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KaraKaraWitch

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<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkOTFmODM1MjQwYTRmOGFhOGU2NDVmNWIyZjBkZjIy">I'm sure Amelia chose the left side because she's curious about the noises we are hearing.</p> <p class="cnMxMWQyNzRiZGQyZjRhYzBiOWViMWNmYmY0OWQzZjU0">But it is out of the question to go in this direction.</p> <p class="cnMwNzAzM2FkN2JlNzQxMjVhZTI5YmZkOWUyMGM2MDUz">“It's too dangerous, it's better to go right.” I said</p> <p class="cnNhYWJjNDNhMzFiNDQwYjQ4NWZjMzRmNzRmMmIyZDk1">“Huh? Don’t be afraid!”</p> <p class="cnNjZGQ1YzkyMTM2NzQ3MGY5ODdkMGI3MDEyZTQyYjA4">“I'm not scared... Just cautious. Anyway, I control the body, so I decide!”</p> <p class="cnM4NDNmMWM5Mjk2MTQ0MDc5OWRlZjdlODUxYzMyMDhj">“It’s not fair! I propose that we choose in turn. If you refuse, I... I’ll Bite you!” She said.</p> <p class="cnM0MGQyMTc4OWIxMzRiZjE4OWMzNjU2N2ZmY2EzNjRh">“You will not dare...” I said.</p> <p class="cnNhOGM3MDA3NjdmYTQxZGFhODZiZWMyMmJjNDM0MmEw">“We bet?”</p> <p class="cnMzZmQxNzdiYjA0ODRmNjI5ZDgzZjIxNGJmYmM5MjMz">...</p> <p class="cnMyMTkyMTU4YjMyZTRkNjliYzg4NWYxZTliODNhMzgz">“All right... let's go to the left.” I finally said.</p> <p class="cnM5MWY0OTgwMjFmYjRhZTE4NzU1NGNiOWEzODQxNTVl">I don’t want to argue with Amelia for such a small thing. At worst, if the situation becomes dangerous I would turn back.</p> <p class="cnNkYTAyZjdjZDc1YjRkZGZhYmNhODM1YmJjYjc5ZTk0">I walk through the forest while admiring these bizarre flowers in passing. They look like roses and are either dark blue or scarlet red.</p> <p class="cnMxZjYyODgzMTMxZTRlNDBhYjQ1MmY5YTg3NTg3OTVj">As I advance, the roars are more and more audible.</p> <p class="cnMzOGYzYzZlYWVmMzRmNjBiZjBmNThiMzdmYjA5Y2Ex">I'm close. I can even distinguish two different roars. It worries me…</p> <p class="cnNhZjc3NzdmOGZjNjRmYjM5ZDcyMmM4ZThkNmNiZjA4">Should I turn back?</p> <p class="cnNmNjMyMTA3ZDdlNDQxYjFhNDU3ZTI2N2Q3NDY0MmY0">No!</p> <p class="cnM3MzdmMThhODExZDRkYTQ4ZWIxY2IxNDkwZTFiMWU2">Now that I have to live in this unknown world, I have to adapt quickly. I don’t know what the future holds, but what is certain is that if I flee before the first difficulty, I will never survive in this place...</p> <p class="cnNkZGQ3MTZlMjFmODQ0Njk4NDNiYzdlMTQyYzg5MDhl">Perhaps these creatures will flee seeing that I am a dragon. Although I doubt they will be afraid of a baby dragon...</p> <p class="cnMxNTk4NzlhYjJmZTRmN2Q4Yjc0YzNlYzI5ZDJkNjky">I can finally see silhouettes through the trees. I'm getting closer slowly...</p> <p class="cnNiMjExN2RmNGIxNTRjNDU4Y2Q2ZWJjZjFmZDg5NjBi">The scene that is happening before my eyes gives me a shock: two huge monsters are fighting each other. One looks like a wolf; however, it is at least two meters tall, has red eyes and long fangs. The other looks like a wild boar, but much bigger, he also has bone thorns on his back.</p> <p class="cnMxOWI1NjJhMWJhMjQ1MjhhMTEwNGRmMWJmMTVmYmY3">Fortunately, they can’t see me from my position. So, I'll... Take the opportunity to turn back! I know that I said I had to be brave and adapt quickly, but still, for my first fight in this world I would rather face an opponent of my size...</p> <p class="cnNmMTJmZmNlNGZjZDRlN2Y4M2M2ZWZmM2E3MWViODRm">I'm about to turn back when...</p> <p class="cnMyYzYwOWJlZWUwYzRlOWRhZmIzNjUzYTQ5ZmI3MzNi">“What are you doing? Let's attack them while they are busy killing each other!” Amelia told me.</p> <p class="cnM5YTlhNjg3ZDNmMjRjODRhOTUwYjdjMmRmYzIxODli">“Are you kidding? They are huge, we have no chance against them!” I said.</p> <p class="cnMyOTI2NzFlZjNmOTRjYTM5MWQ2NjBkM2FhMDM5MjRk">This is the first time I’m seeing such scary creatures.</p> <p class="cnMyMDczMmY3ZjY1YTRjZTI4ZGU4YzRhZDBkYzIwYzRm">“You shouldn’t judge them by their size! Use the skill [Appraisal] and you will see that we have nothing to fear.”</p> <p class="cnMzZTE0NzQ2YTZlMzRkZjliY2M2ZTI5MGU2YTdhZWZm">Really? In doubt, I use my skill [Appraisal] first on the wolf, then on the boar.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNlYjFmYTc3MmUzNzRkMGY4NTEwN2FiNWMxNGIxYTlk"><strong><u>Lykanos</u></strong> (magical beast) – level 3 – HP: 43/65</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzMjk1NzIwYjc2ODRhYjY5NzAzY2M2NWQ5NTgyZjE1">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM0Mjg0MDE5MGMyYzRiYTBiMDBlYTRkNWVjZmQ2YWFl"><strong><u>Pigane</u></strong> (magical beast) – level 2 – HP: 17/50</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM2ZjEwYjE3ZTZmODQ2ZDRiMDg3OWI2NDUyMjU2OGFi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMmZhYzFmNmE3OTRmMWFiOGUyYzg3ZjYxMTFhN2Nl">So, the big wolf is called a lykanos and the big boar is called a pigane. They are only level 2 and level 3...</p> <p class="cnMzZWIwZjMxZGJhYzRmNWY4Y2VkNjIxMjU1NWEzNDAw">I am now a little more reassured and ready to attack!</p> <p class="cnM3OTI2MDFiZjE3YjRjMThhZjZkOTA3ZjM3ZjU3ZWUx">I approach them discreetly and plan the attack with Amelia.</p> <p class="cnMzYjM1M2UwNzg3MTQ1ZjBiNzIzYjY1MzFjODA3NTVk">We will use [Fire breath] simultaneously. I will target the lykanos and she will target the pigane…</p> <p class="cnM4NTBjMWNjNGIyYjQ5NTk5NjgxODRiNWZkNTczZjYy">While they are busy tackling, I surprise them by the side and immediately use [Fire Breath].</p> <p class="cnMyYmU5YzI4MDBlODQ0ZWY5OTZiNzYwNjdkZWM0MGI4">Flames come out of my mouth and Amelia’s mouth, burning our targets.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNlNmI4NDk0Zjk4NjQ3YWNhOTc1ZTc2ODJhZDYxNDg4"><strong>You have killed a Pigane &lt;level 2&gt;: XP + 20. </strong></p> <p class="cnNmMjRkZGQ0Y2M2YTQ1Mjg4YzM3YjAwMmJjNmNhMWJi"><strong>Bonus XP from title « Baby dragon » +50%: XP + 10.</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzM2Y1ZGUyZWIyYTRiM2RhMGY2NDY5MjJkODJhOGQ5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmMDA3NDBlMDQxZDQzOTM4ZjM4Y2ExOWUwZjYwZTQy">A screen informs me that the pigane died.</p> <p class="cnNhYjM1ZGQ3NjUyMDQwYWQ4YTZmMGY5ZjVlY2FkYzVj">However, because of a lack of MP, the skill [Fire Breath] did not last long enough to kill the lykanos.</p> <p class="cnNiMDhiNzcwMTk3YjRhNzE5Yjk2Y2E5YWNkMDRhNGNj">The lykanos is now on fire, it seems to suffer.</p> <p class="cnM2YzQwNDAxMWFiOTQyZDNhNGUwZTkyMWUwYWI0MWQy">My attack caught its attention, it stares at me with its red eyes, then howls.</p> <p class="cnM4OGU0Y2Y0YjY3YTQ4ODVhNDQzZDRlYzQ1YTEyMTZh">“OoooooooooooWhoo!!”</p> <p class="cnNjMmFkMGY1MTM3NjQxNDhhNmM2MjM1NTJhNDI3ZDk3">It is about to charge me by opening its mouth wide, probably to bite me.</p> <p class="cnM2YTRkMjY1ZjQ3NzQwNGU5NzZiNWUyYzhkNGU3NDgw">Because of its injuries, it is not very fast. I easily evade its charge by leaping to the side.</p> <p class="cnNkNDBhMWEzN2ExYTRhM2Q4YWU2Y2NkNTk4MjlkOTlk">I don’t have any MP anymore, so I can’t use [Fire breath]. That’s why I'm going to use the skill [Bite] which uses END (endurance points) instead.</p> <p class="cnNmMjllMjc2ZmU4NTQyZmY4NmNjNWNlZmEzNGY4MTg2">I quickly approach the lykanos and bites its leg, Amelia does the same…</p> <p class="cnM0M2QyZGEzZjhkYjQxNmM4MjQ5NGJmYjk4MzVhYzJh">The lykanos falls on the ground, then we bite its neck.</p> <p class="cnNkOTg2MzcxYTQ5YTRkMTFiZGJlYjIyODQzYWMzMDdh">Our fangs are deeply embedded in his neck. The lykanos struggles to make us let go, but we hold firm.</p> <p class="cnMyODk3MGI5NWNjYTRjYzlhNzJhODIzYmQyZTg5MjVj">“OoooWhoo!!”</p> <p class="cnM2ZmVhNTY0MjRlNDQ1OThiYzQwY2I0MzY2NTUwOWMx">The lykanos howls with difficulty, then finally stop moving. Dead.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNiNTgwZTVjY2FjOTQ5NTA5MjY4YmUyNWM2ZGQ1ODhm"><strong>You have killed a Lykanos &lt;level 3&gt;: XP + 30. </strong></p> <p class="cnM5MmUyN2VkOTFjYzQwNzZiZjNiNzU3ZjdhOThkYjdj"><strong>Bonus XP from title « Baby dragon » +50%: XP + 15.</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM1YjI3ZTcyZDE1YTRhNmU4ZWQwNDg0M2FlMjk5Yzky">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM2NTMwYzA1Zjk3NzRkZDY4ZjcwMTAzMzNjZjVkY2Qy" style="text-align: center"><strong>The skill [Bite] is now level 2.</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzNTA1Njg0ODg0MjRmYjFiMGNkZGIxNzJkODUwMGY4">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNiNGEzMmU1N2QwNDQ1NTliY2NlYzcyOTNjNDI0MmY2" style="text-align: center"><strong>Congratulations! You are now level 2.</strong></p> <p class="cnMzMzllMTUyNWU5NDRmNzVhYmEzMGU3NDEyZmUxMzM5" style="text-align: center"><strong>1 attribute point available.</strong></p> <p class="cnM1NjRlYzJmYjQwNDQzMjY5NGE2NGEzYTRmNTBjMDI2" style="text-align: center"><strong>1 passive skill available.</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNlNWE1OTQ1NTEzMTRhNmZhZjY2YmU4OTlhODdmOTY3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZTMwOTBlNTBmNjQwZTBiZjI0MmU4MTZjNDI0MTEy">It was really an exciting experience, my heart (my dragon heart, I mean) is beating fast right now.</p> <p class="cnM0MWJiZjg1YWFiNTQzY2U5M2RjNjAwNWU4NjYyNDhk">Wait a minute! It was the first time I killed someone, so I should not have found it exciting... This is weird… I wonder if Amelia felt the same as me.</p> <p class="cnM1MGE2YjY5MmJiYjQzYTViOWY5NjYxYmJmMDA0Yjky">I suddenly notice that the flames went out immediately after the monsters died. Even those who had started burning the trees and the surrounding area have disappeared. I don’t know if this is normal… I guess the logic of the Earth can’t be applied in this world.</p> <p class="cnM3ZTNkNmVkYWRlOTRlYWRiMWIyMDYwYmVjODQxMmVl">“Haha, those two didn’t see it coming! As you can see, it wasn’t so complicated!” Said Amelia.</p> <p class="cnM0M2FmYzY0NzAyYjQ0YjE5NTQzMzQ0NGY3YWRjZTI1">“Indeed, maybe I was too careful...” I said</p> <p class="cnM0MGIzZWVjZjA5YjQzZTk4ZDY1NzgxZjNiMDJiZjhm">“It's time to eat!” She continued.</p> <p class="cnM1NTE4NTMyYjcxODQwMDQ5YjJjYjQwNjUzNjNhM2Fh">As a human being, the corpse of this lykanos is repugnant to me. But as a dragon... I find it appetizing!</p> <p class="cnM3N2E2MzU4ZGIzYjQwYTU4NDBlM2E2NWY4MWEyMmJl">My human mind has not yet adapted to my dragon condition.</p> <p class="cnM2OGM4ZjRjYWE1MjQyZWZhMDdkYTNjNDE5ZjFjYzYy">In any case, it does not seem to bother Amelia, who eats as if nothing had happened.</p> <p class="cnM1OTI2NjU1ZDk0MjQ3NGI5ZTQwODlkYmMyMjE1ODdh">Since we share the same stomach, maybe I should let her eat for me...</p> <p class="cnM5NmJiYWU4YmYzYTRiZjlhYzg3YmQyNzBhYjNiMDg3">No! I must force myself.</p> <p class="cnM2MjQ0ZmU3YjJiYjQ2NzA4NmZmZjE1NDA1Mzk1ODVl">I approach my mouth of the corpse, eat a bite and swallow it quickly...</p> <p class="cnNiOGQ0NjlhMzFiOTRiYTNhMDQ1MTgwODkxYWZhNmRk">It's not so bad! It reminds me of the taste of beef.</p> <p class="cnNjOTNiNGI3NjgyMTQ0MTM4NTUzN2I3ZGExYWFlNWRj">While I'm eating, I'll take the opportunity to take stock of what just happened.</p> <p class="cnNiZGI2Yzc3OGE4NjRhZjA5NTIwZWNmNThlMDVhOTMw">I learned from the skill [Appraisal] that these monsters were called magical beasts. Am I a magical beast too? I have no idea.</p> <p class="cnMxOGJkYzllYzNhNzQ1MGI5Mzg0ODc5MjNjNDkxZDIw">My level also raised to level 2 and I can apparently choose a passive skill, but I don’t know how to do it. I need to ask Amelia if she knows what to do.</p> <p class="cnM5YmY5NzM2MWQzNTQyZjFhMTFlOTJhN2IwZjVhZDEx">“Amelia, do you know how to display the screen for selecting passive skills?”</p> <p class="cnNjZTY4YzBlN2QxYzQyYzI4NGRmY2YyYTBjZGI1YWNk">“No, not at all. Randomly, I will say... Choose a skill!”</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="604"> <p class="cnMwOWFiNDBkOTk3NDQ3MGFhNWM1YmU2YmE5MGNiZDBi" style="text-align: center"><strong>Choose a passive skill</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMwM2MxMTEwN2U4YTQ4NWI5YzdiZDUxMDRjMzVmNTBh" style="text-align: center"><u>Furious Dragon</u></p> <p class="cnM2MDA4MTcwMThmMjQ1ZTk5YWI5YmExMGIxNmRmNTA3">Your physical skills deal 25% more damage (MOD PHY + 25%) when you have less than half of your HP.</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNiMGYzN2UyMWIzYzQ5ZTk5YWY0M2RjODlmYTk3MDVh" style="text-align: center"><u>Serene Dragon</u></p> <p class="cnMxYzcyZjFjNTUwNjRjZWZiNDVkNTIxZDJmYzFmMGMx">Your magical skills deal 10% more damage (MOD MAG + 10%) when you have all your HP.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNiNDM5NTA4OTg5YjQyOTBiNTAxOTI2MjJkNWQ2ZDZk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkN2Q1YmNiMTZiNzRmZGNhNDNmYTMzYWFiMTljOWQx">“I can’t believe it, it worked!” She said.</p> <p class="cnM3MDI4Y2U4NTI1YjRhNzc5YmJmNDg2N2I0ZDhkZTA0">“Lucky us!” I said.</p> <p class="cnNlNTcwZGNhYmM2YzRhMzdiNTVhNmZmODNiNjEyODg3">Well, let's think...</p> <p class="cnM4ZjA5MGNkNWFiMzQ2ODM5ZDdlZTk0MWNkNjZhMGU4">The skill [Bite] is a physical skill, while the skill [Fire breath] is a magical skill.</p> <p class="cnM5ZjcyMGZlN2M5NDRjODQ4MmMwY2JiMzgzZTUyZDU0">“We should choose [Serene Dragon], this will allow us to engage in combat with [Fire breath] inflicting more damage!” Amelia said.</p> <p class="cnNhNjBlMWY0ODNhMDRlMmZhMTFjNzRiZWFmMmEwOWQz">I quite agree with her. The [Furious Dragon] skill is interesting, but the condition for its effect to trigger does not please me.</p> <p class="cnNkMzZkZWViNWQ1YzQ1ZDdiMjY2NzgwYTdlMWRhOTU3">“Let's choose [Serene Dragon]!” I said.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnMwMjY1ZDZiMzAwODQwYzM5MjNkNjI5ZjI5YjQ1NmZk" style="text-align: center"><strong>Passive skill acquired: [Serene Dragon]</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMwZGJkNGI3ZTlkMDQ1ODQ4ZDI5OWYzNDIzYWI5Zjky">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiNTcxODYxMDA4MDRhNDU5NjI2ZjQwMzMxNWE4OGQ1">“We should leave this place now, I don’t know if the noise of our fight has attracted magical beasts.”, I said.</p> <p class="cnNhYjY3NzEwYzRkZjRhZjViZmFlMGQzY2M0ZmY1MjI2">“Wait, there are still attributes points to spend ... Attributes!”</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="604"> <p class="cnNiY2E0ODdjMmE4OTRkZmViOTc0MjA3YWZhYjMzM2Zk" style="text-align: center"><strong>ATTRIBUTES</strong></p> <p class="cnMwMTgzODRiMGYxOTQyMzc5ZWE3MTQ2MDQwYzNhNmM4">2 points available.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnM2Y2FkODg2M2RiYTQ3ZDBhMWJlYjFkYjA2OTJmYjMy"><strong>VIT</strong> – Vitality</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNlOGQwZWYxZTJlNzQ5ODlhODU1MjRmYzcxYTAyODBk">5</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMyOTJjZGFmMmIzNjQ2NGZiMTVlZDk5NDhhYWMyYTQ5"><strong>STR</strong> – Strength</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMyZjJlODI4ZTc3MTQzZjFhN2I4MzlkZTI4ZjBkYTBk">5</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNmMTNlYmQ0NjhmNzQ1N2FhMTFmNmExZGE0MzNiYmNj"><strong>INT</strong> – Intelligence</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnM2OTI0OGRjN2I2MjRkZTdiZWRiM2QxZGYxYzAwZGVm">5</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMyMTY4YjgwY2Y0NTQxZWRhMWVlOGFhMzY0ODE3N2Zl"><strong>CON</strong> – Constitution</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnM0MmRmOGRjYjJiZDQyNDc4NTlhNWJhODYyNzMzZDg5">5</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnM3OWMxYzgwMjE1NTQyODM5ZjVkNmMwY2IyZTBjZDFk"><strong>HST</strong> – Haste</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNmODFkZmE5MjNjOTRkOWY4NGI0YmJiODZiNzk0MTlh">5</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzN2EzMzRjNjkyYzQzOTViZjY4NjZkYjdlOTlkOTY2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNzI2YzlhZTg4MTQ5ZTA5Y2JhYTgxYmE0NDI5YzFk">“Oh, you're right!”</p> <p class="cnMzNWYzOGI2NWM4YzQ5YTY5M2Q1OTEzYmFkYWRmZTg1">Besides, I don’t know what these attributes are. So, I intend to use [Appraisal]...</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM2NGQyZGI1NzI1NjQ3ZGVhYzc0MTU5MTlmMDQwMTdj" style="text-align: center"><strong>ATTRIBUTES (DETAIL)</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNmYzE3YWUwNjJkNzQ0MGQ4NmMzOGYxNWMwYjYxZjY4"><strong>VIT</strong> – Vitality: Increases maximum HP by 10 per point.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNiNzI3YTQ5MzMwNjQ4MjFiY2Y3MjExMzQ2NzM0OTg0"><strong>STR</strong> – Strength: Increases maximum HP by 1 per point - Increases maximum END by 1 per point - Increases physical damage dealt.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM5ZDAyMmJkZWQ3NTQ5YTJiYzJkY2M5NTFkZjk3MGUy"><strong>INT</strong> – Intelligence: Increases maximum MP by 10 per point - Increases magical damage dealt.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNhZmEyYTc0Zjg0NTQ5ZDY5ZjllMzMzMjMyZWFjNmE0"><strong>CON</strong> – Constitution: Increases maximum END by 10 per point - Increases RES PHY by 0.01% per point - Increases RES MAG by 0.01% per point.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM3ZWQyNTY0MTkxZjQxMjVhNmYxMWZkYmU2ZWVjNmIw"><strong>HST</strong> – Haste: Increases HP regeneration, MP regeneration, END regeneration by 0.1 per point - Increases SPEED by&nbsp;5 per point.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM1MWYxNWVmNmUyNDRlYmE5MjFiZTk2YTJmMDM3ODUy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwNDFlNWVhN2Q2NTQ3YjU4YmVjYmY2Mzc0ODA2YzIy">OK... I understand now.</p> <p class="cnM4MTcyYTlmNmIwOTRjZWI4ZGUzMzQ1NGQ1OTNjNjkz">“I think we should focus on survival and spend the two attribute points in VIT” I said.</p> <p class="cnNmZDViNjg2NDRlOTRkNDBhMTgwNThkNzJlMTFkMTYx">“I don’t agree. We should spend them in INT. With more MP, we can use the skill [Fire breath] longer!”</p> <p class="cnMwNjU2ZmFhZDliMTQxYjc4NDNjMzcyNWRjZDlmOTZk">“Hmm... It's true that it can be interesting. In this case we can spend one point in INT and one point in VIT”.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM5MzcyMDVmMzIwYzQ5Y2ViNmU2ZjY3NTdlYjc1ZGU0"><strong>You have spent 1 attribute point: INT+1</strong></p> <p class="cnM5MmY2NmYwMDc5MTQxMzI5ODVjYTRiNjA5NWFmZWE0"><strong>You have spent 1 attribute point: VIT+1</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMyZDkzOGI3Zjg0ZDQ1MjM4NTI2ZGY3MGVhMGMzODNi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMjFhNTYyODhkMzQxMmQ5ODU1MDZhOGEzNzM4MTU5">Great!</p> <p class="cnMwMTA4MDUyMTcwMTQ3NjE4NWFmYWE2MTA4M2EyYjIw">I am now looking at the 'Status', 'Attributes' and 'Skills' screens to take stock of my situation.</p> <p class="cnM2YjBmNmMwNjdiNTQ4MTI5ZmRhZjI2ZGQxMzI0NGM4">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3" width="604"> <p class="cnM4M2Y3YmIzMmM3MzRiMDM5OWM1ZjMwMDVhOTI0OTVj" style="text-align: center"><strong>STATUS</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="201"> <p class="cnNjMzcxNDFkNmM1NTQ0YTg5YTA2Y2QyYzc0ODU1ZTk0">Name: No name</p> <p class="cnNkOWNmY2U4ZmUxZTQ2ZDNiOWQ3OWFkNjFjZThiM2I4">Race: two-headed dragon</p> <p class="cnMyOWMzMTMwZTAyNDRjYmRhNzIyODBkYzVmNjcwNTRj">&nbsp;</p> </td> <td rowspan="2" width="201"> <p class="cnNhMDY4Mjk3NzU3ZjRmMTE5MDQwODQ5YmVkM2VkNmY0">Path: none</p> <p class="cnNhMWE3YzI2ZmE0MDQwNWRhN2ZmMDY5ZGNiOWI0OTUx">Evolution: baby dragon</p> <p class="cnM0ZDBkN2ZjNGUwZTQ5YzhiOTExM2MyOTg0MjM5MDMw">Rank: F</p> </td> <td rowspan="2" width="201"> <p class="cnM2MzU3YzU0NWI5YjQwYjU5MGQ4N2U5OWU3NmY5ODlh">State: normal</p> <p class="cnM2NWYzN2NmMzk1MjRhNDU5MWRmMTJjNDM0Y2RmZmMy">&nbsp;</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="201"> <p class="cnM5NWEzNGZkYWUwNzQyMjE4Njc2YTk1NTRkZjI0YjU1">Level 2/10 – XP (35/45)</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="201"> <p class="cnMwMzg1ODdjM2YwMTQ1Y2I5ZGY4ODY2YjQwM2E3Njc1"><strong>HP </strong> : 65/65 (0.5/s)</p> </td> <td width="201"> <p class="cnNjYmQ3Njc0OGViYTQ3ZWY4MzIzMTlkZTU4ZDM4NDZi"><strong>SPEED</strong> : 225</p> </td> <td width="201"> <p class="cnMxNDdmYTQwN2UzNjQ1YmU4NzA3MDIwNGJlYmJkZGI2"><strong>PHY MOD </strong>: 0%</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="201"> <p class="cnM0MzA1MmViN2RkZTRmYWNiZmZkZjBkYzU2NTliMTZh"><strong>MP</strong> : 60/60 (0.5/s)</p> </td> <td width="201"> <p class="cnM3M2QyOTc1NTYxYTRjYmQ4NzgxZjczYzY4YzlmMGE5"><strong>RES PHY </strong> : 0.05%</p> </td> <td width="201"> <p class="cnM1ZmI4OWM4ZmU4NjQ4M2ViM2U4NWJkMjllYmU4M2Nh"><strong>MOD MAG</strong> : 10%</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="201"> <p class="cnM0N2RjY2E3MjdiNDQ0M2Y5MjI2OTEzYzFjNDU4MGRm"><strong>END</strong> : 55/55 (0.5/s)</p> </td> <td width="201"> <p class="cnNiMmFhM2EyNTI0ZTRhZjM5YjZjYjNiZTQ4Y2YyMjc3"><strong>MAG RES </strong>: 0.05%</p> </td> <td width="201"> <p class="cnM3ZjEyYjYzNzZkNzQ5ZjM5MGFhMTJlZTNlZWFkNTE1"><strong>ALIGNMENT </strong>: neutral</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4YmYxYmU4OTVhNTRjNGRhZDQ3OGFiNWFhNmMyNjFl">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="604"> <p class="cnNjYWY0OGM4YWMxNjQ2NTU5YWRjN2Y2ZjQ5MzcxZGVk" style="text-align: center"><strong>ATTRIBUTES</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMwZTlhYjExYmVjNjQ0MWQ5ZTJkNDJiN2JhMGRiNzRm"><strong>VIT</strong> – Vitality</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnM5MDJjYjMyN2U2MTRhODM5YjY1NmE2Yjk4YTA0OGQ3">6</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNlNmU3YWU1OTZmNzQ0YTBhOGI0MGQ3YmM2OTA2ZWM5"><strong>STR</strong> – Strength</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNjNjVmNzAwNzNjNzQxODJiNmUxYThiYmI5YWNiM2U0">5</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNiMjFjMWY3MWY0MzRiYTliZWM5YWZlODJkMmQ0Yzdh"><strong>INT</strong> – Intelligence</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNkZTg4MjU3ZDg2ZTQ5Y2U5MDkzYThmMDMxY2Q4NTQ4">6</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMzNmZlZDNkNzY5OTQyMjZiY2I1MDAxZTgwMmFkOTE5"><strong>CON</strong> – Constitution</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnMxODA3MjVmOTNmYzRmOTg5OTZjODg3M2Q1NTcxNjUx">5</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNiZTBmYzYyMzZhYjRiYWE5NDdmN2RlOTJmMmMwOWUy"><strong>HST</strong> – Haste</p> </td> <td width="302"> <p class="cnNmZmI1ODAxOGYzYjRhOWJiYjc5OTg2MGNlMDM2ZmZl">5</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNiNjAzZDFlZTBjOTRiNWVhNTNhOWFkZmY5MWRkNmU5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiNDg5ZDEwZjQ1NDRmNThhOGUxNDA3NmY1ZTU5MmE0">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnNmYzU5YWFlOThkYjRmZjFiZmI5OTQxOWY3NDdkM2Nk" style="text-align: center"><strong>SKILLS</strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM4ODg3N2U3Yjg5NzQwMmE5NjExNzM5YzgyNzdkOGI0"><strong><u>Active skills</u></strong></p> <p class="cnMzY2M2ZjIxYjhjMDQ3N2M5MzRmNDJjNzVjODhlODZm">[Appraisal &lt;level 1/10&gt;], [Fire breath &lt;level 1/10&gt;], [Bite &lt;level 2/10&gt;]</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnM5YmJiYWNhZjhmMDRlZTg5MmEyYmZjMjcyOWNjNTVh"><strong><u>Passive skills</u></strong></p> <p class="cnM5MTI4ODQ4Njg0MDQ4MWRiYzNjMGUxNWYxZmJjZTMz">[Dragon’s might], [Serene Dragon]</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="604"> <p class="cnMzYWVkNWI0Y2M4NTRlOTM4YTI5NDBkMmQ5MDM3YmJl"><strong><u>Title skills</u></strong></p> <p class="cnNiZmIyOWQxZDkwMzRlOThiOWExMGU1YTc0MTg2ZWZj">“Baby dragon”</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM5OWYyZjJmNDM2YjQ4N2FhNjZjYzYxZGNhOTlkMjc0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0NzQ2ODZiZTcxMjRhNzFiMjIyNTVhZGIyYmRjMDlk">“Well, it's time to explore this forest now!” Amelia said.</p> <p class="cnNlY2ExYjk0NjA3OTQ1ZDlhOTI3ZDJkODdkNjQzOTAy">“...”</p> </div>

I'm sure Amelia chose the left side because she's curious about the noises we are hearing. But it is out of the question to go in this direction. “It's too dangerous, it's better to go right.” I said “Huh? Don’t be afraid!” “I'm not scared... Just cautious. Anyway, I control the body, so I decide!” “It’s not fair! I propose that we choose in turn. If you refuse, I... I’ll Bite you!” She said. “You will not dare...” I said. “We bet?” ... “All right... let's go to the left.” I finally said. I don’t want to argue with Amelia for such a small thing. At worst, if the situation becomes dangerous I would turn back. I walk through the forest while admiring these bizarre flowers in passing. They look like roses and are either dark blue or scarlet red. As I advance, the roars are more and more audible. I'm close. I can even distinguish two different roars. It worries me… Should I turn back? No! Now that I have to live in this unknown world, I have to adapt quickly. I don’t know what the future holds, but what is certain is that if I flee before the first difficulty, I will never survive in this place... Perhaps these creatures will flee seeing that I am a dragon. Although I doubt they will be afraid of a baby dragon... I can finally see silhouettes through the trees. I'm getting closer slowly... The scene that is happening before my eyes gives me a shock: two huge monsters are fighting each other. One looks like a wolf; however, it is at least two meters tall, has red eyes and long fangs. The other looks like a wild boar, but much bigger, he also has bone thorns on his back. Fortunately, they can’t see me from my position. So, I'll... Take the opportunity to turn back! I know that I said I had to be brave and adapt quickly, but still, for my first fight in this world I would rather face an opponent of my size... I'm about to turn back when... “What are you doing? Let's attack them while they are busy killing each other!” Amelia told me. “Are you kidding? They are huge, we have no chance against them!” I said. This is the first time I’m seeing such scary creatures. “You shouldn’t judge them by their size! Use the skill [Appraisal] and you will see that we have nothing to fear.” Really? In doubt, I use my skill [Appraisal] first on the wolf, then on the boar. | **Lykanos** (magical beast) – level 3 – HP: 43/65 | | --- |   | **Pigane** (magical beast) – level 2 – HP: 17/50 | | --- |   So, the big wolf is called a lykanos and the big boar is called a pigane. They are only level 2 and level 3... I am now a little more reassured and ready to attack! I approach them discreetly and plan the attack with Amelia. We will use [Fire breath] simultaneously. I will target the lykanos and she will target the pigane… While they are busy tackling, I surprise them by the side and immediately use [Fire Breath]. Flames come out of my mouth and Amelia’s mouth, burning our targets. | **You have killed a Pigane <level 2>: XP + 20.** **Bonus XP from title « Baby dragon » +50%: XP + 10.** | | --- |   A screen informs me that the pigane died. However, because of a lack of MP, the skill [Fire Breath] did not last long enough to kill the lykanos. The lykanos is now on fire, it seems to suffer. My attack caught its attention, it stares at me with its red eyes, then howls. “OoooooooooooWhoo!!” It is about to charge me by opening its mouth wide, probably to bite me. Because of its injuries, it is not very fast. I easily evade its charge by leaping to the side. I don’t have any MP anymore, so I can’t use [Fire breath]. That’s why I'm going to use the skill [Bite] which uses END (endurance points) instead. I quickly approach the lykanos and bites its leg, Amelia does the same… The lykanos falls on the ground, then we bite its neck. Our fangs are deeply embedded in his neck. The lykanos struggles to make us let go, but we hold firm. “OoooWhoo!!” The lykanos howls with difficulty, then finally stop moving. Dead. | **You have killed a Lykanos <level 3>: XP + 30.** **Bonus XP from title « Baby dragon » +50%: XP + 15.** | | --- |   | **The skill [Bite] is now level 2.** | | --- |   | **Congratulations! You are now level 2.** **1 attribute point available.** **1 passive skill available.** | | --- |   It was really an exciting experience, my heart (my dragon heart, I mean) is beating fast right now. Wait a minute! It was the first time I killed someone, so I should not have found it exciting... This is weird… I wonder if Amelia felt the same as me. I suddenly notice that the flames went out immediately after the monsters died. Even those who had started burning the trees and the surrounding area have disappeared. I don’t know if this is normal… I guess the logic of the Earth can’t be applied in this world. “Haha, those two didn’t see it coming! As you can see, it wasn’t so complicated!” Said Amelia. “Indeed, maybe I was too careful...” I said “It's time to eat!” She continued. As a human being, the corpse of this lykanos is repugnant to me. But as a dragon... I find it appetizing! My human mind has not yet adapted to my dragon condition. In any case, it does not seem to bother Amelia, who eats as if nothing had happened. Since we share the same stomach, maybe I should let her eat for me... No! I must force myself. I approach my mouth of the corpse, eat a bite and swallow it quickly... It's not so bad! It reminds me of the taste of beef. While I'm eating, I'll take the opportunity to take stock of what just happened. I learned from the skill [Appraisal] that these monsters were called magical beasts. Am I a magical beast too? I have no idea. My level also raised to level 2 and I can apparently choose a passive skill, but I don’t know how to do it. I need to ask Amelia if she knows what to do. “Amelia, do you know how to display the screen for selecting passive skills?” “No, not at all. Randomly, I will say... Choose a skill!” | **Choose a passive skill** | | | --- | --- | | Furious Dragon Your physical skills deal 25% more damage (MOD PHY + 25%) when you have less than half of your HP. | Serene Dragon Your magical skills deal 10% more damage (MOD MAG + 10%) when you have all your HP. |   “I can’t believe it, it worked!” She said. “Lucky us!” I said. Well, let's think... The skill [Bite] is a physical skill, while the skill [Fire breath] is a magical skill. “We should choose [Serene Dragon], this will allow us to engage in combat with [Fire breath] inflicting more damage!” Amelia said. I quite agree with her. The [Furious Dragon] skill is interesting, but the condition for its effect to trigger does not please me. “Let's choose [Serene Dragon]!” I said. | **Passive skill acquired: [Serene Dragon]** | | --- |   “We should leave this place now, I don’t know if the noise of our fight has attracted magical beasts.”, I said. “Wait, there are still attributes points to spend ... Attributes!” | **ATTRIBUTES** 2 points available. | | | --- | --- | | **VIT** – Vitality | 5 | | **STR** – Strength | 5 | | **INT** – Intelligence | 5 | | **CON** – Constitution | 5 | | **HST** – Haste | 5 |   “Oh, you're right!” Besides, I don’t know what these attributes are. So, I intend to use [Appraisal]... | **ATTRIBUTES (DETAIL)** | | --- | | **VIT** – Vitality: Increases maximum HP by 10 per point. | | **STR** – Strength: Increases maximum HP by 1 per point - Increases maximum END by 1 per point - Increases physical damage dealt. | | **INT** – Intelligence: Increases maximum MP by 10 per point - Increases magical damage dealt. | | **CON** – Constitution: Increases maximum END by 10 per point - Increases RES PHY by 0.01% per point - Increases RES MAG by 0.01% per point. | | **HST** – Haste: Increases HP regeneration, MP regeneration, END regeneration by 0.1 per point - Increases SPEED by 5 per point. |   OK... I understand now. “I think we should focus on survival and spend the two attribute points in VIT” I said. “I don’t agree. We should spend them in INT. With more MP, we can use the skill [Fire breath] longer!” “Hmm... It's true that it can be interesting. In this case we can spend one point in INT and one point in VIT”. | **You have spent 1 attribute point: INT+1** **You have spent 1 attribute point: VIT+1** | | --- |   Great! I am now looking at the 'Status', 'Attributes' and 'Skills' screens to take stock of my situation.   | **STATUS** | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Name: No name Race: two-headed dragon | Path: none Evolution: baby dragon Rank: F | State: normal | | Level 2/10 – XP (35/45) | | **HP** : 65/65 (0.5/s) | **SPEED** : 225 | **PHY MOD** : 0% | | **MP** : 60/60 (0.5/s) | **RES PHY** : 0.05% | **MOD MAG** : 10% | | **END** : 55/55 (0.5/s) | **MAG RES** : 0.05% | **ALIGNMENT** : neutral |   | **ATTRIBUTES** | | | --- | --- | | **VIT** – Vitality | 6 | | **STR** – Strength | 5 | | **INT** – Intelligence | 6 | | **CON** – Constitution | 5 | | **HST** – Haste | 5 |     | **SKILLS** | | --- | | **Active skills** [Appraisal <level 1/10>], [Fire breath <level 1/10>], [Bite <level 2/10>] | | **Passive skills** [Dragon’s might], [Serene Dragon] | | **Title skills** “Baby dragon” |   “Well, it's time to explore this forest now!” Amelia said. “...”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMyOWIwNGQ4N2I4YTQ5ODdiMWNkYTNiYmY1N2MwZWMz"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Damon's looming figure caused everyone in the first few rows to stand up and back away. He didn't look like at all like a human at the minute and despite all of them not being purely human either, to see something this inhuman was still a shock to the new students.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZjQ4NzlmYmQ3ZDRlOWFhZDQyNjE1NmE5MTVjMjRm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Miss Sasaki placed her feet on Damon's chest before pushing suddenly.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMjc1YmY3NGZjZjQ5MjZiYjVlMTk1OTVmY2M3Njc0"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Sickening cracks and some weird popping sounds echoed in the classroom as Damon collided with the ceiling and fell onto the ground. His shoulder had been dislocated by the fact his grip was so tight around Miss Sasaki's head when she kicked him backward, forcibly freeing herself from his grip and crushing his ribs all over again for the second time.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTg3MmNiODNiYjQzNjU5ZGNhMzE4ZmNmZjY0MDEx"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">But unlike last time, Damon quickly stood up as his concaved chest fixed itself at an unnatural speed.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MjAwMjA5NDQ0YzQ4YWM5N2U3OWNiN2RhMjVmYzc3"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Damon grabbed his arm and pushed it upward popping his shoulder back into place. Growling because of the pain, Damon slowly walked toward Miss Sasaki. When he saw the claw marks he'd left on the sides of her head and face and around her mouth, he felt pleased with himself.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMjljNzIxOWNjNDQ4MDlhZjEwMGNiYjAwODI2MTQ4"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Hmmm~ You really are Nigh-Unkillable when you're attacked by D-Class strength~" Miss Sasaki remarked before she dashed toward Damon.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZjlkODAyZTcyZDRhYWU5ZjY3Yzc4ZTBlYWNkZjM4"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Seeing the dash, Damon let out a roar as he met her charge with his own.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NTFhZTFmNDg1NzQ4MzM4Nzk2YWFlMTM0MzliNTIz"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Their collision caused a shockwave of air and sound to spread outward, sending small cracks through the wooden floorboards and up the stone walls. They pushed against each other's hands while digging their feet into the floor to get leverage to push.</span></p> <p class="cnNlN2ZlYWQwNTU4NzRmYWI4MDYzOWYzZjkyMDYyZmUx"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Damon's clawed hands dug into Miss Sasaki's hands, trying to turn them to mush but apart from cutting through the skin and drawing some blood, the hands stayed the same.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNGJiMmU0YzM4YzRmZjlhNjI1YjY1ZTgyYjFiMjZl"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Amazing. I'm using the maximum strength a D-Class like you should be able to but the form you're in now seems to enhance you past those limits...I really do need to thank Nox for finding you..." Miss Sasaki said this as she started to push Damon back and into the ground.</span></p> <p class="cnMyM2YwZTQwZmUzMDQyMDFiMzUzYTI1ZTUxZDAxZTkw"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Damon was snarling and growling at her, looking like nothing but a mindless beast but despite his appearance, he was completely conscious. He was just absolutely livid at the minute.</span></p> <p class="cnM2Y2Q5YTE5ZDZhYzQ0YWE4YjhjNjNjZWQwZDg5Y2Iy"><em><span style="font-size: 1.1em">'How dare she bring them into this! Kill! KILL! <strong>KILL!</strong>'</span></em></p> <p class="cnM4ZTBiYzJkZTY5ODRkYWU5Njg2ZDk0YjBhMzRmNTc1"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">These thoughts rapidly spun around in Damon's head as he pushed his body to work beyond its limits. Him pushing his body so hard meant he was tearing his muscles, his ligaments and tendons, and even his skin, apart. His bones had numerous cracks running throughout them and his organs had expanded even further to account for his needs.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MWI0OGVjN2M2MjQ4NTVhMmE3Y2YxNDk0ZGY3NGJm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">For any normal person, after this fight regardless of whether they won or not, they would die. But not Damon.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOWVmYTkyMWM5MzRjZGE5OTVkZWMzNGViNGE4Njdm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Damon's body healed all the damage and made his body progressively better meaning he was constantly improving in the battle. And Miss Sasaki felt this.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYWEyYTNmZmJiZDQ3NTliZjk3OGE5ZjE2MmIwNzZh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"You really are lucky to have awakened two races so compatible with each other..." She put more strength in because she knew despite his unnatural healing factor, his body would eventually give out and he'd lose consciousness.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MjRjNzdmZjk4MzQzYmNhNjQ5M2JlMDUzMzlmY2Zl"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">But despite what she thought, Damon was far from over.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNWQyZjYwMjI4ODQzNjc5ZTE0NDI3ZmU0ZjNlMTBk"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Fur started to spurt out of his legs now, showing through the rips in his trousers. When the fur reached his feet, five thick and sharp claws shot out of his shoe and dug into the ground. These claws look like the ones on his hands but these ones were slightly thicker.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NDA5YWUxODJjODQ0NjQ4ZTQxNTQ4ZGM1NmNhMmQy"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Now with his claws dug into the wooden floor he finally had the leverage to use his full power.</span></p> <p class="cnNkMWE5ODBmY2ExZTRhZjY4OGZlNTAxN2U1ZjMyNjdj"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Using his looming and tall figure he towered above Miss Sasaki and pressed down on his with every bit of strength he had in his body with the sole thought to break her in two and kill her.</span></p> <p class="cnMxMjMyMzFiM2IwYTQ4N2Y5MzI2MDU0NzgyNmNjMjY5"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">After transforming into his werewolf form, his strength doubled putting his already immense strength at 4000kg to even higher, more absurd levels.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMjg5YmM4ZDcxYTQxNjhiYjUwZjExY2Y5ZWJmOTNl"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Miss Sasaki wryly smiled as she spoke "Well, looks like I lost the bet with the Principle, I'm gonna have to use C-Class Strength." as soon as she spoke, the air around them all seemed to freeze as a cold and frigid blue aura seeped out of the Teacher's body.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NzhlNDllMzM2OTQwZjk4NzQwODcxNzRlNjkwODI4"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Slowly but surely the teacher pushed back against Damon before squeezing his hands until the bones in them were broken and Damon had to let her hands go.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZTFjOWZkOTM2ZDQ2YWI5MGVlMmM4OGJjODRiY2Zl"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">After Damon let go of her hands, Miss Sasaki rushed behind him and hit his neck in a certain way and Damon crumpled onto the ground like a puppet without strings.</span></p> <p class="cnMzM2ViOTZiZDExZjQ5OGU4OTQzYmY4M2Q1Mjk2ZDIz"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 1.1em">POV Change - Mika Tepes</span></em></strong></p> <p class="cnNmNjQ4NDM4NDM1ZjQyYmI5MTc1N2ViYTNmNmI5YzA1"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika watched in horror as Damon fell to the floor. In all honesty, it didn't look like he was alive the way he fell, more like a corpse that had been dropped by someone.</span></p> <p class="cnNhYzZjOWI1MzkyNjQ1NGM5MmJkOWUzMTBhNzI5NWNh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Feelings of intense distress wound up inside her and burst out of her mouth.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOTBmODJhOTZjYTQ0ZDdhYmE4OWM3MmQ3MDEzMTBh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Damon!" Mika's concerned voice screamed, surprising everyone in the room including herself. But she wasn't surprised for long as he body moved by its own and rushed to Damon's side with a blood bag in hand.</span></p> <p class="cnM2OTg3NWMzN2QzMzQ3MGI5ZmFiZTg3YzM3YmRmZDdi"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Miss Sasaki's eyes widened a bit when she saw the speed Mika traveled at but after thinking about how strong Damon was, surely his Princess wouldn't be a weakling.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZDcyYmNiMDBkZDRiN2NhNTM0NGE5NDU1NTg5ZjUx"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika cradled the shrinking Damon's head on her lap, the fur receding back into his body as his muscles and bones returned to their former appearances. Mika noticed gold and red markings on Damon's skin but ignored them as she fed him the blood she'd taken out of her bag.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YmEzNWFiMWJjMjQ5YjM5Mjc2Y2IzNjlmZTkzZGNk"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Damon body instinctively swallowed the blood using it to replenish itself of the energy it had lost during the fight and to try and heal the damage that frigid and cold aura had done.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOGI2NTBkNTc0YzQzYmU4MmE4NjcwMTQ2NGY4NDhj"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">As if they knew this was going to happen, two nurses walked in followed by a certain blonde Doctor.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNDA0MjFkNzg2YzQ5NGQ5ZjQ1YTE1ZjQ2OWRiNjMy"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Did you really have to use your aura, Nee-san?" If Damon were awake he'd instantly know this was Natasha but he'd also be shocked that she was talking so...cutely? She spoke like a child in front of her supposed Nee-san, Miss Sasaki.</span></p> <p class="cnNmODQ4MmE0M2FmYzRmZDNhMzNlOTE5MTAzMmI1MTM2"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Ehhh?~ But I could help it Natasha-chan, he's really powerful." Miss Sasaki had a face like she'd been wronged which caused Mika to look up and glare at her with a cold stare.</span></p> <p class="cnM4YjNkM2Q0NDE1ZDQxNDVhYTk3MDBhMmIwODc2YmIz"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Realizing what she was doing, the Vampire Princess lowered her head and looked at Damon feeling conflicted over the feelings she could currently feel rapidly rampaging around her body.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ODI2YWEyZTgyZjQwMjY4NWRlMTU5MTJkN2Y4YjM1"><em><span style="font-size: 1.1em">'Why are my instincts so weird when I'm around him...?'</span></em></p> <p class="cnMyZDlmMmE3ZmJmZDRjMGZhZTdmNGRmZjBjMDUxZGI3"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">While she was thinking about this, the blood bag in her hand went dry with not a drop left inside of it. She looked gently at the glutton with his head on her lap, pushing her worries about her instincts to the side.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MjVhNGUyMmMwYzRiMzVhYWUxNjk3OGNlYTQ3ZmRi"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">While she was doing this, Natasha had stopped talking to her older sister and walked over to Mika.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMTMwYTQ4MTU0YzRmNjI4NDlhNjY2ZmI1NjQ5NDMw"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"You two must get along quite well for you to hold him on your lap like that, right?~" Natasha's teasing tone was clearly evident to everyone's ears and it caused Mika to redden slightly but other than that, there was no reaction.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNTVhOTFjYTU1ZDRhMzE5Nzg5ZGIzZDAxY2YyNTZm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Seeing the little to no reaction from Mika, Natasha rolled her eyes and spoke again.</span></p> <p class="cnM4Yzc4MmZlMDQzZTQ1Njg5MzI2ODkyMWI3OWIyYzZi"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"We need to take Damon to the infirmary. You're free to come along." Hearing this, Mika handed Damon over to the nurses who came with a stretcher. They lifted the tall boy with an ease that seemed strange because of how lithe and soft they looked.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNDBkZDJmMmU0MjRhMWQ5NzQ2ZWFhY2IzZWNmMDBk"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika followed and turned back to stop Hikari from following to which Hikari had complaints.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNjdjNjg4OTdhMTRmN2Q4YjMwOWFiZjk2YTZiNjE5"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Who will protect you if I'm not there, Mika-sama? Damon's out cold so I need to be extra alert now, to keep you safe!" Hikari objected in a very adamant style, not showing any sign of backing down.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MjVmMmY4MGFmODRkMDI5NzM1M2YzNmMzOWQzNWY2"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika wryly smiled as she answered.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYjE4MzgwNzU0ZjQ2ZTBiYTNiODQ3YTk2YzFmZTc1"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"But both I and Damon need someone to stay back and take down whatever notes we might need. Plus, I sense that that blonde Doctor knows Damon and would protect me if she needed to." Hikari was about to speak up but Mika put her hand up to silence her "No buts. This is an order."</span></p> <p class="cnMwYTg5NTBjZGYwYTQxY2U4ZDZlNDZmOTgxOTg2YTIy"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">She said this before turning around and leaving an agitated Hikari sulking on her desk. Mika looked at the front of the class and saw the leftover of the fight between their teacher and Damon.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NTM4MDllNmI0ZjRkMDlhODIwOGEwZDg4ZDVmNzUx"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Cracks spread all across the floor and up the stone wall with the blackboard on it. Claw marks from where Damon dug his feet into the ground and where he was pushed back. Most of the desks at the front had been pushed back and even had a slight layer of frost on the front of them.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OGZmNTcyMzE4YjQ4NDk4YjI2YTk3ZTM3ZjdkOGMw"><em><span style="font-size: 1.1em">'Luckily everything in this room was magically fortified, otherwise if this was a normal classroom Damon and Sensei would have completely wrecked it all...'</span></em></p> <p class="cnM4ZTJlZGRjYWM1YTRjODViYWEzYjg3MTgyNzY3ZWZh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika shook her head and followed after Natasha and the two nurses carrying Damon.</span></p> <p class="cnNiOTJiNDc4Mzg2ZTRlMzBhMTVjYzc2Zjc0OWViYTM3"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Before long they arrived at the infirmary. Damon was put on a bed and the two nurses put their hands on his body as they sent a white aura into his body, presumably to heal him or see if he needed any more help.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYmVlNmRhZjMxMjQ1MDBiNGJlNTQ4ZjU0Njg1YjJh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika sat down on a chair next to Damon and looked at him with concern clear in her eyes. As if seeing this concern, Natasha put her hand on Mika's shoulder and consoled her.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NDcxNDU5NTFhNzRmODRiMjgwMDkwNzk1M2M0MTBk"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Don't worry, I've known that kid for over a month and if there's one thing he's good at, it's healing and staying alive." There was a slight bit of mirth in Natasha's voice as if she was remembering something which caused Mika to look at her with curiosity.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzUwZjUxOGZhNjRmYTI5MWUwZTIxNDU2MTA3YTM4"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"How do you know Damon then, Sensei?"</span></p> <p class="cnNkMGNkNWIyMjg3MTQ1ODNhMjBhMzQ2OTkwNzI3Yzhi"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Hearing Mika's question, Natasha told her about how she was the person who performed the surgery to awaken Damon and how she and another Teacher (Nox) had trained Damon for a month before sending him to become Mika's bodyguard.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZWRkMDEwZDE4YjRkZDk5M2M2NWE3ZTg1YTc1ZGQ2"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">By the end of the story, Mika felt that Damon's power was more explainable now that she knew he'd been trained relentlessly for a month by two teachers from the Academy.</span></p> <p class="cnM4YjAzODU4NGNkOTQ2MGY4NjJiOTU5MzMzZTdmYTBm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Mika and Natasha continued to talk for a while before Mika started asking some questions about Damon.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYmVmM2RkM2RlZTQ0NGNiMDExZjg5YjJmN2EyNGRj"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"What exactly did he awaken, sensei? He told me about his Ghoul-part but that transformation didn't look very Ghoulish." Mika had been wondering about what Damon was ever since he thought Hikari let alone after he showed her such a unique transformation.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MzRlNDJmN2JmNDRmNjM5Nzk4YTdiNTRjNDViNGVm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Natasha looked over at Damon's peacefully sleeping face before looking back at Mika and replying to her.</span></p> <p class="cnM0OGEzZjY3NDllYzRjNjJhYzAxMGNhNjY1Y2Y5ZjVh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Seeing as you are his Princess, it should be fine to tell you. He's 50% Ghoul, 50% Werewolf and 100% the perfect guard for a Vampire. It's why your Mother had us make him for you."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZmExMTM3NWM5MzQxZDBhYjVhYTkyMDZkZDY4ZmI5"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Natasha's voice was quiet but Mika heard it fine and it rang in her head like a church bell causing her to look confused as she tilted her head at Natasha.</span></p> <p class="cnNmODY5OGM4YmY5OTRkYmE5NDI4YmIxN2VjMmVmNThi"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Eh? What do you mean?" Natasha smiled and went to reply but before she did, a deep voice spoke out behind her.</span></p> <p class="cnNlNjE4YzJiMmJiODQ1NDk5MWQ5ODQwNTU4N2RiMTdk"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">"Yeah, Natasha, what do you mean?" Damon's voice sounded indifferent but at the same time, it sounded both annoyed and angry.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYmQ5ZjIwMDY1YTQ1MDNhNjc1Y2U1NmQ5ZjkwNTJh"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">Natasha jumped up and looked like a deer in the headlights of a car when she realized Damon had heard what she said. She could only nervously laugh and scratch the back of her head but faced with Damon cold and slightly angry gaze, she knew she'd thoroughly annoyed the usually detached youth.</span></p> </div>

Damon's looming figure caused everyone in the first few rows to stand up and back away. He didn't look like at all like a human at the minute and despite all of them not being purely human either, to see something this inhuman was still a shock to the new students. Miss Sasaki placed her feet on Damon's chest before pushing suddenly. Sickening cracks and some weird popping sounds echoed in the classroom as Damon collided with the ceiling and fell onto the ground. His shoulder had been dislocated by the fact his grip was so tight around Miss Sasaki's head when she kicked him backward, forcibly freeing herself from his grip and crushing his ribs all over again for the second time. But unlike last time, Damon quickly stood up as his concaved chest fixed itself at an unnatural speed. Damon grabbed his arm and pushed it upward popping his shoulder back into place. Growling because of the pain, Damon slowly walked toward Miss Sasaki. When he saw the claw marks he'd left on the sides of her head and face and around her mouth, he felt pleased with himself. "Hmmm~ You really are Nigh-Unkillable when you're attacked by D-Class strength~" Miss Sasaki remarked before she dashed toward Damon. Seeing the dash, Damon let out a roar as he met her charge with his own. Their collision caused a shockwave of air and sound to spread outward, sending small cracks through the wooden floorboards and up the stone walls. They pushed against each other's hands while digging their feet into the floor to get leverage to push. Damon's clawed hands dug into Miss Sasaki's hands, trying to turn them to mush but apart from cutting through the skin and drawing some blood, the hands stayed the same. "Amazing. I'm using the maximum strength a D-Class like you should be able to but the form you're in now seems to enhance you past those limits...I really do need to thank Nox for finding you..." Miss Sasaki said this as she started to push Damon back and into the ground. Damon was snarling and growling at her, looking like nothing but a mindless beast but despite his appearance, he was completely conscious. He was just absolutely livid at the minute. *'How dare she bring them into this! Kill! KILL! **KILL!**'* These thoughts rapidly spun around in Damon's head as he pushed his body to work beyond its limits. Him pushing his body so hard meant he was tearing his muscles, his ligaments and tendons, and even his skin, apart. His bones had numerous cracks running throughout them and his organs had expanded even further to account for his needs. For any normal person, after this fight regardless of whether they won or not, they would die. But not Damon. Damon's body healed all the damage and made his body progressively better meaning he was constantly improving in the battle. And Miss Sasaki felt this. "You really are lucky to have awakened two races so compatible with each other..." She put more strength in because she knew despite his unnatural healing factor, his body would eventually give out and he'd lose consciousness. But despite what she thought, Damon was far from over. Fur started to spurt out of his legs now, showing through the rips in his trousers. When the fur reached his feet, five thick and sharp claws shot out of his shoe and dug into the ground. These claws look like the ones on his hands but these ones were slightly thicker. Now with his claws dug into the wooden floor he finally had the leverage to use his full power. Using his looming and tall figure he towered above Miss Sasaki and pressed down on his with every bit of strength he had in his body with the sole thought to break her in two and kill her. After transforming into his werewolf form, his strength doubled putting his already immense strength at 4000kg to even higher, more absurd levels. Miss Sasaki wryly smiled as she spoke "Well, looks like I lost the bet with the Principle, I'm gonna have to use C-Class Strength." as soon as she spoke, the air around them all seemed to freeze as a cold and frigid blue aura seeped out of the Teacher's body. Slowly but surely the teacher pushed back against Damon before squeezing his hands until the bones in them were broken and Damon had to let her hands go. After Damon let go of her hands, Miss Sasaki rushed behind him and hit his neck in a certain way and Damon crumpled onto the ground like a puppet without strings. ***POV Change - Mika Tepes*** Mika watched in horror as Damon fell to the floor. In all honesty, it didn't look like he was alive the way he fell, more like a corpse that had been dropped by someone. Feelings of intense distress wound up inside her and burst out of her mouth. "Damon!" Mika's concerned voice screamed, surprising everyone in the room including herself. But she wasn't surprised for long as he body moved by its own and rushed to Damon's side with a blood bag in hand. Miss Sasaki's eyes widened a bit when she saw the speed Mika traveled at but after thinking about how strong Damon was, surely his Princess wouldn't be a weakling. Mika cradled the shrinking Damon's head on her lap, the fur receding back into his body as his muscles and bones returned to their former appearances. Mika noticed gold and red markings on Damon's skin but ignored them as she fed him the blood she'd taken out of her bag. Damon body instinctively swallowed the blood using it to replenish itself of the energy it had lost during the fight and to try and heal the damage that frigid and cold aura had done. As if they knew this was going to happen, two nurses walked in followed by a certain blonde Doctor. "Did you really have to use your aura, Nee-san?" If Damon were awake he'd instantly know this was Natasha but he'd also be shocked that she was talking so...cutely? She spoke like a child in front of her supposed Nee-san, Miss Sasaki. "Ehhh?~ But I could help it Natasha-chan, he's really powerful." Miss Sasaki had a face like she'd been wronged which caused Mika to look up and glare at her with a cold stare. Realizing what she was doing, the Vampire Princess lowered her head and looked at Damon feeling conflicted over the feelings she could currently feel rapidly rampaging around her body. *'Why are my instincts so weird when I'm around him...?'* While she was thinking about this, the blood bag in her hand went dry with not a drop left inside of it. She looked gently at the glutton with his head on her lap, pushing her worries about her instincts to the side. While she was doing this, Natasha had stopped talking to her older sister and walked over to Mika. "You two must get along quite well for you to hold him on your lap like that, right?~" Natasha's teasing tone was clearly evident to everyone's ears and it caused Mika to redden slightly but other than that, there was no reaction. Seeing the little to no reaction from Mika, Natasha rolled her eyes and spoke again. "We need to take Damon to the infirmary. You're free to come along." Hearing this, Mika handed Damon over to the nurses who came with a stretcher. They lifted the tall boy with an ease that seemed strange because of how lithe and soft they looked. Mika followed and turned back to stop Hikari from following to which Hikari had complaints. "Who will protect you if I'm not there, Mika-sama? Damon's out cold so I need to be extra alert now, to keep you safe!" Hikari objected in a very adamant style, not showing any sign of backing down. Mika wryly smiled as she answered. "But both I and Damon need someone to stay back and take down whatever notes we might need. Plus, I sense that that blonde Doctor knows Damon and would protect me if she needed to." Hikari was about to speak up but Mika put her hand up to silence her "No buts. This is an order." She said this before turning around and leaving an agitated Hikari sulking on her desk. Mika looked at the front of the class and saw the leftover of the fight between their teacher and Damon. Cracks spread all across the floor and up the stone wall with the blackboard on it. Claw marks from where Damon dug his feet into the ground and where he was pushed back. Most of the desks at the front had been pushed back and even had a slight layer of frost on the front of them. *'Luckily everything in this room was magically fortified, otherwise if this was a normal classroom Damon and Sensei would have completely wrecked it all...'* Mika shook her head and followed after Natasha and the two nurses carrying Damon. Before long they arrived at the infirmary. Damon was put on a bed and the two nurses put their hands on his body as they sent a white aura into his body, presumably to heal him or see if he needed any more help. Mika sat down on a chair next to Damon and looked at him with concern clear in her eyes. As if seeing this concern, Natasha put her hand on Mika's shoulder and consoled her. "Don't worry, I've known that kid for over a month and if there's one thing he's good at, it's healing and staying alive." There was a slight bit of mirth in Natasha's voice as if she was remembering something which caused Mika to look at her with curiosity. "How do you know Damon then, Sensei?" Hearing Mika's question, Natasha told her about how she was the person who performed the surgery to awaken Damon and how she and another Teacher (Nox) had trained Damon for a month before sending him to become Mika's bodyguard. By the end of the story, Mika felt that Damon's power was more explainable now that she knew he'd been trained relentlessly for a month by two teachers from the Academy. Mika and Natasha continued to talk for a while before Mika started asking some questions about Damon. "What exactly did he awaken, sensei? He told me about his Ghoul-part but that transformation didn't look very Ghoulish." Mika had been wondering about what Damon was ever since he thought Hikari let alone after he showed her such a unique transformation. Natasha looked over at Damon's peacefully sleeping face before looking back at Mika and replying to her. "Seeing as you are his Princess, it should be fine to tell you. He's 50% Ghoul, 50% Werewolf and 100% the perfect guard for a Vampire. It's why your Mother had us make him for you." Natasha's voice was quiet but Mika heard it fine and it rang in her head like a church bell causing her to look confused as she tilted her head at Natasha. "Eh? What do you mean?" Natasha smiled and went to reply but before she did, a deep voice spoke out behind her. "Yeah, Natasha, what do you mean?" Damon's voice sounded indifferent but at the same time, it sounded both annoyed and angry. Natasha jumped up and looked like a deer in the headlights of a car when she realized Damon had heard what she said. She could only nervously laugh and scratch the back of her head but faced with Damon cold and slightly angry gaze, she knew she'd thoroughly annoyed the usually detached youth.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlMTFmNTE5MzZmZDQ2NzhhZjViNWM2ZjQ4YzljZjZl">John gapes at the hole going straight through his neighbor’s house. From what he could see, it was perfectly smooth and about 10 feet in diameter. He then noticed his elderly neighbor limping around on his yard, seemingly muttering something.</p> <p class="cnNmODZlOWQwMTcwODQ5OGRiMDAxNTJjMjFmYzViMTk5">As John wandered closer, he could hear him muttering “It wasn’t me… It wasn’t me, I couldn’t have…” John wandered up to the edge of his yard, just on the sidewalk.</p> <p class="cnNiNDU1OGU3M2U0ODQzMThhMzlmYTI4YWQxNTdlMTMx">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Are you ok, Jerry?” John asked. His neighbor looked up, seemingly a bit surprised that John was there.</p> <p class="cnNjNjc4ZDliZWM5MTRkOWI4Yzg1YmNjNDBmNTU3MzQ0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Oh… yeah, hello John. I was just…” Jerry said as he waved his hands towards the hole in his house vaguely.</p> <p class="cnMxOWQyOTc4OGNhYzQ3ZDFiY2EyZjYzMTkzODllMWQy">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Yeah, do you mind if I get a closer look?” John asked as he took a step into the grassy yard of his neighbor.</p> <p class="cnM5ZGI2ZmZmMTAwZjQwNmViNTUwMzU4NmZiM2JlM2Ri">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Yeah, go for it, just be careful, it’s… strange” John’s neighbor said, muttering the last part.</p> <p class="cnM3NGE3OTJjNDY4MDRkMDA5MDc4NmQ4OTI2NDFlYThl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John stepped up to the hole, and noticed it was perfectly smooth straight through the house, as if it had been cut by a laser, but with no burn marks. He also noticed a prodigious amount of dust in piles below where he could see into the house. “How peculiar” he said to himself.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTgyNzBiOGYyMzRjMTJiMzFmNGIzMTFhZTZlZTIx">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John turned back to his neighbor and asked him, “How did this happen? Do you know?”</p> <p class="cnNlMjVlOTU1MGM4ZjQ2NzNhOWRhNWMzZDFmZDM2MjNk">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Well… I don’t know. Here I was, sleeping in my house, in the second story bedroom, when I woke up in the middle of the night. I woke up to the sounds of people in my house. Robbers. They came into my room and saw that I was awake, and they panicked. One of them pointed their gun at me and threatened to kill me if I called the good men and women on the police force!” Jerry said, shaking his head.</p> <p class="cnNmOWMyYTA0MjA2YzRhMjhhNTliNTZjM2Q5ZDM2OTYz">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “You know me, John. I served for many years, and I would not stand for such hooligans in my house. I was so very angry at them, and somehow, I felt like there was a fire, raging in my chest at the idea of being robbed. I felt so angry that I started shouting at those damn men, right there in my bed-room, still in these very clothes!” Jerry exclaimed, pointing at his dust-cakes pajamas.</p> <p class="cnM3M2I3ZWNkNmQyMDQ4OTg5MDMyMDQzMzMwNGJkZDI0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “I told them ‘To hell with you! I didn’t serve my country so you could stand here and ruin it!’ And you know what they did? They laughed! I felt so angry at this, so put-off by those young men, that I… well, I did something you wouldn’t believe” Jerry said, seemingly lost in his head.</p> <p class="cnM3YTgyYmY2ZGJmYTRhMTZhNWI0Njc4MGFiYzg2ODQ0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Well, what did you do?” John asked, somewhat eager to hear more.</p> <p class="cnM3MWE3YzNlZjQyYjQwNDY5MTYyOTQ2NmVjOTJiMGM5">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “I… reached out, with my mind, and felt the little things in the air, the little things that make up those robbers, and I ripped them to shreds. I… somehow, turned them, and my house, into dust.” Jerry said, almost not believing his very own words.</p> <p class="cnNmYTFmZmYwMTVmZTRiYWQ5MWI3MDA1NTMzYWY1MjU4">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “What?” John exclaimed, somewhat taken aback that his serious no-nonsense neighbor claimed that he could turn things to dust. But then he looked back at the perfectly circular hole, and the mountains of ash it seemed to have produced. “Well, it clearly has some sort of evidence to it…”</p> <p class="cnNmYmZhYTM1ZTk4YTRhYzJhN2RkYTQwZjNkOTdmZWRk">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John took a long moment to just stare at the hole in the house, incredulous that such a thing appeared seemingly overnight, but he shook himself out of it when Jerry tapped his shoulder and asked him, “Are you ok there? You were just starin’ at mah house”</p> <p class="cnNiMTJjYzM1YTFkZDRjZDRhODUzYmRmZTMxOTk2YjBl">John looks down at his watch, and notice that it’s getting close to time he has to come into work, and he might miss his bus.</p> <p class="cnNhZmMyZTcyOTZjZDRkZTZiYjQ1Y2I5YzY3MjQ1ZjMw">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Shit, I got to go. My boss said he’ll fire me if I’m late again. See you later, Jerry… I hope you get all this resolved” He said as he started jogging to the bus stop.</p> <p class="cnNmY2RmYTBiM2EwNTQ4MDY5Y2Q3YWFhYjAzMmJlOTU2">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John arrived on time, and got onto his waiting bus. He paid his fare and sat down in his seat in the strangely empty bus.</p> <p class="cnM5NzVmOThkYmY0MzRiNmFiODk5YjQ1MDEwYmJjYTY4">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “A lot of weird things going on today” said John, just before he noticed that up ahead, there was a swirling formation of clouds in an otherwise cloudless day, each a slight shade of a different color.</p> <p class="cnM0ZmU4YzcyZGZkZTQ1OGI4MWU4ODc3MGQyYzc2ZWM3">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ‘<em>Strange</em>’ John thought to himself as he stared at the mysterious weather. He then shook his head and got off the bus at his job, and times in. He walks into the store and times in, noticing that only he and his manager were there.</p> <p class="cnM5OGFiNjYwMmViMTQ2MzVhYTNlMDYxNTVjOTZmNzIx">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John’s manager, Henry, walks up to him and asks, “Have you seen the strange news?”</p> </div>

John gapes at the hole going straight through his neighbor’s house. From what he could see, it was perfectly smooth and about 10 feet in diameter. He then noticed his elderly neighbor limping around on his yard, seemingly muttering something. As John wandered closer, he could hear him muttering “It wasn’t me… It wasn’t me, I couldn’t have…” John wandered up to the edge of his yard, just on the sidewalk.                 “Are you ok, Jerry?” John asked. His neighbor looked up, seemingly a bit surprised that John was there.                 “Oh… yeah, hello John. I was just…” Jerry said as he waved his hands towards the hole in his house vaguely.                 “Yeah, do you mind if I get a closer look?” John asked as he took a step into the grassy yard of his neighbor.                 “Yeah, go for it, just be careful, it’s… strange” John’s neighbor said, muttering the last part.                 John stepped up to the hole, and noticed it was perfectly smooth straight through the house, as if it had been cut by a laser, but with no burn marks. He also noticed a prodigious amount of dust in piles below where he could see into the house. “How peculiar” he said to himself.                 John turned back to his neighbor and asked him, “How did this happen? Do you know?”                 “Well… I don’t know. Here I was, sleeping in my house, in the second story bedroom, when I woke up in the middle of the night. I woke up to the sounds of people in my house. Robbers. They came into my room and saw that I was awake, and they panicked. One of them pointed their gun at me and threatened to kill me if I called the good men and women on the police force!” Jerry said, shaking his head.                 “You know me, John. I served for many years, and I would not stand for such hooligans in my house. I was so very angry at them, and somehow, I felt like there was a fire, raging in my chest at the idea of being robbed. I felt so angry that I started shouting at those damn men, right there in my bed-room, still in these very clothes!” Jerry exclaimed, pointing at his dust-cakes pajamas.                 “I told them ‘To hell with you! I didn’t serve my country so you could stand here and ruin it!’ And you know what they did? They laughed! I felt so angry at this, so put-off by those young men, that I… well, I did something you wouldn’t believe” Jerry said, seemingly lost in his head.                 “Well, what did you do?” John asked, somewhat eager to hear more.                 “I… reached out, with my mind, and felt the little things in the air, the little things that make up those robbers, and I ripped them to shreds. I… somehow, turned them, and my house, into dust.” Jerry said, almost not believing his very own words.                 “What?” John exclaimed, somewhat taken aback that his serious no-nonsense neighbor claimed that he could turn things to dust. But then he looked back at the perfectly circular hole, and the mountains of ash it seemed to have produced. “Well, it clearly has some sort of evidence to it…”                 John took a long moment to just stare at the hole in the house, incredulous that such a thing appeared seemingly overnight, but he shook himself out of it when Jerry tapped his shoulder and asked him, “Are you ok there? You were just starin’ at mah house” John looks down at his watch, and notice that it’s getting close to time he has to come into work, and he might miss his bus.                 “Shit, I got to go. My boss said he’ll fire me if I’m late again. See you later, Jerry… I hope you get all this resolved” He said as he started jogging to the bus stop.                 John arrived on time, and got onto his waiting bus. He paid his fare and sat down in his seat in the strangely empty bus.                 “A lot of weird things going on today” said John, just before he noticed that up ahead, there was a swirling formation of clouds in an otherwise cloudless day, each a slight shade of a different color.                 ‘*Strange*’ John thought to himself as he stared at the mysterious weather. He then shook his head and got off the bus at his job, and times in. He walks into the store and times in, noticing that only he and his manager were there.                 John’s manager, Henry, walks up to him and asks, “Have you seen the strange news?”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNmNjMwZTJmODEwMzQ1YWY5MWVhNjFjMTYxMWY5ZWI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You know it’s a good thing I had the guards inform me the moment he arrived in the detention area. If that creepy little dart had got his hands on you in private there wouldn’t be any hope for you. His family runs a well known slaving syndicate. Now come. You’ve got your ID now so sell your wares and get off my station as soon as possible. Here are your weapons. Your armour was returned to your ship.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2NmM1YWQxY2Y2YjRmNzNiN2UxNTYzN2NhYjliMThi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, thanks Commander Terisar. I have no doubt that would have been the case. Otherwise I would have been rather put out by your clear distrust and dislike of me.” Let’s see if I can put some of my social skills to use and get her a little less hostile. I need a temporary ally while I’m here, and the commander of the local security force would be a solid one. “I’d like to put that to the past if possible. I was hoping we could even become friends while I am here.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiYmIyYWM2MGY1NTRjNGRhNzI0MzgwNWE5ZTg4ZTQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. I don’t like you scavs. Picking the bones of the dead isn’t a good living. This is Alistair. He’ll be your shadow while you are on station. You are not permitted to move around without him. If you do so, you go back to the cell, got it?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhNjFkNDAxZTllYjRkNjg4YWQ3YTQ5MDI4ZDE1ODM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes Ma’am. Good to meet you Alistair. Keiren Ignis, please just call me Keiren. Could you take me to a weapons dealer? I’d like to get my cargo sold quick.” He’s cute. Human. Fairly young, red hair and bright green eyes. Quick, Inspect.</span></p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMyNDliNDU0NTM4MDQ1NDc4NGFiYzdhN2Y3YTk1MTQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Alistair Traven</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM1YjlmYzQ2NjJlODQ3ZmU5MzY0MTc4NWJmN2Y0Mjlm" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-weight: 400">Age: 23 Human Male</span></p> <p class="cnM4YjRmYjEzYTg5ODRkNWU5MTY3MTNmYTQxOTYyZmU0" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-weight: 400">Station Militia</span></p> <p class="cnMxNTY4NDE0YjZlNjQ1YmJiNTFkNWM0OTg1ODU4NGQy" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-weight: 400">Status: Healthy</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM0OWZhMmQ5OGFlNTQzNTE5ZGQ3ZmMzYzg4NWUyNTU1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzM2ExM2RlY2E1OTQ2OTJhMWE4MTZkZWI3N2Q3ZjIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Follow me Miss.” Why won’t anyone call me by name? He leads me to the local weapons dealer without talking. After some haggling with the Darvali that runs it (and some heavy usage of my Read Mind ability), I manage to sell the missiles for 1700 credits apiece. How do you like that Mari? Made more than 100000 extra. </span></p> <p class="cnNmNzIxMmJhNjhiNjRhNDg5YTgxNjZkMDlmZWI2YTY1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Alright Alistair, now that I’ve got a bit of money to my name, I’d like to eat. Where’s a good spot?” Food first, then ship upgrades, then a place to sleep.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYzUwYTNkNGZhNDRlYTBiYmU0OTdiOTA2Nzk2Zjcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes, Miss. I suggest the Siren’s Song. It’s run by a human, so you don’t have to worry about those weird ingredients the Darvali always use.” I want to get him to ease up on the whole Miss thing. It’s annoying. Plus he’s cute. Maybe I can have a bit of fun with him later.</span></p> <p class="cnM5OWRjNGUwMDljZDQyZTViNzY0MjU3NGY5MjllZWNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That should be fine, but I really wish you’d call me Keiren, Alistair. It’s not hard. Repeat after me: Kei...ren, Kei..ren.” </span></p> <p class="cnNiMDkwYTAwZWQzZjQ1NTdhNmY0YTQ3NDg5YzIzMTM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sorry Miss, no can do. Under orders.” Drat.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZGNlOTMxYjVkYTQxOWRhYWMzMWExMjQ2NWUwN2M2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uuugh, fine. You security types are no fun at all. Well? Lead the way, I don’t know where you’re taking me after all.” He leads me down the promenade ring to a small restaurant. It’s busier than I expected, but there are still a couple tables open, so we sit down and order. The food is alright, just barely better than what I was making myself while I was on the Adavaris. More importantly, they have alcohol, good alcohol. Alistair, I am getting you drunk. </span></p> <p class="cnNhM2E4MWM5YzFhMTRlY2ZiZDA1OTFlZmYxODgwNzYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">He tried to say no to the drinks, but eventually he agreed to “Just one, so long as nobody tells the Commander” One became five, and pretty soon I had my tongue in his mouth and his in mine. That’s where it stopped though. My old pal the screen stopped by to say hello.</span></p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnMxMmE1OWViY2YxMDQ5MzA5YWRkYjZiZmI0NDQwMGMy" style="text-align: center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>New Form Available</strong></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMxZGRkYmRlNGVkODRmZGRhNTJhNGRlZjMwODBmNmMy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Human, Male</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnMxMTQ2YmRlOWEzZTQ3MWVhN2FmNTg0YmYzYzI1MmE1"><span style="font-weight: 400">You are now able to take the form of a human male. Minor alterations are available. Gather more genetic variables to increase available alterations.</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4NTY2MzYyN2NiMDQzODJiODZkNTFhMzdjYzQxYWZk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNGMwZDU4ZDYxYjQ1MmQ4Yzc1ZDNiMzViMTYwZmEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sigh. Party’s over. I need to figure out why that happened and what it means for me. Also why I couldn’t control myself and acted like that. Before that I need to get to the docks and find me a shipyard to do some upgrades to the Deity.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMzYyMWUyZGYyMzQxZmY5MWFkNzk1NzZhYzFlZWFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ok, Alistair. That’s enough fun for today. I need you to guide me to someone who can do some work on my ship. New engines, life support and such.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxNTRjNjQ3NDUyMjQwMDQ5OWYxZGNiZjM3NzkzM2Yw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Crap, crap, crap, crap. The Commander’s gonna kill me. This didn’t happen. You saw nothing.” He says as he&nbsp;glares toward&nbsp;the other patrons. There’s a lot of grinning and snickers from the bystanders. They probably know him pretty well. Not my problem though. I quickly pay the bill. He’s still muttering and bemoaning his actions. ”Damn pretty Shindi, what’s she even doing out here? Now I’m going to be stuck as the Commanders sparring partner...” What the hell does Shindi mean?&nbsp;More questions for Mari once we're gone.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZmVlOWU5N2ZjMTQ1YTNiNjkwYjI1NjhkNjAzYWQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Come on Alistair! You can threaten them later. I need to get the repairs started.” </span></p> <p class="cnM4MmJhMWI5NzA4ODRhYTFiYzRhMDg5N2JkNDMzNDdk"><span style="font-weight: 400">He takes me over to the other side of the station where the docks and the shipyard lay. There he introduces me to a Lodrian shipwright named Holidra. I ask after the engines, and he has a few options for me. It seems that a number of ships of all kinds of sizes have been scrapped in the past few weeks, and they have a surplus of the parts I need so I get a sizeable discount. My luck is good today. I buy a pair of engines and a thruster package from a Dan’khar freighter (which is apparently a newer model of the Dravlakh Mari mentioned before, that uses smaller and more powerful components). For the life support he only had one compatible option, from an Osler Class medevac transport, and it was a bit more expensive than Mari expected. All told it only cost me 320000, so I still have only spent about half of what Mari thought I would by this point. I wonder if he has any frigate spec engines or power generators? I ask him what he has available to that spec that could be ported to a modified Oilo, and he pulls at his beard for a few seconds staring at me. Then he pulls out a pad, taps on its display a few times and hands it over to me.</span></p> <p class="cnM2OGJiZjhhNjdjZjRlOTE5Mzc3OTg2ZmFjYTI2NzEx">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="background-color: #524e4e; width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM3YjE3YjE4Y2E0YzQwYmQ4NjcyNTIxNjQ5M2RmOTFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Kass MKIV engine- Thesis Class Lodrian Corvette</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnM2ZjI2MjU1MjUwODQxYWE4YmQ5NTdkNDA4NGE3Nzk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">210000 credits</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">A powerful engine most often found on Darvali frigates. This engine comes from a Lodrian corvette, and is tuned for lower power consumption at the cost of thrust/mass ratio</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNhYmQyOTFmMzJhNDQwNDk4MGZhMWI3ZWU4MWE5OTVk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Contor A Engine- Maantraal Class Carthan Frigate </span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnNhZTg5ODZlMWRjYjRmNDc4NzdhYmVhNTIwZjRlY2Vk"><span style="font-weight: 400">375000 credits</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Rare Carthan tech, this engine has shown&nbsp;greater thrust than most COSN cruiser class engines with lower power consumption than found in anything larger than a corvette in testing.&nbsp;</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM2M2ViZGJmMDQ0ZDQ5NWY4OWI5NDljNDBiNzBmZTc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Terch Version III Generator- Var’loth Class Karm Light Frigate</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnMyYTEwZjMxNDQ2YzQ1YTg4MWQxNzdhZjQwMTkzZTIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">85000 credits</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Older model generator from a Karm frigate. Low output compared to newer models. Well liked for being easy to maintain and low cost</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM4ODAyODViMjQ1ZTQyZDg5MTczZDA1ZTIwNTdjYTJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Tsuyo Series D Generator- Rishiri Class Human Light Frigate</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnM4YWY3ODhmMDdjYjRmMDRhYWQzMjcwMTdlNDhlYWE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">170000 credits</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">The most recent generator series in the COSN. Provides more power than older model cruisers generators. Finicky to maintain.</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMyNGYwYzgzZDA5OTQ3MDZhZDU5NDM3ZjllMTZhMjcw">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzMDYxZTU0NmI4YzRiMzBiNzNjOTQ5NThhNDgxODc3"><span style="font-weight: 400">After looking it over, I let the shipwright know that I want the Carthan engine and the Karm Generator. I want the ease of maintenance for the power unit, and that engine just looks prime. I think my luck is feeding me the good things, just hope it doesn't run out at an inopportune moment. I give him the location of the Deity, and he let’s me know it will be ready in 8 days. Cost of the work is 120000, but he’s willing to do the work at no charge if he can keep the parts being removed. Which works for me. I’m down to just over 400000 credits. Time to find a room and see if I can figure out that new form that popped up earlier.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmQ4NTY3NDRlMzRhNTk4Mzg5NzE0MTQ2MTZiMGJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">I get Alistair to lead me somewhere where I can spend the nights until my ship is ready. </span></p> <p class="cnMwNTFlZjdhNGU4YjRiYTNhYTMyYzc0ZTBjMDE1ODg0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I will be available as your guide from 0700 until 2400 standard time if you wish to leave your room. If you leave for any reason during other hours, or attempt leave without me during those hours, the Commander will arrest you.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjNzE3NjRiZDA2ZjRjZTNhOTZlOTdmM2Y3NzgwZjBm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Thanks, Alistair. I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess, then.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDg0ZTlhMjE3NjRhMzU4Y2QyNGYxNGQ5YTZjOTcw"><span style="font-weight: 400">I pay for a room for the next 8 days, and head in. In my room, I open my status, and notice there is a Form field now. Focusing on it opens a new screen.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NDM4NzExNGEzMDQ2NDM4YTEwOGUyMWRkNWYzNjQy">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnMxMDY3M2Y3MDM2MTQ4ZWY4YmE1ZDAyZWE1Y2VkMWYw" style="text-align: center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>Available Forms</strong></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM3YzYxNmVjNTVlZjRmMmZhZjQyZWQxNzE2N2IzOTM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Doppel</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM3OGY1YzE2ODEyMDQ2ZDc5MWVjMDBlZmJiNWY3YzVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Base Form</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMyODhjZTFjNDk3YTQxYTZiNjM5NDkxM2ViM2FkYjgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Human</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnMxNjkxOTQ5NjQ4MTQzYTE5YmI5NDAyNTViZmNlMjAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Human Form - Male - Limited alterations available</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4ODJjM2FmODVmOTRjYWNiOGY2ZmUzOTMyMDNhMmJj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkOTYxYjg3ZmQzZDRjMWI4NGIxYWQwM2MxZGI0MmU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">And let’s take a look at the human male.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYzFkNTljNDNhMjQwZWViNjM3MTNmYjQzMjAyODY5"><span style="font-weight: 400">I am back to that same out-of-body sensation from when I first set my base form. In my vision is the body of Alistair. It seems I can make the same changes to the features as I could earlier, though I can’t make any major changes, just minor tweaks. I change the jawline and nose a bit. Change the hair from Alistair’s showy red to a more subdued rusty brown. Reduce the intensity of the green in the eyes. Reduce the muscle mass a bit. Now instead of looking like Alistair, I could probably pass for a close relative. And, confirm.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZWY1OGFkNjc1OTRjMTRiMjA1ODRhNGY4MDIwMjE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Everything begins to change. It feels like my bones have turned to snakes and are trying to escape from my body. After a while the feeling stops, and I can move freely again. Looking at the clock, that took me almost 20 minutes. So it won’t be something I can use to escape when I am in a situation where time is limited.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZDIyNWU2MzdmMTRkOWFiNmUxZGI3MDM3NDdiZTZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Now to figure out that other problem. Why was I suddenly overcome with desire. Both toward Alistair, and earlier with Terisar. I can’t come to terms with it. I didn’t have any powerful sexual urges before. Although, I hadn’t been around people before. Maybe it has to do with being a Doppel? I gained the human male form when I kissed Alistair, and the form I have access to is his (more or less). Do Doppels have the ability to assimilate genetic material from sentients, which is what allows our transformative ability to work? I can operate under that theory until better information is presented. So maybe my body gets revved up at the thought of gaining new forms? But why didn’t I feel like that around the Darvali I met? This will need more insight. I should discuss it with Mari once we’re back in motion. I miss her. Even the constant barrage of insults. It’s tough not having anyone you can trust or confide in. </span></p> <p class="cnM1NDYwMTI3Y2I1YzQ4OTRiNDZmZTEzYWQ2ZTAxNjRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">I think I’ll take a quick nap, and then go on a tour of the station at night in my new form to get all the items I want from the darker parts of the station. Need a few fake IDs, and I should see what else I can get my hands on.</span></p> <hr> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnNiNDUzMWUxMjU1NzQxZmNhMjFkYTY4ODI4NGIzMWYz" style="text-align: center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>Level Up</strong></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnM0ODQ5YzliYTNhYTRlNjA4MTQ1OTk5YjdkYThkNjNh" style="text-align: center">Level increased by 1</p> <p class="cnM0YzRjMzAzYWFlMTQ5ZTg5NzM4NGMyYzhmNjJmYWUw" style="text-align: center">Attributes have been assigned.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnM5OGM2YTExM2FjMjQ2OWNhYWYzMDM4NmZjMTFhNzU1" style="text-align: center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>Skill Level Increase</strong></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM5NDBhZjdjNWJkZDRhNDhiMTBhMjk0ZTg0NDczOGEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Analysis</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnNlYTFhMzc5NmUxNDQ0ZDc4NjI3NzAxYjRhYjkxOTg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +2</span></p> <p class="cnMxM2YwN2NlN2YzMDQwMTY4YjJkNWVmMTM2OGZiMThj"><span style="font-weight: 400">For reaching Level 5 in Analysis you have been awarded +1 PER</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM3OTlkODQ2OWQyMjRlYzk4MzRmZjYwZWJhYzAyMGQ5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Empath</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnNjYzQ2YmIzMjVhMjRmNjhiNDhhYzM3YTI0MzdkYmRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +4</span></p> <p class="cnM4NmRmZDM4MWNjOTQ0NzNhZDZhNWJjNzI4OTM1MzA0"><span style="font-weight: 400">For reaching Level 10 in Empath you have been awarded +1 PER and +1 INT</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM2NWMxOTBkNTA5MzQ2OTA5YzYxOGJlMWU1ODNkYjE1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Acting</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnMzMzljYzc3MjhlNDRjZDRiNTlkM2UyMjVkMTVlZmJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +2</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM0NGY3MWI4YWY0YjQ0MTNhMWIyODIwYzk3MmNkYTlj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Swindle</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnNkZmVhZDNhNDYyODQyODliODY1OWQ1Yjc2NzVhOWYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +1</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNhNmU1YWMzMDgxMzRmN2JiZDgyOTQwNjcyYjhjYzRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Etiquette</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnNlMDdhYzQ0YjA1YzQ0MjRiZTE3NDI0MTk5ZmVlMmU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +2</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMxYjU0ZTUzZDNkMjQ1N2NhMWNhNDYyZTdkNzUzOWQy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Negotiation</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM2YWEwMTk0Y2MwOTRmNTM5YTAzM2VlOTViZTA0ODhl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +2</span></p> <p class="cnNiOGIxM2FhNzI3MzQwYTg4YjNmNzA1MWJjMDE5NzQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">For reaching Level 5 in Negotiation you have been awarded +1 STR</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM0MDZiMmY5MDBjOTQxN2E5NjMwZDEyZDM3YWYyM2Ji"><span style="font-weight: 400">Stealth</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnNjZTZiM2M2MmM3ZDQ5NWJhMTk4NjRmMTlmMTQ2Zjlj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +3</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGNkMDA3NjNkZjRkNzViYzQ5M2RjNTFiZjY5N2Q5"><span style="font-weight: 400">For reaching Level 5 in Stealth you have been awarded +1 DEX</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNjNWU0MzkyMjEzODRmMDI4NjA3N2E0MzE3ZWZjN2Q0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Universal Knowledge</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM1M2ZmMjYwNTBkODQzOWFhMzA1ZWI4MWEzZTE2NDc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +2</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNhOTk4NzFkNjQxYjRlNDFiOTZjMWU1MThjODI2M2Zj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Ruse</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM4MDhkOGQ3MzliMzRjZTZhMjU1NWE5MzdiNGM4YTFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +1</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMzZmJhYzU3NzQwZDRjYmJiNGNiNTZiMjkyOTQxMThk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Seduction</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM5NGU4ZTlhZTI2ZDQwZGRhNzdmNDRjNzFkYTE5Y2Ey"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level +3</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNlMDAzMWNjYWJiMDRiYjU4NDNjZjEyYThmYzg5ZDI2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZDM5MzkzZjM2ZDRmMWY5NmNkY2M4NzQwNTE2ZTky"><span style="font-weight: 400">I wake from my nap to the screen. Thanks, glad you were willing to work with me on changing when you pop up at night with these alerts. I gained a bunch of levels from my interactions yesterday. I’m confused as to why I got a point of STR as my bonus for negotiation though. I would have expected a CHA boost instead. Maybe the attribute gains are random? Or the screen just likes messing with me. Well Screen? Care to explain? No, of course you don’t.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMTQ3MDNmODRlNzQwMGNiODFlMjgyYWU5NzAzNGUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Time to sneak out. I step out into the promenade, and walk down towards the shops. It doesn’t take long to find what I’m looking for. Accessing criminal syndicates is fairly easy, just ask a bartender. If you’re lucky, they won’t kill you for inquiring after their ‘special’ goods. The problem with that, for me, is that there were lots of pretty women that took an interest in a handsome guy like me. Having a few drinks and dancing with them while waiting for my intro to the boss here led to a few new screen pops. Pretty much proving my genetic assimilation theory.</span></p> <p class="cnNlYThhMDMxMjNlYjQ4ZTZiOTUyMjY2NDliYzcyMWNl">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnNhMTUzYjc3YWY5MjRiMTY4NDY2YzQ5MWE1Y2FlMmNh" style="text-align: center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>New Form Available</strong></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMwNjBhOGRjZGY2MzQ3OGQ5NTE4YjE5YzkwZjQyOTg3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Human, Female</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnNmZTU5MGI2NGNjMDQ2NGNiOTc0MmQxMTkzZjc2NGMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">You are now able to take the form of a Human female. Alterations are available. Gather more genetic variables to increase available alterations.</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM1YjM0ZDkxZjA4ODQ1MmY5YWE5ZDhjZmE0MWRmYmMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Lodrian, Female</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnMxNmI2ZjlmNzVkYjRhMDI4NzNlZWU2ODc3MDY1ZjVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">You are now able to take the form of a Lodrian female. Alterations are available. Gather more genetic variables to increase available alterations.</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNiODZmYWM2MTZmOTRjNTBiNzhlOWQ0MDhmNzdiNzE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Ferlo</span></p> </td> <td> <p class="cnM2NTk2ZDRiODYxYTRkY2VhMGZhYTcyNWM2MzY3NDc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">You are now able to take the form of a Ferlo. Alterations&nbsp;not available.&nbsp;</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNiNDRlZDE0NTEwMjQyODZiY2ZkNmVjZjBhNGIzOTQw">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhYzQ1NzRjNzAyODQzNTFiNzFjOWEzYjIxMzBhYWRj"><span style="font-weight: 400">The heck is a Ferlo? Must be some kind of humanoid that looks very similar to Humans or Lodrians. Why isn’t there a gender though? Oops, no time to worry about it. The bartender is waving me over for my introduction with his boss. He leads me into a private room, clearly soundproofed as the music from the bar doesn’t filter in.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMjdkMjRkNDRiMTRlYmU5YjUwNGI2ZGJjNDY0NmYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So, I hear you want to make a few minor purchases from us. You may call me Gustavo. You’re new here, so I’ll forgive you for not knowing protocol. In the future if you need anything, you talk to the Rats first.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiOWYxYTIzZDdjYjQzOGQ5MDJjN2I2Zjk5MzhjMDcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Rats? I’ll need a bit of clarification there.” </span></p> <p class="cnM3YzBkZjJmNDE3YTRkMGQ5MmYzMmNlOWIyNWI3Yjk1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Station Rats. The kids, wallet lifters, gear snatchers. Rats. Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we can furnish you with whatever you need, so long as you have the credits. What are you looking for?”</span></p> <p class="cnM0MTgxMGNiNWI0YjRlODc5NWM1NjljZWQwMGYyODVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sorry about that Gustavo, I’ll remember. I’d like to get 3 spare IDs. 1 male, 2 female. Male needs to be Human. Female, 1 Human, 1 Lodrian. I’m also interested in any parts for my ship that could get me out of hot water, were it to be poured on my head, if you catch my drift?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhMmQxZDQwZTk0YzQ5MDc5ZDA2NDM1ZjI3OWIxYzIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“IDs we can do. 1500 credits each. Do you&nbsp;want to choose the names?”</span></p> <p class="cnNlYmJiMGUwNTQ2ODRkMmNiZDI2OWNjMTlmNTkyZGE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No. Something suitable for each, please. Preferably not the name of someone wanted though.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1YTViNjNkOTQ3YzQzNGZiYjNjYmQyZjAxMDM4ZWEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hah! I like your style kid! You got it. As for the other request, I can make it happen, but the credits required are going to be a bit more… exorbitant. Hey! Vinnie! Give me the register of the goods.” The big guy that I didn’t even see in the shadows hands him a pad. He taps a few keys, probably removing the items he doesn’t want to sell to a nobody, and hands it over to me.</span></p> <p class="cnNjN2ZjNzc4YTJlOTQ0Y2Q4MDQ4M2M0ZjZmMmVlYmE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Looks like my dream shopping list here. Everything the budding criminal (or spy in my case) needs. </span><br><br></p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="background-color: #524e4e; width: 95%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p class="cnM1OTkwZDYwNmI3ZDRlZTA4MDJlY2RkNmI3NGU1MTZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">XMD Transponder Rectifier</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnMwZWY5NmI4ZmYzZDQ3NTI4YzUyMzYzNTQ0NTg4NGJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 12000 credits</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Modifies ship transponders to allow the codes to be&nbsp;altered and broadcast false identification</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNlMzFlZmJkMzM2NTRhNTk5NTIxYWZlODZiYjYwMGNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">ASG NightCrawler series shields</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnNhZjVhMjBkNzk4MjRmYzBiZDhlMzUyYjJiNWI5ZTg3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 460000 credits</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Don’t be seen unless you want to be. Prevents radar and lidar detection, while also providing physical an energy shielding and optical camouflage</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMzZWQxYzRiOWJiNzQ2ZDRhZGMzY2IyYzExMjEyOTE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">RSA “Crackle” Pulse-Ion Cannon</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnNiOTZkZWQ4NmMyODQ1ZWM4NTE0NmJiNGEzNmZkODkw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 18400</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Fires&nbsp;a pulse of hyper-charged ions.&nbsp;Can be switched between positron pulses that punch holes through shielding and melt hull armour, and electron pulses capable of disabling&nbsp;enemy power systems. Designed to look like standard Plasma Cannons.</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNiNGE5NjNhYjdhMDQ5N2NiNzI2YWI3ODE4NzU2YTVm"><span style="font-weight: 400">HRCI MXVIII Neutrino Beam Gun</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnM5NzdhMWJhZGI0MTRjMDZhZmNmY2I0OGMzNzc2NTNh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 46800</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Intended for automated turret mounts, these beam weapons are suitable for both pre-emptive strikes and point defense. Unblockable. Ownership is restricted in COS space.</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNkYTZmZjE1ZDM4MTQzYmViOTE5YjY3YWY4NjUyZGRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">6R1N “Special Delivery” Hacking Suite</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnM5NWI1NzcxZWRiYjQwNTNhMTQ1OWJjMzUwY2ViNTE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 21000</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Can connect you ships systems to either the galactic or local datanet allowing you to use your ships computer to gain access to your desires. Also hardens your systems against incoming hacking attempts.</span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnNkMjkzZmIxYzIxMTQ5Yzc4Mzc3MGY1MWVlZWVjYjc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">SI “Patriarch” Counterfieture Station</span></p> </td> <td style="text-align: center"> <p class="cnMzNzUxZjBiZGYzOTQ2Yzk4NjRmMDliMzY5OGNjZDlm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cost: 46000</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">Everything you need to falsify documentation and identification in a handy workbench.</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMwZTk0MzcwOGEzMDRiNDJiMzQwNzg5ZTBmZjhmOGIx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlZjkwNzQyMWY5YTQ4YjBhMTQxMzFmOWY1MDZhZDA4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Geeze, the thing I want most is out of my price range. Well, maybe later.</span></p> <p class="cnNmOWYyMjc1NDA4ZDRkNGJiODM2ZTM0NGZjNGM5YzIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’ll take one of each, except the Nightcrawler and MXVIII, and two of the Crackles. My ship is currently being worked on by Holidra. If you could ask him to mount the guns on the ventral turrets? The rest can just be placed in the cargo bay for now.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MjQ0YzZlODgzYjQxODA5OGEyZTIxZDU4NjZmZWVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Very well. Including delivery fees, you’re looking at 135.” Quick mental math tells me that his “delivery fee is like 13%, but I’m not gonna piss off a crimelord by pointing that out. I swipe the credits over to his ID.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NTM1ZjA1Y2ZjMTRlZjBiNTY4MzlkNDRhYjJkYTA4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Here you are Gustavo. I look forward to gainful ventures with you and your people in the future.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0OGJlMmIyNmZlMTQ2ZDBhZjE0NDdlZDg5ZGY1ODM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hah, you’re an interesting boy. Slow to start, but quick on the uptake, I'll give you that. You may leave now. Vinnie has your IDs ready.” My social skills and CHA must have helped me big time with that conversation. I can't see it turning out like this otherwise.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZWNlYTc4ZTM1YzRiNGRiYzNmMDdiYTY4OWZiN2Yx"><span style="font-weight: 400">I head back to my room, pleased that I have pretty much achieved all my primary goals, plus a few bonuses. I'll need Mari to give them a check over before connecting them to the Deity's systems though. Now to change back, and sleep away the rest of the night.</span></p> </div>

“You know it’s a good thing I had the guards inform me the moment he arrived in the detention area. If that creepy little dart had got his hands on you in private there wouldn’t be any hope for you. His family runs a well known slaving syndicate. Now come. You’ve got your ID now so sell your wares and get off my station as soon as possible. Here are your weapons. Your armour was returned to your ship.” “Yeah, thanks Commander Terisar. I have no doubt that would have been the case. Otherwise I would have been rather put out by your clear distrust and dislike of me.” Let’s see if I can put some of my social skills to use and get her a little less hostile. I need a temporary ally while I’m here, and the commander of the local security force would be a solid one. “I’d like to put that to the past if possible. I was hoping we could even become friends while I am here.” “Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. I don’t like you scavs. Picking the bones of the dead isn’t a good living. This is Alistair. He’ll be your shadow while you are on station. You are not permitted to move around without him. If you do so, you go back to the cell, got it?” “Yes Ma’am. Good to meet you Alistair. Keiren Ignis, please just call me Keiren. Could you take me to a weapons dealer? I’d like to get my cargo sold quick.” He’s cute. Human. Fairly young, red hair and bright green eyes. Quick, Inspect. | Alistair Traven | Age: 23 Human Male Station Militia Status: Healthy | | --- | --- |   “Follow me Miss.” Why won’t anyone call me by name? He leads me to the local weapons dealer without talking. After some haggling with the Darvali that runs it (and some heavy usage of my Read Mind ability), I manage to sell the missiles for 1700 credits apiece. How do you like that Mari? Made more than 100000 extra. “Alright Alistair, now that I’ve got a bit of money to my name, I’d like to eat. Where’s a good spot?” Food first, then ship upgrades, then a place to sleep. “Yes, Miss. I suggest the Siren’s Song. It’s run by a human, so you don’t have to worry about those weird ingredients the Darvali always use.” I want to get him to ease up on the whole Miss thing. It’s annoying. Plus he’s cute. Maybe I can have a bit of fun with him later. “That should be fine, but I really wish you’d call me Keiren, Alistair. It’s not hard. Repeat after me: Kei...ren, Kei..ren.” “Sorry Miss, no can do. Under orders.” Drat. “Uuugh, fine. You security types are no fun at all. Well? Lead the way, I don’t know where you’re taking me after all.” He leads me down the promenade ring to a small restaurant. It’s busier than I expected, but there are still a couple tables open, so we sit down and order. The food is alright, just barely better than what I was making myself while I was on the Adavaris. More importantly, they have alcohol, good alcohol. Alistair, I am getting you drunk. He tried to say no to the drinks, but eventually he agreed to “Just one, so long as nobody tells the Commander” One became five, and pretty soon I had my tongue in his mouth and his in mine. That’s where it stopped though. My old pal the screen stopped by to say hello. | **New Form Available** | | | --- | --- | | Human, Male | You are now able to take the form of a human male. Minor alterations are available. Gather more genetic variables to increase available alterations. |   Sigh. Party’s over. I need to figure out why that happened and what it means for me. Also why I couldn’t control myself and acted like that. Before that I need to get to the docks and find me a shipyard to do some upgrades to the Deity. “Ok, Alistair. That’s enough fun for today. I need you to guide me to someone who can do some work on my ship. New engines, life support and such.” “Crap, crap, crap, crap. The Commander’s gonna kill me. This didn’t happen. You saw nothing.” He says as he glares toward the other patrons. There’s a lot of grinning and snickers from the bystanders. They probably know him pretty well. Not my problem though. I quickly pay the bill. He’s still muttering and bemoaning his actions. ”Damn pretty Shindi, what’s she even doing out here? Now I’m going to be stuck as the Commanders sparring partner...” What the hell does Shindi mean? More questions for Mari once we're gone. “Come on Alistair! You can threaten them later. I need to get the repairs started.” He takes me over to the other side of the station where the docks and the shipyard lay. There he introduces me to a Lodrian shipwright named Holidra. I ask after the engines, and he has a few options for me. It seems that a number of ships of all kinds of sizes have been scrapped in the past few weeks, and they have a surplus of the parts I need so I get a sizeable discount. My luck is good today. I buy a pair of engines and a thruster package from a Dan’khar freighter (which is apparently a newer model of the Dravlakh Mari mentioned before, that uses smaller and more powerful components). For the life support he only had one compatible option, from an Osler Class medevac transport, and it was a bit more expensive than Mari expected. All told it only cost me 320000, so I still have only spent about half of what Mari thought I would by this point. I wonder if he has any frigate spec engines or power generators? I ask him what he has available to that spec that could be ported to a modified Oilo, and he pulls at his beard for a few seconds staring at me. Then he pulls out a pad, taps on its display a few times and hands it over to me.   | Kass MKIV engine- Thesis Class Lodrian Corvette | 210000 creditsA powerful engine most often found on Darvali frigates. This engine comes from a Lodrian corvette, and is tuned for lower power consumption at the cost of thrust/mass ratio | | --- | --- | | Contor A Engine- Maantraal Class Carthan Frigate | 375000 creditsRare Carthan tech, this engine has shown greater thrust than most COSN cruiser class engines with lower power consumption than found in anything larger than a corvette in testing. | | Terch Version III Generator- Var’loth Class Karm Light Frigate | 85000 creditsOlder model generator from a Karm frigate. Low output compared to newer models. Well liked for being easy to maintain and low cost | | Tsuyo Series D Generator- Rishiri Class Human Light Frigate | 170000 creditsThe most recent generator series in the COSN. Provides more power than older model cruisers generators. Finicky to maintain. |   After looking it over, I let the shipwright know that I want the Carthan engine and the Karm Generator. I want the ease of maintenance for the power unit, and that engine just looks prime. I think my luck is feeding me the good things, just hope it doesn't run out at an inopportune moment. I give him the location of the Deity, and he let’s me know it will be ready in 8 days. Cost of the work is 120000, but he’s willing to do the work at no charge if he can keep the parts being removed. Which works for me. I’m down to just over 400000 credits. Time to find a room and see if I can figure out that new form that popped up earlier. I get Alistair to lead me somewhere where I can spend the nights until my ship is ready. “I will be available as your guide from 0700 until 2400 standard time if you wish to leave your room. If you leave for any reason during other hours, or attempt leave without me during those hours, the Commander will arrest you.” “Thanks, Alistair. I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess, then.” I pay for a room for the next 8 days, and head in. In my room, I open my status, and notice there is a Form field now. Focusing on it opens a new screen.   | **Available Forms** | | | --- | --- | | Doppel | Base Form | | Human | Human Form - Male - Limited alterations available |   And let’s take a look at the human male. I am back to that same out-of-body sensation from when I first set my base form. In my vision is the body of Alistair. It seems I can make the same changes to the features as I could earlier, though I can’t make any major changes, just minor tweaks. I change the jawline and nose a bit. Change the hair from Alistair’s showy red to a more subdued rusty brown. Reduce the intensity of the green in the eyes. Reduce the muscle mass a bit. Now instead of looking like Alistair, I could probably pass for a close relative. And, confirm. Everything begins to change. It feels like my bones have turned to snakes and are trying to escape from my body. After a while the feeling stops, and I can move freely again. Looking at the clock, that took me almost 20 minutes. So it won’t be something I can use to escape when I am in a situation where time is limited. Now to figure out that other problem. Why was I suddenly overcome with desire. Both toward Alistair, and earlier with Terisar. I can’t come to terms with it. I didn’t have any powerful sexual urges before. Although, I hadn’t been around people before. Maybe it has to do with being a Doppel? I gained the human male form when I kissed Alistair, and the form I have access to is his (more or less). Do Doppels have the ability to assimilate genetic material from sentients, which is what allows our transformative ability to work? I can operate under that theory until better information is presented. So maybe my body gets revved up at the thought of gaining new forms? But why didn’t I feel like that around the Darvali I met? This will need more insight. I should discuss it with Mari once we’re back in motion. I miss her. Even the constant barrage of insults. It’s tough not having anyone you can trust or confide in. I think I’ll take a quick nap, and then go on a tour of the station at night in my new form to get all the items I want from the darker parts of the station. Need a few fake IDs, and I should see what else I can get my hands on. --- | **Level Up** | | | --- | --- | | Level increased by 1 Attributes have been assigned. | | | **Skill Level Increase** | | | Analysis | Level +2 For reaching Level 5 in Analysis you have been awarded +1 PER | | Empath | Level +4 For reaching Level 10 in Empath you have been awarded +1 PER and +1 INT | | Acting | Level +2 | | Swindle | Level +1 | | Etiquette | Level +2 | | Negotiation | Level +2 For reaching Level 5 in Negotiation you have been awarded +1 STR | | Stealth | Level +3 For reaching Level 5 in Stealth you have been awarded +1 DEX | | Universal Knowledge | Level +2 | | Ruse | Level +1 | | Seduction | Level +3 |   I wake from my nap to the screen. Thanks, glad you were willing to work with me on changing when you pop up at night with these alerts. I gained a bunch of levels from my interactions yesterday. I’m confused as to why I got a point of STR as my bonus for negotiation though. I would have expected a CHA boost instead. Maybe the attribute gains are random? Or the screen just likes messing with me. Well Screen? Care to explain? No, of course you don’t. Time to sneak out. I step out into the promenade, and walk down towards the shops. It doesn’t take long to find what I’m looking for. Accessing criminal syndicates is fairly easy, just ask a bartender. If you’re lucky, they won’t kill you for inquiring after their ‘special’ goods. The problem with that, for me, is that there were lots of pretty women that took an interest in a handsome guy like me. Having a few drinks and dancing with them while waiting for my intro to the boss here led to a few new screen pops. Pretty much proving my genetic assimilation theory.   | **New Form Available** | | | --- | --- | | Human, Female | You are now able to take the form of a Human female. Alterations are available. Gather more genetic variables to increase available alterations. | | Lodrian, Female | You are now able to take the form of a Lodrian female. Alterations are available. Gather more genetic variables to increase available alterations. | | Ferlo | You are now able to take the form of a Ferlo. Alterations not available. |   The heck is a Ferlo? Must be some kind of humanoid that looks very similar to Humans or Lodrians. Why isn’t there a gender though? Oops, no time to worry about it. The bartender is waving me over for my introduction with his boss. He leads me into a private room, clearly soundproofed as the music from the bar doesn’t filter in. “So, I hear you want to make a few minor purchases from us. You may call me Gustavo. You’re new here, so I’ll forgive you for not knowing protocol. In the future if you need anything, you talk to the Rats first.” “Rats? I’ll need a bit of clarification there.” “Station Rats. The kids, wallet lifters, gear snatchers. Rats. Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we can furnish you with whatever you need, so long as you have the credits. What are you looking for?” “Sorry about that Gustavo, I’ll remember. I’d like to get 3 spare IDs. 1 male, 2 female. Male needs to be Human. Female, 1 Human, 1 Lodrian. I’m also interested in any parts for my ship that could get me out of hot water, were it to be poured on my head, if you catch my drift?” “IDs we can do. 1500 credits each. Do you want to choose the names?” “No. Something suitable for each, please. Preferably not the name of someone wanted though.” “Hah! I like your style kid! You got it. As for the other request, I can make it happen, but the credits required are going to be a bit more… exorbitant. Hey! Vinnie! Give me the register of the goods.” The big guy that I didn’t even see in the shadows hands him a pad. He taps a few keys, probably removing the items he doesn’t want to sell to a nobody, and hands it over to me. Looks like my dream shopping list here. Everything the budding criminal (or spy in my case) needs. | XMD Transponder Rectifier | Cost: 12000 creditsModifies ship transponders to allow the codes to be altered and broadcast false identification | | --- | --- | | ASG NightCrawler series shields | Cost: 460000 creditsDon’t be seen unless you want to be. Prevents radar and lidar detection, while also providing physical an energy shielding and optical camouflage | | RSA “Crackle” Pulse-Ion Cannon | Cost: 18400Fires a pulse of hyper-charged ions. Can be switched between positron pulses that punch holes through shielding and melt hull armour, and electron pulses capable of disabling enemy power systems. Designed to look like standard Plasma Cannons. | | HRCI MXVIII Neutrino Beam Gun | Cost: 46800Intended for automated turret mounts, these beam weapons are suitable for both pre-emptive strikes and point defense. Unblockable. Ownership is restricted in COS space. | | 6R1N “Special Delivery” Hacking Suite | Cost: 21000Can connect you ships systems to either the galactic or local datanet allowing you to use your ships computer to gain access to your desires. Also hardens your systems against incoming hacking attempts. | | SI “Patriarch” Counterfieture Station | Cost: 46000Everything you need to falsify documentation and identification in a handy workbench. |   Geeze, the thing I want most is out of my price range. Well, maybe later. “I’ll take one of each, except the Nightcrawler and MXVIII, and two of the Crackles. My ship is currently being worked on by Holidra. If you could ask him to mount the guns on the ventral turrets? The rest can just be placed in the cargo bay for now.” “Very well. Including delivery fees, you’re looking at 135.” Quick mental math tells me that his “delivery fee is like 13%, but I’m not gonna piss off a crimelord by pointing that out. I swipe the credits over to his ID. “Here you are Gustavo. I look forward to gainful ventures with you and your people in the future.” “Hah, you’re an interesting boy. Slow to start, but quick on the uptake, I'll give you that. You may leave now. Vinnie has your IDs ready.” My social skills and CHA must have helped me big time with that conversation. I can't see it turning out like this otherwise. I head back to my room, pleased that I have pretty much achieved all my primary goals, plus a few bonuses. I'll need Mari to give them a check over before connecting them to the Deity's systems though. Now to change back, and sleep away the rest of the night.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwOTE3YmQ1ZTc0ZjRlODk5M2M1N2YzYWVjYWQyZjM5"><span style="font-weight: 400">With an explosion, a large portion of the Tal’darim ground forces was obliterated. Hundreds of mercenaries on that battlecruiser was wiped out as well, but they were cheap and replaceable. A decent amount of credits could buy anyone an army as large as this one.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZTI2ZjFmZTY5YzQ4MmQ5OTE3ODJlZTE1ZjM0NDAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Supplicants and Tal’darim ground forces, on the other hand, were almost impossible to be replaced. </span></p> <p class="cnNmMTExZTk2ZDJjMDRhNDQ4NGJlNWNhMGRjYTg5Zjhh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No!” Olane stood up and smashed her fists into the wall of the bridge. The metal frame cracked, but she was beyond the point to care about that.</span></p> <p class="cnM2Zjc2MzNmMGU3ZjRjNWI5NTIyMWIxYWQ4NjJiN2E2"><span style="font-weight: 400">She sent 150 of her 200 supplicants on that ship! That’s ¾ of her forces! And now they were gone. She built them in centuries, and they were lost in just a few seconds. Olane couldn’t even imagine what would happen later.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDQwNDExOWE5NDRkZWRhMmE4M2EzM2Y2NGNhY2Q2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Without her supplicants, she would be challenged in Rak’Shir. She would be outnumbered and defeated. Nuroka would abandon her because she was no longer useful. She would fall, and another ascendant would step on her and rise to a higher level. </span></p> <p class="cnNhY2I3ZGZjZWM3MjRkNTZhMTVjMWZhNmQwOGE2MDhm"><span style="font-weight: 400">She would be nothing but a stepping stone. </span></p> <p class="cnNjODFmODZjZDc3ZDRmOTg4ZmRhMDc2YmQ5YzA2ODFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">And it was all because she was impatient. If she was more careful and kept the supplicants back...but how was she supposed to know this would happen? The terran showed no sign of evacuating. The last report from the boarding parties reported encountering heavy resistance. All the signs showed that they were trying to defend the ship, not blow it up. </span></p> <p class="cnNjNzc1MDk1ODViODRkMTBhYjM3NWYxOThkMzAyYzlm"><span style="font-weight: 400">The only way it was possible would be if every terran trooper on the battlecruiser was willing to sacrifice themselves, but was that even possible? Tal’darim warriors would gladly die for their god, but she has heard about these terran mercenaries, and they weren’t exactly the brave type. </span></p> <p class="cnNlODYyZTI1YWQyMjQ1ZjliMjZhMTA0ZjNkMDQ5NzA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">She wasn’t the only was surprised. </span></p> <p class="cnMwYzMzOGQyMDNmMTQ4Yzg4ZTBmYzFmNmE4OTZmNzlh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Tosh, what have you done?” Through the computer screen, Horner struggled to control his anger. </span></p> <p class="cnM5ODU5YWFiZDYwZjQ3NjZiYTFkZDdhNjNjMTU2YzIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What do you mean? Scanners show at least six hundred Tal’darim on that cruiser. That means six hundred less enemies to kill. You should be thanking me.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiYzFjOGZjYThiZDRjNGU4YjFmZmUxOTkyNzNjNmNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You blew up an entire battlecruiser! Your own battlecruiser! Did you even evacuate your men?” Again, it was one thing to lose a ship in battle. It was another to blow it up with hundreds of men on it.</span></p> <p class="cnNlN2EzNDdiNjJiZTQ4ODdhZTdjNmY4OTYxMWQxYmU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Tosh dodged the question. “It’s my ship, and what I do with it is my own problem. Press the attack now and the Tal’darim will be forced to retreat. They can’t afford any more losses.” He knew the mindset of these Tal’darim warlords. After this, they would hesitate before launching boarding parties again. Even if they do, they wouldn’t send their best, assuming they still had any of their best left.</span></p> <p class="cnMxM2FlMjJkNzc5MDQ2M2RiOWJmMzU5OThlZGI5MzZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You...we will talk about this afterward.” The experienced captain knew this wasn’t the time to argue. Dissent among the ranks was one of the top causes of defeat. He turned around and passed down a few orders. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NmM0Y2RkY2I3ODRjYmU5YWIyZDQ1YmMxYjE1YjAz"><span style="font-weight: 400">The six battlecruisers kept on moving. Their mercenary fighters were pretty much gone, but so were the phoenixes and interceptors. </span></p> <p class="cnMxYjZlMzMyOWU5NTQwOWU4MjAxNGY0MDljNjNiM2Ni"><span style="font-weight: 400">Another carrier started to burn from the inside. Its supplicant forces were gradually thinned down by the endless wave of boarding parties. With one final explosion, its shield disappeared. The mercenary battlecruisers focused fire on that ship, slaughtering Tal’darim and mercenaries alike. </span></p> <p class="cnMxZjUxNjFmZTlmYjQ2OGJhYjA2ZjZhYzFhYTIyYzU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My master, what is your command？” One of the supplicants that survived the explosion walked up to Olane. He was on guard duty for the ascendant, and it saved his life. </span></p> <p class="cnNlNjE4YjQyMmI5MTRhOGQ5NDYxMzM2NDQxNzM3Nzc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olane’s eyes dimmed down. The terran were much more ruthless than she imagined. Two of the four carriers were already gone. Most of the destroyers were ashes. She still had a sizeable ground army, but she couldn’t afford to trade with the terran. </span></p> <p class="cnM1OGFkYWVkMjFmOTQ3ZTU5MGQzNTNmZTkyNDUzZTY1"><span style="font-weight: 400">If she were to keep on attacking and end up losing her entire fleet, Nuroka’s fleet, she had no doubt her head would be stuck to a pike and be put on show in front of Nuroka’s fortress. The First Ascendant would gladly unleash his anger on her. </span></p> <p class="cnM0NTFlOGU2M2I5NDQ5ZWE5OTA1MWZlOGZlZmUzMWFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">But she couldn’t afford to back off and give up the planet either. A planet this size was valuable, even for Nuroka. </span></p> <p class="cnMwZDUzMzQ5Y2QzNzQ1ZTM4MmNmYmM5NTZiY2NmZWZj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Have we made contact First Ascendant yet?” </span></p> <p class="cnNkZDFhY2VmNjI3MDQ4MGViNGRiMTJiZWNkYjlhYTNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes, my master, but First Ascendant Nuroka is currently attacking a Nerazim settlement. He is unavailable.” </span></p> <p class="cnNhNjI4MGU0NWMzMjQxYzliMWRmYjg4YjliNjFjYzFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">After trading off two whole fleets, Nuroka felt like his forces were smaller than he wanted, and for a Tal’darim, the only way to replenish forces was by attacking other protoss factions. That was exactly what the First Ascendant did. </span></p> <p class="cnM0ZmYzM2UxMTQzOTRjMmZhZTE4OWJhY2NjZTk1NjQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Unfortunately, this left Olane without reinforcement. Other fleet lords were free, but Olane knew if she asked for help from, say, Alarak or Ji’nara, Nuroka would definitely have her head. That would be like telling the world Nuroka couldn’t protect his own territory. </span></p> <p class="cnM0NzY4NmVjMWZmYTQwYmY4OTE0YThmMmFmOTRkMDgx"><span style="font-weight: 400">If that was the case, then Nuroka no longer deserved to be the First Ascendant. He might as well back off and let someone else take his place. </span></p> <p class="cnM3YWJkN2M5MDkzNTQ3Nzk5NTY0M2ZkNjZlYWY0OGM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My master?” The supplicant asked again. Outside, the last destroyer fell in a spectacular demonstration of firework. All the fighters were gone. All that was left were two crimson carriers and a thousand or so interceptors. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MjAwYWZkMjllMDRhZGY5N2FkNDIzNTZmYzFjZmIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">The terran lost one battlecruiser to the self destruction. Two of the mercenary battlecruisers were barely able to keep flying. The Hyperion’s armor took quite the punishment. Jean’s ship was already burning, but the fire was quickly controlled by SCVs. </span></p> <p class="cnMxODIxYzBmOTZhODRkN2Y5NGNkNjQyODg1NGI1ZmRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Most of the terran ships were still suitable for combat, and the same couldn’t be said for the Tal'darim. More importantly, the Yamato Cannons were loaded again. If they open fire on the shieldless carriers...</span></p> <p class="cnM1MGY1YTEwMmNiOTQ2ODBhZWEzYjllNjYxZjg3ZDEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Recall all the ground forces and prepare for warping.” Olane made up her mind. At this point she could only hope Nuroka would take all the factors into consideration and let her live, though deep down she knew that was unlikely. </span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmE1ZjM4ZTc5YjRlMTFhYmIwMmRmZGYxYzE0ZGU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Thousands of light beams dropped down on Bel’Shir and teleported all the ground forces, including probes, back onto Olane’s carrier. The once empty hallways were instantly filled by confused Tal’darim warriors. When all the units were in, Olane didn’t waste a second to bring her ship and the other carrier survivor into warp space. </span></p> <p class="cnNlZWY3NjZlOGUzYjRmMGFiOGI4ZDY3NjZhMTI4MGI2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Scanners indicate all protoss units have been evacuated. The planet is ours.” Jean announced as she looked down on one of the computer screens. She just did an orbital scan of Bel’Shir.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOWIxOWJiNjk0MjQ0YjI4NzBiNDc1YWQ1Y2RhNzU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My boys are collecting the terrazine now. It’s being nice doing business with you, Mr. Raynor.” Tosh smiled in satisfaction. “There are some mineral clusters on the planet. Feel free to grab them, but keep in mind the Tal’darim might come in any time, so keep your ships ready and only send out SCVs you don’t like.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0M2QzMmUxNDQ0MjQwZmNiM2JhNGRjMDIxNGYzNzll"><span style="font-weight: 400">Both Raynor and Jean nodded, though Raynor frowned at that last bit. A few minutes later, several command centers were sent to Bel’Shir. Packed with SCVs, they would collect as many resources for their boss as possible. </span></p> <p class="cnMzZTBmMDZhYTllOTRhODZiYjE4OTZjZTk3M2NjNDM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Suddenly, Matt Horner, who wanted to say something to Tosh, saw a transmission request on the computer screen in front of him. He frowned before tapping it open. Imagine his surprise when he saw a blonde figure in a hostile environment suit. </span></p> <p class="cnM2YWZjNTQ2N2NlYjQwNjc4NWNmNWVmYTIxM2UxNDhi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hello, my name is Nova…” </span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMwMjQ3MjM3NTcyNTQ1NmNhYTU0OGNkOWUyZmNiZmVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">On Slayn, two battered carriers exited warp space. </span></p> <p class="cnNlN2RmNWJiMDkzMzRiNzI4YzRiMGUxYzk4N2QxMGM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My master, what should we tell Nuroka? He will not be satisfied.” As a supplicant to Olane, the zealot valued the female ascendant over anyone else, even Highlord Ma’lash. </span></p> <p class="cnM1MWE3NDdhODQwMTQ2N2ZhZDA1ZmFjMjEyNmEzODIx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olane groaned, but before she could say anything, the screen in front of her was automatically opened up. </span></p> <p class="cnMyYTdmMWEwZDMzZTRlNTBhN2RjOThjY2U1MjY1MWZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ascendant Olane. I am...”</span></p> <p class="cnMzYzgwZTExNDA4ZDQxMjBhMDlmMGZhZDE5MGVmNzRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sixth Ascendant Nyon. I am well aware of your identity.” Olane immediately tried to take back the control of the conversation. This was an odd timing, and she wasn’t sure why the Sixth Ascendant would want to talk to her, an ascendant who pledged her allegiance to Nyon’s potential enemy that was just defeated in battle. “However, I am not aware of your purpose.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZWIxODNmZjM0ODQwOTZiYjc0NjNkNTI4NmJmYWEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I am here to offer you an offer.” Nyon said quietly. “As I have learned from a quite trustworthy source, you have just been defeated by a terran fleet. You lost Bel’Shir and, judging from the look of it, most of the fleet Nuroka gave you.” He smirked. “Nuroka will not be happy.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzAzMmFmYzgzYzQxZWRiNTQxMDZjOWUzNWI1N2Vi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I have been defeated, and I am willing to face his wrath.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkNmFhYzBjMWYwYzRjZmFhMWEyY2ZkNDVhMzZjNTAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Really? Do you know what happened to the last ascendant that disappointed him. It took Nuroka three days to finally end his misery. Do you think you’ll receive a better fate?”</span></p> <p class="cnNmM2FkMGY0YmZjODQ0ZWM4NzdjZTg0NDM0OTVjMGMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olane didn’t answer. It wasn’t the pain that worried her. It was the shame of defeat. The knowledge that her path of ascension was over hurt her more than the most brutal torture. </span></p> <p class="cnM4YjBjNTVlYTBmYjRjMjZiNDBkOGM2ZTY2YjU0MjBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“However, I can offer you a deal. I can offer you a way to continue your ascension.” Nyon suggested. “Join me with you and your ships, and I will make sure Nuroka doesn’t lay a finger on you.” </span></p> <p class="cnNiOWU5NjEyYTg1YjQ3YTdiMjhhMWY1MTg2YzRlMDM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olane turned around and waved at the supplicants, who immediately set up an observer and secured the bridge. Finally, she turned back and smirked. “Why do you think you can protect me? Nuroka can kill you as easily as he can kill me. If you offer me protection, then Nuroka will have a reason to attack you.” </span></p> <p class="cnM4ZmUxNzU5ZWFhMjQyYjE4ZmIwODZkMjI2MTYwYzUw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Perhaps, but no one will know that you are in with me.” Nyon has went over the plan a couple times with Jean. “No one knows you have survived. As long as you cover the identity of you and your warriors, Nuroka will think the terran wiped you out. He wouldn’t even be looking for you.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZWU5Yjk2MzUwZDRlOTg4ZjhjYWRiZTc1NTMxMzVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“And if he finds out? And he will, eventually. The First Ascendant’s spies are everywhere.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1NGI4NjlhYzJjZDRiNGY4Y2NkZWU0MTU0ODI4NDJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“As long as the cover can buy me some time, I will no longer need to fear Nuroka.” Nyon said confidently. “If I become the First Ascendant, no one will question your presence.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyYzYwNjgyMWU4OTQ5NzBiM2ZiYjlhNWMyMTQ0NWU3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You must be really short on ships. Otherwise why would you go through all that trouble just for two half destroyed carriers?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjOGUwYWM2ZTg3ZjQxMWRiMzEzMGYwNTZjYmZhNGJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Nyon ignored the question. ”That is not your consideration. Are you joining me?” </span></p> <p class="cnM2OWZjMDM2ZDdhOTQzZTY4ZTIyOWRhZTQzNWVlZmI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olane thought about it for a second. It seemed to be her only way out. She wasn’t going to sit by and just allow Nuroka to kill her. </span></p> <p class="cnMxNTgzZTFiMTVhZTRiYTVhMmJkNmE1YTM0ZDNhZTli"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’m in, but how can you make sure my warriors will join you as well? The supplicants will follow me without question, but the common warriors won’t. They serve Nuroka and Nuroka alone. If you try to turn them to your side, they will go against you.” </span></p> <p class="cnNlNjZkNDhkZjNmNDQ1MTQ5MjM4ZTc1MWE0OWM2MWNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How many Tal’darim are on your ship beside the supplicants?”</span></p> <p class="cnMxYWQ4ODYyMmYwZTRmMjg5NWNlMjczNDJlODQ3MDQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Around two thousand.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZjc2ZThhYzU1ZjQxYjRhYWJlNmFlNjQ2NzUzMTUy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You can leave that to me.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1YmY0NzE4MzE4YTQ5OGU5NGE5YzliY2Y4YzIxMjk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">As the two struck down the deal, Olane parked her carrier on a planet a distance away from Slayn. The ascendant from the other carrier was persuaded as well. Both ships went silent and allowed a platform for a move to be made on the Tal’darim warriors inside the two ships. </span></p> <p class="cnM0YzkwOWJjMDAzMTQzNjA5NjQyMTMwZmM2YTI5Yzhh"><span style="font-weight: 400">It didn’t take long before rumor started to spread. The word got around that First Ascendant Nuroka, angered by these warrior’s defeat at the hands of the terran, wanted to have every last one of them executed. Not only so, they would be branded as cowards and weaklings. When they die, they wouldn’t even return to Amon. </span></p> <p class="cnNkZjVkM2RiYjg3ZTRiOGU5MjEzMTdjODkzN2Q1N2E0"><span style="font-weight: 400">That caused an outrage. Most of the Tal’darim still alive didn’t even meet the terran in combat. All they did was sit back in their base on Bel’Shir and wait for their time to shine, which never came. Blaming them for the defeat was irresponsible and unfair. Having them executed was simply foolish. </span></p> <p class="cnM1ZDkwMjU4ZThmMjQ0NGJhNThmZGU2MjkxZWEyMWJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Of course, some Tal’darim argued that the rumor might be a fake, but all of them mysteriously disappeared a while after they spoke their ideas. Others wanted to contact Nyon. Some wanted to face remain loyal to Nuroka even if it meant death. All of them failed to live long enough to get to what they wanted.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MjkyOGI3ZjU3NzRiZjRiZTM0YjdmYjljZjAxNzE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">This continued for two days, and in the end all the Tal’darim capable of thinking independently, which wasn’t much, were gone. All those left were those who could be easily manipulated. </span></p> <p class="cnMzMjdkMTNiMDdjMjQzNjM4YzMzMzlmNTQ0NDBmNWU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">The brainwashing continued for three more days, and when it was all over every Tal’darim in the two ships wanted to rip Nuroka’s throat out. </span></p> <p class="cnM0NDRkMzQ3OTM2NzRlZGU4ZmQyMDVlZTdiOWQ2N2Ez"><span style="font-weight: 400">At this point, when Olane announced they would switch side to Sixth Ascendant Nyon, very few questioned it, and those that did didn’t question it for long. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NDQ3YWE5NTIzMjQ0OTI5MWQxY2Y1YzI5ZTQyNTU3"><span style="font-weight: 400">After all, the dead doesn’t have a voice. </span></p> </div>

With an explosion, a large portion of the Tal’darim ground forces was obliterated. Hundreds of mercenaries on that battlecruiser was wiped out as well, but they were cheap and replaceable. A decent amount of credits could buy anyone an army as large as this one. Supplicants and Tal’darim ground forces, on the other hand, were almost impossible to be replaced. “No!” Olane stood up and smashed her fists into the wall of the bridge. The metal frame cracked, but she was beyond the point to care about that. She sent 150 of her 200 supplicants on that ship! That’s ¾ of her forces! And now they were gone. She built them in centuries, and they were lost in just a few seconds. Olane couldn’t even imagine what would happen later. Without her supplicants, she would be challenged in Rak’Shir. She would be outnumbered and defeated. Nuroka would abandon her because she was no longer useful. She would fall, and another ascendant would step on her and rise to a higher level. She would be nothing but a stepping stone. And it was all because she was impatient. If she was more careful and kept the supplicants back...but how was she supposed to know this would happen? The terran showed no sign of evacuating. The last report from the boarding parties reported encountering heavy resistance. All the signs showed that they were trying to defend the ship, not blow it up. The only way it was possible would be if every terran trooper on the battlecruiser was willing to sacrifice themselves, but was that even possible? Tal’darim warriors would gladly die for their god, but she has heard about these terran mercenaries, and they weren’t exactly the brave type. She wasn’t the only was surprised. “Tosh, what have you done?” Through the computer screen, Horner struggled to control his anger. “What do you mean? Scanners show at least six hundred Tal’darim on that cruiser. That means six hundred less enemies to kill. You should be thanking me.” “You blew up an entire battlecruiser! Your own battlecruiser! Did you even evacuate your men?” Again, it was one thing to lose a ship in battle. It was another to blow it up with hundreds of men on it. Tosh dodged the question. “It’s my ship, and what I do with it is my own problem. Press the attack now and the Tal’darim will be forced to retreat. They can’t afford any more losses.” He knew the mindset of these Tal’darim warlords. After this, they would hesitate before launching boarding parties again. Even if they do, they wouldn’t send their best, assuming they still had any of their best left. “You...we will talk about this afterward.” The experienced captain knew this wasn’t the time to argue. Dissent among the ranks was one of the top causes of defeat. He turned around and passed down a few orders. The six battlecruisers kept on moving. Their mercenary fighters were pretty much gone, but so were the phoenixes and interceptors. Another carrier started to burn from the inside. Its supplicant forces were gradually thinned down by the endless wave of boarding parties. With one final explosion, its shield disappeared. The mercenary battlecruisers focused fire on that ship, slaughtering Tal’darim and mercenaries alike. “My master, what is your command？” One of the supplicants that survived the explosion walked up to Olane. He was on guard duty for the ascendant, and it saved his life. Olane’s eyes dimmed down. The terran were much more ruthless than she imagined. Two of the four carriers were already gone. Most of the destroyers were ashes. She still had a sizeable ground army, but she couldn’t afford to trade with the terran. If she were to keep on attacking and end up losing her entire fleet, Nuroka’s fleet, she had no doubt her head would be stuck to a pike and be put on show in front of Nuroka’s fortress. The First Ascendant would gladly unleash his anger on her. But she couldn’t afford to back off and give up the planet either. A planet this size was valuable, even for Nuroka. “Have we made contact First Ascendant yet?” “Yes, my master, but First Ascendant Nuroka is currently attacking a Nerazim settlement. He is unavailable.” After trading off two whole fleets, Nuroka felt like his forces were smaller than he wanted, and for a Tal’darim, the only way to replenish forces was by attacking other protoss factions. That was exactly what the First Ascendant did. Unfortunately, this left Olane without reinforcement. Other fleet lords were free, but Olane knew if she asked for help from, say, Alarak or Ji’nara, Nuroka would definitely have her head. That would be like telling the world Nuroka couldn’t protect his own territory. If that was the case, then Nuroka no longer deserved to be the First Ascendant. He might as well back off and let someone else take his place. “My master?” The supplicant asked again. Outside, the last destroyer fell in a spectacular demonstration of firework. All the fighters were gone. All that was left were two crimson carriers and a thousand or so interceptors. The terran lost one battlecruiser to the self destruction. Two of the mercenary battlecruisers were barely able to keep flying. The Hyperion’s armor took quite the punishment. Jean’s ship was already burning, but the fire was quickly controlled by SCVs. Most of the terran ships were still suitable for combat, and the same couldn’t be said for the Tal'darim. More importantly, the Yamato Cannons were loaded again. If they open fire on the shieldless carriers... “Recall all the ground forces and prepare for warping.” Olane made up her mind. At this point she could only hope Nuroka would take all the factors into consideration and let her live, though deep down she knew that was unlikely. Thousands of light beams dropped down on Bel’Shir and teleported all the ground forces, including probes, back onto Olane’s carrier. The once empty hallways were instantly filled by confused Tal’darim warriors. When all the units were in, Olane didn’t waste a second to bring her ship and the other carrier survivor into warp space. “Scanners indicate all protoss units have been evacuated. The planet is ours.” Jean announced as she looked down on one of the computer screens. She just did an orbital scan of Bel’Shir. “My boys are collecting the terrazine now. It’s being nice doing business with you, Mr. Raynor.” Tosh smiled in satisfaction. “There are some mineral clusters on the planet. Feel free to grab them, but keep in mind the Tal’darim might come in any time, so keep your ships ready and only send out SCVs you don’t like.” Both Raynor and Jean nodded, though Raynor frowned at that last bit. A few minutes later, several command centers were sent to Bel’Shir. Packed with SCVs, they would collect as many resources for their boss as possible. Suddenly, Matt Horner, who wanted to say something to Tosh, saw a transmission request on the computer screen in front of him. He frowned before tapping it open. Imagine his surprise when he saw a blonde figure in a hostile environment suit. “Hello, my name is Nova…” --- On Slayn, two battered carriers exited warp space. “My master, what should we tell Nuroka? He will not be satisfied.” As a supplicant to Olane, the zealot valued the female ascendant over anyone else, even Highlord Ma’lash. Olane groaned, but before she could say anything, the screen in front of her was automatically opened up. “Ascendant Olane. I am...” “Sixth Ascendant Nyon. I am well aware of your identity.” Olane immediately tried to take back the control of the conversation. This was an odd timing, and she wasn’t sure why the Sixth Ascendant would want to talk to her, an ascendant who pledged her allegiance to Nyon’s potential enemy that was just defeated in battle. “However, I am not aware of your purpose.” “I am here to offer you an offer.” Nyon said quietly. “As I have learned from a quite trustworthy source, you have just been defeated by a terran fleet. You lost Bel’Shir and, judging from the look of it, most of the fleet Nuroka gave you.” He smirked. “Nuroka will not be happy.” “I have been defeated, and I am willing to face his wrath.” “Really? Do you know what happened to the last ascendant that disappointed him. It took Nuroka three days to finally end his misery. Do you think you’ll receive a better fate?” Olane didn’t answer. It wasn’t the pain that worried her. It was the shame of defeat. The knowledge that her path of ascension was over hurt her more than the most brutal torture. “However, I can offer you a deal. I can offer you a way to continue your ascension.” Nyon suggested. “Join me with you and your ships, and I will make sure Nuroka doesn’t lay a finger on you.” Olane turned around and waved at the supplicants, who immediately set up an observer and secured the bridge. Finally, she turned back and smirked. “Why do you think you can protect me? Nuroka can kill you as easily as he can kill me. If you offer me protection, then Nuroka will have a reason to attack you.” “Perhaps, but no one will know that you are in with me.” Nyon has went over the plan a couple times with Jean. “No one knows you have survived. As long as you cover the identity of you and your warriors, Nuroka will think the terran wiped you out. He wouldn’t even be looking for you.” “And if he finds out? And he will, eventually. The First Ascendant’s spies are everywhere.” “As long as the cover can buy me some time, I will no longer need to fear Nuroka.” Nyon said confidently. “If I become the First Ascendant, no one will question your presence.” “You must be really short on ships. Otherwise why would you go through all that trouble just for two half destroyed carriers?” Nyon ignored the question. ”That is not your consideration. Are you joining me?” Olane thought about it for a second. It seemed to be her only way out. She wasn’t going to sit by and just allow Nuroka to kill her. “I’m in, but how can you make sure my warriors will join you as well? The supplicants will follow me without question, but the common warriors won’t. They serve Nuroka and Nuroka alone. If you try to turn them to your side, they will go against you.” “How many Tal’darim are on your ship beside the supplicants?” “Around two thousand.” “You can leave that to me.” As the two struck down the deal, Olane parked her carrier on a planet a distance away from Slayn. The ascendant from the other carrier was persuaded as well. Both ships went silent and allowed a platform for a move to be made on the Tal’darim warriors inside the two ships. It didn’t take long before rumor started to spread. The word got around that First Ascendant Nuroka, angered by these warrior’s defeat at the hands of the terran, wanted to have every last one of them executed. Not only so, they would be branded as cowards and weaklings. When they die, they wouldn’t even return to Amon. That caused an outrage. Most of the Tal’darim still alive didn’t even meet the terran in combat. All they did was sit back in their base on Bel’Shir and wait for their time to shine, which never came. Blaming them for the defeat was irresponsible and unfair. Having them executed was simply foolish. Of course, some Tal’darim argued that the rumor might be a fake, but all of them mysteriously disappeared a while after they spoke their ideas. Others wanted to contact Nyon. Some wanted to face remain loyal to Nuroka even if it meant death. All of them failed to live long enough to get to what they wanted. This continued for two days, and in the end all the Tal’darim capable of thinking independently, which wasn’t much, were gone. All those left were those who could be easily manipulated. The brainwashing continued for three more days, and when it was all over every Tal’darim in the two ships wanted to rip Nuroka’s throat out. At this point, when Olane announced they would switch side to Sixth Ascendant Nyon, very few questioned it, and those that did didn’t question it for long. After all, the dead doesn’t have a voice.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNiOTY3YWU2ZGU2YjRlNGRiMTBhYjQ3ZTAzNTlmNDJi"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Alex step out of the building releasing a sigh of relief. "Shit, now I'm down to only one letter." He recalled when he receive them, only after running around dodging bullets in Germany. Springing one defector scientist after another. His count was a record of 79, now that might seem small but keep in mind that he did that alone with almost no back up. The president was so please to steal all those goodies from the Germans, that he was summon to the white house and was ask about what to give him as a reward. </span></p> <p class="cnMyZjNlMzNmYWE3MDQzZWNhMWIzZDYwZWMwNDg1ZTEz"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">He saw an opportunity to get out off under his boss's thumps. Event then as good of an agent he was, his intellect and well his lack of suffering idiotic orders. Gave him a foundation of enemies, that would like nothing more, but to grind him down into submission. And so he ask for those letters he receive three. And now he was down to one, that was four months agos. He use the first to get the hell out of Germany, his boss at the time found it humiliating. And so he never spoke of it to anyone, beside who would think that he had three of those. They were s'oppose to be get out of jail free cards, but saddly his rapport with the higher up and reputation was his own worse enemy.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZmQ1ZTdmYTA3ZDRhNzRhMzUyY2VlNTIyOWUwOTdl"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"At this ratio all probably loose the last in two mongths." He groan in annoyance, he had to use the letter he had no choices. If they kick him away now, it would ruin any chance he had, no matter how small of getting something from the Dr Reinstein. He hailed a cab and made his was to the apartment that he had use to get into contact with Lemberge. He didn't need to be sneaky for this, he figured that the place had been already expose. And keeping it would only bring him danger, but he still had to go back and grab his brief case, without it thing would get alot harder.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM3NmU0YzhiMzA0ZTRhMWQ4YTc2YzIyNzQyZmFlMzAz"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">He told the driver bye and quickly enter, he only slowed down to check to make sure no one was inside waiting for him. Luckily it was attacker free, quickly going for the hidden catch. He pick up his case and left just as quickly. Going back on the street, he hail a new cab.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNhMDY1NTcwY2Y0MDRlYzA4OTIwMWE3OTMyNjM0NGU5"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Now to insure that he wasn't being followed by any one, he bribe the driver to drive in circles, he manage to spot the tails. Then he gave some bugus story about a lovely but very married women, and her, rich overly jealous husband. With money and a good story the driver was more then happy to leave his tails in the dust.</span></p> <p class="cnNlZGMzMmM0MTg0YjQ5NzZhN2QwMzI4NDk2N2Q3YmZh"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Arriving to his destination, he made sure to give a generous tip and wave the cab away. Walking on foot for ten minutes, he arrive at an old abandon garage. He slip inside, once their he stop to admire his babby. As soon as he saw it he new he had to have it, hell back in his old time any car enthusiast would be willing to give an arm or a leg just to own it. A real smile broke on his face as he practically drooled himself silly, just looking at it. It was a duesenberg model J 1928, Al Capone car, he remembered that he was jumping around it in exitement at the shop. He keep getting weird looks from everyone, for everyone else it was a good car, expensive but nothing to be exited about. But to him it represented a link to his old world pop culture, a trip down memory lane.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMDdmMjBiOGQ3NzRkZjE4MmUyN2ZkNzg2MDBiZDhk"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Hello beautiful! How my babby doing? Yes I know daddy been busy...." He went on for longer, saying thing about him and it that would disturbs many if their was anyone around. Finaly getting it out of his system, with a final look he went to the phone in the run down offices. He hope he could sent for a earlier meet, he couldn't wait around for next week.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZGZjYjRhNDAxZDRiYmJhNTFjZmRkZTU4N2U3N2I5"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Hello operator, yes could you patch me to fort terry please, yes Il hold. Hello, my identification number? Its AZ69WT931JO6. Yes I need to speek to professor Josef Reinstein. No It can't wait, yes right now. Look i know he's busy but he will want to talk to me. Fine just tell him to call me at this number and that its a familly emergency ok, yes thank you, good bye." He could do nothing for now but wait.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNkZDQyYTk4NmVmODQyZWZiMDU5YWNkMzgxZTE3MWVi"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">A few hours had come and gone he'd left earlier to get food, taking his sweet babby out for a drive. He'd return with the days paper, looking at the date he knew that it was a matter of days before Steve Roger became all that he can be. The Stark project was probably already in the beginning stage of the final tests at this point. All possible problems had been solved, the chamber had already been build, and his well ex team had been in charge of brain storming the few problem that had pop up.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZDI1MGM0ZGE3NDRhNDhiNjc4NWZiMmVjZjZjMzgz"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"I at least got some blue prints off Stark, not as much as I wanted but some." Alex walk to his case and open it took out a files as thick as three fingers. This was all he had been able to copies before his attacker and his agency f**k everything up. When Lamberge was in his angry tirad he let slip that, they had swap his attacker body for Paul Monroe's identity. Effectively burning his bridge to Stark, and opening the way for one of their more trusted agent.</span></p> <p class="cnMyYmRhOWU4Y2E5MjRjMDFhZmE3NDQyYzlmNTA3NDQ2"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Its not like I don't try to get along, but most of the time my supervisor tend to give me some terrible intel and then I have to improvise to get the job done. Witch then makes them look like idiots." He question agains just how much longer he cloud hold on, before they finally figure how to fire him and look good while doing it. Yesterday fiasco included, he was sure that he was sold out bye someone. But he had not idea who, he knew it wasn't Lamberge and his gang of greedy asshats. They might hate his guts but they would never cross that line those idiots where loyal to a fault, they would ratter work with him then turn traitor.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM3NGUxZGY2MDQ2MTRhZjA5OTU2NmFmNDNiZmZmZGM3"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Witch was why no matter how much they piste him off, he couldn't touch them, and boy did he try, but when he did his situation got worse. He found out the hard way that those pigs had a hell of a backing and a clean spotless record to boot. After Germany he'd gotten promoted pretty high, so he'd figured that it was the time to hit back, he could've use one of the letters back then but he'd just use one to get out of Germany. The result, he was demoted to Junior agent and stuck under Lamberge, who looked at any possible mistake to boot him out. Today drama was just because he'd neglected to contact Lamberge and get approval, usually no agent need to take that step since time and danger trumps policy. But whit Lamberge it was a God damn gift he gave him, well sleep deprive and not having any solide faith in the agency made him waste a letter.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYTVhMmQ4MjNhZjQ4YjdiM2NmYjMxYTk1ZjM5MTVj"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Finally the phone rang, He pick it up. "Josef?"&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNkNzQwOGZkYTM5NjRmMjI4ZmI4MDRjNTIzOWMzNWE4"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"What happen to my familly?" An anxious Jesof, practically shouted on the other end.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NjQwYTUxZjQwNDQ5NTdiNzYwZTU3ZTU4M2NlMWMy"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Sorry, your family fine and safe I just needed to get a hold of you right away we need to meet now!"&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNiMWRmYzRjM2IxNzQyMTNiMGVhMGIyN2U1ZWUwZmZm"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">&nbsp;A sigh of relief on the other end. "That was not nice you almost gave a heart attack. But what could possibly that important, you know in a few days Rebirth will begin. And I need to....."</span></p> <p class="cnNkYTc4NzVlMmVjMDQzMWFiZTBlOGFkODA1MzI1YTM2"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"No you don't, looked this involves Rebirth directly, we need to meet now Abraham."</span></p> <p class="cnNmODY4YTI1NzczNzQ1Zjc5OWUyMmYxZDIzYmQ1NmM0"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Silence, on the other side. "When and where?"</span></p> <p class="cnMyOTI0YjNhYTE5OTQ1YzQ4NGY3MTNhM2IyMzUwNzQ4"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Alex gave him an adress, and hang up. Getting up he'd got into his car drove to the location and waited. He was their mabey 20 minutes, he saw a car drive toward him. He put his hand on his gun, leaving it on the handle but ready for a fight. The car drove up beside and he saw Josef Reinstein alone. He release a sigh, letting go of the gun and getting out of the car.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDVlNjE3OGUyYzQzYTJhZTkyN2VjYTFhNTk5MDNk"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Both men stood in front of each outer, outside in the middle of the road far from any pring eyes. "So what going on Mr Grey? This isn't like you." Josef sounded calm but in his eyes you could see a bit of fear.</span></p> <p class="cnMzN2QyZTQ2MTY3OTQxZmE5Mzg5ZmZiMzQ3MjI3NTUx"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Alex looked at man infront of him, he new that this man would have a huge impact on the world. And he would pay for it with his life, in this moment if he convince him everyting could change in a way that he had no control over. "Hydra is here and they have found us."</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZjhlMTU2M2U0YTQ1NzJhMGI5NGY1ZjE4YTk1ZDg3"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Shock, fear, confusion and rage where but a few emotion playing across Abraham Erskine face. Their was also sorrow and regret, as he replayed a few faces of friend and familly that he couldn't save, as they had suffered at the hands of wrath by Heinrich Zemo. "How is this possible?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjMGZlZGQ2YTY1ZjQwZjdiODc1ZGVhMzE0MWRkNWJj"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"It doesn't matter right now, they send one of there agent after me. My guest is that you where just to well protected or that Zemo still wants your..."</span></p> <p class="cnMwMDkxNDEzMGM3NzQxN2Q4MWE0Y2IyOTIzYmUyYmM3"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"My serum hes still obsess with it, and hopes to force me into given it to him or sabotaging the up coming experiment, for safety of my familly throught you." Josef said as he close his eyes in pain his hands cupeling his face and his body hunch down as if the weigh of the world press on him.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNzAyYWY5ZmQ2NjQyMjBiMWFkZGY5N2FmYWVlMmY3"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Sigh. "Yeah, got it one. So you need to come with me Il contact the army and we'll reshuffled the experiment another day." Alex began explaining the next few steps.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZjdhYmQzMDE2MTQyMDc5NjI0OTUyM2I1N2E4Zjk2"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"no..." Josef wishper.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMjQ3MmMxNWQwNjQyMzM4Zjk2NDI3M2RjMmFmNzNj"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"What? Did you say something?"&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM3YzBiZGI4YjY3ZDRiZGM4Y2RhNWFlZTY5MjczOGQy"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"I said no." Josef seem to grown back up with strength, he looked up at Alex. "Im not going to hid and run this time, I will not back down, if I run then my candidate will be switch."</span></p> <p class="cnNkY2IzYTk0YTA2NTRlYjFhNDllYTE1ZjdjNDFiNDJk"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"God damn, Abraham this is your life where talking about the hell with the experiment. My priorities is to make sure you keep breathing. And your canditdate can just waite!"</span></p> <p class="cnNiNjg3YzgzZGI3MzQ3MGE4MmRlYmVjMDMxYmY4Nzc4"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"I can't do that, the general was very clear, if their was more time he would change my choice with one of his. And I will not stand by and watch another red skull come into this world." Josef shook his head in firm denial of the monster he'd unwittingly created.</span></p> <p class="cnMyMGUxYzJkZmE2NDQ1YzE5YTljNTMxYzRlZjk5ZWE5"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Abraham please see reason, you have a huge say on this if you refuse to go on until they give you your choses, they will surely give in. But right now their definitely a hit order on you, and since it failed on me, their responce on you will no doubt be a kill order. But if we retreat and change location the risk go down." Alex approche Josef and place both hands on his shoulders, as he tried to convince him in running and hidding in order to preserve his life.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YmI3MDU4ZGYwNjRhNmQ5ZDEzY2VmNDViYWU1YTUz"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"I sorry my friend but I must do this." Abraham look and the grief filled face of his young friend. He knew that this man had approche him first for the serum, but along the way they both form to be fast friends. They just seem to click, he knew that Alex had suffered from going above and behond in protecting his family.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NWY5ZTA1MzE5ZjQxNWI5YmVkZjg3YjQ1Y2I3MTA0"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Please the experiment can wait a few days, you can't. If you don't give up this suicidal path, im going to take you by force if i have to."</span></p> <p class="cnM5MTMzNDAzNDJlMjQyOGI4MzEzZDNlMDdjYjZlY2Q1"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Abraham looked into his friends eyes and saw thing, that for quite sometime he'd yearn for, he smiled. "I have to."</span></p> <p class="cnMzMDIzODViNjRlNTQ5Yjg5YjJhMmIyZjk3NGJmMmFi"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Looking at the sheer will in Abraham Erskine Face, Alex knew that event if he manage to force him with him, the first chance he gets he would return to perform the experiment no matter what. He looked at his friend in sadness. "They'll kill you and won't be their to save you."</span></p> <p class="cnMzZGQ1MGUwMzI3ZTRkZjA5NjVhNmY5NDJmNzc3ZjMw"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"I know, but I need you to do something for me." Josef said as he came to terms with his destiny, it seem right some how. His serum gave birth to a monster and now it will give birth to hero that will stop it.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODg5MTE5OTM4MzRlZTNhYjEzMDMzNDU0NzZlZmQ0"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"what do you need?" Alex said in a tired and sad tone.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MzE4MjIxNGUwZTQ5OTE5YTU1MjdmNjU5NjdkYTY0"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"I have something in a safe in Poland that i need you to destroy."</span></p> <p class="cnM2ODg5MDJiMjJiMjQwZDk5MWIyNWY2NjA0MDRhNjY3"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Looking up Alex had a confuse look. He seem to very clearly ask about all and any hidden things that could be link back to the Erskime.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YTcxYmJkM2Q3ZDRkMDFhNzVmN2QyZWM0NWExNmI1"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"This is the location, now when you find it, destroy everything don't let anything left. This is my last request i can only ask you since your the only one I trusth to do this." Josef said in a very somber tone.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMzYzYWMxNDcxMTRjY2Q5ZWQ5MDY3YTkxOGM2NDBi"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"Ok Il do it." Alex responded with no really energy, this he would do. He watch as his friend when back into his car and drove away, for the last time alive he would only see him again as corps in few days.</span></p> <p class="cnMzOTgzNGJjYzI2NzQwYWU4Y2Q5MDc1MGVlNmJlNTUy"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">"In the end I couldn't change it." Tears started to fall as he mourn his friend. Alone under the night skie he cried for not being strong enought to change anything.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MjQwNDQ3YTY4YzQyMTI4ZTljN2I4OTkzMjVmNDg1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4MWJjZjZiMGFiODQ0M2VhYWE3NTEzNjY0ZGVlMWZl">&nbsp;</p> </div>

Alex step out of the building releasing a sigh of relief. "Shit, now I'm down to only one letter." He recalled when he receive them, only after running around dodging bullets in Germany. Springing one defector scientist after another. His count was a record of 79, now that might seem small but keep in mind that he did that alone with almost no back up. The president was so please to steal all those goodies from the Germans, that he was summon to the white house and was ask about what to give him as a reward. He saw an opportunity to get out off under his boss's thumps. Event then as good of an agent he was, his intellect and well his lack of suffering idiotic orders. Gave him a foundation of enemies, that would like nothing more, but to grind him down into submission. And so he ask for those letters he receive three. And now he was down to one, that was four months agos. He use the first to get the hell out of Germany, his boss at the time found it humiliating. And so he never spoke of it to anyone, beside who would think that he had three of those. They were s'oppose to be get out of jail free cards, but saddly his rapport with the higher up and reputation was his own worse enemy. "At this ratio all probably loose the last in two mongths." He groan in annoyance, he had to use the letter he had no choices. If they kick him away now, it would ruin any chance he had, no matter how small of getting something from the Dr Reinstein. He hailed a cab and made his was to the apartment that he had use to get into contact with Lemberge. He didn't need to be sneaky for this, he figured that the place had been already expose. And keeping it would only bring him danger, but he still had to go back and grab his brief case, without it thing would get alot harder.  He told the driver bye and quickly enter, he only slowed down to check to make sure no one was inside waiting for him. Luckily it was attacker free, quickly going for the hidden catch. He pick up his case and left just as quickly. Going back on the street, he hail a new cab.  Now to insure that he wasn't being followed by any one, he bribe the driver to drive in circles, he manage to spot the tails. Then he gave some bugus story about a lovely but very married women, and her, rich overly jealous husband. With money and a good story the driver was more then happy to leave his tails in the dust. Arriving to his destination, he made sure to give a generous tip and wave the cab away. Walking on foot for ten minutes, he arrive at an old abandon garage. He slip inside, once their he stop to admire his babby. As soon as he saw it he new he had to have it, hell back in his old time any car enthusiast would be willing to give an arm or a leg just to own it. A real smile broke on his face as he practically drooled himself silly, just looking at it. It was a duesenberg model J 1928, Al Capone car, he remembered that he was jumping around it in exitement at the shop. He keep getting weird looks from everyone, for everyone else it was a good car, expensive but nothing to be exited about. But to him it represented a link to his old world pop culture, a trip down memory lane. "Hello beautiful! How my babby doing? Yes I know daddy been busy...." He went on for longer, saying thing about him and it that would disturbs many if their was anyone around. Finaly getting it out of his system, with a final look he went to the phone in the run down offices. He hope he could sent for a earlier meet, he couldn't wait around for next week.  "Hello operator, yes could you patch me to fort terry please, yes Il hold. Hello, my identification number? Its AZ69WT931JO6. Yes I need to speek to professor Josef Reinstein. No It can't wait, yes right now. Look i know he's busy but he will want to talk to me. Fine just tell him to call me at this number and that its a familly emergency ok, yes thank you, good bye." He could do nothing for now but wait.  A few hours had come and gone he'd left earlier to get food, taking his sweet babby out for a drive. He'd return with the days paper, looking at the date he knew that it was a matter of days before Steve Roger became all that he can be. The Stark project was probably already in the beginning stage of the final tests at this point. All possible problems had been solved, the chamber had already been build, and his well ex team had been in charge of brain storming the few problem that had pop up.  "I at least got some blue prints off Stark, not as much as I wanted but some." Alex walk to his case and open it took out a files as thick as three fingers. This was all he had been able to copies before his attacker and his agency f**k everything up. When Lamberge was in his angry tirad he let slip that, they had swap his attacker body for Paul Monroe's identity. Effectively burning his bridge to Stark, and opening the way for one of their more trusted agent. "Its not like I don't try to get along, but most of the time my supervisor tend to give me some terrible intel and then I have to improvise to get the job done. Witch then makes them look like idiots." He question agains just how much longer he cloud hold on, before they finally figure how to fire him and look good while doing it. Yesterday fiasco included, he was sure that he was sold out bye someone. But he had not idea who, he knew it wasn't Lamberge and his gang of greedy asshats. They might hate his guts but they would never cross that line those idiots where loyal to a fault, they would ratter work with him then turn traitor.  Witch was why no matter how much they piste him off, he couldn't touch them, and boy did he try, but when he did his situation got worse. He found out the hard way that those pigs had a hell of a backing and a clean spotless record to boot. After Germany he'd gotten promoted pretty high, so he'd figured that it was the time to hit back, he could've use one of the letters back then but he'd just use one to get out of Germany. The result, he was demoted to Junior agent and stuck under Lamberge, who looked at any possible mistake to boot him out. Today drama was just because he'd neglected to contact Lamberge and get approval, usually no agent need to take that step since time and danger trumps policy. But whit Lamberge it was a God damn gift he gave him, well sleep deprive and not having any solide faith in the agency made him waste a letter. Finally the phone rang, He pick it up. "Josef?"  "What happen to my familly?" An anxious Jesof, practically shouted on the other end. "Sorry, your family fine and safe I just needed to get a hold of you right away we need to meet now!"   A sigh of relief on the other end. "That was not nice you almost gave a heart attack. But what could possibly that important, you know in a few days Rebirth will begin. And I need to....." "No you don't, looked this involves Rebirth directly, we need to meet now Abraham." Silence, on the other side. "When and where?" Alex gave him an adress, and hang up. Getting up he'd got into his car drove to the location and waited. He was their mabey 20 minutes, he saw a car drive toward him. He put his hand on his gun, leaving it on the handle but ready for a fight. The car drove up beside and he saw Josef Reinstein alone. He release a sigh, letting go of the gun and getting out of the car. Both men stood in front of each outer, outside in the middle of the road far from any pring eyes. "So what going on Mr Grey? This isn't like you." Josef sounded calm but in his eyes you could see a bit of fear. Alex looked at man infront of him, he new that this man would have a huge impact on the world. And he would pay for it with his life, in this moment if he convince him everyting could change in a way that he had no control over. "Hydra is here and they have found us." Shock, fear, confusion and rage where but a few emotion playing across Abraham Erskine face. Their was also sorrow and regret, as he replayed a few faces of friend and familly that he couldn't save, as they had suffered at the hands of wrath by Heinrich Zemo. "How is this possible?" "It doesn't matter right now, they send one of there agent after me. My guest is that you where just to well protected or that Zemo still wants your..." "My serum hes still obsess with it, and hopes to force me into given it to him or sabotaging the up coming experiment, for safety of my familly throught you." Josef said as he close his eyes in pain his hands cupeling his face and his body hunch down as if the weigh of the world press on him. Sigh. "Yeah, got it one. So you need to come with me Il contact the army and we'll reshuffled the experiment another day." Alex began explaining the next few steps. "no..." Josef wishper. "What? Did you say something?"  "I said no." Josef seem to grown back up with strength, he looked up at Alex. "Im not going to hid and run this time, I will not back down, if I run then my candidate will be switch." "God damn, Abraham this is your life where talking about the hell with the experiment. My priorities is to make sure you keep breathing. And your canditdate can just waite!" "I can't do that, the general was very clear, if their was more time he would change my choice with one of his. And I will not stand by and watch another red skull come into this world." Josef shook his head in firm denial of the monster he'd unwittingly created. "Abraham please see reason, you have a huge say on this if you refuse to go on until they give you your choses, they will surely give in. But right now their definitely a hit order on you, and since it failed on me, their responce on you will no doubt be a kill order. But if we retreat and change location the risk go down." Alex approche Josef and place both hands on his shoulders, as he tried to convince him in running and hidding in order to preserve his life. "I sorry my friend but I must do this." Abraham look and the grief filled face of his young friend. He knew that this man had approche him first for the serum, but along the way they both form to be fast friends. They just seem to click, he knew that Alex had suffered from going above and behond in protecting his family. "Please the experiment can wait a few days, you can't. If you don't give up this suicidal path, im going to take you by force if i have to." Abraham looked into his friends eyes and saw thing, that for quite sometime he'd yearn for, he smiled. "I have to." Looking at the sheer will in Abraham Erskine Face, Alex knew that event if he manage to force him with him, the first chance he gets he would return to perform the experiment no matter what. He looked at his friend in sadness. "They'll kill you and won't be their to save you." "I know, but I need you to do something for me." Josef said as he came to terms with his destiny, it seem right some how. His serum gave birth to a monster and now it will give birth to hero that will stop it. "what do you need?" Alex said in a tired and sad tone. "I have something in a safe in Poland that i need you to destroy." Looking up Alex had a confuse look. He seem to very clearly ask about all and any hidden things that could be link back to the Erskime. "This is the location, now when you find it, destroy everything don't let anything left. This is my last request i can only ask you since your the only one I trusth to do this." Josef said in a very somber tone. "Ok Il do it." Alex responded with no really energy, this he would do. He watch as his friend when back into his car and drove away, for the last time alive he would only see him again as corps in few days. "In the end I couldn't change it." Tears started to fall as he mourn his friend. Alone under the night skie he cried for not being strong enought to change anything.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNmNTdlNWU1NDA3ODQ2NTg4ZTg4OThmNDBkYWE4MjNi">(NERV Game Site – Official DAtS Offline Forums)</p> <p class="cnM5YzA5MDFmNWNiZDRjMTQ4NWQxZWZhYmY3ZDBlNTIw"> </p> <p class="cnMyNzA3ZjA0ZTRjNzRiYWJhZWE0ZWEyYmQwZTFhZGFm">Number5Alive, Golddigger, BurtBacharach, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, l33tpally, Bennie, SEA-TAC_Sweetie, Requiesce-in-Pace, MacD, HaveGunsWillTravel, Guardian, GunKitty, Chummer, Inquisitor, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, ElfMama, Not_the_Face!, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, AggregatorOfSorrows, M.Mollen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, Dolcett, Starwatcher, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, Hullu_Kapteeni, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, Queen’s_Bitch, BackDat@55Up, DoYouEvenDPS?, MajorTom, Parca, and DarkAngel are in the chat.</p> <p class="cnM0OWM4ZjRlNWRiYzQ5ZDI5NDZlYzY0MzRjNTU0Y2Fi"> </p> <p class="cnM3MTIwMWY1NTRjZTQzNDJiMjA1NWRhNTRjNDM5ZWFj"><em>Lizard: Man, it got quiet all of a sudden.</em></p> <p class="cnNhOGE5ZDc3ZjdhZTQ4ZWI4MjZhMjc4NTI3NzFjMTcz"><em>SEA-TAC_Sweetie: Well, not really quiet. Just in between shitstorms. So much has happened since launch, people are trying to catch their breath and rebuild.</em></p> <p class="cnMyYzdiMjBkYmVjMzQ0ZGY5NDQwNjM5N2YxZjZhZTdj"><em>Not_the_Face!: True. The Devs might not be actively working in the game to provide events or the like, but things were getting crazy for a while there, and they’ve now settled down some. Good time for some exploration, actually.</em></p> <p class="cnM0MjRhZGJiZDg1MDRiNDhhMWYwNGY2ZTM1ZTczYTJi"><em>DarkAngel: What kind of exploration you have in mind, Face?</em></p> <p class="cnNkMjgyNTBhN2ZhZjQxOWNhZmI4ZThkZDUzNWJjYmU0"><em>Not_the_Face!: Well, there’s the physical kind, like checking the local area you’re established in, maybe finding some of the secrets only locals know. Or maybe taking a ship and pushing the boundaries of Known Space, finding what might be out there. But you also got the social kind, finding new connections to bring in new gigs and new opportunities.</em></p> <p class="cnMxZmIwN2Y1YzNhNjQ0ZWI5Y2IzYjNkYzU3NjAxMWZi"><em>WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Good point. This game isn’t like older ones, where there are helpful yellow exclamation points above people who can give you quests. You gotta work and earn the quests.</em></p> <p class="cnNjMGY5OTJiNmIwMjQ0NzBhMDA5ZTkwYWYxMmQxNjM3"><em>AggregatorOfSorrows: Hmm. Exploring space could be fun. You’d need a ship kitted out for it, though. Something fast enough with enough of a kick that it can get out of trouble.</em></p> <p class="cnNhNWVlMjJkOGEzYzQ4NzNiMDBhM2U3YWI1NDk5NGNk"><em>M.Mollen: Sounds like you’d need one of Black Star’s ‘personal use’ crafts.</em></p> <p class="cnMwZTEwYjI4YTU1OTRkZjNhOTQyYTU3MjUwMmNiNWZk"><em>Parca: HA!</em></p> <p class="cnMzYjMwNjlhZDdlNjRiZDU5NWMwNzlmNjBiNjYwOTE1"><em>DarkAvariel: Yeah, as if I could afford one of those. Even if I could, the wait list on civilian Black Star ships is something like four years long!</em></p> <p class="cnNmNTVkYTYxMTQ0NzRlYTNiNmE4Nzk3Y2MzNjEzMDQ2"><em>M.Mollen: Well, there are other options than owning the ship, of course.</em></p> <p class="cnNkZGNmN2QyY2M2OTRiNzA5YzJhZjExYWQwZDdlZGI1"><em>Lizard: What do you mean?</em></p> <p class="cnM4MzQxYmE5OThlMjQwN2Y4MTBhOGE4MjdmMDM3MTI3"><em>M.Mollen: Just so happens that I have a few ships that are going to be exploring the arm of the galaxy near Nuevo Edo. Scout ships going from star to star in FTL to do surveys of systems. Of course, you’d need to find a group you were compatible with, since the scout ships don’t really have much room on them.</em></p> <p class="cnNkZjQwMWExYjY2ZjRkYTdiNmRmYjZkMDdmMWUxNjVj"><em>DarkAvariel: Wait, scout ships? Where are you scouting?</em></p> <p class="cnM0M2FjOGZiMmRlNDQ5YjliMDU1ZTkxMzY5ZGVhYjNj"><em>M.Mollen: Oh, mainly the area around Nuevo Edo and the three Gateways we’ve explored in that part of the galaxy. Trying to map out what stars have materials worth a colony or maybe mining efforts.</em></p> <p class="cnMwYjMzYTcyZDQ4MzQ4YWQ4MDRmYTBiZDEyZDYxMzQ1"><em>AggregatorOfSorrows: Wait, three? There are only two known gates in that area!</em></p> <p class="cnMyYmUyYTQzY2M3MzRmZTE5Mzg5MWFjYjNiNTljNzg3"><em>M.Mollen: Only two known to YOU.</em></p> <p class="cnNhNDg5NDJjYWE1YjQzYjdhNzU3MTc0ZjE1MmI2ODBj"><em>Starwatcher: So that’s what that odd ship in the Dimiya yards is for.</em></p> <p class="cnM0NTA4ZmZlZGJlOTRlOGU4YTQwZjMzOTVmZWNmODEy"><em>Knocker: What do you mean, Star?</em></p> <p class="cnNmZDhmOWFkYTZhODQyZDBhMmRmZWQ0ODg4YjNlZDM4"><em>Starwatcher: People have been paying good money for any data they can get on what Black Star is up to. I got some high-power sensors, and focused them on their yards around Dimiya. There was a new kind of ship that looked like some kind of heavily armed pleasure yacht, that I wasn’t sure what it was for.</em></p> <p class="cnNlYzNjZjQyMWU5NDRiMzM4NmYyOWVlYjgyODc1MTc3"><em>M.Mollen: You can tell your people that the ship is called the BSS</em> Heartseeker<em>, and while I already have a pilot for her, I still need a couple others to fill out the crew of four. Basically, it is an exploration and science vessel, the first of its class. They’ll be going out, beyond Known Space, and looking for anything that we might be able to find.</em></p> <p class="cnMwZGQ1M2Q3YzYyZjRmZDZiM2I0MWViNjQwODVhMjU2"><em>DarkAvariel: But why heavily armed?</em></p> <p class="cnMzYmM2MTBkNDZiZTRjY2Y5NzdhZWZlNWNiYjlmMTBm"><em>M.Mollen: Because ‘here there be dragons’. The </em>Heartseeker<em> and her sisters will be going off the map. The X’thari are out there somewhere, as well as other possible threats. Best to make sure that a ship is able to take care of itself when the nearest help may be months away.</em></p> <p class="cnM0MWRjMzVjOGM2YTQ3ZDM5ZGYxNzhjMjNhYTRkNjdk"><em>AggregatorOfSorrows: Going off into the unknown with only a group of four, spending who knows how long without seeing any other people? That’ll get ‘interesting’ real fast if people don’t get along.</em></p> <p class="cnMwOTQwZWNhY2FkNTQ3MDFiZDUwMDgyNDUxMjY5N2M5"><em>M.Mollen: Hence why we haven’t filled out the crew yet, and are drawing things up slowly. I’m not against having Nomads in the program, so you know. But they’d have to be able to go through Black Star for announcing things, instead of just blabbing all over the place.</em></p> <p class="cnNlNDhhMDU3NTU4MTQyNmE5NTVjNmY0Y2I1YmY3ZjJl"><em>Backlog: Trying to keep your edge as long as possible?</em></p> <p class="cnM2MTg4NGYyMmE4YjRkMTc5YTA2YzRmMGU0Y2NjN2Uw"><em>M.Mollen: Obviously. Knowledge is power, and power makes everything else easier when you have it.</em></p> <p class="cnMzMDZlNmViZTFkYzRkNjRiMjJiNzRjYmQzZDJjOGM1"><em>Dolcett: Wait, go back to how you know yet another Gateway address that none of the rest of us have. WTF?</em></p> <p class="cnM0NTllODYyYmI1ZDRlZmVhMDFlNDdiNTc1MzJkZWNi"><em>M.Mollen: The Nuevo Edoans have a ‘phone book’ of addresses, like the partial one the Ihm discovered. I’m kindof a big deal there, so they let me copy it down, and agreed that it should be hidden from anyone else.</em></p> <p class="cnNjMjE2ODBlMzQ5YzRiOGI5NDI0YjljZTczZTk1MjJm"><em>Dolcett: How the fuck is that fair?</em></p> <p class="cnNhZWZkZGNmNDViNDQ1MGU4ZGY4YWQwYWFjZDUwNjBl"><em>M.Mollen: Well, when you save a planet from two threats that could have wiped out their entire civilization, then you can get the same benefits I did.</em></p> <p class="cnNmMzgxMTc2NWViNDQwZTk5ODM1YTQzMTM2YWQzYTU0"><em>WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Rich get richer, and the people that are behind have to run as fast as they can to keep up. Way of the world, Dolcett.</em></p> <p class="cnM4YjcwNGZjN2VkNTQ0NWJiOTk4NWE0ODgyNDRmNWY2"><em>M.Mollen: You are welcome to just grab a shuttle and dial random gate combinations, of course. No one knows what happens when you go into a bad address, so you could get some fame from that. Just remember, at least one of those addresses is going to have X’thari warships on the other side.</em></p> <p class="cnNiM2Q1MjkwYTY2ZTRjNWZiZTViZTY0OWY1MDk0Njhi"><em>ElfMama: True. They have to come from somewhere, and their anchor drives need to be used near a Gateway. </em></p> <p class="cnNjMzU2MmE0OWVhMzRiYWQ5MjE0ZDI1NDUyMzcwYTFh"><em>MarcoPolo: Hmm. That sounds like an interesting challenge. I might sing on for one of those exploration missions.</em></p> <p class="cnM3YTA4NmUwMjYyYjQ0ZmQ4MzlhODA2NjgyY2U0N2Vj"><em>M.Mollen: Contact a Black Star site in game, Marco, and mention that you’re a Nomad. I’m sending you a verification code to give to whoever you speak to that will make sure they get my attention.</em></p> <p class="cnNiNTI2ZTM0NzQ5NjQ2NmViMzE3OTcxNDA2NjViYjdl"><em>Starwatcher: But wait, you’ve already explored a 19th Gateway, right? What did you find?</em></p> <p class="cnNiNThiNTEyMGJhZTRjNmRiY2MwNTkyNWMyZTIyZDli"><em>Knocker: Another ‘lost colony’ full of mostly women?</em></p> <p class="cnNlNzRlMjZjZmNiZTQ2MDU5NjI0MTNmY2I0Yzk4Nzhm"><em>M.Mollen: Hah! I wish. No, a nice, uninhabited system, which is now named Star’s Reach, along with the nice, Earth-like planet of the same name. The Starborn colony has just been established, and will be open for business soon enough.</em></p> <p class="cnM3NjA1Yjg5NWI1MDQzMjA5ZDk4MzAxMmRjNTQ0ZjVk"><em>DarkAngel: Wait, Starborn? I saw that name recently. The AI just added it to the list of starting zones for people looking to re-roll or start new characters. Higher difficulty starts only.</em></p> <p class="cnNlNTc4YzAzYTMwZjRmZGJiNTA4OThiZWMzNmM3NTk4"><em>M.Mollen: Really now? That’s interesting. I’ll give some new orders to my people on the ground, then.</em></p> <p class="cnNlZDU0M2QyNGRlMTRmMWZhZWMzYmVkZmM5NzJhY2M0"><em>DoYouEvenDPS?: Wait, where did this colony come from?</em></p> <p class="cnM5NDYwYmRhMTA1NzRmOThiMGRlMjIzZDJmYWEzMzcy"><em>M.Mollen: Simply put, my pay for helping end the Civil War included a Colony Ship.</em></p> <p class="cnMwMTM0ZGUwYWRkYjQwOTU4NmMzMjI1MzUyYTI0ZGI5"><em>ElfMama: Oh shit!</em></p> <p class="cnNmMTA1NWYzYjA5ZjQ2YmNhZjUxZjFlNTU1NTAyZDM2"><em>Requiesce-in-Pace: So… company town?</em></p> <p class="cnNhN2RlMjIxOWJkYTQ2MWQ4NDMxYTE2MDYxMWIxY2Zm"><em>M.Mollen: Whole system, actually.</em></p> <p class="cnM5ZThkNGYxOTcxYzRhNjFhYWE4OWU5YzRkMjA4ZTdh"><em>Knocker: So, good business opportunities, if you’re not working against Black Star.</em></p> <p class="cnM0ZmIwNTZlYzMwNTQ1NDI5ZmQ5MGVhZWQ0NzAwMGFm"><em>CrazyCelt: Sounds like a decent place to meet clients away from prying eyes without worrying about pirates.</em></p> <p class="cnM4YzM2NjdmZjlkZTQwMjhiNGM5ZjQyOTBkYjc0MWQy"><em>M.Mollen: And there’s even a dungeon.</em></p> <p class="cnM0YzJmMTFkODU4YjQ4YWM5NWRjODBlNDg4M2Q4Yjgz"><em>Knocker: WHAT? YOU HAVE YOUR OWN DUNGEON?!!!?</em></p> </div>

(NERV Game Site – Official DAtS Offline Forums) Number5Alive, Golddigger, BurtBacharach, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, l33tpally, Bennie, SEA-TAC\_Sweetie, Requiesce-in-Pace, MacD, HaveGunsWillTravel, Guardian, GunKitty, Chummer, Inquisitor, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, ElfMama, Not\_the\_Face!, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, AggregatorOfSorrows, M.Mollen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, Dolcett, Starwatcher, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, Hullu\_Kapteeni, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, Queen’s\_Bitch, BackDat@55Up, DoYouEvenDPS?, MajorTom, Parca, and DarkAngel are in the chat. *Lizard: Man, it got quiet all of a sudden.* *SEA-TAC\_Sweetie: Well, not really quiet. Just in between shitstorms. So much has happened since launch, people are trying to catch their breath and rebuild.* *Not\_the\_Face!: True. The Devs might not be actively working in the game to provide events or the like, but things were getting crazy for a while there, and they’ve now settled down some. Good time for some exploration, actually.* *DarkAngel: What kind of exploration you have in mind, Face?* *Not\_the\_Face!: Well, there’s the physical kind, like checking the local area you’re established in, maybe finding some of the secrets only locals know. Or maybe taking a ship and pushing the boundaries of Known Space, finding what might be out there. But you also got the social kind, finding new connections to bring in new gigs and new opportunities.* *WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Good point. This game isn’t like older ones, where there are helpful yellow exclamation points above people who can give you quests. You gotta work and earn the quests.* *AggregatorOfSorrows: Hmm. Exploring space could be fun. You’d need a ship kitted out for it, though. Something fast enough with enough of a kick that it can get out of trouble.* *M.Mollen: Sounds like you’d need one of Black Star’s ‘personal use’ crafts.* *Parca: HA!* *DarkAvariel: Yeah, as if I could afford one of those. Even if I could, the wait list on civilian Black Star ships is something like four years long!* *M.Mollen: Well, there are other options than owning the ship, of course.* *Lizard: What do you mean?* *M.Mollen: Just so happens that I have a few ships that are going to be exploring the arm of the galaxy near Nuevo Edo. Scout ships going from star to star in FTL to do surveys of systems. Of course, you’d need to find a group you were compatible with, since the scout ships don’t really have much room on them.* *DarkAvariel: Wait, scout ships? Where are you scouting?* *M.Mollen: Oh, mainly the area around Nuevo Edo and the three Gateways we’ve explored in that part of the galaxy. Trying to map out what stars have materials worth a colony or maybe mining efforts.* *AggregatorOfSorrows: Wait, three? There are only two known gates in that area!* *M.Mollen: Only two known to YOU.* *Starwatcher: So that’s what that odd ship in the Dimiya yards is for.* *Knocker: What do you mean, Star?* *Starwatcher: People have been paying good money for any data they can get on what Black Star is up to. I got some high-power sensors, and focused them on their yards around Dimiya. There was a new kind of ship that looked like some kind of heavily armed pleasure yacht, that I wasn’t sure what it was for.* *M.Mollen: You can tell your people that the ship is called the BSS* Heartseeker*, and while I already have a pilot for her, I still need a couple others to fill out the crew of four. Basically, it is an exploration and science vessel, the first of its class. They’ll be going out, beyond Known Space, and looking for anything that we might be able to find.* *DarkAvariel: But why heavily armed?* *M.Mollen: Because ‘here there be dragons’. The* Heartseeker *and her sisters will be going off the map. The X’thari are out there somewhere, as well as other possible threats. Best to make sure that a ship is able to take care of itself when the nearest help may be months away.* *AggregatorOfSorrows: Going off into the unknown with only a group of four, spending who knows how long without seeing any other people? That’ll get ‘interesting’ real fast if people don’t get along.* *M.Mollen: Hence why we haven’t filled out the crew yet, and are drawing things up slowly. I’m not against having Nomads in the program, so you know. But they’d have to be able to go through Black Star for announcing things, instead of just blabbing all over the place.* *Backlog: Trying to keep your edge as long as possible?* *M.Mollen: Obviously. Knowledge is power, and power makes everything else easier when you have it.* *Dolcett: Wait, go back to how you know yet another Gateway address that none of the rest of us have. WTF?* *M.Mollen: The Nuevo Edoans have a ‘phone book’ of addresses, like the partial one the Ihm discovered. I’m kindof a big deal there, so they let me copy it down, and agreed that it should be hidden from anyone else.* *Dolcett: How the fuck is that fair?* *M.Mollen: Well, when you save a planet from two threats that could have wiped out their entire civilization, then you can get the same benefits I did.* *WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Rich get richer, and the people that are behind have to run as fast as they can to keep up. Way of the world, Dolcett.* *M.Mollen: You are welcome to just grab a shuttle and dial random gate combinations, of course. No one knows what happens when you go into a bad address, so you could get some fame from that. Just remember, at least one of those addresses is going to have X’thari warships on the other side.* *ElfMama: True. They have to come from somewhere, and their anchor drives need to be used near a Gateway.* *MarcoPolo: Hmm. That sounds like an interesting challenge. I might sing on for one of those exploration missions.* *M.Mollen: Contact a Black Star site in game, Marco, and mention that you’re a Nomad. I’m sending you a verification code to give to whoever you speak to that will make sure they get my attention.* *Starwatcher: But wait, you’ve already explored a 19th Gateway, right? What did you find?* *Knocker: Another ‘lost colony’ full of mostly women?* *M.Mollen: Hah! I wish. No, a nice, uninhabited system, which is now named Star’s Reach, along with the nice, Earth-like planet of the same name. The Starborn colony has just been established, and will be open for business soon enough.* *DarkAngel: Wait, Starborn? I saw that name recently. The AI just added it to the list of starting zones for people looking to re-roll or start new characters. Higher difficulty starts only.* *M.Mollen: Really now? That’s interesting. I’ll give some new orders to my people on the ground, then.* *DoYouEvenDPS?: Wait, where did this colony come from?* *M.Mollen: Simply put, my pay for helping end the Civil War included a Colony Ship.* *ElfMama: Oh shit!* *Requiesce-in-Pace: So… company town?* *M.Mollen: Whole system, actually.* *Knocker: So, good business opportunities, if you’re not working against Black Star.* *CrazyCelt: Sounds like a decent place to meet clients away from prying eyes without worrying about pirates.* *M.Mollen: And there’s even a dungeon.* *Knocker: WHAT? YOU HAVE YOUR OWN DUNGEON?!!!?*

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3MGI4ZjdkOTljYTQyMGU4NWJlOTI5MGNhMGMyZjUx"><span style="font-size: 1.5em">Episode 3: "Welcome to The Family."</span></p> <p class="cnNkNTExMmNlMWYyOTQ5YmI5NzU5ZmQyM2M5ZWU3Yzgy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZjUzZWNkODEwYTRmMmViMDBiMTVkZDIxZThkODY1"><span style="font-size: 1em">Alicia searched up other jobs online. The application lay off to the side of her desk.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMGVlN2NiODM1OTQxNmRhZmZhMmM3NWY5YjhlOTc5"><span style="font-size: 1em">Hearing her door turn--her parents having no care for privacy--she smoothly placed the application in an opened cupboard that came with her desk. Sliding it all the way back.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YjZlMmYwODU5NzQ3ZDZiMjgzN2UyOTAxYjg4MWFi"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Hey. You found a job yet?" Her mother asked, folding her arms.</span></p> <p class="cnNkOTE3YjM0ZGM3MTQ0ZmY5ODJhMjBlMGMwNjY3MDU2"><span style="font-size: 1em">"No, not really." She said, curious to see how her parents, her mother at least, would feel about her being raped. That thought was still coursing through her mind. And if not that, just her safety in general. </span></p> <p class="cnM3M2Q1NjM4ZTZmZTQ3MDViOGZiOWY0YjUwNmNiOGM2"><span style="font-size: 1em">Were they not taking that into account at all? She was eighteen. Eighteen. That may not sound like a little number to them, and in the real world it wasn't, you could do a lot at that age, but to her, for her, it was. She knew nothing. Well she knew some things, but she thought she was just a little too young to be out alone. And way too young, or inexperienced with what Christian may have her doing.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYzk5NDZkYTFhNDRjM2U4MjQzMGE5ZGY2OGFmMjk1"><span style="font-size: 1em">"'No not really', what does that mean?" Her mother gave her a look.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNTI3Yjg0YWE0YzQ1ZDBhYTNiNTAxNTJiM2JkZjFl"><span style="font-size: 1em">"It means a job is as good as mine, if I accept a certain wager."</span></p> <p class="cnMxZTg2OTE3ZjBhZDRiMGNiZWNhYzg0YjQ1M2FjOGIw"><span style="font-size: 1em">"What kind of wager?" She asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ODg0ZjVmMzEyZTQzYmFhOGMyMWJkMzgzZmIwMzUx"><span style="font-size: 1em">"The boss wants me to accompany him home after every shift."</span></p> <p class="cnMyOGIzMmUyOWIxZTQyNDc4MmU2N2E2MzdhZmRkN2Nl"><span style="font-size: 1em">"You're lying."</span></p> <p class="cnNiMjc4NDBhNjE3MTQ4OTM5NzZiYTliMjVhY2FhYzJl"><span style="font-size: 1em">"I'm not." She said. </span></p> <p class="cnNjNjIyNjE2NGJiNTRlNmI4Nzk2NWUyOTJjZTUxODdk"><span style="font-size: 1em">"So what do you want me to do about that? You're eighteen-years old. Figure it out. It obviously sounds fishy so don't do it."</span></p> <p class="cnM0MmIxNjBmOTE2MzRmNmZiYjU1ZDJmNzA1YTZiYzYw"><span style="font-size: 1em">"What is wrong with you!? You do realize this may be my only stake at some income since you guys are kicking me out! I've applied to every job on the strip! Put in jobs online. Went to over ten interviews already. All of them telling me no for who knows why! Why can't I just stay here to get on my feet! Figure things out!"</span></p> <p class="cnNhNzRkZWYxOTRhYjRiYWY5NzgwYTM0YTJkNDE0Y2Y1"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Because rather than have you sit on your but all day and do nothing, Alicia, which I'm sure you would be doing, your father and I think it's best we push you out. Like a bird leaving the nest. You don't want to--"</span></p> <p class="cnNiZjNlMDFiNDY0ODQzYzM5MDU5NDRjYTUxZDE4NTJm"><span style="font-size: 1em">"I'm not a bird! I'm a human being! I'm your daughter! You know? The one you carried for nine months! You are kicking me out! No car! No license! You won't even pay for a storage facility! I'm just going to be on the street! And in case you haven't noticed, I'm very small for my age! I dodge men's looks everyday I'm out there!"</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDM1Y2IyYjEwNTQxMmNhMGUwNzRjZWI5NGUxMDk5"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Pick up some pepper spray! Learn some self-defense! Pack a weapon with you! It's not that hard, Alicia!"</span></p> <p class="cnNjOWM4Y2Q1NzA5NDQ1NGQ5M2Q2NjMyNTc5NmRhZTJj"><span style="font-size: 1em">"And if all that fails! You do realize it'll be me against a guy twice my size. Or not even twice my size...you know what, it doesn't even have to be that situation! This is ridiculous! You expect me to just sink or swim! Is that it!"</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzk4MmNhYjRmMzQ4MTliYjJhNTljNTFkOTM3ZGM5"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Yes!" her mother shouted. "Sink or swim! And if you find yourself sinking, don't come crying to us for help! You make it on you're own Alicia! Had you just gone to school like everybody else we wouldn't even be having this conversation!"</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZWRhYzE5NjkyMTRkYTA5NTY4Yzk0NjU0ZmVmYzdi"><span style="font-size: 1em">"So that's it! You're pushing me out because I don't want to go to school!"</span></p> <p class="cnNiYTc5M2VhOWVkYzQ3ODRiOTM0ZTk4MTAwNjk4ZjQz"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Alicia, your father and I have been grooming you to get into a good school all your life. We've taken you to seminars and on-campus tours. We've taken off work to even go on some college excursions with you. If you didn't see this coming, now you do! Your father and I have degrees. We worked hard to get where we are. School is where it's at right now, and if you don't want to do that, then you are going to have to leave. And no, we don't want you going to no community college either!"</span></p> <p class="cnNiYmEwMjMzOTQ3YTQzNDRiYjQzOTRhNGQ1YTgxNzY3"><span style="font-size: 1em">"It's cheaper!" she said. "I can knock out all of my gen-ed for free!"</span></p> <p class="cnM0NWE3OGZjOTE3MTQ1Yjg5OGM3MDdmZGFjMDYwNjcy"><span style="font-size: 1em">"And then stress over where you want to transfer when you can already be there. Now, you have until the end of the month to be out. Or you can apply to the Remwood Academy that your father and I--"</span></p> <p class="cnMyNmZjNjRhMzA0MzQ0YmJiNWNhZmJiY2M1MjcyZjNj"><span style="font-size: 1em">"So that's it!" she yelled. "I knew it had to be something!"</span></p> <p class="cnM0OGU2YjMwOTliODQ2ODc4ZTMwYjIyYjZkYjJhMDg4"><span style="font-size: 1em">Her mother said nothing.</span></p> <p class="cnNlNzAxMTgyNmI3ZTQxNmU5NzE2YTk0YjNmMzVkMTAz"><span style="font-size: 1em">She scoffed and shook her head. "Now it all makes sense. You never explained why you wanted me gone other than I 'needed to fend for myself' or 'we're just kicking you out'. You did this out of spite. You and dad both. Because I rejected that full ride scholarship to Remwood. Because I didn't care to follow in you two's footsteps."</span></p> <p class="cnMwOGI3NTcyM2E5MzRkYWRiZDM4N2MzMzZiYjY0Nzcz"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Remwood is a good school! Ivy league!"</span></p> <p class="cnNmMjE3YzY2NTZlMzRkMDdhZWM5MTA1MDUxOGZjNGM3"><span style="font-size: 1em">"And how'd you even get the scholarship, Mom! Who'd you and Dad have to bribe! I know Dad has pull in the education sector. I know he's good friends with the counselors, especially in admissions and records!"</span></p> <p class="cnM3YmFiYzM3OTBkYzQzY2Q4NTQzMDcwYjIzYzRkZjIx"><span style="font-size: 1em">Her mother looked away.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOGE2ZDFhYTRlNTRmOTNiZjNmNTU5MzIxZTRjYTFj"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Sure, I've been an achieving student. But that just wasn't good enough for you, huh? You wanted me to be that well groomed, kid. Straight-A student kid. The one that did whatever their parents wanted, just for their approval!"</span></p> <p class="cnM0OTNmMmI3MzhmYzRmMjQ5MGRjNTBhMjc0ZDk1ZjZk"><span style="font-size: 1em">"And what's wrong with that! To want what your parents want! All my life I have tried to understand you, Alicia! Nothing we ever do is good enough for you! We get you into a good school. You don't like it! We go to seminars and outings! You say its 'okay'. What are you?! A corpse?!"</span></p> <p class="cnM4YTc1NTY0YzAxMDRkZjJhNGMzYzkwMjczNzZhODcz"><span style="font-size: 1em">"I'm a human being!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "How many times do I have to keep telling you that! I'm allowed to not know what I want right now because it's normal! I'm not the little robots you and Dad turned out to be for your parents; always looking for their approval! Always looking to them to see what they want! So fine! If I scare you! If I intimidate you, then fine! I'll leave! If I come up raped and murdered, or scarred beyond repair, no, you won't be responsible for it, but you will have guilt!" She turned away from her mother and threw open her closet doors.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MzdjOWYxZDA0NjQ3Zjc5YWIyYjNiZWVjMGYxNTI4"><span style="font-size: 1em">"What are doing?" She asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMyOTI2Mjg4Njg4NTRiNDViMzUxZTA3MGMxZDI2MDFi"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Packing!"</span></p> <p class="cnNlOTJlY2M4YWFmNjQxYzM4ZDY3MGY2MmRlYWVjMzdk"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Well I hope you have some place to go." She said, turning and walking out. She closed the door behind her.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYWI1NWI3YmEyMjQ2OWQ4MGUxZjNmZDUyYmUxM2Vi"><span style="font-size: 1em">Alicia stopped what she was doing and collasped onto her bed. She cried her eyes out and looked at the application. It's papers were scrunched up some.</span></p> <p class="cnNmOTNmMjNhNTk1NjRhODZiNDA5NmIyZDEzMmY1NGUy" style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 1em">***</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDA0YzcwOWFmOTQzY2ViODJjNzNjNTVhNThiZjY0" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 1em">She walked through the doors around 4:30. She had plenty to lose, but one thing she refused to do was go down helpless. Whatever may come her way, she'd always be aware. Always be prepared. She had no money, so all of her self-defense tactics would have to be placed on hold, but she did snag a screwdriver and a fork. It was better than nothing.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZTU4ZDJjMTdiNTQ4OTJhYmNmN2IyZjY4ZDdmMzM5" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 1em">She was hoping to only see Christian. Instead she was welcomed with a couple other guests beside him. One being Delilah and the person she had walked passed the evening before.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNmIzNmRmMjdlYzRmN2Q4MWQ4MTJiYTNiZWM2ZmIw" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Hello." She said, slowly. "Am I interrupting something?"</span></p> <p class="cnM2YTkxOTQxODRiYTRhZjE5YWYxM2Q1ZWZmZmZlMTVh" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 1em">"No, not at all." Christain said. "Did you bring the application?"</span></p> <p class="cnNhMDYwZmVlNzdmYzRmYWE5MGU3YjUyYTgyZjY5OTYx" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 1em">Delilah rolled her eyes.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYWQ4M2UyMzI0MzQ4NzViODFkMGNhMGEzZGJhMmJi" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 1em">"I did." She said.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MzA2YWRiZjZiNzRlMzM5ZWQ4N2E1OWVjZWI2YWEz"><span style="font-size: 1em">"Good. Come with me to the back." He said. He walked toward the area that had been pitch black the day before. It was lit now.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMWJmNmQzOTg0ZDQzYjNhZjVlNzQxYzFjNDZkYTNj">She noticed the boy staring at her intently as she walked toward the back. Could he be the sixteen-year-old? He looked young enough. He had blue-black shaggy hair, with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He was dressed similar to Christian in attire, but sported a tie.</p> <p class="cnNlY2FkNzc0OTBlNjQ0YjViMWQyZTA4NTdkOTE2ZDNi">Walking into the back, she was suprised to see how big it was. It was a hallway to be exact. With some storage racks against the walls. The doors reminded her of a hotel. There were numbers on them.</p> <p class="cnMyYmYyNjI2YWNmZjRhNTJiOWY4MWNjMGQ4YTVhODI3">"These are private rooms."</p> <p class="cnNiM2UzY2EwZGJjOTQzMDRiNGRjNDQ2OTkzNWFjZjg1">"Private rooms for what?" She looked to him.</p> <p class="cnMwYzk0YTdhNDNkZjQzNDBiNWNiYjk1Y2Q0NDYyZmUx">"Meetings. Parties."</p> <p class="cnM5ZTg3ZjQxMDRkNDQ3ZDk4NDMxMGY3YmI1MDcwMDk2"><em>Hookers</em>. She thought. "Oh." she said.</p> <p class="cnM2NjBjNDE3MmUxYjRkNzNhNGMwYmVmYmJhZmY2OWY4">"Follow me." He turned and began walking down the hall.</p> <p class="cnM1MDQxZGEyZjNjOTQwZDJiMmU2NWUxOWU0MDRkYzJm">She glanced out toward the front and saw Delilah and the boy staring at her still. Didn't they know it was rude? She hurried along after him.</p> <p class="cnMwZjdkMDU1ZmM3MzQ2YzU5MjhiZmI0Y2JmNjE3MDk3">Delilah slammed her hand down on the counter and winced. She made a muffled sound.</p> <p class="cnMzMmQxNzAxNjc5ZDQ2MmI4NDk0NGQxMTRkOGFjMDJk">"Exactly what you get." The boy said.</p> <p class="cnM2NzEzNjMzMDNmNTRmZWVhZDFlOTIzMDZlOTNiZDgx">"Shut up you little insect!" she hissed.</p> <p class="cnM2YzJhMTRjMmExMTRjMTdhMTQyMzRlYzMyMTBjZmI5">There was an abrupt turn that led them to a double door entry. With no knobs?</p> <p class="cnMyYmRmZTBiYTlkZTQzYjRhZTZkZmM1ZjJkNzZkMGI5">"No knobs?" she gave him a look.</p> <p class="cnMwNjU3ZWEyZDVlMDQ1NjQ4MTVmNWEzMDYxMGE2ZmFm">"No." He said, entering a code into the keypad on the wall.</p> <p class="cnMyMzZkOGVlYzJhOTQwODI4OWU5MmZjNzIxMzFjYzI2">The doors unlocked and he pushed one open.</p> <p class="cnM0NjZiMDBjMjUwNjQ0OTFiZWYxZDAwZGViYWY0OTIz">The room was red. All red. It nearly hurt her eyes. The only relief was the glass table for contrast. Red carpet. Red floors and walls. Even the ceiling. It had round LED lights within them.</p> <p class="cnNkYWJhYTZlNzA5NDQzN2ZhODY1ZmUzOGM2ZjQyZjYw">She cautiously stepped through, one hand in her bag, gripping the fork. She fumbled for the screwdriver.</p> <p class="cnNkZDQ0NTgwMTViYzRkNGFhMDc4ZDc1N2UzYTRhY2Fk">He closed the doors and she turned and faced him.</p> <p class="cnMyYzEwYmYyZDVlYTRkNjRiMjU5OGFlMzg4NmNhMzc2">She'd figure he'd wait to take her home to assult her, but this room was just as good. There weren't any windows--she doubted the employees would help should anything go wrong. Especially if they didn't know the code.</p> <p class="cnM0NzI5NDQzNDUwZTQ5ZjBiNmZkOWViZTYwYjUyYjU3">"Your application, may I see it?" He asked.</p> <p class="cnNhZTNkNjhlYTdmNDRhZjI4YTVmNzZkYTE4OGUxMWY0">"What's with all the red?" She asked.</p> <p class="cnNlYjFhZGIyYzBhMzRhM2RhNTZjMjlhYTkwMTZhOTRk">Christian looked around. "It's soothing--calms me down after a hard days work. I can come in here and relax. The walls are noise cancelling. Have a drink. Fall asleep." He chuckled. "I've actually done that a couple times."</p> <p class="cnM2ZDExYzUzMmM1ZTRkOTVhNTliODJhOWIxYjE2NWQ3">"Where? There's no where to sleep?"</p> <p class="cnM5OWJmZTFjNDdlMjQ2ZDQ4OWIzOWFjZGMxNzcxNDhm">He pointed to the right side of the doors.</p> <p class="cnM5ZWI2MmY4MGUxNjQyZjM5Y2YyZmE2OWIyYzRmZTRl">Why hadn't she noticed the cushioned bench there?</p> <p class="cnM0M2QzOTVlMTk4NzQ4Y2E5NmQzN2E1NTFkYmZmOTNk">"If I'm really hot, the cold glass table does the trick. And a beer." He smirked. "Now, your application."</p> <p class="cnNmNGJmMDMwMDFjZjRlYThiNGJkMWQwMGIyNmJlMmI1">She handed it to him.</p> <p class="cnNkNTdhY2U3ZWE3ODRkOWFhNGNhMDNjYTkwZWNkOTNl">He unfolded it and walked toward the table.</p> <p class="cnMyMzQxMWM1OTNmMTQ4MjJhNjQ2ODBkYzNhMWNlZTYy">It sat twelve in what looked like very comfortable high back seats. They all came with armrests.</p> <p class="cnMxYWE4ZjNmYjI3NjRmYWI5NzM5Yjg4MjkxYTBhZDY1">He lifted the first page and looked for her signature. It wasn't there. He turned to her. "You didn't sign it."</p> <p class="cnMyODNhNGNlYjAxODQ3ZjY4ZmIyZTNjODU1Y2E3NmI5">"I know." She said.</p> <p class="cnNiODhiZjU5MDkwZjRjNThhM2U3Y2NkNzBiZmQ5N2Fi">It was extremely subtle, but she saw the irritation cross those blue eyes of his. If he wanted her, he'd have to 'earn' her.</p> <p class="cnNhZDM2ZDg2NjkyMzRmNDU4ZTJiNjNmZmRiYjViZGMz">"I don't even know your name and you're getting on my nerve." He said.</p> <p class="cnM4MTdmMzQyMzg2NjQ1YzBhYTg3ZjI3ODg3NGI4NDcz">"And I'm being an idiot for coming this far along with you and now this takes the cake." She ushered to the room. "I'm in a room with no handles. No handles. I can't escape."</p> <p class="cnM4MDRhOGQxYmNmNzQ5YzliNmYwYmQxNGU4YzY0MDli">"No, you can't." He said. "Not without the code."</p> <p class="cnNkMWU2MjFjNzBiNDRhNDg4MjY0MTQxMDM1ODE4Y2M3">"Which you won't give me, I'm sure."</p> <p class="cnMxZjU5NjhkNzJmOTQwMDI4MzZiMDc4ZTVmZGY5MjEx">"0089-265."</p> <p class="cnNhZDM0M2RiNzc3MDQxZTFiNGQ4YjYzYmU0NTQ3MTYw">"You didn't just give me the code." She laughed in disbelief.</p> <p class="cnMyYmEwOWIzNmVkMzRkMTE4MDk1NGUzNjRmNTc2OGZi">"I did." He said. "If you are going to waste my time, you can leave."</p> <p class="cnM3MTVkM2M1YjMyZjRjODhhMDVkYjA2MmI2MGM3MzBh">"Waste your time! You're asking me to do something completely irrational and flat out dangerous! No one in their right mind would do such a thing! This is borderline sexual assult!"</p> <p class="cnM5YjJlMTBiNzFiYTQ5MGU5MGY4NjBhYmU1ZjYwODI0">"And yet here you are." He said.</p> <p class="cnNjZGE3MmRiYzA2NzQwYzhiZWE2MGZiZWQzMjljMWZl">She didn't respond.</p> <p class="cnNlMGFlMmQyOGJiMTRiOWM4ZjlkMDZiMzNiNmRhYjEx">"That leads me to believe that you actually want this job or you have no choice for reasons uknown to me. There are plenty of jobs out there. As to why you have come this far with me, those have to be the only explainations."</p> <p class="cnNjNmYyYTVjYzI2MTRlOTFiZmVmNzk4ZWY0N2YzNmE4">And he was right.</p> <p class="cnM5M2RlZTdkNGQzMjRiZTNhMjhlZDVkZDFhNWJlMzll">She turned away and cupped her mouth.</p> <p class="cnNiY2FjNjlmNzkxZDRjNDU5NjhmMGQyZDYzYmE2Yzgy">He watched her. Wondering if he should even waste his time on her. Somebody else would quickly jump on this opportunity without regard for the consequences.</p> <p class="cnM5MjAwYzJjYTJjZDRiZDA5ZDU2ODVmOTEyZWMzZTkx">But she fought. Why? He wasn't making her, so what was the struggle for?</p> <p class="cnNiYjMzODllYjEyNDQ2NWVhZWRiZDEyNTMyN2FkNDJh">"You're right." She turned and allowed him to see her tears. She steadied her voice. "I don't have a choice, otherwise I'd be long gone from here. From you."</p> <p class="cnM4NzRiNTkzZDkwYjQzZjU4YmFlMjcyOWZkMzhlZjZj">"So what's keeping you?" He said.</p> <p class="cnNkODI1ZGQzMDVmZjQxYWFiNTk4NDk4ZWY2OWI0ZmJm">"My parents." She said. "It's either I become employed under you and move out by the end of the month. Or be homeless and deal with all the risks that come with that. Unfortunately, you're little deal isn't helping me make the decision any faster. I'd rather be in a shack right now in the woods then deal with this. I have applied to multiple jobs already within my time frame, and all of them have said no, or the interviews take place over the span of a month. I need to be out before then."</p> <p class="cnM5MGE1MTA0NDE3ZDQ5YTM4MDhjNWZmNzVlZDM4MDlh">"Why are your parents kicking you out?" He asked.</p> <p class="cnM2ZTMyYzI4ZmE2MjQxNmVhZDQ1MTdiNjUzNzY5NDJj">"School. School and their butthurt feelings over me rejecting the school they swindled me into."</p> <p class="cnNmODNmZjhhZTYxYTQ5MTA4OGRkNGQxYjlhMzliOTY4">"What school?"</p> <p class="cnNkZmIxMGRlZjJmMzQzNjU5ZTc2ZGQyZWIzNGRhYTNl">"Remwood."</p> <p class="cnNmZmIwYWQ3ZTE1ODRiZmM4NjlhYzQ4ODg5MjE1NjYx">"You turned down, Remwood?"</p> <p class="cnM2MzI3MTlhNDI1ZTRkOTFhMWJmYjgwZmNlNWM1ZDBl">"Oh," she scoffed. "Not you too."</p> <p class="cnM0MjhjZjgyNzVmMjRmOGRiYTM2NjBjMTU5M2VlOWZi">"It doesn't matter what I think. But Remwood is a good school, if you get it to work for you. It's not the best when it comes to crime, rich kids and stuff. But it will help on applications and resumes."</p> <p class="cnM3MjU3YmZkNGQzODRkMTY5OTcwOTkyMmRiODBhNjU5">"Yes, I know." She said. "But I didn't want to attend. I didn't care to."</p> <p class="cnM0MDE0YTNkMGY3MDRlM2M5MmNiZTliMTBlNTUwYWE0">"Where else would you have liked to go?"</p> <p class="cnNhZTMwY2RjMGY1NDQ4MTc5NDZkODM0MTM1ZDVlYzQ4">She sighed. "Look, nowhere, okay! Now why do you want me coming home with you after every shift!"</p> <p class="cnNmNzUwMzkxNzViYjQxYzk5YjY0ZDI5NTM3ODc1MWEx">"That's up to me."</p> <p class="cnMzMTgwNzZkZDYwZjQ1NDZhY2FlYzE1YmFlYjg5NjRh">"No! That's not up to you! I'm the one that's going to get hurt! And I can't trust your word saying that you won't."</p> <p class="cnNkYmFmNWJmOGQ0MjQ1YjI5NmExZTQxNjFlZTFlYjhj">"Unless you see me in action, which leaves you with no choice but to accept or get out. Your choice. I don't have all day. Someone else will come along. We get applicants daily."</p> <p class="cnM2MDkzYzQwYWYzZTRlMDU4YTc2MTMyNGY2YzdlZmY3">"What for! The pays not good anyway unless we're doing whatever you want us to do behind closed doors!"</p> <p class="cnMyMWViZjJhYTg5YjQ5NjI5M2ZjNTIxMDI1ZWJmMTRk">"Take it or leave it, girl." He said. "You will have until six o' clock to make your decision. Should you, you will start work immediately. There should be something you can fit."</p> <p class="cnM4ZGRjNDRlOTVhNDQ3MmQ5ZjAwYjg5NWUyMDQ1YWQ2">"Wait a minute! You're just going to toss me to the wolves too!"</p> <p class="cnM4OTg3NDgxZWM4ZjQ3NmQ4OTI2MjU5NDJjNjkzYTM5">"How else are you supposed to learn? Delilah will be shadowing you."</p> <p class="cnMxMjI5ODkzOWJmMzRlYjFiYzVjMTFlZDgzMDM1YTBj">"Oh great! The one that doesn't seem to like me!"</p> <p class="cnMxNDZmY2QxMjRmNjQyOThhYmQ1MTc3OGMwNTcxYmQx">"Delilah likes no one I take under my wing."</p> <p class="cnMyYTZjNWMyOWU5MjQzOTI5ZjMzZmZkOWYwMTkwNGE2">"What? She's jealous another girl get's to have what she had? Fine. You can take her home and just hire me as a regualar maid. Yeah, how about that. Just hire me normally. I won't have to go with you anywhere."</p> <p class="cnNmMWU3MTQ2OWI1MzRhYTRhYjg0NTlhMzA2MDQ4MzEx">"But I am not looking for a normal hire. We get plenty of those each day and I am content with the staff I have. This position is more of a personal, inside job. No woman here fits. Consider you my personal assistant, should you take the job."</p> <p class="cnNkNDMwMzFiOGRhODQ4ZjI4MGFmYjYyYjNlZmU0MTcx">"And what makes me so different? I just want a job. That's it! No 50 Shades of Red or midnight secretary stuff! And you won't tell me if it's going to be that way!"</p> <p class="cnM3NjE0YzNkYzU5NDRkYjhiNGRiZmE1YjAwNzZiMjdk">"I know I haven't. You're just assuming."</p> <p class="cnM4Y2NkOTA5Yzg3NzRjMzdhMDFkYjMyNjg0ODAyYTll">"So can my assumption be wrong!"</p> <p class="cnM2NWUzNzk5ODJjZDRlZGViNDAxYmZjOTRmNzU5YmUx">He chuckled. "You have an hour."</p> <p class="cnM1ZjdmNmVlNjFlMzQ1YzM5MWIyOGFjMjcyNTE3ZWJi">She was at a loss of words at this point.</p> <p class="cnNjMGE5MDM4ZTkyZjRmMGM4M2RiNzk0ODFjMDcxNmU2">"Now, I will leave you in here, or you can even walk out. If the application is not in my hand by six o' clock, you will have forefeited the right to obtain a job here." He walked passed her and entered the code, opening the door. "The choice is yours." He looked back at her, and then stepped out.</p> <p class="cnM5MDdmZWMzMWQ2MjQ2NzhhNThmYzRiZDBlY2Q5ZmQ3">He said that to her three times already. The choice was hers. The choice was hers. The choice was hers. Yes, it was hers. He wasn't making her do anything. But after she signed. That's when she would be at his mercy.</p> <p class="cnNmYWFhYTIyM2MyMTQwNmNiM2NkOTA1OGNiODE2YWRj">The door began to close. Should she follow him out or be trapped in here as she had forgotton the code already? She wouldn't want to come in while everyone was busy serving customers. They wouldn't be able to show her the ropes as efficiently. That and she was shy. She'd never show it, but she was.</p> <p class="cnM0OTZhZTVhZTIwNzRmOTVhM2Q1MTE0M2IwMTJjZjAz">She had a screwdriver and a fork. Embarrassing to say the least but it was something.</p> <p class="cnM0MmNlNTJkY2U4NjQ5NjhhNGNjOTFjZjQ0YTQyNGMw">"Hey! Wait!" she ran out the room.</p> <p class="cnM1M2IxZTcxN2FkOTRmZjk4N2ZjYTdlMzlhMTA4OGM5">He turned to her.</p> <p class="cnNkMTRjNjEyYmE4YzRjODJhOTU2ZTg1ZWFkYmM2ZDUw">"I'll do it."</p> <p class="cnM2MTVkNWNmMWMzMjQ2YmVhOThmNzkxMDhjZDg3Y2Iz">"You said that already." He said. "I just need your signature. It makes everything, legal."</p> <p class="cnMwOTBmNjIxYmNlYjQwYmU4ZmQ1NWJmYTY5NGIwMjAw">Everything. Legal.</p> <p class="cnM0OTcwNTI3NmI4YTQzOThiZjQzZWYzNzk4MzExNjQ3">She didn't have time to play around with those terms or how he paused before he said the term 'legal'. Hell or high water, she decided to do this. Against her better judgement. Against every fiber in her body telling her to 'stop!'. To get out now while she still could.</p> <p class="cnNiOGNmYzJmY2RjMzQ1MWZiMDg4MGNlMDA5ZjBjYzAz">She had to be out by the end of the month, She needed to be able to make a down payment on a place as soon as possible. Start looking.</p> <p class="cnNhZjZmYjMxNDYwZDQ2NWRiNTgxNWI4Yjc0NWQ0Zjlh">"How often do I get paid?"</p> <p class="cnNkNTIyYmUyNmZhODQ0M2RhMDU0OTNkNGI4ZDRlNDJi">"Every two weeks."</p> <p class="cnMwZmJkMjcyN2IzYjRhNTdiODM4NDE3Y2Q0MDI3ZjM5">She walked toward him. "Is that $2000 every week or is that $2000 every month?" She whispered.</p> <p class="cnMxNzNlNTA3MDViZTQ0NWFhYjY3M2M3NTE5YmFjY2Fi">He thought about that. "Do you want to stay in this area? Or commute?"</p> <p class="cnNkN2ZlMWM2N2NhYjQxZTE5Y2M0ZjU2MjA2NGU3ZTQw">"Would it matter?"</p> <p class="cnNlNWRkMzQ5NDAyNDQzYjRhNTVjYjliOTZkZGRiODRl">"Yes." He said.</p> <p class="cnNjYzBmODRhMjAyOTRmZWI4OWM4OWQyNGRhODRiNDBh">"This area." She said. "I only take one train to get here, and if I can find a place around here, I won't have to commute at all."</p> <p class="cnNjYzUzM2Q5ZmQ5MTRkNjZhODIwNzczNGMwMmIyNTcw">"Very well. If you sign I will give you $2000 a check." His voice was lower.</p> <p class="cnMzMDlkNDk5ZWQzYTRlMGFiMjBhMzM4ZjhjMzA4ZDg3">Her eyes widened. "That's $4000 a month! What am I going to be giving you! Blood!" she hissed. "I mean! Not that I'm complaining but I don't want to feel like garbage when all is said and done."</p> <p class="cnNiNzUwYTA3MWVjZjQ5MDg5NTlhMWM3ZjU0MmM2NThh">"Well hopefully we won't have to be 'said and done' for a long time." He said. "Do you need a pen?"</p> <p class="cnNlMTk3MWFmOTc3YjRlMWFhN2YzZWNlODdkZjUzYWU2">"No, no I have one." She said, feeling sick. Her mouth was going dry. She rummaged through her purse, swallowing thickly. "Come on, I had it! I have it!" She wanted to cry.</p> <p class="cnNiM2M0ODBmNDAyNzQ4NjI5NzdmNTRhZDliNTQwOTFj">He held a pen in front of her. She looked at it and then him.</p> <p class="cnMyYTliMTBkOGM0YjQxMzE4Yzg3MWM0ZWE0NDEzMTY2">Since yesterday he showed her no other face but one of composure. He hadn't raised his voice at her. He was even giving her a second chance almost. What could she possibly offer him besides her body and she didn't want to give herself up anyway. A prositute could do just as good a job, no, they would be able to give him anything he needed. She had no experience. Zero.</p> <p class="cnM4NzQ2N2IwNTdkYjRkYjE5ZjQ0YmQ4NjgxODg4Mjk0">"Wha--"</p> <p class="cnMxNzRlNDgwY2JkNTRkNDI4OTc5MWM0ZWEzOWNiYmNi">"Sign it." He interrupted her. "Just sign it. I'm just as tired as you are with this game. I get it. You don't want to. Under perfect circumstances I wouldn't want to."</p> <p class="cnM4N2I3NDJiYTEzZDQzNDBhMDUwYTJiZDljM2JmMjA3">"Want to wha--"</p> <p class="cnM5Y2I2OTk3M2ZmZDQ2NDY4ZjEyYjU2NDUwYWU3ZDUx">"Sign it." He said again. "The sooner you do the sooner we can get you out there."</p> <p class="cnM1NDFlMTdiYjBjYzRiNWQ5MTE2NGZlMmViZmMyODA5">He didn't have to show her how edgy he felt. She could feel it. The anxiety.</p> <p class="cnM5ODU3MjNjYTEwODRkOWY5MzY0ZDY1M2E2Njk4MDlh">Swallowing, she took the pen. Sniffing some she lifted the first page and set it down on a small table. There was a clock setting off to the side. It was 5:07 p.m. She held her breath and scribbled in her first and last name: <em>Alicia June. </em>She dated it.</p> <p class="cnMwNjZmMGE0MGRmMjQzZTY5OTFhYzkzODEwN2JiNGM1">"Should we call you 'AJ' for short?" He looked at her signature.</p> <p class="cnMyYjkwNTdmOGQ2MDQ3YThhOTU1NzQ0NjA1Yjc2M2E3">"Just Alicia." She turned to him. "Just, Alicia."</p> <p class="cnM5MzI4YTFkZDM0OTQ2MzM4N2Q2Zjg1ZTc4MDE5ZTk3">"Well, Alicia." He took the pen and application. He held out his other hand. "My name is Christian Royce. You may call me 'Roy' for short. Everyone does."</p> <p class="cnNmNzFkZTg2MjZmZTQyZTM4YTFjNjFlNDk2M2UxOGVm">"I prefer Christain." She said. "That is your name, isn't it?"</p> <p class="cnM5ZmZiYTY2YWIyYTQwMDlhOGVhMDE3MDMyYzhkNzgx">"Unfortunately."</p> <p class="cnM2ZjE1ZjA2NDhjZjQxOGU5ODUyZTI0OTExYTU2ZDRj">She eyed his hand and slowly placed hers inside it. He was warm, but a little cold. An odd temperature to be.</p> <p class="cnM2ZDZhODU3NjEwODRlNDViZGY0NWFlODQ2NzFlOGQ3">They shook hands.</p> <p class="cnM5YmU2ZjM5NzA2YjQ5NTBiMWJlY2U0YmEyYmYxZWM4">"Welcome to the family, Alicia." He briefly smiled. "With time, I hope you will grow to like it here."</p> <p class="cnM1YzNlZDk3MjJiZjQwMTc5MWVmMDU2NTljZDY0YWEx">"Not on my watch pal." Delilah was against the outside wall, straining her ears to hear.</p> <p class="cnNiYTI3ZTYyM2M0MTQ5OWVhNWFmY2Q0NTFjNGM5Y2Nk">"Roy! Delilah is listening outside the wall!" The boy yelled.</p> <p class="cnNiZmE2ZTg5ZjIxMjQ5N2VhZjQ1NGMxZGE2Mzc1ZWEz">She glared daggers at him. "Shut up you scrawny little kid!" she lunged for him. "I'll make you die of alcohol poisoning!"</p> <p class="cnNmMTg2YjRkYWFiNzRkYjFiODA5MDU3NTk2ODlmNzMz">"And she threatened me!" he sang.</p> <p class="cnNhODYwMDNiYzk0MjRkNDhiN2I0MWI5NTYxNWViZDBj">"Those are my co-workers?"</p> <p class="cnM3MWMzMDJmYTg3MDRjNWNiYjAxOWM0MjcxN2NhMWQw">"Afraid so."</p> <p class="cnNjMDQ4ZThiMmI5ZDRmNTJiYjE2ODcwOGZhMjg3NTM1">"They must be good at their job then for you not to fire them..." Alicia fell forward.</p> <p class="cnNhNTdiMTZkYWM4NjRhMmVhNDFhODViYjRiNWYxMjc1">He caught her.</p> <p class="cnMyNTk4MGNkZjljODRiOWJiNzVjNjdlNDM5ZjY5N2Vm">"I'm not, I don't think I can--" she let out a wimper and blacked out.</p> <p class="cnNkNzU1MTkwOTAwMTQ0YjJhYTg1ZWFhNjJlNTViODJj">"Delilah!" he called.</p> <p class="cnM4NjUzZWFlNmE1ODRmM2I5YWZjZWQ2MDNlODkxYTM1">"What is it!" She walked into the room. Her heart skipped a beat. "What did you do to her?! Don't tell me you killed her already! Not that I'd be complaining on that aspect..."</p> <p class="cnNjOGRhNGJkZGM3ODQyZjE4YTgzNTg3ODg4NzNmNzgw">"Just heartless." The boy spoke.</p> <p class="cnMyYjRhYzhhNDY0ZDRiN2RiMzk1NGEyMmQxY2E2ZTEz">"Follow me into the conferance room. Your job will be to wait until she comes to."</p> <p class="cnM0NWVlMmVlNTY2OTRlNGM5NjVmYzQxZGM5NDllNTQz">"What!" she yelled.</p> <p class="cnM1ZTlhZTNjNDlhOTRjNjVhMmViYzIxOTQ2OTcxZDMx">"It'll serve you right," he looked to her. "Eavesdropping on conversations. You should know better, <em>dear.</em> You were, once under me."</p> <p class="cnM2MTM5MjU4ZTFkYTRmMzJiZWEzZDcwNzE4MTQwZmIw">A mournful look crossed her eyes.</p> <p class="cnNlNmZmMTkyZTI0YzQ5NjRiYzBjYmNmNTA0NzAyYmQ5">"And unlike you, this girl really doesn't have a choice. Now you will sit and wait for her to come around. Show her the ropes, and so help me if you cause any unnecessary damage while I'm away, well, I don't have to tell you what I'll do to you. Are we clear?"</p> <p class="cnM1NjA2NTE2ZWNhNjQ5MTY4NmI4NjFjZDVjN2U4Nzcw">"Yes." She said.</p> <p class="cnNkMTAzYTlkYWQ5ODQwYWY4YTIyMTJmOGFhZTQwNTY2">"Yes, who?"</p> <p class="cnM5YTA2ODRlOTAwYTRiMGY5MGUzNGEzMjYzNmQ5NTI1">"Yes, sir." Delilah said, her own eyes glistening.</p> <p class="cnMwYjc2YmRiNjBhZTQ2ODU5ZDAwMTZmZDhhMjQ0Mjg2">"Good. Roy, keep watch."</p> <p class="cnNlYzhjMjM4ZmM3MTQ1YWZhM2ZmYWQ5Njc4MThlNzk0">"You got it." He said. "And her uniform?"</p> <p class="cnM5MTQ5ZjYwNzk3ZTQxMjVhZmU0MDlmOGVlYWNiMWU1">"We should have something small in the back. If not, the school uniform should do for now until one is made for her. If she wants that, then Delilah will show her the brochures. Right?" He looked to her again.</p> <p class="cnM2OWFlMGRkNWI1MDQyNTg4YTI2YjAxNzVlNTlmNTFj">"Yes." She said.</p> <p class="cnNmYzUyOTA0NTdhMzRkNTc5MDJlYWFiYzE5MDA0YzU4">"Good. Make sure she has some water to drink when she wakes up." He picked her up and carried her away to the conference room.</p> <p class="cnNiYjM4OTc5NWM4YjQzYzhhNDUzYWRkYWMwOTBkYThj">Delilah followed silently behind. She had a flashback with 'Roy' or Christian having his arms around her and it broke her to know that that one foolish mistake cost her, her title, her paygrade, but most importantly, her trust with Christian. He never looked at her the same. Or maybe he never saw her as anything but <em>that</em>. Either way, this new girl was replacing her. And just like the girl who had him before she did cursed her to make a mistake. To make Christian fall away from her. Delilah was doing the same thing. She prayed multiple times that something would happen. An irreversable mistake. Just like the one she made. It could even be the same one. That's it! She'll make her want the same thing she did. And she'll get caught. And Christian will have to put her away for good! Just like he did her. This new plan in mind, she smiled on the inside, struggling to fight the smile forming on her lips.</p> <p class="cnNmN2JhNjgxNTQ1ZTQ5ODY4MmQ0ODdiN2E1MDA2YWY0">Misery loved company indeed.</p> <p class="cnMwNzc1ZTVjYzIyZTRkYzQ4NDg3NjBmNzU1MGRiZTgz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkYTcxODVmYzhhOTQ4MzY5Yjc1NGUwMTU1ZDQ0ODYy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlZGJkOGVkY2Y4YzQ2MTY5YTRjN2M2OGM4MDRhOGY0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmNmQ4ZmNmYjQ4NzRhZjY4MjY3ZjI5ZTNlMjNlYjg0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZmM1MGM4YjEwMDRiNzVhODlhNTk0Mzk5YTU1ZDkx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyM2YyNDYxZmJlYzRkZjhhYWMyZTE2ZGQ4MzRhNDJk">&nbsp;</p> </div>

Episode 3: "Welcome to The Family."   Alicia searched up other jobs online. The application lay off to the side of her desk. Hearing her door turn--her parents having no care for privacy--she smoothly placed the application in an opened cupboard that came with her desk. Sliding it all the way back. "Hey. You found a job yet?" Her mother asked, folding her arms. "No, not really." She said, curious to see how her parents, her mother at least, would feel about her being raped. That thought was still coursing through her mind. And if not that, just her safety in general. Were they not taking that into account at all? She was eighteen. Eighteen. That may not sound like a little number to them, and in the real world it wasn't, you could do a lot at that age, but to her, for her, it was. She knew nothing. Well she knew some things, but she thought she was just a little too young to be out alone. And way too young, or inexperienced with what Christian may have her doing. "'No not really', what does that mean?" Her mother gave her a look. "It means a job is as good as mine, if I accept a certain wager." "What kind of wager?" She asked. "The boss wants me to accompany him home after every shift." "You're lying." "I'm not." She said. "So what do you want me to do about that? You're eighteen-years old. Figure it out. It obviously sounds fishy so don't do it." "What is wrong with you!? You do realize this may be my only stake at some income since you guys are kicking me out! I've applied to every job on the strip! Put in jobs online. Went to over ten interviews already. All of them telling me no for who knows why! Why can't I just stay here to get on my feet! Figure things out!" "Because rather than have you sit on your but all day and do nothing, Alicia, which I'm sure you would be doing, your father and I think it's best we push you out. Like a bird leaving the nest. You don't want to--" "I'm not a bird! I'm a human being! I'm your daughter! You know? The one you carried for nine months! You are kicking me out! No car! No license! You won't even pay for a storage facility! I'm just going to be on the street! And in case you haven't noticed, I'm very small for my age! I dodge men's looks everyday I'm out there!" "Pick up some pepper spray! Learn some self-defense! Pack a weapon with you! It's not that hard, Alicia!" "And if all that fails! You do realize it'll be me against a guy twice my size. Or not even twice my size...you know what, it doesn't even have to be that situation! This is ridiculous! You expect me to just sink or swim! Is that it!" "Yes!" her mother shouted. "Sink or swim! And if you find yourself sinking, don't come crying to us for help! You make it on you're own Alicia! Had you just gone to school like everybody else we wouldn't even be having this conversation!" "So that's it! You're pushing me out because I don't want to go to school!" "Alicia, your father and I have been grooming you to get into a good school all your life. We've taken you to seminars and on-campus tours. We've taken off work to even go on some college excursions with you. If you didn't see this coming, now you do! Your father and I have degrees. We worked hard to get where we are. School is where it's at right now, and if you don't want to do that, then you are going to have to leave. And no, we don't want you going to no community college either!" "It's cheaper!" she said. "I can knock out all of my gen-ed for free!" "And then stress over where you want to transfer when you can already be there. Now, you have until the end of the month to be out. Or you can apply to the Remwood Academy that your father and I--" "So that's it!" she yelled. "I knew it had to be something!" Her mother said nothing. She scoffed and shook her head. "Now it all makes sense. You never explained why you wanted me gone other than I 'needed to fend for myself' or 'we're just kicking you out'. You did this out of spite. You and dad both. Because I rejected that full ride scholarship to Remwood. Because I didn't care to follow in you two's footsteps." "Remwood is a good school! Ivy league!" "And how'd you even get the scholarship, Mom! Who'd you and Dad have to bribe! I know Dad has pull in the education sector. I know he's good friends with the counselors, especially in admissions and records!" Her mother looked away. "Sure, I've been an achieving student. But that just wasn't good enough for you, huh? You wanted me to be that well groomed, kid. Straight-A student kid. The one that did whatever their parents wanted, just for their approval!" "And what's wrong with that! To want what your parents want! All my life I have tried to understand you, Alicia! Nothing we ever do is good enough for you! We get you into a good school. You don't like it! We go to seminars and outings! You say its 'okay'. What are you?! A corpse?!" "I'm a human being!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "How many times do I have to keep telling you that! I'm allowed to not know what I want right now because it's normal! I'm not the little robots you and Dad turned out to be for your parents; always looking for their approval! Always looking to them to see what they want! So fine! If I scare you! If I intimidate you, then fine! I'll leave! If I come up raped and murdered, or scarred beyond repair, no, you won't be responsible for it, but you will have guilt!" She turned away from her mother and threw open her closet doors. "What are doing?" She asked. "Packing!" "Well I hope you have some place to go." She said, turning and walking out. She closed the door behind her. Alicia stopped what she was doing and collasped onto her bed. She cried her eyes out and looked at the application. It's papers were scrunched up some. *** She walked through the doors around 4:30. She had plenty to lose, but one thing she refused to do was go down helpless. Whatever may come her way, she'd always be aware. Always be prepared. She had no money, so all of her self-defense tactics would have to be placed on hold, but she did snag a screwdriver and a fork. It was better than nothing. She was hoping to only see Christian. Instead she was welcomed with a couple other guests beside him. One being Delilah and the person she had walked passed the evening before. "Hello." She said, slowly. "Am I interrupting something?" "No, not at all." Christain said. "Did you bring the application?" Delilah rolled her eyes. "I did." She said. "Good. Come with me to the back." He said. He walked toward the area that had been pitch black the day before. It was lit now. She noticed the boy staring at her intently as she walked toward the back. Could he be the sixteen-year-old? He looked young enough. He had blue-black shaggy hair, with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He was dressed similar to Christian in attire, but sported a tie. Walking into the back, she was suprised to see how big it was. It was a hallway to be exact. With some storage racks against the walls. The doors reminded her of a hotel. There were numbers on them. "These are private rooms." "Private rooms for what?" She looked to him. "Meetings. Parties." *Hookers*. She thought. "Oh." she said. "Follow me." He turned and began walking down the hall. She glanced out toward the front and saw Delilah and the boy staring at her still. Didn't they know it was rude? She hurried along after him. Delilah slammed her hand down on the counter and winced. She made a muffled sound. "Exactly what you get." The boy said. "Shut up you little insect!" she hissed. There was an abrupt turn that led them to a double door entry. With no knobs? "No knobs?" she gave him a look. "No." He said, entering a code into the keypad on the wall. The doors unlocked and he pushed one open. The room was red. All red. It nearly hurt her eyes. The only relief was the glass table for contrast. Red carpet. Red floors and walls. Even the ceiling. It had round LED lights within them. She cautiously stepped through, one hand in her bag, gripping the fork. She fumbled for the screwdriver. He closed the doors and she turned and faced him. She'd figure he'd wait to take her home to assult her, but this room was just as good. There weren't any windows--she doubted the employees would help should anything go wrong. Especially if they didn't know the code. "Your application, may I see it?" He asked. "What's with all the red?" She asked. Christian looked around. "It's soothing--calms me down after a hard days work. I can come in here and relax. The walls are noise cancelling. Have a drink. Fall asleep." He chuckled. "I've actually done that a couple times." "Where? There's no where to sleep?" He pointed to the right side of the doors. Why hadn't she noticed the cushioned bench there? "If I'm really hot, the cold glass table does the trick. And a beer." He smirked. "Now, your application." She handed it to him. He unfolded it and walked toward the table. It sat twelve in what looked like very comfortable high back seats. They all came with armrests. He lifted the first page and looked for her signature. It wasn't there. He turned to her. "You didn't sign it." "I know." She said. It was extremely subtle, but she saw the irritation cross those blue eyes of his. If he wanted her, he'd have to 'earn' her. "I don't even know your name and you're getting on my nerve." He said. "And I'm being an idiot for coming this far along with you and now this takes the cake." She ushered to the room. "I'm in a room with no handles. No handles. I can't escape." "No, you can't." He said. "Not without the code." "Which you won't give me, I'm sure." "0089-265." "You didn't just give me the code." She laughed in disbelief. "I did." He said. "If you are going to waste my time, you can leave." "Waste your time! You're asking me to do something completely irrational and flat out dangerous! No one in their right mind would do such a thing! This is borderline sexual assult!" "And yet here you are." He said. She didn't respond. "That leads me to believe that you actually want this job or you have no choice for reasons uknown to me. There are plenty of jobs out there. As to why you have come this far with me, those have to be the only explainations." And he was right. She turned away and cupped her mouth. He watched her. Wondering if he should even waste his time on her. Somebody else would quickly jump on this opportunity without regard for the consequences. But she fought. Why? He wasn't making her, so what was the struggle for? "You're right." She turned and allowed him to see her tears. She steadied her voice. "I don't have a choice, otherwise I'd be long gone from here. From you." "So what's keeping you?" He said. "My parents." She said. "It's either I become employed under you and move out by the end of the month. Or be homeless and deal with all the risks that come with that. Unfortunately, you're little deal isn't helping me make the decision any faster. I'd rather be in a shack right now in the woods then deal with this. I have applied to multiple jobs already within my time frame, and all of them have said no, or the interviews take place over the span of a month. I need to be out before then." "Why are your parents kicking you out?" He asked. "School. School and their butthurt feelings over me rejecting the school they swindled me into." "What school?" "Remwood." "You turned down, Remwood?" "Oh," she scoffed. "Not you too." "It doesn't matter what I think. But Remwood is a good school, if you get it to work for you. It's not the best when it comes to crime, rich kids and stuff. But it will help on applications and resumes." "Yes, I know." She said. "But I didn't want to attend. I didn't care to." "Where else would you have liked to go?" She sighed. "Look, nowhere, okay! Now why do you want me coming home with you after every shift!" "That's up to me." "No! That's not up to you! I'm the one that's going to get hurt! And I can't trust your word saying that you won't." "Unless you see me in action, which leaves you with no choice but to accept or get out. Your choice. I don't have all day. Someone else will come along. We get applicants daily." "What for! The pays not good anyway unless we're doing whatever you want us to do behind closed doors!" "Take it or leave it, girl." He said. "You will have until six o' clock to make your decision. Should you, you will start work immediately. There should be something you can fit." "Wait a minute! You're just going to toss me to the wolves too!" "How else are you supposed to learn? Delilah will be shadowing you." "Oh great! The one that doesn't seem to like me!" "Delilah likes no one I take under my wing." "What? She's jealous another girl get's to have what she had? Fine. You can take her home and just hire me as a regualar maid. Yeah, how about that. Just hire me normally. I won't have to go with you anywhere." "But I am not looking for a normal hire. We get plenty of those each day and I am content with the staff I have. This position is more of a personal, inside job. No woman here fits. Consider you my personal assistant, should you take the job." "And what makes me so different? I just want a job. That's it! No 50 Shades of Red or midnight secretary stuff! And you won't tell me if it's going to be that way!" "I know I haven't. You're just assuming." "So can my assumption be wrong!" He chuckled. "You have an hour." She was at a loss of words at this point. "Now, I will leave you in here, or you can even walk out. If the application is not in my hand by six o' clock, you will have forefeited the right to obtain a job here." He walked passed her and entered the code, opening the door. "The choice is yours." He looked back at her, and then stepped out. He said that to her three times already. The choice was hers. The choice was hers. The choice was hers. Yes, it was hers. He wasn't making her do anything. But after she signed. That's when she would be at his mercy. The door began to close. Should she follow him out or be trapped in here as she had forgotton the code already? She wouldn't want to come in while everyone was busy serving customers. They wouldn't be able to show her the ropes as efficiently. That and she was shy. She'd never show it, but she was. She had a screwdriver and a fork. Embarrassing to say the least but it was something. "Hey! Wait!" she ran out the room. He turned to her. "I'll do it." "You said that already." He said. "I just need your signature. It makes everything, legal." Everything. Legal. She didn't have time to play around with those terms or how he paused before he said the term 'legal'. Hell or high water, she decided to do this. Against her better judgement. Against every fiber in her body telling her to 'stop!'. To get out now while she still could. She had to be out by the end of the month, She needed to be able to make a down payment on a place as soon as possible. Start looking. "How often do I get paid?" "Every two weeks." She walked toward him. "Is that $2000 every week or is that $2000 every month?" She whispered. He thought about that. "Do you want to stay in this area? Or commute?" "Would it matter?" "Yes." He said. "This area." She said. "I only take one train to get here, and if I can find a place around here, I won't have to commute at all." "Very well. If you sign I will give you $2000 a check." His voice was lower. Her eyes widened. "That's $4000 a month! What am I going to be giving you! Blood!" she hissed. "I mean! Not that I'm complaining but I don't want to feel like garbage when all is said and done." "Well hopefully we won't have to be 'said and done' for a long time." He said. "Do you need a pen?" "No, no I have one." She said, feeling sick. Her mouth was going dry. She rummaged through her purse, swallowing thickly. "Come on, I had it! I have it!" She wanted to cry. He held a pen in front of her. She looked at it and then him. Since yesterday he showed her no other face but one of composure. He hadn't raised his voice at her. He was even giving her a second chance almost. What could she possibly offer him besides her body and she didn't want to give herself up anyway. A prositute could do just as good a job, no, they would be able to give him anything he needed. She had no experience. Zero. "Wha--" "Sign it." He interrupted her. "Just sign it. I'm just as tired as you are with this game. I get it. You don't want to. Under perfect circumstances I wouldn't want to." "Want to wha--" "Sign it." He said again. "The sooner you do the sooner we can get you out there." He didn't have to show her how edgy he felt. She could feel it. The anxiety. Swallowing, she took the pen. Sniffing some she lifted the first page and set it down on a small table. There was a clock setting off to the side. It was 5:07 p.m. She held her breath and scribbled in her first and last name: *Alicia June.* She dated it. "Should we call you 'AJ' for short?" He looked at her signature. "Just Alicia." She turned to him. "Just, Alicia." "Well, Alicia." He took the pen and application. He held out his other hand. "My name is Christian Royce. You may call me 'Roy' for short. Everyone does." "I prefer Christain." She said. "That is your name, isn't it?" "Unfortunately." She eyed his hand and slowly placed hers inside it. He was warm, but a little cold. An odd temperature to be. They shook hands. "Welcome to the family, Alicia." He briefly smiled. "With time, I hope you will grow to like it here." "Not on my watch pal." Delilah was against the outside wall, straining her ears to hear. "Roy! Delilah is listening outside the wall!" The boy yelled. She glared daggers at him. "Shut up you scrawny little kid!" she lunged for him. "I'll make you die of alcohol poisoning!" "And she threatened me!" he sang. "Those are my co-workers?" "Afraid so." "They must be good at their job then for you not to fire them..." Alicia fell forward. He caught her. "I'm not, I don't think I can--" she let out a wimper and blacked out. "Delilah!" he called. "What is it!" She walked into the room. Her heart skipped a beat. "What did you do to her?! Don't tell me you killed her already! Not that I'd be complaining on that aspect..." "Just heartless." The boy spoke. "Follow me into the conferance room. Your job will be to wait until she comes to." "What!" she yelled. "It'll serve you right," he looked to her. "Eavesdropping on conversations. You should know better, *dear.* You were, once under me." A mournful look crossed her eyes. "And unlike you, this girl really doesn't have a choice. Now you will sit and wait for her to come around. Show her the ropes, and so help me if you cause any unnecessary damage while I'm away, well, I don't have to tell you what I'll do to you. Are we clear?" "Yes." She said. "Yes, who?" "Yes, sir." Delilah said, her own eyes glistening. "Good. Roy, keep watch." "You got it." He said. "And her uniform?" "We should have something small in the back. If not, the school uniform should do for now until one is made for her. If she wants that, then Delilah will show her the brochures. Right?" He looked to her again. "Yes." She said. "Good. Make sure she has some water to drink when she wakes up." He picked her up and carried her away to the conference room. Delilah followed silently behind. She had a flashback with 'Roy' or Christian having his arms around her and it broke her to know that that one foolish mistake cost her, her title, her paygrade, but most importantly, her trust with Christian. He never looked at her the same. Or maybe he never saw her as anything but *that*. Either way, this new girl was replacing her. And just like the girl who had him before she did cursed her to make a mistake. To make Christian fall away from her. Delilah was doing the same thing. She prayed multiple times that something would happen. An irreversable mistake. Just like the one she made. It could even be the same one. That's it! She'll make her want the same thing she did. And she'll get caught. And Christian will have to put her away for good! Just like he did her. This new plan in mind, she smiled on the inside, struggling to fight the smile forming on her lips. Misery loved company indeed.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0ZmEzMDNmNjkzZDQ5NTFhMTU1NThiMDIxMmZmMTg4">What is this supposed to be? A forest what else. And yet everything is now dyed by the night sky. Michael looks at the stars shinning on his skin, the dark has never been inviting. He can feel himself taken in, to be one with the starry sky. It’s a welcome feeling especially now has invaded his mind, something sad, something forlorn.</p> <p class="cnNjZDU1YTc3ZmZiNTQxY2RiYzFlODNkNGU4MDU0ZjRi">“Keep your eyes on the prize, Sir Knight!” A voice pierced through the muddle mind.</p> <p class="cnNhOWYyMGNmNzhiYjQ3NGI4OTNkNmViMjI0OTc3NGMy">From behind, the Stranger gives him a nudge. Michael realises his face is dripping down, merging with his own hands. Ripping himself free, the youth is inch away from being consumed whole. Looking up, he can see their enemy still standing still, the eyes moving erratically gazing all over.</p> <p class="cnM2MWM2NjIxZmJmZDRjZjQ4ODRjMjMyYjk5NWQwYjRi">“I presume this is the greater threat you talked about” The old hunter asked. Looking at the Stranger who nods at him.</p> <p class="cnMwNDZjMWZiNjUxYzQxYzU4NjQ3ZDc5NDA5MDQ2ZmZm">The man readies himself, an unfamiliar feeling of unease niggling him. The anomalies of the new world are caused by the mysterious deities. Despite their incomprehensible power, it is possible to identify their aspects, what they represent, names whispered by cursed beings. Scy’lla of the ocean depth, avatar of pain and suffering Azu, shadow over the far freezing north Shotep, Ondoro’toth underneath the endless western desert and many more, some with names still unknown.</p> <p class="cnMwZjY5OGM0YjRlNTQxZjViNGRkYzkzOTIyYTdkZDk0">But the deity of the cosmos, that is unheard of. And for it to manifest in the territory of another entity, Scy’lla. Is this a power play? Do they even have the concept of place? Is this deity always here or is it a new face, unleashing its horror on this world?</p> <p class="cnM4NTJkMzIxMzhhMDRjZGI5NTAyYjk0YmMwN2IxZTM4">Whatever the answers, it is the old hunter’s job to cut down this monstrosity.</p> <p class="cnM3M2EzNTEyNWNkNjRiYWZhNTIzZTdlMTViMGY5ZWE0">Dashing forward, he raises his sword, also coated by the cosmos.</p> <p class="cnM3M2QyN2M1ZDc5MzRmMzVhOTQ2NjMyMmFmNzIyZWNm">“Be careful!” Michael chases after only to find yourself colliding with a tree. When everything is shrouded by the night, he could barely make out the shape of the surrounding. The youth is amazed to see the old man, making his way through the thick wood like nothing.</p> <p class="cnM5NDQyYmYyM2Y2YjRiOTE5MjIxZGMyN2YzYmNjZjU3">The frozen creature suddenly moves to seemingly dodge the blade. But instead, the steel sword easily connects with the target.</p> <p class="cnM0Zjg3NjgyNmNjMTRkMzE5N2NmYjM5NDJlNWQwNGY5">“This is!” The old hunter realises that the thing did in fact dodged. But it only moved so the blade would meet with the skin shrouded by the cosmos, not one of its many eyes. Suddenly, the weapon is dragged into the creature by an unknown force, fuelled by curiosity. Drawing back the blade, the old hunter slashes straight at one of the eyes.</p> <p class="cnM4NzUxOTJkY2Y0NTQ4YTFiNDdkMjMyYWQ2N2Q1YjVi">The steel digs into the creature and warm red blood spurts out, staining the night. The injured eye disconnects from the body as the creature leaps out of the blow.</p> <p class="cnNiMGNkMDZlZTM4ZDQ5NjA5MmYwMzE5ODVhMDI3Njhl">Around them, eyes open on the ground, on the rocks, on the trees and the branches and even all over Michael. The Stranger and the old hunter are unaffected, however, but now the creature has seemingly blended into the surrounding.</p> <p class="cnMxYWM3NDM1Y2QxNDRlNWJiZjFlZDNmNGMzYzIwOGIy">“It wants me… just like those corpses!” The youth reaches the epiphany.</p> <p class="cnM1MjM1MTM4ZGUxNDQ1NGRiMDcwNGU5OWRlMzMwOTNh">Not a bad guess, unlike his other two companions, he is the only one who can hear the whispers. The deities worm their way into the untainted mind, corrupting it with knowledge.</p> <p class="cnM1MjgwMmI4OGYyYzQ0MGNhZDBmNjA3Y2RlZGNiMzAw">“Whatever this threat is…” The old hunter looks at his sword, the top part missing “It’s too dangerous, it must be exterminated to the root”</p> <p class="cnM1MGJkZDdiMTAyMTQ3MWNiYmE5OWYwOGFiNTFmOWU1">The cosmos infused skin has swallowed a part of the steel blade. Such a feat thought impossible before. Made by the Blind Order in their war against the deities, the weapon can not be affected by any of their nebulous power. But that doesn’t mean the hunter or the weapon itself can’t be damaged by conventional method. Many of them have fallen, cut, eaten, crushed, burned, drowned, a hunter living past twenty is considered a veteran.</p> <p class="cnNhYmJlNTZjZjlmMTQ4MGE5ODg3NDc2YmE0YmE4MzEy">But this new deity can seemingly consume anything, even Blind steel. There is something else unaffected by their power, one under influenced of another deity. And yet, this thing could swallow all of the bloated corpses.</p> <p class="cnM4MWM4YTg3MTFjMjQ4ZDI4ZjFhNzY5Y2NlM2ExNTM5">That means both him and the Stranger are in mortal danger.</p> <p class="cnMwZDllYTViOWMxZDQxNmU5ZGY1MzliOTNkZmYzMjZh">“I presume you have reached the same plan as me” The old hunter said.</p> <p class="cnM4ZmUxMjE0YWFlOTQ0NzRhZGQ5ZDJkY2I0ZTVhY2Uw">“I wonder, we will see” The Stranger replied.</p> <p class="cnNhMGRlNzJjYjViMDQwYzc5MjE1MDUwNDI3ZTdiZTcw">The eyes around them start to blink, disappearing into the night only to reappear later somewhere else. Or have they switched places, there is nothing to tell one eye apart from another. The creature must be using this to mask its movement, moving along with the blinks. But that also means that it needs to hide, that it can be exterminated.</p> <p class="cnNiMGNmOTdiYjlmYzRlY2I4MWU0YWU5YWRlN2E3MDA2">“What is it, this plan you are talking about!”</p> <p class="cnM2MWNlYWJiNWQwYTQyZTVhMGI2NmMwZWQyNWIyNGFj">Michael asks the two, he is out of his depth. But none of them answers, the old hunter simply makes his way back to them slowly. The silence is killing him, what is he supposed to do, no one is saying anything. Is he just the tasty bait that they are dangling over this monster?</p> <p class="cnM3ZThjNGMyMjVjMDQ2YzU4NWViOTYzOTlmYjI1MDI0">The youth pinches his wrist only the find his fingers merging with the hand instead. Ripping them out, he realises some of his fingers have already fused together. He can’t seem to get them apart. The youth starts to panic, he is just a boy looking for his father who didn’t return home. Now, here he is being slowly digested by a cosmic horror. That feeling of sadness and forlorn return to him.</p> <p class="cnM4M2ZlMTNmZDgyYzRmN2ZhZTc3NTkzY2Y2MzNmYjBl">A pair of hands grab onto his own. The rough feeling of the leather shoots through his brain, still present through the darkness, they belong to the Stranger. She simply splits his fingers apart again, one by one.</p> <p class="cnNjMmFjZjkwNmVjNzQwYmE5MjlmZTllZTQxMjRiZmIx">“Here we go” Even when shrouded by the night sky, Michael could still see her smile.</p> <p class="cnNjZWU0NmUzMzNlYjQwOTA5MDY5YmVjOTMyOTFkN2Zi">The youth is overflown with a feeling of respite… only for it to all turn into dread. Something is making its way through him, like it is a part of his body. He tried to open his mouth, to warn the Stranger, but it is too late.</p> <p class="cnNiZjhlZTI1ZjQzYjQ1MGFiYjcxMWIxMzYzZjNjMmI0">“Watch out, it’s coming!” He wants to say.</p> <p class="cnNmNzM0YzEzNmMzMTQ0YWM5YjdhODRmZjljNzQyNmM4">The monster leaps out of the youth body before he could mutter a single word. The Stranger dodges but it is no use. With its hand, the creature swipe at her face. The lower half of the woman head along with part of her neck, gone without a trace. Blood spurt out as the Stranger collapses to the floor, unmoving. Cleaning itself of the red fluid with its consuming power, the creature merges the surrounding once again.</p> <p class="cnM3MGY5ZTVmMzMxMjQ4ZWE5NTFlY2Y0YTU1ZGQ0OWMy">“NOOOOOO” The youth kneels next to the unmoving woman.</p> <p class="cnNkNzQzMWJiMmQ3NTQ4ZDZhYWZmY2E5ZTcxZTdiMWI3">He wants to get closer but refrains from doing so. What if his skin would consume her as well, Michael can’t risk that.</p> <p class="cnNhNDViOTc4ODljMDQ4OGI5OTcwZDgzN2JjMWNiMmNm">“What a woman” The old hunter commented. He has noticed it, the moment she is attack, only some of the eyes of the creature are looking at her. This monster has been mutated by the deity but it hasn’t truly transcended. No, it is still needed here in this mortal realm and that detail shows that the monster still uses its eyes as a way to perceive. But not all of them.</p> <p class="cnM5NDNjYzMxNjY5YTQ1NmZiZWExNjM1YzcxYTk5ZDNj">“It’s all my fault” The youth laments “Now you will also die and it will digest me whole”</p> <p class="cnM5MjFlYzIzNGYzOTQxZDg4YTNkMzY1ZTZkNjc0YmU0">“Digest? What do you mean, boy?” That choice of word intrigued the old hunter.</p> <p class="cnMwYzY5Nzc5MzI1MDQyZGJhYTdkOGM5ZGI5YTgzMDBm">“How can you still ask that, you are going to die anytime soon” Michael looks at the man to find him still calm “It’s coming for you… it’s over…”</p> <p class="cnNkNWJlNmYzNmU5YjRiMzJiZjc5OGE0MTQ3Y2VmOTVh">“Really?”</p> <p class="cnM2NzFiNTM3MTFiZjQ0MjI4NTcwMjRmMTI4ZTY1OTNk">The old hunter draws his blade stabbing at an eye and from it bloods flows out. A direct hit, but before the monster could escape the man plunges his blade closer.</p> <p class="cnM4NTNjNzNhNzliNzRhNWM4ZTJmMzNhNzY0ZmQ3NjI3">A crack starts to appear and spreads all over the darkness. The night world collapses in an instant and at the old hunter’s blade is a monster, one of its eyes pierced. Screeching a forlorn down, the creature drops dead. What was once a marsh is now drained of water, only the wood remains. Sunlight going through the branch, banishing the darkness.</p> <p class="cnNkMjJhMTk2MzAwMTRjY2VhY2U0ODQ5MGU4OTkxOWIw">“But how?” Michael looks on in disbelief.</p> <p class="cnMyNDkyZjc0OTMwNjQ1ZjRiMmE1MDM3NjhiZjE1OTEx">The realisation that the creature still sees with its eyes and not all of them are used for that was vital. The Stranger must have realised that when it lunges at her. As her hand reached up to clutch her fatal wound, she flicked one of her fingers. A tiny droplet of blood was sent straight onto the iris of one of the unused eyes. When the creature cleans itself, it couldn’t spot the tiny drop, blending in with the black eye.</p> <p class="cnNlYzkwZDJmMWRhZjQ3Y2I5MTY1MTQ1NjlhZTVkYzNl">But the old hunter is looking out for it, knowing the Stranger wouldn’t let herself be attacked like that. The plan in his mind involves marking the monster with something, possible blood. Spotting that red tint, he strikes the horrible cosmic being down.</p> <p class="cnNiNGVmNjg1NTAwNDQwYTNiNmRiOTcyYTMyMjI4MTUw">But what if it has noticed the drop? That is simply luck, nothing is certain when fighting these unknown horrors. And once again, the old hunter survives.</p> <p class="cnMwNjRkMmI0NzMwZDQ2NDM5ZGE5NmVhOGQxZWQ3Zjdm">“You want to know how, it’s just chance” The man said “And she has given us that chance”</p> <p class="cnM0MWFmZDc3ZmQ2ZjQ5NThhNjVlOWY2M2MxMmU0YTA2">Michael looks at the unmoving woman, her once beautiful face now missing quite a chunk, drenched with the same crimson that colours her hair. A mystery from nowhere, she saved him. Seems so impossibly reliable, her words alone were enough to give him the strength to fight back against the darkness.</p> <p class="cnNlYTljMmE4ZTIxNjRhNGFhMDJmMzNmZWIzZjc4ZDQ5">“We must bury her” The youth said.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDMzZTEzOTNmZDQ2ZWRiYmUwMTlmOWYwYTBmMjhl">“No” The old hunter doesn’t fancy that idea, however.</p> <p class="cnM3NTBlMGIyMzU4NDQzZDRiNTVhNGIxNGQ3Yjg0ZmFi">“But she deserves a proper burial” Michael looks down, he couldn’t give his father once. Now his body forever gone, consumed by the cosmos.</p> <p class="cnM5NjBhMzhjZWY4NDRjZDE4Mjk5MjM1NTA5MDJjMTFj">“That’s exactly why we must leave, no animals are in this wood anymore to bother this body” The old hunter kneels down next to the youth. He removes the Stranger hat and place it over her face “The monsters wouldn’t care either, unless you continue to loiter here, drawing their attention” He looks straight at the youth’s eyes “We will return later, if we are alive”</p> <p class="cnMyMzY3MzI4YTIwMzRjNDc5ZWJmN2U3NTA5OWY4ZGNh">Blood stained the ground, reaching the youth’s boots. Michael sighs, grabbing his face then takes in a deep breath. The once rancid marsh air now cleanses by the cosmos.</p> <p class="cnM2NzkxOGM0NjdjMTQzNDY4MGU3M2QyOGM2Yzc3YmIw">“Are you going to the source of this?” The youth asked.</p> <p class="cnM2MzM2MDkxY2ViZDRlNDFhZDk4MDZhYTk0YjI1MWUz">“Yes, it’s my job” The old hunter answered.</p> <p class="cnM2MzcxM2Q0MjMyOTRhNzJhZDk4NDI5ZTEwZWEzOWRk">The two makes their way out of this dreaded place. Sunlight reaching through, warming the wood, this area has never seen more welcomed. But hiding the façade, horrors of the cosmos still roam. They simply consume everything in their way, even if it belongs to the depth, to Scy’lla.</p> <p class="cnMyZGZlOTYyZTI3ODQ3MDg5ZDVkZTFlNjYzMjU3OTQz">“Earlier, you talked about being digested, describe that feeling for me” The old hunter asked.</p> <p class="cnM5NGQ2YzI4NGEwMTQyNTliYjFkYzU1YmExYjhkYjJh">The youth bites his lips, everything returns to him like a flood. He has to pinch his wrist and breath a sigh of relief when everything is normal, when he could feel the slight pain.</p> <p class="cnNmNzdhYmZhNDIwYzQ2ZTg4MDUyY2MwNTA5MjkzN2Y0">“That darkness, the night was so vast. I couldn’t help but feel lost, alone all by myself” Michael explained “I can see that every star feels the same, their lights could be seen but they are all alone. Even that monster feels strangely forlorn, just like me. We all exist under the cosmos and yet we are apart, alone”</p> <p class="cnM0NTM5ODU2ZWEwODRkZGRiYzc1ZjI4ZWUwZjY1YjI1">Remembering what happened next still bring a chill down his spine. He looks at his palm, sweating profusely.</p> <p class="cnM5NjA3NDY0YzVmODRjYzRhMGZmMmE1ZDE5MGYyMDNk">“Then I heard a voice calling out for me, it promises I could be one with the cosmos. And when everything is one, no one would be lonely anymore. That voice, it was so terribly convincing. I could feel it absorbing me slowly, it makes me feels like I am being digested. But the most horrifying thing is that, I wanted that to happen” Closing his hand into a fist, Michael steels himself “But then she calls to me, just at the moment when the temptation is the greatest. She saved me”</p> <p class="cnMyMmRlMWJkYWUxZDRjZDY4MDU2NDY4M2RiNGFkMGM5">“Is there anything about that voice, a name?” The old hunter asked.</p> <p class="cnNmZTFhZTNlNDNhYzRlMzZiMGZlZWQ2Mzc1MGE1NTgy">“No, nothing, it was all about me and that forlorn feeling” Michael replied.</p> <p class="cnM2OWE2NWY0Y2NlMTQ5N2FhMzlhMjk3ZTIzYzM3OTAy">The two continues but without their guide, they will have to wander aimlessly until stumbling onto something. But luckily, the old hunter and the youth aren’t the only living beings here. In this very forest, three other also wander, two of those are looking for the pale rider with crimson hair.</p> </div>

What is this supposed to be? A forest what else. And yet everything is now dyed by the night sky. Michael looks at the stars shinning on his skin, the dark has never been inviting. He can feel himself taken in, to be one with the starry sky. It’s a welcome feeling especially now has invaded his mind, something sad, something forlorn. “Keep your eyes on the prize, Sir Knight!” A voice pierced through the muddle mind. From behind, the Stranger gives him a nudge. Michael realises his face is dripping down, merging with his own hands. Ripping himself free, the youth is inch away from being consumed whole. Looking up, he can see their enemy still standing still, the eyes moving erratically gazing all over. “I presume this is the greater threat you talked about” The old hunter asked. Looking at the Stranger who nods at him. The man readies himself, an unfamiliar feeling of unease niggling him. The anomalies of the new world are caused by the mysterious deities. Despite their incomprehensible power, it is possible to identify their aspects, what they represent, names whispered by cursed beings. Scy’lla of the ocean depth, avatar of pain and suffering Azu, shadow over the far freezing north Shotep, Ondoro’toth underneath the endless western desert and many more, some with names still unknown. But the deity of the cosmos, that is unheard of. And for it to manifest in the territory of another entity, Scy’lla. Is this a power play? Do they even have the concept of place? Is this deity always here or is it a new face, unleashing its horror on this world? Whatever the answers, it is the old hunter’s job to cut down this monstrosity. Dashing forward, he raises his sword, also coated by the cosmos. “Be careful!” Michael chases after only to find yourself colliding with a tree. When everything is shrouded by the night, he could barely make out the shape of the surrounding. The youth is amazed to see the old man, making his way through the thick wood like nothing. The frozen creature suddenly moves to seemingly dodge the blade. But instead, the steel sword easily connects with the target. “This is!” The old hunter realises that the thing did in fact dodged. But it only moved so the blade would meet with the skin shrouded by the cosmos, not one of its many eyes. Suddenly, the weapon is dragged into the creature by an unknown force, fuelled by curiosity. Drawing back the blade, the old hunter slashes straight at one of the eyes. The steel digs into the creature and warm red blood spurts out, staining the night. The injured eye disconnects from the body as the creature leaps out of the blow. Around them, eyes open on the ground, on the rocks, on the trees and the branches and even all over Michael. The Stranger and the old hunter are unaffected, however, but now the creature has seemingly blended into the surrounding. “It wants me… just like those corpses!” The youth reaches the epiphany. Not a bad guess, unlike his other two companions, he is the only one who can hear the whispers. The deities worm their way into the untainted mind, corrupting it with knowledge. “Whatever this threat is…” The old hunter looks at his sword, the top part missing “It’s too dangerous, it must be exterminated to the root” The cosmos infused skin has swallowed a part of the steel blade. Such a feat thought impossible before. Made by the Blind Order in their war against the deities, the weapon can not be affected by any of their nebulous power. But that doesn’t mean the hunter or the weapon itself can’t be damaged by conventional method. Many of them have fallen, cut, eaten, crushed, burned, drowned, a hunter living past twenty is considered a veteran. But this new deity can seemingly consume anything, even Blind steel. There is something else unaffected by their power, one under influenced of another deity. And yet, this thing could swallow all of the bloated corpses. That means both him and the Stranger are in mortal danger. “I presume you have reached the same plan as me” The old hunter said. “I wonder, we will see” The Stranger replied. The eyes around them start to blink, disappearing into the night only to reappear later somewhere else. Or have they switched places, there is nothing to tell one eye apart from another. The creature must be using this to mask its movement, moving along with the blinks. But that also means that it needs to hide, that it can be exterminated. “What is it, this plan you are talking about!” Michael asks the two, he is out of his depth. But none of them answers, the old hunter simply makes his way back to them slowly. The silence is killing him, what is he supposed to do, no one is saying anything. Is he just the tasty bait that they are dangling over this monster? The youth pinches his wrist only the find his fingers merging with the hand instead. Ripping them out, he realises some of his fingers have already fused together. He can’t seem to get them apart. The youth starts to panic, he is just a boy looking for his father who didn’t return home. Now, here he is being slowly digested by a cosmic horror. That feeling of sadness and forlorn return to him. A pair of hands grab onto his own. The rough feeling of the leather shoots through his brain, still present through the darkness, they belong to the Stranger. She simply splits his fingers apart again, one by one. “Here we go” Even when shrouded by the night sky, Michael could still see her smile. The youth is overflown with a feeling of respite… only for it to all turn into dread. Something is making its way through him, like it is a part of his body. He tried to open his mouth, to warn the Stranger, but it is too late. “Watch out, it’s coming!” He wants to say. The monster leaps out of the youth body before he could mutter a single word. The Stranger dodges but it is no use. With its hand, the creature swipe at her face. The lower half of the woman head along with part of her neck, gone without a trace. Blood spurt out as the Stranger collapses to the floor, unmoving. Cleaning itself of the red fluid with its consuming power, the creature merges the surrounding once again. “NOOOOOO” The youth kneels next to the unmoving woman. He wants to get closer but refrains from doing so. What if his skin would consume her as well, Michael can’t risk that. “What a woman” The old hunter commented. He has noticed it, the moment she is attack, only some of the eyes of the creature are looking at her. This monster has been mutated by the deity but it hasn’t truly transcended. No, it is still needed here in this mortal realm and that detail shows that the monster still uses its eyes as a way to perceive. But not all of them. “It’s all my fault” The youth laments “Now you will also die and it will digest me whole” “Digest? What do you mean, boy?” That choice of word intrigued the old hunter. “How can you still ask that, you are going to die anytime soon” Michael looks at the man to find him still calm “It’s coming for you… it’s over…” “Really?” The old hunter draws his blade stabbing at an eye and from it bloods flows out. A direct hit, but before the monster could escape the man plunges his blade closer. A crack starts to appear and spreads all over the darkness. The night world collapses in an instant and at the old hunter’s blade is a monster, one of its eyes pierced. Screeching a forlorn down, the creature drops dead. What was once a marsh is now drained of water, only the wood remains. Sunlight going through the branch, banishing the darkness. “But how?” Michael looks on in disbelief. The realisation that the creature still sees with its eyes and not all of them are used for that was vital. The Stranger must have realised that when it lunges at her. As her hand reached up to clutch her fatal wound, she flicked one of her fingers. A tiny droplet of blood was sent straight onto the iris of one of the unused eyes. When the creature cleans itself, it couldn’t spot the tiny drop, blending in with the black eye. But the old hunter is looking out for it, knowing the Stranger wouldn’t let herself be attacked like that. The plan in his mind involves marking the monster with something, possible blood. Spotting that red tint, he strikes the horrible cosmic being down. But what if it has noticed the drop? That is simply luck, nothing is certain when fighting these unknown horrors. And once again, the old hunter survives. “You want to know how, it’s just chance” The man said “And she has given us that chance” Michael looks at the unmoving woman, her once beautiful face now missing quite a chunk, drenched with the same crimson that colours her hair. A mystery from nowhere, she saved him. Seems so impossibly reliable, her words alone were enough to give him the strength to fight back against the darkness. “We must bury her” The youth said. “No” The old hunter doesn’t fancy that idea, however. “But she deserves a proper burial” Michael looks down, he couldn’t give his father once. Now his body forever gone, consumed by the cosmos. “That’s exactly why we must leave, no animals are in this wood anymore to bother this body” The old hunter kneels down next to the youth. He removes the Stranger hat and place it over her face “The monsters wouldn’t care either, unless you continue to loiter here, drawing their attention” He looks straight at the youth’s eyes “We will return later, if we are alive” Blood stained the ground, reaching the youth’s boots. Michael sighs, grabbing his face then takes in a deep breath. The once rancid marsh air now cleanses by the cosmos. “Are you going to the source of this?” The youth asked. “Yes, it’s my job” The old hunter answered. The two makes their way out of this dreaded place. Sunlight reaching through, warming the wood, this area has never seen more welcomed. But hiding the façade, horrors of the cosmos still roam. They simply consume everything in their way, even if it belongs to the depth, to Scy’lla. “Earlier, you talked about being digested, describe that feeling for me” The old hunter asked. The youth bites his lips, everything returns to him like a flood. He has to pinch his wrist and breath a sigh of relief when everything is normal, when he could feel the slight pain. “That darkness, the night was so vast. I couldn’t help but feel lost, alone all by myself” Michael explained “I can see that every star feels the same, their lights could be seen but they are all alone. Even that monster feels strangely forlorn, just like me. We all exist under the cosmos and yet we are apart, alone” Remembering what happened next still bring a chill down his spine. He looks at his palm, sweating profusely. “Then I heard a voice calling out for me, it promises I could be one with the cosmos. And when everything is one, no one would be lonely anymore. That voice, it was so terribly convincing. I could feel it absorbing me slowly, it makes me feels like I am being digested. But the most horrifying thing is that, I wanted that to happen” Closing his hand into a fist, Michael steels himself “But then she calls to me, just at the moment when the temptation is the greatest. She saved me” “Is there anything about that voice, a name?” The old hunter asked. “No, nothing, it was all about me and that forlorn feeling” Michael replied. The two continues but without their guide, they will have to wander aimlessly until stumbling onto something. But luckily, the old hunter and the youth aren’t the only living beings here. In this very forest, three other also wander, two of those are looking for the pale rider with crimson hair.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNiZWUxMjVlZDYxMTQzMjNiZWJlYzY5NmNkMWE5OTQ5">The first StormBlitz vs. Leopards game in the second string ended with a clutch victory for StormBlitz. However, over the break, Yuel learned the first string lost their first match. These were shocking news, considering the first string had juggernauts like Howard, Ellen and Aron.</p> <p class="cnNiZWJkY2IyNWMyZTRhZmM5ODk0MmU4Yzg2YmZmNDk3">“Don’t worry,” Howard reassured. “We’ll turn things around next game. You guys focus on your matches and make sure you don’t blow them.”</p> <p class="cnNhZDNkYWQ0MmU4YjQ4YmVhMmMwMDFlOWRhMTM3NmEx">Despite his words, there was a reason for concern. If somebody of ComboBreaker’s caliber only made it to second string in the Leopards, there’s no telling what monsters inhibited the first string. Even if Howard’s team pick themselves up and do better in the upcoming matches, it’s hard to imagine anything better than a 3-2 or a 2-3 score. And, if things were to come down to the wire like this, the performance of the second string just might decide the overall winner of the scrimmage.</p> <p class="cnMyMWNiOGFmOThhMTQ5ZmZhYWUxMTczZmEwYTIwNDE1">For starters, the second string had to win at least one more match. That’ll ensure they won’t become a burden for the first string, but that’s just the bare minimum. Yuel wanted to go at least 4-1 to support the first string. A 4-1 in the second string would grant StormBlitz victory even if the first string were to go 2-3.</p> <p class="cnM0MDU4YmVlMGZjODQ2NTg5ZWExMjMxYmYwZTgwNzNj">Was a 4-1 possible against such a strong team? They had to make it happen somehow. With Yuel now promoted to being the team’s shot-caller, the responsibility for making that possible laid with him.</p> <p class="cnMwMDAyODU0MmQyMDRhYTNhYTI3MTQ1ZTk2YzllMGU5">After a 10 minutes break, the scrimmage resumed for the second round. First, there’s the drafting phase to deal with. Along with inheriting the shot-caller role, Yuel also was put in charge of the drafting. He already strategized a lot with Gilbert during the previous drafting, but this time he had the final say. That is, provided the whole team wasn’t against his decisions...</p> <p class="cnNjYjEwNjUwNTRlMjRkZjBhZWU3NzNkZGYwYTk1ZGQy">“We really need to get that Pyromancer out of the picture.” Gilbert said.</p> <p class="cnNlODJjOWU4ODRmYTQ2NzliMGExYjFhMDc4YjFiMmQ2">“Yeah,” Trever nodded. “Her combos are such a pain in the ass.”</p> <p class="cnNhNTc5MGViNjVmZTRlYmY4ZDk4YjIwYzJhZGYwNWVm">“Agreed,” Dan said. “It’s bad news when the only way we can beat a player is by sacrificing one of ours.”</p> <p class="cnNmZDE3YWNmZjE2ZjRlMmRhNWQ5ZTg1MjUzNzMzOTcy">“Lol.” Roi chuckled. “If we take her out, how you gonna use your secret kamikaze technique?”</p> <p class="cnNkMjBjZWRmYjUwYTRkNGM4Nzk4YzMyZDk1NzkzYzM1">It was just the beginning of the drafting phase, but the whole team already agreed on the idea of banning Pyromancer. Yes, the whole team wanted that... expect for Yuel.</p> <p class="cnMyZmZlMjZjNzFmNzRlMWFiODExMTY5YjEyZDYxMTIw">There’s no denying Breaker piloted her Combo Pyromancer exceptionally well, she was the playmaker for the Leopards. Much of the Leopards’ momentum was gained thanks to Breaker’s kills, so she was the biggest threat. Nonetheless, Yuel was against banning the Pyromancer.</p> <p class="cnNmMDY1ZWM4ZjliYjQ2ZWI4NzE3NjNlMGFlMWViOWQ4">“I... I think we should leave the Pyromancer be.” Yuel gulped. His body shook and he felt sweat forming on his forehead, but he refused to stay quiet. He was entrusted with the shot-caller and drafter roles, so he had to make his stance clear. E-Even if it meant objecting against a whole team of upperclassmen.. Gulp.</p> <p class="cnM5N2M2MTM5ODA5ZjQwMTlhZjllZGNiMzhlMjk4MGQ4">“You serious?” Trever cocked his head. “You wanna let her get away with her combo shenanigans like that?”</p> <p class="cnNjYjVlYTYzMWRkNjQyYjFhMGQ5MjQ5ODBlNjk4M2Q5">“Yeah, I also don’t see the point.” Gilbert joined in. “Banning exists precisely for this sort of situations. Judging by how well she played, there’s no way Pyro isn’t her best class.”</p> <p class="cnNkN2YzOTgxZjZiMDQyNDRiNWRkZGNlOTQ0ODJhYWRm">“It may be her best class, but it’s a class we’re already saw her play.” Yuel argued. “If we ban Pyro, we’ll force her to play something new and we’ll have to study her from scratch again. Combo or not, I’m sure there are other classes she can play just as well. So, banning Pyro won’t necessarily change much for her. It’ll only put us in the dark about what she’ll be playing this time around.”</p> <p class="cnM1MWJkNjYyODI0NjRjOGFhYzExNGEwOGFjMzhlZmRi">“Hmm.” Gilbert pondered. “So, you rather face something familiar even if it’s strong? An interesting approach. You sound confident, I assume you know how to counter her?”</p> <p class="cnM4ODU2NDUxY2JmMjRlNTk4MWUwYjk3YmIzOTNhOWZi">“Yes, of course.” Yuel nodded. “Now that I learned how she plays Pyro, there are many ways to counter her. Last time, she caught us off guard by cloaking Spellbook of Doom and that generated huge momentum for her team,. But, now that we know what to expect, it won’t happen again.”</p> <p class="cnNmNzI1ZDlhYTkwMTQ5YjFhMGUyMzY2ZTM0OGJiNTI2">“Heh, that’s some balls, kid!” Trever laughed and smacked Yuel on the back. “What a man! I like it!”</p> <p class="cnNiM2VmODk5YTBjZTQwYWVhYTJlY2RjMTc0OTU5NDUy">“Ugh, thanks...” Yuel massaged his broken back.</p> <p class="cnM3MTk3Mjg3YWQ0YjQ4OTFhYmI4MjNlMDc1N2RjYzdl">“Fine, let’s try it.” Gilbert nodded. “You managed to get us a win last time, so it’s clear you figured them out pretty well. Worst case, we’ll learn we can’t handle her Pyro and adapt accordingly next time.”</p> <p class="cnNjZDRmZDFiYjY4ODRiODJhZTY2ZTRlN2E3ZDNlMGFi">“Challenging her head on? Lol, that’s great!” Roi grinned. “I still gotta pay her back for that nasty breaking ball she threw at the end there. This time I’mma hit all her pitches!”</p> <p class="cnMzZmFlYTg3NDQ1OTRmNjU4N2JmYTEyZDBmNGJjM2Yy">“I can’t believe we’re really doing this.” Dan sighed. “Well, if you ever need help dealing with her, just call Dan Kamikaze Co..”</p> <p class="cnMwMDU5ZDU0N2RlYjRiYTdiYjE0YWI5NzFmYzFiYWYx">Thanks to Trever and Gilbert’s approval, the rest of the team went along with Yuel’s decision. Phew. He felt stiff like a statue the whole time he fought for it, but now he could finally breathe in relief.</p> <p class="cnNkNzQ5N2Q0NGE0ZDQ3YzNhZGE4OGMyM2JlM2MyNmYy">Though, new pressure dropped on his shoulders instead: after saying so much, he had to prove he could really counter the Combo Pyromancer. But, it should be fine. It had to be. Now, that they were aware of the Combo Pyromancer ahead of time, there were countless ways to prepare. Everything was going to be fine, he was going to lead this team to yet another victory with his shot calls.</p> <p class="cnNkZDZmYTEyYzY5NjRiMGQ4YTAxYmUxM2IxZmY0OTFh">“Let’s ban their Warlock then.” Trever suggested. “The guy is annoying as hell with that hybrid build of his.”</p> <p class="cnM0OTc4ZDljYmQzNTRkZmVhNzc3YmZiZGY1ZTc5YmQw">“Yeah, I’d rather not deal with him if possible.” Dan nodded. “He always messes up our formation during team fights.”</p> <p class="cnNkMGZiMWZhY2ExNDQ2NjE5YWFiZTUwZTNmYjM4NjQ5">“Oh, definitely!” Roi added. “Get dat boi outta the picture pls.”</p> <p class="cnM0ZGU0ZDU1YmIxNTQ1YjliOGZkNmE1NWJjNTc3MWU3">“Actually, I disagree on that one.” This time, it was Gilbert’s turn to object. “He gave us some trouble in team fights, but he didn’t strike me as a particularly component Warlock. He made some good decisions, but he didn’t pilot his Warlock very skillfully.”</p> <p class="cnM3NGU5YzI4ZGQ3NDQ4NTVhZjc3MWYyMzVkNmNkOTEx">“I agree with Gilbert.” Yuel nodded. “Freezer plays his Warlock very defensively, even too defensively. There are countless ways we can exploit that. Not to mention, if he builds Hybrid Warlock again, their Pyromancer will have no choice but to play aggressively, to compensate for the lack of damage coming from MId. So, we’ll have even more ways to punish her.”</p> <p class="cnM3MDhjMzFjNTY2ODRhMjg5ZGJiZjNlMzU3YTQ1Yjgw">“I didn’t even think that far.” Gilbert admitted. “You really like getting deep into your enemy’s head, huh. Anyway, I second everything he said. That Warlock plays too defensively, even during laning phase. I took advantage of that a lot last game, so I’ll gladly do that again.”</p> <p class="cnMwMWMxODVlYjQ2ODRkMzliZGM5MGVlYWViOTBiMThm">“Well,” Trever shrugged “If the two smart guys agree, I got nothing to say.”</p> <p class="cnMwZGE3NTI2MGI4ZDRkNzlhNTUyZjg1MGJhMzk2NDQy">The rest nodded in agreement. As long Trever and Gilbert approved of something, the rest approved as well. That was the power of the captain and vice-captain. Yuel was also technically assigned as a vice-captain, but as a freshman he was clearly below Gilbert in everybody’s minds. He hadn’t earned their full trust, not yet anyway. He was definitely going to change their perception by the end of this scrimmage by proving himself via his shot-calling.</p> <p class="cnM2NGFhNjRlNzFmNDQ0MjRiNmE4ZmNhMjY3MzYzMmIw">The whole discussion about Breaker and Freezer being counterable seeded the feeling the Leopards weren’t that scary. Yes, they dominated throughout most of the previous game, but most of the credit went to Breaker and her unexpected combo playstyle. As long as they kept the threat of her comob in mind, they had a decent chance of winning. The moral was at an all time high.</p> <p class="cnMwNDlmMzVmZmMxMDQxOGNiNTQ2ODIwMTRhODA0YjNm">Apparently, the sentiment on the other team was the same. Even though the Leopards lost, they didn’t feel inferior to StormBliz. They proved that by not banning any classes StormBlitz used last match, except for Druid. Between setting up an easy kill on Freezer and stealing victory right out of Breaker’s hands, it seemed the enemy didn’t appreciate the way Yuel played Druid. Or, maybe it was just out of spite, who knew.</p> <p class="cnNiMmFhMDcxZTQ4NDQ3MTA4ZjFmZTYyYWEzZDBhZGU2">Either way, it didn’t matter to him. Thanks to the enemy wasting a ban on Druid, Yuel was allowed to pick Paladin, the secret tech he had his eyes on. With the silence effect of Justice Strike, he was going to shut down the Combo Pyromancer.</p> <p class="cnMwOGQ2YTg1N2I1ZjQyZGRiOGYxZjE2M2NiZmNjNWQy">Once drafting ended, the match began.</p> <p class="cnNmZGZmOWYyYjNjMjQyN2M4ZjBmMGNiMWNiY2UyZjU1">The early game started about the same as last time. Without Spellbook of Doom, Breaker didn’t have access to her combo yet, so she played defensively. She went head-to-head with Trever a couple of times, but she never overextended enough to be punished. It didn’t help she was Trever’s match in term of mechanical skill, which allowed to her to stand her ground even when he aggressed on her first.</p> <p class="cnNiN2Y3Y2MxOWQwOTRlOTM4MzVmZjRhOWZiNmFjODli">This was the second time Yuel played the early game against her, yet he couldn’t find an opportunity to break through her defense. He tried some ideas, like using a low HP Trever as bait, but she refused to bite. Same as with her polished combo plays, her early game defense was airtight, no doubt the fruit of much practice.</p> <p class="cnMxNTIxZDI2NTI4ZDQ4MGVhYzBkMWRmNTNkOWQ3MDA1">As a combo player, Breaker clearly understood the importance of the early game for her. It was alright for a combo played to not achieve much during the early game, so long as she didn’t fall behind. For a combo player, falling behind was the worst nightmare. It meant they might not be able to burst down enemies fast enough, which was the whole point of playing combo in the first place.</p> <p class="cnMyYmExNWU1ZTQ5ODQ0ZGRhNjAzYWRjOTMzYzI1ZjQ1">Therefore, her top priority during the early game was to stall until mid game. Once she gets her hands on Spellbook of Doom, the party will begin for real. Scoring a couple of kills would quickly make up for a mediocre early game.</p> <p class="cnNiMTk4OTdmNTcxYTQ3ODg5Njg2ZDMxMDY3YTk3Mjk3">Yuel understood all of that, yet he failed to interfere with Breaker’s game plan. It was regrettable, but there’s no choice but to wait until the mid game. Once she turns more aggressive, she’d undoubtedly show some weakness.</p> <p class="cnNmNWNlYTFjZDMxNjQzODQ5YWE1MWRiMTA2NDc2NmFl">The teams were mostly matched during the early game, just like last game. Roi fought the enemy Top Laner on equal footing, both trying to aggressively knock the other out without much success. Dan and the enemy Jungler delivered about the same quality of ganks and support, so neither side gained the upper hand from that.</p> <p class="cnM5ZDA3MDY4MzlmYTQxNzM4ZDkyNzgxYTE5OGU4ZWU3">Just like last game, the only one who gained substantial lane advantage was Gilbert. His lane opponent, Freezer, went for a Hybrid Warlock build again and played too passively for a Mid Laner, trying his best to bait Gilbert into overextending. However, Gilbert was too rational of a player to fall for that. Instead of pushing harder, he capitalized on the enemy’s passiveness and relied on his lane advantage to safely leave the lane.</p> <p class="cnNhMGI0NjYyOTY3ODQ3YjhhMTk0ZmVhZWIxZTNjMmRj">While Freezer was busy clearing the remaining minions, Gilbert farmed jungle camps or ganked other lanes. He was even bolder than last game with these actions, since now he knew how passive of a player Freezer was. To better prepare for mid game, where the game will start for real, he had to gain as much advantage as possible from exploiting Freezer’s weaknesses.</p> <p class="cnM4NGJhMDYzOGQxODQ3OTNhNzkyYzI2YzNkYmQ0MmQ4">At some point, Freezer realized his fault and tried playing more aggressively, to pressure Gilbert into staying in lane. However, that clearly wasn’t his forte. Most such attempts ended with Gilbert turning the tables on Freezer and chasing him out of the lane.</p> <p class="cnNmODVmZDBiYjg2YTQ3OTJhODVmYmVlOTY4NzczNWY5">All in all, the favors were in StormBlitz’s favor so far. But, that’s also how things went in the first game, until Breaker single-handedly swung the momentum in her team’s favor. The fast-approaching mid game will be the decisive point, which will prove whether allowing Breaker play Pyromancer was the right call. Yuel’s skill will be tested there.</p> <p class="cnM5ZDQ5NGJmNTYwNTQyNzFiYjBmZmZmN2EwOTE4Yzhm">“Their Pyro most likely got Spellbook, so be careful.” Yuel warned after calculating the enemy’s gold in his head. Spellbook of Doom didn’t show up in Breaker’s inventory yet, but it was most likely cloaked for the right moment, just like last game.</p> <p class="cnNkNzRkZGU1NDQyNzRiMTI4ZjIzNGZmMjYzNmU5NmQ5">“Whoa, she’s totally going for me!” Trever exclaimed amidst a heated duel with Breaker. It’s the first time Breaker went all out in a fight, disregarding her retreat options. It was a sign Spellbook of Doom was about to come into action.</p> <p class="cnNmZWZmMjJmZDRjODQzZmI5MWQ2MTA3ODc1MmIwNTM2">Trever and Breaker were normally evenly matched in combat, but with her combo added to the mix - she was going to destroy him! Yuel was out of the lane, so it’s the perfect opportunity for Breaker to finish Trever off... or so she probably thought.</p> <p class="cnNiNTVkMGIxZTk4YTRhY2FiOWI2YWY3NGFmM2IxZWFi">In truth, Yuel was right there, waiting behind a jungle wall for this very moment. He knew Breaker wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity, she always seized an opportunity when she saw one. Therefore, he created one such fake opportunity for her, baiting her into offense. A slight shudder ran through him as he realized this tactic was probably something he adopted from Ellen. Ugh.</p> <p class="cnMzYmRmM2E3NmI0ZjQ2ZWZhNWNjZDk1MmI3NjI0OTA2">After Breaker cast Pillar of Fire, Spellbook of Doom finally showed up in her inventory. It was confirmed: she was going to finish Trever with her combo, right here and now. Everything was going to be settled in a second, that’s how fast combo plays were.</p> <p class="cnMwOWM5NzRmMWQ5MDRmMGZiMDc4ZDViMDIxZGMzZmFj">Just as Breaker was about to follow up with Flame Wave, Yuel blinked through the wall and used Justice Strike. A white blade formed above Breaker’s head, ready to come down crashing.</p> <p class="cnMyZGFhZTNlNDdhNDRjOThhMTJhZDk5MzBkZDkyMTY0">“Wha!?” Jennifer exclaimed. Where did that Paladin come from!? Didn’t he rotate to Mid!? Crap! Craaaap! There’s no time to think! She had to dodge! Being silenced by Justice Strike right now would be the end of her!</p> <p class="cnMzMWU4NDgzM2ViMDQxOTU4ZWE1NTM3NGVjZTZiYmUx">She rolled the hell outta there, as far away as possible from the Paladin. But, she still kept the enemy Ranger within range. Huh! They thought this much would scare her away? No freaking chance! She was gonna finish-</p> <p class="cnNlYjE3NWMxOWI3ODQ3ZTViNWUxNTc4MmNjNjQ5ZWQw">“Agh! Shit!” She cursed. Didn’t she just dodge Justice Strike? The white blade was right above her head a moment ago and she rolled away. But, it hit her anyway! Did that Paladin cancel and retarget it? That damn scrub! What’s with this reaction speed!?</p> <p class="cnMyODdjYjRiZjQ2NTQyOWNhMWIzOWZlOTI3ZWU2Yjgx"><em>Phew, this was rough. </em>Yuel sighd in relief when his Justice Strike connected. In truth, he didn’t have full confidence in this move, considering he didn’t have the necessary reaction speed for these situations. The only reason it succeeded was because he predicted where Breaker was going to roll, before even he started this gank.</p> <p class="cnM4YzA1MDE0N2NhMzQ5YWQ5Y2I4Zjc3NmE0NWNlOGMx">There weren’t that many good dodge roll options for Breaker if she wanted to continue her assault on Trever. She had to roll away from Yuel, while keeping Trever within her range. There weren’t many spots that granted both these benefits, so it wasn’t hard to narrow down Breaker’s position post the dodge roll.</p> <p class="cnNhMThlYjM5YjFhYjQwZDlhNTUwNjdmNmIxYjQ0Yzlk">After spooking Breaker by forming a white blade above her head, Yuel immediately canceled Justice Strike. Then, he cast it anew, targeting the spot where he predicted Breaker would be after the roll. The blade crashed right on her head.</p> <p class="cnNjMGYxZjQzYzlmNDRiNTA5OTBkYjRlMTY4Yjc0MDEz">Too bad for her. If she gave up on killing Trever and retreated, she would had thwarted Yuel’s plan and would had safely gotten away. But, Yuel knew she was a confident, perhaps overconfident, senior. There’s no way she’d run in this situation, not after starting her combo and getting one move away from scoring a kill. Because of that - she lost.</p> <p class="cnMxYmIxYmM5ZjkzMDRhOTE4ZGIwZWIyNWVmNTJlNDhm">“Finish her off.” Yuel said.</p> <p class="cnNkYjZjNjZhMDFjYjQ5ZTE4YTBkYzNjMDIwNjg5MzIw">“No need to tell me twice!” Trever didn’t waste any time charging at the silenced Pyromancer. He pinned her to the ground with his wolf, then barraged her to death.</p> <p class="cnMxMzA1YWM3YzA4MzRmMDBiNjI4YmJiOTZjMGQwOGMz">『An enemy has been killed!』</p> <p class="cnNhNmJiN2RiOGQ5YjQzZGNiYTc5MjJjZTI0ODAyZGFh">“Hell yeah! We did it!” Trever smacked Yuel on the back. “Good play, kid!”</p> <p class="cnM4ZjIyZGU2YjgwYTRiZDQ5MzJmZDQwYjhmYmZiMTg5">“Ugh, thanks.” Yuel put on a pained smile while massaging his back. This was a good start, it was the exact opposite of how things went last game. Last time, Trever was instantly eliminated by Breaker’s combo, but this time they defeated her out instead. StormBlitz gained momentum first!</p> <p class="cnMyNTFmM2NkNGIwZTQ0ODhiMDdmNTdmY2NmOWI2Y2U1">Continuing from this successful play, Yuel and Trever rotated to Mid to gank Freezer. That’s exactly how Breaker played last time after killing Trever, so they aimed to generate the same amount of momentum with a double kill.</p> <p class="cnNhYzJhYzA5OWE5YzQ0ZmY5MTYyM2FjZjIyZWI5ZGVk">Alas, Freezer was a tough nut to crack. He was a defensive player through and through, so they failed to take him by surprise. After stalling them for a while, Freezer judged he had no chance of holding the lane much longer without sacrificing his life, so he retreated to base. His retreat left the lane undefended, but at least it prevented StormBlitz from gaining even more momentum with a second kill.</p> <p class="cnNlM2NiMjJiOTk4NTRmZDViYmI0ZjhiMDgyMzc5YmEx">Making the most out of the situation, Trever and Gilbert aggressively attacked the unprotected Mid Turret. It went all the way down to 20% before the enemy Jungler appeared to defend the lane. One kill + 80% damage on Mid Turret, not shabby. Not as impressive as Breaker’s momentum from last game, but they definitely gained the upper hand here.</p> <p class="cnNiM2RlNzY4NGU0MzQxN2ZiM2U1ZTFkZDFlMzE1OGQw">The match continued in a similar fashion, with Yuel exploiting the weaknesses and patterns he disocvered last match. In particular, he focused on shutting down Breaker at every opportunity he had, preventing her from snowballing. The silence from Justice Strike was deadly against a combo player who had to rely on perfect timing, positioning and execution.</p> <p class="cnMyOWFlMTRiODc4YjQ4NjJhYWVhMDU1OTA0NmM3Y2U5">Despite all that, the match wasn’t exactly what one would call “easy”. StormBlitz gained advantage all across the board, but every play they made was stressful. Just one mistake and the tides would turn around, that’s how everybody felt.</p> <p class="cnNlYzJkMDY3YjQ1OTQ4N2RhMzcxYTlhNWI1MDI2YjE4">“We got them this time, guys!”</p> <p class="cnM2Yzg0Njk3ZDYyZTRmZDI5N2Q1NTQ0NDQ0NTBhOThl">“Easiest game of my life, lol.”</p> <p class="cnMyOGJmZmQ3Y2IzNjQ2OTQ4MjMyYTdlMjdjYzUxM2E4">Trever and Roi were loud, probably trying to reassure the team and perhaps reassure themselves as well. Some reassurance didn’t hurt, considering how the game progressed. No matter how well Yuel countered Breaker, she found ways score kills. No matter how much Gilbert exploited Freezer’s passiveness during the laning phase, Freezer’s hybrid build swung team fights hard during mid game.</p> <p class="cnNmZWExN2IyZDI1ZTQ1OGQ4NmE3Y2U5NDE2YWZiMmVj">Yes, StormBlitz were winning, but it wasn’t a walk in the park. As much as a single misplay could lead to devastating results against enemies like the Leopards, especially since most of them were most likely playing their strongest classes. Yuel allowed Breaker and Freezer to pick their Combo Pyromancer and Hybrid Warlock, knowing all too well what they were capable of. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but be amazed by the enemy’s fortitude. Even though he figured most of their playstyles, patterns and team strategies - he couldn’t shut them down. They persisted, fighting hard till the bitter end.</p> <p class="cnNlZTRiYjMwZWNlYzQ0N2U5OWVhNGFjMmZlNzZjNjQy">Both teams refused to yield, this was the tenacity expected of the competitive scene. This wasn’t just another Ranked match where losing merely cost the players some points. This game was a simulation of a real tournament match, where a single defeat could mean immediate elimination.</p> <p class="cnMzMTAxOWMwMGE3ZjQ5NzhiNDg5OGMyYzMzMDA2NmU3">Even though both teams were second strings - this match was great! Yuel wanted to deconstruct them more! To corner them more! Playing full force against such high caliber opponents was something he couldn’t get anywhere else! He could only imagine how amazing the Leopards’ first string was and he so wanted to play them right now!</p> <p class="cnMwMjg3Yjg1ZDM1MTRmNmI5NWNmZThlNDE3NGUwMjkz"><em>Stop, focus. </em>Yuel pinched his cheek. StormBlitz’s current advantage made him lax, too lax. This match wasn’t over yet. Nothing was decided until the very end, so he couldn’t let his guard down for even a moment.</p> <p class="cnNiYjU5YWZiOTIxNDRjZDNiNjE0NmQ3NWI2OTNiMTAw">21 minutes into the match, StormBlitz managed to kill four out of five enemies. Before the enemy team respawned, StormBlitz stormed the Overlord and got his buff. From this position, they threatened checkmate in a couple of moves. They had super minions spawning in both Mid and Top, so the game was as good as settled.</p> <p class="cnM2YmRlNDA3NzRmNzRkZWJhMzNlMGY5M2VkNDgxMzk2">Yet, even in this obvious losing position, the Leopards didn’t show any signs of giving up. Well, maybe except for Freezer, who was easily picked off right as the decisive team fight broke out, Thanks to that, the enemy lost their most valuable team-fighting asset right before the game’s most critical moment.</p> <p class="cnMxNTBkZmNhMzE1OTQzYjc4NDU0OGVmYWNkMGE3NDc4">“Would you mind not standing there like a tree!?” Jennifer roared.</p> <p class="cnNiNGNiNWI0NTQxNjQzODNiNmNjZjVkZWI1YTgzOTRm">“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Alex shrugged. “We lost this anyway. We should just surrender.” He pressed F6.</p> <p class="cnMzODg4NzJmZDAzOTRiNTk5MGEzMmRjZmJkYzI5NDgw">『A surrender vote has started for your team.』</p> <p class="cnM5ZjIzYzgwYTVlYTQxNzJhYzI1YWMwZGJjYTU3YTJk">『YES: 1 NO: 0』</p> <p class="cnM1ZDM3ZWVhYTQ1NTQ5MjY4MmY5ODU5NDRlZTFhODc4">“Wha the-!? Are you for real!?” Jennifer really ached to leap on that idiot and beat him to a pulp, until his stupid quitter mentality is fixed.</p> <p class="cnM4MTFlMzE4MGI3ZDQxZGI4M2U5YzI2ZTA3ZmNlY2Mx">“Just admit it: we lost. Let’s get this over with and try next time.”</p> <p class="cnM2N2FjZTFmMDc4OTQ4MGI5MzBiODM3OGM4ZjQ3ZDYz">“You bastard...!” Jennifer gritted her teeth and shook like an atom bomb about to go off. “We never surrender! Always F7, just F7!” She followed her own advice and pressed F7, voting against the surrender. The rest of the team soon followed.</p> <p class="cnMzY2IwOGE2MDhmYTRiNjM4YzNhYTI0ZGQwMjBjN2Rm">『The team refused to surrender.』</p> <p class="cnNkMGYyN2ExYzFhMTQ2MjhiM2JiOTFjOGRmMWMxOTlh">『YES: 1 NO: 4』</p> <p class="cnMxYmEzNzcyYjUwZjQ3NTFiNGMzN2ViYTNlMDMxNjY2">“Whatever. Have fun wasting your time.” Alex shrugged and laid back on his chair.</p> <p class="cnNmZGNjZmNlNzk1NDQ3OTM4MjkwNTkzOTU3MTcwODJh">“Goddammit, why did Coach put this loser on our team!? He doesn’t even want to be here!” Jennifer tried shifting her focus back to the game, but she simply couldn’t quit ranting.</p> <p class="cnMzOWFhZWU2NGUwOTQ2NDhhYjk0ODUyNDQyMTViNzQ2">“Relax, Jenny.” Albert said. “Alex, could you please not provoke her? Keep your pessimistic opinions to yourself, please. We’re still trying to win here. You know she can’t play her best when she’s distracted.”</p> <p class="cnM4ZGY3NTcxN2QwZjRlYTg5OTMyYjk4MTY2OTY3ZmU0">“Fine, I’ll just take a nap.” Alex closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Don’t worry, I’ll wake up by the time I respawn... if I respawn.”</p> <p class="cnMyN2EwMTgxYjYwOTQ3ZGQ5NTVhM2RiYWE1NmZhMmIw">“Geh, fuck this guy.” Jennifer cursed.</p> <p class="cnMzODhlZjdhMDg4NzRjYWViNWNmYjgwNThhNWI1YTQ0">“I know he can be hard deal with, but please don’t lose it.” Albert said. “You’re the captain, so you have to act like one. If you lose it, everybody will lose it.”</p> <p class="cnM0M2VlN2Y0Y2ExYTQ5ZWViMzU3ZTAxMjQ1OTQ3ZmRj">“Yeah, you’re right.” Jennifer inhaled deeply, as if trying to absorb the whole room. Then, she exhaled with all her strength, as if blowing away every trace of Alex’s existence. “Okay, let’s do this, guys! 4v5 sounds like shit, but at their Electro and Knight are low! We can still do this!”</p> <p class="cnNlODNkOTIzMDE2YzRjODZiMTRjNWJmNTQzZmZlM2Fi">Energy returned to the team. For a moment, they were about to be devoured by the enemy. But now, they stood their ground and fought until the bitter end. A 4v5 was rough to come back from, especially considering the enemy had the Overlord’s buff. But, imagining their own defeat wasn’t an option.</p> <p class="cnMyNTkyMmI4ZTQ5ZTRlZGQ4MWNjZTE5MzI5YTg2M2Zm">“Remember what Coach always says! Imagine yourself winning and you gonna win! It’s all about the mental image! We gonna beat these trash kids and push all the way to their base in one go!”</p> <p class="cnM4ODc3MzJhYzUzOTQ4MGJiMDFjZTgyNjljNjhkNDUz">Even those on the brink of losing hope had no option but to fight their best. Their coach always lectured them about the importance of a maintaining a positive mental image and there’s nobody on the team better than Jennifer at that. Maybe it’s because she was kind of an idiot, but she simply could never the team lose, no matter the circumstances.</p> <p class="cnM3NzBlNmU2MjNmNzRkZDRhZTcxY2JiZDZiMDE3OTNk">In fact, her mental image was so strong, she could imagine everybody’s victory for them. Even when somebody knew the team was doomed, hearing Jennifer’s unwavering voice made them regain hope. They were going to win! They could still pull this off! That’s the mental image painted in their minds by Jennifer.</p> <p class="cnM2NjIwZTMyOWQ0ODQwOTM4NjQ3MzE4NzBkNjlhODJk">With this unyielding determination, they achieved the impossible and reduced the enemy team to just two. They fought with every last ounce of their strength, refusing to believe defeat was possible.</p> <p class="cnM5ZmEzNzQ3OGY4MTQxODhiNTc3MjYwOWZiZDI4NTgx">In the end, it was just Jennifer against the enemy Ranger and Paladin. Everything came down to Jennifer’s ability to eliminate the Ranger, as the Paladin had no way to push on his own. It was the decisive showdown.</p> <p class="cnNlYzhhN2RiNGEzMzRiMmM5ZDgzNjkyMDNkYmI1YjMy"><em>This is bad. </em>Yuel bit his lip. They had such a great advantage at the beginning of this push, but it was reduced to a 2v1 against the enemy’s Queen. Things could go either way.</p> <p class="cnM2YjAwMGU3ZmQwZDQ4ZjQ4ZWIyMTIzZTZkN2ZkOTAw">“Lol, sorry.” Roi scratched his head. “Totally blew that one.” He rushed this push too much, eager to grab victory as soon as possibly. That cost him dearly. The enemy Lumimancer blinded and slowed him on the spot, turning him into a sitting duck for Breaker’s combo.</p> <p class="cnNkNDE2MzczOTEwMDRmNWQ4YjgwNGNkYzNjMzA5MmEx">But, the blame didn’t lay only with Roi. The others misplayed here and there as well. For example, Gilbert’s Chain Lightning didn’t land on the optimal targets and Dan’s Lunge was telegraphed too much. Everybody felt victory was right around the corner, but they couldn’t quite grasp it yet. Not only that, but it felt like a single misplay could lead to disaster, the pressure was unbearable. So, they wanted to seal the deal and get out of this pressure as fast as possible. Ironically, rushing the push was exactly the misplay that opened the door for a turnaround.</p> <p class="cnMyYTAwMTlmOGYzZTQ5ZjE4NTg2YzA0NDYwZDk4MGY1">“Man, these guys don’t know when to quit.” Trever shook his head. “They should just give up already. For a moment there, I thought they decided to quit. But then, they came at us full power outta nowhere! Crazy shenanigans, I’m tellin’ ya.”</p> <p class="cnMzNGI3MzBiMWZlMjQyMmY4MzU3YzhhMDVjNGEwMjZi">“Yeah...” Yuel had a stiff expression. There was indeed a brief moment in which the Leopards stumbled, making one mistake after another. Yuel thought the pressure of the situation finally got to them and suggested going all in. Perhaps he, too, felt pressured by the enemy’s resilience and wanted this stressful situation over with.</p> <p class="cnMzZDk1ZmE0OTY1YzQ1NzZiNGQxNTk4MmY2NGI1ZjE0">Unfortunately, the momentarily vulnerability of the Leopards was either a brief hiccup or a calculated bait. The enemy soon snapped out of that state and played strong again, more tenaciously than ever. This sharp shift was mind-boggling.</p> <p class="cnNhZjk0YWRlYzI0ODQ1NmFiZDIyZGNjYzQ3MmM4Mjhj">Since everybody’s minds were preoccupied with the idea of rushing to victory, StormBlitz had trouble adapting to this sudden shift. One thing led to another and many inefficient plays were made. The enemies didn’t miss their opportunity to punish the poor plays, leading to the current situation. What started off as a beautiful and advantageous push got reduced to a fragile 2v1 against Breaker, of all people.</p> <p class="cnM4YmQ2MGQxNmYyMjRlNDc4MThhNTk4YzE5ZjllMTM2">The desire to win fast was seeded in everybody’s minds throughout the match, but it was Yuel’s call that set off the flames. He spotted the brief crack in the enemy’s formation and rushed to strike it, without considering the consequences or the team’s mindstate. What a blunder. Most of the responsibility for this failure laid with him.</p> <p class="cnM0YmM5NDU0OTBmNzQ3MWJhMTZlMjkyMDRjMGViMjRh"><em>It’s alright. We can still do it. </em>Yuel took a deep breath. They came this far, so he had to do his absolute best until the very end. <em>I have to clean my own mess. There’s still a way to deal with her, I prepared it exactly for this sort of pinch.</em></p> <p class="cnNlNTgyMmVmYTc4YzQzZmU4ZDNjNTQ5OWM4YTE3NTNk">Despite being eager to put a swift end to this stressful match, Yuel never failed to consider the worst case scenario. StormBlitz held the upper hand the whole game, but he never got over the fear the enemy may turn things around in the last moment. That's the whole reason this match felt so stressful in the first place, so the worst case scenario stuck to his thought process like gum.</p> <p class="cnM1NzUzNTIwMWIxNTRlZTc4NDRjYTBiNTU1YmQ3OTQ5">Because of that, he recommended Trever to head into this decisive push with just four public items in the build. A fifth item was also there, but cloaked. Considering the advantage StormBlitz already had, the marginal benefit from Trever finishing a proper build wasn’t that high. StormBlitz were already the stronger ones, so becoming a little bit stronger wasn’t going to change much.</p> <p class="cnM1MTEzZmYxOTI2YjQzMjZhMmRjZTE2NWZlZWJlNDVk">Instead, it was better to prepare a hidden item for the worst case scenario. This 2v1 against Breaker? That’s a worst case scenario right there. Trever was the King, his death would spell checkmate for StormBlitz. Killing him was all Breaker had to do here.</p> <p class="cnMwMTg4NTk0OGM0MDQyZjM5NTNmZGIzOGU4YzM2ZjE1">A tense situation, but one which came with a great bait. Breaker was most certainly going to rush at least a little bit here, so it’ll be easier to punish her. Yuel just had to play his cards right and lead her right where he wanted her to be.</p> <p class="cnMzZWM4M2E5YWZjMTQ3MjY4NTQ4ZTA5Y2Q4ZGU0ODcx">The first move was to silence her with Justice Strike.</p> <p class="cnM1M2E4OTM4YTZlNjQzYmI5MGM2MTZiNTIwNTQ4ZWQx">“No you don’t!” Jennifer saw coming from a mile away! She rolled toward the Ranger, creating distance between herself and the Paladin. Ha! She beat that telegraphed Justice Strike! ... or so she thought. <em>Tch, he didn’t bite? What a guy.</em></p> <p class="cnM5M2JlOTIxYWFkODQxNTY5MTBjZTdjYjI4ZDcxZWFj">The Paladin canceled his Justice Strike in the middle of casting, now focused on Jennifer’s new position. She was still recovering from the roll, so it’s impossible to dodge a second Justice Strike right now. Oh shit! It was over! ... or so her enemies should think!</p> <p class="cnM4MGI1MzA5YTIzZjRkMzU5ZTY3NzFiZTg5MGZhOWM5">She bought Blink a some time ago, but she kept it cloaked the whole time. She waited and waited, until a super critical situation finally presented itself! Now, when the enemy least expected it, she was gonna use it!</p> <p class="cnNhNWE3MmJiZDljZTRjNjJiNDQ1ZjgyODQwOGU1YmQx"><em>Ugh, Blink.</em> Yuel frowned as Breaker teleported out of his Justice Strike, appearing right behind Trever. <em>A brilliant play, but not outside my calculations.</em></p> <p class="cnMxNWRjMDkzMjAxOTRhMGZiMDYyZGMyNjlmNzczYTVh">Breaker already showcased her ability to combine combos with Blink in the previous match, so there’s no reason to not do it again. Her team lagged behind on gold, so she couldn’t get Blink as early as last game. But, she was assuredly going to get it again, Yuel was convinced of that all along. So. that’s why...</p> <p class="cnM2MTIwODE1NGM3OTQ3ODg4OTc4YWQwOGFmYjEyMWQz">“Ha! How does that feel, eh!?” Jennifer grinned. The Ranger’s defenseless back was right in front of her! It was over!</p> <p class="cnNiM2YzZThkNjg0NTRhM2JhODlkMDM2NDljMzhhNGQ5">“Now! Use Dark Contract!”</p> <p class="cnNmODA0YmNhZThlZTRmM2Q4NzA4NWM3NmEzMmMyNmQ5">“Gotcha!” Trever uncloaked his fifth item and activated a cloaked utility skill: Dark Contract. By sacrificing half his current HP, he gained a huge boost in all stats. He was already running pretty low at 40% HP, but now he fell all the way to 20%. Breaker didn’t even need a combo to finish him off with a single Flame Wave.</p> <p class="cnMzYzdhOTk4MWNlZjQ3Y2RiZWNjMzk4ZmIwZTU0ZjVl">But, that’s where the second part of this plan came into play. The fifth item Trever uncloaked was none other than Deus Shield. Since Trever’s HP dropped below 30% just now, Deus Shield discharged a stunning shockwave around him. And, Breaker was right within range!</p> <p class="cnNiZjYxZDNhYWQzMzQ5YzY5YTkxYjBmMjA2ZDNkY2Ex">“Gah!” Jennifer jumped “No way! Contract into Deus!?”. Her Pyromancer was stunned in place, unable to deliver the final blow. Gaaaaah! Where the hell this trick play came from!? If only she had Cleanse right now...!</p> <p class="cnMzOTdmYTg2NzIzZTRmODc5ZTVkNDQ3ZTFjYWFiZjQz">The Ranger followed up with Wolf Companion, pinning her to the ground right before the stun wore off. He didn’t have his ult, but the stat boost from Dark Contract was plenty enough to screw her over. It was over.</p> <p class="cnNiNTk3NjU4ODFhNjQxOGRiZmY5NTk2YTYxMzRiNmIx">『An enemy has been killed!』</p> <p class="cnMwMjk0NDcwOTQwOTQzYmQ4OTAyMmUwNjE1MmY3YzJh">“Yeah! We did it!” Trever smacked Yuel on the back with literally everything he got. “Great job, bro! That Contract + Deus idea was outta this world!”</p> <p class="cnNjYTQxZTU1YjA4YjQxNjZiMGY0MjczYTdhOTQ3ZGM5">“Ugh, thanks.” Yuel forced a smile, wondering whether his spine was still intact.</p> <p class="cnMxY2RjMmVmM2FjNjRiOWE5ODk5NTc2NjFhM2IyNDli">“Phew, we finally got through it.” Gilbert sighed in relief.</p> <p class="cnNjMjE2NzZjYTViNTQzMTU4MDdlZDMwMDkzZTkxNzEx">“Lol, ez clap.” Roi chuckled. “We had them the whole game.”</p> <p class="cnNlMjRlYzllYWFlZTRiYTI5MjYzNGE3MmQ2MTczYmE3">“Yeah, until you charged in and got your ass killed.” Dan retorted.</p> <p class="cnNjYWE2N2FjZWFiZjRhNjc5ODQzNWI4ZWI5YzI1MjQ0">“Hey, I was just trying to imitate your kamikaze strategy! Lol.”</p> <p class="cnMxYTkyNTBmYTkyZDRiNmI5ZWI3MTQ0ZDE4Y2UzOWNk">With this, the second match was over. Yuel chose to face what was most likely the enemy’s strongest lineup and that led to a very stressful game, with a pinch right at the end. Nevertheless, StormBlitz prevailed! Against the enemy’s strongest composition! From here on out, the rest of the games should be much easier... or so he thought.</p> </div>

