Its body was still crackling with electricity, but barely as much compared to before now. 

Reaching me a moment later, its shield changed into a maul as it swung down at me. But even though it missed, and I dodged out of the way, the impact from the attack broke the ground open, sending me tumbling through the air. 

“Eli!” 

I heard Julie crying out as I soared through the air. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of the audience as I was about to fall back to the ground. I saw the terrified looks of all my classmates, staring up at my desperate state. They were all looking at me, evidently fearing for my life. Even Prince Claudius.

And in that brief moment as they all stared at me high in the sky, an idea crossed my mind as I remembered how my [Holy Fire] protected me. 

But then the spectral sentinel grabbed me out of the air the moment after as my classmates gasped. The greater spirit yanked me down and slammed me into the ground as my bones shattered from the impact, and I screamed in pain.

However, even as I lay there, groaning in pain, a smile crept onto my face. The spectral sentinel just raised its maul, about to finish me off as I heard Cecil’s voice shouting in the background.

“Archdeacon Emmett, you have to stop this, now!”

But before the elderly man could do anything, right as the spectral sentinel was about to swing down at me. I pointed at it, unleashing a [Greater Fireball] at point black, engulfing the both of us in the explosion. 

***

“If you don’t, Eli will—” Cecil started, facing in the direction of Archdeacon Emmett.

And a powerful explosion erupted, engulfing both Eli and the spectral sentinel. The young saint’s gaze snapped in the direction of the blast as his breath left his throat.

“No…”

That shock quickly turned to anger as he clenched a fist. Julie stared at him hesitantly, before looking down at his hand. Blood was seeping down from his fingers digging into his palms. She opened her mouth as she raised a hand towards his shoulder.

“Cecil—” 

But he ignored her, instead snapping at Archdeacon Emmett as she flinched. 

“You damn old fool!” he screamed, drawing the attention of all his classmates. “Why didn’t you stop the battle? Why did you let it go on? Now, because of you, Eli is…”

Cecil trailed off, biting his lower lip. The rest of his classmates exchanged uneasy glances. Julie lowered her head. Even Prince Claudius pursed his lips. 

But the elderly man just raised a hand.

“No,” Archdeacon Emmett said simply, staring at the pillar of smoke in the middle of the arena. The spectral sentinel stepped out of the curtain of gray as he continued. “It’s not over yet.”

“What?” Cecil blinked.

And then a white light expanded, covering the entire arena. Cecil looked around in confusion as he saw this magical dome seemingly encase the barrier that was containing the battlefield. He recognized this as Eli’s Skill— the very same one that had been able to heal him as he ran.

Which meant that Eli was still alive? But where was he?

That was when Cecil saw the young boy, bleeding and kneeling right behind the spectral sentinel. 

“Eli—” the saint piped up.

But the spectral sentinel moved fast. It spun around and swung for Eli in an instant. The young boy backed away, but he was too slow, and he was crushed by the crashing maul.

Cecil’s heart sank when he saw that. He couldn’t even muster up any words of shock. He just stared with round eyes as the spectral sentinel drew back. But then the greater spirit paused when it didn’t see the smashed body of Eli lying there at its feet.

It glanced around in confusion, only to catch a glimpse of Eli standing at the other side of the arena, unharmed. Cecil saw this too and furrowed his brows in confusion.

But the spectral sentinel didn’t wait for an explanation— it just unleashed a wave of flames at Eli, engulfing the young boy. However, as soon as the flames dissipated, its gaze snapped to the side, seeing its target standing unharmed, a dozen feet to the left of where he had been just a second earlier.

And that was when another Eli appeared just to the right of that Eli, followed by another to the left, and another behind the greater spirit. The spectral sentinel stumbled back, looking at this scene in sheer confusion.

Dozens of figures flashed into existence all around the arena. Each of them resembled Eli, all carrying out the same motions, as if they were casting a spell. The wounds on their bodies continued to heal, and they took in a deep breath.

“What is going on?” Julie asked, glancing around quizzically.

Cecil could only stare uncomprehendingly with her. “I… I don’t know…”

The spectral sentinel just roared and swung around wildly, destroying the various figures of Eli in the arena. And as it struck them, Cecil watched as their figures shattered into thousands of shards like they were made of glass.

No— like they were made of mirrors.

Wait, if none of them are real, then where is the real Eli? Cecil wondered as the spectral sentinel continued to rampage through the reflections of the young boy.

But then Cecil paused when he spotted Archdeacon Emmett from the corner of his eye. The elderly man was looking up towards the sky, ignoring the scene down below. Cecil followed Emmett’s gaze, before pausing at what he saw.

Up there, above the arena, standing on a glass-like platform made from light, was Eli. He had his hands outstretched, conjuring up a [Greater Fireball] once more. Except, it wasn’t exactly a [Greater Fireball]. Because, instead of bright orange flames, it was a shining silver fire.

“What is that?”

Cecil watched as the flames coalesced into a sphere that grew larger and larger, becoming even larger than an ordinary [Greater Fireball]. All the while, the spectral sentinel destroyed the last of the fake reflections of the young boy down below. It paused when it stared down at one of the broken shards lying on the ground, reflecting light from above.

The greater spirit spun around and looked into the sky, realizing what was going on. But it was already too late.

“I win,” Eli said.

And he unleashed the silver fireball shot down into the spectral sentinel as Cecil and the rest of the class looked on in shock, before a powerful explosion completely enveloped the greater spirit, before filling the magical dome encasing the battle with a brilliant white light.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 56: Midterms V

“We have to stop this!” Emmett exclaimed as he turned to the two [Barrier Mages] standing behind him with their staffs raised. “Open the barrier!”

But the [Barrier Mages] just hesitated as they exchanged uncertain glances. 

“What are you doing?” The archdeacon stared at them with round eyes.

All the while, the spectral sentinel charged straight at Eli, producing a giant blade made of blue flames. Slashing down, the greater spirit unleashed an inferno at where the boy had been standing.

The flames struck the barrier, causing a ripple to wash over the golden bubble-like surface. Emmett and the [Barrier Mages] reeled at this as the audience of students watching from the stands gasped. 

“No—” Archdeacon Emmett started.

But as the flames dissipated, he realized that Eli was already circling around the back of the greater spirit, moving at a speed that should have only been possible if he had a [Rogue]-type Class.

Blinking, the elderly man tried to process what was happening. Even the greater spirit took a moment to realize what was going on. And during that moment where its guard was down, Eli conjured up a [Greater Fireball] and unleashed the attack onto its back.

The explosion engulfed the spectral sentinel as the arena rumbled. Archdeacon Emmett steadied himself, staring at Eli in shock.

“This is…?” He tried to work his jaw, before finishing his thought in his mind, Is this the power of a [Hero]?

As a Silver Rank, Eli should not have stood a chance against a Platinum Rank opponent. And yet, here he was, casting Skills that should have been above his Rank, while keeping pace with the greater spirit. 

But why is he doing this? Archdeacon Emmett wondered as his gaze momentarily drifted towards the staring crowd. Eli has been disguising himself as a [Healer] all this time— why would he reveal his true Class to his classmates here?

The elderly man’s mind raced with a multitude of questions, before he shook his head. 

“No— that does not matter,” he whispered to himself as he looked back towards the clearing smoke. “Because that level of attack isn’t enough to bring down a spectral sentinel. I need to end this, before Eli gets hurt.”

And right as the words left his mouth, the spectral sentinel rushed out of the smoke, its fiery blade turning into a giant maul. It leapt into the air as Emmett turned to the [Barrier Mages].

“Open the barrier right now!” he repeated his command from earlier.

But one of the [Barrier Mages] piped up, “I’m sorry, but we can’t do that.”

“What?” The archdeacon blinked.

And the spectral sentinel came crashing down, narrowly missing Eli as he slid under the soaring giant figure. But while the attack missed him, it struck the barrier, which sent another ripple across the magical dome. Some members of the watching audience screamed when they saw that.

