Chapter 713 - Pathfinder Thane

Kindness snickers the entire time as we leave the balcony, all while the tiny vyssari boy acts as if nothing happened. Once in a while, I glance at the Ruler, wondering if this is her actual body. I’m almost completely sure it’s just a vessel. She doesn’t seem like the type capable of holding back her power that well, proven by how she destroyed the bodies of the natives she took over when talking to me.

I don’t remember her true body from the third floor that clearly, but I’d say this one is a perfect copy. So maybe a grown vessel? A duplicate? An avatar? A robot? Watching her current behavior, I decide I’ll ask her when the opportunity comes up.

When I reach the group, no one berates me, which I expected. There’ve been a few similar clashes already, and it even seems like they’re allowed to happen on purpose sometimes. Probably to let the Handlers show off their attendees, or maybe to let Handlers use their attendees to provoke the attendees of Handlers they don’t like. Handler this, Handler that.

Kaari greets me with a short nod, and Hela gives me a longer stare. Their Handlers are there too, two selari women who look like twins. Unlike the velnar Handler, these two feel like Absolutes.

I feel a tug on my clothes and look down at the little guy pointing at a glass of water on the table out of his reach. I grab it and hand it to him.

He takes it carefully in both of his small hands, the glass way too big for him, and drinks a few large gulps before handing it back to me. Then he bows toward Kindness, gives a smaller bow toward the two selari women and Greed in her secret identity, and slowly walks away.

I watch him for a moment, noticing Kaari doing the same.

When she realizes it, she lets out a short laugh. “It’s insane to imagine Lyraen probably looked like that as a child.”

“He probably already had that deep voice even back then,” Hela adds with a smirk, making her Handler laugh briefly.

The other of the selari says, “There were people betting on whether his voice was natural or fake. Surprisingly, it was soon confirmed that he was really born with that voice. The Information Guild bought that info from people from his tutorial.”

Her twin nods. “Many vyssari Handlers I’ve met find him charming.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “I heard some even send him love letters and certain… invitations.”

“Doesn’t Lyraen already have like five wives from back on his planet?” Greed cuts in, though she doesn’t seem as interested in the topic as the two creepy selari aunties. The aunties who could likely kill everyone on Earth in a day or two while lazing around.

Both selari twins, along with Kaari and even Hela, turn toward Greed after that bombshell, while Kindness just sits down on a nearby bench, barely reacting.

“What? Are you serious?” one of the selari twins asks, in that tone that tells you she absolutely loves gossip. Is she really an Absolute? Maybe I was wrong.

“I heard it from another Handler. It might be fake information, though,” Greed replies.

By this point, I’m sure she knows the truth. She’s been watching and studying him, just as she does with anyone she sees as talented. As a Ruler, she can do that easily. The twins, though, don’t seem to have any idea.

The women keep gossiping for a minute or two, trying to drag more details out of her. From their conversation and behavior, it seems like S-ranks are treated almost like little celebrities here, even by people of higher rank. Maybe because S-ranks could eventually become one of them, possibly even replace a Ruler. Or maybe just out of boredom.

I’d bet on boredom.

Sneaking away, I sit on the bench next to Kindness. Her cheerful expression from earlier is gone, replaced by a calm one with that faint sadness I always feel from her, no matter what body she’s using. She quietly sips her drink, listening to the others talk.

“This is not my real body,” she says before I can even ask, her tone perfectly steady as she says it.

“I’ve been caught,” I admit.

She nods. “People like you always ask that, and my answer never changes: this body is a Vessel, a gift from my friend Greed, grown from my own flesh. While weak, it allows me to possess a familiar body and move among attendees without worrying about killing them, even though the Vessel keeps breaking down and needs to be repaired after every use.”

“I see,” I say.

“Next, people like you ask, why can’t you repair it? Aren’t you a healer?”

That sad expression on her face deepens a bit, even as she forces a small, cutesy smile. “And I always answer: I lost the ability to heal anyone other than myself a long time ago. I can’t heal people, I can’t save people, I can only corrupt and cling to life, or whatever imitation of it this is.”

“And what do people like me usually say to that?” I ask.

“It varies, but they usually try not to show too much pity, correctly expecting me to dislike it. From you, I’d expect something like, ‘That sucks,’ or ‘I see.’ Honestly, I like those answers the most.”

“I see.”

She laughs softly, takes a sip, and lifts her glass toward me in a small, graceful gesture.

When our conversation quiets down, one of the selari Handlers waves at me to catch my attention. “We were talking, who do you think would win, Morwag or Brich, in a duel? Both at full force, Brich with his items, but without that fancy new sword. The place would be like one of the bunkers from the fifth floor of the tutorial, same structure, same ambient mana concentration, baseline density for mid-tier zones. No external flux, no artificial suppression, just their internal reserves and whatever they can pull from their surroundings. No external influence or natives present, and only five seconds of preparation before the duel starts. Both would start in the same room.”

I stare at her. Are these people seriously having a what-if conversation? And what was with all that extra detail? I forgot half of it before she even finished talking.

Still, the core of the question catches my interest, so I give it some thought before answering. “Wouldn’t Brich just bury Morwag down there? It probably wouldn’t kill that maniac, but Brich could try to tire him out and wait for him on the surface with a trap.”

The selari woman doesn’t seem to mind as Kaari answers instead. “People already tried that against him twice.”