The first StormBlitz vs. Leopards game in the second string ended with a clutch victory for StormBlitz. However, over the break, Yuel learned the first string lost their first match. These were shocking news, considering the first string had juggernauts like Howard, Ellen and Aron. “Don’t worry,” Howard reassured. “We’ll turn things around next game. You guys focus on your matches and make sure you don’t blow them.” Despite his words, there was a reason for concern. If somebody of ComboBreaker’s caliber only made it to second string in the Leopards, there’s no telling what monsters inhibited the first string. Even if Howard’s team pick themselves up and do better in the upcoming matches, it’s hard to imagine anything better than a 3-2 or a 2-3 score. And, if things were to come down to the wire like this, the performance of the second string just might decide the overall winner of the scrimmage. For starters, the second string had to win at least one more match. That’ll ensure they won’t become a burden for the first string, but that’s just the bare minimum. Yuel wanted to go at least 4-1 to support the first string. A 4-1 in the second string would grant StormBlitz victory even if the first string were to go 2-3. Was a 4-1 possible against such a strong team? They had to make it happen somehow. With Yuel now promoted to being the team’s shot-caller, the responsibility for making that possible laid with him. After a 10 minutes break, the scrimmage resumed for the second round. First, there’s the drafting phase to deal with. Along with inheriting the shot-caller role, Yuel also was put in charge of the drafting. He already strategized a lot with Gilbert during the previous drafting, but this time he had the final say. That is, provided the whole team wasn’t against his decisions... “We really need to get that Pyromancer out of the picture.” Gilbert said. “Yeah,” Trever nodded. “Her combos are such a pain in the ass.” “Agreed,” Dan said. “It’s bad news when the only way we can beat a player is by sacrificing one of ours.” “Lol.” Roi chuckled. “If we take her out, how you gonna use your secret kamikaze technique?” It was just the beginning of the drafting phase, but the whole team already agreed on the idea of banning Pyromancer. Yes, the whole team wanted that... expect for Yuel. There’s no denying Breaker piloted her Combo Pyromancer exceptionally well, she was the playmaker for the Leopards. Much of the Leopards’ momentum was gained thanks to Breaker’s kills, so she was the biggest threat. Nonetheless, Yuel was against banning the Pyromancer. “I... I think we should leave the Pyromancer be.” Yuel gulped. His body shook and he felt sweat forming on his forehead, but he refused to stay quiet. He was entrusted with the shot-caller and drafter roles, so he had to make his stance clear. E-Even if it meant objecting against a whole team of upperclassmen.. Gulp. “You serious?” Trever cocked his head. “You wanna let her get away with her combo shenanigans like that?” “Yeah, I also don’t see the point.” Gilbert joined in. “Banning exists precisely for this sort of situations. Judging by how well she played, there’s no way Pyro isn’t her best class.” “It may be her best class, but it’s a class we’re already saw her play.” Yuel argued. “If we ban Pyro, we’ll force her to play something new and we’ll have to study her from scratch again. Combo or not, I’m sure there are other classes she can play just as well. So, banning Pyro won’t necessarily change much for her. It’ll only put us in the dark about what she’ll be playing this time around.” “Hmm.” Gilbert pondered. “So, you rather face something familiar even if it’s strong? An interesting approach. You sound confident, I assume you know how to counter her?” “Yes, of course.” Yuel nodded. “Now that I learned how she plays Pyro, there are many ways to counter her. Last time, she caught us off guard by cloaking Spellbook of Doom and that generated huge momentum for her team,. But, now that we know what to expect, it won’t happen again.” “Heh, that’s some balls, kid!” Trever laughed and smacked Yuel on the back. “What a man! I like it!” “Ugh, thanks...” Yuel massaged his broken back. “Fine, let’s try it.” Gilbert nodded. “You managed to get us a win last time, so it’s clear you figured them out pretty well. Worst case, we’ll learn we can’t handle her Pyro and adapt accordingly next time.” “Challenging her head on? Lol, that’s great!” Roi grinned. “I still gotta pay her back for that nasty breaking ball she threw at the end there. This time I’mma hit all her pitches!” “I can’t believe we’re really doing this.” Dan sighed. “Well, if you ever need help dealing with her, just call Dan Kamikaze Co..” Thanks to Trever and Gilbert’s approval, the rest of the team went along with Yuel’s decision. Phew. He felt stiff like a statue the whole time he fought for it, but now he could finally breathe in relief. Though, new pressure dropped on his shoulders instead: after saying so much, he had to prove he could really counter the Combo Pyromancer. But, it should be fine. It had to be. Now, that they were aware of the Combo Pyromancer ahead of time, there were countless ways to prepare. Everything was going to be fine, he was going to lead this team to yet another victory with his shot calls. “Let’s ban their Warlock then.” Trever suggested. “The guy is annoying as hell with that hybrid build of his.” “Yeah, I’d rather not deal with him if possible.” Dan nodded. “He always messes up our formation during team fights.” “Oh, definitely!” Roi added. “Get dat boi outta the picture pls.” “Actually, I disagree on that one.” This time, it was Gilbert’s turn to object. “He gave us some trouble in team fights, but he didn’t strike me as a particularly component Warlock. He made some good decisions, but he didn’t pilot his Warlock very skillfully.” “I agree with Gilbert.” Yuel nodded. “Freezer plays his Warlock very defensively, even too defensively. There are countless ways we can exploit that. Not to mention, if he builds Hybrid Warlock again, their Pyromancer will have no choice but to play aggressively, to compensate for the lack of damage coming from MId. So, we’ll have even more ways to punish her.” “I didn’t even think that far.” Gilbert admitted. “You really like getting deep into your enemy’s head, huh. Anyway, I second everything he said. That Warlock plays too defensively, even during laning phase. I took advantage of that a lot last game, so I’ll gladly do that again.” “Well,” Trever shrugged “If the two smart guys agree, I got nothing to say.” The rest nodded in agreement. As long Trever and Gilbert approved of something, the rest approved as well. That was the power of the captain and vice-captain. Yuel was also technically assigned as a vice-captain, but as a freshman he was clearly below Gilbert in everybody’s minds. He hadn’t earned their full trust, not yet anyway. He was definitely going to change their perception by the end of this scrimmage by proving himself via his shot-calling. The whole discussion about Breaker and Freezer being counterable seeded the feeling the Leopards weren’t that scary. Yes, they dominated throughout most of the previous game, but most of the credit went to Breaker and her unexpected combo playstyle. As long as they kept the threat of her comob in mind, they had a decent chance of winning. The moral was at an all time high. Apparently, the sentiment on the other team was the same. Even though the Leopards lost, they didn’t feel inferior to StormBliz. They proved that by not banning any classes StormBlitz used last match, except for Druid. Between setting up an easy kill on Freezer and stealing victory right out of Breaker’s hands, it seemed the enemy didn’t appreciate the way Yuel played Druid. Or, maybe it was just out of spite, who knew. Either way, it didn’t matter to him. Thanks to the enemy wasting a ban on Druid, Yuel was allowed to pick Paladin, the secret tech he had his eyes on. With the silence effect of Justice Strike, he was going to shut down the Combo Pyromancer. Once drafting ended, the match began. The early game started about the same as last time. Without Spellbook of Doom, Breaker didn’t have access to her combo yet, so she played defensively. She went head-to-head with Trever a couple of times, but she never overextended enough to be punished. It didn’t help she was Trever’s match in term of mechanical skill, which allowed to her to stand her ground even when he aggressed on her first. This was the second time Yuel played the early game against her, yet he couldn’t find an opportunity to break through her defense. He tried some ideas, like using a low HP Trever as bait, but she refused to bite. Same as with her polished combo plays, her early game defense was airtight, no doubt the fruit of much practice. As a combo player, Breaker clearly understood the importance of the early game for her. It was alright for a combo played to not achieve much during the early game, so long as she didn’t fall behind. For a combo player, falling behind was the worst nightmare. It meant they might not be able to burst down enemies fast enough, which was the whole point of playing combo in the first place. Therefore, her top priority during the early game was to stall until mid game. Once she gets her hands on Spellbook of Doom, the party will begin for real. Scoring a couple of kills would quickly make up for a mediocre early game. Yuel understood all of that, yet he failed to interfere with Breaker’s game plan. It was regrettable, but there’s no choice but to wait until the mid game. Once she turns more aggressive, she’d undoubtedly show some weakness. The teams were mostly matched during the early game, just like last game. Roi fought the enemy Top Laner on equal footing, both trying to aggressively knock the other out without much success. Dan and the enemy Jungler delivered about the same quality of ganks and support, so neither side gained the upper hand from that. Just like last game, the only one who gained substantial lane advantage was Gilbert. His lane opponent, Freezer, went for a Hybrid Warlock build again and played too passively for a Mid Laner, trying his best to bait Gilbert into overextending. However, Gilbert was too rational of a player to fall for that. Instead of pushing harder, he capitalized on the enemy’s passiveness and relied on his lane advantage to safely leave the lane. While Freezer was busy clearing the remaining minions, Gilbert farmed jungle camps or ganked other lanes. He was even bolder than last game with these actions, since now he knew how passive of a player Freezer was. To better prepare for mid game, where the game will start for real, he had to gain as much advantage as possible from exploiting Freezer’s weaknesses. At some point, Freezer realized his fault and tried playing more aggressively, to pressure Gilbert into staying in lane. However, that clearly wasn’t his forte. Most such attempts ended with Gilbert turning the tables on Freezer and chasing him out of the lane. All in all, the favors were in StormBlitz’s favor so far. But, that’s also how things went in the first game, until Breaker single-handedly swung the momentum in her team’s favor. The fast-approaching mid game will be the decisive point, which will prove whether allowing Breaker play Pyromancer was the right call. Yuel’s skill will be tested there. “Their Pyro most likely got Spellbook, so be careful.” Yuel warned after calculating the enemy’s gold in his head. Spellbook of Doom didn’t show up in Breaker’s inventory yet, but it was most likely cloaked for the right moment, just like last game. “Whoa, she’s totally going for me!” Trever exclaimed amidst a heated duel with Breaker. It’s the first time Breaker went all out in a fight, disregarding her retreat options. It was a sign Spellbook of Doom was about to come into action. Trever and Breaker were normally evenly matched in combat, but with her combo added to the mix - she was going to destroy him! Yuel was out of the lane, so it’s the perfect opportunity for Breaker to finish Trever off... or so she probably thought. In truth, Yuel was right there, waiting behind a jungle wall for this very moment. He knew Breaker wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity, she always seized an opportunity when she saw one. Therefore, he created one such fake opportunity for her, baiting her into offense. A slight shudder ran through him as he realized this tactic was probably something he adopted from Ellen. Ugh. After Breaker cast Pillar of Fire, Spellbook of Doom finally showed up in her inventory. It was confirmed: she was going to finish Trever with her combo, right here and now. Everything was going to be settled in a second, that’s how fast combo plays were. Just as Breaker was about to follow up with Flame Wave, Yuel blinked through the wall and used Justice Strike. A white blade formed above Breaker’s head, ready to come down crashing. “Wha!?” Jennifer exclaimed. Where did that Paladin come from!? Didn’t he rotate to Mid!? Crap! Craaaap! There’s no time to think! She had to dodge! Being silenced by Justice Strike right now would be the end of her! She rolled the hell outta there, as far away as possible from the Paladin. But, she still kept the enemy Ranger within range. Huh! They thought this much would scare her away? No freaking chance! She was gonna finish- “Agh! Shit!” She cursed. Didn’t she just dodge Justice Strike? The white blade was right above her head a moment ago and she rolled away. But, it hit her anyway! Did that Paladin cancel and retarget it? That damn scrub! What’s with this reaction speed!? *Phew, this was rough.* Yuel sighd in relief when his Justice Strike connected. In truth, he didn’t have full confidence in this move, considering he didn’t have the necessary reaction speed for these situations. The only reason it succeeded was because he predicted where Breaker was going to roll, before even he started this gank. There weren’t that many good dodge roll options for Breaker if she wanted to continue her assault on Trever. She had to roll away from Yuel, while keeping Trever within her range. There weren’t many spots that granted both these benefits, so it wasn’t hard to narrow down Breaker’s position post the dodge roll. After spooking Breaker by forming a white blade above her head, Yuel immediately canceled Justice Strike. Then, he cast it anew, targeting the spot where he predicted Breaker would be after the roll. The blade crashed right on her head. Too bad for her. If she gave up on killing Trever and retreated, she would had thwarted Yuel’s plan and would had safely gotten away. But, Yuel knew she was a confident, perhaps overconfident, senior. There’s no way she’d run in this situation, not after starting her combo and getting one move away from scoring a kill. Because of that - she lost. “Finish her off.” Yuel said. “No need to tell me twice!” Trever didn’t waste any time charging at the silenced Pyromancer. He pinned her to the ground with his wolf, then barraged her to death. 『An enemy has been killed!』 “Hell yeah! We did it!” Trever smacked Yuel on the back. “Good play, kid!” “Ugh, thanks.” Yuel put on a pained smile while massaging his back. This was a good start, it was the exact opposite of how things went last game. Last time, Trever was instantly eliminated by Breaker’s combo, but this time they defeated her out instead. StormBlitz gained momentum first! Continuing from this successful play, Yuel and Trever rotated to Mid to gank Freezer. That’s exactly how Breaker played last time after killing Trever, so they aimed to generate the same amount of momentum with a double kill. Alas, Freezer was a tough nut to crack. He was a defensive player through and through, so they failed to take him by surprise. After stalling them for a while, Freezer judged he had no chance of holding the lane much longer without sacrificing his life, so he retreated to base. His retreat left the lane undefended, but at least it prevented StormBlitz from gaining even more momentum with a second kill. Making the most out of the situation, Trever and Gilbert aggressively attacked the unprotected Mid Turret. It went all the way down to 20% before the enemy Jungler appeared to defend the lane. One kill + 80% damage on Mid Turret, not shabby. Not as impressive as Breaker’s momentum from last game, but they definitely gained the upper hand here. The match continued in a similar fashion, with Yuel exploiting the weaknesses and patterns he disocvered last match. In particular, he focused on shutting down Breaker at every opportunity he had, preventing her from snowballing. The silence from Justice Strike was deadly against a combo player who had to rely on perfect timing, positioning and execution. Despite all that, the match wasn’t exactly what one would call “easy”. StormBlitz gained advantage all across the board, but every play they made was stressful. Just one mistake and the tides would turn around, that’s how everybody felt. “We got them this time, guys!” “Easiest game of my life, lol.” Trever and Roi were loud, probably trying to reassure the team and perhaps reassure themselves as well. Some reassurance didn’t hurt, considering how the game progressed. No matter how well Yuel countered Breaker, she found ways score kills. No matter how much Gilbert exploited Freezer’s passiveness during the laning phase, Freezer’s hybrid build swung team fights hard during mid game. Yes, StormBlitz were winning, but it wasn’t a walk in the park. As much as a single misplay could lead to devastating results against enemies like the Leopards, especially since most of them were most likely playing their strongest classes. Yuel allowed Breaker and Freezer to pick their Combo Pyromancer and Hybrid Warlock, knowing all too well what they were capable of. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but be amazed by the enemy’s fortitude. Even though he figured most of their playstyles, patterns and team strategies - he couldn’t shut them down. They persisted, fighting hard till the bitter end. Both teams refused to yield, this was the tenacity expected of the competitive scene. This wasn’t just another Ranked match where losing merely cost the players some points. This game was a simulation of a real tournament match, where a single defeat could mean immediate elimination. Even though both teams were second strings - this match was great! Yuel wanted to deconstruct them more! To corner them more! Playing full force against such high caliber opponents was something he couldn’t get anywhere else! He could only imagine how amazing the Leopards’ first string was and he so wanted to play them right now! *Stop, focus.* Yuel pinched his cheek. StormBlitz’s current advantage made him lax, too lax. This match wasn’t over yet. Nothing was decided until the very end, so he couldn’t let his guard down for even a moment. 21 minutes into the match, StormBlitz managed to kill four out of five enemies. Before the enemy team respawned, StormBlitz stormed the Overlord and got his buff. From this position, they threatened checkmate in a couple of moves. They had super minions spawning in both Mid and Top, so the game was as good as settled. Yet, even in this obvious losing position, the Leopards didn’t show any signs of giving up. Well, maybe except for Freezer, who was easily picked off right as the decisive team fight broke out, Thanks to that, the enemy lost their most valuable team-fighting asset right before the game’s most critical moment. “Would you mind not standing there like a tree!?” Jennifer roared. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Alex shrugged. “We lost this anyway. We should just surrender.” He pressed F6. 『A surrender vote has started for your team.』 『YES: 1 NO: 0』 “Wha the-!? Are you for real!?” Jennifer really ached to leap on that idiot and beat him to a pulp, until his stupid quitter mentality is fixed. “Just admit it: we lost. Let’s get this over with and try next time.” “You bastard...!” Jennifer gritted her teeth and shook like an atom bomb about to go off. “We never surrender! Always F7, just F7!” She followed her own advice and pressed F7, voting against the surrender. The rest of the team soon followed. 『The team refused to surrender.』 『YES: 1 NO: 4』 “Whatever. Have fun wasting your time.” Alex shrugged and laid back on his chair. “Goddammit, why did Coach put this loser on our team!? He doesn’t even want to be here!” Jennifer tried shifting her focus back to the game, but she simply couldn’t quit ranting. “Relax, Jenny.” Albert said. “Alex, could you please not provoke her? Keep your pessimistic opinions to yourself, please. We’re still trying to win here. You know she can’t play her best when she’s distracted.” “Fine, I’ll just take a nap.” Alex closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Don’t worry, I’ll wake up by the time I respawn... if I respawn.” “Geh, fuck this guy.” Jennifer cursed. “I know he can be hard deal with, but please don’t lose it.” Albert said. “You’re the captain, so you have to act like one. If you lose it, everybody will lose it.” “Yeah, you’re right.” Jennifer inhaled deeply, as if trying to absorb the whole room. Then, she exhaled with all her strength, as if blowing away every trace of Alex’s existence. “Okay, let’s do this, guys! 4v5 sounds like shit, but at their Electro and Knight are low! We can still do this!” Energy returned to the team. For a moment, they were about to be devoured by the enemy. But now, they stood their ground and fought until the bitter end. A 4v5 was rough to come back from, especially considering the enemy had the Overlord’s buff. But, imagining their own defeat wasn’t an option. “Remember what Coach always says! Imagine yourself winning and you gonna win! It’s all about the mental image! We gonna beat these trash kids and push all the way to their base in one go!” Even those on the brink of losing hope had no option but to fight their best. Their coach always lectured them about the importance of a maintaining a positive mental image and there’s nobody on the team better than Jennifer at that. Maybe it’s because she was kind of an idiot, but she simply could never the team lose, no matter the circumstances. In fact, her mental image was so strong, she could imagine everybody’s victory for them. Even when somebody knew the team was doomed, hearing Jennifer’s unwavering voice made them regain hope. They were going to win! They could still pull this off! That’s the mental image painted in their minds by Jennifer. With this unyielding determination, they achieved the impossible and reduced the enemy team to just two. They fought with every last ounce of their strength, refusing to believe defeat was possible. In the end, it was just Jennifer against the enemy Ranger and Paladin. Everything came down to Jennifer’s ability to eliminate the Ranger, as the Paladin had no way to push on his own. It was the decisive showdown. *This is bad.* Yuel bit his lip. They had such a great advantage at the beginning of this push, but it was reduced to a 2v1 against the enemy’s Queen. Things could go either way. “Lol, sorry.” Roi scratched his head. “Totally blew that one.” He rushed this push too much, eager to grab victory as soon as possibly. That cost him dearly. The enemy Lumimancer blinded and slowed him on the spot, turning him into a sitting duck for Breaker’s combo. But, the blame didn’t lay only with Roi. The others misplayed here and there as well. For example, Gilbert’s Chain Lightning didn’t land on the optimal targets and Dan’s Lunge was telegraphed too much. Everybody felt victory was right around the corner, but they couldn’t quite grasp it yet. Not only that, but it felt like a single misplay could lead to disaster, the pressure was unbearable. So, they wanted to seal the deal and get out of this pressure as fast as possible. Ironically, rushing the push was exactly the misplay that opened the door for a turnaround. “Man, these guys don’t know when to quit.” Trever shook his head. “They should just give up already. For a moment there, I thought they decided to quit. But then, they came at us full power outta nowhere! Crazy shenanigans, I’m tellin’ ya.” “Yeah...” Yuel had a stiff expression. There was indeed a brief moment in which the Leopards stumbled, making one mistake after another. Yuel thought the pressure of the situation finally got to them and suggested going all in. Perhaps he, too, felt pressured by the enemy’s resilience and wanted this stressful situation over with. Unfortunately, the momentarily vulnerability of the Leopards was either a brief hiccup or a calculated bait. The enemy soon snapped out of that state and played strong again, more tenaciously than ever. This sharp shift was mind-boggling. Since everybody’s minds were preoccupied with the idea of rushing to victory, StormBlitz had trouble adapting to this sudden shift. One thing led to another and many inefficient plays were made. The enemies didn’t miss their opportunity to punish the poor plays, leading to the current situation. What started off as a beautiful and advantageous push got reduced to a fragile 2v1 against Breaker, of all people. The desire to win fast was seeded in everybody’s minds throughout the match, but it was Yuel’s call that set off the flames. He spotted the brief crack in the enemy’s formation and rushed to strike it, without considering the consequences or the team’s mindstate. What a blunder. Most of the responsibility for this failure laid with him. *It’s alright. We can still do it.* Yuel took a deep breath. They came this far, so he had to do his absolute best until the very end. *I have to clean my own mess. There’s still a way to deal with her, I prepared it exactly for this sort of pinch.* Despite being eager to put a swift end to this stressful match, Yuel never failed to consider the worst case scenario. StormBlitz held the upper hand the whole game, but he never got over the fear the enemy may turn things around in the last moment. That's the whole reason this match felt so stressful in the first place, so the worst case scenario stuck to his thought process like gum. Because of that, he recommended Trever to head into this decisive push with just four public items in the build. A fifth item was also there, but cloaked. Considering the advantage StormBlitz already had, the marginal benefit from Trever finishing a proper build wasn’t that high. StormBlitz were already the stronger ones, so becoming a little bit stronger wasn’t going to change much. Instead, it was better to prepare a hidden item for the worst case scenario. This 2v1 against Breaker? That’s a worst case scenario right there. Trever was the King, his death would spell checkmate for StormBlitz. Killing him was all Breaker had to do here. A tense situation, but one which came with a great bait. Breaker was most certainly going to rush at least a little bit here, so it’ll be easier to punish her. Yuel just had to play his cards right and lead her right where he wanted her to be. The first move was to silence her with Justice Strike. “No you don’t!” Jennifer saw coming from a mile away! She rolled toward the Ranger, creating distance between herself and the Paladin. Ha! She beat that telegraphed Justice Strike! ... or so she thought. *Tch, he didn’t bite? What a guy.* The Paladin canceled his Justice Strike in the middle of casting, now focused on Jennifer’s new position. She was still recovering from the roll, so it’s impossible to dodge a second Justice Strike right now. Oh shit! It was over! ... or so her enemies should think! She bought Blink a some time ago, but she kept it cloaked the whole time. She waited and waited, until a super critical situation finally presented itself! Now, when the enemy least expected it, she was gonna use it! *Ugh, Blink.* Yuel frowned as Breaker teleported out of his Justice Strike, appearing right behind Trever. *A brilliant play, but not outside my calculations.* Breaker already showcased her ability to combine combos with Blink in the previous match, so there’s no reason to not do it again. Her team lagged behind on gold, so she couldn’t get Blink as early as last game. But, she was assuredly going to get it again, Yuel was convinced of that all along. So. that’s why... “Ha! How does that feel, eh!?” Jennifer grinned. The Ranger’s defenseless back was right in front of her! It was over! “Now! Use Dark Contract!” “Gotcha!” Trever uncloaked his fifth item and activated a cloaked utility skill: Dark Contract. By sacrificing half his current HP, he gained a huge boost in all stats. He was already running pretty low at 40% HP, but now he fell all the way to 20%. Breaker didn’t even need a combo to finish him off with a single Flame Wave. But, that’s where the second part of this plan came into play. The fifth item Trever uncloaked was none other than Deus Shield. Since Trever’s HP dropped below 30% just now, Deus Shield discharged a stunning shockwave around him. And, Breaker was right within range! “Gah!” Jennifer jumped “No way! Contract into Deus!?”. Her Pyromancer was stunned in place, unable to deliver the final blow. Gaaaaah! Where the hell this trick play came from!? If only she had Cleanse right now...! The Ranger followed up with Wolf Companion, pinning her to the ground right before the stun wore off. He didn’t have his ult, but the stat boost from Dark Contract was plenty enough to screw her over. It was over. 『An enemy has been killed!』 “Yeah! We did it!” Trever smacked Yuel on the back with literally everything he got. “Great job, bro! That Contract + Deus idea was outta this world!” “Ugh, thanks.” Yuel forced a smile, wondering whether his spine was still intact. “Phew, we finally got through it.” Gilbert sighed in relief. “Lol, ez clap.” Roi chuckled. “We had them the whole game.” “Yeah, until you charged in and got your ass killed.” Dan retorted. “Hey, I was just trying to imitate your kamikaze strategy! Lol.” With this, the second match was over. Yuel chose to face what was most likely the enemy’s strongest lineup and that led to a very stressful game, with a pinch right at the end. Nevertheless, StormBlitz prevailed! Against the enemy’s strongest composition! From here on out, the rest of the games should be much easier... or so he thought.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM1ZGY2NWRlZmMxMTQ4YTZiNWM1ZGFlMGRkOGFjNmUx" style="text-align: center"><strong style="font-weight: bold"><img style="vertical-align: middle; border: 0px none #000000" src="https://i.imgur.com/IgLgxmL.png" alt="" width="250" height="12"></strong></p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>Apostate Catacombs</strong></h4> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong style="font-weight: bold">District of Profaners, Third Ring<br></strong></h4> <p class="cnNhN2RhNmYwOWMzYjQ0Zjg4NGNiOGVmMTgwMTAzYWFh" style="text-align: center"><strong style="font-weight: bold"><img style="vertical-align: middle; border: 0px none #000000" src="https://i.imgur.com/IgLgxmL.png" alt="" width="250" height="12"></strong></p> <p class="cnMxYjA2ZWJiNjk4ZDQ0YzE5N2QyMjU1OGQ3MTRmZGNm">Annabelle stood at the edge of the massive stone bowl. The problems kept piling on but she had no way to immediately solve them. One of the prime issues was Tharia. Her body wasn’t in good condition at the best of days. Sure, the human girl kept fit despite her disability but her range of motion was limited. Now, with a slightly deranged elemental in control, every movement looked awkward.</p> <p class="cnNiNGNlMzQ0Y2IwZTRkZGViMGJlOTg3NDc2N2I2MDIw">“Do you think she’ll need her liver? It’s kinda in the way”, Sisi said, using Tharia's mouth. The goddess didn’t react. Everything the elemental did was meant to demean, provoke and taunt. It was best to not feed into it. The current state of the elemental, however, brought her to their second problem. Light. Sisi had been their light source. Without it, the remaining illumination came from the burning archery towers and there wasn’t much left of them.</p> <p class="cnMwNWIwNTQ0ZTI3MDQyMWQ4M2EyZTg1NzA3OTk2ZTk4">Her third problem was the lack of a way forward. Which is why she now stood at the edge of the bowl. Before the trap had sprung, two ways had led to and away from the bowl. Both had spiraled away with an unseen mechanism. She could probably make the jump. Barely. But Tharia was out and it would have to be a jump into darkness. Annabelle sighed.</p> <p class="cnM1OWExZTYwNGRiZjQxNjNhYzY2MWU4Y2FmNjVjMTJj">“Can you scout for the mechanism?”</p> <p class="cnM0NzYzZTExMGE0ZDQzYTRhYjIxNmU0ZDk2MDExMzg1">“No can do. I had to supplement some organs with divine energy. This body is a mess throughout. How often does one person normally break their bones?” Sisi said. It still felt strange to hear Tharia’s voice without it actually being her. The strange intonation and different inflection made the difference obvious.</p> <p class="cnNhNjFiMTUyNzQyNDQzODdhMzI4MDkxMThmMDdmODdl">Annabelle looked back at the ledge. Tharia would know a way. It would be something utterly insane like just jumping over the edge and then finding the mechanism. The goddess took a deep breath, paced back a couple of steps and then pushed herself forward with all her strength. One step, two steps – and she leaped forward. Kinetic momentum launched her over the edge. Her body described a graceful arc over the pit, with a not so graceful landing. She had misjudged her target in the dark. Her right foot landed safely on the stone but her left foot treaded air.</p> <p class="cnNkZDIwOWFiMTg3NjQ2NGRiNTI3N2ZiNDkwNGMxMDA5">Tumbling forward in complete darkness, she could do nothing but try and hold onto something. Anything. Her fingers caught the edge of stone in the nick of time. She quivered under the impact and suddenly realized she had another source of light. Energy pulsed into the gloves and emitted as tiny golden sparks. It wasn’t a lot of light, just enough to see the ugly grimace of a priest just above her. It somehow managed to grin, despite having no lower jaw. Something long lashed out of the dark and struck her across her arm. Luckily, her armor prevented deeper damage. The tongue quivered back up.</p> <p class="cnNlMjEzNTQxMGY0YjRmODNhZmMzNjJiZTFjYWQ3NDQz">She quickly grabbed onto the ledge with her other hand and used the imbued strength to climb up while the priest recovered. However, it was only when she reached the top, that she realized it was another trap. The priest suddenly lashed his tongue again. Annabelle risked it by taking the hit on her gloved hand. She wrapped her fingers around the tongue and held on.</p> <p class="cnNjNmY2YzUwY2RmZDRmMjA4MzRmYWJiY2FiZDk2NjAz">“Got you”, Annabelle said. The sudden laughter of Sisi, using Tharia's voice, rang up from the bowl some distance away.</p> <p class="cnNiM2VjY2M2YmQxMzQzZWJhYWQ5ODE4M2JkYzdlYjM5">“I know that one!”</p> <p class="cnMwNGVlMmRjMzU0YTRiODM5Nzc1NzE3MTQ4ZDdmOTQw">In confusion, the goddess locked her gaze on the priest and suddenly noticed a collection of small pots wrapped around his robe. A fuse was merrily burning away. She quickly crushed the tip of the tongue and then stepped into a medium-high kick against the priest. He had a manic look on his face as he prayed to whatever of his made up apostate gods would listen. The priest disappeared over the edge, yet just as Annabelle considered herself safe, the midsection of the tongue wrapped around her leg. She smacked onto the stone and found herself dragged closer to the edge.</p> <p class="cnMyNDc4NWQ3MWRhNzRlMmQ4NzIzODg1NDhmYThlNGE1">Her golden gloves dug into the stone, crunching it underneath her amplified strength but sheer weight and momentum dragged her ever closer. A sudden explosion shook the foundation and the drag on her leg stopped. When the goddess pulled herself back up, nothing of the priest remained but a charred tongue.</p> <p class="cnM5NzZkMWYzMGM4ODQ5YjNiZDM3MTE4NzI5NDA3MmI2">“He missed some comedic timing there”, Sisi commented. The sprite had made Tharia sit down with crossed legs. It looked like it was really enjoying the show.</p> <p class="cnNjOTdjMDNiNWJkNTQwZTk4NjRiZDA3YzU5NDVhZjk5">“Well if you’re lucky the mechanism still works. Just saw it right about there. Oh right, pointing won't help since you can’t see in the dark”</p> <p class="cnNmNmI1OGZlMjJjNzQ2MmU4NmE1NWFhOTM2NmU4NjRi">Cheeky laughter followed.</p> <p class="cnMxNzVlMjZiZTJiNjRkZDE4YjljNmYzNDc4YjM5ZDM5">“It’s close by, you’ll find it, <em>love</em>”</p> <p class="cnNhYWQyZWQ3MWZlMjQ2YzE5ZDhmZjM0YWM0NWU0MjNm">Annabelle took another deep breath. Sisi had a way to get under her skin. Tharia would probably joke about how literal that was. She already missed her little insane daredevil. With a pang of melancholy, the goddess turned around and then concentrated on summoning the Scythe. As was usual, a golden eruption of light appeared out of thin air. It gave her a bit of light at best, much less than the charged gloves did. So the only thing she could do was to crouch down close enough to the ground, then focus energy into her gloves and light the path. All while probably dozens of mad exploding priests lingered around her.</p> <p class="cnMxMmYyNTljNzcyZDQ1NTM4ZTk5OWMyYzAyOGE1M2Nl">She paced along the stone in a crouched manner, keeping her eyes open. This side had started with a bridge connection too but quickly widened into a platform. There were pedestals without anything on them and a pile of rucksacks. They smelled like Tharia's bags had smelled early on in their travels, so Annabelle just assumed they were more black powder. She continued with nothing but her gloves to light the way when she suddenly found a staircase leading up and down. It had actual handlebars this time too.</p> <p class="cnNkNjEyODlhYmI4NTQzZDg4M2Y2MTA0OTQ0ZTdiMzAz">“Getting warmer”, Sisi shouted. Somehow, using Tharia's voice with a squeaking inflection drove the goddess mad with anger. Still, she told herself, this would give her love a much needed break. Annabelle then walked down the stairs until she felt oddly warm.</p> <p class="cnNjYmM4M2RmMzdjMTRjZDRiYWFiMjcyOTIyOGMxODk2">“Much warmer”, Sisi screamed, followed by a chuckle.</p> <p class="cnNkMmUzYjcwOTU4MjQyMTE5M2U4NDk1YmEwMjM5ZTYz">Getting a sudden sinking feeling, Annabelle looked over the edge and gazed directly into a blazing inferno below. She clenched her fists. The sprite had played another trick on her. Somehow, the elemental must have seen her from the distance away as she rolled around laughing. The goddess could do nothing but endure the ridicule.</p> <p class="cnM2ODdlZThjMmUwMTQ0YWNhOWNhMGQ2MjcxYzUxNWQ3">“Oh, you meant the mechanism. It’s the other way”</p> <p class="cnM1YzYzNjdiYzBiMTRmZTQ4ZThlYjRmZjY0M2RiZmYx">Pushing air out of her lungs and counting up to twenty-three, Annabelle turned around and walked back upstairs. She passed the platform a second time and continued just a small bit until she entered a room that was closed off on all sides. The subtle glow from her gloves gifted her just enough light to make out the various shapes inside. It looked like an assortment of levers, gears and metallic chains. She also noticed something else, there was no way the sprite had seen this during the short explosion.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDQ0MGQ5NTEzMzQ3NjRiODk1NGI4MjM4ZTllOTYz">Gritting her teeth, Annabelle looked for a central lever of sorts. She found one near a window and then, all or nothing, she jammed it forward. Rumbling ran through the ground underneath as the platform below suddenly started turning. It did so a for a good while until it suddenly locked in place with a strong vibration underneath her feet. When Annabelle turned around, she nearly struck out in reflex. Tharia stood there with crossed arms and a smug grin.</p> <p class="cnMyNWU4Y2Q2YzBmYjRmMDU5YzMwZDEwMGVkNTQxODdk">“Hey. Looking to kill your love again, aren’t you?” Sisi said, “Your girl is struggling splendidly with her fear”</p> <p class="cnNhMGY3NjUwNDAxODQ1ZmJiYjFiM2I4MWYzYzgyMjlj">“I know”, was all that Annabelle could say. How could she not? She had seen her shy away and noticed the fear in the eyes. Worse, whenever she gave her mind a moment to linger, she saw hundreds of faces twisted in agony and despair. She shook her head, then prodded Tharia.</p> <p class="cnNmNmVkZDM2YTQ5MjQ1OWY5MTE1OTdjNmRjNjIzODQw">“You will keep her safe or...</p> <p class="cnM2ZjYxNTU0ZmQ0ZTQ0Mjg5N2NiMTcyNjdlODlkNGMw">“Or what?” Sisi snapped and then showed an even broader grin, “The best part about seeking death is that nothing can threaten you. But fret not, this girl will be alive in the end. Wanna know why?”</p> <p class="cnNkYzRiMWE4M2ZiYjRhMTBiYjZhYmU5MDVhYmE2ZTA3">Not waiting for an answer, the body of Tharia held up an arm and pulled back the light armor there, showing Annabelle a bit of skin. Plant images had wrapped their way around the wrist and the part of the forearm that the goddess could see.</p> <p class="cnM4NzBjNTJlOWYxMjRkMjNhMzZjNDhiN2EzODBjOGE4">“She’s marked. You will lose the current her, you know? This contract can never be broken, only shaped. I’m not as good at prediction as dearest Mother Bone, but it’s obvious to see, that unless you two fix your mess... well, she’ll be good at her job at least.”</p> <p class="cnM1OWY4ZDk1NTg0ZjRmMzA5NGNhMjFlNTExYTg5NjU1">Annabelle pursed her lips in a gesture she had learned to mimic from Tharia. She didn’t know all the implications of it, but at the moment it communicated her frustration and restlessness perfectly. At least in her mind. Annabelle realized a certain irony in that she imitated Tharia which was now controlled by Sisi that imitated Tharia.</p> <p class="cnM5MjAwNzY2ZGNjYTQyNjE5M2U2ZjNhY2E3OTVhMzJh">“And what is that?” Annabelle said to get the conversation back on track.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjBjOGEzNThlNDRjYTY4NGUyY2RmMzVhZDdlNDJj">“Knowing might damage your relationship forever”, Sisi said with a sudden bout of seriousness.</p> <p class="cnM3MmIyODFlMjg1ZDQ4N2I5ZmIzNWZlYjM4NGZkZDI1">“Tell me!”</p> <p class="cnNlNThlN2VjN2JjODRjYjlhMDhiOTE0MzQyZmZjZGIz">Sisi shrugged the shoulders, it almost looked like the real gesture, before grinning.</p> <p class="cnMyY2RlMThhOTA2ODRlNmM4ZDViMzZlY2VjNjcwMTNi">“Nah, not telling. You might tell Tharia and we both know how unstable that girl is. Besides, you’ve got other problems. Don’t you think it’s getting warmer? Maybe a wee bit of inferno down below, yeah?”</p> <p class="cnM3ZGMyY2QyMzQwZTRjYzFiNzg4ZjNkNWIxMmU3Mjkw">Annabelle grabbed Tharia's hand and then rushed down the stairs. With how angry she currently was, it was better to not speak at all. Any word might show Sisi just how much the sprite had gotten under her skin already. When she reached the platform, she hesitated. The discarded bags of black powder would go up and take half the structure with them. Time took away her choice. Another rumble ran through the ground and everything suddenly tilted. The entire stone construction shifted to the side and Annabelle found herself flat on her bum, racing towards the black pit. Tharia's body, naturally, squealed in joy.</p> <p class="cnNhNzY4YzVmZGFhNTQ2MTA5NTQ0NTZjNTI1ZTM2ZTcx">The goddess tried to twist her body to the side and then clenched her fist into the stone. Divine empowered strength made it easy to hold onto the flat surface by crunching a hole into it. With her other hand, she snatched up the sliding Tharia and then could do nothing but wait. The surface tilted further until everything toppled down. First, she felt no weight at all. It came back a second later. She held on for dear life, one hand clawed into the stone that had now swiveled above her and the other hand held onto Tharia's body. The whimpering made it obvious she used too much strength, as did the crunching of bones. Yet there was no nuance with these gloves. It was either that or falling to their death.</p> <p class="cnMzYWMxNWZjOGQwNDRmNmQ4MTg1NGUwZjU3ZjJiYTRh">A sudden impact marked the end of the fall, she noticed a faint light of fire underneath, a whole pyramid structure was laid out with several kilometers in length. The platform she hung onto was part of a stone archway that had now lodged straight into the pyramid.</p> <p class="cnNlOWMyMzQ2NWY1NzRhNTNhZTg0MzNiMjA3M2Q3NDgy">“You know”, Sisi began talking, “You really hate her left arm, don’t you? First, you bite it off at the shoulder, then you crush the bones to dust. Do you have any idea how much it will take to heal what you’ve done?”</p> <p class="cnM0MjM4YTEyYzYzNDQ0MGZiNzEwYzVlZmVkM2QzYzc4">That was it. Too much. Annabelle, while holding on for dear life, felt tears run down her cheeks. It was rare for her to show emotions this openly, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Subconsciously, she simply clamped down on her hold. The divine essence made sure there was enough strength to do it safely. Still, she was stuck up here with all of her failings crashing down on her.</p> <p class="cnNmMWUzNmFmMDA4MzRiOTNhN2VjOTUyYmJmZjZkNzZj">“Oh crap”, the sprite then said, “look I was pulling your leg. See, I can do it, literally”</p> <p class="cnM4MTJlNGE1MTE1YzQyMzFhOWVjZTUzNDdlZGQ1Y2Uy">Annabelle felt something pull on her leg. It wasn’t helping her mood.</p> <p class="cnM0ZmE0YmZmM2JhODQxMWM4NGU3MjQxM2NkYWRjODVm">“You’re not having a breakdown while hanging on a ledge of certain doom, are you? Listen, the hand is alright, just slightly fractured. Oh come on you broken girls of self-destructive doom, gods cursed idiots. Pull me up to your waist. I’ll hold on and you move us to the pyramid. Stop whining, start acting”</p> <p class="cnMwZWE0Y2E2OTQ1NTQyYmQ5YWM3NTc0ZGRiOWU1YjIx">The goddess looked down through tear-blurred eyes and saw Sisi use the seemingly broken hand to wave at her. She clenched her teeth in response. The elemental had gotten her.</p> <p class="cnM2ZjczZjQ4YWIyZDQ4MWVhZjE4OTAyODNkZjhkNzc1">“When we survive this, I’m going to drag you out and torture you”, she said with a snarl. Sisi let the face of Tharia show a beaming smile.</p> <p class="cnNhYTE3ZjNmNGY0MzRkZmRhOTk5ZDBmNjQ5ZTU2MTYz">“So you <em>do </em>know my kinks. The part of Tharia that’s here actually agrees as well. I think, or is that... nope, not agreeing. Uh, please move forward, I think she wants me to let go.”</p> <p class="cnMzNWIwMmQ2ZWVhZDQ1NWVhYmRjMmM2MGE4ZjIwM2Fi">Annabelle, fed up with the elemental, pulled Tharia’s body up to her waist and then felt two arms lock around her. She then used her second hand to punch a hole into the stone above. Using her magically enhanced grabbing power, she then moved towards the ominous pyramid, one hole at a time. All that time, Sisi remained silent, while Annabelle forced down the tumult inside. Another perk picked up from her love. Yet each punch forward, she saw another one of her fairy’s masks of death in front of her mind’s eye. The Dreamreaper had been rather creative in his visions of death and they all were burned into her thoughts.</p> <p class="cnNiYWRjZmI2YmZmOTRjZTk5ZTYwMmE0ZjJjNmYyMjMy">When she finally reached the slope of the giant pyramid, she first let down Tharia’s body and then jumped down as well. She was mentally exhausted. Once down and with a moment of respite, Annabelle hid her face behind her hands and grew quiet.</p> <p class="cnMwMDk4YzNiYWY4ZTQzMmZhMjkxNzYzNjc0NDUxMTkz">“Alright, there’s no enemy around as far as I can feel, so I’ll tell you”, the sprite said, “About Mother Bone. Each god has a domain, right? Well, so do old ones. You can attest to that. But while the power of a god is mostly mimicry, the old ones are forces of nature itself.”</p> <p class="cnM4ZWFhMGYxMWEzMzQ2NDJhOGUzODRjZWJhMzhiNzJi">The goddess kept her face hidden away. This wasn’t who she wanted to be. She needed to be strong for her love but right now, all those images of constant death in her mind had worn down her defenses. Sisi continued the monologue in the meantime.</p> <p class="cnMyYTMxZDk5Y2E4NzQ2OTA5M2EwNjdjYmFkYjI2NTEw">“The way you live and feel shapes how these concepts manifest in the world. Once you’re at the top, Annabelle, when you lust after this sweet body, the world over will need to feed a lot of new mouths nine months later. Yet when you decide to abstain, mankind might die out from lack of children. Following me so far?”</p> <p class="cnNlMGVmNDY2NWM3ZDRhM2FhNGQwNzk2MGE5ZjIwNzVh">Annabelle sighed, “I’ve got a whole lot of creepy stalkers that screw around when I do.”</p> <p class="cnM0NTIzZmFkMDMwNDQ0YjY4ZDdkZWIyNzA5NTk1OWI4">“That’s one way of looking at it. Quite apt really. Do you like being watched... damn it”, Sisi began and cut her sentence off in the middle, before shifting her tone.</p> <p class="cnNjZjhmN2ZhN2E4ZjQ3ZGFhMGJlZTRjMDI0ZjdmYzVk">“She has a strong urge to tease you. It’s too close to my kink for sadism. Talking about which, Mother Bone is the embodiment of all things that end”, Sisi said with a shiver to its voice. The sprite ran a hand through the hair just like Tharia often did.</p> <p class="cnMzMmEzZmYwNzU2OTQ0ZDZiOGVjMDlmODc5ZjllZjg0">“This merge is quicker than I thought. Alright. Short notes, if we can fix her mind by the time she picks up the role, this world will join a healthy cycle of birth and rebirth with you two doing it like rabbits, but if you fail, Mother Bone will come for all. Including you. And trust me. A force as old as that can’t be beaten.”</p> <p class="cnNmZTZhMjk2MWY2ZjRjN2NiYTkyMWJlNjQ2NmU4ZDNj">Annabelle took a deep breath and then uttered a single sentence, “The power of love then?”</p> <p class="cnMwM2JkZjIxMTRiYTQxOTM5ZjFhMDgxODRjYWRiZjQx">“No, you blasted idiot. Nothing like that. It’s about healing scars as old as she is and as old as you are. Don’t you realize? You’re life, she is death, you’re light, she is darkness. Wanna know why I’m helping you ditzy prude sex maniacs?”</p> <p class="cnMxZGIxOTY1YTEyNTQ0ZWRhNTVlNWJiMDhkYTY4ZjZj">The goddess lifted her head and pulled aside her silvery hair. She locked gaze with the sprite.</p> <p class="cnNhOTdkZGNlMmUxYTRiNWJiOGMzMzliZWRlYjUzMWY5">“Why is that?” Annabelle asked.</p> <p class="cnMyMTQxYTE3ZmNhYzRjYWI4MDVlYWQ3YTNhNzBhZWY2">“Because you might just break this aeon long fixation on putting things back together. Accept, Heal, move on, let the past be gone. All things must end, you two must make them end the right way. Well, others could do it as well but they’re busy powertripping”, the sprite said.</p> <p class="cnNkNTY2Yjk0NTVkNTQ1MmY4NDE5YjAzNjc2ZThlYTc3">They grew silent as they watched the rest of the burning platform tumble away into the darkness. Soon, they were sitting in near complete darkness. A subtle glow circled around Tharia, giving her an otherworldly appearance.</p> <p class="cnMyNzE1MjBlZWU2ODQ1N2RhYzViOTFkNDNhMDZmMGU2">“You’ll get her back”, Sisi said after a sideglance in Annabelle’s direction. There was no mockery in that voice and the goddess nodded in appreciation. They remained like this for a while longer. After what felt like a small eternity, Tharia’s body got up from the ground and stretched.</p> <p class="cnNiZDgxZTdkNDNlODQzZmViOGJhMTc1Yzk4YmNmYTEz">“So, are you good now? Did you stop crying? Because it’s hard to resist the urge to punch myself. Tharia is fuming inside but these things needed to be said. Yes, they did, stop trying to punch yourself when I’m healing you. Gods below and buried six feet under, Annabelle, can you hold the hands while I go and talk to this idiot inside?”</p> <p class="cnM1YjcxMGJjNTQxNzRmNjBhYjEzMzk4YmNjMmE3Y2Y4">Annabelle shook her head and left the sprite to its struggle with Tharia. She turned around and let her eyes wander. Now that they had spent a while in complete darkness, she started to make out shadowy shapes. What she first assumed to be a simple pyramid, had more distinct forms now. The top ended in a wide-open platform with massive hands reaching up towards something in the dark. On the other hand, the ground below showed a garden of statues. Various statues of beasts threatened the pyramid itself while a single statue of an imposing figure stood with a shield and a hooked staff.</p> <p class="cnM3NjlhZmNjNzMyNDQ3YTU5Y2YxNGNjOTdmNjhiZTIx">“Ouch, stop it you damned...”</p> <p class="cnNjMGZjMDQ2ZDMzMTQ5MGJhMDM0MDUxYTMxNmQwNzY1">Realizing Sisi was still busy, Annabelle sighed again. She was feeling better now. Not good, but better. All this talk about duty, world this and end of days that had made her realize that at the end of days, she didn’t give a single fuck about any of this. All that mattered to her was the girl that was currently punching herself - or the sprite within, maybe both. Yeah, she was an odd one but that made her special to Annabelle.</p> <p class="cnNjYjE4NzVlZWZhMzQ1ZDViMGYwNmM0ODkyMDEwODA1">“The world can fuck right off”, Annabelle said out loud.</p> <p class="cnM3YmFmODIwMjNmYjRhMDM4M2RhMWE3MDBkMWVlZDNj">“Uh, Tharia agrees”, Sisi added, seemingly out of breath.</p> <p class="cnM3ZTA5MTcxZDQ5MjRjNWQ4NzAzZGRhYjU1NTVmOGQ3">Annabelle watched her for a bit, then showed a subtle smile, “If you two are done, can we get back to killing Luciano and his cult of naysayers please?”</p> <p class="cnM2ZjJmNzM0ZDc0OTQ2YTU4MmJjNGZlYTkzNDkxYWYx" style="text-align: center"><img style="vertical-align: middle; border: 0px none #000000" src="https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png" alt="" width="252" height="25"></p> <p class="cnNmOGIzNTA1NjBkNzRlYTA4MjQzNTgzNGQ3NzRiZGU3" style="text-align: center">End: Matters of faith | Coming up: Hold your tongue!</p> </div>

**** #### **Apostate Catacombs** #### **District of Profaners, Third Ring** **** Annabelle stood at the edge of the massive stone bowl. The problems kept piling on but she had no way to immediately solve them. One of the prime issues was Tharia. Her body wasn’t in good condition at the best of days. Sure, the human girl kept fit despite her disability but her range of motion was limited. Now, with a slightly deranged elemental in control, every movement looked awkward. “Do you think she’ll need her liver? It’s kinda in the way”, Sisi said, using Tharia's mouth. The goddess didn’t react. Everything the elemental did was meant to demean, provoke and taunt. It was best to not feed into it. The current state of the elemental, however, brought her to their second problem. Light. Sisi had been their light source. Without it, the remaining illumination came from the burning archery towers and there wasn’t much left of them. Her third problem was the lack of a way forward. Which is why she now stood at the edge of the bowl. Before the trap had sprung, two ways had led to and away from the bowl. Both had spiraled away with an unseen mechanism. She could probably make the jump. Barely. But Tharia was out and it would have to be a jump into darkness. Annabelle sighed. “Can you scout for the mechanism?” “No can do. I had to supplement some organs with divine energy. This body is a mess throughout. How often does one person normally break their bones?” Sisi said. It still felt strange to hear Tharia’s voice without it actually being her. The strange intonation and different inflection made the difference obvious. Annabelle looked back at the ledge. Tharia would know a way. It would be something utterly insane like just jumping over the edge and then finding the mechanism. The goddess took a deep breath, paced back a couple of steps and then pushed herself forward with all her strength. One step, two steps – and she leaped forward. Kinetic momentum launched her over the edge. Her body described a graceful arc over the pit, with a not so graceful landing. She had misjudged her target in the dark. Her right foot landed safely on the stone but her left foot treaded air. Tumbling forward in complete darkness, she could do nothing but try and hold onto something. Anything. Her fingers caught the edge of stone in the nick of time. She quivered under the impact and suddenly realized she had another source of light. Energy pulsed into the gloves and emitted as tiny golden sparks. It wasn’t a lot of light, just enough to see the ugly grimace of a priest just above her. It somehow managed to grin, despite having no lower jaw. Something long lashed out of the dark and struck her across her arm. Luckily, her armor prevented deeper damage. The tongue quivered back up. She quickly grabbed onto the ledge with her other hand and used the imbued strength to climb up while the priest recovered. However, it was only when she reached the top, that she realized it was another trap. The priest suddenly lashed his tongue again. Annabelle risked it by taking the hit on her gloved hand. She wrapped her fingers around the tongue and held on. “Got you”, Annabelle said. The sudden laughter of Sisi, using Tharia's voice, rang up from the bowl some distance away. “I know that one!” In confusion, the goddess locked her gaze on the priest and suddenly noticed a collection of small pots wrapped around his robe. A fuse was merrily burning away. She quickly crushed the tip of the tongue and then stepped into a medium-high kick against the priest. He had a manic look on his face as he prayed to whatever of his made up apostate gods would listen. The priest disappeared over the edge, yet just as Annabelle considered herself safe, the midsection of the tongue wrapped around her leg. She smacked onto the stone and found herself dragged closer to the edge. Her golden gloves dug into the stone, crunching it underneath her amplified strength but sheer weight and momentum dragged her ever closer. A sudden explosion shook the foundation and the drag on her leg stopped. When the goddess pulled herself back up, nothing of the priest remained but a charred tongue. “He missed some comedic timing there”, Sisi commented. The sprite had made Tharia sit down with crossed legs. It looked like it was really enjoying the show. “Well if you’re lucky the mechanism still works. Just saw it right about there. Oh right, pointing won't help since you can’t see in the dark” Cheeky laughter followed. “It’s close by, you’ll find it, *love*” Annabelle took another deep breath. Sisi had a way to get under her skin. Tharia would probably joke about how literal that was. She already missed her little insane daredevil. With a pang of melancholy, the goddess turned around and then concentrated on summoning the Scythe. As was usual, a golden eruption of light appeared out of thin air. It gave her a bit of light at best, much less than the charged gloves did. So the only thing she could do was to crouch down close enough to the ground, then focus energy into her gloves and light the path. All while probably dozens of mad exploding priests lingered around her. She paced along the stone in a crouched manner, keeping her eyes open. This side had started with a bridge connection too but quickly widened into a platform. There were pedestals without anything on them and a pile of rucksacks. They smelled like Tharia's bags had smelled early on in their travels, so Annabelle just assumed they were more black powder. She continued with nothing but her gloves to light the way when she suddenly found a staircase leading up and down. It had actual handlebars this time too. “Getting warmer”, Sisi shouted. Somehow, using Tharia's voice with a squeaking inflection drove the goddess mad with anger. Still, she told herself, this would give her love a much needed break. Annabelle then walked down the stairs until she felt oddly warm. “Much warmer”, Sisi screamed, followed by a chuckle. Getting a sudden sinking feeling, Annabelle looked over the edge and gazed directly into a blazing inferno below. She clenched her fists. The sprite had played another trick on her. Somehow, the elemental must have seen her from the distance away as she rolled around laughing. The goddess could do nothing but endure the ridicule. “Oh, you meant the mechanism. It’s the other way” Pushing air out of her lungs and counting up to twenty-three, Annabelle turned around and walked back upstairs. She passed the platform a second time and continued just a small bit until she entered a room that was closed off on all sides. The subtle glow from her gloves gifted her just enough light to make out the various shapes inside. It looked like an assortment of levers, gears and metallic chains. She also noticed something else, there was no way the sprite had seen this during the short explosion. Gritting her teeth, Annabelle looked for a central lever of sorts. She found one near a window and then, all or nothing, she jammed it forward. Rumbling ran through the ground underneath as the platform below suddenly started turning. It did so a for a good while until it suddenly locked in place with a strong vibration underneath her feet. When Annabelle turned around, she nearly struck out in reflex. Tharia stood there with crossed arms and a smug grin. “Hey. Looking to kill your love again, aren’t you?” Sisi said, “Your girl is struggling splendidly with her fear” “I know”, was all that Annabelle could say. How could she not? She had seen her shy away and noticed the fear in the eyes. Worse, whenever she gave her mind a moment to linger, she saw hundreds of faces twisted in agony and despair. She shook her head, then prodded Tharia. “You will keep her safe or... “Or what?” Sisi snapped and then showed an even broader grin, “The best part about seeking death is that nothing can threaten you. But fret not, this girl will be alive in the end. Wanna know why?” Not waiting for an answer, the body of Tharia held up an arm and pulled back the light armor there, showing Annabelle a bit of skin. Plant images had wrapped their way around the wrist and the part of the forearm that the goddess could see. “She’s marked. You will lose the current her, you know? This contract can never be broken, only shaped. I’m not as good at prediction as dearest Mother Bone, but it’s obvious to see, that unless you two fix your mess... well, she’ll be good at her job at least.” Annabelle pursed her lips in a gesture she had learned to mimic from Tharia. She didn’t know all the implications of it, but at the moment it communicated her frustration and restlessness perfectly. At least in her mind. Annabelle realized a certain irony in that she imitated Tharia which was now controlled by Sisi that imitated Tharia. “And what is that?” Annabelle said to get the conversation back on track. “Knowing might damage your relationship forever”, Sisi said with a sudden bout of seriousness. “Tell me!” Sisi shrugged the shoulders, it almost looked like the real gesture, before grinning. “Nah, not telling. You might tell Tharia and we both know how unstable that girl is. Besides, you’ve got other problems. Don’t you think it’s getting warmer? Maybe a wee bit of inferno down below, yeah?” Annabelle grabbed Tharia's hand and then rushed down the stairs. With how angry she currently was, it was better to not speak at all. Any word might show Sisi just how much the sprite had gotten under her skin already. When she reached the platform, she hesitated. The discarded bags of black powder would go up and take half the structure with them. Time took away her choice. Another rumble ran through the ground and everything suddenly tilted. The entire stone construction shifted to the side and Annabelle found herself flat on her bum, racing towards the black pit. Tharia's body, naturally, squealed in joy. The goddess tried to twist her body to the side and then clenched her fist into the stone. Divine empowered strength made it easy to hold onto the flat surface by crunching a hole into it. With her other hand, she snatched up the sliding Tharia and then could do nothing but wait. The surface tilted further until everything toppled down. First, she felt no weight at all. It came back a second later. She held on for dear life, one hand clawed into the stone that had now swiveled above her and the other hand held onto Tharia's body. The whimpering made it obvious she used too much strength, as did the crunching of bones. Yet there was no nuance with these gloves. It was either that or falling to their death. A sudden impact marked the end of the fall, she noticed a faint light of fire underneath, a whole pyramid structure was laid out with several kilometers in length. The platform she hung onto was part of a stone archway that had now lodged straight into the pyramid. “You know”, Sisi began talking, “You really hate her left arm, don’t you? First, you bite it off at the shoulder, then you crush the bones to dust. Do you have any idea how much it will take to heal what you’ve done?” That was it. Too much. Annabelle, while holding on for dear life, felt tears run down her cheeks. It was rare for her to show emotions this openly, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Subconsciously, she simply clamped down on her hold. The divine essence made sure there was enough strength to do it safely. Still, she was stuck up here with all of her failings crashing down on her. “Oh crap”, the sprite then said, “look I was pulling your leg. See, I can do it, literally” Annabelle felt something pull on her leg. It wasn’t helping her mood. “You’re not having a breakdown while hanging on a ledge of certain doom, are you? Listen, the hand is alright, just slightly fractured. Oh come on you broken girls of self-destructive doom, gods cursed idiots. Pull me up to your waist. I’ll hold on and you move us to the pyramid. Stop whining, start acting” The goddess looked down through tear-blurred eyes and saw Sisi use the seemingly broken hand to wave at her. She clenched her teeth in response. The elemental had gotten her. “When we survive this, I’m going to drag you out and torture you”, she said with a snarl. Sisi let the face of Tharia show a beaming smile. “So you *do* know my kinks. The part of Tharia that’s here actually agrees as well. I think, or is that... nope, not agreeing. Uh, please move forward, I think she wants me to let go.” Annabelle, fed up with the elemental, pulled Tharia’s body up to her waist and then felt two arms lock around her. She then used her second hand to punch a hole into the stone above. Using her magically enhanced grabbing power, she then moved towards the ominous pyramid, one hole at a time. All that time, Sisi remained silent, while Annabelle forced down the tumult inside. Another perk picked up from her love. Yet each punch forward, she saw another one of her fairy’s masks of death in front of her mind’s eye. The Dreamreaper had been rather creative in his visions of death and they all were burned into her thoughts. When she finally reached the slope of the giant pyramid, she first let down Tharia’s body and then jumped down as well. She was mentally exhausted. Once down and with a moment of respite, Annabelle hid her face behind her hands and grew quiet. “Alright, there’s no enemy around as far as I can feel, so I’ll tell you”, the sprite said, “About Mother Bone. Each god has a domain, right? Well, so do old ones. You can attest to that. But while the power of a god is mostly mimicry, the old ones are forces of nature itself.” The goddess kept her face hidden away. This wasn’t who she wanted to be. She needed to be strong for her love but right now, all those images of constant death in her mind had worn down her defenses. Sisi continued the monologue in the meantime. “The way you live and feel shapes how these concepts manifest in the world. Once you’re at the top, Annabelle, when you lust after this sweet body, the world over will need to feed a lot of new mouths nine months later. Yet when you decide to abstain, mankind might die out from lack of children. Following me so far?” Annabelle sighed, “I’ve got a whole lot of creepy stalkers that screw around when I do.” “That’s one way of looking at it. Quite apt really. Do you like being watched... damn it”, Sisi began and cut her sentence off in the middle, before shifting her tone. “She has a strong urge to tease you. It’s too close to my kink for sadism. Talking about which, Mother Bone is the embodiment of all things that end”, Sisi said with a shiver to its voice. The sprite ran a hand through the hair just like Tharia often did. “This merge is quicker than I thought. Alright. Short notes, if we can fix her mind by the time she picks up the role, this world will join a healthy cycle of birth and rebirth with you two doing it like rabbits, but if you fail, Mother Bone will come for all. Including you. And trust me. A force as old as that can’t be beaten.” Annabelle took a deep breath and then uttered a single sentence, “The power of love then?” “No, you blasted idiot. Nothing like that. It’s about healing scars as old as she is and as old as you are. Don’t you realize? You’re life, she is death, you’re light, she is darkness. Wanna know why I’m helping you ditzy prude sex maniacs?” The goddess lifted her head and pulled aside her silvery hair. She locked gaze with the sprite. “Why is that?” Annabelle asked. “Because you might just break this aeon long fixation on putting things back together. Accept, Heal, move on, let the past be gone. All things must end, you two must make them end the right way. Well, others could do it as well but they’re busy powertripping”, the sprite said. They grew silent as they watched the rest of the burning platform tumble away into the darkness. Soon, they were sitting in near complete darkness. A subtle glow circled around Tharia, giving her an otherworldly appearance. “You’ll get her back”, Sisi said after a sideglance in Annabelle’s direction. There was no mockery in that voice and the goddess nodded in appreciation. They remained like this for a while longer. After what felt like a small eternity, Tharia’s body got up from the ground and stretched. “So, are you good now? Did you stop crying? Because it’s hard to resist the urge to punch myself. Tharia is fuming inside but these things needed to be said. Yes, they did, stop trying to punch yourself when I’m healing you. Gods below and buried six feet under, Annabelle, can you hold the hands while I go and talk to this idiot inside?” Annabelle shook her head and left the sprite to its struggle with Tharia. She turned around and let her eyes wander. Now that they had spent a while in complete darkness, she started to make out shadowy shapes. What she first assumed to be a simple pyramid, had more distinct forms now. The top ended in a wide-open platform with massive hands reaching up towards something in the dark. On the other hand, the ground below showed a garden of statues. Various statues of beasts threatened the pyramid itself while a single statue of an imposing figure stood with a shield and a hooked staff. “Ouch, stop it you damned...” Realizing Sisi was still busy, Annabelle sighed again. She was feeling better now. Not good, but better. All this talk about duty, world this and end of days that had made her realize that at the end of days, she didn’t give a single fuck about any of this. All that mattered to her was the girl that was currently punching herself - or the sprite within, maybe both. Yeah, she was an odd one but that made her special to Annabelle. “The world can fuck right off”, Annabelle said out loud. “Uh, Tharia agrees”, Sisi added, seemingly out of breath. Annabelle watched her for a bit, then showed a subtle smile, “If you two are done, can we get back to killing Luciano and his cult of naysayers please?”  End: Matters of faith | Coming up: Hold your tongue!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjMmRmNjU4ODcxMjQ2OTU5MGVkZmY4NWE5ODQ1Yjc3"><strong><span style="font-size: 1.8em; color: #0000ff">26. Friend for a Day</span><br></strong></p> <p class="cnNjZTlkMTcxMjg3MjQwOTVhZTc1ODk1M2I2MzJmNDEx"> </p> <p class="cnM1ODRkNjFkNWIzZjRmZTg4OGVhYjRmMWQ5OWMyZjZh"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">For a brief moment, Jorge flew. Free floating, nothing but blue sky around him. </span></p> <p class="cnMxMmRjY2Y5OTRjNDRiYTZhYzZlOTczMWYzMzA0OTQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Then the earth’s pull ensnared him, pulling him towards the ground. He managed to get his legs underneath him and landed with a jolt that shook his reinforced bones and sent his shredded muscles firing wildly, bringing him to his knees.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNjgxNzU2OGIyNTQxOGJhY2FkNTk2M2FmYmE0MmU2"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He tried to get back up, but his legs gave way with each attempt. </span></p> <p class="cnNkZjRhM2I5MTgxNzQxNmRhZGM2MzA1ZjI5NGI1NThj"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Digging at the dirt with his hands, he spun himself around. Hulda faced him, an almost pitying look on her face.</span></p> <p class="cnNkOTYyMGFjODdlZTRhNmZhZTkyZDRkNzI2YjZlNDEx"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You’re done, Excelerate,” she said. “Admit it. You’ve been on your last leg for years. It’s </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">unsightly</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">. Let me put you down while there’s still some pride left in you. Once it’s over, I’m afraid I’ll have to finish off your two apprentices. No one can know what happened here.”</span></span></p> <p class="cnM2M2E2OTJlYzE1ODQxZTg4MDkxNDZhMTVlMzZjYzk5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">She raised her hand and a clump of fragments gathered in front of her. He could barely make out her face through the spinning shield.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YmMxNDk3ZGRkYzQ2OGNiOWNjNjcwNjEzNTYwYjI2"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Jorge plotted a course around the shield and bided his time.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNWI0ZjBmOTQ4NTRmNDlhZjA4MWY1ZGRiMmNhOGIw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He wasn’t sure if he could do it. His Power didn’t rely on running, but he still had to push himself off of something to kickstart the acceleration. With his legs completely riddled through…</span></p> <p class="cnNiNjQ5MGQwNTRjYjRhMWI4Yzk1ODI0MmM1NjQwMjFm"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">I’ll only have one chance at this. It has to be now.</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnM0ODVlNzVmNTVhNjQxZjU5MDIwMzBlMmIyMTQxZjU2"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">The fragments shot out, merging into a single spike the length of a forearm. Time stretched into infinity as the sharp point neared his head.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZDVmNTQzNGUzYTRmNzdiZDQ3Y2FjOTIxMTRhZWUz"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Jorge raked his hands through the mud, dragging his body to the left, and released the energy that coursed within him. The world blurred, and when he skidded to a stop on his belly he was behind Hulda.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMzAwYWFhZTY0MjQ2ZTU4YjcyZmU2YjYzYjQwODMw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">His body seized up, joints stiff as if they had been turned to rock. Just as he had theorized, a large portion of the fragments had risen out to counter his movements along the side, thinning out the shield overall. He only had a moment or two, then his opportunity would be gone.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMzU4MTM1MDZlMTRjM2Q5ODliZmY1ZWM1OGQwYWMw"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">One more. Come on, you worthless bastard.</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnNlOTM4MjUxMmExNDQ2NGZhODMxNTYwNDg1ZDhjOTQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Jorge bellowed from the bottom of his lungs as he dragged himself into another burst. He felt his skin get shredded as he passed through the shield. His right eye flared up with an unimaginable pain.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYTRkNWQ5NjMxZjQ5ZjdiYjI1YmI0OGQ2NDhhODU0"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He hit something soft, something human, and he snapped out of the burst of speed. Jorge dragged Hulda to the ground, the woman screaming and batting at him with her free arm. He drew the knife off his back and put the edge against her throat.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NDlkZThmZTRkYTRkZWRhM2ZiM2YyMTBlYzQ3NGRk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">The right side of his vision was dark. He felt blood trickle down his cheek.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNmE5MzBlMGFkZDRiYTQ5ODA3N2I4ZTQ4MDQ4ZDdh"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Finish it, then,” Hulda spat, baring her neck. “I have nothing left. You all forced me into this. I had to protect my family. The name of Ludenhaas </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">means</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> something. I couldn’t let you ruin it.”</span></span></p> <p class="cnMyMGJhMWY4YmM4YTQyMmU4YWNmYjk2OWZjN2M0NDY0"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“I think you’re done talking,” Excelerate said.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YjU5YTQ4MDMwNzRlYjFhMjFkMWY0MTkzNzU2N2Mz"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He took the knife off her throat and hit her over the side of her head with the pommel. She went out cold, and the spear shards dropped out of the air all at once, landing in piles with a loud rustling of metal.</span></p> <p class="cnMyM2I5ZTI4ZGVhZjRlNmE5MTU5OTE2ZjFhMzRhMDk3"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Jorge rolled off of her. He gasped, looking up at the blue sky above. He couldn’t move another muscle even if he wanted to.</span></p> <p class="cnNhYTM4NjY2Mjc5ZDRlNTY5NDg0OWVlZGRmMjVkZDFk"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Maybe I should have just retired after all.</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnM2YjVmNzk5ZTNkZDRkMDFiOGMyZDYzNDAwYjcyYjc1"><br><br><br></p> <p class="cnNkN2U0NDZmMWE5OTRmNzZiYTRkYzdkMTYxNzk4NzFh" style="text-align: center"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em; color: #0000ff">*****</span></p> <p class="cnNiMjliN2U1YWQzMTQ3YmFhNWNkMWUyMTNhNmE4OTM5"><br><br><br></p> <p class="cnNiZGU1NjVkOWJlZjQ0MjI4OTRhYjZmOTkyNmFiYTE0"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren and Lace fought back and forth across the room. That damned staff kept him at bay and forced him to play it recklessly. Most of the time, he got tagged, only managing a few lucky hits.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MDNkZjAwY2MzYTRiZmViOTcwZTEwNjQ0ZTNiYzdm"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Whatever wounds he sustained didn’t last long, but he was keenly aware that his healing was slowing down. He didn’t have the time to focus on creating strengthening mutations, either—he just had to hope he’d get lucky.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMWE2MjUyZjQyNjQ0ODBhY2U3OWUwMjU1NjkyZmIx"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace looked beat, too, her face bruised and battered. Except no matter how many punches he threw, she kept getting back into it, maintaining a firm stance. He knew just how stubborn she could be from their sparring sessions, but he had never seen anything like this from her before.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMGVjZDM3NjUwNDRlNjliODg0MDNhMjdlODdiYzhh"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">She really wanted to win.</span></p> <p class="cnNjY2NhZGUzZmQyNTRhMDhhNTI2ZTkyZGMxNGE5MTc5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Or at least, she thought she did.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OTRmMGQ4YzE5MzQ4ZWRiY2M0NTg3ZTNlNWZlMWJh"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren went in with a feint left. Lace fell for it, swiping with her staff to knock his fist away. Kiren tucked in and slipped to the right of her strike. He was about to hit her with a right hook when his foot slipped on a slick of his own blood.</span></p> <p class="cnNkODYwOGM1NGEwYjRmNjQ5Njk1NmVmZDI3YTg3MmQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Fuck,” he muttered, trying to right himself.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYjMxN2E5ZDhiYTQ3YjY4MGJkZTViY2ZlNTNjYjc2"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace reset her stance and went in for a stab. The wind blade at the end of her staff drove into Kiren’s midsection.</span></p> <p class="cnNkOGMwOTkyZGJkMDRlNmI4Mzc5MjU4NTA0YmY1MGNj"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Or at least, it would have.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NTNkZTc5YTUyMjRmMWM4MzQyMDU5MThjNzljZGQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">His tattered shirt blew apart, revealing tough plates that coated his abs. Bits cracked and flew off the mutated segment, but he felt no pain. She would eventually get through, but not quickly enough.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZjI0NTVmYWNjZTQwODFhOWEzYzc1MWE2ZGI1MjUw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren grabbed Lace by the front of her tunic with both hands, lifted her up, and threw her down on the floor.</span></p> <p class="cnNiNDdjZjYzMmM4YjQ1NjlhNWIyMWRlNDE5N2FkNzll"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">She landed hard on her back, air going out of her with a bug-eyed wheeze.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOGVmOWM5ZWRjZTRmNTA5ZmY3MzBiMGFmY2E4OWUw"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Good. This is my chance.</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnM3MzhiNGRlMThmOTRmYmQ4NGRlMzA2YzgzNWVhMmE1"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He descended on her.</span></p> <p class="cnM0OTVjMGM4NWM2NjQ0MmRhOTg4OTRkODdhMDY3ZTRm"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace smiled. “Predictable, Kiren.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4NWQyMjc2ODEwZjQ2NDhiOTNhNTUzMTk2NzA3MWVk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">She drew in a deep breath.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNWRmOWZkYjBjZDRkOGI5YmE2YzlkMGMyOTU3OWFj"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Shit! She was acting!</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnM5MmJmMGI4ZGFkYzQwNDRhZGM3YjA5YWZmYWYyNWI2"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace pulled out a small bottle from a pouch on her belt and stuck it in one of the holes on the side of the gale-staff. It looked like it was full of…</span></p> <p class="cnMwY2RmZjY5OGIzODQxZWJhMjFiYTlmNTQ1MWUzZjEy"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Sand.</span></p> <p class="cnNiNDg2ZWQ0OTQxZDQxZDNhNjkzNTk5M2QyZjEzMDJi"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">She angled the staff at Kiren’s stomach once again and fired it up, producing a rattling hiss.</span></p> <p class="cnMxYjkzZWEyMGMxYzQ1NjU5NWZlZTE2MmMwY2Q2NWE2"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren’s chitinous plates were blown apart and his stomach pierced all the way through, the tiny granules of sand shredding his flesh like wet paper. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MjdhZWEyYmFhNTRiNmFhN2JmMmI3ZmQ3OTRmYmIy"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He backed up, stumbled, and his legs buckled. He fell on his knees, swearing under his breath. His legs were too numb to stand back up, and his lips and hands quickly became freezing cold. He had sustained too much damage. Too much blood loss, too much trauma, too quickly.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNzgwMDIzMjQ3MzQ3NTk4NjI0ZWYyNTViNzc2YzNi"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace stood. She stayed at a safe distance.</span></p> <p class="cnNmOWFmODQ1NzZiNDQyNTdhNmFhNzM1NDgyZDA3Yzky"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><span style="font-weight: 400">“We’re done, Kiren. I won. Now I can burn that </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">damned</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> book, and everything will be the way it should be.”</span></span></p> <p class="cnNlYTVlNzViN2NiODQ4NDc5OTZmZDhiZWM0ZWYyZTJj"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren licked his lips and forced them to move. “That’s not what this is about.” He looked her in the eyes. “Is it?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhZThlODAxMGEzMzQ2ZTY5ZWM3MzA5ODllNGU3MWI5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3NTQxNzRmNWFiYzQzMWJhZDAxZWQ5YTYzN2U4ZTlj"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“I think I do.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjRkMTNkZmRlYzQzZWY5N2M2ZDUzZGM0OTQxOWIz"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">This is the time to speak my mind. If I don’t do it now, I might lose her forever.</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnNmMjIzYzM3ODVmOTQxNzhiNDk5ZGQ2OGNiYWIwY2Jm"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">So many feelings surged through him. And yet, now that it was time to let them out, he hesitated.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMWE3MzVjNGJiNTQ5NTU5ZDIwMWMwZWE3MTM1ZjIy"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“You’re disappointed,” Kiren said. “You’re disappointed in the Guild. I get it, okay? I’ve been a shitty partner to you. I didn’t fly straight with you, even after we agreed to fight the Dark Eye together. And I…” He took a deep breath. “You don’t deserve most of the things I’ve said to you. Excelerate’s not been any better. Too busy to train us half the time, and he seems content using us as pawns until we die off like his previous apprentices.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOWMzZDZiZTU5MDQ4M2U5MmYwZDY3NGEzZDg3MjRk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“In the face of that, I get why you would want to go with someone like Hulda. She’s powerful, experienced, and clearly sees through what she starts. I don’t know what she’s told you, but I can imagine it was exactly the sort of shit you’ve been dying to hear.</span></p> <p class="cnM3OTI4ZmExMzY3MjRjMmY4YTMzYzQyNjU5Yjg4Mjlk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“So I get it, alright? I really do. I know what it’s like to be angry. More than most. But please, don’t be a fucking idiot. I think even you can tell that what you’re doing right now isn’t rational in the slightest. You’re trying to throw away your doubts. If you’re so sure that what you’re doing is right, then…” Kiren coughed up a glob of coagulated blood and spat it off to the side. He held his head high. “If you’re so sure of that, then finish me off. Forget the promise we made. Burn that book.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3NTljMDY0OWI0YTQ2ZDRhNzlhMTcxMTE0YTU1ZTE3"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace’s eyes widened. She found the single intact chair left in the room and slowly sat.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDYxYWZlODcyZjQxZmZiOGU3NTJiYzc4MTc4OGRm"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Twin gods, Kiren,” she said. “I wasn’t going to </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">kill</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> you, you idiot.”</span></span></p> <p class="cnMzYWFlNmJiNDFkODQ4MGVhNWZlOTQ4MWYwOWMxYTVk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren fought out a smile. “That’s relieving to hear. Saved me the trouble of coming up with my last words. I’m not much of a poet.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmYWE2NmExNGY0ODQ0OTFiMWIyYTNlMGExNjIwOTFi"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace hid a smile behind her hand. “Shut up.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZDY5NjAxZTIxYzQ0NDk5YzRkOGEzYTA3ZDA0OTYw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">She sighed, looking into the floor as her expression returning to a mournful longing. “I suppose you’re right. What you said. More than anything, I’ve just felt… lost. Hypocritical as it sounds, I’ve not been upfront with you either.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkYTllYWEwNjYyMjQ2MGJiMmM2NGIxYmViODUwZjQx"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren shrugged and hissed as his stomach contorted with pain. “Shit…” He managed to collect himself, focusing on taking even breaths. “Well, now is the time to get it off your chest. I’ve not got anywhere better to be.”</span></p> <p class="cnNhZWQxYmNkYzE0ZjRiMWU4ZmY2ODk5NDVlYTZiYjAy"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“I feel like I’m only ever told that I’ll never be a Hero, or that I would be doing the world a service by quitting. My mother said it. Counter said it. Sage said it. You said it.” She paused, shaking her head. “A while ago, I overheard Counter and Excelerate talking. About my father. He never wanted me to be a Hero. He did everything in his power to stop me becoming one.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ODRiZjNhMGI2NDQwNzliODUwZWUyMDc4NmMzZjU3"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“He was the one person I thought would be behind my decision. This whole time, even though he’s dead, I felt like I had him at my back. Turns out he forced Counter’s hand in making sure I wouldn’t get taken on as an apprentice. That… hit me hard, I won’t lie. It made me feel like the world was against me, and everyone I thought I could trust was just waiting to show me their true colors.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4NDBhOTZiMmQ0NDRmOTZhZTNiNGJjYTZkN2MzMjY4"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“So when I told you about my past with Xander’s…” Kiren said, trailing off.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOWFiYmVmMmJkMjQyNjlhMjJmN2VjNWM4ZWVmNjZl"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah,” Lace said with a nod. “It set me off even worse. And with Hulda telling me those things, actually </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">using</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> my talents, I thought that was the only place to go. It felt like the only piece of solid ground in a world that was falling apart. I forced myself to trust her because I didn’t think I had anyone else.”</span></span></p> <p class="cnM3NTM0NWZkNzhlYTQ2ZWY4YjJjOGM5NTViYmFkMDFm"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren cleared his throat. He struggled in getting the words out. “You’ve got me. We promised to hunt the Dark Eye together. That’s one thing that’s never changed. I know we’ve not known each other too long, but I trust you. Even though I may not show it, and even though you may not trust me the same way anymore.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2NDMyMmYzMmE3MDQzZTliNWIwZDUxNjU4MTFlZmQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace stood and padded over to him. She got down on her knees and sat on her heels. She wrapped Kiren in a gentle hug.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MjVjYTMzZjk0MjQwZjVhNmIyNjcwNzE5NDU5N2E3"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">It made his entire body flare with pain, but he kept his mouth shut. He felt the warmth of her skin and her heart beating against his chest. She smelled of sweat and blood and that special scent—like fresh wood shavings and summer flowers—which belonged only to her.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MDdiN2NkM2E4NzRmNTM4NWY2ZmE3MzA4ZTYwNjg0"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">It was the kind of moment that was worth being stabbed through the gut.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMzM2ZjQ5MWQ4MTRlNTk4MzY3M2UxZTRjM2ExNzJj"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Twice.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NjFlMTE1YzRjMDQ3MTY5ZGU4MjJmYWRmN2JmZjZl"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He found himself wishing it would last forever.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYjI5ODQ2NzdjMzQ2OTE5MGU1MjhmMDM2Mzc4OGE5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“I trust you,” she whispered in his ear. She pulled back and stared at him with those big, deep eyes of hers. “I’m sorry for being an idiot.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmNWVlNjdjOGE3MTQzMTZhYTRlMDllODMwYWIxMzA1"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“We’re all idiots here,” Kiren said. </span></p> <p class="cnNkMzg2ZmFmZWFiNDQzMzliZGVhYWZlMTIwYTFmMDc5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He leaned in to kiss her.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YjFhZjQwMzM1MTRkOTZhODkyZTQ5NzkxMTY2YWUw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace slapped him, setting his cheek ringing.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOTg2MjNiZDg4NTRlMDNhMmRlODVkMDkwMWZkNDY5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Creator’s breath, Kiren!” she said, pulling away. “Not the time!”</span></p> <p class="cnMyYjA5NDg5ZjU0ZjQyMGI4MWU5OGUyNTU5OTg3ZmEw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“What? I just thought…”</span></p> <p class="cnNiOGQzOWQ0YTYxMjQwODA5NDc4ZmM2ZDdkYmIzNjUw"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“We’re both covered in blood, you’re almost dead, and there’s a fight outside!” She held up her hands. “You know what, we’ll talk about this later. Can you stand?”</span></p> <p class="cnMwOGZiZmRhYzNhNzQ2YjZiYzBkOWEyYTljYzEwYTk3"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren groaned as he tried to move. Eventually, with the help of the remaining chair, he managed to stand. The wound in his stomach was almost fully healed, but his internals were still a tattered mess.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNjVjYzdiMzU2NjQ5OGZiOTg2ZmMwMTlhZjg4ZjQ3"><span style="font-size: 1.3em"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Okay, good,” she said. “You go check on Excelerate. I’ll look through the book. If they’re still fighting, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">don’t</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> step in. Just shout me. You’re in no position to fight.”</span></span></p> <p class="cnMwNDE4ZGNmZDA5MjRiMTQ5ZTZlMTQ5OWQ2ZjUxNTgx"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Kiren was in no mood to argue.</span></p> <p class="cnNhOWVlZGYzY2VlMDQ0OWNhYzBhNmM4MDEwMmRmOTdk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">While Lace started flipping through the pages of the tome, Kiren shuffled outside into the street.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNjYzOTMyZTE0MjQ3ZDVhN2ZmZmFlYTRlOWMzM2I5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">It was carnage out there. The street had been ripped up and stained with blood. Two figures lay in the distance, surrounded by a perfect circle of silver. </span></p> <p class="cnM4M2Y3NTgxYmRmMDQ2M2E5YTBlZjNmNGVjZTM2NDJk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">No sign of Hyena and Snapjaw.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTU3MzNkMjU3NzQ3MzU5MGNlNzE3MGE0ZWI0NDkz"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He walked over, a near perfect silence around him. Excelerate and Hulda lay side by side. They were both unconscious, but still breathing. It was hard to tell who had won the fight.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOTRkNGMzMGNjMTQ4ZTU4MTRjZGVhMWFmOGY4MjM4"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Excelerate was covered in cuts, and he had numerous jagged holes in his legs, still bleeding. One of his eyes had been sliced open, the whole socket swimming in blood.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NjFhMTgxMDQxMTQxMzBiYTY1NzM5MWEzMTgxZjBl"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Unmaker’s tits,” Kiren breathed. “He really took a hit.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwZmE2NmNkYTRkODRhM2ZhYmRjZDUzMThiYzBiZjJk"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">It was odd to see Excelerate this vulnerable. He wasn’t unbeatable, after all. If he had bested Hulda, it was a near thing. </span></p> <p class="cnM3ZjA0Y2RjNGMzNzQ2MmY4MTgzZDM2YzNlNTMxNjll"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Kiren!”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MGZkYWMwMjA4YTQ2ZmI5OTllOWJhNDkwOGJiNGNi"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">He looked back. Lace was hurrying towards him, still reading from the book. Her face was creased with a deep frown.</span></p> <p class="cnNlNDA1MTA3ODdkODRhYjJhNzM0NjAyZmVlMGRhY2M4"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“It’s hard to get much out of this,” Lace said. “Jarl only cracked part of the cipher. But if this is correct… It seems like the Ludenhaas family is smuggling Angel’s Kiss throughout Goldbrand and the rest of Aribel. If these numbers are to be trusted, they’d have to be the city’s largest supplier. That explains why the Heroes could never really crack down on it. Because it was coming from inside the Guild this whole time.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmN2M2NTMwMjY4OTQzZmVhZmJjNjhhMTcyMzIyOGVm"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Should’ve guessed it was something like that,” Kiren said. He glanced over at Hulda. “She was as much of a stone-cold bitch as she seemed from the start.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkZjdjZDYyMTZhMDRkY2FhMDdhN2YxN2RmM2M0NzRj"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Excelerate needs medical attention, fast.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZTRlMjVkZDg3ZTRkMzM5Y2VmNmUzZjkxMmVjY2M4"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“Maybe you could run up to the Lodge and get someone,” Kiren suggested.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MjYyZGYyMjgyYTRhYjc5M2MzZWVhMzE3YzVjYmM1"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“It would take too long. We should bring him to the guard post in Small Miracle. They’ll have some basic medical supplies. If we can bandage up some of these wounds, it might keep him until Good Doctor or someone else can show up.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZDAzYjdkODdhNTRmYTZhNGRjMDQyNjc2MDMzNzEz"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">“What about her?” Kiren asked, pointing to Hulda.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YTY2N2UwMTE5YjQwYTZhNTkzZmUyYTVkMDExNWU5"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.3em">Lace looked at her and scowled. “We’ll bring her.” She sighed. “Grab a body. This is going to be a long walk.”</span></p> </div>

**26. Friend for a Day** For a brief moment, Jorge flew. Free floating, nothing but blue sky around him. Then the earth’s pull ensnared him, pulling him towards the ground. He managed to get his legs underneath him and landed with a jolt that shook his reinforced bones and sent his shredded muscles firing wildly, bringing him to his knees. He tried to get back up, but his legs gave way with each attempt. Digging at the dirt with his hands, he spun himself around. Hulda faced him, an almost pitying look on her face. “You’re done, Excelerate,” she said. “Admit it. You’ve been on your last leg for years. It’s *unsightly*. Let me put you down while there’s still some pride left in you. Once it’s over, I’m afraid I’ll have to finish off your two apprentices. No one can know what happened here.” She raised her hand and a clump of fragments gathered in front of her. He could barely make out her face through the spinning shield. Jorge plotted a course around the shield and bided his time. He wasn’t sure if he could do it. His Power didn’t rely on running, but he still had to push himself off of something to kickstart the acceleration. With his legs completely riddled through… *I’ll only have one chance at this. It has to be now.* The fragments shot out, merging into a single spike the length of a forearm. Time stretched into infinity as the sharp point neared his head. Jorge raked his hands through the mud, dragging his body to the left, and released the energy that coursed within him. The world blurred, and when he skidded to a stop on his belly he was behind Hulda. His body seized up, joints stiff as if they had been turned to rock. Just as he had theorized, a large portion of the fragments had risen out to counter his movements along the side, thinning out the shield overall. He only had a moment or two, then his opportunity would be gone. *One more. Come on, you worthless bastard.* Jorge bellowed from the bottom of his lungs as he dragged himself into another burst. He felt his skin get shredded as he passed through the shield. His right eye flared up with an unimaginable pain. He hit something soft, something human, and he snapped out of the burst of speed. Jorge dragged Hulda to the ground, the woman screaming and batting at him with her free arm. He drew the knife off his back and put the edge against her throat. The right side of his vision was dark. He felt blood trickle down his cheek. “Finish it, then,” Hulda spat, baring her neck. “I have nothing left. You all forced me into this. I had to protect my family. The name of Ludenhaas *means* something. I couldn’t let you ruin it.” “I think you’re done talking,” Excelerate said. He took the knife off her throat and hit her over the side of her head with the pommel. She went out cold, and the spear shards dropped out of the air all at once, landing in piles with a loud rustling of metal. Jorge rolled off of her. He gasped, looking up at the blue sky above. He couldn’t move another muscle even if he wanted to. *Maybe I should have just retired after all.* ***** Kiren and Lace fought back and forth across the room. That damned staff kept him at bay and forced him to play it recklessly. Most of the time, he got tagged, only managing a few lucky hits. Whatever wounds he sustained didn’t last long, but he was keenly aware that his healing was slowing down. He didn’t have the time to focus on creating strengthening mutations, either—he just had to hope he’d get lucky. Lace looked beat, too, her face bruised and battered. Except no matter how many punches he threw, she kept getting back into it, maintaining a firm stance. He knew just how stubborn she could be from their sparring sessions, but he had never seen anything like this from her before. She really wanted to win. Or at least, she thought she did. Kiren went in with a feint left. Lace fell for it, swiping with her staff to knock his fist away. Kiren tucked in and slipped to the right of her strike. He was about to hit her with a right hook when his foot slipped on a slick of his own blood. “Fuck,” he muttered, trying to right himself. Lace reset her stance and went in for a stab. The wind blade at the end of her staff drove into Kiren’s midsection. Or at least, it would have. His tattered shirt blew apart, revealing tough plates that coated his abs. Bits cracked and flew off the mutated segment, but he felt no pain. She would eventually get through, but not quickly enough. Kiren grabbed Lace by the front of her tunic with both hands, lifted her up, and threw her down on the floor. She landed hard on her back, air going out of her with a bug-eyed wheeze. *Good. This is my chance.* He descended on her. Lace smiled. “Predictable, Kiren.” She drew in a deep breath. *Shit! She was acting!* Lace pulled out a small bottle from a pouch on her belt and stuck it in one of the holes on the side of the gale-staff. It looked like it was full of… Sand. She angled the staff at Kiren’s stomach once again and fired it up, producing a rattling hiss. Kiren’s chitinous plates were blown apart and his stomach pierced all the way through, the tiny granules of sand shredding his flesh like wet paper. He backed up, stumbled, and his legs buckled. He fell on his knees, swearing under his breath. His legs were too numb to stand back up, and his lips and hands quickly became freezing cold. He had sustained too much damage. Too much blood loss, too much trauma, too quickly. Lace stood. She stayed at a safe distance. “We’re done, Kiren. I won. Now I can burn that *damned* book, and everything will be the way it should be.” Kiren licked his lips and forced them to move. “That’s not what this is about.” He looked her in the eyes. “Is it?” “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I think I do.” *This is the time to speak my mind. If I don’t do it now, I might lose her forever.* So many feelings surged through him. And yet, now that it was time to let them out, he hesitated. “You’re disappointed,” Kiren said. “You’re disappointed in the Guild. I get it, okay? I’ve been a shitty partner to you. I didn’t fly straight with you, even after we agreed to fight the Dark Eye together. And I…” He took a deep breath. “You don’t deserve most of the things I’ve said to you. Excelerate’s not been any better. Too busy to train us half the time, and he seems content using us as pawns until we die off like his previous apprentices. “In the face of that, I get why you would want to go with someone like Hulda. She’s powerful, experienced, and clearly sees through what she starts. I don’t know what she’s told you, but I can imagine it was exactly the sort of shit you’ve been dying to hear. “So I get it, alright? I really do. I know what it’s like to be angry. More than most. But please, don’t be a fucking idiot. I think even you can tell that what you’re doing right now isn’t rational in the slightest. You’re trying to throw away your doubts. If you’re so sure that what you’re doing is right, then…” Kiren coughed up a glob of coagulated blood and spat it off to the side. He held his head high. “If you’re so sure of that, then finish me off. Forget the promise we made. Burn that book.” Lace’s eyes widened. She found the single intact chair left in the room and slowly sat. “Twin gods, Kiren,” she said. “I wasn’t going to *kill* you, you idiot.” Kiren fought out a smile. “That’s relieving to hear. Saved me the trouble of coming up with my last words. I’m not much of a poet.” Lace hid a smile behind her hand. “Shut up.” She sighed, looking into the floor as her expression returning to a mournful longing. “I suppose you’re right. What you said. More than anything, I’ve just felt… lost. Hypocritical as it sounds, I’ve not been upfront with you either.” Kiren shrugged and hissed as his stomach contorted with pain. “Shit…” He managed to collect himself, focusing on taking even breaths. “Well, now is the time to get it off your chest. I’ve not got anywhere better to be.” “I feel like I’m only ever told that I’ll never be a Hero, or that I would be doing the world a service by quitting. My mother said it. Counter said it. Sage said it. You said it.” She paused, shaking her head. “A while ago, I overheard Counter and Excelerate talking. About my father. He never wanted me to be a Hero. He did everything in his power to stop me becoming one. “He was the one person I thought would be behind my decision. This whole time, even though he’s dead, I felt like I had him at my back. Turns out he forced Counter’s hand in making sure I wouldn’t get taken on as an apprentice. That… hit me hard, I won’t lie. It made me feel like the world was against me, and everyone I thought I could trust was just waiting to show me their true colors.” “So when I told you about my past with Xander’s…” Kiren said, trailing off. “Yeah,” Lace said with a nod. “It set me off even worse. And with Hulda telling me those things, actually *using* my talents, I thought that was the only place to go. It felt like the only piece of solid ground in a world that was falling apart. I forced myself to trust her because I didn’t think I had anyone else.” Kiren cleared his throat. He struggled in getting the words out. “You’ve got me. We promised to hunt the Dark Eye together. That’s one thing that’s never changed. I know we’ve not known each other too long, but I trust you. Even though I may not show it, and even though you may not trust me the same way anymore.” Lace stood and padded over to him. She got down on her knees and sat on her heels. She wrapped Kiren in a gentle hug. It made his entire body flare with pain, but he kept his mouth shut. He felt the warmth of her skin and her heart beating against his chest. She smelled of sweat and blood and that special scent—like fresh wood shavings and summer flowers—which belonged only to her. It was the kind of moment that was worth being stabbed through the gut. Twice. He found himself wishing it would last forever. “I trust you,” she whispered in his ear. She pulled back and stared at him with those big, deep eyes of hers. “I’m sorry for being an idiot.” “We’re all idiots here,” Kiren said. He leaned in to kiss her. Lace slapped him, setting his cheek ringing. “Creator’s breath, Kiren!” she said, pulling away. “Not the time!” “What? I just thought…” “We’re both covered in blood, you’re almost dead, and there’s a fight outside!” She held up her hands. “You know what, we’ll talk about this later. Can you stand?” Kiren groaned as he tried to move. Eventually, with the help of the remaining chair, he managed to stand. The wound in his stomach was almost fully healed, but his internals were still a tattered mess. “Okay, good,” she said. “You go check on Excelerate. I’ll look through the book. If they’re still fighting, *don’t* step in. Just shout me. You’re in no position to fight.” Kiren was in no mood to argue. While Lace started flipping through the pages of the tome, Kiren shuffled outside into the street. It was carnage out there. The street had been ripped up and stained with blood. Two figures lay in the distance, surrounded by a perfect circle of silver. No sign of Hyena and Snapjaw. He walked over, a near perfect silence around him. Excelerate and Hulda lay side by side. They were both unconscious, but still breathing. It was hard to tell who had won the fight. Excelerate was covered in cuts, and he had numerous jagged holes in his legs, still bleeding. One of his eyes had been sliced open, the whole socket swimming in blood. “Unmaker’s tits,” Kiren breathed. “He really took a hit.” It was odd to see Excelerate this vulnerable. He wasn’t unbeatable, after all. If he had bested Hulda, it was a near thing. “Kiren!” He looked back. Lace was hurrying towards him, still reading from the book. Her face was creased with a deep frown. “It’s hard to get much out of this,” Lace said. “Jarl only cracked part of the cipher. But if this is correct… It seems like the Ludenhaas family is smuggling Angel’s Kiss throughout Goldbrand and the rest of Aribel. If these numbers are to be trusted, they’d have to be the city’s largest supplier. That explains why the Heroes could never really crack down on it. Because it was coming from inside the Guild this whole time.” “Should’ve guessed it was something like that,” Kiren said. He glanced over at Hulda. “She was as much of a stone-cold bitch as she seemed from the start.” “Excelerate needs medical attention, fast.” “Maybe you could run up to the Lodge and get someone,” Kiren suggested. “It would take too long. We should bring him to the guard post in Small Miracle. They’ll have some basic medical supplies. If we can bandage up some of these wounds, it might keep him until Good Doctor or someone else can show up.” “What about her?” Kiren asked, pointing to Hulda. Lace looked at her and scowled. “We’ll bring her.” She sighed. “Grab a body. This is going to be a long walk.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2Zjc0ZjFjZTRjMzQwZDhhNjdkMGIzYzI0NGU0ZTky">Dungeon masters — a higher existence who caused human extinction. In his previous life, they always hide in their dungeon and command their minion to collect their points. There no official records about their amount, but it confirmed from the last war that their number didn't reach two hundred.</p> <p class="cnNkMzAzZmJlOWNmODRiOWY5OGMzMDM5YmMwZmJlMjg5">Their appearance similar to a human, but they have mana-core as their heart, this heart is their power and weakness. It increases their talent and perception towards mana while they will die when someone destroys their mana-core. In some aspect, they are like humans who will die when their heart got destroyed.</p> <p class="cnM2NDI3YTY3NjYyNTQ0MjQ5Yjg1ODg5YzNlNzExMDZl">Even though human know how to kill them, that didn't mean it easy. Most of the time they hide in their dungeon, protected by their monster. So there just a little humanity knows about dungeon masters, for example, nobody knows how a dungeon master born. However, humanity knows that they weren't born easily from how little of their amount.</p> <p class="cnNkYjAxOTIyZDRlMDQ1M2U5MmY3MjU1ODcwNmIwNWE1">Nevertheless, even with those little quantities — their ability is top-notch and they have many skills as their arsenal. They can control many monsters and even have some access to world-will, which tell them that human is coming from another world — the world that peaceful and lack of danger. They understand what that means — the arrival of many weak creatures that will give them free points.</p> <p class="cnNiMzIyZDgyMjJmOTRhNjY4ZjI4YjZlNDE5MDQ3N2Ez">With this knowledge, those dungeon masters go out from their dungeon to slaughter as many humans as they can. For them, this is just an event — a bonus event to increase their points.</p> <p class="cnM4N2M2NjU4M2Y5NDQ0MTViMWZmZGJhYjY2M2M5ZWFm">Elias is gazing that dungeon master, a white-haired man alone, riding a creature like a rhino. There a red metallics chaplet covered by blue jewel on his head — a sign of dungeon master. T obvious that dungeon master’ rank isn’t high from his appearance but still — he is a dungeon master.</p> <p class="cnNhNDQxODE1MGUxOTQ4M2JhMThmNDY0YzVkMGVmMmEy">Their eyes meet for some time, that dungeon master surprised about how a creature from a peaceful world can perceive his incoming attack. Usually, this kind of creature will die after getting hit by his potion without knowing how.</p> <p class="cnM3MTI1ZWM0ZTVlNzQwYmRhYmU0ODlkZGYxNWYyYTAx">Elias, on the other hand, is gazing at this dungeon master while thinking about his next step — he brings six short swords he got from those dead goblins, but even so, he still doubts this even enough to kill that man.</p> <p class="cnMxNmI5NWY0OGZmYzQxZWE5ZGEyNGYyYTAzNjA3NjI1">'Am I need to gamble with the world-will game?' he thought for a moment, but he shakes his head and tries to find another alternative.</p> <p class="cnNjMjExMGVlMmI5ZTQ3M2M5MmUwYjhmOTEzY2E3Njc2">He wasn’t sure how strong dungeon masters in the first years — but they are killable.</p> <p class="cnNkNWZmMWJiZmZlMjQzMzJiOTEwNmJiMjhmYzY4MWEz">Some of heroes candidate can kill them after transmigrates to this world — like Tsiolkovsky Radoslav from Russia, Kim Hansoo from Korea, or Ye Mo from China. They use their martial arts from earth, each one of them kills a dungeon master after got attacked by them.</p> <p class="cnM0MzA1ZWI5N2U2OTRhMDE4OGFmNzg0YzlmZDc1YmE4">Each one of them is a killer prodigy.</p> <p class="cnM4NzFkNzRkNzdjMDQ1ZGE4MTEwMGE1YzQ2YzA5Yjk1">They never use a firearm when killing their prey on the earth, lucky for them, every type of firearms and explosives won’t work in this world.</p> <p class="cnMyZDJkNzRlZGNiNjQzZDlhNjcwMWNkZWEyYzhhYWUy">However, even those prodigy got killed in the end, because of dungeon masters.</p> <p class="cnM0OGE2MTRkYTg5NDQ2N2ZiMWZlZjBkY2Q3NGYxZDI2">He’s staring at the dungeon master, he recognizes that kind of expression — a hunter expression, someone who won’t let go their prey. That man already marks him and Emily as his target. It’s impossible to run while protecting Emily while there only a small chance that he can kill a dungeon master with his current status.</p> <p class="cnMzZThjOTQyNGY5NDQwYzZiNDRkZWJhMTk3N2VmMWYy">‘Is there no option other than fight that man.’</p> <p class="cnMzZTBkNzBjNWU5ODQ4YmFhNjM4Mjc0MmFlZDE1OThj">He doubts that he can kill that man, but he can't find another choice.</p> <p class="cnMwYzM1NGQwZmVhNjRjYjliZGQ4MzhhYThkNGE4ZTFj">If he with other people than Emily, he probably will run and use that person as a bait. However, when his master inserted into the equation, there is no way he would do that — running isn’t an option.</p> <p class="cnNlOGIyN2IyM2MzYjQ0N2JhZGEzYjk3Nzc4OWNkMDk3">He sighed after thinking whether bringing Emily with him earlier is a mistake.</p> <p class="cnM5YWU3MTM0ZWU2NjQ0MTFiYzA3MDBiYTRjYTA4YTQz">However, how can he know that this route will lead to a dungeon master?</p> <p class="cnNhYzU2NjhmM2U5MzQ0MWNhY2JiZmVmZmM3MjJkYzIz">“Hear me out, run towards the south as far as possible while I distract him,” he says with a determined expression — he doesn't want to die, but this time even if he dies on dungeon master hands, it still worth it as long as Emily can escape.</p> <p class="cnMwZjMzNWQ0MGI5OTQ5ZGViZDAxYmQxMjJlMGY1YzY5">She opens her mouth wants to say something, but after seeing his resolute expression, she let out a weak affirmative sign.</p> <p class="cnNlZGUyMzg4MjM4ZDQ2MDQ5ODFhZjVlNzJhMTgwNjBi">He smiles, “Good.”</p> <p class="cnM5YWY3YjMyZjdiZDQ3MGM4ZjEzYTk1ZWJlMWNkYTcx">After saying that, he immediately rush between the trees while throwing a sword toward that man. However, that man effortlessly moves his body to avoid Elias’ sword, and then both of them let out a mysterious smirk.</p> <p class="cnNlNjlhMTgxOWQ0ZDRlMGE5NzRkNDVjNmM3YTkzMDU1">They are gazing to each-other while try to assess his opponent situation.</p> <p class="cnNkMWJkOTEwZjg1NTRhODc5NThhNTZiYTA4OGQwYThm">Elias thinks about how that dungeon master avoid his attack earlier, ‘is it means that he still can get hurt by swords?’</p> <p class="cnM3MjkyNDMyMzY1NDRkNzJhYjUxNTVlYjg4ZGM1MjMz">He put that into consideration into his battle, but after noticing a grin on dungeon master’s face, he treads his strategy more carefully. He checks his stamina is less than half — but it’s enough.</p> <p class="cnMwNjk3YTFiNWY0NzRmYTk4OTJmOTg5YzliNTAwZDY5">He rushes towards than man while bringing a sword on his hand and four swords on his back. His muscles started squirming around at a minuscule level, his sense starts focusing on this foresty battlefield and the strong opponent in front of him.</p> <p class="cnMyZjM0ZTk4YTZhMTQwZDhhMDMwZGY2N2YyYmE3NDU2">Elias throws away all his doubt and charges with a little zig-zag, he makes feints while throwing two of his swords to that man direction. A dungeon master already set his eyes to him and his master, so what the point of him to run?</p> <p class="cnM4MDUyN2JjYTczNTRiNTBhOTUyZjRhNGYwNjVjYzE1">His attacks are focusing towards that man head — hoping the best outcome, one-hit kill. However, that outcome didn't happen, the man seems casual when avoiding his attack, but his movement becomes faster when Elias closing their distance. He tries to counter-attack with a black-liquid — a lethal poison — which comes out from his hand, but Elias evades it naturally like a fish swimming in the river.</p> <p class="cnNjMGZiNGRjODNiMDRiYzk5MGFiN2FmNzc3ZDEzOWNh">As the last survivor, Elias won’t let him get attacked by those sloppy skills. Even though he can’t follow that man movement, he can predict where he will attack. It’s become his instinct to avoid those kinds of skills.</p> <p class="cnM2NjhkMmFkZmE5MjRlZjM4ZGJiYjVlMTI4ZjYyODVk">Finally, after he got close enough, that dungeon master let out his weapon — a blue spear. Their weapon clashes and let out a small spark of fire, their glare meets for a while — try to gauge each-other intent in real-time.</p> <p class="cnM0NDEyY2RlOGE0ZjRkMDRhMzEzZDg3ZmI3NDNjNjQ0">However, their gaze soon was broken by a loud sound.</p> <p class="cnNkMWE2ODU4NTRkNTQwZTJhZThkYzE5ZWMzMmQ3Yzlm">*Craang*</p> <p class="cnM5NWQxNzRkMzA4YTQ2Mzg5OTFhZTQ2ZDYxODUzNjE2">Elias sword is broken and left its hilt in his hand. It’s what happens when a sub-par sword used against proper weapon — a dungeon master’s spear.</p> <p class="cnM2NzI2OTA3Y2VjYzQ5NzY5MDcyOTlmNTQ0MWZmZTA0">“F*ck,” Elias let out a curse from his mouth.</p> </div>

Dungeon masters — a higher existence who caused human extinction. In his previous life, they always hide in their dungeon and command their minion to collect their points. There no official records about their amount, but it confirmed from the last war that their number didn't reach two hundred. Their appearance similar to a human, but they have mana-core as their heart, this heart is their power and weakness. It increases their talent and perception towards mana while they will die when someone destroys their mana-core. In some aspect, they are like humans who will die when their heart got destroyed. Even though human know how to kill them, that didn't mean it easy. Most of the time they hide in their dungeon, protected by their monster. So there just a little humanity knows about dungeon masters, for example, nobody knows how a dungeon master born. However, humanity knows that they weren't born easily from how little of their amount. Nevertheless, even with those little quantities — their ability is top-notch and they have many skills as their arsenal. They can control many monsters and even have some access to world-will, which tell them that human is coming from another world — the world that peaceful and lack of danger. They understand what that means — the arrival of many weak creatures that will give them free points. With this knowledge, those dungeon masters go out from their dungeon to slaughter as many humans as they can. For them, this is just an event — a bonus event to increase their points. Elias is gazing that dungeon master, a white-haired man alone, riding a creature like a rhino. There a red metallics chaplet covered by blue jewel on his head — a sign of dungeon master. T obvious that dungeon master’ rank isn’t high from his appearance but still — he is a dungeon master. Their eyes meet for some time, that dungeon master surprised about how a creature from a peaceful world can perceive his incoming attack. Usually, this kind of creature will die after getting hit by his potion without knowing how. Elias, on the other hand, is gazing at this dungeon master while thinking about his next step — he brings six short swords he got from those dead goblins, but even so, he still doubts this even enough to kill that man. 'Am I need to gamble with the world-will game?' he thought for a moment, but he shakes his head and tries to find another alternative. He wasn’t sure how strong dungeon masters in the first years — but they are killable. Some of heroes candidate can kill them after transmigrates to this world — like Tsiolkovsky Radoslav from Russia, Kim Hansoo from Korea, or Ye Mo from China. They use their martial arts from earth, each one of them kills a dungeon master after got attacked by them. Each one of them is a killer prodigy. They never use a firearm when killing their prey on the earth, lucky for them, every type of firearms and explosives won’t work in this world. However, even those prodigy got killed in the end, because of dungeon masters. He’s staring at the dungeon master, he recognizes that kind of expression — a hunter expression, someone who won’t let go their prey. That man already marks him and Emily as his target. It’s impossible to run while protecting Emily while there only a small chance that he can kill a dungeon master with his current status. ‘Is there no option other than fight that man.’ He doubts that he can kill that man, but he can't find another choice. If he with other people than Emily, he probably will run and use that person as a bait. However, when his master inserted into the equation, there is no way he would do that — running isn’t an option. He sighed after thinking whether bringing Emily with him earlier is a mistake. However, how can he know that this route will lead to a dungeon master? “Hear me out, run towards the south as far as possible while I distract him,” he says with a determined expression — he doesn't want to die, but this time even if he dies on dungeon master hands, it still worth it as long as Emily can escape. She opens her mouth wants to say something, but after seeing his resolute expression, she let out a weak affirmative sign. He smiles, “Good.” After saying that, he immediately rush between the trees while throwing a sword toward that man. However, that man effortlessly moves his body to avoid Elias’ sword, and then both of them let out a mysterious smirk. They are gazing to each-other while try to assess his opponent situation. Elias thinks about how that dungeon master avoid his attack earlier, ‘is it means that he still can get hurt by swords?’ He put that into consideration into his battle, but after noticing a grin on dungeon master’s face, he treads his strategy more carefully. He checks his stamina is less than half — but it’s enough. He rushes towards than man while bringing a sword on his hand and four swords on his back. His muscles started squirming around at a minuscule level, his sense starts focusing on this foresty battlefield and the strong opponent in front of him. Elias throws away all his doubt and charges with a little zig-zag, he makes feints while throwing two of his swords to that man direction. A dungeon master already set his eyes to him and his master, so what the point of him to run? His attacks are focusing towards that man head — hoping the best outcome, one-hit kill. However, that outcome didn't happen, the man seems casual when avoiding his attack, but his movement becomes faster when Elias closing their distance. He tries to counter-attack with a black-liquid — a lethal poison — which comes out from his hand, but Elias evades it naturally like a fish swimming in the river. As the last survivor, Elias won’t let him get attacked by those sloppy skills. Even though he can’t follow that man movement, he can predict where he will attack. It’s become his instinct to avoid those kinds of skills. Finally, after he got close enough, that dungeon master let out his weapon — a blue spear. Their weapon clashes and let out a small spark of fire, their glare meets for a while — try to gauge each-other intent in real-time. However, their gaze soon was broken by a loud sound. *Craang* Elias sword is broken and left its hilt in his hand. It’s what happens when a sub-par sword used against proper weapon — a dungeon master’s spear. “F*ck,” Elias let out a curse from his mouth.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjNTI1YWUyYTIzNTRmZjVhZDUxOWE1OGU4NDc3NTcw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse rounded the corner of a large stone obelisk and pressed her back against it. She looked to her left and right, making sure she was out of sight. All she needed was for Aaron to see her vanish. She let out a long sigh and tapped her fingers against the marble behind her. She wasn’t looking forward to passing herself through the ground. Rifling through dead bodies and coffins had to be gross. But it might be interesting to see what people had buried with them. She suspected that more than a few coffins went into the ground empty - she was curious to figure out if she was right.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MGVmMDZjZWZkZjQ1OTJiMWE5ZGIwZjI1MWM4NGZj"><span style="font-weight: 400">She looked to her right as she heard a raindrop hit the stone next to her. Muse watched in idle fascination as the rain began to fall. She never got wet - the water would run off of her as water runs down glass. She looked up at the sky and wished she could feel the rain. Shrugging off her melancholy, she melted into mist and then vanished from sight.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODdjYTM0ZmM4YTQ3M2Q5OWFiNjg4YmE2MjU0NDBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse spread herself out thin, encompassing a large area of the ground and above. She moved down, pushing herself into the dirt. It was like she was trying to shove her hand into soft rubber. It didn't really hurt, it was just... really weird. Muse had to focus to keep herself there, feeling the earth constantly trying to burp her back out.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YzBiMzI0Yjg4NzQ5NjI5NDZlZTM5NGNkMTMwM2Fk"><span style="font-weight: 400">She pushed herself further down until she started to sense the coffins. She moved along, sweeping up one lane and then another, checking every coffin and tomb. She did her best not to focus on the bodies, just to sense them as little as she could and move on.</span></p> <p class="cnMyYzkyZmEzZTkxZjRmMzNhOTllOGY0ZDhkMGNhNGZl"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Dead body… dead body... tires… dead body… dead body… dead baby... dead body. Hey, nice necklace... dead body... dead body...</span></em></p> <hr> <p class="cnNjNGNkZTQ4OTU5ODQ4MzA4NTgwOWY1ODc4Y2Y2ZjE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Victor plodded up to Isaac. The sorcerer looked much like the stone statues around him, only a blob of black instead of a blob of white. Isaac glanced up at the sky in annoyance, and then popped open his umbrella and held it up over his head. If Victor didn't know better, he'd have thought Isaac didn't know he was there.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZjI1OTFmZWQ3NzRkODZiNzc5M2RmNGMyNWU0MTc2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So, you think you're planning on being nicer to Muse?” Victor asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NjJmZWJhM2M0NTRjMDk5OGUwYjQ5M2MzOWEwMDY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Pardon?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhY2M4M2Y4NjNkMjRlOTRiY2Y5ZDEyNDYwMzQzNzk1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I mean, she’s really not a bad kid. You gotta give her credit for dealing with the whole... y’know... ‘hey guess what, you’re my bitch’ thing you pulled. And check it, she’s even helping now without complaining.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmODg3ZGViMjJiMDQ4ZjY5YzVlZTA4YzAwNTliYWEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Perhaps. Although she is showing promise at being more of a permanent addition to this outfit, I cannot yet trust her loyalty. She is still too unruly.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2YTZhYmE0MzE0MjQ5MTg5N2IwOThlM2NhNDMwNWRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, and? So are all of us. I think you like it that way," Victor smirked. He knew Isaac well enough to know that the man, while not exactly what he would call a 'social butterfly,' wasn't a complete hard-ass either. If Isaac was, he would have staked Victor long, long before this point. </span></p> <p class="cnM5NDE0ZjNkNGIxYTQ5MzNhNzVjYzcyMDVlZmRhNzE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Victor let out a long breath as an awkward silence fell between them.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYzQwMWNlMWU2ZDQ0NjQ4Mjc1ODNmOWRkMDdlZDE3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You have taken to her,” Isaac said simply, cutting the silence abruptly.</span></p> <p class="cnNlYmU1NjczNGYyYzRjYWY4ZDVjOWEwYjhlZWEyNTBm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Huh?” Victor looked up, surprised that he had spoken. “Oh. I mean. I like her. She’s cool. Funny.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkMGZmN2FhOWNiYjRiOTc4MjQ1YzM0N2U4YzRmOGU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You like her,” Isaac repeated with the same tone of voice.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZDhlMGFlNjllZTRiYWY5NjA1MDIxZjc5ZWEwYTQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I mean... </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">oh</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">. You mean... like that?”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MmIyM2ZhMDBlZTRlMDM4ZTcyNDE3MjE5ZjEwOWQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxMDQyNzMxNjc5YjRjZWI4OTUyNjdmNjAyNzExMDcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Victor turned to look up at him. Isaac was almost the same height as he was, only an inch or so taller, but he still always felt like he had to look up at him. He shook his head at the thought of dating the blue-haired ghost. “I mean... she’s dead.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlMTM5YmI1OGM1NTQxNzVhYWI0ZTNmMmUxZDUwNTVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So are you.” </span></p> <p class="cnNkNWIyMGIwZjliNjQ3MjNiZDRjOTgzZjcwMmZlYTJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“But... not like that. She’s like.. dead-dead... she doesn’t feel shit, y’know that?” Victor sighed ruefully. That's all he really needed, dating a girl who couldn't feel anything. Emotional love was good and all that, but it felt somewhat empty without being able to enjoy the company of someone in a more... physical sense. Maybe everyone was right - maybe he was shallow.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MzE1MmE2ZDA2MzQzOTA5Y2VmZTUwODFjNmE1ZjI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hm?” Isaac looked back at Victor thoughtfully. “No. I did not.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2YzVkN2JjMTFkZjRlMDQ4MzdlNDMyMWY1Njk5NTcw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“‘Parently she can’t feel or smell or taste anything. Except like… electrical pain, apparently.” The vampire shook his head. "I think that'd make dating kind of hard."</span></p> <p class="cnNjMTRkOWYyMzdhNTQ5NjBiZTVkMGI4NjlkZGFmMDkx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I suppose it would."</span></p> <p class="cnNmOTlhOTRiMTUxYzRjOTI5OTNkM2UyMTg2NmNjNmZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So doesn’t really matter.” Victor shrugged and began drumming the fingers of his hand on his thigh. He wished there was something else to talk about. “Man... I hate the waiting.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxZWUxMDc2YTZlMjQzNGFiNzE5ZjhjMWI1N2U5Y2I0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I doubt you will have to wait much longer.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NTU4NThlYWJiYzRiMDlhODZkODZjYjQ5NTRmNmZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I think that’s worse.”</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM2NTllYTg2ZDRhNzQ4YjliMDBlMTdjOTA5YWYzOTM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse had covered just about a third of the burying ground when a sudden sharp pain wracked her. It was like someone had driven hot needles into her. She heard a screaming noise that must have been her. Next thing she knew, Muse found herself laying on the ground, staring up at the orange-glow of the overcast and raining sky. She let out a groan as the last twinges of the searing burning sensation faded. “Hate… Ow...”</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZDgzODk1NDJlZjQ0ZGU5NDg4MWNmNDFiYTdjNTkw"><span style="font-weight: 400">She heard someone calling her name. Footsteps, and then the familiar face of Victor hovering over her. “You okay?! What happened?" He took her by the upper arms and helped her get up, steadying her on her feet. She was grateful for that, as she really didn't want to attempt to stand on her own.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZGY3MDdhYTM1ZTRjMTJiYTA0NDQ3MDRjNDM1Mjc5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Something hit me... hard.” Isaac was walking towards them in the darkness, and she shot him a sharp glare, finding a scapegoat for the pain still buzzing through her. “Why’d you zap me?!”</span></p> <p class="cnNmZmZkMjc2OGFiMTRiZTJhMzNlOGVhMjU3M2Y3MzM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Isaac merely raised an eyebrow. “I did no such thing," he replied curtly. “It must be close. Where is it?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4NGYwNzQ4YjNiNzRkNTViM2NlYzliY2E4NTA4OWQ5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I don’t know. I got hit hard... could be anywhere. I guess, within... maybe twenty feet.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZTMyZmI2ZjljMzQ2YzE4YTBlNTBjMDQ5NDJlZGY5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Isaac shut his eyes. He tilted his head back and ran his hand back along his hair, clearly dreading the idea of digging up that much of the yard.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZWZjZjUwOTc4OTQyZmI4YmRhNzA2MWNkYWYxYzcy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Um... Boss?” Victor said meekly.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NTZkZjQ0ZTMxMjQ4YmQ5YzhhY2M1MTg2MDU2MmZj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What?” Isaac replied sharply.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYjQ0N2U3ODhmYjQyNGM4NWUwOTk1MjI3ODcyODg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I... uh... think I know where it is.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmMmEwMzI4ZWQ2NTRhYzZhNGI4ODU0MDM4NTE1Njc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Isaac opened his eyes and looked at the vampire, where he stood simply pointing at a stone in silence. He peered closer to it in the dark and read the writing:</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTgzNDBhNWY4YzQ4YmRhYTA5YzBjNzFhNTU2YzJh"> </p> <p class="cnM2YzA2ZjI3NDg5ZjRmMzQ5MGVmZTQwNDMzYTUxZGI2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Isaac Ostheim</span></p> <p class="cnM1MTVmZDQ5NDQ5ZjRkOWZiYzExOTIwMjlhNWNkOTYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Born December 1911</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjg1ZjgwOTU0ZTQxOTZiNDgzZTI0YjJjM2ZhNTg1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Died September 1945</span></p> <p class="cnNhM2RhODZjZjA1YjQ4MzZiMTRjOWFhYWZmM2M4NTdm"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Lord, Take Him From Us</span></em></p> <p class="cnM3N2UxYjgyMWU2ZjQwODViMzM1ZmNjNTYzNzQxZDky"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">For We Cannot Give Him Up To You</span></em></p> <p class="cnNkMWNhZTY5ZmY2MjQ5YzBhNTQxMjJhOWY3ZjM3MGE4"> </p> <p class="cnNmZTk3ZDc4YTYwYjQ0NWQ5NTg0ODZkZGZiNzgyOTZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">He couldn’t help but groan.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMzNTMwY2U4ODAzNDQwMWVhMGQ3NzA4MTczYTY0ZGNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse propped up her elbow on her knee, her chin in her hand. Sitting on the back of a different stone, she watched as Isaac stood over his own 'grave,' staring at the stone marked as his. The man had an unreadable expression on his face. That’s what he always was, though - unreadable. She didn’t think he had a complete lack of emotions - she’d seen enough of him now to know that there was </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">something</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> in there. Just, God help her if she knew what any of it was.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZWMxNmFjZTI0ZjRjYTY5Y2RhYWM4OWFiZjMxN2Ni"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I'd give money to know what goes on in your head."</span></p> <p class="cnNjZjg2OWJmYzVmMTRkZjE4ZGYwZGE0YmNlNmNlNmQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Pardon?" That caught his attention. He turned his head to look at her, one thin eyebrow arched.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ODYzYzVlYTYzMTQxNzg5OGZmMjVkODUxYmUyNDM5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I'd seriously give money to live in your head for like... ten minutes. I really wanna know what goes on in there."</span></p> <p class="cnM1YmJmZjllYmYyYjQ2ODBhN2RlOTg4ZTEyNzJhM2Ix"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I'd fathom you would either regret it or find it sadly disappointing." Isaac smiled with a thin twist to his lips and looked back at the stone.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZWYzNjFjY2FkYTRkNDM5NWE5YWZmOTAyYWYyMGIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I didn’t say I’d get anything </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">done.</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> I'm sure it's all... hitherto, wherefore, suchlike, and... math equations."</span></p> <p class="cnMzOTJhYjJmOTRjYTQwODI4OTk4MTE0YWY0MjQyNDgy"><span style="font-weight: 400">That drew a chuckle from his throat. "As you are so curious, I was contemplating how strange it is to be looking on one's own tombstone. It is a moment of reflection that most are graciously spared."</span></p> <p class="cnNmODEyZGFlN2Q0ZTRkY2FiYjJmYWMzZjFjOTQ3NmJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"At least </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">you're</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> not in it," she said flatly.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYmQ5MDBlMjFlZDRlMWI4MGZiNjY2YmNlOTYyODBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Isaac paused for a moment, then twisted his lips in the same small smile. "I suppose you would know, wouldn't you."</span></p> <p class="cnM0OTM0OWE2OGM5NDQ1YjdhNTdjOGVhMDYzMGFmODM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Lil' bit."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZTA5OTYyMjk3NDQ5OGViYTNiOGQyM2M1NDE2Yjhk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"It must be very odd to be as you are, my dear."</span></p> <p class="cnNhN2M5MGE5MTFhODQ0OTY5NTdmYjk2NTgzMjFiODRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You have no idea."</span></p> <p class="cnNlYjQ4MTkwMjBkMDQ4YmJiYWU1ZWYyZDEyYTBmMzU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ah, I am sure I have experienced something parallel.” Isaac shook his head and turned his attention back down to his grave. For a moment, the façade cracked, and she saw a glimpse of loneliness and sadness cross his face. He held his right hand out in front of him like was warming his hand over an invisible fire. "Perhaps I will tell you a tale or two someday if we have the time."</span></p> <p class="cnNjNWI2YjRjZmRlNjQ3NzE5MTQ3MTZmM2MwOTQ0ZDM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Looking forward to it." </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Look at him - getting all… moody over his own tombstone. Maybe he is human after all… </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">She didn’t have much time to debate as she saw a flicker of blue glow dash between two stones. If her heart could leap into her throat, it would have. “Not this crap again…”</span></p> <p class="cnNkZmZlYTk0N2NjMDRlMjI5NmQ2NzEwZDNmMDI3YjEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Good. The waiting is over. Deal with them.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlNDhkZTgzODQ3MjQxN2E5YTZmMTM1OThkNTc4YmI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Deal with them?!"</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzM5MzU5NTBmODQ2ZjBhZDM3OTM1YjQ4YjJkYjIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"It is either us or them, Muse. If you do not fight them, they will not hesitate to fight you."</span></p> <p class="cnNiOTQ5NTY0ZTdhODQwM2Q4NTBlYTg0NzE5ZWZhYzJl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse let out a small groan and slipped off of the stone. She didn't dare vanish, as Aaron was around here somewhere. She ran down between the stones towards where she had seen the blue glow.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYzc3ZWM5MWFhYTRlYzRhNTJiZGNlMDBmOTlhZDJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Abomination!"</span></p> <p class="cnM2N2UwMzFjOTAwNzQyNzliMjZlZWQ5NjczYzE0OTAw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse screamed as a large sword whizzed by in front of her face. She fell back onto the grass as Michael stepped out from the stones to stand at her feet. The man looked like something out of a strange nightmare. The rain was pouring off his helm, the gold cross blazed across the face seemed to be glowing the same way it had before. Wide-eyed, she waited, terrified, for him to do something. He looked down at her and did... nothing.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYTU0MmE3NDZlYjRkOTA4NzY5N2MxY2YyNzBjYzM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Stand and face me, girl."</span></p> <p class="cnMzY2E0MTBlOWVlYjQ4YmU4MzA3NDRhZTU4MjJmZjEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Huhn?!"</span></p> <p class="cnNmMzA1ZWJmMDE3NzRlNzA5NDM4MmI5OWRmOTlhN2Qw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I will not fight you on the ground. Stand and face me." His voice had that same foreboding hollow sound to it.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDcwNmVmYWY3MDRkZjhhZTY0MDdiY2ZmNWM4YjA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I don't want to fight you!"</span></p> <p class="cnM3YWYwZDY3MDRlNjQyNTA5MWFkZmQ1MWJiNDg5YTk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Then you accept your judgment." Michael turned the sword around over his head so it was pointing down. Gripping the hilt with both hands, the sword flashed a bright white glow, nearly blinding her. She screamed and, concern for being seen tossed away, vanished as the sword dug into the ground, sending a shockwave across the grass, chipping stones in its pass.</span></p> <p class="cnNkODhiN2MyZDNmYzRkMzE4ZjhmNTgwZGMyYTNjZmZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse took form again on the grass and backed up, holding her hands out in front of her. "Michael, seriously, stop! I really don't want to fight you!"</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZDQ3YWVkOWYzYjRkOGRiNjgzOWQ2ZTU1MTI2NmNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">There was no reasoning with him. He was walking towards her slowly, holding his sword ready in his hand. Fear tugged at her. Michael was intent on ending her. She wasn't sure how, or if, he could. But she was in no mood to find out. She looked over to Isaac for help, but he was standing there unmoving. His hand was still out in front of him, apparently lost in what he was doing.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZDQzYTBhMjliMDQ2Y2FiOTEzZGQyMDE5NGVkOTMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse ducked barely in time as the sword passed through the air above her head. He was trying to lop her head off! Muse let out a small squeal as Michael grabbed her by the upper arm in one hand, turning the sword quickly, running it through her midsection. Nothing happened, so he tried again, stabbing her somewhere else. She didn’t think it’d do anything, but if he got bored with trying to stab her, he’d try and stab someone else next. </span></p> <p class="cnMyYjlkYTIyNWFiMTQyZTY5Y2M2NjYwMmFiNWVlNmVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">And she had an issue with being </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">stabbed.</span></em></p> <p class="cnMwMTM5ZmVhMzdhODRiY2VhZWJiOThmZDI3ODRkYjRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Call it personal.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYWZjNWY2MjZjNTQ3YjA5NmU2ZjI1NWZlOTFlNmRj"><span style="font-weight: 400">She reacted instinctively, slamming her fist into his head. His head snapped back abruptly, and he went still. The sword dropped from his hand to the grass, and he collapsed to the ground limply.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MjIzMjQxN2I2MjRlZWQ4NzIwOTQ5NDBkNzdjNTBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Oh... oh... oh crap..." Muse put her hand to her head, staring down at the armored man. She had no idea how hard she actually hit him. She had no idea how hard she </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">could</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> hit him. She just wanted him to stop. Her world was suddenly upended again as she rocketed backwards, slamming into the grass. She looked up to see Azrael, hunched down by a stone. Its white mask shone with the rain, the darkness behind the eyes even more contrasted in the dim light. The hood was pulled low over its face as it slowly straightened up, tilting its head from one side to the other as it stared at her.</span></p> <p class="cnNiNjllZGU3NzFkZTRlMTc5ZDU4ZjkxMTczMTgzNWRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Okay, circus freak..." Muse slowly climbed to her feet, keeping her eyes locked on the whatever-it-was. Gunfire sounded from her right, off in the woods. She heard yelling but hoped that the others could fend for themselves. She didn't take her eyes off of Azrael as they were locked in some weird Mexican stand-off. At exactly the same point, the two vanished. Azrael was heading towards Isaac, and Muse knew she had to stop it. Muse tackled Azrael, taking shape the second before she hit the Crusader. The two rolled to the ground in a pile of rags and fishnets. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NWM4YmU4ZWU1ZjRmZTA5OGE4NWRmYjA4NzhhMTg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">She shoved Azrael off, tossing the thing a few feet away from her. Pulling herself to her feet, she wiped her hair out of her face. “Look, Dude, I can see you. I really can. I know you don’t believe me, ‘cause you’re all badass and whatever… but really. I can see you. So stop tr-“ Muse looked down at a dagger stuck into her chest. Azrael’s white mask hovered barely an inch in front of her face. She hadn’t seen him move. Not at all. She gulped hard out of reflex, the white mask and empty eyes succeeding in creeping her out, even if she was already dead.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZWU0MTkxYzFjODQwMTY5ZjJkNGJhODY4NzhjNWUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Azrael twisted the blade, her mind going empty with pain as it sent sharp crackling arcs of electricity through her. She screamed, collapsing to her knees. “Stupid... Okay, I'm annoyed. Seriously.” She looked up slowly to see Azrael was gone. She looked around to find it but instead saw that Michael had gotten to his feet, and was walking towards Isaac... who wasn’t moving.</span></p> <p class="cnNkMDg4YzZhOTU2YjQxNzlhMDQwOTgwZWVjMWJhYjM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Isaac!” Muse yelled as she vanished, rushing forward.</span></p> <p class="cnNjZGMxZjRjNWY4ZjRiN2Q5ODZlNDYyZjFhZDc1MzYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse couldn’t make sense of what Isaac was doing. He just stood there, locked, with his hand held out over the grave. He seemed completely oblivious to the large armored man coming up behind him with the intent of ending his life. </span></p> <p class="cnM0YTQ0MzIyOTBmODQ5ODc4ZmFmNWFlMGI3NDU1ZTA4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Michael swung his sword, meaning to decapitate Isaac. Halfway through the swing, Muse rammed into him, knocking him back onto a table-top tomb, falling with her on top of him. She blinked down at him and did what she always did when she was scared. She cracked jokes.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NTMyYjkyMDkwMjQzMmY5ODk0YWYzZDlmY2RmMzQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well - Hello, sailor," she purred out huskily.</span></p> <p class="cnM3OGY0Zjc1NjdkNDQ1YzE5NjUzMjc4NjlmZjRkZjg3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ungodly nuisance!" Michael snarled. Muse yelped as he shoved her off with his arm, throwing her hard enough to send her flying a good five feet, tumbling over a tombstone onto the other side. She landed with a hard thump.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ODc3MzA1Y2JkZjRiOWZiODQxOWI5OWY5N2E2YTUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I... am... so... sick of this." She pulled herself to her feet, glad she couldn't feel the pain of impact. Shaking her head, she realized there were figures heading towards them in the rain. Running through the grass and stones were Aaron and Eric. "Shit." Now she had to stay locked in her body - if Aaron saw her disappear, all hell would break loose.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZjg5NGYzZWM2ODQ5NDI5MWQ0Y2ZhMmVkYjgwNTk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Michael turned his attention to the men running towards him and turned to face them. Eric skidded to a halt and backed up, shaking his head no - the little blond apparently did not want to tangle with the armored man. Aaron simply slowed to a jog. Muse expected Aaron to be afraid, but instead... the big man looked suddenly mournful as he finally slowed to a walk, then stopped.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YWZkYWM3N2M5ZTQ4MTdhNGZlYmY0NmY1MmFjNzU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Aaron, leave here," Michael spoke.</span></p> <p class="cnNhYjhkYTBjMGE0ZDQ2NDY5OGQ4YjA0OTBkYTM4MjNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse blinked. How the hell did Michael know Aaron?</span></p> <p class="cnMzZmJkYTBiNDhjMjQxZTVhMzE3OTRhNGMzNzE5YjY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I can't."</span></p> <p class="cnM4NjY3ZGRjMzU5MjRiNmRiMWM3ODg5MmUzNGUzNmYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Why? You never threw in your lot with your brother before. Leave. Spare yourself the pain."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMzYxMjQ5ZGViYjQ2NzJiZWFkZTYwMzk5ZDkyY2I3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I... can't." Aaron glanced at her briefly. Michael's head turned to look at her and then back to him.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZTg5NDYwODA5ZDRlYjc4MDcyMTNiZmZhY2VkOGRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Aaron. She is damned. Leave her to her ends and go. You do not need to walk this path."</span></p> <p class="cnNmY2E1NzhhMTc4ZTQ0NDBiNmFhNWMyZjlhNjQ2YzVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">The tall scarred man shook his head slowly, lowering his head so his hair hid his face. He looked like a child being scolded.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MmYxNGEyODNlYTQ5NDNiMGFmNTI2YWRiZmZlZDky"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Very well. Then grieve for her and your brother together." Michael turned back towards Isaac, lifting his sword to cleave Isaac in two. Muse ran at full tilt, fighting the temptation to ditch her physical body.</span></p> <p class="cnNhM2E3OWM2NjYyNTRkN2E4NDhiZDA4YzU5ZDg2ZTVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">No!" </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Aaron shouted.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYjZhZjJjNmI1OTRjMjliYmY2YWFkOWI0ZjZkYzA5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gunfire rang out through the burying ground. Muse shoved Michael, checking him sideward into an obelisk, stopping the blow meant for Isaac. She was about to yell at Eric to do something before she saw Aaron's suddenly horrified expression. She blinked at him, confused.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ODI2NDliOTQzNjQ4YjM4NmQ5MTU0Yjg5YTNiMTEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What?"</span></p> <p class="cnM1NjljOTVkNDQ1MjRiZTk4NmY2ZmI3ZjQzNThkYzBm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Aaron could only point.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNzY2ZTIwZGI1YzRiMGY4NWE3Y2IzNTNkZTZmNDNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse looked down and saw three neat bullet holes that went straight through her chest. The English language didn't have words for what she wanted to scream out. She looked at Aaron, opening her mouth and finding nothing to say. The horror on his face made her want to cry.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MGVkNTNkM2QzNjQyMDE5ZTUxZTBhZmM0N2M4ZGMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What... What..." he stammered.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZTA2OWQxNTAxNTQ2NDhhZGI5OWQ1Zjk3NDNiMGY3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse only vanished completely, unable to stand the way he was staring at her. He screamed and recoiled, staggering over his own feet and crashing to the ground. Michael simply stood there as Uriel ran into view, gun still aimed towards them.</span></p> <p class="cnM1Mjg0N2M5NDQ3MzQ5MTg4ZWI3ZDc5NzcxMzQzMDQy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Ah-hah!" </span></p> <p class="cnM4YzhmOGI3NjRkZDQ4ZjI4YjdkOTI5YmU1ZWU0YTYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse had completely forgotten about Isaac, who had apparently rejoined reality. The turf in front of Isaac began to push up as if something was lifting up from under the ground, pushing rocks, stones, and twigs out of the way, rejecting the object from it like cancer. A small wooden box, long, thin and flat, stained dark with dirt and mud, slowly came into view. As it hovered under his hand, Isaac calmly took it and tucked it under his arm.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMDkxZjRiZWM2MDRlNjQ4OTM1ZTcxYjMyODlhZTNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Turning, Isaac idly gestured his hand at Michael. The man careened through the graveyard, crashing through trees and landing with a loud thud somewhere in the distance. He turned and held out his hand, grasping something in the air in front of him. Muse could only watch as Uriel attempted to scream but could only make quiet gagging noises. Isaac twisted his hand to one side, and Muse heard a sickening crunch. The man fell to the ground. Muse did not need to be told what happened.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YTg5NGE1NTRhMDQ2OGJhZGFiZjEzNjhiOWU5MGRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Isaac pulled the box out from under his arm and began to wipe off the dirt and mud from it. He started to walk through the grass away from them, walking past Aaron and Eric as he headed into the darkness. "Come, we have what we came for," he said casually as if nothing had happened.</span></p> <p class="cnM4YzY2ZDZkZDcxYzRkNDhhMzgwNjllNmYzYmY5YmYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse hovered near him, wishing she could make herself impossibly small and tuck herself into some dark crevice somewhere. When they arrived at the hearse, Victor and Mal were already there. Muse stopped, shocked - realizing that Mal was holding an unconscious Michael, gripping the back of his armor where it stopped at the neck - holding onto him like he was a doll. Mal threw the unconscious form into the back of the car with the clanging of metal on metal.</span></p> <p class="cnNlM2NhZTg3ZDhkYjQ1MWJiZDViMTM0MzBhY2Q2YTJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Without thinking, Muse abruptly took shape in front of Isaac, causing him to pull up short, actually looking surprised for once. "The hell are you doing?! Are you </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">trying</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> to get them to chase us?!” she shouted angrily. She looked over at Mal or Victor for any help. Mal only shrugged tiredly, leaning back against the back of the hearse with his eyes shut. The lines in his face were exaggerated with the clear exhaustion the big man was suffering. Victor seemed too occupied with trying to fix his chin-length hair in the reflection of the glass.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZDAzMmQzZGEzNTQ0ZmNiNzBjMDQwNDQ4MTQ3NzM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I take my opportunities when I see them," Isaac replied simply as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "And this is a lovely opportunity."</span></p> <p class="cnNmODFiZWEzZDc0MDRmYWJhNTIxYTNhMDNkODEyNjg5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"This is not an opportunity! He's a psycho, he tried to-"</span></p> <p class="cnNmZjgyMDJmYjIwNjQ3YTY5NDFkZGViZTYzYmNjNmE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">are</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> you?!"</span></p> <p class="cnMyNjlkNDI2ZDcyMzRmNWVhNmEyNDdiZGZhYjhjNWQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Aaron stormed up to her, grabbed her by her upper arms and wrenched her around to face him. She was shocked at the anger in his eyes. She vanished, causing him to recoil again, pulling in a sharp gasp.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMTA4YjZjZGEzYzQ3YTA4YzYyMGFjNTAzMTk5MWE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I'm dead," she said from nowhere. Now she was defensive. She wasn't going to take being yelled at, even if she was at fault.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOTRlMDJiMDg4OTRlZTZhZGJhMTdmMzRmODgzN2Ix"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What?!" he yelled.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NTM5MjFhMjk5NTQ3M2VhOTg3YjMyMmI4NjBlMzM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Muse would have given anything to stop time. Anything to get away from this.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMjk2OTkxYzg1OTQxNjg5OTlhZmNiMDdiNDc3ZGM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I hate to interrupt, as I am sure we would all love to watch this little drama play out. We need to leave before Michael awakes or a Vatican squadron comes as back up.” Muse was suddenly grateful for Isaac’s interruption. Staying invisible, she hovered by the sorcerer as he climbed into the passenger seat of the hearse. She settled down in the space between him and the zombie Paul. She looked back at the hearse at Aaron, where he sat almost in a ball, his head lowered and his hands curled into fists. She had screwed things up, and hard.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYTEyYWI2MDMyNDQxZWZhYjI3NDVhZGVhMWJlNDA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Muse," Isaac said quietly from next to her, adjusting his glasses with a push of his ring finger. "You can thank me later.”</span></p> </div>

Muse rounded the corner of a large stone obelisk and pressed her back against it. She looked to her left and right, making sure she was out of sight. All she needed was for Aaron to see her vanish. She let out a long sigh and tapped her fingers against the marble behind her. She wasn’t looking forward to passing herself through the ground. Rifling through dead bodies and coffins had to be gross. But it might be interesting to see what people had buried with them. She suspected that more than a few coffins went into the ground empty - she was curious to figure out if she was right. She looked to her right as she heard a raindrop hit the stone next to her. Muse watched in idle fascination as the rain began to fall. She never got wet - the water would run off of her as water runs down glass. She looked up at the sky and wished she could feel the rain. Shrugging off her melancholy, she melted into mist and then vanished from sight. Muse spread herself out thin, encompassing a large area of the ground and above. She moved down, pushing herself into the dirt. It was like she was trying to shove her hand into soft rubber. It didn't really hurt, it was just... really weird. Muse had to focus to keep herself there, feeling the earth constantly trying to burp her back out. She pushed herself further down until she started to sense the coffins. She moved along, sweeping up one lane and then another, checking every coffin and tomb. She did her best not to focus on the bodies, just to sense them as little as she could and move on. *Dead body… dead body... tires… dead body… dead body… dead baby... dead body. Hey, nice necklace... dead body... dead body...* --- Victor plodded up to Isaac. The sorcerer looked much like the stone statues around him, only a blob of black instead of a blob of white. Isaac glanced up at the sky in annoyance, and then popped open his umbrella and held it up over his head. If Victor didn't know better, he'd have thought Isaac didn't know he was there. “So, you think you're planning on being nicer to Muse?” Victor asked. “Pardon?” “I mean, she’s really not a bad kid. You gotta give her credit for dealing with the whole... y’know... ‘hey guess what, you’re my bitch’ thing you pulled. And check it, she’s even helping now without complaining.” “Perhaps. Although she is showing promise at being more of a permanent addition to this outfit, I cannot yet trust her loyalty. She is still too unruly.” “Yeah, and? So are all of us. I think you like it that way," Victor smirked. He knew Isaac well enough to know that the man, while not exactly what he would call a 'social butterfly,' wasn't a complete hard-ass either. If Isaac was, he would have staked Victor long, long before this point. Victor let out a long breath as an awkward silence fell between them. “You have taken to her,” Isaac said simply, cutting the silence abruptly. “Huh?” Victor looked up, surprised that he had spoken. “Oh. I mean. I like her. She’s cool. Funny.” “You like her,” Isaac repeated with the same tone of voice. “I mean... *oh*. You mean... like that?” “Yes.” Victor turned to look up at him. Isaac was almost the same height as he was, only an inch or so taller, but he still always felt like he had to look up at him. He shook his head at the thought of dating the blue-haired ghost. “I mean... she’s dead.” “So are you.” “But... not like that. She’s like.. dead-dead... she doesn’t feel shit, y’know that?” Victor sighed ruefully. That's all he really needed, dating a girl who couldn't feel anything. Emotional love was good and all that, but it felt somewhat empty without being able to enjoy the company of someone in a more... physical sense. Maybe everyone was right - maybe he was shallow. “Hm?” Isaac looked back at Victor thoughtfully. “No. I did not.” “‘Parently she can’t feel or smell or taste anything. Except like… electrical pain, apparently.” The vampire shook his head. "I think that'd make dating kind of hard." “I suppose it would." “So doesn’t really matter.” Victor shrugged and began drumming the fingers of his hand on his thigh. He wished there was something else to talk about. “Man... I hate the waiting.” “I doubt you will have to wait much longer.” “I think that’s worse.” --- Muse had covered just about a third of the burying ground when a sudden sharp pain wracked her. It was like someone had driven hot needles into her. She heard a screaming noise that must have been her. Next thing she knew, Muse found herself laying on the ground, staring up at the orange-glow of the overcast and raining sky. She let out a groan as the last twinges of the searing burning sensation faded. “Hate… Ow...” She heard someone calling her name. Footsteps, and then the familiar face of Victor hovering over her. “You okay?! What happened?" He took her by the upper arms and helped her get up, steadying her on her feet. She was grateful for that, as she really didn't want to attempt to stand on her own. “Something hit me... hard.” Isaac was walking towards them in the darkness, and she shot him a sharp glare, finding a scapegoat for the pain still buzzing through her. “Why’d you zap me?!” Isaac merely raised an eyebrow. “I did no such thing," he replied curtly. “It must be close. Where is it?” “I don’t know. I got hit hard... could be anywhere. I guess, within... maybe twenty feet.” Isaac shut his eyes. He tilted his head back and ran his hand back along his hair, clearly dreading the idea of digging up that much of the yard. “Um... Boss?” Victor said meekly. “What?” Isaac replied sharply. “I... uh... think I know where it is.” Isaac opened his eyes and looked at the vampire, where he stood simply pointing at a stone in silence. He peered closer to it in the dark and read the writing: Isaac Ostheim Born December 1911 Died September 1945 *Lord, Take Him From Us* *For We Cannot Give Him Up To You* He couldn’t help but groan. --- Muse propped up her elbow on her knee, her chin in her hand. Sitting on the back of a different stone, she watched as Isaac stood over his own 'grave,' staring at the stone marked as his. The man had an unreadable expression on his face. That’s what he always was, though - unreadable. She didn’t think he had a complete lack of emotions - she’d seen enough of him now to know that there was *something* in there. Just, God help her if she knew what any of it was. "I'd give money to know what goes on in your head." "Pardon?" That caught his attention. He turned his head to look at her, one thin eyebrow arched. "I'd seriously give money to live in your head for like... ten minutes. I really wanna know what goes on in there." "I'd fathom you would either regret it or find it sadly disappointing." Isaac smiled with a thin twist to his lips and looked back at the stone. “I didn’t say I’d get anything *done.* I'm sure it's all... hitherto, wherefore, suchlike, and... math equations." That drew a chuckle from his throat. "As you are so curious, I was contemplating how strange it is to be looking on one's own tombstone. It is a moment of reflection that most are graciously spared." "At least *you're* not in it," she said flatly. Isaac paused for a moment, then twisted his lips in the same small smile. "I suppose you would know, wouldn't you." "Lil' bit." "It must be very odd to be as you are, my dear." "You have no idea." “Ah, I am sure I have experienced something parallel.” Isaac shook his head and turned his attention back down to his grave. For a moment, the façade cracked, and she saw a glimpse of loneliness and sadness cross his face. He held his right hand out in front of him like was warming his hand over an invisible fire. "Perhaps I will tell you a tale or two someday if we have the time." "Looking forward to it." *Look at him - getting all… moody over his own tombstone. Maybe he is human after all…* She didn’t have much time to debate as she saw a flicker of blue glow dash between two stones. If her heart could leap into her throat, it would have. “Not this crap again…” “Good. The waiting is over. Deal with them.” "Deal with them?!" "It is either us or them, Muse. If you do not fight them, they will not hesitate to fight you." Muse let out a small groan and slipped off of the stone. She didn't dare vanish, as Aaron was around here somewhere. She ran down between the stones towards where she had seen the blue glow. "Abomination!" Muse screamed as a large sword whizzed by in front of her face. She fell back onto the grass as Michael stepped out from the stones to stand at her feet. The man looked like something out of a strange nightmare. The rain was pouring off his helm, the gold cross blazed across the face seemed to be glowing the same way it had before. Wide-eyed, she waited, terrified, for him to do something. He looked down at her and did... nothing. "Stand and face me, girl." "Huhn?!" "I will not fight you on the ground. Stand and face me." His voice had that same foreboding hollow sound to it. "I don't want to fight you!" "Then you accept your judgment." Michael turned the sword around over his head so it was pointing down. Gripping the hilt with both hands, the sword flashed a bright white glow, nearly blinding her. She screamed and, concern for being seen tossed away, vanished as the sword dug into the ground, sending a shockwave across the grass, chipping stones in its pass. Muse took form again on the grass and backed up, holding her hands out in front of her. "Michael, seriously, stop! I really don't want to fight you!" There was no reasoning with him. He was walking towards her slowly, holding his sword ready in his hand. Fear tugged at her. Michael was intent on ending her. She wasn't sure how, or if, he could. But she was in no mood to find out. She looked over to Isaac for help, but he was standing there unmoving. His hand was still out in front of him, apparently lost in what he was doing. Muse ducked barely in time as the sword passed through the air above her head. He was trying to lop her head off! Muse let out a small squeal as Michael grabbed her by the upper arm in one hand, turning the sword quickly, running it through her midsection. Nothing happened, so he tried again, stabbing her somewhere else. She didn’t think it’d do anything, but if he got bored with trying to stab her, he’d try and stab someone else next. And she had an issue with being *stabbed.* Call it personal. She reacted instinctively, slamming her fist into his head. His head snapped back abruptly, and he went still. The sword dropped from his hand to the grass, and he collapsed to the ground limply. "Oh... oh... oh crap..." Muse put her hand to her head, staring down at the armored man. She had no idea how hard she actually hit him. She had no idea how hard she *could* hit him. She just wanted him to stop. Her world was suddenly upended again as she rocketed backwards, slamming into the grass. She looked up to see Azrael, hunched down by a stone. Its white mask shone with the rain, the darkness behind the eyes even more contrasted in the dim light. The hood was pulled low over its face as it slowly straightened up, tilting its head from one side to the other as it stared at her. "Okay, circus freak..." Muse slowly climbed to her feet, keeping her eyes locked on the whatever-it-was. Gunfire sounded from her right, off in the woods. She heard yelling but hoped that the others could fend for themselves. She didn't take her eyes off of Azrael as they were locked in some weird Mexican stand-off. At exactly the same point, the two vanished. Azrael was heading towards Isaac, and Muse knew she had to stop it. Muse tackled Azrael, taking shape the second before she hit the Crusader. The two rolled to the ground in a pile of rags and fishnets. She shoved Azrael off, tossing the thing a few feet away from her. Pulling herself to her feet, she wiped her hair out of her face. “Look, Dude, I can see you. I really can. I know you don’t believe me, ‘cause you’re all badass and whatever… but really. I can see you. So stop tr-“ Muse looked down at a dagger stuck into her chest. Azrael’s white mask hovered barely an inch in front of her face. She hadn’t seen him move. Not at all. She gulped hard out of reflex, the white mask and empty eyes succeeding in creeping her out, even if she was already dead. Azrael twisted the blade, her mind going empty with pain as it sent sharp crackling arcs of electricity through her. She screamed, collapsing to her knees. “Stupid... Okay, I'm annoyed. Seriously.” She looked up slowly to see Azrael was gone. She looked around to find it but instead saw that Michael had gotten to his feet, and was walking towards Isaac... who wasn’t moving. “Isaac!” Muse yelled as she vanished, rushing forward. Muse couldn’t make sense of what Isaac was doing. He just stood there, locked, with his hand held out over the grave. He seemed completely oblivious to the large armored man coming up behind him with the intent of ending his life. Michael swung his sword, meaning to decapitate Isaac. Halfway through the swing, Muse rammed into him, knocking him back onto a table-top tomb, falling with her on top of him. She blinked down at him and did what she always did when she was scared. She cracked jokes. “Well - Hello, sailor," she purred out huskily. “Ungodly nuisance!" Michael snarled. Muse yelped as he shoved her off with his arm, throwing her hard enough to send her flying a good five feet, tumbling over a tombstone onto the other side. She landed with a hard thump. "I... am... so... sick of this." She pulled herself to her feet, glad she couldn't feel the pain of impact. Shaking her head, she realized there were figures heading towards them in the rain. Running through the grass and stones were Aaron and Eric. "Shit." Now she had to stay locked in her body - if Aaron saw her disappear, all hell would break loose. Michael turned his attention to the men running towards him and turned to face them. Eric skidded to a halt and backed up, shaking his head no - the little blond apparently did not want to tangle with the armored man. Aaron simply slowed to a jog. Muse expected Aaron to be afraid, but instead... the big man looked suddenly mournful as he finally slowed to a walk, then stopped. "Aaron, leave here," Michael spoke. Muse blinked. How the hell did Michael know Aaron? "I can't." "Why? You never threw in your lot with your brother before. Leave. Spare yourself the pain." "I... can't." Aaron glanced at her briefly. Michael's head turned to look at her and then back to him. "Aaron. She is damned. Leave her to her ends and go. You do not need to walk this path." The tall scarred man shook his head slowly, lowering his head so his hair hid his face. He looked like a child being scolded. "Very well. Then grieve for her and your brother together." Michael turned back towards Isaac, lifting his sword to cleave Isaac in two. Muse ran at full tilt, fighting the temptation to ditch her physical body. "*No!"* Aaron shouted. Gunfire rang out through the burying ground. Muse shoved Michael, checking him sideward into an obelisk, stopping the blow meant for Isaac. She was about to yell at Eric to do something before she saw Aaron's suddenly horrified expression. She blinked at him, confused. "What?" Aaron could only point. Muse looked down and saw three neat bullet holes that went straight through her chest. The English language didn't have words for what she wanted to scream out. She looked at Aaron, opening her mouth and finding nothing to say. The horror on his face made her want to cry. "What... What..." he stammered. Muse only vanished completely, unable to stand the way he was staring at her. He screamed and recoiled, staggering over his own feet and crashing to the ground. Michael simply stood there as Uriel ran into view, gun still aimed towards them. "Ah-hah!" Muse had completely forgotten about Isaac, who had apparently rejoined reality. The turf in front of Isaac began to push up as if something was lifting up from under the ground, pushing rocks, stones, and twigs out of the way, rejecting the object from it like cancer. A small wooden box, long, thin and flat, stained dark with dirt and mud, slowly came into view. As it hovered under his hand, Isaac calmly took it and tucked it under his arm. Turning, Isaac idly gestured his hand at Michael. The man careened through the graveyard, crashing through trees and landing with a loud thud somewhere in the distance. He turned and held out his hand, grasping something in the air in front of him. Muse could only watch as Uriel attempted to scream but could only make quiet gagging noises. Isaac twisted his hand to one side, and Muse heard a sickening crunch. The man fell to the ground. Muse did not need to be told what happened. Isaac pulled the box out from under his arm and began to wipe off the dirt and mud from it. He started to walk through the grass away from them, walking past Aaron and Eric as he headed into the darkness. "Come, we have what we came for," he said casually as if nothing had happened. Muse hovered near him, wishing she could make herself impossibly small and tuck herself into some dark crevice somewhere. When they arrived at the hearse, Victor and Mal were already there. Muse stopped, shocked - realizing that Mal was holding an unconscious Michael, gripping the back of his armor where it stopped at the neck - holding onto him like he was a doll. Mal threw the unconscious form into the back of the car with the clanging of metal on metal. Without thinking, Muse abruptly took shape in front of Isaac, causing him to pull up short, actually looking surprised for once. "The hell are you doing?! Are you *trying* to get them to chase us?!” she shouted angrily. She looked over at Mal or Victor for any help. Mal only shrugged tiredly, leaning back against the back of the hearse with his eyes shut. The lines in his face were exaggerated with the clear exhaustion the big man was suffering. Victor seemed too occupied with trying to fix his chin-length hair in the reflection of the glass. "I take my opportunities when I see them," Isaac replied simply as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "And this is a lovely opportunity." "This is not an opportunity! He's a psycho, he tried to-" "What *are* you?!" Aaron stormed up to her, grabbed her by her upper arms and wrenched her around to face him. She was shocked at the anger in his eyes. She vanished, causing him to recoil again, pulling in a sharp gasp. "I'm dead," she said from nowhere. Now she was defensive. She wasn't going to take being yelled at, even if she was at fault. "What?!" he yelled. Muse would have given anything to stop time. Anything to get away from this. "I hate to interrupt, as I am sure we would all love to watch this little drama play out. We need to leave before Michael awakes or a Vatican squadron comes as back up.” Muse was suddenly grateful for Isaac’s interruption. Staying invisible, she hovered by the sorcerer as he climbed into the passenger seat of the hearse. She settled down in the space between him and the zombie Paul. She looked back at the hearse at Aaron, where he sat almost in a ball, his head lowered and his hands curled into fists. She had screwed things up, and hard. "Muse," Isaac said quietly from next to her, adjusting his glasses with a push of his ring finger. "You can thank me later.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjNjhmY2I5NjRjNjRiMDVhMjk1NzRkODJmY2NmYjU4"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Dan was safe, for now. He was crouched down in the driver's seat of his van, in the back parking lot of the solid, brick building where he worked. That building and its immediate surroundings, Dan included, had been cut out of the world and dropped into an alternate reality where he had super powers, the physical world dissolved into impenetrable haze exactly fifty feet from the building in every direction but up, electricity and plumbing worked but telephones and internet did not, an RPG System spoke inside of his brain, and a troop of twenty-nine extra-terrestrial goblins had quite recently invaded with the single minded purpose to murder him. But he'd managed to eliminate twenty-two of them, leaving seven, and the remainder couldn't figure out how to get through the fortress that was his van, so for now, Dan was safe.</span></p> <p class="cnNmOGU1YTIzZDVhZTQxMmY5MTU4ZDViMzNmZDdhMDhm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnMxMTAwMDI1NDY1ZjQxMDZhYzZjZjIxNTZmY2UwNTc2"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">How should he deal with the remaining seven monsters? It could easily be fatal to get cocky and take them lightly. Without his system granted powers, any one of them would have been more than his match even if he was cured of his disability. What were his available weapons? The van. The Firestone Amulet. His sling, eight sling bullets. His utility knife, though it may be better to try kicking or punching than that. Wasp spray. There were various goblin weapons strewn across the office building battlefield if he could safely get to them, but he had no experience in their use. It was almost certainly safer to keep his distance if he could. Dan had no claws or needle teeth. There was his old plan, drive around to the front, get them to follow him to the fire escape stairwell, pick them off with sling bullets as they tried to climb the slippery stairs in the dark. That could work. But he had time now. Options. It was a wonderfully luxurious feeling that he couldn't quite trust. </span></p> <p class="cnNiZmViZTQ5NjMyMzQxZTliMTgzZmFhNGY1MWJkOGVm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNlYjY5MTU4Zjg2ZTQ4YTViZTJkOTMwZTQ0NmNkMmU1"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Start with what would be reasonably safe and looked clearly useful: Unlock "Sense Life". As usual, the System responded to his focused will, and Dan felt the increasingly familiar rush of an entirely new sensation coursing through his mind. He could detect every bug in his van. There were more than he would have guessed, but fewer than he would have accepted as the upper bound of plausible. One of them, a small beetle, was weak, dying. Bugs, he supposed, did not live long lives. He had already known the precise position of each of the seven goblins. He could see them from the sensory locus on the roof, hear, smell, and echo-locate them, sense the heat of their bodies. Now Dan could also feel the life within them, as well as the life within himself. Interestingly, he could also now sense faint strains of aether trickling through the monsters.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ODI5MzM4NDMwODQxZGVhNGM4YmFlNzUyOWIwMjAw"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZWI0OGIzNzlmZDQxOTdiZmM5MjZmMTc1OGY2NTMw"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Cool.</span></p> <p class="cnM5OGY4YzU1M2YwODRlNTNiODYyZjRhYjJlMGMzOGEw"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM0NDFlYmM1YzkzOTQ4OTM4YWQxOWYwMDQ3ODM5OGNh"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">The goblins seemed to have settled on a waiting approach for the time being. They were a safe distance away, watching, vigilant. It made sense. If they couldn't get to him while he was in the metal thing, then they had to wait and hope he eventually left it. Nothing came to mind as a way they could strengthen themselves or weaken him as both sides paused, so Dan was content to let the stand-off continue. Was his position secure enough to risk unlocking "Perceive Power"? He had gotten fairly accustomed to integrating new senses in a short time. Always was a fast learner. After a bit more thought, he decided to go for it. His opponents knew that the van was dangerous; they'd have reason to be careful, and would have no way of knowing he might be distracted. </span></p> <p class="cnMyMjUwYzk3YTA1YTRlMzg5ODYwMmU3Y2U5NjdkNjY2"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNiNTMzZjVkNWE5MjQyMDdhYmFkZjNjYWVjZWQ2NDUy"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Dan unlocked "Perceive Power" and was filled with an immediate certainty that he himself was powerful. It was as clear and unambiguous as the sound of the engine thrumming a body's length from him, or the glow of the moon in the sky as seen from his rooftop sensory locus. It would be difficult to describe the sensation in terms of ordinary human senses, were he asked to do so. He could, quite simply, perceive power within himself. It didn't reveal the nature of his power, or how he might apply it, how it could help him, but nonetheless it was undeniably there. </span></p> <p class="cnNkMzJmMWM2MWM5OTRlYTliOGU3ODY1NGUzNjc2MmZl"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNkODBlOGQ5MDRmYzRlNmM5YmJhNzljOTlkOGUyZTg4"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Good to know.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGU0MmVhN2ZiNzQ0MDM4NjA0Y2FlY2UyNDc4ZjEx"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnMxYzVjYmFlODhlNTRmZjE5ZWZjNzIyM2NjMjJjMDNj"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Also interesting: Apparently, nothing else in his range of perception was powerful, or at least it didn't meet whatever criteria his new sense used to adjudge such. The goblins were not. The Firestone Amulet was not. The van was not, though to Dan's way of thinking a 275 horsepower engine was more powerful than most things. According to the system, he was more powerful than goblins or a full size van or an&nbsp;amulet that could magically launch massive fireballs that, now that he thought about it, did not follow his admittedly rudimentary understanding of the laws of nature. Though, given present circumstances, that was an odd thing to get hung up about right now. It was probably best to let that go, even if it would be useful to figure out exactly how these fireballs behaved later, even if only for tactical purposes. Wait, later? What exactly did he expect to happen later? What was he preparing for that might happen in this indeterminate "later"? Focus. This type of thinking was a trap. There were dangerous aliens with sharp teeth and sharp spears who were right now trying to murder him, and it was a safe bet they were focused on how to do so, not on what they're going to eat for lunch tomorrow or other such navel gazing. </span></p> <p class="cnMxOTk5ZWU1ODMzMTRkZWVhMmI0OTk1ODFkZmEyYzRj"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDZiZjE1MTk4MTRkZjlhNDA5NmFkZjM1NjQ2YTA2"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">A few more minutes passed as both sides waited, until Dan's aether pool was full, his hard won Firestone Amulet was ready to go, and he had a plan. It wasn't a particularly great plan, but it should be safe enough. If it didn't work, he could regroup and try something else. First, he crept into the back of the van and grabbed his tire iron. Second, he put his free attribute point into agility. Not getting hit still seemed like an excellent idea. Then, he drove a deceptively obvious path toward the building's front door. The goblins were afraid of the van - they'd kept their distance this whole time. So when it began to move, Dan figured that they would give chase, but stay far enough away that they felt safe in their ability to dart away if the metal thing attacked again. Right now he, inside the van, and the goblins were all in the back parking lot. If he drove to the front, hugged the building's brick wall on the passenger side, then if his pursuers wanted to give chase, they would have to follow from behind. Even if they were somehow faster than he thought, they could not encircle him. They seemed to like that tactic. But they couldn't risk getting between the van and the building. All of which meant he should be able to make it to the front door without getting dog piled by a pack of monsters wielding spears, daggers, clubs, claws, and teeth. That was what he had to avoid at all cost - as long as he could keep his distance, he was pretty confident he could continue to whittle them down little by little. </span></p> <p class="cnM5YzhjZmZlMWE5NjQ3YzI4YWI4ZGJiNmNhZDQ0NWJm"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGMzNzI0MmJiNjRhMzliOTM0NDJkZjVlNzljN2Iw"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Dan drove down and the goblins followed. Due to the position of his rooftop sensory locus, he did not have a line of sight to steer by. He had to poke his head up to see. This slightly offended him. With all his super powers of extra-sensory perception, he felt that it shouldn't be necessary. But it was, so he did. Then he remembered the Aether Ability "Penetrating Sight".&nbsp; He was understandably distracted when it was mentioned in a flood of System messages as he was running from a pack of goblins.&nbsp; Still, he should have remembered it earlier, tried it out when there were a few minutes of peace.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYTIyZDFlMDRhMjRkYjhhYWE5M2I1M2IwZjkxYzQ5"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">The monsters chased at a healthy distance, still bloodthirsty but clearly capable to some degree of risk assessment. They all carried spears, even those who had been torch bearers prior. Perhaps they had decided that torches were unreliable against a water wizard, perhaps with their numbers so reduced they didn't think they could afford the luxury. Or maybe they were angry, leaderless, and all grabbed spears because they wanted to stab something. </span></p> <p class="cnMxYWMzZTM2ODRjYjQ1MTZhMGM2NzJmN2M0MjRjZTJh"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">The van stopped in front of the shattered remnants of the front door. Dan put it in park, grabbed his tire iron, activated "Unerring Aim [self]", flowed over to the passenger side and out, then shut the door behind him and locked it with his key fob. It was remarkable how much increased attributes helped with random things like quickly getting from the driver's seat out of the passenger's side door of a van. It's an awkward mechanical task that one doesn't practice. The movements are weird, the space not designed to accommodate them. But Dan had slightly super human agility and vastly super human senses now. Echo-location gave him a 360 degree map of his surroundings in the van cabin. Tactical precognition guided micro adjustments of his motions; his dramatically improved sense of balance and of the position of his body in space granted him a ballet dancer's grace and fluidity. And the most magical thing of all was that it was effortless. He did it without thinking. He wanted to get out of the van through that door, and just did. </span></p> <p class="cnNkNDE1NjZjOWE1NTQ0MTZhZGRkMzQ0ZWVjOWJlOWMx"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNlMmUzODEzNTlhYTQ5NDc5MDhjM2ViZmRkZjliMDhi"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">One of the monsters threw a spear as Dan ran into the building. He'd seen the attack coming before it left the goblin's clawed hand, altered his path just slightly and it whizzed past. Maybe his new dodge perk had helped; it was simple enough to avoid that he couldn't quite tell. Actually, that probably meant it had helped. A sprint took Dan from the entrance down the broad hall as a slowly spreading pool of water from the bathroom sinks splashed under his feet. He watched himself run toward the sensory locus he'd placed there, a slightly surreal experience, and realized that the situation was now an echo of not so many minutes prior. Goblins had rushed through that door and down this hallway to kill him. Now, he ran through it and down the hall and planned to kill the last of them. </span></p> <p class="cnM2ZmNmNzM5Y2I4MTQzYWRhM2IzYjI4OTNhOGFkZTM4"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM1YmJkODhhNWY0OTQ1M2Q5Y2U0NDNjZGU3ODUxOWNm"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Just as Dan hoped, three angry green goblins raced through the door after him, and he invoked the power within his Firestone Amulet. He watched closely this time, straining his perception to its maximum to track the bolt of flame as it sped toward its target, expanding slowly, then burst into a sphere of fire on impact. As before, there was a roar of sound, but no concussive wave of force as in an explosion, no wash of intense heat. </span></p> <p class="cnMxNGIyODNmZmYzNzQ5NWU5MWI0ZTgwNTUyYzcyZjky"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnMzYmNkMTYwMmE0ODQ3ZDc4Y2M2ZmNmNjI3NDBjYTM2" align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em"><strong>Monster Defeated, Goblin Warrior (lvl 3). Aether Gained.</strong></span></p> <p class="cnNmNTQ3MzgyNmE5NjQ4NTZhNjJiODZlOGYxZTgxYzc3" align="center"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnMxODhmOGY2OGI1OTRlZTJiZTZhMDk3MjQ2ODc1MjQ5" align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em"><strong>Monster Defeated, Common Goblin (lvl 2). Aether Gained.</strong></span></p> <p class="cnMwNjJkOGJkZmE2ODQ2NWVhOTkyNGNiN2YzZTUwOWU3" align="center"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNlNGNhNTMyYTY4YjRjMDBhNjE2MmM3NDQzNjlkZmZl" align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em"><strong>Monster Defeated, Common Goblin (lvl 1). Aether Gained.</strong></span></p> <p class="cnMzYzYyMWNmODJkNjRkM2JiOThkZDdhYzk4MGI3N2E2" align="center"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDFjMDQwYjEzZTQzYjU5NjNjYTZhODAxN2EzMmU0" align="left"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">A fourth monster had narrowly avoided the radius of the fireball, and seemed unharmed as it continued its reckless charge. The fireball seemed to have a precisely delineated spherical area of effect, within which it dealt a uniform and fairly high amount of damage. Even inches outside of that range, it did nothing. How this worked, as with so many other things, he had no clue. As part of his mind took note of these fireball related phenomena, Dan dropped a sling bullet into its pouch, whirled it twice, and launched it into the raging monster's head. It seemed small as it dropped to the ground a few feet short of where the dead goblin shaman lay still. </span></p> <p class="cnMyNmEwY2IxMzljMzQxNDI5MzQ3MDY3NmNkYmY2MzFj" align="left"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM2N2Y2NTYyY2EzODQyNjBhMGMwYTFkYTk5NjI5Nzcw" align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em"><strong>Monster Defeated, Common Goblin (lvl 2). Aether Gained.</strong></span></p> <p class="cnNiY2E1YThkNjM5YTQ5ODJiMWEwMjBlYmU4YTlkYmVi" align="center"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZTg1MGEyZWZmNzQ5Njg4NzA2ZDQxOTUxYWVlMTdk" align="left"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">There were only three goblins left, all level one, all still outside. Perhaps now with the courage of greater numbers fading fast and all their stronger brethren fallen, fear was beginning to win out over blood-lust. But they hadn't been merciful when they'd come to murder him in a group of nearly thirty and he was level one, hiding alone in a utility closet. </span></p> <p class="cnM1MGQ5ZWEwNmFhODRmNWRiMWUxZjdkNzZhNjBhNjBk" align="left"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="cnMwNmQ0YzFlODM5ODQ0YjhhNGEwMGY4ZjNjOWYyZjFl"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em">Daniel Martin hunted them down. </span></p> <p class="cnNiZGEzNWNhZTEzMDQzMmE5NzEyNjM3NWI5YjBlYzQy" align="center"><span style="font-size: 1.1em">&nbsp;</span></p> </div>

Dan was safe, for now. He was crouched down in the driver's seat of his van, in the back parking lot of the solid, brick building where he worked. That building and its immediate surroundings, Dan included, had been cut out of the world and dropped into an alternate reality where he had super powers, the physical world dissolved into impenetrable haze exactly fifty feet from the building in every direction but up, electricity and plumbing worked but telephones and internet did not, an RPG System spoke inside of his brain, and a troop of twenty-nine extra-terrestrial goblins had quite recently invaded with the single minded purpose to murder him. But he'd managed to eliminate twenty-two of them, leaving seven, and the remainder couldn't figure out how to get through the fortress that was his van, so for now, Dan was safe.   How should he deal with the remaining seven monsters? It could easily be fatal to get cocky and take them lightly. Without his system granted powers, any one of them would have been more than his match even if he was cured of his disability. What were his available weapons? The van. The Firestone Amulet. His sling, eight sling bullets. His utility knife, though it may be better to try kicking or punching than that. Wasp spray. There were various goblin weapons strewn across the office building battlefield if he could safely get to them, but he had no experience in their use. It was almost certainly safer to keep his distance if he could. Dan had no claws or needle teeth. There was his old plan, drive around to the front, get them to follow him to the fire escape stairwell, pick them off with sling bullets as they tried to climb the slippery stairs in the dark. That could work. But he had time now. Options. It was a wonderfully luxurious feeling that he couldn't quite trust.   Start with what would be reasonably safe and looked clearly useful: Unlock "Sense Life". As usual, the System responded to his focused will, and Dan felt the increasingly familiar rush of an entirely new sensation coursing through his mind. He could detect every bug in his van. There were more than he would have guessed, but fewer than he would have accepted as the upper bound of plausible. One of them, a small beetle, was weak, dying. Bugs, he supposed, did not live long lives. He had already known the precise position of each of the seven goblins. He could see them from the sensory locus on the roof, hear, smell, and echo-locate them, sense the heat of their bodies. Now Dan could also feel the life within them, as well as the life within himself. Interestingly, he could also now sense faint strains of aether trickling through the monsters.   Cool.   The goblins seemed to have settled on a waiting approach for the time being. They were a safe distance away, watching, vigilant. It made sense. If they couldn't get to him while he was in the metal thing, then they had to wait and hope he eventually left it. Nothing came to mind as a way they could strengthen themselves or weaken him as both sides paused, so Dan was content to let the stand-off continue. Was his position secure enough to risk unlocking "Perceive Power"? He had gotten fairly accustomed to integrating new senses in a short time. Always was a fast learner. After a bit more thought, he decided to go for it. His opponents knew that the van was dangerous; they'd have reason to be careful, and would have no way of knowing he might be distracted.   Dan unlocked "Perceive Power" and was filled with an immediate certainty that he himself was powerful. It was as clear and unambiguous as the sound of the engine thrumming a body's length from him, or the glow of the moon in the sky as seen from his rooftop sensory locus. It would be difficult to describe the sensation in terms of ordinary human senses, were he asked to do so. He could, quite simply, perceive power within himself. It didn't reveal the nature of his power, or how he might apply it, how it could help him, but nonetheless it was undeniably there.   Good to know.   Also interesting: Apparently, nothing else in his range of perception was powerful, or at least it didn't meet whatever criteria his new sense used to adjudge such. The goblins were not. The Firestone Amulet was not. The van was not, though to Dan's way of thinking a 275 horsepower engine was more powerful than most things. According to the system, he was more powerful than goblins or a full size van or an amulet that could magically launch massive fireballs that, now that he thought about it, did not follow his admittedly rudimentary understanding of the laws of nature. Though, given present circumstances, that was an odd thing to get hung up about right now. It was probably best to let that go, even if it would be useful to figure out exactly how these fireballs behaved later, even if only for tactical purposes. Wait, later? What exactly did he expect to happen later? What was he preparing for that might happen in this indeterminate "later"? Focus. This type of thinking was a trap. There were dangerous aliens with sharp teeth and sharp spears who were right now trying to murder him, and it was a safe bet they were focused on how to do so, not on what they're going to eat for lunch tomorrow or other such navel gazing.   A few more minutes passed as both sides waited, until Dan's aether pool was full, his hard won Firestone Amulet was ready to go, and he had a plan. It wasn't a particularly great plan, but it should be safe enough. If it didn't work, he could regroup and try something else. First, he crept into the back of the van and grabbed his tire iron. Second, he put his free attribute point into agility. Not getting hit still seemed like an excellent idea. Then, he drove a deceptively obvious path toward the building's front door. The goblins were afraid of the van - they'd kept their distance this whole time. So when it began to move, Dan figured that they would give chase, but stay far enough away that they felt safe in their ability to dart away if the metal thing attacked again. Right now he, inside the van, and the goblins were all in the back parking lot. If he drove to the front, hugged the building's brick wall on the passenger side, then if his pursuers wanted to give chase, they would have to follow from behind. Even if they were somehow faster than he thought, they could not encircle him. They seemed to like that tactic. But they couldn't risk getting between the van and the building. All of which meant he should be able to make it to the front door without getting dog piled by a pack of monsters wielding spears, daggers, clubs, claws, and teeth. That was what he had to avoid at all cost - as long as he could keep his distance, he was pretty confident he could continue to whittle them down little by little.   Dan drove down and the goblins followed. Due to the position of his rooftop sensory locus, he did not have a line of sight to steer by. He had to poke his head up to see. This slightly offended him. With all his super powers of extra-sensory perception, he felt that it shouldn't be necessary. But it was, so he did. Then he remembered the Aether Ability "Penetrating Sight".  He was understandably distracted when it was mentioned in a flood of System messages as he was running from a pack of goblins.  Still, he should have remembered it earlier, tried it out when there were a few minutes of peace. The monsters chased at a healthy distance, still bloodthirsty but clearly capable to some degree of risk assessment. They all carried spears, even those who had been torch bearers prior. Perhaps they had decided that torches were unreliable against a water wizard, perhaps with their numbers so reduced they didn't think they could afford the luxury. Or maybe they were angry, leaderless, and all grabbed spears because they wanted to stab something. The van stopped in front of the shattered remnants of the front door. Dan put it in park, grabbed his tire iron, activated "Unerring Aim [self]", flowed over to the passenger side and out, then shut the door behind him and locked it with his key fob. It was remarkable how much increased attributes helped with random things like quickly getting from the driver's seat out of the passenger's side door of a van. It's an awkward mechanical task that one doesn't practice. The movements are weird, the space not designed to accommodate them. But Dan had slightly super human agility and vastly super human senses now. Echo-location gave him a 360 degree map of his surroundings in the van cabin. Tactical precognition guided micro adjustments of his motions; his dramatically improved sense of balance and of the position of his body in space granted him a ballet dancer's grace and fluidity. And the most magical thing of all was that it was effortless. He did it without thinking. He wanted to get out of the van through that door, and just did.   One of the monsters threw a spear as Dan ran into the building. He'd seen the attack coming before it left the goblin's clawed hand, altered his path just slightly and it whizzed past. Maybe his new dodge perk had helped; it was simple enough to avoid that he couldn't quite tell. Actually, that probably meant it had helped. A sprint took Dan from the entrance down the broad hall as a slowly spreading pool of water from the bathroom sinks splashed under his feet. He watched himself run toward the sensory locus he'd placed there, a slightly surreal experience, and realized that the situation was now an echo of not so many minutes prior. Goblins had rushed through that door and down this hallway to kill him. Now, he ran through it and down the hall and planned to kill the last of them.   Just as Dan hoped, three angry green goblins raced through the door after him, and he invoked the power within his Firestone Amulet. He watched closely this time, straining his perception to its maximum to track the bolt of flame as it sped toward its target, expanding slowly, then burst into a sphere of fire on impact. As before, there was a roar of sound, but no concussive wave of force as in an explosion, no wash of intense heat.   **Monster Defeated, Goblin Warrior (lvl 3). Aether Gained.**   **Monster Defeated, Common Goblin (lvl 2). Aether Gained.**   **Monster Defeated, Common Goblin (lvl 1). Aether Gained.**   A fourth monster had narrowly avoided the radius of the fireball, and seemed unharmed as it continued its reckless charge. The fireball seemed to have a precisely delineated spherical area of effect, within which it dealt a uniform and fairly high amount of damage. Even inches outside of that range, it did nothing. How this worked, as with so many other things, he had no clue. As part of his mind took note of these fireball related phenomena, Dan dropped a sling bullet into its pouch, whirled it twice, and launched it into the raging monster's head. It seemed small as it dropped to the ground a few feet short of where the dead goblin shaman lay still.   **Monster Defeated, Common Goblin (lvl 2). Aether Gained.**   There were only three goblins left, all level one, all still outside. Perhaps now with the courage of greater numbers fading fast and all their stronger brethren fallen, fear was beginning to win out over blood-lust. But they hadn't been merciful when they'd come to murder him in a group of nearly thirty and he was level one, hiding alone in a utility closet.   Daniel Martin hunted them down.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2N2E1NWVkMzM1MzRmODliMjVmMzliY2YxMjQ5NDZk">Team 11 is currently waiting on their sensei who told them to come to training ground 8. Two of the genin at training ground 11 had an irritated look on their face, while one had a less than noticeable face of irritation. Esumi was about to stomp her foot and shout in rage before seeing a swirl of leaves appeared in front of the trio.</p> <p class="cnNlYzBiNTIzMmQ2NDQ0NWZiOGExM2QwNDBjMTUxMmY4">"Good news Team 11! I have nominated you three for the chunin exams." Ko said with a peaceful smile on his face.</p> <p class="cnNjYjdhNTcxYThhNzQzMDBhZjg0NmIzZWVlZDI3YTgy">The reactions of his three genin weren't the ones he was expecting. He expected them to show normal genin reactions to having their sensei nominate them for the chunin exams and cheer and shout and thank him. All his did was stare at him.</p> <p class="cnMyYzkyMjEwNTVkZTQ4N2I4MDlkOTk1YjY0OTFjNDhh">"About time. Finally something fun to do." Esumi said.</p> <p class="cnM5ZGJlMWQwYzMwYzQ5MjY5YThhM2FlNDJkYzBhNTIw">"I agree. Being a chunin will give us access to higher level jutsus in the library as well. And we won't have to listen to anyone except the hokage mostly." Jabie agreed.</p> <p class="cnMwMjc0ZWIzYTBlODQyZDk5MjhhZjg1ZDVlOTAzNTBm">"There better be good fighters there. The other villages must have stronger fighters than we have here." Aomatsuna said.</p> <p class="cnNkYzQ4MGVhYWQ5NDQ2MTZiMmZmOTMxMDMyYmQ0OWE4">"Well anyway here are your applications. You are to sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4pm tomorrow." Ko said before body flickering away.</p> <p class="cnNjMGI0ZWFjOGZmZjRmMTM5OTExMDljNTcxMmI5NjMx">As soon as Ko left, Esumi shouted in excitement.</p> <p class="cnNkM2Q1NjUyMzJjNjRjMThhYWFjMDZhN2Y5ZGU2Yjg2">"Awesome!! My new swords are ready tomorrow as well! I can't wait to put them to good use!"</p> <p class="cnM2YTkzYWM3YjVkYjRjYjE5NTk1OWQ2OTQ0ZDA0Mzhi">"I can finally test some experiments that would be much more easily attainable if I use them on enemy shinobi!" Jabie concurred.</p> <p class="cnNmNjkyZWY4NDk3MjRhMTNhYjRmZDJkZTVhN2ZiNTcy">The three excited children soon dispersed and headed off to do their own thing in preparation for the chunin exams tomorrow.</p> <p class="cnM1NDkzZDExNDBmOTRlNWY5YzgxNjc2OTJiNzJiNzY1">*WITH ESUMI*</p> <p class="cnMyNDI1ZGVkYWE4MjRiNTI4MGY1OWU1OWMyMmYyMGRk">Esumi is walking towards the blacksmith who was creating her 3 swords to make sure they will be ready for tomorrow. On her way to the blacksmith she noticed an increase in shinobi. After she took a look at their headbands, she noticed that there were many different symbols on them. This only served to make her even more excited about tomorrow.</p> <p class="cnM0NjBjNDA5ZDFiYTQyZTRiOTkyNzkzNTBiNDZjNzkz">She reached the blacksmith's shop and noticed no one was at the counter. She heard banging in the back of the shop. She really wanted to go investigate, but her babies would possibly at risk if she interrupted the blacksmith and he made a mistake with her swords. She would never be able to forgive herself if she ruined her own stuff. So she decided to leave and ultimately accomplish nothing. Esumi didn't have anything in her kit that would be able to get information from a distance.</p> <p class="cnMxYjE0MWQ3NDA0MTRiYzM4MGNlYmI0ZDQwMzdhZWI3">As she was walking out of the shop she ran into a girl with two buns on her head and pink blouse. Esumi recognized this girl as the one she whooped this morning. Esumi was surprised to see her looking so healthy despite how badly she got beat earlier. Tenten ignored Esumi and walked right into blacksmith shop and yelled,</p> <p class="cnM2NDQyYzRiZTAyYzQyMGRhOTFiNmE1ZWMzOGM0NTQ1">"HEY DAD I'M BACK!" A loud crash was heard in the backroom causing both Esumi and the blacksmith to be startled.</p> <p class="cnMwMjM0ZWE3MThmNTQwYmM5OWIwYzQ5ZDllOGI1MTE1">"HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING MY BABIES ARE BEING WORKED ON BACK THERE! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THEM I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO THE HOSPITAL!" Esumi yelled in a panic.</p> <p class="cnNiYTcxYjVmMWYwMTQzYzdhMzc0YTQ5NWQ1ODFiODNm">Tenten looked at the strange small girl who somehow knew she came from the hospital and ignored her. She laughed before heading into the back of the blacksmith shop to see what her dad was up to. This pissed Esumi off and she decided to take a look back there also. Her babies could've been harmed!</p> <p class="cnNlOTgxOTI0NTJkYzRkNWVhNjM1NzkzYjIyOWZhYWUw">Tenten tried to stop the little blue haired girl before being shoved out of the way easily by her. Her eyes opened in shock at the strength the little girl just showed. She knew she didn't weigh that much, but she definitely knows she isn't weak enough to have just any kid push her around. She tried to catch up to the punk hair styled little girl who was already inside their smithy, but she was too slow.</p> <p class="cnM5MzAwN2Y0NWFkZTQ1NGU4MzEzNDg4YTVmZjFmODRk">"Hey you drunk bum! You didn't hurt my babies did you!?" Esumi shouted. The only response that was given to her was a bellowing laughter.</p> <p class="cnMyN2ZiMDM3NDg3MzQ4NWQ4NjY4NTE1ZGViNGQ1Yzdm">"If you don't give me an answer consider this shop the property of the Blade Demoness from now on!" Esumi threatened.</p> <p class="cnNjYmZhOTNlMDgzYjQyOTNiMWNlMzA2ZDdmNGUzZDU1">"Yea yea ya loud mouth brat I got your order done. But before I do that." He says before taking a swig of alcohol.</p> <p class="cnNkNzFmY2UxMzI4YzQzYWI5ZGQ4MzMyOGQyYjllZGY0">"You got enough money to cover this order right?" He asked.</p> <p class="cnNkNzllNjg0OGVmZTRlYWQ4MTY1MzMzNjc4MTI2MGYx">"Did you forget that I paid already?! Is all that alcohol destroying your brain cells faster?!" Esumi shouted.</p> <p class="cnM1YmMwNjIwNzcyZTQ0OGM4NTIyYWMzZWJiODVmNmNh">"Oh. Oh yeah that's right. Well alright brat follow me. They're in the back." Tenten's dad says as he started to walk towards the back of the smithy.</p> <p class="cnMwZDA3Y2MyNDRlZDQ1NGI4NWYzNjQwY2U4NDQzNzVi">The two walked towards a lit-up metal table only to noticed three blades of very different sizes laying upon it. One blade of the three blades on the table is actively denting in the metal desk, straining the metal table due to its enormous weight. The second blade seems to be shaped rather differently than normal swords, it resembled more of a metal pipe than that of a sword. The third blade was a standard rapier with a flowery hilt.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmY0MjMxZTczYTQ0MWNiMmMwY2QyM2M0NGRmMGRl">Esumi's face beamed in elation. She dived on the table and shoved two of the swords in her storage sheathe. She couldn't pick up the heavy blade so she slid her storage sheathe over it and sucked it inside. The blacksmith just looked at the tiny child in amazement. He wondered just how something so small could hold something so heavy. But he quickly got over it and took another sip of his booze and chalked it up to ninja stuff.</p> <p class="cnM3NzAwZWQ2NTZlYTRkOWFhZTM0ZDU0ZTBmZjIzNGJj">Esumi ran out of the smithy and headed towards the Forest of Death to immediately start training with the blades.</p> <p class="cnNhOGZkM2EyOTkwMTQ0YjliNjc0M2MwYTA2MzA0ZWFh">*WITH JABIE*</p> <p class="cnM4ZDY0YTE3MGIyZTRhYzRhNzM3MDRkNGJmMDA3YzYw"><br>Jabie is standing over an incapacitated bear whose tendons and muscle tissues were cut, rendering its arms and legs useless currently. The bear roared at Jabie despite being immobilized. Jabie noticed a strange desperation in the bear's roar that wasn't like that of a normal animal struggling. He looked around in his surroundings and noticed two bear cubs growling in his direction. His eyebrows perked in interest and surprise. He didn't even sense the two despite the small bloodlust being directed at him by them.</p> <p class="cnM2NmExOTE3YWI0MjRlYmU4ZmU4NDYwNTE1NTM1ODZl">He ignored the two cubs for now before continuing to experiment and practice with his chakra scalpel. The two bear cubs growled and roared with all their might at the bad human whose hurting their mother. Jabie eventually finished his practicing before turning towards the two bear cubs. He thought they were pretty cute despite the tiny killing intent they are producing towards him. He started to go through some hand signs before putting a small genjutsu on the two cubs.</p> <p class="cnM2OTc1OTk3ODdmMzQ0YjViMjY0ZjExZmI0M2RhY2I4">He planted a thought inside their dumb animal brains to obey him and due to Jabie's skill and the lack of intelligence of the cubs, they immediately dropped all hostilities with him and walked towards him.</p> <p class="cnM5N2FlODI2MTIxNTRmNmRiODM1YTNiYTUxMGYwNDA2">'I guess animals are really easily to manipulate with genjutsu because of how dumb they are.'</p> <p class="cnNhNjRhMDU0MWVmYTQ3MWQ4MjNmNmY1ZTg4NDEzZTRh">"I guess you two and my pet mouse will be a source of future experiments. Increasing your intelligence somehow will be a fun project" Jabie thought as he walked back towards his apartment grounds with two bear cubs behind him.</p> <p class="cnM1MmU2NTk2Y2IwMTQ0NzJiNDI3NWE2NjE0YTY4ZWIy">On his way outside the Forest of Death, Jabie ran into a fairly malnourished leopard that decided to attack him and his new bear cubs. Jabie was about to just punch it away before deciding to also add this animal to his list of experiments. He wove through some hand seals and placed a "seed" inside the leopard's head to obey him. He noticed a slight struggle in getting the idea to plant from the leopard before increasing the chakra density and forcing it to stick.</p> <p class="cnNmNmNkNWFlOGUzYTQ2MzViMjBlNDA4NjZjOWI4NjI1">He then healed the unhealthy looking leopard with his Water Style: Mystical Palm jutsu, making it look healthier than any other leopard and a bit more energetic. He also decided to heal the cubs just to see what kind of effect it could have in the future. The cubs' fur turned lighter from the jutsu, but that was about it from what he could see. Now he had a mouse, two grizzly bear cubs, and a leopard to take care of. Jabie was a bit confused on how to get the leopard inside the village without causing a fuss before remembering the perfect jutsu for such a situation.</p> <p class="cnNiNDc3ZDE0MzQ2MTQ1YTE4MWQ4ZmE2ODhhNjQwNWIy">He told the three animals to come towards him. He grabbed each of them before spreading his chakra between the three of the animals and doing the transformation jutsu. But instead of turning himself into a different person, he turned the three animals into three little kittens that could easily fit in his arms. The cubs tried to play with each other in their new appearances while the leopard didn't do anything. Jabie then carried the three "kittens" all the way towards his apartment, avoiding any altercations that could have occurred due to bringing two bear cubs and a leopard into the village.</p> <p class="cnMxZGUwNWUxOWE1MzRlMjI5NDZlMjI0Yjk3ZWFiNzcy">Jabie arrived in his apartment grounds and noticed his water clones working hard as usual. His clones have increased the number of water clones doing projects and effectively created around 50 Jabie's in long white lab coats. He walked over to the recently made 10 Clones, who had 100% of Jabie's physical capabilities and chakra, to check what kind of progress they made.</p> <p class="cnNkM2NkMzFlYTNlMDQ2OGRiYjRkNTRmZTkxYjc5NmIy">"Status report." Jabie said.</p> <p class="cnM0MGI3MmZlMjI4ZTQxZWQ5ZmRhYTA4OTM0MWYzYzgz">"We've made the water clone jutsu about as perfect as the shadow clone jutsu and a little bit better, but that's about it. Nothing too insanely different except its able to be used by people with lower chakra costs. With the new hand seal for Water Clone jutsu, it now only takes a quarter of chakra instead of half like the shadow clone jutsu to create a clone with 75% of our chakra. This is because of the gravity seal and how it affects our chakra. If we had normal chakra then it would give the clone 50% of our chakra and if we created two it would have gave each one a third of our chakra. Each clone can now duplicate exactly what the user is wearing, including physical items like senbon and poison smoke bombs. So overall we made it about equal to the shadow clone jutsu but without the crazy chakra costs it takes to accomplish that technique." 10 Clone says.</p> <p class="cnNlYTlhOTZjNTBmYjQ4MjJhYjk1MTEwN2MyMDY1NWU1">Jabie put down his new test subjects and let them roam around in their kitten forms before laughing madly at his accomplishment.</p> <p class="cnNkODhlNjE3NGE0NjRjM2VhMGMwYzY3YjdlNDJiMWE2">"Do you know what we've just accomplished here…?" He asks after his laughter.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2ZmNmQ5ZjliYTRkYTFiODA1OTk2OTEzOTU2MTI0">"Of course i do." 10 Clone says.</p> <p class="cnM1M2QzMjQ2ZTI5MTRiNmZiMmQzNTZjYWExZTk0MGM3">"We just improved a jutsu that is comparable to the Second Hokage's jutsu! My genius is ground-breaking!! I have to go teach this to Esumi and Aomatsuna immediately!" Jabie shouted, before heading towards their rooms.</p> <p class="cnM0MGIzNzU4NTcwZjRjYWNiY2Q3MGNiNzQwMjJkMzUw">He stopped on the stairs and quickly returned back to the 10 Clone.</p> <p class="cnM1ZmIyNjM5ZWRmZjQyNTE4NjNkYWViMjYwOGY5YmEx">"Ah please continue with your complete status report. I may have gotten ahead of myself." Jabie says as he clears his throat with a red face. The 10 Clone rolled his eyes before continuing his report.</p> <p class="cnM2NzA5MDdhOGM4ODQ0ZjNhNGY3Y2RlZGE5NTMwODZi">"The rest of the water clones have been practicing our jutsus and after dispelling transferring their memories to me and the other 10 Clones, we have gotten more proficient in our medical ninjutsu and genjutsu. Since the clone's memories and experience also transfers to us it is as if we are training 10 to 20 times as fast as others. Eventually we will be able to perform jutsus with only 1 hand sign or none at all if we continue improving our chakra control and learning how to mold chakra to achieve the effects we want it to do. If we continue this rapid pace of training we will easily become jonin levels of power in weeks. Kage-level in a year or two if nothing interrupts us." 10 Clone reports.</p> <p class="cnNmOTFmMjNmNjMwMjQ5Y2RiNTMzNDI1Y2UxNThkMzIy">"Receiving all those memories is gonna nearly kill me. I'm going to create two more 10 Clones to heal my freaking brain when I pass out from the mental fatigue I'm gonna receive. But for now I will go share my findings with my friends." Jabie says before walking towards Esumi's door.</p> <p class="cnM3OGZlZDZkODkxNTQ1NTg4OTUwMzMxOWRmZjMyZDVm">He noticed her lights were out, so she must be out. He then walked over to Aomatsuna's door and knocked.</p> <p class="cnNiNDFiMGExYWU2MDQyMWJhOGFkYWFjZGIwNWU0NWNl">Broly opened his door to see one of his… family members in an excited appearance.</p> <p class="cnM3YzE2MmVhM2M2NTRkNDJiMTIwYzkzNmU4ZmFmMTMz">"What is it Jabie?"</p> <p class="cnNmNDc3ZjY1MTUxMzQzMjU5MmZiMGZhZmU4YjYwMDY2">"I managed to finally improve my water clone jutsu! I came here to show you how to create clones as good as the Shadow Clone jutsu Naruto does!"</p> <p class="cnM2MGJjMzM1MGRjNjQ5ZmI5NTEzNGY3NjBhYTZlMDM2">"Very well. Show me the hand sign for it."</p> <p class="cnM4ZDJiZTM3OGI2YzRjZDZhMjU5ZjEzNTc4MGFhMzU3">"Before you do this though. Remember to switch to your chakra nature to fuel the jutsu. If you use normal chakra it won't work and you might injure yourself somehow." Jabie warned</p> <p class="cnNiYTFhYjA0MDkwNzRkOGI4OGM2YmIxNDBkYzMyMTI4">Broly nodded and Jabie showed him the hand seal for the technique. Broly changed his chakra into earth and did the jutsu. Creating an exact copy of himself that didn't look or feel any different.</p> <p class="cnMyOTZkYWE5MjE0NzQ4ZTdiNGY4MzgzN2JlNWMwOTVm"><br>"Good work Jabie. It seems as earth clone I can revert to solid earth or liquid earth whenever I want and perform jutsus." The earth clone of Broly then punched straight through its chest.</p> <p class="cnNhNzNmZGY4NjkzYzQxOTZiMThkNTQ3YmZlM2VmMjdi">This caused Jabie to look shocked at the decisiveness of Aomatsuna's clone, but quickly calming himself down and understanding that that is just how Aomatsuna is. The clone's missing hole in it's chest quickly started to regenerate with earth chakra. It then quickly reverted back to Aomatsuna's original form.</p> <p class="cnM5NjA0OTA1OTUwNzQ0YjI5Njc4MGIwYzU1ZWUzMTMw">"Hahahaha Good!" Broly shouts.</p> <p class="cnMwZDQwOWI3ZDA5YTRmNzJiNDFkNGQ4YjA0M2QxZWY1">"This will be a great tool for increasing my strength!" Broly's green aura started to leak before he quickly reigned it back in."</p> <p class="cnM1MjdlOTRjZjdiZjQ5MGFhMzI5ZDVkYmFkZmE3MTdj">"I will be heading out to the Forest tonight. Make sure you're ready for the exams tomorrow or be prepared to pay the price." Broly says</p> <p class="cnMzOWI2YWM2ODgyZDQ2YWU5NmY5YjFlNGNhM2FjMTU5">"Can you teach this to Esumi as well if she's there as well? She's not home at the moment Aomatsuna-sama" Jabie says before Broly left.</p> <p class="cnM4MjNjM2FhMmI4YjRkZjQ5MzkwOWVhMjYyMDI4M2Q2">Broly nodded and disappeared without a trace.</p> <p class="cnMxNGFlN2M0NWMzOTRlOWM5Y2ExNGY0MTMzZTkzOGUy">"I suppose its time for me to go into a coma for tonight. I am not looking forward to receiving all those memories, but at the same time the increase in strength is undeniably something to yearn for." Jabie says before creating 20 water clones out of thin air and then easily combining them into two 10 Clones.</p> <p class="cnM3NjkzYzlhYzg3YTRmZGY4ZGY4NmZlNjE0NDM5NmFi">He went outside to tell the 10 Clones that were received the memories to dispel in 10 minutes.&nbsp; Jabie went inside and made a quick snack to eat before getting into his sleep wear and laying down in bed awaiting the massive pain-inducing headache he will be receiving soon. The two 10 Clones laid on the side his bed with the Water Style: Mystical Palm jutsu at the ready. Soon the 10 minutes were up and the 10 Clones outside dispelled, transferring all the memories and experiences the water clones have done for the past 2 days. The mental pain Jabie felt for a mere second caused him to scream. Due to Aomatsuna's training with him and Esumi, he sort of unfortunately gained a very high pain resistance. It seems this worked quite against him as he screamed and shouted in pain for longer than he should have before fainting. The 10 Clones on the side of him quickly got to work and started to heal and soothe Jabie's brain.</p> </div>

Team 11 is currently waiting on their sensei who told them to come to training ground 8. Two of the genin at training ground 11 had an irritated look on their face, while one had a less than noticeable face of irritation. Esumi was about to stomp her foot and shout in rage before seeing a swirl of leaves appeared in front of the trio. "Good news Team 11! I have nominated you three for the chunin exams." Ko said with a peaceful smile on his face. The reactions of his three genin weren't the ones he was expecting. He expected them to show normal genin reactions to having their sensei nominate them for the chunin exams and cheer and shout and thank him. All his did was stare at him. "About time. Finally something fun to do." Esumi said. "I agree. Being a chunin will give us access to higher level jutsus in the library as well. And we won't have to listen to anyone except the hokage mostly." Jabie agreed. "There better be good fighters there. The other villages must have stronger fighters than we have here." Aomatsuna said. "Well anyway here are your applications. You are to sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4pm tomorrow." Ko said before body flickering away. As soon as Ko left, Esumi shouted in excitement. "Awesome!! My new swords are ready tomorrow as well! I can't wait to put them to good use!" "I can finally test some experiments that would be much more easily attainable if I use them on enemy shinobi!" Jabie concurred. The three excited children soon dispersed and headed off to do their own thing in preparation for the chunin exams tomorrow. *WITH ESUMI* Esumi is walking towards the blacksmith who was creating her 3 swords to make sure they will be ready for tomorrow. On her way to the blacksmith she noticed an increase in shinobi. After she took a look at their headbands, she noticed that there were many different symbols on them. This only served to make her even more excited about tomorrow. She reached the blacksmith's shop and noticed no one was at the counter. She heard banging in the back of the shop. She really wanted to go investigate, but her babies would possibly at risk if she interrupted the blacksmith and he made a mistake with her swords. She would never be able to forgive herself if she ruined her own stuff. So she decided to leave and ultimately accomplish nothing. Esumi didn't have anything in her kit that would be able to get information from a distance. As she was walking out of the shop she ran into a girl with two buns on her head and pink blouse. Esumi recognized this girl as the one she whooped this morning. Esumi was surprised to see her looking so healthy despite how badly she got beat earlier. Tenten ignored Esumi and walked right into blacksmith shop and yelled, "HEY DAD I'M BACK!" A loud crash was heard in the backroom causing both Esumi and the blacksmith to be startled. "HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING MY BABIES ARE BEING WORKED ON BACK THERE! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THEM I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO THE HOSPITAL!" Esumi yelled in a panic. Tenten looked at the strange small girl who somehow knew she came from the hospital and ignored her. She laughed before heading into the back of the blacksmith shop to see what her dad was up to. This pissed Esumi off and she decided to take a look back there also. Her babies could've been harmed! Tenten tried to stop the little blue haired girl before being shoved out of the way easily by her. Her eyes opened in shock at the strength the little girl just showed. She knew she didn't weigh that much, but she definitely knows she isn't weak enough to have just any kid push her around. She tried to catch up to the punk hair styled little girl who was already inside their smithy, but she was too slow. "Hey you drunk bum! You didn't hurt my babies did you!?" Esumi shouted. The only response that was given to her was a bellowing laughter. "If you don't give me an answer consider this shop the property of the Blade Demoness from now on!" Esumi threatened. "Yea yea ya loud mouth brat I got your order done. But before I do that." He says before taking a swig of alcohol. "You got enough money to cover this order right?" He asked. "Did you forget that I paid already?! Is all that alcohol destroying your brain cells faster?!" Esumi shouted. "Oh. Oh yeah that's right. Well alright brat follow me. They're in the back." Tenten's dad says as he started to walk towards the back of the smithy. The two walked towards a lit-up metal table only to noticed three blades of very different sizes laying upon it. One blade of the three blades on the table is actively denting in the metal desk, straining the metal table due to its enormous weight. The second blade seems to be shaped rather differently than normal swords, it resembled more of a metal pipe than that of a sword. The third blade was a standard rapier with a flowery hilt. Esumi's face beamed in elation. She dived on the table and shoved two of the swords in her storage sheathe. She couldn't pick up the heavy blade so she slid her storage sheathe over it and sucked it inside. The blacksmith just looked at the tiny child in amazement. He wondered just how something so small could hold something so heavy. But he quickly got over it and took another sip of his booze and chalked it up to ninja stuff. Esumi ran out of the smithy and headed towards the Forest of Death to immediately start training with the blades. *WITH JABIE* Jabie is standing over an incapacitated bear whose tendons and muscle tissues were cut, rendering its arms and legs useless currently. The bear roared at Jabie despite being immobilized. Jabie noticed a strange desperation in the bear's roar that wasn't like that of a normal animal struggling. He looked around in his surroundings and noticed two bear cubs growling in his direction. His eyebrows perked in interest and surprise. He didn't even sense the two despite the small bloodlust being directed at him by them. He ignored the two cubs for now before continuing to experiment and practice with his chakra scalpel. The two bear cubs growled and roared with all their might at the bad human whose hurting their mother. Jabie eventually finished his practicing before turning towards the two bear cubs. He thought they were pretty cute despite the tiny killing intent they are producing towards him. He started to go through some hand signs before putting a small genjutsu on the two cubs. He planted a thought inside their dumb animal brains to obey him and due to Jabie's skill and the lack of intelligence of the cubs, they immediately dropped all hostilities with him and walked towards him. 'I guess animals are really easily to manipulate with genjutsu because of how dumb they are.' "I guess you two and my pet mouse will be a source of future experiments. Increasing your intelligence somehow will be a fun project" Jabie thought as he walked back towards his apartment grounds with two bear cubs behind him. On his way outside the Forest of Death, Jabie ran into a fairly malnourished leopard that decided to attack him and his new bear cubs. Jabie was about to just punch it away before deciding to also add this animal to his list of experiments. He wove through some hand seals and placed a "seed" inside the leopard's head to obey him. He noticed a slight struggle in getting the idea to plant from the leopard before increasing the chakra density and forcing it to stick. He then healed the unhealthy looking leopard with his Water Style: Mystical Palm jutsu, making it look healthier than any other leopard and a bit more energetic. He also decided to heal the cubs just to see what kind of effect it could have in the future. The cubs' fur turned lighter from the jutsu, but that was about it from what he could see. Now he had a mouse, two grizzly bear cubs, and a leopard to take care of. Jabie was a bit confused on how to get the leopard inside the village without causing a fuss before remembering the perfect jutsu for such a situation. He told the three animals to come towards him. He grabbed each of them before spreading his chakra between the three of the animals and doing the transformation jutsu. But instead of turning himself into a different person, he turned the three animals into three little kittens that could easily fit in his arms. The cubs tried to play with each other in their new appearances while the leopard didn't do anything. Jabie then carried the three "kittens" all the way towards his apartment, avoiding any altercations that could have occurred due to bringing two bear cubs and a leopard into the village. Jabie arrived in his apartment grounds and noticed his water clones working hard as usual. His clones have increased the number of water clones doing projects and effectively created around 50 Jabie's in long white lab coats. He walked over to the recently made 10 Clones, who had 100% of Jabie's physical capabilities and chakra, to check what kind of progress they made. "Status report." Jabie said. "We've made the water clone jutsu about as perfect as the shadow clone jutsu and a little bit better, but that's about it. Nothing too insanely different except its able to be used by people with lower chakra costs. With the new hand seal for Water Clone jutsu, it now only takes a quarter of chakra instead of half like the shadow clone jutsu to create a clone with 75% of our chakra. This is because of the gravity seal and how it affects our chakra. If we had normal chakra then it would give the clone 50% of our chakra and if we created two it would have gave each one a third of our chakra. Each clone can now duplicate exactly what the user is wearing, including physical items like senbon and poison smoke bombs. So overall we made it about equal to the shadow clone jutsu but without the crazy chakra costs it takes to accomplish that technique." 10 Clone says. Jabie put down his new test subjects and let them roam around in their kitten forms before laughing madly at his accomplishment. "Do you know what we've just accomplished here…?" He asks after his laughter. "Of course i do." 10 Clone says. "We just improved a jutsu that is comparable to the Second Hokage's jutsu! My genius is ground-breaking!! I have to go teach this to Esumi and Aomatsuna immediately!" Jabie shouted, before heading towards their rooms. He stopped on the stairs and quickly returned back to the 10 Clone. "Ah please continue with your complete status report. I may have gotten ahead of myself." Jabie says as he clears his throat with a red face. The 10 Clone rolled his eyes before continuing his report. "The rest of the water clones have been practicing our jutsus and after dispelling transferring their memories to me and the other 10 Clones, we have gotten more proficient in our medical ninjutsu and genjutsu. Since the clone's memories and experience also transfers to us it is as if we are training 10 to 20 times as fast as others. Eventually we will be able to perform jutsus with only 1 hand sign or none at all if we continue improving our chakra control and learning how to mold chakra to achieve the effects we want it to do. If we continue this rapid pace of training we will easily become jonin levels of power in weeks. Kage-level in a year or two if nothing interrupts us." 10 Clone reports. "Receiving all those memories is gonna nearly kill me. I'm going to create two more 10 Clones to heal my freaking brain when I pass out from the mental fatigue I'm gonna receive. But for now I will go share my findings with my friends." Jabie says before walking towards Esumi's door. He noticed her lights were out, so she must be out. He then walked over to Aomatsuna's door and knocked. Broly opened his door to see one of his… family members in an excited appearance. "What is it Jabie?" "I managed to finally improve my water clone jutsu! I came here to show you how to create clones as good as the Shadow Clone jutsu Naruto does!" "Very well. Show me the hand sign for it." "Before you do this though. Remember to switch to your chakra nature to fuel the jutsu. If you use normal chakra it won't work and you might injure yourself somehow." Jabie warned Broly nodded and Jabie showed him the hand seal for the technique. Broly changed his chakra into earth and did the jutsu. Creating an exact copy of himself that didn't look or feel any different. "Good work Jabie. It seems as earth clone I can revert to solid earth or liquid earth whenever I want and perform jutsus." The earth clone of Broly then punched straight through its chest. This caused Jabie to look shocked at the decisiveness of Aomatsuna's clone, but quickly calming himself down and understanding that that is just how Aomatsuna is. The clone's missing hole in it's chest quickly started to regenerate with earth chakra. It then quickly reverted back to Aomatsuna's original form. "Hahahaha Good!" Broly shouts. "This will be a great tool for increasing my strength!" Broly's green aura started to leak before he quickly reigned it back in." "I will be heading out to the Forest tonight. Make sure you're ready for the exams tomorrow or be prepared to pay the price." Broly says "Can you teach this to Esumi as well if she's there as well? She's not home at the moment Aomatsuna-sama" Jabie says before Broly left. Broly nodded and disappeared without a trace. "I suppose its time for me to go into a coma for tonight. I am not looking forward to receiving all those memories, but at the same time the increase in strength is undeniably something to yearn for." Jabie says before creating 20 water clones out of thin air and then easily combining them into two 10 Clones. He went outside to tell the 10 Clones that were received the memories to dispel in 10 minutes.  Jabie went inside and made a quick snack to eat before getting into his sleep wear and laying down in bed awaiting the massive pain-inducing headache he will be receiving soon. The two 10 Clones laid on the side his bed with the Water Style: Mystical Palm jutsu at the ready. Soon the 10 minutes were up and the 10 Clones outside dispelled, transferring all the memories and experiences the water clones have done for the past 2 days. The mental pain Jabie felt for a mere second caused him to scream. Due to Aomatsuna's training with him and Esumi, he sort of unfortunately gained a very high pain resistance. It seems this worked quite against him as he screamed and shouted in pain for longer than he should have before fainting. The 10 Clones on the side of him quickly got to work and started to heal and soothe Jabie's brain.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkMGVlYTc2MWNlYjQ1MDBiZTE0NjMwMDM1NGNkZGJk">Jabbra was fleeting in his private shuttle in fear. His body was constant expelling the sweat in a huge amount, making his uniform soaked. His eyes were filled with regret because of his previous decision.<br> <br> 'Shit! Shit!'<br> <br> 'Why am I an idiot?!'<br> <br> 'Not only did she manage to call reinforcement, but they appeared instantly.'<br> <br> 'I hope that I've lost them.'<br> <br> He stole a glance at the scene behind his shuttle, only to find out an army of 30 meters gigantic robots were pursuing him. The space nearly shaking as the army were chasing after the shuttle yet none of them open fire at the target yet.<br> <br> The scene was like a pack of wolves chasing after a lonely deer. Any obstacle was eliminated regardless of its existence. That was how the ICE worked especially when the enemy had just entered into the Yellow List.<br> <br> [Attention all units, eliminate the target at all cost!]<br> [[[Affirmative, Captain!]]]<br> <br> ****<br> <br> Few moments ago, the battle between an army of busters and single jaguarian erupted as explosions. She jumped around the busters while relying on her natural instinct to dodge the incoming missiles and photon bullets.<br> <br> *<em>BOOM</em>*<br> <br> "Heh, interesting."<br> <br> "I didn't know the Federation could mobilise such fleet."<br> <br> *<em>Buzz</em>*<br> <br> The ringing ear-com knocked her out of the excitement of the explosions. The busters got played by her, forcing them to face enormous amount of friendly fires.<br> <br> "Huh?"<br> <br> She tapped onto the ear-com on her left ear allowing the incoming call to be answered. The enemies were chasing her like a mad. She left the field before the call was connected.<br> <br> [Hello, captain.]<br> [Sarge, where are you?]<br> [I'm just below the enemies, sir.]<br> [Stay put and, stay safe.]<br> [Yes, sir.]<br> <br> ****<br> <br> A group of Asuras were hunting down Tsukiyomi as they tore apart every obstacles between them and her. Her face was in fear as her feet carried her away in the deep jungle.<br> <br> 'Asuras. I thought they were sealed.'<br> <br> 'How's it possible?'<br> <br> A largely build Asura led his party in pursuing Tsukiyomi. Many of its inhabitant were being butchered in the gory scene as blood were splashed onto the nearby stones.<br> <br> "INDRA!"<br> <br> Some even got their body twisted like a clay. Blue, yellow and even red liquid flowed from their body. These three basic colours were being painted on the ground after the Asura left the bodies.<br> <br> "INDRA!"<br> <br> Intestines and other organs were lying all over the path which had been caused by the red skinned that resembled a humans in nature with some exceptions.<br> <br> Their teeth were razor sharp and their were fully black in colour. Their claws were long and durable which could blocked an incoming missile without breaking or destroying them.<br> <br> ****<br> <br> In the shadow of the night, the yellow moon shone upon the unknown world. The scene felt like it was nearly resembling the dusk time. The river still flowing in its course naturally.<br> <br> *<em>SPLASH*</em><br> <br> A hand burst out from the flowing river, grabbing the nearby branches of a fallen trunk. With sufficient willpower, the hand managed to pull out its body from the water.</p> <br> Before he could even got up, something came out from the nearby bushes. It charged and hit him on the abdomen part, sending him flying to a nearby tree.<br> <br> *<em>BAM</em>*<br> <br> The youngster immediately spin the gem on the ring, causing wire-like strings to form in front of him like magic. They assembled themselves to form a strange weapon structure.<br> <br> CHROME BLASTER!<br> <br> 'Chrome?'<br> <br> 'Why did that old man said- '<br> <br> 'Who care?!'<br> <br> Livius tried to grab the gun but as soon his right hand nearly reached it, the wound caused by the impact started to annoy him so its counterpart decided to take over the job.<br> <br> Without wasting any second, the barrel was aimed at the head of the charging beast. Livius got tried to remain calm yet the injury annoyed him every passing moment.<br> <br> 'Eat lasers!'<br> <br> *<em>PEW</em>*<br> <br> As soon as the beast fell, waves of Asura came in like tsunami charging at him fearlessly.<br> <br> Livius leaned his back against a tall and shady tree as the blaster on his left hand kept on firing on the incoming Asuras. <br> <br> *<em>PEW</em>*<br> <br> *<em>PEW</em>*<br> <br> *<em>PEW</em> *<br> <br> *<em>PEW</em>*<br> <br> His body was soaking wet as the wounds were visible. The situation kept on getting worse as his sight started to lose its focus.<br> <br> 'Power.'<br> <br> 'I need power.'<br> <br> 'The power to destroy the world!'<br> <br> Within his body, many of the strange circles started to break. Each time a cirlce is broken, a deafing sound roars across the universe alerting every non-sentient species.<br> <br> From his heart, black fluid flowed out, corrupting his very veins. Soon the red vein turn to black as he started to lose conscious. The dark power soon answered his call.<br> <br> ****<br> <br> In the darkness of the night, many Asuras became active like bats as they charged out from the sea. <br> <br> *<em>ROAR</em>*<br> <br> The terrifying taunted the savage creatures as they shifted their attention to the source. They ran with their primitive weapons toward the source.<br> <br> *<em>ROAR</em>*<br> <br> The one who roared like a king was the same youth who had fallen into the darkness itself. The youth had the same structure as Livius with the exception his partially white hair and blood eyes. The dark veins which remained visible all over his body from head to toes.<br> <br> The "madman" issued the challenge to the Asuras through his roars. The waves sent the message to the tribe as an issue of insulting thus they attacked him on sight.<br> <br> ****<br> <br> "INDRA!"<br> <br> Tsukiyomi was surrounded before she could even escape from the cave. The Asuras had been calling Tsukiyomi "Indra" ever since they layed their eyes on her. They spoke the name with great disdain as if they were enemies.<br> <br> 'Where's that old pervert when I need his help?'<br> <br> However, none of them knew the history of the feud between their race. The truth had been long buried in the sand of time. To the Asuras, they only knew that Indra had caused them the greatest humiliati<p></p> </div>

Jabbra was fleeting in his private shuttle in fear. His body was constant expelling the sweat in a huge amount, making his uniform soaked. His eyes were filled with regret because of his previous decision. 'Shit! Shit!' 'Why am I an idiot?!' 'Not only did she manage to call reinforcement, but they appeared instantly.' 'I hope that I've lost them.' He stole a glance at the scene behind his shuttle, only to find out an army of 30 meters gigantic robots were pursuing him. The space nearly shaking as the army were chasing after the shuttle yet none of them open fire at the target yet. The scene was like a pack of wolves chasing after a lonely deer. Any obstacle was eliminated regardless of its existence. That was how the ICE worked especially when the enemy had just entered into the Yellow List. [Attention all units, eliminate the target at all cost!] [[[Affirmative, Captain!]]] **** Few moments ago, the battle between an army of busters and single jaguarian erupted as explosions. She jumped around the busters while relying on her natural instinct to dodge the incoming missiles and photon bullets. **BOOM** "Heh, interesting." "I didn't know the Federation could mobilise such fleet." **Buzz** The ringing ear-com knocked her out of the excitement of the explosions. The busters got played by her, forcing them to face enormous amount of friendly fires. "Huh?" She tapped onto the ear-com on her left ear allowing the incoming call to be answered. The enemies were chasing her like a mad. She left the field before the call was connected. [Hello, captain.] [Sarge, where are you?] [I'm just below the enemies, sir.] [Stay put and, stay safe.] [Yes, sir.] **** A group of Asuras were hunting down Tsukiyomi as they tore apart every obstacles between them and her. Her face was in fear as her feet carried her away in the deep jungle. 'Asuras. I thought they were sealed.' 'How's it possible?' A largely build Asura led his party in pursuing Tsukiyomi. Many of its inhabitant were being butchered in the gory scene as blood were splashed onto the nearby stones. "INDRA!" Some even got their body twisted like a clay. Blue, yellow and even red liquid flowed from their body. These three basic colours were being painted on the ground after the Asura left the bodies. "INDRA!" Intestines and other organs were lying all over the path which had been caused by the red skinned that resembled a humans in nature with some exceptions. Their teeth were razor sharp and their were fully black in colour. Their claws were long and durable which could blocked an incoming missile without breaking or destroying them. **** In the shadow of the night, the yellow moon shone upon the unknown world. The scene felt like it was nearly resembling the dusk time. The river still flowing in its course naturally. **SPLASH** A hand burst out from the flowing river, grabbing the nearby branches of a fallen trunk. With sufficient willpower, the hand managed to pull out its body from the water. Before he could even got up, something came out from the nearby bushes. It charged and hit him on the abdomen part, sending him flying to a nearby tree. **BAM** The youngster immediately spin the gem on the ring, causing wire-like strings to form in front of him like magic. They assembled themselves to form a strange weapon structure. CHROME BLASTER! 'Chrome?' 'Why did that old man said- ' 'Who care?!' Livius tried to grab the gun but as soon his right hand nearly reached it, the wound caused by the impact started to annoy him so its counterpart decided to take over the job. Without wasting any second, the barrel was aimed at the head of the charging beast. Livius got tried to remain calm yet the injury annoyed him every passing moment. 'Eat lasers!' **PEW** As soon as the beast fell, waves of Asura came in like tsunami charging at him fearlessly. Livius leaned his back against a tall and shady tree as the blaster on his left hand kept on firing on the incoming Asuras. **PEW** **PEW** **PEW* * **PEW** His body was soaking wet as the wounds were visible. The situation kept on getting worse as his sight started to lose its focus. 'Power.' 'I need power.' 'The power to destroy the world!' Within his body, many of the strange circles started to break. Each time a cirlce is broken, a deafing sound roars across the universe alerting every non-sentient species. From his heart, black fluid flowed out, corrupting his very veins. Soon the red vein turn to black as he started to lose conscious. The dark power soon answered his call. **** In the darkness of the night, many Asuras became active like bats as they charged out from the sea. **ROAR** The terrifying taunted the savage creatures as they shifted their attention to the source. They ran with their primitive weapons toward the source. **ROAR** The one who roared like a king was the same youth who had fallen into the darkness itself. The youth had the same structure as Livius with the exception his partially white hair and blood eyes. The dark veins which remained visible all over his body from head to toes. The "madman" issued the challenge to the Asuras through his roars. The waves sent the message to the tribe as an issue of insulting thus they attacked him on sight. **** "INDRA!" Tsukiyomi was surrounded before she could even escape from the cave. The Asuras had been calling Tsukiyomi "Indra" ever since they layed their eyes on her. They spoke the name with great disdain as if they were enemies. 'Where's that old pervert when I need his help?' However, none of them knew the history of the feud between their race. The truth had been long buried in the sand of time. To the Asuras, they only knew that Indra had caused them the greatest humiliati

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlMDQwMjVkMDJkMzQ0Y2ViMjllZGI2YTc5ZmYzZTE4">“She’s going to beat you up if she finds out,” Serra tells Fenrir as the two walks around town, now looking for where the stables are.</p> <p class="cnM1MjM4OWEyMTAwMDRmZDBhN2I3NmRiYmFlNTIwNzRm">“It’ll be worth it. Don’t you think it’ll be funny to see those two in the same room together?” Fenrir asks.</p> <p class="cnMwOGUxNWE3YWNjMTRkMTJhOTgyMWRkYmM0MTRkMTEz">“They’ll build something that blows the world up.”</p> <p class="cnM1MWQwNWFlMzZhMTQ4Y2ViNjlmYTIzZjZmZjM1MGI0">“That… is actually a valid concern.”</p> <p class="cnM5YmQ1Y2VlM2FiODQ1ZDlhNjkyMTlkM2FiYTJhNTBk">“Give dick.”</p> <p class="cnMzZGQ1MjJhYjU0MzQ1YzZiNmNmZDg4NGM4Y2I2ZmUw">“Wh-what?”</p> <p class="cnNmMDdhM2NjMmZlNDRhYjRiNTQ4ZDA3MjU5NzlkODgz">“Give dick,” Serra repeats.</p> <p class="cnNkNDI3MmFlNWJiODRlMThiZDdjYjQwOTg5NDQ4MmU3">“I thought that’s what you said,” Fenrir says with a sigh. “Later. And don’t just randomly… actually, feel free to randomly say stuff like that more. It’s pretty hot.”</p> <p class="cnM0OGRhOTlmZjRjYjQxNmM5NGIyZDc1OGVhODA0YmFh">“Give dick now.”</p> <p class="cnM1OWM5ZGJiNzg4YzRiMjNiZjZlZThhYmYyZjE2YjZh">Fenrir flicks her on the back of her head before saying, “Say it when I can <em>actually</em> give it to you.”</p> <p class="cnMxMmViZjNjMTM3NTQxNDM5Zjk3MGNlYTY1YjRjNWFm">Serra grabs his hand and points at a nearby building. The signpost in front of it has a logo with a bed on it.</p> <p class="cnM5ZGQ0ZGM4MDg5ODRkOTM4MDE0NGJiZTc5NGU1Mzgz">“Give dick in there,” Serra says.</p> <p class="cnM3YTEyODg2Yjg0MTRmOTQ5OTJjMzQ3YTY5YTg1OTJl">“We – we can’t just be randomly walking around all of a sudden, you say ‘give dick,’ and then we go and actually – and then I actually give you dick in some random inn. It doesn’t work like that,” Fenrir says.</p> <p class="cnMwY2Q0MTY5NTdjNDRmNjU4YjAyYTc3YzY4NGJiMmE3">“Now it does. So, dick?”</p> <p class="cnMyZDMzOTk4Nzk1MjRkZTI4Y2VkM2JkOTQxOGNiNzJj">Fenrir sighs. “Alright. Dick.”</p> <p class="cnM4M2RjYjc0YTM5MDRmNjY5OGU3MzkzOTBiNTk0MzAz">“Don’t act like you don’t want it.”</p> <p class="cnNjMzg4NzY0YzM4OTRkZDliNTkxMGRkYzFiY2Q1MjZm">“I just don’t know how you can be so honest and blunt about what you want. It’s honestly impressive.”</p> <p class="cnM4NTExMzdiZGE3ODRhMzRiZDg1ZDJhNDQzY2ExYmEw">“Be more like Damian.”</p> <p class="cnNiMGZkNWI0ZGE4ODQ1ZWY5YzExZmFlYzY5MzU2NDE1">“Who?”</p> <p class="cnNmNmY3NGRiMGIyOTQyZDQ4YWYyZmJkNjhkMTU4MWI4">“The ferret.”</p> <p class="cnNhZTc3MzY4NDQyNjRkZWI5OGI2YjkzNWZlMjk4NjQz">“Oh, right.”</p> <p class="cnM0NTllZjNjNzA0MzQ4ZTlhYzA1NmUyZTU1ZTEyZjIy">“But… never mind.”</p> <p class="cnNjYTUzY2VkZDc5YjRmY2M4Njk2ODZkMzY1YWRjZGE3">“Never mind?” Fenrir asks.</p> <p class="cnMxNzM1YzIwN2U4YTRjN2I4MTEwZWFmOGRlYmRmMTYx">“I’m Damian, you’re Lily,” Serra says and nods.</p> <p class="cnNjNTJiMGM0ZmUyMzRmMTdiYzUyYTliNjEzZjY4YjZj">“I don’t know how to feel about that.”</p> <p class="cnNhYTM0NGNhYTU2ZTRhNzk5OGRkNTAzOGRiN2UwNTFk">“Just take it.”</p> <p class="cnMwYWY1OGI3OGZmZjRlYjFhNjYwOTE1MTk4YWYyY2Zk">“Sure, sure. Anyways… we should probably hurry up. Don’t want to keep the others waiting too long.”</p> <p class="cnNiNzNjNzdiMjliZTRhNzA5OTU0ZjZhMWJkZWFjMjRi">“You know they won’t care if we say why they were waiting.”</p> <p class="cnNmNWRlZmZiOGVhZTQ0MjY5MzU2ODVjZjlhNDYwNzJi">“You’re not wrong.”</p> <p class="cnNjNDY4MGE4MjYyZTQ5ZTBiNjkxN2UyN2M3ZjFkMzA2">With that, Serra leads Fenrir into the inn.</p> <p class="cnM4MTg4NDc5MWZiNjRkZGNiNzA5NDdkZTEyMjA1OGMx">Of course, as soon as it comes to dealing with a stranger, Serra lets go of Fenrir and gets behind him instead to let him do the talking.</p> <p class="cnM0ZDIxMjE4MGRjNDQyOGRiY2M4ODAyZDk3NTI2MzU5">Fenrir asks, “Can we uh… rent a room?”</p> <p class="cnM3MDE0ODFjYTE0NjRhN2Y5MjM1MmU1NTg1MjQxNWIw">The woman behind the counter has the most knowing, smug smile that Fenrir might have ever seen before. Not even Serra can be as smugly knowing as the woman in front of him now.</p> <p class="cnNkMzRkMTcyYzI4ZjQwMWI5NzkyNWE0NDJkNGU5MmM1">“For how long?” the woman asks.</p> <p class="cnM0OTBmNzVlODg0YzRkZDRiNzllNjM5ZGViYjI0NDZh">“Uh… not too long?” Fenrir answers. While this wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to rent a room in this game to have some fun with his girlfriends, it’s the first time the person he’s renting it from has been so… <em>obvious</em> about knowing what’s going on.</p> <p class="cnM1NDE3MTU4YmRhYjRiMDhhYWYyNTU4YTY2YzI3ZTMy">It’s like the difference between buying condoms by oneself and buying condoms with a significant other. It doesn’t help that Serra is making it extremely obvious by hiding behind Fenrir and blushing.</p> <p class="cnM4NTUwMDliZDg4NzRjZTliNWUzZWE2ODk0MmU0ZjM0">Fenrir is blushing too, of course, <em>and</em> his tail is wagging.</p> <p class="cnM3YjJkZDVkMjI3OTQzZjg4YmZiYzMxYWIyZjUzNGYz">“So… only ten minutes?” the woman asks, making Fenrir’s ears fold and his cheeks to brighten.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjRjYWY3YjdjYTQ3ZGI4ZjdhMWQ5ZDgwMDU1OGIw">“I – longer,” Fenrir replies.”</p> <p class="cnNkNTVmNWFiYmNjMTRjMzk5NjVjNDE1M2ViZDUwOGIw">“<em>Longer</em>, ehhh?”</p> <p class="cnNkYWM4YTU0MDE5MTQ4NjNhN2NiOTA2ZjJmZDZkMDA2">Fenrir hears Serra snerk from behind him. “Yeah… like—”</p> <p class="cnNjMmE1NGY5MDQ4MDQ4OTU5MGM3NTUyNmY0NDhkZDVh">“Thirty minutes? That’s a pretty <em>short</em> time which should be enough, right?”</p> <p class="cnMzMzk0NTYxOGNjMTQ2OTA4YzRlNTFiNzhiODVmNDcz">Now Fenrir just feels challenged. “Actually, I think… an hour might—”</p> <p class="cnM4M2MwNzkyYmRhNDQ3ZGNhZjY1OWU3YjQzZjA1YmI1">“Oh? A <em>whole</em> hour? You sure that’s not too long? You <em>did</em> say ‘not too long’ before.”</p> <p class="cnNjY2VkNGQzN2VmZDRhMDJiMTIzZmMwYjlhYmRjYWZm">Fenrir goes from feeling challenged to feeling like the-leader-of-a-group-known-for-being-notorious-assholes challenged. “Actually, I’ll need it until tomorrow morning, so let’s just say for the next twenty-four hours.”</p> <p class="cnM4NGNhNTM2OTExYjQ0ZWJhN2M0YTkyNTYwMWE3N2Nm">Then Fenrir realizes he might be in trouble. He just asked for a room for an entire day… but he has nothing to trade for it since the people in this town don’t care about coins.</p> <p class="cnMyNjg4NTdkNDFkNzQxMTFiZDM1ZTU2ZjAwYzg1MDVh">Both Serra and the woman laugh.</p> <p class="cnMzODNkNjU0ZmUwMDQ0OGJhMjA4M2UwZDJkYjllOTAx">“You’re too funny,” the woman says. “Here,” she holds out a key, “second room on the right up the stairs.”</p> <p class="cnNiN2U3YmNhNWQyMjQ0MTBhMjAxMDgzZmE2NmYwMzhl">“What – what about paying?” Fenrir asks.</p> <p class="cnNlNmIyNGZlYTUwZjQ3MTQ4YmI1MmUxMzUzNTkwYTZl">“Ehh? That? Don’t worry ‘bout it. Not enough folk come around to make charging people worth it. Now, you two have <em>fun</em> up there. Oh, and don’t worry. My hubby built this place <em>sturdy</em> and <em>thick</em>. You can be as loud as you want and I won’t be hearing anything. Shame.”</p> <p class="cnNlMDgzN2M1NTIxZTRmNzdiNTAzNTAxOTdkZDE2OWU0">Serra pokes her head out from behind Fenrir to smile and give the woman a thumbs-up, and then she gets a thumbs-up in return.</p> <p class="cnMyZTIwNTRiMGZhYjQzYWFhYmE1N2I4ZmMxMzM1ZTQy">First, they found a soulmate for Tabitha. Now, they’ve found a soul mate for Serra. Fortunately, this woman is already married.</p> <p class="cnNiN2U3ZmRkMzc4MjQxYWZhYTkxMGU4MGEzYWZjYjk5">“Thanks,” Fenrir says, feeling like a shy schoolgirl while Serra and the woman nod at each other.</p> <p class="cnMxMTEwYTNhY2M4NjQ2MDNhNzNiYzdkZmNhOWI2YTVi">This just gives him more proof that this is Serra’s harem if anything.</p> <p class="cnNhZThlODc0NjNkNDQ1YWY4ODlhNTc5NjRlNDYzYTE1">The moment that they are inside of the room, Serra locks the door behind them and surprises Fenrir with her strength by pushing him down onto the bed.</p> <p class="cnNlMTNmOTg5MGQzZDQxZGFhYzgwMTNhYzExOTUwYzE5">“You’re – you’re really jumping right into this, aren’t you?” Fenrir asks as Serra runs her hands up the inside of his shirt, placing her lips down against his neck to bite and suck on the skin there.</p> <p class="cnNhNzc4N2Y0OTYxYzRkNDhiYzU3ZTBlNTNlMmM1MWNj">Fenrir has to bite his lower lip to avoid any potentially-embarrassing noises from coming out as Serra works on marking his neck.</p> <p class="cnMzYTFiZTY4M2I2NjQ0MGY5OWYzODNiMDJjMjlhNGM1">Well, everybody is definitely going to know what happened while they were gone now.</p> <p class="cnNiNjg2OTk2ZTAzYjQ5ZDVhMzU1NjU4YWRmODFiMWI4">While Serra rests her hands on his chest, gently scratching her nails against him, she finishes her job on his neck with a loud popping sound.</p> <p class="cnNhMmUyYTIzZjE5YTRjYmJhNjgxY2QxZWFlMGI2YzE0">She looks down at his neck and smiles.</p> <p class="cnNlMzcxZDAzNTU2MzRhNmQ4NjNkZWQ5NTQ1MTY4Y2M4">A large, red bruise is left with marks from her teeth around it.</p> <p class="cnM5ZWQzNjBmNjJjNjQ4M2JhOWVhNzhmNDU5NmUyOGQ2">“Mine,” Serra says. “Just because I let you have other girls doesn’t mean you don’t still belong to me.”</p> <p class="cnMyZTM4MWNiZTJhOTQ1NTQ5MjZjNzU0ZTEzZDNmMDAy">“E-eh?” Fenrir asks, having never seen this level of… <em>dominance</em> from her before.</p> <p class="cnM0MTJkMzA5NzgwOTQ5ZjJiOGI5MDFkMTIwN2RjYmYy">“I’ve been practicing being dom with Nell Nell. How is it?”</p> <p class="cnNhY2RkNjllNGE1ZjQxMTY4YjY3Y2QwN2IzMmU5YTlm">“It’s uh… <em>really</em> hot. I didn’t think I’d really be into this, but… yeah.”</p> <p class="cnMxMzBmZDQyMTJkZjRiYzJiMDI5YjNmOTk0ZGYxMWZh">As if to confirm his words, Serra reaches one hand behind her to rest on his crotch. The throbbing response that her hand gets confirms that he’s enjoying this.</p> <p class="cnM4Y2U4YzU4NmY5MzRiMzVhMmRhODVjZjdhNGQ3OTky">“Cass Cass might be your dog, but you’re my dog,” Serra says.</p> <p class="cnMwNmYwYTM5NjBhOTQ2MDNiMjI3NzQ0YTM0YTlhZTg3">“Wait… you know about that?” Fenrir asks.</p> <p class="cnMxN2NiNjE0MjhkZTRkNmM5NTEzMDE1MTg4MDM5MTk3">Serra smirks and places her lips back down against the unbruised side of his neck.</p> <p class="cnNmNTljZDhiYTg1OTQwMTBhMTRiNDI4MjU5MWNiOGU4">Not only does Serra have control of Fenrir’s neck with her mouth, but she takes control of his arms by grabbing his wrists and pinning them down on the bed above his head.</p> <p class="cnMxODFmNDUzYWFhNzRlN2RhMDNlNzM4NTFlMWQzMDNh">She does give him some service, though, by scooting her lower half down his body so that she can grind her clothed crotch against that throbbing, needy tool restrained by his pants.</p> <p class="cnNiNjdkMTA2MWM0YzQ2NDE5YzE3OGFiYmZhZjc0MTAy">Fenrir can’t help but moan.</p> <p class="cnMxMjljNWRkNWI4MDQ3MDJhMTYyNTgyNmExMzcyODEx">Despite the fact that she’s hardly over half as tall as he is, and that he’s much stronger than she is, he feels weak right now. Even though he knows that it’s an artificial weakness and that he could take back control at any time… why would he want to?</p> <p class="cnM2ZWQ5YWJiZDY5MTQzNzk4ZjE3OWY3MWQ3ZTAwNzE5">He wants to see where this goes.</p> <p class="cnNjZDZhZTVlNzkxZjQzM2JiZDY4MzJiNGFlMWU2OGVh">Serra pops her lips off of his neck now that both sides of it have been marked. Then, she leans up toward one of the canid ears atop his head to whisper, “Good doggy,” into it, causing Fenrir to moan again.</p> <p class="cnM4ZDVhNTJiZTI4YzRhY2M4NWJkOTc0OWVmMjQ2MGU0">To tease him even more, Serra slides her hips away from his so that she can reach up and nibble on the top of his pointed ear. A soft, gentle blow into it follows afterward.</p> <p class="cnM2YjVhZjNjYTVmMzRhMGE4NDA1NDhlY2Q4YjBhOTcx">Now, he feels something that he once used against Cassiel.</p> <p class="cnMwMDI3Nzk4ZjdjMDQzMDlhN2U4N2RiM2Q5MzgxMWVj">Serra positions her knee so that its cap is rubbing against the side of his clothed erection. While <em>he</em> knows that it’s just her knee rubbing his cock, his cock doesn’t know that. His cock only cares about the fact that it’s getting stimulated and has no interest in <em>what</em> is stimulating it.</p> <p class="cnNiZGFmMDNlODVhMzRjZGVhMzYzODZiMGEyZGQ5Mjlh">Though, the hornier that Fenrir gets, the more he wants to retake control.</p> <p class="cnM3ODIzM2ZkYTA2ZDQ5YTQ5MDA4YjI0NjdjYTgwOWZk">“When I say, ‘give dick,’ that means give me your dick. Okay?” Serra asks and gets an obedient nod from Fenrir in return.</p> <p class="cnNhMGRiZmNkZjBiOTQyODk5MzJkNDAyYTUwMTNlZDAz">Despite Serra speaking in her usual flat sort of monotone voice, Fenrir finds lustful excitement from her words.</p> <p class="cnM5MTQ4YTVmYTFkMjQ2YTI5OWJlOTVkM2I4MTljNTdh">Serra is not the type that Fenrir would ever expect to try and play at being <em>this</em> dominant, but he is damn appreciative now that she’s doing it.</p> <p class="cnNkNDg0NmQ3YTdjZjQzMzI5N2RjZTAzNTYzOWUyZDcy">Fortunately for his pride, she removes her knee from his erection to slide back down his body. Since his erection is running down his right pant leg, Serra knows exactly where to sit as her hands push his shirt up to expose his abdomen.</p> <p class="cnMyOTEwODQ5ZmFiNDQ2Y2ZhOWQ2NzlmNmI1NzJhZGVl">Fenrir’s neck isn’t his only part that is going to get marked by her mouth. Now, Serra presses her lips down against his muscled abdomen to plant kisses and bite wherever there’s enough skin for her to grab onto with her teeth. This is one of the times when she wishes she was with his real body rather than this one. The toned abs of Fenrir make it difficult to find skin to latch onto whereas Ryouta’s abdomen is softer and looser while still being thin.</p> <p class="cnM5ODllODQyZmFhMDQ3ZjA5NjVlOGJmMzM2NmY1MjBj">Of course, she doesn’t let that stop her from leaving plenty of red bite marks all over his abdomen, and her mouth is only traveling higher.</p> </div>

“She’s going to beat you up if she finds out,” Serra tells Fenrir as the two walks around town, now looking for where the stables are. “It’ll be worth it. Don’t you think it’ll be funny to see those two in the same room together?” Fenrir asks. “They’ll build something that blows the world up.” “That… is actually a valid concern.” “Give dick.” “Wh-what?” “Give dick,” Serra repeats. “I thought that’s what you said,” Fenrir says with a sigh. “Later. And don’t just randomly… actually, feel free to randomly say stuff like that more. It’s pretty hot.” “Give dick now.” Fenrir flicks her on the back of her head before saying, “Say it when I can *actually* give it to you.” Serra grabs his hand and points at a nearby building. The signpost in front of it has a logo with a bed on it. “Give dick in there,” Serra says. “We – we can’t just be randomly walking around all of a sudden, you say ‘give dick,’ and then we go and actually – and then I actually give you dick in some random inn. It doesn’t work like that,” Fenrir says. “Now it does. So, dick?” Fenrir sighs. “Alright. Dick.” “Don’t act like you don’t want it.” “I just don’t know how you can be so honest and blunt about what you want. It’s honestly impressive.” “Be more like Damian.” “Who?” “The ferret.” “Oh, right.” “But… never mind.” “Never mind?” Fenrir asks. “I’m Damian, you’re Lily,” Serra says and nods. “I don’t know how to feel about that.” “Just take it.” “Sure, sure. Anyways… we should probably hurry up. Don’t want to keep the others waiting too long.” “You know they won’t care if we say why they were waiting.” “You’re not wrong.” With that, Serra leads Fenrir into the inn. Of course, as soon as it comes to dealing with a stranger, Serra lets go of Fenrir and gets behind him instead to let him do the talking. Fenrir asks, “Can we uh… rent a room?” The woman behind the counter has the most knowing, smug smile that Fenrir might have ever seen before. Not even Serra can be as smugly knowing as the woman in front of him now. “For how long?” the woman asks. “Uh… not too long?” Fenrir answers. While this wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to rent a room in this game to have some fun with his girlfriends, it’s the first time the person he’s renting it from has been so… *obvious* about knowing what’s going on. It’s like the difference between buying condoms by oneself and buying condoms with a significant other. It doesn’t help that Serra is making it extremely obvious by hiding behind Fenrir and blushing. Fenrir is blushing too, of course, *and* his tail is wagging. “So… only ten minutes?” the woman asks, making Fenrir’s ears fold and his cheeks to brighten. “I – longer,” Fenrir replies.” “*Longer*, ehhh?” Fenrir hears Serra snerk from behind him. “Yeah… like—” “Thirty minutes? That’s a pretty *short* time which should be enough, right?” Now Fenrir just feels challenged. “Actually, I think… an hour might—” “Oh? A *whole* hour? You sure that’s not too long? You *did* say ‘not too long’ before.” Fenrir goes from feeling challenged to feeling like the-leader-of-a-group-known-for-being-notorious-assholes challenged. “Actually, I’ll need it until tomorrow morning, so let’s just say for the next twenty-four hours.” Then Fenrir realizes he might be in trouble. He just asked for a room for an entire day… but he has nothing to trade for it since the people in this town don’t care about coins. Both Serra and the woman laugh. “You’re too funny,” the woman says. “Here,” she holds out a key, “second room on the right up the stairs.” “What – what about paying?” Fenrir asks. “Ehh? That? Don’t worry ‘bout it. Not enough folk come around to make charging people worth it. Now, you two have *fun* up there. Oh, and don’t worry. My hubby built this place *sturdy* and *thick*. You can be as loud as you want and I won’t be hearing anything. Shame.” Serra pokes her head out from behind Fenrir to smile and give the woman a thumbs-up, and then she gets a thumbs-up in return. First, they found a soulmate for Tabitha. Now, they’ve found a soul mate for Serra. Fortunately, this woman is already married. “Thanks,” Fenrir says, feeling like a shy schoolgirl while Serra and the woman nod at each other. This just gives him more proof that this is Serra’s harem if anything. The moment that they are inside of the room, Serra locks the door behind them and surprises Fenrir with her strength by pushing him down onto the bed. “You’re – you’re really jumping right into this, aren’t you?” Fenrir asks as Serra runs her hands up the inside of his shirt, placing her lips down against his neck to bite and suck on the skin there. Fenrir has to bite his lower lip to avoid any potentially-embarrassing noises from coming out as Serra works on marking his neck. Well, everybody is definitely going to know what happened while they were gone now. While Serra rests her hands on his chest, gently scratching her nails against him, she finishes her job on his neck with a loud popping sound. She looks down at his neck and smiles. A large, red bruise is left with marks from her teeth around it. “Mine,” Serra says. “Just because I let you have other girls doesn’t mean you don’t still belong to me.” “E-eh?” Fenrir asks, having never seen this level of… *dominance* from her before. “I’ve been practicing being dom with Nell Nell. How is it?” “It’s uh… *really* hot. I didn’t think I’d really be into this, but… yeah.” As if to confirm his words, Serra reaches one hand behind her to rest on his crotch. The throbbing response that her hand gets confirms that he’s enjoying this. “Cass Cass might be your dog, but you’re my dog,” Serra says. “Wait… you know about that?” Fenrir asks. Serra smirks and places her lips back down against the unbruised side of his neck. Not only does Serra have control of Fenrir’s neck with her mouth, but she takes control of his arms by grabbing his wrists and pinning them down on the bed above his head. She does give him some service, though, by scooting her lower half down his body so that she can grind her clothed crotch against that throbbing, needy tool restrained by his pants. Fenrir can’t help but moan. Despite the fact that she’s hardly over half as tall as he is, and that he’s much stronger than she is, he feels weak right now. Even though he knows that it’s an artificial weakness and that he could take back control at any time… why would he want to? He wants to see where this goes. Serra pops her lips off of his neck now that both sides of it have been marked. Then, she leans up toward one of the canid ears atop his head to whisper, “Good doggy,” into it, causing Fenrir to moan again. To tease him even more, Serra slides her hips away from his so that she can reach up and nibble on the top of his pointed ear. A soft, gentle blow into it follows afterward. Now, he feels something that he once used against Cassiel. Serra positions her knee so that its cap is rubbing against the side of his clothed erection. While *he* knows that it’s just her knee rubbing his cock, his cock doesn’t know that. His cock only cares about the fact that it’s getting stimulated and has no interest in *what* is stimulating it. Though, the hornier that Fenrir gets, the more he wants to retake control. “When I say, ‘give dick,’ that means give me your dick. Okay?” Serra asks and gets an obedient nod from Fenrir in return. Despite Serra speaking in her usual flat sort of monotone voice, Fenrir finds lustful excitement from her words. Serra is not the type that Fenrir would ever expect to try and play at being *this* dominant, but he is damn appreciative now that she’s doing it. Fortunately for his pride, she removes her knee from his erection to slide back down his body. Since his erection is running down his right pant leg, Serra knows exactly where to sit as her hands push his shirt up to expose his abdomen. Fenrir’s neck isn’t his only part that is going to get marked by her mouth. Now, Serra presses her lips down against his muscled abdomen to plant kisses and bite wherever there’s enough skin for her to grab onto with her teeth. This is one of the times when she wishes she was with his real body rather than this one. The toned abs of Fenrir make it difficult to find skin to latch onto whereas Ryouta’s abdomen is softer and looser while still being thin. Of course, she doesn’t let that stop her from leaving plenty of red bite marks all over his abdomen, and her mouth is only traveling higher.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div class="_2TO-components-SimpleRichTextEditor--paragraphElement"> <div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr"> <p class="cnM4NmJiMDhjZGJiMjQ2ZjQ4MTQ4MTcxZjExYTFlMTMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Earnest unholstered two pistols, quick drawing them with skill. He fired off the entire clip towards Iasis. Iasis clasped a fist at the same time. Water from the air snapped together, forming ice. This plate of ice caught the bullets, cracks snapping through the plate.</span></p> <p class="cnM4YjQzZDIxMWEzNTQ1ZWRiZWZiMzc3MTVlZDVhNDM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">The wall of ice crumbled. Iasis turned around, gesturing with his hands. Blue, origin mana built in his fingertips. He faced the shards of ice, launching them towards Earnest. Iasis created new shards formed as fast as the old ones fired out. </span></p> <p class="cnM3MTcyZTJkNmZhMzQ0MjFiNzUwMGI1OGRhZjFiNDUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">The pistol expert reloaded his pistols, dodging the shards with subtle flicks of motion. Once loaded, he fired the guns at shards he couldn't avoid. As the shardstorm thinned, Earnest let out several shots at Iasis. These bullets weaved through a sea of ice shards, straight at Iasis's vitals.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZWEzOTcwMjliMTRjYWI5MzUxODUxNmMxZDIyMTA5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea murmured, "Wow...He's so good."</span></p> <p class="cnNkMjhiMDdiY2ZlMzRhYjA4NWViZGIyNjgzODZkODYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">I nodded, "Yeah. He is."</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDQ5MTVkOTJiMzQ3YzE4MGQwMTI3NjViOGJmMjlj"><span style="font-weight: 400"> Iasis molded his ice shards, deflecting bullets and launching ice at Earnest. This flurry of activity continued, shells launching off in every direction. They fizzled against an energy barrier around the arena, keeping spectators safe.</span></p> <p class="cnNlN2QwZGEyNTFlMTQ1YzFhZTg4YTM3NWQzNDMyMjRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">As the standstill reached its peak, Earnest pointed one of his pistols upward. He shot into a panel of ice while firing a gun in a random direction. At least I thought it was random. The first shot bounced off the glass panel. It then snapped against the other bullet.</span></p> <p class="cnM5OTA5MzI3YmQwNDRjNTM4ZTQ3NjU1N2MzZDkwYjBk"><span style="font-weight: 400">The rapid series of deflections launched a bullet from an odd angle at Iasis. The bullet pierced Iasis's shoulder. From it, Iasis lifted out his blood with magic. He clenched his fist, the blood disintegrating. Red mana rippled up through Iasis, making his physical might amplify.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZjJhNGJjOTQ0ZDRkZTlhOWFjNzM3NmI5ZGIyNDY0"><span style="font-weight: 400">He dashed towards Earnest, covering himself in an armor of ice. Earnest sped away, kiting the mage. Earnest fired the pistols, reloading without missing a beat. Iasis dashed towards him while dodging the projectiles by zigzagging.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZWVkNDI4MWVjMTQ0MzFiM2FlYWNhNjZkZWFlYzgw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Earnest tossed out two proximity mines from his belt while firing the pistols. The Steel Legion member maneuvered himself, keeping the mines between him and Iasis. Iasis took three more shots, bleeding from his legs and chest. He molded the blood into yet more mana, encouraging him further.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNWJlNWM4M2I3MzRjYjRiZWIzMWExZmJhMzBlOTFk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Iasis ran into the mines. They detonated, but the kinetic energy of the explosions siphoned into the hands of Iasis. Took off guard, Earnest threw a grenade at Iasis. It exploded, spraying superheated green plasma in every direction.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNDhlMzc1MGY0YzQ3MmZiYjQxN2RlNDYwOWU5YjNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Iasis deflected the wave of goop by reaching out one of his hands. The condensed explosion in his palm released. The plasma shot back at Earnest. The master gunman turned around, his power armor flaring to life. A jetpack launched him away, the resulting fiery explosion spraying the plasma in every direction.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNTI1ODFhMzk0ZTRmNjFiYmZkZTBmNDVlZWUwZDdj"><span style="font-weight: 400">With the sound of singing stone in every direction, Iasis and Earnest flew. They fired ice and lead at each other, elaborate aerial stunts keeping them safe.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYWM5NzA4ZGI2ZTQ0NWFiMmU1MTE2NDcxZDIwNjFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">I raised an eyebrow, "Why doesn't the mage just surround the guy with ice?"</span></p> <p class="cnNiZTdhZGIzYTFmZTRiYTRiMDVmMWM5ZTlkMTE3OTQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe he's hiding his more advanced tactics?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3NTA2MDQ0NTdkZTQxMTA5YzdjODRkOWFhYzY5NTU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">I nodded, "Ok, I could see that."</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDNmYjVkZTMyMDRkZTJhN2U0Mzg2OGU0OWQzMDNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Both sides fumbled, each of them struggling to gain the upper hand. The mage's mana dwindled just like the gunman's ammo and fuel. For the first time in the fight, the gunmen zoomed over the water. As his jetpack left a cloud of steam, the mage clapped his hands.</span></p> <p class="cnNjODI2YTNjOTUxYTQyYzdiYWU1NTAzYmMwYjliZTI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Thousands of ice needles shot into Earnest's body from all directions. He crashed into the water. As he did, the announcer lifted a hand to Iasis,</span></p> <p class="cnM2OTNlOTFkYjI3YjRjY2E4NmJmNTEwZTBlMTAxMDgy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"And Iasis Klon is victorious!"</span></p> <p class="cnNhZTlkMDg0ODAzNzQ1MTNhMWU3MzExNGNjNDhkZjhl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Two members of the legion floated towards Earnest with jetpacks and power armor. They picked him up, pulling him to a nearby medical station. A healing mage cast magic while a doctor injected him with adrenaline and stims.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNzU5YjhmYzgwMjQ4ZmJhMWVhY2U1OWYzNzMxOGIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">The whole crowd clapped their hands, including Althea and I. I turned towards her, nodding my head with begrudging respect, "This turned out </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">way</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> better than I expected. Who'd of guessed?"</span></p> <p class="cnM1M2YxZTg2ZDA3YTQ3ODA4OGNkM2FlNjNiMGU2N2Rj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea raised her eyebrows, "They were both cappers, so the rest of the tournament might not be as exciting."</span></p> <p class="cnNkYTYzYTdjYzQzYjQxMDNiZGZmMTg2OWFiOGFiNDc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">I sighed, "I'm just praying the rest of the matches are like that. That shit was epic."</span></p> <p class="cnNiODQ5NTJiNTc0MjRiYjE4YjY2ZmI1ZGI5NDlhZjdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">She giggled, "We'd take them easily."</span></p> <p class="cnMwNTg2MWUwN2U5YjQ2N2ZiMzBlMGYwNTYxZjNkMmVm"><span style="font-weight: 400">I shrugged, "Doesn't matter. That was still badass."</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzRiZTRlY2RjNDQ1ODNhMmI0NGFmNGNhNDIyODNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">She pursed her lips, "I'm a better shot than that guy."</span></p> <p class="cnM5ODU1ZDM3Zjg1YjRlZjg4OTlmOTlmNzAzZDhjZWYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">I scoffed, "Uh huh, sure."</span></p> <p class="cnNkZjViNDBiNGU4OTQ2ZTc4NjIyNmUyOGIxZTg5NTJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">She narrowed her eyes at me, "What, you don't believe me?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4MDA5MTMyOWMxYjQ5YTQ5MWM1MDg2OGMwNzg4Mjcx"><span style="font-weight: 400">I shook my head, "I </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">know</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> you're a worse shot. Here's the thing though. Your bolt would've pierced the ice and killed the mage. You don't need to be a better shot."</span></p> <p class="cnM2YWExYWZjZDhlZDRhMjhiOWU4ZDdlOWYwZDAwNTE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">She raised her eyebrows in reluctance, "I mean, I guess so."</span></p> <p class="cnNiMWFiN2Q4NGY4NDRiMTQ4YWY5MTk0OTE5MmY0YzYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">I nudged with an elbow, "Besides, you wouldn't have run from the mage once he tried coming at you. You'd rip him apart."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZWM2ZTRiZmJjNzQ1YWNiYzNlYTJhM2IxN2JkMmQ5"><span style="font-weight: 400">She smiled, "Thanks."</span></p> <p class="cnNiYjU0MjEwY2Q4MTQyZmFhNzFhNzA0ZWMxY2NjZGNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">I looked at the next competitors entering the arena, "Just being honest."</span></p> <p class="cnNkMGZjMzgxNmE4NTRjOGNiYzAwODQxMDk3Mzg0NDA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">The two competitors paled in comparison to the last ones. Neither exceeded level 2,000. They both relied on tech, using machine exoskeletons to fight it out with each other. They were clumsy compared with Earnest and Iasis. </span></p> <p class="cnM2ZTAzN2VlMGU1NjRiNTQ4NDIwM2VmZjBlNDQ5ODQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Don't get me wrong, they'd have been worthy contenders normally. Following up the first fight was a tall task though. After they both kicked each other's asses, the announcer lifted his hands up to announce the next combatants,</span></p> <p class="cnMwMTc4MDE5MTVmOTQ4MDE5NTU4M2Q2NjE0YWM5N2Vi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"This year we have a fresh face here in Icosah. On the one side, a mysterious man who cleared over twenty quests in two weeks. The mysterious and memorable Daniel Hillside!"</span></p> <p class="cnM2NGNkYmU4YzJkYTRhNzNhMWYxYjZkOWE3ZThjZjJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">I looked around, surprised they called my name out already. Althea grabbed my shoulder, "Hey, good luck."</span></p> <p class="cnNmNTllMGYzYjkxODRjOTI5OTZiYmUyZjVmM2I1MmJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">I gave her a thumbs up. I jumped up, letting myself land onto the arena with some gravity magic for assistance. The crowd oohed and aahed at the display of finesse. They expected me to be a fighter for my size, so seeing magic must have surprised them.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNzQyMjFlMThhMDRjY2E4MmJmYTRhMDk1YTE3YzJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">On the opposite side of the arena, a wiry alien walked up. It was a member of the Enigmatta. Hidden inside a pressurized suit, the girl prepared several spells for combat. The announcer pointed at her,</span></p> <p class="cnNmZTVlZTM5MGJlZjRhNGY4MWQzZTMzOTVlNTU5ZTZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">"And here is Elsa Tiary. She's a regular combatant at the yearly tournament. Though she's never won, she's been a finalist several times. Don't count her out folks."</span></p> <p class="cnM2NjhiNjFiMDEyMDRjNmFiNzYxYTY2YWYzMzRjODRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">The enigmatta all raised their hands, air bubbles lifting in their oxygen tanks. Elsa raised her thin arms, waving at them. After the hoopla, the announcer looked at us both,</span></p> <p class="cnMyYTljOGM3NjQ2NTRkMGZiZDVkNmFhNzQ5YzE5NDM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Are both combatants ready?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzNmZjYzk4NDI3MTQwZWRhMWM1YTlhYzc5NWI5YzRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">We nodded. The announcer raised his arms, "Then let the fight begin!"</span></p> <p class="cnNlYThhM2M4YTU3NzQ1ZWM5OGZlYmQ3N2E3YjdmNTdk"><span style="font-weight: 400">I pressed down one of my hands. A wave of gravity sent Elsa to her knees. I lifted a leg before kicking out. My foot hit a telekinetic panel. A telekinetic panel generated in front of Elsa, smashing her face.</span></p> <p class="cnM4YzZiODk5MjZmZDQwNTliNmEzOTcwM2YwMzUwZTUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Though weakened, I kicked with plenty of force to shatter her dome helmet. She spun through the air, her suit's water and some sharp teeth launching in every direction. She slapped against the water surrounding the arena, belly flopping hard. She was out cold.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZDBiYmJmNTQzMjRlYjdiMDBhYTE1MTJhZjhiZWNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Everything turned quiet. I didn't go all out on her with the kick, so Elsa was fine. I looked around, making sure everything was ok. The announcer stammered,</span></p> <p class="cnNjY2EyMDY2ZjJkODQyNzc4ZjQ5NTVmMGI4NDVkN2Yz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Uhm, wow, that was fast. The, ahem, winner is Daniel!"</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDdlYzVlOTI1MTRlZGQ4YWQ2MTQ1ODA0NTJiYzMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">I raised a hand, but no one cheered except Althea. She howled loud enough for everybody though. Althea looked around at everyone right after she screamed. Embarrassed as hell, she looked down, blushing like crazy.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZmVmYmFlZWVkNzQzMGJhOWJiMDk5ZTJmYWVmMDY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">I waited a few more seconds. Nobody came to help out Elsa, so I jogged up. I lifted a hand. I floated Elsa with a clump of water. I set her down in the open medbay. She landed on a bed with a woosh as the water spread out. Like professionals, the cleric and doctor shook off their surprise and went to work.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZWMyZmNkYmFjNzRkMDM4ODIyNjljODE0YjhhNmY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">I turned around, jumping out of the arena. I fell towards Althea, the crowd dispersing and giving me space. A few sparse claps littered the area, and the announcer pointed an open hand to me,</span></p> <p class="cnM3OWY1YmM3OGRlMDQ4NjBhYTcxMmY3ZGMzY2IwZTMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Look at that sportsmanship. Let's hope the rest of the fights follow that spirit. Onto the next bout!"</span></p> <p class="cnMzN2Y1NDNiZTI5MDQyMWY5ZmQ1ZWQ2NDg1N2E5N2U3"><span style="font-weight: 400">The tournament fired back up, two more competitors walking up. I sighed, looking down at Althea, "Didn't mean to make a scene. Fuck."</span></p> <p class="cnNmZWE4NTlhOTIzYzRkMTE5OGI4M2FjZjA5ZGQ4MThk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea looked down, blocking her vision, "Don't talk to me for a minute, ok?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3OGI2YTkxNzk2MTRmNDI5MDE1NzYwMzlkZmI1MjRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">I smiled, "Are you that embarrassed?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjNjNGVkMjNhYzQ0ZWRhMzk5YzJhZWMwOTY4NTE1"><span style="font-weight: 400">She looked up at me and snapped, "You shocked everybody with how cool you were. I shocked everybody by looking like an idiot."</span></p> <p class="cnM0OTQ3MzY3ZWI1MjRmZTQ5NjVlNzZkOGRjMzVkZDM5"><span style="font-weight: 400">I hugged Althea to my side, "You shocked me with how sweet you were. Hell, I almost blushed myself."</span></p> <p class="cnNiMDQ3NThmMWUyNzRjYmJiZGRhOWFlNjdkMjY4MTVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea looked away, blushing again. I'm pretty sure I saw a smile under her veil though. We chatted for a while like that, enjoying the fights. I surprised her with some stall food from a nearby vendor. We both munched on candies before they called me up again.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYmEwMzM3NjAyYzQwNTZhYTMyYWYwOTQyZmEzYmMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Once again, I floated up and landed onto the arena. This time, a bulky alien was at the arena. It was a living fungus, mushrooms sprouting from the cracks in his armor. With gray armor covering him, he dragged a flaming club behind him</span></p> <p class="cnNkOTFjNTU0N2Y0NjQ1ZDFhM2EyMjJkZTI1ZmU4ZWU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">It seemed strange for a plant to use fire as a weapon, but hey, it's his life.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMTk3Y2Q3YzhkMDRkZjk5MmFkZjhhM2U5Mjk1YTU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">The announcer lifted up his arms, "On the one side, we have Vox Keeocktureanitrix." </span></p> <p class="cnM4NzhmZTFlY2ViMjQwYTdhZDg4NmVjYTU0NzdjMzA1"><span style="font-weight: 400">The announcer pronounced his name without fucking it up, keeping the enunciation fluid the entire time. Not gonna lie, I was impressed by that alone. He was good at this job even if he looked goofy.</span></p> <p class="cnMwODMzZmNkYjU1YTQyOWFhMWJmYTEwNzZmY2I3NWNh"><span style="font-weight: 400">The announcer pointed to me, "And on the other side, we have the newcomer who made a </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">big</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> splash, Daniel Hillside!"</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZDBkZDA4Y2JhNzRhOGVhYzUxYTFjNGU5MzQ5MDQy"><span style="font-weight: 400">I raised a fist as a few people cheered for me here or there. I also winced at the terrible joke. We get it, Elsa ended up belly flopping. That didn't mean it was funny.</span></p> <p class="cnNlYzhhNjJhZWUxNTQwZjJiNjUzMDlkZGE1ZjAwMTgw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Some people booed at him as he made the terrible joke. It sounded like they were booing at me, but I shrugged it off. I wasn't here to make fans. I was here to win.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YjA4ZDhkMzQyNzQ4Nzc5MWMzYmIwMmYwMDk3NTQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">After the hecklers stopped, the announcer coughed into his hand, "Anyways, are both combatants ready?"</span></p> <p class="cnNkYzg3NTJkNDNjNzQ2ZmZiNDc0ZDNkODY4MjI1NWZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">We nodded. With the same attack as last time, I pushed down a wave of gravity by pushing down a hand. Unlike Elsa, Vox stayed standing. He couldn't move though, so I just lifted my hand up again. With another wave of gravity, he fell onto his knees. </span></p> <p class="cnNjNDlkMDdjMjQzYjQ4MWNiN2I2ZGIzZDRjMmYwZTQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">I kicked forward, extending my reach with telekinesis. Vox dodged my attack, ducking down. I pulled my leg back and spun around. With a fancy spinning back kick, I shot a pulse of kinetic energy into Vox's chest. His armor caved in, and he ragdolled through the air.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZGNmMWE2ZjJlNjQyOWFhOGE4OGFkMjg2MjYwZmZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">He slammed into the energy barrier surrounding the arena. He fell onto the water, sinking in seconds. This time the carriers flew over and picked him up. They learned from last time. So did the announcer.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZDI5YWY2NDBlMzRmN2Q4MDAwNjAyYTIwYjNiYzI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"And yet again, Daniel has conquered another round with ease. Let's hear it for the newcomer!"</span></p> <p class="cnNmMTM2ZTFmZjBiMTQ3ZmE4YjBmMGMxZjQyY2UzOWM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">I lifted a fist, and quite a few people cheered at this point. I was building momentum. I jumped back towards Althea, people already giving me some space to land. As I did, a voice reached out into my mind. It was the gialgathen again.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YmQ5YTY4MGE1ODQzOTdiNDI5YTE1NzY3NjU4N2Y1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I turned towards him, the behemoth staring me down. His name was...Bah, I didn't give a shit at the time. His voice radiated into my head, "I will admit, I assumed your first bout was a fluke. With that display of power, I can firmly say you're a worthy opponent."</span></p> <p class="cnMyYWM0N2Y1M2RhZTRmNmQ4MjM3ZTk5MDU1YzdiZjE1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I looked back and forth, "So?"</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDcwZTZkZDNjZTQzNTJiZWNhOTU1NjM5OWU4OGEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You've earned my respect. I only give it to those that are worthy."</span></p> <p class="cnNmZWEwMWI2NTIzOTQzMTM5YTgxYmUxMjEyZWUwNWM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">I laughed, "Are you serious?"</span></p> <p class="cnNhYjJhMTI4OGY5MDRlNTM4YjI0Yzg5NmQ3MmFlNjE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">The gialgathen waved his head, "Of course I am. We gialgathens don't lie like dirtwalkers."</span></p> <p class="cnM4NWZlZDQyOGQzNjRmZTU5ZTI1MGFjMGRhZjNhNTY1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I rolled my eyes, "Bother someone else."</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjZiOTY1NGIyNzQzZDNiMDcyYzQwN2E2NGRmMzZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">He narrowed his eyes, "I warn you dirtwalker-"</span></p> <p class="cnMzMTE5YmZlNTQwMTRlZDQ5NDUxOTExNjEyZDJmOGQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Fuck off."</span></p> <p class="cnM5NzcxMWQ2ZDc2ZjQ4ZTY5MjkzNTFmNmM3OGRlMzFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">I snapped the mental connection like slamming a door. What's his face shook his dragon head, looking flabbergasted. He was just a little bit too condescending for my taste. In fact, I planned on breaking several of his bones if we fought. I looked forward to it more than I should have.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MmMzMGE4MDYzOTQyM2E4ZmIzYjJhOTgyMmFmYWU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea looked at me, grabbing my arm,</span></p> <p class="cnM4MjAwOGI1ZGQzNzQ5ODY5ZDNmZTM0N2I3NTM2MDZj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Did I say something to make you mad?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4YjczMmI2MjcwNDQyMTA4OWRiYmYxZmZmNDY3NWEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">I nodded, "Naw. The gialgathen across the stream won't cut his condescending bullshit."</span></p> <p class="cnNiYzQ3ZDQ1YjlmMDQyMjVhY2Q2MGI0OWViOThiNGYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">I flicked him off, acting mature and elegant. He didn't understand the gesture regardless. He gave me a glare from hell though, wishing death upon my entire family by the looks of it. </span></p> <p class="cnM3Y2RmNjc2MWY5MTQxMDVhN2UwNDA5ZTM3NjMxMDQ5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Either way, my first impression of the gialgathens was bad. Real bad. The whole treating espens like a lower caste was pretty believable too. Still, I didn't want to start making assumptions about other gialgathens. That would be like racism but for species. I'd be a speciesist...I think.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMjAyNmMxMDE2ZjRmMzg4M2IyY2RlOGU1YjdhN2Q1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Anywho, we relaxed and watched a few more fights. The sun dipped down. As it did, even more espens watched the ensuing fights. Before I knew it, more business people set up shop. They sold entertainment for the lulls between fights. They sold fans, umbrellas, even fold out chairs.</span></p> <p class="cnMwY2E3NTNhODEyZDRmZDI5MjE2Nzc0NjhkYTI2ZGNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">It contrasted with how rural Icosah was. The modern influence was shaping the city too, seeping in slowly but surely. As the fights drew to a close, Althea and I almost left. Right before we decided, the Announcer called out, "And here is the semifinals for Icosah's yearly tournament. We have the victorious Iasis Klon against the notorious Alzoroth Vern!"</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTMxMzI3Nzg0MjQ5MWI5OTllZjA0YjAyNTA0NmZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">I snapped my fingers, "That was his name. Alzoroth. Sounds like something off of Lord of the Rings."</span></p> <p class="cnNlYzgzMWY1NjA0MTQxYmY5NzUwZTBlZDMwODNmZWQz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Althea looked at me, "What's that?"</span></p> <p class="cnMwMmFjNGFiMWI0NjRkYmU5MWJiOTNjNzlkZDMyODBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">I raised an eyebrow, "The best shit ever. We should watch it when we get back to Earth. I'm sure we could scavenge a copy or two somewhere."</span></p> <p class="cnM5YjFhZWRmNzdiZTRiYTU4ZmI1MDYyYjI3MzIzMTc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">She pressed her hands together, "It's a date then."</span></p> <p class="cnNiMGJlMDkyZThkZDQ2NjU4N2Y3NTViYWMzOTAwY2Yx"><span style="font-weight: 400">I grinned. I had something to look forward too. Interrupting my joy, Alzoroth landed on the arena, quaking the ground. Iasis walked out to the center of the stage. Before the fight started, Iasis used ice magic to coat himself in ice armor. A wave of mental energy covered every part of the arena. Speaking to everyone, Alzoroth spoke out,</span></p> <p class="cnNhNmY3YjMyNmMzMDQ4YzhhMjk0ZDhhNTE5MzE1Mjdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Tell me then espen. Why do you prepare for combat before we fight? You neglected that act against the pistol user."</span></p> <p class="cnM1ODcxNDliNTkyZTQ3NDg5YjI2OTc2OTRmNmI4Y2Yy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Iasis responded, his mental voice radiating to every one of the audience, </span></p> <p class="cnM0OTE3OGViNWViNDQxNjE4YWU3N2Y5NmVlYzdlYjlk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Earnest and I go way back. He's a good friend. I knew he couldn't use magic before the battle started. I didn't want to take advantage like that."</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZDg2MzNlZTM3ODQ5NDI5YjllMTQ2MTg5MTMxNzVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">The gialgathen, "Waved his wings, wind blowing outwards in every direction, "It's good you respect me, dirtwalker. Otherwise-"</span></p> <p class="cnNhMWI0NTExYWZhODQzNjE5OGRjMjFhZGJmOGE4OTkz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Iasis snapped, "Will you shut it and just fight?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4OWI2ZjMxMjFlNDQxMDg5ZWQwNDA0OWVmODE2ODg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">A look of utter rage passed over the face of the gialgathen, "I cannot believe that not only one but </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">two</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> dirtwalkers would interrupt me in a single day. I'm going to use your spine like a toothpick."</span></p> <p class="cnMwN2UxYTMwNTNiZjQ0NjRiYmIzNzlkYjhmNWY4OTky"><span style="font-weight: 400">Iasis rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure."</span></p> <p class="cnNjYmYyM2M4NDhmZDRhZDk4YzFmZGRiMjIxYjFkOTIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">The whole blackmail thing wasn't even a big deal to me anymore. I enjoyed Alzoroth getting pissed, so I raised a hand and shouted aloud,</span></p> <p class="cnM0MTVjYzcwNzJjMjQxZWFiODhlNjMwMThlYTBjYzFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Kick his ass Iasis. You got this."</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZGY4NjViZmRjNDRiYjBiNjY2NGY4ZjgzZjIxYTgw"><span style="font-weight: 400">The espen looked at me, his Soldiers of Fortune crest flashing. He scoffed and looked down with a smirk. He looked up at the gialgathen, ice covering him. The announcer shouted,</span></p> <p class="cnNhMzlhNzM4MTI5YzQxNGRhY2M3NjkwOTdmNDI0NThk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"That's what we like to see. Some friendly banter before a battle!"</span></p> <p class="cnNmNmI3ZTIwMGVkMjQzNWFiMjJkMTkzZWRkN2NmYzAx"><span style="font-weight: 400">He spread out his arms, his goofy suit shifting in color, "Are both combatants ready?"</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZWU2NTUyOTczNDRmNjhhY2I1MDY4ZGNkYzBhYmQy"><span style="font-weight: 400">They nodded.</span></p> <p class="cnNhOThkYzQ3YTU5MDQ0MjdiMTZiNzBkYzM2NDJlZjll"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Begin!"</span></p> </div> </div> </div>

Earnest unholstered two pistols, quick drawing them with skill. He fired off the entire clip towards Iasis. Iasis clasped a fist at the same time. Water from the air snapped together, forming ice. This plate of ice caught the bullets, cracks snapping through the plate. The wall of ice crumbled. Iasis turned around, gesturing with his hands. Blue, origin mana built in his fingertips. He faced the shards of ice, launching them towards Earnest. Iasis created new shards formed as fast as the old ones fired out. The pistol expert reloaded his pistols, dodging the shards with subtle flicks of motion. Once loaded, he fired the guns at shards he couldn't avoid. As the shardstorm thinned, Earnest let out several shots at Iasis. These bullets weaved through a sea of ice shards, straight at Iasis's vitals. Althea murmured, "Wow...He's so good." I nodded, "Yeah. He is." Iasis molded his ice shards, deflecting bullets and launching ice at Earnest. This flurry of activity continued, shells launching off in every direction. They fizzled against an energy barrier around the arena, keeping spectators safe. As the standstill reached its peak, Earnest pointed one of his pistols upward. He shot into a panel of ice while firing a gun in a random direction. At least I thought it was random. The first shot bounced off the glass panel. It then snapped against the other bullet. The rapid series of deflections launched a bullet from an odd angle at Iasis. The bullet pierced Iasis's shoulder. From it, Iasis lifted out his blood with magic. He clenched his fist, the blood disintegrating. Red mana rippled up through Iasis, making his physical might amplify. He dashed towards Earnest, covering himself in an armor of ice. Earnest sped away, kiting the mage. Earnest fired the pistols, reloading without missing a beat. Iasis dashed towards him while dodging the projectiles by zigzagging. Earnest tossed out two proximity mines from his belt while firing the pistols. The Steel Legion member maneuvered himself, keeping the mines between him and Iasis. Iasis took three more shots, bleeding from his legs and chest. He molded the blood into yet more mana, encouraging him further. Iasis ran into the mines. They detonated, but the kinetic energy of the explosions siphoned into the hands of Iasis. Took off guard, Earnest threw a grenade at Iasis. It exploded, spraying superheated green plasma in every direction. Iasis deflected the wave of goop by reaching out one of his hands. The condensed explosion in his palm released. The plasma shot back at Earnest. The master gunman turned around, his power armor flaring to life. A jetpack launched him away, the resulting fiery explosion spraying the plasma in every direction. With the sound of singing stone in every direction, Iasis and Earnest flew. They fired ice and lead at each other, elaborate aerial stunts keeping them safe. I raised an eyebrow, "Why doesn't the mage just surround the guy with ice?" Althea shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe he's hiding his more advanced tactics?" I nodded, "Ok, I could see that." Both sides fumbled, each of them struggling to gain the upper hand. The mage's mana dwindled just like the gunman's ammo and fuel. For the first time in the fight, the gunmen zoomed over the water. As his jetpack left a cloud of steam, the mage clapped his hands. Thousands of ice needles shot into Earnest's body from all directions. He crashed into the water. As he did, the announcer lifted a hand to Iasis, "And Iasis Klon is victorious!" Two members of the legion floated towards Earnest with jetpacks and power armor. They picked him up, pulling him to a nearby medical station. A healing mage cast magic while a doctor injected him with adrenaline and stims. The whole crowd clapped their hands, including Althea and I. I turned towards her, nodding my head with begrudging respect, "This turned out *way* better than I expected. Who'd of guessed?" Althea raised her eyebrows, "They were both cappers, so the rest of the tournament might not be as exciting." I sighed, "I'm just praying the rest of the matches are like that. That shit was epic." She giggled, "We'd take them easily." I shrugged, "Doesn't matter. That was still badass." She pursed her lips, "I'm a better shot than that guy." I scoffed, "Uh huh, sure." She narrowed her eyes at me, "What, you don't believe me?" I shook my head, "I *know* you're a worse shot. Here's the thing though. Your bolt would've pierced the ice and killed the mage. You don't need to be a better shot." She raised her eyebrows in reluctance, "I mean, I guess so." I nudged with an elbow, "Besides, you wouldn't have run from the mage once he tried coming at you. You'd rip him apart." She smiled, "Thanks." I looked at the next competitors entering the arena, "Just being honest." The two competitors paled in comparison to the last ones. Neither exceeded level 2,000. They both relied on tech, using machine exoskeletons to fight it out with each other. They were clumsy compared with Earnest and Iasis. Don't get me wrong, they'd have been worthy contenders normally. Following up the first fight was a tall task though. After they both kicked each other's asses, the announcer lifted his hands up to announce the next combatants, "This year we have a fresh face here in Icosah. On the one side, a mysterious man who cleared over twenty quests in two weeks. The mysterious and memorable Daniel Hillside!" I looked around, surprised they called my name out already. Althea grabbed my shoulder, "Hey, good luck." I gave her a thumbs up. I jumped up, letting myself land onto the arena with some gravity magic for assistance. The crowd oohed and aahed at the display of finesse. They expected me to be a fighter for my size, so seeing magic must have surprised them. On the opposite side of the arena, a wiry alien walked up. It was a member of the Enigmatta. Hidden inside a pressurized suit, the girl prepared several spells for combat. The announcer pointed at her, "And here is Elsa Tiary. She's a regular combatant at the yearly tournament. Though she's never won, she's been a finalist several times. Don't count her out folks." The enigmatta all raised their hands, air bubbles lifting in their oxygen tanks. Elsa raised her thin arms, waving at them. After the hoopla, the announcer looked at us both, "Are both combatants ready?" We nodded. The announcer raised his arms, "Then let the fight begin!" I pressed down one of my hands. A wave of gravity sent Elsa to her knees. I lifted a leg before kicking out. My foot hit a telekinetic panel. A telekinetic panel generated in front of Elsa, smashing her face. Though weakened, I kicked with plenty of force to shatter her dome helmet. She spun through the air, her suit's water and some sharp teeth launching in every direction. She slapped against the water surrounding the arena, belly flopping hard. She was out cold. Everything turned quiet. I didn't go all out on her with the kick, so Elsa was fine. I looked around, making sure everything was ok. The announcer stammered, "Uhm, wow, that was fast. The, ahem, winner is Daniel!" I raised a hand, but no one cheered except Althea. She howled loud enough for everybody though. Althea looked around at everyone right after she screamed. Embarrassed as hell, she looked down, blushing like crazy. I waited a few more seconds. Nobody came to help out Elsa, so I jogged up. I lifted a hand. I floated Elsa with a clump of water. I set her down in the open medbay. She landed on a bed with a woosh as the water spread out. Like professionals, the cleric and doctor shook off their surprise and went to work. I turned around, jumping out of the arena. I fell towards Althea, the crowd dispersing and giving me space. A few sparse claps littered the area, and the announcer pointed an open hand to me, "Look at that sportsmanship. Let's hope the rest of the fights follow that spirit. Onto the next bout!" The tournament fired back up, two more competitors walking up. I sighed, looking down at Althea, "Didn't mean to make a scene. Fuck." Althea looked down, blocking her vision, "Don't talk to me for a minute, ok?" I smiled, "Are you that embarrassed?" She looked up at me and snapped, "You shocked everybody with how cool you were. I shocked everybody by looking like an idiot." I hugged Althea to my side, "You shocked me with how sweet you were. Hell, I almost blushed myself." Althea looked away, blushing again. I'm pretty sure I saw a smile under her veil though. We chatted for a while like that, enjoying the fights. I surprised her with some stall food from a nearby vendor. We both munched on candies before they called me up again. Once again, I floated up and landed onto the arena. This time, a bulky alien was at the arena. It was a living fungus, mushrooms sprouting from the cracks in his armor. With gray armor covering him, he dragged a flaming club behind him It seemed strange for a plant to use fire as a weapon, but hey, it's his life. The announcer lifted up his arms, "On the one side, we have Vox Keeocktureanitrix." The announcer pronounced his name without fucking it up, keeping the enunciation fluid the entire time. Not gonna lie, I was impressed by that alone. He was good at this job even if he looked goofy. The announcer pointed to me, "And on the other side, we have the newcomer who made a *big* splash, Daniel Hillside!" I raised a fist as a few people cheered for me here or there. I also winced at the terrible joke. We get it, Elsa ended up belly flopping. That didn't mean it was funny. Some people booed at him as he made the terrible joke. It sounded like they were booing at me, but I shrugged it off. I wasn't here to make fans. I was here to win. After the hecklers stopped, the announcer coughed into his hand, "Anyways, are both combatants ready?" We nodded. With the same attack as last time, I pushed down a wave of gravity by pushing down a hand. Unlike Elsa, Vox stayed standing. He couldn't move though, so I just lifted my hand up again. With another wave of gravity, he fell onto his knees. I kicked forward, extending my reach with telekinesis. Vox dodged my attack, ducking down. I pulled my leg back and spun around. With a fancy spinning back kick, I shot a pulse of kinetic energy into Vox's chest. His armor caved in, and he ragdolled through the air. He slammed into the energy barrier surrounding the arena. He fell onto the water, sinking in seconds. This time the carriers flew over and picked him up. They learned from last time. So did the announcer. "And yet again, Daniel has conquered another round with ease. Let's hear it for the newcomer!" I lifted a fist, and quite a few people cheered at this point. I was building momentum. I jumped back towards Althea, people already giving me some space to land. As I did, a voice reached out into my mind. It was the gialgathen again. I turned towards him, the behemoth staring me down. His name was...Bah, I didn't give a shit at the time. His voice radiated into my head, "I will admit, I assumed your first bout was a fluke. With that display of power, I can firmly say you're a worthy opponent." I looked back and forth, "So?" "You've earned my respect. I only give it to those that are worthy." I laughed, "Are you serious?" The gialgathen waved his head, "Of course I am. We gialgathens don't lie like dirtwalkers." I rolled my eyes, "Bother someone else." He narrowed his eyes, "I warn you dirtwalker-" "Fuck off." I snapped the mental connection like slamming a door. What's his face shook his dragon head, looking flabbergasted. He was just a little bit too condescending for my taste. In fact, I planned on breaking several of his bones if we fought. I looked forward to it more than I should have. Althea looked at me, grabbing my arm, "Did I say something to make you mad?" I nodded, "Naw. The gialgathen across the stream won't cut his condescending bullshit." I flicked him off, acting mature and elegant. He didn't understand the gesture regardless. He gave me a glare from hell though, wishing death upon my entire family by the looks of it. Either way, my first impression of the gialgathens was bad. Real bad. The whole treating espens like a lower caste was pretty believable too. Still, I didn't want to start making assumptions about other gialgathens. That would be like racism but for species. I'd be a speciesist...I think. Anywho, we relaxed and watched a few more fights. The sun dipped down. As it did, even more espens watched the ensuing fights. Before I knew it, more business people set up shop. They sold entertainment for the lulls between fights. They sold fans, umbrellas, even fold out chairs. It contrasted with how rural Icosah was. The modern influence was shaping the city too, seeping in slowly but surely. As the fights drew to a close, Althea and I almost left. Right before we decided, the Announcer called out, "And here is the semifinals for Icosah's yearly tournament. We have the victorious Iasis Klon against the notorious Alzoroth Vern!" I snapped my fingers, "That was his name. Alzoroth. Sounds like something off of Lord of the Rings." Althea looked at me, "What's that?" I raised an eyebrow, "The best shit ever. We should watch it when we get back to Earth. I'm sure we could scavenge a copy or two somewhere." She pressed her hands together, "It's a date then." I grinned. I had something to look forward too. Interrupting my joy, Alzoroth landed on the arena, quaking the ground. Iasis walked out to the center of the stage. Before the fight started, Iasis used ice magic to coat himself in ice armor. A wave of mental energy covered every part of the arena. Speaking to everyone, Alzoroth spoke out, "Tell me then espen. Why do you prepare for combat before we fight? You neglected that act against the pistol user." Iasis responded, his mental voice radiating to every one of the audience, "Earnest and I go way back. He's a good friend. I knew he couldn't use magic before the battle started. I didn't want to take advantage like that." The gialgathen, "Waved his wings, wind blowing outwards in every direction, "It's good you respect me, dirtwalker. Otherwise-" Iasis snapped, "Will you shut it and just fight?" A look of utter rage passed over the face of the gialgathen, "I cannot believe that not only one but *two* dirtwalkers would interrupt me in a single day. I'm going to use your spine like a toothpick." Iasis rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure." The whole blackmail thing wasn't even a big deal to me anymore. I enjoyed Alzoroth getting pissed, so I raised a hand and shouted aloud, "Kick his ass Iasis. You got this." The espen looked at me, his Soldiers of Fortune crest flashing. He scoffed and looked down with a smirk. He looked up at the gialgathen, ice covering him. The announcer shouted, "That's what we like to see. Some friendly banter before a battle!" He spread out his arms, his goofy suit shifting in color, "Are both combatants ready?" They nodded. "Begin!"

