Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 31
That decided it. She was stunningly beautiful, but he wouldn't accept any proposition unless she offered it after she had broken through her own barrier.
"That's flattering," Kai said, "but... I don't know, I feel like I don't know you well enough, and I want to concentrate on training until I break through."
"Men. Always nothing but training on their minds." Anaelina plopped down beside him and dropped her head to one hand to pout.
"Sorry." Her offer had only made him even more tense, so he stood back up. His legs actually hurt a bit, despite doing only his basic physical training. Perhaps he had been sitting and processing mana for too long. A walk would work out the kinks and also let him cool down.
Just as he started to move away, Anaelina spoke up quietly. "I was born in a tiny village near the heart of Rosemount." For once, she didn't act coy or even look at him. "Not everyone can be a warrior, the way you do things here. When I grew up, everyone said they knew exactly what I was suited for."
Kai frowned and sat back down opposite her to listen.
"You know, some say that power is always inborn. Anyone can work hard, so the only ones who will succeed are those who have power in their blood, their soul, or their fate. So they say that real strength ultimately comes down to luck in the end."
He wanted to agree, but his mouth was unusually dry. The tingling feeling had spread through his entire body now and he was beginning to feel strangely fatigued.
"I actually agree about the luck part." Anaelina finally looked up at him and flashed a bright smile. "But it isn't luck in where you were born. In my experience, it's finding an opportunity and capitalizing on it. Discovering an ability that lets you upend the rules of this world and conquer the rubble."
Something was wrong. Kai jumped to his feet and began moving back on instinct. An instant later, a hand closed around his throat and he began to feel his strength draining away.
"Then those who found their own luck can steal power from those who were born with it." Anaelina stared up at him, her eyes and teeth as silver as starlight. "Now it's finally time to begin."
Chapter 54: Fate Plays Dice
Kai grabbed at Anaelina's wrist, but she was overwhelmingly strong, far more than she should have been. Before his stamina could drain away, he struck her arm with both of his, using leverage to break her grip.
It worked, but he nearly collapsed when he dropped back to the ground. The tingling throughout his body intensified and now he understood it for what it was: part of his soul was draining into Anaelina. Mostly he felt his Class ebbing away, but the rest of him was weakened as well.
Before he lost his strength, Kai leapt back to where he'd set his bow. In an instant he drew and released an arrow, but Anaelina was faster. She was practically a streak of silver as she ran directly into the arrow, knocking the shaft aside and then striking him.
Her blow didn't harm him even slightly, but it pushed him all the way to the shoreline where he plowed into the sand. Kai struggled to get back to his feet just in time to see her pick up his bow. She frowned as it resisted her, but a moment later she twisted it in half with a shriek of metal. It only bought him seconds, but he used that time to throw his will into his spiritual sight.
<
Name: Anaelina of Rosemount
Total Power: 142
Silver Demon: Amber Rank (80)
Physique Level: F-8 (46)
Soul Level: 4 (16)
>
He had hoped that he would discover some weakness, but it told him nothing. She was more powerful than she had pretended to be, and now her primary essence read "Silver Demon."
The only thing that he noticed was that the draining sensation had gotten much weaker when he was further away from her. She had been trying to keep him in place from the very beginning. Kai growled and pushed to his feet, intending to reach the river, but Anaelina was on him in an instant and easily lifted him off his feet.
"You could have taken the easy path, fucked me, and then died in your sleep, but I suppose you have to do everything the hard way." Her bright smile held no more teasing and even as he stared down at her, power twisted around her clothes. Silver fabric flowed from her belt, wrapping around her body until it was covered by a cloak. "I don't mind. You're not as repulsive as most of the barbarians here, but faking gets tedious after a while."
When he made another attempt to dislodge her grip, this time it was futile. Kai struggled to breathe as he felt his Class sucked away by her overwhelming power. He was still wearing his belt and his gauntlets, but he wasn't sure they offered him an advantage. Nothing but his weapon sphere and a few useless potions... wait.
Kai rammed his fist into Anaelina's stomach and she barely flinched. He struck a second time, letting his strength weaken... then on the third strike, he twisted his wrist and drove the blade of his gauntlet as deep as he could.
Anaelina grimaced and staggered, but she didn't let go of his neck. The draining became more intense and he struggled even to lift his arms to his belt, much less strike her again.
