Lyra’s office was luxuriously adorned

  and decorated. The bottom half of the walls had a oak-panel facade while

  the top half and change was marble-white with various golden bas-relief

  murals of mighty figures and mythical creatures. Hanging from the

  exposed wood beam ceiling was the most extravagant chandelier that would

  fit in the room without looking ridiculous.

  Lyra and Wilford were seated in the reception area in the

  corner of her office, just next to the heavy wood door that was

  magically enchanted with enough protections that if activated could

  withstand an army.

  Wilford sat on a chair that was pushed all the way up to

  the wall while Lyra herself sat on the expertly crafted, luxurious,

  camelback sofa under the stained glass windows. Sebastian’s face

  remained projected by the blue crystal now lying on the table between

  them.

  A tense silence weighed heavy in the air.

  Wilford didn’t dare speak until Lyra had finished processing the revelation.

  She stared at the image suspended in the air for a full

  minute as she considered the implications and the inevitable

  consequences of the fallen Blessed One’s return to the land of the

  living.

  “How the hell could that failure have survived?” she said softly, almost muttered under her breath.

  “Unclear, my lady. No reports have—“ Wilford answered

  before being completely ignored as Lyra continued speaking her own

  thoughts out loud.

  “Those cliffs may not be tall enough to kill anyone of a

  decent level but for a failure, at level 0, it should have been

  impossible for him to walk away from the fall. Even if he somehow

  survived the fall itself, the canyon is home to a variety of monsters.

  He should have been dead before sunrise. And yet, I’m being told that he

  not only survived the fall, and the monsters, and the starvation, and

  dehydration, he also broke through his limits and leveled up, all the

  way from level 0 to over level 30. That he became strong enough—in less

  that two months at that—to singlehandedly defeat a gnoll and a pack of

  kobolds.”

  Sensing that the archmage had finished her thoughts,

  Wilford once again joined the conversation. “Yes, my lady. It would seem

  so. Although I don’t understand how he could have possibly broken

  through his limits. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  Lyra looked up and slightly tilted her head as if just

  realizing that Wilford was still there. She only caught the back half of

  what he said, but she quickly processed the rest. “It’s happened

  before.”

  “Truly, my lady?”

  “It’s extremely rare but yes, there are records of

  individuals who achieved some extraordinarily impressive accomplishment,

  and the [System] rewarded them with a unique Talent. Along with that

  new Talent, their limit increased. From the few times it’s been recorded

  it’s never been any significant change, a limit of 35 might increase to

  40 or maybe 45.”

  “I see,” Wilford said, desperately thinking of something

  to say which might make some valuable contribution, and not provoke the

  archmage in the process. “So perhaps his survival of both the fall

  itself and the inevitable monster attacks earned him such a unique

  Talent and new limit? If the records are true then his current potential

  should still be fairly low, and it should be easy to dispose of him

  properly.”

  Lyra’s eyes narrowed in thought. “We may not need to dispose of him at all.”

  “How do you mean, my lady?”

  She sat up straight. “This could be an opportunity to

  settle the lingering uncertainty among the Blessed Ones. Their

  instructors have reported that they have questions, doubts. Sebastian’s

  death removed a great distraction but it created a new one—albeit a

  lesser one—at the same time.”

  Lyra scooped up the crystal from the table, turning off

  the projection, and snapped her fingers. Within seconds, a servant

  entered the room.

  “Summon Officer Haynes, there something I’ll need him to

  deal with. And have Martin— no, Kevin, stay behind for the coming

  expedition. I’ll have an important quest for him in a few days,” she

  told the servant before waving him off, as if shooing away a dog.

  ***

  Two days later, Lyra’s servant escorted Kevin, the hero, into the her office where both she and Councilman Wilford were waiting.

  Kevin’s appearance had changed quite dramatically since

  the summoning. He had gone from a rather thin academic to a muscular

  warrior. Attached to his hips were two daggers and his forearms were

  covered by arm guards which led down the back of his hands and provided

  some built in brass knuckles.

  He walked in with a confidence befitting of a hero.

  “You called?”

  “Yes, Blessed One Kevin, we have news,” Lyra said with a

  look of sadness, disappointment, and sympathy on her face. “Councilman

  Wilford here has received news that is quite… shocking. Please, sit.”

  She gestured to a chair next to her sofa.

  Kevin looked at the councilman and then back at Lyra. He sat down and asked, “What news?”

  Lyra took a deep breath and held it for a moment, and the

  tension of the room with it, before delivering the news. “Sebastian is

  alive.”

  Outraged and shocked, Kevin shot up to his feet. “What!? You told us he died, what do mean he’s alive?”

  She grabbed his hand and guided him back down to his

  seat. “Yes. Please, let me explain. As you know, on the night of the

  inspection, when you had just arrived, Sebastian sneaked out of the

  castle. We tracked him to the Emberwoods where we assume he went to…

  prove his inspection wrong, or just to run away so as to not burden the

  rest of you.”

  “He wouldn’t be a burden!” Kevin almost took the

  insinuation as an insult. “Just cause he had a low limit didn’t mean he

  couldn’t be helpful. Even if he wasn’t he could still have been here to

  support us. We never judged him for it.”

