And yet…his voice did not come out. He could not understand why. He was furious. And yet… Even if this wasn’t Meadow, he only now realized just how much he missed her. He could feel a burning ache in his chest, his breath cut short, his mind refusing to turn away from images and memories of her.

  She was gone, and it pained him dearly. To send her away again, even if she was fake… He could not bring himself to do it. Filled with shame and guilty relief, Rain closed his mouth again, willingly choosing to maintain this illusion. He allowed himself this, for he was too weak to do otherwise.

  "My apologies." She bowed her head. "I did not mean to disturb you. From now on, your mind will remain closed to me."

  Rain only shook his head, his voice tired.

  "Tell me again, spirit… Who are you? And how is this going to work?"

  "I am the spirit of progress and passion, Tenessa. Your Class Evolution will be assisted by me since there was no soul who volunteered to help you, as is the case with most Lost. I am only here to ask you questions and help you find your Path."

  "Path?" Rain raised a brow, detecting her change in tone. "As in, with capital P?"

  "Yes," Tenessa replied, her voice filled with respect for the mysteries she described. "At Level 5, you pick a direction. At Level 25, you adjust that direction and select your Path of life and power, the Path you will walk for the rest of your life. However, not all Paths are equal, and not all Paths are true. If you can reach Level 50, your Path is proven valid, and you embark on a new journey of power."

  "Okay. Path. Forever. Got it." Rain nodded. "So, uh… What do we do again?"

  "As is customary, I will ask you a few questions, Rain," Tenessa explained, smiling in the special way Meadow always did.

  "Is this going to take long?" Rain looked around. "I am kind of in a hurry."

  "That will depend on you."

  He took a deep breath. "Okay, shoot."

  "First… Who are you?"

  "Who am I?" He blinked. "I’m Rain."

  Yet, the spirit remained impassive, only looking on with a kind smile.

  "Okay, I guess you need more. Let’s see… I am Rain. Lost, age unknown, family none. I am a Water Mage. The world’s fastest water mage, to be exact," he added with pride, but the spirit still looked on, wanting more. He felt awkward. “I like laughing, I guess.”

  The spirit’s smile, in the form of Meadow’s, was oddly soothing for Rain. Nobody had shown such interest in learning about him before, except for Meadow herself. He felt calm and allowed himself to open up to this complete stranger wearing the body of a loved one. She wouldn’t judge him anyway.

  Speaking openly about himself, with no fear of being judged, was an oddly refreshing experience. "I’m… I don’t know, just trying to find my place. See where life’s going to take me and enjoying the ride. Hakuna matata, you know. It’s all a big, nasty joke anyway."

  "Is it?" the spirit finally replied, and before Rain could speak, she continued, "Why did you become the world’s fastest water mage, Rain?"

  "Why… Well, I guess—" he began, but the words died in his throat. "You know what? I don’t feel very comfortable with this. Can we move on to the next question? Or, at the very least, can I take the ‘Ask the Audience’ lifeline?" He chuckled by himself, but the joke fell short on the endless sea below and the impassive spirit ahead.

  Rain never liked difficult situations and often used humor to escape them. That would not work here.

  "You must answer," Tenessa replied with the same kind smile. Rain gulped, sighed, and shrugged. There were some dark places in his mind, thoughts he would rather avoid, and answering this question might touch upon them, but he couldn’t just stay here forever.

  "It just felt right at the time,” he began. "I didn’t wanna get caught. The world was full of danger then, teeming with creatures stronger than me. I thought that, even if I can’t win, it doesn’t matter; I just have to escape. So what if all I do is run away? At least I’ll be safe and have another day, another opportunity. Why take a risk? I can just retreat and go find an opponent I can win against.

  “Of course, investing in Dexterity was my choice as well, but a Water Mage is not built for power. Even if I invested in Intelligence, I would just end up sub-par. That’s why I chose this Class to begin with; I wanted to become exactly what I am right now, and the Class seemed to be built around it, a mobile mage with high enough survivability to attempt many things until I find a situation that my very specific skill set is suited for."