"Tougher than you look..." Her smile gained a bit of its old enticement. "I wish I could drain away all that delicious Physique, but unfortunately I can't do that yet. Maybe once I absorb your strange Class. It might be worthless for you, but it matches me so very well."
Removing the last weapon sphere from his belt, Kai pushed it into Anaelina's open wound and envisioned twisted spikes.
The Irunian steel exploded outward, impaling her body from multiple angles. Anaelina screamed like he'd never heard before and collapsed, scattering blood in all directions. Kai's feet hit the sand and his legs nearly crumpled underneath him, but he drew on the last remnants of his willpower and hurled himself into the river.
At first he thought that he'd just sink to his death, but he managed to reach a floating position on his back. As the current bore him downstream, he felt a weight recede from his soul. He was finally escaping her range. That had been his greatest fear: that even if he dealt her a mortal wound, she would be able to finish him off before dying, or worse, somehow drain his body enough to heal herself.
When the current swept him up on a rocky shore, there was no trace of her presence. His entire soul felt scraped raw. He desperately didn't want to see what she had done to him, but he was too weak to move. After several minutes lying on his back and catching his breath, Kai reluctantly turned his spiritual sight toward himself.
<
Name: Kai Clanless
Total Power: 58
Laborer Class: 0 (0)
Physique Level: F-6 (42)
Soul Level: 4 (16)
???: ???
???: ???
???: ???
>
His Laborer Class had been reduced to 0.
Kai had just enough breath to laugh bitterly. He should have known better. Her seductress routine hadn't tricked him, but he'd blindly stumbled in anyway because he was so desperate for power. Everything was the same as it had always been: his soul was fundamentally worthless.
As the rage surged inside him, Kai threw his will against the useless symbols. He inverted every exercise that had been meant to encourage the growth of his Class and instead cast it out. It resisted but he pushed harder, determined to expunge every trace of the soul that had made a mockery of his life.
Without warning he succeeded and his chest seemed to cave in. Kai cried out in agony as his soul collapsed around the absence. He wondered if removing the piece of his soul that he'd been born with meant destroying himself, then wondered if he cared.
Before he could find an answer, his thoughts dissolved into darkness and blood.
.
..
.
Kai Clanless lay on his back, bleeding out, wondering what fate had brought him to this point. As he desperately thought back over every step that had taken him to this point, he saw only disappointments... and yet something underneath them, darker and more terrible than the denial of fate.
What little remained of his conscious mind felt only rage and bitterness. He was beyond words and could only feel an all-consuming hatred for the fact that fate had ruined his life just as it had so many times before.
But this time, Kai was wrong. Fate or random chance, his life was not what had been ruined.
<
Talent Capacity: Void
Elemental Capacity: Void
Essence Capacity: Void
Cultivation Capacity: Void
>
And, into that void, something that should not have been swirled together...
<
Name: Kai Clanless
Total Power: 60
Physique Level: F-7 (44)
Soul Level: 4 (16)
Direboar's Strength - II (beta)
Aquagorgon's Health - II (beta)
Isulfr's Bite - I (alpha)
Monstrous Hunger - VI (zeta)
>
Chapter 55: Monstrous Awakening
Running through the wastes.
Biting deep.
Tasting blood in his mouth.
Reveling in it.
Dreams faded away and Kai tasted only sand and glass. He was lying on his face on the shore, and the sand against his skin reminded him of everything that had happened. Now that he felt less hopeless, he forced himself up to his knees to make what he could of the rubble of his life.
His heart was thrashing in his chest and every part of him ached, likely due to how severely Anaelina had drained him. Kai fumbled at his belt for the flask Juray had given him, only to find the pouch open. He despaired for a moment, then saw the flask lying on the sand beside him.
Or rather, half of it.
Carefully spitting out some of the glass fragments in his mouth, Kai wondered at what had happened. Was it possible that in his frenzy he had drained the flask by tearing it open with his teeth? That might have saved his life, but it also meant that his current state was how he felt after healing. Surviving was going to be a challenge.
When he tried to examine his own soul to see what he'd done to it, all the symbols blurred. It was almost like he was seeing two different sets of symbols at once, phasing through one another. That instantly gave him a headache, so he forced himself to focus on the important details.
