“That’s it, I’m burning this place down.”

  “No! Stop!” Stella grabbed Zoe’s arm before she could activate any of her hellfire skills. While doing so couldn’t stop Zoe from activating them, it did get her attention. “I feel like we should figure out what’s going on here, first.”

  “Oh. Good point.” The shopkeeper released her grip as they both took a couple more steps back.

  Identify!

  [SANGUINE BLIGHT CREATION (Corrupted)]

  Unranked | No Level

  CORRUPTED

  Nothing good ever comes out of a freezer.

  -Alignment-

  > Infernal (Revulsion)

  > Blight

  -Strengths-

  > Unknown

  -Weaknesses-

  > Fire

  > Hallow

  The description the system provided called to mind the two different varieties of ghouls Zoe had encountered thus far. Aside from not being a ghoul, the other major difference was the corruption.

  Zoe had seen a few things like that before—it wasn’t hard to recall, because she was carrying them around in her inventory. The majority of the weapons she’d looted from Basil’s storage ring were similarly corrupted. “So uh, ever heard of a sanguine blight creation before?”

  Now that they’d observed the thing for more time, Zoe was less concerned about it doing anything undesirable—aside from existing in the first place, of course. The thing hadn’t done much other than twitch and spasm.

  “Wait, you have an identification skill?” Stella seemed surprised by that. Zoe’s understanding of identify was that it was obviously useful but not especially rare. “Lucky. Makes sense with your level of stealth, though. Speaking of which, we definitely need to start comparing abilities.”

  The shopkeeper had a point. Zoe didn’t know what Stella could do beyond selling products that might include illegal substances, and making plants do unnatural things. “Point taken, but I kind of want to deal with this first. Uh, whatever this is.”

  Together, they slipped back inside the freezing room. On top of the deep chill, the fact that they were in phase one of taking on an unknown number of cultists and inquisitors reminded Zoe of one of her unexplored quest rewards.

  [CLOAK OF THE HUNTER FOREST ANIMAL]

  Rank E

  The wolf is many things—but perhaps most of all, a symbol. What does it mean then, to bear the mantle of its hide? This cloak is no ordinary enchanted garment—it bears not only magic within its thread but a living spirit to guide and grow with you.

  The wolf cloak Zoe got as a reward for escaping prison with Sasha was delightfully cozy. More than that, it was a living item. This meant that it had its own alignment, stats, and a list of effects that Zoe felt a renewed interest to explore.

  -Effects-

  > Lonesome Recovery

  > Winter’s Embrace

  > Earthen Resilience

  > Howl on the Wind

  Donning the cloak didn’t just mitigate the artificial cold. It eliminated the sensation instantly and entirely, something which had to be magical in nature. Maybe that provides a clue to the Winter’s Embrace effect.

  “Nice cloak,” Stella said.

  “Thanks.” Now warmed up to a sufficient level, Zoe skirted around the crude mockery of herself. It was at this point that the damned thing lunged, because that’s how these things tended to go. Zoe had more than half expected this to happen, so she came prepared.

  Hellfire Blast!

  The crimson bolt struck the blight creation square in the chest. Despite being visibly frosted over, the paper-white skin of the monstrosity ignited in a flash. The skill also shoved it down and away from Zoe—a nice bonus, given that touching it was still one of her main life goals at the moment.

  “Well, there goes that, I suppose.” Stella sighed. “I guess I can’t complain too much. I did say we were going to draw out some attention.”

  It took Zoe a moment to realize what the other demon meant by that. Well, it seemed the blight creation wasn’t the only thing nearby that was flammable. It didn’t help that hellfire had the added capability to happily consume things that otherwise had no right to burn.

  It only took a couple more seconds for the artificial monster to go up in ash, and then for the ash to go up in smaller, even more burnt ash. By the time this process had concluded, the walls, floor, and part of the ceiling had also caught fire.

  Hellfire Blast has reached level 12!

  “Oops.”

