The Path of the Strongest Mortal, page 16
“No. They can’t. When the time comes, their souls die. But, as I said, the undead exist forever if there’s sufficient nourishment. The body eventually gets occupied by a new Soul Spark. Think of it as a doll. It changes owners. Hell, sometimes the soul currently occupying the body doesn’t know that its memories used to belong to someone else. You’d think so, too, if you didn’t remember your previous life. As usual, you’re an exception to the rule.”
Kai nodded in response.
“Hey, easy with those arrows. Do ya know how much they cost, eh?” Shacks teased. The arrow was made entirely out of fog and it cost nothing but a fraction of his ki to make it. “What are you staring at that skull for? Look at it... A face only a mother could love,” he kept joking.
“It’s time to leave,” Kai said and stood up. He turned to the two. “Our goal is to get to the Cloud Abode. But to get into it, we first have to get to the Holy Kingdom of Tael.”
***
“There’s no way in hell I’ll agree to that.” Probably for the first time since Kai had met him, Shacks sounded serious. “This isn’t the first time you spring a surprise on me, but this time I won’t risk it.” He looked at the giant. “Forgive me, big guy, but I don’t trust you enough to put this damn collar on again and pretend to be your slave.”
Kai sighed.
Before leaving Udin, he bought two human slaves. Once he left the city limits, he freed the poor fishermen whom the dwarves had caught. However, he took the property documents, both collars, and their keys with him. There was no such thing as a free human in these lands, so he and Shacks needed to pretend to be Malvur’s slaves to make it anywhere without arousing suspicion.
They were currently a few miles away from a large military garrison, located on the border of Starks’ lands in the Kingdom of Tael. They had to pass the gates to legally enter the elf kingdom. They could have, of course, tried to bypass the border post, but they weren’t dumb or crazy enough to do that. Tens of thousands of artifacts were buried along the kingdom’s border, feeding a barrier that didn’t allow a living soul to pass through it. Not to mention that there was a group of several dozen Elementalists and Holy Lords itching to teach any idiot who tried to sneak past them a lesson.
“Fine,” Kai said. He knew that getting Shacks to agree would be difficult. Few people would be willing to lose freedom, even if for a while, having only recently regained it. He understood that Shacks had no reason to trust Malvur. Honestly, he himself wouldn’t have proposed this plan if he didn’t know that he could remove the collar at any time. “Then you can proceed through the checkup on your own.”
“Fine. I’m glad you understand.” Shacks nodded. “Still, I’ll have to hand over my Ring to you, big man, just in case.” He turned to Malvur. “But I want to ask you to take an oath that you’ll return it to me in its current state. In return, I’m ready to pay you. And I’m not talking about the remaining Crystals...”
“I thought you don’t trust me...” Malvur said after a long pause and equally long stare. “A little man with a big mouth...”
Shacks almost choked, and Kai even smiled slightly. For the first time since they met him, Malvur showed emotion. Before today, his face was like a mask, and moved only when he spoke.
“Actually...” Kai said before Shacks could butt in. “I suspect they’ll check Malvur, too. If they find one too many Rings on him... Well, I think you understand what might happen to your things,” he warned, referring to the artifacts Shacks had brought from Saha. There were a lot of things among them that were very rare even in this world.
“And what do you suggest?”
“To give them to me.”
“Why?” Shacks was confused. “You’re going to pretend to be a slave.”
“It’s like you two don’t know me,” Kai said and outstretched his palm, on top of which a black sphere of Night Space formed.
The two widened their eyes in surprise as Kai touched the collar on his neck, like what he did was nothing.
“Is that thing not real?” Malvur asked. There was surprise in his voice, but his face was like a mask again.
“It is. If you want, you can put on the second collar and check. You have the key.”
“I remember your fight with Shin Sei,” Shacks said, chuckling. “Everyone thought that the collar you took off was an ordinary chunk of metal. No wonder you’re willing to put your life in Malvur’s hands. Still, I can’t do things you can and I sure as hell don’t want to be a slave again. However, if you can help me with the Ring, that’d be great... There’s just one thing... Although I trust you, these aren’t really my things. They belong to my clan. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to take an oath.”
“I don’t mind,” Kai said.
Once the oath was taken, and his and Shacks’ Rings placed in the Night Space, Kai swallowed the black sphere, sealing it away in his stomach with the help of his aura. Just to make sure that it’d be safe, he covered it with the Cold Void. The ice proved to be an excellent energy insulator, so no one would be able to detect the sphere.
Once he was done, he began to morph his face using needles formed with energy.
“I haven’t used the Fake Face Technique for a long time, but I fear my face has become too recognizable after the tournament...” he said while working. “I was gonna do the same for you, Shacks, make you even more handsome, but...”
“Please,” the archer snorted, “like you could perfect this perfection.”
Once Kai was done giving himself a makeover, they made their way to the line of people queued in front of the checkpoint in which they spent almost a day. Once their turn came, they, as well as fifteen other people of varying races, were surrounded by elven Exorcists. After that, they were divided into groups. Slaves were paired with their masters, and sent inside for a shakedown.
