The Conciege
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ROTLE- Chapter 127- Playing With Corpses Is Not A Normal Thing
🕑 Added 2025-05-25 14:56:07 +0000 UTC[You have used Class skill Double Edged]
His sword swung viciously, striking the gnarled ghoul in front of him. Drax felt his mana spill out of him as the skill took effect. The sword seemed to double, another, a soft green light to the eyes, flashing out behind him to cleave the second ghoul.
Spinning into the swing, he brought it down in an overhead strike on the ghoul behind him. His interface lit up.
[You have slain Putrid Ghoul Lvl 33!]
[You have slain Putrid Ghoul Lvl 31!]
Drax stepped back, panting. There was nothing but chaos around him. He looked to his left, then his right. The others were not present. Sighing, he looked behind him.
A trail of ghoul corpses littered the path.
I strayed far, he thought to himself, hearing the final echoes of combat into the cavernous distance.
Putting a hand to his forehead, he wiped a sheen of sweat. Once upon a time, the level of exertion he had just put himself through would’ve left him drenched.
Did I ever have this level of exertion back on Earth? He asked himself as he began his journey back to the others.
He couldn’t remember immediately how he had gotten so far removed from them. He remembered seeing the growing horde of ghouls coming at them and just throwing himself into the fray. The knights said that growth was found in the chaos of life and death.
You dived into that chaos and came out again and again and again. Each time you came out, you were rewarded with your life and growth.
Drax needed growth. He needed the strength to keep everyone alive and safe until the king found a way to return them to Earth. He had bonded with the members of his team and didn’t know how he would feel to return knowing that some of them died because he was too weak to save them.
A corpse twitched to the side as he walked. He stopped sheathing his sword half-way. Turning his head, he found a ghoul struggling to pull itself along the ground. Ghouls were a gangly thin. Thin long limbs and pus-ridden skin, they stood almost as tall as two men. They were not fast, but they had an insane reaction speed. They walked slowly and ran at a simple pace. But when they struck, their limbs seemed to flash out, moving from their origin to their targets in the blink of an eye.
Drax walked over to the creature. He kept an eye on the other corpses as he walked, not willing to be ambushed.
The ghoul turned and looked up at him. It snarled like a wild creature, then hissed.
Oh, shut up.
Drax buried his sword in its head.
[You have slain Putrid Ghoul Lvl 34!]
…
[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]
[You are now Level 45!]
[Level 44 -- > Level 45!]
His level was growing too slowly.
The knights continued to tell him that he was actually fast, that there were people who went an entire year without reaching level forty.
But there were people who surpassed it. There were people who grew faster than he was. Aiden was one such person. When he had met Princess Elaswit at the banquet at the Villion mansion, she had spoken of how Aiden was most likely at level one hundred.
He wanted to grow faster. The threshold would be a challenge but he had to get there first.
Sheathing his sword, he continued on his path down the cave. The echoes of combat were gone now. As he turned the corner, stepping over corpses of rotting ghouls, he only heard voices. Complaints, not arguments.
“I thought I’d get like three levels out of this,” Ariadne grumbled, sheathing her short swords on both sides of her hip. “We killed a horde, why two?”
Drax said nothing. Ariadne knew why she had only gotten two levels despite the corpses littering the ground.
It was because they had done the killing as a team. They had been taught at the palace that you grew faster if you killed the monsters alone. If you worked as a team, the growth was shared amongst those who were members of the team.
It was one of the reasons that their growth was small. The knights and the king did not allow them to go fighting monsters on their own. That, and the fact leveling up slowed down the higher their levels grew.
Currently the second highest in the group, Drax was having it worse. There were at least ten dead ghouls down the path that he had taken care of himself, and he’d only gotten one level up for his problems.
“Where did you run off to?”
Drax paused, moving his attention from Ariadne to a new addition to their team, Derrick Nelman. He was one of the people summoned from Earth. When they’d been summoned, the king had split them into groups when it was time to go out. Both groups had fought a mock battle and his group had all but mopped Derrick’s.
In truth, it had only been one-sided because Ted had been brutal during the battle, his summoned creatures slipping out of trees, crawling out of the dirt, and striking terror into their opponents.
About a week ago, Derrick had been added to their group. Why? Something about a falling out with his own group.
