Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 18 — It's what I do

Noah was escorted by the guards to a chamber below the Pit. Stone walls were reinforced with thick slabs of rock, with guards stationed at intervals. Noah saw multiple chambers, looking almost like prison cells, most were empty, but some had people or things inside of them.

Reaching the end of their path, the guard grunted for Noah to walk in. Giving a light knock, Noah waited a few moments for the door to open up.

“Who is it? I told you not to disturb me for a few days,” a man said, peeking through the sliding window of the gate.

“Hey there, I’m Noah. I was sent here by Vix. You are Devin I assume?”

The man looked at Noah for a second, before he shut the eye panel. With a click, the gates unlocked as a hunched over man wearing an eye patch regarded him.

[Tome-Crafter - ??]

“Get inside, take off your shoes then stand in that circle and don’t move till I tell you to,” Devin said, pointing at something drawn on the floor at the entrance.

Noah used Dimensional pocket to teleport his shoes in his Inventory, as he stepped inside the circle. Devin closed the door behind him, before walking around the circle. Picking up a mana core that Noah couldn’t properly see, he inserted it into a slot carved next to the gate and the magic circle under Noah’s feet lit up.

You’ve been inflicted with [Cleanse].

You feel cleaner than ever!

Noah felt the grime on his body evaporate into thin air. Every little bit of dirt, dust, sweat that was on him seemed to vanish as a cool refreshing feeling covered him.

“Holy shit,” Noah exclaimed, feeling better than he had in weeks. “I so need that spell.”

“No you don’t. It is costly to use a Cleanse spell like this one. Which is why whatever you’re here for better be worth my time,” Devin said, staring at Noah.

“I’ve gotten a deal from Vix. I fight in the pit, and in return, I can have you create tomes for me,” Noah said.

“What kind of tomes?” Devin asked.

“Ability Tomes. I need three of them to rank up,” Noah said.

“What kind?” Devin asked.

“That’s the problem. I don’t really know. So far I’ve just been picking up every ability tome I got without really planning it out,” Noah said.

Devin looked at Noah, with a questioning gaze. “You want me to pick three abilities for you then? I’ll need to see your Astral Script for that.”

“I’ll need an Oath for that,” Noah said.

Devin looked at him before whispering words under his breath.

[Oath of Secrecy]

An Oath between Devin Barrow and Noah Brown. Upon agreeing to this oath, Devin Barrow will not be allowed to share this information outside of individuals who share this oath as well.

Do you accept the Oath?

Yes/No?

Noah read through the words, selecting yes as the Oath settled into place. Reaching out, he extended just the list of his abilities to Devin.

You’re about to share your Astral Script with Devin Barrow.

Do you agree to this action?

Yes/No?

Noah selected yes, as the screen made itself visible to Devin. He felt glad to have read about how to safely share details of his Astral script. Things like Oaths, sharing limited information, and his ability to withdraw his Astral script all would become important if he wanted to keep his information to himself.

The tome crafter went through his Astral Script, silently looking through the menus. A few moments passed as Noah observed Devin reading through everything.

“Hmm, the first one seems to be the base ability. All higher than I would’ve estimated. You also somehow have three, Avros knows how. Three legendaries too,” Devon said, looking up at Noah.

“You said you picked up everything you saw. How did you even find all these?” Devin asked.

“Lucky break on a quest,” Noah replied.

“Must have been some quest,” Devin said, humming. “I see a few problems here. First, Void Hunter’s Eyes. It’s Common grade, and given every other ability you have, it’s a waste of an ability slot. Second, blood drain. A healing based skill, good if you only fight a specific type of enemies, but many will be resistant, some may have poison, some may not have blood whatsoever. Highly situational in usage, and you already have a far superior healing ability to go along with it, so redundant as well. As for your free slots, well, really, it depends on what direction you want to head in. I can’t make legendary tomes, but I can do Epic grade ones with the right material,” Devin said.

“What kind of materials?” Noah asked.

