[Year 10 Month 0: 6 months have passed]

  [The Invasion Boss has arrived]

  Everyone panicked when the notification arrived. The arrival was unexpected, especially because of how recent the Vexus wave began. Inra explained that in previous generations of Vexus, normally lasted a decade, with the Invasion Boss only arriving at the very end. This time around, it had only been about seven years.

  For a small village like this, it honestly meant nothing changed much. Sure, people panicked for a little while, but once the initial shock factor passed, the knowledge that the Vexus rarely came for such small populations.

  What it did mean, however, is planning, lots and lots of planning. The farmers decided to plant crops that wouldn’t easily be trampled, so root vegetables were prioritized. The villagers themselves seemed to find relief in me, too, which honestly felt like misplaced faith; I can’t do anything offensively.

  Nonetheless, people ignored rationality and thus visited me more often, asking for ‘unofficial’ blessings, or even asking for luck. If they looked truly desperate, I would even send feelings of peace or calmness, just to make them feel better.

  Eventually, they calmed; however, there was no sign of the Vexus nor an Invasion Boss, and as such, the preparations calmed down in fever.

  This calming didn’t mean nothing had changed, however, as many families had decided to 'temporarily' move to one of the larger cities. It would be a several-week journey for them, but they caravanned up and left one afternoon, leaving Gorn with just about two hundred people.

  Inra had already discussed his overall lack of concern for the village, but it was obvious he was worried for his great-nephew, Galdric. As Galdric was a chosen, he was expected to fight.

  According to him, the Invasion Boss took many forms, depending on the variations of Vexus that had attacked earlier. Since this generation of Vexus was an arachnidobia nightmare, it was presumed that this one would be some form of spider-like creature.

  Personally, the idea that the boss could be an even larger version of a broodmother made me nauseous, as I had never been a fan of spiders, even when they were smaller than my fingernail.

  Other than a potentially world-scouring threat, nothing else really happened. A few more sick people used one of my totems to heal faster, and that was that.

  [Year 10 Month 4: 4 months have passed]

  [24 Blessed have died]

  [You are now level 7]

  [Totems of Protection have been upgraded]

  [You can now see in the proximity of your totems]

  Dang. It had been a few years since I had seen that many deaths at once. Nobody in Gorn had died from my knowledge, so wherever it was happening mustn’t be a great place to be.

  Recently, one of the kids stumbled into a small cave, which wasn’t huge, with probably only enough space for the children and a few adults. The entrance was pretty close to my hill and was hidden beneath a large tree root, somewhat disguising it.

  Thinking ahead, I asked Inra to place some of my totems near its entrance, with one further back. Just because I am a rock doesn’t mean I can’t make my own preparations. You never know.

  The upgrade to [Totems of Protection] was definitely welcome, and now I could see way more than before. It was a bit strange looking through the totems, as I could see through all of them at once.

  I wonder how I can even do this? The amount I perceive in a small area is way higher as a Blessing Stone than a human. I bet there is some weird mental brain stuff going on to help me adjust.

  Fortunantly with my recent level up, my totem capacity had increased to a nice and tidy 10, meaning I could easily put six in the cave and keep lending the rest to the villagers.

  Inra seemed pleased that I had taken some precautions and had a late-night conversation with me, sitting on the small bench next to me. “Thank you, Gol, for being there for the children. Even the adults find comfort in your presence here.” He took a moment to watch the stars before continuing, “Galdric told me about you. He was suspicious that there was something about you.” He felt my surprise and laughed, “According to him, you woke him up. He didn’t think you were hostile, which is the only reason he didn’t shatter you sometime on your journey here.”

  I thought he had some suspicion, but damn, I thought I did a better job at keeping down low. Skills are so unfair.

  Minutes passed before Inra spoke again, “Galdric won’t make it.” Suddenly, it looked as if he had aged a decade, “As a ‘Chosen of some god neither of us follow.” He spoke bitterly, “He is expected to die. While I hope the Vexus isn’t as bad as the others, there has never been a Chosen who survives the final battle. Sure, they take down the damn devil, but it requires every single life.”

  I observed Inra, simply watching as he processed these emotions. “Is it selfish that I wanted to die before it arrived? It would have made all of this much easier.” Inra leaned heavily against the backrest of the bench, seemingly spent. “I have done my best to care for this village for several generations now. I am happy to see you beginning to care for them, too.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Do I care for them? I think so. It had been over a decade since I was put into this earthen form, and by now, I have noticed the effects. I am slower to make decisions, and before I was in this body, the type of silence I have gone through would have driven me mad. Now, however, it felt normal.

  At the same time, I certainly felt attachment to this place. While it may have only felt like a month or two for me, these were very much real people, and they had all been quite welcoming to me.

  While I had been stirring over my thoughts, Inra had managed to get comfortable with his well-worn cloak on the bench. Arguably, being the person who spent the most time with me, often spending long nights talking to a mostly inanimate stone, I felt as if I owed him something.

  Suddenly, the old man spoke up, sounding like a child, he whispered aloud. “Gol, I am going to sleep here tonight. I am too tired to stay awake.” With that, he fell asleep.

