Wild Era 3, Ch 18: Six Weeks

This time, it took Kelin six weeks to reach his goal. 

Getting Ice Resistance had been easy, but Dark was a struggle. He had plenty of food and supplies, but the drain of the nothingness weighed on his spirit.

Experience warned him that staying for too long wouldn’t be good. He was too wise to risk it, so he left the dungeon every few days to remind himself of brighter things.

The resort was useful for the purpose and it gave him a decent amount of time to work on other things in between. 

He settled into a cycle where he spent two days in the dungeon, followed by two to three at the resort where he rested and recovered his energy, enjoying what the place had to offer.

He spent many hours on his balcony, watching the sunlight and the storms change places. Whenever the clouds broke, sunlight and jeweled vistas replaced them, revealing endless sands and waves, and making it clear where the Emerald Coast got its name.

It was a beautiful place. A shimmer of mana meeting from the waves and the sky lent everything depth and richness, making the ocean shine like a gem.

He sipped his coffee as he appreciated the view. The flavor was dark and bitter, but touched with a lighter brightness.

The time here gave him a chance to meet his neighbors and to see the other visitors at the resort, which opened his eyes to the wider scope of the region, as well as to the politics of Stormhill and the ocean.

There were a dozen merchant families and a handful of nobles staying at the resort, as well as a few famous adventurers, including a retired one at the Third Evolution.

There was even one group that he was pretty sure were pirates and who had a bounty on their head. They were in disguise, but they couldn’t escape his ability to read their souls directly.

They were masquerading as a merchant group, but they were rough around the edges. They spent their time watching the ocean and studying a few of the merchants and nobles around them, either looking for prey or with something else in mind.

There was a captain at Level 210 in charge, two lieutenants or mates around Level 150, and then half a dozen crew members around Level 110 that made up the total.

It was a decent force for the area, strong enough to overwhelm a small merchant group unless they had expensive guards, and it probably wasn’t all of the people that the pirates had access to.

Kelin kept an eye on them as he waited to see what their plan was, since it might lead to more interesting things. They might not try anything by the time he left, but if they did, he would deal with it.

Either way, he would clean up on his way out.

His favorite group ended up being a merchant family who had a villa next to his. They had a couple of young kids who tried to climb over Kelin’s wall one day to see who he was.

He saw them from his balcony, sipping his coffee as he watched two sets of brown hair and an argument tumble over the shrubs. Half-hissed comments accompanied their efforts as they pushed and pulled each other over the shrubs and fell into his garden.

They promptly got stuck in the protective ward, which hung them in the air like two marionettes and made them futilely spin in place. 

An alarm went out to the resort security, but Kelin chuckled as he silenced it. If he let the guards come, things would blow out of proportion and their parents might get in trouble too. 

He was in a good mood, so he decided to walk down to the garden to see what they were up to.

“How’s the weather there?” he asked, feeling amused as he stopped by them. 

At this distance, he could see that they were perhaps ten and eight years old, an older boy and a younger girl, both spritely and looking very frustrated that they couldn’t escape from the ward that was keeping them floating in place.

“Hey mister,” the boy said immediately, his eyes brightening as he caught sight of Kelin. “If you let us go, we’ll tell you a secret!”

“A big secret,” the girl agreed. “Huge! It’s about the noble who lives here, but he’s gone a lot! We came to see!”

“A secret?” Kelin asked, playing along as he reached out to disable the ward. “That sounds like a good deal. What’s special about him then?”

At his gesture, the ward fell apart and the two children dropped to the ground, which was only a few inches away. They caught themselves immediately, but instead of answering the question, they sprinted toward the wall.

“Run for it!” the boy shouted as he leapt for the hedge. His sister was hot on his heels.

A gust of wind swept up both of them and hung them back in the air. Kelin left them to float there again as he walked over.

“Ahh, dang,” the boy grumbled as he swatted at the air. He looked disappointed that his escape hadn’t worked. “I hate being stuck.”

