Kiri looked over her advancements. She had been teetering on the edge of evolution for multiple Skills and the battle had pushed them all over the edge. In addition, some of those Skills had synergised. First there were her levels.

  Accrued Mana applied to Secondary Class.

  Level up…

  Level up…

  Level up…

  Level up…

  Stats adjusted: +4 Dexterity, +12 Agility, +8 Willpower +4 Perception, +8 Magic Control, +4 Mana Reserve, +20 Free Stats

  At ten levels in her Reborn Soul Dancer secondary class, she had been due a new skill. The options had all been Rare and none of them particularly useful for her so she had selected Improved Willpower. The description still floated in her vision.

  Improved Willpower (Rare)

  Willpower is often the most under utilised Stat, only rivalled by Charisma. Most believe it is only of use for those who wish to bend others to their wills. The mentalists and sirens of the worlds, luring all to servitude or their deaths. However, you’ve seen firsthand the effect a strong Willpower has, as you’ve bent reality to your desires. Walk a path of dominance where your will forges the way. For those lucky few, this Skill increases the user’s Willpower by 5%. Increases by 0.5% per Skill Level.

  The choice had been a relatively easy one given the lack of options. The evolutions and synergies, however, had been far more in depth. To Slay A Soul, Effective Soul Shift, Tethered Soulblade Dancing, Command the Soul and A Hidden Soul were all ready to evolve. Better than that, with their evolutions, many had synergised and it was hard not to be happy with the results.

  The first had been Command the Soul. She had forced it to level through practice and in large part to Nate letting her try and use the Skill on him constantly at the University. But it was not a perfect fit for her Classes or style. It had nothing to do with being Reborn, or at least not as far as she could see. Even the University had taught her that Charisma was the Stat for using soul energy to influence others. Her high Willpower let it function on low Willpower individuals and weak soul barriers, but even that came at an incredibly high cost to her soul energy. So when she had been given the option to evolve it so that it could be used to temporarily empower herself using an enemy’s own Stats she had jumped at the improvement.

  To Slay A Soul had evolved to allow her temporarily gain a fraction of an Embodiment bonus from whatever being she had slain. She’d had some concerns about that, wondering if by expressing the Embodiments of others might skew her own over time. Initially her plan had been to see if she could shift the idea of being reborn to include the temporary rebirth of the souls she stored with To Slay A Soul. But then the synergy had been offered.

  Soul Rebirth combined Soul Drain, To Slay A Soul and Command the Soul into something greater. She glanced over the description again.

  Soul Rebirth (M)

  You have drained the souls of others, restoring your own energy at their expense. You have slain souls, taking their power for yourself. You have commanded the obedience of lesser souls. Now combine those to permanently enhance yourself through those you slay. Let their deaths be an eternal rebirth for you. This Skill allows the user to drain Soul Energy from the dead and dying to restore their reserves. When a target dies while under this effect, the user may permanently increase their own Stats by Willpower / 100. The Stat increased is based on the highest Stat of the target. Maximum Total Stats gained through this method is equal to Skill Level * 3. Additionally, this Skill Increases the user’s Willpower by 10% plus 1% per Skill Level. Also increases Agility by 12%.

  A method for permanent enhancement was beyond powerful for her. More importantly, she could choose when to activate it, meaning she could make sure it was based on targets who would raise the Stats she wanted. Her bonuses from To Slay A Soul had never been affected by her Stat-increasing Skills. She guessed the evolution to Command the Soul would have been the same, since the bonuses were temporary. Soul Rebirth, however, would grant her the Stats she stole permanently. It had an upper limit, but it would grow with her. It was perfect. And it was just the first synergy.

  Effective Soul Shift had evolved to let her set up multiple locations she could move to at the same time. That had apparently been enough to interact with her Soul Sense, resulting in a synergy to unlock the Skill One Soul Two Realms. She might not have taken it except that it sounded like it might interact with her Soul Palace. That and the synergy had been a Mythic Skill. Reading over the description again she grinned.

  One Soul Two Realms (M)

  You have dipped your toes into the Spirit Realm, utilising the Spirit Realm to shift your location in the Physical Realm. In the Physical Realm you have used your soul to sense others, both friend and foe. Now you may linger within the Spirit Realm while maintaining awareness of the Physical Realm. Your soul sense ability has a range of 20 metres per skill level. Your soul shift ability can shift up to Skill Level x 10 metres. Soul Energy cost for both abilities is decreased by 1% per Skill Level. You may linger in the Spiritual Realm for Willpower / 100 minutes.

