Lucas stared at his hands. Just moments ago, the skin had been blue, cracked, and frozen. Now, it was pristine. The frostbite was gone, the sensation returned, and there wasn’t even a blister left to mark the damage.

  Leveling up truly heals me, he nodded to himself after confirming that the mage wasn’t casting anything. She wasn’t the reason he had recovered.

  Instead, she was rushing toward him with a quick stride.

  “I’m alright. Thank you,” Lucas said, smiling. It was a relief to finally encounter someone who actually cared about human life.

  Evelyn didn’t even look at him.

  She walked past him, dropping to her knees beside the pile of cyan ash. She reached out and a strange triangular device appeared in her hands.

  Lucas’s eyes widened, observing more carefully now.

  She placed the artifact directly onto the ash and channeled her mana into it. The three gems at the corners lit up as Evelyn’s silver energy brushed against them, sending streaks of light toward the center, where a small, net-like vessel began to glow green.

  Evelyn steadied the artifact as it began to tremble. She held it directly over the cyan ash until the silver energy swirling around the device finally died. As the last of the green shimmer faded, her brows furrowed, casting shadows over her black eyes.

  “The specter had three cores and yet it did not yield an Essence… that should not be possible,” she muttered. The artifact vanished from her hand as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a large glass jar.

  That… Essence…. That's what worried her. Lucas shook his head slightly, the smile fading into a grim line. I have to get used to this world. I’ve nearly died twice now because I made hasty and stupid decisions.

  He watched her sweep the cyan ash into the jar, using the blade Lucas had dropped as a broom.

  I’m so tired…

  Lucas leaned back against the cold stone wall, letting the chill seep through his body. It felt pleasant; the cold seemed to freshen his mind.

  Unwilling to waste time sitting idly, he decided to check his status window.

  [...Level: 24; XP: 43/53; Agility: 7; AP: 3.9…]

  [Brute (Beginner) - Passive skill. Strength increased by 1. Constitution increased by 1.]

  [Soul Reaper (Adept) - the limit of the XP gained from a single soul increased to 1000.]

  He was pleased with the progress, but the mental exhaustion and the gnawing fear of what came next made it impossible to feel any real victory. When Heinrich had told him that recruits would be taught how to wield a weapon before being ordered to fight, Lucas had believed him. It was the only thing he hadn't questioned, simply because it made sense.

  Lucas brought no value to the battlefield as he was. He didn’t know how to dodge, he didn’t know how to strike, and even if they gave him a bow, he’d miss the target most of the time. Even if the army needed a meat shield, there had to be better options than transporting him this far for it.

  Whatever.

  He sighed and pushed himself off the wall. The momentary weakness of mind began to recede as his resolve hardened.

  Now I know for a fact that I’m growing stronger. Even if those three attribute points didn’t make me fast enough to outrun that creature, at least it confirmed that the system works. But I have to be clever when deciding what I want to improve…

  “Is this yours?” Evelyn’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She held out the communication crystal Lucas had thrown at the specter.

  Only now did Lucas notice he had been communicating with Evelyn freely. The loud alarm that woke the specter had signaled the final thirty minutes. That time should have passed by now. And yet, it was still translating for Lucas.

  “Can you comprehend what I say?” Evelyn asked, her gaze shifting to the crystal. “Has the enchantment failed? It does seem of low quality…”

  “I... ah, yes, that crystal is mine,” Lucas stammered, finally responding.

  “A foot soldier with a communication crystal,” Evelyn muttered, her eyes narrowing as she studied him. “That is an unusual privilege. Are you of noble birth, perhaps?”

  “No. It was given to me by the army. I need it to communicate with others,” Lucas answered honestly. There was no point in lying since she could hear that he was speaking a different language.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Lucas felt the faintest tingle against his palm as Evelyn dropped the crystal into his hand. She lingered for a moment, then turned away as though she had lost interest.

  “Go. Assist my friend with the children. I must break the seal, or another specter will be born.”

  Lucas didn’t question her, though he had plenty to ask. He turned toward Gio, who held two children like they were sacks of grain, one under each arm.

  “You certainly manage to outshine that rough exterior of yours,” Gio said, offering a charming, if sharp-toothed smile.

  Is he a vampire? Lucas gulped, blood freezing in his veins.

  Gio rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment on the stiffness in Lucas’s posture.

  “Come,” he said. “We must move the little ones from this cursed gloom. It is draining their vitality, and I will not have them withering away.”

  He lifted his hand, dangling Hannah by the back of her dress. Lucas quickly stepped forward and took the girl, cradling her head against his chest.

  When Gio leaned in close, he took a deep sniff, his nose wrinkling. He said nothing, but Lucas stiffened even more.

  “Lead the way,” Gio said, nodding toward the exit. Then he paused. “Ah, nearly forgot about you.”

