Chương 123: Chapter 107 – Picking Up the Pieces (Start of Book 2 - Classless)

Cade heard Earl's voice let out a shaky "okay" that was barely audible. Is he okay? Cade thought. Maybe he was in worse shape than I thought. Then the man's entire face lit up.

"Dude!" he shouted, throwing both hands into the air before immediately wincing and clutching his wounded side.

"That was some of the coolest shit I've seen since the Tutorial started!" Cade blinked.

"What?"

"That white wave thing!" Earl said, practically giddy despite looking like he was one good hit away from collapsing.

"The stuff that came out of your cloak! It just..." He made an exaggerated sweeping motion with his hand.

"... Whoosh! Richard's creepy shadow monsters just evaporated when they touched it!" He stared at Cade with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning.

"How'd you do that? You've gotta show me!" The enthusiastic response caught Cade completely off guard.

"Oh... uh..." His mind raced for a plausible explanation. There was no way he was explaining his skill, let alone Laws, to the stranger about to collapse at the center of the dais.

"I..." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head through the hooded cloak, the ash easily parting around his hand.

"The System gave me a pretty strong magic skill that seems to work well against shadow creatures. I've been practicing with it since the beginning of the Tutorial." The lie felt clumsy the moment it left his mouth but it was the best he could do in the moment and apparently Earl didn't notice. Or maybe he simply didn't care enough to call Cade out on the obvious lie.

"Damn." The muscular man said after letting out an appreciative whistle.

"Maybe I should've spent more time looking through the Class options before picking mine. I chose [Berserking Behemoth]. I already had anger issues before the System. Turning my rage into a strength instead of the weakness it'd been for most of my life sounded right up my alley. But maybe one of the other Classes would've come with some badass magic. I dunno. I'm pretty happy with my Class as is but that magic of yours sure is fucking cool. The way it just took Richard's shadows out like they were nothing!

Definitely better than any of the other mages I've seen so far." Cade tried to keep his expression neutral as Earl kept talking. Does he always talk this much or is he just rambling for some reason? And did he really just tell me his Class? Back before Cynthia's Legacy, his old group told him their Classes but they kept other information well guarded. Yet Earl had casually volunteered the name of his Class to a complete stranger without a second thought.

"So..." Earl rubbed the back of his neck.

"What happened to Richard?" Cade glanced toward the empty space where Richard's body had once stood.

"You don't have to worry about him anymore. He's dead." For a split second Earl simply stared. Then he burst into laughter.

"Ahahaha thank God, or the System, or whatever is in charge now. That dude was a dick!" The tension melted from his broad shoulders as he doubled over, laughing hard enough that he had to wipe tears from his eyes.

"Dude..." he managed between breaths.

"I seriously thought I was a goner this time." He shook his head.

"I've had a bunch of close calls since the Tutorial started, but I've never had to be rescued like some damsel in distress before. I appreciate the assist brother." Cade waved the gratitude away.

"It was no problem. Richard was weaker than his level implied. I'm sure you would've handled him eventually." Earl barked out another laugh.

"If that's what you call weak..." He looked Cade up and down before shaking his head.

"I'd hate to see what you'd consider strong." Cade awkwardly scratched the back of his head again, his fingers brushing over the short stubble that had finally begun growing back after he lost it way back during his Ashen Baptism. He honestly didn't know how to answer that. Richard was nothing compared to the likes of Vorduun or Brahm or Rowana, let alone Sildraxa. Hell, even the corrupted Aquelion put up a better fight. Richard barely registered as an opponent in his mind.

It was more like putting down a rabid squirrel. Earl followed Cade's gaze toward the patch of stone where Richard had died.

"... Hey. What happened to his body?" Earl asked.

"Guy murdered an entire camp. Odds are he had some pretty good loot on him." For the first time in their conversation, Cade failed to control his expression as only then did he remember that loot was a thing in the Tutorial.

"Oh... I... kind of destroyed it."

