Chapter 300

  Never Assume It Is Over, Even At The End

  A party.

  They were having a party.

  Well not a full blown, ballroom dancing type of party, but a party nonetheless. The enemy troops had been pushed back. The forces had been cleaned up.

  I got a double quest completion.

  That skill, Naming the Dead was how I was able to determine if people were dead. I could see the Endurance aspect, as it was quite painful to live through. Though I was confused about the Sociability aspect of the skill, at least at first, then I think it came with that whole, don’t speak ill of the dead myth. But I’m pretty sure that speaking ill of the dead is a verifiable way of getting negative karma, particularly the closer to the time of death you start speaking.

  From there, I was given even more skills and of course the sort of expected Bloodline Evolution Perk that would match my new skills.

  Yes, that skill was how I could look at the different kids and make sure there would be successes from my casting the old Family Tree Finder spells. Even when I was seemingly set up for failure by the skill, it was still important.

  And despite how taxing it all was, I could not imagine doing things any differently.

  These skills of course led to the inevitable Bloodline Evolution Perk that came along with completing this spiritually painful quest.

  That perk tells me so much about this world. From reading the effects of that power, I can tell truly if I am able to save someone from death.

  The wording also means that if I but said two names, I would finally know the answer to a question I’ve been asking myself since I first entered this world.

  That is, can I truly save my parents? Or are they beyond even the powers that I have been able to amass and find all this time?

  There might be a deeper question there, one of should I save them, if I can? I mean, will they want to be saved? Or have they found a way to be content in the true afterlife?

  These questions and more fill my mind, but fortunately, I know that I don’t need to answer any of them currently.

  Also, for now, I think I’m the only one that would first ask this question. Though I am certain that if others find out about this perk, many people might seek me out, as a hidden in plain sight quest giver.

  A quest giver who could help others find lost or missing family members.

  More and more, I find myself becoming pulled in by the intrigue of this world. I’ve seen the signs.

  At first, they seemed to be warning signs. Messages that hinted at a greater authority granted by the system. Yet, rather than hide from the authority, or seek it out in greater measure, I just accepted the case.

  Which seemed to oddly give me more power faster, than if I just pulled on the threads.

  Of course, I didn’t relinquish the authority granted, not that I quite knew how to. Instead, I’ve just seen this inevitability coming. Everything from being able to grant powerful mage names, to being able to create life, to now being able to see when someone or something is truly dead.

  I can imagine my services being requested for confirmation of the deaths of Demon Kings, Tyrannical dictators, or even heroes. It sounds annoying, but at the same time, I can’t imagine giving it up. At least not yet.

  These were my thoughts after the first quest completion.

  Once rewards for the second quest came to light, I almost thought things would be done.

  This time, it seems that even my Divinely Akashic Qi Master class has met the 400-level threshold to unlock a new Trait. I also think that the two asterisk next to my Quintessential Ethereal Simulacrums Master class indicates that I have a Trait that I want to get for it, but that I haven’t been able to unlock due to my own stupidity.

  Which is good, in a way, as it means that the world will accept my quest to learn Void Teleportation as a Trait that I and my Simulacrums can learn.

  For a moment, I wonder about what type of mischief my Simulacrums could get into, if they were allowed to effectively Teleport anywhere, including the void realm, if I wasn’t there to watch them. But then I stop and realized, they are still me, and therefore should have our best interests in mind when acting?

  Also, I won’t be dumb enough to name one of my future Simulacrums Void-Ulacrum. Implying that it would be their job to Teleport to and around the void.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  No, a me who specialized in getting lost while traveling to unknown distant realms, that I think would be a bit too much.

  That said, I can’t wait for new Simulacrums to appear, I can almost feel that they are close to coming, though I can’t tell why they haven’t arrived yet. At this rate, even my Simulacrums have all managed monumental feats.

  With only Rune-Ulacrum getting caught, all the others managed to take advantage of the fifteen minutes of fame that I got to avoid.

  Though their actions did prove one thing, if I use Confidentiality while performing a World First event, I shouldn’t get tattled on.

  At least, that is what I am hoping for, and plan to test out next time I am close to a World First achievement. The only problem is, I don’t quite know what is worthy of note, and what isn’t. Things that I think of as amazing, like coming up with a self-cleaning room, are met with warnings to others as a death alter. The same with creating non-transforming mobile self-defense machines.

  That said, the skill I got for the second quest, while interesting, was not something I truly anticipated.

  This skill seemed to be similar to how I got skills that would then help me direct and strengthen my use of my various Traits.

  Now however, I got this one to seemingly specifically help with my new bloodline evolution perk.

  Yes, that power seemed as ominous as one could expect.

