Path of the Slayer B1 C13. Senior Codex

I felt my pounding heart in my throat, my blood rushing fast throughout my body, my muscles tensed for action. Path Energy crackled violently over my armored form, my left hand reaching behind me to grab the handle of my greatsword.

I reached out with Hellion in front of me to serve as a temporary threat. The edgy tips on my metal fingers could cut deep even with the bonded treasure inactive.

There was darkness.

Then there was more light, but not like the diamond-flash from before.

The light came with amber and gold tones shining from above, warm and honey-like.

The air lacked the smokiness of Raining Ruins. Instead, an earthy and unknown smell filled my nostrils. Old carpet fibers squished under my boots. Towering bookshelves, every shelf loaded with thick volumes with expensive-looking covers, surrounded me.

I was walled in from three directions with only one way out to my left. Between me and the exit was a man, or what looked like a man.

“Where am I?” I demanded, holding the greatsword in both hands, the black blade posed between me and the stranger.

“Do I have permission to see into your System Profile?” droned the stranger.

I paused at that and gave him a more thorough appraisal.

He reminded me of the bookish researchers that filled the library section of the adventurer guild. His robes were the color of the bookshelves, a light brown that was easily dismissible.

He wore round spectacles on a pinched and wrinkled face, and had a shock of white hair that seemed to frizz up naturally. He was also very narrow and small, to where his robes seemed to dwarf him, while having the posture of someone who would curl up with a book more times than he would stand straight.

I felt no Suppression from him.

No threat.

Yet, the way his half-lidded eyes shone a dull gold felt out of place.

Along with his question.

“Who are you?” I asked, ignoring his question on purpose.

“Do I have permission to see into your System Profile?” he droned on with a more nasal reflection. “It would make the Basic Pathwalker Instructions easier on us both. Though I suppose you can tell me what you prefer for me to hear instead, and I’ll tailor my responses to that.”

I risked a glance down and realized the codex was gone from my grasp.

“Can I assume that this is all part of the magic from the codex?” I edged carefully.

He revealed an expression that differed from boredom – slight puzzlement mixed with annoyance.

“Why are you asking questions you should know by now?” he returned.

I had a decision to make.

I could reveal my ignorance or play it off somehow.

Honesty.

Or subterfuge.

I made my choice. “Because I don’t know about anything you’re insinuating. I just became a Pathwalker recently, and I’d never heard of such a thing until I became one. I’m here because I gained a codex from a Realm Treasure Chest.”

The old bookish man straightened up immediately, his golden eyes flashing. I tensed, watching him carefully as he spoke.

“Oh, my, that’s unusual. Been a long time since I’ve had a wild Pathwalker read one of my codexes without it being passed down by a Path Family or Path Conglomerate. The System must’ve taken a real liking to you.”

On the outside, I remained nonchalant and ready for action.

On the inside, I was happy to hear that. The System was truly on my side.

I lowered my sword, lessening my threatening stance, but kept the weapon between us still. “You created that codex?” I glanced around. “How can a Level 1 and Uncommon item bring me here?”

“Technically, you’re not anywhere. I’m inside your mind. So is this piece of my domain. The moment you opened one of my codexes, the runes written into the book granted me access to you, Young Pathwalker.”

One breath in.

One breath out.

“Can you do this without being inside of my head?” I asked evenly.

“No,” he said bluntly. “You could have me go away if you want, and you could read the codex as normal. Once I leave, I won’t be coming back.”

It was unnerving to have my mind invaded so easily.

It was a little better to know that I could end it.

But it was already happening, and I had what I expected to be a resource of knowledge in front of me. Or all around me. It would be foolish to squander it even if having my mind invaded without my say so made me squeamish.

But like my Epiphany, I wasn’t one to stop at the first sign of discomfort.

“Is everything discussed between you and me confidential?” I asked.

“Under the witness of the System, everything between us is confidential unless you choose to talk about it. You could even talk about me, if you want, but there’s not much to me that isn’t known to other Pathwalkers. I’m merely a Pathwalker Primordial, Path of the Codex. You may refer to me as Senior Codex.”

“What’s a Primordial?”

“Unimportant in the grand scheme of things, truly. Now, may we proceed? Can I see into your System Profile?”

I had my doubts about the word ‘Primordial’ being something unimportant. But at least I had a name that personified the small and bookish fellow in front of me. Senior Codex seemed more interested in me, too, after I revealed I was a ‘wild’ Pathwalker.

I relented. “Go on.”

[A Pathwalker Primordial requests access to your System Profile. Request granted! Do not worry. Senior Codex has been a great aid for many Pathwalkers.]

My eyes widened at the personal message at the end of the notification.

That was a first.

“Hm, interesting!” Senior Codex claimed, his eyes twitching left and right. “You’re only Level 11 and you have four Great Skills already! And one of them is already Rare!”

I placed my greatsword behind me, with the weapon tethering magically to my back. I tried to hide the excitement that wanted to creep into my voice. “Am I strong for my Level?”

“Hm? Oh. No. You’re frankly far behind who I usually work with. Your Path Energy is only Exquisite, which is frankly a low start, unfortunately. You only have one Bonded Treasure, and it’s only Exquisite as well.”

Huh?

What?

Only Exquisite?

Was he serious?

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Senior Codex looked sharply at me, his gold eyes becoming razor thin. “How are you handling the curse?”

“I’m handling it,” I replied as evenly as possible.

