Reidar stood in the shadow of a crumbling building, his gaze locked on the Church of Unbinding's base inside Creamont.
The concrete structure dominated the street. It was a tumor of steel and mana growing out of the city's ruins and bringing forth even more decay. It was ugly and functional, and the inside radiated a mana signature that made his skin crawl.
It was Silas's mana signature.
—[«Reidar Miller—Level 299»]—
Reidar checked his status. He stared at the interface until the blue light blurred in his vision. Level 299. For anyone else in the settlement, that number would have been a cause for celebration—a guarantee that they had finally outpaced the danger. But looking at it, Reidar didn't feel powerful; he felt hollow. It wasn't an achievement. It was just a reminder that he was the strongest person among his people and that the duty to fight the church fell on him.
