Long after sunset, Ashinaro headed back to the city. He crossed the bridge into Arkalis, his battleform drained, his humanform not much better, and dragged himself to his room, where he collapsed onto his bed.

  He was starving, but he was too tired to go find something to eat.

  Twenty-five monsters. He’d killed twenty-five monsters in a single day. And that was without even really trying, as he’d spent most of his time mapping Briny Grove, only killing monsters when he came across them.

  Granted, they’d all been Copper or Silver Beasts, other than that one flabbergast, but it was far more than he would ever have been able to manage before getting these relics.

  Well, he knew relics empowered you. He’d seen it firsthand. It wasn’t even surprising. Really, the only surprising thing was that it was finally happening to him, that he really was this much stronger.

  Or perhaps the surprising part was that it had happened so quickly.

  Most people didn’t get three new relics in just a few days.

  Then again, most people didn’t get two relics from a single quest, or get divine crusades from themselves.

  Ashinaro drifted to sleep imagining just how much more powerful he would become.

  After spending the night with Rosewind, Hornblade didn’t feel any better.

  Well, that wasn’t true. He did feel better, but he was still annoyed and frustrated.

  With Rosewind for being irresistible. With his goddess for offering him such an irresistible reward.

  With the drakken Defender who had escaped him.

  There was only so much he could tolerate.

  As always, Rosewind had gotten him to talk when that was the last thing he’d wanted to do, but it had led to him finding out more about those strange gas-filled monsters.

  She’d laughed when he’d been ignorant of their existence.

  Apparently arnaphen were famous on this continent, which to him didn’t seem like much of a rebuke, considering no one had been to this continent in generations.

  That was the whole big deal about it: a new world to explore that hadn’t been explored in ages.

  It did explain how a Beast had managed to affect him so. There was apparently a saying among the drakken, ‘Even a Myth falls to the arnaphen.’

  That seemed like a myth in itself. Something to scare children or the weak-willed.

  But, it had affected him, so maybe there was something to it.

  According to her, he’d been lucky to get out with his life.

  While inhaling the gas caused delirium, those barbs could pierce practically anything, and if they injected you with their poison, you wouldn’t simply hallucinate, you would die.

  It also explained why the minor wound he’d sustained to his hand hadn’t yet healed. It would eventually, but it would be a much slower process than normal, at the rate of someone who wasn’t a godsworn. Whether that was from the gas or the barb itself, she didn’t know, but said he was incredibly lucky to have been cut without being injected.

  Thankfully they only resided in a singular spot within the Festering Fen, which was what the horrid swampland he’d followed the drakken into was called.

  So as long as he stayed away from there, he wouldn’t run into more of them.

  “What are you thinking about?” Rosewind asked, running a hand over his chest.

  He jolted, having forgotten she was in bed with him.

  He grunted and swung his legs over the bed, picking up his clothes.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  He could feel her staring at his back as he dressed.

  “Where are you off to?”

  “I have some things to investigate,” he said, pulling on his shirt and looking around for his boots.

  “If you’re going outside the city at night, be careful. There’s a strange monster about. Killed three already.”

  “Who?” he asked absently as he spotted his boots and began pulling them on. He vaguely remembered something about someone getting killed in a strange manner not long before he left on his quest to the tower south of the drakken city.

  “Not sure. All were Lesser Champions, but the head guard was seriously injured, and she’s a Greater Champion.”

  Hornblade was less blithe about strange monsters now after the arnaphen, but his Wind Stride relic allowed him to travel swiftly, and out of range of most monsters.

  “I’ll be fine.” He turned around and instantly regretted it.

  Rosewind faced him, lying on her side, head propped on her hand. She had not bothered to get dressed nor to cover herself in any way whatsoever.

  He looked away and headed for the door.

  “See you soon,” she called with a playful lilt.

  He ground his teeth together, but resisted slamming the door behind himself, which he was proud of.

  Father had always chided him for his outbursts, and he was getting better at controlling them.

  Usually most people didn’t get under his skin. He had an enviable life, and wasn’t bothered by most things.

  But the elves—especially elves like Rosewind—well, they got to him. In more ways than one.

  But there was nothing he could do about that, nor, truly, if he was being honest with himself, nothing he wanted to do about that other than what he had spent the night doing.

  But, the drakken on the other hand. There was someone he could get behind doing something to that while he would certainly take great pleasure in, would not be so enjoyable for the drakken.

  The merchant stared at the four copper in confusion. “I’m not open yet.” He gestured at the grill, which was cold, and the uncooked ingredients he was in the process of skewering.

  Ashinaro smiled at the man. “You gave me a free skewer a couple days ago. Told me where I could find a job. Said to pay you double if I survived. Well, I survived.”

  He nodded slowly. “Ah, well, congratulations. Come back anytime. When I’m open.” He held out two of the copper.

  Ashinaro waved them away. “Keep them.”

  He shrugged. “If you insist.”

  “That was nice,” Zanas said as they left the merchant to prepare. “I don’t get why we didn’t get a gift in return.”

  “It wasn’t a gift. I was paying him back. He gave me free food when I first got here. You were still sleeping, or whatever you were doing.”

  “That’s my business, thank you very much. Where are we heading now? I hate being stuck in here. It’s so cramped with all your junk filling it up.”

  “At least there’s no monster in there with you.”

  “True, but it still smells like them no matter what I do. I think it’s you that stinks. We should get me some new clothes. That would help.”

  Ashinaro’s own armor was looking quite ragged and would soon need replacing. But he wasn’t going to waste money on an unempowered set. Now that he was battling stronger Beasts, maybe he really would start taking it off before battles, as it offered little in the way of protection. It was easy enough to store in Zanas’s scepter. If anyone saw him battling like that they might think him mad, but he’d never let what other people thought bother him.

  They didn’t get clothes, but Ashinaro did stop by one of the nicer restaurants for breakfast.

  Then left when he discovered a single meal was an entire silver and looked for somewhere more affordable.

  He found a stall near the bridge leading into the city selling ropethorn meat wrapped in a plant that grew in the sea. He was skeptical, but it smelled wonderful and there was a long queue, and the sign declared it only cost five copper for what was a rather large portion.

  Just as Ashinaro was stepping up to the front of the line, he spotted someone who made his stomach lurch.

  It was the shade. The shade who’d tried to kill him. Twice.

  Glowering and walking straight toward Ashinaro.

  “Keep calm,” Zanas said mentally. “Remember, you’re not yourself right now. Thanks to my magnificent mask.”

  Ashinaro forced himself to return his attention to the merchant, who was frowning as he held out a wrap for him. Ashinaro took it and handed over five copper.

  Zanas was right. Whenever Ashinaro was in the city outside his room, he stayed in the form of Kratis, a guard from Argalis.

  When he looked again, the shade had passed the line and was heading straight for the city gate, not having slowed down at all.

  A moment later, he exited the city.

  He didn’t glance back once.

  “How did he find me?”

  “Did he find you, though? It doesn’t seem like he’s after you. Didn’t even give you a second glance.”

  “I don’t look like me.” Ashinaro wondered about the skeleton’s memory.

  “Oh, right. Then he’s definitely probably after you. This is exciting. We should kill him. He’s the perfect person to hunt to see if I can affect people. Round two, and this time I won’t let him escape. I feel quite refreshed, so I’m very optimistic.”

  “He’s a Champion. If we tried to kill him, I’d just die.”

  “Oh, sure, but I wouldn’t. And it would be fun.”

  “Then you’d lose your host, remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right. Finding another one would be too much trouble. Okay, new plan: don’t get murdered.”