The bookish elder nodded once. “Well, its ability to drain Vitality will be good for you. You have the sort of profile that explains why you’re a wild Pathwalker. Very upfront, showy, almost like a gladiator. Except for one part …”

I cut him off. “Path Magnetism?”

“Why did you choose that?” he asked. “Other than one of your skills, Path Magnetism diverts heavily from your current Pathwalker build.”

I remained honest. “I had other options. One was Exquisite. Another was Epic. But I assumed both were too expensive for me.”

“May I see those specific choices? I can do so through your System Logs.”

I granted him access.

[A Pathwalker Primordial requests access to your System Logs. Access granted!]

No personal message at the end this time.

I watched Senior Codex. His eyes shifted right and left quickly as he read. His mouth moved without saying a word audibly.

“Why do you have Gear Modder Speed?” he asked.

“It was my first Great Skill,” I explained. “Right after I became a Pathwalker, I made adjustments to an artificial half arm, a Rank 1, by turning it into a coupler. That way, I could safely attach the prior form of Hellion, which was shaped like a blade with a chain on the front called an autosaw. You see, I’m an artificer and a warrior.”

Senior Codex nodded along, his face more accepting than when we first met. “Young Pathwalker, what sort of world did you come from?”

“I came from the Supreme Sovereign Empire, though the natural imperial people don’t really look like me. My ancestry traces to the nomads, a people that the God Emperor brought into the Empire…”

I described more of my world, about how it functioned based on Ranks, and how Rank and power mattered more than most things. I even explained how I was once a Rank 0 bronze adventurer, and that I was short on time, and I was going to lose my badge, then everything that led to me being here.

“Impressive,” Senior Codex said after I finished. “I’m quite old. I’ve seen plenty. But what you’ve been through as a Rank 0 is … well … worthy of being written as a story and placed on the front display of a bookstore.”

I remained nonchalant on the outside.

Internally … I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to dive into it.

“Well, there you go. You’ve heard my story,” I said. “Will that help you help me?”

“Indeed, it will. I’ve already charted a course for you.”

Senior Codex snapped his fingers, and the massive walls of bookshelves blurred by us. I was a little tense, but the Pathwalker Primordial remained composed, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

The blurring movements ended, and what surrounded us reminded me of a training hall fused with a library. There was an assortment of weapons held on racks against one wall while an opposing wall held scrolls.

Suddenly, the bookish and old man had a training sword in one hand. In the other hand, he unrolled a scroll with a flick of the wrist.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’m direct and to the point. While it is a pleasure to serve the System in some capacity, I opted for this job because it gave me more freedom to read without getting involved in the usual Pathwalker drama and politics. So, I won’t waste my time being esoteric or whatever nonsense that’s expected out of trainers.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Senior Codex nodded. He seemed to favor my politeness, and I deeply appreciated his forthcoming nature.

I’d been an instructor. It took a lot of time to bend or recreate a teaching plan for students who didn’t absorb lessons as directly as you could hope. I didn’t have that issue as a student of anything.

“I’ll begin with this. You are a wild Pathwalker. Meaning you weren’t meant to become a Pathwalker in the current structures we have now. While there are many Paths, Pathwalkers are more limited compared to all the Rankers out there. Powerful Pathwalker Families, Pathwalker Conglomerates, and even Pathwalker Empires have ensured that the System would pick from their young and brightest. They pretty much min-maxed it at this point.”

The ‘min-max’ term was new to me.

But the practice of ensuring the privileged would always rise above the poor wasn’t new.

I balled my hands into closed fists, the metal one creaking slightly.

Senior Codex nodded at my response as if it was appropriate.

“Yes, yes, it is unfair. And it’s not one of the biggest concerns for the System to fix. She tried that before. But us Pathwalkers always find a way to exploit what we can, even if it means we’ll rob the chance of others.”

The System was a ‘she.’

I always had a feeling that would be the case.

“How do wild Pathwalkers come to be if the noble Pathwalkers are in control of the supply and aren’t willing to share?” I asked.

“Well, part of your fortunate breakthrough is because of your hard work and unwillingness to quit. There are many Realms filled with many folks. And most in your position would’ve died or quit. So I suppose there’s some luck involved, too. Because the other part of your fortunate breakthrough comes down to what Path you’ve developed.”

“Path of the Slayer,” I said.

“Yes, that one. There can only be one Slayer.” Senior Codex adjusted his spectacles. “Every Path can have others on it. But Path of the Slayer is infamous for being the one Path that is solo.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, very much so.” Senior Codex spun the sword around with surprising grace. “No matter what the noble Pathwalkers have done, they cannot get the Slayer under them. Every Slayer of the past has been … uninterested in becoming part of the large majorities. I wouldn’t say they all have been loners, but they’ve never really gone with the flow well. So for years, the Slayer has been out of reach of the greater nobles. Lost, even. Until now.”

In other words, if it wasn’t for Baron’s fall from the Path because of the Defiled Covenant, I wouldn’t have gotten Path of the Slayer. That was sobering to consider at face value.

Going a little deeper, something problematic rose to the surface of my thoughts. “It sounds like I have a target painted on my back.”

“Let us proceed with catching you up, shall we? First lesson, Path Energy efficiency without the use of other Path Magic powers. No Great Skills, Bonded Treasures, Bloodlines, Oaths, Blessings, Soul Blazes, Weapon Releases, and whatnot. Just plain Path Energy and your physical abilities.”

The old man put away the scroll with a flourish of his hand.

“Senior Codex, do I have a target painted on my back?” I repeated.

“En garde, Young Pathwalker.” Senior Codex pointed his training sword forward and thrust it at my chest.