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1.71% New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live / Chapter 19: Soul Core, Part 2

Chapitre 19: Soul Core, Part 2

Another man got up amidst the laughter and walked to Astaroth.

"Excuse the nasty prank with the ale." He said, trading the mug in Astaroth's hand for another.

"The boys wanted to see you keel over, but you have a good stomach on you. Either that or no taste buds. BAHAHA!" He added, ending in a hearty laugh.

"My name is Chris Pentalogius. It's a mouthful I know, so my friends call me Chrispy. My subordinates call me the Colonel. You can call me whatever you like." The man said, bringing Astaroth to a table and sitting.

Astaroth held a laugh.

"Now, what you did yesterday was nothing short of saving a life. You saved Kloud's life by getting us and then saved another life, with that well-placed arrow."

"The boys wanted to reward you properly, so we got you weapons. Actual weapons. Not those toys you walk around with." Chrispy said, looking down at the training weapons Astaroth was carrying at his belt.

"We commissioned the blacksmith to make you weapons to replace your training weapons. All of them. Unfortunately, you carry a lot of weapons, so they will only be basic weapons, nothing fancy, but they will be better than what you have now." The man continued.

"Captain Kloud also had something he wanted to give you, as a reward for saving him, but he wanted to give it to you himself, and sadly, he is not in a shape to be walking around just yet. So you will have to wait." He then said, taking a swig of his mug.

Astaroth let him finish saying his bit, before taking a sip of ale and looking around. The atmosphere in the barracks was not one of despair or fear of having almost died.

The warriors all acted like it was just another day at work.

'Mind you, for them, it probably is.' He then thought.

"Then I shall graciously accept all of your gifts. I hope we can hunt together in the future and become friends." Astaroth said, smiling slightly.

These men just gave him what he needed most to level up faster. Better weapons!

That meant more damage, so more Exp! He was holding back from hugging all the men one by one.

He simply ignored the fact that Kloud wanted to give him something too. That would wait until he was better, anyway.

He stayed in the barracks for a bit, enjoying his ale and the ambiance, before leaving all the training weapons on the racks in the courtyard, and walking towards the forge.

He could feel the heat of the forge from meters away from the building. He walked into the smoldering building, getting assaulted by the heat once again.

This time though, he didn't get any notifications about overheating. He guessed that his higher stats protected him from the forge's heat better.

Astaroth took the small hammer and tapped on the bell lightly three times and then waited.

*Ding Ding Ding*

After a few minutes, the burly blacksmith walked out from the back. He looked at Astaroth for a second, before smiling.

"Aye, lad. Ye come fer ya weapons, ay reckon. Ay'm almos' done wif 'em. Whay don' ye come back later?" The blacksmith said.

"Oh? you already knew I would come to fetch them?" Astaroth asked.

"Aye. Ay knew dem soldiers wouldn' come fer 'em." The man answered, laughing a bit.

"Ok, well in that case, can I come back to fetch them tomorrow? Would that be alright?" Astaroth requested.

"Aye. That would be better, I reckon. See ye temerrow, wee lad." The blacksmith said, waving him away and walking back into the forge.

Astaroth walked back out of the forge and went to Aberon's house next. The old mage had asked him to come back soon, he still had something for him.

As usual, the door opened up to him before touching it. He walked to the back of the house and found the bookcase open, so he walked down again, making his way to the cave at the end.

Once he got there, he found Aberon sitting on the ground, legs crossed, meditating. Through his mana sense, Astaroth could see the mana around the man getting sucked in at an impressive speed.

'He's probably recuperating from his spells the other day.' He thought.

The old mage opened his eyes once Astaroth was close, sensing his approach. He unfolded his legs and used a little burst of wind to help himself up.

He then turned to Astaroth.

"Sit down, young man. You left after the body cleansing yesterday, but we weren't done. I still have one more thing for you to do." Aberon said, pulling something out from his robes.

It was the clear blue orb from the Alpha's body. He extended his hand to Astaroth, the orb resting on his palm.

"Here, take it." He said.

Astaroth took the item and inspected it.

'Dire Wolf Alpha Soul Core'

Crafting Material.

This item contains the remnants of a powerful monster's soul. Can be used for crafting a multitude of things.

Forging/Sewing: Can be used during forging or sewing to give +5 Agility points to armor.

Alchemy: Can be used in a potion to make 'Agility Potion'. The stats given depend on the potency of the potion.

Scroll Making: Can be used to make 'Scroll of Summoning, Dire Wolf Alpha'. The strength of the summon depends on the scroll maker's talent.

"But. sir, I can't use this yet." Astaroth said. after looking at the descriptions.

"You can." The old man answered flatly.

Astaroth just looked at the man awkwardly. Then, after a minute, it dawned upon him.

Soul core. Soul is another word for spirit.

This orb contained a spirit remnant! His eyes went wide. Aberon saw the change in expression and smiled.

"Seems like you finally understood. Good. Now I will guide you through forming a contract with the spirit. Although I can't do much to help you, I will try my best. But the result will depend entirely on you." He said, pacing around Astaroth again.

"I will do my best, sir!" Astaroth said excitedly.

He was maybe going to have his first contracted spirit! He hoped this would work.

That was possibly his edge over everyone else. He focused his eyes on the orb.

'I will make you mine.' He thought, smiling from ear to ear.


L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
Galanar Galanar

Since it's Christmas out there, for our Asian friends, you get a bonus chapter today. Happy holidays people :)

next chapter

Chapitre 20: First Contract, Part 1

Astaroth eyed the orb greedily.

