Chương 87: 86 - Checking In

You and your colleagues wrote countless tomes and treatises on the most prominent demon cults of Laika. The Pale Bloom, the Brotherhood, the Velvet Masks. I even have an entire shelf of works dedicated to the Watchers, despite their harmless nature. I say, my friend, those followers of Oc believe that decay is inevitable and, as such, nothing needs to be done to prepare for its coming. You wrote it yourself in three different volumes. I won't bother listing the pages.

Why, then, has nobody but you studied the apparently common; dare I say, banal worship of demons in remote communities? They sing to Zabatrid for healing, beg San for love and riches, call on Augustus before charging into battle, whisper prayers to Ummi for their secrets to be well guarded. Yet, I see among them not just adoration for demons but also honest love and admiration for the Seven. Alfred, I do not appreciate being lied to. Even by omission. I expect a report on my desk by morning.

Specimen from Alfred Dumries' early correspondence from the Iron Vein Magus. The walk back to Kator quickly turned into a run. Alexandra felt lighter. The malediction had affected her more than she realized, gnawing at her from the inside. Now that it was gone, the thoughts of striking out on her own had subsided. She wasn't going to take over the Iron Library, like Raymond wanted her to, but she was fine with staying a while longer. There was so much to learn, so much to achieve.

She hadn't forgotten the sickness of empathy. The way she dealt with infinite hunger was a fluke she knew she couldn't replicate. Then there was her study on lifeforce, enchantments, weapons, mana. It wasn't like she had a plan besides continuing her streak. So she would use her time here to figure one out. Hang out with Willow, Louis, and maybe even Kam. The boy was a little weird, but he'd helped her complete a quest, so she'd grown fond of him. She'd leave when she was ready. If Raymond let her.

She shook the thought away. Today was a good day, and she wasn't going to let anything ruin her mood. Her feet hit the sand. The beach unfurled before her. She was faster than ever. Her body felt good. Better than on Earth, even if she didn't have the same level of comfort. Sickness of empathy sent a burst of pain up her legs, letting her know that she'd crushed something. She winced. She slowed down as she entered the city. The sky was grey, and so were the roofs, but it didn't stop people from living.

Rows of shops opened onto the street. She passed a bakery, a sweet smell drifting into her nose. Alexandra didn't stop. She'd eaten enough pastries in the past week to last her a lifetime. Even through the clouds, photosynthesis was feeding her enough that she wasn't hungry. When she reached the top of the stairs and stepped into the academy, she decided to go to the baths. For the first time, she did it of her own volition. She went down to the bath floor, found an empty room, and plunged into the warm water.

Her mind drifted. She hadn't slept in a while, so she took this chance for some rest. A few hours later, she stepped out and dried herself off. She smelled good and felt particularly clean. More than usual. Probably the malediction. Alexandra went back to her room and sat at her desk. She summoned her journal. A Face Among Many 4 -> 5 Running 5 -> 6 Sure Footing 9 -> 10 Mana Manipulation 5 -> 6 Curse Unraveling 3 -> 8 She smiled.

Sure enough, skipping sicknesses to go straight to maledictions proved to be a massive boon for Curse Unraveling. She'd also reached the maximum level on Sure Footing and would need to start thinking about an upgrade. Still, for a total of nine skill levels in such a short time, Streak Enhancement was already showing its worth. It wasn't responsible for everything, but it had to have helped. But as her eyes drifted to the next line, her smile morphed into a grimace.

Basic Hygiene: Bathe once a day for nine days in a row (9/9). Fucking system. The hell is this skill quest? Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. She hadn't paid attention to it when she received the skill quest. Out of principle. And the village she was in was attacked by Duskmaws right after anyway.

"Do I really need a skill for that?" She flipped the pages, looking for the description. Basic Hygiene: Passively applies the most basic hygiene. Each level increases the effect. She raised her eyebrows. This actually wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty good. That skill would definitely save her some time.

"What should I do now?" she said out loud.

"I could try locating the sickness, but failing would sour my mood." She paused.

"I'll wait for tomorrow." She turned the pages back to her status and pulled up her skill list. It was starting to be unwieldy. She thought it'd be nicer if the skills were sorted by grade. As if they were answering to her will, the words in the journal rearranged themselves.

