Chapter 10 — Touching some grass (VB)

Noah’s eyes fluttered open, and he found himself lying in a bed. Glancing downwards, he saw a thin white sheet as the only covering his body. The robes he’d been wearing were gone, and he was completely naked. Curiously, he sniffed his body once, and gagged.

Aurelia stepped into the room, glancing at him. “Ah, you’re awake. How’re you feeling?”

“I feel like if I don’t take a shower right now, I’m going to die,” Noah replied.

“I figured as much. I burnt the robes you’d been wearing, there was no salvaging those. There’s a shower attached to his chamber, and I’ve started the mana script so it’s going to have warm water.”

“Thanks,” Noah replied, getting up from his bed. Taking the sheet covering him, he wrapped it around his waist like some kind of greek skirt, as he made his way towards the shower room. Stepping in, Noah found the chamber to be surprisingly similar to what he’d expect a modern shower room to look like. The room was made of carved stone slabs, with a metal shower that had a flat head with no holes, but instead a symbol rune. And instead of a tap, there was another rune symbol to turn the shower on.

Walking under the showerhead, Noah sent a pulse of mana as water began to rain from above him.

“Fuck, that’s cold!”  Noah shouted, as the cold water poured over him.

“The rune on the right controls the warm water!” Aurelia’s voice came from outside, and Noah tapped the rune on the right side, as the water began to turn warm.

He let the sensation of the water pouring over him soak him, as his muscles relaxed. After a long time, he felt human again, as the shower washed away all the filth and grime from his body.

After letting himself relax and reset, Noah tapped the water rune, turning it off. Just as he was about to leave, a bright light flashed beneath his feet, and he noticed a glowing rune light up under him. The light rose up, and Noah felt an oddly cleansing sensation cover him from head to toe.

You’ve been inflicted with [Cleanse]!

You feel cleaner than ever.

You feel relaxed after a nice shower!

[Exhaustion - I] has been removed.

Noah inspected his body and found that every ounce of dirt and grime had been removed from his body. Even the dirt under his nails had been removed somehow. “This just made the entire day of almost dying worth it,” Noah said, stepping outside of the shower. A pair of white robes were neatly folded in the wardrobe inside the bathroom. Noah picked one up putting it on, before looking at himself in the mirror.

A pink scar covered his chest where he’d been stabbed. Similar other scars were all over his body, little pink gashes that’d healed rapidly from the many cuts and bruises he’d received today.

“Just yesterday I was still at work, and now I can teleport and pull things out of nowhere,” Noah said out loud, looking at himself in wonder.

Shaking his head, he walked away, stepping outside the bathroom. He found Aurelia standing in front, waiting. “Do you want to take a shower too? That was probably the best one I’ve ever had. I’d thought you guys would have medieval technology and stuff, but I guess magic makes up for it.”

“I already took one,” Aurelia replied.

Noah looked her up and down once. “Doesn’t look like it,” he said.

Aurelia walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, he felt the air around him begin to heat up, soon hot enough to prickle his skin as steam began to evaporate from him. A moment later, Aurelia stepped back, a satisfied smile on her face.

“Alright, I’ll admit, that’s convenient,” Noah said.

“One of the perks of fire abilities. Another is that winter basically isn’t a concern for me. Which is such a relief. I think that’s a fairly big part of why I picked my Paths too,” Aurelia said, small flames dancing across her knuckles.

“Really? You dislike winter?” Noah asked, surprised. “I love winter. Freedom from dreadful heat, and snow fights are some of the peaks of my childhood.”

Aurelia grimaced, scrunching up her face in disgust. “I despise the cold. I’d rather be warm and cozy forever.”

“The more you learn. I wonder if you’ll enjoy ice cream. Honestly, I’d hate summers, but ice cream makes up for it. You can eat them in winter too, but it’s not the same.”

“Ice-cream?” Aurelia asked.

“It’s a dessert made of milk, a fuck ton of sugar, and it’s one of the best things humanity has created in my world. Right after pizza,” Noah said.

Aurelia shook her head. “Sometimes I can’t tell if I don’t understand you because whatever spell is translating isn’t working, or whether it’s because you’re you.”

