The Fool's Freedom

The fight became nothing more than Alan supplying mana to his Dark Servants and bombarding the great beast with blades made of Will infused shadows and [Void Pierces]. The latter did much less than Alan had assumed it would, even when empowered with [Sacrificial Attack]. The creature's skin was thick if it could even be called skin, and he noted that it slowly reformed after some time passed without damaging it.

For some reason, [Void Pierce] only made dents, rather than tear pieces off and replace them with emptiness – at least that’s what he assumed it did, considering his previous experiences. Perhaps it was some sort of natural resistance, which was annoying.

The Shadow Servants were draining much of his mana and Alan started worrying. His life was tied to his mana pool and he wondered if reaching zero would be his death. Probably not, as he received some with each breath he took and each moment he spent in the world. It was not nearly enough to offset the expenditure, but it was a massive difference from before. Coupled with the increased regeneration that had probably come from his increased stats, things were looking good.

The chains were doing the most damage of it all. They were digging in the thick flesh of the beast. It had already healed over them but Alan’s Will coupled with the persistence of his servants who didn’t let the creature do much more than thrash around was giving results.

He avoided its head, opting to just help the chains do their thing by spamming shadow slashes at the place where they connected to the limbs, all the while dodging spikes made from earth.

It was about twenty minutes later that the beast finally seemed to tire out and stop the constant casting of its only skill. Its efforts to free itself grew weaker, which significantly lessened the mana expenditure of the Dark Servants. [Chains of the Dark Servants] was also a skill capable of absorbing mana from its environment, which was another aspect of it.

Finally, the first one cut through, separating the foot from the rest of the limb. The beast roared in anger and pain and toppled to one side moments later, revealing its belly. It was nothing like the thick earthen bark-like skin that coated the sides of the creature and made it so difficult to kill. There was a thin strip of green but soft-looking skin there, and Alan did his best to aim for it with full force [Void Pierce] plus [Sacrificial Attack] combo. He had long abandoned his daggers in place of the staff, which gave him range and speed.

It took three casts and a total of 15 more points of Vitality taken from Cole to tear open the stomach of the beast and end the fight for good.

You have slain Earthshell Trihorn (202)

Level up!

You have reached level 101 in Tier Two [Shepherd of the Broken]

+5 Attribute Points

+5 to Mind, Will, Magic

Alan grinned at the message. That was a massive difference compared to before. He noted that the creature was not tier two, which was… strange. Perhaps regular beasts just leveled up, without going up in tiers and establishing their existence more firmly within the realms of the System. Perhaps at some point during their existence, they would gain enough sentience and qualify for something more. What would a tier up at a level 200 or 300 produce? Was it possible? While some of the rules of the System seemed pretty set, he had seen it bent and offer things just for the sake of witnessing progression. It was important to him and it was part of the reason he was still alive.

His bloodline was proof of that, as its very appearance had made the System help him in a way. He still didn’t fully understand the edgy name it had been given, but he didn’t care. Awakening it was one of the things on top of his list, along with advancing his skills and finding somewhere he could level consistently.

With a sight, he neared the corpse of the slain beast and briefly focused on the flow of mana. The body was mostly dark now, as if blending with the rest of the world, but a part of it remained quite full. A small core located a bit below what he could call the chest, or the front limbs of the creature.

Using the opening and after some creative work with [Shadow Creation], giving himself long and sharp limbs, Alan managed to dig up a small crystal core full of earthly mana. It was a welcome piece of loot.

He stashed it in his shadow space since the elven scouts were still nearby and he had to deal with them as well. Killing was perhaps taking things too far, although no one could put the blame on him if they disappeared in the dangerous forest. However, as much as he disliked what he had seen and what he had gathered from his brief peek into the Sanctuary, he still wished to stay peaceful with the cannibal elves. They had enough problems without adding a weird tier-two human among them. It was a sort of a pity since their nature was forced upon them, rather than a choice.

He spent another ten minutes hacking at the creature's neck and trying to take its head. It was hard, but the horns were tough and could probably make quite a valuable material for enchanted items. Finally, he managed. It was easier when the flesh didn’t regenerate but he still had to put a lot of Will inside of each of his attacks – an action that was much more exhausting than simply using his skills.

Stashing it in the shadow space as well, Alan left the rest. The beast didn’t look edible. Even its softer parts and inner flesh were colored like earth and smelled quite badly.

[Void Step] took him into the tree line instantly, and he burst into action. The first of the scouts seemed to have sensed what was coming, but Alan’s speed was nothing to scoff at. Even without the tier two attribute quality boost, he was possibly faster than many of those specializing in Dexterity thanks to his [Shepherd’s Shroud].

He appeared next to the elf and smiled at him.

“Hey, whatcha doing?”

