Ch:58 – East forest – Part 2

Year 5015, day 80 of the flowering season.

After receiving a quest to gather some herbs, we headed east, where the horned rabbits and the ruins were.

We passed by the guards and soon reached the forest.

After recovering, my parents gave me an earful harsher than the one Aurora had given.

Still, they didn't forbid me to continue with my adventuring job as I expected they would. Instead, they told me that I could only venture southward with a proper party. After what happened, even Aurora agreed that I should find some allies.

"When does the military academia start?"

"It already did, but Aurora won't be able to join without being a noble."

"Do you really believe the prince will make my family part of nobility?"

"It is possible."

I looked around Elise in silence, searching for herbs or enemies.

Soon, I, too, would have to get my own set of members.

Elise would likely be one of them.

I took a glance at my title's information, still upset about the one I obtained thanks to the goblins.

Notice: System consumed 2 mana.

[

Titles:

Reincarnated+.

Wisdom.

Heritage.

Amalgam. 

Soul-Bound.

Contract.

Monster Slayer.

Slime Slayer.

Horned Rabbit Slayer.

Goblin Slayer.

One who opposes.

Bearer of Defeat.

]

"Maybe these?"

Her words made me close the window, causing me to faintly smile at her discovery.

"Ah!" It was not the blue herbs of the quest that people bought, which helped reduce the effects of paralysis. This time around, I was looking for the opposite kind, Aconitum, a purple herb which, upon eating, would paralyze. "That's it!" I rushed and plucked them into a bag carefully.

"How come you've become so interested in alchemy?" She crossed her arms, looking at me from above with a suspicious glint in her eyes.

"I'm weak. Somehow, I managed to survive. I don't remember how, but I was lucky to be saved."

"Grandpa's job is nice to help people in their quests."

"Yes," I added briefly, plucking one after another.

"But you already have a discount on his potions."

"I do." I halted and matched her gaze. "But those aren't the type of potions I want to make."

Her eyes closed and stayed shut for a few more seconds than normal. Then I heard a long sigh, and finally her lips and eyelids opened.

"It could work against goblins. If anything, they're identical to us."

As to be expected of Elise, the granddaughter of an alchemist. She understood my reasoning and knew his art. With her knowledge and support, there was a chance to make this work.

'She's such a good girl. Oh, how she loves you,' a voice not mine whispered in my mind.

'Beautiful too,' a distinct one with a lustful intent.

I held the shaking within.

A sensation of vertigo crossed my brain.

Notice: Due to your class characteristics, the corruption is growing stronger.

'Shut it,' I growled within.

Cackle followed, echoing everywhere.

Then silence.

"Iris?"

"Sorry, I zoned out."

"You barely recovered from what happened. Maybe you should rest for a few more days."

"It's alright. I'm alright." I got hold of another herb, the last one here.

'To lie to such a pretty girl.'

I bit my tongue at those words, pushing the voices away and remaining as awake as possible.

"I'll grab those pink herbs. They have healing properties."

"Alright, Elise. Thank you."

I saw her walk away.

'Status skill show me the messages from after I fainted.'

Notice: Loading...

[

Your health points have reached zero.

System: You have received the title Bearer of Defeat.

You've become closer to your inner you.

Soul-Bound has reacted.

Soul assimilation rate increased: 2% > 3%.

The eight seeds have begun germinating. Each one needs a vessel.

Look for worthy soulstones to plant your egos. Otherwise, your mind will be engulfed by corruption.

Fulfill their wishes, and you will be rewarded.

Ignore and deny their existence, and your soul will be destroyed.

Once you finish the preparations, a trial to prove your path will come.

Fail it, and you will lose your class. Succeed, and you will become <true>. 

Once you become <true>, you will gain <authority>; therefore, you'll become <titled>.

Due to your class specifications, you'll need to obtain a territory where you can exercise your <authority> as the leader of your egos, a <coven>.

]

My eyes widened more and more with every passing sentence.

Considering my status skill was a bit special, since it could tell me all kinds of things. Elise's personal data wouldn't have told her this information. Worse, the fact that this info only appeared after I gained a title that required me to faint. Just how much did the Goddess or even the system not want humanity to know about this?

Was this perhaps part of the censorship the church created? Did they know the truth?

"Are all the disgrace classes like this?" I muttered in disbelief.

Quickly, I looked at what my skill meant.

Notice: System consumed 2 mana.

[

Soul Quality: Tier 3.

Soul Size: ???

Soul seeds 8/8: Love | Lust | Moon | Nature | Helplessness | Fright | Wrath | Abhorrent

]

'So, I'll need eight soul stones,' I did a knot on my bag. 'Worst case, I can buy some.'

Anything was better than losing my class. Who knows how many years it could take for me to find another with this rarity?

With my luck, perhaps, I'd never find another one.

'I need to fix this corruption,' the voices caused my head to ache.

Their sinister laughter made me uneasy. Just what in the world are these egos? The word itself, along with a few others, didn't make sense. It was great, my status skill had explained things like never before. Yet, I couldn't quite grasp half of them.

"Iris!" A shout filled with despair suddenly woke me up.

"What?" And I felt my body blown away. It took a few seconds for me to hit the ground.

Notice: You've lost 3 health points.

But alas, the truth didn't take long to arrive. 

In fact, with a wobble and senses rather numb, I found a mark close to where I was standing moments ago.

It was dark and swollen with some depth—a hole one would call it, but also not quite; it looked more like someone had stomped on it with quite the weight. It left me perplexed for a moment, but not long enough to be hit by another attack. Considering I lost some health, my awareness was starting to rise. However, it was still far from my peak performance. My leg wasn't burned, but it hurt. Still, I gritted my teeth and got up. Curse this world, I won't fall a second time.

That's what I figured, but quickly, I was pushed down by Elise. Her hand covered my wounds, and a light shone the moment her healing skill was activated, the moment the words slipped past her lips.

"Thank you," my declaration came with a mix of emotion and reason.

"There's a big group of monsters fighting beyond those trees."

I followed her eyes as her head rotated to her right, indicating a zone ahead. A group of blue slimes fought a trio of horned rabbits. It looked like 6 to 3, but possibly more, as there were a couple of trees between us.

"I..."

"We can try to profit from that."

I could smell the scent of money and soulstones. However, the hidden danger in her words didn't escape my interpretation.

Two versus at least 10 monsters were quite the odds.

I went for my bag, which wasn't too far off.

"It's not ripped," I smiled, relieved. It had sheltered my hard work. 

I placed it on one of the lower branches. High enough to not be consumed by a wanderer slime and still within my reach. 

'If I need to escape, I'll be able to take the herbs with me.'