Noah shrugged, smiling at her words. “Let’s go to the summoning circle and get it over with. I’m pretty itchy to leave this place.”

Aurelia nodded, as the two made their way further into the caverns of the cultist base. Walking through the chambers, the two quickly reached the altar chamber they’d been moments ago.

Noah climbed up the stairs of the altar, reaching the top. The summoning circle carved in the ground had seen better days, but from what he could see, the lines were still mostly intact.

“Alright. What do I need to do now?” He asked, looking at Aurelia.

“Well, normally we’d need to recreate the circle and balance it in accordance with the ambient mana, and loads of other factors. But thankfully for you, this one was made with frequent repeated use in mind, and is still mostly intact. I’ll add the mana cores around the circle, after that, just press your hand against the circle, and use your ability.”

“Alright,” Noah replied. He watched Aurelia put little F grade mana cores across six points around the summoning circles. After she was done, Noah kneeled, pressing his palm against the altar ground. Dark wisps rose around him, as he triggered his ability.

Summoning Call into the void… [Abyssal Hounds]

Light shone from the many intricate lines carved into the ground. Noah felt something extending from him, into the familiar void beyond, extending far and wide. For a brief moment, he almost felt like he could sense the incarnation of the Void, and grew concerned about summoning a world ending creature like it by accident. Thankfully, the sensation was brief, and Noah let out a quiet sigh.

After a few moments of glowing magic, something shifted, forming a connection with Noah. The magic around him turned darker, wisps rising from the ground, as the magic began to flare. Noah felt something latching onto his spirit and moving closer, a figure he couldn’t describe.

Standing up, he moved back, watching the circle continue to grow. Dark wisps began to collect together, turning into liquid, as they created a shimmery puddle of emptiness. From the dark hole in reality, a creature began to rise out.

A strange alien creature that looked something like a mix between a cat, a dog, and an eldritch horror appeared. The creature was lithe, with skin like dark latex, no ounce of hair. Its head had a jaw that extended way behind what Noah would expect it to, and the front two side protrusions like the head of a hammerhead shark. With lithe limbs, gills on its side, and two long sharp tails, the creature cut a striking figure.

You’ve summoned an [Abyssal Hound]!

“Well. I’d been prepared for tentacles, but this is something else entirely,” Noah said, looking at the creature. “Looks like something straight out Alien vs predator.”

“You could always try to summon a different creature. Though familiars don’t always respond so easily,” Aurelia said, glancing at the creature. “I will admit. That creature, despite its looks, appears to be quite a powerful familiar. Given that it hasn’t tried to attack us yet, it’s already more intelligent than most creatures of the abyss.”

The creature looked towards Noah, raising its head. It’s mouth vibrated, creating a high pitched clicking noise, as it moved towards Noah, looking up at him. Noah looked at the creature, sensing a strange bond to it.

“Can you understand me?” he asked.

The creature vibrated with alien clicks once more. Noah understood it to be yes. “Very well. Since we’ll likely be going to be together for a while, I should name you.” Noah hummed, thinking over it.

“How about Tarkoth? A famous creature of darkness. Would be a resplendent name,” Aurelia suggested.

“Too edgy,” Noah replied. Cupping his chin, he looked at the creature, as an idea struck him. “Inky. Your name will be Inky. Do you like that?”

The creature vibrated once more in a yes, both its tails wagging behind it. Moving closer, it rubbed itself against Noah’s legs, vibrating in what almost felt like a purr.

“Inky? Really? Why would you name it something so silly…” Aurelia trailed off, watching the horrifying eldritch created from the abyss rubbing itself against Noah’s legs, and moving around with both its tails wagging behind it.

“Good inky!” Noah said, rubbing the creature’s wide and flat head, as it vibrated once more. “What do these guys eat?” he asked, glancing at Aurelia.

Aurea snapped out of her trance. “Oh- Mana stones. They eat mana stones. Same grade as you. Don’t give higher grade stones,” Aurelia replied.

“Gotcha,” Noah said, picking out a mana stone from his inventory.

“Sit,” Noah said, pointing at the ground. With a vibrating noise, Inky sat down on his back legs.

