The Fool's Freedom

Rosalyn walked after Alan like her life depended on it. He was calm on the surface but her new [Heightened Sensitivity] allowed her to pick bits and pieces, even if she couldn’t be fully sure whether he was lying or not anymore.

“Emerson and Walter should be together. Your old friend, Turtle is there too. He seems to have fully embraced a life of pacifism after the deal with the godspawn.” Rosalyn said, trying to distract Alan from any other people he might be looking out for.

“Lovely, the gang is back together!” Alan laughed and Rosalyn was sure the shadows silently reflected that, as if overjoyed at their master’s delight. “We’re only missing Ash, and…” he didn’t finish the sentence.

Who was he talking about? It didn’t matter. She couldn’t continue like this. Rosalyn wasn’t sure if people with so many attributes or classes could get a heart attack, but she was sure she was getting close to it from the sheer anxiety the man’s presence was causing her.

“Alan,” she called out, and when he didn’t stop or react, she repeated herself in a harsher tone, “Alan!”

He stopped and turned, and the words froze in her throat, pushed down by a lump of fear she couldn’t describe. It was as if for a brief moment the wispy shadows were about to engulf and break her. But no. He was smiling, looking at her, and ready to listen.

“Alan,” she said for the third time. They were standing in the tunnel beneath the thick wall the two [Architects] and the few [Builders] had managed to somehow create by using their skills. Her entourage had been dismissed, and the two of them were alone. She didn’t know if she would’ve felt better if someone else was there with them, but she doubted it. What was she even supposed to tell him? Her sway over the man was gone, and he seemed to be out of reach for her skills or influence.

Alan spoke before she could find the words. “Tell me, Rosie, what do you do if someone goes against you? If someone tries to kill you or undermine your authority as a leader of this place? How do you handle it?”

She frowned and hesitated. This was not how it was supposed to go.

“I haven’t killed anyone…” she said, her uncertainty growing. “I’ve had to calm down a few fights, lock some people up, and not allow them to level…”

“Ah, but that’s troublesome. I’ve seen a bit of the universe now,” Alan said, and a strange red and black mark started swirling over his open palm. There was just a hint of blue too. Alan seemed deep in thought for a few seconds then grinned. Rosalyn’s hair stood on end as the unknown skill finished forming and disappeared as if nothing had happened. She had felt a danger for her life, and it was not even meant for her. What the hell was that?

Alan seemed happier, calmer now. “And I’ve come to realize that I’ve burdened myself with a lot. Chains that drag my mind in the gutter and lead me down strange paths I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen. I’m a product of my circumstances and society, but now… I’m changing. Unfortunately, that change comes with the understanding that I’ve let the outside influence me too much. Now it’s my turn…” he continued.

Rosalyn swallowed heavily. Scenarios of what would happen passed through her head. Could Top Rabbit do something about this? He was strong, but their group had grown more and more detached from the Sanctuary and its feeble balance. Even now they were busy hunting somewhere.

Cole was the other major force and she did all she could to prevent anyone else from choosing his side. He preached about taking the world by storm, exploring and finding other Sanctuaries to conquer. It was foolish in her eyes. Pure stupidity.

However, there had been quite a few System messages of destroyed Sanctuaries already, and she saw part of his reason. Better be the conqueror than the conquered. Now that the immediate threat of the rotting monsters was gone they had to be proactive.

“I think my friends can wait a bit more for me, don’t you think?” Alan asked. He had closed his eyes as if feeling or listening for something. Was it another skill? Rosalyn couldn’t sense a thing. “Found you,” he said.

And then he was gone just like that. She saw his form move with impossible speed further ahead. Rosalyn's heart sank once again and she let out a small scream in frustration as she ran after him.

***

Cole sat on his large chair and laughed as he took a drink of the [Brewer’s] new creation. Having taken the guy under his wing had proven invaluable, as by now his alcohols were acting like buffs. A few points of an attribute here and there didn’t make much difference, but it added up before a fight. It also alleviated stress, although getting drunk seemed impossible now, especially with his new specialization.

He knew it was foregoing a different class in the future, but he had decided on it due to his concern about the state of things. [Chief] was a class reliant on others, and while he was great at controlling those who put faith in him, there were a lot who didn’t. It had given him a lot of ways to strengthen those in his group, and also skills to make himself a harder target.

However [Enduring Chief] had added a further layer of protection to that. Cole wasn’t interested in dirtying his hands, but he was very interested in making a place for himself in this new reality and being a tough target was a priority. He wanted to live, to grow stronger, to rule. This was the life, and soon Rosalyn would have no choice but to bend to him, in more ways than one. It was a matter of time.

A loud noise from the entrance of the hall he was using as a main base broke his thoughts and he straightened making the girl sitting on his lap grumble as she fell on the ground. She knew better than to say anything as she straightened herself and moved to the side.

“Chief! Chief!” someone yelled. Cole frowned. What could it be? There was only one team hunting outside, and Tim was there. The [Healer] was invaluable, even if his whispers of treachery were getting annoying. He had some good ideas though, so Cole let him think himself important.

“Pipe down, what is it?”

“There’s trouble—”

Shadowy tendrils wrapped around the man, closing his mouth and bringing him to the ground.

“Shh. Don’t ruin my entrance,” a voice said. A familiar voice. Cole stood up immediately activating [Protect the Chief], and his [Enhanced Physical Protection] and [Enduring Mind].

He sensed the effect of the first skill wash over the room and make his people focus on his safety. He loved the skill as it made their senses much more aware of any danger coming toward him.

A tall figure dressed in simple clothes the likes of which he hadn’t seen in the Sanctuary or the Trading System appeared in the room as if out of nowhere.