“Monster Cores, mana stones, runes, a bunch of stuff. You’ll have to bring what I don’t already have,” Devin said, before looking at his Astral script again. “For Blood Drain, I would replace it with a Tome of Harvest. Rare grade, so it will likely give you a superior life steal ability. Since Blood Drain is a Feast based ability it can merge with the Harvest ability and grow to Epic. For Eyes, I would use a Tome of Perception. Should unlock something sense based, merge with the eyes and rank it up to Rare. Then I would go with a familiar for Exsanguinator, one that can efficiently inflict bleed on enemies while you get to maintain your distance.”

Noah paid attention to what the man said, noting everything for later reference. “What about Astralwalker and Void Hunter?” Noah asked the man. “If the abilities merge, they will free up a slot I assume?”

“They do. For void hunter, a Tome of Stealth. But I’ve never dealt with Astral magic before, so that one is on you. Maybe a Tome of Ruling for an aura based ability. Regardless, it’ll cost you a bunch, so whatever deal you have with Vix, I would clear it first.”

“How much does the Pit earn?” Noah asked.

“Depends on how you fight,” Devin replied. “Fight with one of the top fighters, and you’ll see a bigger crowd. The big fights happen after midnight, which is when the D rankers clash. If you do well, you could see up to 10 D grade mana stones in a day,” Devin said.

“And how much will all of these cost?” Devin asked.

“14 C grade crystals, or one B grade,” Devin said, flashing a crooked smile.

Noah nodded, doing the work in his head. He had three weeks to earn that amount. One way or another.

“Thanks,” Noah said. “By the way, what’s up with the girl? Why is she… she looks so young.”

“It'd do you best to stay away from her. She's a demon wearing human skin. If you’re asking then you must have seen what she really is. I suggest you keep your curiosity to yourself,” Devin warned.

Noah looked at the man, before giving a nod. He put his hands behind his back, as a small blob of dark goop dripped down his fingers. After making sure Devin hadn’t noticed he walked towards the door before making his way out of the chamber.

As he walked out of the gate, the guard regarded him with a look, before turning around. Following behind the man, Noah made his way to the entrance of the Pit before the guard walked off to return to wherever he was supposed to be.

Noah walked around the area outside, trying not to draw any eye. Tony called out a moment later, having found what Noah had asked him for. Noah closed his eyes and focused. There was a small link connecting him to Tony with strands of life-force.

Focusing on that link, Noah used Blink as the magic flared to life.

***

Snow opened her eyes, finding herself back in her chamber. It was made entirely of stone, with little inside, and barely any light to speak of. The only thing she could see were the dimly lit walls outside from within the small gaps in the metal gates. She stirred, her chains rustling as she tried to remember what had happened. Letting Shadow come out always made her memories difficult to work with. Clutching her head, she tried to recall, and slowly the events passed through her memory.

“We almost lost,” she whispered, as she remembered the man she was fighting. The pain still coursed through her body, the orders imposed on her having left a strain. Shadow stirred in her chest. He was recovering from his injuries. The battle was tough.

She could feel his frustration. And fear.

“I know… I know you are. But what if we lose again?” Snow whispered to herself. A shudder passed through her body at the thought, and she felt Shadow’s anger rising. “She could punish us again. Or… send us back.”

Void mana swirled around Snow as she sat, huddling up and curling around the wall. Memories she did not wish to relive were returning, and she tried to pull her mind away, closing her eyes.

The darkness comforted her now, letting her thoughts fade away, as all she experienced was a calm trust from Shadow.

Something echoed from outside, dragging snow out of her comforting darkness. She looked up, and noticed the guards whispering, before one by one they began moving somewhere.

A moment later, a blue light flashed in front of her as the man from the arena appeared. Snow jumped back, her heart sinking. It was only through sheer effort that she kept herself from screaming as the man looked at her.

“Hey!” he said, waving.

Snow stuck her back to the wall, her heart racing. Shadow stirred, ready to leap out, but the collar kept him in check. She was helpless.

“P-please don’t hurt me,” Snow whispered. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t want to- I didn’t want to hurt.”

