Chapter 21: Wandering Aimlessly

  Meanwhile, on the other side of Xanadu…

  “Are you serious?” Darrin asked, staring daggers at Kiavi.

  The cat-girl rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re getting all worked up about. We’re all rivals in this game, are we not?”

  “That’s beside the point,” Mike said, staring at the sheer wall of the cliff looming up and down the coast. “We need to work as a team to beat Alex. I mean, what are you guys to do if you get in trouble out here?”

  “Not rely on you, that’s for sure,” Kendra said, rolling her eyes. “You can’t save your way out of a paper bag.”

  “Yeah,” Kiavi chimed in. “We’re better off relying on the company if anything goes wrong, not you.”

  Alan walked over to the girls, hoping to be the last voice of reason. “Look, there are three of us and only two of you. Don’t you believe in strength in numbers?”

  “I do,” Kiavi shot back. “But I also know the three of you spent more time crafting than fighting back in Albion and aren’t high enough level for this place. You’ll only get in our way.”

  “You’re not much better,” Mike said, grinning at the girls, which was having the opposite effect of the one he was going for. “How many times did you visit the bathhouse?”

  “Were you spying on us?” Kiavi hissed, bearing her fangs. “Ugh, boys! Come on, Kendra. We’re leaving.”

  Alan sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Incorporating Isa and Aura into our strategy made the group a lot more efficient. Golden arcs of light danced around Isa as she punched and kicked the monsters we fought. These visual representations of her Chi ignited off her body like sparks and were drawn to anyone in the group who was injured. She showed much more restraint than the previous times we fought together. She followed her father’s lead and was in and out of combat before the monsters could react. The added freedom also allowed her to directly heal injuries during combat instead of waiting for the combat to conclude.

  Aura created a variety of monsters, all of them magical. She only ever summoned one at a time, and when I asked about it, she explained. “Each additional monster I summon dilutes its power. Unless there’s a strategical reason to have more, we’re better off with one.”

  “Is that why bosses in dungeons are so strong?”

  She winked at me. “The rules are different in my dungeon. There, I have access to all of my accumulated mana. I can’t take that with me. Out here, I have to snack on your mana for everything I do.”

  That comment earned a glare from Isa, but she didn’t say anything.

  The island of Xanadu was infested with shadow-kin. Every time the dense jungle thinned, monsters were waiting. Unlike the rest of Gaia, they didn’t take the form of crossbred animals. The problem was, like most shadows, they were everywhere. While big ones were confined to open spaces, that didn’t stop a horde of shadow gnats from attacking out of the blue when we were stuck single file trying to carve out a path. It wasn’t a major issue for me. As with dust and grime, my earth magic expelled them before they could do any damage. The same went for Anna with her water magic. Unfortunately, not everyone in the group was equipped to deal with the problem.

  “Ugh!” Isa yelped as she swatted another shadow bug off her arm. “A little help here, please.”

  I wanted to be her knight in shining stone armor, but Anna beat me to the punch…or squirt, in this case. She pointed her wand at Isa, who flapped her arms furiously as a torrent of water washed over her.

  “Mo~om!” she spluttered. “Are you trying to drown me?”

  “Relax, you’re fine,” Anna soothed in monotone as the water evaporated along with the bugs.

  Isa paused, looking herself over. Not finding a speck of water on her, she glared at her mother. “You need to warn me before you do that!”

  “I got all the bugs off you,” Anna said innocently. “Isn’t that what you asked for?”

  Isa deflated after that, unsure of what to say. Vince walked up to his wife and presented himself. She repeated the process, and he posed like he was taking a shower.

  Isa turned her nose up and huffed. “You’d have freaked out too if she did you first.”

  Having an idea, I reached out and took Isa’s hand. Once I’d made contact, I felt my aura wash over her, allowing me to purge any impurities off of her directly. One of the shadow mosquitos popped as it came into contact with her skin.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “How about you do Daddy, and Alex can do me,” Isa suggested, giving her mom a smug look.

  Anna chuckled. “He does you quite enough already, Sweet Heart. It keeps us up at night.”

  “Mother!” Isa squealed, blushing. “Besides. I’m a grown-up and can do whoever I want to.”

  We walked silently for a bit after that until we reached the next clearing. In it stood three massive bears. The shadow-kin were getting bigger. I had my golems huddle around me and used Cornerstone to anchor myself to the ground. Then I clanged Excalubir against the shield Ingrid gave me to attract their attention.

  The weight of the shadow beasts wasn’t a thing when I fought the wolves. Their claws and fangs were vicious, but I never had any issue driving them back. The ground shook as the bears lumbered toward me, and I held my breath, waiting for the impact. It happened in an instant. One of the bears impaled itself on my sword but still managed to swipe at me with its huge claw. While the claws didn’t pierce my reinforced armor, the force of the impact felt like it crushed my sword arm. I grunted in pain as I struggled not to drop Excalibur. Fortunately, the other two bears attacked the golems. They didn’t fare as well as I had and were pushed back several feet.

  I half expected to see Vince or Anna pinned under my fallen golems. Instead, I discovered they’d predicted what would happen. Vince’s axe flashed over the top of the left golem and split a shadow bear’s skull while Anna overwhelmed the bear in a deluge on the other side. Isa rushed in with a well-placed uppercut to finish the monster off.

