17: Dirty Job
Aidan worked throughout the day in the store and properly closed it when evening arrived. He cleaned up the place a little, and sorted out the wares on the shelves and even prettied up the place by making it more aesthetically pleasing.
He knew he was just stalling for the gruesome job ahead, so he at least wanted some peace of mind when he at least returned.
No time like the present.
He at first thought that he would have a tough time finding the place where he buried the two guard bodies over a week ago, but he found through his talent that it wasn’t the case.
With his fast understanding of Soul Meditation, he was able to scour across the forest and easily find the traces of his magic through the use of vibrations where he manipulated the earth to bury the bodies. He also tried to see if he could scan through the dirt and see if he could just spot whatever valuables Nina wanted him to dig up to find, but alas, it was difficult to go through that much dirt with their own vibrations getting in the way.
He was going to have to dig it up himself and see what it was. A deep knot tied in his gut at the mere thought of digging up old bodies.
He closed up the door to the store building, already using Vanish on himself to stay invisible. He skulked through the streets, getting ignored by the passersby that swished past him, unable to see the invisible man rushing straight towards the exit of the town.
He thought about going through the entrance where he first physically been, at the hidden side within the slum’s district, but he already knew the pathway out of the ordinary entrance to the city through the use of Soul Meditation, so he went there instead, finding the ramparts that had plenty of guards patrolling the outskirts of the city as well as the inner portions of the wall with their spears held taut in their hands.
Some of them kept a steady lookout at the scenery while a rare few looked ready to keel over from exhaustion. The entrance had large metal twin doors, with a booth on either end with their own guards manning them while looking through some papers on their side. He thought he was gonna have to use some clever way to use Craft to get over the entrance, but it looked like the doors were kept open for an all night shift in case travelers were to come around. He heard that the doors don’t close unless there is an emergency, like a monster outbreak or a bandit attack.
He passed through with ease, not a single one of the guards noticing his arrival or departure. Looking back, he wondered what was the point of having a pass if he could just go invisible in the first place, but he put those thoughts to the side as he hurried along into the forest.
He let his Sense Vibrations take over, feeling out the skill like a muscle that he thoroughly exercised and trained over the past few days. Unlike the first time, he had a deeper grasp of the forest around him, and he could practically see beyond the obstructions through the use of his senses rather than his actual eyes.
He even noticed a few creatures running about. Since he didn’t want to get into a fight with them, he picked a path that would avoid them throughout the venture. He could tell whether there would be guards patrolling the forest, so he went on without worry.
Still, just to be sure, he packed his essentials and put it into a pack which he held behind him, including a magic tool that worked like a flashlight by pouring mana into the rod-like tool.
His sight wasn’t so bad that he needed it throughout the walk of the forest, but he needed to find out what were the items he needed to pick up. He also had some food in there plus some first aid supplies in case something happened.
Obviously he had his shortsword with him, tucked into a holster on his hip in case something bad does happen, but with Vanish still on hand, he didn’t see any reason to get into a fight.
About an hour of traveling passed, and Aidan was already starting to feel the exhaustion hitting him. He knew his stats were the reason, his Strength attribute being so low compared to his other stats. He considered putting the extra points he still had on hand from his last level up into it, wanting to make the travel easier on himself.
He decided to follow a simple plan for his stat spread. He put some points into Strength, increasing it so that it would at least reach the same number as his Vitality, with his Agility slightly higher and his main stat standing tall and proud.
He planned on putting a 5/10/15 rule to his stats. He’ll have both Strength and Vitality at one-third of his highest stat being Intelligence, with Agility reaching the middle. That way, he won’t lag behind when it came to his physical stats while keeping his mental and speed stats decently high. When his Endurance jumped up, he instantly felt revitalized, like he just took an extra caffeinated energy drink.
Shit, would this make it easier to take hits when I’m using my Shortsword with Soul Meditation?
He thought about putting points into Toughness next, but he wanted to keep following his personal rule. He was decently sure that his Intellect was the one taking charge of the major damage done by his sword rather than his Might, as he wasn’t actually swinging it with his hands, but with his magic.
After getting his second wind, he finally reached the location where he recalled meeting the two guards. He could see the dirt road alongside the beaten up shrubbery he passed through when he was trudging through the forest. His senses picked up the latest traces of vibrations that were disturbed by his magic, proving that he spotted the place where he buried the bodies.
“Ugh… I’m really gonna have to do this, don’t I?”
