A wave of comforting heat and refreshing cold crashed through Nova's body, immediately making itself available to his will. And Nova didn't hesitate, putting his arm forward and aiming it at the two murderers.

[You don't have the required aspects for skill: Arcane Blast]

The reaction from the energy flowing in his body was muted, like it was submerged in tar. A stark contrast to his previous life.

The torch-lit hallway revealed his position now, standing behind the barrel. But he no longer cared about hiding.

'This body doesn't have the ability to control the energy properly. But that's fine; I have plenty of options!'

[You don't have the required aspects for skill: Soul Shatter]

He moved on to the next, choosing simpler and simpler spells to attempt.

Seven more lines appeared in rapid succession, each one denying his attempt at casting the spells. Not even the simplest magic missile succeeded, though he did feel a partial reaction.

'...Okay, I need to think. Magic isn't coming naturally to me.'

The two caretakers were moving away in the opposite direction, not even noticing Nova standing there. But that suited him well as it gave him time to retrieve the two nails from his hair, putting one in each hand. He wasn't about to let them go, even knowing he was being irrational.

They had crossed a line he could not forgive.

His voice, though small, bore the weight of multiple lifetimes of judgment as he growled, "Murderers."

The caretakers turned, whipping the torch around in mild panic to see what was behind them. The female caretaker was terrified, going so far as to drop Carl to the ground as she turned, but the man was more measured, eyeing Nova as soon as he turned.

He was about to say something, but it was too late. The master assassin had already struck.

[You have learned the skill: Dagger Throw (Master - 15%) {Grade 1}]

[You can throw daggers with incredible accuracy, using the soul essence in your body to enhance the force significantly.]

The shimmering glow of the torch reflected in the caretakers' eyes made them perfect targets for his throw. They didn't even have time to blink in the dim light before the sharp nails penetrated their eyes, boring into the grey matter behind them.

They fell over, dead.

His hands were still shaking with rage, but his aim had been perfect—just as it had been for hundreds of years. Even fury this deep couldn't override centuries of training.

[Gained soul of Harvester Farkley.]

[Gained soul of Harvester Ovelia.]

[Gained soul of Carl.]

'Carl? I gained their souls? What sort of messed up system is this?'

That was all the time he wasted asking questions as a door opened further down the hallway past the bodies. Two guards came out, both wearing scaled armor with simple designs.

They made plenty of noise as they walked, looking around for anything suspicious. And, of course, they saw the burning torch on the ground, next to three bodies.

"What the hell?! Hey, are you guys…?"

Nova was already back behind the barrel, weighing his options. He felt the energy in his body had lessened considerably after the throw, so even if he had more nails, he wouldn't be able to use them.

The guards ran up to the bodies, turning them over to assess the situation. "Hey, are you alive? Aah!" The guard shot up from the ground after seeing the male caretaker's face. "There's an assassin!"

Feeling like this was a fitting moment to make a distraction, Nova threw the cork he had taken from the barrel behind him. It landed with the flat side down, making a distinct noise.

The guards both whipped their heads around to look for the source, clearly panicking.

"H-hey, go look at that!" one said to the other.

"Fuck no! I'm reporting this to the captain, and you stay here!"

"Screw you, I'm coming with you!"

They both ran back to the door they had arrived from, not even daring to look behind them before it was shut. Nova also heard a lock clicking, making it unlikely for the two to return anytime soon.

'The cork came in handy, after all. But now I need to… I need to return. They won't ever suspect a child of doing this, so we should be safe. Then I can figure out this 'system' in peace. I'll need more power if I want to bring this place down.'

Walking over to the bodies, he bent down next to Carl, closing his eyes with a caring hand. Only his vast experience and wisdom kept him from blaming himself for this death. There was nothing more he could have done. Just like many times in his past.

"Rest, Carl. This world didn't deserve you," he whispered, leaning down and kissing the pale forehead lightly.

