This decision was one of the hardest that Colin had to make. During the two week trip to Scutch Town, Colin had gained a character level and had decided not to spend the points in case he came up with something he needed. More MP, increase Intellect or Wisdom. More movement speed, increase dexterity or speed. Given how, in his last fight, that the points could have come in handy for was forgotten in the thick of it, he felt good about just spending the points.

First, Colin put two points into wisdom, making the new total twenty. Since it was needed to help his Hubris ability, Colin felt justified at least adding one point per level into the attribute. He did the same to luck to invest in the chance of fortune going his way. From there, he put one point of his six remaining into each attribute left.

This left his totals at;

Strength: 13 Dexterity:16 Speed: 16 Build: 14 Intellect: 13 Wisdom: 20 Charisma:14 Luck: 14

He finalized his choices and sighed with that choice off his chest. Several more prompts were waiting for him, and the next ones were the four he minimized after creating his Efficient Igniting Friction.

For creating a brand new spell unique to you, and succeeding on the first try, you have gained a new skill. Spellcraft Level 1. This skill is an assist for anyone creating spells by offering suggestions on ways to make spells work more efficiently. At the first level, any suggestions will be small in scale. You have created a spell that manipulates a universal law of Kinetic Magic. Everything is always in motion, especially down at the molecular and atomic levels. Not only did you know this fact, but you also used it to perform a spell that creates an effect from another elemental magic. For this feat, you have gained a Skill Point. Skill Points are a hard to come by currency that offers a shortcut for skill growth. It grants one level per skill point spent on the skill of your choice. Due to your Hubris Ability, your new spell, and its similarity to the below-mentioned skill, you have unlocked the subskill, Ignition Level 1. You can ignite anything easily flammable within five feet of you with a glance at a mana cost judged by factors such as what you are igniting. Objects touching another creature have a chance to ignore this effect. Due to unlocking the subskill, You have gained the skill, Fire Magic Manipulation Level 1.

“Holy shit,” Colin whispered, hoping his shadow’s passenger would not let him down.

“What is it, DevilWalker?” Nox asked.

“I accidentally cheated. I just unlocked the first level of Fire Magic Manipulation,” Colin said, looking around for something he could use the subskill on.

“Impressive,” Nox said, the pleasure in his tone evident. “How in the Hallowed Halls name did you do that?”

So Colin told him the story while he excitedly looked around for anything he could ignite. Finally, he saw one of the lamp sconces on the Elder’s wall. He looked to make sure the Elder was still out like a light and snoring.

With that confirmed, Colin looked at the sconce and the wick within it and squinted his eyes at it. He activated Ignition and watched his mana dip, the cord inside the lamp igniting.

Elated that the subskill worked as predicted, Colin stood from his seat and doused the lamp to not waste the Elder’s oil.

Colin had a few more prompts left and had a feeling he knew what this one was. He opened it and smiled.

You have reached level 10 and now can choose another ability from either your Antagonist or your Path of Pride specialty.

I am Me

Requirements: Path of Pride Level 5

Description: your personal identity is strong enough to withstand any outside attempt to influence it. Effect: you gain a passive resistance to magic from the enchantment spell school equal to your wisdom attribute. The effect is multiplied by two when you actively and knowing resist an effect.

Unyielding Skill

Requirements: Path of Pride Level 1, Any Skill Level 5

Description: Your pride in your work makes you work easier to succeed and grow. When you take this ability, you choose one skill that you have achieved at least level 5 in. The chosen skill grows 10% faster.

Style in Action

Requirements: Path of Pride level 10, Dexterity 15

Description: You deserve to be seen in all your glory. Let all you see you move and act, stare in awe at your works. This new skill enhances your Charisma Attribute’s effects on anybody who can see you act. This ability has a secondary effect of allowing you to add a stylized effect to anything you do.

Positive Energy Resistance 1

Requirements: Antagonist Level 10, Wisdom 20

Description: Your evil aura acts as a shield against attacks and effects that use their Good Alignment. This ability grants 10% resistance to good aligned abilities

Runic Evil

Requirements: Antagonist Level 5, Enchanting Level 1

Description: Your position as Antagonist gives you a unique perspective in regards to your Enchanting skill. This grants you the ability, Runic Evil, granting you knowledge of a set of evil runic enchantments according to your enchanting level.

Sense of Evil

Requirements: Antagonist Level 10

This Ability grants allows you to sense psychic resonances of Evil.

“Holy shit,” Colin breathed, a smile stretching upon his face. All of them were super useful, and only one was mildly ambiguous. He was probably going to skip the abilities, ‘I am Me’ and ‘Unyielding Skill’ again. If nothing else, He had no need for resistance to the enchantment spell since he hadn’t seen anything that utilizes it, and ‘Unyielding Skill’ didn’t have any good use yet. ‘Positive Energy Resistance 1’ joined that shortlist as well since he hadn’t encountered it yet.

