[Beta] Ashborn - 10. Become Strong (Patreon)

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Become Strong

‘I want all of those.’

Cleaving enemies apart with Rend, stalking and assassinating enemies, or becoming a demon as battles raged on—all of them sounded appealing. And though the battle high I was riding wanted me to pick a skill right away, I carefully considered.

Skills scaled. One may be better now but could be passed up by another later. And it wasn’t certain I would get another chance to pick a skill I passed up.

So, it came down to a pure offence, stealth, or momentum-based combat. I scratched underneath Saber’s chin as I thought.

Imagining where these skills would end up was tough. Would Rend allow me to cut apart multiple enemies at once without lifting a finger? Then what about stalk? I could go…invisible? Kill multiple enemies while remaining unseen?

That left fury, of which I had the hardest time imagining. Would others stats besides just speed upgrade, turning me into a venerable demon? I glanced at Aurille, who was still meditating…what good would that do when battles ended instantly?

Fury wouldn’t help me fight her.

‘To be fair, nothing would at the moment.’

But it did alert me to a weakness of the skill: Fury would only work if I had a bunch of weaker enemies around me that I could kill quickly. In a one-on-one, it was useless.

For that reason, fury was out.

So, stealth or offence. The choice remained difficult. So difficult, in fact, that I decided to cheat.

“Can I ask you something?”

Aurille didn’t respond but her eyelids opened a crack. That was a yes in my book.

“What would you pick between a stealth and an offensive skill?”

Around us, soldiers and servants rushed to take care of their animals and prepare light meals.

“I thought you were trying to stay secretive.” Her gaze went to my hair.

My head came to rest on my chin. She was right, of course. There should be no reason for me to trust her. At all. However…that numbness in my chest I had when regarding people like Alex wasn’t there for her.

“A hunch,” I said.

“A hunch?”

“Yes. I don’t get the feeling you’ll talk.” I smiled.

A pause.

She huffed. “What type of stealth skill?”

“Type?”

“There are as many stealth skills as there are stars. Does the description mention true stealth or merely escaping detection.”

I skimmed the description again. “The latter.”

“Then it’s not true stealth. The chance the skill will evolve to allow invisibility is slim—even if it does, it will be a lesser form most sensory skills will be able to detect. What about your offensive skill? Direct or indirect?”

“Direct…”

“Direct means it’s attacking your opponent instead of augmenting you.”

“Direct,” I confirmed.

“Those have great potential,” she said. “You need at least one to break through most disciple’s defensive arts.”

I thought back to Alex and his armour skill. If his art had been a higher level, he would’ve been able to shield his entire body at once. That would’ve prolonged the fight substantially. Perhaps I would’ve even lost.

“Thanks,” I said.

Aurille closed her eyes and went back to meditating.

After going over her advice one more time, I couldn’t detect anything that wasn’t sound, so I made my choice.

Family Skill [Rend - Early] unlocked.

My insides squirmed. An audible click sounded in my head, information slotting in place. The knowledge of how to use the skill was like a second set of instincts.

‘So it’s a blade attack.’

The skill scaled with arcane and dexterity, my two highest stats. There was a nuance to the range and how much mana it would expend, but experimenting could wait until I consolidated my resources.

Regulating my breathing, I sank into meditation.

Fire Keeper - lvl. 4 -> Fire Keeper - lvl. 5.

3 free stat points gained.

1 SP gained.

I reached level five when I was barely five minutes into it, showing how close I had been to levelling up. The rest of the essence brought me a third of the way to level six.

‘Probably because I did most of the fighting.’

Jaoma and the servant hadn’t helped, so the system counted the kills as solo kills despite being in a group.

Briefly, I turned to my ranking.

Everwinter Game Status.

Time left until end of the first test: 62 12:02:14

Realm Points: 53

Everwinter Ranking: 8115

‘Ten points since last time.’

And an increase of about three hundred places. Not bad. That said, I still had no idea what the rank meant, or what this first test was supposed to be.

I sneaked a glance at Aurille. Asking her about a few skills and trusting her silence on that regard was different from outing myself as an amnesiac oblivious to everything going on.

‘Well, there’s no rush.’

Aurille didn’t strike me as a person going out of her way to fail the test, so staying close to her was enough for now. I would try asking some other members of the caravan first—they wouldn’t be able to use whatever I told them against me.

