Jason returned to consciousness to find a small face looking down at him.

“GRANDPA!” she yelled at a brain-rattling volume. “He’s awake!”

“He’s also a little delicate,” Jason croaked as Hiram’s granddaughter skipped off to find her grandfather.

He brushed aside the system messages for the moment to push himself into a sitting position and look around. He was in one of the cottages in the village from the looks of it, but not Hiram’s. That had been the first one destroyed under the whip that swept through the village like a wrecking ball. The bed he was laying on was in a small bedroom, with a large open window letting in pleasant fresh air.

As he was glancing around, Hiram made his way into the room, along with Humphrey and Neil. Neil pushed his way to the front and started examining Jason by pulling a crystal from his dimensional satchel and waving it over Jason.

Jason looked down as he did, spotting a scar running from his right hip to the middle of his torso on the other side. Neil spotted his gaze.

“Nothing I can do about that,” Neil said. “Soul scar. Physically, you’re fine, just very depleted. Don’t go trying to rush your recovery with stamina and mana potions, though. You’ve been asleep for four days, so take it slow.”

“Four days?”

“I’m not sure you realise how close to death you came,” Neil said. “We almost fed you a lesser miracle potion before I checked for potion toxicity and realised you were still getting over one. The state you were in, another one would have finished you off. If it weren’t for your outworlder body and that familiar inside you, I doubt you’d have lived long enough for my healing to take effect.”

“Thanks, Neil,” Jason said. “And thanks to you too, Colin. What about the monster?”

“Henrietta took care of it,” Humphrey said. “It wasn’t easy, though. She lost a couple of her familiars and had to resummon them after.”

“I did too,” Jason said. “I’ll need to get the materials, though. I only have the bronze-rank equivalents I bought for when I rank up.”

He swung his feet off the bed and held out a hand. Humphrey took it and helped him to his feet, supporting him when he staggered.

“Take it easy,” Neil said. “You’re still recovering from all that healing. We’re not going anywhere for at least another day while you recover. I’m guessing you’re hungry?”

“Yeah, now you say it.”

“Spirit coins, one every hour or so to replenish your reserves. No food for at least a day.”

“How flexible is the no food thing.”

“Not flexible at all,” Neil said. “Normally I’d tell you that if you want to mess up your recovery, that’s your business, but you’re part of this team. We have to rely on you, so get it right.”

Jason gave Neil a grateful smile.

“Alright, mate. The food stays stashed in my storage space for now.”

“You don’t have to got that far,” Neil said. “The rest of us can eat food while you watch and suck on a spirit coin.”

“Oh, that’s cold.”

“How are you feeling?” Neil asked.

“Tingly. Weak.”

Jason looked himself up and down. He was wearing only the silk boxer shorts he’d had on when he was knocked unconscious. The combat robes and underclothes were gone, as was the blood and sweat he was certain had stained them during the fight. Someone had clearly stripped him down and tipped some crystal wash over him.

“That’s normal,” Neil said. “As long as you keep eating spirit coins and focus on rest, you’ll be back to full strength in a day or two. I’d recommend using the time to meditate.”

Jason spotted his combat robe on a wall hanger, dangling from a peg. Like him, four days had been enough for it to recover as the self-repair magic restored it to pristine condition. Also like him, it had been cleaned.

“Thank you for what you did,” Hiram said as Jason took the robe and placed it into his inventory.

“Was it enough?” Jason asked as dark mist appeared around his body, obscuring him for a moment before disappearing, revealing Jason changed into casual clothes. “Did everyone get away?”

“There was a lot of debris flying around, even at a distance,” Hiram said. “There were a lot of cuts and scrapes, but your team’s healer saw to everyone after he had you settled. Hard worker, that one. We did lose a pair of elderly people. Their family were out of the village and with everyone in a mad panic, no one checked on them.”

Jason hung his head. “I’m sorry, Hiram.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Hiram admonished. “Nothing at all. Do not even try and apologise after fighting a monster like that.”

“I wouldn’t call it a fight,” Jason said. “More like a mad scramble to not die.”

“You did better than anyone had any right to expect,” Humphrey said. “Not many iron-rankers would have even tried what you did.”

“You would have done it,” Jason said.

“I wouldn’t,” Neil volunteered. “I’d have run as fast as I could while complaining I didn’t have powers to run faster.”

“I get that,” Jason said with a chuckle. “That’s pretty much what I did.”

Jason took out an iron spirit coin and slipped it into his mouth. He grimaced at the ozone taste.

“Good boy,” Neil said and Jason groaned in complaint.

“Feel ready to go out?” Hiram asked. “There’s a lot of people waiting to thank you.”

“No thanks,” Jason said. “Let Belinda turn into me and they can thank her.”