Why the king thought that adding him to their group was a good idea was beyond Drax.
“Had to deal with some ghouls down the line,” Drax answered simply, thumbing behind him.
Derrick followed his finger, saw the trail of corpses rounding the corner and frowned. In only a week, Drax knew three of Derrick’s flaws. He was overambitious, quick to temper, and jealous.
“And you got them all?” Derrick asked, slipping his massive double-headed battle axe into place behind him, his baritone seeming to shake the air.
He was large, built like a barrel with a chest that dared you to attack and see what could become of you.
Drax waved a tired hand as he walked past him. “I dealt with all of them. We should clear out, inform the knights that the contract is complete.”
“I haven’t gotten any notification,” Ariadne pointed out.
Drax pointed down the path he had just come from. “There were more paths in there. I’m sure it leads to whatever was in charge of the nest. Our job is to clear out the small fry and leave the rest for the knights.”
“I’m not a fan of playing clean-up,” Derrick muttered.
Drax ignored him, walking up to the strongest member of the group. He squatted next to him.
“What do you have?” he asked Letto.
Letto was picking quietly through a ghoul’s corpse with a knife. He shifted the skin aside, revealing part of its entrails.
“You see that?” he asked, tilting his head down.
Drax peered at the injury. Something caught his eye and he squinted, trying to make something out of it.
“Markings?”
“Close.” Letto removed his knife and let the injury close. “Engravings. There are enchantments in these things.”
Drax found that surprising. Living creatures did not have enchantments in them because living creatures were not a good power source for enchantments. From what the palace had taught them about enchanted items, enchantments were only placed on items because they had a habit of burning the durability of the items they were engraved on.
On a living creature, that would be burning their life force. It was replenishable, yes, but life force wasn’t quantifiable. You could engrave yourself with a simple enchantment only to have it burn through your entire life force. ‘Death by stupidity’, the [Enchanter] that had taught them on the subject had said.
Another reason people did not do it was simple.
It hurt like hell.
“You’re sure it’s not just this one?” he asked. “You said these things.”
Letto nodded. Looking up from the corpse, he gestured at five more with his knife. “Those guys too. I’m guessing all of these guys have engravings.”
“But it should not be possible.”
“And yet it is.”
Drax knew better than to argue the case with Letto. In the time since Anita had died and Aiden and Ted had disappeared, Letto had become something of a jack of all trades. He read in the library every chance he got, and asked the knights and scholars of the palace questions whenever he could.
He also practiced. A lot.
“What do you want to do about it?” he asked him.
Letto shrugged. “You’re the leader here.”
“And you’re the strongest.”
Letto chuckled darkly. “Being the strongest does not make me a leader, Drax. You know that.”
“What are you two on about?”
Letto’s gaze moved over to Derrick. Ignoring the large man, he got back up to his feet. He wore light armor over a simple cotton shirt and a pair of pants. A grey shawl was wrapped around his neck and he raised it to cover his mouth. Enchanted as it was, the fabric stayed in place, masking his face.
Turning, he walked away from Drax. He headed for the exit from the cave.
Derrick came to a stop next to Drax. “Playing with corpses is not a normal thing. You should check on your friend.”
Drax gave him a flat look. “And you should tell him that to his face.”
Derrick scowled but said nothing. They both knew that he would not. The last time he had caused a scene after trying to steal Ariadne’s kill, he had had to deal with Letto.
Letto had put his face in the dust and broken his elbow in the blink of an eye. Derrick knew better than to get on Letto’s bad side now.
Derrick turned his scowl away and Drax raised his hand. He gestured with a twirl of his finger to Ariadne.
“Let’s make our report.”
From where they stood to the exit took less than five minutes to cover. They walked quietly while Drax wondered if Letto was any closer to gaining his manifesting skill. At level forty-nine, no amount of fighting was going to help him achieve another level.
He rarely fought these days. While they sweated and bled, he just stood off to a corner, watching, assessing. Learning. He only stopped monsters that ventured too far away from the group. Even then, he did not kill them. Most of the time, he incapacitated them. Other times, he harried them back into the group.
He said it helped. With what? He never expanded upon.
