V2Ch61-Dead End

James struck out with both hands and decapitated the four undead that still clutched at his legs, directionless now that their leader was dying. Bits of skull went flying in either direction, and the bodies slowly began to sink into the swamp.

He used Mass Pillage on them before they could sink too far. There was no reason to miss out on free Stat points.

Then he looked down at the dying Soul Eater, mingled pity and distaste competing for primacy in his mind.

Ultimately, pity won out, and he answered the monster’s final question. He spoke in a hushed voice, in case any of the humans by the tree were listening.

“I have conscious control over every part of my body. It’s a Skill I took from one of your Ghouls, actually. I saw where you were aiming your sword, and I recognized that if I took your attack, I could get you to stand in one place trying to land it. The monsters around you could have slowed me down and kept me from reaching you if you tried to dodge, and then maybe you’d finish your chant. I could tell that magic you were using earlier was some kind of one hit kill. So I decided to just take the sword strike and move my heart out of the way. I even ran lightning Mana through my body, to try and electrocute you at the moment that you landed your attack.” He wiped blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand and began using Laying On Hands to heal his chest wound. “It does seem you nicked one of my lungs, though. Maybe you were a swordsman in another life, eh?”

Indeed I was, Roscuro replied. His body went still.

I hope you’re happy, James thought, looking down at the Ego Wolf Fang. He had sensed the Wolf King ego weapon had a strong desire to be used against Roscuro as soon as he took it from his satchel. Maybe the weapon still contained a shadow of the Wolf King’s own grudges. The undead had betrayed the wolf pack when he was alive, after all.

The dagger seemed to exude a warmth in his hands. I think it is happy. He also noticed that the Soul Eater blood he’d gotten on the Fang had vanished. Absorbed into the blade, as if it was thirsty for blood.

Things to explore later, when he had more time to examine all of his new equipment.

He put the dagger away, turned, and began walking toward where his allies were still tied up.

As he moved, the notifications he’d suppressed began to flow in.

[Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]

[You killed Soul Eater Roscuro, Lv. 32. You gained 2500 exp!]

[Evolver Human leveled up!]

[Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]

“Way to go, James!” Hester shouted. “I mean, congratulations, sir!”

“Thanks, Hester!” James beamed.

The notifications continued as he stepped to almost within reach of Felicia and Ramon Rodriguez.

[You have slain the “Ruler of the Dead Marsh!” Required conditions met. Title acquired: “Ruler of the Dead Marsh!”]

Um… Hm. Am I just the ruler of some Orientation setting? Will this place still exist back on Earth?

[Title adapting to you…]

Almost as if it had heard him.

[Title acquired: “Ruler of the Dark Waters!”]

That sounds pretty good.

As he finished reading, James felt a surge of power through his whole body. What the fuck does this Title do?!

The increased power began to feel uncomfortable. Then several System messages appeared in short order.

[Human vessel Skill power limit exceeded.]

[Human vessel Skill power limit exceeded.]

[Human vessel Skill power limit exceeded.]

[You must discard a Skill, or your body will be destroyed.]

“Excuse me, boss, but are you okay?” Hester asked nervously.

James didn’t immediately answer. He could now feel the truth of the System’s message. My whole body’s on fire! Every part of him throbbed with pain, as if his body wanted to tear itself apart and rebuild again. But he wasn’t going through Race Evolution now. He was just suffering from the backlash of getting too powerful, it seemed, and his “vessel” was going to shatter from exceeding its limits.

“James! Are you alright?! James? James!” Hester screamed from behind his ear, but James could barely hear her. His body felt extremely unstable, and he wanted to keep all his focus on holding it together. Remaining in one piece. His cells were trying to split apart or explode or something, and he felt a mixture of extreme pain and indignance.

It’s not fair. Damn it! I worked so hard to get this power. Killed so many enemies… but you’re telling me that now I have to give some of it up, or die?!