“If you’re going to run around playing hero,” Neil said, “you’ll have to accept people treating you like one.”

“What Neil means is that the people here want to show you their gratitude,” Henrietta said, walking into the room. “Part of the job is to let them. They need to know that the Adventure Society will be there when they need it most. The purpose of the Adventure Society, after all, is to let people live, without living in fear.”

She glanced at her brother, then turned back to Jason.

“Our family has certain views on what makes a real adventurer”, she said. “A lot of adventurers get caught up in the money and power of what we do and put aside the responsibility. You’re a real adventurer, Asano, and let no one tell you differently. How are you, by the way.”

“He’s as well as can be expected,” Neil said. “He’s still a day or two from getting back on the road, though.”

“Can’t he rest sitting in the skimmer?” Henrietta asked.

“It would be better if he has the freedom to walk about a bit and the peace to meditate without the skimmer’s air intake roaring behind him.”

“Alright,” Henrietta said. “Are you ready to go out and meet with people, Asano? You might as well get it over with.”

“No, I’d like a little time to gather myself. I’ll be out in a minute.”

The others shuffled out of the small room and Jason sat back on the bed, turning his attention to the system messages he had banished to the periphery of his vision.

Quest: [Evacuation]

Objective complete: Delay [Oasis Tyrant] until the villagers escape or help arrives.Quest complete.100 [Silver Spirit Coins] have been added to your inventory.1,000 [Bronze Spirit Coins] have been added to your inventory.10,000 [Iron Spirit Coins] have been added to your inventory.[Amulet of the Dark Guardian] has been added to your inventory.

Jason took the item reward from his inventory. It hung on a chain made of intricate links of carved obsidian. The amulet itself depicted a replica of Jason’s personal crest, a cloak filled with daylight sky, surrounded by the night.

Item: [Amulet of the Dark Guardian] (growth, iron rank, legendary)

A protective amulet with the power of a shadowy guardian (jewellery, necklace).

This item is bound to you and cannot be used by anyone else.Effect: For each instance of an affliction applied to an enemy, gain an instance of [Guardian’s Blessing]. You may bestow all instances of [Guardian’s Blessing] upon another person by touch.[Guardian’s Blessing] (boon, holy): Instances are consumed to absorb damage from any source. Additional instances have a cumulative effect. For each instance consumed, gain an instance of [Blessing’s Bounty].[Blessing’s Bounty] (heal-over-time, holy, stacking): Heal over time. Additional instances have a cumulative effect.

Growth Conditions (bronze):

Bound user must be at least bronze rank.100 bronze-rank barrier quintessence gems.100 bronze-rank renewal quintessence gems.100 bronze-rank balance quintessence gems.100 bronze-rank malign quintessence gems.1000 bronze rank spirit coins.Ritual of bronze ascension.

Jason clasped the chain behind his neck, slipping the amulet under his clothes.

“I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”

It did mean more materials he had to buy, however. He had blown most of his money on getting materials ready for bronze rank, plus the resources he had been literally pouring into the cloud flask. He had brought two sets of bronze-rank summoning materials for each of his familiars, in case their vessels were destroyed, but he hadn’t expected it to happen while he was still iron rank. Replacing the materials to resummon Shade would be bearable, but even the iron rank materials for Gordon were onerous.

Fortunately, the quest had given him a monetary haul, which should put a dent in his costs. He also had the loot from the elemental. Neil had used his own looting power on it after Henrietta defeated it. The team decided that Jason and Henrietta should split the loot, as both had expensive summoning rituals to perform as a direct result. Along with the spirit coins, Henrietta had laid claim to a magical bronze-rank whip made of water filled with razor-sharp stones. Jason received a epic-rarity discord essence.

He turned to the other system message.

New Title: [Resolute]

The damage you suffered in your stand against a much more powerful enemy has marked your soul. Your resistance to the suppressive force of higher-ranked auras is increased.Your aura signature has changed. Your unflinching resolve can be detected if your aura is examined by an aura sensing power or when projecting your aura.

Jason unbuttoned his shirt and traced his fingers along the scar, from his right hip, across his abdomen and curving a little way around the left side of his torso. It was strange to see a scar that looked healed, yet he had only found there minutes before.

Once again, he had edged right up to death. The more his powers grew, the greater the dangers he faced. This time has been a greater escalation than he had been looking for, though. He thought back to those moments when he was waiting for the monster to manifest, unsure if he would live or die.

In the end, he was lucky with the monster that appeared. Too many times it had been luck that kept him alive. From the beginning, he had become an adventure to seize control of his own fate. He had to get stronger, strong enough to face any challenge. He stood up, his face full of steely resolve. Then he got dizzy and sat down again, before getting up more slowly.

