The announcement didn't seem real as I looked down at the floating screen before me. My knees shook as they buckled, sitting down to my surprise I started to cry. It wasn't messy tears, but the quiet kind where you're not sure where they came from. As the others gathered next to me, we all sat for a moment, almost processing more than anything. The soreness, aches, pains and more rushed in as adrenaline left us, and yet we were alive.
20,000 XP has been awarded to each party member
You have leveled up 4 -> 6
HP 16 -> 20
MP 56 -> 65
Int 24 -> 30
Party member Kaelen leveled up 3 -> 6
Party member Liora leveled up 5 -> 6
Party member Selene leveled up 5 -> 7
Party leader Jax leveled up 4 -> 6
"Heck yea, we broke level 5"
Jax said in a weary voice as he layed down in the ash. While a part of me wanted to stay clean, I was too tired, relieved, and euphoric about surviving to care as I layed down next to him.
"Ok, please tell me I was not the only one who was seeing constant notifications during that fight with a play by play."
Kaelen said laying down next to Jax and I.
"Oh, thank god, I thought I was seeing things"
Liora said joining us on the ground.
"That was me, I read in an adventuring tip book the party leader can edit settings like that, apparently its used by high level adventurers constantly to ensure they know what's happening."
Jax said grinning at us.
"Well tell us about it before you mess with things, it was distracting!"
Liora yelled weakly in annoyance.
"It was a bit distracting."
Selene agreed, slowly moving to lay down, moving as if her entire body was sore, which it probably was.
"Well, you all don't get to be angry with me right now, I almost died."
Jax said in a huff rolling over to face away from us.
"We all almost died you alcoholic furball!"
Kaelen, Liora, and I all yelled at Jax.
"Well, I got closer to dying."
Jax said in a huff. Liora and Kaelen continued to argue but I felt a tap at my shoulder as I turned to see Selene was looking over towards the body of the still smoking Blood Trent where the 3 ash spirits floated watching us. One even held its taloned hand to its mouth, their shoulders bouncing slightly as if, chuckling to itself. The others noticed as well as we all turned to the ash spirits.
"Um, sorry about attacking you before, we didn't know about, well this until yesterday."
Kaelen said gesturing to the Blood Trent. The ash sprits said nothing, instead they clasped their hands as if putting their large claws in nonexistent sleeves and dipped their heads in what seemed to be a strange bow. As they did, two of the ash spirits seemed to dissolve, the one in the middle turning to point at a spot in the wrecked temple grounds before dissipating themselves. As we all sat another notification popped up.
Ash Spirit(E) has dropped spirit ash(D)
Congratulations, you have reached level 5, pick from the skills below
Herbal Extracts(E)
Utility Solution(E)
Tonic of Clarity(E)
"Hey, guys, I just got a thing saying to pick a skill."
I said pointing at my system screen to show the others.
"Yea, every 5 levels you get a choice of 3, but apparently every 20 levels you get a class evolution choice instead. For mine I got the choice of wind cutter, gale step, and air shield, I went with gale step"
Liora explained showing her gale step skill.
"Can't wait to try out this Iron Fist skill once I get my Ki back up"
Jax said stretching as he got up before wincing, his wounds healed, but still sore.
"If I wasn't also tapped out, I could help you with my new Filling Faith skill Kaelen said."
Both seemed rather content with their choices, as such I turned back to my own selection and looked for what all of them did.
Herbal Extracts(E) - Passive
Gain the ability to create concentrated extracts from herbs, making potions more potent. Potions using these extracts have increased effects, providing stronger support for healing, endurance, or resistance.
Utility Solution(E) - 15 MP
Brew a specialized solution with a unique utility (e.g., temporary night vision, water breathing). The potion lasts for 1 hour and can be tailored to specific needs, offering versatile support for different scenarios.
Tonic of Clarity(E) - 10 MP
Craft a tonic that enhances focus, granting a bonus on Intelligence or Wisdom for 1 hour. This is ideal for allies requiring mental clarity in puzzles, negotiations, or complex spellcasting situations.
