Magic_Smithing
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Ch: 62
🕑 Added 2020-11-05 16:24:08 +0000 UTC“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” I scream as I wake up within my soul.
I twitch on the simulated forest floor as pain overwhelms my entire being. I reach up and try to strangle myself and slam my head upon the ground, trying desperately to stop the pain in any way possible.
The forest around me is bubbling and shifting as it absorbs large whisps of experience that are floating throughout my soul.
The ground cracks, shatters, and mends itself countless times over.
“Make it stop!” I scream at the top of my lungs, tears clouding my eyes.
Overhead, I watch the stary night sky itself crack and disintegrate, leaving a vast emptiness of white behind instead of the night sky I’m used to.
The moons hang in the vast emptiness, undeterred by everything shifting around them. Most of the moons start to shift off into the distance out of sight, but two familiar moons remain above me.
I know what happens next, “Yessss, get me out of here!”
I shift onto my back and lay spread out, looking up at the eyes, forming overhead.
“Please, let me leave!” I wine.
The two eyes stare down at me, but nothing happens. I focus on the eyes overhead, trying to block out the pain, but it isn't working.
I barely notice when the irises of the eyes start to glow. A ball of white flames drips out of one of the eyes, while a ball of black flames comes out of the other. The flames cascade out of the eyes into the void, making it look like they’re crying fire.
I hope the flames will land on my soul and burn everything away, releasing me from this torment. The two flames fall together and even circle one another in an intricate dance that I can’t appreciate with my current state of mind.
The flames drift through the white void in my direction. Considering they came from the giant eyes, I thought the balls of fire would be massive in size, but as they get closer to me, I see they’re both only ten feet in diameter.
I watch as the flames touch the ground a few feet from me. I expect an explosion, but nothing happens.
I roll over and start crawling towards the flames, screaming insults as I go. "Why can't you ever do what I want you too!? Always watching me struggle, always getting in my way. Screw the two of you and let me die!"
“You dare speak to us like that, insect!” The white ball of fire erupts in light, and a powerful ethereal voice resonates throughout my soul. Brief flashes of memories of my birth fill my head as the voice yells at me.
I can't move as my body becomes limp to the floor, and an unbelievable pressure descends over my entire soul.
“Sister, really? You feel the need to expend your power over this creature?” A cold voice that draws up memories of my death follows the second, and it is no less powerful. Darkness clashes against the light, messing with my vision.
“It cursed us as we appeared. Punishment must be administered."The pain from my growing soul becomes even worse with every word from the disembodied voice, causing my mind to reel in torment.
“Sister, you’re always quick to anger like brother Aptis. It’s in pain, and like all animals, it is lashing out. If you heal it, its attitude will surely change.” The voice of death sounds oddly caring during my torment.
Twitching on the ground, I’m able to sift myself and set my eyes on the two balls of flames in time to watch them shift into avatars of light and darkness. Much like the soul eater, they don't have any features, but I get the distinct feeling they’re female.
“Fine,” the avatar of light says in a displeased manner. She reaches down to my souls' surface, and once her hands of light touch the ground, the world stops trembling. All the remaining lingering experience is sucked into my soul at an incredible speed, and my soul mends itself in the blink of an eye.
With one movement of her hand, the avatar of light washes away all the pain I was feeling, and my mind once again becomes clear.
“There, now we should be able to converse with it on some level.” The voice of death sounds pleased.
With the pain gone like it was never there, I’m able to comprehend what I see fully—an avatar of light, brimming with life, and an avatar of darkness that radiates death. I have no doubts about who these two are.
I struggle to move under the pressure emanating from the two goddesses, but I manage to make it onto my knees none the less. “Greetings to Goddess Ilia and Goddess Ebeon,” I bow my head and politely greet the two gods.
“So, know that it isn’t in pain; it finally recognizes our greatness.” I tremble, listening to the goddess of life speak.
“Do you still wish to kill it, sister?” The avatar of black flames asks her fellow goddess. When the god of death mentions killing me, I’m assaulted by hundreds of visions of ways I could die.
Every instinct tells me to stay silent, but if I don't say something now, I’m sure one of these goddesses will kill me.
"I am deeply sorry for offending you, goddesses. This lowly one wasn't in their right mind and offered insult to you. I beg for your forgiveness, though this creature is not deserving.” I beg for my life, trembling with every word.
I don't dare to look up at the avatars directly, but I can feel their powerful gazes on me.
“Look at how it trembles, sister.” Ilia turns to Ebeon. This is not how I imagined the goddess of life from my mother’s stories.
I feel the pressure emanating from the avatar of black flames surround me and completely cover me. “Let’s get this over with. I don’t wish to waste more energy on this mortal.” I want to run away from the goddess, but her pressure holds me in place.
"As you wish, sister." The avatar of withe flames looks at her sister and then back towards me. “Rejoice, for I have deemed you too insignificant to kill. May you further enjoy life.” It’s hard for me not to grimace as the goddess of life starts to laugh at me.
It takes everything I have not to bite back with a snarky remark. "I am eternally grateful goddesses, but if you'll permit me to ask, why have you come to see me?"
Ilia continues to laugh at me. "You think we wanted to meet you. You think highly of yourself, mortal."
“I meant no offense,” I quickly reply.
I try to appease them again, but Ilia cuts me off. “These are merely projections of our will. Every mortal creature meets with a god when they unlock a mythic skill.”
"Mythic Skill?" I repeat, not understanding what she's saying.
If a faceless being could frown, I’m sure the avatar of light would be doing just that. “Have you mortals changed the name again?”
“I don’t know what you…”
“It’s fine,” she cuts me off again. “I’ll just check your memories,” she casually states.
"What!" I immediately panic, but the two avatars pay me no mind.
Ilia points her hand at the ground, and tendrils of white flames extend into my soul. Mental Resistance doesn't even activate as I feel her shuffling through my head. I grit my teeth as not to cry out in pain and risk insulting the gods again.
The goddess quickly retracts her flames, leaving me feeling exposed all over.
“Oh! Sister, look at this!” The goddess of light excitedly offers her hand to the avatar of darkness.
The two avatars momentarily lock hands, and the forest around me quickly ages, dies, and regrows in an instant. After the trees fully regrow, my soul feels lighter, and the empty feeling from sacrificing my Vitality is gone.
Did they just!?
The avatars separate, and the feeling vanishes. Neither seems to notice or care that they healed a part of me, I thought I lost.
“Most intriguing, you remember being touched by death,”Ebeon’s avatar turns towards me. “I assumed your young form and large soul was because of antiaging magic, but you’ve experienced another life and death.” Ebeon’s words make me feel like I’m drowning.
They've seen my past life. This is my best chance to gain some answers, but either of these two could kill me with a thought if I overstep myself.
“For a mortal to experience two chances at life, you’re quite lucky,” Ilia says in a sing-song voice that doesn’t make me feel very lucky. Each time she speaks to me, it's belittling, but her voice brings with it a feeling of euphoria and life.
If I'm going to ask these two, anything, I’ll need to lay it on thick.
“If I may be permitted, can I ask such great beings as yourselves, do you know why I have memories of my past life?” I hold my breath, hoping they answer a question I’ve been pondering for 15 years.
I can feel Ebeon’s avatar focusing on me despite it not having any facial features while Ilia’s avatar raises a hand to its face like it is trying to stifle a giggle. “You wish to know for what great meaning you were chosen for?” Ilia’s avatar slowly walks over to me.
We’re already quite close, but every inch she gets closer to me, I feel smaller, until I feel like an ant waiting to be stepped on.
I’m still sitting on my knees when the avatar of white flames stops directly in front of me. She reaches out with her hand and caresses my cheek. I know this body is just a representation of my conciseness, but when she touches me, the world around me starts to fade away, and I can only focus on the avatar before me and the touch of her hand on my face.
I’m overcome by the divinity radiating off of the goddess and hang on every word she says. “You seek the same answers all mortals do. Why were you given life? Why were you chosen to remember your past self? It is quite simple, really.”
The faceless head of white flames leans down over me. “Luck,”she emphasizes.
Whatever spell she has over me is broken as a million emotions flutter through me. The goddess retracts her hand, and I'm once again in the clearing of my soul. "What you mortals call life is a never-ending stream of souls. When you die, your soul enters the River of Rebirth that connects all worlds, planes, and realms together. Time is meaningless in the River of Rebirth, and souls collide with each other until all memories fade away."
“But, how does that apply to me?” I can’t help but ask.
The longer I'm around the avatars, the more I can feel their shifting expressions despite their lack of features. The sense of displeasure I feel from Ilia causes me to bow my head in penitence.
“You would be wise not to interrupt me again,”the dark words from the goddess of light sends a tremor through my body. I hastily nod my head and keep my eyes cast down. “The River of Rebirth functions in the void between space and time. But, despite existing since the beginning of everything, it isn't perfect. Sometimes cracks appear in the river, and souls are dragged into oblivion, where they wander until they become nothingness. That's what happened to your soul."
"Judging by your memories, you entered the River of Rebirth and immediately were dragged into oblivion. But soon after an equally unprobeable thing happened, your soul escaped oblivion, bypassing your time in the river. Your soul must have exited close to this world, and you were reborn with your memories. Thus, I call you lucky. The chances of your soul entering and exiting oblivion so quickly after your death are close to 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. This is the first time I’ve seen such a thing.”
I get the feeling she’s trying to belittle me, but I can’t help but smile.
"That's curious; tell me, mortal, why do you smile upon hearing my answer? Those who've asked similar questions in the past are insulted by the knowledge I give and are usually infuriated. I just told you your life is meaningless; why does that make you happy?" Ilia’s powerful presence drills into me, pushing back against the hold Ebeon has over me.
I raise my head and smile at the bewildered avatar. "I mean no disrespect goddess; it's just nice knowing nothing is interfering with my life. I wasn't brought here to save the world or cause some great change. You say my life is meaningless, but that means I can decide it's meaning. All trials and tribulations I face are mine to deal with. Knowing how insignificant I am is a blessing, so I thank you."
“What a strange mortal,” I can tell Ilia is looking down on me, but for once, I don't care.
"Sister, we're using up a lot of energy; we need to finish what we came for," Ebeon reminds her sister.
The pressure from Ilia lessens as she turns her head and looks over her shoulder. "Yes, yes, I remember, dear sister. The knowledge I pulled from this mortal's mind was interesting, is all."
I can feel the pressure of her nonexistent gaze as she focuses back on me. "The reason the two of us are here is that you unlocked a tier 6 skill."
