Possession

After passing through the portal, I appear on a low mountain, almost like a hill. Observing my surroundings and not noticing anyone, I take out the map the guild gave me. The mines are in the mountain range visible from here.

Imposing mountains rise in a row. I know this area, it is near a military base of the Empire.

The Empire was built in its early stages on a closed plain with a whole mountain range as a natural wall. The capital of the Empire is located between the sea on one side, being one of the most important trading ports in the world, and the mountain range on the other side, making it difficult to get in and out.

This was not a problem for the royal family, who had a lineage ability that allowed them to grow wings and fly.

All mages after rank 3 can actually fly, but almost no one does. Flying requires a great deal of energy and concentration, limiting offensive and defensive capabilities while in the air.

In the face of invasions, the royal family would take their so-called raven troops, who had the same bloodline, and raid the camps the enemies were using to slowly advance. Nowadays, I don't know how many raven troops the empire has, but legends say that there are about 1500 third and fourth class mages.

Over seas no one could invade either. The Empire invested all of his resources on making the most powerful naval army of the time. It is said that no one could compare to them. Also the Raven troops could fly over the ships. casting magic and destroying evertything they saw.

Anyway, I won't have a problem, the mine is far away from the capital, and with the Elven King dead, the Empire has relaxed its guard.

Well, it seems that after going down the hill to the south, I will find a path that will lead me to the mine.

According to the map, I'm not too far away, about 30 miles.

I start moving quickly so as not to waste any time. After going down the hill I found the road and followed it south. There's not much to say here, it's a dirt road with deep wheel tracks, indicating that there's a lot of heavy wagon traffic. They are probably the ones that remove the iron after it is dug out.

After a few hours I find the road that leads straight into the mountains.

There is a checkpoint with several guards, a low wall and a watchtower in the middle.

Climbing probably won't help me get through. It would be ridiculous if they hadn't considered that.

The best alternative is to wait for a caravan of merchants and join them as a guard for a low price.

I could infiltrate that way, but I want to use the possession and see what I can accomplish that way.

I move away from the walls and look for a cave.

There is a small, simple cave, little more than 2 meters across, on top of one of the hills surrounding the post.

No one should go in there, I hope.

Kneeling on the ground, I activate my ability by murmuring his name in my mind.

It's not an ability I really understand, so Decrea had to give me a way to activate it.

Suddenly my soul leaves my body and I can see myself on my knees. I'm still more or less the same, my skin dark and my hair white, which I now arrange to cover my ears to avoid trouble.

I look at my soul-shaped arms and notice that they are darker than before. It seems that my soul is not getting any better....

Ignoring all of this, I decide to go outside. My soul form is floating and ethereal, it cannot affect the real world with my actions. I know I've been invisible since I possessed Alexander, but I don't know if a high-level magician can detect waves of my energy. Alexander did not detect me because he was meditating.

I cautiously approach the stand and can observe better. The wall has a double wooden gate reinforced with some steel, and on top of the wall are about 10 guards with bows ready to attack.

Below, at the gate, there is a small caravan of 2 wagons waiting to enter and probably bring up the cargo.

A man in a long tunic is talking to the guards at the gate. I guess he is showing permits and stuff.

Approaching the ramparts, I approach the archers and notice someone more interesting.

It must be the officer of this area, who is a rank 1 mage. He better be possessed.

Exploring a bit further, I find that there are only about 50 guards here. Battle-hardened soldiers. I guess this entrance has been attacked more than once.

I approach the officer's office and wait patiently for him to concentrate on something so I can easily possess him.

The man sits reading documents with a frown on his face, and after waiting about 15 minutes to check his dive, I attack.

My soul grows thinner as it dives into his chest. The man stands alert and begins to focus his mana to dislodge me.

But he is weak, and my soul form spreads like a disease, quickly reaching his brain.

The man's consciousness is not very strong, and after I appeared he basically gave up.

I control his body, and now that I have my physical form back, I take a few minutes to get used to the new body and analyze his memories.

The man's name is Richard, and he is a commoner who has become a wizard after much effort. I'm not really interested in his story, but he has a lot of information about the mine.

The mine is very poorly protected, it has a village around it and only a few guards. About 80 miles from here is an Imperial military base that has troops standing by in case the post officer, who is now me, raises the alarm.

It would take about 2 hours for those troops to arrive.

As I continue to test the body, I realize that I can't use Richard's mana, but I can use essence.

However, since Richard doesn't have an essence core, it can't be refined and will cause damage to the body when used.

Not my body, not my problem.

I also notice that this body has no senses. I can't feel pain, smell, or anything else. I can see because I see through my soul.

Well, is time to have some fun.