His feet tapped against the ground, feeling the cold wind breezing through and hitting his skin. The longer he waited, the more of a chance that another guard patrol might come by.
With gritting teeth, he commanded the soil underneath to shift with Craft, using the non-creating orb version where he could physically alter the material himself rather than just directly leaving it to his magic spell.
It was a nifty little tip he learned, and he realized that the higher ranked the spell, the more he could adjust the mana costs of his spells. For instance, his Craft spell using the orb version cost more mana compared to outright altering the material right in front of his eyes. It even decreases the mana cost a little the higher it got in rank, so digging up the dirt and whatever debris that littered it was easy enough.
He had a fun time distracting himself with how his spell worked which was immediately dashed when the rotting smell hit him. He gagged, his throat closing up from the rampaging stench that sucker punched him through the nose.
The dirt fell away, revealing a rotting corpse with maggots wriggling around in the open pores that were once the skin. The faces were gaunt and their jaws were open, revealing a rather grotesque appearance on both of the bodies.
It wasn’t just the grotesque appearance and the horrific stench–something else was cloying at his senses and making him want to hurl out his insides. Something far worse than he can imagine.
Death…
It was full of it. He wasn’t sure exactly what, but that word ‘death’ made it clear that this is what it was. Then he recognized it for what it actually was–an affinity much like the elements for earth and water that surrounded him.
So my talent can even pick out vibrations from death itself… that’s unfortunate.
It was good to learn that he can also sense the vibrations from beings that were no longer alive, though he wished he didn’t have to face a double-whammy of physical and metaphysical frontal assault. Shaking his head to rid himself of the nauseating sentiment, he commanded the earth to pull the bodies upwards for him to have a better look.
He pulled out from his pack the flashlight that was just a rod enchanted with magic. Pressing the side of the rod, a bright flash emitted from the top, brightening the area around him and showing the bodies up close and personal.
It grossed him out, but he could tell that the guards certainly did have plenty of items on hand, including a pack and a holster for what looked like closed containers. They were made of glass and had stoppers at the top, with red liquid swishing underneath. He pulled one out and recognized it for what it was.
It was a potion meant to recover lost health points, something that he heard was quite expensive to buy but that guards usually have on hand. They supposedly have their own alchemist making this sort of stuff to have on demand so that the guards can be well protected.
Guess they just weren’t fast enough.
The dark thought filled his mind before deciding to take the potions. He knew it wasn’t the valuables that Nina wanted him to find, but since he was already doing the nasty deed, he might as well reward himself for the effort. He kept scouring the bodies, trying to find any hidden pockets or secret stashes they had, then spotted what he figured might be the item in question.
He pulled out what looked like a small diamond-shaped crystal shimmering bright purple and red. There were many facets on the gem, with something glowing brighter red deep within the center. He scanned the item and received the notification.
Ancient Merunian Quartz (Rare)
A rare gem that can be found deep within the Ruinga Mountains. It had been modified to contain an array that can activate a spell enchanted within. If poorly released, the quartz would explode and destroy anything within a 3-mile radius.
His eyes widened at the ending note and wished to chuck it right then and there, but he restrained himself. Whatever it was, it was apparently important to both Nina and the Red Riot.
He heard that arrays were complex spells that could do anything from unleashing a big attack to creating specific programming for magic tools to do their jobs. He wasn’t quite sure on the specifics, but he knew that this gem is a high enough quality to warrant hundreds of gold in the right market.
“Guess I found it,” Aidan let out a tired sigh. “Thank god. I thought I was gonna have to go all nigh–”
A sudden thunk caught his hearing, and Aidan instantly searched for the origin of the noise. His eyes scoured the darkness, his Perception flaring hard and his Sense Vibrations picking up that there was somebody there.
And that someone was staring hard at him, her hands hovering over her mouth in a panic.
“Ah… I… I… I didn’t see anything!”
The woman, sounding quite young, said before bolting back into the forest, her feet scampering as fast as she could carry them.
Aidan’s heart smashed against his chest in his own panic. He was so focused on recovering the item from the bodies that he didn’t have time to use his Sense Vibrations to pick up any other beings. Now was the worst case scenario when someone out of nowhere spotted him digging up corpses.
The words that Nina said to him about making sure nobody sees him rang in his head. Was he about to take another life to protect his own?
Dammit all!
He dashed ahead, but not before he put the bodies back into the ground and buried them once again, ignoring all the other items they had on hand. He needed to catch that girl before she found anyone else.