Talia had nothing to say about the blood.
Not right then.
She stood for one, agonizing second in the midst of it, watching Kaelen’s face twist through the calculations.
His Cyan eyes.
Her Black blood.
That Man, with an easy voice like Corin’s but a gait that was all his own.
Kaelen didn’t linger.
“Old scar,” He tapped the side of his head, smirking despite the dull ache building in his temples as he forced Corin’s lazy expression back onto his face..
“Cracked open my skull on a cave-in, two seasons back.
Bleeds black when I overexert myself.
Ask the healer at Oaken…”
“Liar.”
Talia’s mouth was a tight line as her jaw clenched shut.
Behind her, the great timber doors of the Outpost of Oakhaven groaned open, revealing a riotous crowd and the golden glow spilling from within.
“We’ll see,” The words were left to hang where they could, and the retort of the crowd swallowed them up.
“Suspicion did not decrease,” Nix murmured instead, “It simply deferred.”
I’ll settle for that, he thought grimly.
[Deferred — It means I’m still breathing.]
The Outpost roared past Talia as Kaelen stumbled out into it too.
A cacophony of voices rose around him, punctuated by the distant clang of a blacksmith laying fresh steel, and the sound of off duty guards drunk on ale and their own numbers.
The voices grated against him too keen ears and frayed nerves — his body screamed in protest, but Corin’s memories took over reflexively, sorting it all out into good bits and bad.
Debt.
An uncomfortable word, attached to a number that owed a large, faceless group of people a sum Kaelen would never see coming from this body’s monthly salary.
Grayveil Ledger: a name that made Corin’s (Kaelen’s) stomach twist itself into knots on recollection alone.
And beneath that, deeper still, a last thought, more bitter rooted than the rest.
A tall figure, in white plates edged in Gold, addressing a crowd of two hundred soldiers at once while standing on the central podium of the Outpost.
No mic needed, he didn’t speak in vain – his voice carried distance and reach, and every single man and woman in earshot listened, respectfully if surprised.
Sir Valen.
Knight-Commander of the Aurelian Order.
Stationed at the outpost to oversee the culling of the Tier-2 breaching regions.
Corin’s memories of him?
The closest was a twisted mix-up of begrudging respect and something that tasted strongly of envy when it came to natural ability.
Filed, Kaelen thought.
Keep the bastard’s name for later, in case the occasion demands my life.
[System Note: High-Value Target Identified – Sir Valen.
Recommendation: Long-term Surveillance.
Immediate Engagement: Caution Advised.]
That’s always a handy thing to know,
he thought to himself,
as the great stone entrance loomed before them, wove with faint runes that pulsed a dull red.
Armed guards flanked either side, their posture stiff and bored.
They looked like they inspected a thousand people a week, and expected number 1001 to be similarly tiresome.
“Detection wards,” Nix noted.
“Set to highlight non-native biological signatures and non-registered system anomalies.
You fit both categories.”
Marvelous.
Straight ahead is sure to lead to immediate arrest by certified
“Or immediate execution,” The system responded, “Depending on current host policies toward parasitic anomalies.”
Talia was already stepping through the arch, past the guards and with nothing but a brisk nod from the nearest ward, her monster core already in-hand for the bounty office.
Kaelen slowed himself to a matching pace, just the same as any injured body-scan would do it.
[Ding!
Passive Skill Active: Shadow Fade]
The world didn’t go dark, just – Kaelen felt something in him twist inside, a trick that used to get him past wolves much larger than him by the sheer will of it.
The effect was similar, and just as useful now.
He felt the pull of the wards, the dull hum of it all, go past and through him, and not the slightest bit of the magic stuck to him.
The guards didn’t look up.
Didn’t question.
Didn’t even stop what they were doing, which for the moment was nothing – the entire watch was playing cards at the foot of their post.
Not a single member of the audience reacted as a figure pressed past, using nothing but a commoner’s tricks, and not a spell in his arsenal.
“Ward bypass successful,” Nix intoned.
Kaelen barely breathed out until he did.
It felt strange, actually, to expel the air and have it go out in real life.
So very strange to breathe again at that.
“Beware, this method is not advised to be beyond a single use due to superior detection measures in higher-end systems.”
One thing at a time, thought Kaelen, as he peeled off from the group in the moment they turned to visit the bounty office, muttering something along the lines of ‘need to visit the healers first myself’ before Talia could press the issue.
An alleyway two streets away was preferable to the smell of fish bins, and Kaelen let himself collapse against the rough wall as soon as he had the strength, feeling the sting of old scars on his ribs as he did so.
[WARNING: Real-World Vessel Status: Critical]
[Cardiac Signal: Unstable.
Channel bio-energy now to prevent shutdown.]
Yes, yes, that will do it, just give me a moment.
The strange and wonderful sensation of energy that the System built up from every hit-point of his life since waking up in this place surged through him.
It was strange, to Kaelen.
A feeling not quite like magic, but close enough, as he pressed further into himself and pulled what energy he could spare from the depths of this man’s failing lungs.
[Channeling: 12%…
30%…]
Some far away system blinked and Kaelen would never have known what it did, save the feeling of tension going through the channel eased a fraction.
A signal on three days and worlds away eased up, just knowing him for the first time since this started.
[47%…]
Well well, Corin, if you’re reading this.
A voice came from the mouth of the alley as he gathered in more strength, low and amused in a place far too close from Kaelen’s liking.
Two men emerged from behind the corner, barring any retreat.
Both of them looked the part, one being built like a thickset wall of a man with a thin slice of maroon crisscrossed above his left eye, and the other a wiry knife-thrower type with eyes sharp enough to kill with and a smile that meant certain death for anyone foolish enough to say ‘go on then’.
The Ledger’s had asked about you for three weeks, the tall one said, casually leaning against the stone, cutting off Kaelen’s one possible escape path..
The boss figured, after everything, that you’d try sneaking in.
That guess?
Seems right.
[Channeling: 58%…
— PROCESS INTERRUPED]
Not now, not now, not now, not now —
Kaelen forced out a face as dull as the man who wore it, a mix of Corin, anger and boredom, as he replied,
“Sorry, but I came back from a dungeon run.
Give me a day to sell this core and you’ll have your reward.”
Boss no longer takes days, said the other, grinning widely as he cracked his knuckles.
He takes interest.
Starting with your kneecaps.
He made for Kaelen and then, in an amazing split-second, the mind of Corin switched to pure instinct to fight back.
I cannot fight this.
Not with anything but my humanity, or I’ll cease to be anything less than a monster to these people.
But if I take this beating, If I let them take me apart piece by piece then this vessel’s channels will sever and I’ll shut down, in three days time, and there will be no one to stop these bastards from taking what’s left of me.
Kaelen took the first punch to his ribs but didn’t fall, instinct saying to wait for the second, the third, the moment to move.
When he felt another strike building up, he twisted his hips and broke the man’s hold, sending a kick to the temple and rolling back on instinct.
[Ding!
Devour Protocol Available – Target Compatibility: 91%.]
[Warning: Consuming registered outpost residents may result in local authorities initiating a disappearance inquiry.
Proximity to Knight-Commander Valen’s jurisdiction: Considered High.]