As I looked over the list I felt an odd pang of disappointment, a similar feeling to when I first unlocked my class and saw I didn't have any combat skills.
"Are you ok?"
Selene asked in a quiet tone, sitting up and looking over my skills with me.
"Just a little disappointed with the selection is all."
I said rereading them just in case I missed something. Selene gave me an awkward pat on the back.
"Without your potions we would have all died, just because they arn't flashy doesn't mean they aren't vital."
With that she stood up and walked over to where the ash spirits were, grabbing the small bag that contained the spirit ash the system mentioned. I turned back to my system screen, and after a moment selected Herbal Extraction. It wasn't flashy, but I never needed to be flashy before and I still helped everyone despite that. As the screen closed, I looked around to see what everyone else was doing. Selene seemed to be holding her arms out, as if only just realizing how covered in ash we all were. Kaelen and Jax sat in the ash kicking up a small cloud as the two had their system windows open, comparing how their level ups improved them. Liora on the other hand was pulling bits and pieces of the wreckage from the shrine.
"Did you drop something?"
I asked walking over and peering over at where she dug.
"I'm trying to see if that logbook we saw a day or so ago is intact."
She said as she heaved a large rock out of the way. I wasn't sure why she was doing it, but I started to help her move stuff as I asked.
"Just curious about how the Blood Trent got here?"
At this Liora stopped and stared at me.
"What do you remember about ash spirits?"
I blinked at her a bit in surprise as I thought back, and while it might have just been my imagination, that increase to my intelligence score felt as if it made the memory easier to recall, and clearer.
"Well, they are created when someone dies in a fire with a strong desire to do something and generally exist to do that last thing, why?"
Liora went back to digging as she said
"Yes, people, who had lives, legacies, hell names. They gave up going to the afterlife to slave away in a monsterous form to keep that demented tree from destroying their home, they spent every waking moment keeping it back so the people in the city and the travelers who come through this mountain have a chance to stop it before it couldn't be stopped by ordinary people. The least we can do is give them a grave."
I sat in a stunned silence as I thought about Liora's words. She was right, while we were celebrating our accomplishment, we haven't fully been grateful for the sacrifice needed to allow us to get here. If the ash spirits had done nothing there wouldn't have been a quest, I would be living my life on the mountain, unaware of the cancerous tree spreading and becoming too strong to stop without calling in high level adventurers. Had they not burned the ash circle Jax, and I would have never gone to the library to learn if that is what Ash spirits are like, had they not saved us at the last minute, we would be dead.
I joined Liora in digging, and soon so did Selene, and even Jax and Kaelen. We all quietly dug at the shrine despite the fatigue until we finally reached the hidden book, it had been damaged, many of its pages withered, and crumbling after soaking in blood and crumpling away, and most of the rest illegible, but there was a message on the inside of the front cover, it was hidden behind the leather binding but stuck out from a part of the cover that was damaged. Liora pulled it out and read aloud.
To those who would find this letter,
If you're reading this, you've stumbled upon the very first page of our brand-new logbook for this little, out-of-the-way shrine. My name is Quill, and I run things here after inheriting the shrine from my mother, alongside two of my favorite people in all the lands—my wife, Danna, and my brother, Leon. You'll see us in that tiny sketch I drew just below. Yes, I know: Leon says I've given him too much hair, and Danna claims I missed her best side. But I hope our smiles shine through anyway!
Why did I leave this silly little doodle in a secret spot? Well, we found that the old logbook after almost 100 years of use was breaking and getting full, so we were going to simply rebind it with new leather and pages, but hidden inside it was a heartfelt time-capsule note from a family who once watched over this shrine before us. Their words warmed our hearts and made us feel like we'd connected with those from far in the past. So, we thought, "Why not do the same for whoever comes next?"
We may not get many visitors, but this shrine has stood for generations—through storms, celebrations, and everything in between. Whether you're a wandering traveler taking shelter, or someone carrying on our work long after we're gone, we hope our scribbles here make you smile.
And if you find yourself craving a bit of quiet, feel free to sit by the lantern out front and watch the fireflies come out at dusk. Danna likes to say they've got all the gossip of the forest—and if Leon's snoring in the corner, well, that's just his way of saying he's comfortable around you.
