The Fool's Freedom

The screams continued through the night, a chorus of wailing from all genders and ages. It was like a horror movie.

Alan considered asking the demon to remove the sound around him but clenched his teeth and gave up on the idea. Not being able to hear would put him at a disadvantage if something sneaked up. And he had to grow harder.

Getting used to the horrors of the new world would be a massive undertaking, considering how little was known, but it was also needed. Alan was doing well so far, or so he thought. Most of it had been luck and he was sure many more capable and smarter than him were food for worms by now. Still, this was only the beginning.

He sat among the rocks, avoiding the remains of the burned-up flesh and maggots as much as he could and clutching the moon beetles close, covering most of their light with his body so it didn’t seep out too much through the openings of his shelter. The small insects had proven once again they were invaluable in the forest. No wonder the kobolds kept cages and cages of them around.

They could both hurt the more horrifying things roaming the forest with their light but also provided some comfort in the night filled with exhausting screams and constant sense of danger.

It was strange how he hadn’t seen any of the beetles outside in the wild yet, but it was probably a matter of time. If he didn’t go insane by then. Alan rummaged in his bag and took out one of the vials of syrup. Carefully, he poured out a few drops, letting them smear on the woven prisons. The beetles were upon them fast, and he could swear after a few minutes their light grew brighter. A small win.

The wailing continued through the whole night, wearing on his mind relentlessly. The atmosphere brought out some of his more negative memories, using up its limited energy to harm itself further. Memories of family, betrayal, abandonment. Memories of struggles and pain-filled nights.

The faces of his three recent victims swam up too, mocking, cursing, laughing. The woman in particular. Seeing her two friends die, she had chosen to attack knowing that it was most likely futile. She had sacrificed herself pointlessly, the only result being more food for the strange maggots and more burden for Alan’s mind. Why hadn’t he simply left her there?

The realization struck him. Why hadn’t he let her go? He had quickly considered the possibility before slashing with his blade and taking her life. But now he had more time. All sorts of justifications swap up from the depths of his brain. She was a murderer, they had all been. She admitted it. She could lie, she could come for revenge, she could be trouble. There was only one statement that summed all up and rang true.

It was practical.

And it was. It removed the chance for further complications. Why leave danger behind? There was no room for mistakes and mercy in this new world.

Human life was cheaper than ever.

This new reality was getting to him, fast. He was changing and if that was good or bad, only time would tell.

“Hey, Xil. You awake?” Alan called, hoping the demon would answer. He needed a distraction.

“Yeah, the screaming is getting to me. It’s making me all annoyed and stuff. Fuck,” the demon replied.

“Yeah, being surrounded by suffering has that effect on people.”

“I am not people. I am a demon. Not much of one anymore, but still a demon.”

“You are pretty human for a demon.”

There was a hissing sound and then silence.

“Didn’t mean to insult you, but it was not much of a compliment either I guess. Say, Xil, what is your world like?”

Another beat of silence, before the demon answered, “I don’t remember much. I remember bits and pieces about different demons or skills and bloodlines. I remember and forget and remember again. I know things and I can explain things, but I don’t remember having learned them. Fuck, I guess I have more in common with the tunnel freak than I thought. This prison is constantly sapping at my strength and I have lost a lot.”

“Can I help?” The demon had been a good ally, and his skill was amazingly useful.

“We are not friends, human. Remember that.”

“Tough times make friends of us all.”

Was that how the saying went? It didn’t matter.

“That’s wiser than I’d expect from you. Fine. I don’t honestly know much about my cage, only that it saps my energy and almost bottomless reserves of mana fueling the enchantment. It has lasted for hundreds of years and it will probably last hundreds more. I have managed to weaken some links and make gaps wide enough to communicate or cast [Soundless]. I have also stored a lot of blood essence from the corpses I was given. It takes time to absorb though, that is why I sleep often. Once I do absorb it, I would appreciate some more.”

Alan nodded. He seriously doubted fresh kills and blood would be a problem to get ahold of.

“Got it.”

It was another hour before he couldn’t hear any Wailing Carrions anymore. Soon after, the sounds of the forest returned as if the horrible night had never been.

He had to find a Sanctuary or a better shelter. If each night was like this one it would erode his psyche faster than anything else. He honestly preferred fighting the things to listening to them.

As the first rays of daylight broke through the foliage, Alan finished the last of his rations. For a brief moment, he considered using the monocle on the kobold cheese but decided against it. It was tasty, and he wasn’t dead yet so knowing what it was made from would only make things worse.

Gathering his things, he continued following the stream. There was less wildlife, but he passed quite a few corpses being devoured by the maggots. Were those what the monsters were born out of? If he died, would he become one of them? Did they know what they were?

The fact that [Synaptic Failure] had failed, and it had even worked on a being made out of pure mana, was strange. The skill was a trump card above all else, as it consumed a ton of mana and was unusable in prolonged fights against waves of opponents.

[Shadow Slash] was his biggest asset, and improving that might be his best way to quickly raise his strength further. How would that happen, though? He considered the possibilities, as he jogged slowly.

It was around noon when he decided to take a quick rest. There was some change, as few trees different from the rest could be seen in the distance. Something was hanging from their branches and Alan’s mouth overflowed with saliva as he imagined tasting a fresh fruit.

Meat was all good and he would continue consuming a lot of it in the near future, but he liked having variety, and something fresh and sweet sounded like heaven right now. With a vigorous step, Alan went further in the forest, passing the strange new trees until he reached one with fruits that looked ripe and were low enough for him to reach.