"You what?!"

"I wasn't really thinking." Cade rubbed the back of his neck.

"The body and everything he was carrying sort of got destroyed by my… uh… magic." For a heartbeat, Earl simply stared at Cade in disbelief. Then he threw his head back and laughed even harder than before.

"Oh man!" He slapped his knee.

"That's actually hilarious. What kind of fucking magic do you have anyway? Must be crazy strong! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that." Cade couldn't help but smile awkwardly.

"I guess, but I'm sure you're plenty strong too." Earl wiped another tear from his eye with the back of his hand.

"Oh well." He shrugged before lowering himself onto the stone platform with an exhausted groan.

"What's done is done." He stretched both legs out in front of him.

"I'm running on fumes here. Hope you don't mind if I sit while we talk." Cade gestured dismissively.

"It's fine." As Earl leaned back on his arm, Cade found himself fighting the urge to ask one of the many questions that had been nagging him since returning to the Tutorial. How long have I been gone? What day of the Tutorial is this? Are the barriers down yet? But he stopped himself as that question would only raise more questions about him and he was already skirting around the truth. Instead, Cade turned and walked toward the section of the stone dais carved with snakes.

Surprisingly, his old axe was still socketed into the stone serpent exactly where he had left it. Without looking back, he asked, "Do you have any proof Richard killed those people?"

"Bit late for proof now, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Cade said slowly.

"I guess it is. But humor me. Could you prove he killed those people?" Earl studied him for a moment before shrugging.

"If you let me catch my breath first, I'll take you to the camp. Fair warning though…" The humor vanished completely from his voice.

"It's a pretty gruesome sight, and that's coming from an ex vet. I've seen some shit and even I was uneasy about the carnage." Earl paused for a moment before continuing.

"I didn't personally see Richard kill anyone. But he admitted it after he crept out of the woods when I was looking around the camp. Oh and before you get any ideas, I was looking around to see if I could figure out what happened to those people."

"I guess that makes sense. I'd still like to see it though. With Richard dead we can spend some time searching to see if someone survived. People could've hidden or managed to slip away or something." Earl shrugged.

"Maybe. I didn't exactly get the chance to thoroughly search the place. Like I said, Richard came out of the trees not long after I got there and started trying to kill me." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Cade reached the section of the stone dais carved with snakes and serpents. The handle of his old axe still protruded from the rock exactly where he had placed it to help Aquelion complete the ritual so long ago.

Kneeling beside it, he wrapped his fingers around the handle and gave it a firm tug. It didn't budge. He frowned and pulled harder but the axe didn't so much as wiggle.

"It feels like it's welded in there," he muttered. Curious, Cade focused on the obsidian and activated [Greater Identify]. Flake of the Obsidian Keystone (epic) — An extremely sharp and durable shard of obsidian that once belonged to Lord N'zhal, Devourer in the Reeds. May be integrated into a System Core to grant the passive skill [Retaliatory Defense]. Cade blinked the notification away.

"Well, that's already more useful than my shitty old lesser quality [Identify]." The amount of information the upgraded skill provided surprised him. Not only did it reveal the item's rarity, it even identified its previous owner and what benefit it granted when integrated into a System Core, which was a thing Cade didn't even know was possible. The skill certainly sounded useful, though it was useless for him since it required a System Core.

Even if the skill was unavailable to him, the obsidian flake itself remained incredibly valuable. He remembered how effortlessly the razor-sharp edge had carved through scales, hide, and bone during the early days of the Tutorial. He had no intention of abandoning it now. Unfortunately, it still refused to come loose. Cade studied the axe for a moment before arriving at the only solution he could think of. If the obsidian was stuck to the stone then why couldn't he just break the stone around it?

He drew back his fist and punched into the stone surrounding the embedded weapon. A sharp crack echoed across the clearing as tiny fractures spread through the rock. Earl looked over.

"... Did you just punch the stone?" Cade ignored him as he hit it again and again. Each strike drove deeper cracks through the solid dais until the axe finally slid free.

