Mythshaper

There was one slight problem with my grand idea of demon hunting. The demon itself. I could not just go around and find them at every nook and corner of Klearon. Rifts were pretty much off-limits as well, with the safety protocol in place.

The world was quite large, with hundreds of organisations and various governing bodies; none seemed to agree upon one single thing. However, all of them came to an accord that rifts were an infestation that needed to be cleaned up as soon as they appeared. Obviously, they had not reached the same conclusion in the beginning.

Years of malpractice in trying to farm rifts had only resulted in misery. Even still, it took more convincing than that for some to figure out there were no ways around it. What were human lives to the riches and exotic materials they could extract from a rift?

The other area where demon infestations ran wild was the front lines, but it was no place for young people to gain experience. That left us with one option: the blighted chasma.

Even there, Mum had to broker a deal with the Monster Hunter Guild to have us an appointment. I was sure we could have sneaked into the chasms, provided that it was not a well-guarded zone; it was still better to do things the conventional way.

To reach the chasma, we first travelled to Elinum. It was my first time on a waygate, and the experience was not as I had imagined. For one thing, it took more than an instant, requiring several minutes of walking. Yes, actual walking within the path that connected the two waygates between Klearon and Elinum. Thankfully, it was safe, and the Pathfinder led us through the correct route without a problem. Apparently, all the waygates connected to the paths, giving no concern to inter-nation borders, not that we were allowed to travel into another country like Thera without a permit.

Elinum was much easier, now being considered a part of the empire. It was not built like your usual city, however. There seemed to be no proper plan for landscaping, as edifices of various sizes and shapes were scattered around the rugged land. We went straight to the Elinum branch of the Monster Hunter Guild, landing from the waygate. Although based in Victoria, the Monster Hunter Guild had expanded to cover more than one region—the likes of Vasher, Klearon, and Elinum. It was arguably one of the biggest guilds on the western front of the empire. Hah, who knew it would be so much easier for the guild to grow if it did not ask too much out of its members? As far as I understood, it was like a tighter form of the awakened's association, specialising in adventuring and monster hunting.

I was not surprised to find there were a few others in similar situations to us. We all waited in the guest room; a couple of representatives came and led us to climb aboard an Ignition platform. It was like a flatboard flying platform, mostly used to carry raw ores from the mines. It was not a brilliant invention, nor was it faster than your regular horse-drawn carriages, not by a long shot, at least. But it was comfortable. A prestigious-class shaper drove us over the city to the periphery of the chasms.

Our group included more than a few noble younglings, and some even from the knightly order. I was unsure of the actual amount Mum needed to pay for me to get here, but it was definitely not small for any common awakened to obtain a chance like this. All of the youths present were of the noble class, with lavish clothing, shining armour plates and weapons hanging at their hips or latched on their backs.

I too was dressed like an adventurer, only lacking thick armour on account of my relic. A noble-class blade hung on my back as well. It was certainly not the best of my creations, but it did the job. My levitation boots and vambraces were easily far better examples of intricate craftsmanship, but those were mostly for their auxiliary merits.

Finally, we were dropped at the very edge of the chasm and found hundreds of other people trudging ahead of us, pushing trolleys and carrying baskets in their hands. The chasms were the primary source of iron and titanium, and the city was built around that. Still, it astounded me to find the varying range of people working in the mines. They were of all ages and genders, whether sickly or frail in figure. Most were common folk without a shred of essence in their bodies.

It should not have surprised me that poverty was a thing, but looking at them, it hammered the very reality of it into my head.

Dropping us off the platform, the representative went on to let us know everything we needed to be aware of regarding this whole expedition and the chasms. Mostly, what not to do when we were deep into the depths of the chasms. I did not pay much attention, already having been educated on the same by my parents.

My gaze drifted towards the vast fissure lying before my eyes. It was supposedly big enough to remain as a smear on the surface of the very planet. On our side, it did not seem all that bad. Various infrastructures had been built, with high wooden beams stacked together to form watchtowers as well as mining sites. However, the further my eyes travelled, the more ominous it seemed to grow. Darkness seemed to coalesce within its depth, as I could not even make out more than a kilometre ahead, even during the day.

