Chapter 14

  Adam was quick to answer when he said, “What this means is that the two of us will have to be even more careful as we continue forward.” Not fully understanding what he was trying to imply with that statement I asked, “How come?”

  “With this new Soul Empowerment skill, you and I have the potential to become very powerful, very quickly and, thereby, becoming a threat to others.” As Adam said this his voice and face took on a very serious demeanor. Something I had never seen on my ‘other half,’ who was always excited and making joking references I did not understand.

  I knew, right away, that this was a very serious issue.

  Leaning forward in my chair, my face began to change into an expression that mirrored Adam’s serious face, as I patiently waited for him to continue.

  “The more souls you destroy… the more powerful we become. But what happens if we cannot handle that increase in power? There is the potential that we could become drunk on that power and start killing anyone who crosses our path in the pursuit of even more strength.”

  As Adam expressed his concerns, the whole idea sounded ridiculous to me. My father had instilled in me an attitude to never abuse what we have been given and to always do the right thing. But as I looked at Adam’s face, I could still see very real fear prevalent upon his face.

  A fact compounded when he said, “It is not just our own sanity we should be wary of. What happens when others learn about the power and skills we possess? Will they see us as a savior, or will they see us as a threat that should be extinguished?”

  “Or… worse still… will others see us a force they can use for their own benefit and try to enslave us. Either through honeyed words or in shackles.” This comment finally got my mind to think along the tangent Adam had been on.

  Not too long ago my sister sent a letter to me. Just Me. In it she detailed how she had no ‘companions’ wherever she went and that other people only went along with her for the status it brought. She also commented how at times she felt like a slave for the Council and Adventurer’s Guild.

  These were subjects she could never tell our parents and that she only felt comfortable telling her little brother whom she could vent her concerns to.

  All at once, I fully understood the apprehension that was racing through Adam’s mind. Therefore, I asked in a very concerned voice with a bit of a mumble, “What… can we do… about this?”

  Adam looked into my eyes and replied, “The first step should be to stop using your harmful soul-based skills until we can fully handle the power we currently have. I know that is a bit of a hindrance, but one cannot grow stronger without fully understanding their current level of power.”

  I did not fully agree with Adam’s suggestion, but he did have somewhat of a point with his logic. Adam then brought forth further details of what he was thinking. “The second step will be for me to study illusion spell diagrams and then cast some type of illusion spell that can mask our status board with false information. This way we can hide our power from others until we are ready.”

  I spoke up at once to point out a huge hole in that part of Adam’s plan. “There is a problem with that idea of yours and that being. It. Is. Illegal. Status boards are a sure-fire way to identify an individual and any spell diagrams that could do what you have described, have all been confiscated by the Kingdom and locked away in the royal vault.”

  Adam then frowned in response to my words, and I could tell that this was not what he wanted to hear. “Well… then… how do you intend to become an adventurer when we cannot let others see our status board? If I remember correctly from your memories, viewing one’s status board is a requirement for registering as an adventurer?” Adam said in somewhat confrontational tone.

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  The frown that grew on my face mirrored that of Adam’s and left me speechless. Adam’s tone then took on one of understanding as he said, “Look… I know that it may not be the lawful thing to do, being the opposite of what your father instilled in you, but it is what must be done if you want to become an adventurer.”

  “Once you have gained enough notoriety within the Guild, then we can drop the illusion, and no one will question our powers because of all the good we have done with them.” It irked me that what Adam was saying was making sense.

  I let out a heavy sigh and said, “Ok… but how are we going to pull this off when the obvious problem is that I can’t get access to those types of spell diagrams.”

  Adam just smiled slightly as he replied, “In every society there are those who make a living by engaging in unlawful acts. Surely, there is some unsavory group out there who has access to the spell diagram we need.”

  Adam was not wrong. Father talked all the time about how organized criminals were always giving the City Watch soldiers no end of trouble. If anyone had what Adam and I needed or knew where it was, then it would be them.

  “Another problem with your idea, is that those types of groups will not give me access to the spell diagram easily or even if they do, it will not be cheap to even view the spell.”

  At this statement Adam said, “That is where the third step of the plan comes together. Because we need to practice with our skills and spells to understand them completely, we can earn some coin by killing monsters while we are training. Going off what you said earlier, whatever you harvest from the monsters can be turned into the Guild for coins.”

  “Furthermore, when you go to turn in the spoils you should where a disguise so no one can identify you. This will also make it easier to approach the criminal network when we are ready because your identity will be shrouded.”

  As Adam laid out the third step of his plan, once again, I found myself agreeing with him. He seemed to have this uncanny ability to make you understand his thought process and not disagree with his conclusions. I even liked the idea of wearing a disguise when I turned in the spoils from killing monsters.

  My face was too well known around the Adventurer’s Guild and Township because of the position my father held. If it suddenly got around that I was turning in monster spoils on a regular basis, it would eventually reach the ears of mother and father, and I would have to try and explain what I had been doing. Not something I really wanted to do at this juncture in my life.

  Looking Adam in the face with a resolute expression I said, “I am with you so far in regard to the plan you have outlined. I imagine that the fourth step is that once you have concealed our status board, I officially register with the Adventurers Guild and start building a reputation for myself.”

  Adam smiled and started clapping his hands as he answered with a very satisfied expression, “Bravo… bravo… you see, we are same soul just with different personalities.” I just shook my head at his patronizing response. I mean, it did not take a genius to figure out Adam’s thought process when he laid it out the way that he did.

  “Although, there is another part of the plan that you didn’t pick up on.” This caused me to look at Adam questioningly before he continued. “To truly take advantage of the training we will be undergoing, I am going to have to go full isekai on our situation and turn you into the OP MC.”

  I just put my right hand over face and sighed. Again… with these references I did not understand. I was just about to demand that Adam stop speaking and just explain what the heck he was talking about, so I did not feel like my new existence was just one big question mark.

  Seeing my exasperation, Adam coughed into his fist and began to clarify, “What I mean to say is that I am going to use my extensive knowledge from my previous world to train you in unconventional ways to use your skills and my spells.”

  Finally, something I could understand. If what Adam had in mind was like his application of the Sound Wave spell from earlier, then I could see all kinds of possibilities becoming reality.

  As annoying as Adam could be with his otherworldly references, they did tend to create an opportunity for even greater power to be gained.

  “So where do you and I begin?” I replied with slight enthusiasm. Adam then rose from his chair and gestured for me to follow him over to a long table that was set up nearby.

  Adam took a seat on one side, and I made my way to the opposite side so I could face him. He then waved his hand and a pitcher, and two tankards appeared on the table in front of us. He then began to pour a golden colored liquid into each of our tankards.

  From the color and smell I knew right away that it was mead he was pouring, but the smell was completely different from any mead I had tasted in the past. Taking a quick sip of the drink, I was hit with a rich flavor that had a bit of a bite to it but was also very smooth and sweet.

  It was by far the best mead I had ever tasted. A feeling that was supported when I took a big swig and then exhaled heavily afterwards.

  Adam just grinned at my reaction and said, “What you are tasting is a mead from my world. We had such advanced distillation methods, that it allowed us to create alcohol that would make any Dwarf roar with approval.”

  After tasting this heavenly mead, I did not doubt Adam’s claim about his world. Adam then took a drink from his own tankard and then began to speak, “Why don’t we start with me telling you about my world, what it was like, some of the scientific concepts that were discovered, and, most importantly, all about the references I keep exclaiming aloud to the sky.”