I did?! Thankfully, I manage to hold my tongue this time.
"Tier 6 skills work off of principles we gods command over. The skill you unlocked is a rare one that falls under both mine and my sister's domain. It's been 3,419 years since the last person obtained it, and after you slew him, you inherited the skill.”
I feel my blood run cold. That thing I killed was once a humanoid!?
I need to ask a question, but I can't interrupt her again, so I raise one of my hands like I'm back in school. If she has my memories, I'm sure she knows what the gesture means.
“Speak, mortal,” Ilia commands me.
"Pardon the interruption, but does that mean I'll turn into the monster I killed?" I try to use my manners, but I can't ask the question fast enough.
“Why do you think we sent our avatars to you in the first place?” Ilia berates me for what she thinks is a stupid question. "Using tier 6 skills mobilize the very laws we command, and of course, they have drawbacks when used by mortals. The Soul Devourer skill you obtained is no different.”
Soul Devourer, oh shit! Based on what Ilia has told me and the name, I think I know what it does.
“Using the skill, you can absorb souls of the nearly departed for their experience and life force if you so choose. But, at a price. Sister, would you like to take over?"
I watch with a growing sense of fear as the avatar of Ebeon walks up to me and joins her sister. Just her standing in front of me feels like a blade is hanging over my neck.
“The job of managing the souls of this world belongs to my sister and me. Those who feed off of souls may never die, but each soul they absorb will twist them. If you experience death after partaking in souls, it will be true death. Your soul will dissipate and never enter the River of Rebirth. That is the fate of those who hold the skill Soul Devourer.”Ebon explains in a warning tone.
I once again slowly raise my hand, hoping I'll have my question answered.
When neither goddess says anything after I hold my hand up for a long time, I decide that might be Ebeon’s go-ahead to ask my question.
“Great and powerful goddesses, I mean no disrespect, but is it possible for you to take the skill back?” I hesitantly ask.
I feel the emotions coming off of the avatars start to shift to incomprehension. "You wish to give up your skill. Why?"Ebeon asks in what sounds like disbelief. “You could live many times your own life. Even the longest of lived mortal races crave such a skill.”
I softly shake my head. “I do wish to live a long life, but not at the cost of turning into a monster. I’d rather live my life and enter the River of Rebirth when my time comes.” I honestly reply to the goddess of death. Though her aura is more off-putting, I, for some reason, find her more comfortable to deal with than Ilia.
"Then, it all depends on your greed,"Ilia tells me, and I can imagine a smile forming on her faceless avatar.
Ebeon must understand my confused look because she explains. "The skills primary use is to absorb the experience that would normally dissipate into the surroundings. Your predecessor started only using the skill for such but eventually started devouring his victims' whole souls to extend his lifespan beyond normal mortals. If you only use the skill to gather experience, you won't turn into a monster, and you'll be able to enter the River of Rebirth."
"That's if you don't give in to the temptation fist. Not many mortals give up on life when it's so retally available."The self-righteous aura coming off of Ilia is stifling, so I try to ignore her politely.
If Ebeon is to be believed, the skill itself won’t harm me if I don’t use it to its full potential.
The memories of before I was dragged into my soul surface in my mind, and I'm reminded of how crazed I was when I first obtained the skill. Can I handle the temptation?
“So, what will it be?” Ilia doesn’t give me much time to think over my options before demanding an answer.
I glance at the avatar of Ebeon, but other than a deathly calmness radiating off of her, I can't sense anything else.
Do I take the double-bladed sword, useful in the right hands, but one misstep and I'll harm myself?
I grit my teeth and steady my nerves. “I’ll keep the skill,” I proclaim.
“That’s a wise choice,” Ilia says in a musical voice that sets me on edge. “We don’t have the power to remove a skill from a mortal in this state. If we acknowledged your request, we would’ve had to kill you.”
What the fuck, I curse in my head. What is wrong with…
I immediately stop my train of thought as I slowly feel the pressure emitted by Ilia’s avatar start to turn sinister. Can they read my thoughts?!
I start to panic inside a little.
"We can't read your mind, but don't forget where we are, mortal. Your hidden emotions are as plain as day while we're here, and I can dive back into your memories if I wish to know what you were thinking about us. Keep thinking negative thoughts about me, and I'll help you remove your skill like you previously wished," the avatar of light threatens. The same kind of weight I felt from Ebon descends on me, sending me sprawled out on the ground.
“It’s time to go, sister. We’ve fulfilled our purpose.” Ebeon saves me from being crushed under her sister’s pressure by calling out to her.
“Fine, being confined in such a small soul is stifling anyways.”
The two avatars of flames start to hover and rise higher back to where the eyes are located in the sky. Damn it, I have so many more questions, but I don’t dare call out to the leaving deities.
Their pressure doesn't dissipate until they're quite far away from my soul. The night sky that usually envelops my soul slowly reforms, and I'm left looking up at the familiar two moons in the sky.
With the source of the pressure on my soul gone, I collapse into the fetal position on the ground. I don't know how long I stayed curled up, but I wait like that until my nerves calm down.
I try to process what just happened, but it all seems impossible to me.
I met not one but two gods, and they couldn’t care less about me. They looked at me like a child looks at a colorful bug. Thankful, they decided to leave me alone instead of squashing me or taking me home in a glass jar.
From facing the soul eater to meeting actual deities, my mind feels utterly taxed.
I can't sleep in my soul, but zoning out helps me a little to settle my mind.
Ever so slowly, I start to relax until I'm able to sit up.
Now that I'm slightly feeling better, I think I need to pull up my status page. When I feel a small chunk of my soul move to materialize my status page, I use Sense Soul, as usual, to make it more readable, but I can instantly feel a difference as I sort through the information.
Not only am I better at organizing the data, but I notice the vast amount of experience I gained.
LV: 72 Experience:774,374/ 911,219
Health: 2,120/2,120
Stamina 1,423/1,423
Mana:1,020/1,020
Vitality: 212.00
Endurance: 80.27
Strength: 135.09
Dexterity: 128.11
Senses: 62.31
Mind: 65.07
Magic: 102.46
Clarity: 78.55
Status Points: 80
Skills:
Tier 1:
Meditation (LV78), Running (LV74), Blacksmithing (LV69), Hammer Skills (LV57), Axe Skills (LV55), Cleaning (LV51), Chanting (LV50), Mining (LV48), Drawing (LV46), Trading (LV42), Cooking (LV39), Dagger Skills (LV31), Wood Carving (LV31), Acting (LV31), Sword Skills (LV31), Sewing (LV24), Pugilist Skills (LV4), Spear Skills (LV2)
Tier 2:
Sense Mana (LV79), Double Step (LV61), Charm (LV50), Measurement (LV46), Hammer Arts (LV41), Axe Arts (LV36), Writing (LV32), Intimidating Shout (LV31), Mathematics (LV30), Lower Price (LV20), Increase Price (LV17), Steady Hands (LV16), Dagger Arts (LV12), Sword Arts (LV14), Gourmet (LV7), Marching (LV5), Shout of Valor (LV1),
Tier 3:
Expel Mana (LV61), Mana Manipulation (LV58), Precise Strike (LV40), Double Strike (LV40), Weighted Strike (LV37), Flash Step (LV21), Contract (LV5)
Tier 4:
Mental Resistance (LV53), Mana Skin (LV52), Inject Mana (LV52), Extract Mana (LV30), Magic Blacksmithing (LV25), Empowered Spell (LV7)
Tier 5:
Sense Soul (LV37), Soul Manipulation (LV4)
Tier 6:
Soul Devourer (LV2)
Increased Skill Levels
Blacksmithing (LV68-69) 6,850exp
Hammer Skills (LV56-57) 5,650exp
Chanting (LV49-50) 4,950exp
Trading (LV42) 2,100exp
Cooking (LV39) 1,950exp
Sword Skills (LV29-31) 4,500exp
Sense Mana (LV79) 7,900exp
Hammer Arts (LV41) 4,100exp
Sword Arts (LV12-14) 3,900exp
Steady Hands (LV11-16) 8,100exp
Expel Mana (LV61) 9,150exp
Mana Manipulation (LV56-58) 25,650exp
Precise Strike (LV38-40) 17,550exp
Double Strike (LV36-40) 28,500exp
Weighted Strike (LV28-37) 48,750exp
Flash Step (LV20-21) 6,150exp
Mana Skin (LV52) 13,000exp
Inject Mana (LV51-52) 25,750exp
Mental Resistance (LV49-53) 63,750exp
Extract Mana (LV29-30) 14,750exp
Magic Blacksmithing (LV21-25) 28,750exp
Empowered Spell (LV8-9) 4,250exp
Sense Soul (LV34-37) 71,000exp
Soul Manipulation (LV1-4) 5,000exp
Soul Devourer (LV1-2) 3,000exp
Skill Experience:415,000exp
Crafting Experience:131,944exp
Fighting Experience: 5,775,835exp
Total experience Gained: 6,322,779exp
“Oh, gods!” I scream out as I look at my updated status page.
I cringe as soon as I say the words and look up at the moons floating overhead in fear; I might be smited at any moment.
When my soul isn’t obliterated, I figure the peeping deities are truly gone.
The fear of the god's retaliation distracted me for a second, but I'm soon back to freaking out over my stats.
"I gained eight levels," I say in between my heavy breathing. This isn't even my real body, and I feel like I'm hyperventilating.
Scanning my soul reveals, the total amount of experience I’ve gained since I was reborn has almost doubled. Killing the soul eater and absorbing a fraction of its experience was equivalent to me going from level 1 to level 63 all over again!
Usually, I would be freaking out about how much experience I got for making the general's arrow. Still, it's utterly incomparable to my skill level increases, and that's ignoring the experience I got from the soul eater.
But my level and experience aren't the only shocking thing.
Not only did Ilia heal the damage to my soul and Vitality, but whatever she did boosted my mental stats as well. I gained a few free stat points in Mind, Senses, and Clarity. Coupled with most of my skills rising multiple levels, especially those I used for forging the arrow and fighting the soul eater, my gains are so numerous that it's mindboggling.
Mental Resistance and Sense Soul alone accounts for 33% of the experience I gained from my skills, both jumping up five and four levels respectably.
I want to jump for joy, but my enthusiasm is blunted by my Heath, Mana, and Stamina values. Why are they all full? Did Ilia heal my physical body along with my mana as well?
Somehow, I doubt the goddess of life is that generous. Either something is wrong with my status page, or something happened to my body in the real world!
How long have I been in my soul!?
I leap to my feet and take off into the forest.
