Chapter 18 Rising Cost

Chapter 18 Rising Cost
Jorren stared at the purple grains of crystals before him, the reality of essence dampening mineral he harvested the night before staring him in the the face. It was obvious that he had to make a decision and he had to do it fast. 

Slowly, he dragged his gaze from the purple grains to the old man before him. He knew the way forward was in the codex, the old book that had become law for him. He returned to his corner and after a moment, returned with the book. 

The book flipped open of its own accord to the page with the soul architecture, where three lines of the fracture looked hewn together, an effect of the First Ascension, and the documentation of all his experience during the ascension.

The next page opened, and the strange characters rearranged before his eyes to form a readable word.

Second Ascension Requirement: Survive the full essence outputof a hostile practitioner without defenses. Seal three fracture points without losing self.

Jorren looked up from the codex to the blank face of the old man. He was scared, but he didn’t show it. It was obvious the gravity of the assignment he was about to undertake. It wasn’t going to be easy absorbing and converting an attacke into his own architecture.

“You must obey the instruction of the scripture to progress,” the old man pointed out. “You are pursuing a hard task. An assignment that distinguishes you from every soul existing. You will become immune to the essence dampening material, and no one, absolutely no one would be able to hurt you again.”

Jorren wanted safety, but he couldn’t stomach the approach it took him to get there. He knew what he felt in the different instances he tried to silence energy from people. Now, he imagined having to watch that energy consume him while he struggled to absorb and convert it.

His heart was racing at the mere thought of it, but he knew he had no choice. He picked up the codex and closed it, shoving back beneath his coat.

“How do I go about this?” Jorren asked. “Because I have to keep my head low, I shouldn’t go causing nuisance around any of the Guilds.”

“No,” the old man replied. “You must keep your head low at all cost. I found Epapharas, the man whom your father offended before his death.”

Jorren remembered Epapharas. He was once a good friend of Valen Thale, his father before he turned against him because of the curse on the Thale lineage. When Sonya, his sister fell in love with Valen Thale, Epaphras stopped her from marring him and she killed herself. 

He wasn’t just an enemy, he was Thale’s sworn enemy. 

But he was thrown off the trail the moment he was moved to become a tier two guard.

“Am I supposed to run into this guy?”

“He will be guarding the south gate at the low tier two guild. You will head to the gate and make sure you get into his line of sight. His loathing for your line is enough to get him to act.”

“And you think I can handle it?” Jorren asked.

“The fact that you were able to harvest the Hollow salt tells me you can handle it,” the Keeper said. “The assignment was a test designed to prepare you for the Second Ascension, and you excelled in flying colours.”

“What if I die?” Jorren hesitated before he asked.

“Then, the land would be rid of the most dangerous man alive. Apropos, you won’t have to worry about the system chasing you down and threatening to destroy you with the forbidden mineral.”

He paused, then continued. “Your sister will eventually come of age and go for her trial, crack the stone, and abscond, and be on the run all the days of her life from the very threat you had an opportunity to eliminate.”

Jorren would readily give up his life before now, but to have his sister become a fuigitive when he had the power to stop it wasn’t something he was ready to do at the point in time. He’d do anything to ensure that his sister is safe. 

And moreover, he had a reason to live. There are tier members he had to prove wrong, there were questions he needed answers to, and there was a certain golden boy he thought needed to be put in his place. He wasn’t about to let go of them now.

“How long do I have?” Jorren asked.

“The guard would be at the wall by dusk,” the keeper said. “His shift is appromixately two hours from now. You must arrive and stay in position for his shift, and you will get in his line of sight the moment he is alone.”

Jorren didn’t speak.

“The rotation of the guards is a two minute gap every thirty mintes,” the old man continued. “In that gap, the other guide would be walking around the perimeter, and some will inspect the variables in the low tier. You have to use the two minutes window to get the guard’s rage and leave before the others show up.”

“What happens to the guild enforcer if I absorb and convert his essence?” Jorren asked.

“He will be drained, and through he is a low tier two with an intact architecture, he won’t be able to practice or cast spells.”

Jorren’s heart tightened the more. Either way, this was the only wayto make progress. He can’t say no at this point. He glanced at the broken clock in the old room, then headed towards his corner. 

There, he picked another letter he had written to his sister, and added fifteen copper coins. It was enough to sustain his sister for two weeks. He had satisfied his hunger with bread he bought in the morning, and right now, he wasn’t hungry. 

He would head to the alley, where he would hand the letter to the guild would send it to his sister in the slums of low tier five, and then head over to tier two before the time ran out for his mission. 

Shoving the letter into his pocket and picking a few coins he’d use to settle the man at the alley, he headed out of the room with his blood pumping.