I stood, approached a random guard, and asked him some questions in a convoluted manner.

“After the first test is over,” he said, “a shield settles over all settlements, making them inaccessible.”

“A shield?”

He nodded. “Protects us from the monsters.”

“But you had it handled before.”

Though I helped them, it wasn’t their first rodeo.

The guard shook his head. “These monsters are different. The Lords release them to cleanse the realm.”

My brow rose. Lords probably referred to the Seven Pillars who organised the event. But what did he mean with cleansing the realm? I asked him such.

Aurille’s voice interrupted him before he could speak.

“The wheat gets separated from the chaff.”

I turned at her approach.

‘So much for keeping a low-profile.’

“You mean those not in the settlements are culled?” I said.

She nodded as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Those who cannot get in lack talent. And those who lack talent have no place amongst the Pillars.”

Her tone grew colder as she continued. I kept myself from shivering, something the guard beside me couldn’t manage.

“How do we get into a settlement, then?” I asked.

“Become strong.”

She said it so resolute that I couldn’t fight the chill this time around.

Aurille turned towards Jaoma, who warmed his hand near the campfire. “I’m ready.”

The caravan packed its bags.

The Cryotrog leapt and its axe descending in an arc. I jumped out of the way. Before it could regain its balance, my blade flashed. Raw essence rushed through my veins, pouring into my new skill.

Frost smouldered and evaporated in the wake of the cutting edge of flame.

The Cryotrog whirled. Its skin froze over, but the protection wasn’t enough. Fire bit into its skull, separating the top of its head from the lower half. The monster collapsed.

Beside me, Saber rushed to the aid of one of the soldiers and took care of the trog.

I glanced at the other side of the battle. Aurille had already finished her part of the fight.

‘That’s at least seven statues.’

Shaking my head, I joined Saber and finished off the remaining enemies.

The creatures must’ve realised they were fighting a losing war, for a shrill cry went out. They retreated as one back into the mountain side.

“Let them go,” I called out to Saber who was about to dash after them.

I turned to Jaoma. “This is the third attack in an hour. Is this normal?”

“No,” he said. He glanced at the retreating party. “They’re also growing in power.”

[Cryotrog - lvl. 6] x 2 killed. Extra experience gained for killing a higher level enemy.

[Cryotrog - lvl. 7] killed. Extra experience gained for killing a higher level enemy.

While I wouldn’t complain about the experience, it was concerning. This was supposed to be a level 5 quest, yet there was already a level seven monster. We weren’t a third of the way through, so it wasn’t unimaginable for a level ten monster to show up soon.

I turned to my quest.

Family Quests: [Defenders of the Realm]

Objective: Defend your peers [10/25].

Though I had my hopes, I doubted unlocking my new family member would allow me to beat a monster with a class.

Our caravan continued through the pass. The valley inclining upwards slowed our progress and tired our horses more than they already were.

“There’s a plateau near the top,” Jaoma said. “We’ll spend the night there and cross the rest of the pass in the morning.”

Night had approached. Breaths froze more aggressively, and coats and robes failed to keep out all of the cold.

It was another hour later that we reached the plateau in question. Here, the curve of the valley was so smooth it may as well be flat. Frost Elders populated the plateau more frequently than they did the road below us. It was almost dense enough to call it woods.

I looked up. The incline had brought us closer to the peaks, albeit not enough to actually see the tops of the mountains.

“We’re still out of range of the White Stalkers?” I said.

“Should be,” Jaoma said. “But I won’t speak in absolutes.”

Not with the weird things happening in the pass.

“We’ll set up a watch,” he said. He turned to Aurille and I. “The two of you will have to rotate. We need at least one cultivator up at all times.”

“I’ll take the first shift,” I offered.

“I’m less tired than you are,” Aurille stated.

“Saber is there to keep me awake. He’ll remain out even after I go to bed.”

That was enough to convince her.

We set up camp for the second time that day, but more permanently this time.

The wagons connected with the surrounding trees, blocking any drafts making their way down the mountaintops. The servants helped set up tents, and a campfire was made. Jaoma, four soldiers and I had the first shift. We settled in, hopefully for a quiet night.

None of us noticed the shadow passing overhead.