The waterfall sprayed out of the mountain, falling into the pool at the base, flowing into the channel that fed the lake around which the village was built. The force of the water sent it tumbling through the air instead of washing down the cliff face, leaving a space under waterfall at the base of the cliff. It was a favourite play area of the village children, jumping from the rocks into the pool. They were all strong swimmers, which was an oddity for children of the desert.

None of the children were present, most of the families having already left the village. Those still present weren’t letting their children out of their sight. With only a handful of homes left, most of the villagers had already headed for the fortified town where the regional villages waited out monster surges. Jason had visited that town himself, once, where Rufus had introduced him to the adventuring boards.

The remaining villagers occupied the small cluster off intact buildings. Leaving a small bedroom to Jason alone was a grand accommodation, in the circumstances. They had never intended to stay the night, so Jason had not set up his cloud house before the fight.

Quarry operations would not be resuming until the village was once again in a state to support them. Those that stayed behind were the mayor, the quarry operations manager and the other town leaders who were planning out the reconstruction of the village. Their plans were very up in the air, however, with the uncertainty surrounding the overdue monster surge.

Jason’s experiences made him more comfortable with people being annoyed, confused or both than with sincere displays of gratitude. He did a lot of smiling and handshaking, while in his head he was waiting for a shoe that never dropped. Eventually Henrietta rescued him, telling the people that he needed more rest. Hiram quietly suggested the spot by the mountain, knowing Jason was going to go off and meditate.

He sat alone on a wet rock, meditating as errant waterfall spray splashed him with pleasant coolness. He let his mind drift and the weariness of his body fade away. Periodically he would emerge from a trance state, slip a spirit coin into his mouth and then resume meditation.

System messages appeared periodically, which he ignored until he felt a wellspring of power building up, filling his chest with an uncomfortable pressure. He coughed up phlegm speckled with blood, which splashed into the water. Blue grey light started to shine from within his body.

Ability [Hand of the Reaper] (Dark) has reached Iron 2 (100%).Ability [Hand of the Reaper] (Dark) has reached Iron 3 (00%).All [Dark Essence] abilities have reached [Iron 3].Linked attribute [Speed] has increased from [Iron 2] to [Iron 3].Progress to bronze rank: 50% (4/4 essences complete).

Many of Jason’s most advanced abilities had finally seen real movement in the wake of the fight, including the Midnight Eyes power which, in spite of barely being used, was within grasping distance of becoming Jason’s first bronze rank power.

The sun was going down and it was time to return to the village where he had set up the cloud house. Before he left, though, he opened up his character sheet to look at his progress.

Jason Asano

Attributes

[Power] (Blood):[Iron 7].[Speed] (Dark): [Iron 3].[Spirit] (Doom): [Iron 3].[Recovery] (Sin): [Iron 7].

Essences (4/4)

Dark [Speed] (5/5)

[Midnight Eyes] (special ability): [Iron 9] 99%.[Cloak of Night] (special ability): [Iron 9] 12%.[Path of Shadows] (special ability): [Iron 8] 41%.[Hand of the Reaper] (special ability): [Iron 3] 00%.[Shadow of the Reaper] (familiar): [Iron 3] 09%.

Blood [Power] (5/5)

[Blood Harvest] (spell): [Iron 7] 41%.[Leech Bite] (special attack): [Iron 8] 14%.[Feast of Blood] (spell): [Iron 7] 02%.[Sanguine Horror] (familiar): [Iron 8] 89%.[Haemorrhage] (spell): [Iron 8] 92%.

Sin [Recovery] (5/5)

[Punish] (special attack): [Iron 8] 45%.[Feast of Absolution] (spell): [Iron 7] 63%.[Sin Eater] (special ability): [Iron 7] 69%.[Hegemony] (aura): [Iron 9] 18%.[Castigate] (spell): [Iron 8] 21%.

Doom [Spirit] (5/5)

[Inexorable Doom] (spell): [Iron 8] 97%.[Punition] (spell): [Iron 8] 24%.[Blade of Doom] (spell): [Iron 8] 26%.[Verdict] (spell): [Iron 6] 94%.[Avatar of Doom] (familiar): [Iron 3] 12%.

He was now well and truly on the path to bronze. His newest powers hadn’t been increasing much during training but the regular hunts as they travelled around, clearing adventure notices had seen a surge. By the time they reached the heights of his older powers, it would probably take bronze-rank monsters to really push him over the line in anything like timely fashion.

He got up and meandered back into the village, walking barefoot across the lush grass that grew alongside the channel, in defiance of the desert surrounds. He was struck again by the destruction visited upon the village. If the sudden preponderance of silver-rank monsters was any indication, he would have all the monsters he needed to rank up in the very near future.