Volume 2 – 6. The Road West
Besides completing Fauli's request and putting Seren's knowledge to practical use, Lucien had another goal for the trip.
He wanted to test his newly acquired Skill—Shadow Step.
“You've got yourself some new weapons, huh, Lucien?”
As the three of them made their way toward the western gate, Lucien found himself in an unusually good mood.
“Hm? Oh, yeah.”
In response to Kira's remark, he drew the pair of newly forged blades from his belt.
They were short, single-edged knives designed for speed rather than reach. Their black blades retained the faint natural curvature of the Spider Hollow's transformed claws, tapering into wickedly sharp points. Even after being reforged, subtle ridges still ran along the metal. The dwarf had polished them to a muted sheen while preserving their rugged texture, giving the weapons a distinctly unnatural appearance.
“They're forged from the Spider Hollow's claws—the one that attacked Temple Vigil a couple of days ago,” Lucien said, turning one of the knives so it caught the morning light. “Edric introduced me to a dwarf who's apparently an excellent weaponsmith.”
As far as he knew, the knives possessed no magical properties.
That suited him just fine.
Weapons imbued with Weave were often contaminated by traces of Obsidian Threads, and prolonged use tended to produce unpleasant side effects. Unless the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, he would rather avoid them.
“Lucky you.” Kira chuckled. “I handed my share of yesterday's loot over to the Lawkeepers.”
“The followers of Sýnthesis?”
“Yeah.”
Rather than selling valuable materials outright, the Lawkeepers maintained secure repositories where volunteer soldiers could also register and store their belongings. It was a paid service, sure, but for items that were difficult to replace—or that owners intended to use later—it was generally considered worthwhile.
Kira casually tapped the bastard sword strapped across his back.
“A regular weapon like this is good enough for me. I don't need heavy armor—or even medium armor, really. It'd just slow me down.” He flashed a carefree grin. “I heard from Isolde that you can get enchanted armor, but it's ridiculously expensive to buy and even worse to maintain.”
Lucien laughed.
“Yeah... I can believe that.”
A moment later, he turned to Sylphie.
“What about you?”
His gaze drifted over her dark robes before settling on the wooden staff she carried.
“Do your robes or your staff require much maintenance? Especially the robes, since they're associated with Nekrómantis.”
Sylphie shook her head gently.
“Because I regularly help at Temple Vigil, they maintain my robes whenever they need repairing.” She lowered her eyes briefly to the staff resting in her hand. “As for this... unlike Isolde's equipment, it's intended primarily for physical self-defense. Its magical capabilities are minimal.”
“Right, you're not allowed to use bladed weapons, huh?”
“Yes.”
From what Lucien had gathered, Lifebringers seemed to accept that limitation in exchange for their extraordinary healing abilities. Weapons designed primarily to kill appeared to be forbidden, while blunt weapons intended for protection or self-defense were still permitted.
“The three of you—stop right there and state your business!”
Before long, they reached the bridge spanning the Ironflow River, one of the main entrances into Ironhand Territory. Two guards stood watch at the crossing.
Both looked to be around Lucien's age. The crimson-and-orange Flamebearer insignia stood out against their polished plate armor. They stood ramrod straight, their gazes sharp and unwavering. Even from a distance, Lucien could feel the fierce emotions radiating from them, though there wasn't a hint of hostility. That, as far as he knew, was simply the nature of the Flamebearers.
Lucien stepped forward without hesitation and produced a sealed envelope.
“We're heading to the Riverfork Region through the southern gate to gather supplies for Temple Vigil.”
One of the guards accepted the letter, broke the seal, and skimmed through it. As his eyes reached the end of the page, the corners of his mouth lifted. He looked up, meeting Lucien's gaze directly.
A broad grin spread across his face.
“Mḗpote stês!”
With a booming voice, he raised his sword high into the air as though offering a battle cry.
Lucien could feel both Sylphie and Kira staring at him from behind, but he simply laughed.
“Thank you.”
The guards stepped aside without another word, allowing the three of them to cross the bridge.
“...They don't seem to mind your Inferni blood?”
Sylphie sounded genuinely surprised.
Lucien's smile turned a little awkward.
“Their god happens to admire active, driven people, and Inferni tend to fit that image.” He gave a small shrug. “Their faith doesn't follow quite the same principles as Zoḗgennis'—or those of the Triad of Deities, for that matter. I thought you already knew that.”
The phrase the guard had shouted was less a greeting than a word of encouragement—something along the lines of Never stop or Keep moving forward.
