Clearing

Chapter 97: Clearing

/Never give in to authority. I mean it. No one can tell you what to do. You should be free, like a bird in the sky, free to spread your wings and follow where the wind takes you, or to flap them and decide your own path. You should not be held in a net, chained to the ground by those who would place themselves on a podium.

Your choices are your own to make. Do not fight a fight that isn't yours, or not dear to your heart. Don't follow order that go against your morals, don't act on saying you disagree with, don' lie down and take a beating. Rise, soar into independence and never once let those who seek to chain you do so.

This life is your own. Don't obey, don't follow blindly. Think, question, and act for yourself. Always consider if something is worth your while. Should you really kill another? Is this amount of tax necessary? Do you really want a government?

Nay! We people must stand for ourselves! Rise against those who command you!! Do not let society dictate what buildings are flammable!! Smash in the windows of a shop! Light a church ablaze! Bring those who are corrupt to the guillotine!!! Enough is enough!

Soar, all ye beautiful birds! Soar not because I tell you to, but soar because you wish it upon yourselves!!/

Enrico the anarchist's "Call to the Sky."

- - - - - -

"Wow, damn, that sounds harsh," Mercury said, looking more closely at Marsh. He watched their eyes turn dark as they spoke, and their lips were shaking a little.

"Sounds harsh?" they scoffed. "That's not the half of it. The kin, those who are proper, forsake us. Half-n-halves. Impure. We aren't feral enough, not wild enough, too soft, and yet in a city they call us misfits and beasts. Tell me, fullblood, where are we supposed to fit in?" The captain looked up from between their hands, staring at Mercury, eyes dark.

The cat was silently, simply looking back. He saw the fur that was on the captain's arm raise up, making their clothes look puffy. Their fingernails seemed to glisten with sharpness, maybe some sort of bestial instinct skill, and their pupils had turned into slits. He saw that all the other soldiers had grown quiet, not even eating, simply staring at him and the captain.

It was awkward, the silence heavy. He really couldn't have a single normal encounter with sane people in this world, could he. What the hell was he supposed to say in this situation? Eventually, he sighed.

"I don't have your answers, kid," he said. "No one does."

Mercury watched as the eyes of his counterpart began shaking. He could feel the captain's breathing become laboured, their teeth seemed to grow into sharper fangs.

"Why?" Marsh pressed the words through their teeth.

"Because I'm not you. Choose yourself where you fit in," he said, maybe a little too harshly. "I mean, it's not like people will tell you where you're supposed to go, you need to find it. A home, that kinda thing." Good save there, he pat himself on the back.

As Mercury finished, the leader's eyes stopped shaking, their chest stopped heaving. It felt almost as if they shrank back down to a more managing size, but Mercury was sure he simply imagined it. He had been listening to them closely, and he could tell he wasn't in any danger particularly. They simply wished to yell at the world.

"Aren't you wise, old man," they said, sarcastically. "Those lines are a Dark a dozen. Worth less than a loaf of bread." The captain shook their head, gazing at the ground again. "Why didn't you get defensive?"

"I'm an old man," Mercury said, smirking to himself. "I know when someone is mad at me. You're not stupid, and you wouldn't attack me for something as silly as what I am, especially not if that's the exact thing you're being hated for. I guess I'd say you know firsthand what being in my position is like."

Marsh shook their head. "Damn it, at this rate I might just buy that you're 37. I've heard it all before, that violence breeds violence, spiral of hate, what have you. Cheap words."

"I actually am that old though," Mercury said. "But yeah, I get that, Words like that are cheap." He empathised with the kid. Well, they weren't a kid really, but from his view they were. Mid twenties, at best, and that was a kid through and through.

"Sure, Mercury. I'm sure you are," Marsh shook their head. "The kin grow to be thirty at best, unless they evolve more highly. And I can see your age on your fur. A couple chapters at best. No more than seven. Otherwise you would still be cooped up in some village."

"But I'm not a kin," Mercury said, wearing a light smile. "Never claimed to be one."

"Now you're plain lying," Marsh said, their eyes growing narrow.

"I mean it!" Mercury said, exasperated. "I swear, you people. Don't believe me then, I don't owe you an explanation."

For a second Marsh paused, then chuckled. "Alright everyone," they yelled, "we keep moving!"

As they walked, Mercury talked to some of the other soldiers as well. The red-haired one's name was Ryki, and the tallest was Kre. He also remembered the name of Nora, a woman with dark blonde hair, bordering on brown, who usually seemed cheery.

They travelled together, most of the time chatting about nothing much as the soldiers had to still stay somewhat vigilant. Having lived in the forest for almost a season, Mercury had to say he found it quite silly, but he respected their dedication. Maybe a bear or something would pull up on them out of nowhere.

Once or twice they had to fight off lizards, bloodthirsty squirrels, or even an overgrown owl, but most of the engagements went fairly quick. Whenever someone seemed in danger, Mercury helped out with his <Telekinesis> Skill, dragging birds lower by focusing it on the tip of a wing, or slowing other animals down by pushing against them. He was getting better with the Skill every time he used it.