Take care of yourself and of this place if you can. We might not be famous or fearless knights, but we've poured our hearts into these walls. Our wish is that the warmth we've shared here can be passed on to you.
With a cheerful wave from the three of us,
Quill, Danna, and Leon
As She finished reading the letter she passed it around for the rest of us to see. The doodles of the three were on a small corner of the page, independent as if they had been drawn one after the other. In one was a woman with short hair in a long dress smiling as she held a broom sweeping, that must have been Danna. Next them was of a man with muscles and a beard flexing his arms with a goofy grin on his face as he seemed to hold a wink captured in space. The last was more modest, a photo of a man who wore a set of large glasses and a fancy looking robe, drawn as if he had been looking into a puddle in order to see his own features to draw. As the letter was passed around it was quietly folded back to its original shape, and Kaelen turned to the rest of us.
"I do not know your religious alignments, or customs, but if I may, can you all assist me in a prayer to the hearthqueen?"
We all silently nodded as Kaelen had us all kneel in a line in front of the wrecked shrine.
"Oh, mother of love and family, this servant of your will seeks your assistance once more. A great home has been extinguished, one that has stood for generations, its inhabitants snuffed out by cruelty, and abandonment, and yet they sought to preserve the love, lives, families, and homes of others as they watched their own fall. Please guide the now wandering souls to the embrace of In'rack so that they may finally rest after they have served others over themselves."
We all sat in silence for a moment after the prayer, and as we did, I felt a slight breeze on my back. I turned as did the others and saw a strange sight. There was a figure, they seemed to look monstrous. They stood with cloven feet, their body tall and lanky, their hips connected to their chest by a visible boney spine with a snake coiled around it, their head resembling a skull with antlers protruding from itself. A part of me tensed however Kaelen held a hand up as if to tell me to wait. The figure stood quietly for a moment as 3 small balls of light floated up around the figure's antlers. The figure looked at us before giving a gentle nod, holding a hand out as if to hole someones hand as they started to walk away, fading away. Kaelen bowed his head.
"This servant is honored to have their words heard."
"What in the hells was that!?"
Jax said turning to Kaelen for an explanation.
"That was In'rack, the god of souls and history, it is said that when one dies In'rack will find their soul and walk them to the afterlife, listening to their life story so they can be remembered by their future generations, his priests written them down and store it in a grand library called the hall of ancestors."
"Then why does he look so....monsterous?"
Selene asked as she had hidden behind me for some reason, like I was somehow going to block something she couldn't.
"Well, I don't know too much, but I think part of the reason is he often takes a souls grief when they pass on onto himself, and the other part being a terrifying watcher who makes those who would seek to steal the souls scared."
Kaelen said stretching before starting to rumage around the rubble of the building before moving on to searching the ash.
"What are you doing?"
Liora asked in a flat tone.
"For the next step we need stones, help me find some."
We took an hour or so, gathering stones from outside the ash zone to make proper burial grounds, we didn't know Quill, Danna, or Leon's religion so we used the funeral rights of Freyungen which involved the creation of a large stone fireplace for the body's to be placed inside of with a large fire built around them.
It was dark by the time we had finished the rights; 12 full hours had passed since we had woken up that morning to get ready, we had planned, fought, almost died, dug up a building, and prepared funeral rights as best we could. What was left was weariness and fatigue. We didn't care that we were covered in ash, we returned to my cabin, found places to lay down and collapsed. In seconds the others were snoring, but I layed awake, staring up at the roof of my cabin, my mind thinking about the day and everything that lead to this point.
The pain, struggles, perseverance, and what it truly meant to be an adventurer. I thought back to how my grandfather had told me that adventuring was something you don't do half heartedly, and he was right, I could have died today, I was close too, but as I layed there and closed my eyes and thought about what we had achieved. I helped 3 tireless protectors of this mountain finally rest, a whole other world on the mountain I hadn't even known about despite being only a few miles away. I thought about seeing confirmation that their spirits would be remembered and I thought to myself.
"So, this is what it means to be an adventurer."