His Class was simply gone. Remembering his anger before, he felt almost insane, but apparently he'd survived the removal. More sensible was the fact that his Physique had increased to F-7, which was a strong piece of evidence suggesting that he had drunk Juray's potion. As for all the haze of confused symbols, he attributed that to the technique Anaelina had used to drain his soul.
Everything seemed a lot worse to his actual physical eyes. His Irunian bow had been destroyed and his sword appeared to be lost in the river, so he had only his gauntlets left. Most of his supplies and the remainder of his food had been in his satchel, which was probably sitting back at the camp. As much as he needed those, he couldn't risk going back.
Just about all that had survived were the items in his belt, as it was designed to endure difficult hunts. Unfortunately, that meant only his money and the few remaining Class potions he hadn't used in Monskon City. Not even a single healing potion. He'd been too reliant on Anaelina for the past several days.
Anger surged within him and died down just as quickly. Perhaps he'd worked through all of his emotions the previous night. He was still bitter about being taken in and believing in his worthless Class one more time, but it was only a lingering tinge to everything else. What mattered now was finding a path forward.
It took him some time to gain his orientation and figure out that the river had swept him south of the crossroad. His first priority was obviously to go there: not only could he replace some of his supplies, he could speak to the authorities about Anaelina. Even if she was dead, which he desperately hoped she was, he might be able to get more information about her.
As he jogged back, Kai felt increasingly healthy. Either the draining was wearing off or Juray had done a better job at the recovery flask than she'd thought, because his body felt fantastic. The only real problem was the gnawing hunger in his stomach.
Spurred by the desire for some answers, Kai didn't take a single break on the way back. Since he'd woken up in the early morning, he caught sight of the crossroads community by early evening. Nothing appeared to be on fire, at least not more than it ordinarily was. In fact, it seemed like everyone was going about their business, since the events of his life meant nothing to them.
At least, it seemed that way until a cloud shot toward him and there was a lance stabbing in his face. It should have speared him, but Kai grabbed it with one hand almost before he knew what he was doing, and to his surprise he held back the attack.
"What the hell?" It was the same guard as before, staring at him from the other side of the lance. "You have to be the same man as before, but... that is the strangest shroud I've ever seen. I don't know who taught it to you, but I suggest you slap them."
"Is something wrong?" It still took Kai a bit of focus to see his true soul through the haze of symbols, but the difference didn't seem like it should be shocking.
"I almost impaled you, and there's a part of me that still wants to." The guard pulled back his lance but stayed on his flying cloud, still highly alert. "We let you in and you didn't cause any trouble, so I want to trust you... but I can't let you walk around like that. Someone might eyeball you as a monster and kill you before they thought twice."
Whatever the man was seeing, it wasn't a problem solely with him. A few people walking around the edge of the community had taken a spiritual glance at Kai already and then looked again. Clearly something was setting them off.
"I don't want to cause any trouble," Kai said. "But I need to talk to you about something. Do you know a woman named Anaelina, from Rosemount?"
"You think I know every single traveler who passes through here? But in this case... a foreigner who looks like she's in danger of falling out of her dress? Yeah, she's known here. I'm not giving you any information about her. Even if you're just aiming for the obvious, we don't interfere with people's privacy here."
"It's not that, it's a warning. You don't have to believe me, but she attacked me outside the city and tried to... drain away my strength, somehow. She nearly killed me and I really doubt I killed her before I got away."
"Draining power directly? Not just mana?" The guard folded his arms skeptically but at least he listened. "We don't really do anything if people murder each other outside of the fires, so long as they don't cause trouble here. But if she lured you out... I guess I can talk to the others. Of course, you might just be trying to sabotage her."
"It's the truth, and if you watch her I would bet that you'll see her try to isolate people." Kai searched for other words and eventually decided that he had done enough. If she was still alive, he would have cut off her main source of victims.
Meanwhile, the guard was still examining him suspiciously, his stance oddly tight. "If your soul was damaged, I guess that might explain it. Seriously, I would recommend that you get someone to help you with that right away. Lots of people out here attack first and ask questions later."
Kai thanked the guard and headed in the other direction. What had the guard's strange reaction been about?
.
..
.
What the fuck had that been? The guard remained tense until Kai disappeared into the landscape, then his hands began trembling uncontrollably. He had to dismiss his spear or it might have fallen.