  I know Mallory expected a new class to come about, but it seems the world as a whole did not want that type of power going around and running wild.

  Just seeing the words, and feeling their possible effects, I could imagine a class related to this type of binding power. A class that was used by people without morals who gained the class and all but forced people to sign away their future potential for less than advantageous deals. I mean, it would be like going to an airport, desperately needing a vehicle and only being able to rent from Hurtz, I couldn’t let that happen to others.

  That is why I am sort of glad it is a Bloodline Evolution Perk, and not a class that anyone could get ahold of.

  Also of slight concern to me was the fact that while I had started off with 408 who swore to never take up arms against myself, the Midnight Hunters, or World’s End, apparently there were already fourteen individuals who had been noted by the system as breaking their oaths.

  Again, I don’t know if they were forced to break their oaths by the Legrand Empire, or whether they willingly did this out of some sense of national pride, but those numbers did tell me that this was not over.

  That even though the conflict had ended for the moment, we were not done.

  Worse, I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news.

  Wiggle, wiggle.

  Looking down, I see a giant ball of fluff that was now coming to in my arms. Apparently, Umbra’s food coma was wearing off again, and he was once again shaking to life within my arms.

  “Oh, does he need another walkie?” Penelope cooed as she came over and spoke in a high-pitched voice that caused Little upside down Umbra to twitch and roll his way out of my arms.

  For a moment, I am almost angry at the sudden betrayal, and feeling of coldness in my arms, where the once bright furnace used to reside. Then I realized that this was what happens when you give up a Mythical Grade Tamer class to someone else.

  While Umbra might need me due to my magical baby formula, it was clear that he really liked Penelope.

  Honestly, I couldn’t blame the pup, she was everything I wished I could be. Warm, cheerful, always nice, Gods the puppy-napper makes me sick. Like if Snow White had Cruella de Vil’s puppy-stealing preference.

  Then looking down I see that I am covered in dense glowing black fur.

  For a moment, I think about popping over to the Kujo Caverns, but quickly stop myself as I realize that without Umbra, I might fly off into space.

  I also know that I promised Mallory that I would wait until midnight before I left here. Which also brought up other questions I had, for I also promised the old elven queen that I would see her after midnight.

  But the question comes, what midnight?

  I made the promise to Mallory here, at World’s End. Then I made the promise to the eldritch elven queen in Timult, which is apparently three hours ahead.

  Then added to that is the question of do I factor in the one hour we lost due to the world breaking down? Meaning I should go at 11PM Timult time? Or should it be 11 PM here?

  These are the questions I have going through my head, and again all it does is let me know that I am glad I didn’t have to either take a Mythical Grade Contract Forging class, and instead got this as a Bloodline Evolution Perk.

  Because even though I could kind of tell that I was now in the clear with both sets of promises, thanks to my ability to feel a connection to the two sets of oaths. I don’t know how others would be able to truly feel this connection, at least not without guidance.

  After this, I decided that I would not make any more binding oaths that involved specific sets of time, nor were seemingly concurrent with each other, as they could get messy.

  “Glad you stuck around,” Mallory began, as she came forward to meet with me.

  “I promised I would, and I have,” I replied, feeling a strange weight lift off my chest at that admittance.

  “Yes, you have,” Mallory replied.

  And with those three words, I felt the final tether binding me to Mallory and here fade away. I paused, trying to understand why, and after a moment I realized it was likely due to the person I contracted with having acknowledged my fulfillment of my terms of the contract.

  Tingle.

  My reward, no quest prompt, no trumpets, no fanfare, just a slight sliver of golden karma that was generated from Mallory and seemingly given to me, before disappearing.

  Still, I could feel that tether, that odd thread that now filled me with a slightly odd sense of satisfaction.

  We stood there in silence, Mallory looking out over the gaggle of soldiers who were relaxing for the moment. While I tasted my golden karma. It oddly tasted like crisp air, with a slight minty aftertaste. Fresh.

  That was the word to describe this moment, this sensation of tasting freely given positive karma. Well not freely given, as I did have to work at it, even if only by staying put. But, I did receive it, and that is the best part of all of this.

  Finally, after a long moment of pause, Mallory finally broke the moment of silence that we were both engaged in and spoke a question that all but thrummed with her fears.

  “How long do you think this will last?” Mallory asked, as she did, she gave a slight gesture to the few people who were dancing and drinking together.

  It wasn’t wild, it wasn’t raucous.

  Looking at those that were here, it was clear that if need be, they could be recalled in a matter of moments and given a Purging spell or two, be ready to engage in the defense of their homes once more.

  That said, it was clear that they needed this, we all likely needed this, Mallory especially as so many things had happened today alone.