The man moved in close, pressing his hand on her mouth. Snow’s eyes widened, her body going stiff with fear.

“Shh,” he said, putting a finger on his lips. Slowly, he turned to look outside, and Snow noticed the guards had returned.

“I will use some magic. Don’t resist it. I just want to talk,” the man whispered in her ears.

Snow looked at him, blinking tears out of her eyes. She didn’t know what to do. A moment later, she gave a small nod.

Magic flared around her, and she felt herself being pulled somewhere. She tensed, fear taking over her body for a moment, but she forcefully kept herself in check. A moment later, the world vanished around her, as she found herself in a strange unending place. The world didn’t make sense, bending and twisting everywhere with colors swirling around.

It made her eyes hurt.

“Sorry about scaring you Snow. I’m Noah Brown, and I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk,” the man said, and Snow stared at him.

He was strange, his hair was white, but not like the Celestians she had seen. His eyes were a light red color, and he looked nothing like anyone she’d seen. Snow continued to stare in silence at the man.

“I just wanted to know how you got here. Do you have any parents?” Noah asked.

Snow looked at him, the question bringing up painful memories. She shook her head.

“No parents. No family either I assume. Well, I was curious about how you became the big monster thing. You see, I can do something similar as well,” the man said, showing off his hand.

Snow’s eyes widened in surprise as his arm turned pitch black, claws coming forth from his fingers as he transformed. Even his pupils changed, black swirls running up his body and face.

“Y-you have a Shadow too?” Snow asked, finding her curiosity winning over her fear.

“Shadow?” the man asked. “I’m not sure what you mean, but the reason I can do this is my buddy here. Say hi to Snow, Tony.”

Snow watched as dark goop formed around the man’s shoulder, before a floating eyeball with wings started flying.

It flew closer to her, circling over her head before it nested itself near her head.

Snow laughed. “That tickles,” she said, touching the little eye. Shadow felt curious as well.

The eyeball flew back to the man a moment later, flying around his shoulder.

“So, who is Shadow?” the man asked.

Snow looked at him silently, before she turned to shadow. “Should I tell him?”

Shadow rustled in her. He didn’t trust the man.

“He has someone like you. Maybe… maybe he can teach us somethings.”

Shadow did not like the idea. Learning from a stranger, even just being here could get them punished.

Snow felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought, as she clutched her collar. “I-I need to get back. I can’t be here,” she said, her breathing growing heavy.

“Hey, it’s okay. Calm down. No one can find you here, and time moves slowly when you’re inside,” the man said, crouching. The eyeball moved to her as well, resting on her head as it radiated a sense of peace.

Snow took a long breath, before giving a nod. “O-okay…” she took a moment, before answering the question. “Shadow is… my friend. Like your friend. But he cannot come out.”

“Is that why you have those horns?”

Snow gave a nod.

“How did they bring you here?” he asked.

Snow paused, feeling her mouth run dry. “The… cult,” she whispered. “They… they caught me. Said I was… special. Brought me here, before they sold me to this place. I tried to run… but they…” Snow trailed off, feeling her words die.

The man stood in silence, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through so much. I don't have much time to talk right now, but I promise I’ll be back to free you. But I can't do it immediately, so I would like you to wait a little.”

Snow felt her heart drop. “You can’t!”

The man looked at her in confusion.

“T-they can find me. With this collar. And then they’ll kill you. And catch me again. I-I can’t go.”

The man’s expression darkened, and he moved closer, still crouching as he remained at eye level for her. “I have got friends. And I know of ways to break shackles. See, I’m even wearing one right now,” he said, lifting his arm and Snow saw the shackles resting on his wrist. Her eyes widened in shock.

“W-were you a slave too? Did you run away?”

The man shook his head. “No, I wasn't a slave. For now, all I want you to do is trust me, and not give up. I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”

Snow looked at the man, into his red eyes, and found herself wavering. “I… why would you do this for me? You have nothing to gain, and you could die.”

The man paused, thinking over it. “Because I’m a nosy person,” he said, giving her a bright smile. “It’s what I do.