He suddenly remembered Skill Transfer. He opened his Status sheet, quickly selected one of the two Skills his new Title had imbued him with, and selected it to Transfer away. He threw it into the first item he saw. His wedding band.

[Skill Transfer attempted to non-magical item. Attempt at System-assisted reforging in progress. Assessing significance of chosen item…]

The turbulence in James’s body immediately began to subside, only to be replaced by a new source of agony.

The ring flared into red hot heat on James’s finger, as if it had genuinely been thrust into a fire to be forged anew. He suppressed the pain as best he could, but the ring only grew hotter as he stared at it. James tasted blood and realized he’d bitten right through his lower lip. He kept his teeth gritted, because otherwise he might scream.

Fighting the pain was easier than when his body had been threatening to fall apart, but it was still hard to ignore the smell of his own cooking flesh. He turned his face away from the sight and focused on his breathing. With no enemy to fight, it seemed that the pain was more severe than it would have been if he’d had some distraction.

It was only the System announcements that told him the process was over. The area he had turned his face away from was still smoking and sizzling quietly when he turned to look back at it.

[Skill Transfer successful!]

[“James Robard’s Wedding Ring” became the “Ring of the Sovereign!”]

[Required conditions met! Title acquired: Sublime Creator!]

Oh, well that’s great, James thought blankly, starting at the blackened stump of his hand. Hopefully Mina won’t be upset… His mind was numb, in disbelief at everything that had just happened, but especially at what had happened around the ring as it scathed him.  He had lost all feeling in his ring finger, and the entire half of his left hand surrounding the ring was a blackened stump. Three stubby charred bits of crispy scorched finger, with one bright glowing object suspended in between them.

“Ugh.” James coughed up a trickle of blood and remembered he hadn’t finished healed his chest wound. But that felt like a minor concern now. He had another lung. Right now, he couldn’t stop staring at his hand…

It hurt horrifically, to the point that he almost wanted to chop off his own arm and regrow it from the elbow. He still had a bit of Mana; he could do it. But more important than the injury, which he felt sure he would be able to heal, he could feel a tremendous amount of power in his newly refurbished ring.

The Ring of the Sovereign still glowed slightly orange on what remained of his finger, but as he looked at his mangled hand, the metal gradually faded to its previous yellow gold color. There was a newly inscribed design on the ring that had previously been featureless metal. It was shaped like a crown.

Well, let’s at least see what it does before I worry about these minor injuries—

But another System notification interrupted him before he could Identify the item’s features.

[Hidden victory conditions met! Orientation participant “James Robard” has defeated the final major threat contained within this Orientation! Due to above-normal performance, the remaining Orientation population is permitted to survive. Prepare to be returned to Earth.]

[00:03:00]

[00:02:59]

[00:02:58]

Wow. That was short notice. Not that I’m complaining about getting out of this place. I guess I’ll check the ring out later… He tore through his allies’ bonds, cutting with his right hand only, and he just nodded in response to their thanks for the moment. There were questions asked about his physical condition, but he couldn’t afford to assess it too closely right now.

He turned and ran back to where he’d killed Roscuro.

He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to Pillage that body before he left. The Soul Eater had shown some impressive Skills. Yes, my body almost destroyed itself last time I tried to absorb a Skill that came from him—or from one of his Titles at least—but I’m sure that was the strongest one. I bet I can handle whatever else he’s got.

There was an irresistible feeling of greed as he contemplated Roscuro’s body. The strongest monster in this Orientation, he felt certain—having killed the other strongest monsters of every species he’d seen.

“Pillage.” He spoke the word with great relish.

“Oh. Shit. Boss, I-I think I was supposed to warn you to be careful about this. That, uh, Soul Eater thing might still be dangerous. Lord Anansi said the results of Looting or Pillaging the body of a creature that’s the only one of its kind can have unpredictable results. You might get stuck with something dangerous—”

“Now you tell me,” James said, laughing to himself. He didn’t feel worried. There was a lightheartedness in his tone. I know this story. Dangerous forbidden powers, right?