By the time they were out of the cave and into the open air, it was evening and the sun was setting. Two knights sat upon their jepats, waiting patiently. Next to them was Jen Villion of House Villion.
With permission from his father and the king, he had become a member of their team. However, he did not join them for all their quests. Sometimes, at times like this, he sat on the sidelines and watched them work.
“How was it?” Jen asked.
Ariadne shrugged, frowning. “A waste of our time. I swear we need something to push us.”
“Any more than this and you’ll be walking closer to death than anyone should,” Sir Thompfer said.
He had been their steady guide ever since their mission to the town where Anita had died. He was nice, as nice as a strict knight could be.
The other knight had his eyes on the cavern.
“We’ve cleared it out,” Letto said, mounting his jepat. Why he said nothing about the engraving he saw was a different question.
Is he waiting for me?
The knight’s jepat moved slightly. He tugged gently on its reins, halting it. Then he dismounted.
“Shall we, Sir Thom?” he said, holding his hand out to his side. A halberd as tall as seven feet appeared in his hand. “The nest won’t end itself.”
“Do I get to come this time?” Jen Villion asked.
Sir Thompfer shook his head, dismounting as well. “The main creature has been scouted to be around level eighty. We would not risk lives like yours. Not for this. It is dangerous and to be handled with care.”
The other knight was already heading into the cave. He moved his arm, working out his shoulder.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “If I don’t finish on time, then it’s your turn.”
Drax wasn’t sure but he thought he heard a smile in his voice.
Sir Thompfer moved to follow him, nodding to the others as he walked. Drax stopped him with a hand on his arm.
Sir Thompfer looked at him. “Yes, Lord Lincoln.”
“The ghouls,” Drax said quietly. “We found engravings inside them.”
Thompfer’s eyes narrowed sharply. “Engravings?”
Drax nodded.
“Hold a moment, Sir Leld,” he beckoned to his companion with a raised hand. “Did you recognize any of the engravings?”
Drax shook his head. “But the corpses are still inside, perhaps you and your companion could take a look before you conclude on what you need to do?”
“We will,” Thompfer confirmed. “Until then, you have received your next task. It will aid in your growth as many have grown through it. It is also an investigative task. We are to survey and study and report back.”
Ever since the town at Elstrire, Drax always had a bad feeling whenever they had an investigation-based task.
“How far away is it?” he asked.
“Far,” Thompfer answered.
Drax looked back at the others, then at him again. “Are we finally allowed to use the teleportation gates?”
“Clearance has been granted. And you will need to use them to get there.”
“Where exactly are we going?”
Thompfer sighed. “Nel Quan.”
Drax had never left the kingdom, none of them had. But he had heard stories. Nel Quan was an ally of Bandiv, with an undertone of hostility due to something in their past.
There was also something else. Something that they had found out only a few days ago, before coming here.
Nel Quan had also summoned people from Earth.
“There are rumors of a potential problem,” Sir Thompfer continued, “and their queen has asked for our assistance. We will be sending a special team first, while others prepare to go there by road.”
Drax frowned. “We are to fight for them?”
“No.” Thompfer shook his head. “Their teleportation gate is on their outskirts and closer to your destination. The special team with head in their direction while we will head in a different direction. Our destination will be a three-day ride from there.”
“You’re beating around the bush, Sir Thompfer.”
The others stood where they were, waiting patiently for their conversation to finish. Knight Leld looked as if he was growing impatient.
“I am beating around the bush because I do not think that your team is ready to head into territories so hostile,” Sir Thompfer said. “We are being sent into lawless lands in the name of investigations that should not be necessary for another year or two.”
Drax sighed. “I understand. It’s risky. We like it, but you don’t. Where are we going?”
“The catacombs,” Sir Thompfer said, almost biting out the words. “In Trackback.”
…
Aiden stared at the room in front of him.
“This is it?” he asked, trying to keep his disbelief out of his voice.
The innkeeper, a tall grandmotherly woman nodded. “Yes, it is.”
Aiden looked at her. She was tall and spindly, so tall that he had to tilt his head to look at her. Her skin was wrinkled and sagged at the cheeks and neck.
“And there’s no misunderstanding?” he asked.
“You saw the key open the door, did you not?” the woman snapped. “You are Aiden, are you not?”
