Soulforge Legacy Series

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, I was smacked in the head with memories. Specifically of how he treated me. Of the things his group did to others. There was no way I would keep someone like that near me. In fact, the moment I got out of here, I would make sure that he went one way and I went the other.

In one fluid movement, I shoved his head and hand away as I pushed myself off his lap. A cry of shocked pain, coupled with the sudden sharp tang of blood, stopped me from even saying that much to the wolf. My focus shifted from personal matters to finding who had just been hurt and how.

Of course it was the goddamned wolf. It was as though the man was doing anything and everything to keep my attention on him. Unfortunately for me, the more I studied the injury, the more it looked like it was my fault.

The arm that I had so casually shoved out of the way was bent at an unnatural angle. If I didn’t know better, I would have almost said that his arm had an extra joint. As for the blood, it streamed from his very broken nose.

Then there was his lap. Holy fuck were his legs gruesome. His left calf had a handprint embedded into it. The other looked twisted. It didn’t help that the ground centered under and around him was slightly compressed. Not by much, but enough that the various sources of blood were pooling under him.

That pool had grown quite a bit by the time the priest managed to make his way across the room. A brilliant white-gold light erupted from his hands as he started to heal the wolf.

I stood there, frozen as I watched all of this. Mind stalled out as I tried to figure out just what to think. It wasn’t as though I cared about the man, but I also didn’t mean to hurt him. It would be one thing it he was another traveler and could come back, but he wasn’t. If he died, that was it. He was gone.

Just the thought of him dying hurt me in ways it shouldn’t. I shouldn’t care what happened to him. So why did I?

Feelings aside, how in the fuck had I even managed to do any of that? Sure, I was stronger than the last time I was here. The cracked floor was proof of that. But he had just as long to level. He could have used the various guards as targets or taken off into the wilderness to grind levels. Yet he hadn’t, why?

“Honey,” the old woman’s voice startled me out of my thoughts. She was either the best actor, or she didn’t notice as she continued. “What level are you now?”

“And what level were you when you left?” The old man asked from my other side. At least I didn’t jump that time.

I didn’t answer immediately. While there was a ton of information that one could gain simply by learning someone’s level, was there a reason to lie to these two? What if they could see my level? Or what if they could tell if I was lying? Would they take offense? Demand the truth? I had no clue. So I had to choose between taking that chance, or simply telling them the truth.

The piece that simplified the entire equation was the fact that I wasn’t likely to see them after all of this was said and done. Of course, there was also the fact that I would have to guess the level I had been when I fought the demon so I couldn’t really guarantee that what I was about to say was the entire truth anyway.

Just as I was about to make up a number, I remembered a part of the system I had been ignoring. While the log was filled with a ton of useless information, it also had a list of every level up. Just the notification that I had leveled up. Not what level I had gained. And with it all buried, I had to do a bit of guessing anyway.

“I was in my lower twenties?” I grimaced a bit “Now though, I am in my lower forties.” Sure, I could give them my exact level, but that was good enough.

To say I was proud of my current level was an understatement. Especially as most of it had come from all the training. More so the skills I had gained and the upgrades they had undergone.

Okay, so more like half of it. Well, at least a quarter. The rest was from the demon’s death and all those damned spiders. Things I didn’t have much of an impact on given that I either had to be saved or had so much help that I was practically useless.

“So, judging by what we just watched, everyone of your stats is over a hundred?” She shot me a look that dared me to contradict her.

“Why does that matter?” The change wasn’t that much so why would it matter that a stat went from high nineties to one hundred?

“With stats, there are a few spots where the boost is larger. Almost like your body undergoes a qualitative change. One of the first jumps is the one hundred mark.” Annoyed of having to twist my head side to side as they took turns, I stepped back.

Of course, I took that time to also think about what he had said before posing my second, more demanding question. “But if the first jump is at one hundred, then why didn’t I notice a difference when my other stats passed that threshold.” After all, it was only the last two that needed to be increased. Everything else was already a few points above the threshold.

“Whether or not you noticed is beside the point.” The old man was a bit brusk in his non-answer.