"What do I do, sir?" He asked Aberon.

"Start by trying to feel the soul remnant inside the orb. It should look like a flicker of flame to your mana sense. Feel it out until you can see it clearly. Once that is done, try to contact it using your mana." The old man instructed.

Astaroth did as instructed. It took him a few minutes to feel the soul, and a few more to contact it.

Once his mana touched the soul, he felt a wave of hatred and anger wash over him. He could feel his mana being pushed back slightly.

"The soul is pushing me back, sir. What should I do?" Astaroth asked.

"Did you think a spirit will submit to anyone? One that you have just killed? What else were you expecting?" Aberon said, almost laughing at the question.

If taming a soul was easy, every mage would do it.

"Just keep focusing on it until the repulsion can't stop you from contacting it." He added.

Astaroth focused more. He pushed his mana harder and continuously into the soul until he could feel his mana touch the soul without interruption.

"I can force contact now. What next?" He asked the old mage.

"Now you crush the orb in your hand. Set the soul free. It will more than likely try to overpower you, but you must resist. If you can hold out against it until it deems you worthy, it will form the bond to your soul by itself. Remember this: anything you see will be in your mind." Aberon instructed Astaroth.

Astaroth nodded his head. He then took in a big breath and crushed the orb.

Immediately, darkness swallowed his vision. His body lost weight like he was floating in space, and he couldn't tell up from down.

A few seconds after, a wolf materialized in front of him. It was the same Dire Wolf Alpha he had helped kill.

It snarled at him.

"You think I will bond with you, puny elf?! You are much too weak to kill me, even less likely to force me into submission!" Astaroth heard in his head.

"You can talk?!" He responded.

"I can do much more. Kill you, for example." The wolf responded in his head, sending a wave of mana at Astaroth.

The mana crashed into Astaroth, sending him tumbling into nothingness, but he stabilized himself quickly.

"You don't scare me, you oversized dog!" Astaroth yelled at the apparition.

"Hmph! We will see about that!" The wolf huffed, then said.

"Let's see how long you would last against my pack if you were alone!" The wolf then said, before howling.

Around Astaroth, many wolves started appearing. They formed out of nothing and then surrounded him.

Astaroth pulled out his polearm and stood ready. The surrounding wolves snarled and growled without moving.

That changed rapidly as the wolves repeated the strategy used against Kloud. One moved in from one side and another moved in from the opposite side, trying to sandwich him.

If he tried moving sideways, out of the two wolves' way, another would lunge at him, forcing him back into the middle. He got hit a few times, but strangely, he felt no pain.

It wasn't until he got hit a dozen times he noticed why. The more he got hit, the weaker and slower he became.

It was like they were draining away his strength. And then he remembered what Aberon had said.

It was all inside his mind! They were draining away his mana!

Astaroth changed tactics and didn't let himself get hit anymore. He focused on dodging, not trying to hit back.

Astaroth wasn't damaging the wolves, anyway. He fought on like that for a few minutes, but he was rapidly tiring, and the more he grew tired, the more he got hit, forming a terrible circle.

'This isn't working.' He thought.

He tried to make sense of the situation while dodging, but couldn't focus enough. Then he realized.

It's all in his head. That's what Aberon said.

If this is in his head, doesn't he have absolute control? Theoretically, this could work, but he wasn't sure.

Unfortunately for him, he no longer had any other option. He stopped moving altogether, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.

The wolves all lunged at him, seeing an opportunity. Astaroth kept his eyes closed but imagined the space around him empty.

Astaroth visualized the darkness; he visualized himself in it, alone, with the Alpha's spirit. He kept his eyes closed for a while, but never felt the bites from the wolves.

He opened them up, and the wolves were gone. Only the Alpha remained. A look of anger was on his face.

"So you have figured it out. So what? Do you think that is all I can do?!" The Alpha said, snarling at Astaroth.

"No. That is not all you can do. But there is not only you in this space. And this space is inside MY mind. You will bend to me!" Astaroth said, domineeringly.

"I BOW TO NO ONE!" The wolf bellowed. He then tried lunging at Astaroth to eat him.

"I said BEND TO ME!" Astaroth yelled back.

The wolf received a wave of mana that came out of nowhere. It pushed him back and then pressed him to the ground.

The more he struggled, the harder it pushed him, eventually crushing him to the ground. The Alpha started whimpering in pain.

"Yield and bond with me. Only then will you stop suffering. Resist, and I shall ground your soul to dust!" Astaroth declared, acting imperiously.

"You are too weak! I won't yield!" The wolf responded, trying to push itself back up.

The force pushing on it only grew. It cried out some more, feeling its strength erode the longer this went on.

Yet, it kept resisting. It was stubborn to the end.


L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
Galanar Galanar

If you liked my story, add it to your library!

This story is in the Fantasy Carnival, so it needs Power Stones to up-rank. If I get into the top 100, I will drop an extra 2 chapters that day. Another 2 chapters for top 50. I will up the stakes at 5 bonus chapters for top 20, and another 5 for top 10! Please vote for me! :)

Also, I drop an extra chapter on Monday for every 100 PS I accumulate in the event!

We reached 65th position today We are slowly inching toward our next objective! Let's keep this going!

We have also reached over our accumulated 100 PS on Wednesday, so Monday, you get an extra chapter :)

If you like the novel so far or think something could use work, don't be scared to leave a review :)

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