They were similar to apples, more pink than red in color and rounder. Alan picked one and was about to brush it into his clothes, but stopped himself. He was dirty, despite the few baths he had enjoyed. And his clothes were dirtier.

The fruit looked good anyway. A bit too perfect if anything. Would his boosted digestion manage to deal with the consequences of poison? Still, poisonous apple was a bit cliché. He seriously doubted the System would go that wall.

Still, he drew one of his recently cleaned daggers and cut a piece of it. There were no maggots inside, but it was a pale shade of pink with a green core. It smelled like an apple and cucumber for some reason.

For good measure, Alan took out the precious monocle and unwrapped it from the bundle of cloth he used to protect it from breaking. Ig-Thun had said that it had limited uses, but it didn’t give that much information anyway, and Alan had already used it a ton during his time in the tunnels. It was also important to not eat anything that would kill him.

Rose Apple

Simple enough. It was even called an apple. He took a piece in his mouth and chewed. It was juicy and beautifully sweet, with a hint of freshness.

He devoured one and went for another, before stopping himself. The monocle only told the names of things, not what they did.

With a sigh, he directed some mana toward his digestion and picked as many apples as his bag could hold for later.

The regular trees still grew, but not as dense as before and the forest seemed to give room to the apple trees, as if it was specifically made to not suffocate them and give them access to enough light. Alan enjoyed the noon sun and decided to walk a bit further in. Finding his way back would be much easier with the apple trees present. For good measure, he marked a few with his dagger as he went further and further in.

A few boars, different in color than the ones they had fought in the earlier days passed by him, not showing any signs of having noticed him.

They lacked the aggressive characteristics of their scarier relatives, instead sporting a light bright coat with pink stripes or spots here and there.

Alan walked for more than an hour by his estimate, before he stopped. A particular tree caught his attention, or more like a stump of a tree. It looked freshly cut and there was a drag trail left in the carpet of fallen leaves and undergrowth.

Gripping his spear tighter Alan decided to follow the trail. It didn’t take him long before he stopped and stared in amazement. The forest disappeared and the ground turned into a soft and long slope that led to the sure mark of any advanced civilization – concrete.

There was a particularly eye-catching residential building, broken and turned sideways, mashed together into architectural nightmares. It was far from the only one. Alan saw remains of shops, rooftops, strange little buildings, and ruins in various states of disrepair. Vegetation and dirt covered everything, making a literal concrete jungle, but despite it all, there was no mistaking the remains of a city. Or part of a city, or a bunch of cities ground to dust, sieved, then glued together. It was a monstrosity.

There was a faint shimmer of gold that reflected the sun's rays, but Alan didn’t pay attention to that.

People roamed the streets, entering and exiting buildings, carrying wood and dead animals. It was hard to tell what everyone was doing, but they were busy. And there were a lot of smaller humans too – children.

In the middle of all the chaos of ruins and humans, was a featureless building that stood out as much as it was hard to notice. It reminded Alan of a temple or a monument to something. No vegetation covered its mighty pillars, nor the steps leading inside. People seemed to be wary of the thing as there was a wide circle around it devoid of activity or ruins. There was a strange ominous feeling.

It didn’t matter. He had finally found it, a Sanctuary. He wouldn’t say that he missed people much, especially after his last experience, but it was better to have a safe space to spend the nights until he got strong enough to roam about and level on his own.

His vitality, while silent and not creating any problems at the moment, was the main issue. The spirit that called itself Thorn had changed his weakness into strength, but it wouldn’t matter if he died. So far it seemed that vitality was mostly responsible for his stamina and natural healing, which was thankfully aided by his new body mastery skill. But what if it reduced his lifespan too? How long would he live with his vitality so low? Did he have a month or a year?

It hadn’t been clear on Earth either, but now he had actual numerical value. Hopefully, the Sanctuary would provide a lot of much-needed answers. There were bound to be people with experience and the correct way of thinking who wanted to understand as much as possible about the System and its effects.

Pushing himself was risky, but he hadn’t reached his limits in the kobold camp. The stimulating potion had done enough to keep him in good condition both during and after the fight. He had no more of them though, and the few field healing liquids were risky to use without someone to watch over him.

He wouldn’t want to fall asleep among a bunch of strangers.

There were also a few bundles of the strange herbs in his bag too, but that was a whole other matter. The thought of the Intoxicating Wide Grass no longer made his heart skip a beat, but there was still desire in him to partake in it and lose himself as he had done during the great tunnel rat slaughter.

Lots of things to figure out.

First, though, was getting down and looking friendly.

“Xil? Hey, wake up!” Alan called.

The connection formed after he took the cube and yelled it for a few more minutes.

“Ugh, what?! Let me sleep damn it.”

“I found a Sanctuary. Anything I should know about mentioning you, or demons in general?”

“Don’t. I am having a hard enough time dealing with your dumbass. I don’t need any more humans up my business. Demons are a controversial topic among most barbaric societies, that much I know, and I highly doubt any of the apes you have shared a planet with will have advanced enough to free me. It’s pointless.”

“Yeah, makes sense. Alright, sweet dreams grumpy.”

“Fuck off.”

Alan didn’t plan on divulging more information than necessary to anyone, but he still wanted to hear if the demon had any ideas to share.

With that out of the way, Alan started walking towards civilization.