“Cliff,” the old woman admonished him. “You cannot blame the girl for not noticing something she didn’t even know was going to happen.” Honestly, if not for her calling him out on his words, I would have. Her voice softened as she continued. “Now, think back to when you crossed that threshold. What was going on that might have been a bit distracting? Something that might have made it hard to tell if something had changed. You may have even noticed it but shrugged it off as some skill upgrading or such.”

Not knowing when any of the other stats had crossed the threshold, I pulled up my logs and started to do some math. God that thing kept information on everything. From debuffs to money. So it wasn’t a surprise that it took me a while to find the moment.

It had happened right after the fight with the spiders on the surface. Of course I hadn’t noticed at the time. We had been busy diving into the caves and fighting yet more spiders.

Though, thinking back on the events, my magic had seemed to flow a bit smoother. Packed in tighter. Grew dense enough to do some actual damage against creatures that were all but impervious to my fire.

I almost lost myself down the rabbit hole of memories and theories. The sight of the wolf’s pained expression as the priest jerked his arm back into place forced me back to the present as a question popped into my head. One that made me question everything.

But then why didn’t the demon Kaelis destroy the town and everyone that opposed him?” My eyes scanned through the log to find something. “He was in the upper fifties after all.”

“If I had to guess, the only reason he will not go full out is that his mission is to take over, not destroy.” The old woman pointed out. “He needs the humans to willingly give him control. Probably so that they can be used as labor to build a base from which the demons can attack the rest of this region.”

“Islanda is correct.” A muffled and pain-filled voice forced its way into the conversion only to momentarily cut off as the priest cursed Lance to stay still as he jerked Lance’s nose back into place. With a wave of his hand, he pushed the priest to the side. “The worst part of it all is that everyone in the city understands what he is doing. Some of them are even happy to help him. Others just see the demons as yet more nobels. Their only hope is that the demons are better than those currently ruling the city. Not that it would be all that hard given what some of those fat pigs have done to this place.”

“Wait?” I focused on the wolf, shocked at what he had just said. “The fucking demon is here? Alive?” How in the fucking hell was that bastard back? Then again, what was it that most mythology mentioned about demons? That they were hard to truly kill. That killing one would just send it back to its creator, home plane, or some shit.

Just how many of those stories was true? How many of them were horrifically exaggerated? Fuck, were any of them completely made up? Yet another thing I would have to research. Not that I would ever find time to do so.

“He showed back up about half a week ago.” The priest spoke up as he forced Lance to cooperate. “That was also when the gates became impossible to get through. Not to mention the increased patrols and random searches. All in the hopes of rooting out any and all the non-humans left in the city.”

My eyes scanned over the room. They stopped over each person. A few were asleep while others were eating. There were even a few kids playing some game in the far off corner.

On the surface the group as a whole looked mostly relaxed but underneath the surface tension filled the space. Of parents worried that their kids would be captured or outright killed. People who thought that they would never see the sun again.

“While we should do some scouting tonight,” Lance’s slight shift in topic brought me up short of doing something. What, I had no idea. I just felt like I had to do something for these people. “I still think that tomorrow is the best bet to get out of this place.” His gaze captured mine. “That is, if you are up for it.”

I shot a quick look over his body. While he looked healed, I doubted that he was in any real shape to get out of here. Especially as magically enhanced healing still required the body to do the work. In short, he needed rest. As much as he could get.

That and the fact that I would likely have better luck on my own. After all, it wasn’t like any one here had seen my human form. Which meant that I could wander through the town without issue.

However, before I left, I had to request one piece of information from him. “Just tell me what you want me to keep and eye out for.”

“Locations and numbers of guards. Also keep an eye out for any potential threats.” Lance’s words were a bit vague as he waved me off. “But don’t worry about it as I will be with you and can show you the ropes.”

The wolf was patronizing me. Man I couldn’t wait to get away from this place. A chuckle escaped my lips as I countered him. “Not likely. Not unless you can become human looking. To hide in the open where everyone can see you.”

