Vincent stood up when he heard the door creek open. He looked at Ob with apologetic eyes. "Hey, um," he began to say with nervousness plaguing his voice.


    "I am sorry too, big guy." Ob apologized in response. Walking up to him and giving him a firm handshake.


    Abigail''s eyes went wide with shock. Did Ob just apologize for something that Vincent did? Why?


    "I shouldn''t have stormed off like that or lost my cool. I''m better than that." Ob continued.


    "No," Vincent said, "I shouldn''t have been so aggressive. I was offended as a hunter about the thought of killing being seen as evil. Being a hunter, a killer, meant that in your eyes I was wrong that something was wrong with me. I failed to see your perspective from where you come from."


    "Thank you. Killing is very illegal where I am from, yet there are wars. I wasn''t saying you were wrong at all. I was asking myself why was it so easy? That''s what I meant when I asked what was wrong with me." Ob responded," I know this world has different rules, but it doesn''t mean I have to like them or be okay with killing. But if it is kill or be killed, I will always, without hesitation, choose the former." Vincent stared back at Ob with understanding and slowly nodded. He was starting to understand Ob; he was starting to recognize the toughness he truly displayed. Vincent began questioning his decisions. Was he masking weakness with strength? Did killing something without remorse truly make him tough, or was that just a facade?


    Eclipse spoke up, "good. Don''t let this world turn you hard. But don''t let it put you in the ground either. It''s a delicate balance Ob. Now, tell us what you were up to."


    Ob told the group everything. How he met Loiven, Janice, and Reginald. He told them that he would have to go back to Reginald in a couple days'' time for the rest of his gear. He also told them how much he spent, and Abigail was not pleased. She began to lecture him on how important it was to save money; not every town was going to have someone so generous to let them stay for a few nights for free. Ob interrupted her lecture by showing them his new Scythe.


    "Whoa." Vincent breathed out slowly. He walked over to the Scythe and touched it, "You named it Hades? That''s a great name, but why that?"


    "There is a story in my world of a god who was the king of the underworld," Ob stated, "the king of the dead. He has been depicted in many different ways, but one of them is with a scythe. The Scythe has been known as a symbol of death, and I aim to maintain that symbolism," Ob said with a big smirk.


    "At first Ob," Abigail started saying, "I thought you got ripped off for the weapon, 5000 gold pieces for anything is very expensive. I think, however, that the woman."


    "Janice," Ob interrupted.


    "Right… Janice," She said, narrowing her eyes at him, "did you a massive favor? This is an awesome weapon. It matches your powerset perfectly; the fact that it adapts, just like you, is quite beneficial."


    "Yeah, she knew I was a Draconian, which I am not sure how, and said that this weapon would be perfect for me, and boy, was she right. I love that I can perform long range attacks while also amplifying my physical attacks too. This would help me bigtime against monsters that would be like Diedra." Ob said.


    "That does not surprise me that she knew that. A lot of shopkeepers


    have the ability to read the abilities of their customers so that they can provide the best services to them," Abigail added.


    "Right, magic," Ob thought out loud. "Speaking of magic.. I ran into these tall bronze women at Reginald''s. They didn''t offer their names."


    "Did they look beautiful and vicious at the same time?" Vincent asked, "Ouch." Abigail had punched him playfully for saying other women were beautiful.


    "Yes, yes, they were." Ob responded.


    This time, Abigail answered, "Those were Rambonian warriors. They are an all women tribe, they claim to be descendants of some god. They act like it too. That makes sense that they didn''t tell you their names, they probably deemed you unworthy."


    "That''s super dumb and very elitist!" Ob grunted.


    Abigail chuckled, "no arguments here. They know your name Ob, that will be interesting to see how things unfold with them. Pay them no mind though we have to get Eclipse into her new soul-home. We shall also start training."


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "That would be ideal, to get that process started," Eclipse said.


    "Okay, anyone know how to use that item?" Ob asked. Everyone shook their heads, "thought so." Ob felt a profound sensation in his core, his soul. He felt like it was a door being opened inside of him. As if there was someone who had been waiting for this to happen, he concentrated harder, forcing his senses inward. Almost falling over, he took a seat and started to get in a meditative pose.


    Breathe, he told himself, just breathe. Focus. Focus on your senses, focus on your body, focus on that feeling. Feel that feeling. Breathe. Feel. Breathe. He would say this over and over to himself out loud. Abigail looked on with utter amazement. Vincent stared at Ob like he was crazy.


