Alarion might have been an [Unraveller] by class, one day able to gain small glimpses into the future, but after four days of travel, it was clear that Sergeant Kali was the one with the gift of True Prophecy.

As he'd predicted, a series of revenant ambushes harried their advance all the way up until their arrival at the newly constructed Camp Harival. None of the attacks were of the same caliber or sophistication as that first assault, but what they lacked in quality, they made up for in quantity, especially as the plains of southern Ashad gave way to the hills and woodlands of the Lesser Giants.

They came in twos and threes, striking at the watch under cover of night. They threw spells at the rear of the column before fading into the trees, and they set traps along the road to pin them in place for larger assaults. None of it was crippling, but it was time-consuming. There was a clash every time the revenants made contact, but the foul dead refused to stand and fight. None of them escaped, for the sergeant would never allow such a blight to stand on his record or an enemy to linger at his back, but whether it took minutes or hours to run them to ground, the column had to stop.

The attacks were nothing more than a delaying tactic, but they were as effective as they were worrisome.

Just how many revenants were there?

Created through the reclamation of dead Awakened, combat-capable revenants were typically rare outside of higher-rank infestations. While boils could appear at any place of power, those that erupted in civilized areas tended to be destroyed very quickly. As a result, most infestations found their initial home in far-flung rural areas, the sort of place where there were few Awakened to be found and correspondingly fewer to be raised as revenants.

The mountain range known as the Giants dominated the western border of Ashad, its inhospitable peaks the perfect breeding ground for a boil to go unnoticed. Even if the infestation overran the local towns, it should only have a handful of revenants. They'd be resources to husband and build upon, not disposable cannon fodder to be thrown away on a delaying tactic.

Something stirred in those mountains, and the sooner the Auxilia reached them, the better.

To that end, Alarion spent the last two days of the march on his own, well ahead of the main force. Fast, mobile, and well-rounded in his capabilities, Alarion made for an ideal scout. Especially given the ace up his sleeve.

Or rather, on his wrist.

"Fifty feet ahead at roughly two o'clock," ZEKE said. Squinting through the treeline, Alarion saw nothing, but he'd learned to trust the machine's wisdom. "It is hiding in a depression beneath that petrified tree. You should be able to get the drop on it with your spell-storing dagger if you… or not."

It wasn't arrogance. Though Alarion had yet to age out of that unfortunate tendency of youth, his decision to confront the revenant directly was built on a solid foundation of confidence.

They were all so weak.

"Are you coming to me?" he shouted as he neared the monster's hiding place. "Or are you going to make me chase-"

The thing burst from its hiding spot at a full sprint, short sword in hand. The metal was gleaming and well-maintained. It looked almost new despite the revenant's sickly visage. This one had been old, in his sixties, if Alarion had to guess. His beard was coarse and matted, corpse-like eyes fogged over with a white film.

The more revenants he saw, the more he recognized how unique Lamesh had been. The strange revenant had given Alarion the same sense of unease and disgust as its kin, but it had been closer to life than any of them. The creature before him looked as though it had crawled its way out of the grave, while Lamesh had looked like a body freshly prepared for burial. Still dead but with a facade of life that these things lacked.

"Kill you!" Its shout broke Alarion out of his reverie, the dead thing only a few steps away. Maybe it was arrogance. He certainly shouldn't get distracted in the middle of a life-or-death battle.

But they were just all so weak.

You have slain [Revenant – UCL 7]

One swing was all it took. A dismissive swat with his mace was enough to pulverize the revenant against a nearby tree. He wondered why it hadn't run. Some of the others had, but there was little rhyme or reason he could discern. Perhaps some had observation skills that led them to have a better grasp of the difference between their strength and his own. Perhaps they had different orders.

Maybe it was just that disposable. UCL 7 was definitely on the lower end of the fiends he'd faced, but even this thing would have stopped the march for half an hour, if not more, as they prepared for a proper follow-up that never came.