I need to get out of here now. Who knows how long my body has been unattended in the woods!
While I'm making my way to my sea of memories, I start to notice the subtle differences around me. The trees look more realistic, and I'm confident the forest has expanded a great deal. But even though everything looks more like the forest back home, I can better feel my skills and experience that make up my surroundings.
I glance at a tree I’m running past and see how it’s woven from different parts of my tier 1 and 2 skills.
At one point, I need to run around a tree, so I quickly round the trunk and push off with my hands to regain my speed. In the split-second, my hands pressed up against the tree, I felt it indent like it was made out of rubber and fling me forward.
“What the hell? What was that?” The only skill that’s worked in here is Sense Soul. Could this be from Soul Manipulation?
As I'm running, I stick my hands out and touch the trees I pass. If I focus, I can move and stretch the trees' parts like they're made of clay. I want to stop and experiment with my new skill, but I don't have time.
I keep running until I reach the rocky part of my soul, but I'm forced to slow down when I see what’s happened to the section of my soul that separates the forest from my sea of memories.
What was once an area covered in rocks and hills is now a mountain, towering into the sky.
I don’t have time for a leisurely hike.
I start sprinting up the mountain, making footholds for myself by manipulating the terrain underneath my feet using my new skill. As long as I focus, nothing in my soul can obstruct me.
As soon as I reach the ledge that leads to my memories, I dive over the cliff without a thought.
I sink into my memories, and I notice another change. I can see the general contents of the memories I'm floating past. Most are meaningless, but I spot a few memories from my previous life I wouldn't mind experiencing again.
No, I can’t do that right now. I dodge the memories that I’m about to sink into and head deeper into my soul.
"Come on, come on!" I look over my shoulder at the two moons hanging overhead.
After meeting the goddess, I think I’ve realized what the moons are. Neither of the deities knew of my existence, but they came into my soul through the eyes hidden inside the moons. Ilia said they control the laws governing the world, so the eyes must be a defense system, the two put in place to guard people's souls, including my own.
My skills counter the defense, but if I go deep enough, they grow stronger and eject me from my soul.
Like I hoped, as I move deeper into my soul, the moons quickly change their appearance and focus on me.
Typically when I'm forced into and out of my soul, it's instantaneous, but this time, I feel the eyes trying to eject me from my soul. I don't resist and let the two eyes do their job.
I feel my consciousness being pushed out of my soul and snap back into my body.
“SSSSSS,” I hiss through my teeth as I once again feel the sensations of my reel body. I’m not sore, but everything feels stiff.
I groan as I open my eyes.
Instead of being surrounded by trees in the forest, I'm wrapped in a rough blanket in someone's house. Well, at least that means someone found me.
Sense Mana flares to life as I scan my surroundings.
I quickly recognize where I am; I'm in Anastasia's clinic. The healer herself is resting in a chair nearby. Judging by the amount of mana in her body, she's almost tapped dry.
I try to call out to the resting woman, but I can only softly grunt because of my dry mouth.
I slowly move my right hand to the frame of the bed I'm on and start knocking. I practically have to smash the bedpost before Anastasia starts to rouse.
"What? The door is open; you don't have to keep knocking!” She yells with her eyes closed, thinking someone is at her front door.
I continue knocking until she growls and stands up in anger. Anastasia makes it halfway to her door before she realizes the knocking is coming from inside her house.
I'm the only patient here, so our eyes quickly meet.
"Oh, thank Ilia, you're awake!" I want to cringe when I hear her call out to a cerein goddess of life, but my body doesn't move as I want it to, making me feel like a fish out of water.
“Are you hurting anywhere? I can’t use any more of my magic, but I have a weak potion from the headman if you need it?" Anastasia asks as she walks over to the side of my bed.
"Water," I gasp out.
“What?” Anastasia can’t hear me.
I grasp at my throat, hoping she understands.
“You can’t breathe!?” She panics and tries to pry my mouth open.
I shake my head back and forth before she can stick her fingers in my mouth.
She stops when I start to thrash. “What’s wrong?” Anastasia doesn’t understand what I want.
I quickly scan the room again and notice a jug of water on a table across the room. I slowly raise my hand in its direction until Anastasia follows where I’m pointing.
"Oh, water," she dashes across the room and pours me a cup. Anastasia brings the water over to me and helps me drink. I feel my body starting to respond more, but everything still feels heavy.
After I drink every drop of water she gives me; I manage to ask, "what happened?"
"The village broke out in a panic after your mother started asking everyone where you were. Arash and Hayk said they saw you running around the village, but you soon disappeared after they talked to you.” Anastasia explains.
I was right; the soul eater already had me in its grasp long before I saw its doll.
“Almost every hunter was sent out to find you, but at some point, your tracks became hard to follow. The hunters said they felt a giant rush of energy and found you unconscious in a place they swore they already checked. You were brought to me, but you weren't harmed as much as everybody thought. But for some reason, no matter what I did, you wouldn't wake up. That was five days ago.”
“Five days!?” I exclaim.
Anastasia nods her head. “I’ve been keeping you healthy with my magic.”
“I guess I owe you twice now,” I say in a self-deprecating voice.
"You don't owe me anything," Anastasia tells me. "I might not interact with many people, but I know everything you've done for the village. Almost everyone stopped by at one point, asking how you were. I had to kick everybody out, including your mother, after she refused to leave your side for a moment." Anastasia makes a sour face; I'm sure mother didn't go quietly.
“I should go grab your parents now that you’re awake. Are you ok by yourself for a little bit?”
"My body is a little stiff, but it's slowly getting better," I tell her.
"That's to be expected; stay in bed and try not to move too quickly. I’ll be right back.” Anastasia grabs a coat and leaves her house.
“Five days unconscious, and everybody came to see me,” I repeat to myself.
All hell is going to break loose once Anastasia gets to my parents' house. I quickly pull up a part of my status page and distribute my points; I need to be ready for the flood of people coming to see me.
LV: 72 Experience: 774,374/ 911,219
Health: 2,400/2,400
Stamina 1,633/1,633
Mana: 1,020/1,020
Vitality: 240.00
Endurance: 100.00
Strength: 150.00
Dexterity: 145.00
Senses: 62.31
Mind: 65.07
Magic: 102.46
Clarity: 78.55
Status Points: 0
First, I put 28 points into Vitality and then 20 into Endurance, seeing how much I've come close to death recently. Then I put 15 points into Strength and 17 points into Dexterity to finish off my remaining Status Points.
My soul erupts in bright colors, nourishing my body. My limbs that just felt like they were made of lead feel light as feathers. My skin brightens as my Endurance rises by 25%, and my skin glows even more brightly with the extra Vitality.
I quickly become able to sit up as I start to feel better than ever.
Parts of my skin begin to flake and fall off onto my sheets, and the calluses on my hands start to soften. I want to cast magic to clean myself, but I can already hear villagers' voices coming closer.
I double-check my clothes to make sure I'm in decent shape. Mother must have brought me another pair of clothes because they're different than what I was wearing when I killed the soul eater.
I need to look presentable for the villagers. Everyone already knows I have a high level, and with all the rumors floating around about the people who disappeared, I need to assure them everything is ok.
I swing my legs over the side of my bed and carefully stand up. It's weird going from a body that doesn't want to respond to you to a faster and stronger body than you're used to.
I can hear more people gathering outside so let’s give them a show.
I make my way over to a spot where people will be able to see me once Anastasia’s door opens. Stretching, I tell myself, any minute now.
I’m bending over and touching my toes when I hear the door in front of me being flung open.
“Aaliyah!”
I look up and ignore the dozens of people watching me from behind my mother in the doorway.
"Sorry for worrying you, mom, but I'm all better now." I give mom a dazzling smile.
She rushes over to me and wraps me in a hug.
"Move out of the way! Let me through, or next time you're hurt, I won't heal you!" I hear Anastasia forcing her way through the crowd. "What are you doing up?" She yells at me when she finally makes it to her front door.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” I send Anastasia a look that says play along before shifting my gaze to the growing crowd outside.
Unlike with the water, this time, she catches on quick. "Fine, but I need you to stay here for a little longer. The rest of you, scram," Anastasia turns on the villagers outside.
Mother keeps me wrapped in a hug until father makes it here. Then they sandwich me with love.
Soon after, Camden arrives with Sarette and master.
Camden politely asks the remaining villagers who didn’t fear Anastasia’s wrath to disperse so we can have a private talk.
“You’re kicking me out of my own house!?” Anastasia shrieks at Camden when he asks her for some privacy.
"I do apologize, but I'm sure you understand." Camden may be using polite words, but his gaze is firm.
Anastasia flinches back and reluctantly agrees, sending Camden a venomous look as she walks out her own front door.
As soon as the six of us are alone, every pair of eyes turns on me. Everyone looks like they have a million questions, but no one wants to start.
It's finally Camden who breaks the ice. "You're looking radiant; I take it you leveled?"
I cast my eyes down, mentally deciding what I should tell everyone.
“We don’t have to do this now. We can talk about it after Aaliyah has a chance to go home.” Mother notices the awkward look on my face and steps in to defend me.
"If we must…" Camden is about to agree with mother, but I cough into my hands, signaling I have something to say.
“No, it’s ok,” I tell everyone in the room.
“Are you sure?” Mother asks me.
I nod my head at her before looking at Camden, “I’m guessing you want to ask me if it was the creature that’s been praying on the other villages.”
Camden's face quickly becomes serious, much like everyone else in the room.
“Everything that happened to you matched the reports from the other villages. Did you notice and chase after a magical creature on your run?” Camden asks.
I fold my arms in front of me and start nervously rubbing them. “I didn’t chase anything; I was lured out of the village.”
“How is that possible?” Camden questions me in disbelief.
“The creature was able to use mental manipulation. I didn’t realize anything was wrong until I was deep in the woods.” Everyone pales as I explain how I encountered and fought the creature. I left out the part about it eating souls and how I tried sacrificing my Vitality to kill it. I also left out the fact that I unlocked a tier 6 skill and met two goddesses.
“How were you able to notice something was wrong?” Sarette asks me once I finish my story.
I calmly look at her and glance around the others in the room. "I can't say, "I tell everyone in a flat tone. Camden and Sarette look disappointed by my answer, but my parents and master look like they understand what happened.
It falls silent between us for a moment before I ask a question of my own, "I heard the hunters found me, was there anything unusual about where they found me?"
"That's what I was going to ask you," Camden answers me. "The spot the hunters found you has turned into a jungle over the last few days. I asked for it to be kept a secret, but all the hunters are curious."