Invisibility? Teleportation? No. They had skills to counter the first and the only one who could do anything remotely similar to teleportation was that Rabbit bastard whose name they still didn’t know. And even his was very limited.

Then… speed? A movement skill?

Cole’s eyes slowly took on the form of the smiling man. He was too pale for comfort, inhumanly so, with a grey tint that seemed to shift like the thin shadows surrounding his form. Who the fuck was this edgy motherfucker? He looked at the struggling form of the guard that had run to warn them. He seemed unharmed.

There was something very familiar about the man though.

“Who are you?” Cole asked, throwing a glance to the side, signaling one of his most trusted and best fighters to get ready. Boris was a [Kinetic Adept] and had a strange fighting style combining magic and brute strength. Half a mage, half a fighter. One of the strongest in the Sanctuary at level 91.

“Why, did you forget about me already?” the man asked. “Where’s that little witch? Where’s Tim? I hoped to get you all in the same place when I make my return. This is ruining it… You seem to be doing well though. You look fresh, brimming with Vitality, aren’t you? I knew you weren’t one to neglect safety.”

Return? What the fuck was this… Cole’s eyes widened and he felt something he hadn’t felt in a while. Not since that brutal three-eyed creature and the godspawn had decimated them. Not since the first battles with the rotting armies.

Fear.

“Alan?” Cole whispered almost choking. It couldn’t be. He had been sent away. Even if that bastard Emerson had returned it had been all on his own, and he was broken of spirit. Rosalyn had made sure they had gained no access to him, but Cole knew the man was nothing now. Nothing remained of his former scary strength. And he was sure Alan had died judging by the silence of them all.

Was this a plot? A trick? Had they been preparing to kill him all this time? Were there others? No. He would sense them. Cole frowned. He couldn’t sense the one before him though. It looked like Alan, just… more.

“We thought you ain’t coming back,” Cole said.

“Unlucky for you, I’m here. Now, with the pleasantries out of the way… where is that witch?”

Cole gritted his teeth. Mayra was important even if she was not strictly one of theirs. She accepted items and scrolls and whatever else they could find to take care of certain things and lived on her own. And she was vital in what he was planning next. Exposing her to a lunatic that had survived who knows what would be a loss.

But how strong was he? Would a small test push things too far, or could things be salvaged? If Alan had come alone, then he was confident against them… How much could he have grown? Where had he been?

Cole hesitated, but Alan didn’t seem to want to wait.

“I remember you, baldy,” he said turning toward Boris.

“You do?” the [Kinetic Adept] asked with a grin. “I know you too, I’m glad you’ve survived. Did you miss it here?”

“Not particularly,” Alan said.

There was movement as Rosalyn came bursting into the room. She looked wildly around and Cole frowned.

“What are you doing here, bitch?” he barked.

A hand draped over his shoulder and Cole froze. Shadows were creeping around him and he felt the world lose some of its color. He looked toward Boris, but the man was wide-eyed too, and seemed lost. Even [Protect the Chief] hadn’t been enough to let anyone react. This was bad.

***

Alan was having the time of his life. He felt like a bully of sorts, but he considered it all deserved. It was not the grand return he had hoped for, but this was great too. He could deal with some of the things still weighing on his mind, and then he would catch up with everyone. It was good to throw out the trash once in a while.

And Cole had changed. Alan could sense the brimming Vitality in the man, flowing like a river, and he decided to listen to Rosalyn and not kill him. There could be other uses for one who valued their own life so highly. It was a happy little accident that since mana was his ‘life force’ now [Curse: Stolen Life] had gladly accepted it.

If [Sacrificial Attack] acted the same then his destructive capabilities were much better than before, when he had to be wary of killing himself. The biggest negatives of the two skills seemed to be removed with [Empty Vitality] and his bloodline. There were times for testing that out though, and now he had a whole new battery to use.

“Alan, listen, we can talk,” Cole said. Is he pleading? Is he begging me for mercy? Great, now I feel bad… Ahah.

Alan grinned and a red mark appeared in his hand. Cole’s eyes grew wide and he tried to struggle. His strength was higher than Alan’s, but the mana-reinforced shadows that had slowly crawled around the man were doing their job and he was quickly bound and unable to resist.

The bald man that Alan remembered from the fight against Wuros screamed something and an invisible wave of force shot out toward Alan. It was like a cannonball, but it crashed in the shadows that appeared to block it harmlessly. Alan barely felt his mana drain.

It was curious. His attributes were certainly making his skills much more effective since the start, and stepping up a tier had seemed to strengthen that connection.

The curse mark met only a bit of resistance, but it broke down quickly. It disappeared through Cole’s clothes and flesh and wrapped around the root of his life. Alan could feel the new source of strength and grinned. He was pretty certain he could drain the man and walk away without issue, storing the Vitality to use for later. Cole’s lifeforce was many times denser than that of the large parasite he had first used the curse on, which was great too.

“From now on, you will be a good boy, right Cole?” Alan said, then pointed at the bald man who was preparing to attack again.

[Sacrificial Attack] went off as a boost to [Mana Zap] and Alan poured just a bit of Cole’s lifeforce into it. No more than four or five points of Vitality worth, just to prove his point. He felt the force pass through and his eyes widened. There was a burst of blue and red as the strengthened [Mana Zap] took the torso of the bald man clean off, sending a shower of blood and gore everywhere.

You have slain: Human, [Kinetic Adept] (91)

He met Rosalyn’s eyes who watched him with horror. He hadn’t meant it to be so dramatic, but he was certainly different from before.

Alan used [Void Step] to cross the room and watched Cole with wonder. The bastard had pissed himself.

I think I overdid it.