  Looking around, I saw that Gwen was here, still watching us, but from a distance.

  I assumed she was trying to keep hidden from Mallory, as she had to know that I could see her, even while she was hiding behind a wall and facing the opposite direction. Still, I pretended not to know what was going on between the two. I got them together, and had them get married, it was up to them to work out any problems that they might now face.

  “This peace?” I asked, trying to make sure I understood her question.

  “Yes,” Mallory responded.

  At that, I wanted to say who knows, but then found that these words were hollow. Focusing, I could almost swear I saw the message, or at least that I could feel the tensions rising within me, letting me know the answer was a lot closer than we all hoped. Then with horror, I realized that this sudden feeling of unease was due to my ridiculous skill Disaster Foresight, which I decided to warn Mallory about.

  “I’d say near immediate,” I responded, then I began to turn my body in the direction of where I felt the odd tugging sensation from my Disaster Foresight directing me.

  That is when I saw a bunch of movement.

  First, there were people who seemed to be hiding in some way, moving about. Though to my Angel’s Sight, this just caused the people to glow like they were wearing giant spotlights, particularly as the way they were trying to hide was by using equipment that seemed to utilize Obfuscation magic, a sub-category of Illusionary Magic.

  Again, this was a section of magic that seemed contradictory to me to practice, for the more you used, the brighter you would tend to glow. At least that is how I perceived the magic, though in this case, it was clear that the magic was effective, for the guards seemed to know that they were to be looking for someone or something, but couldn’t quite identify where the people were.

  Also, of concern was just how far away these people were. For now, I was with the others at the main barracks building, which had been established near the eastern border of World’s End. This meant that there were a lot of people moving and casting spells between me an this new activity.

  Unsurprisingly, many of my students were using this downtime to practice casting spells, rather than relaxing, knowing that I fully intended to start classes again on Monday.

  All of this is to say, that I failed to particularly note the use of magic, until there seemed to be violence involved. Violence that was relayed to me almost instantly by the taste of blood landing on fields that I had personally connected part of my soul to.

  Once warned by the appearance of blood, it then took a second to track the activity.

  That is when I saw the attacking team break apart and go directly into a building, likely to hide.

  “They are going into a building,” I said, trying to mentally lay out the area and see which exact building they were going into. The only problem was, we were far away, and near the edge of my zone of ability to differentiate unique magical signatures.

  Being a building, I didn’t really care, at least not at first. Despite their being at the center of the SVC campus. By now, that entire area had been saturated with my energy, thanks to Arcane Geomancy, and I was fairly certain that I could help repair any and all damage done there.

  But before anyone could act, the people who entered the building pulled out a giant magical device, and then began assembling it, piece by piece.

  “What are they doing?”

  “I think they are setting up a…” I responded, but I was quickly cut off by the sudden eruption of magic and power.

  KABOOOMMMMM!!

  The ground shook violently, and suddenly I felt dozens of spiritual connections that linked me to that building snap and break.

  Only then did I realize that the Legrand spies had purposefully entered the SVC faculty building. My faculty building and set off a bomb that ripped a hole in the side of the building, while also causing damage to many of my Skill Books that had come to defend their territory.

  Before I could think, or even process what was happening, I moved.

  Poof.

  On ingrained reflex I cast Arcane Geomancy Teleportation, trying to get to the building faster, trying to save any and all of the precious books I could. I knew that if I was fast enough, I should be able to grab them, and hopefully Resurrect them.

  The only problem, one that I realized way too late, was the fact that I suddenly found myself weightless. This was what happened the last time I cast Arcane Geomancy Teleportation, while traveling with Umbra. Back then I had managed to use Umbra's oddly fat stomach to keep me weighed down enough to make it to the end of my realm between. Now though, I suddenly found my arms empty. Worse, I was not only seemingly weightless, but I could feel myself being pulled up, and out into the great unknown.

  The only problem, one that I realized way too late, was the fact that I suddenly found myself weightless in that realm that lay in between. Worse, I was not only seemingly weightless, but I could feel myself being pulled up, and out into the great unknown. In seconds the universe around me went dark leaving me in a vast sea of emptiness.

  The only true sensation that I could feel, the only thing telling me that I was alive, was the feeling of weightlessness and the sensation of flying upwards at ever increasing rates of speed.

  final full chapter of Book 7.

  I still intend to have an Epilogue that will come next and show Cass's progress thus far, and set the stage for Book 8. But I wanted you to be aware of the impending stop.

  Know that I intend to take a two week break before posting chapters of Book 8, but don't worry, I am still writing and working in the background.

  Thank you all for reading with me, and I look forward to seeing your feedback and responses for Book 8.