Of course, whenever they were on break, Mercury tried to focus on his ihn'ar as well. He wasn't neglecting practice at all, using any moment he had for it, sometimes even entering the state while in conversation, in an attempt to better multitask during it. In his dreams, he was alone, working on expanding his mana veins by slowly chiseling away at the confinements. It would take more time, but most of his growth was more long-term focused as of now. In fact, he hadn't checked his status for a while now. Maybe he should. Status?

Status:

Mercury Rainfall Starlight

Level: 1->7

Species: Leyfal

Titles: <Tenacious Genius>, <Forest Usurper>, <Tutorial Completer>

Alias: Beast, Mittens

===

Hp: 280/280

Mp: 667/667

Sp: 307/307

===

Strength: 64 -> 68 (+5)

Vitality: 60 -> 61

Dexterity: 58 -> 65 (+1)

Agility: 59 -> 64 (+1)

Intelligence: 92 -> 94

Wisdom: 67 -> 79 (+2)

Willpower: 79 -> 85

Luck: 30 -> 34

===

Ability points: 55

World points: 47

Skill points: 2060

===

Gold: 4563

Beast familiars: 1/2

Wow. That sure was a change. After a quick read, he noticed a couple things. Of course, his stats had increased just from his actions, as they usually did, but additionally, he was gaining six points per level directly, and four Ability points to allocate himself. That was quite awesome compared to the points he used to get, so he was pretty stoked to see it.

He also got a surprising amount of wisdom, maybe due to the amount of time he spent just thinking about life and trying to understand others. It seemed to be the main factor for what made ihn'ar work.

His skills were progressing nicely too.

Skills:

Active: <Appraisal lv. 2>, <Novice Runecarving lv. 8>, <Bloodlust lv. 2>, <Crude Weaponmaking lv. 8>, <Dash lv. 9>, <Footwork lv. 4>, <Sneak lv. 5>, <Telekinesis lv. 3>, <Throw lv. 15>

Passive: <Enhanced Hearing lv. 1>, <Enhanced Smell lv. 4>, <Fall Damage Reduction lv. 2>, <Intuition lv. 1>, <Limitlessness lv. 8>, <Multitasking lv. 20>, <Night Vision lv. 3>, <Quiet lv. 4>, <Skill Point Generation lv. 1>, <Talent lv. 2>

Both: <Astral Body lv. 2>, <Beast King lv. 1>, <Daydream lv. 4>, <Dreamwalking lv. 4>, <Fast Learner lv. 1>, <Language lv. 4>, <Heightened Mana Regeneration lv. 1>, <Steady Heart lv. 5>, <Vast Mind lv. 2>

Abilities: <Breath (low)>, <Diplomacy lv. 1>, <Grass (lowest), <Mana Expansion lv. 1>, <Mana Veins lv. max>, <Stamina Vessel lv. 2>, <Warmed Up lv. 1>

Unique: <Shop lv. 1>

Many of them had levelled up compared to before. <Dash> was even close to an evolution, or at least where he thought the next evolution for the skill might be. He'd also managed to get <Vast Mind> and <Steady Heart> another level each while meditating, which was really nice. <Heightened Mana Regeneration> had been used, but mostly for meditating, not really for crystallizing any mana, so that was probably why he hadn't gained as much mastery as he would have liked.

<Telekinesis> was still stuck at level three. With how much he used it, the Skill was progressing incredibly slowly, and that was with him having an affinity for it from the reward. Genuinely really annoying, if he was honest, but it made him feel all the more secure that its evolution would be a certified banger. Hopefully it wasn't too far away...

Maybe he should also check in with <Skill Point Generation>?

[The Skill has currently produced 10 points, ready for the individual to claim.]

Mercury sighed. 'Alright, take them', he thought.

[<Skill Point Generation> has levelled up! <Skill Point Generation lv.1 -> 2>]

He paused for a second. Maybe the Skill would finally show its use...?

[<Skill Point Generation lv. 2>: Generates Skill points slightly faster. It is still slow.]

Damn it, now even <Appraisal> was starting to make fun of him! Stupid fricking pop-ups, ugh!

Still, it had at least contributed in some form, he had to give it that. Still at a loss of 490 points, but oh well. Maybe eventually it would make up for it. Probably not. Ugh.

After checking his current stats, Mercury continued following the group on the journey. Their trek through the forest was slow, but consistent, making progress steadily, and after a couple of days, they arrived at the target. It wasn't the huge graveyard Mercury had met the caretaker in, more a small clearing with a couple of wooden posts, the names of the dead carved into them.

When they arrived, Marsh raised their hand, signalling everyone to stop. They took a break, silently this time, not speaking a word, and once everyone had eaten and drank their fill, they took out shovels and began to dig. Mercury watched, unable to really create the proper amount of force with his ghost hands. He couldn't really "strain" himself for short, explosive power like with muscles, so no matter how much he pushed, it made only a small difference.