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwMjA0M2VjYmFmYTQxYjk4ODE2NjQ4Yjk4MjBjNjQ5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlMDZmNjg3MzZmMDQ3YjliZDYzYTE4OGRhOGQwYzI2"><span style="font-weight: 400">The next morning all three friends woke up excited about their progress. They made it through all their classes and lunch, until it was time for Elementary Magic.</span></p> <p class="cnMxYzVjOTU5Y2FmMTQ3MTY4OTZlYTMyMzFkYjk0YzJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Today we're going to learn how to access the magic within us. Some of you may have been tempted to try this on your own,” he looked straight at Maddie, Gaius, and Cleo when he said this, “but it is actually quite dangerous if done without a trained instructor.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwYzk5YmU2OGZkMDRkZjA5MzNiNTViNGI1M2ExY2Rh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How does he know?” Gaius whispered to Cleo.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NjI0OTg5NzI3YzRmNDk4YzA0NDFlM2Y4MDk4NTgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I don't know, but if he doesn't, your whispering will confirm it for him.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDYzMWMwNzdiZDQwMGJiNDlmOTkwYWJhNDU2YTI4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Corentin walked among the rows of students, each sitting on the grass. He came near to Cleo and Gaius and they immediately shut up.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYzI3YjQ2YjQ1MTRkZmZiNTliN2FhOGQ5NTU0OTU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Corentin walked around his students a few times, murmuring to himself. As he reached the front of the class he started walking again, but this time directing the students to move to either side and to the front or the back until they were divided into four groups. Maddie and Cleo sat across from each other on different rear quadrants, while Gaius was in the front right quadrant.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ODU0YTQ0MjE2NjQ0ZGM4NjUwYzU5YjNmMDIxODk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Now, students in this quadrant,” he motioned to Gaius’s quadrant, “have, as far as we know, a single elemental affinity. Students in this quadrant, “ the one to the left “have more than one elemental affinity. Students in the back right and left have either a known and an unknown affinity, or only an unknown affinity, respectively.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDI0N2YyNzU3YzQzYWZhYjY3NDM4ODkzZjIzN2Y1"><span style="font-weight: 400">While Corentin had made clear rows between the different sections, the sections were by no means equal. The majority of the class was gathered in the “single element” category. Six students were in the “multiple element” space. One other student sat with Cleo. Maddie sat alone.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOWQ0MTUzZGExNDQ4M2Q4NGIyMTI0OWM3NjkzMzY5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Corentin instructed the students to begin meditating as before, but after they were all sufficiently calm -- which took less time than usual now that Gaius was more focused --he had them turn their gazes inward. The technique he described was almost identical to the one Cleo had led them through the say before, except Corentin described things in more detail. He explained that the core inside them was their soul, and that the same energy that ran through the world ran through their souls. In fact, their souls were the same as the world -- they only felt like different things. Everybody's soul had a magical affinity, a part of the universal being that resonated within them. He said that it was because different parts of the universal being had different affinities, and their souls were made up of those parts of the universal being. He even said that the gods were really just emanations of the universal being, just like their souls. He moved past that quickly, though, as a few students started making noises. </span></p> <p class="cnM4ZWNhOWNlMWQ0MTQwYTY4MmZlMWUwZGFjZTFlYjRm"><span style="font-weight: 400">His explanations confused much of the class, though most of them were able to hide it and continue their focus on their own souls. Maddie was listening to him somewhat, but her practice the day before allowed her to access her inner magic right away. She continued to try to grasp her magic, only to have it slide away. Cleo and Gaius likewise could access their magic, they just didn't know if they should manifest it.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Corentin continued talking. After his slight detour talking about souls, he told them how to recognize the resonance of their magic. The three friends listened more closely, as this deviated from what they had done before. Rather than just accessing their magical cores, they were to move their attention around it. This would give them a bird's eye view. He then described what they might see and feel depending on their affinity. Once he had them accessing their affinities, he abruptly ended class early. As Cleo opened her eyes she saw a few flashes of Magical energy being extinguished as the more talented students had manifested their elements. </span></p> <p class="cnMxYzFjZjVjOTM5ZjQzMTFiYzA0ZGIyMzBhZTQ5MGU4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiNzQ0MTlkMmNmZTQyM2U5NGI3ZjM1YWNlZjRjNTdl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cleo, Gaius, and Maddie were sitting in the astronomy tower, waiting for class to start. The sun had just set; they were early. They had decided not to meet back at their spot in the greenhouse, lest they be overheard. They didn't know how Corentin knew about them, or even if he really did, but they didn't want to take a chance.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZTI4NGFhMTRjYTQyNDc5YzE4MmVmMjI2MGM2YmMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Any luck, Maddie?” Cleo asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYWM2YzdlN2VmZDRmOTNhODc4NjRkNTQwM2EyNGU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Still nothing. I can feel my magic, but I can't get enough of a hold on it or a look at it to see what it is. Could you see yours?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YmQ5ODg1MjBlZjQxOWNhZWMyZjU2NmIyYTljNjIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I think I saw the same thing you did. It was a sort of shimmer, like the mirage that forms on the desert sands.” She then had to explain the concept of a mirage to them, after which they agreed that it matched up with what they had seen.</span></p> <p class="cnMyMWVhYWI0MTA0ZTQwYmY5ZjQ5OTQyNmYxYTdkZTY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“The water affinity might have had an influence, too. If a mirage is like water,” Gaius said.</span></p> <p class="cnM3N2QyZDA4NDg1NzQ0ZWY5MWFmNjU0YzczOGU3YzVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That...that makes a lot of sense, actually. I always forget that you're actually smart, Gaius.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MjcxOTkwNzU4MjRlYTFhMjk0YTY3ZTlmNTJlYjhk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Thanks,” he responded dryly. </span></p> <p class="cnM3MzIwYzFlNWJjZDQ4OTQ4NjA3YTBkMjYxNzI4YjEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Maddie sat quietly on the ground, her arms wrapped around her legs. Cleo poked her.</span></p> <p class="cnNjOWFkY2ExYTdkYTQ2ZWU4NTMzNThkMWFjM2VlMDQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You okay?”</span></p> <p class="cnM0MmE4Njg2YTUyMjQ0MmQ5MDg5NTcxMmY5YjdjMmMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I am, I think. It was just hard being sent to sit alone. I must be something bizarre if Corentin needed to do that. Maybe I don't really have any magic. Maybe the examiners were wrong and Corentin knows it. Or maybe I'm a magical freak.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzMWI4YTFjM2Y5YjQwNTE5MjY4MDhhMTEzYWY5MGQy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cleo patted her on the shoulder. “You definitely have magic. You've felt it, right?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyMDU5YmRhZGY3MzRmNDNiNGUzNGYxZTcyMjdjYjFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes, but maybe I just--”</span></p> <p class="cnNmY2EwMTllYjI1NTQ2MWI4NjhiZDAzOWEzYTM4ZjBl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“--You felt it. I know you did. Maybe you're not a magical freak, maybe you're magically special. Something unique. Something no one has seen before.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmYzBmNDEzODE2MDQ5YmU4NTg3NDZmYWY0NTAyM2Ix"><span style="font-weight: 400">Maddie sniffled. She looked up at Cleo with teary eyes. “You do know that's basically what a freak is, right?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyMzRlYTBiZDE1NDRlOTNiOGU5ZjYyODkzNzFkYTk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cleo laughed. “I suppose so. But then maybe being a freak isn't so bad.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YzgzNDA1ZThjYTQyODRiZTIzZGEwOGY1MGRhMjIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Maddie laughed and dried her tears.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MmZiNjE1YjlmNTQ2NDk4MDdiZjI4NzMzNDA3ZmQ5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxZDEyZWU5NjMyMjQ0MzhhYjBkN2I5YjA3OWIzMzhk"><span style="font-weight: 400">The next day Corentin directed the students to sit in the same formation. He subtly rearranged them, according to some plan of his own. He had Cleo and the other student with her switch places. Maddie he simply directed to sit in the center of her “square.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxODU4NzZmZTFkNTQ3MGU5YmY3YTZhOWJlZjM0NGZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“We'll be sitting in this formation every class from now on. It's time to start talking about the different types of magic.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNmMzZDVlZGU0NjRkY2JhYjg4YTIxYzNmNzg1MjU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Most of the class looked pleased, including Cleo. She sobered when she looked over at Maddie, only to see the girl looking down at the ground worriedly. </span></p> <p class="cnNiMzQ1MWQ2YzE1YTQ1ODY5ZTY5ZGEwMzUyNDBlN2Y0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Day one was focused on the simple elemental affinities. Corentin managed to keep from talking too much about the universal being, but he did continue to refer to them as souls and their affinities as resonance. </span></p> <p class="cnM3MzdmNDdhZjc2NDRiYjY5ZTZkYzY5NWNhZTg5NDk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Elemental magic is, for the most part, very simple. We recognize four major elements. Namely, that of the earth, of the air, of water, and of fire. The earth is largely static. It is the element of strength and stability. It can be difficult to enge with it because it is stubborn-willed. It tends to move slowly, and as such can be inappropriate for some uses. Combat, for example.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YzUzMGVmZDc3YjRmYTg4ZTU5MmIwZGJlNTRjMjRj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Air is capricious. It moves easily but tends to go where it wants. It takes force of will to direct air rather than letting it direct you.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NTYyOWY4NjNkMDQxNWE4YjBiMWJhN2E4YzZhMTAw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Water is sometimes considered the easiest of elements. It moves quickly, always finds the path of least resistance, and is inexorable. Water can grind down stone if given enough time.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNDhhMzMyZGVkOTQ0NjE5YjYyMzk0NmY5OGQzMmRk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Fire is easy to learn but difficult to master. Fire wants to be free, to consume. The mage’s will is taken up holding it back. Those that give in to fire’s desire to consume sometimes find themselves needing to be hunted down and stopped. Be wary.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NzUxNmM1ZmUyMDQ2YzE5ODExZmM3NjJmYzk0OTZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Those are the elements. From those four there can be many combinations for those who resonate with multiple elements.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlMmZhNTM5YjYwMjQ1MTlhYjdlMzQyYmU5Y2EzZjY0"><span style="font-weight: 400">He went on to explain how different elements combined and what each element was best at. He led a few of the students from the single- and multiple-affinity groups through some exercises. Gaius was able to manifest a ball of flame and show off by changing it to a ball of light. This prompted Corentin to goo off-topic, explaining ways to change the expression of different affinities. He even held them late. Maddie started the class with interest, but soon grew bored. While the magical theory was both interesting and necessary, none of it really applied to her. Did it?</span></p> <p class="cnNhNGY4MjdkMWM1NzQ5YTA5MjhkYmE2N2U0MmQ1Y2Qx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Over the next few days Corentin started to explain the other types of magic. Apparently what Cleo could do was called by several names. It was variously known as Pure Magic, True Magic, and, probably more accurately, Force Magic. It was one of a very few types of magic that couldn’t be seen and subscribed to no element.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZTY4ZTllZGRiZTQxOTJiYWMyNTgyMGJlMTVkYTJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Soon the whole class was practicing accessing and manifesting their magic. Gaius was early in the lead. His practice -- which he had apparently been doing in secret every day -- really paid off. He could manifest balls of light and balls of flame. He could even make them grow brighter or dimmer as he wished. Cleo was able to manifest her force sphere but she couldn’t do much with it. Water, oddly enough, proved a bit harder.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZDA1ZmQ0ZjJhZTQwZjc4OTViNGNmYjc2MGFmYWMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I have more affinity for Pure Magic,” she told Gaius and Maddie, “so it keeps taking over when I try to access my water magic.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNmVkZjlhMTRjYTRmNDNhNzViMjcwZDk1MzY2Y2Jk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Corentin assured her that it would come in time, and suggested that she look at the similarities between her force and water magics.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDI0ZWNkM2QzMzQxYjc5YmZlNGUzNzFmNTgyMWVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Something I already pointed out,” Gaius reminded her. She conceded his point and redoubled her efforts.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MDJjYjQzZGZhYjQwMmFhMmFkMTg1YzFhNzVmOTUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Maddie lagged behind everyone else. She still could not get ahold of her magic. Corentin suggested trying harder, but she was already giving it her best efforts. Then he gave her various exercises, a few of which were designed to “trick” her magic into revealing itself. Nothing worked. He tried to reassure her, as Cleo had, that her magic must be very special and very powerful if it was so hard to access. Maddie nodded and outwardly gave consideration to his words, but she still felt like a dunce. In the end, Corentin could only promise to ask the other Druids about different types of magic that were not elemental.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMDZkMzc5ZjBhYTRkZDdiMmM0OWI1MDgxMWJkYzE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaius tried to hide his excitement when Maddie was down, but controlling his emotions was something he had never mastered. Maddie could see how considerate her friends were being, but it only made her sadder and more withdrawn.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTlkYmEyNzEwZTRjNzJiODQ5OGJhYzY1NGVhODU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cleo and Gaius tried to figure out ways to help her. They met when Maddie wasn’t around.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYjJlNzliOWRhZDQ0NjRiODY3NTYzMWZlN2IwMGFk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What can we do. We can’t help her access her magic, and reassuring her doesn’t seem to work. It doesn't help that you’re practically giddy half the time.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjNTE1MzRhOTNhMTQ1YzI4OWNiYjQ0NzlkNWM5ZTNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hey, it’s difficult for me. But learning fire magic is actually making it a little easier. You really have to be calm and in control. Otherwise I might burn down the whole school.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwN2JjMzIwOWJmZDRlMjE5MjMwOTdiNzczNmYwNzdh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cleo snorted. “You could barely light a fire. There’s no way you’re going to burn down the school. But we’re trying to help Maddie, not extoll how you’re at the head of our class.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NjQ5ZDFhZjY3ZDQwMmM5MzdiZGY5NjZhM2RlOGRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hmph, you’re just jealous.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkNmRhMGUwN2Q4NDQ3MGJhNDFlNjM5ZmNkMTE4MGE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Gaius. Congratulations on being top of the class. Now focus on our friend and not yourself!”</span></p> <p class="cnM2MTU0ZjE3NzliZjQ5N2Y4MmMyZjU4MzE1NmY5NDMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaius managed to look sheepish at that/ “okay, okay, you’re right. But I’ve tried everything I can think of. Even Corentin seems to have run out of options.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwZThhYTU4OTNiNzRhZWI5Nzc2MmUwNTE3OWQ1ZjBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“She’s just getting more and more depressed every day. She seems really close to her father. Do you think we could bring him here?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjMTdlMGNlMjkyMTRiMGNhZDFiNDZmNDBmZjFiMWZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Against the rules, remember? And how are we going to contact anyone if we can’t send messages out?”</span></p> <p class="cnMxZDc3NmM1Y2UxNTQ2MDhhNzE5ZDE4NjM0YjY5MTU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Cleo sighed. “I just think if we had her family here, we could get through to her.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwMzBmZWU1NTFkMjQ1Mjc5ODU3NGVkODg2YzBlZDg5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaius thought for a while, then it came to him. “She’s a Brigantine, right? The Brigantes are very close to their goddess. They’re even named after her. Maybe she needs to visit her god.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YmE2YzczMWQ5YzQ5OWE4MTc2OWFkZjRjYTBmY2Nj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“In Brigantia?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyYzQyNDY2NTJiYzQ5YjZiNTIzYWVjY2JhOWRhMDQx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaius smiled. “I never thought I’d be smarter than you, Cleo. There’s a big temple on the island, remember. And I happen to know they have an altar to Brigantia there!”</span></p> </div>

The next morning all three friends woke up excited about their progress. They made it through all their classes and lunch, until it was time for Elementary Magic. “Today we're going to learn how to access the magic within us. Some of you may have been tempted to try this on your own,” he looked straight at Maddie, Gaius, and Cleo when he said this, “but it is actually quite dangerous if done without a trained instructor.” “How does he know?” Gaius whispered to Cleo. “I don't know, but if he doesn't, your whispering will confirm it for him.” Corentin walked among the rows of students, each sitting on the grass. He came near to Cleo and Gaius and they immediately shut up. Corentin walked around his students a few times, murmuring to himself. As he reached the front of the class he started walking again, but this time directing the students to move to either side and to the front or the back until they were divided into four groups. Maddie and Cleo sat across from each other on different rear quadrants, while Gaius was in the front right quadrant. “Now, students in this quadrant,” he motioned to Gaius’s quadrant, “have, as far as we know, a single elemental affinity. Students in this quadrant, “ the one to the left “have more than one elemental affinity. Students in the back right and left have either a known and an unknown affinity, or only an unknown affinity, respectively.” While Corentin had made clear rows between the different sections, the sections were by no means equal. The majority of the class was gathered in the “single element” category. Six students were in the “multiple element” space. One other student sat with Cleo. Maddie sat alone. Corentin instructed the students to begin meditating as before, but after they were all sufficiently calm -- which took less time than usual now that Gaius was more focused --he had them turn their gazes inward. The technique he described was almost identical to the one Cleo had led them through the say before, except Corentin described things in more detail. He explained that the core inside them was their soul, and that the same energy that ran through the world ran through their souls. In fact, their souls were the same as the world -- they only felt like different things. Everybody's soul had a magical affinity, a part of the universal being that resonated within them. He said that it was because different parts of the universal being had different affinities, and their souls were made up of those parts of the universal being. He even said that the gods were really just emanations of the universal being, just like their souls. He moved past that quickly, though, as a few students started making noises. His explanations confused much of the class, though most of them were able to hide it and continue their focus on their own souls. Maddie was listening to him somewhat, but her practice the day before allowed her to access her inner magic right away. She continued to try to grasp her magic, only to have it slide away. Cleo and Gaius likewise could access their magic, they just didn't know if they should manifest it. Corentin continued talking. After his slight detour talking about souls, he told them how to recognize the resonance of their magic. The three friends listened more closely, as this deviated from what they had done before. Rather than just accessing their magical cores, they were to move their attention around it. This would give them a bird's eye view. He then described what they might see and feel depending on their affinity. Once he had them accessing their affinities, he abruptly ended class early. As Cleo opened her eyes she saw a few flashes of Magical energy being extinguished as the more talented students had manifested their elements.   Cleo, Gaius, and Maddie were sitting in the astronomy tower, waiting for class to start. The sun had just set; they were early. They had decided not to meet back at their spot in the greenhouse, lest they be overheard. They didn't know how Corentin knew about them, or even if he really did, but they didn't want to take a chance. “Any luck, Maddie?” Cleo asked. “Still nothing. I can feel my magic, but I can't get enough of a hold on it or a look at it to see what it is. Could you see yours?” “I think I saw the same thing you did. It was a sort of shimmer, like the mirage that forms on the desert sands.” She then had to explain the concept of a mirage to them, after which they agreed that it matched up with what they had seen. “The water affinity might have had an influence, too. If a mirage is like water,” Gaius said. “That...that makes a lot of sense, actually. I always forget that you're actually smart, Gaius.” “Thanks,” he responded dryly. Maddie sat quietly on the ground, her arms wrapped around her legs. Cleo poked her. “You okay?” “I am, I think. It was just hard being sent to sit alone. I must be something bizarre if Corentin needed to do that. Maybe I don't really have any magic. Maybe the examiners were wrong and Corentin knows it. Or maybe I'm a magical freak.” Cleo patted her on the shoulder. “You definitely have magic. You've felt it, right?” “Yes, but maybe I just--” “--You felt it. I know you did. Maybe you're not a magical freak, maybe you're magically special. Something unique. Something no one has seen before.” Maddie sniffled. She looked up at Cleo with teary eyes. “You do know that's basically what a freak is, right?” Cleo laughed. “I suppose so. But then maybe being a freak isn't so bad.” Maddie laughed and dried her tears.   The next day Corentin directed the students to sit in the same formation. He subtly rearranged them, according to some plan of his own. He had Cleo and the other student with her switch places. Maddie he simply directed to sit in the center of her “square.” “We'll be sitting in this formation every class from now on. It's time to start talking about the different types of magic.” Most of the class looked pleased, including Cleo. She sobered when she looked over at Maddie, only to see the girl looking down at the ground worriedly. Day one was focused on the simple elemental affinities. Corentin managed to keep from talking too much about the universal being, but he did continue to refer to them as souls and their affinities as resonance. “Elemental magic is, for the most part, very simple. We recognize four major elements. Namely, that of the earth, of the air, of water, and of fire. The earth is largely static. It is the element of strength and stability. It can be difficult to enge with it because it is stubborn-willed. It tends to move slowly, and as such can be inappropriate for some uses. Combat, for example. “Air is capricious. It moves easily but tends to go where it wants. It takes force of will to direct air rather than letting it direct you. “Water is sometimes considered the easiest of elements. It moves quickly, always finds the path of least resistance, and is inexorable. Water can grind down stone if given enough time. “Fire is easy to learn but difficult to master. Fire wants to be free, to consume. The mage’s will is taken up holding it back. Those that give in to fire’s desire to consume sometimes find themselves needing to be hunted down and stopped. Be wary. “Those are the elements. From those four there can be many combinations for those who resonate with multiple elements.” He went on to explain how different elements combined and what each element was best at. He led a few of the students from the single- and multiple-affinity groups through some exercises. Gaius was able to manifest a ball of flame and show off by changing it to a ball of light. This prompted Corentin to goo off-topic, explaining ways to change the expression of different affinities. He even held them late. Maddie started the class with interest, but soon grew bored. While the magical theory was both interesting and necessary, none of it really applied to her. Did it? Over the next few days Corentin started to explain the other types of magic. Apparently what Cleo could do was called by several names. It was variously known as Pure Magic, True Magic, and, probably more accurately, Force Magic. It was one of a very few types of magic that couldn’t be seen and subscribed to no element. Soon the whole class was practicing accessing and manifesting their magic. Gaius was early in the lead. His practice -- which he had apparently been doing in secret every day -- really paid off. He could manifest balls of light and balls of flame. He could even make them grow brighter or dimmer as he wished. Cleo was able to manifest her force sphere but she couldn’t do much with it. Water, oddly enough, proved a bit harder. “I have more affinity for Pure Magic,” she told Gaius and Maddie, “so it keeps taking over when I try to access my water magic.” Corentin assured her that it would come in time, and suggested that she look at the similarities between her force and water magics. “Something I already pointed out,” Gaius reminded her. She conceded his point and redoubled her efforts. Maddie lagged behind everyone else. She still could not get ahold of her magic. Corentin suggested trying harder, but she was already giving it her best efforts. Then he gave her various exercises, a few of which were designed to “trick” her magic into revealing itself. Nothing worked. He tried to reassure her, as Cleo had, that her magic must be very special and very powerful if it was so hard to access. Maddie nodded and outwardly gave consideration to his words, but she still felt like a dunce. In the end, Corentin could only promise to ask the other Druids about different types of magic that were not elemental. Gaius tried to hide his excitement when Maddie was down, but controlling his emotions was something he had never mastered. Maddie could see how considerate her friends were being, but it only made her sadder and more withdrawn. Cleo and Gaius tried to figure out ways to help her. They met when Maddie wasn’t around. “What can we do. We can’t help her access her magic, and reassuring her doesn’t seem to work. It doesn't help that you’re practically giddy half the time.” “Hey, it’s difficult for me. But learning fire magic is actually making it a little easier. You really have to be calm and in control. Otherwise I might burn down the whole school.” Cleo snorted. “You could barely light a fire. There’s no way you’re going to burn down the school. But we’re trying to help Maddie, not extoll how you’re at the head of our class.” “Hmph, you’re just jealous.” “Gaius. Congratulations on being top of the class. Now focus on our friend and not yourself!” Gaius managed to look sheepish at that/ “okay, okay, you’re right. But I’ve tried everything I can think of. Even Corentin seems to have run out of options.” “She’s just getting more and more depressed every day. She seems really close to her father. Do you think we could bring him here?” “Against the rules, remember? And how are we going to contact anyone if we can’t send messages out?” Cleo sighed. “I just think if we had her family here, we could get through to her.” Gaius thought for a while, then it came to him. “She’s a Brigantine, right? The Brigantes are very close to their goddess. They’re even named after her. Maybe she needs to visit her god.” “In Brigantia?” Gaius smiled. “I never thought I’d be smarter than you, Cleo. There’s a big temple on the island, remember. And I happen to know they have an altar to Brigantia there!”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkNmU1NTA2ZGIwYjQ3YjBhNTQxYjU0ZDRkMDA2MGEx">Chapter 2</p> <p class="cnMwYTEyNzZmNjk2NjRmYTZiMjk3MzFkOWNhZTIzZTI4">“You can’t be serious?” The question was clearly rhetorical. The woman who spoke it was sitting at an oversized wooden desk in a spacious room and entirely alone. Her voice echoing back at her, Sera drummed her fingertips lightly. She had felt the not so subtle brush of the Call rippling outwards. So, the old goat had finally done it. There was a brief and unexpected sense of sorrow and loss that flitted through her stomach at the thought. Then it was gone as she grinned. This was going to be an exciting time! Sera burst to her feet and struck the bell that would call in her secretary with significantly more force than necessary. She winced at the too loud sound and then smiled as her wolfhound Ruby bounded into the room. Sera checked herself briefly in the mirror while she awaited her secretary Ana. Her long dark hair tangled easily if not constantly cared for and Ana would scold her viciously given the chance to criticize. She had high cheekbones, tanned warm skin and green brown eyes. She was not beautiful in a normal sense but striking. Her eyes, which grew greener with intense emotion, at their calmest still had an interior light as if there was a candle hidden behind their colour.</p> <p class="cnM3NDIzZmM3NTI0YjQ1YTBhMDdhMGI3MjFhNGM1Mzc2">Ana swept into the room with a quizzical expression. “Well lady First, your bell was obnoxiously loud and received. How may I help?” The admonishing tone was obvious and flippantly ignored by the unusual First of the Council. Sera DeRillia was the youngest First in history at age 35 and had only reached the post a bare year previously. She had brought with her the family Steward, Ana Eurelia to serve as her Secretary. As such the two had a lifelong connection that gave little to proprietary thinking when in private. “Bollocks that, Ana! The Sovereign has sent out the Call!” Whatever progress Sera had made in taming her unruly hair was immediately outdone by her enthusiastic exclamation the older woman. Ana’s voice was uncharacteristically small as she repeated “…the Call?” her bluff face paling at the revelation and her brown eyes going wide. Sera gave a moment of sympathy to the shock that was evident then ploughed on. “Yes. The Call has been given. Order the Keep stewards to summon the Council.” Just as she had finished this request and Ana shook herself out of her shock enough to see it done, a liveried messenger-boy sprang into the room carrying a missive. The contents were simple as she waved the boy back out with a distracted smile. The note, written in the old man’s shaky hand, read simply, ‘I’ve made the Call. Get up here.’</p> <p class="cnM5ZWJkZDViMTBlNjQ0NDNhYTU2MzM2MjZhMTFkMjU2">Her footsteps echoed off the stone flooring and up the stone walls to the stone and wooden ceiling. Sera was momentarily distracted by staring about herself wondering if there were better building materials. She considered having some sand brought up so she could blast it to the wall with fire creating a glass cladding. That could wait though. The Call. The light brightened as the corridor reached the natural light streaming onto the balcony flooring. The huge space was near empty other than a Steward standing to attention near to the door Sera would enter from, and a pair of old men sitting in armchairs. A third armchair, which had likely been hastily brought given that its angle was slightly askew to the others perfect placement in line with the mosaic flooring, sat empty and waiting. This and a thousand other small details washed over the First. The Deans trouser leg slightly folded under, likely due to the air carriage he had come in from the college. A lonely grape sat off to the side from the others on a plate beside the Sovereign. The was an anticipatory smile on the old man’s face and the Deans had a resigned expression. The First bowed then sat on the chair with her legs hanging over the right-hand arm rest, trailing towards her fellow visitor to the Sovereign. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth as she deadpanned, “You Called, My Sovereign.”</p> <p class="cnNlOWJjY2ZlZDE5ZDRhYmVhNmM2ZmUxN2FmNTNkNTBi">She was immediately rewarded with a snort of laughter from the old man and a fleeting, irritated squint from the Dean. “Clever,” drawled the Sovereign, drawing the word out in a way that indicated he felt the exact opposite, “I assume you have called the Council to session so I will brief you and you will brief them. I have no time for that assembly of self-important fools.” Sera doubted he genuinely felt that way about the Council, which was made up of a cross section of the Empire that had been selected in an abbreviated version of the Call itself but she nodded in response. “You two are my favourites, which is to say that neither of you are particularly painful to deal with…for the most part. It has become inescapable that I am dying. At my age it should come as no surprise.” Indeed, it was not a surprise to either guest of the old man, however a slight involuntary tightening of the Deans jaw and an equally miniscule bob of the First’s head was elicited by the frank pronouncement. “No weeping?! Ingrates! Anyway, so yes, I have initiated the Call. Upon my right as Sovereign and in my duty as such. I have enough time in these bones to hold the seat until the Potentials arrive and their frippery is resolved.” Sera raised her eyebrows at the description ‘frippery’ and received a shaky wave of the old man’s hand in response. “To one that has already been through this…situation before. The Council will make an announcement to the Empire in my name and its own but only after you have doubled the border guard and posted internal regiments throughout the Empire in the predetermined ‘Unrest’ locations. A week should ensure the redeployments are in position before the announcement.” Suddenly the jovial prankster was gone, replaced by the snap of command. His voice was imbued by the absolute confidence of a man whose command had been assured for decades. Sera cleared her throat carefully to buy time to respond cautiously. “My Lord Sovereign. I am First among equals,” Again a snort from the old man, “and cannot guarantee their compliance. We are not at war so the armies are not technically under your direct command currently. I will try to convince them but I cannot promise you their compliance,” Hard blue eyes met the First’s as the old man leaned forward. That gaze held a tempest of power that belied his advanced age, the barely restrained energy of a cataclysm behind the azure glare. Again, his voice deepened. “I understand the position we are in and have an even stronger knowledge of the law than you, Lady First.” Chastised and realising she had been essentially preaching the law to a man who had been leader of the Empire for the better part of a century, she lowered her own eyes and nodded. Despite being in the wrong, her fierce nature burned at being chided and were it any other than the Sovereign, she would have held their stare. A smile tugged at the old man’s wrinkled face and his eyes calmed to an amused twinkle. “It is, however, imperative that the Council does as I have…. requested. The civil unrest caused by the Call being announced as well as the boldness of our neighbour countries at such a pronouncement, must be met with a firm hand. During my own Calling I witnessed how both the internal panic at losing a leader and the uncertainty of the one to follow can give rise to destructive behaviour in the populace. Mostly by troublemaker’s keen to use it as a distraction but also by foreign agents attempting to disable the Empire. Ours is the largest single Kingdom on this continent and as such it is difficult to stamp out such situations in a timely manner.” Sera quirked at his use of the term ‘continent’. The Empire was the largest kingdom in the World. This, however, was quickly overshadowed by the depth of concern washing over her as she considered the ramifications of the Call itself. She should have considered the strife that would be caused by this. There couldn’t be a person alive today that had known any other Sovereign. Uncertainty in the Kingdoms future was the devil waiting to strike.</p> </div>

Chapter 2 “You can’t be serious?” The question was clearly rhetorical. The woman who spoke it was sitting at an oversized wooden desk in a spacious room and entirely alone. Her voice echoing back at her, Sera drummed her fingertips lightly. She had felt the not so subtle brush of the Call rippling outwards. So, the old goat had finally done it. There was a brief and unexpected sense of sorrow and loss that flitted through her stomach at the thought. Then it was gone as she grinned. This was going to be an exciting time! Sera burst to her feet and struck the bell that would call in her secretary with significantly more force than necessary. She winced at the too loud sound and then smiled as her wolfhound Ruby bounded into the room. Sera checked herself briefly in the mirror while she awaited her secretary Ana. Her long dark hair tangled easily if not constantly cared for and Ana would scold her viciously given the chance to criticize. She had high cheekbones, tanned warm skin and green brown eyes. She was not beautiful in a normal sense but striking. Her eyes, which grew greener with intense emotion, at their calmest still had an interior light as if there was a candle hidden behind their colour. Ana swept into the room with a quizzical expression. “Well lady First, your bell was obnoxiously loud and received. How may I help?” The admonishing tone was obvious and flippantly ignored by the unusual First of the Council. Sera DeRillia was the youngest First in history at age 35 and had only reached the post a bare year previously. She had brought with her the family Steward, Ana Eurelia to serve as her Secretary. As such the two had a lifelong connection that gave little to proprietary thinking when in private. “Bollocks that, Ana! The Sovereign has sent out the Call!” Whatever progress Sera had made in taming her unruly hair was immediately outdone by her enthusiastic exclamation the older woman. Ana’s voice was uncharacteristically small as she repeated “…the Call?” her bluff face paling at the revelation and her brown eyes going wide. Sera gave a moment of sympathy to the shock that was evident then ploughed on. “Yes. The Call has been given. Order the Keep stewards to summon the Council.” Just as she had finished this request and Ana shook herself out of her shock enough to see it done, a liveried messenger-boy sprang into the room carrying a missive. The contents were simple as she waved the boy back out with a distracted smile. The note, written in the old man’s shaky hand, read simply, ‘I’ve made the Call. Get up here.’ Her footsteps echoed off the stone flooring and up the stone walls to the stone and wooden ceiling. Sera was momentarily distracted by staring about herself wondering if there were better building materials. She considered having some sand brought up so she could blast it to the wall with fire creating a glass cladding. That could wait though. The Call. The light brightened as the corridor reached the natural light streaming onto the balcony flooring. The huge space was near empty other than a Steward standing to attention near to the door Sera would enter from, and a pair of old men sitting in armchairs. A third armchair, which had likely been hastily brought given that its angle was slightly askew to the others perfect placement in line with the mosaic flooring, sat empty and waiting. This and a thousand other small details washed over the First. The Deans trouser leg slightly folded under, likely due to the air carriage he had come in from the college. A lonely grape sat off to the side from the others on a plate beside the Sovereign. The was an anticipatory smile on the old man’s face and the Deans had a resigned expression. The First bowed then sat on the chair with her legs hanging over the right-hand arm rest, trailing towards her fellow visitor to the Sovereign. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth as she deadpanned, “You Called, My Sovereign.” She was immediately rewarded with a snort of laughter from the old man and a fleeting, irritated squint from the Dean. “Clever,” drawled the Sovereign, drawing the word out in a way that indicated he felt the exact opposite, “I assume you have called the Council to session so I will brief you and you will brief them. I have no time for that assembly of self-important fools.” Sera doubted he genuinely felt that way about the Council, which was made up of a cross section of the Empire that had been selected in an abbreviated version of the Call itself but she nodded in response. “You two are my favourites, which is to say that neither of you are particularly painful to deal with…for the most part. It has become inescapable that I am dying. At my age it should come as no surprise.” Indeed, it was not a surprise to either guest of the old man, however a slight involuntary tightening of the Deans jaw and an equally miniscule bob of the First’s head was elicited by the frank pronouncement. “No weeping?! Ingrates! Anyway, so yes, I have initiated the Call. Upon my right as Sovereign and in my duty as such. I have enough time in these bones to hold the seat until the Potentials arrive and their frippery is resolved.” Sera raised her eyebrows at the description ‘frippery’ and received a shaky wave of the old man’s hand in response. “To one that has already been through this…situation before. The Council will make an announcement to the Empire in my name and its own but only after you have doubled the border guard and posted internal regiments throughout the Empire in the predetermined ‘Unrest’ locations. A week should ensure the redeployments are in position before the announcement.” Suddenly the jovial prankster was gone, replaced by the snap of command. His voice was imbued by the absolute confidence of a man whose command had been assured for decades. Sera cleared her throat carefully to buy time to respond cautiously. “My Lord Sovereign. I am First among equals,” Again a snort from the old man, “and cannot guarantee their compliance. We are not at war so the armies are not technically under your direct command currently. I will try to convince them but I cannot promise you their compliance,” Hard blue eyes met the First’s as the old man leaned forward. That gaze held a tempest of power that belied his advanced age, the barely restrained energy of a cataclysm behind the azure glare. Again, his voice deepened. “I understand the position we are in and have an even stronger knowledge of the law than you, Lady First.” Chastised and realising she had been essentially preaching the law to a man who had been leader of the Empire for the better part of a century, she lowered her own eyes and nodded. Despite being in the wrong, her fierce nature burned at being chided and were it any other than the Sovereign, she would have held their stare. A smile tugged at the old man’s wrinkled face and his eyes calmed to an amused twinkle. “It is, however, imperative that the Council does as I have…. requested. The civil unrest caused by the Call being announced as well as the boldness of our neighbour countries at such a pronouncement, must be met with a firm hand. During my own Calling I witnessed how both the internal panic at losing a leader and the uncertainty of the one to follow can give rise to destructive behaviour in the populace. Mostly by troublemaker’s keen to use it as a distraction but also by foreign agents attempting to disable the Empire. Ours is the largest single Kingdom on this continent and as such it is difficult to stamp out such situations in a timely manner.” Sera quirked at his use of the term ‘continent’. The Empire was the largest kingdom in the World. This, however, was quickly overshadowed by the depth of concern washing over her as she considered the ramifications of the Call itself. She should have considered the strife that would be caused by this. There couldn’t be a person alive today that had known any other Sovereign. Uncertainty in the Kingdoms future was the devil waiting to strike.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM2YjdjOTk1OGUzNDRiODliZmUyY2RkZmFiZGE3NmM4"><span class="tm6">This wasn’t what tonight was supposed to be like. Nobody in Napa seems to care about the vigilante act. Why did Jia think signing up was a good idea? She bikes toward home, cutting down side streets and through neighborhoods every chance she gets.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhMzk4MGMzOWI5MjQ0MWFiMTJkZjY4NjJlYzdjNjlk"><span class="tm6">She stays off the main roads as much as possible. Easier to avoid any drunks heading home. That’s easier said than done out here. It seems like you’re either in a downtown area, on a highway, or in the country where you can go miles without seeing much except grape fields. A few drops of water start falling which make her peddle faster. It’s light but could pick up any time. She has to get a car if she’s going to keep doing this. After tonight though she’s not sure she even wants to continue.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwZTU5NDlkOGZlODQ4MTI5MGZjNzU5ODZkYWU5NDhm"><span class="tm6">Riding through the last neighborhood before she’ll reach the highway her family’s winery sits on, Jia hears a crash in the distance. At first she dismisses it. Probably someone taking out the trash. It’s awfully late for that though. Then she hears it again. It sounds like someone hitting something. She hears glass breaking. This time of night that can’t be a good sign.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhN2RhZDhlOWU0OTQxYTY5NTkwODFkNmU5ZTRlY2Iw"><span class="tm6">She could ignore it. She could even call the cops and let them handle it. There’s a squad car just a few miles away. Her confidence that she can handle this isn’t high right now. She’s not even confident she wants to handle it. She’s here though. By the time the cops show up whoever is doing this could be long gone. She registered as a vigilante to help people. Now’s her chance.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlZjZiZWY4YjUyNzQ4OTI5MjViZDVkNTQ2MmZiNjYz"><span class="tm6">Deciding to get involved is only the first step. The difficult part is figuring out where that glass broke. She heard it ahead of her and to the right but there’s six houses in that direction. There’s only one street light on this stretch of road so she can’t make out many details. She listens, hoping to hear more noise, but whoever did the breaking has stopped. She thinks the noise came from one of the three closest houses but she can’t be sure.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwZWRmMDdkOGE4MzQ2MWZiM2Y5MzVkMjhjZGMxZjdm"><span class="tm6">With no other option Jia leans her bike against a tree and gets ready to start creeping into people’s yards, looking for any sign of broken glass. Her heart beats so fast she fears it might burst. It’s not a warm night but sweat’s pouring off of her.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMxNzZhNWE1YzljNTQyMTFhMTdlNjEzZDQ1NjI3MWQw"><span class="tm6">Whoever’s behind this could have targeted any of these houses but they would have chosen one for a reason. She starts scanning for any sign or clue that would make one the best target. She notices two cars parked in the driveway of one of the houses. That probably means a fair amount of people are home. Not a great target. Another has their porch light on. It’s dim but might scare someone off. The other house doesn’t have any lights on, no cars out front, and nothing about it makes her think someone is there.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmMDY4YzZhNjM3YzQ0ZjBhZTQ1NTYwMGY0NTE3ODcw"><span class="tm6">She creeps closer to this house. As she nears it, she sees the mailbox is open and overflowing with mail. That’s almost too easy. If nobody’s been home long enough for that much mail to build up the place is an easy mark.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMzNDQ1OThlNTM1NjQwNWY5NzM2MzM3MGUyZTVmOTcy"><span class="tm6">It’s a one story ranch style house. Clearly the people who live here are at least fairly wealthy. Beyond the fact that they can afford any house in Napa this is easily the biggest house on the block. It’s got nice finishes and a big garage. It’s the kind of place anyone would want to live in and the kind of place any thief would want to rob.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM5MjA2ODUzNTI3MTRmODc5M2EzMzc4ZDgxMGJhMDY5"><span class="tm6">Circling the building, Jia looks for any sign of broken glass. Nothing out front. All of the windows are in good shape. A quick glance through a garage window reveals there’s no vehicles inside. There are too many signs this place is empty. With nothing to go on she makes her way around the side of the house. There’s a tall wooden fence surrounding the back yard which she’ll have to make her way over. That’s not an issue in itself, she can climb a fence, but she really hopes it doesn’t mean she’s about to meet a nervous pet on the other side.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkOTVhYTcyZmQ1NjRjNzY4MjIwMjU2ZTZiOGFjMTEz"><span class="tm6">Hoisting herself over, she lands on her feet and is relieved to see no sign of a dog house or anything else suggesting a pet. A lot of people in the area only fence their yards if they have pets but maybe this family just likes privacy. The wooden fence is only along the front and back of the yard. In between she finds cheap wire fencing, allowing her to see into the yards of the neighbors.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMyYjUwYTFkMWIwMzQxYWI5MjcyMTQ4NzdjOTljMTkx"><span class="tm6">Glancing at the next house over she can see the people there have their back porch light on but there’s no sign of anyone outside this late. That’s good, she doesn’t relish the idea of having to explain to a neighbor why she’s sneaking around in the dark.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1N2FmZThiNTY3NzQwMDM5OGNlZjhlZTdlODcwODIw"><span class="tm6">Once again she considers calling the cops. Even if she’s going to investigate herself it might be a good idea to have backup on the way if things go bad. She dismisses the thought. She needs to handle this herself. She can’t call for help every time she gets a little nervous.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNiNGE1YTIyZmYyMTRiMTc4ZTA5NDQzODE0NjI5OGNh"><span class="tm6">Half expecting to find the sliding glass door along the back of the house broken, she’s disappointed to find it seems intact. There’s two other windows back here but neither of them is broken either. With only one side of the house left Jia starts getting ready to move onto the other houses on the block. Maybe her detective skills aren’t as advanced as she hoped. Rounding the final corner of the house though, she changes her mind. Those Nancy Drew books she read as a kid may have taught her a few things after all.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwYTM5Zjc3MzExMTRlNzZhMjdjMTFlZDBkYmQ0NGU0"><span class="tm6">There’s only one window on this side of the house but it’s wide open. Looking at the pushed up panel, she can see the glass is shattered and there are shards all over the ground. It looks like whoever did this only broke the window so they could unlock it. There’s no sign of anyone out here so whoever did this is likely inside.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmOWQ3ZTNiYzdmZDRiYWZiODdhNjVjNWI4ZTI1ZTI3"><span class="tm6">Jia feels nervous standing around out here. Whoever is inside could come out at any time and there’s no way to know who they are or how dangerous they might be. Jia’s confident she could handle even an armed opponent up close and personal, but if they see her across a room, she isn’t magic nor is she bulletproof.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwNTE4NWRmZjE4NTRkM2JhMGFmM2Y3NDk2NTQ3ZTI5"><span class="tm6">She takes a deep breath and starts to pull herself through the window but at the last minute she has a change of heart. Before she goes into the unknown she decides to call the cops. She needs to be able to handle herself but she has no idea what she’s walking into. She hates calling them the first time she stumbles on an interesting situation. If things go bad in there though she’ll feel a lot better knowing backup’s on the way.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwYzliYTdiYjU2OTQzZTNhZGQ1ZmMxZTJmOGE0OTQ4"><span class="tm6">Jia slinks back around the corner of the house as she calls. She keeps an eye on the window but doesn’t want to be standing right outside if the intruder emerges. They might not even exit through the window, but she’s trying to play it safe. The phone rings a few times before a tired sounding woman picks up. “Napa police department. How can we help?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlMTc4NTViMzgyODRjOGY4M2JhOTZmZmJhMjVkODQw"><span class="tm6">“Yes, there’s a robbery in process on the 200 block of Clinton Ave. I’m not sure of the actual address, it’s too dark outside to see. It’s a big house with a wooden fence around it though. I think it’s the only wooden fence on the street. They broke the side window and I think they’re still inside.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM3ZTk3NjJjY2EwZTRkYTU5M2I1NzEwZjkzOWYwNTQ1"><span class="tm6">“We’ll get an officer out there as soon as possible. Thank you for reporting this. May we have your name?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkMDYzOWM2ZWEzMjQ0MDBhMTQ4ODNmNTZjOWZlOGRk"><span class="tm6">“This is Jia Crawford, I’m a registered---”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmYjNhMGQ4ZjE4YjRiZTZhOGQyOTI2MTgzYmY5OWM2"><span class="tm6">She’s cut off before she can finish her sentence. “We know who you are Ms. Crawford. Please go home and leave this to the police. I appreciate you reporting it.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlNmMyZTU1MmQ4MzQ2NjY4NjFkZDdjMWUxNzZmODNl"><span class="tm6">“I’m actually going to investigate so I will very likely be in the house when your officers arrive. If they don’t see me out front, please don’t let them go in guns blazing. Thanks.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM2NjFlYTkyYjk2YjQ0NTRiNjc1MGQzNTEzYmRjOTJm"><span class="tm6">She hangs up before the woman can respond. Without any other excuses to delay she heads back to the window. Watching out for glass on the ground, she pushes aside the curtains and peers inside.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlZTI0OTM4NmUzMDQyOWY5ZTAyMzNiOGI3NmM1MmM1"><span class="tm6">There’s no sign of the robber. She’s staring at what appears to be an office, with a computer desk that hasn’t been disturbed. The door leading out of the room’s open. She pulls herself up and is able to quickly make her way inside. There’s a fair amount of glass on the other side of the window as well but she manages to avoid it as she hops in. She makes a little more noise than she likes when hopping over the glass and instantly freezes. Listening for any sign that she isn’t alone, nothing stands out. Maybe they broke the window then got scared and ran off. Hopefully she’s not about to stumble upon an angry homeowner who thinks she’s the robber. Especially not if they have a gun.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM0ODE0ZGQyOWJlNDQxYzFiYjNiYWE2MjExMzMyYmVi"><span class="tm6">Finding no sign of anyone in the office she tip toes to the door and glances out. There’s a long hallway here that goes in both directions. To the left she sees a few more rooms and a dead end while to the right the house opens into a common area.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1NWUwN2UzMmZhNzRmZWRiOTkzYjViNzZlMGU4ODI4"><span class="tm6">Putting her detective skills back to work, she notices a night light plugged into one of the hall’s wall sockets. It doesn’t give her much to go on but it’s just enough to make out a bit of water on the floor to the left. There’s no guarantee the thief didn’t come back and go the other way but it seems like a good place to start.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMzNWMzMjE3ZWExMTRmOTY4ZDljOTA5OTcwYTE0ODAw"><span class="tm6">The door to the first room’s open but there’s no sign of anyone. It looks like a kid’s room with blocks spread all over the floor. Moving further down the hall she comes to a sudden stop. There’s noise coming from the next room. It sounds like things are being thrown all over the place. Like someone’s looking for something. Jia creeps closer and sees the door’s wide open. As she looks inside she can tell she’s found the master bedroom.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjMTEwMmUzMDhiMTRiZDg5NDYyZGQwNWQ3OTc1NTU2"><span class="tm6">Amidst the darkness there’s a shadow rushing back and forth. It’s moving from a room off of the bedroom and then back to the bed where it throws it’s haul into a bag. Then it goes to the dresser and seems to repeat the process.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjMjg0ZTdhYWM4MTQzYWI4MjFkMzRkNmIzOGE2Mzk0"><span class="tm6">Jia’s breathing’s strangled. This is her last chance to back out. She can just sneak back out the window and head home. The cops will be here soon. Soon enough anyway. It might actually not be that soon. If she doesn’t do something these people might come home to a bunch of their stuff being gone. It’s not life and death but it probably matters to them. She can’t let that happen if she can prevent it.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM4MDdkOWFlOTUyYTQxMWRiZGRmYmY0YzEzZDY3MmVk"><span class="tm6">Trying to stay in the shadows, Jia sneaks into the room. The dark prevents her from seeing anything about the robber, including if they have a weapon. She’s not taking any chances. They rush into what Jia can only assume is a closet. Jia positions herself just outside and flattens herself against a wall, just far enough to the side that their peripheral vision shouldn’t catch her, especially in this darkness.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlMzY1ZDA4OGE3NDQ3YmE5NDcyZTkyNDVjMzM4ZWI5"><span class="tm6">As they make their way back to the bed, they don’t seem to realize they’re not alone. She uses that as her chance to strike. Rushing them from behind, she grabs their right arm by the wrist. She snakes her left leg in front of their right leg which leads to them being tripped off balance. They don’t fall to the floor but that was never the point. With them off balance Jia puts all her weight behind her and rushes forward, spearing them onto the bed. She could have thrown them clear across the room but she’s in someone’s home. She doesn’t want to destroy anything she doesn’t have to.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM0N2IyOWMyZjJkYjQ1NGY5YzhhZDEwZjJmZjAyMWUz"><span class="tm6">Jia flips them over and despite the dark she can tell they’re a man. She jumps on top of him, straddling him with her legs, trapping his arms to his body. At this point she starts pummeling him. Mostly body shots to the chest and gut to knock the wind out of him. She mixes a few strong punches to the face in to disorient him.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmY2ZmNDk1MGE5MDQ2YjdhYmMyYjFkNjZhOGY0OWQy"><span class="tm6">The man starts to whimper and cry. He tries to raise his hands to shield his face from more hits but they’re trapped by Jia’s legs. After an eternity of punch after punch the man finally manages to say, “Please stop. I give up. You’ve gotta believe me, I give up.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1NDA2ZTAyYTQzMDQyYzBhZTdlMThiNGIwZGFmMjI2"><span class="tm6">The voice she hears fills her with electricity. It’s a voice she knows far too well. She can’t see well enough to confirm her suspicion but she has to find out. She delivers a few more strong body shots to keep the man down before climbing off of him and rushing to the room’s entrance. At this point she flips on the light.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhZmM1YjA5OGJmODQ0MmViYzA2MTIyYjVkN2EwODU0"><span class="tm6">Lying bruised and bleeding on the rumpled bed is none other than her little brother Shin. He’s clutching his face and there’s a lot of blood leaking from his nose. Jia hopes it’s not broken.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkNzIyODQ0NzdhMjQ2ZDRhYWE3NjU3OThkNWY5YjJj"><span class="tm6">“You little idiot,” she says as she rushes to the bed.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhZDUxYTlmN2VlMDRjZTE5NWIxOGJiZTIwZTA3YTg2"><span class="tm6">Shin looks out of it, clearly dazed. He’s a short guy of only 22. He’s always been slender and wears his hair short. He’s wearing all black at the moment but no mask or anything to hide his identity. It seems the only thing he did to prepare to rob this place is put on some gloves. He seems to recognize her voice and when Jia tears her glasses off to get a good look at him he says, “Okay, now I know I have a concussion.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMyOGU3ZGZiMDZmODQ0ZTk4YjEwNWIyMzQ4ZjkxOGEx"><span class="tm6">“You might, but that’s not why you’re seeing me you moron.” Jia looks around for something to put on her brother’s nose before he gets blood on everything in this place. She can’t find anything so she reaches down to the bottom of her shirt and tears a piece off. “Here, put this on your nose.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlZThlNzFjNzJlZTRiM2NhOTZmOTU4M2JkNTZmMzRl"><span class="tm6">He does as he’s told. “Damp. Really hope that’s rain and not sweat. Why are you here? How are you here? Did you follow me or something?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMzN2Q1OWZmM2FkMTRmY2NhNDNiNmU5MGJiYjE2YTBi"><span class="tm6">She frowns. Everything’s always about him. “Nothing so clandestine. I signed up to be a vigilante. Mom and dad would probably have told you if you ever called or came home. I was walking home tonight and I heard you breaking a window. You weren’t exactly a ninja on this one. I didn’t realize who I was beating on until you spoke up. I’d have probably beaten you up at least a little less if I knew it was you.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM5ODQwZGE5Y2U1MDRhOTA4YzEzM2M1NWYyM2Q4OTA5"><span class="tm6">“Gee thanks,” he says as he tries to stuff the piece of shirt up his nose. “Why would you want to be a vigilante? That seems dangerous and stupid.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlMmRiN2Q1MWE3NzRkNWY5ZWZkOTc0NTgwNDQ5ZGU3"><span class="tm6">“Says the boy who just broke into a family’s house. Is that how you got that car I saw you driving awhile ago? Stealing crap? You’re better than that.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1OWY3OTVlMjM5YTQwMDA4ZTlmMDRiMjZkZWJhMGVj"><span class="tm6">He tries to stand but moans, putting a hand on his side. “It’s not like I wanted to. I got into debt with some guys who you don’t get into debt with. That’s how I got the car. I didn’t steal it. I couldn’t pay them as quick as they wanted and they told me I could either do this,” he says, gesturing to the bag of jewelry and purses on the bed, “or they’d hurt me and, well...”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlMjM1OGEwYzlkNDRmOWViOWQ2YTQ0ZDVmMTEwMmQ2"><span class="tm6">“What aren’t you telling me?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwOWViNDcyN2Q2OTRiNTU4MWFlOTJjZDNjZDk5NGU1"><span class="tm6">He sighs and lightly taps at his side. “Look, I decided to go the route that I thought would end with me not being beaten to a pulp. Apparently that didn’t work out so well.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjODU2YjFkMWM1OTQwM2NiYzJiZWRiNmYzNWFiZTEx"><span class="tm6">She throws her hands in the air and starts pacing. “You can’t just go stealing things. Why didn’t you go to mom and dad and ask them for the money? They’d have helped you. Hell, I’d have helped you.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM5YWI1NTk2NDJiNjQ1YTg5ZDZmNmEyYmYzYWRkZmI0"><span class="tm6">“Ya, so there’s one more thing dad can be upset with me about? I wasn’t going to do that. You don’t have the kind of money I needed anyway. I don’t know if mom and dad have it.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhZTU3ODQ3ZmRjNDQzODFiMzYxZjVjMGI2MDFkZTkw"><span class="tm6">Their parents do well for themselves. That tells her more than she wanted to know. “Why this place? Why are you only a couple miles from home? I thought you were staying out in Sonoma or something.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1OTE1MWQ4Y2RkNTQwZTc4NWMxYWVhYzNlMTdmZTMz"><span class="tm6">“I am. I didn’t pick the place. The people I owe money to gave me an address and told me to come here. They said the family would be out of town and nobody would get hurt. I was just supposed to take the jewelry and purses and stuff. Figured it wouldn’t be that big a deal, their insurance would cover it. They picked it because it’s close to the family. That way if I got caught walking around the area I could just tell whoever caught me that I was going to visit family. I really need this stuff sis. You have to let me take it. You don’t know what they’ll do if I don’t.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM0MzI4ZGI4NWMwNTRlYzlhOTVjZTNkZDk5YjFhNjdk"><span class="tm6">Shaking her head, she walks toward him. “You’re an idiot. I’m not going to let you steal from these people. I should turn you over to the cops.” As the words leave her mouth she remembers what’s coming. She puts her hand over her mouth and her eyes go wide. “You need to get out of here. Now. I called the cops before I came in here and they were sending a car out. Napa cops are slow but they can’t be that far away at this point.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM4OTY4MGYyYTViZDRlZTRiZDk3ZDQ5MWQ1MTRjOWU3"><span class="tm6">Shin’s hands go together in a begging gesture. “Please let me take the stuff. I promise you I won’t ever do this again. I’ll get my head on straight and be better. You don’t know what they’ll do.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM2NjM4NTllMWU0NDQxNjI5NDcwOWQ4ZGJjMTIzZWRi"><span class="tm6">“I know what I’m going to do if you don’t leave. I’ll tell the cops you got away, just get the hell out of here. Go home, sleep in your old room. We’ll talk in the morning. I’ll be along as soon as I can and we’ll figure out your problem but I can’t let you take this stuff. You’re not a thief and I’m not letting you become one.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1ZDQyYTRjMTZmZjRkMWFhMWUxM2ZhODZmNjRmZGVm"><span class="tm6">He hesitates but stands and starts to head for the door. Jia’s glad to see no blood stains on the blanket. No real evidence. “Wait.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM0ODQ5NTgwODk5ZDQ4OWFhYmQxNDg5MDRjYmYxYTFm"><span class="tm6">Shin turns around. “What? The cops could be here any minute, right? I need to get out of here.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmZDk2YjZlYmY3MDQyZWNhNzdkMThiYjBhMjg0YTNh"><span class="tm6">“Ya, but you need your bag.” Jia dumps the bag he had been piling valuables into and some of it makes it’s way around the room. She’s careful to keep her hands on the bag. She doesn’t want anyone wondering why her fingerprints are all over this stuff. “You’re not leaving it here. That’s evidence. God you’re a terrible criminal.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM2YjVmY2RjMTY1ZjQ4NGJhZWUwY2ZiYjliMjk3MjE4"><span class="tm6">“Sorry I’m so bad at stealing.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMyNjg0MzdlNWIwYzQ4NWY5YmFiOGNiMzU5ODNmZjdl"><span class="tm6">“You should be. There’s one more thing. I need you to hit me. Hard. In the face. I need a black eye or a bleeding nose or something.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlMjI3ZTY1ZGE4NTRmMmJhM2FjZTQzMjQ0Nzc2NWEw"><span class="tm6">His eyes go wide and he shakes his head. “What? You already have a black eye. I’m not going to hit my sister.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMxNTUxNDBmZDZmMTQ1ZjM5MDg4MWVmM2U4Mzk3NDg5"><span class="tm6">“Yes, you are. Otherwise they’ll be suspicious of how you got away. This,” she says while pointing to her eye, “is already a few days old. One good hit then out the back slider. You go over the back fence and cut through the field back there. Just keep going, don’t stop until you’re home. I’ll go out the front door and wave the cops down. I’ll say you went out the front. That should get you away without an issue. Now hit me.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmZWM3MzcwYTQ4ZTRlMDJhMjBhZTQwOGMxYzZjZDZh"><span class="tm6">“There’s gotta be another way. I don’t want to hit my sister.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwZTJlNGM5ZDIxYzRlNGFiMjMzOTVhNTA5NjFlYmQ5"><span class="tm6">“A little late for that thief boy. Besides, after that beating I gave you, you must want a little revenge. Tomorrow you’re going to a doctor and getting your ribs checked by the way.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1YzY2ZTdlODM0MDQ3NjJiMGM1MTY5ZTUyOWUwZTIw"><span class="tm6">Subconsciously rubbing his ribs he says, “They’re fine, just a little sore. You aren’t strong enough to break my ribs.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhN2Y2MTRlNWM3ZDRiYjhhMDRkYzk2ZGIxODhiMjgy"><span class="tm6">“We’ll see. For now though, just hit me and get out of here. I need to get out front to throw them off.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwMWMzMGVmZGZlYTQ0MzVhOTFiODYwYWNiMGNhOGU3"><span class="tm6">Shin still hesitates. He’s never been the most assertive guy. He has to know she’s going to get him back for this, even though she’s basically demanding he do it. Still, she is insisting and she will need to explain why he got away. He balls up his fist and punches his sister right in the eye. He tries to at least avoid her nose and manages to do so. She’s still knocked back by the hit.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNiMmQwNDI2OTMxMTQwZDNhZDI1ZDI0MjYyZTVmYzg1"><span class="tm6">“Ow, you little moron.” She rubs her face and can already feel a welt. “I guess that’ll work. Didn’t know you had that punch in you. You owe me so bad.” Her hand moves to cover her eye. She wishes she had something cold to put on it.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM1ZGYzZmQ4MzM2NzQ3ZTQ5YmVkZTYzNGE5NTBjODM1"><span class="tm6">“Are you okay?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMzNzdiNDZmMTE4ZjQ4ZWU4Y2NiMWY4ZTg2MTA5Njgz"><span class="tm6">“I’ll be fine, just get out of here before the cops show. I didn’t take that hit for nothing.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM2ZDUzODk4ODZhZTRkMjNhYmFiYWY3MmJiM2E0Zjli"><span class="tm6">Shin nods and grabs his bag. He runs out of the bedroom and his sister follows him to the living room. They find the rear sliding glass door and Shin is about to run out it when Jia says, “Wait.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkZDE2ZDE0MGFmNjRjODc5MGU0NGVjMzhhNjU3YWI0"><span class="tm6">“Come on, I really need to go.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwNzNiOWY5MGIwODQ1NTM4OGY4MDJmNjUyMjBmYjlj"><span class="tm6">“Unlock the front door first and open it a crack for me. You have gloves on. If you don’t it’ll be weird when they find my fingerprints on the lock. If you ran out first, there’s no reason I’d have to unlock the door.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwYTBlYzdkMGVjNzQ5NDBiOTYzM2E4ZTI2YTk1NTcw"><span class="tm6">“Good catch.” Shin does as he’s told but opens the door only a crack. With that he runs to the back door, opens the slider, and closes it behind him. Jia uses her clothing to push the lock back into place so she won’t leave a fingerprint on it. They probably won’t go so far as to fingerprint a break-in but it can’t hurt to be careful. She doesn’t want anyone asking questions she can’t answer.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlZDcxMTM5NWVjNTQ3Y2U4OGFmMWU4YTIwZjlhZGVh"><span class="tm6">With that done Jia heads out the front door and is glad to see no sign of the cops. She doesn’t want to explain why she’s just coming out if she already chased the robber off. She sits down on the steps and rubs the side of her face. It really hurts.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM5YWE4NzQ2YzY3ZDQ1NzJiZTY3NjJkNzE2ZDU1OWU0"><span class="tm6">She wanted to help people, at least tonight she got to do so. She only had to become an accessory to an attempted robbery to do it. She stopped the theft at least. The stuff is still here. This family might come home to a window that needs fixing but they won’t come home to find all their valuables gone. She made things better. Hopefully that balances the scales from letting her brother go. She shouldn’t have. There should be consequences for his stupidity. He’s her brother though.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMxMDI4OTFkOGU0ZTQ5ZmI5ZDY4ZmY1OTIwNjNhMDc5"><span class="tm6">After a few more minutes she sees blue and red lights at the end of the street. They slowly make their way toward her and when they get close she gets up and walks toward them, waving her arm in the air to draw their attention.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkMTZhNjIyOGQ5YTQxNzRhNDZjOGMxMzk5ZWFhNjg4"><span class="tm6">The car stops and two cops get out. It’s the same two from earlier in the night. The older officer says, “You look like crap.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM5OTk1ZThlNGY1ZTRmODI4YTE0M2FhOTE0ZGYwNjBh"><span class="tm6">“Maybe I wouldn’t if you guys didn’t take so long to get here. I had to handle this on my own. Which I did.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlMDlhMTZjYTY4ODQyZDU5NWUxZDY4YjIxZDU2YTc5"><span class="tm6">“Did you get the guy who broke in?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkMTg4NTgxZmVhMTQyZTI4NDU0YmNkMmM3ZGYzMDgx"><span class="tm6">She looks down, not wanting to meet his gaze. “Not quite. I caught him off guard and got a few good shots in but he surprised me with this,” she says as she points to her face. “He made for the door. I chased him out the front but it took a minute to recover and by the time I got out here, I couldn’t see any sign of him. I made him drop the stuff though.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjZWMyNzI5YmYzYzQzNjhhNWYyYWJkMzI1ZjU4Mzc2"><span class="tm6">“What stuff?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNhNjIwMDM2NmFiZjQ3YzVhNDUzNWJjNTNmOTllODNh"><span class="tm6">“I think he was trying to take a bunch of purses and jewelry and stuff. I looked after I realized he was gone. He was piling it all on the bed and when I beat the crap out of him, it flew everywhere. I don’t know if any of it got damaged but it should all be there. Apparently he decided getting out of here was more important than stealing.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM2MjUxZjdlYzY3MDRmY2RiMTU3MGRjYjgzNmMxNmNj"><span class="tm6">The officer has his hands on his hips as he walks toward the house. “He got away. You didn’t handle it. I guess it’s good that nothing was stolen though. Any sign of the family or whoever lives here?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjMmY4Zjg0YzNiZjQ2NDJiNjVhYzViYThlMTYyZTNi"><span class="tm6">She frowns. Hasn’t she earned more respect than that? “Not that I could see. No cars out front or in the garage. I think they weren’t here for some reason. Maybe that’s why the guy picked this place.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMzMDUyZTZkODdkNDQ5Y2FhYmI5MDNmNmFhNjU1MzQ4"><span class="tm6">“Could be someone they know. We’ll look into it. Good job or whatever. Next time you have to stick your nose into something, try to get the guy. He’ll probably just hit another house now.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMxZjUwY2QzOGM4OTRjMDBhNDI4ZWNkOTU0NjJiNGM5"><span class="tm6">Jia wants to protest but she can’t let on that she knows who did this. “I’ll try to do better.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM0ZTJlMjgyNjc0MzQyMjVhYWQ4MWM2YTkyNjBhNjk2"><span class="tm6">“Do so. What can you tell us about the thief?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjMTgzMzAxMTVkNTQwZjg5MjRjYzFmYTRhOTA0NzQz"><span class="tm6">“Not a lot. I didn’t turn the lights on until after he was gone. He was bigger than me so I wanted to get the drop on him. He’s taller than I am, probably by at least six inches. Definitely a guy, where I hit him, I’d have felt if it was a woman. Pretty fast, with a mean right hook. That’s about all I can say though.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwZmRjOTExYWJkYTQyMGFiYjIzNzlkNTkxMDkyMzZi"><span class="tm6">“Skinny? Fat? Their race? Right handed or left handed? You have to be able to give us something else.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNjZTA5YzEwNjgxNTQ0OWY5ZTU3MmU5NjhjYWEwZTIy"><span class="tm6">“In between I guess on weight. I didn’t get a good look at them like I said. They were wearing a mask and gloves, no clue on race. They had all black on. It was actually hard to see them except for when they walked by the window. They punched with their right hand, so maybe right handed. They broke in through the office window. That’s actually how I got inside too. That’s about all I can tell you though. Wish I could be more help.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMwOThiYjBhMDc5MDQ3NGQ4ZjhhMzE5MWVjOWQ2ZWFm"><span class="tm6">The second officer, the younger woman with long blond hair and a nice smile speaks up before her partner can. “It’s more than we usually have to go on. That helps a lot. Thank you for your help Jia.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNmMjM2MWZiMDgzOTRjZjdiMDQ4MjJmM2YyZjY2NWZm"><span class="tm6">She steps back. “You know my name?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnMzYTc5YmEyM2MyMzRhODBhYjhmMjVhOTJlZDgzYTJj"><span class="tm6">The officer laughs and moves toward her, patting her on the shoulder. “We all know your name.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM0YzU4NGM3ZjY0ZDQwZTdhYzQ0ZTRiZDU5YjYzNTUw"><span class="tm6">“I keep hearing that. Apparently being the only vigilante in Napa is good for something. What’s your name?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM5Mjg1ZmNhZmEyODRlZTA4MmNjN2FiZGU2ZTIzNDlh"><span class="tm6">The older officer rolls his eyes and heads toward the house. His partner looks at the ground and says, “Sorry about him. He’s not a big fan of vigilantes. Most of the force isn’t I guess. Kind of feel like you’re coming for our jobs. I figure we can use all the help we can get though. I really appreciate you getting involved. I’m officer Klein. Cassie Klein. It’s nice to meet you.” She extends a hand which Jia takes.</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNkMzZjYjlhZjhjYzQ2ODJiYWNmNmY0YWM4YTU5M2Rk"><span class="tm6">“Nice to meet you too. I’d love to ask you some questions about why everyone hates me and what I might do to turn it around. Any chance you’d be up to giving me some pointers?”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnM3N2QxZjdiYmJjZDRhZDlhMTI2NGYwNmIxNjA5OTk2"><span class="tm6">Nodding, Cassie looks toward her partner who’s already entering the house. “Sure, just look me up on Facebook. First name with a c, last name with a k. I’d better get inside before my partner chews me out for wasting time. It really was good to meet you. I’ll look forward to your message.” She starts to walk away but after a moment she stops herself and turns around. She points at Jia’s face. “Also, I’d call it a night. Go home and put some ice on that.”</span></p> <p class="Normal tm5 cnNlNjQwYTBjZjBkZTRiNzFiZjNkZmIxMmEzZjlhNTUz"><span class="tm6">Cassie Klein hurries into the house and is gone. Jia considers following but decides she’s done enough here for one night. She turns and walks down the street until she finds the spot she left her bike. She jumps on and starts peddling for the winery. It’s still a few miles away and if she rides fast she can probably beat Shin there. If he doesn’t show she’s going to kill him.</span></p> </div>

This wasn’t what tonight was supposed to be like. Nobody in Napa seems to care about the vigilante act. Why did Jia think signing up was a good idea? She bikes toward home, cutting down side streets and through neighborhoods every chance she gets. She stays off the main roads as much as possible. Easier to avoid any drunks heading home. That’s easier said than done out here. It seems like you’re either in a downtown area, on a highway, or in the country where you can go miles without seeing much except grape fields. A few drops of water start falling which make her peddle faster. It’s light but could pick up any time. She has to get a car if she’s going to keep doing this. After tonight though she’s not sure she even wants to continue. Riding through the last neighborhood before she’ll reach the highway her family’s winery sits on, Jia hears a crash in the distance. At first she dismisses it. Probably someone taking out the trash. It’s awfully late for that though. Then she hears it again. It sounds like someone hitting something. She hears glass breaking. This time of night that can’t be a good sign. She could ignore it. She could even call the cops and let them handle it. There’s a squad car just a few miles away. Her confidence that she can handle this isn’t high right now. She’s not even confident she wants to handle it. She’s here though. By the time the cops show up whoever is doing this could be long gone. She registered as a vigilante to help people. Now’s her chance. Deciding to get involved is only the first step. The difficult part is figuring out where that glass broke. She heard it ahead of her and to the right but there’s six houses in that direction. There’s only one street light on this stretch of road so she can’t make out many details. She listens, hoping to hear more noise, but whoever did the breaking has stopped. She thinks the noise came from one of the three closest houses but she can’t be sure. With no other option Jia leans her bike against a tree and gets ready to start creeping into people’s yards, looking for any sign of broken glass. Her heart beats so fast she fears it might burst. It’s not a warm night but sweat’s pouring off of her. Whoever’s behind this could have targeted any of these houses but they would have chosen one for a reason. She starts scanning for any sign or clue that would make one the best target. She notices two cars parked in the driveway of one of the houses. That probably means a fair amount of people are home. Not a great target. Another has their porch light on. It’s dim but might scare someone off. The other house doesn’t have any lights on, no cars out front, and nothing about it makes her think someone is there. She creeps closer to this house. As she nears it, she sees the mailbox is open and overflowing with mail. That’s almost too easy. If nobody’s been home long enough for that much mail to build up the place is an easy mark. It’s a one story ranch style house. Clearly the people who live here are at least fairly wealthy. Beyond the fact that they can afford any house in Napa this is easily the biggest house on the block. It’s got nice finishes and a big garage. It’s the kind of place anyone would want to live in and the kind of place any thief would want to rob. Circling the building, Jia looks for any sign of broken glass. Nothing out front. All of the windows are in good shape. A quick glance through a garage window reveals there’s no vehicles inside. There are too many signs this place is empty. With nothing to go on she makes her way around the side of the house. There’s a tall wooden fence surrounding the back yard which she’ll have to make her way over. That’s not an issue in itself, she can climb a fence, but she really hopes it doesn’t mean she’s about to meet a nervous pet on the other side. Hoisting herself over, she lands on her feet and is relieved to see no sign of a dog house or anything else suggesting a pet. A lot of people in the area only fence their yards if they have pets but maybe this family just likes privacy. The wooden fence is only along the front and back of the yard. In between she finds cheap wire fencing, allowing her to see into the yards of the neighbors. Glancing at the next house over she can see the people there have their back porch light on but there’s no sign of anyone outside this late. That’s good, she doesn’t relish the idea of having to explain to a neighbor why she’s sneaking around in the dark. Once again she considers calling the cops. Even if she’s going to investigate herself it might be a good idea to have backup on the way if things go bad. She dismisses the thought. She needs to handle this herself. She can’t call for help every time she gets a little nervous. Half expecting to find the sliding glass door along the back of the house broken, she’s disappointed to find it seems intact. There’s two other windows back here but neither of them is broken either. With only one side of the house left Jia starts getting ready to move onto the other houses on the block. Maybe her detective skills aren’t as advanced as she hoped. Rounding the final corner of the house though, she changes her mind. Those Nancy Drew books she read as a kid may have taught her a few things after all. There’s only one window on this side of the house but it’s wide open. Looking at the pushed up panel, she can see the glass is shattered and there are shards all over the ground. It looks like whoever did this only broke the window so they could unlock it. There’s no sign of anyone out here so whoever did this is likely inside. Jia feels nervous standing around out here. Whoever is inside could come out at any time and there’s no way to know who they are or how dangerous they might be. Jia’s confident she could handle even an armed opponent up close and personal, but if they see her across a room, she isn’t magic nor is she bulletproof. She takes a deep breath and starts to pull herself through the window but at the last minute she has a change of heart. Before she goes into the unknown she decides to call the cops. She needs to be able to handle herself but she has no idea what she’s walking into. She hates calling them the first time she stumbles on an interesting situation. If things go bad in there though she’ll feel a lot better knowing backup’s on the way. Jia slinks back around the corner of the house as she calls. She keeps an eye on the window but doesn’t want to be standing right outside if the intruder emerges. They might not even exit through the window, but she’s trying to play it safe. The phone rings a few times before a tired sounding woman picks up. “Napa police department. How can we help?” “Yes, there’s a robbery in process on the 200 block of Clinton Ave. I’m not sure of the actual address, it’s too dark outside to see. It’s a big house with a wooden fence around it though. I think it’s the only wooden fence on the street. They broke the side window and I think they’re still inside.” “We’ll get an officer out there as soon as possible. Thank you for reporting this. May we have your name?” “This is Jia Crawford, I’m a registered---” She’s cut off before she can finish her sentence. “We know who you are Ms. Crawford. Please go home and leave this to the police. I appreciate you reporting it.” “I’m actually going to investigate so I will very likely be in the house when your officers arrive. If they don’t see me out front, please don’t let them go in guns blazing. Thanks.” She hangs up before the woman can respond. Without any other excuses to delay she heads back to the window. Watching out for glass on the ground, she pushes aside the curtains and peers inside. There’s no sign of the robber. She’s staring at what appears to be an office, with a computer desk that hasn’t been disturbed. The door leading out of the room’s open. She pulls herself up and is able to quickly make her way inside. There’s a fair amount of glass on the other side of the window as well but she manages to avoid it as she hops in. She makes a little more noise than she likes when hopping over the glass and instantly freezes. Listening for any sign that she isn’t alone, nothing stands out. Maybe they broke the window then got scared and ran off. Hopefully she’s not about to stumble upon an angry homeowner who thinks she’s the robber. Especially not if they have a gun. Finding no sign of anyone in the office she tip toes to the door and glances out. There’s a long hallway here that goes in both directions. To the left she sees a few more rooms and a dead end while to the right the house opens into a common area. Putting her detective skills back to work, she notices a night light plugged into one of the hall’s wall sockets. It doesn’t give her much to go on but it’s just enough to make out a bit of water on the floor to the left. There’s no guarantee the thief didn’t come back and go the other way but it seems like a good place to start. The door to the first room’s open but there’s no sign of anyone. It looks like a kid’s room with blocks spread all over the floor. Moving further down the hall she comes to a sudden stop. There’s noise coming from the next room. It sounds like things are being thrown all over the place. Like someone’s looking for something. Jia creeps closer and sees the door’s wide open. As she looks inside she can tell she’s found the master bedroom. Amidst the darkness there’s a shadow rushing back and forth. It’s moving from a room off of the bedroom and then back to the bed where it throws it’s haul into a bag. Then it goes to the dresser and seems to repeat the process. Jia’s breathing’s strangled. This is her last chance to back out. She can just sneak back out the window and head home. The cops will be here soon. Soon enough anyway. It might actually not be that soon. If she doesn’t do something these people might come home to a bunch of their stuff being gone. It’s not life and death but it probably matters to them. She can’t let that happen if she can prevent it. Trying to stay in the shadows, Jia sneaks into the room. The dark prevents her from seeing anything about the robber, including if they have a weapon. She’s not taking any chances. They rush into what Jia can only assume is a closet. Jia positions herself just outside and flattens herself against a wall, just far enough to the side that their peripheral vision shouldn’t catch her, especially in this darkness. As they make their way back to the bed, they don’t seem to realize they’re not alone. She uses that as her chance to strike. Rushing them from behind, she grabs their right arm by the wrist. She snakes her left leg in front of their right leg which leads to them being tripped off balance. They don’t fall to the floor but that was never the point. With them off balance Jia puts all her weight behind her and rushes forward, spearing them onto the bed. She could have thrown them clear across the room but she’s in someone’s home. She doesn’t want to destroy anything she doesn’t have to. Jia flips them over and despite the dark she can tell they’re a man. She jumps on top of him, straddling him with her legs, trapping his arms to his body. At this point she starts pummeling him. Mostly body shots to the chest and gut to knock the wind out of him. She mixes a few strong punches to the face in to disorient him. The man starts to whimper and cry. He tries to raise his hands to shield his face from more hits but they’re trapped by Jia’s legs. After an eternity of punch after punch the man finally manages to say, “Please stop. I give up. You’ve gotta believe me, I give up.” The voice she hears fills her with electricity. It’s a voice she knows far too well. She can’t see well enough to confirm her suspicion but she has to find out. She delivers a few more strong body shots to keep the man down before climbing off of him and rushing to the room’s entrance. At this point she flips on the light. Lying bruised and bleeding on the rumpled bed is none other than her little brother Shin. He’s clutching his face and there’s a lot of blood leaking from his nose. Jia hopes it’s not broken. “You little idiot,” she says as she rushes to the bed. Shin looks out of it, clearly dazed. He’s a short guy of only 22. He’s always been slender and wears his hair short. He’s wearing all black at the moment but no mask or anything to hide his identity. It seems the only thing he did to prepare to rob this place is put on some gloves. He seems to recognize her voice and when Jia tears her glasses off to get a good look at him he says, “Okay, now I know I have a concussion.” “You might, but that’s not why you’re seeing me you moron.” Jia looks around for something to put on her brother’s nose before he gets blood on everything in this place. She can’t find anything so she reaches down to the bottom of her shirt and tears a piece off. “Here, put this on your nose.” He does as he’s told. “Damp. Really hope that’s rain and not sweat. Why are you here? How are you here? Did you follow me or something?” She frowns. Everything’s always about him. “Nothing so clandestine. I signed up to be a vigilante. Mom and dad would probably have told you if you ever called or came home. I was walking home tonight and I heard you breaking a window. You weren’t exactly a ninja on this one. I didn’t realize who I was beating on until you spoke up. I’d have probably beaten you up at least a little less if I knew it was you.” “Gee thanks,” he says as he tries to stuff the piece of shirt up his nose. “Why would you want to be a vigilante? That seems dangerous and stupid.” “Says the boy who just broke into a family’s house. Is that how you got that car I saw you driving awhile ago? Stealing crap? You’re better than that.” He tries to stand but moans, putting a hand on his side. “It’s not like I wanted to. I got into debt with some guys who you don’t get into debt with. That’s how I got the car. I didn’t steal it. I couldn’t pay them as quick as they wanted and they told me I could either do this,” he says, gesturing to the bag of jewelry and purses on the bed, “or they’d hurt me and, well...” “What aren’t you telling me?” He sighs and lightly taps at his side. “Look, I decided to go the route that I thought would end with me not being beaten to a pulp. Apparently that didn’t work out so well.” She throws her hands in the air and starts pacing. “You can’t just go stealing things. Why didn’t you go to mom and dad and ask them for the money? They’d have helped you. Hell, I’d have helped you.” “Ya, so there’s one more thing dad can be upset with me about? I wasn’t going to do that. You don’t have the kind of money I needed anyway. I don’t know if mom and dad have it.” Their parents do well for themselves. That tells her more than she wanted to know. “Why this place? Why are you only a couple miles from home? I thought you were staying out in Sonoma or something.” “I am. I didn’t pick the place. The people I owe money to gave me an address and told me to come here. They said the family would be out of town and nobody would get hurt. I was just supposed to take the jewelry and purses and stuff. Figured it wouldn’t be that big a deal, their insurance would cover it. They picked it because it’s close to the family. That way if I got caught walking around the area I could just tell whoever caught me that I was going to visit family. I really need this stuff sis. You have to let me take it. You don’t know what they’ll do if I don’t.” Shaking her head, she walks toward him. “You’re an idiot. I’m not going to let you steal from these people. I should turn you over to the cops.” As the words leave her mouth she remembers what’s coming. She puts her hand over her mouth and her eyes go wide. “You need to get out of here. Now. I called the cops before I came in here and they were sending a car out. Napa cops are slow but they can’t be that far away at this point.” Shin’s hands go together in a begging gesture. “Please let me take the stuff. I promise you I won’t ever do this again. I’ll get my head on straight and be better. You don’t know what they’ll do.” “I know what I’m going to do if you don’t leave. I’ll tell the cops you got away, just get the hell out of here. Go home, sleep in your old room. We’ll talk in the morning. I’ll be along as soon as I can and we’ll figure out your problem but I can’t let you take this stuff. You’re not a thief and I’m not letting you become one.” He hesitates but stands and starts to head for the door. Jia’s glad to see no blood stains on the blanket. No real evidence. “Wait.” Shin turns around. “What? The cops could be here any minute, right? I need to get out of here.” “Ya, but you need your bag.” Jia dumps the bag he had been piling valuables into and some of it makes it’s way around the room. She’s careful to keep her hands on the bag. She doesn’t want anyone wondering why her fingerprints are all over this stuff. “You’re not leaving it here. That’s evidence. God you’re a terrible criminal.” “Sorry I’m so bad at stealing.” “You should be. There’s one more thing. I need you to hit me. Hard. In the face. I need a black eye or a bleeding nose or something.” His eyes go wide and he shakes his head. “What? You already have a black eye. I’m not going to hit my sister.” “Yes, you are. Otherwise they’ll be suspicious of how you got away. This,” she says while pointing to her eye, “is already a few days old. One good hit then out the back slider. You go over the back fence and cut through the field back there. Just keep going, don’t stop until you’re home. I’ll go out the front door and wave the cops down. I’ll say you went out the front. That should get you away without an issue. Now hit me.” “There’s gotta be another way. I don’t want to hit my sister.” “A little late for that thief boy. Besides, after that beating I gave you, you must want a little revenge. Tomorrow you’re going to a doctor and getting your ribs checked by the way.” Subconsciously rubbing his ribs he says, “They’re fine, just a little sore. You aren’t strong enough to break my ribs.” “We’ll see. For now though, just hit me and get out of here. I need to get out front to throw them off.” Shin still hesitates. He’s never been the most assertive guy. He has to know she’s going to get him back for this, even though she’s basically demanding he do it. Still, she is insisting and she will need to explain why he got away. He balls up his fist and punches his sister right in the eye. He tries to at least avoid her nose and manages to do so. She’s still knocked back by the hit. “Ow, you little moron.” She rubs her face and can already feel a welt. “I guess that’ll work. Didn’t know you had that punch in you. You owe me so bad.” Her hand moves to cover her eye. She wishes she had something cold to put on it. “Are you okay?” “I’ll be fine, just get out of here before the cops show. I didn’t take that hit for nothing.” Shin nods and grabs his bag. He runs out of the bedroom and his sister follows him to the living room. They find the rear sliding glass door and Shin is about to run out it when Jia says, “Wait.” “Come on, I really need to go.” “Unlock the front door first and open it a crack for me. You have gloves on. If you don’t it’ll be weird when they find my fingerprints on the lock. If you ran out first, there’s no reason I’d have to unlock the door.” “Good catch.” Shin does as he’s told but opens the door only a crack. With that he runs to the back door, opens the slider, and closes it behind him. Jia uses her clothing to push the lock back into place so she won’t leave a fingerprint on it. They probably won’t go so far as to fingerprint a break-in but it can’t hurt to be careful. She doesn’t want anyone asking questions she can’t answer. With that done Jia heads out the front door and is glad to see no sign of the cops. She doesn’t want to explain why she’s just coming out if she already chased the robber off. She sits down on the steps and rubs the side of her face. It really hurts. She wanted to help people, at least tonight she got to do so. She only had to become an accessory to an attempted robbery to do it. She stopped the theft at least. The stuff is still here. This family might come home to a window that needs fixing but they won’t come home to find all their valuables gone. She made things better. Hopefully that balances the scales from letting her brother go. She shouldn’t have. There should be consequences for his stupidity. He’s her brother though. After a few more minutes she sees blue and red lights at the end of the street. They slowly make their way toward her and when they get close she gets up and walks toward them, waving her arm in the air to draw their attention. The car stops and two cops get out. It’s the same two from earlier in the night. The older officer says, “You look like crap.” “Maybe I wouldn’t if you guys didn’t take so long to get here. I had to handle this on my own. Which I did.” “Did you get the guy who broke in?” She looks down, not wanting to meet his gaze. “Not quite. I caught him off guard and got a few good shots in but he surprised me with this,” she says as she points to her face. “He made for the door. I chased him out the front but it took a minute to recover and by the time I got out here, I couldn’t see any sign of him. I made him drop the stuff though.” “What stuff?” “I think he was trying to take a bunch of purses and jewelry and stuff. I looked after I realized he was gone. He was piling it all on the bed and when I beat the crap out of him, it flew everywhere. I don’t know if any of it got damaged but it should all be there. Apparently he decided getting out of here was more important than stealing.” The officer has his hands on his hips as he walks toward the house. “He got away. You didn’t handle it. I guess it’s good that nothing was stolen though. Any sign of the family or whoever lives here?” She frowns. Hasn’t she earned more respect than that? “Not that I could see. No cars out front or in the garage. I think they weren’t here for some reason. Maybe that’s why the guy picked this place.” “Could be someone they know. We’ll look into it. Good job or whatever. Next time you have to stick your nose into something, try to get the guy. He’ll probably just hit another house now.” Jia wants to protest but she can’t let on that she knows who did this. “I’ll try to do better.” “Do so. What can you tell us about the thief?” “Not a lot. I didn’t turn the lights on until after he was gone. He was bigger than me so I wanted to get the drop on him. He’s taller than I am, probably by at least six inches. Definitely a guy, where I hit him, I’d have felt if it was a woman. Pretty fast, with a mean right hook. That’s about all I can say though.” “Skinny? Fat? Their race? Right handed or left handed? You have to be able to give us something else.” “In between I guess on weight. I didn’t get a good look at them like I said. They were wearing a mask and gloves, no clue on race. They had all black on. It was actually hard to see them except for when they walked by the window. They punched with their right hand, so maybe right handed. They broke in through the office window. That’s actually how I got inside too. That’s about all I can tell you though. Wish I could be more help.” The second officer, the younger woman with long blond hair and a nice smile speaks up before her partner can. “It’s more than we usually have to go on. That helps a lot. Thank you for your help Jia.” She steps back. “You know my name?” The officer laughs and moves toward her, patting her on the shoulder. “We all know your name.” “I keep hearing that. Apparently being the only vigilante in Napa is good for something. What’s your name?” The older officer rolls his eyes and heads toward the house. His partner looks at the ground and says, “Sorry about him. He’s not a big fan of vigilantes. Most of the force isn’t I guess. Kind of feel like you’re coming for our jobs. I figure we can use all the help we can get though. I really appreciate you getting involved. I’m officer Klein. Cassie Klein. It’s nice to meet you.” She extends a hand which Jia takes. “Nice to meet you too. I’d love to ask you some questions about why everyone hates me and what I might do to turn it around. Any chance you’d be up to giving me some pointers?” Nodding, Cassie looks toward her partner who’s already entering the house. “Sure, just look me up on Facebook. First name with a c, last name with a k. I’d better get inside before my partner chews me out for wasting time. It really was good to meet you. I’ll look forward to your message.” She starts to walk away but after a moment she stops herself and turns around. She points at Jia’s face. “Also, I’d call it a night. Go home and put some ice on that.” Cassie Klein hurries into the house and is gone. Jia considers following but decides she’s done enough here for one night. She turns and walks down the street until she finds the spot she left her bike. She jumps on and starts peddling for the winery. It’s still a few miles away and if she rides fast she can probably beat Shin there. If he doesn’t show she’s going to kill him.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM5NjYwODJlOWE1ZjQ2M2M5ZDQyOTYwZTdlZDY2NGI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">The sun shone down through the brown leaves on one of the clearings in the capital. The clearing was totally silent, although this silence was interrupted by the sound of an occasional falling leaf. Spring was in season and soon the trees would shed their coverings.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYTNhYjE2Y2M1YjQwMWU4NDQ2OGFiZWU2ZDcxZGJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">On the grass lay a woman with dark skin and even darker hair. She was face down and was dressed in flimsy clothing too flimsy to prevent her body from shivering from the chill from the breeze. Choice lay on the grass and didn’t wake up despite the bright sun and chilly wind. She lay there sleeping heavily heavily when the moon shone again and the sun rose on another day.</span></p> <p class="cnNkOGRhN2FjMTZhNTQzM2I4ZDM5ZjcyZDZhODNkMTA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was the rain that woke her up. Choice felt her body being caressed and embraced by liquid. In her sleep she dreamt that she was back in the lake dying and drowning. She dreamt that she had not been able to save herself and that she had become one more casualty of the palace.</span></p> <p class="cnM2N2NjODk3M2U0MjQyNWE4MjE3NjZjMjI2ZWViNTAz"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was the dream that woke her up screaming into the dusk. Choice looked up at the grey sky and noticed the droplets of rain falling on her skin. She stumbled to her feet despite the heavy headache and realised that she had probably been out there for longer than she had planned. She noted that the place she had buried her ambusher’s belongings was untouched.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNzVmNDUyNDA1ZTRhNDViNzdmNWVlMGZkOGJhMDY0"><span style="font-weight: 400">She looked at her muddy body covered with fallen leaves and glanced back at the lake. She considered jumping in the lake to clean the grime but couldn’t bring herself to go into a place where she had dumped a corpse. She tried to move the water with her mind to clean herself but all she got for her efforts was a worse headache. She had a nosebleed and almost blacked out but was able to stay awake.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNjEwMTg4ZTcxNDQ5YzQ4YzRhMWRiNTAyNjNjNDIx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice turned to look at the water in the lake in trepidation and had her suspicions confirmed. She hadn’t been able to move the water, not even a droplet. The headache she had convinced her that trying again would be a foolish idea. Choice decided to go back to the palace and have a bath. After that she could try to understand what had happened to her ability to move water.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MzdkYjZiMWRlMDQwYWQ4ZWZlZWFiM2JiNjQwODgw"><span style="font-weight: 400">After walking for half an hour, Choice got closer to the main palace. To her surprise, she didn’t see any extra security that she expected to find when the sole princess had been missing for half a day. The frenzy she expected to find was not there. Puzzled, she made her way to the bathroom. She was filthy and needed to clean up.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1ZDk4MWNhMDIxOTQxZjBiYjAwNjEzMGE1MzU0Yjhl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Staying in the warm water soothed her headache and half an hour later, it had completely disappeared. Emboldened by this, Choice tried again to move water with her mind. It was not to be. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NDI2MTc3ZDEyYjQ5NjZhYTEyODUzZGE5Yzc1N2Q5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice could not move the water with her mind.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NGY2NTdhOGNiMzRiNWE5MWU2MGYxMTIzNTU1YjAx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Still this time she didn’t have a headache like she had previously. She kept on trying again and again but still had the same result. The water would not bloody move. Choice started panicking and kept on trying. This had been the only good news she had gotten in a long time. Magic wasn’t a common thing but it was something that when you had it never left.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZjI4N2ZkOTdmNjQ5NzViZGE5ZWM3NTNkMWFjZjBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">It didn’t matter what direction Choice faced or how desperate she was, the water remained indifferent to her efforts. In a move of desperation, Choice dove underneath the water hoping maybe being under the water would help her. No such luck. At this point she had a throbbing forehead and she had a nosebleed.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OGM0ZjdjOWFkMTRhN2VhZjdiYmRkMmRjZmEzMDJl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Still going under the water helped her to calm down. Choice mocked herself and the fantasies she’d had of using her magic to take care of everything. Hadn’t she learnt by now that she never got what she wanted. Yet here she was, still hoping that the universe would throw her a bone and help her out for once.</span></p> <p class="cnNlODI3MmI3NGZiMTQzMTE4YjA0ZWU3MDE0OTg2NGUw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Underneath the water, she began to organise her thoughts and suddenly realised that at some point she had stopped holding her breath yet had not had any problem breathing in water. She thought back to the day before and remembered that the first talent she had displayed was breathing under water. This consoled her. Maybe if she waited a bit longer, her powers would return. There really wasn’t anything she could do but wait. Waiting was always the path she took in life.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOGE3MWU0YjA1NTQ3MGY5YzdiMTYxZmY5ZjI4N2Fm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Under the water was peaceful and Choice became more serene and tranquil. She let go of all her worries of her powers and enjoy what she had currently. It was then that Choice noticed the water moving and following the movements of her body. She became more excited and immediately the water stopped following her. Choice recognised that enthusiasm was getting in the way and tried to resume her previous mood of calm indifference. When she did so, the resumed following her movements. </span></p> <p class="cnNiMWJiODYzMjUyMDQ3MzI5ODcxMzcyMTY5MDQ1OGRk"><span style="font-weight: 400">She raised her hand and observed the liquid following it. Choice wanted to experiment more with it and see how far her control over water ran but before she could do so, she felt hands grab around her upper arms and pull her up. He surprise at this action interfered with her mood and immediately she felt her control over the water slip away.</span></p> <p class="cnM1M2Q2Y2ZkOTlmNTRmNDQ5NGNhYmFiNDBjZjI1ZmMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice came out of the water fuming and pushed away the hands of the maids pulling her up but before she could start scolding them, she heard an annoying wailing sound.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYTVhOWZmYTlkYzQwZGY5ZTVlZTMwZWU0MzhkZDBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Mistress, don’t die. If I’ve done anything wrong please punish me. Don’t die please.” That annoying caterwauling sound belonged to Rachel, her mother’s most trusted maid. She’d never liked Rachel, partly because she felt that she was closer to Sera than she was and also because Rachel was the maid her mother sent to her to explain that she was too tired to play with her, maybe another time. There was never another time. </span></p> <p class="cnM1OWMyY2UyMzRlZTQxZTM4OTBjMjIwNWRiZGFmMzE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">She was a child and had blamed Rachel for her mother’s refusal to meet with her. Even though she had now grown up and knew that Rachel was truly innocent, she never cared enough about her to stop disliking her. Also, Rachel didn’t help by having one of the most annoying voices she had ever heard.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMjRkMzM1YjQ1NzQ4Yzk5ODFlM2VmYjk5ZTRkNDE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice lightly pushed Rachel off her and stood up dripping water down her nude body. She looked around the room and realised that Abigail, her step mother as well as a few other maids were there. She folded her arm and cocked her head at her step-mother unashamed of her bareness. They were the ones who had barged into her bathing, why should she care about their embarrassment.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYTUyZDRhZmNhMzQyZWNhYTA0OGRkYmQ1YmIyNzAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Abigail scoffed and roll her eyes. “It looks like the effectiveness of Perpetual has dropped in the years since I left. Don’t you know that exposing your body is something that only common women and whores do?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YTUxMzA2NzE2MjRiNjNhNzdjY2JlNjJiYmFiMjgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Don’t worry about me Mother Abigail. I learnt quite a lot from Perpetual. I was just curious why I got dragged from my relaxing bath like an animal.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNmUxY2YxODExMDRmOGE5NzRjMTRkMzI2YmM4NDRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Get dressed and follow me. Be with me in five minutes,” Abigail said and turned around, her intricately patterned green gown swished around her ankle as she glided out of the room. Say whatever you want about Abigail but there was a reason why she was considered a prized student of Perpetual. She was always held as an example at Choice’s school of the perfect aristocratic lady. </span></p> <p class="cnNmNjFmMTExNzlhMTRhODA4ZWE5NGJlMmVlMzRjMmFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice quickly took a towel offered by Rachel and got dressed in the purple dress offered. She never looked good in purple but Abigail knew that. Choice slipped on her sandals and walked briskly to catch up with Abigail. She didn’t want her father to think there was open disharmony in the palace. He was always so proud of how peaceful his household was. It was not going to be peaceful for long. Selection period was starting.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNTBkODgxNzY2ZDQ2MTQ5MmJlNWE4NjkzZDBiZTEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice saw Abigail in one of the gardens glancing at a pocket watch. As she approached Abigail, Choice studied her form. At forty seven, Abigail looked as stunning as she was in her thirties. She had waist length brown hair and eyes. Her face was oval and she had a figure to die four. She had slim fingers and long eyelashes that just so. She was spectacular. </span></p> <p class="cnMwYzdkZGZkZWE1NTQ4YWNiOWM1ZGM0NTJiZDBhMDk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was no wonder that she was considered to be the preferred wife. Choice truly believed that she was the only person in the palace having frequent relations with the King. Still, Abigail knew she was favoured and sometimes, she used that as an excuse to belittle her and her mother.</span></p> <p class="cnNiOWNiZTBhNjkxMDRiNTU5YjNhOWJhMTc5YWM2ZDhj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ah, exactly five minutes,” Abigail said and closed her pocket watch, “I knew sending you to Perpetual would have a good effect on you. Come here child let me see how you’ve grown.” Abigail took her hand and turned her around to have a good look at her.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDE0MmQ5M2UwNzQ4MTA5NGQ2N2ZkZTliZmVkZTFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Stars in the sky, your skin seems to have darkened since the last time I saw you. Aren’t following the regimen I recommended when I saw you at Perpetual.” Yes, Abigail did come to see her at Perpetual. It was weird. Abigail was her step mother but she’d interacted with her more than she did with her biological parents. Abigail came thrice every year while she was at Perpetual to meet with her and also have a dig at her. How embarrassing.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDQxZWFkOWFmYzRkNTc4MDFmYTU2NWVhMDg0ZjE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My skin is just fine, mother Abigail,” Choice said with the exasperation. They’d had a variant of this conversation countless time, “I don’t need to make it lighter. The sun and I have no quarrel with one another.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZDNkNDU5MTgwYzRhOGZhZjdlNmUxOTk5MmYyZDJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes, so you always say. But I’m letting you know now that it’ll be difficult to get a husband with skin like yours in this Kingdom. Maybe you’ll have to go back to your mother’s land to find one. Can you imagine that, a King’s daughter going to have to search for a man to marry her?” Abigail laughed as she said this and made a signal to one of the maids to bring her a cup of tea.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MzU2YzBhOTQxNTQ5OWI4NDlkYjE5ZDFmZDc2NzJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice bit her tongue to keep herself from saying her knee jerk response and waited for Abigail to take a sip of tea. “As you say, I’m the King’s daughter. There will be no shortage of men to marry.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1ODk5ODNhMGE5ODRkOTk4NGYxNDhmZGU2NDIxMGQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Maybe, but they won’t be respectable. Besides, I heard the Colburn rejected you as his betrothed because of your...complexion.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5OTkzMTE0MzQwYzRkYmE5YzgyZWZiZDY2OGUxYzJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What?” Choice asked surprised. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">That’s what he landed with. Seriously. </span></em></p> <p class="cnMwZWNhODY2NTNhMzQ1MmY5ZDg4MmFjNTMyZWY2ZDQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why do you sound so surprised, my dear? Isn’t that why you were missing for almost two days. And we found you, you were in the bath, drowning.” Choice shook in surprise at the fact that she’d away longer than she thought and burst out laughing at the second sentence.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDVhNmRkYjU3YjRmYzBhYjA3OTIwNmFjY2FjZGI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Don’t be ridiculous Abigail. Me, kill myself. Why the hell would I do that. Even if I was going to do it, it definitely wouldn’t be for that bastard Matt.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwOGU5YjY3ZTI1NzQxZWNhZjNhNzcxNmM1NGJjMGRm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Abigail put down her cup sharply. “Language, Choice Legume. I know you love your mother dearly but you were sent to Perpetual and that’s was to become a proper member of society. This is unbecoming of a refined lady. One might think you need to be retrained.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZWNhZDc0ZDcxNzQ4ZGFhYzc4ZDgzNWQzZjk3ZDI2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No, I apologise mother Abigail.,” Choice said through her teeth. She’d kill Abigail in a heartbeat if it would prevent her from ever suggesting her returning to Perpetual. “Just sometimes my blood gets heated up. It won’t happen again.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmOWJmOWYwYTVkOTQyYWY4MzE1MTMzMDU2YTIzY2U1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes, I do understand that that’s the tendency of your </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">blood. </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Oh well, I guess you are okay.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODZiMzkxNTk0ZTQxYWNiYzgxMDQ2MTA0Y2I3YzIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Thank you,” Choice forced a smile and got up. She assumed that Abigail was done with her. She always liked to have these talks that were basically mentally battles. To tell you the truth, Choiced didn’t hate Abigail. Oh she wouldn’t feel anything if she died but she couldn’t deny that Abigail paid more attention to her than her own mother did. Strangely, she felt flattered by Abigail’s antagonistic interest in her. Abigail subconsciously recognising her as a threat proved that she had a chance at winning the throne.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MTk4OThkZDJhNzQ3ZjE5NjNjYzQ1NGVhMjhhMDM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh, I almost forgot what I called you for. Cedric is going to visit his old school and went to go talk to your father when he heard you’d never seen magic before. He asked for you to accompany him, the foolish boy. So the King has given you permission to go the Internationale for three days.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmZjEzMTQxNjI2MzRkZjM5MGZmYTU0NDdiMGM1ZmZj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Whoa. Cedric did that for me.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmN2JhNjMxM2M4MTQ3YjBhMGNiODM3OGQ3NWQ1OWYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Of course. You’re his cute younger sister,” Abigail said walking up to Choice and adjusted her non-existent collar, “I’ve tried to teach him not to trust women too much. But he thinks we’re harmless, so I’ll warn you right now. If you disappoint my son or hurt, I’ll make sure, you’re sent back to the Perpetual Finishing School for Young Women. Trust me, I know how much you don’t want to go back there.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxMmRiNjlmYmUyOTQ0M2ZhYTU3NTYyM2NhMTVmZWQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Choice nodded her head. “Don’t worry Mother Abigail. There’s no way I’ll be able to hurt Cedric.” She curtseyed and turned away from Abigail. On the surface, Choice was very calm but in her head, she was jumping for joy. She was going to the Internationale.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NDVmNjZiY2U1YjQ0ZmJhYzViZjhiNmYxNWQxNGJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">She was going to find out what the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">fuck </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">was going on with her powers.</span></p> </div>

The sun shone down through the brown leaves on one of the clearings in the capital. The clearing was totally silent, although this silence was interrupted by the sound of an occasional falling leaf. Spring was in season and soon the trees would shed their coverings. On the grass lay a woman with dark skin and even darker hair. She was face down and was dressed in flimsy clothing too flimsy to prevent her body from shivering from the chill from the breeze. Choice lay on the grass and didn’t wake up despite the bright sun and chilly wind. She lay there sleeping heavily heavily when the moon shone again and the sun rose on another day. It was the rain that woke her up. Choice felt her body being caressed and embraced by liquid. In her sleep she dreamt that she was back in the lake dying and drowning. She dreamt that she had not been able to save herself and that she had become one more casualty of the palace. It was the dream that woke her up screaming into the dusk. Choice looked up at the grey sky and noticed the droplets of rain falling on her skin. She stumbled to her feet despite the heavy headache and realised that she had probably been out there for longer than she had planned. She noted that the place she had buried her ambusher’s belongings was untouched. She looked at her muddy body covered with fallen leaves and glanced back at the lake. She considered jumping in the lake to clean the grime but couldn’t bring herself to go into a place where she had dumped a corpse. She tried to move the water with her mind to clean herself but all she got for her efforts was a worse headache. She had a nosebleed and almost blacked out but was able to stay awake. Choice turned to look at the water in the lake in trepidation and had her suspicions confirmed. She hadn’t been able to move the water, not even a droplet. The headache she had convinced her that trying again would be a foolish idea. Choice decided to go back to the palace and have a bath. After that she could try to understand what had happened to her ability to move water. After walking for half an hour, Choice got closer to the main palace. To her surprise, she didn’t see any extra security that she expected to find when the sole princess had been missing for half a day. The frenzy she expected to find was not there. Puzzled, she made her way to the bathroom. She was filthy and needed to clean up. --- Staying in the warm water soothed her headache and half an hour later, it had completely disappeared. Emboldened by this, Choice tried again to move water with her mind. It was not to be. Choice could not move the water with her mind. Still this time she didn’t have a headache like she had previously. She kept on trying again and again but still had the same result. The water would not bloody move. Choice started panicking and kept on trying. This had been the only good news she had gotten in a long time. Magic wasn’t a common thing but it was something that when you had it never left. It didn’t matter what direction Choice faced or how desperate she was, the water remained indifferent to her efforts. In a move of desperation, Choice dove underneath the water hoping maybe being under the water would help her. No such luck. At this point she had a throbbing forehead and she had a nosebleed. Still going under the water helped her to calm down. Choice mocked herself and the fantasies she’d had of using her magic to take care of everything. Hadn’t she learnt by now that she never got what she wanted. Yet here she was, still hoping that the universe would throw her a bone and help her out for once. Underneath the water, she began to organise her thoughts and suddenly realised that at some point she had stopped holding her breath yet had not had any problem breathing in water. She thought back to the day before and remembered that the first talent she had displayed was breathing under water. This consoled her. Maybe if she waited a bit longer, her powers would return. There really wasn’t anything she could do but wait. Waiting was always the path she took in life. Under the water was peaceful and Choice became more serene and tranquil. She let go of all her worries of her powers and enjoy what she had currently. It was then that Choice noticed the water moving and following the movements of her body. She became more excited and immediately the water stopped following her. Choice recognised that enthusiasm was getting in the way and tried to resume her previous mood of calm indifference. When she did so, the resumed following her movements. She raised her hand and observed the liquid following it. Choice wanted to experiment more with it and see how far her control over water ran but before she could do so, she felt hands grab around her upper arms and pull her up. He surprise at this action interfered with her mood and immediately she felt her control over the water slip away. Choice came out of the water fuming and pushed away the hands of the maids pulling her up but before she could start scolding them, she heard an annoying wailing sound. “Mistress, don’t die. If I’ve done anything wrong please punish me. Don’t die please.” That annoying caterwauling sound belonged to Rachel, her mother’s most trusted maid. She’d never liked Rachel, partly because she felt that she was closer to Sera than she was and also because Rachel was the maid her mother sent to her to explain that she was too tired to play with her, maybe another time. There was never another time. She was a child and had blamed Rachel for her mother’s refusal to meet with her. Even though she had now grown up and knew that Rachel was truly innocent, she never cared enough about her to stop disliking her. Also, Rachel didn’t help by having one of the most annoying voices she had ever heard. Choice lightly pushed Rachel off her and stood up dripping water down her nude body. She looked around the room and realised that Abigail, her step mother as well as a few other maids were there. She folded her arm and cocked her head at her step-mother unashamed of her bareness. They were the ones who had barged into her bathing, why should she care about their embarrassment. Abigail scoffed and roll her eyes. “It looks like the effectiveness of Perpetual has dropped in the years since I left. Don’t you know that exposing your body is something that only common women and whores do?” “Don’t worry about me Mother Abigail. I learnt quite a lot from Perpetual. I was just curious why I got dragged from my relaxing bath like an animal.” “Get dressed and follow me. Be with me in five minutes,” Abigail said and turned around, her intricately patterned green gown swished around her ankle as she glided out of the room. Say whatever you want about Abigail but there was a reason why she was considered a prized student of Perpetual. She was always held as an example at Choice’s school of the perfect aristocratic lady. Choice quickly took a towel offered by Rachel and got dressed in the purple dress offered. She never looked good in purple but Abigail knew that. Choice slipped on her sandals and walked briskly to catch up with Abigail. She didn’t want her father to think there was open disharmony in the palace. He was always so proud of how peaceful his household was. It was not going to be peaceful for long. Selection period was starting. Choice saw Abigail in one of the gardens glancing at a pocket watch. As she approached Abigail, Choice studied her form. At forty seven, Abigail looked as stunning as she was in her thirties. She had waist length brown hair and eyes. Her face was oval and she had a figure to die four. She had slim fingers and long eyelashes that just so. She was spectacular. It was no wonder that she was considered to be the preferred wife. Choice truly believed that she was the only person in the palace having frequent relations with the King. Still, Abigail knew she was favoured and sometimes, she used that as an excuse to belittle her and her mother. “Ah, exactly five minutes,” Abigail said and closed her pocket watch, “I knew sending you to Perpetual would have a good effect on you. Come here child let me see how you’ve grown.” Abigail took her hand and turned her around to have a good look at her. “Stars in the sky, your skin seems to have darkened since the last time I saw you. Aren’t following the regimen I recommended when I saw you at Perpetual.” Yes, Abigail did come to see her at Perpetual. It was weird. Abigail was her step mother but she’d interacted with her more than she did with her biological parents. Abigail came thrice every year while she was at Perpetual to meet with her and also have a dig at her. How embarrassing. “My skin is just fine, mother Abigail,” Choice said with the exasperation. They’d had a variant of this conversation countless time, “I don’t need to make it lighter. The sun and I have no quarrel with one another.” “Yes, so you always say. But I’m letting you know now that it’ll be difficult to get a husband with skin like yours in this Kingdom. Maybe you’ll have to go back to your mother’s land to find one. Can you imagine that, a King’s daughter going to have to search for a man to marry her?” Abigail laughed as she said this and made a signal to one of the maids to bring her a cup of tea. Choice bit her tongue to keep herself from saying her knee jerk response and waited for Abigail to take a sip of tea. “As you say, I’m the King’s daughter. There will be no shortage of men to marry.” “Maybe, but they won’t be respectable. Besides, I heard the Colburn rejected you as his betrothed because of your...complexion.” “What?” Choice asked surprised. *That’s what he landed with. Seriously.* “Why do you sound so surprised, my dear? Isn’t that why you were missing for almost two days. And we found you, you were in the bath, drowning.” Choice shook in surprise at the fact that she’d away longer than she thought and burst out laughing at the second sentence. “Don’t be ridiculous Abigail. Me, kill myself. Why the hell would I do that. Even if I was going to do it, it definitely wouldn’t be for that bastard Matt.” Abigail put down her cup sharply. “Language, Choice Legume. I know you love your mother dearly but you were sent to Perpetual and that’s was to become a proper member of society. This is unbecoming of a refined lady. One might think you need to be retrained.” “No, I apologise mother Abigail.,” Choice said through her teeth. She’d kill Abigail in a heartbeat if it would prevent her from ever suggesting her returning to Perpetual. “Just sometimes my blood gets heated up. It won’t happen again.” “Yes, I do understand that that’s the tendency of your *blood.* Oh well, I guess you are okay.” “Thank you,” Choice forced a smile and got up. She assumed that Abigail was done with her. She always liked to have these talks that were basically mentally battles. To tell you the truth, Choiced didn’t hate Abigail. Oh she wouldn’t feel anything if she died but she couldn’t deny that Abigail paid more attention to her than her own mother did. Strangely, she felt flattered by Abigail’s antagonistic interest in her. Abigail subconsciously recognising her as a threat proved that she had a chance at winning the throne. “Oh, I almost forgot what I called you for. Cedric is going to visit his old school and went to go talk to your father when he heard you’d never seen magic before. He asked for you to accompany him, the foolish boy. So the King has given you permission to go the Internationale for three days.” “Whoa. Cedric did that for me.” “Of course. You’re his cute younger sister,” Abigail said walking up to Choice and adjusted her non-existent collar, “I’ve tried to teach him not to trust women too much. But he thinks we’re harmless, so I’ll warn you right now. If you disappoint my son or hurt, I’ll make sure, you’re sent back to the Perpetual Finishing School for Young Women. Trust me, I know how much you don’t want to go back there.” Choice nodded her head. “Don’t worry Mother Abigail. There’s no way I’ll be able to hurt Cedric.” She curtseyed and turned away from Abigail. On the surface, Choice was very calm but in her head, she was jumping for joy. She was going to the Internationale. She was going to find out what the *fuck* was going on with her powers.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2NjBmOWU3NjMxZjQ0YTdiMDg0MGQ3YjlhZTUxM2Yz">Leo reached the village. He took longer than expected due to the beast attack.</p> <p class="cnM4ODc0Y2Q3ZjRiNzQ0N2FhZWEzM2M1Y2QxNjJlYTZm">When Leo arrived at the entrance of the village which was situated at the bottom, he saw Mia waiting there. This was one of two entrances to the village. The other was at the top. It was from that entrance Leo and the other entered the village when they first arrived.</p> <p class="cnMzMDFiYjNkOTdmMTQzNGE4OGE1M2VlODA1ZDZkNDY5">Mia was standing in front of the gate with her arms folded. When she saw Leo she walked towards him not waiting for him to reach her. "Where have you been?"</p> <p class="cnM5OWJjZjMyY2I0OTQ3Njk5NGZmYjQyOWI1MmYzMmY3">"Training," Leo replied.</p> <p class="cnMyYzNkODJlNmM1ZjQzZGJhY2ZhNzFhNjAxZmIxNGJk">"We have got three of the four squads. We could not find the fourth squad. Ike's suspects they all have been taken. We don't have time to waste. We need to have a plan by tonight."</p> <p class="cnM2NjMwMjI1YWFjMjQwMzJhZGMyOTkzODQ5ZGRiODY4">"Why are we working with the other squads?" Leo asked. Was it not better if they worked alone? If more people were to go in, then that would mean a higher chance of being caught.</p> <p class="cnM2M2Q4Y2U4ZDg2YTQzZjg4M2E3YTg3ODFjYjU0ZWUy">"We need their help. We cannot go in alone."</p> <p class="cnMxZjNmYmI1YTczZTRiY2I5MzBiNTJkZGNhNTUxOTFk">"Having more people means having more risk of being caught," Leo said what was on his mind.</p> <p class="cnNiZTQyZDEzN2U5ZTQwNmQ5MGIyN2ZkN2M1ZWU0MGM5">"But that also means having more chance of success, right?" Mia replied.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDFhNDM5NTkxODQzMGNhNjAzNmY3NDlmYTExOGMy">"That is true." That was also true, but that never went well.</p> <p class="cnMwMGJjNzZmNjdlMjQ4OWNiMGE1OGZhNmI5M2E5NDFm">---</p> <p class="cnM4OGNiNjg4MGE3ODQ0YzRiY2FkODk2MzIyMzNkMzkz">The room had one window, but that window was closed. The floor was made of wood. Inside the room were many people.</p> <p class="cnMyYTdlNDJiMDI5MzQwOWI5NmZiYWFmZDQwYTU3OThi">Leo, Mia, and Emilia sat on one side. Ike and Bartel sat near them. Then there was another person.</p> <p class="cnNkYWJiYWQxOTJlODQ2ZjFiMTRhZTdlNzFhZGU3NTk2">Ike sat in a chair. His injuries were too much. The doctor ordered him not to go, but he broke that order and came here. He also refused to have the meeting at the hospital. "There are six of us and squad four's status is unknown that means they have gotten of us."</p> <p class="cnNiNTRiZWJmM2EwZjQ4YmI5YjJkMTIyNWE0ODk0NDMw">"More or less." Replied Mia as the status of squad four was still unknown.</p> <p class="cnMzYjI5ZjRhMTg5YzQ1MDc4MjdmYmZkYjY0OTUyYmY2">"If only we could get into the city then we can know how their security works," Ike said. That would make it much easier.</p> <p class="cnMxYjA3ZjNjMjc4YjRjYTM5OGQxMzE1YmRiOThiZDI1">"But they know how we look like," Mia replied.</p> <p class="cnNmNjIxYTJjNmQ2NDQ4YWFhOTYzODc5MzdhNmM1ZGI4">Ike leaned back on his chair. "The best time to attack would be at night, but we don't know where the captured are being kept. That will make it difficult."</p> <p class="cnMxNWRlNGNmMTUwMzRlNGE5MjljOWUxYjUyOGJjMTZk">"Damn it! If only they had not seen us," It was Bartel who said that.</p> <p class="cnNhMTg2NjYyNTIyNTQ5MTRiYjZlMGZjNmFhMzVkMzIw">"Actually, not all of them have seen us. Only the people who attacked us could have seen us," It was Artos who said this. The leader of squad three.</p> <p class="cnNkMjAyNTdmNzY4NDRiMGY5OThhZTI3MzYxMThhMjMx">"You are correct, but there is a problem. How did they attack all of us? Won't that mean they have some spy giving them information about us? So it is not at all impossible for them to know how we look like." Ike replied. He still could not believe how they attacked all the squads. This was a planned attack. They must have someone who is giving them information. But who?</p> <p class="cnM1OGIwNWY5YWJhMDQ4NjNhZDUzMGZhZmVmY2NhZTI0">"Well, that can be true, but we don't have a choice. We are small in number. Also, those people can stop us from using our Crystals. So we need to know where we should target if we want to have success." Artos said. This was a high-risk, high-return option.</p> <p class="cnNmNzUwOGIxOTNiMjQyZDc5N2JjZjllODQyMDk5ODk4">"It is risky, but the benefits such as getting to know their powers, that power which stops our Crystal and location are too valuable, but who among us will go?"</p> <p class="cnMzZTVlMWIyZTgxMDQzNDhiZmRmZTZhMTVkZjAwZTE2">Leo raised his hand. Finally, something interesting.</p> <p class="cnM2ZTk4MDZjYjFmZDQ2Y2JiMzBlZTIyZWIwZDg5YjVh">"Are you sure Leo?" Mia asked as she looked at him.</p> <p class="cnM0NTBmYmRlNDEyZjRkMDg5OWQ4YmU2ZmU1NzFmMzlm">"Yes," Leo replied. This was what he wanted. He liked these kinds of missions where his life was at stake. If he got found, then he could not escape. Also, he wanted to know about that power Aldous used. Was it related to him in any way? And if he could know more about that power will that reveal the power of his Crystal?</p> <p class="cnNhYTk0NDc2YTY0ZTQzMWZhMTNkMGM1MDZiYjcwM2Ji">"I can ask my father for help. He will send people." Mia said.</p> <p class="cnNmOTc0M2NkZmMzOTQxYjNiNWM0OThmZGMyODMyYjll">"That is a good idea. Then we won't need you two to go into their base," Ike said as he looked at Leo and Artos.</p> <p class="cnNmZmFkODZmNTU0NjQwNjVhMTQwYTdlYjViYTFiMTUy">"No, going to their base is still necessary. We need to know where their base and how much power they have." Leo replied. How could he let this chance go?</p> <p class="cnM0NzQ0ZTYwYjMwZTQ3ODQ5MDgxNzAxZDdiOGYxYzQ1">"Then I will go back to the town and report everything to father. Then I will come back with reinforcements."</p> <p class="cnNiODE0NTBiOWRmZTRiNDE5NDhiZmQ3YmYzNGU3NWIz">"That is good. You can set off tomorrow since it is late evening now. Wild Beasts will roam the forests. Also, I and Bartel need to get our strength back. Leo and Artos can sneak into the city tonight. You would need to stay there for one day. Tomorrow at night you both should escape the city. Then we can analyze everything you have found. After that, we can launch a proper attack." Ike said. This plan was taking shape.</p> <p class="cnM0YTNlZTIxNDFiYjQ2ODlhMjkxZDIxYzQ1OGFkOGVj">Emilia raised her hands. "I will also go."</p> <p class="cnM2N2JiZDgzZThhZDRkODY5MDIzYTQ4ZGMyZTNlM2Nj">Artos stood up. "You cannot go."</p> <p class="cnNlYzJlMGY5NGRkZTQyNDNiN2Y2YzQwYTYwNDg4YjQw">"Why not?" Emilia asked. She had to save Xander. He had saved her before, so she had to save him now.</p> <p class="cnM4NmFkNjY0ODZjOTQ3MGU4NmY3NzE5NWM4Mzk3MDE0">"Because I will also go. We cannot have too many people going. Also, you need to stay here since Ike and Bartel have to rest. You have to be there if something comes up or the fourth squad returns."</p> <p class="cnNmOGJmMjIyM2FjNjRiMDZiNWE0NWYwZDk4MjkxYmNl">"Bu--" Emilia got stopped by Mia. "What he said is correct Emilia."</p> <p class="cnMxNmNjN2EyZWFkMDQzMDk4MzdkZjllOWZjODkxMmFi">"So things are settled then. Me and Leo will head to the city tonight. While Mia will go back to the town tomorrow morning."</p> <p class="cnNiZTRhNzJhZWI5ODRlZDFhNDljZGE1NWJjZmVmZTM2">The meeting ended after that. Ike and Bartel went back to the hospital to rest. The doctor was upset they did not listen to his orders. They both would need time to recover as their injuries were worse compared to Emilia's.</p> <p class="cnM2ZTFlNDVlMjBiOTQwMjFhMmFjYTFiNWI5YTNmZDU5">Artos said he needed to do something and left.</p> <p class="cnNkNjdiMTI0YjM3MjRkYjBhZWIyYjYzZDJmNzU5M2Rh">Mia and Emilia went to have food while Leo went for a stroll around the village.</p> <p class="cnM5YmU3YWJjZDU4MjRkMGU4ZDgzODkzNTVmMzU3OTgy">This would be an important mission as it could lead to him unlocking the secrets of his Crystal. If he gets more information about it that will make increasing his power easier and killing Cao quicker.</p> <p class="cnM0NTU1Y2I1MjMyYjRlNTdiNjUzZTdhZjc4ZDAxY2Uw">Leo did not plan to return on the next day. He would stay there until he finds out about the power Aldous used. If he ran into danger, he could use then clone as a substitute.</p> </div>

Leo reached the village. He took longer than expected due to the beast attack. When Leo arrived at the entrance of the village which was situated at the bottom, he saw Mia waiting there. This was one of two entrances to the village. The other was at the top. It was from that entrance Leo and the other entered the village when they first arrived. Mia was standing in front of the gate with her arms folded. When she saw Leo she walked towards him not waiting for him to reach her. "Where have you been?" "Training," Leo replied. "We have got three of the four squads. We could not find the fourth squad. Ike's suspects they all have been taken. We don't have time to waste. We need to have a plan by tonight." "Why are we working with the other squads?" Leo asked. Was it not better if they worked alone? If more people were to go in, then that would mean a higher chance of being caught. "We need their help. We cannot go in alone." "Having more people means having more risk of being caught," Leo said what was on his mind. "But that also means having more chance of success, right?" Mia replied. "That is true." That was also true, but that never went well. --- The room had one window, but that window was closed. The floor was made of wood. Inside the room were many people. Leo, Mia, and Emilia sat on one side. Ike and Bartel sat near them. Then there was another person. Ike sat in a chair. His injuries were too much. The doctor ordered him not to go, but he broke that order and came here. He also refused to have the meeting at the hospital. "There are six of us and squad four's status is unknown that means they have gotten of us." "More or less." Replied Mia as the status of squad four was still unknown. "If only we could get into the city then we can know how their security works," Ike said. That would make it much easier. "But they know how we look like," Mia replied. Ike leaned back on his chair. "The best time to attack would be at night, but we don't know where the captured are being kept. That will make it difficult." "Damn it! If only they had not seen us," It was Bartel who said that. "Actually, not all of them have seen us. Only the people who attacked us could have seen us," It was Artos who said this. The leader of squad three. "You are correct, but there is a problem. How did they attack all of us? Won't that mean they have some spy giving them information about us? So it is not at all impossible for them to know how we look like." Ike replied. He still could not believe how they attacked all the squads. This was a planned attack. They must have someone who is giving them information. But who? "Well, that can be true, but we don't have a choice. We are small in number. Also, those people can stop us from using our Crystals. So we need to know where we should target if we want to have success." Artos said. This was a high-risk, high-return option. "It is risky, but the benefits such as getting to know their powers, that power which stops our Crystal and location are too valuable, but who among us will go?" Leo raised his hand. Finally, something interesting. "Are you sure Leo?" Mia asked as she looked at him. "Yes," Leo replied. This was what he wanted. He liked these kinds of missions where his life was at stake. If he got found, then he could not escape. Also, he wanted to know about that power Aldous used. Was it related to him in any way? And if he could know more about that power will that reveal the power of his Crystal? "I can ask my father for help. He will send people." Mia said. "That is a good idea. Then we won't need you two to go into their base," Ike said as he looked at Leo and Artos. "No, going to their base is still necessary. We need to know where their base and how much power they have." Leo replied. How could he let this chance go? "Then I will go back to the town and report everything to father. Then I will come back with reinforcements." "That is good. You can set off tomorrow since it is late evening now. Wild Beasts will roam the forests. Also, I and Bartel need to get our strength back. Leo and Artos can sneak into the city tonight. You would need to stay there for one day. Tomorrow at night you both should escape the city. Then we can analyze everything you have found. After that, we can launch a proper attack." Ike said. This plan was taking shape. Emilia raised her hands. "I will also go." Artos stood up. "You cannot go." "Why not?" Emilia asked. She had to save Xander. He had saved her before, so she had to save him now. "Because I will also go. We cannot have too many people going. Also, you need to stay here since Ike and Bartel have to rest. You have to be there if something comes up or the fourth squad returns." "Bu--" Emilia got stopped by Mia. "What he said is correct Emilia." "So things are settled then. Me and Leo will head to the city tonight. While Mia will go back to the town tomorrow morning." The meeting ended after that. Ike and Bartel went back to the hospital to rest. The doctor was upset they did not listen to his orders. They both would need time to recover as their injuries were worse compared to Emilia's. Artos said he needed to do something and left. Mia and Emilia went to have food while Leo went for a stroll around the village. This would be an important mission as it could lead to him unlocking the secrets of his Crystal. If he gets more information about it that will make increasing his power easier and killing Cao quicker. Leo did not plan to return on the next day. He would stay there until he finds out about the power Aldous used. If he ran into danger, he could use then clone as a substitute.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlM2U2NTc3OWQwMzQ0NTRiMTAzZjBmMDllNzMxOWNl">White paper stretched across Ren’s desk like freshly fallen snow untouched by man, beast or spirit. Such pristine paper was sacred. Divine. A gift from the gods.</p> <p class="cnNlNmQwZjgxMzIwNjQ5Mzc4YWQ5ODA0ZDg1OTVlMTQ5">A delinquent like Kuro should never have been allowed within fifty paces.</p> <p class="cnNmMDE5YjE1MTZhMTQxMWI4YTU2YjhjMWMxMDYzNWJm">Yet Ren knelt on the other side of the desk, sweeping his fingers forward to urge him on. He’d been the one to place the inkstone at Kuro’s elbow and fold Kuro’s fingers around the brush. “Go on.”</p> <p class="cnM5ZDAzZjMzNTM2ODRjOGI4NmNmNDJjMjMyNWQwMzdl">“I thought you said you’d teach me to read.” Ren had even shaken Kuro awake at the crack of dawn to drag him to Ren’s desk. “This is not reading.”</p> <p class="cnNiMTYxYmQ2Y2I4NjRjMTQ4MWVjYzVlOGJmMjIzYTAy">“Just copy this.” Ren tapped the example character he’d drawn and placed next to the pristine sheet.</p> <p class="cnM0YmI4NDY0NzQ1NjQzN2FiN2VjMzAwMzA3YzQyNzIy">“Are you hungry? Let’s go find breakfast.”</p> <p class="cnNjMWU5NzUyNGQyMzQ0NGZhYWE5MTJkYjU3NmY4M2U4">“Kuro.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZjAwOTYyODUzMDQzYjhiMDAwNGJkZDE0ZmU2OTdh">He sighed. Fine. He swirled the brush over the wetted ink stone and attacked the paper. He set the brush down, picked up the paper, and blew on the ink to dry it. He revealed it to Ren. “Tada!”</p> <p class="cnNlMmRkYmQxYjc5NzQxNjZhNTY5ZjM1NmI0MTY0ZTY5">Ren kept his expression carefully blank. “What’s this?”</p> <p class="cnM3Yzg2NzNhOTNmMTQ1MDg4ZjI5ZWIxYzIwOTFlNWIz">“Human scribbles!” And a fair impression of Ren’s note, although Kuro had added a flourish resembling a flower. He was fancy like that.</p> <p class="cnNkYmVmNDYwOTFmNDQzYjU4Yjg4MDJlMjZjYjcwY2Ix">“You just swirled the brush around.” Ren bowed his head.</p> <p class="cnNhNzY3ZTFlN2Y0YjQ3NzE5OWUxZmZmNjE1ZmQ3OTFh">“Precisely.” Kuro set down the paper. What else was human writing?</p> <p class="cnMwM2Q4NTZkNGZkYTRkNGY5NzYyMzFjM2ExYTA5ZGI3">They weren’t in Ren’s bed chamber, but a separate room Ren used for princely hobbies. Not that the room was drastically different. In fact, outside of the lack of kimono and futons, the room was pretty much identical — a mess of human scribbles, scrolls, flower stems and brushes.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjUyYzZkOThmOTQwYTE5YmRlMmM2MmU4MDA2MTE3">Ren bowed deeper, as if the weight of Kuro’s ineptitude crushed his neck, and moaned.</p> <p class="cnNkN2Y0MThmOGVjODRiYTFiOTIwOTljOGNiZDkxZjU4">So this was the end of the lessons. Ren had kept at it much longer than Kuro had expected.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2NiZDQzMGRiNzQxZDdhNjM4MjQ3OWQzZTljZTBk">But Ren flipped over the paper to the fresh side and picked up the brush. He painted a new character, this one all straight lines instead of flourishes. “Let’s try this again. This is the character used for tallying.”</p> <p class="cnMyMTkwM2M4NTg3ZDQ1ZThiOGE5NWY1M2FhMjI1MTM2">“Tallying what?”</p> <p class="cnM0MTcwODNmZDY5OTRiMzBhZWFkMDE3YzIxOWQzODBk">“Anything.” Ren gestured with the brush. “This line is the character for one. And if you add this line, you have a count of two.”</p> <p class="cnNiYzFlYTYyYTJhYzRjZmJiYjUyYjNiNmQxY2IxZDUx">Kuro peered at it. That seemed simple enough.</p> <p class="cnNmZWQ3ZGQ0NDQwZjQ5NjBhMGJhOGEzN2ZkYjNhZjk5">“Three lines is three.” Ren kept demonstrating, adding more marks. “The line through the three lines is four. And with this final dot, you have five. Then you start again. Understand?”</p> <p class="cnM3Njg4N2RhM2UxZDQ0YWRhODg4MjVhMDk2ZjQ1NjJh">Kuro dipped his chin.</p> <p class="cnM4NDJiNzA5ZGY0NDRiMDVhOGY4NTI4Y2Q5NWM4NzU5">“Good.” Ren smiled. He rifled into the lacquered chest and held up scrolls one by one, before laying one out on the desk. Lines and lines of tiny characters filled the space — and that was only one portion. Ren pointed at one. “Now this one is—”</p> <p class="cnM4YmJhNDg5OWU4ZDRkNGVhZDcxOTU1NDM5NWY1YWVh">“Gah.” Kuro collapsed, resting his forehead on his hands. “There’s too many.”</p> <p class="cnMxMTA0YWE4YTU4MDRkN2Q4YmQxZjQ2NjFmNDU4YjY0">“We’re starting slow. This character is easy.”</p> <p class="cnM5MWVjNTg3ZmVlZTRmNWQ5NDUxMzdkMmJlYjI2ZjNl">He blew a breath, trying to ruffle the ink off the page, but of course the character remained. “There must be hundreds.”</p> <p class="cnM3MWViMWNhZWExMzRkNTg5NjMyOGFlOTFjZWE4ZDZi">“Thousands, actually.”</p> <p class="cnNhZTNhNTYxZWY0NzQzZWJiZjQ4NWM0NmQxYzQwYzQw">Kuro groaned. He had centuries to learn, and that was probably still not enough time.</p> <p class="cnNiNjYwOTUxZmIxYzQzZDJhODY1MDAyN2RlMmIzYmU1">“But you’ll learn them. It’s really not so difficult.”</p> <p class="cnNhOTNiZmQ4M2VhNDQ0YTQ5MTM4ZjQ5MWFmNzAxYTBl">It was impossible. Not that Kuro would admit it. He straightened, crossing his arms. “I don’t see why I should bother. It’s only a human language.”</p> <p class="cnM1NDBlMjM1YWViYTQ0MjdiYjU5Y2UwODUwZGVjOWNh">Ren’s eyes brightened. “Is there demon writing?”</p> <p class="cnM3MGY2MzA4M2Q0NjRhZjA4OTBmODA3ZWRlMGFlOGM3">“Why would demons write?” Kuro asked. “’Dear humans, autumn days continue, how have you been? You are so tasty. I shall see you next week. Wait, why are you fleeing? Please give my regards to everyone. Sincerely, demon.’”</p> <p class="cnM0ZDdhYTA1ZGEzMTQ1ODFhYzkyMjM4ZGUxNTQxMTA5">Ren exhaled instead of chuckling. “So you’ll have to learn to write like a human.”</p> <p class="cnNlMDgwOGI5MWE3NDQ5OTU5OWYzZDMwODQxMWI0NDAz">“But why?” Kuro whined. “I’m not a clerk.”</p> <p class="cnM4ZDJlYjY1NjZhOTRiMTliYjJhMGI2MmQ5ODhlZjRk">“You’re a soon-to-be god, or so you keep saying.”</p> <p class="cnMwNGUwODA4ODJlMDQ2YWRiMDNmOGQxYmU4YTQ3ZjBk">“Exactly.” He threw up his hands. “So I don’t have to learn this.”</p> <p class="cnNjM2IzMzk3ZWQyMTRiOTZhYjM0N2Q4ODY1MmVjNjlm">“Gods need to write too.”</p> <p class="cnMzYmQwNGMyYjY3OTRiNTY5MTVmZTE3MWNkZThhZDA1">Kuro crossed his arms and shook his head.</p> <p class="cnNmN2Q3MDY3NDgzOTQ5Yzk4ZTFmYTllMzgyZmRmMThh">“They need to write ofuda.”</p> <p class="cnNmODNhZDcwNjJlNDRlMDE5NGRjMzMxZThkN2NlMjA2">He pressed one finger onto the scroll. “Characters don’t matter. Only intention does.”</p> <p class="cnNjZTQxMGI2OGM1ZjQ4ZTQ4NjIzYzgwZGEwYTk3ZTEz">“Kuro.”</p> <p class="cnM3OGNmMDZkMTk4NTRmNTk4Y2NhMjAyMjhmZDUwMGQy">He shook his head again. “Nope.”</p> <p class="cnMwMzM0ZmMyNDJiMzQxZDI5YWY4ZGU0ZjhhNTAyOTQ3">“Kuro.” Ren dragged the second half of his name out into a growl.</p> <p class="cnM2NDcwNzI4ZDFiYTRjNGNhMDBlMGY0ODk2MzIyZjM5">“You can’t make me.”</p> <p class="cnNkZmYzY2UyNDY5ZjQyM2I5MjI0MTJmNmY5MmQ0ODli">“Is that a wager?” he asked.</p> <p class="cnNmOTI2ODUzMjdmMTQ5Mjk4ZmFjNzE0ZjQ0ZWU4NjBl">Kuro’s lip twitched. Since the day was warm with very little wind, Ren had opened the doors to the veranda to let in the air.</p> <p class="cnM1OWMzNmFlNWE3NjRkMDk5ZWI4OWUzNjE4YTA4ZDdj">Ren glanced at the veranda.</p> <p class="cnMyZWNhYjkzNTE1ZTQ3MDk5MGFmNmFmNTg0OTE4MTc2">Kuro cursed. He burst up to his feet, knocking over the desk. He jumped toward the veranda, landing on his hands. His knees started to tuck up into his stomach, but Ren landed on him. Kuro fell to the mats, Ren falling on top of him. Kuro lost his breath, and Ren took advantage of his momentary shock. He straddled Kuro’s hips, pinning him down.</p> <p class="cnM5NTUyM2RiMmIyMTQyNDBiY2JhMjliNzA3ODA2NWVk">But Kuro was a spirit. He bucked up to dislodge him. Ren wrapped an arm under Kuro’s chin to hold on. Kuro threw his weight to the side, and they both landed on their sides. Kuro kicked to roll them onto Ren, breaking his hold. Holding him down, Kuro nipped the back of his neck.</p> <p class="cnMyNmUzZTBkZDljYTQ4YzZhNjA2MmY3OTljOTkxOWUz">“Ahem.” The massive form of an oni loomed through the opening. The sheer mass of its biceps strained at the simple indigo fabric containing them.</p> <p class="cnM5OTM3NzhiNjFmOTQwNDk4ZTNiMTVmM2NiMTA1ZDAw">The Night Parade had come and—</p> <p class="cnMxNzhkZGI0ZGVmZDQxYzg5NzBmNjgyOGUzMTJjMmE2">And coughed politely?</p> <p class="cnM2MmVlMGFiN2M4NDQ0YmY5OWE5NjA3YjYyYjU0YTBi">The oni stepped inside. Grey whisked the sides of his top knot, but nothing else about him suggested age, unless he smuggled a sake barrel under his surcoat. He could crush Kuro’s neck with one of his hands.</p> <p class="cnMwNTA1YTI2M2I5MTQ0OGZiYTkxMWU1MTMyYjMyYzMx">But it wasn’t his bulging biceps, his arching pectorals, or the sword at his hip that stopped Kuro’s heart. It was a tiny white crest.</p> <p class="cnM2MTVkZjA4ZmFmNTQxM2ViMjgzYzhmZTI3MzA0OWZl">Three dragonflies. Even Kuro recognised it.</p> <p class="cnNiNmEyZGQ1YTZjYzRmOGQ5ZTNjZmZhZDE2MDg0NDQ0">He could only be one man.</p> <p class="cnNhZDYxNjQzZjJiYjQ2Y2FiZWU5NWI5MTM5Y2JiMmNi">“Uncle Gorou!” Ren squawked underneath Kuro.</p> <p class="cnMyZjg2M2QwMWJiNTRjNzY5Zjc1NTdkOWRhZjIzOWJl">Kuro gaped, releasing Ren’s neck. He resisted the urge to wipe the teeth indents out of Ren’s skin.</p> <p class="cnM2OTliNzMwZjdjNDQ0NjhiYmYxYmI5NWZhOGJiYzM3">The Shogun had arrived, just in time to see Kuro bite Ren as if the Sun Prince were a submissive kit.</p> <p class="cnM4NDc5ZWM5MDEyOTQ4MGRhZGYwYzBlODhhOTZiZDkw"> </p> </div>

White paper stretched across Ren’s desk like freshly fallen snow untouched by man, beast or spirit. Such pristine paper was sacred. Divine. A gift from the gods. A delinquent like Kuro should never have been allowed within fifty paces. Yet Ren knelt on the other side of the desk, sweeping his fingers forward to urge him on. He’d been the one to place the inkstone at Kuro’s elbow and fold Kuro’s fingers around the brush. “Go on.” “I thought you said you’d teach me to read.” Ren had even shaken Kuro awake at the crack of dawn to drag him to Ren’s desk. “This is not reading.” “Just copy this.” Ren tapped the example character he’d drawn and placed next to the pristine sheet. “Are you hungry? Let’s go find breakfast.” “Kuro.” He sighed. Fine. He swirled the brush over the wetted ink stone and attacked the paper. He set the brush down, picked up the paper, and blew on the ink to dry it. He revealed it to Ren. “Tada!” Ren kept his expression carefully blank. “What’s this?” “Human scribbles!” And a fair impression of Ren’s note, although Kuro had added a flourish resembling a flower. He was fancy like that. “You just swirled the brush around.” Ren bowed his head. “Precisely.” Kuro set down the paper. What else was human writing? They weren’t in Ren’s bed chamber, but a separate room Ren used for princely hobbies. Not that the room was drastically different. In fact, outside of the lack of kimono and futons, the room was pretty much identical — a mess of human scribbles, scrolls, flower stems and brushes. Ren bowed deeper, as if the weight of Kuro’s ineptitude crushed his neck, and moaned. So this was the end of the lessons. Ren had kept at it much longer than Kuro had expected. But Ren flipped over the paper to the fresh side and picked up the brush. He painted a new character, this one all straight lines instead of flourishes. “Let’s try this again. This is the character used for tallying.” “Tallying what?” “Anything.” Ren gestured with the brush. “This line is the character for one. And if you add this line, you have a count of two.” Kuro peered at it. That seemed simple enough. “Three lines is three.” Ren kept demonstrating, adding more marks. “The line through the three lines is four. And with this final dot, you have five. Then you start again. Understand?” Kuro dipped his chin. “Good.” Ren smiled. He rifled into the lacquered chest and held up scrolls one by one, before laying one out on the desk. Lines and lines of tiny characters filled the space — and that was only one portion. Ren pointed at one. “Now this one is—” “Gah.” Kuro collapsed, resting his forehead on his hands. “There’s too many.” “We’re starting slow. This character is easy.” He blew a breath, trying to ruffle the ink off the page, but of course the character remained. “There must be hundreds.” “Thousands, actually.” Kuro groaned. He had centuries to learn, and that was probably still not enough time. “But you’ll learn them. It’s really not so difficult.” It was impossible. Not that Kuro would admit it. He straightened, crossing his arms. “I don’t see why I should bother. It’s only a human language.” Ren’s eyes brightened. “Is there demon writing?” “Why would demons write?” Kuro asked. “’Dear humans, autumn days continue, how have you been? You are so tasty. I shall see you next week. Wait, why are you fleeing? Please give my regards to everyone. Sincerely, demon.’” Ren exhaled instead of chuckling. “So you’ll have to learn to write like a human.” “But why?” Kuro whined. “I’m not a clerk.” “You’re a soon-to-be god, or so you keep saying.” “Exactly.” He threw up his hands. “So I don’t have to learn this.” “Gods need to write too.” Kuro crossed his arms and shook his head. “They need to write ofuda.” He pressed one finger onto the scroll. “Characters don’t matter. Only intention does.” “Kuro.” He shook his head again. “Nope.” “Kuro.” Ren dragged the second half of his name out into a growl. “You can’t make me.” “Is that a wager?” he asked. Kuro’s lip twitched. Since the day was warm with very little wind, Ren had opened the doors to the veranda to let in the air. Ren glanced at the veranda. Kuro cursed. He burst up to his feet, knocking over the desk. He jumped toward the veranda, landing on his hands. His knees started to tuck up into his stomach, but Ren landed on him. Kuro fell to the mats, Ren falling on top of him. Kuro lost his breath, and Ren took advantage of his momentary shock. He straddled Kuro’s hips, pinning him down. But Kuro was a spirit. He bucked up to dislodge him. Ren wrapped an arm under Kuro’s chin to hold on. Kuro threw his weight to the side, and they both landed on their sides. Kuro kicked to roll them onto Ren, breaking his hold. Holding him down, Kuro nipped the back of his neck. “Ahem.” The massive form of an oni loomed through the opening. The sheer mass of its biceps strained at the simple indigo fabric containing them. The Night Parade had come and— And coughed politely? The oni stepped inside. Grey whisked the sides of his top knot, but nothing else about him suggested age, unless he smuggled a sake barrel under his surcoat. He could crush Kuro’s neck with one of his hands. But it wasn’t his bulging biceps, his arching pectorals, or the sword at his hip that stopped Kuro’s heart. It was a tiny white crest. Three dragonflies. Even Kuro recognised it. He could only be one man. “Uncle Gorou!” Ren squawked underneath Kuro. Kuro gaped, releasing Ren’s neck. He resisted the urge to wipe the teeth indents out of Ren’s skin. The Shogun had arrived, just in time to see Kuro bite Ren as if the Sun Prince were a submissive kit.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMxNzgzYTRkNDhhMTRmNzk5YzliODlkMmNjNDFiZjJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Noticing Ian’s odd behavior despite only knowing him for a few days, Gaelan raised a brow. He had the feeling that quite a lot had transpired between these two young people in the past, a feeling that turned out to be on the mark.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZDI4NjMzNDI4YzRkNjlhOGI5MTE0NzRlMjhkZDBm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How have you been?” Lauren asked, smiling gently in spite of the awkward air between them. Contrary to her intention, the smile resulted in Ian’s heart twisting in pain due to unwanted memories.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYmQ1OWFmZTU0MjRjNzc5ZjVlZTAyZjljZWExNTI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’m fine, I guess,” he evasively answered, obviously showing an attitude of not wanting to be near her. Not asking how she was in return added to that sentiment since it conflicted with his moral compass of proper manners.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YTE5N2NiNzFhNTQ1NWRhN2NiY2JmMGZjMTc5NGVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uh-huh, I see…” Lauren muttered while awkwardly averting her gaze. A short silence followed which Gaelan imagined manifesting as malleable tactlessness.</span></p> <p class="cnM4OGE4ZGU3NGZkOTRiNzY5ZTBiZWM1ZWI4YTFiMDZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, it was nice to see you again, but we’ll get going now,” Ian said, giving Gaelan a look to urge him to leave as well. However, as soon as he tried to walk away, Lauren spoke up.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYmJjYjUyYjkyOTRiN2Q5M2NmODNlNTFkOTk5MWJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Um, Ian?’ she shyly interjected, casting her gaze toward the floor, “I-, I’m sorry…”</span></p> <p class="cnMyMjMyYzlmYWZlZTQ3NDY4NjkwOTBmMGI5Zjc2MTg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">When Ian looked back with a startled expression, he saw a look on the woman’s face that made it seem as though she might break into tears at any moment, throwing him for a loop.</span></p> <p class="cnMyYmIzYWNkZjUzMDRjZjQ5OTZiOTI2NWNkY2IxNGI1"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">What? What in the world is going on here?</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Ian asked himself. Unsure of what to do, he looked to Gaelan for assistance, though the man returned the look with a sharp gaze which clearly said something along the lines of, ‘How dare you make a woman cry? Fix it.’ </span></p> <p class="cnM5MTVjODYwNmMwNzRjYWZiZDMyNzg5MWQ4ZmExZmY3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Exasperated, Ian sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. What was this insanity? All he wanted to do was buy coffee and be on his way, but now he had drama, pretty much the antithesis of the wonderful drink. Unfortunately, he could practically feel his mentor’s accusatory glare piercing the back of his skull. Those purple irises of his radiated with an emotion so similar to ferocity that it frightened him. Perhaps Gaelan was a bit of a feminist?</span></p> <p class="cnMyZjQ0MTRiYWQ5MzRmMjk4ODg1M2ExZjQyZjViMGY3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Haaah… okay, what do you mean by saying sorry?” Ian asked, turning to face the woman that caused him a truckload of hurt in the past.</span></p> <p class="cnM5OTYxNTE3OTIxYjQxMmZhYjA0ODBjZGYzOTY5ZmFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’m sorry… that I hurt you,” she answered, a few tears streaming from her eyes now. Ian felt totally out of his element now.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYzA0ODdlNWNjYTQyMThhN2U1ZTExZTg4MDE2Nzg1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uh, yeah… it’s fine…” Ian ambiguously replied in the hopes that this emotionally torturous scenario would simply end already.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMGFkMmQ5ZmFlNzRkZDE4ODRmYWQ5OTM5M2E2Nzcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No, it’s not! I wanted to find you and apologize a long time ago, and I can’t take it anymore. It hurts, you know?” Lauren retorted, voice loud enough to draw the attention from many of the shoppers around them.</span></p> <p class="cnM0N2Q3NWY5ZjE2MDQ3MzU5NzA5NjcwNGNhNDZkMDU0"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">I don’t know, and all these onlookers are making it worse…</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Ian thought. This situation was not one he had </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">ever</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> planned for, and having so many spectators only made it worse. It didn’t seem like Gaelan had any interest in stopping it, either. After a deep breath through his nose, Ian placed a hand on Lauren’s shoulder to prevent her from saying anything else and sharply yet quietly said, “Okay, okay. I get it. If you really want to apologize or something, we can go do it somewhere with fewer people watching, yeah? Having all these eyes on us is irritating.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkMDc0NzA1OGQwODQyNjQ4NDZjODFjNzI3OGFiNzAz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Food court?” Lauren suggested while rubbing her eyes with her palms.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNDViYTgyODdkMDRjY2RhOWQxMzFkMTgzNWRiNzBl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Nah, Jinko’s is better, and you can pay,” Ian said with a slightly commanding tone, at which Lauren nodded in consent. Of course, he was not taking advantage of the situation for revenge. Not. At. All.</span></p> <p class="cnM0OGMwYjJiYWQ3ZjRmNDJhN2ZhZDczNjM0MTAzNDc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">However, Lauren obviously knew Jinko’s Restaurante was his favorite place to eat, considering he got along well the Jinko, the old man who ran the place.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ODZmMWQwODJkNjRlNDlhZDdmMzlmZTJlZGIyYmQz"><span style="font-weight: 400">As soon as they started walking toward the other end of the mall where the restaurant was, Lauren finally noticed the burly man with black hair and noticeably purple eyes following them. The gray t-shirt clinging tightly to his muscular frame intimidated her somewhat.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MDUwOTY4MDc5YTQ4NWI4ODY1YWYzMWRjOTllMjU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Who is this?” she cautiously asked out of curiosity.</span></p> <p class="cnMyOTY4YzUxNmU2MzRiMWVhYmVmZjYyNTE1Zjc4YzEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My mentor, Gaelan. I hope you don’t mind him tagging along,” Ian said, though his tone displayed zero politeness as though saying the man would come with them whether she liked it or not.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNTA5ZWNmMDBhODQ2Zjk4Zjg0YmVkZGQ4Y2Q3NDVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh… okay…” Lauren muttered, apparently unsure how to take it. Then, her boy looked up and Gaelan, and the man smiled. The little boy laughed and waved his arms in response, soothing any misgivings she held.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZThjYmJiNmMxNjQyMjA4NTk0ZWFlYjkwMmExZmVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Following the nearly dead silent trip through the crowded complex, the trio, along with the oblivious and cheerful baby boy, were seated at a boot in the quiet restaurant. Ian and Gaelan sat on one side while Lauren sat on the other.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZGE4NThmNjE1YzQ3YjlhYWEzMTEzMjk1YjExMzNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">As one considered to be a regular, Ian knew a majority of the employees, and they generally knew what he would order. One of the waiters he was most familiar with approached the table with a child’s highchair in hand and greeted them with a friendly smile.</span></p> <p class="cnMxN2RmN2YyZjVmNDRhZDRiZWQwOTY5Nzc5NzczZmVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Good to see you’re not alone for once,” the waiter noted. Then, he looked at Lauren and said, “Pretty sure I haven’t seen you in a while either.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxZjg4NTc1OWM5YTQyOTc5MDM2NWE1ZGQ3NjZmZTQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, it is what it is,” Ian replied.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MzZlNTkxODQ0MDQ5ZGRiNjE3YTM1ODYzZmQzNWY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Picking up on the awkward air, the waiter dropped the conversation as is and took their drink order before moving on to another table to take orders. A minute later, he returned with waters for all of them and said he would give them a few minutes to ‘decide’ on their order. During that time, the inevitable conversation ensued.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMmQ1NzZjOTYzNzQxN2E5OTI3NDI4NDNiOTYwMGYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Um… anyway, I wanted to apologize,” she said while putting her son in the highchair. </span></p> <p class="cnMyOTY3NzE4NzhlZjQ4YmE4MjhmYTI3ZGJhZDE5NGJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I noticed…” Ian sourly replied.</span></p> <p class="cnM2Y2VlNDk4NDQ0NTQ5ZjBiOWRkOGRjYzk1ZTEwYmQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Meanwhile, Gaelan picked up the menu and held it inconspicuously in front of his face while sipping at the tastiest water he ever tasted. He hoped to give them as much privacy as possible.</span></p> <p class="cnMyN2E3MzM5YjYwMTQ1OGU5NjU3MjI0MWVhZDE1OWYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Reading Ian’s mood, Lauren asked, “Uh, I guess you aren’t really keen on seeing me, are you?”</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDI4YjZiMjBjNTRjNjliMjFjYzExMjc2NWRjYWVm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Haaah… I guess. It’s awkward,” he replied. Yet another awkward silence rose between them until Ian finally said, “So, we meet randomly, and you want to apologize. You’re not going to say you regret leaving me or something, right?”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NTE1NDk2YjJiZjQ3NzNhNjk3Nzk2OWVjMDJhYzU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">For a moment, Gaelan glanced over the top of the menu, which he couldn’t read anyway. The conflicted expression on Lauren’s face verified his thoughts in terms of comprehending their relationship.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZTVkNTg0ZmZkNDQwYjI5YjQ3MzY0MTA3Zjg5NzQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uh, no, that’s not it, exactly…” Lauren answered.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZTExNTIxZjk5MzRiOWNiNTA1YzAxM2ZjOWU4Njdm"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">This is definitely going on my list of most awkward experiences in my life…</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Ian thought. Then, he glared at her and asked, “So, what then? Apologize and call it good?”</span></p> <p class="cnMwODQ0YWQzY2E5ZDRmMDNhNDM2NGQ0Yjg4YTNkNmNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Once again, Lauren looked on the verge of tears, though she did her best to hold it in. “I just wanted to say sorry. A lot’s been going on, and this is something that’s been bothering me for years.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MDNkZWE4YzRiNjRlOWY5MzA0YjhkZWY1NTBkOWU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ah, so you just wanted to clear your head,” Ian dryly alleged. Honestly, he was at the point of not caring why this woman wanted to apologize. An unforeseen yet simple desire to take a few jabs at her for a bit of revenge had surfaced within him. Even so, spiting her sent a sharp pain through his own heart in return. Maybe - no - surely, it was the wrong approach, but his inner pain slowly morphed into anger while exposed to her presence. He wanted to vent. He </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">needed </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">to. It just so happened that Lauren made for a perfect target as the initial cause of his inner pain.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNzkxZjJiODAwMjQwNjNhMGYzODM0ZjRlYzZkMzAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ian,” Gaelan sternly whispered into his left ear, “Your hands. Look at your hands.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTI1MGRmNzgzNDQ0Yzg4ZmNjNzliNThiOWE3ZGMy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hm?” Ian glared at his mentor, having nearly forgotten about him. Briefly, the thought of punching the man crossed his mind, but it struck him as odd. Brows now furrowed due to the strange statement, he lowered his gaze to his clenched fists resting on his lap. Immediately, he blinked several time in surprise. Numerous black particles were floating around his forearms.</span></p> <p class="cnMyY2U4MjgzMTQwOTQ2ZTViNDAyYjEwNDMzOTk5YTFk"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">What’s this all about?</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> He thought. Puzzled, he looked to Gaelan for an answer, but the man shrugged. All Ian could do was sigh and return his attention to Lauren. Based on her expression, she seemed confused by their interaction just now, maybe even a little uncomfortable as well. </span></p> <p class="cnM4MmI4NWMxNTEyYTQ2ZGU5ZWQ5Y2YxOGMzNGZiOGEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">On the other hand, she certainly recognized that look of his. It was the same look he would make whenever something he didn’t understand irritated him, like the time they visited a zoo while skipping classes and saw an exhibit for genetically modified animals. The memory briefly put a smile on her face, though the grin vanished as quickly as it appeared.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YjY1YzlkMjllOTQ4ZmM5MzIzOTkxZDk0ZjU3NjEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">During the awkward silence, Ian calmed down a little, especially after seeing the Dark Matter particles. He made a mental note to ask Gaelan about it later, even if the man had no idea what happened. Anyway, now that he could think more clearly, Lauren’s apology didn’t feel so bad. Of course, he still felt the lingering twinges of pain due to her actions almost seven years ago when she cheated on him, but that was in the past. If he was going to take the new path he had been given, he needed leave behind the old one while learning from the mistakes he made and pains he suffered while traversing it.</span></p> <p class="cnM3YmYzM2IwODUxMzQyYWFiYWI4MGU5YWNkMTBjODNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Suddenly, another customer knocked over their glass. For a moment, Ian thought he could hear the crack of a breaking chain when it shattered on the tile. He felt like he had suddenly flown free from a mental shackle holding him back. Perhaps it was coincidental, but it certainly meant something to him personally. The corner of his lips curled upward slightly as he looked Lauren in the eye and said, “Sorry, I got a bit worked up.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzMTI1OTkzMzI1NjQzNTNhYjIwM2RlYmY2MTNkZmIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uh, okay?” Lauren said, obviously puzzled by the sudden shift in his attitude.</span></p> <p class="cnNhY2I1OTI0NGEwMjRlY2Q4ZDhlNWMxMWE0OGIyNzM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So, are you ready to order?” the waiter asked, startling the two. Ian looked at him and wondered how he appeared out of nowhere like that.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ODMzYmM3ZDZlMjQyMDE4NjY3NzU0MTQ3NDYzMWFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaelan obviously wasn’t surprised, since he asked, “Is the person that dropped that glass alright?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3N2U0Zjg0NzExOTQ0MWRiZWUyMzc3ZmVhNjg2NjJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ah, yes. Nice to see a courteous person around this guy for once,” the waiter said, grinning slyly.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MzI3ZDg2YTM5NzQyMDFhNTdmNjgyYzA4N2ZiYjNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Ian clicked his tongue, though Lauren giggled ever so slightly. Gaelan simply shrugged and said, “If that’s so, then…” he pointed a thumb at Ian, “I’ll have what he’s having.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YzljMDU2YmQ3MjRmNDA4MjU2ZjVlMTAwN2E2Mzk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You want your regular, Ian?” the waiter asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGQxZmI0YTA2YTRmNzZiZjNhOWRhMzYwZWE1NGI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NDZiNjk2OWMzMTRmZTBhMWUyMTc2MWY3Njg1MWM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">From there, the waiter took Lauren’s order, as well as for her son, and wandered off. A little while passed without much conversation until the food finally arrived. None of them really felt like anything else needed to be said. While Ian and Gaelan dug into their steaks, Lauren focused on feeding some sliced hot dogs and fries to her son before eating her own salad. During the meal, few words were spoken aside from Gaelan’s compliments of the food and the occasional excited cry from Lauren’s son.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZDY3ZmRkOTM2ZDRjMjRiNzMzZTJiZjllZjJlN2Ix"><span style="font-weight: 400">Once the meal ended, the group left the restaurant. Ian asked if Jinko was there, but, apparently, the old man had the day off. Before going their separate ways, Lauren, with expression still slightly downtrodden, said, “Well, I guess I’ll head out, then. I’m glad I was able to meet you here today, and… uh… thanks for hearing me out I guess.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmZDc5ZTI1Y2JjNTRmMGViYzNjODI1MmI3NzdiNTcx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, no problem,” Ian contemplatively replied. “At first, I thought I never wanted to see you again, but I think it was for the best.” Then, grinning slyly, he added, “Not sure I’m totally over it yet, though.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiYTU1YjJiMzFiZDQ2OTY5Y2U3MzYyYmM4NzViNmUw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Lauren giggled a little before saying, “Well, see you around, I guess.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxOTc2ZDRiODI0NzRkNmY5MjAxNDNkY2UyNzA4ZDFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“See ya.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkMjFhMTI2ZTc5ODQ5ZGNiMWU1NTc3MjcwODBmYmMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">With that, they waved farewell to each other and went their separate ways, disappearing into the crowd.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMDI1MDlmYTdkOTQxMGU5MmQxMDY4ZGVhYjdhYTJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span></p> <p class="cnNjZDdhYjliMzMyMTQ1ZDRhZmMzZDc0MzhiMDYzYTIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">For several minutes, Lauren walked around aimlessly, totally lost in thought. In fact, she completely forgot what she even came to the mall for originally. Truthfully, she probably felt more perplexed by the unexpected encounter than Ian.</span></p> <p class="cnM3OWNlOTNkNjhlYjRjNGI4OWJiZjhmYWZiYjFhNWJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Looking back, she still felt a massive amount of guilt weighing on her shoulders from the time she left him for another man. At the time, it had seemed so </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">right</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">, only to feel so </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">wrong</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> years later. Despite marrying the man she left Ian for, things did not end up as peachy as she imagined they would be. She grimaced when she realized she was rubbing her arm where her long sleeve covered a fresh bruise.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMGQyODliZjFjMjQxMzc4ZWM3ZDI5ZDBhYzhhYzYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Lips quivering, she gazed through the glass roof. The past was in the past, and she had to live with the choices she made. Even if she wondered if staying with Ian back then would have been better, it wouldn’t help her now. Thinking about it would probably just lead to more problems with her husband. Apologizing certainly helped, but would everything go well from now on?</span></p> <p class="cnMzY2EyNWRkNjZkMDQ3MDU4OGVlY2I3NzlhOTJiZTBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Probably not…” she mumbled to herself.</span></p> <p class="cnM3OTgyNjI5ZWI4YzQzZTg5MDcxMGI5ZDk1Y2QyOWUw"><span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">*</span></p> <p class="cnNiMjJjOGM1NWUyMTRkNTc4MDlmOTMwMDhhN2I3MDc5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Later in the afternoon, Ian and Gaelan exited the shopping complex carrying a large number of bags containing all sorts of items including coffee beans and french press, pillows, memory foam mattress pads, quilts, a few other miscellaneous items Gaelan found interesting, and even some over-the-counter medicine. Honestly, Ian was surprised by how much he could carry now without exerting much effort. Then there was Gaelan who didn’t break a sweat even when carrying twice the load, even if he held fewer items.</span></p> <p class="cnM0N2VhNDY1NjI0YjQyN2I4NzAzMmEwN2Y2ODNlNzky"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">It was an investment… an investment…</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Ian kept telling himself. Each time he thought about how he ended up spending almost eighty percent of his hard-earned savings in one sitting, he winced.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDg3MGZhMmNlZTRmNjNhYWUyNDMxNmYyYWRlYzUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So,” Gaelan casually inquired in an attempt to spark up a conversation, “you glad you got to talk it out with that woman?” Even while asking such a thing, he couldn’t help feeling surprised by how much he had learned about this young man in less than a week. If he had been able to have a son, would it have been like this; knowing all the dirty details of the young man’s life?</span></p> <p class="cnM3OTA3N2Y5YTNlMjQzYmQ5MGI0ODMwOTRkM2Y4YTcx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Honestly? I’m not completely sure yet,” Ian answered.</span></p> <p class="cnNlNTIzZjgzN2Q2ZDRkMWQ5YzRhYzgwZTA4NTc2OTNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Heh, seems like this world is rather rough on a weakling like you.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MmE4ODlhZjRjNDQ4Yjc4NjhmYzU2YTdiOTg5MWJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Tch. Maybe.” Ian shrugged off the comment. “However, what was with the Dark Matter while I was talking to her? Any ideas?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjMTFiZTdmNGVhMDQ4MjI5MDQ4YjVmY2Y5NTE1ZDlj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Gaelan tilted his head. “Perhaps. Either you were angry enough for it to activate without you noticing, or maybe it actually amplified your anger. I honestly don’t know for sure since I’ve never seen such a thing. Not a lot of humans use it, remember?”</span></p> <p class="cnNiYTE4NDJmZDcxZTQwMWM5M2U4ZDNkNTI5NTQxYTFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah… makes sense… Well, how about we head back to your place now? I could really use the fresh air and some blacksmithing.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4Y2M2ZDI1YzA3YTQ5MzZhYWU0NjU0NWY4YTY3ODNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“We should probably stay in your apartment thing tonight,” Gaelan urged.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMDM3YzgyNTgyMDQ4MjQ4OTVkNDc0ZmU1ZTU0NGU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ah, yeah, probably true,” Ian muttered, glancing at the setting sun. For some reason, it didn’t bother his eyes all that much even when he stared right at it, though he barely noticed at the time. Figuring it was almost four in the afternoon, he said, “Let’s do that, then. Also, now that I think about it, how would Dark Matter even affect my emotions in the first place?”</span></p> <p class="cnNmZWVkZjZiZjkzYTQwOWFhYjMwMDM5ZDFlYzQ2MjA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ugh…” Gaelan groaned. Explaining all of these things was becoming a daunting task.</span></p> </div>

Noticing Ian’s odd behavior despite only knowing him for a few days, Gaelan raised a brow. He had the feeling that quite a lot had transpired between these two young people in the past, a feeling that turned out to be on the mark. “How have you been?” Lauren asked, smiling gently in spite of the awkward air between them. Contrary to her intention, the smile resulted in Ian’s heart twisting in pain due to unwanted memories. “I’m fine, I guess,” he evasively answered, obviously showing an attitude of not wanting to be near her. Not asking how she was in return added to that sentiment since it conflicted with his moral compass of proper manners. “Uh-huh, I see…” Lauren muttered while awkwardly averting her gaze. A short silence followed which Gaelan imagined manifesting as malleable tactlessness. “Well, it was nice to see you again, but we’ll get going now,” Ian said, giving Gaelan a look to urge him to leave as well. However, as soon as he tried to walk away, Lauren spoke up. “Um, Ian?’ she shyly interjected, casting her gaze toward the floor, “I-, I’m sorry…” When Ian looked back with a startled expression, he saw a look on the woman’s face that made it seem as though she might break into tears at any moment, throwing him for a loop. *What? What in the world is going on here?* Ian asked himself. Unsure of what to do, he looked to Gaelan for assistance, though the man returned the look with a sharp gaze which clearly said something along the lines of, ‘How dare you make a woman cry? Fix it.’ Exasperated, Ian sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. What was this insanity? All he wanted to do was buy coffee and be on his way, but now he had drama, pretty much the antithesis of the wonderful drink. Unfortunately, he could practically feel his mentor’s accusatory glare piercing the back of his skull. Those purple irises of his radiated with an emotion so similar to ferocity that it frightened him. Perhaps Gaelan was a bit of a feminist? “Haaah… okay, what do you mean by saying sorry?” Ian asked, turning to face the woman that caused him a truckload of hurt in the past. “I’m sorry… that I hurt you,” she answered, a few tears streaming from her eyes now. Ian felt totally out of his element now. “Uh, yeah… it’s fine…” Ian ambiguously replied in the hopes that this emotionally torturous scenario would simply end already. “No, it’s not! I wanted to find you and apologize a long time ago, and I can’t take it anymore. It hurts, you know?” Lauren retorted, voice loud enough to draw the attention from many of the shoppers around them. *I don’t know, and all these onlookers are making it worse…* Ian thought. This situation was not one he had *ever* planned for, and having so many spectators only made it worse. It didn’t seem like Gaelan had any interest in stopping it, either. After a deep breath through his nose, Ian placed a hand on Lauren’s shoulder to prevent her from saying anything else and sharply yet quietly said, “Okay, okay. I get it. If you really want to apologize or something, we can go do it somewhere with fewer people watching, yeah? Having all these eyes on us is irritating.” “Food court?” Lauren suggested while rubbing her eyes with her palms. “Nah, Jinko’s is better, and you can pay,” Ian said with a slightly commanding tone, at which Lauren nodded in consent. Of course, he was not taking advantage of the situation for revenge. Not. At. All. However, Lauren obviously knew Jinko’s Restaurante was his favorite place to eat, considering he got along well the Jinko, the old man who ran the place. As soon as they started walking toward the other end of the mall where the restaurant was, Lauren finally noticed the burly man with black hair and noticeably purple eyes following them. The gray t-shirt clinging tightly to his muscular frame intimidated her somewhat. “Who is this?” she cautiously asked out of curiosity. “My mentor, Gaelan. I hope you don’t mind him tagging along,” Ian said, though his tone displayed zero politeness as though saying the man would come with them whether she liked it or not. “Oh… okay…” Lauren muttered, apparently unsure how to take it. Then, her boy looked up and Gaelan, and the man smiled. The little boy laughed and waved his arms in response, soothing any misgivings she held. Following the nearly dead silent trip through the crowded complex, the trio, along with the oblivious and cheerful baby boy, were seated at a boot in the quiet restaurant. Ian and Gaelan sat on one side while Lauren sat on the other. As one considered to be a regular, Ian knew a majority of the employees, and they generally knew what he would order. One of the waiters he was most familiar with approached the table with a child’s highchair in hand and greeted them with a friendly smile. “Good to see you’re not alone for once,” the waiter noted. Then, he looked at Lauren and said, “Pretty sure I haven’t seen you in a while either.” “Well, it is what it is,” Ian replied. Picking up on the awkward air, the waiter dropped the conversation as is and took their drink order before moving on to another table to take orders. A minute later, he returned with waters for all of them and said he would give them a few minutes to ‘decide’ on their order. During that time, the inevitable conversation ensued. “Um… anyway, I wanted to apologize,” she said while putting her son in the highchair. “I noticed…” Ian sourly replied. Meanwhile, Gaelan picked up the menu and held it inconspicuously in front of his face while sipping at the tastiest water he ever tasted. He hoped to give them as much privacy as possible. Reading Ian’s mood, Lauren asked, “Uh, I guess you aren’t really keen on seeing me, are you?” “Haaah… I guess. It’s awkward,” he replied. Yet another awkward silence rose between them until Ian finally said, “So, we meet randomly, and you want to apologize. You’re not going to say you regret leaving me or something, right?” For a moment, Gaelan glanced over the top of the menu, which he couldn’t read anyway. The conflicted expression on Lauren’s face verified his thoughts in terms of comprehending their relationship. “Uh, no, that’s not it, exactly…” Lauren answered. *This is definitely going on my list of most awkward experiences in my life…* Ian thought. Then, he glared at her and asked, “So, what then? Apologize and call it good?” Once again, Lauren looked on the verge of tears, though she did her best to hold it in. “I just wanted to say sorry. A lot’s been going on, and this is something that’s been bothering me for years.” “Ah, so you just wanted to clear your head,” Ian dryly alleged. Honestly, he was at the point of not caring why this woman wanted to apologize. An unforeseen yet simple desire to take a few jabs at her for a bit of revenge had surfaced within him. Even so, spiting her sent a sharp pain through his own heart in return. Maybe - no - surely, it was the wrong approach, but his inner pain slowly morphed into anger while exposed to her presence. He wanted to vent. He *needed* to. It just so happened that Lauren made for a perfect target as the initial cause of his inner pain. “Ian,” Gaelan sternly whispered into his left ear, “Your hands. Look at your hands.” “Hm?” Ian glared at his mentor, having nearly forgotten about him. Briefly, the thought of punching the man crossed his mind, but it struck him as odd. Brows now furrowed due to the strange statement, he lowered his gaze to his clenched fists resting on his lap. Immediately, he blinked several time in surprise. Numerous black particles were floating around his forearms. *What’s this all about?* He thought. Puzzled, he looked to Gaelan for an answer, but the man shrugged. All Ian could do was sigh and return his attention to Lauren. Based on her expression, she seemed confused by their interaction just now, maybe even a little uncomfortable as well. On the other hand, she certainly recognized that look of his. It was the same look he would make whenever something he didn’t understand irritated him, like the time they visited a zoo while skipping classes and saw an exhibit for genetically modified animals. The memory briefly put a smile on her face, though the grin vanished as quickly as it appeared. During the awkward silence, Ian calmed down a little, especially after seeing the Dark Matter particles. He made a mental note to ask Gaelan about it later, even if the man had no idea what happened. Anyway, now that he could think more clearly, Lauren’s apology didn’t feel so bad. Of course, he still felt the lingering twinges of pain due to her actions almost seven years ago when she cheated on him, but that was in the past. If he was going to take the new path he had been given, he needed leave behind the old one while learning from the mistakes he made and pains he suffered while traversing it. Suddenly, another customer knocked over their glass. For a moment, Ian thought he could hear the crack of a breaking chain when it shattered on the tile. He felt like he had suddenly flown free from a mental shackle holding him back. Perhaps it was coincidental, but it certainly meant something to him personally. The corner of his lips curled upward slightly as he looked Lauren in the eye and said, “Sorry, I got a bit worked up.” “Uh, okay?” Lauren said, obviously puzzled by the sudden shift in his attitude. “So, are you ready to order?” the waiter asked, startling the two. Ian looked at him and wondered how he appeared out of nowhere like that. Gaelan obviously wasn’t surprised, since he asked, “Is the person that dropped that glass alright?” “Ah, yes. Nice to see a courteous person around this guy for once,” the waiter said, grinning slyly. Ian clicked his tongue, though Lauren giggled ever so slightly. Gaelan simply shrugged and said, “If that’s so, then…” he pointed a thumb at Ian, “I’ll have what he’s having.” “You want your regular, Ian?” the waiter asked. “Yeah.” From there, the waiter took Lauren’s order, as well as for her son, and wandered off. A little while passed without much conversation until the food finally arrived. None of them really felt like anything else needed to be said. While Ian and Gaelan dug into their steaks, Lauren focused on feeding some sliced hot dogs and fries to her son before eating her own salad. During the meal, few words were spoken aside from Gaelan’s compliments of the food and the occasional excited cry from Lauren’s son. Once the meal ended, the group left the restaurant. Ian asked if Jinko was there, but, apparently, the old man had the day off. Before going their separate ways, Lauren, with expression still slightly downtrodden, said, “Well, I guess I’ll head out, then. I’m glad I was able to meet you here today, and… uh… thanks for hearing me out I guess.” “Yeah, no problem,” Ian contemplatively replied. “At first, I thought I never wanted to see you again, but I think it was for the best.” Then, grinning slyly, he added, “Not sure I’m totally over it yet, though.” Lauren giggled a little before saying, “Well, see you around, I guess.” “See ya.” With that, they waved farewell to each other and went their separate ways, disappearing into the crowd. * * * * * For several minutes, Lauren walked around aimlessly, totally lost in thought. In fact, she completely forgot what she even came to the mall for originally. Truthfully, she probably felt more perplexed by the unexpected encounter than Ian. Looking back, she still felt a massive amount of guilt weighing on her shoulders from the time she left him for another man. At the time, it had seemed so *right*, only to feel so *wrong* years later. Despite marrying the man she left Ian for, things did not end up as peachy as she imagined they would be. She grimaced when she realized she was rubbing her arm where her long sleeve covered a fresh bruise. Lips quivering, she gazed through the glass roof. The past was in the past, and she had to live with the choices she made. Even if she wondered if staying with Ian back then would have been better, it wouldn’t help her now. Thinking about it would probably just lead to more problems with her husband. Apologizing certainly helped, but would everything go well from now on? “Probably not…” she mumbled to herself. * * * * * Later in the afternoon, Ian and Gaelan exited the shopping complex carrying a large number of bags containing all sorts of items including coffee beans and french press, pillows, memory foam mattress pads, quilts, a few other miscellaneous items Gaelan found interesting, and even some over-the-counter medicine. Honestly, Ian was surprised by how much he could carry now without exerting much effort. Then there was Gaelan who didn’t break a sweat even when carrying twice the load, even if he held fewer items. *It was an investment… an investment…* Ian kept telling himself. Each time he thought about how he ended up spending almost eighty percent of his hard-earned savings in one sitting, he winced. “So,” Gaelan casually inquired in an attempt to spark up a conversation, “you glad you got to talk it out with that woman?” Even while asking such a thing, he couldn’t help feeling surprised by how much he had learned about this young man in less than a week. If he had been able to have a son, would it have been like this; knowing all the dirty details of the young man’s life? “Honestly? I’m not completely sure yet,” Ian answered. “Heh, seems like this world is rather rough on a weakling like you.” “Tch. Maybe.” Ian shrugged off the comment. “However, what was with the Dark Matter while I was talking to her? Any ideas?” Gaelan tilted his head. “Perhaps. Either you were angry enough for it to activate without you noticing, or maybe it actually amplified your anger. I honestly don’t know for sure since I’ve never seen such a thing. Not a lot of humans use it, remember?” “Yeah… makes sense… Well, how about we head back to your place now? I could really use the fresh air and some blacksmithing.” “We should probably stay in your apartment thing tonight,” Gaelan urged. “Ah, yeah, probably true,” Ian muttered, glancing at the setting sun. For some reason, it didn’t bother his eyes all that much even when he stared right at it, though he barely noticed at the time. Figuring it was almost four in the afternoon, he said, “Let’s do that, then. Also, now that I think about it, how would Dark Matter even affect my emotions in the first place?” “Ugh…” Gaelan groaned. Explaining all of these things was becoming a daunting task.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkNzQ1NjUxMTliZTQ4ZmY4MDgwNzVlNTBkMDM4NGQx">"Defender status as dungeon master,” the human answers after seeing a question on his retina.</p> <p class="cnM3M2U0YzdlMWFiYzQ3M2NhMDlmZTQ0YTNjNDliODc2">The dungeon master hearing that human words loud and clear, his pale face change into a confused expression. He understands that he can’t afford to lose in this world-will gamble, because only one person that could come out alive from this white place. However, his opponent took an outrageous gamble, even for him. As its name implied — world-will gamble — the challenger needs to bet something equal or worth more than what he wants from him.</p> <p class="cnNkZmNmODFmYzViYTQzNzJhOTgwZDIwYzhlNDE2ODhj">He doubts a human who recently comes to this world has any possession which worth more than his status as a dungeon master.</p> <p class="cnNmNDIxYjllNzRhNzQ3YWY5YTA3MjI3ZjMyNGZkNjcz">Considering this fact, the dungeon master let out a smile. He doesn't know how his opponent has knowledge about world-will gamble. However, it seems the humans don’t understand the risk of this game after all. If the stakes any lower than the value of his status, that human' life will immediately forfeit.</p> <p class="cnMzMmFmMGM3ODBjZDQ2NmNiNDNkNTIwNDA0YzRlYWEw">Usually, the challenger will try to take as most as possible from the defender — they will gamble all their possessions. After all, if they lose in this place, they can't get out alive — nothing in their possession worth anything for them when they lost.</p> <p class="cnNjMzZjOTdiMDJkMDRiZTM5YzE3ZmM0Y2Y3NmMxYWNi">Even so, they still consider what they can take from the defender because it's impossible to take something more valuable than what they bet.</p> <p class="cnM4ZDkwNjRmZTkwMDRiMmU4MWMzZmNjMzliMGM1NDM2">After finished organize his thought, he can calm his mind. Soon, another holographic question appears on their eyes.</p> <p class="cnM1Y2NmYWQxMGE5MTQ3MzhiMzhhZDQ0YTAxNGZhNGRh">[Challenger, tell me what your stake]</p> <p class="cnM4MmQ1YmIyMzUxODRmZTk5NDQ0MDY1NjE3OTMxNjdm">Silence descended upon them for a moment, until finally, his opponent open his mouth while he still silent while listening.</p> <p class="cnMxNDBkNDg4ZjBjMjRiYjA4MTgxODU3ZmQ1YzE0MzY2">“All my knowledge,” fervent words come from that human mouth.</p> <p class="cnMxMWE1M2M2ZTc1ZDQ1NzNhZmUyMDJlYTFkODIxMTRm">His expression changes into a wide smile after hearing those words — knowing that no knowledge in this world has the same worth as his status. There is nothing to compare — a dungeon master status will change that human talent into cream on the crop while there is no knowledge will have any significant impact on him.</p> <p class="cnM3ODFhZTRkMTJmNTRlODFhM2JhOWNhNjJiYmFlMTFi">His heartbeat becomes calmer after thinking about this fact. However, the next holographic sentence on his eyes makes his jaw drop.</p> <p class="cnM5NDVjM2QwNTZmMzRkZTdhZTk2ZDBkYTUxZmQwNDA0">[Challenger stakes accepted]</p> <p class="cnMyODMzYTY5YTZjYzRkMzQ5NWFiMDU1ZTFkMjYzMDZh">"What the f...?"</p> <p class="cnNhZWIyYTBkYzI2ZDRmZjA4OTBiYjFhNTYwNTkwZGIz">***</p> <p class="cnNiNGJhODk1N2Q3NjQ2ZGI5OWYzMTFkOTQ0YTViYWUz">Elias's looking at the holographic sentence with a curled smile on his face. He already expects that world-will will accept his stake, but imagining and experiencing give different feelings — it's more exhilarating than his thought.</p> <p class="cnNjN2IzNDU3YWJjOTQwN2M5MDQwMzY3NzJkOTJmYWZh">After all, his knowledge can change his opponent future drastically. The dungeon master can become the winner in their twisted game and stand on the top of the world with knowledge of future events.</p> <p class="cnNhOWMwNDcwNmJmZTQ1MTFiOTk3NDNiYTRhOTlhMWVm">His knowledge has more value than status as a dungeon master.</p> <p class="cnNhOThlZTJjNGYwZjQzMDVhZWU3ZWVhYzgwNTA1NDRj">Although he understands how much its worth, he hadn't many options to take. He didn't have other things that have equal worth as dungeon master status on his possession. Also, It was implausible to win a direct fight against the dungeon master which level is above him.</p> <p class="cnNhNzNiYWE1MGJmZTQwNGZhZWEyYmYzY2ZlMmFmNzQx">If he wants to survive, he needs to reduce advantage the dungeon master has — something that the dungeon master won’t see it coming from a newcomer in this world.</p> <p class="cnNjMDgxOTZiODg3ZDRhOTU5OGIyZTFkOGNhMzRiZGUz">His answer from this predicament is a gamble — World-will gamble.</p> <p class="cnNjN2YyZjQyNTMzZDRmZjNhYTQyYjQyNWEyZDZjYTYx">World-will gamble is a wager with the highest stakes in this world. Only two persons can enter on each gamble with world-will as their overseer — and only one person can come out alive. As an overseer, world-will gives the fairest judgment about the stake. However, this place only accepts high stakes gamble — if the challenger makes low stakes gamble, it’ll immediately kill the challenger.</p> <p class="cnNlOTY5NzAyNTU1YTRjYjBhNzg0NzhhZmZkZmFlNmMw">That what forced him to go big — big enough which can change the entire history from his previous life.</p> <p class="cnM5ZDJhMzhmMDA0NTQwZTZhYmUxODg0NTJkNmMzNzE5">However, the gamble itself is very troublesome to set-up. The challenger needs to put their blood in five corners and create a perfect pentagonal shape. Besides that, the challenger and defender need to stand inside that pentagonal shape while sacrificing a drop of blood from the defender.</p> <p class="cnNiMGNhY2JmMDVlZjRiNjhhMzRiYTkyZjBhZGJhMzg0">Even the preparation itself is a gamble on his side. Those two requirements are very hard to prepare while he needs to make sure that the dungeon master won't notice what he did.</p> <p class="cnNmNjU5YTQzMjIwOTQzYWQ4ZDRjZDE4MzVmZTJiNGY0">In his current level, he needs to mislead the dungeon master to assume he desperate and charge without a solid plan while preparing his set-up.</p> <p class="cnNhNmIyOTc2YTNjZjRiNmM5ZGY1NDgyNmQ3NDI3NTA2">For first requirements — putting his blood in five corners of a pentagon shape. He needs to do it subtly, once the dungeon master smells what he does, everything will fall apart. He put his blood in the hilt of his weapons, he knows that goblin weapons won’t last long against a proper weapon, but that's fine, he never intended to win against the dungeon master with those — he only use those to creates pentagonal shape. So, he pretends to throw his weapon hilts after it's broken while in fact, he prepared his set-up.</p> <p class="cnNiN2Y5YzM0MmJhNjRjOGI5NzBkZjJiNmJiM2E3ZGQ1">Nevertheless, creating the pentagonal blood wasn’t enough, he also needs another thing — his enemy bloods — while it didn’t need any subtlety, it still a hard thing to do — injuring someone with a cross-level difference. Fortunately, he did it in the last moment even though he got many deep wounds to got that drop.</p> <p class="cnNlM2U4ODE3MWU0NDRlMGZiZTE0M2JmOWNjY2UzOWVk">He let out a sigh, he already go this far after relying on his experience. However, he can only depend on his luck for the next step. After his stake got accepted by the world-will, another holographic sentence will appear which will decide his future — what game they'll do. In this step, there is nothing he can do to influence the chosen game.</p> <p class="cnMzMzg0MjAwOTUwZjRkZjc4ZDBjODkwZDI3NDJmMjc4">In his previous life, people rarely did this gamble because of this step. The world-will will choose a random game for their gamble — there is no pattern in this step — everything depends on luck.</p> <p class="cnM3YjdlZDU4NzNmZTQ4MWE5M2RiMDEwODNlYmE5Mjhj">In this place, even the strongest dragon can lose just because the world-will chose chess as its game.</p> <p class="cnNlNmJmNzVjMGNhNzRjNmM4ZGQxMWRlMjBjYTEwMTI0">In this place, even the smartest human can lose just because the world-will chose arm-wrestle as its game.</p> <p class="cnMwMWUwMWY4MzM4MzQyYzE4OTY5NDI2NmY3ZWVkMDk1">This place is a land of opportunity but also a pit of hell.</p> <p class="cnM5M2Y5OWQzZDcyMzQyYWJhNGJhODE5NjYyMzk0OWRm">He understands this place is dangerous, but his chance here is better than directly fighting with a dungeon master who has a higher level than him.</p> <p class="cnM1Njk1Njg0YjY3ZTRhNTZhOWIyODE3M2Q3ZDMxNDk1">He only wishes that world-will won’t choose a game that requires great intelligence.</p> <p class="cnM2ZGE3ZjU5OGExMjQ3Y2Q5MmQ0NzBiNjdhYmEwY2Q1">However, it’s not just him who has that wish — even the dungeon master has the same hope. After all, he's not a smart type.</p> <p class="cnMzMDFlOGRlYmZlMTQxMzQ5NjVkYWZhNWEyZTAxNTE3">They close their eyes, somehow praying even though they know that world-will can't hear them until finally, they heard a ding sound in their mind.</p> <p class="cnNiYjMxZWI1YmJkNjRhN2FiNWNkYjZmNzdiYjk1OTVk">*Ding*</p> <p class="cnNhZDUyZjhjNjMxNjRhNjFhY2NjOGQ4YjUyZjk0OGY3">They open their eyes and see another holographic sentence. Both of them let out a wide smile when they saw this sentence as though their prayer got fulfilled.</p> <p class="cnNjN2Q4MzgyNDEwZjRhZjA4NDdmZjI3MTJjZDFiNjRm">[Game: Equivalent Fight]</p> </div>

"Defender status as dungeon master,” the human answers after seeing a question on his retina. The dungeon master hearing that human words loud and clear, his pale face change into a confused expression. He understands that he can’t afford to lose in this world-will gamble, because only one person that could come out alive from this white place. However, his opponent took an outrageous gamble, even for him. As its name implied — world-will gamble — the challenger needs to bet something equal or worth more than what he wants from him. He doubts a human who recently comes to this world has any possession which worth more than his status as a dungeon master. Considering this fact, the dungeon master let out a smile. He doesn't know how his opponent has knowledge about world-will gamble. However, it seems the humans don’t understand the risk of this game after all. If the stakes any lower than the value of his status, that human' life will immediately forfeit. Usually, the challenger will try to take as most as possible from the defender — they will gamble all their possessions. After all, if they lose in this place, they can't get out alive — nothing in their possession worth anything for them when they lost. Even so, they still consider what they can take from the defender because it's impossible to take something more valuable than what they bet. After finished organize his thought, he can calm his mind. Soon, another holographic question appears on their eyes. [Challenger, tell me what your stake] Silence descended upon them for a moment, until finally, his opponent open his mouth while he still silent while listening. “All my knowledge,” fervent words come from that human mouth. His expression changes into a wide smile after hearing those words — knowing that no knowledge in this world has the same worth as his status. There is nothing to compare — a dungeon master status will change that human talent into cream on the crop while there is no knowledge will have any significant impact on him. His heartbeat becomes calmer after thinking about this fact. However, the next holographic sentence on his eyes makes his jaw drop. [Challenger stakes accepted] "What the f...?" *** Elias's looking at the holographic sentence with a curled smile on his face. He already expects that world-will will accept his stake, but imagining and experiencing give different feelings — it's more exhilarating than his thought. After all, his knowledge can change his opponent future drastically. The dungeon master can become the winner in their twisted game and stand on the top of the world with knowledge of future events. His knowledge has more value than status as a dungeon master. Although he understands how much its worth, he hadn't many options to take. He didn't have other things that have equal worth as dungeon master status on his possession. Also, It was implausible to win a direct fight against the dungeon master which level is above him. If he wants to survive, he needs to reduce advantage the dungeon master has — something that the dungeon master won’t see it coming from a newcomer in this world. His answer from this predicament is a gamble — World-will gamble. World-will gamble is a wager with the highest stakes in this world. Only two persons can enter on each gamble with world-will as their overseer — and only one person can come out alive. As an overseer, world-will gives the fairest judgment about the stake. However, this place only accepts high stakes gamble — if the challenger makes low stakes gamble, it’ll immediately kill the challenger. That what forced him to go big — big enough which can change the entire history from his previous life. However, the gamble itself is very troublesome to set-up. The challenger needs to put their blood in five corners and create a perfect pentagonal shape. Besides that, the challenger and defender need to stand inside that pentagonal shape while sacrificing a drop of blood from the defender. Even the preparation itself is a gamble on his side. Those two requirements are very hard to prepare while he needs to make sure that the dungeon master won't notice what he did. In his current level, he needs to mislead the dungeon master to assume he desperate and charge without a solid plan while preparing his set-up. For first requirements — putting his blood in five corners of a pentagon shape. He needs to do it subtly, once the dungeon master smells what he does, everything will fall apart. He put his blood in the hilt of his weapons, he knows that goblin weapons won’t last long against a proper weapon, but that's fine, he never intended to win against the dungeon master with those — he only use those to creates pentagonal shape. So, he pretends to throw his weapon hilts after it's broken while in fact, he prepared his set-up. Nevertheless, creating the pentagonal blood wasn’t enough, he also needs another thing — his enemy bloods — while it didn’t need any subtlety, it still a hard thing to do — injuring someone with a cross-level difference. Fortunately, he did it in the last moment even though he got many deep wounds to got that drop. He let out a sigh, he already go this far after relying on his experience. However, he can only depend on his luck for the next step. After his stake got accepted by the world-will, another holographic sentence will appear which will decide his future — what game they'll do. In this step, there is nothing he can do to influence the chosen game. In his previous life, people rarely did this gamble because of this step. The world-will will choose a random game for their gamble — there is no pattern in this step — everything depends on luck. In this place, even the strongest dragon can lose just because the world-will chose chess as its game. In this place, even the smartest human can lose just because the world-will chose arm-wrestle as its game. This place is a land of opportunity but also a pit of hell. He understands this place is dangerous, but his chance here is better than directly fighting with a dungeon master who has a higher level than him. He only wishes that world-will won’t choose a game that requires great intelligence. However, it’s not just him who has that wish — even the dungeon master has the same hope. After all, he's not a smart type. They close their eyes, somehow praying even though they know that world-will can't hear them until finally, they heard a ding sound in their mind. *Ding* They open their eyes and see another holographic sentence. Both of them let out a wide smile when they saw this sentence as though their prayer got fulfilled. [Game: Equivalent Fight]

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM5M2QzOWYzZDAzMTRiYThiYjhkZmI4ZTIyMTBiYzZi">.<br> <br>Kazuya slept peacefully and was in the dark about the trouble that brewed after he had given his mother and his big sis presents that could protect them on their sudden business trip. Kyouko and Mei argued a lot but this was by far the longest argument they had. Both of them received such precious presents from Kazuya but the difference in one of the presents they received, ignited this quarrel.<br> <br>"hehehe~" Mei happily giggled as she kept on rubbing the ring that perfectly fit her finger. She kept showing it off to Kyouko who just put on the necklace her son had given her.<br> <br>"Hmph!" Kyouko was a little upset. Why did her son have to give this cocky assistant of hers a ring of all things? Now she would have to deal with Mei showing off for their whole trip.<br> <br>"What's the matter mother in law? You don't need to worry about Kazu because I'll take good care of him in the future" Mei triumphantly smiled.<br> <br>"You? Psh! You can't even take care of yourself!" she retorted. "Besides, Kazuya is just a child. He probably looked up popular pieces of jewelry and ended up with this so giving you a ring means nothing"<br> <br>"Don't be in denial mother in law. Don't you remember what the doctors said? Kazu's a genius who thinks very maturely. He should know the significance of giving a ring. He even made it fit my ring finger at that" Mei argued back.<br> <br>"Being a genius doesn't mean he knows everything. He may be knowledgeable about studies, but he is still a child who has yet to step into the world. This sort of knowledge is not included in that" she stood by her previous statement.<br> <br>Kyouko refused to believe that Kazuya was mature enough to know the sentiment of gifting a ring to a person of the opposite sex. He was but a child who has yet to hit puberty and hasn't even taken home his first female friend yet.<br> <br>Mei, of course, has the same thoughts but she couldn't resist teasing this son-con of a boss she had. Kyouko had a habit of thinking too much and trying to solve things on her own. This was probably genetic since Kazuya was showing the same signs himself. Since her son was the fastest way to get on her nerves, Mei would take advantage of that knowledge to stop her boss from stressing herself out.<br> <br>The two of them arrived at the business hotel where the conference was going to take place. They immediately checked in and called home to check with Fujiyama about Kazuya's status. To their relief, he was resting as promised and seemed to be in a deep sleep so Kyouko didn't ask him to be disturbed.<br> <br>Mei checked the contents of the envelope they were handed when they checked in. This was the schedule of their trip as well the other companies that would be participating. She passed it on to Kyouko after confirming and showed her boss the most important parts.<br> <br>Despite how they were usually when they were around Kazuya, the two of them was a well-known pair in the business scene. While Kyouko was a famous personage in the corporate world, Mei was not an unknown person. Because of how well the two worked together, Mei was the role model in which those in the know would compare their employees to.<br> <br>'The Perfect Assistant' or 'The Ideal Employee' was how she was known. This gave both women a big laugh when they learned about it because both of them knew how Mei really was underneath her cold facade. This reputation of hers acted as a shield against all the people who looked down on Mei in the company.<br> <br>"The Aryaman group is here from overseas. They are probably here to stop our cooperation with the people from Corsair. Our partners from the Rutopia group seems to have been under negotiations with the Kurogane group's PR team because they have set their eyes on the game 'New Gods Online' that will officially be released soon" Mei reported these as well as other matters that needed to be said.<br> <br>The two of them were professionals. Unlike their usual selves, when it was time to deal with the matters of the Kouzuki Corporation, their cooperation was unrivaled. Kyouko may have other assistants that work for her but when if there wasn't a need to bring any of them, only Mei was allowed to closely work by her side.<br> <br>"The Kurogane Conglomerate really doesn't want to give us a break. How did they find out about our secret cooperation with NGO?"<br> <br>"I suspect that they have bought one of the senior executives. I've suspected him for a while and I'm becoming more certain that it was him"<br> <br>"I see… this is troublesome. His father is one of the board members. It would be hard to get rid of him without any evidence. Keep your guard up since the executives only know that we planned on a cooperation. They don't know that we played a big part in the development just so we can get the talent behind that game to collaborate with us"<br> <br>"Got it. Also…" Mei hesitated a bit. "Kurogane Nagisa will be attending the banquet tonight"<br> <br>"I see…" Kyouko couldn't help but frown. "Looks like Lee's significance wasn't as small as I thought. She's the most likely candidate that's behind him" just hearing that name made her think of such a possibility.<br> <br>Kurogane Nagisa was no stranger to them. She was the woman who officially married Kazuya's father. She was the one officially betrothed to him so she was hostile towards Kyouko who used to have a relationship with her husband. Other than the geezer who sat at the head of the conglomerate, she was the most likely candidate to have planned to hurt her child.<br> <br>"I agree. That b*tch would probably be proud of it too" Mei didn't hold back her comments.</p> <p class="cnM1OGI1Nzc5YjJlMTQyMmVhZjI2M2RjZTI3NTNkYTQ1">The two of them talked about how they should handle the situation. They have been working for years and understood how each other thought. Although Mei did think her boss was a bit on the soft side when it came to sentiments, she did not share the same thought when it came to Kyouko and her work. She agreed with the fame this seemingly harmless mother at home had.<br> <br>"Let's go" Kyouko walked out of the elevator wearing an elegant royal blue dress that made her look like an elegant young woman that wasn't even close to being a mother. She proudly wore the red gemmed earrings and necklace her son made for her.<br> <br>"Time for battle" Mei giggled and followed behind her boss. She may have been following closely behind but the black dress she wore made sure that no one would think any less of her. The dress perfectly accented her figure and it was matched perfectly with the jewelry she didn't use to wear.<br> <br>The two women turned heads wherever they went even more than they would usually do when they wore their corporate outfits. Tonight was a charity banquet for those who were well known in the business scene and would be the start of their battle to thwart the threat that has started slithering around.<br> <br>It didn't take long for the two to attract the attention of every man that they passed by after they entered the banquet hall. Both of them weren't strangers to the scene so a few CEOs and corporation heads that they had good relations with wasted no time to extend their greetings.</p> <br>Of course, they weren't the only ones who joined in. Various other men also tried to catch their attention but aside from pleasantries, their attempts to woo these women failed.<br> <br>This was most apparent in Mei's case where those who were able to get past her freezing demeanor would then find the noticeable ring on her finger. Who could have made this ice queen to accept such a present? Was the question not only in the minds of the men who admired Mei but to the women as well.<br> <br>When the two finally had some time for themselves, Mei didn't waste any time to tell her boss about the results of their current situation.<br> <br>"The people from NGO said that the Kurogane people still aren't sure about our collaboration but they've been trying to dig pretty deep. The project is already done so aside from public relations, any collaborations with them are doomed to fail. They probably only want to lay their hands on some part of it so they would have a small influence once they confirm if we do have any connection with them" Mei reported.<br> <br>"That's good news. I've talked to the people from Corsair and they assured that they wanted to push through with our talks tomorrow. The Aryaman people have been trying their hardest but I already informed them that the foreign group has been collaborating with our main competitors lately" Kyouko gave her results as well.<br> <br>"I also have another thing I gotta report" Mei used a softer tone so Kyouko expected better news and smiled. "Kazu's engagement ring is super effective!"<br> <br>"Wha—" Kyouko was caught off guard. She didn't think her assistant would say something like this now<br> <br>"Barely any guy tried to flirt with me now"<p></p> <p class="cnNkMWE2NmYwYmQxZjQ2MjY5ODFkNmNhZDhjZmQyMzhm">Kyouko was about to retort when her gaze narrowed at the sight of the person who was arrogantly walking towards them. This was the woman who she definitely wanted to avoid but the other couldn't help but want to stir up trouble when seeing her.<br> <br>"Well, what do we have here? A man stealer and her pet wearing cheap jewelry to attend such a banquet? Kurogane Nagisa didn't hold back her voice and attracted the attention of the people that were surrounding them.<br> <br>Mei turned around and stood by Kyouko's side while donning a cold expression that sent a shiver down Nagisa's back. Both of them were immediately triggered because this shameless woman just insulted the one of a kind gift the sick Kazuya made especially for them.<br> <br>The people that attended the banquet weren't strangers to the story of these two women. They pretty much put a lot of importance to gossip especially those in the same circle so they were interested to see how the conflict would end this time.<br> <br>Kurogane Nagisa would try and stir things up whenever she would meet with Kouzuki Kyouko but the CEO of the Kouzuki corporation would always shake off Kurogane Nagisa's attempts. Most of them already knew the history between these two but such events were rare in their circle.<br> <br>"Not planning on running away today?" she continued to mock. "Have you found another man to ensnare? To even let your pet serve him as well"<br> <br>"Shut your mouth you human swine" Kyouko didn't want to waste any time with this woman. The anger from her son's plight that had been bottling up inside her was indeed stirred up when this woman insulted the gift she treasured.<br> <br>"What did you—"<br> <br>"Other than having the surname 'Kurogane' attached, what right do you have to attend such a banquet? You don't work, you don't know the business, you don't even have connections of your own so other than being a trophy wife that was used to connect your two families. What right do you have to speak to someone like me?" she looked at the woman with disdain.</p> <p class="cnM4ZjYyYjM0ODZkMDRkMDdiNmY0YjA2ZjUyOTZkYzE5">Kyouko could take insults directed towards her but when someone involves Kazuya, she immediately turns into a lioness that protects her cubs. She felt that she wouldn't be able to wear the precious gifts her son gave her if she let this woman get away with her insults.</p> <p class="cnNlODcwNDMwMDM0NTQwYWJiMWRkZDNmMmQ0ZGQ2OGFl">Everyone was surprised and couldn't help but take another look at Kyouko. She was one of the very few nice people that remained in the scene. She was dominant in the field but a very approachable person so her exerting her dominance like this was a sight to behold.<br> <br>"Should I contact the people holding the banquet boss?" Mei followed up. "I also share the same opinion. Political tools that have already lost their purpose shouldn't be placed together with those who have the capabilities to attend this event. The minimum requirement should be that they should accompany someone who does have the qualifications to be here. This is a place to discuss business and not a place to spout profanities" Mei looked at Nagisa with disdain.<br> <br>"How dare yo—"<br> <br>"That's not a bad idea Mei. You can contact them on my behalf. Who here doesn't know how the head of the Kurogane family does things? I indeed had a relationship with his son but what of it? Who here has not had a failed relationship or two? I usually wouldn't put someone who has an inferiority complex against me in my eyes but I didn't think that you would have the guts to show your face to me after your adopted son did to the biological son of your husband"<br> <br>"Lies! You're using your own son's misfortune to defame our name!" she knew what the repercussions would be if the people discovered what happened to Kyouko's son so she denied it like Lee did.<br> <br>"I promise in the name of the Kouzuki house that my words have no fallacy in them" This was the final nail in the coffin. All those who have done deals with the Kouzuki house can use this as a failsafe in case they had doubts about cooperation or collaborations.<br> <br>This was why the Kouzuki house had been thriving and had nothing but praises from people of the same field that has collaborated with them. When they gave their word, you can be certain that they would uphold it to the best of their abilities. This was something that had yet to be broken so everyone did not doubt a single word that Kyouko said.<br> <br>"I haven't looked for trouble because of what your adopted son did because I shrugged it off as his own doing but after considering how you and the family you reside in does things. I just might make a personal visit to that place again" Kyouko looked at the ugly expression on Nagisa's face and smiled.<br> <br>"Boss, we still have matters to discuss. Let's not waste time with used up pawns and get going" the two ladies excused themselves and headed back to their room.<br> <br>The banquet hall went back to usual after the two ladies left. It appeared that nothing changed but deep in all those in attendance's minds was the side of Kyouko who they didn't expect she had. They were quick to engrave in their hearts that they should never ever wake up the sleeping lion.<br> <br>Because of the events at the banquet, Kyouko and Mei were surprised to experience their business had gone smoother than usual. There were no hitches in their business trip aside from the squabbles they would normally have.<br> <br>.</p> </div>

. Kazuya slept peacefully and was in the dark about the trouble that brewed after he had given his mother and his big sis presents that could protect them on their sudden business trip. Kyouko and Mei argued a lot but this was by far the longest argument they had. Both of them received such precious presents from Kazuya but the difference in one of the presents they received, ignited this quarrel. "hehehe~" Mei happily giggled as she kept on rubbing the ring that perfectly fit her finger. She kept showing it off to Kyouko who just put on the necklace her son had given her. "Hmph!" Kyouko was a little upset. Why did her son have to give this cocky assistant of hers a ring of all things? Now she would have to deal with Mei showing off for their whole trip. "What's the matter mother in law? You don't need to worry about Kazu because I'll take good care of him in the future" Mei triumphantly smiled. "You? Psh! You can't even take care of yourself!" she retorted. "Besides, Kazuya is just a child. He probably looked up popular pieces of jewelry and ended up with this so giving you a ring means nothing" "Don't be in denial mother in law. Don't you remember what the doctors said? Kazu's a genius who thinks very maturely. He should know the significance of giving a ring. He even made it fit my ring finger at that" Mei argued back. "Being a genius doesn't mean he knows everything. He may be knowledgeable about studies, but he is still a child who has yet to step into the world. This sort of knowledge is not included in that" she stood by her previous statement. Kyouko refused to believe that Kazuya was mature enough to know the sentiment of gifting a ring to a person of the opposite sex. He was but a child who has yet to hit puberty and hasn't even taken home his first female friend yet. Mei, of course, has the same thoughts but she couldn't resist teasing this son-con of a boss she had. Kyouko had a habit of thinking too much and trying to solve things on her own. This was probably genetic since Kazuya was showing the same signs himself. Since her son was the fastest way to get on her nerves, Mei would take advantage of that knowledge to stop her boss from stressing herself out. The two of them arrived at the business hotel where the conference was going to take place. They immediately checked in and called home to check with Fujiyama about Kazuya's status. To their relief, he was resting as promised and seemed to be in a deep sleep so Kyouko didn't ask him to be disturbed. Mei checked the contents of the envelope they were handed when they checked in. This was the schedule of their trip as well the other companies that would be participating. She passed it on to Kyouko after confirming and showed her boss the most important parts. Despite how they were usually when they were around Kazuya, the two of them was a well-known pair in the business scene. While Kyouko was a famous personage in the corporate world, Mei was not an unknown person. Because of how well the two worked together, Mei was the role model in which those in the know would compare their employees to. 'The Perfect Assistant' or 'The Ideal Employee' was how she was known. This gave both women a big laugh when they learned about it because both of them knew how Mei really was underneath her cold facade. This reputation of hers acted as a shield against all the people who looked down on Mei in the company. "The Aryaman group is here from overseas. They are probably here to stop our cooperation with the people from Corsair. Our partners from the Rutopia group seems to have been under negotiations with the Kurogane group's PR team because they have set their eyes on the game 'New Gods Online' that will officially be released soon" Mei reported these as well as other matters that needed to be said. The two of them were professionals. Unlike their usual selves, when it was time to deal with the matters of the Kouzuki Corporation, their cooperation was unrivaled. Kyouko may have other assistants that work for her but when if there wasn't a need to bring any of them, only Mei was allowed to closely work by her side. "The Kurogane Conglomerate really doesn't want to give us a break. How did they find out about our secret cooperation with NGO?" "I suspect that they have bought one of the senior executives. I've suspected him for a while and I'm becoming more certain that it was him" "I see… this is troublesome. His father is one of the board members. It would be hard to get rid of him without any evidence. Keep your guard up since the executives only know that we planned on a cooperation. They don't know that we played a big part in the development just so we can get the talent behind that game to collaborate with us" "Got it. Also…" Mei hesitated a bit. "Kurogane Nagisa will be attending the banquet tonight" "I see…" Kyouko couldn't help but frown. "Looks like Lee's significance wasn't as small as I thought. She's the most likely candidate that's behind him" just hearing that name made her think of such a possibility. Kurogane Nagisa was no stranger to them. She was the woman who officially married Kazuya's father. She was the one officially betrothed to him so she was hostile towards Kyouko who used to have a relationship with her husband. Other than the geezer who sat at the head of the conglomerate, she was the most likely candidate to have planned to hurt her child. "I agree. That b*tch would probably be proud of it too" Mei didn't hold back her comments. The two of them talked about how they should handle the situation. They have been working for years and understood how each other thought. Although Mei did think her boss was a bit on the soft side when it came to sentiments, she did not share the same thought when it came to Kyouko and her work. She agreed with the fame this seemingly harmless mother at home had. "Let's go" Kyouko walked out of the elevator wearing an elegant royal blue dress that made her look like an elegant young woman that wasn't even close to being a mother. She proudly wore the red gemmed earrings and necklace her son made for her. "Time for battle" Mei giggled and followed behind her boss. She may have been following closely behind but the black dress she wore made sure that no one would think any less of her. The dress perfectly accented her figure and it was matched perfectly with the jewelry she didn't use to wear. The two women turned heads wherever they went even more than they would usually do when they wore their corporate outfits. Tonight was a charity banquet for those who were well known in the business scene and would be the start of their battle to thwart the threat that has started slithering around. It didn't take long for the two to attract the attention of every man that they passed by after they entered the banquet hall. Both of them weren't strangers to the scene so a few CEOs and corporation heads that they had good relations with wasted no time to extend their greetings. Of course, they weren't the only ones who joined in. Various other men also tried to catch their attention but aside from pleasantries, their attempts to woo these women failed. This was most apparent in Mei's case where those who were able to get past her freezing demeanor would then find the noticeable ring on her finger. Who could have made this ice queen to accept such a present? Was the question not only in the minds of the men who admired Mei but to the women as well. When the two finally had some time for themselves, Mei didn't waste any time to tell her boss about the results of their current situation. "The people from NGO said that the Kurogane people still aren't sure about our collaboration but they've been trying to dig pretty deep. The project is already done so aside from public relations, any collaborations with them are doomed to fail. They probably only want to lay their hands on some part of it so they would have a small influence once they confirm if we do have any connection with them" Mei reported. "That's good news. I've talked to the people from Corsair and they assured that they wanted to push through with our talks tomorrow. The Aryaman people have been trying their hardest but I already informed them that the foreign group has been collaborating with our main competitors lately" Kyouko gave her results as well. "I also have another thing I gotta report" Mei used a softer tone so Kyouko expected better news and smiled. "Kazu's engagement ring is super effective!" "Wha—" Kyouko was caught off guard. She didn't think her assistant would say something like this now "Barely any guy tried to flirt with me now" Kyouko was about to retort when her gaze narrowed at the sight of the person who was arrogantly walking towards them. This was the woman who she definitely wanted to avoid but the other couldn't help but want to stir up trouble when seeing her. "Well, what do we have here? A man stealer and her pet wearing cheap jewelry to attend such a banquet? Kurogane Nagisa didn't hold back her voice and attracted the attention of the people that were surrounding them. Mei turned around and stood by Kyouko's side while donning a cold expression that sent a shiver down Nagisa's back. Both of them were immediately triggered because this shameless woman just insulted the one of a kind gift the sick Kazuya made especially for them. The people that attended the banquet weren't strangers to the story of these two women. They pretty much put a lot of importance to gossip especially those in the same circle so they were interested to see how the conflict would end this time. Kurogane Nagisa would try and stir things up whenever she would meet with Kouzuki Kyouko but the CEO of the Kouzuki corporation would always shake off Kurogane Nagisa's attempts. Most of them already knew the history between these two but such events were rare in their circle. "Not planning on running away today?" she continued to mock. "Have you found another man to ensnare? To even let your pet serve him as well" "Shut your mouth you human swine" Kyouko didn't want to waste any time with this woman. The anger from her son's plight that had been bottling up inside her was indeed stirred up when this woman insulted the gift she treasured. "What did you—" "Other than having the surname 'Kurogane' attached, what right do you have to attend such a banquet? You don't work, you don't know the business, you don't even have connections of your own so other than being a trophy wife that was used to connect your two families. What right do you have to speak to someone like me?" she looked at the woman with disdain. Kyouko could take insults directed towards her but when someone involves Kazuya, she immediately turns into a lioness that protects her cubs. She felt that she wouldn't be able to wear the precious gifts her son gave her if she let this woman get away with her insults. Everyone was surprised and couldn't help but take another look at Kyouko. She was one of the very few nice people that remained in the scene. She was dominant in the field but a very approachable person so her exerting her dominance like this was a sight to behold. "Should I contact the people holding the banquet boss?" Mei followed up. "I also share the same opinion. Political tools that have already lost their purpose shouldn't be placed together with those who have the capabilities to attend this event. The minimum requirement should be that they should accompany someone who does have the qualifications to be here. This is a place to discuss business and not a place to spout profanities" Mei looked at Nagisa with disdain. "How dare yo—" "That's not a bad idea Mei. You can contact them on my behalf. Who here doesn't know how the head of the Kurogane family does things? I indeed had a relationship with his son but what of it? Who here has not had a failed relationship or two? I usually wouldn't put someone who has an inferiority complex against me in my eyes but I didn't think that you would have the guts to show your face to me after your adopted son did to the biological son of your husband" "Lies! You're using your own son's misfortune to defame our name!" she knew what the repercussions would be if the people discovered what happened to Kyouko's son so she denied it like Lee did. "I promise in the name of the Kouzuki house that my words have no fallacy in them" This was the final nail in the coffin. All those who have done deals with the Kouzuki house can use this as a failsafe in case they had doubts about cooperation or collaborations. This was why the Kouzuki house had been thriving and had nothing but praises from people of the same field that has collaborated with them. When they gave their word, you can be certain that they would uphold it to the best of their abilities. This was something that had yet to be broken so everyone did not doubt a single word that Kyouko said. "I haven't looked for trouble because of what your adopted son did because I shrugged it off as his own doing but after considering how you and the family you reside in does things. I just might make a personal visit to that place again" Kyouko looked at the ugly expression on Nagisa's face and smiled. "Boss, we still have matters to discuss. Let's not waste time with used up pawns and get going" the two ladies excused themselves and headed back to their room. The banquet hall went back to usual after the two ladies left. It appeared that nothing changed but deep in all those in attendance's minds was the side of Kyouko who they didn't expect she had. They were quick to engrave in their hearts that they should never ever wake up the sleeping lion. Because of the events at the banquet, Kyouko and Mei were surprised to experience their business had gone smoother than usual. There were no hitches in their business trip aside from the squabbles they would normally have. .

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3NzhlZWEwM2VjODQxZDFhNjUwMWU3ZjEyMGQ2Mjky" style="margin-bottom: 0in">As I suspected drones communicate primarily through vocalizations. There is a fair amount of body language and pheromones used as well, but the sounds they make take precedence.</p> <p class="cnMxMTE2M2Q3MWUxZjQ1NzI4MTQxZWEyOTc1NjZlYjdh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZmQzNTYzNzM5NjRmNzk5NDg3M2U1MTBiNjkxNWUw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0N2JkMTE0MGNjYjQ0NmE4MTFjNThmODNjNDU1MTY2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"What the <em><strong>hell</strong></em> happened!?"</p> <p class="cnMwYzg4ODlmZWRiZTQ5M2Y4OWZjZGM1MmExMGUyMjZm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3ODExYjQ4ZjA3ZDRkMTZhYzk1OTJkMWViZmNkN2Jl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMmYyN2Q5NGJkZTQ3NWQ5N2M0YzUyOTY0NmJmNjE1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Like that one for instance.</p> <p class="cnM2ZGJkZWY5OTZlMTRlZmM4NWU0ZGI5ZDBiYmE5ZDFi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMjAxNzMzOThhNjQyY2NiOWY3OWRkYTRiOTEwMmQ5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p class="cnNmMjU2OWM5MDc1NTRlOWFiZWFmOWI0MTFhMGJmZTE2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Indication of anger, shock, request...</p> <p class="cnM4ZWU5NzhmMzQ3OTQ5OTI5NTllMGI2YzIyZTc0MzNk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Designation of 'hell' unknown.</p> </blockquote> <p class="cnM1N2RhZWQ2OWM2MzQ4MmU4NzQ0MzFjMWJlMGFiYjNi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMGNiYThlZmYzZTQwNTU4NmJmMTNjMDJmMTJjZjFl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlZTk2MWNiNzQ4NzRmMWFiYmU2MGNiYTE5YWZhZGI2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Some translation was still required, but I was learning a lot. The drone that often stayed late was yelling at the others in the room while the white-furred drone simply stood in silence. Next to it a soldier, who I think is the leader, was relaying a report of the events, and I was matching its words to my memory of the actual event to help translate.</p> <p class="cnNkZTIyMmUzOGJjYzRiNmI4Nzk1MTA4ZWRkZTk1NjZm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmNWE3M2M5NzcwYzRhOTg4OTgxOTdlYzUxNjRmZjc0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNWY1ZGZkMmE5ODRlMjA4NzJhNDdhZjU1N2Y1NzJm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">About an 'hour' after the soldiers had killed the yellow-fur, the white-coats had started to filter into the lab. It was currently 'in the middle of the damn night' and most of the white-coats looked shocked and lost while they drifted around the room, only becoming productive when the white-fur gave them direction.</p> <p class="cnMwN2RhZDJkZGI4MTQ5ZmJhYjYyNzk2MTFiZTE2OTJj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4Yzg3MmNjN2JkYTQ2NjM4YTE0YzIxMjk5NzM3MTk2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjZWRmNWQwODE4YTRiZjg5MzkxMGE2OTM2MTAyNzBh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The soldier finished its report and the white-fur, er, Doctor Mason as the soldier called him, addressed the rest of the drones. Some of them it sent away, others to check over devices the yellow-fur had damaged in its mad dash, and itself went to one of the devices with a light display and started working.</p> <p class="cnM5M2RiYTBkZmQ4MjQ1Njg4MmQxY2I1N2JmYWJlMDI5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjZGYxYjc5YWI0NTRkMWY4MDAxMWU3ZTM0MjlkNzg5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2Mzg2YjgwNjAzYjQ0ODNhYmNkMTQzOWVmZjAxNDY1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">More hours passed, and finally the drones started to grow weary, one by one being sent away by Doctor Mason. The late-worker was still going strong when Doctor Mason tapped it and convinced it to stop. Both of them left.</p> <p class="cnM2OTc5YmViZmY0YTRiOWVhOTYzZjQ5OWVkYzliMWVm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiZTViNjVjZjY5YzQ0OWI4NjFjNDUxMGFiYTRhYmM4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyOGVhZjlmYjk1NjQ3NjY4NGUzNTllYjcwODRmMTVj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The soldiers stayed longer, talking about topics that didn't seem related to their current task. They talked until a large soldier drone, much larger than the others, entered the room. Speaking with the others briefly, the large soldier huffed and moved to the dead yellow-fur. It kicked the corpse once, then bent to grab a foreleg and pulled it over its shoulder.</p> <p class="cnNjYTg1OTZhODIwNTRlNzQ5ZDI5MjA0OGIwY2RhNWVm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlNDAwOTMzYmNhYjQwY2I4YjMxZWQ5N2IzZDYwYjZj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3YTY0N2NlZGEyNjQ2YjNiYTQ5ZDYwN2MzNWYyMjZh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Then it dragged the dead yellow-fur, easily five times as big, back into the test chamber.</p> <p class="cnM3ZGY3MGVjOWNlNjQwZmM5NWUxMDVmMDM3ZTNkNmRi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5NzU1MzBhY2NhNTRiNWI5NGQzMWQ0MWEyNzk5MjRj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p class="cnNkMjBhMDA5OGYzZjQ0YmE4MWZiN2NjZDI1YzA0ZWIy" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Observable bone/muscle enhancements.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2FlYTU2OWEwNDRiODZhZmI4NjdlMzFjMjhhNDQ5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Estimated strength within possible known limits.</p> </blockquote> <p class="cnMxMzJlZTgyNGM1NzQ1OWI5NzAzY2Y2NmViNDVmYjZk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwODU1YTBjNDA2NDRlODZiZjliYzU2YTE2OWYwZjgy" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzZmQ1MzM4NzhkMjRjOWZiYzIyY2JkMWQyMTllM2Ji" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Stealth. Stealth was the only reasonable plan of escape.</p> <p class="cnMxZDBlZTFmNDA3MzRkZjQ4Nzc2MThkODRiYzZlNmEw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4YjY4ZGM4ZTc1ZjQ1YjM4YmJkMDJmZWIzYzFjY2Jk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5ZDk2MjM0ZThiNzQ1MDI4ODhjMzJhYmNmZTAwOGY2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Alright, janitors can clean up the rest of this mess. Let's get out of here, this place give me the heebie-jeebies." spoke one of the small soldiers.</p> <p class="cnMxZGRkYjhkNGUwMDQ5MWZhMTM4N2UxZTYyYjBkMjk5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzMWFiNDdlYzcwNDRjOGFhNTliNDU3NDQ3ZTBjZTI3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2ZTExYzZkNTEwNjRkZTE4NmI0OTI5NTBhOGFjYzll" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Ha, give it a few months. The freak-show grows on you after a while." said the large soldier.</p> <p class="cnM0MzA3OGRkMWE1ZTQ2YWY4MzE4MzhiMjc0YzdkNTc1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2NzBhOWQ0ZjVlOTQzNmE5NjYxOThjMWUyZjcxYjhl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkMmNhMmVlZWVjMDRjMGQ4MWJmZjMzNmYxZGE4MzZi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">They chattered as they left, and I was finally alone again. By my calculation it was four hours before the drones normally came in, and none had come back after being dismissed so far. I needed to get going while I had this opportunity.</p> <p class="cnMwOTk0M2M0ODY1YjRmNmE5Mzc4MjU1MGEwNjM1MzNm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3MzQ1NzcxMGE2ZjQzYmJhNTdhYjgzNDIxYWRkODhl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmNzU1NDk5MTRlMDQ1MTE5NmUwODQ0ZjM1MDk2ZWI0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I opened the front of the container and slid out. I still needed to decompress, but my core was reassembled, and I had been preparing the necessary organs while I waited. In a few short 'minutes' I resembled one of the drones.</p> <p class="cnM0MmVlMWI1ODc0MjQ3NTNiNDExZWQzZGM0ZGY0MmNi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyY2E3NTFhYzdjMDQ4ZTdiOTk4OTljYjVlYjAzNGFm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1N2YxMWUwNjNjMjQ2NmNhNmZhZWVhZmExZmYxZmUy" style="margin-bottom: 0in">This was going to be risky. I would need stealth in order to leave this place, but I couldn't simply go from one hiding place to another. All it would take was one drone seeing me and alerting soldiers to doom me. If I imitated a drone, however, I would hopefully be able to pass by the normal drones without too much scrutiny and actively find an escape route. The main risk was running into the drone I was imitating, but a randomly designed facade wouldn't do. Drones had excellent identification skills, and each had its own identifier phrase such as Doctor Mason. Probably some kind of security measure.</p> <p class="cnNiZWY3ZDhmYjU5MjQwZGJhNmY0NmI0ZTAwMTUzMjI1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlNzdhY2I1ODM4OTQ0YzhhNTJmZTI3MGQ1YjBkYmU4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5ODYyYWEyZThiNjQxZGZiNWM2Y2U2ODg4NmY4MWRk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I chose the image of one of the drones that stayed later, but got sent away. I didn't want a drone who left early and had no excuse to be here, but also one that wouldn't actually still be here.</p> <p class="cnNmOWU3NDU5ZmQ1ZTQ3MmM5MWNhNDM5Y2M1YWE0N2M4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlYTNjMDgxZTkwNzQyNjFiN2E0OWZiOGU0NTBjZjdh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNTk2ZmUxNTg0YTRkZTM4ZjkyNWJkOWZlYjA3Yjlm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Most of my effort was on the face and movements. The drone I chose had brown fur, blue eyes, and dark patches below the eyes. As for mannerisms this one tended to converse rarely and appeared somewhat physically inept, as a disguise it was the perfect option. I made a few final checks and movement exercises to assure myself that my fake coverings looked correct before deciding it was time to leave. I would have loved to stay long enough to eat the yellow-fur, but I doubted I had time, and the disappearance of the large corpse would be noticed rather quickly.</p> <p class="cnM1YWY3YjI0MThkMjRjMTliODMwNzkyOGEyMGY5MDU1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwMjk3YjBlOGM0YTRkZTFiZGE2NDlmNDEwZmY4OTFh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1ZTdlYTczN2ZjZDQ3YjBhM2Y0ZjAyNDdlOGI4ZDhm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I approached the doorway and paused. This would be the first time seeing beyond my little world of den chamber, test chamber, drone chamber. Here's hoping that it wouldn't get me killed.</p> <p class="cnM5Yzg2NDZmZDE4YTRlMDY5ODIxYjg4NjcyNmY2OTFl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlNTI2YWM1NzgyZDRhMDdhZjk3MWI5NmFlODg2ZDcz" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4NjZjYzdiMjUxMjQ4YjdhZWFjMDBkNDE1ZDhjYWIw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I pressed my limb against the door and pushed, revealing a narrow, long corridor, with other doors that I assumed led to other rooms like the one I came from.</p> <p class="cnM0MDcwZDAwMWZkODQ1ZmJhYjkxOWQyN2EyNzljM2Zi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMDY1M2E0MTNkNDQ2MTU4NmQwNmM1YTJjYWRjYjBj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1NzFjZTkwY2NjNjQ5OWU4ZGRiZGIxZGY0ZDY0NTdj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Jacobson, you're still here? Didn't I send you home hours ago?"</p> <p class="cnM2YWJlYTIxY2MzYzQwMzliMmE3ODA4NGIxODdlY2M0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkMDczYmFjMDYyNzRhOWM4ZTViNGFjYmZiZTE1NjEw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjMjY1NGNkNjQyMDQ5OWI5YjUyOTEyMmY5ZDdhMWNh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Damn.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmIyZGY3NTNlMTRkNjNhMThiNGJmYmMzOTJlMWI4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0YTRhMDI1OTc5MDQxMDA4YzU4OTI2NmQxMmI1MTA3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiNGQxYTMyMTRkOTRiOWI4ZWRlYWM1Yjg0ZTg3NThj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Coming down the corridor was the white-fur, Doctor Mason. Of course it had to be this one.</p> <p class="cnM4MmVkZTllMjFhYzQ3NDdhNjBmNzFhYTUwMTU4NmNm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmZGYxMzU1NWEyYjQ0YWI5ZTY2YmJlNGJiOGUxYzdj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p class="cnNjZTg1ODY3MWVhNzQyZjg5MWUyMDU0MDE3ZDhjYmY1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Recorded response 23;</p> </blockquote> <p class="cnNjMjNlZjI3YzdjMDQ2MDg4MzMzNGFlNWY4OTRmZDQw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhNGRkZDQ2MjI2NDRiZTE5MTUyMzVlYjY5ZTc2YzE3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1ZGRmMjVmYTlkYzRjMjZiMzU3ZDNmNjIxZTMwNWE5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"I, um, forgot something." I replied in Jacobson's timid voice.</p> <p class="cnM4YzE0MGEwYTEwODRmNzlhZTUxZWRhZmQ0N2M4NTcz" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMmVhZDkyNjJlYjRkMmM4YWY0NGZiMjIyMmFkNzFi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzYzU3ZGQ3MTk4ZTQ1YmM4ZDE4YWY2ZjIzZjI1ZGEw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Stopping next to me the white-fur scanned me from top to bottom. I thought for sure my disguise was compromised until he said:</p> <p class="cnM1NmY1MzYxNWEzYjQzMzU5MWRhY2NlZmM0ZDBlYTZi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZTAwYTFkZTQzYTRkMjA4MGI0MDQwYmI0YmFhZTI0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZTU3ZmZmMTk2YzRkZjFiZTg2YzM2MzI1MzQ0ZmZk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"You look like hell Jacobson. Come on, I was just about to get some coffee, I'll treat you to one." he said, and casually waved its limb down the corridor in the direction it had been heading.</p> <p class="cnM1MDVlNTU4NDBlZDRkOWVhZTJhZWFlYjNhY2IwOTZi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyOTc4ODkzNWNmZDRkYWM4OGUyOTJhMDczYjMxMjVm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p class="cnM1Y2VjMWFlYjYyODRkZjc4M2RkNmQ3ZmQyMTM3MzIw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Command to follow recognized.</p> </blockquote> <p class="cnMwNjI1ZDI3OGUxYTRmMTA5YzUwMmJkNTY2YjFiYzIw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiZWQ2NTgzOGNhNzRiZWY4ZmU2ZTdmMGZlNGM1MDA2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3ZmVkYjYwZmViYzQ4NTQ4MDA0YjIwMjAxZjAzMWI5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Some of its sounds I understood, but the limb wave was what allowed me to know what I should do. I began walking to the side and slightly behind Doctor Mason as he led me down the corridor.</p> <p class="cnMzNjc4YTgyYmRhNDQzYWE4YzUwM2E3NjllMjAyM2E4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxOWM2NTBhZTBiYTQ5MzE5YTM0ZGYxYzJmZWQzMDU3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkNDI2NjkwZWU5MjRlZDdhYjA5ZjBlMDZkZWY3NzY1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">We traveled in silence. I noted that each door was labeled with its own little symbol; B4E, B4D, B4C, and so on. We reached the end and there was a new door, slightly stronger looking than the others. Doctor Mason pulled out a small, flat, rectangular object from a pouch in his coat and pressed it against a device mounted on the wall next to the door. A small light on the device turned green, and I could hear a loud 'clunk' as something between the device and the door moved. I was suddenly very glad that Doctor Mason had found me, it seemed there were additional security measures in this place, and Doctor Mason was unknowingly bringing me right through them.</p> <p class="cnM5NWQwMDM3MzQxNDQyNzFhM2VjYzhmY2Q2NzNhZWI3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1MmQ1NTRhNGE5ZTRjNjY5YzNhNzZiMGJjMzkzZTU4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhYmZjZTk5NjEzNDRkZWVhODI1NzUwYTM3MWI4MWFm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">On the other side of the door was... a small room with another door. Admittedly more impressive than the first, this door was set into a shiny frame and had no visible handle with which to pull or push. Instead there was only another pad with two symbols next to the door, and Doctor Mason pressed the top one before waiting. A few seconds later an odd 'ding' noise sounded and the door slid aside to reveal... another tiny room? As strange as this was Doctor Mason entered casually before facing the door and I followed his example. Inside Doctor Mason clicked another symbol on a pad (this one laden with many symbols that were similar to the signs posted by doors) and the door slid closed.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2MwNzhmYjMzOTQyNTE4OTE0ZmFjOTFlNmVlZDlh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkZDkyNDcwMmM1ODQwMmZiZTY0NTEzODdhMTc1MmQ2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjYmY1MWY3MjAzMjRiZTM5MjQwZmZmMzlhMjA0YjFk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">My balance was momentarily thrown when the room suddenly started to move upwards! Now it made sense, it wasn't a room so much as a giant device for moving to higher or lower levels. I was impressed with the amount of ingenuity it would take to build an entire moving room just to go up or down.</p> <p class="cnMwYWI2OWI1MmNjYTRlMTFiOTk1MjIzZTkzMTZkYWRm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzOWRmMjVmZjM5MDQwMzRiZGNhMDRkZGExZDk4MDNh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5OGU1NWVjMjM4ZjQyMGY5ZGM2ZDFiNDllMjgwNDdj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The moving room came to a stop and opened when the symbol labeled '2' lit up. We exited into another security room and left without using the flat rectangle this time (I noted it would take another security check to get back <em>into</em> the room however).</p> <p class="cnM3ZGIxM2U2ZjhlODRhM2Q5OTFlZjg5NDhiNTlmYWM0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhYTZlODZiOWQyZjQ1YjM5ZGUyYTQ3ZWJlMTU3Nzlk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlMGVhYzQxMGM0NTRlNDc4NTBkYzVlYjJiZjAxMjBl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">This section of the structure was a lot different than the lower area. The floor was covered in a soft material and there was more color used in the design. There were a few drones about. Some wore the recognized white coats, others had similar coverings but without the coat, and still others wore shear black coverings that made them seem important. Perhaps this was a leader caste? Or maybe an organizer, or catalyst caste. Drones seemed to appoint a leader from each group from what I'd seen.</p> <p class="cnM3YTNlNmUwNjQzYTRhMWJhN2ZlZDM2YWU5ZGNjYWVj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwOWNjMWY2YmE3MTQ1MDFhMDBjMzFmNDRjNDIzNGE5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNjIyNTA4Zjk5ZDQ1Njc4Njc1MTQxM2U1YTg3NWEx" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Doctor Mason led me to a large alcove in which were multiple chairs and two large devices with lots of press-able symbols. He approached one and swiped his security rectangle over a convenient panel. A few symbols clicks later the device dispensed a black liquid into a flimsy white holder, when the device was done the white-fur handed the container of liquid to me and repeated the process for himself.</p> <p class="cnNhZTJiNjFkZTZiZjQyZTlhZTYwYzBiMGM2OGIyZGQ1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZDQwMGVmODgxMjQ0OTliNTNjYWJiYjBhNWM4MGYy" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkYjA5ZmE3NmM2YTQ4NzdhOWI3OTQ1Njc0OGJiYzJm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The liquid... smelled good? I was detecting several different chemical compounds coming from the liquid, the blend of them making it seem rather appetizing. Was it drone nutrition?</p> <p class="cnMyNjAyNDYzMWZiMjQ2NzBhYjJiNzhlMjAzYTM1OTYw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNmUxMTU4YzJmMTQ1OWZhNjIxOGIyZDQxNzU1YTNl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhODViZGMwNjIxZDQ1Y2NiZTc5MjI0NTNlNmZlNTYx" style="margin-bottom: 0in">It must have been because Doctor Mason took his liquid container and swallowed some of the liquid. I copied him, burning my tongue a bit on the hot liquid until I adjusted for it.</p> <p class="cnM1NTViZDY3ZWY3NjQ2NGRhMTllOWZlYjFjMDBkOWY0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5NDk1Y2UwODcxNTQ1YmFiN2Q3NzI2MTRkZDA4MzEw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyYTY4MDhkM2VlNzQxNzdhZDk3ZjY3NGYxNzc1NjQ3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">It was good. Not the most nutritious thing I'd ever eaten (that placement went to the yellow-fur), but the taste created by the chemical blend was... satisfactory. Definitely better than the nutrient slurry that I used to receive from testing.</p> <p class="cnNhNTI5MTE5ODMzNzQwNTliYmY1Mjc1Y2VjNTMzYjM3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkNmI1YTljNzdmZjQ1N2I5YTYyODE0ZGM5NDU2YTY1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNTNmNGI5YTUyNzQ5MTU4MjQ4MDRkNmYzZmUwNDA4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">We stood there drinking the liquid until Doctor Mason sighed and spoke:</p> <p class="cnM2NDY0YjI4Y2NmODRjOGNhNzkzNjQxYmJmMTFiZjc0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5Y2Y4MTczMjU1YTQxMWM4NjJlY2ZhNmUzZjg5M2I4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMWMxOTQ3ODVlMTQ1ZjlhMjIwMjNhYmEzNWI5ZTk4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Don't beat yourself up too much about this Jacobson, none of us could have predicted this. Setbacks happen sometimes. They might be disasters when they happen... but you can turn them into setbacks. Just keep a steady pace on it." He drained the rest of his liquid before crumpling the container and throwing it into a large receptacle. Then he patted me twice on the shoulder before saying, "Don't overwork yourself Jacobson, but definitely don't give up."</p> <p class="cnM1ZmFlN2I0N2FjZTQ4OGViN2MzNzE5N2RiMmM5MDQ4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0MmQxY2M3YTE4MDRlODBhYjA2YTQzNDlmMTFhYTZj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkMDQxZGUxZmI2MTQ3ODViNWNkN2U2NjQyM2Q0NGZi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Then he left me there to drink my liquid alone.</p> <p class="cnMxZTM5NmUxN2E5NjRjOGVhMzg4MjQ5ZTdjY2I2NjVi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwODcxNzhmZjEzMTQwZjg5YTJjOTZhYTkwZGQxMWQ5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyODdiMzE0OTAwMjQxMzk4OWIwODFmYWFiZTNhYjg5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I really need to get my translations puzzled out.</p> <p class="cnMxMTk1MmM4NzY4MjQ3NzI5MmVjODcxZjkyN2FkYjdj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1Y2I2Y2M3ZjRhYzQyNGRhNGNiZWUxNzlkNGUwN2Jm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p class="cnNhMTVjN2E5Mjk2MDQyODA5ODVhMGJmNTg3NWM2ZDc5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5NTcwNDdlYjljMzQyMDliZWRjYTk4NzJhZTFjNjYw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjZGY3OTgzMGQxNzQ5ZjQ5NWJiNzRjMDIxZTRiYWE4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I'd been exploring this structure for thirty minutes when I found <em>it</em>.</p> <p class="cnM1ZWUyZDEyMDBmZTRiMTlhM2FhZTY2ZWY0YjkwMzE4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1YWFhZTUxZDMyNjQzNjI5MWNkOWY5ZTA1NWRmY2Ex" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwNDQ4MTU3NjJkYjQ4NjhiZjA0MDdlZWRmMWQwYTdk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">My plan until now had been to steal one of the flat rectangles. The security doors were quite prevalent and if you wanted to move between the different sections of the structure you needed one of the 'key-cards'. Stealing one proved harder than expected since the drones kept them either concealed or attached to themselves securely. I had been walking down a corridor wondering if I should start checking rooms when one of the doors attracted my attention. This one was labeled 'Conference Room' and had translucent material as part of the door allowing you to see inside. It was empty, and so I decided to risk exploring it.</p> <p class="cnMyYjRkNGEzOTJiODRhMmI4YjU4ZWI2ZmVjODE0Mjli" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNjkyMzg4ZDUzZTQwZWI4ODJiM2U4YTE0YTNiYWI1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlMDU0M2VhMGNhNDQ0MzRhZWZiZmNiYmViZDk3YzU4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">When I entered I almost thought it was a testing chamber, one whole wall was made of translucent material, though when I touched it I found it was far more brittle than the material in the test chambers.</p> <p class="cnM4MDU1NTk1YjZlNjQ1Y2FhY2YwMjVmM2M0MWEzMmJi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMjY4MDg0MDAyYjQwYWI4MjhjZmFhZDkxODU5MTk2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkYjZjYjRiODg1NjRkODA5OWQxODI5NmIyMGQwYTFh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">And on the other side was so much... room. I had always known that with the drones' incredible ability to make things they could undoubtedly make rooms larger than what I had seen. But I didn't expect them to make a room so large that you could barely see the ceiling lights far overhead, twinkling against a dark ceiling too vast to be illuminated.</p> <p class="cnMyZjdjMzQ2ZjZkNDQyZTZiM2QyNzVhYjdmNTk0NGEy" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhOTg4ZWQwZjI3NzRmNGQ4NThmZDlkODMzNzdlNWYw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p class="cnMxNTZhODJhNzVjMjQwMzFhOTA5NDc4YjljMTg4MTQ2" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Recalculating environment predictions...</p> </blockquote> <p class="cnNjN2Q1ZTY2ZGViYTQ0NjZiNzlhZTI4Yzk1ODUxNGM5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhZWM1ZmM3Njk2ZTRlNTRiNDEyMjU5MjI0MmFlZmNk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiOWM0N2FhMGYxZDRlMWVhNWRkNmU1ZTA0YWM4MmQ0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">This, no, I had to be mistaken. This couldn't be a drone made room. I could see hundreds of other drone-made structures from here, and by comparison I knew that I must be in a similar structure. The size of this area as a whole was incomparable with even the largest of the structures I saw.</p> <p class="cnM5YWMzNTAyODdhODRjZDRhZTBlYWI2MTcyMGVlODZm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMDkwYjljNTdkZjQzMjRiODAyZDkxOTgzMWRkMjRk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3NWJhNGU3OWE0ZDQ3MmNhYWIzMTkwMGJkNGJjZDcw" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Five minutes went by as I just stared out into the expanse before me.</p> <p class="cnNlNDI5ZDI3ZDNmZjQxMTFiMjA3NDMxNDI2MzNkNGU1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlODJmOGJkMmVmZTRiYTBhNmI5MzI1ZGIxMWE5OTcx" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2ZTQ4YTZkYWVlYTQ1OGRhNmUyMzAyZDY5ZTM1Mjhm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Back in the test chambers I had been starting to get overconfident. With my natural ability to change my form to suit my needs, and the problem solving ability granted by Human.exe, I had passed dozens of combat tests with ease, and began to think of myself as an apex predator.</p> <p class="cnM2NTI5NmVmNDVlODQ2ZmJiYjIwZjgzY2NjOGZjZmUx" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzMDg4ZjNiZmNiMjRkYjQ5YTEwOGM4ZGVlZWM0Y2Y5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiY2YwN2I0ZGZhNTQ5Njk5OTVkNmJkODU3Yjg4NGRh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The shear brute strength of the yellow-fur, the overwhelming technical ability of the drones, and now this incomprehensible hive structure outside the wall had convinced me I was mistaken. I was now part of a much larger predator/prey network than I had realized, and I was not even remotely near the top.</p> <p class="cnNmZjliZmFiNzI5YzRhMTZhOWYwMWU1NDc3MmZkOGI4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhY2FlZDc1MDdhYzQxNTJiZTYwZDdjNmIzMmUyNmJk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlNzg3MjY2ZmQ4YzQzMTg4NWNhMGJjYjk4MmNmODZk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">At least a space this large would be easy to hide in. I just had to get to it.</p> <p class="cnMzMmM4YWYyNTA5MjQwYWQ4Y2NiOGEzMmFiNWVhOWNl" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZjE2ZGE0Zjg3MzQ3NzM5MmMyMmM4MjQ0MDA1Zjg1" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjMzIxNTJjNWQ0YTQ2Zjc5ZjYzMjk2YzU0ZjZiZWY0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The wall I was looking through was brittle, I could easily carve a hole through or even shatter it if necessary. The drop to the ground was negligible with a little preparation, and once I made it to the ground it was an easy walk over flat terrain to a wall that likely marked the perimeter of the white-coat drones' territory. Most of the flat area was taken up by large devices that had large rotating cylinders for locomotion. How they propelled themselves I couldn't guess, but I saw one device carrying drones out of the facility. I noted three soldiers as well, two at the opening in the wall which the transport device left through, and one patrolling around the area. The only dangerous part was the guards, if they spotted me and became suspicious I would be out in the open with no cover.</p> <p class="cnNhMzRjODUwMjQwZDRlZjg5ZDcxYzk3NTU5ZDAzM2M4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxYzVkZDMzZjMxYjRmZWY4M2M5MDRkODkzM2EyZWMx" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0NzNkZDk5YmM5YjRmNjk4ODE3NTA2ZTZjMzlkY2Nj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I spent twenty minutes watching the drones' actions. The two soldiers stayed by the wall exit inside small alcoves, but I noted about three drones on a regular patrol around the structure. New plan: I would attempt to sneak out physically rather than attempt subterfuge in the structure itself. There were simply too many security checks inside the structure, and the drones added another layer of complication. If I had a firm grasp of the language maybe I would stick with subterfuge, but until I learned to communicate freely I had more confidence in my physical skills.</p> <p class="cnMxNWFmNWRlZTU5ZjQ1YjdiZGJjZmY4Y2RmZGI2MWI5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzZmZiOTkwNDllZDQxMDg4OGQ5NDc0Mjc1YWM4MGY5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhNWFhMWRlMGNkNzQ4MDU5ZGQ2N2Q3NmYwYTQyOWZj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I checked out into the corridor, and then went to the corner of the room that avoided line of sight. There I began shifting into an approximation of a soldier. It's fortunate that all drones share a similar skeletal shape, it made this a lot easier. The soldiers outside wore a slightly different uniform than the ones I had seen so far, but I adjusted as best I could. I didn't plan on being close enough for them to identify me anyways.</p> <p class="cnM1ZWNkNWEyMWY5OTRjMWZiMDAxZWRkNzA2ZjI4NjIz" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzYzg4NmJmMGVjZDQ1MDU4YzQ5OGY0MzdmNzZkYmZh" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmN2UwZjllNWQ3OTRiOWFhYjYyNTA0MjA3OWMwNzI3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">Once done I approached the translucent wall and carved a tiny hole, through which I poked a tendril. At the end of the tendril was a small eye organ which I used to get a better field of view while I carved myself an exit. I didn't think I would be able to repair the damage on my way out, but I should be long gone by the time it was found.</p> <p class="cnMzNGZhZmEzOWFkZjRhYTk4MjY1YmVkZjU3NzkzYWM4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwMjZlMWE0MTQ3NTQ3ZTg4YTBmYjM5ZDMxZWE4NTI0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5OTViNjM1YmYxYzRhYWRhZmJiNjJlYjQ0MzBlODcx" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I completed the carve and now held the section of wall in place myself. With the tendril I made sure that all the patrols were out of sight, and a quick glance at the two drones near the wall opening showed they were busy conversing with each other. Now was the best time. I pulled the section of wall in and dumped it onto the floor, then I leaped out the opening.</p> <p class="cnM0NjYxYWUxNzYyMDRkOGViMDRkNDA4NjYzOTQzYzE3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2M2I3ZTEwNzQxMDRlYzA5NDYzYWIwNmNkNjExMGEz" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3NDg1MTZlODdlZTQzZmZiMmJiNDE0ZGZmYzE0ZDZi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">The air out here was crisp, and cool.</p> <p class="cnMwNTdhNGY1ZTYwNTQxMTBhYWUxMWM0MjFmNTBiY2Vj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiYzUwOGUyMTI0ZDRhMzlhYmExN2YyZTUxODExMWZj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmZTBlMDZhMWUzYzQzNjI5OGVjYjliN2RlYmU5NTFm" style="margin-bottom: 0in">My augmented limbs took the impact with the ground easily, then I snapped the bones back into a drone-like configuration and stood upright. Quickly I fell into the steady pace I had seen the patrolling soldiers use and walked away, scanning to see if I had been spotted. Neither of the two drones at the opening were acting different, and as far as I could tell they were the only drones within sight.</p> <p class="cnNjM2IyZTJjNTNkMjRmMTY4YzcwNDE3YWQ5Y2JiNjM5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMjM3NzZmYjMxYjRmODVhZDMyNmM3ZGY0MWUzMzVk" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3Yzg2ZjZjNTg1NzQ0ZDQ4ZDBjM2E1NjY4Yzg1NGM4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I began following the patrol route I had seen the other soldiers use, but ever so slowly I began edging closer and closer to the barrier wall. Once I was out of sight of both the soldiers guarding the entrance and any patrols I abandoned the patrol route and walked right up to the wall. It was made of the same hard gray material that parts of the test chambers had been made from, and about twice the height of an average drone. Not a problem for me however. I bent my limbs and my muscles coiled before I leapt for the top of the wall, grabbing it with a forelimb and pulling myself up, then jumping down on the other side.</p> <p class="cnM3MTgxNTQ0YjBkYzQ2YmE5OGI0MDRkOTNmYmEzZWI0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5YmIwZjljNWU2MjRlYjBiY2NmYmVlNTVhYjVhMTli" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3MTZhODg1YjkwNTRjMDZhMWRlZWQzZmZhZTBlNTVj" style="margin-bottom: 0in">It was thankfully empty on this side of the wall as well. The ground next to the wall was molded to provide an obvious walkway for drones, and the space beyond the walkway was inscribed with colorful white and yellow markings, most likely used as movement guidelines for the transport devices. Drones really seemed to favor rectangular architecture, all of the structures I saw were divided into blocks, and the transport lanes cut everything into nice even distances.</p> <p class="cnNmYWI4NDQ4MGQ0YjQ5ZGViMWFmZTVmMTM2NDk5NTgy" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5ZTQyMTVmNjMyMDQ1OTRiODY3ZjUzMDM4NDc3NzQ4" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlNjRhMjI1YjhhMDQyM2Y5Y2U2ZWQ5ODkyM2ZhMDU3" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I strolled along the walkway until I came to the corner of the block. One direction was as good as any other, so I crossed to another corner and kept walking. Before I got out of sight I turned back and looked at the structure I had come from. It was slightly taller than the other structures around it, and near the top was a collection of glowing symbols reading 'New Dawn Inc.'</p> <p class="cnNmZDQwMjE0MjMzYTQ5ZTY4NDU5ZjJjMzEwODEwNTY5" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5NThlOGI1MzVmNjRjZjJiNWVkYzZiYmJjZWIwMThi" style="margin-bottom: 0in">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzYTVlZThjZThhOTQyZmE5ZGVmOTYwZGQ0OTE4YmQ0" style="margin-bottom: 0in">I turned away and kept walking.</p> </div>

As I suspected drones communicate primarily through vocalizations. There is a fair amount of body language and pheromones used as well, but the sounds they make take precedence.     "What the ***hell*** happened!?"     Like that one for instance.     > Indication of anger, shock, request... > > > Designation of 'hell' unknown.     Some translation was still required, but I was learning a lot. The drone that often stayed late was yelling at the others in the room while the white-furred drone simply stood in silence. Next to it a soldier, who I think is the leader, was relaying a report of the events, and I was matching its words to my memory of the actual event to help translate.     About an 'hour' after the soldiers had killed the yellow-fur, the white-coats had started to filter into the lab. It was currently 'in the middle of the damn night' and most of the white-coats looked shocked and lost while they drifted around the room, only becoming productive when the white-fur gave them direction.     The soldier finished its report and the white-fur, er, Doctor Mason as the soldier called him, addressed the rest of the drones. Some of them it sent away, others to check over devices the yellow-fur had damaged in its mad dash, and itself went to one of the devices with a light display and started working.     More hours passed, and finally the drones started to grow weary, one by one being sent away by Doctor Mason. The late-worker was still going strong when Doctor Mason tapped it and convinced it to stop. Both of them left.     The soldiers stayed longer, talking about topics that didn't seem related to their current task. They talked until a large soldier drone, much larger than the others, entered the room. Speaking with the others briefly, the large soldier huffed and moved to the dead yellow-fur. It kicked the corpse once, then bent to grab a foreleg and pulled it over its shoulder.     Then it dragged the dead yellow-fur, easily five times as big, back into the test chamber.     > Observable bone/muscle enhancements. > > > Estimated strength within possible known limits.     Stealth. Stealth was the only reasonable plan of escape.     "Alright, janitors can clean up the rest of this mess. Let's get out of here, this place give me the heebie-jeebies." spoke one of the small soldiers.     "Ha, give it a few months. The freak-show grows on you after a while." said the large soldier.     They chattered as they left, and I was finally alone again. By my calculation it was four hours before the drones normally came in, and none had come back after being dismissed so far. I needed to get going while I had this opportunity.     I opened the front of the container and slid out. I still needed to decompress, but my core was reassembled, and I had been preparing the necessary organs while I waited. In a few short 'minutes' I resembled one of the drones.     This was going to be risky. I would need stealth in order to leave this place, but I couldn't simply go from one hiding place to another. All it would take was one drone seeing me and alerting soldiers to doom me. If I imitated a drone, however, I would hopefully be able to pass by the normal drones without too much scrutiny and actively find an escape route. The main risk was running into the drone I was imitating, but a randomly designed facade wouldn't do. Drones had excellent identification skills, and each had its own identifier phrase such as Doctor Mason. Probably some kind of security measure.     I chose the image of one of the drones that stayed later, but got sent away. I didn't want a drone who left early and had no excuse to be here, but also one that wouldn't actually still be here.     Most of my effort was on the face and movements. The drone I chose had brown fur, blue eyes, and dark patches below the eyes. As for mannerisms this one tended to converse rarely and appeared somewhat physically inept, as a disguise it was the perfect option. I made a few final checks and movement exercises to assure myself that my fake coverings looked correct before deciding it was time to leave. I would have loved to stay long enough to eat the yellow-fur, but I doubted I had time, and the disappearance of the large corpse would be noticed rather quickly.     I approached the doorway and paused. This would be the first time seeing beyond my little world of den chamber, test chamber, drone chamber. Here's hoping that it wouldn't get me killed.     I pressed my limb against the door and pushed, revealing a narrow, long corridor, with other doors that I assumed led to other rooms like the one I came from.     "Jacobson, you're still here? Didn't I send you home hours ago?"     Damn.     Coming down the corridor was the white-fur, Doctor Mason. Of course it had to be this one.     > Recorded response 23;     "I, um, forgot something." I replied in Jacobson's timid voice.     Stopping next to me the white-fur scanned me from top to bottom. I thought for sure my disguise was compromised until he said:     "You look like hell Jacobson. Come on, I was just about to get some coffee, I'll treat you to one." he said, and casually waved its limb down the corridor in the direction it had been heading.     > Command to follow recognized.     Some of its sounds I understood, but the limb wave was what allowed me to know what I should do. I began walking to the side and slightly behind Doctor Mason as he led me down the corridor.     We traveled in silence. I noted that each door was labeled with its own little symbol; B4E, B4D, B4C, and so on. We reached the end and there was a new door, slightly stronger looking than the others. Doctor Mason pulled out a small, flat, rectangular object from a pouch in his coat and pressed it against a device mounted on the wall next to the door. A small light on the device turned green, and I could hear a loud 'clunk' as something between the device and the door moved. I was suddenly very glad that Doctor Mason had found me, it seemed there were additional security measures in this place, and Doctor Mason was unknowingly bringing me right through them.     On the other side of the door was... a small room with another door. Admittedly more impressive than the first, this door was set into a shiny frame and had no visible handle with which to pull or push. Instead there was only another pad with two symbols next to the door, and Doctor Mason pressed the top one before waiting. A few seconds later an odd 'ding' noise sounded and the door slid aside to reveal... another tiny room? As strange as this was Doctor Mason entered casually before facing the door and I followed his example. Inside Doctor Mason clicked another symbol on a pad (this one laden with many symbols that were similar to the signs posted by doors) and the door slid closed.     My balance was momentarily thrown when the room suddenly started to move upwards! Now it made sense, it wasn't a room so much as a giant device for moving to higher or lower levels. I was impressed with the amount of ingenuity it would take to build an entire moving room just to go up or down.     The moving room came to a stop and opened when the symbol labeled '2' lit up. We exited into another security room and left without using the flat rectangle this time (I noted it would take another security check to get back *into* the room however).     This section of the structure was a lot different than the lower area. The floor was covered in a soft material and there was more color used in the design. There were a few drones about. Some wore the recognized white coats, others had similar coverings but without the coat, and still others wore shear black coverings that made them seem important. Perhaps this was a leader caste? Or maybe an organizer, or catalyst caste. Drones seemed to appoint a leader from each group from what I'd seen.     Doctor Mason led me to a large alcove in which were multiple chairs and two large devices with lots of press-able symbols. He approached one and swiped his security rectangle over a convenient panel. A few symbols clicks later the device dispensed a black liquid into a flimsy white holder, when the device was done the white-fur handed the container of liquid to me and repeated the process for himself.     The liquid... smelled good? I was detecting several different chemical compounds coming from the liquid, the blend of them making it seem rather appetizing. Was it drone nutrition?     It must have been because Doctor Mason took his liquid container and swallowed some of the liquid. I copied him, burning my tongue a bit on the hot liquid until I adjusted for it.     It was good. Not the most nutritious thing I'd ever eaten (that placement went to the yellow-fur), but the taste created by the chemical blend was... satisfactory. Definitely better than the nutrient slurry that I used to receive from testing.     We stood there drinking the liquid until Doctor Mason sighed and spoke:     "Don't beat yourself up too much about this Jacobson, none of us could have predicted this. Setbacks happen sometimes. They might be disasters when they happen... but you can turn them into setbacks. Just keep a steady pace on it." He drained the rest of his liquid before crumpling the container and throwing it into a large receptacle. Then he patted me twice on the shoulder before saying, "Don't overwork yourself Jacobson, but definitely don't give up."     Then he left me there to drink my liquid alone.     I really need to get my translations puzzled out.     ---     I'd been exploring this structure for thirty minutes when I found *it*.     My plan until now had been to steal one of the flat rectangles. The security doors were quite prevalent and if you wanted to move between the different sections of the structure you needed one of the 'key-cards'. Stealing one proved harder than expected since the drones kept them either concealed or attached to themselves securely. I had been walking down a corridor wondering if I should start checking rooms when one of the doors attracted my attention. This one was labeled 'Conference Room' and had translucent material as part of the door allowing you to see inside. It was empty, and so I decided to risk exploring it.     When I entered I almost thought it was a testing chamber, one whole wall was made of translucent material, though when I touched it I found it was far more brittle than the material in the test chambers.     And on the other side was so much... room. I had always known that with the drones' incredible ability to make things they could undoubtedly make rooms larger than what I had seen. But I didn't expect them to make a room so large that you could barely see the ceiling lights far overhead, twinkling against a dark ceiling too vast to be illuminated.     > Recalculating environment predictions...     This, no, I had to be mistaken. This couldn't be a drone made room. I could see hundreds of other drone-made structures from here, and by comparison I knew that I must be in a similar structure. The size of this area as a whole was incomparable with even the largest of the structures I saw.     Five minutes went by as I just stared out into the expanse before me.     Back in the test chambers I had been starting to get overconfident. With my natural ability to change my form to suit my needs, and the problem solving ability granted by Human.exe, I had passed dozens of combat tests with ease, and began to think of myself as an apex predator.     The shear brute strength of the yellow-fur, the overwhelming technical ability of the drones, and now this incomprehensible hive structure outside the wall had convinced me I was mistaken. I was now part of a much larger predator/prey network than I had realized, and I was not even remotely near the top.     At least a space this large would be easy to hide in. I just had to get to it.     The wall I was looking through was brittle, I could easily carve a hole through or even shatter it if necessary. The drop to the ground was negligible with a little preparation, and once I made it to the ground it was an easy walk over flat terrain to a wall that likely marked the perimeter of the white-coat drones' territory. Most of the flat area was taken up by large devices that had large rotating cylinders for locomotion. How they propelled themselves I couldn't guess, but I saw one device carrying drones out of the facility. I noted three soldiers as well, two at the opening in the wall which the transport device left through, and one patrolling around the area. The only dangerous part was the guards, if they spotted me and became suspicious I would be out in the open with no cover.     I spent twenty minutes watching the drones' actions. The two soldiers stayed by the wall exit inside small alcoves, but I noted about three drones on a regular patrol around the structure. New plan: I would attempt to sneak out physically rather than attempt subterfuge in the structure itself. There were simply too many security checks inside the structure, and the drones added another layer of complication. If I had a firm grasp of the language maybe I would stick with subterfuge, but until I learned to communicate freely I had more confidence in my physical skills.     I checked out into the corridor, and then went to the corner of the room that avoided line of sight. There I began shifting into an approximation of a soldier. It's fortunate that all drones share a similar skeletal shape, it made this a lot easier. The soldiers outside wore a slightly different uniform than the ones I had seen so far, but I adjusted as best I could. I didn't plan on being close enough for them to identify me anyways.     Once done I approached the translucent wall and carved a tiny hole, through which I poked a tendril. At the end of the tendril was a small eye organ which I used to get a better field of view while I carved myself an exit. I didn't think I would be able to repair the damage on my way out, but I should be long gone by the time it was found.     I completed the carve and now held the section of wall in place myself. With the tendril I made sure that all the patrols were out of sight, and a quick glance at the two drones near the wall opening showed they were busy conversing with each other. Now was the best time. I pulled the section of wall in and dumped it onto the floor, then I leaped out the opening.     The air out here was crisp, and cool.     My augmented limbs took the impact with the ground easily, then I snapped the bones back into a drone-like configuration and stood upright. Quickly I fell into the steady pace I had seen the patrolling soldiers use and walked away, scanning to see if I had been spotted. Neither of the two drones at the opening were acting different, and as far as I could tell they were the only drones within sight.     I began following the patrol route I had seen the other soldiers use, but ever so slowly I began edging closer and closer to the barrier wall. Once I was out of sight of both the soldiers guarding the entrance and any patrols I abandoned the patrol route and walked right up to the wall. It was made of the same hard gray material that parts of the test chambers had been made from, and about twice the height of an average drone. Not a problem for me however. I bent my limbs and my muscles coiled before I leapt for the top of the wall, grabbing it with a forelimb and pulling myself up, then jumping down on the other side.     It was thankfully empty on this side of the wall as well. The ground next to the wall was molded to provide an obvious walkway for drones, and the space beyond the walkway was inscribed with colorful white and yellow markings, most likely used as movement guidelines for the transport devices. Drones really seemed to favor rectangular architecture, all of the structures I saw were divided into blocks, and the transport lanes cut everything into nice even distances.     I strolled along the walkway until I came to the corner of the block. One direction was as good as any other, so I crossed to another corner and kept walking. Before I got out of sight I turned back and looked at the structure I had come from. It was slightly taller than the other structures around it, and near the top was a collection of glowing symbols reading 'New Dawn Inc.'     I turned away and kept walking.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjM2MyMTYwMzg5ODQ3YjJiOWE0ZWM5MzY1YzU2N2Fl">&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2ZGY0ZWNlZDcwYTRjMjVhOTQxNDM4YTliNmVlMjA5">Leading soldiers is a lot of work.</p> <p class="cnMzZjlkNGJlOTYxZjQ0ZWM4NDE1ZjExNTE1NjJjYjBh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMzI4OTVkZWNjYjRiMWE4ZWFmMzYzZGZlODAxNjAy">It’s not all training drills and motivational speeches, or logistics and tactics either. Much of the effort which goes into leading soldiers isn’t obvious at first glance, but once Daxian pointed out all of my retinue’s deficiencies, I felt like a complete moron for not seeing them first. Mixed units, dwindling discipline, and piss-poor formations are the most concerning issues, but there are a plethora of other minor matters of contention I need to deal with the immediate future.</p> <p class="cnM5NmZiMTU4ZjhlYTQ1YWViMGVlOGExMTA1YjM4OTZj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMmQ1Zjk4NWI4YTRlYmZiMWFiYzg5ZmYzNzEzYzUy">Like my drunk of a hundred-man commander for one. Oh Jorani, what happened? You were doing so well before, and now this?</p> <p class="cnMxN2Y2YmFhYWZiMjRmYTBhOGU4ZmJlZjM3ZDAwNjNk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkZTU2ZGY3N2FmMzQzNDU4M2NlMmQ0N2FiMjIwNjU1">“... and thus enabling your retinue to react to ambush or sabotage in the most optimal manner, whether it be to counter-attack or fall back to defend our supplies.” Looking up from the formation he drew in the sand, Daxian asks, “Shall I move on, or do you require clarification, <strong>Sir</strong>?”</p> <p class="cnM4M2MyN2VhYmY4MDQxYTQ5Y2QzMTE4OWNkNjUyYmEy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZmRhMjgyZTJiYjQzZGY4NjZmNWI0MjdjZWM5NTU3">I don’t like him much. It’s not his bare minimum of respect or his harsh criticism of how I do almost everything, grating though it may be. I get it, he’s a former Major reduced to serving in the retinue of a grossly incompetent Warrant Officer. He doesn’t want to be here any more than I want him around, but we’re both stuck with one another due to circumstances beyond our control. Doesn’t mean I have to like him, and while I must admit he’s not the trumped up, over-hyped, pretty-boy, toy soldier I took him for, my initial plan remains unchanged.</p> <p class="cnMxNmY2NGRhM2FhODQ3NjI4ZDVjZGJjZDBhZDA0NDEx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4NDFhYTU5YTJlMjQwZjZiNDA5ODU4MDJhNDhhMDY1">I intend to treat Daxian like garbage until he runs home crying to daddy, because I don’t want either of them around Pong Pong.</p> <p class="cnMxNDUzOTM0YmFlNTQ4NWFiNjFkM2Q1NjQ1MWJhMjEy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwMjc1ZjUyMDVjMzQyNDU5YjEyZGFmMWIwZjM0MWIz">I admit, it’s not a great plan, or even a good one, but what else am I supposed to do? You don’t refuse an Ancestral Beast, doubly so when he knows a big secret. Even though I haven’t seen Blobby in a month now, it doesn’t change the fact that GangShu kept quiet about him. I owe him for this, but if I tell him to hit the road and go take Imperial Orders, it’s entirely possible he blabs about it and I get black-bagged and forced to give up my Heavenly Droplet. I’m guessing GangShu and his Ascendants are the ‘powerful allies’ the Legate was talking about, but what he doesn’t know is that they’re not here to help me. I’m just the most convenient excuse GangShu could find to avoid following Imperial orders, and maybe also because he hopes I’ll find Blobby again and keep him safe from Anathema.</p> <p class="cnM1Njc5YzRjNzMzZjRkYTk5MjNkMDM4ZjJkZGRmNTdh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwYjEwYTNlMGYwZTQyZDI4ZmQ1MTdjZGI1NGY1MjEz">I hope that happens too.</p> <p class="cnMxNzZjMTRkN2U0OTRiOTNiZThmNDE1OWI3NTJiMjY5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkZGY1YWVmNGZjYzQ0OTdiYzExYjdlMDIyOGQyMzhj">I feel kinda bad about abusing Daxian just because I don’t want him or his sexy daddy hanging around, but I’d feel worse if I liked him more. I mean, who calls themselves ‘The Virtuous’? “I have no questions,” I say, “but let’s continue this discussion after dinner. Report to Mister Rustram as his aide and bodyguard, and inform him to arrange an officer’s meeting in two hours.”</p> <p class="cnNlNDdhNTBmMzM2ODRlOTdiYTk0ZTNlYjg4YmQ4ZjYw">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmNjVlNjkzZThmZDQzZDQ5NTk1Yzk4YThkNTk3MGNh">Shock and disbelief give way to smouldering anger as Daxian processes my command. Yes, that’s it. Give in to your rage and refuse this assignment, then go into hiding with your daddy and his friends. They’re around here somewhere, but I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of GangShu since Mahakala’s death and I’d like to keep it that way. Unfortunately, instead of flying off the handle and spewing a torrent of insults and obscenities, Daxian diplomatically replies through clenched teeth. “I am to be your second’s aide? You would be better served utilizing my tactical and martial expertise in a command position.”</p> <p class="cnMzZTI2YWZhOTA2NTQ0MjdhZTM4MDZlNWE2YzFmOTRj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNmZiYTcyMGMyMzQ2OTRiZjJhOGE1MjY1MGFlZmQ1">“You’ll take whatever position I tell you to, soldier.” Is it wrong to enjoy this so much? “It’s not a decision I make lightly. I’m merely a figurehead and I try to stay out of the way while Mister Rustram runs the retinue. Keep him safe and show him the ropes.” Seeing Daxian’s confused gaze, I explain the idiom, “Teach him and keep him alive so I don’t have to step in and mess everything up. Mother knows how we made it this far, but he’s in over his head and so am I. Your guidance in the command tent is more valuable than your spear on the battlefield, and your help will be much appreciated.”</p> <p class="cnNjYjFjOTkwOGE4NjQwM2M5YWMxZjI5ZTdmMDE3NjYz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNWMwYmIyMDdhYTRkMjI5ZTczMTRiMjNiODUyZWQw">Oops. Too polite. Curse my good manners!</p> <p class="cnNiNzI2YmFhNTAyNDRkOWY4MTNjYThmMzFmNGZhMzQ5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmMzQ1NThlMTlmZjQwYzJhMDA5NTZlNDE1ZDIwNTNh">Though still unconvinced, Daxian nods and marches off to harass poor Rustram while I whisper an apology to my second-in-command. Finally free to unclench my butt-hole, I heave a sigh of relief and turn to Lin with a smile, reassured that Pong Pong’s presence has gone unnoticed for yet another day. Most days he’s happy to sleep in Mama Bun’s embrace, but he’s recently grown restless of his comfortable lifestyle and insists on swimming with the quins and Ping Ping in plain sight. I tried to explain the dangers, but communication is still an issue. He’s intelligent and learns quickly, but at the end of the day, he’s still a turtle. Telling him to remain hidden didn’t work because Pong Pong doesn’t hide from threats.</p> <p class="cnMyZjFlY2VmMTRmMDQ4Y2I5MzhhYzkzYTU1NjQzNWNj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmODkwNzA5YzEyYjQ4M2ZiNWE5NzM0MWU2YzM1ZDQx">He seeks them out and destroys them.</p> <p class="cnMwZjAzZjM2YzliNDQ4NDRhNTNiMzE0MGUyYjdjMzE4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyYjllYjgwZjA5NTQxZGI5NTIwNGYxOWIwZDE4M2I2">Thankfully, his... unique status isn’t apparent at first glance, or even second or third. So long as he refrains from smashing someone with his Aura or performing any Heavenly Energy shenanigans, he’s no different from a regular, run of the mill turtle, albeit a beautiful one who swims faster and jumps higher than a turtle his size should. Sick as I am of having an anxiety attack every time Daxian shows his face, my options are limited. King Pong does whatever he pleases, so I can only pray he goes unnoticed and doesn’t recognize GangShu and the Ascendants as his attackers. Should they come to blows, I’m not sure which side would emerge victorious, but I do know I don’t want to be in the vicinity when it happens. I say ‘when’ because it’s only a matter of time before things go horrifically wrong. Even if they never notice anything strange, GangShu has some means of tracking Pong-Pong. While it may be awhile before he goes back to hunting for Heavenly Droplets, I’ll have to choose a side eventually.</p> <p class="cnMyMTYxNjA2MTFkZTQ3OGRhNzk2ZmFiMDdhMWExYjg0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5MzM4YTIyNTViYjQzMzVhMzI5OGZiMDQ1MDRkMGJi">Oh who am I kidding? I pick Pong Pong because he’s too damned cute, but also because my primal attraction to GangShu’s chest hair makes me extremely uncomfortable.</p> <p class="cnNiNzZkMWRmMDNkNjQ5ZjJhYzMzYjJkNTJhM2JjOTA4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5YTc1MWVmZmY4NTQxODg5NGZlNGMzYzliYTQyYjAw">Putting my worries aside, I resume cooking dinner for Taduk, Lin, and Luo-Luo. I should thank Charok for igniting my love of cooking, because without his patient and careful guidance, I’d never have discovered how immensely soothing it can be. There are rules laid out to follow, but enough leeway to allow for creative exploration. It’s meaningful work with a clear purpose, and when everything is said and done, I have something to show for all my effort, something I can share with my family and whoever else I so choose to.</p> <p class="cnM4MTk0YzdjNGEyNzQxMmVhOGE3MTQ3ZTJjMDEyMzA1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4MjVjZDE5MTYzYTQyZTRiMDNiNzdmMDgwMzFkYmI4">Which makes it a hell of a lot more satisfying than most of the things I do on a daily basis.</p> <p class="cnM5ODI2M2VkMTM1MjQwYWI4MGQwMjBjNzIyMmY0YmVk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjZWYxMzNmMmEyODQ3ZmE5YjM3YjdjNTNkZTA0MWVj">That said, I can’t keep burying my head in the sand. Daxian’s right. My retinue is a mess and it’s largely my fault. I knew Rustram was busy training with Mom and I didn’t do anything to help. Bulat and Ravil were probably holding things together, but then I assigned them to lead the Death Corps and didn’t promote anyone to take their place. Tack on the constant stream of festivities taking place in and around Nan Ping and I’m surprised my soldiers have yet to start a brawl or incite a riot. I need to get everyone back into fighting shape, or else the Defiled will chew us up and spit us out.</p> <p class="cnMwOWQwMmU2ZWEzNzRjYjNiOWYzYmM2NjEwMTJjMjhh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzYmNiYTI5YmY5MjRkMTFhNmI0ODY1ZGJkMDU2NWFi">Granted, I’ve got a lot on my plate, like losing Blobby, self-diagnosed multiple personality disorder, my cast iron venture, multiple assassination attempts, social and political dealings, my reduced personal strength, but... uh...</p> <p class="cnMxZTBmOTM2ODQwODQzYmZhNTFmNThhZDBiZDg1NzY3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2MjJjNGQ3ZTU3NjQwNmM4ZjBjNTc0N2QzOTE1NzBk">I forgot what point I was trying to make...</p> <p class="cnMxY2FjNDY0NTA4YjQzNzhhMWE3OWNjNjU1ODliYTlh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5ZDZkMmY4OTExMDRmZWFiNjU4NzkzNjJhNWU1ZjYw">Right. I’m in over my head, and could use a tonne of help, especially in regards to my Martial Prowess. Akanai and Baatar left for deployment the morning after Mahakala’s death, and Yan left the day after without dropping in to say goodbye, so not only have I yet to reveal my plethora of mental issues to my family, I couldn’t ask anyone for help about my Keystones. Taduk is the worst person to ask for Martial advice from, and while I considered coming clean to him about Baledagh, it’s easier said than done. I’ve tried to bring it up on multiple occasions, but every time my voice catches in my throat and I come up with some stupid excuse to keep quiet.</p> <p class="cnM4ZDIwZDg3N2NmNjQ3MjI4MDgwZWEwZjljNDk0Yzlk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyN2ViNTE2ZGY1NDRiY2I5NDc5NjVjMmUzNjUwODg0">It’s fine. I’m dealing with it. I’ll wait until everyone is together again and then I’ll only have to make my confession once. Easy peasy.</p> <p class="cnM1MWI5YjI4YTFlMzRhNmNhODI5MTFkYmEyNGE1MzJi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyZjE2NmY0OTQxMTQyYmM4YmNiZGFiZGM3Zjc5Mjli">After a pleasant dinner in which Luo-Luo remains uncharacteristically quiet, I set out to have a word with Jorani before the officer’s meeting. On the way over, I pass by an impromptu sparring area where Sahb and Neera trade blows. Stopping to watch the show, I’m taken aback by how much they’ve improved in such a short time, their practice weapons a blur as they match each other blow for blow in a lightning fast flurry of exchanges. Impressive as they are, even more impressive is Dastan and Ulfsaar’s match nearby. Though yet to land a blow or even touch blades, Ulfsaar remains calm and pursues his opponent with methodical cunning, building momentum with every swing and denying Dastan the chance to take the offensive without accepting a disastrous trade. Unperturbed, Dastan runs circles around his stronger, yet slower opponent, avoiding the barrel-chested half-bear’s attacks by razor-thin margins while searching for an opening to exploit.</p> <p class="cnMwNTNiNzA0NWJiYzQ4YTI4MGUyNDA2NDQzNzBjZmZm">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmMDNhNDBhZWU5OTQ0ZTk4YzhiYWU5YzRhMTdiMTc2">All in all, he’s doing better than I would. Number One Talent in the Empire? What a joke. I’m not even the Number One Talent in my retinue.</p> <p class="cnNhYWViMWIxYjQzZjQ5N2I4MzMxYjdiNGVhNjViMWM4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2YjUzN2JmOGEzMjQ0OTFiODYzMTJlNmYzYWY1ZDMy">Of the five Experts in my retinue, each one has progressed in leaps and bounds since our time in Sanshu. In contrast, I’ve done worse than stagnate, I’ve regressed. While I’ve made plenty of headway with Keystones in my Natal Palace, I’d be lying if I called it progress. Since I received my deployment orders shortly after regenerating my hand and foot, I haven’t had time to test my Keystones in a combat situation. Truth is, I’m scared to test them out because I know Keystones are a sub-par replacement for Baledagh, because he was a Keystone on steroids. Not only did his existence allow me to multitask, it also helped with a plethora of issues both in and out of battle, like my crippling fear of death, my stark disconnect from this world and everything in it, not to mention my natural skepticism of all things mystical.</p> <p class="cnM2Nzk5MDI5ZDYxNDRkMzg5NGNmMzEzYzViZTE2Zjlm">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjYWY4OWU3YTdhYjQzN2M5MTRjODFkMDI1N2ZiMDM4">No need to compare your progress with anyone else. So you suffered a major setback, it’s no big deal. The important thing is you got back up and persevered. We each walk our own path along the Martial Dao, one step at a time.</p> <p class="cnNhZGZkNjFhNGFjYTQzZTViNWI1N2JiMjNhMDY5NWU2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMmQ3NWZmNWU2YTRiMzViYmY0ZmNmNjEwMjVkMWY4">Wishing I could join them for a spar and work off some of the rust, I leave my Experts to it and head towards Jorani’s yurt. There, I find Ral standing guard outside, not relaxing or waiting, but literally standing guard, his burly frame blocking the door as he surveys the area for threats. Noticing my approach, his eyes go wide with alarm and he knocks repeatedly at Jorani’s door, an obvious signal to whoever is inside, and I can probably guess who and why. Greeting the simple-minded half-dog with a friendly, if strained, smile, I say, “Hey there Ral. Is Jorani inside? Can I talk to him?”</p> <p class="cnNiMjU4Y2Y3ZTBhZTRmYmY5YzJhYzczYjVjNzQwMWU5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlY2I2MDg0ZTBkMDQzNzY5ZDQ1MGI5NmVkMGZiZWZk">“Err...I dunno.” Torn between loyalties, Ral’s hangdog look is enough to break my heart, his eyes wet and tail still.</p> <p class="cnM4NmU2ZWZlNzVlYjQzODZhNTRkMTE4YzQ0YjA2MTIx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5OTM5M2E5YTMxMjRkMzBhM2RjOThjNjk1OTI3ZTI1">“You don’t know if he’s inside, or you don’t know if I can talk to him?”</p> <p class="cnNkYWYwMzdmMDQ0YjQ5ZWM4YWU1MTZjZGIxZmUxZGNi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZDQwOTU2OTY4MTQxNjM5NjM2MDBjMGE5OGVkMzIz">“Um... Both? No, the first one. Yea. Right?”</p> <p class="cnM1OWExZDNmZTk0NjQzNGJhMzk4ZmQwM2M0Yjg2NmVh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3ZDFlMzk4MTYyODRjMzRiNjAxOTE5M2VhNmY4NzY2">“I don’t know. You tell me.” Leaning close, I force the gentle giant to look me in the eyes. “Tell me the truth Ral. Is Jorani inside?” A small, almost imperceptible nod is all I get, but it’s more than enough. “Is he drunk?” A whimper, but no nod this time. “Move aside please.”</p> <p class="cnNmMWIxYTI2OWZhYzQ1ZWRhZGZhY2Y5NThlMjY0N2Qx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyYjU0MTk3YzllODRlZWVhOWVkZDY3ZjE1YTg1ODNm">Standing firm, Ral whispers, “Are you gonna hang him?”</p> <p class="cnMzMDk5YTk0ZWNhODRhNjhiMDZiMTBlMjUyZDFiNjI0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxMDIyNTAyNGYzYzQxMDA4MjkxZjE4ZWI3NjE5MDZl">“What?”</p> <p class="cnMwYmZkZDM3MDQ5MjQ5ZTU5YWU5MjcwZmJmMjg0Mjk3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmYWYzNTY1Njk4YTRhMzY4YjBhYWVmNmYyNzc0MzU2">Straightening up, Ral repeats his question. “You gonna hang him? Chey ses that’s the penalty fer getting drunk on duty. Jor’s my friend, I don’t wants him to hang. I ain’t gonna fight you, but if you wanna hang him, I ain’t gonna move.”</p> <p class="cnM1YTE4MzkwNWZmODRmNDk4OWVkMTY1OTUwZmNiYTg5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwM2FhYmRhYzdlMzRhMThhMDRlZmExOTY2ZjZmZDNm">I’ve said it before, but Jorani must be blessed to have a friend like Ral. I’m a little jealous.</p> <p class="cnNiMTc3ODEyN2MwMTRmMjhhNGVjZDllZDExOTQ0OTcz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyNWM3OGZmMzA0OTQwYTVhNWYzZWEwYzc3MzdjYTJj">Swallowing my anger and disappointment, I take a deep breath and exhale before answering. “I’m not gonna hang him, Ral. Promise. Now move before I lose my temper.” Despite standing almost twice my height, Ral is frightened by the prospect of dealing with an angry me, so after a moment of hesitation, he opens the door and steps inside. Reeking of vomit and sour sweat, Jorani kneels over his chamber pot and empties his guts while Chey keeps his head from falling in. Her lips pursed in grim acceptance, the buxom, short-haired half-dog considers her options, her fingers twitching as she considers drawing the dagger tucked in her boot. “Stand aside,” I warn her, both touched by her display of loyalty to Jorani and the lack thereof to me. “I’d hate to lose two officers in one night.”</p> <p class="cnMzNTUwYzI2MDBmNjQxNDM5NmY2MmZiOGFlOTRkOGFk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNzczZGJiOTliNTQxODNhMTkxZjQ5NzRmOTdkZmY1">Defiant to the last, Chey asks, “Ye gonna hang ‘im?”</p> <p class="cnMxMWNjYjFlMWNjODQyZTk5ZmQ4NWNkODQ4ZmU4Mzlh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0NzY2OTIwYjA1NTQ4ZTBhMzA4ZDk1ZjEwZDVmYmE0">“I probably should, but I won’t. When did this start?”</p> <p class="cnMyODk1OWM2OGM0ODQ3ZjViY2M4MTE0Y2QyODc5NGE2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMGI5M2I4NWNiODRmMmE5ODM4MDMyNDRlZmViNTc1">Chey shrugs, and for once, I’m in no mood to appreciate it. “He been like this ever since the shindig down at the Winery. Left whole and came back broken. Won’t say a peep about why either.”</p> <p class="cnM4Yzg4YWExYjU1YjQzMmViOGY4MjhkZmU4NTUxZWJj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiNDk0NGY1ZDg3NDRiZGZiYjNmMmNlNTgzNDJiODIw">“Can’t say.” Words slurred and almost beyond comprehension, Jorani rests his head against the chamber pot’s rim, which is disgusting for so very many reasons. “National Sec– hic – curity. Real hush-hush.”</p> <p class="cnM5NTA4ZTMyNTc4MjQ5N2ZiNDU3MzRjZDU1OGFmODNl">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNDFjOTc5ZTk2NjRiMzI4YTM5ODhhMTY4ZGQ5MDk0">Unable to bear the stench, I step out and call my Death Corps escort over. “Take him to the latrines to sober up, then bring him back for a chat. Gently, please. Chey, Ral, you stay where I can keep an eye on you.” Unable to sit still, I busy myself airing out Jorani’s yurt, opening the roof and fanning the door until the interior is filled with breathable air once more. Thankfully, the Death Corps were diligent enough to bring the vomit-filled chamber pot with them or else I’d feel pretty stupid wasting all that effort, so I light a fire and search for a clean place to sit down.</p> <p class="cnNhZDM5OWM1ODhlOTRjYTI5OGRjNGI1NGRmMjhjYzBk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0MDE3NzI2YjUyMTRhNGFhMWJmMjk0Yjc1MDJkZTk3">Fifteen minutes and one furious cleaning session later, the Death Corps return with Jorani in tow. Sober as a judge, the half-rat has enough sense to look ashamed, but wisely keeps silent and takes a seat across from me. Gesturing for the Death Corps to leave, I spy a concerned Ral and Chey standing outside the door as it slams shut. Alone with Jorani, I let the silence work for me while studying his sombre expression. Though I would never call him handsome, Jorani looks particularly wretched today, the dark circles and heavy bags beneath his eyes contrasting sharply with his pale, wan cheeks and rose-tipped nose. Bereft of the haze of alcohol, his clear eyes tell a tale of torment and misery, though tinged with a hint of relief. It’s like he wanted to be caught, and perhaps he did, making this all a not so subtle cry for help.</p> <p class="cnMxNWEyODhiMWFiMjQ3NjBhM2Y4ZDUzMzBhMDIwZmEy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxOTgwODc1ZjRhNDQ4NjY4Y2ZkZTM0M2VjMWU1ZjFm">“What happened at the winery, Jorani?”</p> <p class="cnMzOTQ1MzY0ODU1NjQxMTk5MTgwNmQxZWM4MDhhZDlk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiM2YzZTMwM2Q4NzQyYWFiZjQyMzE3ZTU3YmI5ODA2">Surprised by the lack of anger in my voice, Jorani nervously shakes his head. “I ain’t supposed to say. Legate’s orders.”</p> <p class="cnNjY2E0NmMxZjJlZjRiYjk4YTY0ZWU4M2RmMzAyZWEx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlM2VkZGU5OGY0ODQwNDVhODI0ZWE0MWU1OTM5MGY1">“If I followed orders all the time, I’d hang you for dereliction of duty.”</p> <p class="cnM4M2Y0MDVjNjdlNjQ0ZTE5NGRhMmE0NjcxZjJkZTJh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkZjM5ZTE5Y2M1YjRmNDliNWI2OWNlMjYxN2Y1ZGMx">Flinching at my cold logic, Jorani sighs. “Fair enough.” Taking a deep breath, he launches into his tale with a faraway look. Though seated across the table, his mind is a hundred kilometres away as he relives the harrowing ordeal of how he saw a Defiled Ancestral Beast dismantle three Heroes of the Empire, peak Experts and Living Legends alike. He tells me how the experience robbed him of courage and instilled terror in its place, and where he once held hope now only had despair. “She toyed with them,” he says, still unable or unwilling to believe it. “Whole thing weren’t nothing but a game to her. Should’ve seen it from the start when lifted thousands of kilograms of dirt to make her entrance, but even then, I believed we could win.” Looking me in the eyes for the first time, Jorani asks, “When faced with so much power, how are we supposed to make a difference?”</p> <p class="cnNkNTJiZmFiNGMyOTQyN2I4ZjQzMTczOTc2ODNlZjU5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMDIyY2UwNmJlYTQ3YzVhNDBkYmQxZjJlOTJlOTVl">“Most nights, I ask myself the same question.”</p> <p class="cnM5YTA0OTgyMzdjOTQ3YzI4Y2ZjODRlMGQ2N2FhZmJi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwNTY0NDA1OTcxNjRjMmFhZjVhMTRjYjYyMzA4NTBk">“And the answer?”</p> <p class="cnM2MjE0N2FmMGQwODRjNmVhOGM4MzM3OTVhZDFlY2Fm">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZTY2ZDMxOTBjZDQ1ZmY4ZjYwOGNlYmIzMDcxMDE4">I shrug, wishing I had a better one for him. “We don’t.”</p> <p class="cnNjMDc2M2JjNjBlZTQ2YTI4ODFhZGQ2ODBkM2JlMmYy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3ZGMyZGFjM2ViYTQxMTJiZGQyNGQ3YzhlMzFhYWRi">“Ah.” And with that, I watch the last vestige of hope and courage drift away on the wind as Jorani deflates in defeat. “Then ye might as well hang me fer all the...”</p> <p class="cnNhZTBkYjhhMWE2ZDRjODFiNGQ0OWUyNDY4OGFjOTE3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzOTlmY2U3YTk4MTRhMGE4YzFhN2RhNzkzYTczOTUw">In the flickering firelight, the shadows coalesce around Jorani as he waxes on about how useless he is, but I only listen with half a mind. The other half is busy trying to comprehend what’s happening before my eyes as the light darkens and air thickens around him. My vision blurs for a moment and I blink to clear it away, only to realize there’s nothing wrong with my eyes. It’s the world itself which turns hazy and indistinct, but only the area directly around Jorani as the rest of the room remains clear and distinct. My belly protests in discomfort as I focus on the anomaly, my skin crawling and hairs standing at the loathsome sight before me. It’s not Jorani, but something around him, emerging <strong>from </strong>him, yet the person in question seems wholly unaware of the abominable happenings around him. As if stretched beyond breaking, the fabric of reality snap back into place and everything is as it was before.</p> <p class="cnNhNTdiZTY2MTBkMDRhM2I5OTQwYzE4ODNiMDU3MWY4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmZGQ0M2U1OWQ0MDQzYTlhMzc1YjdhYWJjNjUxYzQy">Except now, a Spectre haunts Jorani’s mind, born of his resignation and misery.</p> <p class="cnM2ZTdmNzAzOTNiMTRmM2FiMmJjZWI3NWM3N2I2OTQ5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjZDk1NzQzYmMzMzQwOWM5MWZhN2FiZmVkYTM5NmZj">Well... That’s... disconcerting.</p> <p class="cnMwNzg4ZTAyNDQ2NjQ1MThhNDQ4ODFhOWIyMDJmOWZi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0MzlhMjg4NjVlODQzNDU5NWJiOTAxZGY3MWEwZmY4">“...And no need to worry about the old rat bastard, he won’t shed a tear. I ain’t nothing but a sorry excuse to him, but I can talks to him first. Actually, I’d very much like to talk to him first, the old bastard got a few words comin’ to him, he do.” Jorani’s eyes burn with anger as he rambles on, wholly unaware he just gave birth to a disembodied phantom of negative emotion which is now egging him on from within. “In fact, I’d -”</p> <p class="cnMyMTZlNzYyNGQyNTQ4Y2E4NGM4OTA3MWYyMThhY2Y3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1NzJlN2VhNzUzNzRmMWViM2QyODQ1MjAxNzY3YmEy">“Quiet.” Outraged by the interruption, Jorani holds his tongue, though barely. Still not sure what to make of this, I reach over and palm his head, obscuring his vision as I devour the newborn Spectre with ease. Drained by the seesaw of emotions raging through him, Jorani shudders with its passing and slumps down and almost passes out, taxed by the cleansing despite being host to only a single Spectre. Putting the metaphysical developments aside, I tell Jorani, “Hand over command to your second and report to latrine duty until further notice. You think you’re the only one who’s afraid? There will always be someone stronger, but that doesn’t mean you give up the fight.”</p> <p class="cnNmNGY1ZjA1ZDI1NDQwOTNhYjFmNDdjYjNjNTA0YTgw">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5NzI1NzI0MTZjNzRmZDlhMTg0ZWUyZGMwZjFkZWQ1">Standing to leave, I stop and try to think of something to say, something I’d want someone to tell me when I’m wallowing in the depths of despair. “Sanshu looked hopeless until Hangman Jorani arrived to stem the Defiled tide. His efforts kept the city alive long enough for others to join the fight, and in doing so, saved millions of lives.” Giving him time to let my words sink in, I look him in the eye and continue, “You still live and breathe not because I’m afraid of GangShu, but because I want Hangman Jorani fighting at my side. Let me know when you find him, will you?”</p> <p class="cnMxYmViNTk3NzUxODRhZGNhZDUyMmJlZGYzMDg2M2Ex">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyZWQ0MDkxZTQwYTQ5YTRhNTQ3MDA1ZGVhM2JhN2I1">“And if I can’t?” Jorani’s voice is barely more than a whisper, his spirits low despite the cleansing.</p> <p class="cnMwMjdkNTVlN2FhZjRiYmY4MmE0MDdjYzAxZGQ5OGJl">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkZDlmYzAxMmQ3NjQ5OWRiNTIzOWFmNzgzZmI3YjM0">I can take care of supernatural manifestations of anger and despair, but I can’t do shit about plain old depression. “Then let me know and I’ll send you somewhere safe. I won’t force you to fight Jorani, but I could use your help.” Closing the door behind me, I shake my head and keep Ral from going inside. “Give him some time to think.” God, I hope he doesn’t kill himself. “But uh... stay close, just in case. He’s had a rough time.”</p> <p class="cnM0MTFjNThmZWQ2NDRmOGU4ZWJhYWEyZTdiMTg2YmFj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjN2FmMTQ1ZGY2MjQ5YjNhZWU5ZjgwNDE0Njc0ZThh">Now... what the fuck happened back there and how can I make it stop?</p> <p class="cnNmNDVlM2NmNzEwNjQ1ODNhYmI5MGYzMzliNTVkMWVj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1Yzg5OTFkNmIxYzQ5MzRhN2M5NjRkODE1ZDhiNzkx" style="text-align: center"><a href="https://i.imgur.com/ywkuq25.jpg">Chapter Meme</a></p> <p class="cnNjMDJiODdhZmY4ODRjMzhhZDAxYjM0YTdiMjQ3ZmQ4"><br><br><br><br><br><br></p> </div>

Leading soldiers is a lot of work.   It’s not all training drills and motivational speeches, or logistics and tactics either. Much of the effort which goes into leading soldiers isn’t obvious at first glance, but once Daxian pointed out all of my retinue’s deficiencies, I felt like a complete moron for not seeing them first. Mixed units, dwindling discipline, and piss-poor formations are the most concerning issues, but there are a plethora of other minor matters of contention I need to deal with the immediate future.   Like my drunk of a hundred-man commander for one. Oh Jorani, what happened? You were doing so well before, and now this?   “... and thus enabling your retinue to react to ambush or sabotage in the most optimal manner, whether it be to counter-attack or fall back to defend our supplies.” Looking up from the formation he drew in the sand, Daxian asks, “Shall I move on, or do you require clarification, **Sir**?”   I don’t like him much. It’s not his bare minimum of respect or his harsh criticism of how I do almost everything, grating though it may be. I get it, he’s a former Major reduced to serving in the retinue of a grossly incompetent Warrant Officer. He doesn’t want to be here any more than I want him around, but we’re both stuck with one another due to circumstances beyond our control. Doesn’t mean I have to like him, and while I must admit he’s not the trumped up, over-hyped, pretty-boy, toy soldier I took him for, my initial plan remains unchanged.   I intend to treat Daxian like garbage until he runs home crying to daddy, because I don’t want either of them around Pong Pong.   I admit, it’s not a great plan, or even a good one, but what else am I supposed to do? You don’t refuse an Ancestral Beast, doubly so when he knows a big secret. Even though I haven’t seen Blobby in a month now, it doesn’t change the fact that GangShu kept quiet about him. I owe him for this, but if I tell him to hit the road and go take Imperial Orders, it’s entirely possible he blabs about it and I get black-bagged and forced to give up my Heavenly Droplet. I’m guessing GangShu and his Ascendants are the ‘powerful allies’ the Legate was talking about, but what he doesn’t know is that they’re not here to help me. I’m just the most convenient excuse GangShu could find to avoid following Imperial orders, and maybe also because he hopes I’ll find Blobby again and keep him safe from Anathema.   I hope that happens too.   I feel kinda bad about abusing Daxian just because I don’t want him or his sexy daddy hanging around, but I’d feel worse if I liked him more. I mean, who calls themselves ‘The Virtuous’? “I have no questions,” I say, “but let’s continue this discussion after dinner. Report to Mister Rustram as his aide and bodyguard, and inform him to arrange an officer’s meeting in two hours.”   Shock and disbelief give way to smouldering anger as Daxian processes my command. Yes, that’s it. Give in to your rage and refuse this assignment, then go into hiding with your daddy and his friends. They’re around here somewhere, but I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of GangShu since Mahakala’s death and I’d like to keep it that way. Unfortunately, instead of flying off the handle and spewing a torrent of insults and obscenities, Daxian diplomatically replies through clenched teeth. “I am to be your second’s aide? You would be better served utilizing my tactical and martial expertise in a command position.”   “You’ll take whatever position I tell you to, soldier.” Is it wrong to enjoy this so much? “It’s not a decision I make lightly. I’m merely a figurehead and I try to stay out of the way while Mister Rustram runs the retinue. Keep him safe and show him the ropes.” Seeing Daxian’s confused gaze, I explain the idiom, “Teach him and keep him alive so I don’t have to step in and mess everything up. Mother knows how we made it this far, but he’s in over his head and so am I. Your guidance in the command tent is more valuable than your spear on the battlefield, and your help will be much appreciated.”   Oops. Too polite. Curse my good manners!   Though still unconvinced, Daxian nods and marches off to harass poor Rustram while I whisper an apology to my second-in-command. Finally free to unclench my butt-hole, I heave a sigh of relief and turn to Lin with a smile, reassured that Pong Pong’s presence has gone unnoticed for yet another day. Most days he’s happy to sleep in Mama Bun’s embrace, but he’s recently grown restless of his comfortable lifestyle and insists on swimming with the quins and Ping Ping in plain sight. I tried to explain the dangers, but communication is still an issue. He’s intelligent and learns quickly, but at the end of the day, he’s still a turtle. Telling him to remain hidden didn’t work because Pong Pong doesn’t hide from threats.   He seeks them out and destroys them.   Thankfully, his... unique status isn’t apparent at first glance, or even second or third. So long as he refrains from smashing someone with his Aura or performing any Heavenly Energy shenanigans, he’s no different from a regular, run of the mill turtle, albeit a beautiful one who swims faster and jumps higher than a turtle his size should. Sick as I am of having an anxiety attack every time Daxian shows his face, my options are limited. King Pong does whatever he pleases, so I can only pray he goes unnoticed and doesn’t recognize GangShu and the Ascendants as his attackers. Should they come to blows, I’m not sure which side would emerge victorious, but I do know I don’t want to be in the vicinity when it happens. I say ‘when’ because it’s only a matter of time before things go horrifically wrong. Even if they never notice anything strange, GangShu has some means of tracking Pong-Pong. While it may be awhile before he goes back to hunting for Heavenly Droplets, I’ll have to choose a side eventually.   Oh who am I kidding? I pick Pong Pong because he’s too damned cute, but also because my primal attraction to GangShu’s chest hair makes me extremely uncomfortable.   Putting my worries aside, I resume cooking dinner for Taduk, Lin, and Luo-Luo. I should thank Charok for igniting my love of cooking, because without his patient and careful guidance, I’d never have discovered how immensely soothing it can be. There are rules laid out to follow, but enough leeway to allow for creative exploration. It’s meaningful work with a clear purpose, and when everything is said and done, I have something to show for all my effort, something I can share with my family and whoever else I so choose to.   Which makes it a hell of a lot more satisfying than most of the things I do on a daily basis.   That said, I can’t keep burying my head in the sand. Daxian’s right. My retinue is a mess and it’s largely my fault. I knew Rustram was busy training with Mom and I didn’t do anything to help. Bulat and Ravil were probably holding things together, but then I assigned them to lead the Death Corps and didn’t promote anyone to take their place. Tack on the constant stream of festivities taking place in and around Nan Ping and I’m surprised my soldiers have yet to start a brawl or incite a riot. I need to get everyone back into fighting shape, or else the Defiled will chew us up and spit us out.   Granted, I’ve got a lot on my plate, like losing Blobby, self-diagnosed multiple personality disorder, my cast iron venture, multiple assassination attempts, social and political dealings, my reduced personal strength, but... uh...   I forgot what point I was trying to make...   Right. I’m in over my head, and could use a tonne of help, especially in regards to my Martial Prowess. Akanai and Baatar left for deployment the morning after Mahakala’s death, and Yan left the day after without dropping in to say goodbye, so not only have I yet to reveal my plethora of mental issues to my family, I couldn’t ask anyone for help about my Keystones. Taduk is the worst person to ask for Martial advice from, and while I considered coming clean to him about Baledagh, it’s easier said than done. I’ve tried to bring it up on multiple occasions, but every time my voice catches in my throat and I come up with some stupid excuse to keep quiet.   It’s fine. I’m dealing with it. I’ll wait until everyone is together again and then I’ll only have to make my confession once. Easy peasy.   After a pleasant dinner in which Luo-Luo remains uncharacteristically quiet, I set out to have a word with Jorani before the officer’s meeting. On the way over, I pass by an impromptu sparring area where Sahb and Neera trade blows. Stopping to watch the show, I’m taken aback by how much they’ve improved in such a short time, their practice weapons a blur as they match each other blow for blow in a lightning fast flurry of exchanges. Impressive as they are, even more impressive is Dastan and Ulfsaar’s match nearby. Though yet to land a blow or even touch blades, Ulfsaar remains calm and pursues his opponent with methodical cunning, building momentum with every swing and denying Dastan the chance to take the offensive without accepting a disastrous trade. Unperturbed, Dastan runs circles around his stronger, yet slower opponent, avoiding the barrel-chested half-bear’s attacks by razor-thin margins while searching for an opening to exploit.   All in all, he’s doing better than I would. Number One Talent in the Empire? What a joke. I’m not even the Number One Talent in my retinue.   Of the five Experts in my retinue, each one has progressed in leaps and bounds since our time in Sanshu. In contrast, I’ve done worse than stagnate, I’ve regressed. While I’ve made plenty of headway with Keystones in my Natal Palace, I’d be lying if I called it progress. Since I received my deployment orders shortly after regenerating my hand and foot, I haven’t had time to test my Keystones in a combat situation. Truth is, I’m scared to test them out because I know Keystones are a sub-par replacement for Baledagh, because he was a Keystone on steroids. Not only did his existence allow me to multitask, it also helped with a plethora of issues both in and out of battle, like my crippling fear of death, my stark disconnect from this world and everything in it, not to mention my natural skepticism of all things mystical.   No need to compare your progress with anyone else. So you suffered a major setback, it’s no big deal. The important thing is you got back up and persevered. We each walk our own path along the Martial Dao, one step at a time.   Wishing I could join them for a spar and work off some of the rust, I leave my Experts to it and head towards Jorani’s yurt. There, I find Ral standing guard outside, not relaxing or waiting, but literally standing guard, his burly frame blocking the door as he surveys the area for threats. Noticing my approach, his eyes go wide with alarm and he knocks repeatedly at Jorani’s door, an obvious signal to whoever is inside, and I can probably guess who and why. Greeting the simple-minded half-dog with a friendly, if strained, smile, I say, “Hey there Ral. Is Jorani inside? Can I talk to him?”   “Err...I dunno.” Torn between loyalties, Ral’s hangdog look is enough to break my heart, his eyes wet and tail still.   “You don’t know if he’s inside, or you don’t know if I can talk to him?”   “Um... Both? No, the first one. Yea. Right?”   “I don’t know. You tell me.” Leaning close, I force the gentle giant to look me in the eyes. “Tell me the truth Ral. Is Jorani inside?” A small, almost imperceptible nod is all I get, but it’s more than enough. “Is he drunk?” A whimper, but no nod this time. “Move aside please.”   Standing firm, Ral whispers, “Are you gonna hang him?”   “What?”   Straightening up, Ral repeats his question. “You gonna hang him? Chey ses that’s the penalty fer getting drunk on duty. Jor’s my friend, I don’t wants him to hang. I ain’t gonna fight you, but if you wanna hang him, I ain’t gonna move.”   I’ve said it before, but Jorani must be blessed to have a friend like Ral. I’m a little jealous.   Swallowing my anger and disappointment, I take a deep breath and exhale before answering. “I’m not gonna hang him, Ral. Promise. Now move before I lose my temper.” Despite standing almost twice my height, Ral is frightened by the prospect of dealing with an angry me, so after a moment of hesitation, he opens the door and steps inside. Reeking of vomit and sour sweat, Jorani kneels over his chamber pot and empties his guts while Chey keeps his head from falling in. Her lips pursed in grim acceptance, the buxom, short-haired half-dog considers her options, her fingers twitching as she considers drawing the dagger tucked in her boot. “Stand aside,” I warn her, both touched by her display of loyalty to Jorani and the lack thereof to me. “I’d hate to lose two officers in one night.”   Defiant to the last, Chey asks, “Ye gonna hang ‘im?”   “I probably should, but I won’t. When did this start?”   Chey shrugs, and for once, I’m in no mood to appreciate it. “He been like this ever since the shindig down at the Winery. Left whole and came back broken. Won’t say a peep about why either.”   “Can’t say.” Words slurred and almost beyond comprehension, Jorani rests his head against the chamber pot’s rim, which is disgusting for so very many reasons. “National Sec– hic – curity. Real hush-hush.”   Unable to bear the stench, I step out and call my Death Corps escort over. “Take him to the latrines to sober up, then bring him back for a chat. Gently, please. Chey, Ral, you stay where I can keep an eye on you.” Unable to sit still, I busy myself airing out Jorani’s yurt, opening the roof and fanning the door until the interior is filled with breathable air once more. Thankfully, the Death Corps were diligent enough to bring the vomit-filled chamber pot with them or else I’d feel pretty stupid wasting all that effort, so I light a fire and search for a clean place to sit down.   Fifteen minutes and one furious cleaning session later, the Death Corps return with Jorani in tow. Sober as a judge, the half-rat has enough sense to look ashamed, but wisely keeps silent and takes a seat across from me. Gesturing for the Death Corps to leave, I spy a concerned Ral and Chey standing outside the door as it slams shut. Alone with Jorani, I let the silence work for me while studying his sombre expression. Though I would never call him handsome, Jorani looks particularly wretched today, the dark circles and heavy bags beneath his eyes contrasting sharply with his pale, wan cheeks and rose-tipped nose. Bereft of the haze of alcohol, his clear eyes tell a tale of torment and misery, though tinged with a hint of relief. It’s like he wanted to be caught, and perhaps he did, making this all a not so subtle cry for help.   “What happened at the winery, Jorani?”   Surprised by the lack of anger in my voice, Jorani nervously shakes his head. “I ain’t supposed to say. Legate’s orders.”   “If I followed orders all the time, I’d hang you for dereliction of duty.”   Flinching at my cold logic, Jorani sighs. “Fair enough.” Taking a deep breath, he launches into his tale with a faraway look. Though seated across the table, his mind is a hundred kilometres away as he relives the harrowing ordeal of how he saw a Defiled Ancestral Beast dismantle three Heroes of the Empire, peak Experts and Living Legends alike. He tells me how the experience robbed him of courage and instilled terror in its place, and where he once held hope now only had despair. “She toyed with them,” he says, still unable or unwilling to believe it. “Whole thing weren’t nothing but a game to her. Should’ve seen it from the start when lifted thousands of kilograms of dirt to make her entrance, but even then, I believed we could win.” Looking me in the eyes for the first time, Jorani asks, “When faced with so much power, how are we supposed to make a difference?”   “Most nights, I ask myself the same question.”   “And the answer?”   I shrug, wishing I had a better one for him. “We don’t.”   “Ah.” And with that, I watch the last vestige of hope and courage drift away on the wind as Jorani deflates in defeat. “Then ye might as well hang me fer all the...”   In the flickering firelight, the shadows coalesce around Jorani as he waxes on about how useless he is, but I only listen with half a mind. The other half is busy trying to comprehend what’s happening before my eyes as the light darkens and air thickens around him. My vision blurs for a moment and I blink to clear it away, only to realize there’s nothing wrong with my eyes. It’s the world itself which turns hazy and indistinct, but only the area directly around Jorani as the rest of the room remains clear and distinct. My belly protests in discomfort as I focus on the anomaly, my skin crawling and hairs standing at the loathsome sight before me. It’s not Jorani, but something around him, emerging **from** him, yet the person in question seems wholly unaware of the abominable happenings around him. As if stretched beyond breaking, the fabric of reality snap back into place and everything is as it was before.   Except now, a Spectre haunts Jorani’s mind, born of his resignation and misery.   Well... That’s... disconcerting.   “...And no need to worry about the old rat bastard, he won’t shed a tear. I ain’t nothing but a sorry excuse to him, but I can talks to him first. Actually, I’d very much like to talk to him first, the old bastard got a few words comin’ to him, he do.” Jorani’s eyes burn with anger as he rambles on, wholly unaware he just gave birth to a disembodied phantom of negative emotion which is now egging him on from within. “In fact, I’d -”   “Quiet.” Outraged by the interruption, Jorani holds his tongue, though barely. Still not sure what to make of this, I reach over and palm his head, obscuring his vision as I devour the newborn Spectre with ease. Drained by the seesaw of emotions raging through him, Jorani shudders with its passing and slumps down and almost passes out, taxed by the cleansing despite being host to only a single Spectre. Putting the metaphysical developments aside, I tell Jorani, “Hand over command to your second and report to latrine duty until further notice. You think you’re the only one who’s afraid? There will always be someone stronger, but that doesn’t mean you give up the fight.”   Standing to leave, I stop and try to think of something to say, something I’d want someone to tell me when I’m wallowing in the depths of despair. “Sanshu looked hopeless until Hangman Jorani arrived to stem the Defiled tide. His efforts kept the city alive long enough for others to join the fight, and in doing so, saved millions of lives.” Giving him time to let my words sink in, I look him in the eye and continue, “You still live and breathe not because I’m afraid of GangShu, but because I want Hangman Jorani fighting at my side. Let me know when you find him, will you?”   “And if I can’t?” Jorani’s voice is barely more than a whisper, his spirits low despite the cleansing.   I can take care of supernatural manifestations of anger and despair, but I can’t do shit about plain old depression. “Then let me know and I’ll send you somewhere safe. I won’t force you to fight Jorani, but I could use your help.” Closing the door behind me, I shake my head and keep Ral from going inside. “Give him some time to think.” God, I hope he doesn’t kill himself. “But uh... stay close, just in case. He’s had a rough time.”   Now... what the fuck happened back there and how can I make it stop?   [Chapter Meme](https://i.imgur.com/ywkuq25.jpg)

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p>Yeah, so I realize that things have been pretty screwed up lately. I've been having a lot of issues with RR's drafts and scheduling options, which apparently means that chapters post multiple times and not always in their final form. So I'm not gonna be doing that.</p> <p>I've also been pretty busy the last few days and in order to meet my writing goals (which unfortunately I'm not actually doing) I've been writing on my phone with Google Docs. That works awesome, except it's hard to transfer from Gdocs to RR on a phone.</p> <p>And then I realized that I haven't really been setting the chapter breaks where I want them and, yeah, it's a whole thing.</p> <p>So, long story short (or tl:dr), I have more content to publish and I feel like I'll catch up on my wordcount, but the actual posting has been a headache. So I might wind up posting multiple chapters at once every few days instead of trying for every day.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thanks for reading and thanks for your patience. And for the follows, favorite, and comments!</p> </div>

Yeah, so I realize that things have been pretty screwed up lately. I've been having a lot of issues with RR's drafts and scheduling options, which apparently means that chapters post multiple times and not always in their final form. So I'm not gonna be doing that. I've also been pretty busy the last few days and in order to meet my writing goals (which unfortunately I'm not actually doing) I've been writing on my phone with Google Docs. That works awesome, except it's hard to transfer from Gdocs to RR on a phone. And then I realized that I haven't really been setting the chapter breaks where I want them and, yeah, it's a whole thing. So, long story short (or tl:dr), I have more content to publish and I feel like I'll catch up on my wordcount, but the actual posting has been a headache. So I might wind up posting multiple chapters at once every few days instead of trying for every day.   Thanks for reading and thanks for your patience. And for the follows, favorite, and comments!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwNWFlNDdhYmQ4YzRlNzdhMWIxOTVkMTZjZGMxODI2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Nadeen, Thing Two, and I scurried along the ground, following the massive cliff. In a fit of paranoia that I was starting to think might be the best way to live my life going forward, I forced us to hug the cliff wall as closely as possible. My reasoning was, that if there was someone standing at the top of the sheer rock wall looking down, they would be less likely to see two monsters and a child creeping up on civilized lands than if we were further out. </span></p> <p class="cnNhMjYwMzU3OWQ1ZTQ1N2RiNmNlMTQ3M2M0NGNhZjA5"> </p> <p class="cnMwNjkyNDY3Mjc5NjRlN2RhNmYyNmQ2MTAwZWIxMGNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Or at the very least, the theoretical watcher would have to put himself in danger of falling in order to see us. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MTRhNDViYzk4MTQ3NDg5ZjlhOTQ2YThkOTUxZTI1"> </p> <p class="cnM0NWRiYjg4NjEzOTQ0NzFhNWVkNDNiYjFlNDczYTI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I keep telling you, Shardshire doesn’t patrol this far out.” Nadeen complained. As though I was going to take a thirteen year olds advice on the military structure of a settlement. </span></p> <p class="cnNlZWE3MmZjZTEyZjRmMzNiNjY4N2Y5ZjUyMTA4NTg0"> </p> <p class="cnMzYjNhN2IwNDc0YjRiMmY5ZTQ0MjlmMGUyY2U0OGRh"><strong>“Was that before or after two ‘Binders’ and some rich guy disappeared into the - what did you call it again?” </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">I paused to ask.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNmUwOTI2NjBlZjQ2N2E5Y2RhZjMyMDRiMzkwZTVm"> </p> <p class="cnM0N2ZiNWFiYjZkMDQ2MzNiZmQ5MTBjYzA2ODNhZGY0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“The Devilwood.” Nadeen replied petulantly</span></p> <p class="cnNhMzllYWRjMzZlZjRkZWI5OTNmYjlkYzM5NThmZmZh"> </p> <p class="cnNhZDljNTU1YzY2YTQ1NGQ4OThlZjU3MTc5YzI5ZDUy"><strong>“Fine. Before they disappeared into the Devilwood. You people have a horrible naming sense.” </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">I snarked. </span></p> <p class="cnM3MzdlMjU2YWU5NjQ5NmFiMmNhNTkyNzlhNDZlYTAz"> </p> <p class="cnNiZDg5M2IyZGMyYjRmY2Y5N2NlNDdjYjFiZTNiY2Vj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You named your species </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">THINGS</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> and then named your brother </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">THING TWO</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">.” Nadeen cried out in protest at my accusation. Over the course of the last three hours walking along this stupid cliff, I had managed to convince her that - since only one of us was a monster - naming rights for my species were mine and mine alone. Not counting Thing Two - who was still kind of an idiot. </span></p> <p class="cnMwOTQ2OGFlYTI3OTRkMzY5ZjQ0ODhiYjY0OTc1NWQw"> </p> <p class="cnMyMTkxM2M5OWU5YjRmMTZiZjUyODYyYWEzOWFhYWU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">And also couldn’t talk. </span></p> <p class="cnNjYmYxMjBmMGM1YTQyNTlhYmQwN2YyNzdhMTU2MDcz"> </p> <p class="cnM1NTRmNGE0M2VlYzQ5OTk5NDlmNjM5OWExZGNlYmUx"><strong>“Yeah well. Them’s the breaks.” </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">I quipped, choosing selectively to ignore her jab at my own naming sense. </span></p> <p class="cnMzYTRlOTBjYTUyODQ1NjhiYjliZmRhZjIwMzA0ZDky"> </p> <p class="cnMxOTVjYjkwZjFkNzRjYTJhNThjYzE0NWRkNGE5YTgw"><span style="font-weight: 400">I was feeling… pretty good honestly. Life was finally starting to feel like it had some… direction. Meaning I suppose. Oh there was still all that lurking bullshit in the back of my head. Killing and eating people and all that. But Nadeen wasn’t a bloated corpse, I wasn’t a slave, and the only human who had a demonstrated fear of my relative intelligence was dead.</span></p> <p class="cnNlODNiY2VmMjYzMjQ5MzY4NDA2ZDlhYTMzYTU0NDJj"> </p> <p class="cnNhYzBiZWM3NzZmMDQ3NGViNGJiM2NkNWVkODUwNWQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">So, happy times all around basically. </span></p> <p class="cnM4OTJkMGRjMDQ2MTRkZDJiNzVhMzU1ODI4YWZiYTg4"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZDk3Yzg5YjFlMzRlN2FhMTJlMzYwMDM2NGZiNmYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">We bickered like that for a bit longer, until we came upon a steep ditch that narrowed as it approached the cliff face, and seemed to go under it. I eyed the ditch critically, pretty positive that if I tried to approach a Balrog or something would appear to kick the shit out of me. That was the direction my luck had been running since I got here. Nadeen though, squealed like a child - which was disconcerting to me - and then hopped down into the ditch without anything even vaguely like fear. </span></p> <p class="cnNmYjg2ODNlNWRjMTQ3Mzk4MDhlNGM4MWNmOTVhODY2"> </p> <p class="cnM5NjhiMzUyZjkyZjQxNjRiMTNiNTgyYTVmMWZlYTdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">One thing I had found about her now that she wasn’t either A) Dying, or B) Trying to enslave me, was that Nadeen tended to flicker between acting uncommonly sensible and adult like, and behaving exactly like the kid she was. I wondered how much of that had to do with the medieval like society she seemed to hail from, and how much was just the tiny cracks in her sanity the Devilwood had been inflicting on her since our meeting. She probably didn’t realize it, but when she thought I wasn’t looking - which, because I had three extra faces I always </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">was </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">- I would occasionally catch her staring out into the woods, or back the way we had come, with a look of positively craven hunger on her face. Then just as quickly she’d shake herself, like a wet dog, and go back to normal. </span></p> <p class="cnNmMzU0Y2VjMmZlZDRlMWE5YmJjOTZkYmE2NjU3ZGI2"> </p> <p class="cnMwZmYyOTY2N2UwNTQ5Y2M5ZjRjZmNkMzE5ZjA5OWZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was usually at about those times that she’d ask me something stupid, or start giving me shit about Thing Two’s name. </span></p> <p class="cnNlNGM1YWFhODMzYzRhMGNhY2FhZTc4Mzg0OGVhNzdm"> </p> <p class="cnNjOTkwNmI0ZTM3ZTQwZmNhZGUzN2Y3NTY2ZmUxZGVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was probably a testament to how fucked I was in general though, that I actually considered a little sanity slippage to be kind of a minor problem at the moment. </span></p> <p class="cnMzN2VmZjY0NTI4ZjQ4MjFhY2Q1NmM4ODEwY2UzYmJk"> </p> <p class="cnNmNTYwN2ZmMjJmNDQ5NWY4YmVlMzRjMWQyZjZkYWRm"><strong>“Are you fucking crazy?”</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> I cried in a discordant voice, scrambling to peer over the edge of the ditch. What I saw stopped the torrent of faux parental rage I was about to unleash. There at the bottom of the ditch, where the cliff wall should have continued, was a huge crack in the wall. It looked like teacup had fallen and a chunk had come off - only on a much, much larger scale. The crack was easily wide enough to fit Thing Two of he angled himself right, and a dull purple glow emanated out from it. </span></p> <p class="cnNjOWY1ZDczOWIwNzQyNGE5ZGM5MTg2ZjA3YmM5OWNi"> </p> <p class="cnMwNTkzOGQ3OTYwYTQ4YTQ4YzM0MjUyOWFkMTI1YjY3"><strong>“Fuck is this now?” </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">I asked curiously, hopping down into the ditch with Thing Two to pad up to Nadeen.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMmZkODMwZmMzZTRlYTZiNzZiOWY5YmU5MTlmNDY0"> </p> <p class="cnNjMDQzZTc5NDIwYTQxMjE4NDYxZjk4YTdlMzQ5ODk4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It’s probably an entrance to the mines. I used to play in them as a kid.” Nadeen said, somehow embarrassed by admitting she used to play. </span></p> <p class="cnM3ZTZiOWRmNjY5MTRkZmQ4ZTIxNGE3MGYwMDk3YmY5"> </p> <p class="cnNkOGZmNjBiOWYxODRkMTNhNDc5N2Y4OGYzNTA5M2Ux"><strong>“Okay so… why isn’t anyone here?”</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> I queried, my guard instantly up now that I knew other people could be about.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NzhjZGY0ZTA0NzRiZmI5OGYxOWZhOTM1ZWZlNWNm"> </p> <p class="cnMzN2Y1ZGQzYzU4NjQzYTY5MjkzYmRkNWUxOTU2OTU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“The mines are huge, and the deeper you go the more likely you are to meet monsters. No one knows how deep it goes.” Nadeen said with a shrug. </span></p> <p class="cnNkZjg3MmJkODMzODQ3MjhiNTc2M2IwODc5OTQ0ODRm"> </p> <p class="cnM4YWRkZDZlN2RlMzQyNTNhYjVmMjk0OTQ2ZTNjOGJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">A minor exertion of my will brought all three of my extra faces together in a hideous mixing of eyes and teeth on my chest. I could feel my flesh warp and twist as the extremities literally flowed through me to where I wanted them. It was largely unnecessary, but I felt the need to drive my point home, so eight pairs of eyes turned to stare at Nadeen for a few seconds before I spoke. </span></p> <p class="cnNiYzc2ZTI2OTgwYzRhMmViMzEyYTdkNzkwNWNjMzFk"> </p> <p class="cnM1MGI5MDBjMDM3NzQ0ZWE4ZDVkMDQ2ZGJiMGI1ZDZm"><strong>“So this cave.” </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">I pointed for emphasis</span></p> <p class="cnMyMGIwYWZmYWU2NTQ4YTVhZTE5MDgwMTNiNzc0Yzcw"> </p> <p class="cnMxM2Y0ZDAxY2E1NTRlODVhNzBiY2E3MjdhYTIxOTg5"><strong>“Has an equal chance of containing hideous monsters that want to kill you, and angry humans that want to kill me.</strong></p> <p class="cnMxMzg3MDJlZTBhOTRkMThhMmIyMGY5ZWUxMmY0MGMz"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZjE2ZmY4MTU3YzQyOThhZTFkYjQyY2JkOTVjNmY5"><strong>“And not only that, you don’t know how deep this particular tunnel goes - which means it could lead directly into a dragon’s lair for all we know.”</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> I concluded. </span></p> <p class="cnNhNGJhOGM1NGU3MDQ1MjViMzcxMTUwZDA0NjQ1YTZi"> </p> <p class="cnM2YTZmZmI4ODIyZjQ5MjZiOTQ1ODM1ZDRlZWY4MGNh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It’s full of Magic Crystals! And Prey! We have to </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">eat</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">!” She jabbing a finger at me that I - very briefly - considered biting off.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMTYzZmZkYzk4ODRmMTdiNDRjMmUzM2E4MWU5Y2Qw"> </p> <p class="cnM5MjIzMTcyYjQwYzQ5Mjc4N2IyZjc5YjUyZTBkODM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">And that just about proved her point now didn’t it?</span></p> <p class="cnMyMDM2MWIxNzhmZTRmYTI4ZTJhZGUyNzk0YzQ0M2Fi"> </p> <p class="cnM1OTM3ODgyZGI5YzQ4NGM4MTlhNWQ3NWI1OWYzNzNh"><strong>“Fine. Stay between me and Thing Two.</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">” I finally admitted. Then I eyed the tunnel suspiciously. </span></p> <p class="cnNhN2E5NTQ5NmQ4MDQwMjk5OGFmZjc3NTU3NGUxZWY4"> </p> <p class="cnM0NjNmMzVlNTg5NTQ5NmZhZWFhZDI3OWEyYTI5M2U1"><strong>“Does it get bigger after the entrance?</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">” I asked, not sure if Thing Two was going to be able to do anything but wiggle if a fight broke out.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZmY4ODA5ZjIwMjQ3ZDE4YjVjNGFhMzk5Yzc2NTk1"> </p> <p class="cnNiM2Q3MDk5MDA0OTQ4NmRiMzdiNzAwMjJkNmI0Yjc1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, turns into a proper tunnel after a while.” she confirmed. </span></p> <p class="cnMzMGM0NDQ4N2Y0ODQyMmRhYTA0OTVhMmY2NmZlYzE4"> </p> <p class="cnMyMWU3OGY0YzNmNDQwM2U5YjhhMjEzNjViNThkZWYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">I considered for a few minutes, before making a decision. With an exertion of my will, the ignition I recognized as magic usage exploded to providence. Where before it was the barest of sparks I was using to maintain the extra eyes and mouths I had been using, this was a full blown inferno. I bore with the temporary discomfort, allowing the extra limbs to push uncomfortably out of me. This time, I had a plan of sorts. The limbs didn’t escape me in the same haphazard and random way they had when I was fighting Thane. </span></p> <p class="cnNiYjc2YzJhNmMxMzQ1MGI4NDg1ZWNkZDY4NzMxNjUw"> </p> <p class="cnNiMjAxNmZkNjI1ZDRiNzQ5MGY1MjFlMDkwMTk3ZmE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">This time, with slightly more experience, I forced them into a sort of rough pattern. The legs appeared first. Six of them red and painful exploding from my torso, three to each side. Falling forward onto my stomach so the new legs could hold me up, the arms came next, four of them extended from different portions of my shoulders and neck, creating a set of fleshy, grasping mandibles. The last two arms stretched from my tailbone, first one, and then the other stretching out from the forearm of the first. This took my slightly longer, as I pushed my magic to its utmost, stretching ligaments and muscles to create two, much longer arms than a human being should possess. Finally, I spread two pairs of eyes along my back, and grew two more on my original pair of hands. The extra mouths I allowed to remain on my stomach, where they had been when I had been staring Nadeen down. </span></p> <p class="cnMyOTg0N2VjMWEyNjRiODA5Mjk3YjFhNTM0ZGE4YjM0"> </p> <p class="cnNjOWM5NzQ4MjA2NzQzNTk4MDgzMzg2ZjMzYzhkYWZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">All this was, of course, accompanied by a series of sickening crunches and pops, in addition to not an insignificant amount of pain. I had realized early in my attempts at mastering this new ability that while shifting my body parts around at random while fighting was useful, it also hurt like hell, and made it difficult to focus on fighting. This new arrangement was my first attempt at a semi permanent form - made to look like a scorpion. </span></p> <p class="cnMwNTJmOGFlYmNiNjRhZTk4MjBmZTI2MjNmYTI0MmYx"> </p> <p class="cnNjZDczOGMxNWQwMzQwNzQ5MTEwNmM4Y2ZjNGZmZTRm"><span style="font-weight: 400">I quickly reached down with my ‘tail’ to the side of Thing Two’s bags, taking a firm grasp on the blade Thane had used to nearly murder me. My muscles rippled and tightened as I accustomed myself to controlling them all over again, and slowly, I crept forward into the cave. </span></p> <p class="cnMzY2U5NjVhOGFhMDQwNTFhNzExMGU0ZDhiYWMxYTNm"> </p> <p class="cnMyNGQyODdjOTFmNDQ2Y2FiOTZlMjA4NDA0ZGIyOWRl"><strong>“For the record - I hate this.” </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">I said, still not fully on board with invading the creepy murder cave. </span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmFiZjBmNDdmZDQzYzhhYzU3M2IyNWUwOGE3ZGQ1"> </p> <p class="cnM2MzRiNzhiYTM4MjQzNjM4YjFkMDExOGUwMGUxYzYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I… don’t have much love for it myself…” choked Nadeen, clearly resisting the urge to gag. I turned my head to look at her and understood immediately that she was talking about </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">me</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> and not the cave. </span></p> <p class="cnM3NTNjMDg2YzE5YzRkZWI4NmViMThiYTllZDc2NmQ1"> </p> <p class="cnMwZjkwNzU2YzU5OTRmZWViZmFmMjY3MWRkMDkzZGU2"><strong>“Sorry.”</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> I offered, before crawling forward once more.</span></p> <p class="cnNiODM0YjkwNTFjMDQ0ZjNiZWM0NzVhNDJhOTcxNDQ5"> </p> <p class="cnNiMzUyMDIzNjQ1NzRkODI4MjYxMGU3YTk3NDE3MGJm"> </p> </div>

