Spell Thief: A Deck Building Progression Fantasy by J Pal

Author:J Pal [Pal, J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2023-05-16T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Diya didn’t understand religion or the significance of the Ito clan’s pilgrimage. Baba came from a Hindu family but didn’t practise and worshipped the sword instead. Once a year, for five days in October, he would drag Diya to a gathering of people from the homeland. It was for a festival called Durga Pujo, which Diya never understood.

The Boleyns were similar in their religious aspirations. They forgot all about God and faith until Christmas. When the year’s longest night came, they’d give the staff three days off and spend the time feasting. Edgar, on the other hand, had joined the Church of Noah. He didn’t share their belief system with the party, and Diya didn’t care enough to ask.

Hina helped Diya clean the blood off his face and hands once she calmed down. He thanked her, and the two discussed their experience so far. Dealing with two powerful beasts so close together wasn’t common, even when people ventured into rarely visited territory. The mole almost made sense. The monsters preferred quiet but enjoyed staying close to sources of food. Yukiho didn’t say it outright, but it sounded like the last Ito clan pilgrimage was almost a decade prior. That was enough time for the creature to move into the territory. If the paths were destroyed, ordinary Climbers would avoid the area. Their walking and talking must have awakened the beast, and it had come charging at the disturbance.

The slimes felt out of place. Sure, they preferred damp areas, but the creatures rarely moved far from their places of origin. The monsters could lay dormant forever, waiting for food to come their way. They didn’t have brains or motivations that encouraged them to migrate. Either something had driven them out of their original home, or someone had introduced them to the area.

"What's with those runes on the back of your hand?" Hina asked, nodding at the mostly smudged shapes on the back of his hands. The giant slime's gastric juices had burned the skin or distorted the shapes and washed parts of it away. "They look like the inscriptions on the upgrade stations and bind stones."

"They're connected to one of my soul's keywords," Diya answered honestly. "Unfortunately, neither Gaia nor the upgrade stations gave me instructions on how they work or how to use them. It's something I'll have to figure out myself."

"What does that one do?" Hina pointed at what remained of the shapes on the back of his hands.

"It pulses and lights up when a powerful monster is close. I don't know what metric the runes use to measure a monster's power, but it has proved somewhat useful so far. Going forward, I might need to place it somewhere less visible. Wouldn't want a beast seeing the light while I'm trying to sneak up on it."

"That could prove incredibly useful," Hina said thoughtfully. "You could use that to bargain a bigger cut from the Itos or find a position in a well-sponsored climbing party. Perhaps we should—"

"We shouldn't do anything.

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