Chapter 23 [A Stroke of Luck?]

I smiled wryly down at the Card in my hand. The chances for a Card to drop weren’t the best, but if one were to drop, I had a fifty-fifty shot at it being a Pure Summon.

“Ha. An Ability Card.” I turned to Nathaniel and flashed him an amused grin. “Shouldn’t come as a surprise since I’ve always had the rottenest luck. Seems that even an Origin Card made just for this can’t turn that around.”

Nathaniel glanced up long enough to give me a nod and then returned to carving out the female Beast’s body. I turned away and watched as Aurora and Locke moved from corpse to corpse, removing shards of Essence as they went. Even the distance between us couldn’t dampen the sound of the overenthusiastic boy chattering about the skirmish he’d just been through.

Interesting. For such a spirited lad, he carried himself better than I expected. Didn’t hesitate to follow any of Aurora’s commands and was only briefly nervous at the start. And as potent as that Spell was with only a Level Three Intelligence… A gem worth polishing indeed.

A sudden weight fell on my shoulder, and I looked over to find Nathaniel standing beside me—once again having not made a sound during his approach. He frowned slightly before releasing his grip.

Hoho. Upset by my lack of reaction, are we? I nonchalantly leaned on my cane, pretending not to have noticed his disappointment.

“Our luck wasn’t all bad,” he stated simply, then held up a Card with a purple backing.

I fought back the surge of elation that threatened to burst free and gently took the offered Card from the man. On its face was a small brown creature with big black eyes and pointed ears the size of its head. Its body was slender, and it had large feet protruding from its back legs. A short, fluffy tail rested neatly on its bottom.

[Card Name: Lepus, Noxious]

[Class: Summon]

[Rank: Pure]

[Level: 1]

[Essence: 0/1,000]
[Name: Unnamed]

[Description: The Wielder Summons a Lepus companion. All mental Foundations must be of an equivalent Level or higher than the Level of the Summon.]

[Duration: 15 minutes]

[Cooldown: 30 minutes]

[Skill 1: Aurul Synergy. Through its bond with the Summoner, the Lepus’ already sensitive hearing is enhanced based on the Summoner’s Level of Perception. Once per Summoning, for up to 2 minutes times the Level of the Lepus, everything heard by the creature can be shared with its Summoner.]

What an interesting specimen. Its first Skill is the same as an existing Spell in the Compendium. Though the Effect may not last as long as what the Spell provides, this Beast’s enhanced hearing more than makes up for it. And by Level Five it will have the same duration as the Spell.

I tapped my cane lightly against the ground while I considered its potential.

It’s sure to gain some of its more deadly Skills as it Levels but they will mostly consist of damage over time Effects. I feel what I’m envisioning for my own build will have enough of that. As for this Skill…

David alone provides more than I could have ever hoped for in the ways of communication and espionage. I do want at least a dozen Summons in my final build… Hmm…

Ahem!

I snapped my head up to see Aurora standing an arm’s length away with both hands pressed against her hips. One of her eyes was raised and she was looking at me expectantly.

“Well…” she began, “Care to share with the rest of the class?”

Nathaniel averted his eyes, and I heard Locke snicker from somewhere behind me. I shook my head and laughed.

“You’ll have to excuse me… it seems my mind slipped away for just a moment. Here you are.” I handed the Card over to the young woman. “Everyone should take a look, then we’ll discuss what to do with it. How was the rest of the haul?”

Aurora gingerly took the Card—almost as if she were afraid to break it—then gestured over my shoulder me with her other hand. “He’s got it. There were fifty-seven corpses. Thirty-nine were Crazed, yielding one hundred ninety-five Essence and no Cards. The other eighteen were all Corrupted… and they were much more profitable. We got—"

“FourCards, Rowan!” Locke cut in loudly. I turned to find him bouncing up and down excitedly while waving said Cards out toward me. “One’s a sight better’n the rest, too. A Blessed Card! Can you believe it?!”

“Hardly…” I took the Cards from the boy, who was so worked up it seemed to hurt him to hold them still. “Four is already much more than I would have expected from such a small group. Let’s see… Dexterity… Leap… Leap again… Mephitic Fog…”

I studied the murky green cloud of smoke rising from the upturned palm pictured on the Card’s surface and sighed inwardly.