General Skills: [Giant Slayer] (Rare) - 2 [Inflict Weakness] (Uncommon) - 8 [Dark Bolt] (Uncommon) - 9 [Life Curse] (Uncommon) - 11 [Drain Life] (Uncommon) - 1 [Curse Unraveling] (Uncommon) - 8 [Sickle Mastery] (Common) - 10 [A Face Among Many] (Common) - 5 [Combat Sense] (Common) - 9 [Sure Footing] (Common) - 10 [Running] (Common) - 6 [Mana Manipulation] (Common) - 6 [Reading] (Common) - 4 [Basic Hygiene] (Common) - 1 She smiled. That was better.

Alexandra read through her skills one by one, looking for those she had neglected. There wasn't much she could do to train Giant Slayer except fight above her rank. But she felt that there were better uses for her time at the moment. Inflict Weakness, Dark Bolt, Life Curse, and Curse Unraveling were all part of her regimen to cure her sickness along with the lessons from Tristan. She had started studying lifeforce at the library for Drain Life.

Sickle Mastery and Combat Sense fell under Kashin's purview with the stated goal to merge them with other weapon skills. She'd just reached the maximum level for Sure Footing and would need to see if the library had references for the skill. Perhaps merging it with Running would be a good option. A Face Among Many was progressing on its own just by her existing among other people. Reading, she wasn't worried about. Basic Hygiene was not critical.

For Mana Manipulation, she believed that she could do more, but she already had a class on the subject on top of her enchanting class. She nodded to herself. Things were coming along nicely. She checked her skill quests, too. Active Skill Quests: Diving Summon Lesser Fiend Basic Herbology Cleaning Swimming Sewing Sword Mastery Spear Mastery Alexandra put the two weapon skills on top of her list.

She was still way off merging them, and Kashin wanted her to acquire more, but the faster she started training them, the better. She didn't particularly care about the rest, though she made a note to start reading herbology books.

"I guess it's weapon training." She closed her journal and stood up as she dispelled it. She was walking down a corridor when she spotted Louis coming her way. He waved at her.

"You're here. I was just looking for you," he said, stopping in front of her.

"You were?" He nodded. Looked around them. The corridor was empty, filled with closed doors leading to individual rooms.

"Can we talk somewhere private?"

"Sure," she said.

"My room is two minutes away." She paused.

"I also have some good news to share."

"Oh?" Louis walked beside her.

"I'll tell you when we get there." Louis sat on the bed, Alexandra on the chair.

"Well, don't keep me waiting," he started.

"What's the good news?" He looked at her.

"No way. Don't tell me…" They spoke at the same time.

"I cleansed the malediction—""You took a bath—" Alexandra frowned.

"Hey. Well, I took a bath too. But how is that news?"

"Sorry." Louis rubbed his head.

"That's great. How did you do it?" Alexandra explained how she got the malediction to consume itself.

"That's not something I expected, for sure. Though I guess it sort of makes sense in hindsight. Only sort of, but I'm no expert on curses." She shrugged.

"I got a hint from Raymond." Louis' smile vanished. She raised an eyebrow.

"It's about what I wanted to tell you."

"Is it related to Raymond?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No. Well, sort of. I've been asked to accompany the delegation representing the Keeper of the Iron Ink to the pantheonic conclave."

"Pantheonic what?"

"Conclave. It's an annual meeting between the seven orders that takes place in Samarand."

"Raymond is going?" she asked.

"No. Our delegation will be headed by the high priestess of Tash." She frowned.

"High priestess. That's new." Louis laughed.

"Well, there were religious leaders before the heroes arrived. She's taken a different role since the Magus stepped up, but she's still a powerhouse." Alexandra nodded.

"So you meant to say you'll be gone for a while. When's the departure?"

"In a few days." Louis paused.

"But that's not why I came to you." She looked at him.

"I've learned that some heroes are planning to attend in person this year," he said. She opened her mouth.

"Including Li—" Louis burst into motion, clamping his hand on her mouth.

"Don't say her name." She grabbed his arm and yanked his hand away.

"It's fine. Raymond told me it wasn't real." Louis lowered his hand slowly.

"What exactly did he say wasn't real?"

"The binding on her name. He said he made it all up to annoy her."

"And you trust that."

"He had no reason to lie to me about it."

"Fine," he said at last.

"I'd still rather not." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Are you sure it's a good idea to go? If she's there…"

"I have to." Louis leaned back.

"After what she did to my village. I want to see her face again and burn it into my mind." Alexandra put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know. But you are aware that you're no match for her. Right?" He nodded.

"I'm not reckless. I'm only going to take a look, remind myself of who I'm fighting." He paused.

"Her time will come. I know it."