“You two.” An elf pointed to Malvur and Kai, and then to one of the doors. “You go in there.”
In the inspector’s office, they were greeted by five more Exorcists. But Kai didn’t even look at them. His attention was focused on the peak-level Elementalist sitting at the table.
The elf had the quality of development so high that Kai couldn’t believe his eyes. He was certain that he’d be second only to someone like Jiang Dao. A cultivator of his caliber shouldn’t be stuck doing paperwork at the border. Someone like him could easily get a high-ranking position somewhere in the capital. So why was he here?
But what Kai didn’t know was that the badge on the elf’s uniform was the mark of the highest-ranking royal investigator.
“Let’s talk,” the elf said in a deep voice. He put his elbows on the table and, folding his palms in front of his face, smiled. “Malvur de Santos No’Ritm. What is the exiled heir of the most powerful family of the Republic of Titran doing in our neck of the woods?”
Kai suddenly felt tension building up in the room.
Chapter 17
THE INVESTIGATOR
The moment his name and status rolled off the elf’s lips, Malvur’s expression and posture changed and he regained his aristocratic bearing. Eyeing the elf from above, he walked over to the table and occupied the only vacant chair in the office. Leaning back, he put his elbows on the armrests and intertwined his fingers.
The guards, as if expecting this, didn’t move an inch.
“May I know with whom do I have the honor of speaking?” Malvur inquired.
Well, I’ll be damned... Kai thought. He can speak more than two words in one go...
“Marx Cyron, rank-seven investigator of the Holy Kingdom of Tael,” the elf introduced himself. “Temporarily,” he paused for a moment, “stationed in this garrison.”
A hint of a smirk tugged at Malvur’s lips. He nodded.
“So, will you answer my question now?” Marx asked.
“Do I have to?” Malvur arched an eyebrow and ran his fingers through this short hair.
“Only if you want to cross the border without an incident,” Marx replied with a smile.
“Seems to me that you don’t get a lot of news here. I won third place in the Fist Fight of Udin,” Malvur informed him.
Marx was quiet for a second. Leaning back in his chair, he clasped his hands behind his head.
What a turn of events. The big fella managed to surprise me. One-zero… He cast a cold glance at the giant.
“Ah, Udin, a lovely place,” he muttered. “So that’s where your kin sends their weakest,” he drawled as he tried to put pressure on Malvur. But his attempts were in vain. The giant continued to stare at him with indifference, if not with slight mockery. Marx didn’t like the smirk tugging at his lips, but he hid his annoyance. “And why do you want to enter our kingdom?”
“Cloud Abode,” Malvur replied, seeing no reason to hide the truth.
“I see. But you don’t look like someone who has the mark.”
“With my talent, I bet it won’t be difficult to get it.”
His was voice stern, even though until recently he didn’t know much about the Cloud Abode, the mark, and the test. In the Republic of Titran, they had their own Abode — that of the Mountain. Like them, the sylphs had their own — the Sea Abode. And cultivators of both races didn’t really care about other ways of development. Not only they despised other cultivation schools, they didn’t let any strangers acquire the knowledge of their ancestors.
But the Cloud Abode was different in that it was the largest and oldest, and that everyone could enter it, not just elves.
“I’m not denying it. However, everyone has already gotten their marks and places in their escort groups have long been reserved. You’d have to wait a whole year. However, there’s a way around it...”
Malvur continued to stare at Marx, trying not to show open interest in the topic.
You’re not that good at hiding your emotions as you think, big fella, so I’ll take it as a victory. One-one. Marx chuckled to himself.
“You just need to accept our help in restoring your honor and name,” he continued. “After three weeks, when the marks are activated, you’ll be directed to the portal with one of the chosen ones. You have my word.”
Helping him would put me in good graces not only with him, but with his race, and also the brass... I might even become the head of the department...
“I’ll pass,” Malvur said sharply. “Only I can recover my honor and clear my name. To tell you the truth, I have no desire to return home.”
Two-one. Marx grimaced in his mind. He had hoped that Malvur was burning with the desire to make his family pay for what they had done to him, but the giant wasn’t as simple as he had assumed he’d be. I’ve underestimated him. Either he saw through my charade, or he really has no intention to return to his homeland. The giants are a proud, family-oriented race... So I doubt that that’s the case...
For the next couple of minutes, Marx tried to persuade him to cooperate, but Malvur remained adamant. No matter what the elf proposed, he had a sound argument against it.
Nine-seven. Hmm, looks like I’m losing my touch. Lack of communication in recent decades has affected me... It’s a pity that I have so little information. According to the official documents, he was exiled for poisoning his father. Though, I’m willing to bet that he was framed. Being the heir and head of one of the No’Ritm clan’s families makes you a popular target... Still, I feel like there’s more to it. I wish Dante was here... Working for the intelligence sector, he probably has some good info that’d help me gain an advantage. But for now, my hands are tied. I can’t use force either. Although he’s exiled, he’s still an aristocrat, and, most importantly, a very talented cultivator. Even an attempt to detain him in order to investigate his case may prove dangerous. I already have enough troubles as is...