Judging by his hard stare, he either thought I was being stupid or willfully ignorant. That one look was enough to tell me that there were no words that I could say to get the reality of my abilities through his thick skull. So I called forth my transformation.

I didn’t even notice the two tails that had been lazily swaying behind me until they twined around each other. The two practically turned reverted back to one tail before vanishing into the ether. My ears followed behind a fraction of a second later as my human ears returned.

Well, mostly human. While my hearing wasn’t as good in this form as either of my other forms, it was still better than before. In fact, I was almost certain that it had improved since the last time I had tried this form.

A ripple of silence traveled out from me in a wave as people noticed the change. A smirk lifted the corner of my lips as I ignored all of them to casually ask the wolf, “Still think I should go with you?”

A peal of laughter escaped from the old man as the old woman cackled out, “She’s got you there!”

“Fine.” He huffed out, clearly upset that I managed to ruin whatever plans he had.

The noise in the room returned as I spoke. “If there is nothing else?” I took a moment to look at each of them to give them a chance to say something. Every one of them, including the priest, shook their heads. “Then I think I am going to head out.” After all, the sooner I get everything done, the sooner I would be done with this and on my way away from Lance. Especially as he seemed to be growing more clingy as time went by.

A fact that was further proven as he whined. “Let me at least walk you out.” Honestly, if I wasn’t already going to run from the wolf, this would have driven me away. The moment I got away, I was going to run far far away. Clingy people were bad enough. But clingy people who couldn’t take a hint were both stupid and annoying as all hell.

Still, there was no reason I could give that would satisfy him enough to let me walk to the door on my own. At least there he would be forced to leave me alone. For now. God I was already not looking forward to returning to this place in a few hours.

Just as I thought that, my AI spoke up. “Message from Xander. Mission cleared. Permission was granted for me to come get you. I should be there in a day, maybe two.”

Why was it going to take him so long to get here? Last time he arrived within the hour. Thankfully the message continued. “The council has authorized the use of a transport vehicle to facilitate the rescue. Apparently some high-up elf with some pull has requested the retrieval of a few people. I don’t know who they want specifically, but see if anyone stands out to you.”

Surely that wasn’t Barti making the request. There had to be other elves out there with some pull. Still, something about this whole situation made me wonder just what god was messing with me. I mean, what are the chances of any of this happening?

While I could potentially ask Inari, I doubted she would answer. In fact I had the distinct feeling that just asking her would piss her off. Maybe even to the point where she didn’t respond to any of my requests for a period of time as she ‘punished me’ or whatever. So it was probably a good idea to save the ability to do so until I actually needed her help or advice.

I didn’t wait for the wolf as I made my way out of the room and up the stairs. The only reason he didn’t have to run to catch up was the fact that the altar refused to budge for me. It simply refused to take my mana and open. It only irked me more when he simply tapped at the stone surface and the altar slid to the side without issue.

Then again, maybe there was a trick to it. Something that prevented the structure from moving unless you did something. The more I thought about it, the more that possibility was more realistic than not. It would do to have someone trip and pour mana into the altar only to reveal the hidden stairs.

With a shake of my head, I walked into the sanctuary. Lance grabbed my arm just as I turned toward the outer doors. Sure I could have kept walking, but something about the way he was holding onto my hand told me he wasn’t going to let me go until he got whatever he had to say out. Given that I didn’t want to drag the wolf behind me into this very racist…speciest?…city, I stopped moving.

My voice was low enough that it vibrated my chest. “What?”

“Promise me you wont take any risks.” His voice was soft and only seemed to soften more as he continued. “I don’t know if I could live if you died.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” I oh so helpfully shot back without thinking. “Or did you forget that we travelers are able to come back to life?” Not that I wanted to. That space of pure nothingness was weird. And the worst part was that I was fairly sure I had only seen a tiny fraction of what lived out there. So yeah, I would be avoiding death.

A certain demon, on the other hand, would likely be meeting his death for the second time. This time I had to hope that it would stick.

“Still…” I rolled my eyes and tugged my arm from his grip. I ignored his words as I walked out of the church and into the city that I had never wanted to see again, let alone set foot in.