“Really, a jungle?” I repeat, not sure how I’m supposed to answer him.
“How many levels did you gain?” Master Del asks, Stepping forward.
“Why does that matter?” Camden turns towards Del.
“There are stories Stone Kin tell their children, tails of great beasts who were slain in the past. When a high leveled creature or person dies, the life force they emit is so great everything spontaneously grows around the spot they collapse. I'm curious how many levels you gained for slaying such a beast?" By the time master is finished talking, everyone is staring at me again.
I clear my throat, "I gained eight levels; I'm level 72 now." Everyone, including master, sucks in a deep breath of air.
Mother is the first to recover and quickly asks me, “Is that why you’re all better?”
I nod my head, “I distributed my points after Anastasia left to get you. I’m stronger than ever,” I happily proclaim with a smile. I even show off the muscles on my arm for good measure, trying to distract everyone from how I almost died again.
“That’s impossible,” Camden has a hard time accepting the truth. “Killing a creature with such a level is unheard of!”
"I got lucky," I tell him, remembering my conversation with Ilia. "It couldn't move once I saw it, and it took everything I had along with sacrificing my sword to do any damage to the thing. It was pure luck I was able to counter the monster.” I try to laugh it off.
I look around the room and notice everybody is giving me worried looks. “Really, I’m fine,” I try to tell everyone.
"I think your mother is right; you should go home and rest," Camden tells me, everyone nods in approval.
“I said I’m fine. I need to get back to work with master.” I start walking towards the door until Master Del steps in front of me and puts his hand on my shoulder.
"Go home; you can come to see me tomorrow," Del's says with a concerned look on his face.
Mother walks up behind me and grabs my arm, giving me a pleading look. “Fine, I’ll go home,” I give in.
“I’ll take care of the villagers outside,” Camden walks past me and opens Anastasia’s front door. Mother leads me out after him without letting go of my arm.
"All right, everyone, make some room. Aaliyah is up, and she's going home with her family. Give her some space." Camden shouts at the crowd waiting outside.
I was prepared for there to be a small group waiting to see me, but damn, I think a third of the village is here. Mother continues to lead me forward, and the crowd respectfully parts for us. I look behind us and see dad following close by. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch master break through the crowd and head home.
Many people call out to me and try to ask me questions, but I ignore them and give a polite wave instead.
We don’t get a moment of peace until we're through our front door. Mother, father, and I are all standing together in the entryway, trying to change our shoes at once. I notice father is a little dirty, and mom's closes look a little tattered as well.
I doubt they've had an easy time the last five days. The least I can do is clean everyone. "Hey, mom, dad, hold still a minute."
I haven’t had a chance to show them this yet. I activate my cleaning spell and empower it so it will cover the three of us.
“Ahyt ls weem appiss!”
Both my parents cringe when the spell I usually use expands well past my body and envelops all of us. Mother and father stare at their limbs as the white light covers their bodies, and many black flakes fall off the three of us. I guess I was pretty dirty myself from being unconscious for so long.
I kick off my shoes and dust the remaining black flakes off before walking over to our kitchen. Whatever magic Anastasia used to keep me healthy must not have included food because I can eat anything right now. I grab some jerky, two biscuits, some dried fruit, and stuff everything into my mouth.
"Tastes so good," I give a little moan as I turn back to face my parents. Both look sparkly clean now, but they both stand together, giving me looks of worry. "Is there something on my face?" I ask as I finish the food in my arms.
Mother walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. I can feel her trembling. I start rubbing her back, “Mom, I’m…”
“Stop saying that,” she snaps at me with tears in her eyes. "There is no way you can be fine; we almost lost you again."
I want to tell her the opposite to reassure her everything will be ok but now that I'm home, the dam breaks loose, and everything I've been through comes flooding out in the form of me sobbing. All the fear I felt facing the soul eater and the goddesses are too much to hold back. Mixed with all of that is the joy of finally being home and knowing it's over.
Father comes over and holds the two of us in his big arms, looking just as unsteady as mom.
I tried to stay strong for them and the village, but it's too much to take.
I release everything I’ve been holding back and cry with my parents.
Happy that I’m still alive.
**********
Goddess Ebeon’s Point of View:
"Quite particular, isn't it, sister?” I mentally send a message to Ilia across our domains.
Peering through the barrier that separates our existence from the world below, we both watch the anomaly reunite with its family.
I instantly receive a reply. “It has been a while since I watched the mortals below. Apparently, I’m quite popular.” Her voice, followed by a long laugh, directly enters my mind. “They seem to think praying to me grants them a longer life, what foolish things.”
“Indeed, it appears most have forgotten our roles in our silence. Most prayers directed to me are filled with hate, hoping I bring vengeance on their behalf or asking me to spare someone; it is quite disappointing. Adversity in life is your domain, sister, one aspect I don’t wish to deal with.”
Ilia continues to laugh over our connection. “Sweet Ebeon, always trying to bring peace to mortal’s souls, yet always misunderstood by them. Even the anomaly feared you when you tried to defend it against my pressure.”
I don’t respond to her taunts, mealy sending a pulse of displeasure through our communication.
“I’m happy such a toy unlocked one of our skills,” the light coming off of Ilia’s nebula flares up with her excitement. Beings like us don't require such arcane things as bodies; we are pure energy.
“Does that mean you intend to watch it grow?”I ask my sister. “Your avatar had to hold itself back from killing it.”
“It was cursing everything that’s happened to it, to insult me like that. Life is meant to be challenging, to face adversity, and eventually loose. To struggle is a mortal's very purpose; that is the meaning of life." My sister starts to rant, so I decide to look closer at the anomaly's memories my avatar brought back. I know everything that's happened to the anomaly. Still, it's difficult for me to interpret a mortal's feelings and motivations, especially one who's previously lived in a different plane of existence.
Either way, I’ve never seen a mortal’s memories of experiencing death before. It chose to sacrifice itself for a friend, interesting.
“Now that you know about the anomaly, will you interfere with its fate?” I ask my sister, interrupting her speech on the joys of watching mortals suffer through their lives.
As a goddess of life, it is up to her how she harvests her divinity from the mortals below. I harvest my divinity through the release a soul obtains upon their death, which I use to help them on their way to the River of Rebirth. My sister chooses to draw her energy from the lives the mortals live and the obstacles they overcome or succumb to.
"There is no need for me to interfere with the anomaly. I've already checked its fate and how it interacts with those around it. The anomaly is destined to face adversity; I merely have to watch. What about you? Are you interested in it as well?"
"I am curious how it lives its life and how that life will end. I'll watch with you, sister, and prepare for the time I need to escort it to the River of Rebirth." Through our connection, I feel the joy emanating from my sister.
"Then let us watch the anomaly and see what happens. If it uses the skill it gained, you might miss out on your chance to help it.”
“She won’t use the skill like that,” I inform my sister.
“Oh, and how do you know that?” My sister challenges.
“Just a hunch,” I tell her. “Mortals have them all the time.”
"Then, like a mortal, you'd be wrong."
Instantly, our energies clash with one another as our wills battle over our connection. Storms of our divine power start to eat away at the barrier connecting us to the mortal world. We're forced to stop when our clashing power is about to harm the systems we have in place to govern the souls below, less we want to waste even more energy fixing them.
“Let’s watch and see who’s right,” my sister sends through our connection, confident she is right.
"Indeed, let's," I respond.
I once more turn my attention to the anomaly and watch how its consoled by its family. Mortals can be so very weak, but not this one.
Don't disappoint me, Aaliyah.
*********
Author’s Notes:
8,250 words.
What do you think? Finally, some major stuff is happening, right?
I always wanted Aaliyah to meet with the two gods, but I didn't want them to be a significant part of the story. This is, first and foremost, Aaliyah’s journey after all.
Tell me what you think below, and as always, stay safe.
Comments
Hawk Silverthorn
I don’t respond to her taunts, mealy sending a pulse of displeasure through our communication. - I think you meant mearly
Hawk Silverthorn
"“SSSSSS,” I hiss through my teeth as I once again feel the sensations of my reel body." - Should be real body, not reel.
Ilya Hamisoniya
I'm the only one hating when god like beings have mortal like characters?
Radical
I’m guessing the soul eater didn’t have eternal youth hence becoming a lovecraftian monster
GingerClanger
It was a pain to read as the text doesn't flow as well as the previous chapters.. And now when I try and picture the Soul Eater I can only think '400 year old Virgin'
Moises Meza
I'd thought the pain she experienced in her soul would be the most traumatic part. Given that she wanted the sweet release through death I'd imagine that she'd fear that state of being quite a bit.
Straven
I fully give thanks that the goddess of death over all isn't the.....thirsty one. Quite like the switch from how so many always seem to look at it.
Deinos
What's happenin? I see frequent updates on rrl but no idea what the status is here on patreon? Authorsan?
Aaron Martinez
If she truly inherited the skill from killing the monster then that should be changed, but it's not how I read it. Rather she's been focusing on lost experience before and, by watching this being, the last few puzzle pieces clicked into place, which is nice and satisfying.
Trevor
Those two goddesses at the end give me a visual of two sisters having a conversation then devolving into a slap-fight which ends abruptly and before they go back to talking like it didn't happen.
Sondadir
The monster barrier was made up of tendrils of his soul and his Mana. Maybe that's a direction to take to evolve Mana Skin?
Sondadir
She is quite good at magic and her stats are growing steadily without any investment. On the other hand, her physical stats are extremely hard to raise. That's why her training focuses on her mental stats, and her investments in physical stats. She is a blacksmith first before being a mage.
Hayden Lux
This was a great chapter my only issue with it is her stat distribution after the fact. After saying "Seeing how much I've come close to death recently" she decides to put her points into vitality, endurance, strength, and dexterity. Um WTF her magic stats are her lowest stats of all and yet of her 5 near-death encounters magic saved her 4 times. If I nearly died 5 times and magic saved my ass 4 of those times id probably invest a bit more in it rather than focusing on physical stats.
Hayden Lux
Anyone else wondering what the soul/mana tentacles are gana be capable of? We know she can make them now and the monster used them to both create a barrier and kill people and it could even have been part of its mental manipulation/illusion abilities. So I am really interested to see what she can do with them both in battle and in crafting
Chemnerd263
No joke, I've been hitting that button at least every other hour for two days...
Dikfor
every time i click refresh, I die a little. LOL
George Watermelon
This is Aliyah's horror fuel
Alteron
I am picturing Aaliyah standing on a wall, maybe Dreys wall, a huge army is fighting for the city, and Aaliyah is directing all that experience towards her, or maybe she is funneling all that experience to her allies making them stronger. What do you think?
