Kael leaned against a tree while the group of adventurers spread out, scanning the area for any lingering monsters.
The faint smell of blood still clung to the forest air, carried by a lazy wind that rustled the leaves. His mind however was far from steady.
He almost broke down when he heard that these guys were also adventurers like him. And what's more they were bronze rank like him, yet he felt largely outclassed.
The way they moved, spoke, even how they handled their weapons—everything about them screamed experience. Compared to them, Kael felt like a lost child clutching a sword too big for his hands.
He clenched his fists, swallowing the lump of frustration in his throat. 'I need to get stronger… fast.'
Once his injuries healed and he finally regained his composure, he opened his status and began to browse it's content for whatever peace it might give him.
'I should give this a try...' Kael thought as he reached the skills section, muttering the words, "Soul insight."
[Name: Doran [Human]
Class: Swordsman [Lv. ?]
[????]
___
Kael blinked in suprise. Immediately he activated his skill a screen popped into his view, only that it wasn't his... He was currently staring at the Doran's, the red-haired swordsman in the party. It seemed that whenever he used the skill he could peek into people's status.
"Interesting..."
'I guess the question marks either mean I'm not permitted to see that or I just can't.' he looked away and read the skill's description again to clarify. 'maybe I'll be able to if I level it some more...'
It didn't look like much but he saw potential in this skill, with a few level ups he could read any info on anyone, a handy skill indeed.
But then something strange caught his eye. While Soul Insight was still active, he noticed a faint glow in Doran's chest—a small orb of white flame, pulsing gently like a heartbeat. Kael was stunned.
"Is that... A soul?"
He turned his head slowly. There were more—they were to 1everywhere. In the trees, the rocks, the grass. Tiny motes of energy flickering like distant stars in the mist. The world had suddenly come alive in a way he'd never seen before
Then his senses picked up on something around him. It had been there for sometime but he only now noticed it once he noticed the souls around him.
"Could it be... The corpses."
His hunch was right. He stood excitedly and crouched beside the one nearest to him. The goblins did indeed have souls, but unlike everything else' they just hovered above the corpses.
He tried touching them but he just phased through as if it didn't exist to begin with but then a screen appeared before him, giving him a rather... Complicated expression.
[Soul Consumption is possible, would you like to assimilate this Soul?]
[Y/N]
'Soul consumption? As in eat souls?... I guess that's what [soul predator] does, but why does it feel so... Familiar?'
His thoughts flashed back to his night before as a complicated feeling washed over him. He had seen it before, back then when his sister had died.
"But back then... Yeah I didn't accept it,' 7he thought while pondering exactly what happened that day. 'Was she the one who accepted it?'
A heavy silence followed as the rest of the party continued chatting in the background, unaware of the thoughts raging inside him.
"I see" he whispered, placing a hand on his chest and trying not to taint his thoughts no matter how easily it seemed.
Instead Kael's hand hovered over the screen, his heart pounded like war drums, his eyes reflecting the pale glow of the lingering soul.
If he accepted this power, if he consumed it… what would it make him? He didn't want to admit it but there was a chance something could go wrong.
'I still don't know what happened to that knight.'
He exhaled shakily waving off unnecessary thoughts, "…Guess there's only one way to find out... I accept."
At first nothing happened, then a ripple of energy stirred the air as the goblin's hovering soul shuddered, severing into fragments. Before Kael could react, the light bent, drawn toward his chest in thin streams of light. At first it moved slowly with a subtle warmth added to it, then he felt something stir in him, Rage. It took him a second to realize it, what he was feeling was the rage that clouded the mind of the goblin then as quickly as it came, that rage disappeared, as if it were never there to begin with.
[Soul Assimilation Complete.]
You have absorbed the soul of a goblin.
Your soul has been enlightened.
"I just got enlightenment huh..." He sighed 'I was expecting to get one or two points to my stats but this'll have to do.'
His focus immediately went to the other two goblins sprawled on the ground a few meters from this one, so he strolled over them, trying not to raise suspicion as he consumed their souls, gaining the same results like the first.
[You have consumed the soul of a goblin]
...
[You have gained enlightenment]
[You have gained enlightenment]
'And that's all of them... Oh, just in time too.'
The party was returning and it seemed it was time to leave the forest.
"Young Kael," Gareth called out, surprised to see Kael's injuries already healed up. 'I could've sworn that was a serious injury just now.'
With anything to prove it though he just waved off the thought as Kael spared him a glance.