The second [Barrier Mage] stepped forward, pointing towards the crowd of students.

“If we open the barrier now, we risk the lives of the other students.”

“For the safety of the other students, we cannot comply with your orders.”

“That’s…” Emmett pursed his lips, knowing they were right.

While he knew he would be able to defeat the spectral sentinel, he also knew it would have taken some time. And if he couldn’t instantly incapacitate the greater spirit when the barrier fell, that could result in casualties amongst the watching students.

Perhaps he could have evacuated them and called off the test entirely. But it would have taken time. And at that point, the battle could have already been over. Eli could very much be dead. So there had to be another way—

“There’s no need to intervene, Archdeacon!” Eli called out, backing up towards the section of the barrier closest to the elderly man. “I told you, this is what I wanted. So let me handle it, alright?”

Archdeacon Emmett opened his mouth when he heard this, but then he stopped himself. He saw the expression on the boy’s face. There was a calmness there that a child his age should not have had in the situation he was in. 

Was this what it meant to be a [Hero]? Did his Class— his Title as the One Anointed By Fate— allow him to find bravery in the face of death? Or perhaps, he had already exhibited the qualities of a hero, which was why he was chosen by the Goddess of Life?

The elderly man didn’t know. But he decided to place his faith in fate.

So Archdeacon Emmett just gritted his teeth and stopped himself from intervening, placing his trust on Eli. And he simply watched as the young [Hero] disguised as a [Healer] battled alone against the greater spirit.

***

Thanks to the Potion of Weaker Speed, I was given a significant but temporary boost in my [Speed] Attribute that allowed me to keep up with the spectral sentinel, despite the difference in our Rank. 

Everything I had asked for from Sister Frida and the Luna Gez Sect to provide me for this battle was to counter a spectral sentinel. Because I was familiar with both their strengths and their weaknesses. For example, even though they dealt powerful attacks with strong armor, they were relatively slow for a Platinum Rank.

So with a mere +40 boost in my [Speed] Attribute thanks to the potion, I was able to outmaneuver the greater spirit thus far. Well, even if I described it as ‘mere’, it was not a small increase for the me of right now, since it was still 50% more compared to what it was before.

However, as the Death God, I had experience with an Elixir of Haste, and the boost that came from that was what I was more accustomed to, when downing a potion.

But that was the difference between an A-grade potion and an E-grade potion.

In any case, there was a time limit to when the potion’s effects would wear off. I had ten minutes, before it came to an end. When that happened, I would lose, because even a single direct  strike from my opponent was more than enough to kill me, since it was not only a higher Rank than me, but it was known for its powerful attacks. 

Perhaps if my potion’s effects wore off, I’d ask for Archdeacon Emmett to open the barrier and aid me. But until then, I was practically free to avoid the spectral sentinel’s attacks, while unleashing my own attacks at it.

I sent another [Greater Fireball] its way, but this time, it was prepared. It raised its maul, turning it into a shield just in time to block my attack. And even though an explosion erupted where it stood, it wasn’t stunned for even a second, unlike with my previous direct hits.

The spectral sentinel sprinted forward, its shield changing back to a broadsword as I narrowed my eyes. As expected, fire was not very effective against it. 

Which was going to be a minor problem for me, considering that [Greater Fireball] was my most powerful attack right now— excluding death magic, of course. After all, it was ordinarily a Gold Rank Skill, and I was casting it at its maximum output, so it should have been able to bring down even Platinum Rank enemies. It was only because of the spectral sentinel’s fire affinity that my attacks were relatively ineffective.

However, that didn’t necessarily mean that was the only offensive Gold Rank tier spell I knew. Over the weekend, once my other midterms were over and done with, I spent all my free time learning [Aquatic Harpoon]. As its maximum output, it would deal significant damage to the spectral sentinel if it landed.

That was if it landed. 

Unlike [Greater Fireball] which was an area of effect attack, [Aquatic Harpoon] required precision, in addition to taking more time to cast, since I was still new to the spell.

So, before I could even cast it, I knew I needed to restrain the spectral sentinel first and foremost. And that was part of the preparations I made for this battle.

I reached into my Bag of Holding and produced my Scroll of Frostwind as the greater spirit rapidly approached me. It began to bring its sword down at me, when I raised the scroll, infusing my mana into the runes at its center.

In an instant, a blast of cold wind shot out, knocking the spectral sentinel back. But the spell didn’t end there. The white gusts continued to pour out, mostly targeting the greater spirit, but the residual winds also filled the arena.

A layer of sleet formed on the ground beneath me as the cold wind brushed over my skin. I could feel the chilling effects of the spell trying to freeze me. Frost formed at my fingertips, but that was the worst of it.

In addition to downing my Potion of Weaker Speed right before the battle began, I had also downed my Potion of Lesser Ice Resistance alongside my Potion of Lesser Lightning Resistance.

So while I could feel the chilling effects of the Scroll of Frostwind, I was able to resist most of it, especially since I wasn’t its target. Instead, the spectral sentinel was dealt the worst of the attack as sections of its armor froze over, while the flame burning underneath its visor dimmed. Even the sword it carried seemed to shrink in size as it struggled to even walk forward, the gust of wind too strong for it to overcome.

And as the Scroll of Frostwind came to an end, the parchment I was carrying turning to dust, the greater spirit’s movements remained sluggish as it took a heavy step forward, trying to break the ice covering its body. 

That was when I struck.

I produced my Lightningsmasher Mace as its head crackled with electricity, before dashing forward as I lit my body ablaze with [Holy Fire]. The flames didn’t burn me, but it melted the ice covering the ground, allowing me to reach my target unimpeded.

The spectral sentinel saw me coming and sluggishly swung its broadsword my way. But I pointed at it, firing a small flurry of [Water Bullets] at its face. Those attacks were Bronze Rank in tier, so they didn’t harm the giant knight armor. Rather, they served as a distraction, blocking its vision as I easily sidestepped its attack and cast [Boon Of Strength] on myself. 

I received a small boost to my [Strength]— not enough to significantly turn the tides of the fight, but still enough to make a difference.

And then I continued running forward, before striking the left knee of the giant knight armor. Sparks flew out as my attack landed, and there was a crackle of electricity that washed over the greater spirit.

It dropped to one knee as I circled around it, unleashing strike after strike with my Lightningsmasher Mace. The spectral sentinel tried to swing back at me. But each hit I landed stunned it, slowing its movements even further. I was also causing small dents to form on its armor plates.

However, I knew none of these were decisive enough blows to end the battle. They were just meant to restrict the greater spirit’s movements. This went on for a while until I was certain that it was too sluggish to hit me— its body overwhelmed by the electricity coursing through its body. And finally, I backed away.

Of course, its slower speed didn’t stop it from trying to take a swing at me. I just hopped back, dodging the attack as I panted. I nearly doubled over as I felt just how heavy my hands and legs were, practically dragging me down. I took a moment to recoup myself, staring at the giant knight armor as it tried to rise back to its feet.

Normally, I wouldn’t be this exhausted after such a brief confrontation. But this was a drawback of the Potion of Weaker Speed— that my energy drained faster. And that was why I brought my stamina potions with me.

I considered downing one of my stamina potions, but the spectral sentinel turned to face me, which spurred me into action instead. Right now was my chance, and I wasn’t going to squander it by wasting time drinking a stamina potion.

Especially when over five minutes had already elapsed in this battle. 

So I brought my hands together as a spell circle formed between them. Water began to pour out, forming the shape of a trident as I took aim at my target.

Behind me, I could feel the gazes of my classmates plastered on my back. I heard their whispering voices of both shock and awe. But I ignored them, instead focusing on the spectral sentinel as it tried to change its flaming broadsword into something else.

Unfortunately for the greater spirit, the weapon could only turn into a fireball in the palm of its hands, before I finally finished casting my spell, unleashing my [Aquatic Harpoon] straight at it.

The attack shot out, flying straight for my target. I aimed for the chest, and I struck true. The trident pierced the spectral sentinel, causing it to recoil in pain.

