“Soul Transfer.” A burst of blue flames appeared above the possessed man who was laying down. From the flames emerged a thin book.

“Take it,” Yonder said. I reached out and took the thin book after scanning it carefully with my skills. There was no threat that I could detect. “At the back of that book there is a sheet of paper with information on the target. If you want more dark knowledge, arrange for the target to be killed and we will talk again,” Yonder said and didn’t wait for my reply.

“Ahhhh!” the staff member let out a half scream half gasp before going limp on the ground. I looked at the book in my mind. There was nothing on the outside. The staff member looked heavily worn down.

“Take care,” he said as he got up and shambled off. Ozy let out a small hiss. I looked back down at the book in my hands as the College lit up with magical lighting. It was getting dark and it was time for me to return to my dorm.

I hesitated and went to a nearby bench. I sat down and opened up the book.

To increase the power and potential of a class is to gamble with one’s life and very existence. A class bridges the body, mind, and soul trifecta. It is the lynchpin of the System into one’s soul. The color represents the power of such a connection.

Nothing has been discovered above violet despite our best efforts and experiments. But to reach such heights is not impossible. One merely has to take from others. Taking their potential for yourself.

The risk is not small. Contamination and disruption to one’s class, body, mind, and soul are very real risks. But the payoff is immense. The only way is with a ritual.

There is no such thing as a good ritual. Despite what people might say, the truth is that rituals are built upon sacrifice and suffering as their foundation. The strong emotions of suffering allow the Mana of a ritual to progress to completion.

Each ritual is like a brick laid down for a wall building up your existence. A poorly laid brick will cause immense complications and won’t let you place another. Too many bricks have a risk of falling over. There is a conceptual weight to rituals. No hard limit like other aspects of existence, but there is a limit.

Contained within are the foundational ritualistic principles. Rituals use runes to guide the Mana, but unlike an enchantment, the power is much much greater. The risk of an accident is also higher, but many small issues within a ritual design can be overpowered.

Ritualism is a tier 4 skill.

This but a small portion of the knowledge that is offered by the Dark Cabal.

Chapter 1 – Ritual Underpinnings

The underpinnings of rituals consist of the following components, runes, Mana containment lines, souls, Mana, emotional disturbance-

I stopped reading and closed the thin book. I put it in my spatial pouch. I wouldn’t be able to use this ritual at the College. It was clever. Giving me powerful but useless knowledge in exchange for becoming lacky of the Dark Cabal.

Watching the sky grow dark over the Great Ocean, it mirrored my thoughts at the moment. Yonder of the Dark Cabal was no idiot. He might be gambling with me, but he was no idiot. The trap was so blindingly obvious that it wasn’t really a trap. It was an invitation. If I could commit a murder and get away with it here in the College, then I could do other tasks.

While I didn’t mind killing monsters, I hadn’t gone after people. It might not seem different, but it was. While people could die just as easily as monsters, it was wrong. My mother didn’t target civilians but led to their deaths. My father was going to throw the world into chaos.

What was the value of one life in exchange for knowledge and power? “The Dark Cabal really does earn its reputation,” I said to Ozy who let out a hiss. I couldn’t forget that Ozy had come from the Dark Cabal as well. Their power was without question. Getting access to the knowledge and skills they had was incredibly tempting. This update is available on novelfire(.)net

But where would it end? A murder now, a town tomorrow? Would I be crashing this very College onto a city to kill countless people one day? That was the problem with taking such an action. The clouds were building up around the College making it harder to see beyond the barrier they split around.

Getting up, I slowly made my way back to my room. “You were out late, I was getting worried,” Healer Melon said.

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I opened my mouth to ask for his opinion and then closed it. I knew what he would say. That anything to do with the Dark Cabal was bad news. “Just thinking. I am going to sleep,” I replied.

“Good night, Justin,” he replied as I made my way into my bedroom. After getting changed and laying in my comfortable and soft bed, my mind was still a mess.

The offer of the Dark Cabal was eating at me. I hadn’t sensed any social skills from the possessed man or Yonder. They could have been subtle, but they didn’t need social skills. They just needed the truth and an offer that was incredibly tempting.

It would also bring me one step closer to killing Xanatos and removing the cursed skill placed upon me. I couldn’t take it anymore, I got up in the middle of the night and got the book back out. I opened the back cover and pulled out a sheet of paper.

