Arcadia I Chapter 7: Getting a job(1)

Read chapter 7 of Arcadia I by I_live_in_your_walls on NovelPedia.

“Aura?” I ask, genuinely surprised. Even though the mage had said soul transmuters couldn’t wield either mana or aura, I had tried to channel both whenever I had a spare moment. But to no avail with every attempt. What had changed now? “This shouldn’t be possible…” the knight muttered, staring at the faint aura coating my weapon before reconsidering. “No. It is possible.” “How?” the mage asked, drifting closer. “We forgot to account for law ‘ownership,’” the knight explained before looking up at me. “Each gift is a fragment of a universal Law. Universal Laws are spread across countless sentient beings as distinct gifts. Each gift carries a specific, minor percentage of that Law.” “Does this relate to my situation?” I interjected, keeping my focus on the energy dancing across my machete. “Of course it does!” the knight asserted. “You are very likely the only living soul transmuter left alive in this era. That means, by default, you possess complete ownership over the Law of Souls.” Pausing for a second before continuing, “This is what’s letting you take the traits of the souls you absorb. Likely limited to being able to absorb mana and aura manipulation, along with soul-related gifts.” Right as I opened my mouth to press for more details, the sound of frantic shouting reached my ears from the edge of the burning block. “He’s over there!” An armed group of syndicate reinforcements burst into the clearing, led by a young woman clad in crimson mage robes. Her curly crimson hair and freckled, sun-tanned face were framed by orange-tinted teashades. Entering the clearing, she slowed to a halt. Her sharp, piercing red eyes widened in shock at the scene of Darion’s mutilated, impaled corpse still standing upright, and me standing nearby, talking to the empty air. “Darion…” she muttered, “a gang war starting when I just got here? ugh.” A heavy sigh made visible on her face before glaring at me with sharp intensity. The moment she raised her head to look at me, I shot up, abandoning my relaxed posture, before readying my stance… and running away. ‘I just fought a life-or-death battle; it’s not the time to get in another one. More of them are bound to be closing in on this location. Fighting here would lead to death or no gains at all.’ Running turned out to be the right choice. A fraction of a second later, the crate I had just been sitting on violently exploded into a roaring inferno as a barrage of fireballs slammed into it. Seconds later, four fire arrows manifested in an arc above the red-haired mage's head before launching themselves at my retreating figure. Dodging into a nearby alley, I felt an intense heat as the fire arrows struck the brick building’s walls. Not looking back, I sprinted through the labyrinthine streets and alleys of the city until I was certain the syndicate had lost my trail. Entering a secluded alley, I rested my hand on the wall. Catching my breath, I smoothly continued the conversation I had been having with the knight before it was rudely interrupted by that fire mage. “The mage said there were many soul transmuters in your time,” I breathed out, ragged from sprinting for so long. “What changed?” A heavy frown settled onto the knight's face: “After Evilculez completed her slaughter of every mage possessing mana-related gifts—solely to secure a supermajority over the Law of Mana and apotheosize—she hunted down every last living soul transmuter to ensure that none of the millions she had butchered possessed any way of returning to life.” “How would killing those with the same gift as hers strengthen hers?” I questioned, “Do the fragments transfer to her?” “No, they don’t. However, when someone with a gift dies, the fragments of that gift are redistributed throughout the world. They flow into current living holders of the gift and nestle dormantly within unique individuals whose bloodlines might one day awaken it.” He explained before continuing, “The fewer gift holders there are, the less the fragments are di