I grinned, watching as the water trident began to melt away while still poking out of the giant knight armor’s chest. Even if the attack wasn’t enough to finish the fight in one hit, I wasn’t finished either.

I began to prepare a second maximum output [Aquatic Harpoon]—

When the spectral sentinel suddenly lurched forward, slamming its palm onto the ground. For a moment, I didn’t realize what was happening, when I suddenly watched a blast of blazing flames explode out in all directions. 

It had slammed the fireball it had been holding onto the ground. And now, a shockwave of flames blasted out, sweeping across the entire arena as my eyes grew wide.

I backed away, trying to leap over the attack. But I felt my body being dragged down from the exhaustion I felt from earlier. And I could only brace myself as the wave of flames reached me, burning my body as I screamed in pain.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 55: Midterms IV

I only had one more midterm before the week was over, and it was for my class on the Fundamentals of the Arcane. As the basis of all magic, I was already quite familiar with the arcane, so I didn’t struggle with this class at all.

My teacher— a [High Mage] by the name of Edmund— was a tall man who looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s, although considering his Class and Rank, it was very likely that he was older than he looked.

As usual, I tried my best to make a good impression, just like I did with all my classes. And at first, it seemed like he was skeptical of my abilities. But as I continued to excel in his class, he eventually warmed up to me, even stopping to briefly chat with me after each lecture.

Today, however, after I was finished with my written test, he approached me with a grim look on his face. He brought me to the side as he met my gaze.

“Mr Eli, is it true that you have chosen to take Archdeacon Emmett’s accelerated exam?” he asked in a serious voice.

I nodded back at him with a polite smile. “That is correct, [High Mage] Edmund. I’m surprised word of it has spread even amongst the staff members of the school.”

“That is because it is not something that has ever happened before,” Edmund said, shaking his head. “While I understand that you are quite… keen to prove yourself to the faculty. After all, I, myself, was doubtful of your capabilities before your enrollment here into the Holy Academy. But I must advise you against doing this.”

I tilted my head as the [High Mage] explained, pursing his lips.

“Whether it’s to become a Divine Scholar, or to be The Headmaster’s Honored, it’s not worth the risk. I should not tell you this, but right now, you are already very much considered to become the former. And the latter… well, you are certainly a candidate, amongst this year’s batch of students. But if you fail this accelerated exam, you will not reach either of those goals.”

My eyes flickered when I heard that. Before even planning to enroll into the Holy Academy, the Archnecromancer Zerek, a former student of the school, had told me about both becoming a Divine Scholar and The Headmaster’s Honored, since they were some of the greatest achievements that students could attain, which came with many benefits.

However, they differed slightly, since a Divine Scholar was a part of an elite group of students who were carefully chosen midway through the year. Meanwhile, the Title of The Headmaster’s Honored was awarded to a single student every single year. 

Apparently, Zerek had been awarded that Title twice in a row. So it was a Title that could be given to any student, whether they were an Initiate or a Disciple.

Nevertheless, while joining the Divine Scholars and becoming The Headmaster’s Honored at least once was a goal of mine, that was not the reason behind my decision to take part in Archdeacon Emmett’s accelerated exam.

So I just raised a placating hand as I spoke reassuringly. “Don’t worry, [High Mage] Edmund. I’ve made adequate preparations to pass this accelerated exam.”

“But—” Edmund started.

And I cut him off as I drew back, waving a hand off dismissively, “Besides, even if I don’t make either this year, I’ll always have next year.”

Edmund hesitated, before nodding as he bowed his head. “Very well, I can only wish that the Goddess will bless you with her guiding light.”

***

While I understood everyone’s concerns for me, it was not like I was going in unprepared. Yes, it was hard to make preparations for something so last-minute. But I had my connections, and I used them to give me as much of an advantage as possible.

“This is everything you asked for, [Healer] Eli,” Sister Frida said as she handed me a Bag of Holding in my room.

I looked through it, eyeing the numerous glistening objects within the bag. I was only allowed to bring three artifacts and five potions into the exam with me— and none of them could exceed E-grade. Since the Bag of Holding counted as an artifact, that was already one out of the three I was allowed to bring into the exam.

The other two which I was bringing were a Scroll of Frostwind, and a Lightningsmasher Mace. These were all E-grade artifacts which would not have been relatively expensive for me to acquire on my own. But thanks to my friendship with the Luna Gez Sect, I received them all for free. 

The same went for the potions.

I was given an Potion of Weaker Speed, a Potion of Lesser Lightning Resistance, a Potion of Lesser Ice Resistance, and two stamina potions. It was everything I was going to need to win my battle against the greater spirit I was going to be going up against.

I turned towards Sister Frida and nodded at her gratefully. “Thank you.”

“If there’s anything else you need, just request it,” she said as she bowed back at me. “I will do my utmost best to deliver it to you before your exam.”

“I think I’ll be fine with this.” I sealed the Bag of Holding shut as I spoke. “I know you’re probably concerned, just like everyone else, but I’ll be fine.”

But Frida shook her head at me as she smiled. “On the contrary, [Healer] Eli, I am certain that you will succeed with ease.”

I blinked when I heard that, before remembering, Oh right, she thinks I’m the next [Hero]...

Well, at the very least, someone believed in me. Even if it was not for the right reasons, I was going to take it. I was getting tired of hearing everyone warn me against what I was going to do.

Because I had a reason for it, even if I couldn’t share it with anyone else.

For me, doing this was necessary.

***

And the day of the accelerated exam came. It was held in the middle of a small arena with rows of seats surrounding it for an audience to watch. My classmates who were in my summoning class were all gathered here to watch me give them a first ever live demonstration of what it was like to summon and tame a spirit.

I stood before a ritual circle that Archdeacon Emmett had drawn for me. He inspected it one last time, before drawing back and placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Remember, you will have to pour enough mana into it to fill the runes,” he said as he nodded at me. “Otherwise, the ritual will fail.” 

“Got it, thanks for the advice.” I smiled at him back in response.

He drew away from the arena as a magical domed barrier flickered into existence, separating me from the rest of the world. Now, it was only me, the ritual circle, and soon, the spirit I summoned.

I swept my gaze over my classmates, seeing Julie and Cecil sitting towards the front of the audience, concerned looks on their faces. Prince Claudius say further back with his two goons next to him— while they weren’t grinning, they looked like they were hoping I would fail this test.

I just ignored them and turned my attention back to the ritual circle. Taking in a deep breath, I dropped to a knee and placed a hand onto the ground.

A blue light began to fill the runes of the ritual circle as I exhaled slowly. As Archdeacon Emmett said, if I didn’t pour enough mana into the ritual, it was going to fail. But he didn’t mention what would happen if I did the opposite— because why would I do that?

It would be utterly ridiculous. It would make this test only harder for me. It might even risk my life.

However, that was what I did anyway.

The runes in the ritual circle filled with a bright blue light, before they began to sizzle with blue sparks. It was overflowing with mana. Just as I intended.

And much to the surprise of my audience.

A susurration washed over the watching crowd as I focused, trying not to pour too much mana into the spell circle. Because if I accidentally summoned an archspirit, I would not survive, unless I had access to my death magic abilities in this battle.

But with everyone watching… I would never risk doing that. So I just had to make sure I summoned a greater spirit and nothing more.

As the spell circle shone brighter, and a rift began to appear in space, Archdeacon Emmett realized what was going on. He stepped forward as he called out through the barrier.

“Eli, what are you doing—” 

But I ignored his muffled voice. Instead, I continued to pour out more and more of my mana into the ritual circle, focusing on summoning the type of spirit that I wanted.

Most people thought that spirit summoning— well, demon summoning, in my past life’s case— was like playing the lottery. That it was completely random.

But I knew that wasn’t the case. That I could influence what I summoned as long as I knew what I wanted to summon, calling for it with my soul. 

And I knew what I wanted to summon. I knew exactly what I wanted to tame.