  The spirit was still looking on, but Rain wasn’t looking at her. He was looking downwards. Inwards. He kept speaking.

  "But it didn’t work out, did it? Not with the life I later chose for myself. I can certainly run away and sneak around, but I suck when it comes to pretty much anything else. I cannot get the things I want. I cannot help those I want to help, do what I want to do. All I can do is survive, and that was fine at first, but now… When retreating is not an option, I am almost useless."

  He clenched his fists. Rain was angry at himself. Angry for the choices he’d made. It wasn’t smart thinking; it was stupidity and cowardice. Survivability was important, but it was not enough. There needed to be more.

  "So what if I can escape? I cannot help Phac fight the dragon. I can only watch from the sidelines while others fight for what I believe in. The best I can do is luckily scrape by, but it’s…"

  He sighed.

  "I am weak. And because I am weak, I will lose everything. I lost her. You." He glared at Meadow’s form, speaking without thinking. "I lost Meadow, the one I loved. She loved me too. Did you know that? But she left me because I was weak. Because I couldn’t convince her to stay, that I was right. Reginald," he spat the name out with bitterness, "was stronger. That’s why she left me for him. Because he is strong, confident, and can give her safety. I could not do that for her. I was weak, and she did not believe in me. Of course she didn’t. Fuck, why would she?"

  Rain was shouting by now.

  "Why would she stay with me? I am just a weak man. How can I protect her? How can I protect anything? All I can do is FUCKING RUN AWAY TO SEE ANOTHER DAY. I don’t want to be that person!"

  He angrily thrashed about as he floated in place above the endless sea, desperate for something to smash and vent his anger. Alas, floating mid-air offers no such luxuries.

  "Then, tell me, Rain," the spirit asked a third question, and, despite Rain’s shouts, remained smiling, "who do you want to be?"

  "I want to be STRONG!" he shouted with all the power of his lungs, looking at the sea below. "I don’t want to be just water! Water is slippery but gives in too easily. It lacks substance. If I throw a rock down there, it will sink right in. Water flows around obstacles, finding a different way, but I don’t always want another way, sometimes I want THIS way. I want to break through. I want to hold my ground. I want to be able to protect what I want and fight what I want. I want to be someone, not just flow around others. And I don’t care if I die, dammit! I never did! Water can be great, but why the fuck would I want to be like water!?"

  Rain shouted one last time before his anger ran out. He sighed heavily and then took a deep breath, his voice deflated but filled with resolve.

  "No, I don’t want to be just water anymore. And I feel like a traitor for saying this, because water has been a good companion to me. It fits me, but…I want to be something more. Water, by itself, is not enough for me. I want to be…hard. Sharp. Steady. Powerful. I want to be—"

  A short pause. Rain’s eyes flashed upwards, meeting Meadow’s—Tenessa’s—expectant sight. She smiled, nodding at him to continue.

  "Water is fine, but it gives in way too easily… It’s just not solid enough, but I know something that is."

  His eyes met hers, and gone were his doubts, gone his hesitation. Everything was clear now, and he shone with newfound confidence. He smiled intensely.

  "I know what I want to be, spirit. But before I say it…get the fuck out of her body. You are not Meadow, and I am not desperate enough to let you use her. I don’t need it." He took a deep breath but did not stop speaking. "I know who I am now. And I will get her back."

  For the first time, the spirit’s forced smile faded away, and in its place, a real one bloomed. At the same time, Meadow’s form dispersed into mist, but Rain did not care. It was just an image. This cheap imitation… He did not need it.

  "Speak the word, Rain. Who are you?" came Tenessa’s voice from everywhere around him, and Rain felt his excitement reflected in her voice. Perhaps, she really was the spirit of passion.

  "I am not water anymore." He smiled. "I am ice."

  All at once, the sea below him froze. Cracks filled its surface, as far as the eye could see in every direction. Then, with a heaven-shaking sound, it shattered.

  A notification greeted Rain as he opened his eyes, and he grinned.

  Congratulations! Your Path has been formed. Class ‘Water Mage’ evolved to ‘Ice Mage.’

