Rhode had no intention of abandoning the fat merchant. On the contrary, the only reason he had left was to check his spoils.
He had gained a great deal of experience in the earlier battle, but hadn't obtained much in the way of spoils. To players, the wrecked airship had been a treasure trove, and with so many dead aboard, their possessions were bound to be worth a lot. In the end, though, Rhode had abandoned the idea. Whatever else, they had saved his life. Waiting until they were dead and then rummaging through their things would have been going too far.
Experience was valuable, but what made Rhode feel he'd really struck it rich was something else. It was the black stone he was holding now. According to the Dragon Soul Continent, this was a Soul Core, formed when a powerful magical creature died. It had a wide range of uses: it could be set into a weapon like a gemstone, melted down to forge a soul weapon, or used by spellcasters as an excellent material for crafting magical items. And because Soul Cores dropped so rarely, their price had always been sky-high in Dragon Soul Continent. For Summon Swordsmen, they also served a purpose nothing else could replace.
They were the treasure needed to awaken a Summoned Spirit.
At that moment, Rhode stood deep in the dense forest. He raised his right hand, and the Soul Core, about the size of a walnut and radiating a dense aura of darkness, lay quietly in his palm. All around him, the forest was peaceful and mild. Midnight moonlight filtered through the leaves, scattering spots of light across the earth and the undergrowth. Then the summoning array on the back of Rhode's hand shone again, its streamlined magical radiance swiftly spreading outward. A line of system text appeared before him.
[Corrupted Soul Core detected. Purify?]
"Purify."
Soon, a spotless white glow once again appeared within the summoning array on the back of Rhode's right hand. It flowed along his fingers like water, enveloping the Soul Core in his palm. As the holy power seeped in, the wisps of black mist coiling around the Soul Core melted away like snow in the sunlight, vanishing without a trace. With the dark mist gone, the Ectoplasm Core at last revealed its true form: a transparent, egg-shaped gem that shimmered blue and trembled faintly, as if it sensed something and was struggling to break free.
[Ectoplasm Core purified. Awaken?]
"Awaken."
At Rhode's words, the blue, egg-shaped gem trembled even more violently. Then, with a light crack, it shattered. Streams of blue power burst forth like flowing water, spinning and winding through the air before taking the shape of a card. At last, it settled quietly in Rhode's hand.
A cool, comfortable sensation spread through Rhode's body, making him shiver with pleasure. At the same time, he learned what sort of being had signed a contract with him. He picked up the card. On its face was a green-blue Spirit Bird soaring through the sky with its wings spread. The upper-right corner bore a blue-green semicircle, representing the card's element, while a V was marked in the upper-left. The two lower corners displayed a pair of small numbers: 2. Rhode flipped the card over, and lines of text shimmering with magical light soon appeared on the back.
[Soaring Soul Bird (Wind Element): A flying-type fusion spirit. Attacks have a 10% chance to trigger paralysis. Piercing effect: ignores magical protection. —Skill: Spirit Wind Phantom (a child of the wind who soars through the skies; area-of-effect skill)]
[Sky Deck acquired: 1/10, Soaring Soul Bird]
What good luck.
Rhode couldn't help smiling. Flying-type Summoned Spirits were essential for Summon Swordsmen in the early game. What's more, its wind element let it pass through objects without magical properties, meaning ordinary defenses were completely useless against it. With a range of thirty meters and its special effects, Rhode could at least be sure he wouldn't run into too much danger for now. Even if he accidentally came across one of those mutated bosses, he was confident he could fight it.
Still, the thing that frustrated Rhode most was his attributes. His strength, constitution, agility, will, and the rest were still hidden, which made him uneasy. This was his own body, yet its current condition far exceeded what should have been normal for him. He had already confirmed that his attributes were above those of an ordinary human, but it was unsettling not to have a clear grasp of his own physical condition. If you thought you were going to die and didn't, that was a pleasant misunderstanding. But if you thought you couldn't die and then did, that was a goddamn nightmare. Since he couldn't see his attributes, all Rhode could do for now was rely on his experience and make educated guesses.
His fight against the Wind Serpent Lord had given him a few clues. After all, he had once studied the details of the Wind Serpent Lord as a boss. From the earlier battle, his strength seemed about on par with that of a standard, full-fledged swordsman. His constitution was remarkably robust, too. Since arriving in this world, Rhode had been through several crises, yet his body had withstood them all. Its condition had never dropped below the warning level, let alone reached critical. As for his speed, it wasn't much different from that of an ordinary person. But he had no way to test his will. He couldn't exactly find a mage to hit him with mental spells and see what level he could withstand.
Just then, a faint rustle came from the bushes. Rhode raised an eyebrow and lowered his right hand. The glow of the summoning array on its back dimmed in an instant, and the card he'd been holding dissolved into specks of magical light and vanished. Once sealed into a card and bound to its owner, a card no longer appeared in physical form. Instead, it slept quietly in the ring called the Ten Sephiroth within the summoning array on a Summon Swordsman's hand, waiting for its owner to awaken it. At the moment, only two cards were sealed there, in the outermost layer's lowest ring, the Kingdom Ring: the elementless Star Trace and the wind-element Spirit Bird.
Rhode didn't intend to reveal too much of his ability in front of other people. The game had explained that Summon Swordsman was an exclusive player class. It had once existed in the distant ancient past of the continent, and players were the only ones who had inherited it. They had set out on their journey to find and restore the glory of this once-legendary class. Of course, that was all nonsense from the game's introduction. Put more practically, judging from Lize and Mace's expressions, Rhode could tell they knew nothing about this class, so there was no point in saying much. Besides, maintaining a little mystery could only help him.
Just as Rhode turned around, Lize emerged from the woods.
"Lize? Did you need something?"
"Ah... no, nothing, Mr. Rhode."
Lize shook her head, but she looked uneasy.
"I... I just wanted to ask how your injuries are. Is there anything I can do...?"
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. She clutched the hem of her robe in both hands, seeming terribly fragile.
In truth, Rhode had noticed that Lize was acting strangely. Mace had recognized her nature because he was a merchant who had spent years traveling from place to place; without a keen eye, someone would have taken him for everything he had long ago. Rhode could see through her personality because he had once been the leader of the biggest guild in the Dragon Soul Continent game. Unlike in real life, players online hid behind their characters, which made their behavior harder to read. In a world like that, anyone who wanted to bring people together had to be exceptionally perceptive. Most players came to the game to have fun, not to treat it like a job. Getting them to log in on time, show up for raids, break records, and earn achievements was difficult without finding the right balance. So, for a guild leader like Rhode, being able to read his companions' moods and thoughts was crucial.
Now, Lize's behavior made it unmistakably clear that she had no one to rely on, and it left her deeply unsettled. Rhode could also tell that losing her companions had hit her hard. It wasn't just that people she knew were gone; she was also afraid and uncertain about the future. During the earlier battle, Rhode had managed to observe her. She had done everything exceptionally well: she healed her companions as quickly as possible, swiftly dispelled the poison they'd suffered, and even timed the protective shield she cast on Rhode down to the second. For a support class, that was impressive. Back then, she had been confident and decisive. Even in the face of danger, she hadn't hesitated or lost her nerve.
But the trembling girl before him had lost all the confidence she'd shown earlier.
There was only one reason.
Before you continue