When he'd first arrived, the traveler had been concerning enough: not too many hunters came through with so much Power and obvious training. But now he had transformed, like his humanity peeled away and revealed a horror underneath. Before, it would have been an even fight, but the second time the guard felt like he was nothing but prey, shivering in front of a predator.
The worst part was that it didn't make any sense. He'd seen a lot of monsters and tuned his senses on them. Occasionally there were vaguely humanoid monsters, like demonic apes or similar, but they were always clearly beasts. Then the traveler returned, inexplicably speaking like a person despite radiating horrifying levels of bloodlust.
He should have fought him. That would have been the responsible thing to do as a guard. And yet, when it came down to it, he hadn't dared.
After several deep breaths, the guard managed to calm himself. Perhaps the traveler really had just damaged his soul and needed help. It occurred to him that the traveler had wandered off in a dangerous direction, one with monsters that could threaten even the settlement. Part of the guard thought that he should have called after him to give a warning.
A larger part of him hoped that the monsters would finish him off and he'd never have to see anything like that ever again.
.
..
.
Getting close enough to the community to smell the food past the smoke had made Kai's hunger much worse, but he couldn't afford the risk. He decided to search for a safe place to stay the night, figure out what was wrong with his soul, and sort everything out before he went back.
It looked like there were a few potential camping points within sight of the community. Kai discarded those too close to the river, which left him with the hilly region to the west. He saw a few cave entrances and decided that they were too obvious as a choice - anyone else not staying in the community might have gone there. If he wanted to avoid interacting with anyone, the most likely option was a region of craggy boulders he could just see to the southwest.
Along the way, Kai examined himself more critically than before. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't pushing through a haze of symbols to see his true soul. It was more like he got several contradictory impressions and then chose the one he wanted. He could see how someone seeing it might mistake him for a monster.
What he was going to do about that, Kai had no idea. Food and shelter first.
Upon arriving at the crags, Kai was surprised how good of a shelter they would be. Near the edges, the wind whistled between the boulders, but by the time he got nearer the center, it was peaceful. Some of the larger boulders loomed high overhead and would provide shade as well. After collecting some firewood, he sat down and caught his breath.
"That's flattering," Kai said, "but... I don't know, I feel like I don't know you well enough, and I want to concentrate on training until I break through."
"Men. Always nothing but training on their minds." Anaelina plopped down beside him and dropped her head to one hand to pout.
"Sorry." Her offer had only made him even more tense, so he stood back up. His legs actually hurt a bit, despite doing only his basic physical training. Perhaps he had been sitting and processing mana for too long. A walk would work out the kinks and also let him cool down.
Just as he started to move away, Anaelina spoke up quietly. "I was born in a tiny village near the heart of Rosemount." For once, she didn't act coy or even look at him. "Not everyone can be a warrior, the way you do things here. When I grew up, everyone said they knew exactly what I was suited for."
Kai frowned and sat back down opposite her to listen.
"You know, some say that power is always inborn. Anyone can work hard, so the only ones who will succeed are those who have power in their blood, their soul, or their fate. So they say that real strength ultimately comes down to luck in the end."
He wanted to agree, but his mouth was unusually dry. The tingling feeling had spread through his entire body now and he was beginning to feel strangely fatigued.
"I actually agree about the luck part." Anaelina finally looked up at him and flashed a bright smile. "But it isn't luck in where you were born. In my experience, it's finding an opportunity and capitalizing on it. Discovering an ability that lets you upend the rules of this world and conquer the rubble."
Something was wrong. Kai jumped to his feet and began moving back on instinct. An instant later, a hand closed around his throat and he began to feel his strength draining away.
"Then those who found their own luck can steal power from those who were born with it." Anaelina stared up at him, her eyes and teeth as silver as starlight. "Now it's finally time to begin."
Chapter 54: Fate Plays Dice
Kai grabbed at Anaelina's wrist, but she was overwhelmingly strong, far more than she should have been. Before his stamina could drain away, he struck her arm with both of his, using leverage to break her grip.
It worked, but he nearly collapsed when he dropped back to the ground. The tingling throughout his body intensified and now he understood it for what it was: part of his soul was draining into Anaelina. Mostly he felt his Class ebbing away, but the rest of him was weakened as well.
