Dreamland: Freedom (Terror Infinity, Ultimate Evolution)

The group proceeded deeper into the crypt, meeting some scattered groups of bandits deeper inside. This time, Eden took care of them, since they were not enough to represent a meaningful challenge to the group, and to get some more Evil Spirits.

After a while, they stopped meeting bandits, having killed all of them, which was a bit more than a couple of dozen, and arrived at a locked gate and a tomb. It was trapped, but Astarion easily disarmed it, earning them a lance, as well as 100 gold.

While Astarion rejoiced over the gold, Eden inspected the lance.

[The Watcher's Guide]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Attack: +25]

[Strength: +1]

[Agility: +1]

[Death's Promise: The first strike against a target with this spear deals 75% damage, but the second deals 150%.]

The originally disappointing lance, which only offered better chances of hitting after missing, received an interesting change, making it somewhat worthwhile. It went to Shadowheart, who replaced her Common Mace.

There was also a key inside, which opened the locked gate.

Behind that gate was a large chamber, at the center of which was a large statue. Seeing it, Shadowheart commented, "That's Jergal, Scribe of the Dead. I did not know anyone still worshiped him."

The statue was that of a cloaked skeleton, holding a quill in one hand and a parchment in the other. While the others explored, Eden entered a nearby room, in which several more tombs were, along with a heavy chest. In these chests, he got three scrolls.

[Scroll of Protection from Evil and Good(3rd Circle, Consumable, Skill Book): Grants you resistance against debuffs from aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead.]

This was the reason why he had chosen this world. Well, not this particular spell, since it was utterly useless to Eden, but these types of scrolls. Back in Nexus, nearly all scrolls were either consumables or skill books, and those of the latter were extremely expensive.

Pocketing the scrolls, he looked into the nearby graves and found a couple of coins.

[Soul Coin]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Effect: Contains a tormented soul.]

The coin was made of a strange sort of iron, which Eden knew to be infernal iron, and was surprisingly cold to the touch, enough to numb the fingers of a mortal.

Reading its description, Eden infused his fingers with Cursed Energy and tried to crush the coin, but it was too tough, so he used Cleave on it.

The metal gave way as the coin was split in half, and a deformed soul escaped from its confines. It barely appeared, however, that Eden's Cursed Energy latched onto it and devoured it.

Whatever Cursed Energy may have been missing was instantly recovered, and Eden felt his Cursed Energy slightly grow. Unlike when he absorbed an Evil Spirit, it increased by a noticeable amount. Looking at his Status, Eden confirmed this feeling as he looked at his Cursed Energy and saw that his total had increased by seven.

It was nothing before his 1600+ Cursed Energy, but it showed how exquisite this soul had been. He might only need a few more to increase his Sorcery to 49.

He did not want to reach 50, but he would need to reach a total of 1700 Cursed Energy for that to happen, so he would simply stop absorbing anything when he reached 1699.

So he broke it and did the same with the second one.

Finally, Eden turned to the last object of interest in the room, a book. It was protected by a lock, strengthened magically, but Eden shattered it easily, even without Cursed Energy.

The pages were impossible to read, covered in a sheet of mana, concentrated in several light blue runes. Eden already knew the contents of the book, which he couldn't care less about, but he was interested in the magical protection.

Although Eden had some knowledge of magic, this was a different understanding of magic, enchantment, or rune-work. Basically, it was the process of using magic through symbols.

This particularly interested Eden because whenever he would fully cast a spell, he would conjure a magical circle filled with these runes, so understanding them could be key to bettering his understanding of magic.

While he carefully copied the runes into a notebook with a pen, both of which he had bought after his experience in the last world, he heard some ruckus coming from outside. It had to be the undead, which Eden figured they could handle by themselves, so he did not stop his work.

As expected, after a while, they arrived in the room, Sylfine with his shoulder covered in a thin layer of ice.

Gale, seeing what he was doing, asked, "You are interested in these basic runes?"

Eden stored the items in his Inventory, humming in response, "I am trying to learn about the art."

Gale scratched his head, finding it hard to believe someone capable of using the equivalent of a Fifth Level Spell and controlling a spatial rune that had gone haywire would claim to want to learn about them, but he still offered, "I could teach you about them, if you want."

And this was the reason why Eden had chosen such an early point in the game to appear.

The region that represented Act 1 in the game held very little interest to Eden, all things considered. It was far beneath his level, offering next to no challenging enemies and very few interesting artefacts.

It did give him some more time in the world, but that also applied to other Players, meaning they had more chances to disrupt the events from the follow-up acts. Moreover, there was a chance Dreamland would not give him a mission that allowed him to reach Act III, or give him a time limit with the same effect.

Were it not for Gale, Eden would have chosen to appear in the Shadowlands of Act II. But Gale made it worth it.

