Chapter 34

It was late afternoon by the time they reached the dead plant monster’s lair. Every bit of it that the lizardmen had left behind was now dry and crumbling into bits. The beast had deteriorated faster than he expected. Diya regretted not securing a cutting. He would’ve liked to bring it back to the FTF. If they found a way to revive it or farm the creature, the aromatics and rejuvenating sac fluid could've turned a neat profit. As Diya thought about it, Edgar’s soul suddenly made sense.

Did he save the plant creature with a cutting?

Gaia would likely reward him for the action. Diya could think of no other explanation for Edgar earning the soul. His thoughts wandered back to Lord Graham. Despite everything that had happened, Diya couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. He was stuck with Edgar. The lordling changed his attitude like a stage actor did costumes. Sooner or later, the decision to support him would bite Lord Graham on the arse. Perhaps then Victoria would get her big break to take over as the leader of the house. The French already had women in powerful positions. It was time the British caught up.

“What the hell is an upgrade station doing here?” Gwyneth asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Diya said, marching over to the monolith and pressing his hands against it.

Perhaps it’s not just Explorer that should be watching you.

Thief and Hunter would’ve appreciated your methods as well.

You slaughtered the great argonian shaman, Zylik, and his hard-earned magic sits in your pocket.

Absorbing it will temper your mind to function quicker and multi-task with ease.

The inkwell and all constructs born of it shall contain the electrifying powers of lightning.

However, all things made of ink shall weaken. A single strike will be enough to destroy their form and shower the attacker with lightning.

The power to harness lightning intrigued Diya. However, the upgrade suffered from two primary issues. First of all, it only affected the Living Inkwell and not the pen's other two abilities meaning Gwyneth was right. The fountain pen and the shaman's monster cards weren't the most compatible. Secondly, the vines and lance had him enjoying the ink constructs. Now that he was getting the hang of runes, Diya wanted to focus on ink constructs even more. He wondered whether just using Eirkh's card would be a better idea. He looked over at the monster card once more.

A two sat on the top-left corner, and the name read 'Zylik, Argonian Shaman of Life and Lightning'. The keywords read Lightning Caller and Healer's Cantae. Diya didn't foresee himself becoming a healer. However, he would've gladly accepted the path if it meant fixing Alexander.

“It’s not giving you much, is it?”

“No.” Diya sighed. “Having a lightning-charged poker sounds good, but it’s not just me. It was the same with the last card I tried. My soul wants to force me down an assassination path, which isn’t just me.”

“When your compatibility is low, Gaia opts for the simplest possible upgrade. It’s not the best.” She fished a just as detailed card out of her pocket and held it out for Diya. “Go on. Try it.”

“I haven’t agreed to the trade yet,” Diya said.

“That’s fine. Just check,” Gwyneth insisted.

Diya took the card from Gwyneth, and the warmth radiating from it took him by surprise. It reminded him of his mornings with Neer and Baba. They’d all sit together after morning drills and eat breakfast. The trio would drink hot, spiced tea, and he’d enjoy warm milk with a spot of honey. Then, after Neer’s passing, Alexander joined them for the beverage when they moved in with the Boleyns. Now that Diya thought about it, it was one of the few parts of sword training that he missed.

“Where did you get this from?” He asked.

“Lichen Boar King on the first floor,” Gwyneth answered. “We were looking for a tribe of snowmen. Their spirit caller supposedly called forth a healing aura to empower his tribe. Someone beat us to it, though. By the time we got there, the village had been slaughtered, but the bodies were left unharvested. We encountered the beast while following leads on another settlement. A tier-two climber lost her life fighting that thing.”

Diya couldn’t help but wonder whether that was where Mei got her soul. It was too much of a coincidence, though. If the lizard man shaman had two sets of abilities, the spirit caller could, too. Perhaps Mei’s frost fire wisps did not differ from summoned spirits.

“Go on.” Gwyneth smiled. Diya struggled to figure out what to think of her. Trusting her felt like a bad idea; at the same time, she handed him a valuable card when he had the apparent upper hand. “Let’s find out whether or not the trade will be worth it.”

Diya pressed his hands against the upgrade station once again.

Lichen boars rarely survive an entire century. Their rage drives them into unnecessary fights. If they don’t die in battle, injuries claim their lives later on.

Red Charger’s tenacity and strength kept him alive through thousands of clashes, and your body shall be tempered to match it.

Unfortunately, his powers aren't suitable for an explorer and his pen.

Diya laughed. "This isn't compatible at all."

“That’s unfortunate,” Gwyneth said. “You want your first card to give you something versatile. Ideally, something you can work into your fighting style.”

“Shouldn’t you be trying to convince me that this is the best upgrade ever?”

“After spending my life working for manipulators and arseholes….” Her eyes unfocused for a moment as she stared at the upgrade station. “I don’t want to cheat you out of the card. That’s just not me.” Gwyneth’s brows furrowed. She marched past Diya to the dirt-covered door behind him. “There’s a Gate here too? Why didn’t you say so? You couldn’t have—”

“Believe me. You don’t want to use that door. It takes you to a shrine on the second floor. A massive slime lord is blocking the way back to the hub.”