“Make it three, we tried it too, not that long ago,” Hela adds from the side.

“Oh, on the third floor during the guild war?” one of the selari women asks Hela, probably Kaari’s Handler, since Hela’s would already know.

“Yes,” Hela confirms. “He dug himself out with tons of earth and metal bound to his body, like a building-sized golem, and even survived the large-scale bombardment afterward.”

“Oh yes, the way Morwag uses Binding energy is quite barbaric, but effective in its own way. It suits him,” one of the selari Handlers says.

Her sister nods. “Do you remember that guy from 87 years ago? Another demon who used Binding energy, but he used it to attach himself to his enemy, to keep them from escaping or something like that?”

This time, Greed joins in. “It was a bit different. He used a combination of active skills to break his opponent’s natural barrier, then bound himself to that opponent. Through that binding, the wounds on one were mirrored on the other.”

“Oh? That’s a surprisingly original method, really diving into the concept. Not what I’d expect from a demon. He must’ve been high-level. He died in Beyond, if I remember right?” the selari asks.

Greed shrugs. “He fought an S-rank healer from back then and thought it’d be a good idea to use that strategy against her. The fight took hours because of her weak attack power, but in the end, her healing outpaced his regeneration, and he died because of the binding and the wounds they shared. Still cackling like a maniac, smiling until the end. He never even broke the link between them.”

“Primordial Knights?”

“Guildmaster.”

“Makes sense.”

Everyone in our group nods in agreement.

“Lady Kindness, is Nyssa like that as well?” asks the selari Handler, probably Kaari’s.

Next to me, Kindness stops moving and looks up at the woman. Just that short look freezes the selari in place before she gathers herself and meets Kindness’s gaze.

Kindness nods. “That demon from 87 years ago died beautifully and happy because that death was for himself. Nyssa isn’t like that. She’s dumb. Instead of doing the same, she’d rather die for someone else.”

It makes me snort, and Kindness turns to me, giving the selari a bit of relief. There’s a question in her expression, so I answer while looking back at her. “Does that matter? If she decides to die for someone else, isn’t that still the choice that would make her happy?”

“I’m well aware of that view of the situation. Even what you just said, I’ve heard so many times before.”

“You disagreeing with it doesn’t make it wrong,” I say.

“It does, Nathaniel. I have more experience than you can imagine. I’ve lived longer than everyone in this room combined, Rulers included.” Her voice is calm, almost gentle, but there’s something ancient in it, something that makes the air feel heavy as everyone in our group goes quiet.

“Then stop her from doing it.”

“I don’t want to,” she answers.

“Then don’t stop her.”

“It isn’t that simple.”

“It’s that simple. Damn, I just hope I won’t end up like you guys. Every one of you Rulers I’ve met has some serious issues.” I look straight at her. “It’s a really fucked up world out there. Hell, I’ll probably end up just as bad someday. So if you’re still alive by then, come find me, remind me of this conversation, and laugh in my face. Oh, and call me a loser or something.”

“I will,” Kindness promises, and while the people on the balcony stop moving, turning toward the entrance where Pathfinder Thane appears, she asks one more thing. “Would you let someone you love die for you?”

“Hell no. They’d have to beat me half to death and knock me out first. And if I woke up to find them dead, I’d be cursing them forever.” I pause, then shrug and meet her eyes. “But I think I’d understand that was their choice, not mine.”

Turning away from her, I look toward the small podium the Pathfinder climbs onto.

Thane is tall, old, and fragile-looking, a selari woman. Her skin isn’t the same shade of pink as the others of her race, a little paler, almost hiding her freckles. Her pink hair is tied into a bun.

Just one look into her eyes tells me there’s still plenty of life in her. They’re clear and strong, hard eyes with no weakness in them. When she greets the party, her voice carries across the room, quiet but firm, reaching everyone.

“You all know I’m not one for long speeches, so I’ll keep this simple. Thank everyone of you for being here, and welcome to the new talents joining the system. I’ve seen the marks you’ve already left on the Beyond, and they speak for themselves. May your lives be long and full, may your strength continue to grow, and may your worlds prosper. Each generation leaves something behind for the next, and I’ve had the privilege of seeing that cycle continue, attendees taking their first steps onto the fourth floor, later returning as Handlers, or venturing even deeper into the Beyond. Pathfinders, just like I once was.”

She pauses, and the room bursts into applause and short cheering before she quiets them again with a wave of her hand.

“Lastly, I have a surprise for you. I’ve been working with the Ruler of Humility, and together we’ve prepared an event for all of you, and for anyone who reaches the fourth floor of the Beyond a month from now, when it begins.” A faintly mischievous smile touches her old face, softening her features and making her look years younger. “For now, I’ll keep the details to myself, but I can promise the rewards will be worth it. Among them are a residence permit for the tenth named residence, and a low pristine item from the personal collection of the Ruler of Humility.”

Another wave of silence settles over the room before it bursts again into cheers, and she raises her voice for the final time. “Whether S-rank or D-rank, anyone who reaches this floor will be given the same opportunity and the same starting point.”

After that, she leaves just like that.

What a legend, she barely stayed longer than one minute at her own party.

I turn to Greed and finally ask the question I’ve been holding back. “Just to be clear, if I showed up to the party for one minute and left right after, would that count as completing our deal?”

“Yes,” she nods. “The items are already in your residence. They’ve been there since the party started.”

“Damn it.”

***

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