Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 43: Chapter 39: Negotiation

Read chapter 43 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 39: Negotiation Chapter 39: Negotiation "Let me get this straight," Alex said, staring at the glowing, faintly pulsing stone cradled in his dirt-caked palm. "You advised a soul-eating psychopath, she died, and now you want to help me?" The rock was silent for a moment, if rocks could be silent in a pointed way. Then, with a smooth, vague accent and the confident tone of someone who had absolutely no shame, it spoke. " Technically, yes. But she had excellent taste in runes. " The rock pulsed slightly in Alex’s hand as it spoke, even though the words were in his head instead of out loud. Alex blinked. "Did you just compliment a crazed lunatic?" " Not her personality. Just her [Glyphcraft] penmanship. " He rubbed a hand over his face, smearing ash across his cheekbone. The glyph-scarred altar still smoldered behind him, its runic channels scorched into smoldering glass in some places. The scent of ozone and burnt blood still clung to the inside of his nose. The fragments of stone crunched underfoot as he walked around the center of the ritual, or what was left of it. Alex could remember the feeling of all the aether thrumming through his body. The hum of energy coursing through his core, his body gate. Then the pain inside his soulspace as his core shattered into pieces… and now. He had no mage core. No connection to his aether, nor a path forward. The only thing he had was this sarcastic, glowing rock with a morally questionable resume. And, what sounded suspiciously like, a British accent. "Okay," Alex said, more to himself than the rock. "I’ve lost my squad, my magic, and my last shot at stable sanity. So sure. Why not take career advice from a talking pebble that used to work for an insane lizard-shaman." " Advisor. Not employee. I’m freelance. " "Oh, that makes it so much better." He sat down hard on the stone platform, dust wafting around him. The cave walls seemed to press in at the edges of Alex’s vision. It was unnervingly quiet. He didn’t hear the ambient sound of scratching animals, and no wind. Just the faint sizzling of dead magic that still hung in the air. "You could try asking the important question, you know." Alex raised an eyebrow. "Which is?" " Why you’re still alive. " He stared down at the stone. For a long beat, nothing moved. Then slowly, Alex set it down on the ground in front of him, leaning in close. "...Okay. Why am I still alive?" "Because Doudra was trying to drain your soul, not destroy it. She wanted to pull all the aether from your core, and then suck down your soulspace along with it. Then you used that condensing item, setting a feedback loop of energy, with yourself as the focal point. Your mage core couldn’t handle the stress, but somehow, the rest of you did… Sorta. You’re still here. But you’re different now." Alex narrowed his eyes. "Different how?" "Ask me again when I’ve finished scanning whatever fragmented mess this is that you call a soul and body." "What?" Alex stood up now and loomed over the little rock. “I didn’t agree that you can scan me. I knew I couldn’t trust your ass, alright I’m just burying you. " Wait, wait. I’m not doing anything in an ominous way, okay. You connected to me with your aether, so you chose this.” "I didn’t choose anything." The rock pulsed again, slightly warmer this time. Not threatening, just… alert. Aware. And maybe, just maybe, something else too. " We’re bound now, you and I. A symbiotic tether, a nested arcane link. Actually it might be more like a partially fractured soul imprint. Regardless, I can monitor your health, vitals, and all that. I can also check the surface impression of your soul, to make sure nothing is messing with that. Spirit attacking spells, poison or what not. The usual. " "The usual ?!" Alex had heard enough by now, he bent to pick up the stone. "You have questions. I have answers. And if you want to walk again among the mages of this world, you're going to need more than a pity story and sharp sticks." Alex paused. "You'