It was a spirit I had seen in battle before— that had impressed me with its strength and tenacity. Which was why it was perfect for what I needed right now.

The spell circle flashed brighter, before a giant metallic arm began to reach out of the portal. My lips curled up at the sight, while gasps resounded all around me. The watching audience gaped in shock. Except for Prince Claudius and his goons. They leaned forward excitedly, seeing this.

Archdeacon Emmett desperately turned to the [Mages] in charge of the barrier in the arena. “Turn it off—” he started.

But I raised a hand, cutting him off. “No, don’t stop this.”

He paused— and even the [Mages] who were upkeeping the barrier exchanged quizzical glances. Cecil, Julie, and the rest of my class stared at me as I turned to face the archdeacon.

“This is exactly what I want. So just let me deal with it, alright?” I said casually as I strode forward.

All the while, the armored figure continued to pull itself out of the portal. It was shaped like a knight, but its armor was rusted, despite its ethereal appearance. The connecting plates of its armor glimmered with a blue light, and a pair of blue flames burned beneath its visor. It took a heavy step forward as it towered over me, standing at nearly ten feet tall.

I stared at this behemoth that was my enemy as the portal closed behind it.

“That’s—” Archdeacon Emmett just stared in shock. “A greater spirit…”

“It’s not just any ordinary greater spirit,” I said, correcting him as I gave him a sidelong glance. “Greater spirits range in strength from Gold to Sapphire. And this greater spirit is a spectral sentinel.”

I looked back towards the spectral sentinel as it towered over me, facing me with a piercing gaze. I just smiled as I spread my arms wide.

“Which means… it’s a Platinum Rank threat.”

And right as the words left my mouth, the spectral sentinel moved. It charged forward, creating a giant blade of blue flames behind its back as I braced myself for its approach.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 54: Midterms III

“Eli, are you sure about this?” Cecil asked as he ran alongside me, keeping up with my pace without even breaking a sweat.

It was the day of our midterms for our class on Combat and Consecration. Unlike our finals, which would be an off-campus evaluation of our combat abilities, the midterms were just a timed physical fitness test. Right now, we were still in the middle of running laps around the field, but we were going to have to compete in an obstacle course and more later on.

The elf running next to me was evidently capable of running at a far faster pace than me, however he slowed down to talk to me regarding what transpired yesterday during our summoning class.

“You still have time to back out,” Cecil continued, meeting my gaze seriously as we ran alongside each other. “Archdeacon Emmett said you can change your mind before the end of the week.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said reassuringly as I tried to catch my breath. “I wouldn’t volunteer to take the accelerated exam if I didn’t know what I’m doing. Remember, I held my own against Prince Claudius just fine.”

Cecil just pursed his lips in response. “That’s true, but… this is also different.”

I raised a brow at him, and he shook his head.

“I do not wish to place doubt on your abilities once again, Eli. However, that was a royal duel. That was a test of skill, not a real battle. You’re a [Healer]. How do you expect to take on a spirit with only a week’s worth of preparation?”

I raised my head when I heard that. It was a valid question on the elf’s part. After all, we were allowed to bring in potions and artifacts to help us subdue the summoned spirit for our final exams, and we would normally have had a month to prepare for it and plan it all out.

But contrary to Cecil’s opinion of me, I was no ordinary [Healer]...

I waved a hand dismissively. “Trust me, I’ve got it all planned out. Just focus on passing your own exams, alright?”

The elf opened his mouth, before hesitating. He looked at me with uncertainty for a moment, then he relented.

“Very well, then.”

And with that, he sped up, running ahead of me as we continued making laps around the track. Eventually, the test came to an end, and even though I wasn’t the fastest or the strongest in the class, I performed in the top percentile because of my all-around versatility.

***

Cecil wasn’t sure whether to believe Eli. Of course, the elf wanted to believe in his… friend… 

Actually, were they even friends? They were roommates, and they had gotten to know each other better ever since the young boy’s duel with Prince Claudius. But neither of them had ever agreed on being friends, so could they even be considered friends?

Cecil didn’t know. He hadn’t even expected to make any friends when he was brought here to the Holy Academy of the Church of Life. Because, from a very young age, he knew that humans and elves would never get along, unless they had a common enemy.

But Eli was different, somehow— the young boy didn’t seem to care about the fact that Cecil was an elf. So they had to be friends, right?

Cecil pursed his lips at the thought. Whatever they were, he was simply worried about Eli. And the concern carried on even until the next day, during their Education on Elements midterms. They were required to demonstrate their proficiency in elemental magic by casting at least one spell in each of the elements— given a list of spells they could study beforehand, ranging from Iron Rank in tier to Silver Rank in tier.

As an [Arcane Assassin], Cecil’s capabilities were not typically related to elemental magic. However, it was not necessary to cast a spell in every elemental magic category to pass the class. Passing simply required being able to cast Iron Rank earth, fire, water, and air magic spells. But to be able to get a distinction in the class— which was the highest grade— it was necessary to be able to cast a Bronze Rank spell in every single element, which included lightning, ice, wood, and lava. 

Knowing that he couldn’t get a distinction, but wanting to stand out anyway, the elf managed to master Bronze Rank spells in earth, fire, water, and air magic. And that was exactly what he displayed during the midterms.

“[Water Bullet], [Rock Dome], [Fireball], and [Wind Cutter]. That was a very impressive demonstration, young Cecil.”

Professor Kallie clapped slowly as she came to a halt before the elf. She was the professor in charge of his class for Education On Elements, and she was a rather kindly older lady who walked with a wooden staff at her side at all times.

He just bowed his head respectfully at her and stepped back. Behind him, the training dummy across the field that had been his target was left a destroyed mess.

But with the snap of a finger, Professor Kallie created a new training dummy, molded from both the earth and the roots of the nearby trees. 

“While I would have preferred to see a wider array of spells in your repertoire, this was certainly still an excellent performance for a non-[Elementalist].”

“Thank you, Professor Kallie.” He bowed once more, before finally moving out of the way.

Professor Kallie called out for the next student waiting in line as he took a seat to the side. As he waited, watching his fellow classmates take their elemental magic aptitude test, his gaze was focused only on a young boy waiting towards the back of the line.

Eli was just casually chatting with Myrla as he waited for his turn to be called up by Professor Kallie. He showed no concern or worry at all about this upcoming test— which was not unusual, since he always seemed to take everything in stride.

But Cecil had heard of Eli’s performance at the entrance exam. The young boy had accidentally blown himself up when attempting to cast a fireball spell. Even though it had been a few months since then, it was evident that elemental magic was not his strong suit. So why was he so unconcerned?

Cecil didn’t know. He wished he understood what was going through the boy’s head. Unfortunately, everything about Eli eluded the elf.

Eventually, Eli’s name was called and he strode up next to Professor Kassie. 

“And what will be the first spell you will be showing us, young Eli?” she asked as he came to a halt next to her.

He just smiled back at her. “A fireball spell, Professor Kassie,” was what he said.

A susurration swept over the watching class. They whispered and pointed at him— a few of them giggling, probably hoping to see him blow himself up again.

“Is he trying to redeem himself for what happened during the entrance exams?”

“He probably spent the last few months just practicing a fireball, huh?”

“But he’s a [Healer]— there’s no way he won’t blow himself up again!”

“Those annoying bastards…” Cecil whispered as he glared at the last guy who spoke.

The elf had to stop himself from cursing them out. But even he couldn’t help and doubt whether or not Eli was going to be capable of casting a fireball. However, as he watched with bated breath as the young boy stepped forward, another voice drew his attention.

“You don’t have to be so worried about Eli. He will prove them all wrong.”

Cecil blinked and looked towards the source of the voice. It was Myrla. The young girl had just finished her turn not too long ago, and she was now walking over to the elf. The two of them had never really spoken before other than exchanging pleasantries whenever they were around Eli.

However, Myrla didn’t seem to show any disdain for the fact that Cecil was an elf, which was good at the very least.

She just spoke confidently as she eyed Eli as he raised a hand.

