Where was the gem? It had been in my hand just a second ago.

  Glancing down, my hands looked different.

  The Void.

  My enemy.

  Looking up, I realized I was no longer in the cave.

  Then, the pieces began to fall into place, revealing who I was and what I was doing. The vision had felt so real that I had believed it for a moment. That's when it hit me. I had actually been there before.

  The cave above where we suffocated the spiders, the giant door, and the cut across the cave had all been part of the place where they fought the Void. If that monstrous creature had come from there, I was relieved I hadn’t tried opening that door. It definitely hadn’t come from my own world.

  But the Void had been here. I had felt it.

  Where the gem had been, there were only wisps of black smoke.

  Had absorbing the gem destroyed the Void? Had I absorbed the Void, too? Or were my thoughts just scrambled from the vision?

  Even though my mind seemed to have righted itself, something still felt off. I felt different. This sensation had started before the memory experience, but now, in the calm, I couldn’t pinpoint it. I felt whole, though that wasn’t quite right. It was more like the pieces of me had aligned to form a complete picture. I wasn’t sure, but I knew there was one place to find answers.

  I had plenty of prompts waiting, but the most recent one was calling to me, so I opened it:

  Congratulations, you have absorbed a soul fragment. It is a potent shard of a soul broken off to harness its inherent power. You are the first person to absorb one, transforming the core of your being. This alteration has rendered your soul limitless.

  This soul fragment knows no bounds, opening a realm of infinite possibilities to you. Freed from the constraints traditionally imposed by your race and original soul, you can now master any skill. The opportunities now available are truly boundless.

  “What the heck does that mean?” I questioned inwardly.

  “It means you’re the luckiest person alive!” Rabbit’s voice boomed in my head, bubbling with excitement as he explained how my entire life had changed in an instant. “What’s the one thing that’s bothered you the most since you got here?”

  The answer was clearly my lack of skills. My sword skill level was paltry at best, and aside from the two spells I had managed to learn, I couldn’t access any other magic. This limitation had caused severe issues not only for me but also for the people I was with.

  For instance, my lack of Sneak skill often frustrated everyone, as I couldn't move as silently or blend into our surroundings as effectively as the rest of the group. My presence often compromised their stealth, making me an unwitting beacon for enemies.

  But the issues ran deeper. Early in our quest, I learned that skills were crucial for gaining power. While leveling up could enhance my strength, I would need to put in twice the effort to achieve the same progress as others. Considering I was already far behind, surviving with just levels alone was becoming increasingly difficult. Since everyone else possessed both levels and skills, I was the odd one out, having only one.

  "Skills," Rabbit continued, "the race you were assigned was arguably the worst, but this changes everything. That soul fragment you absorbed was made to trap the Void. It was woven with all the Magics to counter something that could become anything. As a result, it enables you to adapt and learn anything as well. It basically rewired your soul to be able to do everything. The prompts you’ll read will let you know how good you have it, but I don’t think this is limited to just skills. You may be able to have the benefits from any race and, thus, can learn any magic.”

  “Yes,” I said with a sense of relief. "I need to review those prompts." I hadn't checked them since the battle we had miraculously won. Eager to delve deeper, I was ready to explore the rewards I had earned.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Are you okay?” Kaylie asked, placing her hand on my shoulder.

  My gaze, initially unfocused, shifted to her as a smile spread across my face. “Better than okay. That object gave me the one thing I was missing.”

  “Looks?” Kaylie tilted her head playfully, “Nope. Still just as ugly.”

  I instinctively touched my face, wondering, “Am I really that ugly?”

  Then she shoved me lightly. “I’m joking. What did you receive?”

  My smile widened as I replied, not just to Kaylie but also to the two others trailing slightly behind her, “I can now master any skill.”

  Kaylie was about to offer her congratulations when Sana interjected, “That is not possible. Skills are tied to the soul, not the body.”

  I didn’t want to directly address that concern, especially not my ability to absorb souls. Even to me, someone from another world, it sounded sinister. No one would want their soul tampered with. So, instead of delving deeper, I deflected, “How do you know?”