"Sloppy work," said ZEKE as his glowing image appeared above the bracelet and began to 'pace' up and down Alarion's wrist in complete defiance of gravity.

"Mm," Alarion replied, refusing to be baited into yet another argument about his use of oversized weapons. "Do you see anything else?"

"Nothing but the birds nearby."

Nearby, in this case, was somewhat of an understatement. ZEKE's transformation from Steelborn to a sentient accessory had come with a considerable learning curve. A Steelborn could see, touch, and hear, but they could not smell or taste. ZEKE had lost access to all of his System-granted abilities when re-housed, including his mana sense, but the senses available to him within the bracelet were extensive.

Inside the bracelet, ZEKE had a fantasy environment, a sort of Thoughtborn construct that he called a virtual household. He had a body that could see and smell and taste and touch as well as any human and could will almost anything into existence. Outside it, his senses were even more expansive. He could see heat and invisible light. He could see waves that Alarion could not, and with focus, he could hear with such shocking clarity that he could pinpoint a creature at over a mile distance with nothing more than a few seconds of repositioning.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

With ZEKE at their side, they could have avoided every ambush and run down every revenant with ease. But to do that, Alarion would have had to admit to ZEKE's presence. Even if he trusted the sergeant, and he didn't, the men were sure to gossip. No, better to offer to 'scout' and just get lucky.

Besides, being on his own had one other substantial perk.

Level Up! Congratulations, your Orphan Class has advanced to Level 20! STR +5. AGI + 5. VIT +5. INT +5. PER +5. WIL +5. LCK +64.

"Finally," he muttered. Alarion had gained a substantial number of skill and level increases since that first ambush, but none of them had compared. It had been over a year since he'd gained his last level in his signature class, and this one was a milestone.

Which meant a new skill.

"The System has finally taken pity on you?" Alarion had made no bones about his frustration over the course of the day. He'd hit 98% progress the previous evening, but the opponents he'd encountered since had all been trivial. There had been a very real chance that he'd rejoin his fellows before he leveled up. "Wondrous day, young master. Let's review your status."

Alarion knelt next to the body of the slain revenant as he rattled off numbers to the Steelborn on his wrist. The old man lay crumpled around the tree, most of his bones shattered by the attack. He might as well not have been Awakened at all, given the damage Alarion had done. Like the others, his ruined body held no trace of identification nor anything of value save the simple blade that lay in the undergrowth next to the body.

"New steel," Alarion said as he turned the weapon over in his hands.

"Not the first time," remarked ZEKE.

"Revenants don't craft, do they?"

"Obviously not. But they steal just fine. A caravan, perhaps. Now, back to your status."

It didn't take long for Alarion to finish his summary as they started back into the woods, finishing up with a repetition of his recent gains.

Level Up! Congratulations, your Stubborn Swordsman Class has advanced to Level 39! STR +5. VIT +5. INT +5. WIL +5.

Level Up! Congratulations, your Unraveller Class has advanced to Level 18! STR +5. AGI +5. INT +5. PER +5. WIL +5.

Skill level increased. Detection is now Level MAX. PER +4. WIL +4.

Skill level increased. Oversized Weapon Mastery is now Level MAX. STR +6.

Skill level increased. Endure Through the Pain is now Level 4. VIT +10.

Skill level increased. Ebb and Flow is now Level 5. LUK +8.

"It warms my heart to see new progress," ZEKE said as Alarion finished. Though the tone was sarcastic, Alarion knew the underlying message was not. With their indefinite lifespan, Steelborn could afford to spend years idle, but a human could not. Every day wasted was a day lost. Someone with Alarion's Aptitude had the potential to expose the limits of the System, to show the Steelborn heights that would take them millennia to duplicate.

As ZEKE had once put it, seeing him on garrison duty was simply offensive.

"Do not get used to it," Alarion laughed bitterly. "The tide can go out as fast as it came in."

"You also have an Unraveller milestone in your near future," ZEKE pointed out.

