Path of the Slayer B1 C16. Uncommon World

I woke up with a gasp. Rainbow oil covered the rooftop edge around me, the spot under me remaining dry. Dozens of imps perched to my left and right, some of them squawking in surprise at my sudden awakening.

My hands were empty, the codex gone, and with it the bookish and bland Primordial, Senior Codex.

Looking up, I saw the orange sunballs had dimmed into a dark blue. The crimson skies had turned dark like wine.

Apparently, the Raining Ruin Hell Realm had a nighttime feature when it was a Passage Realm. The surrounding imps looked at me tiredly, if not wary of what I would do next.

My Path Energy was still at 2%.

Everything with Senior Codex had happened in my mind, but still had an effect. I saw Sword Player Flurry was in my System Profile. I also had a very welcomed notification.

[Congrats! Path of the Slayer Leveled Up! 11 to 16!]

Five whole Levels. That was significant. I was getting ever closer to Level 31 and being able to choose Path Lightning. I was also creeping closer to Level 61 and trying to make the Epic Battle Rex work.

Thinking back to Senior Codex’s last words burned me up inside.

“I don’t need your pity.” I looked up sharply. “System, hear me. No matter what, I’m going to go further than any Slayer before me. I know you played a hand in helping me. So I will not disappoint.”

The System didn’t respond.

That was okay.

I knew she was on my side. Knowing that made my next actions simple.

I needed to ransack this Realm for all its worth.

I needed to train my Great Skills and gain more Great Skills.

I needed to prepare to go to a harder Realm and find more information about the Grand Generational Passing. I wanted to get involved. I refused to live my life in hiding, at least not without making some serious gains toward my goal.

Shifting around, I knelt while sitting back on my heels and closed my eyes. I sought my soul and its journey, taking time wandering through the darkness beyond my System Profile until I found that little crimson flame with black edges.

I followed my soul on another adventure through misty and evil woods, facing terrifying creatures that would give most Rank 1s and even Rank 2s nightmares.

For some reason, I found it relaxing. It was a simple journey. Wander. Wander. Wander. Defend. Kill. Wander. Wander. Wander. Defend. Kill. It was repetitive, almost trance-like, and it was my journey until I saw enough.

My eyes opened, and daytime in the Hell Realm revealed itself before me. The sunballs above were orange again, and the red skies lightened up to bright crimson. All the way below me, a herd of fuzzy demons were picking dark flowers, the sharpened petals doing nothing against their tough skin.

Ghouls wandered about and waved at each other incessantly, the expression having passed on like a plague now. Imps circled around in the skies above or swooped between the great black towers, their wings skimming by the dark and cracked windows beneath me.

On warm gusts of wind, smoky scent trails filled my nose.

It wasn’t exactly unpleasant.

I wouldn’t mind prepping as much as I could here. Being a Realm Master was nice. But it was a temporary state.

And it was a step removed from my origins.

With a sigh, I opened a viewing window toward what I sought next. The air warped in front of me in a circle that was a dozen feet wide, bending all solid things out of the way until a shimmering silver Portal appeared in the circular Realm window.

Rising from my knelt seat, I stepped through the air as if it was solid and teleported to the floor in front of the Portal with a snap.

A dusty room with odd metal wreckages surrounded me. Some wreckages looked more whole, more worth studying than the wreckages before the Challenge Realm became a Passage Realm.

I put aside my artificer curiosity and looked at the silver Portal. Reaching forward, I touched it, and a notification from the System popped up in my logs and hovered in front of the Portal.

[You’re about to enter the Supreme Sovereign Imperial Realm: Rank 7 World (Uncommon).]

“Uncommon?” I asked with some humor. “Is the so-called God Emperor a Pathwalker with a World Realm that’s Uncommon? Is that the man we’ve been taught to worship?”

Two random ghouls stumbled through an opening in the room filled with decently kept wreckage. They turned their black and gray eyes upon me as I took my hand away from the cool and shimmering surface of the Portal, my humor turning into a full-blown laugh.

Now that I had context, my home world felt less impressive.

If freaking noble children could reach Rank 6 before becoming Pathwalkers like it was no big deal, a Rank 7 World that was Uncommon sounded bottom of the barrel to me. It was almost like those stories I’d heard when I was young about great adventurers coming from small backwood farms before becoming important when they reached the main cities or the capital.

“That’s me, huh? Humble origins and all.”

I shook my head, my mirth fading as I faced a personal dilemma.

Britta.

I wanted to pay her back for her Helping Hand and her endless kindness.