Then he scowled, looking at the two 'harvesters' who had done this. He wasn't one to fantasize about inflicting worse things than death, but on rare occasions, he wavered.

'Your brains ate my lockpicks, so don't blame me for taking your keys, okay?'

After unhooking the keychain from the male caretaker's belt, he stood back up, looking at the scene for anything that could incriminate him. Nothing came to mind.

Retracing his steps, he hurried along, feeling his body being more athletic than before. It was a pleasant surprise.

[You don't have the required aspects for skill: Stealth Run]

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'No, I wasn't trying to… Well, maybe instinct took over,' he admitted, smiling to himself. 'This system is quite interesting, unlike anything I've seen in the past. I wonder if my cultivation skills will work here…'

Now that he had more time to study his surroundings instead of focusing on pursuit, he noticed something terrifying. The iron door he had come from wasn't alone. In fact, it was one of many that littered the long hallway.

'Don't tell me there are this many "Gardens"... Don't even…'

The mere thought of multiplying the suffering and deaths that he had lived with for so long by the more than twenty doors he could see… It made him feel sick.

'Ugh… This had better be the only floor. Let's hope this incident will stop them from taking any more kids for a while. Paula is next in our garden, but that's another two weeks from now.'

Eventually, he found himself back at the door he had picked open. With a final look down the hallway, he went back inside, locking the door behind him and removing the ball of hair.

The sound of ninety-six children sleeping soundly calmed him down a bit. For them, nothing had changed since they went to sleep. But for Nova, everything had. He was now their only hope, and likely was for over two thousand others as well.

He didn't mind, though. The burden of responsibility was something he was more than used to.

'Getting them all out of here is the first priority. Whatever comes after will have to be figured out then. Now I just need to get stronger.'

The familiar door to Chamber Seven locked silently behind him. He held the keys tightly so they wouldn't jingle, and then he pulled up the loose stone in the floor and gently hid them below it. They would be safely hidden there as long as no one stumbled onto it, and all the children of Chamber Seven knew of it by now.

Satisfied with his solution, he tiptoed over to his bedroll and sat down. Millie was still sleeping soundly right next to him, now lying on her back with her limbs in all directions, gaping wide.

'...Don't you worry, Millie. I'll keep you all safe. You and Kovu and Bun and Iver and Paula and Estus and Rabb and Olly and Fell and…'

Although his mind was that of a wise and capable man, his body was still that of a four-year-old. He needed sleep. So he kept silently naming every child in the garden, seeing their faces and recalling their special quirks until he fell asleep. And even though he had just killed two people, he smiled as the dreams took him.

The following morning was unusually quiet. No one came to wake the children at the expected time, and they did not bring in any food like they usually did.

Nova sat on his bedroll, leaning back against the hard wall with his eyes closed. He was studying the energy—or soul essence as the text had called it—feeling it move through his body at will.

'This feels like mana, but it has aspects I've never felt before. It's not just energy but… a certain solidity as well. Like whatever I move the energy through becomes more real.'

[You have learned the skill: Essence Manipulation (Adept - 65%) {Grade 1}]

[Your natural ability to manipulate the essence of your soul is advanced far beyond your peers.]

'And then there are these boxes of text I can somehow understand despite never learning how to read here. "Essence Manipulation," huh? Adept is my mastery of the skill, and grade 1 is… the comparable power it has? And I can only use grade 1 skills because of my young body? Or is there something more concrete?'

As soon as he asked, a large box filled with text popped up before him, visible through his closed eyes.

[Nova's Soul Status]

[Core Stats] [Soul Power: 20] [Soul Purity: Cloudy] [Held Souls: 3]

[Essence] [32/50]

[Aspects]

[Physical Force: 3] [Physical Control: 4] [Physical Resilience: 3] [Mental Force: 4] [Mental Control: 6] [Essence Generation: 4] [Essence Capacity: 5]

[Soul Traits] [Legacy of Nine Lives] [UNIQUE] [Void Touched Mind] [MYTHIC]

'Oh, wow! This looks like the games the kids used to play back on Earth, doesn't it? Let's see, Soul Power is probably the primary stat. Starting at twenty likely means most people have at least that much.