Nadeen, Thing Two, and I scurried along the ground, following the massive cliff. In a fit of paranoia that I was starting to think might be the best way to live my life going forward, I forced us to hug the cliff wall as closely as possible. My reasoning was, that if there was someone standing at the top of the sheer rock wall looking down, they would be less likely to see two monsters and a child creeping up on civilized lands than if we were further out. Or at the very least, the theoretical watcher would have to put himself in danger of falling in order to see us. “I keep telling you, Shardshire doesn’t patrol this far out.” Nadeen complained. As though I was going to take a thirteen year olds advice on the military structure of a settlement. **“Was that before or after two ‘Binders’ and some rich guy disappeared into the - what did you call it again?”** I paused to ask. “The Devilwood.” Nadeen replied petulantly **“Fine. Before they disappeared into the Devilwood. You people have a horrible naming sense.”** I snarked. “You named your species *THINGS* and then named your brother *THING TWO*.” Nadeen cried out in protest at my accusation. Over the course of the last three hours walking along this stupid cliff, I had managed to convince her that - since only one of us was a monster - naming rights for my species were mine and mine alone. Not counting Thing Two - who was still kind of an idiot. And also couldn’t talk. **“Yeah well. Them’s the breaks.”** I quipped, choosing selectively to ignore her jab at my own naming sense. I was feeling… pretty good honestly. Life was finally starting to feel like it had some… direction. Meaning I suppose. Oh there was still all that lurking bullshit in the back of my head. Killing and eating people and all that. But Nadeen wasn’t a bloated corpse, I wasn’t a slave, and the only human who had a demonstrated fear of my relative intelligence was dead. So, happy times all around basically. We bickered like that for a bit longer, until we came upon a steep ditch that narrowed as it approached the cliff face, and seemed to go under it. I eyed the ditch critically, pretty positive that if I tried to approach a Balrog or something would appear to kick the shit out of me. That was the direction my luck had been running since I got here. Nadeen though, squealed like a child - which was disconcerting to me - and then hopped down into the ditch without anything even vaguely like fear. One thing I had found about her now that she wasn’t either A) Dying, or B) Trying to enslave me, was that Nadeen tended to flicker between acting uncommonly sensible and adult like, and behaving exactly like the kid she was. I wondered how much of that had to do with the medieval like society she seemed to hail from, and how much was just the tiny cracks in her sanity the Devilwood had been inflicting on her since our meeting. She probably didn’t realize it, but when she thought I wasn’t looking - which, because I had three extra faces I always *was* - I would occasionally catch her staring out into the woods, or back the way we had come, with a look of positively craven hunger on her face. Then just as quickly she’d shake herself, like a wet dog, and go back to normal. It was usually at about those times that she’d ask me something stupid, or start giving me shit about Thing Two’s name. It was probably a testament to how fucked I was in general though, that I actually considered a little sanity slippage to be kind of a minor problem at the moment. **“Are you fucking crazy?”** I cried in a discordant voice, scrambling to peer over the edge of the ditch. What I saw stopped the torrent of faux parental rage I was about to unleash. There at the bottom of the ditch, where the cliff wall should have continued, was a huge crack in the wall. It looked like teacup had fallen and a chunk had come off - only on a much, much larger scale. The crack was easily wide enough to fit Thing Two of he angled himself right, and a dull purple glow emanated out from it. **“Fuck is this now?”** I asked curiously, hopping down into the ditch with Thing Two to pad up to Nadeen. “It’s probably an entrance to the mines. I used to play in them as a kid.” Nadeen said, somehow embarrassed by admitting she used to play. **“Okay so… why isn’t anyone here?”** I queried, my guard instantly up now that I knew other people could be about. “The mines are huge, and the deeper you go the more likely you are to meet monsters. No one knows how deep it goes.” Nadeen said with a shrug. A minor exertion of my will brought all three of my extra faces together in a hideous mixing of eyes and teeth on my chest. I could feel my flesh warp and twist as the extremities literally flowed through me to where I wanted them. It was largely unnecessary, but I felt the need to drive my point home, so eight pairs of eyes turned to stare at Nadeen for a few seconds before I spoke. **“So this cave.”** I pointed for emphasis **“Has an equal chance of containing hideous monsters that want to kill you, and angry humans that want to kill me.** **“And not only that, you don’t know how deep this particular tunnel goes - which means it could lead directly into a dragon’s lair for all we know.”** I concluded. “It’s full of Magic Crystals! And Prey! We have to *eat*!” She jabbing a finger at me that I - very briefly - considered biting off. And that just about proved her point now didn’t it? **“Fine. Stay between me and Thing Two.**” I finally admitted. Then I eyed the tunnel suspiciously. **“Does it get bigger after the entrance?**” I asked, not sure if Thing Two was going to be able to do anything but wiggle if a fight broke out. “Yeah, turns into a proper tunnel after a while.” she confirmed. I considered for a few minutes, before making a decision. With an exertion of my will, the ignition I recognized as magic usage exploded to providence. Where before it was the barest of sparks I was using to maintain the extra eyes and mouths I had been using, this was a full blown inferno. I bore with the temporary discomfort, allowing the extra limbs to push uncomfortably out of me. This time, I had a plan of sorts. The limbs didn’t escape me in the same haphazard and random way they had when I was fighting Thane. This time, with slightly more experience, I forced them into a sort of rough pattern. The legs appeared first. Six of them red and painful exploding from my torso, three to each side. Falling forward onto my stomach so the new legs could hold me up, the arms came next, four of them extended from different portions of my shoulders and neck, creating a set of fleshy, grasping mandibles. The last two arms stretched from my tailbone, first one, and then the other stretching out from the forearm of the first. This took my slightly longer, as I pushed my magic to its utmost, stretching ligaments and muscles to create two, much longer arms than a human being should possess. Finally, I spread two pairs of eyes along my back, and grew two more on my original pair of hands. The extra mouths I allowed to remain on my stomach, where they had been when I had been staring Nadeen down. All this was, of course, accompanied by a series of sickening crunches and pops, in addition to not an insignificant amount of pain. I had realized early in my attempts at mastering this new ability that while shifting my body parts around at random while fighting was useful, it also hurt like hell, and made it difficult to focus on fighting. This new arrangement was my first attempt at a semi permanent form - made to look like a scorpion. I quickly reached down with my ‘tail’ to the side of Thing Two’s bags, taking a firm grasp on the blade Thane had used to nearly murder me. My muscles rippled and tightened as I accustomed myself to controlling them all over again, and slowly, I crept forward into the cave. **“For the record - I hate this.”** I said, still not fully on board with invading the creepy murder cave. “I… don’t have much love for it myself…” choked Nadeen, clearly resisting the urge to gag. I turned my head to look at her and understood immediately that she was talking about *me* and not the cave. **“Sorry.”** I offered, before crawling forward once more.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNhNWNjMDhkYjAzMjRlZGM4NDEzZjQ1NjgwM2QyNzky"><span style="font-weight: 400">Were you expecting an event to happen on my way to the woodsman? I mean, I did. I saw the patterns, I know something would happen… but nothing did.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ODIyYTNkMjc0ODQ4MWZhOGNhMjdjZTdmZjdjNTYy"> </p> <p class="cnNiMDY3NTk4NTEyNTRmMmU5YmIzNDgyOGM4ZTUxZTJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">I went to the forest according to the minimap on my peripheral vision and found the woodsman. Something conspicuous about him was his left arm. There was none. He chop woods with only one arm with menacing eyes.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZTExMzFjYzRkMTQ1MTdiZTRjMmQyZjlmMjQxM2I4"> </p> <p class="cnNkMmIyMDZlMWJiMzQ4N2RiZDJmZjUzZDBmYTQ5MjRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">I called out to him and expected an event to be triggered, but things just happened normally. I paid him calds and he gave me the woods… only I have no means to carry it. The woodsman went back to his cabin and gave me a bucket that I can carry on my back. It was free and I have no reason to refuse.</span></p> <p class="cnM3YTMzYjQ4ZmYyNTRhZjM4ZDJiMDE2NGVjOTYyZWY4"> </p> <p class="cnM2NzQ2ZDlkMzljMjRlZjBhMzkyZWYyMjE3MTAzMThj"><span style="font-weight: 400">I didn’t think much about it, but it was heavy. Too heavy that I had to rest a few times on the way back.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNDI5YTlmZGFhYjQ3NzViNDVlNzgzMTlkM2Q3YjA0"> </p> <p class="cnMyOWVlYWQ4MzYwMTQ4YjY5ZWI3ZjM1MWI5NTFhZDVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">When I did get back, my STR increased by 1. Apparently stats can also be increased by doing certain actions, somehow I felt like I should know this already, but…</span></p> <p class="cnM0Mzc2ZGM5YjFkMTRhZWRhNWI1ZWM3MjdkZjc5Njk2"> </p> <p class="cnM2ZTg5MTAyYzFiMTQ3NDI5NGQ1MmJmNmUxYzU4YjNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">In the end, no event was triggered. No encounter with any monster nor people. Why did I even expect that to happen anyway? A sense of foreboding crept behind my back through the whole quest.</span></p> <p class="cnMxMWIyNGI2Njg4MDQxYzA5N2NiZTE5ZmNiZmMwYmEy"> </p> <p class="cnNhNjQ2NjEzMDRiZTQxYzE4M2Y2Zjk2ZmRiMWU5NGJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">A noteworthy thing from all of this was how the blacks shopkeeper with the thick, red lips’ reaction.</span></p> <p class="cnNmOGY3NjY5ZWJiZjRjNzY5ODc5NzgyMDM1YzlhMjU4"> </p> <p class="cnNlODY2OGYyY2ZmNzRkNzg4Y2ZjZjg2NzFiNmExNDAx"><span style="font-weight: 400">He was so shocked that his eyes bulged out. What’s wrong with him?</span></p> <p class="cnM5Nzk4MDIzNTgyZTQ4N2I5MjE0MjI3ZWIyNWZiZDE5"> </p> <p class="cnNkZDQwYTI4MDNiZTQyZjE4NzRiZWFjOWEwNjE4OTFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No-nothing, I just thought that you wouldn’t come back at all.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1NDM2ZjBhYWRkODQyNDI5M2RiOGE1NTRhMzNmYjc0"><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">“...Why wouldn’t I?”</span></p> <p class="cnNmODVkMmI4ZjRmZTRmMzdhODZkYmQ2NDczYzA3ZmEy"><span style="font-weight: 400"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ah you see…”</span></p> <p class="cnMyNDIwNGZhZGFlYzQyN2E4ZWI1ZTcxNDkzN2Y5MDhi"> </p> <p class="cnMxMmZlMmExYzZkZjQ0OWViNmE4ZTM5M2QzZjQyZjhh"><span style="font-weight: 400">He told me briefly that he assumed I’m a beggar and would probably run off with the money instead of doing the actual quest. Apparently it’s a common thing to happen around the city.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NmRmMmZhYTMxMzQwYjhiOWYxMmE0MWFkMzc0MzMy"> </p> <p class="cnM1Mjc2MDQ2ZjAwYTQwMzdhYzNiMzIyZTQ4YzZhYjMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“If you thought I would run off… then why would you still give me the quest?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4OTNkY2Q4MzQ3ODQ5N2ZhOTlkZWViMzU2YTg4Mjkz"> </p> <p class="cnNlZTEwYWJlZmE0YjRkMDM4NjBhMDgwYjRjNzU4NmY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uhh, let’s just say I have faith on you.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YjkwYzkzNTk2MjQ5NjU5MDY2ZTE2ZGZkZWNkZmU0"> </p> <p class="cnNkNmYwN2YxODNhMzRmMzA5ZTMwODRjNmVmZGZlNzE1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I tilted my head, not understanding him one bit.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZmMyYjVhZThhODRkZmM4YTQ1YjNmMzYxZjBkYjQ2"> </p> <p class="cnNlYzk2MjVhMDMyNTRlMzViZDkwNzk4ZjRmMmQ0NjNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“But why is it a common thing? People running off like that after receiving a quest?”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZDE4MDhkMWM3MTQwNzliNjExNWE2ZDZjNjg3NzZi"> </p> <p class="cnMxYTVmZTFhNmE5ZjRiOWY4MTgwYzVjYTBiMTljMjg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hehehe, you really lived a sheltered life, eh? This city, Lime is far isolated from the capital. The surrounding area is also somewhat safe, only monsters below level 10 would appear. Even that is quite rare.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiYzViMTkyZjZmNjQxZTdiN2RmYTBlZTZkZDE2ZjNi"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZDUxZDY5Yjg4NzQ0ZGVhYTA2NmY1ZGEzZTY1MThh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“A beginner… city?”</span></p> <p class="cnNlN2UzZmI3OWY3MzQ0ZGY4ZTUzMWY2NGQ1MzdkZWJk"> </p> <p class="cnMzZTE5Zjg4ZTcwMDQzNGE5ZDFlMTE1NjM0ZGUyZGU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“A beginner- what?”</span></p> <p class="cnNiN2E5M2E5YWNlMDRmZDJhMGM5ZWI3Y2NlN2EyZjY0"> </p> <p class="cnM0ODlhZTEwZjE1MDQzYjFhMDg2YjRkNzJhZTk5M2Qw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No-nothing. Those people who ran, it count as stealing right?”</span></p> <p class="cnM5Y2ZhZjAyZDczNzQ2YzhiYjNhNDRhNGI5ODEzYTg3"> </p> <p class="cnM2NzdiNjRhNWEwZTQ5OWFhNDgzNTcyMmM2NjMzOWY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, but they usually escaped to another city after doing their deeds.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiZDU4Yzk5ZmQ2NTQ4NTU4YTYwOGY3NDc1ODljMDE3"> </p> <p class="cnNiMjJlYTk0NzIyNTQ3NDdiNWU1MDlkNmNmZmVkNTc5"><span style="font-weight: 400">We chatted a little bit while I learned about the city. Somewhere in the corner of my mind, I believed that he was just being sympathetic. Was it because how I looked? I’m not sure, but I’m thankful to him.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTdmZjhlYjhlZjQ5NWM4MDYwNjMwMjhmMDE3NDVk"> </p> <p class="cnMxZjllOTY0Y2Y2NDQ0YjE5MTg5MWMzNWNlYjI5MDli"><span style="font-weight: 400">Honestly, I don’t think anyone would’ve done the same and explain these things to me.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZDMxN2Y0ODQwNDQwNjViYTQxY2U0NDM3OWQ0OTZm"> </p> <p class="cnM0ZWVlYmFkZjg2ODRlNjE5ZmMyOGQ5ZWYxNTc4MzNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Lime, a city far off in the east. Known for its most famous… limes. Unlike the average limes, its color is golden and not green. Usually mistaken for lemon by people who are not familiar with it.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MzdkZGYxNTVlYzQyM2I5NjNmODA4NGY2NDJlOGI2"> </p> <p class="cnM3MWMyOTAyZGE2ZjQ1OTk5NDM3ZDk4NWUyNDRhMTBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">It only grows in this city and nowhere else. The lime has a very potent medicinal properties, making them sought by many, but the supplies are not that much. The price escalated sharply since its discovery.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NWQ5YTU3M2YyYjQ4ZDViMDkxOTM1YzEzZjBlZjg5"> </p> <p class="cnNhY2UzODgxZGJmNTQ4MDQ4ZmFlZDMxMzdkNzkwZDQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">I’m not very sure what to make out of this information, but I listened anyway.</span></p> <p class="cnMxYmNiODYxZDhkMDQ5MmM5YzM5MDE2NDUxZDE4OTNh"> </p> <p class="cnNlZTFhMzhmZWU2MjQ2ZDg5ODQyZDczZDU2NDcwOWUy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’m back!”</span></p> <p class="cnM2MjVjOThkZmZjOTQzZjFiYTc3NzNiZDg1MmMwZWM3"> </p> <p class="cnMyZTg0YTI2NTlkYzQ1YmRhN2Y5ZWYzNjdkMDQ5OGY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Elva! Where were you all this time!?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4YzE3YWQ4MzkwNDQzNWRhMTAyMGM3NmRmNWFiNWNk"> </p> <p class="cnMyNGFlYjU2YmViNzQxMGI5ZTVkZjJkZTMyMTM5OTNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">The shopkeeper rushed to the front door where a small figure stood. It was a girl, smaller and younger than me. Blond hair with a brownish skin complexion. Her pitch black eyes caught my attention.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMTFjMjE1YWIzYTQzNTQ5OTI4YjA4ZmJiNWExYmI2"> </p> <p class="cnM4Yzc3MjFjZDQxZjRmNzFiMzE4ZTk5NmIwZmY3ZjM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Playing with Cally!”</span></p> <p class="cnMwNmY5Y2U5ZWIyMTRhNmNiNWY0NjkxZmQ3MjRjYTA4"> </p> <p class="cnMxZTcwNjAzYWFjZDQxMjY4MzVlZjdjZjJlNDljZmFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“This is already past evening! You worried me sick!”</span></p> <p class="cnM4NzFiMDJkYjQzYzRmMjliMzQ4ZGMwNjgzM2ZjZWRh"> </p> <p class="cnNiYzE5OGQxZDg2MjQ1MGE5MmE3ZjcwZGJjY2I2YjU3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Nnno need to worry! Cally’s parent was with us!”</span></p> <p class="cnM1YzRkMzJlZjI2NzRjZjdiMjJjZDA4NjZlNzFmMGNi"> </p> <p class="cnM4MGY4ZWExOWFjOTQxNGM5NWE5YWYxN2YzZGE4NmNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“O-oh, but I’m still worried okay!?”</span></p> <p class="cnM2NjkxNjlkMDE3ZTQ0MTZhNTBjZjViNmM5ODdiZmYw"> </p> <p class="cnNjN2E2Mjk1YmExNDQwOTVhYmU4MDI4NmY1NTU0Mjc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uummm…”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MWZhN2Q3ZDk2MzQ3NmE4ODUxY2Y3ZWViMTAzNzg2"> </p> <p class="cnM5NDAwOWMzYmUxNDQ3MTk5NmE4NGUyOGExZjhlZTBi"><span style="font-weight: 400">The girl ignored his rant and peeked her head at me.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNGI5MTY2ODhkZTQ4MTc4MWQ5MjY2MDZjYzM2NThi"> </p> <p class="cnM5YzA2Y2Q4YWY1ZTQ1MTU5ODhiNThkYTcwNjk2MGRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Who is this?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyMGE4NmRlYmY5MzQxOTU5NWY2YzhkYWZmNWFiNTNm"> </p> <p class="cnNmMWUxY2RmZGNkMDQwMWU4MzExNDcwNjVjYThiZGQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“This is… uh, what’s your name again?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhNWJmMzVlNjg1ZjQ0Mzg5YmEzNTY5OTRjNDVkOGQ1"> </p> <p class="cnM3NzQ0ZmUxZmEyMDQ1MTdhMDM1MjRkOGY3MjI1YTMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">I never told you my name.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YWEwNmQ4ZTNjODQwNjQ5ZTkwNjMwYmU3Nzc0OTZk"> </p> <p class="cnM0MTI5MzJmNDkxMDQ3MWFhZWY2MzI2OTZhZGU4Y2I2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Name’s Len.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkODMyMWY3MmE2YjQ5ZWE4OGE4MTA4MTQ1OGQ3Mzcx"> </p> <p class="cnM2MGM2NjIzZGZiMDRmN2Y5NjdiMGUwNDNiMDgyNGU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Right, and I’m Brall and this is my daughter, Elva.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiNDQ1Y2YxOGQ3MzRlYzhiNzMxZjUwMzNkMTQ1MTk4"> </p> <p class="cnM5OGI2OWU4MjUwZDQ5NTRiY2NlNzA3N2U2OTVhNzA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How’r you!”</span></p> <p class="cnNlMTFkZTA0MjNkOTRiM2FiYTkxYTcwZjllOWMyOTMw"> </p> <p class="cnNkY2I3NDVkN2M0YTQ2MWRiZjJhNzM3YmEwY2VlOTE3"><span style="font-weight: 400">She made a salute and smiled widely. Is that a trend going on around here? I replied by saluting back.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZDYxMzc3Zjk1NTQ2ZDI4NzNhOTU0YzFmZWYwMTRm"> </p> <p class="cnNjODg4NGFmYWUwZTQzOTdhN2VkZjJjMWI2NDNhMTAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hehe!”</span></p> <p class="cnMwYTQzNWY4YmYwMjRkZTFiZjM3Y2ZlODVlZmM5YjZl"> </p> <p class="cnNmZmIzNzAzMWRhMTQ0ZWI5OGIzODZlZmFiZmVlZmZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">She giggled and ran behind the counter, seemingly contend with my gesture. Well, I guess all’s well, ends well.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MDc0ZWZhMzBmNzRiMGJhMjA0NWY0MDE2NGU2ODhk"> </p> <p class="cnM3ODExZThlM2NmYjQ1NjM4OGU5MWI5ZmViYjg0ODM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh yeah, here’s your payment.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br><br></span></p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center">Wood Fetcher’s Quest has been completed!</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNkNDQxMmFhNTM5ZjQ2ZDc4MzE4NTgwYTBmZDUzNDc1"> </p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center">Calculating Performance…</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzZjMyMTRhZTY0ZTRkNjI4MTM4MGI4YmY0N2YxYjg1"> </p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Wood Fetcher</td> <td style="text-align: left">Difficulty : F</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p class="cnM4MzdkNWY0NDRjMTQxOGM4MDljZGY2NzY3YmY2Y2Ji"><span style="font-weight: 400">- Complete within 24 hours: Success</span></p> <p class="cnMzZWFmOTg5YzUyMDRmMTZiMzNjZjg4MDJlNWZlOGE3"><span style="font-weight: 400">- Use no more than 100 cald: Success</span></p> <p class="cnNiNTFkY2M5NDYwNzRlZjQ4MTMxNDAxZTdiMjZhN2I5"><span style="font-weight: 400">- Carry more than 15 woods: Success</span></p> <p class="cnM3YzAwNmRhNDBlYzRlZjRhODUxYmVkMGExYzQ0YmJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">- ???: Failed</span></p> <p class="cnMzMzczOTE3NTdiNzQ5NjJhNTY4NTkwMjYwZDE4NzM5"> </p> <p class="cnNiMGZlYjdiNWU0YTRjMTFhM2ZjYzJiNTEwMGYxYjU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Performance Summary: A rank</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzZWJkZjEyZWU1NjRjNWU5MmQ3ODlkYTU5YTg5OTY4"> </p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>A rank reward(s)</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p class="cnMzY2I1NzZlNjUxMzQxMTFhYjc5ZDE0MDNjMjliNmYz">- 15 calds obtained!</p> <p class="cnMyOTliNGVjMjE4MzQ3MzJhODY4Mzk2OTcwNzBjYTI1">- (Bonus) 30 calds obtained!</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNhMjkzMzA1MTI5MTQwOTE5YzNkMDY3ODJkNzJkMzFm"> </p> <p class="cnMyNDIxOGM5YjU5ZDRlNTliZjdjZTBjYjNmMDU1ZGM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Huh? Performance Summary? I didn’t know about this, do I?</span></p> <p class="cnM3OWM3YWI4YTU0YjRjZjRiZTZjNzk0M2JlMTU5YTcz"> </p> <p class="cnNmMWI3OTUzZDg4NTRlYTc4Y2NlMjZhNzAwYzYyOGFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You did great, here 15 calds and some extra. Consider it as pocket money.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDljZGM4ZWFhZjRkNTk4ZmMzMGUyNDk4YTc1MDA4"> </p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center">Your affinity with Brall has increased by 10!</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4NTBmYTEwNDczNTQ5MTc4NmI1MGJmODE0NWMzNThh"> </p> <p class="cnM3MDk0OTE0ZjBlYjQ3NDFhNGQ3NjliNzJlMDhhOGVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Our meeting and talk didn’t last long. I bid my thanks and farewell. I left through the door and Brall was closing the store.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YWYyNWVhZjUyZDQzNjRhMjhhMGM3ZTVhYWIyOTY5"> </p> <p class="cnNiYjA2MTA5NjJhMzQ0ODM4NDlmZDQzZWFmZmJjYjU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You don’t have anywhere to go?”</span></p> <p class="cnM1NDY2OWI0MWJmMDQxOThiZjQxMDc4OThjMjg1Mzc0"> </p> <p class="cnM2NTJmOTZkMGJhNTQ0MDU4OTkzM2MyYjI3YTZiYzBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No. Not at the moment.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxNzMxYTBmM2U3ZTQxMmY4NWM5MGZlNDU2NTA2YmE4"> </p> <p class="cnNkYzc3ZDlmOTMwMjRkMzFhNGZhNDk0OWIzNjAxYTEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hang on.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3NjdiY2MzZWVjMDQ1Mzc5ZTMxNzRjOGM5NmFjMzcz"> </p> <p class="cnMxODZhMzA1NmJhYTRkOGE5NWI1Nzk5NTQ2MGIzNzg5"><span style="font-weight: 400">He took out a piece of paper and handed it to me. Judging from the design, it looks like a business card.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNjVkM2IyZTgxNTRjNTE5ZGZjMzZhMDI5MTI0OWEz"> </p> <p class="cnNkZGYwYmUxNjIxZDRlZThhN2FiMTE2ODhkNWJiMzc1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Go to the address written on it, tell them that Brall send his regard.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1OGY1MTgzMTk4YzQ0MDViNjRmZTUyOGU4OWU2MTY3"> </p> <p class="cnM5ODEyNzVlNzUxNTRmNGQ5MGZhNTUxNGZmMjhlOWFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I can’t read this.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MmIzOGJlNjhiMDQ0Y2Y5ZDQxODQ5MzE2MDE0OWIw"> </p> <p class="cnMyZmFjZjhlM2E1NTRiMWZiZWE4Njc3MWM5YmJiMGZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“...”</span></p> <p class="cnMyZjVhZjFjMzEzYTRmZTFiYjA5NTQ2ODBjZmY3NmM0"><br><br></p> <p class="cnMyNmZlNzk1NzRmODQ2YWU5OTZiMDIwNjM2NDhhMDZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">…</span></p> <p class="cnNjNWI1OTljZjA1NDRkMmRiMjZkYTk2YmU5MjNiMjlk"><br><br></p> <p class="cnMzNmE5M2JhNmNmOTRiZmI5M2RhNDY2MzgxMDExN2Q3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Is this the place? A small house on the edge of the city. I’m still a bit further from the door but I already smelled alcohol. Why would Brall send me to a place like this? Who lives here? This is not a base for human traffickers, right?</span></p> <p class="cnNiMjM3NzM1YWUyMTQzMDZiNDkxYWIyZWEzYTE4OWVm"> </p> <p class="cnNlZWU4MzYxZGIzODQ3YzE4YjQwYzk2MDcwM2NmNzhk"><span style="font-weight: 400">I walked up to the front door and knocked it lightly. Not even a second passed and the door was pulled open.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMjgxNzkxYWM0NDRmYmNiMmVkZmQwZTE4MTJiNzJm"> </p> <p class="cnMwOTlkODZlNzE3NjRmMjliYTM0ZGRkMzYxNDJmNDMy"><span style="font-weight: 400">And there she was.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ODI4MTU4ODgxYTRkMTdiZmU3ZDEzYjNiZWU3ZTQ2"> </p> <p class="cnM2MDhmOTg3ZWIxOTRmZWU5NGVhNWRkZDZjNzgzMTUw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Tall.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MGExZDFlYTBiMTQ1ZTA5YTc1NDE1MzQwMzFlNmU2"> </p> <p class="cnM4ZDA0ZGI3NjMzZDRmMzBiNzJiOTc2MjNhZWJiMzEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Wavy red hair.</span></p> <p class="cnMyZDZhMGI4YjEyODQ5OGNhZmVmMWMxYTMxODdjYjdi"> </p> <p class="cnMyMzAyMjkwZWViZDQxYzNiNTc5NDczZjI4OTVhOGZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sharp red eyes.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmQ3MGEyMjBlOTRmYTk5ZWMwNDVjOTExMjEzZmQy"> </p> <p class="cnM2MjUyOTM0MzU5MzRjMGFhM2VlY2U3YTRhYmJhM2U2"><span style="font-weight: 400">What is the pattern?</span></p> <p class="cnMzOGUzZDliMjg2YjQwNjA5NWRhNmZmYjcyNGVhOWYy"> </p> <p class="cnNmNTVhNzdjNmU2ZTQzM2NiNzk1ZmQxZDFjNjc0Mjdh"><span style="font-weight: 400">What could be waiting for me?</span></p> <p class="cnM5YTkzYmQwODFhMjQ4MmY5MmZhZmM1N2JkNGY1MmEx"> </p> <p class="cnM3YzRlZTBkZThjNjRmZjZhZDhhODk1MjBkNGI1NGFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">What is this small event leading to?</span></p> <p class="cnM5MjY4MTNlYWI2YjRiZWRiYjkwNjUxNTNlZGE4ZWVk"> </p> <p class="cnMxZWQ3YWE2NTBiZDRiM2Q4Zjc3N2U2ZDEwOWZiNzA5"><span style="font-weight: 400">I asked these questions a little bit too late. Where are the puzzle pieces? Was there even a puzzle to solve? No, even before that, there is still more…</span></p> <p class="cnM4YTk4MjcwY2MxZDQyYjI5NzgwN2RhYWIwN2Q4M2Y2"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZGJkYTNkMDZhZTQ2N2NhZWVkYWQyYjJiM2JlMGU3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Beside the messenger, and Elaine…</span></p> <p class="cnNlMmE0MTY0NDQ3NDQxMzE4YjgzNmVjMDc0ZGRkMDNh"> </p> <p class="cnM4NzBjNzFlZTBjYTQ5ZTg5ZTIwMDBhZjEzZjMyMGI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">What is…</span></p> <p class="cnM5MDc0YjJmNjNjYjRlMTc4MDg2NGFiYjczMzI2YWMx"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZjBiODE2NDIyODQxNDQ4ZDVhNzU3NjYwMGZjYjQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">My purpose?</span></p> <p class="cnM2N2IwNWYyOTFlNjQ5MTE5NGQyZGJiZjY1MmVhZGY3"> </p> <p class="cnMwNzY1OGIwOTE2NTQ2NWVhMTAwYWFiYjZlMzgyNmEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">The pattern is messed up. Not aligned to each other, disconnected without a clue on how to be solved. Like a prologue to a story, the mysteries were presented. What’s left is how the protagonist gather the clues together and reach for a happy ending.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMjJhMTE4OTkwYTRiZWNhMGRjNmU0MDVhMzA1NzRi"> </p> <p class="cnNhMGJkOTliYmUzZjQ4MWViNjMwYzdjOGVjMWUyMTM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">However, my tale has already ended. It ended with my death. I was sure I died, but here I am. Alive and breathing. I can feel my heart beated every now and then without a sign to stop anytime soon.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NTA1NTUzZGUyZjQxNDJiNTdkZGRjNGM0NjQ0MDdj"> </p> <p class="cnMwZDMxMDlhZjg1YTQ3ZDRhZGYxOWMwMjY1YmViMzA5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Am I truly me? Am I still Len… or am I someone else? These memories... wait. </span></p> <p class="cnNhYWM4MmZiYjY0OTQ5NGNiYzUwNDI1MzQ5MzdlNjQ0"> </p> <p class="cnM4MDA3MmJjZGVjMTRlNmViNzVlMzQ4ODIyN2MwMmZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Memories?</span></p> <p class="cnM5YmM3ZDgxODFkNjQwMmNiOWJkZWI0YzFiNDM1OTE4"> </p> <p class="cnNmMTA3MzM5ODdjYjRhYWE4YzRmZGNhNWRlNDhjZGFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Memories.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YTI0N2E4NmJkNjQwMTQ5ZGU1MTUzOTI4Y2U4NjZk"> </p> <p class="cnMzM2FmYWYwNTFiMDRhMWE5N2I1NGQzY2FiMDRlOWZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Tower of Memorial.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMGVlOTVkYTg2ZjQ5ODA5NDAzNzM5ZDFhODA0NTUz"> </p> <p class="cnM5Y2ZkNDI2ZDRhYjQ5ZTI5NGU1NjAyMWZjYzY1ZGE3"><span style="font-weight: 400">That’s the key word. Tower of Memorial. Where I met the messenger, maybe if I get into that place again, I can meet her.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYTczZjM2MjQyMDRkMzg4OWViYjdlODY4ZjczZmFk"> </p> <p class="cnM5ZDBmYmUxYWU4MTQyY2E4YmYzYmUxYzBjODFiMzAw"><span style="font-weight: 400">But how?</span></p> <p class="cnMwMjA3YmZiMDc2ZTRlNTFiMGRkMDkxNzNkMDZlOTZk"> </p> <p class="cnMwNDVkZTc4MThhNTQ1Nzk4ZGE1NTlkNWIzZGM3YzMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Tower of Memorial. What does memorial means? Statue of memorial, a statue made to remember that person or a certain event. What about a tower? I know nothing about any tower. Should I remember something about the tower?</span></p> <p class="cnNmNWUwMjliMzRlODRjMGZhMTY1OTg2YzVlNjljYzFk"> </p> <p class="cnNjN2QxNWUxNTRhODRlNDA5NmJiMGU1M2IyZmI2NTBl"><span style="font-weight: 400">These questions were the one I’m supposed to ask in the first place.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZDc4NWEyNWRhYTQzMmRiMGY3MGI0ZDFmNzc4NTQ3"> </p> <p class="cnMxNzZiY2VjNzQzMDQyYzE4ZTI2OWJiY2NiOTgzOWYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">And to get the answer I’m looking for, I have to get to the tower.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMDBlMGVlNGQ1ODQwMzhiMTMyOWE0YjFmMTJmZGFh"> </p> <p class="cnMwNjlkZTg4ZGQxNTQwYWNiMDY1ZjFmMTliYWY5ZTIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">There is no guarantee. No, a guarantee is not needed. I have to. I must go. I don’t belong in this world.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MzZiMDEwY2ZkYzQyMzhiM2MzYzg4MWJhZWVjMDA4"> </p> <p class="cnNlZmU0ZmZlMzkxNjQyYTVhMzZlNmI2N2I4NGNmNjA1"><span style="font-weight: 400">The messenger, a being beyond common sense. I still remember her. She had wings. She isn’t human. A being above human.</span></p> <p class="cnM2Y2JiMDM0MzllYjRkMWQ4YjkyOGI3NDdhOTMxOTNj"> </p> <p class="cnM4NjVlZjg2MDdhMzRhOTA5ZWU5ZTNkN2I3ZGU1Njg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">I have to meet her once again.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTBkNzYyZDg3MDRlZjU4ZmRiMTJlZjNhOGI1ZmVj"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZTQ3NWIwNjAxNzQwZDY5NDRkOTVmMjQ3NmRiYmFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">And for that, I will become strong.</span></p> <p class="cnMwODFiZWEyMmFjZjRlZmY4MjA3Y2VjZTZmOWQ1YjA1"> </p> <p class="cnNlZTk5YzY2MTM5OTRlMDg4NTVlYzllNmJmOTYyZDNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“The hell are you?”</span></p> <p class="cnM0NDhjMTg2ZWQ2YjQ4ZGM5MTJmMWJkNzcxYTUzMWM1"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZTc0MjljMzQyNzQ3YzRiMmM2MWE5ZjY5ZWIwMWRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Heavy smell of alcohol permeated from inside the house, and her mouth.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNTc0NmZiYjhjOTRjMTg5MGZkZmY3ZTcxNjJjMmM4"> </p> <p class="cnMyNWE4NDI1NTg4YzRjOWQ5NmQwYWYzMzE0ZmNkMWM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“...Brall sent me to you.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MTk4OTkyNTQ2MzQwM2ViNGZkMTA5YzM1ODhmYzY4"> </p> <p class="cnMwNGM4MjhjM2IwNzRlNTZiMjg5MWY0ZjJjZmVlNDlm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Brall…? That old man?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjZTJmZmMzMzE3NDRhZjhhZGRiYjQwN2IzZDY4MjZj"> </p> <p class="cnNjOGI4M2RiZjBlMDRkYjJhMDAzMmU4ZDJiMzFmMjZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah.”</span></p> <p class="cnNhNDk1YWJhOGE5MjRjMTdhOTQxMGNiYTYzNjg2MTRl"> </p> <p class="cnM4NzczZmY4ZjQ5NTQ3OWRhMWI0MmUxNDEzYmU2NWQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“For what?”</span></p> <p class="cnNmMGRhMDk3MmQ5MDQyYWQ4OTZmN2YyZTRhMDExZTI5"> </p> <p class="cnMxZjAxYjFlOWU3NzQ0ZjRhZmRmZjJlY2EzOGFjNGMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“A place to stay for the night.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmMWUxMWNkOTU5ZDQyMWQ4NzNkMjZmOTVkZDUxNjUx"> </p> <p class="cnNhZDMzOWRhZjE1YTRmMzViMzY5ZDNiYmE0OGM1ZGI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">She puckered her lips to the side.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YmFiOTAzZmE5ZDQ2NDY5M2QwYTY0MWY4N2YyOGY5"> </p> <p class="cnNkOWRjMTZjZDIzMTQzZGU5MGZjZWI5NmFhNzVjN2Zi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Nope. No place for you. Scram.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlMTI4MDQwMjA2ZjQ5ZjFiNGZmOTc0Nzc0ODMyMWI4"> </p> <p class="cnM4NDU1ODhlM2I3ZjRkZGQ4ZjYzMTBkOTg3YmYyNDg3"><span style="font-weight: 400">She slammed the door.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMTFiY2NmYjYzNDRjZjI4MjlkMDU3MjAyZjVjYTUz"> </p> <p class="cnNhOTdkMDIwMDRiNjQzNTRhYWE4ZTcxMzI1OGVkMzJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Oy, that’s no way to treat a kid. Even I know that.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMDE3NWVmYzVkMDRhZTVhYzQ4N2NiODg5YzA0NGVj"> </p> <p class="cnM1NWIwYmM2ODNlYjQ0ZDliYmM5ODA5NzM5NThiOTI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Now what…”</span></p> <p class="cnNlNjViMzE5ZTY0YzRlOWU4NjYyOWFmZmU3N2Q1ZjAz"> </p> <p class="cnM3MzIyYTJlMjFkNjQ2MzBiNWJiNDMwNDA3MTc1ZThl"><span style="font-weight: 400">I knocked again and the door was opened.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNDRmYjdmM2M5NzRjNzFhMWIxZTFlMjMzZjM3MjA4"> </p> <p class="cnM0NTdhMTAxYzk0NDRkZjRiNDI4YTdkYzEwZDg5M2Fj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What do you want!?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4NjdlZTUzNmQxNDRkM2NhM2NkOTJhMWI3MzgyNTE3"> </p> <p class="cnNlNjE2OThlYTdkZDQzZTM5NTk0YmJkOTExN2E3Mjdh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Help me.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkZWRiZTE2ZTBiYjQ0MzI4MGM4N2RjNGE4NGEyNTkw"> </p> <p class="cnNhY2UzYjBlYmUzYTRhOTRiZDE2NGJhODcwMjdlYjFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No! Go away!”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YzY3MTdjNjRmNjQ0NzU5OTc1MGFkMjQ4MjAxNjZh"> </p> <p class="cnMxZTJhYjdmNTRiZTRkNDNiODZlM2U1YWMxMjAxMGE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’ll pay.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwZjg4ZTE5M2M4YTQyN2ZiNDZkMDhmZDkxMzlmOGJm"> </p> <p class="cnM0Y2IwMzk1ZTE3MjQ1ZTE5N2Y4YjhjNjgxY2MyMDg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Her eyes glinted for a split second there, don’t think I wouldn’t notice.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMjVjMjNhMzI2NjQyNmY4NzkyNjhiYTA2MjgzYzAy"> </p> <p class="cnM1YzA3ZjliYjdhMTRmMjM5MDAwOTIyMWY5NDRlMzM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How much do you have?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjZjVjOGQ2MzJlNjRkYzg4Njc5OGMwMTRhZDkxYjdl"> </p> <p class="cnM0NjlhN2Q1YjI5YzQ2NjA4NGViYTZiYzFkNjA3MTU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I took out my pouch and counted my money.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNTVjY2Q1OGUyMjQxZjU5OGNkZDg1OWZjYmQyYjgy"> </p> <p class="cnNhZmY5ODViYTJkNjQxODViOTY0OTNhZTI4OWI2ZjFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uhh… 45 cal-”</span></p> <p class="cnM0MGNhNmI0NjZiZTQxNmNiYjcxMDMzNmRhMTMzNjA4"> </p> <p class="cnM3YWY5ODZhNDYwYjQ2NGZhM2E1YjQwNjJiZjc5MjEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That will do.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyNDNkNTk5NDZlYzQ2ZGJhZDdiYjMxNGFjYmZmOTFi"> </p> <p class="cnNiMGE4MzVhMmFhYzRiZmE4ZTY0ZWViYmFkODYzMTcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">And just like that, all my belonging was lost. She snatched my money just by sweeping her hand. Gentle, yet swift and agile. How did she do that?</span></p> <p class="cnM4NWM4OTE0NzM4ODQ4MGRhOWFhMDViYWEwZDA4M2I3"> </p> <p class="cnNmMmY4ZDg1NjIwOTQyOTliNDM1MDMzNjdjNmQyMzA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How did you do that?”</span></p> <p class="cnMzMWEzMDFiMjFiYTQ2MGViNDIyMzRiMGQ4NTVkMzk1"> </p> <p class="cnNlZjNjOTc5MjA2ODQ3YzhiNjBiYTRiNjUyMjI0ZDJl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Do what?”</span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br><br></span></p> <p class="cnM2ZmUzNTQ5ZDRmMzRiNzBiNzhiMjI3ZGNiMWE1Mzg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That move. That was amazing.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2NDQwNWY4YTMyZTQwMWRiNTUwN2ViZTBhZjEwMTgx"> </p> <p class="cnM1ZWVmMWVmMWU0MDRhY2E4Y2IxMjY0M2Y5YzE0ZjVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ho~, amazing… you say?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhZDBiYTFlYjkzMjRjY2RhMjY3YWRjOTQ0N2Y5YTA2"> </p> <p class="cnMxOGFkZjIzOWQyMzRjMmI4MDdkZTlkYTAxYmI5NTQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">She let out devious smile, a complete opposite of what I just saw this evening.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NDZmYjU5OTc0ZTQ1MTQ5ZTI4ZDk3ZTY5Y2M5ZWM1"> </p> <p class="cnMxNjBmN2QxMDRiOTRhNzI5MDEwYWZhMTgyOGEyYTYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, I can show you things much more amazing than that, if you are interested~”</span></p> <p class="cnNjY2Q0OWU4YTQ3ZTQ2ZGE4ZTgxNmJiYmE1ZTY5YzAw"> </p> <p class="cnM3NDg0NDJjYjU3NzQxMTFhYjAxYjQwMmVhMjM0YTli"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uh, no, it’s fine. I’m good.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmZjA3NDhmMDIwOTQ5ZGY4YWZkZTQ4NTAzOTRjYWE1"> </p> <p class="cnNhYjRmMmMwY2E1YTQ4NjRiYzk2MzlhYzI5YTQ5OWRm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hoho, aren’t you a dear? Hahaha!”</span></p> <p class="cnMxYTYxNDFiMzA0YjQ5M2FhMTFiNWRjNDUyMWJiZDkw"> </p> <p class="cnM1NjQxNjQ2NjJkZjRmNjE4MDlhZjNkZjlmYWM4Yjdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">How am I a dear? She invited me inside the house, and I was welcomed with empty bottles of alcohol scattered around. Above the table, the floor, drawers and closets. But somehow, the rubbish bin is only filled with used tissues and papers.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjkzMWI0NDExYTQ1ODE5MDk0OWJmOWVkY2QwNjMy"> </p> <p class="cnMwMzhlMTcxMjA3ZjQyODM4NzFhN2I0YTEwMzllN2Jj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“...”</span></p> <p class="cnNkM2Q2YWMwZmIwZDRkNGJhNzM2Y2ZlMDk2OTdmNjU0"> </p> <p class="cnNiN2YzYTIzZjY0YzRlZDlhMDkxZDE2ODQ1MmE0YzA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Make yourself feel at home!”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YjI5ZDJkYjkxZTQ3MWM4ZDZiMmVjNTMxY2E0YmEy"> </p> <p class="cnNiNDEzNzc1MTkxMzQxNjE5MDFhNzM0YjRmZmExZjRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“... Where can I sleep?”</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZDRlOTk2MDM2NzRkYzk5NTg2NzczMDIyZjY4YTZm"> </p> <p class="cnM3Mjg4Mzg1NzUzZjRhNjBhZThjZDcyZDViOGU5Njgy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Here.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzM2IwMTUyODE0NDRiODE4YTI1NThhYmY2ZmYwZjZh"> </p> <p class="cnNmYzZiMGU0MzEyMjQ4NzRhMzgwMzA2YTk2YzY0MGVk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“There’s no bed.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjNDczZTNiODlhZTRjYTRiNTZlYzQ0NmQ1ZDgzNjBl"> </p> <p class="cnNlYjY5ODM5N2Y3ZTRiNTg5ZjFkNzU4ZmIwZGZiZGFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“The sofa is your bed.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiMTJjNmQzZDJlYTQxY2U4YmMwN2JlOGE5MDRmYjVh"> </p> <p class="cnM5ZTZhY2QyY2E0ZDRhZTdiODdiZGIzYWFjNDY2OTNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Huh??”</span></p> <p class="cnMzZmU1OTM1MDM4ZDRkMDQ5OTI5NWM5NmFjMzlhMDY3"> </p> <p class="cnNjYjUwY2JhOGY5NTQ4MzA4NGQ1NTk2MmYzMzM3YmIx"><span style="font-weight: 400">She sighed while scratching her head.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNTM5NmFiOTUzYzQzZmViNjdlZjNkY2Q0ZDllNjJm"> </p> <p class="cnMzM2Q5Zjg0Nzg0YjQ4NmViOTk1YTJjNWYxNGMzZTg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“45 calds can only get me 3 bottles tops! A rent for a room per night at minimum is 250 calds! You should be grateful I already let you in!”</span></p> <p class="cnNiYzEyNWQ5Y2IzODQ2NTNiNjM4MmIyMTQxYzBkNWJk"> </p> <p class="cnMyOTYyMDNmN2ExOTQyZjY5YzM0Yjc4NGZjM2I0ODI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“...”</span></p> <p class="cnNhNDNjN2JmZDM5MzQxY2RhM2VkZmM3OTdjZjczMGYw"> </p> <p class="cnMxMThmMjBhZGNmOTRhMjU4ZGI0ZGVlNWNhODkyNzJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">3 bottles of what exactly?</span></p> <p class="cnMwMjE5YTRkNTYwZTQ3NDBiMjQ4ZDZlMGQ0ODI4ZWM1"> </p> <p class="cnNmODQxNGE0YTJlNTQ3ZDY4ZGM4ZTZkZGYzYWNkODU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Crap, at this rate I will be dead from the cold outside. Forget going to the Tower of Memorial, getting to the next city would be impossible.</span></p> <p class="cnNlYWJhOGExMWYwMTQ5YWM5ODY4YTBhMGU5YWEwNGYx"> </p> <p class="cnNhOWQ3NGZiMzkwZDQ3MDE5MGNmMDJjNWQ3N2IxMjIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Crossing her arms, she spoke with a firm tone.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YzZlNzE1NjFkZDQzMTRhMWFmMzRjOGM3MmI4ZGI4"> </p> <p class="cnNkN2ZjOTJlNmZhNTRiODI5M2E4MjI5NTUxNjA0MTM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Are you listening? Starting from tomorrow you will have to earn your keep! I don’t know how, but for a night on the sofa is 50 calds! Take it or leave it! Understand!?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MDIxNjkwNDM5ZjQ0N2E5MzQ3MWQxZmI2ZjNlYjMx"> </p> <p class="cnNlYWE2MTI0MzEwZTRjZmY5MzdlNjllNmIyNGI0YWE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">And thus, my first day ended with a harsh remark from this lady I don’t even know her name of. The game has officially began in a small city out in the east.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNmQxMDg2NTFlYTQyY2FiNTEwNmI2Y2VkYTBlYTY1"> </p> <p class="cnNjODA3MmUzMzNjNjQxMDJhZmM2YmZkOTA3YmM5YWZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Starting tomorrow, I will have to do more odd jobs to earn my keep and save money at the same time. The path I can take is wide and uncertain. My purpose isn’t that clear either. Truly a pathetic tale.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNDAwODg5MDk3ZjQ5MzM4ODgyYTU2YmU5ZmE5OGE4"> </p> <p class="cnMyMGE3NzhjNDYyZDQwMDRhMWI1NmUxYzVkYjcyNWEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">As I struggled to keep my eyes open, my mind wandered off to the dream world.</span></p> <p class="cnNjZjA5YjNiMDMzNjQ1ZjhhN2JmZmNkMjEwZmVmNGYx"> </p> <p class="cnMwYTQxOGJkYmI2NzQ1M2E4N2NjMWRlNDlmZTE5MmNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">There is much to learn in this world, and I won’t give up that easily…</span></p> <p class="cnNlNGQ4YTBlMTViOTQ1MDY5YjlmNjdmNzg0YjAxZTRi"> </p> <p class="cnNkODcwOTM4ODNhNTQyODc4N2MzZmQ4OTExN2QzZDMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">A world where I can meet you again. The hope that keeps my soul together.</span></p> </div>

Were you expecting an event to happen on my way to the woodsman? I mean, I did. I saw the patterns, I know something would happen… but nothing did. I went to the forest according to the minimap on my peripheral vision and found the woodsman. Something conspicuous about him was his left arm. There was none. He chop woods with only one arm with menacing eyes. I called out to him and expected an event to be triggered, but things just happened normally. I paid him calds and he gave me the woods… only I have no means to carry it. The woodsman went back to his cabin and gave me a bucket that I can carry on my back. It was free and I have no reason to refuse. I didn’t think much about it, but it was heavy. Too heavy that I had to rest a few times on the way back. When I did get back, my STR increased by 1. Apparently stats can also be increased by doing certain actions, somehow I felt like I should know this already, but… In the end, no event was triggered. No encounter with any monster nor people. Why did I even expect that to happen anyway? A sense of foreboding crept behind my back through the whole quest. A noteworthy thing from all of this was how the blacks shopkeeper with the thick, red lips’ reaction. He was so shocked that his eyes bulged out. What’s wrong with him? “No-nothing, I just thought that you wouldn’t come back at all.” “...Why wouldn’t I?” “Ah you see…” He told me briefly that he assumed I’m a beggar and would probably run off with the money instead of doing the actual quest. Apparently it’s a common thing to happen around the city. “If you thought I would run off… then why would you still give me the quest?” “Uhh, let’s just say I have faith on you.” I tilted my head, not understanding him one bit. “But why is it a common thing? People running off like that after receiving a quest?” “Hehehe, you really lived a sheltered life, eh? This city, Lime is far isolated from the capital. The surrounding area is also somewhat safe, only monsters below level 10 would appear. Even that is quite rare.” “A beginner… city?” “A beginner- what?” “No-nothing. Those people who ran, it count as stealing right?” “Yeah, but they usually escaped to another city after doing their deeds.” We chatted a little bit while I learned about the city. Somewhere in the corner of my mind, I believed that he was just being sympathetic. Was it because how I looked? I’m not sure, but I’m thankful to him. Honestly, I don’t think anyone would’ve done the same and explain these things to me. Lime, a city far off in the east. Known for its most famous… limes. Unlike the average limes, its color is golden and not green. Usually mistaken for lemon by people who are not familiar with it. It only grows in this city and nowhere else. The lime has a very potent medicinal properties, making them sought by many, but the supplies are not that much. The price escalated sharply since its discovery. I’m not very sure what to make out of this information, but I listened anyway. “I’m back!” “Elva! Where were you all this time!?” The shopkeeper rushed to the front door where a small figure stood. It was a girl, smaller and younger than me. Blond hair with a brownish skin complexion. Her pitch black eyes caught my attention. “Playing with Cally!” “This is already past evening! You worried me sick!” “Nnno need to worry! Cally’s parent was with us!” “O-oh, but I’m still worried okay!?” “Uummm…” The girl ignored his rant and peeked her head at me. “Who is this?” “This is… uh, what’s your name again?” I never told you my name. “Name’s Len.” “Right, and I’m Brall and this is my daughter, Elva.” “How’r you!” She made a salute and smiled widely. Is that a trend going on around here? I replied by saluting back. “Hehe!” She giggled and ran behind the counter, seemingly contend with my gesture. Well, I guess all’s well, ends well. “Oh yeah, here’s your payment.” | Wood Fetcher’s Quest has been completed! | | --- | | Calculating Performance… | | --- | | Wood Fetcher | Difficulty : F | | --- | --- | | - Complete within 24 hours: Success - Use no more than 100 cald: Success - Carry more than 15 woods: Success - ???: Failed Performance Summary: A rank | | | A rank reward(s) | | --- | | - 15 calds obtained! - (Bonus) 30 calds obtained! | Huh? Performance Summary? I didn’t know about this, do I? “You did great, here 15 calds and some extra. Consider it as pocket money.” | Your affinity with Brall has increased by 10! | | --- | Our meeting and talk didn’t last long. I bid my thanks and farewell. I left through the door and Brall was closing the store. “You don’t have anywhere to go?” “No. Not at the moment.” “Hang on.” He took out a piece of paper and handed it to me. Judging from the design, it looks like a business card. “Go to the address written on it, tell them that Brall send his regard.” “I can’t read this.” “...” … Is this the place? A small house on the edge of the city. I’m still a bit further from the door but I already smelled alcohol. Why would Brall send me to a place like this? Who lives here? This is not a base for human traffickers, right? I walked up to the front door and knocked it lightly. Not even a second passed and the door was pulled open. And there she was. Tall. Wavy red hair. Sharp red eyes. What is the pattern? What could be waiting for me? What is this small event leading to? I asked these questions a little bit too late. Where are the puzzle pieces? Was there even a puzzle to solve? No, even before that, there is still more… Beside the messenger, and Elaine… What is… My purpose? The pattern is messed up. Not aligned to each other, disconnected without a clue on how to be solved. Like a prologue to a story, the mysteries were presented. What’s left is how the protagonist gather the clues together and reach for a happy ending. However, my tale has already ended. It ended with my death. I was sure I died, but here I am. Alive and breathing. I can feel my heart beated every now and then without a sign to stop anytime soon. Am I truly me? Am I still Len… or am I someone else? These memories... wait. Memories? Memories. Tower of Memorial. That’s the key word. Tower of Memorial. Where I met the messenger, maybe if I get into that place again, I can meet her. But how? Tower of Memorial. What does memorial means? Statue of memorial, a statue made to remember that person or a certain event. What about a tower? I know nothing about any tower. Should I remember something about the tower? These questions were the one I’m supposed to ask in the first place. And to get the answer I’m looking for, I have to get to the tower. There is no guarantee. No, a guarantee is not needed. I have to. I must go. I don’t belong in this world. The messenger, a being beyond common sense. I still remember her. She had wings. She isn’t human. A being above human. I have to meet her once again. And for that, I will become strong. “The hell are you?” Heavy smell of alcohol permeated from inside the house, and her mouth. “...Brall sent me to you.” “Brall…? That old man?” “Yeah.” “For what?” “A place to stay for the night.” She puckered her lips to the side. “Nope. No place for you. Scram.” She slammed the door. Oy, that’s no way to treat a kid. Even I know that. “Now what…” I knocked again and the door was opened. “What do you want!?” “Help me.” “No! Go away!” “I’ll pay.” Her eyes glinted for a split second there, don’t think I wouldn’t notice. “How much do you have?” I took out my pouch and counted my money. “Uhh… 45 cal-” “That will do.” And just like that, all my belonging was lost. She snatched my money just by sweeping her hand. Gentle, yet swift and agile. How did she do that? “How did you do that?” “Do what?” “That move. That was amazing.” “Ho~, amazing… you say?” She let out devious smile, a complete opposite of what I just saw this evening. “Well, I can show you things much more amazing than that, if you are interested~” “Uh, no, it’s fine. I’m good.” “Hoho, aren’t you a dear? Hahaha!” How am I a dear? She invited me inside the house, and I was welcomed with empty bottles of alcohol scattered around. Above the table, the floor, drawers and closets. But somehow, the rubbish bin is only filled with used tissues and papers. “...” “Make yourself feel at home!” “... Where can I sleep?” “Here.” “There’s no bed.” “The sofa is your bed.” “Huh??” She sighed while scratching her head. “45 calds can only get me 3 bottles tops! A rent for a room per night at minimum is 250 calds! You should be grateful I already let you in!” “...” 3 bottles of what exactly? Crap, at this rate I will be dead from the cold outside. Forget going to the Tower of Memorial, getting to the next city would be impossible. Crossing her arms, she spoke with a firm tone. “Are you listening? Starting from tomorrow you will have to earn your keep! I don’t know how, but for a night on the sofa is 50 calds! Take it or leave it! Understand!?” And thus, my first day ended with a harsh remark from this lady I don’t even know her name of. The game has officially began in a small city out in the east. Starting tomorrow, I will have to do more odd jobs to earn my keep and save money at the same time. The path I can take is wide and uncertain. My purpose isn’t that clear either. Truly a pathetic tale. As I struggled to keep my eyes open, my mind wandered off to the dream world. There is much to learn in this world, and I won’t give up that easily… A world where I can meet you again. The hope that keeps my soul together.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMxNzFlNjczZDEyYTQzMzBhZjNlOTg3NGEwYTM2YTI4" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 2em"><span style="font-weight: 400">Chapter 26</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">— </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Monsters</span></em></span></p> <p class="cnM3YTY3MDZhNTViMDQyZWViMDNlN2M0NzU4NTQ0NDUx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  As if a rope had been cut, they fell back to the earth. Only Natalie had been unaffected, though Alden wasn't sure if that was because she'd held onto Gwen—who hadn't so much as twitched during the event—or because of her status as naturally awakened. Either way, the rest of them weren't so lucky. Ryan in particular ended up crumpling to the ground and knocking his head against a tree branch as he went, cursing all the while.</span></p> <p class="cnNhOTJjY2ZkYmU1NzQ4NTM4ODRhYTliOGE0NDFlNzI4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Chikushō, chikushō, chikushō,</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">" whispered Rika. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MmI0ZWMzNTViNzRlY2E5NDUyZjdlOTYzNzhlMTA0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Ryan clambered to his feet, though he looked very unsteady. "That was the ritual, right? They killed him, and I'm about to go drink all the fucking beer in the K n' B?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjMWVhZDFkZGE4MjRlZTlhMTBhZmRkMTRlNDAyYTFi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "In your fucking dreams," Rika whispered. "He got to them."</span></p> <p class="cnNjNDk2MmFiZGQwZTQ1M2NiNzI2ZmEwM2I1MDE2Y2Qz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I wanted one last happy thought before we all get ass-fucked, bitch," he snapped.</span></p> <p class="cnMzOGQ1ZGRhNmIxNzRjMzhiNGU1ZjFhNGRkMDE3ODhl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Shut up!" shouted Jerry—and to Alden's surprise, it worked. But then again, it usually worked when Rachel interjected as well, so maybe they were just easy to calm down. Jerry continued in a surprisingly calm voice. "We have to regroup, right? Find Rachel and figure out what to do next."</span></p> <p class="cnNhNzQxMjQ5ZDIzMTRkMTY5Y2M1ZWNiYmZmODYxOTU2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  As he spoke, a deafening crash echoed across the landscape. A fireball erupted into the sky, in the direction of Hector's store. A split-second later, the shockwave pounded through the underbrush, making them all flinch.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MGE1ODU4NjM2ODQ0NDc5NDhmYTdiNGFmYmQ2ZTZi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Fuck that, I'm out," said Ryan. He meant it too, turning and sprinting away into the woods at a random direction. Jerry hesitated, reconsidering his idea to rejoin the fight. After a few moments, he ran in a different direction, though still far away from the scraping and burning sounds and occasional screams now issuing from Rallsburg. </span></p> <p class="cnM1ODEzZjIyZTlmYzRkYjJiYzVjZDQ0NzAyY2Y0Yjdk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie said something to her new hawk, and it took off into the sky. She rode off hard in the direction Rachel had last been seen, leaving only Rika and Alden alone in the forest.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZjhmYmYyOTIxMzRkOTA4ODNmYzZjOGY1MWU1NWQz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What do we do now?" Alden whispered. He'd only planned out up to the fight with Omega. He had no idea what he was supposed to do if they </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">failed</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">. It hadn't even popped into his mind. That was the final battle, wasn't it? The big finish with the risky gambit and the life-or-death stakes? </span></p> <p class="cnM4NzBhMDVlZmFmMDQzYjY5NDdhMWFjMDQwMmM4NTE0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  What did he do after they'd </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">lost</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">?</span></p> <p class="cnNhMWE1MDJhMjVmOTQxYzQ5NTY4M2I3NjY4NzJkN2Yx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rika shook her head. "We're fucked. Rachel's plan failed." She sounded just as shaken as Alden felt. "I don't know, Alden."</span></p> <p class="cnMyNzQ1ZTJmMjllNDQ4NGJhNjExNjZmZWUzNTA1M2Yx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Do you think any of them are alive?" he asked, while Hailey and Jessica's faces flashed through his mind.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NzkzYTQ2NzA1NTQ0NzJiNjM5YjRmMTdlOGZmMzU5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Could be. Ritual backfiring might not have killed them. Omega would though." Rika grimaced. "Fuck me, I have to go after her."</span></p> <p class="cnNkMTJkNGI5MGYwNzQ0OGY5YjgwYWM1YzZmYWE4MGRl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden nodded. "I'm coming too."</span></p> <p class="cnMyZmYzNzIzOTIxZTQ2YzU5MjM3NTM5ZTVhYWUwMjUx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Okay then." Rika started down the path Natalie had just taken. Alden followed as fast as he could. Thankfully it was still mid-day, or the forest would be much more difficult for them. Instead, it was the things </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">in</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> the forest that caused them the most trouble. </span></p> <p class="cnMzZWE3OTlhZTIyMTQyMTQ4MDRmOTYxNDFlMjEwMDY3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  A snap of a branch had them both twisting around in an instant. Alden summoned up a ball of flame in one hand, larger than he'd ever managed. He assumed the adrenaline currently flooding his veins was helping him out with magic somehow. Rika had one hand full of gemstones and her other fist up and ready to strike, sparks dancing between her knuckles.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZjAzOGMwNWFkZjRjNWNhYWI1ODIzMTU2ZTEwMmYy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Viper was behind them, his hand in the air. "White flag," he called out.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NjJjOTAyODUyNDRiNGRiYjFkYzhkYTA3ZWM3N2U0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Rika, shoot him," Alden snapped.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNjRhNGZjNzlhNjQ3YTA4YTE1NTU5MzQ3OTJiOGI3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4NDI3MGYzMzY2NjRlNjdhODRmYTAxN2RiZTlhNmIw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He tried to kidnap me."</span></p> <p class="cnMwNzJkMzQ3YWI5MjQ4MWViYjc0MzYwNGQ4ZjcxMzQw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">what </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">now?"</span></p> <p class="cnNhNWY5YjM0N2RkMTRhY2I5YmViMGUyZjliYjkzYWVm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You shoot me, Rook shoots you," Viper said quickly. "And she won't miss. Now what the hell just happened?"</span></p> <p class="cnMyNzhhM2NiNTRhZDQ0NjY4NWNkZTYxOTQxZGFlZWJj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We tried to kill Omega," said Rika, not lowering her hand. </span></p> <p class="cnM2NzkzMjc1ZDhjYTQ2ZWRhMzE5MGQ3YjkxYWNmY2Vl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Did you?"</span></p> <p class="cnNkMzA2NjhjNTFhMjRhNTM5OTFkZTFlNmM5YmU0MTc0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What the fuck do you think?" Rika snapped, lifting her hand an inch. Viper took a step back, his hand still raised. "You know that gesture means fuck-all when you have magic, right?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzYTEyMWNlYWFjNDQwOWE4NmNmMzcxZDI0MmE5NDUw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  He shrugged, and put his hand in his pocket instead. "It's traditional. Calm down."</span></p> <p class="cnNhZjdhZThhN2E2MDQ5ZTViNmNjODExNmQyMzBmOGZh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We're a </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">really </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">long way from calm." Rika's eyes narrowed. "How did you find us?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjNDY5MzE4ZjM5OTQwYWRiYWVhMDE2ZTM5ZjY5OTg4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We saw pink fire coming out of the trees and figured that was worth investigatin'."</span></p> <p class="cnMyMzFjMDU1MWFlODRkOThhODhkZWJkNWZhMDlmZTU1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "So you could take them instead," Alden added. "Rika. They tried to fly me out in a helicopter. He just wants someone for his boss to cut open."</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZDJlYjdkZWI0ZDQxNDk5OGY4ODVhOTNiYWFjMGJl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Fucking hell," she muttered. </span></p> <p class="cnMwMGQzYTA4ZjdlZTQwMmZiN2RlMWQ3N2U4MjlkNjNm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Viper shrugged. "Look, there's some bad blood here, so let's just clear it up. Won't touch either of you again, you got my word. We just want to know what's going on."</span></p> <p class="cnNmN2E5NzNhNGRjZjQ4MTA5N2FkYWJlYTNiNmY4ZTZj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "New plan," said Rika. "You work for Malton directly right? Cornelius Malton?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3NjE0MmRmNWYyODQwNzBhOGQ1M2IxNGQ2YWM3N2Ix" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  He nodded slowly. "So what?"</span></p> <p class="cnM0OTE1ODNkNGRkZjQzMzA5MTU4MDk2NjgzYTE3OTVj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "So my father's the founder of NishiSoft and has access to every single goddamn Laushire database—and so do I. I have all the encryption keys they've ever used and root logins on their network." Rika lowered her hand a few inches. "You've got a helicopter, and I need a ride. Get me the fuck out of town and your boss gets the whole Laushire backend."</span></p> <p class="cnM4MWY1Mzg3OThhYjQ3MTk5MTcwMmNiNTE1ZTk1NGIz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Viper frowned. "There's no way I'm getting out of here without someone who can use magic."</span></p> <p class="cnNkMjlmNTkzMmM0YjRjMWE5ZTBlYThjZjAwZjg5ZGNi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Holy shit, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">bakayarō</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">, are you not seeing this?" She gestured over her shoulder. As if on cue, another, smaller explosion rippled into the sky with a low roll of thunder. "If you don't leave now, you're not getting out of here alive </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">period. </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Do you </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">see </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">what's happening back there?" Rika shook her head. "I want safe passage to somewhere in the United States or Canada of my choosing. Malton never learns my name or who gave him the info. And you get to deliver your boss a massive prize on a platter. Everyone's happy, none of us die. Magic can wait."</span></p> <p class="cnM3NTkyODQzNzZhNjRlMWFhNTdlYTYzYmUzZmY1YWE4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Rika…" Alden started. Rika ignored him.</span></p> <p class="cnM3YTM2YTJiZTVhMTRiNjk4YzAyMDQwYThkZjE3YzE5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Omega can't keep winning. Magic's already gotten out of Rallsburg. Sooner or later he'll bite it, but magic won't, 'cause he can't beat Grey-eyes. So you'll have another chance—but only if we get out of here. Right now." Rika flipped her hand over, offering it to Viper to shake. "Deal?"</span></p> <p class="cnMxYWQzZjIwZDEzNjQ2ZjhhMTgxYjY2OTE3MjYyYzA5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Viper took a minute to consider it. Alden stepped closer to Rika and dropped to a whisper. "What about Rachel?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3NGM0NGIyNWU0NzQwMDE4ZmM2MjY3ODU2ZGZlZDg2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She'll make it," Rika said, though he could hear the unease in her voice. "She always does in the end."</span></p> <p class="cnM3YjYyNjFiNTRmYzQ1ZGNiZGNhMjdhNGQ0YjRkNDMz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Even up against a god?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzOTM3MDM1NTNlYzQ5NmY5ZWU0NGZlYTdmM2YyNDYx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "They aren't gods, Alden. They're just more stupid college kids in over their heads."</span></p> <p class="cnNhNjYyZmE4YmEyNjRiZjZhZjYyOTk5M2I5ZjVkYmE0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden frowned. "If you leave, we can't hold him down anymore."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZjQ0MWM0ZmRmZjQ1NzA4MGFhZjVkZmY5ZWQ2YjQ3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rika hesitated. "I can't stay here. I can't </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">die </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">here."</span></p> <p class="cnNhZTBiMmNkZGVkODQwZDJiODJhNTcwMTE5MWQ1OTky" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Tell me how to do it," Alden said, though he could feel intense anxiety weighing on him as he realized what that would mean. "I'll hold him."</span></p> <p class="cnNjM2U2MjY2YjliYzRlZjc5YTJmYmM4YjhjNTlkZTQ1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "There's no way I could explain it in time," Rika said. "And it's still too dangerous."</span></p> <p class="cnMyODg1NDc4NmUzNzRlM2I4YWUxN2RiZjFkZTAxMjg4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "More dangerous than letting something like him stay alive?" Alden pointed out.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NGM1MzJmOTk4ZTRlMGU4YzllNzkwZmQ0YTdlOTE0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rika looked at him with surprise. "Way more murderous than I expected, Alden," she murmured.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMmM3ZDM3ZWZlZjQ1ZWViODNjM2RlNTdkZTY4MWVi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden was still running on thick adrenaline. His entire body felt energized and ready for a fight. "I've watched him kill people now. He tried to kill you too, and me. If you aren't going to try again, then at least give us the chance to. Please, Rika."</span></p> <p class="cnMyM2FlZDlhMmI4MzQ1NzliYWQ3Y2RmOWVmMjAyZDI0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You've got a deal," Viper called. "Wherever you want to go, no questions asked and no records."</span></p> <p class="cnM0MTdjMmU4Yjc4NDQ5YmViNzgxZTg1YzY2Y2YyYTA4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She nodded. "Give me a minute."</span></p> <p class="cnMxYTE5YmU2YmNiNjQ5ODU4NDM4NDRhNjhiNzcwODk5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "One minute." </span></p> <p class="cnNiYTQ1YjZkOTAzYzQyOWU4ZDY3ZDcyY2E4YmVhYTQ3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The gruff man turned and started speaking into his radio earpiece again. Rika turned away to block his line of sight, edging up close to Alden. Her skin touched his briefly, sending another electric shock dancing through him. She pulled her bag around front and dug through it quickly. She picked out a small watertight lockbox and unlocked it.</span></p> <p class="cnNkMTBiZTRkZDVhYjRlZTBiMjZhZjAyNzA4YTQwNTVj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Read this quickly," she muttered.</span></p> <p class="cnM4YWI0NDRmMDFhNTRiYjA4ZWE0MTMyZjlhNDQwMzky" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden picked up the crumpled scrap of paper reverently. He looked down at the first few words, and suddenly felt his eyes being drawn across it like they weren't under his control anymore. The writing—which he couldn't describe but somehow perfectly comprehended—flowed much more strangely than he remembered. </span></p> <p class="cnNmODliOTFmNWQxMTQxM2NiNTBiNTdkNTExYWRhZjEy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  It was very different from the page he'd read in Rika's apartment, or the one Hailey had shown him at Boris' shop. The sentences seemed to flow faster, but at the same time it was like he were wading through thick sludge to get through to the end. He saw lines of pure energy rolling away from him, and as he followed them the world seemed to suddenly turn into a flickering old movie. With every step the entire world flashed, like someone were turning the lights on and off. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear the effect away.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNjc4NTI0OGQ1OTQ4YTRhYTBhYTIxZjdiZmE1ZDhj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden looked around and realized why. It wasn't that the lights were blinking—there were no lights around to flash anyway, just the sunlight streaming through the trees. He was perceiving it more quickly, and acting upon it at that same speed. In that vein, he was also perceiving the infinitesimally small gaps between photons arriving from the sun and bouncing around to eventually reach his eyes, as his speed of perception increased further and further. Alden was moving faster than the universe.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MzdmNWRlMjVlYjQ2M2VhOTZjOWEzYmIwYzY5MTlh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  It released. The lines of energy faded and the world snapped back to normal. He hadn't moved at all. Alden let out a huge breath and doubled over, feeling as though he was about to be sick. Rika grabbed him and helped him stay upright. </span></p> <p class="cnNkMDQyMjVkNjgyNDQ4YjQ4NDI0MzI5OThhODhjZGYw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Easy," she muttered. "Don't look too suspicious."</span></p> <p class="cnM3M2UzNWZlMDI0MTRjZDdhNDM1YjZmZWRmNzk5MWZl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden forced himself to stay calm. It took him a few moments, but he managed to stay upright and hold it in. "That flickering was really annoying," he finally choked out.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NTc3MmM3MzMyZjQ5NDBiMjI2MDRjNTYzOGE5NzBj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rika grinned. "I forgot about that," she whispered. "Don't worry. You'll learn to fix it so that doesn't happen." She glanced over at Viper, who was watching the sky impatiently. They still had time. "Now that you know what it is, you should be able to interfere with him. Just lay it down in his vicinity and it screws everything up. This magic really doesn't mix well. You barely even have to force it to fuck him up. It'll be painful as shit to keep going for more than a few seconds but that's enough if you time it right. Get some topaz from Jessica's hoard to lighten the load a bit."</span></p> <p class="cnNhZTA1ZjY1NmYyYzRlZTVhNjA3ZmNiYTU4MjA5MWIw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You're still not going to stay?" Alden asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNTQwNDU3NTY5NjQ0Yjc4YjZlMjg1NTNlN2E3Mzdm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "...I told you, I don't believe in coincidence. I needed a way out and then we run right into this motherfucker. I gotta take it." She sighed. "Don't worry. You got this, Alzack." She clapped him on the back. </span></p> <p class="cnMyMDdmYmQxOGRhODQ5N2M5NGUwNzM0MGVhYWIyNjBl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What about you, though? Can't they just come after you the moment you give them what they want?"</span></p> <p class="cnMwNzUyMWQxOTM2YjQ4ZmNiMWVkNDE2N2ZlMjA5ZjNj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rika shook her head. "It's not a one-time thing. They'll drop me off somewhere in Olympia and only once I'm in the clear do they get what they want. They get access, but only </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">through </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">me. I've still got backdoors all through the system, and they need me to mask their tunnel. If I disappear or they try anything, they lose access. Or I just shoot them with lightning. I'm pretty good at that." She raised her voice. "We leaving or what?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3NDg0MzQxYzk3ZTRkMDZhYTk3YjgwYmNhMDdkNmZi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  At her question, they all heard the distinctive sound of the helicopter approaching. Viper pointed up at the sky. The sound of the blades pounding the air was growing rapidly, until it swung overhead in a dramatic stall and came to a halt not far from their position. Alden had a brief, terrifying flashback of leaping from the chopper and took a few steps away instinctively.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NzRlZGY0ZWI3YjQ4ZDI4NzZiZjhmNzQyNzRhMjZl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You're gonna be fine</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">,</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">" said Rika, just barely audible over the helicopter. She gave Alden a brief hug, and the electricity danced through him one last time as she did. "Stay alive out there."</span></p> <p class="cnNmNzdkMzJiOWRhMDRlYTA4ZDk3YjhmYThmNGRlOWI1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You too," Alden replied. "I hope you find him." Rika smiled, then ran to the ropes the helicopter had dropped. She took hold opposite Viper and Rook and handled the sudden pull with ease. The helicopter lifted just enough to clear the treeline, then took off at low altitude, fast away from Rallsburg.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGMyYTkxYWI5OTQ5NzFhNGNkMjA3MDY5Yzg0YzQ3" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <hr> <p class="cnNlZTlmNTQyYTEzODQ1NGNhMGMyMzJkYmZkY2E4M2U5" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <p class="cnM2YTdlZjAxZWE4ODQ2NTI4OTNmY2EyMjRiODZiMTdk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel ran back to the park as fast as she could. Natalie and Gwen were right alongside her, though the girl was unusually quiet. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">I guess even she realizes just how bad this is, </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Rachel thought bitterly. </span></p> <p class="cnNiMzgzZGZjNzhiNjRlMjU4NjQ2ZWVlZjY3NDI2YmQz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  They'd failed. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">She'd</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> failed. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">She'd</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> caused the cataclysm that swept through the town like a freak tornado. Jackson hadn't done this. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">It's all my fault.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNiMTZlNDg2N2Y2YTQ1ZTk5NDExYzU5ZjEwN2I1OWJl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  For a brief second, Rachel found herself agreeing with Omega. Who would want to let a force like </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">this</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> into the world? If this was what they could accomplish after only a year of magic, what horrors could she inadvertently unleash after decades or centuries? Magic didn't exist anywhere else. If she turned the tables, she could eliminate it entirely. This sort of widespread destruction and murder from so few would never occur again.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YWIwYmRmOGExZTQzZTE4ZTlhMWUwOWIyODA0Mzlh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  One look at Natalie was enough to remind Rachel what was also possible. Natalie, riding atop her wolf with an eagle perched on her shoulder, represented a branch of magic wholly removed from the violence and chaos they'd been fighting. Beyond that, there was Cinza's experimental farm, her light shows, or even Rachel's own self-improvement that had nothing to do with fighting. There were still good uses for magic. The world could use those. She had to fight for those.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZGRlYzg4YzY0MjRjNWY5YThiM2I4MWY5OGFiYTVm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel emerged into the field at the same time as the trio of Greycloaks, coming out from much further down the wall of trees marking Rallsburg's border. They all reached the small outcrop of trees just as Kendra emerged, grim-faced.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNjAxMDJlMWEwZDRiNWVhOGU4M2Y0OWNkNTg3Zjcx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She held a limp Cinza in her arms.</span></p> <p class="cnMyOTQ5OGMyMWFiZjRjMTE4ODQyZmVkOTdiMGM5NzQz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The adrenaline already pumping through Rachel's veins seemed to double up. She was at Kendra's side instantly. Cinza's face was bloody and bruised. "Is she—"</span></p> <p class="cnM3MzYzOTJiYTQzMDRmNTliOGYyZGEyZmFmNDk0Yzhj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She's alive," Kendra reported, prompting a relieved sigh from Rufus. "The backlash was significant."</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZDY3MmVlOTcwMzQzZTVhNTcwZjFkYjA0MDI1NDRj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Home, please," Cinza mumbled feebly, twisting slightly in Kendra's arms. Her eyes were closed, but to Rachel's surprise she still maintained her echoing voice. </span></p> <p class="cnMxZDAyNDAwNTg3NDQ0OWY4NWIyODlhNTMyMGMyZTE1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Kendra noticed it too. "I believe she's performing the spell unconsciously. It's not unheard of, and I can't imagine it requires much energy. We certainly keep more than a few things active through sleep every night."</span></p> <p class="cnM0MjZhZWU2MmY4ODQ5NWRiNWFjNjM1MGQ2ODgxZDUw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Is she going to be okay?" asked Yusuf.</span></p> <p class="cnMwODZiNWM3NTQ5ZTQ0ZTM4ZmI2NDFkOTQwZDdmOTEy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She just channeled more magic through herself than any single person has ever experienced," Kendra replied. "I have no way of knowing."</span></p> <p class="cnNhYWJjZDY3OWM5MDQyMTFhOGJjNzk2YTU0OWVkNDg3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "John, no. Come back home… They'll understand… I'll make them understand," murmured Cinza, totally delirious. </span></p> <p class="cnM3MGY2MDc5YTRlNTRhY2RhMmVjYTE2ODY5OTRhYzNi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Was she the one keeping your home hidden?" Rachel asked Cinza's older lieutenant. </span></p> <p class="cnNhMjcwYTYyMjU3YTRmNTdiNGYyMTYwYjYxZTRkNjBm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rufus shook his head. "She designed the magic, but any of us can keep it going if we have to."</span></p> <p class="cnMzMjgzZTQ4ZmUyODQ5ZGQ4NTY0NjY3MDMzYmI1ODBm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Get her out of here. Take her home. She was confident Omega couldn't find it."</span></p> <p class="cnMyNzE2M2MxOTc2NTQ2NjQ5NDA2MGZhYTdmN2M1MGFh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What about—"</span></p> <p class="cnM0NGIzODg4YmMzYjQ4ZmU5Y2FhYThhYzM3YTRlNWNj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She's done all she can," Rachel snapped. "Keep her safe."</span></p> <p class="cnM5ODBlNmEyNjk1MjRhZmVhNzQ2Zjk0MmY2YjkwN2Ex" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rufus hesitated. He glanced at Aaron, who nodded in agreement. Kendra passed her over. Rufus held her very carefully, as if she were made of the most fragile glass. "I'm sorry," he murmured.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzRmNjg0N2QwYTRjNzNhOTI4OTAxNGFkNTE4N2Yy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Go," she added impatiently. Without another word, the trio fled back into the woods, bearing their leader to safety. Rachel turned back to Kendra. "What about the rest?"</span></p> <p class="cnNkMThkMGVkYTgxYjRlM2Q4NGZlZjc5YmM0MDExYjMw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Kendra sighed. "Hector fled as soon as he saw Omega. That broke the ritual. I could feel in the final moments that Cinza was attempting to redirect the target. She was still aiming for where we'd agreed upon, but as soon as we felt the effect expanding, she tried to push it as far away as possible. I believe she was targeting well outside of town, but the area of effect was so wide that it still managed… well, this." She looked over her shoulder, where the nearest building was perforated with holes, some as large as a car. "Dreadful."</span></p> <p class="cnMwNGYxNjQyYzMxNzRmOGE4NmU3ZTUxZmM4ZDkzMWEx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Then what?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzNWUxYmZlYWFhMjQxZjg5YTVhYjBjOTNjZjBmMTAx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Miss Winscombe and her friend attacked him. They seemed to be doing well, but as soon as they gained any advantage, he simply sped away. He tried that three times, coming back from odd angles, but we were able to spot him out every time. After that, he just disappeared."</span></p> <p class="cnMxMzkwOTAwZjQ5ZjQzYzBiNTJjYmVlN2Y4NzQzY2Y5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Where's Hailey?" Rachel asked, looking around. They didn't seem to be anywhere nearby.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYTdhMTRiZTE1ZjQ5NmVhZTI4ZTE5MjI4OTA2ZTA1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Ran off to help the wounded, I believe. They went straight into town while I kept watch over Cinza."</span></p> <p class="cnNkYjNlMTJkOTUzOTQ1ZmFhYTc1MzI3MDhkNDcxMGIy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The sound of a helicopter drew their attention. "I thought he already left?" Rachel muttered, shading her eyes from the sunlight as she tried to spot it. The sound only lasted a few minutes before it faded away. </span></p> <p class="cnM3YjFlNDAzOTFkMTQ3ZTRiZjU0NDUzZmMzZTcwZDhj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Can </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">we</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> call in any assistance? At this point, I'd feel emergency response would be beneficial," Kendra suggested. "People are going to be needing shelter, food and water, depending on how much was just destroyed. It's not as though we can hide this anymore."</span></p> <p class="cnNhNzNlZjU5NDZlZDRjMzc4ZTg5MmZkYTRiNmQ1ZDE2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel shook her head. "Check your phone." As she'd expected, Kendra's phone was totally unresponsive. </span></p> <p class="cnNiNWI4N2I2YWEwNTQwZTliZjQ1YzViMGI3ODkyMjRk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Hm."</span></p> <p class="cnM2MDRiYTNhZDQ0MTQ3ZGNhZjljODVhYTk0ZjNlZmMz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "The cell tower was destroyed."</span></p> <p class="cnNhMjA3MmVjYTlhMTRhYWNiYzc0YmI5ZGNhOGQyMTFj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Another scream from the town, much closer than before. Natalie looked worried, which had Rachel even more concerned. The girl hadn't said a word since they'd reunited back in the forest, and she wasn't normally so quiet. Something had happened out there, but Rachel didn't have time to find out what—as the loud scrape and crunch of a collapsing building reminded her. </span></p> <p class="cnNkMDQ0YTgyYmM4MTRiMGI4ZjIzZjdmNzIxZTBmNjE2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She took off toward the sound with Natalie hot on her heels. No matter what she might be feeling and heedless of the potential danger, Rachel was still going to try and save the people of Rallsburg.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZmMwNzcxNzUyZjQ1NmM4Mjg2NzNkNjE1ZGFjODg0" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <hr> <p class="cnM3MzIxM2E5NWJlNDQ4MTBiMDA0MWMyNTM0MmY0MGQ3" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <p class="cnNlMjQ4YzEwODQ2ZTQyZjk4MGMyZWM4OTU4ZDlhN2U4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden took the quickest route he remembered back to the apartment complex. He needed to get at Jessica's collection of gemstones if he was going to have any hope of holding down Omega. </span></p> <p class="cnNiZjc5MTE2YzQ5ZTQyOGZiMjg3ZjhlY2M4MGQ0N2Ex" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  When he tore around the corner of the building, he found himself face-to-face with a college guy he didn't know, with short brown hair and a deadly expression. Alden took an instinctive step back, then another as he noticed the knife in the guy's hand.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNDkzZGE0ZDgwMDQ5ZWNiYjY3OGNjYTdhYmZkNGJj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Who are you?" he asked, eyeing Alden suspiciously.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNWRlMzA4N2ExOTQwMTBhOTY5ZjNhMzgyMjkyOTYz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Just looking for a friend," Alden answered. Given the shattered state of the apartments—shattered windows from their frames collapsing or being ripped from the walls, objects shot through ceilings with terrifying force and metal rivets torn out of wood—Alden thought it would be a simple, reasonable deflection. To his surprise, the knife rose up to find his chest. Alden froze in place.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYjg0ZjQxMzJlNDQ0OWRiNzBkYmM2OWVkMTE3MDJi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You're that guy," he muttered. "The one tagging along with the witch. You caused all this."</span></p> <p class="cnMxMjBiNDI5NTE5ZTRjNmFhNmRhNTQ2NmUzZWJkMDA1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "No—" Alden started, but he kept talking.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNjc2NWNjZjE1MTQ3YmU4MDNlM2RlYzcwN2E5MDky" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "My friends are </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">dead </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">because of you," he snarled. Alden tensed up. He could feel where this was going. The guy suddenly lunged forward, knife leading the way. </span></p> <p class="cnNmNTM5MTVjZDg3NzQ5ODk4NDU4ZDJjYzAwOGYzZWE3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden pulled himself backward with magic, flinging himself through the air faster than the guy could follow. He landed easily a few dozen feet away.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZDZiYjE4YmI2MjQzZmE4MDkxMjI3MDc4NTkzN2Qz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Don't do this," Alden warned. His opponent let out a incomprehensible shout of rage and charged forward. The knife was coming for him. The blade was only a few feet away.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNDA0Y2UxZmZmYzQ5OGI5MDA0OThlYjdkOTQ4MDg0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden grabbed desperately for it with his mind and managed to take hold. He flung it sideways, trying to send it out into the distance. The guy's grip was too strong. The knife was pulled backward, but his grip on the handle caused it to spin out as it flew away. </span></p> <p class="cnMzNjRjZjEyMTdhNzQ4NzI4YzE2ZmU3ZmJmMGEzZDhl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The blade sliced a length into the guy's palm before it vanished into the grass outside the apartments. He cursed in pain, but he didn't slow down. </span></p> <p class="cnNkNzhiNDJmYjQzMjQ3Nzk5MzUzNmFmNTAwNDk5ZmY0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The guy tackled Alden to the concrete walkway. His head bumped painfully on the ground, while the wound in his shoulder began to twinge again. He threw a punch at his attacker's face, but he didn't have enough room to get any real force out of it. He may as well have flicked the guy. </span></p> <p class="cnM1OTY2MTJjMTNiNDQ1ZDNiZDkzOGE5ZDA3ZjgzNmNk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden switched tactics, grabbing himself with magic and sliding his whole body out backwards. The guy didn't weigh enough to hold him back, letting Alden free like he were skidding across ice. As soon as he was free of the guy's grip, Alden scrambled to his feet again.</span></p> <p class="cnM3Y2Y2YWU5OGU2MzQ4Yzg4YzQwODg1MWFkNjg3MWJj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  He didn't want to hurt him, but the guy wasn't giving up. He bolted for the grass where the knife had fallen. Alden tried to find it with his mental grip first, but he couldn't see anything. As the guy picked it up with a much tighter grip than before, he swung back around to charge at Alden.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNGY0YjlhMDMxYzQxOTY4ZGJhOWJiYzhhMjhiMTJh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Stop, please!" Alden shouted, but the guy didn't look like he'd heard a word. </span></p> <p class="cnNmZjU1ZmE2ZWFjYTQzOGI4Njg3OWRmOGJjMzVjNDM5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden sent his mind down to that pool of energy inside him, opening it tenfold above what he'd ever managed before. He leapt along the line he perceived as time itself, slowing down the world around him. As Rika had said, he managed to keep it stable, so that the lights weren't flickering and the world was still perceptible. He could already feel it drawing massive amounts of his reserves, but Alden had to do something before he got stabbed outside Rika's apartment having accomplished nothing at all.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NmMzNWJkZTc3NTQ3YWJiZWRhZTA3Y2QxNWY1NGM0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden ran forward at the guy, currently inching toward him in slow motion. He took the knife out of his hand and tossed it away again, then reluctantly punched him in the gut. As he retracted his fist, Alden released the line of energy he'd been grasping and flitted back to the normal line of time. </span></p> <p class="cnNmNDlkMWIzOGNiNzRjYzg4YjlmODlkZWM3NGUyMzRi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The world became a fast-forward mess to catch up with him, as the knife twirled away into the distance. The guy he'd punched flew back a full six feet and tumbled over backward. Alden hadn't realized how much his punch would be amplified by the speed he'd moved at. </span></p> <p class="cnM1MjgzMmI5YmFlMTQxMDdiZTBiYjIyMDg2MTAzNTlh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Are we done?" Alden asked, panting. </span></p> <p class="cnMxOWJiYTE3OTFhMTRlOGJiM2M0ODE0YjcyMTI1MWVh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You killed my friends," the guy gasped, rolling over and struggling back to his feet. "Dropped a fucking building on their heads."</span></p> <p class="cnNmYmM0MzRjMjZmZTQ0NWFhNWJlODcxNDVlNmQ4YTdl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I didn't do anything," Alden gasped, almost apologetically. "I'm trying to </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">catch</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> the guy who did it."</span></p> <p class="cnNmNTI4MzljNjEyZTQ4YTA4M2JkYTMyYTFjMDdhNDA0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "All of you did it. You're all fucking monsters." He started advancing again. Alden didn't have much strength left to fight him, and the guy was in much better shape.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNTA5MjY5MDNkYjRhMDQ5MTgyNzE2ODk2ZGViN2Iy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  He didn't have to. A loud popping sound had Alden clapping his hands to his ears. The guy's head snapped to the side as a burst of dark red substance coated the grass. He collapsed to the ground.</span></p> <p class="cnM2OTM3OWIzMWJjYjQ4ZDliNGQ0ZjNlNWQ3NTAyNzkz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Someone screamed. It took Alden a few moments to realize what had just happened. It was only when he heard another shout of surprise from a familiar voice that he finally caught up. He looked around and saw Julian Black lowering a hunting rifle, calm as could be. He wasn't the one who screamed.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MjE0OTBjNTY3MjQwNWE4YzQyNWQ3Mjc5ZDFiODY5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Hailey and Jessica emerged from their apartment door behind him. Hailey rushed forward to Alden's side. "Are you okay?"</span></p> <p class="cnNmYTNkZTkwN2NkNjQ1OWZiOTNlOThiZDFlNTY3YTE3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yeah," Alden said, watching Julian carefully. The man walked over to join them, still uncomfortably calm. "Why did you shoot him?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzMWRiOGUyNzJkYTRlZjFiNjg1NzYxNjgyOWY0MmJk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He was gonna try again, and I finally had a clear shot," Julian replied. "Nice trick, by the way. How'd you do that?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4YjdjNTA1MDdlYzQzYjBhYTA4M2Q5ZDVhNThhNmFh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You just killed him! Unarmed! We could have stopped him!" Alden shouted, feeling hysterical. </span></p> <p class="cnNkMGI4N2EyZTQ1NzQ0Njg4YjY1Yzc4NjAxZTJjMGQz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He was tryin' to kill </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">you</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">," Julian replied, annoyed. "You're one of us. I ain't gonna let a psycho like Logan Bowerson take out one of our own."</span></p> <p class="cnNkZDQ1YzYyNmM1MTQ3NjY5YjEzNTRmOGExODc3YmI5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden shook his head. "Hailey could have stopped him."</span></p> <p class="cnNlYjk0Nzk3ZjllNzQwOGZhZDNiYmRjNjhkYmYyMTY0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We ain't got time for this." Julian slung the rifle on his back. "I'm goin' to look for Rachel. Phones are all dead. You comin'?"</span></p> <p class="cnMyZDNiZjFmMWM3NjRhNjA5YjBkYTFmMDNkYzY5ZGNk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Go. We'll catch up," Hailey answered, before Alden could speak. Julian nodded and walked away.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMjhkMmUyNTY5NzQzYzlhN2U4ZWZmMjNhMzEwYWFh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden twisted around, still reeling from the adrenaline of the fight. He briefly wondered how long he could keep going before he'd run dry and collapse. "What happened with the ritual?"</span></p> <p class="cnNlOWQ1MzMxYzQ0ODQwODg4MDRmZDA4MmY2Y2M1YjJl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He interrupted it," Hailey reported grimly. Jessica was checking Alden's shoulder, refastening the bandage that had been unbound from the fight. "We came back here for supplies. I'm not giving up that easy."</span></p> <p class="cnM4YmExODE3NWUxZjQ2ZmQ4YTAxYzAwZTBlMGEzYWQ0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Neither am I." Alden nodded gratefully at Jessica. She smiled and stood up, watching the empty street while Hailey and Alden went inside and gathered up as many of the gemstones as they could carry, as well as any other materials they thought might be useful. "Rika left town on that helicopter."</span></p> <p class="cnM3MjA0N2ZlNjMwZjQ2MjNhMWUyMmZjZTFhOWY3MDg4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "With the guys who tried to kidnap you?"</span></p> <p class="cnM1NzBlZTg2NTgzMzRiM2M4MGI4ZDljYWI2ZDNhNzEx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yeah, no kidding. She made a deal with them."</span></p> <p class="cnMxMzUwZWZhNDQ5OTQ5YWE4OTkwZDlkODE0ZTYxMzBl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Hailey shook her head in disbelief. "She's insane."</span></p> <p class="cnMyOGMyODVjNGZjMzQzMGViMTAxZjE3NTkxODQ0ODc4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She gave me something before she left though. She let me read her Scrap. It </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">was</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Time magic."</span></p> <p class="cnMyNmJlMGMyZmYwODRiNTE5OTAyMmY0N2ExMmUyNGFi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Seriously?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4NmM1ZTRjYzg5ZTQ0OWVhZThhZDczZTMyMzViYmMz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yeah, you guessed right."</span></p> <p class="cnNmMmU5OTJkMzVjMjRlYjJhMzIxNTI0OWQ0YTYxMWY0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Not time travel though, I'm guessing."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMTlkMTE0OGZkNjQ4YTA5ZWM2MTA0YWM4ZDE2ODhl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I hope not." Alden grimaced. "Anyway, she told me how I could maybe trap him again. If we can get him somewhere." He hesitated. "I don't want to kill him, but…"</span></p> <p class="cnM3YjRiNWE0M2ZhNzRiNjM5ZDk4NGM1MWE1ZjA0NDk3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "But some people just have to be killed," Hailey said quietly. "I don't like it either, Alden. But he tried to kill us first. He's a threat to everyone, humans or awakened."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMzE0OGUyM2Y5ZDQ0ZmE4MjY1YWRmNzMxMWFjNTFi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Jessica shouted something from outside. They hurried to join her.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYjdjZDUyYjcwNDQ4NTVhMGU2NzAxNzNlNGM4NzM0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The day was ending, the sun dipping low, and a mob of people was roaming down the street with murder in their eyes and rage in their voices. They carried any weapons they could find. The mob was moving away toward the main thoroughfare. Hailey started to move, as though she meant to stand up to the whole group, but Jessica grabbed her arm.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MGNlOTUwN2M0MTQ4YWQ5ODUzNDU2NjUwMWNiMjFi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Hailey twisted back in alarm. Jessica held up one hand with two fingers, and the other with five. She repeated the five several times over, then had that hand crush the two like a rock crushing a bug. Hailey hesitated, but nodded. "You're right, Jess."</span></p> <p class="cnNiNWNhMjdhODZiYjQ1MzhiYTY1ZWU3Y2MwOWQzMDRh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "So what do we do?" Alden asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMGUyMTljOTMyNTQ0OWE5OThiNmQ2MmE3YmI3ZmRi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Rachel said everyone would be safe inside the Market, right? We get people there, as many as we can."</span></p> <p class="cnNhYTk3NmRlN2MzZDQwZTZiZjAyYTcwOTgyMTNjOTdm" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <hr> <p class="cnMyMGMwOTAxNzA1MDQ2M2Y5ZGM5MGZlYjc0OTVlNjA5" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <p class="cnNkMzg2OGJiZjQxMDRlMzhhMDk2OTY5Y2JiYTQ2ZTY4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The mob—twenty five in all—encircled Gordon Merrill, buzzing with angry voices. They'd backed him up to the wall at the gutted sheriff's station just as Rachel arrived with Natalie a few steps behind. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NTRlMDQ0YTQzNjRiNjVhYWMxYWJkOTNiYzE1ZmU1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He's lying! He's just going to kill you all anyway!" Gordon shouted.</span></p> <p class="cnMxMTJmNTlkOWIxNTQ0MDNhNjZjZWZkNDM1NTZjZDdj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Says you," snapped Roger Quinton, the farmer. "You've been collaborating with the freaks since the town hall. Maybe even before that. Why should we believe a word you say?"</span></p> <p class="cnNiNWU2NjIxMGQyODQ3OTM5NGFhZjdkMmUyZGNhNTJm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I'm one of you! I don't have any magic! Why would I lie?"</span></p> <p class="cnM5YzhmN2UxODgxNjRmMDhhNzNiMDBmOTc2OWRlZjA0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Look around you, man!" Roger gestured to the town, littered with glass and splintered metal. He pointed just behind Gordon, where the twisted and broken bars of the two cells had been shoved through the roof and protruded out like an ominous flag. "They did this to our town. The only way out of this is to deal with them all, and anyone who's trying to help them." He lowered his weapon. The sharp points of the metal pitchfork caught the sunset reflection for just a moment. </span></p> <p class="cnNlYTNlN2RiMDhiMTRmNGI5MGU5MzZmNTlkOGUyOGVh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Stop!" Rachel shouted, running forward as fast as she could. She tried to grab the pitchfork, throwing out her mind as far as she could reach, but her grip was feeble and useless. She may as well have been trying to hold back a mountain. Some of the crowd turned toward her, but Roger had already moved.</span></p> <p class="cnNlZGQ3NTJmMjI3MjQ1OTY4MzM3NmU4MTViNTZjYmE1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Gordon sank to the ground. </span></p> <p class="cnM1YzgxNzcxOWQ4NDRhM2ZhYmY4Zjk0YWJmY2UyYTJh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel stopped, while the crowd roared and began to shift back around, still caught up in the heat of the moment. She could see every single face full of wrath and pain. These were people she'd talked to and worked with for a year. She'd never imagined </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">any</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> of them capable of murder, even like this. Gordon was gasping for breath and trying to struggle away, but Rachel couldn't do anything for him.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOWIzMmMzMDk1MjQ1OWRhZjczYmQ5OGVkNWIzNzNj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie rode up next to her. "What do I do, Rachel?" she asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NGQzYzQ3YTQ5ZTRiNWM5ZTY1NmQzNDViMWMyMzhl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You destroyed our town!" someone cried from the back. </span></p> <p class="cnNjYjNjZmQ1ZWFmYzRiNTU5NzY2ZDFiZWEzZTY1OGIy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You killed the Reverend!"</span></p> <p class="cnMzMmI3YzhiZmM0MDRlMWU5NzRiZDlkNDRmNzgzMmZh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We're all going to die because of you!"</span></p> <p class="cnMzMTRiZDY1MDBmZDRjN2Q5Yjg5NDMzZTQ1YzcwOTky" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Justice for Jenny!"</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZjVhYWUwYzYyZDQ2MjZiODlkN2Y5OTViY2Q0ZThh" style="text-align: justify"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">  What was my plan, anyway? </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Rachel thought bitterly, while the crowd slowly advanced. None of them seemed brave enough to close the distance first with Natalie's wolf facing them down, but they'd soon be totally surrounded if Rachel didn't do something.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ODYwNGMyZGIzODQzMTU5OWMwNzUyOWQ4ZjNkMmEz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Help us," she whispered.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZmMzNjFjMTU3YzQ5M2Q4M2FkOWUwZTA0ODlmMmU3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I can't," replied the ghost at her side, before vanishing into the wind.</span></p> <p class="cnNkODVlODY2MTJhNjQzYzk4NTRkNjE4YTc0NTUyMWNi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  No one was coming to help them. No one </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">could</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> help them, as far as Rachel knew. </span></p> <p class="cnMxZjc3ZjhkYTkxYzRkYmJiMjhlZjVmYTAyY2ExZDM3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Start backing away. Don't take your eyes off them, but we don't want to hurt them." Rachel did the same as she spoke. She hoped they'd find a chance to break out and run for it—but if they showed any sign of weakness, the group would undoubtedly charge them. Even Natalie's age wouldn't likely deter them, given her deadly companions and her well-known status as an awakened. They'd already faced down almost exactly the same crowd before, and only a show of extreme force had been enough to deter them.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NGZhZTcwYTFhMDQ1YTY4NGNmMDU5MTZkOGZlYTkw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What should I do?" Natalie asked again, panic in her voice. The crowd had almost surrounded them. They couldn't get away anymore. </span></p> <p class="cnM0MDY4MzMzMGZiYjRhMTA4MGY2YmM3YWIxZTMwMTFk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Lightning on the ground at their feet," Rachel ordered. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Something to scare them away,</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> she hoped. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Remind them they're mortal.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM4MTU2NzA3MWMyMjQzMDM4YmRjMTc0N2Y4NWM2ODgy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie took one hand off Gwen and thrust it at Roger Quinton, who happened to be almost directly in front of them. Purple-edged lightning blasted forth out of her palm with a loud whip-crack, nearly deafening everyone. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NWIwNjliZGY3NTRjYTI5N2QwNzE0ZDc4YjMyYzk2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The bolt crackled forward in a low splintering path, but it didn't strike the ground immediately. Natalie had aimed too high. The electricity followed the path of least resistance through the air and onto the tips of Roger's pitchfork, which was pointed directly at Rachel. </span></p> <p class="cnMxZDE3NGI2NWMzOTQwNjhhMWEyMjg5YjZjZjE0MTEw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The metal fork exploded. The wooden haft caught fire, while the superheated metal tips shot off in different directions like shrapnel. One skipped along the ground and punched a hole through Rachel's dress, just missing her leg as it flew into the distance. A few people fell to the ground, screaming in agony from the molten steel on their skin. </span></p> <p class="cnM4OTk3MGU5MGJiNzQxNjdhYTZlZDA3ZmVjYzQzZDZl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie's hands flew to her mouth in horror. Roger dropped the burning remains of his weapon with a shout and leapt back in fear. The crowd was suddenly far less eager to approach. Rachel had to take command of the situation while she could. </span></p> <p class="cnNjYjVjYWEwMGJjYjQ3NTliNjIxNDYzOTMxOTBmOTg1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Get out of here, now," she shouted. "Go home!"</span></p> <p class="cnM0MGNiYTMxYjdmMDRmNzM5Njc0YThiZjAzNjdmYzYz" style="text-align: justify"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">  Wrong word,</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> she realized immediately. </span></p> <p class="cnMwNTRiZWJkY2E0ODQwODg4OTRkNzY0OTYxZWRiMTQ1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Our homes are fucking </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">gone!</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">" Roger shouted back. He picked up the burning wood and threw it at Rachel, who just managed to dodge aside in time. The crowd jostled about, lifting weapons and moving forward heedless of the injured among them.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NzZmZWQ1Y2YwZjQzZDY4ZWIwMmMzNWRhZWQxNTc2" style="text-align: justify"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">  I'm so sorry.</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> "Natalie, do it again."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMTg4YjkzODFmNTQ2MjA4ZjllOWE5MWU3OGFlZGIz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "But they're—"</span></p> <p class="cnNkYWRhOGIxZmE0NjQwOTdiMDRlNGU5NmQ0Y2NmMDMz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Do it now!" Rachel cried, as Roger almost closed the distance between them.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MmI3MWI2ZDU0NDRmYjA5NjUwYWM4MGRjODAzYTY4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie threw out another desperate, powerful crackling bolt of electricity—directly at Roger. </span></p> <p class="cnMyNDhlMDRjOTMzMjQ2NDQ5ZWUyNTc5MjFlNzJkYmQw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The lightning connected with his skull. His eyes went wide for the split-second before the discharge rocketed around his body, travelling along the sweat on his skin. As it reached down to his arm, the lightning jumped across to the next person in line with noticeably less intensity, until it had travelled through four or five people and finally fizzled out on the ground.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZjRhNDk5OTg5NTQ4Njc5YTNhYzQxOWEzZWQzZmY2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  They collapsed. Roger was clutching his heart and twitching slightly, his mouth open wide but without a voice. Rachel looked up again, hoping to finally see a retreating crowd and enough space to get away. </span></p> <p class="cnNlOTU0ZDc2ZjI1MzRiMzBiYjQ5ZWZhZWY1ZmIwM2Jl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She only saw desperate, unbridled rage. The shouting doubled over as the mob called for death. Rachel didn't have any other option.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNWEyZWQxODgwMDQxYTI4OTExOTcxOWVlOGE1YjIy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Again, Natalie!" she shouted. Natalie threw another bolt of lightning, brilliant purple-edged sparks blinding Rachel as it struck another group. </span></p> <p class="cnM5ODQxYTg1MDhiOTRiYjE5MjRiYzE3MmIzMWIzMjFj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The girl didn't need further prompting, throwing bolt after bolt in the heat of the moment. The mob kept coming as Natalie kept firing, the girl shouting out in exertion and fear with each burst of electricity. Rachel closed her eyes as the bolts became too bright for her, keeping close to Gwen and trusting Natalie to keep her safe. </span></p> <p class="cnNiMDkwMmY5OGUyNzQzZWQ5OTZiY2Q5MTQ4M2M0ZWZm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The shouting died away. The whip-cracks of lightning stopped. The only sound was the gentle growl of Gwen and the heavy pained breathing of the girl seated atop her. Rachel reluctantly opened her eyes.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMDVmMzVhNGQ1ZDRlOWRiMGNlNWM2NzFmZjcyYmNh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  No one had survived. Several of them had huge burns across their skin. The scent of singed hair and flesh was thick in the air. The bodies were laid out in a circle around them. All twenty-five were totally, utterly still.</span></p> <p class="cnMyOGYzYjM2MGIwZDQ0ODFhZjdkZTcxNGIwOWUyNjlk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Not a single one had turned away or tried to run.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZmNhMTEwMjNjMTQ1YWI4NmNiZWQxZTAxNWIwYTI1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Natalie?" Rachel asked tentatively.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NTM4NTE1NjlkOTQxZGFhNDkxNzNlZDU5NTI5ZWM0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "...Did I do okay?" she stammered. The girl looked like she might collapse again, but it wasn't the satisfied exhaustion of a job well done Rachel had seen the night before. Natalie looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide as dinner-plates, her mouth quivering. She looked like she might burst into tears.</span></p> <p class="cnNlYzYyZDFiMjViMTQ5Yzg4NGMyZjY0ZGE1ZTI2ZDkw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yeah," Rachel said. She stood up straight and pulled Natalie into a hug, burying the girl's face in her shoulder. "You saved us."</span></p> <p class="cnNhMjRhNGVkODcxNTQzNjJiZmMzYmIxNjRmOWI4ZWEx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Why didn't they stop?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4YzNlZDM0MjkyNzQyNDA5OTdkZmZmZTgzMmZhMGFl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I think they thought they had nothing left to lose," said Rachel.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZGI1MWQxOWVkYzQ2MzJiN2QzOGZiZThlYjU3Njli" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I didn't want to hurt them. Why did they want to hurt us?" said Natalie, and Rachel could hear her starting to break down. As much as she wished she could let the girl work through it, they were still in the middle of a disaster. </span></p> <p class="cnMyZDQ4NGQzYmVjYTRhZmM4OTQ5NjA0OWRiNGJmNzdi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She let Natalie go and faced her again. "Natalie, this is </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">not</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> your fault. We're trying to save everyone here. They attacked us."</span></p> <p class="cnNjZTZkNWM2OTU2ZDRhZGQ4ZDczZTQyMDYxMWM2ODli" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "If we're saving everyone, why do they want to stop us?"</span></p> <p class="cnMyODI3YmQ5Y2YyYjRiNTBiOTZhMGMwYjE4NzliMDg1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Someone else lied to them about us. Natalie, I'm sorry, but I need you to stay with me, okay? We're not out of this yet."</span></p> <p class="cnMwMzZjNDdjMTVhODRmOWVhNzllNmQ4NmM3NzVlZTM2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I saw him," Natalie said suddenly. </span></p> <p class="cnM1MGI1Nzk0MDhiZjQ5NGFiYjZmN2E4N2VlYTMxNzNm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel's heart, which had only finally started to calm down, broke into a fresh sprint. "Saw who?"</span></p> <p class="cnNmNThmZjhmOTkzZjQ4YTFhOWEzZTMzZWNmYmQ2ZWUx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "My dad. He was out in the woods. He had a stick thing, and it was controlling the monsters." Natalie looked at Rachel with red, puffy eyes. "Why's my dad helping him?"</span></p> <p class="cnMwMzEyMmY5ODliYTQ3N2I4YjZiODk4NjVjMGMxN2Vj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel, for all her plans and preparations, had nothing to say to her. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">How do I tell a twelve year old her father's trying to kill all her friends?</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> She'd had enough of lying, even to Natalie. "I don't know."</span></p> <p class="cnM1YTQ4M2NjYzY5NjQ3ZTNhNzZlYmU4YWU2NDViMTY0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Did you know he was?" Natalie asked, testing Rachel's resolve even further. </span></p> <p class="cnMwNDUxYjgxNmM3MDQ5YTRhYjUwYzMyOWU4YTE1ZDZj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel nodded very slowly. "I did."</span></p> <p class="cnMwY2NjYjIwMzAwMTQ0NDFhNmZkMmZkZWNlMDJiNDk4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie's eyes widened even further, if that was possible. "Why didn't you tell me?"</span></p> <p class="cnM4YmU1NWUwMjg1NzQ2ODU5NzgyZjgyMmQ4OTIzYTgz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I didn't want to hurt you. I'm sorry. I was hoping we might be able to get him back, but I don't know if that's possible anymore."</span></p> <p class="cnNkN2M4ZTM4MGExNTQ0ZTg4Zjc1MTE3MzcxODU5Njhk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You think my dad's evil?"</span></p> <p class="cnMxNGQ3ZWYxNDkzMzQ2OTA4MDI3MjJlMTczMjgxZTAz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel shook her head. "I don't know. But he's not safe to be around." Her voice shook as she continued. "You can't ever go near him again, Natalie."</span></p> <p class="cnNjZjdhZTllNmMxODRkMjI5ZmFhMTE3YjJmZWQ0YWRk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What?"</span></p> <p class="cnM1Y2RkNzA4MjdiNjRmZGViMTg0MjBmNjQwYjM0OWQ2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I don't know what he might do. He sent those golems into the woods tonight, and you were there. He could have hurt you."</span></p> <p class="cnMyMjQ2MTA0YmEzMjRiOGM5Nzc5NTNhNWNmYWMxOGZj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "But he's my dad!"</span></p> <p class="cnNlMzU5ZDBmNDRlZDRhOGM4NTEzYWNjNGY1Y2JmMmJm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel's eyes were welling up with tears. "I know. I'm so sorry, Natalie."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODViNTg4YTg1MjQ2MTFhZTI0ZjkxZjUxMmMxOTRh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What am I supposed to do?" Natalie asked desperately.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZGEyN2Y1NDg5ZDRmNTg5ODVkY2IyNjViNGYwYTQ4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We still have a town to save," said Rachel. "Will you help me?"</span></p> <p class="cnNmMWFjM2VjNzRjMDRiMTU4MjQ0YzU4NTI4OTI4NWVh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You lied to me. You said you'd help me find my dad."</span></p> <p class="cnNiZWIzM2IxMjQyNzQxYTJiN2YwOWFjYTBiYTNkNjlh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I did. And we will someday. But right now people are hurt and we can help them," Rachel gestured around to the devastated town. "I can't do it without you, Natalie."</span></p> <p class="cnM1NzNiM2YzZjA3YTRkODFhYjM1MmZhYzRjZTA0OTdm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie took a minute to think, pressing her face into the Gwen's fur. Muffled sobs emanated from the thick gray pelt. Rachel ran a hand along the wolf's back, grateful that Gwen seemed to consider her a friend as well. The wolf had moved to protect her while Natalie had fought off the mob, placing herself directly between Rachel and the oncomers. Rachel rubbed her affectionately, and she could have sworn Gwen shot her a grateful smile.</span></p> <p class="cnM5N2ZmM2ZlMTI1NTQ1NDliMmJkMGY4MmE0NGViM2Fh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "...What do you need me to do?" Natalie asked finally, looking up.</span></p> <p class="cnNlNWYzODM0MmM5NTRjOWY5NDhhZDIxYmJlN2Q1NmU3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Can your new friend find someone for us?" Rachel asked, pointing at the hawk that had fluttered down to Gwen's shoulder after the fight. Natalie nodded. "We need to find Hailey and Jessica. Do you know who I'm talking about?"</span></p> <p class="cnNkZTYwMzNkNDhkNDRkNGE5MTM2ZmNjNTllYjI5YzU1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yeah," Natalie replied. "They talked to me before the big meeting. They were nice to me. Hailey said she'd teach me how to fly someday." She held out her hand and the hawk fluttered over to land on her fingers. She spoke a few words to it that Rachel didn't understand. It took off and started flapping hard into the sky.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZWY3OWZkMWUzZjQ0MmZhZjcyMzEyMzBhZmYwNzA3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "How do you speak to them?" Rachel asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNhYzY2MmUzOTgwYzQwNTM5ZTk3MDM2Y2MwNDhhY2Y5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I just do," Natalie replied, confused. "I call them and they understand me. They can talk too, they just don't use words." Natalie said another few incomprehensible words to Gwen, and she started walking away, with Rachel at her side. The young girl still looked like an emotional wreck. Rachel wished she could understand what was going through Natalie's head. There was so much she felt like she couldn't possibly relate to. </span></p> <p class="cnNmYTZjODRlYzk2ZjRkMDdiYTMwMGIyNzIzZThmZTNj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Natalie, you just saved my life," Rachel said. "Thank you. You did good." Natalie didn't answer, but Rachel thought she looked a little less miserable. That was the best Rachel could hope for, under the circumstances. "You're really brave. I was so scared back there and you handled it better than I ever could."</span></p> <p class="cnM0NTY3YTc1ZjcwZTQ4MjE5ODY0ZWI0NTg1Y2RlNmQ3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Dad told me that fear meant I knew something was wrong," she said quietly. "He said fear means I should probably be doing something about it and that hiding from it would only make it worse."</span></p> <p class="cnMxM2M3NTkyZTk4NDQxMmE4Nzk2NmI0Nzg0NDUxNDA0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel hesitated. "He might not be gone forever. I don't know what's going to happen. When this is all over, we might be able to talk to him." She took Natalie's hand to draw her attention, so Rachel could look her directly in the eyes. "Natalie, you have to promise me something though. You have to promise you'll never try to find him alone. I'll help you, and I'm sure Lily and Kendra will want to help too, but don't ever go after your dad on your own. We'll do it together. Okay?"</span></p> <p class="cnM2OTIwZTVjMzhhNjQ0MjFhOTY2NzVhYWY3YTRiZjI1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Okay."</span></p> <p class="cnMwYjk2N2I4NDFhYTQ0ZWE4OGMwN2M1MjVmNmU4ZTdl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "You promise?"</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZjY5NWEyODc2ZTRjYzZhMzRkZmIyOWRhMTI5NDZk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Natalie nodded. "I promise." She looked back at Rachel fiercely. "Do </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">you</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> promise to take me with you when you go find him? No matter what?"</span></p> <p class="cnM2MDQ2M2VhNjUyNzRiMmQ5MTQ5YTc1MmY5YTI4YTBi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel nodded back. "I promise. Thank you," she added. Rachel forced a weak smile, though her heart felt like ice. "Let's go find our friends."</span></p> <p class="cnM5NjJhMmM4NmFmMzRhMTdhM2ViZjY4MDdiYTBmM2Y2" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <hr> <p class="cnM1ZDkxYjg3NGY5ZDQyYjBhZmIyZWNiYjc3ODg3MmY1" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <p class="cnM0MzEwZTQ2MGYzYzQwZDlhZWM1MjNjOWI4MGJmOGFl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Heads up," Hailey called out, swooping back around to meet them. "We've got trouble."</span></p> <p class="cnM5MmU5YjlmZTM4ZjRlOGU5NDk2NWE2ODc3Y2Q3ZTI1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What's going on?" Alden asked. Mabel Walsh was ambling along behind him, as fast as her old legs could carry her. Behind them was Hector—whom they'd found weeping outside the burning, shattered wreckage of his exploded store—Collins McCreary, Neffie Bowman, and the president of the University, Christina Albrecht. Jessica brought up the rear, a blue ball of flame at the ready. </span></p> <p class="cnMyNzhkODlmZDU0MDQ3Y2E5M2UzZjM3YmQ1MzRkYTQ3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  They'd been picking up anyone they found as they made their way across town. There was no sign of the mob from earlier. Collins had a broken leg from a collapsed crossbeam, while the President and Neffie Bowman sported cuts from blown-out windows, so they made slow progress to the one remaining door open at the Kettle and Bones. From the look on Hailey's face as she rejoined them, though, it was about to get much harder.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNmE3Yzk5YjJkODQyZGU4NzYwNjM3ZDUzN2VkOGMz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Golems. And they're attacking everyone." Hailey flew a small circle to turn around and stopped in mid-air, fluttering slightly as her invisible wings kept her aloft. "We're about to get into a fight if we go around that corner."</span></p> <p class="cnNhYzRmYjIzZTIzNTQ1MWE4N2EyMzI5MTkyN2FjNGFj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden didn't hesitate. "So let's go fight them." The moment he spoke, a shout of alarm from Jessica at the rear had them all turning around. </span></p> <p class="cnMyOWJlZDgzNDI5ZTQ1YmVhYzVjZDE4ZDIxMzc1NTJj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  A golem had just sprouted from the ground behind the group. Jessica was trying to push it away with a wall of force, since she couldn't use her fire. Hector fled—despite Neffie calling out for him—and disappeared into the swiftly falling twilight. Hailey swooped forward and hurled wind at the golem, pushing it back even further.</span></p> <p class="cnM2M2NlODljNTIzYTQzNjM4YTY2MmE0NzY4MDY4YWRk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Now would be a great time for some of that lightning!" Neffie shouted.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YjQ2OWM4OWFkYjQ2ZjJiY2NkZTliYzY2MzE1Mzkx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We never learned how to make lightning!" Hailey called back.</span></p> <p class="cnM0OGU0ZTJlYmU5NTRhZTViMDA3NDJmNjEyZjUyM2Mw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "How do you make </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">any</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> of this?" asked Christina. "Electricity is just electrons moving around. Can't you do that?"</span></p> <p class="cnMyNzRlNzQzMzRjODRmZGFhZjUwOWFiZmU0M2Y0ZmVh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">You </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">explain that to the dumb girl," Collins snapped.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MjNkOWMwOGY3ZjQzYWE5OWRkMTc1ZTQ1NjlhYzE0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We're all faster than it, right?" Alden pointed out. "If we can't beat it, we can just outrun it."</span></p> <p class="cnM2NDM0NDUyYzMxNTRhN2E5MTMyNTIyYTlmZDZkMGQw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "That's not a permanent solution," said Neffie.</span></p> <p class="cnNjOWZhYTY1NGQ5MDQ1YWFiYmUwYzU3N2QxY2E0ODYx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Anything's better than staying here until Hailey collapses."</span></p> <p class="cnM4NTk0NjBkZTYxNDQyNzA4NDc0ZDI1YjlhZDYyMzkx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "If you take the path by Dan's place, you could probably get to the tavern okay," Hailey called out. "I didn't see anything that way."</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZTUwZWQyMDVlNzQ5NDc4YmRkMDc0N2M1YzZiMWQ3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Okay then," Alden said firmly. "Hailey, can you hold it off without Jessica?" She nodded. Alden tapped Jessica on the shoulder. He pointed at Hailey, then at the golem with a flat palm. He made a circle in midair to indicate the group on the ground, then jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the path Hailey had mentioned. Jessica nodded. She stood up straight and took a few deep breaths. </span></p> <p class="cnM1MjUyMzk1MDBhYjQ3MDc4MmJjMTA2NTNiN2I1OTcz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  They set off while Hailey held back the golem as much as possible. It managed to advance even in the wake of the massive gale Hailey was unleashing, but it was so slow that a single inch took a minute or more. Alden wasn't too concerned, until he heard another cry of alarm from the front of the group. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MWI5MGIwZjEwNDRhN2Y4NmMxMTAxY2VlZTMzNTEy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  He rushed back forward to find Jessica hurling a ball of fire across the street. A middle-aged man stood there, with short brown hair and a mess of unshaven stubble on his face, holding a thin black obsidian rod. At the last possible moment, a golem managed to intercept the blast of fire about to strike him. </span></p> <p class="cnMzNmEzMTIzNDJhOTQyY2NiMmMyZWQ5NDYzNzhiOGRj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Brian Hendricks stood firm behind the fiery pillar of his golem servant. "Mabel, I expected better of you," he called out.</span></p> <p class="cnMxYWRjMTAxMTg0ODQ2MGI4MDNjODUwNjRlMmEwZGY5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "And I thought you were a decent man," Mabel shouted back. "Looks like we're both disappointed."</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDEwMjcxZjYwNzRlNmRiMjkzZmE3OGJkZWUxZTRm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "How could you support something so disgusting and blasphemous?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjMzA2NjdiYzBmZDRjNmU4NWVkMWY5NThjMjQ5ZGM1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Blasphemous?" Mabel laughed. "You're too young to understand what that really means."</span></p> <p class="cnM0YWI0NTIyMmJkYzQ0ZWQ4MDNmNWY3N2Q0MjRlNTNk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Brian paused while his hand dug through his coat pocket for something. Alden tensed up, expecting the worst. Jessica was already projecting a wall of force to hold back the golem, but if it really tried to advance, he wasn't sure they could hold it back. Not with its creator so close, if Alden understood how they operated. </span></p> <p class="cnNjOTM4ZTgxZDc0NDQxOTNhNDYwMjE4NzUyMWZlZjU1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Brian's eyes narrowed. "You're one of them," he snarled.</span></p> <p class="cnMyZGVkYTA5MDBlYTQ2ZGFiODc1OTcxYmVmZmI2N2M1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Mabel's eyes widened. Brian lifted the rod higher, and another two golems emerged. As an impenetrable wall, they began advancing on the group. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MDVlMDA1MjFmZTQ4NjE4ZDkyYmU0MzNkNTFhNGU4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Run!" Alden shouted. They had no hope of stopping that. He grabbed Jessica's shoulder and pulled her back. She held up the wall a second longer, but realized it was futile and followed Alden. "Hailey, we need another route!"</span></p> <p class="cnM1NDQ0ZmE1ZTBlNTRlYjRhOTVjM2E3MzIxYjQ3OGE0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Little busy!" she shouted back.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNTRmMzFkMDBmMjQ1MTA4YjcyNGYxOWQwMjY2ZTVj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "We're surrounded!"</span></p> <p class="cnNmMGMwMzY1NzQ0OTQyZDg5MzU3MGI2NDdhMDY1YmYx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  They were running down the only route left open to them, the road leading back to the park they'd started at. As they rounded a corner, Mabel tripped over the curb. Alden didn't notice until it was too late. He turned just in time to see a golem lean over and pulverize her skull. He shut his eyes just before the blow landed.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNDkyZGRiMzUyNjQ3NDI4MmNlZTkyMzA0NDRmNmNj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Collins swore under his breath as he ran, while Neffie just shook her head in disbelief. Christina shouted something about being innocent and tore off down a side alley. </span></p> <p class="cnNkMzUyYzE3YWFkOTQzODhhYzg4NWI1OTFmYWJhMWMx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  A moment later, they heard her scream in pain.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NTYzY2E0YzU4NjRiOGM4M2UyZmJiZjI4ZDkyNTk1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden looked around desperately, but there seemed to be a golem approaching from every direction but forward. He felt like they were being herded back to where they'd last seen Omega—but what choice did they have?</span></p> <p class="cnNhYTQ3YTNhMzliZjQ0YWNhOWYxNGFjNmFjNDA1Y2Q3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Hailey finally rejoined them a block later, flying back in over their heads. "You've got two on your tail, but you're pretty far ahead. You're running right back into the ritual site though," she added dubiously, confirming his fear. </span></p> <p class="cnMyYmUzZGEwY2ZiMDQzNTdiMDE5N2FjMzVhN2VmNjY1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden looked around for anything they could use. All they'd wanted was to get back to the Marketplace, but the only entrance was well-guarded by Brian and his golems. They were locked out and getting picked off one by one. They needed somewhere to hide, but every building was wide open from doors and windows being ripped out. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">One of us seems to be safe</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">, Alden realized.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NjQ5N2Y4NjY1YjRlZTk4NDhkNmVmZjk3NmNmZTg2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Hailey, you need to take us up to the rooftop."</span></p> <p class="cnM2OWRmNjczMjNmYzQ0MTZhNWEwYTE3NjkwNjI2OGZm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I can't lift </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">all</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> of you."</span></p> <p class="cnNhMmE0MzNkM2IwMDRhYzc4YTEwMzg4MTg0NGRmZTQ1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "One at a time," Alden added impatiently. "If we stay up there and stay low, we have time to figure this out."</span></p> <p class="cnM2MzQ1MzMxYjhiMjQ3NjU4MDI2NmU3ODA0NDUzNzdj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Hailey nodded. "You first, then. No arguments, you're the most experienced flyer after Jessica and she's gotta stay down to protect you all."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZDQ2NjZlNjEyMzQ3MzdiYTZhZjgwODIwMWE2ZWRk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden threw up his arms. Hailey swooped in and grabbed his forearms, while he immediately latched onto hers. The strain on his shoulders was immense. He felt like his arms might be ripped from their sockets, and that feeling redoubled as Hailey flapped up into the sky. A few moments later, she deposited him on the nearest rooftop with enough cover that they wouldn't be seen from the street.</span></p> <p class="cnM5MzFiY2Q4ZjAwZDQxZjlhNDdmODQ5MTg4M2I0Yzhj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Neffie was next up. She looked incredibly uncomfortable being lifted into the sky by a free-flying college girl aloft on invisible wings, but gritted her teeth and landed gracefully enough when Hailey released her. The next trip back wasn't so lucky. </span></p> <p class="cnNkNWRkNjU1ZDdmZDRmMTE4YjAwMGYyOGFmZTRjYzFh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  As Hailey swung back around to the street level, a golem emerged from a row of bushes and bore down on Collins. Alden was about to shout a warning, but Neffie clapped a hand to his mouth. "We're hiding, remember?" she hissed.</span></p> <p class="cnNlMjZkMTA5Nzk4NTQ4NDE5YTE2ZTNlZmM0Y2IzMDE1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden nodded frantically. She released him, and he summoned a fireball in front of Jessica, bright orange and pulsing. She recognized the signal immediately, spinning around—but it was too late. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NTc1YWM2MWRmZjQ5OWM5NzZkNjUxNWE4M2FiNzUz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The golem—with no wind-up whatsoever, just a single punch forward as casual as could be—put its blocky fist through Collins' stomach. He looked down in shock, his eyes widening a moment before the golem slammed him aside into the nearest wall. </span></p> <p class="cnM5MzZmYmQ2MTNmMTQwYjViODQ4NmE4MDk0ODE5NGM4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  It started to move on Jessica.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZjgyYWI1ZTVkODQyOGJhYzdmYzhhNzMwNmE0ZjIz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She threw up her arms, and Hailey grabbed her up immediately. She swung Jessica forward like they were doing a gymnastics routine, and Jessica clasped her legs around Hailey for a better grip. Hailey looked like she was about to turn back around to Alden and Neffie, but Jessica frantically tugged on her shirt and got her to keep going in the same direction—far away from their impromptu sanctuary. </span></p> <p class="cnM2NWVlYzgwZTBmOTQ3NDFhODZkNjFkNjQyOTkxYmNm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden breathed a sigh of relief. If Hailey had flown to their rooftop, there was no way they'd go unseen. As they flew off, the golems in the street continued to follow, ignoring Neffie and Alden entirely.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYmFkMTMzZTgwMTQ4MTBhMTVkZTUzNzU5OGU4ZGIw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Neffie let out a deep breath as well, falling to the rooftop and staring up at the sky with a blank face, half-covered by her curly black hair. Alden laid down on the gravel and watched the incoming wall of dark clouds. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Of course it's about to start raining, too</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">. "Are you okay?" he asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYzU4ZDg0OTQzODQ1ODQ4YjY1MzQxNTg2NWNkM2Jk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "No I am not goddamn okay," Neffie snapped. "I just watched a bunch of my neighbors—my </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">friends —</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> get murdered one by one. I'm really not okay."</span></p> <p class="cnMwZjJhOGU4YmY4NTRkMWFiN2E4OWQ0NjBkNmVkZDUx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I'm—"</span></p> <p class="cnNiZDA4NjQxNzU1OTQ2NDQ5ZTViMzczYzVjZDA2YzNi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Neffie sighed. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I'm physically okay."</span></p> <p class="cnNiNDhmMzBlYmJlYjQ0M2JiMWM5YTM4NDVmYTg5MWY4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Okay," Alden replied.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MmI0M2U2OThhNTRlY2E4MzNkNmE5M2NmZDJjZDg2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "What do we do now?"</span></p> <p class="cnMxNjQzZTg0ZmU2ZTQ3M2NhMDU1NWM1OTE4YWVmZmI0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden hesitated. "I don't know." The shriek of a hawk punctuated his words, prompting them both to look up at the sky. A bird circled overhead, barely visible against the mountain range of rain clouds on the horizon.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ODIwMDJlNzgxODRkN2ZhZjhlMjBmM2RmZDEyZTYy" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <hr> <p class="cnNkMTczMmRjZWYyMTRjYzRiODdlNWFhNDM3OTliOWFk" style="text-align: justify">  <br>  </p> <p class="cnNjMTAzOThhOTQ0NDQzMjM4NTdhMTVlYzA3ZjY0OWY5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "He found something," Natalie reported, seconds after the hawk cried out.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTNlNTU4MDEwMDQ4Njg5YjY5NGIxMmNkMzJjOTdj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Hailey and Jessica?" Rachel asked. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Any good news would be great right now.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM2MmIwODhmZTM5MzQyNDE5YWEzMjYzN2FmNzhmOTA2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I don't know. Percy just said two people. I don't think he's very smart."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMTllMzczYTM4YTQ3Yzc5ZjZmMmJkOGIxZGJjODU2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Percy is the hawk's name?"</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDY1ZmMwZDlkZTRmOTA5YTkxYTJlMmFlYzU1ODZm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yeah."</span></p> <p class="cnNmMTU5NDMwNWEyMTQwYTNhYzUyMDgyYTI2ODc2MWMw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel looked around the street, not seeing a single person from end to end. "Where are they?"</span></p> <p class="cnMxNWYxZjliYjIxZTRiYjA5ZmYwMzc0NTY4MGYxNTZm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "On the roof of Oscar's garage," Natalie said. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Another person I failed to save.</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> "Why are they up there?"</span></p> <p class="cnNmZjA2MjU5MWEzMzRiMTRhOWY4OGRlZWFjNGY4OGQ1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Probably hiding." Rachel quickly plotted the fastest route there in her head. "Let's go get them." </span></p> <p class="cnM0MTNmOWU0NWM3ZDRhNjJhYTJlNjFhYTUyZDA2NGJh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  It only took a couple minutes to run there. Rachel found the garage door ripped out from the frame as expected. She went inside, where she knew there was a ladder up to the roof, but something caught her eye. A glint of metal and hard black plastic, something that had been flung up and struck the ceiling but failed to break through. It had fallen down into the pile of random tools and supplies, half-buried by screws and nails. She deliberately ignored it, rushing up the ladder to the roof.</span></p> <p class="cnNkN2M3ZjYyZTlkMzRjNTBiZGJiOWIxMjMwNGExYjQx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  To her dismay, it wasn't the duo she'd hoped for. Neffie Bowman looked like a shell-shocked war survivor, while Alden was scanning the street surreptitiously. Both had numerous cuts and bruises. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NmE0NzI2MmNjNTRlZThiMzg3NzFiMWFmMTQwODE4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Where's Hailey?" Rachel asked impatiently.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNWRlOTQ1NDE2NjQwOTI4YWRkMGY4ODUwZjlkZmFh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She had to lure them away," Alden replied, not taking his eyes off the street. "I think Natalie's the only one who can blow up those things."</span></p> <p class="cnNhZGZkZTU2MDU4NTQxZDA4YTE2MmI3YmMwNTMyZTZk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Rachel, they're killing everyone," Neffie said. "Mabel, and Collins, and Christina… Oh god." She doubled over, looking like she might be sick. Reality was finally catching up to her and overriding her adrenaline.</span></p> <p class="cnM3YjAyYmQwYzA1MjRkZWJiMzhlZWIwZjNmY2E1NTUz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  It had to end. Rachel had to stop it somehow. They'd had the right idea, but they hadn't managed to pull it off, and it was her fault. Jackson had to die. She wouldn't hesitate a second time.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ODM5ZGJlNzU0NTQ1NjA4YjNmNTYzZTk4NTY4OWE2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Seeing Neffie reminded Rachel of something she'd suggested, so very long ago on the night of the riot. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">So long ago…</span></em> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">It was just last night. </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">But it was a way to kill Jackson. It could be done. She'd need to lure him out somehow, and she'd need a way to hold him down again, but it could be done.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NzVlODlmMDMxMDRkNjBhZmZlNzU5OTVlYzczOTll" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Where's Rika?"</span></p> <p class="cnNlYzM4YTQxOGM3ZjRlZTE5ZWM1YjdlZmFiYzhiOWI2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "She's gone," Alden replied, finally turning around and sitting back against the low wall lining the roof. "She got a ride out of town."</span></p> <p class="cnMzOGYwNDJkZDg5NDQ3Zjk4NzZiYmM1NGFlYjdkNGI4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "The helicopter?" Neffie asked. </span></p> <p class="cnMyODFlZGZjZDMzNjQ0NmU5NWYyMzAwMGE2NTRmMmU4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden nodded. He turned to Rachel with hard, determined eyes. "She let me read it before she left."</span></p> <p class="cnMwODg5OTE2YzhhYTQwZGI4Y2I1OTQ5ODMyMjE4ZGE2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  The phrase was meaningless to Neffie, but Rachel felt a burst of gratitude toward her erstwhile friend. Rika hadn't abandoned them completely. "Will you—"</span></p> <p class="cnM5NGQ5ZjMwM2M2YzQyZWE4M2Q2ODRiNmI3NzU3YmUy" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I will."</span></p> <p class="cnNiMDcyYzIzZDMxMzQ2NWI5ZjM3NWE3MDcxOGM5MTMw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel nodded. "I'll find a way. Head downstairs with Natalie. We'll be leaving in a minute." </span></p> <p class="cnM0MjZkNTNkZDQzODQxYzQ5OGUyNWVmNDliN2VmMzg4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Alden left. Neffie laid back down on the roof and closed her eyes. She didn't look like she was going to move an inch. Rachel ignored her. She had someone much more important to confront, and Neffie would be safer staying on that rooftop than heading out into the town. Rachel took a few moments to compose her argument, trying to rehearse every potential outcome before she started. It had to play out exactly right.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZGExNDAzM2U4ZTRiNmFiMzJlM2FhMTFkN2ZmZWY5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Are you still here?" Rachel murmured.</span></p> <p class="cnNhY2YxMmQzOTQ2OTQ1NDlhZTA5OTQzYTBmNGM4NDlk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "...Yes."</span></p> <p class="cnNmOGFiNDg3YWU0MDQ1ZWZhZTIyMGNiNGQ3NTI1ZDRj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I need something from you."</span></p> <p class="cnNkN2I0NmUxZTFhODQyMjg4MThiMDRkYTM3ODFmOGM5" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Any reason I should even think about saying yes?" said Beverly.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNWY0NGMyZDQxOTQxN2JiZjliYzZmMWZhMTZlY2I1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Look around!" Rachel snapped, her voice rising. "If you weren't convinced before, how on </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">earth</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> aren't you convinced now?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3Y2NmYjQ4YjZiYzRlNGVhMGEyOGNiY2JlYTM0ZWVk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I won't help you kill him."</span></p> <p class="cnM5NWE1OTY5NDc1NjQ4OTY5ZDNkY2JlMGQ0MjYyOGE4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I wasn't going to ask you to."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMjBiNzUzYTY1OTRiN2Q4MGI5YjE4NTAyMWVlZjVh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Beverly paused. "Then what do you want?"</span></p> <p class="cnNmYzM2MDhlZjljYzRjMDA5YjQ1OGZmZWMyMjM0NzJj" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I need him to come somewhere and talk. He can bring whatever he wants. I won't even bring Natalie."</span></p> <p class="cnNlMjlmOTgyNTkyZjQzMWI4NmYwYTA1ZDgyNGU5Mjhk" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Because you think I'll protect you."</span></p> <p class="cnMwYmY2ZjRiMjdhOTRiMTg4YmE5YWMxYjFlZTZlYzc2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Won't you?"</span></p> <p class="cnM0YzgzMWVlZTBkYTQ0ZjQ5NmFiNjRhN2VmMWRlMDNm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Beverly didn't answer.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NGQ0MDA2ZTliZTQ2NDg5ODA3ZDY1MjFhNzg1ZGIz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I'm going to persuade Jackson to stop. That's all. We tried to kill him and we failed. All I have left is negotiating. Or just stalling him long enough that people can run away. Plenty of them already are, and if he's distracted long enough they just might make it. I won't, but </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">some </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">of them will."</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZDk1NTkyM2QzOTRkMzE5NzUyNGU1OWFkNWEyY2Jm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "...Where?"</span></p> <p class="cnM1NGRhMjEzNzQzZDQ3MzI4ZTcxNjNjNDdjN2VjYjg2" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "A place out in the woods, away from the town so that everyone else can get away. You have a way of knowing where I am at all times, right?"</span></p> <p class="cnM2YjM0YmU1MjM4ODRlNTc5YTdkMzM3OWY5ZTNiZGQx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Yes."</span></p> <p class="cnNlNjY2MjZmMzM3NTQyZTNhMzNkYTA4NmFmMjlkM2M4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "And you can sense magic being used, like he can."</span></p> <p class="cnMxZTNkZjhjMGRlNTRjOWI4YWRjNjNiZDg5ZmE4Yjdi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Better than he can. I can feel any kind of magic, just not who's using it."</span></p> <p class="cnNiOGM5OGU1OTRkZjQ3Y2FhZjQ1MjAxNGI2YTU3MmE4" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Then you'll feel when I signal. That'll be the spot." Rachel turned away from the voice and started down the ladder. </span></p> <p class="cnNiZmZkNTE4MTU1NTQzYmNiNjgxNTBlZThiYzQwZTgx" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "How do you know he'll even show up?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzODc4MDU5NjU3ZTQ2ZTlhMTcxMjIxNzYwNjZkZDFm" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "I know," Rachel said firmly, though her heart was twisting in knots at the realization of just where she'd have to go, if she wanted to be sure Omega fell for the bait hard enough to stick around. </span></p> <p class="cnNiNDI4MTk5ZDAwNjRmYTNiYmJhYTU2MGY5NGZkNGFh" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Okay." There was a faint whisper of wind filling the space she'd left. Rachel could tell she was gone.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NTZmYjRlYmRkZDRmMmRiMmIyNjA5NWRlNTk3YWIz" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  She had no idea how long it would take. She had to move fast. Rachel bolted down the ladder and called Alden over while she hurried to the pile of twisted scrap in the back of the shop. "We're not going to try the ritual again."</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZWVhNjBiZTM1YjQ4ZDc4NmY5MGMzYzMzMjMxNTFi" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Okay," Alden replied, looking relieved. "What's the plan then?"</span></p> <p class="cnMwZjI3NzEwNjY5ZDQ5ZTk5OTIzMGI2ZTc2ZGJkOTM1" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Rika taught you how to hold him down?" Rachel asked, finally digging out the object she'd spotted earlier. Alden's eyes widened as she pulled it out of the warped pile of scrap metal.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YmNhODZhNGYxMTQxMDRiMGZiYTkxMzhiYjFhNmMw" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "...Yeah. I tried casting it a few times. It wasn't hard to figure out if you've read the Scrap."</span></p> <p class="cnM2N2M1OWU5NWMwNjRmM2E4OThhZTI2ZWI2YzNkNmU3" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Good." Rachel checked it over, making sure it was intact and hadn't been damaged from the magnetic storm. It looked exactly as she remembered from reference pictures online. She had a full working knowledge of how to use it, even if she'd never fired one before. It was fully loaded. </span></p> <p class="cnM4OWRlZDY2ZWNjZTRlZjc4NTgwZGU1MzYxOTFmZGZl" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  Rachel tucked the pistol inside her bag and straightened up. As best she could tell, Beverly hadn't returned. She hadn't seen it.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmRjMjg5Y2ExZjRkY2E5Y2M0NjQxZjQ1YmYzMzA0" style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-weight: 400">  "Let's go."</span></p> <p class="cnM2NmQzZTRkNGJiODQ0MDU5Mjc4ZDEwZmQ3Y2RjYWQ1" style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlZDFiNGRiZGIxODRkOGRhMTQ3ZDk2NDI0MzA0Mzk0" style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlY2ZiYjRiNDg1YzQ1ZWJiNTU0MmU2MTY3NzVlNTE4" style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1YTIxNTZiNDExZDQxNWFhMGE3NDBkZjlkMjM4Yjgy" style="text-align: justify">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2NThkZmRjZjhjYTQ2MmQ4NTJjZDkyMDRjOTY5MTNh" style="text-align: center; font-family: serf">&nbsp;[<a href="https://discord.gg/5NYk6za">Discord</a>]—[<a href="http://topwebfiction.com/vote.php?for=the-last-science">TWF</a>]—[<a href="https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/18574/the-last-science">Rate on RR</a>]—[<a href="http://webfictionguide.com/listings/the-last-science/">WFG</a>]—[<a href="https://www.patreon.com/etzoli">Patreon</a>]</p> </div>

Chapter 26 — *Monsters*   As if a rope had been cut, they fell back to the earth. Only Natalie had been unaffected, though Alden wasn't sure if that was because she'd held onto Gwen—who hadn't so much as twitched during the event—or because of her status as naturally awakened. Either way, the rest of them weren't so lucky. Ryan in particular ended up crumpling to the ground and knocking his head against a tree branch as he went, cursing all the while.   "*Chikushō, chikushō, chikushō,*" whispered Rika.   Ryan clambered to his feet, though he looked very unsteady. "That was the ritual, right? They killed him, and I'm about to go drink all the fucking beer in the K n' B?"   "In your fucking dreams," Rika whispered. "He got to them."   "I wanted one last happy thought before we all get ass-fucked, bitch," he snapped.   "Shut up!" shouted Jerry—and to Alden's surprise, it worked. But then again, it usually worked when Rachel interjected as well, so maybe they were just easy to calm down. Jerry continued in a surprisingly calm voice. "We have to regroup, right? Find Rachel and figure out what to do next."   As he spoke, a deafening crash echoed across the landscape. A fireball erupted into the sky, in the direction of Hector's store. A split-second later, the shockwave pounded through the underbrush, making them all flinch.   "Fuck that, I'm out," said Ryan. He meant it too, turning and sprinting away into the woods at a random direction. Jerry hesitated, reconsidering his idea to rejoin the fight. After a few moments, he ran in a different direction, though still far away from the scraping and burning sounds and occasional screams now issuing from Rallsburg.   Natalie said something to her new hawk, and it took off into the sky. She rode off hard in the direction Rachel had last been seen, leaving only Rika and Alden alone in the forest.   "What do we do now?" Alden whispered. He'd only planned out up to the fight with Omega. He had no idea what he was supposed to do if they *failed*. It hadn't even popped into his mind. That was the final battle, wasn't it? The big finish with the risky gambit and the life-or-death stakes?   What did he do after they'd *lost*?   Rika shook her head. "We're fucked. Rachel's plan failed." She sounded just as shaken as Alden felt. "I don't know, Alden."   "Do you think any of them are alive?" he asked, while Hailey and Jessica's faces flashed through his mind.   "Could be. Ritual backfiring might not have killed them. Omega would though." Rika grimaced. "Fuck me, I have to go after her."   Alden nodded. "I'm coming too."   "Okay then." Rika started down the path Natalie had just taken. Alden followed as fast as he could. Thankfully it was still mid-day, or the forest would be much more difficult for them. Instead, it was the things *in* the forest that caused them the most trouble.   A snap of a branch had them both twisting around in an instant. Alden summoned up a ball of flame in one hand, larger than he'd ever managed. He assumed the adrenaline currently flooding his veins was helping him out with magic somehow. Rika had one hand full of gemstones and her other fist up and ready to strike, sparks dancing between her knuckles.   Viper was behind them, his hand in the air. "White flag," he called out.   "Rika, shoot him," Alden snapped.   "What?"   "He tried to kidnap me."   "He *what* now?"   "You shoot me, Rook shoots you," Viper said quickly. "And she won't miss. Now what the hell just happened?"   "We tried to kill Omega," said Rika, not lowering her hand.   "Did you?"   "What the fuck do you think?" Rika snapped, lifting her hand an inch. Viper took a step back, his hand still raised. "You know that gesture means fuck-all when you have magic, right?"   He shrugged, and put his hand in his pocket instead. "It's traditional. Calm down."   "We're a *really* long way from calm." Rika's eyes narrowed. "How did you find us?"   "We saw pink fire coming out of the trees and figured that was worth investigatin'."   "So you could take them instead," Alden added. "Rika. They tried to fly me out in a helicopter. He just wants someone for his boss to cut open."   "Fucking hell," she muttered.   Viper shrugged. "Look, there's some bad blood here, so let's just clear it up. Won't touch either of you again, you got my word. We just want to know what's going on."   "New plan," said Rika. "You work for Malton directly right? Cornelius Malton?"   He nodded slowly. "So what?"   "So my father's the founder of NishiSoft and has access to every single goddamn Laushire database—and so do I. I have all the encryption keys they've ever used and root logins on their network." Rika lowered her hand a few inches. "You've got a helicopter, and I need a ride. Get me the fuck out of town and your boss gets the whole Laushire backend."   Viper frowned. "There's no way I'm getting out of here without someone who can use magic."   "Holy shit, *bakayarō*, are you not seeing this?" She gestured over her shoulder. As if on cue, another, smaller explosion rippled into the sky with a low roll of thunder. "If you don't leave now, you're not getting out of here alive *period.* Do you *see* what's happening back there?" Rika shook her head. "I want safe passage to somewhere in the United States or Canada of my choosing. Malton never learns my name or who gave him the info. And you get to deliver your boss a massive prize on a platter. Everyone's happy, none of us die. Magic can wait."   "Rika…" Alden started. Rika ignored him.   "Omega can't keep winning. Magic's already gotten out of Rallsburg. Sooner or later he'll bite it, but magic won't, 'cause he can't beat Grey-eyes. So you'll have another chance—but only if we get out of here. Right now." Rika flipped her hand over, offering it to Viper to shake. "Deal?"   Viper took a minute to consider it. Alden stepped closer to Rika and dropped to a whisper. "What about Rachel?"   "She'll make it," Rika said, though he could hear the unease in her voice. "She always does in the end."   "Even up against a god?"   "They aren't gods, Alden. They're just more stupid college kids in over their heads."   Alden frowned. "If you leave, we can't hold him down anymore."   Rika hesitated. "I can't stay here. I can't *die* here."   "Tell me how to do it," Alden said, though he could feel intense anxiety weighing on him as he realized what that would mean. "I'll hold him."   "There's no way I could explain it in time," Rika said. "And it's still too dangerous."   "More dangerous than letting something like him stay alive?" Alden pointed out.   Rika looked at him with surprise. "Way more murderous than I expected, Alden," she murmured.   Alden was still running on thick adrenaline. His entire body felt energized and ready for a fight. "I've watched him kill people now. He tried to kill you too, and me. If you aren't going to try again, then at least give us the chance to. Please, Rika."   "You've got a deal," Viper called. "Wherever you want to go, no questions asked and no records."   She nodded. "Give me a minute."   "One minute."   The gruff man turned and started speaking into his radio earpiece again. Rika turned away to block his line of sight, edging up close to Alden. Her skin touched his briefly, sending another electric shock dancing through him. She pulled her bag around front and dug through it quickly. She picked out a small watertight lockbox and unlocked it.   "Read this quickly," she muttered.   Alden picked up the crumpled scrap of paper reverently. He looked down at the first few words, and suddenly felt his eyes being drawn across it like they weren't under his control anymore. The writing—which he couldn't describe but somehow perfectly comprehended—flowed much more strangely than he remembered.   It was very different from the page he'd read in Rika's apartment, or the one Hailey had shown him at Boris' shop. The sentences seemed to flow faster, but at the same time it was like he were wading through thick sludge to get through to the end. He saw lines of pure energy rolling away from him, and as he followed them the world seemed to suddenly turn into a flickering old movie. With every step the entire world flashed, like someone were turning the lights on and off. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear the effect away.   Alden looked around and realized why. It wasn't that the lights were blinking—there were no lights around to flash anyway, just the sunlight streaming through the trees. He was perceiving it more quickly, and acting upon it at that same speed. In that vein, he was also perceiving the infinitesimally small gaps between photons arriving from the sun and bouncing around to eventually reach his eyes, as his speed of perception increased further and further. Alden was moving faster than the universe.   It released. The lines of energy faded and the world snapped back to normal. He hadn't moved at all. Alden let out a huge breath and doubled over, feeling as though he was about to be sick. Rika grabbed him and helped him stay upright.   "Easy," she muttered. "Don't look too suspicious."   Alden forced himself to stay calm. It took him a few moments, but he managed to stay upright and hold it in. "That flickering was really annoying," he finally choked out.   Rika grinned. "I forgot about that," she whispered. "Don't worry. You'll learn to fix it so that doesn't happen." She glanced over at Viper, who was watching the sky impatiently. They still had time. "Now that you know what it is, you should be able to interfere with him. Just lay it down in his vicinity and it screws everything up. This magic really doesn't mix well. You barely even have to force it to fuck him up. It'll be painful as shit to keep going for more than a few seconds but that's enough if you time it right. Get some topaz from Jessica's hoard to lighten the load a bit."   "You're still not going to stay?" Alden asked.   "...I told you, I don't believe in coincidence. I needed a way out and then we run right into this motherfucker. I gotta take it." She sighed. "Don't worry. You got this, Alzack." She clapped him on the back.   "What about you, though? Can't they just come after you the moment you give them what they want?"   Rika shook her head. "It's not a one-time thing. They'll drop me off somewhere in Olympia and only once I'm in the clear do they get what they want. They get access, but only *through* me. I've still got backdoors all through the system, and they need me to mask their tunnel. If I disappear or they try anything, they lose access. Or I just shoot them with lightning. I'm pretty good at that." She raised her voice. "We leaving or what?"   At her question, they all heard the distinctive sound of the helicopter approaching. Viper pointed up at the sky. The sound of the blades pounding the air was growing rapidly, until it swung overhead in a dramatic stall and came to a halt not far from their position. Alden had a brief, terrifying flashback of leaping from the chopper and took a few steps away instinctively.   "You're gonna be fine*,*" said Rika, just barely audible over the helicopter. She gave Alden a brief hug, and the electricity danced through him one last time as she did. "Stay alive out there."   "You too," Alden replied. "I hope you find him." Rika smiled, then ran to the ropes the helicopter had dropped. She took hold opposite Viper and Rook and handled the sudden pull with ease. The helicopter lifted just enough to clear the treeline, then took off at low altitude, fast away from Rallsburg.       ---         Rachel ran back to the park as fast as she could. Natalie and Gwen were right alongside her, though the girl was unusually quiet. *I guess even she realizes just how bad this is,* Rachel thought bitterly.   They'd failed. *She'd* failed. *She'd* caused the cataclysm that swept through the town like a freak tornado. Jackson hadn't done this. *It's all my fault.*   For a brief second, Rachel found herself agreeing with Omega. Who would want to let a force like *this* into the world? If this was what they could accomplish after only a year of magic, what horrors could she inadvertently unleash after decades or centuries? Magic didn't exist anywhere else. If she turned the tables, she could eliminate it entirely. This sort of widespread destruction and murder from so few would never occur again.   One look at Natalie was enough to remind Rachel what was also possible. Natalie, riding atop her wolf with an eagle perched on her shoulder, represented a branch of magic wholly removed from the violence and chaos they'd been fighting. Beyond that, there was Cinza's experimental farm, her light shows, or even Rachel's own self-improvement that had nothing to do with fighting. There were still good uses for magic. The world could use those. She had to fight for those.   Rachel emerged into the field at the same time as the trio of Greycloaks, coming out from much further down the wall of trees marking Rallsburg's border. They all reached the small outcrop of trees just as Kendra emerged, grim-faced.   She held a limp Cinza in her arms.   The adrenaline already pumping through Rachel's veins seemed to double up. She was at Kendra's side instantly. Cinza's face was bloody and bruised. "Is she—"   "She's alive," Kendra reported, prompting a relieved sigh from Rufus. "The backlash was significant."   "Home, please," Cinza mumbled feebly, twisting slightly in Kendra's arms. Her eyes were closed, but to Rachel's surprise she still maintained her echoing voice.   Kendra noticed it too. "I believe she's performing the spell unconsciously. It's not unheard of, and I can't imagine it requires much energy. We certainly keep more than a few things active through sleep every night."   "Is she going to be okay?" asked Yusuf.   "She just channeled more magic through herself than any single person has ever experienced," Kendra replied. "I have no way of knowing."   "John, no. Come back home… They'll understand… I'll make them understand," murmured Cinza, totally delirious.   "Was she the one keeping your home hidden?" Rachel asked Cinza's older lieutenant.   Rufus shook his head. "She designed the magic, but any of us can keep it going if we have to."   "Get her out of here. Take her home. She was confident Omega couldn't find it."   "What about—"   "She's done all she can," Rachel snapped. "Keep her safe."   Rufus hesitated. He glanced at Aaron, who nodded in agreement. Kendra passed her over. Rufus held her very carefully, as if she were made of the most fragile glass. "I'm sorry," he murmured.   "Go," she added impatiently. Without another word, the trio fled back into the woods, bearing their leader to safety. Rachel turned back to Kendra. "What about the rest?"   Kendra sighed. "Hector fled as soon as he saw Omega. That broke the ritual. I could feel in the final moments that Cinza was attempting to redirect the target. She was still aiming for where we'd agreed upon, but as soon as we felt the effect expanding, she tried to push it as far away as possible. I believe she was targeting well outside of town, but the area of effect was so wide that it still managed… well, this." She looked over her shoulder, where the nearest building was perforated with holes, some as large as a car. "Dreadful."   "Then what?"   "Miss Winscombe and her friend attacked him. They seemed to be doing well, but as soon as they gained any advantage, he simply sped away. He tried that three times, coming back from odd angles, but we were able to spot him out every time. After that, he just disappeared."   "Where's Hailey?" Rachel asked, looking around. They didn't seem to be anywhere nearby.   "Ran off to help the wounded, I believe. They went straight into town while I kept watch over Cinza."   The sound of a helicopter drew their attention. "I thought he already left?" Rachel muttered, shading her eyes from the sunlight as she tried to spot it. The sound only lasted a few minutes before it faded away.   "Can *we* call in any assistance? At this point, I'd feel emergency response would be beneficial," Kendra suggested. "People are going to be needing shelter, food and water, depending on how much was just destroyed. It's not as though we can hide this anymore."   Rachel shook her head. "Check your phone." As she'd expected, Kendra's phone was totally unresponsive.   "Hm."   "The cell tower was destroyed."   Another scream from the town, much closer than before. Natalie looked worried, which had Rachel even more concerned. The girl hadn't said a word since they'd reunited back in the forest, and she wasn't normally so quiet. Something had happened out there, but Rachel didn't have time to find out what—as the loud scrape and crunch of a collapsing building reminded her.   She took off toward the sound with Natalie hot on her heels. No matter what she might be feeling and heedless of the potential danger, Rachel was still going to try and save the people of Rallsburg.       ---         Alden took the quickest route he remembered back to the apartment complex. He needed to get at Jessica's collection of gemstones if he was going to have any hope of holding down Omega.   When he tore around the corner of the building, he found himself face-to-face with a college guy he didn't know, with short brown hair and a deadly expression. Alden took an instinctive step back, then another as he noticed the knife in the guy's hand.   "Who are you?" he asked, eyeing Alden suspiciously.   "Just looking for a friend," Alden answered. Given the shattered state of the apartments—shattered windows from their frames collapsing or being ripped from the walls, objects shot through ceilings with terrifying force and metal rivets torn out of wood—Alden thought it would be a simple, reasonable deflection. To his surprise, the knife rose up to find his chest. Alden froze in place.   "You're that guy," he muttered. "The one tagging along with the witch. You caused all this."   "No—" Alden started, but he kept talking.   "My friends are *dead* because of you," he snarled. Alden tensed up. He could feel where this was going. The guy suddenly lunged forward, knife leading the way.   Alden pulled himself backward with magic, flinging himself through the air faster than the guy could follow. He landed easily a few dozen feet away.   "Don't do this," Alden warned. His opponent let out a incomprehensible shout of rage and charged forward. The knife was coming for him. The blade was only a few feet away.   Alden grabbed desperately for it with his mind and managed to take hold. He flung it sideways, trying to send it out into the distance. The guy's grip was too strong. The knife was pulled backward, but his grip on the handle caused it to spin out as it flew away.   The blade sliced a length into the guy's palm before it vanished into the grass outside the apartments. He cursed in pain, but he didn't slow down.   The guy tackled Alden to the concrete walkway. His head bumped painfully on the ground, while the wound in his shoulder began to twinge again. He threw a punch at his attacker's face, but he didn't have enough room to get any real force out of it. He may as well have flicked the guy.   Alden switched tactics, grabbing himself with magic and sliding his whole body out backwards. The guy didn't weigh enough to hold him back, letting Alden free like he were skidding across ice. As soon as he was free of the guy's grip, Alden scrambled to his feet again.   He didn't want to hurt him, but the guy wasn't giving up. He bolted for the grass where the knife had fallen. Alden tried to find it with his mental grip first, but he couldn't see anything. As the guy picked it up with a much tighter grip than before, he swung back around to charge at Alden.   "Stop, please!" Alden shouted, but the guy didn't look like he'd heard a word.   Alden sent his mind down to that pool of energy inside him, opening it tenfold above what he'd ever managed before. He leapt along the line he perceived as time itself, slowing down the world around him. As Rika had said, he managed to keep it stable, so that the lights weren't flickering and the world was still perceptible. He could already feel it drawing massive amounts of his reserves, but Alden had to do something before he got stabbed outside Rika's apartment having accomplished nothing at all.   Alden ran forward at the guy, currently inching toward him in slow motion. He took the knife out of his hand and tossed it away again, then reluctantly punched him in the gut. As he retracted his fist, Alden released the line of energy he'd been grasping and flitted back to the normal line of time.   The world became a fast-forward mess to catch up with him, as the knife twirled away into the distance. The guy he'd punched flew back a full six feet and tumbled over backward. Alden hadn't realized how much his punch would be amplified by the speed he'd moved at.   "Are we done?" Alden asked, panting.   "You killed my friends," the guy gasped, rolling over and struggling back to his feet. "Dropped a fucking building on their heads."   "I didn't do anything," Alden gasped, almost apologetically. "I'm trying to *catch* the guy who did it."   "All of you did it. You're all fucking monsters." He started advancing again. Alden didn't have much strength left to fight him, and the guy was in much better shape.   He didn't have to. A loud popping sound had Alden clapping his hands to his ears. The guy's head snapped to the side as a burst of dark red substance coated the grass. He collapsed to the ground.   Someone screamed. It took Alden a few moments to realize what had just happened. It was only when he heard another shout of surprise from a familiar voice that he finally caught up. He looked around and saw Julian Black lowering a hunting rifle, calm as could be. He wasn't the one who screamed.   Hailey and Jessica emerged from their apartment door behind him. Hailey rushed forward to Alden's side. "Are you okay?"   "Yeah," Alden said, watching Julian carefully. The man walked over to join them, still uncomfortably calm. "Why did you shoot him?"   "He was gonna try again, and I finally had a clear shot," Julian replied. "Nice trick, by the way. How'd you do that?"   "You just killed him! Unarmed! We could have stopped him!" Alden shouted, feeling hysterical.   "He was tryin' to kill *you*," Julian replied, annoyed. "You're one of us. I ain't gonna let a psycho like Logan Bowerson take out one of our own."   Alden shook his head. "Hailey could have stopped him."   "We ain't got time for this." Julian slung the rifle on his back. "I'm goin' to look for Rachel. Phones are all dead. You comin'?"   "Go. We'll catch up," Hailey answered, before Alden could speak. Julian nodded and walked away.   Alden twisted around, still reeling from the adrenaline of the fight. He briefly wondered how long he could keep going before he'd run dry and collapse. "What happened with the ritual?"   "He interrupted it," Hailey reported grimly. Jessica was checking Alden's shoulder, refastening the bandage that had been unbound from the fight. "We came back here for supplies. I'm not giving up that easy."   "Neither am I." Alden nodded gratefully at Jessica. She smiled and stood up, watching the empty street while Hailey and Alden went inside and gathered up as many of the gemstones as they could carry, as well as any other materials they thought might be useful. "Rika left town on that helicopter."   "With the guys who tried to kidnap you?"   "Yeah, no kidding. She made a deal with them."   Hailey shook her head in disbelief. "She's insane."   "She gave me something before she left though. She let me read her Scrap. It *was* Time magic."   "Seriously?"   "Yeah, you guessed right."   "Not time travel though, I'm guessing."   "I hope not." Alden grimaced. "Anyway, she told me how I could maybe trap him again. If we can get him somewhere." He hesitated. "I don't want to kill him, but…"   "But some people just have to be killed," Hailey said quietly. "I don't like it either, Alden. But he tried to kill us first. He's a threat to everyone, humans or awakened."   Jessica shouted something from outside. They hurried to join her.   The day was ending, the sun dipping low, and a mob of people was roaming down the street with murder in their eyes and rage in their voices. They carried any weapons they could find. The mob was moving away toward the main thoroughfare. Hailey started to move, as though she meant to stand up to the whole group, but Jessica grabbed her arm.   Hailey twisted back in alarm. Jessica held up one hand with two fingers, and the other with five. She repeated the five several times over, then had that hand crush the two like a rock crushing a bug. Hailey hesitated, but nodded. "You're right, Jess."   "So what do we do?" Alden asked.   "Rachel said everyone would be safe inside the Market, right? We get people there, as many as we can."       ---         The mob—twenty five in all—encircled Gordon Merrill, buzzing with angry voices. They'd backed him up to the wall at the gutted sheriff's station just as Rachel arrived with Natalie a few steps behind.   "He's lying! He's just going to kill you all anyway!" Gordon shouted.   "Says you," snapped Roger Quinton, the farmer. "You've been collaborating with the freaks since the town hall. Maybe even before that. Why should we believe a word you say?"   "I'm one of you! I don't have any magic! Why would I lie?"   "Look around you, man!" Roger gestured to the town, littered with glass and splintered metal. He pointed just behind Gordon, where the twisted and broken bars of the two cells had been shoved through the roof and protruded out like an ominous flag. "They did this to our town. The only way out of this is to deal with them all, and anyone who's trying to help them." He lowered his weapon. The sharp points of the metal pitchfork caught the sunset reflection for just a moment.   "Stop!" Rachel shouted, running forward as fast as she could. She tried to grab the pitchfork, throwing out her mind as far as she could reach, but her grip was feeble and useless. She may as well have been trying to hold back a mountain. Some of the crowd turned toward her, but Roger had already moved.   Gordon sank to the ground.   Rachel stopped, while the crowd roared and began to shift back around, still caught up in the heat of the moment. She could see every single face full of wrath and pain. These were people she'd talked to and worked with for a year. She'd never imagined *any* of them capable of murder, even like this. Gordon was gasping for breath and trying to struggle away, but Rachel couldn't do anything for him.   Natalie rode up next to her. "What do I do, Rachel?" she asked.   "You destroyed our town!" someone cried from the back.   "You killed the Reverend!"   "We're all going to die because of you!"   "Justice for Jenny!" *What was my plan, anyway?* Rachel thought bitterly, while the crowd slowly advanced. None of them seemed brave enough to close the distance first with Natalie's wolf facing them down, but they'd soon be totally surrounded if Rachel didn't do something.   "Help us," she whispered.   "I can't," replied the ghost at her side, before vanishing into the wind.   No one was coming to help them. No one *could* help them, as far as Rachel knew.   "Start backing away. Don't take your eyes off them, but we don't want to hurt them." Rachel did the same as she spoke. She hoped they'd find a chance to break out and run for it—but if they showed any sign of weakness, the group would undoubtedly charge them. Even Natalie's age wouldn't likely deter them, given her deadly companions and her well-known status as an awakened. They'd already faced down almost exactly the same crowd before, and only a show of extreme force had been enough to deter them.   "What should I do?" Natalie asked again, panic in her voice. The crowd had almost surrounded them. They couldn't get away anymore.   "Lightning on the ground at their feet," Rachel ordered. *Something to scare them away,* she hoped. *Remind them they're mortal.*   Natalie took one hand off Gwen and thrust it at Roger Quinton, who happened to be almost directly in front of them. Purple-edged lightning blasted forth out of her palm with a loud whip-crack, nearly deafening everyone.   The bolt crackled forward in a low splintering path, but it didn't strike the ground immediately. Natalie had aimed too high. The electricity followed the path of least resistance through the air and onto the tips of Roger's pitchfork, which was pointed directly at Rachel.   The metal fork exploded. The wooden haft caught fire, while the superheated metal tips shot off in different directions like shrapnel. One skipped along the ground and punched a hole through Rachel's dress, just missing her leg as it flew into the distance. A few people fell to the ground, screaming in agony from the molten steel on their skin.   Natalie's hands flew to her mouth in horror. Roger dropped the burning remains of his weapon with a shout and leapt back in fear. The crowd was suddenly far less eager to approach. Rachel had to take command of the situation while she could.   "Get out of here, now," she shouted. "Go home!" *Wrong word,* she realized immediately.   "Our homes are fucking *gone!*" Roger shouted back. He picked up the burning wood and threw it at Rachel, who just managed to dodge aside in time. The crowd jostled about, lifting weapons and moving forward heedless of the injured among them. *I'm so sorry.* "Natalie, do it again."   "But they're—"   "Do it now!" Rachel cried, as Roger almost closed the distance between them.   Natalie threw out another desperate, powerful crackling bolt of electricity—directly at Roger.   The lightning connected with his skull. His eyes went wide for the split-second before the discharge rocketed around his body, travelling along the sweat on his skin. As it reached down to his arm, the lightning jumped across to the next person in line with noticeably less intensity, until it had travelled through four or five people and finally fizzled out on the ground.   They collapsed. Roger was clutching his heart and twitching slightly, his mouth open wide but without a voice. Rachel looked up again, hoping to finally see a retreating crowd and enough space to get away.   She only saw desperate, unbridled rage. The shouting doubled over as the mob called for death. Rachel didn't have any other option.   "Again, Natalie!" she shouted. Natalie threw another bolt of lightning, brilliant purple-edged sparks blinding Rachel as it struck another group.   The girl didn't need further prompting, throwing bolt after bolt in the heat of the moment. The mob kept coming as Natalie kept firing, the girl shouting out in exertion and fear with each burst of electricity. Rachel closed her eyes as the bolts became too bright for her, keeping close to Gwen and trusting Natalie to keep her safe.   The shouting died away. The whip-cracks of lightning stopped. The only sound was the gentle growl of Gwen and the heavy pained breathing of the girl seated atop her. Rachel reluctantly opened her eyes.   No one had survived. Several of them had huge burns across their skin. The scent of singed hair and flesh was thick in the air. The bodies were laid out in a circle around them. All twenty-five were totally, utterly still.   Not a single one had turned away or tried to run.   "Natalie?" Rachel asked tentatively.   "...Did I do okay?" she stammered. The girl looked like she might collapse again, but it wasn't the satisfied exhaustion of a job well done Rachel had seen the night before. Natalie looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide as dinner-plates, her mouth quivering. She looked like she might burst into tears.   "Yeah," Rachel said. She stood up straight and pulled Natalie into a hug, burying the girl's face in her shoulder. "You saved us."   "Why didn't they stop?"   "I think they thought they had nothing left to lose," said Rachel.   "I didn't want to hurt them. Why did they want to hurt us?" said Natalie, and Rachel could hear her starting to break down. As much as she wished she could let the girl work through it, they were still in the middle of a disaster.   She let Natalie go and faced her again. "Natalie, this is *not* your fault. We're trying to save everyone here. They attacked us."   "If we're saving everyone, why do they want to stop us?"   "Someone else lied to them about us. Natalie, I'm sorry, but I need you to stay with me, okay? We're not out of this yet."   "I saw him," Natalie said suddenly.   Rachel's heart, which had only finally started to calm down, broke into a fresh sprint. "Saw who?"   "My dad. He was out in the woods. He had a stick thing, and it was controlling the monsters." Natalie looked at Rachel with red, puffy eyes. "Why's my dad helping him?"   Rachel, for all her plans and preparations, had nothing to say to her. *How do I tell a twelve year old her father's trying to kill all her friends?* She'd had enough of lying, even to Natalie. "I don't know."   "Did you know he was?" Natalie asked, testing Rachel's resolve even further.   Rachel nodded very slowly. "I did."   Natalie's eyes widened even further, if that was possible. "Why didn't you tell me?"   "I didn't want to hurt you. I'm sorry. I was hoping we might be able to get him back, but I don't know if that's possible anymore."   "You think my dad's evil?"   Rachel shook her head. "I don't know. But he's not safe to be around." Her voice shook as she continued. "You can't ever go near him again, Natalie."   "What?"   "I don't know what he might do. He sent those golems into the woods tonight, and you were there. He could have hurt you."   "But he's my dad!"   Rachel's eyes were welling up with tears. "I know. I'm so sorry, Natalie."   "What am I supposed to do?" Natalie asked desperately.   "We still have a town to save," said Rachel. "Will you help me?"   "You lied to me. You said you'd help me find my dad."   "I did. And we will someday. But right now people are hurt and we can help them," Rachel gestured around to the devastated town. "I can't do it without you, Natalie."   Natalie took a minute to think, pressing her face into the Gwen's fur. Muffled sobs emanated from the thick gray pelt. Rachel ran a hand along the wolf's back, grateful that Gwen seemed to consider her a friend as well. The wolf had moved to protect her while Natalie had fought off the mob, placing herself directly between Rachel and the oncomers. Rachel rubbed her affectionately, and she could have sworn Gwen shot her a grateful smile.   "...What do you need me to do?" Natalie asked finally, looking up.   "Can your new friend find someone for us?" Rachel asked, pointing at the hawk that had fluttered down to Gwen's shoulder after the fight. Natalie nodded. "We need to find Hailey and Jessica. Do you know who I'm talking about?"   "Yeah," Natalie replied. "They talked to me before the big meeting. They were nice to me. Hailey said she'd teach me how to fly someday." She held out her hand and the hawk fluttered over to land on her fingers. She spoke a few words to it that Rachel didn't understand. It took off and started flapping hard into the sky.   "How do you speak to them?" Rachel asked.   "I just do," Natalie replied, confused. "I call them and they understand me. They can talk too, they just don't use words." Natalie said another few incomprehensible words to Gwen, and she started walking away, with Rachel at her side. The young girl still looked like an emotional wreck. Rachel wished she could understand what was going through Natalie's head. There was so much she felt like she couldn't possibly relate to.   "Natalie, you just saved my life," Rachel said. "Thank you. You did good." Natalie didn't answer, but Rachel thought she looked a little less miserable. That was the best Rachel could hope for, under the circumstances. "You're really brave. I was so scared back there and you handled it better than I ever could."   "Dad told me that fear meant I knew something was wrong," she said quietly. "He said fear means I should probably be doing something about it and that hiding from it would only make it worse."   Rachel hesitated. "He might not be gone forever. I don't know what's going to happen. When this is all over, we might be able to talk to him." She took Natalie's hand to draw her attention, so Rachel could look her directly in the eyes. "Natalie, you have to promise me something though. You have to promise you'll never try to find him alone. I'll help you, and I'm sure Lily and Kendra will want to help too, but don't ever go after your dad on your own. We'll do it together. Okay?"   "Okay."   "You promise?"   Natalie nodded. "I promise." She looked back at Rachel fiercely. "Do *you* promise to take me with you when you go find him? No matter what?"   Rachel nodded back. "I promise. Thank you," she added. Rachel forced a weak smile, though her heart felt like ice. "Let's go find our friends."       ---         "Heads up," Hailey called out, swooping back around to meet them. "We've got trouble."   "What's going on?" Alden asked. Mabel Walsh was ambling along behind him, as fast as her old legs could carry her. Behind them was Hector—whom they'd found weeping outside the burning, shattered wreckage of his exploded store—Collins McCreary, Neffie Bowman, and the president of the University, Christina Albrecht. Jessica brought up the rear, a blue ball of flame at the ready.   They'd been picking up anyone they found as they made their way across town. There was no sign of the mob from earlier. Collins had a broken leg from a collapsed crossbeam, while the President and Neffie Bowman sported cuts from blown-out windows, so they made slow progress to the one remaining door open at the Kettle and Bones. From the look on Hailey's face as she rejoined them, though, it was about to get much harder.   "Golems. And they're attacking everyone." Hailey flew a small circle to turn around and stopped in mid-air, fluttering slightly as her invisible wings kept her aloft. "We're about to get into a fight if we go around that corner."   Alden didn't hesitate. "So let's go fight them." The moment he spoke, a shout of alarm from Jessica at the rear had them all turning around.   A golem had just sprouted from the ground behind the group. Jessica was trying to push it away with a wall of force, since she couldn't use her fire. Hector fled—despite Neffie calling out for him—and disappeared into the swiftly falling twilight. Hailey swooped forward and hurled wind at the golem, pushing it back even further.   "Now would be a great time for some of that lightning!" Neffie shouted.   "We never learned how to make lightning!" Hailey called back.   "How do you make *any* of this?" asked Christina. "Electricity is just electrons moving around. Can't you do that?"   "*You* explain that to the dumb girl," Collins snapped.   "We're all faster than it, right?" Alden pointed out. "If we can't beat it, we can just outrun it."   "That's not a permanent solution," said Neffie.   "Anything's better than staying here until Hailey collapses."   "If you take the path by Dan's place, you could probably get to the tavern okay," Hailey called out. "I didn't see anything that way."   "Okay then," Alden said firmly. "Hailey, can you hold it off without Jessica?" She nodded. Alden tapped Jessica on the shoulder. He pointed at Hailey, then at the golem with a flat palm. He made a circle in midair to indicate the group on the ground, then jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the path Hailey had mentioned. Jessica nodded. She stood up straight and took a few deep breaths.   They set off while Hailey held back the golem as much as possible. It managed to advance even in the wake of the massive gale Hailey was unleashing, but it was so slow that a single inch took a minute or more. Alden wasn't too concerned, until he heard another cry of alarm from the front of the group.   He rushed back forward to find Jessica hurling a ball of fire across the street. A middle-aged man stood there, with short brown hair and a mess of unshaven stubble on his face, holding a thin black obsidian rod. At the last possible moment, a golem managed to intercept the blast of fire about to strike him.   Brian Hendricks stood firm behind the fiery pillar of his golem servant. "Mabel, I expected better of you," he called out.   "And I thought you were a decent man," Mabel shouted back. "Looks like we're both disappointed."   "How could you support something so disgusting and blasphemous?"   "Blasphemous?" Mabel laughed. "You're too young to understand what that really means."   Brian paused while his hand dug through his coat pocket for something. Alden tensed up, expecting the worst. Jessica was already projecting a wall of force to hold back the golem, but if it really tried to advance, he wasn't sure they could hold it back. Not with its creator so close, if Alden understood how they operated.   Brian's eyes narrowed. "You're one of them," he snarled.   Mabel's eyes widened. Brian lifted the rod higher, and another two golems emerged. As an impenetrable wall, they began advancing on the group.   "Run!" Alden shouted. They had no hope of stopping that. He grabbed Jessica's shoulder and pulled her back. She held up the wall a second longer, but realized it was futile and followed Alden. "Hailey, we need another route!"   "Little busy!" she shouted back.   "We're surrounded!"   They were running down the only route left open to them, the road leading back to the park they'd started at. As they rounded a corner, Mabel tripped over the curb. Alden didn't notice until it was too late. He turned just in time to see a golem lean over and pulverize her skull. He shut his eyes just before the blow landed.   Collins swore under his breath as he ran, while Neffie just shook her head in disbelief. Christina shouted something about being innocent and tore off down a side alley.   A moment later, they heard her scream in pain.   Alden looked around desperately, but there seemed to be a golem approaching from every direction but forward. He felt like they were being herded back to where they'd last seen Omega—but what choice did they have?   Hailey finally rejoined them a block later, flying back in over their heads. "You've got two on your tail, but you're pretty far ahead. You're running right back into the ritual site though," she added dubiously, confirming his fear.   Alden looked around for anything they could use. All they'd wanted was to get back to the Marketplace, but the only entrance was well-guarded by Brian and his golems. They were locked out and getting picked off one by one. They needed somewhere to hide, but every building was wide open from doors and windows being ripped out. *One of us seems to be safe*, Alden realized.   "Hailey, you need to take us up to the rooftop."   "I can't lift *all* of you."   "One at a time," Alden added impatiently. "If we stay up there and stay low, we have time to figure this out."   Hailey nodded. "You first, then. No arguments, you're the most experienced flyer after Jessica and she's gotta stay down to protect you all."   Alden threw up his arms. Hailey swooped in and grabbed his forearms, while he immediately latched onto hers. The strain on his shoulders was immense. He felt like his arms might be ripped from their sockets, and that feeling redoubled as Hailey flapped up into the sky. A few moments later, she deposited him on the nearest rooftop with enough cover that they wouldn't be seen from the street.   Neffie was next up. She looked incredibly uncomfortable being lifted into the sky by a free-flying college girl aloft on invisible wings, but gritted her teeth and landed gracefully enough when Hailey released her. The next trip back wasn't so lucky.   As Hailey swung back around to the street level, a golem emerged from a row of bushes and bore down on Collins. Alden was about to shout a warning, but Neffie clapped a hand to his mouth. "We're hiding, remember?" she hissed.   Alden nodded frantically. She released him, and he summoned a fireball in front of Jessica, bright orange and pulsing. She recognized the signal immediately, spinning around—but it was too late.   The golem—with no wind-up whatsoever, just a single punch forward as casual as could be—put its blocky fist through Collins' stomach. He looked down in shock, his eyes widening a moment before the golem slammed him aside into the nearest wall.   It started to move on Jessica.   She threw up her arms, and Hailey grabbed her up immediately. She swung Jessica forward like they were doing a gymnastics routine, and Jessica clasped her legs around Hailey for a better grip. Hailey looked like she was about to turn back around to Alden and Neffie, but Jessica frantically tugged on her shirt and got her to keep going in the same direction—far away from their impromptu sanctuary.   Alden breathed a sigh of relief. If Hailey had flown to their rooftop, there was no way they'd go unseen. As they flew off, the golems in the street continued to follow, ignoring Neffie and Alden entirely.   Neffie let out a deep breath as well, falling to the rooftop and staring up at the sky with a blank face, half-covered by her curly black hair. Alden laid down on the gravel and watched the incoming wall of dark clouds. *Of course it's about to start raining, too*. "Are you okay?" he asked.   "No I am not goddamn okay," Neffie snapped. "I just watched a bunch of my neighbors—my *friends —* get murdered one by one. I'm really not okay."   "I'm—"   Neffie sighed. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I'm physically okay."   "Okay," Alden replied.   "What do we do now?"   Alden hesitated. "I don't know." The shriek of a hawk punctuated his words, prompting them both to look up at the sky. A bird circled overhead, barely visible against the mountain range of rain clouds on the horizon.       ---         "He found something," Natalie reported, seconds after the hawk cried out.   "Hailey and Jessica?" Rachel asked. *Any good news would be great right now.*   "I don't know. Percy just said two people. I don't think he's very smart."   "Percy is the hawk's name?"   "Yeah."   Rachel looked around the street, not seeing a single person from end to end. "Where are they?"   "On the roof of Oscar's garage," Natalie said. *Another person I failed to save.* "Why are they up there?"   "Probably hiding." Rachel quickly plotted the fastest route there in her head. "Let's go get them."   It only took a couple minutes to run there. Rachel found the garage door ripped out from the frame as expected. She went inside, where she knew there was a ladder up to the roof, but something caught her eye. A glint of metal and hard black plastic, something that had been flung up and struck the ceiling but failed to break through. It had fallen down into the pile of random tools and supplies, half-buried by screws and nails. She deliberately ignored it, rushing up the ladder to the roof.   To her dismay, it wasn't the duo she'd hoped for. Neffie Bowman looked like a shell-shocked war survivor, while Alden was scanning the street surreptitiously. Both had numerous cuts and bruises.   "Where's Hailey?" Rachel asked impatiently.   "She had to lure them away," Alden replied, not taking his eyes off the street. "I think Natalie's the only one who can blow up those things."   "Rachel, they're killing everyone," Neffie said. "Mabel, and Collins, and Christina… Oh god." She doubled over, looking like she might be sick. Reality was finally catching up to her and overriding her adrenaline.   It had to end. Rachel had to stop it somehow. They'd had the right idea, but they hadn't managed to pull it off, and it was her fault. Jackson had to die. She wouldn't hesitate a second time.   Seeing Neffie reminded Rachel of something she'd suggested, so very long ago on the night of the riot. *So long ago…* *It was just last night.* But it was a way to kill Jackson. It could be done. She'd need to lure him out somehow, and she'd need a way to hold him down again, but it could be done.   "Where's Rika?"   "She's gone," Alden replied, finally turning around and sitting back against the low wall lining the roof. "She got a ride out of town."   "The helicopter?" Neffie asked.   Alden nodded. He turned to Rachel with hard, determined eyes. "She let me read it before she left."   The phrase was meaningless to Neffie, but Rachel felt a burst of gratitude toward her erstwhile friend. Rika hadn't abandoned them completely. "Will you—"   "I will."   Rachel nodded. "I'll find a way. Head downstairs with Natalie. We'll be leaving in a minute."   Alden left. Neffie laid back down on the roof and closed her eyes. She didn't look like she was going to move an inch. Rachel ignored her. She had someone much more important to confront, and Neffie would be safer staying on that rooftop than heading out into the town. Rachel took a few moments to compose her argument, trying to rehearse every potential outcome before she started. It had to play out exactly right.   "Are you still here?" Rachel murmured.   "...Yes."   "I need something from you."   "Any reason I should even think about saying yes?" said Beverly.   "Look around!" Rachel snapped, her voice rising. "If you weren't convinced before, how on *earth* aren't you convinced now?"   "I won't help you kill him."   "I wasn't going to ask you to."   Beverly paused. "Then what do you want?"   "I need him to come somewhere and talk. He can bring whatever he wants. I won't even bring Natalie."   "Because you think I'll protect you."   "Won't you?"   Beverly didn't answer.   "I'm going to persuade Jackson to stop. That's all. We tried to kill him and we failed. All I have left is negotiating. Or just stalling him long enough that people can run away. Plenty of them already are, and if he's distracted long enough they just might make it. I won't, but *some* of them will."   "...Where?"   "A place out in the woods, away from the town so that everyone else can get away. You have a way of knowing where I am at all times, right?"   "Yes."   "And you can sense magic being used, like he can."   "Better than he can. I can feel any kind of magic, just not who's using it."   "Then you'll feel when I signal. That'll be the spot." Rachel turned away from the voice and started down the ladder.   "How do you know he'll even show up?"   "I know," Rachel said firmly, though her heart was twisting in knots at the realization of just where she'd have to go, if she wanted to be sure Omega fell for the bait hard enough to stick around.   "Okay." There was a faint whisper of wind filling the space she'd left. Rachel could tell she was gone.   She had no idea how long it would take. She had to move fast. Rachel bolted down the ladder and called Alden over while she hurried to the pile of twisted scrap in the back of the shop. "We're not going to try the ritual again."   "Okay," Alden replied, looking relieved. "What's the plan then?"   "Rika taught you how to hold him down?" Rachel asked, finally digging out the object she'd spotted earlier. Alden's eyes widened as she pulled it out of the warped pile of scrap metal.   "...Yeah. I tried casting it a few times. It wasn't hard to figure out if you've read the Scrap."   "Good." Rachel checked it over, making sure it was intact and hadn't been damaged from the magnetic storm. It looked exactly as she remembered from reference pictures online. She had a full working knowledge of how to use it, even if she'd never fired one before. It was fully loaded.   Rachel tucked the pistol inside her bag and straightened up. As best she could tell, Beverly hadn't returned. She hadn't seen it.   "Let's go."          [[Discord](https://discord.gg/5NYk6za)]—[[TWF](http://topwebfiction.com/vote.php?for=the-last-science)]—[[Rate on RR](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/18574/the-last-science)]—[[WFG](http://webfictionguide.com/listings/the-last-science/)]—[[Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/etzoli)]

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjZDIwNjBmOWQ2NDRiZmY5YTg5NjI0MDA1ODRiM2Nl">Alyssa stopped and gaped. She couldn’t help it. Two weeks of trudging through open plains and a forest, tripping over branches and brushes, being eaten alive by insects, and carrying several pounds of supplies on her back had all taken its toll. Frankly, she would be perfectly happy if she never had to camp again in her life. At least she hadn’t run into anything truly dangerous. No monsters since the harpy. Not even a regular bear. The main roads were kept generally safe thanks to the efforts of some guardsmen from Lyria. Had it all been worth it? That remained to be seen. One thing was certain, the city of Lyria was an impressive sight.</p> <p class="cnM1NTc1Zjc0ZDI2MjQ0NWQ5MGM4ZGZiNGI5NGFlOWFj">The villages that lined the path leading from the mountains to Lyria were barely deserving of the name. Alyssa wasn’t certain what the smallest unit of civilization was, but none of the so-called towns had more than a hundred people. None had inns like Teneville. They were all nearly identical communes filled with farmers for the most part. Each town tended to have a carpenter as well as a doctor and some type of priest. Nothing like what Lazhar had been. More like regular priests she was familiar with from Earth, except they preached Tenebrael’s name. She had stayed inside the homes of residents—typically the village priest—for a small fee. They had been cramped, often not more than single room buildings. The villagers that she stayed with usually included a small meal with the cost of staying the night, which was the one and only upside.</p> <p class="cnM0NWRhZDYwNTM4YTQ2OTdhNzUzZTlmMDdmMTQyODQz">Given her experiences during the her travel, she had continued on, fully expecting Lyria to be barely bigger than Teneville.</p> <p class="cnNlNDIwMDA3YWQ5ZDQ0ODBiYjI1OTE3MDFhNGNlMWM0">It wasn’t.</p> <p class="cnM0YzUwMDg1ZWI5MTQ0ZDg4ZjFjNzg4ZTE3ODFiMTZi">Three great towers stood over the city at each corner of its triangular layout. A central building measured even taller. Unlike the towers, it had three wings coming off it, somewhat like a pyramid except the middle sections were absent. None of the other buildings in the city reached even a small fraction of the towers’ height, but the simple fact that there were buildings was a drastic improvement over the villages. Beyond the main city proper, villages hugged the walls and farm fields stretched clear to the edge of the forest, occasionally dotted with more homes or warehouses. In the opposite direction from the city, far from where Alyssa was, there was a distinct lack of forest. In fact, it turned into a desert as far as she could tell.</p> <p class="cnNkOTZkOTViNjJjZDQ3N2I4NGZlMjA1ZTFiNjAxYTAy">None of which really mattered to her. Once she shook off her initial shock at seeing some semblances of civilization, Alyssa made a straight beeline to the city gates.</p> <p class="cnMwNGU5Zjk0ZTY3MjQwNzE5NTlhNzA2OTU3NWRhOTVm">A large road, obviously well traveled by both carts and foot, actually had lighting right up next to the city. Nothing electric. That was too much to ask for. But little glass jars set atop wooden posts had glowing lights in them much like the magic light spell she had cast way back in the mountains. The first real sign of magic that hadn’t come from an angel or herself.</p> <p class="cnMyZDE1YWIzZWRiOTQzNTdiNjgwY2FhMWM0YmY2ZTA5">As it turned out, most people didn’t actually believe in magic. Not in the way Alyssa understood it—lots of flashy effects doing impossible things such as turning something invisible or making something grow in size. While practically everyone was capable of Rank Zero magic, the effects were so small even to a primitive society that they were simply accepted as a natural part of the world. Only ten percent of people could use Rank One magic. Only ten percent of those could use Rank Two. And so on and so forth. Since everything truly magical—everything that modern technology couldn’t replicate—happened at the higher ranks, it wasn’t surprising that most people were a little wary of someone who claimed to be able to fly about. Or ward off harpies. Yzhemal and Lazhar might believe it, but they witnessed a supposed miracle yearly.</p> <p class="cnM1NzZlMGZiZDA5MDQ5ZGE4NDNhYTM0NjZjYzBjMmYx">Another cause for the lack of even Rank Zero casters was the cost of materials. Fine paper and specialized ink were needed. Not supplies that were readily available in every tiny village.</p> <p class="cnNiYzQ0NTZlYTc1ZDQzY2U5ZmRiZGUwYWZlN2MyMjBk">For that reason, she had further delayed her investigation into the flight spell. How accepted would such a thing be around regular people? Would she be put to trial as a witch? Or would they realize that there was more to magic than a simple candle flame and a bit of light? Aziz’s book was distinctly lacking in the reactions to magic among common folk.</p> <p class="cnNjYjczMDAxODdlOTQzYThiODM4ZjE2OWNmMTYzMmU2">Hopefully she could find out more once she found the magic academy. It should be safer to experiment there as well.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTdjNmU0OGQ1ZDRjM2M4M2JlZjVmZjE2N2MyMzg3">Alyssa slowed her power walk upon reaching the city proper. A tall wall surrounded the entire place, built from a yellowy brown rock. Sandstone or granite perhaps. The road ran up to a wide gate, fully open, but with a pair of guards on either side of the entrance and more further still up on the walls. The ones up on the walls were armed with quivers filled with arrows and simple wooden bows. All the guards on the ground level were wearing beige-colored cloth over dark iron armor and had long pikes with violet banners emblazoned with a white eye—with black designs curling around almost exactly like the markings around Tenebrael’s eyes—hanging from the cross-spikes near the tip. The banners seemed like they would get in the way if they actually had to use their weapons, but maybe removing them wasn’t a big issue.</p> <p class="cnM3ZWFkODM3MDYzNDRiMDk5ZDdmNDdjMTk3M2I1NGMy">Not wanting to find out, Alyssa kept her pace sedate and her hands empty of weapons.</p> <p class="cnNkYmIyZmEzM2U4YTRiMTg5OTk5NTljOGQyYWMzOTdm">She had seen the banners and uniforms before. Roughly a week ago. There had been an outpost made of brick similar to what the wall was constructed from. No farms around it, just a small building that housed no more than a dozen soldiers. Apparently it was a part of some prince’s plan to keep the travel and trade routes safe from both monsters and bandits. The guards there had been friendly enough, even allowing her to stay the night inside some sort of barracks. But she hadn’t thought to ask whether the city guards would be as friendly.</p> <p class="cnMwZDMxODk4MzU5ZDRjMDM5NTI3Mzc4MGJhYzNlODY5">It wasn’t like she had a passport or identification papers. What if they asked her for some sort of identification? Alyssa bit her lip, growing nervous.</p> <p class="cnMyODFhODBjZTZjZjRjZDI5M2RmOTk4YzhkNGIzMjc3">One of the guards held up a gauntleted hand as she approached. Nothing hostile. Just a motion for her to speak with him. So she did.</p> <p class="cnMwOWMzYzg5Nzc3YzRiZWViMzdhZTg0Yjc2MTNhMjJh">“Uh, hello?”</p> <p class="cnNlYzdjZDJhZTQ5MTQ4ZTg4NWFhMjAzNmFjNGMxNmIy">The guard looked down at her with a frown. His helmet—or the face of his helmet—wasn’t solid. Quite the opposite. It was more of the cage-mask style similar to a hockey goalie. She couldn’t help but notice his eyes roaming over her gear, first at the shotgun slung over her shoulder, her backpack, and then to her clothes. She had decided to wear Aziz’s violet cloak as it would presumably be somewhat fashionable—or at least local—to the people in the city. But now, spotting the purple banners again, she was wondering if it had been a mistake. If purple was a color of royalty or something similar, she could easily be arrested, imprisoned, or even executed for impersonating or stealing or any number of trumped up charges.</p> <p class="cnM0NjNiNjRlODk3NTQ2NWJiMjQ2NDg3MTQ5YmI1NmZl"><span style="font-style: italic">Ugh, I should have thought of that earlier</span>. Why didn’t the banners in the outpost tip her off? Had she just not been paying attention?</p> <p class="cnNhMjA0ZTAxYmM3YjQzMmE4MmZmNTZiYzg5ZjFjZWY1">“What is a noble girl doing wandering alone outside the city?”</p> <p class="cnMyZDcxNmMwNWM4ZTRlZGNiZjA5OTdmZjc0M2Y1ZDQz"><span style="font-style: italic">Ah. Great</span>. Not only was she a ‘noble’ girl, but was that sexism she heard in his voice? Were females required to be escorted everywhere? Or was he just concerned for her safety? Nobles probably had a whole entourage of guards and attendants serving them when they left the city.</p> <p class="cnM4MGJmM2I3M2JkYjRlNGViNGM1ZWE1N2FhYmE3YThm">More importantly, what was the proper response? Correct him? That might lead to her aforementioned fears. Play it up? Claim she had lost her bodyguard?</p> <p class="cnNlMDg0N2ZlNzkxOTQ0ZmM5OGZmMzdkZmJkNDQ3N2Zh">“I am more than capable of defending myself, thank you very much.”</p> <p class="cnMyYjJiZjk2MjliNjQwNWZhZDY1NmJlNzJhM2FiZWY5">The guard chuckled with a glance to his companion. They were a bit far apart given the width of the gate. A subway train could fit through and have room to spare. Predictably, his partner didn’t make much of a response. They weren’t talking loudly enough and apparently he didn’t have any magic to enhance his hearing.</p> <p class="cnM0Yjc2NTBiMmRiMzQyNDg5NjVhNTcxN2E4NzhlZGNm">“That may be, but I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to find an escort for you. Now, which House are you from?”</p> <p class="cnMwNjIwNDY3YTcxMjRiMjA4NjNmZWVmYWQ1ZWRmZWRj">Alyssa pressed her lips together and glared. “Huuuh?” She drew out the word, raising the pitch a bit at the end in an attempt to sound haughtier than normal. “That will not be necessary, thank you. Besides, my elder brother should be along shortly.” Glancing back, Alyssa turned her glare on the road before giving a sad shake of her head. “He stopped a distance back to speak with some farmer. I’m sure he won’t be long. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back quickly, get cleaned up, get food, and get… civilized.”</p> <p class="cnMxMDY0MTkxZTY0NDQ4MGY5ODRiM2Q1YmMzZTlhOWM5">Immediately and without waiting for a response—as she imagined a snobbish noble lady would do—Alyssa moved past the guard and through the gate.</p> <p class="cnNlZGVmODk4OThlYzRkMzM4ZWRlNzg1OWQ5ZTlhZDM1">“Miss!” the guard called out behind her. “The Waters Street gang has abducted at least one woman in these past few evenings! Please wait for your brother at least!”</p> <p class="cnNkNTFkYjNhMGRkODRkN2I4NjA3YmMyN2UxOGYzZGI5">“I don’t intend to be out after dark, our home isn’t far. Good day sir!” Alyssa ran off, doing her best to look like she wasn’t actually running. It was more like she was moving with purpose. The most important aspect about fooling people into thinking that she was supposed to be here was acting like she knew where she was going. Being her very first time in the city, which was already in a strange world, Alyssa hadn’t the slightest idea where she was going.</p> <p class="cnMzM2ZlNDg2ZGZlNzRjYWViZmJmMWMwZjQxMDNmMDhm">Compared to the road outside the city, the streets inside were crowded. Not necessarily to the point where Alyssa had to squeeze between people just to get to move ten steps, but this one street probably had more people than she had seen over the entire course of her stay in this world so far. And she couldn’t help but notice just how many glances turned to her direction. Whispers usually followed soon after.</p> <p class="cnMwNmFiMzZkM2ZmZTQxOWJiMTBmZjUzOGUxMzdhNDZk">She needed to get rid of this cloak. The bright purple stood out too much against the earthen tones of everyone else’s attire. Modern clothing would be far less conspicuous than a supposedly noble woman running around with a giant backpack and a face dirtier than a farmer’s after a long work day. There hadn’t been much opportunity for bathing or a shower while camping out. One village she passed had a natural hot springs that flowed into a proper river, which Alyssa had made liberal use of, losing almost a day of travel time in the process. Unfortunately, that had been several days back. She had avoided using her drinking water to wash her face for the most part. Unlike the mountain pass, there hadn’t been a river ten steps away from the road the entire way to the city. Not knowing exactly the distance between villages or sources of water, she hadn’t wanted to waste anything.</p> <p class="cnM3ZGRiMzEyOGJhMjQxNDE5NTgyODBjODRmYjA2OTA1">There wasn’t much in the way of shops. Shops being brick-and-mortar stores with a fixed location and focused wares. Instead, the road was wide enough to make room for several carts. Some were simple wooden affairs with the goods lined up on the bed of the cart while others were more fanciful, looking like street-corner hot dog stands. Almost every single one sold food of some sort or other. Mostly carrots, potatoes, flour, and corn. Almost like a little farmers’ market. Which actually made sense. The city was surrounded by farmland, but there probably weren’t many fields within the walls. So the farmers brought their crops just inside the city gates to sell them to the people.</p> <p class="cnMxM2I1NTczYTI3MDQ3YmM5MzA2YmMyZGU3ZTA0YjQy">At least, it made sense in Alyssa’s head. Unfortunately, none of it looked ready to eat. Nobody sold French fries or hamburgers. Maybe it was fortunate. The stares were getting to her and buying some food would just increase that ten times over.</p> <p class="cnNjMTM3MzdlMjAwZDRiMzk5NDk3YjA3ODYwZDhkZDJk">Slipping past a market cart filled with apples—all of which lacked the waxy shine that usually adorned those in the grocery store—Alyssa ducked into a narrow passage between two buildings. One barely wide enough for her to fit with her backpack. It dead ended against another building, but Alyssa didn’t mind that. She just needed a modicum of privacy. As soon as she was out of view from most of the passersby on the street, she tore off the purple cloak, rolled it up, and shoved it into her backpack. Having consumed a good amount of her supplies, there was plenty of room without taking the time to properly fold it. She could do so later at an inn. A city like this had to have at least one inn. She just needed to find—</p> <p class="cnMxYzU2ZjNiODk0NTRhYmM5MDdlNDVkNDdmYjFlZmQ0">“What do we have here?” a slime filled voice asked from behind. Alyssa wasn’t quite sure how she knew that it was slimy. Just that bad news lined the cadence of his words. The general tone felt disgusting. Whoever spoke was not the friendly Lazhar type or the grumpy but ultimately helpful Yzhemal.</p> <p class="cnNiMzE3M2RiMDMzNTQ5MjdiOGNiYzQ2ZWNhYjE4ZDg3">“You have got to be kidding me,” Alyssa mumbled as she spun around. It wasn’t even dark yet. Yes, she had gone into a tiny alley, but it was a stone’s throw away from the main street. And not even that far from the main gate. When those guards had mentioned a gang running around, she had… well, not paid it much thought. Ten minutes ago, she had been more concerned with getting away from the guards than whatever the guard had been saying. But acting this brazen in accosting people? They must either be foolish or exceedingly confident that no guards would block them into the alley the way they were blocking her in.</p> <p class="cnNhZGVmMDQzMDI3MTRiMGE4MmZhZWVkNDM5YTEwN2Nh">And they were blocking her in. Two people. One, a larger man, standing in the back. He wore baggy cloth pants, but no real shirt. Just a sleeveless vest. A curved sword hung from a sash around his waist. Thankfully his hands were empty, crossed over his chest. He alone would have been enough to block the entirety of the alley, but he had a friend standing in front of him, dressed and armed in a similar manner, though he was a much skinnier man, smiling at her with teeth looking like he had desperately needed to visit a dentist twenty years ago but had a deathly fear of drills.</p> <p class="cnNkMmUzZmFhOWEwNDQ0YmZhZTZhNzAyOTMwMjgwYTlm">Did they even have dentists here?</p> <p class="cnNmODQ0OGU2YjkyNDRiZGE4ZGRhNDk4YWYxYjQ0N2I5">All together, they looked like they had just stepped out of the Forty Thieves’ cave. Somehow, Alyssa had a feeling that they wouldn’t be breaking into song and dance any time soon.</p> <p class="cnM2NDQ5NDJiMGNkMjRkYWZiMTBlYzA5OTI5ZmE0N2Vm">“Can I help you?” Alyssa asked as sweetly as she could, putting her hands on her hips. Her shotgun was lying on the ground with her backpack. A foolish mistake. She still had two pistols on her, one under her arm and another at her hip. But even if they didn’t recognize the guns as weapons, suddenly drawing it would surely be taken in a hostile light. Hence her hands on her hips. Close enough to reach for her gun if she needed.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2NiMTFiMTEwYTRmYmJiZWU3ZTFiYTZjMjczMjAx">Hopefully, it wouldn’t be necessary.</p> <p class="cnM1N2JmOGJjMTBkMDQ2MTJiOTMwZTQ2ZTRjZmY3OTBi">“Help us?” Rotten-Mouth asked with mock sincerity. “Why, when we saw a young noble dash into this here alley all on her lonesome, we thought we could be the ones to help you. Isn’t that right, Bacco?”</p> <p class="cnNkNGMwOGZhNmViYzQzODBhNjVhZGM0MjhhODljY2Qx">“Right, Cid.”</p> <p class="cnM1NTQ3YzFjOTgwYTQzYTRhMTJmZjYyMzI3YzE4NWNh">Cid and Bacco then. Nice of them to tell her their names like that. Too nice. Either the names were not their real names or they were known criminals and didn’t bother hiding their identity. Or a primitive society just didn’t have the means to track down people like this regardless of the personal information they gave out.</p> <p class="cnM1OWI2YjQzODA0ODRiMGZhNjQ5MjNiZDVmY2RmZGQ5">“So we come to offer help only to find you shoving your noble’s cloak away like a used cleaning rag.”</p> <p class="cnM4NTYzOTljMmJlODQ4ZDdiODg2NTEwOWYyMzM3ODhh">“Suspicious,” the larger Bacco grumbled.</p> <p class="cnM5MjBkYmY3Y2YwYzQ3MjQ4MDQ0OGJkY2Y2Y2IxYzky">“Suspicious indeed. I wonder what the city guards would think of this.”</p> <p class="cnNkMmEwODA4YTdmODQ4MDFhOWFkMmNhYTc3NDU1NDQy">Alyssa couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. “Uh huh. I’m sure the guards would be <span style="font-style: italic">far</span> more interested in me than the pair of you,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. As she spoke, her eyes tried to search behind them, hoping that someone would notice and help.</p> <p class="cnMwMjU2ZDI0ZjhhNzRhODg4OTg0MmI4NGM3NzMwNGFl">But no. Bacco blocked off the entire alley. No one would know that a young woman was being accosted. She could scream, but they might just kill her first. <span style="font-style: italic">Or try to</span>. Alyssa’s eyes hardened as her fingers ran over the bumps on the pistol’s grip.</p> <p class="cnMyNWUwZjIzNTQ0YzRkNjliOGU5N2FiOGExY2EwNDUy">“Never know who <span style="font-style: italic">or what</span> might be trying to enter the city. Under false pretenses no less? Possessing a noble’s cloak when you are clearly not a noble? I dare say that we might even be given commendations for bringing you to the attention of the guards. Imagine that, us getting commendations!”</p> <p class="cnNmNTkxOTE5ZWRmMzQ1MTZhMTYzNDMxY2E0ZWRmYWJh">“Well deserved.”</p> <p class="cnM5ZGY1MjA5MjAzNzQwNDM4ODA5ZDcwMmRlODE5ZDA2">“Very well deserved, Bacco.”</p> <p class="cnMwNDFhODMwOTVkZTRkY2NiZjIxNDE2MWJiNzU3ZjFj">“How—” Alyssa cut herself off, pressing her lips together and shaking her head. There had been a lot in his words. The <span style="font-style: italic">or what</span> especially. Monsters? She couldn’t imagine the harpy trying to sneak into the city in human clothes, but there were probably tons of monsters that could pass as humans. She just didn’t know. It wasn’t like she had a bestiary compendium to check. Maybe that was something she needed to start. Overall, she wasn’t too worried about them going to the guards. If they really believed that they would get a commendation, they wouldn’t have bothered her first.</p> <p class="cnNlNjA5NDQyNGU5ZTRjY2E4NmY3Mzk4N2IwNDYyNzZk">Then there was the whole cloak issue. Getting rid of it might be something of a priority. If it was as special as these two were implying, it would likely be worth a fortune, but it also wasn’t likely to be something she could peddle off at a market stall. She would need some less than legal fence. Or… Alyssa drew herself up to her full height, matching Cid but still failing to reach the height of his larger friend. “How about I hand over the cloak to you two and you pretend you never saw me. Then we don’t have to get <span style="font-style: italic">messy</span>. Having guards wander by, even if it is simply to clean the two of you off the ground, would be tedious for me.” Her fingers trembled, but her voice remained firm. The most important step in fooling someone—or intimidating someone—was to <span style="font-style: italic">act</span>. Act like their presence didn’t bother her. Act like she wasn’t nervous. <span style="font-style: italic">Act like I can cause some harm</span>.</p> <p class="cnM0NDQ5MjE5ODg4ODRlMjdhNjcxODU1ZDgyNjYyODcz">Bacco shifted, actually taking a step back as Alyssa brushed her fingers over her pistol again. Did he know what it was? No. He couldn’t. “Even more suspicious,” he said with a definite tremble that hadn’t been there before. Maybe he just thought she was that <span style="font-style: italic">or what</span> they had mentioned earlier.</p> <p class="cnNkY2E2MmZjYzczYTQxYThiZjk2YWU3MmVhMDNjYzAw">“Indeed.” Cid kept his feet where they were, not even changing his posture. “I wonder what she might have to hide by offer—”</p> <p class="cnMwNTlhMjAwZTE4ODRlMzhhOWFmYzRmZmRkYzg3ODAx">“Can we just stop with all the round about way of speaking? I’m not naive. The cloak is a peace offering. It is troublesome to me and I’m <span style="font-style: italic">sure</span> you have a way to turn it into coins in some manner or other. I would recommend against being too greedy. If you want something else, simply state it and we’ll see <span style="font-style: italic">who</span> gets to carry on with their lives.”</p> <p class="cnM2MmUyMjE4NTVhZTQxYzY5NjA2YzcxM2QyMDVhMDUw">Bacco leaned forward to whisper into Cid’s ear, not taking his eyes off Alyssa. “—one of <span style="font-style: italic">them</span>…” was all she caught from his hushed tones. Maybe something about her being more trouble than she looked. For just a split second, Alyssa started to get her hopes up. Unfortunately, Cid waved him off and stood his ground.</p> <p class="cnM1NDNjNWVmNDA3NDRkNTRiZDMxZWMyMGI1NDA3NmI3">Alyssa took a deep, slightly shuddering breath. Thinly veiled threats weren’t really her thing. Internally, she had never been the <span style="font-style: italic">nicest</span> person. Like anybody else, there were people she liked and people she disliked. She just tended to avoid voicing her dislikes most of the time. Actually threatening to kill someone, even in such an obtuse way, felt awkward on her tongue.</p> <p class="cnNmMmQzNzFkMzhmNzRmMTI4NzZjZTUxOWUzOTY4MmJh">But it was effective. They apparently already thought that she was some kind of monster. With Cid waving him off, Bacco took a step back again, hands dropping to his side and looking like entering the alley had been a mistake. Cid didn’t move, but his smile did drop off. In response, Alyssa put on her own smile, trying to keep it as steady as possible.</p> <p class="cnMxOWNkNWIxYmM2YjRhNjY5MjI3ZjQwNDY0YzAwMWY5">“Either leave and cease wasting my time or… tell me, where might I find an inn or similar lodging in this city?”</p> <p class="cnMxN2U5OTMyZmM3MjRlZmRiYWFjZGM3YTA2ODE3MWE4">The two glanced at each other. Or rather, Cid looked over his shoulder. No words passed between them, but Cid’s shoulders lost a bit of tension that Alyssa hadn’t noticed until it was gone. When he turned back, he was smiling again. “We seem to have gotten off to a poor start,” he said. “But if it is a tour guide you need, then that is one of the many skills I can provide.”</p> <p class="cnMzYWE2YzRhMTRmZjRlYTg5ZGE2ZGZiYTA3MGYzODI3">“No thanks. Directions will suffice. I would rather not be spotted with the criminal elements of the city. There are several places I must go that will require me to be of a legally sound status.” At least, she assumed that the magic academy wouldn’t be too accepting of fugitives. Best to keep her nose as clean as possible anyway, metaphorically speaking. Medieval society was not a fun place to be, she couldn’t even imagine how horrible their jails and prisons must be.</p> <p class="cnNiMDhjNGNhOTRkZjQzNjZiY2E2ODhhZmNhMGQ3MTRi">If they didn’t just publicly execute felons.</p> <p class="cnNlZmRiMmE0N2IzYzQ5MmY5NDYxYmQzZjBlOWM0Y2Vm">“Criminal!” Cid clutched at his heart, swooning with a deep gasp. “No wonder we’re off to such a poor start. We aren’t criminals. Bacco wouldn’t hurt a slime!”</p> <p class="cnMxNjhhMGQ5YTY0ZDRjYWM4MmM5NzQ0YzhiZjQzZDk3">Slime? A monster? Well, if their belief that she was a monster caused the shift in their demeanor, who was she to argue otherwise. Deciding to cultivate that line of thinking, Alyssa said, “My mistake then. When two men back a woman into an alley, I naturally assumed the worst. I’m new to the city, so I wasn’t aware that this was common behavior for human tour guides.” Alyssa couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Regardless, a tour is too much. Take me to an inn, an inexpensive one that won’t ask too many questions, and the cloak is yours.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZGYxYWJhYzkxNDQ2OTNiZDM3YWYzY2Y3OGVkZGEx">“I think I know just the place you’re looking for. Shall we have Bacco carry your gear?”</p> <p class="cnM0MWUxYzIxZTM4OTRjNGViMDgzZWFiOWNhNWZmOTYz">“Absolutely not.” Alyssa half turned, keeping the two men in sight as she grabbed her shotgun. When neither made to move toward her, she slipped into the straps of her backpack. She didn’t bother with all the buckles in the name of expedience. With the shogun safely in her hands, Alyssa was feeling much more confident. A pistol might scare them off on noise alone, but she would have to hit their vitals to actually put them down. The shotgun had much more stopping power. “Lead the way. Though I hope you don’t mind if I follow from several paces behind.”</p> <p class="cnM4MTBhMDZhMTQyYjQzYTA4MDJkYzQyYTg4NzNiOTQ4">“Still don’t trust us?” Cid shook his head, letting out a clipped sigh. “Nothing to it, I suppose. Keep an eye on Bacco. Hard to lose him in a crowd.”</p> <p class="cnM4MDA5YWVlZGVjODRmZmE4MjBhNGI2OTZjMzcxYzU1">She could definitely agree with that. He was the largest person she had ever seen in real life, though there might have been a few basketball players or wrestlers that she had seen on television who were larger. Regardless, unless he was average for this world, Bacco should be easy to spot from just about anywhere so long as they were on the same street.</p> <p class="cnM1MjNhMWYxYjMyMDQ5ZmQ5MTIyZjk0NjEzNmMwMzZh">With a half bow, Cid turned. Bacco turned a moment later, looking far more wary about leaving his back open to Alyssa. Despite that, they both started walking out of the alley. Alyssa followed after until she reached the main street once again. There she paused. She had half a mind to run off. Maybe find a guard. Maybe not. But even assuming the two wouldn’t find her again and that she could avoid any uncomfortable questions from the guards, she would still have to find a place to stay on her own. As much as she hated to admit it, criminals would know of far better places to lie low than upstanding citizens.</p> <p class="cnNjYjkyYTZlODM5YTRmODlhZWQ4MWVmM2U2OWY5ZGMx">Did she actually need to lie low? Who knew. Until she learned more about the city and politics that might affect her, it couldn’t hurt. Being caught with the cloak could be trouble. Anywhere that didn’t ask questions was far better than somewhere that did.</p> <p class="cnMzYTNlMjhjZTkxNDQxOWE4MjU4NDhjY2ZiYjU3NjZl">And if they were leading her into an ambush… well, she had her shotgun. She would not—<span style="font-style: italic">could not</span> afford to hesitate. Not if she didn’t want her soul eaten up by an angel. With a slight shudder, Alyssa maintained her distance a few paces behind Bacco. As she walked, she couldn’t help but notice how few people actually looked at the pair. Certainly no one panicked about wanted fugitives wandering the streets openly while carrying weapons. Looking around, about one in every twenty people had a weapon of some sort, so it wasn’t that unusual. She highly doubted that they had been telling the truth about not being criminals, but they might be less wanted than she had given them credit for.</p> <p class="cnM1MjdjOGM1YjA4ZDQyNzE4NWVhODRjYzgzZGRlZGU2">Not stabbing her in the back in the alley and then looting her corpse was a credit to them, she supposed. They might be common thieves, but at least they weren’t wholesale murderers. Or maybe they were just taking her to a more secluded area. Somewhere that wouldn’t have people around to care about her screams.</p> <p class="cnM2NjU3MTFlZjQxNzQ3NmQ5MmE3M2JlMDViNzgyMjU1">Alyssa clutched her shotgun tighter, but kept following. If things looked too dangerous, she could always run away. Even with Cid glancing over his shoulder every dozen paces, it shouldn’t be hard. And if they found her again… repeat negotiations might not go so pleasantly.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjgzNDk1MmI3ZDRhODc4ZTRhMjk3NmVkOWFlMzNm">For them.</p> </div>

Alyssa stopped and gaped. She couldn’t help it. Two weeks of trudging through open plains and a forest, tripping over branches and brushes, being eaten alive by insects, and carrying several pounds of supplies on her back had all taken its toll. Frankly, she would be perfectly happy if she never had to camp again in her life. At least she hadn’t run into anything truly dangerous. No monsters since the harpy. Not even a regular bear. The main roads were kept generally safe thanks to the efforts of some guardsmen from Lyria. Had it all been worth it? That remained to be seen. One thing was certain, the city of Lyria was an impressive sight. The villages that lined the path leading from the mountains to Lyria were barely deserving of the name. Alyssa wasn’t certain what the smallest unit of civilization was, but none of the so-called towns had more than a hundred people. None had inns like Teneville. They were all nearly identical communes filled with farmers for the most part. Each town tended to have a carpenter as well as a doctor and some type of priest. Nothing like what Lazhar had been. More like regular priests she was familiar with from Earth, except they preached Tenebrael’s name. She had stayed inside the homes of residents—typically the village priest—for a small fee. They had been cramped, often not more than single room buildings. The villagers that she stayed with usually included a small meal with the cost of staying the night, which was the one and only upside. Given her experiences during the her travel, she had continued on, fully expecting Lyria to be barely bigger than Teneville. It wasn’t. Three great towers stood over the city at each corner of its triangular layout. A central building measured even taller. Unlike the towers, it had three wings coming off it, somewhat like a pyramid except the middle sections were absent. None of the other buildings in the city reached even a small fraction of the towers’ height, but the simple fact that there were buildings was a drastic improvement over the villages. Beyond the main city proper, villages hugged the walls and farm fields stretched clear to the edge of the forest, occasionally dotted with more homes or warehouses. In the opposite direction from the city, far from where Alyssa was, there was a distinct lack of forest. In fact, it turned into a desert as far as she could tell. None of which really mattered to her. Once she shook off her initial shock at seeing some semblances of civilization, Alyssa made a straight beeline to the city gates. A large road, obviously well traveled by both carts and foot, actually had lighting right up next to the city. Nothing electric. That was too much to ask for. But little glass jars set atop wooden posts had glowing lights in them much like the magic light spell she had cast way back in the mountains. The first real sign of magic that hadn’t come from an angel or herself. As it turned out, most people didn’t actually believe in magic. Not in the way Alyssa understood it—lots of flashy effects doing impossible things such as turning something invisible or making something grow in size. While practically everyone was capable of Rank Zero magic, the effects were so small even to a primitive society that they were simply accepted as a natural part of the world. Only ten percent of people could use Rank One magic. Only ten percent of those could use Rank Two. And so on and so forth. Since everything truly magical—everything that modern technology couldn’t replicate—happened at the higher ranks, it wasn’t surprising that most people were a little wary of someone who claimed to be able to fly about. Or ward off harpies. Yzhemal and Lazhar might believe it, but they witnessed a supposed miracle yearly. Another cause for the lack of even Rank Zero casters was the cost of materials. Fine paper and specialized ink were needed. Not supplies that were readily available in every tiny village. For that reason, she had further delayed her investigation into the flight spell. How accepted would such a thing be around regular people? Would she be put to trial as a witch? Or would they realize that there was more to magic than a simple candle flame and a bit of light? Aziz’s book was distinctly lacking in the reactions to magic among common folk. Hopefully she could find out more once she found the magic academy. It should be safer to experiment there as well. Alyssa slowed her power walk upon reaching the city proper. A tall wall surrounded the entire place, built from a yellowy brown rock. Sandstone or granite perhaps. The road ran up to a wide gate, fully open, but with a pair of guards on either side of the entrance and more further still up on the walls. The ones up on the walls were armed with quivers filled with arrows and simple wooden bows. All the guards on the ground level were wearing beige-colored cloth over dark iron armor and had long pikes with violet banners emblazoned with a white eye—with black designs curling around almost exactly like the markings around Tenebrael’s eyes—hanging from the cross-spikes near the tip. The banners seemed like they would get in the way if they actually had to use their weapons, but maybe removing them wasn’t a big issue. Not wanting to find out, Alyssa kept her pace sedate and her hands empty of weapons. She had seen the banners and uniforms before. Roughly a week ago. There had been an outpost made of brick similar to what the wall was constructed from. No farms around it, just a small building that housed no more than a dozen soldiers. Apparently it was a part of some prince’s plan to keep the travel and trade routes safe from both monsters and bandits. The guards there had been friendly enough, even allowing her to stay the night inside some sort of barracks. But she hadn’t thought to ask whether the city guards would be as friendly. It wasn’t like she had a passport or identification papers. What if they asked her for some sort of identification? Alyssa bit her lip, growing nervous. One of the guards held up a gauntleted hand as she approached. Nothing hostile. Just a motion for her to speak with him. So she did. “Uh, hello?” The guard looked down at her with a frown. His helmet—or the face of his helmet—wasn’t solid. Quite the opposite. It was more of the cage-mask style similar to a hockey goalie. She couldn’t help but notice his eyes roaming over her gear, first at the shotgun slung over her shoulder, her backpack, and then to her clothes. She had decided to wear Aziz’s violet cloak as it would presumably be somewhat fashionable—or at least local—to the people in the city. But now, spotting the purple banners again, she was wondering if it had been a mistake. If purple was a color of royalty or something similar, she could easily be arrested, imprisoned, or even executed for impersonating or stealing or any number of trumped up charges. Ugh, I should have thought of that earlier. Why didn’t the banners in the outpost tip her off? Had she just not been paying attention? “What is a noble girl doing wandering alone outside the city?” Ah. Great. Not only was she a ‘noble’ girl, but was that sexism she heard in his voice? Were females required to be escorted everywhere? Or was he just concerned for her safety? Nobles probably had a whole entourage of guards and attendants serving them when they left the city. More importantly, what was the proper response? Correct him? That might lead to her aforementioned fears. Play it up? Claim she had lost her bodyguard? “I am more than capable of defending myself, thank you very much.” The guard chuckled with a glance to his companion. They were a bit far apart given the width of the gate. A subway train could fit through and have room to spare. Predictably, his partner didn’t make much of a response. They weren’t talking loudly enough and apparently he didn’t have any magic to enhance his hearing. “That may be, but I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to find an escort for you. Now, which House are you from?” Alyssa pressed her lips together and glared. “Huuuh?” She drew out the word, raising the pitch a bit at the end in an attempt to sound haughtier than normal. “That will not be necessary, thank you. Besides, my elder brother should be along shortly.” Glancing back, Alyssa turned her glare on the road before giving a sad shake of her head. “He stopped a distance back to speak with some farmer. I’m sure he won’t be long. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back quickly, get cleaned up, get food, and get… civilized.” Immediately and without waiting for a response—as she imagined a snobbish noble lady would do—Alyssa moved past the guard and through the gate. “Miss!” the guard called out behind her. “The Waters Street gang has abducted at least one woman in these past few evenings! Please wait for your brother at least!” “I don’t intend to be out after dark, our home isn’t far. Good day sir!” Alyssa ran off, doing her best to look like she wasn’t actually running. It was more like she was moving with purpose. The most important aspect about fooling people into thinking that she was supposed to be here was acting like she knew where she was going. Being her very first time in the city, which was already in a strange world, Alyssa hadn’t the slightest idea where she was going. Compared to the road outside the city, the streets inside were crowded. Not necessarily to the point where Alyssa had to squeeze between people just to get to move ten steps, but this one street probably had more people than she had seen over the entire course of her stay in this world so far. And she couldn’t help but notice just how many glances turned to her direction. Whispers usually followed soon after. She needed to get rid of this cloak. The bright purple stood out too much against the earthen tones of everyone else’s attire. Modern clothing would be far less conspicuous than a supposedly noble woman running around with a giant backpack and a face dirtier than a farmer’s after a long work day. There hadn’t been much opportunity for bathing or a shower while camping out. One village she passed had a natural hot springs that flowed into a proper river, which Alyssa had made liberal use of, losing almost a day of travel time in the process. Unfortunately, that had been several days back. She had avoided using her drinking water to wash her face for the most part. Unlike the mountain pass, there hadn’t been a river ten steps away from the road the entire way to the city. Not knowing exactly the distance between villages or sources of water, she hadn’t wanted to waste anything. There wasn’t much in the way of shops. Shops being brick-and-mortar stores with a fixed location and focused wares. Instead, the road was wide enough to make room for several carts. Some were simple wooden affairs with the goods lined up on the bed of the cart while others were more fanciful, looking like street-corner hot dog stands. Almost every single one sold food of some sort or other. Mostly carrots, potatoes, flour, and corn. Almost like a little farmers’ market. Which actually made sense. The city was surrounded by farmland, but there probably weren’t many fields within the walls. So the farmers brought their crops just inside the city gates to sell them to the people. At least, it made sense in Alyssa’s head. Unfortunately, none of it looked ready to eat. Nobody sold French fries or hamburgers. Maybe it was fortunate. The stares were getting to her and buying some food would just increase that ten times over. Slipping past a market cart filled with apples—all of which lacked the waxy shine that usually adorned those in the grocery store—Alyssa ducked into a narrow passage between two buildings. One barely wide enough for her to fit with her backpack. It dead ended against another building, but Alyssa didn’t mind that. She just needed a modicum of privacy. As soon as she was out of view from most of the passersby on the street, she tore off the purple cloak, rolled it up, and shoved it into her backpack. Having consumed a good amount of her supplies, there was plenty of room without taking the time to properly fold it. She could do so later at an inn. A city like this had to have at least one inn. She just needed to find— “What do we have here?” a slime filled voice asked from behind. Alyssa wasn’t quite sure how she knew that it was slimy. Just that bad news lined the cadence of his words. The general tone felt disgusting. Whoever spoke was not the friendly Lazhar type or the grumpy but ultimately helpful Yzhemal. “You have got to be kidding me,” Alyssa mumbled as she spun around. It wasn’t even dark yet. Yes, she had gone into a tiny alley, but it was a stone’s throw away from the main street. And not even that far from the main gate. When those guards had mentioned a gang running around, she had… well, not paid it much thought. Ten minutes ago, she had been more concerned with getting away from the guards than whatever the guard had been saying. But acting this brazen in accosting people? They must either be foolish or exceedingly confident that no guards would block them into the alley the way they were blocking her in. And they were blocking her in. Two people. One, a larger man, standing in the back. He wore baggy cloth pants, but no real shirt. Just a sleeveless vest. A curved sword hung from a sash around his waist. Thankfully his hands were empty, crossed over his chest. He alone would have been enough to block the entirety of the alley, but he had a friend standing in front of him, dressed and armed in a similar manner, though he was a much skinnier man, smiling at her with teeth looking like he had desperately needed to visit a dentist twenty years ago but had a deathly fear of drills. Did they even have dentists here? All together, they looked like they had just stepped out of the Forty Thieves’ cave. Somehow, Alyssa had a feeling that they wouldn’t be breaking into song and dance any time soon. “Can I help you?” Alyssa asked as sweetly as she could, putting her hands on her hips. Her shotgun was lying on the ground with her backpack. A foolish mistake. She still had two pistols on her, one under her arm and another at her hip. But even if they didn’t recognize the guns as weapons, suddenly drawing it would surely be taken in a hostile light. Hence her hands on her hips. Close enough to reach for her gun if she needed. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be necessary. “Help us?” Rotten-Mouth asked with mock sincerity. “Why, when we saw a young noble dash into this here alley all on her lonesome, we thought we could be the ones to help you. Isn’t that right, Bacco?” “Right, Cid.” Cid and Bacco then. Nice of them to tell her their names like that. Too nice. Either the names were not their real names or they were known criminals and didn’t bother hiding their identity. Or a primitive society just didn’t have the means to track down people like this regardless of the personal information they gave out. “So we come to offer help only to find you shoving your noble’s cloak away like a used cleaning rag.” “Suspicious,” the larger Bacco grumbled. “Suspicious indeed. I wonder what the city guards would think of this.” Alyssa couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. “Uh huh. I’m sure the guards would be far more interested in me than the pair of you,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. As she spoke, her eyes tried to search behind them, hoping that someone would notice and help. But no. Bacco blocked off the entire alley. No one would know that a young woman was being accosted. She could scream, but they might just kill her first. Or try to. Alyssa’s eyes hardened as her fingers ran over the bumps on the pistol’s grip. “Never know who or what might be trying to enter the city. Under false pretenses no less? Possessing a noble’s cloak when you are clearly not a noble? I dare say that we might even be given commendations for bringing you to the attention of the guards. Imagine that, us getting commendations!” “Well deserved.” “Very well deserved, Bacco.” “How—” Alyssa cut herself off, pressing her lips together and shaking her head. There had been a lot in his words. The or what especially. Monsters? She couldn’t imagine the harpy trying to sneak into the city in human clothes, but there were probably tons of monsters that could pass as humans. She just didn’t know. It wasn’t like she had a bestiary compendium to check. Maybe that was something she needed to start. Overall, she wasn’t too worried about them going to the guards. If they really believed that they would get a commendation, they wouldn’t have bothered her first. Then there was the whole cloak issue. Getting rid of it might be something of a priority. If it was as special as these two were implying, it would likely be worth a fortune, but it also wasn’t likely to be something she could peddle off at a market stall. She would need some less than legal fence. Or… Alyssa drew herself up to her full height, matching Cid but still failing to reach the height of his larger friend. “How about I hand over the cloak to you two and you pretend you never saw me. Then we don’t have to get messy. Having guards wander by, even if it is simply to clean the two of you off the ground, would be tedious for me.” Her fingers trembled, but her voice remained firm. The most important step in fooling someone—or intimidating someone—was to act. Act like their presence didn’t bother her. Act like she wasn’t nervous. Act like I can cause some harm. Bacco shifted, actually taking a step back as Alyssa brushed her fingers over her pistol again. Did he know what it was? No. He couldn’t. “Even more suspicious,” he said with a definite tremble that hadn’t been there before. Maybe he just thought she was that or what they had mentioned earlier. “Indeed.” Cid kept his feet where they were, not even changing his posture. “I wonder what she might have to hide by offer—” “Can we just stop with all the round about way of speaking? I’m not naive. The cloak is a peace offering. It is troublesome to me and I’m sure you have a way to turn it into coins in some manner or other. I would recommend against being too greedy. If you want something else, simply state it and we’ll see who gets to carry on with their lives.” Bacco leaned forward to whisper into Cid’s ear, not taking his eyes off Alyssa. “—one of them…” was all she caught from his hushed tones. Maybe something about her being more trouble than she looked. For just a split second, Alyssa started to get her hopes up. Unfortunately, Cid waved him off and stood his ground. Alyssa took a deep, slightly shuddering breath. Thinly veiled threats weren’t really her thing. Internally, she had never been the nicest person. Like anybody else, there were people she liked and people she disliked. She just tended to avoid voicing her dislikes most of the time. Actually threatening to kill someone, even in such an obtuse way, felt awkward on her tongue. But it was effective. They apparently already thought that she was some kind of monster. With Cid waving him off, Bacco took a step back again, hands dropping to his side and looking like entering the alley had been a mistake. Cid didn’t move, but his smile did drop off. In response, Alyssa put on her own smile, trying to keep it as steady as possible. “Either leave and cease wasting my time or… tell me, where might I find an inn or similar lodging in this city?” The two glanced at each other. Or rather, Cid looked over his shoulder. No words passed between them, but Cid’s shoulders lost a bit of tension that Alyssa hadn’t noticed until it was gone. When he turned back, he was smiling again. “We seem to have gotten off to a poor start,” he said. “But if it is a tour guide you need, then that is one of the many skills I can provide.” “No thanks. Directions will suffice. I would rather not be spotted with the criminal elements of the city. There are several places I must go that will require me to be of a legally sound status.” At least, she assumed that the magic academy wouldn’t be too accepting of fugitives. Best to keep her nose as clean as possible anyway, metaphorically speaking. Medieval society was not a fun place to be, she couldn’t even imagine how horrible their jails and prisons must be. If they didn’t just publicly execute felons. “Criminal!” Cid clutched at his heart, swooning with a deep gasp. “No wonder we’re off to such a poor start. We aren’t criminals. Bacco wouldn’t hurt a slime!” Slime? A monster? Well, if their belief that she was a monster caused the shift in their demeanor, who was she to argue otherwise. Deciding to cultivate that line of thinking, Alyssa said, “My mistake then. When two men back a woman into an alley, I naturally assumed the worst. I’m new to the city, so I wasn’t aware that this was common behavior for human tour guides.” Alyssa couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Regardless, a tour is too much. Take me to an inn, an inexpensive one that won’t ask too many questions, and the cloak is yours.” “I think I know just the place you’re looking for. Shall we have Bacco carry your gear?” “Absolutely not.” Alyssa half turned, keeping the two men in sight as she grabbed her shotgun. When neither made to move toward her, she slipped into the straps of her backpack. She didn’t bother with all the buckles in the name of expedience. With the shogun safely in her hands, Alyssa was feeling much more confident. A pistol might scare them off on noise alone, but she would have to hit their vitals to actually put them down. The shotgun had much more stopping power. “Lead the way. Though I hope you don’t mind if I follow from several paces behind.” “Still don’t trust us?” Cid shook his head, letting out a clipped sigh. “Nothing to it, I suppose. Keep an eye on Bacco. Hard to lose him in a crowd.” She could definitely agree with that. He was the largest person she had ever seen in real life, though there might have been a few basketball players or wrestlers that she had seen on television who were larger. Regardless, unless he was average for this world, Bacco should be easy to spot from just about anywhere so long as they were on the same street. With a half bow, Cid turned. Bacco turned a moment later, looking far more wary about leaving his back open to Alyssa. Despite that, they both started walking out of the alley. Alyssa followed after until she reached the main street once again. There she paused. She had half a mind to run off. Maybe find a guard. Maybe not. But even assuming the two wouldn’t find her again and that she could avoid any uncomfortable questions from the guards, she would still have to find a place to stay on her own. As much as she hated to admit it, criminals would know of far better places to lie low than upstanding citizens. Did she actually need to lie low? Who knew. Until she learned more about the city and politics that might affect her, it couldn’t hurt. Being caught with the cloak could be trouble. Anywhere that didn’t ask questions was far better than somewhere that did. And if they were leading her into an ambush… well, she had her shotgun. She would not—could not afford to hesitate. Not if she didn’t want her soul eaten up by an angel. With a slight shudder, Alyssa maintained her distance a few paces behind Bacco. As she walked, she couldn’t help but notice how few people actually looked at the pair. Certainly no one panicked about wanted fugitives wandering the streets openly while carrying weapons. Looking around, about one in every twenty people had a weapon of some sort, so it wasn’t that unusual. She highly doubted that they had been telling the truth about not being criminals, but they might be less wanted than she had given them credit for. Not stabbing her in the back in the alley and then looting her corpse was a credit to them, she supposed. They might be common thieves, but at least they weren’t wholesale murderers. Or maybe they were just taking her to a more secluded area. Somewhere that wouldn’t have people around to care about her screams. Alyssa clutched her shotgun tighter, but kept following. If things looked too dangerous, she could always run away. Even with Cid glancing over his shoulder every dozen paces, it shouldn’t be hard. And if they found her again… repeat negotiations might not go so pleasantly. For them.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkNWM0OWQ3ZTE5NzRkYjg4MjA2M2U4ODljNGJmMWZm" style="text-align: center"><strong>Chapter Three: A Gentle Death</strong></p> <p class="cnNiYzUyNjZiNTc1MjQ3NTJhOTA3ZjVmMGZhYzkwMTNl"> It was dark; the waters stretched endlessly about him in all directions, a chilling cold which clamped icy fingers down upon his bones. The ebb and flow of the water pulled him deeper; pushed him down, further and further into the dark until the cold became warmth, and his fear became patience.</p> <p class="cnMzNzY3MDJhYTQ2MDRjZTZhOGY1NGE0YjU0NGViODRh"> It was familiar; this sensation, this dark world; it was like home.</p> <p class="cnM5YjY4MDdlMmY0ZjRmNjM5YmJmMjQwNDRhYjIxNDQw"> His eyes blinked open, Grimm staring dumbfounded into the night, a dull roar meeting his ears, the air hanging humid and close a trickling fear working its’ way along his spine. His world was lit by a dull red flame, a fire crackling within a large stone basin, waves of heat rolling out to strike his side the young boy slowly rising to his feet, his skin tingling the cold still clinging to his bones melting away leaving him numb but steady as he stood naked but for a large tartan blanket draped about his shoulders printed in shades of blue and white. Grimm was still stuck staring into the flames, watching as they flickered and danced through the night casting shadows high about the room, revealing impressions of tables and chairs, benches and tools; a number of holes breaching the far wall letting in a trickle of moonlight like liquid silver upon the cold stone floor. Grimm sneezed, his memories slowly bubbling up about him rising up to breach the surface of his mind one by one and disjointed entirely out of order. He stood there enveloped in the warmth of the fire as slowly he pieced together his memories of the last day. </p> <p class="cnM4YWQ2ZWM3NGVkZDQzN2I5MWUyZjQ1YTFmZTlmODdh"> The Grocer had knocked him out...</p> <p class="cnM1ZjM1ZjVjMjdhMTRiOTA4NWE1NGVkMjdlNDZlNjQw"> He’d been knocked unconscious by a grocer. That was a new experience; of course most of what happened yesterday felt new to him. It was all so confusing. Had he done something wrong? Grimm sighed he’d seen things like this happen a thousand times before but experiencing them first hand – he was frightened.</p> <p class="cnMxOTBlNjk3ODk2NjQ5OGFhOTczMThhODdhY2RhZTg3"> Now he was stood in a dark room in front of a fire wrapped in a blanket but otherwise nude. Was he supposed to consider this a positive or a negative? He let out a short sigh before pulling at the blanket throwing it up over his shoulder and proceeding to wrap it diagonally across his torso leaving him more or less completely covered but for an arm his face and his little bare feet wiggling on the floor. He should probably look into getting shoes; shoes were good because his feet were cold and the floor was hard. Of course first he’d have to get socks; or he could skip straight to sandals and a midlife crisis. Grimm froze, a jolt running through his body, an electric charge rushing through his nervous system as a sharp creak resounded over the roaring of the fire. Grimm turned abruptly looking up catching the silhouette of a door outlined in pale yellow light sitting before him raised maybe a meter off the ground, calling him on. The boy stepped forwards, probing through the shadows with the tip of his foot; he had no idea where he was or who had brought him here but he knew being aware and prepared beat being ignorant no matter how terrible the truth really was. Grimm crept forwards his vision slowly acclimating to the darkness and the low dim glare of the fire as he dodged his way through the room until he reached the very edge of the wind glowing circle cast by the fire standing alone in a place where light could not go. Grimm swallowed hard feeling in front of him with an open palm his fingers brushing up against an iron railing before tracing the metal rod down to its’ roots and finding a small flight of stairs leading up towards the door.</p> <p class="cnNjZjIzYTg1OThhYjQ4YWI4NTNlYWU4N2E0NGUwYmU3"> He made his way slowly up the stairs clutching at the iron rail; with what little quiet he could muster; unable to stop his bare feet from slapping down onto the cold stone slabs the sound resounding through the stagnant air, the heat of the furnace against his back pushing him forwards until he stood before the half closed door. Grimm reached out taking the handle in hand slowly easing the door open with an agonising groan, pushing forwards into the light.</p> <p class="cnNjOGJhN2RmMTJlNjRlYzZiZjIzNmMwOGI4MDYyM2Rm"> Grimm stepped out, chilled feet stepping onto roof floorboards which creaked beneath his meagre weight, just as loud if not louder than the door. The room was large and brightly lit a series of what looked like light bulbs shaped like slender glass teardrops mounted on a thick copper pipe which wound its’ way across the roof. The light bulbs gave off a strange mix of colours and shades which warped and changed contained by the glass bulbs, dancing like flames but burning down. The copper pipe ran towards what looked like some kind of small brass furnace sitting just beside a slightly larger fireplace cut into the thick granite walls of the room a blackened cauldron slowly bubbling above the fire giving off a soft sweat smell into the chilly air, a young man sitting at a nearby table just a few steps away, wrapped in a warm cloak and a thick scarf a shock of blonde hair exploding outwards in a wild mess.</p> <p class="cnNjNDlhNTY1NDU4ZjRkZWJiZWMyNjk5MWFmZTY4MDVl"> Grimm stood stock still eyes locked upon the young man, neither of the man willing to move an inch, the stranger meeting his gaze mouth hanging half open. The blonde man moved slowly reaching down to grasp something lying on the table before slowly lifting up a small wooden bowl and shooting Grimm a cautious grin “Do you want some soup?” <br> “Yes.” Grimm gave his answer with certainty, his stomach affirming his response with a loud guttural chorus. After all he was hungry and what was the worst that could happen?</p> <p class="cnNlY2ZhNzAxNTkxYzRhOWViMmZjZWFlMTk3NzY2YmY4"> “It’s lamb and potato, an old family recipe; I can’t say it’s any good but it’s all I have at the moment.” The young man murmured, rising from his chair and stepping back towards a row of cupboards set high against the nearby wall. Grimm edged forwards towards the table crossing the room before pulling back a chair and sitting down. The stranger grabbing a clean small wooden bowl and a large soup spoon placing both utensils down onto the table with a <em>clack</em> before grabbing a ladle and pouring out a portion of soup pushing the bowl forwards in Grimm’s direction and retaking his seat at the table. The boy made a tentative grab for the bowl pulling it in close and lifting the spoon up to his lips, a lump of potato lying in the centre of the broth Grimm scrutinising the lump of vegetable matter for a long moment before glancing back up to the man. “Well eat.” The stranger encouraged Grimm scoffing down his first bite before rushing to shovel the rest of the meal down his gullet.</p> <p class="cnM5YzcyNzAzMzVjOTQ4YWE5OGYxNmRiNTY3MWIzNGE2"> The potato was hard and tasted a little undercooked; the soup being somewhat bitter and somewhat salty a strange array of herbs and spices having been tossed haphazardly into the mix, but it was warm and it was nice. The meal sat well it sat inside his stomach. It was his first real meal in this new world; with his new body... It was good.</p> <p class="cnNhOTZlZjM3OThhZDQzYzA4M2FjMmQ5ODkzZDRlZjQ3"> Grimm finished the bowl in a matter of moments before dropping the spoon down and letting out a long droning sigh, the blond man letting out a small chuckle. “You’re welcome.” He muttered retaking his seat at the table his arms folded over his chest. <br> “Ah, thank you” Grimm rushed to reply giving a short bow of his head the stranger raising an eyebrow before giving a low snort;<br> “a street rat with manners, well that is a first.</p> <p class="cnMzY2NiZmU3ZmFkNjRiZGRhZTU2NzIyYWE5NDM1MWQy"> “My name is Greiz Icon, and this is my home. I pulled you out of the Aso river maybe three-hours ago; now Grimm why don’t you explain to me exactly how you ended up that river.” The boy froze up Greiz shooting him a steady glare. Grimm sat frozen his fingers digging into the table as he met the young man’s gaze; dark blue eyes fixing him in place with a measured stare.<br> “How do you know my name?” Grimm blurted out his question Greiz lifting an eye brow leaning back into his chair. <br> “Oh, I just called up your status window while you were unconscious; sorry about that – now could you please answer my question; how did you end up in that river. I’m not going to hurt you I just want to understand why it is I had to get myself wet to drag your sorry arse out.” <br> “I don’t know.” Grimm muttered eyes turned down. It was an honest response he still wasn’t entirely clear what the man was talking about. He supposed a status window was that weird floaty thing he’d seen when he first arrived in this world, as for that thing about the river he didn’t have the slightest clue. <br> “Was it one of the street gangs or did someone, did you someone else try to push you into the water, or did you just trip over, tell me.”<br> “I don’t remember.” Grimm muttered looking up at the young man</p> <p class="cnMzMjFmZWI3MGNiZDRhMmZhNDU3ZDVhOWMxNmU2ZDBk"> Greiz let out a low sigh at his response, reaching up to massage his temples before letting out a loose smile; “then what is the last thing you do remember?” <br> “I was knocked unconscious by a grocer.” Grimm recalled giving a light nod Greiz letting out a spluttering cough. <br> “W... What are you on about! Did you steal from him or something?” <br> “I don’t think so... I’m not too sure.” <br> “How can you not be sure? Either you did or you didn’t” Grimm tilted his head at the man’s question before giving a non-committal shrug glancing off towards the fireplace. <br> “What’s the difference between buying something and stealing, I can’t really remember that either”</p> <p class="cnMxNGM2NjEwNjgxMTQyNTI4Nzg1MzcyNWQ0YTkyZTIw"> A dumb quiet settled over the room, Greiz pinching the bridge of his nose; a mix of frustration rising up within his gut. “The difference is, when you buy something you give the other person money; when you steal something you take it without asking.”</p> <p class="cnNiY2I4NmI2NTU4NDQ0ZDQ5YWY0NDRiMTRkODIzNzkw"> Hmm, so that was how it was supposed to work. Grimm nodded to himself; that mean those other children from the other day had actually been stealing; which also meant he’d been stealing to, but he did end up paying the man later and he still didn’t get his apple so did that mean the man was stealing from him? Ugh... Everything just seemed to be getting more and more confusing, a low growl silencing that line of thought before Grimm could become any more confused than he already was.</p> <p class="cnM2YjA0N2Y0YTgwNTQxOTViMDg3NjlkMzRhNGM2MWZj"> The young boy grasped his bowl holding it up in Greiz’s direction; “can I have some more please?</p> <hr> <p class="cnNmMzQyNzQ5MmJiMTRmZGY4MWU1YmZkZTE4Y2Y0NWM2"> “Here we go lads, three large tankards and two Wyrm pot pies!” a large wooden plate clattering down onto the table top, Leo letting out a raucous laugh seizing one of the ale mugs the heavy set waitress letting out a loud snort accompanied by a wide grin. <br> “Ah Ilna you’re a saint!” Leo roared, the off duty guard pulling a large knife from his belt and cutting a slice out of one of the pies. “But you really should be serving this little delicacy all year round; heaven knows you’d make a bundle.” The woman gave a click of the tongue before shaking her head<br> “Sorry I’m ‘Fraid not; It’s only cause of the dragon fair we get Wyrms in these parts at all; it’s too expensive to get it shipped in you know that.” She gave a helpless little shrug, the bars patrons letting out a round of booing a heavy yell striking out from the nearby kitchen followed by a round of laughter from the customers. <br> “Ah nothing like good food in dark times eh gents?” an old man laughed leaning forwards over the table Leo taking a large bite out of his pie his gaze fixed on the stranger. <br> “Hey Helmut; this your’ friend?” Odas questioned, the butcher rubbing at the layer of stubble clinging to his bony face turning to face the old item merchant who glanced up at the old hooded man. <br> “Nah, don’t see why it matters he paid his part of the fair so let him drink and eat if he wants to; us old folk always appreciate the company.” </p> “That we do.” The stranger laughed, “My names Isdia Dracul, it’s a pleasure.” <br> “Dracula?” Odas questioned the young man squinting peering forwards into the man’s drawn hood. <br> “Ha, no; Dracul not Dracula I’m no vampire I assure you; I can’t stand those pale aristocratic types.”<br> “What did you mean about dark times though?” Leo interrupted taking a sip out of his mug the old man’s eyes brightening beneath his hood as he leaned forwards over the table tugging the thick piece of fabric aside.<p></p> <p class="cnMwNjhjOWZiZTRkYzRjZDJiMjM1YzJiNzk5ZThiNWQ2"> “I mean the rumours of course lad; haven’t you heard?” <br> “If you’re talking about that noble who kicked the bucket yesterday I say good riddance!” Helmut laughed raising his mug, Wilnas the grocer raising his mug in agreement, half a dozen other customers letting out a cry of agreement. <br> “No not that.” The old man sighed with a sad shake of the head, “One noble doesn’t really matter all that much but if you listen to the rumours hanging outside the adventurer’s guild you’d find adventurer’s aren’t actually adventuring anymore, yesterday over a dozen different adventurer’s died permanently and a couple other teams have gone missing, they were all on different quests; some people are saying that some kind of monster is lurking outside of the city but that aint it in my opinion.”</p> <p class="cnNkOTllZGFmYzc4MjRhMThhZjM1YzNmMDdkNDUwNWZl"> “Oh yeah old man” Leo snorted the guard leaning back in his chair; “then what do you say it is then?”<br> “True Death, I think everything’s changed, the world’s finally had enough of us going about our lives without fear, killing and taking and pillaging as we please without reason or consequence; I think Death has finally found us. So yes these are dark times my young friends the likes of which I haven’t seen for Five-hundred years since the last War of Horrors!” The old man snickered bending low over the table. Wilnas let out a snort rising to his feet. <br> “You’re crazy you old bastard!”<br> “Is that so you young fool?” the man returned glancing up in the grocer’s direction. Wilnas stopped Leo slamming his mug down into the table. <br> “I think it’s about time you left friend.</p> <p class="cnNlZjFmNWZhZTNlZDQzOWViZjQ3OTlmZTU0YmY2YTU1"> Isdia turned around staring Leo down, his eyes a faded shade of purple, as the old man swung his arm forwards grabbing his mug of ale and downing the beverage in a single gulp before rising on creaking bones to his feet. “I suppose it is. I’ll be seeing you gents sometime soon then; good evening.” The old man gave a ceremonial bow, momentary stumbling sideways to crash into a table before shuffling his way in the direction of the door.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2U3NDNkMzEwYTQ4OGU5NTNjZTQzNDQ3MTc3ZmFk"> “Crazy old codger” Helmut muttered grabbing a slice of pie. <br> “Like you can say anything; you’re turnin’ one-hundred-n-one this year ain’t ya?” Odas snorted. <br> “Yeah well I aint quite hit five hundred yet.” <br> “Oh, you’d want to be careful from now on Leo then; if you die now you’ll be dead for good.” Wilnas snorted bringing a heavy palm down across his shoulder. <br> “All the adventurer deaths are probably just ‘cause of some new monster; of course that might mean we’ll have to go out and fight it if the adventurer’s aren’t goin’ to go.” A stiff silence fell across the table, the others letting out low sighs. <br> “Should have kicked the daft fool away the second he showed up.” Helmut spat taking down another swig.</p> <hr> <p class="cnMwZGI0YmQwOWFjMjRmZTY5NjEzY2IwODAyNjcwZDE2">There was a low clatter the bowl falling from the young boys hand Grimm finishing his third helping lying his head down across his arms eyes half closed Greiz letting out a low sigh grabbing the child’s bowl before spinning around and tossing it in the direction of the sink. He wasn’t exactly sure what to think at the moment; he couldn’t quite tell if the boy was messing with him or seriously just that oblivious.</p> <p class="cnNhODg5M2U2YzIzMTQwNmE5YjE3NDIwNGQ0MWVjNzRm"> Well if it was an act it was a good one. Grimm gave him a small smile raising up his head for a brief moment a dark chill rushing up the young man’s spine. Greiz took a deep breath, his hand grasping at his shirt as he shook the sensation out of his system a heavy flush rushing up into his cheeks. The boy probably had some kind of magical disability it wouldn’t be too uncommon considering his alignment and it would be just another reason why no one would be willing to take him in as a child.</p> <p class="cnM2OGViN2M4Y2Y1ZDQ0M2U4ZWM0MTQ0NmM5YjlhZDI1"> Grimm was certainly unnerving, it was hard to describe; but if almost felt like he was looking into you, like he could see everything you are or ever could be of course that was all down to his none human blood. His Iris’ were just slightly too large, and it may have been hard to tell because his eyes seemed to constantly droop down but they were black a hint of colour resting inside his eyes changing with the light into shades of red and blue and purple; the pupil outlined by a thin white circle which stood out abnormally bright within his gaze. Otherwise Grimm seemed perfectly normal is a little slow and as to what the ‘Other’ meant in his status window Greiz was inclined to think some kind of undead – well as long as he didn’t start rotting over night it wasn’t like he gave a damn. </p> <p class="cnM3ZGQwYjQ0MDc1ODRjNjA4ODhhYWUyYWZhNGNmNDI3"> “Well, now that you’ve eaten your fill, why don’t we move on?” Greiz sighed changing the subject, Grimm perking his head up at the shift in tone. “So I’m guessing the Grocer pushed you into the river, after you ‘accidentally’ stole from right?” Grimm nodded, “then what about before that, where are you staying, which gang are you in?”</p> <p class="cnM3YmQ3MjQyMTdhNjRkY2RhZmNmYjNkN2M0ZTJlOGE1"> The boy tilted his head at the question holding his chin in one hand and leaning forwards over the table pushing away the sleep which had clouded his eyes. Greiz was getting the creeping suspicion that this wasn’t an act at all. The child continued to struggle attempting to drag something up from the deep depths of his memory; of course if this wasn’t an act that just begged an even more baffling question; how in the hell had the kid survived this long? “I have no idea what you’re talking about I’m not a part of any gang.” Greiz stated turning his gaze back on Grimm the young boy giving a firm shake of the head. The Blacksmith let out a short snort – there was no way Grimm had gotten through the last ten years of his life without someone holding his hand.</p> <p class="cnM5YjQ2M2NmYzg3NzQ1ZTU5ZDkyMzU0Nzg4MTEyMDg2"> “You do understand what a gang is right?” <br> “Yeah, an organised crime syndicate which usually practices in extortion, gang violence, bribery, murder and other heinous acts most usually against the law often structured around-.”<br> “Not that kind of gang you blockhead” Greiz moaned slamming his palm down into the table; I’m talking about child gangs” He wasn’t sure where on earth the boy had learnt to talk like that and frankly he didn’t want to know. Greiz took a deep breath brushing aside the storm of a headache slowly brewing behind his eyes. “I mean your’ friends who are your’ friends.” <br> “I don’t have any.” The response was sudden, simple and matter of fact carrying the impact of rifle fire. Greiz was stunned for a moment lifting up his head to meet the boy eye to eye, and something about his gaze enticed belief. <br> “And no one’s been taking care of you?” <br> “I don’t think so... Actually there is something.” Grimm paused before giving Greiz a broad grin. “Last night I collapsed in an alleyway but before I could freeze to death someone took me and put me a large wooden crate full of hay so I’m still alive.”</p> <p class="cnNhMWQ4MjE2M2Q4ZDQwNWJiMjI0ZjU0MjIwNjliMGM2"> It seemed things were going off topic again.</p> <p class="cnNhOTY5Yjc5NDM5ZDQ0ZmY5M2ExYmE3NmJlM2QwZGZk"> “What about family?” the boy shook his head Greiz letting out a low sigh. What was the point of this in the first place? It wasn’t like he could help the kid. <br> “No, I don’t have any family.” He figured as much.</p> <p class="cnM1MTJiYTY5Y2VmMTRkOWViZTE5ZjkxNzEwNzA0OTVi"> Greiz rose from his seat slowly stretching his arms back and letting out a low yawn, exhaustion hitting him like a leaden weight. “You can stay here for tonight and in the morning when your’ clothes have dried I’ll take you to the temple. If you tell them your’ circumstances they’ll find work for you, It’ll be hard; harder than anything you’ve been through so far but unless you plan on freezing to death night after night it’s your’ best option. So which temple is your’ respawn point?” <br> “Respawn point?” Great, Greiz let out a low groan as he was hit with the sudden realisation he had just stepped onto a landmine. <br> “Don’t you remember the place you respawn when you die; the temple you were born at, the orphanage where you grew up?” Something was really messed up with this boy. <br> “I don’t remember anything before last night...” Of course he didn’t, the blacksmith let out a creaky laugh before burying his face into the palms of his hands. <br> “Well good night then.” Grimm yawned, an agonising creaking filling the room Greiz casting his gaze up to face the young boy as he struggled with the heavy oak door to forge.</p> <p class="cnNlYTQxM2RkOTlhODQ4MGM4Nzc2OWZmYjZiZmIxMWJl"> “What are you doing?” <br> “I’m going to bed like you said, It’s warm in front of the fire.” <br> “What? No, I have work to do tonight, so I’ll be down in my forge until morning! You can use my bed as long as you’re able to sleep through the noise” <br> “A real bed?” Gods this kid was killing him. <br> “Yes a real gods damn bed, now move it you little gutter snipe.” Greiz jabbed his finger in the direction of a smaller wooden door sitting at the far end of the room opposite the forge, Grimm looking up to him for a moment before making a tentative approach. The boy reached out for the door handle, crossing the open floor, before slowly peering into the room the hinges turning without so much as a peep, Greiz making his way over to the generator switching off his houselights; he didn’t want to burn through more mana crystals than necessary.</p> <p class="cnM1NTU5MTYzMDY2NDQzMDk4ODE4ODc2NjFiNGVmNjEx"> “That’s the bed right?” Grimm questioned pointing a finger into the darkened room. Greiz leaned in slowly blinking through the shadows before giving the child a nod. The boy made his way forwards tiptoeing through the dark the floorboards whispering beneath his meagre weight before dropping down onto the edge of Greiz’s bed with a grin. The blacksmith did suppose his bed was kind of fancy; he’d brought it down from the third-ring after he’d moved into the slums; it had four large wooden posts, each engraved with the head of a dwarf, the mattress being a linen covering over a set of thick folded sheets with owl down pillows. It was his one real luxury and he was about to just hand it over to some filthy little tramp he really was a saint among men. “It’s warm.” Grimm laughed bouncing slightly before falling backwards onto the blanket. <br> “That it is...” Greiz sighed, a small smile touching at the corners of his lips, his fists clenching within his pockets</p> <p class="cnM2ZjY5YjM2ZDJjZDQwYWQ5ZmNjNTU5YjJjNjdiMmYy"> “Hey Grim;” Greiz took in a deep breath stepping just into the doorway, his hands pressed a slight nagging voice whispering in the back of his head as the words forced themselves out between his lips. “You know, I’ve been pretty busy with my work lately I’ve got a large order from the military to finish right now.” Gods no, what the hell was he saying; he had to stop; now was the time to cut and run! “When I’m finished with this nonsense I suppose I’ll be needing some help around the forge so what would you say to becoming my apprentice.” Ah... Greiz could feel a heavy weight lift up off of his shoulders, despite the sudden revelation he was being a complete and utter fool. <br> “Sure.” Grimm nodded shuffling about in bed, pulling the blankets up until they reached his neck, Greiz letting out a low sigh. <br> “Then you’ll start tomorrow.” <br> “Uh... wait!” Grimm called, Greiz pausing as he turned in the doorway glancing back into the darkened. “What’s an apprentice?”</p> <p class="cnNlNTNmOGRlNzljNTRhMmFiYTg4MzkxNzE0YzJiYTI2"> Somehow he did not expect anything less.</p> <p class="cnNhZDNjOWQzMDI0NTRhMmU5OWYyNGUxOTdkMjJiYTUw"> Greiz rolled his eyes slamming the door shoot a long exasperated yawn rattling his chest. There was no use in prolonging it any longer it was about time he got to work.</p> <p class="cnM0MmU2MTYxOTgzMTRmYjNhMDljOTc0M2M0YWJhZDE2"> He could only make so many excuses to avoid his job and unfortunately he’d just ran out. He’d have to start by engraving the runes on the breast plates. It had been a while since he’d last done any intricate rune work, but this would make a nice change of pace; that was certainly one thing he missed about the academy. He hadn’t had a good challenge in a while. A small grin broke out at the corners of his lips slowly warring its’ way across his face as he pulled the door to the forge aside, taking in a deep breath before making his way down towards the table and grabbing a large copper lamp he had laid out amidst his reorganised papers. Whenever Aria decided to pay him a visit it always gave him a good excuse to reorganise the forge; keeping everything neat and tidy wasn’t exactly one of his specialities no matter how hard Alafort, his father; had tried to drill it into him.</p> <p class="cnMxOGViNjYyMTliMDRhZjI5NjRmZjdhZWVmZTA1ZGZl"> Greiz snorted twisting a small brass dial at the bottom of the lamp a small flame blooming to life at the lanterns lip, casting a warm glow about the room the young man making his way deeper into the room stopping short just before a large oaken door. The door had been reinforced with iron bands, thick heavy bolts securing them in place driven through the wood with dreadful force, a lead lining covering its’ edges and a large cog taking the place of both handle and lock, connected to a large mechanism stretching across both door and well . Greiz reached forwards grasping the handles of the wheel turning the gear to his left with all the force his arms could muster the heavy rasp of the iron bars keeping the door in place creaking through the night until a heavy clang split the air the door hanging open, the light from his lantern spilling into the room.</p> </div>

**Chapter Three: A Gentle Death** It was dark; the waters stretched endlessly about him in all directions, a chilling cold which clamped icy fingers down upon his bones. The ebb and flow of the water pulled him deeper; pushed him down, further and further into the dark until the cold became warmth, and his fear became patience. It was familiar; this sensation, this dark world; it was like home. His eyes blinked open, Grimm staring dumbfounded into the night, a dull roar meeting his ears, the air hanging humid and close a trickling fear working its’ way along his spine. His world was lit by a dull red flame, a fire crackling within a large stone basin, waves of heat rolling out to strike his side the young boy slowly rising to his feet, his skin tingling the cold still clinging to his bones melting away leaving him numb but steady as he stood naked but for a large tartan blanket draped about his shoulders printed in shades of blue and white. Grimm was still stuck staring into the flames, watching as they flickered and danced through the night casting shadows high about the room, revealing impressions of tables and chairs, benches and tools; a number of holes breaching the far wall letting in a trickle of moonlight like liquid silver upon the cold stone floor. Grimm sneezed, his memories slowly bubbling up about him rising up to breach the surface of his mind one by one and disjointed entirely out of order. He stood there enveloped in the warmth of the fire as slowly he pieced together his memories of the last day. The Grocer had knocked him out... He’d been knocked unconscious by a grocer. That was a new experience; of course most of what happened yesterday felt new to him. It was all so confusing. Had he done something wrong? Grimm sighed he’d seen things like this happen a thousand times before but experiencing them first hand – he was frightened. Now he was stood in a dark room in front of a fire wrapped in a blanket but otherwise nude. Was he supposed to consider this a positive or a negative? He let out a short sigh before pulling at the blanket throwing it up over his shoulder and proceeding to wrap it diagonally across his torso leaving him more or less completely covered but for an arm his face and his little bare feet wiggling on the floor. He should probably look into getting shoes; shoes were good because his feet were cold and the floor was hard. Of course first he’d have to get socks; or he could skip straight to sandals and a midlife crisis. Grimm froze, a jolt running through his body, an electric charge rushing through his nervous system as a sharp creak resounded over the roaring of the fire. Grimm turned abruptly looking up catching the silhouette of a door outlined in pale yellow light sitting before him raised maybe a meter off the ground, calling him on. The boy stepped forwards, probing through the shadows with the tip of his foot; he had no idea where he was or who had brought him here but he knew being aware and prepared beat being ignorant no matter how terrible the truth really was. Grimm crept forwards his vision slowly acclimating to the darkness and the low dim glare of the fire as he dodged his way through the room until he reached the very edge of the wind glowing circle cast by the fire standing alone in a place where light could not go. Grimm swallowed hard feeling in front of him with an open palm his fingers brushing up against an iron railing before tracing the metal rod down to its’ roots and finding a small flight of stairs leading up towards the door. He made his way slowly up the stairs clutching at the iron rail; with what little quiet he could muster; unable to stop his bare feet from slapping down onto the cold stone slabs the sound resounding through the stagnant air, the heat of the furnace against his back pushing him forwards until he stood before the half closed door. Grimm reached out taking the handle in hand slowly easing the door open with an agonising groan, pushing forwards into the light. Grimm stepped out, chilled feet stepping onto roof floorboards which creaked beneath his meagre weight, just as loud if not louder than the door. The room was large and brightly lit a series of what looked like light bulbs shaped like slender glass teardrops mounted on a thick copper pipe which wound its’ way across the roof. The light bulbs gave off a strange mix of colours and shades which warped and changed contained by the glass bulbs, dancing like flames but burning down. The copper pipe ran towards what looked like some kind of small brass furnace sitting just beside a slightly larger fireplace cut into the thick granite walls of the room a blackened cauldron slowly bubbling above the fire giving off a soft sweat smell into the chilly air, a young man sitting at a nearby table just a few steps away, wrapped in a warm cloak and a thick scarf a shock of blonde hair exploding outwards in a wild mess. Grimm stood stock still eyes locked upon the young man, neither of the man willing to move an inch, the stranger meeting his gaze mouth hanging half open. The blonde man moved slowly reaching down to grasp something lying on the table before slowly lifting up a small wooden bowl and shooting Grimm a cautious grin “Do you want some soup?” “Yes.” Grimm gave his answer with certainty, his stomach affirming his response with a loud guttural chorus. After all he was hungry and what was the worst that could happen? “It’s lamb and potato, an old family recipe; I can’t say it’s any good but it’s all I have at the moment.” The young man murmured, rising from his chair and stepping back towards a row of cupboards set high against the nearby wall. Grimm edged forwards towards the table crossing the room before pulling back a chair and sitting down. The stranger grabbing a clean small wooden bowl and a large soup spoon placing both utensils down onto the table with a *clack* before grabbing a ladle and pouring out a portion of soup pushing the bowl forwards in Grimm’s direction and retaking his seat at the table. The boy made a tentative grab for the bowl pulling it in close and lifting the spoon up to his lips, a lump of potato lying in the centre of the broth Grimm scrutinising the lump of vegetable matter for a long moment before glancing back up to the man. “Well eat.” The stranger encouraged Grimm scoffing down his first bite before rushing to shovel the rest of the meal down his gullet. The potato was hard and tasted a little undercooked; the soup being somewhat bitter and somewhat salty a strange array of herbs and spices having been tossed haphazardly into the mix, but it was warm and it was nice. The meal sat well it sat inside his stomach. It was his first real meal in this new world; with his new body... It was good. Grimm finished the bowl in a matter of moments before dropping the spoon down and letting out a long droning sigh, the blond man letting out a small chuckle. “You’re welcome.” He muttered retaking his seat at the table his arms folded over his chest. “Ah, thank you” Grimm rushed to reply giving a short bow of his head the stranger raising an eyebrow before giving a low snort; “a street rat with manners, well that is a first. “My name is Greiz Icon, and this is my home. I pulled you out of the Aso river maybe three-hours ago; now Grimm why don’t you explain to me exactly how you ended up that river.” The boy froze up Greiz shooting him a steady glare. Grimm sat frozen his fingers digging into the table as he met the young man’s gaze; dark blue eyes fixing him in place with a measured stare. “How do you know my name?” Grimm blurted out his question Greiz lifting an eye brow leaning back into his chair. “Oh, I just called up your status window while you were unconscious; sorry about that – now could you please answer my question; how did you end up in that river. I’m not going to hurt you I just want to understand why it is I had to get myself wet to drag your sorry arse out.” “I don’t know.” Grimm muttered eyes turned down. It was an honest response he still wasn’t entirely clear what the man was talking about. He supposed a status window was that weird floaty thing he’d seen when he first arrived in this world, as for that thing about the river he didn’t have the slightest clue. “Was it one of the street gangs or did someone, did you someone else try to push you into the water, or did you just trip over, tell me.” “I don’t remember.” Grimm muttered looking up at the young man Greiz let out a low sigh at his response, reaching up to massage his temples before letting out a loose smile; “then what is the last thing you do remember?” “I was knocked unconscious by a grocer.” Grimm recalled giving a light nod Greiz letting out a spluttering cough. “W... What are you on about! Did you steal from him or something?” “I don’t think so... I’m not too sure.” “How can you not be sure? Either you did or you didn’t” Grimm tilted his head at the man’s question before giving a non-committal shrug glancing off towards the fireplace. “What’s the difference between buying something and stealing, I can’t really remember that either” A dumb quiet settled over the room, Greiz pinching the bridge of his nose; a mix of frustration rising up within his gut. “The difference is, when you buy something you give the other person money; when you steal something you take it without asking.” Hmm, so that was how it was supposed to work. Grimm nodded to himself; that mean those other children from the other day had actually been stealing; which also meant he’d been stealing to, but he did end up paying the man later and he still didn’t get his apple so did that mean the man was stealing from him? Ugh... Everything just seemed to be getting more and more confusing, a low growl silencing that line of thought before Grimm could become any more confused than he already was. The young boy grasped his bowl holding it up in Greiz’s direction; “can I have some more please? --- “Here we go lads, three large tankards and two Wyrm pot pies!” a large wooden plate clattering down onto the table top, Leo letting out a raucous laugh seizing one of the ale mugs the heavy set waitress letting out a loud snort accompanied by a wide grin. “Ah Ilna you’re a saint!” Leo roared, the off duty guard pulling a large knife from his belt and cutting a slice out of one of the pies. “But you really should be serving this little delicacy all year round; heaven knows you’d make a bundle.” The woman gave a click of the tongue before shaking her head “Sorry I’m ‘Fraid not; It’s only cause of the dragon fair we get Wyrms in these parts at all; it’s too expensive to get it shipped in you know that.” She gave a helpless little shrug, the bars patrons letting out a round of booing a heavy yell striking out from the nearby kitchen followed by a round of laughter from the customers. “Ah nothing like good food in dark times eh gents?” an old man laughed leaning forwards over the table Leo taking a large bite out of his pie his gaze fixed on the stranger. “Hey Helmut; this your’ friend?” Odas questioned, the butcher rubbing at the layer of stubble clinging to his bony face turning to face the old item merchant who glanced up at the old hooded man. “Nah, don’t see why it matters he paid his part of the fair so let him drink and eat if he wants to; us old folk always appreciate the company.” “That we do.” The stranger laughed, “My names Isdia Dracul, it’s a pleasure.” “Dracula?” Odas questioned the young man squinting peering forwards into the man’s drawn hood. “Ha, no; Dracul not Dracula I’m no vampire I assure you; I can’t stand those pale aristocratic types.” “What did you mean about dark times though?” Leo interrupted taking a sip out of his mug the old man’s eyes brightening beneath his hood as he leaned forwards over the table tugging the thick piece of fabric aside. “I mean the rumours of course lad; haven’t you heard?” “If you’re talking about that noble who kicked the bucket yesterday I say good riddance!” Helmut laughed raising his mug, Wilnas the grocer raising his mug in agreement, half a dozen other customers letting out a cry of agreement. “No not that.” The old man sighed with a sad shake of the head, “One noble doesn’t really matter all that much but if you listen to the rumours hanging outside the adventurer’s guild you’d find adventurer’s aren’t actually adventuring anymore, yesterday over a dozen different adventurer’s died permanently and a couple other teams have gone missing, they were all on different quests; some people are saying that some kind of monster is lurking outside of the city but that aint it in my opinion.” “Oh yeah old man” Leo snorted the guard leaning back in his chair; “then what do you say it is then?” “True Death, I think everything’s changed, the world’s finally had enough of us going about our lives without fear, killing and taking and pillaging as we please without reason or consequence; I think Death has finally found us. So yes these are dark times my young friends the likes of which I haven’t seen for Five-hundred years since the last War of Horrors!” The old man snickered bending low over the table. Wilnas let out a snort rising to his feet. “You’re crazy you old bastard!” “Is that so you young fool?” the man returned glancing up in the grocer’s direction. Wilnas stopped Leo slamming his mug down into the table. “I think it’s about time you left friend. Isdia turned around staring Leo down, his eyes a faded shade of purple, as the old man swung his arm forwards grabbing his mug of ale and downing the beverage in a single gulp before rising on creaking bones to his feet. “I suppose it is. I’ll be seeing you gents sometime soon then; good evening.” The old man gave a ceremonial bow, momentary stumbling sideways to crash into a table before shuffling his way in the direction of the door. “Crazy old codger” Helmut muttered grabbing a slice of pie. “Like you can say anything; you’re turnin’ one-hundred-n-one this year ain’t ya?” Odas snorted. “Yeah well I aint quite hit five hundred yet.” “Oh, you’d want to be careful from now on Leo then; if you die now you’ll be dead for good.” Wilnas snorted bringing a heavy palm down across his shoulder. “All the adventurer deaths are probably just ‘cause of some new monster; of course that might mean we’ll have to go out and fight it if the adventurer’s aren’t goin’ to go.” A stiff silence fell across the table, the others letting out low sighs. “Should have kicked the daft fool away the second he showed up.” Helmut spat taking down another swig. --- There was a low clatter the bowl falling from the young boys hand Grimm finishing his third helping lying his head down across his arms eyes half closed Greiz letting out a low sigh grabbing the child’s bowl before spinning around and tossing it in the direction of the sink. He wasn’t exactly sure what to think at the moment; he couldn’t quite tell if the boy was messing with him or seriously just that oblivious. Well if it was an act it was a good one. Grimm gave him a small smile raising up his head for a brief moment a dark chill rushing up the young man’s spine. Greiz took a deep breath, his hand grasping at his shirt as he shook the sensation out of his system a heavy flush rushing up into his cheeks. The boy probably had some kind of magical disability it wouldn’t be too uncommon considering his alignment and it would be just another reason why no one would be willing to take him in as a child. Grimm was certainly unnerving, it was hard to describe; but if almost felt like he was looking into you, like he could see everything you are or ever could be of course that was all down to his none human blood. His Iris’ were just slightly too large, and it may have been hard to tell because his eyes seemed to constantly droop down but they were black a hint of colour resting inside his eyes changing with the light into shades of red and blue and purple; the pupil outlined by a thin white circle which stood out abnormally bright within his gaze. Otherwise Grimm seemed perfectly normal is a little slow and as to what the ‘Other’ meant in his status window Greiz was inclined to think some kind of undead – well as long as he didn’t start rotting over night it wasn’t like he gave a damn. “Well, now that you’ve eaten your fill, why don’t we move on?” Greiz sighed changing the subject, Grimm perking his head up at the shift in tone. “So I’m guessing the Grocer pushed you into the river, after you ‘accidentally’ stole from right?” Grimm nodded, “then what about before that, where are you staying, which gang are you in?” The boy tilted his head at the question holding his chin in one hand and leaning forwards over the table pushing away the sleep which had clouded his eyes. Greiz was getting the creeping suspicion that this wasn’t an act at all. The child continued to struggle attempting to drag something up from the deep depths of his memory; of course if this wasn’t an act that just begged an even more baffling question; how in the hell had the kid survived this long? “I have no idea what you’re talking about I’m not a part of any gang.” Greiz stated turning his gaze back on Grimm the young boy giving a firm shake of the head. The Blacksmith let out a short snort – there was no way Grimm had gotten through the last ten years of his life without someone holding his hand. “You do understand what a gang is right?” “Yeah, an organised crime syndicate which usually practices in extortion, gang violence, bribery, murder and other heinous acts most usually against the law often structured around-.” “Not that kind of gang you blockhead” Greiz moaned slamming his palm down into the table; I’m talking about child gangs” He wasn’t sure where on earth the boy had learnt to talk like that and frankly he didn’t want to know. Greiz took a deep breath brushing aside the storm of a headache slowly brewing behind his eyes. “I mean your’ friends who are your’ friends.” “I don’t have any.” The response was sudden, simple and matter of fact carrying the impact of rifle fire. Greiz was stunned for a moment lifting up his head to meet the boy eye to eye, and something about his gaze enticed belief. “And no one’s been taking care of you?” “I don’t think so... Actually there is something.” Grimm paused before giving Greiz a broad grin. “Last night I collapsed in an alleyway but before I could freeze to death someone took me and put me a large wooden crate full of hay so I’m still alive.” It seemed things were going off topic again. “What about family?” the boy shook his head Greiz letting out a low sigh. What was the point of this in the first place? It wasn’t like he could help the kid. “No, I don’t have any family.” He figured as much. Greiz rose from his seat slowly stretching his arms back and letting out a low yawn, exhaustion hitting him like a leaden weight. “You can stay here for tonight and in the morning when your’ clothes have dried I’ll take you to the temple. If you tell them your’ circumstances they’ll find work for you, It’ll be hard; harder than anything you’ve been through so far but unless you plan on freezing to death night after night it’s your’ best option. So which temple is your’ respawn point?” “Respawn point?” Great, Greiz let out a low groan as he was hit with the sudden realisation he had just stepped onto a landmine. “Don’t you remember the place you respawn when you die; the temple you were born at, the orphanage where you grew up?” Something was really messed up with this boy. “I don’t remember anything before last night...” Of course he didn’t, the blacksmith let out a creaky laugh before burying his face into the palms of his hands. “Well good night then.” Grimm yawned, an agonising creaking filling the room Greiz casting his gaze up to face the young boy as he struggled with the heavy oak door to forge. “What are you doing?” “I’m going to bed like you said, It’s warm in front of the fire.” “What? No, I have work to do tonight, so I’ll be down in my forge until morning! You can use my bed as long as you’re able to sleep through the noise” “A real bed?” Gods this kid was killing him. “Yes a real gods damn bed, now move it you little gutter snipe.” Greiz jabbed his finger in the direction of a smaller wooden door sitting at the far end of the room opposite the forge, Grimm looking up to him for a moment before making a tentative approach. The boy reached out for the door handle, crossing the open floor, before slowly peering into the room the hinges turning without so much as a peep, Greiz making his way over to the generator switching off his houselights; he didn’t want to burn through more mana crystals than necessary. “That’s the bed right?” Grimm questioned pointing a finger into the darkened room. Greiz leaned in slowly blinking through the shadows before giving the child a nod. The boy made his way forwards tiptoeing through the dark the floorboards whispering beneath his meagre weight before dropping down onto the edge of Greiz’s bed with a grin. The blacksmith did suppose his bed was kind of fancy; he’d brought it down from the third-ring after he’d moved into the slums; it had four large wooden posts, each engraved with the head of a dwarf, the mattress being a linen covering over a set of thick folded sheets with owl down pillows. It was his one real luxury and he was about to just hand it over to some filthy little tramp he really was a saint among men. “It’s warm.” Grimm laughed bouncing slightly before falling backwards onto the blanket. “That it is...” Greiz sighed, a small smile touching at the corners of his lips, his fists clenching within his pockets “Hey Grim;” Greiz took in a deep breath stepping just into the doorway, his hands pressed a slight nagging voice whispering in the back of his head as the words forced themselves out between his lips. “You know, I’ve been pretty busy with my work lately I’ve got a large order from the military to finish right now.” Gods no, what the hell was he saying; he had to stop; now was the time to cut and run! “When I’m finished with this nonsense I suppose I’ll be needing some help around the forge so what would you say to becoming my apprentice.” Ah... Greiz could feel a heavy weight lift up off of his shoulders, despite the sudden revelation he was being a complete and utter fool. “Sure.” Grimm nodded shuffling about in bed, pulling the blankets up until they reached his neck, Greiz letting out a low sigh. “Then you’ll start tomorrow.” “Uh... wait!” Grimm called, Greiz pausing as he turned in the doorway glancing back into the darkened. “What’s an apprentice?” Somehow he did not expect anything less. Greiz rolled his eyes slamming the door shoot a long exasperated yawn rattling his chest. There was no use in prolonging it any longer it was about time he got to work. He could only make so many excuses to avoid his job and unfortunately he’d just ran out. He’d have to start by engraving the runes on the breast plates. It had been a while since he’d last done any intricate rune work, but this would make a nice change of pace; that was certainly one thing he missed about the academy. He hadn’t had a good challenge in a while. A small grin broke out at the corners of his lips slowly warring its’ way across his face as he pulled the door to the forge aside, taking in a deep breath before making his way down towards the table and grabbing a large copper lamp he had laid out amidst his reorganised papers. Whenever Aria decided to pay him a visit it always gave him a good excuse to reorganise the forge; keeping everything neat and tidy wasn’t exactly one of his specialities no matter how hard Alafort, his father; had tried to drill it into him. Greiz snorted twisting a small brass dial at the bottom of the lamp a small flame blooming to life at the lanterns lip, casting a warm glow about the room the young man making his way deeper into the room stopping short just before a large oaken door. The door had been reinforced with iron bands, thick heavy bolts securing them in place driven through the wood with dreadful force, a lead lining covering its’ edges and a large cog taking the place of both handle and lock, connected to a large mechanism stretching across both door and well . Greiz reached forwards grasping the handles of the wheel turning the gear to his left with all the force his arms could muster the heavy rasp of the iron bars keeping the door in place creaking through the night until a heavy clang split the air the door hanging open, the light from his lantern spilling into the room.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMxMDMwNjNmMjcyMzQ0ZjNiNDc4MzZmNzMyMzMzMTQ0"><span style="font-size: 1em">Haaaah...<br>It's not like i cannot remember anything.<br></span><span style="font-size: 1em">But still, I can't remember anything related to myself....</span><br><br>Fortunately, I still have my language ability. <br>I still know that 1+1 = 2 and Earth is round.<br>And Bill Gates is the founder of the Microsoft.<br><br><span style="font-size: 1em">...In other words, i still have my good old common sense from previous life.</span><span style="font-size: 1em"><br>Yeah, common sense is important after all.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOTAxMGQ3NGJjNzQ2Mzc5ZDZmM2IyMmFkNTc2MDY0"><span style="font-size: 1em">Oh.. well...</span><br><span style="font-size: 1em">Anyway, Let's check my identity card..</span></p> <p class="cnNjMmU2OWMwMGZjNDQzOGI5OThiMmUwMTQ2ZTdmMzYw"><strong><span style="font-size: 1em">*rustle**rustle*</span></strong></p> <p class="cnMyZWRkOTExMjQxZTQyNGQ4ZWQ2MDk5NGUwOTVjMTQy"><span style="font-size: 1em">There is no wallet in my pocket....<br><br>OF COURSE~!!!<br>Who's sleeping with their wallet in their pocket !??<br>That person must be barbaric!!<br></span></p> <p class="cnMzNTY0MTBmODE2YTQyN2I4ZTBmYWNlNmExNjYwNzYx"><strong><span style="font-size: 1em">*plop*</span></strong></p> <p class="cnNlYzAzMDE2ZDU3ZTQ5ODViZDA3YjEzOWY3NDFhZjkx"><span style="font-size: 1em">...<br>...<br>...<br><br><strong>*grab the wallet*</strong><br><br>...Anyways, let's see...<br>My identity card..<br></span></p> <p class="cnMxMGFiNTNjNGIzODQ1YzZiZTkzYWY2YzZhZTllMTgx"><span style="font-size: 1em">Hmm.. So my name is Tanaka Reinford...<br>Ugh.. My name is quite weird...<br>By the sound, It seems i am half-japanese.<br></span></p> <p class="cnNmNTljNGEyMTc3MzQwZGY5MTA2ZjQ4OWQ5MGZlNDhi"><span style="font-size: 1em">Next.. I was born at Tokyo.</span><br><span style="font-size: 1em">Yep, i am really a half.</span></p> <p class="cnMwM2MzMDhjMWFjNjQ2NmNhOGY1MWQ5YmM0MjUyMTEx"><span style="font-size: 1em"><br>Let's look at my appearance...<br>Hmm, i see, i see...<br></span></p> <p class="cnM1ODE2ZjQzYjgxNDQxMzA4ZjBkMWVkODAwNzNhMGZh">My hair and eyes color are black...<br>My face has no special feature, just like ordinary japanese face...</p> <p class="cnM3NzQzYWE2NDRmZjQ5ZDI5YjgyNjcxYzZmMzExODUz">Wait.. Am i supposed to be a half??</p> <p class="cnMxYWZjY2U0ZjFhNTRiMmE5MWExZjgzOGNjYTkxNmM0">If my features are just like normal japanese person.. <br>Why my parents bother to give the name like that !?<br><br>Surely, i got a lot of "attention" in the past because of this...<br>Yep, i can imagine myself as a loner...<br>Thank you for a wonderful name...</p> <p class="cnM5MDBjNDYwNWIyMzRjODM4OTM5ODk1YTY2ZWU4YWRj">My height is 167 cm. My weight is 60 kg. Blood type is O.<br>Pretty average..and common...<br><br>There is no special feature on my face...<br><br>I'm quite boring as human, huh..<br>...<br>...<br>...Do eyebags count as special features?<br><br>...</p> <p class="cnM4ZjI2MTBjNzBkNjRlM2NhYWE0NWY1ZDQ5YmE2OTdi">&nbsp;..Of course not~~ ,RIGHT~~!!?</p> </div>

Haaaah... It's not like i cannot remember anything. But still, I can't remember anything related to myself.... Fortunately, I still have my language ability. I still know that 1+1 = 2 and Earth is round. And Bill Gates is the founder of the Microsoft. ...In other words, i still have my good old common sense from previous life. Yeah, common sense is important after all. Oh.. well... Anyway, Let's check my identity card.. ***rustle**rustle*** There is no wallet in my pocket.... OF COURSE~!!! Who's sleeping with their wallet in their pocket !?? That person must be barbaric!! ***plop*** ... ... ... ***grab the wallet*** ...Anyways, let's see... My identity card.. Hmm.. So my name is Tanaka Reinford... Ugh.. My name is quite weird... By the sound, It seems i am half-japanese. Next.. I was born at Tokyo. Yep, i am really a half. Let's look at my appearance... Hmm, i see, i see... My hair and eyes color are black... My face has no special feature, just like ordinary japanese face... Wait.. Am i supposed to be a half?? If my features are just like normal japanese person.. Why my parents bother to give the name like that !? Surely, i got a lot of "attention" in the past because of this... Yep, i can imagine myself as a loner... Thank you for a wonderful name... My height is 167 cm. My weight is 60 kg. Blood type is O. Pretty average..and common... There is no special feature on my face... I'm quite boring as human, huh.. ... ... ...Do eyebags count as special features? ...  ..Of course not~~ ,RIGHT~~!!?

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwNjA5Y2FiMTNmMTRkYmQ4NjY0ODQxNWQwZDA0ZTc5" style="text-align: justify">I sat in silence.</p> <p class="cnM1ZmY0Mjc2OTRlNzQ0NjJhZjRjZGMwM2NmMzdlZTI2" style="text-align: justify">There was a light crackle from the half-extinguished fire. While having a roof over our heads was welcome, there was still a chill to the air. Reggie had come back inside at one point and covered Amalia in a rough, wool blanket. He then went to sleep himself.</p> <p class="cnNkNWNkZDFmYmI5YTRiNjdhNzdhZDgxZjYxYTk0NDE4" style="text-align: justify">It was bothersome not being able to communicate with him freely without the aid of Amalia. I suppose I'd just have to make up for it when she woke. Not being able to have my questions answered was causing me to become impatient, yet I could do little aside from pass the time. And so, I did just that.</p> <p class="cnMyY2U4MDViNTA1ZjQwNzc5ZjRlMTI1ZmVhODI2YmM3" style="text-align: justify">A faint snoring resonated off the wooden walls. It would seem I was now the only one awake. While it could be said this Slime body didn't seem to <em>require</em> sleep, not doing so still caused tension to build up in my mind and resulted in sluggishness and fatigue.</p> <p class="cnNjNjMxZmUzNmIxMjRmZWU4NTJlZjEzYWNhZTQ1MGFm" style="text-align: justify">At the same time, I was beginning to realize how inadequate my Skills were currently. I needed to work overtime. My pace wasn't good enough. Sleep could wait.</p> <p class="cnNjMDUzY2UwZThmNDQxZjg4OWI3YmNjYzNjYzc3ZWY4" style="text-align: justify">I continued meditating and using both my Rejuvenation and Detoxification Skills on Amalia throughout the night. It was frustrating, but I didn't seem to be making any further progress. The more I looked and immersed myself into her body, the more I realized how little I understood about this 'magic' nonsense and the human form.</p> <p class="cnNmMWE1NDEwNjlmZDQxMmQ5M2Y5YTdhMzAxNWFiYjEz" style="text-align: justify">I delved as deep as I could below her skin, trying to search out answers. There was a pressure building up in my Core before it finally exploded, like a dam bursting.</p> <p class="cnNmNjA2ODQxYzUwMTQzOGNhOTcyYWRlOWRkNTU4NjFh" style="text-align: justify">Realization hit me. There was no point in proceeding further.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); background-color: rgba(56, 118, 29, 1)"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center"><strong>Skill increased!<br></strong>Rejuvenation Lvl.1 → Lvl.2<br>Detoxification Lvl.1 → Lvl.2</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4OWQ5NmU2NjU1NjRlODY4ZmMxNTY2ZmRmOThmZTk1" style="text-align: justify">Whatever this was, I couldn't heal it.</p> <p class="cnM0YjVhOGIyZGJlNzQyM2M4ZTQ1YTI5MmY0MTAxMDhl" style="text-align: justify">Rejuvenation acted on the body's own ability to heal injury and accelerated such a process. If the body was incapable of thwarting this disease, then there was ultimately no use. Regarding Detoxification, I simply lacked the finesse. If I were able to increase my prowess and knowledge further, it might be possible. But now, ...</p> <p class="cnNjZTkzMTEyZWYwODQ3ZTY5YTU1YThjN2MxMDJiNmQ2" style="text-align: justify">There was too large a chasm. I couldn't even fathom how I'd bridge this gap.</p> <p class="cnNkNGVmOGUzY2I3ZTQ2ZTlhMjIyMzA5YWY1NDg2ZTNl" style="text-align: justify"><em>How vexing.</em></p> <p class="cnMwOWRjNThhN2VlNjQ4MDFhYTU5M2ZiNDYzYzg1OThh" style="text-align: justify">With a huff, I decided to retire from this pointless endeavor for the night. Amalia seemed to be in ... acceptable health. For now, it didn't feel like I'd make more progress in her recovery nor did she seem like she'd worsen. Over-work or over-practice would diminish results, so I decided to switch away from practicing Rejuvenation and Detoxification.</p> <p class="cnNjZTRjYmZiODg5NjQ0OWJhZTRlYzFiODA2ZGQ4ZWM3" style="text-align: justify">Several hours had already passed.</p> <p class="cnMwNjU3MzljZmI0ZTRkM2FhNmQzYzMzNjczMTk4MDgw" style="text-align: justify">Quietly, I worked my way out from underneath the girl's shaggy mane. There was one thing I wanted to practice that had been bothering me lately. Namely, my ability to control and shape my body. I'd felt like I'd been upon the cusp of some sort of breakthrough lately and wanted to hammer that in while the iron was hot, so to speak.</p> <p class="cnM2MTA1MGY3OTU0MjRhNzI5YjU4MWVjNDFjMWRlNDVk" style="text-align: justify">If nothing else, my reaction time would increase. My neglect had created the feeling of my progress lagging behind in this area. While I'd had great success during my incredibly taxing 'Slime Bullet practice', some Skills just didn't seem to 'click' as easily as that one had.</p> <p class="cnMzODYzZmZkN2JkNDQ4MjBiMDc2ZmYxMWIwZDQ4MDM5" style="text-align: justify">In gamer lingo, it seemed I couldn't 'power-level' <em>all</em> of my Skills just by using them repeatedly non-stop. Only some of them. Perhaps over-practice with Slime Bullet was why going from level 3 to 4 took exponentially longer than 2 to 3? Or was that just normal the higher the level got? I wasn't sure.</p> <p class="cnMzYjM1MTdjZjk2ZDRjYzE4MTFhMTIyN2Y4NGY4MmE2" style="text-align: justify">Regardless, I spent most of the night reforming my body and attempting to make various shapes and motions. This went on for hours more. By the end of things, if I had sweat glands, then I'm sure I'd be a mess. Tiresome.</p> <p class="cnMzNzVjZjA5MjRkNDRhNTA4YjEwNWY5ODgzOTY3Yjdj" style="text-align: justify">I took a moment to reflect on my current situation. I'd joked numerous times in the past about how much more I could get done if I didn't need to sleep. Realizing that half-serious remark was an odd feeling. While I doubted I could <em>mentally</em> go entirely without sleep, it seemed like a few hours light rest per night was within reach. If I managed to eliminate even that, then ...</p> <p class="cnMzZTY0ZGQzOTg3NzRjNDA5ZGI4YzgzMjYzZTc5ZmM2" style="text-align: justify">Hmm. Do normal Slimes have some sort of 'hibernation mode'? It made sense in a way if they were normally under attack and needed to keep semi-aware at all times. I suppose if I ever meet another sentient Slime, I'd have to ask that question. Doubt that'll happen though.</p> <p class="cnMwYjNiOTE3MjM0NTRmMmU5MWE5OWQxNDY2NDkzNmRl" style="text-align: justify">Dawn's light shone through the shabby little wooden windows. After a short while, Amalia began to stir. Looking at her sleeping form on the hammock made my Slime curl when I thought about the lack of back support. Better than sleeping on the floor? Barely.</p> <p class="cnM1MWE0MWI2YWJiMjQ2YzA4MDkxNmVkMGRkNjM0NGRk" style="text-align: justify">As she rubbed her eyes and yawned, I decided to speak up.</p> <p class="cnNkYTU1ZTMwMWI4NzQzYzQ5NmZhZDcyZWU2OWYzMGU5" style="text-align: justify">"Did you sleep well?"</p> <p class="cnNiOTMyODg1OGEyYzQzOTg4NDE0MTRkYWY5YmEyYTBj" style="text-align: justify">She seemed startled for a moment, looking around before spotting me.</p> <p class="cnNhNmYxNzFkZWNjNjQ2OWJiMmNjZTQwN2U5ZmMzODMy" style="text-align: justify">"Y-Yes, I did. Did you?"</p> <p class="cnM4NzFjMWI5MDExNjQ4MDc4OThmMzM2MGQ1ZDFmN2Rl" style="text-align: justify"><em>Seriously, <strong>how</strong> do you manage to stutter telepathically?</em></p> <p class="cnM5ZmE5OTAyMmYwZjQ5NmJiOWVhYzk0N2U3ZWM3NzU1" style="text-align: justify">"I don't need much sleep. I spent the night examining your body instead."</p> <p class="cnMzYjMyNTg0ODFjODQ4MjhiMDgwZDJjN2E5NzBjYjcz" style="text-align: justify">"You wh- you what!?"</p> <p class="cnNlNDY3ZGU0NGZhODRiYTZiNzBmZGYzM2QzNjQxZDE2" style="text-align: justify">Her eyes bulged. In hindsight, perhaps my wording was a bit strange. Isn't it also her fault for jumping to weird conclusions? <em>Kids these days </em>...</p> <p class="cnM5MTBiMGY3NDJlMDQ2NmM5MGU3ZmFmNmJiYmU0YzUx" style="text-align: justify">"You're still sick. I was trying to treat you but whatever illness you have is beyond me. I'll keep examining you while you're asleep and try to monitor your body. If I practice more, I should be able to fix you."</p> <p class="cnMyM2ZmOTI3MTc3ZDRhMjk4M2NmZjIwZjE5MTg4M2Qx" style="text-align: justify"><em>Probably.</em></p> <p class="cnNlMzMzNzk1YjM4NTRmMGZiZTNkMzFmZTRhOTc2ZTU4" style="text-align: justify">Mentally adding that last part only to myself, she seemed much less alarmed. At the same time, shouldn't she be more worried that she has some unknown illness? I know I'd be freaking out internally.</p> <p class="cnMxZDJhOWU3NzQ2YjQwYjg4OGM2MTNmM2FiMThlYjk1" style="text-align: justify">... <em>Ah,</em> I just realized how abysmal my bedside manner is. I need to work on my delivery.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDhkYTdkODA5MzQ0NWM5Y2E1MTY3NjBkMDA0Y2Iz" style="text-align: justify">I added 'public speaking lessons' to my to-do list. If I was going to act like I knew what I was talking about, I needed to level up my Bullshitting Skill. Considerably.</p> <p class="cnM5NzRkZmQ1NzYyMjRiZDk5ZGZmM2IxODJiZDQ0ZTQ5" style="text-align: justify"><em>Hnnh, </em>why are people so hard to deal with? If only they were as simple as numbers and logic. I hate predicting how they'll react or having to adjust plans based on someone's emotional state.</p> <p class="cnM1NzVkOTU3MTEzZDQ3NjFiNWUwZDk3MTRmNDVlNWIy" style="text-align: justify">Well, I'm being a bit of a hypocrite so I'll ignore that for now.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTIxNTQ3NjZiMzQyOThiYTAwYzBlOGVjYTQ5MzA3" style="text-align: justify">I looked at my sleepy little companion. It didn't seem wise to keep intruding on Reggie, plus that illness in her bloodstream was bothering me. I hoped a town might have more capable medical staff or knowledge. There was also the problem of finding a reliable source of Level Ups. Still needed to make sure no one tried killing me, too.</p> <p class="cnNmNjE4MzY5ZTI2YzQzZTA5ZWQyNmU2ZTc2MzJkNzU3" style="text-align: justify">Dungeons existed, so I wanted to find another one to explore. Or a good place in the wild teeming with easy-to-kill beasts. A village of lightly defended humans or humanoids might be a good option to soak up Exp, so long as it didn't bite me in the ass later, but that was a major <strong>if</strong> and I wasn't particularly inclined to go on a murder spree.</p> <p class="cnNlZmVkZTE2Yjc2NzQzOTA4YjQ1NDFkMWNiOGZjMjcx" style="text-align: justify">Doubly so now that Amalia was present. I needed to show her my good side, after all!</p> <p class="cnM1ZGM1NmEyNjgzMDQyOTJiYWJhNTBkOGJiZTkxODNl" style="text-align: justify">... Or rather, I needed to 'create' a good side to show her. I think I had an 'okay' side at best. Making 'friends' and playing nice is hard. Ugh.</p> <p class="cnM1MzMxYmM5ZTE4YjQ4ZjQ4MTgzYTlkOGM0MmRlNzUx" style="text-align: justify">"So do you feel better? Ready to continue traveling to this 'Berrios' place?"</p> <p class="cnNiYTFkOTNmNjVmNTQxMTU5ZDRmN2ZlNTE5ZWQ4Yjhi" style="text-align: justify">She continued rubbing her eyes and face. As she coughed lightly, my magical perception clearly picked up the glob of snot threatening to run out her nose.</p> <p class="cnM5YjBjYTI0MTczNTQ1ZmFhNmEyNDUzMDE1MWNkZDU3" style="text-align: justify">It was becoming apparent that manners and hygiene were a fleeting fantasy in this world. My stomach roiled as she replied.</p> <p class="cnM4ODZkYzVmN2QyNjQ1OWZhN2U0OGJmYjYyMDA3OTgy" style="text-align: justify">"I do feel better, actually. We should head west along the side path, arrive at the main road and then travel south. It shouldn't be much further."</p> <p class="cnNkNDg4N2ZhNGU3YzQ1ZmE4N2JmZWMzZjY2MzI5YjA4" style="text-align: justify">She was saying something important, but my attention was elsewhere. I hopped up onto the hammock, pulling myself up and onto her lap.</p> <p class="cnM5NTMyYzRmMTFkYzQ1YjU4NzcxNmNiY2NjYmZlYmJm" style="text-align: justify">"Amalia, please hold still for a moment. Hold a deep breath and do not be alarmed. I'm cleaning your nose."</p> <p class="cnNhYTMwNGM1NmFiODQ2YTNiZGFkOTUxOGM5YjUyZGY5" style="text-align: justify">I looked up as she tilted her head sideways. The snot, too, jiggled at me.</p> <p class="cnM0YjBjMTIxOTUyODQ4ZjNiMzI4NDljNWM1MjhjNGM3" style="text-align: justify">Shortly after shoving a Slime tendril up the girl's nose and cleaning out her nasal passages, I sat back on her lap, gripped tightly by her slender hands. As disgusting as it was, I felt relieved.</p> <p class="cnM1Mzk2ODZhNWNkZjQyOTZiOWU1NmYxMDE3NTE2NGI1" style="text-align: justify">"Why did you do that!? You could have warned me! I thought you were trying to suffocate me!"</p> <p class="cnM5OWMxOTdhN2NmNTRhNGRiNDIxZjg1YTljNzQ2NThm" style="text-align: justify">Turning the Link off crossed my mind, but getting yelled at by a small child didn't bother me much. I'd let her vent her anger. Not having a snotty little Royal Guard was worth it.</p> <p class="cnMxOTE0ZjMyNDcxNDRlNmNhOTVjYjMzZTk3NDhiMTEw" style="text-align: justify">"I did warn you very clearly though. Besides, it wasn't like I hurt you. If anything you should thank me for cleaning you up! You can breathe better now, right?"</p> <p class="cnM0ODA4MmFkMWE2ZjQyZjFiZDNmMWY2ODQzYTA3ZDRh" style="text-align: justify">"Who cares about stuff like that!? You're so weird! And no, I <em>can't </em>breathe better now. It's like you put some kind of strange perfume in my nose!"</p> <p class="cnMxMGZlNzJjN2IwMjQ0MWI5NGIyNTQ5MDk3NGMyMDY4" style="text-align: justify">Do I have a certain smell? Perfume? They have that here? That's somewhat unexpected.</p> <p class="cnMzZDJkMDc3NTExZjQyMjZhYjNmM2RlYWFhYjJmOWVl" style="text-align: justify">"Oh, so you know what perfume is?"</p> <p class="cnMwZTZkN2Y0MGI4NjQ3OTE5YjhhZTk4NDhjMDE4YmI1" style="text-align: justify">"Of course I do!" she beamed, "My Father bought me a small bottle once on my 8th birthday!"</p> <p class="cnM3ZjUyMjRhMWQwYzRkYWZhNDkxZTQ3ZTNiMmEzOGJk" style="text-align: justify">Watching her puff up her chest confused me. What bizarre mannerisms. Why are you so proud of that? I judged that perhaps such a simple luxury was more extravagant than anticipated. This <em>worried</em> me. It was good if she had low standards, but at the same time ... <em>Ugh. </em></p> <p class="cnNiMDRiNDI5YjM4YjQ3Yjc5NTYxY2ZhOGE2Y2Q0Y2Vl" style="text-align: justify">If this entire world is lacking in basic hygiene, I think I'll go mad.</p> <p class="cnMwYjE1N2I3ZmE4MDRkMWI4YjZkYmU1OTA0OWZhOGFj" style="text-align: justify">I tried to clear my thoughts before replying.</p> <p class="cnNhYTNkOTM2YTdkYTRkMzRhZTUxN2ZhODYzODg4NWYz" style="text-align: justify">"I'm very glad for you. Now, why don't you tell me more about this Berrios place? We need to discuss numerous things before arriving..."</p> <p class="cnMyYzJjYTUwNDljNDRlY2I4ODk0ODg1N2JjYjM3Nzgx" style="text-align: justify">I telepathically chatted with Amalia on various topics, including a bit about herself and goals, knighthood, geography, average living conditions and the like. While extremely helpful, it painted a dim picture for this world.</p> <p class="cnM3M2ZhNWQwNDM1MjQwODM4OTgxMmJkMTBmZTNiMDQ0" style="text-align: justify">Things like running water and irrigation systems existed, but we were essentially out in the boonies, so to speak. Such amenities were scarce out here. From what I could gather, you're either nobility or living in basic housing. With snot in your nose.</p> <p class="cnMwY2Y3OGRhYmJmYjRjMWM5MDE1NmM5NmIzODAwOTlh" style="text-align: justify">This won't do. No, nonono, not at all. I'm not living in a house with a bunch of snot-nosed Royal Guards. There will be <em>standards</em> set. There will be <em>beds.</em> There will be <em>toilets</em>. I'll make a damn sewage system myself if I need to!</p> <p class="cnM1ZmY5NzE2OWJjNDQ3M2M5ZjBjOTA4ODg2NzlmNzk1" style="text-align: justify">... Hopefully with magic. Cause I didn't know shit about sewage plumbing or engineering. Pun intended.</p> <p class="cnNiNmFjOWUxMmI0ZTRiNzg5ZjkzY2ZkMDkyZWY3NWVj" style="text-align: justify">I sighed, "Why is this world so primitive? Don't you people have <em>magic</em> and whatnot? How do you live in such poor conditions? I'd be amazed if people live past 50 years, let alone 100."</p> <p class="cnM3ZmVjNDdjYjAxMjQ2NzFiZTIwNzg2NDBjMzdkNGNj" style="text-align: justify">If there were a sturdy wall, I'd smack myself off it.</p> <p class="cnNhY2YxOWRhNDFkMTRkNDdiNzYyYjM2Mzk2ZmVmMDc0" style="text-align: justify">Amalia interrupted my mental complaining, "Why do you do that?"</p> <p class="cnMxZDA0YzMyYTFlYzRiZWI5MWEwZTBlODRlNWI2MmI3" style="text-align: justify">"Do what?" I asked, lazily directing my attention back to her.</p> <p class="cnNlMThkOTg3YTgxOTQ1ZTk5MzRlOGJkMDIyZWNhOTFj" style="text-align: justify">"Why do you keep talking about such strange things? You ask incredibly difficult questions on topics no one normally thinks about, then in the next breath display absolutely no common sense. How do you know so much and so little at the same time?"</p> <p class="cnM4OWRjZWRjYzg1ZjQyN2NiYTM2NTU2MjY0NmNhYTE3" style="text-align: justify"><em>Huh. Didn't expect that one to come out of her mouth.</em></p> <p class="cnM5MDc4NTJkMmZjYzQ2YjdhZmZiZTAyNDgxNjM5YTlh" style="text-align: justify">"That's ..."</p> <p class="cnNlMzg0ZDE1ZjVjNTRkMzlhYTJhMTVjNTYyNmViNTMz" style="text-align: justify">"Rather than a monster, you act more like those scholars and historians Father would converse with. How old are you? Are you from another land? Did you travel here from afar? Why has no one heard of monsters like you before?"</p> <p class="cnNjYjFhZDMxMmY4NzQ4Yjk5YmExZTg3NzE0N2MxMWU1" style="text-align: justify">"I'm, uh ..."</p> <p class="cnNhM2YyYzg3MmQ4MDRhMDk5MmU5MTE0MDFkZDY2ZjI1" style="text-align: justify"><em>Shit. </em>Why is she looking at me like that? When did she get so sharp? While I wasn't planning on hiding my origins, now I'm a bit worried there's something I'm not aware of. Did other people like me exist in this world? Was there some sort of taboo or stigma with people from other worlds, or whatever?</p> <p class="cnM2ZjM0ZTllZDlmYjQ4MmU5YTM5OTZkYTlkODA1ZTA1" style="text-align: justify">Ahh, this is problematic. When in doubt, deflect!</p> <p class="cnNmNWM2ZmQ3MzRlYTRkZGM4YmYzMjc0OGQ2MjdkYTEz" style="text-align: justify">"Aren't you being a bit forward? There are certain things I'd rather not talk about. While I don't mind telling you once we get to know each other better, my past is ... saddening and I don't want to bring such thoughts up if it can be helped. I hope you'll forgive me."</p> <p class="cnNhYTg1Mjc4NTgwOTQ3YWE4YzMzZDRiNjIxNDE3NTA3" style="text-align: justify"><em>Perfect! </em>Make her feel unsure, play the sympathy card and state I'll answer at a later time. <em>Hmhmhmm!</em> That way I can learn more before opening my big mouth.</p> <p class="cnNiY2ZiOTk0MjdlMTRmOTFhMGM2M2YwNDgxM2UyMjk4" style="text-align: justify">"Th-That's ... I'm sorry, you're right. The things you've said made me curious and I was out of line. I apologize, Rozalin."</p> <p class="cnNkNDYyY2Y4YjI3MTQ3NDU5MDBlY2QyMzgxYWExNjZh" style="text-align: justify">"O-Oh. Well, as long as you understand, it's fine." I nodded.</p> <p class="cnM1YTFmY2E2NmEzMDQwNTM4YzZmMGEwMWZhYjg4NThk" style="text-align: justify">Damn. Now I feel kinda bad for some reason. When did I turn into a slick con artist that manipulates little girls? Next, I'll be stealing her candy and getting a police task force after me for some child slavery ring.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmVkMjAwZTU2MDQzMDRhZDdjNDRiMWEzOTg1MzRj" style="text-align: justify">As potentially lucrative as that may be, I'm gonna have to put an age and height requirement on future Royal Guards.</p> <p class="cnNjNDU2NmE3NTE0ZDQ5ZDc5ZGExNThjMTE5NTE1ZDFi" style="text-align: justify">Reggie's shuffling interrupted my already sidetracked thoughts. Seems ape-man slept enough. He has risen!</p> <p class="cnMxMTUyNTkwMDUyMTQzMzU4YTFhMTJkMzYwZThiY2M5" style="text-align: justify">We all ate a small breakfast of some brick-like bread and more meat. Reggie gave us some direction, telling us which path to follow and where it would lead. The thought of staying longer quickly disappeared. He wasn't tossing us out, but the topic of staying just didn't pop up.</p> <p class="cnMxY2IwZjUxZTU0MTQwMWU4NmUzNDcwOTViYzJlMWNi" style="text-align: justify">No, we'd be on our own again. </p> <p class="cnNjNDJlMTI1NDQ2OTQyMjlhNTQ5NDQ0Y2RkZjk0OTdj" style="text-align: justify"><em>Huh.</em> 'We'. Gonna have to get used to that one.</p> <p class="cnM2N2M4ZDc3YzhmODQyMTJiYjY0NDA3ODg0YzRlYTJh" style="text-align: justify">Amalia and I discussed our plan of action and then set off. Before leaving, Reggie gifted me with a large helping of Thunderbear scraps. As I looked at the remains laying on a table in his rear shack, I felt a bit queasy. That wasn't enough of a deterrent, as once I put the grotesque scenery out of mind and focused on possible gains, I began salivating.</p> <p class="cnMwMzc3MDY0OTBlNDQwOTI4ODQyN2U3M2EyMmRjZjI1" style="text-align: justify"><em>Heheh, this is gonna be good.</em></p> <p class="cnM4MjdlOGQ4NDhhNTQxZTM5NTQ5YjM3MzRmYjhlYjBh" style="text-align: justify">–Devour!</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); background-color: rgba(56, 118, 29, 1)"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center"><strong>Skill unlocked!<br></strong>Lesser Vitality Lvl.1 Acquired!</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); background-color: rgba(56, 118, 29, 1)"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center"><strong>Attribute increase!<br></strong>Strength - 25 → 27<br>Vitality - 33 → 35<br>Intelligence - 28 → 29<br>Wisdom - 21 → 22<br>Dexterity - 27 → 28</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMyZTJhNGUyNTA1MDQ2YzRhMjI1ODkzYzlhYjAxMGU2" style="text-align: justify"><em>Mmphf! </em>This is-!</p> <p class="cnM5YThlNTI2Nzc4ZTRjNjRiOWRmZGNhOWNmYzA3NmFl" style="text-align: justify">Gods, that is some freakin' tasty bear! Crackling with flavor, with a hint of rough gaminess. The way it melts in your slime, leaving behind a warm, full sensation! <em>Ohh, yeah~</em> This is good stuff.</p> <p class="cnNjZWY5NDhkOTkzNDQyMWRiOWYyNDYzYTA5ZThmOGUz" style="text-align: justify">I quickly eyed the new Skill description while wallowing in the meaty flavor.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); background-color: rgba(56, 118, 29, 1)"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center"><strong>Lesser Vitality Lvl.1 - Passive<br></strong>Increases effect of the Vitality Attribute by 5% + (1%*Skill Level).</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM3Y2FlNGI3YmRiMTQ0ZDI5OTE0YzM4MzM4ZTI4MDky" style="text-align: justify">That's ... both bland and disappointing. Seriously, where's the Thunderbolt attack? I want to shoot lightning at mine enemies! Fry all present before me to a toasty crisp! Do some neat light shows!</p> <p class="cnM0NjM5MzBmMzQxMTRiOTFhNjgyMjZkMjcwYzJjNmYy" style="text-align: justify">Or something like that. Was I expecting too much? I feel so cheated after nearly getting zapped to death. </p> <p class="cnNiOGRmN2VlYmM5NzQ4ZTY4YWNjYTM4ODQ1NWU0ZjQ4" style="text-align: justify"><em>Ehhh</em>, whatever.</p> <p class="cnM0NDgzNzk1NmIyMTRhYTg5ZmY1YjI1OWVlNWEwZjVl" style="text-align: justify">After examining my newly acquired Skill, I turned around to find Amalia and Reggie looking at me with disgusted looks on their face. Reggie seemed mildly off put, while Amalia looked like she was going to lose her lunch.</p> <p class="cnMwYmUxZWQyOWY5YTQ3MGM5MTUwOTNjZjljMjE1ZTVl" style="text-align: justify">"What? Haven't you seen a Slime eat before?"</p> <p class="cnM3ZGQ0NjdmY2I1NDQ4NDg4MjY0YjJkMzljNzJmZmMz" style="text-align: justify">"If that's how you eat, please don't do that in front of me anymore," she replied weakly.</p> <p class="cnM5YzgzZTJjNmQwMDRkN2ViY2YyMzlkYTFkOWFiNzA2" style="text-align: justify">"If it bothers you that much, I'll try to refrain?"</p> <p class="cnMzOTExNWYwYWJmMTQ3ZTNhNDZjMzFlNDNhYmMxMTBk" style="text-align: justify">I mentally sighed at my Royal Guard's weak constitution but figured it was understandable. She was still a work in progress. Watching a bear's head and whatnot dissolve in front of your very eyes was rather ... morbid.</p> <p class="cnNhZWI1MWY4YzM4ODRlMTJhNTM2YmFhYWUzNDg0MDQz" style="text-align: justify">"Putting that aside, tell Reggie thank you for the assistance and we wish him well. We'll try to return the favor in the future."</p> <p class="cnM0YmM1MWQ5MjIwNTQ0NzE4NTZhNGNhZjQzYThkODc1" style="text-align: justify">The three of us chatted for a bit longer before departing. There was a woodland path Reggie suggested we use. After we made some distance from his house, I forced myself under Amalia's clothing despite some weak protests.</p> <p class="cnMxYTY1ZWZlY2ZkZjRkMjQ4ZTMwMWMyY2Y0NTk2YTQ1" style="text-align: justify">Part of the reason we'd been attacked initially by that Thunderbear was because I had been poking my head out. I'd rather not take my chances a second time.</p> <p class="cnM4ODNmNzA1MjkxNDQyMzNhMTRhNWM5YWI5NDFmOGRl" style="text-align: justify">The weather was beginning to warm up, and after a short while, we stumbled upon what was apparently the 'main road' leading into Berrios. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.</p> <p class="cnNkOTI3Yjk0ZTY3YzQ0ZTM4ODNlZTlkM2QzNTYyY2Vh" style="text-align: justify">"So Amalia, you seem hesitant that they'll let you become a Knight for some reason. Is there a reason? You should have more confidence."</p> <p class="cnNjNDI3MDU3ZGY2NzRmODg5N2VmM2Y2OTE5NWMzMjRi" style="text-align: justify">Truly, I meant what I said. Doubting yourself was counter-productive. I knew that ... very well.</p> <p class="cnM1NzM1ZGQ1OTM4ODQxNmRhMGNlNDE1NTBiNmQ3NjAx" style="text-align: justify">"That's ... the thing is, legally ... I'm not officially a citizen of Brita."</p> <p class="cnNjM2JjNmRlZTI2NjRkYjliMjA2MTU2MzBjODI3NTZj" style="text-align: justify">"You shouldn't let such a minor thin– excuse me, can you repeat that? You cut out."</p> <p class="cnNiYjlkNmFkYTU3NTQ3MmE5NmUzNTEwMjY4MzEyOGVh" style="text-align: justify">I nearly slipped off her torso out of shock. The heck!?</p> <p class="cnNkZjg2MGVmNWQyYTQ1Yzk4NDA0NWY4NDYwYjJkZDc2" style="text-align: justify"><em>I'm traveling with ... a refugee?</em></p> <p class="cnM0OTUyZWM2YjYyYTRjNTFiZWMzMGU1MzBmYmY1Yzg0" style="text-align: justify">"There is a loophole in the law. My mother fell short of citizenship, and I'm not officially a citizen of Brita until my 16th birthday. If they scrutinize my application too much, I'm afraid ..."</p> <p class="cnM0YzI5MjFmYjkwYjQ5MjE5NzdjZDg3MTBiY2ZlZjAx" style="text-align: justify">She grit her teeth and stared downward while walking.</p> <p class="cnM1ZjdiMDAxMjkyYjQ3YWM5MTQyNjMzMDEyY2YzNmVm" style="text-align: justify">Alarm bells were now going off in my head. There were signs previously, but didn't this technically mean she could be deported? Or ... how would her stateless status apply here? I didn't know the laws of this land. This was an important bit of information! Hey, seriously!</p> <p class="cnM4MjU1NDM0M2ZhMTRlYTZiOWEyNDkyNTA1YzNiMjI0" style="text-align: justify">"O-Oh. Well, I'm sure with me here we'll be able to figure something out regardless. They can't kick you out of the country or anything, can they?" I asked hesitantly.</p> <p class="cnNlYzY1NGZhNDRlZTRjODRhN2E3YjJmNjhmOWZmZTdj" style="text-align: justify">"No, but it also means I'm not eligible for any state benefits and can't own land or property in cities, among other things. Applying for work is also ..."</p> <p class="cnM4MmZiNjg1ZWM2ODQyNTg5NjdiZDNmOWZjOTYzZDc1" style="text-align: justify"><em>Ah, fuck. This is a problem.</em></p> <p class="cnMyMGYyZDcxYjMxOTRhMWY5NTljZjU0M2Q4M2U3ZDNi" style="text-align: justify">I'd planned on having all our finances done through Amalia's name for now. While it sounded like there was an issue with her inheritance, I didn't realize just how deep this ran. Shit! Just another thing I'm going to have to figure out.</p> <p class="cnM5NTQzODhkMDZlMDRlNWE5YzgyMTYyYzNiMzk0MDll" style="text-align: justify">I spoke a few more words of comfort as my mind kept trying to evaluate how this would alter my plans. Granted, my plans were pretty shaky as-is but this was just fueling the inferno.</p> <p class="cnMwNGY4ZDdkODEzOTRkZWFhOTY2OGM5ZDVlNGMxNmQ3" style="text-align: justify">"Well, there's nothing to be done about that now. We'll figure it out. Besides, your citizenship is official when you turn 16, yes? I'm sure there are things you can do until then. Let's just focus on getting to Berrios."</p> <p class="cnNmNDZlNTlhN2YwZjRkYTdhYTY2OGJhNDBiYjg5NDc2" style="text-align: justify">With a sigh and turbulent mind, we continued our journey South. Occasionally we'd stop and take a break. I helped Amalia hunt one of those strange horn-rabbit things. While I was curious if anything would happen if I Devoured it, she seemed to need food much more than I needed a potential stat point or new Skill of questionable usefulness.</p> <p class="cnMyNWFmM2FhNWNmYjQwNzNiMzA2NTA0N2Y0NGYwNTRh" style="text-align: justify">Next time, little rabbit ... you will become my dinner. I swear it.</p> <p class="cnM1YjcxYmYzNDZmMTQzMTE4MDMyYWNlZDY1ZjJhYzM5" style="text-align: justify">A shame I wasn't able to find another, but the journey was relatively lacking in excitement. Just the way I liked it.</p> <p class="cnNhMGI4Yjk4ZDY5YzQ2NGM5MzZmZGRiNGQxMjllY2Yy" style="text-align: justify">There were a few caravans passing us both ways, at which point Amalia normally bowed towards them then made way off the road. More than a few armored guards and coaches sent derisive glances her way. Something felt ... odd about those scenes. It made me want to eat their entire cargo in the dead of night.</p> <p class="cnNlZWVmYjBmYTY2YjRkNjQ4NjE0YWUyN2M4MjM5ZTYw" style="text-align: justify">Ah, there's my pettiness acting up. A perceived slight of my pooch is causing such a reaction? Interesting.</p> <p class="cnM1YjM1ZDQ0NDlkYTQ3MzU5NDA2NTVmMDQ5MjQyMGM1" style="text-align: justify">Still, I'm certain such a nightly expedition would prove <em>extremely</em> lucrative. Perhaps I'll sneak off while Amalia is asleep one night and get up to a little mischief. If I have to act like a goody two shoes all the time, I'm going to miss a lot of good opportunities.</p> <p class="cnM5MDk2M2MyNDVhZjQwOTc4ZTQ1NzliNzMxNWFkOWQ0" style="text-align: justify">Well, thoughts for later.</p> <p class="cnM0M2M2NjBiNmYwMjQ0MDc4OGVlYTk3YTIyZjg0Yjlk" style="text-align: justify">Amalia and I spent the afternoon and evening getting more acquainted. I discovered that the mental notifications I'd become so used to were considered 'Divine messages' from the Gods or some silliness. Personally, I was just going to keep calling them the mighty green boxes. It felt more agreeable. Right, even.</p> <p class="cnMzNTNjNWY3MTRkODQxZmRiYmVmZGYzZmUwNTUwNTVm" style="text-align: justify">At least the boxes wouldn't lie to me. Even if they <em>did </em>try to turn my brain into mush. That one was kind of my fault, in retrospect.</p> <p class="cnM1OTc4NDdlYWM3MTRlOWFhODY4YWJmYTc4MTEwYjBh" style="text-align: justify">It would appear that Amalia was supposed to be rather competent for her age. That thought floored me. She went into more depth on the whole 'level' bits and said it was normal for a child to remain level 1 up until their teenage years. A 'right of adulthood' or something. She was only level 5.</p> <p class="cnMzZjQ2ODZjODEzYjQyZjZhMTE4NzMwMDY3OGVmMmE4" style="text-align: justify">This was alarming. When I asked what the average level for humans was, she told me it was only around 10 or so. While this was an <em>enormous</em> relief, I objected and asked why people didn't train their level more. She replied something along the lines of as follows.</p> <p class="cnNkYzM0ZTRlNjE1MTRkNmU5ZjdiOTAyM2Q2MmQ5MDIw" style="text-align: justify">"Why would you, though? That's what the military, magicians and the like are for. Getting Divine messages is hard. There's no point risking your life. The Gods will see to things naturally."</p> <p class="cnM2MjlhNzRhZmEyMTQ5OTJhN2MxMjBmMThjZmE0ZjE4" style="text-align: justify">I wanted to smack her in the face. Perhaps my worldview was twisted, but why <em>wouldn't you</em> want to inflate your numbers? On Earth, money was essentially power. Here, attributes were king. You could never have enough money, so why settle for such little power?</p> <p class="cnMwNDFhNjZhZmM3NjQ3ZjQ5ODRhMWQ0NDlmZjdhZjQy" style="text-align: justify">There was one chord she struck with that reply. 'Why risk your life'?</p> <p class="cnMyZjk4MjU0N2ZkZjRkNWNhMzM1YjAzYWRmZGFjZmZj" style="text-align: justify">This was extremely true. I doubted they could recover from injuries like I could. I was also beginning to suspect there was something abnormal about my growth rate compared to normal humans. While it appeared exceptions existed and there were <em>many</em> stronger people than I, such an abrupt rise seemed odd. I'd have to use Amalia as my training dummy and have her report any 'Divine messages' to me so I could analyze them.</p> <p class="cnNkNjY2MGRhMWVkNDQzMjE5MDk4ZjAwMDkxYTIyYzRk" style="text-align: justify">We spoke more on monsters and the like, as she informed me about Dungeons in this world. Apparently, they did indeed serve as a breeding ground for monsters, and more importantly numerous materials that bolstered the economy. Dungeons were like a double-edged sword that required fine maintenance.</p> <p class="cnMzNTE4MjI4MGNlNTRiYmNiOTk4NzM4ZTljMjcyMGQ5" style="text-align: justify">It was a shame that her knowledge wasn't boundless, so I soon found I'd tapped her well dry on the subject. Once I started asking more in-depth questions, she began giving vague answers, then those turned into 'I don't know's and head-scratchers.</p> <p class="cnNlMGI2ZTFhMzAwYjRiMGViYjM1ZDA4NGVhNjY3NTk3" style="text-align: justify">Well, she's pretty smart for a kid. ... I guess.</p> <p class="cnM4ZDA5ZjQ0ZTZkODQ2MTM4MjBkZWM3OTU5ODZjZTg3" style="text-align: justify">I'll have to raise my evaluation of her a bit more. Seems being a Knight Captain's daughter has some education perks.</p> <p class="cnM3MjVhZDgyZDk2ZTRmMjM4YmUyYWU3NjkwYWNiMmIw" style="text-align: justify">In turn, she asked me a few more questions about myself. I wasn't quite sure how to reply, so I simply told her I didn't know where I was from, but it was surely far away.</p> <p class="cnNkNmQ4YzE1ZWIwZTRhNzdhZTJkMTNlMjA4OTc1ZWE0" style="text-align: justify">One question stuck in my mind. One that I didn't know how to respond to. I simply stayed silent.</p> <p class="cnMxOThhZTI4ZDdhOTRmMzBiYWY2MDQ5OGY5NTZmMjAy" style="text-align: justify">"Do you ever feel really alone, Rozalin?"</p> <p class="cnM3MzU1M2FmNzYxODQ1OTY4MWE1NWQ5ZWRkNTBmMjBm" style="text-align: justify"><em>... Why are you asking me such questions? Does it matter? I don't think so.</em></p> <p class="cnNmZTdkZDJjMjQ1MzQ0OTg5ZjM4Nzc3ODBmNmU0NGY3" style="text-align: justify">The back and forth chattering was taxing. Being so vocal wasn't something I'd normally do. A shame I couldn't just look all this information up online on a convenient Wiki or whatnot. Thankfully, after making large strides distance-wise it was nearly night and she seemed rather exhausted.</p> <p class="cnMwMmIyYTBiYTg1OTQyNjhiYTU4ZjY4MmEwZGZlZjA3" style="text-align: justify">Being a good Samaritan fell upon me. Rather than let her sleep out in the chilly night air, I found a nearby hillside and created a makeshift cave, then gathered numerous leaves off a nearby tree to act as a blanket. After cutting out a round section of wood from an unfortunate tree, I'd created a shabby door.</p> <p class="cnM0OGViYjViNjI2ZjQyMGZiN2Q5YmIwYzEyZTE1YWNj" style="text-align: justify">While I was doing this, she went nearby and gathered some strange purple berries she insisted were edible. While I had mild doubts about her judgment, food was food. I could keep an eye on her body to make sure she wasn't poisoned, so I just dismissed the concerns.</p> <p class="cnNkMmVkZGYwMzY0MzQwNGY5ZjE2OTNiMzhmNDY3YWRk" style="text-align: justify">After 'tucking her into bed', I tried monitoring her body a bit more and applying healing. Nothing of note happened, though my understanding was deepening. Rejuvenation and Detoxification seemed to be becoming more natural to use. I'll keep chipping away at it.</p> <p class="cnNmZjczNWRkMGNiNDRmNjBiNWE2ZTk0YWRkODAzZmM1" style="text-align: justify">After several hours of that, I'd worked more on my bodily control, only to receive a nice boost.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table style="border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); background-color: rgba(56, 118, 29, 1)"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center"><strong>Skill increased!<br></strong>Amorphous Lvl.2 → Lvl.3</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNlMDIzMmIxMGNiYzRiNDA5MDYzYzA4NWRiNGYzNTZh" style="text-align: justify">I'd keep collecting these Skills and level ups. They'd be worth something, someday.</p> <p class="cnM2YjlkODU2NGYxYzQ5OGQ4NTYyZjYzNWE5ZDE3YmUy" style="text-align: justify">I didn't know what awaited the two of us when we arrived in Berrios. Perhaps Amalia would be shunned entirely and we'd end up in the wilds. Perhaps all my plans and thoughts would turn to dust.</p> <p class="cnM2ODNjZmNmYzZhNzQ4M2ZiZDFlOTY5OWVlMTkxN2Iw" style="text-align: justify">Whatever the case, I wanted to be ready. Failure wasn't an option.</p> <p class="cnMyNzljNjkyNDk2ZDQ5MWQ4ZGY3ZDJhMjU5YmIxYzg2" style="text-align: justify">As I lay down in our little cave, strands of moonlight leaked inward and illuminated the bed of leaves. My little wolf-girl was sound asleep, amidst a bed of dirt and plants and all manner of things that <em>shouldn't</em> compose a bed.</p> <p class="cnM2MjIwYjU4NjY5MjQxMzhiZjc2NzgxNmU2ODE0ZjYy" style="text-align: justify">I wasn't satisfied with this. I needed to do <em>better</em>.</p> </div>