Before he lost his strength, Kai leapt back to where he'd set his bow. In an instant he drew and released an arrow, but Anaelina was faster. She was practically a streak of silver as she ran directly into the arrow, knocking the shaft aside and then striking him.
Her blow didn't harm him even slightly, but it pushed him all the way to the shoreline where he plowed into the sand. Kai struggled to get back to his feet just in time to see her pick up his bow. She frowned as it resisted her, but a moment later she twisted it in half with a shriek of metal. It only bought him seconds, but he used that time to throw his will into his spiritual sight.
<
Name: Anaelina of Rosemount
Total Power: 142
Silver Demon: Amber Rank (80)
Physique Level: F-8 (46)
Soul Level: 4 (16)
>
He had hoped that he would discover some weakness, but it told him nothing. She was more powerful than she had pretended to be, and now her primary essence read "Silver Demon."
The only thing that he noticed was that the draining sensation had gotten much weaker when he was further away from her. She had been trying to keep him in place from the very beginning. Kai growled and pushed to his feet, intending to reach the river, but Anaelina was on him in an instant and easily lifted him off his feet.
"You could have taken the easy path, fucked me, and then died in your sleep, but I suppose you have to do everything the hard way." Her bright smile held no more teasing and even as he stared down at her, power twisted around her clothes. Silver fabric flowed from her belt, wrapping around her body until it was covered by a cloak. "I don't mind. You're not as repulsive as most of the barbarians here, but faking gets tedious after a while."
When he made another attempt to dislodge her grip, this time it was futile. Kai struggled to breathe as he felt his Class sucked away by her overwhelming power. He was still wearing his belt and his gauntlets, but he wasn't sure they offered him an advantage. Nothing but his weapon sphere and a few useless potions... wait.
Kai rammed his fist into Anaelina's stomach and she barely flinched. He struck a second time, letting his strength weaken... then on the third strike, he twisted his wrist and drove the blade of his gauntlet as deep as he could.
Anaelina grimaced and staggered, but she didn't let go of his neck. The draining became more intense and he struggled even to lift his arms to his belt, much less strike her again.
"Tougher than you look..." Her smile gained a bit of its old enticement. "I wish I could drain away all that delicious Physique, but unfortunately I can't do that yet. Maybe once I absorb your strange Class. It might be worthless for you, but it matches me so very well."
Removing the last weapon sphere from his belt, Kai pushed it into Anaelina's open wound and envisioned twisted spikes.
The Irunian steel exploded outward, impaling her body from multiple angles. Anaelina screamed like he'd never heard before and collapsed, scattering blood in all directions. Kai's feet hit the sand and his legs nearly crumpled underneath him, but he drew on the last remnants of his willpower and hurled himself into the river.
At first he thought that he'd just sink to his death, but he managed to reach a floating position on his back. As the current bore him downstream, he felt a weight recede from his soul. He was finally escaping her range. That had been his greatest fear: that even if he dealt her a mortal wound, she would be able to finish him off before dying, or worse, somehow drain his body enough to heal herself.
When the current swept him up on a rocky shore, there was no trace of her presence. His entire soul felt scraped raw. He desperately didn't want to see what she had done to him, but he was too weak to move. After several minutes lying on his back and catching his breath, Kai reluctantly turned his spiritual sight toward himself.
<
Name: Kai Clanless
Total Power: 58
Laborer Class: 0 (0)
Physique Level: F-6 (42)
Soul Level: 4 (16)
???: ???
???: ???
???: ???
>
His Laborer Class had been reduced to 0.
Kai had just enough breath to laugh bitterly. He should have known better. Her seductress routine hadn't tricked him, but he'd blindly stumbled in anyway because he was so desperate for power. Everything was the same as it had always been: his soul was fundamentally worthless.
As the rage surged inside him, Kai threw his will against the useless symbols. He inverted every exercise that had been meant to encourage the growth of his Class and instead cast it out. It resisted but he pushed harder, determined to expunge every trace of the soul that had made a mockery of his life.
Without warning he succeeded and his chest seemed to cave in. Kai cried out in agony as his soul collapsed around the absence. He wondered if removing the piece of his soul that he'd been born with meant destroying himself, then wondered if he cared.
Before he could find an answer, his thoughts dissolved into darkness and blood.