Advanced Card Compendium. Page four hundred sixty-three. Mephitic Fog, an advanced Spell form of Noxious Fumes—typically dropped by the Beasts found in the swamps between the Twenty-First and Twenty-Fifth Floors. A rare find on the lower Floors but nothing that can’t be found in most shops in the more populated areas of the Origin Floor. Considered an Uncommon drop.

“Color me surprised,” I muttered.

“Hmm…” Nathaniel’s unexpected growl next to my ear caused me to jump slightly. I caught the tail end of a smirk as I turned to face him. “It’s likely that the increased drop rate is my doing.”

I took a breath and bit back the scolding I wanted to give the young man—it was my own fault for being caught off guard. As amused as I usually found dour young man’s occasional antics, they reminded me just how far I had to go before reaching my previous peak.

“What do you mean, Nathaniel?” Aurora asked curiously while handing the newly obtained Summon over to Locke for inspection. His gaze locked with Aurora’s icy glare and the young man looked completely out of character as he cautiously reached for the Card. It wasn’t until the first drop of sweat formed on his brow that she released her grip. “Be. Careful.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Locke spluttered.

If I hadn’t already met her mother, I would’ve bet Essence on it having been Miss Warren after witnessing this side of her.

We both looked at Nathaniel, who’d flipped open his Deck Box during their exchange and pulled out a Card. Out of habit more than anything, I glanced at the opened box and noticed that there were no more than half a dozen free slots available… and just as he’d said, nearly every card resting within was lined with the bright yellow of an Enhancement. My gaze shifted to the Card on his palm…

[Card Name: Luck]

[Class: Enhancement]

[Rank: Sacred]

[Level: 2]

[Essence: 0/10,000]

[Description: Increases the drop rate of all Cards within the Tower. The Wielder must deal the final blow.]

[Effect 1: Drop rate increased by 20% of existing rate.]
[Sacred Effect: As a Sacred Enhancement, the Effects of this Card are extended to all members of the Wielder’s Party.]

“I was unsure whether my Origin Card’s Effects would apply before the Sacred Effect but after seeing the results…” Nathaniel nodded toward the Cards I was holding.

“Put that away before someone sees!” Aurora hissed, then pushed his hand toward his side while her eyes darted around the foliage. “You’ve been walking around with thatthis entire time? Why am I not surprised? Between you and Rowan our Party might as well be a walking Essence mine!”

Nathaniel stared down at Aurora’s hands wrapped around the Card… and coincidentally, his own hand. It took every ounce of will that I possessed not to comment on how rapidly the young man’s cheeks went from tan to red. He carefully removed his hand from hers and placed the Card back in its slot.

“Uh… Mm… No. No. I only recently decided to use my last Promotion on it after mine and Rowan’s discussion.” Nathaniel swiftly regained his composure.

“Promotion? What discussion?” Aurora asked, her tone full of confusion.

I looked at the canopy above to find the last vestiges of light catching only the upper branches. With a wave of my hand, I cast Cleanse on the flattest section of the battlefield, then watched as the blood and fluids turned to vapor in the Spell’s light.

More than I could handle yesterday. This rate of improvement… I studied my hand for a moment, then shook my head and gestured to the others. “A bit early but let’s set up here for tonight. We have much to discuss, and what better place to do so than around a warm fire.”

***

I listened to the crackling fire while sitting within Aurora’s Sphere of Silence. Unlike most Pure Spells, it would persist until either it was recalled by the Wielder who cast it or until another living being not already within upon its casting broke the Sphere’s perimeter. Those marked by the initial casting could freely move in and out of the semi-transparent bubble without breaking its Effects. With the variable length of the cooldown—being half the duration the Spell was left intact—it was one of the most efficient utility Spells in the Compendium despite it being a common drop.

Nathaniel’s Cube of Obscurity sat on a small stool he’d pulled from his storage space and was the current focus for the Sphere of Silence. I was only half-listening as the young scion explained Promotion Relics and secret tasks to a slack jawed Aurora and Locke. While he was going into more detail than he had back at the inn, my memory would allow me to replay the scene at any time as if it were a current event.

