265 (III)

  Beyond [II]

  "Anything else?" the Deathless asked.

  "Fighting isn't a 'we talk about it' thing. Fighting is drill, drill, drill until you're perfect. Until you're beyond perfect." Jessica smirked. "You must be comfortable with failure. You gotta love eating shit. You have not been failing nearly enough. Dying is not failing for you. You gotta lose more fights. And you gotta face more people."

  She stopped talking for a moment and looked down at her feet. Then she let out a soft laugh. "Oh, you're a little bit more devious than I thought too."

  "What?" Shiv said.

  "Oh, don't play coy with me now, boy." Jessica folded her arms and leaned back. "All this, showing me your special fae skill, something you would hide from an enemy. That's just for trust. I know what you're doing. I gotta compliment you, most nobles who've tried to win me over weren't very subtle about it. And you actually managed to entertain me.”

  Shiv made eye contact with Adam and managed to convey that he hadn't been thinking about this at all.

  Just go with it, said the look on Adam’s face.

  "But if we're going to be working together, you can keep this in mind: I'm not your ally, I'm not your friend. I'm just someone who wants her husband and kid back, and you're the person who promised them to me. I'll do what I can to make sure you can keep yourself alive. But after that point…" Jessica licked her teeth.

  "Anything goes between us?" Shiv answered on her behalf.

  "Something like that. Now use that heart of yours and do what you did earlier. Animate some more food. I wanna see what other weird shit you can do here. Also, wait, did you manage to slice a bit of shadow earlier? How?"

  Shiv smirked. "With my pan. And it can cut a lot more than that."

  "Can it, now?" Jessica tilted her head. "Fine. Let’s see it. You know, if you can get this stuff up that orc’s ass, this can be your version of the Upcreek Special."

  "I hope you know I’m going to do that to you someday. I’m never forgiving you for that shit.”

  "You got a vivid imagination, kid. But most times, dreams stay dreams for a reason."

  ***

  By the time Shiv was done experimenting, he had a swarm of chrono-shadow breadcrumbs accompanying him. The other gang members were easier to deceive than the first. And now they hid in his shadow, something he could call on at any time in case he was ambushed. But with that done, the night was also drawing to a close, and he was due to partake in his first Magical Theory class.

  To his surprise, the class syllabus didn't indicate he needed to borrow a specific magical tome or textbook from one of the libraries. Instead, the only requirements were that he be on time and carry with him a notebook along with a writing utensil.

  Jessica hummed as they strolled back toward the area where most of Shiv's companions were gathered. “You got a really messed-up build, kid. I don't think I have ever met a Legend as weirdly disjointed in terms of skills as you. Most kids your age are further along in terms of social and mental skills.”

  “I leveled like a monster,” Shiv replied. “Yeah, I get that a lot. That's the whole point of going to school, though. Trying to fix that right now.”

  And Magical Theory was just another step in Shiv's journey to make himself a more balanced Pathbearer.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Adam took charge of the remaining preparations everyone needed to make for their trip to the Tutorial and the evacuation of Black Edge right after. With the Gate Lord really busy, Shiv asked Jessica if she wanted to ride along in his cape, but the Giantsbane simply laughed and told him she was all charmed out for a single day.

  After that, he went looking for the Educator to have a conversation with her, but she was missing as well.

  It was then that Shiv remembered they had a Necrotech operative in the form of an undead rat in the sunken coliseum. But when he went looking for him, he found the orcs missing as well.

  The only people he could find were Solzimort and Can Hu, strangely, who were busy discussing why the Hydra should never listen or do what the orcs told him ever again.

  "But they promised us fresh apples!" Solzimort said, every single one of his heads lowering and sinking beneath the ground.

  "I, too, can provide fresh apples," Can Hu declared. "And more importantly, I will give them to you for free, without labor, periodically."

  And suddenly Solzimort’s heads shot up, like trees sprouting out of the ground, rising in columns of joy. "Really?"

  "Yes."

  "Hooray! Free apples."

  Shiv laughed quietly to himself as he shook his head. Weird or not, Solzimort was a refreshing blast of innocence amidst all the chaos and bullshit they had to deal with.

  And that, at least, makes one of us, Shiv thought to himself.

  "Hey, Can Hu," Shiv called out. "You see the orcs? Helix? Whisper? Anyone?"

  The Penitent turned to regard Shiv, and its eyes briefly flickered. "No. The last sighting I had of them was about three hours ago. They gathered together and seemed to be plotting something away from the rest of us."

  "The hells are they up to now?" Shiv muttered.

  "I do not think it is anything good. I would be on my guard. Remember, Pathbearer Shiv, they are not our companions. They are merely monsters seeking higher escalations of violence, and you are their primary dispenser."

  “I don't know how I feel being called the primary dispenser,” Shiv muttered to himself.

  Can Hu tilted its head. "In this case, I would argue that your emotions are irrelevant. It is simply what you are. I will not be surprised if you are forced into an unexpected and brutal battle as soon as we arrive in the Tutorial."

  "I'm sure that's what they're planning." Shiv scoffed. "Like I don't see that coming."

  He paused then and considered something. Maybe they were testing him right now. He did develop a new Awareness skill, Atlas of the Flesh Scryer. He immediately focused on his own hand, and a mana simulation of the limb flared into being. The Atlas then lit up every single biological entity nearby that also had a hand.

  While a Shiv scanned his surroundings, he found a dense gathering of glowing arms deep within the maze.

  Shiv's head snapped in that direction, and Can Hu noticed the motion.

  "You have located them?" it asked. "How? My sensors detect nothing."

  "New Awareness skill," Shiv replied. "Stay here. I want to go check things out."

  Shiv ventured back into the maze. His Non-Sequitur skill trembled once more, but a vision was silenced before it could manifest. The silencing was more forceful this time, as if it was on the verge of revealing something to him, but was forcefully crushed back down.

  Shiv remembered that Band had managed to do something similar before, but his skill had been far weaker then, and now his paranoia was in overdrive. He rounded the corner, expecting to see the orcs there. "Alright, what the hells are you guys… doing…”

  His words trailed off, as instead of a gathering of grayskins, he found a cluster of arms: human arms, automaton arms, elven arms, goblin arms. Arms nailed to one of the stone walls of the maze and pointing downward. On the floor, written in blood, were the words:

  He's not coming, Insul.

  He's already been here, watching you and your friend, for the past two days.

  He's been standing right behind you.

  And no one noticed.

  Not you.

  Not the Ascendants.

  Not even that Forgotten Ascendant.

  Anyway, good luck, and have fun! :)

  Shiv’s blood froze in his veins, his eyes widened, and before he could draw in another breath, something seized him from below and pulled him down. Even as his Shapeless Tides flared and struggled, he was dragged into a realm of darkness, into his own shadow, into a pair of wading arms that snaked around his neck and tightened.

  Shiv gagged and thrashed, pushing against immovable arms ridged with gleaming bone.

  A cold breath washed over his left ear as a refined baritone whispered to him, "Deathless. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. You have been entertaining. Now, let us see if I find you wanting.”

  You can read the entirety of Volume 5 and the first half of Volume 6 over on ! (Over 400,000 Words ahead of Royal Road for $10)

  Join the to talk to Mammal and other fans of the series!