The Flow-cart sped through the icy Drylands; at that speed, it would take us just a few hours to get to the borders with the next region. Still, it would get darker before that. I hoped Aisha had contingencies for that. Or we could get swarmed in the real sense of the word.

However, as much as I was preoccupied with our safety, there was something that I had no idea how to tackle, Nova.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me…" she said. It had been the fourth time she repeated that phrase.

I had a Deja Vu about a past episode, yet I was not the one at fault back then.

"I told you. You were dealing with a lot of things, plus I had just come back after having been a week away; I thought it would… worry you uselessly if I told you."

"But, Loke. You would not have hurt me… you are my family… those people have abandoned us. I wouldn't have done anything weird had I known that; I mean… You and grandpa are everything I've ever known. I've never even met them. Did they abandon us? Did they die in a war? Big deal! I didn't even know them!"

"They were your parents too, Nova." I found myself saying, "You can't just reject them. You might not have known them, but mother has given birth to you, and father loved you more than anything else."

She pouted, but I continued, "Maybe… maybe I didn't tell you because I did not know how to react myself. I'm really sorry."

"That doesn't cut it. The truth is that you don't trust me!" she said, turning around.

"You are older, okay, you protect me, okay; you are stronger, okay. But that doesn't mean I'm a weakling! That doesn't mean I can't deal with something like that! I've been coping with people on the verge of death for years, Loke! I heal people, I've seen people die too, people I cared about! Now just because a couple of strangers that by chance turn out to be our parents go missing, you thought I'd freak out!?"

By the end, she was screaming. "I've seen my family die, Loke! My real family! And I've almost seen you die! Did you think I would turn crazy, abandon you or do something weird to myself!?"

"No… I…" I really did not know what to do… she was right. One hundred percent right. I thought she wouldn't be able to take it, but now I realized she would have. Surely better than how I had handled it. At least she was able to show emotions properly.

She grew silent again while Aisha, mutely driving, seemed ready to speak her mind.

"I don't think he hasn't told you because she doesn't trust you, Nova," said Aisha.

"Oh, yeah? Why!?"

"I think he was afraid to hurt you, just as much as he hurt when he discovered it. He did not want you to feel the same way. I believe he was trying to protect you, as he always does. Right, Loke?"

What in the Abyss was that?

She had managed to convey what I was failing to say with just that?

Were all the women in my life outright smarter than me?

Harlow was a genius, momma Jane was the most independent woman I had ever known, Leafy was incredible, Roana was by far the smartest in our group, and now Aisha was turning out to be even more so?

I felt like crap. But I could just acquiesce. She was right.

"It's true. I can't hide that it hurt… a lot. I mean, those were my parents, our parents. I had thought they died or disappeared or… whatever. Instead, I found out that they were away. All this time, they stayed fighting a battle, a battle that didn't even belong to us, and without coming back… without ever coming back once. Weren't they given leaves? Right, Aisha, soldiers have them, don't they?"

"Up to six months of leave since we've been fighting this war for decades, otherwise Sundoor would crumble," she admitted.

And yet, Nova did not seem convinced; she wasn't satisfied with that.

"Alright… but that does not justify the fact that you waited all this time. I bet if I hadn't found out this way, you would have never told me!"

"No, wait, that's not true. I was planning to. I was planning to tell you, I swear."

She did not answer; she turned the other way, then climbed behind the seats and hid near the sleeping Loki.

"Wake me up when we've arrived. I'm going to sleep."

Aisha sighed, "You've fucked up, Loke. Big time," she whispered to my ear. "That's not how you handle things. You are her role model. Being just her brother does not cut it. You are a father, a friend, the ideal of man. You should have thought about it."

I sighed as well. She was one hundred percent right. I had failed, and what a catastrophic fail it was.

Really, sometimes I thought that the only thing I was capable of was fighting and killing things… yet given our recent failure, maybe I wasn't even that good at doing those.

