Alure’s Crypt.

8:20 pm, 16 th Peniel 1091.

Since time immemorial, darkness has been associated with evil and misfortune. As such, it has many forms. There is its base nature, an area devoid of light. Then there are other forms like despair, fear, torture, sorrow, pain, and many others.

Humans hate all the forms of darkness by nature. When cast into sudden darkness, they crawl their way to the light, no matter how painful it might be. In times when they realize there is no light to run to, they go crazy with terror and descend into utter despair. It is quite common for them to take their own lives even if they have food with them.

However, there are exceptions to this. There exist humans who are born in darkness, or are subjected to so much darkness, they evolve and adapt to it rather than give up.

Syèl was an amalgamation of both types. Not only had he been born into darkness, but he had been subjected to so much of it in his short lifetime that he could not be any friendlier with the silent beast. The halben released a sigh as he placed a hand on the head resting on his legs. Fear had a way of tiring people out, and Shoko had given in to that fatigue. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, then fell onto his lap a few minutes later.

Immersed in the darkness, Syel accidentally slipped into thoughts of his past. Of his very first memory…

???

Covered in darkness, a dense mass pressed down on him cutting off his supply of air and paralyzing his body. His sole companions were voices drifting in from beyond whatever pressed down on him. He tried to call for help, but the mass on him stifled all his cries, and a thick metallic tasting liquid seeped into his open mouth, blocking both his windpipe and esophagus. He could not push the mass away because his hands were trapped by his side.

Oblivious to his struggle, a couple of people were having a hearty discussion somewhere close enough for him to hear.

"Hahaha, the fool should have just paid up."

"Did you hear him beg for his son's life?"

"Fat blobs like him are a waste of time. Where's the kid?"

"Dunno. He must have run away and left his old man."

"Che. This is why I hate these pricks. How does someone even get this fat living in a place like this?"

"Who knows? Come on Wes, the cops will be here soon."

The sound of something being crushed was followed by one of the men sighing. "Sure, sure. Let's beat it. Find the kid!"

"Sure thing boss."

The trapped child was losing his battle, his lungs hurting more and more as they begged for air. Typically, he should have lost consciousness by then, but the young boy possessed had extraordinary willpower that kept his body just a bit longer in the fight. Whenever he drifted off, he would will himself awake, pushing himself to live.

Unfortunately, even willpower had its limits. Just as the boy was about to fall unconscious for the last time, the heavy mass was lifted off of him.

Light burned the child’s eyes as he involuntarily sucked in a vast amount of air, and coughed hysterically as a result. Strong, rough hands grabbed the boy and dragged him to his feet, his legs scraping the rough ground. The boy’s eyes slowly got used to the light, and he looked at the mass that had almost killed him.

It was an overly obese man covered in a red liquid he would later learn was blood. The man's eyes stared into nothingness, carrying in them evident regret and pain over something. His back, legs, and chest were riddled with holes out of which the liquid oozed.

The little kid stared at the man in terror, as an ungodly wail formed in his throat. "DAAAD!"

"Syèl?!"

Shoko's sharp voice snapped Syèl awake, and he realized he had fallen asleep sometime during the flashback. The fact that he could see the worry on her face proved the curse had finally worn off. He followed her line of sight to his hand which held her wrists in a death grip.

Syèl’s eyes went wide with shock, and he quickly released her hand before backing away.

"Are you alright?" Shokō questioned with concern in her eyes.

Syèl gritted his teeth. He hated those eyes. "I'm fine," he said, forcing a smile. "Come on, we've lost a lot of time." He stood up and walked down the labyrinth path. His hurried gait showed he had no desire to discuss the subject any further.

Somewhat understanding the need for privacy, Shoko followed closely behind.

After wandering through the maze for a few hours, Syèl came to the important conclusion that the creator of this maze was a Grade A sadist. If it was not hard enough finding the way out, adventurers had to deal with getting blind and momentarily losing their search of direction. The fact that the walls of the maze all looked exactly the same made things worse on them. It was no wonder several had perished inside the labyrinth.

None of these factors were of any consequence to Syèl though.

Now that he knew the poltergeists could be burned with fire, he took care of any that popped up on their path, only switching with Shokō in the moments he needed to wait for his mana to recover. Furthermore, because his attacks consisted of low-grade fireball spells, he could attack from a distance and avoid the chance of getting cursed.

Despite the excellent run of form, Syèl began to realize that the enemies grew more complicated and trickier the deeper they traveled into the labyrinth. For one, poltergeists were no longer solitary mobs. The ghosts were now accompanied by skeleton warriors of the dead called Draugr. These skeleton warriors were also low-level, but they were quite fast, and the numbers they encountered in each group increased the deeper they traveled.

The final group before the exit comprised of five poltergeists and seven skeletons. Syèl and Shokō guessed there would be a boss at the end of the crypt. As a result, they agreed Shokō should keep her ki full since she was the stronger of both of them while he took care of the enemies with his spells.

Rage simmered in the depths of Syèl’s eyes as he examined the enemy, still ticked off by the memory that surfaced earlier. The maze path was only about two meters wide, so the skeletons were forced into a small cluster. He pointed his open palm at the enemies, and a mandala suddenly appeared under the group.

