“...”

“...”

“So... you’re telling me you already got an essence skill...?”

“That’s what I said, yes.”

Andross covered his face with his hands and let out a long sigh. After my class evolution, I had needed to share my status with the guild, as was customary. When I got to my hypothesis that [Hollow essence knight] was a class built around essence skills, Andross’ jaw had hit the floor. He held up a hand to silence me and had been asking the same question again and again, as if he couldn’t believe my responses.

“You’re absolutely sure it’s an essence skill, and not something else?”

“I am, yes. Hold on, why are you so hung up about this?”

Andross sighed again, while his face scrunched up like he had eaten a lemon.

“To get to tier six, a classer needs to have an essence skill. The thing is, the system hands those out so infrequently that some tier 5s don’t even believe they exist...”

“And you’re one of them, then?”

“No, you little idiot, I’m not! I just haven’t gotten as lucky as you, so I’m still waiting to get my essence!” Andross said in frustration, his face turning as red as a tomato.

I held up my hands in surrender to calm him down, which worked somewhat. I could’ve guessed something like this would be the issue. I knew personally just how temperamental the system could be, so the fact that Andross had been denied the key to tier 6 like so many others came as no surprise, though it reminded me of how lucky I had been to receive my essence early. Now all I needed to do was survive.

Now that Andross had finally calmed down, we could resume with the status check.

Sure enough, a few minutes later my status had been entered into the witch hunters’ guild’s top-secret database.

“Don’t worry, apart from me, only people with top-level clearance like guild-head Rashid have access to these records.”

I nodded in thanks. The stronger I got, the stronger and more resourceful my enemies became. I didn’t want to give them any undue advantages.

“Now that that’s over with, I wanted to bring another matter to your attention.” Andross began. “We found out what caused the hoard of ghouls near your town. I’m afraid the situation isn’t as simple as we hoped at first.” He said gravely.

Since this concerned the safety of my family, I listened with rapt attention.

“We found traces of a necromancer near the battle that created the corpses you encountered. The skirmish itself occurred a few dozen kilometers away from where you encountered them, though. Perhaps the ghouls were attracted by something near Rolla? We haven’t found any trace of human interference when it comes to the ghouls’ movements, though...”

I let out a small sigh of relief and some of the built-up tension left my body. At least this meant that this necromancer hadn’t been targeting me or my family. There were quite a few smaller villages near Rolla, after all.

“So what about this necromancer? Do we know who it is?”

“No, but we have encountered these same traces twice before...”

“What? Where?”

“Do you remember your expedition to Cerion’s home, the coldwater palace? When you were passing through rainlight bog and a tier 5 [Terror swamp centaur] attacked your group? We didn’t mention this to you at the time since we didn’t want to involve you yet, but we found a strange, dark-affinity mana trace near that centaur’s original habitat. Something had thrown the beast into a frenzy, which led to the attack.”

“That wasn’t the first time, though. This person’s traces also popped up near the necromancer incident that you solved as your test to enter the guild.”

“That woman he mentioned...” I murmured quietly. The madman that I had killed back then had been complaining about a witch he was serving.

“What was that?” Andross asked, unable to hear what I had said.

“Nothing.”

“Right... Unfortunately, our scouts were unable to follow the lead any further. Though we came away from the situation with some clues to this person’s identity, we haven’t found a match within our database yet. We’ll notify you of any developments in the situation. Oh, by the way, our guild managed to snag the [Failed chimera cavern] before the royals could get to it. It’s now one of the few dungeons that the witch hunters’ guild and church jointly occupy! Thanks for that, kid. You really created quite a dungeon with your antics...” Andross said jokingly.

He was referring to the goblin dungeon that had warped after I had evolved my core inside. Its properties made it the perfect training ground for aspiring witch hunters and paladins alike.

However, I didn’t care about any of this. Not compared to the necromancer he had mentioned.

“I want in.”

“What?” Andross asked incredulously.

“I. Want. In.” I replied stoically.

“No.” He replied resolutely.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Listen, kid. You should focus on levelling up right now. The path to tier 4 is a long and arduous one. The last thing you should be worrying about right now is a necromancer that’s a few hundred years older than you. You’re talented, no doubt, but I’ve seen far too many talents die out of recklessness, before they ever get to reach their full potential. Besides, I wouldn’t even know where to point you at... Just wait for news, Arthur.”

I moved to protest, but I was cut off.

“Listen, since you want to fight the good fight, why don’t I give you another mission?”

I grumbled in frustration, but accepted his offer after thinking for a while. He was right, unfortunately. I was too weak to be fighting tier 4 or possibly tier 5 opponents at this point. The only thing I could do at this point was level up slowly. To that end, a mission sounded like a good start. I was itching to finally start levelling up again.

Andross opened one of the drawers of his desk and rummaged inside, before pulling out a new-looking quest notice.

Quest: Retrieve the holy artifact.

Tier: 3

Danger level: Low-High

Recommended party size: Death Knight Arthur

Location: Between lands

Suggested arrival time: Undetermined

Quest poster: Helios church

Abbreviated description: Centuries ago, an ancient holy artifact mostly known for its historic value, was taken from one of our members by a cultist. This cultist managed to escape to the between lands before our church managed to catch him, where he hid the artifact, useless for him, in an underground dungeon. Due to the between land’s unique weather phenomena our church’s attempts to retrieve the artifact have all failed.

It is our hope that since you, Death Knight Arthur, are immune to these phenomena, you would be willing to retrieve this artifact.

Reward: Tier 5 Ancient dark-aligned ring.

I gave the notice a once over. At first, I intended to reject the offer. Why would I try something that even the church was unable to do? Then, I read the reward. A tier 5 ring that suited my affinity. Though its specifications weren’t mentioned, obtaining it would be paramount. The reward made the idea worth thinking about, at least.

There was just one issue. I had no idea what these ‘between lands were, or where they were located, for that matter. Thankfully, Andross seemed to notice my confusion and helped out.

“The between lands is a reasonably small cluster of territories in the south of Roa, on the border with Ergo. The endless forest lies to its south, separating the between lands and Roa from Alterian. The reason why these ‘between lands’ are so infamous is because a strange dark fog envelops that place. The fog seems to be sentient and has a dark-affinity, so it blinds and kills those of other affinities. Furthermore, freak thunderstorms appear randomly, striking down everything that moves. As a result, the between lands have become a safe haven for every dark-aligned sorcerer and cultist on the continent. Thankfully, no classer has ever truly ruled the between lands, since those cruel guys fight each other even more than they fight us...” Andross said, though he winced when he saw my offended expression. I was only teasing him, though.

“And you’re confident I’ll be able to pass through this area unscathed and unmarred by these freak storms, deadly fog, and a horde of psychopaths?” I asked stoically, unimpressed.

“Simply put, yes.” The guild master replied without missing a beat.

“You’re resourceful and strong enough to survive the place, and the dungeon where the artifact rests is right near the border with Roa. You’ll be in and out in several days. If the dungeon proves to be too dangerous, just give up and return.” He explained, unfazed by my sour expression.

I wasn’t the type to give up.

“So I get this artifact and get out, then?” I summarized.

“Well... it would be nice if you could report back if you find any settlements... We don’t know anything about the current state of the between lands, any information on their movements could prove to be invaluable...”

“All right, all right. That’s enough. One thing at a time, please...” I complained, to which Andross just smiled.

After some more explanations and light conversation, I left the guild master’s office and headed into the city to gather some provisions. Tomorrow, I would head out to the between lands.

I could smell the scent of adventure!