.
..
.
Kai Clanless lay on his back, bleeding out, wondering what fate had brought him to this point. As he desperately thought back over every step that had taken him to this point, he saw only disappointments... and yet something underneath them, darker and more terrible than the denial of fate.
What little remained of his conscious mind felt only rage and bitterness. He was beyond words and could only feel an all-consuming hatred for the fact that fate had ruined his life just as it had so many times before.
But this time, Kai was wrong. Fate or random chance, his life was not what had been ruined.
<
Talent Capacity: Void
Elemental Capacity: Void
Essence Capacity: Void
Cultivation Capacity: Void
>
And, into that void, something that should not have been swirled together...
<
Name: Kai Clanless
Total Power: 60
Physique Level: F-7 (44)
Soul Level: 4 (16)
Direboar's Strength - II (beta)
Aquagorgon's Health - II (beta)
Isulfr's Bite - I (alpha)
Monstrous Hunger - VI (zeta)
>
Chapter 55: Monstrous Awakening
Running through the wastes.
Biting deep.
Tasting blood in his mouth.
Reveling in it.
Dreams faded away and Kai tasted only sand and glass. He was lying on his face on the shore, and the sand against his skin reminded him of everything that had happened. Now that he felt less hopeless, he forced himself up to his knees to make what he could of the rubble of his life.
His heart was thrashing in his chest and every part of him ached, likely due to how severely Anaelina had drained him. Kai fumbled at his belt for the flask Juray had given him, only to find the pouch open. He despaired for a moment, then saw the flask lying on the sand beside him.
Or rather, half of it.
Carefully spitting out some of the glass fragments in his mouth, Kai wondered at what had happened. Was it possible that in his frenzy he had drained the flask by tearing it open with his teeth? That might have saved his life, but it also meant that his current state was how he felt after healing. Surviving was going to be a challenge.
When he tried to examine his own soul to see what he'd done to it, all the symbols blurred. It was almost like he was seeing two different sets of symbols at once, phasing through one another. That instantly gave him a headache, so he forced himself to focus on the important details.
His Class was simply gone. Remembering his anger before, he felt almost insane, but apparently he'd survived the removal. More sensible was the fact that his Physique had increased to F-7, which was a strong piece of evidence suggesting that he had drunk Juray's potion. As for all the haze of confused symbols, he attributed that to the technique Anaelina had used to drain his soul.
Everything seemed a lot worse to his actual physical eyes. His Irunian bow had been destroyed and his sword appeared to be lost in the river, so he had only his gauntlets left. Most of his supplies and the remainder of his food had been in his satchel, which was probably sitting back at the camp. As much as he needed those, he couldn't risk going back.
Just about all that had survived were the items in his belt, as it was designed to endure difficult hunts. Unfortunately, that meant only his money and the few remaining Class potions he hadn't used in Monskon City. Not even a single healing potion. He'd been too reliant on Anaelina for the past several days.
Anger surged within him and died down just as quickly. Perhaps he'd worked through all of his emotions the previous night. He was still bitter about being taken in and believing in his worthless Class one more time, but it was only a lingering tinge to everything else. What mattered now was finding a path forward.
It took him some time to gain his orientation and figure out that the river had swept him south of the crossroad. His first priority was obviously to go there: not only could he replace some of his supplies, he could speak to the authorities about Anaelina. Even if she was dead, which he desperately hoped she was, he might be able to get more information about her.
As he jogged back, Kai felt increasingly healthy. Either the draining was wearing off or Juray had done a better job at the recovery flask than she'd thought, because his body felt fantastic. The only real problem was the gnawing hunger in his stomach.
Spurred by the desire for some answers, Kai didn't take a single break on the way back. Since he'd woken up in the early morning, he caught sight of the crossroads community by early evening. Nothing appeared to be on fire, at least not more than it ordinarily was. In fact, it seemed like everyone was going about their business, since the events of his life meant nothing to them.
At least, it seemed that way until a cloud shot toward him and there was a lance stabbing in his face. It should have speared him, but Kai grabbed it with one hand almost before he knew what he was doing, and to his surprise he held back the attack.
"What the hell?" It was the same guard as before, staring at him from the other side of the lance. "You have to be the same man as before, but... that is the strangest shroud I've ever seen. I don't know who taught it to you, but I suggest you slap them."