My soul is cloudy? I'll have to try some cultivation skills later. And held souls is obviously the three I gained earlier. Wonder what I can do with them…

Essence is the power I used. It's not recovering fast, but that should also be fixable with something like a mana-gathering spell or a breathing technique. I hope.

Aspects… These are the ones I need to raise if I want to use my skills. But they likely aren't constant. These are more like my capacity, or how much essence I can use effectively in each area.

Soul Traits… The first one is clearly related to my past lives, and the second is from my sixth… But can I get more info about them?'

Once again, he only needed to think the question for the knowledge to pop up.

[Soul Traits]

[Legacy of Nine Lives] [UNIQUE]

[Your past lives are still part of you, granting you access to soul fragments of your former glory. You gain access to a fragment with each new number added to your soul power.]

[Current fragments available:]

[1. First Fragment of Don Casanova]

[Void Touched Mind] [MYTHIC]

[Gives complete immunity to madness and eldritch powers on the mind.]

["The man once stared into the abyss until it looked away."]

'...Don Casanova, huh? That's a name I haven't heard in a very long time. A new fragment with each new number, meaning I will get another one at 100 Soul Power?'

As he pondered the rest of the text, he heard a set of tiny footsteps entering the chamber. "Nova, there still no food…" Millie said meekly, bringing the message from the other children. She had somehow become the spokesperson whenever the children wanted to bring something up to him, which suited him fine. She was the one he felt closest to, and among the better learners.

He opened his eyes and looked at her with a smile. "They will come, Millie. Just play around for a bit longer, okay? I will come to tell you another story if they don't arrive before the sun hits the tenth stone."

Millie grinned widely, but her smile froze as she looked at her fingers. "...I will count!" she yelled, running back to the courtyard.

Nova chuckled lightly, happy to have found another way to teach them all how to count. None had gotten past fingers and toes so far, but it was only a matter of time.

He closed his eyes again, trying to learn more about this system. 'What can I use the fragment for?' he asked, hoping it would bring up another box.

[Fragment of Don Casanova]

[Core Stats] [Soul Power: 26] [Soul Purity: Cloudy] [Compatibility: 82%] [Time Limit: 46 min]

[Essence] [52/52]

[Aspects]

[Physical Force: 5] [Physical Control: 6] [Physical Resilience: 7] [Mental Force: 3] [Mental Control: 3] [Essence Generation: 3] [Essence Capacity: 4]

[Soul Traits]

[Presence Of The Don] [RARE] [Unwavering] [RARE]

[Would you like to equip the soul fragment of Don Casanova?]

'Equip? I can equip my own soul from the past? It… doesn't look much better—only six more Soul Power. Considerably better at physical aspects, but that's about it. What are these traits, then?'

[Soul Traits]

[Presence Of The Don] [RARE]

[Your presence commands respect and attention of those around you. Effect increases with Physical Resilience and Physical Force.] ["The Don deserves every bit of respect we have to give. No one has done more for this city."]

[Unwavering] [RARE]

[You are able to stand from any amount of damage as long as you still live. Wounds and broken bones have no effect on your mind or your spirit.] ["The knuckles and bats gave out before he did. Every time."]

Nova sighed, feeling a hint of emotion rise from the comments at the end of the traits. It had all happened eight lifetimes ago, but it was still his first life. The one that started it all.

'Hmm, that all happened long before my death, though…'

He opened his eyes, thinking back to the days long past. Some memories had faded with time, but others were still clear as day.

'I'll keep this in mind—no need for physical strength or respect at the moment. The fact that my essence fills when I equip it is nice, though… Speaking of essence, I need to test some more skills.'

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