"Our job here is done and we'll heading out now, care to tag along? These forests be quite dangerous if you travel alone."
He hinted at the injuries Kael sustained earlier, prompting an awkward reply from him. "I– uh... I was heading to the nearest settlement a few hours to the south so I guess this is where we... part ways?"
The 'captain' glanced at his party members and back to Kael with a small smile on his lips. "You're in luck kiddo, we're from Fairhaven. We can head back together, what do you say?"
"Fine by me."
"Great... Elise, do you mind?"
"Sure" replied the black haired guy woman as she moved over to the house corpses and cut off their left ears with her dagger, and placed them inside a pouch on her waist. "Done."
"Ok team we're done with our quest, let's move out."
"Sure."
"Whatever."
"Got it."
Kael observed the team with mixed expressions. He wanted to ask what the ears were for, but he held himself back. He could finally leave this cursed forest.
With that, the group made their way out of the dense forest and onto the dirt track as the journey began, their next destination playing on Kyle's mind while he pondered just how their town could look like.
*****
"Alright, Kyle... welcome to Fairhaven."
The words came from Gareth, half-grinning as the group approached the towering city gates.
Kyle froze for a second.
"Keep up, rookie," Doran called over his shoulder as they reached the checkpoint.
What stood before them was a wall over 30 feet tall. Carved from cobblestone and concrete it was as sturdy as it was grand. Not to mention the city gate that was about half it's height. He'd never seen a city wall higher than his height before so what stood before him was a sight to behold.
At the gatehouse, a guard called out. A broad man with a trimmed beard and the same worn confidence Gareth carried.
"Gareth, you old bastard," the guard laughed.
"Still alive, you mean?" Gareth replied with a smirk, slapping a small coin into the man's palm.
The guard winked. "The usual fee, huh? Go on through."
"Thanks."
Kyle blinked. A large coin? He thought but decided not to ask.
Currency was grouped into copper, silver, gold and platinum coins. They were further divided into small and large coins. 10 small coppers gave 1 large copper and 10 large coppers gave 1 small silver all the way up to platinum.
They continued into the heart of Fairhaven, and Kyle could barely keep his head straight. Every corner opened into something new — an alchemist's stall with bottles that whispered, a tavern spilling laughter into the street, and a towering cathedral that glowed faintly even through the smoke.
He couldn't tell if it was excitement or fear bubbling in his chest. Probably both.
Eventually, the group slowed before a fork in the road. Ahead, a wooden sign stood—the Adventurer's Guild. The building wasn't in sight but at least he knew where to find it
"This is where we split," Gareth said, adjusting his gauntlets. "We've got reports to file.. You—" he turned to Kyle, "—should find a place to stay. Maybe the western inn district. It's cheaper, and you won't get robbed in your sleep."
Kyle hesitated, looking from the guild to the bustling streets ahead. "Yeah… I'll, uh… manage."
Hazel, who'd been silent most of the way, turned from the group. "Actually," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'll stick with him for a bit."
Gareth raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
"Someone has to make sure he doesn't get scammed by a fruit vendor," she replied, smirking.
Doran snorted. "Fair enough. Don't stay out too late — and don't feed him too much pity."
Kyle flushed slightly. Hazel just waved them off, then nodded toward the street. "Come on, Kael. You look like you're about to faint."
They wandered through the crowded lanes until Hazel stopped by a quiet corner inn called The Whispering Inns. A cozy wooden sign swung above the door, and faint music spilled out from within.
"Here," she said. "Not too fancy, but clean. You can crash here till you figure things out."
Kyle opened his mouth to protest, but she was already talking to the innkeeper, sliding a few coins across the counter.
"You didn't have to—"
"I know," she said, cutting him off. "But you'd argue about it all night. Consider it your 'Welcome to Fairhaven' gift."
He sighed, a weak smile forming. "You're too nice, you know that?"
"I've been told it's a bad habit."
After a bit of small talk — mostly her teasing him about gawking like a country bumpkin — she waved him goodnight.
Upstairs, Kyle dropped onto the bed with a heavy thud. The mattress was soft — softer than anything he'd ever slept on. He stared at the ceiling, letting the muffled sounds of the city filter through the window.
His thoughts wandered — Gareth's smirk, Hazel's calm eyes, the endless streets below… and the way his heart still felt restless, like something out there was waiting for him.
He exhaled slowly.
"Fairhaven, huh…"
Before long, the world outside faded into a soft hum, and sleep finally took him.