“If that’s the case, you’re free to go. Once everything has been checked, you’ll be free to enter Tael,” Marx said, smiling kindly. “First, I’ll need your Ring to check its contents in front of you and a witness. For this, you must remove the spirit mark.”
Malvur nodded and placed the Ring Kai had given him on the table. Taking it, Marx began to remove its contents for everyone to see.
Among the giant’s belongings were a peak-quality Gold-rank glaive, a set of expensive healing medicines, several sets of low-quality Gold-rank spare clothes, an artifact map, a one-time use protective artifact, several cheap Silver-rank Spatial Rings and eight thousand Azure Crystals (even though Kai had given them twenty thousand each).
When Marx was certain that there was nothing else in the Rings (including the cheap ones), he put the item back onto the table and pushed it over to Malvur.
“A thousand Azure Crystals is taxed at seven percent. But since you’re an aristocrat[1], you’re required to pay only three percent of the total. You can check all this—”
“I’m familiar with the Datli Treaty,” Malvur interrupted him.
“In that case, once we’re done, you’ll be escorted to the treasury, where you’ll have to pay a toll of ten Crystals, fifty for the slave, another twenty-five for the mark that I’ll put on him, and two hundred and forty as a tax on the amount you have. That makes the total of three hundred twenty-five Crystals,” he informed him and held out the paper with all the information and his signature.
In the meantime, Malvur put the Ring back on and returned all of the items into it.
“Now that that’s been dealt with, we can move on to your slave. Let him come here,” Marx said, and Kai obeyed, approaching the table. “A human? Why a human of all races?” he wondered.
“Why not?”
“Fair point.” Marx shrugged, gaze focused on Kai. After a few seconds, he nodded. He couldn’t sense anything weird about him.
Good thing I put all of the things from Zirx’s Ring into mine beforehand... And good thing that the Cold Void is as powerful as I thought it was...
Marx then checked the collar to make sure it worked.
“You turned off the physical suppressor?” he asked as the collars usually emanated spatial vibrations, since the Forces of Space were what was used to limit the strength of the slave’s body. Most often, these suppressors were turned off during work or tournaments.
“I did. It’s within my rights to do so.”
“Of course.” Marx chuckled. “Although he’s not listed as a criminal in the database, I still have to mark him.”
Malvur said nothing as Marx put a special artifact in the form of a hoop on Kai’s forehead, which tightly squeezed around his head. The large circle attached to the artifact glowed red.
At the same moment, Kai felt someone else’s ki and Forces enter his mind. There, they quickly formed an extremely complex pattern. However, the energy he felt was neutral as it had no master. What it and the Forces formed was a special version of a tracking technique that activated only if the slave was without their collar. It sent a signal that could be detected by special artifacts that the guards had in all the cities of the kingdom of Tael, the kingdom of the dwarves, and Sylfgard, the home of the sylphs.
If the owner wanted to free their slave, they had to visit a state employee who’d remove the mark. This way, the kingdom was able to keep track of slaves and return them to their owners in case they tried to escape or got stolen.
It was almost impossible for a slave to remove the mark on their own. A try to control the energy without a master would lead to it moving first to your Source and only then absorbed, and even a tiny influence on it would lead to its self-destruction in a massive explosion.
Thus, the only real way to erase the mark was to turn to those masters who knew the key that could deactivate it. And those people were bound by many vows and soul contracts that forbade them to reveal the secret of the key.
Ultimately, all this made the tracking system almost perfect. Almost. Because nobody took into account the fact that a slave could have the ability to control any energy that didn’t have a master. Who could imagine that they wouldn’t need to absorb it first?
“That’s all.” Marx took the hoop off Kai and looked at Malvur. “You can now officially enter the kingdom once you’ve paid tax and all expenses. And remember, my offer is still valid. I’ll be here for another month, and then I’ll return to the capital. You can contact the Department of Investigation and ask for me there if you change your mind.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Malvur said, heading to the door.
After that, he and Kai were taken to the treasury, where they paid for everything, and finally left the garrison, finding themselves in the kingdom of Tael.
***
A minute after Malvur and his slave left the office, Marx stood up, having finished filling in all the documents.
“Everyone out,” he ordered the guards. “Don’t let anyone into my office.”
The Exorcists bowed and left. A few seconds later, Marx summoned the brightest Azure Crystal from his Ring, which he immediately swallowed.
“At least fifty checks per day, right, captain?” Grinning, he looked at the ceiling, remembering his boss.
Few knew (including even the garrison commander), that Marx Cyron, the highest-ranking royal investigator, hadn’t come here to investigate or hunt criminals, but as punishment for a major failure in his previous case, on which he had spent almost five years.
In hopes that he’d learn his lesson, he was supposed to work as a border officer for three months, without the right to use his investigator’s badge. However, since almost no one knew the real reason why he was here, he kept using his position to his advantage.
Still, this didn’t relieve him of his duty to perform the obligatory fifty checks per day. As putting marks on slaves required a considerable amount of energy, in order to not weaken his powers, he had to absorb an Azure Crystal after every fourth mark.
Removing his badge, just in case, he used the communication artifact built into his investigator’s ring.