  Looking around the rest of the freezer—the part that wasn’t on fire yet—Stella grimaced. “Okay, I was still hoping we could get more out of this, but burning down the town hall is still a good start.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Ha!” Lilith had been remarkably quiet throughout this unique sequence of events, but now the third demon involved made her presence known to Zoe. “I like this one.”

  “Yeah, yeah, of course you do,” Zoe muttered. Stella gave her a funny look, causing Zoe to fake an awkward look around while clearing her throat. “Guess we should get going then. Not much else in here besides all the jars with liquids and little malformed homunculi.” There was a whole wall full of the creepy buggers, deeper in. “Wait.”

  The freezer hadn’t just been home to a botched clone and a synthetic fetus collection. There was a worktable with some boxes stacked beneath it. That’s what the blight creation had been leaned against. On top of the table was a wallet and a stack of papers. “A-ha!”

  Zoe snagged both into her inventory. “Alright, let’s move it.”

  _____

  Mister Donovan pulled the cart to a stop a short distance from the outermost city walls. Carriage, technically—but that wasn’t the important bit. “Why have we stopped?” Arthur asked.

  The greasy lump occupying the drivers bench chuckled. “We’d be on the wrong side of the map if I was taking you the whole way, lad.” Donovan jabbed a finger at the infinitely more refined Lord Loch. “He’s taking you the rest of the way.”

  Arthur slumped. “Oh.”

  “Wait, what difference does that make?” Arthur wondered why Lily sounded so confused when she could save the energy and just feel dejected. “A side is a side, irrespective of our escort.”

  “Do my ears mistake me,” the third member of their team, Andric, said, “or did you use the word ‘irrespective’ just now?”

  “And what of it?”

  “Oh, nothing much.” Andric looked away. “Only that there might yet be hope.”

  Before the inane exchange of what passed for witticism among the nobility could continue any further, Lord Loch himself dragged the pair back down to the muddy and cold world at present. It was most unfortunate that he had to drag Arthur down along with them.

  “Enough, children.” Stepping down from the carriage, their sadistic mentor flicked a speck of nonexistent lint off his coat sleeve and made a show of consorting with what was no doubt a disgustingly expensive timepiece. “Get your things and start walking.”

  And there it is, Arthur thought. He should have expected this. Rushing the three of them through a last day exercise—last day, if that—was not what one might describe as atypical. Making that exercise a grueling march through leagues of darkness wasn’t unexpected, either. It was simply one of the least tolerable outcomes.

  “You can’t mean we’re going to walk the way there.” When Lord Darius failed to respond, Lily’s expression grew nervous. “You can’t, can you?”

  It hadn’t taken Arthur long to pack up his already packed things, once his body started moving again in weary resignation. Satchel over his shoulder and staff in hand, the archmage couldn’t restrain himself as he passed by the other two. “Sorry, princess, but he can—and I’m pretty sure he does.”

  Lily wasn’t having it. “Stuff it, Archie.”

  “No, he has a point,” Andric remarked as Arthur met up with Lord Loch at the edge of the road. “More than a point, really. He’s just being realistic.”

  It took several times longer than it should have for the three of them to meet up with their instructor. When they did, Mister Donovan started up the carriage and began wheeling back in the direction of Verdanport. Lord Darius started to speak again, only to be interrupted by a distant shout.

  “Hey, wait up!” It was Sean, thumping his way down the road while decked out in full plate armor. “I can make it, actually!”

  “Yes, we can see that,” Lord Darius mused. He made no effort to project his voice, so Sean was likely the only one who couldn’t hear it.

  “Well that makes four, then.” Andric’s eyes flicked from the approaching Templar back to Lord Loch. “Four out of five isn’t so bad when the fifth one is already at the place we’re going.”

  “No, I suppose it isn’t,” the old alchemist admitted. Lord Darius shook his head as Sean slowed down on approach. “Remarkable timing. It would have been challenging at best to find us once we’re in the trees.”

  Sean only nodded, being rather out of breath from his mad sprint and the armor dragging him down. Arthur couldn’t help but notice that his armor had changed. Along with less wear and a better fit, noticeable metal components had been worked into every section—bronze, no less. The expense of something like that gave Arthur pause.