“Just watch,” she said, and Cecil silently did as he was told.

Eli took in a deep breath and began weaving a ball of fire. It started off just like any other fireball spell, growing from the size of a small candle flame into a sphere the size of a head. But when it reached the size of an ordinary [Fireball] and should have stopped growing… it continued to expand.

Cecil’s heart sank when he saw that. Oh no, he’s going to fail, the elf thought as did most of the other onlookers. They all leant forward— some like Prince Claudius with excitement in seeing Eli fail, while others like Kelton did so in worry— and watched as the fireball continued to balloon in size. 

And just as Cecil thought the fireball was going to explode in Eli’s face… it simply shot out.

The giant fireball soared straight for the dummy, before erupting into a powerful explosion that shook the field. The shockwave from the blast knocked the elf off his seat, alongside many other of the watching students.

Myrla, however, stayed planted on the ground, having braced herself for the blast.

When Cecil picked himself back up to his feet, he looked up to see a large crater where the training dummy had been, still burning and pouring with smoke. An ordinary [Fireball] would have left a crater less than a quarter of the size, and there would have been very little residual smoke after the initial blast.

Most of the class was staring at what Eli had just done in utter shock. Even Professor Kallie couldn’t help but blink as she lowered her clipboard uncomprehendingly.

“Impossible,” Claudius said from the side. “He has to be cheating, right?”

“Wait, so was Eli just pretending to fail at the entrance exams?” Kelton blinked, evidently confused.

Even the ordinarily quiet Sonia Redheart looked impressed by what Eli had done, although she stayed silent as usual.

Myrla just smirked, crossing her arms triumphantly. “Told you all.”

“That was… a [Greater Fireball] spell?” Professor Kallie finally asked, turning to Eli.

The young boy just nodded, before tapping a finger on his chin. “I believe that was equivalent to a Gold Rank spell, if I am not misremembering?”

“Indeed it is, but I…” Professor Kallie glanced between the young boy and the smoldering crater, before she steeled herself. Clearing her throat, she picked back up her clipboard as she faced the young boy. “Very good, young Eli. Show me what else you’re capable of.”

“Alright,” he said as he began to conjure up another spell.

All the while, Cecil just watched, alongside the rest of the class. The rest of the spells Eli cast weren’t as jaw-dropping as the [Greater Fireball]. But they still ranged in strength from Bronze to Silver, encapsulating every single element as well.

When Eli was finished with his demonstration, Cecil only had a single thought. Perhaps Eli is right, the elf thought, watching the young boy draw away from a very-impressed Professor Kallie. Maybe he is actually prepared for his spirit summoning exam…

***

I nodded at Cecil as I walked past him, before finding myself a seat amongst the rest of my class to watch as the rest of this exam played out. But I was no fool— I could feel the eyes of most of my fellow classmates planted on my back. 

I knew that they all doubted my capabilities after the mistake I made at the entrance exams. So I had to make a statement by casting a [Greater Fireball] here. That was why I made sure to learn it, even if the other spells I learned were only Silver Rank at best.

I would have liked to take more time to learn multiple Gold Rank elemental spells, just because it would have been useful for the future. I knew that I could learn them all relatively quickly, but I unfortunately had a limited amount of time I could allocate to this because there were so many other obligations I had to deal with.

Although, a part of me was now wishing I had spent more time teaching myself more powerful spells, because of my upcoming spirit summoning accelerated exam. As much as I reassured Cecil that everything was going to be fine, there was a small part of me that was worried about it as well. However, I wasn’t worried for the same reason as the elf.

Because he thought that I was going to be summoning and taming an ordinary spirit, which I was certain I could do. But that wasn’t going to be the case. Instead, I was fully intending to summon and tame a greater spirit.

And without my death magic, that was going to cause me quite a bit of trouble.

A/N:

Sorry for the delayed chapters. I've been rewriting this chapter and re-outlining book 2 because I didn't feel happy with the direction it was going in. But now, I think I've found a direction I like, so I will be posting more frequently again.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 53: Midterms II

Once again, this is 2/2 of the chapters I will be posting today. They go up at roughly the same time, so make sure you're reading the correct chapter.

“I did it…” I sighed as I slumped against the wall.

Both Myrla and Kelton exchanged a glance at my reaction. They were my two closest friends I’d made here in the Holy Academy since the semester began. Unlike me, they weren’t completely exhausted after the exam. In fact, they looked relatively unphased. After all, this was the first of our midterms that we were going to be having over the course of the week. And to them, this was probably the easiest, because it was purely a written test.

But for me, it was the exact opposite: this was the hardest of all the upcoming midterm exams.

Why? Well, it was simply because I had to unlearn everything I knew about the War of Fate— which I had experienced firsthand myself as the Death God— and relearn every single event that took place through the heavily tinted lens of the Church of Life. 

They twisted every fact to spin the narrative that they were unequivocally the good guys, ignoring any and every mistake or underhanded action that they had ever made. Not only that, but their version of history painted my former companions and I in such a terrible light, they actively ignored any good that I had ever done.

Even though I had spent weeks memorizing every single detail of their revised version of the events that had transpired, it took a lot of mental fortitude on my part to stop myself from trying to correct the exam questions. Especially those questions that heavily slandered those who were closest to me in my past life.

But I mustered up all the willpower in my soul to stop myself from doing that, instead answering the questions like a good student would, even as I internally cursed the Church of Life and Professor Andra throughout the entire exam.

“I got every question correct— I’m sure of it,” I whispered to myself as I straightened.

Myrla rolled her eyes at me when she heard that. “Come on, Eli. You’re supposed to be my rival. If you’re already struggling when it’s just the first midterm, how are you going to deal with the rest of the exams?”

“That’s right. Especially tomorrow’s elemental magic aptitude test…” Kelton added from the side.

I scratched the back of my head, not sure what to say in response. Kelton was still under the impression that I wasn’t very good at elemental magic spellcasting, considering my performance back at the entrance exams three or so months ago. 

But, since then, I spent some of my free time practicing the basics of elemental magic. Considering my wealth of experience in my past life with mastering all forms of magic, it didn’t take a lot of time for me to learn the General Skills for each element, such as [Basic Fire Magic] or [Basic Lightning Magic] for example, before consolidating all of them into a single General Skill called [Elemental Magic Proficiency].

Doing so, of course, earned me a few levels. And now, I was a Level 7 Silver Rank.

Name: Nox (Eli)

Race: Human

Rank: Silver - Level 7

Class: [Soulfire Healer]

Class Skills: [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Holy Fire], [Basic Light Magic Conjuration], [Boon Of Vitality], [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Strength], [Purifying Touch], [Lesser Poison Resistance]

Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

General Skills: [Elemental Magic Proficiency], [Quick Dash]

Attributes:

[Strength: 85]

[Speed: 85]

[Magic: 604]

[Vitality: 105]

[Dexterity: 90]

Free Points: 0

I took a quick peek at my Status, before shaking my head at my friends. “Well, let’s just say I’ve been doing a little bit of training…”

Kelton quirked a dubious brow in response. “I don’t think a little bit of training is enough to make that big of a difference.”

But Myrla spoke up, gesturing for us to get moving.

“Oh, I’m sure Eli can handle the practical tests just fine. I’m more worried about him burning himself out.” She took a step back as she continued. “Anyway, right now, we still have another class to attend, so let’s get going.”

“Right, right.” Kelton trailed after her.

I nodded and followed them as well, leaving the exam hall behind and heading back to our classroom. 

***

The reason why the written exams were held in a special hall was to prevent cheating of any kind from taking place. There were only four of them in total, and they were the same rooms which the other classes in our year— and even our upperclassmen— used to take their tests. That was why our exams for our different subjects were held on different days, rather than having them all happen on the same day.

It was also why we had to walk across the campus to get back to our classroom. Because the exam halls were located at the north wing, while our regular classes were held at the west wing. So it took a while before we returned back. 