  That just left me with Excalibur sticking out of my bear’s chest. A giant snake erupted from the ground and coiled around the bear, getting it in a death lock. From there, it was a battle of attrition while I gripped the blade with both hands to pry it up through the bear’s thick shadow skull.

  Isa walked over, placing her hand on the injured shoulder. She whispered in my ear as she began healing me. “I’m starting to sense when you get injured. If you keep taking damage, I might be able to level up my skills without actually fighting.”

  I clenched my hand as my arm began to regain feeling. “That’s really something.”

  Our progress through the jungle was slow and tedious. Avoiding open areas slowed travel to a crawl while crossing them ensured constant fighting. Ultimately, we opted for the battle route to get some much-needed experience. The days turned into weeks, and the team’s faith in me began to waiver.

  “Do you have any clue where we’re going?” Isa asked as she ripped into a sandwich. “We’ve been at this forever and found nothing. What if Nax and Zelle’s souls are back in Dabia?”

  I shrugged. “You guys can go back if you want. It shouldn’t be too hard if you stick to the path we made.”

  “No!” Vince stood. “Splitting up is how people get killed. We stick together until the end. Still, I’m with my daughter on this. We need a plan.”

  I sighed, pulling out the only map I had of Xanadu, which didn’t include any landmarks other than mountains and trees. “I was hoping we’d see a building of some sort by now. The only thing I can think of is they are all on the north side of the island…somewhere.”

  “Sweetie,” Anna said, patting me on the shoulder softly. “That’s probably something you could have asked about.”

  “But we had to go,” I began. “With Mardella occupied, this was my chance…our chance to…”

  To find Pi.

  That’s what I wanted to say, but how did I explain to everyone that I was looking for my dark passenger? Was that really more important than finding Isa’s friends?

  “We need to make a decision,” Vince said, his voice cutting into my thoughts. “We know Albion is to the East. Perhaps we take a temporary detour. Then, we can return with reinforcements.”

  “And a proper map,” Anna added helpfully.

  Defeated, I let out another sigh. “Sure, East it is.”

  The one good thing about our adventure in Xanadu was its effect on my bond with Isa. With her parents camping out every night, we spent a lot of time together. At first, it was mostly to meet her needs, which I didn’t mind, but as the nights dragged on, I found myself chatting with her.

  “I saw it, you know,” Isa whispered. “The other side. Not even Mom and Dad saw that.”

  “The other side of what?” I yawned, half asleep.

  “You know,” she went on. “I know what heaven looks like. Do you want to know?”

  My eyes shot open. “No! Is that why you were upset that I resurrected you?”

  Her face was inches from mine. “Well, yeah, partially. I was also confused. My body felt foreign, like it wasn’t mine. It still doesn’t feel quite right. I think when you die, there’s a five-second rule, then all bets are off.”

  “Do you still feel out of place?” I asked, horrified at the revelation.

  She shrugged. “A little, I guess. I’m getting used to it. What’s really strange is having both of my parents back in the bodies of my best friends. Especially my mom. Zelle and I did stuff…you know?”

  “I know,” I chuckled. “I can’t say I was never jealous about that.”

  “You were?” she asked, giggling. She then kissed me on the nose. “Don’t worry, silly Badgooose. I love you.”

  “Badge…” I mumbled before deciding I didn’t want to know. “I love you too.”

  It took us several more weeks to get to the east coast of Xanadu. The boat ride back to Albion didn’t take long at all, as it was significantly closer than Dabia was. Once I summoned a carriage and we all boarded, I took the opportunity to examine the group.

  Nax Def (Vincent Strome)

  Level: 37

  Class: Berserker

  Hitpoints: 3,700/3,700

  Mana: 500/500

  Stamina: 3,700/3,700

  Zelle Lhor (Annabelle Strome)

  Level: 36

  Class: Aquamancer

  Hitpoints: 3,600/3,600

  Mana: 3,600/3,600

  Stamina: 1,000/1,000

  Isabelle Strome

  Level: 35

  Class: Revived Curandera

  Hitpoints: 3,500/3,500

  Chi: 10,750/10,750

  Satisfied with their progress, I pulled up my stats.

  Alexander Krup

  Class: Terramancer

  Level: 52

  Hitpoints: 5200

  Mana: 61,500

  Stamina: 5200

  Base Stats

  Strength: 63

  Dexterity: 58

  Ability: 69

  Constitution: 99

  Intelligence: 71

  Wisdom: 83

  Charisma: 63

  Luck: 101

  Miscellaneous

  Perception: 40

  Precision: 250

  Control: 870

  Earth Manipulation: 1850

  Golem Formation: 2050

  Max Golems: 4

  Skills/Spells: Pew, Crunch, Kronch, Gong, Wham, Manipulate Earth, Divine Ritualistic Crafting, Furniture Creation, Minor Home Repair.

  Traits: Affinity: Earth, Golem Creation, Functional Jaw, Golem Blades, Affinity: Iris, Affinity: Slag, Personal Dungeon, Assimilate Stone, Bloodline: Pendragon.

  Titles: King of Albion.

  “Two levels,” I sighed. “You all did much better than me.”

  “But you’re higher level, right?” Anna asked.

  I nodded. “Still, I feel like I need to be higher for what’s to come.”

  “Do you know something we don’t?” Vince asked. “We just need to find Jericho, right?”

  “I hope so,” I replied, not wanting to scare anyone.

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