I arrived at my front door after minutes of walking and thinking.

Rimuru's weird split personality thing kept pushing against the boundaries of my mind, refusing to retreat to the recesses of my subconscious.

To distract myself, I had gone over the Ranged barrier formula, dissecting and reassembling it to the best of my ability.

I also noticed that my ability to observe magicules seemed to get better each time I used it, a sense of an impending climax filled me as I found I didn't have to focus much like I did in the beginning.

Other things also seemed to be laid bare to me, I could now catch glimpses of a person's general physical condition and even the strength of their connection to the Oasis.

I wonder if something will happen if I keep increasing my proficiency….

I walked into the house, finding the door was unlocked for some reason.

It was basically nighttime, leaving the door unlocked didn't sound like a decision made in sound mind, not like anyone would dare approach the house of a Lord magus..

The house felt deserted, much more than it usually did. I wasn't confronted with my dad's firm gaze, my mother's warm smile or Shalla's standard look of superiority.

Even Abydos was nowhere to be seen.

I don't like this.

I headed towards the one place my father might be, his office.

"No!" A voice boomed from the other side of the wooden door.

"Ke'heops! This is our daughter!" My mother seemed to be in distress, the hand I had reached out to knock froze.

"Even then, we can't afford to let word get out." My father argued, I couldn't make sense of what was happening.

"You'd choose your ambitions over your own child?" My mother replied, her tone was unusually low, unlike anything I'd ever heard.

"Our son is already labeled as an outcast, not to mention his 'condition', we can't afford to show more weakness. Shalla's disappearance will be kept secret, that's final."

Condition? Disappearance?

I could somehow feel the general intent behind every word, most likely an extension of my heightened perception. It was clear as day that he wasn't referring to my lack of magic.

What happened to Shalla? I almost burst through the door as I digested my father's words.

"We'll need all the help we can get to locate her, my scrying spells are coming up short. Ke'heops! This is a problem to be solved with manpower, not magic!" The room vibrated as my mother's magical force collided with my father's.

Scrying didn't work? Who could block my mother, one of the most powerful sand magic specialists alive?

"Before we continue, why don't we address the eavesdropper?" I could feel some energy being directed at me, normally I would be shaking in trepidation but I found it to be less threatening than I remembered.

I twisted the door handle and stepped in, my eyes were met with my mother looking worse for wear and my father's narrowed eyes.

"Kellen, you finally decided to show up." Somehow it sounded like he was accusing me of something.

"What exactly happened to Shalla?" My own voice sounded more pathetic than I remembered.

"Oh now you're concerned? Because you were occupied with that impudent outsider, you've been blind to your family's troubles."

"Ke'heops." My mom warned as my father bore down on me with his magic infused voice.

"Troubles?" Was there something more? Was Shalla's disappearance not the only thing?

"Your little stunt at the guest house, did you think it would go unnoticed? The whole town is convinced that you're a traitor and Ra'meth is taking advantage of it to weaken my influence. Your sister went missing after claiming she was going to meet you, yet here you are, safe, while your sister might be in the hands of people who definitely do not have our best interests at heart."

His words hammered into me, driving each point deep into my mind and making me realize that I'd been caught in a trap by Ra'meth. I felt partly guilty and partly hurt, it was always about Shalla with him, his perfect talented child.

'Huh? Where did those thoughts come from?'

I tried to calm my mind and think of where Shalla might be, then I remembered.

"Shalla….Shalla spoke about summoning a power animal." I managed to stammer out under the heat of my father's gaze.

His eyes widened.

There was a well known spot called the Snake, Jan'Tep children always went there to attempt to summon power animals as tests of courage.

It was believed that the path led to the dwelling of vengeful Mahdek spirits, but we still ventured there anyway.

"No…" He came around his desk, rushing towards me…or the door behind me.

"Ke'heops, where are you going?" My mother was startled by his sudden movements.

"To find our daughter. As for you," he turned to me.

"Stay put, as soon as I find Shalla, you'll explain the source of the fire you threatened Ra'meth's son with." And then he left.

My mother followed behind him, after shooting a glance that seemed to emphasize my father's point.

And so I was left alone in the house.

.

.

I was back in the clearing where I trained with Rimuru, contrary to the order I had received to stay home.

Obviously I wouldn't listen to such an order when I could help find her sooner.

"Rimuru! Rimuru Tempest!" I called out into the trees, hoping he would suddenly appear like he always seemed to.

"What do you want, kid?" I couldn't have been happier to hear someone's voice.

I turned towards the direction the voice came from only to see Rimuru hovering a few feet above the ground.

His posture was straight and he gave off a different aura, his display of magical prowess was intimidating.

I gulped unintentionally.