“I was afraid Nathaniel would regress to his usual silent disposition once Locke joined.” My heart warmed seeing the young man opening up to others of his age. The weight on the boy’s shoulders was lessening every day and a more youthful side of him was beginning to show.

“You’re smiling again,” David’s ethereal voice poured through our link and his amused, ghostly visage emerged from the ground beneath me.

“Hoho! How can I not, lad?” I retorted. “Just look at how he’s grown in such a short time! His youth squandered away… So much potential wasted… His family ought to be ashamed! Hmph! Well, not this time.”

David rose from the earth completely and took a seat on the empty space before me. His amusement was gone. “You’re changing too, you know.”

I raised an eye, then looked down at myself. Though I was never completely malnourished, I’d also never gotten what I’d needed to grow properly. Throughout my Academy years I pushed my mind and body both much too far for the sustenance that I received. It was never any fault of the Academy… I’d never told anyone of my predicament.

Over the months since my return my body had indeed changed. My suit—somewhat loose when I’d left Mister Mekelian’s—now fit snugly around my shoulders and chest. I was nowhere close to Nathaniel’s physique and likely never would be but every trace of the gaunt young man I’d been before graduation was gone. I smoothed out a small crease in my waistcoat and nodded.

“I would say so. Between the heartier meals and the large amount of Essence I’ve invested in such a short time, it oughtn’t take long for my body to reach its peak.” I clenched my fists and felt my sleeves tighten against my forearms. Another month, perhaps…

“I didn’t mean your muscles, Boss.” David waggled his tiny pointer finger, then tapped the center of his chest with it. “In here. Your soul is changing.”

Unsure what the boy was getting at, I motioned for him to explain.

“Hmm…” David swayed back and forth slightly before flipping upside down without moving from his seated position. “When we first met—while you were living through my memories—I could hear your thoughts. Your soul’s voice sounded like an old man’s. Not just old… reeeaalllyy old. Spectral Connection lets our souls converse. When you first Summoned me, your soul sounded old but not as old as when I first heard it. Now? You sound a lot more like you do when you talk… Mostly.”

“Is that so...?” I asked, not really wanting or expecting an answer. He remained silent while I considered this revelation. My soul was sent back to this body… Is my soul changing to fit the container? Or… could it be that my soul didn’t replace my original like I’d feared? Are they merging? The only person I knew outside of either Church who studied such matters is a mere tyke today.

I raised my cane and gently rubbed the cold handle against my temple. It was then that something occurred to me. “David… if souls can experience such changes, why are you still exactly the same as you were when you died? Wouldn’t you have grown in some way over the millennia?”

“I’ve had a long, long time to think about that. I told you there was one other person I considered leaving with… He did have an idea—one that’s stuck with me for many years.” The spectre’s eyes changed slightly, and it no longer felt as if he were looking at me but rather something else, something only he could see. “He said that souls didn’t change based on our physicality. He told me that despite our size or shape or age… our souls will always reflect how we see ourselves. That man was the first to ever speak with me… and the only one until I met you who saw me as a person. So many years…”

The bridge between us was cut and David’s body phased out of existence as his Card’s duration ended. My breath turned icy as a flood of emotions poured into me. Anger. Sadness. Doubt. Pride. A whispered thought followed the jarring sensation.

“I wanted to be the same person… the next time we met…”

My skin crawled and my body shivered. Whether it was from the intense feeling or the chill that came with it, I didn’t know.

“Rowan… Ya alright there, pal? Yer lookin’ a bit pale.” Locke waved his hand slowly back and forth in front of me.

“I’m quite alright,” I assured him.

“If ya say so…” he said, doubtfully. “Come on an’ say yer part. Nat ‘ere said ya ‘ad somethin’ to add.”

“I do indeed.” I patted the boy’s shoulder, then unclipped my Deck Box from my hip. “I’m familiar enough with each of you.”

“It’s time to show our hands and make plans for our return to the Origin Floor.”