Obran
Plot twist -- the strange monster man is actually the king or high wizard or powerful noble from this or a neighboring kingdom. He doesn't normally look like a roving monster, can in fact control it most of the time. But a couple times a year he needs to go out and hunt to renew his life and shape.
Imspinnennetz
After rereading the entire book from the beginning, I want to reevaluate my comments. I think that this pace is fine for introduction of a lvl 6 skill. I only have two small suggestions. 1) I think that Aaliyah needs to make one more failed attempt to defeat the monster using only mana without sacrificing her skills to demonstrate why she is driven by desperation to perform the sacrifice. 2) A sentence or two indicating why Aaliyah thought to sacrifice her vitality stat instead of another stat should be included.
Dikfor
Definitely a good story, it kills me having to wait for the next installment. And I hope the author doesn't take the criticism of chapters poorly. It really just shows how much we readers enjoy the story and how we all feel invested in it.
Edy
First, I just caught up with the patreon and glad that I joined. Second, thanks for the story so far. I liked this chapter and every chapter before it, people may have different opinions but the story is one of my best, keep what you think is the best. Third, just in her stats page Empowered Spell should be level 9 not 7.
Thundermike00
its not op if its gods power, since its gods power then it is to be expected and disappointed when they arent op.
AlexFoguty
Overpower. Not cool."
Dikfor
Yeah, but at the same time, she did get a lot of the materials for less than usual. And if you think of it, it is a kind of investment. She increases her skills, works with new materials, and advertises her wares to someone who can probably pay a lot. Hell, I'd wager that general would try to enlist the MC as a private weaponsmith. If that were to happen, she'd get paid to make stuff without the need to procure her own materials.
Roxanne
Enjoyed the last two chapters. I liked the explanations of how and why he/she came here from the past life and why the monster would attack her. No problems with her having mad skills and power. She works hard and will get more. The tier 6 skill is not something you really want or want to use. The break down at the end of the chapter seemed real for the MC, showing she is not a power hungry monster.
Jonathan Timm
Anyone else annoyed about her only getting 10 gold for the arrow, it is in fact complete bullshit, she shouldnt have to be out of pocket for something that's been commissioned.
Toni Pampliega
Paraprhasing the last line of the chapter, “Don't disappoint me, Kosnik4”, because I LOVE this story and the last two chapters have brought radicals changes in the evolution of Aaliyah that have triggered my internal reader alarms. My fears: 1.- Too much OP. I hope the progressive, hard work, sustained growth of Aaliyah don't become a nonsense OP character. So moderation with the devouring soul skill!? Stablish limit of how much she can harvest depending on level and soul capacity? Only if she kills the monster/humanoid? Etc etc. Because... what will happen when she fights in a battle?! 2.- Gods. I hope you keep your word and keep the novel in a respectable and moderate human ground field as it has been since the begining. Because, if there is godesses of life and death, maybe there are one of War and one of Crafts/arts. Not against, but neither favorable. 3.- Soul. I understand the need to work in different levels of narration to make rich and varied the plot. But, sincerely, after reading nonsenses and bullshits of esoteric nature when this kinds of powers emerge in other novels, I should advice to keep it clear, simple and understandable. Finally, IMO, I would recommend a minimum of communication with the patreons after all the comments in the last two chapters. In times of 'crisis', communication is key. Even a sentence of acknowledgement as silly as “Ey, I read your comments, people. Don't worry. Read and enjoy!”, probably would help? So, when is the next chapter?! Can't wait to the evaluation of the arrows by an enchanter in Drey, the reaction of Giovanni and the general (and their meeting), and the fight between the general and feather guy. The war will come to the village? Uh uh. I don't want a single line in the next chap in Aaliyah's pov! XD Edit: Second time my comment is delete in 3 chaps, what happens to Patreon? This time I have copy! BRRRR.
tibbish
The monster was 'only' lvl160-ish or something though right? Unless it was very specifically only draining life force and not xp there is probably some sort of a severe levelling penalty that kicks in after 100. That doesn't mean it can't be used to level her skills though. Might not be as OP as you might think.
olyver
By that same logic, the monster was seriously underlevelled for a 3000+ year old monster with a 6th tier skill. I think the increase was reasonable.
Pagemaster
Is it just me or does the experience she gained seem a little on the low side for killing a level 150+ monster? I know you only get a fraction of the exp from a kill, but she took in more exp with the skill..I was expected her to get into the 80s at a minimum. I honestly was expecting 90s.
Blackmoon11
Good point, its seems to be a common skill at that, both Kervin and Del have it. I blame it on her low mind stats, its been established that certain skills have a minimum stat requirement to acquire and or pass their tests. I think the sense stat probably governs these sort of skills, which is coincidentally her lowest stat
Stephen Pearson
Anastasia is interesting; a flawed character (self importance and greed) who aways comes through when it's actually important. It would be cool if Aliyah helped her break through her magic bottleneck issues to become a better healer and proto-mage, and possibly help her redeem her other character issues as she becomes more secure in herself. Get some healing training on the side as well, it's long past due (seriously, how has she not just paid 3 silver/day for a month to get the basics and then bought a glove - that's only 1.4 gold total, and could save the lives of those she cares about someday. Not to mention that she could help in cases that overwhelmed Anastasia).
Obsidianking
Just though of something since she was basically in a coma for five days, doesn't it take about a week for Kelvin to reach the general, the time lines are gonna Match up right ?
Melting Sky
Yeah, I have got to admit that whole getting her sacrificed vitality back by act of God really didn't sit well with me either.
Comiak
if you're going to take away something and immediately give it back you might as well never take it away in the first place, no offense meant but that was a really dumb thing to do. it removes all consequences, offers no character growth and at the end of the day it's as if nothing had happened. not only does not work well with magic as it has been shown so far it is entirely meaningless because you just gave it back. The Vitality cost didn't have to be gone for good, the MC could have found a way to get it back like the stats being burned and unuseable but still there and in an unusable state. She could have much later found a way to heal the vitality burned through the soul manipulation skill or something.
Melting Sky
The monster itself was the original obtainer of the skill back when they were still a person. But sadly as the centuries and millennia passed and even their incredibly extended life span grew close to its end, the person's resolve was overwhelmed by their desire to keep on living even beyond what using the skill passively could grant them. Thus they began to actively abuse Soul Devourer and became addicted to and dependent upon it, gradually degenerating into the bloated, deformed and crippled monster that Aaliyah ultimately defeated. It's one hell of a nasty temptation. You can basically attain imense power and live forever but the cost is once you start to reach beyond the limits of what passively using Soul Devourer can do, you begin to distort and damage your own soul losing a little bit more of your humanity and who you are each time you abuse it. Eventually it destroys not just who you once were, but any chance you would have had to future reincarnate into someone new. You end up a glutonous soul devouring abomination that can no longer even recognize itself. It's interesting that Aaliyah gained the skill by killing the original owner. I wonder if that is something that is unique to this particular skill given it's soul linked nature, or if this is something it has in common with other tier 6 skills. Would somebody without any sort of mastery of a preexisting soul manipulating skill still be able to attain it just by killing the owner? From what we have seen high tier advanced skills in a given discipline tend to require that you build up lower tier prerequisite skills in that same discipline first
Justin
Thanks for the chapter. I overall enjoyed the last two chapters. I think it was faster pacing than the rest but enjoyed it. I think if I wasn't so distracted by wanting to know about the damn general I could have enjoyed it more. I'll likely go back and read once I have my arrow withdrawal satiated. Story flow wise time will tell how this fits in. But now I'm extra looking forward to her meeting the general.
Obsidianking
This chapter is a nice bookend to the previous chapter, the monster can be explained easier now that we have some explanations about the creatures past and abilities. So the monster basically became cursed once it started harvesting souls and It probably learned some skills from those that it harvested from. I see this creature like a drug addict its always chasing after souls to keep living, but the more souls the more damage and corrupt it becomes, hence the weaknesses the creature has. Second her tier six skill isn't that broken because she harvests the souls of things that die near her, not when she crafts and practices magic. So unless she becomes a professional monster hunter it won't affect her to much. Also the fact that tier six skills are inherited, can be why people never reveal that they have tier 5 skills and above because royalty and stuff probably have records of that so they go literally head hunting in order to obtain the skills. Finally the gods are going to play a minor part for a long time or they should , all they really did was show that tier 6 skills boarder on the demi god level and they have pluses and minus, and we cleared up the common isekai trope that she's suppose to be some hero. She's just going to be the next reality TV show for the gods which is how it should be. So over all the second chapter helps fill in some the of the weaknesses of the previous chapter. Keep up the great work
Obsidianking
Maybe with Soul manipulation, she can fix dels link to magic or the stone kin God it would be interesting and could be a a method for her to enter the stonekins kingdom and learn their techniques
PaperMache7
One thing I didn't mentioned, I'm surprised she didn't gain the "Danger Sense" skill, this whole encounter seemed like the event that would allow her to acquire it, especially with all the line "I've come close to death a few times since I reincarnated, but this is the same feeling I had when the cave collapsed on me in my past life.".
Alex
Same, i think the main issue I have is in most novels things like this are usually teased over the course of a couple of chapters, instead of just being dump all in to one. So it is an adjustment for when new things pop up.
Somberfish
Some negative feedback coming from us on the last two chapters, and I can agree to some of it, I also remember not liking when the war was introduced. I also remember not liking momma bear, But now i have waiting for weeks for news of the general, and I honestly like reading about the mother as I think she adds depth to the story and I am slowly liking her as a character so I say sit tight because this author tends to drop things I initially dislike and then turns that around on me
Ungrave
Thanks for the chapter!
Ungrave
Well, I suppose it points to your success when your comment section is the same size of your chapter from people discussing things. I liked the chapter as a one time thing, and I agree that it's a good idea to do this sort of scope shift every once in awhile, as long as you don't overdo it. Really hoping to see the general's impression of the arrow soon.
Imspinnennetz
One of the reasons, why I really enjoyed the story is that the main character's progression is relatively steady (compared to similar types of stories) and primarily driven by her desire to learn new things and craft interesting items. I feel that the soul monster encounter and the subsequent meeting with the gods is a bit too fast paced.