 

---

 

I had not done my math right. This Flow-cart was slower than a general Flow-cart. We did not make it to the nomad camp before dark; in fact, by the time Twilight was upon us, she had managed to find a rock near which to park the cart. We would spend the night there.

Thankfully, she had everything we needed; she had come prepared. She always was.

"I got to admit," she said as she got out of the cart, stretching her slim Elven frame, “being called the Twilight Envoy has its perks. I mean, look at how beautiful the Sun is from here, right, Night Hunter?"

The setting Sun was indeed beautiful to look at, yet Aisha as well could not be ignored. Her hair’s color took on a whole different ethereal sort of beauty with Twilight's light, and her beautiful smile only added up to that.

But I couldn’t tell her that, "Yeah, put your coat on, or you're going to freeze your ass off. It's not like I can warm you up like last time. I'd freeze too," I found myself saying.

She coughed, a little embarrassed, nodding at Nova, who was stretching with Loki.

So, she could blush like that, too? I took note of that with a grin; it could come in handy.

"Alright, let's prepare something to eat. I need to stock up on Stones."

My equipment had been replenished only with my four basic arrows, my Blow arrows were absent, but it didn't matter. I had learned how to summon them now.

Also, I could train my Perks; Sun only knew how much I needed to raise them.

"Loke, where are you going? Won't you help us cook?" Aisha asked.

"Loke, cook?" Nova laughed, "If you want an upset stomach, sure, but I'm okay with being sane, thank you."

"He's that bad?" Aisha asked.

"You have no idea, Isha, no idea…"

"I'm right here, you know… although it's not exactly… untrue. I might tend to mess things up…"

"Mess things up? You almost killed an already ill gramps once, remember?" It was a bittersweet memory, but I couldn't help but laugh at it.

Thankfully, she did the same.

We shared a knowing look, yet even if she smiled, I knew she had yet to forgive me… but she would. She was my sister, after all. Or so I hoped.

 

"Alright, Loki. You've rested enough; it's about time you got yourself a few dozen levels."

Loki, which was already heading toward me, slowed down, a little confused.

"I was kidding, big cat; how would you get all those levels in one night. Come on!"

 

---

 

We warmed up a little, then we ate, and soon it was dark.

 

I knew I couldn't wander too far from them. Nova and Aisha were both Flow-dependent; I was blessed by Shade, so the night was mine to harvest.

Aisha and Nova got inside the Flow-cart as I left. It was warmer there.

"I have an idea," I said to Loki, "it might turn out to be a rather bad idea, but really what have we got to lose? If it gets bad, we'll escape through the night."

But first, I brought to mind the remaining leftover Perks from my previous Trick Shot Skill Promotions. There were always three to choose from, and those I had not chosen from my Major Perks were:

 

Double Trick:

Two Shade copies may follow in the wake of your shot instead of one.

 

Shadow Shot:

Produce a Shade object in your hand to use for Trick Shot (it must be an object of adequate mass to be thrown or shot).

 

One probable Promotion was missing, and it could be an enhanced version of my current promoted Perk or something entirely different. I had the feeling it would be an improved version, though.

With that in mind, I recalled the possible upgrades for my Minor Perk.

 

Shadow's Wake:

For one second after your transfer, you blend in the environment, invisible to every type of eye.

 

With a Boom:

Your transfer comes with an explosion of ice shards.

 

Again, Shadow's Wake might have been good for an assassin, but although I could fight close and personal, I was not relying primarily on that to fight. And only one second of invisibility couldn't do much; also, people like Roana would surely still sense my presence. So it was useless in my mind.

While With a Boom was rather unique. I could displace my opponents, damage them as I appeared; however, what if I needed to move to help someone? Would I be able to trigger the explosion of ice shards at will? Or would I have no way to control them?

I would have to try. Tonight was the night in which I would correctly choose my setup. Of course, if something more interesting appeared, I would have to revise my choices.

