The Soul Keeper

I returned to camp sometime after midnight to see Vincent standing guard. As soon as I landed, he quickly walked up to me. He seemed somewhat nervous.

"Where were you all this time?" He asked with a low voice.

"Around," I said with a shrug. "I found a nice area with few trees a little ways away. I was killing stuff." I glanced at the camp. Only embers were left of the campfire. Everyone else was asleep.

"Erik was furious." Vincent said after a short hesitation. I sighed as my wings disappeared into a black-crimson mist.

"I don't care." I said after a short moment. "I can't waste my entire life here. I need to get back." I raised my hand, like I were trying to catch a star. "I will find a way to kill the Demon Lord."

Vincent hesitated, then nodded. "I want to go back home too." He clenched his fist. "I've been grinding, I've levelled up a bit more than the others." He said with a faint smile.

"Good." I said with a serious tone. "No matter how strong I get, I doubt I can take on the Demon Lord on my own."

He shook his head. "Not if you want to have the slightest chance at winning." He glanced at the starry sky. "Let's sit, I'm sure you're tired." He said, gesturing to the embers of the campfire. I wasn't really tired – not physically at least – but I nodded and sat by the embers of the fire.

"Take a look." He said, summoning his interface. He quickly navigated to his status panel, then let me look at it.

'Vincent Kestler – Level 38 Fighter'

'STR: 28 – CON: 20 – DEX: 18 – INT: 14 – WIS: 14'

I raised my eyebrows. "Your stats are the same." I said. He grinned before replying. "I'll have the ability to become a Spellsword at level 40, so I'm holding on to my stat points."

"Oh." I said as understanding dawned on me. Though, even If he hadn't given me a sensible reason like this, I'd have no right to say anything since I hadn't even allocated a single stat point yet.

"What about you?" He asked suddenly. I flinched, I didn't really want to show it, since it felt more like showing off. "Come on, I'm curious, you've been fighting more than any of us."

I sighed, then summoned my status panel.

Vincent's eyes widened as he read the pale blue text on the interface.

'Kai Friseal – Level 80 Soul Keeper | Exp: 1800/70000 - - Souls 100/100 + 864- - Mana: 880

Fallen Grace Lv. 5 | Death's Scythe Lv. 5 | Dark Bolt Lv. 5 | Soul's Respite Lv. 5 | Explorer | Crystal Sage'

"How?" He asked, shifting his glance between me and the pale text.

"I've been killing. A lot."

A short silence followed my words, then he suddenly chuckled. "You haven't allocated any stat points at all! Why?"

I shrugged. "It feels odd and a bit wrong. I'd rather continue with the body I got used to rather than forcing it to change into something different." It had taken me ages to get used to the extra strength and agility Fallen Grace provided me with. Even now I sometimes overshot or misused my speed. I didn't want to add another layer of complexity with stats.

"That's fine, I guess." Vincent mumbled with a shrug, then showed me a grin. "You're ridiculously strong anyways, you don't need me to tell you what to do."

We laughed, though we did take care to keep our voices low. After a short while, I yawned. "I'd better sleep a little."

He nodded. "I'll wake Joshua up, it's his turn to stand watch. Good night, Kai."

"Good night." I said, laying on the lush green grass. I covered myself with an old cloak and as soon as I closed my eyes, the dark embrace of sleep welcomed me.

I woke up at dawn, just in time to see the forest turn from golden to its usual green colour. Everyone else was still asleep, besides Erik who was standing guard with a bored expression. When he saw me get up, his expression turned sour, though only for a moment.

"Good morning." He said coldly. Was he really still angry about what was said yesterday? But... there was nothing to be angry about, right?

"Good morning," I replied with a yawn. "So, what's the plan for today?" I asked after a short moment of silence.

"Well," He said with a sigh. "I don't know." His cold, composed voice shattered. I flinched. Yesterday's composed Erik was gone. He seemed somewhat lost. "What do you think we should do?"

I hesitated. Why was he acting like this? "Didn't you say that we were going straight to the city Astrid told us about?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Why aren't you so sure anymore?"

He sighed and shook his head, refusing to answer me. I pondered a moment, before deciding not to pry. It wasn't my place to do so and I didn't want to cause even more tension in the group. With a sigh, I rose to my feet and headed towards the trees.

"Where are you going?" He asked, glancing at me.

"I'll wash my face." I said with a forced smile, before heading off.

The shallow creek wasn't too far away. As I knelt by the water, my reflection caught my eye. I flinched, since when did my eyes glow so much? With a sigh, I shook my head. I looked like that painting we found with Asher more with every passing day.

As I let the water flow through my fingers, I had to remind myself again that this was a game. I splashed some water to my face, ran my fingers through my hair and got back up. The sun was slowly rising, it was a good time to get going.

When I returned to camp, I heard footsteps and the sound of a fire. They were preparing breakfast. I sighed; they were too relaxed. We didn't have to eat such a rich breakfast every morning. We could chew on dried meat as we walked. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Hey Kai!" It was Alina's voice that called my name. I looked around and spotted her kneeling by the campfire. "Good morning, Alina." I said with a faint smile. She seemed as healthy as always. All traces of the spider venom were gone, even that beautiful smile of hers was back.

"I've got a gift for you." She said with a radiant smile. My heartbeat hastened as she approached me. With only a moment of hesitation, she took my hand in hers and placed something in my palm. "Thank you, Kai." She said, her eyes shining gold. "Thank you for saving my life."