Chemnerd263
This was interesting, and I totally agreed with the original idea of not keeping that skill. I am a bit disappointed that the skill is still around, but I am also interested in the ways Aaleah will manipulate her soul and the extra experience she gains. Will she gain the ability to manipulate her growth?
fuble878
They were mentioned as existing and people prayed to them... like the prayer before dinner but nothing more in depth
Nick
I like the direction that you've taken in the last couple chapters but as some others have said it's such a rapid change that it's a little off putting. As an alternative unasked for suggestion, maybe rewrite it like the end of a book, start of a new book. Maybe you need to write up the arrow finale as an end to book 1. Then a blurb saying we are moving into the next book and it'll be a different more adult / potentially darker story than before. This thing with the soul devourer could be the opening act to the new book. Just food for thought.
meatybyte
Thank you for the chapter. Feedback: The Gods: This chapter just pushed a lot of my buttons as I don't like 'gods' or creatures from a higher plane interfere in a story as it only robs the humans (lower plane characters) of their agency. Events won't have the assumption organic anymore, as there will always be a subtext of a 'god' pulling strings for 'reasons'. Especially if the 'gods' are not part of the next challenge arc for the protagonist to overcome/kill, there isn't much point to them being there beyond an author's Deus ex machina. Monster / T6 Skill resolution: Speaking of Deus ex machina, having the 'gods' handwave away the consequences of the fight with the 3000+ year old Monster hits the (it was all a dream) button so very hard. Aaliyah had the potential to be 'broken' by this conflict; the monster scene was all set-up to flip all our expectations. With her potentially being bedridden for months reassembling her mind and separating all the memories and impressions she would have gotten from eating the Monster's soul. She could have found herself in a hospice upon waking, forcing her out of the nest. We even had the potential of her gaining memory snippets of some of the most learned masters of their field for the last 3000 ish years as a consolation. The potential branches from this could have led to fantastic narrative shifts, but instead, we got a handwave from a 'god'... The sacrificed vitality returned, most of the memories extracted along with the XP all for a minor stat boost, eight levels and a T6 skill she can't use without the help of a 'god' to keep her sane since she didn't overcome it herself. I expected four levels just from her arrow crafting, getting eight from killing a 3000+ year old creature that has a skill tailor-made to power level is just a kick in the teeth. Good grief, the grass and trees got more benefit from the creatures death, and they weren't actively trying to pull the XP in if the growth of a jungle was accurate. With the recent disappointment that is Savage Divinity, I'm probably feeling more disappointment than is warranted, but this chapter just sucked out all the enthusiasm I had. Suggestions: Remove the 'gods' please, especially if they are not going to be heavily featured as you mentioned in the author's notes, you can accomplish everything you need narratively without them. What to do with the Monster: Keep the encounter mostly as-is, but remove the foreshadowing from the guards and have it be a surprise encounter that Aaliyah claws her way out of by her fingernails. The attack creates a hook to all the people in the know not immediately telling Aaliyah about the disappearance and incentives them to take care of her while she recovers. Recovering from 'eating a soul': Make it a laborious process where Aaliyah builds back her sanity in her 'soul space' over months if not a year or so, presenting it as the new challenge arc. Make the Monster be a significant event that butterflies to everyone that Aaliyah has interacted with, especially if the arrow she just made was enough for the General to 'turn the tide' as now she can't get another one. Do POV switches between Kervin, Aaliyah family, Del, Mr Grey and the General, developing their characters as they work to overcome Aaliyah 'coma' and reach out to people they would have avoided to heal her. Have some tension build between Mr Grey and the General when they overpromise on the arrows before learning their supplier can't make more. Build the world up to be a place that goes on even without the protagonist acting on it. I hope you read this and all the other constructive feedback you are receiving, they might not be what you want to hear and may even disrupt your creative flow, but it is still healthy to take it on board and use it as an opportunity to step back from your work to look at it. Even decide to change nothing in the end, the act will only benefit future writing. We all want you to develop a great story and build up your narrative career. Stay healthy and keep reading. ^_^
Zarik0
I much prefer no gods appear but the "system" they put in place activate some message when she got skill tier 6 she can acces with her particular skill on Soul (the system is based of soul so its normal at some point she have some acces to the backdoor of the system) The appear of god is way off (particulary when you say they dont care about the world and they not goona appear later, if they not gonna have a active role in the story (wich i prefer) dont make them have one initially, you can use the system they put in place instead because with skill soul she have a acces to it, its more believed and better i think)
yawn
Bruhhh I hoping to read the chapter is about the pov of general when she see the arrow that she order... Kinda disappointed
Solarlancer
this chapter was fantastic. we finally get to see gods and find out that they don't actually interact much with the mortals. They give the feeling gods should have. also like how you made life goddess short tempered and tyranical while the death goddess was nice and reasonable. i like the fact something dangerous just came out of nowhere as in life things like that happen all the time. also i like how you did the reason she reincarated. usually the stories always go for something bigger put you here for x reason while here we have just happenstance. yeah the chance for that to happen is low but if the whole multiverese is accounted that it happens form time to time just that most beeings and as seen from the gods they don't notice this
J03MAN
The gods have disappointingly fragile human egos.
Russell Todd
Gods have already been a thing.
Dikfor
Thanks for the chapter, I dig the story. However, this was my least favorite chapter. I'm not a fan of the god angle. I don't quite remember the gods being mentioned much in the story. If in an earlier chapter you went over them already, my bad. If not, then I suggest you add a supplementary chapter early on, like having the MCs parents teach her about the gods when she's younger. If the gods aren't really important to the actual story, I'd rewrite the chapter. Instead of having the gods explain the skill, while in her soul space, have the MC view random memories of the soul devourer that she killed. Show a progression of how first they absorbed xp from monsters, then humans, and then how they maybe accidentally absorbed a human soul and started to change into a monster themselves. Saves you from having to write a whole mythology later on and keeps the story from going off the rails into godhood. Anyways, thanks again and keep up the great work.
Steven
She now has a skill that could seriously tempt her to corruption. So why would she not put some points into mind now to help help resist it. Or another creature like the soul devourer
Solarwind
Thanks for the chapter! Anyone remember if gods were mentioned before?
Andrew
Thank you!
MadGod
Not one point into mental and magic stats even when she had 80 of them and when they're obviously her limiting factor. I really tried not to, but I'm still disappointed.
Mr Ove
ALSO I hope she can get creative with the new skills and somehow use them in her craft!
Tomáš Blábol
have to agree with others, last 2 chapters are worse than the rest. though meeting gods was fine(maybe little soon, but fine). these 2 chapers were still good but not when compared to rest of the story. It's like, from scale 1 - 10, story is 10 and these last 2 chapters are maybe 6 - 7. also I repost my earlier comment from last chapter since I uploaded it too late and did not get reply. "The attributes come from soul changing the body, not constantly reinforcing it, so sacrificing already spent points should drain power from spell, rather than enhance it(since it has to change the body to reflect decreased stats),at least without the skill to do so. It would be different if it was unspent points. That's how I understood it, if I understood it wrong can someone explain it to me?"
Mr Ove
Thanks for the chapter. I enjoyed it I think this chapter was a great follow up from the last one. I agree that last chapter came out of the blue but such is life not everything in life is foreshadowed. Also to all the people complaining about the monster can’t be real it doesn’t fit in the story blah blah blah.. we have hardly heard/seen what type of monsters are out there we are in a little village in a big world we know nothing about. This chapter wasn’t like last one it Cleary flowed like any of his normal chapters just that it followed the “chapter” everyone complaining about half probably hoped she woke up from a dream and last chapter was not real, the other half is fine with the chapter but wish for small tweaks in previous chapters to make foreshadowing a thing and few like the chapter as it was maybe even understanding life sometimes doesn’t have any warning of what to come
Carl Mason
This was an interesting and surprising chapter. I do love how the goddesses' aspects are opposite their perception amongst the mortals. I would have liked her to think a bit more about balance when distributing her status points. I am glad she is finally investing in endurance, though. And now she has the eyes of the general, the trade company, and the goddesses, and no doubt others soon enough.others
Swinter
Have to agree with many others here. This is without a doubt the two worst chapters in the story, and that's out of a pure storytelling perspective. Don't get me wrong, the individual pieces in the story isn't something I object to. I object to how they're slammed into the story with no or next to no hints of them even being possible. This would have been excellent for Checkov's Gun type scenarios, except here the gun wasn't there and so instead it's a Deus Ex Machina. Actually, several in a row. Sins, according to me, is: Running into the monster without foreshadowing. How to fix: Add a tale about monsters early in the story. A fairy tale told when she's a kid. Perhaps a mention that her mother had told her to beware of the wood or a monster will get her. And to add to that, have the guards in the city warn them to be careful. They've heard of people vanishing without a trace in the villages. The monster: To fix: Honestly, this one is way harder to fix. They way you've built the world it should have been impossible. And don't get me wrong, beating impossible odds makes for immensely satisfying moments, but the protagonist has to work for it. Here she pulled a solution out of her backside. Here's still some steps I'd suggest for it. 1: Either make the monster a non-human creature, OR make it reason like a human. Make the super high levelled foe overconfident. Have it Toy with her, show that it's human with human reasoning. (Even if alien and evil due to age and what it's been doing.) 2: Have her work for her solution under duress. There was no tension since she pulled the solution out and succeeded right away. Make each fail punishing. Make it seem hopeless since she's throwing it all at the monster and failing, until that last moment where she's willing to offer her all to win, even if it's a pyrrhic victory. (After all, make it worth the healing the goddesses give. Not that paltry 10 vitality) As it was, it felt like she tried hitting it once with magic, once with her sword, then she gave up right away. What a quitter. 3: That Weeping Angel ability isn't treated very well. The enemy isn't scary the way it was used here, it just made it way too perfect of an enemy for our Protagonist, tailor made for something she could kill. For this to be scary, it would have had to be terrorizing the village, with glimpses caught as it then vanishes when you look away. You'd be much better off with a traditional monster or monstrous human who's falling due to hubris and overconfidence. Now we just had a stationary target once Aliyah could see it, and that's not really an exciting fight. Defeating a stationary target isn't exactly something showing off a lot of skill or reasoning. 4: Sacrificing stats. If it was this easy to gain a powerboost with sacrificing stats, everyone would do it. Sure, only in life and death situations, but this would be super well known since it'd happen all the time in wars. When faced with getting skewered on a sword, who wouldn't sacrifice some stats to survive? Make the solution be her learning to use her soul, using her Skills. Overcharging her magic spells Again when she just used the exact same trick against the bandits? Doesn't seem like she'd learn anything new from that. It'd tie well into a soul manipulation ability too. Imagine her instead being able to manipulate someone else's skill. Make it activate prematurely, giving her a window to actually hurt the creature and at the same time earn herself a more fitting Tier 6 ability. Her new OP skill: How to fix: This one would also need some work. I don't Really mind the skill, however... 1: She's already levelling 10 times faster than anyone else. Letting her level even faster, even if only when killing stuff, seems way OP. 2: She didn't do anything to earn the new skill. She didn't use her soul skill to defeat the boss. She arbitrarily got rewarded the skill because she killed it with other methods. I'd assume soul manipulation is rare to begin with, so it'd make more sense to have her use her ability in an clever way and win with a method that makes her actually earn her OP ability. 3: More fitting with the fear people have shown when she observe their souls. Have the skill give her a limited ability to manipulate them. Force skill activations, cut them off from their magic, anything else like that would be more interesting than "Now I earn even *more* EXP." The Gods This is more minor, but I'd have preferred them having more of a presence before this. It felt like an infodump. I may be wrong here, but I haven't seen them mentioned much at all in the story. It would have been nice if we actually saw villagers pray to them for... Any reason. Or saw them give prayer for good harvests or other mundane shows that the Gods matter to the people of the world. (Even if the Gods themselves are hands off and don't really care.) Anyway. Rant over. Take it or leave it, it's my suggestions for making these two chapters actually fit with the story you've been going with so far, rather than to just throwing the out there because... There had been too much crafting and too little action? I'm not even sure, Aliyah didn't seem to need this encounter for any reason. It's just a weird undeserved powerup. Thanks for reading, regardless if you agree or disagree :).
