Drifting Embers
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[MGM]: 91 - Sky Flower
🕑 Added 2025-05-10 15:00:39 +0000 UTC[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Your summon has slain a level 63 monster: Silver wolf (C)!
You have slain...
Your summon has slain...
...
You have slain a level 196 monster: Blaze Lion (A)!
You have leveled up! (×11 times)
You have 315 unallocated stat points.
Congratulations!
You have ascended to Rank-B.
Talent Summon has been raised to Rank A.
Talent Spirit Call has been raised to Rank B.
Talent Spirit Ascension has been raised to Rank B.
You have unlocked a new talent: Summoner's Bond.
[Talent Acquired: Summoner's Bond]
I was overwhelmed by the constant overlapping of displays that kept flashing one after the other. It took some time to organize and read through the information presented. Finally, I decided to call forth my Soul Record.
Name: Markus White
Race: Drakekin [Awakened]
Age: 20
Origin: Celestial Archive [Supreme???]
Level: 81 | XP: 44.66%
Rank: B
Attributes
Strength: 1032
Agility: 1247
Vitality: 1213
Intelligence: 1802
Perception: 809
Spirit: 3350
Free Stat Points: 315
Talents
[Summon - A]
[Talent Copy - N/A]
[Blood Monarch - SSS]
[Runic Empowerment - B]
[Spirit Call - B]
[Spirit Ascension - B]
[Mana Sight - B]
[Void Step - A]
[Draconian Rage - S]
[Dark Wings - S]
[Ghost Walk - A]
[Ashen Cloud - B]
[Shadowflare - B]
[Summoner's Bond - A]
Summons (5/7)
[Amara - SSS]
Favorability: 86% (Pseudo-Bond)
Power Sync: -52.14%
[Titania - A]
Favorability: 83% (Pseudo-Bond)
Power Sync: -52.14%
[Pyra - A]
Favorability: 58% (Romantic Interest)
Power Sync: -52.14%
[Luna - A]
Favorability: 36% (Trusted Companion)
Power Sync: -52.14%
[Cassia - S]
Favorability: 18% (Friendly)
Power Sync: -52.14%
I was awed by my Soul Record. Where it had once been an impossibility, the result before me couldn’t be denied. Nearly all of my attributes had passed the thousand threshold, save for Perception. And I had over three hundred free Stat Points.
My Summon limit had extended from the initial five to seven; I could now summon two more. Most of the Talents related to my Origin had also ranked up by one. Spirit Ascension would now last an entire two minutes, and Spirit Call allowed a 20% increase instead of the initial 15%, though the duration remained the same. It was a newly acquired Talent that intrigued me, though.
Summoner’s Bond was a peculiar Talent that initiated a bond between the summoner—that is, me—and the summon, merging our Origins together. This effectively merged our attributes as well, so it was an overpowered Talent, to say the least. It had two major limitations, though.
One: it would last for only half a minute. Two: it could only be initiated with those who had attained the status of Pseudo-Bond or Bonded in terms of Favorability. Which was a turn-off, considering that neither Amara nor Tania accompanied me on this trip. Though, it did solve the mystery behind the appearance of Pseudo-Bond, which had occurred right after Amara's Favorability hit 80%.
“So, how's it?” Cassia's words broke me out of my engrossed state, and I turned to give her a smile. The clearing was empty now, with no trace of the wolves present. I dusted off my clothes and strolled to where the corpse of the Lion lay.
“Better than expected, actually,” I said, then proceeded to offer her a detailed analysis of my Soul Record. She nodded, even as I used a makeshift blood knife to gouge out the Skill Core from the heart of the beast.
“Should I fill up the summoning slots now?” I asked, having cleaned my hands of the blood and viscera.
Cassia shook her head and, sweeping her glance all over the place, said, “I would appreciate it if the environment was a bit more welcoming. It’s their first time in this world, after all.”
I nodded, tucked the Skill Core into my pocket, and looked ahead.
“So?”
So, we traveled the same way we had come. Not the most pleasant, let me tell you, but I appreciated the ease of travel. By then, it was getting closer to nightfall, and our arrival near the village barn went unnoticed.
Cassia and I walked through the streets, noting the lack of traffic and the overall grim atmosphere. Despite the territory falling under the hold of Leroux Barony, the state of their neighbors seemed to have affected them as well.