But through my Title as the Realm Master, I sensed the magic inside of the Portal was waning. The Portal would be gone in the next day cycle.

Then I would be disconnected from my home world for a long time, if not forever.

There were plenty of Realms out there, weren’t there? There were plenty of places I could explore and wander about as I grow my power and my Path. The Supreme Sovereign World Realm was only a starting point in the grand scheme of things.

But I’d still like some closure.

“If I’m fast enough, I could make it to her and back,” I said. “If I’m dumb enough, I can convince myself it’ll go without a hitch.”

I was an idiot sometimes.

But not all the time.

Everybody on the other side would believe me dead soon enough if not already. I could easily ruin that by going to see Britta right now. I could also put her in danger instead of leaving things be.

The guild might act out of sorts with my Pathwalker status.

The so-called ‘God Emperor’ might pay me a visit or whatever.

Then they might put me in a position where I’d have to get along to go along. What was the point of having luxuries and nice things if that meant I would be collared or caged?

Civilizations were bad for me without more context.

I got some big dreams. But I wasn’t strong enough to cause trouble whenever I pleased. Not yet, at least.

“Damn.”

 I slowly turned away, my chest filled with the icy and prickly feeling of disappointment. The memory of Britta’s passionate kisses and the offer of her bed would haunt me for a while, no doubt.

“The dream version of me gets a win over the real me. And look at me. I’m way better than the old me and the dream version of me.”

The ghouls looked at me like I was insane.

I waved at them.

They waved back enthusiastically.

Yup, I wasn’t insane.

Turning fully away from the Portal, the wreckage in the room drew most of my attention now. We were on the ground floor, and from what I could see on the walls, there were movable doorways that opened upward instead of side-to-side. I even found an old, heavily rusted wrench on the floor that had some latent Rank 1 magic on it.

“Hm, how delightful, a little friend,” Hellion said, deep and suave.

“Oh, now you’re talking? You didn’t say a word when we were in front of Senior Codex,” I snarked.

“Well, it wouldn’t be very good for my health if I spoke out of turn in front of a Primordial, my liege,” Hellion replied. “That sounds mighty dangerous.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Senior Codex is nothing more than a bookish ass who’s got some good advice every now and then. What’s really important is if this magic wrench is cursed or not.” I flipped it around, with the wrench clanking every time I used my half ripper hand.

“Not as sophisticated as myself, I assure you, but it’s certainly something that hopes to live in my shadow.” Hellion chuckled smoothly. “Still, you’re a powerful one, my liege. These mere cursed tools won’t affect you much. And if you haven’t noticed already, cursed items are stronger than non-cursed items.”

That didn’t surprise me. Back when Hellion was in his original form as an autosaw, he was already ridiculously strong. Sure, it was Rank 2 and Rare back then, but the old version of Hellion did a lot for me before I became a Pathwalker. And before he became my first bonded treasure.

“I’m not really interested in becoming a cursed artificer,” I replied.

“You don’t have to be.” Pause. “But it’ll certainly make you stronger if you can handle the challenge.”

Hellion, you sly, sly fox.

I considered his words in silence, knowing they were damning while taking it all in stride. My Path of the Slayer was going to differ from all the Slayers before it, after all. Why not consider all options?

As I examined one of those alien carriages with a low, boxy frame, I noticed an even stranger piece of wreckage in the corner. For some reason, it had two wheels instead of four. It reminded me of a loom, but made for riding instead of seamstressing.

Who the heck would ride on two wheels like it was a stubby mount?

I looked to see if the ghouls recognized any of this stuff, but they were already wandering out of the room. They must’ve gotten bored or whatever.

I was about to make my way closer to the alien two-wheeler when the Portal behind me made a ringing chime that sent shivers through my body. I turned and drew my sword from my back as an armored woman stepped out of the Portal and entered the wreckage shop with me.

Her armor was well-polished silver and white metal plates covering her torso, legs, hands, and even head. From behind her helmet, a long single braid the color of the empire’s sun dangled down. From the opening in her visor, two glacial eyes looked forward. Pink lips pursed with tension. Well-plucked eyebrows narrowed with focus. Her high-posture shifted into a battle stance as she tensed subtly with potential violence.

We looked at each other for one heart beat.

Then my silver adventurer ex-girlfriend, Lady Seraphina Frostmere, struck me with her Rank 3 Suppression.

I couldn’t escape, and the System let me know why.

[You are engaged in combat! Realm Master privileges disengaged!]