"Is something wrong?" It still took Kai a bit of focus to see his true soul through the haze of symbols, but the difference didn't seem like it should be shocking.
"I almost impaled you, and there's a part of me that still wants to." The guard pulled back his lance but stayed on his flying cloud, still highly alert. "We let you in and you didn't cause any trouble, so I want to trust you... but I can't let you walk around like that. Someone might eyeball you as a monster and kill you before they thought twice."
Whatever the man was seeing, it wasn't a problem solely with him. A few people walking around the edge of the community had taken a spiritual glance at Kai already and then looked again. Clearly something was setting them off.
"I don't want to cause any trouble," Kai said. "But I need to talk to you about something. Do you know a woman named Anaelina, from Rosemount?"
"You think I know every single traveler who passes through here? But in this case... a foreigner who looks like she's in danger of falling out of her dress? Yeah, she's known here. I'm not giving you any information about her. Even if you're just aiming for the obvious, we don't interfere with people's privacy here."
"It's not that, it's a warning. You don't have to believe me, but she attacked me outside the city and tried to... drain away my strength, somehow. She nearly killed me and I really doubt I killed her before I got away."
"Draining power directly? Not just mana?" The guard folded his arms skeptically but at least he listened. "We don't really do anything if people murder each other outside of the fires, so long as they don't cause trouble here. But if she lured you out... I guess I can talk to the others. Of course, you might just be trying to sabotage her."
"It's the truth, and if you watch her I would bet that you'll see her try to isolate people." Kai searched for other words and eventually decided that he had done enough. If she was still alive, he would have cut off her main source of victims.
Meanwhile, the guard was still examining him suspiciously, his stance oddly tight. "If your soul was damaged, I guess that might explain it. Seriously, I would recommend that you get someone to help you with that right away. Lots of people out here attack first and ask questions later."
Kai thanked the guard and headed in the other direction. What had the guard's strange reaction been about?
.
..
.
What the fuck had that been? The guard remained tense until Kai disappeared into the landscape, then his hands began trembling uncontrollably. He had to dismiss his spear or it might have fallen.
When he'd first arrived, the traveler had been concerning enough: not too many hunters came through with so much Power and obvious training. But now he had transformed, like his humanity peeled away and revealed a horror underneath. Before, it would have been an even fight, but the second time the guard felt like he was nothing but prey, shivering in front of a predator.
The worst part was that it didn't make any sense. He'd seen a lot of monsters and tuned his senses on them. Occasionally there were vaguely humanoid monsters, like demonic apes or similar, but they were always clearly beasts. Then the traveler returned, inexplicably speaking like a person despite radiating horrifying levels of bloodlust.
He should have fought him. That would have been the responsible thing to do as a guard. And yet, when it came down to it, he hadn't dared.
After several deep breaths, the guard managed to calm himself. Perhaps the traveler really had just damaged his soul and needed help. It occurred to him that the traveler had wandered off in a dangerous direction, one with monsters that could threaten even the settlement. Part of the guard thought that he should have called after him to give a warning.
A larger part of him hoped that the monsters would finish him off and he'd never have to see anything like that ever again.
.
..
.
Getting close enough to the community to smell the food past the smoke had made Kai's hunger much worse, but he couldn't afford the risk. He decided to search for a safe place to stay the night, figure out what was wrong with his soul, and sort everything out before he went back.
It looked like there were a few potential camping points within sight of the community. Kai discarded those too close to the river, which left him with the hilly region to the west. He saw a few cave entrances and decided that they were too obvious as a choice - anyone else not staying in the community might have gone there. If he wanted to avoid interacting with anyone, the most likely option was a region of craggy boulders he could just see to the southwest.
Along the way, Kai examined himself more critically than before. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't pushing through a haze of symbols to see his true soul. It was more like he got several contradictory impressions and then chose the one he wanted. He could see how someone seeing it might mistake him for a monster.
What he was going to do about that, Kai had no idea. Food and shelter first.
Upon arriving at the crags, Kai was surprised how good of a shelter they would be. Near the edges, the wind whistled between the boulders, but by the time he got nearer the center, it was peaceful. Some of the larger boulders loomed high overhead and would provide shade as well. After collecting some firewood, he sat down and caught his breath.