IrateRapScallion
The issue is not if the events of these chapters were pre-planned or not, or that he had to make a way to have these plot points present themselves. The problem is that the way he made is very poor, and in my view at least, essentially non-functional. Basically, in a single chapter, a super strong monster shows up out of nowhere, conveniently has a weakness she can exploit and dies to her, and then boom, author just hands her a free ultra-super-duper powerful ability. It feels very slapdash and unearned, the sort of bad writing you see in stories a lot worse than this one, where the plot bends to author convenience and rules are made up and explained on the spot. She gains this ability after just killing the monster, because now skills can be acquired just from killing something? Even if this is just a Tier 6-only rule, it feels like it was just made up now to allow her to get the skill. The point is, these are huge plot developments. You need to lay down the groundwork for stuff this big throughout previous chapters. He did not do that, and that’s why I think these are the worst two chapters in the story so far.
Aezy Ken
I disagree that Mind/Senses is the way to go, that monster and I imagine mental based combatants are quite rare. Even then, she can cover that weakness with her Soul-based skills. I agree that she should invest in Magic much more than she is.
Bad Timing
I liked the chapter, though I have a bit of an issue on her choice when distributing her attributes. Her issue with the monster seems to in part come from a lack of mind or/and senses, and she still ignored investing in it in favor of vitality. I think at this point vitality is her LEAST important attribute, it was already high enough. Investing in magic would be more valuable since she keep her shield H24,and 30 points in magic (+30%) would bring her much further than in vitality (+15%). And magic is even quite often her limiting factor while working.
Malcolm
Great chapter, I'd be interested to see the total experience count. There must be an easier way to get out of the her soul though or another skill she could learn ;p
Aaron Katz
I’m not sure if you were looking for feedback on this, but I liked how you had the god’s speech in bold. It was easy to differentiate from MC.
Franco Evett - Pig Lord
Ooooooooooooooooooo, more plz 👍
Aaron Katz
Let’s be honest. If she didn’t face adversity then this story would be a lot less interesting.
George Watermelon
Honestly, I really don't like any gods representation in fanfiction or wherever else. I always dissatisfied how human-like and imperfect they are. Godess of life pissed me off, she brought me flashback from Youjo Senki and Being X. Yeah these two are Being X and Being Y for me from now. I wish to never see them again. Hurray, Aliyah got what she had deserved, the very nice award! 8 levels and doubled XP seems to be right. Lvl 6 skill is great, and second 5 tier skill too. Kosnik, please don't escalate enemies levels, she is still incompetent in fight. Everything in the balance, everything is ok. I don't like spoiler about unhappy life. "The anomaly is destined to face adversity" - fk you, Being Y, you weren't even aware about her before and now you throw shit about Aliyah's destiny with your mouth. Don't dare to interfere in her life! I hope story is not going become much more dark that it was. Thank you very much for incredibly entertaining and controversial chapter!
BLOODYMONKEY
Good chapter I almost choked on my popcorn when the goddesses showed up.
11037
I'm not terribly fond of the meeting with the godesses. I get that we might needs some explanation about the skill that could only come from the gods, but everything else could have been cut. The whole afterlife thing was better left as a mystery. The obsession they have with her at the end seems very out of place given they barely even care about the entire world. So this was not my favorite chapter. I still like the story overall, of course, no worries.
Blood Shade Games
thanks for the awesome chapter
Enif
I wonder if she'll figure out how to modify her soul/skills so she can't accidentally consume souls.
mars kiyu
Shouldn’t “ they could care less about me” be “ they couldn’t care less about me”
Blackmoon11
Can't believe you one upped the previous chapter in terms of quality, I knew her meeting with the gods was inevitable from the moment she unlocked soul sense (the integrity of the soul being under the domain of the gods) . Finally another Tier 5 skill !!!, soul manipulation may end up being her most powerful skill seeing as she is going to hold back from using her devour skill. Also thoughts and prayers to poor Reel, its been like only a week since she was threatening to over take his level and now she has :P
Cyryl Chołodowski
The entire thing kinda feels like "What the fuck just happened." But I understand the need to show off some of the grander concepts one came up with, without waiting for the latter part of the story. Was fun, destiny is not part of the plot. Is good. (fuck destiny oriented stories, how is one supposed to believe the MC worked hard for their achievements, if there is an in-story explanation that it didn't matter if they did)
Mislandor
I disagree with what some of the folks here are saying - To me this looks like a plot device that has been waiting in the wings to further develop the storyline, but did not have a real lead in. So, at a good point, where she had finished the arrow and has some time to kill - enter the gods to allow further plot development down the line. I do not think this was a fly by night thought, nor a Halloween ploy - I think this is something the author wanted to put in the story, but an easy way did not present itself, so he made one. I liked the last 2 chapters, and even though I do not expect to see a lot of the 2 gods in the near future, I do think that they will have a part to play in the future of the story. Oooorrrr I could be full of shit and am reading way to much into it, either way, I liked it.
tibbish
Yes absolutely this!! Introducing more gods or having them constantly mess with the MC or world will always create more problems than its worth. They're too powerful and they'll screw things up. Having them pop in and out quickly and then largely stay away (which appears to be what the author has set up here with the barrier and hints about "wasting energy") is the way to go
Pltergeist
I like the chapter. It will be interesting to see how Aaliyah will use her new skill. Now I hope we will go back to general in the next chapter :)
Brad
It was good. I like that you flipped how the goddess are usually portrayed in their roles. Cool that she got the 2 new skills and interested to see how she is able to use them. Like how will soul devour evolve at higher levels. Will she be able to drain someone of their exp through a mix of Soul manipulation and Soul Devour. Or will she be able to stop people from accessing their soul(Status screen and other stuff). Using soul manipulation to hide her levels from people who can see it.
ShadeByTheSea
idk sometimes things happen in live out of nowhere, I'm fine with the goddesses as long as they don't start making life harder for her than it already is.
Jywert
I don't really mind one way or another. But she will jump/be thrown into the deep end at some point. This can be the foreshadowing people had hoped. Well, be interesting to see how high-level characters will be if the XP is exponential the amount to reach level 100 will be impossible without more skills in higher tiers.
D
Yes, emily is known as one of the strongest of the kingdom, but how high is her level? The stone kin have at their hight 150-200, but id guess she should be even stronger. Makes one think about the 'over 200' strength aliyah has thought on when she made that arrow. But someone of that level could have 300 or even more, right? Will that arrow hold out? Ill cross my fingers for you arrow-kun, you can do it! :))
tibbish
Depends on where the author takes the story. If she has to be crafting super powerful gear or conquering some countries or something then she'll be needing a big power bump. A powerful monster getting cocky and killed by something it thought was easy prey is fine story wise though.
D
Well, ok, thats one way to introduce the gods. Im kinda glad these where actual 'gods' - not those push overs we often see in other stories. Wonder who number 3 is. We never heard of the gods before. x)) Still, nice going on from the halloween chapter, now i hope we get a time skip soon, cant wait to see how emily reacts to the bow. Maybe it will just in time for the 'big fight'?
Håkan Friberg
Thanks!
tibbish
I don't think we're supposed to. To them we're cattle and entertainment it sounds like. Humans aren't very nice to their food or playthings after all either
Stephen Weinberg
I am commenting just to say awesome. Can't wait to see what happens next. Also slightly concerned her mythic power requires death nearby to be useful...
Stephen Weinberg
I am commenting just to say awesome. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Obran
Banana
Alteron
Wow, just wow, a great chapter in a great story
Tetsuki
I can not agree with most of the comments. I don't agree. These were not bad chapters. They are interesting since they make the story more unpredictable. And on part of the foreshadowing... It's something else if it constantly happens in a story. But leaving out a foreshadowing is a form of storytelling as well. In a way it's even more realistic than using foreshadowing. Since live is not so nice doing that... And I am pretty sure two chapters ago nobody could predict what happened. And sometimes surprises are really nice. And I liked this one.
Dantalia
Awesome! I dont like the goddesses much tho.
Tetsuki
But that's exactly how live is... Only in books there is always a foreshadowing...
Scyfe
Thanks for the chapter, Like many of the prior comments I'm not a huge fan of the last 2 chapters, I don't mind the chapters themselves/the situation but it just feels like it came out of nowhere and is a significant power jump. The monster was too strong, with a weakness too huge/coincidental and the gains were too great for something that just appeared. Aaliyah is now significantly stronger and has two top tier skills which will likely be a large part of the story that feel like deus ex machina, I kinda regard it similar to the stories where an MC trips over a rock and finds a magic item that perfectly solves the particular problem they are dealing with right now. Had the monster been a lower level and the gains lesser with it more just a Halloween special/trigger to push Aaliyah breaking down with her parents over her mortality and the bandit issue I would say it would be a lot more appropraite.
Adevna
I agree, making the story about some squabble between the divine doesn't sound appealing. I much prefer Aaliyah's journey through a world of magic and her personal quest to craft amazing things. Plus, if she ever wants to craft an Ego weapon, she'll need soul smithing, or something like it. So this all works for me.