Supposedly, the chasm expanded over hundreds of kilometres, while its depth was perhaps more than a dozen. Very few awakened had had a chance to descend upon its depths and come out alive. None had quite figured out how far down it went into the bowels of the earth, as most of the perilous threats infested down there.

Finally, the representative went his way, telling us that the Expedition Master would be joining us in a moment.

"It's still as ominous as I remember," Mum said, looking at the far-off side of the chasms.

"You know, I can take care of Arilyn down there," Father said. "You don't have to come with us."

"It's nothing, really," she said, waving her hand. "We're only moving through the peripheral areas anyway."

A few minutes later, the Expedition Master presented themselves with his whole group. I believed they would launch into an introduction before we went about our business, but one of the warrior's eyes gleamed as he spotted us. Quickly excusing himself, he scurried towards us to drop down on one knee to salute my mother.

"Greetings, Lady Ashlyn," he said, bowing, clasping his fist to his chest.

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"You are?" Mum's gaze sharpened on the man.

"Elnar," the man said. "Elnar Akarson. My family has served yours for more than three generations."

"Stop with the old ways of greeting. I'm not your great lady anymore, you know." Mum used her essence to literally pull him off the ground. "And I do recognise you. You're the kid who used to leave flowers for Emi secretly, and she never knew it was not Aunt Romi, our housekeeper."

The man bowed his head in embarrassment.

"What's your father up to these days?" Mum spared him the awkwardness. "I haven't been to Vasher for quite a while."

"He's doing well," Elnar said quickly. "He retired to a sitting job in law enforcement last year."

"Jamar 'Greybeard' Akarson retired? I didn't think there'd be such a day."

"It took a lot of convincing."

"I can imagine," Mum smiled. "I like that you did not take after him in life, and became successful in your own path."

"I've had some good luck," Elnar seemed to be easily flustered, despite the battle-hardened look he had going on.

"I really didn't think it would be you, Lady Ashlyn, when I read the roster," his gaze drifted to us, "please pardon me to ask you to introduce…"

Mum waved her hand. "Oh, that's rude of me not to introduce you to my family. So, this is my spouse, Jinn, and my son, Arilyn. We are here to get him some raw experience."

Elnar greeted us and Father as though we were some lost princelings of a kingdom. To be fair, I was more embarrassed than the man himself, being on the receiving end of respect. Even I wanted to pull the man with my essence threads, but that would look bad against someone of the Prestigious Class.

"If you don't mind, Lady Ashlyn, may I work as your escort to the chasm?"

"Sure, it only makes it easier for us to get someone I recognise."

All the youths were divided into two: one side mostly out of the knight squires, and the other had us and most of the nobles, headed by Elnar. Both groups went down the same direction, only maintaining a few metres of distance before finally dividing once we entered the more murky areas within the chasm.

The environment down there was more damp than I liked. Thankfully, it did not smell awful. There was nothing much, really, encompassed on all sides by solid black stone. The years of storming wind and rain had left many wear and tear, as I could literally pick the direction the wind blew from the marks on the surface.

The further down we went, the more the darkness seemed to shroud our surroundings, the air becoming still. Only with the help of light constructs and torch spells could we be on our way.

"You been to home much these days, Elnar?" Mum asked as we rounded a narrow slope.

"I was there only a couple of weeks ago," Elnar said. "Only returned after dealing with a Rift situation there. Lady Emilyn and Lady Rosalyn were there helping around the state."

Mum nodded. "Was the situation bad in Vasher?"

"Not as bad as some other places we've been to, but we lost dozens of good people."

It hardly took long for us to encounter the first signs of monsters. Flocks of rotund rats scampered about our advance every once in a while, until a giant centipede crossed into our path.

"I'll take care of this," said a noble son, jumping straight towards the dashing monster.

