Chapter 15: A Moonlit Encounter

[Soulwarden]

[Proficiency E]

[Bind a soul to serve as a warden of death]

For a few moments, Nerez studied the skill he had just chosen as it hovered on the holographic screen before finally letting out a sigh.

“Now I understand why the Godscript doesn’t even bother showing descriptions when it asks me to choose. If they’re all like this, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea what they do anyway… What’s a ‘warden of death,’ and why would I want one?”

The shapes and symbols that had been drifting about aimlessly now formed the image of a hooded figure holding a scythe.

“A grim reaper? Who in their right mind would want anything to do with a grim reaper…? I have a feeling this skill is going to stay at the bottom of the drawer.”

He went back to the tab in his Godscript that displayed the information for one of his other skills.

[Death’s Touch]

[Proficiency D]

[Immortality is but a state, all the more so for the weak and wounded; mark those whose time has come]

“Just like with skeletal soldiers, the description changed along with the proficiency. And since it talks specifically about immortals, I doubt it’s referring to gods just yet. It’s probably talking about demigods and the like.”

His gaze drifted to the blue sky, toward the direction where Helux had disappeared.

“It’s not that I want to keep using a skill like this, but I have to admit, it isn’t bad to have it in reserve.”

He had spent quite a while wandering through the forest without any real destination, and fortunately he still had not run into anyone.

“But seriously, what am I even supposed to do now? Keep fighting complete strangers? What for? I should be able to live out my last life in peace now that I escaped the cycle of reincarnation.”

Without realizing it, he had reached a small stream, so he took the chance to drink a little water, easing his thirst while fooling his breakfast-starved stomach for a while.

“If I’m not chosen as a god, they might drag me back to the Silver Sea by force…”

Since his worries refused to leave him alone, he sat down on a rock to think.

“But being a god is the exact opposite of having a peaceful life. Though, to begin with, I’m not even sure I really escaped the cycle of reincarnation… In that sense, immortality might be the alternative.”

He leaned back and laid the open book over his face.

“That sounds like a different kind of eternal punishment… Ngh… Ugh… Gah!” he burst out, jerking upright and dropping the book onto his lap in the process. “I’m going to be a hermit god like I planned, and that’s final!”

He rose with renewed energy… only to lose heart again almost immediately.

“For that, I’d still have to keep fighting? Well, more like throwing skeletons at people…”

He looked up once more and noticed that, between the treetops, the light was already beginning to fade.

“If I leave the skeletons on watch while I sleep, camping near a stream shouldn’t be much of a problem. The problem is that I don’t want to spend the night alone with the skeletons…”

Pushing past his reluctance to use skeletal soldiers, he sent a pair of them off to try their luck hunting.

He could have done it himself, drawing on one of his past lives as a hunter, but he had no desire to touch those dead men’s bows.

To his surprise, they were back in no time with a rabbit, which he chose to clean himself.

***

“I think I heard Aren say this area had already been ‘cleared’ of monsters for the battle royale. But as far as animals go, they seem pretty similar to the ones on Earth,” Nerez mused as he bit into a roasted rabbit leg. “Ugh, it needs salt… Actually, it could’ve used a good soak in salt water to get rid of that gamey taste.”

By then, night had already fallen, and he had ended up camping some distance away from the stream. In the end, he had not liked the idea of sleeping surrounded by walking skeletons.

He had still used them to guard the perimeter while he cooked the rabbit, though. But now that darkness had fully set in, he had dismissed both the fire and the skeletons.

The moon was already visible, its light filtering through the treetops. It fell more fully across a clearing not far from the bed of leaves he had made for himself (while praying there were no venomous bugs nearby).

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“Mm…? I think sleep is finally catching up with me. I could swear I see a figure standing in the middle of the clearing…”

He rubbed his eyes, but not only did the figure fail to disappear, it raised both hands as if to show it was unarmed.

“Uf… just what I needed…”

He got to his feet and began walking toward it, one hand gripping the Book of Death tightly.

The moon that night shone with a yellow tint, though it was closer to white than anything else. It was the same color as the hair of the girl waiting for him in the clearing.

Her eyes were a silvery shade unlike Nerez’s hair, brighter, more alive, and they watched him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

“Look, I’m really not in the mood for trouble right now,” Nerez said as he stopped in front of the newcomer. “If you leave me alone, you can have a piece of rabbit.”

“Haha, a piece of rabbit?” the girl echoed.

“That’s right, a piece. I need to save some for breakfast.”

“Pfft!”

The newcomer looked as though she was struggling to hold back her laughter, but she managed to keep talking.

“No… don’t worry, I’m not here for your food, nor am I here to start trouble. My name is Selene. I come on behalf of the Celestial Conclave.”

“Celestial… Conclave?”

The name brought back some very recent and very unpleasant memories.

“It seems a member of my clan offended you. That dense fool never realizes what he’s doing…” Selene sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. “That’s exactly why they sent me along with him, to make amends for whatever damage he might cause.”

Nerez’s expression made it painfully obvious that he did not understand a word of what he was hearing.

“Offended me? Aren’t we taking part in a battle royale? To be honest, I appreciate the thought, but what I find much stranger is that you still haven’t attacked me…”

“One has to know how to choose one’s battles,” Selene replied with a smile.

“I see…”

“Which is why I consider joining your faction, Nereziel, compensation enough for the damage Helux caused by abducting your allies.”

“…”

“…”