That left ‘Style in Action’, ‘Runic Evil’, and ‘Sense of Evil’. Sense of Evil was not descriptive compared to the rest of the list but was the most intriguing. The ability to sense psychic resonances of evil was curious, and he admitted that he was interested in finding out what it could do. Runic Evil could provide some useful tools for the enchanting he intended to work on again soon. He only wished it gave an example of these evil runic enchantments.

Then there was Style in Action. While the other two could provide useful tools for his growing toolbox, this one directly synergized with something he knew he was going to use somehow. Like his Bardic abilities, this skill affected his Charisma when others saw him do things. Colin could imagine a few things that would involve combining the two. This is especially useful since he’d been thinking about what he was going to do after he left this... hamlet.

He made a mental note to get those other abilities soon and selected, ‘Style in Action’.

You have gained the skill, Style in Action Level 1. An Antagonist of Pride is known for flaunting his style and having a flair in his every step. In combat, magic, and crafting, your style will be shown and obvious for everyone. Every level, this skill increases the Charisma Attributes effect with everyone who can see you act.

With that done, Colin let out a sigh of relief. These things done meant that his progression was settled for the moment, and now all he had to do was get a few answers from his resident Goblin ally.

“Nox,” Colin called out. “It’s time we talk.”

The soft padding of well-used leather boots walking on the floor reached him a second later. “I would rather not, DevilWalker. It is a dull and uninteresting tale that puts me in a thin patch of shadow,” Nox said, sighing.

“C’mon, Nox. What did the Scarecrow mean last night?” Colin asked, pushing the old Goblin.

“Like I said, it’s actually rather dull. When I awoke in the Dungeon where we met, I didn’t realize that I had lost a large measure of my powers. I had several titles back when I was alive the first time. The most important was ‘Hero of Hel’ and ‘Conqueror of the Shadow Halls’. Apparently, when I died, they became null and void, so the benefits they gave are gone.”

Colin raised an eyebrow, “hero of Hell? You are a hero to demons? Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

“No no, no. Not Hell the place, Hel, the goddess. One L,” Nox told him, Grinning.

Then something in Colin’s brain clicked at a memory. He’d heard of a goddess named Hel from one of the famous pantheons back on earth. Lore wasn’t a thing he spent any time learning about, so that was all he knew. Did the game’s developers put the name in here out of laziness, or was there something else.

This quick line of thought made Colin lose track of what Nox was saying, and Colin raised a hand to pause him. “What do the titles do?” Colin asked, curiously.

“The hero of Hel title primarily gave me bonuses to my attributes and a powerful ability. It let me take souls and bind them to my shadows to make them much more powerful. The Conqueror of the Shadow Halls title is more… complicated. It made me into a unique Goblin variant species called a Shadow Goblin along with many other things,” Nox explained.

“When we left the Dungeon, I got a prompt saying that, since I died, I lost access to those titles and their powers. I need to meet the criteria again to gain my former strength,” Nox grumbled.

“Okay, how do you do that?” Colin queried.

“The Hero of Hel title should be simple enough. I just have to-” he sighed, looking at the floor between his shoes. “Go home and see the goddess and ask for it back. She should not have any qualms with it. I think she liked me back in the day.”

“What the matter then?”

Nox looked up at Colin’s face, “the city where the goddess lives is deep underground in a mine turned Goblin City-State. From there, we need to get permission to see her from the high priest or priestess, and they didn’t like visitors back in my day. Allow me to add that we do not want to force our way to see her. Hel became the Patron deity of Goblinkind in my era, and she was helping us grow into a true society. This includes strong guards and priests.”

“I wasn’t going to suggest it,” Colin said, waving his hand about. “What about your other title, Conqueror of the Shadow Halls?”

“Do you know anything about alternate dimensions?” Nox questioned, seemingly ignoring Colin’s words.

“Not much, I know Hell exists, but that’s pretty much it,” Colin shrugged. “I’ve met a demon, so I hope so.”

“I suppose I’ll give you the short version before I answer your question. There are a fair number of alternate dimensions, or Planes, that exist. These planes all have specific rules that they work with. For Example, Heaven is an afterlife plane that radiates positive energy like ice radiates cold. There is one called the Halls of Hallowed Shadow. It is literally a white marble building with infinite halls, chambers, gardens, traps, troubles, chambers, and monsters that make it a labyrinth of indeterminate size. To get that Title again, I may need to Conquer it again,” Nox visibly shuddered.

“That scary, huh?” Colin smiled at the Goblin’s reaction.

“Just that difficult,” he said.

