Herald of death

Ethan spent his repeating days training his melee skills with Razak, his soul with Alaric, his Ether manipulation with Gulthur, and spells with Thaddeus. His spirituality was the slowest to rise, while his combat skills skyrocketed thanks to his talent. This endless cycle didn't give him the opportunity to sleep, but either the resilience of his inhuman body or the resurrections spared him from exhaustion.

When he chose to ignore them for a day, he instead trained with Russ. Russ had an instinctive comprehension of his abilities, and for too long, Ethan had let him decide when to use them. Ethan programmed commands for Russ' various new abilities, using his martial echoes as training dummies.

Raising the rank of abilities proved to be an arduous task. According to Gulthur and Thaddeus, some abilities require the user to meet fixed conditions. But the vast majority need to be continuously used in battle, where they are pushed past their limits. Ethan experienced both, and Thaddeus told him that of all his abilities, only Spellcasting was of the first kind. The bad news did come with the consolation of getting the information as to how he can rank up Spellcasting – learning, and casting system spells from at least five branches of magic.

In his arcane arsenal, Ethan already had system spells from several schools – dark, light, illusion, and death. He could feel the difference between the spells learned from books, Maelor's memory, or the labyrinth's obelisk, and the rest. As it wasn't specified in its description, Silence didn't appear to belong to any set branch. After attempting an unfruitful trade with Thaddeus, Ethan made a mental note to search for a new spell once out of this realm.

The looping days did give him the opportunity to test his thus far unused spells. Sound Dampening was self-explanatory; it created an area where noises were snuffed out. Mind Shroud allowed Ethan to erase his presence from the mind of a target, rendering him invisible to them as long as he didn't threaten or interact with them. He also realized that the spell broke if the target became too restless. It happened when he tried Fear on the same Orc, casting nightmares in his mind that triggered a flee-then-fight response.

In addition to his fireball spells, Ethan created a set of circumstantial spells to fill gaps in his fighting style. Flare to flash an instant light stronger than most earthly flashbangs. Fire, Lightning, and Wind Coating to imbue his weapons. And Galewalker to create air streams along his form that lessen drag when moving at high speeds. It is a downgraded version of his first idea of creating a layer of void, an idea that proved infeasible with his current knowledge.

To consolidate his skills, Ethan spent a day training with his earthly weapons. They had been relegated to a circumstantial role, but he knew that soon they would get on par with any of the other world's medieval weapons. After hunting down the desert's wildlife, Ethan gained ten levels with battle and sniper rifles, at the cost of many of his magazines.

"Melee Weapon (long sword) leveled up," the system announces after Ethan comes back to life.

'That can't be right; I was at a hundred yesterday,' Ethan thinks. He summons his skill list to find that his long sword skill did, indeed, level up to a hundred and one. When his skill ascended, he took it as the system trading his skills for characteristic points. But it seems there is more to it than a simple exchange.

Still laying down, Ethan summons Stormshard. It always felt weightless in his grip, but now he senses it as an extension of his own nervous system. He can sense the metal, and the air and Ether that touches it. 'The realm master mentioned a brother that sees those who are destined for glory. Is there another realm like this one for those who reach the max level of their ascended class? And if there is, does that mean I can… evolve my skills a second time?'

"Tired?" the realm's master asks, appearing next to Ethan as he thinks.

"I'm not giving up if that's what you ask; just taking a short break," Ethan answers.

"I've heard that before," the realm master says. "Some never get back up from their 'short' break."

"Is there a level after ascended?" Ethan asks. He unsummons Stormshard and scrolls down his skill list, searching for the ones close to a hundred. "For classes and skills."

"Transcendent. But you won't be summoned by my brother's realm as easily as you were to mine," the realm master answers. He summons smoke in his hand and molds it into a mug. "Coffee?"

Ethan jumps to his feet and accepts the drink. The mug is filled to the brim with strong black coffee. He begins to sip at once. A feeling of energy instantly spreads from his chest and into his muscles. "It can't be regular coffee."

"I adapted it to your biology." The realm's master summons another mug for himself.

Ethan looks for somewhere to depose the empty mug; it vanishes from his hand. "How much time has passed on the outside? If I remain here for too long, I might be too late to catch my target."

"And if you find him in time but are too weak to do anything?" The realm's master makes smoke swirl at the surface of his coffee to form milk. He plucks sugar cubes from the lingering smoke and adds them to his drink.

"A slim chance is better than none at all," Ethan retorts.

The realm master summons a golden watch in his hand. "A day."

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"That can't be right," Ethan says. "From what I've heard, people tend to reappear weeks after they are called here. And some vanish for years, or even decades."

"Not many. But there are always the rare few whose minds heal after a long convalescence." The realm master tosses the watch into the air, and it vanishes. "I told you I had a personal interest in seeing you succeed. Ensuring your training doesn't delay you is the least I can do to tip the scales."

"You still won't tell me why?" Ethan asks.

"Not yet." The realm's master turns his back to Ethan to watch the scenery. "To you, what is it you are still lacking to prevail without using one of your trump cards? You've nearly learned everything this place has to offer. You could stay longer, but your progress will stall."

"I'm getting the hang of filtering out Ether, but not enough to really feed my abilities. He isn't capable of suppressing my soul anymore, but his swordsmanship far surpasses mine. And if I show him that I can counter his style, he shifts to another – eight so far. Given that, besides Cedric, there isn't a sword master here; I expect I'll have to learn from our fights." Ethan closes his eyes and forces his mind to drift back to his latest fight, analyzing it. "The war Ether I can summon is enough to even our speeds, and by simultaneously overloading Strengthening, I can match him even when he uses life force. But I don't want to rely on some god's Ether; I'm worried it could be blocked from me in a fight."