"Please, help me find my sister." I composed myself and asked for his help.

I could see his eyes narrow a little at my request, he seemed conflicted.

"No, Kellen."

No…?

"Wait, why!?" I knew he wasn't obligated to help me but I couldn't help but lose myself after hearing his blatant refusal.

"Why? Are you seriously asking me that?" He suddenly became more imposing, making me take a step back.

"Please…." Was all I could say.

I heard him release a sigh, his aura still feeling like a solid weight on my back.

"I have given you the tools, Kellen. As you are now, you can find your sister with your own strength."

Why was he suddenly being this cold?

"I do not believe in constantly giving people fish, Kellen. First, I show them the benefits of the fish, then I teach them how to fish for themselves. Do you understand?" He spoke again, an odd sense of power came from his words.

Fishing…? I see..he was right..

He has given me the tools I needed, he has 'taught me how to fish'.

When did I become this weak? Since when did I develop a dependence on him?

I forcefully took hold of my body, I looked up and gazed at the luminescent golden eyes that seemed to have seen a vast multitude of things.

"Very good, Kellen. I suppose it should be right about now."

[Confirmed. Extra skill: Analyze and Assess successfully acquired.]

A voice echoed in my mind, it was the same as back then but this time it announced something called a skill.

I felt some of the energy within me crystallize into something, I looked within me and discovered what was unmistakably what that thing referred to as an extra skill. I became aware of something within me, something amazing.

'This is... my soul...'

"What's this…?" I looked at the only person who could possibly provide answers.

"That's the voice of the world. All you need to know is that you now have a powerful card to play, now go, Kellen." The suffocating feeling disappeared alongside its origin.

The clearing returned to silence and tranquility.

I turned my back on it, heading towards my new destination.

Heading to the Snake.

.

.

I had arrived at the snake in less time than I expected, my body's capabilities had been slowly rising over the past few days.

My new skill, which I still didn't fully understand, showed me signs of my Father and mother's magic in the area. I could now do something only Hextrackers – mages that hunted other mage's – were capable of, I could identify and distinguish various magical signatures.

I picked up on the lingering amounts of Shalla's magic in the air, it seems she had began to cast the spell by the time she was taken. Once the spell to summon a power animal was started, a mage would be completely oblivious to the world around them and essentially defenseless.

'That idiot, she should have brought someone with her.' I analyzed the magic and tried to get a sense of where its origin was.

I was feeling restless, pushing my mind to work faster and faster in sifting through the various pieces of unnecessary information.

"There." I whispered in triumph as I picked the path that had the most concentrated amount.

Something odd that I had also noticed was the absence of the abductors magical presence, but at the same time I could discern that other people had definitely been here.

I hoped that the conclusion I had reached wasn't the case…

I followed the meandering path, occasionally backtracking when I missed a turn or lost track of the energy.

After about half an hour of walking, I arrived at the end of the trail.

"No…it can't be.." I was in denial as I took in what lay before me.

Looming in front of me was the one place I had been always told to avoid, it was a location that essentially rendered a Jan'Tep mage useless.

It was the mines.

This was why scrying didn't work...why conventional tracking magic had failed.

"This means.." Shalla had been abducted by Sha'Tep.

"I'll kill them." My own voice sounded foreign as I realized what I had said, magicules spilled out of me uncontrollably before I held them back with sheer force of will.

I walked into the dark caves, there was no light source at all so I created one with magic.

The red flames weren't a good source of light so I tried to regulate it a bit before achieving a satisfactory yellow.

The moment I stepped deeper into the cave, a feeling of fatigue came over me. I suspected the effects weren't as severe as they should be given my weak connection to the Oasis but it was still annoying.

But it immediately vanished right after.

"Like I'll let that stop me." I had projected some of my magicules around me in a mimicry of Rimuru's ranged barrier which I hadn't started practicing.

I couldn't sense Shalla's magic anymore, Analysis showed me why, every inch of rock in this place resonated with the inks on my arms and used them as a passage to attempt to poison me.

The magic in the bands detested this connection and attempted to flee from it, resulting in it dissipating.

'I'm sorry Shalla, this must feel like hell to you.' She would be feeling much more worse.

I couldn't help but apologize to no one as I progressed through the complex network the Sha'Tep were undoubtedly used to navigating.

I analysed every thing I came across, looking for signs of people recently passing through.

It wasn't easy but I was making solid progress.

The caves weren't properly maintained either, so I had to avoid a few dangerous spots.

It wasn't a stretch to assume that I might have died if I didn't acquire this skill.

Thank you, Voice of the world.

"Hmm?" I stopped walking and banished my conjured flames as I saw a light in a tunnel a few meters away, across a cavern that had multiple tunnels leaving it.