"[Flame Spiral]" Syèl said, and a column of fire burst out from the circle and consumed all the monsters inside its fiery blaze. The skeletons and poltergeists could not resist the heat and instantly crumbled to dust, leaving bones and coins as loot. Syèl ignored the drops and stepped past their smoking ashes.

Shoko followed his lead, eyes downcast. She bit her lip and grasped the hilt of her sword, wondering what she could do to ease the atmosphere. She instinctively knew he would not take well to fooling around.

"RaaAAAH!"

Shokō paled as Syèl suddenly let out a loud shout and banged his head against the wall.

"W-what are you doing?!" Shokō cried as she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. However, her brows shot up in confusion when she was met with Syèl’s sheepish grin.

“Sorry," Syèl apologized with the weirdest smile she had ever seen in her life.

Shokō blinked, unable to process what the hell was going on. "Eh?"

"I remembered something unpleasant and took it out on you. I'm really sorry," Syèl clarified, then clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

"C-come on now! Don't go apologizing so suddenly. It's embarrassing!" Shokō protested, waving her hands frantically in front of her.

"Good, then. Let's get going... Prince." Syèl winked, dragging out the prince. He turned and ran down the last stretch.

"Don't call me Prince!" Shokō cried as she chased after him, smiling in spite of herself. It was nice to have him back.

The maze ended in a small hallway similar to the one under the temple. The burning ridges in the walls lighted the path, revealing a four-meter-tall stone door at the end. Syèl and Shokō stopped in front of the door, which was really a slab of rock with concentric semicircular patterns on it.

Rather than push their luck, Syèl and Shokō wisely chose to wait for Syèl’s mana to fully recover. The halben also took the opportunity to take stock of his current stats.

Name

Syèl Rífa tora

Alignment

Neutral

Level

64

Profession

Blood Mage

Title

Scholar

Fame

230

Infamy

0

Health

17293/17293

Mana

5000/17293

Ki

454

Vitality

142 +30

Stamina

17 +20

Wisdom

142 +30

Intellect

142 +30

Strength

41 +20

Agility

73 +20

Dexterity

18 +20

Endurance

Phys END

10

Mag END

3

Charisma

10 +20

Charm

14 +20

Stealth

5 +20

Instinct

25 +20

Fighting Spirit

52 +20

Leadership

10 +20

Luck

34 +20

Attack

Phys AT K

92

Defense

Phy s DEF

68

Mag ATK

1388

Mag DEF

64

Resistances

Poison Resistance

0%

Ice Resistance

0%

Electricity Resistance

0%

Light Resistance

0%

Fire Resistance

0 %

Dark Resistance

0%

Syèl examined his stat table with a satisfied nod. One of the benefits of having high stats at lower-levels was that a person could rapidly level up through fighting higher leveled enemies. However, the downside was the fact that his massive mana pool meant it could take over thirty minutes to refill. Luckily, the halben had acquired a meditation skill during one of his bounty missions, allowing him to speed up the process.

Ten minutes later, Syèl rose to his feet and nodded at Shokō, following which, they placed their hands on the door.

A system prompt came up.

Alure's Crypt

Here lies Alure, goddess of death, and Ferulic's favorite child. Slain after trying to rescue her father from captivity, her spirit returned to the earth to regain her power once more for another battle. Unfortunately, she was captured and entrapped inside this tomb. Her spirit is guarded fiercely by a minion of The Destroyer. Only those of sound mind and strong heart may proceed.

Suggested Level: Lv 50+

Do You Wish To Enter?

YES NO

"Well?" Syèl asked, looking at his partner, mocking in his eyes. "You up for it?"

"Hmph. Do not compare me to you. I am always prepared for combat,” Shokō challenged. “You sure you're not going to bawl out crying over your past?" It was a rude remark that should have annoyed anyone on the receiving end.

Syèl however, was not like anyone else. He covered his eyes with his right hand, bending back as he laughed heartily. He made a 'V' with his middle and ring finger, opening just enough space for her to see his left eye which gleamed brightly. "Oh.. I was born ready."

Syèl and Shokō shared a look then chorused, "Yes." Flames burned around Syèl’s palms while Shokō clutched her sword’s hilt as the door slowly but surely creaked open.

The smoke Kashi had seen came from a small village which the marker on the road had revealed to be Ranad. From first impressions, it was a really run-down place. The houses looked like they were going to fall to the ground at any moment, and the villagers which strangely consisted of only men, themselves were dressed in dirty rags denoting their impoverished state.

'I can understand why no one wants to come here. These people are dirt poor.' Kashi thought to himself as he walked through the town looking at the impoverished villagers. Most of the villagers were bare skin on bones, and their lifeless eyes gave the impression they had not eaten for days.

This gave the daeben an idea.

Kashi walked to the town square - well, what he assumed was the town square. It was literally a small slab of stone that formed a square with dead flowers in the middle. He took a seat on the slab and took out his pot. His cooking skills had entered the Intermediate Level which meant he could cook up some snazzy recipes.