I sat in silence. There was a light crackle from the half-extinguished fire. While having a roof over our heads was welcome, there was still a chill to the air. Reggie had come back inside at one point and covered Amalia in a rough, wool blanket. He then went to sleep himself. It was bothersome not being able to communicate with him freely without the aid of Amalia. I suppose I'd just have to make up for it when she woke. Not being able to have my questions answered was causing me to become impatient, yet I could do little aside from pass the time. And so, I did just that. A faint snoring resonated off the wooden walls. It would seem I was now the only one awake. While it could be said this Slime body didn't seem to *require* sleep, not doing so still caused tension to build up in my mind and resulted in sluggishness and fatigue. At the same time, I was beginning to realize how inadequate my Skills were currently. I needed to work overtime. My pace wasn't good enough. Sleep could wait. I continued meditating and using both my Rejuvenation and Detoxification Skills on Amalia throughout the night. It was frustrating, but I didn't seem to be making any further progress. The more I looked and immersed myself into her body, the more I realized how little I understood about this 'magic' nonsense and the human form. I delved as deep as I could below her skin, trying to search out answers. There was a pressure building up in my Core before it finally exploded, like a dam bursting. Realization hit me. There was no point in proceeding further. | **Skill increased!**Rejuvenation Lvl.1 → Lvl.2Detoxification Lvl.1 → Lvl.2 | | --- | Whatever this was, I couldn't heal it. Rejuvenation acted on the body's own ability to heal injury and accelerated such a process. If the body was incapable of thwarting this disease, then there was ultimately no use. Regarding Detoxification, I simply lacked the finesse. If I were able to increase my prowess and knowledge further, it might be possible. But now, ... There was too large a chasm. I couldn't even fathom how I'd bridge this gap. *How vexing.* With a huff, I decided to retire from this pointless endeavor for the night. Amalia seemed to be in ... acceptable health. For now, it didn't feel like I'd make more progress in her recovery nor did she seem like she'd worsen. Over-work or over-practice would diminish results, so I decided to switch away from practicing Rejuvenation and Detoxification. Several hours had already passed. Quietly, I worked my way out from underneath the girl's shaggy mane. There was one thing I wanted to practice that had been bothering me lately. Namely, my ability to control and shape my body. I'd felt like I'd been upon the cusp of some sort of breakthrough lately and wanted to hammer that in while the iron was hot, so to speak. If nothing else, my reaction time would increase. My neglect had created the feeling of my progress lagging behind in this area. While I'd had great success during my incredibly taxing 'Slime Bullet practice', some Skills just didn't seem to 'click' as easily as that one had. In gamer lingo, it seemed I couldn't 'power-level' *all* of my Skills just by using them repeatedly non-stop. Only some of them. Perhaps over-practice with Slime Bullet was why going from level 3 to 4 took exponentially longer than 2 to 3? Or was that just normal the higher the level got? I wasn't sure. Regardless, I spent most of the night reforming my body and attempting to make various shapes and motions. This went on for hours more. By the end of things, if I had sweat glands, then I'm sure I'd be a mess. Tiresome. I took a moment to reflect on my current situation. I'd joked numerous times in the past about how much more I could get done if I didn't need to sleep. Realizing that half-serious remark was an odd feeling. While I doubted I could *mentally* go entirely without sleep, it seemed like a few hours light rest per night was within reach. If I managed to eliminate even that, then ... Hmm. Do normal Slimes have some sort of 'hibernation mode'? It made sense in a way if they were normally under attack and needed to keep semi-aware at all times. I suppose if I ever meet another sentient Slime, I'd have to ask that question. Doubt that'll happen though. Dawn's light shone through the shabby little wooden windows. After a short while, Amalia began to stir. Looking at her sleeping form on the hammock made my Slime curl when I thought about the lack of back support. Better than sleeping on the floor? Barely. As she rubbed her eyes and yawned, I decided to speak up. "Did you sleep well?" She seemed startled for a moment, looking around before spotting me. "Y-Yes, I did. Did you?" *Seriously, **how** do you manage to stutter telepathically?* "I don't need much sleep. I spent the night examining your body instead." "You wh- you what!?" Her eyes bulged. In hindsight, perhaps my wording was a bit strange. Isn't it also her fault for jumping to weird conclusions? *Kids these days* ... "You're still sick. I was trying to treat you but whatever illness you have is beyond me. I'll keep examining you while you're asleep and try to monitor your body. If I practice more, I should be able to fix you." *Probably.* Mentally adding that last part only to myself, she seemed much less alarmed. At the same time, shouldn't she be more worried that she has some unknown illness? I know I'd be freaking out internally. ... *Ah,* I just realized how abysmal my bedside manner is. I need to work on my delivery. I added 'public speaking lessons' to my to-do list. If I was going to act like I knew what I was talking about, I needed to level up my Bullshitting Skill. Considerably. *Hnnh,* why are people so hard to deal with? If only they were as simple as numbers and logic. I hate predicting how they'll react or having to adjust plans based on someone's emotional state. Well, I'm being a bit of a hypocrite so I'll ignore that for now. I looked at my sleepy little companion. It didn't seem wise to keep intruding on Reggie, plus that illness in her bloodstream was bothering me. I hoped a town might have more capable medical staff or knowledge. There was also the problem of finding a reliable source of Level Ups. Still needed to make sure no one tried killing me, too. Dungeons existed, so I wanted to find another one to explore. Or a good place in the wild teeming with easy-to-kill beasts. A village of lightly defended humans or humanoids might be a good option to soak up Exp, so long as it didn't bite me in the ass later, but that was a major **if** and I wasn't particularly inclined to go on a murder spree. Doubly so now that Amalia was present. I needed to show her my good side, after all! ... Or rather, I needed to 'create' a good side to show her. I think I had an 'okay' side at best. Making 'friends' and playing nice is hard. Ugh. "So do you feel better? Ready to continue traveling to this 'Berrios' place?" She continued rubbing her eyes and face. As she coughed lightly, my magical perception clearly picked up the glob of snot threatening to run out her nose. It was becoming apparent that manners and hygiene were a fleeting fantasy in this world. My stomach roiled as she replied. "I do feel better, actually. We should head west along the side path, arrive at the main road and then travel south. It shouldn't be much further." She was saying something important, but my attention was elsewhere. I hopped up onto the hammock, pulling myself up and onto her lap. "Amalia, please hold still for a moment. Hold a deep breath and do not be alarmed. I'm cleaning your nose." I looked up as she tilted her head sideways. The snot, too, jiggled at me. Shortly after shoving a Slime tendril up the girl's nose and cleaning out her nasal passages, I sat back on her lap, gripped tightly by her slender hands. As disgusting as it was, I felt relieved. "Why did you do that!? You could have warned me! I thought you were trying to suffocate me!" Turning the Link off crossed my mind, but getting yelled at by a small child didn't bother me much. I'd let her vent her anger. Not having a snotty little Royal Guard was worth it. "I did warn you very clearly though. Besides, it wasn't like I hurt you. If anything you should thank me for cleaning you up! You can breathe better now, right?" "Who cares about stuff like that!? You're so weird! And no, I *can't* breathe better now. It's like you put some kind of strange perfume in my nose!" Do I have a certain smell? Perfume? They have that here? That's somewhat unexpected. "Oh, so you know what perfume is?" "Of course I do!" she beamed, "My Father bought me a small bottle once on my 8th birthday!" Watching her puff up her chest confused me. What bizarre mannerisms. Why are you so proud of that? I judged that perhaps such a simple luxury was more extravagant than anticipated. This *worried* me. It was good if she had low standards, but at the same time ... *Ugh.* If this entire world is lacking in basic hygiene, I think I'll go mad. I tried to clear my thoughts before replying. "I'm very glad for you. Now, why don't you tell me more about this Berrios place? We need to discuss numerous things before arriving..." I telepathically chatted with Amalia on various topics, including a bit about herself and goals, knighthood, geography, average living conditions and the like. While extremely helpful, it painted a dim picture for this world. Things like running water and irrigation systems existed, but we were essentially out in the boonies, so to speak. Such amenities were scarce out here. From what I could gather, you're either nobility or living in basic housing. With snot in your nose. This won't do. No, nonono, not at all. I'm not living in a house with a bunch of snot-nosed Royal Guards. There will be *standards* set. There will be *beds.* There will be *toilets*. I'll make a damn sewage system myself if I need to! ... Hopefully with magic. Cause I didn't know shit about sewage plumbing or engineering. Pun intended. I sighed, "Why is this world so primitive? Don't you people have *magic* and whatnot? How do you live in such poor conditions? I'd be amazed if people live past 50 years, let alone 100." If there were a sturdy wall, I'd smack myself off it. Amalia interrupted my mental complaining, "Why do you do that?" "Do what?" I asked, lazily directing my attention back to her. "Why do you keep talking about such strange things? You ask incredibly difficult questions on topics no one normally thinks about, then in the next breath display absolutely no common sense. How do you know so much and so little at the same time?" *Huh. Didn't expect that one to come out of her mouth.* "That's ..." "Rather than a monster, you act more like those scholars and historians Father would converse with. How old are you? Are you from another land? Did you travel here from afar? Why has no one heard of monsters like you before?" "I'm, uh ..." *Shit.* Why is she looking at me like that? When did she get so sharp? While I wasn't planning on hiding my origins, now I'm a bit worried there's something I'm not aware of. Did other people like me exist in this world? Was there some sort of taboo or stigma with people from other worlds, or whatever? Ahh, this is problematic. When in doubt, deflect! "Aren't you being a bit forward? There are certain things I'd rather not talk about. While I don't mind telling you once we get to know each other better, my past is ... saddening and I don't want to bring such thoughts up if it can be helped. I hope you'll forgive me." *Perfect!* Make her feel unsure, play the sympathy card and state I'll answer at a later time. *Hmhmhmm!* That way I can learn more before opening my big mouth. "Th-That's ... I'm sorry, you're right. The things you've said made me curious and I was out of line. I apologize, Rozalin." "O-Oh. Well, as long as you understand, it's fine." I nodded. Damn. Now I feel kinda bad for some reason. When did I turn into a slick con artist that manipulates little girls? Next, I'll be stealing her candy and getting a police task force after me for some child slavery ring. As potentially lucrative as that may be, I'm gonna have to put an age and height requirement on future Royal Guards. Reggie's shuffling interrupted my already sidetracked thoughts. Seems ape-man slept enough. He has risen! We all ate a small breakfast of some brick-like bread and more meat. Reggie gave us some direction, telling us which path to follow and where it would lead. The thought of staying longer quickly disappeared. He wasn't tossing us out, but the topic of staying just didn't pop up. No, we'd be on our own again. *Huh.* 'We'. Gonna have to get used to that one. Amalia and I discussed our plan of action and then set off. Before leaving, Reggie gifted me with a large helping of Thunderbear scraps. As I looked at the remains laying on a table in his rear shack, I felt a bit queasy. That wasn't enough of a deterrent, as once I put the grotesque scenery out of mind and focused on possible gains, I began salivating. *Heheh, this is gonna be good.* –Devour! | **Skill unlocked!**Lesser Vitality Lvl.1 Acquired! | | --- | | **Attribute increase!**Strength - 25 → 27Vitality - 33 → 35Intelligence - 28 → 29Wisdom - 21 → 22Dexterity - 27 → 28 | | --- | *Mmphf!* This is-! Gods, that is some freakin' tasty bear! Crackling with flavor, with a hint of rough gaminess. The way it melts in your slime, leaving behind a warm, full sensation! *Ohh, yeah~* This is good stuff. I quickly eyed the new Skill description while wallowing in the meaty flavor. | **Lesser Vitality Lvl.1 - Passive**Increases effect of the Vitality Attribute by 5% + (1%*Skill Level). | | --- | That's ... both bland and disappointing. Seriously, where's the Thunderbolt attack? I want to shoot lightning at mine enemies! Fry all present before me to a toasty crisp! Do some neat light shows! Or something like that. Was I expecting too much? I feel so cheated after nearly getting zapped to death. *Ehhh*, whatever. After examining my newly acquired Skill, I turned around to find Amalia and Reggie looking at me with disgusted looks on their face. Reggie seemed mildly off put, while Amalia looked like she was going to lose her lunch. "What? Haven't you seen a Slime eat before?" "If that's how you eat, please don't do that in front of me anymore," she replied weakly. "If it bothers you that much, I'll try to refrain?" I mentally sighed at my Royal Guard's weak constitution but figured it was understandable. She was still a work in progress. Watching a bear's head and whatnot dissolve in front of your very eyes was rather ... morbid. "Putting that aside, tell Reggie thank you for the assistance and we wish him well. We'll try to return the favor in the future." The three of us chatted for a bit longer before departing. There was a woodland path Reggie suggested we use. After we made some distance from his house, I forced myself under Amalia's clothing despite some weak protests. Part of the reason we'd been attacked initially by that Thunderbear was because I had been poking my head out. I'd rather not take my chances a second time. The weather was beginning to warm up, and after a short while, we stumbled upon what was apparently the 'main road' leading into Berrios. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. "So Amalia, you seem hesitant that they'll let you become a Knight for some reason. Is there a reason? You should have more confidence." Truly, I meant what I said. Doubting yourself was counter-productive. I knew that ... very well. "That's ... the thing is, legally ... I'm not officially a citizen of Brita." "You shouldn't let such a minor thin– excuse me, can you repeat that? You cut out." I nearly slipped off her torso out of shock. The heck!? *I'm traveling with ... a refugee?* "There is a loophole in the law. My mother fell short of citizenship, and I'm not officially a citizen of Brita until my 16th birthday. If they scrutinize my application too much, I'm afraid ..." She grit her teeth and stared downward while walking. Alarm bells were now going off in my head. There were signs previously, but didn't this technically mean she could be deported? Or ... how would her stateless status apply here? I didn't know the laws of this land. This was an important bit of information! Hey, seriously! "O-Oh. Well, I'm sure with me here we'll be able to figure something out regardless. They can't kick you out of the country or anything, can they?" I asked hesitantly. "No, but it also means I'm not eligible for any state benefits and can't own land or property in cities, among other things. Applying for work is also ..." *Ah, fuck. This is a problem.* I'd planned on having all our finances done through Amalia's name for now. While it sounded like there was an issue with her inheritance, I didn't realize just how deep this ran. Shit! Just another thing I'm going to have to figure out. I spoke a few more words of comfort as my mind kept trying to evaluate how this would alter my plans. Granted, my plans were pretty shaky as-is but this was just fueling the inferno. "Well, there's nothing to be done about that now. We'll figure it out. Besides, your citizenship is official when you turn 16, yes? I'm sure there are things you can do until then. Let's just focus on getting to Berrios." With a sigh and turbulent mind, we continued our journey South. Occasionally we'd stop and take a break. I helped Amalia hunt one of those strange horn-rabbit things. While I was curious if anything would happen if I Devoured it, she seemed to need food much more than I needed a potential stat point or new Skill of questionable usefulness. Next time, little rabbit ... you will become my dinner. I swear it. A shame I wasn't able to find another, but the journey was relatively lacking in excitement. Just the way I liked it. There were a few caravans passing us both ways, at which point Amalia normally bowed towards them then made way off the road. More than a few armored guards and coaches sent derisive glances her way. Something felt ... odd about those scenes. It made me want to eat their entire cargo in the dead of night. Ah, there's my pettiness acting up. A perceived slight of my pooch is causing such a reaction? Interesting. Still, I'm certain such a nightly expedition would prove *extremely* lucrative. Perhaps I'll sneak off while Amalia is asleep one night and get up to a little mischief. If I have to act like a goody two shoes all the time, I'm going to miss a lot of good opportunities. Well, thoughts for later. Amalia and I spent the afternoon and evening getting more acquainted. I discovered that the mental notifications I'd become so used to were considered 'Divine messages' from the Gods or some silliness. Personally, I was just going to keep calling them the mighty green boxes. It felt more agreeable. Right, even. At least the boxes wouldn't lie to me. Even if they *did* try to turn my brain into mush. That one was kind of my fault, in retrospect. It would appear that Amalia was supposed to be rather competent for her age. That thought floored me. She went into more depth on the whole 'level' bits and said it was normal for a child to remain level 1 up until their teenage years. A 'right of adulthood' or something. She was only level 5. This was alarming. When I asked what the average level for humans was, she told me it was only around 10 or so. While this was an *enormous* relief, I objected and asked why people didn't train their level more. She replied something along the lines of as follows. "Why would you, though? That's what the military, magicians and the like are for. Getting Divine messages is hard. There's no point risking your life. The Gods will see to things naturally." I wanted to smack her in the face. Perhaps my worldview was twisted, but why *wouldn't you* want to inflate your numbers? On Earth, money was essentially power. Here, attributes were king. You could never have enough money, so why settle for such little power? There was one chord she struck with that reply. 'Why risk your life'? This was extremely true. I doubted they could recover from injuries like I could. I was also beginning to suspect there was something abnormal about my growth rate compared to normal humans. While it appeared exceptions existed and there were *many* stronger people than I, such an abrupt rise seemed odd. I'd have to use Amalia as my training dummy and have her report any 'Divine messages' to me so I could analyze them. We spoke more on monsters and the like, as she informed me about Dungeons in this world. Apparently, they did indeed serve as a breeding ground for monsters, and more importantly numerous materials that bolstered the economy. Dungeons were like a double-edged sword that required fine maintenance. It was a shame that her knowledge wasn't boundless, so I soon found I'd tapped her well dry on the subject. Once I started asking more in-depth questions, she began giving vague answers, then those turned into 'I don't know's and head-scratchers. Well, she's pretty smart for a kid. ... I guess. I'll have to raise my evaluation of her a bit more. Seems being a Knight Captain's daughter has some education perks. In turn, she asked me a few more questions about myself. I wasn't quite sure how to reply, so I simply told her I didn't know where I was from, but it was surely far away. One question stuck in my mind. One that I didn't know how to respond to. I simply stayed silent. "Do you ever feel really alone, Rozalin?" *... Why are you asking me such questions? Does it matter? I don't think so.* The back and forth chattering was taxing. Being so vocal wasn't something I'd normally do. A shame I couldn't just look all this information up online on a convenient Wiki or whatnot. Thankfully, after making large strides distance-wise it was nearly night and she seemed rather exhausted. Being a good Samaritan fell upon me. Rather than let her sleep out in the chilly night air, I found a nearby hillside and created a makeshift cave, then gathered numerous leaves off a nearby tree to act as a blanket. After cutting out a round section of wood from an unfortunate tree, I'd created a shabby door. While I was doing this, she went nearby and gathered some strange purple berries she insisted were edible. While I had mild doubts about her judgment, food was food. I could keep an eye on her body to make sure she wasn't poisoned, so I just dismissed the concerns. After 'tucking her into bed', I tried monitoring her body a bit more and applying healing. Nothing of note happened, though my understanding was deepening. Rejuvenation and Detoxification seemed to be becoming more natural to use. I'll keep chipping away at it. After several hours of that, I'd worked more on my bodily control, only to receive a nice boost. | **Skill increased!**Amorphous Lvl.2 → Lvl.3 | | --- | I'd keep collecting these Skills and level ups. They'd be worth something, someday. I didn't know what awaited the two of us when we arrived in Berrios. Perhaps Amalia would be shunned entirely and we'd end up in the wilds. Perhaps all my plans and thoughts would turn to dust. Whatever the case, I wanted to be ready. Failure wasn't an option. As I lay down in our little cave, strands of moonlight leaked inward and illuminated the bed of leaves. My little wolf-girl was sound asleep, amidst a bed of dirt and plants and all manner of things that *shouldn't* compose a bed. I wasn't satisfied with this. I needed to do *better*.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkZjE0MTNiOTA3OTRkMWM4ZDllMGQyOTdiN2FiMDQ5"> </p> <p class="cnM1ZjJmNDE0MTBkMDQ4YTc5YjExYzgyMzJlM2ZjZWY3">I took a breath. It’s one thing to be worried about a possibility, and another when it’s there in front of you.</p> <p class="cnNiNWU0YmNjNDc1NjRjOGJiODE0MmIxY2I0NjUwZTcz">“They’re printing out everything Hal gave us. I don’t know what they’re planning to do with it, but they’re involved somehow. Do you know what to do? It’s not like I’m going to go over there in armor and beat them up.”</p> <p class="cnNmMGUyY2M4Mjc2YjQwMzU4NGM2ZDNjNTM5YjI1NDI5">Haley took her eyes off the screen to say, “I don’t know either. Could you tell Agent Lim?”</p> <p class="cnNjODM0ZTA5YzNjODRmMjJiM2FiOTU3YTI4NDZhMTQ2">“I could, but I think he’s home for the weekend, and anyway I doubt he’d be able to get anyone to do anything soon enough.”</p> <p class="cnNhOTRhNmRiMzdkODRkNDI4ZmUyZWVlMjllNTdhZGI5">I checked the screen, noticing that the document was still printing, glancing over toward Gordon and Stephanie’s section of the screen to learn that they were still going at it. Their clothes were still partially on, probably because they knew they could be interrupted at any moment.</p> <p class="cnM2ZmQ1NGRhZWY0YTQ1YzJhOTk0ODVlNTI5MWJmN2I1">All the same, I had a better view of Gordon’s butt than I ever wanted.</p> <p class="cnM4YjY4YTU5MzRlOTQ1OGE4ZDI5MmUwODM1MDllYTA3">The idea of shooting off a bunch of explosive roachbots, “accidentally” destroying the computer and printer, and pretending it was a misguided Fourth of July celebration passed through my head.</p> <p class="cnM5MmM1ZTdhMzRmNjQ4YzI4MGYyZTY1NzZlYzk2NzZm">I didn’t do it. Some things are such obviously bad ideas that you don’t even try.</p> <p class="cnMzZTUwYmQyNTQxMzRmZTVhNWZkOGUyY2Y1M2Q4Y2Vl">What I needed to do was to preserve the evidence of whatever they’d done, and I didn’t have access to Stephanie’s account. Dr. Nation, Technomage or somebody similarly brilliant had set up the network.</p> <p class="cnM1NjgyOTQ1OGZlZDQ2Njc4ZDI1YmNhZmE3YzMzOGUy">You didn’t leave something like that to your average computer networking guy when you knew a bunch of tech geniuses would be its main users.</p> <p class="cnM0MWQ5ZjMzZjU1ZTQzZWJhNzAyNDkxYjhmYzM2Yjc3">“Here’s a crazy idea,” Haley said, “you could walk over and ask them. They might not even know where it came from.”</p> <p class="cnNiYzU3NWY0YmQ3OTQxOGFhYTQ2NzIyYzQyMzIwZDZi">I shook my head. “No, I checked the League’s mail server just now. The email went to Stephanie’s account.”</p> <p class="cnMwZTU1Njg0Y2Q2NDQzZTliYmJjNDlhZjMxMTQwZGJi">I pointed at the text box I had open. It showed the sent mail log.</p> <p class="cnMxNjg5OTJiNjZkYjQ3YTM5NDFlOWE1MDA3NTNmMzk3">Glancing at it, she wrinkled her nose. As her eyes returned to her side of the screen, she whispered, “Whatever you’re going to do, do it now. I think they’re done. Their heartbeats are slowing down.”</p> <p class="cnMxYWZiZjMwN2EwZTQ2MjQ5NmU2ZDJmMGFhMjA0OThl">I pulled out my League phone, and called Dr. Nation. Actually, I texted him first, but when he texted back that he was up, I called him.</p> <p class="cnM5MjZkM2I1YTYyMzQ1NDA5ZTM2Y2E0MTdlYzEzOTcy">“I shouldn’t be up,” he said when he took the call. “What’s going on?”</p> <p class="cnM1ZDUxMmZmN2FiYzQ4YTU5YWE2ZDU3NzEyZDM2ZjRk">On the screen, Stephanie and Gordon were fully clothed and she sat on his lap in one of the chairs. The printer was still going.</p> <p class="cnM4NmQ4NTFhNTdjNjRiMjNiNzE1ZjJkZTY0MzM3N2Zj">How could I pass on the essential details? “We’re in the tech labs. Stephanie’s printing out files that someone got from Vaughn through enchantment. We’re trying to find out how.”</p> <p class="cnM2NTc1MDhmNjk1MjRhNzA4Y2YyMzU5MDhjYjEyNGE4">A pause.</p> <p class="cnM4YzE1YzNjMDE5YjRjMzk4ZTU2M2UzYjM3NmM3Njkz">Slowly, he asked, “What kind of files?”</p> <p class="cnM4ZDEyODYxZTk5MzRhMWY5OTY1YTg0YmY0NjIzNmE3">Knowing that this was the point where I could be getting myself in trouble, I said, “An analysis by the jet’s AI about how to overthrow the Turkmenistan government, and lots of secret information. Daniel’s dad was okay with us gathering the information. We weren’t going to go forward without permission. The jet threw in the analysis on its own.”</p> <p class="cnM3OWJkNDNmMDY0NjQ4YWM4MjE2MmI1ZTMzOTYyZjM0">A much longer pause, and the picture on my computer froze. At the same time, the printer stopped printing.</p> <p class="cnM0YTIwZDdiZTg0YTQ0MmRhNmY4NzBmYjZjOGU2ZDc4">“I’ll be down shortly.” Then he hung up.</p> <p class="cnNhNTkyMWFiOGFiMTQzNjI4NWE1ODA4YTA2ZTVlMDRk">Haley frowned. “Something moved inside the doors to the hall. We can’t leave.”</p> <p class="cnMzNDA4OTEwODk4MjQyNTNhNDJhNzYyNmRjNGViMWNh">“Huh.”</p> <p class="cnM3N2Q0NzM4OWMxNzQ0NjY4YWE2MWM4YjE4ZDg5YjIx">“<em>And</em>, they just realized they aren’t alone.”</p> <p class="cnM2YjQ3MTYyZDdjMDRjMjRiNjlhODZhZTU5NmM2NjQw">I checked my handheld roachbot controller. Gordon was pointing out of the doorway at an angle. Thinking about the layout of the room, I knew he was pointing at my lab. I’d only turned on one light—the lamp next to the computer. Haley might be able to work in the dark, but I couldn’t.</p> <p class="cnNkNmNkZjgwMDljOTQ4Y2U5YWU0ZWM5ZDc4Mjc3NDkw">It looked like we’d get to talk to them after all.</p> <p class="cnNiNTcwODMyZTMwNTQ5Y2Y4ZTkzMzIxYWNhZmZkODhj">The next few seconds were the longest seconds I’d experienced since fighting Gordon’s brother.</p> <p class="cnMyMDUyMDVjNjE5ZDRjZTk4YjMwYWZmOTMwZWM0MDZm">A roar as I felt air move reminded me of the sound of Vaughn’s flight.</p> <p class="cnMyZTE0ODY2Zjk3ZjRkYzU5MzUxNzk4ZmM5OTU4NDUx">Gordon and Stephanie landed in front of my lab’s doorway. Stephanie’s foot hit the ground hard, and she glared at him even as she adjusted more quickly than I could have, rolling on the ball of her foot, and spreading out the force.</p> <p class="cnNlNmRhZTY1MjIyYzRlNTk4YzdmNWNhNTM0ZTI5Mzkw">I knew she could do more than simply think. I didn’t know exactly what, but I had guesses.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmU2ZTc1YWUxNTQ1NmM4NDA2ZTM0N2VmNmZkNzcw">Gordon said, “Sorry.”</p> <p class="cnM3ZDM1NWI5MWYxYTQ4MGI5Y2FhMTQxODM2M2U2NDk1">She frowned. “You need to be more careful.”</p> <p class="cnM3NThjMmZjYWJkYzRmNTJiODRkYTcwNGYyMzllMGJm">Gordon nodded, and walked through my doorway. Objects around the room rattled, as a small wind blew around the room. Stephanie followed, showing a hint of a limp.</p> <p class="cnNjYWUwYjc4OWUxYTQxNzk4N2MyYjg5M2ViZDMxNTVh">Gordon’s gaze took in both Haley and I. “How long have you been here?”</p> </div>

I took a breath. It’s one thing to be worried about a possibility, and another when it’s there in front of you. “They’re printing out everything Hal gave us. I don’t know what they’re planning to do with it, but they’re involved somehow. Do you know what to do? It’s not like I’m going to go over there in armor and beat them up.” Haley took her eyes off the screen to say, “I don’t know either. Could you tell Agent Lim?” “I could, but I think he’s home for the weekend, and anyway I doubt he’d be able to get anyone to do anything soon enough.” I checked the screen, noticing that the document was still printing, glancing over toward Gordon and Stephanie’s section of the screen to learn that they were still going at it. Their clothes were still partially on, probably because they knew they could be interrupted at any moment. All the same, I had a better view of Gordon’s butt than I ever wanted. The idea of shooting off a bunch of explosive roachbots, “accidentally” destroying the computer and printer, and pretending it was a misguided Fourth of July celebration passed through my head. I didn’t do it. Some things are such obviously bad ideas that you don’t even try. What I needed to do was to preserve the evidence of whatever they’d done, and I didn’t have access to Stephanie’s account. Dr. Nation, Technomage or somebody similarly brilliant had set up the network. You didn’t leave something like that to your average computer networking guy when you knew a bunch of tech geniuses would be its main users. “Here’s a crazy idea,” Haley said, “you could walk over and ask them. They might not even know where it came from.” I shook my head. “No, I checked the League’s mail server just now. The email went to Stephanie’s account.” I pointed at the text box I had open. It showed the sent mail log. Glancing at it, she wrinkled her nose. As her eyes returned to her side of the screen, she whispered, “Whatever you’re going to do, do it now. I think they’re done. Their heartbeats are slowing down.” I pulled out my League phone, and called Dr. Nation. Actually, I texted him first, but when he texted back that he was up, I called him. “I shouldn’t be up,” he said when he took the call. “What’s going on?” On the screen, Stephanie and Gordon were fully clothed and she sat on his lap in one of the chairs. The printer was still going. How could I pass on the essential details? “We’re in the tech labs. Stephanie’s printing out files that someone got from Vaughn through enchantment. We’re trying to find out how.” A pause. Slowly, he asked, “What kind of files?” Knowing that this was the point where I could be getting myself in trouble, I said, “An analysis by the jet’s AI about how to overthrow the Turkmenistan government, and lots of secret information. Daniel’s dad was okay with us gathering the information. We weren’t going to go forward without permission. The jet threw in the analysis on its own.” A much longer pause, and the picture on my computer froze. At the same time, the printer stopped printing. “I’ll be down shortly.” Then he hung up. Haley frowned. “Something moved inside the doors to the hall. We can’t leave.” “Huh.” “*And*, they just realized they aren’t alone.” I checked my handheld roachbot controller. Gordon was pointing out of the doorway at an angle. Thinking about the layout of the room, I knew he was pointing at my lab. I’d only turned on one light—the lamp next to the computer. Haley might be able to work in the dark, but I couldn’t. It looked like we’d get to talk to them after all. The next few seconds were the longest seconds I’d experienced since fighting Gordon’s brother. A roar as I felt air move reminded me of the sound of Vaughn’s flight. Gordon and Stephanie landed in front of my lab’s doorway. Stephanie’s foot hit the ground hard, and she glared at him even as she adjusted more quickly than I could have, rolling on the ball of her foot, and spreading out the force. I knew she could do more than simply think. I didn’t know exactly what, but I had guesses. Gordon said, “Sorry.” She frowned. “You need to be more careful.” Gordon nodded, and walked through my doorway. Objects around the room rattled, as a small wind blew around the room. Stephanie followed, showing a hint of a limp. Gordon’s gaze took in both Haley and I. “How long have you been here?”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwNWQyZGY4ZmQzMjQ1ZWFhZmU2MTVhZGYyMGE1YjRh"><strong>Chapter 11: I’m Home</strong></p> <p class="cnM1NDcwMWM2NDQzYzQwYzE5MDY3OWIwZWNjMmI1ZDNj">Thirty minutes after Theo and Shirley left the street.</p> <p class="cnNhNDE2MGY0YmVmNzQ2MzM4NDk5YWQ3ODdiYTMyMjEy">The house party was still going strong, but a few people were already starting to leave. Amidst the flashing lights and booming music, the front door of the three-story house suddenly flew open. A handsome youth with slicked black hair walked out into the cold night air.</p> <p class="cnNiNWNhOGJiZDFhNDRkNmM5YmIzNzg2MTRhZjMxZDc4">Sharp, cat-like eyes and a lean, athletic frame. He wore a pale-yellow, button-up cardigan. The cardigan looked rather expensive, but right now, it was stained with various splotches of beer, sweat, and other unknown liquids.</p> <p class="cnMyMmQ1MTkzODZmMDQ1NDBiZTdhZGZhM2Y1ZTY2OTQ1">The sound of clicking leather echoed through the wind. The man laughed uproariously, his flushed face contorting into a hazy smile. His laughter was followed by a fit of giggling, the latter of which originated from the two women clinging to both his arms.</p> <p class="cnM1ZDVmMGM2NzkwMTQ5NWRiNjI3ZmJlMTI3ZmI3NDM4">As they made their way down the front steps, the man suddenly frowned. It felt as if there was an itch in the back of his head that he simply could not scratch. He looked around the surroundings. Something was off, but he couldn’t quite tell what.</p> <p class="cnM1ZTk5ZTIyN2E1ODRkNDU5N2U3ZDgyYzNiYWY4YTZh">After a few seconds, he realized everything was too quiet.</p> <p class="cnNiNWZkOWIwNTczMzRjZTY4MTRlYTU5MWEzODIzN2Qx"><em>Where is that buffoon, Mattie? Shouldn’t he be guarding the front entrance?</em></p> <p class="cnM3Yzk1ODllMGUxMDQzZTVhNjk2NjBjZTc2MDIyZWUw">He guided his girls and continued walking for a while. Eventually, he stopped in the middle of the driveway. Almost at the same time, another group of men exited the house.</p> <p class="cnMxNzBkY2JmNjU3MDQ5YjU4ZDU4OGJiYWFmNDZhMGI3">They were not as handsome, nor as nicely dressed as the man in yellow. Instead, they sported rough appearances, with arms riddled in tattoos and faces covered in scars. Naturally, they were the guys working for the man in yellow; his underlings.</p> <p class="cnMxMzhjY2M5ZGEyYTQ1NDk5ZWMxYjQ2Mjc3NjA5Mzlh">“Boss!” A short youth with a crewcut waved at the man. With his beady eyes and slightly hunched posture, he somewhat resembled a weasel. Despite his shifty appearance, the short youth was actually the leader of these group of men. “You haven’t left yet, let me take you home.” He happily offered, while at the same time, he pulled out an unlit cigarette from his back pocket. With a snap of his finger, another subordinate handed him a lighter. “Here Boss, a smoke.”</p> <p class="cnNmZWEwYjA0N2EwZjRhYTI5ZTcxYTFmY2Y4OTA5OWE4">The weasel-like youth thought himself quite good at his job. He was thorough in his research and even better at sucking up to people. For instance, he knew for a fact that this boss of his enjoyed smoking cigarettes after drinking alcohol. That was why he came prepared.</p> <p class="cnM4MGU1MzJkNjhmNjQ3ZmVhMjljNmFlMTViZDdkOWM3">It was with this sort of devotion that he managed to rise up in rank, despite being physically weaker than any of the men that he commanded.</p> <p class="cnM2MzQwNTgyZGYyYTQ2NmI4MDEwOTVkOWYwOTYzNzhl">“Shut up for a second.” Contrary to his expectations, the man in yellow harshly rejected. He ignored the weasel-like youth’s distraught expression and instead, concentrated on the rest of his surroundings. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness of the night, he scanned the street for anything that might calm the uneasiness in his heart. Half a second later, his face darkened.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2RmZjBjN2IwMDQyMTBhYjY4OTI3MjIwNTFlNzUy">He had spotted his men. They were knocked out cold, their bodies sprawled all over the concrete.</p> <p class="cnMzODY1NGM5NGFhMTRiMGE5ZTliNGIwOTVmMDlmZDc0">He shook off the girls that previously clung to his arms and hurriedly walked over towards the scene of the crime. The weasel-like youth also noticed the change in his boss’s countenance and did not dare to delay any longer. He quickly led his guys and followed after the boss.</p> <p class="cnMzYzZiYTA4ZjY0MTRhNjNhZWQxYWY2ZmI0ZThkMTM3">What they saw caused their eyes to widen in shock.</p> <p class="cnMzMGI3NDcwZjYwMTQxMmJiYmY5ZjUzZjYwZjRlN2Rl">“What the fuck happened?”</p> <p class="cnMzMGUzN2FiZjE5NzQ5OThhNTk1OGFlZWVmY2I5ZGE1">“All of them are unconscious…”</p> <p class="cnM5YWQzYmMwZjZjMDRjNDViYTczMDkyOWEyZDFlMjAx">“Was it a rival gang?”</p> <p class="cnM1OTI3MGU5NjVlZDQ1ZGRhYWI2MTExY2Q4MzQ5MmI1">“Are any of them dead?”</p> <p class="cnNlOGUyMzRjN2NhMDRiNjJiNTI2ZmQ2YmJkYWYwMDJl">“Who did this?”</p> <p class="cnM0NTczNWQwYzcyYTRjMzRhZDY0MzllMzRmNjA5Mjky">One of the men walked up to the largest body, before he suddenly jumped back in fright. “What the hell, who is this guy!? His face is all deformed and mushed together. He looks no different from a pig!”</p> <p class="cnMxNTc3YWY1NWZjOTQyZDRhZjkzMmVlZDA4YzhiNjdj">“Dude, I think that’s Mattie.”</p> <p class="cnNjOGEwODFkY2QzMjQ5MGI5ZTU0ZjM1OGJjZTE2MjY2">“Mattie? No way!”</p> <p class="cnNkYWE3ZWRjMjAyOTQxMzJhMjI5YTFkNzJjMTA3MmMz">“They fucked him up real good, man.”</p> <p class="cnNmODYyY2YwZTIwMDQ2YjM5ODIyMzJiOTQ4MDJlODAy">The weasel-like youth ran up to his boss, a worried expression scribbled all over his face. Seeing the chilling light in his boss’s eyes, he knew that he had been truly angered. He hesitated for a moment, but before he could say anything, the man in yellow suddenly spoke up.</p> <p class="cnM5YmUzMzJkZTQ2MTQ4ZWE4NDUxMzFjNGU3NGIwNGI2">“Was it the guys from East Alley?” He asked. East Alley was the name of an upstart gang based somewhere around Oceanview District. Despite its infancy, it had already managed to carve itself a sizable portion of Harwick’s criminal underworld. Compared to the real overlords of the city, they were still relatively weak, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in individual strength and recklessness. Lately, they’ve been giving his gang a fair bit of trouble.</p> <p class="cnMxNWZmZmQ0MjRiYTQ5OGM4NDE5NmQzNjAzY2VmNTdh">The weasel-like youth shook his head. “I got the boys to check the bodies. No one’s dead, but everyone’s been knocked out. We can’t confirm or deny it’s them, but… I don’t think it's them.”</p> <p class="cnNiYTZiNDgwZTUyYzRiMDU4NWRmMDQwNDlhNGFlNWY5">“Why?” The man in yellow asked.</p> <p class="cnMyMjMxY2RkNTFlODRmZGE5YzRiY2UxOTFlYTZlNWVk">“Because those guys from the south don’t really have the capital yet to fight with us in our own turf. Maybe in a few months, if we’re going by their current growth, but not now at least.” He hesitated for a moment, before he continued, “Their courage comes from their familiarity with the streets that they control. Without them, they wouldn’t dare rear their heads against our Pit Cobra gang. Plus, I’ve been keeping tabs on their actions. Up until now, there’s been no signs of movement. If it really was them, then they sent a damn good assassin.”</p> <p class="cnM2MjZhNzM1ZmY0MzRlNDI5YWQyM2QwZjVkZTJiOTEx">The man in yellow slightly nodded his head. He sank into silence for a few seconds, before he asked, “If it wasn’t them, then who was it?”</p> <p class="cnM1N2YzZDc0ZTZjZTQwOWRhNmNjYTE1ZDhhZWYyYWY1">“That… we really can’t tell, Boss.” The youth was helpless. He really didn’t know what to do in this sort of situation. Just as he was worrying, something happened within the group previously inspecting the bodies.</p> <p class="cnMzOTY0ZGFjOTMyNDQ4MjhiMDg5ZjBjNjQxYjdmNjM3">“Boss, someone’s waking up!” someone called out.</p> <p class="cnNjZTYwZWM4ZmY3YzQyYmU5YTRhNzkzYTk1NzdlODY4">The duo stared at each other for a moment, before they quickly made their way to the source of the commotion.</p> <p class="cnNjMTNkMGI5MWY4ZDQ2NDRiZTE4ODg4YTcxNGNjYWQ3">There, they watched as a skinny man with a blonde mohawk slowly regained his conscious. The weasel-like youth recognized him. He was the guy that was supposed to be in charge of the group that watched over the front yard.</p> <p class="cnNlMTBhNTBlOWQwODQ2MTg5NGEzYjgyNTZlN2VlZGUz">“Uughh…” A throaty groan leaked out from Blond Mohawk’s lips.</p> <p class="cnM0ZDExYzEyNTI2ZjRmNGJhZWQyOTk0MjIxYmVjZTky">Without hesitation, the weasel-like youth ran up to him and suddenly kicked out. A steel-toed boot sank into his stomach. A guttural scream echoed through the air.</p> <p class="cnM3YWE4M2Y5MGU0NTRlYWQ5NmVmNDBkMjY3YmNkYjE3">“Get the fuck up!” The weasel-like youth roared. “Explain what the fuck happened here!”</p> <p class="cnMyMGU5NzhhZTk3ZjQ0M2JiNzVhYjgwZTgxNTQ2MmQ3">The man in yellow watched all this from the sidelines. His eyes narrowed, while a suppressive atmosphere leaked out from his body.</p> <p class="cnM4MDZiZTI5YmQ4NDRkNTliMzAzOWY4MGI3OTA4MDk0">“Ah, don’t blame me, Boss! It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me!” Despite the pain, Blonde Mohawk instantly groveled for forgiveness, even going as far as kissing the boot that had just kicked him in the stomach.</p> <p class="cnNhM2Q0NDQxODA0YzQ0OWI5NWY0YzRkZmU0NzQwZTky">“You…” The weasel-like youth was angered by his display. Just as he was about to send out another kick, a hand suddenly grabbed onto his shoulder. It was the man in yellow.</p> <p class="cnNlMjdmMzg3OTIzNjRhMTA4YzVlNmQyOWFlYmVjM2Fj">“Alright, that’s enough.” He coldly spoke. “Tell me what happened.” </p> <p class="cnNkZDQ3ZThkOWJiMDQ1NzI4NmMxN2I4ZWIyY2EyYzk3">“Ah, thank you Big Boss, thank you!” Blonde Mohawk breathed out a sigh of relief. He was just about to start another round of ass kissing, when the Big Boss suddenly frowned. “Ah no, wait. I’ll tell, I’ll tell, Big Boss I’ll tell, so don’t…”</p> <p class="cnM2ZDAxYzJhMjBlOTQ5ZDhhNmU0NDA4ZTExNDg0Njcz">“On with it already.”</p> <p class="cnM4YTExNjMwYzFlNTQyNTNhZWNhZDFjZjRjNjNlNzli">“Yes, yes, it was… it was…” Blonde Mohawk hesitated for a moment. He briefly debated whether or not he should lie, but upon seeing the Big Boss’s chilling expression, he ultimately squashed that thought. He gritted his teeth and ‘truthfully’ explained what happened, “The situation was as follows…”</p> <p class="cnNhMWRkZGZhOTEzYzQ3NzNiMjcxOGM3NTdhYmVlODUx">After Mohawk finished his explanation, he looked up at the Big Boss with an aggrieved expression. He tried emphasizing just how brutish and cunning Theo had been, while also maximizing his own favor by exaggerating his own deeds. Of course, The man in yellow saw through all of it.</p> <p class="cnNhNGIwZjIyNWZkYTQxNTM5ZDQyOGQ3NzE1Yzk0NzI0">His face darkened. He stood in silence for a long while, before he suddenly asked in a low voice, “So, you’re telling me that all of you lost to some high-school punk?”</p> <p class="cnM2NTk1MmU4MGRlYTQ5MjE5NTc0MDZmYzQxOGRlOWE1">“Well, technically yes, but that’s not quite right either.” Mohawk awkwardly explained. “He… he really was vicious! He possessed the strength of five, no, ten men! The only reason why I got knocked out was because he took me by surprise. If it had been a fair fight, then I would have skewered him by now! And also, he—he wasn’t alone… someone, there was someone with him.”</p> <p class="cnM1YzAwNDQ4NTFiMzQxN2NhYjQ0NjdhY2Q3MTE2ODFi">“And that someone is the chick you were trying to pick up?” The man in yellow furrowed his brow. He did not care for his excuses.</p> <p class="cnM4ZGZmMTk3OTIxMzRlYjNhOGU5ZjdlZWNmNzhhMjQw">“… um… yes…”</p> <p class="cnM0MmE2M2EyNTEzODQzNDhiNDY5YjE5MDUyNTdmZWJi">His face was expressionless. After a short pause, he asked, “What did they look like?”</p> <p class="cnMwNWFlNjFkMTlmYTRlYTZiY2Q1OTEwNTE3OTNmNzdj">“I, the girl had her face covered the entire time, so I don’t know.” Mohawk carefully explained. “But she… she was ugly! Like really ugly, like a pig in the body of a woman! Well, probably…”</p> <p class="cnM0ODYxZjUzMDc3MTQwOWI4NWZlMWM1NjY3MmY1YjIy">“And what about the guy?” This time, it was the weasel-like youth who urged him on.</p> <p class="cnM3ZjhkY2U3YWY5ODQwMTJiOThhMjk1OTBmMmY2NTFk">“Well, about him… he was wearing a tracksuit. His face, I can’t really explain it. It was sort of plain, like unnoticeable… with, with eyes and a nose.”</p> <p class="cnNmMTk1ZjVlZGEwMzQ2YTZhMGExNDBkNjEyYjQ0Yzgw">“With eyes and a nose…” The man in yellow’s eye twitched. “Are you fucking with me?”</p> <p class="cnM2YzFjYmI5MTkxNjRmM2Y4OTM2MDExYTdhMmEzYjZm">“No, Big Boss.” Mohawk was lost in his own little world. He did not notice his big boss’s darkening expression and instead, began what he considered to be a very thorough explanation. “He really did have eyes and a nose, also a mouth too.”</p> <p class="cnNiOTBhNGZhMGRjZjQ3YzhiZjU1NzlmMmIwMThmNWRj">For a moment, silence, before the man in yellow nodded. “Alright, that’s enough, I think I got it.”</p> <p class="cnM4YmIyMDU2N2FkYzQ5NDhiOTI5ODM2Yjc1YWJkNmEz">Mohawk’s face brightened. He looked up with a hopeful expression. “Then… you get it, right boss? It wasn’t my fault at all!”</p> <p class="cnM2YTM3YjM0ODQwZDQxMDQ5OTEyNzQxMmM2MjJmOTI3">Instead of answering, the man in yellow simply waved his hand. Seeing this, the weasel-like youth shouted towards his group of men. “Fuck this dumbass up! How dare he cause our Pit Cobras to suffer such a loss!”</p> <p class="cnMwYzg2NjU1YmMzMTQ2Zjk4YmJkZGNhY2FlMzc2N2Rk">“Yes, Boss!” The men screamed in unison before they rushed towards the clueless Mohawk. Before he could even process what was happening, the men pushed him to the ground and immediately started kicking. After half a minute, a puddle of blood slowly formed on the concrete pavement.</p> <p class="cnNmMTEwZjk1NzFiNTQ0ZTFiZjJlZWMxNmM0ZGQ2NjBl">“Playing games with me like that, piece of shit!” The man in yellow spat out as he stalked back over towards the driveway. He was heading in the direction of a certain silver sports car. Just then, the weasel-like youth hurriedly ran up to him.</p> <p class="cnNkODk0ZTk0NzEzNDQyZTY4OTk5MGYxYTJiOWU0OGRm">“Boss, what should we do about this?” He worriedly asked.</p> <p class="cnM3MDdjZTVlYTAyZTRhMDRhNWVhZThkYTAzMzU0YTFj">He was silent for a moment, before he responded, “When the rest of the guys wake up, ask them about the attacker. For now, notify those we have stationed at the schools. Quicken the plan. Recruit more able-bodied men. We need fresh blood if we’re going to settle things with those buffoons from the south. Also, crack down on the students. Extortion isn’t enough anymore. Grab a few girls to sell. Don’t avoid the teachers either. If they get in the way, then deal with them too.”</p> <p class="cnNkMjY3OTU5M2NiZjQ1ZGQ5MWE2OTAxMTRiZmYzZWNh">“But, is that really such a good idea?” The weasel-like youth worriedly asked. “We’re already causing a lot of attention as is. What about the police? If we really do that much, no matter how many cops we pay off, even they’ll be forced to deal with us.”</p> <p class="cnM2NDE1NWU5OTZkMDQ2ZWI5ZjlhYzdkM2Y4YmIwZTk5">“Don’t worry about that. The Boss is already working on it. If anything, the more mess we cause, the better it will be for him.”</p> <p class="cnNlMjNhZWQyOGM4NjQ1NjRiOTM3YzkxOTc1YzA1Njg1">“The Boss…” The weasel-like youth’s eyes sparkled. To his underlings, he was the boss, and his boss was their big boss. Boss’s boss, in other words, his big boss… to guys like Blonde Mohawk, he was their big big boss. It was a bit confusing, but essentially, the big boss was the true leader of the gang.</p> <p class="cnM2ZjY0ODFhYTg2YzRlMzQ5MmI1NGUwZDI0NzYyMTRm">The little group that he led around only consisted of a small group of drop-outs and students, while the man in yellow merely controlled the surrounding area. As for the Big Boss, he was the one that actually owned the real gang. If this was really a part of the big boss’s plan, then he could only try his hardest.</p> <p class="cnMzNjEwMWE5MjlhYTQ5Nzc5OTY0OGFiMjU5OTgyMDMz">Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned back around to the man in yellow. “And what about the assailant?”</p> <p class="cnNiMmJlOGFmOWVlYTRhODc5NjUyYzdkZTFmZTQ1MTkw">“I’ll leave that matter to you, Weasel.” The weasel-like youth’s nickname was actually Weasel. “Don’t recklessly pursue though. For now, just monitor the situation. We don’t have enough clues yet. Gather intel first.”</p> <p class="cnNlOThkNTI3MDc0YTQ0MTk4MjZjYTFiMjE3NGNhYWEw">“But where should I start?” Weasel asked.</p> <p class="cnMzMDU1NDk5NTM5YTRjOTdiZTM2ZWEyZTMyMGM3YTdh">He thought about it for a moment. “Wasn’t he wearing a tracksuit? Find out if it belongs to a certain school, then go from there.” The man in yellow coldly looked at the mess of people still sprawled on the street. “Anyone who dares to mess with me won’t have a good ending.”<br> </p> <p class="cnMyZTg4MjE2MGVjZDQ3YTliOGY1OTRlMDQ2MmFhNmQy">****</p> <p class="cnNhYTc0OTZhZjIwZjQ3Yjc5N2Q4ZmZlOTBjNzk2Yzk0">“Make sure to call me later tonight, okay?” Shirley reminded him for what felt like the umpteenth time.</p> <p class="cnNhMGM0Mjc0ODI3OTQwM2FiNTAxYTU2MGYzM2FlZDEy">“Alright, alright. I already agreed, didn’t I?” Theo replied. “No matter how many times you repeat it, nothing will change.”</p> <p class="cnM1YzIzZWYxZjU0ZjQ3NDk5MjQ2Y2NmNjE0YTE2NzRj">They stood in front of a gated two-story house. Shirley was one step past the gates, yet she was reluctant to leave. She bit her bottom lip for a moment, before she suddenly said, “No, never mind. I’ll be the one to call, so make sure you pick up, got it?”</p> <p class="cnMwNDAzOTk5NDU4MzQwNDBhZjk0MjRhZDI5NzY5YzRl">“In the first place, I don’t even have a phone. How will you call?” He helplessly said.</p> <p class="cnNiM2Y5YWQyMDEwNTRkMDU5MjE3NjViOWFkYzQ3ZTU5">“Doesn’t your house have a landline! If that doesn’t work, there’s always Aunt Lynn. Hmph, don’t make up so many excuses!” She grumpily scolded him</p> <p class="cnMxY2MzYmExMmE1ODQ2OWI5NDQ2OGU0NzkxY2ZiYjRk">“Alright, I get it. Sorry. You’ll call me, and I’ll pick up, okay?”</p> <p class="cnNlOWNlZjA3MzZmNzRmODNhN2I3M2I4ZDhjM2Q5NDZj">“Seriously, Theo. You better respond!” She continued. “If you don’t, I’ll, I’ll… I’ll sneak into your room at night and make sure you’re still there myself!”</p> <p class="cnM1ODk2NGVhNzk0OTQyMjVhNWY4ZWZkOGNjYzRkNjcz">An odd smile floated to his lips. He played with the idea of inviting this girl into his bedroom, but ultimately shook his head. It was a tempting offer, but something like that required time and care, it couldn’t just be done on a whim. Still, he secretly reminded himself to keep the windows unlocked tonight.</p> <p class="cnMwNWY1MGFkNTJiMjRlMmRhMzc2NTgzZTAyNTE2YjU2">“Okay, I get it. No need to make threats that tempting.” He chuckled out loud. “Go already, I can’t leave until I see you walk through those doors.”</p> <p class="cnNjMWY2MTIwNDc1ODRjMjk4Y2U2ODlmODA0ZTY5MzUx">With his reminder, Shirley eventually left. She opened her front door and disappeared inside. After the door finally closed shut, Theo let out a sigh. He looked up at the night sky for a moment, before he continued walking. His place was only a few houses down from Shirley’s. After a while, he spotted a certain house.</p> <p class="cnMyNDRiNjk5ZjIzNDRlNTU5YTNlYjE0MDFjNWY4NDA4">The third building down from the street. A neatly trimmed yard, a cobblestone walkway, and a red tiled roof. It was all there. It was all identical to his memories. It was his home.</p> <p class="cnNmZWU1YTliOGQxMTQyZDViZjRkZDY1MjMxNDgxMWEz">Theo felt nervous. His shoulders slightly trembled, while his breathing quickened. What would it be like? Who would answer the door? Would she still be there? Even after Shirley’s confirmation, doubt still colored his heart. All these thoughts and more buzzed through his head.</p> <p class="cnM2M2M4N2UxM2Y5NDRmODA4ZjkyZGQxODdmOGFiOWZl">He must have blacked out or something, because before he even realized what had happened, Theo was already standing in front of the door. He took a deep breath, and forcibly calmed his nerves. After a few seconds of silence, he rang the doorbell.</p> <p class="cnM0MGE4NDAxMjIxMzQ0ZjU5NGQwMDBiNzkzYjUwZmVm">He waited in anticipation. Thirty seconds passed, before he rang the bell again. This time, he heard noises. Someone was making their way towards the door. A slow shuffling. Through the stained-glass window on the door’s surface, he could barely make out a person’s blurry silhouette. It looked somewhat familiar, but Theo did not dare to guess who it was.</p> <p class="cnNkYzA2YmQzMmRhZTQ1ZjY5N2QxNTc5YzQ4OTQxYmM0">Shortly after, the door opened.</p> <p class="cnM3YThmMTlmMGNiODRiNzVhNTU1YjEwMTFmYmZmNDg3">In that moment, time froze.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDA0ODg2NTMxOTQ5NjRiNWNhNjlkMGM0NWY1Mjdk">“Who are—” Her words abruptly ended, as her eyes widened. “…Theo?” Despite his disheveled appearance, she had instantly recognized him.</p> <p class="cnM1ZGNjNDJhZGExYjRmNmNiMWY5MjhhYjM3NGNlM2M4">Still, her words did not even register in his mind. Theo was in a state of shock. He absentmindedly stared at the beautiful woman before him.</p> <p class="cnNlYTUyMTNiYzZkNzQ3MzI4YjY0M2VlNTk5ZDNiNmYz"><em>She hasn’t changed at all. She looks the same as when I first left.</em></p> <p class="cnNjMzA3ZmI4OGU4OTQ2YTI4M2E5ZGUyOTdlM2YyMTIw">An oval-shaped face and a head of unkempt black hair tied into a sloppy ponytail. A mole right beneath her left eye, almost identical to his own. Pale skin and vibrant emerald eyes. She did not have any makeup on. In the first place, she didn’t need any. She wasn’t the type to put in any extra effort towards her appearance, yet that did not impede on her beauty.</p> <p class="cnNlNTYwZTg4MjA5ZDQ4MGRiZTMzMjg0YWI3MmVjODAy">A thin waist and shapely hips. Her greatest assets were the ones on her chest, although her butt wasn’t bad either. He knew from experience that not only was she gifted with good genetics, she was also a part of the rare few who actually enjoyed exercise, which greatly helped maintain her current figure. </p> <p class="cnNiMjhiNTRmMDM1ZTQzMzY5MTE2ZWQ1NmI3NGFkOWI3">Strands of loose hair fell and covered a portion of her forehead. A laced black choker was wrapped around her slim neck. It was intricately designed and parts of it were semi-transparent.</p> <p class="cnNjNWZkMjQ3MWY0NDQ1ZDQ5NDJiNTRjMjJjNWFhNDY0">Theo briefly recalled her fondness for chokers. In fact, he had a bit of a weak spot for girls in chokers, and most of that was because of her.</p> <p class="cnMwYTljMDg0YTE3YzQ5OGU4NGM1MDkxYTcwN2UxZTg3">The one she currently wore was actually something that he had given her for her birthday over a year ago. Originally, he gave her a dog collar as a sort of gag gift, and although seeing her pissed off expression was nice, it did not beat the genuine smile she showed him after she had received her real present.</p> <p class="cnNlN2E2YWM3MDgxNzQ0Mzg4ZGUyYzFjYTZhNWI0MWJl">The two stared at each other for what felt like eternity. After a while, the woman by the door snapped out of her daze. She parted her lips to say something. At that moment, her eyes suddenly twitched. Her nose wrinkled, while her face paled.</p> <p class="cnM3Y2FjNjY5ZjMzNDQwMzA4NzY0ODA1NWEwODg3ODlj">She vomited all over the front porch.</p> <p class="cnM4Mzc0OTZmZGI5ODRlNTJhODA2ZDk2MjE4YTNiZmVm">Seeing such an all too familiar scene, Theo unconsciously smiled.</p> <p class="cnNmZmEzODJmZGI1ZjQxZDY5NWY4NDVmODU5ZmQyNmNk">“I’m home.” He finally spoke out the words that he had not spoken in over twenty-five years.</p> </div>

**Chapter 11: I’m Home** Thirty minutes after Theo and Shirley left the street. The house party was still going strong, but a few people were already starting to leave. Amidst the flashing lights and booming music, the front door of the three-story house suddenly flew open. A handsome youth with slicked black hair walked out into the cold night air. Sharp, cat-like eyes and a lean, athletic frame. He wore a pale-yellow, button-up cardigan. The cardigan looked rather expensive, but right now, it was stained with various splotches of beer, sweat, and other unknown liquids. The sound of clicking leather echoed through the wind. The man laughed uproariously, his flushed face contorting into a hazy smile. His laughter was followed by a fit of giggling, the latter of which originated from the two women clinging to both his arms. As they made their way down the front steps, the man suddenly frowned. It felt as if there was an itch in the back of his head that he simply could not scratch. He looked around the surroundings. Something was off, but he couldn’t quite tell what. After a few seconds, he realized everything was too quiet. *Where is that buffoon, Mattie? Shouldn’t he be guarding the front entrance?* He guided his girls and continued walking for a while. Eventually, he stopped in the middle of the driveway. Almost at the same time, another group of men exited the house. They were not as handsome, nor as nicely dressed as the man in yellow. Instead, they sported rough appearances, with arms riddled in tattoos and faces covered in scars. Naturally, they were the guys working for the man in yellow; his underlings. “Boss!” A short youth with a crewcut waved at the man. With his beady eyes and slightly hunched posture, he somewhat resembled a weasel. Despite his shifty appearance, the short youth was actually the leader of these group of men. “You haven’t left yet, let me take you home.” He happily offered, while at the same time, he pulled out an unlit cigarette from his back pocket. With a snap of his finger, another subordinate handed him a lighter. “Here Boss, a smoke.” The weasel-like youth thought himself quite good at his job. He was thorough in his research and even better at sucking up to people. For instance, he knew for a fact that this boss of his enjoyed smoking cigarettes after drinking alcohol. That was why he came prepared. It was with this sort of devotion that he managed to rise up in rank, despite being physically weaker than any of the men that he commanded. “Shut up for a second.” Contrary to his expectations, the man in yellow harshly rejected. He ignored the weasel-like youth’s distraught expression and instead, concentrated on the rest of his surroundings. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness of the night, he scanned the street for anything that might calm the uneasiness in his heart. Half a second later, his face darkened. He had spotted his men. They were knocked out cold, their bodies sprawled all over the concrete. He shook off the girls that previously clung to his arms and hurriedly walked over towards the scene of the crime. The weasel-like youth also noticed the change in his boss’s countenance and did not dare to delay any longer. He quickly led his guys and followed after the boss. What they saw caused their eyes to widen in shock. “What the fuck happened?” “All of them are unconscious…” “Was it a rival gang?” “Are any of them dead?” “Who did this?” One of the men walked up to the largest body, before he suddenly jumped back in fright. “What the hell, who is this guy!? His face is all deformed and mushed together. He looks no different from a pig!” “Dude, I think that’s Mattie.” “Mattie? No way!” “They fucked him up real good, man.” The weasel-like youth ran up to his boss, a worried expression scribbled all over his face. Seeing the chilling light in his boss’s eyes, he knew that he had been truly angered. He hesitated for a moment, but before he could say anything, the man in yellow suddenly spoke up. “Was it the guys from East Alley?” He asked. East Alley was the name of an upstart gang based somewhere around Oceanview District. Despite its infancy, it had already managed to carve itself a sizable portion of Harwick’s criminal underworld. Compared to the real overlords of the city, they were still relatively weak, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in individual strength and recklessness. Lately, they’ve been giving his gang a fair bit of trouble. The weasel-like youth shook his head. “I got the boys to check the bodies. No one’s dead, but everyone’s been knocked out. We can’t confirm or deny it’s them, but… I don’t think it's them.” “Why?” The man in yellow asked. “Because those guys from the south don’t really have the capital yet to fight with us in our own turf. Maybe in a few months, if we’re going by their current growth, but not now at least.” He hesitated for a moment, before he continued, “Their courage comes from their familiarity with the streets that they control. Without them, they wouldn’t dare rear their heads against our Pit Cobra gang. Plus, I’ve been keeping tabs on their actions. Up until now, there’s been no signs of movement. If it really was them, then they sent a damn good assassin.” The man in yellow slightly nodded his head. He sank into silence for a few seconds, before he asked, “If it wasn’t them, then who was it?” “That… we really can’t tell, Boss.” The youth was helpless. He really didn’t know what to do in this sort of situation. Just as he was worrying, something happened within the group previously inspecting the bodies. “Boss, someone’s waking up!” someone called out. The duo stared at each other for a moment, before they quickly made their way to the source of the commotion. There, they watched as a skinny man with a blonde mohawk slowly regained his conscious. The weasel-like youth recognized him. He was the guy that was supposed to be in charge of the group that watched over the front yard. “Uughh…” A throaty groan leaked out from Blond Mohawk’s lips. Without hesitation, the weasel-like youth ran up to him and suddenly kicked out. A steel-toed boot sank into his stomach. A guttural scream echoed through the air. “Get the fuck up!” The weasel-like youth roared. “Explain what the fuck happened here!” The man in yellow watched all this from the sidelines. His eyes narrowed, while a suppressive atmosphere leaked out from his body. “Ah, don’t blame me, Boss! It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me!” Despite the pain, Blonde Mohawk instantly groveled for forgiveness, even going as far as kissing the boot that had just kicked him in the stomach. “You…” The weasel-like youth was angered by his display. Just as he was about to send out another kick, a hand suddenly grabbed onto his shoulder. It was the man in yellow. “Alright, that’s enough.” He coldly spoke. “Tell me what happened.” “Ah, thank you Big Boss, thank you!” Blonde Mohawk breathed out a sigh of relief. He was just about to start another round of ass kissing, when the Big Boss suddenly frowned. “Ah no, wait. I’ll tell, I’ll tell, Big Boss I’ll tell, so don’t…” “On with it already.” “Yes, yes, it was… it was…” Blonde Mohawk hesitated for a moment. He briefly debated whether or not he should lie, but upon seeing the Big Boss’s chilling expression, he ultimately squashed that thought. He gritted his teeth and ‘truthfully’ explained what happened, “The situation was as follows…” After Mohawk finished his explanation, he looked up at the Big Boss with an aggrieved expression. He tried emphasizing just how brutish and cunning Theo had been, while also maximizing his own favor by exaggerating his own deeds. Of course, The man in yellow saw through all of it. His face darkened. He stood in silence for a long while, before he suddenly asked in a low voice, “So, you’re telling me that all of you lost to some high-school punk?” “Well, technically yes, but that’s not quite right either.” Mohawk awkwardly explained. “He… he really was vicious! He possessed the strength of five, no, ten men! The only reason why I got knocked out was because he took me by surprise. If it had been a fair fight, then I would have skewered him by now! And also, he—he wasn’t alone… someone, there was someone with him.” “And that someone is the chick you were trying to pick up?” The man in yellow furrowed his brow. He did not care for his excuses. “… um… yes…” His face was expressionless. After a short pause, he asked, “What did they look like?” “I, the girl had her face covered the entire time, so I don’t know.” Mohawk carefully explained. “But she… she was ugly! Like really ugly, like a pig in the body of a woman! Well, probably…” “And what about the guy?” This time, it was the weasel-like youth who urged him on. “Well, about him… he was wearing a tracksuit. His face, I can’t really explain it. It was sort of plain, like unnoticeable… with, with eyes and a nose.” “With eyes and a nose…” The man in yellow’s eye twitched. “Are you fucking with me?” “No, Big Boss.” Mohawk was lost in his own little world. He did not notice his big boss’s darkening expression and instead, began what he considered to be a very thorough explanation. “He really did have eyes and a nose, also a mouth too.” For a moment, silence, before the man in yellow nodded. “Alright, that’s enough, I think I got it.” Mohawk’s face brightened. He looked up with a hopeful expression. “Then… you get it, right boss? It wasn’t my fault at all!” Instead of answering, the man in yellow simply waved his hand. Seeing this, the weasel-like youth shouted towards his group of men. “Fuck this dumbass up! How dare he cause our Pit Cobras to suffer such a loss!” “Yes, Boss!” The men screamed in unison before they rushed towards the clueless Mohawk. Before he could even process what was happening, the men pushed him to the ground and immediately started kicking. After half a minute, a puddle of blood slowly formed on the concrete pavement. “Playing games with me like that, piece of shit!” The man in yellow spat out as he stalked back over towards the driveway. He was heading in the direction of a certain silver sports car. Just then, the weasel-like youth hurriedly ran up to him. “Boss, what should we do about this?” He worriedly asked. He was silent for a moment, before he responded, “When the rest of the guys wake up, ask them about the attacker. For now, notify those we have stationed at the schools. Quicken the plan. Recruit more able-bodied men. We need fresh blood if we’re going to settle things with those buffoons from the south. Also, crack down on the students. Extortion isn’t enough anymore. Grab a few girls to sell. Don’t avoid the teachers either. If they get in the way, then deal with them too.” “But, is that really such a good idea?” The weasel-like youth worriedly asked. “We’re already causing a lot of attention as is. What about the police? If we really do that much, no matter how many cops we pay off, even they’ll be forced to deal with us.” “Don’t worry about that. The Boss is already working on it. If anything, the more mess we cause, the better it will be for him.” “The Boss…” The weasel-like youth’s eyes sparkled. To his underlings, he was the boss, and his boss was their big boss. Boss’s boss, in other words, his big boss… to guys like Blonde Mohawk, he was their big big boss. It was a bit confusing, but essentially, the big boss was the true leader of the gang. The little group that he led around only consisted of a small group of drop-outs and students, while the man in yellow merely controlled the surrounding area. As for the Big Boss, he was the one that actually owned the real gang. If this was really a part of the big boss’s plan, then he could only try his hardest. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned back around to the man in yellow. “And what about the assailant?” “I’ll leave that matter to you, Weasel.” The weasel-like youth’s nickname was actually Weasel. “Don’t recklessly pursue though. For now, just monitor the situation. We don’t have enough clues yet. Gather intel first.” “But where should I start?” Weasel asked. He thought about it for a moment. “Wasn’t he wearing a tracksuit? Find out if it belongs to a certain school, then go from there.” The man in yellow coldly looked at the mess of people still sprawled on the street. “Anyone who dares to mess with me won’t have a good ending.” **** “Make sure to call me later tonight, okay?” Shirley reminded him for what felt like the umpteenth time. “Alright, alright. I already agreed, didn’t I?” Theo replied. “No matter how many times you repeat it, nothing will change.” They stood in front of a gated two-story house. Shirley was one step past the gates, yet she was reluctant to leave. She bit her bottom lip for a moment, before she suddenly said, “No, never mind. I’ll be the one to call, so make sure you pick up, got it?” “In the first place, I don’t even have a phone. How will you call?” He helplessly said. “Doesn’t your house have a landline! If that doesn’t work, there’s always Aunt Lynn. Hmph, don’t make up so many excuses!” She grumpily scolded him “Alright, I get it. Sorry. You’ll call me, and I’ll pick up, okay?” “Seriously, Theo. You better respond!” She continued. “If you don’t, I’ll, I’ll… I’ll sneak into your room at night and make sure you’re still there myself!” An odd smile floated to his lips. He played with the idea of inviting this girl into his bedroom, but ultimately shook his head. It was a tempting offer, but something like that required time and care, it couldn’t just be done on a whim. Still, he secretly reminded himself to keep the windows unlocked tonight. “Okay, I get it. No need to make threats that tempting.” He chuckled out loud. “Go already, I can’t leave until I see you walk through those doors.” With his reminder, Shirley eventually left. She opened her front door and disappeared inside. After the door finally closed shut, Theo let out a sigh. He looked up at the night sky for a moment, before he continued walking. His place was only a few houses down from Shirley’s. After a while, he spotted a certain house. The third building down from the street. A neatly trimmed yard, a cobblestone walkway, and a red tiled roof. It was all there. It was all identical to his memories. It was his home. Theo felt nervous. His shoulders slightly trembled, while his breathing quickened. What would it be like? Who would answer the door? Would she still be there? Even after Shirley’s confirmation, doubt still colored his heart. All these thoughts and more buzzed through his head. He must have blacked out or something, because before he even realized what had happened, Theo was already standing in front of the door. He took a deep breath, and forcibly calmed his nerves. After a few seconds of silence, he rang the doorbell. He waited in anticipation. Thirty seconds passed, before he rang the bell again. This time, he heard noises. Someone was making their way towards the door. A slow shuffling. Through the stained-glass window on the door’s surface, he could barely make out a person’s blurry silhouette. It looked somewhat familiar, but Theo did not dare to guess who it was. Shortly after, the door opened. In that moment, time froze. “Who are—” Her words abruptly ended, as her eyes widened. “…Theo?” Despite his disheveled appearance, she had instantly recognized him. Still, her words did not even register in his mind. Theo was in a state of shock. He absentmindedly stared at the beautiful woman before him. *She hasn’t changed at all. She looks the same as when I first left.* An oval-shaped face and a head of unkempt black hair tied into a sloppy ponytail. A mole right beneath her left eye, almost identical to his own. Pale skin and vibrant emerald eyes. She did not have any makeup on. In the first place, she didn’t need any. She wasn’t the type to put in any extra effort towards her appearance, yet that did not impede on her beauty. A thin waist and shapely hips. Her greatest assets were the ones on her chest, although her butt wasn’t bad either. He knew from experience that not only was she gifted with good genetics, she was also a part of the rare few who actually enjoyed exercise, which greatly helped maintain her current figure. Strands of loose hair fell and covered a portion of her forehead. A laced black choker was wrapped around her slim neck. It was intricately designed and parts of it were semi-transparent. Theo briefly recalled her fondness for chokers. In fact, he had a bit of a weak spot for girls in chokers, and most of that was because of her. The one she currently wore was actually something that he had given her for her birthday over a year ago. Originally, he gave her a dog collar as a sort of gag gift, and although seeing her pissed off expression was nice, it did not beat the genuine smile she showed him after she had received her real present. The two stared at each other for what felt like eternity. After a while, the woman by the door snapped out of her daze. She parted her lips to say something. At that moment, her eyes suddenly twitched. Her nose wrinkled, while her face paled. She vomited all over the front porch. Seeing such an all too familiar scene, Theo unconsciously smiled. “I’m home.” He finally spoke out the words that he had not spoken in over twenty-five years.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkNDhkMjE3MDE3MjQyZTA4ODgxZDQxNzJjODNiM2Fj">“An eagle type demon…Member of Ras clan, huh? Interesting, I thought I made sure that every member of that clan had perished. It seems I was not thorough enough.”</p> <p class="cnM2ZDQ4MWY3YTk4NzRhMWI4Y2FlNzQ0MmVkN2Y2NTFk">Shengyn shrugged his shoulders and sighed.</p> <p class="cnMxNDQ2YmI2ZmU2NzQxYjE5NTcwMzNkY2Y4N2I3MTUx">“You have led humans to attack my home, destroyed my clan, and slaughtered my family. That night, I barely managed to survive, but I remembered your face, yes, that face I have dreamed so long to squash into pieces…”</p> <p class="cnM3MzJjZGUxMmZkYzQwMWU4OTkwZmQ4MDdlYzJmODBl">A blue eagle type demon, with a burned scar upon the left side of her face, Kokjan Ras was facing off against him.</p> <p class="cnM4YTRjMmYxYWNlMzRlZWFhYThhM2E1YzhlZTZhMTRj">Now she pointed her left index finger towards Shengyn.</p> <p class="cnNmMzc5NzgxMTEyNjQ2NTZiNTJlODk0MjQ5MTM0MDMy">“You killed my father, 56^th Demon King, Akil Ras!”</p> <p class="cnM2YjZjN2VmYWIzZTQ2MTdhZjUwZjE0YzlkNmI3M2Uz">Now, Shengyn’s lips twisted into a snake-like smile.</p> <p class="cnM3OGFlMWY5Y2RmMzQzNjk4N2M5ZTAxNmZjNWM5Yzc0">It was as if he was mocking the demon that came here for vengeance.</p> <p class="cnNjNDgzNDc4ZWUwZjQ2ZTRiZDA4NDE4ZjdlZDllOWQz">“I see” Kokjan’s hands clenched into fists.</p> <p class="cnNiMTkzYWQ4ZWI3ZjQyYmM4NzMzNWZjMjE4Yjg0MTE0">“I shall avenge my clan, my family, and my father. I shall let them rest in peace by sending you to your grave.”</p> <p class="cnNlOTNiMzJiYWNiMzQwMTU4ZmQxNjI1NDVlMTdlYmIw">The gigantic wall of water behind her now swirled into tentacle-like extensions. It was obvious, she was here to fight.</p> <p class="cnMyODVmNGNlOTcxMDQ5Y2E5NTI1N2ZiZDJlMjEwNDRi">“Or I will send you to yours” Shengyn calmly walked towards his enemy.</p> <p class="cnMzODNhNjJlNWIwMzRmMTc5M2NlOTRlYWMyOGYxNmI3">Immediately, Kokjan began her attack, by shooting jets of water towards Shengyn, who proceeded to skillfully dodge each one of the pressurized water streams.</p> <p class="cnNjMTBlMDcyZmQwMTQ1MzBiMDBkYzU3YzY2MDNmMzVl">He dodged one, jumped over one, and rolled over to avoid water blasts.</p> <p class="cnMyMjgzZTcyYTRhOTQ2MzNiZWQyZGE1NjQzOTRkOGE4">Making sure to avoid every obstacle in front of him, Shengyn confidently marched on towards his foe, but a few steps before he could reach her, he sensed danger lurking behind his back.</p> <p class="cnNhN2NlNjM1OTI3MzQyZGQ4OTlmMjA4MTM2NTRlNTY3">A gigantic wave of water appeared right behind him out of nowhere.</p> <p class="cnNkZTRkYWYwYWIzOTQxNzNiNzE2YmU0NTM4YTBhNDg1">‘I see, so those water blasts were not meant to incapacitate me, but recombine into a sneak attack from behind, clever girl.’</p> <p class="cnMwODc0NDQxZTY4NzQ0Nzk4MmJiYzYyODBhMTY1NmY4">Shengyn couldn’t help but compliment his opponent for her strategy, many of his foes preferred to use brawn rather than brains, which is why having a challenging opponent was a rare treat.</p> <p class="cnMxNTJiNzBmYmIzYzQ1MmNiMTcyZDBmMGRlN2ZkZmJj">Big wave was too close to avoid and with the mana sealing cuffs on, he could not access his demon eyes or any of his magic.</p> <p class="cnNkMmYzZjc1OTZiYjQzYzlhN2U1ZDM2NDdkZjNmOWMx">Collision was unavoidable.</p> <p class="cnNhNDk0ZjA0ODNhMTQ2OTFhM2Q0OTcyNWNmY2NkNDRm">SPLASH!!!!</p> <p class="cnM3MDJmZTJjZWZiNzQ0NjQ4MDliOGM1MTg0YjgzOTY2">“YOUNG MASTER!!!” Shaula screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw ‘Ren’ engulfed by a small lake’s worth of Holy Water.</p> <p class="cnM1NTA3M2JhOTIyMjQ4YjJhOGI4M2NjODhiYWY5MjY3">“As such, my vengeance is complete.” Kokjan finally beamed a confident smile. She was sure ‘Ren’ had no way of avoiding being killed by Holy Water.</p> <p class="cnNhZWQ2MDdkNjM0MzRiNWU5YmE2OTZiOWEzMzlhZGNi">“At last, Father, I have avenged you!”</p> <p class="cnM4MDM2MjE3ZTZkZjQzMDlhZTk2Y2I0OWYwNGU0ZjE0">“Young master…no…” Shaula’s hands were trembling as she was looking down towards the ground, thinking that ‘Ren’ has perished.</p> <p class="cnNhZmJjMmM0MjIwNzRkZmViOWUwNjIzZGY5NWMzZmZk">“Well, water does not taste any better than before if you ask me…”</p> <p class="cnMxNTgwMjliZGI2ZTQwMTc4OTdjMzRlZTdmOTZlMzcz">To her horror, Kokjan heard a voice sound out.</p> <p class="cnNkYzJhYTc1ZDlkMDRiNDNhYzM5NDVhN2UxMDJiYWFj">There he was, her enemy, drenched from head to toe in Holy Water, but otherwise completely unharmed.</p> <p class="cnM3OTQ4NTAwNjk3MDQyNzI5ZDMzN2QwN2MxMmRhNTdk">“Impossible, you should be dead! Why aren’t you dead!?”</p> <p class="cnM5NDEyNGEzN2UyMDQ3MGE4YTBmN2Y0MzQwMzZmNDI5">Ordinarily, a demon would receive massive damage just by touching Holy Water, and ‘Ren’ ended up in contact with so much Holy Water that it should have dissolved him outright.</p> <p class="cnM4NWQ2Yzc1N2NjNjQwNDI4MmQ3YzNlZjRmYzI3NWNi">Kokjan herself was very vulnerable to Holy Water, making sure to not let it touch her when she used her mana to manipulate it.</p> <p class="cnM4MDFiODViZmVlZTQ3ZjZiM2FjM2ZkZjM3ZWQ1ZmM1">“I can ask you the very same thing, but that will not get us anywhere, will it?”</p> <p class="cnM3ZWUwZTliMjc2ZjQ0NTI5NDE4NzYyZGYzYzkxNDFj">As he slowly walked towards his foe, Kokjan manifested swirling disks of water and proceeded to launch them.</p> <p class="cnM5OWU2NDVlYjIxMTRjZmFiMjlmYmUwODM0MjM0ZDVj">Each one could cut down a tree with ease in one shot, yet Shengyn easily dodged each one of her water disks.</p> <p class="cnM5MWU0YTY0MzUyNDQ3OTZhMDQzMDIwZWEyMzg0MzYz">Kokjan now began a barrage of attacks, but Shengyn simply kept dodging them while walking forward with the same bored expression.</p> <p class="cnM1ZThlZTA3OGY0YTQwMzY5MmMzZWM5ZDQ0OTE0Mjc2">“Come forth, my water dragon!” Kokjan attempted to use the superior version of Level 5 Spell: Water Serpent.</p> <p class="cnMwYjIzMGRiNGQ5MjQ0ODRhMWE5YjNiNzkzNzkxZGZk">Only a single water dragon could be made with this spell, unlike the water serpents where she could manifest multiple at the same time, but what it lacked in quantity, water dragon made up in quality.</p> <p class="cnMyMWM0N2U3ODQxMDQ4Yzg5YjFhZTA1ZGVlMzJkM2Yz">It consumed a huge amount of mana, but Kokjan did not care, if it could get the job done, so be it!</p> <p class="cnM0NTg3ODc5OTEzOTQ3Zjk4MDE4MTZhODFiMTk2Y2Y1">A gigantic water dragon with a head of three meters in diameter, manifested, it proceeded to immediately attack Shengyn, intent on cutting through him with its razor sharp claws and teeth.</p> <p class="cnM1ZTJhNjgyNTkwZTQzMzNhZTkyOGEwMGViMDUwYmIw">“I suppose it is time for me to get a little serious.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZDJkYWRiMWIyZjQ5OGZhOGE0MDZiNmI3ZGUyOTEx">Right before the water dragon hit him, Shengyn extended his right hand in front of him.</p> <p class="cnM2NDEyZWExYTY2NTRlNmRiYTMwMzhhY2IxYzAwMDRm">Instead of striking him, the water dragon was frozen in place, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.</p> <p class="cnNlZDkyYzQ4MzBhZDQ0MTJhNWIyZmYxZGQ4ZTAzY2Y1">“What are you doing, water dragon? Attack! Attack!”</p> <p class="cnMzYzZlYzliOTRmYzRlNDFhOGRhYzIxZjFmMGZmNTEy">“Begone” With a flick of his wrist, the water dragon popped into countless drops of water that now proceeded to splash down on the ground.</p> <p class="cnMwMTg2MDFlYThkOTQ5MDI5NjNmMmFhY2M4ZTZlYjFi">“No…No, this can’t be happening…”</p> <p class="cnNiNjBmNzk4ZWE4YzRjZDQ5NTI0MWE3M2Y1Y2IwNTEy">Shengyn was coming closer and closer.</p> <p class="cnM1YjJjOWY3YmMyMTRhZGNhMTVmNGRlMDhhMjZkNzM2">Kokjan manifested water serpents, but they met the same fate as the water dragon, they dispersed just a few seconds after she manifested them.</p> <p class="cnMzYWY1YmQ4MjVlMjRhNzU4ODYxMGMyZGJkMjNhNDYz">“Stay away!”</p> <p class="cnM4ZWFlZDc1YzA4ZjRhOGM4NjZiMTFlMTIxYzBmZTI3">Kokjan activated her demon eyes, using a skill she could only access couple of times a day, she sent out a mighty wave through the air.</p> <p class="cnNhYTJjYzY4ZjZmOTRlODk5ZjBkZTNlMTllZmYxMmQ1">It should have sent Shengyn flying backwards, but instead, he withstood it by planting his feet on the ground, pushing back against the wave and with a motion of a hand, the air wave was dispelled.</p> <p class="cnM5OTM4MTdkNDE1ODQ5YWU4ZWU5NWQxZDVjYzdmZTdm">‘He can nullify power of my demon eyes too?!’</p> <p class="cnNhNTllMWQ2MzI0MzRlYzlhYmYwOTQxZTMwNWVhMWQ0">Kokjan made a desperate attack, pressurizing a small amount of water; she proceeded to launch it at Shengyn at point blank range.</p> <p class="cnM3NzIxYTVlNTA1OTRlMWI4ZWE4OTk0YWM1MTIyNDc5">This attack is nearly useless over long distance, but over a short distance, it was strong enough to pierce through several inches of steel.</p> <p class="cnMwMzEzY2M3NWJkZjQxYjBhY2MxMWRmNmUwNTBlY2Zk">However, its power was not its greatest attribute; it was the speed at which Kokjan could perform the spell is what made it truly deadly</p> <p class="cnM4MmMyZDkyNmZjMTRmZTliOThlMWIxZmYxOGU3NjBk">She was confident that he would not be able to do anything against such a fast attack.</p> <p class="cnM0ZTQ3NjNmNjkwODQ5ZTViNjRlN2VmOWNmYmFlZDA0">It should have cleaved through his body like a diamond tipped arrow.</p> <p class="cnNlM2ViMTY4NTlkMjQwZTA5OGQ1Y2Q5ODBiMmFmMWI0">Yet, much to Kokjan’s horror, the pressurized water lost its power and form as soon as it got within two inches of Shengyn’s body.</p> <p class="cnNmNmJlZTY3ZTM4NTQwMjFiMzQ4YmJhMTJiMTA4MzNi">Now the water was floating in the air in bubble form, with Shengyn clearly in control of it.</p> <p class="cnM3MGZiNjYzOThlNTQyY2I4MmJjNGIxODQ1ZjZjYzJm">“Using small amount of mana to control pre-existing water instead of creating your own in order to conserve mana, very clever….but not good enough. Let me show you how to properly control mana!”</p> <p class="cnM3ZTViNzJkZWY3MTQwZDA4NjM2NmFlNjE1ZTA1NDBm">Using the left Kokjan’s left over mana within the water, Shengyn took control of all the water around him.</p> <p class="cnM4MThkYmUyNzkxNjQ5Mjc5Njk3YWFiZDRiMzU5YTlm">Countless bolts of swirling spears made of water were now floating behind him. Each spear looked like a mini-tornado, waiting for a moment to strike.</p> <p class="cnMwY2YwMmNjOTAwZjRjMmZhMmY1MzQ4Njg4N2ZiOTE2"> “No…it can’t be…”</p> <p class="cnNjYTVjY2ZkZjRmNTRjMmNhOGI2ZGY4Y2U2MzVhYmNj">“Ready…fire!”</p> <p class="cnMyZTJjYmMyODRhODQzZjRiOWU1NzJhMzZlZDE2Mzk2">Swirling water spears now proceeded to unleash themselves in an overwhelming barrage.</p> <p class="cnNlNWE4Njg4OGJlNTRjNmQ5MjczMGM3NGY4NTFkNTY5">Forced to defend herself, Kokjan manifested a shield of water, upon which the spears harmlessly landed.</p> <p class="cnNlYjliNzEzZGRlNDQ1N2FiNjZmNTU0NzVhZmQ3NWEx">But then, Shengyn appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to punch Kokjan right across the face, sending her flying backwards.</p> <p class="cnNhY2NhZmMyMDg3ZDQyYjc5MjhlMzM0MDMxMDE1NWUx">Using her wings, she managed to avoid another punch coming towards her, but the ground she stood on just a second ago was completely demolished by Shengyn’s punch.</p> <p class="cnNlMmIwMWZlZjk0MTQ5OTM5NDRkODQ4Mjg4OGZmZDdh">Utilizing her extreme physical strength, Kokjan grabbed and launched two boulders at Shengyn, one in each hand, but Shengyn simply punched each one, resulting in countless debris falling everywhere.</p> <p class="cnM0M2Q5YjU5ZTVlZjRmNTM5MTc0MGJjOGQyNmExYmYy">Shengyn relentlessly pressed on as Kokjan ran out of attacks and her mana was nearly completely depleted.</p> <p class="cnMzODFjN2M3NDA5YTQ0YWY5ZTgzZmY0ZjY0NDliZDAy">Now that he was so close, Kokjan attempted to fly up high, but Shengyn jumped up and knocked her down towards the ground after which he proceeded to grab on to her while smashing her across the surrounding large rock formations, one after another.</p> <p class="cnNkMTE2ZWVjODFjZDQ2ZTlhOTlkNzJlMTY5NzY5OWE5">Finally, he let go, launching her, making her crash on the ground with a sound of a broken twig.</p> <p class="cnMxMmRhYjEzM2FhMjQ1NjBiOTA2MWI4OWM1OGJmYzcx">Now, it was time to kill.</p> <p class="cnM4ODdlMzU2MWVmYTQxZTk4OTIwMjBmZjkwYTk1NTgy">Shengyn reinforced his hand with earth type mana, preparing to land the critical blow, this time; he would make sure she dies.</p> <p class="cnM1YTg3MjFhNzk0YzRhZDE5ZDVmOGNkZmEyMTY1ZDcz">But before he delivered the critical blow, Kokjan managed to stand up and jump into the mirror she manifested with Holy Water.</p> <p class="cnM2NWFkMDU0ODE3NzRiMThhZTA0ZmFjNWI1NDA2MWM0"> And now she was gone.</p> <p class="cnMxMWI5YzQxYTRhYjRlYzU5MzliY2FjNDIxYWU3ZWVl">“She ran away with her tail tucked between her legs, huh, oh well.”</p> <p class="cnNjYjMzNDM3MTU2MDRkOTViZGJkNGNjOTQ0OGFhYTcz">Shengyn couldn’t care less if someone got away, sooner or later she would show up again, and then Shengyn would make sure to end her.</p> <p class="cnM5NWUyMjU2ZmRiNzQwM2RiM2Y5MDEwOWJkMzQxMzRk">“Young Master! Are you ok?” Shaula now swooped down and examined ‘Ren’, but was hesitant to touch him due to the fact that he was covered from head to toe in Holy Water.</p> <p class="cnNlNDczNTJjNzM1ZTQ4ZTU5ZDk0YjdmOThhNTZlNzU4">“Yes”</p> <p class="cnNjYWFmMzVkZDk5YzRiN2ZiZTYxOWNmMzZmZjhlNTgw">“But, I don’t understand…how did you remain unscathed after she dowsed you with so much Holy Water?” Shaula couldn’t help but ask.</p> <p class="cnM2NjI5MjFjMWU2YjQyYjU5MjhmNTQxOTMwN2JiZWIw">“Oh, that? Holy Water can only kill those of pure demon blood; I am only a part demon.”</p> <p class="cnM0YmFjY2Y4ODU0MzQ0YWZiMzE3ZmMwZmZkZDZlMGVm">“What? What do you mean?” Shaula couldn’t help but utter when she heard ‘Ren’ say that.</p> <p class="cnMwYWMyMTk4NjU0MDRhZmZhNzJhNDQ1OGYwYWY4NTAz">“Exactly as it sounds, anyone with human blood is practically immune to Holy Water; at least the effects are not as severe.” ‘Ren’ said with such nonchalance as if it was no surprise to him.</p> <p class="cnNiNTQ5MmM2NmQ0MzRlMGZhNzMzZjNjYWVhMjI2MWNm">‘I can’t believe it, the more time I spend with Young Master, the more I understand I know next to nothing about him, he says he is part human, which means…Master Ymit married a human?’</p> <p class="cnM0YmMyN2Q2YWUxMDQ5ZWM4Yzk0ZTU3MjM2YjFjZGIz">Shaula couldn’t help but open her mouth in shock.</p> <p class="cnM1N2VlZTdhMDNlMTQ0YmU4NTI5YmQ0MmVmOWJjN2Rh">But looking at ‘Ren’ being unharmed, she could only breathe a sigh of relief.</p> <p class="cnM5MDg5YmUyYTVlZTQ2MGY4MTc1N2E3M2RkYjQ4NmJl">‘But, even if that’s the case, maybe it is for the best.’</p> </div>

“An eagle type demon…Member of Ras clan, huh? Interesting, I thought I made sure that every member of that clan had perished. It seems I was not thorough enough.” Shengyn shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “You have led humans to attack my home, destroyed my clan, and slaughtered my family. That night, I barely managed to survive, but I remembered your face, yes, that face I have dreamed so long to squash into pieces…” A blue eagle type demon, with a burned scar upon the left side of her face, Kokjan Ras was facing off against him. Now she pointed her left index finger towards Shengyn. “You killed my father, 56th Demon King, Akil Ras!” Now, Shengyn’s lips twisted into a snake-like smile. It was as if he was mocking the demon that came here for vengeance. “I see” Kokjan’s hands clenched into fists. “I shall avenge my clan, my family, and my father. I shall let them rest in peace by sending you to your grave.” The gigantic wall of water behind her now swirled into tentacle-like extensions. It was obvious, she was here to fight. “Or I will send you to yours” Shengyn calmly walked towards his enemy. Immediately, Kokjan began her attack, by shooting jets of water towards Shengyn, who proceeded to skillfully dodge each one of the pressurized water streams. He dodged one, jumped over one, and rolled over to avoid water blasts. Making sure to avoid every obstacle in front of him, Shengyn confidently marched on towards his foe, but a few steps before he could reach her, he sensed danger lurking behind his back. A gigantic wave of water appeared right behind him out of nowhere. ‘I see, so those water blasts were not meant to incapacitate me, but recombine into a sneak attack from behind, clever girl.’ Shengyn couldn’t help but compliment his opponent for her strategy, many of his foes preferred to use brawn rather than brains, which is why having a challenging opponent was a rare treat. Big wave was too close to avoid and with the mana sealing cuffs on, he could not access his demon eyes or any of his magic. Collision was unavoidable. SPLASH!!!! “YOUNG MASTER!!!” Shaula screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw ‘Ren’ engulfed by a small lake’s worth of Holy Water. “As such, my vengeance is complete.” Kokjan finally beamed a confident smile. She was sure ‘Ren’ had no way of avoiding being killed by Holy Water. “At last, Father, I have avenged you!” “Young master…no…” Shaula’s hands were trembling as she was looking down towards the ground, thinking that ‘Ren’ has perished. “Well, water does not taste any better than before if you ask me…” To her horror, Kokjan heard a voice sound out. There he was, her enemy, drenched from head to toe in Holy Water, but otherwise completely unharmed. “Impossible, you should be dead! Why aren’t you dead!?” Ordinarily, a demon would receive massive damage just by touching Holy Water, and ‘Ren’ ended up in contact with so much Holy Water that it should have dissolved him outright. Kokjan herself was very vulnerable to Holy Water, making sure to not let it touch her when she used her mana to manipulate it. “I can ask you the very same thing, but that will not get us anywhere, will it?” As he slowly walked towards his foe, Kokjan manifested swirling disks of water and proceeded to launch them. Each one could cut down a tree with ease in one shot, yet Shengyn easily dodged each one of her water disks. Kokjan now began a barrage of attacks, but Shengyn simply kept dodging them while walking forward with the same bored expression. “Come forth, my water dragon!” Kokjan attempted to use the superior version of Level 5 Spell: Water Serpent. Only a single water dragon could be made with this spell, unlike the water serpents where she could manifest multiple at the same time, but what it lacked in quantity, water dragon made up in quality. It consumed a huge amount of mana, but Kokjan did not care, if it could get the job done, so be it! A gigantic water dragon with a head of three meters in diameter, manifested, it proceeded to immediately attack Shengyn, intent on cutting through him with its razor sharp claws and teeth. “I suppose it is time for me to get a little serious.” Right before the water dragon hit him, Shengyn extended his right hand in front of him. Instead of striking him, the water dragon was frozen in place, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. “What are you doing, water dragon? Attack! Attack!” “Begone” With a flick of his wrist, the water dragon popped into countless drops of water that now proceeded to splash down on the ground. “No…No, this can’t be happening…” Shengyn was coming closer and closer. Kokjan manifested water serpents, but they met the same fate as the water dragon, they dispersed just a few seconds after she manifested them. “Stay away!” Kokjan activated her demon eyes, using a skill she could only access couple of times a day, she sent out a mighty wave through the air. It should have sent Shengyn flying backwards, but instead, he withstood it by planting his feet on the ground, pushing back against the wave and with a motion of a hand, the air wave was dispelled. ‘He can nullify power of my demon eyes too?!’ Kokjan made a desperate attack, pressurizing a small amount of water; she proceeded to launch it at Shengyn at point blank range. This attack is nearly useless over long distance, but over a short distance, it was strong enough to pierce through several inches of steel. However, its power was not its greatest attribute; it was the speed at which Kokjan could perform the spell is what made it truly deadly She was confident that he would not be able to do anything against such a fast attack. It should have cleaved through his body like a diamond tipped arrow. Yet, much to Kokjan’s horror, the pressurized water lost its power and form as soon as it got within two inches of Shengyn’s body. Now the water was floating in the air in bubble form, with Shengyn clearly in control of it. “Using small amount of mana to control pre-existing water instead of creating your own in order to conserve mana, very clever….but not good enough. Let me show you how to properly control mana!” Using the left Kokjan’s left over mana within the water, Shengyn took control of all the water around him. Countless bolts of swirling spears made of water were now floating behind him. Each spear looked like a mini-tornado, waiting for a moment to strike. “No…it can’t be…” “Ready…fire!” Swirling water spears now proceeded to unleash themselves in an overwhelming barrage. Forced to defend herself, Kokjan manifested a shield of water, upon which the spears harmlessly landed. But then, Shengyn appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to punch Kokjan right across the face, sending her flying backwards. Using her wings, she managed to avoid another punch coming towards her, but the ground she stood on just a second ago was completely demolished by Shengyn’s punch. Utilizing her extreme physical strength, Kokjan grabbed and launched two boulders at Shengyn, one in each hand, but Shengyn simply punched each one, resulting in countless debris falling everywhere. Shengyn relentlessly pressed on as Kokjan ran out of attacks and her mana was nearly completely depleted. Now that he was so close, Kokjan attempted to fly up high, but Shengyn jumped up and knocked her down towards the ground after which he proceeded to grab on to her while smashing her across the surrounding large rock formations, one after another. Finally, he let go, launching her, making her crash on the ground with a sound of a broken twig. Now, it was time to kill. Shengyn reinforced his hand with earth type mana, preparing to land the critical blow, this time; he would make sure she dies. But before he delivered the critical blow, Kokjan managed to stand up and jump into the mirror she manifested with Holy Water. And now she was gone. “She ran away with her tail tucked between her legs, huh, oh well.” Shengyn couldn’t care less if someone got away, sooner or later she would show up again, and then Shengyn would make sure to end her. “Young Master! Are you ok?” Shaula now swooped down and examined ‘Ren’, but was hesitant to touch him due to the fact that he was covered from head to toe in Holy Water. “Yes” “But, I don’t understand…how did you remain unscathed after she dowsed you with so much Holy Water?” Shaula couldn’t help but ask. “Oh, that? Holy Water can only kill those of pure demon blood; I am only a part demon.” “What? What do you mean?” Shaula couldn’t help but utter when she heard ‘Ren’ say that. “Exactly as it sounds, anyone with human blood is practically immune to Holy Water; at least the effects are not as severe.” ‘Ren’ said with such nonchalance as if it was no surprise to him. ‘I can’t believe it, the more time I spend with Young Master, the more I understand I know next to nothing about him, he says he is part human, which means…Master Ymit married a human?’ Shaula couldn’t help but open her mouth in shock. But looking at ‘Ren’ being unharmed, she could only breathe a sigh of relief. ‘But, even if that’s the case, maybe it is for the best.’

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlM2ZkYjdhNjY2ODQ5NmE5N2ZkZjUzMjA3NTJlZmQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">They all hopped on the families private jet and within the hour they were in the air headed towards the original ‘Immortals Gate’. It was the first gate to ever appear so after a while it became common knowledge and was actually a fairly popular tourist destination. It would take quite some time to get there wo he took a very well deserved nap while surrounded in chattering family with his nephews treating him like a jungle gym. When he woke up several hours later they were landing in egypt next to the giza pyramids. The first to ever appear did so at the very peak of the tallest Giza pyramid. They had about three hours to spare before it appeared so he just led the way and listened to the family bickering with a soft smile. </span></p> <p class="cnNiOTI4ZTUyMTk1NTRkNzhhNjNhZmVkNWY0MTY1Nzc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">All their closest friends were with them as well so they looked like a mob going up the pyramid. They had a lot of kids around eighteen or so but due to the last year they were all in great shape so the trip was very quick. When they finally reached the top everyone was breathing heavy with their jackets zipped open. What they planned was two waves, one for the family and their most trusted and life long friends then the other for theirs guards and the most trusted business associates- with a hefty price of course. He checked his phone and took a head count then lined everybody up and marked with chalk. It was now 11:57 so he answered one last round of questions and with two seconds left he ran and jumped right as it materialized in a flash of white light then he was through the gate. </span></p> <p class="cnM1Yzc4Mjc3MGIwNjRiYTM5NTZhNmY2NjZhMzQ2MmIx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwZGZmYWFhNzQ2ZTRiODk5NzRmNzExZjk3MzU3NzUy"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Congratulations- for being the first Immortal on the planet designated as Tera and breaking the current world record by 3 days 12 hours 14 minutes 30.43680001 seconds you have a choice of reward. </span></p> <p class="cnMwMWU4ZTU5MTkyNTQ5YWU4YmFiY2MyYmI0YzRiZTZk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzN2VmYWZjN2U0MjQxZjI5MDY4YTU4NTY0MWZjNDI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">He frowned and recalled that no one actually new who was the very first one to become immortal. Most likely they had hidden it exactly because the reward was that valuable. </span></p> <p class="cnNmNmQ5ZDAwODJlYTQ1MjZiNDliM2QwNDU0MjFmNzY2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ZWM3NjkwNWM4ODQ1OTg5MWExNzcxZmQ4YjE1MTFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Please choose one of the following. </span></p> <p class="cnNiNDQzMzgxYWViMzQxNDI5MmI0ZWE1MjFmOTkxOGUy"><span style="font-weight: 400">-Physique Boost: Ability to learn any defense skill</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZDc5YmZiYjA0MjQwMmZiZGJjMjY1YzU0NjQzMzVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">-Stamina Boost: Ability to learn any melee skill </span></p> <p class="cnM1ZWI5MmI1NDJiMzQ5ZGViMDYzOGJjOWM3N2UxY2E1"><span style="font-weight: 400">-Magic Boost: Ability to learn any magic skill</span></p> <p class="cnM5ODRlZWRjNDllODQ3MDE4MTkwZjFlNjI3MjlhMDQ0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyNDY3NTgzY2QxMjRmNDE4YzA2ZWQ1N2UyODk0ZjUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">He did his own little fist pump, complete with victory dance. This was exactly what he needed. Since he was planning on going the Path of Magic then his biggest concern would always be his ability to learn the skill and if he had the mana to cast it, but with this he could even learn class restricted skills. Without any hesitation he chose the magic boost. </span></p> <p class="cnNlYzk5Yzc0M2ExYjQxNGZiOWJjNWYwOTMxYTlkYTkz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhNWJhM2EwZWE1MjRlMjI4ZmI0M2E0MGY0YTE4Yzkz"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Immortality transformation 1%</span></p> <p class="cnMzOGFlMDk5ODk5ODQwZDU5ZWI5YWEyZjkyYzk3MWU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Immortality transformation 20%</span></p> <p class="cnNmODMzZDNhYTNiYzRlNzI4ZDAwYjllNDFjMmFkNmEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Immortality transformation 50%</span></p> <p class="cnMyNWMxMzk4NTVmMzQyMGQ5NjhjYjg4ZTkwMzYxOTBk"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Immortality transformation 92%</span></p> <p class="cnM4NzAxOTczMzE1NjRjMWQ4YTQxZTM5ZDkyYWJkODAz"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Immortality transformation 100%</span></p> <p class="cnMzODk0ZWIwNjgxMjQwNjJhNThjNGQwMDg3ZDJkYmIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Immortality transformation complete now beginning relocation to place of residence</span></p> <p class="cnM3NmVmMDgyOWEyNzQxNzJiYzE5ZTNjZGM5MDJkYWRh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4NmI4NDlmYTZiZjRlODdhMjU0OWQ0ZmVhNDY5YTIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">A strong suction began pulling at him and suddenly he was on the front lawn of the families house. From nearest guess the transformation took about three days so his first words were of course “Show Status.” </span></p> <p class="cnNlOGVkMDNkZTE2YzQ3Mzk4NDNkNTdkMzE1M2E2MzI5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjN2VlZmNmODRlMjRlMGNhOWI0NTNiYjRjZTk0M2Yw"><span style="font-weight: 400">[Name: Jacob Dawn </span></p> <p class="cnNkMDY5ZjI2YzhkYjQyNDk4MzBiYmYwZDViNGQwZjM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level: 0 (Fully Human) Deaths: 0 </span></p> <p class="cnM3YWVhOGZkNjZiYTRiMjE5MDM2YzZjMjk5ZWY4ZTIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Titles: First among Immortals (0.00000001 sec.) (Highest on record)</span></p> <p class="cnM0MjM5MWMyOTA3ODQ1MjI4YjQ0MDBkYjczMDAyZDcx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Hp: 2500/2500 MP: 2700/2700</span></p> <p class="cnNhZjYwZTg4NWEyYTRjOGQ4MmE0N2QwYzYzZTI3Zjgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Strength: 15 Agility: 20 Vitality:25 </span></p> <p class="cnMxNGFiY2EwZjdiZTQyNjhhMzNjMDUzZGE1ZjNmNTBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Willpower: 50 Intelligence 27 </span></p> <p class="cnM0NGY5MjhiZWFkNDQzZDc4MTYyMjFiMGEzNTMyNjQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Stat points: 0 </span></p> <p class="cnMyN2RhZjBhMjk1ZDQ2ODc5ZmY2MWRjNGY0OThmYmU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Fatigue: 0 </span></p> <p class="cnNiZGMxMDZkZDRhMTRlZDNiYWQyNDMxNmNjZTBkNThm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Class: Mage </span></p> <p class="cnMwMjg0NDAxODI0ZTQ0NzRhYjlhMzBiOGU3YmVjMTc3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Profession: None ]</span></p> <p class="cnNhYmUwNTYzNzNlOTQzNmJiNWVmN2ZmMDk0ZWEwNjAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was no quite over simplified compared to what it was before but it was still quite satisfactory compared to most, not including his family of course. All together they would probably be considered a family of monsters. Stat points were gained every time you leveled up but skill points could only be earned every 25 levels and you only got one. Each skill took a minimum of one skill point and the most expensive to date cost 57, however that skill was never learned by anyone as far as he knew and from what he heard it was on the same level as multiple nuclear warheads. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Ding </span></em></p> <p class="cnNkM2Y5ODQ3ZWU0MDQ0ZGY5NDBmZDczNTE0ODlhZTM2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwN2U4ZGE5M2Q1NDRiNjY4MDIyMDE2YjIxOGZmYjMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">*For being the first Immortal in your world and for breaking the previous record you will receive a bonus of 20 skill points and one personalized skill for each day, one 50% off coupon for each hour, 1 death redemption stone for each minuete, and +100 to each stat for each second that you broke the record by. Note: The skills and stats will be lost once someone breaks your record. </span></p> <p class="cnMzNmEzMWNkOWY1ZTQ0MDFiZmM0OTg3NGVmNzNjOTQ4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNjZjMTBhNDU4ZjRmNDQ5MDg4NzA3N2Y2MTg2NzMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">He could only stare in shock at the notification which just said he was now essentially the same as an overall level fifteen hundred in stat points alone. Small wonder no one ever came forward and said they were the first, with bonuses like these it was hard to imagine why they would since they were pretty much entirely self sufficient. From the outside it looked like his skin was imitating a sea shore but there was no pain and only the feeling of power that was surging in his body. </span></p> <p class="cnMyZWFiYzFkNjg3MzRlMjBiY2NlMWY5ZWE0ZDE3OWQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was at that point that he saw a countdown in the corner of the notification turned red and hit zero. He felt his consciousness pulled away and found himself in a white room with only what looked like a carbon copy of himself standing ten feet in front of him. “Well then let’s get started.” the voice was his own and it sounded out like it right next to his ear and the figure in front vanished like it was never there. He knew what was happening since it happened every time someone surpassed 100 intelligence and awakened their innate mana. There were other ways to do it but chance to awaken your own affinity and be awarded your personalized spell was one of the reasons why the profession had such a low number of practitioners in the first place. </span></p> <p class="cnMyZmE4NjYxMzI2ZDQ0ZWFhYTQyNTI0NTU2MWJmNDg0"><span style="font-weight: 400">This was because mages were so squishy and couldn’t do enough damage at low levels to justify the experience drain when they were in a party. He went on autopilot as the pure truth seemed to flow out of him at each question. “What is magic to me?” “Power. The power to protect and destroy as I see fit, the power to control my own life and destiny and decide the path I will walk to achieve my dreams.” “What kind of thing is Magic to me?” “It is a shining star. Unreachable magnificence and unquestioned strength, It is the light that illuminates the hearts of men and monster alike. It is fire and ice, lightning and earthquakes, It the raging waves of destiny that decide the fate of men.” </span></p> <p class="cnM2ODVhY2Q1ODE4NzQyOTZiYTIyMGQ2Yzk1MGU2ZTZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What do I seek from magic?” “The strength to live and fight. The ability to earn my right to exist. I seek the strength to protect those dear and destroy those I cannot abide. Like the frozen north I seek the strength to control my own destiny, be it right or wrong it will be the path I choose myself.” “What do I wish to be?” He smiled and said “I wish to be a star, when all else falls short I wish to be the star that kindles the hope of all. I wish to be the star that shines the brightest in the dark and shines the light of hope on all who have the heart to stand again but lack the strength to do so. I wish to be the beacon that all shall rally to when the night threatens to consume all light.” </span></p> <p class="cnNlMmYzMTRjYjU1NDQyMzFhZDBhMjg3ZmI3ZDNjNjBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Such lofty Ideals don’t suit me.” “Yes. But that is who I wish to be.” The surrounding light all seemed to be sucked towards him and he spiraled back into a comfortable darkness. When he finally woke up he was still lying in the grass but there was noise from inside the house. He decided they could wait just a little more and opened his stat page to see what they were at now. </span></p> <p class="cnM0ZjVkM2M2NjkwZjRkMzg4NGRjODkzYjkwMDE0ODI4"><span style="font-weight: 400">[Name: Jacob Dawn </span></p> <p class="cnM4ZTJiODlmMzg1ZjQ3MTRhMmEzOTQ4M2E2OTQ3M2E3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Level: 0 Deaths: 0 </span></p> <p class="cnNhYTEwNDkzMzExYTRiMjFiMmE5MTZkMzI1ODIxMjEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">EXP: 0%</span></p> <p class="cnM3OTY0ZWEzNDMxNzQ1YWZhZGUzMTg3MjczYTcyODNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Titles: First among Immortals (0.00000001 sec.) (Highest on record)</span></p> <p class="cnNhMjdhNGIzZDFiZjQ1MDViZjg0OGM1NTI5NTk2M2Yw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Hp: 302,500/302,500 MP: 302,700/302,700</span></p> <p class="cnNmYTgyOTAzZGNlYzQwMzA4MmZjYTJjNjgxOWMyYmU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Strength: 3,015 Agility: 3,020 Vitality: 3,025 </span></p> <p class="cnM4YTUzNGU5MjIwNDRiMjNiNzU0YmFiMjEwZGU5ODdl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Willpower: 3,050 Intelligence: 3,027 </span></p> <p class="cnM3YmVmMzNjMDg3ZDQ1OGJhNjViMzFjZTc3NTc4YjVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Stat points: 0 </span></p> <p class="cnNkZGJkNGJjYjk3NzQ4MDhhYjMwNjMyZWNlOThjZGVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Fatigue: 1% </span></p> <p class="cnM5OWJmOTJkYjQ4NzRlYmI4ZmE1ZGU1YmIyNzVhMTAy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Class: Mage </span></p> <p class="cnMwY2Q0YTBmNWM3MTRmZWE5MjQwZTQwM2E1N2E2MWUw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Profession: None </span></p> <p class="cnMwYTE5M2Y4OWFlZDQzODg5YWU4OGVhYjhiOWY4OWFl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Spells: (Overcharge, Multicast, Transcendental meditation) Frigid Beam] </span></p> <p class="cnMwNmIzNzA4ZTg0OTQ1MjhiYWI0ZjM1MGY3ZmNiOTA1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjMDMzOTg4ODFlMzRlMmViYWVhOWI5OWFlMDY1YmQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">He focused on each of them to bring up their descriptions. </span></p> <p class="cnM5YmQ0Y2U2Y2RmMTQwMjNiYTY5YjI0ZDI4ZmVmNzY4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmNGQ3OTk1MTlmYzQ3MWU4M2EzYzE4ODg1YmVkZmY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Overcharge- the ability to pump an unlimited amount of mana into a spell at double the spells initial cost. Tier 10</span></p> <p class="cnM4M2VkYjk5NmIzYTRmYTA5MzZmNDAwMDM2N2U1YzQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Multicast- the ability to simultaneously cast any number of spells of any rank as long as total intelligence equals 1,000 points per simultaneous cast. Tier 8</span></p> <p class="cnMyYTgwNjc0MDdlOTQ5YjQ4YjRmNWZmYzExZjRkOGY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Transcendental meditation- The ability to designate 1,000 intelligence to full meditation and remove all upper and lower limitations. Rank depends entirely on the visualization on the first attempt. </span></p> <p class="cnNhNzczZGI1YmE0MTQwMjY4OGFjZTk0ZTUwZGI2NGNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Frigid Beam- Fire a beam of hyper compressed and supercooled water a single target. Cost 50 MP per second </span></p> <p class="cnMzMDhiZWVkYWVhNTQyZGI5ZTkwNWM5NmM2ZTc2ZjU1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNWVkZWNmNTI4NjQ3NWE5NjgyYmZkM2MwZWRlMDI3"><span style="font-weight: 400">This time his smile was entirely predatory. For any beginning mage this spell would be next to useless because it would drain their entire mana pool in three or four seconds and they would have to spend the next several minutes standing around just for it to recharge, but for him he could cast it practically indefinitely. He quickly confirmed it all then picked up the bundle of twelve shimmering golden tickets and small squares of crystal that were laying next to him and put it in his pocket before heading toward the front door. He opened it and was welcomed by his nephews running questions like a machine gun. He laughed and sent them outside to play while he talked with the adults. </span></p> <p class="cnNkZTNkZTkwM2IwODRkMjc4ZmU4Nzg2MjA4Y2QwNjEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Everyone was sitting in the living room watching the news and discussing how oblivious the people were and whether or not they should leak the word. He quickly said that was a bad Idea. So far they had two years to prepare and get ready for the mad rush when they all tried to become players but if they spread the word then it would just be like shooting themselves in the foot. At any rate they had plenty of time to spread the word when they themselves were completely ready for the fallout. After discussing for a while he said he was planning to go to the players store that was now in Chicago since it was the nearest one and they were only on the outskirts. </span></p> <p class="cnNkODdjMGM1YWYyYjRkYjQ4ODc5ODgwMTIxYWRhNjU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">He quickly got in the car and headed there. He was almost jittery in excitement since he was essentially going to buy a bunch of spells for nothing. He fully planned on buying six high level spells for free, even though it would probably piss of their manager he was totally willing to cut a deal for it. When pulled up on the other side of the road from it he cut the engine and in less than a second he was at the entrance. One good thing about the system was you always had full control over your body even when you were like him and just got an immense boost to your stats. When he walked in there were three people walking around doing various things and everyone of them froze like a rabbit that had seen a wolf when there eyes landed on him. </span></p> <p class="cnNiYzg5OTkxMzc5YzRiZTg4ZWJlNzJlMjBmNDYyZjg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">One of them hit a button on the desk that would alert the manager and he sighed even though he had expected this. As he walked up to the counter he pulled up the panel to view their high level spells. There are hundreds to choose from in every category so he narrowed it down to tier seven and above. Since his unique spell were all utility or boosting abilities he went to their attack magic and picked out a few that he knew of or liked from their description. </span></p> <p class="cnM1Mzc2M2MzNjBhMTRlNzBhNzIzNWU1ZTUzNzY4MzQ2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5OWRjNTI4YzdiMDRjMzJhMGY3YzlhOWY2YzcxNzQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Water Healing, Frozen Forest, Ice field, Perma frost armor, Frost aura, Ice prison</span></p> <p class="cnNjZTUwZGY5N2Y4MjRhNGNhODNjOGU4OWI2Mjk0Y2E2"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Gale speed, Vortex, Maelstrom, Compression blade, Flight, Wind domain </span></p> <p class="cnMzYTYwNmZjM2NmZTQxNDY5MDMwMDMwYWM2MzA2YWNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Flame burst, Fire pillar, Burning domain, Firestorm, Flame Drill, Armageddon </span></p> <p class="cnMyOWZjOWE1MDVhMzQ2MmU4ZDg2ZDRlZGJkNTZhZmVk"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Diamond armor, Granite rampart, earthquake, Stone forest, Boulder launch, oil field </span></p> <p class="cnMyMTliYTZlNDQxMjRjZGY5MDc5NmVkNDA1ZDljMzIx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkNThiZWRlODk5NzQwYjhiOTFkNWU4ODRjZTIzZmE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">After debating the pros and cons of each spell that he could foresee since he would be in dungeons most of the time he wouldn’t find to much use for say stone forest but the ice prison on the other hand would be good for tying down single and strong opponents. The problem was that most of these would be one shot all or nothings and he would be totally out of mana. With a sigh he scaled it back look at the Tier four water spells. </span></p> <p class="cnM5ZTVkY2E5YzYwMzQ3ZjdiZWZiNWFhMWQyOTMyNTJi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlZjgyYjk0MmJiNTRiZGM4MWU4MTZlNTJhYTY5ZDNh"><span style="font-weight: 400">*Greater water regeneration, Icy lance, Ice barrier, chilling aura, Frozen shackles, Explosive ice shard, greater water blade, Water beam, Rainstorm, Ice barrage, Ice disc. </span></p> <p class="cnM0N2U3NWRiYzBkOTQwNmU5MzMwODBkMWU3M2UxNjFm">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2M2FhMWYwYTE5YjQyN2M5YTNlYzU4MTZmZDU5MWUy"><span style="font-weight: 400">With a grin he grabbed the Greater water regeneration, Icy lance, frozen shackles, and rainstorm. Then he toggled over to tier ten utility spells and grabbed the Tier 10 version of the mana barrier that every mage had called Ultimate mana fortress. The only difference between this spell and other mana barrier spells was that it essentially created a barrier of each element type and layered them together with an additional physical shield as well. At its base if he learned it and pumped it with all 300,000 of his mana it would absorb 3,000,000 points of damage total. </span></p> <p class="cnMzMjM5MzZjNjc5OTQ3NWI4MTJiOGYxYWU5ZmQ3ZTIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">He then went to items and chose their highest capacity Inventory which had 250 slots. Quickly he took out all twelve tickets and put them in front of the dumbstruck receptionist. He actually had to knock on the desk before she snapped out of it. “Hello, anyone home.” and snap, she snapped back to the present so fast it was almost audible. As she left to go get his skill books he turned and leaned on the counter as he faced the head honcho of this store. She weighed in at probably no more than two hundred because even threw her clothes you could see the rigid layers of muscle beneath. Normally that would be unattractive in a woman but her laissez faire expression somehow made it quite erotic. </span></p> <p class="cnNhZmFhYTZlOTljNzQyZmE4MzEzZjIzMDNlNzk1ZTFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">He made no attempt to hide his appraisal but didn’t stare or even let his eyes linger. To a warrior like her it was an insult not to admire the result of countless hundreds of hours of grueling training in hellish conditions. She was built like a martial artist but her very pointed ears gave her away as well as her almost black skin. He stood up straight and punched his right fist into his left palm then bowed to thirty degrees very slowly while he cocked his head to the right to expose his throat. </span></p> <p class="cnNhZGQ4MjFhYzc5MTQzZDc5ODE2ZmY3NzNkMDAzZDI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">The woman's eyes were filled with total shock and the companion behind her involuntarily let out something between a gag and a gasp while he kept his eyes locked with the woman. Formerly he had gotten lost in a high level labyrinth type dungeon and fell in with a party of drow nobles who had just recently arrived and decided to attempt the dungeon. Altogether they spent nearly three months in that place before they figured out the trick to summoning the boss, most of the time they thought it was hilarious to teach him the language and customs of the high courts and it was a great time waster so he eventually ended up memorizing it out of sheer boredom. </span></p> <p class="cnNjZGVkZTY2YmI4YTQ5NjU5MmMzZTEyOGExYTQxZTc3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Finally the woman seemed to shake herself and repeated the actions like a mirror then three seconds after that she spoke in the language of the drow, “May the mountain shelter you,” </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Her voice is like deep melody </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">he thought then he replied “May the shadow embrace you,”. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">If her eyes could get any wider they would literally fall out of her face </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">he thought, then they both said in tandem “And may the earth hold your glorious last breath.” Then they both straightened and he walked over to poor desk clerk who was frozen in a side doorway. The poor girl looked like all her common sense was totally shattered. </span></p> <p class="cnM4NTUwNjIwNWQ5YzQ0NjZiYWZiYjRhY2Q3YTA2NDQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">The tickets were still on the desk so he took the Inventory and books then bit his finger and bound the cube like inventory with blood and put the books and crystals inside then willed it away. It would now only appear when he wanted to add something to it. He then returned to the manager whose jaw was in danger of hitting the floor and said “Perhaps you would like to speak in your office?” She visibly shook herself this time and motioned for him to follow before leading the way up three flights of stairs in a daze. </span></p> </div>

They all hopped on the families private jet and within the hour they were in the air headed towards the original ‘Immortals Gate’. It was the first gate to ever appear so after a while it became common knowledge and was actually a fairly popular tourist destination. It would take quite some time to get there wo he took a very well deserved nap while surrounded in chattering family with his nephews treating him like a jungle gym. When he woke up several hours later they were landing in egypt next to the giza pyramids. The first to ever appear did so at the very peak of the tallest Giza pyramid. They had about three hours to spare before it appeared so he just led the way and listened to the family bickering with a soft smile. All their closest friends were with them as well so they looked like a mob going up the pyramid. They had a lot of kids around eighteen or so but due to the last year they were all in great shape so the trip was very quick. When they finally reached the top everyone was breathing heavy with their jackets zipped open. What they planned was two waves, one for the family and their most trusted and life long friends then the other for theirs guards and the most trusted business associates- with a hefty price of course. He checked his phone and took a head count then lined everybody up and marked with chalk. It was now 11:57 so he answered one last round of questions and with two seconds left he ran and jumped right as it materialized in a flash of white light then he was through the gate.   *Congratulations- for being the first Immortal on the planet designated as Tera and breaking the current world record by 3 days 12 hours 14 minutes 30.43680001 seconds you have a choice of reward.   He frowned and recalled that no one actually new who was the very first one to become immortal. Most likely they had hidden it exactly because the reward was that valuable.   *Please choose one of the following. -Physique Boost: Ability to learn any defense skill -Stamina Boost: Ability to learn any melee skill -Magic Boost: Ability to learn any magic skill   He did his own little fist pump, complete with victory dance. This was exactly what he needed. Since he was planning on going the Path of Magic then his biggest concern would always be his ability to learn the skill and if he had the mana to cast it, but with this he could even learn class restricted skills. Without any hesitation he chose the magic boost.   *Immortality transformation 1% *Immortality transformation 20% *Immortality transformation 50% *Immortality transformation 92% *Immortality transformation 100% *Immortality transformation complete now beginning relocation to place of residence   A strong suction began pulling at him and suddenly he was on the front lawn of the families house. From nearest guess the transformation took about three days so his first words were of course “Show Status.”   [Name: Jacob Dawn Level: 0 (Fully Human) Deaths: 0 Titles: First among Immortals (0.00000001 sec.) (Highest on record) Hp: 2500/2500 MP: 2700/2700 Strength: 15 Agility: 20 Vitality:25 Willpower: 50 Intelligence 27 Stat points: 0 Fatigue: 0 Class: Mage Profession: None ] It was no quite over simplified compared to what it was before but it was still quite satisfactory compared to most, not including his family of course. All together they would probably be considered a family of monsters. Stat points were gained every time you leveled up but skill points could only be earned every 25 levels and you only got one. Each skill took a minimum of one skill point and the most expensive to date cost 57, however that skill was never learned by anyone as far as he knew and from what he heard it was on the same level as multiple nuclear warheads. *Ding*   *For being the first Immortal in your world and for breaking the previous record you will receive a bonus of 20 skill points and one personalized skill for each day, one 50% off coupon for each hour, 1 death redemption stone for each minuete, and +100 to each stat for each second that you broke the record by. Note: The skills and stats will be lost once someone breaks your record.   He could only stare in shock at the notification which just said he was now essentially the same as an overall level fifteen hundred in stat points alone. Small wonder no one ever came forward and said they were the first, with bonuses like these it was hard to imagine why they would since they were pretty much entirely self sufficient. From the outside it looked like his skin was imitating a sea shore but there was no pain and only the feeling of power that was surging in his body. It was at that point that he saw a countdown in the corner of the notification turned red and hit zero. He felt his consciousness pulled away and found himself in a white room with only what looked like a carbon copy of himself standing ten feet in front of him. “Well then let’s get started.” the voice was his own and it sounded out like it right next to his ear and the figure in front vanished like it was never there. He knew what was happening since it happened every time someone surpassed 100 intelligence and awakened their innate mana. There were other ways to do it but chance to awaken your own affinity and be awarded your personalized spell was one of the reasons why the profession had such a low number of practitioners in the first place. This was because mages were so squishy and couldn’t do enough damage at low levels to justify the experience drain when they were in a party. He went on autopilot as the pure truth seemed to flow out of him at each question. “What is magic to me?” “Power. The power to protect and destroy as I see fit, the power to control my own life and destiny and decide the path I will walk to achieve my dreams.” “What kind of thing is Magic to me?” “It is a shining star. Unreachable magnificence and unquestioned strength, It is the light that illuminates the hearts of men and monster alike. It is fire and ice, lightning and earthquakes, It the raging waves of destiny that decide the fate of men.” “What do I seek from magic?” “The strength to live and fight. The ability to earn my right to exist. I seek the strength to protect those dear and destroy those I cannot abide. Like the frozen north I seek the strength to control my own destiny, be it right or wrong it will be the path I choose myself.” “What do I wish to be?” He smiled and said “I wish to be a star, when all else falls short I wish to be the star that kindles the hope of all. I wish to be the star that shines the brightest in the dark and shines the light of hope on all who have the heart to stand again but lack the strength to do so. I wish to be the beacon that all shall rally to when the night threatens to consume all light.” “Such lofty Ideals don’t suit me.” “Yes. But that is who I wish to be.” The surrounding light all seemed to be sucked towards him and he spiraled back into a comfortable darkness. When he finally woke up he was still lying in the grass but there was noise from inside the house. He decided they could wait just a little more and opened his stat page to see what they were at now. [Name: Jacob Dawn Level: 0 Deaths: 0 EXP: 0% Titles: First among Immortals (0.00000001 sec.) (Highest on record) Hp: 302,500/302,500 MP: 302,700/302,700 Strength: 3,015 Agility: 3,020 Vitality: 3,025 Willpower: 3,050 Intelligence: 3,027 Stat points: 0 Fatigue: 1% Class: Mage Profession: None Spells: (Overcharge, Multicast, Transcendental meditation) Frigid Beam]   He focused on each of them to bring up their descriptions.   *Overcharge- the ability to pump an unlimited amount of mana into a spell at double the spells initial cost. Tier 10 *Multicast- the ability to simultaneously cast any number of spells of any rank as long as total intelligence equals 1,000 points per simultaneous cast. Tier 8 *Transcendental meditation- The ability to designate 1,000 intelligence to full meditation and remove all upper and lower limitations. Rank depends entirely on the visualization on the first attempt. *Frigid Beam- Fire a beam of hyper compressed and supercooled water a single target. Cost 50 MP per second   This time his smile was entirely predatory. For any beginning mage this spell would be next to useless because it would drain their entire mana pool in three or four seconds and they would have to spend the next several minutes standing around just for it to recharge, but for him he could cast it practically indefinitely. He quickly confirmed it all then picked up the bundle of twelve shimmering golden tickets and small squares of crystal that were laying next to him and put it in his pocket before heading toward the front door. He opened it and was welcomed by his nephews running questions like a machine gun. He laughed and sent them outside to play while he talked with the adults. Everyone was sitting in the living room watching the news and discussing how oblivious the people were and whether or not they should leak the word. He quickly said that was a bad Idea. So far they had two years to prepare and get ready for the mad rush when they all tried to become players but if they spread the word then it would just be like shooting themselves in the foot. At any rate they had plenty of time to spread the word when they themselves were completely ready for the fallout. After discussing for a while he said he was planning to go to the players store that was now in Chicago since it was the nearest one and they were only on the outskirts. He quickly got in the car and headed there. He was almost jittery in excitement since he was essentially going to buy a bunch of spells for nothing. He fully planned on buying six high level spells for free, even though it would probably piss of their manager he was totally willing to cut a deal for it. When pulled up on the other side of the road from it he cut the engine and in less than a second he was at the entrance. One good thing about the system was you always had full control over your body even when you were like him and just got an immense boost to your stats. When he walked in there were three people walking around doing various things and everyone of them froze like a rabbit that had seen a wolf when there eyes landed on him. One of them hit a button on the desk that would alert the manager and he sighed even though he had expected this. As he walked up to the counter he pulled up the panel to view their high level spells. There are hundreds to choose from in every category so he narrowed it down to tier seven and above. Since his unique spell were all utility or boosting abilities he went to their attack magic and picked out a few that he knew of or liked from their description.   *Water Healing, Frozen Forest, Ice field, Perma frost armor, Frost aura, Ice prison *Gale speed, Vortex, Maelstrom, Compression blade, Flight, Wind domain *Flame burst, Fire pillar, Burning domain, Firestorm, Flame Drill, Armageddon *Diamond armor, Granite rampart, earthquake, Stone forest, Boulder launch, oil field   After debating the pros and cons of each spell that he could foresee since he would be in dungeons most of the time he wouldn’t find to much use for say stone forest but the ice prison on the other hand would be good for tying down single and strong opponents. The problem was that most of these would be one shot all or nothings and he would be totally out of mana. With a sigh he scaled it back look at the Tier four water spells.   *Greater water regeneration, Icy lance, Ice barrier, chilling aura, Frozen shackles, Explosive ice shard, greater water blade, Water beam, Rainstorm, Ice barrage, Ice disc.   With a grin he grabbed the Greater water regeneration, Icy lance, frozen shackles, and rainstorm. Then he toggled over to tier ten utility spells and grabbed the Tier 10 version of the mana barrier that every mage had called Ultimate mana fortress. The only difference between this spell and other mana barrier spells was that it essentially created a barrier of each element type and layered them together with an additional physical shield as well. At its base if he learned it and pumped it with all 300,000 of his mana it would absorb 3,000,000 points of damage total. He then went to items and chose their highest capacity Inventory which had 250 slots. Quickly he took out all twelve tickets and put them in front of the dumbstruck receptionist. He actually had to knock on the desk before she snapped out of it. “Hello, anyone home.” and snap, she snapped back to the present so fast it was almost audible. As she left to go get his skill books he turned and leaned on the counter as he faced the head honcho of this store. She weighed in at probably no more than two hundred because even threw her clothes you could see the rigid layers of muscle beneath. Normally that would be unattractive in a woman but her laissez faire expression somehow made it quite erotic. He made no attempt to hide his appraisal but didn’t stare or even let his eyes linger. To a warrior like her it was an insult not to admire the result of countless hundreds of hours of grueling training in hellish conditions. She was built like a martial artist but her very pointed ears gave her away as well as her almost black skin. He stood up straight and punched his right fist into his left palm then bowed to thirty degrees very slowly while he cocked his head to the right to expose his throat. The woman's eyes were filled with total shock and the companion behind her involuntarily let out something between a gag and a gasp while he kept his eyes locked with the woman. Formerly he had gotten lost in a high level labyrinth type dungeon and fell in with a party of drow nobles who had just recently arrived and decided to attempt the dungeon. Altogether they spent nearly three months in that place before they figured out the trick to summoning the boss, most of the time they thought it was hilarious to teach him the language and customs of the high courts and it was a great time waster so he eventually ended up memorizing it out of sheer boredom. Finally the woman seemed to shake herself and repeated the actions like a mirror then three seconds after that she spoke in the language of the drow, “May the mountain shelter you,” *Her voice is like deep melody* he thought then he replied “May the shadow embrace you,”. *If her eyes could get any wider they would literally fall out of her face* he thought, then they both said in tandem “And may the earth hold your glorious last breath.” Then they both straightened and he walked over to poor desk clerk who was frozen in a side doorway. The poor girl looked like all her common sense was totally shattered. The tickets were still on the desk so he took the Inventory and books then bit his finger and bound the cube like inventory with blood and put the books and crystals inside then willed it away. It would now only appear when he wanted to add something to it. He then returned to the manager whose jaw was in danger of hitting the floor and said “Perhaps you would like to speak in your office?” She visibly shook herself this time and motioned for him to follow before leading the way up three flights of stairs in a daze.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div>  As the month passes, a cold wind begins to blow, bringing heavy rains with it<em>. ‘Who would have thought that just reaching Seed coalescing would be such a pain,’ </em>John sighs. Today will be his second attempt. With his stem filled with the sun and earth energy, he begins to swirl the power around the core in a circular manner.<br><br></div> <div>  The stimulation causes the core to shudder as it absorbs the energy endlessly, reminding John of his previous attempt. He can feel his whole body shaking, his leaves ruffle, and the ground near his roots crack. <em>‘This is too intense!’ </em>John thinks. John starts to worry that he did something wrong.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe is grazing as usual when he is surprised by the bush’s sudden violence. His eyes grow wide as he feels the ground shake. With trepidation, the large rotund demonic bull backs away from the quaking bush.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe begins to see mysterious images form around the bush. The bush is now lush as a set of magical scenes appear on the hill. First, a child plays in the shade of the bush. It’s berries slowly nurturing the child. Second, a scene of a pure teenage girl reverently picks the berries from the lush bush. Third, a divine lady takes to the sky as if to battle the gods. The scenes continue playing over and over.<br><br></div> <div>  The phenomena continues for an hour until the images start to overlap, converging into the bush, with a blinding light. A deafening explosion smashes the silence! Causing the fearful bull to stumble slipping on the slick ground from the recent rains. “UOOOGA.” Joe roars as he tumbles, rolling down the hill like a ball.<br><br></div> <div><em>  ‘Ha ha ha,’</em> John laughs to his heart’s content. He can feel his body fill with energy. A small golden seed now takes the place of the circular core. <em>‘I warned you, stupid bull, but you didn’t listen,’</em> John thinks with a face full of joy. The demonic bull’s current humiliation is the cherry on top of this great achievement.<br><br></div> <div>  Feeling vindicated, John can only wonder what those visions meant<em>. ‘Perhaps it’s an ancient memory from my great ancestor?’</em> John wonders while furrowing his brow. He made sure to take the images to heart and memorize them for the future.<br><br></div> <div>  While John is on top of the moon, poor Joe is looking quite sad. He’d only been eating as normal when such a strange thing happened. Now he is covered in mud and a bit dizzy from his tumble. Joe Climbs to his hooves. The demonic bull then looks up angrily at the offending plant. It feels that this plant is trying to steal his hill! Snorting, he charges back up to show this bush who is boss.<br><br></div> <div>  John senses the angry demonic bull trying to climb up the hill. His senses can now reach much farther, encompassing the whole hill. However, the ground is slippery, and the overweight beast is not having a great time. It keeps tumbling back down the slope getting angrier every time. John can’t help but laugh, <em>‘Joe, I know this is a happy occasion, but you don’t have to dance around like that.’</em></div> <div><br>  After many attempts, Joe reaches the top of the hill. At this point, he looks more like a mud boulder then a demonic beast. Joe’s eyes are red with anger as he stomps his hoof and eyes the bush. It is going to get revenge for sure! Slowly walking forward, the bush seems to quiver a bit in fear. It does no good, however, as Joe chomps down on one of the branches. Chewing slowly, he makes sure that this bush knows he can eat it at any time.<br><br></div> <div>  John is Horrified by Joe’s aggression and his lost limb. John’s revelry quickly turns into depression. <em>‘What I didn’t do anything to you! Why are you so intolerable!’</em> he yells to no avail. All he can hope for is that the bull’s fury is satiated with just one branch. The pain is there but is nowhere near what it was as a human. At least he can be thankful that he has the resilience of a plant. He can grow more branches in the future, replacing the lost one.<br><br></div> <div>  Soon more time passes as it gets colder, John loses his leaves, and soon even the surrounding grass wilts. Now with the ability to grow more weeds taken away, the two hill mates are in a standoff. <em>‘What you want to eat me? If you do, how will you satiate your appetite?’</em> John questions the annoying bull that has been giving him dark looks.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe, not understanding, stomps his hoof and snorts as usual to produce more grass. However, this time nothing happens. It is very annoying, but even as a stubborn bull, it knows that winter is almost here. No matter what, this is a hungry time of year. Pouting Joe slumps down, facing away from the poor bush.<br><br></div> <div><em>  ‘Do you think if you cry, I’ll be able to change the seasons magically?!’</em> John curses at the bull’s sullen attitude. He’d even lost a limb earlier even if he could why would he help this stupid Joe. John turns his senses away from Joe, attempting to counter pout.<br><br></div> <div>  John is significantly weaker without the power of the sun; he feels sleepy. Soon both John and Joe, the demonic bull, turn in for the winter. When they wake up, it should be an exciting new year, both think!<br><br></div> <div>  John's dreams are full of him gaining full control of his body and escaping this damn hill leaving Joe crying. Joe's dreams, however, are full of even more food. The hill is full of tasty grass and also some fruit. Joe can’t help but drool at the sight while John shudders for some reason.</div> </div>

As the month passes, a cold wind begins to blow, bringing heavy rains with it*. ‘Who would have thought that just reaching Seed coalescing would be such a pain,’* John sighs. Today will be his second attempt. With his stem filled with the sun and earth energy, he begins to swirl the power around the core in a circular manner.   The stimulation causes the core to shudder as it absorbs the energy endlessly, reminding John of his previous attempt. He can feel his whole body shaking, his leaves ruffle, and the ground near his roots crack. *‘This is too intense!’* John thinks. John starts to worry that he did something wrong.   Joe is grazing as usual when he is surprised by the bush’s sudden violence. His eyes grow wide as he feels the ground shake. With trepidation, the large rotund demonic bull backs away from the quaking bush.   Joe begins to see mysterious images form around the bush. The bush is now lush as a set of magical scenes appear on the hill. First, a child plays in the shade of the bush. It’s berries slowly nurturing the child. Second, a scene of a pure teenage girl reverently picks the berries from the lush bush. Third, a divine lady takes to the sky as if to battle the gods. The scenes continue playing over and over.   The phenomena continues for an hour until the images start to overlap, converging into the bush, with a blinding light. A deafening explosion smashes the silence! Causing the fearful bull to stumble slipping on the slick ground from the recent rains. “UOOOGA.” Joe roars as he tumbles, rolling down the hill like a ball. *‘Ha ha ha,’* John laughs to his heart’s content. He can feel his body fill with energy. A small golden seed now takes the place of the circular core. *‘I warned you, stupid bull, but you didn’t listen,’* John thinks with a face full of joy. The demonic bull’s current humiliation is the cherry on top of this great achievement.   Feeling vindicated, John can only wonder what those visions meant*. ‘Perhaps it’s an ancient memory from my great ancestor?’* John wonders while furrowing his brow. He made sure to take the images to heart and memorize them for the future.   While John is on top of the moon, poor Joe is looking quite sad. He’d only been eating as normal when such a strange thing happened. Now he is covered in mud and a bit dizzy from his tumble. Joe Climbs to his hooves. The demonic bull then looks up angrily at the offending plant. It feels that this plant is trying to steal his hill! Snorting, he charges back up to show this bush who is boss.   John senses the angry demonic bull trying to climb up the hill. His senses can now reach much farther, encompassing the whole hill. However, the ground is slippery, and the overweight beast is not having a great time. It keeps tumbling back down the slope getting angrier every time. John can’t help but laugh, *‘Joe, I know this is a happy occasion, but you don’t have to dance around like that.’*   After many attempts, Joe reaches the top of the hill. At this point, he looks more like a mud boulder then a demonic beast. Joe’s eyes are red with anger as he stomps his hoof and eyes the bush. It is going to get revenge for sure! Slowly walking forward, the bush seems to quiver a bit in fear. It does no good, however, as Joe chomps down on one of the branches. Chewing slowly, he makes sure that this bush knows he can eat it at any time.   John is Horrified by Joe’s aggression and his lost limb. John’s revelry quickly turns into depression. *‘What I didn’t do anything to you! Why are you so intolerable!’* he yells to no avail. All he can hope for is that the bull’s fury is satiated with just one branch. The pain is there but is nowhere near what it was as a human. At least he can be thankful that he has the resilience of a plant. He can grow more branches in the future, replacing the lost one.   Soon more time passes as it gets colder, John loses his leaves, and soon even the surrounding grass wilts. Now with the ability to grow more weeds taken away, the two hill mates are in a standoff. *‘What you want to eat me? If you do, how will you satiate your appetite?’* John questions the annoying bull that has been giving him dark looks.   Joe, not understanding, stomps his hoof and snorts as usual to produce more grass. However, this time nothing happens. It is very annoying, but even as a stubborn bull, it knows that winter is almost here. No matter what, this is a hungry time of year. Pouting Joe slumps down, facing away from the poor bush. *‘Do you think if you cry, I’ll be able to change the seasons magically?!’* John curses at the bull’s sullen attitude. He’d even lost a limb earlier even if he could why would he help this stupid Joe. John turns his senses away from Joe, attempting to counter pout.   John is significantly weaker without the power of the sun; he feels sleepy. Soon both John and Joe, the demonic bull, turn in for the winter. When they wake up, it should be an exciting new year, both think!   John's dreams are full of him gaining full control of his body and escaping this damn hill leaving Joe crying. Joe's dreams, however, are full of even more food. The hill is full of tasty grass and also some fruit. Joe can’t help but drool at the sight while John shudders for some reason.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkOTBiZGQwMTNjMjRmOGVhZTc1MjBhZDYxNzY2YTdi">After realizing his weapon broke, Elias throws its hilt to the ground and take a step back — reaching another weapon in his back. His situation is disadvantageous — his weapons are trash, his left hands were gone, and his opponent is stronger which apparent from the earlier clash.</p> <p class="cnM2MzA0ZWNmNDBmZTRmMDhiNzZjOGIwYWYwMjMzYTBl">His realizes that his decision to escape from those goblins towards this direction is a blunder.</p> <p class="cnM1MGJlMGE2MTc4ZTQxNmU5ZmRlM2Q5ZDE5ODE1NDFl">However, he can't back down — he won't run when his master is behind him — never again.</p> <p class="cnNjODEwMzYzZWUxNDRkMDE5NzZjMWU1MGY2NTg5YWIw">His agile movement becomes more flexible as time goes on, but his stamina depleted quicker as the consequence. If this goes on, he won't survive for another ten minutes. However, he never plans to continue this farce until his death.</p> <p class="cnNiNjFkNzhiMjUwNjQ2ZTBhY2Y3ZjMwODk4NDg2YjE5">He will make the circumstance favorable towards him.</p> <p class="cnNmZTM0MWQxZjViNjRlODc5ZGFiNDgxYWZjZmM4ZjJi">He charges towards that dungeon master again with another sword in his hand. Their weapon clashes again and creates a spark of fire between them. Elias face serious thinking while observing and predicting opponent next action, while that dungeon master let out a sneer on his face, knows this puny race called human is weaker than him — he has all the advantage.</p> <p class="cnMyOWJhNDQyYzhiMTQ0NjY5MGQ5MTRiZTE3NTlhMTdl">The dungeon master sees him only as his prey which he can slay anytime he wants.</p> <p class="cnNiNjFiNzc0YjE0YTRkNGZhMGRmODc4MTAyNGZmNzc4">"I can't comprehend why you didn't run earlier. With your current ability, I'm sure that you can escape if you use that person as a bait," that dungeon master speak for the first time while in defensive — his speech was loud and clear in Elias' ears as the English language.</p> <p class="cnNhMGYyOGQxZDdiOTQxOThhMTEwZWY0NmU1NmQwZDlj">Even though all species have different language and dialect, in this world, listeners will hear a translated version of the speaker speech. However, this only works, in verbal communication and not in writing — therefore in Elias previous life, humans often use encrypted letters to send an important message.</p> <p class="cnNhNzI0MzNkNzY2ZjQwMGE4ZTFhNGYzODZjY2RhNTRh">There are many skills to intercept a telepathic message, but a letter message which even the messenger doesn't know to interpret the letter, there is no way dungeon masters will understand the content even if they intercept it — it'll be worthless for them.</p> <p class="cnM1YmU2M2EyZjY2YTQ4M2Y5ZjIwMGE2NTkyMDgwYzg0">There are many mysterious things in this world which yet unravel by humanity in his previous life, like how these phenomena happen. However, for a survivalist like Elias, those technical things aren't important. He prefers honing his skill or learns something that can increase his survival chance.</p> <p class="cnNlN2ZhM2M1N2JkODQ2ODZhMzVkZWU2MTBmNGU2MWRm">Nonetheless, even though Elias have lots of experiences in this world from his previous life, his low status pushed him into his limits to avoid the dungeon master attack, either form those black poisons or stab from opponent's spear.</p> <p class="cnNhN2I4M2M5MmQzNzQwMWU4ODgzN2ZkYTU1MjAwZmM0">Hearing the dungeon masters sudden question in the middle of fights, made him surprised a bit.</p> <p class="cnNkMGQ2ZjJhYmRlYjQ2NTdhNjBjMWU2OWY2MTJjNmZj">"Maybe it'll be hard for you to understand for your species — dungeon masters." He swings his sword which finally broken after blocked the dungeon master stab. "However, for a human, there are people that worth to protect even with their life is at stake."</p> <p class="cnNlNzU0ZjhhYTQwZjQ4NWViOTQwOTcxMjM3MDI1ODM5">Another sword has broken again, but this time his weapon can reach the dungeon master arm once.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDM4NjRjMmQyODRkYzY4MGZkMzNlMDhkZmRiOGE2">He notices that there are no blood flows from that wound, 'damn, that attack earlier is too shallow.'</p> <p class="cnM0ZDkwM2FkNzE5MzQ5MzI4NTE5NTEzMTVjNjQzMjI5">He throws his broken sword and changes with another weapon — a rusty short sword. He realizes that this sword is worse than earlier, but he doesn't have many choices — there is only two weapon remaining from six he brought earlier.</p> <p class="cnM4ZmNlMTdjYWYzYzRmYmJhYzk4ZWI1N2ZhYmEwMTc4">He charges towards the dungeon master while trying to avoid weapon collision as little as possible.</p> <p class="cnNkNTVlMGY1MDc0NzRiODQ4NzlkZGMyZjIwZmI0NzI4">'For solitude species like dungeon masters, my act can be considered foolish — throwing my only opportunity to escape to give a chance for others to live.'</p> <p class="cnM4MTNhYWFhMTlhZTQxOTZiMjIxNzk0MjMxODMwMWY4">He sighs and moving while tries attacking vital spots for dungeon master.</p> <p class="cnNhMmE2YmNlYWExYjQ3NTJiZDk2MDRiOWNmN2ZmNWVm">This time, the dungeon master stop his sneer. Not because of Elias speech which he considers crazy — but because Elias could hurt him even though this time is just a scratch. He realizes that he underestimate this creature.</p> <p class="cnNkN2QxZGI0NWIwYTQ1MGRiNjdkMWFiZWM1MDZhNDQx">He starts to get serious — this time, he isn't viewing Elias as mere prey — this time, he recognizes him as a proper enemy and changes his attack style.</p> <p class="cnMzMWE4MjgyMWFhYzQ5MWNhYmI4MDZmODA0MWU4ZjNh">This sudden change of style caught Elias off guard. The dungeon master offensive style — creates a deep wound on Elias' flesh. After looking at his enemy changing his spear style, he understands that his enemy starts to take him seriously which forced him exerted more stamina and pushed himself beyond his limits.</p> <p class="cnMxMjE1YmE5YjhjYzQ0OTVhM2FmNzEwYWZlY2JlM2Ri">He already tried to as offensive as possible while avoiding direct weapon collisions. However, it's impossible to evade stronger foe attacks without blocking or got any injuries. His sword finally clashes with the dungeon master and become another broken weapon. Again, he throws this sword aside and takes the last one on his back.</p> <p class="cnNhNzk4YjVmMGFkNjQyNzBiYjgzOGY5Y2VlMGI5N2U4">Even though he already sacrifices five weapons, it only causes a small wound to the dungeon master. Elias himself, on the other hand, got several deep injuries from avoiding weapon clash earlier.</p> <p class="cnM5N2MyZjU3NDA2YTRlYjlhMTliMGYxODk5YTAwNWY3">"As a creature from a peaceful world, your instinct is very good — too good even," the dungeon master let out praise after noticing the Elias still holding his last weapon. He's sure that Elias life is at his mercy.</p> <p class="cnNmZDc2ODNmN2RlMjQ5ZmE5YTM3ZTQ3ZDNjOWVjNWJk">"Any last words?"</p> <p class="cnNhYjk2YTUwMGNjNzQzZTNhNTcxZTU0OTNmNGFhYjYx">"Yes," his breath erratic but he still can let out a sound, his lips curled upwards, "Oh World-will, I want to gamble."</p> <p class="cnNiNTMwZjAwYjYwZTRjN2ViMGFkYTdjNjI5MmM1OWNi">"Wha…" at that instant everything around them frozen in time — wind, the flap of bird wings, drop of water, everything in this world stops in their place after Elias saying that words.</p> <p class="cnNjY2ExZDM0NWQ2OTQ2NjA5ZTBkMjQ2YmI1ZTQzMzQ0">Their surrounding change into an absolute white of nothingness — in this place just two of them, Elias and the dungeon master separated by a blue translucent barrier.</p> <p class="cnNlYjRhYWViZTAwYjQwYjRiZjQzMjNjYWQ1MjAyMWUy">"You, dungeon masters, are too prideful — you always underestimate weaker creature. It's a mistake to not observing your surrounding while fighting with me," he mumbles but that words the dungeon master hear it clearly behind the barrier.</p> <p class="cnM3MjI1ZTgyZmE2ZjQzNTM4NjQ0N2RlNjdiZjMyYzRj">The dungeon master's face becomes uglier from each of his words. He grits his teeth while thinking how foolish he was to not realize Elias prepared the World-will gamble in the entire battle. However, that's not entirely his fault — no one ever guesses that a newcomer from another world will know a restricted thing to the upper echelon on this world.</p> <p class="cnM1ZmFhNDAyOGFiNzQ4OTY5MzQxZjQ1NWQyZDc2NjBm">The dungeon master can only blame his bad luck — attacking someone with future knowledge.</p> <p class="cnMxZjJmOTcxZDIyNzQ1ZjFhOWYyODg3YjEyY2M0NjAy">Soon, a yellow glowing ball appears in this white world. That thing let out a calm but divine aura which pressures both of them to kneel on their knees. There is comfortable silence for a long time until finally — a holographic sentence appears on their retina.</p> <p class="cnMzOTBhYjAyZjg0ZDRmYmY4Y2MzYWRjOTQ1MTViMWFj">[Commencing World-will Gamble]</p> <p class="cnM4M2ZmNjVjMTZmNDRmZDZiYzU1M2VjNWVjYTVkOGMw">[Challenger: Elias(Colorless)]</p> <p class="cnNhMmY2OGY1NzViNjQyY2Q5MmUyNGY0NDIyNzQyZjY0">[Defender: T'lear(Red)]</p> <p class="cnMwNDMxYmEyN2JlNjRhZmI5ZTAzNDRjYzljNjNlMjhj">From the start, Elias notices that the dungeon master is indeed in red level, one level above him. If the dungeon master didn't think him as prey, there is no chance that he will survive this long — as people said, underestimate your opponents, and they will bite you in the ass.</p> <p class="cnNlNWU3MTBmZTZmZDQ3YWU5MGFiNWJkYzc3YmFlY2Jm">Not long after, another holographic sentence appears in his retina.</p> <p class="cnM1NzZjN2Y2YTE5MjQzMDBiNzQ1NDlmNjNiNDllNWJj">[Challenger, speak what you want from the Defender]</p> <p class="cnMwZThlYjhhNjg4NDRiMjE4ZTExNjE5ZDZiMjc5MjAx">'Time to make situation favorable towards me.'</p> <p class="cnNmZGFkZTA3NDNkNDRhOGQ5ZDA0Njk0ZGNjNzQ3Yjc5">"Defender status as dungeon master."</p> </div>

After realizing his weapon broke, Elias throws its hilt to the ground and take a step back — reaching another weapon in his back. His situation is disadvantageous — his weapons are trash, his left hands were gone, and his opponent is stronger which apparent from the earlier clash. His realizes that his decision to escape from those goblins towards this direction is a blunder. However, he can't back down — he won't run when his master is behind him — never again. His agile movement becomes more flexible as time goes on, but his stamina depleted quicker as the consequence. If this goes on, he won't survive for another ten minutes. However, he never plans to continue this farce until his death. He will make the circumstance favorable towards him. He charges towards that dungeon master again with another sword in his hand. Their weapon clashes again and creates a spark of fire between them. Elias face serious thinking while observing and predicting opponent next action, while that dungeon master let out a sneer on his face, knows this puny race called human is weaker than him — he has all the advantage. The dungeon master sees him only as his prey which he can slay anytime he wants. "I can't comprehend why you didn't run earlier. With your current ability, I'm sure that you can escape if you use that person as a bait," that dungeon master speak for the first time while in defensive — his speech was loud and clear in Elias' ears as the English language. Even though all species have different language and dialect, in this world, listeners will hear a translated version of the speaker speech. However, this only works, in verbal communication and not in writing — therefore in Elias previous life, humans often use encrypted letters to send an important message. There are many skills to intercept a telepathic message, but a letter message which even the messenger doesn't know to interpret the letter, there is no way dungeon masters will understand the content even if they intercept it — it'll be worthless for them. There are many mysterious things in this world which yet unravel by humanity in his previous life, like how these phenomena happen. However, for a survivalist like Elias, those technical things aren't important. He prefers honing his skill or learns something that can increase his survival chance. Nonetheless, even though Elias have lots of experiences in this world from his previous life, his low status pushed him into his limits to avoid the dungeon master attack, either form those black poisons or stab from opponent's spear. Hearing the dungeon masters sudden question in the middle of fights, made him surprised a bit. "Maybe it'll be hard for you to understand for your species — dungeon masters." He swings his sword which finally broken after blocked the dungeon master stab. "However, for a human, there are people that worth to protect even with their life is at stake." Another sword has broken again, but this time his weapon can reach the dungeon master arm once. He notices that there are no blood flows from that wound, 'damn, that attack earlier is too shallow.' He throws his broken sword and changes with another weapon — a rusty short sword. He realizes that this sword is worse than earlier, but he doesn't have many choices — there is only two weapon remaining from six he brought earlier. He charges towards the dungeon master while trying to avoid weapon collision as little as possible. 'For solitude species like dungeon masters, my act can be considered foolish — throwing my only opportunity to escape to give a chance for others to live.' He sighs and moving while tries attacking vital spots for dungeon master. This time, the dungeon master stop his sneer. Not because of Elias speech which he considers crazy — but because Elias could hurt him even though this time is just a scratch. He realizes that he underestimate this creature. He starts to get serious — this time, he isn't viewing Elias as mere prey — this time, he recognizes him as a proper enemy and changes his attack style. This sudden change of style caught Elias off guard. The dungeon master offensive style — creates a deep wound on Elias' flesh. After looking at his enemy changing his spear style, he understands that his enemy starts to take him seriously which forced him exerted more stamina and pushed himself beyond his limits. He already tried to as offensive as possible while avoiding direct weapon collisions. However, it's impossible to evade stronger foe attacks without blocking or got any injuries. His sword finally clashes with the dungeon master and become another broken weapon. Again, he throws this sword aside and takes the last one on his back. Even though he already sacrifices five weapons, it only causes a small wound to the dungeon master. Elias himself, on the other hand, got several deep injuries from avoiding weapon clash earlier. "As a creature from a peaceful world, your instinct is very good — too good even," the dungeon master let out praise after noticing the Elias still holding his last weapon. He's sure that Elias life is at his mercy. "Any last words?" "Yes," his breath erratic but he still can let out a sound, his lips curled upwards, "Oh World-will, I want to gamble." "Wha…" at that instant everything around them frozen in time — wind, the flap of bird wings, drop of water, everything in this world stops in their place after Elias saying that words. Their surrounding change into an absolute white of nothingness — in this place just two of them, Elias and the dungeon master separated by a blue translucent barrier. "You, dungeon masters, are too prideful — you always underestimate weaker creature. It's a mistake to not observing your surrounding while fighting with me," he mumbles but that words the dungeon master hear it clearly behind the barrier. The dungeon master's face becomes uglier from each of his words. He grits his teeth while thinking how foolish he was to not realize Elias prepared the World-will gamble in the entire battle. However, that's not entirely his fault — no one ever guesses that a newcomer from another world will know a restricted thing to the upper echelon on this world. The dungeon master can only blame his bad luck — attacking someone with future knowledge. Soon, a yellow glowing ball appears in this white world. That thing let out a calm but divine aura which pressures both of them to kneel on their knees. There is comfortable silence for a long time until finally — a holographic sentence appears on their retina. [Commencing World-will Gamble] [Challenger: Elias(Colorless)] [Defender: T'lear(Red)] From the start, Elias notices that the dungeon master is indeed in red level, one level above him. If the dungeon master didn't think him as prey, there is no chance that he will survive this long — as people said, underestimate your opponents, and they will bite you in the ass. Not long after, another holographic sentence appears in his retina. [Challenger, speak what you want from the Defender] 'Time to make situation favorable towards me.' "Defender status as dungeon master."

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlNDAxZDdjYzY4OTQ4MDc4YzE1YzVkYmZmOGRhNGI5">Leaving his parents was proving to be just as hard as Kyle had expected and he wasn’t the only one, Hal was also struggling with the idea of living alone in a strange town. Sonia, on the other hand was much more relaxed bidding her guardian Thomas a cheerful goodbye, thanking him for looking after her for all these years and then going on say goodbye to Al and her friends’ parents before waiting patiently for thee others to finish their much more emotional farewells.</p> <p class="cnM0MDE1NTY2N2MyNjRjMmM4Y2IzZDZhNDA5NWQzNmMw">It wasn’t that she wasn’t going to miss the people who had looked after her for the past few years, in fact she was incredibly grateful towards them, but she also understood that saying goodbye was just another part of life.</p> <p class="cnNiY2E4NTM3Mzc5ZjRmNzQ4MThlYzM2Y2I0NzA0OGY4">Things for the other three weren’t as simple however as none of them had travelled as far as they would today and never without their parents there with them</p> <p class="cnM3M2QwMTU2NzBlZTQ1MTY5OTg5M2I4YjJkOGZkYzcy">It ended up taking them a whole half hour to finish saying goodbye with Emma making sure that Kyle had everything that he needed to take with him and Jerald spouting various pieces of advice almost constantly, much to his son’s embarrassment and even then Yuliah had to intervene, stating that she wanted to travel as much of the way to Greenhearth as possible in a single day so that they would only have to spend one night outside the safety of the walls.</p> <p class="cnNmMWY3NGZlZTg3MzQ1Yjc5MDk2Nzc4OTE2MjRiNjA1">Yuliah was the only one with a horse due to the amount of time she spent travelling around recruiting new students for the Adventurers School and she had promised to swap with Sonia if she got tired.</p> <p class="cnM3Y2FlYTU5NjdlMTRjMmNhZWE2ODAwMWRkMWFjYmFk">The horse pranced on the spot as she called out to the people she would be travelling back with.</p> <p class="cnNiNGIyYzgwNzllZDRjNTM5ZWQyYmYwZjQzNjU0NjYz">“Come on! We’re burning daylight and trust me when I say that you guys don’t want to spend more than one night outside of a town at your Levels!”</p> <p class="cnMyZWE4ZjYzNWY0ZDQzYWNiMDgwODI0MjU0Nzg0Yzdj">“Alright, we’re coming,” Hal grumbled dragging himself from his mother’s embrace. Walking out of the gates the four kids turned back and waved goodbye to their families once more.</p> <p class="cnNjYjY2NTdkYjVlNjQ4NmNiMDJkODFjNWY2N2ZlOGQ5">“Make sure you call us when you get there!” Emma shouted making Kyle roll his eyes, this was the seventh time she had reminded him in the past ten minutes.</p> <p class="cnMyY2E0ZTQ0ZGQ5MzQ3ZjliYjUxYjFhYTFlNzZjZTU3">“Sure mum!” he shouted back ignoring the snigger from Hal who then frowned when his mother made the same request.</p> <p class="cnNmYWZlODllYzM0NjQ3YjZiOWNlNjQ3ZmMyM2NlNjNh">Chuckling as Hal also had to go through the public embarrassment of telling his mother that he’ll make sure to keep in contact as well Kyle turned back to face Yuliah who was glaring at them he walked out towards her. His parents didn’t own a Communication Orb of their own, but Kyle’s parents had offered to let them borrow theirs when they wanted to.</p> <p class="cnMxNzg0NDNkMzlkZTQwM2FiYTA5NWFiNTA5NDEwYmEz">“Oi!” Hal shouted upon turning around to see Kyle abandoning him. “Wait up mate.”</p> <p class="cnMxNzA3ODhkNjU0ZjRmNmJiYjU3MWFkMWY3YmU2ZTA4">Walking out along the main road towards Greenhearth Yuliah started telling the three who were hoping to get into the Adventurers School exactly what would be waiting for them.</p> <p class="cnNjZDIyNzQ2OTczNTQ3OWI4MDA5YjRkOGE5OGI4NTlm">“Now as you know you’ve already passed the first part of the admission process,” Yuliah started. She was of course referring to the competition that had gone so horribly wrong.</p> <p class="cnMzOTUyM2ZlZWUxNDRkOWQ5YjYyYjgwZDRkOTFkNzM5">Kyle grimaced at the reminder, it was hard to believe that all that had happened only two days ago.</p> <p class="cnM3NDEzNWYxZTQ4ZTRiM2Q4NTQ5MDY5ODNkMTFiOGFj">“So, when we get to the school you will have a personal interview with the Director who will ask you what it is you want to get out of being a student at the school,” Yuliah continued ignoring the troubled looks on her charges faces. “And after that you will be asked to quickly give a guide as to how you want to develop your Class, the Skills and spells you wish to learn so that you can be put into the correct classes. There may be some things that will be recommended for you by some of the teachers and this is just a concept, it doesn’t matter if you change your mind later what matters is how well you understand what your current goals are.”</p> <p class="cnNiNzJiMWIzYTU3OTQ4YjA4ZmNjMjFhMmIxMjRhN2Ji">That was interesting, it was usually considered rude to ask someone about their Class and Stats but considering this school’s purpose it did make sense that they would have to know about the Class their students had so that you could teach them properly.</p> <p class="cnM5NjdmY2QyNzQxOTQ4OTk4ZjFiNGNmODNkOWJhMDBm">“Wait, so we just have to tell them what we want our Class to become when we reach Level 5?” Damian asked.</p> <p class="cnNhMWYxMjk1ODJlZjQ0MTBhZGE3OTJmYzM0MzNjZjUw">“Yes and no, we want you to think about the entirety of what you’re aiming for, something that we refer to as a ‘build.’”</p> <p class="cnM1OTQ4Y2YxYzNmNTRhZTdhMWVlNzZiOTlkNWU2NTE2">“Why?” Hal asked.</p> <p class="cnM1ZjMxMDA2ZjA2NTQ1OTVhYjMzZjdjOTBjNmY2ZGI2">“Like I said, this will affect the classes you end up taking if you get into the school, but it also shows us that you have a good understanding of how things like your Class, Skills and the magic you can use actually work.”</p> <p class="cnMyMzlmZjEwZTJjNjRhMWRhYjRlMmM0ZTI2MTgzM2Fj">“What about the recommendations?” Kyle asked. This was the most interesting thing for him. His Class was called ‘unusual’ for a reason making it very hard to figure out what Skills he should obtain for the best improvements to his strength. If the teachers at the Adventurers School could give him any advice it would be useful.</p> <p class="cnMyNWNlNzNjN2I3ODRhNGRhYzE0MWVkYTRmOGFhY2Nm">“That was actually mostly for your benefit,” Yuliah replied with a nod. “You don’t know that much about your Racial Variant, do you?”</p> <p class="cnNhYjVjMDNhZDE1ZDRlZDlhZmI2MGY0Zjg4NzMxMDQx">“Not really,” Kyle answered, he had no idea about so much to with his Racial Variant and he was sure that due to its heritage there was plenty that he didn’t want to know but learning more about himself was important, even if it was just so that he could avoid things like what happened when his Will Made Manifest Skill activated.</p> <p class="cnMwOTg2YTI2Y2VkYjQ4NjM5NzU2M2VlZjhhMjdhZmE4">“That Skill that you unlocked was one thing, but there are others just as dangerous if you are unprepared to use them,” Yuliah sighed. “After all your people were born of cruelty so many of the Racial Skills reflect that nature.”</p> <p class="cnNlMTJhOGFiNDc3NzRlMzQ4MWM1NTEzNWE2OTM2ZWE5">Her cold words caused Kyle to shudder, he hadn’t even considered the implications of how his Racial Variant came to be and it was quickly becoming clear to him the problems he was going to face in that future.</p> <p class="cnM2MDk0MjE4NDQ2OTQwM2ViZDVlZmE3ZjRhMjk3MDEw">“Yuliah… have you had to fight someone like me?”</p> <p class="cnNkNTk5NjA3NWQwYzRjZTk5ZGUyNzQzMTQzMTFhOWJl">“That thing was nothing like you Kyle,” Yuliah snarled her face darkening as she remembered something unpleasant from the past. “But that doesn’t mean that it’s safe for you to unlock your Racial Skills without having more information.”</p> <p class="cnNlNGU3MjdhY2E3ODQ3ODI4MzIzNWIwZWM5YjZjYjgy">Kyle frowned, “I’m going to have a difficult time, aren’t I?” he realised.</p> <p class="cnMwN2Q5MGM0MDI2MzRhODU4OTljN2UwYzQwYzBhMjBj">“Probably,” Yuliah admitted. “Even though its been a long time since we were officially at war with the Empire, they have been known to perform raids on border towns and kidnap the non-humans they found as well as killing anyone who tried to stop them. Coronia is a nation mostly populated by humans, so we don’t get as many of those incidents as the other countries along their border, but we have a few foreign students, so I wouldn’t be surprised if people treat you poorly when you first get there.”</p> <p class="cnNhNGZmNTRiMWY3ODRlNTM5Y2Y4OTNmMDFjOWE4ZjBm">“Wait if they keep attacking why are we not still at war with them?” Hal asked trying to turn the subject away from the one that was bothering his friend. It had been bad enough that Kyle had to face that sort of prejudice in his own village and he would rather that his friend didn’t have to deal with it again when he didn’t have anything to do with what the other members of his Racial Variant may have done.</p> <p class="cnNlMzdlOTVkNTNmOTRiOGU5ZWIzNGUzNjI5YzFhYWFi">“It’s very hard to fight against people when you can’t actually enter their country” Yuliah replied vaguely then looked around at the bewildered looks on her charges faces.</p> <p class="cnMxYTA4YTZmOWI4NDQzM2VhMTFjMTQzM2E5ZjIxMTJm">“Very well, I will explain; at the end of the last war the allied countries that fought alongside us against the Empire had finally managed to push their armies back to the very border of their lands and then, one night what appeared to be a Zone started to form over the whole country. When our armies tried to penetrate this Zone they failed completely, even our most powerful mages couldn’t break through the massive purple dome and not long after, an army more massive than any we had ever seen marched out from behind it, all wearing Imperial Armour and they completely routed our armies, took as many prisoners as they could and retreated back into Imperial territory.”</p> <p class="cnM0M2MyMjRlNGUyNzQ4NGI5NmEzMThiNTczMzU5M2Ew">However as one might expect this explanation only ended up adding to the list of questions that they had for her.</p> <p class="cnNiMzQyZjlkZmZmZjQwYzJiNTUyMjE5OTIwYzNhYTM3">“Wait, how does that work?” Damian asked. “A Zone big enough to cover an entire country?”</p> <p class="cnNmNGU5YjgwODU4NDQ0OTlhOGQ4MTQyNzAyYmMzZWI3">“Well, we don’t know the answer to that,” Yuliah replied. “Nor do we know why only Imperials and their captives can enter it, sadly.”</p> <p class="cnNjMmNkMWM4YzgyNDRmZDQ4NzUzMTA0OGQzZGU5MTBk">“No idea at all?”</p> <p class="cnMxYmIwY2IwZmQ1ODRhYjFhNTRjOTEyNGQ2NzIxN2M3">“Well there are some theories floating around, but nothing certain, or very pleasant to think about.”</p> <p class="cnNmMTYxNWM5OGNlMzRlODRiZjllOTc3YTE2NzNjYmVi">Kyle blanched as he realised what she was suggesting, “The captives?”</p> <p class="cnM3MTI0MzFlODE0NjQzNzM4M2FhMmVhMGI3MmU3MTU5">“Well it’s certainly the obvious answer isn’t it?” Yuliah sighed causing the others to turn green as they realised what the other two were talking about. Being a Half-elf that subject was a particularly sore on for her and her body visibly shuddered as she thought about what things the Imperials could be doing to the people, they dragged back with them.</p> <p class="cnM0MjRlZDg3MGNlNzQ2ZDE5ZWE4OTU0MWI4MmM2M2Nk">“But wait!” Sonia exclaimed realising that they were forgetting something important. “What about the massive army, where did that come from?”</p> <p class="cnMyZmQyMDRkOWI4OTQ2NjBiMDZmYzQ2N2NhMjZlMzA1">“Well as you may know Dungeons not only warp space but time as well, some people think that time inside the Imperial borders is moving at a much faster pace than it is outside of them.”</p> <p class="cnNkYWZhNTg5NGExMDQ0ZmI5NzMyYjE4NTE2ZDg3NmMz">“So, it might not be a Zone at all but some sort of artificial Dungeon?” Fi asked, she had been content to listen since people were asking the questions that she wanted answers to, but she decided to ask this one herself.</p> <p class="cnNhYWFlNmI1NjBkZTQ4MTg5ZjNiOTIzN2QyMWYyNDll">“It’s certainly a possibility but since we can’t enter it ourselves all we have is speculation.”</p> <p class="cnM2ODgzNDczOWMyNDRkOTVhYTEzMjE0YTJhZmI0ZDQ0">Everyone groaned at this answer which to them barely seemed to qualify as one, but it seemed that it was the best that they were going to get.</p> <p class="cnMwZDU5ZWYyMzgyNDRlNWQ5MDIwNDRiOTJkMGU5ZTlh">“I’m sorry I don’t have any better answers for you,” Yuliah said smiling for the first time since the conversation had turned to the Empire.</p> <p class="cnM0ZWEwNDIwMTNjYzRlYzI4YTliMjYyYWE5MjllZWYy">They continued walking for a few more hours but the topics of conversation were less interesting, mostly involving the facilities available in Greenhearth and the Adventurers School there which also served as the Adventurers Guild building in Greenhearth and had its own Blacksmithing workshop as well as facilities for every other form of Crafting Skill, a fully equipped training area that both the students and Adventurers could use and classrooms in which the students learned about the terms used by Adventurers and about the various spells, Skills and monsters that existed in this world of theirs.</p> <p class="cnMzNjI3MDZkNWQ5MjQ2ZDc4YjJjOGY5Y2FlYjk4Y2Vl">“Well, it’s starting to get late, so we should probably start setting up camp for the night,” Yuliah sighed. Sonia had been the first to tire a couple of hours ago so as promised she had dismounted from her horse and was currently leading the animal due to Sonia’s lack of the Riding Skill, so she reached up behind Sonia and pulled a small pouch out of the saddlebags.</p> <p class="cnNiN2Q1NTE0Nzg4YTRlZmJhZjc0ZTZjOTMxZjI3NTQ1">“Take this,” she said tossing it to Kyle who looked at it with a confused expression on his face. “It’s got the tents inside, go set them up.”</p> <p class="cnM2NmZmYzk5ZGY1OTQ0MmI5ZGRiNGExYjhhOTk0YmVl">“Huh!?” Kyle exclaimed looking at the pouch which could easily be held with one hand. How could something this small contain enough tents for all five of them and the companions?</p> <p class="cnNlYzRjYWUzZjIzMzQ1ODg5NzM3YjAyMmNlNTEzNWU0">“It’s got a spatial Inscription on it,” Yuliah explained as she helped Sonia down from the horse. “There are three tents inside for you to set up.”</p> <p class="cnM4MjM5NzJiZjM0YjRhNGM5NDgwYmU3MDlhZjVkYTk3">“I’ll help,” Hal offered.</p> <p class="cnM0NjkyZmQ1ZTg3ZDQ2YzE5ZmM0MGUzOWI1OGRkMjJm">“And I’ll go get some wood to make a fire with,” their resident Fire Mage decided seeing as making fires was his specialty.</p> <p class="cnM5ZjBiZmM2MzIzYzQyNTFhMmRkNDk2ZWYyYjMzMjc1">“Then would you mind helping me set up the perimeter?” Yuliah asked Sonia.</p> <p class="cnNmZGFkN2Q3ZDgyNzQxZjg5Nzg0M2VmZDMxNWFkZDhh">“The perimeter?”</p> <p class="cnM4ZTBjZTg0ZGEyMDQzNDc4NTQ3ZGQ3YmM0OGNmZDE5">“Yes, there aren’t any walls here so although its unlikely that we’ll be attacked by monsters it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Yuliah replied pulling another cloth pouch out of her horse saddlebags.</p> <p class="cnMyMWUxOTVjZDUxZDQ3NmZiMTI2YmVmOTRlMTAyZmIx">Kyle frowned at her words, his father hadn’t done anything like that but Yuliah only chuckled when she saw the look on his face.</p> <p class="cnNiNzYwN2E0ZDZkMjQ3NmFhZmJhMGM0N2QxZmRjZWIz">“Please don’t compare your father than I,” she requested. “He may be powerful enough to scare away monsters without even trying but I’m not.”</p> <p class="cnM4Y2RjNjQ4NDQ3YjQxM2E4Y2ZmNjQwOTRmODYwYTU0">“…Sorry.”</p> <p class="cnM2NmYzODRiNzZjNjRmMTFiNjVhZTA1MWFjNTJjZWVh">Seeing the embarrassed look on his face Yuliah laughed again. “It’s fine, you’re used to dealing with people at their level of power, so I’m not surprised that your worldview’s a bit different from most people’s.”</p> <p class="cnNkZGUyNjkwYmUxNjRiNTg4NThiMzRiNjBmOTI5NDk3">Kyle nodded and opened the small pouch in his hand, and reached in, marvelling at the usefulness of such an item as he grabbed one of three packages he could feel inside and pulled it out.</p> <p class="cnMwOGQ0MzIyYWY1ZTQ0ZTdiYzZjMmM3YTYxYmM5YTcw">Once Kyle and Hal had the tents set up Damian had already lit a small campfire and was watching as Sonia and Yuliah walked around the camp adjusting the position of small pieces of wood that each had an intricate pattern inscribed into them, supposedly these were magical tools that would prevent monsters from finding and attacking them while they slept.</p> <p class="cnMyODk5MTBkZmI1YTRmM2ViZDE0MzVlYTA0YTdlYzYz">Seeing the fire Hal immediately pulled something out of his backpack and tossed it in the fire and soon a loud yawn could be heard over the crackling of the flames as Herman poked his head out and greeted them.</p> <p class="cnNhNWM3ZjgzZTQwNDQzZDViM2MwZTVjNzA2N2ZhOTJk">“You really need to get a Level up so that he can unlock an ability that’ll allow him to be useful outside of a forge, don’t you?” Kyle remarked to his friend who started grumbling.</p> <p class="cnNjZTljOWZkOWY4NTQ5MTM5MmJjZDMzMWEzZmJiOTZj">“He’s certainly an odd one,” remarked Damian who then frowned.</p> <p class="cnMyZTEzMDEzYTc2NDQ3YmM4NmMzNjM4MWJiMDAzNDgz">“Not that Lenny’s any different really I suppose,” he sighed referring to his own companion who looked like an ordinary hedgehog and could also be termed that way having spent most of the day in a pocket of his bag asleep himself, though in his case this was due to laziness unlike Herman who acted that way due to his body’s heat requirements.</p> <p class="cnNhZjQ4NjFlYTQzMjQzNmNiZGEzNDQ0MjdhM2FhNmZi">Once she was done setting up the camp’s perimeter Yuliah told them that she was going to start making dinner, so they were free to do whatever they wanted until it was done just so long as they didn’t leave the safety of the campsite.</p> <p class="cnM4NTUwMmQyNWZmYzRmZDk5NTAxNGM4MzUyNTk4ZTVh">After conferring for a bit Kyle and Hal decided that they’d have a quick sparring session which was something they hadn’t done since getting their Classes causing Sonia to roll her eyes as their natural competitiveness started to come out again.</p> <p class="cnM5YzVmZWI5MTlmNDRhZmJiOGIzYzYzODI1NjYxZWE1">Kyle and Hal both had the Unarmed Combat Skill which due to Kyle not having a weapon Skill until a few days ago was what they often used in these sparring matches, they didn’t even use the Sub-skills that they had learned just using their stats and natural fighting abilities to test one another.</p> <p class="cnM2NjkyYjc0MGRiYzQwMTc5NDYxYjQyMGQ2MzEzOTNh">The way they fought was very different due to the differences between their stats and these differences had only continued to grow after they had received their Classes. Hal’s Class was simply known as Blacksmith and was an Uncommon Class that primarily increased Strength and Endurance with a small boost to constitution, so he used a very aggressive fighting style. Each one of his punches were powerful enough to break the bones of an ordinary person and Kyle with his Agility and Dexterity based Class was no exception to this so he had no choice but to use his speed to avoid the powerful swing and strike back with multiple fast strikes which simply weren’t very effective against the powerful body of his friend. In the end Hal had to admit defeat as Kyle had beaten his arms until he was no longer able to raise them, essentially putting him out of the fight.</p> <p class="cnMwMTgxZGE2YTdkNDQ5MDRhZjY0YTQ4M2VkMmU5MDZi">“Don’t worry about it mate,” Kyle assured him, seeing the put out look on Hal’s face. “I’ve got a whole Level’s worth of Stats over you, so it wasn’t a very fair fight anyway.”</p> <p class="cnNhMjFiODY2MDdmOTQ3NDQ4NjNhNjQ5M2MwNjk4MjZk">“Yeah, I know,” Hal sighed. “It’s just that only a few days ago we were pretty much even if we didn’t use magic or special attacks.”</p> <p class="cnM0NjczNjBiNjhkZTQ4OTZhNzM2MDY4Njg3NTVmZmY3">“Like I said man; don’t worry about it, you’ll Level up soon enough and we’ll be back on even footing,” Kyle laughed.</p> <p class="cnM0NmRmMTZlNGExOTQxZDc4ZTI5Y2U4YTdmNjc3ZGFk">“Alright you two,” sighed Yuliah who had been watching them beat each other up with an irritated look on her face. “Get over here so I can heal you.”</p> <p class="cnM0NTQyN2M0NGNjMjRkMjM4YWRhYWQ2MGRhZTdkYmU3">“Ok.”</p> <p class="cnM5YmI0ZDFhMmJhZTRlNjg5ZmM0ZWE2NjIzMTg1Mzg3">After Yuliah had finished healing them she served dinner and they started talking again.</p> <p class="cnNlODA3MTBjOGY3ZjQ0MzRiZmNiMWQ5Y2RlMDI2MGJk">“Hal, if you’re so good with your hammer why do you have the Unarmed Combat Skill as well,” Damian asked.</p> <p class="cnNmNjA3MmU4ZTA2ODQ1OTFhYmEyZDE1YTk3ZDlmYWFl">“Because if I didn’t I wold be pretty much defenceless if I lost my hammer,” Hal replied.</p> <p class="cnM4MTg5MmQyODQyNzRjMTdhM2JiNWRiYzFhYTNiN2Vm">“Most Adventurers learn Unarmed Combat for that exact reason,” Yuliah chimed in. “Even the mages.”</p> <p class="cnNlODA4ZDcxZWNkODQ4YjBhYmNjZWU0MzdiNmZmODU3">“Really?” asked Damian.</p> <p class="cnNhYzA0MzI4NDgwZTQ1N2Y5ODExZDM3YjJjODE1Mjli">“Denzel probably didn’t teach you this because he was training you to be a Guard not an Adventurer, mages who work for the Guards usually provide support from the walls of the town they’re protecting so they don’t have to deal with enemies up close,” Yuliah explained.</p> <p class="cnM0ZDYwOTRlN2I2ZTRkZTk5Mjg0MGY1MjBlZmVlOTc2">“Oh, that, makes sense, I guess. Does that mean that I’ll be learning Unarmed Combat at the Adventurers School if I get in?”</p> <p class="cnM4MjBkOGZmYzE4NTRiOGFhNGExYTBjZTllZDVlYmJm">Yuliah nodded, “It’s required for all spellcasting students to learn at least one form of melee combat and that’s the most common because you don’t have to carry around a weapon that you don’t usually use.</p> <p class="cnNkZTk1Mjk5MGY0ZTQ5NmQ4NGY5MzBmYjQ4NDg3NDk3">“Even though my Stats aren’t suited to physical combat?”</p> <p class="cnM1MWI3YTAwOGZiODQ2MGI5ZDI2MmUyNDYyMDZjOGYw">“A spellcaster who knows some form of melee combat has a much higher survival rate than someone who doesn’t,” Yuliah replied with a shrug. “Besides learning a Skill like that can unlock different Classes that you wouldn’t be able to choose otherwise.”</p> <p class="cnM3OWY3NmEwZjZlMzQ4ZTM4NjRjYzMzYTgyOGM0NDQz">“Why is that so important?” Damian asked.</p> <p class="cnMzYmM1YzA2NjMyYjQzMmM4NzEyMmQ1YjZkMjdmNDky">“Everyone else here knows Mana Manipulation, right?”</p> <p class="cnMxYjE1NDk3YzkyNDRiYzliMmE4ODU5MzI3MWUxYjc5">‘Yeah.”</p> <p class="cnNhN2E0OGY5MTYwMjQyN2Q5OTZmM2RkNDY2MWJlN2Vi">“So, they’ve probably already reached some of the requirements for Tier 2 Classes that can use both magic and fight with weapons, which means that the Stats that they’ll receive will reflect that,” Yuliah explained. “While it is possible for a Tier 2 with a pure magic Class to hold their own against someone with a Class that can use both magic and weapons it’s not easy and it’ll only get harder.”</p> <p class="cnNmNzZmMjlmMjBkYjQ5NWM5NTRhZWJhNmMwZWIwZmNl">“So, you’re saying that variety is important?”</p> <p class="cnNhMDljOTExZDg5NjRmNWQ5YzE3MWQxMmViNmNiNWYx">“Yes and no, you have to be careful to pick Skills that are going to be compatible with your fighting style same as anyone else and you’re probably never going to be as good at fighting without magic as someone who specialises in that but if a mage has a way of fighting that doesn’t require magic they’re a lot more likely to survive.”</p> <p class="cnNjNzViZjE5ODA2OTQxMDdhZjc3NDExYTIyOWRjZjBj">“Ok, can you guys tech me the basics,” Damian requested turning towards Kyle and Hal who had been listening in on the conversation with great interest.</p> <p class="cnNmNTU2MWNjZjA4YTQ1ZDg5NDI1MmNkNTI3ZDBlYmRj">“Sure, why not?” Kyle replied. He still wasn’t sure he trusted Damian, but he would rather have him as a friend than an enemy.</p> <p class="cnMyYjMyNjM4NjJkZjQ0YzBiOWM0ZWZkNmM5ZTI1ODM3">So, he and Hal spent an hour teaching Damian how to fight, much to the amusement of the others.</p> <p class="cnMzMzNiOWM1ZGM4YzQwOWVhY2FhN2MzY2QyNTM1Yzhk">“Thanks, you two,” gasped Damian who collapsed to the ground panting when Yuliah called to an end to the lesson because it was getting too dark. The young mage clearly wasn’t very used to as much physical exertion as the other two who looked just as fresh as when they started.</p> <p class="cnM1Yjk4YWRhYTA4ZDQyYTQ5ODE4NWI0NDk0NzNmODRk">“Don’t worry about it,” Kyle laughed. “Teaching like this raises the Skill faster than normal practice anyway so it’s not like we didn’t get anything out of it.”</p> <p class="cnNmMTNiNjVlYjRkNzQ3MDQ4ZmUzOGRmOGM5YTI0Yjdj">The happy mood continued until Yuliah decided that it was time for them to go to bed.</p> <p class="cnMwZmQ3MTI3MzYyNDQ0Yzc5N2ZjMmY0ODBlMjY4NmU0">“I want to be at Greenhearth by midday, so we should get an early night.”</p> <p class="cnNkODIzNWFiZDNkYTQ2MGM5MjY5YmIwMmFlMDJiYzZk">The next morning, they got up and broke quickly had breakfast before breaking camp, they were all excited to finally arrive at Greenhearth and they soon spotted something on the horizon.</p> <p class="cnMwOThiODBmZWI3ZDQ2YTFiZWNjOTBjZDhhOTM5NDM0">“What the…” Hal gasped.</p> <p class="cnM2YjQyYzJkMjVkZjQ4ZWI5ZWI0MjNlZTlkNTI3NTRj">“To think that this is what they looked like,” murmured Kyle as they all stared at the strange sight.</p> <p class="cnNiZWMyNDU3MGE1ODRjYzM5ODhkY2M0ZjAwMGJlYTM2">What they could see was not Greenhearth but a massive city of destroyed buildings. Though they were in ruins now, it was obvious how impressive they must have been before they had been destroyed.</p> <p class="cnM1MDIxZjE5NDg3NDRiMjY5Nzk3NjZlNTE1Yzg0ZWVk">This ruined city was the upper level of the Dungeon that Greenhearth had been built next to and it was because of this that it was the site of the Adventurer School and a town that Adventurers flocked to.</p> <p class="cnNlYjBiOGM5MmE5NDRjNTJhOWJiNTkyOGY5ODY2YTdl">“Yuliah, what city was this before the System?” Kyle asked as he looked at the grey monoliths that even in their ruined state would have towered over Al’s inn which was the largest building in Farholt. It even looked like some of the larger structures that they could see could fit multiple versions of the inn inside of them.</p> <p class="cnMyN2QzZDU2YjVkZTRlYjlhN2MzOTcyMTczODkzOWM1">“Apparently it was a human city called Auckland,” Yuliah replied, shaking her head. “We know it was a human city because of the language that various signs that have been discovered around the city were written in. We were able to determine the name of the city in part thanks to these signs as well as documents found in some of the buildings. It wasn’t actually that large a city back before the System destroyed it but it’s still quite impressive to us isn’t it?”</p> <p class="cnNhNzdkZDI4ZDM2MjQ4YjM5NTI0NGVmOGY0MTVhYjcy">“This isn’t big!?” Sonia gasped.</p> <p class="cnNkOGZlM2Q3OTY0ZTQzODFiNDM3NzZkODM1MWNlNzdm">“Not really,” Yuliah said. “Before the System humans had cities large enough that tens of millions of people could live in them.”</p> <p class="cnNkNDU5N2ZiMWJhMDQ3ZmQ4MWRkZjBlNjQ2Y2E5ODI0">“Millions…”</p> <p class="cnM5ZjNkNjU1ZWJlOTQzOTZhZTc0YmE0OWNlODAyODQ0">To them this was a truly unimaginable number of people to have gathered in one place, even the capital city of Coronia only had a population of a few hundred thousand, but even this was a dangerous number of people to have gathered in one spot. The more people there were in an area the more likely it was that monsters would be drawn to them, this was something even a small child knew but before the System humans hadn’t had to deal with monsters so when they started to appear in human cities the population would’ve been wiped out in a matter of days or possibly even hours due to the number and power of the monsters that would have been summoned which explained why dungeons were often found in the ruins of human cities.</p> <p class="cnMxMTA5NGU0NWFlYzQ1Y2M4MTdjYTNmM2IxMWU4NmUz">Continuing on their way towards the monolithic structures they eventually saw a wall that seemed to be made from the same material that the ruins were made of.</p> <p class="cnMwZWYxMDlmYzRiYTQyNTliYzE4NzExMTY4ZmE1Nzcz">Yuliah nodded as they turned to look at her, “There it is; the Dungeon Town of Greenhearth.”</p> </div>

Leaving his parents was proving to be just as hard as Kyle had expected and he wasn’t the only one, Hal was also struggling with the idea of living alone in a strange town. Sonia, on the other hand was much more relaxed bidding her guardian Thomas a cheerful goodbye, thanking him for looking after her for all these years and then going on say goodbye to Al and her friends’ parents before waiting patiently for thee others to finish their much more emotional farewells. It wasn’t that she wasn’t going to miss the people who had looked after her for the past few years, in fact she was incredibly grateful towards them, but she also understood that saying goodbye was just another part of life. Things for the other three weren’t as simple however as none of them had travelled as far as they would today and never without their parents there with them It ended up taking them a whole half hour to finish saying goodbye with Emma making sure that Kyle had everything that he needed to take with him and Jerald spouting various pieces of advice almost constantly, much to his son’s embarrassment and even then Yuliah had to intervene, stating that she wanted to travel as much of the way to Greenhearth as possible in a single day so that they would only have to spend one night outside the safety of the walls. Yuliah was the only one with a horse due to the amount of time she spent travelling around recruiting new students for the Adventurers School and she had promised to swap with Sonia if she got tired. The horse pranced on the spot as she called out to the people she would be travelling back with. “Come on! We’re burning daylight and trust me when I say that you guys don’t want to spend more than one night outside of a town at your Levels!” “Alright, we’re coming,” Hal grumbled dragging himself from his mother’s embrace. Walking out of the gates the four kids turned back and waved goodbye to their families once more. “Make sure you call us when you get there!” Emma shouted making Kyle roll his eyes, this was the seventh time she had reminded him in the past ten minutes. “Sure mum!” he shouted back ignoring the snigger from Hal who then frowned when his mother made the same request. Chuckling as Hal also had to go through the public embarrassment of telling his mother that he’ll make sure to keep in contact as well Kyle turned back to face Yuliah who was glaring at them he walked out towards her. His parents didn’t own a Communication Orb of their own, but Kyle’s parents had offered to let them borrow theirs when they wanted to. “Oi!” Hal shouted upon turning around to see Kyle abandoning him. “Wait up mate.” Walking out along the main road towards Greenhearth Yuliah started telling the three who were hoping to get into the Adventurers School exactly what would be waiting for them. “Now as you know you’ve already passed the first part of the admission process,” Yuliah started. She was of course referring to the competition that had gone so horribly wrong. Kyle grimaced at the reminder, it was hard to believe that all that had happened only two days ago. “So, when we get to the school you will have a personal interview with the Director who will ask you what it is you want to get out of being a student at the school,” Yuliah continued ignoring the troubled looks on her charges faces. “And after that you will be asked to quickly give a guide as to how you want to develop your Class, the Skills and spells you wish to learn so that you can be put into the correct classes. There may be some things that will be recommended for you by some of the teachers and this is just a concept, it doesn’t matter if you change your mind later what matters is how well you understand what your current goals are.” That was interesting, it was usually considered rude to ask someone about their Class and Stats but considering this school’s purpose it did make sense that they would have to know about the Class their students had so that you could teach them properly. “Wait, so we just have to tell them what we want our Class to become when we reach Level 5?” Damian asked. “Yes and no, we want you to think about the entirety of what you’re aiming for, something that we refer to as a ‘build.’” “Why?” Hal asked. “Like I said, this will affect the classes you end up taking if you get into the school, but it also shows us that you have a good understanding of how things like your Class, Skills and the magic you can use actually work.” “What about the recommendations?” Kyle asked. This was the most interesting thing for him. His Class was called ‘unusual’ for a reason making it very hard to figure out what Skills he should obtain for the best improvements to his strength. If the teachers at the Adventurers School could give him any advice it would be useful. “That was actually mostly for your benefit,” Yuliah replied with a nod. “You don’t know that much about your Racial Variant, do you?” “Not really,” Kyle answered, he had no idea about so much to with his Racial Variant and he was sure that due to its heritage there was plenty that he didn’t want to know but learning more about himself was important, even if it was just so that he could avoid things like what happened when his Will Made Manifest Skill activated. “That Skill that you unlocked was one thing, but there are others just as dangerous if you are unprepared to use them,” Yuliah sighed. “After all your people were born of cruelty so many of the Racial Skills reflect that nature.” Her cold words caused Kyle to shudder, he hadn’t even considered the implications of how his Racial Variant came to be and it was quickly becoming clear to him the problems he was going to face in that future. “Yuliah… have you had to fight someone like me?” “That thing was nothing like you Kyle,” Yuliah snarled her face darkening as she remembered something unpleasant from the past. “But that doesn’t mean that it’s safe for you to unlock your Racial Skills without having more information.” Kyle frowned, “I’m going to have a difficult time, aren’t I?” he realised. “Probably,” Yuliah admitted. “Even though its been a long time since we were officially at war with the Empire, they have been known to perform raids on border towns and kidnap the non-humans they found as well as killing anyone who tried to stop them. Coronia is a nation mostly populated by humans, so we don’t get as many of those incidents as the other countries along their border, but we have a few foreign students, so I wouldn’t be surprised if people treat you poorly when you first get there.” “Wait if they keep attacking why are we not still at war with them?” Hal asked trying to turn the subject away from the one that was bothering his friend. It had been bad enough that Kyle had to face that sort of prejudice in his own village and he would rather that his friend didn’t have to deal with it again when he didn’t have anything to do with what the other members of his Racial Variant may have done. “It’s very hard to fight against people when you can’t actually enter their country” Yuliah replied vaguely then looked around at the bewildered looks on her charges faces. “Very well, I will explain; at the end of the last war the allied countries that fought alongside us against the Empire had finally managed to push their armies back to the very border of their lands and then, one night what appeared to be a Zone started to form over the whole country. When our armies tried to penetrate this Zone they failed completely, even our most powerful mages couldn’t break through the massive purple dome and not long after, an army more massive than any we had ever seen marched out from behind it, all wearing Imperial Armour and they completely routed our armies, took as many prisoners as they could and retreated back into Imperial territory.” However as one might expect this explanation only ended up adding to the list of questions that they had for her. “Wait, how does that work?” Damian asked. “A Zone big enough to cover an entire country?” “Well, we don’t know the answer to that,” Yuliah replied. “Nor do we know why only Imperials and their captives can enter it, sadly.” “No idea at all?” “Well there are some theories floating around, but nothing certain, or very pleasant to think about.” Kyle blanched as he realised what she was suggesting, “The captives?” “Well it’s certainly the obvious answer isn’t it?” Yuliah sighed causing the others to turn green as they realised what the other two were talking about. Being a Half-elf that subject was a particularly sore on for her and her body visibly shuddered as she thought about what things the Imperials could be doing to the people, they dragged back with them. “But wait!” Sonia exclaimed realising that they were forgetting something important. “What about the massive army, where did that come from?” “Well as you may know Dungeons not only warp space but time as well, some people think that time inside the Imperial borders is moving at a much faster pace than it is outside of them.” “So, it might not be a Zone at all but some sort of artificial Dungeon?” Fi asked, she had been content to listen since people were asking the questions that she wanted answers to, but she decided to ask this one herself. “It’s certainly a possibility but since we can’t enter it ourselves all we have is speculation.” Everyone groaned at this answer which to them barely seemed to qualify as one, but it seemed that it was the best that they were going to get. “I’m sorry I don’t have any better answers for you,” Yuliah said smiling for the first time since the conversation had turned to the Empire. They continued walking for a few more hours but the topics of conversation were less interesting, mostly involving the facilities available in Greenhearth and the Adventurers School there which also served as the Adventurers Guild building in Greenhearth and had its own Blacksmithing workshop as well as facilities for every other form of Crafting Skill, a fully equipped training area that both the students and Adventurers could use and classrooms in which the students learned about the terms used by Adventurers and about the various spells, Skills and monsters that existed in this world of theirs. “Well, it’s starting to get late, so we should probably start setting up camp for the night,” Yuliah sighed. Sonia had been the first to tire a couple of hours ago so as promised she had dismounted from her horse and was currently leading the animal due to Sonia’s lack of the Riding Skill, so she reached up behind Sonia and pulled a small pouch out of the saddlebags. “Take this,” she said tossing it to Kyle who looked at it with a confused expression on his face. “It’s got the tents inside, go set them up.” “Huh!?” Kyle exclaimed looking at the pouch which could easily be held with one hand. How could something this small contain enough tents for all five of them and the companions? “It’s got a spatial Inscription on it,” Yuliah explained as she helped Sonia down from the horse. “There are three tents inside for you to set up.” “I’ll help,” Hal offered. “And I’ll go get some wood to make a fire with,” their resident Fire Mage decided seeing as making fires was his specialty. “Then would you mind helping me set up the perimeter?” Yuliah asked Sonia. “The perimeter?” “Yes, there aren’t any walls here so although its unlikely that we’ll be attacked by monsters it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Yuliah replied pulling another cloth pouch out of her horse saddlebags. Kyle frowned at her words, his father hadn’t done anything like that but Yuliah only chuckled when she saw the look on his face. “Please don’t compare your father than I,” she requested. “He may be powerful enough to scare away monsters without even trying but I’m not.” “…Sorry.” Seeing the embarrassed look on his face Yuliah laughed again. “It’s fine, you’re used to dealing with people at their level of power, so I’m not surprised that your worldview’s a bit different from most people’s.” Kyle nodded and opened the small pouch in his hand, and reached in, marvelling at the usefulness of such an item as he grabbed one of three packages he could feel inside and pulled it out. Once Kyle and Hal had the tents set up Damian had already lit a small campfire and was watching as Sonia and Yuliah walked around the camp adjusting the position of small pieces of wood that each had an intricate pattern inscribed into them, supposedly these were magical tools that would prevent monsters from finding and attacking them while they slept. Seeing the fire Hal immediately pulled something out of his backpack and tossed it in the fire and soon a loud yawn could be heard over the crackling of the flames as Herman poked his head out and greeted them. “You really need to get a Level up so that he can unlock an ability that’ll allow him to be useful outside of a forge, don’t you?” Kyle remarked to his friend who started grumbling. “He’s certainly an odd one,” remarked Damian who then frowned. “Not that Lenny’s any different really I suppose,” he sighed referring to his own companion who looked like an ordinary hedgehog and could also be termed that way having spent most of the day in a pocket of his bag asleep himself, though in his case this was due to laziness unlike Herman who acted that way due to his body’s heat requirements. Once she was done setting up the camp’s perimeter Yuliah told them that she was going to start making dinner, so they were free to do whatever they wanted until it was done just so long as they didn’t leave the safety of the campsite. After conferring for a bit Kyle and Hal decided that they’d have a quick sparring session which was something they hadn’t done since getting their Classes causing Sonia to roll her eyes as their natural competitiveness started to come out again. Kyle and Hal both had the Unarmed Combat Skill which due to Kyle not having a weapon Skill until a few days ago was what they often used in these sparring matches, they didn’t even use the Sub-skills that they had learned just using their stats and natural fighting abilities to test one another. The way they fought was very different due to the differences between their stats and these differences had only continued to grow after they had received their Classes. Hal’s Class was simply known as Blacksmith and was an Uncommon Class that primarily increased Strength and Endurance with a small boost to constitution, so he used a very aggressive fighting style. Each one of his punches were powerful enough to break the bones of an ordinary person and Kyle with his Agility and Dexterity based Class was no exception to this so he had no choice but to use his speed to avoid the powerful swing and strike back with multiple fast strikes which simply weren’t very effective against the powerful body of his friend. In the end Hal had to admit defeat as Kyle had beaten his arms until he was no longer able to raise them, essentially putting him out of the fight. “Don’t worry about it mate,” Kyle assured him, seeing the put out look on Hal’s face. “I’ve got a whole Level’s worth of Stats over you, so it wasn’t a very fair fight anyway.” “Yeah, I know,” Hal sighed. “It’s just that only a few days ago we were pretty much even if we didn’t use magic or special attacks.” “Like I said man; don’t worry about it, you’ll Level up soon enough and we’ll be back on even footing,” Kyle laughed. “Alright you two,” sighed Yuliah who had been watching them beat each other up with an irritated look on her face. “Get over here so I can heal you.” “Ok.” After Yuliah had finished healing them she served dinner and they started talking again. “Hal, if you’re so good with your hammer why do you have the Unarmed Combat Skill as well,” Damian asked. “Because if I didn’t I wold be pretty much defenceless if I lost my hammer,” Hal replied. “Most Adventurers learn Unarmed Combat for that exact reason,” Yuliah chimed in. “Even the mages.” “Really?” asked Damian. “Denzel probably didn’t teach you this because he was training you to be a Guard not an Adventurer, mages who work for the Guards usually provide support from the walls of the town they’re protecting so they don’t have to deal with enemies up close,” Yuliah explained. “Oh, that, makes sense, I guess. Does that mean that I’ll be learning Unarmed Combat at the Adventurers School if I get in?” Yuliah nodded, “It’s required for all spellcasting students to learn at least one form of melee combat and that’s the most common because you don’t have to carry around a weapon that you don’t usually use. “Even though my Stats aren’t suited to physical combat?” “A spellcaster who knows some form of melee combat has a much higher survival rate than someone who doesn’t,” Yuliah replied with a shrug. “Besides learning a Skill like that can unlock different Classes that you wouldn’t be able to choose otherwise.” “Why is that so important?” Damian asked. “Everyone else here knows Mana Manipulation, right?” ‘Yeah.” “So, they’ve probably already reached some of the requirements for Tier 2 Classes that can use both magic and fight with weapons, which means that the Stats that they’ll receive will reflect that,” Yuliah explained. “While it is possible for a Tier 2 with a pure magic Class to hold their own against someone with a Class that can use both magic and weapons it’s not easy and it’ll only get harder.” “So, you’re saying that variety is important?” “Yes and no, you have to be careful to pick Skills that are going to be compatible with your fighting style same as anyone else and you’re probably never going to be as good at fighting without magic as someone who specialises in that but if a mage has a way of fighting that doesn’t require magic they’re a lot more likely to survive.” “Ok, can you guys tech me the basics,” Damian requested turning towards Kyle and Hal who had been listening in on the conversation with great interest. “Sure, why not?” Kyle replied. He still wasn’t sure he trusted Damian, but he would rather have him as a friend than an enemy. So, he and Hal spent an hour teaching Damian how to fight, much to the amusement of the others. “Thanks, you two,” gasped Damian who collapsed to the ground panting when Yuliah called to an end to the lesson because it was getting too dark. The young mage clearly wasn’t very used to as much physical exertion as the other two who looked just as fresh as when they started. “Don’t worry about it,” Kyle laughed. “Teaching like this raises the Skill faster than normal practice anyway so it’s not like we didn’t get anything out of it.” The happy mood continued until Yuliah decided that it was time for them to go to bed. “I want to be at Greenhearth by midday, so we should get an early night.” The next morning, they got up and broke quickly had breakfast before breaking camp, they were all excited to finally arrive at Greenhearth and they soon spotted something on the horizon. “What the…” Hal gasped. “To think that this is what they looked like,” murmured Kyle as they all stared at the strange sight. What they could see was not Greenhearth but a massive city of destroyed buildings. Though they were in ruins now, it was obvious how impressive they must have been before they had been destroyed. This ruined city was the upper level of the Dungeon that Greenhearth had been built next to and it was because of this that it was the site of the Adventurer School and a town that Adventurers flocked to. “Yuliah, what city was this before the System?” Kyle asked as he looked at the grey monoliths that even in their ruined state would have towered over Al’s inn which was the largest building in Farholt. It even looked like some of the larger structures that they could see could fit multiple versions of the inn inside of them. “Apparently it was a human city called Auckland,” Yuliah replied, shaking her head. “We know it was a human city because of the language that various signs that have been discovered around the city were written in. We were able to determine the name of the city in part thanks to these signs as well as documents found in some of the buildings. It wasn’t actually that large a city back before the System destroyed it but it’s still quite impressive to us isn’t it?” “This isn’t big!?” Sonia gasped. “Not really,” Yuliah said. “Before the System humans had cities large enough that tens of millions of people could live in them.” “Millions…” To them this was a truly unimaginable number of people to have gathered in one place, even the capital city of Coronia only had a population of a few hundred thousand, but even this was a dangerous number of people to have gathered in one spot. The more people there were in an area the more likely it was that monsters would be drawn to them, this was something even a small child knew but before the System humans hadn’t had to deal with monsters so when they started to appear in human cities the population would’ve been wiped out in a matter of days or possibly even hours due to the number and power of the monsters that would have been summoned which explained why dungeons were often found in the ruins of human cities. Continuing on their way towards the monolithic structures they eventually saw a wall that seemed to be made from the same material that the ruins were made of. Yuliah nodded as they turned to look at her, “There it is; the Dungeon Town of Greenhearth.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNmZTIyN2Y4Mzk5YTRlNDFhNWQ0NmI0ZGNlYmYyNTkx"><em>Soul Energy is perhaps even more mysterious than the Mana it is used to control. If a cultivator has a powerful Soul, then they can absorb more Mana faster and control it better than someone with a weaker soul could. It can also be used for a wide variety of other skills which can provide a variety of effects from being able to see how much Mana someone has all the way through to attacks that affect the Soul of an opponent directly.</em></p> <p class="cnMyZDM4YmEwZDI1MDQ5NzhhODk1MDQwOTZhM2Q1Zjk2"><em>-Excerpt from Telram’s notes on Soul Energy.</em></p> <p class="cnNjNTY1MTI0ZTAyNzQ0MDI5NDZiYzI4MTE5NmVjMWE0">Three months had passed since Telram’s training session with his father and he had come a long way since then. In these past few months he had been growing at a rate that would have been unprecedented on Earth and was now only a little over a head shorter than he had been when he had died. His long legs swallowed the road with every step as he ran back up the street to his home, today he was going to see Gerry so that he could return the cultivation manual that he had been given and hopefully learn some things as he did so.</p> <p class="cnM4OTVlZjFhOTQxMDQ3YTZhMDQwOTNlN2FlOGIwNTcx">Heading to his room he grabbed the bag with the manual and his notes he had prepared before heading out for his morning run. Lily shook her head at her son’s enthusiasm as he ran back into the living area of their home where she had been waiting for him.</p> <p class="cnMxNWQxMjEwZjA4ZTQxYWE5OWQyYWRkNGIzNGM0ZmI4">“You got everything you need Telram?” she asked.</p> <p class="cnNjYWRhM2YxNTIzMTQ0YWViMDMxYzY2MzFmYWQ3Zjhl">Telram nodded. “Well then let’s get going, Gerry’s waiting.”</p> <p class="cnNmOTMzNTUyMGVjNjQ5MDE5OTE2ZGFiMjg3ODExZTEz">They headed back out down the street towards the large building where the scholars who worked for the city lord worked. Telram paused briefly to take in the impressive sight. The building towered over most of the other buildings in town it’s walls covered in intricate wooden carvings of men and women fighting against monstrous beasts and practicing various martial arts. The building was named the Halls of Heavenly Knowledge and was where all the research of Martial Skills and cultivation techniques took place in the city.</p> <p class="cnNhNDU0NzI5NjBmMjQ5ZTM5M2ZlM2Y5MWRmMWE3YjY1">The two cultivators standing guard at the entrance looked at Lily briefly, sneers crossing their faces briefly as they recognised her. But they made no moves to stop her or Telram from entering and soon the pair were surrounded by the bustle of the scholars going about their day to day work.</p> <p class="cnNhYjRiZDBmMjg2MDQ0MzI4ZTBkZGZmM2FkOWY4ODA1">Lily calmly led her son through the main hall ignoring the disparaging glances of her former colleagues. Reaching a wooden door at the end she knocked on it and a voice replied form within.</p> <p class="cnMyODViODM4ZWMyOTQzYTU4NzljYWQ1Mzg5MGQ5OTlj">“Come in.”</p> <p class="cnM4ODdkZjM0NWRhNDQ5NTE4YWVhODE3YWE2ZmMzMDQy">Lily frowned this wasn’t Gerry’s voice and usually he was the only person that entered his office, she opened the door to look inside and was surprised to find a young man sitting at her former boss’ desk, the man looked up.</p> <p class="cnM0NDVkZTIxMGVhMjQ4Yjk4Y2VlOTFlOWJkMjliOTJk">“Oh, it’s you,” the man sneered causing Telram to bristle. He’d had enough of people disrespecting his mother and was about to speak up when his mother glanced back at him and shook her head, she knew what he was thinking but she couldn’t let him anger this man.</p> <p class="cnNhOThjYjQ4NTY0NjRlMzk4MmVmMjg0OTg0Mzg1OTBh">“Hello Pavel,” she said through gritted teeth. “May I ask where Master Gerald is?”</p> <p class="cnNiZmU3MmNlMjBjNTRiODNhODRkMmM4MjcyZjQ3MDVl">“That old fossil lost his job months ago,” Pavel replied offhandedly before returning his attention to the papers in front of him.</p> <p class="cnMyZTFhNzg2OWRmNjQ0YWJhZmJjMjE1NThmZjc1ZjBk">Lily stood staring at the greasy looking man in shock. She had been sure that Gerry would have worked here until the day he died, there was nothing that old man loved more than researching Mana and things related to cultivation. But most importantly he hadn’t told her he had lost his job.</p> <p class="cnM1OWY5Y2NhODkxMzQ5OGJiN2Y3MWEwMzllMzEzOGIx">Lily bit her lip, there was only one reason that Gerry wouldn’t have told her; he had lost his job because of her.</p> <p class="cnNjYjZlYzY3NjFiODRlYmY4OTNjMWMwYjdjMGU1OGYw">“I see, good day Pavel, come Telram,” said Lily pulling her son back through the hall, only to be stopped as Telram froze.</p> <p class="cnM4ZmE4OWNmYTc5MzQ0ZWNiZTFlMzBjMGE0YTU4Y2Fm">His eyes were fixed on a large slab of carved rock, he felt something brushing at the edges of his memory, but it slipped away as his mother roughly pulled on his arm once again. Lily wanted to leave; she no-longer had any friends left within these walls.</p> <p class="cnMxZGJkZTBlMzFmNTRmMjk4NzcwNzQxYzQ0NDRmZWU0">Once he had recovered from whatever it was that had stopped him Telram asked what they were going to do now.</p> <p class="cnM2ZDQ2YWZhMWJkYTRhYThiODA2NmE3ZmMyZjY3ZGM4">“I’m going to take you to Gerry’s house. I’m not ready to face him myself but you should still go and ask him what you need to,” Lily replied, as she walked down the street towards the part of town where the rich and influential citizens lived.</p> <p class="cnNlNjIwZTdkZjM4YzQzMTg5MDVjMTQwODk0ZTcwZmEx">Coming to a stop outside the gate of Gerry’s mansion she sighed gesturing to her son to go inside though she truly wanted to go inside as well, and see the man that had seen her as a child and decided to train her to become a scholar just like himself after seeing the same hunger for knowledge in her eyes that shone within his own. But knowing that he had given that up because of what had happened to her she couldn’t yet bring herself to do so. So, she left another child on his doorstep his eyes burning brighter than hers ever had and turned and walked away.</p> <p class="cnMxZjcxMThjNzE5NDQ4MmE5ZGE5NzFlN2Q1Yjk0YTg2">“Uncle Gerry! Are you home!?” Telram shouted as he walked through the gate and up the stone path towards the main building. But there was no answer from the house. Usually a mansion this big would have a few servants but Gerry hated that sort of thing so that wasn’t surprising to Telram.</p> <p class="cnMxMWY0YjZmODM5NDQyNDg4NDUxOWNjODA4Yzg3ODk3">He started to call out once again as he got closer to the house but stopped as he heard a strange sound coming from the back of the large building, shaking his head he walked around the back to where a grey-haired man was fighting with strange wooden puppets that moved by themselves using martial arts that Telram was familiar with. This grey-haired man was Gerry. Although Gerry was a scholar, he mostly researched Martial Arts and cultivation techniques and had made dozens of his own as well as variations of existing ones over the years he had worked for the city lord and was quite a powerful cultivator in his own right.</p> <p class="cnNiZTllZmE0NTAzYTQxYjFhYTBlOGVjZWExNWRiODk1">Gerry was surprisingly spry for a man of over seventy years of age. His movements were like those of a man at least forty years his junior. The Mana that he had absorbed over the years had extended his lifespan and strengthened his body and decreased the effects age would have usually had on him. This allowed him to continue to work and practice Martial Arts longer than a man on Earth would have been able to normally, which meant that he was even more knowledgeable than he looked.</p> <p class="cnMxYmQ2NGUzNWU4ZDQ1NWU4MDJiNzE1YTg0N2EwNzIx">Gerry noticed Telram watching him as he leaned back dodging a blow from one of the magic puppets. A smile crossing his face as he decided to show off a bit for the boy’s benefit.</p> <p class="cnMzOWJkNmFhM2EyYzQxMGQ5ZjcxZGRjYTY4NDk0MTNl">Mana coalesced around his right hand as he activated one of his Martial Skills. This skill was known as Invisible Wind Blade and as its name suggested it created an invisible blade of wind that could be used to slice through most things. Gerry proceeded to demonstrate this ability as he started to slice through the puppets he was fighting and soon he was surrounded by a pile of kindling.</p> <p class="cnM3MDI4YjUwZGVlZDRhYjk5NDRkZjI2YjkzZjExNjU0">Turning towards his audience he grinned at the look of awe upon Telram’s face it was good to know that some people still appreciated his skills. Invisible Wind Blade was a Mid-Ascendant Ranked Martial Skill that could be used to increase the cutting effects of any bladed weapon. Only those who had mastered its use could use this Skill unarmed like he had. Which showed that Gerry was far more powerful than his previous position of Head Scholar might have suggested.</p> <p class="cnNkN2E0MTk2MzY0NjQ1Nzc4ZWE1OTdjZmU4NTExNzhk">Gerry wasn’t worried about the puppets he had destroyed. They were made using a Beast Core that had been programmed with basic instructions using a Soul Energy Skill and wood from a type of tree that had absorbed Mana known as a Mystic Ironbark. This tree was known for both its toughness and its ability to regenerate. The puppets still had both of these attributes and so long as the core that powered them had Mana they would eventually reconstitute themselves. These puppets were made to Gerry’s specifications and the core within them was from a fourth Rank Elemental Mana Beast meaning that they were the equivalent power of a fourth Rank Ascended Human. That was a little lower than Gerry’s own rank but when fighting in a group they could still give him a challenge. Especially since they had been programmed with different Martial Arts and Skills which they could use to fight him until they were either destroyed or the core that sustained them ran out of Mana. To top off their usefulness the Beast Cores can both be charged with Mana manually and can slowly restore their stores of Mana when left unused for long enough meaning that he could repair them with ease.</p> <p class="cnM5M2ZhZWY3MzU4ODRhMjQ4MTIxNjVkNjgxNjZlNmQ3">“So, what brings you here Telram?”</p> <p class="cnM1ZDIwM2ExYmQxZTQ1ZDQ5NGM2MzczYTg3MjU4MGQ2">Telram held out the cultivation manual that he had been given.</p> <p class="cnM3ZWZiZDk4NDM2ZjQxMzA5NTYzZWE1YmI3YWE4NmRm">“I’m here to return this,” he explained. Gerry reached out and gently took the book from Telram’s outstretched hands.</p> <p class="cnM3N2UxZWU0MWQ1NzRiMDJhYzVkM2ZkYWM0MjA1ZTQ3">“I see. You didn’t have to return this you know,” he said a sad look passing over his face as he turned it over in his hands.</p> <p class="cnM5NTlhNTU3MzA1OTQ1MGJiMTI5OWNkMGUxYjE1MzA0">“I don’t need it anymore I took my own notes and made my own version,” Telram said.</p> <p class="cnM5NWY1ODE3YjcxNjRhZTE4MWQ5ZmViZDBhYjViNmFi">This naturally caught Gerry’s attention he had never heard of someone going to the trouble of making their own version of a cultivation manual for the basic technique before and he asked if Telram had brought it with him.</p> <p class="cnNhODI0ZjMzZWY5NDRhMTliNzAwMDkxNTRkYmVjOGY2">Reaching into his bag again he pulled out his note and silently handed them over to Gerry. Who snatched them from Telram’s hand and started reading through it humming and grunted as he did so.</p> <p class="cnM0ODRlNjNjM2Q3NjQxYmJiMWI0M2FkZmI2Zjk1YWZl">Telram shook his head and sat down to wait patiently as Gerry read his notes. After a few minutes of reading Gerry looked up from the small book with an impressed look on his face.</p> <p class="cnMxNDg5NGRkMjVhNzQxZGNhOTI0MGQwMDhhNDBlOGM1">“This is impressive! You’ve managed to sieve through all the useless parts and take only the information you needed. I’ve seen this before in more advanced cultivation manuals that we found in some ruins over the years. I’m impressed that you took the time to make these notes for such a basic technique and it seems like it worked out well enough for you as well,” Gerry said looking at Telram’s tall frame.</p> <p class="cnNjZTczYjljM2ZkMjRkZTBiZGY2Nzg1MzU4MTk0YmJl">“Yeah, my body’s about at its limit though,” Telram replied.</p> <p class="cnMxMzM5MDg4ZTgwZjQxYzliZDE3MGFjZmQ3ODhjZTBk">It was true. He had been having both growing pains from his sudden growth spurt as well as feverish moments recently. This was a sure sign that his body contained far too much Mana without a Mana Core.</p> <p class="cnM1MTIwMjMzYTAyNDQwZDdhZjVjZDVmNGJjODJkNjRh">“But before I started to form my Mana Core I had a few questions to ask the number one cultivation expert in the city,” Telram continued.</p> <p class="cnM3YTlmN2FmYTJmOTQ0ODdhNTJjYzExNWVhMDU0YjU2">An embarrassed look passed over Gerry’s face before a determined one replaced it, he would do whatever he could to help Telram. It was the least he could do after failing to help his mother.</p> <p class="cnM0MTZmNzNiNGU1OTQ4ZDM5YTlmZGU5OWY3MmUwYmY5">“Ask away.”</p> <p class="cnNjMTU3MWU5NDMwYTQyZDlhYmRkYTZiMjBlOTAwM2Jh">Telram’s golden eyes locked onto Gerry’s, “What happened to my mother’s Mana Core?”</p> <p class="cnMxMmI2N2U0OTQyMDQ1ZjJhYzM4Yzk5OTg0MTNjNzA1">Gerry flinched at Telram’s words, but he was unable to look away from the boy’s eyes. The look within them was something that he had never seen before in such a young child. If he didn’t know that the person before him was only eight years old, he wouldn’t have believed it. What was even more worrying was that Telram had found out about Lily’s condition and Gerry knew that there was no way that Aran and Lily would’ve told him or even talked about it while Telram was around.</p> <p class="cnM1NDYzMWQ1ZjEzMzQ4NmE4MWJiNTBiOTYzMGIwY2Vl">Which meant…</p> <p class="cnM1YThhNzUzYmU1YjQyMGU4YzE4Y2UwOGQ3ODcwMDJj">“How did you manage to learn Spiritual Vision in such a short length of time?” Gerry gasped.</p> <p class="cnMxYjljMWViMTMwYzQ0YmNiY2VmMTVmMWFlYjRjM2E1">Spiritual Vision was a Soul Energy technique that allowed the user to ‘see’ certain things about another cultivator. The first part of the skill allowed one to sense how powerful someone else was. It was only accurate up to a certain point after the user’s own level of power, but it was still an incredibly useful technique to know. The next part of the Skill allowed the User to see the Mana Core within someone else or the Beast Core within Beasts. There was another part of the technique that would allow the user to see what Elemental Affinities someone was able to use but that technique hadn’t been included in the manual that Telram had been given.</p> <p class="cnNkMTZmYzI1YWJiNzRlMWU4NmY4NmE1MTczMzhkN2E4">“I learned all the Soul Energy techniques in the manual,” Telram stated angrily. “Now, tell me what happened to my mother!”</p> <p class="cnNmMWY4NTg2MTExNzQxMDg5YTQ4NzBjZTM1ZTUzYjcy">Gerry’s eyes widened further. Not at Telram’s statement, which was surprising enough, but because of something else. Telram was unconsciously broadcasting his anger with his Soul Energy. The force of this rage was quite painful for Gerry because he obviously hadn’t been expecting something like this to happen. The wave of force that Telram was producing wasn’t technically a martial technique but that didn’t make it any less effective.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjI2OGVkMzk5YTQwZjFiZDliMThlYzczYTgyYjhl">Sweat poured down his face as he created a protective barrier with his own Soul Energy. Thankfully Telram’s soul energy wasn’t actually powerful enough to actually harm Gerry once he had erected his defences. It was still surprising though since Gerry had never heard of someone who hadn’t even formed their Mana Core yet being able to do something like this.</p> <p class="cnM3M2NmNzVlZTIyMTQ1ZmViODE3ODk5MzBiOGU5NjZj">“Cal- Calm down Telram, if you keep releasing that much bloodlust, you’re going to hurt someone,” Gerry stammered as he felt Telram’s Soul Energy beginning to press down on his hastily erected defences.</p> <p class="cnM1YzYzNWI2NjVjMjQxMDdiMWNjYTdmNmQ4YmEyMjhj">Telram’s face twitched as he realised something was wrong and he tried to control his emotions.</p> <p class="cnNiYzYzM2U3NzY5MDQ3MzRiNDdkZDZmMzQ1Mjk2NDhk">Gerry started to relax as the pressure on his defences started to fade.</p> <p class="cnM5NThkODE1NzIwODRiZDc5NWIwZjA0NzkyMjZiMzhj">He was worried about the consequences of telling Telram about the what had happened to his mother. But he knew that not telling him would be a betrayal of the young girl that he had trained to be his replacement and was forced to betray on the orders of the man whom he served.</p> <p class="cnMwMTE5ZjMxNTY3MjRmYjU5NjAwMmE5YjRlYjIwOTQz">His expression firmed as he made his decision.</p> <p class="cnM5MmYzMmM5NDk5NTQxNzM5NGVmODQwM2M1YTEyYWNj">“You see Telram…’”</p> </div>

*Soul Energy is perhaps even more mysterious than the Mana it is used to control. If a cultivator has a powerful Soul, then they can absorb more Mana faster and control it better than someone with a weaker soul could. It can also be used for a wide variety of other skills which can provide a variety of effects from being able to see how much Mana someone has all the way through to attacks that affect the Soul of an opponent directly.* *-Excerpt from Telram’s notes on Soul Energy.* Three months had passed since Telram’s training session with his father and he had come a long way since then. In these past few months he had been growing at a rate that would have been unprecedented on Earth and was now only a little over a head shorter than he had been when he had died. His long legs swallowed the road with every step as he ran back up the street to his home, today he was going to see Gerry so that he could return the cultivation manual that he had been given and hopefully learn some things as he did so. Heading to his room he grabbed the bag with the manual and his notes he had prepared before heading out for his morning run. Lily shook her head at her son’s enthusiasm as he ran back into the living area of their home where she had been waiting for him. “You got everything you need Telram?” she asked. Telram nodded. “Well then let’s get going, Gerry’s waiting.” They headed back out down the street towards the large building where the scholars who worked for the city lord worked. Telram paused briefly to take in the impressive sight. The building towered over most of the other buildings in town it’s walls covered in intricate wooden carvings of men and women fighting against monstrous beasts and practicing various martial arts. The building was named the Halls of Heavenly Knowledge and was where all the research of Martial Skills and cultivation techniques took place in the city. The two cultivators standing guard at the entrance looked at Lily briefly, sneers crossing their faces briefly as they recognised her. But they made no moves to stop her or Telram from entering and soon the pair were surrounded by the bustle of the scholars going about their day to day work. Lily calmly led her son through the main hall ignoring the disparaging glances of her former colleagues. Reaching a wooden door at the end she knocked on it and a voice replied form within. “Come in.” Lily frowned this wasn’t Gerry’s voice and usually he was the only person that entered his office, she opened the door to look inside and was surprised to find a young man sitting at her former boss’ desk, the man looked up. “Oh, it’s you,” the man sneered causing Telram to bristle. He’d had enough of people disrespecting his mother and was about to speak up when his mother glanced back at him and shook her head, she knew what he was thinking but she couldn’t let him anger this man. “Hello Pavel,” she said through gritted teeth. “May I ask where Master Gerald is?” “That old fossil lost his job months ago,” Pavel replied offhandedly before returning his attention to the papers in front of him. Lily stood staring at the greasy looking man in shock. She had been sure that Gerry would have worked here until the day he died, there was nothing that old man loved more than researching Mana and things related to cultivation. But most importantly he hadn’t told her he had lost his job. Lily bit her lip, there was only one reason that Gerry wouldn’t have told her; he had lost his job because of her. “I see, good day Pavel, come Telram,” said Lily pulling her son back through the hall, only to be stopped as Telram froze. His eyes were fixed on a large slab of carved rock, he felt something brushing at the edges of his memory, but it slipped away as his mother roughly pulled on his arm once again. Lily wanted to leave; she no-longer had any friends left within these walls. Once he had recovered from whatever it was that had stopped him Telram asked what they were going to do now. “I’m going to take you to Gerry’s house. I’m not ready to face him myself but you should still go and ask him what you need to,” Lily replied, as she walked down the street towards the part of town where the rich and influential citizens lived. Coming to a stop outside the gate of Gerry’s mansion she sighed gesturing to her son to go inside though she truly wanted to go inside as well, and see the man that had seen her as a child and decided to train her to become a scholar just like himself after seeing the same hunger for knowledge in her eyes that shone within his own. But knowing that he had given that up because of what had happened to her she couldn’t yet bring herself to do so. So, she left another child on his doorstep his eyes burning brighter than hers ever had and turned and walked away. “Uncle Gerry! Are you home!?” Telram shouted as he walked through the gate and up the stone path towards the main building. But there was no answer from the house. Usually a mansion this big would have a few servants but Gerry hated that sort of thing so that wasn’t surprising to Telram. He started to call out once again as he got closer to the house but stopped as he heard a strange sound coming from the back of the large building, shaking his head he walked around the back to where a grey-haired man was fighting with strange wooden puppets that moved by themselves using martial arts that Telram was familiar with. This grey-haired man was Gerry. Although Gerry was a scholar, he mostly researched Martial Arts and cultivation techniques and had made dozens of his own as well as variations of existing ones over the years he had worked for the city lord and was quite a powerful cultivator in his own right. Gerry was surprisingly spry for a man of over seventy years of age. His movements were like those of a man at least forty years his junior. The Mana that he had absorbed over the years had extended his lifespan and strengthened his body and decreased the effects age would have usually had on him. This allowed him to continue to work and practice Martial Arts longer than a man on Earth would have been able to normally, which meant that he was even more knowledgeable than he looked. Gerry noticed Telram watching him as he leaned back dodging a blow from one of the magic puppets. A smile crossing his face as he decided to show off a bit for the boy’s benefit. Mana coalesced around his right hand as he activated one of his Martial Skills. This skill was known as Invisible Wind Blade and as its name suggested it created an invisible blade of wind that could be used to slice through most things. Gerry proceeded to demonstrate this ability as he started to slice through the puppets he was fighting and soon he was surrounded by a pile of kindling. Turning towards his audience he grinned at the look of awe upon Telram’s face it was good to know that some people still appreciated his skills. Invisible Wind Blade was a Mid-Ascendant Ranked Martial Skill that could be used to increase the cutting effects of any bladed weapon. Only those who had mastered its use could use this Skill unarmed like he had. Which showed that Gerry was far more powerful than his previous position of Head Scholar might have suggested. Gerry wasn’t worried about the puppets he had destroyed. They were made using a Beast Core that had been programmed with basic instructions using a Soul Energy Skill and wood from a type of tree that had absorbed Mana known as a Mystic Ironbark. This tree was known for both its toughness and its ability to regenerate. The puppets still had both of these attributes and so long as the core that powered them had Mana they would eventually reconstitute themselves. These puppets were made to Gerry’s specifications and the core within them was from a fourth Rank Elemental Mana Beast meaning that they were the equivalent power of a fourth Rank Ascended Human. That was a little lower than Gerry’s own rank but when fighting in a group they could still give him a challenge. Especially since they had been programmed with different Martial Arts and Skills which they could use to fight him until they were either destroyed or the core that sustained them ran out of Mana. To top off their usefulness the Beast Cores can both be charged with Mana manually and can slowly restore their stores of Mana when left unused for long enough meaning that he could repair them with ease. “So, what brings you here Telram?” Telram held out the cultivation manual that he had been given. “I’m here to return this,” he explained. Gerry reached out and gently took the book from Telram’s outstretched hands. “I see. You didn’t have to return this you know,” he said a sad look passing over his face as he turned it over in his hands. “I don’t need it anymore I took my own notes and made my own version,” Telram said. This naturally caught Gerry’s attention he had never heard of someone going to the trouble of making their own version of a cultivation manual for the basic technique before and he asked if Telram had brought it with him. Reaching into his bag again he pulled out his note and silently handed them over to Gerry. Who snatched them from Telram’s hand and started reading through it humming and grunted as he did so. Telram shook his head and sat down to wait patiently as Gerry read his notes. After a few minutes of reading Gerry looked up from the small book with an impressed look on his face. “This is impressive! You’ve managed to sieve through all the useless parts and take only the information you needed. I’ve seen this before in more advanced cultivation manuals that we found in some ruins over the years. I’m impressed that you took the time to make these notes for such a basic technique and it seems like it worked out well enough for you as well,” Gerry said looking at Telram’s tall frame. “Yeah, my body’s about at its limit though,” Telram replied. It was true. He had been having both growing pains from his sudden growth spurt as well as feverish moments recently. This was a sure sign that his body contained far too much Mana without a Mana Core. “But before I started to form my Mana Core I had a few questions to ask the number one cultivation expert in the city,” Telram continued. An embarrassed look passed over Gerry’s face before a determined one replaced it, he would do whatever he could to help Telram. It was the least he could do after failing to help his mother. “Ask away.” Telram’s golden eyes locked onto Gerry’s, “What happened to my mother’s Mana Core?” Gerry flinched at Telram’s words, but he was unable to look away from the boy’s eyes. The look within them was something that he had never seen before in such a young child. If he didn’t know that the person before him was only eight years old, he wouldn’t have believed it. What was even more worrying was that Telram had found out about Lily’s condition and Gerry knew that there was no way that Aran and Lily would’ve told him or even talked about it while Telram was around. Which meant… “How did you manage to learn Spiritual Vision in such a short length of time?” Gerry gasped. Spiritual Vision was a Soul Energy technique that allowed the user to ‘see’ certain things about another cultivator. The first part of the skill allowed one to sense how powerful someone else was. It was only accurate up to a certain point after the user’s own level of power, but it was still an incredibly useful technique to know. The next part of the Skill allowed the User to see the Mana Core within someone else or the Beast Core within Beasts. There was another part of the technique that would allow the user to see what Elemental Affinities someone was able to use but that technique hadn’t been included in the manual that Telram had been given. “I learned all the Soul Energy techniques in the manual,” Telram stated angrily. “Now, tell me what happened to my mother!” Gerry’s eyes widened further. Not at Telram’s statement, which was surprising enough, but because of something else. Telram was unconsciously broadcasting his anger with his Soul Energy. The force of this rage was quite painful for Gerry because he obviously hadn’t been expecting something like this to happen. The wave of force that Telram was producing wasn’t technically a martial technique but that didn’t make it any less effective. Sweat poured down his face as he created a protective barrier with his own Soul Energy. Thankfully Telram’s soul energy wasn’t actually powerful enough to actually harm Gerry once he had erected his defences. It was still surprising though since Gerry had never heard of someone who hadn’t even formed their Mana Core yet being able to do something like this. “Cal- Calm down Telram, if you keep releasing that much bloodlust, you’re going to hurt someone,” Gerry stammered as he felt Telram’s Soul Energy beginning to press down on his hastily erected defences. Telram’s face twitched as he realised something was wrong and he tried to control his emotions. Gerry started to relax as the pressure on his defences started to fade. He was worried about the consequences of telling Telram about the what had happened to his mother. But he knew that not telling him would be a betrayal of the young girl that he had trained to be his replacement and was forced to betray on the orders of the man whom he served. His expression firmed as he made his decision. “You see Telram…’”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3YjI5OTNhNjk1ODQxY2M4MDZlYmNkZmIyMDhjNDY2">Inside the Citadel walls.</p> <p class="cnNmOWRmZGI2ZjkzNDRlZTg5MzRiNDdkNWE3YzEyNWU2"> </p> <p class="cnNiNDEyYWY3OTVlMDRiMmJiNDU0Y2UzZGIyYmUwNWJm">Duchy soldiers formed ranks in preparation for the oncoming undead, however, with only a few Sargent's left to command it was left to the squad captains to give orders, they managed to get the soldiers into ranks like they were trained, but they didn’t have the foresight to move their armies forward and block the breach.</p> <p class="cnM2OGIxOGQ4MWY5NTQ4YzdhMWZlZTU2ZmYxMmRjNzM3"> </p> <p class="cnM5OTg2ODJiYzcxMjQ0Mzk4Yjc2Nzk3Zjc4MDUzZTFk">The undead shambled through the breach unobstructed and started trying to run once they saw the living. They couldn’t go fast, those that did fell over and were crushed by the hoard behind them. Instead they moved at an awkward pace between running and jogging.</p> <p class="cnNmZDViNzQyZTNmMzRiYTc4MzkzMzExM2E5MTY4MDIz"> </p> <p class="cnMxMmViNDliNTY2ZjQ3ZGZhODI2ZWVhY2Q4YWVmNTYz">In one area just before impact the soldiers leveled their spears towards the undead and braced their shields for impact. Muffled groans sounded as the undead willingly impaled themselves on the spears.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmIzYTFmYjgzZTQyNmM5NmM3MjliODIyOTc3NWZh"><br>Some of these undead still had intact armor on and pushed past the spears, the few remaining skeletons ignored the spears entirely and just walked through the spike wall, but once the undead got to the shields the soldiers switched their spear grips closer to the spear point and stabbed away at the fearless undead.</p> <p class="cnM4M2ZkMGVlMjhiMDQ1YWZiYjU5NDBkNWVlNmY3ZDU5"> </p> <p class="cnNhNDdlZGRhMmY1MjQ3MDdhY2NkODRjNDdiZTRjMjJl">Those that were risen recently still had flesh and the spears made short work of their barely functioning brains. The skeletons fared better because a spear could only end them if it destroyed the skull which usually took a few thrusts, but they were unarmed and found little success reaching past the shields for their prey.</p> <p class="cnMwNTk1MGYxNzIzMDQ3MDU4Zjg4YTQ5ZjIzMDAxMzll"> </p> <p class="cnM5NDYzMjljNzEwNDRjYmM4ZGQzZWI4ZDBlNmM1NWZj">Meanwhile another duchy held their battle line against the undead.</p> <p class="cnM4ZmYyZGE1ODhkOTQzYmY5NGUzN2Q1YTVlMzEyYTRl"> </p> <p class="cnNiMDg4MjM2N2MzMDQ1YWI4NTg2NzIwYmRiODA1NDkx">They were the climbers and didn’t carry shields or spears, they were forced to attack with their daggers and climbing tools, while a few more experienced climbers had short swords they looted during other wars.</p> <p class="cnNlMmNmM2YxOWUxNTQzN2U5ZDUzMWMwNGYyZDE1ZWI3"> </p> <p class="cnMzNTFiOTBkNTRhZDQwNDg4MTlkODlmMmJkZjc4ODgx">An undead would come into range and one or two soldiers would dash forward and use their superior agility to get close and stab it to death.</p> <p class="cnNjZGMyY2Q5MDUxMzRmMDg5OWM4MzlmY2E2OGU1NmZi"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZjNhMzE1ZWUwYzQ3ZDJhMjc1M2I4YzI1OGMzMzkz">However, this only worked well at the start of the battle, as the undead continued increasing the space they had to maneuver decreased. before a man could fake out an attack from an undead and circle round to its undefended side to attack, now they either ran into an ally or another undead.</p> <p class="cnMyZTdhNGIxN2I0YzQ2OTY5ZmUzMjRlMDRiOWFkZGE2"> </p> <p class="cnNhNGE3YWI1YTBhNDQ0Yzg4YjliZTFjNWViMjYwZThh">Once a soldier misstepped and got grabbed it was over for him, undead didn’t let go of something unless they were destroyed and those precious seconds were enough for a pick wielding undead to get a solid hit.</p> <p class="cnMxZTFlYWIxOTE5ZDRiNjZiM2ZlODcyMzViMTM4YmQ0"> </p> <p class="cnNhOTAzMjA2MjdjNjQyOGZhNGE0MGQ0MmM2NmI5ZDE5">Meanwhile the religious faction was having the easiest time. Each of their front-line soldiers had blessing of light which coated their weapons in light magic, while this was normally a useless enchantment during the day it doubled their weapons effectiveness against undead.</p> <p class="cnNhZDRiNWRlZWZkYzQ4YTBhODAwZmVlNGJlMTNjNzg5"> </p> <p class="cnMzMWM5MWJlOGU0NTQ0YmI5YzdmODEyYjRkN2NlNTM2">Every swung of their swords cut cleanly through the normal undead and simply disintegrated the skeletons skulls on impact. The only problem was that every so often their hidden mages would suddenly die along with the sound of thunder. Soon there wouldn’t be enough people cast the enchantments and they would have to fight like the other duchies.</p> <p class="cnMyZWJhODFjNjEyZTQxYjBhOTc3ZTc0YjkzYjVjOWRl">Overall the undead weren’t doing much, some of the soldiers were already picking up the fallen’s equipment, they scavenged whatever would be useful in fighting the duchies men. The climbers ditched their climbing spikes and picked up swords, spears and shields.</p> <p class="cnNjZWVkYzlhZGY1YTQ5ZmRiYjdmMjc0MjhiMzdmM2Ew"> </p> <p class="cnM5OTdjYjE1MmQxZTQ0Y2NiYTYwMWQ4ZTJmOGRiMmM5">BOOM, an explosion suddenly went off near the religious front-line catching everyone attention, “the fuk happened” someone said before, BOOM! OOM! BOOM!. Several more explosions shook the citadel ground.</p> <p class="cnNjNTNmNGIzYTBmNzQxZTRiN2IxMmU4OWU4NDY5N2Ni"> </p> <p class="cnMxZDE1ZWEyMTE4MTRiMjE5MzM1M2Y1MmY4ZGJhYTNm">The religious front-line was broken, in its place were half a dozen smoking craters lined with red and surrounded by body parts, mutilated corpses and they dying.</p> <p class="cnMyMGI2NzU1NjkxNjQ0YTQ4Y2IwOWZhNjk2MDI1MDNm"> </p> <p class="cnMxMmZhNDU1YWEwOTQzY2Q5MWViNzIxYTQzMjE5Zjlk">But this didn’t stop the undead, they continued forward as if nothing happened and only stopped to end some pitiful soul that managed to barely survive. The shook soldiers regrouped and prepared to fight, however, most of them would have to wait to get a light enchantment.</p> <p class="cnMzNWNjZjIwZGUzNjQxYmJiZTlhZjcxNzIwZGNlNmZm"> </p> <p class="cnNhYjZiMjdmMzE0YjQyMzM4MmI4YjJiMDRmZDMzYzI3">They didn’t have to wait long before someone yelled, “GET BACK ITS CARRYING A--” BOOM!, another explosion tore through their front-line.</p> <p class="cnNlNDdlYzZjMGY3YjQxYWFiM2YwNzcxMzNiYzQxZDA5"> </p> <p class="cnMwZWY0M2MxMjFkMzQzODM5MGFhMmM0MjMyOWQ5Mjg3">The other Duchies didn’t know what was happening over there they could only continue to fight. The diggers were already taking the most casualties when a soldier noticed something behind him, he saw a black flood coming over the wall behind his army. “GIANT ANTS ON OUR FLANK!!”</p> <p class="cnNiY2ZlYjgzNzg3MDRkYTI4MThjNWZmNDNjNjI1NGEy"> </p> <p class="cnM0NmM2MGU3ZDc3MTQ1MmFhYjY5MTRiOGQxMjcyMWJk">The noise was too loud for the whole army to hear, but that didn’t matter because the backline heard and turned around to look. What they saw was a wave of giant ants swarming towards them and strangely they only went after their army and not the other Duchies.</p> <p class="cnNlMGVmODRmZGJhOTRlMWRhMWU2NDk4YjRlZGIxYTMw"> </p> <p class="cnMzNTNmZmM1MjY0MjQxN2FhMDU2MmUzYWQzMjc5ZDI2">The back-line were the ones who had the most time to scavenge good gear, but there was only so many swords and spears in this part of the battlefield. So when the wave of ants smashed into the armies flank the damage was devastating.</p> <p class="cnNiOWQ3YzQ2MDA4ZTQxMzE5ZWRiZDYxYTA4ZGM2MmY3"> </p> <p class="cnNiYzkzODJlZDI1ODQ3NTY4Zjk3ZjcyYjIwNmJmNmUy">Mana enhanced attacks with short blades worked well against humans, but not against swarms of armored ants. The ants jumped onto the lightly armored climbers and pinned them down as they tore them apart.</p> <p class="cnNjYzM2MjRhNTc5NzQ0YTJiYjA3NDAwMWFlZGE5Y2Vl"> </p> <p class="cnM2MmY3ZWViNjVlYTQwMWZhNTA5MzYxODAyYmQ5Zjc1">Almost an hour past by and the remaining undead and ants were dead. The climbers were almost completely wiped out and the religious faction didn’t fare much better, they only had a third of their army remaining.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2Y4MDg0YmRhYzQ3NzU5OWFiZDg3OTQ0OTQ2OWEx"> </p> <p class="cnNiMWY4OTc2OGRlYjQ5ODJhYmY1OWNkMzU0YjI4MzVl">The Duchies finally had time to rest. Several groups wanted to chase the Swadian army down but didn’t move without orders.</p> <p class="cnNjYmUwYmQ4YjBhYjQ0NWM4OGY4OWE3YzY0YTllNzQ1"> </p> <p class="cnNhMGIzY2E1YzI0ZjRlY2JhYjk3YWJhNjg3MTAxN2Y3">Cautiously the ranked men converged together while crouching low, there was only 3 Sargents remaining which was pitiful for commanding an army of such size. They would only be able to give the most basic commands, and that too hinged on the cooperation of the survivors.</p> <p class="cnM1YzRmMjc2NTc3NDQyNWRhZWI2OTlhNzM3YmEzODU2"> </p> <p class="cnM4N2QxYjRjMzQ4ZjQxMTM5NDlhZWRlOTIzODliZmVl">Another 30 minutes passed as they quietly argued amongst themselves about the best course of action, they could take the keep and hole up there until backup arrived.</p> <p class="cnMzZGM5MTFjNTA4NDQ2YmE4YzM2ODkwZTQ3MzVjMmM3"> </p> <p class="cnNmNDg5OWEyYjk5MDQwMTZhNGQ2NGNiZTUxYTM5Mjg4">However, the problem was that the keep wasn’t designed for an army their size to stay in for long periods, so they either had to choose to leave some people out, possibly starve, or use small raids into the city for supplies.</p> <p class="cnMxZTdiODY3MTk4ZTQxODU5Njc0YjUxNGM4OTJiZGQ1"> </p> <p class="cnM3YTRlMzBkYWIxNzRiYjQ4MjM3M2ZmODc2N2EwNTY5"> </p> <p class="cnNiMDk0ZjFkNThiMzRlNmQ4Y2UyZmY3OTcyZmU4OGQ0">Atop a tower.</p> <p class="cnM1NGQ3ZDY3NGFjMDQ4Mjc5YTgxM2U4NDQ3YThmYjA2"> </p> <p class="cnMyYmQxZGEwMWIzOTQwOTk4ZTMwZWY4NzllOWNhYzBl">Lucifer sat comfortably in his chair as he observed, “it seems they chose to take the keep”</p> <p class="cnM4N2ViOWVlMTJhNjRmMWViMDlkZDZiOTU1ZjRiODQ1"> </p> <p class="cnM3Njc3ZjkzZDI3YTRkZGQ4YTQzMzNkNDAzNGZjODlm">“it will be down in an hour at most, then they will fortify their position and it will be impossible to get them out. I should have ordered my men to attack the breach after the undead instead of retreating to the second wall”</p> <p class="cnNkZjY2NmRlZmNkYjQ5ODliMzNjNzBmNmE5MDA1OGE1"> </p> <p class="cnM1YzdlNWFkYTczNjQ5MTg5N2JiZWUzMDkyYjdlYmUz">Lucifer ignored Arthus’ glare and said, “give me some of your blood”</p> <p class="cnNiNDk3YjAzN2NlYjQ0MWNiODM1ODRhNDViMTA1ZGYw"> </p> <p class="cnM0ZjIwOWM1MTQ5NDQxZGVhM2UyYWQ1NjI2NWM1NTIw">“what” he questioned.</p> <p class="cnM2ODA0ZGUxODMyYjQ1ZjFhYjAzMDcyYTllMTlkNzli"> </p> <p class="cnMzZDBjYzhhMWIxYTRmMDg4MmRiNjdkYmE3YTU4Mjhm">“I need to get past those doors which requires your blood” Lucifer explained.</p> <p class="cnNlOGJkYWUxMjM3NTQ4Mjg5ODdiOWZlZGZjOGM1MjZi"> </p> <p class="cnM0ZGFjZmM2ZDhkOTQxNTBiOGM2NDBjMGU4YTlmMWY2">“are you going to use mana gems again, just how many of those do you have”</p> <p class="cnNiM2FhZWE1ZDkyZTRhODQ4ZmY2ZGRmMjEyZDNhOTE0"> </p> <p class="cnM2NWEwOTEzN2FlOTQzNWNhNTYwYTAxZGU3OTU4ZTYy">“Several hundred a week, 200 300, I stopped counting” Lucifer lied, saying roughly half the real amount.</p> <p class="cnM3MDAyMzMwM2U5NzQxYTViMjQzNWU0NGU3OGI0M2I4"> </p> <p class="cnM3YWVlMWVhMjQ2NzRmZmRhYjc1NDc0ODU5NzA0ZWQz">“s-several hundred a week…”</p> <p class="cnM0ZjNjMjliYzEyYzRmODRhMzIyZDI4YThmZTVmZGE0"> </p> <p class="cnNlZThhY2IxZmNmMjQ5NWE5NTgzZWIxZWRiZGFhZGU4">suddenly Arthus heard footsteps from the stairwell and stood up, “relax, their mine” said Lucifer.</p> <p class="cnNkZGM3ZDMyYWFkNTQyZDNhY2FlNTEwMTU0YjZiODNj"> </p> <p class="cnM4OWJkMjU0ZmQ0ZjQ4ZDU4YWNiNTkxYTcxOGViNzQx">Arthus grabbed a wooden beam and agilely swung from the roof into the top floor. Lucifer just stood up, lifted his chair above his head and stomped through the roof.</p> <p class="cnM5MjM4YjU2YTFmZDQ3YmZiOTZlZDJjMzRmZGM4MWVl"> </p> <p class="cnMwZWY0MWRlNDAyZTQ5NWViM2RjNmNlMGVjNjljYTRi">Arthus looked at Lucifer strangely, but Lucifer just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I switch bodies so often I can never get such fine control over my body”</p> <p class="cnM2NWNiZDEyMGU4ODQwNjJhM2RkNDVlODE1MTU3YTE3"> </p> <p class="cnNjNWNjMzVlODViNTQ1NDI5NTczOTU0MzBiZTA0YWFl">Arthus’ eyebrows rose at the unexpected information, but he turned his head toward the opening door, a large woman with almost more muscle than him stepped through the threshold with a smile on her face and greeted Lucifer, “Lucifer, did I do a good job”</p> <p class="cnM2NGE5ZGQ3NmY4YTQwYzdiZTI4M2QxYTAxMjA4Y2Ni"> </p> <p class="cnM0MmYzNDFjMmFhZDQ3MjU4MGI1YWNiMGQxMTVkZWI2">“better than I could have expected” Lucifer replied causing the muscled woman to smile brightly sending shivers down Arthus’ spine.</p> <p class="cnNmYjI3MjE2MzRhZDQxNjhhYjFiMDZlMTJkYzI3Mjdm"> </p> <p class="cnNhNDQxOWU5MWFmMDQ3ZDBiMzlmNWU1MTg1YjQ1ZDM4">A few breaths later her followers made it up the stairs and the first man said between gasps of air, “Ell- Ellor-- sir you forgot yo-- your weapon”. He handed her a long black stick with what Arthus could tell was a telescope on top.</p> <p class="cnNiZTgyM2UzMmRkMTRjM2Y4ZGQyM2Q5NmEwNjJhMjY4"> </p> <p class="cnMyZTViMzMxMDE5NDQ1ZjhiMzQ0ZjgzODdiYTIzZDk2">‘were these the weapons Lucifer was using’ Arthus thought as his gaze sharpened, he then noticed the rest of the group were each wearing different duchy uniforms under their gray cloaks. His first instinct was to simply order the woman to hand over the weapon so he could inspect it, however, he held back knowing that it wasn’t his place to order Lucifer's men, especially when he was right in-front of him.</p> <p class="cnNlMDg0MjBjYjIxNjQzNDhiYTExNzljNjQ4M2FjMjc3"> </p> <p class="cnMyNDU3OWQxYjcyNDRmMzJiZjc4OWZiMjcxNzMwOTZi">Lucifer glared at Ellora, he thought that she was smart enough to not bring their secret weapons infront of anyone, he even installed a destruction switch on the rifles, if you are going to be captured or break the weapon, you can simply crack the crystal button on the side of the stock and it would explode after a delay.</p> <p class="cnNhYjA3ZjBiY2U4ODQzNDA4MjI5MTM3NzVlMjRiODE5"> </p> <p class="cnM0ZWE1YThhN2Q1MjRkZjZhYWZhOWIzMzFiMTU0NTNj">Ellora suddenly paled when she realized what she had done, she was a warrior first and the only reason she was used as a spy was because it wouldn’t look odd if she claimed to be an adventurer going to a dungeon city.</p> <p class="cnMzOGU2YzYyM2Q5ODQ2M2E5MTg3YzVjODA0MjQ5ZTBj"> </p> <p class="cnNhOTYxZjQyZDllZTRjMThhOTI2MmVkMDg1MGEyYjQx"><br>Lucifer thought for a moment before saying, “considering your results I can ignore your mistake, so what do you want for a reward”</p> <p class="cnMzZTVkMTc0OWYzNTQ1NzhhNmI4Mzk2NWUyNzlmZWUw"> </p> <p class="cnNkM2U0MDNmNzJjMTQxMGZhZmRkMDJkNzhhZDM4NWIx">Ellora breathed a sigh of relief before she looked back up and saw Lucifer's meaningful look, her mind ran at a million miles a second and she cleared her throat and thanked Lucifer profusely to gain some extra time, ‘what does he want me to say’ she thought, she saw Arthus standing to the side staring intently at their weapons and she had a spark of inspiration.</p> <p class="cnNkN2Q2Njc3NTI5NjQ5ZjVhNjYyOTU1YWU4Njg1NDFm"> </p> <p class="cnNhZGRmYWY1MDRkYjQ1ZGY5M2Q3ZmMxNjY5MGQ1ZDBk">She bowed slightly and humbly asked, “Lucifer, I would like for you to repair my body so I can be strong”, the corner of Lucifer's lips lifted, ‘the word “repair” was a wise one considering she knows I would remake her body’ thought Lucifer as he looked to the side and saw Arthus’ shocked expression.</p> <p class="cnMyZDAzYTg5YWE4NzRhNDliYjc5ZjM5YjE3ZmUxZGQy"> </p> <p class="cnMxODdkMzlhOGI2ZjQyMjU4MjUzODc5NjIzY2E1OTI0">“granted, go back to the dungeon and wait for my return” Lucifer replied. Ellora smiled even brighter than before and practically skipped out the door, her men look between the door and Lucifer and he understood their hesitation.</p> <p class="cnM5Nzc5NWZhYWYzYzQ4NDhhMjg1MTdmMzYwNmFjODQz"> </p> <p class="cnNjOGNkNzc5YmYwZjQwOTdiODMyN2FhNDY5ZTI3MWM3">“normally I would leave rewarding you to her, however, considering your achievements I can make an exception, what do you desire” said Lucifer.</p> <p class="cnNiZGU4NTNlOGUyZDRhZWU4YjhlMTFkMDRkZGVlOGVi"> </p> <p class="cnM5YmVhMDViZTQ1MTRmMTU5MTU3YTdmYzQyMzliM2Vk">One of the men stepped forward kneeled down and asked, “Lord Lucifer, I cannot begin to thank you for what you have done for me, I can only offer myself as one of your many knights if you will have me”</p> <p class="cnNjMDg5MjgzMjM3YjRkOThiZmQ2MjA2OWJkMWU1Zjc4"> </p> <p class="cnMwNjg3YzA5OGIyNzQ1ZDBhNjVlNTQ5ZWE2MzVkY2Rj">Several others quickly kneeled down and said something similar only leaving a few standing. Lucifer replied, “although I didn’t plan to call my first willing servants knights I think its quite fitting. Return back to my dungeon, after my victory I will make you Dungeon knights, you are no longer under Ellora’s command but mine and mine alone, if you do well you will be rewarded well, if not… remember this, once you become my dungeon knight I will demand absolute obedience, so think about this choice on your way back”</p> <p class="cnM0Nzc4YmQ5MzVmMDRkNjFiM2U0ZGZkNTViMTE5ZTE1"> </p> <p class="cnM3YmZkZjY1MDExMzRhZmE4MTQ4NjdjNjU3MWJjMmE0">The kneeling men stood up and started to leave, the few remaining men hesitated, the others asked to be servants for a reward what could they ask for and not sound greedy.</p> <p class="cnM5YmI2NzdlZDVjZDQxYjM4ZGVkMzA0NTNjOTlkNTUy"> </p> <p class="cnM1NjZkYTVkNzgwZTQwZjZiN2NhNTYyNmM5NjU3ZWY5">Several awkward moments past by until one man stepped forward and quietly asked, “I want to be free”</p> <p class="cnNkNzc1NTI0OGJkYzQ2OTBhMmQ2Y2RmNWIyMTJmMDM5"> </p> <p class="cnM3MjAzMWNkOTRmYTQ1ZWY5NjA5OGY5OTg0YWIxYWJk">Lucifer looked at the men and saw their eyes subtly shifting around, it seems they wanted this too but were going to wait for Lucifer to grant or deny this man first. Lucifer almost sighed, apparently his people didn’t trust him enough to say what was on their minds yet.</p> <p class="cnNiMmRlMzBmNjI5ZDQzYzVhOGRmMGVjZjI4YmU5ZTRm">“is that what you wish for too,” he asked and saw the men jump a tiny bit</p> <p class="cnM3MDgzYjJlODBhZTQ4ZmNiMjQ0ZWM5MWNmN2EzYTc4"> </p> <p class="cnNiZmIwYmE5NzNiMTRiYTU4NWU2ZTIyMjc2NjJkMGQ1">“y-yes” another man finally replied.</p> <p class="cnNkYzQ3ZWM2ZWU4ODRkOWVhZmYzYTNjMjMxZWEzZTA2"> </p> <p class="cnMxMDk1ZTA0YzA4MzQzODY5ODE4ZWMwY2EyYjE1YTU1">Lucifer waited until they all confirmed it before asking, “and what will you do once your ‘free”</p> <p class="cnNlNWZkYTNjOGIxZDRmYWI5MDMzNmJmNDgwYzVkNDk1"> </p> <p class="cnNiOTQ5YWRhN2I5MDQxZmE5MDQ4ZTIxNjEzZTM1MDI1">…</p> <p class="cnMwNzlhNDA2YjlhZjQzNDJhNDRkNDlkZmY5MTY1NzZl"> </p> <p class="cnNmN2RkYzEzYzlmMzQzZGM5NzY3YTNjNjQ4OGFhZmJh">“I want to move back to my village”</p> <p class="cnM0MDNkYjk1MDVhMjRmYTRiN2JmNWRlNDAzZTAwOWNm"> </p> <p class="cnNiNzMzMWM0N2ZiOTRmY2RhNzNlYTA5MmRmZWIyZjkx">…</p> <p class="cnNjM2ViOGUwOTdiODQ2NTJiZjNkYmE3YjViOGZkNGM0"> </p> <p class="cnNhNzQ0Nzk3Y2FlMTQ4YjRhYjVhMDVmY2U3MDlhZGE5">He continued staring at them one at a time until they answered. <br> <br>“I want to become an adventurer again”</p> <p class="cnM0Zjg2ODMzNjFiYjQ0NDRhZmY5NzFkZGNhODc1ZDQy"> </p> <p class="cnM2ZmFiMTc5YzkzZDQ3M2JiZjEyNTk0YjhmOTAwN2Ji">“A – merchant”</p> <p class="cnM3NjBhZjI3ZDUyMjRhMjNhZjExNjI3M2E2ZWMyMDJh"> </p> <p class="cnNiZjZhMWQ3ZmZkODQ0YjU5OTE5NDZhMGYxMmEyMzg3">“fisherman” the last min simply replied.</p> <p class="cnMxZTYwMDdhNGE0YzQzYTI4YTlkMTU5MmIzMjE4N2I1"> </p> <p class="cnNhNzlmY2M2MjhkNTQ3M2M5NDE5YTJmZjdlMTIzNGY5">“Hmm” Lucifer pondered, Arthus could almost feel the tension in the men's bodies from several meters away. Lucifer made up his mind and said, “simply being set free doesn’t fit those accomplishments, becoming proficient in those weapons in such a short time and putting your lives on the line for me deserves more.</p> <p class="cnM1MzI4ODIxYTdhOTRiNjFhODk2MmVhZjdkOGJkZWEw"> </p> <p class="cnNkNTJiNzc0YTFiYjRjN2ViMmI3MzI3YWYyZmFlMjJm">So the fisherman, I will grant you access to the dungeons waters, as long as you don’t attack anything or pick any plants nothing will attack you in the dungeon.</p> <p class="cnMxYWE5Yzk2MTg2MjQxM2Q5OGFlZWE5NjkyODhhOGU1"> </p> <p class="cnM1NTQ3ZDVkMWYyZTQ5MTc5MWEyYjc1N2M3MTQ3MjZm">The merchant, I don’t have anyone to sell my dungeon items right now, you can run the shop I open in the future or I can sell my items at a discount to you in the future.</p> <p class="cnM1NGM1ZGRiM2JlNTQyODI5NWQ0OTdhZmQzN2UwYjE5"> </p> <p class="cnMxYWQ1OTU3YmM5ZjQyN2ZhZWE3MmE1YTg2NjI1Y2Vj">The adventurer, I won’t open my dungeon to you to raid as you please, however, I will mark you so that some of the more “unfair” things wont kill you in my dungeon, this will mean the only way you will die there is stupidity or lack of skill. I will also alter your body slightly so its more powerful in whatever attribute you chose.</p> <p class="cnNiYmJmMjhjMDAzYzQxNjQ4MWI2MmUxN2FiNmIyZGE2"> </p> <p class="cnM5ZGU4M2EzZDU3NjRhYzM5ZDcxMGYxMzU4YzIwZTY5">Hmmm, the villager, what would benefit your life”</p> <p class="cnM2MmExNGVjYWNkYzQ1YmFhMDgxMzMwNGJiODE4Mjk5"> </p> <p class="cnMzNjI2MWVkZWU0NzQxNmE4ZDViNzg0NGFhNGJjNDBk">The man that said he wanted to become a villager struggled to come up with something useful, money is almost useless in a remote village, dungeon access also wasn’t useful either, nor is running a shop or selling dungeon goods.</p> <p class="cnMzOTNlZjMxMDYyYjRiMWJhNGY2M2I2MGQyN2UwMDc0"> </p> <p class="cnM0MWZkMGVlYjMzOTRhNmI5OGM1NGExYmYxNzgyN2U5">He opened his mouth after several minutes of thinking, “Lord Lucifer, I can only ask for a strong body like the adventurer, with that I can work the fields easier and protect the village if its attacked”</p> <p class="cnM1OTBlMDQwZjI1YjRhMDdiNzI3ZDMxNzFiNGQ0NGJj"> </p> <p class="cnMzMTVjMTJlZDMwNTQ2OWZiZGRlMjc4MjYxNTFhZTVh">“so be it” said Lucifer, “go back to the dungeon and await my return”</p> <p class="cnNkMDIwYmQ3NDNjMDRhYTZiOTAwN2FmODJmMDkwODY3"> </p> <p class="cnNmZTE1ZTBmYjY4MDRlYjk5MjI4NTk5N2NiYjY3MjQ5">They filed out the tower and Lucifer stretched out then sat back down on his chair, “seems they already have the keep”</p> <p class="cnM5MjUwMjhhZTNkNDRjMThiNzIxMjE3OTU2NDA1ZmMw">Arthus didn’t care about that and started a conversation, “you seem to reward your followers well”</p> <p class="cnM1MjQ0MDM4ZmIzMTRhMDBiNGE3YjllMzExMTFkODYz"> </p> <p class="cnNiYjhhODY2NGIwNDQ1OWQ4MjE0M2ZlMDYxODJmM2Mw">Lucifer gave him a glance then continued observing the duchies enter the citadel keep. Arthus kept talking about ruling and how he understood Lucifer's intent in heavily rewarding the first few loyal men, it was something he had done at the start of his career too.</p> <p class="cnMwOWY4NmFlMDdhNDRiOTg5YjRiZGYzN2NkYTgxNjBh"> </p> <p class="cnMxYzdjOWE1MTZjMDRlNjY4MGNhMzczNGUxMDQzOTk1">Lucifer just ignored him and waited for him to get to the point and it didn’t take long before “healing” came up, specifically Arthus asked, “the muscle woman said you could repair her body… does that mean...” and trailed off.</p> <p class="cnM1ZmFjM2ViOTdiNjQ2MmNhZjA2YmEwN2ViODJjODdj"> </p> <p class="cnNhYmQ4MzM1MzI3NzQyYjZiZGM5MzhkOGY5YjYxMzcy">Lucifer sighed and simply replied, “if you become more powerful It would put me in an disadvantaged position, you can understand that”</p> <p class="cnMxOWIzOWQ3MTgxMTRiYWU4OTllNGE0MTQ2YTMyMGUz"> </p> <p class="cnNhYjY4M2UwY2M5YzRjYjA4YTc4Mzg3ZGRlMjE1OTcx">“BUT.. but we are allies” Arthus argued.</p> <p class="cnM0NjViNDNkMTZiODQ5NzdhZGFjNWQwYzFmMTRhZDA1"> </p> <p class="cnM1MmIzZmVmMWRhNTQyNWNhNTQ1OGU3ZTY0YjJjMjg5">Lucifer leaned forward in interest, “you seem rather desperate to heal an old injury, your a king you don’t have to personally fight anymore”</p> <p class="cnMzNzBkYmJkMTBkNDQ1NWM5MGU0MTY1ZmFhNTc3Nzc4"> </p> <p class="cnMyMjY5OWM4ZmZiNjQ5NjViZmRjZmQ5MmUzMjVlZjg1">Arthus began, “the Duchi--”</p> <p class="cnM4MzM1Y2MxY2RmZTRmZWFhOWM1ZWFlZTU4M2IxNjA3"> </p> <p class="cnMwZjVjOGZmZThkMDRjYjU4YTlkYjAzODA4ZWY3OGQ0">“The Duchies aren’t going to be a problem much longer, just look forward and you can see, their army is only half a size bigger than ours”</p> <p class="cnNiYTU1YzE4OGNmZDRmYzk4ZTBmYjMzZGY2ZWQzYzc1"> </p> <p class="cnM1OGI4ZTI0ZTJjZTRjOWE5NDhhNTQwMTRiOTBjNTNh">Arthus argued, “’we’ haven't won yet, and that’s still a big number advantage, every second soldier would have to beat two enemies for us to decisively win.</p> <p class="cnNhNTI4MzkwZGU0ZjRmMjBiYTllYjUxNjhiZWU1ZGZi"> </p> <p class="cnM1NTIyODI3NGM1ODQwNTM5ZjE1OWE1ZGJlODQyMmMy">“fine, if you want me to heal you then I will. After I bind your soul”</p> <p class="cnM2ZWQ5OTIwYjk0MDQ3YzdhMTBmMDhjMDhhMGE5NGRh"> </p> <p class="cnM1N2JmODdkMzBkMTRkOTNhYjMwZDAxMWI2ZDMyMTFh">…</p> <p class="cnNjY2Q3NDI0NGYxMzQyOGViZGVkOWQ0ZWUzNzEzMzRm"> </p> <p class="cnNiMThjN2IyODQzODRhNDM5Y2I5YjNiOGExNDNhMzBi">Arthus glared at Lucifer, but remained silent. Lucifer chuckled and added, “your more desperate than I thought if you are actually thinking about it”</p> <p class="cnNkNTA2NDhiNzFjZDQ4ZTE5ZTBkYzE0OGFlOTBkMGJk"> </p> <p class="cnM1YzAyOGFmMmU3MTRkNjRhNTYyYmUxZTA3MjEzYzc1">“isn’t there any other way, something you want” Arthus asked.</p> <p class="cnNiNGIxNWE4MzEzNzQxYThhZTY3MmMzYWIyMzJhNGVi"> </p> <p class="cnNiYjJhODdhYTM0NzQ1NWY5N2I4NjNlMjhjMGNmMWI0">“I’m a dungeon, anything I want I can create myself, everything else I can buy myself” Lucifer replied.</p> <p class="cnMyMDUwZTNiZjhjMzRhZGRhOTUxNGVmMTQ1YjAwNWZm"> </p> <p class="cnM1MTQ4MzRlNTAyMjQ1MzdiOTU5ZDcwMGUxOWUzMWJh">“and if you suddenly found it hard to buy those things”</p> <p class="cnNhYmU1MDFiMjk0MTQ5NmViMTRmOGFiNDg1NmE3NmMz"> </p> <p class="cnMyYjZkYTNlYTkyZDQ3ZDk4ZjMxMTAzZWQ3YTAzOWJh">“then I would go without them because as I said I’m a dungeon” Lucifer countered with a glare.</p> <p class="cnM1YmU1NzU3ZWUyYjRmZDhhNGNjNzgzODRjYjdjNTM4"> </p> <p class="cnM4MzJiODQ5Y2VlZjQ1NjFiMDQwZWZmNDM2ODNjMzlk">… … …</p> <p class="cnMwN2M1ZDdlNDE5YjRhNTE5NTk4NDVhMjFlODRkNjE2"> </p> <p class="cnMyMDNlYzk3YTg3OTQ4MzI5N2IyY2FjZTAwNjc0MWJh">Lucifer stood up and said, “enough talk about this, give me your blood so we can ambush the enemies from behind”</p> <p class="cnNiMGI1MzI3Yzc4YzRkMjVhMTY2MzhkZjU1NWU1ODRl"> </p> <p class="cnNlY2ZjZDE0MzliOTRhZmU5ZmI0YjkxZTNmNDQzZGFm">Arthus jumped out the tower, “I’ll go myself”</p> <p class="cnM2YWEwNzlkYzAzMjRkYzFhYTZkMWUxMjU0YjJlOTkw"> </p> <p class="cnM2YzcxMjU2ZDdhNzRjMDI5ZDkwYzQ0ZDM3Yjc2MGQ0"> </p> <p class="cnNlYjBjYWI1YmZmOTRhZDFhOGUyMmU5ZjUxOTcwM2E1">In the secret underground tunnel system.</p> <p class="cnNlM2Y4MmJlMGFhNDQ5Mjc5OWU0NjZlMmQyN2VkNTM1"> </p> <p class="cnMzMDJmMjMwYjVhYTRhMjViY2E3NGVmMmVkYzg4OTk1">Arthus ran through each section and pressed a bloody thumb on a rune opening up the doors one by one. Behind him a flood of giant ants followed him closely with mana gems in their pincers. There was enough of them that it even made Arthus nervous.</p> <p class="cnM0MWFhMTQ4MGM3MjRjNDFhYTQzYmY5NTc5Mjg0NWYx"> </p> <p class="cnM5N2VjOGQ0MTdkNTRkODVhMGQ3MTRkM2VjMzljNTkx">Creak thum thump, the final door opened and Arthus stood there as the ants swarmed past him into the keep.</p> <p class="cnNhNWM3ZDBlNzAyZDRhZWNiNzJjY2YyZmUyNjQ3NGYz"> </p> <p class="cnM3ZTBjMTljN2YyZTQyZWE4YzEyOGM2MDhlOWVjZDNl">Several men were looking inside boxes in the room when the door that they couldn’t open suddenly flung open and spilled giant ants out, the men drew their weapons, but were quickly overwhelmed by the ants not carrying anything.</p> <p class="cnM2MjU1NjczZmMxMDQwMjU5ZGUwNTJiYjFiNTU3NTFl"> </p> <p class="cnNkNzcwNWIxYWZhMDQ2NmJiOTYxNWEzZDJjODhjZGQz">The room quickly flooded with ants and they tore apart the door and pushed into the other rooms. Those inside started hearing the commotion and groups of soldiers moved forward to investigate.</p> <p class="cnNiNmZmZWM4MTU0ODRlYjI4NTYzNmViZTBjZmU5ZTJm"> </p> <p class="cnNjMDUzNzk0YjVlMjQ1ZDBhNzUwNGM3YTMwYzYwMmYz">The commotion only got louder and the idea that it was some residual resistance from the keep vanished. The few remaining people of rank ordered people to swarm that section of the keep until they could figure out what was happening and re-adjust their plans.</p> <p class="cnMxMDU4NTZmYWYzYTQ3ZjliYmI5MTg4ZTM2ODQxZDll"> </p> <p class="cnM4YTM1YzY3ZTAyODQ4Yjc4ZGU2ZDBiODYxZmQzZDEz">BOOM- BOOM, explosions sounded out and multiple walls crumbled. Ants with the gems flooded through the holes and crawled across the roof of the keep.</p> <p class="cnNiOGQzNTc0YzAzYTQ1OWRiNzBiYTk0MjRiMzYyZGRm"> </p> <p class="cnNjNjAxMzAxMTcxYTRiNmY5NzA3ZjIzZTQ3MzcwNmNj">Soldiers with bows managed to shoot down a few, but that was mostly because the ants were so packed together rather than any skill.</p> <p class="cnM2ZjkwMDBiODhhNDQ5OTlhNGVkNjYzNjI1NjE0ODA0"> </p> <p class="cnMzYzAxZTJhNzJjYjQ1NWU5YWFhODVmYmNlNGYwMWQ3">“THEY ARE HOLDING MANA GEMS WATCH WHERE YOUR SHOOTING!”</p> <p class="cnMyM2UxYzdjNzg4MDRkZjVhN2IyZmEyM2RkYzcwZDY2"> </p> <p class="cnM5Y2VjOTdkZDNjNzQ4MGNhYTQ5YTgxOTQ0MGEzZmQ3">A noticeable sense of panic filled the air as the exits suddenly became quashed full of soldiers trying to leave the keep. Several people yelled for order as the crowd surged and crushed forward, anyone who fell down were unable to get up and their armor didn’t do much to stop them from being stomped to death.</p> <p class="cnMyZjEyNTJmYTU1YTQyN2FiYzBmOGZiYWFjNmE0NTE1"> </p> <p class="cnM1YzIzY2Y2Zjg5NjQyNzk5ZDZhNjIwOGM4ZmJlZGEy">Suddenly the ants on the high roof started dropping. Crack, BOOOOOM, a larger chain reaction went off as several hundred mana crystals let loose their violent energies in an instant.</p> <p class="cnMwYjUzN2NhMzE5ODQ1NWQ4ZmYyY2Y0ZmI5NjdlZTcx"> </p> <p class="cnMxNGEwOGNjNGVlYjQwZTg5MzYwNTIzMmUzN2RjNmNj"> </p> <p class="cnM3NzM0YzhlMGU0OTQxOGI4YWQ4YWJlMjkzODg1Y2Mz">Underground.</p> <p class="cnNhMDE5OTA4YzNkYjRhMWZhMzgxMDllODEzYmNmZmZi"> </p> <p class="cnMxMjA0YjhhYTJjMjRkMTFiYzdiZDA4ZjU5YmIyMWUz">Arthus felt the tunnel floor violently shake, “Fucking fuck, wait for me to get out first would you” he directed towards the walls which he hoped wouldn’t cave in. “I don’t want to be moneyed to death you crazy bastard”</p> <p class="cnNlOWVjMmVkMTNmMzQ1NGQ4NTllZjE5ZDcwYWVkNmVi"> </p> <p class="cnMxYjliMDQzNmVkMzRkOWZiNmM4MDgwYjk4OTMzMzA3"> </p> <p class="cnNjYzFkOWEwMmZlNjQzZTA4M2E0OTdjNzBmN2VkZDAy">Meanwhile in the tower Lucifer casually replied even though no one could hear him, “then move faster you dope, do you think the mana gems were a gift for the enemy”</p> <p class="cnM5ODY5MGM5YjFhNTQzYjNhMzVmNGM4NDVlYmM0M2Y0"> </p> <p class="cnM3YWUzOTk5OTU0MTQ0Mjk4NmI0ZjllNzM0Y2Y2NmJh"> </p> <p class="cnM0OWFlM2E4Njc4NzQ3MzM5ZDU1MWI4NDcyMjgzOWNj">The entire keep started to rumble and collapsed taking a large part of the army with it,</p> <p class="cnM0Y2JkMDI4YzFjMjRmZTFiZjE3NTFmNDZiNzk2YmUz"> </p> <p class="cnM3YTY5MjBiNDFkMzQzOWI4MWJkYmMzZjc3YTA5NTQ3"> </p> <p class="cnM4YjEzN2JkZDJjMTQ0ZmVhOTEyNjEyZjg2ZTg2M2Q3">Over the next three days the scattered survivors tried to escape the city while Arthus’ disciplined army and Lucifer's ants went to slaughter. Right after the keep collapse they remaining survivors made a last ditch effort to break through the breach, but they only made it to the third wall before Swadian crossbowman routed them.</p> <p class="cnNkMmQ4NzcxMTJlNzQwMTk4ZWJjN2YzYzg1NTQxNDc5"> </p> <p class="cnMyMjBiY2U4Y2NjYjQxMmE5ZDkzMTNiM2FmOTJlZTJj">At that point it wasn’t a fight anymore, anytime the Duchy soldiers got near wall stairwells to fight, the Swadian soldiers would go down the other side of the wall using the very same siege equipment the duchy soldiers used to get into the walls. The Duchy soldiers never made it past the third wall.</p> <p class="cnNiYmJmMTYwMTg0NTQ4ODY4ZGFhOGM5OWE4NDA5ODE5"> </p> <p class="cnM3MWZiYjI0ODY4ODRiNjc4NDAwN2E2MTQzNjA4ODk5">Eventually the Duchy soldiers split up into small groups and scattered, however, the giant ants easily ran down such small groups.</p> <p class="cnNiMDNjNDRhMzQ2NTRkOWY4MDg2MDI3YzcwNmFlNDcx"> </p> <p class="cnM0MTIxNWQ4M2RjNTQyZDdiODI2YmE5NzJhMGI0NDNh"> </p> <p class="cnM3MGIyMTM4ZGRjNTRmMjk4YjAwYTUwYzE1ZmJmMzZk"> </p> <p class="cnNmYzdiNjEwYmMzMDQ0NWNhMzI5MDAyYjM2MDAxOWZl"> </p> <p class="cnNkNGE3MjljMWExODRhZGQ5M2VkMTEzNTQ5NTI3MGFh"> </p> </div>

Inside the Citadel walls. Duchy soldiers formed ranks in preparation for the oncoming undead, however, with only a few Sargent's left to command it was left to the squad captains to give orders, they managed to get the soldiers into ranks like they were trained, but they didn’t have the foresight to move their armies forward and block the breach. The undead shambled through the breach unobstructed and started trying to run once they saw the living. They couldn’t go fast, those that did fell over and were crushed by the hoard behind them. Instead they moved at an awkward pace between running and jogging. In one area just before impact the soldiers leveled their spears towards the undead and braced their shields for impact. Muffled groans sounded as the undead willingly impaled themselves on the spears. Some of these undead still had intact armor on and pushed past the spears, the few remaining skeletons ignored the spears entirely and just walked through the spike wall, but once the undead got to the shields the soldiers switched their spear grips closer to the spear point and stabbed away at the fearless undead. Those that were risen recently still had flesh and the spears made short work of their barely functioning brains. The skeletons fared better because a spear could only end them if it destroyed the skull which usually took a few thrusts, but they were unarmed and found little success reaching past the shields for their prey. Meanwhile another duchy held their battle line against the undead. They were the climbers and didn’t carry shields or spears, they were forced to attack with their daggers and climbing tools, while a few more experienced climbers had short swords they looted during other wars. An undead would come into range and one or two soldiers would dash forward and use their superior agility to get close and stab it to death. However, this only worked well at the start of the battle, as the undead continued increasing the space they had to maneuver decreased. before a man could fake out an attack from an undead and circle round to its undefended side to attack, now they either ran into an ally or another undead. Once a soldier misstepped and got grabbed it was over for him, undead didn’t let go of something unless they were destroyed and those precious seconds were enough for a pick wielding undead to get a solid hit. Meanwhile the religious faction was having the easiest time. Each of their front-line soldiers had blessing of light which coated their weapons in light magic, while this was normally a useless enchantment during the day it doubled their weapons effectiveness against undead. Every swung of their swords cut cleanly through the normal undead and simply disintegrated the skeletons skulls on impact. The only problem was that every so often their hidden mages would suddenly die along with the sound of thunder. Soon there wouldn’t be enough people cast the enchantments and they would have to fight like the other duchies. Overall the undead weren’t doing much, some of the soldiers were already picking up the fallen’s equipment, they scavenged whatever would be useful in fighting the duchies men. The climbers ditched their climbing spikes and picked up swords, spears and shields. BOOM, an explosion suddenly went off near the religious front-line catching everyone attention, “the fuk happened” someone said before, BOOM! OOM! BOOM!. Several more explosions shook the citadel ground. The religious front-line was broken, in its place were half a dozen smoking craters lined with red and surrounded by body parts, mutilated corpses and they dying. But this didn’t stop the undead, they continued forward as if nothing happened and only stopped to end some pitiful soul that managed to barely survive. The shook soldiers regrouped and prepared to fight, however, most of them would have to wait to get a light enchantment. They didn’t have to wait long before someone yelled, “GET BACK ITS CARRYING A--” BOOM!, another explosion tore through their front-line. The other Duchies didn’t know what was happening over there they could only continue to fight. The diggers were already taking the most casualties when a soldier noticed something behind him, he saw a black flood coming over the wall behind his army. “GIANT ANTS ON OUR FLANK!!” The noise was too loud for the whole army to hear, but that didn’t matter because the backline heard and turned around to look. What they saw was a wave of giant ants swarming towards them and strangely they only went after their army and not the other Duchies. The back-line were the ones who had the most time to scavenge good gear, but there was only so many swords and spears in this part of the battlefield. So when the wave of ants smashed into the armies flank the damage was devastating. Mana enhanced attacks with short blades worked well against humans, but not against swarms of armored ants. The ants jumped onto the lightly armored climbers and pinned them down as they tore them apart. Almost an hour past by and the remaining undead and ants were dead. The climbers were almost completely wiped out and the religious faction didn’t fare much better, they only had a third of their army remaining. The Duchies finally had time to rest. Several groups wanted to chase the Swadian army down but didn’t move without orders. Cautiously the ranked men converged together while crouching low, there was only 3 Sargents remaining which was pitiful for commanding an army of such size. They would only be able to give the most basic commands, and that too hinged on the cooperation of the survivors. Another 30 minutes passed as they quietly argued amongst themselves about the best course of action, they could take the keep and hole up there until backup arrived. However, the problem was that the keep wasn’t designed for an army their size to stay in for long periods, so they either had to choose to leave some people out, possibly starve, or use small raids into the city for supplies. Atop a tower. Lucifer sat comfortably in his chair as he observed, “it seems they chose to take the keep” “it will be down in an hour at most, then they will fortify their position and it will be impossible to get them out. I should have ordered my men to attack the breach after the undead instead of retreating to the second wall” Lucifer ignored Arthus’ glare and said, “give me some of your blood” “what” he questioned. “I need to get past those doors which requires your blood” Lucifer explained. “are you going to use mana gems again, just how many of those do you have” “Several hundred a week, 200 300, I stopped counting” Lucifer lied, saying roughly half the real amount. “s-several hundred a week…” suddenly Arthus heard footsteps from the stairwell and stood up, “relax, their mine” said Lucifer. Arthus grabbed a wooden beam and agilely swung from the roof into the top floor. Lucifer just stood up, lifted his chair above his head and stomped through the roof. Arthus looked at Lucifer strangely, but Lucifer just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I switch bodies so often I can never get such fine control over my body” Arthus’ eyebrows rose at the unexpected information, but he turned his head toward the opening door, a large woman with almost more muscle than him stepped through the threshold with a smile on her face and greeted Lucifer, “Lucifer, did I do a good job” “better than I could have expected” Lucifer replied causing the muscled woman to smile brightly sending shivers down Arthus’ spine. A few breaths later her followers made it up the stairs and the first man said between gasps of air, “Ell- Ellor-- sir you forgot yo-- your weapon”. He handed her a long black stick with what Arthus could tell was a telescope on top. ‘were these the weapons Lucifer was using’ Arthus thought as his gaze sharpened, he then noticed the rest of the group were each wearing different duchy uniforms under their gray cloaks. His first instinct was to simply order the woman to hand over the weapon so he could inspect it, however, he held back knowing that it wasn’t his place to order Lucifer's men, especially when he was right in-front of him. Lucifer glared at Ellora, he thought that she was smart enough to not bring their secret weapons infront of anyone, he even installed a destruction switch on the rifles, if you are going to be captured or break the weapon, you can simply crack the crystal button on the side of the stock and it would explode after a delay. Ellora suddenly paled when she realized what she had done, she was a warrior first and the only reason she was used as a spy was because it wouldn’t look odd if she claimed to be an adventurer going to a dungeon city. Lucifer thought for a moment before saying, “considering your results I can ignore your mistake, so what do you want for a reward” Ellora breathed a sigh of relief before she looked back up and saw Lucifer's meaningful look, her mind ran at a million miles a second and she cleared her throat and thanked Lucifer profusely to gain some extra time, ‘what does he want me to say’ she thought, she saw Arthus standing to the side staring intently at their weapons and she had a spark of inspiration. She bowed slightly and humbly asked, “Lucifer, I would like for you to repair my body so I can be strong”, the corner of Lucifer's lips lifted, ‘the word “repair” was a wise one considering she knows I would remake her body’ thought Lucifer as he looked to the side and saw Arthus’ shocked expression. “granted, go back to the dungeon and wait for my return” Lucifer replied. Ellora smiled even brighter than before and practically skipped out the door, her men look between the door and Lucifer and he understood their hesitation. “normally I would leave rewarding you to her, however, considering your achievements I can make an exception, what do you desire” said Lucifer. One of the men stepped forward kneeled down and asked, “Lord Lucifer, I cannot begin to thank you for what you have done for me, I can only offer myself as one of your many knights if you will have me” Several others quickly kneeled down and said something similar only leaving a few standing. Lucifer replied, “although I didn’t plan to call my first willing servants knights I think its quite fitting. Return back to my dungeon, after my victory I will make you Dungeon knights, you are no longer under Ellora’s command but mine and mine alone, if you do well you will be rewarded well, if not… remember this, once you become my dungeon knight I will demand absolute obedience, so think about this choice on your way back” The kneeling men stood up and started to leave, the few remaining men hesitated, the others asked to be servants for a reward what could they ask for and not sound greedy. Several awkward moments past by until one man stepped forward and quietly asked, “I want to be free” Lucifer looked at the men and saw their eyes subtly shifting around, it seems they wanted this too but were going to wait for Lucifer to grant or deny this man first. Lucifer almost sighed, apparently his people didn’t trust him enough to say what was on their minds yet. “is that what you wish for too,” he asked and saw the men jump a tiny bit “y-yes” another man finally replied. Lucifer waited until they all confirmed it before asking, “and what will you do once your ‘free” … “I want to move back to my village” … He continued staring at them one at a time until they answered. “I want to become an adventurer again” “A – merchant” “fisherman” the last min simply replied. “Hmm” Lucifer pondered, Arthus could almost feel the tension in the men's bodies from several meters away. Lucifer made up his mind and said, “simply being set free doesn’t fit those accomplishments, becoming proficient in those weapons in such a short time and putting your lives on the line for me deserves more. So the fisherman, I will grant you access to the dungeons waters, as long as you don’t attack anything or pick any plants nothing will attack you in the dungeon. The merchant, I don’t have anyone to sell my dungeon items right now, you can run the shop I open in the future or I can sell my items at a discount to you in the future. The adventurer, I won’t open my dungeon to you to raid as you please, however, I will mark you so that some of the more “unfair” things wont kill you in my dungeon, this will mean the only way you will die there is stupidity or lack of skill. I will also alter your body slightly so its more powerful in whatever attribute you chose. Hmmm, the villager, what would benefit your life” The man that said he wanted to become a villager struggled to come up with something useful, money is almost useless in a remote village, dungeon access also wasn’t useful either, nor is running a shop or selling dungeon goods. He opened his mouth after several minutes of thinking, “Lord Lucifer, I can only ask for a strong body like the adventurer, with that I can work the fields easier and protect the village if its attacked” “so be it” said Lucifer, “go back to the dungeon and await my return” They filed out the tower and Lucifer stretched out then sat back down on his chair, “seems they already have the keep” Arthus didn’t care about that and started a conversation, “you seem to reward your followers well” Lucifer gave him a glance then continued observing the duchies enter the citadel keep. Arthus kept talking about ruling and how he understood Lucifer's intent in heavily rewarding the first few loyal men, it was something he had done at the start of his career too. Lucifer just ignored him and waited for him to get to the point and it didn’t take long before “healing” came up, specifically Arthus asked, “the muscle woman said you could repair her body… does that mean...” and trailed off. Lucifer sighed and simply replied, “if you become more powerful It would put me in an disadvantaged position, you can understand that” “BUT.. but we are allies” Arthus argued. Lucifer leaned forward in interest, “you seem rather desperate to heal an old injury, your a king you don’t have to personally fight anymore” Arthus began, “the Duchi--” “The Duchies aren’t going to be a problem much longer, just look forward and you can see, their army is only half a size bigger than ours” Arthus argued, “’we’ haven't won yet, and that’s still a big number advantage, every second soldier would have to beat two enemies for us to decisively win. “fine, if you want me to heal you then I will. After I bind your soul” … Arthus glared at Lucifer, but remained silent. Lucifer chuckled and added, “your more desperate than I thought if you are actually thinking about it” “isn’t there any other way, something you want” Arthus asked. “I’m a dungeon, anything I want I can create myself, everything else I can buy myself” Lucifer replied. “and if you suddenly found it hard to buy those things” “then I would go without them because as I said I’m a dungeon” Lucifer countered with a glare. … … … Lucifer stood up and said, “enough talk about this, give me your blood so we can ambush the enemies from behind” Arthus jumped out the tower, “I’ll go myself” In the secret underground tunnel system. Arthus ran through each section and pressed a bloody thumb on a rune opening up the doors one by one. Behind him a flood of giant ants followed him closely with mana gems in their pincers. There was enough of them that it even made Arthus nervous. Creak thum thump, the final door opened and Arthus stood there as the ants swarmed past him into the keep. Several men were looking inside boxes in the room when the door that they couldn’t open suddenly flung open and spilled giant ants out, the men drew their weapons, but were quickly overwhelmed by the ants not carrying anything. The room quickly flooded with ants and they tore apart the door and pushed into the other rooms. Those inside started hearing the commotion and groups of soldiers moved forward to investigate. The commotion only got louder and the idea that it was some residual resistance from the keep vanished. The few remaining people of rank ordered people to swarm that section of the keep until they could figure out what was happening and re-adjust their plans. BOOM- BOOM, explosions sounded out and multiple walls crumbled. Ants with the gems flooded through the holes and crawled across the roof of the keep. Soldiers with bows managed to shoot down a few, but that was mostly because the ants were so packed together rather than any skill. “THEY ARE HOLDING MANA GEMS WATCH WHERE YOUR SHOOTING!” A noticeable sense of panic filled the air as the exits suddenly became quashed full of soldiers trying to leave the keep. Several people yelled for order as the crowd surged and crushed forward, anyone who fell down were unable to get up and their armor didn’t do much to stop them from being stomped to death. Suddenly the ants on the high roof started dropping. Crack, BOOOOOM, a larger chain reaction went off as several hundred mana crystals let loose their violent energies in an instant. Underground. Arthus felt the tunnel floor violently shake, “Fucking fuck, wait for me to get out first would you” he directed towards the walls which he hoped wouldn’t cave in. “I don’t want to be moneyed to death you crazy bastard” Meanwhile in the tower Lucifer casually replied even though no one could hear him, “then move faster you dope, do you think the mana gems were a gift for the enemy” The entire keep started to rumble and collapsed taking a large part of the army with it, Over the next three days the scattered survivors tried to escape the city while Arthus’ disciplined army and Lucifer's ants went to slaughter. Right after the keep collapse they remaining survivors made a last ditch effort to break through the breach, but they only made it to the third wall before Swadian crossbowman routed them. At that point it wasn’t a fight anymore, anytime the Duchy soldiers got near wall stairwells to fight, the Swadian soldiers would go down the other side of the wall using the very same siege equipment the duchy soldiers used to get into the walls. The Duchy soldiers never made it past the third wall. Eventually the Duchy soldiers split up into small groups and scattered, however, the giant ants easily ran down such small groups.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjZGIzM2VjMTQ5NTQ4MDViMGY5MDdiMmY0NDQ4NWRh">Zao Ning wakes up and can feel his body ache all over. In his anger, Zao’s body went into kill mode and pushed itself to 100% for a long amount of time.</p> <p class="cnNlYjQzN2UxM2IyNDRlOGY5YjEzYmM4OTIzYjNlMTRl">He didn’t even do anything either, this is the repercussions of using a Spirit Realm ability with a Mortal Realm body.</p> <p class="cnM5ZjdjYzkxMTFlYjRhZGFiNmI0ZWVmY2IyOGYwM2Rh">Uses his senses, Zao investigates to see if anyone is watching him at the moment. Sensing nothing, Zao’s mind goes into his cultivation veins and he starts to cultivate.</p> <p class="cnNjMjk5OGQ3N2I2NTQyYWY5ZjE4ZTk1ZDkwNTVhZTRm">While the worm inside his veins wriggles around and absorbs Ki, Zao’s mind becomes focused on another task.</p> <p class="cnNiYjE2NjA4NjI4MDQzYTE5Y2E0MTk2Y2UwZjY4OTFi">Using his concentration to the fullest, a small black dot of Darkness Ki forms within his cultivation veins.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1MTc3ODk1MjYxMTQ2M2FhNzcyNWM5ZTQwMmNlMDE2">The dot begins rotating and spinning very quickly. The dot condenses more and more until it finally explodes.</p> <p class="cnNkYWJkYWYyMTFmNTRmNmU5ZDViMGRhM2UzYjlkNGQw">It explodes into another worm that is black as the night.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwZWE0NzQwODkwMTRiMDhiZjUzMTlkODVjY2U1NTdk"><em>Still as anticlimactic as usual. I need to find a new technique soon.</em></p> <p class="cnNmNmM1NzRjNmRlYjRmY2RiYTQ4ZjE3OTA0YjcwNjcw">Sighing and looking at the different colored worms in his veins, Zao has still yet to get over his complex for big names and cool things.</p> <p class="cnNhMDUyNTMxYWYwMDQ1NmJhNDk4MTY4Y2RmODE4ZTQw">Zao begins nurturing the dark worm alongside the profound azure one.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwZjZhYmRlZTdiZTRhYTg4MTUxY2E5ZWU1MThkZDJl"><em>Now that I have begun cultivating Darkness Ki, I need to fuse them and train with the Ki to be able to use the Shadow’s Embrace.</em></p> <p class="cnNiZjJjYjI0YmY0MzQ5MjI4YTUxYzI3ODVmMTM3ZjM4">*After several hours of cultivation*</p> <p class="cnNjYjYyOWI2ODYxYzQyYTZiMzNkYmZmZjgwOTE1OWMw">Standing up, Zao takes off his robe and his rippling muscles are nipped by the cold air of the fall breeze. Closing his eyes, Zao Ning forces the Darkness worm into his cultivation veins. Zao Ning can instantly feel a familiar sense cover and rush through his body.</p> <p class="cnM3MGJlZGJjNDVlYjRhZWU4NTNlYmI2NzNhMTUzODU4">Having cultivated in 5 different elements and Darkness being one of them, Zao is very used to the cold feeling of darkness spread through his bones.</p> <p class="cnNhODg3NmViMjA5YjQxOWI4Y2QyMDYyMjgxZWY1NzUx">With a sharp look in his eye, the Darkness Ki around Zao begins to rush towards the boys skin and be absorbed into his muscles.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiOTFiNDFhMTY1ZjQ2OGFiNTNhZmM1ZjcxNjZiYTlk">A dark and ethereal character replaces Zao Ning and all that is shown from the dark cloud like being is a pair of azure eyes.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNTVjODg2YTY2ZjQxZWJiNjYxZGEyZDI1YWE2ODQ4"><em>While absorbing Lightning Ki makes me fast and my body to become much stronger, Darkness Ki is more malleable and using the Shadow's Embrace techniques, I can make a body out of Darkness Ki.</em></p> <p class="cnMwY2ZjYjFlNmJkNTQxMmZhOTZkZjQyZTJjNDZlZmFi">After 30 seconds of sitting in his newest form, the darkness replacing Zao's body fades away and his true body returns. A smile is spread wide across his face.</p> <p class="cnM3OTU4NzFkYzE4MTRlNjA5ZjFjMTViOTMwZDNhMGNl"><em>Time to train the sword.</em></p> <p class="cnM3OThjYzE0NWY3ZDQ5YjU4NjZlY2EyN2Q2YmVmNjM3">Pulling out his new sword, Zao circulates his Darkness Ki and sends it into the hilt of the sword. The darkness inside of the sword actually becomes darker when entering the enhancing metal of the sword. Bouncing it of the walls, the ball of Darkness Ki zooms out of the tip of the sword.</p> <p class="cnMzYzE1YzRhYmI1MzRjYzE5NmU0MzcxY2FhMWVmMDI4">The second it reaches the area outside of the sword, the Darkness Ki explodes and Zao's vision is filled with the color black.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlZDI3NjVkOTA2ZjRlNmFiOGVjZGIwNGNlZTYzMmMw">Blinking a few times, Zao's vision does not return to normal and he then the dragon boy starts scratching his chin.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0MDNkYWMyNGIxMDQxZjE4ODhmZDJlODU0YmYwYWYx"><em>Hmmmm, this is unexpected. Am I blind or is the room just as dark as night?</em></p> <p class="cnNmMGY5MWI0MWE2MjQyNmM4ZmJhMGIxODdkODk1NmRh">Opening his pores, Zao's body begins to viciously suck in Darkness Ki and soon, light is return to Zao's vision. He lets out a long and interested 'Ahhhhhhh' as Zao finally realizes what had happened.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmMjczZmQwZmNhNTRiMTk5OThkMmQ5M2ZkNTJhODI5"><em>The Darkness Ki exploded when it was shoot out of the sword, making the Darkness in the room so thick that I can't even see through it... This will be very helpful for what I have planned.</em></p> <p class="cnMzOGE5M2QyNjY3NzQzOGQ5ZDc1MDQ1MTg2ODY1NzJk">When thinking about the plot of revenge that he planned last night, Zao's feels happy and excited at the same time.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhYjczZmY4NzRjMTRjZGRhNTM2NTYwNjY0MDBhMmQ4">Looking down at himself, Zao Ning sees bright, glistening sweat cover his body and even his breathing is a little shaky from continuing to push his body.</p> <p class="cnMzNzgyYzJkM2ViYzQyMzA5Y2Y0NWMxZTU1Y2VlOTM3">Zao Ning decides to take a quick bath and then dresses himself afterwards. Walking out of the room, Zao immediately goes to his mother’s room to check on her.</p> <p class="cnNhZDgzYzg1MTEwNjQzYzc4OGEzMzc5ZDA5ZDU2Nzdk">Knocking on the door, Zao Ning hears no sounds coming from the other side of the room. Zao waits for a minute and then knocks again.</p> <p class="cnNjZjc4NzQxYTdmYzQ1MTlhMjJkOGM1YzRjY2JlMzI0">No answer.</p> <p class="cnMxNTU3NjAzNGE5MzRlNmY5M2U4MzQyN2JmYTVjNWNl">Confused, Zao opens the door.</p> <p class="cnM4MTliODRiZWZhNTRhN2U5MDVkYmIyYTE2OTBhZTFh">"I'm coming in mother."</p> <p class="cnNjNTdkNjU1N2E3YzRiYzZiZGQzZmQyYTFlNzNmMTM1">No one answers Zao as when he looks around the room, it is empty and lifeless. This causes Zao's eyebrows to knit but he decides to not freak out yet and go find his mother.</p> <p class="cnM0MjRiNjE0MzhjMTQ4NWJhNWJhNTU4ZWFlNjZkN2Fh">Walking out of the room, Zao is able to catch one of Grand Elder Chi's servants walking by.</p> <p class="cnMwNDcxMjVmOTEwNDQyNTdiODg3YjhmZjNkODVlMWQ2">"Hey, where is the woman who is staying in this room?"</p> <p class="cnNkOTllOGU0NmE4MDQ1Mjg4N2IxZTg2MGExNTM3Y2U0">The servant is startled when he hears Zao's voice and turns around with a horrified expression.</p> <p class="cnM1NTZkMmUyNGQ5ZTQ1NjdiODA5NjY1NWZkNTMwNDY1">"Y-Young master Zao! Miss Wei Ning is currently cultivating with her new master, Elder Mo."</p> <p class="cnNjN2JlNjYwYmZiNTQ1YjE4Y2VlYTNiZWEwOTFmMzM2">Zao doesn't move a muscle for a second and then shakes his head back and forth.</p> <p class="cnM3NDkyYzdkMWM5YjQ4OThiM2FiYjZmM2IwOTdmMjIy">"Maybe I didn't hear you correctly, what is my mother doing?"</p> <p class="cnNjODQ0OGYwMmE4NzQyODZiMzM0ZTVkNzI1OThkYzc4">"Miss Wei Ning is currently cultivating with her new master, Elder Mo."</p> <p class="cnM3YmM5YmIxMjc2NTQ4M2ViMDFkNmRjZWRjM2VmMmQy">Zao's expression is blank before it turns into anger. The anger quickly fades into mockery and ridicule.</p> <p class="cnMyOTY0OGM4YzIzMDRiZmQ4ZTY5MjhhNWIxYzYxZWUx"><em>That dumbass doesn't know what tail he is pulling. He thinks is messing with a simple cat, but little does this Elder Mo know that there is a dragon on the end of this tail!</em></p> <p class="cnNjOTlmNzMwNTkyNDRlNDJiYTU1MThjNjVjYTllYjVi">Zao Ning roars in his head as an image of the weakling, Elder Mo, comes to his mind.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTEzNDUyZmU5YjQ2Y2M4NTU3MWFiY2ViYjQ1MmE1">"Lead me to Elder Mo and my mother."</p> <p class="cnM0MDcxNGVhMWEwNzQ5MDZhYjdiYzZkZDU1OTg3YmQw">"B-but young master, Elder Mo said no one is to disturb him while he is teaching Miss Wei Ning!"</p> <p class="cnNiYThkMzllNThhYTQyZWJiMTFhOWRiNmQyZjk0ZTQw">"Hahahaha."</p> <p class="cnMxYjg3YjE0NGM1NjRjNWM5MTMwNWQ5MjI5NGEyOTc1">Zao laughs coldly and walks up to the servant with a fake smile on his face. The aura of a beast washes over the servant's body.</p> <p class="cnNmZDVhM2E5NjcxNzRlM2JhZmQ1NzU3MjZmOGE3Mjg2">"I don't think you have a choice, <strong>friend</strong>."</p> <p class="cnMzYTY4NmJhYTNiZDQ1YWE5MjY0ZWNlNWFkYTE5ZmM1">The servant whimpers as Zao Ning puts a strong and forceful hand on his shoulder.&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4ODE0MGExNzM1MDQxZDY4ODQ3OTcwOTNhMWY2NmRl">'<em>Why me? WHY DID I WALK INTO THE SIGHT OF A MONSTER?!</em>' the servant yells in his head as he begins to regret working for Grand Elder Chi.</p> </div>

Zao Ning wakes up and can feel his body ache all over. In his anger, Zao’s body went into kill mode and pushed itself to 100% for a long amount of time. He didn’t even do anything either, this is the repercussions of using a Spirit Realm ability with a Mortal Realm body. Uses his senses, Zao investigates to see if anyone is watching him at the moment. Sensing nothing, Zao’s mind goes into his cultivation veins and he starts to cultivate. While the worm inside his veins wriggles around and absorbs Ki, Zao’s mind becomes focused on another task. Using his concentration to the fullest, a small black dot of Darkness Ki forms within his cultivation veins.  The dot begins rotating and spinning very quickly. The dot condenses more and more until it finally explodes. It explodes into another worm that is black as the night.  *Still as anticlimactic as usual. I need to find a new technique soon.* Sighing and looking at the different colored worms in his veins, Zao has still yet to get over his complex for big names and cool things. Zao begins nurturing the dark worm alongside the profound azure one.  *Now that I have begun cultivating Darkness Ki, I need to fuse them and train with the Ki to be able to use the Shadow’s Embrace.* *After several hours of cultivation* Standing up, Zao takes off his robe and his rippling muscles are nipped by the cold air of the fall breeze. Closing his eyes, Zao Ning forces the Darkness worm into his cultivation veins. Zao Ning can instantly feel a familiar sense cover and rush through his body. Having cultivated in 5 different elements and Darkness being one of them, Zao is very used to the cold feeling of darkness spread through his bones. With a sharp look in his eye, the Darkness Ki around Zao begins to rush towards the boys skin and be absorbed into his muscles.  A dark and ethereal character replaces Zao Ning and all that is shown from the dark cloud like being is a pair of azure eyes.  *While absorbing Lightning Ki makes me fast and my body to become much stronger, Darkness Ki is more malleable and using the Shadow's Embrace techniques, I can make a body out of Darkness Ki.* After 30 seconds of sitting in his newest form, the darkness replacing Zao's body fades away and his true body returns. A smile is spread wide across his face. *Time to train the sword.* Pulling out his new sword, Zao circulates his Darkness Ki and sends it into the hilt of the sword. The darkness inside of the sword actually becomes darker when entering the enhancing metal of the sword. Bouncing it of the walls, the ball of Darkness Ki zooms out of the tip of the sword. The second it reaches the area outside of the sword, the Darkness Ki explodes and Zao's vision is filled with the color black.  Blinking a few times, Zao's vision does not return to normal and he then the dragon boy starts scratching his chin.  *Hmmmm, this is unexpected. Am I blind or is the room just as dark as night?* Opening his pores, Zao's body begins to viciously suck in Darkness Ki and soon, light is return to Zao's vision. He lets out a long and interested 'Ahhhhhhh' as Zao finally realizes what had happened.  *The Darkness Ki exploded when it was shoot out of the sword, making the Darkness in the room so thick that I can't even see through it... This will be very helpful for what I have planned.* When thinking about the plot of revenge that he planned last night, Zao's feels happy and excited at the same time.  Looking down at himself, Zao Ning sees bright, glistening sweat cover his body and even his breathing is a little shaky from continuing to push his body. Zao Ning decides to take a quick bath and then dresses himself afterwards. Walking out of the room, Zao immediately goes to his mother’s room to check on her. Knocking on the door, Zao Ning hears no sounds coming from the other side of the room. Zao waits for a minute and then knocks again. No answer. Confused, Zao opens the door. "I'm coming in mother." No one answers Zao as when he looks around the room, it is empty and lifeless. This causes Zao's eyebrows to knit but he decides to not freak out yet and go find his mother. Walking out of the room, Zao is able to catch one of Grand Elder Chi's servants walking by. "Hey, where is the woman who is staying in this room?" The servant is startled when he hears Zao's voice and turns around with a horrified expression. "Y-Young master Zao! Miss Wei Ning is currently cultivating with her new master, Elder Mo." Zao doesn't move a muscle for a second and then shakes his head back and forth. "Maybe I didn't hear you correctly, what is my mother doing?" "Miss Wei Ning is currently cultivating with her new master, Elder Mo." Zao's expression is blank before it turns into anger. The anger quickly fades into mockery and ridicule. *That dumbass doesn't know what tail he is pulling. He thinks is messing with a simple cat, but little does this Elder Mo know that there is a dragon on the end of this tail!* Zao Ning roars in his head as an image of the weakling, Elder Mo, comes to his mind. "Lead me to Elder Mo and my mother." "B-but young master, Elder Mo said no one is to disturb him while he is teaching Miss Wei Ning!" "Hahahaha." Zao laughs coldly and walks up to the servant with a fake smile on his face. The aura of a beast washes over the servant's body. "I don't think you have a choice, **friend**." The servant whimpers as Zao Ning puts a strong and forceful hand on his shoulder.  '*Why me? WHY DID I WALK INTO THE SIGHT OF A MONSTER?!*' the servant yells in his head as he begins to regret working for Grand Elder Chi.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM5N2IwODcxZmI0NDQ4Njk5MjAzYmYzOGM3MDRlMWI0">I hardly have enough time to even ask myself where she could have pulled such a massive sword from before she begins to free herself by stabbing each of the now glowing red hands still attached to her. She works quickly and efficiently despite the burns that have begun appearing on her. As each of the hands falls away they leave a dark hand-shaped mark on her skin.</p> <p class="cnMwNjIzOTA2MTU0ZDRjYzc5OWUyNmI4ODhmZWMxNjFm">As injured as she is I expect to see a look on anguish or anger, but instead, she looks about ready to hum with pleasure.</p> <p class="cnMyYWIzOGIyMGI2YzQ3ZjViYTJjOTQxY2EwMzU3YzJl">“What an incredible fight! I have never seen such clever usage of magic before! To think that the surprise victor against the Kolossaal was a mage this whole time! However, will magic be enough to stop Afeuro now that she has drawn her signature weapon? What do you think Yuusha-sama?” The Announcer excitedly breaks down his thoughts about the fight</p> <p class="cnM4ZmQwMDBkYjZiMjQzNGE4OGI1YzNkMjBmNWU0ZGIx">“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t be fooled. Mano is actually far more skilled in the art of the sword than magic! Now that Afeuro has drawn her sword the fight is about ready to finally begin!” The moronic Yuusha barks in response</p> <p class="cnNhNTA1MWMwOTM5NzQwMmViZDY1ZGU2Y2Y4ZGI5MzUx">As he says this suddenly I can see anger suddenly wipe across Afeuro’s face. Now free from her bonds, she begins to slowly walk towards me. However, what’s odd is that she isn’t brandishing her sword. Not wanting to let this battle become close-range I begin to panic.</p> <p class="cnMyYmZhMTY4ZDlkNzQ5MWE4MzFjMzMxODUwNmQ3ZjMx">“That is close enough!” I yell out as I prepare another fireball above my head</p> <p class="cnNjYTM5NjRkYzc3OTRhNmI4YjQ3OTQxMDBhNGZmMDY2">Not wanting to waste mana on an attack I’m not confident will hit, however, I use the bare minimum to maintain a threatening appearance.</p> <p class="cnM5NTRhYzQwNTYwNTQwOWI5OWY1NjIyZmQ3ZGFmOGNm">She stops dead in her tracks and begins to stare daggers into me.</p> <p class="cnMwYmIzYjM1ZDZlODRjYTJhY2Q4Mzc2ZmUyNTEwYmYx">“You… why haven’t you… drawn your sword?!” She angrily yells, her voice cracking as she tries to raise its volume to reach between us</p> <p class="cnNkMjJkMjhkMmQxYTRjNWNiOTkxN2ZmOGY5ODRjNzNi">“…I’m not nearly the swordsman that idiot claims I am. I just got off a lucky strike in front of him the first time we met.” I answer honestly</p> <p class="cnMwYzcyYmZkMjI2NjRkMzJiYmRmYjdhMzc5YmFhZTY4">Is she insulted? I suppose if you thought I was some great swordsman, then refusing to draw my blade would be as if I wasn’t taking her seriously.</p> <p class="cnM3NjQ1ODJiZWE1ZTRlOGI5ZTExYmVlMjY5MmJjOWZm">“You’re… lying!” She yells as she begins rushing towards me readying a strike</p> <p class="cnM0OGEzZTBkZTJiYzQ1YjdiNTU5YzFlNmIwNGZiNjc1">She’s fast! I can see the attack coming, but there is no time to dodge!</p> <p class="cnM4NmQ0MjUwMjlhNzQxNjc5N2U4ZTk5ZjI5NzdiOTcw">I quickly throw up a small barrier between me and her large sword, with only a moment to cast it however it cracks as it absorbs the blow.</p> <p class="cnMzMWU5YTc5ZTU2YjRlODU4MTg2NzlmYWQ0YTBkMTM5">There is hardly enough time to react however as she whips the sword around as if it were weightless and begins a flurry of blows from every direction. I dodge what I can, but I’m forced to block most of the attacks.</p> <p class="cnNkNzQ2NWM4YmRlYjQ4MmY5MjdhOTkzY2Q3MWJiMzBi">I repeatedly cast barriers, each time breaking instantly, but with every strike, the delay between attacks grows faster. I can feel my reaction time begin to slip as my barriers begin to fall behind.</p> <p class="cnMwMTRlM2FmYWM3NDQ1MDU5YmM1MTllNzgzYTA2MTQ3">If I don’t do something quick her attacks are going to begin to land!</p> <p class="cnM3ZmE1NmE4NzkxZDQzNjZhOWIxODFmNjBhZjZjYmI2">“Fine, I give up! You want me to use my sword so badly, then here it is!” I say as I quickly draw the sword from my side and lunge towards her</p> <p class="cnNmMzQ1MmIxNDAwODQ2ZGFiNzVhYWZkOGI2MWU0OThi">As I do she deftly avoids my strike with a small leap backward.</p> <p class="cnNlMDQ0MzliYjUxYzQ5MjRhYzI0Mjg5NzYxYWZmMTZj">The anger clears from her face, as she is clearly happy to have gotten her way.</p> <p class="cnNlOTQ3YzU3ZTdkZTQxZDg4Y2ZmYmZjNGJkMmY1NTM1">I take up the stance beaten into me be Shishou. He always seemed so indomitable when he took up this stance, as he would toss aside my heavy strikes as if they were nothing. I need that more than anything right now.</p> <p class="cnNmNWRlNTMwNGQ2NDQzN2U4NjA3OWZiZTUxYTIyNjU2">Afuero takes up a fighting stance as well. I brace myself for another assault, but instead, there is silence between us. We stand there on guard, reading each other, and waiting for an opportunity to strike.</p> <p class="cnNjMTc1ZjQ5ODlkNzRhMDg4MmNmMTYwNmY0ZDkxYzM0">I want to spend this time setting up traps, but if I get distracted she will pounce for sure.</p> <p class="cnMyMTIzYWUyNDM5MDQ4MjI5OGI1Y2Q2NjM4OTRhZDQw">“…The tension down there is legendary, as possibly the greatest swordsman of our generation size each other up. I fear even commentating for fear of breaking their concentr-” the announcer says in a low voice</p> <p class="cnMyMjhmOWFhMzM3MjRhODJhNGFjZDY1ZTEyMDlkZjE1">“You can do it swordsman lady! Ma? Mano? Right! You can do it Mano!” The reprehensibly Yuusha yells out interrupting him</p> <p class="cnNjNThkZGQ1ZTdkOTQ3Mjc5Y2Y3NzM2OGNkNWJkMDNk">“You forgot my name?! And stop ruining the mood, you moron!” I yell out, unable to control my rage at his stupidity</p> <p class="cnMyOWQyNTBkYWM2NDQ0NjJhYmI2NDY0ZjVjMjVmN2Rj">For a moment I think my rage has started to blind me, as a darkness sweeps into my field of vision.</p> <p class="cnM5ZGQ0MGI5MTYxYjQzZDJiMzA5NWNmMjgxOWE2YWJl">“Distracted,” Afeuro says plainly as she brings down a strike towards my off guard self</p> <p class="cnNiNDNiZDk4ZTgzNzRlZmZiZjEyZGZlMjYxYzVkNzM1">I jump backward in a desperate attempt to avoid the strike but to little avail. The strike lands across my chest and creates a large gash that instantly starts spewing forth blood. Although landing with such a wound hurts, I jump back again immediately to gain some distance so I can heal.</p> <p class="cnMzYjRkNGVlNmMzNTQ2YWM4ZTdmOTE5ODQxYmJmNzRl">That’s it, I’ve decided, I <em>will</em> kill that idiot someday. For now, however, I would be delighted if he could shut up before he gets <em>me</em> killed!</p> <p class="cnNkY2M1MzA0ZjljZDQyZWQ5YjAzMTBhNzU1ZDg0Nzg5">I immediately start casting restore on my wounds, but upon seeing my wounds begin to close Afuero rushes towards me yet again.</p> <p class="cnM5NDU5ODUzODMwZTQyMWViOThhNmIwYmMwZWZjMmMw">“I…won’t…let…you!” She says between massive swings of her weapons, that I can barely stop with my barriers at all</p> <p class="cnMyYTkzNTc4MGE3ZjQ3ZDRiZGY1MzU5YWIwODVjNzI1">As I block her relentless attacks my wounds quickly close, but I can already see her attacks beginning to grow in power and speed. It seems she still isn’t warmed up yet, as her attacks grow more ferocious by the moment.</p> <p class="cnNhMDU5YmMwZDFiYzRiNjlhY2E4OTc0MmI4NjJjMzBj">It isn’t long before the barriers cease to even stop the blows, instead only managing to slow them down on impact. I am forced to dodge the remainder of each strike.</p> <p class="cnM0ODI0MzUwZDg3ZDQ2NzNhYTViZGExY2Y4MzFjNWY0">Not wanting to be backed into a corner again, I repeat my previous strategy of lunging at her with my sword whenever I find an opening. Much to my surprise, however, she simply lets me do so. Unless the blow is aimed at a vital location, Afuero simply takes the blow without so much as flinching and continues her assault.</p> <p class="cnMxOWQ4NjM4MzdlMDQ2Nzg4NWYxYWIzNjJmZDdlZGJi">Even a blow that she is forced to dodge does little to slow her, as she always dodges with the minimal amount of movement prioritizing keeping me under pressure.</p> <p class="cnM1YzhkNGZhM2YwZTQ3NjJiZmM4NjZlNmMzMWQzN2Qy">This won’t work for long… I can hardly keep up with the mental load of trying to find gaps in her defenses whilst continually casting magic to defend myself. It’s like trying to move four hands at once, and worse… it’s becoming less effective by the second. If I don’t start setting up a finishing move then I’m toast. I don’t even know if I <em>can </em>cast multiple spells at once while keeping up with close combat, but it’s the only plan I can think of.</p> <p class="cnM0NzY3NzE3MjJiMzQzMWM5MzI3YWZiZTE2YWZmNGY5">with that decision made I begin to push myself even further as I begin pouring every ounce of the mana I have left into my final gamble.</p> <p class="cnM0NzY4NjBlZDc4MjQzMWQ4NjljYmY4MzgwZTk4Mzc0">The world begins to fade away, as all I can afford to think about is “Attack, defend, refine”</p> <p class="cnMyMTYyNTY2NTE1NjRlZGY5OTlhMTlkOTkwMzAwNjAy">I repeat it like a mantra in my head to help me focus.</p> <p class="cnMxY2ZlMDFiZGUzNjQ3MTJiMGI4OGY5NzdhYWEyNDE3">Attack, defend, refine.</p> <p class="cnMyZTgyODhjZmE2MTQ2NmI4YTNhOWViM2E2YWQ4MmQy">Attack, defend, refine.</p> <p class="cnNmMTNjZjdkNzRlNzQ0NzdiNDc0NjZlNWVmZGQ5ZmJk">Attack, defend, refine.</p> <p class="cnM3YmFmM2FhOWQ2ZDQzYjBhMjYwMGRlZTExZmUyYjFi">As the blows grow faster, and my dodges become more narrow, I can see death growing nearer and nearer with every strike. My mantra turns into a single word. A plea to myself to ignore my fear.</p> <p class="cnM5MWRiNmQ0M2RiZTRlNjU4OThhYWViZGY2OGRmOGE3">Focus.</p> <p class="cnMwZjFkNjMwMmFjYjRlMzNhZWI0ODFhYWIxMmEzMjI1">Focus!</p> <p class="cnMzNWI1YmNmM2ZiNzRhOTNhYjVlY2I3MGFlZWVmOTMz">FOCUS!</p> <p class="cnNkMmJjNjNmYmM0YzQzZTRiNDVmZjY1NjBmMDVhYjA1">FOC-</p> <p class="cnM0ZGY4OTY5NWNhOTQ4MGM4ZjI1NmFlOTM2YWEzMGYy">A surprise attack from Afeuro ends my mantra. Unbeknownst to myself, in my hyper-focused state, she had sneakily turned her blade sideways and opted to instead smash through the barrier… and several of my ribs.</p> <p class="cnM3M2RjOTg4Mzc5NzQwODhiN2I4ZTlmNjhhMzhiNmE4">My thoughts come to a halt as I am sent tumbling away, desperately trying to breathe with the air knocked out of me. When I finally stop rolling I am left gasping pathetically on the ground as I nurse my ribs.</p> <p class="cnM1NDdmZTYzMTVjZjQ2MTg4YWZlYzM2ODU1NzBiNjVl">Afeuro, now well aware of my ability to recover, begins walking towards me to finish this. The look on her face is not one of joy or victory, but one of disappointment.</p> <p class="cnNhMzI2MTRlYzNjZTRjYzA4ZDE1NzQyZDczMmM1YmY1">In one last hail mary attempt, I drag myself to my feet, still fighting to fill my lungs with air, and use earth manipulation to create a long stone spear. I turn it into iron using transmutation before picking it up and throwing it with all of my remaining strength.</p> <p class="cnM3ZWU2NWEyNTRmZjQ3YTA4MjQ2NTA1ZmM0NWRjZDAz">Afeuro doesn’t so much as slow her approach, and simply lifts her blade gingerly in front of her face to block the incoming spear… However, the clash of metal she was obviously expecting never came. As she lowers her massive weapon that obscured her vision she sees the spear suspended there in front of her, in a thick barrier that wraps around her.</p> <p class="cnNlZTYxNWExMzZjNDQxYmJhZjQ1YzljZDUyYmRlY2Vk">She immediately attempts to swing her sword to break it, but her weapon is too massive for the small barrier cast around her. There is no space to swing it. She drops the sword and immediately starts beating on the walls of the barrier, cracks forming with each attack.</p> <p class="cnM0Yjk3NWEyMzJmZDQ1MWY4M2E3NDYyNjJjMjVmYjNk">Thankfully she focused on the wrong part of my trap.</p> <p class="cnM0OGQyOGNkZGE2ODQ5ZmFhMDYxNDBkZWQwM2EwYjRk">I thrust my sword towards her and yell out with all my might</p> <p class="cnNmNDQ3NjVlMDVmMzQzNDc5NjAwOTAyYmEyZDllNzNk">“Ai-Fa-Aer Stun!” and as I do a stream of lightning shoots out from my blade and into the iron spear</p> <p class="cnNiODViOGRlM2RhMDQ5NzhiOGM3ODk4MmRkZDM3YzNl">Although I can not hear a peep through the thick barrier I created, as the lightning passes through the rod into Afeuro she looks as if she begins to writhe and scream in pain.</p> <p class="cnM1ZmUwMzhkNzNkZTRmNGFhNTZiNzczZDE1YTQyYTcy">For a moment I think I’ve won, and she stops beating on the barrier, but with the lightning coursing through her and a new anger on her face, she resumes her assault on her prison.</p> <p class="cnM5MGRiOTQzODhmMjRjOGM5NzYxYTAzZTY5ZGIxNjNl">What <em>is </em>she?!</p> <p class="cnNmZWU4ZGQ5YTI5ZTQ4ZGNiMDIzNzgzZjhmMmUyYWEz">I attempt to raise the power of my lightning, but my mana has already reached the bottom of the well. Desperate I try still, hoping that she goes down before I fall from mana-loss.</p> <p class="cnMwMzZkZjFmNGVmOTQzMDViN2Q4MGYxMzFlYzhkZTg4">As I feel my consciousness begin to fade there is a change in the lightning. It begins to shift from a bright purple to an ominous black color. As it does Afeuro reals back in pain once more.</p> <p class="cnM0M2I4Yjk4ZTRhNzQyYTE5YzU1MjE1NWE4YTcxNWI4">More desperate than before she begins to punch the barrier with all of her might, but just as it looks like she is about to escape her strikes begin to slow until finally… she falls to the ground.</p> <p class="cnNiZmEzZGU3NjBmODRkMDQ5MzEzNWVkMDg3MTJkYTlh">Unable to keep them going any longer I release both spells, and as the harsh crackling of the lightning stops, silence sweeps the arena.</p> <p class="cnNhMDUwMTMwZTZhNjRhMDhhNDIzMDFjMTQ3MTVjNmY3">“…It’s… IT’S OVER! The upset of the century has happened, and Mano was progressed to the final round!”</p> <p class="cnM4ZTdjYTRhMzUyYjQ5YmRhMzhiYzNhN2E3OGZiZTU3">Hearing the official words my strengths seeps out from me. I fall to the ground, wincing at the pain in my ribs. My mana is gone in its entirety, there is none left to heal myself.</p> <p class="cnMwMWNkMGM0ZWEyNDQ4Nzk4ZDkwMmY2ZjVmMDU4MDQ4">“That was an absolutely incredible match! If I didn’t know any better, I would actually say she could give you some trouble in tomorrows match Yuusha-sama!” The announcer excitedly continues, ignoring my collapse</p> <p class="cnNkN2JhODg5YzY4YTQwMjRhYjQ4OTBjNzI5MDExMTg5">That’s fine. I don’t need help or anything. I only have several broken ribs and can’t move due to my lack of mana.</p> <p class="cnNlZDRhYTY5NjlkNjQ1MDBiNTgwNGQwZDY3NjhjNzA3">“Hard to say… She was clearly hiding her true strength. She hardly used her sword in the match at all after all. I’m sure she will pull out an even more surprising move during our match.</p> <p class="cnNjNzAyYjY2ZjA3ZTRjZWZhZWRhYThiMzg2NmViMzdl">No? Nobody is going to acknowledge the fact that I’m not moving? I could be dead you know? Also, stop focusing on my sword skills so much!</p> </div>