The only thing left was choosing the possible Passive Perks; I remembered two:

 

Shadow Speed:

At night or in places dense with Shade, your Bonus Agility doubles.

 

Shadow Steps:

At night or in places dense with Shade, your steps make no sound, even while running.

 

But sure as the Abyss, there would be a new one to choose from. I hoped it was better than the ones that I had recalled... because I didn’t really like them.

 

Once I was ready, I delved into the night. Shooting a conjured arrow at the dark skies, blessed by my night sight, I could see as if it was morning if I wanted it to. Loki followed on the ground.

The first thing I wanted was to trigger the ice explosion.

It did not happen the first couple of times, but then it started manifesting.

The first time it felt like a vague layer of snow was gently propelled forward as I appeared somewhere in the sky.

It fell down with me, and it was nothing of notice, just unharmful snow.

However, it might have been the Perk calibrating. I would have to try again.

I focused on wishing for the strongest possible Ice Shard explosion to explode forward when the transfer was completed.

So I threw my arrow even farther in the night sky.

And when I transferred, the explosion came, it sure as the Sun did, and what a nice effect it brought forth.

It was powerful.

So powerful that I felt chills for a moment.

Shard of Ice big as arrows' heads exploded all around me, a sphere-shaped layer of frost followed them, and the fragments traveled for quite a few meters before they inevitably fell victim to gravity.

I repeatedly tried, switching my intentions from wishing for a big explosion to hoping for nothing at all, or vice-versa.

It followed my instructions.

Yet, the Skill didn't seem to be able to create zero effects at all. It would produce at least some snow around me. It was worrying; if I chose it, it would become a signature of mine. I would have to be careful.

And yet, snow would soon melt, especially during the Flow-Season.

I could deal with that.

I spent a couple of hours in the vicinity of the rock where we had stopped to spend the night, traveling in the night sky and exploding ice in the atmosphere, while Loki guarded the precinct.

Then I got down only when I felt I was starting to have the chills. I would have to give my Stamina time to recover.

 

I recalled my whispers to check for my Skill Promotion state:

 

Skill points for Trick Shot Promotion:

 

- Trick Shot II Major Perk: 16258/20000

- Trick Shot II Minor Perk: 6521/10000

- Trick Shot II Passive Perk: 1028/5000

 

Yeah, this was definitely the way to go. I had to push myself and give this type of training all that I had. Only this way, I would Promote it before the night was over.

I had to push the Passive too, but being night, all it took to get experience from it was to walk around in the night. If I spent enough time on it, it would level up before the night was over.

So, when I felt I had recovered enough and was ready to leave. I borrowed Loki's Strength.

It was about time, we started slaughtering some creatures, but just as we were about to leave the rock, my sight picked up many little things in the distance.

"Imps," I smiled. "Those are going to be your dinner, Loki. Let's go!"

We ran at them so that he could surprise attack them.

When we were close enough, I Traced the Imp-leader. There was always one of them leading the horde.

 

Icy Imp-leader, Level 38 (65,325/380,000)

Health: 100%

Stamina: 95%

Shade-Capacity: 100%

 

Agility: 32

Constitution: 17

Strength: 15

Focus: 38

Perception: 17

Willpower: 65

 

Strengths: Ice based magic, Willpower

Weaknesses: Fragile

 

Abilities: Bolster, Command, Ice Bolt, Taunt

 

Icy Imp-leaders evolve from Icy Imps. There can be only one Imp-leader per horde. Once an Imp evolves into a leader, the other horde members lose their ability to evolve; they only recover it once the leader dies or is hunted down.

Imps are demonic creatures that, although small, are mischievous and can summon enough Magic to turn into a proper threat if not immediately handled.

 

Stone weight: 0.165kg

 

And the whispers were right.

There were around a hundred Imps; it was a big horde. And although I had fought them before, I had not fought as many simultaneously.