On his way to the village, Kashi had assisted Kira in hunting for animals, and though it had proved a lot more challenging than hunting in the forest, they had been able to snag themselves a deer and a couple of dusk rabbits.

Kashi still had the condiments and spices he had bought in Kerta, so after he had prepared the rest of the ingredients, he started cooking. Minutes later, an amorous aroma rose from the pot and branched out through the village, wafting into the noses of the villagers. It tickled and teased them, then like a snake charmer, lured them towards its maestro.

‘That's right. Gather, gather.’ Kashi’s narrow gaze observed the incoming hungry men.

One of the villagers stepped forward, hesitation in his eyes. "E-excuse me, good sir, could you spare me a bowl."

‘Jackpot!’ Kashi hid his excitement behind a thoughtful frown. "Ah, I would love to but I am afraid hunting in this land is very taxing..."

The villager panicked and immediately offered, "T-Then perhaps I could give you some information on good hunting grounds?"

Kashi gave the man a bowl of soup then helped him to take a seat on the ground. "Ah, your kindness warms my heart. Here, sit and eat. A strapping man such as yourself should not lack a warm meal."

The man took a small sip of the soup and cried out in delight. "Oh... Oh, sweet Aethir. How... how could something taste this good?!" Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his face lit up with a bright smile as he downed the rest of the meal in seconds.

The hesitant villagers who had been watching immediately clamored for a bowl for themselves.

"Me, me too!"

"I can tell you the history of this place!"

"I know places to avoid!"

"I can..."

The villagers cried one after another, eager to have a taste of the meal that had made one of their own shed tears of joy.

"There is no need to rush, my friends. There is plenty enough for everyone," Kashi said. He kept on cooking for hours until he had exhausted all of his ingredients, but the information gained was worth it.

Kashi learned from the villagers that their major fishing ports had been hijacked by gangs of pirates and Froggers. Apparently, Froggers were a savage species of beast-kin that was a cross between Frogs and Man. The scoundrels had also placed hefty taxes on them which left them with nothing but scraps. To add insult to injuries, the villagers were not allowed to hunt for food without explicit permission from the pirates. Apparently, it was not just them. The same conditions applied to several villages situated along the Atled delta.

Oh, and their women had also been kidnapped. The men were especially sore about this above anything else.

One of the village’s old men stood out amongst the rest. He sported a long white goatee and mustache that was almost as long as the goatee. He flicked it to the side, reminding the daeben of characters out of kung fu movies. "You have my utmost gratitude, Kashi-dono," the old man greeted with a bow.

"No. It was my honor to help my fellow countrymen. It is the least I can do to make up for my people's past sins. And please, call me Kashi," Kashi said, standing up and bowing respectfully.

"My name is Elecurb,” the old man introduced himself. “It is good to see such chivalry in the youth of this generation. Most just want to become the greatest adventurer and forget both their homes and manners."

"Ah, yes. It is such a tragedy, Elecurb-san."

Elecurb eyed the daeben with suspicion. Years of accumulated wisdom and experience had taught him things were rarely as they seemed. If something seemed too good to be true, it most likely wasn’t. "What brings you to Ranad, Kashi?"

Kashi chose his words carefully. Lying was not wise as he believed old people could sniff it, but he could not be entirely honest either. "I heard the borders were in peril and noticed none of my kind was coming down to help. Though I may be weak, I chose to come and help in any way I can."

"Your words ring true,” Elecurb stated with an appreciative nod. “Come, walk with me, Dark One."

‘Really? Dark One?’ Kashi ignored the characterization and asked as he followed the elder, "Why have you not received any aid from the capital? I would assume the loss of so many shipping ports would damage your economy.

"Do you not know?" Elecurb questioned with disbelief in his eyes. Upon noticing the blank look in the daeben’s eyes, he sighed and stroked his beard. "The capital has long since been overrun by drakul. However, there is news of a force rising to reclaim it in Kerta. Its commander was called Absalon I believe..."

Kashi managed to keep the smile on his face despite a burning inferno of anger just beneath the surface. "Oh, I pray they will be successful. In the meantime, I cannot bear to see your people in such dire straits. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"As a matter of fact, there is,” Elecurb said. “But be warned: It is both dangerous and time-consuming."

Kashi thumped his chest and replied with a determined look, "Time is not an issue when important lives are at stake."

Elecurb chuckled as he scrutinized the daeben’s expression. "Hohoho. You either possess Retskirt's gift, or you are a messenger from Aerith."

Kashi’s brow shot up. "Retskirt?"

"The god of trickery and deception,” Elecurb explained.

"Ah, I am afraid I am neither,” Kashi replied with a light shrug. “Only a concerned citizen."

"It gladdens my heart to see such people still exist,” Elecurb said. “There may be hope for us yet. Here's what I want you to do..."

Liberate the Atled Delta

A gang of pirates and Froggers have occupied the major fishing ports, cutting off all income. Elecurb, mayor of Ranad had requested your assistance to rid them of this terror.

Recommended Level: Lv. 40+

"Accept."