Aiden hid his frown. Before entering Trackback, he had explicitly pointed out that they were only to use their first name for anything official. He was Aiden, just Aiden. Not Aiden Lacheart.
“I am,” he answered.
“And you asked your brother to book you the smallest room because you aren’t a fan of spacious rooms because you tend to bump into things when you move around a spacious room, correct?”
Aiden worked his mouth before forcing out the answer. “Correct.”
That bastard.
“But this…” he trailed off, gesturing into the room. It was almost as small as a bathroom stall, only slightly bigger. He couldn’t even imagine why an inn would have a room this small.
There wasn’t even a bed.
“He said you had a lot of work to do tonight,” the innkeeper continued with a shrug. “Said you wouldn’t be needing a bed.”
Aiden turned to her, words poised at the tip of his tongue. There was no way she did not know that this made no sense. He was about to tell her just as much when he saw the corner of her lip twitch very slightly.
She was in on it! She was fucking in on it!
“Anyway,” she picked his hand up, placed the key to the door in it, and closed his hand around it. “I’ve got three lovely grandkids about your age. Always playful and having fun.” A distant yet nostalgic look crossed her face. “I do miss them and their games sometimes.”
Turning away, she whistled happily as she walked down the corridor.
“We don’t have any other free rooms, and curfew is in a few,” she said over her shoulder. “And I don’t like people loitering about. Have a nice night, Aiden. Oh,” she paused, turning as if she forgot something. “You’ve got a very lovely brother. He says to thank you for the milkshake.”
This time, she did nothing to hide her smile. She was like a mother enjoying the pranks her children played on each other.
Aiden’s hand tightened around the key in mild annoyance. There was no such thing as a curfew, certainly not in Trackback. The woman was merely enjoying herself with this. He couldn’t believe he had allowed the team to book his room while Ted was still with them.
He ran his free hand down his face. How could I have forgotten about the milkshake?.
With a deep sigh and nothing he could do about it, he entered the room and closed the door, locking it behind him.
At least it had light in it, a gentle blue glow cast from an orb on the ceiling with which he used to see as he scratched a complex locking engravement on the door and activated it.
When all was done, Aiden sat on the ground, legs crossed.
He pulled up his interface and stared at the details in front of him.
[Enchanted Void (Mastery 00.10%)]
You are an anomaly, weaving your very being. A Hostile to space itself, you birth your own world and weave its very fabric.
It is your reach. It is your domain. It is your Void.
[Effect: All weaves and enchantments are in void status]
[Effect: Increase in effects of weaves and Enchantments]
[Effect: Decrease in mana cost of weaves and Enchantments]
[Effect: Increase in Enchantment effect to all allies within void]
[Effect: Decrease in Enchantment effect to all enemies within void]
[Effect: Decrease in mana cost for Enchantments used by allies within void]
[Effect: Increase in mana cost for Enchantments used by enemies within void]
[Effect: Increase in dimensional affinity for allies with affinity within void]
[Active Duration: Until termination or mana exhaustion]
Aiden would’ve whistled if it wasn’t already nighttime. Those were a lot of effects.
In his past life, his manifesting skill had been [Enchanter’s Heart]. When it was activated, he could cast and engrave any enchantment for eight minutes without any mana cost. By the time Ted had been captured, the duration had gone up to twenty minutes with a passive effect that allowed him to activate any enchantment within a certain distance without coming into physical contact.
The only limitation on its passive effect were enchantments engraved by people with levels higher than his.
It paled when compared to [Enchanted Void]. But it had been a boon in his past life. A powerful Manifesting skill when used right. And he had used it right every single time.
The Order had made sure of it.
With thoughts of his twenty-four unallocated stat points swimming in his head, Aiden rested his back against the wall and closed his eyes.
He would allocate them, but he would not allocate them now.
Soon, he thought, in preparation for the next day. Soon.
Until then, he allowed other things to cross his mind.
Tomorrow, he would start teaching Zen in the different ways it took to kill a monster as well as a man.
Comments
Mr. Iron
And he just keeps making excuses to not allocate the points. Wonder why that is.
Maxx
I wonder what his domain size is, how far away allies and enemies have to be to no longer be affected by it
Anunay Kumar
Thx for the chapter
Kai
Thnk yu!!