"Haha you're fucking crazy man," Earl chuckled.

"Not crazy Earl. I just left my axe here a while ago and it seems to have gotten stuck to the stone. Got it loose though." He said as he held up the weapon.

"So... how's the Tutorial been treating you?" Earl snorted.

"It's been alright. I've mostly been doing my own thing. Tried teaming up with a few people, but none of them had the same appetite for fighting that I do. I like getting stronger. I like the feeling of fighting the beasts in this swamp. They're smarter than the animals back on Earth. More dangerous too. Did you know there are salamanders that can breathe fire? Not too far from here actually. Could take you there if you want. After we go to the camp of course." Cade listened while turning the axe over in his hands.

"There was one guy, though." Earl scratched at the stubble on his chin.

"Little earth mage. Dude actually wanted to go out hunting instead of sitting around in that camp all day. But man was he squishy. Poor guy couldn't take a hit without getting launched halfway across the battlefield." Cade's head snapped toward Earl.

"Earth mage?"

"Yeah."

"Was he shorter than you?"

"Most people are, I'm pretty tall."

"Darker tan skin? Bushy eyebrows? Black hair?" Earl's voice had a hint of confusion.

"... Yeah? That sounds like the guy. You know him?" A knot tightened in Cade's stomach.

"I might. Was his name Sasesh?" Earl rubbed his calf as if trying to work out a knot.

"I don't really remember his name. Never been good with 'em. But I hope it wasn't the same guy." Cade's eyes narrowed.

"Why?" Earl hesitated, his easygoing demeanor faded as he looked away.

"Well we took on one of those fire breathing salamanders and he ended up getting hurt." Earl said slowly, "Afterwards he wanted to head back to camp. Said his healer friend could patch him up. So I took him and made sure he got there safely." Cade remained silent.

"But that was Richard's camp. Haven't seen the guy since." The words hung heavily between them. Earl immediately threw both hands into the air.

"Hey, hold on. Before you do or say anything—I didn't know, I swear. Richard always gave me the creeps. That's part of why I left his camp in the first place." He sighed.

"But creepy doesn't automatically mean serial killer. I figured he was just another asshole trying to act important. I had no idea he'd go on a murdering spree. I don't even know how he did it either. There was a System enforced contract saying that they couldn't hurt each other inside the camp. Dickhead must have found a way around it." Cade looked away as a dozen conflicting thoughts passed through his mind at once.

If Earl really had taken Sasesh there, then Richard's camp wasn't just full of strangers in the Tutorial. There was a good chance that Sasesh's corpse could be there. Maybe even Nadean, Professor Sanders, and Amanda. He hoped that wasn't the case. Sure they were assholes to him during the Tutorial but that didn't mean he wanted them dead. Maybe they left before Richard acted. Or maybe they found a way to hide. Without another word, Cade began walking toward the section of the dais carved with monitor lizards.

As he walked, he forced his mind to stop thinking about his old coworkers. His attention drifted back to the obsidian edge of his axe. He remembered how effortlessly it had sliced through nearly everything it touched. Curiosity got the better of him as he walked. Holding the axe carefully, he placed his thumb against the razor-thin edge and slowly drew it across his skin. The obsidian didn't leave so much as a scratch. He pressed a little harder but still nothing. Huh.

Either the edge must have dulled while I was within Cynthia's Legacy or my reforged body is tougher than I thought. Either way, it's still a weapon I can use so I don't have to rely on the rhizome while around other people.

"Hey," Earl said.

"Maybe Richard didn't kill your earth mage friend." Cade glanced over his shoulder.

"He easily could've gotten away," Earl continued.

"The little guy was crafty. If anyone could've slipped out without Richard noticing, it'd be him."

"Maybe. If we're talking about the same person, though..." Cade let out a slow breath.

"He wasn't alone. He had a healer with him, and a few others. I doubt they'd split up." Earl's expression fell.