It had been discussed beforehand where we would reunite, so Cassia and I walked with a single-minded purpose. The inn was a short walk, and it took us no time to arrive. Our entrance was also largely ignored, thanks to my companion having covered her sensual body.
I looked around at the gathered patrons—drinking and laughing boisterously—and saw one hand waving at us. Luna and Captain Aldrin sat near the back, and seeing them, I offered a wave and walked over.
“I take it everything went well,” Luna said, though there was a hidden gleam in her eyes. It occurred to me that she must have felt the difference from my level going up.
“It did, indeed,” I replied, smiling. “How about on your side? Did you find anything?”
“That we did,” Luna replied. “Actually, there’s something you should know about first.”
“What?” I asked.
“Ahem,” Aldrin said, glancing around and then hunching over to whisper, “I heard that the Kingdom has requested help from the Church to look into the matter.”
I frowned. “That means they must be sure it’s somehow related to the Cult.”
“Maybe,” he said. “The problem here is the fact that, since you lot are involved, it would draw more suspicion than is necessary.”
“Are you blaming us for that?” I asked, eyes narrowing.
“Of course not,” Aldrin said, waving his hand in denial. “Since we’re all aboard the same vessel, it wouldn’t matter whether they target you or us—we’d drown all the same. I’m just concerned that something might happen while we’re away from the Barony, is all.”
I held my gaze a little longer but found no fault. I finally sighed and said, “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m sure Amara and the others will be able to handle anything.”
Nearly anything, I thought, but even if something did happen, they could always run away.
"So, how did the fruits of your investigation turn out?" Cassia asked.
"Ah yes, about that," Aldrin said, leaning back. "We found out who was responsible."
"Tell me more," I urged.
"Right." He nodded, then said, "Apparently, the rumors of Baron Feylance's 'felony' haven’t just spread within the Barony's borders, but outside as well."
Luna continued, "We did some digging and tracked the rumors through a long chain, which led us to the Sky Flower Brothel."
"Tell me you did a background check as well?" Cassia asked, her eyes shining dimly.
Luna allowed a smirk to surface and leaned back. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm a hunter—it doesn't matter whether it's an animal, a human, or information, I’ll find it."
I ignored the apparent annoyance on Cassia’s face and asked, "So, what did you find?"
"Guess who runs the biggest assassination organization in the northern part of the Kingdom?"
"Who?" I asked, then hesitated. "Is it Baron Leroux?"
"No." Luna shook her head. "It's Greystone County."
I frowned. "They’re involved in this too?"
"Yes," she nodded, "but not in the way you think."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"What she means is that we might’ve found ourselves a friend among enemies," Aldrin said suddenly.
I heard Cassia exhale loudly and say, "Stop beating around the bush and spill everything."
Luna shrugged and said, "Fine. What I meant is that while we were doing our research, it was quite difficult to sneak into the brothel without getting caught—especially since it was daytime. But then I caught a suspicious-looking customer near the back gardens, and I couldn’t help my curiosity. Thanks to that, I found out he was actually an informant."
"Since we couldn’t get our information directly from the source, we decided to engage the proxy," Aldrin added.
I frowned and crossed my arms. "What you mean to say is," I said, "you threatened some guy and had him spill all the information from both sides. Is that right?"
"Well, if you put it that way..." Luna said, shrugging.
I smiled. "You did good. Tell me everything we need to know about these people who like to speak more than necessary."
Luna and Aldrin took turns recounting everything—from the gossip exchanged between the courtesans to the matter of a hidden group working as Baron Leroux’s proxy under the guise of simple laborers. It seemed that Greystone County had placed the brothel under scrutiny and was hoping to gather as much information as possible through their informant. They would then use the assassination group to send the intel back.
I couldn’t help but wonder why they would task a capable and specialized team with such a menial job—unless they were specifically searching for a certain piece of information that required prompt action.
That said, it wasn’t my problem, so I decided to push the thought out of my head and focus on the real issue.
How best to remove the thorn and stop the spread of misleading rumors?
The answer is easier than you'd expect.
Note: [Once more I apologise for the inconvenience I have caused. This past week had proven to be a very strange week for me. To put it in simple words and to offer you a piece of advise: look out into the world more. There's so much out there that sometimes you wonder how you didn't bother looking for it in the first place. The point is—enrich yourself with the wonders this world has to offer and try to learn about it. It's a wonderful experience, indeed.]