    Ob could feel that door change into something. A portal? Suddenly, a void appeared; it looked like a wormhole, and a solar eclipse merged into one. Eclipse herself looked at this strange thing in front of her. She felt the presence of Ob and began to walk in. She entered the wormhole and saw that it was a realm just like the one she had met, Ob. It reminded her of home. There were constellations, moons, and suns everywhere. It was midnight blue in one area and sky blue in another. She felt like she could change it at her will, so she did. The sky changed to a clear sky blue. The air got warmer around her, and the sun was high in the sky. It was a warm sun that felt close but not too close to be unbearingly hot. There was a slight breeze that made the tall grass she lay in rustle slightly. Next to the tall grass was a bubbling brook; it was small but had a gentle water-falling sound that was relaxing. The smell was that of the fresh brook, clean, crisp air that would be constantly replacing any stagnant air because of the breeze. She had chosen a summer solstice in a mild climate, the longest day of the year but not too hot.


    She felt a shimmer and saw Ob approaching. He was gazing at everything. He looked calm, she noticed. "Pretty peaceful place you have created here," Ob said in an almost whisper. As if something were sleeping, he did not want to disturb.


    "Indeed, but this is all your doing," she replied. "You created a home that was like mine back from my birthplace, where I could change the astrological event to match whatever mood. Thank you, Ob. It means a lot. I will gladly stay here and will rest exceptionally well.


    What do I appear as on you?"


    "My eyes. They turned into two mini white suns," Ob responded. He knew that a soul-home provided a space for a soul-link it would make alterations to one''s appearance while they were in the home. The placement was always random, and the change was always temporary. Ob''s eyes lost the moon. They were just two white suns with an iris in the middle, smaller, much smaller. "So my eyes are white now, that''s cool. Temporary, of course, but still cool. I''ll leave you to it. Rest up Eclipse. Oh, and thanks for having my back the other day. You really helped killing them wouldn''t have done without you." Ob said, giving his new friend a nice hug before turning out.


    As Ob was heading out, Eclipsed replied very softly, "Thanks for being the best. I am very grateful for you partner."


    <hr>


    Ob Jones Level up


    Soul manipulation level is now 3


    Soul manipulation has gained the skill soul shield. Use your soul''s strength to defend against soul attacks. Your soul home has an increased capacity to 2.


    As Ob stepped through his teleportation ring from his soul, he read the notification of leveling up. He thought to himself how cool it was that he could have his friend live in his soul without people thinking he was a Draconian.


    "First things first is we need to sell those dark items you have. You need to get the rest of your powerset. We''ll have to come with you because we can help bring you cohesion with the right Keystones," Abigail said confidently. "We''ll be looking for stones that have to do with increased damage dealing related to your slayer. Nothing dark, I''m afraid that could turn you into a warlock."


    "What about a light keystone item or mystic?" Vincent asked


    "Mystic would be ideal, but even a mystic stone is not going to be easy to find or buy," Abigail wondered out loud.


    "What does mystic provide?" Ob asked, losing track of the conversation.


    "It could help you be a spell cast, tap into your celestine power a bit more, or give you a random skill," Vincent said.


    "Most importantly it would compliment your skill to enter the shadows." Abigail said, "your skills, if unlocked by a decent rarity keystone, should become complimentary of each other." She explained.


    "Oh hey, I forgot," Ob said with excitement.


    "Yes?" Abigail asked quizzically


    "What''s a spell casters guide?" Ob asked, taking out the item to show the couple.


    "An uncommon item that allows the user to gain a skill related to spell casting," Abigail began replying, "The type is unknown, but the skill won''t be as complimentary as a rarer item. Spell casting guides are fine for wizards, mages, or warlocks, even some witches get a kick out of it. But this is not helpful for you. It''s too random, and we don''t want to change it if we don''t have to."


    "That''s another item you could sell for a pretty gold piece, too, finding the right buyer," Vincent added.


    "Just so." Abigail nodded in agreement.


    "Well while the day is still young, let''s go shopping before it''s too dark and everyone is closed." Ob said, walking out the door.


    "He''s so eager to be better. He''s so eager to learn and grow in strength. We have to steer him clear of anything dark magic." Abigail said to Vincent, watching their excited friend leave. "We have a unique opportunity, Vin. We can help him keep balanced."


    "I agree, I think it''ll be good for him to have true friends. Let''s be that for him," he said, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek, then followed Ob out the door.