Pixelblade
The last two chapters were interesting, but maybe try to sprinkle some foreshadowing into previous chapters. That would help immensely. I was hesitant about the introduction of gods into the story, but it's clearly something you had in the works for a long while and it's done well. Anyway, keep up the great story!
Imp
Well, then. That happened. I think its official that this story has Jumped the Shark. We'll have to see if the direction we're going in is going to be good, but its definitely not going to be the same one we've had so far.
ClapTrapCL4TP
I feel like its escalated a bit too fast, feels as though this should have been done over 12 chapters or so maybe even 20, with a lot of different POV mixed in, an example would be the generals view on life and how she reached the power that she currently has, Its also a good time in my opinion to establish what's considered as a high level among the different kingdoms and its also a good time to point out the fact that humans aren't that strong compared to the other races, except maybe those who are more barbaric. Just seems too be the power level, after all we haven't even seen a dragon, and there consider to be extremely strong so they should give a good baseline of what's considered as the top of the food chain. Edit: I assume there's other realms as well they should have different power levels some being stronger and some weaker, would be interesting to see the interaction for the weaker ones.
She would not have become noticeably weaker. If you had put all the stats together, you would have understood that there are more of them than plain level multiplied by 10. These are stats earned by a person by blood and sweat during their life. If you look at other people's stats page - she has more earned stats than even people much older than her.
Tera
Thanks for making it luck and not some fate thing!!!!
Robert Mullins
I can work with it but I still think the developments of the last 2 chapters run counter to most everything I like about this story.
IrateRapScallion
These last two chapters are probably the worst in the story. When I read 61, I wasn't even sure that it was a real chapter. It felt that disconnected from the rest of the story. Everything in 61 and 62 don't feel earned even a little. Monster never mentioned before, just plopped in MC's path. MC has just the skillset needed to defeat it due to its convenient weakness. Author then just hands MC a super-deluxe skill. None of it feels earned and it completely breaks the flow of the previous chapters. Also the exposition with the gods is kinda bad? Greatly dislike these last two chapters.
Henry Wartemberg
The point about the bogeyman is well made. I can imagine the alternative is that it went to great lengths to keep itself hidden and under radar. It’s a massive glass cannon and is probably cautious of attracting the attention of high levelled warriors hunting it down. That Tier 6 skill with a consequence to its use sounds like a massive double edged sword
Solarlancer
fantastic chapter
Henry Wartemberg
Just to say I liked it. Wouldn’t change a thing. Your interpretation of life and death- 👍🏾 Tier 6 skill- 👍🏾(though i thing the second tier 5 is actually way more interesting)
The Human
I agree with the points about the monster. Maybe instead of the monster being a warped human, the monster is what happens when someone with a t6 skill dies? Like, a mythic skill has system significance and so once created doesn't ever really get dissolved, and when it's bearer dies it will either be absorbed by the killer if they have the insight to do so and survive killing someone bearing a t6, or will float until it latches onto a creature compatible with it/will warp a creature into being compatible with it/create an incarnation for itself. And the skill incarnation can't be looked at because it mirrors the defenses of the soul eyes, maybe? Like when you look at it, the eyes in your soul also see and condemn it, but it can't be kicked out so it just gets frozen without ever being ejected. So it'd be 3k years since there was last a bearer of the skill, and this incarnation has been growing since then?
Bunny Waffles
It doesn't seem like it if their words were anything to go by. Gonna have to reread but I believe they said that her skill gain just happened to coincide with these two gods and not others.
Tomáš Blábol
Mortals can be so very week => Mortals can be so very weak
thkiw
I wonder if aliyah could give away skills. maybe she could teach master dell magic?
Henry Wartemberg
How about the first to create Soulbound weapons. Ones that grow and adapt to the owner, limited sentience. The tether skill is probably going to be if some use in that
Sebastian Osterbrink
It is a good arch back to normal life. And how the gods acted seems like a good way to worldbuild and seems to confirm that the third eye on Del's soul is the stone kin God. I still think that the monster appeared too suddenly and without forewarning. If it roamed the land for more that 3000 years there should at least be legends about it. Stories about something that makes people vanish into thin air. Something akin to a moving Bermuda triangle.
ZCochraine!%
Interesting they they have appears, at least they seem to be mostly stuck to their own purpose, while they all seem to be family (and based on what little people on the wold actually believe) at least they don’t have massive wars against each other. And at least their systems is automated, not divine bureaucratic incompetence. I can see hr knelling as being him not following som deep philosophies in gods and whst not and her upbringing considering everyone. Hopefully she can grow a little and talking to gos become this: https://www.reddit.com/r/dndmemes/comments/jfxd7h/they_told_me_playing_an_atheist_in_dd_is/ Also, kn the fat thing, looks like messing around with quantum physics and true RNG is in order.
The Human
Pretty sure he had a skill to check her level or approximate it at least, so wouldn't he already know?
Thundermike00
Is there only two gods?
Call0013
Yeah I didn't enjoy this chapter at all it was full of way to preachy bullshit. also dislike the T6 skill.
Loki-L
Interesting. She now has a collection of high level soul related skills. Soul manipulation is something that is probably going to be really useful. The question is how the soul stuff can tie in with her main career of blacksmithing. She has magic smithing already. Is soul smithing going to be a thing? She should have asked the healer if she could take a look at her healing glove while she had her in a relatively good mood. Being able to copy healing magic runes is something that should prove useful in the future. I look forward to the general's reaction and future attempts to finally make magic items.
your_sweetpea
This is exactly my feeling too. I honestly didn't mind the previous chapter that much, but the goddesses coming down and the tier 6 skill honestly just don't sit quite right to me. As far as I can tell there's basically no reason for the skill to exist. She frankly didn't need to be leveling faster and didn't need this huge level bump, and the only reason I can see for the skill to exist is for some struggle when she's desperate to live where she consumes a soul and has to face the consequences which I don't like at all. Like, I can't help but feel a tier 6 spell ought to/needs to be a plot device, by necessity, and the only way I can see this skill being used as a plot device is in a way that frankly I'm not happy with at all. The ominous name (despite having harmless benefits if you don't give into temptation) definitely don't improve my feelings on it.
ciaran mullen
not a fan of gods having interactions in novels i think it ruins the story when something interferes with the story
Wesley Jenkins
I just want to say that I think these last few chapters might be your best yet! From the trip to Drey, to the making of the arrow, and now the soul eater boogie man and Gods, I love it! The new depth that you are taking the story is amazing! I don’t usually comment but I am super excited about the direction you are taking this. I mean it makes total sense that living in a world of magical creatures bad things come along and people have to deal with them. No longer are we just hearing about a young girl who can black smith and do magic but now we are getting to see her interact with an incredibly beautiful world. Kudos author!
Milandaanza
Mmm my entire comment got deleted. I don’t know if I accidentally did it or if author did. I’m not gonna repost the whole thing just... It feels like the story went hyper mode. I had a long post typed up but it kind of went from a crafting story to an anime protagonist with deus ex autowins and lack of consequences compared to her slow paced growth and grind. I don’t think it ruins the story (let me be clear, I adore this story or I wouldn’t Patreon it), but it feels like an awkward escalation to me. Like someone slipped in 2 chapters of a different story. Good; Goddess meeting, Self-growth, Introspection, Family, Gains from crafting, Tier 6 skill and risks Bad; Goddess blessings removing Vit loss, weird vibro blade thing (drill maybe?), Unique magic and awkward weakness deus ex’ing bosses, level up stats removing healing time and sudden huge magic boosts. Very Bad; still no general reaction
your_sweetpea
Kind of a weird chapter for me. Feels like a complete tone (or scale, maybe?) shift from the rest of the story so far. It's not like anything in it strictly doesn't make sense, but it almost... feels too early for literal Goddesses to be descending down from the heavens, I suppose? Plus she was already ridiculously OP, I'm not sure if she needed a skill that literally gives her more XP, unless she's going to end up absorbing a soul in desperation or something which I would be pretty upset about honestly for a variety of reasons. Plus I have a variety of issues with her getting the skill from the monster, honestly 1. The first being that I'm not sure how I feel about the implications of you being able to get Tier 6 skills by killing the people that have them. I can find justification for it in the system you've created (with skills being attached to souls, etc.), but it doesn't really feel like it consistently fits in with the *feeling* of the skill system you've created even if it works on a technical level. 2. I'm not really sure how it makes sense for the monster to have been human originally, given its "unique features." You can say that the soul tendrils are the skill, and the walls are another skill perhaps, but I'm fairly confused by it freezing when it's looked at. I could maybe see it being overwhelmed by revulsion at the state it's now in or something like that, but it doesn't really seem like strong justification to me, and also doesn't seem like a skill of any kind. If anything it feels like a weakness that was engineered so she could beat it, which is the main thing that bothers me honestly. 3. The monster being 3,419 years old just seems ridiculous to me, 1) because she only went up 8 levels when killing it, won't it become impossible to level from now on at all? and 2) because, despite how lucky she was for it to specifically have that weakness (that somehow is perfectly suited to her killing it), I can't help but feel she really shouldn't have been able to kill something that's been thriving that long, and can't imagine *how* it's been thriving so long when it has such a glaring weakness to anyone who can see it. Also I'm impatient to hear more about the arrow, dangit! Thanks for the chapter! I hope I wasn't too critical, I had a lot of thoughts about this chapter, but it doesn't take any skill to nitpick something and it takes lots to write a story I'm as invested in as I am Magic Smithing.
Emma Carlin
I liked this chapter and it sets up what's hopefully a bit of reflection/slowing down for her. Things have been happening nonstop lately, poor girl could use a rest. I do think telling the village leader exactly how many levels she got was pretty stupid though. Especially if she actually doubled her total amount of experience gained (I didn't check the maths). She was a monster before, but if she truly doubled her experience gained...that's some legendary shit. The type of secret no one should be trusted with.
MagicWafflez
.... ngl, I'm super happy the gods fixed her vitality. i didn't *want* her to lose a level's worth of vitality, it would have made her weaker than anyone on her level from then on D:
Cerber
Pretty nice to see she doesnt have a "hero" fate. Her going to encounter a lot of hardship is already a given due to her nature. She is an anomaly who wants to explore and experience new things now. Not encountering any hardship is just weird
Seth
Thanks for the chapter, I’m glad that the gods in this case aren’t that significant and will not be active in this.
Emma Carlin
I think "energy's" should be "energies" at the end
Tim Maguire
Thanks for the chapter. Didn't expect to see gods this soon.
sean heaney
Just want to see the general's reaction to the arrow;( I wish the Gods weren't as dismissive as they were but i guess sense.
Kosnik4
Corrections