The elf’s eyes grew wide as shadows wrapped around his neck and mouth, pouring out of Alan’s hand. He bound the hands too, then moved on to the next.

In almost no time the four scouts were all bound and gathered in one place. The last had tried to run, but it had been pointless. A shadowy rope stretched connecting their bindings to Alan and he pulled gently on it.

“Come on, we will walk nice and slow,” he said. “I’ll ask questions and give each of you time to answer. If you chose to forfeit that right then… see what happens.”

The elves only stared at him defiantly. There was no fear in their eyes after the initial surprise had worn off, although killing the beast that had wrecked their Sanctuaries should at least have raised their opinion of the ‘lesser’ human.

The group then marched on, led by Alan. The elven scouts or whatever their classes were struggled for a while, but they were in the 80s of tier one at best and incapable of resisting the grip of his shadows.

“So, those you call regenerators… do you cut off meat from them to feed?” Alan asked casually.

Shadows swirled and disappeared from the mouth of one of the elves, allowing him to talk. He didn’t.

“The silent and cool type, huh? I’m quite impressed considering I just killed a creature that had taken so many of you. I knew you were honorless but…”

“What do you know of honor, human?” the elf spat. “You may be strong, but that doesn’t mean we will bow to you.”

The rest mumbled in what Alan assumed was agreement.

“Come on now. You were hiding between the trees like mice while I was out there, risking my life to help you. I’ve done what I promised to do, yet you stalk me as if you were waiting for an opportunity to attack. What honor is there in that? Are you [assassins]?” he refuted.

The elf’s eyes widened and he was about to speak when shadows once again covered his mouth. The one next to him was allowed to speak instead. This one was calmer but looked toward his companions before talking as if seeking permission or guidance. Was there a hierarchy here?

“We’re not [Assassins]. We’re [Scouts], and we were simply sent to make sure you’ll fulfill your pledge to our village.”

Village? Damn, they are holding on to the past. I guess we humans are really good at throwing away everything and adapting.

“I did. So why not answer a few questions? I’ll find out either way, but if we can fill the time it will take us to reach the Sanctuary with productive talking, then things will go much smoother.”

“You plan to walk like this the whole way?” the elf asked. There was worry in him now, and the rest looked at each other too.

“What’s the issue?”

“This part of the forest is very dangerous, human. Some beasts will not hesitate to tear us apart even if we move as a group. We’re of the few allowed to venture so deep because our skills allow us to avoid the dangers of the forest and blend with it. If we walk so slowly… we’re bound to be beset with danger. You’re strong, but we’ll die.”

There was certainty in his voice. Was he so unsure of their own combat capabilities, or did he know something Alan didn’t? There were strong beings around, sure, but nothing that terrifying. [Scout] didn’t sound like a very strong class though.

“Answer me, and I’ll release you.”

Once again, the elf seemed to silently consult his companions. Only the one who had spoken first shook his head, but the others nodded.

“A regenerator is a sacred duty. We had them back in the Old World too, however, they were called by another name I’ll not speak of ever again. They’re those who give their flesh, so the rest of us can live strong, free of the madness of our curse. And to answer your question more bluntly – yes, we eat their flesh, and they grow it back thanks to the blessings of the System.”

Alan knew what was coming but the confirmation still made him grimace.

“Does your curse… have a System name? Is it a trait?”

There was a moment of silence. “We don’t speak of it, human. We don’t share details with outsiders. This is too much to ask,” the elf solemnly said.

“Don’t worry, I understand. I had a few traits like those too. They were a pain and thinking of sharing them with anyone makes me shudder. However, that issue is resolved now.”

That grabbed the elves' attention. All four looked at him with wonder and curiosity the likes of which he wasn’t used to.

“A few? Have you… changed your traits? May… may I ask what grade they were?” the elf asked carefully.

What a polite prisoner I’ve found.

“Both were of the Epic grade.” That’ll get you thinking.

“How?” There was desperation in the elf’s voice. Sheer and utter desperation. Alan felt a bit bad, but he needed to make sure they opened up. It was a silly trick, but it seemed to have worked.

He sighed and willed the shadows to fall apart from the elves, letting all of them speak and move as they wished. None did though, even the rude elf.

He shrugged. “I just kept improving… I’ll talk some more with your chief on the topic if we decide it’s worth exploring. Tell me, are there any other Sanctuaries around?”

“There are.” It was the third one that spoke this time. “A few elven ones we’ve contacted. They, in turn, have contact with more. We also know of some human ones. This part of the forest is something like a border to more dangerous lands so we haven’t explored it that far.”

That sounds interesting. Perhaps there are many other human Sanctuaries close to ours. From what I gather Rosalyn hadn’t had much time to explore the forest, considering the danger of the rotted bastards. I should figure out what their deal is sooner rather than later.

“We might have quite a few things to chat about,” he said after a moment.