Sylphie lowered her eyes slightly.
“I... still have a great deal to learn.”
“Is that why they seem to like me more than Sylphie, too?” Kira cut in, glancing at the people passing by. “They're not exactly subtle about it.” His ears twitched with amusement. “You can practically read it on their faces.”
The bridge fed directly into Iron Way, a broad, twelve-meter-wide road paved with dark slag stone. Years of heavy use had left the surface scarred and uneven in places. Military patrols marched past at regular intervals, supply carts rumbled along the road, workers hurried between workshops, and off-duty soldiers mingled with the crowds. As far as Lucien knew, it was the busiest thoroughfare in the entire district.
Because of the constant traffic, most people paid them little attention. Still, the few who did glance their way made their feelings obvious enough.
“Probably,” Lucien replied. “Followers of Ergónis tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves, and this district has plenty of them.”
He looked back at the other two with mild curiosity.
“Then how do you usually leave the city when you're heading out on a job?”
“We normally pass through Dawn Bastion and use the northern gate,” Sylphie answered. She kept her eyes forward, though the lingering attention from the passersby seemed to make her slightly uncomfortable.
Kira let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“And the difference in how they treat us is like night and day.”
Lucien glanced at Sylphie with a hint of concern.
“Well... just hang in there for a little while, alright?”
She gave a small nod.
“I'll be fine.”
Fortunately, other than the occasional glance, no one approached or bothered them. They continued through Ironhand Territory without incident and soon arrived at the western gate.
After presenting the travel permits they had been issued, the three of them were cleared to leave the city.
A paved stone trail stretched from the western gate into the forest beyond.
From where they stood, the Riverfork Region spread out before them in a sea of green. The Riverfork confluence wound through the wilderness like a ribbon of polished steel, splitting and rejoining around countless gravel bars and wooded islets before disappearing beneath the dense canopy farther inland. Tall pines and broad-leafed trees crowded both banks, their branches weaving together into a continuous roof of green. Even from a distance, the forest felt ancient and untouched.
“...Just as I thought.” Kira wrinkled his nose. “The air still smells terrible.”
“The Corruption level is pretty high,” Lucien agreed.
Through Corruption Detection, a visible reddish haze lingered over the landscape like mist, hanging between the trees and drifting lazily above the river. Judging by its density, the surrounding area was at least fifty percent Corrupted.
“We should get into the forest as quickly as possible.”
At Corruption levels like that, they would accumulate nearly one percent Corruption every hour. Inside the forest, however, the influence seemed noticeably weaker. As far as Lucien understood, Geómandres' lingering authority still helped stabilize much of the Riverfork Region.
Without wasting any more time, the three of them set off down the trail.
“By the way,” Lucien asked as they walked, “have either of you been here before?”
Sylphie nodded.
“A few times.”
“So you know what kinds of predators live around here?”
“...Yes.”
Wolves, cougars, bears, bobcats, foxes, birds of prey—almost every large predator that had once inhabited the region. Most had died during the Eclipse or perished in its aftermath, but those that survived had rarely escaped Corruption.
“Let's avoid the areas where Hollowed beasts are known to gather,” Lucien said. “Follow my lead. I'm fairly familiar with this region, but if I overlook something or either of you notices anything unusual, speak up immediately.”
Without anyone objecting, he naturally took the lead.
As they continued deeper into the forest, Lucien briefly pulled up the description of Shadowstep.
[Name: Shadowstep
Tree: II
Cost: 3 SP (to unlock) / 20 CP (per cast)
Activation: Telepathic
Effects: Teleport up to 8m to any shadow within line of sight
Cooldown: 3 seconds
Upgrade: 3 SP]
Once upgraded, its range would increase to fifteen meters while the cooldown dropped to only one and a half seconds. It would even allow him to pass through walls up to half a meter thick or teleport to shadows he had seen within the previous ten minutes, even without a direct line of sight.
At its highest level, however...
A sixty-meter range.
The ability to carry up to three passengers.
And Void Transit—remaining between spaces for up to four seconds, completely unreachable during that time, before emerging from any shadow within range.
Just imagining it made the corners of Lucien's mouth lift slightly. It was difficult to think of a mobility Skill more absurd than that.
Although I'd rather not run into any Corrupted beasts...
His eyes drifted toward the dense forest ahead.
...if we happen to come across a Guardian-type Hollow, I might as well use it as a chance to test this Skill in real combat.