He selected Talent for the target of Pillage.

[Soul Eater Roscuro’s body processed.]

[You obtained “Eye of Roscuro” and “Soul Eater Orb!”]

[Talent Obtained: Soul Eater!]

That sounds creepy in a good way. Does that mean I’ll have the same ominous powers that monster had?

His body shuddered slightly. He felt a similar sense of discomfort to when he’d acquired Ruler of the Dark Waters. But he stood as firmly as he could, breathing calmly. As his body ached, as his cells vibrated with energy, he waited to see if he’d receive the same System alerts from before.

There was a tense silence in the air. Then a stillness reverberated throughout his body. And finally, a different System alert than he’d expected.

[Sufficient experience accrued. Politician leveled up!]

[A Job Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]

I guess being recklessly power-hungry counts as experience for a Politician. And maybe he’d gotten some experience from working to free his allies.

He would have to check the Job Evolution out later, though.

Right now, the Soul Eater Orb was hovering in front of him. It was a jet black sphere, roughly the size of a football. Unlike the Eye of Roscuro, which had floated into his magic satchel as normal, it almost seemed to expect something from him first.

Is it an ego weapon? That wouldn’t surprise him, considering the name of the weapon and the fact that this monster had been so powerful. But if so, why was it floating there? Did it mean there was an enemy nearby?

“I wonder what it wants,” Hester said, voicing his thoughts.

“Only one way to find out,” James replied. He reached out and grabbed the black orb.

Immediately, the orb turned to a gas in his hand and enveloped him.

James simply inhaled, the black gas not intimidating him in the slightest.

[Soul Eater Orb is now Soulbound!]

Huh.

Now I have you, human! Soul Eater Roscuro’s voice rang out through James’s mind. That powerful body belongs to me now.

I don’t think so. A battle of Wills began in the arena of their shared mental space. An army of James-shaped soldiers engaged an army of Roscuro soldiers. Curiously, James noted that they didn’t look like the Soul Eater he’d fought. His soldiers appeared to be a human version of the Soul Eater.

Regardless of the enemies’ species, the struggle was quick and crushing.

James’s soldiers easily smashed the Roscuro army, tearing through his fighters like they were made of tissue paper.

Very well, then, the Soul Eater conceded. I see it was far from a fluke that I lost. I will be content in service to one as powerful as yourself. I will put aside my wish for vengeance and work to achieve your goals.

Why did you want vengeance on me so badly? James replied, surprised. I know I killed you, but you’ve killed a fair number of people yourself, I assume—

Not vengeance against you, Roscuro interrupted. Against the witch who turned me into the creature you fought.

Well, if we have the opportunity, I am entirely open to killing someone who’d create a monster like the creature you were, James offered.

After a bit more dialogue with the Soul Eater, all conducted at the speed of thought, James returned to himself. The Soul Eater Orb remained in his hand, as if it had never dissolved into its insubstantial form. Perhaps it had all been in his mind.

“Well, I think I have everything I wanted to get from this place,” James said quietly.

He sent a mental command to the Soul Eater Orb, and it shapeshifted into a pure black armband that wrapped itself around his right arm.

“I think you won every prize this place had to offer, sir,” Hester replied.

“Well, let’s go talk to our friends over there,” James said, looking at the other people who were looking at him curiously and tending to each other’s injuries. They were still standing in a nearly circular formation around the trees they’d been bound to, as if they thought something might come from the woods and attack them at any moment. In fairness, it was a reasonable suspicion, despite the notification they’d all received.

James began walking back over. He thought he would see how people were doing, maybe find a way to keep in touch with some of them post-Orientation. And perhaps one of the Healers could take a look at his hand. He felt almost faint with pain. The battle of Wills, following the literal battle and the creation of the Ring of the Sovereign had nearly exhausted him mentally.

He let out a long sigh. At least it was about to be over.

I wonder how Mina’s doing, he thought. I hope she and Yulia had an easier time than this.