  It gave everyone else pause as well, it seemed. The sudden silence was only interrupted when Sean realized they were all staring at him. “What?”

  It was Lord Loch who provided the answer, with the casualness of a man rich and powerful enough that such a quantity of such a potent metal was entirely unremarkable. “Did someone decide it was time to make you a proper paladin?”

  “Oh.” Their freshly arrived teammate now looked uncomfortable. “Technically, no. There’s still a bit more ceremony between me and that.” Catching Lily’s look—the same look they all had—he shrugged. “But as far as most people outside the Church are concerned—yeah.”

  “Congratulations! Anyway,” Lord Darius clapped his hands together, “the trees are waiting.” And, with that, the most powerful alchemist in Nordvask stepped off the roadside and strode straight towards the darkening forest.

  All four of the prospective adventurers remained still and silent. It was Sean who brought up the tough subject first. “I don’t recall any footpaths around here. Does that mean he’s just going to force his way in a straight line through?”

  “Looks like it,” Andric said, “and that means so are we.”

  Arthur and Lily groaned in perfect unison. “You can’t be serious.” Unfortunately for them, it looked like Lord Darius Loch was serious.

  _____

  It was good that Zoe snagged the papers when she did. The whole room was close to finishing its transformation into a re-enactment of Zoe’s house an hour or two earlier. It was now at the point that the hellfire had largely devoured itself, leaving the remainder of the available fuel for more ordinary fire. Not seeing a way back to the hall other than through, Zoe prepared a few skills.

  She also tucked the cloak back in her inventory. It would be a shame to ruin the thing by burning it. The cloak wasn’t what you’d call a renewable resource, in contrast to Zoe’s own skin. That didn’t mean Zoe wasn’t a fan of her skin. The heat was rising, and she knew from recent experience it would only grow worse. “You know, I’ve never been a fan of pointless sequels.”

  Cloak of Scorn!

  Rejuvenate!

  Zoe chose the path of wisdom and did not activate hellfire eruption this time. Her reasoning there was, for the majority part, based on consideration for Stella.

  Though the system might classify her as a monster, Zoe was not an impulsive loner with an underdeveloped sense of empathy.

  Walking out of the roaring flames while wreathed in a chilling maelstrom made her feel pretty cool, though. Maybe I should try setting things on fire more often. Just, in a more controlled way with better planning.

  With her arms folded and face flat, Stella did not look equally impressed. “I bet you think you look pretty awesome, right now.”

  Zoe schooled her expression to remain casual and unaffected. “Yes, I absolutely do,” she admitted.

  “Well you would be right, but we also need to go. The plan was to draw attention with something big and start chaos, not do that and then sit around in the middle of it.”

  Zoe didn’t have any reason to argue with that. Together, they sprinted away from the flames in the direction of the stairs. That brought them to the second floor, where Zoe careened into the lumbering bulk of Mayor Stokes.

  The mayor was a rather big man, much in the way that Zoe was not. Staggering back from the collision, Zoe had the good instinct to fix up her appearance before he turned around.

  Lesser Disguise!

  “Oh, didn’t see you there,” the mayor rumbled as he rotated. Seeing his face come into view was like watching a sunrise from low earth orbit. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

  “Uh.” Zoe’s eyes darted between Mayor Stokes, the slice of cake in his hand, and the form of Stella as the other demon vanished around the corner. The shopkeeper was able to slip by while Zoe was still reeling from impact. “Just a little bit of arson. You should try it sometime. It’s fun.”

  The mayor’s brow crinkled in confusion. Zoe pressed the advantage. “Is the cake any good? I didn’t actually try it.”

  “I—what? Yes, the cake is good, but what do you mean by…” Mayor Stokes trailed off as he realized the woman he was talking to had disappeared. He turned around again, but there was no sight of her. “What just happened?” Looking at his hand, he realized his slice of cake had vanished, too. “And why does it smell like smoke in here?”