However, I had to part ways with Myrla and Kelton, because we didn’t actually have the same class right now. Even though all three of us were in the Class of Solarin, we had chosen different electives. They were taking a class on the Basics of Enchantments, while I was taking a class on the Sacred Art of Spirit Summons.

So I waved goodbye to my friends, before entering my lecture hall.

Most of our classmates were already settling into their seats as I entered. I swept my gaze over the room, pausing briefly as I caught a glimpse of Prince Claudius. He winced when we locked gazes, before he looked away.

Ever since our duel about two and a half months ago, he hadn’t bothered me once, which was honestly relieving, because I didn’t intend to deal with this juvenile nonsense for my entire four years in the Holy Academy.

So I didn’t bother him either. Both of us just mostly ignored each other. Which was what I did right now as well, looking past him until my gaze landed on Cecil.

The elf sat at the back of the class as usual, but he perked up when he saw me. Although, it was a subtle movement. I smiled at him, and he gave me a small nod in return, before I finally settled into my seat next to Julie.

She was my seat-neighbor, but we weren’t really close friends, since she was from a different class. However, she was a little bit clueless, and oftentimes had to ask me for help to keep up with what was going on. We just exchanged a quick greeting, before the door to the lecture hall swung open as our lecturer for the class entered the room.

Archdeacon Emmett strode in with a stack of papers, greeting the class as per usual. “Are we ready for our mock test today?”

A few students groaned as he set the stack of papers down onto his desk. He just chuckled, before starting to distribute the mock test.

“With our midterm coming up at the end of the week, I want to make sure you’re all well-prepared for it. So don’t give me that reaction. This is for your own good.”

The mock test was quickly handed out to everyone in the room. There were more questions than I expected, but as I flipped through its pages, I knew I wasn’t going to have any trouble with the mock test at all. However, not everyone shared the same sentiment as me.

Julie clutched her head as she leant back in her seat. “Wait, there’s going to be over two hundred questions? And we’ll have to answer them all in under two hours? How are we supposed to do that?”

I heard a few similar voices of complaints being echoed throughout the room as Archdeacon Emmett raised his hands, quieting the class.

“It is true, compared to most of your other midterms, this is quite a lengthy exam. But that is by design, since this will be our own written test this semester. Because, as we all know, your final exam will be summoning and taming your own spirit.”

That made sense. Even to Julie, who still looked like she was dreading having to go through all the questions in the exam. But then, Archdeacon Emmett continued as he closed one eye.

“However, there is something I did not mention at the start of the class that is… quite important,” he continued, causing a susurration to wash over the class. Even I perked up at that, and he strode towards the blackboard at the front. “I never mentioned this before, since I wanted to keep you all as motivated as possible throughout the semester. However, every semester, I always like to offer a special opportunity for those who feel like they have already understood the theory behind spirit summoning.”

My eyes flickered when I heard that. I had a hunch of what it could be— in fact, it could be quite useful for me if it was what I thought it was. But I didn’t make any assumptions, keeping my mouth shut for now. Instead, I listened as Archdeacon Emmett wrote on the blackboard. When he was finished, he stepped to the side, letting us take in what he wrote down.

Julie leant forward quizzically, reading what was written down, before wondering aloud. “Wait, what’s an accelerated exam supposed to be?”

“Good question, Ms Julie,” Archdeacon Emmett said as he smiled at her. He turned to face the rest of the class as he cleared his throat. “As the written exam is very time-intensive rather than actually being difficult, if you so desire, you may skip your midterms entirely and go straight into taking your final exam instead.”

Once again, the classroom began to fill with the voices of excited students. But they quickly hushed as Archdeacon Emmett continued.

“Now, this does not mean you will be able to relax while everyone else is busy studying for the midterms. As mentioned on the blackboard, it will be an accelerated exam. Meaning— you will be taking the final exam in front of the class next week, rather than taking it alongside everyone else at the end of the semester.”

This time, someone else instead of Julie piped up. It was Prince Claudius. He rose to his feet, staring at Archdeacon Emmett in shock.

“Wait, doesn’t that mean…?”

“That’s right, Mr Claudius. And please, sit back down.” 

Our lecturer shook his head, and the prince flushed, plopping right back into his seat. 

“Whoever who opts to take this accelerated exam will be trying to summon and tame a spirit next week. This also means they will be judged for this class solely on their performance during the accelerated exam. So if you fail that, there’s no second chances— meaning, you’ll fail the class completely.”

And upon hearing that, the class went dead silent as a small smile began to tug at my lips. Interesting…

***

Archdeacon Emmett swept his gaze over the lecture hall as he finished his explanation of the accelerated exam. Every semester, he gave the same offer to a new batch of students in the Holy Academy. And as usual, nobody was ever brave enough to take it up.

Because why would they? It made no sense— ordinarily, even if a student in this class failed to tame a spirit, they would still be able to pass the class if they did well enough during the midterms. 

So it was only the smart choice to opt out from this accelerated exam. That was why nobody ever chose to take it up. Which begged the question— why even offer this in the first place?

For Archdeacon Emmett, offering the accelerated exam would help him pick out the students in the class who were truly exceptional, without letting any of his biases cloud his judgment. After all, every semester, every single teacher in the Holy Academy would give a list of Initiates they believed to be exceptional to Headmaster Kaelen Angelus, so that they might be considered to become a part of the Divine Scholars.

Most students didn’t know what the requirements were to join the Divine Scholars, besides the fact that they had to excel in their classes. But they all certainly wanted to be a part of the group. Because they represented the best of the Holy Academy, even partaking in inter-academy tournaments with other schools, all the while receiving special privileges from the Holy Academy itself, receiving a wide berth of opportunities when they graduated.

Unfortunately, just like every other semester, nobody took up this offer. Archdeacon Emmett sighed as he lowered his head.

“So it seems that nobody is interested, huh?” he said in a disappointed tone. 

But then a hand shot up, and a boy sitting at the front row of the class rose to his feet. “Actually, Archdeacon Emmett, I would like to take this accelerated exam.”

And Archdeacon Emmett… smiled when he saw who it was. A white-haired boy with black eyes stood there— the very same one who proved himself to be beyond exceptional time and time again— smiling as the rest of the classroom stared at him in shock. 

“Ah, Mr Eli. Are you absolutely certain about this? You are aware of the risks, are you not?”

Eli just nodded as he placed a hand on his chest. “Indeed I am. But I believe with every ounce of my being that I am capable of summoning and taming a spirit right this very instant. So let me take the accelerated exam, and I will prove it.” 

And in response, Archdeacon Emmett smiled, staring at his first ever student who ever took up this offer. 

“Very well, then. Come with me, and I will brief you on all the details.”

A/N:

So sorry for the delay, I just realized I scheduled the chapter for the wrong time, and it didn't come out with the other chapter.

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 52: Midterms I (Book 2 Start)

Once again, this is 1/2 chapters I will be posting today. They go up at roughly the same time, so make sure you're reading the correct chapter.

“Master…” 

Nox the Death God raised his head when he heard the tinny voice speaking solemnly behind him. He stood at a cliff’s edge, overlooking the highest peak in all of Parvos in the far distance— Mount Apulex. But he turned away from the view, looking towards the four figures that were standing behind him.

The first figure— the one that spoke— donned the armor of a black knight, but beneath his visor was not the body of a person. Instead, purple flames burned underneath, contained within the armor like a soul bound to a body.

The second figure stood much taller, looming over the others at nearly twenty feet tall. He was a bloated giant with rotting green skin that was covered in rusted chains, and a pair of tusks protruding from his half-melted face.

The third figure was the smallest of them all: a veil of silken sheets that were woven together, floating in the air with the vague outline of a spectral figure hidden beneath the white. But even though her form was hardly discernible, she was just as real as the other three next to her.

And lastly, the fourth figure was the most ordinary of them all, yet no less dangerous. He looked like an ordinary human— black hair, pale skin, and even dressed in a suit and tie. However, the pair of horns that protruded from his head made it clear that he was no human. That he was just like the other three figures that accompanied him.

Because they were all demons.