I hardly have enough time to even ask myself where she could have pulled such a massive sword from before she begins to free herself by stabbing each of the now glowing red hands still attached to her. She works quickly and efficiently despite the burns that have begun appearing on her. As each of the hands falls away they leave a dark hand-shaped mark on her skin. As injured as she is I expect to see a look on anguish or anger, but instead, she looks about ready to hum with pleasure. “What an incredible fight! I have never seen such clever usage of magic before! To think that the surprise victor against the Kolossaal was a mage this whole time! However, will magic be enough to stop Afeuro now that she has drawn her signature weapon? What do you think Yuusha-sama?” The Announcer excitedly breaks down his thoughts about the fight “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t be fooled. Mano is actually far more skilled in the art of the sword than magic! Now that Afeuro has drawn her sword the fight is about ready to finally begin!” The moronic Yuusha barks in response As he says this suddenly I can see anger suddenly wipe across Afeuro’s face. Now free from her bonds, she begins to slowly walk towards me. However, what’s odd is that she isn’t brandishing her sword. Not wanting to let this battle become close-range I begin to panic. “That is close enough!” I yell out as I prepare another fireball above my head Not wanting to waste mana on an attack I’m not confident will hit, however, I use the bare minimum to maintain a threatening appearance. She stops dead in her tracks and begins to stare daggers into me. “You… why haven’t you… drawn your sword?!” She angrily yells, her voice cracking as she tries to raise its volume to reach between us “…I’m not nearly the swordsman that idiot claims I am. I just got off a lucky strike in front of him the first time we met.” I answer honestly Is she insulted? I suppose if you thought I was some great swordsman, then refusing to draw my blade would be as if I wasn’t taking her seriously. “You’re… lying!” She yells as she begins rushing towards me readying a strike She’s fast! I can see the attack coming, but there is no time to dodge! I quickly throw up a small barrier between me and her large sword, with only a moment to cast it however it cracks as it absorbs the blow. There is hardly enough time to react however as she whips the sword around as if it were weightless and begins a flurry of blows from every direction. I dodge what I can, but I’m forced to block most of the attacks. I repeatedly cast barriers, each time breaking instantly, but with every strike, the delay between attacks grows faster. I can feel my reaction time begin to slip as my barriers begin to fall behind. If I don’t do something quick her attacks are going to begin to land! “Fine, I give up! You want me to use my sword so badly, then here it is!” I say as I quickly draw the sword from my side and lunge towards her As I do she deftly avoids my strike with a small leap backward. The anger clears from her face, as she is clearly happy to have gotten her way. I take up the stance beaten into me be Shishou. He always seemed so indomitable when he took up this stance, as he would toss aside my heavy strikes as if they were nothing. I need that more than anything right now. Afuero takes up a fighting stance as well. I brace myself for another assault, but instead, there is silence between us. We stand there on guard, reading each other, and waiting for an opportunity to strike. I want to spend this time setting up traps, but if I get distracted she will pounce for sure. “…The tension down there is legendary, as possibly the greatest swordsman of our generation size each other up. I fear even commentating for fear of breaking their concentr-” the announcer says in a low voice “You can do it swordsman lady! Ma? Mano? Right! You can do it Mano!” The reprehensibly Yuusha yells out interrupting him “You forgot my name?! And stop ruining the mood, you moron!” I yell out, unable to control my rage at his stupidity For a moment I think my rage has started to blind me, as a darkness sweeps into my field of vision. “Distracted,” Afeuro says plainly as she brings down a strike towards my off guard self I jump backward in a desperate attempt to avoid the strike but to little avail. The strike lands across my chest and creates a large gash that instantly starts spewing forth blood. Although landing with such a wound hurts, I jump back again immediately to gain some distance so I can heal. That’s it, I’ve decided, I *will* kill that idiot someday. For now, however, I would be delighted if he could shut up before he gets *me* killed! I immediately start casting restore on my wounds, but upon seeing my wounds begin to close Afuero rushes towards me yet again. “I…won’t…let…you!” She says between massive swings of her weapons, that I can barely stop with my barriers at all As I block her relentless attacks my wounds quickly close, but I can already see her attacks beginning to grow in power and speed. It seems she still isn’t warmed up yet, as her attacks grow more ferocious by the moment. It isn’t long before the barriers cease to even stop the blows, instead only managing to slow them down on impact. I am forced to dodge the remainder of each strike. Not wanting to be backed into a corner again, I repeat my previous strategy of lunging at her with my sword whenever I find an opening. Much to my surprise, however, she simply lets me do so. Unless the blow is aimed at a vital location, Afuero simply takes the blow without so much as flinching and continues her assault. Even a blow that she is forced to dodge does little to slow her, as she always dodges with the minimal amount of movement prioritizing keeping me under pressure. This won’t work for long… I can hardly keep up with the mental load of trying to find gaps in her defenses whilst continually casting magic to defend myself. It’s like trying to move four hands at once, and worse… it’s becoming less effective by the second. If I don’t start setting up a finishing move then I’m toast. I don’t even know if I *can* cast multiple spells at once while keeping up with close combat, but it’s the only plan I can think of. with that decision made I begin to push myself even further as I begin pouring every ounce of the mana I have left into my final gamble. The world begins to fade away, as all I can afford to think about is “Attack, defend, refine” I repeat it like a mantra in my head to help me focus. Attack, defend, refine. Attack, defend, refine. Attack, defend, refine. As the blows grow faster, and my dodges become more narrow, I can see death growing nearer and nearer with every strike. My mantra turns into a single word. A plea to myself to ignore my fear. Focus. Focus! FOCUS! FOC- A surprise attack from Afeuro ends my mantra. Unbeknownst to myself, in my hyper-focused state, she had sneakily turned her blade sideways and opted to instead smash through the barrier… and several of my ribs. My thoughts come to a halt as I am sent tumbling away, desperately trying to breathe with the air knocked out of me. When I finally stop rolling I am left gasping pathetically on the ground as I nurse my ribs. Afeuro, now well aware of my ability to recover, begins walking towards me to finish this. The look on her face is not one of joy or victory, but one of disappointment. In one last hail mary attempt, I drag myself to my feet, still fighting to fill my lungs with air, and use earth manipulation to create a long stone spear. I turn it into iron using transmutation before picking it up and throwing it with all of my remaining strength. Afeuro doesn’t so much as slow her approach, and simply lifts her blade gingerly in front of her face to block the incoming spear… However, the clash of metal she was obviously expecting never came. As she lowers her massive weapon that obscured her vision she sees the spear suspended there in front of her, in a thick barrier that wraps around her. She immediately attempts to swing her sword to break it, but her weapon is too massive for the small barrier cast around her. There is no space to swing it. She drops the sword and immediately starts beating on the walls of the barrier, cracks forming with each attack. Thankfully she focused on the wrong part of my trap. I thrust my sword towards her and yell out with all my might “Ai-Fa-Aer Stun!” and as I do a stream of lightning shoots out from my blade and into the iron spear Although I can not hear a peep through the thick barrier I created, as the lightning passes through the rod into Afeuro she looks as if she begins to writhe and scream in pain. For a moment I think I’ve won, and she stops beating on the barrier, but with the lightning coursing through her and a new anger on her face, she resumes her assault on her prison. What *is* she?! I attempt to raise the power of my lightning, but my mana has already reached the bottom of the well. Desperate I try still, hoping that she goes down before I fall from mana-loss. As I feel my consciousness begin to fade there is a change in the lightning. It begins to shift from a bright purple to an ominous black color. As it does Afeuro reals back in pain once more. More desperate than before she begins to punch the barrier with all of her might, but just as it looks like she is about to escape her strikes begin to slow until finally… she falls to the ground. Unable to keep them going any longer I release both spells, and as the harsh crackling of the lightning stops, silence sweeps the arena. “…It’s… IT’S OVER! The upset of the century has happened, and Mano was progressed to the final round!” Hearing the official words my strengths seeps out from me. I fall to the ground, wincing at the pain in my ribs. My mana is gone in its entirety, there is none left to heal myself. “That was an absolutely incredible match! If I didn’t know any better, I would actually say she could give you some trouble in tomorrows match Yuusha-sama!” The announcer excitedly continues, ignoring my collapse That’s fine. I don’t need help or anything. I only have several broken ribs and can’t move due to my lack of mana. “Hard to say… She was clearly hiding her true strength. She hardly used her sword in the match at all after all. I’m sure she will pull out an even more surprising move during our match. No? Nobody is going to acknowledge the fact that I’m not moving? I could be dead you know? Also, stop focusing on my sword skills so much!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM5MDFkNmU1MzUwMjQ0NGJiZDU4OTNkMzA1MDMwYzI2" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwZmRmMGY1YzMzYzQyMmJiMDQyODZjMGFjMGQ3OTBl">In her childhood, Lilia Suntory is a lonely child. Born as a merchant's daughter, she saw many people coming and going in their shop, she also met and acquainted with many people because of this but in all of that, she was never allowed to go outside on her own.</p> <p class="cnNiOGQ4ZTVlNzUyNDQ5NzY4OGUxMzBkZTg3ZDFmYzZl">Lilia was curious as she was active. The regular customers of their shop greet and talks with Lilia, and even play with her. But she wasn't satisfied with that just that.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjZlMzU1Yzk1MDQ5OGI4OTk2ZjFhYmRmYjVkMmU5">Her father as well always dotes on her daughter whenever he has free time. But the affection of her father is just not enough. Or rather, there's was something missing.</p> <p class="cnMyOTM2YjRiMmIwNzQ4YjFhNzZmYzEzMDdjOGI0Zjdi">Those who go to their shop are almost always adults. Rarely do children come in their shop, even though they also sell candies, toys and other commodities that children would like.</p> <p class="cnM4NzAxNzZlYjg5ZjRjYzc4Zjk2NjY2MTE1MjE0YjI1">She knew of some children too but she rarely gets to meet them and even when they managed to meet up and play, it always turns awkward. One of those children even forgotten about Lilia until she reminded them.</p> <p class="cnMxNWRiNDU5MzljZTQxNWY4OTBjZjkxMGM3ZTlhYzM0">Lilia wanted someone her age. There was just something from adults that made them hard to get along.</p> <p class="cnNlNDk1YWI4NDhhMDQwN2FhNDgxMjczYjg5ODQ5MThk">Lila wanted someone that would play with her. Adults are just always busy with things that she didn't understand.</p> <p class="cnNmYWEyNDY0YjkwODRmMzc5ZDZlZjQ2MTdmOTU2YmJj">Lilia wanted someone to understand her. Not even her father could understand every bit of her feelings.</p> <p class="cnNlNGIyMDhkODUyNDRkY2RiZGMyZGQ4YWE2ZTVjODg5">Lilia wanted someone she can play with frequently. Her father is an adult so he didn't qualify.</p> <p class="cnMwY2JjYmRjZTdlYjQzMGNiYzJkMzY2MDNmOTFmNjVi">It was selfish and she knows it. She understood why her father never wanted her to go outside alone.</p> <p class="cnNlODI4NThkMTlkOTRiMWZiNzFhMjkyMzk0OTcxZGZl">Misfortune befalls their family, is what her father believes. His father had lost his mother, his only parent, and his wife to whom she loved dearly. Lilia is the only family he has and he intends to protect her even for the cost of her childhood.</p> <p class="cnNlZDA2M2FlODY0OTQ5YmJhYzI1YjRiYzQ1MjNhZmYw">Not leaving the house without her father meant not going to school either. Normally, only wealthy families could send their children to schools and those children only consists of males. Rarely do girls would get proper education since it'll just be a waste.</p> <p class="cnM3ZGE5YzkyODgzYjRkNDdiZGFkNTJjNjc4YWE2YWFm">The girls would be married off in the future so giving them proper education is pointless. As for boys, they would be able to help in their parent's business so there's some merit in sending them to schools.</p> <p class="cnMyZDZmNDhhM2ZiZjQ1ZjZhMzZhMjA4YWMwMzNmMzZl">But Lilia's father isn't like that. Her father tutored her from a very early age. Because of this, she knew how to read, write, and basic arithmetics. She also knew a little about history and geography, and as well as the trade and such.</p> <p class="cnMzYWQyYTNlZWEwMTQ4ODZhNWU1ZWMxZTI3ZGU3N2Zl">She was thankful for that but she couldn't really be happy about it. As she reached 5 years old, Lilia's loneliness just grew. She couldn't smile on the day of her birthday, she rarely left her room and she would throw tantrums more frequently.</p> <p class="cnNiMmRhNmIzODBiMTQ0OWFhMTg3MDA3YzdjZjJmODE4">Her father grew concerned. He knew why she's like that but he can't afford to risk his daughter's safety. Even going out more frequently wouldn't really&nbsp;help much as he still needs to manage his shop and he didn't think that Lilia's loneliness would disappear just from that.</p> <p class="cnMwNDU2Njc4ZjVkMDRjZjdhMWZjMTg4OTZjZjAwMzE4">Then he got an idea.</p> <p class="cnM2ZWY5OTE3ODQ3MDQyNjBhMjA5ZjFhMzBmMjg2MWUx">A week had passed and just when Lilia went downstairs to greet his father, she saw a little girl.</p> <p class="cnMyMjcyOWUxYWQxMzQ3ODVhMDg3NDg1MzY0Y2RhYTk1">She's wearing something odd. She recognises it. It was what they would call a maid uniform.</p> <p class="cnMzNDgxYjdiNjRiMDQxMTk5NDcxZGRlZTBlM2M0NWE4">For a child to wear a maid uniform, what is his father intends on doing? Surely he wouldn't make her become a worker here. Wouldn't it be wiser to hire someone older? Lilia thought to herself.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmE3YzMzMzVkNTQzZTRiNjZjNjcxM2IyZDhlMTFj">She saw her father having an oddly wide smile as well. She began to feel more suspicious, and strangely excited about this.</p> <p class="cnM0ODVmYTE3MjllYjQ4ZWI5NzZmZTVkODBjZjRhODll">"Come closer, Lilia." Her father said in a cheerful voice.</p> <p class="cnMwNmVkY2JmNmE1YTRiZmI4MmRlMGM5Yjg4YTUyNGNi">Uneasily, she walked over.</p> <p class="cnMyYjkzODAwN2M3NjQ3MTNiYmI0NmQ4NWI5NGYwN2Nl">She then saw the girl up close. The girl has short black hair and droopy brown eyes. Her mouth formed a straight horizontal line. Her complexion is slightly brown in color as if she's been in under the sun frequently.</p> <p class="cnMwYzZmZTYzMWIzMjQxNjE4MjI1YzljYjhiYjg4NzU3">Lilia is confused about all of this. She then looked at his father inquisitively.</p> <p class="cnNiYzZhMjJkMzRhNzQzZjZhMGVlNTkzN2ZlYzFkNzBi">"Meet Roosevelt. She'll be your personal maid from now on. Please get along well with each other."</p> <p class="cnM1ZGExNWRlYWYzOTQyNGU4NDFjNTQ0YTVmMjUxODQy">Personal maid?</p> <p class="cnM5ZDVlNDdkNzZlMzQxNjRiZWMyYmRiNzljMGUxYzBj">She heard of maids before from her father. They're people hired by rich families to clean their golden mansions. They're also super expensive to hire so how could father managed to hire one, and why a child?</p> <p class="cnNhZTc4ZTkxNWJjMjQ2OWU4Nzc3ZThhYzY4MjMyNzYx">Seeing her daughter is still confused, he then explained how he managed to hire someone like her.</p> <p class="cnMyNDZmMDU2MGFkNDQ0ZmJiMDA1MmYzN2MzNDg5NDVl">To put it shortly, her father helped a family that he's acquainted with pay off their debt to a loan shark in exchange for their daughter to work under her as a maid. Of course, he also allowed the family to visit their daughter and vice versa, and he would even offer them financial support every 3 months.</p> <p class="cnM4NDZiYTEzZTE0ZDQ1OWE4NDdkMDc1OWY3OGU2NjM2">The debt itself is pricey and would certainly lighten his wallet but little do Lilia know, he was saving up large amounts of money in the years he's been in business, only spending his profit on what's necessary so Lilia thought that they don't have much.</p> <p class="cnMwNWRiZWQzZGQ0ZjRiZGRiNTAwNjM3NDM4ZTAyNTVj">The family was thankful for the offer but they didn't want to part with their daughter. So what Lilia's father did is that for a week, their daughter would work under him as a personal maid for Lilia as a trial. If she didn't like Lilia then she would be returned to them and their debt paid as well, and if Roosevelt thinks that she wanted to serve Lilia then the deal goes as normal.</p> <p class="cnNlZmMxN2NiMWE1YTQwZDFiZjBmZDcyMGEzMWRiMTc0">From that, they agreed.</p> <p class="cnNiNmY4NDI0NmRkZjRmNjY4NzJkNzNlZGJiNjE2ZGU1">However, Lilia and Roosevelt weren't informed on that last bit.</p> <p class="cnMzNWRkYWZmYTdkNzQyOGI4YWE1OTI4YzYyZTAyY2Zm">The first thing that she made the little maid do is to play with her.</p> <p class="cnM2MTAwZTU0MWZhMDQyYTRhOWEyODFkNjJiYjIwNzJl">Upon arriving in Lilia's room, the little maid was astonished. The room wasn't what she expected. Rather than piles of toys, the walls are covered by shelves filled to the brim by books of all kinds.</p> <p class="cnMxZjljNDlkY2U5NzRiMTI5MTk3NWFhZjQxNzBmODg0">"Sorry, I don't have many toys," Lilia said in embarrassment.</p> <p class="cnM4OTAyMDk0MmZhODQyOWE4ZTViYWM5YTgzZTI0MmFm">"No, it's wonderful."</p> <p class="cnM4NmM4YWM0NTUwYjQyOGE4NDUyNTQ0NGUxNjk3NmU4">To Roosevelt, it was like a small personal library. Her family could hardly buy even a single book but this room has at least a hundred of them.</p> <p class="cnM0YmNjNjBjYjg3ZDRlNmViNzlhYWU0MzE3MjJiYWI4">Her family is really rich, Roosevelt thought.</p> <p class="cnNmYWEyMWM0M2Y2ZjQ2NGM4ZDA2MTk2NmY4ZTY2NjVk">She began to feel even more nervous. Unpleasant thoughts ran through Roosevelt's mind. What if I somehow disrespect her, what'll happen to me? If I broke something here, would my family pay for it? I don't even know how to do chores properly, how could I serve someone like her? She began to ask herself such things.</p> <p class="cnM3ZGQyNTU0YjM3ODQ3NjY4NTdjMDIzMjNhMmNlMTg0">Lilia noticed Roosevelt's nervousness. She didn't know why.</p> <p class="cnNhZjk2NGVlZjVjZDRlYTc4ZmM0NTA0ZDc2YmQyZDEw">"What's wrong?" Lilia asked in the most concerned voice that she can make.</p> <p class="cnNhYzM2NmQ2NjRmMTQ0ZmQ5ODM3MjBlMWEwNDY4NmIy">"O-oh, it's nothing, miss Lilia." She said. Her voice cracked at the end.</p> <p class="cnMzODA4ZDA0YTc2ZDQ3MThhOGU1YzZiYzY4MWNmNDYw">"Miss? Don't call me that. Just call me Lilia."</p> <p class="cnMzNzc1NmEyNjczMjQ5NDc4YTRkYTZkMTYwYjIwNjNh">"But I couldn't possibly do—" Roosevelt tries to say but was cut off.</p> <p class="cnNiOWFlZTE5MjFlMzRlNTlhYWZhNWVlNTIwNDIzYjBl">"Nope. Just call me Lilia. It feels weird if you add miss. It feels like I'm an adult. I don't want that." Lilia said in a demanding tone.</p> <p class="cnNlMzM2N2QxZGRiNzRhMzViODRkYzc5OGIyZjE2MjUy">"T-then Lilia..." She said as she cast her gaze towards the floor.</p> <p class="cnMwNzAwYzE5YjU3MzQ0NThhYWIwM2NhZTk3NDBkOTI0">"Good!"</p> <p class="cnNjYTFjYjE4N2RhZDQxMDE5OTAwYTA1NDBjNjExZDk0">She nodded exaggeratedly.</p> <p class="cnNlZWRjM2Q5YmU3ZjQzMDFiYTNiZWQ3ZGZmZTNkNWU5">She couldn't help but see Roosevelt as a shy cat that was thrown off in an unknown land. She chuckled at the thought.</p> <p class="cnNiNjZhZWQzN2MxNjQzOGNiOGVkNzIzYzVjMjM0Y2Vl">Of course, she can't have her acting like that towards her forever. She knew she has to get Roosevelt used to all of this. She didn't know why her father hired her in particular and she doesn't know anything about Roosevelt. That's why the first thing on her agenda would be to get to know Roosevelt. If she knew about her then it would make it easier for her to get along with Roosevelt.</p> <p class="cnMwZmEzNWVhZjAzNDRlNjZiMzFhMGVmMTQwZDU0Zjky">She was the very first person that is the same as her age that she has a guarantee that would be with her all the time. How could she not get every single chance to get closer to her.</p> <p class="cnM1Yzk0YzBiZGQzYjRmMmE4M2M1MGVjMWM1NDZkODNl">The thought of playing with her while the two of them laughing in joy makes her excited.</p> <p class="cnMzZGE4Yjc3NGE2NzRmZDNiNjU3YTQ1YzRhMzVmMDU3">She didn't even see Roosevelt as a maid.</p> <p class="cnNiNTkwOWYyOWQwYTQ2Zjc4NzAxNDMxYmRkZDA2OWJm">She could only see a potential friend. For the lonely Lilia, it was the best gift she could ever have.</p> <p class="cnNmYzU2NmNlNWMxMzRiOWZhN2I1MzZjMmNhNDFlMWJj" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p> </div>

In her childhood, Lilia Suntory is a lonely child. Born as a merchant's daughter, she saw many people coming and going in their shop, she also met and acquainted with many people because of this but in all of that, she was never allowed to go outside on her own. Lilia was curious as she was active. The regular customers of their shop greet and talks with Lilia, and even play with her. But she wasn't satisfied with that just that. Her father as well always dotes on her daughter whenever he has free time. But the affection of her father is just not enough. Or rather, there's was something missing. Those who go to their shop are almost always adults. Rarely do children come in their shop, even though they also sell candies, toys and other commodities that children would like. She knew of some children too but she rarely gets to meet them and even when they managed to meet up and play, it always turns awkward. One of those children even forgotten about Lilia until she reminded them. Lilia wanted someone her age. There was just something from adults that made them hard to get along. Lila wanted someone that would play with her. Adults are just always busy with things that she didn't understand. Lilia wanted someone to understand her. Not even her father could understand every bit of her feelings. Lilia wanted someone she can play with frequently. Her father is an adult so he didn't qualify. It was selfish and she knows it. She understood why her father never wanted her to go outside alone. Misfortune befalls their family, is what her father believes. His father had lost his mother, his only parent, and his wife to whom she loved dearly. Lilia is the only family he has and he intends to protect her even for the cost of her childhood. Not leaving the house without her father meant not going to school either. Normally, only wealthy families could send their children to schools and those children only consists of males. Rarely do girls would get proper education since it'll just be a waste. The girls would be married off in the future so giving them proper education is pointless. As for boys, they would be able to help in their parent's business so there's some merit in sending them to schools. But Lilia's father isn't like that. Her father tutored her from a very early age. Because of this, she knew how to read, write, and basic arithmetics. She also knew a little about history and geography, and as well as the trade and such. She was thankful for that but she couldn't really be happy about it. As she reached 5 years old, Lilia's loneliness just grew. She couldn't smile on the day of her birthday, she rarely left her room and she would throw tantrums more frequently. Her father grew concerned. He knew why she's like that but he can't afford to risk his daughter's safety. Even going out more frequently wouldn't really help much as he still needs to manage his shop and he didn't think that Lilia's loneliness would disappear just from that. Then he got an idea. A week had passed and just when Lilia went downstairs to greet his father, she saw a little girl. She's wearing something odd. She recognises it. It was what they would call a maid uniform. For a child to wear a maid uniform, what is his father intends on doing? Surely he wouldn't make her become a worker here. Wouldn't it be wiser to hire someone older? Lilia thought to herself. She saw her father having an oddly wide smile as well. She began to feel more suspicious, and strangely excited about this. "Come closer, Lilia." Her father said in a cheerful voice. Uneasily, she walked over. She then saw the girl up close. The girl has short black hair and droopy brown eyes. Her mouth formed a straight horizontal line. Her complexion is slightly brown in color as if she's been in under the sun frequently. Lilia is confused about all of this. She then looked at his father inquisitively. "Meet Roosevelt. She'll be your personal maid from now on. Please get along well with each other." Personal maid? She heard of maids before from her father. They're people hired by rich families to clean their golden mansions. They're also super expensive to hire so how could father managed to hire one, and why a child? Seeing her daughter is still confused, he then explained how he managed to hire someone like her. To put it shortly, her father helped a family that he's acquainted with pay off their debt to a loan shark in exchange for their daughter to work under her as a maid. Of course, he also allowed the family to visit their daughter and vice versa, and he would even offer them financial support every 3 months. The debt itself is pricey and would certainly lighten his wallet but little do Lilia know, he was saving up large amounts of money in the years he's been in business, only spending his profit on what's necessary so Lilia thought that they don't have much. The family was thankful for the offer but they didn't want to part with their daughter. So what Lilia's father did is that for a week, their daughter would work under him as a personal maid for Lilia as a trial. If she didn't like Lilia then she would be returned to them and their debt paid as well, and if Roosevelt thinks that she wanted to serve Lilia then the deal goes as normal. From that, they agreed. However, Lilia and Roosevelt weren't informed on that last bit. The first thing that she made the little maid do is to play with her. Upon arriving in Lilia's room, the little maid was astonished. The room wasn't what she expected. Rather than piles of toys, the walls are covered by shelves filled to the brim by books of all kinds. "Sorry, I don't have many toys," Lilia said in embarrassment. "No, it's wonderful." To Roosevelt, it was like a small personal library. Her family could hardly buy even a single book but this room has at least a hundred of them. Her family is really rich, Roosevelt thought. She began to feel even more nervous. Unpleasant thoughts ran through Roosevelt's mind. What if I somehow disrespect her, what'll happen to me? If I broke something here, would my family pay for it? I don't even know how to do chores properly, how could I serve someone like her? She began to ask herself such things. Lilia noticed Roosevelt's nervousness. She didn't know why. "What's wrong?" Lilia asked in the most concerned voice that she can make. "O-oh, it's nothing, miss Lilia." She said. Her voice cracked at the end. "Miss? Don't call me that. Just call me Lilia." "But I couldn't possibly do—" Roosevelt tries to say but was cut off. "Nope. Just call me Lilia. It feels weird if you add miss. It feels like I'm an adult. I don't want that." Lilia said in a demanding tone. "T-then Lilia..." She said as she cast her gaze towards the floor. "Good!" She nodded exaggeratedly. She couldn't help but see Roosevelt as a shy cat that was thrown off in an unknown land. She chuckled at the thought. Of course, she can't have her acting like that towards her forever. She knew she has to get Roosevelt used to all of this. She didn't know why her father hired her in particular and she doesn't know anything about Roosevelt. That's why the first thing on her agenda would be to get to know Roosevelt. If she knew about her then it would make it easier for her to get along with Roosevelt. She was the very first person that is the same as her age that she has a guarantee that would be with her all the time. How could she not get every single chance to get closer to her. The thought of playing with her while the two of them laughing in joy makes her excited. She didn't even see Roosevelt as a maid. She could only see a potential friend. For the lonely Lilia, it was the best gift she could ever have.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0MzFjZDBlY2ZkZjQyNDY4ZGMzNWVhNTc4OGMyYzFh"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"Tyra, how long are we going to stay fused?" Asked Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1NzYxMDQ0YzAzMDRlYWQ4NWUzZDA5ODRiNjQ0MGQ5"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"I don't know?" Said Tyra.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMzM2NmNGYzN2JlYzQ0NTRhOWQwYjZkMjk3ZTAyZWYy"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"We've been fused since 9:00 last night." Said, Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMzOWQ0MjdlNWU5YjQwM2NiOTUzOTViYjk1NTUzZGMz"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">&nbsp; Tychael hears a slow clap behind her.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNiYjExOTk5M2E3ZDRlMTg5YmFhNmI3NTcxNGQ3ODUw"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Hey Michael or should I say Tychael, I was wondering can we move on from our previous dispute and have a fresh start." Said, Deshon, while smirking at Tychael while clapping.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1NDRjZDQ2NjgzMjRhYzBhZmVhNjMzYWY0NmJlOGVm"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"How the hell you still alive you mongrel and no we won't have a fresh start I'll just kill you right where you stand bastard?!" Yelled Tychael while clenching her fist.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM3ZTFkZmZiNDEwNzRhY2Y5NWU5M2RkNmUyMTc3ZDcy"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Hey, I don't want any trouble Tychael but if you want to fight unfuse so I can fight you, Michael." Said, Deshon, while having his hands in his pockets.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1ZWM0NTExNzBjMTQ4ODFiOGI3MDFhZDY0YjVjZDc3"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"I'm neither Tyra or Michael, I'm Tychael you dirty ape!" Yelled Tychael while walking closer to Deshon.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM3N2UzMjExMzNjMDQ1NjM5ZDVmYzUyN2NmMzk3ZjYz"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "But this dirty ape can beat you though, you just caught me off guard that is it." Said, Deshon, while walking closer to Tychael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1NjBmNTU1NmM2YjQ2MWRhYjI0ZDk2YzdkNTRlZWEw"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Diosa Asesino let him have it!" Shouted Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNmMTI4ZGFkZDE0NDQ2MzE4MWRhYjI0OTI3ZWQ5ZmRi"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> No problem." Said Diosa Asesino.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMyOTg1ZjA3NTFkNjQ1MzM5MjEyNzAwNDA2MzlkZTY1"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"Michael will you stop yelling." Said Tyra</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM4NDY1YjYzNDkxMjQ3YzViOWFjZmRlZDQxZjk0MzE3"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> Tychael body surrounded by demonic aura then Tychael charges at Deshon but Deshon speed rushes Tychael while throwing barrage of punches at Tychael and connecting then Tychael surrounds her body with angelic aura and lands a kick on Deshon's face (Thwack) Deshon gets knockback to the end of wall and Tychael charges at Deshon but Tychael unfuses and Tyra and Michael are separate from each other, Tyra is on the ground and can't move but Michael is standing and rubbing his eyes.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM4NWQxZmIwNzQyZDQ5ZTBiODM3ZmU5Y2Q2ZjQ4ZTZh"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"What just happen?!" Shouted Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM2MzcyMzAxYzNmZDQxNjBiMGYwODdjNTQ2YjllM2Jj"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"Michael we unfused and my body feels so warm and my mind feels so numb in a good way." Said, Tyra, while trying to get up.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1ODk4OTUzNTMxMTQ1ZjFhN2FiMjI4YTljNGIzNGI2"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "I predicted this last night when I passed out and saw the future in my dreams." Said Deshon with a smirk while whipping blood on his mouth.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNkOTc2NDE0ZTMwMjQyNWM5Y2E4ZDEzMzgxYmZiMzQ1"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Screw this I will kill you where you stand!" Yelled Michael.<br></span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1NzM5MWZlMGM2ZjQ5MGM4NzA2ZjhlOGNlOGQwOWU4"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Michael is going to fuse again and avoid the fight, use your own damn power weakling!" Yelled Deshon while standing up and putting his hands in his pockets.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMxYzNlNTk2YWY0ODRkOTU4NzUxNGVkYTgyOWM4NGI2"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> The bastard is right I need a way to kill him.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM2YzI2ZmVkZDE3ZDRhYTA5NjFlYTM3ODE4YTk0NjRm"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> Cellica walks through the hall away between Deshon and Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM5OWU0ZTIxYWU1YzQ5MmFhZTYwZjRkMjU0ZWZhYjgx"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> I get the strongest to help me kill him.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNhODM1NDM2NzJlODRmNzU4NDU3NGUyMzQyZGRjYWM5"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> Michael bulls rush her and spin Cellica three times and Michael clap his hands three-time and hugs Cellica and a white glow appears and their bosy becomes one.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNmZTJjYzdiOWM2MTRkNGQ5YWYyN2Y3ZjE0Y2E1MGJj"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"Yes, we're fused." Said, Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1MmJkZThiZGQ4YzRiZWZiY2MxMzhiMzBhYWY5M2Qw"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Michael, may I ask why were fused together? Asked Cellica.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM4N2QwMzNiY2JhZTQ0NDBhODk0NDdiMTg5YmNkM2Fi"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Because I want to kill the person that killed our father." Said, Michael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMwMzhlYzlhNDk1ZDQyMDA4ZjA3ZjQzYWNlYmIyZTBh"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "That makes sense but the father is already dead so it's no point to fight him." Said Cellica.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMxN2JlOWE1NTU1NTQyYmM4NGNkM2VjOGIzZmNkNjQ4"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> " He didn't just kill father he knocked down Ayumi to the ground. Said, Michael. "He did what I will torture him until his skin comes off then I will bring his wife and his daughters and kill them slowly!" Yelled Cellica. "I will kill you filthy male! Shouted Cellichael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnMyYTBmMmQ3ZGQxMzQzOWU5NTA4ZDM1NDVmZmEzOTVk"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> Cellichael body surrounds with dark angelic aura covering her body and charges at the speed of light times 2 and Cellichael throws one punch at Deshon and Deshon's body is no longer there, Cellichael destroyed Deshon body in one punch, all that remains is Deshon blood on the wall.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM1NGYwMzNjOThiYTRlYTBiYTEwNWM0ODRiMDQ3MDk4"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left">"Yes, that dirty male is out of my presence" Said Cellichael.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNjMGI4ZGNkZTFkYzQxZTk4NzhhYTI2NDZhZjE1MDY1"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> Cellichael unfuses both Cellica and Michael are on the ground.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnM0NjQyYzJiMmJjNDRkMDFhZDc4M2I5OGFjMzM0ZGYx"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Yes, that bastard is dead!" Shouted Michael in joy while having a fist in the air.</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNiNDMxYWUzNjk2MzRmYTg4NWNlZTI2MmZhMGQzNDdh"><span class="tL8wMe EMoHub" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left"> "Michael you should've told me earlier I would've just killed him because he knocked down the adorable Ayumi." Said Cellica while on the ground right next to Michael. </span></p> </div>

"Tyra, how long are we going to stay fused?" Asked Michael. --- "I don't know?" Said Tyra. --- "We've been fused since 9:00 last night." Said, Michael. ---   Tychael hears a slow clap behind her. --- "Hey Michael or should I say Tychael, I was wondering can we move on from our previous dispute and have a fresh start." Said, Deshon, while smirking at Tychael while clapping. --- "How the hell you still alive you mongrel and no we won't have a fresh start I'll just kill you right where you stand bastard?!" Yelled Tychael while clenching her fist. --- "Hey, I don't want any trouble Tychael but if you want to fight unfuse so I can fight you, Michael." Said, Deshon, while having his hands in his pockets. --- "I'm neither Tyra or Michael, I'm Tychael you dirty ape!" Yelled Tychael while walking closer to Deshon. --- "But this dirty ape can beat you though, you just caught me off guard that is it." Said, Deshon, while walking closer to Tychael. --- "Diosa Asesino let him have it!" Shouted Michael. --- No problem." Said Diosa Asesino. --- "Michael will you stop yelling." Said Tyra --- Tychael body surrounded by demonic aura then Tychael charges at Deshon but Deshon speed rushes Tychael while throwing barrage of punches at Tychael and connecting then Tychael surrounds her body with angelic aura and lands a kick on Deshon's face (Thwack) Deshon gets knockback to the end of wall and Tychael charges at Deshon but Tychael unfuses and Tyra and Michael are separate from each other, Tyra is on the ground and can't move but Michael is standing and rubbing his eyes. --- "What just happen?!" Shouted Michael. --- "Michael we unfused and my body feels so warm and my mind feels so numb in a good way." Said, Tyra, while trying to get up. --- "I predicted this last night when I passed out and saw the future in my dreams." Said Deshon with a smirk while whipping blood on his mouth. --- "Screw this I will kill you where you stand!" Yelled Michael. --- "Michael is going to fuse again and avoid the fight, use your own damn power weakling!" Yelled Deshon while standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. --- The bastard is right I need a way to kill him. --- Cellica walks through the hall away between Deshon and Michael. --- I get the strongest to help me kill him. --- Michael bulls rush her and spin Cellica three times and Michael clap his hands three-time and hugs Cellica and a white glow appears and their bosy becomes one. --- "Yes, we're fused." Said, Michael. --- "Michael, may I ask why were fused together? Asked Cellica. --- "Because I want to kill the person that killed our father." Said, Michael. --- "That makes sense but the father is already dead so it's no point to fight him." Said Cellica. --- " He didn't just kill father he knocked down Ayumi to the ground. Said, Michael. "He did what I will torture him until his skin comes off then I will bring his wife and his daughters and kill them slowly!" Yelled Cellica. "I will kill you filthy male! Shouted Cellichael. --- Cellichael body surrounds with dark angelic aura covering her body and charges at the speed of light times 2 and Cellichael throws one punch at Deshon and Deshon's body is no longer there, Cellichael destroyed Deshon body in one punch, all that remains is Deshon blood on the wall. --- "Yes, that dirty male is out of my presence" Said Cellichael. --- Cellichael unfuses both Cellica and Michael are on the ground. --- "Yes, that bastard is dead!" Shouted Michael in joy while having a fist in the air. --- "Michael you should've told me earlier I would've just killed him because he knocked down the adorable Ayumi." Said Cellica while on the ground right next to Michael.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMyZDMxMjEzMjVkZTQ1YThhNDFjOWJhNTVlZTc3YTdk"></p> <p class="cnM0ZDkxZjBkZjAwNzQ1Zjc4NDc4YmE2N2E2MjBmNTVi">Yuwen and Tiyaphi stored their wardrobe cabinets and Ren deactivated and stored the shop tower.</p> <p class="cnNlMTc2OTgxYzE1YjQ5NzA5OTlmZmFkMjc4NWJlOTJl">“Mistresses, this way.” Ren said and motioned to the first carriage.</p> <p class="cnNiYjdkNzA0MzNmMjRjN2VhMjBlMzIwNTBlMGY5MDNj">“Are you going to tell us what happened between you and Tatya?” Yuwen asked.</p> <p class="cnMwMjYyM2Q5OWM1YzRjMmJhMjdjMWQyMGVkZTZmMGZh">“Yes.” Ren said and opened the carriage door, then helped each woman climb inside, including Artemis, and got in himself. “When we stop in a few seconds.”</p> <p class="cnM5ZTgwMTQyNWIyMjQxNDk4ZmYzOWVmY2Y1NWM1YzEw">“What?”</p> <p class="cnM4MzAzYmUyMGY1MzRiYTA4ZmJiZDNiOGI0NjY1MWEw">“The camp site is only down the road a little ways. The giant boars can run that in a blink of an eye, now.” Ren said, and they felt a tiny jerk backwards, then a tiny jerk forwards.</p> <p class="cnMwMDFhOGM5YjBlNDQ2OTA5MWVkZWM1NWEwYTM3Zjhj">“Everyone disembark!” A voice yelled, then laughed.</p> <p class="cnM4NTk5ZGRlYWFmOTRlMjJhYTNjZjdjYWRjNjBkMDRj">Ren opened the carriage door and helped everyone get out, and he could feel everyone's surprise at the short trip. The carriage pulled off to the side to park and the driver and attendants started to pull out the tents required for everyone.</p> <p class="cnNjNWVhZGM0ZGY3MTQ5NDRhMDc0OGJmOTcyNGFkMTVl">“Neither I, nor those with me, need a tent.” Ren said.</p> <p class="cnM1YjlhNGNlMTJlZTRlMDQ4ZmQ1M2QwNmRkODhmNjVl">“Where are you going to sleep? On the ground?”</p> <p class="cnM1M2NkYzU2ZDY3NDRiNTU5Njc4NjNhMTc2ZDFlZDYz">“No, in a big comfy bed.” Ren said. “Where would my tent be if I need it?”</p> <p class="cnM2N2FlYjAxYzM1ZDQ1NTE5MGE1OWI3YmQyMGU5NzM0">“Right over there.” The attendant said and pointed to a small spot.</p> <p class="cnMyOTExYTEyNjQ2OTQzMjlhMWZjNzYwZmZkY2VhNDEw">“Not very big tents, then.” Ren commented.</p> <p class="cnNiNzE3ODVkMzk2ZjQyNmQ4NGQzMGY3ZGY4ZDM3Mjkx">“If you wanted to get cozy, you can fit three people in one.” He said with a smile.</p> <p class="cnM2NThmNTc4ZTg2ZDQyM2Q5NGQzMmI4YWQ4Njc3ZmM1">“I intend to be very cozy.” Ren said and used his Instant Tower recipe to make a tower to fit the available space, and made it several floors high. He added the ingredients and formed the cube, then put it in the spot and activated it. A 15 foot by 15 foot stone and metal tower appeared, and it was five stories tall.</p> <p class="cnM2YTcyZjZhOWFiYzRlNDRiMmFmOGU2Y2I1NmRiNTg3">The attendant stared at the structure. “You just made that.”</p> <p class="cnM1MDc1N2NkMTNmOTRhMGRhYzQ3NGM4MDYxZjk2Y2Fm">“Yes, and now I'll be using it.” Ren said and opened the door. “Mistresses.”</p> <p class="cnMxZDc3MDZiYTE4NTRiMDRiYTI1MzUzZGI5YzZmMDkx">Yuwen and Tiyaphi stepped inside without a second thought. Dilseffa on the other hand, looked over to where Rimsoh the magic user was setting up his own tent.</p> <p class="cnM1OTk5MzJkNGE5ZTQ4N2ZiMWNiZTA4Nzk0ZGVhMDc5">“Go ahead and invite him inside.” Ren said, and she whipped her head back to look at him.</p> <p class="cnNkMjFkZmY0ZmY5ZDQ5NzJiMjVhZTcwNDQzMzUwMTJl">“Wh-what?”</p> <p class="cnMyNjI4M2ZlZjdhZDQ1NDQ5YjRjOTZhOTg5YjFiNWQ2">Ren felt her dismay and shock, and laughed. “I meant, to come inside and talk, and maybe to sleep in your bed if he's willing.”</p> <p class="cnM4YmVkM2EwZmQyODQ0OGJiMzc3MzhjOWI3MTM3ODgz">“Not... not in your bed?”</p> <p class="cnM1NTU3ZWZmNWNkNjQ3MWJiMTRhOGVkY2I5MWM3MDVh">“Of course not in my bed.” Ren said. “You're only staying in my tower because you're my concubine, not because I want to steal you away or force you to do anything.”</p> <p class="cnM1YWFmYjczYThlNTRiNDI4NjVkNTM1N2Y1MDMxZWM3">“But... you... you gave me a title and...”</p> <p class="cnMzZTg4NGQyMzA3YjRjYmI4ZDhkYjE0NjE0MmUyNWM4">“Don't worry about any of that yet.” Ren assured her. “Go and ask him if he wants to talk. I'm sure he has a lot of questions.”</p> <p class="cnMyMjZmNGJmMzNhZDQ3ZmNiN2JlNzdjYmUzYjY3NDg2">“My King, <strong>I</strong> have a lot of questions.” Dilseffa said, and he chuckled.</p> <p class="cnM0ZDQ3Mjc4NGVjMzRiMTdiMGM5MDBmZjhlMGE3OWJh">“I'll be back in the morning and I'll try to answer any that you have, or he has, if I can.” Ren said and motioned for her to go. Dilseffa walked a short ways away and looked back at him, and he made a shooing motion with his hands.</p> <p class="cnM5ODM1MTI2ZjIzZDRlODNiNGRiZDFmNzMzYWI4NmFl">“Are you sure that was wise?” Artemis asked Ren and hugged him from behind.</p> <p class="cnM4OTNiMjAzYmJmOTQ2ODg5YzQ4NmMyNzFkMjU1Y2M4">“It's better to get things out in the open than to hide them and try to keep it a secret.” Ren said. “I'll need both you and Teepo to keep a close eye on them tonight.”</p> <p class="cnMzOWZjMDAyYWUwZDRmMTc5MGY4OGNlZmQxZmJmYmYz">“I'll make sure he doesn't hurt her and I'll only break his arms if he tries.” Artemis said, and Ren chuckled.</p> <p class="cnNlODRkMmU0YjUyMjQyYmE4MjEyOTRjYTg4NzFlZWZl">“I'm glad you can share my thoughts again.” Ren said.</p> <p class="cnM2MTU2MmZlNTdjNzQzMThhZTIxNDI2NGViY2M2OTll">“I am, too.” Artemis said and kissed the top of his head.</p> <p class="cnM3OWJjZDgxZWFhODQ3Y2E4NWYzMzEzYTNlOTkwZWUz">*</p> <p class="cnNlMWI3Mjc3N2UzZjRhNzlhZWQ4NjAzYTJmNmYzN2Y3">“Excuse me?” Rimsoh asked as he tried, yet again, to put the wrong pole into the side of the tent. “Dammit!” He exclaimed and threw it down.</p> <p class="cnM4NzM1OTBlYzY0YTRlMzhiODgxMDFlYjQ1OWRlY2Qw">“You're distracted.” Dilseffa said. “Calm down and sit with me.”</p> <p class="cnM5NmUwMWY1MzExNDQxYWE5YTZkZjY3ZGQ3NDQzMGM0">“No, I need to...”</p> <p class="cnM2M2QyZDQ1ZjczMjRjNjE5ZDU1M2Y0MWViY2M0Njg0">“Sit. Down.” Dilseffa said sternly, and he glared at her for a moment, then sat where she pointed. She sat right beside him and leaned into him. Rimsoh took the not-so-subtle hint and put his arm around her, despite them being out in the open. She wiggled a little in happiness and rested her head on his shoulder.</p> <p class="cnM2ZDljMzUzMzRjNDQ4YWJiODA3NDJmMDA0ZGIzMjZk">“What's this about me joining Ren inside that tower?” Rimsoh asked.</p> <p class="cnM4ZGQxZWUwYzY2ZTQ2YTQ4ZTY5NmVkYmFjZDM0MzQ0">“No, he said you'd be joining me in there.” Dilseffa said.</p> <p class="cnMxODBmZDIwZTNiYzRjNDRiNWE5ZjI3YzI5MmQwOWNi">“Isn't that the same thing now?” He asked, a little confused.</p> <p class="cnM1M2Y3YWI4ZWY2NjQ2MGRhYzY0OGIzMmM3Y2M1YzY2">“No.” Dilseffa said and sighed. “I'm his concubine; but, I'm not sleeping with him.”</p> <p class="cnNmMjU2ZmZlNDc4OTQ0MTk5NzhhMTUxYmFlNzJlNGRl">Rimsoh barked a laugh. “Yeah, right. That's your job now.”</p> <p class="cnMzNmI3MmQ3ZTg2MzRiZTBiOTBiZmY4NGIyYWQ5MTJj">“No, it isn't.” Dilseffa said. “I don't really want to explain out here where everyone can hear us.” She said. “Come over to the tower like I asked and we can talk in private.”</p> <p class="cnM2ZmU4ZDMwMjEzZTRiYTM5YzEwYTk4MTZkMDUyODEw">“There's no way we can have privacy with 4 other people in there.”</p> <p class="cnMxNTY0ZjQ0YTFjNTRjMWY5MmM1ZjQxOTQ3MzlmYTg5">“There are 5 floors inside.” Dilseffa said. “I'm sure that...”</p> <p class="cnM4MzFkNGFkMGJmMTQ1YmRiYzQ5OTJkNzI0NTgxMDVm">“No, if we're going to talk, it might as well be here.” Rimsoh said and looked around, and he could feel that no one was paying any attention to them. “So, go ahead. Explain it to me.”</p> <p class="cnM2MzNiYzVlOTU1ZjQ4ODdiMjVmNDdmOWE5NjZlODI3">Dilseffa held in her sigh and told him about Ren declaring her his second mistress and giving her the Countess title, then offering her the wardrobe full of clothes.</p> <p class="cnMzM2ZiY2FiMGJhMDRhZjM4YmYzYWQ1M2U4ZTAzYjEx">“So, he <strong>is</strong> trying to bribe you.”</p> <p class="cnNlMGJhYTI5Yjk4MTQ5ODU4OTJlNTM1NThmOThlZDAx">“No, he isn't.” Dilseffa said. “He's only providing me with what a concubine is supposed to have.” She said. “I didn't accept the clothing, because I knew you wouldn't like it.”</p> <p class="cnMxZjM5MDhjMTVjODQzNWE4MDMyNjEwMTJkMzIzNjVm">“Did he give you the appropriate jewellery yet?” Rimsoh asked, and she shook her head. “Is that because you turned down the clothes?”</p> <p class="cnM2NTZjNGJkMDBjOTQ3ZGU4NjI3OTU2YmNmNWEwNDhm">“I don't think so.” Dilseffa said. “He hasn't given any to Yuwen or Tiyaphi, either.”</p> <p class="cnNlMDQwNWM4YzQwZjQwNWQ5YTU2ZTFiZDEwZTE3ZjU4">“If he does, you can sell them and...”</p> <p class="cnM3MDRlMWJjNTE1MjQ5NTVhOGMxZmJkMmM1M2E4MzY5">“I am not selling gifts from my Inamorato.” Dilseffa said and lifted her head up from his shoulder as she sat up straight.</p> <p class="cnM2YWZjM2FjOGFmZjQzYWY5NWQyM2VmNmE2NTc5MDVm">“Oh, so he's your Inamorato already, is he?”</p> <p class="cnMzN2JiMDFkZmYyNzRjNTE4YWIxZTE2ZWU1NmU1MWE2">“No. I told you that we aren't going to have sex.” Dilseffa said. “Calling him 'My King' every time I talk to you about him will get annoying.”</p> <p class="cnNhYmNlODNlYjgxMzRjOTJiNjVjZmVjMWZmYzIwNTc0">“Just talking about him is getting annoying.” Rimsoh said. “It's all everyone is talking about now.”</p> <p class="cnNlMWRhNGE2MjA2NDQ0NzhhOTI0OTEzNDk0OWU1OTg2">“Why?” Dilseffa asked. “What happened at the battle?”</p> <p class="cnNmYzE0ZGVlNWMzMTQ5ZTBhNGY0ZWQ3YTM1MmYyOTEz">Rimsoh closed his mouth and didn't say anything.</p> <p class="cnMzZjZkYjYwMDMyMjQxNzY5ZTJiOGNmZDY4NWFkODM0">Dilseffa turned to the closest delegate and spoke. “Excuse me. What happened at the battle with King Ren?”</p> <p class="cnM3MjE5NGM0ZDg4NjRkMmU5OGIzNjM3MjUzZTc2MDMz">“Ha!” The man put the last post into his tent and it popped out to its full shape. “You should have seen it.” He said and walked over to them. “I was right there behind Tatya when the 50 foot tall spider ran towards us.”</p> <p class="cnM5NWM3ZjQzOGJmZDRmNTI4MjA3ZmZhYjE3YWYyODdh">“It was only 40 feet tall.” Rimsoh said under his breath.</p> <p class="cnM2MjJjMzJiZTc2ODRjNzFiNTQxZjkzNzVjMTdmMGI0">“I thought we were all dead.” The man chuckled. “Even Tatya, our strong and ever present leader, knew for a fact we were all going to die and had resigned herself to it.” His eyes lost their amusement and the smile disappeared. “You know what happens when a leader gives up.”</p> <p class="cnNkODI1NTYwZTEwYTQyNTA5ZWI3ZGQ4OTkzNjQxMDdk">Dilseffa nodded slightly.</p> <p class="cnMzYzliMzVlOGIwMTQ1YmE4YzM3Njg1NjMyMTM3YWUw">“One second we were all ready to die, and then there was a whistling sound and the spider screeched in pain. It turned around and we all saw a hundred spears sticking out of its backside.”</p> <p class="cnM5NjUwZTZhM2JhNDQwZmJhMjAyMjcxMzg0YTkyYmYw">“A... a hundred?” Dilseffa asked in disbelief.</p> <p class="cnM2YzY1OTQxNDNmMjRlMDA4OGM4MDg2ODMzN2IwOWRj">“I don't know how he did it, either.” The man said. “After a moment the damn things exploded like they were elemental bombs and blew the back of the spider right off.”</p> <p class="cnMxMTJmZjA2MjUxYzQ2MWE5ZTNkZWViNGI1MTdmMmYx">“Oh, my god.” Dilseffa whispered.</p> <p class="cnM3Yzk3ZDg1YTU4MzRjZTBhZWY5MWZiMjBmODE2OGM0">“Then the thing fell down dead and crushed the center of the horde under it.”</p> <p class="cnM5NDM0NmI1Yzc4NDQ1ZDZiMDkxYTBjMDgxMjI2N2Rk">“You're kidding!”</p> <p class="cnNjNmZhZDA0ZGViNTQ3ZDBiNGQ3MTRmYWY4MDBhNjQ2">“Not even a little.” The man said. “In its death throes, it decimated the rest of the horde and the goblins that remained scattered.”</p> <p class="cnNhMmNlNTJkOGZhYzQ3M2I5YTcyOGUyMTJiZjhhNzk5">“Oh, wow.” Dilseffa said. “You were saved.”</p> <p class="cnM2MTU4ZDMyOWQzNTQ4N2NiYTAxMGNkOGYzYTU3MGQ1">“That's not the best part.” The man said, then he described an 11 foot tall dark elf that had leaped up onto the humongous spider's back and hacked it apart with a 20 foot sword. When he told her that the dark elf was Ren, Dilseffa couldn't speak. “It was a surprise, that's for sure.” The man said. “I've never seen... or felt... anything like it before.” He said. “King Ren was really angry at that spider.”</p> <p class="cnMwNjc1MzQyM2U2MDQ0YjFiNzFmYjNhMjM1ODE5YmIw">It took a few moments for Dilseffa to find her voice. “Th-thank you for telling me.”</p> <p class="cnNlZjY5YmRmYTUxZjRhMTBhNTk5NWFjOGYzNDJkMzIz">“I'm surprised your secret boyfriend hasn't told you already.” He joked. “Everyone's talking about it and wondering how he did the spears.”</p> <p class="cnNkYTJhMjJmYzg1NjRkNzk5YjZkNzUxM2E1YzBkZDI5">Dilseffa blinked her eyes for a moment as she thought about it. “As close to mid-range combat weapons, they would be valuable on their own.” She said as she understood. “If we could adapt them to use at long range and they are strong enough to survive the impact...”</p> <p class="cnMwOGNlNjYyOTRmMTQ2NmY4MWQ3YzM1ZTFkODU0OTU0">“We could give all the ground troops a ranged attack they've never had before.” The man said. “I don't remember seeing him carrying a hundred spears, though.”</p> <p class="cnMwZWViOGZlMzA3YTRlODk5OTc4YTdiNDA0Mzg3NGUw">“He's an Adventurer and can store things like us.” Dilseffa said.</p> <p class="cnNiMTJjODcwNzlhNTRlOTc4MDU5ZTVkZTEzMDA1NWZm">“He must be able to hold a lot, because that tower over there isn't the same one that we saw before.”</p> <p class="cnMwOTI0MzBhODNlOTRiY2FiNjEzNDQxMmRlNmUzNGQ1">“He just made it.” Dilseffa said.</p> <p class="cnNlZDZjZjY2ZTgxODRhZTdhMTBkZmFkMmQ0NDZmYjI1">“You mean that story is true, too?” The man asked. “I thought he might have had the cathedral built already and had hidden it somewhere, then made it appear.”</p> <p class="cnMwNTU3NDZmNzRjMDRiZGRiODM2OWFjOGRmODgxMDZl">“That would be some powerful magic if he could do that.” Rimsoh said, despite wanting to stay quiet.</p> <p class="cnMzODY2OTY5ODcyNjQ0NGRhOGIzYmMwYjEzMmFmYjM0">“He can make a portal strong enough to go into another realm, Rimsoh.” Dilseffa said. “I'm sure he could make a cathedral appear whenever he wants.”</p> <p class="cnNmYjUzOTRhNDY0YzQ4OGI5OGI3NzEzOTdkM2ExYzFh">“I can feel your admiration for him.” Rimsoh said.</p> <p class="cnM5YjA5NWFmNjJmMzQzMDA5ZTA1Mjk4MWVhOGUyMDU0">“Well, that's my cue to get back to work.” The man said. “I'm out of my depth with a lover's quarrel.”</p> <p class="cnM0MTJjYzU4MjA5MjRmMDc5MThjZTZkMWE2YjllYTEy">“Excuse me?” Rimsoh said and stood up.</p> <p class="cnM1MDU1OWE0OTQzZTQzZGU5N2Y3ZjU0N2E2YTlhNzli">The man put up his hands in a clear sign that he didn't want to fight and took a step back. “I meant to say 'slightly more than friends quarrel'.” He said, then took two more steps back. Rimsoh took a breath and let it out, then sat back down. The man took the cue and left.</p> <p class="cnNiNzAwMDdhY2Y0MDQwOGJiNWJmNGVmZmU4NDcxMzY2">“You really are embarrassed that we're together.” Dilseffa said, and he felt her swirling emotions. “Is it true that you want to kill me, too?”</p> <p class="cnNlYzE0NzJiYTA2NTRiYjZhNmNkNThjNDgwODkxODhh">The entire camping settlement stopped moving and everyone's emotions faded as they blocked themselves from broadcasting.</p> <p class="cnNkZGMyNDdjZWUwODQzNWVhYTI0MmZkOGQwYWM4MGIw">“Where did you hear that?” Rimsoh asked and he looked over at the tent that his friend Miles was still putting up.</p> <p class="cnNkZjMyMDMzNzgzODRmYjI4NTkyOGE2ZGNmZjk1MDg2">“It wasn't Miles.” Dilseffa said to cut off his budding revenge plans. “Or anyone else in the caravan.”</p> <p class="cnM0MTRjY2M5NGEyYzRhZTk5YjhhYjVkYmFjNDM0MjU5">“That means Tatya's guest has been eavesdropping on me.” Rimsoh said as his anger rose. “Probably on all of us.”</p> <p class="cnM2ODEyMTc0ZGYzZTRiYzQ4ZDM5MWRmOWUzZTkxODNh">“He could have been.” Dilseffa said and moved away slightly. “He didn't say anything about hearing it, though.”</p> <p class="cnNiOWUzYmM4NjM3YTRhYmI5YTBmMzQxMTExNmQ4ZWJk">“Then how...”</p> <p class="cnNhMzc4MDBjOWEyNTQ5NjU5OTI1NjU0MDllZmQ3NWE0">“He said that where Adventurers come from, ferrets kill and eat rabbits.”</p> <p class="cnMxMTM1NmE3OGZmYTQ5NDZhN2NiMGRkMjJjMzJjNWEw">“Ha. A likely story to gain your favor and put a bias into your mind.” Rimsoh said.</p> <p class="cnMwYmU2M2YxZjZhZDRkZDFhMDM5N2M4YzUxNjU2MjBi">“It could have been a story to frighten me, and I would have believed what you just said... if he hadn't been right about you.” Dilseffa said, and he felt her deep sadness.</p> <p class="cnMyMDk1NDc3MTdjNTQxYThiZTUzMmM1ZDZiM2M5NmNj">“What do you mean?” Rimsoh asked, confused.</p> <p class="cnNiMjBjOGMxODlmYzQzMzdiMzAzMjkxN2RlOGRiYTY4">“You accused King Ren of listening in, or spying on you.” Dilseffa said as her heart broke. “Which... which means you actually said it yourself.”</p> <p class="cnNiY2ZhZDljN2ZiNzRlMzU5Y2JjZTRjZjBjMDcwYzA1">“Dilseffa, I was only joking around with Miles when I said that.”</p> <p class="cnNkMGIxYzhjNmU5ZDQ4ZGI4ODE4NDg2NmM5NjFjZWUz">“Yeah. What a joke.” Dilseffa said as tears rolled down her face. “A joke about killing me.”</p> <p class="cnMzODlhOGMzZjI5YTQyZDg4NGYwZWJhOTFiMWZhZjg2">“It's not like that.” Rimsoh said. “You just make me so angry sometimes that I felt like killing you.”</p> <p class="cnM2OTZjNmNlMjlmYzRiYjlhMjM1MzJiZmMxZTBmZjk2">“Yes, knowing that makes me feel so much better.” Dilseffa said and wiped at her face. “We've been together a long time. Why didn't you ever do it?”</p> <p class="cnM5ZGQ3ZjY0ZGI3YjQ4MDA5ODA5YTVhYmE0NDM2NWFm">Rimsoh thought about not answering, then realized he had already lost her and it didn't matter if she knew the truth. “I love you; but, you can be so frustratingly cute sometimes.” He said. “That's not really your fault, since that's who you are. Every time we argued, though... you always offered me sex to calm me down and end the fight.” He admitted. “I've never reached the point where I would be angry enough to actually go through with it.”</p> <p class="cnM0Mjk5NTdjMjJiMDQ3MTdiY2M2ZDQ1ODk1NDNmYmEz">“I'm glad that my cute ass was cute enough to stop you from killing me for being cute.” Dilseffa said and let out a sob and a laugh at the same time.</p> <p class="cnNlYTZmN2ZjZTMzOTQ2ZGM4YmI2MmU5ODBlYWRkNmVj">“Dilseffa, I...”</p> <p class="cnM0MjY4NjA4MjRhZDQ0YTQ4YjUwMjdjZGFiNDhmYjVh">“I love you, too. I know we weren't really together. Not officially, anyway.” Dilseffa said and stopped trying to wipe at her tears, because it wasn't making any difference. “Sneaking around was so much fun! I enjoyed that a lot.” She said. “I was told recently that sneaking around didn't matter because everyone knew anyway. I never imagined that if we did manage to spend more time together, officially or not, that I could have ended up dead because I love you.”</p> <p class="cnMwMjU0Y2MwMmZiMDRhNjVhYmFiZWI2ZmFiYzliZjc5">“Dilseffa...”</p> <p class="cnNkOGExZDE5ZGRiZTQwZWNhN2IzNGM2YWY0MmM1N2M4">“No, I'm... I'm fine.” Dilseffa said and stood up. “I will be fine.” Her tears never stopped. “I'm also glad I found out before I hired you as part of King Ren's security staff.”</p> <p class="cnM5YzA4NTQ0NjgzMjQyYmJhYWI5YmFmNDkxZTk5ZWJh">“Wh-what?” Rimsoh looked up at her and she felt his surprise.</p> <p class="cnM1ZTY4MWJkM2UwMDRhNTliYmFjNThhYjJiOGRlZDJk">“I'm going to be in charge of the security of the household and the lands, and the people in those lands.” Dilseffa said. “I was actually going to politely refuse and stay with you, since he gave his concubines permission to find and be with the ones they love, rather than stay by his side.”</p> <p class="cnNhNTBlOWE5YjY3MzQxMTdiNzM1NGMxOTVhZWRkNWFh">“N-no, that... it's not... it's true.” Rimsoh mumbled.</p> <p class="cnM3Yjc4ZWIzODk0YjQzOWM4MzE5OWJkYjZjZTQyODBj">“Yes, despite me submitting to his power, just like you did, he isn't lording it over me or the others.” Dilseffa said. “He could, though. He really could.” She admitted. “I thought he was going to try and separate us, or try and claim me to drive you away; but, all he did was tell me to be careful around you.” She chuckled. “He was right.” She let the chuckle and amusement die, then sighed. “He only wants me to be happy.”</p> <p class="cnM4OGYyZjgwYTUxNTRkMzk4NzU4NTdjMzY4ZjAyMzA3">Rimsoh didn't say anything and just looked at her with a lost look in his eyes.</p> <p class="cnNhZjc3ZjhhZDY3MjQ4M2RiMWJhZDQ4MTRlNzdlN2Nk">“On the way over here, because he told me to come here and invite you over, I had the bright idea to take his job offer and then the horrible idea to offer you a job, too.” Dilseffa said and took a step back, and stayed facing him. “I'm going to do the first idea, and I'm never doing the second, despite the both of us submitting to him.”</p> <p class="cnNjMTY2MDY4ZGNjNDRjMTA5MDMyYjRhMWEwNmMwMDNm">“But... if I'm...”</p> <p class="cnM4OWUzOTA2YjgzODQzMjY5YjQ0YmNlYjg5YzIzMTNl">“He has hundreds of thousands of people in his domain, Rimsoh.” Dilseffa said. “Humans, High Elves, Dark Elves, elflings, and now us.” She took another step back. “He doesn't offer them all jobs. Only a place to live and food to eat, if... and only if... they want to leave where they are now and live on his lands.”</p> <p class="cnM3YmM3YWNlZjFiNDQ1NmE5OTNlYTg5MDk2NWI4N2Zl">Rimsoh wanted to stand up and follow her, catch her and try to explain again; but, he knew it was pointless. So, he stayed sitting and maintained eye contact with her.</p> <p class="cnM0Zjc0NGQyZDNlZjRkMzQ4ZmQ4YThjYzMyYmVkMTQw">“He even lets them take their families if they want, so they won't be separated.”</p> <p class="cnM0MjA5YzAzNWFkMjRlZGU5OWI1ZTcwMGE2NDIyOGFm">“What? No, he... why...”</p> <p class="cnM4YmRlNDUwYTU5ZDQxZTFhODBhNTI5MDJiOWEyODZk">“He really cares about us.” Dilseffa said and kept walking backwards. “You don't realize it until you start thinking about all of the things he's done, then it hits you that all he's doing is helping people. People he just met. Most of the people in his domain he rescued personally. He's even saved this world several times now.” She was almost too far to hear without her having to shout, and she stopped walking. “He's even saved a bunch of Giants and made them a city to live in, and didn't ask for anything in return.” She said and her tears stopped on their own. “Who does that?”</p> <p class="cnM0Zjc5ZWM5MGMzNTRhMWE4YjRiNzNlOTViNjVmZjVh">Rimsoh didn't say the obvious answer, and she smiled.</p> <p class="cnNhOTNiYWMwZjYyOTQ0MzliNGUzOWQxNzYxNzA1YjNh">“He does. He always does.” Dilseffa said. “He knows people are grateful for what he does for them, since he can feel their emotions; but, almost no one ever actually thanks him for it.” She said. “Well, I'm going to. I'm thanking him right now.” She put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath. “I, Countess Dilseffa Dreikhyth, publicly acknowledge King Ren as my Inamorato.”</p> <p class="cnMwNTg3YTU5NjJiZjRhMjdhMjY1OTlkNmM1NzczN2Rj">A ripple of surprise flowed around the camp site as the Pervarians couldn't block their feelings anymore.</p> <p class="cnM5ZDlkZTkxMWI3NDQ5ZWE4YjliMTAzOTFlOGM1YTAx">“I am Second Mistress of his Royal Concubines, and I will do my best to earn him Respect.” Dilseffa said in a strong voice that none of them had ever heard before. “I am his, and he is mine, both formally and informally. I dedicate the rest of my life to his service, and that of my family members who so choose to join me in that service.” She said. “I do so swear.”</p> <p class="cnNhNjJjMzJkZDEzMjQ4ZjhiZmQ0YjA2MzI3NWMxOTFj">Everyone fell silent as they saw a beam of bright white light shoot out from her and across the remaining space between her and Ren and connected them. The day was ending and the daylight was waning fast, so the bright beam of light lit up the entire campsite.</p> <p class="cnNlMmVmZjE5NjFhZDQ5YTY5MjJmNGM2NTk4ZjQxMjFj">“I humbly accept your pledge of loyalty, Countess Dreikhyth.” Ren's command voice cut through the silence just as much as the beam of light cut through the air. Everyone turned to look at him, and he walked over to her. “Please, allow me to adorn you appropriately.”</p> <p class="cnMzOTNkZjI3MWQzMDQ2ZjRhZTE4YWM2YWNjODk3NDgy">“I accept your attention, My King.” Dilseffa said.</p> <p class="cnMzZTExZThiZDYyZjQwZmNiODcxMDZkNTY5NTJjY2Zh">“I had planned on waiting until a more private setting.” Ren said and took out her wardrobe cabinet and opened it. He reached in and took out her work outfit, and she caught her breath. It was only a string bikini and barely covered her.</p> <p class="cnM1NjYzYmNkZTg3YjRlZGE4NmQ4OWFmM2U5YTEyNTI2">“M-my K-king.” Dilseffa said and held the thin and very strong platinum-laced cloth. “I... I don't...”</p> <p class="cnNhMmViODdhMTFjOTRjYmNiN2UyYTg5YTgwOTFmOWZh">“My head of security will be the fiercest warrior.” Ren said and closed and stored the cabinet. “Equip your uniform, please.”</p> <p class="cnNhNjEyYjdmZDlkNTQxODg5NDgyYWY1YjE0NzJmYmU5">Dilseffa did so, and everyone caught their breath as nearly all of Dilseffa's skin was exposed.</p> <p class="cnNkNGM0YWM2MTY5MTQyZTFhN2ExMmE4MDRiYjVlYzI4">“Here are the jewelled adornments that are appropriate for your station.” Ren said and started to hand her platinum bracelets, anklets, and a diamond encrusted necklace. No one spoke as Dilseffa equipped each item and her power increased with each added item. “These are only artifical boosts until I can train you properly to become this powerful on your own.” He said. “Now, your crown.”</p> <p class="cnMwNWMwZjAzOTgyMzRlYzk4MTQ4N2M4ZjQzZDE1YThk">“M-my WHAT?!?”</p> <p class="cnMxMDlhMWI0NGJiZDQ0OGNhYjVmZTk0Y2E5ZTBlMWE2">“Royal Mistresses are a part of my Dynasty in the lands of Pervaria.” Ren said and pointed to his head, and she saw a thin platinum crown partially hidden by his fluffy hair. “Please, kneel.”</p> <p class="cnM2YWJjZDNjNDhmNjRkMTlhMDg2ZWM2YzczMmM1MThk">Dilseffa was too stunned to refuse and knelt as she stared into his eyes. Ren held out a diamond encrusted tiara and tucked it into her hair.</p> <p class="cnM5YjVkMjg0ZWViMTQ0YThhYjczNTNiOThmNWYzMzg1">“Welcome to the Ren Dynasty, Dilseffa.” Ren said. “Boy, that sounds so pretentious, doesn't it?”</p> <p class="cnMzNDMzNTUxNWNkZDQzZjViYTM1YzhjN2JhZTk4MmQ1">Dilseffa snorted a laugh and he smiled.</p> <p class="cnNiYzEwYThhYmIwYjQzMTNhNjU5Yzk4MDE2NGFlZWJi">“May I kiss you to finish the ritual?” Ren asked, and she nodded. He cupped the sides of her face with his hands and leaned down slightly to press his lips to hers. The light between them grew brighter as he poured feelings of admiration and thanks into her, and she felt how proud he was of her. He broke the kiss and stepped back, then took her hand and helped her stand.</p> <p class="cnMwNDAyZTVmNTg4ZjQxNGU5NmMxZjljZWUyMWJlMDYz">“That was so beautiful!” Yuwen said excitedly and ran over to them. “Quick! Do me next!”</p> <p class="cnMxOTk3MTUwMGExODRlNDc5NThkN2I3MGM0MDllYTMw">That made several people laugh, and Ren and Yuwen repeated the ritual. Tiyaphi came over when Ren called her over, and they repeated it as well. Once they were done, Teepo told Ren he was out of time.</p> <p class="cnNkNDYxYTEwOTExZjQ5MTBiOTdhY2YyODM1ZWI1ZjFk">“I have to go.” Ren said.</p> <p class="cnM5YWFkNGZjZjhlODRjYTdhNjY4MGUyZDVlZTRhZTVi">“We need to get inside.” Artemis said, and she, Ren, and the three Pervarian concubines, went inside the tower. The bottom was a fully furnished living room and the next 4 floors had bedrooms.</p> <p class="cnM3MjgzMDg1NDJmMTQ2ODdiNTM0Mzg3Y2Y0ZjY4ZDc1">“I'm on the top floor.” Ren said.</p> <p class="cnMzYTMwMDViYzQ3YTRmNmI4M2Y2NWNmNjEyZGM0Yzcz">“Can I sleep there, too?” Tiyaphi asked.</p> <p class="cnMzZDg3ZDBkNzUwNzQ0NjZiNGFmNTI0MDkyYzFjODQx">“I won't be much company.” Ren said.</p> <p class="cnM4YWYxYWZkMzEwYTRjYzQ4N2JjN2Y2YzhlYjVmNjNm">“I want to be there when you wake up.” Tiyaphi said.</p> <p class="cnNjNDg4ZDhiZWUyNjRmMjQ4ZDE1MWI1MDJkYjIzNTA0">Ren felt that she was going to sneak in later if he said no, and sighed.</p> <p class="cnNkNDAzZjE0NDYyMDRlODQ5NmJjZjI2ZjJlNDIzMmUw">“Thank you!” Tiyaphi said and ran up the stairs, then Artemis and Ren walked up after her.</p> <p class="cnMyNzcwMGZlZjg5NzQzOWZhYjdjYmQ4M2M0YTU4NzQw">Yuwen looked at Dilseffa. “You really meant what you said, didn't you?”</p> <p class="cnM0MjVkNWY0NzFiNDQ2NmViY2IwMmZiYjg4ZDgzNTRk">Dilseffa tried to hide her feelings. “It... really hurt to... end things...”</p> <p class="cnM4YjRiMjJmOTFkNzRjMmU4YTc2ODQ2YTc3MmIwOWU1">Yuwen took her hand and walked towards the stairs. “He'll let you hold him, I'm sure.”</p> <p class="cnMzNGI0NjUxM2M4MzQyMDQ5NzI1ZmI2ODViZjVkMDE1">“But...”</p> <p class="cnMzMGUwNTczNzJmOTQ0OWRhMThjNjQ0ODRlZjc4NDMw">“We don't even have to ask.” Yuwen said and pulled her up the stairs to the top floor.</p> <p class="cnMwMjJmYWZkYmNmMDRjNDY4Nzk1OWQxZjVmYjQxNjVl">Ren, Artemis, and Tiyaphi were changing clothes to get into bed. They looked at the two women, shrugged, then climbed onto the bed.</p> <p class="cnNlMTA5MjBlMWM4YzQ1ZmI4Y2JhMTI2OGZmOGU4Zjc5">“I told you.” Yuwen said and equipped a set of lacy underwear and bra she had retrieved from her wardrobe. Dilseffa equipped an old and slightly worn out night gown, and Ren felt her embarrassment.</p> <p class="cnNiODgyZDk4YzBlNDRiZDhhMjg2MzZkNTE2YWJjYjIw">“Come here.” Ren said.</p> <p class="cnMwMDNiN2IxYjAwZDRiMTVhMmM3MjEwODM5M2E1ZjBl">It wasn't a command, so Dilseffa had to choose to go to him. She did, and walked over to the bed. Ren touched the cloth with the Master Tailor Sewing Needle and repaired it instantly.</p> <p class="cnMwN2U2NjdhNmY0ZjRiMThhYzI2NjY4MzJlNzE5ODk1">“There. All fixed.” Ren said and pat the bed beside him.</p> <p class="cnNlZGUwZjQ5NzcyNzRlZGRiMWJhODExMzg5NTljOWFl">“I... My King...”</p> <p class="cnNiOGM0NjFmNzU2MTQ0NzE4NzljM2RiNmIyZDRmOGZk">“There's no need for titles anymore, Dilseffa.” Ren said and put an arm down for her to lay on. “Cuddle in and relax.”</p> <p class="cnMwNTUyYmI2ODA2MTQzY2Y4OWY2ZTNiZmE3Zjg5OGYw">“I don't know about the relaxing part.” Dilseffa said and climbed onto the bed.</p> <p class="cnMzNzY0NzNiOGIzNzQwYzNiZDQwNmQwZjRjMzBjYTNk">“I'll be a perfect gentleman.” Ren said and smiled. “Since I won't be here to take advantage of you.”</p> <p class="cnM0Y2Y3YTQ5YjA0NTRlNWJhMTI2YzNjZTAzNTdlOGJl">“Geez, Ren.” Artemis said. “Take it easy on her.”</p> <p class="cnMwMDdkNjlhNTA2MDQ0OTg4YTMxMjZiMDc2NzVlNWI1">“She knows I'm joking.” Ren said and tucked his other arm under Artemis' neck. “I've got two legs free, or you can settle for my hands.” He said to Yuwen and Tiyaphi.</p> <p class="cnNjYWMwNWRjOGZjZTQ4YjdiMjczNDY5YTVkODhkNmNm">“Definitely hands.” They said together, then chuckled and laid down so his hands cupped the sides of their faces.</p> <p class="cnNhNjlkYThlNDRmMjQyOGU5Y2Q2YTM1ZGM2ZGE0MTU1">“Goodnight.” Ren said. <em>See you later, Teepo.</em></p> <p class="cnMwMTY3MzJlZGE1MzRkYTdhOGY4MjM1MjkwMzg4OWQ4">“Bye, Ren! I'll keep an eye on things, like always.”</p> <p class="cnMzOWIwYWM1MGQ4YzQ1NTQ5ZTI1YWI4MTdhNWZjNGY4">A chorus of goodnight was said in return, then Ren tensed all of his muscles for a moment and relaxed.</p> <p class="cnNhY2U0YTA1NzkyZTQxMTM5ZmYxYjEyMmQzNzM5NGQx">“Logout.”</p> <p class="cnMxYmY0NTM1YTUzMjQ3MGE4Yzg2OTUzYjBlOTczYjlj">&nbsp;</p> </div>

Yuwen and Tiyaphi stored their wardrobe cabinets and Ren deactivated and stored the shop tower. “Mistresses, this way.” Ren said and motioned to the first carriage. “Are you going to tell us what happened between you and Tatya?” Yuwen asked. “Yes.” Ren said and opened the carriage door, then helped each woman climb inside, including Artemis, and got in himself. “When we stop in a few seconds.” “What?” “The camp site is only down the road a little ways. The giant boars can run that in a blink of an eye, now.” Ren said, and they felt a tiny jerk backwards, then a tiny jerk forwards. “Everyone disembark!” A voice yelled, then laughed. Ren opened the carriage door and helped everyone get out, and he could feel everyone's surprise at the short trip. The carriage pulled off to the side to park and the driver and attendants started to pull out the tents required for everyone. “Neither I, nor those with me, need a tent.” Ren said. “Where are you going to sleep? On the ground?” “No, in a big comfy bed.” Ren said. “Where would my tent be if I need it?” “Right over there.” The attendant said and pointed to a small spot. “Not very big tents, then.” Ren commented. “If you wanted to get cozy, you can fit three people in one.” He said with a smile. “I intend to be very cozy.” Ren said and used his Instant Tower recipe to make a tower to fit the available space, and made it several floors high. He added the ingredients and formed the cube, then put it in the spot and activated it. A 15 foot by 15 foot stone and metal tower appeared, and it was five stories tall. The attendant stared at the structure. “You just made that.” “Yes, and now I'll be using it.” Ren said and opened the door. “Mistresses.” Yuwen and Tiyaphi stepped inside without a second thought. Dilseffa on the other hand, looked over to where Rimsoh the magic user was setting up his own tent. “Go ahead and invite him inside.” Ren said, and she whipped her head back to look at him. “Wh-what?” Ren felt her dismay and shock, and laughed. “I meant, to come inside and talk, and maybe to sleep in your bed if he's willing.” “Not... not in your bed?” “Of course not in my bed.” Ren said. “You're only staying in my tower because you're my concubine, not because I want to steal you away or force you to do anything.” “But... you... you gave me a title and...” “Don't worry about any of that yet.” Ren assured her. “Go and ask him if he wants to talk. I'm sure he has a lot of questions.” “My King, **I** have a lot of questions.” Dilseffa said, and he chuckled. “I'll be back in the morning and I'll try to answer any that you have, or he has, if I can.” Ren said and motioned for her to go. Dilseffa walked a short ways away and looked back at him, and he made a shooing motion with his hands. “Are you sure that was wise?” Artemis asked Ren and hugged him from behind. “It's better to get things out in the open than to hide them and try to keep it a secret.” Ren said. “I'll need both you and Teepo to keep a close eye on them tonight.” “I'll make sure he doesn't hurt her and I'll only break his arms if he tries.” Artemis said, and Ren chuckled. “I'm glad you can share my thoughts again.” Ren said. “I am, too.” Artemis said and kissed the top of his head. * “Excuse me?” Rimsoh asked as he tried, yet again, to put the wrong pole into the side of the tent. “Dammit!” He exclaimed and threw it down. “You're distracted.” Dilseffa said. “Calm down and sit with me.” “No, I need to...” “Sit. Down.” Dilseffa said sternly, and he glared at her for a moment, then sat where she pointed. She sat right beside him and leaned into him. Rimsoh took the not-so-subtle hint and put his arm around her, despite them being out in the open. She wiggled a little in happiness and rested her head on his shoulder. “What's this about me joining Ren inside that tower?” Rimsoh asked. “No, he said you'd be joining me in there.” Dilseffa said. “Isn't that the same thing now?” He asked, a little confused. “No.” Dilseffa said and sighed. “I'm his concubine; but, I'm not sleeping with him.” Rimsoh barked a laugh. “Yeah, right. That's your job now.” “No, it isn't.” Dilseffa said. “I don't really want to explain out here where everyone can hear us.” She said. “Come over to the tower like I asked and we can talk in private.” “There's no way we can have privacy with 4 other people in there.” “There are 5 floors inside.” Dilseffa said. “I'm sure that...” “No, if we're going to talk, it might as well be here.” Rimsoh said and looked around, and he could feel that no one was paying any attention to them. “So, go ahead. Explain it to me.” Dilseffa held in her sigh and told him about Ren declaring her his second mistress and giving her the Countess title, then offering her the wardrobe full of clothes. “So, he **is** trying to bribe you.” “No, he isn't.” Dilseffa said. “He's only providing me with what a concubine is supposed to have.” She said. “I didn't accept the clothing, because I knew you wouldn't like it.” “Did he give you the appropriate jewellery yet?” Rimsoh asked, and she shook her head. “Is that because you turned down the clothes?” “I don't think so.” Dilseffa said. “He hasn't given any to Yuwen or Tiyaphi, either.” “If he does, you can sell them and...” “I am not selling gifts from my Inamorato.” Dilseffa said and lifted her head up from his shoulder as she sat up straight. “Oh, so he's your Inamorato already, is he?” “No. I told you that we aren't going to have sex.” Dilseffa said. “Calling him 'My King' every time I talk to you about him will get annoying.” “Just talking about him is getting annoying.” Rimsoh said. “It's all everyone is talking about now.” “Why?” Dilseffa asked. “What happened at the battle?” Rimsoh closed his mouth and didn't say anything. Dilseffa turned to the closest delegate and spoke. “Excuse me. What happened at the battle with King Ren?” “Ha!” The man put the last post into his tent and it popped out to its full shape. “You should have seen it.” He said and walked over to them. “I was right there behind Tatya when the 50 foot tall spider ran towards us.” “It was only 40 feet tall.” Rimsoh said under his breath. “I thought we were all dead.” The man chuckled. “Even Tatya, our strong and ever present leader, knew for a fact we were all going to die and had resigned herself to it.” His eyes lost their amusement and the smile disappeared. “You know what happens when a leader gives up.” Dilseffa nodded slightly. “One second we were all ready to die, and then there was a whistling sound and the spider screeched in pain. It turned around and we all saw a hundred spears sticking out of its backside.” “A... a hundred?” Dilseffa asked in disbelief. “I don't know how he did it, either.” The man said. “After a moment the damn things exploded like they were elemental bombs and blew the back of the spider right off.” “Oh, my god.” Dilseffa whispered. “Then the thing fell down dead and crushed the center of the horde under it.” “You're kidding!” “Not even a little.” The man said. “In its death throes, it decimated the rest of the horde and the goblins that remained scattered.” “Oh, wow.” Dilseffa said. “You were saved.” “That's not the best part.” The man said, then he described an 11 foot tall dark elf that had leaped up onto the humongous spider's back and hacked it apart with a 20 foot sword. When he told her that the dark elf was Ren, Dilseffa couldn't speak. “It was a surprise, that's for sure.” The man said. “I've never seen... or felt... anything like it before.” He said. “King Ren was really angry at that spider.” It took a few moments for Dilseffa to find her voice. “Th-thank you for telling me.” “I'm surprised your secret boyfriend hasn't told you already.” He joked. “Everyone's talking about it and wondering how he did the spears.” Dilseffa blinked her eyes for a moment as she thought about it. “As close to mid-range combat weapons, they would be valuable on their own.” She said as she understood. “If we could adapt them to use at long range and they are strong enough to survive the impact...” “We could give all the ground troops a ranged attack they've never had before.” The man said. “I don't remember seeing him carrying a hundred spears, though.” “He's an Adventurer and can store things like us.” Dilseffa said. “He must be able to hold a lot, because that tower over there isn't the same one that we saw before.” “He just made it.” Dilseffa said. “You mean that story is true, too?” The man asked. “I thought he might have had the cathedral built already and had hidden it somewhere, then made it appear.” “That would be some powerful magic if he could do that.” Rimsoh said, despite wanting to stay quiet. “He can make a portal strong enough to go into another realm, Rimsoh.” Dilseffa said. “I'm sure he could make a cathedral appear whenever he wants.” “I can feel your admiration for him.” Rimsoh said. “Well, that's my cue to get back to work.” The man said. “I'm out of my depth with a lover's quarrel.” “Excuse me?” Rimsoh said and stood up. The man put up his hands in a clear sign that he didn't want to fight and took a step back. “I meant to say 'slightly more than friends quarrel'.” He said, then took two more steps back. Rimsoh took a breath and let it out, then sat back down. The man took the cue and left. “You really are embarrassed that we're together.” Dilseffa said, and he felt her swirling emotions. “Is it true that you want to kill me, too?” The entire camping settlement stopped moving and everyone's emotions faded as they blocked themselves from broadcasting. “Where did you hear that?” Rimsoh asked and he looked over at the tent that his friend Miles was still putting up. “It wasn't Miles.” Dilseffa said to cut off his budding revenge plans. “Or anyone else in the caravan.” “That means Tatya's guest has been eavesdropping on me.” Rimsoh said as his anger rose. “Probably on all of us.” “He could have been.” Dilseffa said and moved away slightly. “He didn't say anything about hearing it, though.” “Then how...” “He said that where Adventurers come from, ferrets kill and eat rabbits.” “Ha. A likely story to gain your favor and put a bias into your mind.” Rimsoh said. “It could have been a story to frighten me, and I would have believed what you just said... if he hadn't been right about you.” Dilseffa said, and he felt her deep sadness. “What do you mean?” Rimsoh asked, confused. “You accused King Ren of listening in, or spying on you.” Dilseffa said as her heart broke. “Which... which means you actually said it yourself.” “Dilseffa, I was only joking around with Miles when I said that.” “Yeah. What a joke.” Dilseffa said as tears rolled down her face. “A joke about killing me.” “It's not like that.” Rimsoh said. “You just make me so angry sometimes that I felt like killing you.” “Yes, knowing that makes me feel so much better.” Dilseffa said and wiped at her face. “We've been together a long time. Why didn't you ever do it?” Rimsoh thought about not answering, then realized he had already lost her and it didn't matter if she knew the truth. “I love you; but, you can be so frustratingly cute sometimes.” He said. “That's not really your fault, since that's who you are. Every time we argued, though... you always offered me sex to calm me down and end the fight.” He admitted. “I've never reached the point where I would be angry enough to actually go through with it.” “I'm glad that my cute ass was cute enough to stop you from killing me for being cute.” Dilseffa said and let out a sob and a laugh at the same time. “Dilseffa, I...” “I love you, too. I know we weren't really together. Not officially, anyway.” Dilseffa said and stopped trying to wipe at her tears, because it wasn't making any difference. “Sneaking around was so much fun! I enjoyed that a lot.” She said. “I was told recently that sneaking around didn't matter because everyone knew anyway. I never imagined that if we did manage to spend more time together, officially or not, that I could have ended up dead because I love you.” “Dilseffa...” “No, I'm... I'm fine.” Dilseffa said and stood up. “I will be fine.” Her tears never stopped. “I'm also glad I found out before I hired you as part of King Ren's security staff.” “Wh-what?” Rimsoh looked up at her and she felt his surprise. “I'm going to be in charge of the security of the household and the lands, and the people in those lands.” Dilseffa said. “I was actually going to politely refuse and stay with you, since he gave his concubines permission to find and be with the ones they love, rather than stay by his side.” “N-no, that... it's not... it's true.” Rimsoh mumbled. “Yes, despite me submitting to his power, just like you did, he isn't lording it over me or the others.” Dilseffa said. “He could, though. He really could.” She admitted. “I thought he was going to try and separate us, or try and claim me to drive you away; but, all he did was tell me to be careful around you.” She chuckled. “He was right.” She let the chuckle and amusement die, then sighed. “He only wants me to be happy.” Rimsoh didn't say anything and just looked at her with a lost look in his eyes. “On the way over here, because he told me to come here and invite you over, I had the bright idea to take his job offer and then the horrible idea to offer you a job, too.” Dilseffa said and took a step back, and stayed facing him. “I'm going to do the first idea, and I'm never doing the second, despite the both of us submitting to him.” “But... if I'm...” “He has hundreds of thousands of people in his domain, Rimsoh.” Dilseffa said. “Humans, High Elves, Dark Elves, elflings, and now us.” She took another step back. “He doesn't offer them all jobs. Only a place to live and food to eat, if... and only if... they want to leave where they are now and live on his lands.” Rimsoh wanted to stand up and follow her, catch her and try to explain again; but, he knew it was pointless. So, he stayed sitting and maintained eye contact with her. “He even lets them take their families if they want, so they won't be separated.” “What? No, he... why...” “He really cares about us.” Dilseffa said and kept walking backwards. “You don't realize it until you start thinking about all of the things he's done, then it hits you that all he's doing is helping people. People he just met. Most of the people in his domain he rescued personally. He's even saved this world several times now.” She was almost too far to hear without her having to shout, and she stopped walking. “He's even saved a bunch of Giants and made them a city to live in, and didn't ask for anything in return.” She said and her tears stopped on their own. “Who does that?” Rimsoh didn't say the obvious answer, and she smiled. “He does. He always does.” Dilseffa said. “He knows people are grateful for what he does for them, since he can feel their emotions; but, almost no one ever actually thanks him for it.” She said. “Well, I'm going to. I'm thanking him right now.” She put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath. “I, Countess Dilseffa Dreikhyth, publicly acknowledge King Ren as my Inamorato.” A ripple of surprise flowed around the camp site as the Pervarians couldn't block their feelings anymore. “I am Second Mistress of his Royal Concubines, and I will do my best to earn him Respect.” Dilseffa said in a strong voice that none of them had ever heard before. “I am his, and he is mine, both formally and informally. I dedicate the rest of my life to his service, and that of my family members who so choose to join me in that service.” She said. “I do so swear.” Everyone fell silent as they saw a beam of bright white light shoot out from her and across the remaining space between her and Ren and connected them. The day was ending and the daylight was waning fast, so the bright beam of light lit up the entire campsite. “I humbly accept your pledge of loyalty, Countess Dreikhyth.” Ren's command voice cut through the silence just as much as the beam of light cut through the air. Everyone turned to look at him, and he walked over to her. “Please, allow me to adorn you appropriately.” “I accept your attention, My King.” Dilseffa said. “I had planned on waiting until a more private setting.” Ren said and took out her wardrobe cabinet and opened it. He reached in and took out her work outfit, and she caught her breath. It was only a string bikini and barely covered her. “M-my K-king.” Dilseffa said and held the thin and very strong platinum-laced cloth. “I... I don't...” “My head of security will be the fiercest warrior.” Ren said and closed and stored the cabinet. “Equip your uniform, please.” Dilseffa did so, and everyone caught their breath as nearly all of Dilseffa's skin was exposed. “Here are the jewelled adornments that are appropriate for your station.” Ren said and started to hand her platinum bracelets, anklets, and a diamond encrusted necklace. No one spoke as Dilseffa equipped each item and her power increased with each added item. “These are only artifical boosts until I can train you properly to become this powerful on your own.” He said. “Now, your crown.” “M-my WHAT?!?” “Royal Mistresses are a part of my Dynasty in the lands of Pervaria.” Ren said and pointed to his head, and she saw a thin platinum crown partially hidden by his fluffy hair. “Please, kneel.” Dilseffa was too stunned to refuse and knelt as she stared into his eyes. Ren held out a diamond encrusted tiara and tucked it into her hair. “Welcome to the Ren Dynasty, Dilseffa.” Ren said. “Boy, that sounds so pretentious, doesn't it?” Dilseffa snorted a laugh and he smiled. “May I kiss you to finish the ritual?” Ren asked, and she nodded. He cupped the sides of her face with his hands and leaned down slightly to press his lips to hers. The light between them grew brighter as he poured feelings of admiration and thanks into her, and she felt how proud he was of her. He broke the kiss and stepped back, then took her hand and helped her stand. “That was so beautiful!” Yuwen said excitedly and ran over to them. “Quick! Do me next!” That made several people laugh, and Ren and Yuwen repeated the ritual. Tiyaphi came over when Ren called her over, and they repeated it as well. Once they were done, Teepo told Ren he was out of time. “I have to go.” Ren said. “We need to get inside.” Artemis said, and she, Ren, and the three Pervarian concubines, went inside the tower. The bottom was a fully furnished living room and the next 4 floors had bedrooms. “I'm on the top floor.” Ren said. “Can I sleep there, too?” Tiyaphi asked. “I won't be much company.” Ren said. “I want to be there when you wake up.” Tiyaphi said. Ren felt that she was going to sneak in later if he said no, and sighed. “Thank you!” Tiyaphi said and ran up the stairs, then Artemis and Ren walked up after her. Yuwen looked at Dilseffa. “You really meant what you said, didn't you?” Dilseffa tried to hide her feelings. “It... really hurt to... end things...” Yuwen took her hand and walked towards the stairs. “He'll let you hold him, I'm sure.” “But...” “We don't even have to ask.” Yuwen said and pulled her up the stairs to the top floor. Ren, Artemis, and Tiyaphi were changing clothes to get into bed. They looked at the two women, shrugged, then climbed onto the bed. “I told you.” Yuwen said and equipped a set of lacy underwear and bra she had retrieved from her wardrobe. Dilseffa equipped an old and slightly worn out night gown, and Ren felt her embarrassment. “Come here.” Ren said. It wasn't a command, so Dilseffa had to choose to go to him. She did, and walked over to the bed. Ren touched the cloth with the Master Tailor Sewing Needle and repaired it instantly. “There. All fixed.” Ren said and pat the bed beside him. “I... My King...” “There's no need for titles anymore, Dilseffa.” Ren said and put an arm down for her to lay on. “Cuddle in and relax.” “I don't know about the relaxing part.” Dilseffa said and climbed onto the bed. “I'll be a perfect gentleman.” Ren said and smiled. “Since I won't be here to take advantage of you.” “Geez, Ren.” Artemis said. “Take it easy on her.” “She knows I'm joking.” Ren said and tucked his other arm under Artemis' neck. “I've got two legs free, or you can settle for my hands.” He said to Yuwen and Tiyaphi. “Definitely hands.” They said together, then chuckled and laid down so his hands cupped the sides of their faces. “Goodnight.” Ren said. *See you later, Teepo.* “Bye, Ren! I'll keep an eye on things, like always.” A chorus of goodnight was said in return, then Ren tensed all of his muscles for a moment and relaxed. “Logout.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkYWQ5MzdmOGIzODQ1ZDhhMTBkOTYwNDU0Mjc5YTQ2">Master Sergeant Pike cursed as he dumped the glossy magazine he was reading on to his desk. "Goddammit!" He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, before picking up the gun catalog magazine back up and flipping through its pages.</p> <p class="cnMzNGY4ZDAxMmMyNDRlNWJhMGZiYzc3NmVhNmMzZjFk">"Top, you ok?" Mills leaned back from his chair, tilting back and looking into Pike's office.</p> <p class="cnMzNjRjMDAyNGQ3MzQzODQ4YjAzODNlMzc5NGY3OGFj">"Peachy as hell," Pike growled back, and Mills quietly returned to his original position. "Damn that Indian fucker!" He compared the technical drawings of the M2 Magespitter with his own unfinished design and flipped through the gun catalog. He worked as an armorer many years ago when he was still a noobie third sergeant and his knowledge of creating firearms from scratch was amateurish at best despite his hobbies in antiqued late 20th century firearms.</p> <p class="cnM4YmY0YmVmNjkwYjQ1YzliZDFlNmY5MGI4OTdkNzFj">He knows how to fine tune a rifle, mod a shotgun or even scratch build simple hobby bolt actions and pistols, but designing and making a military grade heavy machine gun, was totally out of his depth. On his work desk were several technical drawings of designs, from mortars to cannons to an engine.</p> <p class="cnNmOWZkYWEzZjM4MjQzYzVhMmMzY2I1MTEwZTIwM2Ri">"Should I go for a hand crank design or a recoil assist system?" Pike muttered to himself, "Damn, those eggheads better research out how to make smokeless powder, the bloody black powder is just too dirty for recoil assisted guns.</p> <p class="cnM3NDNiOWY1YzQyZTQ5MzM4MzM0ZmQ4NmI3OTQ3ODMx">The M2 Magespitter will require cleaning and maintenance after roughly firing 600 rounds, or the weapon will jam, as the fouling will choke up the wind runes, preventing them from activating. The M1 Magelock is slightly better, able to fire close to a thousand rounds before needing to be properly cleaned. In fact more the half the time the Marines spent during the defense of the Pass was just to clean their weapons.</p> <p class="cnNiMDQ4MWFhNWE5ODQ2OWY5MjIzZmQyYTM3YTExOTRm">Now he needed to come out with a machine gun design for using black powder cartridges and another design for using smokeless powder. He mentally cursed again, damning Raman's soul to the deepest hell for deleting all the weapons data in the armory and sighed, diving back to his work on making a machine gun.</p> <p class="cnNlMGM2MWNjZTM5MDQzOGRiNmJkZmE1MjZkN2I1Mjkw">-----</p> <p class="cnMzZjllYzM5NDcxNjRmMGM4ZDc5NmU4ZjE3ODE4MWY5">UNS Singapore, Biohazard and Containment Laboratory</p> <p class="cnMyZDY4ODAzMmY1MzRlZmZhMmI5ODA5MjE1Mzg1ODYz">Spaceman Senior Apple was whistling to the music playing in the background and dressed in a yellow biohazard protection suit. Her work involved testing and analyzing all unknown organic material if it is capable of consumption or the chemical makeup. Samples were constantly passed to her from surveying teams and just recently, a new batch of samples arrived and they were directly from exploring Dungeon.</p> <p class="cnM2M2E5NWY5ZjY0YTQ1YTViYjhjMDJjZTMzYzdjYzBj">Apple got tasked to check the meat of the giant ants if they were safe to be consumed and it turned out to be pack full of proteins and minerals. She even managed to try it at the cafeteria the next day and the kitchen staff labeled it in the menu as Ant Meat Pasta.</p> <p class="cnNlNmRhODdlMTZjYTQzNTk5NzMxNGRjZjNhZmQzYzgz">When she tried it, she found the ant meat sweat like crab meat, and the pasta was actually made out of potato flour, stir fried with chopped tomatoes and herbs. It tasted better than the usual slime noodles.</p> <p class="cnM5ODgwNTcwOTdjZDQ3OWQ4MTBmYzUzNzlhZTViOTMy">She took a sample case, labeled with #UIF-112 on the top of the container, UIF for Un-Identifed Flora, and removed the vacuum sealing. A large football sized greenish brown mushroom with white spots on the crown sat in a storage case.</p> <p class="cnM4NmQ1ZjhmNDYzODQ5MGZhN2FiYWU2ZjdjMzg0Yjhm">"Hmmm, what do we have here?" She hummed along to the music playing in the background and used a digital camera and snapped a few photos and then gently scraped off some silvers of the mushroom with a scraper, placing them onto a petri dish and inserted the dish into an analyzer. Next, she used a scalpel and cut out a small portion of the mushroom and placed it on to another petri dish and placed it under an imaging device.</p> <p class="cnM2NWQwODAzZWZkNDQxNWI5MzQ2MDcxODdlYTJhOWRm">She turned on the device and a microscopic view of the mushroom popped up on the display. She then cut more pieces of the shroom and ran a tox screen followed by a nutrient test, just as she was about to run the next series of tests, the analyzer beeped urgently, with red warning lights flashing.</p> <p class="cnMxYTg2YTBiNTJkNDRjNWJiNWFlM2U4ODc0N2VjZDI1">She quickly dropped what she was doing at the moment and checked the analyzer reports, and her eyes grew wider and wider as she read the incredible results.</p> <p class="cnMyZDA2MTkzYTFjZjRkZDRhN2EwMDM0OGYzZWUzZWVl">"Oh my god," She quickly picked up all the pieces of mushroom she cut, and gently placed them back into the container and resealed it. She hit the intercom linking to the medical lab down the hall and said, "I got a Code Black here. Requesting immediate removal of Code Black item to a safe room now!"</p> <p class="cnNjMjllZGI5ZGQ5MzRkODU5ZGQ4Y2U0ODFhMTcwMjcy">She grabbed a shock and blast resistance case from the room's emergency stores and packed the storage case #UIF-112 carefully into the foam lined box and placed it into the two way bin, letting it get decontaminated inside the bin before the medical and science team members came.</p> <p class="cnNlODJlZjYzNThjOTQ4ZDU4ZjgxNTkwYjg5NzhiZWEy">"What is it?" Dr. Sharon asked using the intercom from outside the Biohazard and Containment Lab, as she and her colleagues waited for the decontamination countdown timer to finish.</p> <p class="cnM0NjkxODEyYTk3MzRjMThiYjUwMGUxMTkyZmMwZWFj">"The chemical analyzer picked up large traces of nitroglycerin inside the sample," Apple spoke through the intercom. "The computer immediately drops a high explosive alert, and following protocol, I stopped all work on it and resealed it back and encased it in a shock and blast resistance container.</p> <p class="cnNmOWM5YzRiN2QxNDQ4MGNhNmVhNjQ2ODEwZjNkZjNm">"Nitroglycerin?" Dr. Sharon asked in a surprised voice, "Are you sure?"</p> <p class="cnNjMzZiYjY3ZWU2NzRkZmFiYTBlNjdmYjY3NTY1ZjBm">Apple punched a few keys on the computer and brought up a display. She connected the camera and enlarged the image of the mushroom, followed by pulling out the analyzer report putting it side by side with the image.</p> <p class="cnNkN2I5NzljZWZkZjQ4Yjk4NTA3N2E0NzVhNDJlN2Y2">"42% Nitroglycerin, 33% crude fiber and ash, 9% liquids, 5% iron, 4% phosphorus, 3% potassium, 1% sulfates and the rest will require more in-depth testing," Dr. Sharon read the report. "Oh my, where is this from?"</p> <p class="cnMzZmVmNjFmYzczZTQwZWNiNWVmZDZkODBiMmNlMmQ3">"The dungeon, they sent us a sample a few days back," Alex replied, "The system is saying nitroglycerin is highly unstable, so that's why I am calling a Code Black."</p> <p class="cnNiZWE4M2Y3YzdiMDQ2Njg4MGI4MDgyMGM0ZTkxM2Q0">"Got it," Dr. Sharon nodded, and turned around and ordered her people, "Ok, transport it carefully, it is highly explosive, put it in a secured cooler."</p> <p class="cnMwMzZjOGRkOWNlNzQxNTRiMmVlZDZiNGMzYTBkMWM0">"Alright, we will be handling this carefully," Dr. Sharon said next, "Apple, I want you to continue analyzing the Nitroshroom, but use small samples to be safe."</p> <p class="cnNlNjNmMzNjMWNjZTRmMWY5NmFhMDEyNTVjOGM1YzAw">"Nitro-shroom?" Apple repeated back, "I guess that is an appropriate name..."</p> <p class="cnM4YjUyYTFjNjQ1OTQ4Mzc4MDlmYjA2ODc5OWExYWY4">"Hmmm, I got to report this up higher," Dr. Sharon grinned, "I think the Marines and the Captain will be very happy to hear this news."</p> <p class="cnNmOTQ0YjdjNzZkZjQ0MjY4OTQ0OGVkMDFjYmI1NDJm">-----</p> <p class="cnNiOTc0ZWM3MTExZjQ3MGE4OTAwYjVmMDNlM2IzOWQ1">Outskirts of Base Colony, Chemical Research Center</p> <p class="cnMxNTU3YWFmOWQ5NDQzYjk4MTU1NGY1ZTE3NzhiZGNh">At roughly the same time, just several kilometers away, at a secured location away from the City, a research center for the sole purpose of researching smokeless powder was constructed. It was purposely built far away from the city center to prevent accidents from happening should the lab explode due to the nature of the research they were working on.</p> <p class="cnNlMDYyMTE5MGZiMDQ3NDA5Yjg0NTAxMmNjNjg0YjMw">A loud explosion ripped through the lab, sending the few researchers tumbling back in shock, shards of glass and plastics flew everywhere, some causing cuts on the researchers despite the protective coats due to the force of the explosion.</p> <p class="cnM2ZTA5YjMzZDMwYzQ3NmY5YzQ0OWMyNDU2YmZmNTgw">Spaceman Luther turn chemist researcher screamed in shock and pain, half his left hand blown off by the explosion, blood pooling underneath his hand as he kneeled on the lab floor crying. His colleagues rushed to his aid, carrying a first aid kit, wrapping a bandage over his torn up left hand. "Are you alright? Luther?"</p> <p class="cnM3NzU0ZjY3YWQxNzQxYmNhOWM2ODUzNjBjOGNlODM3">Luther laughed and cried at the same time, cradling his hand and said, "I did it! I made gun cotton!" before his eyes rolled up and went into shock.</p> <p class="cnNiNzA2MzQ1MjVmZjQyYTVhZjE5MDU5NTdiZmFlODEw">"Fuck! Get him to the hospital quick! He has gone into shock!" His colleagues jab him with a tranq shot and carried him out of the lab and towards the motor pool.</p> <p class="cnNiOWY3ZDE1MGFiZDQ3MzliNzcwMmViN2FhNWRjYTFm">-----</p> <p class="cnNhMzRmZjhiN2M4NzRiMzU4MWNlODMyYjY3ZmQ3ODI4">UNS Singapore, Captain's office</p> <p class="cnNmYTk3NTAxNGY0OTQyZTZhNWM1MDE4MGU3MGJmZjEz">"Captain!" Commander Ford knocked on the opened door and entered without waiting for a reply, "We got some very good news and... bad, I guess."</p> <p class="cnNmNWEyYTZjN2UzZDQzMzY4OTYyNTg3ODBhZDg0N2Zj">"What's the bad news?" Blake stopped his work and leaned back on his chair looking up at Ford.</p> <p class="cnM5YWU1ZDljZmNkZTQyM2I5ZjJkMDZiZTFlNTQ2ZTUz">"Well, I won't really say it is bad, just one of our amateur chemist got his hand blown off and we have a live explosive onboard the ship in our labs." Ford said, "I am not sure of the details, Dr. Sharon said one of the samples brought in from the cave is highly explosive."</p> <p class="cnMxNzM1ZDk5MjYzMTQ0NGU4MGM3ZDc2NmFjNjUxMjZh">Blake eyebrows rosed, "Ok, nothing happened to both the labs?"</p> <p class="cnM2YjUwMWI0Nzg0OTRlN2ZiYWY0NzYyYjZlYWNkMTM3">"For the chemist lab, just some broke equipment, and two others with minor injuries," Ford reported, "And Dr. Sharon isolated the explosive sample to a secured location for testing explosives."</p> <p class="cnMyZDk2ZDA2YWUzNTQxYjNhMjZiMTljMzEyZjExOWYx">Blake nodded, "And the good news?"</p> <p class="cnM1OTlhODdiNTc0YzRhZGJhNzg0MGNiNGUzNzYzZjI5">"Well, the chemist who got his hand blown off, found out how to make guncotton," Ford grinned, "that was what his colleagues said he said before he fainted."</p> <p class="cnM4MTc1NDBhYzVkNTQ1NmM5ODkyNTBiMGY5YmJjNjg4">"Is that how he got his hand blown off?" Blake asked, and seeing Ford nod, "Okay, I want the lab to have the strictest procedure in handling dangerous material and explosives. Get Pike to go knock some heads. We are lucky, no one is dead or blows up the city."</p> <p class="cnNiNDVlM2E0ODgzMzRmN2JiOTZlMDYxMTI0ZTE0MmIz">Ford nodded again, "Got it and one more thing, the explosive sample down the labs here, is actually some kind of shroom that has a high concentration of nitroglycerin!"</p> <p class="cnMzYTJkMDJmYTIwZjQwZDg4ZDE5OTI0NDRjOWExNjI1">"Wait! Guncotton and nitroglycerin are key ingredients for making smokeless powder yes?" Blake shot up from his seat, excited.</p> <p class="cnM4MjI4ZWUwZjFkODRlNmY5YjI3MjM1OTUzOTVhZDJl">"Yes, Sir," Ford grinned, "Once we can properly extract and manufacture both ingredients, it will just be a matter of time before we successful create a smokeless powder formula."</p> <p class="cnMzZGIwMmZjOGU2YTRlMDA5NDc0NjBiZDQ1YWJhZTI2">"Alright, make ensure safety is a priority on all the labs and research centers, have Pike or guys with explosive handling knowledge to drill in the importance of safety to those working in the labs and research centers," Blake ordered and grinned, "Finally, things are looking slightly better than before!"</p> <p class="cnMyZDQzZjBhNmJlNjRjMzA5OWVkYjgzMjBmYmJlN2Jl">Ford agreed, "Yes, it seems this month is the most peaceful month we have since landing here."</p> <p class="cnNlN2U2NWUyYThhZjQxZDViMWNkY2MzMTYxMzIxNTdl">"Well, that won't last for long," Blake sighed, "Take a look, Intel just sent this over." He turned on the office display for Ford, showing a map with several red and yellow dots. There were also a large number of green dots scattered all over. "Red for monster attacks, while yellow for sightings of monsters."</p> <p class="cnM2ODg1YzdhMDM4NDQ3Yzc5NzEwMzVmMTlhOThjNTUy">"The green dots represent confirmed sightings of goblin activity," Blake explained.</p> <p class="cnNhNzJmYjkwOWExYzQ0MzNiNjlmYTg0NDc3YzM5NjEy">"Damn, that is a lot of goblin activity!" Ford did a quick count of the green dots.</p> <p class="cnNmMDRiMWU4NjQwYzQzMDJiMzI0MGE5MTE0NGYyYTk1">"No need to count, there is a total of 89 reports and it is climbing daily," Blake said, "Not only goblins, but we also have reports of giant snakes, salamanders or a land dragon variant, wind wolves, giant boars, and some other creatures still not identified by the people working out in the forest and farms."</p> <p class="cnNiNDA1NmFlZTI5YzRiYjM4ZDM4NDQxMGFlMjVmYTE1">"In a way, we get plenty of meat and animal products when the Marines kill them," Blake continued, "But we only so many troops to spread around, and the next batch to graduate is still two months out."</p> <p class="cnM1MjRlYjQxMjM1MjRiNTViNGI0NzQ1ZDVmZmY3ODVm">"Lucky, we managed to get a source of mana stones, even if it in a limited amount," Blake added, "If not, it will be back to arrows and swords for the new recruits."</p> <p class="cnMyZDJlZDUwM2JlZDQ2ZmRhZjc0ZjQzNGNhOTRjOWUz">"Well, we also can't keep relying on the Marines to constantly farm the dungeon," Ford pointed out, "We will probably need to form a full-time team of hunters and gatherers to work in the dungeon."</p> <p class="cnNjZjA3YTQ5NDBkZTRmZDRhM2I4YjI4OGMyNzU4ZWIw">"Yeah and I am very interested with those potions they found in the dungeon," Blake rubbed his chin, "If we can mass produce them, our medical worries will lessen a lot, at the rate of injuries people are getting lately."</p> <p class="cnMzNTY4YjdjYjNkNzRhMjNhNDZmOWZjMTU1OWU2MzZk">"That's all the excitement for today," Ford said, "I better go look for Pike."</p> <p class="cnNhYWJkMDU5Mzg5NzRiMmZiYzFhZTM1NzBiYmExZjAz">Blake nodded and turned to the report Ford just sent him, and grinned, "That's from Sharon?"</p> <p class="cnNhNjQ0Y2E0ZWE5MjRkM2RhMzI3MGEyYjE2ZTJiNmNl">"Heh, nitroshrooms..."</p> </div>

Master Sergeant Pike cursed as he dumped the glossy magazine he was reading on to his desk. "Goddammit!" He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, before picking up the gun catalog magazine back up and flipping through its pages. "Top, you ok?" Mills leaned back from his chair, tilting back and looking into Pike's office. "Peachy as hell," Pike growled back, and Mills quietly returned to his original position. "Damn that Indian fucker!" He compared the technical drawings of the M2 Magespitter with his own unfinished design and flipped through the gun catalog. He worked as an armorer many years ago when he was still a noobie third sergeant and his knowledge of creating firearms from scratch was amateurish at best despite his hobbies in antiqued late 20th century firearms. He knows how to fine tune a rifle, mod a shotgun or even scratch build simple hobby bolt actions and pistols, but designing and making a military grade heavy machine gun, was totally out of his depth. On his work desk were several technical drawings of designs, from mortars to cannons to an engine. "Should I go for a hand crank design or a recoil assist system?" Pike muttered to himself, "Damn, those eggheads better research out how to make smokeless powder, the bloody black powder is just too dirty for recoil assisted guns. The M2 Magespitter will require cleaning and maintenance after roughly firing 600 rounds, or the weapon will jam, as the fouling will choke up the wind runes, preventing them from activating. The M1 Magelock is slightly better, able to fire close to a thousand rounds before needing to be properly cleaned. In fact more the half the time the Marines spent during the defense of the Pass was just to clean their weapons. Now he needed to come out with a machine gun design for using black powder cartridges and another design for using smokeless powder. He mentally cursed again, damning Raman's soul to the deepest hell for deleting all the weapons data in the armory and sighed, diving back to his work on making a machine gun. ----- UNS Singapore, Biohazard and Containment Laboratory Spaceman Senior Apple was whistling to the music playing in the background and dressed in a yellow biohazard protection suit. Her work involved testing and analyzing all unknown organic material if it is capable of consumption or the chemical makeup. Samples were constantly passed to her from surveying teams and just recently, a new batch of samples arrived and they were directly from exploring Dungeon. Apple got tasked to check the meat of the giant ants if they were safe to be consumed and it turned out to be pack full of proteins and minerals. She even managed to try it at the cafeteria the next day and the kitchen staff labeled it in the menu as Ant Meat Pasta. When she tried it, she found the ant meat sweat like crab meat, and the pasta was actually made out of potato flour, stir fried with chopped tomatoes and herbs. It tasted better than the usual slime noodles. She took a sample case, labeled with #UIF-112 on the top of the container, UIF for Un-Identifed Flora, and removed the vacuum sealing. A large football sized greenish brown mushroom with white spots on the crown sat in a storage case. "Hmmm, what do we have here?" She hummed along to the music playing in the background and used a digital camera and snapped a few photos and then gently scraped off some silvers of the mushroom with a scraper, placing them onto a petri dish and inserted the dish into an analyzer. Next, she used a scalpel and cut out a small portion of the mushroom and placed it on to another petri dish and placed it under an imaging device. She turned on the device and a microscopic view of the mushroom popped up on the display. She then cut more pieces of the shroom and ran a tox screen followed by a nutrient test, just as she was about to run the next series of tests, the analyzer beeped urgently, with red warning lights flashing. She quickly dropped what she was doing at the moment and checked the analyzer reports, and her eyes grew wider and wider as she read the incredible results. "Oh my god," She quickly picked up all the pieces of mushroom she cut, and gently placed them back into the container and resealed it. She hit the intercom linking to the medical lab down the hall and said, "I got a Code Black here. Requesting immediate removal of Code Black item to a safe room now!" She grabbed a shock and blast resistance case from the room's emergency stores and packed the storage case #UIF-112 carefully into the foam lined box and placed it into the two way bin, letting it get decontaminated inside the bin before the medical and science team members came. "What is it?" Dr. Sharon asked using the intercom from outside the Biohazard and Containment Lab, as she and her colleagues waited for the decontamination countdown timer to finish. "The chemical analyzer picked up large traces of nitroglycerin inside the sample," Apple spoke through the intercom. "The computer immediately drops a high explosive alert, and following protocol, I stopped all work on it and resealed it back and encased it in a shock and blast resistance container. "Nitroglycerin?" Dr. Sharon asked in a surprised voice, "Are you sure?" Apple punched a few keys on the computer and brought up a display. She connected the camera and enlarged the image of the mushroom, followed by pulling out the analyzer report putting it side by side with the image. "42% Nitroglycerin, 33% crude fiber and ash, 9% liquids, 5% iron, 4% phosphorus, 3% potassium, 1% sulfates and the rest will require more in-depth testing," Dr. Sharon read the report. "Oh my, where is this from?" "The dungeon, they sent us a sample a few days back," Alex replied, "The system is saying nitroglycerin is highly unstable, so that's why I am calling a Code Black." "Got it," Dr. Sharon nodded, and turned around and ordered her people, "Ok, transport it carefully, it is highly explosive, put it in a secured cooler." "Alright, we will be handling this carefully," Dr. Sharon said next, "Apple, I want you to continue analyzing the Nitroshroom, but use small samples to be safe." "Nitro-shroom?" Apple repeated back, "I guess that is an appropriate name..." "Hmmm, I got to report this up higher," Dr. Sharon grinned, "I think the Marines and the Captain will be very happy to hear this news." ----- Outskirts of Base Colony, Chemical Research Center At roughly the same time, just several kilometers away, at a secured location away from the City, a research center for the sole purpose of researching smokeless powder was constructed. It was purposely built far away from the city center to prevent accidents from happening should the lab explode due to the nature of the research they were working on. A loud explosion ripped through the lab, sending the few researchers tumbling back in shock, shards of glass and plastics flew everywhere, some causing cuts on the researchers despite the protective coats due to the force of the explosion. Spaceman Luther turn chemist researcher screamed in shock and pain, half his left hand blown off by the explosion, blood pooling underneath his hand as he kneeled on the lab floor crying. His colleagues rushed to his aid, carrying a first aid kit, wrapping a bandage over his torn up left hand. "Are you alright? Luther?" Luther laughed and cried at the same time, cradling his hand and said, "I did it! I made gun cotton!" before his eyes rolled up and went into shock. "Fuck! Get him to the hospital quick! He has gone into shock!" His colleagues jab him with a tranq shot and carried him out of the lab and towards the motor pool. ----- UNS Singapore, Captain's office "Captain!" Commander Ford knocked on the opened door and entered without waiting for a reply, "We got some very good news and... bad, I guess." "What's the bad news?" Blake stopped his work and leaned back on his chair looking up at Ford. "Well, I won't really say it is bad, just one of our amateur chemist got his hand blown off and we have a live explosive onboard the ship in our labs." Ford said, "I am not sure of the details, Dr. Sharon said one of the samples brought in from the cave is highly explosive." Blake eyebrows rosed, "Ok, nothing happened to both the labs?" "For the chemist lab, just some broke equipment, and two others with minor injuries," Ford reported, "And Dr. Sharon isolated the explosive sample to a secured location for testing explosives." Blake nodded, "And the good news?" "Well, the chemist who got his hand blown off, found out how to make guncotton," Ford grinned, "that was what his colleagues said he said before he fainted." "Is that how he got his hand blown off?" Blake asked, and seeing Ford nod, "Okay, I want the lab to have the strictest procedure in handling dangerous material and explosives. Get Pike to go knock some heads. We are lucky, no one is dead or blows up the city." Ford nodded again, "Got it and one more thing, the explosive sample down the labs here, is actually some kind of shroom that has a high concentration of nitroglycerin!" "Wait! Guncotton and nitroglycerin are key ingredients for making smokeless powder yes?" Blake shot up from his seat, excited. "Yes, Sir," Ford grinned, "Once we can properly extract and manufacture both ingredients, it will just be a matter of time before we successful create a smokeless powder formula." "Alright, make ensure safety is a priority on all the labs and research centers, have Pike or guys with explosive handling knowledge to drill in the importance of safety to those working in the labs and research centers," Blake ordered and grinned, "Finally, things are looking slightly better than before!" Ford agreed, "Yes, it seems this month is the most peaceful month we have since landing here." "Well, that won't last for long," Blake sighed, "Take a look, Intel just sent this over." He turned on the office display for Ford, showing a map with several red and yellow dots. There were also a large number of green dots scattered all over. "Red for monster attacks, while yellow for sightings of monsters." "The green dots represent confirmed sightings of goblin activity," Blake explained. "Damn, that is a lot of goblin activity!" Ford did a quick count of the green dots. "No need to count, there is a total of 89 reports and it is climbing daily," Blake said, "Not only goblins, but we also have reports of giant snakes, salamanders or a land dragon variant, wind wolves, giant boars, and some other creatures still not identified by the people working out in the forest and farms." "In a way, we get plenty of meat and animal products when the Marines kill them," Blake continued, "But we only so many troops to spread around, and the next batch to graduate is still two months out." "Lucky, we managed to get a source of mana stones, even if it in a limited amount," Blake added, "If not, it will be back to arrows and swords for the new recruits." "Well, we also can't keep relying on the Marines to constantly farm the dungeon," Ford pointed out, "We will probably need to form a full-time team of hunters and gatherers to work in the dungeon." "Yeah and I am very interested with those potions they found in the dungeon," Blake rubbed his chin, "If we can mass produce them, our medical worries will lessen a lot, at the rate of injuries people are getting lately." "That's all the excitement for today," Ford said, "I better go look for Pike." Blake nodded and turned to the report Ford just sent him, and grinned, "That's from Sharon?" "Heh, nitroshrooms..."

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMzMDllMWI2NGJiYzRiOGE4ZDY2ZTljZGNjNmJiY2My" style="text-align: center"><strong><em>The Yellow Bard and the Black Bellied God</em></strong></p> <p class="cnMxNWJlNDhiNWY5ZTRmYmZhZDQxMGE3ZmY1NzUwNjZi" style="text-align: center"><strong><em>Chapter 1: Who called the Fuzz?</em></strong></p> <hr> <p class="cnMzYmEzMmFjMmExZjQ5ZjU4OGIxZTU1ZDFjMjdkYTc0"><strong><em>Chapter 1: Who called the Fuzz?</em></strong></p> <p class="cnMzMWQwNDZiYTk4NTQ2NDM4MzBkOTQxYWQyNjYyYTBh">I should have expected misfortune to follow me into the woods. Maybe not as spectacular as falling to my death over a cliff with an anthropomorphic porcupine hot on my heels but should I have expected anything good? No! Darren O’Daveron and hiking were not words that were spoken of in the same sentence. “Darren did you even come out of the house this weekend?” was by far more likely.</p> <p class="cnM1NDBkNmU3NzkyMDQ1YTBhMTkyNDk1MjdhY2NlNGFj">I had good reason for my mild agoraphobia. My first experience camping was when I was ten. I begged my grandparents to let me go on a trip with my friends. They only relented the night before and I didn’t pack any proper camping gear. I went in high tops. High tops I immediately got wet because we were camping near a lake and half the appeal was going swimming and playing on the beach. I left the shoes on top of a rock next to the campfire. It turns out one of the most reliable properties of rubber is that it tends to melt when exposed to&nbsp;heat. That meant ten year old me wound up stuck barefoot in the woods for three days! Yay camping!</p> <p class="cnM1OTljMWVlOTkxMzQ0NDFhMWI1OGZjN2NkNDAwNWUy">It was a whole decade before I risked&nbsp;sleeping out under the stars again. That time&nbsp;was for a music festival just after I graduated from high school. I was on staff as a volunteer which meant I got to peak backstage and hang out with the bands…managers. Ok not as glamorous as advertised but it meant sticking around in the campsite for an extra three days being trained and helping set things up. In a cornfield in Tennessee. In summer. During a thunderstorm.&nbsp;I learned an interesting lesson in aeronautical engineering it turns out if you don’t tie down a tent properly it&nbsp;shares the same aerodynamic properties as an umbrella and it&nbsp;will literally fly away.&nbsp;At least that time I wasn’t barefoot. Though many of the hippies at the music festival were? Heck even the Puckwudgie seemed more sanitary.</p> <p class="cnM3NjA1M2U4ZGYzODQ1NTZhZGMzZGJjZTU5YWU0NmYx">So what brought me out to my ill-fated encounter in these spooky woods? This time it was that friendly and deftly applied peer pressure from a pair of serious hikers and campers. They often spoke at length about their goal to through hike the Appalachian Trail. I was personally weak to precisely their style of high spirited evangelism. Even a hard bitten nightshift dwelling nerd such as myself couldn’t help but be moved. The&nbsp;most compelling part of their argument&nbsp;for this camping trip was&nbsp;that I had honestly needed time away from the house after my grandpa passed away.</p> <p class="cnM5N2IyYTYzOTMwMDRjMDZiZTk2NjA3Mzg5NDEzMDU5">He was the last bit of family I had in this world and spending time alone wasn’t something I was keen to do after the funeral. It hadn’t hurt their case that gramps had been a hiking enthusiast himself. It had actually been his tent that I’d sent flying back then though at the time&nbsp;I was too embarrassed to let him know what had actually happened. The tent was far from the only equipment I’d had to pack up after sorting through his belongings after the funeral. I enlisted my friends aid in sorting through it all first before getting rid of it.</p> <p class="cnM5OWVlZDBmMTYwODQ5NGNiNmQwYjJkOGQ5OTEwMjE1">They were appalled at the idea of just pitching everything into a yard sale and leaned heavily on me to not just go camping but to bring along gramps equipment as a way of&nbsp;respecting his memory. At least that had theoretically meant I would be better prepared for camping than when I was a kid. Grandpa had even had an expensive watch that I thought was misplaced alongside the camping gear but my friends let me know it was actually a very expensive wearable emergency beacon.</p> <p class="cnM0M2E5NTY3ODlmMzQzMzlhOWVmYjk3ZGE0NGM1OTNh">It was sadly not immune to my bad luck with the great outdoors. This thing was supposed to be able to survive being trapped under a sheet of ice and snow in an avalanche but when I’d first realized I was hopelessly lost out here and tried to make use of it nothing happened. It was supposed to emit a bright strobe light I could use to flag down rescuers accompanied by a loud siren to let you know it was sending out the signal to emergency services. However despite&nbsp;frantically mashing the buttons as often as possible the half an hour or more before my fall there hadn’t been so much as a peep from the thing.</p> <p class="cnNjN2I0ODJjYzdiNTQzYTdhYzA5Zjk1NTdhN2M5ZjUz">About that fall? You will have to excuse my present state of mind&nbsp;as my brain felt pretty scattered. Possibly literally scattered depending on if I had dashed my head on any rocks as I slid down the cliff face. The only thing I really&nbsp;remembered from the fall was the dramatic and painful landing though I highly suspected I had hit at least one boulder while I was busy flitting in and out of consciousness.</p> <p class="cnNkMDNkMjZkZDliNjRkOWQ4N2Y0Y2VmOGI4NjNiODQ5">I am not sure what I expected death and the start of my afterlife to be like but&nbsp;wasn’t there supposed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, or an angelic choir,&nbsp;a grim reaper? I hadn't gotten any of that yet and&nbsp;I certainly wasn’t having any visions of an out of body experience.&nbsp;Death seemed to be taking its sweet time and oddly it seemed like it was coming with the taste of apples?</p> <p class="cnM4ZTg4OWZkYjI0NjRiOWFiMzJkODk5YWUxYTQ5NWU4">Other than the odd and so far inexplicable taste in my mouth the situation I could gather of my near dead body was as follows. I had been blindfolded, had my shoes and socks removed and my hands and arms were bound behind my back. There were further ropes around my waist, legs and ankles securing me to some kind of hard plank or board. Presumably all of this had happened while I was unconscious so the puckwudgie or his friends had certainly been busy. The restraints were fairly loose but were made of coarse rope that scratched at my deeply bruised skin. Not that the restraints would need to be tight. I was not in much shape to resist so they could have tied me up with dental floss at this point&nbsp;without much difference.</p> <p class="cnM3Mjg2MDNjNDZiMzRkM2NiMGYxZGM4OWZhNWRlM2Q4">The pain banished the pins and needles senstaton&nbsp;from all my aching limbs as I was jostled&nbsp;fully awake by sudden and unexpected movement. The plank I'd been fastened to was&nbsp;being roughly dragged accross the ground. My only comfort was that at&nbsp;least the sharp report of pain coming from seemingly everywhere made me realize that somehow I&nbsp;hadn't broken any&nbsp;bones. If anything was broken besides that never to be sufficiently damned watch the pressure of the ropes tying me to the plank would have probably caused me to pass out again rather than bringing me fully into this painfully awake state.</p> <p class="cnNkMTQ4ZDI0YmE5NjRiMDhiYmI5OWU4ODM0MmFmNTFj">Being blindfolded I tried to focus as best I could on my surroundings&nbsp;with the rest of my senses&nbsp;as I was dragged&nbsp;deeper into&nbsp;the woods. I kept&nbsp;getting snagged on the outcroppings of low&nbsp;hanging&nbsp;thorns I had tried to avoid earlier when I was running for my life. I did my best to stifle cries of pain from the thorny brambles by biting down on whatever was blocking my mouth. It soon became clear that it was a bit of an apple serving as a makeshift gag and after a few minutes of being dragged through the brambles I had unwittingly bitten it in two nearly choking as I forced the wedges out of my mouth.</p> <p class="cnMzNzYwNTdhMmQyMTQxYTNiNWZmMTUxM2EwOThmMmQ4">While it was somewhat gratifying to be relieved of one mystery and to be able to breathe more freely what wasn’t remotely&nbsp;comforting was realizing I had returned to the land of the living trussed up like a country ham! Complete with edible garnish! It only made the lingering apple taste in my mouth a terrifying sensation as my coughing fit finally subsided having nearly choked on the damn thing.</p> <p class="cnMyOTdiZjc4YzdjNTRhODlhYzgwMmQ2ZDA3NmQxMDc2">The sound of crackling logs and the smell of smoke started growing nearer as the obstructing branches and thorns finaly&nbsp;started reducing in number. I had a perverse thought while&nbsp;aproaching the fire that my melted high tops were nearing some Karmic Revenge. I might have prepared some pithy last words to that effect if my throat weren’t terribly raw at this point.</p> <p class="cnNjNzdkYTM2ZjE0MDRhZjI5MGQ4NjMyNzc0MTljZDM1">I was dragged to another sudden stop not far from the roaring fire. I was clearly in the midst of the puckwudgies camp and now I could hear the rest of my captors talking which only served to add insult to my injuries<em>. “Is it awake?” “Yes.”</em> <em>“Let me have a closer look then. </em>I could feel the acrid breath of the spiky little creature as it kneeled down close to examine me.<em> “Why does the first human we’ve caught in a century have to have such a poor complexion and greasy skin?” “Yes! And so thin! How can we feed everyone with this meager pickings? I think its mostly bone and cartilage.”</em> If I wasn’t blindfolded there might have been black lines dripping from my eyes after hearing all that. <em>“Shut up! The eyes are all that matter. This human walked through all of my traps like they weren't even there. He saw through my first transformation and had enough confidence to insult me! We have been growing weaker without strong pret. There isn’t normally even enough power here to come out of hiding and properly hunt anything other than twigs and berries! Boil up the eyes of that little mortal and you won’t have to trouble yourself with shifting&nbsp;into a porcupine or a deer you can hunt as a bear or a wolf!” </em></p> <p class="cnM5OTk4MmY4MjRhMDRhNWFhYzE2NzRiMjRiNjI3MDJm">This argument didn’t seem to completely quiet the grumbling around the fire so he quickly added “besides the eyes are green!” “<em>You all know green eyes taste the best</em>!” This brought an abrupt eruption of happy chittering in the camp<em>. “I hadn’t seen the eyes since you blindfolded it. Are they really green?”</em></p> <p class="cnNkOWVhODM5MTE2MjQyOGViODljMTEwYmI5NGM0ZDQ3"><em>“If you don’t believe me you can take the blindfold off. Its awake isn’t it?</em>” At that a pair of tiny calloused hands were dragged across my face removing the blindfold. Obviously all this talk of eating my eyes had me keeping them firmly shut. <em>“Hey you said it was awake. </em>Those tiny finger immediately started poking at my eyelids. <em>“gaahg.”</em> Was my response at the prodding.<em>”Food shouldn’t be rude</em>!” it shouted as one of my eyes was forced open giving me my first up close and personal look at a puckwudgie. <em>“They are green!”</em> it exclaimed with its eerie human looking mouth. I caught sight of my original spiny pursuer a few moments later when he replied<em>. “Hmmph. Why would I lie about it? How else can I gloat about getting one of the eyes in the soup pot?” </em></p> <p class="cnNmNWQ2ZGRiNzJjMDRiYzg5MDE1OTc5M2ExM2I0N2Vj">There really was a human sized pot standing in plain view now illuminated above the scorching flames only a few feet away from me. This made the threats of being eaten even more real in my mind and I finally started to struggle against my bonds<em>. “Stop that human!”</em> The puckwudgie who had been pawing at my eyes reached out to grab hold of my wrist and to both his shock and mine a light burst out from the supposedly broken watch on my wrist and a high pitched siren started blaring out. Amazingly the light seemed to have burned his hand and he jumped back as quickly as he could, the spines on his back arching up in a defensive posture that swelled him to several times his diminuitive height.</p> <p class="cnM5YzBmNWJhNTc0MzRkODBiZmM5YWJhMjgwYzRjZTY1"><em>“What did you do human!”</em> I wasn’t in any state to answer both because I genuinely didn’t know why his hand had been burned by the strobe light and because my throat was still too parched to reply. <em>“Answer me!” </em>He pointed his finger at me and a quill started forming ahead of the finger suspended in the air and vibrating with quiet menace. <em>“Answer quickly or you die before you make it to the pot.” </em></p> <p class="cnM0NDgxODI2MDc2NzQ2YWY4YTZkYjY5MTdiNTUwNGEw">This guys speech was really working against himself. I mean it was almost depressingly bad considering how threatening it was having something akin to a&nbsp;magic missile being pointed in my direction. But what did that matter when the alternative was being boiled alive!&nbsp;Its not as if I was looking forward to that! The nearest puckwudgie seemed to agree and smacked down its fellows hand making the quill instantly vanish. “<em>The human probably wants you to kill it fool!”</em> “Yes!” another added <em>“Promise to torture it instead.”</em> That rebuke earned a smack across its face from puckwudgie with the burned hand. “<em>You weren’t the one wounded by the humans trick!”</em>&nbsp;It pushed the offending hand back immediately with a rough shove and a quick retort <em>“I wasn’t the one who tied up the human without removing what is obviously a charm of some kind!” </em>Without having anything to contradict&nbsp;that my captor seemed swayed by that reasoning<em>. “Fine. Speak human! Or we torture you!”</em></p> <p class="cnMyZDgwZjg0ZTZhOTQ4MmQ4NmEwMzZmMjUwNzc2YTg3">Well crap. I had hope that this little bout of infighting might have bought me some time. Especially now that the emergency beacon was presumable working. I definitely didn’t think there was anything magical about the watch on my wrist other than its near magical ability to fail to work when I needed it earlier but it was certainly my best hope at this point. Truly my only hope.</p> <p class="cnM2ODIwZjMwZjBiZTQ4NWFhMDY2ZTZmZTRmM2I1ZmI4">The pair of arguing puckwudgies were joined by another two of their fellows and this time all of them were holding their hands out with quills filling the air between them and me<em>. “You have mere moments before we turn you into a bloody ruin. You will beg us to kill you but I promise you it will not be a quick death. You will linger for hours, maybe days if you don’t tell us about any other tricks or charms you have and where you got them from.”</em></p> <p class="cnM1NTEzZTJlMmY2NjRlY2I5ZWFhZTVlYTk3NGZlNDFi">While I was pondering their threat and getting ready to at least bluff my way out of getting turned into a living pincushion a cry rang out from the woods. While the puckwudgies stubbornly kept their gazes fixed in my direction I could see the unease on their almost cartoonishly expressive faces. The sound grew more distinct like living thunder only&nbsp;growing in intensity as it came closer to the camp. It was a mournful sound that made every hair stand up on my body and equally seemed to raise the puckwudgies hackles. When the sound reached its zenith it suddenly died away and so did the siren on the watch. It was instantly replaced with a cold wind that seemed to come from nowhere and swept throughout the clearing we were in. It gathered up both the quills hanging in the air and the burning coals underneath the soup pot instantly dousing the fire and the threatening magic simultaneously. The camp was&nbsp;thrown into a deep and foreboding darkness.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2VhMTQ4Y2E5MDQ4NGQ4YjdhODVhMjIwMWNhZmQ1">“<em>That was the call of a Mesingwa! Do you have any idea what you have done human?!”</em> Well the honest answer to that was obviously no. I had absolutely no idea what had just happened and had never heard of a Mesingwa. Also I&nbsp;still didn’t believe that&nbsp;whatever was going on&nbsp;was my fault to begin with. “<em>You are the most foolish and idiotic human I have ever heard of! </em>I couldn’t see it in the darkness but I could imagine the flustered look on its face through its incredulous tone of voice.&nbsp; That level of earnest disbelief and terror gave me pause. Anything that had caused this reaction from something that had nearly skinned me alive was not promising and the words that followed made that apprehension only grow.</p> <p class="cnMzZDM5NGEwYThiYTQxNjc5NTM0OTVlNzkxZWNiZjhj">”<em>You think that we little people of the forest are bad? That was the call of the forest giant! The masked one! I don’t know how you did it but you called the masked one here. You actually invited it while you are unable to escape and standing next to a cook pot! What in the name of Muut could possibly compel such madness! And if you had such magic how did you let&nbsp;us catch you in the first place! Did you intentionally wait so you could doom all of us you hatefull human swine!” </em></p> <p class="cnNhNTNhNDVlZGFmZDQzYTQ5YTdlNmFmYjYwYjBmZmIx">I heard rustling as the rest of the puckwudgies grabbed hold of the one that was blaming me for what sounded like summoning the devil. In a sight that would have been unbelievable to me before tonight a silver light illuminated the whole mass of spiky monsters. I wish it hadn’t as their miniscule bodies started to blur the human like faces contorted into the muzzles of foxes and their bodies made a squelching sound more unsettling than the wailing that had just scared the puckwudgies into flight. The only mercy was that the transformation seemed quick and the unsettling sound of organs being rearranged ended just as quickly&nbsp;replaced by the sight of&nbsp;six silver tinged foxes each with twin bushy tails swishing furiously as they scattered in every direction running up the trees and into the canopies of the forrest and out of sight.</p> <p class="cnMyYmIyYjA5OTk4OTQ2ZmJhZjk1ODhkYzA4NDE5ZjIx">That left me alone in the dark. Securely fastened to a heavy board and unable to move as the sound of heavy footfalls slowly approached from deeper within the forest. It was truly too much too soon. It had only been a span of minutes and I’d woken up in this sorry state dragged through the woods against my will, threated with having my eyes gouged out, and had nightmarish visions play out before those same eyes. Now I was falling prey to something that promised to be even more fearsome than all of that! I’m not too proud to admit I started crying out for help. I honestly doubt anyone would have been much more defiant in my place. The footfalls were like thunder now. <em>“Help me. Somebody please help me.” </em>This appeal was almost an uncontrollable reflex as it came out over and over in racking sobs as the footsteps got closer.</p> <p class="cnNkNjU5M2VhMzQ1ODQ4YWVhMjE3MGExYzNkODkyMTBk">The thing I least expected after everything that had happened tonight was that the creature responsible for the startling magical display and terrifying approach would hear me and in a musical and soothing tone reply to my calls for help&nbsp;“Of course. Of course we will help. Please calm down Darren. Its going to be ok.” A warm glow from a torch in its massive hands illuminated another surprisingly human face on an otherwise clearly inhuman frame. It was impossibly tall. At least nine feet or more. It was wearing billowing yellow robes which parted half way down its chest to reveal a pelt of tawny fur that seemed to cover its entire body save for its leathery brown face which was set in a genuine and friendly smile.</p> <p class="cnM3NjE2Mjg0NTQzZTRmZjZhZDE5YmUxYWMwZDAxNTgx">I had just been saved from near certain death by a freaking bigfoot!</p> </div>

***The Yellow Bard and the Black Bellied God*** ***Chapter 1: Who called the Fuzz?*** --- ***Chapter 1: Who called the Fuzz?*** I should have expected misfortune to follow me into the woods. Maybe not as spectacular as falling to my death over a cliff with an anthropomorphic porcupine hot on my heels but should I have expected anything good? No! Darren O’Daveron and hiking were not words that were spoken of in the same sentence. “Darren did you even come out of the house this weekend?” was by far more likely. I had good reason for my mild agoraphobia. My first experience camping was when I was ten. I begged my grandparents to let me go on a trip with my friends. They only relented the night before and I didn’t pack any proper camping gear. I went in high tops. High tops I immediately got wet because we were camping near a lake and half the appeal was going swimming and playing on the beach. I left the shoes on top of a rock next to the campfire. It turns out one of the most reliable properties of rubber is that it tends to melt when exposed to heat. That meant ten year old me wound up stuck barefoot in the woods for three days! Yay camping! It was a whole decade before I risked sleeping out under the stars again. That time was for a music festival just after I graduated from high school. I was on staff as a volunteer which meant I got to peak backstage and hang out with the bands…managers. Ok not as glamorous as advertised but it meant sticking around in the campsite for an extra three days being trained and helping set things up. In a cornfield in Tennessee. In summer. During a thunderstorm. I learned an interesting lesson in aeronautical engineering it turns out if you don’t tie down a tent properly it shares the same aerodynamic properties as an umbrella and it will literally fly away. At least that time I wasn’t barefoot. Though many of the hippies at the music festival were? Heck even the Puckwudgie seemed more sanitary. So what brought me out to my ill-fated encounter in these spooky woods? This time it was that friendly and deftly applied peer pressure from a pair of serious hikers and campers. They often spoke at length about their goal to through hike the Appalachian Trail. I was personally weak to precisely their style of high spirited evangelism. Even a hard bitten nightshift dwelling nerd such as myself couldn’t help but be moved. The most compelling part of their argument for this camping trip was that I had honestly needed time away from the house after my grandpa passed away. He was the last bit of family I had in this world and spending time alone wasn’t something I was keen to do after the funeral. It hadn’t hurt their case that gramps had been a hiking enthusiast himself. It had actually been his tent that I’d sent flying back then though at the time I was too embarrassed to let him know what had actually happened. The tent was far from the only equipment I’d had to pack up after sorting through his belongings after the funeral. I enlisted my friends aid in sorting through it all first before getting rid of it. They were appalled at the idea of just pitching everything into a yard sale and leaned heavily on me to not just go camping but to bring along gramps equipment as a way of respecting his memory. At least that had theoretically meant I would be better prepared for camping than when I was a kid. Grandpa had even had an expensive watch that I thought was misplaced alongside the camping gear but my friends let me know it was actually a very expensive wearable emergency beacon. It was sadly not immune to my bad luck with the great outdoors. This thing was supposed to be able to survive being trapped under a sheet of ice and snow in an avalanche but when I’d first realized I was hopelessly lost out here and tried to make use of it nothing happened. It was supposed to emit a bright strobe light I could use to flag down rescuers accompanied by a loud siren to let you know it was sending out the signal to emergency services. However despite frantically mashing the buttons as often as possible the half an hour or more before my fall there hadn’t been so much as a peep from the thing. About that fall? You will have to excuse my present state of mind as my brain felt pretty scattered. Possibly literally scattered depending on if I had dashed my head on any rocks as I slid down the cliff face. The only thing I really remembered from the fall was the dramatic and painful landing though I highly suspected I had hit at least one boulder while I was busy flitting in and out of consciousness. I am not sure what I expected death and the start of my afterlife to be like but wasn’t there supposed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, or an angelic choir, a grim reaper? I hadn't gotten any of that yet and I certainly wasn’t having any visions of an out of body experience. Death seemed to be taking its sweet time and oddly it seemed like it was coming with the taste of apples? Other than the odd and so far inexplicable taste in my mouth the situation I could gather of my near dead body was as follows. I had been blindfolded, had my shoes and socks removed and my hands and arms were bound behind my back. There were further ropes around my waist, legs and ankles securing me to some kind of hard plank or board. Presumably all of this had happened while I was unconscious so the puckwudgie or his friends had certainly been busy. The restraints were fairly loose but were made of coarse rope that scratched at my deeply bruised skin. Not that the restraints would need to be tight. I was not in much shape to resist so they could have tied me up with dental floss at this point without much difference. The pain banished the pins and needles senstaton from all my aching limbs as I was jostled fully awake by sudden and unexpected movement. The plank I'd been fastened to was being roughly dragged accross the ground. My only comfort was that at least the sharp report of pain coming from seemingly everywhere made me realize that somehow I hadn't broken any bones. If anything was broken besides that never to be sufficiently damned watch the pressure of the ropes tying me to the plank would have probably caused me to pass out again rather than bringing me fully into this painfully awake state. Being blindfolded I tried to focus as best I could on my surroundings with the rest of my senses as I was dragged deeper into the woods. I kept getting snagged on the outcroppings of low hanging thorns I had tried to avoid earlier when I was running for my life. I did my best to stifle cries of pain from the thorny brambles by biting down on whatever was blocking my mouth. It soon became clear that it was a bit of an apple serving as a makeshift gag and after a few minutes of being dragged through the brambles I had unwittingly bitten it in two nearly choking as I forced the wedges out of my mouth. While it was somewhat gratifying to be relieved of one mystery and to be able to breathe more freely what wasn’t remotely comforting was realizing I had returned to the land of the living trussed up like a country ham! Complete with edible garnish! It only made the lingering apple taste in my mouth a terrifying sensation as my coughing fit finally subsided having nearly choked on the damn thing. The sound of crackling logs and the smell of smoke started growing nearer as the obstructing branches and thorns finaly started reducing in number. I had a perverse thought while aproaching the fire that my melted high tops were nearing some Karmic Revenge. I might have prepared some pithy last words to that effect if my throat weren’t terribly raw at this point. I was dragged to another sudden stop not far from the roaring fire. I was clearly in the midst of the puckwudgies camp and now I could hear the rest of my captors talking which only served to add insult to my injuries*. “Is it awake?” “Yes.”* *“Let me have a closer look then.* I could feel the acrid breath of the spiky little creature as it kneeled down close to examine me. *“Why does the first human we’ve caught in a century have to have such a poor complexion and greasy skin?” “Yes! And so thin! How can we feed everyone with this meager pickings? I think its mostly bone and cartilage.”* If I wasn’t blindfolded there might have been black lines dripping from my eyes after hearing all that. *“Shut up! The eyes are all that matter. This human walked through all of my traps like they weren't even there. He saw through my first transformation and had enough confidence to insult me! We have been growing weaker without strong pret. There isn’t normally even enough power here to come out of hiding and properly hunt anything other than twigs and berries! Boil up the eyes of that little mortal and you won’t have to trouble yourself with shifting into a porcupine or a deer you can hunt as a bear or a wolf!”* This argument didn’t seem to completely quiet the grumbling around the fire so he quickly added “besides the eyes are green!” “*You all know green eyes taste the best*!” This brought an abrupt eruption of happy chittering in the camp*. “I hadn’t seen the eyes since you blindfolded it. Are they really green?”* *“If you don’t believe me you can take the blindfold off. Its awake isn’t it?*” At that a pair of tiny calloused hands were dragged across my face removing the blindfold. Obviously all this talk of eating my eyes had me keeping them firmly shut. *“Hey you said it was awake.* Those tiny finger immediately started poking at my eyelids. *“gaahg.”* Was my response at the prodding.*”Food shouldn’t be rude*!” it shouted as one of my eyes was forced open giving me my first up close and personal look at a puckwudgie. *“They are green!”* it exclaimed with its eerie human looking mouth. I caught sight of my original spiny pursuer a few moments later when he replied*. “Hmmph. Why would I lie about it? How else can I gloat about getting one of the eyes in the soup pot?”* There really was a human sized pot standing in plain view now illuminated above the scorching flames only a few feet away from me. This made the threats of being eaten even more real in my mind and I finally started to struggle against my bonds*. “Stop that human!”* The puckwudgie who had been pawing at my eyes reached out to grab hold of my wrist and to both his shock and mine a light burst out from the supposedly broken watch on my wrist and a high pitched siren started blaring out. Amazingly the light seemed to have burned his hand and he jumped back as quickly as he could, the spines on his back arching up in a defensive posture that swelled him to several times his diminuitive height. *“What did you do human!”* I wasn’t in any state to answer both because I genuinely didn’t know why his hand had been burned by the strobe light and because my throat was still too parched to reply. *“Answer me!”* He pointed his finger at me and a quill started forming ahead of the finger suspended in the air and vibrating with quiet menace. *“Answer quickly or you die before you make it to the pot.”* This guys speech was really working against himself. I mean it was almost depressingly bad considering how threatening it was having something akin to a magic missile being pointed in my direction. But what did that matter when the alternative was being boiled alive! Its not as if I was looking forward to that! The nearest puckwudgie seemed to agree and smacked down its fellows hand making the quill instantly vanish. “*The human probably wants you to kill it fool!”* “Yes!” another added *“Promise to torture it instead.”* That rebuke earned a smack across its face from puckwudgie with the burned hand. “*You weren’t the one wounded by the humans trick!”* It pushed the offending hand back immediately with a rough shove and a quick retort *“I wasn’t the one who tied up the human without removing what is obviously a charm of some kind!”* Without having anything to contradict that my captor seemed swayed by that reasoning*. “Fine. Speak human! Or we torture you!”* Well crap. I had hope that this little bout of infighting might have bought me some time. Especially now that the emergency beacon was presumable working. I definitely didn’t think there was anything magical about the watch on my wrist other than its near magical ability to fail to work when I needed it earlier but it was certainly my best hope at this point. Truly my only hope. The pair of arguing puckwudgies were joined by another two of their fellows and this time all of them were holding their hands out with quills filling the air between them and me*. “You have mere moments before we turn you into a bloody ruin. You will beg us to kill you but I promise you it will not be a quick death. You will linger for hours, maybe days if you don’t tell us about any other tricks or charms you have and where you got them from.”* While I was pondering their threat and getting ready to at least bluff my way out of getting turned into a living pincushion a cry rang out from the woods. While the puckwudgies stubbornly kept their gazes fixed in my direction I could see the unease on their almost cartoonishly expressive faces. The sound grew more distinct like living thunder only growing in intensity as it came closer to the camp. It was a mournful sound that made every hair stand up on my body and equally seemed to raise the puckwudgies hackles. When the sound reached its zenith it suddenly died away and so did the siren on the watch. It was instantly replaced with a cold wind that seemed to come from nowhere and swept throughout the clearing we were in. It gathered up both the quills hanging in the air and the burning coals underneath the soup pot instantly dousing the fire and the threatening magic simultaneously. The camp was thrown into a deep and foreboding darkness. “*That was the call of a Mesingwa! Do you have any idea what you have done human?!”* Well the honest answer to that was obviously no. I had absolutely no idea what had just happened and had never heard of a Mesingwa. Also I still didn’t believe that whatever was going on was my fault to begin with. “*You are the most foolish and idiotic human I have ever heard of!* I couldn’t see it in the darkness but I could imagine the flustered look on its face through its incredulous tone of voice.  That level of earnest disbelief and terror gave me pause. Anything that had caused this reaction from something that had nearly skinned me alive was not promising and the words that followed made that apprehension only grow. ”*You think that we little people of the forest are bad? That was the call of the forest giant! The masked one! I don’t know how you did it but you called the masked one here. You actually invited it while you are unable to escape and standing next to a cook pot! What in the name of Muut could possibly compel such madness! And if you had such magic how did you let us catch you in the first place! Did you intentionally wait so you could doom all of us you hatefull human swine!”* I heard rustling as the rest of the puckwudgies grabbed hold of the one that was blaming me for what sounded like summoning the devil. In a sight that would have been unbelievable to me before tonight a silver light illuminated the whole mass of spiky monsters. I wish it hadn’t as their miniscule bodies started to blur the human like faces contorted into the muzzles of foxes and their bodies made a squelching sound more unsettling than the wailing that had just scared the puckwudgies into flight. The only mercy was that the transformation seemed quick and the unsettling sound of organs being rearranged ended just as quickly replaced by the sight of six silver tinged foxes each with twin bushy tails swishing furiously as they scattered in every direction running up the trees and into the canopies of the forrest and out of sight. That left me alone in the dark. Securely fastened to a heavy board and unable to move as the sound of heavy footfalls slowly approached from deeper within the forest. It was truly too much too soon. It had only been a span of minutes and I’d woken up in this sorry state dragged through the woods against my will, threated with having my eyes gouged out, and had nightmarish visions play out before those same eyes. Now I was falling prey to something that promised to be even more fearsome than all of that! I’m not too proud to admit I started crying out for help. I honestly doubt anyone would have been much more defiant in my place. The footfalls were like thunder now. *“Help me. Somebody please help me.”* This appeal was almost an uncontrollable reflex as it came out over and over in racking sobs as the footsteps got closer. The thing I least expected after everything that had happened tonight was that the creature responsible for the startling magical display and terrifying approach would hear me and in a musical and soothing tone reply to my calls for help “Of course. Of course we will help. Please calm down Darren. Its going to be ok.” A warm glow from a torch in its massive hands illuminated another surprisingly human face on an otherwise clearly inhuman frame. It was impossibly tall. At least nine feet or more. It was wearing billowing yellow robes which parted half way down its chest to reveal a pelt of tawny fur that seemed to cover its entire body save for its leathery brown face which was set in a genuine and friendly smile. I had just been saved from near certain death by a freaking bigfoot!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM1NDA4NDI4OGMxODQ2YTFiMTJkOTQ2Mzk4ZjNhYTNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Magic?” Samuel asked, looking at his friend in great surprise, and a hint of disbelief on his face. “Are you… serious?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4MjNhNGY4NGU3ZDQ0MjM5ZjQ4ZjZhZDI3NzZhOGYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Do I look like I'm joking to you?” Luke asked curtly.</span></p> <p class="cnM0OTVlOWJjM2Y0ZDRmNjk5MjhkMjQ3YzY3ZjFkYjFl"><span style="font-weight: 400">His friend shook his head and said, “No. Of course not, but… it's just that… I didn't think my son could use magic.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDFiZjcyMDY0MzRiY2NhODdmMDQ2ZjJhYTQxMGQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Luke sighed after hearing his friend's words and said in dismay, “You see? This is the misconception that our society has over our children. If they're taking too long in feeling their energy or controlling it, that means they're a defective and need to be conscripted into the army.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNzllNTI3N2MwODQxYTU5NzljYjRiMTdlYTc2MDY0"><span style="font-weight: 400">That ideology was forced onto us by our governing politicians! They wanted a way to increase the number of their army, and they discovered this to be the most suitable because 97% of citizens are able to feel their energy, so they obviously thought the remainder 3% won't be missed.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NGYyMWUwZWU0MjQxNmNhMzRlMmM5ZTRlMzhjODNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I had no idea…” replied Samuel in a hushed voice.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZGYwMDE3NGVjNDQ4YmY5ZDM3MTg4ODM3MzUwMjcw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It's not just you; it's our society as a whole that don't know and simply accept it as a part of life,” said Lukez looking sad. He looked at his friend and asked, “You know that my grandfather worked in th council right?”</span></p> <p class="cnM1MDA3NzJiNjA0YzQyZmRhMGNlZDA1YjY4NGU3YTI3"><span style="font-weight: 400">The Angel Council consists completely of highly powerful magic users that are the key players in decision making in each country. Their authority is much greater than the king of a nation, and can easily change their rulership without any reason if they disliked them or their methods in ruling the country.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZjc1NDQ4MmQ4YTRmZTVhODk2NDk0YzNmOTYyNjdk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah,” said Samuel with a nod of his head. “He retired just last year and seems to be enjoying a quiet life taking care of his garden.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwYWY4ZjEyMDZiYTRiZTM5MWU2ODAxZDcxM2Q2NmUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“The old man loves his flowers,” Luke commented about his grandfather with a smile. “Anyway, he ran run a campaign thirty-year-ago against the conscription of children into armies due to their inability to feel their energy. He claimed that those unable to feel their energy are able to use magic, however, his theory was squashed by his fellow council members, stating that only those born through their lineage are able to use magic.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxMDlmOTMwYjdlMzRjZjBiYjc3OTVmNWVlOWRlZDVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Wow…!” Samuel said, looking stunned by what he heard. “It must've been very hard for your grandfather to cope with when his own fellow colleagues doing that to him like that.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjNGMyM2YzM2U0OTRjNTU4Yzc5YWU4ZGIyNWY0MTZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Luke shrugged his shoulders and said, “I doubt he cared since he had nothing to gain out of it. The whole campaign was started with good intentions of raising awareness about the fact that people are capable of using magic, although, it didn't get far.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlM2UyY2M1MjdhNTRhYjg4ODYwY2ZhM2E0YTk2YzJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Samuel looked down at his plate in sadness and asked, “So, what now? If even he failed to bring awareness, then what can we do?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3OWM5OWNiNDdkZDRmZjlhNDM5MTNlYjk0ZWQ4MGU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“We don't have to do anything as crazy as his campaigning,” stated Luke with a chuckle. “All we need to do is have your son get educated by a magic tutor.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2YTc4ODgzMWQzMzQ4NzFhYTkzMmM2M2Q4ZDE0OTgx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Samuel looked up with a shocked expression on his face and asked, “What? There are magic tutors?” When his friend looked at him with a sardonic expression, he smiled feebly and asked, I didn't know.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlNGEwNDVkMjQ5ODRiODBiMDlmN2E3YmQyN2VhODQ5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Luke sighed and told his friend, “Listen, Sam. There are magic tutors, but they charge a very high price for being educated by them, and you have to pay the money upfront, otherwise, they won't teach.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmOWNhMjJiNDU1NDQzMTU5ZjkzODJjMzkxZjYwNWVm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That's fine but… just how much will it cost to hire one?” Samuel asked curiously.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZWEwYTcxNTQxZTQ2MWE4MjdlMDRiNDQ1NTVlOTlm"><span style="font-weight: 400">His friend thought about it before saying, “You may have to sell your home and all other properties to hire one.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1MDAxZWUyNDUzZDRiODBhZWVhMDU3OThkYTFiMWI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Samuel, who had been drinking water from his glass, choked and spew water out of his mouth. Gasping for breath, he stared incredulously at his friend and spluttered in a shocked voice.</span></p> <p class="cnNiODM3ZmZmOTBlNjRmYmU4YzAxM2UyY2Y1YzFlZjM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What?! It'll cost that much?!”</span></p> <p class="cnNmZDBmM2NiODc5NjRjNDI4MmUwZjEyOWY5N2M0MDYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, yeah!” Luke replied as if it was obvious. “It’s why only the higher ups are able to teach magic to their children with their slogan “lineage” while the civilians struggle and have to get torn from their children. Quite a situation, isn't it?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjMGNmNjY0NTIxYzQ4OTM5MDY5ZGM4MWUyZDNlMDNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Samuel's spirit dwindled from receiving the shock of what it would cost to have his son learn magic. They would literally be living on the streets if he did that, and there is the chance that the tutor would escape with the money, never to be found, and never to face justice due to the difference in social status.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NGY3MjdiZDBlOTRmNTFiNDMwMDllOTVlMzhhZWE3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Luke watched his friend looking every worried before suggesting, “There is someone who will most likely be able to teach your kids magic and at lower fee, I'm sure.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTU4NTYzODQ2ODQzZjk5YTkyM2Y2ZjM2OTNlZDJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Really?” Samuel asked, jumping at the suggestion and looking eagerly at him. “Who is it? Do you know them?”</span></p> <p class="cnM2MTNhMTEyNjkzOTRjZTA5MzBkOTJiNDMyYWRiMmNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">His friend nodded and explained, “My grandfather had many students during his time as a councilman, and one of his students had a daughter several years back. She is also capable of using magic, but she was raised with the ideology that my grandfather wanted to inspire in people, something her father clearly was a fan of. Anyway, she started her own private magic tuition with hopes of spreading awareness and kick-starting her career as a magician lecturer.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MGMwMTYxMzkwZjRjYmY5ZWIwODE3YjFhNzZjNTJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Samuel raised an eyebrow in amazement and asked, “Let me guess. The council decided to stamp on her idea and ensured that her tuition attempt would not get spread to people.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkNjQ0N2FlYzczYjQ1MTA5Zjc2Zjc4ODdiMzdkMTA1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Luke laughed and said, “You catch on quick.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkZTkyMDc2ZTcxZTQwMmNhNjIxOGEyNGM5ODEwZDYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It's easy to guess after hearing about your grandfather's experience,” replied his friend with a smile. “So, she'll be willing to teach my kid magic for a good fee?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YTY5OTMyZWZhMDRhZGRhYWFkMDY3OWQxYWMyMzc4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You'll have to bargain for fee, but I'm sure she'll leap with joy at the thought of her finally getting a student to start her career with.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3OTMwNmYyM2E4ZDQxODZiZTFmNGYzMzA4OGY1NDAz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That's fine. When can we meet her?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjZjE0YWQwNGNhZDRjNzRhMDhjYzZiYWYzNDFjYmM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So soon? Don't you want to discuss with your wife?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhYWMwZDhlM2QyYzRkNjVhZWJiOThjZjgxNjAyOGY0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Samuel shook his head and said, “No need. I know Sarah will agree with my decision, and besides, I'm doing this with my son's best interest at heart. She'll be okay with it.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzMzZkMTlmNzg1OTQ2YzRiZWY4MmY4ZGMxYjMyODM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Luke looked at him with amazement and said, “Lucky guy, you are. Getting an understanding wife is one of the many gifts God has granted to us.” As his friend laughed, he went on to say, “Okay. Let's head to her place after work is over.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZTE4MWEzZDM4NTQ0MGQ5ZjAwNWY5YWUyN2E5MGM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sure!” Agreed Samuel with a grin on his face.</span></p> <p class="cnMyYWNhYjZlZDFkMzRiOWViMzQ3ODM2ZDlmZmYwMzQx"><span style="font-weight: 400">They smiled and resumed to eat their meals before heading back to their cubicles to begin their session as soon as the lunch break ends.</span></p> <p class="cnNjOWM1ODJmMTBhYTQ0ZGZiZTNlMmZhZGRhZTQ1OWI2"><strong>--------\_____/--------</strong></p> <p class="cnM4NGFkY2QyYzMyMTQ2MmY5OGZlYTA3MjExZjI3ZTk3"><span style="font-weight: 400">In the meantime, Alex and Luna were sitting down in chairs with Sarah seated in a similar chair in front of them. She was monitoring them while they worked on mathematics, determined to educate them to be the best that they could become with her teachings. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that she was educated by her grandmother and was confident in her own ability to teach her kids.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OWQxYzk3NTFkMTQ2MDY5MzA3ZGM2MjM0OGIzNjJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“If you got any questions, ask me and we'll solve it together, okay,” She said to them with a smile.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZmUzNzFjMzQ2ODQ4MDZhNjVkYWVlNTE2NWZmNTEz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I'm fine for now, mother,” replied Luna happily, looking at her with a grin on her face before looking back down at her book.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MGIzOTIwNGEyNjQzZTliMDNjNzg2YTZiMDdiYjBl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sarah smiled happily at her resp and turned to look at her son. He was looking at his book and solving the questions but not with the same interest he always had everyday. Today, for some reason, he seemed somewhat dull and losing focus quickly, shown by him looking towards the window every so often.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NjEwMGMwMDdhMDRiNjhhNDFhN2RiM2E3MWUzMjQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What's the matter, Al?” His mother asked him with worry.</span></p> <p class="cnNmM2EyNDY3M2M3YzQzM2RiMDNhNDgxN2I1ZTQ4ZTky"><span style="font-weight: 400">He looked at her, startled by her sudden question and automatically replied, “Nothing, mom.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4MjM1YTE4YWM2NzQ2NThhNzAzZWNlYTY3ZTEzMjgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Alex looked down at his book once again, but his mother continued to look at him with worry. She knew that something was on his son's mind, and easily guessed that it was related him taking so much time trying to feel his energy.</span></p> <p class="cnM5YmMzZGZmZWI3YjQ5NDA5NjljN2U0YTlmYmQ3MWFi"><span style="font-weight: 400">She was actually spot on because that was exactly what he was worried about. From the readings he did on angels, he was confident in his ability to be stronger than the other races with much more capability, but his inability to feel his energy was disheartening.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOWE1MmU4NmRlZjQ5NGI4NTYzZWY1NDhhMWVmMzgz"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why is this happening to me?”</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> He wondered to himself, unable to focus on his studies and looking out of the window. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">“I'm positive the Entity Limitless knew what he was doing when he sent me.back to be reborn in the past, but what good does it do me when I'm barely getting started? Dad and mom are proficient in controlling their energy, and even Luna managed to feel her energy and started demonstrating her ability to control it. So, why only me?”</span></em></p> <p class="cnMwZDJjZTI1ZjE2NDQ4OWZiODhmNDBkZGQ5NTFhNTli"><span style="font-weight: 400">There was no one who could answer his questions, and he did not like the idea of sharing his concern with his parents and childhood friend. He was already aware to some extent that his parents are worried for him even though they were doing a good job of hiding it.</span></p> <p class="cnNiNTdiMWQ2YzQ0MDRlZDViMDRmYzY2YzIxMDZiNmEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Al,” his mother asked again with a look of concern on her face. “I'm here for too if you want to talk.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmE2YTQ0OTA2ZDRhZjk5ZWJjZmJlNzE5OWRmZDg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">She did not want to force him to speak about his worries, but she did not want to leave him alone either. Luna also stopped doing her studies and looked at her with a worried look of her own.</span></p> <p class="cnM4MDJmODYzZWIyZTQxOGI4OWY3MGJiYmEzY2UzZTg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Come on, Alex. You can share your worry with us,” she said, looking hopefully at him.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNzcyODA4NzQ0YzRmMGVhZDdlODdiYTlmNDNmNWFl"><span style="font-weight: 400">He looked towards them and sighed before saying, “I'm just worried about my inability to feel my energy.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZGVjYTVkNjEzYzRkNmM4MzQ3NDVhM2QxOTczYmE3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Don't say it,” his childhood friend said, looking alarmed. “I know you can do it! I did it! Your parents do it, so you can do it too! You just got to have a positive sport!”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NTU5N2QwYTQ3OTRlZTg4ZDQ2N2QxY2ZkMDI1NTcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Luna is right, Al,” said his mother warmly, moving her chair to sit down next to him. She began to rub his head while saying, “I probably didn't tell you but I had trouble feeling my energy for four day straight. I was very worried at my ineptitude, just like you Al, but my grandmother told me about a story of her childhood.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YWVhMzg1ZTY4NDRhYmY5MWNmYmJjZWQ0OGY5NzRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">She paused to find that the two children were listening to her story intently with great interest. Sarah smiled and resumed her story telling, which she recalled like it was just yesterday that her grandmother told her about it.</span></p> <p class="cnNhZWNhMGNjNWY1NjQ5OTdhMjZiMWY5YjRhOTVlYjA4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“My grandmother apparently struggled to feel her energy for more than ten days, and her family were prepared to send her off to join the army.”</span></p> <p class="cnNhOTFkMGExZDk0MjQxM2RiMzk4OWM4ZmM4NjcxZDFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What? Ten days?!” Both Alex and Luna exclaimed, looking thoroughly shocked.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZDE0MzMzOWQ1OTRlMmY4YjU4NzY2ZTU0YzQ3M2Jk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sarah nodded and said, “Yea, but my grandmother, being the stubborn girl that she was, did not want to go and put every ounce of determination she had into focusing on her training. Finally, on the twelfth day, she finally felt her energy and began controlling her energy.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjYWViNTllMzU1YTQ3Y2Q4NWFjZGMzMzQwOGNlZmYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Wow…!” Luna said in admiration while Alex looked at her in awe. “That's some determination your grandmother had, mother.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyNjdiNzRhYmJhMzQxMzFiNjAxMjliMjUwYjlhYmFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yes,” Sarah agreed with a smile. “So, taking inspiration from her story, I too pushed myself and succeed on the sixth day.”</span></p> <p class="cnNhNjAxZmUwYjgyMjQ1NWY5NzExMzhjNjM3ZmVlOGI4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Nice!” Luka said happily, and Sarah grinned at her.</span></p> <p class="cnMzNWIyMDNkNjNmNzRkMGVhYmRkMmJlNDk4Y2ZjMjdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">Alex, on the other hand, found a contradiction in her story and asked, “Sixth day? I thought you told us it took you four days to feel your energy. Is that a lie?”</span></p> <p class="cnNiZGZiNjAzNjE4NzQ3MmJiMmVhZWIyNDBlOTE3YmQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">His mother looked at him in surprise before bursting into laughter. While he and Luna looked at her in surprise, she calmed down a few seconds later and focused cheerfully at her son.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZGM4YTNmODMwZTRhOWJiOTU3ZjJiOGY4MzY4YmIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It's a secret that women don't like admitting, Al,” she said with a wink. “It’s as important as hiding a woman's age because we're constantly conscious of us aging and try our best to look young and beautiful.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NzdmZDNiZTk0ZDQxOGE4NjQ1NzcxYzhjNzRjMWNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I see,” he said, nodding his head in understanding. “Then, that story about your grandmother? Is that also…?”</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZTlhM2I0MjU2ZDQ4YWJiZmUzNzlkNTBlNDI0MmJm"><span style="font-weight: 400">As he trailed away, she shook her head and said, “I don't know the authenticity of the story she told me, but I know it helped me improve, and I hope it'll do the same for you.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MGI2ZWYzY2YyOTRmOTlhNmNmZGJiMTk1ZTE2MTIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Her son smiled and said, “Thank you, mom.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3NGRjODg3Y2Q1YTQ0OWVhOTkxZDcwMDg1ZmU5N2Nl"><span style="font-weight: 400">She smiled and ruffled his hair before letting him go. Lined leaned over and shoved him gently with her fist with a grin on her face before leaning back and focusing back on her studies.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNDcxZDI3NDkxNzQyNWZhYzc4NTJlMDZkYjc5OTk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Even though he turned his attention back to his own studies, his mind was still thinking about what he was doing wrong that was failing him. If the story that his mother told him about her grandmother was to be believed, then he should be doing more. However, kept having this strange feeling as though he was missing something, a piece of a puzzle that would help him out.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZWM0YjI4MTQ0OTQ3ZGY5MTFkOGNlZDJhYjljY2Ux"><span style="font-weight: 400">He finally realised what that feeling was and thought, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">“There must be a method… an alternative.”</span></em></p> </div>

“Magic?” Samuel asked, looking at his friend in great surprise, and a hint of disbelief on his face. “Are you… serious?” “Do I look like I'm joking to you?” Luke asked curtly. His friend shook his head and said, “No. Of course not, but… it's just that… I didn't think my son could use magic.” Luke sighed after hearing his friend's words and said in dismay, “You see? This is the misconception that our society has over our children. If they're taking too long in feeling their energy or controlling it, that means they're a defective and need to be conscripted into the army. That ideology was forced onto us by our governing politicians! They wanted a way to increase the number of their army, and they discovered this to be the most suitable because 97% of citizens are able to feel their energy, so they obviously thought the remainder 3% won't be missed.” “I had no idea…” replied Samuel in a hushed voice. “It's not just you; it's our society as a whole that don't know and simply accept it as a part of life,” said Lukez looking sad. He looked at his friend and asked, “You know that my grandfather worked in th council right?” The Angel Council consists completely of highly powerful magic users that are the key players in decision making in each country. Their authority is much greater than the king of a nation, and can easily change their rulership without any reason if they disliked them or their methods in ruling the country. “Yeah,” said Samuel with a nod of his head. “He retired just last year and seems to be enjoying a quiet life taking care of his garden.” “The old man loves his flowers,” Luke commented about his grandfather with a smile. “Anyway, he ran run a campaign thirty-year-ago against the conscription of children into armies due to their inability to feel their energy. He claimed that those unable to feel their energy are able to use magic, however, his theory was squashed by his fellow council members, stating that only those born through their lineage are able to use magic.” “Wow…!” Samuel said, looking stunned by what he heard. “It must've been very hard for your grandfather to cope with when his own fellow colleagues doing that to him like that.” Luke shrugged his shoulders and said, “I doubt he cared since he had nothing to gain out of it. The whole campaign was started with good intentions of raising awareness about the fact that people are capable of using magic, although, it didn't get far.” Samuel looked down at his plate in sadness and asked, “So, what now? If even he failed to bring awareness, then what can we do?” “We don't have to do anything as crazy as his campaigning,” stated Luke with a chuckle. “All we need to do is have your son get educated by a magic tutor.” Samuel looked up with a shocked expression on his face and asked, “What? There are magic tutors?” When his friend looked at him with a sardonic expression, he smiled feebly and asked, I didn't know.” Luke sighed and told his friend, “Listen, Sam. There are magic tutors, but they charge a very high price for being educated by them, and you have to pay the money upfront, otherwise, they won't teach.” “That's fine but… just how much will it cost to hire one?” Samuel asked curiously. His friend thought about it before saying, “You may have to sell your home and all other properties to hire one.” Samuel, who had been drinking water from his glass, choked and spew water out of his mouth. Gasping for breath, he stared incredulously at his friend and spluttered in a shocked voice. “What?! It'll cost that much?!” “Well, yeah!” Luke replied as if it was obvious. “It’s why only the higher ups are able to teach magic to their children with their slogan “lineage” while the civilians struggle and have to get torn from their children. Quite a situation, isn't it?” Samuel's spirit dwindled from receiving the shock of what it would cost to have his son learn magic. They would literally be living on the streets if he did that, and there is the chance that the tutor would escape with the money, never to be found, and never to face justice due to the difference in social status. Luke watched his friend looking every worried before suggesting, “There is someone who will most likely be able to teach your kids magic and at lower fee, I'm sure.” “Really?” Samuel asked, jumping at the suggestion and looking eagerly at him. “Who is it? Do you know them?” His friend nodded and explained, “My grandfather had many students during his time as a councilman, and one of his students had a daughter several years back. She is also capable of using magic, but she was raised with the ideology that my grandfather wanted to inspire in people, something her father clearly was a fan of. Anyway, she started her own private magic tuition with hopes of spreading awareness and kick-starting her career as a magician lecturer.” Samuel raised an eyebrow in amazement and asked, “Let me guess. The council decided to stamp on her idea and ensured that her tuition attempt would not get spread to people.” Luke laughed and said, “You catch on quick.” “It's easy to guess after hearing about your grandfather's experience,” replied his friend with a smile. “So, she'll be willing to teach my kid magic for a good fee?” “You'll have to bargain for fee, but I'm sure she'll leap with joy at the thought of her finally getting a student to start her career with.” “That's fine. When can we meet her?” “So soon? Don't you want to discuss with your wife?” Samuel shook his head and said, “No need. I know Sarah will agree with my decision, and besides, I'm doing this with my son's best interest at heart. She'll be okay with it.” Luke looked at him with amazement and said, “Lucky guy, you are. Getting an understanding wife is one of the many gifts God has granted to us.” As his friend laughed, he went on to say, “Okay. Let's head to her place after work is over.” “Sure!” Agreed Samuel with a grin on his face. They smiled and resumed to eat their meals before heading back to their cubicles to begin their session as soon as the lunch break ends. **--------\\_\_\_\_\_/--------** In the meantime, Alex and Luna were sitting down in chairs with Sarah seated in a similar chair in front of them. She was monitoring them while they worked on mathematics, determined to educate them to be the best that they could become with her teachings. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that she was educated by her grandmother and was confident in her own ability to teach her kids. “If you got any questions, ask me and we'll solve it together, okay,” She said to them with a smile. “I'm fine for now, mother,” replied Luna happily, looking at her with a grin on her face before looking back down at her book. Sarah smiled happily at her resp and turned to look at her son. He was looking at his book and solving the questions but not with the same interest he always had everyday. Today, for some reason, he seemed somewhat dull and losing focus quickly, shown by him looking towards the window every so often. “What's the matter, Al?” His mother asked him with worry. He looked at her, startled by her sudden question and automatically replied, “Nothing, mom.” Alex looked down at his book once again, but his mother continued to look at him with worry. She knew that something was on his son's mind, and easily guessed that it was related him taking so much time trying to feel his energy. She was actually spot on because that was exactly what he was worried about. From the readings he did on angels, he was confident in his ability to be stronger than the other races with much more capability, but his inability to feel his energy was disheartening. *“Why is this happening to me?”* He wondered to himself, unable to focus on his studies and looking out of the window. *“I'm positive the Entity Limitless knew what he was doing when he sent me.back to be reborn in the past, but what good does it do me when I'm barely getting started? Dad and mom are proficient in controlling their energy, and even Luna managed to feel her energy and started demonstrating her ability to control it. So, why only me?”* There was no one who could answer his questions, and he did not like the idea of sharing his concern with his parents and childhood friend. He was already aware to some extent that his parents are worried for him even though they were doing a good job of hiding it. “Al,” his mother asked again with a look of concern on her face. “I'm here for too if you want to talk.” She did not want to force him to speak about his worries, but she did not want to leave him alone either. Luna also stopped doing her studies and looked at her with a worried look of her own. “Come on, Alex. You can share your worry with us,” she said, looking hopefully at him. He looked towards them and sighed before saying, “I'm just worried about my inability to feel my energy.” “Don't say it,” his childhood friend said, looking alarmed. “I know you can do it! I did it! Your parents do it, so you can do it too! You just got to have a positive sport!” “Luna is right, Al,” said his mother warmly, moving her chair to sit down next to him. She began to rub his head while saying, “I probably didn't tell you but I had trouble feeling my energy for four day straight. I was very worried at my ineptitude, just like you Al, but my grandmother told me about a story of her childhood.” She paused to find that the two children were listening to her story intently with great interest. Sarah smiled and resumed her story telling, which she recalled like it was just yesterday that her grandmother told her about it. “My grandmother apparently struggled to feel her energy for more than ten days, and her family were prepared to send her off to join the army.” “What? Ten days?!” Both Alex and Luna exclaimed, looking thoroughly shocked. Sarah nodded and said, “Yea, but my grandmother, being the stubborn girl that she was, did not want to go and put every ounce of determination she had into focusing on her training. Finally, on the twelfth day, she finally felt her energy and began controlling her energy.” “Wow…!” Luna said in admiration while Alex looked at her in awe. “That's some determination your grandmother had, mother.” “Yes,” Sarah agreed with a smile. “So, taking inspiration from her story, I too pushed myself and succeed on the sixth day.” “Nice!” Luka said happily, and Sarah grinned at her. Alex, on the other hand, found a contradiction in her story and asked, “Sixth day? I thought you told us it took you four days to feel your energy. Is that a lie?” His mother looked at him in surprise before bursting into laughter. While he and Luna looked at her in surprise, she calmed down a few seconds later and focused cheerfully at her son. “It's a secret that women don't like admitting, Al,” she said with a wink. “It’s as important as hiding a woman's age because we're constantly conscious of us aging and try our best to look young and beautiful.” “I see,” he said, nodding his head in understanding. “Then, that story about your grandmother? Is that also…?” As he trailed away, she shook her head and said, “I don't know the authenticity of the story she told me, but I know it helped me improve, and I hope it'll do the same for you.” Her son smiled and said, “Thank you, mom.” She smiled and ruffled his hair before letting him go. Lined leaned over and shoved him gently with her fist with a grin on her face before leaning back and focusing back on her studies. Even though he turned his attention back to his own studies, his mind was still thinking about what he was doing wrong that was failing him. If the story that his mother told him about her grandmother was to be believed, then he should be doing more. However, kept having this strange feeling as though he was missing something, a piece of a puzzle that would help him out. He finally realised what that feeling was and thought, *“There must be a method… an alternative.”*

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2OWFjMGVkZTgxZTQzNWRiODlkYmQxM2NkNTZhOGI3">Chapters 1-20 have been updated. Let me know what you think. Chapterr 1 is a bit different now. I got rid of a bunch of the "front loading", and disguised it as story telling.</p> <p class="cnM0NDEwYTRhNGNlZTQxNjRiYTdjMzk1NzA4YjkzOTc0">Tomorrow I will be putting up the last half of the book.</p> <p class="cnNjNGM1YzI3ZTFhNDQ5ODViMmQ4NjJiNTU1YzllODA3">I know, not a whole lot of updates, my new job is killing me. Last week I did an 85 hour week (a lot of learning new systems - got IT), so yay? That's why I didn't manage to get this all updated until today, instead of on Sunday like I was aiming for.</p> <p class="cnNjZGE0ZTMwMTYyMjQ4MDU5M2E5Y2Y5NjZmNGQ4MGVi"> Ohh, also book 2 is going to start being posted soon. I've been at work and I have also been working <img src="https://www.royalroadcdn.com/public/smilies/wink.png" alt="Wink"></p> </div>

Chapters 1-20 have been updated. Let me know what you think. Chapterr 1 is a bit different now. I got rid of a bunch of the "front loading", and disguised it as story telling. Tomorrow I will be putting up the last half of the book. I know, not a whole lot of updates, my new job is killing me. Last week I did an 85 hour week (a lot of learning new systems - got IT), so yay? That's why I didn't manage to get this all updated until today, instead of on Sunday like I was aiming for. Ohh, also book 2 is going to start being posted soon. I've been at work and I have also been working 

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0NGQ5MmEzNjk0NDRhNTc5YmUyODE3MGRjYmQ4MjQy">The City of Grains</p> <p class="cnNkOTg5ZDUxZjMxMTQ3NzQ5NTIwOTQ4MmExNjMxYWVj">The city of Grains, you can already guess that this city's best products are grains, and also because they are the only city in the country who has discovered them after the evolution. Before the country learned about mutated corn, the Grain City has already collected a herd of them. The city also is one of the first city who discovered the usage of mana grains, that it speeds up the Plantros growth and its how fast they bear a fruit.</p> <p class="cnMzYzQ3MjZkOTZlMzRiZGE4M2MwZTU4OGUwYWM0YmI5">"Plantros are still plants, they love a soil that is contacted with mana for a long time. The land on the border has a low-quality soil." He said.</p> <p class="cnM4NTcxZjc0OTAzOTQyZjY5MWRmMTIxMDcwMTdlNWQw">"But Grandpa Neil, I find it suitable for plants, it's smooth and there's no grass growing around it."</p> <p class="cnM1NzFhMGM2MTY1ZjQxODJiZDMyMjU4ODZiZWI4YWI0">"It might be true, but the reason the plants are gone is those treetans have eradicated them."</p> <p class="cnNjN2YzMWM5ZTJiNDQwZGZhYTEwNzU3ZWE0ODcxODdh">"Thank you Grandpa, I'll be going. I'll go find you if ever I manage to build my own farm."</p> <p class="cnM1OWM5ODJmY2QyYTQxOThhY2JiNWVkYTFiOTJiNWQ1">"Haha, of course. You can visit our farm whenever you want, and Della too!"</p> <p class="cnNjMDc2MDNhMWM4MDQwZjU4ODZmM2ZlYzg3ZWU5OTI1">He scratched the back of his head and smiled bitterly " Haha, grandpa, I love corns. Can I visit corns instead?"</p> <p class="cnNhNDIxZDI3ZmFjOTRjMjM5ZDg1MWFkMGE2Zjk3MDMz">"Haha, of course. Della loves them too."</p> <p class="cnM4ZWNkNTc5YjJlNTQ4MmFiM2ExNTQ4MzNkMDA0NTk5">"...."</p> <p class="cnM4MDI4ZGY1MGM1OTQzNWQ4M2Q1ZTVlNDRhNTFjY2Nk">"Grandpa! The buyers are already here!"</p> <p class="cnNmNWRmMWI5NDE1ZjRhZWJiOTQyMzVkYTI2MDBhZmVj">"Okay, I'll be there." He said, "Son, wish you luck."</p> <p class="cnNlOWU3MmQ5ODYyYzQyMTE4Yzg2MTI5NTBjYjlkNjk5"><br>(Now I'm alone, what should I do first. I forgot to ask if there is an adventurer or merchants guild in this city. Well let's explore it on our own.)</p> <p class="cnNjNGI3ZDBiOTA0NzQ3NTZiNDExNWQ2YWZlNWUxMzE1">The Kernel Inn</p> <p class="cnMyNmQ4ZmM4ZDE3OTRiNjQ4NDg0YTRiNWM1OThhZDU3">"Good afternoon costumer, do you want to eat or to stay?" A beautiful young lady with round eyes and straight black hair welcome him in the counter.</p> <p class="cnNhOTVjMWE0MDE4NTQ5ZDQ5MDI1NTczYjYzMmY2Mjll">He look on his pocket and discover he has nothing. "Haha, no I'm not. Grandpa Neil suggested this place, but at this moment I only have my bag! I just want to ask if there's a work for adventurer like me?"</p> <p class="cnMyZTFiMjZjNWM4NjQzZjRhOWExMGQyZjZlMDVmZmZj">The girl look at him from head to toe and feel confuse. (Why did Neil recommended him here? Can this guy fight?) "Mister how about this, the Adventurers Guild is located right side of the inn, just walk straight and you'll find a five story building with five doors. You need to be a registered adventurer before you can do dungeon diving. You can earn big with the drops of the dungeon monster, some even manage to build their of farm with the money they earn!"</p> <p class="cnMzZTJkYjVkZjA3YzRiMjVhMjI2NWE1OWU5NjJkNjAw">"Thank you, I'll go back after I earn a bit." He bows and walk out of the inn.</p> <p class="cnM5YTBmMmEzODEyNTQ4N2I4ZWZkMmQzMzA2OGE4YzNk">He walk in the right as the receptionist said, the city have a lot of tall buildings out of woods, that covers the road with its shadows. This makes walking on the road in the middle of the day doesn't bothered him.</p> <p class="cnNmODQ3ZjFhZTc5NzQ5NzNiNGU4MGY2MGJjNmY2YTNl">After a bit of walking he found out a eye catching building in front of him. The building have five adjacent doors with different colors.</p> <p class="cnM3NzVmNDIzOGJlYjRmM2JhMjIyYzQzMDRiZmRjZGM4">(What with this building, hmm It might be the Adventurers Guild.)</p> <p class="cnNjMmQ4Y2JkOWNlNDRhZjU4N2RkYzkyNjU2Mjg1Mzhj">He walk straight the building, the building has five doors with 5 different markings. "The middle with dark gold color have S? Must be the highest rank. Gold A, Silver B, Bronze C... and plain white with a marking of a beast...?"</p> <p class="cnMyMjM5MzI3MzhiOTRiNDVhZDNkNmQwZjQ2OTJmODQw">He entered the door without thinking, his instinct telling him that this door is for beginners! After opening the door, the room is like a cave, the walls separates the room and lead them to their destination.</p> <p class="cnM2MjE3OTliY2IwNzQ4MjhhMzI3NTEyMzc0ODM0NDA1">When he reach a room with a lot of lights and couple of adventurers with leather armor, he already know he entered the right room. (They look so shabby, and what's with that sling shot? How can you shoot stone if you are already tired of carrying a load of stone on your back?)</p> <p class="cnMxY2Q3NDNjODRjNjQzZmFiMDRhNGQ5OGMzNzczMGQ0">The group does not have anything on them, and everything they have are improvised.</p> <p class="cnNlODAwYzc1NGVkYjQwNDBiYTBiNWJlODU3ODEwOTMw">He went straight to the counter and asks."Good day, Miss can I register as an Adventurer?"</p> <p class="cnNmZmVlNDM0YjdiNjRlZjA4YjEzN2JmYzdlNGM5ZTNk">The little receptionist smiles and look at what he wear "Good day sir, of course you just need to choose if weather you pay for registration or put it on your tab!" She look at him coldly and continues " If you can't pay for a week, as the contract says, you'll be a slave for life. Got it?"</p> <p class="cnNiZjBmNjFjOTY3MzQyYzg5MjgzNGFkYjMwMWFhYWNl">"Got it, just give me the contract!" he said. Deep inside him, he knows what the girl is saying. (Hmp, just wait and you see.)</p> <p class="cnNkMTdjNTAwM2QwMzRhYjRiMDdhODEzNDM4OWZhYzcw">"Come over here, you need too choose contractor. They will be the one you will serve if you ever fails to pay your debt."</p> <p class="cnM5ZTM3OTE2ZjBiZDQ5YjI5ZmExZmNkYTQwNmQ5OWI2">He was lead to a room with a giant room, in its side there is a little board with a few names that is listed neatly. He planned to choose any female contractor and straight to the board.</p> <p class="cnNlODRiMzhkMGU0MTRiMDg5MWIzZjZiOGM1NmE0Y2E2">"Hmm? Della? This Della is she the Granddaughter of Neil?" He asked the receptionist.</p> <p class="cnNiYzBhMTQyYzdkNTRmZGU5MzdkM2E0MGNjZTRhMWUx">"She won't accept even if you kneel so choose another one." she said.</p> <p class="cnM4YjBkNTJhYTg3YTQxZmRiODI4ZjYyMzBjODQ5MWFk">Instead of choosing a new one he tap on Della's name and write his name on it. "Lucas Rankin, good then send."</p> <p class="cnMzZmM0Y2YxNWUxYzQ0NjU4MWFkYzA5NDkyOWQ3NmVm">"Sorry sir but you are wasting our time." The receptionist keep her calm face but deep inside, she was irritated. ( Who do you think you are? Look at your appearance, you're just a poor farmer suitable to be a slave.!)</p> <p class="cnMzM2M5NDI0NDI5ODQ4YzU4MzU4MDczNzljMTU3MjA3">"Auntie, why don't you shut your mouth up?" He said with discontent, "You should never look at the appearance of your customers, right? 'AUNTIE?"</p> <p class="cnMxZWQ1M2UyY2Y1ZDQyNWNhNzc1ODcxOTFhZTQ1NWM0">"Y-you, You're the auntie here! Make another contract and get it do-"</p> <p class="cnNkM2M3ZjgwNzM1MDQxMTU4ZTc2MWIyNzA2NjQ1ZWE2">"Stop it 'AUNTIE' I'll take his contract." ????</p> <p class="cnMzMGQ2OWY1YzdiZTRlM2E4NDc0ODViOGY0NTFmZWMx">"Shut up you! m--" Her eyes pop out when she saw the one who speaks, she steps back sweating hard. "M-Miss. Della, I-I'm sorry!" She kneeled then bow at her like a dog!</p> <p class="cnM0NDliZTAzN2I2MDQ5MzZhNmFmZGVkYTYxZTczNGM5">Della ignored her went on front of Lucas. "Grandpa wants you to be C rank, but with the condition of you beating me, haha!"</p> <p class="cnMxNTkwNjg2N2U2MjQ0MDZhODBhOWU4ZGM2ZjdjMzRm">"Ahh? Wait what do you mean?"</p> <p class="cnNlOTg2ZDU2ZGFiYTQ2YmI4MTNkYTQ4Zjg2NTBjNzEz">She smile on his question took her lays and release her sword "I'll be your opponent in this test, if I beat you, you'll be my slave okay?"</p> <p class="cnMzZDE5YzJjNGY0MjQxZjE5OGIxNGUzZGU0Mjc1Y2Yx">"What!?" receptionist &amp; Lucas.</p> <p class="cnM5NjMxZGNjMjkzYTRkOTQ4M2VlNjdhY2RkYmNiNjJh">Lucas forehead started to sweat "Why all of a sudden? Did the contract says I only need to pay the debt?"</p> <p class="cnM3ZjNmMjQ1ZDA1MjQ2MWY5NTgxMWUwMmFlOThkYTZk">"It's okay! Or a man like you actually afraid of me? Well I'll let you prepare for hour, I'll be waiting here!" She jump at the end of the room and started to concentrate.</p> <p class="cnNhM2FlODllNjY5NDRkYjFhNzhkNWNjNzlkYTY4OTFj">"What the, this... haist." He went to a corner sat. "What to do, System, show me my status"</p> <p class="cnM0YWY5MTVkMTc3NjRiNDI4Y2U4M2RjYjRlODM4Y2Vm">Ding<br>[Lucas Rankin] 'Gods' Gardener'<br>Beginner<br>Weapon: <br>-Hoe of Gods<br>*effect: No plants can defend against it. Low damage to human.<br>&gt;Make the land fertile<br>&gt;Accelerate the plants growth (500x)<br>&gt;Portal to Earth/Hearth<br>(Locked)</p> <p class="cnM5YWI3ZDQ2Y2E2MTQ5ZjBiOTk3M2E2ZWYzYmUwM2Rm">Stamina: 95/100(%)<br>Fatigue: 10%<br>Gods Mail: 0<br>Plant points: 2000<br>----------</p> <p class="cnM3NjY5NzQ3ZmE1MzQwNTc4MTRiMDI3Y2U4YTIwYTkx">"This, the god bought the vegetables I plant last week, but what is this points is for? System do you have a store? Can you show me what's this points for?"</p> <p class="cnNlYTQ5NmNiM2ViZTQxOWE5MjdlNGY2Y2FhOWZjOWNj">[System: The points is for the store.]<br>[Store]<br>&gt;Plant Seeds<br>&gt;Tree Seeds<br>&gt;Pots<br>&gt;tools</p> <p class="cnNhODE4ZDYyYmRlMDQ0NjViYjJhOGY2MDE1YTYxY2M3">*Gods note: If there's a point, there's a store congratulation!*</p> <p class="cnM2NWQ3N2U1ZDdjMjQ2YzVhZWMyMmQ4Y2VjNDg1Y2My">"....." He stares for the note for minutes he (I want to cry! It took me 2 years to collect them before I realize it!! )</p> <p class="cnNhYmMyN2UwMDBjYzRhZjhhZDlhYjBiOWMxMDNjZGFl">He look at store and smile bitterly. "Yeah what did you expect from the store for a farmer? If someone asks for Tank or Warship he must be an idiot" He looks at the last option 'Tools' to checked if there's anything he can use to fight.<br>-------------<br>&gt;Tools<br>-Shovel [2001 ppts]<br>-Sprinkler [2001 ppts]<br>-wheelbarrow [2001 ppts]<br>-Sickle [2001 ppts]<br>-Slapper [1999 ppts]<br>-Lock-<br>----------</p> <p class="cnM0OTcwNTIyNTMxYjQ1MTFhYmM2Y2Q0NDM0MTg1M2E3">"..." Lucas &amp; System</p> <p class="cnNiNzRkZjZkOTI5YTRhYzQ4MzlhMjdmZDIwZmY0NmVj">"Wow I must be an idiot to think I can find a sword in a tool shop, right system?" Whispered. "But what the heck men. Is god making fun of me? Well since I have no choice, system I want the slapper."</p> <p class="cnNhOTE0NGRhNmI2MDQwNDQ4ODA3NDY3YjZjNzA0Yjdm">[System: You successfully buy 'Slapper'. You still have 1 ppt left!]</p> <p class="cnM1YjViYjkzNzk2NDRmNTQ5ZmZjY2VmMDdhYzk1MmY4">"That's great! I still one point! one point my ass! System let me check the 'Slapper's effect."</p> <p class="cnMwNTk4YjhhYTA5NzQ0NGJhYmQxZmRhZTFmYmM0N2Rm">[Slapper]<br>*An item used to slap animals and likes who plan to destroy your garden.<br>Effect<br>-A slap can make every living being to cry no matter how thick his skin/clothes are.</p> <p class="cnNiZDQ4ZWI0YzIxYjQ5MzJiMWE5NThmN2U3YzMzNmEx">"....." Looking at the effect of his 'slapper', Lucas smiles maniacally and look at Della who is concentrating. ( Ku Ku ku, I suddenly have the urge her *as now.)</p> </div>

The City of Grains The city of Grains, you can already guess that this city's best products are grains, and also because they are the only city in the country who has discovered them after the evolution. Before the country learned about mutated corn, the Grain City has already collected a herd of them. The city also is one of the first city who discovered the usage of mana grains, that it speeds up the Plantros growth and its how fast they bear a fruit. "Plantros are still plants, they love a soil that is contacted with mana for a long time. The land on the border has a low-quality soil." He said. "But Grandpa Neil, I find it suitable for plants, it's smooth and there's no grass growing around it." "It might be true, but the reason the plants are gone is those treetans have eradicated them." "Thank you Grandpa, I'll be going. I'll go find you if ever I manage to build my own farm." "Haha, of course. You can visit our farm whenever you want, and Della too!" He scratched the back of his head and smiled bitterly " Haha, grandpa, I love corns. Can I visit corns instead?" "Haha, of course. Della loves them too." "...." "Grandpa! The buyers are already here!" "Okay, I'll be there." He said, "Son, wish you luck." (Now I'm alone, what should I do first. I forgot to ask if there is an adventurer or merchants guild in this city. Well let's explore it on our own.) The Kernel Inn "Good afternoon costumer, do you want to eat or to stay?" A beautiful young lady with round eyes and straight black hair welcome him in the counter. He look on his pocket and discover he has nothing. "Haha, no I'm not. Grandpa Neil suggested this place, but at this moment I only have my bag! I just want to ask if there's a work for adventurer like me?" The girl look at him from head to toe and feel confuse. (Why did Neil recommended him here? Can this guy fight?) "Mister how about this, the Adventurers Guild is located right side of the inn, just walk straight and you'll find a five story building with five doors. You need to be a registered adventurer before you can do dungeon diving. You can earn big with the drops of the dungeon monster, some even manage to build their of farm with the money they earn!" "Thank you, I'll go back after I earn a bit." He bows and walk out of the inn. He walk in the right as the receptionist said, the city have a lot of tall buildings out of woods, that covers the road with its shadows. This makes walking on the road in the middle of the day doesn't bothered him. After a bit of walking he found out a eye catching building in front of him. The building have five adjacent doors with different colors. (What with this building, hmm It might be the Adventurers Guild.) He walk straight the building, the building has five doors with 5 different markings. "The middle with dark gold color have S? Must be the highest rank. Gold A, Silver B, Bronze C... and plain white with a marking of a beast...?" He entered the door without thinking, his instinct telling him that this door is for beginners! After opening the door, the room is like a cave, the walls separates the room and lead them to their destination. When he reach a room with a lot of lights and couple of adventurers with leather armor, he already know he entered the right room. (They look so shabby, and what's with that sling shot? How can you shoot stone if you are already tired of carrying a load of stone on your back?) The group does not have anything on them, and everything they have are improvised. He went straight to the counter and asks."Good day, Miss can I register as an Adventurer?" The little receptionist smiles and look at what he wear "Good day sir, of course you just need to choose if weather you pay for registration or put it on your tab!" She look at him coldly and continues " If you can't pay for a week, as the contract says, you'll be a slave for life. Got it?" "Got it, just give me the contract!" he said. Deep inside him, he knows what the girl is saying. (Hmp, just wait and you see.) "Come over here, you need too choose contractor. They will be the one you will serve if you ever fails to pay your debt." He was lead to a room with a giant room, in its side there is a little board with a few names that is listed neatly. He planned to choose any female contractor and straight to the board. "Hmm? Della? This Della is she the Granddaughter of Neil?" He asked the receptionist. "She won't accept even if you kneel so choose another one." she said. Instead of choosing a new one he tap on Della's name and write his name on it. "Lucas Rankin, good then send." "Sorry sir but you are wasting our time." The receptionist keep her calm face but deep inside, she was irritated. ( Who do you think you are? Look at your appearance, you're just a poor farmer suitable to be a slave.!) "Auntie, why don't you shut your mouth up?" He said with discontent, "You should never look at the appearance of your customers, right? 'AUNTIE?" "Y-you, You're the auntie here! Make another contract and get it do-" "Stop it 'AUNTIE' I'll take his contract." ???? "Shut up you! m--" Her eyes pop out when she saw the one who speaks, she steps back sweating hard. "M-Miss. Della, I-I'm sorry!" She kneeled then bow at her like a dog! Della ignored her went on front of Lucas. "Grandpa wants you to be C rank, but with the condition of you beating me, haha!" "Ahh? Wait what do you mean?" She smile on his question took her lays and release her sword "I'll be your opponent in this test, if I beat you, you'll be my slave okay?" "What!?" receptionist & Lucas. Lucas forehead started to sweat "Why all of a sudden? Did the contract says I only need to pay the debt?" "It's okay! Or a man like you actually afraid of me? Well I'll let you prepare for hour, I'll be waiting here!" She jump at the end of the room and started to concentrate. "What the, this... haist." He went to a corner sat. "What to do, System, show me my status" Ding [Lucas Rankin] 'Gods' Gardener' Beginner Weapon: -Hoe of Gods *effect: No plants can defend against it. Low damage to human. >Make the land fertile >Accelerate the plants growth (500x) >Portal to Earth/Hearth (Locked) Stamina: 95/100(%) Fatigue: 10% Gods Mail: 0 Plant points: 2000 ---------- "This, the god bought the vegetables I plant last week, but what is this points is for? System do you have a store? Can you show me what's this points for?" [System: The points is for the store.] [Store] >Plant Seeds >Tree Seeds >Pots >tools *Gods note: If there's a point, there's a store congratulation!* "....." He stares for the note for minutes he (I want to cry! It took me 2 years to collect them before I realize it!! ) He look at store and smile bitterly. "Yeah what did you expect from the store for a farmer? If someone asks for Tank or Warship he must be an idiot" He looks at the last option 'Tools' to checked if there's anything he can use to fight. ------------- >Tools -Shovel [2001 ppts] -Sprinkler [2001 ppts] -wheelbarrow [2001 ppts] -Sickle [2001 ppts] -Slapper [1999 ppts] -Lock- ---------- "..." Lucas & System "Wow I must be an idiot to think I can find a sword in a tool shop, right system?" Whispered. "But what the heck men. Is god making fun of me? Well since I have no choice, system I want the slapper." [System: You successfully buy 'Slapper'. You still have 1 ppt left!] "That's great! I still one point! one point my ass! System let me check the 'Slapper's effect." [Slapper] *An item used to slap animals and likes who plan to destroy your garden. Effect -A slap can make every living being to cry no matter how thick his skin/clothes are. "....." Looking at the effect of his 'slapper', Lucas smiles maniacally and look at Della who is concentrating. ( Ku Ku ku, I suddenly have the urge her *as now.)

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3Yzg3Y2FlNWRmNDRkMDRhYmI5MGE1OTY1NGZmYzli">Lyria was not as filthy as Alyssa had imagined a medieval city to be. Maybe that was a bit rude or insensitive to the people who lived here, but just the fact that they lacked indoor plumbing had to mean they didn’t have decent sanitation. But Lyria had a river that ran right next to it. A river that apparently collected a great deal of waste. She could only hope that they took their drinking water from upstream. Far <span style="font-style: italic">far</span> upstream. According to Bacco, there were cisterns around that collected rainwater like gigantic man-made wells, but who knew how clean those were.</p> <p class="cnNjYzI4ZjIzYjUxMDQwNTk4MzJiMjg4ODFlYWJjYmMz">Once again, Alyssa felt the need to reorder her priorities. It would be awfully difficult to research counter-angel magic if she died of dysentery. Could magic purify water? Or create it from nothing? Either one would be a most welcome change and save her hundreds of matches boiling every scrap of water she came across. Hopefully she would find out soon enough.</p> <p class="cnM2Mzg2ZTVhOWMzNDQ2YTZiMDRiMmE1MWFiYmU2ZTc4">“This is the magic academy?”</p> <p class="cnM3N2U4MDQxNjRlZTQxOGJhMGViNmRkOTUzNzhjNTg1">“The Royal Observatorium of Demonic, Divine, and Miraculous Phenomena. Though nobody calls it that.”</p> <p class="cnM4N2Q4MWZmNDM1YjRjODk4NDM0Njg3M2ZmZGFjMjZm">“Yes, it is quite the mouthful.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZjFiOTE4NGQyYzRlNzA5MzY3NmNhNjZjZDkzYTFh">The building was smaller than she had expected. Larger than the surrounding buildings, but didn’t even come up to half the height of the tall towers or the central pyramidal building—which was apparently the royal palace where the pharaoh lived. Interesting that their ruler was a pharaoh. Given the more European-medieval bent of everything else she had seen, she would have suspected a king or queen instead. Then again, a majority of the names she had come across weren’t exactly European either. Aziz, Yzhemal, Lazhar.</p> <p class="cnM4MzBiNTJlZDQ3NjQ4MzVhM2E5ZDBjNjZiZGE0OWE0">Were regional differences on Earth even relevant on this world? Probably not. Still, Alyssa thought of things in terms that were familiar to her.</p> <p class="cnM0NTY1YzRmM2MwNTRhMWI4MTdkNmM5ZGM4OGM5NjM1">And most of the buildings in Lyria looked like they had been copied right out of an Egyptian history book—now that she was actually looking, things like that were obvious. She hadn’t paid much attention to it before hearing about this pharaoh. Lots of flat roofs, all the exterior walls were made from stone of some sort. Sandstone or maybe adobe bricks. On the other hand, the magical academy had more of a Roman design to it. Lots of white marble pillars, a tall domed roof, and three blocky wings pulling away from the central domed area.</p> <p class="cnMzYzZiMzk3OTZhMTQ5NmRhMzQ0MjQ2YzlmMjM2YWNh">Three was a reoccurring pattern that Alyssa had noticed within Lyria. Three towers on the borders of the city. Three branches on the royal palace. Three wings on the academy. Even three items that the academy primarily observed, judging by its name. One of which had her somewhat concerned.</p> <p class="cnNhY2E2MDQxM2E3ZTQ3N2Y5NGUzYzYwMDVhNzBmOTc1">Miracles were almost synonymous with magic, from what she had read of Aziz’s book. There were a few nuances that made them different, mostly regarding who or what was doing the spell casting. Divine obviously referred to angels. Or Tenebrael, if other angels were unknown to these people. But demonic? If angels were evil soul-eating absurdly powerful creatures obsessed with maintaining some nonsensical <span style="font-style: italic">order</span> in the world, she did not want to find out what real demons were like.</p> <p class="cnM0MTE5OTU3ZjkxNjRmN2E4YzVmZTY0YzY2ZTAwMTlj">“Can just anyone walk in?” There were people on the street passing back and forth on their way to whatever occupied their lives. None looked up to the building despite its out-of-place architecture. The majority of the people must be locals, entirely used to the magical academy. In the ten minutes she had spent observing the Observatorium, not a single person had entered. No one had left either, for whatever that was worth.</p> <p class="cnNlODhjNzhiYzMyZjRlZTFiYTMwYWRmNGQwN2YwN2Vj">Next to her, Bacco shrugged. “This is the closest I’ve ever been.”</p> <p class="cnMwNzczNDI1MGNkYzQ5OGQ4NzM3MTI0NDRkNDQxOWJj">“Well, let us find out, shall we?” With one final adjustment of her backpack, Alyssa headed across the street.</p> <p class="cnMyMzM2OGFkYzM0ZTQ2NDhiOTI5OTk3ZDA4MmUzMTQ0" style="text-indent: 36px; margin: 0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmZjEyZThmYTdkYjQ4YmQ4ZWEwOGYzMGJkYWViODIy">Only to freeze.</p> <p class="cnNhNzdmMmEyOWMzMzRjYjM4MjM3ZGEwNDMzZjk1OWVh" style="text-indent: 36px; margin: 0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5MDlkODE0NjdmZTQ0ZGNiMDUxZDJiNTU5Y2QxM2Ni">Alyssa’s head whipped around, scanning the crowd. There weren’t any crosswalks, but then again, there wasn’t any traffic either. Every now and again, a horse drawn carriage—carrying either boxes or people—would pass through the streets, but they were both infrequent and slow. No forty-five mile an hour car that she had to worry about blowing through a red light.</p> <p class="cnNiNDE4MmFkMTY4MzRiNWJiZDNmMjExYTQ5ZGVlZjAy">But the horses and people didn’t make her stop. Just in the very corner of her eye, she had thought she saw something catch the light of day. Something white-gold. The same color of Iosefael’s wings.</p> <p class="cnM4N2FlMzRhNWFhODRhYTZiOWI4NzYzMjY3Y2RkMzRk">No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t see any angels, either among the crowd or flying overhead. There were monsters. Elves it seemed. Tall, pointed ears, fairly lithe. Most had a bluish hue to their skin. Not a one walked by without chains. Sometimes around their wrists. Sometimes around their necks.</p> <p class="cnM3OWM1ZDM2NTJlYjQyZjA5ZmI5NWMzZTk5Zjk5ZWU3">Slaves, apparently. She had asked Bacco upon first seeing one. They were stronger than they looked and masterful craftsmen. Highly desired by the nobility, according to Bacco. He had apparently encountered one up close in a whorehouse, the thought of which had Alyssa scowling. She didn’t mind so much the idea of a red light district, but an elf would almost certainly be there entirely unwillingly.</p> <p class="cnNlOTVhYTY2ZWQxMzRmZmZiMmFmZjJlZTA1OGQzZTg0">Pushing the thought out of her head, Alyssa continued on. There was no sign of Iosefael and Bacco’s constant fidgeting was getting irritating.</p> <p class="cnMxNTZmMDgwMjFkNjQ3MzM4YzVkMjA4M2IxZDAyN2Y2">Just as she reached the bottom of the steps to the main entrance, someone else started climbing toward the Observatorium. A younger girl, maybe eighteen at the oldest, with dark hair and wearing an excess of gold. Gold earrings, gold bracelets, a single gold armband on her left arm that looked like a snake wrapped around her bicep.</p> <p class="cnNiMTNiNzhhYjIzYTQwNjM4MjdlMjA0MDZjZGU5MDhi">Maybe this woman was who she had mistaken for Iosefael.</p> <p class="cnM5NDA4OTcwNjM5NTQ1OTdhM2M2MjMyMDgwMTM0MjJi">Behind Alyssa, Bacco drew in a short, clipped breath. “Someone you know?” she asked quietly.</p> <p class="cnMwNDljYjZlYmUwYjRkMjE4YWE5MzM2NmJiYWM4NzRl">“Irulon. The Pharaoh’s only daughter.”</p> <p class="cnNkMzlkOGI4ZDhiMDQ3ZDhiYmFjMmNkMzNlYTJkOTE4">“Really?” Alyssa focused on the girl, memorizing her features. It might not be important. She might never see her again, but it could be useful to know her face. The princess—was that the proper term for a pharaoh’s daughter?—had darker skin roughly on par with Alyssa’s with sharp and pointed features to her face. Her eyes were either tattooed or had makeup drawn on in a mirror image of the designs around Tenebrael’s eyes. The colorful dress she wore was definitely befitting of her royal status. The yellows, greens, and violets were absolutely unmarred by dirt and filth that clung to pretty much everything that existed in this world.</p> <p class="cnNmMWM4MDliMjk1MzRjMTVhMTllYTVhOTk4N2YzYmI1">Looking around, Alyssa found herself confused. “Shouldn’t she be accompanied by guards of some sort?” True, this wasn’t exactly the shady section of the city. It was relatively close to the palace, past it and on the eastern section of the city, a long way from the inn Cid and Bacco had taken her to which was more in the north-west area. But with how the guard at the entrance to the city had accosted her, she would have thought that someone as presumably important as the princess would have a whole swarm of people protecting her.</p> <p class="cnM3ZTIzNTUwZTRjODQzNmE4OTEyNGJkZWY3ODQ3MTE1">Unless she didn’t need protection. Alyssa couldn’t help but notice a thick tome attached to the princess’ hip by shiny brass chains. It was probably filled with spells. A simple research notebook like Aziz’s wouldn’t need to be chained to her hip.</p> <p class="cnMzMDZlZmVmZTVmYTRiYWU5NjNkNDcwMjY1MzI2MjBi">“I don’t know for certain, but rumor has it that she is something of an outcast among her family. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her this close. The only other times I have seen her are when someone in the royal family is making a proclamation to the people. She generally stands in the background looking bored.”</p> <p class="cnNlMTFmNmYzNjA2NjQ0NmM5OWI4YWRiNjFjNjc2NGQ3">“So, a black sheep then.” Interesting. Ultimately irrelevant at the moment. She started up the steps herself, only to pause again as Bacco put a hand on her shoulder.</p> <p class="cnMyZjBiMmJmOWVmZDQxMWM4MWY0ZTViNTViMTJkZjBh">“What are you doing?”</p> <p class="cnMzN2FhZGE3NGYzZjRjNDFiYzgwZTlhZDc2MDc2Y2Ix">Alyssa took a deep breath, closing her eyes to gather herself. Act. That was all she had to do. Act. Opening her eyes, she shot a dark glare at Bacco. “I came here for magical knowledge. The princess, or whatever she is, and her academics don’t matter to me.”</p> <p class="cnM5MDljM2JiNjQyMDRjZWJhMjM0NDQ3OGZjZjRiYmEy">“But—”</p> <p class="cnNkZDU4ODA3N2VlMDRlZTZhNzE0NmZlNzdjODliOGQy">“Is she going to have us arrested for entering the same building as her?”</p> <p class="cnNkYzI5NzJmYTA1YzRiNDZhYzAzYzVlNDM5NDMyYmRm">“Maybe not you, but I’m not exactly an upstanding citizen, if you haven’t noticed.”</p> <p class="cnNjYzc2OGZhZDFmYTQxY2E4ZjBmZjlkNmU2MzcwMjc2">Alyssa looked him up and down. He still wore the same somewhat ragged clothing that he had on the night before. No shirt, just an undone vest. His hair was a ragged nest of black dreadlocks—not the modern, styled sort but free formed mats made from neglect. Comparing him to the people walking around, he definitely stood out. Not in a good way either. Even if a fraction of the other people had similar hair care techniques, they at least wore proper clothing. Being in the wealthier section of the city, there were few tears and snags in their far more expensive-looking outfits.</p> <p class="cnMyMTY0OThjM2YwMDQwNGY5ZDYwZTFjZWVlOWIyNmRj">For Alyssa herself, she was wearing modern clothing. Not any of the fancy dresses that she had brought under the assumption that they could be sold, but at least it looked decent. Though she was in pants. The princess was in a dress, as were several of the women passing about. Would that be a problem?</p> <p class="cnNlNTYzNDRhNjA3ZDQ5ODY5NjcxYmRiMmQzNTAxMTY2">If it wasn’t for her pack, she could probably walk in without worry. As it was now, she looked like some sort of servant, carrying the heavy load. She considered handing it off to Bacco and having him wait here. With how scared he was of her, he probably wouldn’t try anything. But if he did, she would be out so much. It wasn’t a chance she could take unless she wanted to end up destitute on the streets. Even returning to her home wouldn’t be easy without any supplies.</p> <p class="cnMyMmVmZjk5YzVhMzQwODNiYjEzNDJhY2I0MDY1OGIw">Maybe if he followed her up, she could claim that he was her servant? But that still had the same problem of him potentially running off. And it required him to play along.</p> <p class="cnM3NWVjMjE3MTBmNzQyZTViMjY4ZTI2MmRiMTA5NTI5">Alyssa shook her head. “Just wait here.” She started up the steps again before pausing and reconsidering. “Or don’t. If you don’t like being here, I’m sure I can find my way back to that inn again. We can meet up there later on. Either way, I’m going to check this place out now.”</p> <p class="cnNmYzI3NWYyMTg2OTRlYWM5MjA1MmNlYTQzOGQ3OTlk">He fidgeted a bit but didn’t make a move to follow as Alyssa climbed the stairs. There weren’t a lot of them. Just enough to raise the entire building a few feet off the ground. However, each step, while they didn’t go upwards much, was wide. A few footsteps to cross a single one of the stair steps. It had the side effect of recessing the main entrance to directly below the dome, well away from the street. The ends of two of the wings stretched all the way out to the street front.</p> <p class="cnM4ODVhMTMwNzgxNjRkOGM5YWM0Y2E1MDJiZmYzN2Nj">The stairs led up to a wide open doorway. There were doors, tall ones at least thrice the needed size for Bacco, but they had been propped open. Welcoming. A good sign, hopefully. An even better sign was the utter lack of guards. There wasn’t even a receptionist. The central room had several other doors leading off to the three wings and another pair of doors that looked to go to courtyards in the rear areas between the wings. A pair of spiral staircases went up into a floor above the high ceiling of the central room. The feet of the princess disappeared up one of the staircases just as Alyssa glanced up to see.</p> <p class="cnM4NjFjYWVjYWU1ZDRjMGZhMmY3NTUyNWFmYWMxMzZk">That wasn’t to say that the circular area was an empty space. Glass display cases held all manner of items. From mundane wooden poles that might have been walking sticks—or magic staffs?—to something that Alyssa could only identify as the severed head of Medusa.</p> <p class="cnMzZDk5YWJkMTJiNTQzYTE4NzQwN2MwM2UzNGViNGYw">Wondering if it was real, Alyssa couldn’t help but wander closer. The thing’s jaw was slack and open, displaying a full set of sharp teeth behind the scaly skin of its face. Its eyes were closed, thankfully. True to modern Earth depictions of Medusa, it lacked hair, with thick tentacles sticking out in all directions instead, each mounted to a point in its display case, suspending the head in the air. She couldn’t actually tell if the tentacles had been snakes as the ends had all been cut off, but it seemed likely.</p> <p class="cnMxY2JiYTRiNDFhOTQwMzQ5YzJlMDU3ODk2ODg4NDRj">Tearing herself away from the somewhat morbid display, Alyssa found herself scowling. Would it kill these people to label some of the doors? There were no signs for directions. No arrows saying that lecture rooms twelve through thirty seven occupied one wing. No marker for the library or archives. Hopefully they had a library. That was probably something that she should have found out about a long time ago.</p> <p class="cnM3M2I5NjVjZWRkMjQ2MzQ4ZDYwZmEwMTE0NWQzOGEx">With five choices, three wings and the two staircases, she could really only pick randomly. To start with, Alyssa headed up the same staircase that the princess had gone up. Libraries would be in the central location, right? That was how it worked at her university. If it wasn’t, then there was at least one person up there who might be willing to answer a few questions.</p> <p class="cnM2MzBmN2NiZDhlNDQ1Njg4ODNmMmQ3NmNmYmIyMDYx">Alyssa slowed as she neared the second floor, stopping completely once she could peek over the top of the floor.</p> <p class="cnM3NzQ2MWUyYTcyNTRkN2FhYjQ0OTdkZWVhMmMzOGRj">It looked like she had chosen correctly. Once again, the area was one big room. This time, the circular walls were covered in shelves. Shelves full of books. And scrolls! Like actual rolled up sheets of paper. There were even a few stone tablets here and there. Tall windows surrounding the entire room let enough light in to allow for easy reading. Instead of display cases, the main floor was filled with benches, chairs, tables, and desks.</p> <p class="cnNiY2JkNDRjMmE3ZjQxMmVhNDA5OGE2MTFiZTY1ZGZl">And people were seated at most of them. Some people were up by the shelves, browsing the texts. Pretty much everyone was dressed well enough that even if Alyssa ditched the backpack, she would still stand out like a sore thumb. None were quite so opulent as the princess, but there was a great deal of gold, opals, rubies, sapphires, and so on adorning all the women. In comparison, the men were fairly plain looking. Well dressed, but not looking like they had just robbed a jewelry store.</p> <p class="cnNkNDM0YzE5ZDliNjRmZjA4ZWYzMmUxODQyZDYyNzdh">Alyssa ducked back below, moving down a few steps and hoping that nobody had seen her. Just waltzing in looking like a vagrant was sure to get her… well, glared at if not thrown out. As far as she could tell, there still weren’t any guards. Then again, if any of these people were Rank Two arcanists, they might not need guards. She really needed someone she could trust to hold onto her backpack. Short of Lazhar or Yzhemal randomly showing up, she didn’t have anyone.</p> <p class="cnM1NWYxYmQ2NGI1YjQzMDc5N2I5NGU0MjI2ODA5Yzk0">Right on the steps, Alyssa dug through her backpack. All the way at the very bottom was a small wooden box. Her mother’s jewelry box. Alyssa didn’t have much in the way of jewelry herself. It had never suited her. She didn’t even have her ears pierced. Tattoos, yes. She had a tribal pattern tattoo on her right shoulder and arm, covered at the moment by her long sleeves. But the most jewelry she owned was a ring or two and maybe a bracelet. Nothing gaudy and golden either.</p> <p class="cnNiOTE3Mzc0N2I1NDQxOGU4Nzg2NTEyYWNlMGZiOWZi">Her mother, on the other hand, had a whole box filled with things that Alyssa wasn’t sure she had ever seen her wear. Maybe she just enjoyed collecting it. Whatever the case, the collection would come in handy here and now. Alyssa started slipping on bracelets, rings, and a fairly heavy golden necklace with a few jade stones hanging from its chain. It probably wasn’t real gold, but she wasn’t planning on letting an appraiser get too close to it anytime soon. She sprayed on just a hint of perfume. Just in case she smelled like sweat or worse. Alyssa didn’t think she did too much, but it was hard to tell. For just a moment, she considered tossing on the purple cloak but decided against it in the end. It was more of a traveler’s cloak than anything one would wear to school. Not only that, but she was still unsure of the exact connotations behind it being a noble’s cloak.</p> <p class="cnM5MGRjNzA4ZmJlMzQxYTNiYmRkN2I1M2I2YzMzOWFj">She wasn’t trying to look like a noble. Just rich. The princess would probably know every noble in the city by sight.</p> <p class="cnNiZWFkZDJmMmM4MDRlMTM4YTU2MDFkY2IwOWNiOGYy">The backpack was still a problem, but aside from leaving it lying in the middle of the floor, she really didn’t have much choice. If questioned on it, she would have to come up with some excuse. Slipping it back on, Alyssa took a deep breath. The number one key to getting away with things was to act like said things were completely natural. Like she was supposed to be here. She put on a calm smile and, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, walked back up the steps without hesitation.</p> <p class="cnMzMjkxZDU2OGE3NDRiYmRiODZjZmVjNmE0Njk2ZjQ1">Alyssa tried to avoid looking at anyone in particular. She didn’t want anyone who chanced a glance in her direction to think she was staring. Instead, she headed straight toward an empty section of the shelves. Empty of people, that was. There were plenty of books. The books were labeled on their spines in English, thankfully. Their titles weren’t all that promising.</p> <p class="cnNhOWY3MjRiMzlkNzRmODU4N2E1YzYxNWY3MjI2NGI1"><span style="font-style: italic">Aetherial Calculations in Relation to Divinity</span>. <span style="font-style: italic">Constructing Arrays: Concepts and Connections</span>. <span style="font-style: italic">Practical Methods of Physical Manipulation</span>.</p> <p class="cnNmMjkwZTljZDdlZDQ4YzJiODQ2Mzk1NTAyZDExNGYy">It was like browsing the textbooks at university. Couldn’t they just have a book on transportation magic? Or maybe <span style="font-style: italic">Magic Spells to Kill Divine Beings</span>. Even just <span style="font-style: italic">Water Magic Basics</span>. Maybe she was in the wrong section. <span style="font-style: italic">Practical Methods of Physical Manipulation</span> looked the best out of the dozen or so titles she had read. She pulled it off the shelf and turned around to find a place to sit.</p> <p class="cnM1ZjI0YzIyZWE0YjQzYjRiYjM4NDhkN2RhYzI1MGIx">Her breath caught in her throat. She almost lost her composure. A good quarter of the room had their eyes on her. Most people were bent over their own books, but not everyone. The ones who had been getting books, the ones who weren’t so focused on their studies, the ones who were softly speaking with one another, they had all noticed her. With another deep breath, getting herself under control, Alyssa ignored them. Unfortunately, there weren’t many empty seats that were also isolated from the students. She really didn’t want to sit near anyone and invite conversation. The only really available seats were near the princess. Irulon had a whole bubble around herself that nobody dared to pass, giving her a good five feet of empty space.</p> <p class="cnNkYzk0MmMyMGVlYTRhNmFhNGRlODk5NWIwOWMzMDUw"><span style="font-style: italic">Should I try sitting nearby?</span> Irulon looked busy. The table she sat at had a three books set out that she was looking between as she wrote something down on a fourth tome in the middle of all of them. The princess might not even notice Alyssa’s presence if she sat on the edge of the bubble.</p> <p class="cnM2NDZmMjAwNjQyNTRmNDdhMGQ0NGYyM2IyMGQ1ZTY0">Plan in mind, Alyssa carefully approached, moving briskly but trying to act unhurried. The moment she crossed the threshold of the bubble, she realized she had made a mistake. Everyone gasped. Not obvious gaping gasps, but when thirty or so people all drew in even a small breath at once, it made some noise.</p> <p class="cnMzZTgxMzhiOWNhZDRmY2NhYzliNDQyNzcyMzg1MmRm">Irulon blinked twice, looked up, glanced around, and quickly spotted Alyssa.</p> <p class="cnNiZGVmYjNlMTQ2NjQ4YjQ4N2RjMzgxY2NjYWZiZDA5">“Sorry for disturbing you,” Alyssa said as politely as she could, hoping her smile wasn’t too strained. “Is this seat taken?”</p> <p class="cnMxOTkzZmRkMWE1NzRhODA5M2ViNzcxMmU2NGQwM2E4">The princess looked around again, slowly this time. As she did so, everyone her gaze crossed immediately tried to look like they were doing something else. Reading, browsing books, or simply staring at the ceiling—which, now that Alyssa noticed, was fairly ornate with some Sistine Chapel-like mural covering most of it, though this mural depicted a certain terrible angel instead of anything she was familiar with. When Irulon finally looked back to Alyssa, she smiled. “Not at all. Feel free.”</p> <p class="cnMxYjk0NTkxMTE3NjRiODY5YzYwOWQ5N2RjY2UxZmJk">There was something about that smile, about the way she spoke. It should have been a kindly gesture, but it sent a chill down Alyssa’s spine. She couldn’t put a finger on why, exactly. The smile didn’t look fake and her words were said in a jovial tone. Maybe it was too jovial. Too much genuineness to her smile. Her eyes lacked the curiosity that the other students had even as she stared at Alyssa.</p> <p class="cnMzYjEyZTY3MjRlZDQ4ODVhMjhjOWEzOTEwYzU5OTdl">“Thanks,” Alyssa said, trying to ignore it. She shrugged off her backpack, tucked it under the marble bench she had chosen to sit on, and started flipping through the book she had taken. All the while, she tried her best to not look up and stare at the princess.</p> <p class="cnNlOWQ3YjY2YzkxMjQ0Zjg4YmFhNGUzMDQ4YTNmODk4">The very first thing she noticed was the lettering in the book. English, thankfully. More interestingly, it was all hand-written. Each letter differed from their neighbors ever so slightly despite the scribe having taken great care to make everything as uniform as possible. In her head, Alyssa knew that books had been written by hand long before the printing press came into being. It was still somewhat of a novelty to see firsthand.</p> <p class="cnNjOWUwY2JmMzAwYTQ5ODhhYjU2OGI2YWI3Y2FlMWRl">Once she got over the lettering, she started looking at the actual contents.</p> <p class="cnM2YzMzZmEwNDY1MjRlZjk5NDBlYWE1M2FkMzkxOWVl">The book might actually be more useful than she had initially thought. First of all, it had spell diagrams that Aziz’s book lacked. Most were Rank One, but there were Rank Two and even a few Rank Three spells as well. Secondly, apparently physical manipulation meant anything that physically existed. That didn’t just mean boxes, wood, or dirt, though moving around such things was possible in a variety of ways. There was one spell simply titled Draw Water. According to the text, it could draw a stream of water from a larger source. And only water. Did that mean that it would leave behind fish? Dirt? What about bacteria and contaminants? It could very well be the spell she had been looking for—and on her first book no less—but without a microscope, she wasn’t sure how to actually test it out.</p> <p class="cnNiYjg5ZjVlMzA1MDQ2YWViM2IzYWVlZGYyOWJmNjhi">Aside from things that could be done with machinery, there was one Rank Three spell that actually shortened the distance between two points for someone to travel along. Just thinking about how that was supposed to work actually hurt Alyssa’s head. Yet there were several pages dedicated to explaining the subject.</p> <p class="cnM5MzViOGUwZWRjMDRmY2RhNjk3YzQxNzcyOGZjNTBm">Flipping through each of the spell diagrams, Alyssa couldn’t find any that manipulated time as Tenebrael had earlier in the day, but perhaps that was a higher ranked spell. Maybe time didn’t physically exist, so it wouldn’t be in this book. Still, manipulating distance could be invaluable. If she could make a shortcut all the way back to her house… well, she would have a relatively safe place to store things such as her pack. Though that might be a little problematic. The furthest distance anyone had ever shrank, according to the book, was no bigger than a room’s size. Even if that unspecified room had been as large as this library, that was still a far cry from the two week journey to Teneville.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2ZmMzE1M2E2MjQ5ZTI4MGQ4YzQ4NzgwZWY4Mjlj">Alyssa opened up her backpack and started to pull out Aziz’s satchel. In order to test these all later, she needed to write them down. But she thought better of it. As it was, she could still be kicked out at any moment. She didn’t dare look up, but she could still <span style="font-style: italic">feel</span> plenty of eyes watching her. Writing down all the spells one by one could take all day. Especially while ensuring that she didn’t make a mistake in replicating the spell designs and all the runic text associated with them. She was sure to be kicked out before then.</p> <p class="cnNmM2RjMjhjMWQwZTQ3ZGE4NTYxNDExNWJjZTFjNjhk">Taking a slight risk, Alyssa pulled out her phone and started snapping pictures of each spell diagram. She put a caption on each, just a short description of what the spell was supposed to do. Draw water, shrink distances, decrease weight, and even a Rank Three illusory class spell that was supposed to disguise an object without changing its function. How exactly that last one worked, she might have to experiment with. If she could disguise her backpack as a fancy cloak and combine it with the decreased weight spell, carrying it around all day might actually be feasible.</p> <p class="cnNhNmNmNjhhOTZhMDQwN2FhOTQ5YzQyZGM0MDc1NGVh">She had snapped up a good twenty spells before she felt something. Just a slight change in the air around her. A slight darkening of the book’s pages as a shadow came over them. Alyssa looked up and immediately let out a short squeak from the back of her throat. Irulon was standing over her, staring.</p> <p class="cnMwNjI5N2E2MTVmYjRmYTNiOTBmOGUzN2VlMWNjZGRh">“That’s an interesting trinket. I am unable to identify the spells that make it work.”</p> <p class="cnM4ZDAyMmNhNWRmZTQwZDY4MWFlZTEyYzQyMWQ5OGM2">“W-well,” Alyssa stuttered, wracking her mind to come up with some explanation. “Some folks back home took a rock and tricked it into thinking by flattening and firing lighting through it.” <span style="font-style: italic">Thank you internet for the best description of computers to give to someone in a magical society</span>.</p> <p class="cnM5YTU4YjRjYzA2MDQxYjA4NDZjMjMzYzA4OGViMjVm">“I would like to perform some analysis, if you please.” She phrased it like a request, but Alyssa couldn’t hear anything but an order in the princess’ voice. The way she was already reaching out to take it only cemented that feeling.</p> <p class="cnM4MjMzYmRmMmFlZTQwMWM4M2VlNzE0ZjkyYzYzMjhi">Alyssa drew back. “Sorry,” she said, “but it is keyed to me and won’t work properly for anyone else.”</p> <p class="cnNhZTAyZjkzOTZiNjRiOWQ4NmYxOTMzNGExY2I2MDYw">Irulon’s eyes shifted. The sclera turned black. In fact, her entire eyes turned black save for two white rings on the inner and outer edge of her irises. It was over in an instant, only being a slight flicker that might have been nothing more than a trick of the light. Her eyes were back to normal human eyes with pale violet irises.</p> <p class="cnNmN2Y4ODI3NWYyNjQ5Yzc4NTYxYzk4MDAwZjQ5MTVm">For a moment, she frowned. It didn’t last. “That’s a shame,” she said with a sudden smile more serene than any Alyssa had ever seen. The way she leaned in closer, towering as she stood, just lit Alyssa’s nerves on fire. “I must admit, I know most every Obsevatorium attendee, but I don’t believe I have seen you before. Your face and complexion indicate local parentage, but your attire…” Irulon trailed off as she looked over Alyssa’s clothing.</p> <p class="cnM4NGNiYzlmZWU1ZDQyOWNiNTUzZWUzNDdmN2Y0NmQ2">Alyssa ran a suddenly dry tongue over her lips, trying to get a little bit of moisture back in her mouth before choking on her own words. “America,” she spat out as soon as she felt able. “I’m from a town called America.” It was a vague, generic response, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t like anyone here would recognize any place she named.</p> <p class="cnM4MGMwNzJlYTJkYzQ0ODc4OWNmZjcxMTA5NjNjODg2">“Haven’t heard of it,” Irulon said with a musical hum, confirming Alyssa’s thoughts. “I know the names of all villages between Lyria and the Fortress of Pandora. It must be far.”</p> <p class="cnNiZjFjODdmMTUwMTQ2ZTBiZTc5ZmE3ZTkxZGU3NWRk">“More than you could imagine.”</p> <p class="cnNmOGViNjk5YjVmYjQ5Y2Y4NzVhZmY0YjJlYmIzNDI1">“Well—”</p> <p class="cnM2ZDVkMzVlODk1ZTQyZDViYjNjYTcyZWJhOTUxYzQ4">Whatever the princess had been about to say got cut off by a bell ringing. Not modern school bells or even church chimes, but a heavy bass ringing loud and deep enough to shake the walls. The princess remained where she was, leering over Alyssa, but whatever spell had enraptured the other students broke. Loud, relative to the near silence the library had been before, discussions cropped up everywhere around the room as they started replacing books on the shelves and folding up their notebooks.</p> <p class="cnNmMGYwODZlYjRkYTQ2Y2NhMGQ4M2YyMTM0NzNkMGQw">“Princess?” A mousy girl with brown hair and far paler skin stepped closer, though she maintained her distance enough to preserve Irulon’s bubble. “Shall I tell Administrator Devo that you will be missing his lecture?”</p> <p class="cnMzMThlZDQ4MTFlZjQ4NDZhMWZiNjU1YjRkZTM5ZDBm">Irulon finally took a step back, twisting her neck and shoulders enough to elicit noisy pops. “I will be there, Caressa, though I may be late. Inform him of that, if you please.”</p> <p class="cnMwNzFkYzJlMGJhNzQ1ZWY5MDdkZTcwNTlhM2RlZmMy">“Of course,” Caressa said with a deep bow that had her long hair swooping down to nearly touch the floor. She backed away without properly righting herself and started running to the stairs.</p> <p class="cnNmOTAxYmE3MmVlYTQ4ZGQ5OTFlOTEzMDNjODgzZDMz">Everyone else in the room seemed to take that as their cue to get out. Their efforts to pack up doubled and soon enough, the library was completely empty.</p> <p class="cnM3OGQ1OTM5YjcxYTRkMjRhYzJiMjI5ZmMzODBhZjQy">Except for Alyssa and Irulon. Alyssa couldn’t help but rest her hand on the grip of her pistol. Killing royalty would probably land her in some extraordinary trouble, but she couldn’t help it. There was something very <span style="font-style: italic">very</span> wrong with the princess.</p> <p class="cnM2ZDMxOGJhNTc2ODQ3ZTY4MjM0OGQ0NDYxNWQ5Y2Fi">Irulon looked back down at Alyssa, this time without any of the invasive posturing. She just smiled and spoke with the same happy tone she had used when Alyssa asked if she could have a seat. “You aren’t a student here.” At Alyssa’s shake of her head, she nodded. “I thought not. The administrators won’t be happy about that, you know. Most everyone here paid exorbitant prices to be given the honor of being lectured by said administrators in their great orations.” Her voice, though still toned to be pleasant, had a hint of snide sarcasm as she mentioned the administrators. “Dreadful.”</p> <p class="cnM2NGU1YTQ3ZjJiNTRiNTRhOWZiYzIyYmY3ODIxNzk5">“The doors were wide open. I figured anyone was welcome.”</p> <p class="cnNkNjFlNTUzODRhOTRhN2Q4MzFkYTM1MDM5MTlkYjc3">“The administrators like to show off their students’ prowess and accomplishments. But the artifacts on display should be protected against theft and the rooms protected from entry by those not inducted. You should have been unable to pass through.”</p> <p class="cnNhZmVmZmUwYWJlZjRjYTg5ZTMzZmE3NjM5Mzg4NThj">Alyssa didn’t say anything. She hadn’t known that there were any protections, presumably of the magical variety. There hadn’t been any signs or warnings. It made sense though. People didn’t just leave things unguarded. Especially not things valuable enough that they would be put under glass cases. As such, she didn’t have an answer for how she got past them. Of course, she had been doing all sorts of strange things. Even two separate angels had been confused about how she could see them. And according to Aziz’s book, no one got magic right on their first or second try. Not even Rank Zero spells.</p> <p class="cnM3MGU1NDAzNDY3NTQ4NTBiNjNlZmYyY2I4ZjM0MzIy">“I see,” Irulon said. Alyssa had never answered her implied question. “You have no magical training. You have cast spells, but nothing impressive with what you were copying from the book.” Her fingers brushed over its pages, but her eyes didn’t leave Alyssa. “A tutor outside the Observatorium would not be out of the question.”</p> <p class="cnM3NDc1MDY3NTQ5ZTQxNGQ4NjRhOTc4ZjljMmJlYTc0">“None.”</p> <p class="cnNiYTY0YTQzNzUzMDRhYmRiODQ3M2NiYzRhMWViMDYx">“Hm.” Her eyes flicked to Aziz’s satchel. “Your tutor was a failed student. There is no shame in admitting that. You were able to cast the meager spells he had to offer and found yourself wanting more. Some of those you copied were Rank Three spells. Your desire to cast and your ability to cast might not be equal.”</p> <p class="cnMzMWZhZDI1NzdlYjQxYTE4OWRmODA1MzBiNTJlNDAz">Alyssa licked her lips. Bringing the bag of a student who had been kicked out not so long ago might have been yet another poor decision that she hadn’t fully thought through. But Irulon didn’t seem to care that much. Her focus was more on whether or not Alyssa could cast higher level spells. Licking her lips again, she said, “Won’t know until I try.”</p> <p class="cnMzZDRiM2IxZDE4OTQyOWE5NzQ3NGI1M2JhYTA2ZGQx">“Ah hah, I like that attitude. So many people here can’t cast a Rank Two spell after a few tries then just never try another Rank Two again, calling themselves Rank One arcanists for the rest of their lives.” She hummed again, pulled up the book chained to her hip, and started flipping through pages. She stopped around halfway through and, with a light tug, pulled free a card just like those in Aziz’s collection. Alyssa tensed, expecting a spell to be cast on her, but Irulon had other plans. She held out the card for Alyssa to take.</p> <p class="cnM3MTY0MWI4ZTUxOTQ5NWRhOTFkODdjNTBlOGJlNmUx">It had a continuous spiral on it, along with plenty of angelic runes. Though the spiral wasn’t complete. It had been cut straight in half through the middle and both sides were offset, making the lines not match up. The spell wasn’t one that Alyssa recognized from her admittedly small reservoir of magical knowledge.</p> <p class="cnNmNTQwOTI4MjM3OTQ4OGZiZjkwZjc1NmFjNmY0MjM0">“What does it do?” she asked without taking the spell card.</p> <p class="cnNhY2Q3ZmJhNTdiMjQ4NmI4OTcyMzM0YjFjY2UyMjZm">“Spectral Sight. It is a Rank Three Death spell that allows the arcanist to view the state of souls. It is considered extremely invasive and can be punished harshly if you’re caught using it around unwilling people. However, it is also one of the few Rank Three spells I have that won’t have dire consequences for me if you fail to use it properly. Or succeed in using it, for that matter.”</p> <p class="cnMzMjcxMmU2NTJmZjQ5M2ZiMzE2NjhlZjkxNjJlNTJh">Alyssa frowned, not taking it still. “You’re not going to have me arrested for using on you, are you?”</p> <p class="cnNkMzMyMGY4YjZhNDRkYjViMGEwOTEzNzJmZDRhZmFm">Irulon let out a light giggle. As with everything else she did, it just had too much happiness for it to be natural. “If you succeed, I’ll ensure you can come here without being bothered by students or staff. If you fail… we’ll go with your suggestion! Some time in the stocks will teach you to intrude on this noble place of learning.”</p> <p class="cnM1NTI4N2NlNDlmMTQ2Yjc4NWE3ZWEwMDFkYjQ3YmE2">Alyssa couldn’t help but shudder. She honestly couldn’t tell if the princess was kind or cruel. But she had to take the chance. Plucking the spell card from the princess’ fingers, she looked over its offset spiral. “What do souls look like?” she asked, already having something of an idea. That liquid-like mist that Tenebrael pulled out of the deceased had to be souls.</p> <p class="cnM3ZTAyYjcxNTFiYTQyODRhMjliMzAwMWQ1NjY3Mzdk">“No one has any idea what actual souls look like. This spell views the state of souls, which not only is different for everyone who uses the spell, but is different for the viewed as well. And it can change over time. Some people see an aura of colors. Some see familiar objects that they liken to a variety of derangements or attributes. A cracked mirror might indicate a deep and ingrained hate for oneself, for example.”</p> <p class="cnNmNDNiYzVhNTJlYjQ4ZTQ4NDc5NzMwYWZmOGI1NGRh">Maybe more of a personality test than their actual souls then. With that in mind, Alyssa closed her eyes and concentrated, just as she had when trying out her other spells. This time, instead of thinking about fire or light, she thought about souls. A much more abstract concept. The mist sounded like it could show up, but now she was thinking about the hundreds of internet personality tests that existed back on Earth. Which fictional character are you? What is your spirit animal? Ten questions that will determine your favorite color! Vapid, silly quizzes that Alyssa had nonetheless taken more often than she would like to admit, mostly in her teenage years.</p> <p class="cnM4ODBkZDU2ZjAxZTQ4NmZiOTEyNTQ2MDIxNGFiZWI5">The card vanished. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel it there one moment then not the next. It had worked then? Slowly, Alyssa opened her eyes.</p> <p class="cnM2ODNmMjA3ZDRiNzQxNThiYjViZjM4ODBlZWU5NzNj">And stilled, barely wanting to risk a single breath.</p> <p class="cnM2MzgyYWM0NzZkOTRjMDhhNDkzNGM3ODJhNjlhZDg3">The library room was large. About as big as basketball gymnasium, though squared and with the corners rounded off. Alyssa and the princess were not near one of the walls, but close enough that the majority of the room was behind Irulon’s back.</p> <p class="cnNlMWYyNTIyMzA4ODQyMjBhN2IzOTEwODQxNjFkYmFl">Most of that space was occupied by a dragon. A great winged dragon made of wispy black smoke, glaring down at Alyssa with all its sharp teeth on full display. Its eyes were black with two rings of light, just like Irulon’s eyes had been for that brief instant earlier. The princess herself stood just beneath the dragon’s head, standing with her arms crossed over her chest as she stared down at Alyssa with a serene expression. “It worked! Rank Three without even specializing,” she said with a sudden clap of her hands. “I’m so happy. It would have broken my heart to have had to fill the stockades.”</p> <p class="cnM1OTc3MDg2ZmUzMzQyMTk5Mjk3YmNjYTI5ZDM4NGFj">Alyssa drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out slow and steady. She didn’t believe the princess in the slightest. But the dragon was just an illusion. It wasn’t real. Looking closer to its legs and belly, it passed right through the desks and benches. The real question, what was Irulon? Was she a dragon? Or was it some personality quiz nonsense that Alyssa was seeing the answer to but not the questions? What did a dragon represent? Avarice? Power?</p> <p class="cnNjMjYyZDc2Yjg3MjQ2ODJiN2NhZjkzZmQwOTQ5ZTAw">She wished she would have snapped a picture of the spell card before consuming it. Then she could have tested it later on Bacco and gotten some comparison. Though, depending on how long it lasted, maybe she could get out to the street and observe a passer-by for a few moments. If everyone showed up as monsters or animals, then there probably was significantly less to worry about.</p> <p class="cnMyNzkwMTNiYjdhMjRjYjY4ZjI2MzM1OWM3MGRjN2U4">“Your pupils are dilating. A fear response. Whatever you see cannot hurt you. It is merely an illusion.”</p> <p class="cnNmYzY3NmI1ZmRiYzRlN2U5MGUwMDdkNjhlZDkwN2M3">Alyssa forced her eyes down to the real Irulon. “I’m fine,” she said. “I just wasn’t expecting to see… a triangle. Glowing green and spinning rapidly above your head. It’s quite pretty.” If Irulon really was a dragon, masquerading as a human in a city that supposedly hated monsters, mentioning as such might be dangerous.</p> <p class="cnM1NzkwZDZlNmMxNjQ5ZTRiZDVlYzU1ZDcwYzI3Yzgw">“Good. As per our agreement, I’ll speak with the administrators. I doubt they’ll be pleased if you try to show up for lectures, but you will have unrestricted access to this library. Though it might be a few days. Why not return next week… I just realized, I never got your name with all the excitement.”</p> <p class="cnM1NmJlY2U5NTg1OTRlMDBiNDc3NDMwZjk5YTBmYWI2">“Alyssa.”</p> <p class="cnM2Y2FmZTY2MWM0NzQ2YTc4MGY5ZWIyMDI5MGEzODdj">“Alyssa,” Irulon repeated. “What a lovely name. Well, Alyssa, if you’ll excuse me, I have lectures to attend, administrators to thre—talk to, and research to delve into. I expect to see you here this time in a week. Don’t disappoint me now.”</p> <p class="cnM0MDgxMmJjN2YzZTQwYTBhMTJkMzljOGM5MDI2YmQy">Choosing not to comment on the princess’ slip of the tongue, Alyssa just watched as Irulon walked past her to the nearest staircase. The dragon followed after her, though it didn’t walk or even fly. It just glided around, passing half through the walls and then the floors as Irulon descended. Alyssa waited until the tips of its wings were well below the floor.</p> <p class="cnM5NTkzOWMwN2MyNTQ3YWZhMzg3NTcwNmM5ODAwMjhi">Only then did she release a great sigh of relief. Maybe that was enough magic for the day. Her phone had a bunch of spells that she could look over. That should be enough to hold her for a week. As scary as Irulon had been just now, she couldn’t pass up that offer to use the library. One week. Nothing more today. While the room was empty and she could probably stick around, it might be trouble if one of those administrators spotted her. Deciding to leave, she removed her jewelry, piece by piece, and replaced them in the jewelry box.</p> <p class="cnNhMzUxMDRjZGJkZTQ3MTdiMzU3ZDNiOWI3NTA4ZjU1">Hoping that taking off her adornments bought enough time for the lower lobby to empty itself of princesses and anyone else, Alyssa hefted up her pack and quickly made her way out of the library, through the display cases, down the steps, and onto the streets.</p> </div>

Lyria was not as filthy as Alyssa had imagined a medieval city to be. Maybe that was a bit rude or insensitive to the people who lived here, but just the fact that they lacked indoor plumbing had to mean they didn’t have decent sanitation. But Lyria had a river that ran right next to it. A river that apparently collected a great deal of waste. She could only hope that they took their drinking water from upstream. Far far upstream. According to Bacco, there were cisterns around that collected rainwater like gigantic man-made wells, but who knew how clean those were. Once again, Alyssa felt the need to reorder her priorities. It would be awfully difficult to research counter-angel magic if she died of dysentery. Could magic purify water? Or create it from nothing? Either one would be a most welcome change and save her hundreds of matches boiling every scrap of water she came across. Hopefully she would find out soon enough. “This is the magic academy?” “The Royal Observatorium of Demonic, Divine, and Miraculous Phenomena. Though nobody calls it that.” “Yes, it is quite the mouthful.” The building was smaller than she had expected. Larger than the surrounding buildings, but didn’t even come up to half the height of the tall towers or the central pyramidal building—which was apparently the royal palace where the pharaoh lived. Interesting that their ruler was a pharaoh. Given the more European-medieval bent of everything else she had seen, she would have suspected a king or queen instead. Then again, a majority of the names she had come across weren’t exactly European either. Aziz, Yzhemal, Lazhar. Were regional differences on Earth even relevant on this world? Probably not. Still, Alyssa thought of things in terms that were familiar to her. And most of the buildings in Lyria looked like they had been copied right out of an Egyptian history book—now that she was actually looking, things like that were obvious. She hadn’t paid much attention to it before hearing about this pharaoh. Lots of flat roofs, all the exterior walls were made from stone of some sort. Sandstone or maybe adobe bricks. On the other hand, the magical academy had more of a Roman design to it. Lots of white marble pillars, a tall domed roof, and three blocky wings pulling away from the central domed area. Three was a reoccurring pattern that Alyssa had noticed within Lyria. Three towers on the borders of the city. Three branches on the royal palace. Three wings on the academy. Even three items that the academy primarily observed, judging by its name. One of which had her somewhat concerned. Miracles were almost synonymous with magic, from what she had read of Aziz’s book. There were a few nuances that made them different, mostly regarding who or what was doing the spell casting. Divine obviously referred to angels. Or Tenebrael, if other angels were unknown to these people. But demonic? If angels were evil soul-eating absurdly powerful creatures obsessed with maintaining some nonsensical order in the world, she did not want to find out what real demons were like. “Can just anyone walk in?” There were people on the street passing back and forth on their way to whatever occupied their lives. None looked up to the building despite its out-of-place architecture. The majority of the people must be locals, entirely used to the magical academy. In the ten minutes she had spent observing the Observatorium, not a single person had entered. No one had left either, for whatever that was worth. Next to her, Bacco shrugged. “This is the closest I’ve ever been.” “Well, let us find out, shall we?” With one final adjustment of her backpack, Alyssa headed across the street.   Only to freeze.   Alyssa’s head whipped around, scanning the crowd. There weren’t any crosswalks, but then again, there wasn’t any traffic either. Every now and again, a horse drawn carriage—carrying either boxes or people—would pass through the streets, but they were both infrequent and slow. No forty-five mile an hour car that she had to worry about blowing through a red light. But the horses and people didn’t make her stop. Just in the very corner of her eye, she had thought she saw something catch the light of day. Something white-gold. The same color of Iosefael’s wings. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t see any angels, either among the crowd or flying overhead. There were monsters. Elves it seemed. Tall, pointed ears, fairly lithe. Most had a bluish hue to their skin. Not a one walked by without chains. Sometimes around their wrists. Sometimes around their necks. Slaves, apparently. She had asked Bacco upon first seeing one. They were stronger than they looked and masterful craftsmen. Highly desired by the nobility, according to Bacco. He had apparently encountered one up close in a whorehouse, the thought of which had Alyssa scowling. She didn’t mind so much the idea of a red light district, but an elf would almost certainly be there entirely unwillingly. Pushing the thought out of her head, Alyssa continued on. There was no sign of Iosefael and Bacco’s constant fidgeting was getting irritating. Just as she reached the bottom of the steps to the main entrance, someone else started climbing toward the Observatorium. A younger girl, maybe eighteen at the oldest, with dark hair and wearing an excess of gold. Gold earrings, gold bracelets, a single gold armband on her left arm that looked like a snake wrapped around her bicep. Maybe this woman was who she had mistaken for Iosefael. Behind Alyssa, Bacco drew in a short, clipped breath. “Someone you know?” she asked quietly. “Irulon. The Pharaoh’s only daughter.” “Really?” Alyssa focused on the girl, memorizing her features. It might not be important. She might never see her again, but it could be useful to know her face. The princess—was that the proper term for a pharaoh’s daughter?—had darker skin roughly on par with Alyssa’s with sharp and pointed features to her face. Her eyes were either tattooed or had makeup drawn on in a mirror image of the designs around Tenebrael’s eyes. The colorful dress she wore was definitely befitting of her royal status. The yellows, greens, and violets were absolutely unmarred by dirt and filth that clung to pretty much everything that existed in this world. Looking around, Alyssa found herself confused. “Shouldn’t she be accompanied by guards of some sort?” True, this wasn’t exactly the shady section of the city. It was relatively close to the palace, past it and on the eastern section of the city, a long way from the inn Cid and Bacco had taken her to which was more in the north-west area. But with how the guard at the entrance to the city had accosted her, she would have thought that someone as presumably important as the princess would have a whole swarm of people protecting her. Unless she didn’t need protection. Alyssa couldn’t help but notice a thick tome attached to the princess’ hip by shiny brass chains. It was probably filled with spells. A simple research notebook like Aziz’s wouldn’t need to be chained to her hip. “I don’t know for certain, but rumor has it that she is something of an outcast among her family. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her this close. The only other times I have seen her are when someone in the royal family is making a proclamation to the people. She generally stands in the background looking bored.” “So, a black sheep then.” Interesting. Ultimately irrelevant at the moment. She started up the steps herself, only to pause again as Bacco put a hand on her shoulder. “What are you doing?” Alyssa took a deep breath, closing her eyes to gather herself. Act. That was all she had to do. Act. Opening her eyes, she shot a dark glare at Bacco. “I came here for magical knowledge. The princess, or whatever she is, and her academics don’t matter to me.” “But—” “Is she going to have us arrested for entering the same building as her?” “Maybe not you, but I’m not exactly an upstanding citizen, if you haven’t noticed.” Alyssa looked him up and down. He still wore the same somewhat ragged clothing that he had on the night before. No shirt, just an undone vest. His hair was a ragged nest of black dreadlocks—not the modern, styled sort but free formed mats made from neglect. Comparing him to the people walking around, he definitely stood out. Not in a good way either. Even if a fraction of the other people had similar hair care techniques, they at least wore proper clothing. Being in the wealthier section of the city, there were few tears and snags in their far more expensive-looking outfits. For Alyssa herself, she was wearing modern clothing. Not any of the fancy dresses that she had brought under the assumption that they could be sold, but at least it looked decent. Though she was in pants. The princess was in a dress, as were several of the women passing about. Would that be a problem? If it wasn’t for her pack, she could probably walk in without worry. As it was now, she looked like some sort of servant, carrying the heavy load. She considered handing it off to Bacco and having him wait here. With how scared he was of her, he probably wouldn’t try anything. But if he did, she would be out so much. It wasn’t a chance she could take unless she wanted to end up destitute on the streets. Even returning to her home wouldn’t be easy without any supplies. Maybe if he followed her up, she could claim that he was her servant? But that still had the same problem of him potentially running off. And it required him to play along. Alyssa shook her head. “Just wait here.” She started up the steps again before pausing and reconsidering. “Or don’t. If you don’t like being here, I’m sure I can find my way back to that inn again. We can meet up there later on. Either way, I’m going to check this place out now.” He fidgeted a bit but didn’t make a move to follow as Alyssa climbed the stairs. There weren’t a lot of them. Just enough to raise the entire building a few feet off the ground. However, each step, while they didn’t go upwards much, was wide. A few footsteps to cross a single one of the stair steps. It had the side effect of recessing the main entrance to directly below the dome, well away from the street. The ends of two of the wings stretched all the way out to the street front. The stairs led up to a wide open doorway. There were doors, tall ones at least thrice the needed size for Bacco, but they had been propped open. Welcoming. A good sign, hopefully. An even better sign was the utter lack of guards. There wasn’t even a receptionist. The central room had several other doors leading off to the three wings and another pair of doors that looked to go to courtyards in the rear areas between the wings. A pair of spiral staircases went up into a floor above the high ceiling of the central room. The feet of the princess disappeared up one of the staircases just as Alyssa glanced up to see. That wasn’t to say that the circular area was an empty space. Glass display cases held all manner of items. From mundane wooden poles that might have been walking sticks—or magic staffs?—to something that Alyssa could only identify as the severed head of Medusa. Wondering if it was real, Alyssa couldn’t help but wander closer. The thing’s jaw was slack and open, displaying a full set of sharp teeth behind the scaly skin of its face. Its eyes were closed, thankfully. True to modern Earth depictions of Medusa, it lacked hair, with thick tentacles sticking out in all directions instead, each mounted to a point in its display case, suspending the head in the air. She couldn’t actually tell if the tentacles had been snakes as the ends had all been cut off, but it seemed likely. Tearing herself away from the somewhat morbid display, Alyssa found herself scowling. Would it kill these people to label some of the doors? There were no signs for directions. No arrows saying that lecture rooms twelve through thirty seven occupied one wing. No marker for the library or archives. Hopefully they had a library. That was probably something that she should have found out about a long time ago. With five choices, three wings and the two staircases, she could really only pick randomly. To start with, Alyssa headed up the same staircase that the princess had gone up. Libraries would be in the central location, right? That was how it worked at her university. If it wasn’t, then there was at least one person up there who might be willing to answer a few questions. Alyssa slowed as she neared the second floor, stopping completely once she could peek over the top of the floor. It looked like she had chosen correctly. Once again, the area was one big room. This time, the circular walls were covered in shelves. Shelves full of books. And scrolls! Like actual rolled up sheets of paper. There were even a few stone tablets here and there. Tall windows surrounding the entire room let enough light in to allow for easy reading. Instead of display cases, the main floor was filled with benches, chairs, tables, and desks. And people were seated at most of them. Some people were up by the shelves, browsing the texts. Pretty much everyone was dressed well enough that even if Alyssa ditched the backpack, she would still stand out like a sore thumb. None were quite so opulent as the princess, but there was a great deal of gold, opals, rubies, sapphires, and so on adorning all the women. In comparison, the men were fairly plain looking. Well dressed, but not looking like they had just robbed a jewelry store. Alyssa ducked back below, moving down a few steps and hoping that nobody had seen her. Just waltzing in looking like a vagrant was sure to get her… well, glared at if not thrown out. As far as she could tell, there still weren’t any guards. Then again, if any of these people were Rank Two arcanists, they might not need guards. She really needed someone she could trust to hold onto her backpack. Short of Lazhar or Yzhemal randomly showing up, she didn’t have anyone. Right on the steps, Alyssa dug through her backpack. All the way at the very bottom was a small wooden box. Her mother’s jewelry box. Alyssa didn’t have much in the way of jewelry herself. It had never suited her. She didn’t even have her ears pierced. Tattoos, yes. She had a tribal pattern tattoo on her right shoulder and arm, covered at the moment by her long sleeves. But the most jewelry she owned was a ring or two and maybe a bracelet. Nothing gaudy and golden either. Her mother, on the other hand, had a whole box filled with things that Alyssa wasn’t sure she had ever seen her wear. Maybe she just enjoyed collecting it. Whatever the case, the collection would come in handy here and now. Alyssa started slipping on bracelets, rings, and a fairly heavy golden necklace with a few jade stones hanging from its chain. It probably wasn’t real gold, but she wasn’t planning on letting an appraiser get too close to it anytime soon. She sprayed on just a hint of perfume. Just in case she smelled like sweat or worse. Alyssa didn’t think she did too much, but it was hard to tell. For just a moment, she considered tossing on the purple cloak but decided against it in the end. It was more of a traveler’s cloak than anything one would wear to school. Not only that, but she was still unsure of the exact connotations behind it being a noble’s cloak. She wasn’t trying to look like a noble. Just rich. The princess would probably know every noble in the city by sight. The backpack was still a problem, but aside from leaving it lying in the middle of the floor, she really didn’t have much choice. If questioned on it, she would have to come up with some excuse. Slipping it back on, Alyssa took a deep breath. The number one key to getting away with things was to act like said things were completely natural. Like she was supposed to be here. She put on a calm smile and, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, walked back up the steps without hesitation. Alyssa tried to avoid looking at anyone in particular. She didn’t want anyone who chanced a glance in her direction to think she was staring. Instead, she headed straight toward an empty section of the shelves. Empty of people, that was. There were plenty of books. The books were labeled on their spines in English, thankfully. Their titles weren’t all that promising. Aetherial Calculations in Relation to Divinity. Constructing Arrays: Concepts and Connections. Practical Methods of Physical Manipulation. It was like browsing the textbooks at university. Couldn’t they just have a book on transportation magic? Or maybe Magic Spells to Kill Divine Beings. Even just Water Magic Basics. Maybe she was in the wrong section. Practical Methods of Physical Manipulation looked the best out of the dozen or so titles she had read. She pulled it off the shelf and turned around to find a place to sit. Her breath caught in her throat. She almost lost her composure. A good quarter of the room had their eyes on her. Most people were bent over their own books, but not everyone. The ones who had been getting books, the ones who weren’t so focused on their studies, the ones who were softly speaking with one another, they had all noticed her. With another deep breath, getting herself under control, Alyssa ignored them. Unfortunately, there weren’t many empty seats that were also isolated from the students. She really didn’t want to sit near anyone and invite conversation. The only really available seats were near the princess. Irulon had a whole bubble around herself that nobody dared to pass, giving her a good five feet of empty space. Should I try sitting nearby? Irulon looked busy. The table she sat at had a three books set out that she was looking between as she wrote something down on a fourth tome in the middle of all of them. The princess might not even notice Alyssa’s presence if she sat on the edge of the bubble. Plan in mind, Alyssa carefully approached, moving briskly but trying to act unhurried. The moment she crossed the threshold of the bubble, she realized she had made a mistake. Everyone gasped. Not obvious gaping gasps, but when thirty or so people all drew in even a small breath at once, it made some noise. Irulon blinked twice, looked up, glanced around, and quickly spotted Alyssa. “Sorry for disturbing you,” Alyssa said as politely as she could, hoping her smile wasn’t too strained. “Is this seat taken?” The princess looked around again, slowly this time. As she did so, everyone her gaze crossed immediately tried to look like they were doing something else. Reading, browsing books, or simply staring at the ceiling—which, now that Alyssa noticed, was fairly ornate with some Sistine Chapel-like mural covering most of it, though this mural depicted a certain terrible angel instead of anything she was familiar with. When Irulon finally looked back to Alyssa, she smiled. “Not at all. Feel free.” There was something about that smile, about the way she spoke. It should have been a kindly gesture, but it sent a chill down Alyssa’s spine. She couldn’t put a finger on why, exactly. The smile didn’t look fake and her words were said in a jovial tone. Maybe it was too jovial. Too much genuineness to her smile. Her eyes lacked the curiosity that the other students had even as she stared at Alyssa. “Thanks,” Alyssa said, trying to ignore it. She shrugged off her backpack, tucked it under the marble bench she had chosen to sit on, and started flipping through the book she had taken. All the while, she tried her best to not look up and stare at the princess. The very first thing she noticed was the lettering in the book. English, thankfully. More interestingly, it was all hand-written. Each letter differed from their neighbors ever so slightly despite the scribe having taken great care to make everything as uniform as possible. In her head, Alyssa knew that books had been written by hand long before the printing press came into being. It was still somewhat of a novelty to see firsthand. Once she got over the lettering, she started looking at the actual contents. The book might actually be more useful than she had initially thought. First of all, it had spell diagrams that Aziz’s book lacked. Most were Rank One, but there were Rank Two and even a few Rank Three spells as well. Secondly, apparently physical manipulation meant anything that physically existed. That didn’t just mean boxes, wood, or dirt, though moving around such things was possible in a variety of ways. There was one spell simply titled Draw Water. According to the text, it could draw a stream of water from a larger source. And only water. Did that mean that it would leave behind fish? Dirt? What about bacteria and contaminants? It could very well be the spell she had been looking for—and on her first book no less—but without a microscope, she wasn’t sure how to actually test it out. Aside from things that could be done with machinery, there was one Rank Three spell that actually shortened the distance between two points for someone to travel along. Just thinking about how that was supposed to work actually hurt Alyssa’s head. Yet there were several pages dedicated to explaining the subject. Flipping through each of the spell diagrams, Alyssa couldn’t find any that manipulated time as Tenebrael had earlier in the day, but perhaps that was a higher ranked spell. Maybe time didn’t physically exist, so it wouldn’t be in this book. Still, manipulating distance could be invaluable. If she could make a shortcut all the way back to her house… well, she would have a relatively safe place to store things such as her pack. Though that might be a little problematic. The furthest distance anyone had ever shrank, according to the book, was no bigger than a room’s size. Even if that unspecified room had been as large as this library, that was still a far cry from the two week journey to Teneville. Alyssa opened up her backpack and started to pull out Aziz’s satchel. In order to test these all later, she needed to write them down. But she thought better of it. As it was, she could still be kicked out at any moment. She didn’t dare look up, but she could still feel plenty of eyes watching her. Writing down all the spells one by one could take all day. Especially while ensuring that she didn’t make a mistake in replicating the spell designs and all the runic text associated with them. She was sure to be kicked out before then. Taking a slight risk, Alyssa pulled out her phone and started snapping pictures of each spell diagram. She put a caption on each, just a short description of what the spell was supposed to do. Draw water, shrink distances, decrease weight, and even a Rank Three illusory class spell that was supposed to disguise an object without changing its function. How exactly that last one worked, she might have to experiment with. If she could disguise her backpack as a fancy cloak and combine it with the decreased weight spell, carrying it around all day might actually be feasible. She had snapped up a good twenty spells before she felt something. Just a slight change in the air around her. A slight darkening of the book’s pages as a shadow came over them. Alyssa looked up and immediately let out a short squeak from the back of her throat. Irulon was standing over her, staring. “That’s an interesting trinket. I am unable to identify the spells that make it work.” “W-well,” Alyssa stuttered, wracking her mind to come up with some explanation. “Some folks back home took a rock and tricked it into thinking by flattening and firing lighting through it.” Thank you internet for the best description of computers to give to someone in a magical society. “I would like to perform some analysis, if you please.” She phrased it like a request, but Alyssa couldn’t hear anything but an order in the princess’ voice. The way she was already reaching out to take it only cemented that feeling. Alyssa drew back. “Sorry,” she said, “but it is keyed to me and won’t work properly for anyone else.” Irulon’s eyes shifted. The sclera turned black. In fact, her entire eyes turned black save for two white rings on the inner and outer edge of her irises. It was over in an instant, only being a slight flicker that might have been nothing more than a trick of the light. Her eyes were back to normal human eyes with pale violet irises. For a moment, she frowned. It didn’t last. “That’s a shame,” she said with a sudden smile more serene than any Alyssa had ever seen. The way she leaned in closer, towering as she stood, just lit Alyssa’s nerves on fire. “I must admit, I know most every Obsevatorium attendee, but I don’t believe I have seen you before. Your face and complexion indicate local parentage, but your attire…” Irulon trailed off as she looked over Alyssa’s clothing. Alyssa ran a suddenly dry tongue over her lips, trying to get a little bit of moisture back in her mouth before choking on her own words. “America,” she spat out as soon as she felt able. “I’m from a town called America.” It was a vague, generic response, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t like anyone here would recognize any place she named. “Haven’t heard of it,” Irulon said with a musical hum, confirming Alyssa’s thoughts. “I know the names of all villages between Lyria and the Fortress of Pandora. It must be far.” “More than you could imagine.” “Well—” Whatever the princess had been about to say got cut off by a bell ringing. Not modern school bells or even church chimes, but a heavy bass ringing loud and deep enough to shake the walls. The princess remained where she was, leering over Alyssa, but whatever spell had enraptured the other students broke. Loud, relative to the near silence the library had been before, discussions cropped up everywhere around the room as they started replacing books on the shelves and folding up their notebooks. “Princess?” A mousy girl with brown hair and far paler skin stepped closer, though she maintained her distance enough to preserve Irulon’s bubble. “Shall I tell Administrator Devo that you will be missing his lecture?” Irulon finally took a step back, twisting her neck and shoulders enough to elicit noisy pops. “I will be there, Caressa, though I may be late. Inform him of that, if you please.” “Of course,” Caressa said with a deep bow that had her long hair swooping down to nearly touch the floor. She backed away without properly righting herself and started running to the stairs. Everyone else in the room seemed to take that as their cue to get out. Their efforts to pack up doubled and soon enough, the library was completely empty. Except for Alyssa and Irulon. Alyssa couldn’t help but rest her hand on the grip of her pistol. Killing royalty would probably land her in some extraordinary trouble, but she couldn’t help it. There was something very very wrong with the princess. Irulon looked back down at Alyssa, this time without any of the invasive posturing. She just smiled and spoke with the same happy tone she had used when Alyssa asked if she could have a seat. “You aren’t a student here.” At Alyssa’s shake of her head, she nodded. “I thought not. The administrators won’t be happy about that, you know. Most everyone here paid exorbitant prices to be given the honor of being lectured by said administrators in their great orations.” Her voice, though still toned to be pleasant, had a hint of snide sarcasm as she mentioned the administrators. “Dreadful.” “The doors were wide open. I figured anyone was welcome.” “The administrators like to show off their students’ prowess and accomplishments. But the artifacts on display should be protected against theft and the rooms protected from entry by those not inducted. You should have been unable to pass through.” Alyssa didn’t say anything. She hadn’t known that there were any protections, presumably of the magical variety. There hadn’t been any signs or warnings. It made sense though. People didn’t just leave things unguarded. Especially not things valuable enough that they would be put under glass cases. As such, she didn’t have an answer for how she got past them. Of course, she had been doing all sorts of strange things. Even two separate angels had been confused about how she could see them. And according to Aziz’s book, no one got magic right on their first or second try. Not even Rank Zero spells. “I see,” Irulon said. Alyssa had never answered her implied question. “You have no magical training. You have cast spells, but nothing impressive with what you were copying from the book.” Her fingers brushed over its pages, but her eyes didn’t leave Alyssa. “A tutor outside the Observatorium would not be out of the question.” “None.” “Hm.” Her eyes flicked to Aziz’s satchel. “Your tutor was a failed student. There is no shame in admitting that. You were able to cast the meager spells he had to offer and found yourself wanting more. Some of those you copied were Rank Three spells. Your desire to cast and your ability to cast might not be equal.” Alyssa licked her lips. Bringing the bag of a student who had been kicked out not so long ago might have been yet another poor decision that she hadn’t fully thought through. But Irulon didn’t seem to care that much. Her focus was more on whether or not Alyssa could cast higher level spells. Licking her lips again, she said, “Won’t know until I try.” “Ah hah, I like that attitude. So many people here can’t cast a Rank Two spell after a few tries then just never try another Rank Two again, calling themselves Rank One arcanists for the rest of their lives.” She hummed again, pulled up the book chained to her hip, and started flipping through pages. She stopped around halfway through and, with a light tug, pulled free a card just like those in Aziz’s collection. Alyssa tensed, expecting a spell to be cast on her, but Irulon had other plans. She held out the card for Alyssa to take. It had a continuous spiral on it, along with plenty of angelic runes. Though the spiral wasn’t complete. It had been cut straight in half through the middle and both sides were offset, making the lines not match up. The spell wasn’t one that Alyssa recognized from her admittedly small reservoir of magical knowledge. “What does it do?” she asked without taking the spell card. “Spectral Sight. It is a Rank Three Death spell that allows the arcanist to view the state of souls. It is considered extremely invasive and can be punished harshly if you’re caught using it around unwilling people. However, it is also one of the few Rank Three spells I have that won’t have dire consequences for me if you fail to use it properly. Or succeed in using it, for that matter.” Alyssa frowned, not taking it still. “You’re not going to have me arrested for using on you, are you?” Irulon let out a light giggle. As with everything else she did, it just had too much happiness for it to be natural. “If you succeed, I’ll ensure you can come here without being bothered by students or staff. If you fail… we’ll go with your suggestion! Some time in the stocks will teach you to intrude on this noble place of learning.” Alyssa couldn’t help but shudder. She honestly couldn’t tell if the princess was kind or cruel. But she had to take the chance. Plucking the spell card from the princess’ fingers, she looked over its offset spiral. “What do souls look like?” she asked, already having something of an idea. That liquid-like mist that Tenebrael pulled out of the deceased had to be souls. “No one has any idea what actual souls look like. This spell views the state of souls, which not only is different for everyone who uses the spell, but is different for the viewed as well. And it can change over time. Some people see an aura of colors. Some see familiar objects that they liken to a variety of derangements or attributes. A cracked mirror might indicate a deep and ingrained hate for oneself, for example.” Maybe more of a personality test than their actual souls then. With that in mind, Alyssa closed her eyes and concentrated, just as she had when trying out her other spells. This time, instead of thinking about fire or light, she thought about souls. A much more abstract concept. The mist sounded like it could show up, but now she was thinking about the hundreds of internet personality tests that existed back on Earth. Which fictional character are you? What is your spirit animal? Ten questions that will determine your favorite color! Vapid, silly quizzes that Alyssa had nonetheless taken more often than she would like to admit, mostly in her teenage years. The card vanished. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel it there one moment then not the next. It had worked then? Slowly, Alyssa opened her eyes. And stilled, barely wanting to risk a single breath. The library room was large. About as big as basketball gymnasium, though squared and with the corners rounded off. Alyssa and the princess were not near one of the walls, but close enough that the majority of the room was behind Irulon’s back. Most of that space was occupied by a dragon. A great winged dragon made of wispy black smoke, glaring down at Alyssa with all its sharp teeth on full display. Its eyes were black with two rings of light, just like Irulon’s eyes had been for that brief instant earlier. The princess herself stood just beneath the dragon’s head, standing with her arms crossed over her chest as she stared down at Alyssa with a serene expression. “It worked! Rank Three without even specializing,” she said with a sudden clap of her hands. “I’m so happy. It would have broken my heart to have had to fill the stockades.” Alyssa drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out slow and steady. She didn’t believe the princess in the slightest. But the dragon was just an illusion. It wasn’t real. Looking closer to its legs and belly, it passed right through the desks and benches. The real question, what was Irulon? Was she a dragon? Or was it some personality quiz nonsense that Alyssa was seeing the answer to but not the questions? What did a dragon represent? Avarice? Power? She wished she would have snapped a picture of the spell card before consuming it. Then she could have tested it later on Bacco and gotten some comparison. Though, depending on how long it lasted, maybe she could get out to the street and observe a passer-by for a few moments. If everyone showed up as monsters or animals, then there probably was significantly less to worry about. “Your pupils are dilating. A fear response. Whatever you see cannot hurt you. It is merely an illusion.” Alyssa forced her eyes down to the real Irulon. “I’m fine,” she said. “I just wasn’t expecting to see… a triangle. Glowing green and spinning rapidly above your head. It’s quite pretty.” If Irulon really was a dragon, masquerading as a human in a city that supposedly hated monsters, mentioning as such might be dangerous. “Good. As per our agreement, I’ll speak with the administrators. I doubt they’ll be pleased if you try to show up for lectures, but you will have unrestricted access to this library. Though it might be a few days. Why not return next week… I just realized, I never got your name with all the excitement.” “Alyssa.” “Alyssa,” Irulon repeated. “What a lovely name. Well, Alyssa, if you’ll excuse me, I have lectures to attend, administrators to thre—talk to, and research to delve into. I expect to see you here this time in a week. Don’t disappoint me now.” Choosing not to comment on the princess’ slip of the tongue, Alyssa just watched as Irulon walked past her to the nearest staircase. The dragon followed after her, though it didn’t walk or even fly. It just glided around, passing half through the walls and then the floors as Irulon descended. Alyssa waited until the tips of its wings were well below the floor. Only then did she release a great sigh of relief. Maybe that was enough magic for the day. Her phone had a bunch of spells that she could look over. That should be enough to hold her for a week. As scary as Irulon had been just now, she couldn’t pass up that offer to use the library. One week. Nothing more today. While the room was empty and she could probably stick around, it might be trouble if one of those administrators spotted her. Deciding to leave, she removed her jewelry, piece by piece, and replaced them in the jewelry box. Hoping that taking off her adornments bought enough time for the lower lobby to empty itself of princesses and anyone else, Alyssa hefted up her pack and quickly made her way out of the library, through the display cases, down the steps, and onto the streets.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNiZWQzMjc3NWYyNjRlZjI5ZDJhNTM0NjZkMzk4MTgw" style="text-align: center"><strong>Chapter 16: Prophecy of the Goddess</strong></p> <p class="cnM5Y2FhMDQ0Yzc1OTRkYWRhOTAzYWJkMmViNWE2N2Zk"><strong><em>(Setting: Crystal Kingdom: Royal Palace- </em></strong><strong><em>Oracle Oladion's </em></strong><strong><em>bedroom)</em></strong></p> <p class="cnM4ZGMzOTRhMWM4MzQyNzU5YTg5YWJmYTM0ZDcyMzQx"><strong><em>(Scene: The Crystal King and Queen speak with </em></strong><strong><em>Oracle Oladion</em></strong><strong><em>)</em></strong></p> <p class="cnM4MGZjZmVlZmFjYTQyNTFiOTNmZDliNTdiMTZkNWQw"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*bows*</span></em> <strong>Oracle Oladion,</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> today is the day that you finally reveal the </span><strong>Holy Goddess' prophecy</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">…</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDc2YTYyYmE1YjQ4NmQ4ODI1ZTFiN2MzNjI1MzJh"><strong>[Queen Anastasia Cree]:</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">*bows*</span></em> <strong>Oracle</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">, your holiness... Are you ready to come into the city and face the beautiful people of<strong> Xeria</strong>?</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZTk5MWJiYzczMDQzODg4NWZlMjA0MmJjN2NhYmUy"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*The </span></em><strong><em>Oracle </em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">sleepily rises from the sheets.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM5Y2Q0ODZiMzM5YTQ5MTdiOGY3ZWRlYTI4ZDFiZWI0"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Sleepily*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> ... Mmmm... Yes... Okay... Have all of the preparations been fulfilled?</span></p> <p class="cnNlODZmYTNmMGU4NjRkNjQ4ODA4YmE4NThkMmJiMWRl"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> Yes, </span><strong>Oracle</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">. Everything has been prepped to your exact instructions. I am confident that the <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong> is ready for your speech as well as what is to come after your announcement.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MWFlZjBiYjU4MDQ3NTM4MTkzNmJkMjg3NzA5Y2Yz"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Yaaawwwnnn*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> ... Very well then... Let's be on our way…</span></p> <p class="cnNlMjM5NzlkNjk1NTQxNTA5NjJmZmViYzViZjIxYzcw"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*The slowly </span></em><strong><em>Oracle</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> climbs out of the soft and massive bed.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNhMjZjOGI2NjAxYTQ1NTZiNmJiZTcwMTAxMWYxN2Fl"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]: </strong><strong>Oracle</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">, would you like for me to call for a carrier?</span></p> <p class="cnM2MDVkZDJlMTk4ODRmZjBiN2YxMWUzOWFjODMzODI5"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> No, there's no need for that... I may be hundreds of years old but these cankles can still kick!</span></p> <p class="cnNkNzI2NjRlOTkxZTRlYmY5YTAyNzUxZTc4MjM2MzYy"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> <em>*Confused* </em>... C-cankles? Isn't that an old woman thing?</span></p> <p class="cnNlOTg3OGM3N2JhYTQ1ZjA4NTgxZTlhM2Y5NGNlOWRl"><strong>[Queen Anastasia Cree]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> Do you really think I know anything about that? I'm still young, <strong>Jeremiah</strong>, sheesh...</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZWE4M2U1NTk0MTQyNjNiOTlmNWQyMTZhNjE0YTAw"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">Come now. Let's get going, you whippersnappers!</span></p> <p class="cnM2YmZiMzI1ZTIxMDRmYTZhMDhhNjVjMjZlMTliYzRi"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]: </strong><em>*Annoyed* </em><span style="font-weight: 400">Okay, now he's just being ridiculous…</span></p> <p class="cnMzMmRlMTY0NDY5ZTRlZTliZWRjYjQxNGFhZWE0MWZk"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*<strong>The </strong></span></em><strong><em>King</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">, </span></em><strong><em>Queen</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">, and </span></em><strong><em>Oracle</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> board a royal chariot headed for the <strong>Main City</strong>. Four white broncos pulled the royals with swiftness and comfortability.</span></em></p> <p class="cnMwMGI0ZDA3ZDEwODQzYmU4ZjQ5ZmExODAwNjdiZDU5"><strong><em>(Setting: Crystal Kingdom: Main City- Grand Plaza)</em></strong></p> <p class="cnNmNzQ5Y2U0NTA3MDRhYTRiYjg3NzUwOTg1Y2Y3YzAw"><strong><em>(Scene: The boys appear at the Grand Plaza of the Main City)</em></strong></p> <p class="cnM1ZjJkM2M0YzgzNjQ3NmU5MDVkZTA4OTVmMGJlNzQz"><strong>[Narrator]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> After a day of fun in the city, </span><strong>Baku</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> and his friends prepare go their separate ways for the night, however…</span></p> <p class="cnMxNzAxOTUwNWE3ZjRhNGJiZjYzOGE3ODNlYTkyMGM2"><strong>[Baku]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Angrily Shouting* </span></em><strong>I'M SO DONE WITH THIS STUPID CITY! I JUST WANNA GO HOME, BUT THIS FREAKIN' CROWD IS MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE FIELDS! IT'S LIKE GOING DOWN AN UPSTREAM RIVER!</strong></p> <p class="cnMxMmI0OTgyODMyNTQ3NmViZGNjZWUwY2Q1YzRkOWJl"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*</span></em><strong><em>Barrtio </em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">is being swept away by the crowd of people headed for the <strong>Grand Plaza</strong> that has been set up for some announcement. A large stage and podium were built to perfect standards in record time.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNiOWZhODExNDQyOTQxOGJhNGIwMjFjNDk3MmI4MzA3"><strong>[Barrtio]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Shouting*</span></em> <strong>Bakuuu</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">! </span><strong>Finnnnn</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">!</span></p> <p class="cnM3M2FiZmVjNTFhZTQ2ZDY4NTY5ODFmMmM3ZTg0ZTJj"><strong>[Finn]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Frantically* </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Holy crap, we lost </span><strong>Barrtio</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">!</span></p> <p class="cnNkZTdmMjM0NTljYzQ0OWQ5ZjMyZDgzZTQ2YmE1OWJl"><strong>[Baku]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">Don't worry, guys! I see an opening!</span></p> <p class="cnNlMWJmYWJjNzQ3YjQzYWZhNTNiZmNlYTkwZDM5ZjFk"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*The boys successfully manage to swim out of the sea of <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong> citizens. Literally everybody in town is on the streets eagerly awaiting the royals to appear.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM5NTg2YzA1ZWFmMjRlZDc4ODYyNzRkNmJjOWFhZjRk"><strong>[Baku]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*pant, pant*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> ... That... was... ass-- </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*pant*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> sinine…</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDkyNDgxY2Y1MTQwOWM4YzVhZGE3YmMzOGU2NDBk"><strong>[Finn]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Sigh* </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">... You can say that again… I'm way too wide to maneuver around that many people...</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODc3MGNlOWUzOTRlNTNiYjk4ZDJjNjQ2MzY5YTAy"><strong>[Barrtio]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> Some type of announcement of this scale, has got to be big... But what crap could be so important?</span></p> <p class="cnMyY2JiZGMwZTY1MjQ2MzBiNDUwODZjYmY2MWZhYjZl"><strong>[Baku]:</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Sigh*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> I don't care, man... If the whole kingdom isn't lining up to wish me a happy birthday, it's not important to </span><strong>Baku</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">... All I know is that away from here, there's a triple chocolate-chocolate cake with my name on it. That being said, I'm headin' home to enjoy the rest of my evening. </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Smiling*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Thanks for hanging out guys! I'll see ya tomorrow!</span></p> <p class="cnM0M2VmYzc0NTEyODQ4MGRhYjkwODVhYTcwOWJmYTBh"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Meanwhile, atop a large stage, </span></em><strong><em>the King </em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">and </span></em><strong><em>Queen </em></strong><em>finally </em><em><span style="font-weight: 400">appear to address their subjects after disembarking their royal chariot. They were dressed in matching silver and black stylish jackets made of soft cotton material with real fur around the hoods to keep them warm from the winter chill. </span></em></p> <p class="cnM1Y2U2OWM0ZGU1MjQ5Mzc4ZGIzYzkwNWY3ZDQyZDEx"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*The townsfolk grow with excitement, and adoration at the sight of their leaders. People are already cheering and waving at the royal couple. The citizens of the <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong> truly love, respect and believe in them, as they have yet to fail them or be let down by their government.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNjZmJhZjBiZmRkODQ2YzFiOWNkODY2NDhhZDNlYmFj"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Suddenly, loud horns blare at<strong> Crystal Kingdom's</strong> anthem and the townsfolk quiet down as </span></em><strong><em>the King</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> finally begins his speech. </span></em></p> <p class="cnNhYzA4OGY4NTBhZjRjY2FhMGViY2U0ZDRhMmUwNjgx"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">Loyal and beautiful people of <strong>Xeria</strong>! I thank all of you for unselfishly sacrificing your time to hear me today! I come to you all to bring great news coming from the <strong>Royal Center</strong> of the <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong>. You may have heard rumors, and I have come here to bring confirmation of them, to you. Citizens of <strong>Xeria</strong>, the </span><strong>Grand Oracle Oladion</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">, has reawakened with a divine message from the </span><strong>Holy Goddess, Mother Eternia</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">!</span></p> <p class="cnNmMTMwZjEwODcxOTQzZWE5ZDQyNmZlNTNmMmJlZWY0"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*The tension in the air rises as the crowd waits in silence wanting to hear the <strong>Holy Goddess'</strong> message.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM3MjEyZjAxMjM2ZjQxZThiMDI1ODFjZThkMTY2Yjky"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*It is the first time in fifteen years, since any divine wisdom was given to the people of the <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong>, and the <strong>Planet Eternia</strong> in general. The people didn't know what exactly to expect, but many emotions began to well up amongst the commoners. Some of them were excited, and some of them were fearful. Each of which were fairly justifiable in their own right. The </span></em><strong><em>Oracle</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> slowly and carefully climbs up the podium and prepares to announce his message. </span></em></p> <p class="cnNkNDBjNzQzZDM4OTRiMjk4YTY5OWU0MDY1YjFjNTRk"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> ... H-hello? Is this thing on? </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Microphone screech*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Oh wow... Can somebody lower this for me?</span></p> <p class="cnM4YzMzODc2ZTY2YjRlZTc5MjliYjZmMDRmMTc3Njlj"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">Right, sorry. Here you go… <em>*Adjust the microphone* </em></span></p> <p class="cnNjNGJjOTkwYWQxNTQ5YTVhMzQ1ZjNiZjQwNzJhMzA3"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> Oh, wonderful! Hello! Hello, everybody! I thank you all for being here to listen to this old man's banter... I hope you are all having a great day today! In fact, now that I think about it, it's been fifteen years since I've last seen any of you! Oh, how grown up you've all gotten! The city looks great, everybody! You're all working hard to support your kingdom! I really appreciate it! I see <strong>King Jeremiah</strong> has been treating you well, too! Ho ho ho! This is all very good for me to see, not that I had any doubts. Even in my dreams, I knew this kingdom was in good hands for the last decade and a half, ho ho ho... </span></p> <p class="cnMwMWE1ZDNjMjMyMjRkYWU5MGM5MmM4ZTBiMDllMGI4"><span style="font-weight: 400"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]: </strong>Oh right, the reason why I'm here to speak to you currently, is because I come to you all with important news! I have received a divine message from her absolute holiness, </span><strong>Mother Eternia</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">! Now don't be alarmed everyone, but in my deep slumber, she told me that the <strong>Planet Eternia</strong> will experience </span><strong>a great rebellion</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">... The likes of which, may very greatly affect both the </span><strong>surface world and our Kingdom of Xeria</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">!</span></p> <p class="cnMwMDgzMTc3YWQ1MDQzM2RhN2Y0YjcyOGU5YzU3MGI5"><strong>[Crowd of People]:</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Shocked* *Gasp* </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">My goodness! He's not kidding is he!? A rebellion!? And at such a large scale! Who's rebelling who!? Are we going to be safe!? This is utterly frightening! How in the world did he think that wouldn't be alarming!? I'm alarmed! I am too, I freakin' live here!</span></p> <p class="cnNlNjU5YjJjNTk3ZjRlMTM4YTE1ODc3OWQwNDc0NjQ3"><strong>[Queen Anastasia Cree]:</strong> <em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Whispering*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> The aura in the air is so heavy... It almost hurts my chest…</span></p> <p class="cnMwYjc2N2NmMWQwMjQwYjBiNWJjMDM4ZDE0MGMxNTcz"><strong>[King Jeremiah Cree]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> Can you blame them? We've been at peace for so long... This news is simply anything but pleasant... I just hope that our people are strong enough not to over worry themselves into mass panic… </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Thinking to himself* </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">Or see this as a reason to spark a riot...</span></p> <p class="cnM1NDBiZmYxNDUxYjRhMzdhN2VhYTc3MjlmOTY0Zjdk"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> This may seem apprehensive to you all... But the <strong>Holy Mother</strong> also left me with </span><strong>a second message</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">…</span></p> <p class="cnNjZDU5ZTkwNjIxYTRjMmY5ZGE1MDdiZTRmY2Q2YTZk"><strong>[Crowd of People]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Frantically*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> Two messages at once!? As if the first one wasn't enough! It's a double whammy of punishment! This is it! This is the end of the planet as we know it! This is repayment for so many years of peace and silence! <strong>Mother Eternia</strong> is displeased with us! We've been too happy! We should've been more disciplined!</span></p> <p class="cnNjMDQ4OTg3OGViYTQxYzk4MjMzZjNhYjQxMDQzZjUw"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> In my deep slumber, <strong>Her Holyness</strong> told me that </span><strong>angels will fall from the heavens and bring with them a sickness that will negatively affect the living planet</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">... It will cast a curse on <strong>Planet Eternia</strong>, unlike any other it has ever experienced in all its history. The dream stated that our world will experience a weakening state of decomposition and cause it to walk the path towards its own destruction............ </span></p> <p class="cnM5M2M5NDI3OWNmMTQ3NWRhODlkOGIwZmYxMWJlNmVh"><span style="font-weight: 400"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]: </strong>But fear not, my brothers and sisters! For the <strong>Holy Goddess</strong> has foretold me that a</span><strong> World Guardian</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> from the <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong> has been divinely selected by her greatness to undertake the mission of protecting the living planet…</span></p> <p class="cnM4ODhhODE4NmNmNDQ3ZDVhMDU1ODE2Yjk4YTUzZGE4"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*The crowds’ excitement disappears, and fear begins to emanate from the crowd as they wonder not only who the </span></em><strong><em>World Guardian</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> will be, but also what the divine message means and try to ponder what the rebellion means for them and the planet below. Nobody even remembers who the last hero was. </span></em></p> <p class="cnM3OTYzOTQ0NGM0NTQ5ZWI4ZjE5NjVkY2VjYTA0M2Nm"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*After so many years of living in peace and general prosperity, the idea that the planet is in danger again seems like waking up into a living nightmare. By what the <strong>Oracle</strong> is describing, it sounds like the life as they knew it was utterly doomed to continue the cycle of hatred, agony, despair, and an everlooming threat of imminent danger.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM1NWZiYzU1N2U5NjRlM2I5NjhmODgyNzMxNWJhYWY4"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">For those of you who don't know... The previous </span><strong>World Guardian</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> that hailed from the <strong>Crystal Kingdom</strong>, </span><strong>was a female who lived more than fifteen years ago</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">... Because of this, the next </span><strong>World Guardian</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> is destined to be a male as predetermined by the </span><strong>Holy Mother's</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> divine selection system...</span></p> <p class="cnMzNjFmYzgxZDNmYjQyMzliMDEzMzA5MDU4MWNjZWMw"><strong>[Crowd of People]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> ...</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> *mumbling*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> ...</span><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> *whispering*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> …</span></p> <p class="cnMzMmJkMzBiMWM5MjRlMjE4OGY3Y2JkMmJkYTgyZDNj"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> Finally, after more than a decade of peace... The battle of good and evil shall finally resume, starting right here and now... The </span><strong>Holy Goddess</strong>, whose word is just and true... Whose radiance and glory shall surely lead us back into an era of life, love, and happiness...<span style="font-weight: 400"> Calls upon a hero from the </span><strong>Crystal Kingdom Xeria</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">, whose citizens boast the strongest, bravest, and most proud people on the planet, to become the </span><strong>15th World Guardian </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">and dedicate themselves to embark on the journey to protect <strong>Planet Eternia</strong>.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MmUzMDlkNzk3MTRhYzY4MGJjYzA5ZGU3YTE2ZWM1"><span style="font-weight: 400"><strong>[Oracle Oladion]: </strong>Their mission, to fight against the</span><strong> Goddess of Darkness' followers and forces of destruction </strong>and become the shepard who acts as Her holy ambassador to peace, justice, and most importantly, hope...<span style="font-weight: 400">. At the end of my fifteen year eternal slumber, <strong>Her divine grace, </strong><strong>Mother Eternia</strong> told me the name of the next man whom is to lead the living planet to another era of prosperity... His name... was </span><strong>Aventurine Xavier Baku</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">!!!</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZTFlMTUwZDdmYzQwNjFhYjM2YTQyNTJhOWZiMDY5"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Silence sweeps across the kingdom. No one, not even a single baby in the crowd made any noise, let alone reacted to the <strong>Oracle's</strong> announcement...</span></em></p> <p class="cnNhYTk5ZDRiYWVkODRkNGRiOGViY2ZlOWFjOWY1ODRm"><strong>[Crowd of People]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> ... </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*whispering quietly*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> ... Huh?... Who is that? ... I don't know, I've never heard that name before… D-did he say "Kaku"? N-no, I think he said "Baka".</span></p> <p class="cnNlYzAzYjNjZDk5ZjQzYWFhZTRlOGFhMDQ5OGIxNjAy"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*As </span></em><strong><em>Baku</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> is headed to the <strong>Crystal Fields</strong>, he hears his name be called and stops right at the gate. He turns around and faces the podium where the Royals stand. He stares intently for a second and then says...</span></em></p> <p class="cnMzYjZiNTRjZmM0YjQ1OWVhYmRiZjVmMmRlMTNlM2Iy"><strong>[Baku]:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> ..................... No....</span></p> <p class="cnNiOWVjY2IwYWVkMTRhZGE4MTRiOGRlZjBmMTYyMTYy"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*</span></em><strong><em>Baku</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> continues toward the fields. </span></em><strong><em>Barrtio</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> and </span></em><strong><em>Finn</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> follow him.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNmM2RjYzNjYWE5MTQ1NDhhMjkyMTA5YTMxOTQzZThj"><strong>[Barrtio]: </strong><em>*Confused* </em><span style="font-weight: 400">Uhh... </span><strong>Baku</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">? Why did that old guy call your name?</span></p> <p class="cnNiYzFlMzNkMGRiZTRiNTRhZTlkZDM4Y2I2ZTZiZDZi"><strong>[Baku]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">He didn't say my name. He probably meant someone else.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MDc0ZDZhNmJjZjQzZDU5OGVkZDZkZWRmYzEyMGM4"><strong>[Finn]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">Are you sure about that, dude? He even said your first name… And you hate that...</span></p> <p class="cnMyYjE3YWFhMDg2MzQxNGNhZTZiMmYzZDRlMzNjOTYx"><strong>[Baku]</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">: I know, I usually hate when anybody but my </span><strong>Mom</strong><span style="font-weight: 400"> calls me that... </span></p> <p class="cnMyMjQ3ODM3ZjRmNjQ4YjNiNjkxN2VkZjM5NmUyYzdh"><strong>[Barrtio and Finn]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">That's not the point, </span><strong>Baku</strong><span style="font-weight: 400">…</span></p> <p class="cnM5YzdjYzMwMDkwMDRjYjQ4OTY5MGFhYTg2MzBhMzkx"><strong>[Baku]: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400">Listen guys, the old man made a mistake, we all make 'em. Now if you'll excuse me, it's cake time!</span></p> <p class="cnMyYWQ3NWRjYjhmNTRiYzc5YTM0YWYwNDc0ZjY4ZjFm"><strong>[Barrtio and Finn]: </strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*Worried*</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> …</span></p> <p class="cnMwZGQzNjRjNTYwMjRiMzRhN2UzYzFmYjkxYWJkZDFk"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">*</span></em><strong><em>Baku</em></strong><em><span style="font-weight: 400"> splits from his friends and heads towards the <strong>Crystal Fields</strong>.</span></em></p> </div>

**Chapter 16: Prophecy of the Goddess** ***(Setting: Crystal Kingdom: Royal Palace-*** ***Oracle Oladion's*** ***bedroom)*** ***(Scene: The Crystal King and Queen speak with*** ***Oracle Oladion******)*** **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** **bows** **Oracle Oladion,** today is the day that you finally reveal the **Holy Goddess' prophecy**… **[Queen Anastasia Cree]:** **bows** **Oracle**, your holiness... Are you ready to come into the city and face the beautiful people of **Xeria**? **The* ***Oracle*** *sleepily rises from the sheets.* **[Oracle Oladion]:** **Sleepily** ... Mmmm... Yes... Okay... Have all of the preparations been fulfilled? **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** Yes, **Oracle**. Everything has been prepped to your exact instructions. I am confident that the **Crystal Kingdom** is ready for your speech as well as what is to come after your announcement. **[Oracle Oladion]:** **Yaaawwwnnn** ... Very well then... Let's be on our way… **The slowly* ***Oracle*** *climbs out of the soft and massive bed.* **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** **Oracle**, would you like for me to call for a carrier? **[Oracle Oladion]:** No, there's no need for that... I may be hundreds of years old but these cankles can still kick! **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** **Confused** ... C-cankles? Isn't that an old woman thing? **[Queen Anastasia Cree]:** Do you really think I know anything about that? I'm still young, **Jeremiah**, sheesh... **[Oracle Oladion]:** Come now. Let's get going, you whippersnappers! **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** **Annoyed** Okay, now he's just being ridiculous… ****The*** ***King****,* ***Queen****, and* ***Oracle*** *board a royal chariot headed for the **Main City**. Four white broncos pulled the royals with swiftness and comfortability.* ***(Setting: Crystal Kingdom: Main City- Grand Plaza)*** ***(Scene: The boys appear at the Grand Plaza of the Main City)*** **[Narrator]:** After a day of fun in the city, **Baku** and his friends prepare go their separate ways for the night, however… **[Baku]:** **Angrily Shouting** **I'M SO DONE WITH THIS STUPID CITY! I JUST WANNA GO HOME, BUT THIS FREAKIN' CROWD IS MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE FIELDS! IT'S LIKE GOING DOWN AN UPSTREAM RIVER!** ******Barrtio*** *is being swept away by the crowd of people headed for the **Grand Plaza** that has been set up for some announcement. A large stage and podium were built to perfect standards in record time.* **[Barrtio]:** **Shouting** **Bakuuu**! **Finnnnn**! **[Finn]:** **Frantically** Holy crap, we lost **Barrtio**! **[Baku]:** Don't worry, guys! I see an opening! **The boys successfully manage to swim out of the sea of **Crystal Kingdom** citizens. Literally everybody in town is on the streets eagerly awaiting the royals to appear.* **[Baku]:** **pant, pant** ... That... was... ass-- **pant** sinine… **[Finn]:** **Sigh** ... You can say that again… I'm way too wide to maneuver around that many people... **[Barrtio]:** Some type of announcement of this scale, has got to be big... But what crap could be so important? **[Baku]:** **Sigh** I don't care, man... If the whole kingdom isn't lining up to wish me a happy birthday, it's not important to **Baku**... All I know is that away from here, there's a triple chocolate-chocolate cake with my name on it. That being said, I'm headin' home to enjoy the rest of my evening. **Smiling** Thanks for hanging out guys! I'll see ya tomorrow! **Meanwhile, atop a large stage,* ***the King*** *and* ***Queen*** *finally* *appear to address their subjects after disembarking their royal chariot. They were dressed in matching silver and black stylish jackets made of soft cotton material with real fur around the hoods to keep them warm from the winter chill.* **The townsfolk grow with excitement, and adoration at the sight of their leaders. People are already cheering and waving at the royal couple. The citizens of the **Crystal Kingdom** truly love, respect and believe in them, as they have yet to fail them or be let down by their government.* **Suddenly, loud horns blare at **Crystal Kingdom's** anthem and the townsfolk quiet down as* ***the King*** *finally begins his speech.* **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** Loyal and beautiful people of **Xeria**! I thank all of you for unselfishly sacrificing your time to hear me today! I come to you all to bring great news coming from the **Royal Center** of the **Crystal Kingdom**. You may have heard rumors, and I have come here to bring confirmation of them, to you. Citizens of **Xeria**, the **Grand Oracle Oladion**, has reawakened with a divine message from the **Holy Goddess, Mother Eternia**! **The tension in the air rises as the crowd waits in silence wanting to hear the **Holy Goddess'** message.* **It is the first time in fifteen years, since any divine wisdom was given to the people of the **Crystal Kingdom**, and the **Planet Eternia** in general. The people didn't know what exactly to expect, but many emotions began to well up amongst the commoners. Some of them were excited, and some of them were fearful. Each of which were fairly justifiable in their own right. The* ***Oracle*** *slowly and carefully climbs up the podium and prepares to announce his message.* **[Oracle Oladion]:** ... H-hello? Is this thing on? **Microphone screech** Oh wow... Can somebody lower this for me? **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** Right, sorry. Here you go… **Adjust the microphone** **[Oracle Oladion]:** Oh, wonderful! Hello! Hello, everybody! I thank you all for being here to listen to this old man's banter... I hope you are all having a great day today! In fact, now that I think about it, it's been fifteen years since I've last seen any of you! Oh, how grown up you've all gotten! The city looks great, everybody! You're all working hard to support your kingdom! I really appreciate it! I see **King Jeremiah** has been treating you well, too! Ho ho ho! This is all very good for me to see, not that I had any doubts. Even in my dreams, I knew this kingdom was in good hands for the last decade and a half, ho ho ho... **[Oracle Oladion]:** Oh right, the reason why I'm here to speak to you currently, is because I come to you all with important news! I have received a divine message from her absolute holiness, **Mother Eternia**! Now don't be alarmed everyone, but in my deep slumber, she told me that the **Planet Eternia** will experience **a great rebellion**... The likes of which, may very greatly affect both the **surface world and our Kingdom of Xeria**! **[Crowd of People]:** **Shocked* *Gasp** My goodness! He's not kidding is he!? A rebellion!? And at such a large scale! Who's rebelling who!? Are we going to be safe!? This is utterly frightening! How in the world did he think that wouldn't be alarming!? I'm alarmed! I am too, I freakin' live here! **[Queen Anastasia Cree]:** **Whispering** The aura in the air is so heavy... It almost hurts my chest… **[King Jeremiah Cree]:** Can you blame them? We've been at peace for so long... This news is simply anything but pleasant... I just hope that our people are strong enough not to over worry themselves into mass panic… **Thinking to himself** Or see this as a reason to spark a riot... **[Oracle Oladion]:** This may seem apprehensive to you all... But the **Holy Mother** also left me with **a second message**… **[Crowd of People]:** **Frantically** Two messages at once!? As if the first one wasn't enough! It's a double whammy of punishment! This is it! This is the end of the planet as we know it! This is repayment for so many years of peace and silence! **Mother Eternia** is displeased with us! We've been too happy! We should've been more disciplined! **[Oracle Oladion]:** In my deep slumber, **Her Holyness** told me that **angels will fall from the heavens and bring with them a sickness that will negatively affect the living planet**... It will cast a curse on **Planet Eternia**, unlike any other it has ever experienced in all its history. The dream stated that our world will experience a weakening state of decomposition and cause it to walk the path towards its own destruction............ **[Oracle Oladion]:** But fear not, my brothers and sisters! For the **Holy Goddess** has foretold me that a **World Guardian** from the **Crystal Kingdom** has been divinely selected by her greatness to undertake the mission of protecting the living planet… **The crowds’ excitement disappears, and fear begins to emanate from the crowd as they wonder not only who the* ***World Guardian*** *will be, but also what the divine message means and try to ponder what the rebellion means for them and the planet below. Nobody even remembers who the last hero was.* **After so many years of living in peace and general prosperity, the idea that the planet is in danger again seems like waking up into a living nightmare. By what the **Oracle** is describing, it sounds like the life as they knew it was utterly doomed to continue the cycle of hatred, agony, despair, and an everlooming threat of imminent danger.* **[Oracle Oladion]:** For those of you who don't know... The previous **World Guardian** that hailed from the **Crystal Kingdom**, **was a female who lived more than fifteen years ago**... Because of this, the next **World Guardian** is destined to be a male as predetermined by the **Holy Mother's** divine selection system... **[Crowd of People]:** ... **mumbling** ... **whispering** … **[Oracle Oladion]:** Finally, after more than a decade of peace... The battle of good and evil shall finally resume, starting right here and now... The **Holy Goddess**, whose word is just and true... Whose radiance and glory shall surely lead us back into an era of life, love, and happiness... Calls upon a hero from the **Crystal Kingdom Xeria**, whose citizens boast the strongest, bravest, and most proud people on the planet, to become the **15th World Guardian** and dedicate themselves to embark on the journey to protect **Planet Eternia**. **[Oracle Oladion]:** Their mission, to fight against the **Goddess of Darkness' followers and forces of destruction** and become the shepard who acts as Her holy ambassador to peace, justice, and most importantly, hope.... At the end of my fifteen year eternal slumber, **Her divine grace,** **Mother Eternia** told me the name of the next man whom is to lead the living planet to another era of prosperity... His name... was **Aventurine Xavier Baku**!!! **Silence sweeps across the kingdom. No one, not even a single baby in the crowd made any noise, let alone reacted to the **Oracle's** announcement...* **[Crowd of People]:** ... **whispering quietly** ... Huh?... Who is that? ... I don't know, I've never heard that name before… D-did he say "Kaku"? N-no, I think he said "Baka". **As* ***Baku*** *is headed to the **Crystal Fields**, he hears his name be called and stops right at the gate. He turns around and faces the podium where the Royals stand. He stares intently for a second and then says...* **[Baku]:** ..................... No.... ******Baku*** *continues toward the fields.* ***Barrtio*** *and* ***Finn*** *follow him.* **[Barrtio]:** **Confused** Uhh... **Baku**? Why did that old guy call your name? **[Baku]:** He didn't say my name. He probably meant someone else. **[Finn]:** Are you sure about that, dude? He even said your first name… And you hate that... **[Baku]**: I know, I usually hate when anybody but my **Mom** calls me that... **[Barrtio and Finn]:** That's not the point, **Baku**… **[Baku]:** Listen guys, the old man made a mistake, we all make 'em. Now if you'll excuse me, it's cake time! **[Barrtio and Finn]:** **Worried** … ******Baku*** *splits from his friends and heads towards the **Crystal Fields**.*