Maybe that would get stronger as his <Telekinesis> levelled up? In any case, he was looking forward to it. Still, for now he was relegated to simply watching them dig. Marsh was the first to finish one of the graves, and as they took out a humanoid shape wrapped in white cloth from their inventory, everyone turned to them. Together, they slowly lowered the figure into the ground, silently and solemnly.

Afterwards, Marsh began to carve the wood for the marker. They had taken it with them, from wherever their settlement was, and bit by bit, they carved a name, and a moniker, as well as dates. As Mercury watched, he thought about adding some runes to the bottom of the marker, and quietly asked Marsh about it. They hesitated for a moment but nodded.

While Mercury was working on making the new markers more resistant to weather with some impregnate runes, Marsh was instead fixing up some of the older ones, removing the moss, clearing any plant growth off and such. The others were still digging, each their own hole, for their own losses.

It was quiet for a long time, only the sounds of wood scraping away, and metal slashing into the ground to be heard. This again wasn't the surreal, all encompassing quiet of the caretaker, but a much more real silence, more present, and more... casual, maybe. It was a silence of company, rather than a solemn one, if he had to say it.

By the evening, everything was done with, all the bodies buried, and business taken care of. One by one, everyone had left the clearing, and Mercury had reinforced all the new markers, in hopes they would hold up a bit better. He had offered to treat the older ones as well, but marsh had declined. They might simply break if they tried taking them out the ground now, they'd said. It was probably true as well, so not much Mercury could do.

The soldiers had probably sat up camp by now, but he still remained on that clearing, looking at the mounds of brown dirt that had sprouted up. The grass hadn't spread to it, how could it in less than a day? For things to truly just blend in with the surroundings it would take months, and that was fine, too.

Some of the mounds had stones wrapped around them, others were bare, and again others were almost invisible. They'd buried the body of a child as well, Mercury had to guess from its size, which was quite sad, but again, he couldn't do much about it.

Instead, he simply sat there in the clearing, gazing up at the darkening sky, watching the first couple stars rise. Time ticked slowly, and there was little sounds but the cold breeze. The people he had travelled with, Marsh and Ryki, Nora, Kre and all the others were silent, and he felt as if today, the animals were too.

It felt like this forest was made to be a graveyard. He understood why these people came here to bury their loved ones, rather than anywhere else, even though it was a little dangerous. The place was good. Anyone would wish to be buried here, among those that came before, and those they laid to rest here with their own hands. Maybe one day, he would rest next to the people he cared for.

Not that that mattered to him. He didn't think that there was anything after death. At best, he would reincarnate, most likely without his memories, and in that case, he probably wouldn't meet anyone from his past life anymore. Sure, there was a chance, but it was so small, and he didn't quite see the point of being buried next to anyone in particular, but at least he could understand the thoughts behind it.

Mercury understood things most of the time. He always tried his best to see different viewpoints, exactly what his parents wouldn't have wanted him to do. That was probably where his issues with authority figures came from, huh.

Oh well, no sense dwelling on it now, he thought, turning back to the party. They ate a bit again to refresh their strength, before all laying down to sleep. Digging was hard work, and after a full day of it, everyone just needed a bit of time to themselves. Settle their thoughts and such.

Mercury did so as well, summoning his log and wrapping himself with blankets as his mind drifted off into sleep.

- - - - - -

Things had been progressing decently. Everything was set up properly for Avery to start his delve, entering the tunnel. Marcel would take care of any management, and he had come to an agreement with Kaga, meaning that if any big threats came up, she would be working for the seekers rather than the count.

Surprisingly enough, she had been pretty cooperative. Of course, the way he talked to her was a bit touchy, since she had a... strong personality, if he put it nicely, but she was eager to help people out. That was, again, putting it nicely. Honestly, Avery was pretty sure she was just bored and spiteful to count I'htar for no reason other than her being able to do so. Except maybe she also wanted to fight, and yell at Marcel some more.

The deal was, after all, that she would be staying at the gloryhall while Avery was inside the rift. He put together a team that wouldn't slow him down, instead providing cover and backline support, as well as a few buffs and medicine. And a couple warriors to protect the backline. As for who'd do the monster killing, that was him. Anything else would be spending resources liberally, that could be more efficient in deterring an enemy attack.

Thinking of the possibility again, Avery shook his head. He was dressed in the full combat outfit, including his goggles. Everything had been repaired, his jacket reinforced with minotaur leather patches. It was a bit heavier, but the fabric was much tougher against stabs now, so he hoped it would provide some protection against anything stabby in there.

Of course, one could never be prepared enough, and Avery knew that he would be risking his life, but then again, that was his job. That was the case in every expedition.

"You all prepped, Avery?" Marcel asked, the 'nutcase' standing a little further behind.

"Ready as I'll ever be," the guild master replied, giving a broad smile, and Kaga nodded as well. They looked at each other for a minute, and Avery could practically hear her thoughts. She'd keep her side of the deal up, and if there were no attacks on the city while he was gone, she would at least get to spar him.

"Good luck," Marcel said, patting him on the back.

"Thanks." And stuffing the last bit of bread into his mouth, Avery headed in.