Karen Halffellow, a student two years ahead of me. Not someone that I knew. I put the piece of paper back in the book and put the book away. I went back to bed, temptation gnawing at me.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t know what to do. Even with Ozy, I had felt confidence regarding my decision to keep him. Even when offered Pic it was simple to walk away. But with this offer from the Dark Cabal, it was insidious. It gave me everything I wanted or could want in the future.

I finally fell asleep. The next day, the Elven classes were a struggle. My mind was focused on the offer of the Dark Cabal.

“You aren’t looking well. Trouble sleeping?” Healer Melon asked me over dinner. I hesitated for a moment before telling him. While his head might be lacking hair, he wasn’t lacking wisdom or common sense.

“I was given an offer. Doing something evil, in exchange for help with my class and the cursed skill,” I replied.

“Ah, the Dark Cabal,” he said.

“That obvious?” I asked.

“It doesn’t take a genius to guess something like that. There are stories of their offers to people. Knowledge and power in exchange for dark deeds,” he said and I nodded at this. “Ultimately it is what you want.”

“You aren’t going to tell me I should decline?” I asked.

“Actions have consequences as you well know Justin. I can stop you from making medical mistakes and watch over you, but I can’t order you. If you truly want to pursue the path of joining the Dark Cabal, the only one who can stop you, is you,” he replied.

“Just one murder, but it will only get worse,” I said.

“At least you can see where such a path will lead. What did they offer?” Healer Melon asked me.

“They gave me knowledge up front with no expectations. But if I want more and help finding and defeating Legend Xanatos to removed the cursed skill, then I need to do more,” I said and pulled out the book they gave me. “A paper in the back lists the target.”

He took it and opened it up. “Rituals. Of course.”

“Doesn’t the Five Stat Institute of Healing use them?” I asked.

“We do if there is no other option. But the cost…all rituals are dark. Normally monsters are used as sacrifices, but they are still dark. The most effective rituals use powerful thinking beings, their suffering enhances the power and stability of a ritual.” He flipped to the end and removed the piece of paper, looked it over, put it back, and then gave the book back to me.

“What would you do?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t even consider it.”

“What would you think my mother would do?” I asked.

“Get stronger, then kill everyone herself.” That sounded like my mother. “The fact that you are asking me shows you dislike this idea.”

“I do. But it solves so many problems,” I replied.

“It does. But once you step onto this path, you will forever be tied to the interests of the Dark Cabal. And the infamous Dark Library as well.”

“But the knowledge, the skills,” I said.

“Useful, but there is other knowledge, other skills. A harder path for sure, but one where you don’t place shackles on yourself Justin. The Dark Cabal promises much, and I won’t deny it can fulfill those promises. But its demands are equally weighty.”

“Is the target really innocent though? If their family is supporting Xanatos?” I asked.

“That isn’t a question worth asking. It would just provide a moral balm to your decision.” Healer Melon was right. I was looking for excuses to accept this request. It wasn’t for me.

I didn’t submit to my mother and I wouldn’t submit to the Dark Cabal. They could make their offer, but I would not take it up. I would become stronger with the tools my mother and father had left me. I would become stronger on my own, the strongest. Then I would track down Xanatos and the Dark Cabal, killing anyone who stood against me.

It was foolish. It was probably impossible. But I was no one’s minion to be ordered about or given assignments. I was Justin Burnstock, future spellblade and supreme legend.

“I see that you have made your decision,” Healer Melon said.

“I have. I don’t bow to anyone, least of all this Dark Cabal. If they want to tempt me, then they should present Legend Xanatos’ head as an apology. But they aren’t truly sincere. I am no one’s gamble, no one’s minion. Let them come. They almost killed me in the past, but I won’t let that happen again. I will cut them all down and spit on their corpses,” I declared with clenched fists.

To think that I had even considered such an offer. I had been weak. The Dark Cabal had targeted that weakness. Mentality was everything, like my mother had said. It was easy to compromise and take the easy route of relying on others, hoping for handouts. But that kind of future disgusted me.

I would kill the Dark Cabal and seize the Dark Library. The knowledge they gave me, would ensure that I would give this Yonder a quick death when I met him in person. But for now, I would focus on getting stronger. Let the Dark Cabal plot and plan, I would wait until I was ready to strike and then I wouldn’t hold back. Money, connections, and everything else I had would be bent on destroying them.

If they thought they could curse me, try to kill me, and then negotiate they were idiots. By the time I left this College I would have the strength to defend myself. I would need to work even harder.

I had to mentally thank the Dark Cabal for motivating me. I would repay that motivation with sword and spells.

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