We had the surprise factor on our side, but we would have to play seriously, or we were likely to be overwhelmed.

Also, there would be a lot of Soul fractions for Loki and my Red Tamer Sub-Class if I played my cards right. But I could not allow myself a single mistake.

 

We started the hunt soon after Loki got close enough to surprise them by getting out of his Phase.

I was descending from the skies, and I already knew how I would have to deal with them.

The nasty-looking, long-armed, bird-beaked creatures moved like a wave. They indeed were as demonic-looking as the Tales of the Abyss described.

Their slick skin was deep blue, reflecting the icy vapors coming out from their eyes and beaks, with a clearer blue.

That must have been one of the reasons Shade-cursed people like me were so unwanted. They made people think about the Abyss and what lay in it.

We were practically humanized demons in their eyes.

I had never thought about it that way. But it was not time to think about such things.

I conjured a Crystal Blow arrow, we were distant enough from the rock, so if I was lucky, I could summon some proper Dark-ice elementals or maybe even something bigger with the explosion, yet without endangering my girls sleeping in the Flow-cart.

I was ready to give it my all tonight.

The arrow and its Trick Shot exploded in the middle of the horde, killing more than a few of them, while the following shockwave sent most of them, with their fragile builds, to the ground, dazzled.

It was Loki’s turn to do his job.

He materialized in their midst and started immediately mowing them down, tearing them apart as if they were made of old rags.

Their fuming viscera scattered to the ground as Loki moved from one to the other.

I was still falling from the sky when I shot another arrow and transferred in the middle of them, sending a wave of ice shards all around me.

The ground behind my feet was the only thing left untouched, I had probably done it unconsciously, but it was better that way.

The ice shards and the frost explosion that followed were enough to destabilize the balance of those that still stood, sending them tumbling down and stopping them from targeting Loki with Ice-bolts.

I kept throwing my knife and transferring with an explosion to destabilize all those that remained alive.

Before long, they started escaping, but Loki would not abandon his mission. With Fading Dash, he tracked down most of them while I took care of those that had wandered too far.

I could already feel a slight cold in my hands and feet. It was most likely my temperature dropping.

I would have to get myself a real Frost or Ice resistance someway. The problem was that this type of Perks usually came with a Constitution Skill. I doubted my Technomantic Body would develop something like that.

As unlikely as it was, I had to count on Trick Shot, the newest Passive. Maybe it would come to my aid.

 

When we had finished hunting down the leftover imps, I instructed Loki on how to recover the Stone. Given his massive claws, it would be easy for my fluffy boy to recover them; in the meanwhile, I did the same. Yet I checked the results of our little hunt.

 

You've earned 22181 Icy-Imps' Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next TechnoHunter level: 210,165/370,000

 

You've earned 48195 Icy-Imps' Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next Red Tamer level: 328,562/330,000

 

So close!

 

Loki has earned 48195 Icy-Imps' Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next level: 121,553/270,000

 

Red Tamer had received a lot of Soul fractions, and since it was shared with Loki… I wondered if I could instead give it all to him. Leveling him took priority for now.

I knew that we had to be close to the dying source to receive Soul fractions properly. So, if I damaged a creature to the point of death, and then I escaped, letting Loki finish the job? Would he get the full amount of Soul fractions?

There were many peculiarities with the Tamer Class; for example, one could tame an entire region of creatures if he wanted to. But he could bind himself only to one beast at a time or the numbers the Skill dictated, which in turn meant a lot of things, being able to use Skill on the bound creature, communication through the use of Skills or Soul fraction sharing were some of those peculiarities.

I did not know if my hunch was correct, but if it was, I would be able to check in just a few moments because we hadn't even finished stuffing ourselves with Stones that I could feel the peculiar crawling of Elementals.

Oh, they would be such easy prey now that I could conjure Blow arrows.

The night was long, and I had barely started. I would be going back to the Flow-cart only with my belly full of Soul fractions today, or I wouldn't go back at all.