“Alright,” he nodded, able to understand the Goblin’s answer. “But why couldn’t you fight the Scarecrow?”

“All wraiths have a natural one-hundred percent resistance to shadow and death magic. While my magic could have affected it, the damage would have been negligible. Heaven’s be Damned, it wouldn’t surprise me if this AidenBrand put a crystal in it’s systems that make its resistances into draining.”

“What makes you say that?” Colin cocked his head in confusion.

“It knew what I was, somehow, and it still spoke like that to me. It was safer to leave it to you and look how right I was,” Nox grinned, showing off his sharp white teeth.

“Walker?” Elder Chevy called from the other room.

Colin stood from his seat and walked into the bedroom, knowing that Nox would step into his shadow without a moment’s hesitation. It was a humble room with a twin-sized mattress that the Elder was perched upon, watching him as he entered. A few old pictures hung on the wall, all covered with enough dust that he considered cleaning them on principle.

“Ah, I thought I heard you. Is there someone else in there with you?” The Elder asked, bending to look past Colin.

“Yeah, I have an old Goblin from like a thousand years ago that lives in my shadow. We were discussing things we were going to have to do soon. Like going to the Halls of Hallowed Shadow,” Colin said, smiling extra wide to emphasize the joke.

The Elder smiled at Colin, “oh. I thought I had finally gone and used enough magic to fry my brain. You know how that goes, my spell casting isn’t as safe to me as it used to be,” the Elder wiggled around on the bed, trying to get more comfortable. “So tell me, did we win?”

“Of course we did,” Colin informed him. “You helped, after all.”

The Elder’s smile became wistful, “unfortunate that age had kept me from helping more, Walker. In my adventuring days, we might have defeated that thing easily. Alas, time comes for us all eventually.”

Colin nodded, “indeed.”

“Thank you, Walker, for accomplishing this task for me. Would you like your pay now or later?” Elder Chevy asked, his tone weary and exhausted.

“Later will be fine, Elder. Please, get some more rest. You’ve earned it,” Colin said, patting the old man’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Walker,” he smiled and laid back down in his bed, asleep in under a minute.

Colin walked back into the living room slash kitchenette area, and Nox reemerged from his shadow. He hopped onto one of the Elder’s chairs and sat, waiting for Colin.

“What Nox?” Colin asked, seeing the small creature’s gaze lingering on him.

“What were you thinking of doing now? There should be nothing left here for you, but I am getting the impression that you have something in mind,” Nox queried and quirked his head.

“There are two things I want to check out. Where AidenBrand made the golem and where it had been hiding in the woods. There might be something useful left there, and with any luck, it will be something we can take,” Colin said, grinning at the Goblin.

“Thinking of delving into Golem crafting now?” Nox asked with a chuckle. “How lofty your ambitions are, oh Prideful one.”

“Oh I have plans, Nox. The more I hear about this world, the more ideas that stir in my brain for things I can accomplish. Besides, I hope to find something we can sell in that hideaway if it won’t be useful. Monetary rewards are useful,” Colin explained.

“Indeed,” Nox said, sliding off the chair. “Shall we be off then?”

The two decided to split up in the forest to find the lair faster, and it was found within a few short hours. The only incident being a Giant blue flower that tried to eat Nox whole. It snapped at him with its petals, grabbing him with its bud, and seconds later, it exploded in a burst of pollen, plant matter, and shadow matter.

The Scarecrow’s hideaway was a hole in the ground that sloped down into a cave that continued into the darkness. They knew it was the Scarecrow’s cave from the smell of rot coming from inside and the blood trail that had seeped into the dirt. Those along with the peg-legged imprint from the golem that led into the large hole in the ground.

Nox tossed Colin a face mask that wrapped around his head like a bandana, smelling of yeast.

You are now wearing a filtering mask. No airborne diseases, poisons, or allergens can affect you while you are wearing this mask for up to one hour. Note: higher-level diseases, poisons, and allergens may wear out the mask faster.

“Do you always come this prepared?” Colin asked, astounded that Nox had thought of this.

“Yes,” Nox told him. “My class is not combative naturally. I have to spend time, money, and resources to be ready and truly effective. Sometimes that means having masks to protect against aerosolized poison.”

“Good to know,” Colin reached into his back and produced a lamp he borrowed from the late Mr. Edrun’s house, igniting it with a thought.

Together, the two walked into the cave, finding it shallow. The cave was around eight feet wide, maybe eleven feet tall, and shallowly sloped downwards for approximately four minutes. The slope died out, and they entered an actual cave chamber. Around the room were piles of gelatinous flesh and solid bone that made the place infinitely more creepy. There were no other exits, but a table sat against the back wall with clear crystals and spools of wire.

