The next morning, Helga consolidated her values in the temple. She now reached level 22. After that, she went on a shopping spree with Mortis to buy new clothes. Her belly was starting to grow, so they also bought various food items to satisfy the small hunger.
Since today was their day off, after shopping they went to the Adventurer's Guild to take some orders. This was to help Helga improve her skills and supplement her pocket money. They decided on herbal quests, with Mortis gathering the herbs while Helga and he rested on a wool blanket and enjoyed their time together.
By evening, the herbs were gathered and they both brought them back to the guild, which earned them 8 gold. Afterwards, they went to the castle to report to the Baron and discuss the events of the previous day.
In the study, Helga met the Baron to tell him from her perspective how everything had gone and how she had felt about it. The Baron was proud of her performance and noted her ability to recognize her own weaknesses as well as accurately perceive events around her. He praised her for her ability to act in time, whether through shields or healing. The others present joined in with praise, although Marina joined in hesitantly.
The baron presented Helga with the promised potions, adding a stamina and agility potion as a bonus for her excellent work. Mortis then met the Baron, who, however, seemed a bit annoyed because he criticized the way Mortis had handled Martin.
Mortis smiled, however, and sat down as if he were judging the Baron. He expressed his opinion about their tank and gave advice on how to improve teamwork. The Baron called for a constructive approach to solving these problems and criticized Mortis' choice of words.
The discussion continued, and the Baron planned to send Mortis to another dungeon with a different group to strengthen his teamwork skills. Despite initial misgivings, Mortis agreed to the proposal and received potions from him for increased strength and agility.
In the bedroom, Mortis surprised Helga and found her naked in bed. After she had taken potions, her changes were obvious. Mortis and Helga enjoyed the evening in their own way.
The next morning, Martin trained with Sandro on the obstacle course at the training grounds. Helga visited the temple for an advanced course and new spells. Mortis and Marina went to the Adventurers Guild to explore the Tower of Birds dungeon in Lower Franconia with a group. This dungeon housed monsters in the 18-22 level range and the trip was expected to take about 14 hours.
"What are you doing here? Are you even an adventurer, or is it common for nobles to raid dungeons?" asked Mortis Marina, thinking that only he should continue exploring dungeons. "I practice using area spells as well, since complaints have come that I don't use them," Marina replied. Mortis nodded in understanding without elaborating.
During the carriage ride, Mortis chatted with the other members of the new group. He was surprised that it was a completely different group from theirs. The healer was a druid, the tank was a warrior, and the DD was a monk. This group was from Lower Franconia and seemed to have a mix of European and Asian influences. Even their equipment had an Eastern touch, which confused Mortis.
°Do you think you are the only one who awoke here after his death? There have already been many people from your world who were born here with their memories. But that does not mean they have accomplished much or changed the world. When something is created by the gods, it is tested. If it would change the world too much, it will be rejected. And remember, you were a soldier, did martial arts, and were a daredevil. That's why the world doesn't have much effect on you. People from more peaceful times who came here thinking they were chosen were often just cannon fodder. But those who made it definitely left their mark.°
The monk introduced himself as Natsu, the warrior as Burrack, and the druid as Jan. All three men seemed more experienced than Mortis and Marina, which pleased Mortis, especially Burrack's warrior stance.
They told Mortis that they had explored many dungeons, though it wasn't much use at first. They wanted to take advantage of any experience before exploring higher levels so they wouldn't be unprepared. Unfortunately, two of their party members were sick and taking a break, but they still wanted to explore the current dungeon before facing the more difficult "Bear Tree".
The tank complained that his team members were too scared in his eyes to progress faster. Mortis could relate to this, but he also understood Martin's approach to progressing slowly.
After 16 hours of travel, they reached Laubfort, where they checked into rooms, fresh for the dungeon the next day.
Meanwhile, Helga was busy in the dining room with Fiora. They learned chess and became good friends. Fiora was curious and tried to find out more about Helga and Mortis.
Mortis couldn't fall asleep right away, so he went to the spirit realm. He roamed the inn and the town. The town was rustic, with no strong influence of Eastern culture. However, some decorations and lamps had Asian influences. The citizens looked like Germanic or Northern peoples.
°The other continent has people with a different look than you are used to.° "Oh, I don't care so much. I just found it temporarily interesting to see how Little Franconia looks different."
°There's a cemetery nearby, only about 30 minutes away. Would you like to go there?° "That's a good idea. After 14 hours of carriage riding, it's just what I need."
Mortis sprinted to the cemetery to free it from Osmirnis' influence and leave it alone. Many ghosts and skeletons were there, but Mortis ignored them and entered the crypt. He destroyed the figure of Osmirnis, said a short prayer and waited for the change to occur. A flash of light appeared again and all the skeletons and ghosts disappeared. Mortis collected over 100 soul orbs and continued collecting when suddenly more spirits appeared, finding peace.
Mortis collected another 150 souls.
He then returned to the inn to make sure no one had noticed that he had disappeared for a short time.
Morti's souls 343.