  Finally, Tethered Soulblade Dancing and A Hidden Soul had straight evolutions.

  Tethered Soul Weapons (M)

  You have refined your skills with soul energy, demonstrating the arts of both a Soul Dancer and a Soul Slayer. By using soul energy you can vastly enhance your bodily characteristics using the memories of other great warriors. Now, apply this same power by recalling the memories of famous and powerful weapons. The user of this skill can create a number of soul tethers, both for tracking individuals and for creating tethered arms that function with the memory of physical presence. Soul Tether tracking distance is based on Skill Level * 50 metres. Number of active tethers is equal to Willpower / 20. Tethered Arms is equal to Willpower / 50. In addition, the user may temporarily sacrifice their Physical Stats or Willpower to imbue a weapon with the memory of another weapon. Power based on number of Stats sacrificed and soul energy expended. This Skill grants +1% Agility per Skill Level.

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  Soul Concealment (L)

  Soul Magic is directly related to the thoughts and memories of sentient beings. To hide from them is to make them forget you were ever there. This skill allows you to make those of weak will forget your presence. Stealth through soul suppression. You may now extend this Skill to hide others. The more souls you are forced to suppress the weaker the effect. Skills levels decrease soul energy cost by 1% per Skill Level. Number of additional Souls that can be hidden is equal to Skill Level / 10.

  Her smile was brighter than the sun. A little over a year ago she, had been a Rare Class-holder. A step above a nobody, with barely enough power to defend herself, let alone control her own fate, her own destiny. Now she strode the world like a young titan, her brother at her side. The attack against them was proof of that. They were a threat to the status-quo of Etrua. Enough of a threat to warrant an attack that had likely weakened the Duchy that had dared to attack them: House Desmarais. Evindal had spent time explaining the position of their attackers, which was the weakest of the three Ducal Houses of Etrua. Evindal didn't know why House Desmarais had tried to kill them, but information gathering wasn’t the Platinum’s job. It was Deverell’s, and in lieu of her mentor, it would be hers. The growing business empire she and Nate were creating was already paying dividends. Now, it was time to put that mana and coin to work. And Kiri knew just where to start. The escorts of the Den of Desire absolutely adored Nate. She could understand why. He painted them, showing them they were beautiful, and he never asked for anything in return. She knew he did it for the love of creating art, but for the escorts of the Den, his act of kindness and generosity made them more than a little protective of him. She doubted it was going to take much convincing to have them start feeding her information. A little gold and mana would be more than enough encouragement. She just needed to manage it all. Because for all her brother's brilliance, for all his power and his generosity, Nate was not ruthless. Even with his clear growth around protecting himself and being less naive about the nature of this world, he would still baulk at eliminating threats before they attacked. She did not share that same reticence. Her mind quickly began making plans and she wondered how she had ever gotten through life without any sort of enhanced Intellect, even as the walls of the Capital loomed in the distance. Consolidate, expand, eliminate. She had her goals. Now it was time to turn them into a reality, even if that meant that Etrua was forced to go through its own rebirth to accomplish it. Something in her chest hummed at the idea.

  *************

  Nate finally started to feel himself relax as they walked onto the University grounds. He’d had multiple concerns as they approached the Capital. First and foremost, would the Guards know what had happened out on the plains beyond its walls. The bodies of the dead Retainers of House Desmarais had been utterly destroyed, their remains buried or scattered to the winds. Knowing he had cleaned up the mess did nothing for his worries, however.

  The Gold-bodyguard's bodies had been brought back with them, via spatial storage, and Null promised he would handle their affairs with his Father, Prefect Raoult. Nate did not envy the swordsman. Trying to answer his father while being bound under a System Contract that would limit what he could say would be incredibly difficult. Evindal had assured Nate that he would speak with the Prefect as well, but he still suspected he would end up at the Guild, sitting before the Prefects as they peppered him with difficult questions. Would they support him, as a member of the Guild, or throw him to the proverbial wolves? With that worry came an opposing sense of safety. Its source was simple. Aisling and Luc. He knew in his heart that no matter what the Prefects decided, his guardian and his spatial mentor would side with him. With Kiri in the mix, it felt nice to know he had support and friends.