“I told you this wouldn’t work!” the girl complained. “We needed to do it at night. Why did you want to do it during the day?”

“I was bored!” the boy said as he folded his arms. “And you agreed!”

“Alright you two,” Kelin said, holding back a laugh. “This time you’re not escaping so easily. What are you up to?”

It didn’t take too long to get the story out of them, although it came in pieces and was accompanied by bursts of scattered other ideas.

It seemed that his presence as Baron Verasun and a Knight of the Path wasn’t as secret here at the resort as he’d thought. After the first few days, almost everyone had heard about it and knew that he was staying here.

Identification abilities made that sort of thing fairly common, but given that he hadn’t talked to many people, either the management or the servants must have leaked it, probably for a bit of silver.

Since no one had managed to talk to him yet, there was quite a bit of speculation as to what he was here for. 

These two kids had overheard it and decided to take matters into their own hands.

He wasn’t too put out about it really.

“What are your names?” he asked as he waved his hand and let the two of them settle back to the ground, but this time he kept a current of wind around them so they couldn’t run off again.

“I’m Petru,” the boy said immediately. Then he pointed at his sister. “This is Yalena.”

Petru stared at Kelin, his eyes bright and curious. 

“You’re the baron knight, aren’t you?” he asked. “I thought you were a guard at first and that you were pretty nice for a guard, since you didn’t yell at us at all, but then I remembered the baron didn’t come with any guards, so you must not be one.”

“How could he be a guard?” Yalena asked, looking exasperated as she folded her arms. It made her look much older than her age.

“Look how he’s dressed! That’s not a guard’s clothing. Mother will be so upset you missed that detail. She keeps telling you to pay better attention.”

“I saw the clothes!” Petru said, scowling at her. “I thought he was a mage guard! Look at all that magic stuff! I don’t know any nobles that look that much like mages and knights should have a sword, so who else would he be?”

He paused and looked at Kelin more closely.

“You are the baron, right?” he asked again, but this time a bit more dubiously.

“Yes, I’m the baron,” Kelin replied, still amused. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your parents.”

He rounded the kids up and delivered them back to their own villa, which was next door.

That was how he ended up meeting their parents, the merchants Taren and Esla. 

Taren was a cheerful man with a boisterous laugh, while Esla had a bright laugh and watched the world around her with meticulous attention.

A few minutes later, after several apologies and some double-checking to make sure he wasn’t really annoyed with their children, they welcomed him into their parlor.

Petru and Yalena wanted to stay too, but they were firmly shooed out to be watched more closely by their teacher and guards. 

Their parents tried to apologize again, but Kelin waved it away.

“They didn’t intend any harm,” he said. “Don’t worry about it at all.”

“We travel a lot,” Taren said, chuckling ruefully, “so they think the whole world is theirs to explore. They’re always looking for new things to do.”

“Master Relar can give them extra lessons for the next few days all the same,” Esla said, shaking her head. “They need to learn what’s not appropriate.”

Despite her words, her tone was fond.

Looking at the two of them, it was clear where the children got their good nature.

Taren picked up a pitcher of iced fruit juice from a silver tray and poured it into a crystal goblet, which he offered to Kelin.

“Try this ocean fruit and cucumber lemonade,” he offered. “It’s very refreshing and difficult to find. The fruit comes from the famous deep sea gardens in the Kingdom of the Depths to the north.”

Kelin accepted the goblet and held it up to the light. There was a deep sapphire and swirling emerald color in the drink, as well as a trace of mana. 

“Very pretty,” he agreed. “I haven’t traveled much to the north. The Kingdom of the Depths is the merfolk’s kingdom, right?”

“Yes, the legitimate merfolk,” Esla agreed, smiling at her husband. “We do quite a bit of trade with them, as well as in the gemstones that the coast here is famous for.”

