The Soulmancer’s Ascension

Grinding in games was super fun at the start, got stale after a while, and boring at some point. That’s how Zephyr’s experience with MMOs was. But grinding in real life was a different experience. Every encounter started and ended differently. Not to mention the rush of adrenaline during fights and the exhilaration sensation after beheading these fools.

He hated the blood that clung to him and dried on his face. And he definitely despised the stench following him. But he loved fighting monsters and growing stronger. Every point of stat made his skin tighter and made him more robust. 

What was there not to love about leveling?

The silver moon in the sky cast hazy moonlight upon him and Sherine. The goddess appeared ethereal in her spotless white dress.

Zephyr sighed and pulled his scythe out from the ground. He checked his status again.

[STATUS]

Zephyr Cyrus: Level 5 (180/300 Experience to next level)

Race: Human

Soul Rank: Mortal (2360/5000 Soul Essence to next rank)

[Attributes]

Strength: 18

Agility: 24

Health: 21

Defense: 20

Magic: 38

[Emblem]

Soulmancy…

[Skills]

[Dragon Touch (Bronze) (Passive): The blessing of the dragon improves your resistance to fire.

Scythe Combat (Silver) (Passive): When a scythe weapon is equipped, attack power will increase by 8%, attack speed by 4%. Stamina consumption with scythe is decreased by 10%.

Enhanced Focus (Bronze) (Passive): Your focus is enhanced. The chances of getting distracted are severely reduced.

Brood Slayer (Bronze) (Passive): Against Brood-type monsters, attack power will increase by 5%.]

The Scythe Combat skill upgraded to silver and he obtained the Brood Slayer passive skill. Definitely a big help in clearing out the fools.

“Why is it so hard to get an active skill?”

He had yet to see an active skill in his status. Not that he hated the free boosts offered by his passives.

“It's extremely hard. It’s the reason armaments play a big role in overall strength. They come with one, even two active skills.”

“Weapons, hah. My scythe also has one skill if I recall correctly. Something like… Poisonous Edge.”

[Poisonous Edge: Covers the blade in a deadly poison.]

“Poison? It won’t be of much use against the fools.”

“Yup.” Sherine gazed at the moon. “They don’t feel pain. Only hunger and a never-ending desire to kill humans.”

Sherine was mostly ignored in his fight against the fools because of her half dragon half goddess race.

“It is time to free my hawk brethren from his pain!”

Sherine giggled at his rather out-of-character comment. In battle, he was calm and cold. Outside of battle though, he was talkative about certain things and quiet about most.

‘He is a bit like my father.’

She reached into her spatial pouch and thought about the door. She smacked the door and opened it for him.

The hawk wasn’t in the room. The open door of Zephyr’s room told the story about the hawk’s great escape. He searched Sherine’s room before going down stairs.

“This guy…”

The hawk munched on the leftovers in the kitchen. The shivering couldn’t stop it from eating its fill. It turned and stared at Zephyr with its cute eyes. A cute chirp later, it returned to pecking the bread.

Sherine laughed sheepishly when she found out about the hawk’s intrusion in her kitchen. “I forgot to feed it…”

“Me too…”

“Anyways, Riven, help me. What do I do next?”

“Take out your Soul Essence and give it to the hawk.”

Zephyr stretched his hand and focused. A glowing ball materialized in his palm; it was far bigger than the ones left behind by the monsters.

[Soul Essence -1500.]

“How did you do it?” Riven said, shocked. “It’s your first time handling the Soul Essence, right?”

“I just imagined the white ball that the monsters leave after burning,” Zephyr said with a shrug. “Nothing tough.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Riven grumbled. Even he took a day to handle the Soul Essence to this precision. “Now give it to the celestial hawk.”

Zephyr pushed the ball towards the hawk, and the Soul Essence vanished into the bird. It spread its wings and screeched at the ceiling before it collapsed on the plate.

Sherine reached for the hawk in panic. “F-Father, what happened?”

“It will be fine. Let it rest here for a day or two. It will evolve into something good.”

Zephyr picked up the hawk and carried it back to his room. “I wanna get more pets here.”

The house felt quiet with him and Sherine. Not to mention how helpful these magic beasts will be in their adventure.

“I like it quieter,” Sherine whispered, caressing the hawk with a caring smile. “However, these past days… I have come to appreciate new noises.”

Zephyr pressed his hand against her cheeks. “We haven’t entered the town yet. Believe me you’ll make a lot of friends over there.”

“But… I can’t speak to them,” Sherine smiled apologetically. “Sorry…”

“I keep forgetting about that.” Zephyr shook his head. “Your voice doesn’t matter. I’ll teach them sign language. If it doesn’t exist here, I’ll write and publish the book myself.”

Sherine laughed at his plan. “You’re so nice, Zephyr.”

Zephyr pulled back his hand, leaving dirt stains on her otherwise flawless face. “How can I not be when you gave me a new life?”

He wouldn’t be so grateful if she was a haughty bitch ordering him around. On the contrary, she cooked for him and helped him on every occasion. Such a sweet girl will be surrounded by people if they knew about her demeanor. Well, half of them will be there just to take advantage of said kindness.

Sherine sighed. She knew what type of life Zephyr lived. Rather than helping her, she wanted him to create own relationships. Yet, she couldn't find it in her to deny him.

‘He’ll give up after some days.’

The plan of teaching symbol language would never work out. After all, who in their right mind would waste so much time and effort to befriend someone like her?

Zephyr, unaware of Sherine’s doubts, took clothes from his closet and headed straight to the bath.

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