Although his magical prowess had been largely impacted by the Netherese Orb in his chest and his Illithid tadpole, his knowledge remained unaffected. This was a magical prodigy who used to be an Archmage, capable of using the best spells a mortal could cast, and who became a lover of the Goddess of Magic herself.

Speaking of Gods, Eden moved out of the room, telling Gale, "I would love that," before observing the room, coating his eyes with Cursed Energy.

He quickly found a part of the chamber practically pulsating with magic, so he approached it. It appeared to be a dead end, but Eden found a small button, which revealed a receding wall.

Inside was a single sarcophagus, not any different from the others, but the moment the group entered the room, all the candles were lit with green flames. The lid of the sarcophagus levitated up, a bony hand reaching out as a skeleton appeared.

Eden heard Gale whisper, "A lich?"

The party was alerted, but Eden raised a hand, stopping them as the skeleton floated down to their level, landing in front of Eden with soft steps as it spoke in a chilling and disembodied voice one would expect from a corpse, "Hello, Omen."

The rest of the party was confused, except for Gale, who gasped, "I knew I recognized your aura! You are the Omen of Death!"

Eden raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder at Gale. So his Title also partly worked like Monster Hunter?

Looking back at the skeleton, Eden used Analysis on it, but got nothing, so he greeted, "Hello, Withers. Or would you prefer your other name?"

The skeleton, Withers, hummed, his rotted vocal cords making for an uncomfortable sound as he said, "It shall suffice. Thy presence means there are others. I understand thou shalt be hunted."

Eden smiled, "They may try, and end up like the others."

Withers nodded, agreeing, "Thou did earn thy title." The skeleton reached toward Eden, grabbing one of the ethereal Evil Spirits as if it were solid, examining it for a moment.

"What art thou that usurp the end?"

Despite having a God governing over an aspect of death, questioning him, Eden replied confidently, "An agent. A dealer. A master. A conqueror. A slave."

Withers hummed, letting go of the Evil Spirit as he said, "I have seen, I have remembered. So it shall be."

Eden nodded wisely, although he had no idea what the skeleton was blabbering about this time. The party made way as he walked past them, mumbling to himself, while Eden shamelessly started pillaging the tomb.

However, as he was doing so, Astarion asked, "So no one is going to say anything? What the hell was that?!"

Shadowheart frowned, "It matters not. But to think we were traveling with the Omen of Death…"

Looking into the sarcophagus and pocketing another Soul Coin, Eden asked over his shoulder, "Am I famous in these parts?"

The confusion on Astarion's, Lae'zel's, and Sylfine's faces told him he was not, but Gale scoffed, "More like dreaded. More than one would lose their sleep if they knew you had stepped into our plane."

This made Eden smile, while Sylfine said, "I'm more worried about what that skeleton said. What did it mean by others? And you being hunted?"

Diving back into the sarcophagus, Eden found some more gold, a bronze bar, and three potions as he explained, "Remember what I said about the fateful members of our party?"

Lae'zel quipped unhelpfully, "You said no such thing."

Eden ignored her, "I said they might be compromised. This is what I was talking about. You may have noticed I possess… let's say uncanny knowledge."

Astarion exclaimed in faux-shock, "You do?!"

Popping his head back out, Eden gave him a glare, "I'm not the only one who knows. I come from another plane, but I was not the only one. And some of the others might possess the same knowledge, to varying degrees."

"And they'll hunt you?"

Eden shrugged, "I might have killed a person or two, ruined some plans, and pissed off some important people. But it doesn't matter, they're just impatient to commit assisted suicide."

The three potions were interesting. One was a Drow Poison, which gave a weapon a chance of sending an enemy to sleep when injuring them with it, another was an elixir that increased

one's total MP by 50 MP for a duration of 24 hours, and the last was a rectangular vial filled with a red liquid.

[Elixir of Bloodlust]

[Rank: Rare]

[Effect: Recover 10% of the damage inflicted to a slain enemy, up to 10HP. Last for 24 hours.]

That was an interesting one. The potion was already one of the best in its form in the game, and this might be even better.

Tossing the Elixir of Arcane Cultivation to Gale and the Drow Poison to Astarion, Eden explained their effects to the speechless duo. After a moment, Gale asked, "How are you appraising them so fast?"

Eden gave a mysterious smile, "One of my skills. So, how about we head to that grove now?"

There was also a chest, from which he got materials for his alchemy, some more gold, and an amulet. It was in Jergal's effigy, somewhat resembling his statue, as it consisted of a skull biting down on a parchment.

[The Amulet of Lost Voices]

[Rank: Rare]

[Defence: +10]

[Wisdom: +2]

[Intelligence: +2]

[Speak with Dead: Allows the user to use Speak with Dead (3rd Circle) once every 24 hours.]