“A slime lord?” Gwyneth turned around, looking at Diya with an eyebrow raised. “How big was it?”

“We couldn’t tell. It disguised itself as a wall twenty, maybe thirty-feet high and assaulted us with a giant mass of ridiculously corrosive tentacles.”

“I mean volume.”

“I can’t be sure,” Diya said. “Why do you ask?”

“A slime lord’s age is directly proportional to its volume. When you say it disguised itself as a wall, you mean it altered its texture, hardness, and colour. Am I right?” Diya nodded. “That means it's old enough to develop magical abilities like Mimic.” Gwyneth paused, glancing at the cards he held. “Why are you wasting your time looking through these? A slime lord would be perfect for that inkwell of yours! It’s one of the few beasts capable of liquid manipulation and transformation in the first couple of intervals. That’s what you should be targeting.”

“That’s all well and good, but how the hell am I going to kill a slime lord? They might be a dime a dozen, but their cards aren’t known to give anything useful—”

“People say that because they are impossible to destroy without the appropriate magical attacks. Besides, souls with liquid manipulation potential are much too rare. I’m telling you, a slime lord is precisely what you need to bring out your hollow soul’s potential.”

“That might be true, Gwyneth, but how the hell would I go about killing one?” Diya asked. “I’d need to find a climber whose soul can project fire or ice." He gripped his pen. "My spells are cheap substitutes for them, at best."

“Lightning is the most effective element against slimes,” Gwyneth said. “They’re all liquid, after all.” Diya’s shoulders slumped when he realised what she was getting at. He was starting to warm up to the woman, and there she went exposing her game. “Give me the shaman’s monster card, and I’ll take the slime lord down. I know we’ve just met, and you have no reason to trust me. So, hold on to Red Charger’s card. Keywords like Unbreakable Charge and Armoured hide will be in high demand for beast types. It'll fetch you a good price. In fact, you could take it back to the De Lawney—"

“What’s stopping you from turning on me after your soul is upgraded? If the monster card gets you a lightning projection power, taking me out won’t be a challenge.”

“Nothing. If I get lightning-based spells, I can kill you and find my own way out of the tower. I won’t, though. Where else will you find a perfect target and the ideal climber to help take you down?” Gwyneth held out her hand. “Trust me, Diya, and I’ll owe you a life debt. I know that’s an ancient concept, and it’s more valuable coming from a Scotsman than a Welsh lass, but I don’t have much else.”

Diya sighed. He studied Gwyneth for a moment before tossing her the Shaman’s monster card. A wide smile spread across her lips before she threw her arms around him. She squeezed him tight and pecked his cheek before placing her hands on the upgrade station. Gwyneth’s soul manifested, floating next to her. It was as big as Diya’s head, hexagonal with a domed top and made of black metal. The lamp looked no different from the new gas-powered devices that lit the streets in Noble’s Ring. Except, it didn’t stand on a metal pole but floated at eye level.

The upgrade station’s runes glowed blue and gold. A heartbeat later, the soul’s internal light adopted the same colours. Gwyneth’s brows furrowed as the card floated out of her hand and drifted into the stone monolith, and the gold runes faded one by one, leaving only the bright blue ones behind. The lamp did the same, abandoning all warmth and taking on a much colder aura. The blue sparks danced from its heart, and lightning crackled across the metal.

Close to five minutes passed before Gwyneth released the upgrade station. She exhaled deeply, and the sparks faded. Her lamp’s light grew brighter until the blue was closer to white, and the metal had gold filigree running through it. She smiled at Diya.

“Wow.” She sighed, rolling her shoulders. “It’ll take some time for the tempering to take effect, but the lightning attack and utility spells are magnificent."

"What did you get?"

"The hollow end of my soul has two abilities which adapt to whatever light I pick," Gwyneth answered. "I can imbue an object with my light or fire it at a target. If I pick blue, that's a lightning enchantment or attack spell. Meanwhile, gold gives me a weak healing aura and bolts which make vegetation grow." She laughed. "This is perfect! The slime lord will be a breeze."

“Are you sure about this?” Diya asked. “That thing was monstrous. We don’t have to do this.”

“We’ll have an escape route if things go south,” Gwyneth said. “I owe you now, Diya. My father wasn’t the best role model, but he taught me to keep my promises. Let’s get you that card so we can be even. If we fail, I’ll help you track down something just as good.” She placed a hand on Diya’s shoulder. “You have no idea what this upgrade means to me.” The lamp buzzed. It's light pulsed, and a wave of lightning washed over it. “I’m free now. If the De Lawneys come for me, I’ll have the power to put up a fight. That’s all thanks to you. Now let’s get what you need, so you can achieve your goals, too.”

Diya nodded. Gwyneth had been right about the shaman card's compatibility with his soul. If her theory regarding the slime lord proved correct too, it would be perfect for him. They shared Diya’s rations and the contents of his canteen—Gwyneth’s former party carried her food and drink. All the while, he monitored the woman. After his recent experiences, Diya kept expecting her to turn on him. She didn’t, though. Instead, she volunteered to help him even after getting what she wanted. Diya wouldn’t have minded if she had left Red Charger’s card with him and left. It was fair payment. Gwyneth had earned his respect for keeping her word.