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3YTczZTMwOTlhMzQxMmZhYzU3MDA0NDM3OTU0NTlm" dir="ltr">Jason and his parents were currently standing inside a dark, dingy pub.</p> <p class="cnM5NTgyYWI2MjUyNjRiZmZiZDcxMzBkZGI5OTA1N2Vm" dir="ltr">The Leaky Cauldron...</p> <p class="cnNhYjg4ZDY3MDdhNTRjNmM4NjY4NGFlZTg1NDExNGYx" dir="ltr">****</p> <p class="cnNkYWQ4NTQyMjNmNTRiZmZiOTNiNTE2MWNkN2UxMzhj" dir="ltr">After that whole fiasco with the spider, Jason had his wand taken away until he started attending Hogwarts. He could call it back but he knew if he did that and his mother found out, there would be Hell to pay.</p> <p class="cnMzYzcxZjQ0ZWUzMzQ0YjU4NTBiYjVmZjNiN2Y5ZWJm" dir="ltr">So he could only sulk and wait till school starts to find out why it suddenly worked. He was excited about something else though, he would be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow.</p> <p class="cnM1MTY3NmE2MjdkNjRiNjhhODg1ODE5MjVjYWRiMGJj" dir="ltr">He had wanted to go with Harry, but the Dursley's had still taken him away. But Jason wasn't worried, he knew Hagrid would fetch Harry and take him there him. </p> <p class="cnNiMzM4NmU5MmYyMzQ0ZGI4Y2Q1Zjc4NGFlOWNkODBi" dir="ltr"><em>Based on the movie's timeline, he should've been there by now, </em> Jason thought.</p> <p class="cnMwNDUxM2NlOTQ1NDQ1Mzk5ZWQ2MTgwNjJiN2FiZWRm" dir="ltr">Jason had a hard time sleeping that night.</p> <p class="cnNkZjgwNWE0ZjNiMjQyNmE5NGJmZWQ2OGYyNTVmNDg0" dir="ltr">****</p> <p class="cnM5MmJkODI5NzY1YzQzZDY4YTMzOGJiNGFiYmIyOGUw" dir="ltr">So here they were, Jason just wanted to run off already, but Mrs Riley, knowing her son's thoughts stopped him.</p> <p class="cnMyZWY5OGMyYmVlOTQ0MDlhMWIwZDUyZDJlNDQ0MDNl" dir="ltr">"Mum let me go please, it's boring to stay with you. " he pleaded.</p> <p class="cnNiYTc2ZmJmM2VhZDQxZGJiYjg1ZWQ1MDEwNzhkZWEz" dir="ltr">"Jason, you don't even have any money. And we're not here for fun, we're only here to get you your supplies." Mrs Riley said sternly and Mr Riley agreed. They weren't poor or anything, but they knew they couldn't just give Jason money, as if he had it, he would surely spend it on the most ridiculous of things.</p> <p class="cnM1NDQ4OGJkY2U5MjQ4OTBiYTI1MTY1YmZkYWUyYTA0" dir="ltr">Jason was downtrodden, in fact he had wanted to go to knockturn to get a few books on black magic. But since his parents were here, and the wizard who led them here(let's call him bob) , he knew it would be impossible. So he could only sulkily follow him.</p> <p class="cnM5MDUxN2M4Yzk3MzQ0Y2NhODZkYzlhNWEwOTNhYWY0" dir="ltr">They were on there way to Gringotts, when Jason suddenly saw a sign that caught his attention.</p> <p class="cnNmMWFlODI4MDdjODQ0NTViNGIyYTdmODM5ZWU0MGY0" dir="ltr">"Mum, did you bring my wand", Jason asked his mother quietly.</p> <p class="cnNjZDcyZmFiOWQyZTQ3NTRiM2NiZjhhMTliNWFjYzQ0" dir="ltr">"I did, but you're not getting it. " Mrs Riley said</p> <p class="cnMwMjdhZDFiYzk2YzQxMDE4ZDhkNDQ3Y2YzM2RiZTMw" dir="ltr">"Please, mum. Look i just want to see if we can find it's owners " Jason said, pointing at Ollivanders across from him.</p> <p class="cnM5NmEyNjVlMTc1ZjQwOGFiZmQwMzYwMjk2YWZjODdh" dir="ltr">Mrs Riley hesitated when she saw the sign, but she still gave the wand in the end. Jason had told her he had picked it up. She knew it was a wand since her grandmother always carried hers around, so she had always thought that maybe some child had dropped it accidently.</p> <p class="cnMzMzMzMzFmM2FlODRlY2M5MTNlM2I0N2ZmYWRlYzRm" dir="ltr">If they could find it's owner, that would be for the best. Of course she didn't know it was Jason's in the first place. </p> <p class="cnMyMWEzMWM0ODdjNDQ4ZmFhNWIxN2Y4YjVhNjVjNjZm" dir="ltr">So Jason took his wand and went off to Ollivanders. When he opened the door, the first thing that went through his mind was, so many boxes. The place was full of boxes, and Jason knew in every single one of them was a wand, which amazed him to no end.</p> <p class="cnM2NzVkYzIyMjVjMDQ1M2JhYTAxNDkwYmJlM2NlZDQ4" dir="ltr">As he was observing the place, an aged voice passed into his ears.</p> <p class="cnMyNjZiNDdkYzc1NzRkMzFhZTNjNWJiYTE2MmYwOWIz" dir="ltr">"I remember every single wand I've ever sold, and everyone I've sold it to, but I've never seen you before my young friend. But must be new to the wizarding world for correct? "</p> <p class="cnMxODA2YmIxYjBkNTRkOTc4Yjc0MWNmOTk4MTFjMjk1" dir="ltr">"Yeah, the name's Jason Riley mister. "Jason said, not too startled by the sudden voice. Since he already knew this guy was weird.</p> <p class="cnM2NTllYmM5MjNjMDQzZDdhOTY4MzkwZmIxZGRlNTJj" dir="ltr">"Oh, Mr Riley is it. Well then how can I help you today? I have lots of wands here that I'm sure would love to be in your hands. "</p> <p class="cnM5MzNkNTM1MTc4NjQ2OGY5ZmU4ZWRkNzFjYThiYTBk" dir="ltr">Jason raised his eyebrow at that, what did that mean? Am i such a casual person hmph. But he still respectfully answered.</p> <p class="cnM3YWQyYzYyM2U4NDQ1Njg4ZWJiYmE3Mzg1YjEzNTdk" dir="ltr">"No old wizard, I'm here to ask you about this wand here, " as he said that he pulled out his wand from his pocket.</p> <p class="cnM5ODJhMWYzMTM5YjRlZTZiNzBiNzc5ZDZhZDJkNTBl" dir="ltr">Jason saw that when Mr Ollivander the wand, his eyes started sending out curious glows.</p> <p class="cnNlNWJjY2E3ZmQ3MDRmYjg4NTg0YjgxMzQ4ZGMzYTYw" dir="ltr"><em>Yes, marvel puny wizard. This is the wand of a true master</em>. He thought conceitedly, forgetting that the broken stick only seemed to start working a month ago .</p> <p class="cnNjNDc4ODNkODI4ZDRmY2E4NjkyZTJlMDE3NDIwMzA3" dir="ltr">When Mr Ollivander picked up the wand, his hand started shivering, and a glow so intense shone in his eyes that Jason thought they were going to shoot laser beams.</p> <p class="cnNhMWRmNTEyZGVkYzQxNGQ5NmE5MjY1ZWI3OGJjNzUz" dir="ltr">"Marvelous, truly and utterly marvelous. Mr Riley, may I be rude as to ask where you found this wand. "</p> <p class="cnM4MGUxNjRhOTBmZDQ3NDVhN2IxYTQ2MmJkNWNhNmQ1" dir="ltr">"I picked it up at a river, it had floated from the waters to the shore, and i thought it looked cool so i took it. But since i found out it was a wand, i thought maybe someone lost it. So i wanted to find out who the owner was. " Jason lied, as if the truth was his nemesis.</p> <p class="cnM2NDc4OWY2OTJkZTRiNGY5NTA0ODg5ZTEzOTcwNTVi" dir="ltr">"Yes yes, I see... " Mr Ollivander said as if trying to get his wording correct. "Mr Riley, this wand has never belonged to anyone before. "</p> <p class="cnNhM2Q4MGU4ZjY3MDQ5YTE5N2Y1MGEzZjcwNDhiNjlj" dir="ltr">Jason showed confusion on his face, but in his heart he was thinking</p> <p class="cnNjMGJkZDJlNTU2NDQyOWVhYzcyOGIxOTUyMTY4ZGUx" dir="ltr"><em>Of course it never belonged to anyone before, i just said before that I'm not a casual person, neither is my wand. </em></p> <p class="cnM3YzhkYzM5YzdiNTQzYzRiNWQ2M2E5Njk2N2IzYmYz" dir="ltr">But he still respectfully asked, "What do you mean old wandy? " Well, as respectfully as he could.</p> <p class="cnNkNmEyMmMxZTYyMDRjNmViNzcxYjQzZGY4MjQwODdk" dir="ltr">"You see Mr Riley, this wand was naturally made! " Mr Ollivander said, a bit excitedly.</p> <p class="cnNhNzY0ODljM2YwMjRkOGRiNDdhODJhYWIyYmM2YmJm" dir="ltr">"Natural made? " Now Jason was really confused, he new what the term meant, he just never linked it to a wand.</p> <p class="cnM2Y2E0NjQyM2MyNTQ3YTBiZGI2YTNkYjc1MmY1NTNi" dir="ltr">"Yes, one out of a million. Something so rare it borders on mythical, a wand made by nature. And something truly intriguing is, the wood that made this wand, seems to be older than a million years! "</p> <p class="cnNkNTg5MjUwMGM2NTQyMGZhNzdiMTcyYzQ0NDg2YjE2" dir="ltr"><em>Well, damn. Seems like I've been seeing a loli baba</em>.</p> <p class="cnNjY2ExNDMzZTc2NjRiMmZiYWRiY2E1ZmMzMWViNmVi" dir="ltr">Jason couldn't believe it, as the wand still seemed so new. But he still had to ask. <br> "Well can i use it? "</p> <p class="cnMxMmI2OTk0YjJlODRlNGFiNGExOWRlYjMzZDJlZDZh" dir="ltr">"Yes in fact, in this world, only you could ever wield this wand! Anyone else and... " Saying so Mr Ollivander muttered something and flicked the wand gently. A white light started glowing on the tip, and just as Jason thought the spell would work, the light reversed suddenly, hitting Mr Ollivander straight in the chest and sending him tumbling towards his countertop, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. The wand flipped in the air and landed straight in Jason's hand again.</p> <p class="cnNmM2EwZDc0Mzg3ZDQ0ODhhYzVhNTE3NWY4MDAxMTVk" dir="ltr">Jason was startled and wanted to quickly run up and help.</p> <p class="cnNkM2E5ODlmNGI3ZDRlOTFhNjQ5NjYzZTY3NGJlNDE5" dir="ltr">"Old wandy are you okay? "</p> <p class="cnNjMWYyNzRiZjBkMTQ0NzBiOGNiY2E3ZWVjNzE3YWE2" dir="ltr">But just as Jason got to Mr Ollivander, wand still in hand, an untimely, horrified voice sounded out behind him.</p> <p class="cnNmNWRiOTFmMjM0ZTRlZjI4ZTM0ZTk2MmM4OTY1ZGJl" dir="ltr">"What are you doing! "</p> <p class="cnM4ZDZjZmIyNDBmYTRjNGE5YWFiMWE4YmE5YmQ1M2I0" dir="ltr">With bushy brown hair, a cute angular face and bright intelligent eyes.</p> <p class="cnM4OGJjYTY4MDFjYzRiNmRhYThiMzNkODdiNTBkYjNl" dir="ltr">Hermione Granger.</p> <p class="cnM0ZGMxZmM5MmM5ZTRlZjhhOTEwMzkyMmEwMWI3YWZj" dir="ltr">" ...Fuck. "</p> </div>

Jason and his parents were currently standing inside a dark, dingy pub. The Leaky Cauldron... **** After that whole fiasco with the spider, Jason had his wand taken away until he started attending Hogwarts. He could call it back but he knew if he did that and his mother found out, there would be Hell to pay. So he could only sulk and wait till school starts to find out why it suddenly worked. He was excited about something else though, he would be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow. He had wanted to go with Harry, but the Dursley's had still taken him away. But Jason wasn't worried, he knew Hagrid would fetch Harry and take him there him. *Based on the movie's timeline, he should've been there by now,* Jason thought. Jason had a hard time sleeping that night. **** So here they were, Jason just wanted to run off already, but Mrs Riley, knowing her son's thoughts stopped him. "Mum let me go please, it's boring to stay with you. " he pleaded. "Jason, you don't even have any money. And we're not here for fun, we're only here to get you your supplies." Mrs Riley said sternly and Mr Riley agreed. They weren't poor or anything, but they knew they couldn't just give Jason money, as if he had it, he would surely spend it on the most ridiculous of things. Jason was downtrodden, in fact he had wanted to go to knockturn to get a few books on black magic. But since his parents were here, and the wizard who led them here(let's call him bob) , he knew it would be impossible. So he could only sulkily follow him. They were on there way to Gringotts, when Jason suddenly saw a sign that caught his attention. "Mum, did you bring my wand", Jason asked his mother quietly. "I did, but you're not getting it. " Mrs Riley said "Please, mum. Look i just want to see if we can find it's owners " Jason said, pointing at Ollivanders across from him. Mrs Riley hesitated when she saw the sign, but she still gave the wand in the end. Jason had told her he had picked it up. She knew it was a wand since her grandmother always carried hers around, so she had always thought that maybe some child had dropped it accidently. If they could find it's owner, that would be for the best. Of course she didn't know it was Jason's in the first place. So Jason took his wand and went off to Ollivanders. When he opened the door, the first thing that went through his mind was, so many boxes. The place was full of boxes, and Jason knew in every single one of them was a wand, which amazed him to no end. As he was observing the place, an aged voice passed into his ears. "I remember every single wand I've ever sold, and everyone I've sold it to, but I've never seen you before my young friend. But must be new to the wizarding world for correct? " "Yeah, the name's Jason Riley mister. "Jason said, not too startled by the sudden voice. Since he already knew this guy was weird. "Oh, Mr Riley is it. Well then how can I help you today? I have lots of wands here that I'm sure would love to be in your hands. " Jason raised his eyebrow at that, what did that mean? Am i such a casual person hmph. But he still respectfully answered. "No old wizard, I'm here to ask you about this wand here, " as he said that he pulled out his wand from his pocket. Jason saw that when Mr Ollivander the wand, his eyes started sending out curious glows. *Yes, marvel puny wizard. This is the wand of a true master*. He thought conceitedly, forgetting that the broken stick only seemed to start working a month ago . When Mr Ollivander picked up the wand, his hand started shivering, and a glow so intense shone in his eyes that Jason thought they were going to shoot laser beams. "Marvelous, truly and utterly marvelous. Mr Riley, may I be rude as to ask where you found this wand. " "I picked it up at a river, it had floated from the waters to the shore, and i thought it looked cool so i took it. But since i found out it was a wand, i thought maybe someone lost it. So i wanted to find out who the owner was. " Jason lied, as if the truth was his nemesis. "Yes yes, I see... " Mr Ollivander said as if trying to get his wording correct. "Mr Riley, this wand has never belonged to anyone before. " Jason showed confusion on his face, but in his heart he was thinking *Of course it never belonged to anyone before, i just said before that I'm not a casual person, neither is my wand.* But he still respectfully asked, "What do you mean old wandy? " Well, as respectfully as he could. "You see Mr Riley, this wand was naturally made! " Mr Ollivander said, a bit excitedly. "Natural made? " Now Jason was really confused, he new what the term meant, he just never linked it to a wand. "Yes, one out of a million. Something so rare it borders on mythical, a wand made by nature. And something truly intriguing is, the wood that made this wand, seems to be older than a million years! " *Well, damn. Seems like I've been seeing a loli baba*. Jason couldn't believe it, as the wand still seemed so new. But he still had to ask. "Well can i use it? " "Yes in fact, in this world, only you could ever wield this wand! Anyone else and... " Saying so Mr Ollivander muttered something and flicked the wand gently. A white light started glowing on the tip, and just as Jason thought the spell would work, the light reversed suddenly, hitting Mr Ollivander straight in the chest and sending him tumbling towards his countertop, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. The wand flipped in the air and landed straight in Jason's hand again. Jason was startled and wanted to quickly run up and help. "Old wandy are you okay? " But just as Jason got to Mr Ollivander, wand still in hand, an untimely, horrified voice sounded out behind him. "What are you doing! " With bushy brown hair, a cute angular face and bright intelligent eyes. Hermione Granger. " ...Fuck. "

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMzYzg4MzI1OTgzYzRiYzY5OWQ4ZGQyZThlNWQxODhk" style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 2em"><strong>An Appearance Meant Not to Deceive but to Inform&nbsp;</strong></span></p> <blockquote> <p class="cnM2OWQyOTk5NzBmMDRkYWJiZjc0NzEzYzRmMzYzMzZl"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh we’ve been in port for ten whole days, when can we go? Our ship is packed and the crew’s all in, when can we go? What’s the hold up, what’s the delay- we’re bound to stay another day? Oh please, please, let us go, Lord, oh please, please let us go.”</span></em></p> <p class="cnNiNDc1Y2QyMDE0MjQ1MDNiZjNmMzMzN2U4OWUxMDEw" style="text-align: right"><span style="font-weight: 400">-from “Repair Blues”, spacer song</span></p> </blockquote> <p class="cnM1ZDFiYzJmOWY5MjRiYWQ4ODkzMDc2NjMyOTkwNmU5" style="text-align: center"><span style="font-weight: 400"><img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/3a8e1d12d80117e6afc9f5f48ca78e87/tumblr_pdxwrhUDP41xnm75po1_1280.png" alt="Yan banner" width="600" height="137"></span></p> <p class="cnMxYzYwMzA4NWNjNTRhNjdhZmFmYjJkOWFkNzI2ZWVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan and Sid had not had the best morning. They had started out their day with a rousing public forum. It was mainly the citizens of City-One-North, but Yan doubted that opinions across the planet were very different. They were all under the same blockade, after all. Possibly opinions varied based on where particular black market venues had frequently operated, but that wasn't something that Yan was too concerned about. After all, if someone was angry that their local drug dealership was closed, well, they couldn't very well complain about it on planetwide television, could they.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZTlkZjc5Yzg0NTQzZmJhZTY1ODZhMjNiYThhNmRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Although no one had thrown vegetables at them, and they had both managed to keep pleasant expressions on their faces, almost an hour and a half of constant haranguing by the public was enough to make both of them slightly crazy. They couldn't even give satisfactory answers to anyone who asked them a question.</span></p> <p class="cnMwZTc2YjY0Y2E5MjQ4MDA4MjkyNGQ1MDc2ZTE3OWU3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What punishment is the Trade Guild going to recieve for blockading our planet?" Someone asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOTM5ODlhYmUxYjQ0YWY5NjEwOGVmNTdlNWMzMDM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">And Yan was forced to say something like, "The Empire is not currently seeking punitive measures, we are interested in finding a peaceful solution to your problems..." And then the whole auditorium would start to chatter and boo.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYWE0ZTUzNjU5NTQ5MzBhOWZkZTFkZjRlZjkxMjk1"><span style="font-weight: 400">It was rough. Yan and Sid finally slunk out, tails metaphorically between their legs, and took refuge in their hotel for lunch. They had a little time to kill before the real meetings would begin.</span></p> <p class="cnMyZWE4ZmIwZDE3OTRkYjBhM2RmZGJmMGNmMTE3ZmJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Unfortunately, even their "free" time was fraught with complications. As Yan and Sid sat down to eat, Iri came over and handed them an ansible message she had printed. It was from Sandreas. She gave each of them a copy.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYThlODE3ZGZjNjQyZjc5YzU5OTZjYTNlN2IwZDZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">It started out as a general update on how things were going with their mission. Yan gasped when she read about Kino's misadventure in the caves of Tyx III, Sid was intrigued by the use of what Sandreas called 'shock and awe' on the population of Jenjin. Yan had a suspicion that the first part of the letter was actually ghostwritten by Halen, as Sandreas didn't seem the type to remember to keep his apprentices updated on what he was doing. The letter contained just enough detail to make Yan glad that she had chosen to come to Olar instead of the front and Jenjin, pirate attack notwithstanding.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMzkwOTBiZjVkYzQxMjU4ODZiZjE5YTllMDJkYjNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Then the letter took on a drastic shift in tone. It was as though it had been composed over several sittings, and on the last one, Sandreas had finally learned what had happened to Yan and Sid on their journey. This part, Yan was sure that Sandreas had actually written. </span></p> <p class="cnMxMGQxYmM5NWNhODQ3MDFhYTA1MDMyNTAxZDFhNmY2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0MjBmMTNjYjFmOTQ2NjE5NTE5MGQ2ZjY0YmU4ZWRm"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan and Sid, first, let me say that I am glad that you are safe. My recent experiences on Tyx III have shown me just how important that you two and Kino have become to me. I don't know how my own mentor, Caron Herrault, managed to send out her apprentices and cope when the worst happened. Irrationally, I wish that I did not ever have to let you out of my sphere of influence, but you know as well as I do that there are times when you must go out into the universe on your own. </span></em></p> <p class="cnNmOTkxNmYzMmM5NzQxNTA5ZWI2ZjMxNmI0YzYyNmMy"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">I can't say that I know what you are feeling right now, but I can imagine it. I won't tell you a story about the things that I have done, because I don't think that will help you right now. In this line of work, sometimes you will be tasked with doing things that have a cost upon your soul. That is the price that leaders must pay to save those under our care. </span></em></p> <p class="cnNkMzkyMTdkNDQ3YjQwMzU4OGYwNzlkZTYzNjUxYzAx"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">[As an administrative note and an aside, you are in charge of where you go and what you do, not Lieutenant Harber. While he may offer compelling reasons for things, and it is usually best to follow the advice of those tasked with protecting you, you both have the ultimate say. I am told that there was a small amount of threatened mutiny, which, while amusing, should not be necessary in the future. Keep in mind what role you hold, and use the powers that it grants you. I trust you both enough to be responsible.]</span></em></p> <p class="cnNjMTY3YTZhNmRhOTRiN2Q4M2RiOWUzY2MzOTMzYjYw"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">I don't think that you did anything wrong. Sometimes, in life, there comes time when the right thing to do still feels impossibly wrong. There's no easy way to make that feeling go away. The only cure is time, distance, and experience. If you could go back in time and make different decisions, maybe you would choose differently with what you now know. But no one has that luxury. There are no 'what-ifs' or do-overs in life, and to wish there were is to condemn yourself to a lifetime of suffering. The only thing to do is to take the lessons that you learned and apply them in the future. Until death, there nothing that cannot be learned from.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNkMDQ2MGY2ZDFlMjRhMDRhNjZmNjUzMDc0MTlmMmJj"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Not every decision you make will be popular with everyone. Some of them will be extremely unpopular with most people. If you feel like you made the correct decision, not even necessarily a 'good' decision, then you will have to let that go. I say that especially to you, Yan. It's easy for leadfeet like Sid and me to spin this as simply defending a ship from pirates, which is an unequivocally good thing. I know that the situation is complicated for you in ways that I cannot understand. I hope that your family doesn't turn against you, but even if they do, you can lean on other people you know.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM5YTZmZDU4NDAwYTRjNTBhZTRlYjg3ZDUyZTVhZWRk"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid, I caution you to be aware of what ties you create, and what it will feel like to break those ties. The things of the physical world are not capable of saving you. This is not a command, but it is a warning given with compassion.</span></em></p> <p class="cnNmNmY0MDA1YmVkMjQ3M2E4YTc4YTUzYjc4ZWNlNWU0"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">To both of you: even if you feel like there is no one you can turn to, remember that there is always God. God will hold you close, even if you feel there is too much darkness in your heart.</span></em></p> <p class="cnMwMTZhN2YzNTU3NTRiOGE5MDgwMmVjNmM1NDBhYWNh"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">In other news, I'm gratified to hear that you both are getting along and having a successful diplomatic mission thus far. Keep up the good work.</span></em></p> <p class="cnM4NjYwNWVmODYxMjQxOWI5MzA2MWEyODBiMTljMGUw"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">I'm sure I will hear all about your experiences on Olar when you both get back. By time you read this, I may already be en-route to Emerri, so don't feel as though you need to respond. By time I get to Emerri, I'm certain you will already be off of Olar. Truly communication is one of the joys of space travel.</span></em></p> <p class="cnMzN2EzNjI3ZTgxMjRjNjZhYTc0MTFiYzExMjI2NTY2"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Safe travels home, I'll be praying for you.</span></em></p> <p class="cnMxYzE0ZjM4MjhkZDQzNDJiNjg1MzU0ZDE1NDIwNDA3"><em><span style="font-weight: 400">Aymon</span></em></p> <p class="cnMxYmZlMDg1ZjZkMzQ5YjQ4OTc4NDBiZTA1YjhkYmIz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNjgyODIwMTBlYzQ0NjA5ZDg1M2Y0YjYxYzc5MWU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan and Sid processed the letter in different ways. Sid crumpled it up; Yan folded her copy neatly and tucked it inside her pocket.</span></p> <p class="cnNjZjQxOTQyMTJmODQ4NWJiNmZmZjYyMmQ5ZDA3MGI3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What?" Yan asked. "Why are you angry?"</span></p> <p class="cnMyMTczOTNiNzM4NzQ0M2NhYjg3NmNiMzg1YWNmMjAw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"He can't say anything useful," Sid signed. "And he still manages to come off like he knows everything when he's half a galaxy away."</span></p> <p class="cnM5NjRmYTI4NWU4OTQxNWViNTRlZTRkZDEwZTNkMTA1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Iri and Hernan report to Halen, and Halen reports to Sandreas, of course he knows everything," Yan signed. "I thought it was fine, not that I want to talk to him about it."</span></p> <p class="cnNiOTZjZWVjMDJjYjQ1ODM5MmE2MjU1NzlkYzU0ZDA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Probably when we get back he'll talk my eyes off about his 'similar experiences'," Sid's face curled in a sneer.</span></p> <p class="cnNhYTg1MGYxYjAzMDRiMGY4MzgwNmM2YTA3NmEyZmVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">"He probably has had similar experiences," Yan said. "Remember what Halen told us?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzYWM5MzA3YTQ5YjQzZGNhMTNmNGFjMWE3NmU4OTA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid deflated a little. "I guess it probably would be worse to be the person responsible for killing your later boyfriend's family. Still. I hate hearing about how much worse somebody else has it."</span></p> <p class="cnNhYTg3NGMyNDU2MjQ3MWY4ZmRiZGJiZjAwMzY1Y2Jj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I don't know. At least we know that Halen forgave him for it," Yan signed.</span></p> <p class="cnNhODFmMTJkODc4MjQ4M2RiN2ViNmI1NmM4MzM4MzZj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Obviously. But that's different. Kidnapper sympathy syndrome."</span></p> <p class="cnNkZGE5N2I1YzAxMDRlMjBiZGI2YjE2YTAzZmQwN2Q1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You think that's what Halen's deal is?" Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NjE0OGQzYWExZTRlNWQ5MGVmN2Q0MWZjNzk2YzM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"What else could it be?"</span></p> <p class="cnM3YWFkMGU0ZjgwZjQxZjZhNTI1YzExYzEzZDI4YmU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Yikes." Yan didn't really have an opinion on that. She figured Halen would have had plenty of time to break out of any brainwashing he may have been under, but maybe not. "Either way, we don't have to talk to him for a while. Not until we get back to Emerri."</span></p> <p class="cnMyMDM4ODdlNjQ0YjRiNjNhOTQ4YjcyZGMzMDdjMGNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"It seems crazy that we spend so much time travelling and then we're only here on the planet for a few days at most," Sid signed.</span></p> <p class="cnMyODgxMmY3ZTRjMDRkY2Y5MWVjNTgzOTM2MzA4OGQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan shrugged. "Just how long things take on ships. You get used to it if you travel enough."</span></p> <p class="cnMyNjUwZjEwNTNiNTQ1ODU4YWI4ODg2OTk1OGZjYzQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">They finished up their lunch and worked for a while discussing what they were going to say in their meeting with both Governor Marquis and whoever the Trade Guild representatives would be. </span></p> <p class="cnM4YWZhNjIxZWQxODRhZGFiYzUwZGMwNzQ0ZWViMjJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan suspected that, out of politeness, Olms would only bring herself and possibly one other person. It wouldn't be prudent for Olms to bring either of the representatives from the Skyfish or Imei, and Lee was obviously out of the question. That left Yan's uncle Maxes and the council representative that Yan didn't know very well. Maxes could almost certainly be struck from the list. It was amazing that he had managed to sweet talk his way onto the trip in the first place, but Yan didn't think that his run of good luck could last much longer. Yan figured that Staffort, the last Council member, would be the only reasonable choice for Olms to bring with her. So it would be either Olms by herself or Olms and Staffort. Yan and Sid placed bets on who would show up.</span></p> <p class="cnM2OWMxMzc3YmNiYjQxZWM4N2MxZDFmMzQwMjhkN2Ix"><span style="font-weight: 400">The meeting would take place in the Olar capitol building, yet another place that was built directly into the high mountain walls that overlooked the city. It was quite near to the governor's residence where they had met with Marquis, but this was a much more formal event than that private meeting. The sun was just about to sink below the opposite mountains, and the light of it cast a heady golden glow over the capitol. It was built of towering stone, seemingly mined from the same reddish grey rock as the mountains. The steps up to the front entrance were terraced and impressive. It wasn't a very practical entrance, but the practical entrance (including parking garage) was hidden one level down, carved out underneath these wide stairs.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMTIwNDI5MzM0ZDQ5MzViYjZjYjM1OWUxMzNjYjNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan and Sid made the trek up, all the while smiling at the media who followed their every move. They were met at the top of the stairs by Marquis and Olms. Sid smirked at Yan; he had won the bet that Olms would come alone. They all shook hands and posed for photos together at the top of the steps. It had all the components of a friendly meeting. Yan suspected that Olms was coming in more willing to work things out than it had initially seemed.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZWI4OTBlYWU5ZTQwODdhNzlhYjJhMDExYzVkMzZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">There were yet more media people inside, of course, and they followed the group into the depths of the capitol building, toward Marquis's office. They were blessedly forbidden from the meeting itself, though the whole thing would be recorded for posterity, just without the actual presence of the media.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTNmYjk4NTQxNTRhOGZiYTA5N2M0ODNhYmNlMGRj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Marquis's office was nothing like Sandreas's in Stonecourt. Where Stonecourt's halls were light and airy, everything on Olar had the stodgy feeling that only the rough hewn stone of the mountains could bring. Everything that wasn't stone was heavy, dark wood and thick drapery. It would have been alarming if Marquis's office was the only place that was decorated like this, but all of Olar followed these interior design rules. For some reason, people on Olar liked to decorate like this. The carpet and drapes in Marquis's office were all a forest green, which Yan appreciated. It was a nice contrast to the reddish tint of the stone. One wall had windows and a balcony. The sun had truly slipped behind the mountains, but the sky remained slightly illuminated. It was eerie. When the group took seats, Yan made sure to position herself and Sid such that she wouldn't be able to see that huge, red moon if it rose over the horizon. She didn't know why she hated it as much as she did, but she knew she would be able to breathe and speak easier if she wasn't looking at it.</span></p> <p class="cnM1YjRmNWMwNmI3OTQ1ODA4YzVkZDRiNzIwMDcyNzE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Thank you all for coming," Marquis said, sitting down. They took seats around a coffee table, with Olms and Marquis opposite to each other, and Yan and Sid together at the side.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YzBhODU3YTY3MDRiOGI4ZTAzN2Y0OTUxNjk4ZGVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Of course," Olms said, sounding polite. "The Guild is eager to put this business behind us."</span></p> <p class="cnNkNmY0NDM1MzA4MzRlYWI4NWY3MTMyN2U4ZGYyYTZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"As are we," Marquis said. He was polite, but his tone indicated his frustration that the Guild could simply leave, if they were so eager.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjMyYWU4MDdiZDQwYTg4ZGE3MzEzYWExYjkzNTIx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Thank you both for allowing us to facilitate this meeting," Yan said. "Would it be helpful if we laid out the points as we see them?"</span></p> <p class="cnNkNmMwYTUxYzVjNTRhMDRhODRjZGViM2VmOWI3YTc3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olms smiled at Yan. "I would love to hear a neutral party present the case."</span></p> <p class="cnM1NWJjZTgwZjE2NDRlNDRhMDc2ZDQxZjU1YzhmMTQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I have no objection to that," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MzAzM2Y3MjVkZDQ4YWZhM2E3NzFkMDY5MzVkMzhm"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Excellent," Yan said. She nodded to Sid, who picked up the conversation.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNWQ0OWIwNmIzODQ4NzU5ZGJmYTZjNzAxNWU3ZDVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"It is clear to us that this blockade needs to end as quickly as possible. It suits no one. It was originally conceived from your need to prove that the Trade Guild would not tolerate any planets harboring pirates, which is a laudable goal, but one that unfairly impacted the citizens of Olar," Sid said.</span></p> <p class="cnNlNzY4NGQ4ZTRkZDRhYmM5MTdmOGIwM2RlNDU1Zjg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Apprentice Olms, does the Trade Guild feel as though their ships will be safe trading with Olar in the future? Has the problem been dealt with?" Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM5OWY4NmY0ZjUyZTQ3ZTdhOWEwZWQwNWNkMWEyODMy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"There's no way to know that, at this time. Our own ships, the Skyfish and Imei, have been safe, but that is because they are the most heavily armed ships outside of the Fleet. Were they to leave, who knows what dangers could come crawling up," Olms said.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ODBjZjUyYzY0MTRmZGM4MzFiYWJlNTRhNTU2ZTY3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"But is Olar any less safe than any other planet?" Sid asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZmI0MzEyYjY4ZTQyNGQ4ZjA3MDA1ZThiMjhjMTU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"That depends. If the black market is still thriving on the ground, that incentivises pirates to come," Olms said. "Only Governor Marquis can say if that has changed."</span></p> <p class="cnM0MjVhZjMzZjAwODQ2MDU4NzRiM2MwNWNiNmEzOWEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Governor?" Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNjgxNGM0ZTJmNTRkOTFhMGU0ODNhZDM1ZjI4YzYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"We have always done our best to stomp out criminal activity," Marquis said. "We've pushed back against it even harder, recently. As I'm sure you know, we have made many arrests of suspected traffickers and sellers of illegal goods. With those people imprisoned, there is no more infrastructure for drugs and weapons to pass through," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMzY5ZmYxMDIyNTQ5M2E5N2Q3N2RhZWZlZmE1Y2Ji"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Is there any way you can prove that the planet is safe?" Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMWJiNWFmOTY0ZDQ3ZWFhNDJjYWIzZWFmZjExMTVk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"The only proof I can offer is if you inspect the records of those we have arrested, or watch their trials, you will see that we have caught the fat spiders on every strand of the criminal web," Marquis said. </span></p> <p class="cnM2ZDhjZTA1YTIzMjQwMDg5OWI1NzBlMjNhYzJiMzZi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Just out of curiosity," Olms said. "Could you tell me where on the planet the trading was being done? Warehouses, secret storefronts, through the net and the mail?"</span></p> <p class="cnNhYmQwNTVhNzA1MTQxZDVhYjNjMTMzYmFkYjg1MWU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"There were locations where the products were being stored, at least. There were some, shall we say, depots on the equator that were raided. Things brought into the cities tended to be stored in small quantities in private homes and businesses," Marquis explained.</span></p> <p class="cnM3YTUzZDUyZGE4ZDRmMzY5MjE0Yzg0MWM1N2MwYmMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Did you find any records that were kept of all of this? Even criminals need to keep the books, I'd assume."</span></p> <p class="cnMyZjAzZmY5MDFiZTQ2YTA5YjBiYmVlMTM4MzU4OGMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Some. Most people destroyed them when they got wind that the OPM was conducting raids," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYzMwOTA4YWI0YzRhZmE4M2MyYjMxYTZiYjQ2YTZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"And you really think that you've cleaned up the entire planet in such a short time? I find that hard to believe, especially if you had, as you said, always done your best to stop criminal activity," Olms said. "I would love to be able to trust Olar, to believe that my captains' ships are safe here, but I'm afraid that I can't."</span></p> <p class="cnM0NTVjNzgwMGIzMjQ1Y2ViMDEyY2I0ODlmOTA4MzMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"May I remind you that the original cause of this was your captains ferrying in illegal goods themselves," Marquis said. "Should I ask for assurances that that will not continue?"</span></p> <p class="cnMzYTU2NmNiZjdkOTRlMmU5YmNiMzI2NTlkODdjOThi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Governor Marquis," Yan said. "The Trade Guild has done its due diligence in punishing the ships responsible. They have been moved to different routes."</span></p> <p class="cnM4NzQ0OWU2NzY5NDQ4Njk5YWM4MWM0OGUxZDhiMDY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Hm, but just as Apprentice Olms has no guarantee that the black market here is completely gone, I have no guarantee that these new ships will not simply take up the mantle of the old ones."</span></p> <p class="cnM3MDFlMGIyYjQzZjQ0ZTM5MDY0OThiN2NjM2RiOWEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Then perhaps you will just have to trust each other," Sid said. "There’s no way to get what you both want without trust."</span></p> <p class="cnMwMjU4ODQ1N2Y0OTQ0NjRiOWNmMTUwYmIzNWE5Mzky"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I don't like trust," Olms said. "It leaves open the possibility of betrayal."</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZWY0ZmY5YzVkMzRhMGI5OWY4YTc0ZDkwZjRmZjUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan thought this was being a little melodramatic, but Olms was smiling, so it was a joke.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZDNmZjE4YWUzMjQxNTg4M2ZkMWFlZGFlZTY2ZmE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"We must all occasionally commit to things that we don't like," Yan said. "Governor Marquis, what would make you willing to put your trust in the Trade Guild again?"</span></p> <p class="cnM1OWQ3ZWYyOWJkYjQyMjA4Yjk1N2IxZWU3ZTUzMmIw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"All I ask is that my people be allowed to travel freely within the system. The mining and scientific operations on the outer planets have ground to a halt. We also need access to the wider marketplace of the Empire, in order to sell our goods and receive supplies in return. That requires the Trade Guild reinstating the old routes, with new ships."</span></p> <p class="cnNjNjUzMzc4NWFiYTQyMGViMzI4MWVkOTg4YWZmYzRj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You won't ever be able to go back to the level of traffic you had before," Yan warned. "All the extra ships that were coming and going are forbidden. This is on the Empire's orders."</span></p> <p class="cnM5OTkwZjY0MmQzNjQ2OWZhMmUxZWZkMmUyYjRiOTI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"We at least need the Circle Run. We depend on it," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZDRiZTA3YjNkNzRlNGM5N2QyZWZiOWFhYjU1YjMy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"That all sounds quite reasonable. Apprentice Olms, what will you need, in order to trust Governor Marquis, to make this all happen?" Sid asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM5Y2VhZGQ4NzEyMDQ5NTM4YzU4MDRlYjhlMDdlMWI2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"May I ask a favor of the Empire?" Olms asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMzYTRlZWRjNTk5MDRiMGE5ODQwYjhhZDBhYTRmYWU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You can ask, but there's no guarantee that you will receive," Sid cautioned.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYWFlZjRkOTg4YzQ3MzU5NGJlYzUwYTcyOWY4ZDVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I would like, at least on a temporary basis, some independent commission to be set up that investigates all the in system ships docking at the elevator," Olms said.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZWFmMDIxN2EyNDRiMjQ5N2UzNTgxZWRiOTE3NWU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"That doesn't sound right," Marquis said. "Why should all of my ships, which are scientific and mining vessels, have to be inspected while yours go around free? If that were to happen, I would need that independent commission to search all Guild ships coming in as well."</span></p> <p class="cnNiY2FjNGUzNGVlYTRiODViZTliODUwMDg4NWIxYTNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"This was discussed when this problem originally came to light. The Empire does not want to be responsible for this type of enforcement," Yan said. Not to mention, Yan didn't think she had the authority to order such a thing.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NDE4ODc2MDBiZDQ2NGVhNzM3YjQ4ZWFlN2E0NzBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"May I propose an alternative?" Sid asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNDNmZmZlNzNhODRjYTZiYzFjODhkZmU0MGY5MTkx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Of course," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NGQ2M2U0ODQyYTRkM2I5Mjg3NjRjNGIzMDRjOWM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Apprentice Olms, does the Guild have the ability to set up an office on the Olar Station?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjMDIzMzNiMDk5MjQ0YmU5NDA2OGY0MTU2MTA3YmE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Are you asking in terms of manpower, charges, or desire?" Olms asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZGUwODg4MDFiYzRkNjliMTY4YWIyYjg4Mjk5YzBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Would you be willing to set up your own investigation of the Olar sublight ships, rather than entrusting it to the Empire? I doubt many people would want to see the Empire swooping in to inspect cargo, so I say this for our sake as much as yours," Sid explained.</span></p> <p class="cnM3OTBkNWQzNTUwNDQ5MzI5NmY1OTA2MDk1ZGI4ZTE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"This still seems one sided," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNzlmNDE0ZGFkYTQ1NGI5NjVlYzlhMDYwODc4Njk1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Governor, this is your planet. You have a militia who you can order at any time to start investigating cargo that is brought down on the elevator," Yan said. "I would say that if you have not already been doing that, then you have been lax in your duties."</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZDNiMjkzMzllMjQ1Mzg5MWRhMDliZTc0MzIxMzk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">If the OPM and the Olar government in general had been letting cargo through without even a cursory inspection, then the current crisis was their own fault. </span></p> <p class="cnMyMTUwYmQ3M2E1NTRkNTA5ZjgzMWM0YjRlZTA4Mzkx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"The stationmaster is responsible for making sure that the cargo coming down matches the manifest," Marquis said.</span></p> <p class="cnM5OGJiNjMxNTYwNDRkNmZhMjY4YzUxODkyODJiYmE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Then I suggest you find a stationmaster who is less susceptible to bribery," Sid said. "All of that cargo gets down to the planet somehow."</span></p> <p class="cnM0NzdmOGQxNDhhYzQ4ZmFiZDE3NmJmMjczOGMxODQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Olms smiled thinly. "Your government is always welcome to inspect the cargo unloaded on the station. My captains are used to rigorous checking elsewhere."</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZjkzYzcyMWViMzQ1ZmRhMDFhOWJlNDc5MmIzM2Rl"><span style="font-weight: 400">"So, would it be possible for the Trade Guild to set up their own office aboard the station?" Sid asked. "Would it be suitable to both of your tastes?"</span></p> <p class="cnM0MGEwMWZiZmU5MjRlOGY4OWViOTY0MjU4ZGQ1MTc1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I have some questions still about how you think that would work," Olms said.</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTgyMjRjNDBlZDQ0MDg4ZDU2NWJlN2I2OTg3MjNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">The conversation went on and on, every new point being met with some objection from someone. It was almost as though they couldn't just agree to agree, they had to object strenuously enough before they could actually give in. It was much more frustrating than either of the individual meetings had been, and Yan almost wished she was back getting yelled at during the public forum. At least people there had a reason to be contrarian.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNWVkODVkYmUyNDRiZDBiYjZhYjI1MDZlOTQ0NjZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">The whole thing seemed to bring out the best in Sid. For once in his life, he wasn't the most unnecessarily argumentative person in the room. He brought up points and counterpoints to everything that Marquis and Olms said, trying to win the conversation. </span></p> <p class="cnMzYWI3Y2I5Y2I5NjQ3NjZhMzVlZDMxOTM5OGMzNWZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Eventually, though, they had to reach an agreement. Fundamentally, Olms and Marquis both wanted it to end- a month or so of being under a blockade, and a month of enforcing a blockade, both grated. Marquis did have to allow that the Guild could do "random checks" of ships docking at Olar Station, which meant that the Guild would have to keep at least some sort of permanent presence there. In the grand scheme of things, that was a concession that he was able to make without too much fuss. He did manage to weasel out that it would be renegotiated after a few years, and that an OPM team would be on hand to make sure the checks were carried out fairly. He hadn't quite managed to win any financial compensation for the month of damage to the Olar economy. He would have been well within his rights to ask for it, but Marquis was not negotiating from a position of power. </span></p> <p class="cnNlYWQ3MDNkZTFiMjQ0ZWM5N2EyNWIyZThiZmI1YWMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">They all shook hands at the end, agreeing on the deal. Someone in Marquis's office would take the recording of their meeting and draw up a formal document, which Marquis and Olms would sign together at some point in the next few days. Yan and Sid didn't have to be anywhere near that. The Empire had not agreed to anything: they were just there to facilitate the meeting. </span></p> <p class="cnNhY2MzYTY0NWU3NDQ4ZDdhZDJmOWU3YWMzODljODMy"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan and Sid were able to escape, finally, returning to their hotel. The night had grown much darker, and that moon hovered in the sky like a malignant eyeball. Yan was glad that they would be leaving soon. She asked Iri what their travel plans were.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ODUxZjUwZjc2YzQ3YTVhNWIwMmVhZmQ4ZGVhYmE1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I don’t know when the blockade will officially be lifted, but I contacted the captain of the Skyfish while you were meeting, and he said that he can take as far as Galena. From there, I don’t remember the name of the ship, but there’s a regular route that runs between Galena and Emerri. We’ll be taking that.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1NjFjNDE2MWU5ZDQ3MDI5OGUyZWVmN2Q3OWIxN2Rm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You didn’t arrange our transportation off until just now?” Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMzN2Q5NjRmZTIyNDRmM2RiYmRkMTc5ZmRmZDczMzEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’ll be honest with you, the alternative was taking the same set of ships back, which I don’t think you wanted. Harber, Hernan, and I have all been scrambling to figure out a different route,” Iri said.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMTUyYzhlZjIxOTQyZDY5OGNlMGEwNzUyZWEwN2Zj"><span style="font-weight: 400">They were standing in the lobby of the hotel. The clean and shiny place seemed an odd contrast to the rest of the architecture and general aesthetics of Olar, but Yan didn’t mind. Perhaps it was built like that because most foreign visitors would stay in a hotel like this. They might feel more comfortable in a place made with shining metal and bright lights than a room filled with heavy stone and drapery.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NWM2OGNkOWFmNjRkZjI4MDJlZTNlNDAxODU2M2Rm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, thank you for that,” Yan said. “You should probably contact the ship you think will take us from Galena to Emerri, though, before we actually go.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkZWYxNDM0ZTJhNDQxZWFhM2NkNTY1NDNlOTJjOTI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Of course. You know how it is,” Iri said, waving her hand.</span></p> <p class="cnNiOWZlMTYwMTkxZTRiODJiNWMyZWI0NTM4ZDE1ZDBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Do you think that Sid will be excited to go back to his home planet?” Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkMTVhY2RkZGRiZTRkMTNhZWE0ZDU3Y2RiYmUxNTlm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I haven’t the faintest idea, you’d have to ask him,” Iri said. Yan nodded.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZmVhY2U2YmRiZjRjOWFhNzFkNTE1MDg3M2QxMGI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What’s a good dinner food around here?” Yan asked. She had suddenly realized how hungry she was. </span></p> <p class="cnM1Njc1ZTI3YjRiODQ3NWQ5NWJkNjM0NzFiZjg5MDc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You can always order from the hotel’s restaurant,” Iri said. Yan debated this internally for a second.</span></p> <p class="cnMyNmQ5MGQ2NzhlMTRhM2M5Yjg0ZDgzZDFhZWMxZjkw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’ll go ask Sid what he wants to do,” Yan said.</span></p> <p class="cnMxNDhkMjcwOTQ3YTQ3NmJhZWUyZmZmYjc4MmE0ZGM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Ok. Don’t go anywhere without letting one of us know,” Iri said. Yan resisted rolling her eyes.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NGZjYjNhNDliYjRjMmJhMTBlZGJlMDk0ZmI3ZjM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“As if I could ever escape your watchful gaze.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZDkyZWQ5NzVjNzQ2NDNiYmE0NTJjMmY1NzRiYTVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hey, you could try to slip out. You never know what you’re capable of until you do it.” That was too uncomfortably true for Yan, so she just shrugged and headed up to her hotel room.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MzgyYzQwMGNiOTRkMzhhMDMyYjM2YjkwOTk2YTQ3"><span style="font-weight: 400">She found Sid waiting for her, just outside her door. He had gone up to change out of his nice clothes, and was now wearing just his plain black cassock. He had somehow gotten hold of a plain black winter cloak as well, with none of the fancy decoration that they had on the ‘normal’ ones.</span></p> <p class="cnNlODU4N2I0ODNjMTQyYTdiNDE2NjFiZTI2NmVhNmM0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Where’d you get that?” Yan signed, pointing at the cloak.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNmZiOWIyMjZjZDRjOWViODkwNWMxM2JhZjU1YmM4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Borrowed it from one of the Fleet team. Got you one, too, in my room.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2NzQzMTE2YWE2ZTRlOWY5MWYwNzYzNTJlYmZmYjA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why?” Yan raised her eyebrows.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZmRlYjAwZTI1NjQ5YmRiZDhjMWRiZDE4MWE4NzQy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Let’s have a night on the town, incognito.” </span></p> <p class="cnMzNDA1N2QyZDJmYzQ4ZmRiNWNlNjNlNTBjNzg1NTQ5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why?” Yan’s eyebrows couldn’t go any higher.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMGMyNjI3OWQyMzRlZjRhYjFhMzU1ZDJlZDhiY2Jk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“We deserve to relax,” Sid signed. “Before we go back to normal life.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyOGQ5N2M3Nzg5YTQ3YjQ4MDZjMzYwMzNkNWVjMTEx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Two things,” Yan started. “Going out is your idea of relaxation? And we don’t have a normal life to go back to.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0NTA2YWE5NDBlNzQ4MmViNzRmNmY2OTY0MDg2ZjI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It’s an idea of fun,” Sid signed. “But you’re right, so we should take this opportunity while we have it.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZDk5ZTVkN2U5ZjQyY2U4ODg0ZWQ2NGIzZDkxZDk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What are you actually suggesting we do?” Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MTk5NDhmNTY4MzQ0MGRiOWI2MDNlMTJmMTc0ZDIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“We could walk the city, see the nightlife, get some food. Also, let me show you something.” Sid pushed back the sleeve of his cassock to show Yan his arm. There was an angry red line across the back of it, as though he had gotten scratched by some sort of animal.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZjVhMzY2YzU5NjQ3MTBhOGQ3NmE1YWVjZjlkYjRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What did you do?” Yan signed.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYzQzZjlmNDhlODQzMzQ4MmRlZDQ2NTI3NDA1ZTE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Look,” Sid said aloud, unable to move his arms because he was holding his cassock back. He closed his eyes for a second. Yan felt him use the power, and along the scratch of the line, black ink rose to the surface of his skin, where before it had been invisible.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MjViYzQ4MjJlMjQyZDJhMGNlODU0ZmRmZWM5M2Rm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“God, what did you do to yourself?” Yan signed. “That’s going to be on you forever?”</span></p> <p class="cnM2YmNiZTM2ODAyYjRlMTc5ZmJmNTk3YzdjZWZjN2Y5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Look!” Sid insisted, and he focused again with the power, and the ink disappeared. </span></p> <p class="cnNlYWZlYmI1ZmM1OTRjODE5YjcwY2NkMWJhYWNlMGI5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Even if you can make it go away, what did you even </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">do</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyZTBhYmI4NWRiZjRiODI4YmQ2YjRjNDIyYmU3MmJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I took a sewing needle from a clothing repair kit and some pen ink and did it to myself yesterday,” Sid signed, letting his sleeve flop back down to cover the angry red mark.</span></p> <p class="cnMxMDhjOTVmZjQ2ZjQyYzFhODc5YjY5OWMxNjIzM2Ex"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why were you doing that in the first place?”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTY5ZmY3MDVjYTQ3ZmU5MDg5YTliY2UxYTA4MjY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid looked vaguely ashamed. “That’s not important, but it works as a proof of concept.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkYzQxY2Q0OTQ2ZjQwZGY4ZjRhZDRhNGFmM2ExNGFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“A proof of concept of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">what</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400">? Also it is important,” Yan insisted.</span></p> <p class="cnNmODBmZjYwYTQxYTQ2NTdiZjhkZWNkYWE0Y2VhNjYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, remember ages ago when I told you I wanted a tattoo that I could change whenever I wanted? We’re on a planet where everybody has tattoos, where’s a better place to get one?”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGM0ZGQyYzY1MDQzMjZiOWM4MmJjNjIwMDMwZjBm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Are you seriously telling me that you want to go out in disguise, in the middle of the night, and get me to hold your hand while you get your skull tattooed in some random shop? Are you serious?” Yan was repeating herself out of her sheer disbelief, though maybe she shouldn’t be surprised at any of Sid’s nonsense.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MGIyYzUwYmY2ODQ0OWRhMTExMzExNDczODczZjZl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid nodded, his grin almost infectious. Yan was very wary of this entire concept, but Sid’s enthusiasm was convincing.</span></p> <p class="cnMwNDkyY2UyNmI3NDRlMjdhMTU5MmFlNjMxNmM1Mjkz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Did you know,” Yan signed, changing the topic. “We’re going home a different route, stopping by Galena.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0N2JhNzRkZTI1MTRjMTFhZDJiYjhhNzQ0YjIxMmM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Even more reason to do this now, then,” Sid signed. “My mother hates tattoos, I can’t wait to show her.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlZWE1NjBmNzU3ZTQ5MTBhZmIzOGVlNTQ3ODllYTU3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Yan said.</span></p> <p class="cnMzMDc5ZDZjYTMwNTRhZDk5Mzk5MjQ2ZmYzM2Y5YTJh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, it’s my body, not yours, and I’m doing it. If you don’t want to come along, you don’t have to,” Sid signed, frowning.</span></p> <p class="cnMxYzUyZDI3ZjVhNTRmMTk5ZjhmZGZjYjU5YjAzNDBl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“If you’re going to do it anyway, then I guess…” Yan said. She really would have preferred not to, but she did feel slightly protective of Sid. To be honest, if the situation were reversed and Yan had had some sort of similarly crazy idea, Sid probably would have gone along for her sake. Luckily, Yan was not quite so prone to crazy ideas.</span></p> <p class="cnNmY2UzMjllZDc5ODRiYzZiZTExYjA5YzM5NmE1MDM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Great, change out of your fancy clothes, and I’ll get you one of these,” Sid signed, gestured at his cloak, then dashed to his hotel room.</span></p> <p class="cnNmMTg0YWU2NGNmZDQxODNhMTYxZmM3MWEzMTY5ZTY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan turned around with a sigh and went into her own room. She picked through her clothes to find her plainest cassock. She changed, leaving her shirt and pants the way they were, since they were invisible anyway. She left her fancy cloak draped over her bed with some regret. It was the most fashionable thing she got to wear, so it was a shame to have to leave it behind. Maybe she’d get to wear it more when winter really came down on Emerri. That would be nice.</span></p> <p class="cnMwYzQ0NzVkYzgxODQ2MGFiZTRjNjQyMDJjM2Q5OTc3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan headed back out into the hallway, and Sid passed her the borrowed cloak. It was short on her. Sid gave her an appraising look.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYzVkZGUxNGJhNzRhMDRiNjM5Y2U4YWI2ZDBmNmE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It’ll do,” he signed.</span></p> <p class="cnNhMDcwNmM5N2ViZDQyOTQ4NTRhODUyMDc4NDU0Zjkw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I look like a tree in this. I don’t hate being tall, but I hate how nothing fits me,” Yan signed. </span></p> <p class="cnNlMjkwMDE4YjFkYzQ2MzA4OGM3Mzc4OWVhMWU0Yzcw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So you’ll have cold ankles. Whatever, let’s go,” Sid signed.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OTAyODg2N2QzNjQyMzk5OWE4YmExNDdiYWUzOTY1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Can we at least get dinner first?” Yan asked.</span></p> <p class="cnM1ZDM4ZDE1MTA3MTQ4YjQ4NmYzODVlZmJlODU2ODFh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Let’s go back to to that market and get more of those tube cakes. Those were good.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NGJmNGQ1Y2QyZjRlOTg4MjQ2NzFkYjM0MmFmMGYx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That’s junk food,” Yan protested.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NWI3ZTJhZGE1NTRlOGM4MDY2NTE2MzFhMjcyZjBj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“And I’m a junk human, let’s go.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiZmZhZTRhYTdhMTRiZDM4Njk0ZTBmMjNlM2I3OTNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan followed Sid down the stairs to the lobby. Iri was still there, talking to Lieutenant Harber. Yan waved at her to get her attention. Iri abandoned her conversation with Harber and came over.</span></p> <p class="cnNkMjcwM2M3YzA1YzQ4NDg5YzVjZWYwZjg0NWQ5Y2Zh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sid and I are going out,” Yan said. </span></p> <p class="cnMyZGQxNzZlNzlkZTRmNDFhZWQ1NWEzYzJiYjMyNDcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Behind her, she could practically feel Sid’s disdain for this process radiating off him. She glanced over her shoulder at him, his arms crossed. The look he gave her said ‘do you really have to get them involved?’ Yan turned back around and ignored him.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MjVjNzc1MDQyZDRjYTI4ZDI2ZjFjNzVkMDczZDVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Are you inviting me, or just warning me?” Iri asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZmQ0NWVlOGQwYzRmZmZiMGI5YzEwMzY3NzA3NGM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Well, you’d have someone follow us anyway, I’m sure, but I don’t think we want an entourage. We’re going low profile.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4OWI0YWE3NTQyMjQ4NGZhMDMwYjQ2NTBhYjEzYmUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You won’t look low profile like that,” Harber called over. “You stand out as foreigners right away. No tattoos.” </span></p> <p class="cnMyYzhiNjY0OWQxYjQ4YzQ4YTQyMzAxMWEwYWNhYjFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“He’s right,” Iri said. “I can come with you, if you prefer to keep this a small affair.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxYTg5NDRiZGVhYzQwNDM5YjMxMTNiMDE2MGI5OTlk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sure,” Yan said.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMDg2NDg5MzA0NDRkNTk4ZWUxZmZiOTc5ZDEwYTFl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“But you know the Fleet car will be just a block away at all times.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4MjYyYmUxYjU3YzQzNjNiMmIyYmU4NjljOTNmY2I5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan frowned. “No privacy.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NTU1OTFjY2ZjNzQ1ODA5OGUzNGJjMDcyZjUxMDAx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“None at all.”</span></p> <hr> <p class="cnNjOTE2YWQ1YjY1MDRkMGRhN2Y3YzMwZGIyNmNmY2Ez"><span style="font-weight: 400">They did go to the market and have dinner. The place was still bustling, even at night, which surprised Yan. Most of the grocery vendors went home, and the outdoor section was barren except for the restaurant stalls. There was more food to choose from than just the fried dough that they had had the previous day, so Yan was able to buy a plate of grilled vegetables instead. Sid happily munched on his fried dough as Yan judged him. Yan wondered how well that would sit in his stomach as he got his whole skull tattooed, since he seemed intent on actually going through with it.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZjVmOTM4MGUzYTQ4N2M4NjhmYTNkMThkNDgxNmFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">They had talked about it more over their dinner. Iri thought the whole thing was hilarious, and cautioned that it would probably take a long time and be excruciatingly painful. Sid just shrugged. He may have gotten a little paler as Iri launched into a discussion of just how many nerve endings were in the skull, but the lighting was bad, so Yan couldn’t really tell. He seemed prepared to go through with it, regardless.</span></p> <p class="cnM3NDkyMWVjYzA0NjQzY2Q4YmZlMzVhNzIxY2ZjZjA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“How are you going to even find a tattoo artist who’s willing to start a massive project on no notice in the middle of the night?” Yan asked</span></p> <p class="cnMwZjVkMWFiNDQ4NTRiNWZhYmExOTZmOWQ1OWZkMzA4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I think we’ll just ask around. Enough charges solve most problems,” Sid signed. Yan couldn’t disagree with the second part of that; it was probably true that someone would be willing to do it for some price, but she didn’t fancy the idea of walking around through the cold night. It was snowing only lightly, but the wind was present as always.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OGMwMTFiYmJmMzQ0N2U4YjJkOGYwN2RmNTEwODM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">They all purchased hot drinks to carry and sip as they wandered through the marketplace. It was warmer indoors where the more permanent shops were, and there were several tattoo places. Some of them were even surprisingly well populated, despite the late hour. The whole market was crowded. Every few stores seemed to have their own music system, pumping out noise. There were clubs that Yan hadn’t noticed before, lining the edges of the marketplace. It seemed as though they were competing with each other to have the most crazily spinning lights, loudest music, and wildest dancing. There was no want for customers. People walked around the place, talking, laughing, and buying things despite the late hour.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MjVkOTNmMzQyMzRjNmE5NmY5YjEwOWI2NDJmYjRk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Though some of the normal stalls had closed for the night, that didn’t stop all business. Sid asked at several of the tattoo shops, starting off that he was willing to pay for a difficult job done immediately. He was rejected at a few, but at one place the guy running the desk shrugged and let him in to talk with the tattoo artist.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZmMwNTljYWYwNzRiOGY5MjZlNDEwNGY1NzA1ZjQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">The artist in question was a petite woman, with rich brown skin and dyed red hair. Her face had the usual tattoos of Olar citizens, the circles coming off her forehead and ending just below her nose. The shop was quite warm, so she was wearing only a tank top that was a little too short. Her pants sat low on her hips. In the slip of space between her shirt and pants, there were overlapping tattoo lines, like the ripples caused when two rocks hit the surface of water. She was small, but it was clear that she was strong. Yan’s face grew hot as she looked at the woman, then tried to look away, unsuccessfully. </span></p> <p class="cnM5ZDcxZjFlMzc3NzQwYmU4YjlhYzkyYzBlNzAyYjNl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So, Vance told me that some rich foreigner wanted something complicated done right away?” The woman said. “I see three foreigners here. Which one of you is the rich one?”</span></p> <p class="cnM0YWQzYjlmY2I0NzRiZmVhM2ExNzk1ZjJjYWFkZGMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">Iri laughed. “Not me. He’s the one you’re looking for.” She pointed at Sid, who smiled and waved.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MWY5OGU0NzZlMzQ0MmU4MGFkZDk2Nzg5YmI0MmJl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You sure look like an egg, don’tcha,” she said. “What are you looking for me to do?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyZjg1YjU1OGIyODRmYjI4YjA4NzM4NTc2NjlkMGM1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I just want you to do my entire scalp, all black,” Sid said.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NDc1YTdiYmU4MjQ2ZDZiYmFmOThhMThkMjI2OWVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“And you need this done now, in the middle of the night, without an appointment? You’re wild.” She smiled anyway and reached out to shake Sid’s hand. “I’m Benna.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyY2VlYzBkMWU2ZjRhMTM5Y2E0ZGNhZWU1YTk0NjM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Sid.” Sid had his trademark grin out in full force.</span></p> <p class="cnMyODkwNmNkYjNmZDRhZWRhZmQwOGFjYTBjYmEyNTFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Got any other tattoos, Sid?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjNWMxYzI3MmE1NDRmODFhMWE4YTk1YjJlOWQ2YTFl"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid shook his head no. </span></p> <p class="cnNkYjA5ZDA4ZDRiMTQ0YWI5NTgwMDYyMTVjYmM4NzMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Are you sure you really want this? Are you sober? This is, actually, hey, kinda crazy. Little bit unethical to do something like this if I’m not certain you want it.” She seemed to be protesting without much conviction. It seemed that Sid’s promise of money was enough to get her to do anything. After all, if someone was willing to pay that much then they must really want it.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YWRmNjkyZTg1ZTRkMzM5MGNmNTBkNmExOWQzNjU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I’m certain,” Sid said. “Don’t worry about it, I know what I’m in for and what I want.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyZWQ0OTk2NWVjMzQ5NjliY2U2YjU4MjM4OGVkYmRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why?” Benna asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNmYTI5MjdhMGFhNzRkNjg5YWVkMGFhZjJlOWQwZTQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I've wanted this for a long time, and everybody here has tattoos, and we're leaving the planet soon, so this seemed like the best time to do it." </span></p> <p class="cnNiYjBkYThhNzYxZDQ1MDk4ZDk0NGQ4NGEzNDRjNGY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"How long are we talking?" Benna asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNDM1YTdlYWIzOTQyMmFhYjk1ZjEyY2QxZTljZTRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Years," Sid said.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NzI0NTczY2U2MjQwMGM5MzFhNjZjMDMzMzU1ZTE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"And you really just want the entire top of your head to be black? That isn't going to look like hair," she cautioned.</span></p> <p class="cnMzZTYyNjU2ZGUyMzQxM2E4YmU1YjgxMzc3YzJjZmZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I know. I don't want hair, I want to look more intimidating."</span></p> <p class="cnNmYTdmMmQ2N2E2MzQ3NDc5ZTQ1ZGU0MDc0ODU1Zjdk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Benna rolled her eyes. "If the charges are good and you really want this, then I guess I won't refuse. You're a crazy rich kid, though. You two just along for the ride?"</span></p> <p class="cnMxNGNmNWI0MzE1MDQyODNiOWZhMjk5ZjlmMmRlMDcx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Moral support," Yan said.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NTEyNzE2YTMxMTQ5Y2NiNzAzZGIzMzYzYThmODY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Yeah, he'll need it. Come on back." Benna led them into the back room, where a chair was set up. "You might all want to take off your coats, we keep it warm in here."</span></p> <p class="cnM2Nzg4N2YxOWNjMzQzZTY4ZWYwMDhkYWQxOWFhNjM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Everyone hung up their cloaks on a hook on the wall. Benna gave a long look at their cassocks, plain black though they were. She didn't ask about them.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NzlmOWNhZjBjYTQ4Mzk5MGJkZGYyOTJmZDFjNTky"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You in particular probably want that off, too. You're going to sweat," she directed Sid. Sid wiggled his cassock up off his head without unbuttoning it, and hung it up with their coats.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNzUxNWJjOWMwODRhZTBiNDY1NGJkMzhhOTBlNDgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I'm going to need payment up front for this one," Benna said, writing out a receipt. "Go take this up front and pay Vance while I set up." </span></p> <p class="cnNlODIyN2NiNDYzZDQ4YWFhZjZmMDRmZmUxYWJhMzg2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid obediently took the receipt and went to pay. Yan caught a glimpse of the total as he headed out. It was a good thing that Sid didn't have many other expenses in life. Yan, despite the absurd amount of money that they were getting for their salaries, didn't think that this was the best financial decision. Perhaps that was just her prudish nature as a spacer talking, though.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZjQ2OGQ1MWFhODRmZDE5NGY1NGJmYjA1OGI4OWQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">Benna prepared the materials that she would need to work, wiping down surfaces with disinfectants, pulling out bottles of ink, and assembling an alarming looking machine. </span></p> <p class="cnMxN2FkZmFiNzQxYjQ4YjViODExOTEzZTBjMDE5OTg3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You two can go grab chairs, just pull some in from over there. If you're planning on staying to watch, anyway." </span></p> <p class="cnM2YjQyYjM3N2NlOTQzYzg5OWM2YTI0YWQ2Y2VhOGRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan went into the room next door and dragged in two stools. Yan let Iri deal with her own, but Yan stood awkwardly around waiting for Benna to tell her where she could sit.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NTZlMjY0YzhlZjRjYjM5YWVmYTVkZjgzYmJjMDU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Waiting on a special invitation?" Benna asked, and Yan's face grew even hotter. In every unfamiliar situation, where Yan didn't know the rules of the engagement, she felt painfully awkward.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTYyNmE4OTBjYzQwZWQ4YjQ5ZTEwMDA4YjczYjc0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I just didn't want to get in your way," Yan explained.</span></p> <p class="cnM1MWU5ZTNlMGRkODRlNDE4ZTNhNjc1YTBiNzgwNjNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Benna laughed. "Well, if you're going to be holding his hand, set up right over here." She gestured to the area on the other side of the adjustable chair that Sid would be sitting on. Yan dragged her stool over and perched upon it, feeling rather like an ungainly bird. The stool was not designed for someone as tall as she was, but she made the best of it.</span></p> <p class="cnNiMTYxZjQ3ZWQwNjRkNjNhYWI2MjA5OWVhMTI4M2Q3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid came back in, still smiling.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZGRlODgzMTYxMjRjODc4MTNkZjdiYzczMWE5NGI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Well, first things first," Benna said. "Let me check if you're shaved alright." She walked over to Sid and he made a face as she rubbed her hand over the top of his head. "Heh, smooth as a baby's bottom."</span></p> <p class="cnM2NTRlMDBlNGMyODQzYTRiMzhhYjYzZmMzMWUzNjVl"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I shaved it earlier," Sid said, rolling his eyes. "I know how to keep my head clean."</span></p> <p class="cnM2OTVlNWFjOWYzOTQ4YTViNTUxYzUxMGE0YTZiNTNh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Great. Take a seat."</span></p> <p class="cnMxODdmNmMyZmQzYTRmMjk5NDI4MWQ5OWQwNGIzMmQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid hopped up onto the adjustable chair, flopping dramatically backwards.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNTM1Mzg4YmE3YjQ1MDA5MGE4YzI2NDM5NmZjM2Yy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"First thing I'm gonna do," she said, "is mark out the boundaries of where I'm going to put the ink, and then you tell me if that's what you want or not. Lean over here."</span></p> <p class="cnM5YzZmNmE5ZDY0ZTQ5ZjZhYzRlYzNlYzE3MGZmYmVk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid obeyed, and Benna took a marker off the tray next to her and drew a line all around Sid's head, where she suspected his normal hairline would be. She had a handmirror on the tray also, and handed it to Sid so that he could check it. Yan watched this process with fascination, Iri was reading something on her phone, paying no attention.</span></p> <p class="cnMwOTIyN2VmNGY0OTQxYmU5YTBjOTg4Y2Y5ZDY3MGJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"How does that look?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjY2UzNWU3NGI5ODRkYzJhZTdkNDIxNmY3OTk3MWMw"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sid inspected himself in the mirror. "Could you make it smoother? Like, no ridges here, and just make it round at the back?" Sid touched areas where she had indicated the hint of sideburns, right above his ears. On the back of his head, right where his skull met his neck, he traced out a smooth curve.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NTkxMzE0ZDRlOTQ4MGNiZTQ1MDkxY2E0YTcxOWNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Sure. Going for a more geometric look. I get that." Benna adjusted the lines. "Like that?"</span></p> <p class="cnM0YTgzODRkYzRhZjQ3ODU5ODJjMWU5ZGUyMDE1ZThi"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Yeah, that's great." </span></p> <p class="cnMyMTNmYTlhOGQxZjQ2NmY5NzFmMDZjNzY3OGYzZDQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Alright. Well, if you're really sure about this, I'll disinfect you and we can get started."</span></p> <p class="cnMxN2Q1MTgzN2VhMDQyM2M4NGY4ZTQ5MTAxYzljZGIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I am sure," Sid insisted. Benna put some disinfectant onto a sterile pad and started scrubbing at Sid's head. He rolled his eyes at Yan. Yan frowned at him. </span></p> <p class="cnNjZjAxM2IxOGQ2ZTRlNTNiNGU1ZTM1ZTU4MWMxMjA4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Well, laying down on your stomach will probably be your best bet," Benna said. She used some foot pedals at the bottom to set the chair in motion, adjusting it so that it was nearly completely horizontal.</span></p> <p class="cnNjN2EwOTAyMDBiYTRlZDI5MzE3YjViMzc3YjI3MzA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"How long is this going to take?" Sid asked, flopping over onto his stomach and putting his arms underneath his chin.</span></p> <p class="cnM3MzEyNGVhZmI5NjQ2ZWU5ZGVmN2RjZWI1NjA2OWE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"If you don't need any breaks, about four hours. If you're really leaving the planet soon, you'll want to get it done all at once, so I hope you won't need to stop."</span></p> <p class="cnMzOWE0NDYzMGRlYzRhYmZiYzQ3ZjlkNDAwYjQ4YzUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I won't," Sid said. Benna looked skeptical, but she went over to the sink, washed her hands, and donned a pair of gloves.</span></p> <p class="cnM1OWNiNDYwZTU5NDQ2MmFiN2VjMGUwYzczZDQyMjk2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Do you want earplugs? The machine is loud when I'm working right by your ears."</span></p> <p class="cnMyMWJiNzIyNTJiNzQ2ZmZiNWRhNjEyYjM4NDYyNWZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"No, I'm good," Sid said, smiling broadly.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNWM4MTVkMmViMTQwMzk4NDA5NzUxZmNjNzE3Y2M2"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Let me know if you change your mind."</span></p> <p class="cnMwNTUwNTdlNDliMjQ2YTg4MDIxY2QxYjQyOTIyOTI3"><span style="font-weight: 400">Yan wasn't going to speak up and reveal the fact that Sid was deaf, but it was pretty funny. Benna arranged herself on her own chair so she had best access to Sid's head. She held her machine in her right hand, had her left on Sid's head and a wipe cloth, and was stepping on a foot pedal. Her rolling tray of inks and implements was next to her.</span></p> <p class="cnNmNzM4YzgxMjE1MzQ1NTI4YzlhMTI5ZTA2ZDE3MWNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"You ready?" She asked.</span></p> <p class="cnMwMGNlMzdhNGE1YzQ4OTI5YTk1MWM1Y2QzOGE0N2Vh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"As I'll ever be," Sid said. </span></p> <p class="cnMzZjkxY2E2NTJjZjQzZDZiOTQzNWQxOTc3ZmNmMzZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Benna started up the machine, putting the needle down right in the center of Sid's head. He immediately tensed, but to his credit, didn't jerk his head out of the way. He couldn't really, with Benna's hand holding it.</span></p> <p class="cnM1NWI0NmM3NGFkOTRhMjZhZTY1Mzg4MjdkMzExMmIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Damn," Sid swore, sucking in a breath. Iri and Yan gave eachother a look, Iri slightly shaking her head.</span></p> <p class="cnMyMDJiMTA0YmFkMTRlZDg5MjIxOWRkMzdhMjM1NjJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Scalp tattoos hurt like a bitch, I'll give you that one," Benna said. "Keep still so I don't stab you too hard. </span></p> <p class="cnMyYmZiMTk1OGI0MTQ3M2Y5Y2E0ZWJiMTI0ZTdhMTA3"><span style="font-weight: 400">"I'm gonna close my eyes," Sid said. He did so, squeezing them shut. Benna kept on working on his head.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOWI4NWM5YTMyOTQwZGZhMjIxMDYyMzUxNjA5Y2Fk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"So, where are you all from?" Benna asked, making conversation over the buzzing of the machine.</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZWIzNjU4ZTA5YTRiMDliYTI1YmU1OTIwNjM0MTU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"We all live on Emerri, but he's from Galena, originally," Yan said.</span></p> <p class="cnM2YTdiNDM5NWJiYTQ1ZTRhMjZhMGY2YzhkMDBlYjBk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Galena, eh? What brings you here, Galena boy?" Benna asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZmEzN2MwMWI4NDQyNmY4Nzk4ODE5ZmZhMWZmYTZk"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Business," Yan answered for him, as Sid didn't even know that Benna was asking a question because his eyes were closed. Benna gave her an odd look.</span></p> <p class="cnMyOTY1Njg2ZjdiYTQzZDM4YmJhY2UxNDE5MWViNzJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Don't want him answering?" She asked.</span></p> <p class="cnNkYjVhNWFkMDMyNjQ5NWM5Yzk4MWY0ZTgwNTZhNWU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">"No, he just can't hear you," Yan explained. "He reads what you say on his glasses, and he closed his eyes."</span></p> <p class="cnM1YzU3NjFmYzAzNzQxZTZhYWE0OWFjMGE2YTEyYmRh"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Interesting," Benna said. "Well, I guess you'll have to content me as a conversation partner, since she's clearly just reading a book over there." Benna nodded back at Iri, who was only half paying attention to the conversation. "What's your name?"</span></p> <p class="cnNjNDQ5YTIzY2RkODQ1OGU4NzFkMzBkMmYzOWJlZWQw"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Yan, Yan BarCarran."</span></p> <p class="cnMwN2I3ZWE0YjdlMDRkMTU5YThmOTc0MWQzMWM5OTE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">"And what type of business do you do, Ms. BarCarran?"</span></p> <p class="cnNiZjY2MzBhOWIxNTRjMDNiZDVjZjBmOWFhZDY2YzQ4"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Uh, politics," Yan said.</span></p> <p class="cnM5NjYyNDdjZjMxOTRjNTBhNjY3ZTZkYTBlODMyZTgz"><span style="font-weight: 400">"Gross," Benna said. "I pay as little attention to that as possible."</span></p> <p class="cnMxY2EzZTZiYTQ4YzQ2YzM4Y2JmNDQ3NjZmMmFkNzk0"><span style="font-weight: 400">The conversation flowed smoothly from there. They sat for hours. Yan occasionally held Sid's hand, and Sid occasionally opened his eyes and talked as well, gritting his teeth through the pain. Benna worked the pure blackwork out across Sid's scalp, moving in ever expanding circles. They took a few breaks for one or both of them to stretch and get drinks of water. It was tedious work, but it required intense concentration and skill to keep the needle at just the right depth and angle.</span></p> <p class="cnNkZWIwY2QwYWY3NTQ2NjA4MjhmNjM3NGE0MGUyNzI4"><span style="font-weight: 400">Through it all, Yan hoped that Sid was getting what he wanted out of this.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZTVhMDQ5YjUzZjQ3NDY4ODFjN2EzODAzMjE0ZDY1"><span style="font-weight: 400">At the end, Sid did have a pitch black scalp. It was swollen, bleeding, and raw, but it was done. It completely altered his appearance; where before he had been an egg, Sid was sharper and more... Yan didn't want to say sinister, but it certainly gave him a different feeling altogether.</span></p> <p class="cnM0NzU5ZWU0M2M5ZTRjZTJiMjRjNTlmZGUzNTJkOTVk"><span style="font-weight: 400">They bid goodbye to Benna, thanked her for her work, and walked back to the waiting car. Sid complained bitterly the entire way about the feeling of the cold air on his head. Too bad his skin was too raw to wear a hat. He really was an idiot.</span></p> </div>

**An Appearance Meant Not to Deceive but to Inform** > *“Oh we’ve been in port for ten whole days, when can we go? Our ship is packed and the crew’s all in, when can we go? What’s the hold up, what’s the delay- we’re bound to stay another day? Oh please, please, let us go, Lord, oh please, please let us go.”* > > > -from “Repair Blues”, spacer song  Yan and Sid had not had the best morning. They had started out their day with a rousing public forum. It was mainly the citizens of City-One-North, but Yan doubted that opinions across the planet were very different. They were all under the same blockade, after all. Possibly opinions varied based on where particular black market venues had frequently operated, but that wasn't something that Yan was too concerned about. After all, if someone was angry that their local drug dealership was closed, well, they couldn't very well complain about it on planetwide television, could they. Although no one had thrown vegetables at them, and they had both managed to keep pleasant expressions on their faces, almost an hour and a half of constant haranguing by the public was enough to make both of them slightly crazy. They couldn't even give satisfactory answers to anyone who asked them a question. "What punishment is the Trade Guild going to recieve for blockading our planet?" Someone asked. And Yan was forced to say something like, "The Empire is not currently seeking punitive measures, we are interested in finding a peaceful solution to your problems..." And then the whole auditorium would start to chatter and boo. It was rough. Yan and Sid finally slunk out, tails metaphorically between their legs, and took refuge in their hotel for lunch. They had a little time to kill before the real meetings would begin. Unfortunately, even their "free" time was fraught with complications. As Yan and Sid sat down to eat, Iri came over and handed them an ansible message she had printed. It was from Sandreas. She gave each of them a copy. It started out as a general update on how things were going with their mission. Yan gasped when she read about Kino's misadventure in the caves of Tyx III, Sid was intrigued by the use of what Sandreas called 'shock and awe' on the population of Jenjin. Yan had a suspicion that the first part of the letter was actually ghostwritten by Halen, as Sandreas didn't seem the type to remember to keep his apprentices updated on what he was doing. The letter contained just enough detail to make Yan glad that she had chosen to come to Olar instead of the front and Jenjin, pirate attack notwithstanding. Then the letter took on a drastic shift in tone. It was as though it had been composed over several sittings, and on the last one, Sandreas had finally learned what had happened to Yan and Sid on their journey. This part, Yan was sure that Sandreas had actually written.   *Yan and Sid, first, let me say that I am glad that you are safe. My recent experiences on Tyx III have shown me just how important that you two and Kino have become to me. I don't know how my own mentor, Caron Herrault, managed to send out her apprentices and cope when the worst happened. Irrationally, I wish that I did not ever have to let you out of my sphere of influence, but you know as well as I do that there are times when you must go out into the universe on your own.* *I can't say that I know what you are feeling right now, but I can imagine it. I won't tell you a story about the things that I have done, because I don't think that will help you right now. In this line of work, sometimes you will be tasked with doing things that have a cost upon your soul. That is the price that leaders must pay to save those under our care.* *[As an administrative note and an aside, you are in charge of where you go and what you do, not Lieutenant Harber. While he may offer compelling reasons for things, and it is usually best to follow the advice of those tasked with protecting you, you both have the ultimate say. I am told that there was a small amount of threatened mutiny, which, while amusing, should not be necessary in the future. Keep in mind what role you hold, and use the powers that it grants you. I trust you both enough to be responsible.]* *I don't think that you did anything wrong. Sometimes, in life, there comes time when the right thing to do still feels impossibly wrong. There's no easy way to make that feeling go away. The only cure is time, distance, and experience. If you could go back in time and make different decisions, maybe you would choose differently with what you now know. But no one has that luxury. There are no 'what-ifs' or do-overs in life, and to wish there were is to condemn yourself to a lifetime of suffering. The only thing to do is to take the lessons that you learned and apply them in the future. Until death, there nothing that cannot be learned from.* *Not every decision you make will be popular with everyone. Some of them will be extremely unpopular with most people. If you feel like you made the correct decision, not even necessarily a 'good' decision, then you will have to let that go. I say that especially to you, Yan. It's easy for leadfeet like Sid and me to spin this as simply defending a ship from pirates, which is an unequivocally good thing. I know that the situation is complicated for you in ways that I cannot understand. I hope that your family doesn't turn against you, but even if they do, you can lean on other people you know.* *Sid, I caution you to be aware of what ties you create, and what it will feel like to break those ties. The things of the physical world are not capable of saving you. This is not a command, but it is a warning given with compassion.* *To both of you: even if you feel like there is no one you can turn to, remember that there is always God. God will hold you close, even if you feel there is too much darkness in your heart.* *In other news, I'm gratified to hear that you both are getting along and having a successful diplomatic mission thus far. Keep up the good work.* *I'm sure I will hear all about your experiences on Olar when you both get back. By time you read this, I may already be en-route to Emerri, so don't feel as though you need to respond. By time I get to Emerri, I'm certain you will already be off of Olar. Truly communication is one of the joys of space travel.* *Safe travels home, I'll be praying for you.* *Aymon*   Yan and Sid processed the letter in different ways. Sid crumpled it up; Yan folded her copy neatly and tucked it inside her pocket. "What?" Yan asked. "Why are you angry?" "He can't say anything useful," Sid signed. "And he still manages to come off like he knows everything when he's half a galaxy away." "Iri and Hernan report to Halen, and Halen reports to Sandreas, of course he knows everything," Yan signed. "I thought it was fine, not that I want to talk to him about it." "Probably when we get back he'll talk my eyes off about his 'similar experiences'," Sid's face curled in a sneer. "He probably has had similar experiences," Yan said. "Remember what Halen told us?" Sid deflated a little. "I guess it probably would be worse to be the person responsible for killing your later boyfriend's family. Still. I hate hearing about how much worse somebody else has it." "I don't know. At least we know that Halen forgave him for it," Yan signed. "Obviously. But that's different. Kidnapper sympathy syndrome." "You think that's what Halen's deal is?" Yan asked. "What else could it be?" "Yikes." Yan didn't really have an opinion on that. She figured Halen would have had plenty of time to break out of any brainwashing he may have been under, but maybe not. "Either way, we don't have to talk to him for a while. Not until we get back to Emerri." "It seems crazy that we spend so much time travelling and then we're only here on the planet for a few days at most," Sid signed. Yan shrugged. "Just how long things take on ships. You get used to it if you travel enough." They finished up their lunch and worked for a while discussing what they were going to say in their meeting with both Governor Marquis and whoever the Trade Guild representatives would be. Yan suspected that, out of politeness, Olms would only bring herself and possibly one other person. It wouldn't be prudent for Olms to bring either of the representatives from the Skyfish or Imei, and Lee was obviously out of the question. That left Yan's uncle Maxes and the council representative that Yan didn't know very well. Maxes could almost certainly be struck from the list. It was amazing that he had managed to sweet talk his way onto the trip in the first place, but Yan didn't think that his run of good luck could last much longer. Yan figured that Staffort, the last Council member, would be the only reasonable choice for Olms to bring with her. So it would be either Olms by herself or Olms and Staffort. Yan and Sid placed bets on who would show up. The meeting would take place in the Olar capitol building, yet another place that was built directly into the high mountain walls that overlooked the city. It was quite near to the governor's residence where they had met with Marquis, but this was a much more formal event than that private meeting. The sun was just about to sink below the opposite mountains, and the light of it cast a heady golden glow over the capitol. It was built of towering stone, seemingly mined from the same reddish grey rock as the mountains. The steps up to the front entrance were terraced and impressive. It wasn't a very practical entrance, but the practical entrance (including parking garage) was hidden one level down, carved out underneath these wide stairs. Yan and Sid made the trek up, all the while smiling at the media who followed their every move. They were met at the top of the stairs by Marquis and Olms. Sid smirked at Yan; he had won the bet that Olms would come alone. They all shook hands and posed for photos together at the top of the steps. It had all the components of a friendly meeting. Yan suspected that Olms was coming in more willing to work things out than it had initially seemed. There were yet more media people inside, of course, and they followed the group into the depths of the capitol building, toward Marquis's office. They were blessedly forbidden from the meeting itself, though the whole thing would be recorded for posterity, just without the actual presence of the media. Marquis's office was nothing like Sandreas's in Stonecourt. Where Stonecourt's halls were light and airy, everything on Olar had the stodgy feeling that only the rough hewn stone of the mountains could bring. Everything that wasn't stone was heavy, dark wood and thick drapery. It would have been alarming if Marquis's office was the only place that was decorated like this, but all of Olar followed these interior design rules. For some reason, people on Olar liked to decorate like this. The carpet and drapes in Marquis's office were all a forest green, which Yan appreciated. It was a nice contrast to the reddish tint of the stone. One wall had windows and a balcony. The sun had truly slipped behind the mountains, but the sky remained slightly illuminated. It was eerie. When the group took seats, Yan made sure to position herself and Sid such that she wouldn't be able to see that huge, red moon if it rose over the horizon. She didn't know why she hated it as much as she did, but she knew she would be able to breathe and speak easier if she wasn't looking at it. "Thank you all for coming," Marquis said, sitting down. They took seats around a coffee table, with Olms and Marquis opposite to each other, and Yan and Sid together at the side. "Of course," Olms said, sounding polite. "The Guild is eager to put this business behind us." "As are we," Marquis said. He was polite, but his tone indicated his frustration that the Guild could simply leave, if they were so eager. "Thank you both for allowing us to facilitate this meeting," Yan said. "Would it be helpful if we laid out the points as we see them?" Olms smiled at Yan. "I would love to hear a neutral party present the case." "I have no objection to that," Marquis said. "Excellent," Yan said. She nodded to Sid, who picked up the conversation. "It is clear to us that this blockade needs to end as quickly as possible. It suits no one. It was originally conceived from your need to prove that the Trade Guild would not tolerate any planets harboring pirates, which is a laudable goal, but one that unfairly impacted the citizens of Olar," Sid said. "Apprentice Olms, does the Trade Guild feel as though their ships will be safe trading with Olar in the future? Has the problem been dealt with?" Yan asked. "There's no way to know that, at this time. Our own ships, the Skyfish and Imei, have been safe, but that is because they are the most heavily armed ships outside of the Fleet. Were they to leave, who knows what dangers could come crawling up," Olms said. "But is Olar any less safe than any other planet?" Sid asked. "That depends. If the black market is still thriving on the ground, that incentivises pirates to come," Olms said. "Only Governor Marquis can say if that has changed." "Governor?" Yan asked. "We have always done our best to stomp out criminal activity," Marquis said. "We've pushed back against it even harder, recently. As I'm sure you know, we have made many arrests of suspected traffickers and sellers of illegal goods. With those people imprisoned, there is no more infrastructure for drugs and weapons to pass through," Marquis said. "Is there any way you can prove that the planet is safe?" Yan asked. "The only proof I can offer is if you inspect the records of those we have arrested, or watch their trials, you will see that we have caught the fat spiders on every strand of the criminal web," Marquis said. "Just out of curiosity," Olms said. "Could you tell me where on the planet the trading was being done? Warehouses, secret storefronts, through the net and the mail?" "There were locations where the products were being stored, at least. There were some, shall we say, depots on the equator that were raided. Things brought into the cities tended to be stored in small quantities in private homes and businesses," Marquis explained. "Did you find any records that were kept of all of this? Even criminals need to keep the books, I'd assume." "Some. Most people destroyed them when they got wind that the OPM was conducting raids," Marquis said. "And you really think that you've cleaned up the entire planet in such a short time? I find that hard to believe, especially if you had, as you said, always done your best to stop criminal activity," Olms said. "I would love to be able to trust Olar, to believe that my captains' ships are safe here, but I'm afraid that I can't." "May I remind you that the original cause of this was your captains ferrying in illegal goods themselves," Marquis said. "Should I ask for assurances that that will not continue?" "Governor Marquis," Yan said. "The Trade Guild has done its due diligence in punishing the ships responsible. They have been moved to different routes." "Hm, but just as Apprentice Olms has no guarantee that the black market here is completely gone, I have no guarantee that these new ships will not simply take up the mantle of the old ones." "Then perhaps you will just have to trust each other," Sid said. "There’s no way to get what you both want without trust." "I don't like trust," Olms said. "It leaves open the possibility of betrayal." Yan thought this was being a little melodramatic, but Olms was smiling, so it was a joke. "We must all occasionally commit to things that we don't like," Yan said. "Governor Marquis, what would make you willing to put your trust in the Trade Guild again?" "All I ask is that my people be allowed to travel freely within the system. The mining and scientific operations on the outer planets have ground to a halt. We also need access to the wider marketplace of the Empire, in order to sell our goods and receive supplies in return. That requires the Trade Guild reinstating the old routes, with new ships." "You won't ever be able to go back to the level of traffic you had before," Yan warned. "All the extra ships that were coming and going are forbidden. This is on the Empire's orders." "We at least need the Circle Run. We depend on it," Marquis said. "That all sounds quite reasonable. Apprentice Olms, what will you need, in order to trust Governor Marquis, to make this all happen?" Sid asked. "May I ask a favor of the Empire?" Olms asked. "You can ask, but there's no guarantee that you will receive," Sid cautioned. "I would like, at least on a temporary basis, some independent commission to be set up that investigates all the in system ships docking at the elevator," Olms said. "That doesn't sound right," Marquis said. "Why should all of my ships, which are scientific and mining vessels, have to be inspected while yours go around free? If that were to happen, I would need that independent commission to search all Guild ships coming in as well." "This was discussed when this problem originally came to light. The Empire does not want to be responsible for this type of enforcement," Yan said. Not to mention, Yan didn't think she had the authority to order such a thing. "May I propose an alternative?" Sid asked. "Of course," Marquis said. "Apprentice Olms, does the Guild have the ability to set up an office on the Olar Station?" "Are you asking in terms of manpower, charges, or desire?" Olms asked. "Would you be willing to set up your own investigation of the Olar sublight ships, rather than entrusting it to the Empire? I doubt many people would want to see the Empire swooping in to inspect cargo, so I say this for our sake as much as yours," Sid explained. "This still seems one sided," Marquis said. "Governor, this is your planet. You have a militia who you can order at any time to start investigating cargo that is brought down on the elevator," Yan said. "I would say that if you have not already been doing that, then you have been lax in your duties." If the OPM and the Olar government in general had been letting cargo through without even a cursory inspection, then the current crisis was their own fault. "The stationmaster is responsible for making sure that the cargo coming down matches the manifest," Marquis said. "Then I suggest you find a stationmaster who is less susceptible to bribery," Sid said. "All of that cargo gets down to the planet somehow." Olms smiled thinly. "Your government is always welcome to inspect the cargo unloaded on the station. My captains are used to rigorous checking elsewhere." "So, would it be possible for the Trade Guild to set up their own office aboard the station?" Sid asked. "Would it be suitable to both of your tastes?" "I have some questions still about how you think that would work," Olms said. The conversation went on and on, every new point being met with some objection from someone. It was almost as though they couldn't just agree to agree, they had to object strenuously enough before they could actually give in. It was much more frustrating than either of the individual meetings had been, and Yan almost wished she was back getting yelled at during the public forum. At least people there had a reason to be contrarian. The whole thing seemed to bring out the best in Sid. For once in his life, he wasn't the most unnecessarily argumentative person in the room. He brought up points and counterpoints to everything that Marquis and Olms said, trying to win the conversation. Eventually, though, they had to reach an agreement. Fundamentally, Olms and Marquis both wanted it to end- a month or so of being under a blockade, and a month of enforcing a blockade, both grated. Marquis did have to allow that the Guild could do "random checks" of ships docking at Olar Station, which meant that the Guild would have to keep at least some sort of permanent presence there. In the grand scheme of things, that was a concession that he was able to make without too much fuss. He did manage to weasel out that it would be renegotiated after a few years, and that an OPM team would be on hand to make sure the checks were carried out fairly. He hadn't quite managed to win any financial compensation for the month of damage to the Olar economy. He would have been well within his rights to ask for it, but Marquis was not negotiating from a position of power. They all shook hands at the end, agreeing on the deal. Someone in Marquis's office would take the recording of their meeting and draw up a formal document, which Marquis and Olms would sign together at some point in the next few days. Yan and Sid didn't have to be anywhere near that. The Empire had not agreed to anything: they were just there to facilitate the meeting. Yan and Sid were able to escape, finally, returning to their hotel. The night had grown much darker, and that moon hovered in the sky like a malignant eyeball. Yan was glad that they would be leaving soon. She asked Iri what their travel plans were. “I don’t know when the blockade will officially be lifted, but I contacted the captain of the Skyfish while you were meeting, and he said that he can take as far as Galena. From there, I don’t remember the name of the ship, but there’s a regular route that runs between Galena and Emerri. We’ll be taking that.” “You didn’t arrange our transportation off until just now?” Yan asked. “I’ll be honest with you, the alternative was taking the same set of ships back, which I don’t think you wanted. Harber, Hernan, and I have all been scrambling to figure out a different route,” Iri said. They were standing in the lobby of the hotel. The clean and shiny place seemed an odd contrast to the rest of the architecture and general aesthetics of Olar, but Yan didn’t mind. Perhaps it was built like that because most foreign visitors would stay in a hotel like this. They might feel more comfortable in a place made with shining metal and bright lights than a room filled with heavy stone and drapery. “Well, thank you for that,” Yan said. “You should probably contact the ship you think will take us from Galena to Emerri, though, before we actually go.” “Of course. You know how it is,” Iri said, waving her hand. “Do you think that Sid will be excited to go back to his home planet?” Yan asked. “I haven’t the faintest idea, you’d have to ask him,” Iri said. Yan nodded. “What’s a good dinner food around here?” Yan asked. She had suddenly realized how hungry she was. “You can always order from the hotel’s restaurant,” Iri said. Yan debated this internally for a second. “I’ll go ask Sid what he wants to do,” Yan said. “Ok. Don’t go anywhere without letting one of us know,” Iri said. Yan resisted rolling her eyes. “As if I could ever escape your watchful gaze.” “Hey, you could try to slip out. You never know what you’re capable of until you do it.” That was too uncomfortably true for Yan, so she just shrugged and headed up to her hotel room. She found Sid waiting for her, just outside her door. He had gone up to change out of his nice clothes, and was now wearing just his plain black cassock. He had somehow gotten hold of a plain black winter cloak as well, with none of the fancy decoration that they had on the ‘normal’ ones. “Where’d you get that?” Yan signed, pointing at the cloak. “Borrowed it from one of the Fleet team. Got you one, too, in my room.” “Why?” Yan raised her eyebrows. “Let’s have a night on the town, incognito.” “Why?” Yan’s eyebrows couldn’t go any higher. “We deserve to relax,” Sid signed. “Before we go back to normal life.” “Two things,” Yan started. “Going out is your idea of relaxation? And we don’t have a normal life to go back to.” “It’s an idea of fun,” Sid signed. “But you’re right, so we should take this opportunity while we have it.” “What are you actually suggesting we do?” Yan asked. “We could walk the city, see the nightlife, get some food. Also, let me show you something.” Sid pushed back the sleeve of his cassock to show Yan his arm. There was an angry red line across the back of it, as though he had gotten scratched by some sort of animal. “What did you do?” Yan signed. “Look,” Sid said aloud, unable to move his arms because he was holding his cassock back. He closed his eyes for a second. Yan felt him use the power, and along the scratch of the line, black ink rose to the surface of his skin, where before it had been invisible. “God, what did you do to yourself?” Yan signed. “That’s going to be on you forever?” “Look!” Sid insisted, and he focused again with the power, and the ink disappeared. “Even if you can make it go away, what did you even *do*?” “I took a sewing needle from a clothing repair kit and some pen ink and did it to myself yesterday,” Sid signed, letting his sleeve flop back down to cover the angry red mark. “Why were you doing that in the first place?” Sid looked vaguely ashamed. “That’s not important, but it works as a proof of concept.” “A proof of concept of *what*? Also it is important,” Yan insisted. “Well, remember ages ago when I told you I wanted a tattoo that I could change whenever I wanted? We’re on a planet where everybody has tattoos, where’s a better place to get one?” “Are you seriously telling me that you want to go out in disguise, in the middle of the night, and get me to hold your hand while you get your skull tattooed in some random shop? Are you serious?” Yan was repeating herself out of her sheer disbelief, though maybe she shouldn’t be surprised at any of Sid’s nonsense. Sid nodded, his grin almost infectious. Yan was very wary of this entire concept, but Sid’s enthusiasm was convincing. “Did you know,” Yan signed, changing the topic. “We’re going home a different route, stopping by Galena.” “Even more reason to do this now, then,” Sid signed. “My mother hates tattoos, I can’t wait to show her.” “This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Yan said. “Well, it’s my body, not yours, and I’m doing it. If you don’t want to come along, you don’t have to,” Sid signed, frowning. “If you’re going to do it anyway, then I guess…” Yan said. She really would have preferred not to, but she did feel slightly protective of Sid. To be honest, if the situation were reversed and Yan had had some sort of similarly crazy idea, Sid probably would have gone along for her sake. Luckily, Yan was not quite so prone to crazy ideas. “Great, change out of your fancy clothes, and I’ll get you one of these,” Sid signed, gestured at his cloak, then dashed to his hotel room. Yan turned around with a sigh and went into her own room. She picked through her clothes to find her plainest cassock. She changed, leaving her shirt and pants the way they were, since they were invisible anyway. She left her fancy cloak draped over her bed with some regret. It was the most fashionable thing she got to wear, so it was a shame to have to leave it behind. Maybe she’d get to wear it more when winter really came down on Emerri. That would be nice. Yan headed back out into the hallway, and Sid passed her the borrowed cloak. It was short on her. Sid gave her an appraising look. “It’ll do,” he signed. “I look like a tree in this. I don’t hate being tall, but I hate how nothing fits me,” Yan signed. “So you’ll have cold ankles. Whatever, let’s go,” Sid signed. “Can we at least get dinner first?” Yan asked. “Let’s go back to to that market and get more of those tube cakes. Those were good.” “That’s junk food,” Yan protested. “And I’m a junk human, let’s go.” Yan followed Sid down the stairs to the lobby. Iri was still there, talking to Lieutenant Harber. Yan waved at her to get her attention. Iri abandoned her conversation with Harber and came over. “Sid and I are going out,” Yan said. Behind her, she could practically feel Sid’s disdain for this process radiating off him. She glanced over her shoulder at him, his arms crossed. The look he gave her said ‘do you really have to get them involved?’ Yan turned back around and ignored him. “Are you inviting me, or just warning me?” Iri asked. “Well, you’d have someone follow us anyway, I’m sure, but I don’t think we want an entourage. We’re going low profile.” “You won’t look low profile like that,” Harber called over. “You stand out as foreigners right away. No tattoos.” “He’s right,” Iri said. “I can come with you, if you prefer to keep this a small affair.” “Sure,” Yan said. “But you know the Fleet car will be just a block away at all times.” Yan frowned. “No privacy.” “None at all.” --- They did go to the market and have dinner. The place was still bustling, even at night, which surprised Yan. Most of the grocery vendors went home, and the outdoor section was barren except for the restaurant stalls. There was more food to choose from than just the fried dough that they had had the previous day, so Yan was able to buy a plate of grilled vegetables instead. Sid happily munched on his fried dough as Yan judged him. Yan wondered how well that would sit in his stomach as he got his whole skull tattooed, since he seemed intent on actually going through with it. They had talked about it more over their dinner. Iri thought the whole thing was hilarious, and cautioned that it would probably take a long time and be excruciatingly painful. Sid just shrugged. He may have gotten a little paler as Iri launched into a discussion of just how many nerve endings were in the skull, but the lighting was bad, so Yan couldn’t really tell. He seemed prepared to go through with it, regardless. “How are you going to even find a tattoo artist who’s willing to start a massive project on no notice in the middle of the night?” Yan asked “I think we’ll just ask around. Enough charges solve most problems,” Sid signed. Yan couldn’t disagree with the second part of that; it was probably true that someone would be willing to do it for some price, but she didn’t fancy the idea of walking around through the cold night. It was snowing only lightly, but the wind was present as always. They all purchased hot drinks to carry and sip as they wandered through the marketplace. It was warmer indoors where the more permanent shops were, and there were several tattoo places. Some of them were even surprisingly well populated, despite the late hour. The whole market was crowded. Every few stores seemed to have their own music system, pumping out noise. There were clubs that Yan hadn’t noticed before, lining the edges of the marketplace. It seemed as though they were competing with each other to have the most crazily spinning lights, loudest music, and wildest dancing. There was no want for customers. People walked around the place, talking, laughing, and buying things despite the late hour. Though some of the normal stalls had closed for the night, that didn’t stop all business. Sid asked at several of the tattoo shops, starting off that he was willing to pay for a difficult job done immediately. He was rejected at a few, but at one place the guy running the desk shrugged and let him in to talk with the tattoo artist. The artist in question was a petite woman, with rich brown skin and dyed red hair. Her face had the usual tattoos of Olar citizens, the circles coming off her forehead and ending just below her nose. The shop was quite warm, so she was wearing only a tank top that was a little too short. Her pants sat low on her hips. In the slip of space between her shirt and pants, there were overlapping tattoo lines, like the ripples caused when two rocks hit the surface of water. She was small, but it was clear that she was strong. Yan’s face grew hot as she looked at the woman, then tried to look away, unsuccessfully. “So, Vance told me that some rich foreigner wanted something complicated done right away?” The woman said. “I see three foreigners here. Which one of you is the rich one?” Iri laughed. “Not me. He’s the one you’re looking for.” She pointed at Sid, who smiled and waved. “You sure look like an egg, don’tcha,” she said. “What are you looking for me to do?” “I just want you to do my entire scalp, all black,” Sid said. “And you need this done now, in the middle of the night, without an appointment? You’re wild.” She smiled anyway and reached out to shake Sid’s hand. “I’m Benna.” “Sid.” Sid had his trademark grin out in full force. “Got any other tattoos, Sid?” Sid shook his head no. “Are you sure you really want this? Are you sober? This is, actually, hey, kinda crazy. Little bit unethical to do something like this if I’m not certain you want it.” She seemed to be protesting without much conviction. It seemed that Sid’s promise of money was enough to get her to do anything. After all, if someone was willing to pay that much then they must really want it. “I’m certain,” Sid said. “Don’t worry about it, I know what I’m in for and what I want.” “Why?” Benna asked. "I've wanted this for a long time, and everybody here has tattoos, and we're leaving the planet soon, so this seemed like the best time to do it." "How long are we talking?" Benna asked. "Years," Sid said. "And you really just want the entire top of your head to be black? That isn't going to look like hair," she cautioned. "I know. I don't want hair, I want to look more intimidating." Benna rolled her eyes. "If the charges are good and you really want this, then I guess I won't refuse. You're a crazy rich kid, though. You two just along for the ride?" "Moral support," Yan said. "Yeah, he'll need it. Come on back." Benna led them into the back room, where a chair was set up. "You might all want to take off your coats, we keep it warm in here." Everyone hung up their cloaks on a hook on the wall. Benna gave a long look at their cassocks, plain black though they were. She didn't ask about them. "You in particular probably want that off, too. You're going to sweat," she directed Sid. Sid wiggled his cassock up off his head without unbuttoning it, and hung it up with their coats. "I'm going to need payment up front for this one," Benna said, writing out a receipt. "Go take this up front and pay Vance while I set up." Sid obediently took the receipt and went to pay. Yan caught a glimpse of the total as he headed out. It was a good thing that Sid didn't have many other expenses in life. Yan, despite the absurd amount of money that they were getting for their salaries, didn't think that this was the best financial decision. Perhaps that was just her prudish nature as a spacer talking, though. Benna prepared the materials that she would need to work, wiping down surfaces with disinfectants, pulling out bottles of ink, and assembling an alarming looking machine. "You two can go grab chairs, just pull some in from over there. If you're planning on staying to watch, anyway." Yan went into the room next door and dragged in two stools. Yan let Iri deal with her own, but Yan stood awkwardly around waiting for Benna to tell her where she could sit. "Waiting on a special invitation?" Benna asked, and Yan's face grew even hotter. In every unfamiliar situation, where Yan didn't know the rules of the engagement, she felt painfully awkward. "I just didn't want to get in your way," Yan explained. Benna laughed. "Well, if you're going to be holding his hand, set up right over here." She gestured to the area on the other side of the adjustable chair that Sid would be sitting on. Yan dragged her stool over and perched upon it, feeling rather like an ungainly bird. The stool was not designed for someone as tall as she was, but she made the best of it. Sid came back in, still smiling. "Well, first things first," Benna said. "Let me check if you're shaved alright." She walked over to Sid and he made a face as she rubbed her hand over the top of his head. "Heh, smooth as a baby's bottom." "I shaved it earlier," Sid said, rolling his eyes. "I know how to keep my head clean." "Great. Take a seat." Sid hopped up onto the adjustable chair, flopping dramatically backwards. "First thing I'm gonna do," she said, "is mark out the boundaries of where I'm going to put the ink, and then you tell me if that's what you want or not. Lean over here." Sid obeyed, and Benna took a marker off the tray next to her and drew a line all around Sid's head, where she suspected his normal hairline would be. She had a handmirror on the tray also, and handed it to Sid so that he could check it. Yan watched this process with fascination, Iri was reading something on her phone, paying no attention. "How does that look?" Sid inspected himself in the mirror. "Could you make it smoother? Like, no ridges here, and just make it round at the back?" Sid touched areas where she had indicated the hint of sideburns, right above his ears. On the back of his head, right where his skull met his neck, he traced out a smooth curve. "Sure. Going for a more geometric look. I get that." Benna adjusted the lines. "Like that?" "Yeah, that's great." "Alright. Well, if you're really sure about this, I'll disinfect you and we can get started." "I am sure," Sid insisted. Benna put some disinfectant onto a sterile pad and started scrubbing at Sid's head. He rolled his eyes at Yan. Yan frowned at him. "Well, laying down on your stomach will probably be your best bet," Benna said. She used some foot pedals at the bottom to set the chair in motion, adjusting it so that it was nearly completely horizontal. "How long is this going to take?" Sid asked, flopping over onto his stomach and putting his arms underneath his chin. "If you don't need any breaks, about four hours. If you're really leaving the planet soon, you'll want to get it done all at once, so I hope you won't need to stop." "I won't," Sid said. Benna looked skeptical, but she went over to the sink, washed her hands, and donned a pair of gloves. "Do you want earplugs? The machine is loud when I'm working right by your ears." "No, I'm good," Sid said, smiling broadly. "Let me know if you change your mind." Yan wasn't going to speak up and reveal the fact that Sid was deaf, but it was pretty funny. Benna arranged herself on her own chair so she had best access to Sid's head. She held her machine in her right hand, had her left on Sid's head and a wipe cloth, and was stepping on a foot pedal. Her rolling tray of inks and implements was next to her. "You ready?" She asked. "As I'll ever be," Sid said. Benna started up the machine, putting the needle down right in the center of Sid's head. He immediately tensed, but to his credit, didn't jerk his head out of the way. He couldn't really, with Benna's hand holding it. "Damn," Sid swore, sucking in a breath. Iri and Yan gave eachother a look, Iri slightly shaking her head. "Scalp tattoos hurt like a bitch, I'll give you that one," Benna said. "Keep still so I don't stab you too hard. "I'm gonna close my eyes," Sid said. He did so, squeezing them shut. Benna kept on working on his head. "So, where are you all from?" Benna asked, making conversation over the buzzing of the machine. "We all live on Emerri, but he's from Galena, originally," Yan said. "Galena, eh? What brings you here, Galena boy?" Benna asked. "Business," Yan answered for him, as Sid didn't even know that Benna was asking a question because his eyes were closed. Benna gave her an odd look. "Don't want him answering?" She asked. "No, he just can't hear you," Yan explained. "He reads what you say on his glasses, and he closed his eyes." "Interesting," Benna said. "Well, I guess you'll have to content me as a conversation partner, since she's clearly just reading a book over there." Benna nodded back at Iri, who was only half paying attention to the conversation. "What's your name?" "Yan, Yan BarCarran." "And what type of business do you do, Ms. BarCarran?" "Uh, politics," Yan said. "Gross," Benna said. "I pay as little attention to that as possible." The conversation flowed smoothly from there. They sat for hours. Yan occasionally held Sid's hand, and Sid occasionally opened his eyes and talked as well, gritting his teeth through the pain. Benna worked the pure blackwork out across Sid's scalp, moving in ever expanding circles. They took a few breaks for one or both of them to stretch and get drinks of water. It was tedious work, but it required intense concentration and skill to keep the needle at just the right depth and angle. Through it all, Yan hoped that Sid was getting what he wanted out of this. At the end, Sid did have a pitch black scalp. It was swollen, bleeding, and raw, but it was done. It completely altered his appearance; where before he had been an egg, Sid was sharper and more... Yan didn't want to say sinister, but it certainly gave him a different feeling altogether. They bid goodbye to Benna, thanked her for her work, and walked back to the waiting car. Sid complained bitterly the entire way about the feeling of the cold air on his head. Too bad his skin was too raw to wear a hat. He really was an idiot.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3MjQwZjY1MDMzNjQwMmNiZmExZTQxYWRlNjhlN2Uw"><strong>N</strong>elia glanced one last time at Snowflake and reminded him: “Mind your words, or next time I use that muzzle you won’t get rid of it before a week.” Then, with a wave of her hand, the Mana muzzle disappeared from Snowflake’s mouth.</p> <p class="cnNiMzI4NTg5NjdhNTRiNzFiY2EzNDlkMmRmZGFiOTlj">Snowflake was still furious. He opened his mouth to hurl at her, but he closed it right away. He knew that Nelia wouldn’t hesitate to muzzle him again, and so he resolved to turn his back on her in anger.</p> <p class="cnNiMmFhNzM0NWE4NjQzYmRhYzhmOGUyZWY5ZjAwOGFm">Meanwhile, several students had already begun taking the test.</p> <p class="cnNkNDQxYTM5NmJkNDRkNDhiNzYwNGY1M2M5ZGJjMjAw">A Goblin quickly formed twenty-three steps. From the twenty-fourth on, however, he started sweating profusely. The difficulty in advancing seemed to have increased greatly. The Shrine of the Black Phoenix had a mysterious strong effect on the would-be disciples. Even though its force didn’t alter Mana directly, its properties would make Mana Control more and more difficult a task with each closer step.</p> <p class="cnMzOGJhN2E1M2E2MjRkNmQ5YWZlOTRkZGUzOGEyMDk0">Helial looked attentively at that Goblin; he was curious to witness someone else’s test. Once reached the twenty-fifth step, the Goblin began to show signs of exhaustion and couldn’t advance any farther. The Royal Academy Senior in charge of his group announced: “Twenty-five steps! The candidate is admitted to the Outer Court!”</p> <p class="cnNjMTMxM2U5OTNiYjRmZTNiYWY0NWI0MjM3MWJiN2Yx">The Goblin nodded and went down, smiling. All in all, being admitted to the Royal Academy was already a pretty good result. The fact that he wasn’t admitted to the Inner Court didn’t discourage him. He would improve, given time.</p> <p class="cnMwNGEwN2E4Yjk4YTQ5MmQ4YWIxYTQxMWRhOWJkN2M4">While he went down, another Goblin standing a few feet from him formed one Mana step more. And even after reaching the twenty-fifth step, he didn’t show the least fatigue. He seemed to be able to go on easily.</p> <p class="cnNlZTc1ZDYxOGUwMDRkZWViOGQ5MWY2OTIwYjJkNmMy">25, 26, 27…</p> <p class="cnMyMTUzNGNjOWE0NjQ4NzU5NTEzYTM2NTljYzk5Yjg0">The Goblin went on untroubled. A cocky smile was hang on his face.</p> <p class="cnM2MjNmZWEzOGRjNzQ1ZjliNTE2ZDgyNTI2N2YzNDhk">“That’s one of the members of the Sect of the Worthy!” panted a student who had just descended its flight of steps, that came apart and disappeared in a bunch of Mana sparks. “He’s one of the latest recruits of the Sect! Look at him. He’s at the thirty-fifth step and doesn’t even look weary!”</p> <p class="cnMyOWE0NzlmNWVlZTRlZTU5YTliOTg5ZGI3Yjk2MTk1">The Goblin on the staircase was still wearing an arrogant expression indeed, but secretly he started cold-sweating. The pressure over him was becoming tough. Luckily, the admission to the Inner Court was only a few steps away.</p> <p class="cnMxMjJlNDE1NGRmMDQ4MTdhMmE0ZTlkMTU0Mjk4MGMz">To qualify as an Outer Court disciple one must form from twenty up to forty steps, whereas a staircase from forty to seventy steps would have granted an admission to the Inner Court. Lastly, whoever would form from seventy-one steps onward was considered a freaking genius. Among them were the greatest geniuses in Orma, like Circe and Pseudonym, who indeed took part in the Special Court. Special Court disciples had fewer rules to follow and could benefit from many more resources than any other common student.</p> <p class="cnNkZGE3NWE0NGQ2YTQyYmY5ZDQ0N2NmNTIwZDUxNTZj">After a great deal of trouble, the Goblin managed to create the forty-first step. After that, he figured he wouldn’t be able to accomplish more and backed down. Now that his goal was achieved, he didn’t need to risk damaging his Meridians.</p> <p class="cnMyNDkzMmE1NWRmOTQ1Yzc4MDE3MDJhYTdiYzY4YThj">“Can’t wait to see if anyone of those filthy humans and company will pull off as much as I did,” the Goblin sneered. He didn’t speak too loud, to avoid an explicit slur, but it was still loud enough to let those directly concerned hear him.</p> <p class="cnNhNWM1Mjg2NTQxZjQ0NTc4NWVjNDIzNjE3M2VhMTM4">Helial’s face remained neutral. No ripple warped his expression. Frankenstein and Lulu felt wounded in their pride and were seized by the urge to punch that Goblin instantly. Snowflake still had it in for Nelia and didn’t take notice of the insults made my that insignificant being.</p> <p class="cnM2NGNjOWYyMTE0YTRhMzdhM2UyNjFkNDYyNDZkZjc2">A few yards away, some Goblins from the Clan of the Heavenly Eagle and the Guild of Life and Death qualified as new Inner Court disciples.</p> <p class="cnNjNDRiZTA2ZTU3ZTRmYTA5YzNlMDkyYWY0ZjNkZDYy">Crispius, Binius and Philopappus were looking at the Seniors who wrote down the scores on small boards. The year before, the best result achieved was sixty-two steps. And the year before that, no one had been admitted to the Special Court either. A disciple could be admitted to the Special Court even thanks to credits achieved through their studies, but true geniuses would qualify as Special Court disciples from the very start. Mana Control was an almost infallible indicator of one’s talent. Everyone was eager to see if Orma would finally find a genius in the caliber of Circe and Pseudonym – or one a little more interested in the well-being of the population, hopefully.</p> <p class="cnMwNmVjYTNiODM4YjQ1OWQ5NDk0OTRhMDNhNGFkNTU5">“Yawnnn,” Circe covered her mouth with a hand as she yawned noisily. The hustle was boring her to death. Her mind ran back to the memory of her own test. Two years had gone by, but she still hadn’t swallowed that bitter pill. She clenched her fists. Her result would have been considered a semi-legendary feat, if Pseudonym hadn’t stepped in. That damned freak really went beyond any common sense.</p> <p class="cnM3MWRhMjU4MTg0MDRlZjliNmYwYWU3ZDNmNmNkZDA3">Her eyes surveyed the crowd keenly all over. Suddenly, she caught sight of Helial’s pale skin and dark hair. She immediately forgot about her past. Her eyes glowed with fire; the kid hadn’t yet taken his test though. His companions seemed as confident as he was. Circe had gathered a great deal of information about Helial’s little group. From her balcony, she scrutinized them from head to toe: two Goblins, his silvery-haired sister, and a cat… Wait, where was the cat?!</p> <p class="cnM0NGM0NzUwMTIxZjQ0MmQ5YTE1NWQ4NzIyNTRiODlj">Just beside the Goblin from the Sect of the Worthy, who was about to step down, a long staircase appeared all of a sudden. Every living creature with a faint hint of good sense would have formed one step at a time in order not to consume too much energy. On the contrary, Snowflake once again appeared to lack any good sense, or either he was the genius Orma was waiting for.</p> <p class="cnM1NDY0MWU2ZmQzYTRiNTY4OTBjYjZkNzE2N2M1MmM4">“Get the fuck out of my way, you sacks of crap,” Snowflake cursed. He was still mad at the queen for the liberty she had taken with him. “That damned oldie. Just because she do-” Suddenly, Snowflake felt a chill down his spine and turned slightly. His eyes met those of the Queen, who was staring at his white fur. Nelia winked at him. Snowflake shuddered and shut up.</p> <p class="cnM5MWRhNTEwNjRmMTQyNTg4ZjQ5ZGJlZGU5MjNlY2U1">In the meantime though, he had formed more than fifty steps almost effortlessly. He had been so swift that he caught even Crispius, Binius and Philopappus’ attention. They looked astonished. Every spectator was sure that all attention would have been drawn by Helial, but that cat had just gained an admission to the Inner Court without a blink of its eyes. And moreover, he didn’t seem about to stop.</p> <p class="cnNiMmRkNDFhMjI2ZDQyZjNhNjI2NTAwYzAyZGZkYjY5">Snowflake went on, this time a little slower. Now he covered three steps with each leap.</p> <p class="cnNmNjhiZTgxYmUxNjQ1MjNiNzY0NmIwYjFmODZkZWFk">60, 63, 66, 69…</p> <p class="cnM5ODNkNjM0NGYwMzQ5ZDZiODA2Y2I3NTJiNmEyNWFj">Snowflake was now about to reach the seventy-first step as if that were a piece of cake. Helial was looking at him with the most beaming smile. He knew perfectly well that the Devil had been training that pig-headed cat, so he wasn’t surprised by the outstanding progress he had made. Helial wondered quite often who that black-fanged kid might be; he was too overpowered and his knowledge was unmatched. Though, he was becoming increasingly aware that, by asking himself those questions, he was seeking a very dangerous answer. Such a creature wouldn’t travel unnoticed through the universe. Most likely, someone was already looking for him. Or so Helial thought, at least. Since the Devil had lost his physical body and was exiled in a sword, and being him stronger than a common Immortal all the same, his real body must have been terrifying.</p> <p class="cnNjMGIyNTA4ZTczMDQxMDFhNzIxMzMwMmE5ODI3NTYy">Helial couldn’t help glancing inside his Soul, where the Devil was naturally laying the table as usual. He really couldn’t do anything else…</p> <p class="cnNjMzVhM2ZjMGQzZDQyOWZiN2NkZTZkODNiY2UzNGJh">Helial’s attention was drawn back to the test.</p> <p class="cnNlMzFkYTdkZjAzYTRlMzBiMWU0ZjJmNjhmNDJlNDQx">While Snowflake advanced over the seventy-first step before the astonished gazes of the crowd, Helial approached Nelia and said: “Do you know what score Circe and Pseudonym achieved, Your Grace?”</p> <p class="cnM3NTVjNjRlNmE4ZTQwNTdhNzkwMjIzODJhMzczZjk0">Nelia smiled calmly at him, without withdrawing her enchanting deep eyes from Snowflake: “Circe formed ninety-one steps. Pseudonym… he formed one hundred.”</p> <p class="cnM3YzdmMjdjYzZmNTQxYmM5OTFlZGY3NTg2NjAzOTZi">Helial furrowed his eyebrows violently. “One hundred? Pseudonym set foot on the Shrine of the Black Phoenix?”</p> <p class="cnM1YmFiZDkxNTExNTRmOGJhYzE4ZThjZGFiYjVkYjQ0">Nelia nodded as she heaved a sigh: “That guy has way more talent that it shows. If he weren’t a lone wolf and didn’t live as a secluded, he would do so much for our Orma. And what’s more, he…” the queen interrupted mid-sentence, as if she preferred not to go on.</p> <p class="cnNiZTExOWIwOWMyMTQyODA4YzdkOGEwMDdkN2I2NGU5">Frankenstein and Lulu gaped at her words. After hearing about the results of the two best geniuses in Orma, they both started feeling little beads of cold sweat down their spine.</p> <p class="cnNmZWIzZDJhM2RkNDRmZjE4MTgzY2Y1Y2JjMWFjNzg0">Helial looked at them and understood their uneasiness. “Chill out, guys. You started mastering Mana way later than them. Especially you, Frankenstein. Your talent wouldn’t lose out to Circe’s, but she grew up in the most powerful guild in Orma, you lived as a pleb. She began to train at a tender age, you - less than ten days ago, basically. Now relax.”</p> <p class="cnM5MTg5ODI0YjViYzQ2MWY4NDY2MmUzNTBlYjY3MTFh">Lumia was unusually silent. Helial found that she was profoundly different, that day. The girl hadn’t even coiled her arms around her brother yet…</p> <p class="cnMyNzk5NTI3ODExODRiMzk5ZjNjYTRlMWIzYTVjMTNj">Helial approached his little sister. He knelt down to look at her in the eyes, and was about to speak. But he didn’t. The astounding profoundness he glimpsed made him hesitate. Where did the innocence that had always characterized her go?</p> <p class="cnM1N2IyMmFjZDI3ZjRiYWU5OTI1ZmQyMjM4Nzk1ZWVi">Taking advantage of her brother’s moment of hesitation, Lumia caressed his face and said: “What’s up, brother?”</p> <p class="cnM0MTFkN2UyNDlmZTQzMWFiYjdhNjRiYzE1Y2JmMDdm">Helial smiled. “Nervous?” He quickly recovered and tousled her silvery hair. His sister’s gaze had taken him aback.</p> <p class="cnM0YTJjOTczOGJiMzQzYzk5NTVjODI3YjkzOWNkY2Qz">Lumia winked at him and said: “Wanna make a bet?”</p> <p class="cnMyZGM0MDUzOWVkNzQ2ODZhY2MzM2U5OWNjODQ5NjFl">Helial stared blankly. “A bet?”</p> <p class="cnNlMGY2MzQ0ZGVmODQ3ZjFhMGQ2OWZkMzAzZGZhYzI4">Lumia nodded, her silvery hair glimmering like a cascade of stars as they waved back and forth elegantly. “The Queen said that Circe reached the ninety-first step…”</p> <p class="cnM2MjM1YjQyY2Y3MTQyNDY4ZDliM2M0NDE1YTZhMjQ3">Lumia leaned forward and grabbed his arm vigorously, wrong-footing an increasingly confused Helial.</p> <p class="cnMxNmYyYTlmM2FiMjRjNTRiZjdiZDM0ZDlkNzZhMzQ5">“If I win, I’ll get a kiss too,” Lumia whispered in his ear.</p> <p class="cnMyYzA5YjI5ZmU5OTRlMWVhMTlmMjQ0NGIzNWFmMjcw">Helial started cold-sweating. <em>What the hell did that monster do to my sister? Why do I feel more and more hard-pressed?! These damned women… </em>He forced a smile and tried to decline her offer: “Lumia, we’re brother and sister, and I…”</p> <p class="cnMzZmI3MDg5OGM0ZDRkMjliYTI4NWRlMmRhNzJmN2Ni">Lumia’s eyes immediately won their innocence back as two big tears started welling up. “But, but, but you kissed Circe!” Lumia wept.</p> <p class="cnMwYWQ0NmEyMzlmMjQ0MjRhMjAzNWE0YmEyYzM4ODI5">The sight of his sister weeping left Helial helpless. Everyone was turning towards them, and whoever noticed the tears in Lumia’s eyes wondered how cruel that human must have been to make that innocent girl cry. Helial quickly backtracked: “Okay, let’s make this bet, just don’t cry, okay?!” Helial had accepted. After all, despite having his master as her trainer, Lumia had only had a one week training. She couldn’t likely have reached Circe’s level yet…</p> <p class="cnMxNTc0NWZjNjU0ZjQ0NDNhNmQ5OTUyMGYyNjgwY2Uw">Lumia plunged her face into her brother’s shoulder knot and said: “Thank you, brother!” Malice filled her eyes as the corners of her lips curled up in an evil smile.</p> <p class="cnM0MDMzZjNhOTJmZjQxODY4YzdhYzQ3MDE5ZjE1NDll">Inside Helial’s Soul, the Devil stopped laying the table. His heart froze instantly as he said to himself: “Women are the worst disgrace in this world. A tiger disguised as a little child...!”</p> <p class="cnMwODZmZTNiNmZmYTQ0NzFiMTRjOWVhZjNkYzZlZTQx">Sudden roars shattered the calm of the hall.</p> <p class="cnMyODVmNTFlOGUwYzRhOThiMDNjYmQ0ZjE3NDM5NzZj">“I’M SORRY?! WHY IS NOBODY BEHOLDING THIS SUPREME CAT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU SHITTY BRAT, HUH? YOU BETTER WITNESS THIS EMPEROR’S ROYAL CLIMB!”</p> <p class="cnNiOWUxODIwYzY0MTQyY2I5NzRjNTEzYWM2YzI1YzJk">Snowflake had formed the ninetieth step. He wasn’t advancing three steps at a time anymore; now every step required his fullest focus and a decent deal of time. As soon as he found out that the little group wasn’t paying attention to him, he erupted in a furious outburst.</p> <p class="cnM1NTZlNWM1Yjg0ZDRjNzVhMDNlYzZkODQyMTFhNDU1">Helial gazed up at Snowflake, who had walked past the ninetieth step. It was an outstanding feat. The corners of his mouth being raised in a proud smile, Helial let his voice echo out inside his Soul. “Good job.”</p> <p class="cnNlMDYxMjg2ZDM4NTRiZmM5YmZlM2MyMjQyOWM5NzFl">“Me?” the Devil laughed. He had gone back to laying the table, of course. “It wasn’t me who did well. That cat is way more terrifying that you could tell.” The black-fanged kid paused briefly and, his voice being almost impossible to hear, he added: “And you’re also more similar than you could tell.”</p> <p class="cnMwYWI2ODhiNTg3NTQ2NGJiMzA2NDBiMzY1OWMyZWMw">No one had gone past the ninetieth step, that day. The only two who was qualified as Special Court disciples had merely formed seventy-five and seventy-four steps. They were member of the Clan of the Heavenly Eagle and the Sect of the Worthy respectively.</p> <p class="cnM3ZGNmZDBlOWU3ZjRlZGRhNGIxY2Y0YWY3YTAyMzU0">91</p> <p class="cnM4ODRiYzg1NTk0MDRlYjI4OWQzYWQyNjZhMzNkYmVk">92</p> <p class="cnNkMTEwOTVkNmViMDRjZWM4M2UzYjBkYjNjN2E2ZmRk">Snowflake began to sweat. The pressure was increasing frighteningly. Mana was harder and harder to control.</p> <p class="cnMyZDM4MGViMGMxYTQ2M2ZiMDkwZjZjZmE2ZTY3YWJk">93</p> <p class="cnNiYzQyNzhlYjg3ZjQzZTE4YzIyNGU4MzgzMzU5MjY3">94</p> <p class="cnNjMGM2Y2Y3ZDQ4ODQ5ZjE4MzQ4OWIxZTU0MWJlYWM2">Snowflake had almost reached his limit. Even though it let him touch unknown peaks of his knowledge of speed, his training with the Devil had only lasted a week.</p> <p class="cnM5ZTdhMjI5MjcxNDRkNzVhZmI1YTdmM2E0Y2UxZTdh">95</p> <p class="cnNhNGM3YmI0NDg3MjRmMzdiNWY0MTVlOTRkNzEwNWI5">Miraculously, Snowflake formed another step. And then he stopped. He was panting; due to the concentration he had needed, he couldn’t keep his eyes open. From the ninetieth onward, every step was at abysmal distance from the ones before. The gap that each step required was had wide as the distance between heaven and earth!</p> <p class="cnMzZWE4M2U1NTk5NDRmNTA5MzU1Y2YwNjYxODM1MzYx">Snowflake gazed down at his spectators and gave them a triumphant look. Every Goblin, including Seniors, were staring at him with their jaw dropped.</p> <p class="cnMwYjQwZTNkMzE5ZDRmN2JhNGMwNjY2NjY5OTRlNWVh">Even Circe, who had kept calm up to that moment, couldn’t help cursing: “Where the fuck did that cat come from?!”</p> <p class="cnNiMDExZmQwMmY3MzRiM2RiNmViOTAyMGI5NWQ0MDk3">Helial looked about himself in despair. Snowflake had drawn everyone’s attention. Once again.</p> <p class="cnMwMWI4MmM1MDdjZDQ1NzU5Y2I2MDI2MjY0YmY1Y2Vj">The Seniors began to discuss among themselves. The case of a cat taking part in the Special Court was rather unprecedented, but as long as he fought by their side willingly, they wouldn’t have nothing to object.</p> <p class="cnM5OTcxZWJjZjJlYjRjMWNhMzlmMjU2M2VmNzk4YTU3">Snowflake glanced at Helial and Lumia, who had stopped looking at him and were intent on chatting.</p> <p class="cnMwOTQ1Mjk5NThiZDQyZTU4MWQ0OWFmOWM5NjAxMGE2">“Now it’s your turn, shitheads! Can you pull this off, huh?”</p> <p class="cnM1YjQ4NTQ4NWQ3MDQ5ZjlhZjNmZmE5NzFiZjJjZGJi">Helial raised his thumb and waved a hand. “Stay put and wait for us.”</p> </div>

**N**elia glanced one last time at Snowflake and reminded him: “Mind your words, or next time I use that muzzle you won’t get rid of it before a week.” Then, with a wave of her hand, the Mana muzzle disappeared from Snowflake’s mouth. Snowflake was still furious. He opened his mouth to hurl at her, but he closed it right away. He knew that Nelia wouldn’t hesitate to muzzle him again, and so he resolved to turn his back on her in anger. Meanwhile, several students had already begun taking the test. A Goblin quickly formed twenty-three steps. From the twenty-fourth on, however, he started sweating profusely. The difficulty in advancing seemed to have increased greatly. The Shrine of the Black Phoenix had a mysterious strong effect on the would-be disciples. Even though its force didn’t alter Mana directly, its properties would make Mana Control more and more difficult a task with each closer step. Helial looked attentively at that Goblin; he was curious to witness someone else’s test. Once reached the twenty-fifth step, the Goblin began to show signs of exhaustion and couldn’t advance any farther. The Royal Academy Senior in charge of his group announced: “Twenty-five steps! The candidate is admitted to the Outer Court!” The Goblin nodded and went down, smiling. All in all, being admitted to the Royal Academy was already a pretty good result. The fact that he wasn’t admitted to the Inner Court didn’t discourage him. He would improve, given time. While he went down, another Goblin standing a few feet from him formed one Mana step more. And even after reaching the twenty-fifth step, he didn’t show the least fatigue. He seemed to be able to go on easily. 25, 26, 27… The Goblin went on untroubled. A cocky smile was hang on his face. “That’s one of the members of the Sect of the Worthy!” panted a student who had just descended its flight of steps, that came apart and disappeared in a bunch of Mana sparks. “He’s one of the latest recruits of the Sect! Look at him. He’s at the thirty-fifth step and doesn’t even look weary!” The Goblin on the staircase was still wearing an arrogant expression indeed, but secretly he started cold-sweating. The pressure over him was becoming tough. Luckily, the admission to the Inner Court was only a few steps away. To qualify as an Outer Court disciple one must form from twenty up to forty steps, whereas a staircase from forty to seventy steps would have granted an admission to the Inner Court. Lastly, whoever would form from seventy-one steps onward was considered a freaking genius. Among them were the greatest geniuses in Orma, like Circe and Pseudonym, who indeed took part in the Special Court. Special Court disciples had fewer rules to follow and could benefit from many more resources than any other common student. After a great deal of trouble, the Goblin managed to create the forty-first step. After that, he figured he wouldn’t be able to accomplish more and backed down. Now that his goal was achieved, he didn’t need to risk damaging his Meridians. “Can’t wait to see if anyone of those filthy humans and company will pull off as much as I did,” the Goblin sneered. He didn’t speak too loud, to avoid an explicit slur, but it was still loud enough to let those directly concerned hear him. Helial’s face remained neutral. No ripple warped his expression. Frankenstein and Lulu felt wounded in their pride and were seized by the urge to punch that Goblin instantly. Snowflake still had it in for Nelia and didn’t take notice of the insults made my that insignificant being. A few yards away, some Goblins from the Clan of the Heavenly Eagle and the Guild of Life and Death qualified as new Inner Court disciples. Crispius, Binius and Philopappus were looking at the Seniors who wrote down the scores on small boards. The year before, the best result achieved was sixty-two steps. And the year before that, no one had been admitted to the Special Court either. A disciple could be admitted to the Special Court even thanks to credits achieved through their studies, but true geniuses would qualify as Special Court disciples from the very start. Mana Control was an almost infallible indicator of one’s talent. Everyone was eager to see if Orma would finally find a genius in the caliber of Circe and Pseudonym – or one a little more interested in the well-being of the population, hopefully. “Yawnnn,” Circe covered her mouth with a hand as she yawned noisily. The hustle was boring her to death. Her mind ran back to the memory of her own test. Two years had gone by, but she still hadn’t swallowed that bitter pill. She clenched her fists. Her result would have been considered a semi-legendary feat, if Pseudonym hadn’t stepped in. That damned freak really went beyond any common sense. Her eyes surveyed the crowd keenly all over. Suddenly, she caught sight of Helial’s pale skin and dark hair. She immediately forgot about her past. Her eyes glowed with fire; the kid hadn’t yet taken his test though. His companions seemed as confident as he was. Circe had gathered a great deal of information about Helial’s little group. From her balcony, she scrutinized them from head to toe: two Goblins, his silvery-haired sister, and a cat… Wait, where was the cat?! Just beside the Goblin from the Sect of the Worthy, who was about to step down, a long staircase appeared all of a sudden. Every living creature with a faint hint of good sense would have formed one step at a time in order not to consume too much energy. On the contrary, Snowflake once again appeared to lack any good sense, or either he was the genius Orma was waiting for. “Get the fuck out of my way, you sacks of crap,” Snowflake cursed. He was still mad at the queen for the liberty she had taken with him. “That damned oldie. Just because she do-” Suddenly, Snowflake felt a chill down his spine and turned slightly. His eyes met those of the Queen, who was staring at his white fur. Nelia winked at him. Snowflake shuddered and shut up. In the meantime though, he had formed more than fifty steps almost effortlessly. He had been so swift that he caught even Crispius, Binius and Philopappus’ attention. They looked astonished. Every spectator was sure that all attention would have been drawn by Helial, but that cat had just gained an admission to the Inner Court without a blink of its eyes. And moreover, he didn’t seem about to stop. Snowflake went on, this time a little slower. Now he covered three steps with each leap. 60, 63, 66, 69… Snowflake was now about to reach the seventy-first step as if that were a piece of cake. Helial was looking at him with the most beaming smile. He knew perfectly well that the Devil had been training that pig-headed cat, so he wasn’t surprised by the outstanding progress he had made. Helial wondered quite often who that black-fanged kid might be; he was too overpowered and his knowledge was unmatched. Though, he was becoming increasingly aware that, by asking himself those questions, he was seeking a very dangerous answer. Such a creature wouldn’t travel unnoticed through the universe. Most likely, someone was already looking for him. Or so Helial thought, at least. Since the Devil had lost his physical body and was exiled in a sword, and being him stronger than a common Immortal all the same, his real body must have been terrifying. Helial couldn’t help glancing inside his Soul, where the Devil was naturally laying the table as usual. He really couldn’t do anything else… Helial’s attention was drawn back to the test. While Snowflake advanced over the seventy-first step before the astonished gazes of the crowd, Helial approached Nelia and said: “Do you know what score Circe and Pseudonym achieved, Your Grace?” Nelia smiled calmly at him, without withdrawing her enchanting deep eyes from Snowflake: “Circe formed ninety-one steps. Pseudonym… he formed one hundred.” Helial furrowed his eyebrows violently. “One hundred? Pseudonym set foot on the Shrine of the Black Phoenix?” Nelia nodded as she heaved a sigh: “That guy has way more talent that it shows. If he weren’t a lone wolf and didn’t live as a secluded, he would do so much for our Orma. And what’s more, he…” the queen interrupted mid-sentence, as if she preferred not to go on. Frankenstein and Lulu gaped at her words. After hearing about the results of the two best geniuses in Orma, they both started feeling little beads of cold sweat down their spine. Helial looked at them and understood their uneasiness. “Chill out, guys. You started mastering Mana way later than them. Especially you, Frankenstein. Your talent wouldn’t lose out to Circe’s, but she grew up in the most powerful guild in Orma, you lived as a pleb. She began to train at a tender age, you - less than ten days ago, basically. Now relax.” Lumia was unusually silent. Helial found that she was profoundly different, that day. The girl hadn’t even coiled her arms around her brother yet… Helial approached his little sister. He knelt down to look at her in the eyes, and was about to speak. But he didn’t. The astounding profoundness he glimpsed made him hesitate. Where did the innocence that had always characterized her go? Taking advantage of her brother’s moment of hesitation, Lumia caressed his face and said: “What’s up, brother?” Helial smiled. “Nervous?” He quickly recovered and tousled her silvery hair. His sister’s gaze had taken him aback. Lumia winked at him and said: “Wanna make a bet?” Helial stared blankly. “A bet?” Lumia nodded, her silvery hair glimmering like a cascade of stars as they waved back and forth elegantly. “The Queen said that Circe reached the ninety-first step…” Lumia leaned forward and grabbed his arm vigorously, wrong-footing an increasingly confused Helial. “If I win, I’ll get a kiss too,” Lumia whispered in his ear. Helial started cold-sweating. *What the hell did that monster do to my sister? Why do I feel more and more hard-pressed?! These damned women…* He forced a smile and tried to decline her offer: “Lumia, we’re brother and sister, and I…” Lumia’s eyes immediately won their innocence back as two big tears started welling up. “But, but, but you kissed Circe!” Lumia wept. The sight of his sister weeping left Helial helpless. Everyone was turning towards them, and whoever noticed the tears in Lumia’s eyes wondered how cruel that human must have been to make that innocent girl cry. Helial quickly backtracked: “Okay, let’s make this bet, just don’t cry, okay?!” Helial had accepted. After all, despite having his master as her trainer, Lumia had only had a one week training. She couldn’t likely have reached Circe’s level yet… Lumia plunged her face into her brother’s shoulder knot and said: “Thank you, brother!” Malice filled her eyes as the corners of her lips curled up in an evil smile. Inside Helial’s Soul, the Devil stopped laying the table. His heart froze instantly as he said to himself: “Women are the worst disgrace in this world. A tiger disguised as a little child...!” Sudden roars shattered the calm of the hall. “I’M SORRY?! WHY IS NOBODY BEHOLDING THIS SUPREME CAT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU SHITTY BRAT, HUH? YOU BETTER WITNESS THIS EMPEROR’S ROYAL CLIMB!” Snowflake had formed the ninetieth step. He wasn’t advancing three steps at a time anymore; now every step required his fullest focus and a decent deal of time. As soon as he found out that the little group wasn’t paying attention to him, he erupted in a furious outburst. Helial gazed up at Snowflake, who had walked past the ninetieth step. It was an outstanding feat. The corners of his mouth being raised in a proud smile, Helial let his voice echo out inside his Soul. “Good job.” “Me?” the Devil laughed. He had gone back to laying the table, of course. “It wasn’t me who did well. That cat is way more terrifying that you could tell.” The black-fanged kid paused briefly and, his voice being almost impossible to hear, he added: “And you’re also more similar than you could tell.” No one had gone past the ninetieth step, that day. The only two who was qualified as Special Court disciples had merely formed seventy-five and seventy-four steps. They were member of the Clan of the Heavenly Eagle and the Sect of the Worthy respectively. 91 92 Snowflake began to sweat. The pressure was increasing frighteningly. Mana was harder and harder to control. 93 94 Snowflake had almost reached his limit. Even though it let him touch unknown peaks of his knowledge of speed, his training with the Devil had only lasted a week. 95 Miraculously, Snowflake formed another step. And then he stopped. He was panting; due to the concentration he had needed, he couldn’t keep his eyes open. From the ninetieth onward, every step was at abysmal distance from the ones before. The gap that each step required was had wide as the distance between heaven and earth! Snowflake gazed down at his spectators and gave them a triumphant look. Every Goblin, including Seniors, were staring at him with their jaw dropped. Even Circe, who had kept calm up to that moment, couldn’t help cursing: “Where the fuck did that cat come from?!” Helial looked about himself in despair. Snowflake had drawn everyone’s attention. Once again. The Seniors began to discuss among themselves. The case of a cat taking part in the Special Court was rather unprecedented, but as long as he fought by their side willingly, they wouldn’t have nothing to object. Snowflake glanced at Helial and Lumia, who had stopped looking at him and were intent on chatting. “Now it’s your turn, shitheads! Can you pull this off, huh?” Helial raised his thumb and waved a hand. “Stay put and wait for us.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0YTkxODcxZDU3MzQwNGM5ZjJjY2JmZGVjMmMyZWYx">Time runs slowly, even though he has the slapper he still can't calm his self. A sword is a sword, and no matter what, a single stab on his heart can kill him.</p> <p class="cnNiNzY3YTdlY2FhYzQ0MDZiNjJhY2VlZGQ0ODBlOTdi">"Nervous mister 'Ignorant Adventurer'? You still have time to surrender! Don't tell me you will fight me with your---- slapper?"</p> <p class="cnMyYjRmZmRiNmY4MDRiOTNiM2I4YzllZDA0ZGVkYzUz">"Hmm? This?" he asked smiles "I suddenly have the urge to slap your *as. Why did you ask?"</p> <p class="cnM5YmI5YmM4YzVlYTQyMzU4YWY5NTFjNTZjNDIxOGEw">"kuu!" Her face turned red and her body trembled, she looks at him. "Pervert! Look! I use silver armor! What can your slapper do to me?"</p> <p class="cnNhN2UyNWE4MDI4YzQ2Njg5MzkyNTY5YTlmNDBlODEz">Looking at her trembled Lucas found his chance to boost his confidence "Haha, how about this. If you win, I still will be your slave, but if I win, instead of being C rank, how about I'll stay at F rank and you will compensate me with a shrink container?"</p> <p class="cnM5MTE0NTU3YWVmYTQ3NjA4NGJjMDY5ODdjYzk0MDI3">"Hmp, arrogant! How about we start the fight now?" She said, "You see I'm currently a Rank B adventurer! How can an ignorant wanderer like you can win against me?"</p> <p class="cnNkZTk0NTAyNTA1ODQxMDk4YWY4MTVlNDJmOTEzNDkw">She unsheathed her sword and points it on him. " Miss Receptionist start the test!"</p> <p class="cnNmZTQ5MzllOTU2NTRhMDc5MWNmMmZkMmQwNmQ3ZWNh">"Y-yes!" She took out a recorder and click the video button. " L-Lucas Rankin test for Rank F adventure! Miss Della Rank B adventurer as his opponent! Ready... fight!"</p> <p class="cnMwNTM5N2ZjODgzMjQxM2JhY2RiYjQyZGIyMzgzMTU3">Cling!</p> <p class="cnMwZTllYWU4NTcwOTQwN2E5NjMzZTZlMDMwYTc2ODNi">hiyaa!</p> <p class="cnNjOWFlNTUwM2RmMzQwZGJhOTYyYzdkOGE1ODdmOGI2">As the battle started, both side charges and meet in the middle of the room. Lucas swings his 'Slapper' towards her hands but he is interrupted. A fast chop descended with intent to cut his hands.</p> <p class="cnNiYjhmMmMwODY2MDRhMGRiNzM3Y2Y5ZTgyNzNjM2Yx">Another slash followed and send him into full defense! He rolled to the ground to avoid her sword, he saw a shadow approaching and rolled for a second time, he was almost get lashed with a whip.</p> <p class="cnNjZGRmNDg5OGY1NDRiMDA5ZmRlN2M0MmQxNDUyZWRj">"Hey, are you serious? You want me dead?" Lucas said as he runs to avoid her bombardment.</p> <p class="cnMyYzBiMDdjMGQ2MTRmMzVhN2U2NTcyMmNhZTEwZjEy">She did not reply, Instead, she throws the sheath of her sword and charged. He avoided the sheath with a sidestep and followed with a step back, a whip followed the sheath and almost hit him! If he did not decide the moment he avoids the sheath, he already has a lash on his face.</p> <p class="cnM0NDgzYzcyZDNjYzQyNTJhZTgzNWYwZjNhMmQ3ZTIz">Della charged at him with the sword on her left hand, she swings her sword without holding her back! When his arm is going to be chopped, he moves to the side a bit.</p> <p class="cnM0YmQyZmJkZWQ4ZTQxZGI5OGU5NmU1ZGYwMTA4Njk5">"Hehe, lucky!" She can't stop her momentum and at the time she lose her balance, while the sword slips from her hands and hits the wall. (This girl almost kill me! My heart feels like it doesn't want to be with me anymore!)</p> <p class="cnNhN2NmNmFkMmY2YjQwNTc5NmE3NTI0NGM3NjJkY2Q3">She extended her hands to support her body and get ready to sprint.</p> <p class="cnMxODhiYTI4MjExMzQyNDk5NjUxZWJlOWM5ZTNmZTEw">*Slapp!</p> <p class="cnM5MTUyZDYxOTdlYjQwZjI4ZWYyZTljN2RmNGNhZjkz">"....." She heard a loud slap from her back, her face become pale and tears started to flow from her eyes. "Kiyyaaah!"</p> <p class="cnNkMTNlMDg2ZjVkOTRhZDZiZGQxMDZiNjVlZjllNjFk">She rolled on the floor and hold her b*t*. The slap hits her armor, but she still felt as if the slap hit her skin directly!</p> <p class="cnMwZGZjZTljZDEwOTRmYjZhNzRjYmI4YWE2ZGYyYmEx">"Wuhuhu! Pervert! I'll tell father what you did to me!" she shouts even though her face was a mess, she covered her back and still feel the slap, the slap was like she is stung by hundreds of bees.</p> <p class="cnM4OTBmM2VkZTJmOTRlMmFiMjNmY2ExOTQ5ZjExNjk1">"Ku Ku! How about I slap you again!? I only manage to hit the right cheeks! It might be bad if they grow with different size! kuhaha!" His laughter echoed on the room and his showing his teeth like a demon! He licks his lips and approached the crying Della.</p> <p class="cnNhNzI0Zjc3N2UwYjQ1Y2ZiOWIxODk0YjhlZGVjMTk1">"E-enough! Wuhuhu! Y-you, win already! But I can only give you s-shrink bag!"</p> <p class="cnMwNGVhNTFiYjgzNjQ4YjI4MDI3MDAzODUzNzYwYTlj">"Oh, you mean you mean you agreed because you thought you will win against me? Ku Ku Ku! Looks like you need a 'slapunishment'!"</p> <p class="cnMxM2FmZmU3MmM3OTQxMGZhYTc0MjhiYzM3M2QyZjU3">"Hiiihhh! No! No! Please!" Tears flow out of her eyes and begged for his mercy!</p> <p class="cnNmMGJiNmJiYzZmYTQyZWRhYmQwMjk0NzkzNGViNmUw">"Pff, haha. Miss Receptionist, you did not see anything okay? If this news came out this slapper is helping me to grant you your desired punishment!"</p> <p class="cnM2MmUwMmYxYjlkZDQxMjdiMDkwODg4YzQ0YjkxNzk4">"Y-yes!" she said and took out a card from the recorder. "This is your card, and you will be a Rank C adventurer."</p> <p class="cnM4ODY4OTM2MWVjNjQ4ZDNhNDJiNGY3NzJjMzJhMzFk">"?? Why C? I said I'll be an F rank right?"</p> <p class="cnM4NTFiMGM1YzEwNzQ2ODg5M2QyNDRmNzUyMjgwYjU2">"No sir, It's the recorders judgment. It records your speed, strength, calmness and how fast you decide."</p> <p class="cnMyMTY5YWJiOWZmODQxODM5YzM0ZWFjNzQ4ZDVhMDhm">"Hmm. Sounds good! Come here Little Corn." He bent down and took a towel on his bag, he wipes her tears and smile. "You see, I might be bad, but I don't want to see a beautiful girl as she cries. I'm sorry."</p> <p class="cnM0MWYyY2NkZWE5MTQyMzRhZTQ4NDk3ZTkxNmE4ODhl">*dug dog*</p> <p class="cnMyODRmZTgxNzc3ZDQwYWM5MWE0OTQ3NTczNDllNTEw">"Y-you! I-I'll go take the shrink bag!" She said and walks out of the door. Her face was red and her heart beats fast, she also can't walk straight because her knee is trembling. (W-what was that!? That idiot!)</p> <p class="cnNiNGQwYmNkZWQ2ODQ3NmE4Y2I0MTMzMTJiNTZhYzk1">Inside the room, Lucas completed his registration. His adventurer card is bronze, indicated that he can now enter the door with 'C-bronze' sign.</p> <p class="cnNjNzQyNDVhMzczMzQwYTViNjlhYjFjYTgxMjRlMGZm">He went out of the building and walk straight towards the north. "The receptionist said the easiest dungeon here is the one on the north. Since I have my card, I'll enjoy myself for a while!"</p> <p class="cnNjNjgwOTNhNmQ4ZTRhNGU4ZjEyNThlYmFjZGJkMDk4">The north of the city is quite far, but it does not matter, it was his first diving that's why he's excited.</p> <p class="cnNiNjI4ZTE3ODgwZTQ1ZDI4YzY5ZDQ5MWQ0MmQxNjg4">On the way to the dungeon, he finds out that there are few weapons and armor shop around, the density of adventurer thicker and thicker.</p> <p class="cnM1ZGY2MWE4YjRmMDQ1OWZhZjFmNzY4OTM5YTE1ODkz">When he got near to the entrance of the dungeon, he discovered a circle of adventurer encircling a blonde girl.</p> <p class="cnMxNjI2Mzc0OWE0ZTQ2MjNhNWM2Y2E3MDE5ZjM3Y2E2">A man with large psyche and longsword step forward and smile maniacally "Little miss, there's a lot of us in here. Can you fight us? Why not just surrender your bag to us?"</p> <p class="cnNkZTNjZjM4ODdjODQ1NjlhYzBhMzgxODU4ZGQwN2My">"Hmp, just a few of you?" she took her lace out and armed with a sword. "You don't know whose shrink bag is this. I don't know what will happen when he found out that your group takes it forcefully!"</p> <p class="cnNkNTIwNzg5N2Y2MDRmZWU5MzIxMTM1NjU1YmEwM2M4">"Who? We don't care, we are an adventurer, no matter what happens the law of an adventurer can't be wrong." He said, "Adventurer can't kill each other but, they can be injured right?"</p> <p class="cnM3YmMxNjFhZDRkYTQ1ZWM5OTk3ODkwOWJmMGQ5YzFj">"Hahaha"</p> <p class="cnNmZGM1Yzk4MDgxODQ5MGJiZjQ0ZDVhMDgwNzNmZjRh">The group started to laughs and unsheathed their sword, they use the circle formation like a spider web and get near to her.</p> <p class="cnMzMDc0MGViZDZlMjQxNjBhYjY0YWRkZmFmOGIxZjg5">"That's good, then I can hurt you all the time as long as I want!"</p> <p class="cnNiNWVlMWQ4NDM4ZDQxMTNhZDY0OGJhZDE1OGExYzc1">Slap! slap!</p> <p class="cnNmNTk5N2I2YmJlZTQyMWZiOTU3ZDFlODg3NzI1ZDIz">The voice was followed with a couple of slap and bodies fell into the ground. The person who was hit never screamed! Why? The slapper targeted their neck which is nearest to their brain! The pain is so sudden that they lose their consciousness.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTk0NTgwYmE1YTQxNjZiYzk3OTI1MGI1MWQ4Njgy">"What who the Haack!"</p> <p class="cnNiYTBhNjA1M2RjOTQ3NTc5OTlmNTdmOTFjMzlmNDM2">The man tried to swing his sword towards his back to avoid being slapped, but he was parried by Della's sword.</p> <p class="cnM5OTk1MjFlZTFkNTQ5OWU4NDIyYjI4MjQ0ZTQxODdm">"You can't run away this area!"</p> <p class="cnNiYzYyYjAyNzA4ZDRkMmI4ZTMwY2FmMGNlNjljZjBi">Slap!</p> <p class="cnNmMDg4YTE0MmM5OTRhZDI4ZTFlMmZjNzQ4OGUwYjY2">"Little corn, I feel like you should be holding bow and arrows instead of a sword!" Lucas exclaimed.</p> <p class="cnM1Njg2NTQ0OGYwNDRhN2Y5OTYwNDE5ZDYxNGIyOGNm">"S-shut up, here take this bag, and get out of my sight!" She throws the bag towards him and turned around and left.</p> <p class="cnM5YTZjOTBlNGFmOTRhZTFiZjY3MDdmODNhMzE0ZGY1">"Wow, so thankful. Nevermind, this will lessen the burden on my body too." He ignored the unconscious people on the ground, and put his mountain bag inside the shrink bag, "Hmm, pretty good! I can move Creek now haha!" The bag is small that it can only have 5 boxes of cigarette if not for its ability to shrink. He put his bag into his waist and walk in the dungeons direction.</p> <p class="cnM0ZWRjNTJhNzA4MDQxYjlhNWM4ZmMwMDk1YjVjNDAz">The dungeon's entrance was almost 5 meters wide and 3 meters tall. Every time and then, a group of adventurers are going in and out of it.</p> <p class="cnMwNWMzODZjNzRhMjQxMmY4YTk1NzcwODZlODk5ODgz">He approached the guards of the dungeon and asks for information. "This dungeon has no limit on how many adventurers will enter as long as they can pay, right? then how many floors are there?"</p> <p class="cnNhZTQ3MGY4MmEyNTRiNDg4ZGQxODNlYmU4NGExMWE3">"Hmm, another noob. Well, let me tell you a brief history who about this dungeon. This dungeon is named after the discoverer, the Grace, Grace has almost 70 floors and counting. Every year the mana inside the dungeon will be thickened and will produce another layer! Every year the mana will be thicker than before and will create much stronger creatures. This is the dungeon who had the fastest spawning rate and the deepest dungeon in the city, and for this reason, they can't slay everything and just let the dungeon accumulate enough man to make who another layer!"</p> <p class="cnNlZDYwY2Y1YTQyNDQ3NTg5ZjhlODEwNDY0MDAxYTVl">"Thank you for an introduction like an NPC, but what kind of monster this dungeon spawns?"</p> <p class="cnM1ZjdhOWIxMGJmMDRlN2M4MzhjM2Q2MjlmOTliOTRi">"... There is only slimes and spores, but don't look down to those from base floor 5 and below! Every slime on that area can paralyze, burn or poison you. The effect is not strong, but a lot of them is problematic! Clearing the 50th-floor tools 3 S rank adventurer to escape. The doctors found their body being corroded by poison, no, toxic."</p> <p class="cnM5NWQ1YTRmYTBhNDRmODJiNDRhMmI3MDExNWIzNGU5">"Haha, slimes are slime." he bows and said, "Thanks for your advice but I'm a rank C adventurer too."</p> <p class="cnNiOTFlMDcxYTQxYTRlNmZiYzUwOTIxZGE3M2Q5ZDAz">"Well, just came back with your skin intact, haha!"</p> <p class="cnNlZDM2ZWZiMTg2MzRlMzVhNWZjMjZkOThjOWM1N2Uz">----------------</p> <p class="cnM3MTU3NWY2ZGE1ZDRmMjM5ZWU2ZGNjNWY2MmUwZDdk">An hour after he enter</p> <p class="cnMwNmQ1ZjExMWMyNzQ2YzM4N2U5ZjQ1MDQwOTE4MDcw">"Yes the spawning rates are fast, every ten seconds in this floors, but what the hell men, the adventurers have already memorized the spawning area and monopolized the drops!</p> <p class="cnNlYjNjNWMzNGIzZjRmMjJiNDYxMGI5ZDI5MmJjY2Y2">"The sixth floor have a few slimes escaping from their sight, but still not enough, well maybe I can hunt when I get dipper? The layer 1-10 is the easiest. Maybe there are more preys on the eleventh floor?"</p> <p class="cnM4MGUxYTQyOTYzZTRmZTI5OGI1MTUyMGIwNmMwNDI5">He walks for a bit and now he was in front of a door size entrance. He went down the stairs for minutes, but when he saw the floor, he did not find any slimes.</p> <p class="cnMwNGIwZjVjYjhiMzRlMzk5OWYzMDBlYzcxNjFmNzhi">"S-spores!"</p> <p class="cnNlNmE3NjcxY2ZhYTRjZjA4NDE1MDY3MDk4OWMwYzFm">*Spoooo!</p> </div>

Time runs slowly, even though he has the slapper he still can't calm his self. A sword is a sword, and no matter what, a single stab on his heart can kill him. "Nervous mister 'Ignorant Adventurer'? You still have time to surrender! Don't tell me you will fight me with your---- slapper?" "Hmm? This?" he asked smiles "I suddenly have the urge to slap your *as. Why did you ask?" "kuu!" Her face turned red and her body trembled, she looks at him. "Pervert! Look! I use silver armor! What can your slapper do to me?" Looking at her trembled Lucas found his chance to boost his confidence "Haha, how about this. If you win, I still will be your slave, but if I win, instead of being C rank, how about I'll stay at F rank and you will compensate me with a shrink container?" "Hmp, arrogant! How about we start the fight now?" She said, "You see I'm currently a Rank B adventurer! How can an ignorant wanderer like you can win against me?" She unsheathed her sword and points it on him. " Miss Receptionist start the test!" "Y-yes!" She took out a recorder and click the video button. " L-Lucas Rankin test for Rank F adventure! Miss Della Rank B adventurer as his opponent! Ready... fight!" Cling! hiyaa! As the battle started, both side charges and meet in the middle of the room. Lucas swings his 'Slapper' towards her hands but he is interrupted. A fast chop descended with intent to cut his hands. Another slash followed and send him into full defense! He rolled to the ground to avoid her sword, he saw a shadow approaching and rolled for a second time, he was almost get lashed with a whip. "Hey, are you serious? You want me dead?" Lucas said as he runs to avoid her bombardment. She did not reply, Instead, she throws the sheath of her sword and charged. He avoided the sheath with a sidestep and followed with a step back, a whip followed the sheath and almost hit him! If he did not decide the moment he avoids the sheath, he already has a lash on his face. Della charged at him with the sword on her left hand, she swings her sword without holding her back! When his arm is going to be chopped, he moves to the side a bit. "Hehe, lucky!" She can't stop her momentum and at the time she lose her balance, while the sword slips from her hands and hits the wall. (This girl almost kill me! My heart feels like it doesn't want to be with me anymore!) She extended her hands to support her body and get ready to sprint. *Slapp! "....." She heard a loud slap from her back, her face become pale and tears started to flow from her eyes. "Kiyyaaah!" She rolled on the floor and hold her b*t*. The slap hits her armor, but she still felt as if the slap hit her skin directly! "Wuhuhu! Pervert! I'll tell father what you did to me!" she shouts even though her face was a mess, she covered her back and still feel the slap, the slap was like she is stung by hundreds of bees. "Ku Ku! How about I slap you again!? I only manage to hit the right cheeks! It might be bad if they grow with different size! kuhaha!" His laughter echoed on the room and his showing his teeth like a demon! He licks his lips and approached the crying Della. "E-enough! Wuhuhu! Y-you, win already! But I can only give you s-shrink bag!" "Oh, you mean you mean you agreed because you thought you will win against me? Ku Ku Ku! Looks like you need a 'slapunishment'!" "Hiiihhh! No! No! Please!" Tears flow out of her eyes and begged for his mercy! "Pff, haha. Miss Receptionist, you did not see anything okay? If this news came out this slapper is helping me to grant you your desired punishment!" "Y-yes!" she said and took out a card from the recorder. "This is your card, and you will be a Rank C adventurer." "?? Why C? I said I'll be an F rank right?" "No sir, It's the recorders judgment. It records your speed, strength, calmness and how fast you decide." "Hmm. Sounds good! Come here Little Corn." He bent down and took a towel on his bag, he wipes her tears and smile. "You see, I might be bad, but I don't want to see a beautiful girl as she cries. I'm sorry." *dug dog* "Y-you! I-I'll go take the shrink bag!" She said and walks out of the door. Her face was red and her heart beats fast, she also can't walk straight because her knee is trembling. (W-what was that!? That idiot!) Inside the room, Lucas completed his registration. His adventurer card is bronze, indicated that he can now enter the door with 'C-bronze' sign. He went out of the building and walk straight towards the north. "The receptionist said the easiest dungeon here is the one on the north. Since I have my card, I'll enjoy myself for a while!" The north of the city is quite far, but it does not matter, it was his first diving that's why he's excited. On the way to the dungeon, he finds out that there are few weapons and armor shop around, the density of adventurer thicker and thicker. When he got near to the entrance of the dungeon, he discovered a circle of adventurer encircling a blonde girl. A man with large psyche and longsword step forward and smile maniacally "Little miss, there's a lot of us in here. Can you fight us? Why not just surrender your bag to us?" "Hmp, just a few of you?" she took her lace out and armed with a sword. "You don't know whose shrink bag is this. I don't know what will happen when he found out that your group takes it forcefully!" "Who? We don't care, we are an adventurer, no matter what happens the law of an adventurer can't be wrong." He said, "Adventurer can't kill each other but, they can be injured right?" "Hahaha" The group started to laughs and unsheathed their sword, they use the circle formation like a spider web and get near to her. "That's good, then I can hurt you all the time as long as I want!" Slap! slap! The voice was followed with a couple of slap and bodies fell into the ground. The person who was hit never screamed! Why? The slapper targeted their neck which is nearest to their brain! The pain is so sudden that they lose their consciousness. "What who the Haack!" The man tried to swing his sword towards his back to avoid being slapped, but he was parried by Della's sword. "You can't run away this area!" Slap! "Little corn, I feel like you should be holding bow and arrows instead of a sword!" Lucas exclaimed. "S-shut up, here take this bag, and get out of my sight!" She throws the bag towards him and turned around and left. "Wow, so thankful. Nevermind, this will lessen the burden on my body too." He ignored the unconscious people on the ground, and put his mountain bag inside the shrink bag, "Hmm, pretty good! I can move Creek now haha!" The bag is small that it can only have 5 boxes of cigarette if not for its ability to shrink. He put his bag into his waist and walk in the dungeons direction. The dungeon's entrance was almost 5 meters wide and 3 meters tall. Every time and then, a group of adventurers are going in and out of it. He approached the guards of the dungeon and asks for information. "This dungeon has no limit on how many adventurers will enter as long as they can pay, right? then how many floors are there?" "Hmm, another noob. Well, let me tell you a brief history who about this dungeon. This dungeon is named after the discoverer, the Grace, Grace has almost 70 floors and counting. Every year the mana inside the dungeon will be thickened and will produce another layer! Every year the mana will be thicker than before and will create much stronger creatures. This is the dungeon who had the fastest spawning rate and the deepest dungeon in the city, and for this reason, they can't slay everything and just let the dungeon accumulate enough man to make who another layer!" "Thank you for an introduction like an NPC, but what kind of monster this dungeon spawns?" "... There is only slimes and spores, but don't look down to those from base floor 5 and below! Every slime on that area can paralyze, burn or poison you. The effect is not strong, but a lot of them is problematic! Clearing the 50th-floor tools 3 S rank adventurer to escape. The doctors found their body being corroded by poison, no, toxic." "Haha, slimes are slime." he bows and said, "Thanks for your advice but I'm a rank C adventurer too." "Well, just came back with your skin intact, haha!" ---------------- An hour after he enter "Yes the spawning rates are fast, every ten seconds in this floors, but what the hell men, the adventurers have already memorized the spawning area and monopolized the drops! "The sixth floor have a few slimes escaping from their sight, but still not enough, well maybe I can hunt when I get dipper? The layer 1-10 is the easiest. Maybe there are more preys on the eleventh floor?" He walks for a bit and now he was in front of a door size entrance. He went down the stairs for minutes, but when he saw the floor, he did not find any slimes. "S-spores!" *Spoooo!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwMzcxOWZjMzBiMTRmOTQ4ZTgwZDkyN2I4MGVkYzRl">  "Run, RUN," Anna screams while clutching her son Franklin's hand dragging the young boy behind her. The sounds of screams surround her as she hurtles through the underbrush of the Unbroken Region. Anna doesn't have time to worry about those behind her. As long as her son escapes, that’s all that matters.</p> <p class="cnNlOGJlNTA2N2Y5NDQyYzNhZDBjYjNlYzM5MTViYmVm">  "Hold, Stay together!" some brave guards from Lemon town try to rally the panicking mob, but few heed the call. Soldier’s from the Red River Empire mix with Demonic Wolves slaughtering through the holes in the defense, causing panic and loss of life. Howls of angry men mix with screams sapping the morale of the survivors of Lemon town.</p> <p class="cnM4ZGY1OWZiNDA1MTQzNDBiZjI1ODdhMWIyODQ3NWI4">  As a demonic white wolf lunges towards Anna's small son, she dives down to the ground covering Franklin with her body. She can only hope the wolves won’t notice the young lad under her as she grits her teeth, waiting for the pain. Arron lunges from behind a nearby tree smashing into the wolf with his body. Being a farmer, he has no experience with weapons, but he is sturdy and well built. The wolf crashes into a tree, stunning it. "Are you alright, Anna?" he asks as he pulls her and the boy to their feet.</p> <p class="cnMyYjFjNDkzNTAzMjRiZDVhNmZiYzkyNTg4NWQ3Yjhi">  Anna glances at the young man who was once her neighbor with relief, "I'm fine, thanks." Anna looks around her and grimaces at the grim situation. The falling snow mixes with blood to form blooming flowers in this damned forest. There doesn’t seem to be any hope as she sees the people she knows tore apart before her eyes. Then she squeezes her son's hand, regaining her resolve. <em>‘At least him,’ </em>"Please gods," she whispers as they continue running.</p> <p class="cnMzYWM1Y2I5NWNiMjQ2YzFiY2I5MzZkNmY2Y2ZkY2Nh">  There isn't much hope in her fellow refugee's eyes. The recent wars forced those near the outskirts into Unbroken Region. Usually, only powerful cultivators dare venture into this dangerous place. Now with no choice, they could only test their luck. But it seems their luck has run out, and they find themselves constantly harassed by demonic beasts.</p> <p class="cnM2MTNiMmRmYmNkMjQ4OTJiZDMwNmJmMDlkMjRiNDMw">  The panicking crowd disperses in all directions. Anna, Franklin, and Arron move towards the north. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any direction better than the other. Slowly the number of screams dissipates. Those caught no longer have the energy left to yell, giving in to their fate.</p> <p class="cnM2YWM3MGE3MzhlNzQyNjVhOTIxNjc1MjgxNThlZDAy">  Growling and yelping at each other, the wolves start to make more noise as if discussing something. They look at each other as if confirming something. The lead wolves began to crouch with sharp glints in their eyes.</p> <p class="cnNkMDZkNjNiYzdhYzRmYTQ4MWNkMjE0YzdkZDc5YTlh">  Arron feels the change in the mood. Looking over his shoulder, he sees that the demonic beasts seem to be more cautious. <em>‘What can make such a strong demonic beast so weary,’</em> Arron wonders with a cold sweat, joining his already sweat-drenched body. Chest heaving from exhaustion, he yells, "something is wrong. These demons look scared!"</p> <p class="cnNiYWYxNzc4ZjQzNjQ4MjRhZTJiNmM1ZTc5OTE4Nzk0">  Anna also feels that something is off and tries to discover what is wrong. Yet, she can't see anything different. The trees are oversized and dense, blocking out the sun. Not being cultivators, these mortals can’t see far in this forest. "Ahead, there is a clearing," someone ahead calls out.</p> <p class="cnMwODFjMDQzZTNlNjQ2Njg5N2VjYmE3NjNlYzVjOGM1">  "Is this clearing a blessing or the end of our path?" Arron asks as the trees indeed begin to become sparse. Looking ahead, they see a small hill covered in snow. Behind they see that the wolves aren't giving chase anymore. They are seemingly happy to stalk behind them.</p> <p class="cnMyMTVjMjQ1NzBlMzQ3NzJiYWI2NmQ2MTYxODZkOWE1">  Bursting into the clearing, even these nobodies can feel the difference here. The air seems denser as if there is power in the air. Many hold their breaths and look around in a panic. Anna can only see a small hill with a strange bump on it. It looks as if a second hill has been built on top of the first. As the demonic beast wolves near the forest's edge, this mound on the hill moves, shocking Anna. With wide eyes, Anna points toward the hilltop and yells, "Look!". Everyone's eyes focus on the hill, and indeed the mound is moving.</p> <p class="cnM0ZGIwNDk5NGU5NjRiYzhhZTQ0YzkzMmQ3MjY1MGY2">  The mound shakes, and the snow falls off, revealing a giant demonic bull. As its eyes scan the people in the clearing, their hair stands on end. What is this intense feeling? It is as if the world will end if this beast willed it. The bull seems to ignore them for now as it focuses on the demonic wolves. With a single snort, the bull blows away all the snow around him. The wolves no longer put up a front, fleeing back into the forest with the utmost speed.</p> <p class="cnNiZjY0NmQwMTUzMjRlODI4ZjhmMjIxMGRjNjRjZmRm">  Just as one foe flees, soldiers from the Red River Empire burst forth from the woods. They are battered and bruised, their red arm covered in claw marks. When they attacked this small border town, they hadn’t expected the citizens to flee into the Unbroken Region.</p> <p class="cnNlODFhMTYzYTQ5MzRlYjI4ZGYxMDEwYWRhMWRlMTYx">  A soldier with a scar on his cheek curses the townspeople, “You bastards caused us a lot of trouble! Boys, if we kill this lot, we should be able to go home and leave this hell.” The other soldiers glare at the townsfolk and brandish their weapons.</p> <p class="cnM1YTZlMGI0MTU2ZDQ1YWViZmUzZTk1YmU3ZDk2ZjQz">  All around, Anna sees people panicking, scrambling to escape. Arron steps in front of Anna and Franklin, blocking the soldiers with his large muscular body. Anna clenches her fist and goes into a fighting stance. “Quick, run. I will hold them off!” Anna yells to Franklin, giving him a shove.</p> <p class="cnNkZmYwNjM2MjMzMzRjNzI4ZTIwMzVhNzYxNmIxMjgw">  “No, mom!” Franklin screams, grabbing Anna’s arm. Anna shoves her boy, releasing her arm. “Listen to me,” she yells before preparing to make her last stand. She prepares to bite her tongue to perform her last act.</p> <p class="cnNjOTk0MGEyMGYyNjRkYjk4YzcxYTU5NzhiNGNmNjE1">A soldier points up at the hill and calls to his buddies, “Look, not only did we find these pests, but we have beef on the menu tonight!”</p> <p class="cnM2ZjJmODI1MDFhYTQxMzA4MzU5MzIzZGE3MDk1NDY0">Joe ignores these strange creatures while nursing his hungry stomach. Suddenly feels as if these weaklings are looking down on him. It’s one thing when a bush that makes tasty food has an attitude…. But these worthless creatures too? Joe snorts in anger, echoing throughout the forest clearing.</p> <p class="cnMwZjY1MjU2N2U2MTRlNmJhMGU3MjRjZDYyNmE0MmZl">Everyone looks around in shock. The scarred soldier's eyes shift back and forth as a cold chill runs up his spine. “What the hell is that?”</p> <p class="cnNiMDUzMWZmN2UwOTQwMzI5MDhkMjIxNWFjMzFhYjMz">  A few soldiers charge at Arron and Anna, their swords rising in the air. An older man jumps out, blocking one soldier's sword with a dagger. The old trapper lived on the edge of their old town. Gritting his teeth, he grabs the soldier to try and stop him.</p> <p class="cnMwYmZiZjY0NjA5ODQ4NzE4Nzg1MDBiM2UzM2Y4YTAy">  “Muoooo,” a terrifying roar crashes down from the hill. Joe leaps down his gut flops as it distorts from the sudden movement. His mouth gapes, and his tongue floats behind him. Everyone turns towards the sky in shock as this boulder-like bull falls on them. Joe crashes like a meteorite crushing three soldiers at once. The ground collapses under him, sending debris around him.</p> <p class="cnNkNmVkOTQzMmMxZjRkZGRhNmU1YTdjNmFjMTc0OTk0">  “Shit, kill it!” the scarred soldier orders. Soldiers slash with their swords and stab with their spears. The attacks bounce off Joe’s hide at most, creating annoying paper cuts.</p> <p class="cnMwOTQ2YjZkODE2ZTRhYTU5OWQzZmZiNWQ5YWZiM2E5">  The men who were attacking Anna and the others back off to help against the rampaging beast. Joe, however, is unstoppable in his rage, stomping men to death and impaling them on his horns. Soon the soldiers are in disarray and running for their lives, including the scarred man. Once the men in red armor run away, Joe begins to settle down, breathing heavily.</p> <p class="cnM4YWQwZTQ4NDZjZDQxZDFhNzA3NjYwNTQ4NmIyZDQ1">  After taking one more glance at the humans, the powerful demonic bull loses interest and returns to the hill. "Are we safe?" Anna asks as she falls to her knees. She hasn't run this much in her whole life and is beyond exhausted. Even the fit Arron can't keep his legs under him and falls to the ground.</p> <p class="cnNlNzU5NGI4ZmU3NjRlMGFiN2RmNzNiZmZmZWViYjZj">  They don’t know why this demonic beast doesn't care about their presence, but they are happy about it. "Perhaps it sees us as ants not worth his time," a young man speculates. In any event, at least they can now catch a short break before braving the forest once again.</p> <p class="cnNkY2FlYzZiOWQzNzQ3ZWI4YTkyOGFlZWRhMzAzMmI1">  After they rested through the night, they are preparing to leave this place. They don't know when the demonic beast on the hill might go berserk. However, Anna looks at her exhausted child covered with scrapes and bruises. "Can't we just stay here?" she wonders out loud.</p> <p class="cnM3MjlkMGZiMjUwMjQxOGE5OTFlYmRlYmQwMjUwNmUw">  "How can you say that, lass?" one of the older ladies looks at her as if she is crazy. "She’s only worried about her son," a man states. "My daughter can't go on much longer either," a mother laments.</p> <p class="cnNkYzk1NjkzZmZmOTRiODI5NWZlNjgwNTYwOGMxN2Fm">  Even with a night's rest, they look like they will collapse at any moment. Arron looks at this ragtag bunch without much hope. As he looks at the hill, an idea comes to him. "Once, I heard from a merchant that some villages have something called a Guardian spirit."</p> <p class="cnNkZmM1NTFlYzdjMTRhOTNhYmQ3MDVlMmFiZWI0NDFj">  "Oh, what's that, uncle?" The small boy next to Anna asks with sparkling eyes. "Well, Franklin, they are demonic beast or other wondrous entities that protect a village in exchange for offerings and worship," Arron says as he furrows his brow, trying to remember.</p> <p class="cnNmM2UzODg3ZjAxYjQxN2ZhZmI4MWMzYjdmYzg5ZDAw">  Anna can't help but be shocked. "Do you think that if we give offerings to that demonic beast, it will help us?"</p> <p class="cnNiM2RlM2VmZjRjNjQ3OTU4MTg0YWQ1MGZkOTBmN2Ix">  "That's hard to say. It doesn't appear to hate humans, but who knows what it will do in the future. It's a gamble whether we leave or stay, though," Arron responds as he wipes his brow from a nervous sweat.</p> <p class="cnNiOWIzZjcyZDA1ODQxNjA5ZDdjYjY3NWVjNjE2ZGQ4">  After a spirited debate, fourteen people decided to stay, mostly those with young, who will be quickly picked off in the forest. While the more fit mostly choose to chance the wolves, they can at least fight them to a certain extent, unlike that powerful bull. Arron and two other men are the only men left; four mothers and Anna also chose to stay, with the three boys and Franklin and two girls.</p> </div>

"Run, RUN," Anna screams while clutching her son Franklin's hand dragging the young boy behind her. The sounds of screams surround her as she hurtles through the underbrush of the Unbroken Region. Anna doesn't have time to worry about those behind her. As long as her son escapes, that’s all that matters.   "Hold, Stay together!" some brave guards from Lemon town try to rally the panicking mob, but few heed the call. Soldier’s from the Red River Empire mix with Demonic Wolves slaughtering through the holes in the defense, causing panic and loss of life. Howls of angry men mix with screams sapping the morale of the survivors of Lemon town.   As a demonic white wolf lunges towards Anna's small son, she dives down to the ground covering Franklin with her body. She can only hope the wolves won’t notice the young lad under her as she grits her teeth, waiting for the pain. Arron lunges from behind a nearby tree smashing into the wolf with his body. Being a farmer, he has no experience with weapons, but he is sturdy and well built. The wolf crashes into a tree, stunning it. "Are you alright, Anna?" he asks as he pulls her and the boy to their feet.   Anna glances at the young man who was once her neighbor with relief, "I'm fine, thanks." Anna looks around her and grimaces at the grim situation. The falling snow mixes with blood to form blooming flowers in this damned forest. There doesn’t seem to be any hope as she sees the people she knows tore apart before her eyes. Then she squeezes her son's hand, regaining her resolve. *‘At least him,’* "Please gods," she whispers as they continue running.   There isn't much hope in her fellow refugee's eyes. The recent wars forced those near the outskirts into Unbroken Region. Usually, only powerful cultivators dare venture into this dangerous place. Now with no choice, they could only test their luck. But it seems their luck has run out, and they find themselves constantly harassed by demonic beasts.   The panicking crowd disperses in all directions. Anna, Franklin, and Arron move towards the north. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any direction better than the other. Slowly the number of screams dissipates. Those caught no longer have the energy left to yell, giving in to their fate.   Growling and yelping at each other, the wolves start to make more noise as if discussing something. They look at each other as if confirming something. The lead wolves began to crouch with sharp glints in their eyes.   Arron feels the change in the mood. Looking over his shoulder, he sees that the demonic beasts seem to be more cautious. *‘What can make such a strong demonic beast so weary,’* Arron wonders with a cold sweat, joining his already sweat-drenched body. Chest heaving from exhaustion, he yells, "something is wrong. These demons look scared!"   Anna also feels that something is off and tries to discover what is wrong. Yet, she can't see anything different. The trees are oversized and dense, blocking out the sun. Not being cultivators, these mortals can’t see far in this forest. "Ahead, there is a clearing," someone ahead calls out.   "Is this clearing a blessing or the end of our path?" Arron asks as the trees indeed begin to become sparse. Looking ahead, they see a small hill covered in snow. Behind they see that the wolves aren't giving chase anymore. They are seemingly happy to stalk behind them.   Bursting into the clearing, even these nobodies can feel the difference here. The air seems denser as if there is power in the air. Many hold their breaths and look around in a panic. Anna can only see a small hill with a strange bump on it. It looks as if a second hill has been built on top of the first. As the demonic beast wolves near the forest's edge, this mound on the hill moves, shocking Anna. With wide eyes, Anna points toward the hilltop and yells, "Look!". Everyone's eyes focus on the hill, and indeed the mound is moving.   The mound shakes, and the snow falls off, revealing a giant demonic bull. As its eyes scan the people in the clearing, their hair stands on end. What is this intense feeling? It is as if the world will end if this beast willed it. The bull seems to ignore them for now as it focuses on the demonic wolves. With a single snort, the bull blows away all the snow around him. The wolves no longer put up a front, fleeing back into the forest with the utmost speed.   Just as one foe flees, soldiers from the Red River Empire burst forth from the woods. They are battered and bruised, their red arm covered in claw marks. When they attacked this small border town, they hadn’t expected the citizens to flee into the Unbroken Region.   A soldier with a scar on his cheek curses the townspeople, “You bastards caused us a lot of trouble! Boys, if we kill this lot, we should be able to go home and leave this hell.” The other soldiers glare at the townsfolk and brandish their weapons.   All around, Anna sees people panicking, scrambling to escape. Arron steps in front of Anna and Franklin, blocking the soldiers with his large muscular body. Anna clenches her fist and goes into a fighting stance. “Quick, run. I will hold them off!” Anna yells to Franklin, giving him a shove.   “No, mom!” Franklin screams, grabbing Anna’s arm. Anna shoves her boy, releasing her arm. “Listen to me,” she yells before preparing to make her last stand. She prepares to bite her tongue to perform her last act. A soldier points up at the hill and calls to his buddies, “Look, not only did we find these pests, but we have beef on the menu tonight!” Joe ignores these strange creatures while nursing his hungry stomach. Suddenly feels as if these weaklings are looking down on him. It’s one thing when a bush that makes tasty food has an attitude…. But these worthless creatures too? Joe snorts in anger, echoing throughout the forest clearing. Everyone looks around in shock. The scarred soldier's eyes shift back and forth as a cold chill runs up his spine. “What the hell is that?”   A few soldiers charge at Arron and Anna, their swords rising in the air. An older man jumps out, blocking one soldier's sword with a dagger. The old trapper lived on the edge of their old town. Gritting his teeth, he grabs the soldier to try and stop him.   “Muoooo,” a terrifying roar crashes down from the hill. Joe leaps down his gut flops as it distorts from the sudden movement. His mouth gapes, and his tongue floats behind him. Everyone turns towards the sky in shock as this boulder-like bull falls on them. Joe crashes like a meteorite crushing three soldiers at once. The ground collapses under him, sending debris around him.   “Shit, kill it!” the scarred soldier orders. Soldiers slash with their swords and stab with their spears. The attacks bounce off Joe’s hide at most, creating annoying paper cuts.   The men who were attacking Anna and the others back off to help against the rampaging beast. Joe, however, is unstoppable in his rage, stomping men to death and impaling them on his horns. Soon the soldiers are in disarray and running for their lives, including the scarred man. Once the men in red armor run away, Joe begins to settle down, breathing heavily.   After taking one more glance at the humans, the powerful demonic bull loses interest and returns to the hill. "Are we safe?" Anna asks as she falls to her knees. She hasn't run this much in her whole life and is beyond exhausted. Even the fit Arron can't keep his legs under him and falls to the ground.   They don’t know why this demonic beast doesn't care about their presence, but they are happy about it. "Perhaps it sees us as ants not worth his time," a young man speculates. In any event, at least they can now catch a short break before braving the forest once again.   After they rested through the night, they are preparing to leave this place. They don't know when the demonic beast on the hill might go berserk. However, Anna looks at her exhausted child covered with scrapes and bruises. "Can't we just stay here?" she wonders out loud.   "How can you say that, lass?" one of the older ladies looks at her as if she is crazy. "She’s only worried about her son," a man states. "My daughter can't go on much longer either," a mother laments.   Even with a night's rest, they look like they will collapse at any moment. Arron looks at this ragtag bunch without much hope. As he looks at the hill, an idea comes to him. "Once, I heard from a merchant that some villages have something called a Guardian spirit."   "Oh, what's that, uncle?" The small boy next to Anna asks with sparkling eyes. "Well, Franklin, they are demonic beast or other wondrous entities that protect a village in exchange for offerings and worship," Arron says as he furrows his brow, trying to remember.   Anna can't help but be shocked. "Do you think that if we give offerings to that demonic beast, it will help us?"   "That's hard to say. It doesn't appear to hate humans, but who knows what it will do in the future. It's a gamble whether we leave or stay, though," Arron responds as he wipes his brow from a nervous sweat.   After a spirited debate, fourteen people decided to stay, mostly those with young, who will be quickly picked off in the forest. While the more fit mostly choose to chance the wolves, they can at least fight them to a certain extent, unlike that powerful bull. Arron and two other men are the only men left; four mothers and Anna also chose to stay, with the three boys and Franklin and two girls.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjMDYyMjMxMjBmZDQ2NTI4YTEyYzc5NzlhMGJjNGY1">  Anna shivers as she returns to the small village. Many worried faces are waiting there to greet her. Franklin rushes into her arms with tears in his eyes. The poor twelve-year-old boy had lost his father only a few years ago in the war and can't help but worry about his mother.</p> <p class="cnNhMjAzNWUxYWU3MDRhNTBhZTNiZDk4MTgxODQ5NzU3">  "How was it?" Arron asks with worry.</p> <p class="cnNjN2ZlMTJmMGU4ZDQwODBiZjYyMGUwNmY3NjVjMWIw">  With a wry smile on her face, Anna looks at Arron while hugging her child. "Hard to say. At least the bull accepted the offering," Anna replies.</p> <p class="cnMxNDdjNGNmMjZkNjQ1NDBhNTZhN2ZjMDQ1M2U4Zjg0">  Melisa, a young mother herself, gently grabs Anna's arm that is still lightly shaking. "Are you alright? You should let the men undertake such dangers. Think of your boy," Mellisa consoles Anna.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmFlODYyZjFmZjQ4MGM5MDIxOWUzMGYyYTg1MTdh">  "It was truly fearsome. It felt like I was going to be crushed just from a look." Anna replies, squeezing Franklin tightly to calm her nerves.</p> <p class="cnM1NWExMzExYTkwYjQ1ZDY4YTY1YTUwZGEwNWI4MzEz">  "No wonder those wolves did not dare to enter this clearing," Gregory, a slightly graying haired man mumbled as he glanced at the Forrest. Gregory is the oldest in the small village at the age of forty.</p> <p class="cnMzZjkxMWM0NGM1YzQ0NDg5OWQ2MDAzZDY3NTYzMzBl">  Indeed they can all feel the aura coming from the hill even from here. What would it feel like to be right in front of such a savage beast? They wonder with fear and awe in their hearts.</p> <p class="cnMyNjY3YzVjOTNmNDQ1Mzk5ZTFkNzYzODY3MDQxOGYw">  "You are so brave!" Laurel, a young girl of the age of ten, runs over with bright eyes looking at Anna, her new idol. Mellisa frowns, however, not sure if she likes that her daughter finds such adventures exciting.</p> <p class="cnNmOWEwMmNjOGZhZTRiMjVhOWRmZWYzY2MwNjQxNDY2">  "Ha, Ha, this is how kids should be," Gregory laughs as he ruffles the girl's hair much to her annoyance. Laurel escapes hiding behind her mom and glaring at the old man. With this humorous display, the tense atmosphere finally dissipates.</p> <p class="cnMwYTM4NzVhZWY1YzQwODRiMTRhMmU1NDFjZjAyMTRj">  Noticing that everyone is more relaxed, Gregory smiles as he announces, "alright, everyone back to work. There is still much to do if we want to stay here."</p> <p class="cnNiZGRmMzk4MTNjZDQyMjk4NTYwODk0YjRlMDQzMWU1">  With new smiles on their faces, the rest of the refugees return to work. The men are digging a well since it is dangerous to travel to the river. While the river is nearby, they have to run back while being chased by the local demonic beasts. The women, on the other hand, sow seeds in the gardens while watching the kids.</p> <p class="cnNmM2IxMDkxZTRhMDQ5YjliOTYyYzg4MWU3OTVlYWVm">  After a few days, things settle into a routine. The well is half dug, and the gardens are finished. They have begun foraging in the nearby forest. Still, they don't dare wander too far, or they may be cut off from the safety of the clearing.</p> <p class="cnM1NzFhODZjOWU3NTRjNzE4N2M0MThhZWI5MzBjY2Q4">  Franklin will sometimes go off by himself, waving a wooden sword around. While he thinks he is sneaky, the women can only laugh as they can still see him not too far away. He is too afraid to venture far.</p> <p class="cnM5MDBlNDRkZmQwYzQ1M2I5NzJlMDUwYzM1OWEyZGQ3">  Laurel is curious and eventually decides to follow this older boy. Since his mom is so awesome, she is curious about what Franklin is up to as well. "What are you doing?" She asks Franklin, who is swinging a wooden sword up and down as he yells, "hua."</p> <p class="cnMzYWEwY2E0MzI5NTQ4NTU4YzRiN2RiNGQ5OWFkZjgz">  Franklin Jumps from the sudden intrusion. He loses his grip on his sword, sending it flying a couple of feet away. "Be careful now, Franklin!" His mom yells. Franklin looks around, surprised that he is being watched.</p> <p class="cnNlZjI4MzEyZWQ0ZTQzODg5ZGJjMzM3ZjQ5MzJjMzBi">  "What do you want?" he asks glancing at the girl as he goes to grab his sword.</p> <p class="cnMyMTUxNWQyMGMzNzQ1NTM5MGVkN2Y3NjM0Yjg0N2Rj">  Laurel can't help but giggle as the boy sheepishly walks away from her. "I just saw you playing by your self, so I came over!" Laurel states proudly with a pure smile. Franklin slightly blushes before grunting, changing into a glare. "I'm training to be a warrior, not playing some game."</p> <p class="cnM2Y2ZhZTUyZWMzZjQ5MDViNTIxMzMzZTZhNTc2MmM5">  "Oh, that's super cool!" The young girl can't help but throw some punches with a "hiyah." Franklin can't stay angry at this cute girl. Even he feels that the punches being thrown can't hurt a fly.</p> <p class="cnNiYWE5ZDRlZDFiMjRmYTY5NGQ5NGU4NDA2ODdmYzJj">  "Yeah, I want to be like my father. He was super strong..." His smile soon turns gloomy, "he died in the war, though. If he'd been here, we wouldn't have had so much trouble." Franklin’s grip on his sword hilt grows stronger as his knuckles turn white.</p> <p class="cnM5NGUyNTRkYWQzNDQzMDA4YjU5MWYyNTJjODk4NjU4">  "I'm sure you'll be way strong," Laurel squeals as she throws her arms open to show how strong he will be.</p> <p class="cnMxNTVhMTQwMGM3ZTQ3MThiZjA4NmQ2MjY1MTBiMWNh">  "Alright, you can't bother me while I'm training, okay?" Franklin says as he looks at the girl who doesn't seem to have a care in the world.</p> <p class="cnNiOTRkMDA3ZmQ1MDRjYjdiMjA1MjUzZDVhNjdlYTQ3">  Laurel nods with a determined look in her eyes "Okay."</p> <p class="cnM3NjQwNWE2Mzk0ZDQ4OWNhYTgwMjg0YzI2YzIwZDUy">  Neither of these kids notices that the women aren't the only ones watching them. A small bush on the hill often extends his senses out to spectate the small village.</p> <p class="cnM4ZmE1NzhiNzI0NTRjMjc4MTQzZTg1ZDcwMTg5ZjVl">  On the hill, John is cultivating by circling the sun and earth energy as usual. Joe is eating happily, and the fight about his name has been forgotten.</p> <p class="cnM1MjQ5ZmU3OGFmZjRmZDBiZDQ3MGU1MDU2NGNiNTY5">  "So that kid wants to cultivate, huh? Do you think I should help him out?" John asks the bull with a bit of excitement.</p> <p class="cnNiY2VlN2IzOWQ0ODQ3MTY5NzBiN2RiN2JjNDEyZGI3">  "Buru?" Joe scoffs.</p> <p class="cnNlZDBmMmZlNGM2MzRiZDJiOTNlNTBjNDc4NGNmZmVl">  "What do you mean, what do I know about cultivation? I'm a brilliant bush!" John responds, incensed by the lack of confidence. He gently shakes his leaves to show Joe his anger.</p> <p class="cnNhMDhjNzIzMDBiZDQyYmQ4YjE1MjEwODE3MDNiNTY5">  Joe hops up and down while glaring at his annoying hill mate, "Snort."</p> <p class="cnNiM2UzYzE5YmEyZTQ4YTE5OTM0MzZlZTJlMTc1N2Q3">  "I can't walk? While you can't talk!" John rages angrily, "Who's dumb now!"</p> <p class="cnNlNjNmYTFjZjAzODRjNmY4NzE2MWRhMTNmMWE3NTIz">  The argument continues much like this throughout the day.</p> <p class="cnMzM2RjZDllYmY2NjRlMTBiMzllYTQzMWFmYjdiMDgy">  "Fine, I'll show you! I still know a few tricks." John decides to use a small trick he learned over his hundred years in his sect.</p> <p class="cnNjYjEwOWY0YTAwNTQ5YTM4YTI4YzJhMWIwZTRmNGNi">  Sure he was a nobody and never got to go into the treasury to pick a cultivation, but he still picked up a few things. He had once been bored of gardening and thought he could have a bit of fun teasing new sect members in their dreams.</p> <p class="cnM0ZjVmODgwOGQ4MDQwYjk5MTMxN2EyMzU3MDM1NWYx">  This only lead to him being beaten up by his juniors much to his chagrin. It isn't very useful. Not like those powerful dream techniques that allow one to kill people in their dreams. He can't affect anything while in the dreams. However, he can use it to teach the child a few things sneakily.</p> <p class="cnNlZTMwYTIyZGEyMDQ4MDg4ZWQ3MDZkYTYzYjlhMDI3">  In the past, he was weak and could never soar in the heavens. Still, in comparison to an average child, he might as well be a god among men. Even he could slaughter ordinary soldiers by the hundreds.</p> </div>

Anna shivers as she returns to the small village. Many worried faces are waiting there to greet her. Franklin rushes into her arms with tears in his eyes. The poor twelve-year-old boy had lost his father only a few years ago in the war and can't help but worry about his mother.   "How was it?" Arron asks with worry.   With a wry smile on her face, Anna looks at Arron while hugging her child. "Hard to say. At least the bull accepted the offering," Anna replies.   Melisa, a young mother herself, gently grabs Anna's arm that is still lightly shaking. "Are you alright? You should let the men undertake such dangers. Think of your boy," Mellisa consoles Anna.   "It was truly fearsome. It felt like I was going to be crushed just from a look." Anna replies, squeezing Franklin tightly to calm her nerves.   "No wonder those wolves did not dare to enter this clearing," Gregory, a slightly graying haired man mumbled as he glanced at the Forrest. Gregory is the oldest in the small village at the age of forty.   Indeed they can all feel the aura coming from the hill even from here. What would it feel like to be right in front of such a savage beast? They wonder with fear and awe in their hearts.   "You are so brave!" Laurel, a young girl of the age of ten, runs over with bright eyes looking at Anna, her new idol. Mellisa frowns, however, not sure if she likes that her daughter finds such adventures exciting.   "Ha, Ha, this is how kids should be," Gregory laughs as he ruffles the girl's hair much to her annoyance. Laurel escapes hiding behind her mom and glaring at the old man. With this humorous display, the tense atmosphere finally dissipates.   Noticing that everyone is more relaxed, Gregory smiles as he announces, "alright, everyone back to work. There is still much to do if we want to stay here."   With new smiles on their faces, the rest of the refugees return to work. The men are digging a well since it is dangerous to travel to the river. While the river is nearby, they have to run back while being chased by the local demonic beasts. The women, on the other hand, sow seeds in the gardens while watching the kids.   After a few days, things settle into a routine. The well is half dug, and the gardens are finished. They have begun foraging in the nearby forest. Still, they don't dare wander too far, or they may be cut off from the safety of the clearing.   Franklin will sometimes go off by himself, waving a wooden sword around. While he thinks he is sneaky, the women can only laugh as they can still see him not too far away. He is too afraid to venture far.   Laurel is curious and eventually decides to follow this older boy. Since his mom is so awesome, she is curious about what Franklin is up to as well. "What are you doing?" She asks Franklin, who is swinging a wooden sword up and down as he yells, "hua."   Franklin Jumps from the sudden intrusion. He loses his grip on his sword, sending it flying a couple of feet away. "Be careful now, Franklin!" His mom yells. Franklin looks around, surprised that he is being watched.   "What do you want?" he asks glancing at the girl as he goes to grab his sword.   Laurel can't help but giggle as the boy sheepishly walks away from her. "I just saw you playing by your self, so I came over!" Laurel states proudly with a pure smile. Franklin slightly blushes before grunting, changing into a glare. "I'm training to be a warrior, not playing some game."   "Oh, that's super cool!" The young girl can't help but throw some punches with a "hiyah." Franklin can't stay angry at this cute girl. Even he feels that the punches being thrown can't hurt a fly.   "Yeah, I want to be like my father. He was super strong..." His smile soon turns gloomy, "he died in the war, though. If he'd been here, we wouldn't have had so much trouble." Franklin’s grip on his sword hilt grows stronger as his knuckles turn white.   "I'm sure you'll be way strong," Laurel squeals as she throws her arms open to show how strong he will be.   "Alright, you can't bother me while I'm training, okay?" Franklin says as he looks at the girl who doesn't seem to have a care in the world.   Laurel nods with a determined look in her eyes "Okay."   Neither of these kids notices that the women aren't the only ones watching them. A small bush on the hill often extends his senses out to spectate the small village.   On the hill, John is cultivating by circling the sun and earth energy as usual. Joe is eating happily, and the fight about his name has been forgotten.   "So that kid wants to cultivate, huh? Do you think I should help him out?" John asks the bull with a bit of excitement.   "Buru?" Joe scoffs.   "What do you mean, what do I know about cultivation? I'm a brilliant bush!" John responds, incensed by the lack of confidence. He gently shakes his leaves to show Joe his anger.   Joe hops up and down while glaring at his annoying hill mate, "Snort."   "I can't walk? While you can't talk!" John rages angrily, "Who's dumb now!"   The argument continues much like this throughout the day.   "Fine, I'll show you! I still know a few tricks." John decides to use a small trick he learned over his hundred years in his sect.   Sure he was a nobody and never got to go into the treasury to pick a cultivation, but he still picked up a few things. He had once been bored of gardening and thought he could have a bit of fun teasing new sect members in their dreams.   This only lead to him being beaten up by his juniors much to his chagrin. It isn't very useful. Not like those powerful dream techniques that allow one to kill people in their dreams. He can't affect anything while in the dreams. However, he can use it to teach the child a few things sneakily.   In the past, he was weak and could never soar in the heavens. Still, in comparison to an average child, he might as well be a god among men. Even he could slaughter ordinary soldiers by the hundreds.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0YTdiMjMwMjYzZjQxZjNhMzlkZDYxYTM1MGExODBm">  John has been in darkness for quite some time. <em>‘Plant’s don’t sleep, I guess,’</em> John thinks. He had initially felt tired when his leaves fell off. However, it was just a lack of solar energy, making him feel lethargic. It was cold, and it felt like he was locked away, much like when he was a seed.</p> <p class="cnM4MWNmYjkxNWFhYjQ0Y2Q5M2QwMDcwMGU4NzUyOGJi">  Now John is contemplating the thrumming of the earth. His roots give him a better connection with the land than ever before. As a human, he had no talent. “All my friends left me behind,” John sighs. While his friends had soared in their sects, he was still there, tending the gardens for a hundred years.</p> <p class="cnNlOWI0OWRkODg2ODRmZmZiNzgyYWJlZDJmZGIyOGNk">  <em>’That’s in the past,’</em> John reassures himself. Now he is a bush on a new path. <em>‘Perhaps I won’t soar through the heavens, but I will live a long quiet life!’</em> John thinks enthusiastically.</p> <p class="cnM3MzVhMzVmYTM3ZjQ4MWRhMTAwM2MyZmQ5Zjk3YTYw">  The earth is the only thing in John’s life for the whole winter. Its heartbeat as it moves imperceptibly to human senses can be felt through his roots. It’s a strange sensation being able to wiggle through the earth. To humans and most animals, the ground is a solid object for them to stand on. However, now he can feel the earth shift as his roots move through the soil. He can sense Joe moving in his sleep and the minute changes of worms digging nearby.</p> <p class="cnM2NGNjZmFlNWFmNzQ0NzlhOThkMThiMTQzMmU5MmM4">  As time moves on, John feels himself becoming one with the earth. His roots move with the beat of the planet. Energy flows in and out of him like the tides bringing nutrients to the land. It is far more efficient than his previous method that consumed energy at an incredible rate. John realizes he is still thinking like a human and has much left to learn.</p> <p class="cnM0ZGUxNWI1M2UyNjQ5MWJiMGNjODNlZmU0N2EwNzkx">  John contemplates his new revelations until he notices a bit of warmth in his limbs. Buds begin to form, making John feel renewed. When John wakes from his hibernation, he sends his senses out to investigate. The world around John is once again green and full of life. Also, the life energy in the air has grown thicker, which has a remarkable effect on the local fauna.</p> <p class="cnM1NGNkZjAwMDE4ZDRhYjZiNDIzNjE5OTVjY2JlZDAx">  John also notices his senses can reach beyond the hill. To John’s, surprise he can see a few small makeshift huts, around the bottom of the hill. A few recently tilled gardens are scattered around. Even though John could not see so far previously, he is sure that these homes are a new addition.</p> <p class="cnMyZjY4ZDU1ZWZlMzRlOGU4NWFhZTkyMGQ1YmM0NjA5">  As Joe relaxes languidly on the hill, he notices a change in the bush. He decides to walk over to the plant that has been ignoring him for quite some time. Joe Snorts, while eyeing John suspiciously.</p> <p class="cnMwYmZiMTU1YTRjMTQ1YzM4ZGY5MjY5OTkwYzE5MjE2">  “Hey, what’s with that attitude right when I wake up?” John complains. “Are you going to take another bite out of me? If you keep it up, I’ll die for real, you know.” John’s rant is cut short as he notices Joe looking at him strangely. “Wait, can you hear me?” John asks while shaking in agitation.</p> <p class="cnNmZTVlM2E1MGY0NTQ5OGZiNTM5YTFjOTdhZWFjOTNl">  Joe doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is being tricked as he hears someone's voice in his head. Joe can understand some speech, but as a low-level demonic beast, he still can’t speak. On the outskirts of the unbroken region, Joe reigns supreme. But in the depths of the Unbroken Region, he’d be as lowly as the humans that have recently arrived.</p> <p class="cnM3ODMzMDA3MDllMjRmMjViZjBiMzBmMjIzNTYxNDc0">  “Bru,” Joe complains, stamping his hoof at the plant in front of him.</p> <p class="cnNkZjc3ZTE0MGE0YTQ3NTBiNTA4YTllMTE0MmEyZTA0">  “There’s no reason to get so upset, alright!” John panics as a few stomps get dangerously close to him.</p> <p class="cnM2MWNlZTc5YThlMDRkMDRiMTI3MjQzOTE0ZWYzM2Zk">  Joe angrily grunts at John in disagreement. “It's not my fault you can't speak, alright! But if you accidentally stomp me to death, you can say goodbye to your easy meals," John tries to explain to the red-eyed Demonic Bull.</p> <p class="cnNjZmJiZjQzNGUwMjQ0Zjk5YzFiMzNmNGNhZWRjNGMx">  Down below, a few of the humans notice the commotion and begin to worry that the Demonic Bull will soon go on a rampage. Quickly they decide to try and appease the beast by sending a representative with the herbs they had recently picked. The herbs are part of their plan to entice the bull to be their guardian spirit.</p> <p class="cnNjYjcyNjdjYTQ3MTRjODY4MzgxNTNmODJjNmFhNTE3">  Anna Gulps as she slowly walks up the hill. When Anna volunteered, Arron protested. Yet Anna refused to listen, stating that, “A woman will be less threatening than a man.” She looks at the small herbs with apprehension. They couldn’t find anything too special since they didn't have the strength to enter the forest. "It'll be fine! We have nowhere to go this has to work," Anna encourages herself as she nears the top of the hill.</p> <p class="cnM3YWVhYmVhOTViZDQ4NjBhMWE1NDliMjNhMjYyZDFh">  The two on the hill had long noticed this lass coming up the hill. Both Joe and John are surprised by the bravery of this young lady. However, humans are indeed cunning creatures, so both of them eye her suspiciously.</p> <p class="cnM5YzZjMWFhNDkzMDRhMmZhOWRhOTM1ZjdmNGVkMDQx">  Anna bows deeply to the demonic beast in front of her with sweat drenching her back. "Please calm your anger, great one," her voice quakes a bit as she glances at the bull. "We bring this small offering in hopes that you will allow us to stay in your blessed land," Anna says. While bowing, she extends her hands with the offering of herbs. <em>‘Please don’t bite off my hands,</em>’ Anna prays repeatedly.</p> <p class="cnM1YTU3YTk1MDA2NTQ5OGM4ZDFkNmQxMzdhNWMyMjFi">  Joe has never had subordinates before, so he is happily surprised by the offering. Snorting lightly, he takes the offering and begins to chew.</p> <p class="cnM1YjY0YmZlMDVkMzQwOTI5YWMxOTMxNDgwODFmMDZk">  Taking this as a sign of acceptance, Anna says, "Thank you for your benevolence." With that, she back away, slowly returning the way she came.</p> <p class="cnMyMDZhODlkNzc0MTQ1MDU4NjY2MmVmNDM4NzE5MDkx">  "Ha, they want to make you their divine spirit!" John can't help but laugh, "Isn't that great now you won't need me to help you out anymore."</p> <p class="cnM1YjAwNGU3ZjEzNzQwZGJhNTRjZTdmMjhiNDM1NWYy">  Joe retorts to John's laughter by snorting at him and getting a glint in his eyes.</p> <p class="cnNiMzI4OWY0YWNiOTQyYmE4NTA0ZjljZTI3MmViMWQ1">  "Alright, I'm sorry, don't eat me, ok?" John gives in. "Geez, for just being a Joe, you sure are ornery."</p> <p class="cnM0MjExMWNkZjlmZTRiMTc4ZmQ4OTk3MTJiZTdiZDk1">  The demonic bull looks at him Inquisitively, who is a Joe?</p> <p class="cnMyMjUyN2Y3NGZkNTRkNjQ5NTE4NDZlOTNmNmEzMTM0">  "What you don't even know your own name?" John shakes his head at the ignorance of demonic beasts.</p> <p class="cnMwNDAyMDQxOGVkYzRhYjJiNzliNGJkZTM3NjMxNzUy">  Joe, however, will have no more nonsense. The demonic bull turns away and stomps about throwing a fit. After showing his displeasure, Joe sits down on the other side of the hill. He decides to ignore John for the rest of the day.</p> </div>

John has been in darkness for quite some time. *‘Plant’s don’t sleep, I guess,’* John thinks. He had initially felt tired when his leaves fell off. However, it was just a lack of solar energy, making him feel lethargic. It was cold, and it felt like he was locked away, much like when he was a seed.   Now John is contemplating the thrumming of the earth. His roots give him a better connection with the land than ever before. As a human, he had no talent. “All my friends left me behind,” John sighs. While his friends had soared in their sects, he was still there, tending the gardens for a hundred years.   *’That’s in the past,’* John reassures himself. Now he is a bush on a new path. *‘Perhaps I won’t soar through the heavens, but I will live a long quiet life!’* John thinks enthusiastically.   The earth is the only thing in John’s life for the whole winter. Its heartbeat as it moves imperceptibly to human senses can be felt through his roots. It’s a strange sensation being able to wiggle through the earth. To humans and most animals, the ground is a solid object for them to stand on. However, now he can feel the earth shift as his roots move through the soil. He can sense Joe moving in his sleep and the minute changes of worms digging nearby.   As time moves on, John feels himself becoming one with the earth. His roots move with the beat of the planet. Energy flows in and out of him like the tides bringing nutrients to the land. It is far more efficient than his previous method that consumed energy at an incredible rate. John realizes he is still thinking like a human and has much left to learn.   John contemplates his new revelations until he notices a bit of warmth in his limbs. Buds begin to form, making John feel renewed. When John wakes from his hibernation, he sends his senses out to investigate. The world around John is once again green and full of life. Also, the life energy in the air has grown thicker, which has a remarkable effect on the local fauna.   John also notices his senses can reach beyond the hill. To John’s, surprise he can see a few small makeshift huts, around the bottom of the hill. A few recently tilled gardens are scattered around. Even though John could not see so far previously, he is sure that these homes are a new addition.   As Joe relaxes languidly on the hill, he notices a change in the bush. He decides to walk over to the plant that has been ignoring him for quite some time. Joe Snorts, while eyeing John suspiciously.   “Hey, what’s with that attitude right when I wake up?” John complains. “Are you going to take another bite out of me? If you keep it up, I’ll die for real, you know.” John’s rant is cut short as he notices Joe looking at him strangely. “Wait, can you hear me?” John asks while shaking in agitation.   Joe doesn’t know what to do. He feels like he is being tricked as he hears someone's voice in his head. Joe can understand some speech, but as a low-level demonic beast, he still can’t speak. On the outskirts of the unbroken region, Joe reigns supreme. But in the depths of the Unbroken Region, he’d be as lowly as the humans that have recently arrived.   “Bru,” Joe complains, stamping his hoof at the plant in front of him.   “There’s no reason to get so upset, alright!” John panics as a few stomps get dangerously close to him.   Joe angrily grunts at John in disagreement. “It's not my fault you can't speak, alright! But if you accidentally stomp me to death, you can say goodbye to your easy meals," John tries to explain to the red-eyed Demonic Bull.   Down below, a few of the humans notice the commotion and begin to worry that the Demonic Bull will soon go on a rampage. Quickly they decide to try and appease the beast by sending a representative with the herbs they had recently picked. The herbs are part of their plan to entice the bull to be their guardian spirit.   Anna Gulps as she slowly walks up the hill. When Anna volunteered, Arron protested. Yet Anna refused to listen, stating that, “A woman will be less threatening than a man.” She looks at the small herbs with apprehension. They couldn’t find anything too special since they didn't have the strength to enter the forest. "It'll be fine! We have nowhere to go this has to work," Anna encourages herself as she nears the top of the hill.   The two on the hill had long noticed this lass coming up the hill. Both Joe and John are surprised by the bravery of this young lady. However, humans are indeed cunning creatures, so both of them eye her suspiciously.   Anna bows deeply to the demonic beast in front of her with sweat drenching her back. "Please calm your anger, great one," her voice quakes a bit as she glances at the bull. "We bring this small offering in hopes that you will allow us to stay in your blessed land," Anna says. While bowing, she extends her hands with the offering of herbs. *‘Please don’t bite off my hands,*’ Anna prays repeatedly.   Joe has never had subordinates before, so he is happily surprised by the offering. Snorting lightly, he takes the offering and begins to chew.   Taking this as a sign of acceptance, Anna says, "Thank you for your benevolence." With that, she back away, slowly returning the way she came.   "Ha, they want to make you their divine spirit!" John can't help but laugh, "Isn't that great now you won't need me to help you out anymore."   Joe retorts to John's laughter by snorting at him and getting a glint in his eyes.   "Alright, I'm sorry, don't eat me, ok?" John gives in. "Geez, for just being a Joe, you sure are ornery."   The demonic bull looks at him Inquisitively, who is a Joe?   "What you don't even know your own name?" John shakes his head at the ignorance of demonic beasts.   Joe, however, will have no more nonsense. The demonic bull turns away and stomps about throwing a fit. After showing his displeasure, Joe sits down on the other side of the hill. He decides to ignore John for the rest of the day.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2MmM1ZWE2OTY2NDRlMjA5YzgzNDdmZjRkZTc2ZGFk">  A young boy with disheveled hair happily plays in Franklin’s old town. He sometimes dreams of happier days; however, they often turn into nightmares. Franklin’s home town doesn’t only remind him of good days. His dad’s death, the screams, the fire slowly creep in from the darkest corners of his mind.</p> <p class="cnM4YzY0NGJjZjVkMzQyNzM4ZGNiNTA1M2M1MDA2OTQ5">  A spooky voice flows from the shifting shadows, "Franklin! Franklin, do you truly wish to be strong?"</p> <p class="cnNmYmVmMzIxMTI4ZjRmMWU4ZDljZjY0MDQ3MmMyNWE3">  The sudden change in the dream scares the young boy causing him to flee home. As Franklin is about to reach the door, a large bush blocks his path. "Is this all your bold words amount to?" A booming voice asks, shaking Franklin's mind. How can this young boy stand up to John? He has a cultivation of seed coalescing and a hundred years of experience.</p> <p class="cnM2MzU0MjA5YjNiNjQ5OTlhZTJhOWZlNWNmY2M5NzQ1">  Fires envelop the town as Franklin breaks down, shaking and crying in the middle of the street. "MOOMMY!" he screams.</p> <p class="cnM2ODU0OTNkNTgwMzQwMzNhODM2MzA4ZjM1YzQxNDRm">  "The Fires of the past will consume you. Will you let everything fall through your fingers?" asks a voice that comes from every direction.</p> <p class="cnM0YjJmMzRmM2JhZjQ3NDg4YjY1ZmM2MDU1ZmQyMDU0">  "Franklin, hold on," A female voice pierces the scene. A woman coddles the young man as the world becomes hazy and fades away.</p> <p class="cnM1MGZiYTZiZWJhMTRhZjI5NzBkOWJlODc0NjFjNzFl">  John returns to himself with a shake of his leaves. "Well, that could have gone better." Joe, the demonic bull, opens his droopy eyes and snorts at the bush.</p> <p class="cnM0M2UyMjg0N2ZlODRjYjc5NzQ4NzU0MGY3NmJkNzZj">  "What? This was the first attempt he's just scared he'll come around." John says while trying to look sagely by extending his branches, making him look taller. Joe can't be bothered with this nonsense and returns to his sleep.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDNjMTYxMDQ2NDQ0ZjM5OTM3YmQ3YjQxYjY3YjRh">  John had more growth in the short time of spring then he had all the previous year. He is now flush with branches with lush green foliage. "If there were any female bushes around, they'd be all over me." John speculates. He has begun to give off a slight glow as energy flows through him, making him look extra healthy.</p> <p class="cnNjNWI4OGU4NzZiNDRhMmY4ZjU4YTQwOTY3NGY3ZjI0">  Today Franklin is a bit frazzled and doesn't leave the hovel he is staying in. Laurel comes over to see what is wrong but is shooed away by Anna. The day flows by, and soon the sun has set again.</p> <p class="cnNhODFiZWY5ZjQzYjQ4NzM4ZmRjNTc5MzMxZTU4NGY5">  Even though he is scared and doesn't want to sleep, his eyes soon droop. He is a young boy with no cultivation, after all, how long can he manage to stay up? Again he is in his old hometown. He shivers as he prepares for another nightmare.</p> <p class="cnNiNDNjZmU3YjUyZTRkOTM5NDYyMTllY2NkOWM1MjRm">  As the dream solidifies, Franklin jumps back, "Ahh!" almost casting him out of his dream. There is an older man in the center of the town staring right at him. He has deep eyes that look as if they have seen ages gone by.</p> <p class="cnM2YTA4NGJiNWJjMDQyMjVhNzg1OGVkYzhlYTdhZWI4">  "Well, here we are again." The old man snorts. "Are you going to run and cry for your mother again?"</p> <p class="cnNkYzA5NGM3NjM4OTQwMjk4YjE5MjdhMDkxN2UzNTJi">  Franklin trips as he backs away from the old man falling on his bottom. "Who are you?" he asks with a trembling voice.</p> <p class="cnM5MGMwMzc0MDY1NDRjNzE5ZDBlNDMxYTMyYjE1ZGVk">  "Ha, I overheard you bragging to that little lady about how you are going to be strong." John smiles slyly while shaking his head. "Never did I think that the big strong boy would instantly cry for his mommy when I just came for a visit."</p> <p class="cnNkMTNlODIyNWNkMDQ1Zjc4ODJlNGI0MzM3YmQzNThl">  Franklin's eyes nearly bulge out of his head "How did you know?"</p> <p class="cnNkZWM1NWQwZDAwNjQ2MjU5ZmRkMjI5OGYxN2I3YzNh">  John can't hold it in anymore and starts laughing with tears coming out of his eyes.</p> <p class="cnNhN2VlNTcxMDcwNDQzNWI5YTdjODg5OWM3NzVjYWY2">  "What's so funny?" Franklin yells dejectedly.</p> <p class="cnM4NDQyNGFjM2E1NjQyNWFiNTE4MTI1ZDE3Zjk0MDU2">  "It's just I'm in your dream." John wheezes between laughs. "Wouldn't most people just think I was part of the dream? If I'm just in your head, why wouldn't I know who you talked to?"</p> <p class="cnNlNTk3ZmQzOGIzZDQwMWM5MzVhZTVlMjUxZjM4OTJm">  Looking embarrassed, the boy rubs his head. "I guess that makes sense. But you said you came to visit, so I just thought…."</p> <p class="cnNlZGU3NWNkOWQ3ZjQ3NTU4NWE1ODFjM2VmMDQyMTk2">  "That I'm a super-powerful being that came to help you out!?" The old man suddenly stops laughing and flies to the boy in an instance. "That's right. I am such a great personage."</p> <p class="cnM4MDZjZjc3Yzc5MjQ1NTc5ZTZmNDljYjQ2MTdlMTdl">  Franklin swallows heavily, "But didn't you just..."</p> <p class="cnMwYmFkYzEyZDE5MzQwY2Q5NGM5ZGRjYjlhZDEyMTM5">  "Just what?" John asks as he becomes a large head eyeing the boy.</p> <p class="cnNhOTA4ZmY2YzZlYjQ5YjBiNWY2NjkxNGUxZTY0Mzgx">  "No, nothing." Franklin deflates.</p> <p class="cnNhZjJkNTU4ZjY5OTQxOGJiYjQ5YzAzMGM4ZTcxYWQy">  "That's what I thought," John harrumphs with his beard flowing. "I can't help but notice that your swordsmanship is…."</p> <p class="cnMzMTA2MmJkNGFhODQ3M2JhNjkxZWNlZjMxMjE0NmEx">  "Is what?" The young lad asks impatiently.</p> <p class="cnM4OWM5OGZhMGYxYzQwNDY5NmFhZWU5ZmFhNWQzMmEy">  "Complete and utter garbage. Even a bush can beat you up!" With a finger pointing into the air, John looks quite heroic and proud of himself. However, Franklin can’t help but look quizzically at the strange man.</p> <p class="cnNlOGMzZDZhZDQ3OTQ3MDRiMmEyMjNjY2YzODczZTA4">  Looking at the boy's unreserved attitude, John feels incensed. "Bah, what does a kid know anyways. Here I was planning on helping this nobody, but he thinks he already knows everything," he says to no one, in particular, walking away with his hands behind his back.</p> <p class="cnMyZjFkYTRhOWEwNzRhZTZhMDViZThmMjkyYTA1MTMx">  Franklin is dumbstruck at the act of this old man. He is so shameless even as he walks away, trying to look mysterious, John keeps peeking back to see if he will be stopped. "Fine, please teach me your great combat techniques," Franklin gives in. He feels bad for the old man and decides to play along.</p> <p class="cnM4MDZkOWMyMWY5MDQxNjBiNjcxY2Q5NTNiYTFhMGY4">  "Hmph, learn my techniques? Your body can't even handle any technique! Who are you joking." Franklin stumbles as the whole world shakes with the booming voice of the old man.</p> <p class="cnMwZGFkMzYzZjI5ZDRlYzA4YjFiMWE0NDY0OTU3NmZk">  "I'm John, and I've lived for many years before meeting you, and I will live many more after you die." John gives a condescending look to Franklin before continuing, "if you can even gain a fraction of the power I have, what mortal soldier can stand against you?"</p> <p class="cnM0NWE1ZTExODU0YzRjYTc4MDc1OGQ4NTIzOWExODNh">  This statement finally gets Franklin a bit pumped to learn. With shining eyes, he asks, "What do I need to do master?"</p> <p class="cnMzYTMyYTJlNzRkMzRjNjQ4MDM0MjA3MzQxZDRmM2Zh">  A throne appears behind John, which he sits on looking smug. "Ha, I'll help you, but calling me master is a bit much. Here look upon your training menu." With a wave of his hand, the dream becomes that of the cobbled-together village.</p> <p class="cnMwNmM2MmZlNDA4MzRiMmVhMDZmNmE0MjQzNGRmYjJl">  Here Franklin can see himself running and running. How long is he expected to run for, he wonders? After a hundred laps around the hill, the figment of him running stops. Then it shows him lifting all kinds of heavy objects pans, pots, hammers, etc. over and over. "What is this?" Franklin asks in confusion.</p> <p class="cnNiMmI5ZWM4MzJjNTRhOWVhZWIxN2U4YTMzMWNiNTli">  "It's the basics, you lazy kid!" Flames spew out of John’s mouth, and the world brakes apart. "How can someone scrawny like you learn any fighting techniques. Do your best kid, and show me your determination." The resolute voice comes from the void as Franklin is roused from his dreams by the morning light.</p> </div>

A young boy with disheveled hair happily plays in Franklin’s old town. He sometimes dreams of happier days; however, they often turn into nightmares. Franklin’s home town doesn’t only remind him of good days. His dad’s death, the screams, the fire slowly creep in from the darkest corners of his mind.   A spooky voice flows from the shifting shadows, "Franklin! Franklin, do you truly wish to be strong?"   The sudden change in the dream scares the young boy causing him to flee home. As Franklin is about to reach the door, a large bush blocks his path. "Is this all your bold words amount to?" A booming voice asks, shaking Franklin's mind. How can this young boy stand up to John? He has a cultivation of seed coalescing and a hundred years of experience.   Fires envelop the town as Franklin breaks down, shaking and crying in the middle of the street. "MOOMMY!" he screams.   "The Fires of the past will consume you. Will you let everything fall through your fingers?" asks a voice that comes from every direction.   "Franklin, hold on," A female voice pierces the scene. A woman coddles the young man as the world becomes hazy and fades away.   John returns to himself with a shake of his leaves. "Well, that could have gone better." Joe, the demonic bull, opens his droopy eyes and snorts at the bush.   "What? This was the first attempt he's just scared he'll come around." John says while trying to look sagely by extending his branches, making him look taller. Joe can't be bothered with this nonsense and returns to his sleep.   John had more growth in the short time of spring then he had all the previous year. He is now flush with branches with lush green foliage. "If there were any female bushes around, they'd be all over me." John speculates. He has begun to give off a slight glow as energy flows through him, making him look extra healthy.   Today Franklin is a bit frazzled and doesn't leave the hovel he is staying in. Laurel comes over to see what is wrong but is shooed away by Anna. The day flows by, and soon the sun has set again.   Even though he is scared and doesn't want to sleep, his eyes soon droop. He is a young boy with no cultivation, after all, how long can he manage to stay up? Again he is in his old hometown. He shivers as he prepares for another nightmare.   As the dream solidifies, Franklin jumps back, "Ahh!" almost casting him out of his dream. There is an older man in the center of the town staring right at him. He has deep eyes that look as if they have seen ages gone by.   "Well, here we are again." The old man snorts. "Are you going to run and cry for your mother again?"   Franklin trips as he backs away from the old man falling on his bottom. "Who are you?" he asks with a trembling voice.   "Ha, I overheard you bragging to that little lady about how you are going to be strong." John smiles slyly while shaking his head. "Never did I think that the big strong boy would instantly cry for his mommy when I just came for a visit."   Franklin's eyes nearly bulge out of his head "How did you know?"   John can't hold it in anymore and starts laughing with tears coming out of his eyes.   "What's so funny?" Franklin yells dejectedly.   "It's just I'm in your dream." John wheezes between laughs. "Wouldn't most people just think I was part of the dream? If I'm just in your head, why wouldn't I know who you talked to?"   Looking embarrassed, the boy rubs his head. "I guess that makes sense. But you said you came to visit, so I just thought…."   "That I'm a super-powerful being that came to help you out!?" The old man suddenly stops laughing and flies to the boy in an instance. "That's right. I am such a great personage."   Franklin swallows heavily, "But didn't you just..."   "Just what?" John asks as he becomes a large head eyeing the boy.   "No, nothing." Franklin deflates.   "That's what I thought," John harrumphs with his beard flowing. "I can't help but notice that your swordsmanship is…."   "Is what?" The young lad asks impatiently.   "Complete and utter garbage. Even a bush can beat you up!" With a finger pointing into the air, John looks quite heroic and proud of himself. However, Franklin can’t help but look quizzically at the strange man.   Looking at the boy's unreserved attitude, John feels incensed. "Bah, what does a kid know anyways. Here I was planning on helping this nobody, but he thinks he already knows everything," he says to no one, in particular, walking away with his hands behind his back.   Franklin is dumbstruck at the act of this old man. He is so shameless even as he walks away, trying to look mysterious, John keeps peeking back to see if he will be stopped. "Fine, please teach me your great combat techniques," Franklin gives in. He feels bad for the old man and decides to play along.   "Hmph, learn my techniques? Your body can't even handle any technique! Who are you joking." Franklin stumbles as the whole world shakes with the booming voice of the old man.   "I'm John, and I've lived for many years before meeting you, and I will live many more after you die." John gives a condescending look to Franklin before continuing, "if you can even gain a fraction of the power I have, what mortal soldier can stand against you?"   This statement finally gets Franklin a bit pumped to learn. With shining eyes, he asks, "What do I need to do master?"   A throne appears behind John, which he sits on looking smug. "Ha, I'll help you, but calling me master is a bit much. Here look upon your training menu." With a wave of his hand, the dream becomes that of the cobbled-together village.   Here Franklin can see himself running and running. How long is he expected to run for, he wonders? After a hundred laps around the hill, the figment of him running stops. Then it shows him lifting all kinds of heavy objects pans, pots, hammers, etc. over and over. "What is this?" Franklin asks in confusion.   "It's the basics, you lazy kid!" Flames spew out of John’s mouth, and the world brakes apart. "How can someone scrawny like you learn any fighting techniques. Do your best kid, and show me your determination." The resolute voice comes from the void as Franklin is roused from his dreams by the morning light.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div>  Anna's whole body is shaking as if it is on the verge of shattering. Her mind nearly goes blank from the pain. She isn't a cultivator, so suddenly having foundation energy flow through her is devastating. Blood trickles from her mouth and nose. Her arm is broken, and her leg muscles torn. She can't stand anymore, falling to her knees, covering her son.<br><br></div> <div>  "Mommy!" Franklin hugs his mom, making her wince. Anna smiles through the pain at her son as she gently hugs him with her only working limb.<br><br><em>  ’Perhaps this is fate,’</em> Anna thinks as she hears the angry demonic beasts all around. However, at this moment, the area surges with suppressive force. Joe finally arrives. Even when Joe unhurriedly moves to the villagers, he is a blur.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe smashes into a fox demonic beast with surprising agility considering his large size. His hooves smash four foxes before they even know what is happening. Their internal organs turn to mush as they become part of the ground. Another two are blown away by Joe's large gut flying towards the sun.<br><br></div> <div>  The foxes' morale is annihilated, and they flee in all directions. The situation changes so fast that everyone feels whiplash. Joe just snorts as Arron arrives with a shocked expression he looks on in awe at the aftermath of this demonic bull’s rampage.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin’s eyes soon fill with worry as he spots Anna. "Anna!" he runs over as more villagers arrive, including Mellisa.<br><br>  Mellisa sprints over and scoops up her daughter, who has yet to recover from her fright. Laurel grips her mother’s back and can't stop crying, soaking Melisa's dress with snot and tears. "Mom, mom, I'm sorry!" She wails between sobs.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe sees that he is no longer needed lumbers slowly back to the hill as he goes past the villagers. They give him a wide birth. Joe yawns as he ignores the weak ants.<br><br></div> <div>  "This isn't good," Arron says, inspecting Anna's broken body.<br><br></div> <div>  Gregory comes over and frowns as he sees the young mother's torn body. "There's nothing we can do here. Let's take her and the kids to safety first," He advises shaking his head.<br><br></div> <div>  Arron and Gregory carry Anna in their arms. Anna has already passed out, sparing her more pain. Once she is laid down in the village, Gregory takes a closer look. He is not a doctor, so he can’t think of anything they can do to aid her.<br><br></div> <div>  He pulls Arron aside, leaving the crying boy to watch over his mom. "I doubt she will live much longer," he sighs with a frown.<br><br></div> <div>  "Is there nothing we can do?" Arron laments.<br><br></div> <div>  "I think even if we had a doctor at best, she'd be extremely crippled. What can mortals like us do for such wounds?" Gregory diagnoses.<br><br></div> <div>  "Perhaps the great demonic bull can help?" Arron ponders.<br><br></div> <div>  "You're grasping at straws. We are already lucky he intervened as he did." Gregory replies, glancing at the hill. "Hell, he already does enough to let us live here… Why would you think a bull would know how to heal?" Gregory reasons with the broken-hearted man.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin can see the pity in the eyes of the adults. Yet all he can do is cry and hate himself. He grasps his mother's good hand tightly, hoping for a miracle.<br><br>  "Come, let's move her inside so she can rest," Gregory says while patting the boy on the shoulder.<br><br></div> <div>  The men bring her into their small hovel, laying her on a few furs and hay. "I'll stay here with you tonight," Arron tells Franklin covering his despair. Franklin eventually cries himself to sleep while Arron watches Anna trying to keep her as comfortable as he can.<br></div> <div>  "Well, aren't you down in the dumps?" John says, floating around in Franklin's dream.<br><br></div> <div>  "Go away!" Franklin screams, "It's all your fault."<br><br></div> <div>  Raising his eyebrow in surprise, John smiles at the boy. "Oh, blaming me? That's fine. Yes, I quite clearly remember telling you to take a girl on a date in the forest. Yes, that was part two of your training," he teases the boy.<br><br></div> <div>  The young boy looks at the old man with burning eyes. "If it wasn't for your stupid training..." But Franklin can't continue. He is only mad at the jovial nature of the old man. After faltering, Franklin again looks at the old man. "Is there any hope for my mother?" he mumbles.<br><br>  "Hmm, your mother, is it?" John asks as he begins to pace in the sky. He rubs his chin and continues, "indeed, I believe she over stressed her body with her bloodline technique. Still, hope isn't completely lost. Though there is little hope in this abode, you have here."<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin swallows hard as he processes what his teacher said. "What! Is there truly a way to help?"<br><br></div> <div>  "I won't say for certain that she can fully recover. Yet, death, I do believe, can be turned away at least." A pondering old man responds while he looks into the distance as if trying to see the future. Shaking his head, he becomes absent-minded.<br><br>  After a few minutes of silence, Franklin is unable to hold it in any more. Looking at the old man that seems to have forgotten that he is in the middle of an important conversation. "Well, what can I do to save my mom!?" Franklin implores the old man.<br><br></div> <div>  "Oh, yes, that. Sorry kid I was just a bit distracted," John says, shaking his head to shake his thoughts away. He proceeds to recreate the town in the dreamscape. "Just bring her to the top of the hill. It's quite easy. But I wouldn't rely on this too often, you understand?"<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin's eyes flitter back and forth. He can't understand. "Will the demonic bull save her?" Franklin questions.<br><br></div> <div>  John harrumphs and waves his hands as he rants, "what does a stupid animal that can't even speak, know of healing? You're quite dumb, aren't you?" Finally, he looks at the boy with pity as if to say you are as dumb as a rock.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin looks at his hands. He is completely lost. "Then why will the hill heal my mother?" Franklin continues to question.<br><br></div> <div>  "Use your brain damn it! Do you think a powerful beast sits on a hill all day for fun? Do you truly think that it's normal for weeds and plants to grow so quickly? Clearly, there is something else to the hill. Anyone with eyes can see that," John explains. He rubs his forehead as if Franklin has given him a headache.<br><br></div> <div>  The boy's eyes gleam with understanding and shock that they hadn't considered this before. <em>‘Perhaps the adults had contemplated it without us kids,’</em> Franklin wonders. He doesn't know what miraculous treasure lies there, but if it can help his mom, that is all that matters.<br><br></div> <div>  "Alright, I'm off," Franklin states as the dream fades away.<br><br></div> <div>  "Sure, boy, have fun," The old man laughs. The laughter shakes the dream world, shattering it waking Franklin up with a jolt.</div> </div>

Anna's whole body is shaking as if it is on the verge of shattering. Her mind nearly goes blank from the pain. She isn't a cultivator, so suddenly having foundation energy flow through her is devastating. Blood trickles from her mouth and nose. Her arm is broken, and her leg muscles torn. She can't stand anymore, falling to her knees, covering her son.   "Mommy!" Franklin hugs his mom, making her wince. Anna smiles through the pain at her son as she gently hugs him with her only working limb. *’Perhaps this is fate,’* Anna thinks as she hears the angry demonic beasts all around. However, at this moment, the area surges with suppressive force. Joe finally arrives. Even when Joe unhurriedly moves to the villagers, he is a blur.   Joe smashes into a fox demonic beast with surprising agility considering his large size. His hooves smash four foxes before they even know what is happening. Their internal organs turn to mush as they become part of the ground. Another two are blown away by Joe's large gut flying towards the sun.   The foxes' morale is annihilated, and they flee in all directions. The situation changes so fast that everyone feels whiplash. Joe just snorts as Arron arrives with a shocked expression he looks on in awe at the aftermath of this demonic bull’s rampage.   Franklin’s eyes soon fill with worry as he spots Anna. "Anna!" he runs over as more villagers arrive, including Mellisa.   Mellisa sprints over and scoops up her daughter, who has yet to recover from her fright. Laurel grips her mother’s back and can't stop crying, soaking Melisa's dress with snot and tears. "Mom, mom, I'm sorry!" She wails between sobs.   Joe sees that he is no longer needed lumbers slowly back to the hill as he goes past the villagers. They give him a wide birth. Joe yawns as he ignores the weak ants.   "This isn't good," Arron says, inspecting Anna's broken body.   Gregory comes over and frowns as he sees the young mother's torn body. "There's nothing we can do here. Let's take her and the kids to safety first," He advises shaking his head.   Arron and Gregory carry Anna in their arms. Anna has already passed out, sparing her more pain. Once she is laid down in the village, Gregory takes a closer look. He is not a doctor, so he can’t think of anything they can do to aid her.   He pulls Arron aside, leaving the crying boy to watch over his mom. "I doubt she will live much longer," he sighs with a frown.   "Is there nothing we can do?" Arron laments.   "I think even if we had a doctor at best, she'd be extremely crippled. What can mortals like us do for such wounds?" Gregory diagnoses.   "Perhaps the great demonic bull can help?" Arron ponders.   "You're grasping at straws. We are already lucky he intervened as he did." Gregory replies, glancing at the hill. "Hell, he already does enough to let us live here… Why would you think a bull would know how to heal?" Gregory reasons with the broken-hearted man.   Franklin can see the pity in the eyes of the adults. Yet all he can do is cry and hate himself. He grasps his mother's good hand tightly, hoping for a miracle.   "Come, let's move her inside so she can rest," Gregory says while patting the boy on the shoulder.   The men bring her into their small hovel, laying her on a few furs and hay. "I'll stay here with you tonight," Arron tells Franklin covering his despair. Franklin eventually cries himself to sleep while Arron watches Anna trying to keep her as comfortable as he can.   "Well, aren't you down in the dumps?" John says, floating around in Franklin's dream.   "Go away!" Franklin screams, "It's all your fault."   Raising his eyebrow in surprise, John smiles at the boy. "Oh, blaming me? That's fine. Yes, I quite clearly remember telling you to take a girl on a date in the forest. Yes, that was part two of your training," he teases the boy.   The young boy looks at the old man with burning eyes. "If it wasn't for your stupid training..." But Franklin can't continue. He is only mad at the jovial nature of the old man. After faltering, Franklin again looks at the old man. "Is there any hope for my mother?" he mumbles.   "Hmm, your mother, is it?" John asks as he begins to pace in the sky. He rubs his chin and continues, "indeed, I believe she over stressed her body with her bloodline technique. Still, hope isn't completely lost. Though there is little hope in this abode, you have here."   Franklin swallows hard as he processes what his teacher said. "What! Is there truly a way to help?"   "I won't say for certain that she can fully recover. Yet, death, I do believe, can be turned away at least." A pondering old man responds while he looks into the distance as if trying to see the future. Shaking his head, he becomes absent-minded.   After a few minutes of silence, Franklin is unable to hold it in any more. Looking at the old man that seems to have forgotten that he is in the middle of an important conversation. "Well, what can I do to save my mom!?" Franklin implores the old man.   "Oh, yes, that. Sorry kid I was just a bit distracted," John says, shaking his head to shake his thoughts away. He proceeds to recreate the town in the dreamscape. "Just bring her to the top of the hill. It's quite easy. But I wouldn't rely on this too often, you understand?"   Franklin's eyes flitter back and forth. He can't understand. "Will the demonic bull save her?" Franklin questions.   John harrumphs and waves his hands as he rants, "what does a stupid animal that can't even speak, know of healing? You're quite dumb, aren't you?" Finally, he looks at the boy with pity as if to say you are as dumb as a rock.   Franklin looks at his hands. He is completely lost. "Then why will the hill heal my mother?" Franklin continues to question.   "Use your brain damn it! Do you think a powerful beast sits on a hill all day for fun? Do you truly think that it's normal for weeds and plants to grow so quickly? Clearly, there is something else to the hill. Anyone with eyes can see that," John explains. He rubs his forehead as if Franklin has given him a headache.   The boy's eyes gleam with understanding and shock that they hadn't considered this before. *‘Perhaps the adults had contemplated it without us kids,’* Franklin wonders. He doesn't know what miraculous treasure lies there, but if it can help his mom, that is all that matters.   "Alright, I'm off," Franklin states as the dream fades away.   "Sure, boy, have fun," The old man laughs. The laughter shakes the dream world, shattering it waking Franklin up with a jolt.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div>  Franklin jumps out of bed and rushes towards his mother. He grabs her good hand and squeezes it. "Let's go, mom. I know how to save you!" He exclaims.<br><br></div> <div>  "What's going on?" A dozing Arron mumbles. His eyes blink open to see Franklin trying to lift Anna. "What are you doing!" He hollers, grabbing the boy's arm and yanking him away.<br><br></div> <div>  "Let go! I'm taking her up the hill," the boy retaliates while trying to throw off Arron's grip.<br><br></div> <div>  Sighing, Arron grabs the boy’s shoulders and kneels in front of the devastated child. "Listen, your mom doesn't have much time left." His stern eyes directly look into Franklin's eyes. "We should try to keep her comfortable, not drag her around. Okay?" Arron explains.<br><br></div> <div>  "No, you're wrong!" Franklin retorts while shaking his head. With tears in his eyes, he doesn't know how to explain himself. If he says, a man in his dream told him no one will believe him. "If f, if, mom isn't going to live… Then we should take a chance," He says, stumbling through his words.<br><br></div> <div>  "Look, I had the same thought too. However, a bull won't know about healing," Arron says in resignation. "We may even anger the beast leading to more suffering."<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin grips Arron’s hands as he looks into the man's eyes, "Please."<br><br></div> <div>  Around noon the men carry a wounded woman away from the shacks of the newly found village. Arron made a makeshift stretcher out of wood to help take Anna up the hill. Trepidation fills their eyes as they climb the hill. They fear the demonic beast, but they’ve already lost too many.<br><br></div> <div>  On the hill, Joe is chowing down as usual. He is enjoying the day. Joe showed off quite well, so he is expecting to get a lot of extra good food soon. When he sees the men coming up, he is excited his small tail swings back and forth.<br><br></div> <div>  When Joe sees that it is the lady who was hurt being brought up the hill, his jaw drops, what are these people thinking? He's a bull. Clearly, he eats plants. Just because he's a demonic beast, they think he wants to eat a human? Gagging a bit, Joe glances at the bush in a panic.<br><br></div> <div>  Laughing, John says, "Don't worry. I told the boy to bring the lady here so I can heal her." John shakes his branches in a fun way before continuing, "Although if you'd like to partake, I won't stop you."<br><br></div> <div>  "Snort," Joe is horrified by the thought. How disgusting must it be to eat meat? He no longer has an appetite for the first time in his life. Annoyed, he gives off a strong aura, which makes the men's knees shake in fear as they near.<br><br></div> <div>  The men aren't quite sure what to do now that they reached the top of the hill. Hesitation fills their eyes until Gregory clears his throat. "It's fine lads, let put her down."<br><br></div> <div>  Arron stays close as if to guard Anna while the others step away. Though if the demonic bull goes berserk, there is nothing they can do. He still feels more assured, staying close to Anna.<br><br></div> <div>  Gregory bows politely as he addresses their guardian spirit, "sorry for disturbing you great one."<br><br></div> <div>  Joe's eyebrows perk up, <em>‘this guy is way better than the stupid bush.’<br></em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>  "Even though you already helped us out," Gregory says while swallowing as he tries to find the correct words. "We are too weak and easily broken. This young lady is on death's door from trying to save her child," as he finishes explaining Gregory gets down on his knees and kowtows, he waves for the others to follow suit. "We beg you to save her guardian spirit."<br></div> <div>  The others follow Gregory's lead also kowtow with a, "We beg you."<br><br></div> <div>  Joe sighs and glances at the bush.<br><br></div> <div>  "Alright, she's here send them off, would you?" John asks while shaking a branch as if shooing them away.<br><br></div> <div>  The demonic bull can only roll his eyes in contempt. Yet, how long will these weaklings sit here if he does nothing? "Roar." His power soars, and the people here find it hard to breathe as demonic energy surrounds them. Before they can even understand what is going on, they are flung by an unseen force down the hill.<br><br></div> <div>  "Anna!" Franklin tries to grab her as he is flung back, but it is too late. He tumbles down the hill with the rest of them.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe glances at the plant as if to say see they fell down the hill too.<br><br></div> <div>  "Ha, fine, if you want to compare them to you, go ahead." John laughs, fluttering his leaves. Joe frowns but chooses to ignore the plant and take a nap.<br><br></div> <div>  Down below, the villagers are panicking running to and fro preparing to flee. However, after a few hours without a rampage, they begin to calm down. Arron attempts to climb back up a few times only to be sent back down.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin tries to go back to sleep to see if he can get help, but his fear keeps him awake. He worries that he let his imagination run wild and doomed his mother. Sweat covers his body as he can only stare at the hill.<br><br></div> <div>  "Alright, let's see what I can do," the bush ponders while examining the woman with his energy. He never had any medical training, so resetting bones is impossible.<br><br></div> <div>  However, he does have a fair amount of control over energy. All cultivators can use energy to stimulate the life of themselves and others, improving the bodies natural healing. Natural healing uses a great deal of a person's life force. So an injured person may lose their life before the healing is complete. Simply put, this technique replaces life force with an external source.<br><br></div> <div>  In fact, John heard that a truly powerful chosen of heaven is nearly unkillable. As long as the brain remains, they will just regenerate a new body. Above that, there were even rumors of those that no longer had any connection to the flesh. Though that is a stage, he can't even imagine.<br><br></div> <div>  Anna's eyes open with a jolt as the daylight fades away. The pain has significantly lessened and She no longer feels weak. <em>‘What happened? Where am I?’ </em>Anna wonders.<br><br>  Looking around, Anna sees a bull eating lazily next to a small bush. She then looks down to see the small shacks below. "I'm on the hill?" She asks no one in particular.<br><br></div> <div>  Anna moves her right arm, causing her to wince in pain. The bones are not set correctly, so it is painful to use. <em>‘It’s intact!’</em> Anna exclaims internally. <em>‘Normally, such an injury would be amputated,’</em> she thinks as she sighs with admiration.<br><br></div> <div>  "I don't know who helped me," she says bowing deeply towards the bull and bush before continuing. "Thank you." She waits a bit to see if anyone will answer. However, all she hears is the chewing of Joe and the ruffling of leaves.<br><br>  Seeing no one will see her off, she turns to leave, saying, "If there is nothing else. I'll return home."</div> </div>

Franklin jumps out of bed and rushes towards his mother. He grabs her good hand and squeezes it. "Let's go, mom. I know how to save you!" He exclaims.   "What's going on?" A dozing Arron mumbles. His eyes blink open to see Franklin trying to lift Anna. "What are you doing!" He hollers, grabbing the boy's arm and yanking him away.   "Let go! I'm taking her up the hill," the boy retaliates while trying to throw off Arron's grip.   Sighing, Arron grabs the boy’s shoulders and kneels in front of the devastated child. "Listen, your mom doesn't have much time left." His stern eyes directly look into Franklin's eyes. "We should try to keep her comfortable, not drag her around. Okay?" Arron explains.   "No, you're wrong!" Franklin retorts while shaking his head. With tears in his eyes, he doesn't know how to explain himself. If he says, a man in his dream told him no one will believe him. "If f, if, mom isn't going to live… Then we should take a chance," He says, stumbling through his words.   "Look, I had the same thought too. However, a bull won't know about healing," Arron says in resignation. "We may even anger the beast leading to more suffering."   Franklin grips Arron’s hands as he looks into the man's eyes, "Please."   Around noon the men carry a wounded woman away from the shacks of the newly found village. Arron made a makeshift stretcher out of wood to help take Anna up the hill. Trepidation fills their eyes as they climb the hill. They fear the demonic beast, but they’ve already lost too many.   On the hill, Joe is chowing down as usual. He is enjoying the day. Joe showed off quite well, so he is expecting to get a lot of extra good food soon. When he sees the men coming up, he is excited his small tail swings back and forth.   When Joe sees that it is the lady who was hurt being brought up the hill, his jaw drops, what are these people thinking? He's a bull. Clearly, he eats plants. Just because he's a demonic beast, they think he wants to eat a human? Gagging a bit, Joe glances at the bush in a panic.   Laughing, John says, "Don't worry. I told the boy to bring the lady here so I can heal her." John shakes his branches in a fun way before continuing, "Although if you'd like to partake, I won't stop you."   "Snort," Joe is horrified by the thought. How disgusting must it be to eat meat? He no longer has an appetite for the first time in his life. Annoyed, he gives off a strong aura, which makes the men's knees shake in fear as they near.   The men aren't quite sure what to do now that they reached the top of the hill. Hesitation fills their eyes until Gregory clears his throat. "It's fine lads, let put her down."   Arron stays close as if to guard Anna while the others step away. Though if the demonic bull goes berserk, there is nothing they can do. He still feels more assured, staying close to Anna.   Gregory bows politely as he addresses their guardian spirit, "sorry for disturbing you great one."   Joe's eyebrows perk up, *‘this guy is way better than the stupid bush.’*     "Even though you already helped us out," Gregory says while swallowing as he tries to find the correct words. "We are too weak and easily broken. This young lady is on death's door from trying to save her child," as he finishes explaining Gregory gets down on his knees and kowtows, he waves for the others to follow suit. "We beg you to save her guardian spirit."   The others follow Gregory's lead also kowtow with a, "We beg you."   Joe sighs and glances at the bush.   "Alright, she's here send them off, would you?" John asks while shaking a branch as if shooing them away.   The demonic bull can only roll his eyes in contempt. Yet, how long will these weaklings sit here if he does nothing? "Roar." His power soars, and the people here find it hard to breathe as demonic energy surrounds them. Before they can even understand what is going on, they are flung by an unseen force down the hill.   "Anna!" Franklin tries to grab her as he is flung back, but it is too late. He tumbles down the hill with the rest of them.   Joe glances at the plant as if to say see they fell down the hill too.   "Ha, fine, if you want to compare them to you, go ahead." John laughs, fluttering his leaves. Joe frowns but chooses to ignore the plant and take a nap.   Down below, the villagers are panicking running to and fro preparing to flee. However, after a few hours without a rampage, they begin to calm down. Arron attempts to climb back up a few times only to be sent back down.   Franklin tries to go back to sleep to see if he can get help, but his fear keeps him awake. He worries that he let his imagination run wild and doomed his mother. Sweat covers his body as he can only stare at the hill.   "Alright, let's see what I can do," the bush ponders while examining the woman with his energy. He never had any medical training, so resetting bones is impossible.   However, he does have a fair amount of control over energy. All cultivators can use energy to stimulate the life of themselves and others, improving the bodies natural healing. Natural healing uses a great deal of a person's life force. So an injured person may lose their life before the healing is complete. Simply put, this technique replaces life force with an external source.   In fact, John heard that a truly powerful chosen of heaven is nearly unkillable. As long as the brain remains, they will just regenerate a new body. Above that, there were even rumors of those that no longer had any connection to the flesh. Though that is a stage, he can't even imagine.   Anna's eyes open with a jolt as the daylight fades away. The pain has significantly lessened and She no longer feels weak. *‘What happened? Where am I?’* Anna wonders.   Looking around, Anna sees a bull eating lazily next to a small bush. She then looks down to see the small shacks below. "I'm on the hill?" She asks no one in particular.   Anna moves her right arm, causing her to wince in pain. The bones are not set correctly, so it is painful to use. *‘It’s intact!’* Anna exclaims internally. *‘Normally, such an injury would be amputated,’* she thinks as she sighs with admiration.   "I don't know who helped me," she says bowing deeply towards the bull and bush before continuing. "Thank you." She waits a bit to see if anyone will answer. However, all she hears is the chewing of Joe and the ruffling of leaves.   Seeing no one will see her off, she turns to leave, saying, "If there is nothing else. I'll return home."

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNjOTIwYzQxYjM4YjRlNzliNmFjOTQwOTEyODMzYTVh">Bacco was a dog. Literally. Or figuratively? Alyssa honestly wasn’t sure which. According to Irulon, what she saw was her interpretation of someone’s soul. So it must be figurative. His dog soul that that floated behind him like some dead pet wasn’t a particularly healthy dog. More of a mangy mutt with fairly ragged fur. But at least it looked well fed.</p> <p class="cnMyYjAxMmYzNzc3ODRkMWViMDE1NDVmODJmMDQzNjkx">Cid, on the other hand, had a rat sitting on his shoulder. A rat with beady green eyes, a crooked tail, and teeth just as nasty as his real ones. It was so scrawny that its tiny ribs stuck out. His soul really didn’t paint a good picture of the man it belonged to.</p> <p class="cnNmYWY5YWEyMjg0ZTQwYjBhMTQ5OGM3ZjkxYWI3Nzk4">Still, it was better than the worm she had passed on the way back to the inn.</p> <p class="cnNkOTI1MWEwYTNkNjRkMWE5Y2FlNDIwZDg4MTE2OGNl">Everyone had some kind of animal associated with them. Cats, dogs, snakes, birds… the innkeeper had a bear half stuck in the wall behind him. No one had anything quite so fantastical as Irulon’s dragon, but Alyssa at least had some reassurance that the princess wasn’t literally a dragon hiding in human skin. There was still something off about her with her eyes and the way she acted. Hopefully nothing that would come back to bite Alyssa. If she didn’t need magic to accomplish her goals, she probably would have disappeared into the city and avoided the princess at all costs.</p> <p class="cnM2NGQzMGEzZjVhMjQ2NDk5NjQ2NmEwMzM5MGUzYTgy">“Ah, look who is back!” Cid said with his disgusting smile.</p> <p class="cnNmNTg0NTJiYjEyMjRjZDVhMzIxYTg0NmFhNjAwNGYx">Alyssa didn’t bother responding. She slumped down into the seat opposite from the two thieves, shrugging off her pack onto the floor. The entire way back, she had had this feeling that she was being followed. It had to have just been paranoia. She hadn’t been able to spot anyone either with her normal eyes or with the soul vision. Of course, the soul vision hadn’t helped her paranoia. Irulon mentioning punishments for using it had made her worried that someone would notice that she had it on. Checking herself with her phone’s front-facing camera didn’t show off any sign that she was using the spell—her eyes looked perfectly normal—but her phone also didn’t show people’s souls, so it might just not be capable of capturing supernatural effects. No one had said anything to her or had even looked at her funny, as far as she could tell. Still, she was hoping that it would wear off soon.</p> <p class="cnM3MDc0ZDZlMWU3MzRlM2JhMWRmOTI3YjA2YmFiODcz">“Something wrong?” Bacco asked with a small frown.</p> <p class="cnNmY2UzYzFmYjdmZjQzNzk4YjE5MzYyZGNhODZlMTdk">“Met with Irulon. She is… quite intense.”</p> <p class="cnM0MDE4Mjg2N2E4YzQ0ODc5OWE4NTY5M2M3ZTZmNmI0">“Irulon?” Cid said, leaning forward. “<span style="font-style: italic">The</span> Irulon? She always wanders around with such fanciful adornments and no guards! You didn’t happen to borrow any, did you?”</p> <p class="cnMxMGFjMWQyMmQ2NzRlMTk5MmY2YzlhZWQxNjhlMTU3">“I didn’t steal from the Pharaoh’s daughter, if that is what you’re asking.”</p> <p class="cnNhMTMxZjdjZDViNjQwMjhiN2JiNDA5MmZiMThkZGIw">“Shame. A single gemstone from her collection would make that cloak you have look like a rotten rag in comparison. Speaking of…”</p> <p class="cnM3YjhjODg1ODZkNzRhNTM4OGU2NDY4MzIzMjA2NGM5">“Yes, yes. I have it,” Alyssa said with a sigh. She reached for her bag, only to have Cid lurch forward and grab her wrist.</p> <p class="cnMwODg5ZmFkNTEzYzRjMTk5OTQ3MmY5YjA5NWZlZTEx">“Not here,” he hissed, glancing around the room. “Unless you want to get lynched by every cutthroat and scoundrel who sees.”</p> <p class="cnM5NDY1ZWMwOTUyMzQ1YjdiNzc3ZWQxMDZiMzgzYmVm">This inn was on the shadier side. But to call the other patrons cutthroats seemed in poor taste. One of the burly men at the other table even had a bunny for his soul. Unless that was the Rabbit of Caerbannog. Alyssa frowned as she stared at him. Was that blood around the bunny’s mouth? Maybe she should be a little more careful of the people around the inn. They weren’t of the good sorts. She didn’t need soul vision to tell her that. That said, she hadn’t been about to pull out the cloak in public, she had been planning on heading back to her room first.</p> <p class="cnM0N2QyMjg4OTNjZjRjY2RiZDQ0MDA0YTZiY2FiYmRk">Outwardly, Alyssa narrowed her eyes at his hand. She had an image to maintain, especially in front of Bacco—Cid didn’t seem to buy into her scariness quite so much. “Not concerned about them,” she said. “But if you insist.”</p> <p class="cnM2MjAxZGJkMGIzMTQzMzI4OTYyMjk4MmZhYzM5OWY5">“I do insist, thank you very much.” He pulled back his hand, giving Bacco a look. One of those ‘is this person serious?’ type of looks. “Anyway. I was going to say that we’re meeting with a potential buyer this afternoon.”</p> <p class="cnMyOGY0NTkzNDIyZjRiMGNiMWI3YzVmYTNlMGU0MzUx">“You aren’t including me in this ‘we’ are you?”</p> <p class="cnM4N2MwOWM3YTA4YTQyZjhhNjk1MWE3Zjg0YWYyMmQy">“Arranging a buyer for such a… <span style="font-style: italic">hot</span> item wasn’t easy. Best if it changes as few hands as possible.”</p> <p class="cnMwNzk4Zjk2NjM1MjQyNWE5MDQwYTc1MjIyMmY3ZjI0">“This was not our agreement.”</p> <p class="cnNjOWJjMmVmOWYxMjQ3YmE4MDBkMGZmYjNlMDA4MDI2">“We didn’t have an agreement other than you saying that you would give it to us. Besides, you have such a handy carrying case! Where would I put it to carry it across the city?”</p> <p class="cnM1YjBkZjYzOTIyODQ0YzhhZjZkZmZhMWNiMDkwZmE4">He did have a point there. His clothing was well suited for the hot days, open and loose. The relatively bulky cloak wouldn’t fit in his pants and his shirt was still the same vest he had on before. Bacco, being the same, wouldn’t have an easy time concealing it either. Did no one change clothing on a day-to-day basis in medieval times?</p> <p class="cnM3ZGExZjIyMTkyOTQ2NjU4YTg3OGRkMzg2MTU1NmY1">Still, while she could see his point, how hard would it be to get a box to put it in or a blanket to wrap it in? Besides that, the way the little rat over his shoulder started rubbing its grubby little paws together activated the warning alarms in her head. None of the other souls moved all that much except to follow their owner. So the fact that his was acting like a greedy little miser didn’t sit well for her.</p> <p class="cnM1YzgxMWYzZGM0NTQ3Y2Q5ZDgzOGE1MWEwNzI5N2Yz">“I have half a mind to keep the cloak and cut ties with you.” Bacco had been useful, but she couldn’t afford to not be pragmatic with her acquaintances in this strange world. At the moment, the princess was looking far more valuable than the pair of thieves. Strange and maybe unnatural, yes. Useful? Definitely.</p> <p class="cnMzNzMxODZkY2U4YTQ4NjQ5NmM3YTY5YWExYmYwNzc0">“Now, don’t be like that. We’ve been good to you, haven’t we? Got you a room here for cheap. Bacco showed you around town. You’re going to take all that without paying us back for our kindness?”</p> <p class="cnM1MDE3NTA3NTMyNTRjMTBiNzM5NzFkNjIyNWZkMjQw">“It was no trouble at all,” Bacco said in a mumbling voice, ducking his head. “We could just—” He cut himself off with a wince as something heavy thumped under the table. “I mean, it isn’t very proper to run off without repaying us.” There wasn’t a shred of conviction in his voice. The more she interacted with him, the more she wondered if he would have even gotten into criminal activity if it wasn’t for Cid’s influence. Either that or his natural vicious personality was completely suppressed by his fear of her.</p> <p class="cnNiMmZmNGQ3Y2EzYzRkNzg4ZWU0NmFkZWEzZDljZDRm">How troublesome. She should have just not come back at all. Surely someone in this city was looking for a new employee. It didn’t matter if she had to do manual labor or more academically inclined work. Just as long as she got away from the criminals. But too late now. At this point, backing out would likely result in a fight. As long as no one used magic, she didn’t intend to lose any fights. She had three distinct advantages. One at her hip, one under her arm, and one slung over her shoulder. Technically she had a fourth, but the revolver in her backpack would be cumbersome to get to on short notice. But avoiding a fight altogether would be for the best. She didn’t <span style="font-style: italic">want</span> to hurt anyone if possible. Not even a rat.</p> <p class="cnM0MTAyZmVlM2Q3OTQxMTNhMjQ2N2Y1YzgzNzgxNTZh">“Fine.” Alyssa immediately regretted saying anything that Cid found pleasing. It made him smile. Just looking at his teeth made her nauseous. “But if this buyer of yours doesn’t take it today, no one will. This is your one chance.”</p> <p class="cnNmOTU2NjFkYzU5MTQ5MDlhZDQ1NWMwOGVlYjA2MDE5">“And this one chance is all we’ll need. I promise you that. I know Svotty. He won’t turn down such appealing merchandise.”</p> <p class="cnNmYzc3YzgwYzZiMzQ3NDI5MWY1ZDFiYzNlZDQ0YmYw">Alyssa grabbed her pack and slipped into its straps, making sure to free her shotgun beforehand. Ignoring Bacco tensing, she looked to Cid. “I have things I need to do today still. We go now.”</p> <p class="cnNmNTU4YjQyN2M5MDQwM2I4YTg3ZGU0N2EwMTliMzk0">“Now? But—”</p> <p class="cnMzNDUwMmFlYzExNzQwNzVhZmFiNTRmYmE2ZDFjMThi">“This is nonnegotiable. I came to the city for my own purposes and have exceedingly little care for your desires.” And, if this was some sort of ambush, going early would likely ruin everyone’s plans. “If you cannot rearrange your meeting with this Svotty, we’ll find a place to hide the cloak nearby. Bacco can stay and guard it to ensure that no one takes it before your scheduled meeting time.”</p> <p class="cnNiYjQ1OTc3YTZkNzRhOGJhYjZhMzkzMWRhY2EwZGUy">Cid pressed his lips into a thin line. His rat ceased its hand motions to simply glare with its green eyes. “Alright. Svotty won’t like—”</p> <p class="cnMyNmMwYzQ1MGVjYTQzZmZhMjc0NGQ2MjVhZDU0NDM5">“Don’t care.”</p> <p class="cnNiZTkwMDg3NzA5MTRmNjM4NDM3MWM1MDU1NWY4ZjU5">Bacco shook his head ever so slightly when Cid glanced in his direction. That shake turned to a slight slump as Cid stood up.</p> <p class="cnMwMzE4YzM3ODg1NTQxOWVhYmE2ODExZmZmYWRjMjAy">“Are you sure you wouldn’t care for something to eat first?”</p> <p class="cnMwYjNjYzIwNGQwNTQ0YWRhOGJmYTc2YmI4ZjA1NTRk">“Not hungry,” Alyssa lied. She hadn’t had anything to eat but her unfinished porridge earlier in the morning. Since then, she had walked all over town and spent at least two hours in the library. It was closer to dinner time now than lunch, if barely, not that she had really had lunch as of late. Over the past two weeks, she had only eaten when she stopped walking. At most, she had nibbled on some of the stale bread while moving. Her modern granola bars were still being preserved for an actual emergency.</p> <p class="cnNhOGNjYjBmZjI0MTRhZjFiNmZjOWU3NzU2NmE2YTUx">“Very well, follow us, I suppose.” He had to nudge Bacco before they both started moving. “It isn’t too far away from here.”</p> <p class="cnNjMGVlNzMxNjk4MjQ4YTJiZGUwMjY5NmZhZTQ1YmQz">“No need to act so dejected, Cid. If what you told me is true, you’ll be rich by the end of the night.”</p> <p class="cnNmOTk0ODcwNGY5ZTQ1ZGJhNDBlZmQ4MjdmZDc2NTkx">“That is what I’m hoping for.”</p> <p class="cnNlOTM4ZWNkNzdhNjRjMzY4MjUyZTYzNGIzYzZiNzM4">Together they walked. Well, not <span style="font-style: italic">together</span> together. Bacco led the way while Cid walked just a step ahead of Alyssa. For her part, Alyssa paid close attention to the streets and alleys they took, not wanting to get lost if she had to escape from the thieves on her own. She had her shotgun in hand with the safety off, though she kept her finger firmly on the trigger guard and off the trigger itself.</p> <p class="cnNmMzdhYjYwNzU2MDQ0NTQ5NTlkYTE5N2EyMWRjZDI4">The roads of Lyria twisted and turned. There clearly wasn’t a city planner who had laid out all the streets in nice even rows. Even when she had been closer to the center of the city near the Observatorium, nothing was neatly organized. Which was probably because of the occasional oddly shaped building, like the Observatorium, that forced roads to bend around it. That one bulge spread out like a ripple, affecting streets for miles, combining with other buildings’ footprints to make a knotted mess. It got worse the further one got. All the way out here, the roads seemed to zig and zag before they finally crossed another street, making the occasional alleys between connected buildings almost necessary to get anywhere in a timely manner.</p> <p class="cnM0MTExZDcxNzI5YjQyMzdhM2VlODQ2YTkyZGExMjQy">Thankfully, Cid wasn’t trying to waste her time, per se. She was sure that they weren’t using the fastest route to their destination, but they had yet to make four right turns. Their path, while it occasionally crossed back and forth, was steadily moving away from the central palace.</p> <p class="cnNmNzlkNTBmYjc2MzRlYzI4OTJiYmQyM2NkYzQxOGQz">The crowds were fairly thin out here as well. The market place immediately inside the gates of Lyria had been the most crowded area she had seen here and even the Observatorium had several dozen people meandering about on their daily routines. Here, while there were people around, few were traveling. Lots of people just sat about. Were they homeless? There were a few people just huddled together in a small alcove. It wasn’t actually cold yet, but they sure looked like they were freezing. One older man with a raccoon for a soul was slathering mud onto a fairly thick crack in one of the buildings. Most buildings were poorly maintained or poorly patched up, but his was especially bad. As they passed, he gave them a little glare, but didn’t otherwise say anything.</p> <p class="cnMxOWYxYjU4NDIzODQzM2ViMGM3MjM3MGZhZTk2NGUy">“We’re here,” Cid said, pulling Alyssa’s attention to a nondescript building three stories tall. “Welcome to the Waters Street Waterhole.”</p> <p class="cnM4OTkzNWMxYmQxMjRlNDlhOGRkZGExMzZjODM3Mjdi">“That’s a terrible name,” not surprised at all to find out that this was the infamous Waters Street.</p> <p class="cnNiZGE3ZjUzMzczMjQ4ZTY4OWQ0ZmMwYWZmODAyZTBi">It was a fairly plain place, the same brownish color that matched most every building in the area. There weren’t any cracks in the walls, to the building’s credit, but they had a great deal of patch jobs. He walked up to the wooden door and knocked out a series of taps. Two then three then two. Some kind of password. A slot around eye-level pulled open for just long enough for Cid to give a small wave before it slammed shut again. It took a moment longer before the whole door opened.</p> <p class="cnNlNjViZGFiZmM0YzRjZWZiM2VkZTliYzQ2YzlkZmEx">A thick waft of grey smoke poured out of the opening. It wasn’t quite tobacco smoke, though it definitely smelled similar. It was a hint fruity compared to what she was used to smelling on her coworkers. The smell still made her wrinkle her nose.</p> <p class="cnNjOWEzOGY5MDcwYTQxMzE5Yjk3NThiYmIwY2IzNzU5">“You’re early, Cid.” A man stood in the doorway with his arms folded. He wasn’t as big as Bacco, but he still had four times the muscles that Cid had. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t have a sword at his hip like Bacco did. He had a small dagger. Maybe as big as a combat knife. His soul was a one-eyed hippo, though Alyssa honestly didn’t know why it had only one eye. His real self had two and neither were fake as far as she could tell. He was definitely using both of them to look her over.</p> <p class="cnNiOGE0NjNjZWE2ZjQ1YjdiYWVhNmMwYzIwYzJhYzU2">“A few things came up and we had to push the schedule forward,” Cid said with a nervous timber to his voice that hadn’t been there at any other time. “Is Svotty available now?”</p> <p class="cnNiOTczZjYxZjU2ZDQxZGRiODQ2ZDNmZGVmNjg3YTdi">He managed to tear his eyes away from Alyssa long enough to sneer at Cid. “You’re in luck. He just finished with one of the girls. Maybe he’ll be in a good enough mood to see you.”</p> <p class="cnM2OThiNTdlYWRiMzQwMDJhMTE0MWEwMWJkMmE1Mjcy">“I always did say that my luck is one of my strongest traits.”</p> <p class="cnMxZmM5YWY2OWQwODRhMTViYzI0ZWU0ZDM0ZDU4NTc5">The guard snorted as he stepped to one side, allowing passage. “She’s a pretty one. That will buy you a little more into his good graces.”</p> <p class="cnNiZDMyMmFkNGYzODQ5NGY4ODg2NzFmMjZjYjRkNmEz">Nothing about this place or the guard’s insinuations or mannerisms reassured Alyssa in the slightest. She was starting to think that this wasn’t the murder and rob type of ambush, but one with a potentially far worse ending. Her only solace was that no one bothered to take her shotgun as Cid ushered her through the door and into the smoke-filled building.</p> <p class="cnNkMmI2ZjkzNDgyNzQ1Yjg4OWRlZTljZGRmOWQ3MzVl">Now that she thought about it, it was somewhat surprising that the inn didn’t reek of narcotics like this place. Maybe the innkeeper disliked it. Or maybe cigarette equivalents were more difficult to acquire in this day and age. Which made a whole lot more sense. The fact that only magic could start fires—allegedly—meant that not everyone would even have access to smoking wherever they wished. Availability had been one of the main reasons why opium dens had been a thing in her world. The same could be true here, except for fire being the scarce resource.</p> <p class="cnMyZTZjZmZiYWEwMzQ1NjdiMmFiZDA5YjFlODY5MzYy">Though it couldn’t be that scarce in the city. The inn would surely have a fire constantly lit in a back room.</p> <p class="cnNiZjU2NGI2ZTQzNDRlMDg4NzFmMjRmMGNlNzkxMzlh">It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the relative darkness of the room. There were lanterns set about, but they really didn’t do much more than a candle for their local area. Blinking away a few spots in her eyes, her frown turned to a deep scowl. “This is a brothel.”</p> <p class="cnM3ODdkM2U3MGEwZTQwZDI5N2IxMmJhM2QzMDA1YTM0">Half-naked, or in two cases, all-naked women wandered around a wide open room, carrying trays of… something between tables occupied by men. Occasional plates of food had been set out at the tables, but most every man had a long pipe, at least as long as her arm, as they leaned back in their booths. One man had a woman bent over on all fours, whipping her with a riding crop. Muffled noises came from that corner of the room every time he struck her. She must have had some kind of gag in her mouth.</p> <p class="cnNhNDQ1MDM2OGI2YzQ5NGU5YzJkN2FlMWU2OGNhNmI5">Alyssa wasn’t sure if she should be glad that the room was so dim or if she should just start firing her shotgun around the room.</p> <p class="cnNhMGMxNDdlZGNkYjRmMjI5ZGJiMjNkNTE2YWE1YmFj">No. She might hit one of the working girls. And this establishment might be perfectly legal. Probably not. It had a knock-based password on the door and no signs or advertisements decorating the exterior. A legitimate business would try to attract customers. This place was clearly trying for an unassuming look.</p> <p class="cnM1ZGMxY2UyZDAxZTRlMTg4NTI1M2ZkODQ0ODkyZjg4">For now, she just grit her teeth as Cid put a hand on her shoulder and led her through the main floor. He took her to a door opposite the main entrance where they entered a narrow hallway. A hallway thankfully lacking most of the smoke from the main room. She had been feeling a bit light headed just from the small pass-through. Here and now, she needed to keep a clear head above all else.</p> <p class="cnM2ZGM0YjQ3ZjA1MTRhZGRiY2UwY2Q3NDA5ZDgyZDIx">They continued on past several rooms, all with closed doors. Alyssa tried to ignore the sounds coming from inside. She walked robotically, mind still reeling from the sights and smells in the main room. Cid took her downstairs to another long hall, below ground level. The air was even clearer down here than in the upper hallway—again, thankfully—and the area was better lit as well, with brighter lamps burning around the hall and rooms. It seemed more of a place for employees than customers. Walking down the lower hall, she passed by a kitchen with some actually good smelling food over the fire, a waiting or break room for the girls, and several closed doors. There were more guards down here as well, one stationed at the break room and another at a lonesome door at the end of the hall.</p> <p class="cnM0ODA0NTM3OTQ4ZDRjZTZhYzczNjczZTY5OGJjYzIw">A door that Cid and Bacco were heading straight toward.</p> <p class="cnNhZGZmNTM0ZmNhOTQ0NzhiNmY5YmQ3N2ZkMTE4MDdm">“Heya, Bennie. Heard the boss might be available.” Cid rubbed his hands together, mimicking his rat-soul, though the way he moved looked far more nervous than miserly.</p> <p class="cnNhZDczOWZhODEzMDRhOWNhYzgyOWIwN2U1MzQwNmVk">The guard, like the one up top, had a knife on his hip. Not a full sword, which Alyssa could understand now. Trying to fight with a sword like Bacco’s in a narrow hallway would just wind up with the blade clanging off the wall. A spear would work better than a knife. They could just aim the pointed end toward the hall and run down anyone trying to get in.</p> <p class="cnMxMWI4NjgwNjE0MDRlMDNhYjYxOGQ0NDhlYWRiMzFl">He glared. Most people glared at Cid, Alyssa couldn’t help but notice. Including herself, for that matter. He was just a very glarable person. “When he has me break your legs and toss you out back, don’t blame me.” The man’s voice was softer than she would have expected from someone whose face was covered in scars. Rapping his knuckles against the door, he called out. “Hey boss, Cid, Bacco, and some girl here.”</p> <p class="cnMxOTY3NjdhYjY2ODQyNmZhODI1ZjE5ZDEwYThlMjI2">A muffled “What?” came from the other side of the door.</p> <p class="cnNjNjE1ZjlhZDkzYjQ2NzRiMzczYzlhZWY5N2FkY2Jj">“Cid, Bacco, and some girl are here. She looks like some traveler.”</p> <p class="cnNmNDA3Yzg2MzU2NjQwYTI4YWVkZDljMjVkNDc0OGU4">“I heard ya the first time, idiot. What do ‘em want?”</p> <p class="cnNjZjU0NjFiZjBkNDQzNzI4NDk2NDZjODA1MzMzODE1">This time, Cid responded, taking a step closer as he shouted through the door. “Heya, Svotty. I’m here with that proposition we discussed earlier. You remember, right?”</p> <p class="cnMwMmNhNDk1MjY5NjRiYWRiN2E3Y2QzZWE4YmEzYjky">This Svotty didn’t respond right away. He mumbled and grumbled a bit, but nothing that could be understood from this side of the door. Even Cid and the guard glanced at each other and shrugged. “Uh, boss?” the guard said.</p> <p class="cnMxM2QxZDNlNjhjMTQzYzU4NTY5MmQ4NWY2MTg4NGI5">“Let ‘em in, let ‘em in.”</p> <p class="cnMzMWI5Yzk2NTc3MjQyNjBiMjBhMzM1YjBkZWU1NTZm">So he did. The guard opened the door, letting a cloud of smoke out into the hallway. This smoke lacked the fruity taste of the smoke up above. Alyssa actually coughed a little as she waved a hand in front of her face. It didn’t help.</p> <p class="cnNjNzA2Y2IyNjk1YjQ4OTA4Y2RkZWMyOGQ2YjIxYTdk">“Well don’t just stand there.”</p> <p class="cnM5MDcwNWU4NTI3ZDQyNmVhNTNhNDRlMWZmODI2NmNi">Cid steered her into the room before she could say anything. Bacco followed a moment later, having to duck to get under the low doorway. “This is the girl I told you about, boss,” Cid said, stopping her right in front of a thick desk.</p> <p class="cnNiZDMyMzFlZGQ5MTQxMDdhNjIzNGUyZDQ2YjlmZjdj">Alyssa got her first good look at the boss. Svotty.</p> <p class="cnMwNTM1MWE2NzBkYzQyYjZiMzdiZDQ1NWMzMGI0MmFh">He was a portly man. More wide than tall with a squat, pig-like face. His clothes were larger still, looking baggy on his bulky frame. Every single one of his fingers had thick golden rings reaching from his knuckles to the first joint. He wore his hair shaved to a fine stubble. Just behind him, an equally portly pig hovered in the air. His soul.</p> <p class="cnM3ODE0NzM5MDlkOTQzNWQ5NmRlNDM1N2NmNGQxZjNh">How fitting.</p> <p class="cnNmZGQyMjMxMDQ2YTRmZDRhZmJkMmM0Njk5NTU4OTYy">Despite all the smoke in the room, he didn’t have a cigarette, cigar, or pipe anywhere on him or on the wooden desk he sat behind. It took her a moment to notice the little black urn on the corner of the desk. Incense, though that wasn’t necessarily incense burning. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be healthy to breathe in this much smoke.</p> <p class="cnM0NTFjOWIyYjFmODRkYWI4NDg1ODRhZDZjMzhhMzNi">Before she could turn her gaze back to Svotty, she noticed a smear on the ground. A red smear. Two sets of footprints had stepped in it, one barefoot and the other with some flat-soled shoe. The bare feet left a trail that dragged off to the office’s door while the other set disappeared behind the desk.</p> <p class="cnMxZmMxODc1ZjYxYjQ4OTZhYzU5NDNmYTY0YmY0MDc2">“Don’t mind that now, got a bit overexcited earlier,” Svotty said with a hearty chuckle, rolling his stomach. He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk. Cid mirrored the laugh, though didn’t sound quite so happy about it. Bacco just grimaced and looked away.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTc3YzBlZDZjZjRlZjNiMDY4ZTQwODAxZTE3ZmJl">Alyssa found herself clenching her teeth together. She could put two and two together. When the guard up top had mentioned him finishing with one of the girls, she had assumed sex. After seeing the main brothel floor, that assumption had only been reinforced. Now she couldn’t help but wonder if the poor girl had even survived. It wasn’t a lot of blood, true, but it could have been stifled with a rag or she had simply left before it got everywhere. Even if it wasn’t lethal on its own, getting a bad infection in this day and age would almost certainly be a death sentence. If there were magic spells to cure infections, a working girl likely wouldn’t have access to them, either ability-wise or financially.</p> <p class="cnNiMmU2NjNlOTY2MDRlNWM4OWVmNGVmMjdhOGE3OTAz">Something hot burned under her collar. Anger. Svotty’s eyes looked over her, appreciating everything they saw. Her fingers tightened around her shotgun as she tried to keep calm.</p> <p class="cnMzMTk3ODcxYzJhZDRkZjRhYjM2MzRjNzAxMDk4YmZl">“You did good this time, Cid. She has a pretty face. A pretty face gets me a pretty price,” he said with another boisterous round of laughter.</p> <p class="cnNiMjJiODAxYmVhZjRlYmE4ODNkNGQzN2FmOTA0N2Iz">With a slight haze in her mind, Alyssa moved mechanically. Almost automatically. She brought the butt of the shotgun to her shoulder, moved her finger off the trigger guard, and squeezed.</p> </div>

Bacco was a dog. Literally. Or figuratively? Alyssa honestly wasn’t sure which. According to Irulon, what she saw was her interpretation of someone’s soul. So it must be figurative. His dog soul that that floated behind him like some dead pet wasn’t a particularly healthy dog. More of a mangy mutt with fairly ragged fur. But at least it looked well fed. Cid, on the other hand, had a rat sitting on his shoulder. A rat with beady green eyes, a crooked tail, and teeth just as nasty as his real ones. It was so scrawny that its tiny ribs stuck out. His soul really didn’t paint a good picture of the man it belonged to. Still, it was better than the worm she had passed on the way back to the inn. Everyone had some kind of animal associated with them. Cats, dogs, snakes, birds… the innkeeper had a bear half stuck in the wall behind him. No one had anything quite so fantastical as Irulon’s dragon, but Alyssa at least had some reassurance that the princess wasn’t literally a dragon hiding in human skin. There was still something off about her with her eyes and the way she acted. Hopefully nothing that would come back to bite Alyssa. If she didn’t need magic to accomplish her goals, she probably would have disappeared into the city and avoided the princess at all costs. “Ah, look who is back!” Cid said with his disgusting smile. Alyssa didn’t bother responding. She slumped down into the seat opposite from the two thieves, shrugging off her pack onto the floor. The entire way back, she had had this feeling that she was being followed. It had to have just been paranoia. She hadn’t been able to spot anyone either with her normal eyes or with the soul vision. Of course, the soul vision hadn’t helped her paranoia. Irulon mentioning punishments for using it had made her worried that someone would notice that she had it on. Checking herself with her phone’s front-facing camera didn’t show off any sign that she was using the spell—her eyes looked perfectly normal—but her phone also didn’t show people’s souls, so it might just not be capable of capturing supernatural effects. No one had said anything to her or had even looked at her funny, as far as she could tell. Still, she was hoping that it would wear off soon. “Something wrong?” Bacco asked with a small frown. “Met with Irulon. She is… quite intense.” “Irulon?” Cid said, leaning forward. “The Irulon? She always wanders around with such fanciful adornments and no guards! You didn’t happen to borrow any, did you?” “I didn’t steal from the Pharaoh’s daughter, if that is what you’re asking.” “Shame. A single gemstone from her collection would make that cloak you have look like a rotten rag in comparison. Speaking of…” “Yes, yes. I have it,” Alyssa said with a sigh. She reached for her bag, only to have Cid lurch forward and grab her wrist. “Not here,” he hissed, glancing around the room. “Unless you want to get lynched by every cutthroat and scoundrel who sees.” This inn was on the shadier side. But to call the other patrons cutthroats seemed in poor taste. One of the burly men at the other table even had a bunny for his soul. Unless that was the Rabbit of Caerbannog. Alyssa frowned as she stared at him. Was that blood around the bunny’s mouth? Maybe she should be a little more careful of the people around the inn. They weren’t of the good sorts. She didn’t need soul vision to tell her that. That said, she hadn’t been about to pull out the cloak in public, she had been planning on heading back to her room first. Outwardly, Alyssa narrowed her eyes at his hand. She had an image to maintain, especially in front of Bacco—Cid didn’t seem to buy into her scariness quite so much. “Not concerned about them,” she said. “But if you insist.” “I do insist, thank you very much.” He pulled back his hand, giving Bacco a look. One of those ‘is this person serious?’ type of looks. “Anyway. I was going to say that we’re meeting with a potential buyer this afternoon.” “You aren’t including me in this ‘we’ are you?” “Arranging a buyer for such a… hot item wasn’t easy. Best if it changes as few hands as possible.” “This was not our agreement.” “We didn’t have an agreement other than you saying that you would give it to us. Besides, you have such a handy carrying case! Where would I put it to carry it across the city?” He did have a point there. His clothing was well suited for the hot days, open and loose. The relatively bulky cloak wouldn’t fit in his pants and his shirt was still the same vest he had on before. Bacco, being the same, wouldn’t have an easy time concealing it either. Did no one change clothing on a day-to-day basis in medieval times? Still, while she could see his point, how hard would it be to get a box to put it in or a blanket to wrap it in? Besides that, the way the little rat over his shoulder started rubbing its grubby little paws together activated the warning alarms in her head. None of the other souls moved all that much except to follow their owner. So the fact that his was acting like a greedy little miser didn’t sit well for her. “I have half a mind to keep the cloak and cut ties with you.” Bacco had been useful, but she couldn’t afford to not be pragmatic with her acquaintances in this strange world. At the moment, the princess was looking far more valuable than the pair of thieves. Strange and maybe unnatural, yes. Useful? Definitely. “Now, don’t be like that. We’ve been good to you, haven’t we? Got you a room here for cheap. Bacco showed you around town. You’re going to take all that without paying us back for our kindness?” “It was no trouble at all,” Bacco said in a mumbling voice, ducking his head. “We could just—” He cut himself off with a wince as something heavy thumped under the table. “I mean, it isn’t very proper to run off without repaying us.” There wasn’t a shred of conviction in his voice. The more she interacted with him, the more she wondered if he would have even gotten into criminal activity if it wasn’t for Cid’s influence. Either that or his natural vicious personality was completely suppressed by his fear of her. How troublesome. She should have just not come back at all. Surely someone in this city was looking for a new employee. It didn’t matter if she had to do manual labor or more academically inclined work. Just as long as she got away from the criminals. But too late now. At this point, backing out would likely result in a fight. As long as no one used magic, she didn’t intend to lose any fights. She had three distinct advantages. One at her hip, one under her arm, and one slung over her shoulder. Technically she had a fourth, but the revolver in her backpack would be cumbersome to get to on short notice. But avoiding a fight altogether would be for the best. She didn’t want to hurt anyone if possible. Not even a rat. “Fine.” Alyssa immediately regretted saying anything that Cid found pleasing. It made him smile. Just looking at his teeth made her nauseous. “But if this buyer of yours doesn’t take it today, no one will. This is your one chance.” “And this one chance is all we’ll need. I promise you that. I know Svotty. He won’t turn down such appealing merchandise.” Alyssa grabbed her pack and slipped into its straps, making sure to free her shotgun beforehand. Ignoring Bacco tensing, she looked to Cid. “I have things I need to do today still. We go now.” “Now? But—” “This is nonnegotiable. I came to the city for my own purposes and have exceedingly little care for your desires.” And, if this was some sort of ambush, going early would likely ruin everyone’s plans. “If you cannot rearrange your meeting with this Svotty, we’ll find a place to hide the cloak nearby. Bacco can stay and guard it to ensure that no one takes it before your scheduled meeting time.” Cid pressed his lips into a thin line. His rat ceased its hand motions to simply glare with its green eyes. “Alright. Svotty won’t like—” “Don’t care.” Bacco shook his head ever so slightly when Cid glanced in his direction. That shake turned to a slight slump as Cid stood up. “Are you sure you wouldn’t care for something to eat first?” “Not hungry,” Alyssa lied. She hadn’t had anything to eat but her unfinished porridge earlier in the morning. Since then, she had walked all over town and spent at least two hours in the library. It was closer to dinner time now than lunch, if barely, not that she had really had lunch as of late. Over the past two weeks, she had only eaten when she stopped walking. At most, she had nibbled on some of the stale bread while moving. Her modern granola bars were still being preserved for an actual emergency. “Very well, follow us, I suppose.” He had to nudge Bacco before they both started moving. “It isn’t too far away from here.” “No need to act so dejected, Cid. If what you told me is true, you’ll be rich by the end of the night.” “That is what I’m hoping for.” Together they walked. Well, not together together. Bacco led the way while Cid walked just a step ahead of Alyssa. For her part, Alyssa paid close attention to the streets and alleys they took, not wanting to get lost if she had to escape from the thieves on her own. She had her shotgun in hand with the safety off, though she kept her finger firmly on the trigger guard and off the trigger itself. The roads of Lyria twisted and turned. There clearly wasn’t a city planner who had laid out all the streets in nice even rows. Even when she had been closer to the center of the city near the Observatorium, nothing was neatly organized. Which was probably because of the occasional oddly shaped building, like the Observatorium, that forced roads to bend around it. That one bulge spread out like a ripple, affecting streets for miles, combining with other buildings’ footprints to make a knotted mess. It got worse the further one got. All the way out here, the roads seemed to zig and zag before they finally crossed another street, making the occasional alleys between connected buildings almost necessary to get anywhere in a timely manner. Thankfully, Cid wasn’t trying to waste her time, per se. She was sure that they weren’t using the fastest route to their destination, but they had yet to make four right turns. Their path, while it occasionally crossed back and forth, was steadily moving away from the central palace. The crowds were fairly thin out here as well. The market place immediately inside the gates of Lyria had been the most crowded area she had seen here and even the Observatorium had several dozen people meandering about on their daily routines. Here, while there were people around, few were traveling. Lots of people just sat about. Were they homeless? There were a few people just huddled together in a small alcove. It wasn’t actually cold yet, but they sure looked like they were freezing. One older man with a raccoon for a soul was slathering mud onto a fairly thick crack in one of the buildings. Most buildings were poorly maintained or poorly patched up, but his was especially bad. As they passed, he gave them a little glare, but didn’t otherwise say anything. “We’re here,” Cid said, pulling Alyssa’s attention to a nondescript building three stories tall. “Welcome to the Waters Street Waterhole.” “That’s a terrible name,” not surprised at all to find out that this was the infamous Waters Street. It was a fairly plain place, the same brownish color that matched most every building in the area. There weren’t any cracks in the walls, to the building’s credit, but they had a great deal of patch jobs. He walked up to the wooden door and knocked out a series of taps. Two then three then two. Some kind of password. A slot around eye-level pulled open for just long enough for Cid to give a small wave before it slammed shut again. It took a moment longer before the whole door opened. A thick waft of grey smoke poured out of the opening. It wasn’t quite tobacco smoke, though it definitely smelled similar. It was a hint fruity compared to what she was used to smelling on her coworkers. The smell still made her wrinkle her nose. “You’re early, Cid.” A man stood in the doorway with his arms folded. He wasn’t as big as Bacco, but he still had four times the muscles that Cid had. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t have a sword at his hip like Bacco did. He had a small dagger. Maybe as big as a combat knife. His soul was a one-eyed hippo, though Alyssa honestly didn’t know why it had only one eye. His real self had two and neither were fake as far as she could tell. He was definitely using both of them to look her over. “A few things came up and we had to push the schedule forward,” Cid said with a nervous timber to his voice that hadn’t been there at any other time. “Is Svotty available now?” He managed to tear his eyes away from Alyssa long enough to sneer at Cid. “You’re in luck. He just finished with one of the girls. Maybe he’ll be in a good enough mood to see you.” “I always did say that my luck is one of my strongest traits.” The guard snorted as he stepped to one side, allowing passage. “She’s a pretty one. That will buy you a little more into his good graces.” Nothing about this place or the guard’s insinuations or mannerisms reassured Alyssa in the slightest. She was starting to think that this wasn’t the murder and rob type of ambush, but one with a potentially far worse ending. Her only solace was that no one bothered to take her shotgun as Cid ushered her through the door and into the smoke-filled building. Now that she thought about it, it was somewhat surprising that the inn didn’t reek of narcotics like this place. Maybe the innkeeper disliked it. Or maybe cigarette equivalents were more difficult to acquire in this day and age. Which made a whole lot more sense. The fact that only magic could start fires—allegedly—meant that not everyone would even have access to smoking wherever they wished. Availability had been one of the main reasons why opium dens had been a thing in her world. The same could be true here, except for fire being the scarce resource. Though it couldn’t be that scarce in the city. The inn would surely have a fire constantly lit in a back room. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the relative darkness of the room. There were lanterns set about, but they really didn’t do much more than a candle for their local area. Blinking away a few spots in her eyes, her frown turned to a deep scowl. “This is a brothel.” Half-naked, or in two cases, all-naked women wandered around a wide open room, carrying trays of… something between tables occupied by men. Occasional plates of food had been set out at the tables, but most every man had a long pipe, at least as long as her arm, as they leaned back in their booths. One man had a woman bent over on all fours, whipping her with a riding crop. Muffled noises came from that corner of the room every time he struck her. She must have had some kind of gag in her mouth. Alyssa wasn’t sure if she should be glad that the room was so dim or if she should just start firing her shotgun around the room. No. She might hit one of the working girls. And this establishment might be perfectly legal. Probably not. It had a knock-based password on the door and no signs or advertisements decorating the exterior. A legitimate business would try to attract customers. This place was clearly trying for an unassuming look. For now, she just grit her teeth as Cid put a hand on her shoulder and led her through the main floor. He took her to a door opposite the main entrance where they entered a narrow hallway. A hallway thankfully lacking most of the smoke from the main room. She had been feeling a bit light headed just from the small pass-through. Here and now, she needed to keep a clear head above all else. They continued on past several rooms, all with closed doors. Alyssa tried to ignore the sounds coming from inside. She walked robotically, mind still reeling from the sights and smells in the main room. Cid took her downstairs to another long hall, below ground level. The air was even clearer down here than in the upper hallway—again, thankfully—and the area was better lit as well, with brighter lamps burning around the hall and rooms. It seemed more of a place for employees than customers. Walking down the lower hall, she passed by a kitchen with some actually good smelling food over the fire, a waiting or break room for the girls, and several closed doors. There were more guards down here as well, one stationed at the break room and another at a lonesome door at the end of the hall. A door that Cid and Bacco were heading straight toward. “Heya, Bennie. Heard the boss might be available.” Cid rubbed his hands together, mimicking his rat-soul, though the way he moved looked far more nervous than miserly. The guard, like the one up top, had a knife on his hip. Not a full sword, which Alyssa could understand now. Trying to fight with a sword like Bacco’s in a narrow hallway would just wind up with the blade clanging off the wall. A spear would work better than a knife. They could just aim the pointed end toward the hall and run down anyone trying to get in. He glared. Most people glared at Cid, Alyssa couldn’t help but notice. Including herself, for that matter. He was just a very glarable person. “When he has me break your legs and toss you out back, don’t blame me.” The man’s voice was softer than she would have expected from someone whose face was covered in scars. Rapping his knuckles against the door, he called out. “Hey boss, Cid, Bacco, and some girl here.” A muffled “What?” came from the other side of the door. “Cid, Bacco, and some girl are here. She looks like some traveler.” “I heard ya the first time, idiot. What do ‘em want?” This time, Cid responded, taking a step closer as he shouted through the door. “Heya, Svotty. I’m here with that proposition we discussed earlier. You remember, right?” This Svotty didn’t respond right away. He mumbled and grumbled a bit, but nothing that could be understood from this side of the door. Even Cid and the guard glanced at each other and shrugged. “Uh, boss?” the guard said. “Let ‘em in, let ‘em in.” So he did. The guard opened the door, letting a cloud of smoke out into the hallway. This smoke lacked the fruity taste of the smoke up above. Alyssa actually coughed a little as she waved a hand in front of her face. It didn’t help. “Well don’t just stand there.” Cid steered her into the room before she could say anything. Bacco followed a moment later, having to duck to get under the low doorway. “This is the girl I told you about, boss,” Cid said, stopping her right in front of a thick desk. Alyssa got her first good look at the boss. Svotty. He was a portly man. More wide than tall with a squat, pig-like face. His clothes were larger still, looking baggy on his bulky frame. Every single one of his fingers had thick golden rings reaching from his knuckles to the first joint. He wore his hair shaved to a fine stubble. Just behind him, an equally portly pig hovered in the air. His soul. How fitting. Despite all the smoke in the room, he didn’t have a cigarette, cigar, or pipe anywhere on him or on the wooden desk he sat behind. It took her a moment to notice the little black urn on the corner of the desk. Incense, though that wasn’t necessarily incense burning. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be healthy to breathe in this much smoke. Before she could turn her gaze back to Svotty, she noticed a smear on the ground. A red smear. Two sets of footprints had stepped in it, one barefoot and the other with some flat-soled shoe. The bare feet left a trail that dragged off to the office’s door while the other set disappeared behind the desk. “Don’t mind that now, got a bit overexcited earlier,” Svotty said with a hearty chuckle, rolling his stomach. He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk. Cid mirrored the laugh, though didn’t sound quite so happy about it. Bacco just grimaced and looked away. Alyssa found herself clenching her teeth together. She could put two and two together. When the guard up top had mentioned him finishing with one of the girls, she had assumed sex. After seeing the main brothel floor, that assumption had only been reinforced. Now she couldn’t help but wonder if the poor girl had even survived. It wasn’t a lot of blood, true, but it could have been stifled with a rag or she had simply left before it got everywhere. Even if it wasn’t lethal on its own, getting a bad infection in this day and age would almost certainly be a death sentence. If there were magic spells to cure infections, a working girl likely wouldn’t have access to them, either ability-wise or financially. Something hot burned under her collar. Anger. Svotty’s eyes looked over her, appreciating everything they saw. Her fingers tightened around her shotgun as she tried to keep calm. “You did good this time, Cid. She has a pretty face. A pretty face gets me a pretty price,” he said with another boisterous round of laughter. With a slight haze in her mind, Alyssa moved mechanically. Almost automatically. She brought the butt of the shotgun to her shoulder, moved her finger off the trigger guard, and squeezed.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div>  Franklin follows John’s training schedule for several weeks. During this time, the well is finished. They are now trapping small animals along the forest's edge. However, grass and weeds grow at a ridiculous pace here, causing them much consternation. Most of the day is spent fighting this plant apocalypse. The plants are bound and offered as a tribute to the Demonic Bull that lives on the hill.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>  Franklin is training as usual and is getting quite confident in his strength. Even some of the men had recently complimented him when he helped lug the weeds up the hill. So when Laurel comes over, Franklin makes quite the show of it. Puffing his chest and lifting weights, he usually avoids.</div> <div><br>  Laughing at the silly sight, Laurel says, "You look like a tomato!" while pointing at his perspiring red face.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>  "Shut up. You can't lift this big pot," Franklin embarrassingly retorts while looking away, "I've gotten strong, you know?"<br><br></div> <div>  "My mom lifts that pot every day," Laurel smirks teasingly.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>  "It's not fair to compare to an adult," Franklin gripes at the cute girl. "Look, I even fought some small demonic beasts last time!" Franklin says while thumping his chest.<br><br></div> <div>  Laurel’s eyes go wide as she yells, "You're not supposed to go into the forest; it's dangerous!"<br><br></div> <div>  "So I've gotten strong, and I just went in a bit I could still see the houses and everything," Franklin responds while glaring defiantly.<br><br></div> <div>  "I don't believe you," Laurel counters. Puffing her cheeks in anger, she says, "There's no way a kid can fight those monsters."<br><br></div> <div>  "I can!" Franklin hollers back as he grabs his wooden sword. "I'll show you," Franklin says as he stomps away.<br><br></div> <div>  Laurel's jaw drops in shock. "Don't go, okay? I believe you stop!" She yells as her eyes tear up in fear.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin stubbornly continues into the forest. "I told you it isn't a big deal. I can handle myself," Franklin says firmly. Even with his sharp words, he visibly tenses up and squeezes his sword in apprehension.<br><br></div> <div>  "NOOO!" Laurel squeals as she runs at the stupid boy grabbing his arm to pull him back.<br><br></div> <div>  "Why'd you come in too?" Franklin admonishes with a worried look.<br><br></div> <div>  "Cause you're being stupid!" Laurel cries, looking aggrieved.<br><br></div> <div>  "Okay, I get it. We'll go back," Franklin gives in with a sigh.<br><br></div> <div>  “Grrr, roar,” sounds of small fox demonic beasts come from the nearby trees making both the kids jump in fear.<br><br></div> <div>  "D, dd, don't worry, Laurel I can take care of this while you run," Franklin reassures her while shaking. Franklin grits his teeth and shifts in front of Laurel protecting the young lady.<br><br></div> <div>  "No, you run too." Laurel cries as her tears flow like a river.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin pushes the girl towards the village, "Go!"<br><br></div> <div>  In the meantime, back on the hill, a small, lush bush is watching the children closely. "Looks like there's some trouble." John says while waving a branch at Joe, "Perhaps you should intervene since you're their guardian spirit?"<br><br></div> <div>  "Snort." The demonic bull just glances over and continues eating.<br><br></div> <div>  "How can you say that you've never gotten anything from them! What about all the food?" John argues.<br><br></div> <div>  "Brr."<br><br></div> <div>  "Yeah, I know you would have eaten it anyway. It's the thought that counts, you know?" John lectures the stubborn beast with an air of authority.<br><br></div> <div>  Joe looks away from the bush with a "Grr."<br><br></div> <div>  Annoyed that a mere Joe won't listen to reason, John argues, "I still remember when you rolled down the hill and couldn't even stop your self like a big ball! If you don't get some exercise, they'll have to put the grass in your mouth for you."<br></div> <div>  The bull turns back with a hurt expression on his face. "mrr," reluctantly Joe turns towards the forest where the kids are to take a look.<br><br></div> <div>  Back in the forest, Franklin is swinging wildly at the small fox demonic beasts. John hasn't trained him in any sword techniques since he is still too weak. The demonic beasts use their numbers against the boy and quickly corner him against a tree.<br><br></div> <div>  They keep attacking from all sides in quick succession. Franklin can only use his body to block the incoming attacks to protect Laurel, who is unable to move on her own due to fear. Blood spews out from the claw wounds on Franklin’s arms and chest. As he endures the pain, he wildly swings with all his strength smashing one of the foxes to the ground.<br><br></div> <div>  However, this only enrages the other demonic beasts. How dare this pup hurt their friend is painted in their eyes. The foxes then use their well-honed coordination to jump and dodge in front of Franklin confusing the boy. While Franklin is distracted, the large alpha male comes from the other side smashing Franklin into a tree and dividing him from Laurel.<br><br></div> <div>  Franklin crumples with a bang as a groan escapes from his mouth. Laurel screams with all her might snot flows from her nose in a sorry state. Finally, the villagers notice the commotion, and some run towards the scene.<br><br></div> <div>  Anna happens to be close by drying clothes. She drops what she is doing and sprints towards the scream. Anna quickly arrives, and her eyes flash with panic as everything seems to slow down as she watches the large demonic fox lunge for her son's throat. It is too late. She is too far away.<br><br></div> <div>  Upon the hill, John can only shake its head. Joe is heading over, but he isn't in any hurry. The bull has no strong feelings on humans and only thinks that they are a bit useful but no more.<br><br></div> <div>  John wants to help his young student, but alas, life is cruel. "Sorry, Franklin, but I'm only a seed coalescing plant," Shaking his branches he, can only sigh. John long became numb to death, even his own. Unlike those heroes and talents that cling to life, he knows his limits.<br><br></div> <div>  John is indeed pretty powerful as a plant. Seed coalescing is the first level of plant cultivation and nothing to scoff at. However, plant cultivation is different from human cultivation. A plant takes a long time to soar through the heavens. Even now, the most he can do is swing his branches a bit. He can't even defeat an average human. However, with his strength, normal animals and humans couldn’t easily hurt him either. Plant cultivation is very passive in this way.<br><br></div> <div>  As the last moments flash by, Franklin's eyes are flush as he sees his mom rush over. Tears flow as he holds out his hand. Yet she is so far away his mind is drowning in panic.<br><br></div> <div>  Anna bites her tongue blood flows as she whispers, "Though my body will break, I still go forth!" Foundation energy burst forth from her body as Anna seems to fly as each step sends her a few yards. She grabs the shocked demonic fox by the neck smashing him against the tree above her son. The beast whimpers then is still it's neck broken.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>  John watches from the hill notices something is off. His inner eye flashes as he senses the rising energy. Joe also notices, and his eyes furrow, looking at the scene.<br><br>  John hears the words spoken and is shocked. <em>‘Such a thing could she be?</em>’ he contemplates. He only knows one bloodline with such power. "Could it be?" His leaves shake in contemplation.</div> </div>

Franklin follows John’s training schedule for several weeks. During this time, the well is finished. They are now trapping small animals along the forest's edge. However, grass and weeds grow at a ridiculous pace here, causing them much consternation. Most of the day is spent fighting this plant apocalypse. The plants are bound and offered as a tribute to the Demonic Bull that lives on the hill.     Franklin is training as usual and is getting quite confident in his strength. Even some of the men had recently complimented him when he helped lug the weeds up the hill. So when Laurel comes over, Franklin makes quite the show of it. Puffing his chest and lifting weights, he usually avoids.   Laughing at the silly sight, Laurel says, "You look like a tomato!" while pointing at his perspiring red face.     "Shut up. You can't lift this big pot," Franklin embarrassingly retorts while looking away, "I've gotten strong, you know?"   "My mom lifts that pot every day," Laurel smirks teasingly.     "It's not fair to compare to an adult," Franklin gripes at the cute girl. "Look, I even fought some small demonic beasts last time!" Franklin says while thumping his chest.   Laurel’s eyes go wide as she yells, "You're not supposed to go into the forest; it's dangerous!"   "So I've gotten strong, and I just went in a bit I could still see the houses and everything," Franklin responds while glaring defiantly.   "I don't believe you," Laurel counters. Puffing her cheeks in anger, she says, "There's no way a kid can fight those monsters."   "I can!" Franklin hollers back as he grabs his wooden sword. "I'll show you," Franklin says as he stomps away.   Laurel's jaw drops in shock. "Don't go, okay? I believe you stop!" She yells as her eyes tear up in fear.   Franklin stubbornly continues into the forest. "I told you it isn't a big deal. I can handle myself," Franklin says firmly. Even with his sharp words, he visibly tenses up and squeezes his sword in apprehension.   "NOOO!" Laurel squeals as she runs at the stupid boy grabbing his arm to pull him back.   "Why'd you come in too?" Franklin admonishes with a worried look.   "Cause you're being stupid!" Laurel cries, looking aggrieved.   "Okay, I get it. We'll go back," Franklin gives in with a sigh.   “Grrr, roar,” sounds of small fox demonic beasts come from the nearby trees making both the kids jump in fear.   "D, dd, don't worry, Laurel I can take care of this while you run," Franklin reassures her while shaking. Franklin grits his teeth and shifts in front of Laurel protecting the young lady.   "No, you run too." Laurel cries as her tears flow like a river.   Franklin pushes the girl towards the village, "Go!"   In the meantime, back on the hill, a small, lush bush is watching the children closely. "Looks like there's some trouble." John says while waving a branch at Joe, "Perhaps you should intervene since you're their guardian spirit?"   "Snort." The demonic bull just glances over and continues eating.   "How can you say that you've never gotten anything from them! What about all the food?" John argues.   "Brr."   "Yeah, I know you would have eaten it anyway. It's the thought that counts, you know?" John lectures the stubborn beast with an air of authority.   Joe looks away from the bush with a "Grr."   Annoyed that a mere Joe won't listen to reason, John argues, "I still remember when you rolled down the hill and couldn't even stop your self like a big ball! If you don't get some exercise, they'll have to put the grass in your mouth for you."   The bull turns back with a hurt expression on his face. "mrr," reluctantly Joe turns towards the forest where the kids are to take a look.   Back in the forest, Franklin is swinging wildly at the small fox demonic beasts. John hasn't trained him in any sword techniques since he is still too weak. The demonic beasts use their numbers against the boy and quickly corner him against a tree.   They keep attacking from all sides in quick succession. Franklin can only use his body to block the incoming attacks to protect Laurel, who is unable to move on her own due to fear. Blood spews out from the claw wounds on Franklin’s arms and chest. As he endures the pain, he wildly swings with all his strength smashing one of the foxes to the ground.   However, this only enrages the other demonic beasts. How dare this pup hurt their friend is painted in their eyes. The foxes then use their well-honed coordination to jump and dodge in front of Franklin confusing the boy. While Franklin is distracted, the large alpha male comes from the other side smashing Franklin into a tree and dividing him from Laurel.   Franklin crumples with a bang as a groan escapes from his mouth. Laurel screams with all her might snot flows from her nose in a sorry state. Finally, the villagers notice the commotion, and some run towards the scene.   Anna happens to be close by drying clothes. She drops what she is doing and sprints towards the scream. Anna quickly arrives, and her eyes flash with panic as everything seems to slow down as she watches the large demonic fox lunge for her son's throat. It is too late. She is too far away.   Upon the hill, John can only shake its head. Joe is heading over, but he isn't in any hurry. The bull has no strong feelings on humans and only thinks that they are a bit useful but no more.   John wants to help his young student, but alas, life is cruel. "Sorry, Franklin, but I'm only a seed coalescing plant," Shaking his branches he, can only sigh. John long became numb to death, even his own. Unlike those heroes and talents that cling to life, he knows his limits.   John is indeed pretty powerful as a plant. Seed coalescing is the first level of plant cultivation and nothing to scoff at. However, plant cultivation is different from human cultivation. A plant takes a long time to soar through the heavens. Even now, the most he can do is swing his branches a bit. He can't even defeat an average human. However, with his strength, normal animals and humans couldn’t easily hurt him either. Plant cultivation is very passive in this way.   As the last moments flash by, Franklin's eyes are flush as he sees his mom rush over. Tears flow as he holds out his hand. Yet she is so far away his mind is drowning in panic.   Anna bites her tongue blood flows as she whispers, "Though my body will break, I still go forth!" Foundation energy burst forth from her body as Anna seems to fly as each step sends her a few yards. She grabs the shocked demonic fox by the neck smashing him against the tree above her son. The beast whimpers then is still it's neck broken.     John watches from the hill notices something is off. His inner eye flashes as he senses the rising energy. Joe also notices, and his eyes furrow, looking at the scene.   John hears the words spoken and is shocked. *‘Such a thing could she be?*’ he contemplates. He only knows one bloodline with such power. "Could it be?" His leaves shake in contemplation.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwMTU5NjYwNTVmNzQzZjViZmY4YmFjNTg0ZTZhNjRk">  Anna's return fills the village with gratefulness. They all kowtow towards the hill and their guardian spirit. No one can believe this miracle. They were sure Anna would die just yesterday, and now she is walking down the hill by herself.</p> <p class="cnM1NmIzYjQ0MDI2NTQ4MDY4MjY1YWQzZjc0M2VmZjgy">  Franklin is the first to rush to his mom hugging her. Anna winces as her arm shoots with pain.</p> <p class="cnM3Yjc3M2MxMzZmYzRmMDQ5NTgwMDg4OGJkNWJhM2M1">  "Your arm is still hurt?" Franklin asks worriedly.</p> <p class="cnNjZTlmNDlkOWM3MDRjNzQ5MWE1NWYzN2QwOWM2OWY2">  Anna smiles at her son and pats his head with her healthy left arm. "Don't worry. I'm sure it will be better soon."</p> <p class="cnM0OTYxMDBjNDM3ODRmY2FiOTUyNjc3NGM3MDc2NTA4">  Arron walks over with a huge smile, "I'm glad you're back with us."</p> <p class="cnM5MWZlMGI3YzgyYTQ4N2M5MDQ3MDJjODBmZDU3OTE4">  "Thanks," she says with a nod and a slight smile.</p> <p class="cnNmMzk3ODU5NmNiYzRmZjlhN2I1MDI4Y2U2YTY1ZGI0">  As more are about to rush over, Gregory steps up. "It's getting late, and she was just healed. Let's at least give her a night to rest."</p> <p class="cnM0MzljOGU1MzRhYjQxMzg4ZjA2NTVlZDMzMGEyMjYx">  Laurel starts to run over anyways, but Mellisa firmly grips the girl's hand. "Now, honey, you heard Gregory. You can apologize tomorrow," Mellisa says, although, in her heart, she thinks it was all that Franklin's fault. It did no good to bring up the grievance now.</p> <p class="cnMzODY4M2U5YjhiNjQ2MzliZDk0ZTYyODY1ODgxYTVi">  "But mother," Laurel whines as she is dragged off.</p> <p class="cnMwNjhmYzAzZGU3MDRlZmZhZGZiODI5ZThhOTY5NzI3">  "Let's go home," Anna says to Franklin.</p> <p class="cnM4MjYzNzFkN2ZhMDRkZDE4MjhlZDg4YjJhYTA5ZjVh">  With that, everyone disperses returning to their hovels to rest for the night. Franklin worries the whole way back, asking over and over whether she is alright. Arron watches over them from a distance making sure they make it home.</p> <p class="cnM0NTc5OWIwYzdlNzQ3NDI4OTM4YTU4MDAyYjhhODdi">  "Stop fussing I've told you a hundred times that I'm perfectly healthy!" Anna scolds Franklin with a frown.</p> <p class="cnNiYmNhMjI5NjU2NjQxOGZhYjM4Y2E0YTgxMWM4ZjM1">  "I know, but you were so hurt..." Franklin pouts while looking at his feet.</p> <p class="cnM1NjBmMzg2OWVjZTQ5YmQ5ODhlNjlmMjRmZGUzZmY4">  Anna sighs and cups her son’s face with her left hand. "I know you're worried, But I can tell you haven't slept, and you've been crying. Let your eyes rest and go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning just like always."</p> <p class="cnNkNDE1NTFkMDZhODRiOWU5Mjg5YmQwZDViYWZlNjIw">  The boy hesitates but then slowly nods his head and goes to his makeshift bed. Though he is reluctant, his eyes can't stay open a moment longer. Anna watches as the boy falls asleep. Even while sleeping, Franklin’s forehead remains scrunched with worry.</p> <p class="cnNiODhkODI3ZjQ0MDRjNjk4OTJmMTZhNjIwMDViYmVk">  Anna begins to shift his hair, gently caressing the boy with love. Franklin quickly falls asleep feeling safe with his mother at his side. When Anna sees her son peacefully sleeping, her eyes burn fiery with passion. Her face contorts with hate as she began to sing a strange lullaby.</p> <p class="cnM1MjkyM2Q0NmRjZTQ5YTZhYTdlMGZlZTQxZjQ4YzMw">"Hold, hold, ye sons and daughters, though the lines have shattered n' despair abound.<br>Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are battered and broken?<br>Fight, fight, all you descendants though the war horns fall silent n' destinies broken.<br>Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are scattered and lost?</p>Charge, charge, filial warriors though your stamina exhausted n' no allies are found.<br>Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are crying and wailing?<br>Hasten, hasten, all the survivors though the seal is still yonder n' hope has been lost.<br>Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are fearful and haggard?<br>Woe, woe, for our enemies though the field has been taken n' your enemies flatten.<br>Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your body still healthy and life hasn't left you?"<p></p> <p class="cnNhMzJjZmI1NWY3YjRhYzc5ODAzMTA3NGQyNGM4ZDUz">  Upon the hill, John is watching the son and mother duo. When he hears the song, his leaves shudder. "Who would have thought I would meet a Lamenter here," John Sighs to himself with memories of his past life flying by. "To think there are still survivors!" He exclaims with mixed emotions.</p> <p class="cnMxNTBiOTYwOTEyMjQxMWRiYTg2ZmVhZDNhZmNlZjlk">  Back in the hovel, Anna turns to her bed with deviant eyes. Slowly she crawls into bed while trying to keep her right arm comfortable. After having some issues getting her arm in a good position, she too drifts off to sleep.</p> <p class="cnM1MWUzNTQ2MzE4MzQ1MmY4YzczNjI4Mjg1Y2MzZDI0">  In Anna’s dream, she sees an old man standing there as if waiting for a guest. "I thought you might show up," She says with a rye smile.</p> <p class="cnNlMWE4ZmUyZDkyYjRhMzZiMDFhMDlkY2YzZTgwYjA1">  "Indeed, I was quite surprised by your feat the other day." He says with a kind smile with a wave of his hand, a cozy table and chairs appear. "Here, why don't we sit and have a chat."</p> <p class="cnM3ZmQ5Nzg1NzU1NzRhYzU5MDA4ZjAyNjcxNzZhZGJk">  Anna hesitates a bit nervously, chewing her cheek. However, what can she do? Shaking her head, she takes a seat opposite the old man. "What does a master such as yourself, wish to talk to a nobody like me about?" she asks, smiling.</p> <p class="cnM4MTU0YmNiNzU4MDQyNGNhYzVmMDMyM2U1Mzk4ZTc2">  John can’t help but laugh, "Can't an old man have a chat with a young lady without ulterior motives you wound me."</p> <p class="cnNkNjU0ODA1YmVkZTRkZjU5MTI2NTJkY2ZlNTk0OTlj">  Frowning, Anna responds, "I know you are helping my son, and for that, I'm thankful. But I don't see any reason to beat around the bush." Anna's forehead is covered in sweat as she slams her hand on the table. "I don't understand why you tease me like this!" She yells as her nerves brake.</p> <p class="cnMxZGMyMGY1MTVmZjQyMWE4OTg1YTQ5NDA0MjdiMThj">  John shakes his head with a bright smile he lifts his hands in a calming manner. "There's no need to be so worried. I'm not someone who holds a grudge," he replies, motioning for her to sit back down. "Now, calm yourself."</p> <p class="cnNkZDQ4NTgyNDNkMDQ4NjFiMWZmMTVmOWRiNzMxMjUy">  "Look, if you're going to kill me, go ahead. Just leave my boy alone. He knows nothing!" Anna retorts, refusing to sit. She swallows hard and continues, "still, I must thank you for letting me see my boy one last time."</p> <p class="cnMyNzVkZDg3NzU2YzRlOWZiNzk4ZTg3OWZjMGYxMTI0">  John's eyebrow raises as he counters, "Didn't you promise the boy to be there when he wakes up? I don't plan to make you a liar." With a light tap on the table, he continues, "as for healing you. I just helped a bit by stimulating your natural healing with the energy on the hill. It's not even worth mentioning." He finishes with a wave of his hands, showing he doesn't think anything of it.</p> <p class="cnNiYTFmOGQ2ZmNhOTRhMjViNDFkMTQ0MjBjNDVkZDU1">  Anna deflates, falling on to her chair.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2U3NmYyZDkyMzQxOWQ5MDg0ZGZkN2ViZTVlOTM5">  John nods happily and says, "that's better now. To think I'd meet someone from the illustrious Emerald family out here." Then with a slight smile, he states, "a Lamenter no less."</p> <p class="cnM4OTNhNzAyMjc4MjQwMDc4Yjc2MTU5YzJiMzczMjgw">  Anna feels a shiver run down her back. "Did you get close to my son because you knew?"</p> <p class="cnNkODI1ZmQ4MjBjNDQxYzFiODZlMjQwY2EwNThiZjdm">  "Nope, I'm just a long-dead guy who heard a boy proclaiming he'd become strong," John explains while Leaning back in his chair. He rubs his chin, musing, "it's quite dull being dead. Not much to do, you know? So I just thought it'd be fun to teach him a few things. Perhaps if he shows talent, I'll even bestow a simple cultivation technique."</p> <p class="cnM0NzFhMWNmNTg1ODQ1NmE5MzJmN2Y0NzcyMGFhNGUx">  "Do you think he can become powerful like you?" Anna asks in excitement, fire returning to her eyes.</p> <p class="cnMyMzNmMGYwODdmOTQwZTdiZDIzZWIyZWQwYzRlZmI1">  John rubs his nose in embarrassment. "Even if you say it like that, being as powerful as me is nothing. Alas, he is too old. Unless his talent reaches the heavens, he'll never catch up to the geniuses that start at five." Anna's heart hurts upon hearing the news slouching back into her chair.</p> <p class="cnM3ODQyNWVhYWRjMTQzNDI4YzQwMDZlNDMzNWE5OGZk">  "You don't hope to get your son to soar the heavens and take up the torch, do you?" John's eyes gleam, looking at Anna as if he can see through her.</p> <p class="cnMxY2RiNmM5OGZhZjQyZjJhNjI1NmJiNDBmNjU0NGZh">  "It's too bad. By the time you have the fire for it. Your potential is used up." She says with a sigh. "I too was like my son, living a carefree life before everything was turned upside down."</p> </div>

Anna's return fills the village with gratefulness. They all kowtow towards the hill and their guardian spirit. No one can believe this miracle. They were sure Anna would die just yesterday, and now she is walking down the hill by herself.   Franklin is the first to rush to his mom hugging her. Anna winces as her arm shoots with pain.   "Your arm is still hurt?" Franklin asks worriedly.   Anna smiles at her son and pats his head with her healthy left arm. "Don't worry. I'm sure it will be better soon."   Arron walks over with a huge smile, "I'm glad you're back with us."   "Thanks," she says with a nod and a slight smile.   As more are about to rush over, Gregory steps up. "It's getting late, and she was just healed. Let's at least give her a night to rest."   Laurel starts to run over anyways, but Mellisa firmly grips the girl's hand. "Now, honey, you heard Gregory. You can apologize tomorrow," Mellisa says, although, in her heart, she thinks it was all that Franklin's fault. It did no good to bring up the grievance now.   "But mother," Laurel whines as she is dragged off.   "Let's go home," Anna says to Franklin.   With that, everyone disperses returning to their hovels to rest for the night. Franklin worries the whole way back, asking over and over whether she is alright. Arron watches over them from a distance making sure they make it home.   "Stop fussing I've told you a hundred times that I'm perfectly healthy!" Anna scolds Franklin with a frown.   "I know, but you were so hurt..." Franklin pouts while looking at his feet.   Anna sighs and cups her son’s face with her left hand. "I know you're worried, But I can tell you haven't slept, and you've been crying. Let your eyes rest and go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning just like always."   The boy hesitates but then slowly nods his head and goes to his makeshift bed. Though he is reluctant, his eyes can't stay open a moment longer. Anna watches as the boy falls asleep. Even while sleeping, Franklin’s forehead remains scrunched with worry.   Anna begins to shift his hair, gently caressing the boy with love. Franklin quickly falls asleep feeling safe with his mother at his side. When Anna sees her son peacefully sleeping, her eyes burn fiery with passion. Her face contorts with hate as she began to sing a strange lullaby. "Hold, hold, ye sons and daughters, though the lines have shattered n' despair abound. Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are battered and broken? Fight, fight, all you descendants though the war horns fall silent n' destinies broken. Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are scattered and lost? Charge, charge, filial warriors though your stamina exhausted n' no allies are found. Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are crying and wailing? Hasten, hasten, all the survivors though the seal is still yonder n' hope has been lost. Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your decedents are fearful and haggard? Woe, woe, for our enemies though the field has been taken n' your enemies flatten. Why must thy slumber for traitors and bastards whilst your body still healthy and life hasn't left you?"   Upon the hill, John is watching the son and mother duo. When he hears the song, his leaves shudder. "Who would have thought I would meet a Lamenter here," John Sighs to himself with memories of his past life flying by. "To think there are still survivors!" He exclaims with mixed emotions.   Back in the hovel, Anna turns to her bed with deviant eyes. Slowly she crawls into bed while trying to keep her right arm comfortable. After having some issues getting her arm in a good position, she too drifts off to sleep.   In Anna’s dream, she sees an old man standing there as if waiting for a guest. "I thought you might show up," She says with a rye smile.   "Indeed, I was quite surprised by your feat the other day." He says with a kind smile with a wave of his hand, a cozy table and chairs appear. "Here, why don't we sit and have a chat."   Anna hesitates a bit nervously, chewing her cheek. However, what can she do? Shaking her head, she takes a seat opposite the old man. "What does a master such as yourself, wish to talk to a nobody like me about?" she asks, smiling.   John can’t help but laugh, "Can't an old man have a chat with a young lady without ulterior motives you wound me."   Frowning, Anna responds, "I know you are helping my son, and for that, I'm thankful. But I don't see any reason to beat around the bush." Anna's forehead is covered in sweat as she slams her hand on the table. "I don't understand why you tease me like this!" She yells as her nerves brake.   John shakes his head with a bright smile he lifts his hands in a calming manner. "There's no need to be so worried. I'm not someone who holds a grudge," he replies, motioning for her to sit back down. "Now, calm yourself."   "Look, if you're going to kill me, go ahead. Just leave my boy alone. He knows nothing!" Anna retorts, refusing to sit. She swallows hard and continues, "still, I must thank you for letting me see my boy one last time."   John's eyebrow raises as he counters, "Didn't you promise the boy to be there when he wakes up? I don't plan to make you a liar." With a light tap on the table, he continues, "as for healing you. I just helped a bit by stimulating your natural healing with the energy on the hill. It's not even worth mentioning." He finishes with a wave of his hands, showing he doesn't think anything of it.   Anna deflates, falling on to her chair.   John nods happily and says, "that's better now. To think I'd meet someone from the illustrious Emerald family out here." Then with a slight smile, he states, "a Lamenter no less."   Anna feels a shiver run down her back. "Did you get close to my son because you knew?"   "Nope, I'm just a long-dead guy who heard a boy proclaiming he'd become strong," John explains while Leaning back in his chair. He rubs his chin, musing, "it's quite dull being dead. Not much to do, you know? So I just thought it'd be fun to teach him a few things. Perhaps if he shows talent, I'll even bestow a simple cultivation technique."   "Do you think he can become powerful like you?" Anna asks in excitement, fire returning to her eyes.   John rubs his nose in embarrassment. "Even if you say it like that, being as powerful as me is nothing. Alas, he is too old. Unless his talent reaches the heavens, he'll never catch up to the geniuses that start at five." Anna's heart hurts upon hearing the news slouching back into her chair.   "You don't hope to get your son to soar the heavens and take up the torch, do you?" John's eyes gleam, looking at Anna as if he can see through her.   "It's too bad. By the time you have the fire for it. Your potential is used up." She says with a sigh. "I too was like my son, living a carefree life before everything was turned upside down."