  Sending Inra waves of positive emotions, I watched as his breath grew deeper, and despite the totem buried under the bench working overtime to infuse his body with mana, it couldn’t keep up with Inra, and his body grew cold in the brisk air.

  [1 Blessed has died]

  [Year 10 Month 5: 1 month has passed]

  Inra’s death rattled Gorn, having been a constant figure for pretty much his whole life; everyone had cried when he was found early in the morning. The funeral was a simple one, but ended up lasting all day as everyone had to say their goodbyes.

  I was both saddened and pleased when they buried him nearby. His body wasn’t embalmed or put into a coffin, so it would slowly decompose and become one with the earth. Inra would have liked that.

  Most painfully, I had received a bitter notification after Inra had passed on.

  [Ambient Mind has upgraded]

  [Telepathic abilities are upgraded]

  I found that I could now use words: poor timing system, poor timing. I had yet to try it out, as I didn’t find it fit to take away from Inra’s passing.

  It was surprising how impactful it was to me; I felt like I was missing a crucial part of my day, having grown used to his consistent conversations, as one-sided as they were. Originally, the talks were once every week, but by the end, it was almost nightly. I should have expected something to happen soon.

  Maybe if I had stacked more totems, it could have stopped it? But I am not sure if he even wanted to continue.

  As he said, all of his family had already passed on or moved far enough away that he wouldn’t see them again. Galrdic’s brief visit when he dropped me off was already a miracle.

  It’s sad to say, but Inra was waiting for it to happen.

  [Year 10 Month 6: 2 month has passed]

  Most had moved on now. Everyone loved Inra, but these people had bigger concerns and shorter lifespans than me. Things like preparing for winter or patching a fraying shirt took precedence, especially with the invasion still lingering on people's minds.

  It seemed like one other was still going through their mourning phase, and that was the little elf girl, who I learned was called Salfi. She had brought me more things recently, pretty flowers, or whatever caught her eye.

  If I remember correctly, Salfi should be about 16 years old, but she looked like she was 12. Unlike the other children, who grew up faster, Salfi wasn’t human and would take a few more years to reach maturity; as such, she had been slowly alienated from the human children as time went on and their differences became more noticeable.

  Because of those differences, she spent even more time with me. One day, when she had brought a particularly interesting flower, I decided to speak to her. Instead of asking any heavy questions or something that may frighten her, I simply asked, “What’s your favorite flower?”

  She didn’t look up from the dirt she was using a stick to draw in. “Lilies. I like their color.” Not very talkative was she.

  “Why don’t you find one and bring it here so we can both see it?” I asked.

  Shrugging after a moment of consideration, she rose from the ground and went off. I assume to find a lily.

  A few hours later, she appeared with considerably more bruises and a few scrapes on her knees. “Here,” she spoke, abruptly holding it out. This particular lily had mainly white petals, with splotches of violet covering its interior.

  Making sure she was in one of my totem’s fields, I made sure she was completely healed by the time she had left, wanting to leave no chance of infection.

  Mentally, I sighed. I had never been a good caretaker for kids. I am trying Inra.

  [Year 10 Month 9: 3 month has passed]

  Vexus had been sighted close by the village.

  Sure enough, it caused a panic. The once mostly calmed worries had spiked once again, with the occasional family leaving the village to try to find some semblance of safety elsewhere.

  Most stayed, however, as the likelihood of a stray Vexus finding them was pretty high, as the spyiders were able to detect mana from far away. At this point, the only thing they could do was stick around and pray to their gods.

  The three people in charge of the village had already taken what precautions they could and had completely pulled back the hunters from the nearby forests, relying on the stored food to offset the lack of meat.

  Considering the threat the village was under, I decided to have Salfi gather the small council around me, and directly spoke to their minds.

  “Take these Totems and put them near where the Vexus were spotted. Keep one for the village guards.” Having recalled one from the cave and the one buried beneath the bench, I had a total of 5. Four of which could be used for recon, while the other I thought would be better for its healing usage.

  While the three humans were surprised by my telepathy, they had bigger things to worry about and moved on quickly, having a small group of hunters station them several miles from the village.

  Worst case senario I could just resummon the four to be used by the village.

  [Year 10 Month 9: Continued]

  It had only been a week since the sightings that I felt something on the edge of one of my Totems. While I had only seen natural wildlife for the past few days, this felt different. Wrong even.

  Unlike the time I was in the Cathedral, I could feel the ambient mana shifting, much like the way it changes during seasons, but more abruptly. This must be the corruption those adventurers mentioned back when they found me.

  The Vexus were close.

  Having discussed this with the village council, I spoke to Salfi and the other children, “Get into the secret cave, I think you should play in there for a while.” Fortunately, while Salfi was a kid, she had a good instinct and was able to convince the younger kids to come along without a fight.

  Warning the village guards via the totem they had stationed at the walls, I quickly let everyone know to be on high guard.

  Eventually, two pregnant women and one guard had managed to squeeze into the cave and quieted the kids, who had only now begun to grasp the severity of the issue.

  Making sure the Totems in the cave were functional and warding the entrance in their anti-detection field, I continued to watch, with there being nothing else I could do.