“They have some rebels as well,” Taren added to clarify. “Like those sirens in the northwest. They set up their own rival kingdom of sorts, which is why that area’s called Siren’s Run. It’s near Free Pirates Cove and a dangerous area. We don’t have anything to do with that part, and I wouldn’t take the kids anywhere near there. The southern part here is fairly safe, so this is where we stay.”

“So you’re the new Baron Verasun?” Esla asked, changing the subject with a fond look at her husband. “You have a deep connection to the dungeon trade, I hear? What is that like for you?”

She was fishing for information and probably for trading potential with him, but Kelin didn’t mind. 

He spent a pleasant hour chatting with both of them and learned quite a bit about local matters, which was beneficial, but he didn’t stay too long, just enough to be polite and make a connection.

Instead, he accepted their offer to meet them again in a few days.

Before he left, he considered giving them a warning about the pirates that were closer than they thought, but in the end he decided not to. 

If he revealed them now, Taren and Esla would probably tell the guards and without someone like him to see through the disguises, the pirate group might get away.

At the very least, they would be tipped off and change their plans.

That meeting turned into a regular thing and he made a point to visit each time he returned from the dungeon.

Sometimes they dropped by his villa as well, since it had a quieter and more peaceful arrangement.

They were only at Level 130 and 110, but that was respectable for merchant classes, since they leveled slowly from the deals they made.

It turned out they had wide-flung shipping channels and a stake in the gemstone trade off the coast. Their information on most things was up-to-date.

It was no harm for Kelin to help them out a little with connections to the guild and some of his resources in Highmist, but he didn’t pay too much attention to the matter, only setting up an appointment between them and Jesra, since she was managing the Verasun estate.

They swiftly arranged a few shipping contracts and other details that could benefit both sides, as well as the nascent academy. It was mostly ocean goods flowing south to Highmist and a few dungeon items and other luxury items flowing north.

Kelin checked over the contracts and saw no issues, so he approved them all.

After that, they were firm friends.

He met a number of other people at the resort too, including most of the nobles, since they started to send him invitations once they saw he wasn’t completely closed off.

It seemed this resort was well-known as a meeting place and considered to be neutral territory, so quite a few nobles visited it for both political and personal reasons.

He ended up attending a few dinner parties, which was enough that he got to know most of the people, but he kept most of the interactions to a minimum. 

His attention was on the dungeon and his personal progress.

After the first month, he had to scrounge up another thousand gold to pay for his villa, but it wasn’t difficult.

He dropped by Stormhill and took a guild quest to clear a Level 175 dungeon that was close to breaking. 

It only took him half a day as he let Wildfire rage through the entire place. 

With the level difference, the result was a scant four levels, but thanks to the high mana density the loot was worth about twenty thousand gold, which refilled his funds.

That took him to Level 184.

A few weeks later, the guild asked him to do the same again for another dungeon that was at Level 180. 

They didn’t have too many adventurers who were able to do it and it needed to be cleared immediately, so he accepted.

That one took him to Level 190 and boosted his funds by another thirty thousand.

Ten levels was a small enough impact that it didn’t disrupt his plans.

The Challenge rewards from those two dungeons were mostly treasure items, none of which he needed, so he sold them off to the guild, but there was one Ability upgrade.

He used it on Soul Star and took it to Elite.

Neither of the dungeons distracted him much from his resistance training.

The repeated trips into the Edge of Night stimulated his physique and soulfire and eventually his body got over whatever hurdle there was to acquiring a Dark Resistance and began to adapt. 

It was almost like the flames were raging against their opposite.

Eventually, on his fifteenth visit, he finally succeeded.

He sat in the darkness, wearing almost nothing as the waves of darkness ebbed against his skin. They didn’t do much damage, only hissing softly like scales brushing against silk.

When he first came here, the darkness had been like cold acid eating away at his vitality. 

Now, it barely got any purchase.

The notification echoed in his mind.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire.