Colin reached down to pick one of the crystals up and stopped himself as a different one caught his eye. This one was actually flickering a very dim green and was shaped like an eight-sided diamond.

Nox was in another part of the room, taking samples from one of the flesh piles and storing them away. So while he was busy, Colin picked it up.

Suddenly, a howl he recognized broke into his mind like an instant migraine, and he fell to his knees in pain.

“You ruined everything!” the voice of the Horde Wraith screamed. Somehow it was voicing its outrage inside his head and causing him the most anguish that he hadn’t experienced yet. “My army, my power, my body! Now, I think I will take yours in exchange,” it roared in purest rage. “Condolences for your impending demise,” it told him as, somehow, his head started to hurt worse.

Migraines were misery, they hurt and made you wish for everything to just vanish until your head could withstand it. What happened to Colin was more akin to someone crushing his skull in a vice and impaling it with uncountable needles at the same time. Colin imagined that getting shot in the head was almost preferable since it would have been so much faster.

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes stretched into hours, and the pain never eased. It only altered and changed into some other kind of torment for endless time.

Finally, a prompt appeared.

You have discovered a hidden, passive, ability of your Antagonist class. The Ability, Fated Evil, has been triggered. You are immune to permanent possession of every kind. Since your ultimate fate in this life is to wreak havoc upon it and confront the hero when they find you, your soul, heart, mind, or body cannot be overridden by another being. This has been decreed since the first Antagonist and shall forever be so.

“What?! Is?! This?!” the Horde Wraith howled in confusion. “This is impossible! Nobody is immune to possession!”

The Advanced Horde Wraith, Kurket, cannot possess your body and evict your mind, heart, and soul. Given the already weakened condition of the Advanced Horde Wraith, it’s essence has been destroyed in the attempt. You have defeated the soul of the Advanced Horde Wraith Kurket, and have gained 300 EXP. You now have 3257 /9115 experience until level 11

“You piece of celestial shit! I will kill you for this! Death is but a door, I will be baaaaa-” the Wraith’s voice trailed off as the pain faded away over the next few seconds. The relief was so sharp that Colin almost wanted to pass out from the sensory input.

“DevilWalker!” Nox yelled into Colin’s ear. “What’s wrong?!”

The Goblin repeated himself another time before gritting his teeth and creating a shadow that writhed in his palm. “This might make it worse but-”

Before Nox could do anything, Colin opened his eyes and dropped his hands to the floor. They had been covering his ears, and his eyelids ached somehow from scrunching them closed too hard.

“I’m okay now,” Colin wheezed out, his voice hoarse.

“What happened?” Nox asked seriously. “You suddenly started screaming in agony, and a minute later, you’re fine.”

“This,” Colin said, lifting the now clear crystal in his hand. “Horde Wraith. Soul in it. Ow.”

Nox took the crystal and moved it away from the light. After a moment, he hissed in rage. “That fucker AidenBrand. The more I learn about him, the more I want to find him, gut him, and feed him his own entrails.”

“What?” Colin wheezed, a little less discomfort now.

The small green humanoid turned around, holding the crystal in three fingers. “This crystal is a special core. It appears that Aidenbrand didn’t want his Bound Horde Wraith to escape if its golem body was destroyed. He took the principle behind a liches phylactery and linked the two crystals together so that if the golem died, the Horde Wraith would remain, here. Just waiting for it’s master to pick it up,” Nox growled before a smooth layer of shadow, like a silk sheet, slid over the crystal. With a growl, the crystal shattered.

“If we ever find this miscreant, DevilWalker, we kill him. Agreed?” Nox asked.

“Agreed. But why do you care?” Colin said, condensing his sentence.

“The killing here had no purpose other than experimentation and cruelty. If he used that Scarecrow to kill bandits, monsters, even Goblin’s I couldn’t find the will to hate him for it. But these people were doing nothing to him, and he had them killed. Fuck him and his life,” Nox turned his head and spat on the ground behind him.

That fact was something Colin could agree on. Pointless killing was always avoidable, and Aidenbrand didn’t do it. The Goblin’s hate was palpable in the air as the shadows just past the light of the lamp seemed to condense, thicken, and writhe with it.

After a long moment, the shadows seemed to relax, and Nox’s hatred along with it. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, just want to take these,” Colin said, standing from his knees and carefully sliding the crystals into his dimensional bag.

“Anything might be useful,” Nox said, nodding sagely.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve got plans, Nox. These might just come in handy eventually,” Colin told him. The Antagonist closed the bag and reattached it to his belt. They walked around the cavern one more time to make sure they didn’t miss anything and left moments later. Tomorrow they would leave Scutch Town unless they found a good reason to stay.

Knowing his luck, he probably would.