“Paw,” Noah said, extending a hand out. Inky raised his pitch black clawed paws, placing them in Noah’s hand.

“Good Inky!” Noah exclaimed, presenting the mana core in his palm. Inky jumped in, long tail flicking out as it swallowed the mana core, before letting out a satisfied purr.

“Yeah, Inky is unbelievably smart. This should be easy,” Noah said, watching the creature now biting at its own two tails as it lay on the ground.

“Yeah…” Aurelia said, glancing down at Inky, before looking up at Noah. “I should get used to these things while I’m with you, I suppose.”

“Get used to what?” Noah asked.

“You,” Aurelia replied, shaking her head. “You should call… Inky back. Familiars can reside in your spirit, staying out in the world exhausts your mana to keep them here.”

“Ah, that explains the mana drain. Alright,” Noah said, turning to look at Inky. With an exertion of his will, he could feel like he could call Inky into his spirit.

The eldritch hound dissipated into dark wisps, flowing into Noah’s body. “That’s cool,” Noah said, clenching his fist. He could still feel Inky present in his spirit, but in a state closer to sleep than it’d been outside.

“Let’s head out. I don’t want to stay a second longer in this place,” Aurelia said.

“Me neither,” Noah replied, as the two of them made their way out.

Together, they left the altar cavern, making their way through the underground caverns. After walking for a while, they noticed light streaming in from the outside. Speeding up, they soon walked out of the entrance to a cavern, its entrance hidden by overgrown vines and plants.

Noah walked out, feeling the grass on his bare feet, eyes momentarily blinded by the light of the sun. He looked up into the sky, and saw two bright balls glowing brightly in the bright blue sky.

“You guys have two suns?” he said, looking at Aurelia in surprise.

“You don’t? That’s so weird,” she replied.

Noah chuckled, walking further out, as he gazed at the vast trees and landscapes both familiar and unfamiliar to him at the same time. Words popped up in front of his eyes.

Quest: Run! Run! Run! Complete.

Objective: Escape the Abyssal Cultist hideout.

Reward: Map, obtained.

A little minimap appeared at the corner of his vision, where he could see his current location. Every other place was dark and invisible, except for the cultist base behind him that he’d already explored.

“Would be more useful if it wasn’t all blank,” Noah murmured, before looking back at Aurelia. “What did you do about the horror’s corpse by the way?” he asked curiously.

“Burnt it. With how much suffering the people had gone, there was no doubt it would’ve risen as an undead eventually.”

Noah shuddered at the thought of fighting an undead version of the creature. At the topic of the horror, he remembered an item he’d gotten after beating the creature.

“Hey Aurelia. Do you know what this is?” he said, taking out the necklace. It was a cylindrical piece of wood, carved with some designs tied to a simple string.

“Looks like an amulet. They tie these around children’s necks to ward off spirits. But these aren’t magical. Why, where’d you get that?”

“It appeared in my inventory after I killed the horror,” Noah said, a grim expression on his face as he put the necklace back into his inventory.

“I see…” Aurelia replied. "The quest I’d come here from had been given by Layfar village. We should probably let the people there know, and return that necklace.”

Noah nodded at her words. The system chimed in his ears, words appearing in front of him.

New Quest obtained!

Quest: Lost Remembrance

You’ve found a necklace belonging to someone in Layfar village. Find them and return the item.

Difficult: Easy

Reward: Experience points.

“Guess that makes it official. I just got a quest to go to Layfar village,” Noah said. He saw a little marker on his map, showing the location. “Let’s head out, shall we?”

Aurelia nodded. “We’ll set up camp, the suns will be down in a few hours. I suppose this’ll be your first adventuring quest, so I better show you the ropes as your senior.”

“I’ll be looking forward to learning from you, Senior sister,” Noah replied, bowing his head.

“I feel like you’re making fun of me.”

“I wouldn’t dare, Senior sister,” Noah said once more.

Aurelia rolled her eyes, walking away. Noah chuckled to himself, following behind her, as the two of them made their way into the forest.

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A/N: That'll be it for Voidborne for now. I'll continue to write it and build a backlog, but I won't be posting any more chapters on patreon for the moment. I hope you enjoyed the story! I'll be returning to Qi now.