  Lyra leaned forward and placed her hands on Kevin’s knee.

  “Of course, I know that.” She flashed an understanding smile. “When we

  tracked him, we found traces of a struggle. There were monster tracks

  and blood. Given his low level, we assumed that he died and his remains

  were consumed by monsters. It seems we were hasty in that conclusion.

  “Councilman Wilford received news of a criminal by the

  name of Sebastian in the town of Blackoak, just southwest of the

  capital. According to the report, the criminal killed a gnoll and a pack

  of kobolds, singlehandedly.”

  Almost relieved, as if given something his delusion could

  grab hold of, Kevin rationalized, “We fought gnolls a few weeks ago,

  and they’re strong. See, it couldn’t have been him. He couldn’t be high

  enough of a level to kill a gnoll.”

  Lyra softly sighed. “Ordinarily, yes, you would be

  correct. I fear the story is far more complicated than we expected. The

  traces we found, of what we assumed was his death, could not have been

  left there by him alone. He had help. Someone helped him sneak out of

  the castle and fake his death. We had our suspicions at the time, there

  were some issues at the scene after all, but we foolishly dismissed

  them. The fact that his identity has been verified, and that he did in

  fact kill that gnoll, unfortunately, confirms our suspicion. There is

  only one method known to increase ones limit, demonic blood magic.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “What? What do you mean ‘demonic blood magic’?” said Kevin with eyes wide and brows furrowed.

  Lyra took a deep breath and was visibly distraught at the

  mere thought, but she continued. “Through sacrificing the lives of

  innocents, demonic blood mages can steal a portion of their limits to

  add onto that of another. Each ritual, however, could only increase his

  limit by a level or two. To become strong enough to singlehandedly kill a

  gnoll he would have had to sacrifice—” Lyra expertly choked up before

  seemingly forcing herself to continue, ”dozens of innocent souls, if not

  more.”

  Dismayed and confused, Kevin didn’t know what to do or think. “What!? There’s no way! I don’t— Why would he— I—“

  Lyra almost leaped to grab his hand in comfort. “I know,

  it’s awful, but I wouldn’t tell you this if it wasn’t true. I debated

  not telling any of you this terrible news, but you deserve to know the

  truth.” She squeezed Kevin’s hand, steeled her gaze, and looked him

  directly in the eyes. “I asked you here to send you on a quest. I don’t

  want to tell the others before we— before you can ask him yourself. If

  anyone has any hope of saving him from the brainwashing of the demons,

  it’s another Blessed One. So I ask you, please go find him and uncover

  the truth for yourself.”

  Convinced, Kevin nodded. “Yea— Yeah, I need to go. Where can I find him?”

  “We don’t know.” Lyra shook her head in shame. “With the

  limited resources our towns have due to the demands of the wars, any

  investigation must be approved by the council. This was only just

  reported, and the investigators at the outpost are still waiting for

  approval to begin their investigation and hunt him down. I want you to

  lead that investigation. Now that you’re level 25, you should be ready

  to go on this important quest. Your first true trial as a Blessed One.”

  His back straightened from the encouragement, and the

  honor. “I’ll have the stable prepare a mount. I’ll get to the bottom of

  this.” His fist was balled up and his gaze firm.

  With a grateful smile and a relieved sigh, Lyra sealed

  the deal. “Thank you, and just remember, if the demons have truly

  recruited a Blessed One to do their evil bidding, and they’re willing to

  sacrifice countless innocent lives to increase his limit to rival that

  of true heroes, they could do untold damage to our country, to our

  entire world. When you find him, you need to be careful. Demons are

  notorious liars and manipulators. Since they have their clutches in

  Sebastian, he will almost certainly try to tell all sorts of lies to

  corrupt you, to try to recruit you to their foul cause as well. Do not

  let him!” She stood up and guided him to his feet. “Good luck hero!

  Also, please remember not to speak of this with the others, not until

  you find Sebastian yourself.”

  “I will, thank you Lyra. Really, I mean it,” Kevin squeezed Lyra’s hand before rushing out of the office.

  Wilford waited until the door closed shut, and then he

  asked, “My lady, what if Sebastian reveals the truth of what happened?

  What if Kevin believes his explanations?”

  With Kevin gone, the previous soft expression on her face was replaced by one as cold as ice.

  “Don’t worry Wilford. Any story he tells our Blessed One

  will sound like a lie, the manipulations of a demon. Kevin is the most

  loyal out of the four of them, he would sooner accept that this

  stranger—who just so happens to be from his home world—is a demon than

  believe that we would lie to him after everything we’ve given him.

  Besides, Officer Haynes will ensure that his investigation will tell him

  the same thing we did. Wilford.”

  “Yes, my lady?”

  “Contact the Blackoak Outpost, tell them he’s on his way.”

  POV Kevin Vane

  Kevin walked at a brisk pace to his chambers to prepare for his travels.