His blade flashed through the cascading darkness, meeting the thick carapace of the demon, as dark purple blood sprayed the air. However, before he could unleash a deadly blow, the monster—still impaled by the blade—jumped at him, throwing him onto the ground. Thankfully, Elnar came to his rescue in time, crushing the creature into bloody pulp with a kick before pulling the lad up by the pauldron of his armour.

"Thank you," the boy said. "It caught me off guard with its speed, but I'll be prepared next time."

He was about to leave, but Elnar didn't let go of his shoulder.

"Your name?" he asked.

"Marcus of the House Paladinus," the boy said proudly.

"All right, Marcus of House Paladinus. Have you been issued a warning of what to do and what not to do while you're in the chasm?"

"Yes, but—"

"So you have," Elnar said, cutting him off. It was quite opposite to the respectful manner and blushing he showered our way. "You know all about the protocol, and yet you ran at the first monster that came along, thinking it was the back garden of your father's manor."

"I don't know what the problem is," Marcus said, not backing down. "It was merely a small centipede—"

"And yet you fumbled against it." Elnar glared. "Next time you try something like this, ask for my permission first."

Then he gazed at all the others. "Perhaps this is my fault, as I haven't done this part for a while and failed to notice that some of you are here for the first time. I don't know what your other instructors do, but when you're here under my protection, you listen to what I say. You're here to gain experience and honour if you can, not to impress someone. So push aside all the foolish heroic ideas you get in your head and listen to every word of my command like a good soldier."

The noble youths nodded along; they were not impressed. Still, it stopped all the young awakened the next time some monster poked our way. This time, everyone gazed up at Elnar for his permission. Father pushed me forward, even though it was one of the more common monsters.

"Can I face the monster?" I asked, raising my hand.

"You may." Elnar nodded. "There are a couple more of those centipedes hiding in the dark. Anyone else want to volunteer?"

More than a couple of hands were raised instantly. Elnar gestured to one of the girls at the back and another heavy youth with a shield and mace.

"Working together is the most efficient way of doing things," the escort advised. "Don't think about how fast you can kill it; think of how safely you manage it."

We all moved towards the monster, unsheathing our weapons at the ready.

"Stand by my side," said the heavy boy with the shield, creeping by my side. "I'll protect you."

The girl strode ahead of us without a hitch. She faced the first centipede in full confidence. While these demons were hardly as threatening as a devourer, they were still rather fast and could mount an insurmountable defence for many noble-class augmenters. The girl, however, did better than Marcus. She kept the monster at the end of her long blade, not letting it grow any closer to her, while slowly working towards ending its misery. When two more fiends came to surround her, we swiftly surged to restrict their path.

My blade almost moved on its own as soon as the monster jumped towards me, aiming at the gap between its segmented body, which was its weakest spot. I had barely invested a little of my essence, as the sharp blade cleaved the centipede in half, the two parts of the monster's body thrashing on the ground one last time. The shield warrior by my side threw off his monster with the shield before charging with his mace.

I suppressed myself to only watch and be vigilant of the surroundings. He did not take any more time than the girl, though his result was far more disturbing to watch, as his mace literally beat the monster into a bloody pulp with purple blood smearing all over his armour and tools.

"Not too bad, eh?" he said, turning towards me.

I was about to reply to him, but suddenly my instincts snapped as something jumped from the side wall towards the girl. A cluster of my essence threads sprang up from my palm and shot towards the monster. Kinetic waves drilled into its rigid skull, pushing it to meet the wall.

"Blighted hell!" the girl screamed, quickly jumping to her feet to withdraw.

The monster was still within my range as I quickly implemented a compression weave into the kinetic wave and struck at its screeching maw, felling it almost instantly.

None of the monsters we had faced so far amounted to much, and my essence threads showed it.

"Good work," Elnar clapped his hands. "There was a surprising element, but you've done good work for the most part—at least most of you did."

"But you said there were only three of them," the girl whined.

"I did," Elnar said. "Then that should give you an idea that there are things out there that even I don't have a good grasp of. So that should teach you to stay alert at all times."

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