Two men appeared, each wearing masks that seemed similar to what the Mahdek were described to wear during their evil activities.

I might have been fooled before because of the fear of the Mahdek that had been drilled into me since childhood but now with analysis, I could see them for what they were.

"Sha'Tep." I said, not bothering to lower my voice.

The two men instantly reacted, they raised the torches they were carrying and spotted me approaching them from the tunnel I had hidden in.

"A kid? What are you doing here?" The bigger of the two, with a mask adorned with sharp looking tusks, asked me with a commanding tone.

The other one had a mask that resembled a big cat, he inched closer to me, no doubt in a bid to grab me the moment I tried to cast a spell. They were still vigilant despite being in the mines, I wonder who their leader is.

"Take me to my sister." I said, ignoring his question.

Tusks seemed to realize something, I could observe the smallest movements he made and could even deduce his emotions without having to see his facial expressions.

"Why's a kid like you trying to sound so high and mighty?" He moved nearer to me, coming in contact with the thin field of magicules around me.

He was getting on my nerves. My patience had run out long ago, I won't waste more time by entertaining this fool.

"Speak or get out of the way." I looked at the eye sockets of the mask and peered straight into the black eyes beyond them.

Immediately my fingers twitched, they jumped into action.

Tusks reached out at my throat, aiming to restrict any attempt at chanting an incantation while Big cat lunged at my hands.

This would have been a good strategy against a Jan'Tep mage, disorienting me and sealing off my chances at spellcasting would put them in a favorable position. There was one little problem though.

I was no Jan'Tep mage.

A wave of air pressure spread out from me, knocking the two meters away from me and into the walls.

I have never practiced this before but I found that magic came easier to me as I became aware of my own soul after the Voice of the world spoke to me.

"How…a mere kid..in the mines?" A bunch of jumbled words came out of the blundering fool with the tusks.

I ignored him and materialised a flame in my palm.

I could feel it, it was that feeling from before I acquired "analyze and assess".

Is this!?

[Confirmed, Skill "flame manipulation" has been learned successfully.]

Yes!

There was no extra mentioned so I'm assuming this was a tier below my first one.

I looked at the groaning men who shrunk away from me in fear.

With my new skill, I could basically do whatever I wanted with fire, my flexibility was unmatched.

"Still not willing to talk?" I asked as the space within my improvised magicule shield increased in temperature.

"Cough, like hell. I might not be able to stop you here but you're in the same situation." He coughed out blood, most likely from an internal injury.

"What?" His words confused me.

"Your sister's being counter bound!" He roared in delirious laughter as he delivered devastating news.

No…that can't be right..

Counter banding, the act of etching reverse sigils into our bands to completely render them useless.

Between being Sha'Tep and being counter banded, the former fate was seen as fortunate.

Shalla can't be counter bound…she can't be…

"You!" I roared in anger, my vision turned red as flames erupted in my palms.

"You sure you have the time to deal with me? Who knows, you might be able to help her keep at least one band." Blood dripped from underneath the mask as he taunted me, nodding towards what I assumed was the correct way.

"Fuck!" I screamed, tears falling from my eyes as I ran with full speed down the path the thug had nodded at.

I was pushing myself completely, I ignored the hazardous terrain as I ran with all my might.

I could see the tunnel open up front, it seemed to lead into a wide space.

I instinctively knew that that was my destination, I increased my speed even further.

I noticed a man step into the entrance, probably alerted by my loud footsteps and arguably louder sobs.

"Get out of my fucking way!" I raised my index finger and condensed a flame on it before firing it at the man's chest.

It shot forward and exploded on contact.

I didn't register what had happened to my victim, only looking towards the center of the space.

My brain ground to halt, my mind reeled from the sheer shock of what I saw.

Leaning over my sister's unconscious and weakened body, holding a tattoo needle gleaming with ink was none other than my uncle, Abydos.

"Kellen?"

His voice failed to register as all the anger I had been feeling rose exponentially to new heights.

At that moment, it came again.

[Confirmed. Anomaly in the soul of individual "Kellen" has surpassed estimated thresholds. Insufficient direction, attempting to reconstruct anomaly. Unique skill [Heretic] successfully acquired.]

I couldn't register what it said, my mind was hoping that it was all over, it still wasn't in full touch with the reality it was confronted with.

[Confirmed. Higher will recognised. Under direction of higher will, Unique skill [Heretic] has been placed under conditional seal.]

And then I blacked out.

.

.

Uhh.

Yeah. Cliffhanger ig?

Welp, I'll be taking a break from daily posting for now.

I won't be gone for long, just long enough to keep myself from burning out you know?

Signs are already there actually, the quality of this chapter is pretty iffy, but I hope you guys will bear with me.

Bye, for now.