  He turned to face the solid stone wall. There was nothing there, just cold rock and shadow. Yet Gio took a step forward, staring directly at the empty space.

  “Need I dirty my hands and drag you out?” he asked, voice calm.

  The air distorted right in front of him. The space blurred like heat haze, and Otto stepped out from the emptiness.

  “I thought you wouldn’t notice,” he grinned, bowing theatrically. “I am His Highness Charles’s soldier, Otto.”

  “What a refreshing title,” Gio drawled, already turning his back. “Heel. And do keep in mind... simply because my face is graceful, do not mistake me for kind and forgiving. I assure you, I am not.”

  <<<>>>

  The kids lay in the old, abandoned house. The moonlight washed over them, turning their already pale faces into something ghostly.

  Lucas was seeing the boy for the first time. Back in the cavern, Gio’s back had blocked his view.

  He looked to be in his early teens. His hair was long and messy, his fingernails overgrown like claws. He was so emaciated that Lucas could count every rib beneath the skin. It was obvious the boy had spent a long time in that dark, cold pit. Much longer than Hannah.

  “They say the boy won’t make it,” Otto said as he sat beside him. “His life force is almost completely drained. Only a Priest could save him now.”

  Lucas only understood half of what that meant, but looking at the boy’s shallow breathing and pale skin, he didn't need a medical degree to guess the situation.

  “Is there no way?” he asked.

  “Aye, but this bastard won’t do it!” A rough voice boomed from the doorway. A short, green-skinned man rushed into the room, pointing a finger at Gio. “If this were some daft lass fallin for yer tricks, ye’d be all over her like rust on a wet blade!”

  “It is not that simple and you know it, Edir!” Gio shot back, his voice sharp but low. “I will never turn another... I will not create an abomination!”

  “Abomination? Horseshit.” Edir roared. “Just 'cause the runt can't mind his hunger? Have any of ye bastards ever tried tamin' 'em? But nay! Ye stand there stiff like a ploughin’ puppet jerkin' to whatever laws that Goddess of yers hammered into yer brain!”

  “You...” Gio sneered, but stopped mid-word. He sighed, straightening his back to look at the bright moon through the broken roof. “You do not understand. Nor do I expect you to. But I cannot subject the poor thing to such torture. That is not a life.”

  “Life is life!” Edir growled, lowering his voice. “Ye don’t scrap a blade just 'cause it needs sharpenin’. What if the Boss orders ye? What then?”

  “She would never!” Gio exclaimed.

  “I said, WHAT IF,” Edir pressed.

  Gio lowered his eyes, stealing a glance at the boy.

  “Its...”

  “It’s too late,” Otto’s voice cut Gio off. “He stopped breathing.”

  Edir rushed to the boy, dropping to the floor and pressing his ear against the thin chest. He held the pose for a long moment, desperate for a sound that wasn't there. Then he shot to his feet and stormed out of the room without a word, the heavy thud of his boots fading into the night’s stillness.

  Gio sighed. He pulled the cloak from his shoulders, exposing his long, pointed ears, and looked up at the moon again. He clasped his hands and stood like that for a while before walking over to the boy and dropping to one knee.

  “Curse me for eternity, little one. For I refused to claim your soul... I refused to doom you to eternal damnation,” he whispered. He took the boy’s cold hands and crossed them gently over his chest. “May your God accept you in Their kingdom.”

  He stood up slowly, turning toward Lucas and Otto. The sorrow on his face vanished, replaced by anger.

  “How did you learn of the specter? Why did you rouse it?” he demanded. “Evelyn might have saved the child had you not blundered in. You forced the creature to draw far more energy than it needed, simply to fuel its defense against you.”

  Lucas lowered his gaze to the floor, staring aimlessly. He realized how mistakes and the lack of good judgment had cost the boy’s life.

  Otto, however, didn’t flinch. He shot back at Gio.

  “How were we supposed to know? We were eating in the inn when the innkeeper’s daughter was attacked by the specter,” he said, nodding toward the unconscious girl. “We thought we were helping this town. We risked our lives for them. We’d have loved to wait for you, our commander even contacted the outpost you passed by a few days ago, but we were told you wouldn’t be arriving anytime soon.”

  Gio opened his mouth to speak, but Lucas interrupted him.

  “The innkeeper and the others,” Lucas said, looking up. “They all told us Hannah was the first child to be kidnapped. They claimed there hadn’t been any other incidents. At first, we assumed it was a man, not a monster. Was the boy from a different settlement then?”

  Gio remained silent, staring at Otto and Lucas. His red, feral eyes filled with simmering anger.

  “Follow me,” he said, gently lifting Hannah into his arms. “I need to speak with our leader. Something is wrong with this town.”