Nox regarded them each with a smile on his face. Vorth the Dark Warden, Kharvax the Lord of Dread, Velyss the White Wraith, and Zerith the Fallen. They were the Death God’s Four Great Demon Generals. Each one considered a Demon Lord, their powers rivalled that of the strongest of all of Parvos.

It was Vorth the Dark Warden who had spoken first, his tinny voice echoing as he bowed his head.

“Baelruth the Iron Maw and his tribe have withdrawn from this upcoming battle. We tried to convince him to stay, but he said his decision is final.”

Hearing this, Nox simply tilted his head back curiously. “Malrakk, Seraxa, and now Baelruth too, huh? That is quite the significant blow to the strength of our forces for tomorrow.,,”

The Four Great Demon Generals shifted as they watched their master mull over the news. Then, all at once, they dropped to their knees, speaking one after another.

“We apologize for our failures, master,” said Vorth.

“Unlike these cowards, we will fight alongside you until the very end!” Kharvax rumbled.

“We shy not from death, for it is all we have ever known,” Velyss whispered.

And Zerith chimed in with a smile, speaking in the same casual tone he usually carried. “Whatever you will shall always be done, master.”

Nox just shook his head at the four demons kneeling before him. “Vorhtrax, Kharvax, Velyss, and Zerith— you four are my most trusted companions, and I thank you for the loyalty with which you each have served me for all these years. However, tomorrow is not a day where you will have to die, even if it is the day of my death.”

Sweeping his gaze over each and every one of his loyal servants, the Death God gave them a melancholic smile as he raised his hand, and a crimson mark shone on his palm. At the same time, a spell circle formed beneath them. They looked back at him in shock.

“That is why I am releasing each of you from my command. No longer shall you be bound to my will. You do not have to partake in this final battle if that is what you wish for.”

The Four Great Demon Generals looked at each other in confusion as the glow from the spell circle overcame them. Until, finally, there was a flash of light, and the invisible sets of chains that was tying them to Nox shattered,

The mark in the Death God’s hand vanished as Vorth, Kharvax, Velyss, and Zerith all stared at themselves in a shocked stupor. Nox stepped back, opening a portal back to the Demon Realm as he nodded at them.

“Now go— live your lives. And perhaps, if all goes according to plan, one day in the far future, we will be able to meet again.”

The four demons hesitated as they eyed the portal to the hellish landscape beyond. They exchanged apprehensive looks, before they nodded amongst each other, evidently having the same thought. Nox expected them to depart there and then. In fact, they started to approach the portal, like they were about to leave.

However, they instead just came to an abrupt halt next to him and dropped to their knees once again, speaking one after another once again.

“Even if you release us from your command, we will serve you until the very end, master.”

“We are not cowards, and you have given us a reason to live.”

“Without you, we are nothing.”

“We will die fighting by your side.”

And that caught the Death God off-guard. He stared at them in shock as the portal slowly closed behind him. His lips curled up as a smile crept onto his face, and he lowered his head.

“Thank you. For everything.”

But in response, the Four Great Demon Generals just laughed and spoke in unison.

“We are the ones who should be thanking you, master! Now let us battle to the very end!”

It wasn’t something they needed to do— Nox had given every single one of his followers a choice, and half of them had chosen to leave. The rest that stayed, he had told them they just had to hold off the Holy Alliance for as long as possible once he made it into the Dominion of Life. So that once he was inside, they could flee the battlefield and escape with their lives.

But with the scales of the battle skewed heavily towards the Holy Alliance, fleeing the battlefield too early risked the chance of the plan falling apart. For if Aria the Lady of Light interrupted his meddling with his reincarnation process, this would have been all for naught.

That was why Nox the Death God couldn’t help but smile at this sight, feeling a warmth in his heart. Even though he always wore an outwards confident demeanor, he didn’t know whether his plan was going to work or not. But knowing that his most trusted followers were still going to fight alongside him gave him the boost in confidence he needed to have faith that it was all going to work out.

And the very next day, the Final Battle of the War of Fate began. Just as they promised, the Four Great Demon Generals held off the forces of the Holy Alliance until the very end, sacrificing their lives for the Death God. It was their sacrifice which bought him enough time to alter his reincarnation process and begin the first part of his plan.

To be reborn with his memories and bring an end to the cycle of fate once and for all.

***

It had been about six months since I woke up in the body of Eli after being killed by Aria the Lady of Light. It was only half a year, but I had accomplished a lot since then, even if I still had a long way to go to fulfill my goal. 

First of all, the Blood Swords— a gang that practically had control over all of the small city of Velmond in the outskirts of the Sanctus Empire— had wanted me dead, having been responsible for killing the original owner of the body I had taken over. So to save myself and get revenge, I killed their leader and slaughtered most of their members, before I took over what remained of the gang, making use of the resources and connections they had for my own benefit.

After that, I became a [Healer], making a name for myself in Velmond, until I drew the attention of Reverend Donovan, the local [Priest], who had wanted to see my capabilities in action with his own two eyes. So to prove myself to him, I cured the Blight— a plague that had been afflicting parts of the Sanctus Empire, which had thus far been thought to be incurable. And that was what earned me a letter of recommendation from him for me to go to the Holy Academy of the Church of Life.

So I left Velmond, bidding farewell to Hannah, Ethen, Ms Mary… everyone I had gotten to know over the month or so that I was there. But a part of me felt like I had known them all for my entire life. Which was technically the truth, because they were Eli’s family, even if none of us were related by blood. But perhaps I felt this way because of my alterations to the reincarnation process.

It was almost like Eli’s soul partially merged with mine. And that was also why my Status showed his name alongside mine.

Anyway, the trip to the Holy Academy had not been meant to be a long trip. It was supposed to be two, maybe three weeks, at most. But there was a short delay because of a brief encounter with a bandit group called the Gold Skulls. I wiped them out, of course. And in doing so, I saved the life of Sister Frida, a [Nun] who was a part of a secret organization within the Church of Life called the Luna Gez Sect.

They offered me their friendship— although, it was not before they made me pass a test to prove that I was the next [Hero]. And while I was very much not the next [Hero], considering I was the Death God, I managed to trick them into believing that I was, giving me access to their ostensible far-reaching influence.

So they— alongside Archdeacon Emmett, a friend of Reverend Donovan— helped ensure my enrollment into the Holy Academy proceeded smoothly. 

And now, here I was, having reached the first part of my goal by becoming a student of the Holy Academy of the Church of Life.

But why was I doing this? Why did I need to come here in the first place? After all, it was the Church of Life that was responsible for my death in my past life. By coming here, I was risking my own life, in case my true identity was ever discovered.

Well, that was exactly why I was here. Because they had been the ones responsible for killing me— and not just me, but every other Death God who came before me. They were the ones who were perpetuating this cycle of death.

And every Death God in history, myself included, had failed to destroy them. So rather than trying to do the same thing over and over again when it was evidently clear I was going to fail every single time, I decided to do something different.

I decided that I was going to reform the Church of Life so that this was never going to happen ever again.

But that was still a long way away. And it was apparently not going to be as simple as I thought, considering there was a far more complex political landscape within the Church of Life than I thought, especially with a strange conspiracy that surrounded Archbishop Walden. So I was going to have to figure that out first.

Before I could do anything like that, there was something I needed to do first and foremost. And that was to pass my midterms.

So as I stood outside of the exam hall, I steeled myself, remembering everything I studied over the last few weeks. Taking in a deep breath, I took one final look at my notes, before I entered the room, ready to take on my toughest challenge here in the Holy Academy thus far. And no— it wasn’t befriending a saint, nor was it beating a prince in a duel.

Rather, it was acing my exam on their biased take on the events of the War of Fates…

Next chapter

RotDG Chapter 51: Interlude - Aria V (Book 1 End)

This is 2/2 of the chapters I will be posting today. They go up at roughly the same time, so make sure you're reading the correct chapter.

“Indeed, some may know me as Hyperius. But to you, I am the Master of Fate.”