"It is, indeed, something that could happen," the realm master confirms.

"My spells are getting stronger because my mastery of Ether is growing, but it's a slow process," Ethan continues. He moves his neck around to relieve some tension in his vertebrae. "Yesterday Thaddeus said I was close to getting started on rituals. I'm thinking it might be the tool I need to counter his abilities and spells, as they wouldn't cost me my Ether."

"Thaddeus Drevoss was one of the best ritualists of his time," the realm master praises. His expression turns sad for a moment.

"I was wondering what happened to him," Ethan says. "He told me he hasn't ascended yet; did he die before you could 'meet' him?"

"Sadly, yes," the man confirms. He schools his expression. "It is a shame that this world squanders the potential of so many promising warriors. Had he been born at an earlier time, I would have welcomed him to my realm in his late teens. But even with his noble background, in this time, it would have required a few more years."

"I know Aranthor Elarion weakened the overall strength of the continent to lessen the monsters' power. I still don't understand how this works, but I'm guessing weaker monsters mean a slower leveling speed," Ethan guesses.

"I know your people see this as an amoral practice, but it also meant that only the ones with actual potential survived," the man adds. Though subtle, anger slips into his traits. "There once was a time when every young human could slaughter the monsters that terrorize villages today. A time when mages redefined reality with their spells. A time when the coalescence that brought dragons was a mere inconvenience. A time when your world invasion wouldn't threaten entire civilizations."

Ethan remains silent as the realm master calms himself. Ethan read the reports on the portal's conflict Tombstone hacked from the U.S. Army. It was clear that, besides a few outliers, this world's soldiers didn't stand a chance against modern weaponry.

"I shouldn't burden you with my concerns," the realm master finally says. He turns back and vanishes into smoke as he steps away from their chat.

After training with Alaric, Ethan fakes an unnatural soul exhaustion to escape Gulthur's training. Freed from it, he discreetly follows Thaddeus into his quarters.

With the emptied demonic Ether crystal in his left hand, Thaddeus finishes drawing a ritual on an altar with red chalk. He touches the edge with a finger, and it shines with crimson light. A crack breaks the altar's surface, lighting the room with the orange glow of lava.

A small, winged humanoid with grey skin, small horns, and fur from his legs to chest climbs through the crack. It hisses at Thaddeus and swipes its clawed hand at the Mage, but misses.

Thaddeus spreads his right hand over the crystal he holds in his left. Ethan can feel the little demon's Ether escaping it to refill the crystal.

The beast's flapping wind moves around the chalk making the ritual circle, blurring the text. The crimson light covering the ritual vanishes. The winged demon screams and flies at Ethan. It snaps its fanged maw open, readying itself to bite Ethan's jugular.

Thaddeus' face etches with fear and urgency, but he doesn't move. He's still manipulating demonic Ether to force it into the crystal. It seems to exceed the crimson jewel's capacity, and it tries to enter Thaddeus' body.

Ethan extends his hand and grabs the beast, using his index and major fingers to block its head. It was easy the first time, and the beast always attacked in the same way, making it childish to catch. Using a simple, weak Dermal Shield, he stops the clawing from scratching his clothes. "Do you still need it?"

Thaddeus' apparent fear vanishes. "No."

'Kill,' Ethan thinks. He flings the thing at his shadow, into which it sinks and vanishes. 'Sorry, I know it tastes like shit, but I need to open the conversation with him.'

"That's a cool summon you have there," Thaddeus praises.

"You felt him?" Ethan asks. "He's actually my bond, not a summon."

"When he opened the way to the shadow realm. My family has a bond too. I never got to know how he was tamed; any advice on how to get one for myself?" Thaddeus raises his left hand, through which he expels the demonic Ether that entered him. It becomes visible as an unstable sphere of red light that slowly turns white and vanishes. Ethan feels that the demonic Ether turned into a neutral one. Thaddeus looks back to see Ethan's feigned questioning expression. "The summoning and containing can be done with spells. But the transmutation I just used is an ability."

"Can you transmute any Ether into another kind?" Ethan asks. He already knows the answer, but he plans on derailing the conversation and doesn't want to alter it too soon.

"Not yet," Thaddeus answers. "I've read I should one day be able to. But right now, I can only neutralize Ethers, and not even all kinds."

Russ jumps out of Ethan's shadow to find a corner and spit out the demon's right arm. He vomits some bile and rubs his paws over his nose.

"Demons tend to taste like sulfur," Thaddeus explains. "I don't think I ever read about anyone having a Death Hound as a bound. You should really let a scholar record how you got him. That information could make you a lot of coins."

Ethan opens a waterskin and pours it in Russ' mouth, who snaps his maw at the flow. "I can tell you, but I need something from you in return. I'm already an accomplished spellcaster, but I still have to study rituals. I heard you were one of the best in that domain, so you can imagine my surprise when I found you here."

"Do you want me to teach you the summoning and containing arrays? Razak would be pleased to know someone else will be able to do them." Thaddeus wipes the remains of his spell from the cracked altar and pulls out a chalk stick.

"Actually, I need another kind of ritual. One that would breach the defenses of someone harmonized with a Hexward Viper?" Ethan asks directly. If his approach fails, he could always try another tomorrow.

"Why?" Thaddeus asks.

"I need to kill Cedric Valmont," Ethan answers.