  "There have been accounts from liches in the past. They sever their souls from their bodies and assume new ones. When a soul is transferred, skills and levels are carried over, albeit with a slight decrease. It happens when the soul enters a new body, or more accurately, a corpse, since two souls cannot inhabit the same body." I felt my cheeks redden at her words, but I tried to remain calm as she continued. "From this and other empirical evidence, scholars have hypothesized that experience is not gained from killing enemies but rather from the soul leaving the body, with a portion of power being absorbed by the one who conquered it.”

  She had backed me into a corner, skillfully teasing out my secrets. Reluctant to reveal that I possessed Soul Absorption, I played my last card. “The prompt mentioned that the gem was a soul fragment, which probably altered my soul to allow any skill.”

  Sana eyed me skeptically, carefully choosing her words, but before she could respond, Kaylie interjected, “Congratulations. It really is the piece you were missing. I wonder if the other treasures the Ancient told about you will be just as useful.” Her words sparked my curiosity, although I had no intention of pursuing the third treasure, as obtaining it would require my death.

  “Hopefully, you can now learn to sneak,” Jack added gruffly, while Sana’s expression remained unconvinced, her gaze still sharp. It was clear she wasn’t ready to let the subject go, as she knew I was hiding something more and was determined to uncover it.

  “That was quite the spectacle,” the Dwarf remarked, walking up to our group, urgency tinting his voice. “But we need to keep moving. If you can’t help, I’ll have to head out alone.” I was glad he showed up, as I didn’t want to keep answering questions from Sana.

  "Where are you headed?" I inquired.

  "People of my settlement have been taken, or at least the ones who survived. I need to save them. I would love your help, if it's possible. I know I have no right to ask. You've already saved me once, but can you lend me your strength to help save my people?" Bass asked, his voice heavy with urgency and conviction.

  I glanced at our dwindling supplies. "I don't know, Bass. We're out of health potions. I've only got one sword left, and it's gone dull. My armor is in tatters from that last giant spider encounter. And I think we've run out of provisions." I paused, weighing our dire situation. "I really want to help you, but all I have left are a vast number of arrows."

  “I hear you. Those are things I think I can manage,” Bass replied, his tone a mixture of determination and pragmatism. “The armor here is old or won’t fit anyone from your group. If we make it back to my settlement, I could fix up some of that armor for you. I’m certain the Unionists raided everything we made, so it’s unlikely we'll find much there except tools. However, there are some weapons and enchanted rings here that might aid us. I also found a health potion. It’s not much, but it's better than nothing. I’m sure there are more hidden in these webs, but I don’t have the time to search through them.”

  My mind began to run through all the possibilities that could be hidden beneath these layers. The items at the top would be the newest and least in need of repair, but there could be valuable things underneath.

  “Those are valid points, I guess, but do you think we will even catch up to them? I mean, you said you have been here for a day. They should be long gone,” I replied skeptically.

  Bass scoffed lightly, his confidence undiminished. "I bet those pansies spent at least a day hunting down all our people and pilfering everything valuable. They probably didn’t bother with the heavy equipment, but they likely grabbed all the armor and weapons they could carry. My guess is they stayed the night and then left at dawn. With them weighed down, we might still have a chance to catch up if we move quickly."

  "What do you guys think?" I asked the rest of the group.

  "I think anything that hurts the Unionists will ultimately benefit the village," Sana said. "However, attacking them directly could draw their wrath upon us. It's risky unless we're sure it can't be traced back to our group or the village."

  "I owe you again for saving our lives from those spiders. If you need me, I'm with you," Jack replied, gripping his ax with a firm, soldierly stance, ready to follow orders.

  "Come on, Jack. You don’t owe me anything. We helped each other," I insisted.

  "Well, I think it sounds fun," Kaylie chimed in, her smile unwavering.

  Turning to Bass, I sighed, "I don’t know if we can fully commit to helping. We'll come with you and assess the situation. We want to help, but not at the cost of turning this into a suicide mission or endangering the village." I gestured toward my companions to emphasize my point.

  "I guess that’s the best I can ask for. Let’s get going," Bass responded, leading us toward the supplies.