  That however, was only his first concern. The second was if any issues had arisen from the killing of the Guard Inspector. At the time, he had felt like he didn’t haven’t a choice. In Etrua, the nobility had shown that they were above the law. His standing with the Guild should have offered some small amount of protection, but even after the Guard Inspector had been warned off by Princess Morgane, he had still doggedly pursued Nate. The man had even gone so far as to harm an innocent and threaten Nate’s life. Nate didn’t think Koriolos had been stupid. It had been the culture that told the man he could do whatever he wanted to those who weren’t nobility. But going against the Princess meant he must have been confident in his backing. While an amateur at these political games, Nate considered two likely possibilities for Koriolos’s behaviour. Either the man had the backing of a Ducal House or another member of the Royal Family. He didn’t know which it was, and he had no way of finding out. Even looking into the man could connect Nate to his death. Well, connect him even more than he was already connected.

  The concern around killing the Guard Inspector had not caused any problems yet, but he wasn’t convinced it would stay that way. So, when he had sat down in a sealed and warded room with Aisling, Luc, Evindal, Deverell, Frick, and Kiri, he had gone over everything. Much of it was rehashing topics they had already discussed. His room being burned down, being kicked out of the Enchanting class, his interaction with Caroline Lambert, his kidnapping, the battle that came after, the notebook they found and that Deverell had been looking into, their interactions with Koriolos and his subsequent death and how his corpse had been disposed of. Finally, he talked about the attack by House Desmarais. The meeting had stretched into the night and they had paused multiple times to have food and drink delivered as they deliberated over their plans and options.

  At one point Prefect Raoult had barged in to inform everyone, specifically Nate, that he would sit before the Guild Tribunal. The man had looked furious, but Nate could see the grief behind his eyes. Grief and fear. It had taken an explanation from Aisling that Etrua had always been a difficult country for the Guild, given the way they treated the populace and monopolised the ambient mana for use in Dungeons. If things went badly, the Adventurer’s Guild outpost in Etrua could face some very challenging days in the near future.

  Aisling had comforted him, assuring him that it was not his burden to bear. Luc, unsurprisingly, had told him that if they needed to topple a few Noble Houses, that he was on board. There had been mention of looting which had gotten Frick excited enough that Kiri needed to tackle the goblin spirit to calm him down.

  Deverell had shared his findings from the notebook, which, when combined with Luc’s underworld contacts, had painted a clear picture. Someone powerful had been running multiple operations around the country. The slaving operation in Helmfirth was only one such attempt. Deverell’s suspicions were that they had been smuggling manerium, capturing powerful beasts in the Kirshell Mountains, as well as engaging in acts of theft from major merchant factions in Gashana. Finally, the possibility that they had been behind the attacks on Dungeons near the border of Asmuisil. Someone had been accumulating a great deal of wealth, though they didn’t know who. At least not yet. While it all seemed to be criminal in nature, Nate didn’t see how it was relevant to them, beyond the slaving operation on Helmfirth’s doorstep. Still, more information was better than less.

  Luc had happily taken the powerful equipment they had looted from House Desmarais, and coupled with a number of samples from their Runecrafting Business, had taken his leave, headed for Asmuisil.

  With Evindal recovering and Deverell already looking into House Desmarais and the Guard Inspector, Nate had taken his leave of the Guild compound. Aisling accompanied Kiri and himself as they walked towards the University.

  “The Tribunal will take a few days to convene. It will be a sealed room, meaning only the Prefects, the two of you, and any Guild Platinums who wish to be heard, will be present. I wouldn’t worry too much. No matter how they want to spin it, you are entitled to defend yourself. And Nate, I am on your side. Just focus on your studies and your development. Leave the rest up to me,” said Aisling. He suspected she was trying to be comforting, but his stomach was doing flips. The Guild hadn’t done so much for him that he had any issues with leaving them, but the same wasn’t true for Aisling. He knew she would go in and fight for him. It didn’t take much introspection to know that he wanted to repay the favour she had shown him. And she had always loved the Adventurer’s Guild, even if she had been clear in her distaste for some of its members. He supposed that she loved the idea of the Guild. He could relate to that.

  Bidding her farewell at the gates of the University, they hadn’t even been halfway to the fountain when Flash, Coralie and a girl he didn’t recognise, but that he guessed was Flash’s lady-love, Celeste, came running towards them. All three bore expressions of worry on their face, but it was Coralie who spoke, blurting out, “Asmuisil has declared war.”

  The first thought that popped into Nate’s mind was, should he care?

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