The stranger smiled as he spread his arms wide. Aria stared at him, processing what he said. She didn’t understand it— she hadn’t understood what was going on for a while now. But this… it took her a long moment before she could even come up with a response.

“Master of… Fate?” Aria frowned as she repeated after him, before she snapped. “That’s ridiculous— nobody is a master to fate.”

“And yet, you were once known as the One Anointed by Fate, only to now be an Enemy of Destiny, no?” Hyperius replied, closing one eye knowingly.

“That’s—” Aria hesitated.

She wanted to rebuke him. That was a ridiculous assertion. But somehow, he knew about her Titles. And that made her have no choice but to believe him.

Shaking her head, she cast aside any uncertain thoughts as she gestured at her surroundings. “Are you the one behind this? Are you the one who created those puppets? And are you responsible for the Avatars of Death?”

Hyperius tapped a finger on his chin in thought. “The puppets? Yes. But as for these Avatars of Death… no.”

That answer caught Aria by surprise. She had thought he would say yes to both. But instead, he just shrugged back at her.

“These Avatars of Death are here all because your little friend decided to meddle with the cycle of reincarnation. I have nothing to do with them, although I have been making good use of them.”

The elderly man just nodded at the Avatars of Death standing inside of the cavern. Aria narrowed her eyes.

“My… friend?”

“Your friend— your little co-conspirator in defying fate,” Hyperius said as he looked back towards her. “Nox the Death God.”

Aria stared at him uncomprehendingly. “What are you talking about? Nox is dead— I killed him.”

“You think Nox is dead?” Hyperius paused for a moment, before breaking out into laughter. “It seems I was wrong. You really are just a simpleton who knows nothing, aren’t you? So then that means that living corpse accidentally spilled some of his secrets to you. That’s quite inconvenient. Oh well, not like it matters now.”

What is he talking about? Aria pursed her lips. She knew he was referring to Archbishop Walden. But why did any of this matter? 

And why exactly is he laughing at the idea that Nox is dead? the Lady of Light couldn’t help but wonder.

“What is it that you want?” she demanded as she raised her longsword at Hyperius.

He stopped laughing as he looked back at her. “Oh, you’re finally asking the right questions. What do I want, huh?”

The Master of Fate just tilted his head back as if in thought. And then he nodded to himself, before meeting Aria’s gaze.

“What I want is simple— I want to stop the cycle of destiny from deviating. And to do that…”

He smiled as he straightened, his hunch vanishing as he picked up his walking stick.

“I’ll have to kill you.”

Aria’s eyes flickered as she suddenly sensed an overwhelming pressure filling the room. It was like power incarnate. And she knew it was coming from the exorbitant amounts of mana that was gathering at the tip of his walking stick.

“From the first breath to the final silence…” 

“An incantation? That means—” Aria’s eyes went round, realizing what Hyperius was preparing.

A God Skill.

Aria immediately backed away as she summoned an Instant Message Scroll into her hand. But before she could even open it, the Avatars of Death in the room moved. They charged at her as she cursed, dodging their onslaught of attacks.

They surrounded her from all sides, leaping at her, darting around her— swarming her with their numbers. All the while, Hyperius continued his incantation as a nebula of iridescent colors began to gather around his walking stick.

“...I command the forges of existence and the ashes of oblivion…” 

“[Holy Slash]!”

Aria swung out with her longsword as it shone with a golden light, cleaving through three Avatars of Death, with the force of the impact knocking the rest of them back. 

Except for one.

The Diamond Rank Avatar of Death dodged her attack and lashed out with its own powerful strike. She barely managed to parry the swing, but somehow, her shoulder was still cut open. Her blood splashed out, partially spilling onto her face as she gritted her teeth.

Her opponent tried to follow-up with another strike, however she moved faster this time. She kicked it away from her, before plunging her sword into the ground.

“[I Am Indomitable].”

A pillar of golden light wrapped around her, encasing her in a barrier of protection. The Avatars of Death couldn’t reach her— they tried to claw their way in, and they failed. But she knew she wasn’t safe yet when she heard Hyperius’s muffled voice from the other side.

“Now, the hand that brings about creation shall deliver the blow that ends it.”

Aria moved quickly, wetting her thumb with the blood on her face, using it as ink to write on the surface of the scroll. It was a short message— a quick message. But it relayed what was needed. And then the scroll began to burn away as she looked up just in time to see Hyperius holding up a white spark.

The nebula was gone. All that remained was this small spark that was shining brighter than the sun. The Master of Fate smiled as his lips moved.

“[Breaker Of Genesis—”

And then the world flashed. Aria closed her eyes, thinking it was over. That whatever attack this was, it had consumed her, and she was now dead.

But then, through the ringing of her ears, she heard the distant voice of a man she knew. A familiar voice. A warm voice.

“Aria… Aria… Aria!”

Opening her eyes, the Lady of Light looked up to see herself lying on the ground in the middle of the Basilica of Lux. She sat up as she looked around the room surrounding her— she saw the stained glass windows and the gilded chandeliers. Not only that, but she saw the faces of the Seven Cardinals of the Virtues, standing behind the man who raised her and taught her everything she knew.

And she knew that she was safe.

“Why did you ask me to summon you, Aria?” Archbishop Walden asked, giving her a worried look.

“I…” Aria trailed off, processing everything that had just happened.

Walden exchanged a glance with Cardinal Severn, before looking down at her once again.

“Did something happen? Are you alright?” the archbishop asked in a worried voice.

And Aria just sighed as she closed her eyes. 

“I don’t know,” that was all she said.

***

“She escaped. What a shame.”

Hyperius lowered the wooden cane as he muttered under his breath. He drew back, sighing disappointedly.

“And I thought I had managed to set up the perfect trap for her. But, of course, he had to find a way to save her. Oh well, it’s no matter. I’m sure I’ll find another opportunity to get rid of her. Not like this was the only Birthpool I knew of, although…”

Glancing back, Hyperius eyed the ground behind him. Everything that had been there just moments ago had been deleted from existence. The cave. The Birthpool of Death. The Avatars of Death.

Even the Diamond Rank Avatar of Death.

They were all gone. And not a trace of them remained. There wasn’t even proof that they were destroyed. No smoke. No fire. No rubble.

Not even a crater.

“There had been some promising candidates amongst them. Perhaps I should’ve waited before using a God Skill to see if she had any other tricks up her sleeve.”

Hyperius shook his head as he walked away from where the cave once was. All the while, he spoke to himself as he hobbled along, using his wooden cane as a walking stick.

“Well, what’s important is that she is dealt with. Once she is gone, then I can deal with our other friend too and be done with this little act of defiance once and for all…”

***

And in the Holy Academy, a boy lay in his bed, alone in his room, holding up a ball of light in the palm of his hand.

So that’s what you do, he thought as he stared at the ball of light.

After a few weeks of mulling it over, he finally figured it out— the Title Skill which he had been given. It had been three months since he first got it, but now, he understood what [Remembrance Of The Fallen] did.

That will be very useful for later. Nox, now better known as Eli, grinned to himself as he let the ball of light dissipate. Closing his eyes, he made even more plans for the future. After all, his goal was to break the cycle of fate, and to get to that point required a meticulous amount of planning. But that was all for later.

For now, he had much more pressing issues to deal with— a difficult hurdle that he had to overcome first and foremost. He had to…

…pass his midterms.

So Nox the Death God, Eli the Bloodied Blade, and the student of the Holy Academy picked up his textbook and studied for his upcoming exams, before doing anything else.

End Of Book 1

Afterword:

So how's everyone enjoying the story so far? I know it's a bit slower-paced than most other novels, but I am personally a big fan of slow-burn stories that takes its time to explore its premise, which is what I've been doing with this novel. Hopefully, I've been doing it well. I honestly would love to hear what you all think about the story so far :)

Also, just because book 1 is over, doesn't mean I'm taking a break from posting. I'll continue posting immediately, so... you don't have to be worried about waiting too long for the next chapter!

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