"Assuming I live that long."

"Must you be such a pessimist?" ZEKE scowled up at him, the severity of the look diminished by the awkward angle at which it was delivered.

"Not always," Alarion said, a sad note in his voice. "Sometimes I wonder if I should have never-"

"Enough," ZEKE stopped him. Alarion gave him a curious look, then sighed, a grin curling the corner of his lips.

"What gave me away."

"You aren't normally so talkative," the machine told him. "I have been nothing but kind and benevolent, and here you are stringing me along. How long did you intend on keeping me in suspense?"

"How long were you going to let me?"

ZEKE said nothing, unwilling to engage.

"Fine," Alarion said, rattling off the skill choices he knew ZEKE wished to hear.

Pendulum [Rare]

Description: An Orphan, of all people, knows that the world can change in an instant. There are times of bounty and times of famine, family lost and friends gained. Most of all, they know that good things come if you live long enough.

Requirements: LUK – 1500.

Type: Passive

Effects: This skill causes the user's luck stat to fluctuate between 0% and 300% of its base value. These fluctuations occur every thirty minutes and are not displayed on the user's Status screen. The chance fluctuations are initially random and non-weighted, but levels in this skill weight the fluctuations slightly toward higher results.

Growths: LUK +30.

—

What Can Go Wrong [Rare]

Description: An old adage suggests that in life, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. While the idea is not strictly true, your enemies would do well to abide by that adage.

Requirements: LUK – 1000.

Type: Active

Activation Time: 2 seconds.

Duration: Until Cancelled.

Cooldown: None.

Range: 100 yards/level.

Effects: This skill allows the user to increase the probability that negative events will occur for those who they consider their enemies. This skill cannot cause an event to occur that would otherwise be impossible. This skill cannot directly influence the actions of others. This skill scales off the user's luck stat. This skill costs a slight amount of MP to activate.

Cost: Slight MP cost channeled during activation. 20% LUK attribute malus for duration.

Growths: LUK +30.

—

Mine, Mine, Mine [Rare]

Description: Those who've lived with nothing learn to cherish everything and to look for value where others do not. They know what is worth keeping, what is worth discarding, and what is worth risking everything for.

Requirements: LUK – 1500.

Type: Active, Looting, Observation.

Activation Time: 10 seconds.

Duration: Instant.

Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Effects: This skill allows the user to loot a defeated enemy. The quality of the item(s) received depends on user's LUK attribute and the UCL of the defeated enemy. The enemy must be looted within ten minutes of their defeat. Alternatively, the user may choose to forego loot from a defeated enemy. Doing so adds to the user's 'Unrealized Opportunity' resource pool. This resource can then be spent on subsequent looting attempts for a variety of benefits.

Growths: PER +5. LUK +5.

Note: An enemy can only ever be looted once, even if defeated multiple times.

-

Solitary [Exceptional]

Description: Self-reliance has been the key to your survival. Why change what has obviously been working?

Requirements: None

Type: Passive

Effects: Gain a moderate increase to XP gain for the Orphan Class. Gain a slight boost to all attributes while alone for more than 24 hours. This bonus increases to minor if you have been alone for more than 7 days.

Growths: STR +4. AGI +4. VIT +4. INT +4. PER +4. WIL +4.

Note: Taking this skill will severely impact future class selection options on Rank Up.

—

Found Family [Exceptional]

Description: You've spent years alone, but you no longer have to. You have allies, friends, possibly even a new sort of family. Trusting in them will allow you to grow, but with this family comes new obligations and a path you cannot walk alone.

Requirements: None

Type: Passive

Effects: Designate one individual whom you trust. You are able to gain Orphan Class XP while in their presence. Gain a slight bonus to all stats while fighting alongside them and only them.

Growths: STR +4. AGI +4. VIT +4. INT +4. PER +4. WIL +4.

Note: Taking this skill will severely impact future class selection options on Rank Up.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.