"... Yeah."

"They might've gotten lucky," Cade said but his heart wasn't in it. The two fell silent again. After a few moments, Earl sighed.

"Well... we can go check. Just give me another couple minutes. My stamina's still coming back." Cade nodded.

"Take the time you need. I still need to grab something." He continued toward the opposite side of the stone dais until he reached the section he was looking for. Resting within the largest carving sat a familiar mint-green gemstone shaped like a perfect teardrop. The Primordial Bead Dewdrop. He smiled. So you're still here as well. Cade focused on the gemstone and activated [Greater Identify].

Primordial Bead Dewdrop (epic) — A single bead from a much larger gemstone capable of restoring and replenishing those who hold it. Once belonged to Lord Tegziran, Burrow-Warden of the Bloom. Effect: Restores 300 Health, Stamina, and Mana. Cooldown: 8 hours. He read through the description twice before mentally dismissing the window. So that's how it worked. Back during the first few days of the Tutorial, the dewdrop had seemed miraculous.

Every pulse of soothing green light had completely restored him, allowing him to push himself far beyond what should have been possible. Now he understood why. Back then, none of his resources had exceeded three hundred. He pulled up his status. HP: 1430/1430 SP: 1053/1100 MP: 1485/1485 Three hundred wasn't insignificant, but it also wasn't overwhelming anymore. Even so, Cade had no intention of leaving an epic treasure embedded in the stone dais. He rolled his shoulders before drawing back a fist.

His knuckles slammed into the rock and a loud crack echoed across the clearing. Stone splintered beneath the blow. Earl just stared as Cade hit it a second and then a third time. The weathered stone surrounding the dewdrop fractured until the gemstone finally loosened with a satisfying pop. He plucked it free and brushed the dust from its polished surface. Behind him, Earl let out a low whistle.

"You know..." he said slowly, "... I don't think I've ever seen someone punch stone apart with their bare hands. Are you sure you're a mage?" Cade looked back.

"Oh, uh yeah. The stone is softer than it looks." Earl barked out a laugh.

"I like the way you solve problems. Just hit em until they're not problems anymore." Cade walked back toward the exhausted man and as he came within arm's reach, he extended a hand.

"Ready?" Earl eyed the offered hand but didn't take it right away.

"I'm still pretty tired."

"You'll be fine."

"You sure you don't mind waiting another minute?"

"Trust me, you'll feel much better once you're on your feet." Cade said with a wry smile. With a reluctant shrug, Earl grasped Cade's forearm. Cade tightened his grip and effortlessly pulled the larger man to his feet. The instant Cade's hand connected with Earl's forearm, the Primordial Bead Dewdrop resting in his palm pulsed. Soft mint-green light spilled between them and Earl's eyes widened. The cuts along his forearms visibly closed. Bruises faded. His breathing steadied as fatigue melted from his face.

"What the..." They released their grasp and Earl flexed one arm before touching the spot where one of Richard's shadow creatures had torn through his now healed shoulder. The wound was completely gone. Earl looked from his healed arm to Cade, then down to the faint green glow fading from his clenched fist.

"What the hell sort of magic is that?"

"It's not magic. Well, not my magic at least." He held up the bead for Earl to inspect.

"It's an item I found earlier in the Tutorial." Earl leaned closer.

"You've had that this whole time?" Cade shook his head.

"No, I just picked it back up. I left it here for safekeeping just like the axe." Earl stared at the gemstone for several long seconds before looking back at Cade. His mouth opened, closed, and opened again. Cade could practically see the avalanche of questions forming behind the man's eyes.

"Just who the fuck are you? And why did you leave magic items like that stuck in the stone here?"

"I told you earlier, I'm Cade Whitehollow. Now, let's head to that camp. We can talk more on the way. If there are any survivors, they might need our help."

"Cool cool cool, before we go I just have one question."

"Shoot," Cade said.

"If we're going to look for survivors, wouldn't it be best to put some pants on first?"