  Find your way, Rain. You have my blessing.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  AIR SURFING

  "An ice mage, huh?" Phac looked over with a gleam in his eye. "That sounds pretty cool..."

  "It is." Rain grinned. "And more combat-oriented than my previous class, though it retains its more versatile elements. That’s evolved Classes for you."

  "Uh-huh." The Crab Fighter nodded. "Wanna spar?"

  A pride-filled smile blossomed on Rain’s face. He could finally fight.

  "Sure," he replied, "but let’s escape first."

  "Naturally."

  The two of them, along with all the others, were currently standing in the massive, warehouse-like building that housed the portal to the Mortal Realm. Various weapons and pieces of armory filled what space remained, with the portal in question taking up residence at the center.

  The portal itself was rectangular and resembled a big window, with splashes of color flowing and dancing all over its surface. It stood a little over three meters in height and five in length, allowing for even hordes of devils to cross over with ease.

  On Phac’s shoulder stood Hero, and by his side were Rain, Feraya, Baruzak, and Treea. The souls, being incapable of crossing realms, had long since dispersed outside the fortress, trying to get as far away from this place of nightmare as possible. Vainmarius had taken off too, heading back to his lair, leaving them with a majestic, heaven-encompassing roar and well wishes.

  As for the kobolds, the little engineers were coming along and had devised a plan to take the airship with them through the portal. Of course, it wasn’t built to travel through such small spaces, and so didn’t fit, at first—but the kobolds had deconstructed and reconstructed the spots where the two hot air balloons tied to the masts, and they were now removable.

  The two heavy, leather-covered, two-meter-radius balloons were currently removed along with their bases and were lying in wait next to Phac and Baruzak respectively. The rest of the airship still didn’t fit through the portal, as it had masts, but the kobolds would just carry it through tilted sideways. That way, being an oversized gondola, it could barely fit. The sails themselves were neatly folded and stored in the Big Bag, which lay safely in Rain’s possession.

  As soon as they were on the other side, they just had to take a moment to attach the hot air balloons, and bam, an airship. Pretty handy, and Phac couldn’t help but once again marvel at the ingenuity and skill of the little dog-lizard-folk. From design to implementation, they’d only taken three hours.

  In that time, Rain had evolved his Class, and the rest had searched throughout Hope’s End for useful items and information.

  Items of interest, they’d found none; apparently, devils didn’t have any magical devices or better-quality weapons. All they’d found was some gold, which was kept by Treea and saved for later use.

  However, when it came to information, Hope’s End turned out to be a treasure trove. Through reading Vrohathor’s records, they’d learnt that the entire castle was subordinated to a Greater Devil named Asphel. This was an Overlord, the highest rank among Greater Devils, only inferior to the Dukes and Archdukes of Hell.

  According to Feraya, they were terrifying creatures, vastly superior to Vrohathor himself. In fact, Overlords were typically in the late sixties or early seventies in level, with some even approaching Dukedom at Level 74.

  Asphel, if going by Vrohathor’s records, probably belonged to the latter category.

  They’d also learnt that it was this Asphel, not Vrohathor, who had a contract with the Adventurer Guildmaster—which was pretty bad news, given that a being at that level could wipe out the entirety of Dawn Island’s population by itself. On the bright side, Overlords were very strictly limited in their ability to enter the Mortal Realm, even through a portal, and there was no way Reginald could complete the necessary ritual to summon him.

  Vrohathor and his devils were Asphel’s task force for this expedition, and they’d just been slaughtered to the last devil. Hopefully, Asphel would be unable to muster another force soon enough to join the war.

  Speaking of which, another piece of information they’d gleaned through Vrohathor’s records was that Reginald had been planning to assault the half-bloods in three days’ time. With Vrohathor’s force now gone, he would probably not adhere to this plan, and rather wait some more time until Asphel could muster more devils—time which the half-bloods would most certainly not give him. They had to strike quickly and decisively.

  After all, with this mission’s complete success, they now had hope. Perhaps the purists’ vile crusade would not succeed after all.