Usually, magical spells attached to items would still require MP to cast them, but in this world, they required a cooldown instead. Eden was not really interested in its skill, but its attributes did make it an excellent accessory. He still explained to Gale what it did, but the wizard scoffed, "Necromancy obviously concerns you more than me."

Eden smiled and put it on. He had now cleared the crypt, putting some balm on his hoarder soul.

Heading out, Eden absorbed the tormented soul from the Soul Coin he had found, adding another seven to his total Cursed Energy.

As they reached outside, they realized dusk was approaching fast, so they picked up the pace as Eden led them through the forest.

Before the sun could completely disappear over the horizon, the group finally reached their destination. However, they were met with an unexpected situation.

They arrived on a small hill overlooking a large gate covered with moss. But what should have been a picture of peace and serenity was instead a battlefield as a small army of goblins attempted to overtake the grove.

There had to be at least fifty goblins, some on the very same hill the party was standing on, but still oblivious to their presence.

The people inside were Tieflings like the two they had encountered.

In front of the gate itself lay several bodies, most of them goblins, but several from the defenders also. A few were still doing their best to defend it, but they would soon be overrun.

Eden scanned the enemy, looking for their leaders, which were easy to find. It was a hobgoblin, red-skinned and twice the size of the others. He was flanked by two humans.

[Name: Crush]

[Title: N/A]

[HP: 260/260]

[MP: 210/210]

[Strength: 28]

[Agility: 21]

[Physique: 26]

[Intelligence: 21]

[Wisdom: 18]

It was not Dror Ragzlin, the leader of all the surrounding goblins, but all Hobgoblins were figures of authority among goblins. The two next to him were Players, and undoubtedly behind this assault.

[Name: Ergon]

[Title: N/A]

[Talent: ?]

[HP: 320/320]

[MP: 160/160]

[Strength: 28]

[Agility: 35]

[Physique: 32]

[Intelligence: 16]

[Wisdom: 20]

This one had frizzy red hair, held a long sword, and was dressed in light blue armor. It looked somewhat similar to the one Osmond had worn. The moment Eden looked at him, he instantly looked over, his eyes zeroing in on him.

[Name: Isis]

[Title: N/A]

[Talent: ?]

[HP: 250/250]

[MP: 220/220]

[Strength: 31]

[Agility: 38]

[Physique: 25]

[Intelligence: 22]

[Wisdom: 21]

This one was a woman, dressed lighter than Ergon but still armored. They all turned in his direction, along with several goblins around them.

Without warning, Eden infused his body with Cursed Energy, unsheathing the Rosa Estrellada with his right hand and grabbing the Necronomicon with his left, and performed a Spartan kick on a nearby goblin.

The poor creature, doing its best to aim an arrow at the Tieflings above, saw nothing coming as it was crushed against the ground, its head splattered as Eden used it as a platform to soar above.

All eyes were drawn to him for an instant because of the maneuver, and, gaining an overhead shot of the battlefield, Eden carefully aimed his spell.

"I cast Mists of the Underworld."

The magical circle appeared, and half the battlefield was suddenly covered in magical darkness. Eden then cast a 2nd Circle Dark Vision on himself as he landed in the middle of it.

Allies and enemies alike were blinded by it, but Eden had aimed it so that it would only encompass goblins. This meant that those fighting the few left beneath the gate were not affected, but it still incapacitated a good part of their small army. Most of them had at least one attribute at 8 or under, meaning it was reduced to 1 in the dark cloud. It would not knock them out, but still stop them for a time.

Activating his Omen of Death could take the normal goblins out of the equation, but the same would apply to his party and the defenders, so Eden held it back. Even without it, though, the Rosa Estrellada reaped all lives in his path as he burst out of the cloud, appearing next to the two Players, as well as the few goblins around them.

One of them, appearing to be a shaman of some kind, raised her staff, but a sneaky arrow flew her way. Unfortunately, it missed her by a hair, allowing her to finish her spell.

[Wisdom check…]

[Wisdom check overruled by 'Soul Overlord'!]

Eden brushed past her, but a horse might as well have run into her, as she was sent flying back, half her bones broken, and Eden's path to the leaders was freed.

The two Players, having heard of his reputation, stepped back despite their greed for his bounty, but the hobgoblin stepped forward instead, raising his axe.

But as it was about to attack, a mote of flames slammed into his side. It hardly seemed to have injured him, but it got his attention as he saw a second group flank them.

Crush clicked his tongue, causing a nearby Worg, a large wolf-like creature, to leap at him. Eden easily knocked it aside, using a Cleave as he slammed his elbow into it, but this allowed Crush to head for the group.

A Tier I foe was dangerous for them to handle at this point, but Eden was not their nanny. They had to grow at some point.

So, he ignored Crush and rushed for the two Players instead.

Author's Note: First real fight for Eden incoming! How will he fare against the enemy Players?