You have gained the Innate Ability: Dark Resistance (Basic).

This is a rare resistance. 

You have no natural affinity for Darkness, which normally would have prevented you from obtaining it at the First Evolution, but you have succeeded due to Traits and Law Fragments that you possess.

This resistance is now imbued with the Law of Soulfire, granting it the opportunity to rise to the Legendary tier.

As a result of your extensive training, the Law Fragments you drew on for this resistance have also fused more completely with your spirit.

From the Law of Soulfire, you have gained the Trait: Darkvision.

Your soul illuminates the dark. You are now able to see in darkness as easily as in daylight.

Kelin’s eyes tingled as he felt the changes taking place. He had been able to see well enough before, especially with his mana and soul sight, but now the land around him leapt into clarity.

The subtle hues of the darkness showed themselves and took on a depth of shade and meaning they hadn’t held before, like an entire palette of new colors had just opened up to his eyes, except all of them were between black and darker black.

It was a strange perspective, but intimately familiar, as if he’d always known it was there.

The change didn’t stop after that. It swiftly spread through his entire body, subtly adjusting his mana and spirit so that darkness had less influence on him.

When it finished, the Path spoke again.

From the Law of Endless Flame, you have gained the Trait: Enduring Spirit.

Your spirit has been tempered by your stay in darkness. The flames that make up your soul shine more brightly and are infused with a sense of presence that cannot be dimmed by your surroundings. You have gained 20 Wisdom.

As that trait settled in, the oppressing nature of the darkness faded away, making it feel like he was sitting in a field or somewhere else in nature. 

The trait came with a sense of optimism that embodied life and his spirit had become more lively as a result.

The waves of darkness were no less deadly, but they bothered him less. He could appreciate them like they were breezes flowing through the area.

“So, that was why,” he said as he looked at the notifications. 

Darkness was one of the more esoteric elements, but if he’d had an affinity for it, he would have acquired the resistance more quickly.

Instead, his Laws had needed to stand in, something that was very rare at this Evolution, since they were far from complete, but it didn’t matter now.

The result was enough.

The traits were a good bonus.

He dusted himself off and released his aura, driving away the darkness that was pressing against him, which instantly left him more content.

As he got dressed, he looked around the area, taking in the changes to his sight.

This part of the dungeon no longer looked like a black expanse of nothing. He could see statues and buildings, ravines and mountains.  

Many of the statues were intricately carved, but with details that only now stood out to his sight, like an image of shells on a beach that looked scattered and strange, but which became clear as soon as the waves of the ocean covered it.

Whoever had created these things, they’d been very familiar with the depths of darkness and of how Darkvision saw the world.

About a mile ahead of him, a stone-paved road led into the distance, pointing to some edge of things. 

It wasn’t one of the normal Challenges that he could sense, but now that he had some more familiarity with Darkness, he could feel that something was at the end.

“Interesting,” he said as he looked around.

He hadn’t cleared this dungeon yet, but he had gained resistances to the two main elements here.

This dungeon had Darkness, Ice, and Shadow elements, which meant Shadow was left, but based on his scouting, there was nothing like a Shadow area where he could let the environment do the job.

If he wanted a shot at it, he’d have to find the specific monsters that used it.

After how long it had taken to get Dark Resistance, he wasn’t sure he would manage it, but he wasn’t concerned.  It wasn’t like there was a lack of Shadow-using undead.

If this dungeon didn’t do the trick, another one would. It was just a matter of time.

Darkness was the stronger of the two elements and the original source, so it should help to resist some shadow techniques.

He looked at the road into the darkness and then back at the Challenge and the dungeon boss he could sense in the icy region.

The question was which path to take, but it only took him a moment to decide.

He set off toward the stone road, whistling a tune that was at complete contrast to the darkness around him.

First, he’d find out what was down there and then he’d clear the rest of the dungeon.

He only had ten levels left until his Second Evolution.

This should be enough to get there.