  When he arrived, he opened the door and touched a crystal

  on the wall to light a chandelier of glowing crystals hanging in the

  center of the ceiling, illuminating the previously pitch black room. By

  the far wall stood a woman, his maid and attendant, who curtsied as soon

  as the hero walked in.

  “My lord, shall I prepare the bath?”

  Kevin barely even looked at her. “No, have the stable prepare a mount and pack a bag, I’m going to Blackoak. Possibly farther.”

  She bowed her head in acknowledgment. “Of course, my lord. I’ll have them prepare a mount for first light.”

  As she walked out, Kevin punched a wall hard enough that a

  small crack appeared, in spite of the many enchantments placed on the

  room. The maid didn’t even flinch and simply bowed her head and closed

  the door from the outside.

  The moment the morning sun rose above the horizon, Kevin

  was already at the stables. An attendant was waiting for him with a

  fully prepared mount. A wyvern the size of a camper van. Its scales were

  dark green with red pulsating veins glowing behind some of the scales.

  Kevin climbed up and sat on the saddle which almost

  resembled an office chair without the wheels, enchanted to ensure the

  ride was perfectly smooth. He grabbed the reins which in turn were

  enchanted to give the rider such precise and delicate control that the

  wyvern behaved more like a machine than a living being.

  Without wasting any time—or any words to the attendants,

  Kevin took off. The wyvern flew up above the castle and over the city

  before passing over the city walls.

  He flew west-southwest toward the Ember woods.

  As he flew over the forest, the dark green of the

  canopies seemed to blend together into some abstract piece of art. Soon,

  the dark green of the tree tops transitioned into the light green of

  grassy fields before soon turning to a mosaic of various geometric

  patches of yellow, purple, red, and light blue as he flew over the farms

  of Blackoak.

  Then, the town flitted past beneath him, and he finally reached the military outpost on the western edge of Blackoak.

  He quickly landed and threw the reins to a worker at the

  outpost stables before walking into the outpost itself. Kevin walked

  with purpose, never once letting his chin drop. If there happened to be

  something in the way as he walked, be it beasts, people or anything

  else, he expected them to make way.

  A man in a decorated uniform received him. “Ah, Sir

  Candidate, the councilman informed us of your visit. We’re honored to

  have you lead this investigation.”

  Kevin’s eyes darkened at his title. In his mind, he was

  already a fully fledged hero, he was a Blessed One after all. The fact

  that he technically needed to wait for his ordination at level 50 before

  he would be accepted as a hero by the people irked him.

  “I need to speak to the investigators who discovered Sebastian.”

  “Of course, right this way, sir.”

  The captain led Kevin to an office where the two investigators who had spoken with the criminal were waiting.

  As Kevin and the captain walked in the two investigators stood up and saluted.

  “Are you two the ones who spoke with him?” Kevin asked

  with the authority of someone with a much higher level than he himself

  had.

  The both of them answered in unison, “Yes sir!”

  “…and? What happened?”

  The woman bowed her head before giving her brief

  summary. “Well, sir, we received a report by the owner of a farm about

  the appearance of a rank 2 monster, and that it was killed by a man who

  claimed to be level 20, without any support, sir.”

  “To kill a gnoll and a pack of kobolds alone at level 20

  isn’t realistic, so we naturally concluded that he was a draft dodger,”

  the man jumped in to expand.

  “Is that all?” Kevin raised an eyebrow.

  The two looked at each other awkwardly, “Uhm… Yes Sir!”

  Kevin sighed in disappointment. “I need to talk to the farmers. Take me there, now.”

  Kevin and the two investigators quickly made their way to

  Tanner Farm. Upon arrival, the usually lush purplish crops were broken

  and sparse. As they approached the main house, there were further signs

  of a struggle and more damage to the farm.

  The Blessed One felt a familiar odor coming from inside

  the house. When he opened the door he was hit by a wall of heavy air

  filled with the stench of blood.

  He took a step inside and struggled to wrap his mind around the image that confronted him.

  Bodies, torn apart with a savagery he couldn’t comprehend, certainly not something a human should be capable of.

  There were two of them, or at least he assumed so—they

  were too badly damaged to be certain. The walls were painted with their

  blood in the shape of various symbols and strange texts.

  Kevin’s eyes darkened, and he quickly left the house. It

  took everything he had not to lose his composure, and the contents of

  his stomach. Still, there was a tremor to his entire body, one the

  investigators were tactful enough not to comment on.

  “How could this have happened?” he asked them with vitriol in his voice.

  “Sir, we gave him until the week was over to report to

  the commander. I never thought he would do something like this,” said

  the woman, clearly appalled by the sight.

  “Me neither, sir. These poor farmers may have reported

  him, but they were only doing their duties. How could he do something

  like this?” The man frowned in disgust.

  “Where could he have gone?” asked Kevin.

  The woman shook her head. “Hard to say, sir. There haven’t been any caravans coming through the past few days.”

  Her partner jumped in with a bright idea. “The train,

  sir. The train to Luxendorf departed a few days ago, shortly after our

  interaction with the criminal.”

  With his fists balled up and his jaw clenched, Kevin’s

  next destination was decided. “Well then, I guess I’m going to

  Luxendorf.”