  But before that, they had to once again escape Salom. Thankfully, they had an airship this time. The portal led to the Adventurer Guild terrace, after all, since its basement would be too small to accommodate Vrohathor’s bulky physique.

  "Are we ready, everyone?" Phac raised his voice, seeing that all the preparations had been finished. "Every second we spend in this cursed place makes my soul bitter."

  "Aye, Captain!" shouted Krof, the kobold leader, and the voices of his people rose immediately following his. Everyone else nodded, seriousness breaking into their features. If they were unlucky, they may still have a battle to give.

  "Good. Let’s go."

  On Phac’s command, Rain, Feraya, and Treea dashed through the gate. They were the front line, meant to ensure that the other side was safe; not much could stand up to three Masters. Phac and Baruzak followed right afterward, each carrying one hot-air balloon. Last came the kobolds, who all worked together to lift the sideways airship, heaving and panting as they crossed the portal. And then, silence fell over Hope’s End, since it was now empty.

  Empty, save for a single imp. An imp who’d hidden under a bed, trembling all the while, and managed to survive the battle.

  Sometime after silence fell, Immi finally peeked its head from below the bed and looked outside the window. Its trembling ears finally relaxed when he saw nothing.

  "Those ugly, scary mortals are gone…" Immi muttered to itself, excitement taking over as it exclaimed in joy, "They’re gone!

  "And now, it’s time for Immi to become big and strong… Kikiki."

  Immi made its way to the battlefield, where the devil bodies still lay broken. Ignoring the others, Immi rushed directly to Vrohathor’s still body, made see-through by a hole in his chest.

  "A very fashionable hole, Master Vrohathor…" said Immi as he stood over the body, giggling to itself. It was shivering in excitement, and saliva was already dripping from its mouth. "It would sure make you even more terrifying…but you’re dead! Kikiki! You’re dead, and Immi is not!"

  The little imp laughed to itself, its scrawny body performing a clumsy little dance next to his former master’s corpse. And then, it began to feast.

  Immi is about to become so strong, so strong… Kikiki...

  Thankfully for Phac, Immi’s story would not reach the Mortal World for a long, long time.

  Rain stepped through the portal and was immediately blinded by the midday sun, a stark difference compared to Hell’s ever-present twilight. He immediately blinked it away.

  "Who are—" Before the guard could even finish speaking, a solid ice ball to the temple had already knocked both him and his partner out cold. Snorting, Feraya bent down and slit both of their necks with a dagger.

  "They’re enemies," she said coldly. "Don’t hold back."

  Rain frowned, but before he could think any further, Phac and Baruzak stepped through the portal, balancing the big hot-air balloons in their grasps. Rain looked around.

  They were on the flat roof of the Adventurer Guild, the tallest structure of Salom, save for the city hall and the Dawn Tower. Being back in the city felt strange at this point, especially overlooking it from such a high vantage point. The Higher District stretched out below him, with trees and big houses decorating its well-planned streets. The Middle District stood behind him as he gazed south, its corners even now lined with shops and merchants.

  And, of course, the Lower District could be seen too. Gray, bulky buildings rubbed against each other, made not for beauty but utility. The streets could not be seen from here, hidden by the ugly buildings, but Rain could only imagine their emptiness now that their residents had run away. In time, the District would either be demolished and rebuilt or sold at low prices to new arrivals from overseas. No matter who won the war, the population of Salom would become manageable.

  The reason why Rain had the time to take in the view was that the roof was empty. Besides their group and the two guards, there was only the portal and a trapdoor leading to the floor below. That was bound to change soon—an airship was not the most subtle of sights—but, for now, it seemed that their caution was unneeded. The adventurers clearly didn’t expect surprises from the portal.

  "Men! Work like your scaly asses are on fire!" Krof cried out, kicking a couple of kobolds who were marveling at their first view of the Mortal Realm, a place incomparably more beautiful than the arid desert and eternal twilight they were used to. As the group’s little engineers hurried to fit the balloons back on the ship and get it ready to go, Rain’s heart wavered.