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkZDQzYWFlMTMzZjQyMzY4Mjg3ZmVjMTVjNGEyYTlk">  John strokes his chin with a smile saying, "I don't think it's ever too late to start cultivating. I'm sure your son would love for you to live longer, at least."</p> <p class="cnNiMzY2YjIwN2ZjZjQwYjVhMGE4ZDk4OGQxNzk3NGQ4">  Anna's body shakes as she leans on the table. "Maybe, but our inheritance has long been broken."</p> <p class="cnM3OTg1ZWFjYjFiOTQ0MGM5MmQwZjRkNDc5NDBhMDU1">  "Oh? But I saw you use one of the Emerald families phrases to burst forth with might earlier," he questions with a raise of his eyebrow while reclining in his seat.</p> <p class="cnNlOWU3NjdmNDg3NzQyMGNiMzE4NjczOWRlYzY5ZjIx">  "It's one my father knew." she sighs. "He always told me it's dangerous to use a phrase that's not your own. I wouldn't have used it if it wasn't to save Franklin." Anna rubs her head with frustration before continuing, "Honestly, I don't even know if my father was given his own phrase or if like me, he learned it from someone else."</p> <p class="cnMwZjMyMTcwMTZiNTQxOGJiN2QxYmUwNjMwZDA0NGMx">  "I think that's likely so." The older man wisely nods. "From what I know, there is quite a unique ceremony were those with the blood of the Emerald family would learn a phrase best suited for them." He holds up his hand as he sees the woman's eyes flash with hope. "I, of course, know nothing of the details."</p> <p class="cnNiOGJkZjFkMWM1MjRjMTlhZDRlMTY5ODk5ZDYzMmMy">  Her head sinks to the table with sorrow. "Yes, there's no reason why you'd know such a secret. Perhaps only the Emerald king remembers."</p> <p class="cnMyNzYzZmEwMmFiNTRhNDM4YTY5NjNmNDkzNzVjMTdh">  "Honestly, I haven't heard many good things about the Emerald king. Perhaps you shouldn't put so much faith in him," John looks to the distance like he sees the long-forgotten past. "There is only death on that path." Pausing, he looks Anna in the eyes. "Is that truly what you want for your son?"</p> <p class="cnNlNDZiNTJiMjgzNzRmYzViMTc4NzYwOTVmYTlmZTBi">  "Of course not!" Anna yells, clenching her fists. "Yet there is no future for us like this. How much farther can we run?"</p> <p class="cnM2ZjUzMDk1YWE4ZDQ4MTZhZTBiMzc4Y2JhZGEyZGE5">  "You could always return to the Emerald family," John replies while eyeing the lass.</p> <p class="cnNkY2Y4ZDNlMGU1MTQ0NmM5MzU2YTdhMWI0MjIxNTY1">  Anna's eyes burst forth with hatred. "Those traitors and bastards besmirch our ancestors!" she cries, flinging the table away in a rage. "When the Emerald king is unsealed, where will they hide!?"</p> <p class="cnM5ZDliZmU2MDdkZjQ4ZDBiMGFjZDIzMDE1OTQxMTIw">  Watching the tantrum, John can only feel depressed. "Truly, even after all this time, the hatred burns so brightly. I don't understand the obsession with the Emerald king." With a flip of his hand, the table flies back into its position. He gestures for the enraged woman to sit back down. "He's been gone so long even when I was alive. It was only rumors and legends."</p> <p class="cnNiNWM0ZWM2NjkxMzQ4YWM4ZWExZTRhOGY3MjNjOWU3">  With a harrumph, Anna grumpily sits down. "It's true that someone like me knows nothing. Still, I know he was powerful!" She gestures violently to punctuate her point. "Not even the strongest powers could subdue him. He was only sealed due to the betrayal of those bastards."</p> <p class="cnM2N2M1YTg3NWMxYzRjMmQ5ZWM2ZDMxODRjOTc2MTk1">  John smiles, "such determination. What you said seems to be the truth, for the most part. However, I know not the details." With a wave of his hand, a set of teacups appeared. "Here, calm your nerves. If you'd like, I could tell you what I do know of this ancient powerhouse."</p> <p class="cnNlM2UxZjRhMzc3NTRiODg5ZGM0NThhYTdmZWFiOTIy">  As Anna moves to grab her cup, she notices her hand is still shaking with agitation. She grabs her arm and lets out a breath settling her nerves. "I would love to hear about my heroic ancestor,” she says, smiling while taking a sip of tea.</p> <p class="cnNiOTNmNDU0NzZhYjRhMzFhMDg3NjJlZTM0OGU3OTU2">  John shakes his head. "Heroic may be a bit much for the man. He indeed was powerful, though." John pauses to glance at the woman. "I think you may find him quite detestable if you met him." John puts his hand up before she can retort. "From all tellings, he didn't have the passion of his ancestors. He was a cold man that would follow contracts to the letter."</p> <p class="cnM2ZWY2MTRiM2YyNTRjZmI4ZDBmNGQyMjRkZjJjNWEx">  John waves his hands, sending them floating in a void before a scene of a city appears. A young man in a black cloak appears. Before anyone knows what is happening, the slaughter begins. The man in black slaughters the warriors and citizens with ease. Not even a child is spared.</p> <p class="cnMxNzQ4OWZhMjIzYjQ4NDU5NTgxN2FlODI2ZTgyNzY3">  A contract floats down on to the table. Kill all those in the Polad city. Next, a scene plays out where an immense empire is smashed to bits. A second contract lands on the table. Leave no stone upon another in the Hist Immortal Empire.</p> <p class="cnMwNGJiMmQyNWE0NzRlZjZiZTU2N2QwOTdhOTA4NDg4">  Lastly, in space, the man in black views a small blue planet. He holds out his hand and closes his finger into a fist. The planet collapses, shattering into pieces like an egg that is squeezed too hard. The final contract says to destroy the Bluglen outer world.</p> <p class="cnMwY2QxMWUwNGNkZDRhZGViYjBjNmI4M2Y5N2E0ZDA3">  Anna can't speak as her jaw drops. John can only sigh. With a stomp of his feet, they return to the tranquil setting with their quaint table and chairs.</p> <p class="cnMzNzZjZDUzMDJhYzRiMWViYzAyNGVkYjJiMmVkNTA0">  "Even when I was alive, these were only rumors and legends. It's funny. The emerald king has long been lambasted as a liar and cheat by his enemies. Yet, in the end, they could only force him to seal himself up with a contract," John explains with a smile. John then continues while absentmindedly taps the table, "If he were such a despicable untrustworthy person, wouldn't he just break the contract?"</p> <p class="cnMwNWY3NGRhZTYzNTRjNmFiYjI1OTQ1NTY4OGJhZWMx">  Anna mulls over John’s words before stating, "I think that he was probably not a great person." Anna nods with a sharp look in her eyes. "Yet, he was a powerful man. My father told me not to look up to him. Still, even if we must sign some devilish contract, it'll be worth it to destroy those bastards."</p> <p class="cnNhZDY1YjE5NTYwMTRjNTk4ZDM3NGVjMGU0ZGJkYWZm">  John leans on his elbow as he watches the impassioned mother. "Spoken just like a model Lamenter. I have a slightly controversial view of the man myself," John remarks.</p> <p class="cnNkZGJlNmFhM2E4YjQwMjhhMjVhM2M2ZjZhYmJmMzcx">  With a wave, John points to the distance. Again the black-clad man walks at a steady pace. Every so often, some beast or enraged man would attack him. Yet each time they were dispatched. Then armies come one after another, leaving bodies piled like mountains. Planets now stood in his path, but they to were destroyed.</p> <p class="cnNlMjI4N2E5NDRkZDRmMGFhMTM1M2E4OWNlOGE3Yzcx">  Finally, the Emerald king was surrounded by men who were so powerful John couldn't even honestly picture them. Everyone had an aura covering their features as if even imagining how they looked would profane them. Yet still, even these peak experts couldn't subdue the black-cloaked man. The black-cloaked man looked out into the distance as if looking through time directly at Anna.</p> <p class="cnM5Nzc0ODM4N2E4NzQ1MGNhMzExMTZmMjAxMmRjMmJh">  As Anna views the man, she always viewed as a heroic figure. What she saw was a haggard man. She couldn't help but gasp. This man looked as if he was exhausted by many years of life. The heavens could not contain his might, yet fools still flung themselves at him as if asking for death. In the end, the Emerald king shook his head and sighed, signing the contract to be sealed away until the seal is released.</p> <p class="cnNmYjMxMGY2MTczYTQ1MTc5ZTk4NDM0NzI1NTE1MmFh">  "Who can say the truth, though," John says. "I've heard more than my fair share of stories about him. All were lambasting the man. Yet even in those stories, there were still small grains of truth. As if us weaklings weren't able to fully suppress him even in our own minds."</p> <p class="cnM3Y2JjZWVlMTUwZDRlYzA4NWRkMmU5MmI4ZTczNzBl">  Anna shudders. "I think you may have guessed right. I always wondered why such a powerful man would agree to be sealed," She whispers.</p> <p class="cnMzYmVhZjRkNjM4NjQ1ZTViMDM5ZWIzZDg4MDEzMDlm">  "I know that even still, you will follow the path of a Lamenter." John frowns while looking sadly at the lady. "I won't stop you, and I will even continue to teach your son. Still, let me tell you one more tale. This one is about me and my past dealing with Lamenters!" He shouts the final word, and the whole dreamscape shudders as the world began to change.</p> </div>

John strokes his chin with a smile saying, "I don't think it's ever too late to start cultivating. I'm sure your son would love for you to live longer, at least."   Anna's body shakes as she leans on the table. "Maybe, but our inheritance has long been broken."   "Oh? But I saw you use one of the Emerald families phrases to burst forth with might earlier," he questions with a raise of his eyebrow while reclining in his seat.   "It's one my father knew." she sighs. "He always told me it's dangerous to use a phrase that's not your own. I wouldn't have used it if it wasn't to save Franklin." Anna rubs her head with frustration before continuing, "Honestly, I don't even know if my father was given his own phrase or if like me, he learned it from someone else."   "I think that's likely so." The older man wisely nods. "From what I know, there is quite a unique ceremony were those with the blood of the Emerald family would learn a phrase best suited for them." He holds up his hand as he sees the woman's eyes flash with hope. "I, of course, know nothing of the details."   Her head sinks to the table with sorrow. "Yes, there's no reason why you'd know such a secret. Perhaps only the Emerald king remembers."   "Honestly, I haven't heard many good things about the Emerald king. Perhaps you shouldn't put so much faith in him," John looks to the distance like he sees the long-forgotten past. "There is only death on that path." Pausing, he looks Anna in the eyes. "Is that truly what you want for your son?"   "Of course not!" Anna yells, clenching her fists. "Yet there is no future for us like this. How much farther can we run?"   "You could always return to the Emerald family," John replies while eyeing the lass.   Anna's eyes burst forth with hatred. "Those traitors and bastards besmirch our ancestors!" she cries, flinging the table away in a rage. "When the Emerald king is unsealed, where will they hide!?"   Watching the tantrum, John can only feel depressed. "Truly, even after all this time, the hatred burns so brightly. I don't understand the obsession with the Emerald king." With a flip of his hand, the table flies back into its position. He gestures for the enraged woman to sit back down. "He's been gone so long even when I was alive. It was only rumors and legends."   With a harrumph, Anna grumpily sits down. "It's true that someone like me knows nothing. Still, I know he was powerful!" She gestures violently to punctuate her point. "Not even the strongest powers could subdue him. He was only sealed due to the betrayal of those bastards."   John smiles, "such determination. What you said seems to be the truth, for the most part. However, I know not the details." With a wave of his hand, a set of teacups appeared. "Here, calm your nerves. If you'd like, I could tell you what I do know of this ancient powerhouse."   As Anna moves to grab her cup, she notices her hand is still shaking with agitation. She grabs her arm and lets out a breath settling her nerves. "I would love to hear about my heroic ancestor,” she says, smiling while taking a sip of tea.   John shakes his head. "Heroic may be a bit much for the man. He indeed was powerful, though." John pauses to glance at the woman. "I think you may find him quite detestable if you met him." John puts his hand up before she can retort. "From all tellings, he didn't have the passion of his ancestors. He was a cold man that would follow contracts to the letter."   John waves his hands, sending them floating in a void before a scene of a city appears. A young man in a black cloak appears. Before anyone knows what is happening, the slaughter begins. The man in black slaughters the warriors and citizens with ease. Not even a child is spared.   A contract floats down on to the table. Kill all those in the Polad city. Next, a scene plays out where an immense empire is smashed to bits. A second contract lands on the table. Leave no stone upon another in the Hist Immortal Empire.   Lastly, in space, the man in black views a small blue planet. He holds out his hand and closes his finger into a fist. The planet collapses, shattering into pieces like an egg that is squeezed too hard. The final contract says to destroy the Bluglen outer world.   Anna can't speak as her jaw drops. John can only sigh. With a stomp of his feet, they return to the tranquil setting with their quaint table and chairs.   "Even when I was alive, these were only rumors and legends. It's funny. The emerald king has long been lambasted as a liar and cheat by his enemies. Yet, in the end, they could only force him to seal himself up with a contract," John explains with a smile. John then continues while absentmindedly taps the table, "If he were such a despicable untrustworthy person, wouldn't he just break the contract?"   Anna mulls over John’s words before stating, "I think that he was probably not a great person." Anna nods with a sharp look in her eyes. "Yet, he was a powerful man. My father told me not to look up to him. Still, even if we must sign some devilish contract, it'll be worth it to destroy those bastards."   John leans on his elbow as he watches the impassioned mother. "Spoken just like a model Lamenter. I have a slightly controversial view of the man myself," John remarks.   With a wave, John points to the distance. Again the black-clad man walks at a steady pace. Every so often, some beast or enraged man would attack him. Yet each time they were dispatched. Then armies come one after another, leaving bodies piled like mountains. Planets now stood in his path, but they to were destroyed.   Finally, the Emerald king was surrounded by men who were so powerful John couldn't even honestly picture them. Everyone had an aura covering their features as if even imagining how they looked would profane them. Yet still, even these peak experts couldn't subdue the black-cloaked man. The black-cloaked man looked out into the distance as if looking through time directly at Anna.   As Anna views the man, she always viewed as a heroic figure. What she saw was a haggard man. She couldn't help but gasp. This man looked as if he was exhausted by many years of life. The heavens could not contain his might, yet fools still flung themselves at him as if asking for death. In the end, the Emerald king shook his head and sighed, signing the contract to be sealed away until the seal is released.   "Who can say the truth, though," John says. "I've heard more than my fair share of stories about him. All were lambasting the man. Yet even in those stories, there were still small grains of truth. As if us weaklings weren't able to fully suppress him even in our own minds."   Anna shudders. "I think you may have guessed right. I always wondered why such a powerful man would agree to be sealed," She whispers.   "I know that even still, you will follow the path of a Lamenter." John frowns while looking sadly at the lady. "I won't stop you, and I will even continue to teach your son. Still, let me tell you one more tale. This one is about me and my past dealing with Lamenters!" He shouts the final word, and the whole dreamscape shudders as the world began to change.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkYmQ2NjU0ODNjMDRlMTBhZWFhMjczYTFhOTc4ODUz">Alyssa shoveled spoonful after spoonful of warm porridge into her mouth. After two weeks of living off nothing but stale bread and the occasional soupy stew at villages, having something with a bit more sustenance than water was almost making her drool. She could understand Yzhemal’s complaints about her attitude toward good food much better now.</p> <p class="cnM3YWZmZTg3YmQ4YjQ4MTM4MDc1OTQ5MGM3MGMzMjRi">Once again, Alyssa had her back to a wall, seated in a corner of the inn’s dining area underneath the second floor balcony where she could watch both entrances to the room. As it turned out, Cid and Bacco had not been leading her to an ambush. Neither had she been murdered in her sleep—though said sleep had hardly been satisfying with how she had kept one eye open all night. It was a dingy little place with tiny rooms. She had thought Yzhemal’s inn had been a bit filthy, but compared to this place, his inn was fit for kings. At least it had individual rooms. None of the villages she had stayed in on the way to Lyria had offered her any privacy. There was a larger communal room here, but Alyssa had shilled out the extra coins in the name of isolation.</p> <p class="cnM3M2Y2NTg3MGNiZTQ1MTViZTI2NWQ0ZmExNTk2NDY3">As a larger man ducked through the main entrance, Alyssa slowed her eating. Bacco stood up straight and glanced around the room until he spotted her. With a nervous lick of his lips, he walked over and carefully sat in the seat on the other side of the table. The wood creaked, but held firm despite his weight.</p> <p class="cnM2NzlmNjU0N2FmMTQwMGZiYzhmZTMxM2E4ZTMwZDA1">“I take it you’re here for the cloak?” Alyssa asked as she set down the wooden spoon. “I’ll not go back on my word, but I would prefer to finish my meal first.” Her backpack was actually on the floor right next to her. There was no way that she was going to leave it in her room where anyone could wander in and loot it. At the same time, she wasn’t about to pull the cloak out in such a public room.</p> <p class="cnMwMDk1YTY5NTk4ODQyYzA5YjE2NGFjMjhkYjFjY2My">“Actually, Cid has some people to speak with and some arrangements to make first. Moving such a sensitive article requires preparation and care. He would prefer if you keep it for now.”</p> <p class="cnM5ODczMzQ0NTdhMDQyYWQ5ZjhkNTUxMzRkYTliMzk3">Alyssa frowned at the larger man. It might all be a bluff, but the more she heard about it, the less she wanted it. Aziz really had dropped a bomb on her. There probably hadn’t been any ill intent behind the gift. Maybe he had thought that she wouldn’t leave Teneville much. After finding out—incorrectly—that she was an arcanist, he probably had figured that it wouldn’t be an issue for her to have. Obviously that wasn’t so. “That wasn’t the agreement.” Alyssa pressed her lips together. “You were to take it off my hands last night. If I am to keep it, I expect compensation.”</p> <p class="cnNjNjU0MDE3ZDY4NTRjMDA4ZGNlNzJiYTU2NDc5MjY5">“That can be arranged.” His response came quick and snappy. Was that sweat beading on his forehead? Whatever he thought she was really worked as an advantage to her. Her funds were practically gone. She only had a few of the bronze bars left. Getting a few silver pieces for this cloak would make it not a complete waste, even if it was worth several gold.</p> <p class="cnNmMTRmM2RkNDU0MzQ4ZDc4MmVjNTQxNmYwODk3Yzcw">Nodding, Alyssa picked up her spoon. But Bacco just sat there and stared. It was a bit awkward being the only one eating. Especially while being stared at. “Was there something else you needed?”</p> <p class="cnM5NDJiZWE3YzkwYjRlZTQ4ZDhhMmJlZGU5ZjM1OTli">“What are you planning on doing in the city?”</p> <p class="cnM4ZjNiZmY3ZTkwYjRmZTk5ZDU5MGRkZWE3MTM4NDM4">Alyssa quirked her head and considered telling him to mind his own business. But was there really much harm in telling him? She might be able to get some information. “I require magical knowledge. I heard there was some sort of academy here.”</p> <p class="cnNlMmM5ODRiZjVmMjRlZDFiMDk5OGZmNWMyMDg5NjZh">“M-Magic?”</p> <p class="cnNmNDMzZmE1YzQ2NTQxZjVhMmZlMmU2OTZlNmFlNTgw">“Surely you believe in it.” Alyssa started to reach for her pack. “If you need a demonstration…”</p> <p class="cnNiNTU2MGNjMjczMDQ3ZTA5ZWNhODNlZTYyOWRmZTk3">“No!” He rocked back in his seat. The wood couldn’t take it. Both of the back legs cracked and snapped, sending him to the floor in a pile of splinters.</p> <p class="cnMzODRjODU4MWIzYTQ0MDc4ZGNjODM2ZDcyOTAwNjVi">“Bacco!” the innkeeper bellowed from behind the counter. “I’ve warned you! I’ve told you time and time again not to sit your lard-ass in my chairs!”</p> <p class="cnM5YTkzMjdlYmEwMTQyYjliYjBlZDM4MTg2NjkyZmEz">Bacco stood, frantically brushing wood off his clothes. “Sorry,” he called back, though his wide eyes never left Alyssa.</p> <p class="cnNhNDg0YjcxNmYyODQ3ODBhNjQ0MDI4ZDA0ODRjZTYx">Who simply ate a spoonful of porridge, shrugging her shoulders. “If it calms you at all, I’m just looking for books on travel magic. Something to get me back home. You help me and I’ll be gone before you know it.”</p> <p class="cnNmMjZlMWQ1ZGFhZTRmMmZhYmEwN2I3ZWFhZmZlYTE5">That did seem to work. He let out a great sigh as he bent to tidy up the mess of a chair. But the moment Alyssa spoke, she started to reconsider. Her original reason for coming to Lyria was to find magic that would get her back to her world. Back to Earth. Back to her real home and her family. But Iosefael… There was an angel just waiting for her to return. One who, while not explicitly saying that she would try to kill Alyssa, had definitely not denied the notion.</p> <p class="cnM3ZjFmNDJlNzRhMzQzNzk5N2E3ZmFkODAwOGE2ODE5">Expanding her magical search to encompass defensive and offensive magic might be necessary. Would she even be able to use magic back on her Earth? Alyssa leaned back in her chair, idly stirring the remaining porridge. The library at the academy might not even have books on any angels. Tenebrael was more of a god to these people than what she commonly understood an angel to be. Researching angels might well be sacrilege.</p> <p class="cnNmYzdiNTQzNmYwMTQyODk4OTkxNmI1YTU1MmFhNGYw">But it sounded like something she needed to do before returning home.</p> <p class="cnMwOGJmZGE1NjA5MTQ2YzNiZjQ1MmVhZjc2YTQ5ZGM1">Still, if she could acquire a way home, that didn’t mean that she had to use it right away. She had a whole list of things she needed to learn, apparently, but the order probably didn’t matter too much. At least so long as neither Tenebrael nor Iosefael came after her anytime soon. Alyssa hummed to herself for a moment. Maybe there was a priority order to her list. She needed to sit down and actually write out a list, but magic to defend herself against angels might be much higher on it for the time being.</p> <p class="cnNkNDkzMDIwMTBlMzRiYzQ5NWUwMGI4MzNkZDk4ZGY5">Oh well. No need to tell Bacco that. He was worried enough as it was. About what, exactly, Alyssa still didn’t know. She couldn’t exactly ask without revealing her ignorance and possibly ruining everything. No. Best to keep him afraid for now. She wasn’t as sure that Cid was quite so afraid, but so long as she got help from one of them, it didn’t matter much. Hopefully the cloak, even with a few silver taken out for her, would keep him happy enough to leave her alone.</p> <p class="cnM1MTk4NWQ4YzZlYTRmMjY4OWFlMDQ3ZjhkNjk1MTkz">Alyssa picked up her spoon, but hesitated as a twisting knot formed in her stomach. A black feather rested just on top of her porridge. She dropped her spoon and grabbed her shotgun from where it leaned against her backpack, flicking the safety off as she scanned the room.</p> <p class="cnM3NzYwNTUzNDU5ZTRkOTI5YzlhNmUwMjI2YzE2NDBh">Bacco was still brushing himself off. The innkeeper stood behind the counter, glaring at him as someone else stepped up to make an order or request lodgings. A pair of shady types were seated in a different corner of the room, hunched over their table. A man with bandages wrapped around his head and covering one of his eyes ate from a similar bowl of porridge. A burly woman was half in the front door.</p> <p class="cnMzZjY5Zjk4N2JlNDRhMDhiYzg5ZGE2MmYyYThlMjJi">They all had one thing in common.</p> <p class="cnNjMWNiOTExNzE5MzQxN2M4YjhkNmUxYzg0NGUwMWQ4">None of them were moving. They were frozen. Even splinters shaken from Bacco’s pants were floating in the air, still and ignoring gravity. The two at the table had their mouths open as if they were in the middle of conversation, but their lips and tongues were locked in place. The woman at the door had one of her feet up in the air. She should be toppling forward, or at least following through with her step, but she wasn’t.</p> <p class="cnM3NDA1ODMxODNhMjRmMTRiYmNkMGFhNmQxYTc3NDZj">Moving around the table, Alyssa paused in front of Bacco. She reached out and poked a finger right into his shoulder. It didn’t give at all. She might as well be poking a marble statue. He didn’t even give off any heat, though he wasn’t exactly cold to the touch either. Trying the same thing on one of the hovering splinters, Alyssa found that she could pluck one out of the air and move it around. Letting it go, it fell for a few inches before slowing to a standstill without hitting anything.</p> <p class="cnNjM2JmY2RmMzk0OTQ4ZDI4ZjBjYWE5ZGQyY2VlYjBh">“Alyssa Meadows!”</p> <p class="cnMyMDUyODljYmQ0ZTQwZDA5ZjIzNjE2ZWE4N2RhYTY1">Alyssa jumped at the sound of her own name. She whipped around, nestling the butt of her shotgun in her shoulder as she aimed up.</p> <p class="cnNjZGQ3MDllNTkyMjQ3NDY5ZGI0ZjFlOGYzNTdiZGFl">There she was. That monochrome angel sat on the narrow wooden railing of the balcony, one leg crossed over the other. She had her chin resting on her curled knuckles as she stared down at Alyssa with those luminescent white eyes. Her black wings were spread out behind her, looking far larger than they had back in her room as they filled up almost all the available space of the balcony.</p> <p class="cnM4ZjBmNzc5YTlmMzRkNzU4ZTYwMzMyMGJiNTAwNDQw">“Tenebrael,” Alyssa said through grit teeth.</p> <p class="cnMzODE0MjYzM2ZmNzQ0MGI5MTE0OGFkNmYzZGE0YWY4">“Wha,” Tenebrael said, mock flinching back. “So hostile! You really should be thanking me, you know? You were supposed to have died that night. If it hadn’t been for me messing things up, you would have. Now look at you! You’re living and doing well. How are you liking my world?”</p> <p class="cnM1NzVkN2I4ODZjMTQzMmJhZWEyNmExYWU0Y2JjMGI2">“Could use more toilets. Proper toilets. And plumbing. And food. Modern conveniences.” Alyssa let out a small sigh as she lowered her gun. She doubted it would help against an angel. Tenebrael had apparently stopped time just to have this little conversation. What could a shotgun do to that?</p> <p class="cnM5YmIyY2VhZDVmMjRmZmZiYThhYTcwMzRjYjZiNzYy">“Yes, yes.” Tenebrael waved a dismissive hand. “Spoiled city girl has to rough it out a bit. Of course, I ensured you would have all your modern amenities back at your house. Which you’re quite far from.”</p> <p class="cnNiNTZhOTUxMGQ1MjRmNjBhNzY1Y2E1OTMzZTFlYTA3">“Here to drag me back?”</p> <p class="cnNhZjBiYjRjZjQ0MTQ4ZGE4N2Y2NmE5MWRiNzk3NmVm">“No! Not at all. You’re out here, messing things up in my world just like I did to your life. Or your death, as the case was.” She reached behind her and pulled out a familiar little book, though this one had a black ribbon placeholder rather than the golden one Alyssa had seen before. “This holds a record of everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in my world. But it is wrong. Two people are alive who should have died and one person has died when he shouldn’t have. And that’s just death-related matters. There are all kinds of minor nuances that are not flowing as they should. Do you know when the first discrepancy occurred?”</p> <p class="cnMwN2Q0ZmE1NWNhMTRmOTM4YThjMDE3ODM5NGYzYmY0">“Probably shortly after I… after <span style="font-style: italic">you</span> brought me here.” Alyssa pressed her lips together. Was she about to be whisked off somewhere without people? Where she couldn’t ‘mess’ things up? “Am I supposed to apologize? Because I won’t.”</p> <p class="cnM3NjM2YTRhNmMwYjRhZDU4OWJjMGFjYTcwMzE4MzQ0">The angel let out a melodic burst of laughter. “No. Not at all. Do you know how long I’ve been trying to make this book wrong? It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. No matter how hard I try to avert the ending, my actions <span style="font-style: italic">or</span> inactions always lead to it coming true. But you, in just a few short days, you have already sent it off the rails, so to speak. Unfortunately, it was not without cost. Earth is… Well, I think I’m getting things back in order. It definitely isn’t easy.”</p> <p class="cnMwMmY5MDQ0YmFjMTQwMjFiOGM2NmYzZGQyZWViYWZm">Alyssa was fairly certain that she was missing some context, but… “If you want the book messed up, why are you trying to get things back in order?”</p> <p class="cnMxYjBlZGU0MGYxNTRlODZhZjhiNDUxZGZmYjJlODk3">“This planet,” Tenebrael said, sweeping her arms around, “is mine. Earth is not. I can cloak most of my actions here. Earth? Not so much. I’d rather not bring the Concord of Angels down on me. This world would likely be destroyed, me along with it.”</p> <p class="cnNkODZhMmI4ODMyMjQ3YWU4YTc2Y2M1NmRhZWY3MGZk">For just a moment, Alyssa had felt a moment of hope. If she could bring Tenebrael to the attention of this concord, perhaps they could get her out of here. But that hope snuffed out as Tenebrael continued talking. Destroying the world was a high price to pay. ‘Messed up’ or not, people lived here. Lots of people. Besides that, Iosefael wanted her dead. Who was to say that the other angels would be any different.</p> <p class="cnM3MzJiNjcxNDlkMzQyMzBiMDNkMTFjNzhhYjgyMGIw">Alyssa blinked. Was that a problem? Would it become a problem? “You, uh, don’t happen to know any angels by the name of Iosefael, do you?”</p> <p class="cnNmOTdiOTQ0MDcwYzQxNGY5NTMxMWVkNWQ5ZGQ4Nzcz">“Principality Iosefael?” Tenebrael tipped her ear to her shoulder. “How do you know her?”</p> <p class="cnMzZTVkMWU2OGU3NjRhODliMzY0ZDA1NTMxM2ZlM2I2">“She showed up shortly after the festival, tried to take me home, failed several times, then started complaining about the state of this world.”</p> <p class="cnM0N2RkMzRkNmYyNzQxOWJhNTJlNmQzYjFhZGZiNmM4">Tenebrael slipped off the balcony railing, gliding gracefully through the air until she reached the ground, landing lightly on her feet. Her wings folded up behind her, somehow forcing a full room’s wingspan into a person-sized space. “She appeared here?” the demon angel asked as she walked closer to Alyssa.</p> <p class="cnM2MDU5YTAwMWRhZjQyMjU5NmQ4N2M2N2FmZDU5YWU3">Alyssa couldn’t help but clutch her shotgun a little tighter even knowing that it wouldn’t help at all. The way Tenebrael’s glowing white eyes searched her over sent shivers all down her arms. “My home, actually.”</p> <p class="cnNmYWUyZmQ5OTVjZTQxMGE4NDMzMTRjZTQ0MDE3MzYx">Humming a serious yet still somehow musical tune, Tenebrael rubbed at her chin. “Iose and I are old friends, but she panics easily. Maybe I should go talk to her before she does anything foolish.” She nodded to herself. “Yes. You keep doing what you’re doing. I need to find Iosefael and keep putting Earth back into its proper state. Don’t die now! You’re my new experiment. We’ll see how the book adapts to you, if it can recover at all!” Tenebrael spun on her heel.</p> <p class="cnM3NmZlM2RjYjVjYjQ2ODRiMTM0OGZjZjk5MTBiMTUy">“Wait!” Alyssa reached out to grab her shoulder, but ended up with a fistful of black feathers as Tenebrael exploded in a flurry.</p> <p class="cnMxNDI4NDdhZWJmYzQ4NDFiNWNkNjA1ZWZkNjg2MzJk"><span style="font-style: italic">Great. Just great</span>. Truthfully, she hadn’t known what she wanted Tenebrael to wait for. More discussion? Maybe a little more information about her world or angels? Either way, it didn’t matter now. The angel was gone and Alyssa had no way of calling her back. She just stared at the empty space in front of her as hundreds more feathers fell around the room. They disappeared one by one as they touched something. The ones in her hand stayed behind, however. Would they be useful? She knew it was possible to create magical artifacts and that said artifacts needed parts of monsters or other magical entities, but Aziz’s book hadn’t gone too deep into the details. It was more focused on why he couldn’t cast a simple light spell.</p> <p class="cnNjMjkxZDBkNjgyYjRmNTlhZGY0N2Y3OWUwZTI2NTk2">A high pitched squeal interrupted her musings. Bacco stumbled backward, knocking over the table and her mostly eaten bowl of porridge with it. All the while, his wide eyes never left her.</p> <p class="cnM5M2ZmNjZlNTZlZjQ1NWFhY2I5ODRmYmE4YWQyZmQ3">“Bacco!” the innkeeper shouted again. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, naturally this time rather than supernaturally, and stared.</p> <p class="cnMwYjk5OTIwYmYxMzRmZjc4NWVhZDdmYzJjMmE5MjBh">This time, he didn’t even shout an apology back. He clutched at his chest, breathing in and out with great heaves. Alyssa hoped he wasn’t having a heart attack. From his position, it looked like she had teleported right behind him. It would technically be Tenebrael’s fault, but she would still feel a little guilty. Luckily, he seemed to be getting his breathing under control. He closed his eyes, breathed deep through his nose, held it a moment, then let it out through his mouth.</p> <p class="cnM4ODQxNmE1YWNmZDQ5YmU4MzM5YjRkYjU5NWJmNmNj">“Are you alright?”</p> <p class="cnMzNzhmMTZhYmI3NjQ4NmRiOTA3ZmZhM2YxYjcyODU3">He rapidly nodded his head without saying a word. Alyssa gave him another moment or two before holding out her hand.</p> <p class="cnM0M2M4ZGI3Y2UxNzRkY2E5YWQyNWMyMGZmNzc0Njdi">Seeing that he was calming down, Alyssa actually felt like laughing a little. He was twice her size. <span style="font-style: italic">At least!</span> Probably more. And he had gotten so scared. Though, thinking about it a moment more, she probably would have been the same had their positions been reversed. And knowing what a gun was would only make the situation worse, though Bacco didn’t know.</p> <p class="cnMyODIxYmRlMWViYTRkMTFiNGI0MzY2ZDA2MDNmZjc0">Still, she couldn’t laugh. She still had an act to maintain in front of him.</p> <p class="cnM0NmRhYjhmYzRjOTQ5Yzg5MjU5NWI4ZGY3ZWNjMzAw">“Do you see anything here?”</p> <p class="cnNhY2U0ZWE1ODg2MjQ5NTY5ZWE0MWY2OWJiODU1MDlh">Opening his eyes, he looked over Alyssa’s face for a moment before flicking his gaze to her hand. “Bunch of feathers?” he said.</p> <p class="cnNjMTlmN2UzOTk1NzQ5MzA4NmY4MWEyZmFhMWY0ZjNi">“Huh. Interesting.” So Tenebrael was invisible and her feathers vanished when they interacted with something, but the ones she had touched could be seen. If she touched Tenebrael and time wasn’t stopped, would people be able to see the angel? Maybe something to test.</p> <p class="cnNkMWNiZWQzN2ViZDQ3NGRhNDIwNTliN2JhY2U3MTNm">For the time being, she walked around the toppled table, ignoring the spilled food, and carefully placed the feathers into one of the side pockets of her backpack. With a suppressed groan, she hefted up the pack and strapped herself in. Really, she needed to find a place where she could store her gear and not be worried about it being stolen. Maybe magic could turn it invisible or something. Or weightless, that would be nice. For now though, it was early morning and she had a full day to explore the city.</p> <p class="cnNmMTE0ZmIyZWUzYjQ5ZmJiYTNkODcyYTQ1NDVhYmRl">She paused to stare at the remnants of her porridge. She had eaten most of it and wasn’t too hungry anymore, but it was still a waste. “You’re going to pay me back for that meal, right?”</p> <p class="cnMzNGM1NWZlNTFhZDQ3ZGFhNGMzOTFhYmFjYjJjNDdl">“Of course,” he said instantly.</p> <p class="cnNhMmYxM2MzNmI0ZjQ4MzQ4MDY5ZWUxMGU2YzUzMTZl">“Good. But now, I might take you up on that tour.”</p> </div>

Alyssa shoveled spoonful after spoonful of warm porridge into her mouth. After two weeks of living off nothing but stale bread and the occasional soupy stew at villages, having something with a bit more sustenance than water was almost making her drool. She could understand Yzhemal’s complaints about her attitude toward good food much better now. Once again, Alyssa had her back to a wall, seated in a corner of the inn’s dining area underneath the second floor balcony where she could watch both entrances to the room. As it turned out, Cid and Bacco had not been leading her to an ambush. Neither had she been murdered in her sleep—though said sleep had hardly been satisfying with how she had kept one eye open all night. It was a dingy little place with tiny rooms. She had thought Yzhemal’s inn had been a bit filthy, but compared to this place, his inn was fit for kings. At least it had individual rooms. None of the villages she had stayed in on the way to Lyria had offered her any privacy. There was a larger communal room here, but Alyssa had shilled out the extra coins in the name of isolation. As a larger man ducked through the main entrance, Alyssa slowed her eating. Bacco stood up straight and glanced around the room until he spotted her. With a nervous lick of his lips, he walked over and carefully sat in the seat on the other side of the table. The wood creaked, but held firm despite his weight. “I take it you’re here for the cloak?” Alyssa asked as she set down the wooden spoon. “I’ll not go back on my word, but I would prefer to finish my meal first.” Her backpack was actually on the floor right next to her. There was no way that she was going to leave it in her room where anyone could wander in and loot it. At the same time, she wasn’t about to pull the cloak out in such a public room. “Actually, Cid has some people to speak with and some arrangements to make first. Moving such a sensitive article requires preparation and care. He would prefer if you keep it for now.” Alyssa frowned at the larger man. It might all be a bluff, but the more she heard about it, the less she wanted it. Aziz really had dropped a bomb on her. There probably hadn’t been any ill intent behind the gift. Maybe he had thought that she wouldn’t leave Teneville much. After finding out—incorrectly—that she was an arcanist, he probably had figured that it wouldn’t be an issue for her to have. Obviously that wasn’t so. “That wasn’t the agreement.” Alyssa pressed her lips together. “You were to take it off my hands last night. If I am to keep it, I expect compensation.” “That can be arranged.” His response came quick and snappy. Was that sweat beading on his forehead? Whatever he thought she was really worked as an advantage to her. Her funds were practically gone. She only had a few of the bronze bars left. Getting a few silver pieces for this cloak would make it not a complete waste, even if it was worth several gold. Nodding, Alyssa picked up her spoon. But Bacco just sat there and stared. It was a bit awkward being the only one eating. Especially while being stared at. “Was there something else you needed?” “What are you planning on doing in the city?” Alyssa quirked her head and considered telling him to mind his own business. But was there really much harm in telling him? She might be able to get some information. “I require magical knowledge. I heard there was some sort of academy here.” “M-Magic?” “Surely you believe in it.” Alyssa started to reach for her pack. “If you need a demonstration…” “No!” He rocked back in his seat. The wood couldn’t take it. Both of the back legs cracked and snapped, sending him to the floor in a pile of splinters. “Bacco!” the innkeeper bellowed from behind the counter. “I’ve warned you! I’ve told you time and time again not to sit your lard-ass in my chairs!” Bacco stood, frantically brushing wood off his clothes. “Sorry,” he called back, though his wide eyes never left Alyssa. Who simply ate a spoonful of porridge, shrugging her shoulders. “If it calms you at all, I’m just looking for books on travel magic. Something to get me back home. You help me and I’ll be gone before you know it.” That did seem to work. He let out a great sigh as he bent to tidy up the mess of a chair. But the moment Alyssa spoke, she started to reconsider. Her original reason for coming to Lyria was to find magic that would get her back to her world. Back to Earth. Back to her real home and her family. But Iosefael… There was an angel just waiting for her to return. One who, while not explicitly saying that she would try to kill Alyssa, had definitely not denied the notion. Expanding her magical search to encompass defensive and offensive magic might be necessary. Would she even be able to use magic back on her Earth? Alyssa leaned back in her chair, idly stirring the remaining porridge. The library at the academy might not even have books on any angels. Tenebrael was more of a god to these people than what she commonly understood an angel to be. Researching angels might well be sacrilege. But it sounded like something she needed to do before returning home. Still, if she could acquire a way home, that didn’t mean that she had to use it right away. She had a whole list of things she needed to learn, apparently, but the order probably didn’t matter too much. At least so long as neither Tenebrael nor Iosefael came after her anytime soon. Alyssa hummed to herself for a moment. Maybe there was a priority order to her list. She needed to sit down and actually write out a list, but magic to defend herself against angels might be much higher on it for the time being. Oh well. No need to tell Bacco that. He was worried enough as it was. About what, exactly, Alyssa still didn’t know. She couldn’t exactly ask without revealing her ignorance and possibly ruining everything. No. Best to keep him afraid for now. She wasn’t as sure that Cid was quite so afraid, but so long as she got help from one of them, it didn’t matter much. Hopefully the cloak, even with a few silver taken out for her, would keep him happy enough to leave her alone. Alyssa picked up her spoon, but hesitated as a twisting knot formed in her stomach. A black feather rested just on top of her porridge. She dropped her spoon and grabbed her shotgun from where it leaned against her backpack, flicking the safety off as she scanned the room. Bacco was still brushing himself off. The innkeeper stood behind the counter, glaring at him as someone else stepped up to make an order or request lodgings. A pair of shady types were seated in a different corner of the room, hunched over their table. A man with bandages wrapped around his head and covering one of his eyes ate from a similar bowl of porridge. A burly woman was half in the front door. They all had one thing in common. None of them were moving. They were frozen. Even splinters shaken from Bacco’s pants were floating in the air, still and ignoring gravity. The two at the table had their mouths open as if they were in the middle of conversation, but their lips and tongues were locked in place. The woman at the door had one of her feet up in the air. She should be toppling forward, or at least following through with her step, but she wasn’t. Moving around the table, Alyssa paused in front of Bacco. She reached out and poked a finger right into his shoulder. It didn’t give at all. She might as well be poking a marble statue. He didn’t even give off any heat, though he wasn’t exactly cold to the touch either. Trying the same thing on one of the hovering splinters, Alyssa found that she could pluck one out of the air and move it around. Letting it go, it fell for a few inches before slowing to a standstill without hitting anything. “Alyssa Meadows!” Alyssa jumped at the sound of her own name. She whipped around, nestling the butt of her shotgun in her shoulder as she aimed up. There she was. That monochrome angel sat on the narrow wooden railing of the balcony, one leg crossed over the other. She had her chin resting on her curled knuckles as she stared down at Alyssa with those luminescent white eyes. Her black wings were spread out behind her, looking far larger than they had back in her room as they filled up almost all the available space of the balcony. “Tenebrael,” Alyssa said through grit teeth. “Wha,” Tenebrael said, mock flinching back. “So hostile! You really should be thanking me, you know? You were supposed to have died that night. If it hadn’t been for me messing things up, you would have. Now look at you! You’re living and doing well. How are you liking my world?” “Could use more toilets. Proper toilets. And plumbing. And food. Modern conveniences.” Alyssa let out a small sigh as she lowered her gun. She doubted it would help against an angel. Tenebrael had apparently stopped time just to have this little conversation. What could a shotgun do to that? “Yes, yes.” Tenebrael waved a dismissive hand. “Spoiled city girl has to rough it out a bit. Of course, I ensured you would have all your modern amenities back at your house. Which you’re quite far from.” “Here to drag me back?” “No! Not at all. You’re out here, messing things up in my world just like I did to your life. Or your death, as the case was.” She reached behind her and pulled out a familiar little book, though this one had a black ribbon placeholder rather than the golden one Alyssa had seen before. “This holds a record of everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in my world. But it is wrong. Two people are alive who should have died and one person has died when he shouldn’t have. And that’s just death-related matters. There are all kinds of minor nuances that are not flowing as they should. Do you know when the first discrepancy occurred?” “Probably shortly after I… after you brought me here.” Alyssa pressed her lips together. Was she about to be whisked off somewhere without people? Where she couldn’t ‘mess’ things up? “Am I supposed to apologize? Because I won’t.” The angel let out a melodic burst of laughter. “No. Not at all. Do you know how long I’ve been trying to make this book wrong? It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. No matter how hard I try to avert the ending, my actions or inactions always lead to it coming true. But you, in just a few short days, you have already sent it off the rails, so to speak. Unfortunately, it was not without cost. Earth is… Well, I think I’m getting things back in order. It definitely isn’t easy.” Alyssa was fairly certain that she was missing some context, but… “If you want the book messed up, why are you trying to get things back in order?” “This planet,” Tenebrael said, sweeping her arms around, “is mine. Earth is not. I can cloak most of my actions here. Earth? Not so much. I’d rather not bring the Concord of Angels down on me. This world would likely be destroyed, me along with it.” For just a moment, Alyssa had felt a moment of hope. If she could bring Tenebrael to the attention of this concord, perhaps they could get her out of here. But that hope snuffed out as Tenebrael continued talking. Destroying the world was a high price to pay. ‘Messed up’ or not, people lived here. Lots of people. Besides that, Iosefael wanted her dead. Who was to say that the other angels would be any different. Alyssa blinked. Was that a problem? Would it become a problem? “You, uh, don’t happen to know any angels by the name of Iosefael, do you?” “Principality Iosefael?” Tenebrael tipped her ear to her shoulder. “How do you know her?” “She showed up shortly after the festival, tried to take me home, failed several times, then started complaining about the state of this world.” Tenebrael slipped off the balcony railing, gliding gracefully through the air until she reached the ground, landing lightly on her feet. Her wings folded up behind her, somehow forcing a full room’s wingspan into a person-sized space. “She appeared here?” the demon angel asked as she walked closer to Alyssa. Alyssa couldn’t help but clutch her shotgun a little tighter even knowing that it wouldn’t help at all. The way Tenebrael’s glowing white eyes searched her over sent shivers all down her arms. “My home, actually.” Humming a serious yet still somehow musical tune, Tenebrael rubbed at her chin. “Iose and I are old friends, but she panics easily. Maybe I should go talk to her before she does anything foolish.” She nodded to herself. “Yes. You keep doing what you’re doing. I need to find Iosefael and keep putting Earth back into its proper state. Don’t die now! You’re my new experiment. We’ll see how the book adapts to you, if it can recover at all!” Tenebrael spun on her heel. “Wait!” Alyssa reached out to grab her shoulder, but ended up with a fistful of black feathers as Tenebrael exploded in a flurry. Great. Just great. Truthfully, she hadn’t known what she wanted Tenebrael to wait for. More discussion? Maybe a little more information about her world or angels? Either way, it didn’t matter now. The angel was gone and Alyssa had no way of calling her back. She just stared at the empty space in front of her as hundreds more feathers fell around the room. They disappeared one by one as they touched something. The ones in her hand stayed behind, however. Would they be useful? She knew it was possible to create magical artifacts and that said artifacts needed parts of monsters or other magical entities, but Aziz’s book hadn’t gone too deep into the details. It was more focused on why he couldn’t cast a simple light spell. A high pitched squeal interrupted her musings. Bacco stumbled backward, knocking over the table and her mostly eaten bowl of porridge with it. All the while, his wide eyes never left her. “Bacco!” the innkeeper shouted again. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, naturally this time rather than supernaturally, and stared. This time, he didn’t even shout an apology back. He clutched at his chest, breathing in and out with great heaves. Alyssa hoped he wasn’t having a heart attack. From his position, it looked like she had teleported right behind him. It would technically be Tenebrael’s fault, but she would still feel a little guilty. Luckily, he seemed to be getting his breathing under control. He closed his eyes, breathed deep through his nose, held it a moment, then let it out through his mouth. “Are you alright?” He rapidly nodded his head without saying a word. Alyssa gave him another moment or two before holding out her hand. Seeing that he was calming down, Alyssa actually felt like laughing a little. He was twice her size. At least! Probably more. And he had gotten so scared. Though, thinking about it a moment more, she probably would have been the same had their positions been reversed. And knowing what a gun was would only make the situation worse, though Bacco didn’t know. Still, she couldn’t laugh. She still had an act to maintain in front of him. “Do you see anything here?” Opening his eyes, he looked over Alyssa’s face for a moment before flicking his gaze to her hand. “Bunch of feathers?” he said. “Huh. Interesting.” So Tenebrael was invisible and her feathers vanished when they interacted with something, but the ones she had touched could be seen. If she touched Tenebrael and time wasn’t stopped, would people be able to see the angel? Maybe something to test. For the time being, she walked around the toppled table, ignoring the spilled food, and carefully placed the feathers into one of the side pockets of her backpack. With a suppressed groan, she hefted up the pack and strapped herself in. Really, she needed to find a place where she could store her gear and not be worried about it being stolen. Maybe magic could turn it invisible or something. Or weightless, that would be nice. For now though, it was early morning and she had a full day to explore the city. She paused to stare at the remnants of her porridge. She had eaten most of it and wasn’t too hungry anymore, but it was still a waste. “You’re going to pay me back for that meal, right?” “Of course,” he said instantly. “Good. But now, I might take you up on that tour.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMxYzQ5ZWJmMzQ4YzRiNjU5NDc1YjY4ZTQ5YWM4ZTZj">  Taking a sip of tea, John asks, "Have you heard of the second Lamenter war?" Anna shakes her head, causing John to nod knowingly. "It was a devastating war long before your time."</p> <p class="cnNhMDMxZjE1Y2Q0MzQwZDJiYWIwYTM0ZmQyY2M1YTA5">  As the dreamscape solidifies, a new scene appears. Cultivators now surround John and Anna. An aged man looms over them from a podium. The sect master waves his hands for quiet he informs the sect of the current situation, "The Lamenter's of the Emerald family have regrouped recently. Again they march on the sealed world. As part of the ancient pact, we will be joining the battle."</p> <p class="cnNhMTE0YTZmNWY1ZTQyN2ViNjI5ZjQ5M2NlNWQ2NmUz">  Cheers swell in the air as excitement fills the eyes of the chosen in the sect. Everyone sees this as a chance to plunder and temper themselves. The sect leader strokes his beard pleased with the reaction. "While this is just the final gasps of a faction on death's door. However, a cornered animal will be the most ferocious. So with this in mind, all those who volunteer will get a top-tier defensive artifact!"</p> <p class="cnM3MWI0NjcwNThlZjQxMzM5NDZlMDljZTM4ZjI4Zjdm">  The roars from all the powerful cultivators shake the dream world as the scene wavers and changes. Anna frowns at the scene, wondering how her ancestors stood against such a force. John, however, sighs while shaking his head. He then elaborates, "the first war scorched many planets and lands to the point that to this day not a thing lives there. Do you think the second war was as glorious as those fools believed?"</p> <p class="cnNjNWM0OTliZDE0OTQzNDg5YTQwMjZiMzhmODFhNDky">  In the same grand hall, young men and women gather with fear in their eyes. Some even shake while grabbing their friends. Among them, a few middle-aged cultivators are scattered among the young. None give off the imposing air of the last scene. John is among these older cultivators a wry smile on his face.</p> <p class="cnM0ZWU1NThiMDhlNDQxMjBhMTk0Y2M2MzZmZTY2NDli">  A haggard sect leader stands before them once again. With a solemn expression, he addresses the crowd, "Today you've been drafted in accordance with the current rules of the war. We can no longer spare the young and support positions. You will report to the Silent Plains there you will be designated your defensive items." The rapidly aging sect leader heartbreaks as he looks at the younglings he is sending out. After a short break, he murmurs, "Do your best to come back to us."</p> <p class="cnMwZTI3OWY4NmIwNjQyOGI4YzMwN2U5N2I3N2ZjNTJl">  Anna looks at this scene in shock, "how did this happen?" She gazes at John, the mysterious dead man in front of her.</p> <p class="cnNkNjJiNDExZTQ0MDQ3NzRhNzIyMjEyOGZjYTQ2ZjRj">  John returns the gaze of the young mother and shrugs. "What is there to be surprised about? Would a war that had forced ancient treaties to be dusted off be easy to win?"</p> <p class="cnMyZTZjNjc0ZjUyYjRhNzE5MGJmYTE5MDU3MjZlNDFl">  John suddenly starts laughing. "Those fools didn't know the depth that the Lamenters had spread! Even core disciples ended up being Lamenters. Once the call to arms rang out, they came crawling out from every crack and crevice." John flings his arms open his robes fluttering. "Millions upon millions died in the war. I was spared since I had a lower cultivation and was a gardener. A war needs lots of healing medicines, after all. Still, even I was sent to the front eventually."</p> <p class="cnM3MzQ4YTYwOTkzZDQyMjI4YmIxNGU5MjA3MGFlMDQ3">  Anna's eyes flutter as the world shifts to a trench. Boys as young as her son huddle together in fear. Anna looks around her. The laws seem broken and shattered as the place flashes from freezing to melting hot. Other areas have dimensional tears open and close. All around them, explosions and techniques fly from the trenches that are about 60 meters away.</p> <p class="cnM0MTI5NmZjYjlmZTRmOWI4MTQ0MTYyOGNkNGJkZjNm">  An officer glares at the kids cowering. "Get up, you braggarts! If you don't keep them down, they will slaughter you all," the officer hollers as he waves for them to keep fighting. Even the bravest won't poke their head out for more than a second. On both sides, they send quick techniques back and forth before hiding once again.</p> <p class="cnNjOGJmNjZmNzQ5OTQwZDFiMjg2N2MxODRlYWVhNDkw">  Boom the world shakes as the sky shatters as stars rain down. Anna looks up to see that above, a grand battle is happening. Laws bend, and reality itself seems to groan at the combat. The residuals from the conflict fall on the poor souls praying for their lives in the trench. While these trenches block weak techniques, how can it prevent the earth-shattering power from the masters in the sky? They die by the thousands without even knowing what killed them.</p> <p class="cnNmMjM1OTk4NTNhYTRkMzI4MDNjMTEwY2E1NjMxOTNm">  Anna can't help but shudder at the horrifying sight of the battle. John raises his eyebrow, "Don't you wish for this?"</p> <p class="cnNhNTRlOWNlNDIyZDQxMDFhM2QwYWNmMjFjMzJhZjVi">  Anna's eyes wander the heart-shaking scene as she lets out a deep breath gathering her nerves. Her eyes return to John with a new resolve. "Even if it is more horrifying, we'll still go forth."</p> <p class="cnM5YmI1ODI4OGQ4NjQ2NWViMDQ5OGMyODk0NWJlYTA4">  John chuckles and asks, "are you sure that your phrase isn't meant for you?" He leans back and observes this scene from his memories. "I don't blame you. Lamenter's only have one true goal."</p> <p class="cnNkMjgwODcxOGM1NTQ1MWU5MzYwMjIzZDViNTg2MTg0">  Then the world once again shakes as the Emerald expert in the sky falls to the ground shaking the foundation of the whole world. Anna can't hide her disappointment even though she knows that the outcome of the war wouldn't be good for her people.</p> <p class="cnM3MDY1Y2NjNTVjMzQ4MmZhMjQwNzc4OGYyMzk4MmJi">  There are no cheers or rejoicing the expert above moves on to some other place to confront another powerful foe. The officer on the ground lifts his sword and commands, "Charge, you cowards!" The kids and John reluctantly jump out from the trench. "Kill!" They yell as they charge forth.</p> <p class="cnM0MzRhN2NjZDQxOTRiYTE5YzQzMDM1YWFlM2ZiYzQ3">  As the middle-aged John flies forward all around him, people die. Torn in two, smashed, frozen, every technique shatters a body. The current John frowns while recollecting, "They had long run out of the powerful defensive artifacts they promised. At this point, they gave us weak trinkets barely worth wearing."</p> <p class="cnMxYjE0NDhlYjNiZTRiYTlhMGUyZjk1YWQ1ZjcxOGZh">  One small boy even seems to reach out towards Anna crying, "Mom, help me." Before his eyes lose focus and his body collapses. They curse Lamenters with all their hearts. "The emerald king is long dead, you bastards!" Another soldier shouts as he falls.</p> <p class="cnMxNjFiM2NkNTQ0ODRlNTc4MzBjZGQ5YWNmNjk3NzU0">  Still, even surrounded by death, over a million souls leaves the trenches. It isn't easy to stem the flow as they wash over the plains. As they near the Lamenters side, they too leave the trench. "The Emerald King still lives!" the equally young soldiers yell as they charge forth.</p> <p class="cnNjODU0MjEwYjJhYTQ1Nzg5MTRhYThlNWNhZDBjMmIx">  The clash is even more devastating than anything seen yet as Millions of cultivators break against each other. The cries and hate seem to manifest themselves as laws shattering the land below. After a few hours, the ground is piled with bodies. Both sides no longer have the energy to fight. The eyes of the livings no longer seem to have life in them. John is among them. Though he wasn't powerful, he had more experience than the young kids thrown away in the war.</p> <p class="cnM5NzllNDAwMWM0NTQzYzJiNThiYzA0YmQ4MmI3ZmZj">  Soon another million takes the field on both sides. The survivors between these two armies wish they had a hole to hide in as they are attacked by friend and foe alike. Some give up, only hoping for a quick death. Others holler in rage to the stars feeling that the heavens betrayed them. John and many others drop to the ground playing dead and hoping their luck won't run out.</p> <p class="cnNhZWFhMWNmN2E4NzQwY2JiZTIzZjAzY2NmMjRlODQ5">  The dreamscape returns to the quaint tea ceremony. "Eventually, the field was taken. I returned to the sect after that to continue gardening while others took my place," John sighs while remembering how much relief he felt after returning. It was like he was in heaven. John no longer cursed his lack of talent. He'd lived his life since then with content, happily living quietly in his garden.</p> <p class="cnM4NzRjNWZkZGNhNDRkNWQ5Y2JkYjlhM2M4ODMwZDll">  Anna contemplates the battle and slowly asks, "Do you think that the Emerald king is dead?"</p> <p class="cnNmMWFlYTk4Zjc1NTQzMjY4YTg2NDM3NDEyZjFkODNh">  "Ha, Dead?" John looks at Anna in bewilderment. "How could he be dead. Would those greedy sects and clans waste so much to stop you guy's from seeing a dead body? No, at least then he was surely alive." he nods with confidence.</p> <p class="cnM2ZDMzYTkxM2I4MjQ0YTFiOGI1MzIyMzg4NGE5OTE3">  "I see, thank you, senior," Anna responds with a smile. She doesn't know what the future holds, but she feels her horizons have significantly expanded.</p> <p class="cnM3NmRiMjQyZTM0ZDQ5MzI4ZDFiOTBmYmM0NGY3ZGFj">  "Don't worry about it. Well, the night wanes, so we should call an end to our little chat." The world began to shatter as Anna's eyes open. Anna hears John mumble one last thing as she wakes up, "Just try not to throw your life away for your son's sake."</p> </div>

Taking a sip of tea, John asks, "Have you heard of the second Lamenter war?" Anna shakes her head, causing John to nod knowingly. "It was a devastating war long before your time."   As the dreamscape solidifies, a new scene appears. Cultivators now surround John and Anna. An aged man looms over them from a podium. The sect master waves his hands for quiet he informs the sect of the current situation, "The Lamenter's of the Emerald family have regrouped recently. Again they march on the sealed world. As part of the ancient pact, we will be joining the battle."   Cheers swell in the air as excitement fills the eyes of the chosen in the sect. Everyone sees this as a chance to plunder and temper themselves. The sect leader strokes his beard pleased with the reaction. "While this is just the final gasps of a faction on death's door. However, a cornered animal will be the most ferocious. So with this in mind, all those who volunteer will get a top-tier defensive artifact!"   The roars from all the powerful cultivators shake the dream world as the scene wavers and changes. Anna frowns at the scene, wondering how her ancestors stood against such a force. John, however, sighs while shaking his head. He then elaborates, "the first war scorched many planets and lands to the point that to this day not a thing lives there. Do you think the second war was as glorious as those fools believed?"   In the same grand hall, young men and women gather with fear in their eyes. Some even shake while grabbing their friends. Among them, a few middle-aged cultivators are scattered among the young. None give off the imposing air of the last scene. John is among these older cultivators a wry smile on his face.   A haggard sect leader stands before them once again. With a solemn expression, he addresses the crowd, "Today you've been drafted in accordance with the current rules of the war. We can no longer spare the young and support positions. You will report to the Silent Plains there you will be designated your defensive items." The rapidly aging sect leader heartbreaks as he looks at the younglings he is sending out. After a short break, he murmurs, "Do your best to come back to us."   Anna looks at this scene in shock, "how did this happen?" She gazes at John, the mysterious dead man in front of her.   John returns the gaze of the young mother and shrugs. "What is there to be surprised about? Would a war that had forced ancient treaties to be dusted off be easy to win?"   John suddenly starts laughing. "Those fools didn't know the depth that the Lamenters had spread! Even core disciples ended up being Lamenters. Once the call to arms rang out, they came crawling out from every crack and crevice." John flings his arms open his robes fluttering. "Millions upon millions died in the war. I was spared since I had a lower cultivation and was a gardener. A war needs lots of healing medicines, after all. Still, even I was sent to the front eventually."   Anna's eyes flutter as the world shifts to a trench. Boys as young as her son huddle together in fear. Anna looks around her. The laws seem broken and shattered as the place flashes from freezing to melting hot. Other areas have dimensional tears open and close. All around them, explosions and techniques fly from the trenches that are about 60 meters away.   An officer glares at the kids cowering. "Get up, you braggarts! If you don't keep them down, they will slaughter you all," the officer hollers as he waves for them to keep fighting. Even the bravest won't poke their head out for more than a second. On both sides, they send quick techniques back and forth before hiding once again.   Boom the world shakes as the sky shatters as stars rain down. Anna looks up to see that above, a grand battle is happening. Laws bend, and reality itself seems to groan at the combat. The residuals from the conflict fall on the poor souls praying for their lives in the trench. While these trenches block weak techniques, how can it prevent the earth-shattering power from the masters in the sky? They die by the thousands without even knowing what killed them.   Anna can't help but shudder at the horrifying sight of the battle. John raises his eyebrow, "Don't you wish for this?"   Anna's eyes wander the heart-shaking scene as she lets out a deep breath gathering her nerves. Her eyes return to John with a new resolve. "Even if it is more horrifying, we'll still go forth."   John chuckles and asks, "are you sure that your phrase isn't meant for you?" He leans back and observes this scene from his memories. "I don't blame you. Lamenter's only have one true goal."   Then the world once again shakes as the Emerald expert in the sky falls to the ground shaking the foundation of the whole world. Anna can't hide her disappointment even though she knows that the outcome of the war wouldn't be good for her people.   There are no cheers or rejoicing the expert above moves on to some other place to confront another powerful foe. The officer on the ground lifts his sword and commands, "Charge, you cowards!" The kids and John reluctantly jump out from the trench. "Kill!" They yell as they charge forth.   As the middle-aged John flies forward all around him, people die. Torn in two, smashed, frozen, every technique shatters a body. The current John frowns while recollecting, "They had long run out of the powerful defensive artifacts they promised. At this point, they gave us weak trinkets barely worth wearing."   One small boy even seems to reach out towards Anna crying, "Mom, help me." Before his eyes lose focus and his body collapses. They curse Lamenters with all their hearts. "The emerald king is long dead, you bastards!" Another soldier shouts as he falls.   Still, even surrounded by death, over a million souls leaves the trenches. It isn't easy to stem the flow as they wash over the plains. As they near the Lamenters side, they too leave the trench. "The Emerald King still lives!" the equally young soldiers yell as they charge forth.   The clash is even more devastating than anything seen yet as Millions of cultivators break against each other. The cries and hate seem to manifest themselves as laws shattering the land below. After a few hours, the ground is piled with bodies. Both sides no longer have the energy to fight. The eyes of the livings no longer seem to have life in them. John is among them. Though he wasn't powerful, he had more experience than the young kids thrown away in the war.   Soon another million takes the field on both sides. The survivors between these two armies wish they had a hole to hide in as they are attacked by friend and foe alike. Some give up, only hoping for a quick death. Others holler in rage to the stars feeling that the heavens betrayed them. John and many others drop to the ground playing dead and hoping their luck won't run out.   The dreamscape returns to the quaint tea ceremony. "Eventually, the field was taken. I returned to the sect after that to continue gardening while others took my place," John sighs while remembering how much relief he felt after returning. It was like he was in heaven. John no longer cursed his lack of talent. He'd lived his life since then with content, happily living quietly in his garden.   Anna contemplates the battle and slowly asks, "Do you think that the Emerald king is dead?"   "Ha, Dead?" John looks at Anna in bewilderment. "How could he be dead. Would those greedy sects and clans waste so much to stop you guy's from seeing a dead body? No, at least then he was surely alive." he nods with confidence.   "I see, thank you, senior," Anna responds with a smile. She doesn't know what the future holds, but she feels her horizons have significantly expanded.   "Don't worry about it. Well, the night wanes, so we should call an end to our little chat." The world began to shatter as Anna's eyes open. Anna hears John mumble one last thing as she wakes up, "Just try not to throw your life away for your son's sake."

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMzOTM3ODE5OTIxMTQ2NDliYzllZmU3OTFmZThkMzI4">  After Anna's miraculous recovery, the days are quiet and flow by gently, like a small mountain stream. The refugees slowly settle into daily life. Franklin continues his training while Laurel and the other children play. Each day brings them closer to some form of stability.</p> <p class="cnMzMzI1NDAyNWRmNTRjYjBiYjMzMmVhYTU0NzZjYWNh">  The vegetables in the gardens grow at a staggering speed causing everyone's eyes to bulge. The villagers decide to celebrate this miraculous land with a vegetable feast. Joe finally gets his reward for helping save Anna and the kids. The big bull dances with joy as he is given the most savory vegetables.</p> <p class="cnM2YTczOTdmZmMzMDQxODliMjQxNGI4MTcxMjA2OTBj">  Peace makes the days fly, and soon it is summer once again. The fiery sun beams down on a young lady with curves in all the right places. Elanor wipes sweat from her forehead as she returns to that damnable hill. <em>'Some stupid demonic beast isn't going to stop me!</em>' She thinks as she clenches her fist in determination.</p> <p class="cnM3MzhmOGFhZDBiYzQ4YjlhNTdhN2IxNGYxNzUyMjAz">  As Elanor gets closer to the clearing, she hides her presence and begins to sneak, quietly jumping from tree to tree. As a skilled treasure hunter, she knows not to expand her senses. A demonic beast defending its territory will immediately go berserk if it senses anything amiss. With her external senses held back, she can only use her eyes. Elanor narrows her eyes as she sees some recently felled trees.<em> 'What’s going on?</em>’ She ponders.</p> <p class="cnNkMWI1ZWFjZTMxZDQ2Y2Y4Y2M1NTY5MjczZWIwMjQ5">  Elanor slowly peeks her head out from behind a tree. She sees a few huts made out of thatch in front of her. <em>‘When did a village appear here!</em>’ Elanor gasps in surprise.</p> <p class="cnMwMGI2OGVjODg2MzQ2ODI4ZjQ0YzVjYTAwMzU2MTkw">  Nearby Laurel, is making a basket with grass so she can gather fruit. However, in her peripheral vision, there is something colorful bouncing up and down. Laurel looks over at something pink and blue bouncing from behind a tree. She is mesmerized by the colorful silks before her!</p> <p class="cnM0ZjhmMDBiZWZlODQwNGQ4ZjRhZTdmNGVlMDUyMmJh">  Laurel begins to walk over with gleaming eyes. As she gets closer, she can tell that it is someone’s bottom. Bouncing and waving around without any thought for decency. Slowly Laurel reaches out to feel the beautiful fabric.</p> <p class="cnNhNTQ3ODk5MjhkNjRhZDVhZjU4Yzk2N2ViZWU4NGQ4">  Elanor freezes. <em>'Why is it always my butt?' </em>Elanor cries to herself as she leaps away. As she lands, she prepares for a life and death battle only to see a girl standing near the tree. Laurel’s jaw drops. <em>'This lady is amazing!'</em> “Woah, you’re so fast and pretty!” The girl squeals with delight hopping up and down.</p> <p class="cnMzNjI0YjExMmZjNTQzOWE4OTYxZjM4YjJmNDkxYTEx">   “Well, aren’t you a cutie?!” Elanor exclaims while laughing at the girl. The young girl looks like a chipmunk that just found the largest nut. “What are you guys doing all the way out here?” Elanor inquires.</p> <p class="cnNlZmViMThlMmEyMTQ0N2Q5OGE5NGE5MTAyZWQ1OTJk">  Laurel's smile turns gloomy as she explains, “We had to run from the Red River Empire. Almost everyone from town was killed," Laurel Pauses with watery eyes as she looks at the beauty in front of her, “But thankfully, we found this place. None of the demonic beasts will come here. So we decided to stay.”</p> <p class="cnM2ZGRlMWYwN2YwZTQ3MDdiNTI0MDliMGYzN2Q1NGU1">  “Oh,” Elanor smiles to lighten the mood. “Well, at least you’re safe now, don’t worry.” Elanor pats the girl's head, causing Laurel to perk up.</p> <p class="cnMzYzYwNDliNTE0MTQzNmViYTlmM2Q4YTNhMjcwOGU5">  Laurel points over to the hill. “That's right. There's a super-strong bull here!"</p> <p class="cnMyYzdkZGFmMzc3OTQ3MDBhYzhlYmI3ZmFiNTE2ZDlj">  Frowning, Elanor sighs, "I know, we've met before. That's why I was hiding."</p> <p class="cnMyNjE5MjcxMmNkYjQ4ZmM4NjQwNzRiNGJmZmFhYzJk">  Laurel looks at the beauty strangely <em>'that was hiding?'</em> she wonders. "Are you a bad lady?" Laurel asked with apprehension.</p> <p class="cnNiM2E2MTBmNDdkMTQ2N2VhOWMzNmE5ODVmY2UxODQx">  "What part of me looks like I'm bad?" Elanor retorts while pinching the girl's cheeks. Under the pinching attack, Laurel squirms as she tries to escape. Elanor bites her lips as she continues, "It was just a bit of a misunderstanding."</p> <p class="cnNiY2RmNjIwZmM1MjRiYWZhMDMxMjk2YjA1MWFmNzg3">  Back on the hill, the two hill mates are cultivating and eating as usual. John has gotten used to the circulation of energy, with it almost becoming second nature to him. Plant cultivation has so far been comfortable and relaxing. He can only sigh at the struggles of his past life. Now John's cultivation is mind-numbingly dull and tedious, so he often watches the locals.</p> <p class="cnNkMjZlMjcxYTg3ZDRlZTM4OTg2NTc0NDNkZjZhYjE5">  As he is checking in on the village, he notices the very obvious fairy fluttering in the forest. (Author note: Fairy is a term used to denote someone with otherworldly beauty in Chinese translated novels. Whether this is some untranslatable word in Chinese or direct translation, I do not know.) She is having a fun talk with the rambunctious girl named Laurel. He waves his branch at the fat bull. "Hey, your playmates back!"</p> <p class="cnMxMDZjNDM4OGU1ZjRlNDRiOGU4YjExMzkwZTQ1YWI2">  Joe, "Snort," as he looks over lazily and sees the gaudily dressed women. "Brrd," he says, annoyed.</p> <p class="cnNkZTc4ZDM5NTZhYTQwNzU5MjhmMjdhZWZiODVjNzY3">  John laughs, "How can you say that about such a beauty?" John Waves his branches as if shaking his head. "Don't get so hung up on little things! It's not like you never get any sleep. She must like you quite a lot to come back and visit."</p> <p class="cnM4YjM4MjE0ZTA1ODRmOTc4MGJjMTFmYzY1OTg4YzEy">  Joe's jaw drops, and his back hoof kicks the ground. "Mrhh?"</p> <p class="cnM1NmIzN2M5YTU0YzQyOTViN2ZkYzk5MmIzZWNhM2M0">  "It's not that uncommon for powerful demonic beasts to take a human wife," John explains to the ignorant bull, "When you get strong enough, you'll be able to transform into a human yourself. Such a well-proportioned woman wouldn't be a bad catch then."</p> <p class="cnNhNmU1ODgxYjMxZjQ2OTI5YWY4MDk0M2NkNjgyNWJk">  The demonic bull looks at the bush with killing intent in his eyes. "Why do you have to be like that? You're so violent. Even demonic cows won't want you if you're like that." John complains.</p> <p class="cnNjMDdlYWMxY2M3NTRmZDM5YmYwNmExNGYyYTExMjQ5">  "Hmph," Joe looks around with a stern face.</p> <p class="cnNjZDg0MjNlMjE0YzRmYmU5YTA4MGJmNWU5NGNiNjVm">  John's leaves shake a bit as he says, "I know there aren't any around to see. If you don't cultivate a refined attitude, how will any woman feel secure with you as a mate?"</p> <p class="cnNlOTczNWYxZDAyNjQzMzk5NTNkOTg5YjQ4NjI3MmVm">  Down below, Elanor shivers as she feels two senses on her. She glances over at the hill to see who is peaking. Yet when they don't seem that interested in her, Elanor frowns. Seeing the worried beauty, Laurel grabs her hand. "Don't worry. He only beats up bad people and demonic beasts."</p> <p class="cnM3NTQxYWFmZDIxODRiN2JhOGI4MjkwMTMwYjZhOTM3">  Elanor shrugs with mixed feelings in her heart.<em> 'I was looking for adventure, but I guess I can just play instead,' </em>she thinks as she puts on a bright smile like the sun rising. "Okay," She leans down to look the girl in the eyes, "I'm Elanor. Nice to meet you."</p> <p class="cnNlZTU1OTM4Nzk1ZjRjYzc4NzIzN2ZjYzJkMGJlZDRl">  The girl giggles and says, "I'm Laurel!" She kicks her foot shyly, "Do you want to be friends?" Laurel asks.</p> <p class="cnMzNjI1ZjFjOGQ3YjQxNWJiZmM1YmZmZDg3ZGZlMzA0">  Elanor squeezes the girl's hand and nods. "Of course."</p> <p class="cnNiNTI5NTgyNmYzNzQ5OTg5MjlhMmExYmI3MTg5MzQ0">  "YAY!" Laurel yells as she jumps at her new friend hugging her. Elanor freezes in surprise, but soon she is squeezing the young lass. Laurel backs up and then excitedly says. "Come on and meet my mom!"</p> <p class="cnNlZDhiZGZjMWVkNDQ5MDU5NjY1MzY1MWQ4MjMxNDI4">  "Oh, she's coming into the town?" John says, a bit surprised. "That girl must be pretty charismatic."</p> <p class="cnMzZTYyMmMwMjNhYTQ0MmJiNzAyNGIzZTg3ODA2Y2Jh">  "Grr," Joe just kept munching without even looking up.</p> <p class="cnNlODI4NjdhOGY0YzRiYmQ5MDY3YWYyMGJiOWU2OGRi">  "You're no fun," John pouts <em>'unless it is food, this stupid Joe can't be bothered. It is so hard to have a good conversation nowadays.'</em> "Why don't you go chase her around again for exercise?" John teases.</p> <p class="cnMwYjIyZjk1YzgyOTRiMTNiMDVkMDczMzFhNDQ5MGJl">  Joe just looks at the bush with disdain. Then he prances around the bush smugly. "Oh, yeah, well, you just wait! A few more inches, and you won't be able to prance around either," John hollers in rage.</p> <p class="cnMwY2UwYWE4OWZkNjQxNGM5OGU0M2QxMzM3MDI4MDlj">  In the town, all eyes are on this new woman who looks like she just came from a festival. Clearly, she isn't an ordinary person to just waltz into the village as if she was having a stroll. Many look up at the hill only to see the bull not paying any attention to the commotion below. They've gotten used to their guardian spirits, sometimes odd behavior. Since he has no objections, neither do they.</p> </div>

After Anna's miraculous recovery, the days are quiet and flow by gently, like a small mountain stream. The refugees slowly settle into daily life. Franklin continues his training while Laurel and the other children play. Each day brings them closer to some form of stability.   The vegetables in the gardens grow at a staggering speed causing everyone's eyes to bulge. The villagers decide to celebrate this miraculous land with a vegetable feast. Joe finally gets his reward for helping save Anna and the kids. The big bull dances with joy as he is given the most savory vegetables.   Peace makes the days fly, and soon it is summer once again. The fiery sun beams down on a young lady with curves in all the right places. Elanor wipes sweat from her forehead as she returns to that damnable hill. *'Some stupid demonic beast isn't going to stop me!*' She thinks as she clenches her fist in determination.   As Elanor gets closer to the clearing, she hides her presence and begins to sneak, quietly jumping from tree to tree. As a skilled treasure hunter, she knows not to expand her senses. A demonic beast defending its territory will immediately go berserk if it senses anything amiss. With her external senses held back, she can only use her eyes. Elanor narrows her eyes as she sees some recently felled trees. *'What’s going on?*’ She ponders.   Elanor slowly peeks her head out from behind a tree. She sees a few huts made out of thatch in front of her. *‘When did a village appear here!*’ Elanor gasps in surprise.   Nearby Laurel, is making a basket with grass so she can gather fruit. However, in her peripheral vision, there is something colorful bouncing up and down. Laurel looks over at something pink and blue bouncing from behind a tree. She is mesmerized by the colorful silks before her!   Laurel begins to walk over with gleaming eyes. As she gets closer, she can tell that it is someone’s bottom. Bouncing and waving around without any thought for decency. Slowly Laurel reaches out to feel the beautiful fabric.   Elanor freezes. *'Why is it always my butt?'* Elanor cries to herself as she leaps away. As she lands, she prepares for a life and death battle only to see a girl standing near the tree. Laurel’s jaw drops. *'This lady is amazing!'* “Woah, you’re so fast and pretty!” The girl squeals with delight hopping up and down.    “Well, aren’t you a cutie?!” Elanor exclaims while laughing at the girl. The young girl looks like a chipmunk that just found the largest nut. “What are you guys doing all the way out here?” Elanor inquires.   Laurel's smile turns gloomy as she explains, “We had to run from the Red River Empire. Almost everyone from town was killed," Laurel Pauses with watery eyes as she looks at the beauty in front of her, “But thankfully, we found this place. None of the demonic beasts will come here. So we decided to stay.”   “Oh,” Elanor smiles to lighten the mood. “Well, at least you’re safe now, don’t worry.” Elanor pats the girl's head, causing Laurel to perk up.   Laurel points over to the hill. “That's right. There's a super-strong bull here!"   Frowning, Elanor sighs, "I know, we've met before. That's why I was hiding."   Laurel looks at the beauty strangely *'that was hiding?'* she wonders. "Are you a bad lady?" Laurel asked with apprehension.   "What part of me looks like I'm bad?" Elanor retorts while pinching the girl's cheeks. Under the pinching attack, Laurel squirms as she tries to escape. Elanor bites her lips as she continues, "It was just a bit of a misunderstanding."   Back on the hill, the two hill mates are cultivating and eating as usual. John has gotten used to the circulation of energy, with it almost becoming second nature to him. Plant cultivation has so far been comfortable and relaxing. He can only sigh at the struggles of his past life. Now John's cultivation is mind-numbingly dull and tedious, so he often watches the locals.   As he is checking in on the village, he notices the very obvious fairy fluttering in the forest. (Author note: Fairy is a term used to denote someone with otherworldly beauty in Chinese translated novels. Whether this is some untranslatable word in Chinese or direct translation, I do not know.) She is having a fun talk with the rambunctious girl named Laurel. He waves his branch at the fat bull. "Hey, your playmates back!"   Joe, "Snort," as he looks over lazily and sees the gaudily dressed women. "Brrd," he says, annoyed.   John laughs, "How can you say that about such a beauty?" John Waves his branches as if shaking his head. "Don't get so hung up on little things! It's not like you never get any sleep. She must like you quite a lot to come back and visit."   Joe's jaw drops, and his back hoof kicks the ground. "Mrhh?"   "It's not that uncommon for powerful demonic beasts to take a human wife," John explains to the ignorant bull, "When you get strong enough, you'll be able to transform into a human yourself. Such a well-proportioned woman wouldn't be a bad catch then."   The demonic bull looks at the bush with killing intent in his eyes. "Why do you have to be like that? You're so violent. Even demonic cows won't want you if you're like that." John complains.   "Hmph," Joe looks around with a stern face.   John's leaves shake a bit as he says, "I know there aren't any around to see. If you don't cultivate a refined attitude, how will any woman feel secure with you as a mate?"   Down below, Elanor shivers as she feels two senses on her. She glances over at the hill to see who is peaking. Yet when they don't seem that interested in her, Elanor frowns. Seeing the worried beauty, Laurel grabs her hand. "Don't worry. He only beats up bad people and demonic beasts."   Elanor shrugs with mixed feelings in her heart. *'I was looking for adventure, but I guess I can just play instead,'* she thinks as she puts on a bright smile like the sun rising. "Okay," She leans down to look the girl in the eyes, "I'm Elanor. Nice to meet you."   The girl giggles and says, "I'm Laurel!" She kicks her foot shyly, "Do you want to be friends?" Laurel asks.   Elanor squeezes the girl's hand and nods. "Of course."   "YAY!" Laurel yells as she jumps at her new friend hugging her. Elanor freezes in surprise, but soon she is squeezing the young lass. Laurel backs up and then excitedly says. "Come on and meet my mom!"   "Oh, she's coming into the town?" John says, a bit surprised. "That girl must be pretty charismatic."   "Grr," Joe just kept munching without even looking up.   "You're no fun," John pouts *'unless it is food, this stupid Joe can't be bothered. It is so hard to have a good conversation nowadays.'* "Why don't you go chase her around again for exercise?" John teases.   Joe just looks at the bush with disdain. Then he prances around the bush smugly. "Oh, yeah, well, you just wait! A few more inches, and you won't be able to prance around either," John hollers in rage.   In the town, all eyes are on this new woman who looks like she just came from a festival. Clearly, she isn't an ordinary person to just waltz into the village as if she was having a stroll. Many look up at the hill only to see the bull not paying any attention to the commotion below. They've gotten used to their guardian spirits, sometimes odd behavior. Since he has no objections, neither do they.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMwYzlmMDAyMDllNDQzNjg5ZWIzMzhiNzAwN2E4Njhh">  Franklin paces back and forth behind one of the shacks. He hadn’t even been sure if his teacher was real or fake.<em> ‘Am I going insane?’</em> Franklin wonders. He grips his fist in determination.<em> ‘I can’t say a voice in my head told me to bring her, can I? What am I going to do?!’</em> Franklin frets while rubbing his head in frustration. “Teacher, I don’t know how to act around important people,” he whispers to himself, deflated.</p> <p class="cnNjMTRmOTI1ODEzODRlYzFiZTI0YmJiOTViZjlmZTMw">  Franklin's prayer for help goes unanswered, however, and his head droops. To his despair, his teacher doesn’t respond at all. Why did he have such a lazy teacher, he laments. “Well, I’ve seen some guards address officials from the capital,” Franklin says under his breath as he creates a plan.</p> <p class="cnMxMDAyMTEzY2U2YjQ5ZTg4NzI0ZmVhZTM5YjEyY2M0">  He pokes his head out to view the scene. He sees Laurel gritting her teeth in frustration as Mellisa rushes over to comfort her daughter. She lightly pets her daughter's head while talking with the fairy guest. Laurel suddenly looks over and sticks out her tongue. The two other women follow Laurel’s tongue towards Franklin’s hiding spot.</p> <p class="cnMxODNkYmFiZTZmOTQzODU5ZTUwMzRiNDY0ZWNjYWY4">  <em>’How does that girl always know where I am?’</em> Franklin cries to himself. However, it is too late to hide now, so he awkwardly steps out. He stiffly imitates a soldier as he walks towards the three women. Franklin looks like a tin man hobbling over, causing the women to giggle.</p> <p class="cnNjMDQ0NDcwNDVjMzRjYzhiN2RmYTEzZDI0OWJhYjdm">  “What do you want, stupid Franklin?” Laurel asks as she looks away in disgust. Franklin grimaces. She is still mad at him. “I'm not here for you," he snidely replies.</p> <p class="cnM3YzdhM2NlNzQwYjQxNmY5MmRiM2I4NTUyNGI3MzA3">  Then he looks at the beauty and bows stiffly. "I've been given ahem. The eh, privilege of inviting you up the hill." Mellisa looks at the boy in shock while Elanor eyes the boy.</p> <p class="cnNkNjI2MGEyZGIyNDQyNTJiYWIyZmUzOGU3YTU4ZjRh">  "Oh, such a gentleman," Elanor exclaims, clapping her hands in praise. "May I know which master is inviting this miss up the hill?" Franklin tries to avoid the peering eyes of the two older women.</p> <p class="cnNmMjA2YTY5MjkzNjRhNGJiODNlYjVmOTEzOWY4ZGVl">  "Um, it's hard to say," Franklin replies while swallowing deeply. "I'm just the messenger. Eh, he said to send that lass up the hill." His eyes dart back and forth, not knowing how to explain.</p> <p class="cnNmMmVmYWYzNjFhMzQ5NDNhYmEzNzk4YWMyMTkxOGZi">  "What are you spouting? Stop causing trouble," Mellisa reprimands. Yet Elanor blocks the angry woman with her arm. She smiles and shakes her head at the woman.</p> <p class="cnMzOTRjNGI5YmVhYzQ1OGQ5ZGZjMWFiM2I4Yjk1ODA5">  "I have my guess on who wishes to see me. I suppose I shouldn't keep them waiting, should I?" She laughs before leaping into the air. In one hop, she scales the large hill. Everyone in the village looks up at Elanor with wide eyes.</p> <p class="cnNiNTZmMGE2NWM4NTRkZmY4YjUyOWQ2MDhlOWNhZjNi">  Upon the hill, John can't stop laughing. If he were still a human, he'd be rolling on the ground. "That boy needs training in etiquette more than fighting," he jokes to Joe, who also snorts bemusedly.</p> <p class="cnM2ZjVlZWIxNjQxODQzNzU4Y2ZhNThjZmUzMmFjMmYy">  "Alright, she's coming. Now, look a bit serious, alright?" John says, waving his branches at the bull, "I'll be matchmaking you two so, be on your best behavior."</p> <p class="cnNjYjc1YTJiZTBkYjQ5NThiMjM0NzdlNjQ0OTc3YzYz">  Joe snorts and jumps. He is going to stamp this stupid plant into the dirt! "Calm down. I was only joking," John says, moving his branches to defend himself.</p> <p class="cnM0MThmOWFlNTIzMzRhNDFhMDVjZThkZmQ2MTE0ZmRk">  The demonic bull snorts and lays down, eyeing the woman as she falls from the sky. <em>‘She's gotten a bit stronger, but she still doesn't compare to me,’</em> Joe observes smugly. The endless food has caused his strength to skyrocket, so his growth is far greater than this woman.</p> <p class="cnM3OWE1Y2E0OWY2MzQwZTJhMTY0MWUxODM3OTg3ZTRl">  For all of Eleanor’s strength, she hasn’t breached the upper six expertise yet, so she isn't quite capable enough to soar in the skies without external help. She does have strength far above this world, though. So a leap of hundreds of meters is easy for her. She lands neatly on the hill and curtesy to the bush and bull.</p> <p class="cnNjNmUzOWE2NjQ0YzQ1YTJiZDQ5OTdjZTk0ZTI5ODFh">  "It's nice to meet you once again," Elanor says before looking around. "Sir, since you invited me here, wouldn't it be proper to make your presence known?" she asks with a frown creeping into her smile.</p> <p class="cnMzN2QwOTQ1ODg0ODQ5ZmU5NTJkYmY4YTc4MWU0Nzll">  "So impatient!" John harrumphs as his leaves shudder. "I was just trying to be kind, inviting you up here, you know?" Elanor eyes the plant in shock. Of all the things, she'd guessed a plant cultivator wasn't one of them.<em> ‘It doesn’t seem strong enough or old enough to have sentience yet, though,’</em> Elanor ponders.</p> <p class="cnM1OGJmMTJkOGMzNDQ0Mzk5Y2YyNDAwOGUyMjE1ZGRl">  "Sir, I don't know why you possessed a plant. But I won't be scared by such nonsense," Elanor scoffs while shaking her head, annoyed at the petty trick. The beauty is nearly on the verge of releasing flames out of her nostrils from rage.</p> <p class="cnM2OTIwY2Y0NmYxOTQxYmU4ODliM2Q2M2ZlMmZhZTQ2">  John’s branches sink while Joe snickers to the side. "Don't malign me unjustly. I've been a bush this whole life."</p> <p class="cnMxY2QxNzNmYjdlZDRkZTJhNWQyNDg5ZGFmOGRlZDll">  "Fine, Mr. Bush. What do you want from this lady," Elanor harrumphs while folding her arms under her chest, causing her peaks to bounce. John laughs to himself. If he were still human, he would be putty in such a well-proportion woman's hands.</p> <p class="cnM1ODFlNDQ4ZGRlNTQyOWFiZmUwYWE3ZTUwZTU1NjI1">  "Since you've already promised to abandon your evil plot to steal the treasure here. I figured we should assist each other in the future," John explains as he shrugs with his branches.</p> <p class="cnNmZTUyOTBjMTFiMzRiZWFiYjNkODU2MTAxNDhkMzEy">  "OH, and how can a demonic beast and a bush help little old me?" she inquires, coquettishly slightly covering her mouth with a blush.</p> <p class="cnM5YjI1MjM5OWUzZjQ5NjVhOTljODQ3YTg5M2MxYzFi">  "Hmph, no one here will fall for your acting. You've already made friends with that little ball of fluff down there. So there is no reason to put on airs," John lectures the fairy before him.</p> <p class="cnM3OWRmZDk5YWI4MTQyZjA4ODFkMmE1M2YyZGJjYWJi">  Elanor frowns, glancing over at the bull only to see him rolling his eyes at the show. "Fine, I'm listening. But don't think I've forgotten the liberties you took with me last time. Stop acting mysterious," she responds.</p> <p class="cnMzOGIyYTkxZjU3NDRiZTU5YmJlODkxYmY5ZTViMjBj">  John snickers as he swings his branches at the ground. "I won't beat around the bush then." John pauses for the laughter but found himself disappointed. Joe, a demonic bull, doesn't understand the joke, and the woman looks like she was about to burst a blood vessel from anger.</p> <p class="cnM4MDY5NGE0ZGEwYTQ5ODg5ZGE5M2ZkNDU3ZWY1Y2M2">  "Fine, it's clear that neither of you can understand my refined humor besides the fact that you can help your new friend by helping us. You will also gain such a great place to cultivate," John explains as de raises his branches, making himself look more dignified.</p> <p class="cnM0ZTU4YjNkOGEwODRkMmE5YjNlN2JjODBjZWNmOTg1">  Elanor plops down on her butt inelegantly. She Leans back, letting her chest rise towards the sun as she relaxes casually. "I have a place to cultivate that’s better than here. Also, while I might want to help Laurel, I doubt that will have anything to do with what you want."</p> <p class="cnNkNDIwZmQ3YTc4YjRkNTRhOGYxNjAyYmM0OTI4MTcz">  "It doesn't matter what you say. When you became that girl's friend, your fate was sealed," the bush states as his leaves glow a bit. Elanor frowns, ‘<em>is this some trick.’</em></p> <p class="cnM1ZTY5YzE2OGVlMzRjMGQ5MjljN2QzZDNmMjUyYTAz">  John continues after seeing her questioning look, "There are no tricks. Even if I did nothing, we would have this conversation sooner or later. There is no reason for you to be so on guard." John Shakes his branch as if to shake his head in disappointment. "Look, you only see what's here now. Only weeds grow here now, but if you bring a few mystic herbs here and plant them, the atmosphere will soar!"</p> <p class="cnM1Zjk0MDU1NWRlZjQ1YzU5NzQ1MzU5YWY0MDVjNGQ1">  Elanor yawns as the bush drones on, "You think a few mystic herbs will matter? Anyways anything I’d pull out would cause you more trouble than good."</p> <p class="cnMxYjlmN2VhZDExZjRmM2RhMTZjY2RlNzFmZmUyNDhm">  "Please, no one said you need to bring some expensive mystic herb. Even if they are sickly, as long as they are alive, it's good enough. Once they are planted, they will thrive without issue," John states straightforwardly. "As for the other thing, it's even easier than the previous request. Just teach Laurel how to cultivate."</p> <p class="cnNmNTU5YTc4MzE1NjRmZGFiYTg0MjkwOTc4MzU1Yzg4">  Elanor balks at the second request, "I'm too young to take a disciple. Leave that to those graying old men who have used up all their potential." She purses her lips as if she ate something sour.</p> <p class="cnM0N2ZjNGIwYjdhOTQwZTZiODYxMjA0ODBkMjFlM2Uy">  "I never said to make her a disciple. Just teach her a bit, and while you're at it, help that incompetent boy too," he cajoles while waving his branch towards the boy. "I can only do so much as a plant. Better for a human to give advice. Trust me, you'll be glad you did later."</p> <p class="cnNiNTI4MjdkZDQ3ZjRhNGNiMjhhYmY1NDg0NmQzMjE1">  Elanor sighs, "I'll think about it. Don't get your hopes up."</p> <p class="cnNjZjg0OTFiNTRjNDQ5ZTc5N2ZiNTQyMGIxMGVlYmNi">  "Don't worry. If you are truly Laurel’s friend, you'll teach her. She won't last much longer without training," John says mysteriously.</p> <p class="cnNhNWIwMWEwNGE2YTQ5MDA5ODJkYmM0N2Y1ZTgxZTVm">  Elanor jumps up and glares at the plant, "What does that mean?"</p> <p class="cnNmOTI4ZDY1MjczMDQyNTU5NGU0ZGFiMzg4ZWMxZWE1">  "I've been observing these people for a while now. There isn't much I don't know," John explains, waving his limbs playfully. "She's such a lucky girl. Everyone will tell you that. It's no secret. Just keep an eye on her."</p> <p class="cnNlMmRiZjM2YmZlNTQyMzQ5OWE5YjdhM2E3OWNkMmU3">  Elanor frowns. Even though what this bush said seems simple at face value, he is definitely implying something. "Fine, I'll keep a lookout and figure it out myself." She then turned and began to float back to the village.</p> <p class="cnM5YjJkZjk0MjAxOTQzODBhZjZiMTc4YTY2MjY3MTVk">  "For the last thing. I'll just let nature take its course. So don't worry about it." John laughs as he waves goodbye with a branch. The last comment causes Joe to snort angrily and turn away from the annoying plant.</p> </div>

Franklin paces back and forth behind one of the shacks. He hadn’t even been sure if his teacher was real or fake. *‘Am I going insane?’* Franklin wonders. He grips his fist in determination. *‘I can’t say a voice in my head told me to bring her, can I? What am I going to do?!’* Franklin frets while rubbing his head in frustration. “Teacher, I don’t know how to act around important people,” he whispers to himself, deflated.   Franklin's prayer for help goes unanswered, however, and his head droops. To his despair, his teacher doesn’t respond at all. Why did he have such a lazy teacher, he laments. “Well, I’ve seen some guards address officials from the capital,” Franklin says under his breath as he creates a plan.   He pokes his head out to view the scene. He sees Laurel gritting her teeth in frustration as Mellisa rushes over to comfort her daughter. She lightly pets her daughter's head while talking with the fairy guest. Laurel suddenly looks over and sticks out her tongue. The two other women follow Laurel’s tongue towards Franklin’s hiding spot.   *’How does that girl always know where I am?’* Franklin cries to himself. However, it is too late to hide now, so he awkwardly steps out. He stiffly imitates a soldier as he walks towards the three women. Franklin looks like a tin man hobbling over, causing the women to giggle.   “What do you want, stupid Franklin?” Laurel asks as she looks away in disgust. Franklin grimaces. She is still mad at him. “I'm not here for you," he snidely replies.   Then he looks at the beauty and bows stiffly. "I've been given ahem. The eh, privilege of inviting you up the hill." Mellisa looks at the boy in shock while Elanor eyes the boy.   "Oh, such a gentleman," Elanor exclaims, clapping her hands in praise. "May I know which master is inviting this miss up the hill?" Franklin tries to avoid the peering eyes of the two older women.   "Um, it's hard to say," Franklin replies while swallowing deeply. "I'm just the messenger. Eh, he said to send that lass up the hill." His eyes dart back and forth, not knowing how to explain.   "What are you spouting? Stop causing trouble," Mellisa reprimands. Yet Elanor blocks the angry woman with her arm. She smiles and shakes her head at the woman.   "I have my guess on who wishes to see me. I suppose I shouldn't keep them waiting, should I?" She laughs before leaping into the air. In one hop, she scales the large hill. Everyone in the village looks up at Elanor with wide eyes.   Upon the hill, John can't stop laughing. If he were still a human, he'd be rolling on the ground. "That boy needs training in etiquette more than fighting," he jokes to Joe, who also snorts bemusedly.   "Alright, she's coming. Now, look a bit serious, alright?" John says, waving his branches at the bull, "I'll be matchmaking you two so, be on your best behavior."   Joe snorts and jumps. He is going to stamp this stupid plant into the dirt! "Calm down. I was only joking," John says, moving his branches to defend himself.   The demonic bull snorts and lays down, eyeing the woman as she falls from the sky. *‘She's gotten a bit stronger, but she still doesn't compare to me,’* Joe observes smugly. The endless food has caused his strength to skyrocket, so his growth is far greater than this woman.   For all of Eleanor’s strength, she hasn’t breached the upper six expertise yet, so she isn't quite capable enough to soar in the skies without external help. She does have strength far above this world, though. So a leap of hundreds of meters is easy for her. She lands neatly on the hill and curtesy to the bush and bull.   "It's nice to meet you once again," Elanor says before looking around. "Sir, since you invited me here, wouldn't it be proper to make your presence known?" she asks with a frown creeping into her smile.   "So impatient!" John harrumphs as his leaves shudder. "I was just trying to be kind, inviting you up here, you know?" Elanor eyes the plant in shock. Of all the things, she'd guessed a plant cultivator wasn't one of them. *‘It doesn’t seem strong enough or old enough to have sentience yet, though,’* Elanor ponders.   "Sir, I don't know why you possessed a plant. But I won't be scared by such nonsense," Elanor scoffs while shaking her head, annoyed at the petty trick. The beauty is nearly on the verge of releasing flames out of her nostrils from rage.   John’s branches sink while Joe snickers to the side. "Don't malign me unjustly. I've been a bush this whole life."   "Fine, Mr. Bush. What do you want from this lady," Elanor harrumphs while folding her arms under her chest, causing her peaks to bounce. John laughs to himself. If he were still human, he would be putty in such a well-proportion woman's hands.   "Since you've already promised to abandon your evil plot to steal the treasure here. I figured we should assist each other in the future," John explains as he shrugs with his branches.   "OH, and how can a demonic beast and a bush help little old me?" she inquires, coquettishly slightly covering her mouth with a blush.   "Hmph, no one here will fall for your acting. You've already made friends with that little ball of fluff down there. So there is no reason to put on airs," John lectures the fairy before him.   Elanor frowns, glancing over at the bull only to see him rolling his eyes at the show. "Fine, I'm listening. But don't think I've forgotten the liberties you took with me last time. Stop acting mysterious," she responds.   John snickers as he swings his branches at the ground. "I won't beat around the bush then." John pauses for the laughter but found himself disappointed. Joe, a demonic bull, doesn't understand the joke, and the woman looks like she was about to burst a blood vessel from anger.   "Fine, it's clear that neither of you can understand my refined humor besides the fact that you can help your new friend by helping us. You will also gain such a great place to cultivate," John explains as de raises his branches, making himself look more dignified.   Elanor plops down on her butt inelegantly. She Leans back, letting her chest rise towards the sun as she relaxes casually. "I have a place to cultivate that’s better than here. Also, while I might want to help Laurel, I doubt that will have anything to do with what you want."   "It doesn't matter what you say. When you became that girl's friend, your fate was sealed," the bush states as his leaves glow a bit. Elanor frowns, ‘*is this some trick.’*   John continues after seeing her questioning look, "There are no tricks. Even if I did nothing, we would have this conversation sooner or later. There is no reason for you to be so on guard." John Shakes his branch as if to shake his head in disappointment. "Look, you only see what's here now. Only weeds grow here now, but if you bring a few mystic herbs here and plant them, the atmosphere will soar!"   Elanor yawns as the bush drones on, "You think a few mystic herbs will matter? Anyways anything I’d pull out would cause you more trouble than good."   "Please, no one said you need to bring some expensive mystic herb. Even if they are sickly, as long as they are alive, it's good enough. Once they are planted, they will thrive without issue," John states straightforwardly. "As for the other thing, it's even easier than the previous request. Just teach Laurel how to cultivate."   Elanor balks at the second request, "I'm too young to take a disciple. Leave that to those graying old men who have used up all their potential." She purses her lips as if she ate something sour.   "I never said to make her a disciple. Just teach her a bit, and while you're at it, help that incompetent boy too," he cajoles while waving his branch towards the boy. "I can only do so much as a plant. Better for a human to give advice. Trust me, you'll be glad you did later."   Elanor sighs, "I'll think about it. Don't get your hopes up."   "Don't worry. If you are truly Laurel’s friend, you'll teach her. She won't last much longer without training," John says mysteriously.   Elanor jumps up and glares at the plant, "What does that mean?"   "I've been observing these people for a while now. There isn't much I don't know," John explains, waving his limbs playfully. "She's such a lucky girl. Everyone will tell you that. It's no secret. Just keep an eye on her."   Elanor frowns. Even though what this bush said seems simple at face value, he is definitely implying something. "Fine, I'll keep a lookout and figure it out myself." She then turned and began to float back to the village.   "For the last thing. I'll just let nature take its course. So don't worry about it." John laughs as he waves goodbye with a branch. The last comment causes Joe to snort angrily and turn away from the annoying plant.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMyMmVhZDliM2QzZjQ5ZDRiNGEyYjc2ODIwMjRlZmU4">  John watches as the fairy departs. Now that she isn't watching anymore, his branches droop. "Can you believe that lass," he complains to Joe. "I only asked for a few mystic herbs, and she acts like I was a beggar asking for spare change!"</p> <p class="cnNhM2QxNjRkMWJkZTRiYjJiY2U2ZGFjNTA5NzU0M2Y2">  "Buro," Joe says while looking at the plant curiously. "Why do you have to value everything by how good it tastes?" John complains. "Mooro!" Joe responded angrily.</p> <p class="cnMzNzZiZDNkMzdkOTRlNjI5NTg3MDhjMTkzNDY5NTg2">  "Just because you gain strength from eating doesn't mean everything is about food," John sighs. "Also, being able to raise them will make the environment even better. Which is good for the villagers and us," he explains to the uneducated demonic bull. "Anyways, if you eat them before they propagate and grow, there wouldn't be enough even to fill one of your stomachs."</p> <p class="cnNlOGI5MTdkZmMyYTRmY2E5YWZjMTk4M2RiODBjNjMy">  "Hell, I had to pry that Sentinel Bellflower out of your mouth practically!" John points his branch accusingly at the demonic bull. Joe looks proudly into the sky and snorts. "Now you take credit for finding it? I remember you were in tears when it was taken away by that girl," John laughs.</p> <p class="cnM4MTAzYTBkOTMxMjQyMTJiOTIyNDJkNTBjODJjODJj">  "Still, it's a good thing that Elanor is a bit dumb. If she could identify the plant, all the mystery would be gone," John says but is disrupted by Joe's stomach gurgling while still looking proud into the sky. "You! You're still thinking about eating it, aren't you," John cries at this stupid glutton.</p> <p class="cnMyZTQ0ODVhMWQzOTQwYjlhMDRjMTc4YWRiZWE2OTNh">  Down below, everyone is looking at the dazzling cultivator. They were worried a fight would break out at any moment. They are all filled with relief when they see Elanor descend without incident.</p> <p class="cnMzOGNlNWZkNDVhNjRmNjE5N2QyZGI1MzljNWNkMzVm">  Gregory walks over with a servile smile as she lands like a feather. "The meal is prepared. If you are ready, should we began the banquet?" Elanor distracted by the previous conversation only nods to the old man in front of her.</p> <p class="cnNmNDNkZDEyNzY4ODQyMTI4YjYyOTJiYTIwN2YxZDMz">  Gregory doesn't mind the lack of interest. How can he comprehend the minds of cultivators? "This way then, please." He says, gesturing towards the meeting area of the village. They had cleared this place of plants and stamped the ground with wooden poles. It was the only place where the villagers can escape the enveloping plant life.</p> <p class="cnMwMjY1NjMwYTZiMzQ3YjNhYTYwZDJjMDcxYmRjMjNl">  Now they have placed stumps for everyone to sit on. In the center, a stove made of stones stands a fire burning brightly inside. They use a big wood pot to create a soup. In the fire sits vegetable shish kabobs grilling. The villagers haven't indulged like this since their escape into the forest.</p> <p class="cnMxMjhjMTE3YWMyZjQ5ZjA5YTU3ZDI1ODg1ODAyYWJi">  Gregory sighs, "I apologize for the lack of accommodations. We're cut off from the world here, so the niceties we can offer are limited." Elanor shakes her head and laughs, "I may not look it, but I'm often roughing it. So there is nothing to fear."</p> <p class="cnNkZjEwN2RmMjNjNzQ2NDlhZTljMjk3YWFiOGY4NThj">  Elanor looks around while furrowing her brow. "The only thing that is missing is alcohol. This can't be a banquet without a good drink!" She exclaims, nodding with a bright smile. Gregory looks at the beauty awkwardly, "I'm sorry, but we don't have anything like that. It was hard enough to get water for a time."</p> <p class="cnM1NDhhMzBlYzFhOTQxM2U4MzZjZmU0MGQxZWNlZmE2">  "Never fear, Elanor is here!" She says energetically, thrusting her fist in the air, causing her voluptuous chest to bounce dangerously. Men and women alike can't help but be filled with anticipation of the slip. Mellisa wonders,<em> ‘are those clothes magic? That's the only explanation for keeping those mountains hidden under the loose fabric.’</em></p> <p class="cnNiMGEwNDViMzJkYTQ0NmU4OThjNjczMzU3MDA2MGFi">  With a twirl, Elanor releases a few bottles of wine from her interspatial ring. Everyone's eyes go wide. They have never seen such a miraculous feat before. "Now we're ready. Let the banquet began!" Elanor says with a wink.</p> <p class="cnNkYjI2YWRlOTNmMDRhMDdhYWUyY2I1YjkyNmJiOGFh">  Laurel hops over to Elanor. "Amazing! How do you make things appear from nowhere?" The girl asks with sparkling eyes. "Haha, It's nothing special. Every cultivator can do it with an interspatial ring." Elanor explains, showing the girl the ring on her finger. "If you work hard, even you….."</p> <p class="cnNkNmFlZGEwZTcyOTRmZDRiZWY1MTI4YTgyYzAzYmQ3">  "Oops, you dropped this, Uncle!" Laurel says as she turns, suddenly catching one of the wine bottles. A middle-aged man with a big black beard laughs, rubbing the girl's head. "Thanks. If it weren't for you, I'd have wasted this great gift." He then also nods at Elanor.</p> <p class="cnNlYzdiYmNkN2NmMDRhMzBiNTFhZDBiNzc5YWVkODQx">  "Don't worry about it! If we need more, I have plenty," Elanor retorts, waving the concerns away. "Anyways, can I really use a magic ring too?" Laurel asks excitedly, pulling on Elanor's colorful sleeve.</p> <p class="cnM5OTdhOWY0ZDcyMTQ1MWFiOTIyNTA4Y2NhN2NiMTI1">  "If you want to learn, anything is possible!" Elanor states while giving a victory pose with a fist in the air. "Well, that's what my master says anyways." She continues sheepishly. "I've never been a fan of books." She finishes giggling while downing a bottle of wine.</p> <p class="cnNkNzdkMzQ3MmRmNzQzZWU5ODgzMjJmMGU3MzExZWJj">  "For now, why don't you introduce me to everyone," Elanor says, grabbing the girl's hand. As Laurel turns away for just a moment, Elanor's eyes turn sharp as she glances at the wine bottle in the bearded man's hand.</p> <p class="cnM3YWRkYzEyYzhhYjQxN2I4OTQ5NDg2MjA2Y2U2MDdi">  "Well, let's start with this clumsy guy," Laurel giggles while pointing at the bearded man, "He's Wilbur. He was a blacksmith in town. But now, since we don't have metal, he helps build stuff. He also has the youngest kid!" With that, Laurel's nose twitches with annoyance. "It's also the only other girl here. Donna's only five, though, so she's not fun to play with."</p> <p class="cnNjOTViOTJmOWYxNzRiNmJhZDNiZTkyN2Q4MmM3NmZh">  Wilbur strokes his beard, "nice to meet you! I heard your name was Elanor, right?" Elanor nods in affirmation, "That's correct." Wilbur laughs, his big beard shaking as he takes a swig of wine. "Don't be a stranger now that we've become friends. We need a bit of liveliness every once in a while."</p> <p class="cnNlOGMxZTEyNDAyYjRlNDZiOGYxNWM4OWJkYTM1Mjhk">  Nearby a small girl yawns. It's long past her bedtime. But how can Wilbur force the girl to miss the excitement? Even with the noise, the girl's eyes are drooping. Laurel brings Elanor over and hugs the girl, lifting her off the ground. "Laurel, don't bully." The girl whines. "You're just so cute, I can't help it," Laurel says mischievously.</p> <p class="cnM3ZGZlYzI1NWYyZjRjM2RiZWY4NmUyNTM1OTFhNGVl">  "Anyways, say hi to big sis Elanor!" Laurel says, lifting the little girl, practically smashing the girl's face right into the beauty’s face. "Nice to meet you, Donna," Elanor says without retreating.</p> <p class="cnM0YTc1MDRmMzQ0ZTQxNjhhOWEyM2UxYzdiYzFlYTBk">  "Big sis, too close!" Donna screams, pushing Elanor's face away. Elanor exaggeratedly tumbles back onto her butt. "Wow, you're so strong!" "Not strong," Donna replies, puffing her cheeks and looking away.</p> <p class="cnMxMzgwYWU4ZDA4NzRjOTM5OWVhMDAxZjBkZjc1YTMx">  Laurel laughs, putting the girl back down, "She says only boys are strong." Elanor joins the laughter, "I guess you'll have to show her wrong then."</p> <p class="cnNmMTI5YzQ2Nzk2YTRhOWI5ZWUxNjA3ZWE2ODdiZWZk">  "Daddy's strongest!" Donna states angrily. "It's true he carried her all the way here," Laurel acknowledges, nodding.</p> <p class="cnM3NGEyOWU1ZmIxNzRlYjViNTM1NmI0N2I0YzY4Mzcy">  "It's a parent's job to keep their kid safe," Elanor states, giving both girls a big hug. "Big sis bully," Donna mumbles.</p> <p class="cnNiMTEwZmU1MjM1NzQwOWViODE1MmFiYjQyYzcxZWI5">  Wilbur comes over. "Sorry, she's just tired. I suppose it's time for us to call it a night," he says while scooping Donna up into his arms. Donna grabs on to her dad tightly. "Say goodnight," Wilbur prompts. "Nigh, nigh," Donna mumbles, already half asleep in her dad's arms. Elanor waves bye as they head to one of the shacks.</p> </div>

John watches as the fairy departs. Now that she isn't watching anymore, his branches droop. "Can you believe that lass," he complains to Joe. "I only asked for a few mystic herbs, and she acts like I was a beggar asking for spare change!"   "Buro," Joe says while looking at the plant curiously. "Why do you have to value everything by how good it tastes?" John complains. "Mooro!" Joe responded angrily.   "Just because you gain strength from eating doesn't mean everything is about food," John sighs. "Also, being able to raise them will make the environment even better. Which is good for the villagers and us," he explains to the uneducated demonic bull. "Anyways, if you eat them before they propagate and grow, there wouldn't be enough even to fill one of your stomachs."   "Hell, I had to pry that Sentinel Bellflower out of your mouth practically!" John points his branch accusingly at the demonic bull. Joe looks proudly into the sky and snorts. "Now you take credit for finding it? I remember you were in tears when it was taken away by that girl," John laughs.   "Still, it's a good thing that Elanor is a bit dumb. If she could identify the plant, all the mystery would be gone," John says but is disrupted by Joe's stomach gurgling while still looking proud into the sky. "You! You're still thinking about eating it, aren't you," John cries at this stupid glutton.   Down below, everyone is looking at the dazzling cultivator. They were worried a fight would break out at any moment. They are all filled with relief when they see Elanor descend without incident.   Gregory walks over with a servile smile as she lands like a feather. "The meal is prepared. If you are ready, should we began the banquet?" Elanor distracted by the previous conversation only nods to the old man in front of her.   Gregory doesn't mind the lack of interest. How can he comprehend the minds of cultivators? "This way then, please." He says, gesturing towards the meeting area of the village. They had cleared this place of plants and stamped the ground with wooden poles. It was the only place where the villagers can escape the enveloping plant life.   Now they have placed stumps for everyone to sit on. In the center, a stove made of stones stands a fire burning brightly inside. They use a big wood pot to create a soup. In the fire sits vegetable shish kabobs grilling. The villagers haven't indulged like this since their escape into the forest.   Gregory sighs, "I apologize for the lack of accommodations. We're cut off from the world here, so the niceties we can offer are limited." Elanor shakes her head and laughs, "I may not look it, but I'm often roughing it. So there is nothing to fear."   Elanor looks around while furrowing her brow. "The only thing that is missing is alcohol. This can't be a banquet without a good drink!" She exclaims, nodding with a bright smile. Gregory looks at the beauty awkwardly, "I'm sorry, but we don't have anything like that. It was hard enough to get water for a time."   "Never fear, Elanor is here!" She says energetically, thrusting her fist in the air, causing her voluptuous chest to bounce dangerously. Men and women alike can't help but be filled with anticipation of the slip. Mellisa wonders, *‘are those clothes magic? That's the only explanation for keeping those mountains hidden under the loose fabric.’*   With a twirl, Elanor releases a few bottles of wine from her interspatial ring. Everyone's eyes go wide. They have never seen such a miraculous feat before. "Now we're ready. Let the banquet began!" Elanor says with a wink.   Laurel hops over to Elanor. "Amazing! How do you make things appear from nowhere?" The girl asks with sparkling eyes. "Haha, It's nothing special. Every cultivator can do it with an interspatial ring." Elanor explains, showing the girl the ring on her finger. "If you work hard, even you….."   "Oops, you dropped this, Uncle!" Laurel says as she turns, suddenly catching one of the wine bottles. A middle-aged man with a big black beard laughs, rubbing the girl's head. "Thanks. If it weren't for you, I'd have wasted this great gift." He then also nods at Elanor.   "Don't worry about it! If we need more, I have plenty," Elanor retorts, waving the concerns away. "Anyways, can I really use a magic ring too?" Laurel asks excitedly, pulling on Elanor's colorful sleeve.   "If you want to learn, anything is possible!" Elanor states while giving a victory pose with a fist in the air. "Well, that's what my master says anyways." She continues sheepishly. "I've never been a fan of books." She finishes giggling while downing a bottle of wine.   "For now, why don't you introduce me to everyone," Elanor says, grabbing the girl's hand. As Laurel turns away for just a moment, Elanor's eyes turn sharp as she glances at the wine bottle in the bearded man's hand.   "Well, let's start with this clumsy guy," Laurel giggles while pointing at the bearded man, "He's Wilbur. He was a blacksmith in town. But now, since we don't have metal, he helps build stuff. He also has the youngest kid!" With that, Laurel's nose twitches with annoyance. "It's also the only other girl here. Donna's only five, though, so she's not fun to play with."   Wilbur strokes his beard, "nice to meet you! I heard your name was Elanor, right?" Elanor nods in affirmation, "That's correct." Wilbur laughs, his big beard shaking as he takes a swig of wine. "Don't be a stranger now that we've become friends. We need a bit of liveliness every once in a while."   Nearby a small girl yawns. It's long past her bedtime. But how can Wilbur force the girl to miss the excitement? Even with the noise, the girl's eyes are drooping. Laurel brings Elanor over and hugs the girl, lifting her off the ground. "Laurel, don't bully." The girl whines. "You're just so cute, I can't help it," Laurel says mischievously.   "Anyways, say hi to big sis Elanor!" Laurel says, lifting the little girl, practically smashing the girl's face right into the beauty’s face. "Nice to meet you, Donna," Elanor says without retreating.   "Big sis, too close!" Donna screams, pushing Elanor's face away. Elanor exaggeratedly tumbles back onto her butt. "Wow, you're so strong!" "Not strong," Donna replies, puffing her cheeks and looking away.   Laurel laughs, putting the girl back down, "She says only boys are strong." Elanor joins the laughter, "I guess you'll have to show her wrong then."   "Daddy's strongest!" Donna states angrily. "It's true he carried her all the way here," Laurel acknowledges, nodding.   "It's a parent's job to keep their kid safe," Elanor states, giving both girls a big hug. "Big sis bully," Donna mumbles.   Wilbur comes over. "Sorry, she's just tired. I suppose it's time for us to call it a night," he says while scooping Donna up into his arms. Donna grabs on to her dad tightly. "Say goodnight," Wilbur prompts. "Nigh, nigh," Donna mumbles, already half asleep in her dad's arms. Elanor waves bye as they head to one of the shacks.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMyM2M1OTEyMTYxYjQxYzQ5ZTJkYzI4ZWY5MDJjYTk1">  As Wilbur leaves, a kindly middle-aged blond lady comes over. She is a bit plump though she’d lost weight recently. She is carrying two bowls of soup with a few skewers packed with vegetables.</p> <p class="cnM1MGY2OGVmYWFmYzQwMWVhMWZhMTc1NWQ4NmI3Mjc2">  “Come on, you two! You’ll regret it if you let the boys eat everything,” She says, holding out two bowls. Elanor laughs, “we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Elanor nudges Laurel playfully.</p> <p class="cnMwOGZjYTBiOTMzZTQ0N2ZiZjNlNzhmYTA4OGM2ZWZk">  “Nope, we wouldn’t want Vickie’s hard work to go to waste,” Laurel says, smiling as she takes a bowl. “She had a restaurant in town. People came from all around to eat her food!”</p> <p class="cnMwZTFhNWQ4Y2MxYjRkOTY5MDcwMTI4ODEzZDE0Yjcz">  “I’m looking forward to it then,” Elanor says while grabbing her bowl with a big smile. Vickie blushes and waves her hand coyly. “She exaggerates. We don’t have much to work with, so don’t expect too much,” the plump woman replies with nervousness in her voice.</p> <p class="cnNlMjkzZTM4NThmODRhYWM5MWJhOTFhMWU3NTFiOTEx">  The aroma is intoxicating as Elanor takes a bite from one of the skewers. The grilling was completed perfectly, giving the vegetables a satisfactory crunch. As her teeth sink in, the juices squirt out, filling her mouth. Her tongue dances with joy as the sweet taste permeate her mouth.</p> <p class="cnMyZDkzNThmMmYzMjRlMzY4YzFkOThlMGJhMjU4NGE5">  As she swallows, her eyes grow wide with shock. She feels a gentle energy dissolve and flow into her meridians. She can’t understand how food grown by mortals could have this effect. Typically to get food like this, you need to have a specially prepared garden.</p> <p class="cnM5N2JjMDU2N2RmZTRmNmZhN2VkMzY5ODY3NDY1MjU3">  “It's so good," Elanor moans. "Yah sHo gud!" Laurel says while stuffing her face.</p> <p class="cnM4ZDE2NWRkZjBmZTRhZTU5MTIxNzgwOWQ3NjIxYzU5">  "Haha, you praise me too much," Vickie says with a smile that goes ear to ear. "The credit has to go to the vegetables. They are the most incredible ingredient I've ever seen."</p> <p class="cnNiY2FlOTU3ZjM5ODRkZjE4NDFmOTYyOTA5OGUzZGMw">  Elanor is about to reply when she sees Laurel pause for just a moment out of the corner of her eye. "Aunty, don't you think you should set some out for our guardian spirit?" Laurel says while smiling coyly, "You know how much he loves his vegetables. He'll definitely want a taste too!"</p> <p class="cnMyODU1Zjk0ODZjMzRjNjU5OGVhYmFjOWUwYmY5MTJj">  Vickie hit the palm of her hand with her fist in realization. (like you would for rock paper scissor or roshambo. Also called Nattoku.) "You're right. We can't ignore him and leave the big guy out, can we?" She turns away, "you two enjoy."</p> <p class="cnNhZTY1M2FhYTIyZjQzMDQ5NTBmYTM2ZDJhYzc3ODgz">  Over by the food, there are three young boys of similar age-fighting. Vickie wacks one on the head and yells, "You three are acting like we haven't been feeding you. Do I have to teach you all manners?" She scowls at the boys as they all answer in unison. "No, miss." They look sheepishly at each other before they all got a fist to the head. "Now go entertain our guest of honor instead of acting like hyenas," Vickie scolds. "Fine," the boys yell, deflated, rubbing their heads.</p> <p class="cnM2ZTU5YWNhNmI4MjRiODc4NDk1MTI4YTg5ZGRiZTA3">  The boys run over, shoving each other. "Hey, beautiful!" The tallest boy with blonde hair says while swishing his hair back. Elanor raises her eyebrow as the other two boys snicker. "Sorry, boys, you have to be this tall to ride," Elanor retorts, putting her hand above her head which was twice as tall as the boys.</p> <p class="cnM5MGFmNWZhOTEzYzRjZDRiZTAwZWFhMjU3YTIyZDZl">  "Roy, you're so dumb!" Laurel says, sticking out her tongue. "Elanor is mine," She jokes, grabbing Elanor's arm protectively. Laughing, Elanor says, "Why don't you introduce your little friends."</p> <p class="cnM2ZDU4OGM0NWU2ZjQ1NjZhNzNkYzdkNTAwOWJmNmU5">  "Fine," Laurel replies, rolling her eye as she points to each boy. "The tall idiot is Louis, the one with an ugly face is Roy, and the pipsqueak is Douglas."</p> <p class="cnMzZmU1OGRmN2MxNDRhYjdhMGU2ZjQwMDVkNGZmZjZi">  The three boys' faces turn grim. Douglas, his curly hair bouncing as he points in anger at the rude girl, "just because you're a year older doesn't mean you're better than us!" "That's right, mom says I'll grow into my face," Roy retorts with tears forming. "Don't listen to her. She's just jealous of my good looks," Louis says while posing elegantly.</p> <p class="cnM3NjgxNTUxZWM2NTQzOTJhOTVmNWNkYjc1ZDM3MTEz">  "Well, hang in their kids," Elanor continues to laugh, holding her stomach. "They're only nine, so they don't understand how the world works," Laurel says while tugging on Elanor's arm.</p> <p class="cnM5NzVmOTQ1MWQ3MzQ5ODQ5MTFlZjYwMGRhMzIxZjJi">  "Hey boys, come over and help us," a small woman about five feet tall calls over. The mothers of the three boys are clamoring over the food with large bowls. "Roy, stop making a fool of yourself and get over here," A grim homely looking woman yells.</p> <p class="cnNjODAzY2U0MjE2NTQ1YmNiMzQ2ODBmNGRjZDllMmE2">  "But mom!" Roy whines. Only to see his mom giving him the evil eye. All the boys shrink and mumble curses as they shuffle away. "Perk up. It's an honor to feed the divine spirit. " The small woman says with a big smile, patting Douglas's shoulder. Douglas's mom waves at the young ladies while Roy's gives a polite nod.</p> <p class="cnNjYzIzYTM4ZTdmYjRlNDU4YjU1M2ZiMTkyNjVkMzA0">  "The one waving is Harriet. The other one who nodded is Marsha," Laurel informs Elanor. Laurel waves to the three women and hollers jokingly, "Don't work them too hard."</p> <p class="cnM4OTQxYzcyYWYyMTRhMjQ5YTJkNzAzYTNmOTliNmJm">  They all fill up a water bucket with soup and grilled vegetables. The boys then drag the bucket off towards the hill. They don't get far before a bull starts rushing down from the hill. The boys are so scared they throw the bucket away. Before it can hit the ground, the bouncing ball that is Joe opens his maw wide, chomping up the bucket whole. Joe comes to a sudden stop in front of the boys. His belly continuing forward, almost smashing the boys into a pulp. The out-of-control gut causes a gust of wind to bowl over the three boys. The guardian spirit leaps back up the hill just as fast as it came with a satisfied expression.</p> <p class="cnNiYTljMjhlZDU4ODQ2ZjdiOWM0NGM4YmIyYjIwN2E3">  The shaken boys get to their feet. The mothers sigh in relief as they check on their shell-shocked sons. It is good that their protector is so strong. However, they still worry that he might accidentally crush them like ants someday.</p> <p class="cnM1MjMzNjg4Y2M4ZDQ3MGNhMDhmODQwNDY1YjlmY2Zh">  Laurel can't stop giggling as she pulls the arm of the beauty next to her. "Come on. You should meet Anna! She's cool. I told you about her earlier." As they walk over, Elanor's eyes fall on a couple with the boy she'd met earlier. The woman has long black hair and green eyes like Franklin. Her arm is limp in a sling. The only thing exceptional about the woman is her eyes that seem to hold endless determination. The man next to her is muscular with skin like leather. Clearly, he's spent a long time laboring in the sun.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTEzNjM3ZDk2NjQ5NmFiYmE4ZGZiYzkxYTlmZGVm">  "This is Anna and Arron," Laurel smiles, introducing the two. "Nice to meet you. I've heard of your gallantry." Elanor says with a bright smile. "Thanks, but any mother would do the same," Anna replies cordially.</p> <p class="cnMzZGNlNGVjNDViMzQ1YmE5ZjJmMmU2MzY3YmU2YWUz">  "Ha, ha, no need to be modest. You'd be surprised how many bastards are out there," Elanor says as another bottle enters her hand. "Cheers to your gallantry!" She exclaims before downing the bottle. Laurel's eyes bulge as she thinks, <em>‘even if this is water, a person can't drink this much, right?’</em></p> <p class="cnNhMTFhMjU3NDI2MTQwZWY5MjliN2Q3OGJmMjkwMGMz">  Arron clears his throat, "Ahem, I understand that cultivators are well learned." he gestures gently to Anna's arm before continuing, "I don't want to impose, but do you think you could take a look at her arm?" He asks the beauty.</p> <p class="cnNiMWY0NjUyMTU1MzQ0M2JhYjEyNDliM2NiYjk2NzM0">  Elanor looks like she'd just ate something sour, "well, I guess I can take a quick look." As she reaches out, her hand hesitates a bit before she bends down to get a closer look. "hmm, I'm not a healer... You know?" She asks with an apologetic look.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDdjZjNiNmVlODQ0OWJhYjQ4ZjU3YTdlMjkzYmZm">  "Oh, sorry, I only..." Arron trails off.</p> <p class="cnM3MTRhNTUzYjIxYjQ2YjliYWFiNGM0Zjg3YjE0OWIy">  Anna cuts in with a slight smile, "we didn't mean to put you in an awkward position. Don't worry about it. I'm getting used to it."</p> <p class="cnNhMGEzMmMxMjg3ZDQ4N2VhMjEzMDM4ODQ0OWE2MmM1">  Elanor feels a bit bad as she ponders what to do. Laurel suddenly dodges left, right, and then lifts her leg as mud balls fly by. "Hey!" She turns and yells before grabbing her head grimacing in pain. Elanor's eyes turn sharp as she the girl dodges all the hidden attacks.</p> <p class="cnNhYTk2ZmQ4MWIyYTQ2NTA5NGExZDRmZWMxM2M2ZDBm">  Mellisa seeing her girl in pain, runs over, scooping Laurel up. "She's had a bit too much excitement, I guess," Mellisa says while looking worriedly at her daughter. "Lately, she's been having headaches when she's overstimulated," She explains, rubbing her girl's forehead and continues, "I hope she didn't hit her head." Then Mellisa reluctantly smiles at Elanor. "Thanks, I haven't seen her have this much fun in a long time," she murmurs.</p> <p class="cnM2Nzk3ZTI2OGUxOTQ2ZDliYzM4ODIxYjkxZjNjMWQ1">  "It was a lot of fun for me too," Elanor nods with a bright smile, her shiny white teeth glimmering in the campfire light.</p> <p class="cnM4Y2RiMTdmOTE1MjRiZjY4ZDZkYmMxNjA4YTY1YWEz">  "We'll be turning in. Please enjoy the rest of the night," Mellisa says. Bowing slightly, she turns away.</p> <p class="cnM4YzhhNzIzNmU5MTQzZWVhNzI3NzAxZWEyNDM1MDlh">  Elanor bites her lip. "Argh, fine." She says, stamping her foot, dust swirling around her. Everyone looks in surprise at the beauty, suddenly throwing a tantrum. "I'll do it, you bastard!" She yells at the hill.</p> <p class="cnMxMzBlMmYzYTdjOTQ4Nzk4ZTQyYmY5OTY0MWU4NmMz">  Elanor walks straight up to Gregory. "Thanks for the grand banquet. I know it puts a strain on your food stores." Gregory bows and says, "there is no need for you to worry about such things. Your presence here today has given us a bright moment in these dark times."</p> <p class="cnMwMGJkNmFhMDZjNjQwZTk4OWQwNmJkNTdhMmQ5NzA4">  Elanor ignores the pleasantries as she replies, "I'll come back when I can. My master is a great healer, so I'll try to convince her to return with me." Elanor doesn't give him time to respond as she leaps away, speeding into the forest.</p> </div>

As Wilbur leaves, a kindly middle-aged blond lady comes over. She is a bit plump though she’d lost weight recently. She is carrying two bowls of soup with a few skewers packed with vegetables.   “Come on, you two! You’ll regret it if you let the boys eat everything,” She says, holding out two bowls. Elanor laughs, “we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Elanor nudges Laurel playfully.   “Nope, we wouldn’t want Vickie’s hard work to go to waste,” Laurel says, smiling as she takes a bowl. “She had a restaurant in town. People came from all around to eat her food!”   “I’m looking forward to it then,” Elanor says while grabbing her bowl with a big smile. Vickie blushes and waves her hand coyly. “She exaggerates. We don’t have much to work with, so don’t expect too much,” the plump woman replies with nervousness in her voice.   The aroma is intoxicating as Elanor takes a bite from one of the skewers. The grilling was completed perfectly, giving the vegetables a satisfactory crunch. As her teeth sink in, the juices squirt out, filling her mouth. Her tongue dances with joy as the sweet taste permeate her mouth.   As she swallows, her eyes grow wide with shock. She feels a gentle energy dissolve and flow into her meridians. She can’t understand how food grown by mortals could have this effect. Typically to get food like this, you need to have a specially prepared garden.   “It's so good," Elanor moans. "Yah sHo gud!" Laurel says while stuffing her face.   "Haha, you praise me too much," Vickie says with a smile that goes ear to ear. "The credit has to go to the vegetables. They are the most incredible ingredient I've ever seen."   Elanor is about to reply when she sees Laurel pause for just a moment out of the corner of her eye. "Aunty, don't you think you should set some out for our guardian spirit?" Laurel says while smiling coyly, "You know how much he loves his vegetables. He'll definitely want a taste too!"   Vickie hit the palm of her hand with her fist in realization. (like you would for rock paper scissor or roshambo. Also called Nattoku.) "You're right. We can't ignore him and leave the big guy out, can we?" She turns away, "you two enjoy."   Over by the food, there are three young boys of similar age-fighting. Vickie wacks one on the head and yells, "You three are acting like we haven't been feeding you. Do I have to teach you all manners?" She scowls at the boys as they all answer in unison. "No, miss." They look sheepishly at each other before they all got a fist to the head. "Now go entertain our guest of honor instead of acting like hyenas," Vickie scolds. "Fine," the boys yell, deflated, rubbing their heads.   The boys run over, shoving each other. "Hey, beautiful!" The tallest boy with blonde hair says while swishing his hair back. Elanor raises her eyebrow as the other two boys snicker. "Sorry, boys, you have to be this tall to ride," Elanor retorts, putting her hand above her head which was twice as tall as the boys.   "Roy, you're so dumb!" Laurel says, sticking out her tongue. "Elanor is mine," She jokes, grabbing Elanor's arm protectively. Laughing, Elanor says, "Why don't you introduce your little friends."   "Fine," Laurel replies, rolling her eye as she points to each boy. "The tall idiot is Louis, the one with an ugly face is Roy, and the pipsqueak is Douglas."   The three boys' faces turn grim. Douglas, his curly hair bouncing as he points in anger at the rude girl, "just because you're a year older doesn't mean you're better than us!" "That's right, mom says I'll grow into my face," Roy retorts with tears forming. "Don't listen to her. She's just jealous of my good looks," Louis says while posing elegantly.   "Well, hang in their kids," Elanor continues to laugh, holding her stomach. "They're only nine, so they don't understand how the world works," Laurel says while tugging on Elanor's arm.   "Hey boys, come over and help us," a small woman about five feet tall calls over. The mothers of the three boys are clamoring over the food with large bowls. "Roy, stop making a fool of yourself and get over here," A grim homely looking woman yells.   "But mom!" Roy whines. Only to see his mom giving him the evil eye. All the boys shrink and mumble curses as they shuffle away. "Perk up. It's an honor to feed the divine spirit. " The small woman says with a big smile, patting Douglas's shoulder. Douglas's mom waves at the young ladies while Roy's gives a polite nod.   "The one waving is Harriet. The other one who nodded is Marsha," Laurel informs Elanor. Laurel waves to the three women and hollers jokingly, "Don't work them too hard."   They all fill up a water bucket with soup and grilled vegetables. The boys then drag the bucket off towards the hill. They don't get far before a bull starts rushing down from the hill. The boys are so scared they throw the bucket away. Before it can hit the ground, the bouncing ball that is Joe opens his maw wide, chomping up the bucket whole. Joe comes to a sudden stop in front of the boys. His belly continuing forward, almost smashing the boys into a pulp. The out-of-control gut causes a gust of wind to bowl over the three boys. The guardian spirit leaps back up the hill just as fast as it came with a satisfied expression.   The shaken boys get to their feet. The mothers sigh in relief as they check on their shell-shocked sons. It is good that their protector is so strong. However, they still worry that he might accidentally crush them like ants someday.   Laurel can't stop giggling as she pulls the arm of the beauty next to her. "Come on. You should meet Anna! She's cool. I told you about her earlier." As they walk over, Elanor's eyes fall on a couple with the boy she'd met earlier. The woman has long black hair and green eyes like Franklin. Her arm is limp in a sling. The only thing exceptional about the woman is her eyes that seem to hold endless determination. The man next to her is muscular with skin like leather. Clearly, he's spent a long time laboring in the sun.   "This is Anna and Arron," Laurel smiles, introducing the two. "Nice to meet you. I've heard of your gallantry." Elanor says with a bright smile. "Thanks, but any mother would do the same," Anna replies cordially.   "Ha, ha, no need to be modest. You'd be surprised how many bastards are out there," Elanor says as another bottle enters her hand. "Cheers to your gallantry!" She exclaims before downing the bottle. Laurel's eyes bulge as she thinks, *‘even if this is water, a person can't drink this much, right?’*   Arron clears his throat, "Ahem, I understand that cultivators are well learned." he gestures gently to Anna's arm before continuing, "I don't want to impose, but do you think you could take a look at her arm?" He asks the beauty.   Elanor looks like she'd just ate something sour, "well, I guess I can take a quick look." As she reaches out, her hand hesitates a bit before she bends down to get a closer look. "hmm, I'm not a healer... You know?" She asks with an apologetic look.   "Oh, sorry, I only..." Arron trails off.   Anna cuts in with a slight smile, "we didn't mean to put you in an awkward position. Don't worry about it. I'm getting used to it."   Elanor feels a bit bad as she ponders what to do. Laurel suddenly dodges left, right, and then lifts her leg as mud balls fly by. "Hey!" She turns and yells before grabbing her head grimacing in pain. Elanor's eyes turn sharp as she the girl dodges all the hidden attacks.   Mellisa seeing her girl in pain, runs over, scooping Laurel up. "She's had a bit too much excitement, I guess," Mellisa says while looking worriedly at her daughter. "Lately, she's been having headaches when she's overstimulated," She explains, rubbing her girl's forehead and continues, "I hope she didn't hit her head." Then Mellisa reluctantly smiles at Elanor. "Thanks, I haven't seen her have this much fun in a long time," she murmurs.   "It was a lot of fun for me too," Elanor nods with a bright smile, her shiny white teeth glimmering in the campfire light.   "We'll be turning in. Please enjoy the rest of the night," Mellisa says. Bowing slightly, she turns away.   Elanor bites her lip. "Argh, fine." She says, stamping her foot, dust swirling around her. Everyone looks in surprise at the beauty, suddenly throwing a tantrum. "I'll do it, you bastard!" She yells at the hill.   Elanor walks straight up to Gregory. "Thanks for the grand banquet. I know it puts a strain on your food stores." Gregory bows and says, "there is no need for you to worry about such things. Your presence here today has given us a bright moment in these dark times."   Elanor ignores the pleasantries as she replies, "I'll come back when I can. My master is a great healer, so I'll try to convince her to return with me." Elanor doesn't give him time to respond as she leaps away, speeding into the forest.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMzZGI1OTFlMjlmYTQyNGE5YzEzNDM4MzU5NzhhYmQ1">  A week later, John is cultivating as always. His leaves glimmer in the light of the rising sun. Dew drips off his tear-shaped leaves. He shakes himself, gently sending water droplets into the air. A rainbow forms in the mist, causing the hill to look majestic.</p> <p class="cnM2N2IzYTM1NDY1NTQ1Mjk4YzU5N2Y5ZDhiNjBjODg1">  John projects his senses toward his hill mate Joe. Recently the demonic bull's energy has been fluctuating.<em> ‘This shows that he is nearing a breakthrough,’</em> John muses.</p> <p class="cnMzYWY5YjEyZDQzMDQ3MGJhYjY4NWJkMzk4YTQyNGM5">  <em>’The heavens have been showing signs of tribulations. Joe is on the verge of moving into the next stage of demonic beast life. I’m an expert on demonic beasts, but he is perhaps at the Counterfeit stage. Which means he will soon be moving into the Contaminated stage. From what I’ve been told, the stages names are based on how close the blood is to their great ancestors. Each significant cultivation leap will lead to purer and truer blood for a demonic beast,’</em> John contemplates.</p> <p class="cnM3YzNhMDVlNWQ4YjQzNDBiMDNhYWYyMmFjZTg2Yzc3">  “Well, it has nothing to do with me as a plant cultivator. As human cultivators, we didn’t face tribulation either we had to conquer the lower and upper six expertise. Well, as a plant, I have to build up my core,” John says to Joe suddenly. Joe looks at the bush with exasperation.</p> <p class="cnNkODIzZGU3ZDI2MDRlZTU5ZWY4YTdmN2YwNzYwZjgx">  John, too feels his Seed Coalescing Core is starting to burst with energy.<em> ‘Within the next couple of months, I’ll break through to Fractured Seed stage. Isn’t this pretty fast,’</em> he thinks proudly.</p> <p class="cnNjOGNmMjA2NTdhMjQyYzZiMDIwZjc5ZDFjYjM1NGE1">  Of course, most plants won't have intelligence at this stage. So it is unfair to compare himself to them. A typical plant will spend five years in Seed Coalescing stage. This is the simplest and fastest stage of plant cultivation. At the Fractured Seed stage, a plant starts to have basic survival instincts. Thus your average Foundation stage human cultivator will have a hard time plucking a plant at this level.</p> <p class="cnM1MDdkZGI2OGUyMzQ1YmQ5YzcyYzlmZGFhYTZkNjQx">  John can feel the energy that flows through him permeate the surroundings. It feels like he created a zone where he can perceive everything. It is a strange feeling. It is like he is a part of everything in this sphere of influence. Even in the humans, the energy flows through them gently.</p> <p class="cnM3ZmYyNzVlYjQ0NzQxOTZiZmNmYzkyY2JkNmQzNmZm">  He'd try to control the energy inside a blade of grass next to him to no avail. In fact, John has tried many experiments since he discovered that the energy seems connected to him. Including trying to aid in Franklin's training, but all attempts failed to have any effect. John would be pulling out his hair if he had any.</p> <p class="cnNkMjI3ODQ2NmQ4MDRhNTk5N2UwMDg3NGFkOTNjOGI3">  John can somehow sense a vague feeling of respect from the nearby plants. Of course, they don't have sentience, so it's hard to say what they feel. It is the first time in his life he felt someone or something respecting him. He feels like a king looking over his subjects.</p> <p class="cnM2NDY2MjEzZDc4MDQyMGNiMTM3ODU5NjU2MjAwMWFj">  "Brumph," the bull snorts at the bush. For some reason, he feels like it needs to be taken down a peg. "What, how dare you say I look gross. I'm a majestic ruler of plants, a grand bush!" John retorts as he sends sparkles from his leaves.</p> <p class="cnM3OWQ1OWMwZjBmNzRkNjhiZjU0MzM3MGYwMDcwZTg4">  Joe looks with disgust at the stupid plant. He chomps down on some weeds near him. With significant mouth movements, he smugly looks at the plant as he eats its subjects. "Yeah, you showed me. No one thought that the big fat bull could eat," John states sarcastically.</p> <p class="cnM5MGFjZjFlYjIwZDQzZDJhNzgwMGE2NDNmMDI2ZTBk">  Meanwhile, Rosie Fire is painstakingly practicing her surgery technique on a dummy in the Sunny Spring sect, created by her master. She has a book next to her with healing techniques. Every day Rosie practices these medical techniques. She's chased her dream to this small sect to become the apprentice of Catherine Lighthands.</p> <p class="cnNhNmU3ZGQ3N2MyZTQ1MTQ5MjBhNTJjMzY0ZWM0OTQ3">  The room is lit by illumination inscriptions. Three desks and operating tables align the walls. The three apprentices of Catherine use them. However, one has dust from long neglect. The desk only has a few oddities and a book on Treasure Zones.</p> <p class="cnM3MmU0YTQyYTNlYTRjZTA5MmI0MWRkMDEwODA4ZjMw">  Rosie's short red hair is plastered to her head with sweat. She wears a thick pair of glasses they are often worn by apprentice healers with lower sight cultivation, the sixth expertise of the lower six. They have a zoom functionality allowing the user to see even the smallest of veins. They also show energies the user may not have been able to see at their current cultivation stage.</p> <p class="cnNhMzY2NGY0MTU3YTRmZDU4YzgyZTlmNGJjN2RkNzEz">  Kendra Star, a fellow apprentice, walks in, her long golden hair flowing behind her. She has penetrating blue eyes, almost looking like crystals. Her eyes are an excellent boon for healing. She doesn't have to wear bulky glasses like Rosie.</p> <p class="cnNhNzc3OTQ3YzdmYjQyNGJhOWIzYjA0ZTM1M2Q0ZGFj">  "No, Elanor again?" She asks Rosie as she places her books at her desk. "What do you think?" Rosie responds sarcastically without looking up.</p> <p class="cnM2MTAwYjA2MDdjNjQzOTI4NzZkNjZlNjI5ZTJjNzlk">  "I don't know why master just lets her do whatever she wants," Kendra grumbles as she opens one of her books. "It's not our place to question her. At least we get more attention thanks to her absence," Rosie says as she finally finishes her work.</p> <p class="cnNlN2RjOGE3MTg4ZDQyNjY5NGFiNGJkODkzZTJkYzRi">  At that exact moment, the doors fling open. A bouncing curvaceous woman whose outfit is as colorful as a rainbow barges into the room. The three apprentices of Catherine can't be more contrasting. With the grimy hard-working Rosie with her plain clothes, the talented and well-kempt majestic Kendra, and the well endowed vibrant adventurer Elanor.</p> <p class="cnNhNDU4MzBhZWU3NTQ5YTliNjQwOTFhMjUxY2IxMWQw">  "Is master around?" Elanor asks her two fellow apprentices with a bright smile. Sighing, Rosie responds, "She should be in her study." Kendra closes her book loudly and accusingly says, "shouldn't you do some work before bothering our master again?"</p> <p class="cnNkYTMxYWVkZWQ3OTQxY2Q5ZDE5YmFjZmM5NDBhNzc1">  Elanor rubs her head awkwardly, "you know I'm not good with this stuff. I'll leave it to smart people." Kendra's eyes flash with anger, "humph, you're just lazy. You always have some excuse to ditch lessons."</p> <p class="cnNlNDUwNDU3OGYyMTRjZTE5YTlhNDM1YzMyNDJjMTFh">  "Ha, ha, you caught me," Elanor responds with an upbeat attitude turning to leave. Kendra nearly throws her precious book at the oblivious woman in rage. Rosie can't be bothered to join in on this repeating farce as she cleans up her workspace.</p> <p class="cnNlOTZiMjZlOTk2NjQ5ZmU5Yzg4MzAzNjQ5NzU1ZDZi">  Catherine Lighthands is a woman with gray hair and light wrinkles. She sits in her lounge, sighing as she thinks of her troubled apprentice. She'd only taken her in because she was friends with her mother in her youth. Now the girl only returns after causing trouble.</p> <p class="cnMyMjIyNjA5M2M4NzRkNTI5YzM0NTY0YmRlOWI5NzI4">  "If the girl only put a fraction of the effort she puts into treasure hunting into studying," Catherine laments, shaking her head. "Oh, speak of the devil!" Catherine says, sensing Elanor coming down the hall. "She's more lively than usual." Usually, she'd be limping and crying, worrying about scars.<em> ‘It’s all just crocodile tears, though. How many things on this planet could hurt her?’</em> Catherine admonishes Elanor in her head.</p> <p class="cnMzNTE5NGFhZjQxYjQ5N2E4YzQ5MWFkMDY2NzRjNjY3">  Elanor stops in front of the door and straightens out her clothes before knocking. "Come in." She hears her master from the other side of the door. She then enters the room with a bright smile. "Master, you're looking great today!"</p> <p class="cnNlZWE5ZTkyNDg5MDRkZTlhOGI1NGZmYzgzYjdlMTk1">  Catherine immediately frowns, "what do you want now. You know, flattery like that doesn't work on me. What do I always say about looks?" Elanor pauses in her steps. "Um, I believe you said that a healer shouldn't hide their age. Since a patient prefers age over beauty in their time of need?" She answers, scrunching her nose and furrowing her brow as if she needs the use of every brain cell.</p> <p class="cnM1NmNkODAxOGI1ZTQxOTdhZDg2YzlmYzI5NDM0YzA3">  "That's right," Catherine nods sternly, "So don't waste my time with drivel." Elanor awkwardly smiles as if she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Master, you jest. It's not like I only come here to ask for stuff," She replies graciously, clapping her hands. "I also enjoy your company. Your vast wisdom inspires me to even greater feats!" Elanor says while shoving her fist in the air.</p> </div>

A week later, John is cultivating as always. His leaves glimmer in the light of the rising sun. Dew drips off his tear-shaped leaves. He shakes himself, gently sending water droplets into the air. A rainbow forms in the mist, causing the hill to look majestic.   John projects his senses toward his hill mate Joe. Recently the demonic bull's energy has been fluctuating. *‘This shows that he is nearing a breakthrough,’* John muses.   *’The heavens have been showing signs of tribulations. Joe is on the verge of moving into the next stage of demonic beast life. I’m an expert on demonic beasts, but he is perhaps at the Counterfeit stage. Which means he will soon be moving into the Contaminated stage. From what I’ve been told, the stages names are based on how close the blood is to their great ancestors. Each significant cultivation leap will lead to purer and truer blood for a demonic beast,’* John contemplates.   “Well, it has nothing to do with me as a plant cultivator. As human cultivators, we didn’t face tribulation either we had to conquer the lower and upper six expertise. Well, as a plant, I have to build up my core,” John says to Joe suddenly. Joe looks at the bush with exasperation.   John, too feels his Seed Coalescing Core is starting to burst with energy. *‘Within the next couple of months, I’ll break through to Fractured Seed stage. Isn’t this pretty fast,’* he thinks proudly.   Of course, most plants won't have intelligence at this stage. So it is unfair to compare himself to them. A typical plant will spend five years in Seed Coalescing stage. This is the simplest and fastest stage of plant cultivation. At the Fractured Seed stage, a plant starts to have basic survival instincts. Thus your average Foundation stage human cultivator will have a hard time plucking a plant at this level.   John can feel the energy that flows through him permeate the surroundings. It feels like he created a zone where he can perceive everything. It is a strange feeling. It is like he is a part of everything in this sphere of influence. Even in the humans, the energy flows through them gently.   He'd try to control the energy inside a blade of grass next to him to no avail. In fact, John has tried many experiments since he discovered that the energy seems connected to him. Including trying to aid in Franklin's training, but all attempts failed to have any effect. John would be pulling out his hair if he had any.   John can somehow sense a vague feeling of respect from the nearby plants. Of course, they don't have sentience, so it's hard to say what they feel. It is the first time in his life he felt someone or something respecting him. He feels like a king looking over his subjects.   "Brumph," the bull snorts at the bush. For some reason, he feels like it needs to be taken down a peg. "What, how dare you say I look gross. I'm a majestic ruler of plants, a grand bush!" John retorts as he sends sparkles from his leaves.   Joe looks with disgust at the stupid plant. He chomps down on some weeds near him. With significant mouth movements, he smugly looks at the plant as he eats its subjects. "Yeah, you showed me. No one thought that the big fat bull could eat," John states sarcastically.   Meanwhile, Rosie Fire is painstakingly practicing her surgery technique on a dummy in the Sunny Spring sect, created by her master. She has a book next to her with healing techniques. Every day Rosie practices these medical techniques. She's chased her dream to this small sect to become the apprentice of Catherine Lighthands.   The room is lit by illumination inscriptions. Three desks and operating tables align the walls. The three apprentices of Catherine use them. However, one has dust from long neglect. The desk only has a few oddities and a book on Treasure Zones.   Rosie's short red hair is plastered to her head with sweat. She wears a thick pair of glasses they are often worn by apprentice healers with lower sight cultivation, the sixth expertise of the lower six. They have a zoom functionality allowing the user to see even the smallest of veins. They also show energies the user may not have been able to see at their current cultivation stage.   Kendra Star, a fellow apprentice, walks in, her long golden hair flowing behind her. She has penetrating blue eyes, almost looking like crystals. Her eyes are an excellent boon for healing. She doesn't have to wear bulky glasses like Rosie.   "No, Elanor again?" She asks Rosie as she places her books at her desk. "What do you think?" Rosie responds sarcastically without looking up.   "I don't know why master just lets her do whatever she wants," Kendra grumbles as she opens one of her books. "It's not our place to question her. At least we get more attention thanks to her absence," Rosie says as she finally finishes her work.   At that exact moment, the doors fling open. A bouncing curvaceous woman whose outfit is as colorful as a rainbow barges into the room. The three apprentices of Catherine can't be more contrasting. With the grimy hard-working Rosie with her plain clothes, the talented and well-kempt majestic Kendra, and the well endowed vibrant adventurer Elanor.   "Is master around?" Elanor asks her two fellow apprentices with a bright smile. Sighing, Rosie responds, "She should be in her study." Kendra closes her book loudly and accusingly says, "shouldn't you do some work before bothering our master again?"   Elanor rubs her head awkwardly, "you know I'm not good with this stuff. I'll leave it to smart people." Kendra's eyes flash with anger, "humph, you're just lazy. You always have some excuse to ditch lessons."   "Ha, ha, you caught me," Elanor responds with an upbeat attitude turning to leave. Kendra nearly throws her precious book at the oblivious woman in rage. Rosie can't be bothered to join in on this repeating farce as she cleans up her workspace.   Catherine Lighthands is a woman with gray hair and light wrinkles. She sits in her lounge, sighing as she thinks of her troubled apprentice. She'd only taken her in because she was friends with her mother in her youth. Now the girl only returns after causing trouble.   "If the girl only put a fraction of the effort she puts into treasure hunting into studying," Catherine laments, shaking her head. "Oh, speak of the devil!" Catherine says, sensing Elanor coming down the hall. "She's more lively than usual." Usually, she'd be limping and crying, worrying about scars. *‘It’s all just crocodile tears, though. How many things on this planet could hurt her?’* Catherine admonishes Elanor in her head.   Elanor stops in front of the door and straightens out her clothes before knocking. "Come in." She hears her master from the other side of the door. She then enters the room with a bright smile. "Master, you're looking great today!"   Catherine immediately frowns, "what do you want now. You know, flattery like that doesn't work on me. What do I always say about looks?" Elanor pauses in her steps. "Um, I believe you said that a healer shouldn't hide their age. Since a patient prefers age over beauty in their time of need?" She answers, scrunching her nose and furrowing her brow as if she needs the use of every brain cell.   "That's right," Catherine nods sternly, "So don't waste my time with drivel." Elanor awkwardly smiles as if she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Master, you jest. It's not like I only come here to ask for stuff," She replies graciously, clapping her hands. "I also enjoy your company. Your vast wisdom inspires me to even greater feats!" Elanor says while shoving her fist in the air.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNhYjI5ODJmNzUzZDQwMDlhOGY5MmQwYWYxZmRmNzdh">  "Where did you learn such manners?" Catherine berates. She then points to a chair, "Sit down and stop acting like a hussy." Elanor's enthusiasm sinks as she moves to sit down.</p> <p class="cnMxYzgxYmEyMDYxMDQ0MTI5NGQ2YjRhMzdhYWVlNmVk">  "What if your mother found out about your antics?" Catherine says in a severe tone. Causing Elanor's eyes to go wide in shock, "Mother doesn't have time to be looking in on me," she rejects. "Oh, you don't think she'll send someone to check up on you?" Catherine asks, eyeing the young lady.</p> <p class="cnM3NzAxOWY1MmZmZDQxZThiY2U2ZDdlMWVmMjkyYTYy">  "I'm sure that she wouldn't want to step on your toes," Elanor replies nervously. Catherine raises her eyebrow inquisitively. "Oh, do you truly think you can keep your galivanting around a secret forever? "Catherine asks with a kind expression on her face, "What do you think she'll do when she finds out?"</p> <p class="cnNkMWIwMDBjZmZhZTRhOGQ4MGRmNTgxODNhMDVjZDRi">  "Mother will..." Elanor says as her eyes dart around the room, unsure. "I wonder how long she'll lock you away for? Ten maybe even a hundred years?" Catherine nods in contemplation, "maybe she'll become your new master. Every day she'll teach you how to act like a proper lady. It will be good for you."</p> <p class="cnM5OWM3NWMzNmVlMTQzMjZiMjFmNDIwZDljYzJlYzk2">  Elanor panics, nearly jumping out of her seat, "master, don't joke like that! I've been actually training hard recently." Catherine glares at Elanor who's eyes quickly look away, avoiding her Master's gaze. "I've been thinking about studying hard recently. I need to prepare for the future after all." She tries to persuade again, taking a glance at her Master. Catherine starts tapping on the arm of her chair. "Um, well honestly... I've been thinking about... thinking about... thinking about maybe considering studying a bit," Elanor says, stumbling through her speech as she goes on. Her head sinks as if she is trying to hide behind her bangs.</p> <p class="cnMyZjU4ZGJmMDIyMjQ3ZjRhMDViMmExNTlmZWNhMjkz">  If eyes could kill, Catherine’s would. "So you can only consider studying if it's three times removed from you? That's the same as not having any inclination to study, and you know it!" Catherine berates. Elanor sinks her chin into her chest while bringing her knees up to her, chest curling into a ball. "But."</p> <p class="cnNiODI5N2ZjNTg5ZjRmOGJiYmFjNTQ1NGNhNWQxMGU3">  Bang, Catherine stamps her foot. "Enough of this, start acting your age and stop flaunting yourself like a floozy. Have some respect, damn it."</p> <p class="cnM1ZDVlOTJkMWFmODRjZjBhZGYwMjEyYmMyNTgzZjc3">  Sighing, Elanor pushes her hair back as she leans back in her chair, returning to a natural sitting position. "Give me a break. This is the only time in my life that I can let loose. I can learn how to heal at any time. You're a great healer. I know it's a boon to learn from you. Yet when will I be able to go without my family name following me around other than now?" Elanor asks as she leans forward, looking her Master in the eye. "How can I gain experience if people are afraid to fight me?" Shaking her head, Elanor continues, "no, now is the only time I can forget image and gain my own victories. Is it so bad to wear these flashy clothes and celebrate my time of freedom?" She asks, opening her arms to gesture at her clothes.</p> <p class="cnM2NDhhMzc3ZjYwYjQ2M2I5MjU4ZWYwZWIyYjM1ZjJm">  Catherine shakes her head, “there is nothing here that can give you experience anyways.” Catherine then looks at Elanor with compassion, "I've never tried to shackle you. Nor will I start now. Still, it's helpful to know how to heal yourself a bit. It's saved me many a time. So consider studying a bit, okay?" She says kindly, gesturing at her wayward apprentice.</p> <p class="cnNjNzE0YTRlMjNkNzQ5YmY4ODAzYTNiYjk1YTY0OTFi">  Sighing, Catherine rubs her forehead, "all right enough of this. What did you come here for today? I already told you I wouldn't help you dig for treasure.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZGY5NDU5M2NjMzRkYzhhZThiMWE3OGUyNDdiYjc0">  "I wouldn't mind you helping me search for treasure! But that's not why I'm here," Elanor explains, waving away the notion. "When I went for a rematch with the bull. I ran into something surprising. There is now a small village at the bottom of the hill," she sighs with a face of frustration.</p> <p class="cnM5YTViNjBhMzQyOTQ5YTM5NDExNWZlOGIyNmI1OTYx">  "Was your treasure already stolen then?" Catherine asks with a bemused smile. Elanor shakes her head continuing her story, "No, they are worshiping the bull as a guardian spirit. What a pain! Right?"</p> <p class="cnMzYWI3NWNiN2M2NTRkZTdiZDg2NjUwMGY5ZjNlNTJm">  "It doesn't sound like that big of an issue. If you stopped playing around, what could a small demonic bull do?" The old master replies.</p> <p class="cnMxMjk0YzgzN2EwODRkM2RhOWUyNDdkMGE4ZmM4Zjlj">  This response causes the disciple to purse her lips in frustration. "You don't understand there is a cute girl there. I couldn't cause trouble..." She pauses, glancing over at her Master coyly, "I'm thinking about teaching her a bit."</p> <p class="cnM4MDEyZGZhYWNiMjRlYzRiYjdjYTRkMDI4ZGIyZTIz">  Catherine throws her book at her stupid disciple, "You have time to teach others but no time to learn! Perhaps you think that you're already a grandmaster looking down upon ants?"</p> <p class="cnNhMDQ0ZTRmNjM2YjRjYTdhMjZkOWFlNGM0ZDcyNGQz">  Elanor doesn't have time to react to the sudden attack. She can only take the attack on her forehead. She rubs the red book-shaped mark on her head and says, Master, you misunderstand. There is this plant on the hill with the bull. He told me if I didn't teach her to cultivate, she'd die for sure!"</p> <p class="cnMyZTM0YzYwN2U0ZTRlMzE4NTg1MzFhOTEwN2U2MjY3">  Veins pop out of the aggrieved Master's forehead, "Oh, you listen to strange plants but not your master?" Elanor covers her head with her arms hiding from her Master. "What you think I'm going to abuse you?" Catherine at her wits in sighs. "Don't you think that it's just some old master playing a trick on you by fusing with a plant?"</p> <p class="cnM5NDQ5M2NiYjY4NzRhMmU5ZTI3MmU3Nzc4OGRmODcy">  Elanor nods excitedly, "Yeah, I thought so too at first, but the soul seems completely unified with the plant." Catherine shakes her head, "What do you know about souls? You're too naive."</p> <p class="cnM5YmVjNTU2NzE2ZjRjZDliNzJjNmQwYjYwYzg3YjFl">  Smiling awkwardly, Elanor continues, "That may be true. But she has something going on. There were a few strange instances during the banquet before she collapsed."</p> <p class="cnMzYmJlMzY1ZmJhNzQ2NGRhY2VjNzE4ZDk1N2UxMDYz">  Leaning back, Catherine feels exhausted by her disciple. "Okay, maybe she does have a bloodline that will kill her. So you want to take her in. If that's the case, you should have brought her back with you."</p> <p class="cnM4NmE4Njg0NDc3YTQ4OTFiMGVkOWY5ZTU3MWRjN2Rh">  "Yeah, that may be true. Still, I'm interested in the village. There's more going on than just Laurel. There is also a mother named Anna who seems to have some secrets too. She saved Laurel and her boy from demonic beasts. I didn't get the details, but her arm was completely shattered," Elanor explains before leaning forward with a glint in her eyes. "I still felt bits of foundation energy in the arm even though she hasn't cultivated."</p> <p class="cnNhOTBhZDFjN2U0ODQ4NDI4MjVjZjYwOGY2MmM1NjVh">  Then sitting back, she crosses her arms under her chest, causing them to heave. She smugly says, "Anyways, I said that you'd come and take a look at both Laurel and Anna. So that's why I came over. Master, could you please accompany me to the village?"</p> <p class="cnM2YWQwZDQwYWY0YTQxNDI4MTNkMjlhODJkNzdkMjcx">  Smash! Elanor is suddenly sent flying out the door, a footprint visible on her gut. Pieces of chair and door flying all around her. "You really do consider yourself the master in this relationship!" A beat red, Catherine yells in rage.</p> </div>

"Where did you learn such manners?" Catherine berates. She then points to a chair, "Sit down and stop acting like a hussy." Elanor's enthusiasm sinks as she moves to sit down.   "What if your mother found out about your antics?" Catherine says in a severe tone. Causing Elanor's eyes to go wide in shock, "Mother doesn't have time to be looking in on me," she rejects. "Oh, you don't think she'll send someone to check up on you?" Catherine asks, eyeing the young lady.   "I'm sure that she wouldn't want to step on your toes," Elanor replies nervously. Catherine raises her eyebrow inquisitively. "Oh, do you truly think you can keep your galivanting around a secret forever? "Catherine asks with a kind expression on her face, "What do you think she'll do when she finds out?"   "Mother will..." Elanor says as her eyes dart around the room, unsure. "I wonder how long she'll lock you away for? Ten maybe even a hundred years?" Catherine nods in contemplation, "maybe she'll become your new master. Every day she'll teach you how to act like a proper lady. It will be good for you."   Elanor panics, nearly jumping out of her seat, "master, don't joke like that! I've been actually training hard recently." Catherine glares at Elanor who's eyes quickly look away, avoiding her Master's gaze. "I've been thinking about studying hard recently. I need to prepare for the future after all." She tries to persuade again, taking a glance at her Master. Catherine starts tapping on the arm of her chair. "Um, well honestly... I've been thinking about... thinking about... thinking about maybe considering studying a bit," Elanor says, stumbling through her speech as she goes on. Her head sinks as if she is trying to hide behind her bangs.   If eyes could kill, Catherine’s would. "So you can only consider studying if it's three times removed from you? That's the same as not having any inclination to study, and you know it!" Catherine berates. Elanor sinks her chin into her chest while bringing her knees up to her, chest curling into a ball. "But."   Bang, Catherine stamps her foot. "Enough of this, start acting your age and stop flaunting yourself like a floozy. Have some respect, damn it."   Sighing, Elanor pushes her hair back as she leans back in her chair, returning to a natural sitting position. "Give me a break. This is the only time in my life that I can let loose. I can learn how to heal at any time. You're a great healer. I know it's a boon to learn from you. Yet when will I be able to go without my family name following me around other than now?" Elanor asks as she leans forward, looking her Master in the eye. "How can I gain experience if people are afraid to fight me?" Shaking her head, Elanor continues, "no, now is the only time I can forget image and gain my own victories. Is it so bad to wear these flashy clothes and celebrate my time of freedom?" She asks, opening her arms to gesture at her clothes.   Catherine shakes her head, “there is nothing here that can give you experience anyways.” Catherine then looks at Elanor with compassion, "I've never tried to shackle you. Nor will I start now. Still, it's helpful to know how to heal yourself a bit. It's saved me many a time. So consider studying a bit, okay?" She says kindly, gesturing at her wayward apprentice.   Sighing, Catherine rubs her forehead, "all right enough of this. What did you come here for today? I already told you I wouldn't help you dig for treasure.”   "I wouldn't mind you helping me search for treasure! But that's not why I'm here," Elanor explains, waving away the notion. "When I went for a rematch with the bull. I ran into something surprising. There is now a small village at the bottom of the hill," she sighs with a face of frustration.   "Was your treasure already stolen then?" Catherine asks with a bemused smile. Elanor shakes her head continuing her story, "No, they are worshiping the bull as a guardian spirit. What a pain! Right?"   "It doesn't sound like that big of an issue. If you stopped playing around, what could a small demonic bull do?" The old master replies.   This response causes the disciple to purse her lips in frustration. "You don't understand there is a cute girl there. I couldn't cause trouble..." She pauses, glancing over at her Master coyly, "I'm thinking about teaching her a bit."   Catherine throws her book at her stupid disciple, "You have time to teach others but no time to learn! Perhaps you think that you're already a grandmaster looking down upon ants?"   Elanor doesn't have time to react to the sudden attack. She can only take the attack on her forehead. She rubs the red book-shaped mark on her head and says, Master, you misunderstand. There is this plant on the hill with the bull. He told me if I didn't teach her to cultivate, she'd die for sure!"   Veins pop out of the aggrieved Master's forehead, "Oh, you listen to strange plants but not your master?" Elanor covers her head with her arms hiding from her Master. "What you think I'm going to abuse you?" Catherine at her wits in sighs. "Don't you think that it's just some old master playing a trick on you by fusing with a plant?"   Elanor nods excitedly, "Yeah, I thought so too at first, but the soul seems completely unified with the plant." Catherine shakes her head, "What do you know about souls? You're too naive."   Smiling awkwardly, Elanor continues, "That may be true. But she has something going on. There were a few strange instances during the banquet before she collapsed."   Leaning back, Catherine feels exhausted by her disciple. "Okay, maybe she does have a bloodline that will kill her. So you want to take her in. If that's the case, you should have brought her back with you."   "Yeah, that may be true. Still, I'm interested in the village. There's more going on than just Laurel. There is also a mother named Anna who seems to have some secrets too. She saved Laurel and her boy from demonic beasts. I didn't get the details, but her arm was completely shattered," Elanor explains before leaning forward with a glint in her eyes. "I still felt bits of foundation energy in the arm even though she hasn't cultivated."   Then sitting back, she crosses her arms under her chest, causing them to heave. She smugly says, "Anyways, I said that you'd come and take a look at both Laurel and Anna. So that's why I came over. Master, could you please accompany me to the village?"   Smash! Elanor is suddenly sent flying out the door, a footprint visible on her gut. Pieces of chair and door flying all around her. "You really do consider yourself the master in this relationship!" A beat red, Catherine yells in rage.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM1MjZiMWEwMmZjYTQ0ZDI5NzFjM2ZjY2YwMWNkYTUx">  Laurel shudders in the real world. Mellisa grips her girl with all her might. "Mom?" The girl asks with a raspy voice. "Oh honey, you're awake!" Mellisa replies, rubbing away her tears, trying to cover up her fear.</p> <p class="cnNiNzRkYjViOTk1MjRlMDk5NWEyNGFhZTEwY2JmNDEx">  "Are you hungry?" Mellisa asks with a bright smile while patting her daughter’s head. "Yeah," Laurel says weekly. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up, then we'll get some breakfast," The mother says, suppressing her tears. She takes a wet cloth and wipes away the blood and sweat from Laurel’s face.</p> <p class="cnMzNDM4NDQxMTc3ZTQ3N2JhMWM2NjVjNjI5N2M2MzE2">  Outside Catherine and Elanor are flying over the Unbroken Region. Catherine has no problem pulling her silly disciple along with her. "It's not much farther, master," Elanor says, pointing out the small hill and clearing.</p> <p class="cnM2ZGI0Y2Q1ZjEzMTQ0NzA4NWRiZGFhNzlkMTcyNWEz">  As they grow close to the village, they begin to cause a commotion. The villagers don't see people flying overhead every day. "Daddy, big sis bully!" Donna screeches, jumping up and down in excitement while pulling her dad's arm.</p> <p class="cnMzNzA5ZmFhNTA2NzQ0ZjBhNGVhMGQ3NzVmYzRhYWMz">  The two fly over the village, heading towards the hill. Joe snorts angrily as he eyes the two women. "Snorting at me?" Catherine harrumphs, "You wanted to get back at the bull right." Elanor looks at her master in confusion, "what are…" Before she can finish, Catherine grabs her by the ankle, flinging Elanor right at the bull.</p> <p class="cnNhNzA3ZTAwOGQ3MzQzZmRiZTBmODE0ZGFkMDY5MmEx">  The demonic bull is surprised by the sudden kamikaze attack and doesn't have time to dodge. The flashily dressed disciple smashes right into the large gut of Joe, sending both the bull and the woman flying off the hill and crashing into the forest.</p> <p class="cnNkYzg1NDhkOWIwMjRhNzhhNzMxZjY5NmMwMmFjZDQ0">  Catherine gracefully lands on top of the hill in front of a bush. The bush is about as tall as her knee. She slowly squats down elegantly and looks curiously at the bush. "So you're the one telling my idiot disciple to teach someone."</p> <p class="cnNlZTIyODg3ODhhNDQ4OTY4NTFiNmVhN2RmYzFmODhh">  John freezes as he takes in the previous events.<em> ‘I'm just a bush. No one is here but us normal plants,’</em> he thinks while concealing his presence. "Do you think I'm an idiot like that girl? Should I pull you up by the roots so you can join them?" Catherine asks, annoyed at this game.</p> <p class="cnNjMDAzOGI5N2Y3MzQzMGI5ZWVjZjllNDg0ZWY3OWIx">  "Alright, you caught me," John says, his branches drooping sadly. "So why are you playing tricks on people in the form of a bush?" Catherine asks sternly. "I grew from a seed, so I've been like this my whole life," John replies, shaking his leaves convincingly. "I'll admit I have memories from my previous life. If you ask me why my samasara didn't go as usual? How would someone like me know?" John says while waving his branches frantically.</p> <p class="cnNmYWNkZDViMGVlNTQwYzE5MjM5MjhmNGI4MDVlN2Fi">  Sighing, Catherine stands up, "fine, what is this about having my disciple teach someone?" John shrugs with his branches. "It's nothing special. The only way Laurel can survive is to become a cultivator."</p> <p class="cnNjNjE2ZTczZTdhMzRmOTNiNmI3YThiMGRiMWRiYWM3">  Catherine looks down at the village and asks, "What makes you say that?" John shakes his branches in a head-shakey way, "I'm not sure, but she seems to have unleashed a bloodline of some kind? I could be wrong though I'm not an expert on such things."</p> <p class="cnM2NTNlY2QyYTE3YzQ4NjY4Y2I3YzM0ZmU1YWVmYTdh">  The graying female cultivator rubs the base of her nose, "Why is everyone... I'll go take a look." She turns and flies down towards the village.</p> <p class="cnNjNzAxNmFkZjdmOTRhNjM4N2Y5MWRiZWUwNDIzMzFl">  As Catherine lands, an older man runs over. "I hope we haven't offended miss in any way," Gregory states nervously while bowing. "Hmm, oh that?" Catherine says, looking back at the hill, she continues, "Don't worry, those two are fine."</p> <p class="cnMwNmUzNmY4MDVmNDRhZWFiYjBlYTA3NTIxMGUyODQy">  She then looks around a bit. "So, where's the girl?" Gregory fumbles with his hands in confusion, then humbly asks, "girl?" "Yes, the girl, ugh, never mind, I'll find her myself," Catherine then sweeps the small village with her senses, quickly picking out Laurel.</p> <p class="cnNmZTEyZGU1NTE4YjQ2NzY5MGNjOGIxYmJlNWYwNzAx">  "There," Catherine says. Walking towards Laurel's house, she gently shoves Gregory out of the way. Catherine ignores the questioning looks of the villagers and soon reaches the hovel. She glances at the Sentinel Bellflower with a slight nod. She flings open the door and looks directly at the pale girl.</p> <p class="cnNmMjhiODZkZTRlMDQ4YjI5Y2Q4YTdhODAwNzJlZTEx">  "So this is where you were hiding? Alright, let me take a look at you," Catherine states as she strides toward the girl.</p> <p class="cnNlM2Y2YzM4Y2RhMDQxOGE5MWRkODM0NzUyOWY3MmRk">  "Wait, who are you?" Mellisa asks, trying to block the woman's way. "The mother? Don't worry. I'm here to help. Didn't that girl Elanor mention me?" Catherine asks while patting the mother on the shoulder. "You're Elanor's master?" Laurel asks weakly.</p> <p class="cnNhMjZhNzdiOThmOTQzOTA5Y2M3MWJhMjlmYTEwYzYz">  "That's right," Catherine says as she removes her passive face and puts on a gentle smile. "Now, let's get to it," She says, bending down over the girl.</p> <p class="cnNhNjVmY2MyZjQ5NDQxODRhMTlkMDcwNjY5MDdlYWZl">  Mellisa nervously looks on as Catherine gives a thorough check-up.<em> ‘It's all so normal to her. Not magical or supernatural at all,’</em> Mellisa observes.</p> <p class="cnMwY2JiZjllMTFlZDQ0MjM5MDcyMTNjMmE4MDA4YWVl">  As Catherine checks the girl's bloodshot eyes, she clicks her tongue. "That plant knew more than he let on," she mumbles. "What? Is something wrong with her eyes?" Mellisa asks with worry. "Hmm, oh perhaps. I'm not done checking her yet," Catherine replies without looking away from her patient.</p> <p class="cnM3Yzg0YjZhYzViNTRiMjI5ZTZiNTcxODA5ZTFjZjY3">  After an hour, Catherine finishes examining the girl. As she stands up, the door flings open with a disheveled beauty standing in the entrance. "Master! Don't be so rough with me. I'm delicate." Catherine snorts, "You're a lot of things, but delicate isn't one of them."</p> <p class="cnNiZjUyYWE3NzJiZjRlMWJiZGE5OGU5NjIzMmZmMGRj">  Ignoring her disciple, Catherine pulls out some medicinal herbs from an interspatial ring and quickly mixes them into a pill. "Here, have her take this before bed and in the morning," the old healer says, handing a bag full of pills to Mellisa. "Does this mean she can be cured?!" the beleaguered mother asks with excitement.</p> <p class="cnMzZTg5Nzk1MWU1MjQzNGJiNTc2YzAzYTc3ZjI2ZDc1">  "No, I'm afraid not. There is no cure for this girl," Catherine says, shaking her head. Then she looks at the disappointed Elanor and says, "You have your work cut out for you if you want her to survive. Even your current strength isn't sufficient to stabilize the situation."</p> <p class="cnMzZWZjY2IyMDljMDRhYmU4MTUzM2QyYzllMzZmOGE0">  "What's going on please tell me, doctor!" Mellisa begs Catherine with tears in her eyes. "She's generated divining eyes," Catherine explains. She sighs and continues, "if she was from a great clan they'd, rejoice. Yet, for a normal person, it's truly a death sentence. Even a great clan might not keep their prize alive. Well, it's up to you now." Catherine pats her disciple's shoulder as she leaves.</p> <p class="cnNkMjM5YTFiMGY3NjQ2Y2ZhMDJjZjhjNWI1YmM4MmZj">  "Alright, time to visit the stupid mother who destroyed her arm," Catherine states. She casually walks to a garden that a woman with a sling is tending. "May I help you?" Anna asks as the older woman approaches her. Without saying anything, Catherine grabs Anna’s arm, causing Anna to wince.</p> <p class="cnNkOTJlODkzMjM4ZjRmZGE5NzJlMDE2NjZjZDViODQ5">  "Let go of my mom!" Franklin yells, running over with his wooden sword. "No, it's alright, Franklin," Anna says, holding up her good arm to stop him.</p> <p class="cnNiOWJiYjQ3ZTgzMzRmN2Q5NTMxNDEwMTAzMjkwNGUw">  "Kid's have too much energy reminds me of that good for nothing disciple of mine," Catherine complains. She then looks at the boy, who freezes in place before collapsing.</p> <p class="cnM2NGU2MzAxODUwYjQxODliOTE2NmNjZTdlYjdiNWI3">  "Franklin!" Anna screams. "Don't worry. He's just asleep. I wouldn't come here just to bully some nobodies," Catherine says as she examines the mother's arm. Anna sucks in her breath with relief, but she can't keep her worry from her eyes.</p> <p class="cnNiMzQ3NjNhNmRjMDRlODlhNzUzNDQxNGY5MzRhM2I0">  "This is what you get for using a forbidden technique," the healer states, "I won't say anything since it was to save your kid." Anna smiles at the woman as she replies, "I knew this would happen. In fact, I thought I would die."</p> <p class="cnMzZDZhYzYwOGIxZTQzMmJhYmViZTIxNjM2OTRjMWRj">  "Ha, you're lucky you didn't die with such shoddy healing," Catherine chides Anna. "Now, this might hurt. Just bear with it," she says as she gathers energy and sends it flowing into Anna.</p> <p class="cnNjMjJmNTkzOWY1YjQzNjk4MTE2MmYzMTQ2ZTJmNDc3">  Anna's eyes shoot open in excruciating pain. It feels as if her whole body is being torn apart and reformed. The broken bones are digging and slithering through her arm. Soon she can't maintain her consciousness and collapses to the ground.</p> <p class="cnNhMGU5MzFjODRkMDRiMGI5ZjA2MmEwMjRiNjRmMmI3">  "Well, my work is done," Catherine says with a big smile as she stretches her back. Then she soars into the sky, leaving her disciple behind.</p> </div>

Laurel shudders in the real world. Mellisa grips her girl with all her might. "Mom?" The girl asks with a raspy voice. "Oh honey, you're awake!" Mellisa replies, rubbing away her tears, trying to cover up her fear.   "Are you hungry?" Mellisa asks with a bright smile while patting her daughter’s head. "Yeah," Laurel says weekly. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up, then we'll get some breakfast," The mother says, suppressing her tears. She takes a wet cloth and wipes away the blood and sweat from Laurel’s face.   Outside Catherine and Elanor are flying over the Unbroken Region. Catherine has no problem pulling her silly disciple along with her. "It's not much farther, master," Elanor says, pointing out the small hill and clearing.   As they grow close to the village, they begin to cause a commotion. The villagers don't see people flying overhead every day. "Daddy, big sis bully!" Donna screeches, jumping up and down in excitement while pulling her dad's arm.   The two fly over the village, heading towards the hill. Joe snorts angrily as he eyes the two women. "Snorting at me?" Catherine harrumphs, "You wanted to get back at the bull right." Elanor looks at her master in confusion, "what are…" Before she can finish, Catherine grabs her by the ankle, flinging Elanor right at the bull.   The demonic bull is surprised by the sudden kamikaze attack and doesn't have time to dodge. The flashily dressed disciple smashes right into the large gut of Joe, sending both the bull and the woman flying off the hill and crashing into the forest.   Catherine gracefully lands on top of the hill in front of a bush. The bush is about as tall as her knee. She slowly squats down elegantly and looks curiously at the bush. "So you're the one telling my idiot disciple to teach someone."   John freezes as he takes in the previous events. *‘I'm just a bush. No one is here but us normal plants,’* he thinks while concealing his presence. "Do you think I'm an idiot like that girl? Should I pull you up by the roots so you can join them?" Catherine asks, annoyed at this game.   "Alright, you caught me," John says, his branches drooping sadly. "So why are you playing tricks on people in the form of a bush?" Catherine asks sternly. "I grew from a seed, so I've been like this my whole life," John replies, shaking his leaves convincingly. "I'll admit I have memories from my previous life. If you ask me why my samasara didn't go as usual? How would someone like me know?" John says while waving his branches frantically.   Sighing, Catherine stands up, "fine, what is this about having my disciple teach someone?" John shrugs with his branches. "It's nothing special. The only way Laurel can survive is to become a cultivator."   Catherine looks down at the village and asks, "What makes you say that?" John shakes his branches in a head-shakey way, "I'm not sure, but she seems to have unleashed a bloodline of some kind? I could be wrong though I'm not an expert on such things."   The graying female cultivator rubs the base of her nose, "Why is everyone... I'll go take a look." She turns and flies down towards the village.   As Catherine lands, an older man runs over. "I hope we haven't offended miss in any way," Gregory states nervously while bowing. "Hmm, oh that?" Catherine says, looking back at the hill, she continues, "Don't worry, those two are fine."   She then looks around a bit. "So, where's the girl?" Gregory fumbles with his hands in confusion, then humbly asks, "girl?" "Yes, the girl, ugh, never mind, I'll find her myself," Catherine then sweeps the small village with her senses, quickly picking out Laurel.   "There," Catherine says. Walking towards Laurel's house, she gently shoves Gregory out of the way. Catherine ignores the questioning looks of the villagers and soon reaches the hovel. She glances at the Sentinel Bellflower with a slight nod. She flings open the door and looks directly at the pale girl.   "So this is where you were hiding? Alright, let me take a look at you," Catherine states as she strides toward the girl.   "Wait, who are you?" Mellisa asks, trying to block the woman's way. "The mother? Don't worry. I'm here to help. Didn't that girl Elanor mention me?" Catherine asks while patting the mother on the shoulder. "You're Elanor's master?" Laurel asks weakly.   "That's right," Catherine says as she removes her passive face and puts on a gentle smile. "Now, let's get to it," She says, bending down over the girl.   Mellisa nervously looks on as Catherine gives a thorough check-up. *‘It's all so normal to her. Not magical or supernatural at all,’* Mellisa observes.   As Catherine checks the girl's bloodshot eyes, she clicks her tongue. "That plant knew more than he let on," she mumbles. "What? Is something wrong with her eyes?" Mellisa asks with worry. "Hmm, oh perhaps. I'm not done checking her yet," Catherine replies without looking away from her patient.   After an hour, Catherine finishes examining the girl. As she stands up, the door flings open with a disheveled beauty standing in the entrance. "Master! Don't be so rough with me. I'm delicate." Catherine snorts, "You're a lot of things, but delicate isn't one of them."   Ignoring her disciple, Catherine pulls out some medicinal herbs from an interspatial ring and quickly mixes them into a pill. "Here, have her take this before bed and in the morning," the old healer says, handing a bag full of pills to Mellisa. "Does this mean she can be cured?!" the beleaguered mother asks with excitement.   "No, I'm afraid not. There is no cure for this girl," Catherine says, shaking her head. Then she looks at the disappointed Elanor and says, "You have your work cut out for you if you want her to survive. Even your current strength isn't sufficient to stabilize the situation."   "What's going on please tell me, doctor!" Mellisa begs Catherine with tears in her eyes. "She's generated divining eyes," Catherine explains. She sighs and continues, "if she was from a great clan they'd, rejoice. Yet, for a normal person, it's truly a death sentence. Even a great clan might not keep their prize alive. Well, it's up to you now." Catherine pats her disciple's shoulder as she leaves.   "Alright, time to visit the stupid mother who destroyed her arm," Catherine states. She casually walks to a garden that a woman with a sling is tending. "May I help you?" Anna asks as the older woman approaches her. Without saying anything, Catherine grabs Anna’s arm, causing Anna to wince.   "Let go of my mom!" Franklin yells, running over with his wooden sword. "No, it's alright, Franklin," Anna says, holding up her good arm to stop him.   "Kid's have too much energy reminds me of that good for nothing disciple of mine," Catherine complains. She then looks at the boy, who freezes in place before collapsing.   "Franklin!" Anna screams. "Don't worry. He's just asleep. I wouldn't come here just to bully some nobodies," Catherine says as she examines the mother's arm. Anna sucks in her breath with relief, but she can't keep her worry from her eyes.   "This is what you get for using a forbidden technique," the healer states, "I won't say anything since it was to save your kid." Anna smiles at the woman as she replies, "I knew this would happen. In fact, I thought I would die."   "Ha, you're lucky you didn't die with such shoddy healing," Catherine chides Anna. "Now, this might hurt. Just bear with it," she says as she gathers energy and sends it flowing into Anna.   Anna's eyes shoot open in excruciating pain. It feels as if her whole body is being torn apart and reformed. The broken bones are digging and slithering through her arm. Soon she can't maintain her consciousness and collapses to the ground.   "Well, my work is done," Catherine says with a big smile as she stretches her back. Then she soars into the sky, leaving her disciple behind.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0Y2Q5MDIwNTQ4NTQ1OTY4NGM5ZWFhN2JlOThlOTNl">  Laurel finds herself in the middle of an ocean. Waves smash over her head as she struggles to stay above the water. "Mommy!" She cries, spitting water from her mouth. Her head jerks around, looking for aid. All around her, she can only see other versions of herself in the same precarious situation.</p> <p class="cnMzMmFiMmEyMTZhMjRmMzY5YzhlNGRiYjg5NjQ5YzM0">  Every version of Laurel is different. They are laughing, crying, and cursing. Some are struggling like her. Others give in, sinking to the bottom. There are even a few who take the situation in stride, rising above the waves.</p> <p class="cnNmMjdkZjFjNWFkMzRiZTlhYjk2NDg2ZTE5ODgyZTRj">***********<br>  At Laurel's bed, Mellisa desperately hugs her writhing daughter. Her daughter hasn't been doing well recently, spending more and more time in bed. Every so often, the young girl will writhe in pain, clutching her head as if to keep it from exploding. Blood has even begun to seep from her ears and nose during these episodes. "She's all I have, please," Mellisa cries hopelessly as tears stream from her bloodshot eyes.<br>************</p> <p class="cnM0Y2FmYjYyOGI0NTQzM2RhZjI5Nzk4NzUzODVkZDMy">  Each wave smashes Laurel into another one of her selves. The scared girl is flung into another reality. In the current reality, she's clutching a sword while desperately fighting some unknown man. "Why must you stand in our way?" she asks the man as she deflects a blow the dark towering figure in front of her only scowls at her. Laurel's muscles feel like they are on fire. The fatigue weighs her down, slowing her reaction. She sees the sword of the man growing large as it thrusts towards her throat.</p> <p class="cnM3ZWY3Mzc0MTEzODRmZGY4YjNhODMzOWYyMzM0NmVk">  Ding, ding, a small bell rings in her ears. Right before the sword strikes home, Laurel feels bluntly shoved to the side. She quickly looks at who has saved her. Where she once stood, an older man that resembled Franklin replaced her with a sword skewering his chest. "Alfred!" She screams as she fades from this reality. The last thing she views is Alfred smiling at her.</p> <p class="cnMwOGM3Y2VmODk2YzRhMTQ4Y2M0ODUxNDQ1ZjhjZDBl">  Now back in the ocean, Laurel's tears join this horrible ocean. "Let me go! I did nothing wrong," She yells, trembling in fear. To the right, she hears her own voice scream, "forgive me. I didn't mean to." To her left, she sees a slightly older version of her self-yell at the air in a rage, "do you know who I am? When I get out of here, you'll be sorry." All around, Laurel hears herself say all manner of things.</p> <p class="cnMzMWQ0NWI4MmE4MTRmZjI5OWFmMjE2YjYwMDFlN2Zi">  "What is going on? Is this real?" Laurel mumbles as she feels like she will soon break. Suddenly, she feels a pain in her shoulder. She looks over in that direction to see her face is there, mirroring her surprise.</p> <p class="cnM1NTY4OTIxMTZiMzQ0ZjBiMDc0MDhhOWM4NGNhMDgw">  Reality once again shifts. This time Laurel is playing with a baby girl who seems to have only just been born. The world seems bright as they sit next to a large tree on the hill. A deer sits, sulking off to the side. She smiles at the funny scene. <em>‘So cute,’</em> Laurel thinks. "It's good that you can still smile. I hope you can hang in there," Laurel hears someone say in her mind as the reality once again shifts away from her.</p> <p class="cnMxOGQ3ZjZjZDEwYjRiNzk4MmZiZjNiNjYxOThjOWQ2">  In the ocean, this process of reality shifting seems to have no end.<em> ‘When will I wake up from this nightmare?’</em> she shudders. Laurel's mind is now numb as the world swirls. "Maybe it's better just to sink?" Laurel whispers as her aching muscles give out from the ever-shifting waves.</p> <p class="cnMyOGY0MzE1ZGZmZTQ2YjY5YjIyMDc1YThiMjY5OTcy">  Without hope, Laurel fades away. The sunlight is playing on the oceans causing a shimmering beauty. All around, other hers also fade away, ceasing to exist.</p> <p class="cnM2ZmYzMWE1NGI1YTQ2NjRhNjQ5NmRmMWU5OTg4NGJi">  Deng, Ding, bing, bong! Thunderous bells ring, shaking the ocean into becoming even more turbulent. A whirlpool forms, sending Laurel, who no longer has the power or will to resist crashing into one more her. The world shimmers as she changes reality.</p> <p class="cnNjMDRkNGFiZDkzODQ5MjY5YTZjZTRiODU0NzYxOTc3">  Laurel looks at her hands. She's much older in this reality. In fact, she'd never been this old before. Every shift fills her with the feeling of the her there. Even though the her in the ocean was exhausted beyond belief, the her now is still full of vitality.</p> <p class="cnMyNWMwZWIyYTg4MTQxNjdhNTMwZjc1YjM3NWNmMmNl">  All around Laurel are enemies. She is cut off from their forces due to a mistake. In the distance, Laurel glances with panic. Laurel is filled with the most recent thoughts and intent of the her she takes over. She is still a young girl. In reality, it is hard for her to stay calm in such circumstances.</p> <p class="cnNlY2Q2MDVkNTZkMjRiYTJiZWE5MzYyYjllOTgzMTY4">  In the distance, she sees flags fluttering. They have a turtle with an emerald embedded in it. She knows her only hope is to reach those flags.</p> <p class="cnNkYmMyM2JkYjU1YzQ4ZDM5ZTk0YWI5NGFhZmE3ZmIy">  With that resolve, Laurel begins to cut through the men and women before her. They curse and holler as she seems to flow like water in between them. They are powerful, but Laurel is always one step ahead. She doesn't know the moves she is utilizing, nor can her mind understand the powers she uses. It seems to become like smoke in her brain, instantly disappearing before she can grasp it.</p> <p class="cnMxY2RlMzJmNDZiZTRkNTBiMmE0MmJmMjgxYTA3MDlm">  In the sky, it feels like a god is watching over her. When Laurel takes a chance to glance up, there is a large tree in the sky. This tree she feels is the same as the one on the hill. Now it is besieged by countless enemies. It pierces them with its roots and slashes them with its leaves. The enemies that surround the tree blast back at the bush with equal vigor. The branches crack, and bark scatters as the battle intensifies. Each hit makes her heart shutter with deep pain.</p> <p class="cnM2MGFlMzY3NjZiZjRkNGQ4ZjZiMzA3MjRmMmI0MTVl">  No matter how fast or desperately Laurel fights, the flags only recede from her. "Just get out of my way!" Laurel screams in anguish, slashing a man in half. Soon even this body is exhausted as well. Her techniques grow sluggish, and she soon sustains injuries all over her body. Cuts and bruises now cover Laurel’s pure white skin, the her in this reality has.</p> <p class="cnMxOGM2MmU3MzZiNzRiMDFhN2YwY2FiNDE1MTI1MDll">  In the sky, the tree also seems to be running out of steam. A loud crack can be heard across the battlefield. The tree slowly breaks apart, falling towards the ground.</p> <p class="cnM4MWExNzFhMDQ3ZDQ0MDI4NzY4OTBmYzRlY2Y5NjY4">  "NO, Hector!" Laurel screams with agony that seems to flow from deep within her. Tears stream down her face as snot ripples out of her nose. Her whole world shatters. Her legs will carry her no longer, and she falls to her knees.</p> <p class="cnM1YjZhM2E0MTExNjQxZGQ4MjY3ZGY1MTYyMjI4MTJj">  Chimes fill the world as if to summon gods and demons to this world. Out of the darkness, a woman appears clad in turquoise armor, slaughtering her way over. "Freya! Don't give in to the darkness." The woman in turquoise armor yells while scooping her up into her arms and fleeing towards the flags. "But Hector, he, he," Laurel mumbles while clutching this unknown woman. "You think that old bastard will go down that easily?" the brave woman laughs. She then pokes Laurel's nose. "Don't you think you've scared those back home enough? It's time to wake up."</p> </div>

Laurel finds herself in the middle of an ocean. Waves smash over her head as she struggles to stay above the water. "Mommy!" She cries, spitting water from her mouth. Her head jerks around, looking for aid. All around her, she can only see other versions of herself in the same precarious situation.   Every version of Laurel is different. They are laughing, crying, and cursing. Some are struggling like her. Others give in, sinking to the bottom. There are even a few who take the situation in stride, rising above the waves. ***********   At Laurel's bed, Mellisa desperately hugs her writhing daughter. Her daughter hasn't been doing well recently, spending more and more time in bed. Every so often, the young girl will writhe in pain, clutching her head as if to keep it from exploding. Blood has even begun to seep from her ears and nose during these episodes. "She's all I have, please," Mellisa cries hopelessly as tears stream from her bloodshot eyes. ************   Each wave smashes Laurel into another one of her selves. The scared girl is flung into another reality. In the current reality, she's clutching a sword while desperately fighting some unknown man. "Why must you stand in our way?" she asks the man as she deflects a blow the dark towering figure in front of her only scowls at her. Laurel's muscles feel like they are on fire. The fatigue weighs her down, slowing her reaction. She sees the sword of the man growing large as it thrusts towards her throat.   Ding, ding, a small bell rings in her ears. Right before the sword strikes home, Laurel feels bluntly shoved to the side. She quickly looks at who has saved her. Where she once stood, an older man that resembled Franklin replaced her with a sword skewering his chest. "Alfred!" She screams as she fades from this reality. The last thing she views is Alfred smiling at her.   Now back in the ocean, Laurel's tears join this horrible ocean. "Let me go! I did nothing wrong," She yells, trembling in fear. To the right, she hears her own voice scream, "forgive me. I didn't mean to." To her left, she sees a slightly older version of her self-yell at the air in a rage, "do you know who I am? When I get out of here, you'll be sorry." All around, Laurel hears herself say all manner of things.   "What is going on? Is this real?" Laurel mumbles as she feels like she will soon break. Suddenly, she feels a pain in her shoulder. She looks over in that direction to see her face is there, mirroring her surprise.   Reality once again shifts. This time Laurel is playing with a baby girl who seems to have only just been born. The world seems bright as they sit next to a large tree on the hill. A deer sits, sulking off to the side. She smiles at the funny scene. *‘So cute,’* Laurel thinks. "It's good that you can still smile. I hope you can hang in there," Laurel hears someone say in her mind as the reality once again shifts away from her.   In the ocean, this process of reality shifting seems to have no end. *‘When will I wake up from this nightmare?’* she shudders. Laurel's mind is now numb as the world swirls. "Maybe it's better just to sink?" Laurel whispers as her aching muscles give out from the ever-shifting waves.   Without hope, Laurel fades away. The sunlight is playing on the oceans causing a shimmering beauty. All around, other hers also fade away, ceasing to exist.   Deng, Ding, bing, bong! Thunderous bells ring, shaking the ocean into becoming even more turbulent. A whirlpool forms, sending Laurel, who no longer has the power or will to resist crashing into one more her. The world shimmers as she changes reality.   Laurel looks at her hands. She's much older in this reality. In fact, she'd never been this old before. Every shift fills her with the feeling of the her there. Even though the her in the ocean was exhausted beyond belief, the her now is still full of vitality.   All around Laurel are enemies. She is cut off from their forces due to a mistake. In the distance, Laurel glances with panic. Laurel is filled with the most recent thoughts and intent of the her she takes over. She is still a young girl. In reality, it is hard for her to stay calm in such circumstances.   In the distance, she sees flags fluttering. They have a turtle with an emerald embedded in it. She knows her only hope is to reach those flags.   With that resolve, Laurel begins to cut through the men and women before her. They curse and holler as she seems to flow like water in between them. They are powerful, but Laurel is always one step ahead. She doesn't know the moves she is utilizing, nor can her mind understand the powers she uses. It seems to become like smoke in her brain, instantly disappearing before she can grasp it.   In the sky, it feels like a god is watching over her. When Laurel takes a chance to glance up, there is a large tree in the sky. This tree she feels is the same as the one on the hill. Now it is besieged by countless enemies. It pierces them with its roots and slashes them with its leaves. The enemies that surround the tree blast back at the bush with equal vigor. The branches crack, and bark scatters as the battle intensifies. Each hit makes her heart shutter with deep pain.   No matter how fast or desperately Laurel fights, the flags only recede from her. "Just get out of my way!" Laurel screams in anguish, slashing a man in half. Soon even this body is exhausted as well. Her techniques grow sluggish, and she soon sustains injuries all over her body. Cuts and bruises now cover Laurel’s pure white skin, the her in this reality has.   In the sky, the tree also seems to be running out of steam. A loud crack can be heard across the battlefield. The tree slowly breaks apart, falling towards the ground.   "NO, Hector!" Laurel screams with agony that seems to flow from deep within her. Tears stream down her face as snot ripples out of her nose. Her whole world shatters. Her legs will carry her no longer, and she falls to her knees.   Chimes fill the world as if to summon gods and demons to this world. Out of the darkness, a woman appears clad in turquoise armor, slaughtering her way over. "Freya! Don't give in to the darkness." The woman in turquoise armor yells while scooping her up into her arms and fleeing towards the flags. "But Hector, he, he," Laurel mumbles while clutching this unknown woman. "You think that old bastard will go down that easily?" the brave woman laughs. She then pokes Laurel's nose. "Don't you think you've scared those back home enough? It's time to wake up."

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2ODIxNWI2M2E3ODQyYTliMWU1MjZmYTYyMzg0NzYx">  In Mellisa's dark shack, the atmosphere is dreadful. Elanor sighs before putting on a smile. "No worries. Since my master gave you medicine, it's not impossible. Leave it to me!" She says, making a guts pose.</p> <p class="cnM4ZWE1ZTExNzlhZjRiYjY4OTY4YzhkNDcyMGVlMDRl">  Mellisa nods reservedly. She can't break down in front of her daughter, she thinks. "Yes, here you should take a pill now," Mellisa says as she pulls a pill from the bag. As she hands the pill to her daughter, she sees her handshaking. Mellisa grabs her arm to steady it.</p> <p class="cnMxMjM3ZWMyMTM3MzRkMDhhY2UyZDZmYWNjZmQ1MjY2">  "Don't worry, mom. I'll try my best," Laurel consoles her mother. Laurel reaches out, grabbing her mother's hand with both of hers in comfort. She then slowly takes the pill. With a gulp, she swallows the pill. "Blah, it's so bitter!" Laurel yells, sticking out her tongue. "How do you feel?" Mellisa asks with worry.</p> <p class="cnNhYzc4ZTEzYmNkMjRhZDJhYmNlM2FlOGY4NzM3YjNh">  As Laurel scrapes her tongue with her hand, the world seems to come to a sudden halt. She looks around, a bit disoriented. "Honey?" Mellisa asks in fear. "I'm alright, it's just... different," the girl replies. It feels as if the ground she stands on went from shifting sand to solid ground.</p> <p class="cnNiNTUwYjcyN2FjODRiYWM5MWZhMzQ5ZjQ4MzdkZWVh">  "Since your feeling alright, we should get started!" Elanor says, grabbing the girl's arm dragging her out. "Right," Laurel says while clenching her fists. As they exit the shack, the atmosphere feels strange.</p> <p class="cnMyNWM4NDZlMmQ2ZjQ2YjFhY2NkNGEzMGExYmI5YmJh">  Off to the side, Arron is cradling both Anna and Franklin protectively. Anna is still quaking from the healing she received, and Franklin is still unconscious from the angry stare.</p> <p class="cnMwZWZkMWUxMDZiODRkODM5MDVkY2IwODUzY2Q1ZjJk">  However, most eyes are looking at the sky in fear. Everyone is muttering in confusion at the scene. There is a dark, ominous cloud that almost looks like a hand, trying to break through the heavens. "Tribulation clouds?" Elanor asks while pondering the situation.</p> <p class="cnM0ODI3ZjI5OTczMjQwMDZhNzc0ZmM5M2EzMTEzYWUz">  "Training can wait a bit. Your assistance may be required," Elanor hears John says in her head. "Looks like we're about to see a good show," she laughs while folding her arms under her chest, causing them to heave and bounce. She then pats Laurel's head, saying, "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. I'll go help out a bit, be right back."</p> <p class="cnNiNDI3MjkzZmZjZTRlYTZhODYxNzFlNDBmN2YwYTA1">  Elanor jumps up the hill quickly. As she climbs the hill, Joe glares at the sky. "MOOORROO!" he roars at the tribulation clouds. Below, the villagers shake like they are in an earthquake.</p> <p class="cnM0MjVmMDcwYzRkNDRjODliYjczYWE2YmZiOWE2ZTk3">  As if in response to the roar of the demonic bull, the first tribulation lightning smashes down, turning the world white. Joe jumps into the air and takes the first lightning bolt with his horns, smashing it to bits. Joe snorts in triumph. However, the first strike is the weakest. The danger will only grow from here.</p> <p class="cnMwMjQ0ZWE0YjMzZDQ0OGQ5YzhmMzg1MDVjYzE5ZjY4">  The next bolt of tribulation, lightning, falls towards the round demonic bull. Joe stares at the sky with determination in his eyes. He sends his demonic energy out to contend with the lightning. The world becomes a black and white one, as the dark energy from Joe collides with the light from the heavens. After a moment of pushing and pulling, the lightning is sent back to the sky.</p> <p class="cnMyNDlhNjQ1OTBlOTRlZDZhNjRkYjJhNGQ1NTI0ODFj">  Before Joe can even celebrate, another bolt flies at him. This one collides directly into his body. His fat body shakes like pudding from the shock. His skin is scorched black, but the fat dissipates the electricity, shielding his internal organs from damage.</p> <p class="cnNjMTZlZWJmZWJmOTQ2NGU5YmI1OGJhNTdmNmM1OGIw">  More and more tribulation lightning, rains down from the sky, not giving the bull a chance to breathe. Slowly he falls to his knees. "Moooo," Joe yells in agony as his internal organs fry. His blood flow disrupts from the damage. He's now on the verge of defeat, losing his path to his ancestors. Joe's eyes look at the sky with unwillingness.</p> <p class="cnNjNDEzNTlhZDZlYTQyNTNiODNkZGJjYjc1OGIyMWFm">  "It's your turn, girl!" John yells. "What? Fine damn it. Here comes Elanor!" she hollers, jumping into the sky pulling out a mystic sword.</p> <p class="cnMxMDM0Nzg5NGJmMDQ3ODg4MmY1MGFkZWFiMWFlNjAx">  "Bring it, you bastard!" Elanor screams, slashing apart a bolt of lightning. The tribulation sensing someone blocking it turns its energy to the transgressor. After she stops a few bolts, she's hit directly. "EEEahh," She dramatically screams while hurtling to the ground. She smashes down into the village, creating a large crater. Her clothes in tatters from the lightning, she weakly lays in her hole. If there is anyone who dare look, they will get quite an eye full.</p> <p class="cnMyNzI4ZjMzNTUwZTRlNDViZWFkYjdhNDlhMjE4MzRl">  Joe stabilizes himself standing up once again, staring at his heavenly foe. He still hasn't recovered from the prior attacks. His blood is in turmoil, so he can't release his full strength. This is the most powerful tribulation lightning. It is do or die.</p> <p class="cnNmNmFhZTYwNjhmNzQ4Mjk4MDlkNzlkNWE0ODE5OWNi">  <em>'Things aren't looking good,'</em> John thinks. "Shit! You fat bastard. I'll show you why I have one more letter than you," John bellows as the final lightning bolt falls from the sky.</p> <p class="cnNjOTgzZTUwMmRhMTQyMjk5OTA0NGE1NTg5ZmRjZWVi">  John releases half his leaves flying into the sky, forming a green shield between Joe and the tribulation. As the lightning smashes into the leaves, they only hold for a moment before disintegrating. Still, the divine lightning is significantly weakened. "MOOOORUUU," Joe hollers as he charges into the lightning. His horns crack from the destructive energy as he smashes into the ground.</p> <p class="cnM4MGJiMjFkMzlkNzQ4MTlhMDFmODgxMTRmYWQ4YzAx">  The dark clouds dissipate, returning the world to tranquility. In Joe's crater, a fat demonic bull looks like he's just been roasted over a fire, groans. He slowly stumbles to his feet, feeling his blood becoming purer. Exhaustion on his face, Joe smiles at his success.</p> <p class="cnMxMjBkYTUyM2VkNTQ3Y2I5M2QyZmFiMzUyYzM2NTY0">  In the other crater, Elanor quickly covers herself with spare robes. Her face is smudged with dirt, her body covered in burns. She stumbles out to see a worried Laurel staring at her. She smiles and cups the girl's cheeks. "What are you making that face for? This little bit won't hurt me!" She says jovially.</p> <p class="cnNhMGEwYmUzNmE4MjRhMzVhY2I3OTQ0YTBkZjI3OTU4">  On the hill, there is one plant that isn't happy. He grimaces at the loss of leaves. <em>'At least Joe's breakthrough went well,'</em> John consoles himself,<em> ‘still, this is a huge setback for me. Especially so close to my break through.’</em> He long knew his cultivation technique was precarious. It is much like making pottery. The sun energy is used for baking and solidifying the earth energy. A precarious balance has to be maintained, or the finished product won’t be perfect and crack. With the loss of half his leaves, John won't be able to provide enough sun energy.</p> </div>

In Mellisa's dark shack, the atmosphere is dreadful. Elanor sighs before putting on a smile. "No worries. Since my master gave you medicine, it's not impossible. Leave it to me!" She says, making a guts pose.   Mellisa nods reservedly. She can't break down in front of her daughter, she thinks. "Yes, here you should take a pill now," Mellisa says as she pulls a pill from the bag. As she hands the pill to her daughter, she sees her handshaking. Mellisa grabs her arm to steady it.   "Don't worry, mom. I'll try my best," Laurel consoles her mother. Laurel reaches out, grabbing her mother's hand with both of hers in comfort. She then slowly takes the pill. With a gulp, she swallows the pill. "Blah, it's so bitter!" Laurel yells, sticking out her tongue. "How do you feel?" Mellisa asks with worry.   As Laurel scrapes her tongue with her hand, the world seems to come to a sudden halt. She looks around, a bit disoriented. "Honey?" Mellisa asks in fear. "I'm alright, it's just... different," the girl replies. It feels as if the ground she stands on went from shifting sand to solid ground.   "Since your feeling alright, we should get started!" Elanor says, grabbing the girl's arm dragging her out. "Right," Laurel says while clenching her fists. As they exit the shack, the atmosphere feels strange.   Off to the side, Arron is cradling both Anna and Franklin protectively. Anna is still quaking from the healing she received, and Franklin is still unconscious from the angry stare.   However, most eyes are looking at the sky in fear. Everyone is muttering in confusion at the scene. There is a dark, ominous cloud that almost looks like a hand, trying to break through the heavens. "Tribulation clouds?" Elanor asks while pondering the situation.   "Training can wait a bit. Your assistance may be required," Elanor hears John says in her head. "Looks like we're about to see a good show," she laughs while folding her arms under her chest, causing them to heave and bounce. She then pats Laurel's head, saying, "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. I'll go help out a bit, be right back."   Elanor jumps up the hill quickly. As she climbs the hill, Joe glares at the sky. "MOOORROO!" he roars at the tribulation clouds. Below, the villagers shake like they are in an earthquake.   As if in response to the roar of the demonic bull, the first tribulation lightning smashes down, turning the world white. Joe jumps into the air and takes the first lightning bolt with his horns, smashing it to bits. Joe snorts in triumph. However, the first strike is the weakest. The danger will only grow from here.   The next bolt of tribulation, lightning, falls towards the round demonic bull. Joe stares at the sky with determination in his eyes. He sends his demonic energy out to contend with the lightning. The world becomes a black and white one, as the dark energy from Joe collides with the light from the heavens. After a moment of pushing and pulling, the lightning is sent back to the sky.   Before Joe can even celebrate, another bolt flies at him. This one collides directly into his body. His fat body shakes like pudding from the shock. His skin is scorched black, but the fat dissipates the electricity, shielding his internal organs from damage.   More and more tribulation lightning, rains down from the sky, not giving the bull a chance to breathe. Slowly he falls to his knees. "Moooo," Joe yells in agony as his internal organs fry. His blood flow disrupts from the damage. He's now on the verge of defeat, losing his path to his ancestors. Joe's eyes look at the sky with unwillingness.   "It's your turn, girl!" John yells. "What? Fine damn it. Here comes Elanor!" she hollers, jumping into the sky pulling out a mystic sword.   "Bring it, you bastard!" Elanor screams, slashing apart a bolt of lightning. The tribulation sensing someone blocking it turns its energy to the transgressor. After she stops a few bolts, she's hit directly. "EEEahh," She dramatically screams while hurtling to the ground. She smashes down into the village, creating a large crater. Her clothes in tatters from the lightning, she weakly lays in her hole. If there is anyone who dare look, they will get quite an eye full.   Joe stabilizes himself standing up once again, staring at his heavenly foe. He still hasn't recovered from the prior attacks. His blood is in turmoil, so he can't release his full strength. This is the most powerful tribulation lightning. It is do or die.   *'Things aren't looking good,'* John thinks. "Shit! You fat bastard. I'll show you why I have one more letter than you," John bellows as the final lightning bolt falls from the sky.   John releases half his leaves flying into the sky, forming a green shield between Joe and the tribulation. As the lightning smashes into the leaves, they only hold for a moment before disintegrating. Still, the divine lightning is significantly weakened. "MOOOORUUU," Joe hollers as he charges into the lightning. His horns crack from the destructive energy as he smashes into the ground.   The dark clouds dissipate, returning the world to tranquility. In Joe's crater, a fat demonic bull looks like he's just been roasted over a fire, groans. He slowly stumbles to his feet, feeling his blood becoming purer. Exhaustion on his face, Joe smiles at his success.   In the other crater, Elanor quickly covers herself with spare robes. Her face is smudged with dirt, her body covered in burns. She stumbles out to see a worried Laurel staring at her. She smiles and cups the girl's cheeks. "What are you making that face for? This little bit won't hurt me!" She says jovially.   On the hill, there is one plant that isn't happy. He grimaces at the loss of leaves. *'At least Joe's breakthrough went well,'* John consoles himself, *‘still, this is a huge setback for me. Especially so close to my break through.’* He long knew his cultivation technique was precarious. It is much like making pottery. The sun energy is used for baking and solidifying the earth energy. A precarious balance has to be maintained, or the finished product won’t be perfect and crack. With the loss of half his leaves, John won't be able to provide enough sun energy.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM5YjAzMTMyMTI4YTRiMWM4ZWUzYmI5NjkxNzdiMGQ3">  John start's to feel sluggish as earth energy overwhelms the sun energy entering his trunk. <em>'It is essential to keep the ying-yang flow of energy in balance.'</em> However, now the energy is unstable. It's similar to when he'd tried to combine the energies previously. Like an army that ran out of fodder to throw into the fight, the sun energy gives way to the earth energy.</p> <p class="cnNiZGI5OWI4NjFlYTRmNDA4NmY1NjZiMTk5ODljNDFi"><em>  'Usually, solid earth energy will reinforce and solidify my core, like building up a wall one brick at a time.'</em> The yang sun energy then fuses and purify his core like forging a folded metal sword. If done correctly, this should create a solid foundation. However, now the core is being built as stable as a building with no mortar.</p> <p class="cnNlYmFhZjYyZDU4OTQ2N2I4OTM4NTMyNGYxMzM1NDQ5"><em>  'Damn, there isn't anything I can do,'</em> John worries, frustrated by his lack of power. He struggles to control the wild earth energy to no avail. It is like trying to ride an enraged Joe. If only he can siphon it off somehow... <em>'That's it!'</em> John thinks with excitement.</p> <p class="cnNmMWVhOWVmYzQ0NDRjZDRhYzE0NWE4OWFlMzAyMmI0">  As John struggles with his internal battle, a day goes by. Joe is badly injured and sleeping to recover his strength. Elanor locks herself away in Mellisa's house to apply the many concoctions she's collected from her master. "Like I'll get scars for that plant and bull!" She is often heard crying from within the shack.</p> <p class="cnNmNjY5NWI5NGZhZTQzNzdiZGUyOTk4ZDhiODg0NjRh">  Anna is still writhing in pain in her bed. Franklin recovers after only a few hours of rest. Both Arron and Franklin are nursing the healed mother. Under the skin, they can see the slithering movement of internal organs and bones reforming. Just watching the process causes them to shudder and feel their skin crawl.</p> <p class="cnMxODY0ZDEyMjM1ODQyOWU4NTM5NDYxZWRhMWI4MDlj">  Elanor exits after fully recovering, stretching happily. "Miss, are you alright?" Gregory asks with worry. <em>‘What if Elanor had an accident in their small village? Would her master let them off?</em>’ he wonders.</p> <p class="cnM5ZWRiNjNmNjA2YzQ1NjBhNGI4MjJmMWRiZDg3ZDA5">  "Ha, something like that won't stop me!" Elanor energetically replies while patting the man on the shoulder. Unfortunately for Gregory, she didn't control her strength properly, sending him stumbling.</p> <p class="cnMyYmQyYTk1MGQ2MjQ5M2E4M2NhYTJkODlkZjQyNmUx">  "Careful there," Elanor laughs, her mood lifting. At this moment, she hears an annoying voice in her head. "Did you bring those mystic herbs I asked for?" John asks expectantly.</p> <p class="cnNiMWU4M2Y3YWY2NTQ4ODI5YzliZjFjOGM4NDBjYTNj">  "What, you stupid plant? Do you think I'm your slave?!" Elanor yells over at the hill. Gregory looks at the crazy beauty awkwardly. "Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should go home and have your master check you out," he sincerely advises as he stands back up.</p> <p class="cnMwZWY2OTg4NmExMjQ2NmNiMmYzZGU0ZGM4ODYwYjZi">  Elanor irritably flips her hair. She heaves a big sigh causing her chest to bounce. "Look, you don't have to worry about me, okay?" Elanor says with a scary smile. .</p> <p class="cnM0YjUzNGZmOTE0ZTRlMTViZTJkOGIwNWQ1YmQ5OWVk">  "Yes, mam, sorry for overstepping my bounds," Gregory replies while bowing with sweat dripping from his brow.</p> <p class="cnM1MjQ5YjBjMjZlNDQzNjg4YWU1MGViZTcyOWVhNWQ4">  "Why are you so scared?" Elanor asks curiously. "I'm the hot and kind Elanor. There's nothing to fear!" She says, puffing herself up proudly. This move also makes her ample chest puff out as well.</p> <p class="cnM3YjhkMzcxOGI2NDQ2YmNhZmQ2ZTg4NzQ3NWYwNTMz">  "Stop showing off the goods and give me a hand," The exasperated bush again speaks in Elanor's mind. "Ha, fine," She says before looking at Gregory and continues, "well, I have something to do."</p> <p class="cnM4OTFlZmQ4N2Q0NDQ5NWI4NWQzNTkwN2NlMjQ1MWVh">  Upon the hill, John waits impatiently for the fairy to extricate herself from the villagers. Elanor doesn't take long to jump up the hill, arriving in front of the sexual harassing bush. "Look, you can't treat me like some call girl," she complains, making a pouty face.</p> <p class="cnM4NTYyMzA1NTFkNzQzODM4MTQ4Nzc4NTljZmU1YzE2">  "You think that will work on me? I'm a plant, girl! How much libido do you think I have?" John lectures the young cultivator, "also, do you see flowers? I'm clearly not even seeding."</p> <p class="cnNjMTJjMmNiZjBmMzRmMGJhZWNlYTFmZWIwMDIyNGEw">  "Fine whatever," Elanor replies to the bushes rant while plopping unceremoniously onto her bottom. "What should I call you? You're clearly more than a bush," she says, waving at the bush with disinterest.</p> <p class="cnNkODMzNjgzMzJiZjQ3NDdhZGNmOTk3ZjdjMWNjY2M5">  "I'm John. There's no reason to keep a family name from a previous life," He replies. "Anyways, now's not the time for that. Did you bring those mystic herbs?" John hopefully asks. Elanor sighs while playing with her hair. "Yeah, I got your dying mystic herbs," she responds while sending them out of her interspatial ring.</p> <p class="cnNhNzI2YzIzMTFkOTRiZjZiMmQ1MzRkOGE0N2U4YmM5">  Five wilting mystic herbs lie on the ground. John looks at them with his senses. Three are Limson herbs, used by most loose cultivators for minor injuries. They have a distinctive red color, with a big veiny leaf. The fourth is a Bleeding Pipe herb, usually used in non-lethal poison. The name stems from the effect it has when digested, mainly ejecting blood during urination. The herb has a bamboo shape to it.</p> <p class="cnNkNjhlNWMyMzE5NDRkZjJhY2QyNjU4MzUyYzg2ODgx">  "This is!" John exclaims with excitement as he looks at the final plant. It's a small needly looking plant. It borrows through stone and is mostly just roots with small spiky needles poking out. It's called Stone Porcupine herb. It's well known for being beneficial for earth-type cultivators. It collects the energy from the earth to create its spiked stem.</p> <p class="cnM4YmE2ZTBmMDkxZTRlYmQ5NDFmZDI4Njk4MTAwODY0">  "Alright, plant these four around the village," John tells Elanor while pointing with his branches to the Limson herbs and Bleeding Pipe herb. "Sure, sure," the poor student shows her lazy nature by splaying her limbs out while laying on the ground lazily. "Also, go grab me a boulder for this little guy," John says, pointing at the last herb.</p> <p class="cnMzNGNhN2I3MDZmZDQ1ODBhMzI1ZDQ5NjUxNzcwYzYx">  "Are you serious?" Elanor complains. "Yeah, I'd have this big oaf do it. But he needs time to recover," John says, sighing. "I was hurt too, you know. Shouldn't you give this beauty some time to recover?" She asks with a pouty face. "Hurt? If you put a little more effort, we wouldn't be in this predicament," John retorts, annoyed. "What, I got all burned up! You know how hard it is to heal burn scars?" She angrily replies while waving her arms, energetically as if she was going to fly away.</p> <p class="cnNmMjU2OTkzNDQyMzQ1MTk5ODdjOGRlYWZjYjY3ODhm">  With drooping branches, John reasons with the young woman, "look, I'm in rough shape here. I don't have the energy to argue. Could you please help me out?" "Fine, fine. You're as bad as Catherine. Geez," Elanor says, rubbing her head, causing her luxurious hair to fly about wildly.</p> <p class="cnM2Mzg2ODhjNDM1NTRiMTg4NGU1NTY1OGZiZWIxN2Jk">  The female cultivator completes her work while dragging her feet as if she is carrying a huge burden. She plants the four herbs on the four corners of the village. Half a day later, after playing in the forest, Elanor finds a large boulder. She quickly stores it away and saunters back to the hill.</p> <p class="cnMzMGU5MmJmNWYxNzQ0ODA5YWZjNTA1OTA1Nzc0ZmMw">  Back on the hill, Elanor releases the boulder. "Here's your dumb rock," she states with disdain in her voice. "Great! Now place the Stone Porcupine herb and put it into a crack in the boulder," John commands happily. Elanor gives a look as if she ate something nasty before doing as she's told. "Perfect! Thanks, a lot. We'd be in trouble without you," John praises.</p> </div>

John start's to feel sluggish as earth energy overwhelms the sun energy entering his trunk. *'It is essential to keep the ying-yang flow of energy in balance.'* However, now the energy is unstable. It's similar to when he'd tried to combine the energies previously. Like an army that ran out of fodder to throw into the fight, the sun energy gives way to the earth energy. *'Usually, solid earth energy will reinforce and solidify my core, like building up a wall one brick at a time.'* The yang sun energy then fuses and purify his core like forging a folded metal sword. If done correctly, this should create a solid foundation. However, now the core is being built as stable as a building with no mortar. *'Damn, there isn't anything I can do,'* John worries, frustrated by his lack of power. He struggles to control the wild earth energy to no avail. It is like trying to ride an enraged Joe. If only he can siphon it off somehow... *'That's it!'* John thinks with excitement.   As John struggles with his internal battle, a day goes by. Joe is badly injured and sleeping to recover his strength. Elanor locks herself away in Mellisa's house to apply the many concoctions she's collected from her master. "Like I'll get scars for that plant and bull!" She is often heard crying from within the shack.   Anna is still writhing in pain in her bed. Franklin recovers after only a few hours of rest. Both Arron and Franklin are nursing the healed mother. Under the skin, they can see the slithering movement of internal organs and bones reforming. Just watching the process causes them to shudder and feel their skin crawl.   Elanor exits after fully recovering, stretching happily. "Miss, are you alright?" Gregory asks with worry. *‘What if Elanor had an accident in their small village? Would her master let them off?*’ he wonders.   "Ha, something like that won't stop me!" Elanor energetically replies while patting the man on the shoulder. Unfortunately for Gregory, she didn't control her strength properly, sending him stumbling.   "Careful there," Elanor laughs, her mood lifting. At this moment, she hears an annoying voice in her head. "Did you bring those mystic herbs I asked for?" John asks expectantly.   "What, you stupid plant? Do you think I'm your slave?!" Elanor yells over at the hill. Gregory looks at the crazy beauty awkwardly. "Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should go home and have your master check you out," he sincerely advises as he stands back up.   Elanor irritably flips her hair. She heaves a big sigh causing her chest to bounce. "Look, you don't have to worry about me, okay?" Elanor says with a scary smile. .   "Yes, mam, sorry for overstepping my bounds," Gregory replies while bowing with sweat dripping from his brow.   "Why are you so scared?" Elanor asks curiously. "I'm the hot and kind Elanor. There's nothing to fear!" She says, puffing herself up proudly. This move also makes her ample chest puff out as well.   "Stop showing off the goods and give me a hand," The exasperated bush again speaks in Elanor's mind. "Ha, fine," She says before looking at Gregory and continues, "well, I have something to do."   Upon the hill, John waits impatiently for the fairy to extricate herself from the villagers. Elanor doesn't take long to jump up the hill, arriving in front of the sexual harassing bush. "Look, you can't treat me like some call girl," she complains, making a pouty face.   "You think that will work on me? I'm a plant, girl! How much libido do you think I have?" John lectures the young cultivator, "also, do you see flowers? I'm clearly not even seeding."   "Fine whatever," Elanor replies to the bushes rant while plopping unceremoniously onto her bottom. "What should I call you? You're clearly more than a bush," she says, waving at the bush with disinterest.   "I'm John. There's no reason to keep a family name from a previous life," He replies. "Anyways, now's not the time for that. Did you bring those mystic herbs?" John hopefully asks. Elanor sighs while playing with her hair. "Yeah, I got your dying mystic herbs," she responds while sending them out of her interspatial ring.   Five wilting mystic herbs lie on the ground. John looks at them with his senses. Three are Limson herbs, used by most loose cultivators for minor injuries. They have a distinctive red color, with a big veiny leaf. The fourth is a Bleeding Pipe herb, usually used in non-lethal poison. The name stems from the effect it has when digested, mainly ejecting blood during urination. The herb has a bamboo shape to it.   "This is!" John exclaims with excitement as he looks at the final plant. It's a small needly looking plant. It borrows through stone and is mostly just roots with small spiky needles poking out. It's called Stone Porcupine herb. It's well known for being beneficial for earth-type cultivators. It collects the energy from the earth to create its spiked stem.   "Alright, plant these four around the village," John tells Elanor while pointing with his branches to the Limson herbs and Bleeding Pipe herb. "Sure, sure," the poor student shows her lazy nature by splaying her limbs out while laying on the ground lazily. "Also, go grab me a boulder for this little guy," John says, pointing at the last herb.   "Are you serious?" Elanor complains. "Yeah, I'd have this big oaf do it. But he needs time to recover," John says, sighing. "I was hurt too, you know. Shouldn't you give this beauty some time to recover?" She asks with a pouty face. "Hurt? If you put a little more effort, we wouldn't be in this predicament," John retorts, annoyed. "What, I got all burned up! You know how hard it is to heal burn scars?" She angrily replies while waving her arms, energetically as if she was going to fly away.   With drooping branches, John reasons with the young woman, "look, I'm in rough shape here. I don't have the energy to argue. Could you please help me out?" "Fine, fine. You're as bad as Catherine. Geez," Elanor says, rubbing her head, causing her luxurious hair to fly about wildly.   The female cultivator completes her work while dragging her feet as if she is carrying a huge burden. She plants the four herbs on the four corners of the village. Half a day later, after playing in the forest, Elanor finds a large boulder. She quickly stores it away and saunters back to the hill.   Back on the hill, Elanor releases the boulder. "Here's your dumb rock," she states with disdain in her voice. "Great! Now place the Stone Porcupine herb and put it into a crack in the boulder," John commands happily. Elanor gives a look as if she ate something nasty before doing as she's told. "Perfect! Thanks, a lot. We'd be in trouble without you," John praises.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNiODMyNWFlMzNhNTQ5MDk4NzA1YTk0MzExNDYxOGJk">  A month after, Elanor started training the village. Five men cross into the Unbroken Region's forest. These men are all part of the Avarice Souls sect. The Red River Empire has hired them to search for the survivors in this demonic land. So far, they've only found corpses. Marvin, a disgruntled mercenary, punches a tree. "This is a waste of time. How could these weaklings survive in here?" he complains.</p> <p class="cnM1OWE2NTM2NzIwMjRjZDJhZGI5NmU0MDIxYTY2NjU2">  Billy, their leader, glares at the man angrily. "It's easy money then, right? We get to relax for a few months. Then collect our spirit stones," he retorts. "He's just mad that theirs no women about. Don't you know he spends everything he get's on prostitutes," Wayne jeers while making suggestive movements.</p> <p class="cnM0MzBkYWMwN2RjZjRiZGQ5OWMzYTdiM2NhNzYyYTU5">  "Ha, you can't fault me. Shouldn't we get some women in our group?" Marvin asks.</p> <p class="cnMzYjg3MDFjMDRhZjQ3OGVhOTdkZWU2MGU4NjUwZmJi">  Billy slaps the back of the lecher's head and says, "How would you focus then? I guess we could replace you with a woman."</p> <p class="cnNmMWUxNDZkYjY3YTQ1ZTRiMTU4Nzk1MmRjNmE3M2Yw">  "Hey guys, I found something!" Steven yells over. He'd lost the coin flip and was forced to scout ahead.</p> <p class="cnM4MGJlZDdhM2QxOTQ0ZTI5OTQ2OWY5NjM0ODdkY2Q4">  "Yeah, what is it? More bones?" Marvin inquires sarcastically.</p> <p class="cnNkZjEyMGM0OWVjNzQ0NmM5YmQ5NmYzOGI0MDFiNjA3">  "Yeah, bones make me so excited," the scout says, rolling his eyes.</p> <p class="cnM4OTY4YjA2ZTgwMjQ5Y2E5OTM5M2ZjNzM3NGZjMTk1">  "Stop wasting time with that idiot. What did you find?" Billy asks commandingly.</p> <p class="cnNiZDAxODA2YmY5YjRhMjU4ZGU3ZjVhZDZkZmM3ZWVh">  Steven gives a hideous smirk as he informs the group, "There's a small village in a clearing not too far away."</p> <p class="cnMyOWVjZGVlYmQxNDRjM2ViM2ZmZWEwODE5MDk5OGY5">  "Just a village? Come on, take care of that yourself," Marvin complains. Jonathon, a stoic warrior who'd been meditating by a tree, opens his eyes.</p> <p class="cnM5NDI3OWQ2NGMzNDQyZTBiYWNiYmIzMjA2MDViNjc2">  "If there's a village here, there must be some strong protectors," he gruffly states as he climbs to his feet.</p> <p class="cnM0OWZlNDMzZWRkZTQ3NTI5NTIzNWJmYThkYjQ5MDYx">  "That's right! I don't have a death wish," Steven sneers.</p> <p class="cnMyMWNiNWYxZjAwNjRmOTNiMmVlYTFiNzc4MjYzM2Y2">  "Why are you even complaining? You were just whining about the lack of women," Wayne retorts.</p> <p class="cnNhZGZiZjAyNDE3MDQyMmZiY2UxYjU1MzY3NjEyMTBh">  "Less talking, more doing. Lead the way," Billy orders. Steven nods and gestures for them to follow. They quickly navigate between the large trees that fill the Broken Region.</p> <p class="cnM3NjBmYTg0NDNhZDQzNWFiYzNlNjlhYTBjYmQ5MGIx">  Soon the five reach the outskirts of the village. They quietly conceal their presence. Billy secretly scans the area. "oh? Interesting," he says.</p> <p class="cnMwZTQ3MWE4OWMyMjRkODc5MjI0Y2FmNGIwYWJhZmZm">  "Did you find something good?" Jonathon asks.</p> <p class="cnM5ODlkMDI3NGQ4MDQ0NjViNGIwNTAyNWVmNWRlNjBl">  "There seems to be someone at my level here," Billy replies.</p> <p class="cnNjNjRjZTg1MWI5ZjRhMmNiYWQ3OWMwNGE5OWJhYTI4">  Marvin spits and looks at their leader skeptically as he joins in on the conversation, "Why would someone that strong be here? Why would they be in this godforsaken place?"</p> <p class="cnMyNWEzMDI2ZTZkZTQ3ZDk4NmE4NjY3ZWVhNmNmZjZh">  Billy shakes his head and responds, "How would I know? Anyways we are in luck. The demonic beast that we were told about just broke through to the Contaminated stage. He seems to be recovering from the tribulation."</p> <p class="cnM1MjNlM2IyOTJlODRhZDRhNTg1OTU2NTVkNWQ5NWQz">  "If he's still hurt, this is a good chance for us," Steven speculates with a greedy smile.</p> <p class="cnM0NTc0MTdmZThmNDQ4N2Q5ZDdhNDA0MzdjYjQzM2Nk">  Wayne's eyes gleam as well. He greedily rubs his hands together and adds, "If we bring back the materials, we'll make double what we're being paid for this job!"</p> <p class="cnNmYjM3ODJmYjY0MDRjZTFhNDVmZTk3NDZhOTg0NGYx">  "Alright, lads. I'll keep the cultivator busy. You guys take out that demonic beast. When you're done, we'll finish the bastard together," Billy instructs. These five have been a team for many years. They quickly act on the plan, no longer bickering.</p> <p class="cnNmNzQ1NjNmNTE5ZTQyYzU4MzNjY2E4ZTBhY2RiN2I0">  "Come out and fight!" Billy yells as he steps out of the forest. Elanor quickly confronts the invaders outside the village. "What are you lot doing here?" she asks while flexing her muscles.</p> <p class="cnNmZGJhYzkxN2FjODQ4MjFiZDk4MzcwM2YyODMxZjdm">  "We're here to slaughter these folks. However, if a beauty like you wants to play with us, we might let you live," He states, licking his lips.</p> <p class="cnNjZmY0NjExYWM5MzRmMWM4YzYwOWMzYzVhYjgyMjk2">  Elanor laughs, "Sorry, babe, I don't think you can handle me."</p> <p class="cnM3ZWU2NjdjM2ZjMDQ0MDU5ODdhMTNmYTc5YTc1MjI5">  The four mercenaries rush out from behind Billy. "Hey, where do you think you're going!?" Elanor hollers while charging forth to block them. Billy cuts her off, throwing a punch at the fairy. Elanor counters with her own fist. The two fists collide with a boom. Billy is forced to take four steps back, while Elanor is only forced to stop her pursuit. The mercenary’s arm turns numb from the clash. "Shit," Billy curses.</p> <p class="cnNlNWU4Yzk1YmY3NDQ2NzM5Y2MyMjM1MDFlOWFkY2E4">  Billy pulls out a sword and shield. <em>'I just have to hold her here until they kill that demonic beast,' </em>he thinks. "Come on bitch," Billy goads. Elanor's enthusiastic, smiling face sends a shiver down his spine.</p> <p class="cnMzM2NjZDFjYzU5MjQ2OGM4NjQyZmMyYTVjZTNiYTA0">  "Sure!" Elanor agrees while producing a sword.</p> <p class="cnMzMjA2ODZlZjBlOTQ1Yzc4YjlhNjdkYjhhZTA1NzUz">  On the hill, the four mercenaries close in on Joe. Sensing danger, the demonic bull jumps to his hoofs. "Marroooooo!" he roars, his eyes red with rage.</p> <p class="cnNlMmQ2NmE3NzMwOTQ1MDBhMjAwNzc4ZGM0ZTRjZWE5">  "Alright, get ready!" Johnathon yells as he produces a halberd.</p> <p class="cnMxZWU5YTdjYTY3MDRiYTJiZTNjNmY1NTI1OTMxYjI0">  Johnathon swings his halberd towards the demonic bull's head. Joe counters the blow with his horn sending Johnathon flying. Marvin and Wayne charge at Joe's big belly with their spears. The combination attack forces Joe to unleash his demonic art. Two bullheads made up of demonic energy clash with the two spears stopping them in their tracks. From above, Steven unleashes a hail of arrows at Joe's back. Joe snorts, sending a gust of wind blasting up, knocking aside the attack.</p> <p class="cnMwODAxOTIxZTJiMjRmMTY4OGNjMmIxZTZmMmU1ZmI1">  The sudden commotion breaks John's focus. It would typically be impossible for these men to get so close without him noticing. He is just too focused on transferring his energy. It takes every ounce of his focus to regulate the flow. All the mystic herbs now look healthy and lush. The Stone Porcupine herb now covers the boulder with spikes. Immense amounts of earth energy solidify each spike.</p> <p class="cnMxODIxYmY5NTdlMzRlZTA4YmE0MWZjYWMzY2IxZGJk">  <em>'Damn it, neither of us have recovered yet,'</em> John curses as he watches Joe struggle. Attacks from all sides are continuously barraging the bull. John knows that the four men will breakthrough Joe's defenses sooner or later if things keep up.</p> <p class="cnNhMGQxNGMzM2RhNTQ1OWI4ZjFlZGZlNjA3NDU5NmQ2">  When John looks at the other fight, he is relieved. <em>'Things are going much better down there,'</em> he thinks. The man with the sword and shield is only capable of defending. <em>‘Yet with him turtling like that, it may take too long for her to aid Joe,’ </em>John worries.</p> <p class="cnM3NDlmNTA1ZWRkNjQ3M2JhOTQ4MGUzNzkzNjRlM2Nj">  "Come on! I thought you wanted to fight, not dance," Elanor derides the man. She notices that he is just trying to buy time.<em> 'If that is the case, I can just go all out!' </em>she decides. Billy can only curse his luck, <em>'This woman is a beast.' </em>Elanor unleashes her strength, slashing at the shield. Every strike knocks Billy off balance. Slowly she carves up the shield. Metal gashes accumulate, destroying the integrity of the shield. <em>'I'll be in trouble soon,' </em>Billy frets while sweating bullets.</p> <p class="cnMxNzQ4ODJkMDU2YTQ1Yjg5NzMyMmU3OThkMzFhZDE1">  Stevens glances at the battle down below, observing the difference in strength between the two combatants. "There's no more time," informs Steven.</p> <p class="cnM2ZjY3ZDMwOTgzOTRhY2M4OWNhYTZmN2VkOThlYzFl">  "Fine! Everyone use your suppressing chains," Marvin orders. On cue, they all pull out golden chains.</p> <p class="cnNmMTVmYWY3ZDUxNTQ3ZGFiODUxMGQyOTRmZTg3ODk0">  The four of them throw the chains at the demonic bull. "Dodge!" John yells in Joe's head, but it is too late. The four chains entangle Joe's limbs. Joe yanks with all his might, sending the four men stumbling. Still, slowly the mercenaries pull the chains tight. Joe's legs are stretched out like a star, unable to be used properly. The chains suppress Joe’s demonic energy.</p> <p class="cnMwNjIyN2EyZWFmOTQyODA4MGZkNjY3YWI1NjdmNjRk">  "Now, let's end this and help Billy," Wayne sneers. All four procure spears. They thrust forward, giving Joe no way to escape.</p> <p class="cnM0OWY0NmFmNTgxZTQyMjk5ZDc1ZGQ3ZGExMmEyZWE4">  "MOOOO!" Joe yells with unwillingness. He'd just reached the next stage.<em> ‘How can I die like this?’</em> Joe complains, But the truth can't be altered. The killing blows begin to penetrate his skin.</p> </div>

A month after, Elanor started training the village. Five men cross into the Unbroken Region's forest. These men are all part of the Avarice Souls sect. The Red River Empire has hired them to search for the survivors in this demonic land. So far, they've only found corpses. Marvin, a disgruntled mercenary, punches a tree. "This is a waste of time. How could these weaklings survive in here?" he complains.   Billy, their leader, glares at the man angrily. "It's easy money then, right? We get to relax for a few months. Then collect our spirit stones," he retorts. "He's just mad that theirs no women about. Don't you know he spends everything he get's on prostitutes," Wayne jeers while making suggestive movements.   "Ha, you can't fault me. Shouldn't we get some women in our group?" Marvin asks.   Billy slaps the back of the lecher's head and says, "How would you focus then? I guess we could replace you with a woman."   "Hey guys, I found something!" Steven yells over. He'd lost the coin flip and was forced to scout ahead.   "Yeah, what is it? More bones?" Marvin inquires sarcastically.   "Yeah, bones make me so excited," the scout says, rolling his eyes.   "Stop wasting time with that idiot. What did you find?" Billy asks commandingly.   Steven gives a hideous smirk as he informs the group, "There's a small village in a clearing not too far away."   "Just a village? Come on, take care of that yourself," Marvin complains. Jonathon, a stoic warrior who'd been meditating by a tree, opens his eyes.   "If there's a village here, there must be some strong protectors," he gruffly states as he climbs to his feet.   "That's right! I don't have a death wish," Steven sneers.   "Why are you even complaining? You were just whining about the lack of women," Wayne retorts.   "Less talking, more doing. Lead the way," Billy orders. Steven nods and gestures for them to follow. They quickly navigate between the large trees that fill the Broken Region.   Soon the five reach the outskirts of the village. They quietly conceal their presence. Billy secretly scans the area. "oh? Interesting," he says.   "Did you find something good?" Jonathon asks.   "There seems to be someone at my level here," Billy replies.   Marvin spits and looks at their leader skeptically as he joins in on the conversation, "Why would someone that strong be here? Why would they be in this godforsaken place?"   Billy shakes his head and responds, "How would I know? Anyways we are in luck. The demonic beast that we were told about just broke through to the Contaminated stage. He seems to be recovering from the tribulation."   "If he's still hurt, this is a good chance for us," Steven speculates with a greedy smile.   Wayne's eyes gleam as well. He greedily rubs his hands together and adds, "If we bring back the materials, we'll make double what we're being paid for this job!"   "Alright, lads. I'll keep the cultivator busy. You guys take out that demonic beast. When you're done, we'll finish the bastard together," Billy instructs. These five have been a team for many years. They quickly act on the plan, no longer bickering.   "Come out and fight!" Billy yells as he steps out of the forest. Elanor quickly confronts the invaders outside the village. "What are you lot doing here?" she asks while flexing her muscles.   "We're here to slaughter these folks. However, if a beauty like you wants to play with us, we might let you live," He states, licking his lips.   Elanor laughs, "Sorry, babe, I don't think you can handle me."   The four mercenaries rush out from behind Billy. "Hey, where do you think you're going!?" Elanor hollers while charging forth to block them. Billy cuts her off, throwing a punch at the fairy. Elanor counters with her own fist. The two fists collide with a boom. Billy is forced to take four steps back, while Elanor is only forced to stop her pursuit. The mercenary’s arm turns numb from the clash. "Shit," Billy curses.   Billy pulls out a sword and shield. *'I just have to hold her here until they kill that demonic beast,'* he thinks. "Come on bitch," Billy goads. Elanor's enthusiastic, smiling face sends a shiver down his spine.   "Sure!" Elanor agrees while producing a sword.   On the hill, the four mercenaries close in on Joe. Sensing danger, the demonic bull jumps to his hoofs. "Marroooooo!" he roars, his eyes red with rage.   "Alright, get ready!" Johnathon yells as he produces a halberd.   Johnathon swings his halberd towards the demonic bull's head. Joe counters the blow with his horn sending Johnathon flying. Marvin and Wayne charge at Joe's big belly with their spears. The combination attack forces Joe to unleash his demonic art. Two bullheads made up of demonic energy clash with the two spears stopping them in their tracks. From above, Steven unleashes a hail of arrows at Joe's back. Joe snorts, sending a gust of wind blasting up, knocking aside the attack.   The sudden commotion breaks John's focus. It would typically be impossible for these men to get so close without him noticing. He is just too focused on transferring his energy. It takes every ounce of his focus to regulate the flow. All the mystic herbs now look healthy and lush. The Stone Porcupine herb now covers the boulder with spikes. Immense amounts of earth energy solidify each spike.   *'Damn it, neither of us have recovered yet,'* John curses as he watches Joe struggle. Attacks from all sides are continuously barraging the bull. John knows that the four men will breakthrough Joe's defenses sooner or later if things keep up.   When John looks at the other fight, he is relieved. *'Things are going much better down there,'* he thinks. The man with the sword and shield is only capable of defending. *‘Yet with him turtling like that, it may take too long for her to aid Joe,’* John worries.   "Come on! I thought you wanted to fight, not dance," Elanor derides the man. She notices that he is just trying to buy time. *'If that is the case, I can just go all out!'* she decides. Billy can only curse his luck, *'This woman is a beast.'* Elanor unleashes her strength, slashing at the shield. Every strike knocks Billy off balance. Slowly she carves up the shield. Metal gashes accumulate, destroying the integrity of the shield. *'I'll be in trouble soon,'* Billy frets while sweating bullets.   Stevens glances at the battle down below, observing the difference in strength between the two combatants. "There's no more time," informs Steven.   "Fine! Everyone use your suppressing chains," Marvin orders. On cue, they all pull out golden chains.   The four of them throw the chains at the demonic bull. "Dodge!" John yells in Joe's head, but it is too late. The four chains entangle Joe's limbs. Joe yanks with all his might, sending the four men stumbling. Still, slowly the mercenaries pull the chains tight. Joe's legs are stretched out like a star, unable to be used properly. The chains suppress Joe’s demonic energy.   "Now, let's end this and help Billy," Wayne sneers. All four procure spears. They thrust forward, giving Joe no way to escape.   "MOOOO!" Joe yells with unwillingness. He'd just reached the next stage. *‘How can I die like this?’* Joe complains, But the truth can't be altered. The killing blows begin to penetrate his skin.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlYmJjYmM2MGMwODRlYTViZjhjYzU4YmQ1Y2Q5ODdi">  Elanor smiles brightly while shifting coyly. "I'm pretty great, right?" she says proudly.</p> <p class="cnNmMzgwNjNhMjljYTQ1NGViODc1YTM4MDVhNzM5NThj">   "Of course, you're also a very skilled fighter. Not many can stand against you!" John says, gently moving his branches hypnotically.</p> <p class="cnMzNzZkOGZiZDlkMTQyOTViYTAwZDdhYzM0YzY4M2Jj">  "Yeah, who would dare challenge, the great Elanor!" she responds, thrusting her fist into the air.</p> <p class="cnM3OTg2MzVlMDlmMTQwYzFhOWE4YWYxOGY5MTc2MDc1">  "Indeed, even if you had to teach an army, they'd all become grandmasters!" John says, raising his voice and lifts his limbs into the air.</p> <p class="cnM3MjNmN2IxMmI2ZjQ4YjFiNDNiZmRiNmI1MjcyMjEx">  "Teaching someone is as easy as flipping my hair," Elanor states, frantically nodding enjoying the praise.</p> <p class="cnNiMzg1YzMyMTlhODRjOTA4YTczYmVmMDgxNjBkMzBk">  "I knew it! So it won't be a problem to take the whole village under your powerful wings," John continues to glorify the fairy.</p> <p class="cnMyOTM4OWExMWUzYTRkNWNhYWZjMGQzOWRhYmVjYjUy">  "Even if it was a kingdom, I could take care of them," Elanor replies, blushing.</p> <p class="cnM3YTJlMDIzNTI3NjQzM2Y4ODFiYTMwY2ZjN2MwYjY1">  "I'm glad we came to an agreement then," John states happily.</p> <p class="cnMwODZmOTc1ZmNlMzRiZmRiMGMxYTBkMTdmZmQ5ZjBh">  "Wait, What? I didn't agree to anything!" Elanor exclaims.</p> <p class="cnM2YWZiNmM4NWRhZTQxODFiYjVjMDE0MWFmOWRlNDcw">  "It's so easy to teach them. Someone as kind and magnanimous as you wouldn't leave them to their plight, would you?" the bush asks.</p> <p class="cnMyMzNiZDc3NWI5ODQ4NzJiMTFiNWFhY2QyMzEyODNk">  The lazy young woman bites her lip as she contemplates an excuse. "Most of the villagers are way too old, though. Their potential is almost dried up. Is there really a point for them to cultivate?" she states contemplatively.</p> <p class="cnNhZmJiOGZhNzg2NDQwMWZhY2U3NGJjMjQyNmZhOWY5">  The bush waves away the thought with his branches. "You only say that because your future is so bright. Though at their highest level, they will only look like specks to you. That doesn't mean it doesn't have value for them. Even if they just reach the foundation stage, they will live longer and healthier lives," John explains.</p> <p class="cnMyN2UwYWY5ZjkyYTQ5ODZhZDYwYTdkYjQ3OGI0ZDU3">  "I guess since I'm training one... I could help the others a bit," Elanor replies as her head drops down as if she's been forced to take on an insurmountable task.</p> <p class="cnMxNzVkZDBmNGE1YjQ3Y2U4YWQzNTJmMzFmNzE5MDg3">  <em> 'Ha, all these chosen are the same. Just praise them a bit, and they'll do anything,' </em>John thinks while laughing internally.</p> <p class="cnM4MTIxZjk4YTRiNTQ5Y2RhYTM2ZmFhY2U4YmQ1MTUz">  As the decision is finalized, a small paper bird flies over. "oh, master's anger must have dissipated since she let off some steam!" Elanor exclaims happily after seeing the bird.</p> <p class="cnNhOGFkMzZjZmEwNTQ5MTdiN2YwZDhmMWJjN2Y0ODNk">  "I would have never thought of your master as being such a trendsetter," John praises.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2U0MTUyZjIxYTQ0NzRiMzUxNmMxMjgzOTA3YjVi">  The young woman gives the Bush a queer look. "Master is so old fashion even that never-dying bag of bones that is my great grandmother would laugh at her," the young woman says with a sour face.</p> <p class="cnM5N2EzMjQxNWNmNjRkOWE5MzgzOTZhMThhYWRmMDhj">  "Oh? It was really popular in my previous life. All the young disciples would discuss what kind of paper they wanted to use," John says with a knowledgeable air in his voice.</p> <p class="cnM0MmQ5NWE3NDVkMjRmODFiYzI2MGE0ZWI0ZDMxNDRk">  "Pfft, when did you live anyways? What was the date?" Elanor asks curiously.</p> <p class="cnM3MTM4ZDYyMWY4NTQ4ZDNiODkyN2ZiNjQ2NmNhYTdi">  "Hmm, it should have been 1359 of the Ginko era," the bush says reflectively.</p> <p class="cnM4NmY3MDRkM2EyNjQwZmU4MDQ3OTVlZjllMTIzZDdh">  "What, that's like 100,000 years ago!" Elanor declares with surprise.</p> <p class="cnNhZTJjZjFmYmY5YTQyOTliNjYwZjIxMWQyNzIwZDYz">  "It's for the best to reincarnate in a different era. Who wants to bring the baggage from the previous life into a new one?" John sagely states.</p> <p class="cnM3NjJjOTFmMjdjMDQzODVhY2I4YTk4NzlkMTUzMTdh">  "Anyways, there have been so many advancements in projection techniques that it's just silly to use paper birds to send messages," Elanor says as she snatches the bird out of the air. She furrows her brow as she begins to read Catherine's letter, "I forgot to tell you. Performance arts cultivation techniques are the best for those with diviner's eyes. Well, there are special cultivation techniques for the eyes. Your mother would be able to teach them. But I know you wouldn't read books like that. So as an elegant girl yourself, you should be proficient in dancing and singing. So it shouldn't be a problem." Elanor frowns at the letter. "What a pain," she grumbles.</p> <p class="cnM3MjI1NWEzMWFlNDQ2ZTk4YTJmYjcwMWZlZjA1Zjc5">  "It sounds fun. The girls may enjoy that better anyways. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Thanks for the help," John says as he waves bye with a branch.</p> <p class="cnM0MzJkNjkwNGViZTQwZjc5NmRkNzc3ZGUzYWQ2ZDZi">  As Elanor takes her leave, John returns to focusing on his out-of-control energy. In the past, John increased the growth of plants by spreading energy in the ground to stimulate them. However, the energy he'd used then was refined within him. Now he will need these mystic herbs to take the pure earth energy. 'Can they handle it? If I didn't have cognitive thought, this energy would have long torn me apart,' John contemplates.</p> <p class="cnM2NjkxZmVmM2M4ZDRjNWJiMjgzYzRiMGVkZjJjNjIx">  <em>'The only way to know. Is to give it a try,' </em>John decides. So he slowly pushes the earth energy out of himself, channeling it to one of the Limson herbs. They have extras of these, so it won't be a huge loss if one dies. Initially, John only lets a trickle of earth energy into the other plant. This bit of energy seems to stabilize the wilting plant giving it a solid base. However, when he begins to increase energy flow, the plant becomes stiff, looking more like a decorative plant made out of cloth.</p> <p class="cnMxNGQ5MWNkZWRiZjQ1Y2I4ZGY3NGY1Y2MwMDJiNzU1">  After seeing this, John stops the flow of energy immediately, causing him to shudder. The earth energy causes a backlash as it flows back into him.<em> 'urgh, it seems they can't take much. If that's the case, my only hope is this guy,'</em> he thinks while looking at the Stone Porcupine herb. It is just a small spike with roots that look dried up. The Stone Porcupine herb doesn't handle being transmigrated well. The plant is hard to extract intact since its roots and stem burrow through solid rock.</p> <p class="cnMyNjQ1YzM4ZmZhYTQxMTdiODc3ZDkyMmJhN2Y2Njhh">  <em>'Will the earth energy bring it back to life? or will its broken body shatter from the force?'</em> John wonders. He once again forces the rampaging earth energy out. This time he is sending it towards the Stone Porcupine herb on the boulder.</p> <p class="cnM5NTdlZmQzM2NiYjRmY2NiYjFiNzkxMjFjMGQ3ZTdh">  As the earth energy seeps into the Stone Porcupine herb, the single spike slightly glows as it absorbs the pure earth energy. Slowly the plant is revitalized. The Stone Porcupine grows rhizomes stems that borrow through stones. It acts like many types of grass, except instead of dirt, it lives in rocks, and instead of soft leaves, it has sharp spikes. As the plant regains strength, it begins the slow drilling process into the boulder it'd been placed on.</p> <p class="cnNmNzQyOTVmYTlkYjQ3MDc5YzAzM2Y3MGU2ZjNlMmVj">  John can feel the plant reaching its limit, so he begins to pull back. Slowing down the surge of earth energy is an arduous task. It is already quite strenuous to create a connection that can transfer energy.<em> 'I guess I need to experiment on the right amount to send. It doesn't do me much good if I can't constantly siphon off the earth energy,'</em> John thinks while concentrating.</p> <p class="cnMxYjM3MTRiODBjNjRhOTQ5N2M3MjEwZjBjYTRlZmE0">  He begins connecting to all five mystic herbs. Like rivers and streams originating from a spring, energy slowly enters all five plants. He starts with a small connection sending only a trickle to each plant. The bush gradually changes the amount given to each plant. Once he finds the perfect output, he plans to stabilize the amount to that level.<em> 'Every little bit helps,'</em> John reasons. While sending energy, he also grows more leaves with all his might.</p> </div>

Elanor smiles brightly while shifting coyly. "I'm pretty great, right?" she says proudly.    "Of course, you're also a very skilled fighter. Not many can stand against you!" John says, gently moving his branches hypnotically.   "Yeah, who would dare challenge, the great Elanor!" she responds, thrusting her fist into the air.   "Indeed, even if you had to teach an army, they'd all become grandmasters!" John says, raising his voice and lifts his limbs into the air.   "Teaching someone is as easy as flipping my hair," Elanor states, frantically nodding enjoying the praise.   "I knew it! So it won't be a problem to take the whole village under your powerful wings," John continues to glorify the fairy.   "Even if it was a kingdom, I could take care of them," Elanor replies, blushing.   "I'm glad we came to an agreement then," John states happily.   "Wait, What? I didn't agree to anything!" Elanor exclaims.   "It's so easy to teach them. Someone as kind and magnanimous as you wouldn't leave them to their plight, would you?" the bush asks.   The lazy young woman bites her lip as she contemplates an excuse. "Most of the villagers are way too old, though. Their potential is almost dried up. Is there really a point for them to cultivate?" she states contemplatively.   The bush waves away the thought with his branches. "You only say that because your future is so bright. Though at their highest level, they will only look like specks to you. That doesn't mean it doesn't have value for them. Even if they just reach the foundation stage, they will live longer and healthier lives," John explains.   "I guess since I'm training one... I could help the others a bit," Elanor replies as her head drops down as if she's been forced to take on an insurmountable task.    *'Ha, all these chosen are the same. Just praise them a bit, and they'll do anything,'* John thinks while laughing internally.   As the decision is finalized, a small paper bird flies over. "oh, master's anger must have dissipated since she let off some steam!" Elanor exclaims happily after seeing the bird.   "I would have never thought of your master as being such a trendsetter," John praises.   The young woman gives the Bush a queer look. "Master is so old fashion even that never-dying bag of bones that is my great grandmother would laugh at her," the young woman says with a sour face.   "Oh? It was really popular in my previous life. All the young disciples would discuss what kind of paper they wanted to use," John says with a knowledgeable air in his voice.   "Pfft, when did you live anyways? What was the date?" Elanor asks curiously.   "Hmm, it should have been 1359 of the Ginko era," the bush says reflectively.   "What, that's like 100,000 years ago!" Elanor declares with surprise.   "It's for the best to reincarnate in a different era. Who wants to bring the baggage from the previous life into a new one?" John sagely states.   "Anyways, there have been so many advancements in projection techniques that it's just silly to use paper birds to send messages," Elanor says as she snatches the bird out of the air. She furrows her brow as she begins to read Catherine's letter, "I forgot to tell you. Performance arts cultivation techniques are the best for those with diviner's eyes. Well, there are special cultivation techniques for the eyes. Your mother would be able to teach them. But I know you wouldn't read books like that. So as an elegant girl yourself, you should be proficient in dancing and singing. So it shouldn't be a problem." Elanor frowns at the letter. "What a pain," she grumbles.   "It sounds fun. The girls may enjoy that better anyways. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Thanks for the help," John says as he waves bye with a branch.   As Elanor takes her leave, John returns to focusing on his out-of-control energy. In the past, John increased the growth of plants by spreading energy in the ground to stimulate them. However, the energy he'd used then was refined within him. Now he will need these mystic herbs to take the pure earth energy. 'Can they handle it? If I didn't have cognitive thought, this energy would have long torn me apart,' John contemplates.   *'The only way to know. Is to give it a try,'* John decides. So he slowly pushes the earth energy out of himself, channeling it to one of the Limson herbs. They have extras of these, so it won't be a huge loss if one dies. Initially, John only lets a trickle of earth energy into the other plant. This bit of energy seems to stabilize the wilting plant giving it a solid base. However, when he begins to increase energy flow, the plant becomes stiff, looking more like a decorative plant made out of cloth.   After seeing this, John stops the flow of energy immediately, causing him to shudder. The earth energy causes a backlash as it flows back into him. *'urgh, it seems they can't take much. If that's the case, my only hope is this guy,'* he thinks while looking at the Stone Porcupine herb. It is just a small spike with roots that look dried up. The Stone Porcupine herb doesn't handle being transmigrated well. The plant is hard to extract intact since its roots and stem burrow through solid rock.   *'Will the earth energy bring it back to life? or will its broken body shatter from the force?'* John wonders. He once again forces the rampaging earth energy out. This time he is sending it towards the Stone Porcupine herb on the boulder.   As the earth energy seeps into the Stone Porcupine herb, the single spike slightly glows as it absorbs the pure earth energy. Slowly the plant is revitalized. The Stone Porcupine grows rhizomes stems that borrow through stones. It acts like many types of grass, except instead of dirt, it lives in rocks, and instead of soft leaves, it has sharp spikes. As the plant regains strength, it begins the slow drilling process into the boulder it'd been placed on.   John can feel the plant reaching its limit, so he begins to pull back. Slowing down the surge of earth energy is an arduous task. It is already quite strenuous to create a connection that can transfer energy. *'I guess I need to experiment on the right amount to send. It doesn't do me much good if I can't constantly siphon off the earth energy,'* John thinks while concentrating.   He begins connecting to all five mystic herbs. Like rivers and streams originating from a spring, energy slowly enters all five plants. He starts with a small connection sending only a trickle to each plant. The bush gradually changes the amount given to each plant. Once he finds the perfect output, he plans to stabilize the amount to that level. *'Every little bit helps,'* John reasons. While sending energy, he also grows more leaves with all his might.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMzMjJmZGUxMTI0YTRkN2U4NzFiMDJjMGVhYjU3ZDg2">  In Anna's shack, the beleaguered woman stirs. "Mom!" Franklin yells as his mother's eyes slowly open. Arron, who is fetching a fresh wet rag, stops what he's doing to runs over. "You're awake," he says happily.</p> <p class="cnNlZDA0YmFhMmE4ZjQyNjZhMzRkMGUxODcxMWU3NDBj">  "Are you feeling better, mom?" Franklin asks as he clutches the hem of his mother's dress tightly. Anna wraps her arms around her son, giving him a big hug. "Your arm is healed!" Arron exclaims while grabbing her once broken arm.</p> <p class="cnM4ODIxNTk5NGU5NjQ4NTY4OGYyNWFiYjNkZTFhYzIz">  "So it seems," Anna replies with a gentle smile. "Thanks for looking after us. It seems like we are always causing you trouble," Anna graciously thanks the reliable man. "It's not a problem at all," Arron responds with embarrassment while rubbing his head.</p> <p class="cnM4ZjgzY2M5YTI0NzQ3ZTNiMGZkM2VmYTA4YzU4ZTUy">  Franklin looks up at his mother with a strange expression. "You look a bit different?" he asks inquisitively, tilting his head in confusion. "Oh, I feel a bit different," Anna says in shock. She slowly reaches towards her face. They don't have any mirrors, so she can't be sure. It does feel a bit unusual, though. Arron begins to examine the mother. Indeed it feels like things have tightened up. It isn't that her facial features have changed. It is more like the years have disappeared.</p> <p class="cnMzYzdhNDg2NGQwMjQxOWVhMDJjOGY3MWM1ZGY0MGEz">  "Here, let me get up," Anna speaks while patting her son's shoulder. "Are you sure? You've just gone through an ordeal," Arron asks with a face full of worry. "It's fine. I don't feel any pain at all," She replies as she swings her legs off the bed. She gingerly stands up just in case. She looks at her body with a perplexed face. It feels like her anatomy has changed.</p> <p class="cnM4NGUzYjA3OGMyMDQ0YjdiMjUyYmMzNWVhZmI0NTc5">  "Is something wrong?" Arron asks, grabbing her arm just in case she loses her balance. Anna shakes her head and explains, "it's hard to explain, but it's as if my muscles have been rearranged."</p> <p class="cnNlY2ZmMjZlODkyMzQwYjdiODVhMWIyNzY3YWJiOTFi">  While everyone is contemplating this strange turn of events, the door slams open. "You're up! Good for you," Elanor says from the doorway. "Get out here. It's time to start your training!" The young female cultivator says while pointing over her shoulder to the outside with her thumb.</p> <p class="cnNmZWQ2OTI4OWY0YTQzMWFiNTI2OWIxYWU3YjkyOTJh">  "Training?" Anna asks the flamboyant cultivator curiously. "That's right, I've been roped into training everyone. So get your butts out here!" Elanor says while rubbing her head roughly, sending her glittering golden hair flying.</p> <p class="cnM5MDY3OTg3YmJiZTQzYzFhYmU4ZDA3Njg5ODlkMjcy">  "Let's go!" Franklin says with stars in his eyes. He grabs his mom's hand and pulls her towards the door. "Franklin, your mom, just recovered. Don't be too rough," Arron warns the impatient boy. "I feel fine, don't worry," Anna replies with a smile. "Hurry up, you don't want to miss out," she continues waving for the farmhand to join them.</p> <p class="cnM3MTIyNTIwZTIxNjRkOTFhZGUzNWFlNzFiYzhiNDA4">  As they walk out, Elanor glances at the mother with a smile. "So that's what my master did. Lucky you," she says, giggling. "What do you mean?" Anna asks cautiously. She stops next to Elanor, pulling her son to a halt. "It's nothing bad," Elanor answers while waving her hand coyly. "It's just a technique from my clan. It reshapes a woman's body completely. I just thought about how she must have learned the technique when she was with my mother, and it made me laugh," she reveals with a wink and nudge.</p> <p class="cnNkYzI5YTg3MDEyYzQ4ZGE5ZjFjZjBkN2Y3YmVkYzc2">  "Oh, what clan are you a part of?" Anna asks while feeling around her body. It did feel like every part of her has been regenerated and given a lift. It's like her body has returned to her early 20s again.</p> <p class="cnM4MzM1MTFhYWIxNjQwNTQ5YTg3ZTUxYzAzYmMxNzlj">  "Normally, I wouldn't tell anyone. Too much trouble," Elanor says, waving her hand in front of her face as if something smells. "But... It's not like you guys would know anyways. So it's fine, I guess," she continues. Elanor Then moves over and grabs Anna by the shoulder, pulling her in close. Anna can't help but feel content with her shoulder being encompassed by this fairy's bosom. Arron looks on with mixed feelings. He doesn't know who he should be jealous of, Anna for being in this unattainable beauty embrace or Elanor for walking hand in hand with Anna.</p> <p class="cnNhNjc5MjkzNmRiMDQyNTM5MjllYjhmNzgzMjlmNGIy">  Elanor pulls the mother along as she whispers in her ear, "I won't tell you my family name. That will only cause you trouble." Anna nods slowly, a bit worried that she asked something she shouldn't have. Seeing Anna's anxious face Elanor headbutts the mother's forehead. "Ouch," Anna groans as she tries to back away from Elanor only to find she can't escape the grip of the beauty's embrace. "You'll get wrinkles if you worry about every little thing," Elanor says with a smirk.</p> <p class="cnMwYmNiNjZhMzhlNzQ5NjA5Nzk1NDRhNzQ5ZDI0MmE3">  "Alright, my clan is made up of only women. So it's special. It has all kinds of techniques just for women," Elanor says secretly. "What? how can that be!?" Anna yelps in surprise. Laughing, the fairy replies, "it's true. Apparently, a very long time ago, our founder was a beautiful and powerful cultivator." Elanor covers her mouth while giggling, "she liked women, you see," she then shakes her head with delight as she continues, "not just a little, you know. A lot. So much that by the time she left us to ascend to godhood, the number of women in her harem outnumbered her old clan. So she formed an offshoot clan."</p> <p class="cnMxYjU5YWM5MTZhZjRjYzE4ZWE0OWNlNDI1NTkzZGJk">  Anna doesn't know where to begin questioning this fantastic story, ‘ascending to godhood? Offshoot clan?.’ She shakes her head to focus. "Truly she ascended to godhood? Is that even possible?" She inquires with a hushed voice. Elanor is having too much fun, so she no longer bothers with secrecy. She responds to the question while laughing loudly, "I don't know for sure. That's what the nerds say, though. I don't want to waste time in the library. I heard she went and ascended with her good friend from the Emerald family." Elanor nods her head enthusiastically. She is now so close to Anna that they look like they are fusing together. Elanor is just having too much fun chatting.</p> <p class="cnNiNzIxZGJlNmExNjRlMjNiZTk0ZjAyM2UyMmFlYTg1">  Anna can't hide her shock from hearing her family name in the story. Thankfully Elanor didn't seem to notice as she continues gossiping, "speaking of nerds. Kendra, my fellow disciple, got so mad when I told her I didn't care about the ancient library of my clan!" Elanor shakes Anna joyously as she rambles on, "She's still angry about it even now. What a petty woman, right?" "Well, I haven't met her... So," Anna replies vaguely. Elanor Shakes her head while poking the mother's stomach playfully. "Don't be so serious," she says, chuckling.</p> <p class="cnNmMzdmMDk3OWQyMDRiNTA5ODhjMzcyYmFmZGUxNmRh">  "How can a clan of only women even survive?" Anna asks curiously. "Oh, that's easy," Elanor says with disinterest. "There are plenty of cultivators who want dual cultivation partners. Men just want to focus on cultivating. So they tend to leave women and children behind. Since neither side wants any strings attached, it's easy to find partners. Of course, no one is forced to stay in the clan. You can marry into a different clan if you want. The boys, once they grow up, can choose to join the old clan or go off on their own," Elanor rattles off the speech in a bland voice. She's clearly been asked this question too many times.</p> <p class="cnM0OGZkOGZmNTcyZDRiODc5NWRlNTY4MjE3ZWI0Mjk4">  "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask something I shouldn't," Anna says with an apologetic smile. Sighing, Elanor gives the woman one last squeeze before releasing her. "Don't worry about it. Everyone asks," She responds with a smile. They'd long reached the group of villagers. It is quite a spectacle for them to see Elanor clinging to the mother. "It's easy to join my clan if you're a woman, though," Elanor teases while laughing. She then winks at the mother.</p> </div>

In Anna's shack, the beleaguered woman stirs. "Mom!" Franklin yells as his mother's eyes slowly open. Arron, who is fetching a fresh wet rag, stops what he's doing to runs over. "You're awake," he says happily.   "Are you feeling better, mom?" Franklin asks as he clutches the hem of his mother's dress tightly. Anna wraps her arms around her son, giving him a big hug. "Your arm is healed!" Arron exclaims while grabbing her once broken arm.   "So it seems," Anna replies with a gentle smile. "Thanks for looking after us. It seems like we are always causing you trouble," Anna graciously thanks the reliable man. "It's not a problem at all," Arron responds with embarrassment while rubbing his head.   Franklin looks up at his mother with a strange expression. "You look a bit different?" he asks inquisitively, tilting his head in confusion. "Oh, I feel a bit different," Anna says in shock. She slowly reaches towards her face. They don't have any mirrors, so she can't be sure. It does feel a bit unusual, though. Arron begins to examine the mother. Indeed it feels like things have tightened up. It isn't that her facial features have changed. It is more like the years have disappeared.   "Here, let me get up," Anna speaks while patting her son's shoulder. "Are you sure? You've just gone through an ordeal," Arron asks with a face full of worry. "It's fine. I don't feel any pain at all," She replies as she swings her legs off the bed. She gingerly stands up just in case. She looks at her body with a perplexed face. It feels like her anatomy has changed.   "Is something wrong?" Arron asks, grabbing her arm just in case she loses her balance. Anna shakes her head and explains, "it's hard to explain, but it's as if my muscles have been rearranged."   While everyone is contemplating this strange turn of events, the door slams open. "You're up! Good for you," Elanor says from the doorway. "Get out here. It's time to start your training!" The young female cultivator says while pointing over her shoulder to the outside with her thumb.   "Training?" Anna asks the flamboyant cultivator curiously. "That's right, I've been roped into training everyone. So get your butts out here!" Elanor says while rubbing her head roughly, sending her glittering golden hair flying.   "Let's go!" Franklin says with stars in his eyes. He grabs his mom's hand and pulls her towards the door. "Franklin, your mom, just recovered. Don't be too rough," Arron warns the impatient boy. "I feel fine, don't worry," Anna replies with a smile. "Hurry up, you don't want to miss out," she continues waving for the farmhand to join them.   As they walk out, Elanor glances at the mother with a smile. "So that's what my master did. Lucky you," she says, giggling. "What do you mean?" Anna asks cautiously. She stops next to Elanor, pulling her son to a halt. "It's nothing bad," Elanor answers while waving her hand coyly. "It's just a technique from my clan. It reshapes a woman's body completely. I just thought about how she must have learned the technique when she was with my mother, and it made me laugh," she reveals with a wink and nudge.   "Oh, what clan are you a part of?" Anna asks while feeling around her body. It did feel like every part of her has been regenerated and given a lift. It's like her body has returned to her early 20s again.   "Normally, I wouldn't tell anyone. Too much trouble," Elanor says, waving her hand in front of her face as if something smells. "But... It's not like you guys would know anyways. So it's fine, I guess," she continues. Elanor Then moves over and grabs Anna by the shoulder, pulling her in close. Anna can't help but feel content with her shoulder being encompassed by this fairy's bosom. Arron looks on with mixed feelings. He doesn't know who he should be jealous of, Anna for being in this unattainable beauty embrace or Elanor for walking hand in hand with Anna.   Elanor pulls the mother along as she whispers in her ear, "I won't tell you my family name. That will only cause you trouble." Anna nods slowly, a bit worried that she asked something she shouldn't have. Seeing Anna's anxious face Elanor headbutts the mother's forehead. "Ouch," Anna groans as she tries to back away from Elanor only to find she can't escape the grip of the beauty's embrace. "You'll get wrinkles if you worry about every little thing," Elanor says with a smirk.   "Alright, my clan is made up of only women. So it's special. It has all kinds of techniques just for women," Elanor says secretly. "What? how can that be!?" Anna yelps in surprise. Laughing, the fairy replies, "it's true. Apparently, a very long time ago, our founder was a beautiful and powerful cultivator." Elanor covers her mouth while giggling, "she liked women, you see," she then shakes her head with delight as she continues, "not just a little, you know. A lot. So much that by the time she left us to ascend to godhood, the number of women in her harem outnumbered her old clan. So she formed an offshoot clan."   Anna doesn't know where to begin questioning this fantastic story, ‘ascending to godhood? Offshoot clan?.’ She shakes her head to focus. "Truly she ascended to godhood? Is that even possible?" She inquires with a hushed voice. Elanor is having too much fun, so she no longer bothers with secrecy. She responds to the question while laughing loudly, "I don't know for sure. That's what the nerds say, though. I don't want to waste time in the library. I heard she went and ascended with her good friend from the Emerald family." Elanor nods her head enthusiastically. She is now so close to Anna that they look like they are fusing together. Elanor is just having too much fun chatting.   Anna can't hide her shock from hearing her family name in the story. Thankfully Elanor didn't seem to notice as she continues gossiping, "speaking of nerds. Kendra, my fellow disciple, got so mad when I told her I didn't care about the ancient library of my clan!" Elanor shakes Anna joyously as she rambles on, "She's still angry about it even now. What a petty woman, right?" "Well, I haven't met her... So," Anna replies vaguely. Elanor Shakes her head while poking the mother's stomach playfully. "Don't be so serious," she says, chuckling.   "How can a clan of only women even survive?" Anna asks curiously. "Oh, that's easy," Elanor says with disinterest. "There are plenty of cultivators who want dual cultivation partners. Men just want to focus on cultivating. So they tend to leave women and children behind. Since neither side wants any strings attached, it's easy to find partners. Of course, no one is forced to stay in the clan. You can marry into a different clan if you want. The boys, once they grow up, can choose to join the old clan or go off on their own," Elanor rattles off the speech in a bland voice. She's clearly been asked this question too many times.   "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask something I shouldn't," Anna says with an apologetic smile. Sighing, Elanor gives the woman one last squeeze before releasing her. "Don't worry about it. Everyone asks," She responds with a smile. They'd long reached the group of villagers. It is quite a spectacle for them to see Elanor clinging to the mother. "It's easy to join my clan if you're a woman, though," Elanor teases while laughing. She then winks at the mother.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnM4Njg1MDU4M2I2NjRkYThiYTFiNzgxYTdkYzA3OTJm"><strong>Greetings, test subjects!</strong></p> <p class="cnMzMGEzZjE2MWUyMzRhZDNiODZlODBjZDFhY2FmZTlk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2ZTYzMGI1ZDQ3YjRmZDY5MjE4MWNhZDM3Nzg0Mzhk">Welcome to the water portion of the dungeon! Don’t worry, you are taking part in testing a brand new Drow enchantment. No potions of waterbreathing required! The enchantment should let you breath and communicate down here as if you are above water. You should be able to drink potions with no influx of seawater too, so don’t worry. If you would be so kind as to report any issues with the enchanter’s guild after your dungeon dive, it would be appreciated!</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMzMTM2NTgyN2EyNzRhZjViZDkyNDc5MGU3ZDgzZGQ2">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnMyODUyYWFmODBjYTQzNzM4YWYzYThmMDIzMmZiZTE5"><strong>Floor six: The Sargasso Sea</strong></p> <p class="cnNhYzAyOTVhZDBmYjRjMzY5OWFlOTBiZWFjNjNkZGUz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1ZGU3YzU2YzM5MDQ4NGNiMWYxYzYyNmUyZDcwY2Ix">This area of the sea is surrounded by powerful currents, trapping the exceptionally large plant life. Natives have formed large roads using the seaweed found only in this area. What treasures will you find hiding within this massive kelp forest?</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNmMGM5OTViNzE1MDRkZWNiMGJkNzU1MmU5NjM4Yzli">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2ZmEzOWRiYTRkODQ2MDI5NjRkMzkyNDJhNWYzZjlm">Ignoring the popup for a moment, I took a look at the beautiful vista. Strands of yellow, green and brown kelp floated in gentle currents of incredibly clear water. There was another magic wall preventing us from moving forward, but I recognized it now as a safe zone barrier. I looked up, and could barely make out a point of light that must be the sun. No way we were heading up. The platform we were on was an incredibly complex weave of plant leaves and stalks, strong enough to support all of us with ease. To my surprise, it was analyzable.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnMzYThhY2ZkMDc3ZDQ2MzBhNDQyYjg5YWY5MmQ5MzFh"><strong>Kelp highway</strong></p> <p class="cnM3Y2M5MWIxYjEwYTRmNDJhYWQyNTU5MzcyYWI4Y2E2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0MmY0NDZmYTk0MTRiMTRhMTIzZjAxYzcxMDNkNjBj">Formed by the intertwining of countless kelp strands, this highway is incredibly durable. Thirty feet wide and fifty feet long, each section has massive durability. It’s light weight and flexibility means there will be some movement in strong currents, and it is highly vulnerable to poisons.</p> <p class="cnM3ZjI3YjVmMGRlYzRlMDNiYzkyZDM0ODFjMTA4ODNh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlYzA1YWUwZGY2NjQzOWE5MzRhNGRiMTRmNGEwMWU3">Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNjYzQ5YTg1OTZhOTQ5ODBiMzMwOWRhZDBmM2Q3NmEx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMTU1YjBmNzI0ZjQ0MDQ4NmZkZDU4ZDU3MDE2Mjdi">“Craaaaaap!” I groaned, finally reading the initial popup. Test subjects? I hate this dungeon. With a passion. “Everyone gather round, we have some testing to do. Go ahead and sound off with your names.” I waited, mentally going through the raid. When everyone stopped, the list felt short. “Are we missing people already?”</p> <p class="cnNkODhiYTM5OGM0YTQ3NDI5MDQ1NTAzODY0OTdhMmEz">“What do you mean?” Shocker asked. “That was everyone, wasn’t it?”</p> <p class="cnM5MWE4M2RjZDUyMDQwZGM4NGNmMzAxZDZmYTllMjRh">“I don’t think so. Let’s go through it again. Rangers first.”</p> <p class="cnM1NzVmNjUwYzI4NjQ4ZjVhZGM4YWJlODc0OTdlM2Y0">“King.”</p> <p class="cnMwMTcwOTg0MGE2OTRlNzg4M2U5ZTE1ZDgyNWFiYjlm">“Shocker.”</p> <p class="cnM5NTI0ZTEzYmU2MTQ0MTJhMGUxNTUzMmQ0ODE2NjY5">“DeathFromAbove.”</p> <p class="cnM5N2NiNDA2YWIxMDQxNjc4OTk3NDY3MmU4MDI1MGNh">“Alright, healers next.”</p> <p class="cnMwZDNhYjA4MWRmODQxMjBiYTNiODZjNDQ3MjQ0YjNk">“Jess.”</p> <p class="cnM4OTQ5OWFjMjA4MjQ2MDlhYmZlNjhkYTQzNDU0YTdk">“Bandaid.”</p> <p class="cnNlMmRkYjljNTE2ZjQ1MzU4MzEwMWNmYjA0NThkZDll">I waited for a few seconds, then looked around. “Diver, HealYaButts, where are you two?” I called out, only to have Citadel bring them forward. “What’s going on with you two?”</p> <p class="cnM3ZjFlZWI0MDhjNDQ3NzE4NjI4NzBkMGQ5YWVjZWU4">“Blurble?”</p> <p class="cnMyMWM3ZmYzMzZjYjQxMTM4MDZkNjhlZTlmYTI4MDg1">“Glurbleblurble?”</p> <p class="cnM0MTQ0ZDJjNjlkMzQzOGRiOGI4ZTU2YWFlZmYyOTNl">“Huh? Quit talking gibberish!” I growled out, getting annoyed.</p> <p class="cnMyNDRkODEyYzdkMTQyN2Y4ZTA4NjczZDdmNTgwNTRl">“They aren’t.” Citadel said. “They asked what you wanted with them.”</p> <p class="cnM1NzI4MTEwM2UzZDQ4ZTQ4N2VjYWM5ZTVjNDk5NTJj">“Greaaattt. Sounds like we found our first side effect. They can’t hear me, and I can’t hear them. Everyone gather round. Citadel is going to say something, and if you hear it come out as gibberish I want you to raise your hand.” Pointing at Citadel, I had him go.</p> <p class="cnM0NDkxMmVhN2FiNjQzODZhYzMzMjNmMGU0MDZmY2Rh">“I hate being underwater.” GotYerBack and Blackthumb raised their hands.</p> <p class="cnNlZmEyNmU1YWQxOTQ3NjE5OWNmM2M4OTQ3MGEzZDlh">“Can you two say something?”</p> <p class="cnMxNDhlZDllYzc1MDRkMDZhZjRiMWFmZmZkMmNhMmMx">“I’m confused.” Back said.</p> <p class="cnNlNDlmM2M2ZTY2NTQyZGE4ZmVkYmM5YjJhYWNkOTY1">“Can I get some of these plant trimmings?”</p> <p class="cnMzYzU2MjgzZjg2MDRhMTZhYTdhYzNkNzJjYzdhMWRk">I looked at Citadel, and he shrugged. “I heard bubbles and gurgles.”</p> <p class="cnNiMWExODg4MWYyMTQ3NjZhZTg2ZGEwYTQxNTA2MmQ3">“Last one everyone, Lucy. Say something.”</p> <p class="cnMyN2M3YzRiM2ZkZTQ1NjdiNGM2NDMxMDQwY2I0NGRh">“The curse of a thousand armpit hairs to whoever designed this dungeon.” That got a chuckle out of everyone except King and Raider Dave.</p> <p class="cnM5YzEzMTZkYmQzNDQzMTliYzU1ODlkZmMwZmNlYjM3">“What did she say?” Dave asked.</p> <p class="cnMwYzg0ZDJmZDdlMTQ3MGY4NWM1NjIyNDViOWY4NWIy">“Lucy, do you hear Dave as bubbles?”</p> <p class="cnM2YmRlMmMzZDY2MzRmYTRiYWI5ZjVjYzJkNWJhMTk0">“Yeah.”</p> <p class="cnM4MzNmMzYyMThiMzQwMjNhOWQ0MDkwYmVlOTVkZWU3">“Crap. Ok, Citadel you get to repeat what I say for Diver and Heal. It looks like the first effect is miscommunication. Every member of the raid has two people who can’t hear them. Those two people also can’t be heard by the first person. So we will have to have a new chain. Citadel will repeat any orders from me for Heal and Diver. Jess, you will repeat any orders from Lucy for Dave and King. I want everyone to go around and figure out who their communications problems are with, and nominate someone as a workaround.”</p> <p class="cnNhNmY0NTdhYTg1ODRkYjRhYWJlMTQ5NjAzMjhhMzA4">The raid took twenty minutes to get organized, but we settled on a formation. King would be center front, flanked by Dave and Smiter. Goldguard would be in the back with GotYerBack as rearguard, with Shocker and DeathFromAbove helping out to prevent ambushes. Healers in the center, with a cluster of mages, druids, guardians and berserkers spread around ready to respond to any threat.</p> <p class="cnNmMzFlMGE4MzE0MzRiMzk5Y2NlODAxMGU0ODQ4ZjFm">“Before we get going, I want to see just how limited we are under here. Cinder, you’re up first. Let’s take this wall down and step out of the safe zone, and see how well your flames work.”</p> <p class="cnNhZDEzZmUxN2E4NDRjYzBiMDZmYWM2NzVlMDM2OTVk">“UNDER DA SEA! DA SEA! -NDER DA SEA!” A chorus of irritating sounds assaulted us as soon as the wall fell, everyone immediately looking around for the source. A small red crab was crossing the road, occasionally stopping and raising its claws in the air.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnM3OWYwYzFmM2RkZjQyOTc4OGZmMWI2Y2VjZTMyZjA2"><strong>Sebastian Singing Crab</strong></p> <p class="cnNhMzQ4Y2U5YjQyMDQ0NmQ5NGRmZWU0NjRlZjFhOTM5"><strong>Level 1</strong></p> <p class="cnNjZmY1NWI4Zjc1YzQyMzNhOWZiNzMzZTVkMjYxMDA1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyNTg3NzgyZGRjMTRjZjdiYTgwOTEyYjNkY2NmNTI0">A magical experiment that failed horribly. The original plan was to create a singing crab that would welcome new guests to a new life of wonder under the sea. Unfortunately, the meager brains of crabs weren’t taken into account, and they can only repeat the first three words at varying volumes. The goddess of misfortune must have had a hand in things, as a batch scheduled for extermination was mis-labeled and accidentally released into the wild, where their prolific breeding rates made extermination impossible. They now found the base of the food chain, even if the denizens of the deep have yet to discover the joys of eating them soaked in a butter sauce.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNlM2RhOGU4ZGU2ZTRjMzI4YzFhZjc4Y2IyNTMwNDFl">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5MDUxMjk0NDc3YjQ4M2FhNTIyZjcyZTI3NTY3OWY2">“What in the everloving hells? SHUT THE HELL UP YOU ANNOYING CRAB! [<strong>FIREBALL</strong>]!” Cinderfy shouted, pointing a finger at the crab and attempting a skill. Instead of a fireball, a bubble of steam shot forward about a foot before buoyancy overcame its inertia and it started rising to the surface. “[<strong>Azure firebolt</strong>]!” The boosted element fared little better, though it did double the range and cook the offending crab.</p> <p class="cnNkZjk0M2VlYjY3MDQ4NjhiZDlhNmViZmY2YmE3ZGFm">“Well, that is most unfortunate. You have any other spells?”</p> <p class="cnM4YTE4NTY0ZGNmYTRiNzY4ZmY1NWI4YjI5ZWIzYzA0">“Fuck, I’m gonna be useless here. I went with damage, so my secondary element is lightning.”</p> <p class="cnNiMTA1M2UzNDFlNzRjZGJiYjRkNTM2MzRhZmU5Yjgx">“Hey look! I think I see the next level! I’ll meet y’all down there, TALLYHOOOOOOO!” The raid turned to see PlayWithMe running toward the edge of the platform and taking a massive leap. We all watched as a dark shape shot out from within the kelp, and smashed into him, knocking him upward with an oversized fin. Several other shapes appeared, and also joined in knocking the berserker around.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnNiMWU0MDU2ZGNjZTQ3ZGNhOTE1ZWE3OWUyNjI5M2Yz"><strong>Largefin Porpoise</strong></p> <p class="cnM0NDhkOWM4MGZhYzRkZjA4ZTZmZDE3ZmNjY2RiZDZj"><strong>Level 250</strong></p> <p class="cnNkZTI3MTc4ZjJkODQ5NTRiNDRmZTEzNzQyNzI1YmVl">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwMzg2MGJjZDI1NTQ3MDQ4NmYzMmQyZjllOWQ4NmM1">Playfully sadistic creatures, these marine mammals use their oversized fin to knock unsuspecting creatures around in a form of game combined with a mating ritual. Anything with lower agility in the water is fair game to be used in the game, and it won’t stop until the ‘ball’ is dead. Creatures that have a high enough constitution to let the game play out for over five minutes will trigger mating instincts, with the two winners being the ones who controlled the ball the longest as well as the one that dealt the deathblow. These two males will be beset by females that watch the game from within the kelp beds.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM2MDRjMTUxZjg2NDQ1MTBhMTlkZDFjYzQwYjg4MDA3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1YmE0NzYwMTYxMjRhN2I5ODhiY2JhZjkwNTIzYjA5">“I’ll at least get the bastards. [<strong>Lightning bolt</strong>]!” Cinder pointed a finger, and I was incredibly glad I blinked backwards to the edge of the platform. Instead of shooting out in a straight line, Cinder was surrounded by a crackling web of branched lighting.</p> <p class="cnMwYWE4Y2ZjNzVmNDRlZTZhOGVhYjI1ZTE1YzQ4ZTEx">“Goddamnit!” I shouted, losing my temper. “We are in the ocean surrounded by salt water. CONDUCTIVE salt water! Nobody uses any spells until we have tested them in a controlled manner! Anyone else want to do stupid shit like Play just did, don’t be surprised when we leave you to die. Now we are in the ocean, where we are most definitely not the top of the food chain anymore. Play just proved it, and I hope everyone was paying attention. First thing, we will go through all the mages and test every type of elemental spell. Everyone with a bladed weapon, lose anything that adds bleed damage. Skills, special effects, I don’t care what it is, if it causes bleeding damage you aren’t to use it.”</p> <p class="cnM5ZmUwYjEzZWM3NTQ5Mzc5NzQxZTgzYThlZWEwY2Qw">“Why no bleed? That’s how I get a good portion of my damage!” Someone shouted.</p> <p class="cnMwZDg5YWU5OGE3ODQzNDVhYWEzNWQ0OTI4OWU0MTc1">“Because blood attracts predators! A shark can track blood at a concentration of one part per ten billion! The more bleed damage you cause, the higher that number gets. Do you want to fight off a feeding frenzy of dungeon sharks at the same time you are fighting whatever you were initially? Because I sure as hell don’t.”</p> <p class="cnMyZmFjN2NiZjBiZjQ4ZDRhYmNiYmY2NTc5OWVmZDYx">“Oh. Ok then.” Came the much subdued response. “What element do you want to try next?”</p> <p class="cnM0YjZhNjVjM2FmNDRmOWM5ZDE4ZGVkYTEyMWM3ZmUx">“Let’s start with earth and light, then move on to ice and some of the druid spells.” I took several calming breaths as Brock and Brosef came forward.</p> <p class="cnMwZWYzZmFmZTM2YTQ0ZDI4ZDA1YTMxYmUzYzBhZjcz">“What do you want first?” Brock asked.</p> <p class="cnNjYTg1NWVhZWNjZjQwNGY4YTE5NGEyNTY0NjNlOTE0">“Try earth wall, then something with stone.”</p> <p class="cnMzM2Y1ZTY4ZjY1MTRjOGFhY2Q1MmYyOGIxYmY4MWVj">“Alright. [<strong>Earth wall</strong>][<strong>Stone grasp</strong>][<strong>Stone lance</strong>].” The first spell drifted off in a cloud, slowly separating under the effects of the currents. The stone spells worked just fine though. “Huh, ‘bout what I figured. Good call testing it out of battle though.” He said, nodding and heading off.</p> <p class="cnNmZjFlNmQ1OTg3OTQ4NzZhMjY2NTIzMGYzODcyMDY5">“What y’all want?” Brosef asked.</p> <p class="cnM5YTllMDE0ZTY4MzQwZjg4OGZjNzhjODZkOWRjMjU1">“Try a tight beam spell, then that binding spell you used.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZGNiNjA5YTg0ODQ2OTA5N2NiMjA2NDU1MzU4YWU0">“Awlright.” He drawled. “[<strong>Prismatic bolt</strong>][<strong>Cage of light</strong>].” The first bolt split into a rainbow of bolts, spreading out in a wave. The second spell held together longer, though it did develop an odd sheen of vibrating colors along the edges. I slashed at it with a dagger, cutting about a quarter of the way through one of the bars before my dagger was repelled.</p> <p class="cnM4MGJmMjZiYjI5YzRjOGRhYmQ2MDgzZTIyNDYwNjNh">“That normal?” I asked.</p> <p class="cnNkMTljZDlhZTM1YjRlMzI5Y2ZhMGI0MGU4NDE4YmY0">“Naw. Shouldn’ta been able to cut it at all. Prolly gonna turn most of my attacks into area spreads. Can still bind.”</p> <p class="cnNlM2JiZDNiOWRjNTRjY2Q4ZmZlNDI0NDlmYjJhNGMy">“Alright. You know your skills best, think about how you can be effective.” I nodded.</p> <p class="cnM0YzYyNGMzOWE4ZjQ3NzU5NWE0OWNhNjA5YjdhMTZh">“Expecting a boost to my skills?” Ice Queen asked.</p> <p class="cnM3YjM1ZGQ1Y2FlZDQzYjE5NTczMmQ1YTkyZjIwNzRl">“Possibly. Let’s start with a simple spear, then that ice lotus of yours. Follow it up with the same using the boosted element, but watch your mana expenses closely if you would.”</p> <p class="cnNkMGRjMmNiNmUyMTQzN2Y4NzNlOWM4MmM2Mjg3NWZl">“Sure.” She said, giving me an odd look. “[<strong>Ice spear</strong>][<strong>Ice lotus</strong>].” The ice lotus grew without any issues, but instead of firing forward like it should have the ice spear grew forward like an extending pole. “That’s, odd. [<strong>Clear ice spear</strong>][<strong>Clear lotus</strong>].” Again the results were the same, though the ice was clear. “How did you know?”</p> <p class="cnNiZWQ2MGIxM2M4ZTQ2MjJiYWM1MGE0ZGI5MDM2ZDkw">“Know what?”</p> <p class="cnM5M2QxYWQxMjEwYjQyYzE5Mzc2MDA1Yjg2NTZlODE2">“That the spells would cost more mana? I spent nearly 20% more mana for the same results.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZDhkZTBjYzgwYjQ4YTFiNzBkOTQzZjc3ZWQ4ZTll">“It’s the ocean. Salt lowers the freezing point, so you need to use more mana to freeze it.” I answered with a shrug. Going through the druid spells, things were starting to look up. The spells took less mana, and actually covered a larger area than normal but ended up dying in half the time. Before starting to explore the level, I called Cinderfy over for one last experiment.</p> <p class="cnM5MmRkN2RkMWE4ZTQxOWFiZWYxMzdmY2QyZDNjNTZk">“Hey Cinder, can you give people a temporary electrical enchantment to electricity?”</p> <p class="cnM5YWY0YjVkNmZkZDQ1ZDliOTc4MThmMjE4YzY4MmY2">“Yeah. It probably isn’t as strong as one of the sages, but I can do it.”</p> <p class="cnMzOWYyOGJjYzhmZTQ5ODFiODY1OTZjMmY3NzEyNDMy">“Go ahead and buff me then, let’s see what happens.”</p> <p class="cnM3ZWQzNjYwYTFhODQ4YmQ5MTQ3ZDZlY2YyYjJmMDdm">“Alright. Here goes, [<strong>Elemental blessing: electricity</strong>].” I saw a new icon pop up, and swung my daggers a few times.</p> <p class="cnM2MDBhOWE2OGRlNDQyNzNiMjJiMDJiYTIxYzA0ZDM0">“Oh, this is going to be great!” I said with a grin. The electricity didn’t discharge, even on a missed attack. “Your job is to keep everyone boosted with electrical attacks.”</p> <p class="cnNmZWRjN2I5N2UyYTRkNTg5YmQ3ZWZiNDQ2NjI0YWJk">“Oh thank God, I’m not going to be bored out of my mind!” He relaxed, exhaling in relief.</p> <p class="cnM5ZTgzZmQ5MDIxNDQxZDk5MmRhYjc1ZjdkMGEyMGY3">“Alright everyone, let’s get going. Keep an eye out for dangers, and don’t be afraid to call out issues. We are short on long range magic, and physical arrows tend to fly strangely so this is going to be an up close and personal floor.”</p> <p class="cnNjOTI4ZmMzZmJiMDQyY2Y4OTlmOGI3OTE4NWYzMzc4">We started off down the kelp highway, and I was immediately concerned as things were far too easy. HealYaButts had gone up a level and resurrected PlayWithMe once his body returned, and his sheepish apology to the raid kept me from absolutely tearing into him. He did apologize, but his mistake did lead me to some issues that I hadn’t considered. All of our movements were slightly slowed down. Jumping depended on how much armor you were wearing, and the tanks sank a lot quicker than the mages did. Every so often I would go through some of my skills, but only about a third of the raid was doing it.</p> <p class="cnM2Yzk5ZGM4NzVmMDQ3ZGRhOGRjZTU1MWZhN2I2OGM4">The walk was distractingly beautiful. Schools of small fish would shimmer around us, and several people got a kick out of pointing and watching a hole appear through the middle of the school. There were several small varieties of seadragons as well. They looked like the seadragons in reality, hiding with leafy body parts, but unlike the real life version these were decidedly omnivores and had small fangs and claws.</p> <p class="cnM5Mjg3MmRkNGY4MTRiMzNhOWVkNjc5ZmUyYWNkOWNh">“OH MY GOD, I HATE THESE EFFING CRABS!” Shocker shouted. Stomping around, he crushed several of the bastards, and I couldn’t help but agree with him. They dulled the senses, and raised tempers.</p> <p class="cnNlNWE2MjU4OWNjNTRkMWJhZTI2MDc5YjdkYjMyMmVl">“Hey, is that a treasure chest?” HolyDungeonDiver yelled out, pointing at a particularly thick stand of kelp. “Death, come check this out with me.” He said, heading over. I just shook my head, this wasn’t likely to be a good result. I was going to let them learn the hard lesson about letting a tank go first in case of enemies. They shoved aside some of the branches to reveal a hidden alcove with a coral treasure chest sitting in the middle.</p> <p class="cnM0YjU0Y2E2ZTFjNTQ1ZmRiNzE3NzFhMDkyNWQyNDIx">“You see any traps?”</p> <p class="cnM5YTNkODVjZmFlZjQwZWFiZGY1MTEzZWQ3NmJkZWY2">“[<strong>Detect trap</strong>].” Waiting a few seconds, Death made a full, slow circle of the chest. I was impressed with his thoroughness, as he was looking both above and below, as well as along the hinges. “No traps detected. If you would be so kind?”</p> <p class="cnMyNjUxODE1MDEyMTRmMTI4MWFlYzFhMDlmODE3MjZk">“With pleasure!” Diver responded, giddy. I thought for a half second I heard a click as he stepped in front of the chest, but must have been hearing things. “Ugh, thing’s gotta be rusted shut or something.” Grunting as he tugged at the latch holding it shut, it finally let go. When it did, the lid flew open and a cloud of pink exploded outward, painting the clothes of both members.</p> <p class="cnMyYjQ2NGJjODBlMzQzMjRiMjViNjQ1MmIxOGI2NjFl">“What? Why am I pink? What the hell is this shit?” They immediately complained, trying to rub it off but only managing to smear it around. “It won’t come off!” They were frantically flailing about.</p> <p class="cnMwNWUzOGVlNWRiYjRmYWI5ZmFlZThmNDE2OWNmMjI5">“Hey, calm it down! Do you guys have any odd status effects?” I shouted.</p> <p class="cnNjY2E5Y2VlMDUxYTQyOWU5N2UzNWZkODk3YmJjMmM3">“Huh? I’M PINK! OF COURSE IT’S AN ODD STATUS EFFECT!” Diver shouted.</p> <p class="cnNmMGYxODBlOTMzOTQ2MzRhOTVjYzc2ZTEwNmI3MjJj">“No poisons or anything like that.” Death announced.</p> <p class="cnM1ODg5MjlkMzNiNzQ5ZDM4ZDcwYTgyZWFhNTE2ODhm">“Then don’t worry about it. Call it a prank effect for everyone watching. Now on to important stuff, what was in the chest?”</p> <p class="cnM4MTFlMmE4MjVmMDRiZmNiMmRhMDIyN2E2MjQ1NDkx">“Um, looks like we have a unique saber and chest guard. Here’s the stats.”</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnNhMjBhZDdmMTAwYTQyOGNiYzQyNzA3MzNlZGYzZjY2"><strong>Coral Saber (unique)</strong></p> <p class="cnMyODUwOGQ4ODJkNDQxNmZhYTg0ZjNkOGU0YTJkM2Qx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhNDQ4NWE2YjYyZDRlYzNiMDMxYmVjZDU4NzE5MmEy">Made of living coral, this saber possesses a keen edge and a unique metallic core that allows for easily channeling lightning energy.</p> <p class="cnM1MzE0YWQ3ODZiOTQ4Yzg5MjZmYmQ3YTQwMmQzNWRi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMzExOWZkYzQyYTQ1Njk4ZTgzYjljYWNmZGU2YWM3">Damage: 125-175 slashing</p> <p class="cnM3YmFkMTQwZjMzNzQ0NWM5ZThlODRmZTQ1MTA0NjJm">Durability: 16,000/16,000</p> <p class="cnM0NmRiNjdkYzYwNjQxOTJiYTA0MjcxN2Y5ZDBmYjc4">Adds 75-100 electrical damage per attack</p> <p class="cnNmZjcxNjZiZjM2YzQ2YWI4ZmQwMDRjOWYyMmVkMzJi"><strong>Bonus</strong>: Electrical buffs are twice as effective</p> <p class="cnMwMGY2YTdkNWIxMDRhNDU4NGUwODQ3NDZiZWY5ZjVh"><strong>Regeneration:</strong> By consuming the blood of enemies or the wielder, this weapon can regenerate durability.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNmMTU3NTM0NjM0ODQyMTU5ZjE2NDg2MzQ4ODM4NmQ3">&nbsp;</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnM3NjU0ZmJhOTJmZDQ0MGY4OTZmZWVmY2JjYTRlNmQy"><strong>Coral chest guard (rare)</strong></p> <p class="cnM1MDcxM2EyZTUzZjQxY2JiM2FhNmJlNDAzM2QwYmJh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjYWFlN2E2NGFhZTQ2Mzk5Y2Q3YzVhMGY0NDUxZWU5">Molded out of a softer coral, this light armor is a mainstay for water dwelling creatures. Adds a slight resistance to water attacks.</p> <p class="cnNhNTJiYzFiYWU2NDQzYzQ5ODBjNzE1ODA3YzZjNDIz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiYzRhMDhkNWRiNjRmOGVhMzY4ZDdjN2I2NjQ0ODVm">Defense: 250</p> <p class="cnNlZmZmOGQzMjZlZDQ0ZmE5NGZjZjIwNTI5YzhmZTU4">Durability: 15,000/15,000</p> <p class="cnMxYjA1YjllNzE1NDQyNWViNDk1NGFhZDVhNjczN2I1">Adds 10% water resist</p> <p class="cnMwNmVjYzk1NTk1YjQxODA5ZWMwMzY2M2VkNWVkNzAz"><strong>Regeneration</strong>: By consuming the blood of the wearer, this armor can regenerate durability. (Can’t be used in combat)</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNhYzI5NjY0NzBlNTQwOGE5NmRlYTIyODdhMWE5MWIz">“Not a bad weapon, though the armor kinda sucks.” Death lamented, returning to the raid. Going back on the kelp road, we headed deeper into the dungeon. Sporadic treasure chests with comparable armor and weapons were spotted on occasion, the vast preference for weapons being tridents. King used telekinesis to open each chest from a distance, as nobody trusted detect trap anymore. None triggered a blast of pink, though one in three had a pink cloud slowly disperse after opening.</p> <p class="cnNlMzg0ZWUxYzQxODQ5ODRhNzE3YjQyMzhlNThlYmQ4">We also started getting into the occasional battle, as a marine predator would randomly attack. These were easily repelled, as a fish attacking a raid would get whittled down in no time.</p> <p class="cnMwNmM0ZmNhNjFhMDQ4Zjg5YjIwODY1MWIwYjIwN2Y0">“God, these blasted fish are disappointing.” Smiter griped after killing the tenth or eleventh barracuda. “At least send a variant or something. Even a level 200 fish is just a fish after all.”</p> <p class="cnM5NGExNjgwMDNmMzQ4MTc4NTdiMWQ5OWEyY2MwYjJk">Several groans accompanied his moaning, a couple people even threatening him for cursing the floor.</p> <p class="cnNlZTcwNmI2ZDYxNTQ1YzI4ZmVkN2E1NzZkMjNhODYx">“Oh lighten up! Jinxing the dive is a bunch of superstitious nonsense!”</p> <p class="cnMxMGRjMmJhMGJkMDRkNjJhYzdmZGJhMmVlY2IxOTU3">“Enemies ahead!” King yelled out, cutting through the arguments. Slowly moving closer were two humanoids with shark heads. Aside from the scales, they also had a tail running down between their legs, and moved forward by hopping up and propelling themselves with a flick or two of the tail.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnM5YjFkYmMwMTAwNTQ4MTdhMmNjZjYwZjQ2N2I4NzFi"><strong>Siyokoy Hunter</strong></p> <p class="cnM2ZjRkMDFlYmQzYTQyMThhM2YwODVkODBhZmY2ZWU2"><strong>Level 230</strong></p> <p class="cnNjYTI4MTBhMDNiMTRiODI5ZGNiZTFhMmM0NWFlMGM3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ODJhNTljYjIzMDQxMzhiZTA1YWRkZTg2OWEwZGU1">Part fish, part human, all horror, the Siyokoy is not something to trifle with. Do not be fooled by the animalistic features, as they have a society that could rival those of races who dwell on land. With the enhanced senses offered by their beast parts, they have risen to some of the top rungs of the marine food chain.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM5MThjZmYxOWY5YTQ5MGE5NzFlNDgwYzcxYmNiZThh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjMTFjOGVhZTEwMDQyNmU5N2ZkOWI5YzQ4NjBhODky">They wore coral armor like what the raid had found, and each was armed with a trident. Slung at one hip was a mesh bag, which they reached into and flung whatever they pulled out at King as soon as they were within range.</p> <p class="cnM3NDQ1NTQ3ZGRhMzQwYTY5ZGE2N2U1YzIzMmU1NmVk"><strong>*CLANG**CLANG*</strong></p> <p class="cnNkMjM4MWE4ODZhMjQ3ZWZhYjU4NTUzOTVhYzhkNzg1">Dave and Smiter had stepped in front of King, and the clams that the creatures had thrown broke open when they struck the shields carried by the tanks. This caused the two to sneer, as they reached into their bags and started throwing something different at the two. They took no damage, but the clangs had a different sound and the hunters were more than happy to try and keep their distance.</p> <p class="cnMwZGMwYTdmMDVmNzQ0M2M4ZDVlY2FmZmNjN2UyODk5">“Let’s close the distance. [<strong>Shield rush</strong>].” Dave activated his skill, only to grunt in annoyance. He launched forward about a foot, only to have the water disperse his momentum. “Crap, we need a way to get closer!” He called out.</p> <p class="cnNhYzBiNDkxNmFiNTQ1NGQ4OWQyN2Q5YWRmYjljYzU3">“[<strong>Elemental barrage: dark bolt</strong>].” King launched ten dark bolts at one of the creatures, taking out a large chunk of its life. That enraged it to the point where it shot forward, slamming through a clumsy attempt by Smiter to block it and biting down hard on King’s shoulder. I don’t know how King stopped from screaming, but he managed it as the barbarians surrounded him and started carving into the monster. Its physical defenses were better than its magical ones, but it still could only weather fifteen seconds of concentrated attacks.</p> <p class="cnNkMDU0ZDQ5MGIyODQ0ZmU4YmQxMzVhNmI4M2U0ZjAw">“I’ll bring the second one closer. [<strong>Riptide</strong>].” SpiceMix spoke calmly as she stepped to where she had a clear line on the second monster. All of a sudden there was an incredibly powerful current that sent the creature tumbling forward, to land disoriented at Dave’s feet.</p> <p class="cnNhMWNkMTY3Zjc2NTQ0ZmY5NjUzNDcxZDQ5YzU3OWQz">“Thanks Spice!” He said before plunging sword into the creature’s chest. As he went to attack it again, it deflected his stab with its trident before scrambling to the side and dropping down. Dave and several others ran over, but returned shaking their heads.</p> <p class="cnM5MDkxYTBhZjUyNjQxNThhODFjYmQ3MWI0YjEyN2Mw">“Blasted thing got away.” He muttered</p> <p class="cnM4YTJhYzU1MzgwOTQ0YTI4OTU1ZjE3Y2M5NmQzNzYy"><strong>*SCCCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEuuuunnnnncccchhhhh*</strong></p> <p class="cnM0ZjkyNDRmOWYzNjQ0NjM5NDcxMGEyZTg3NjIwOGFh">“Gah, what the hell is that noise?” SpiceMix shouted, as the entirety of the raid bent over in pain from the sound. It started out like nails across metal, and ended with the sound of crumpling plate metal.</p> <p class="cnNiOTA0ZGI3MDQwZTQzNjM4YTFiMDIyZDE5NmNmMGE5">“I think it came from Smiter.” Someone behind me said.</p> <p class="cnMxZWM1ZjllOTJhNDQzMTY5ODIwY2NlNTIyZmI1OTE5">“What the eff is this on my shield?” Smiter yelled.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnM2OWE3NzY3YzViYjQ3Y2VhYTg1NThiYjMwNjNiZGE1"><strong>Metallophage Barnacle</strong></p> <p class="cnM5Yjg1ZmY2YjlkZTQ1OTU4MDg2MTUyYjc3Yjg4ZmFj"><strong>Level 80</strong></p> <p class="cnNhMDRhOWI0MjU2ZDQwZThiMDU2MWYyNDA3YTkyZTg2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkZjE0OTFmYTMyNzQ3OTJiMTMxMzIyZjY1MGQzYzA2">This unique species has evolved to consume and incorporate metals into its defense. One of the only types of barnacles that are not completely immobile after securing a location, they will actively seek out and consume nearby sources of metal. Their varied diets ensure that no two share the same markings on their shells.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNlODBiYjRhMzU3OTRiY2Q4ZTNlYzE5Y2E1MDJiYjdi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNTFhMDgyMTgzNDRkYzk5MThmNjJkYTYzNjVjM2Iy">“Kill it! The bastards are eating my shield!” Smiter yelled after reading the notification, impotently slamming his sword against the shell of the three creatures that had attached themselves.</p> <p class="cnNiZjczMWNhNzMwMzRmZTQ5M2U1MTYxZGJmOTdjZTFk">“Let me. [<strong>Frozen touch</strong>].” Ice Queen stepped forward, and froze the three solid while Peppermint moved to help Dave out with his own barnacles. The creatures fell off to reveal a quarter sized divot in the front of each shield.</p> <p class="cnMwNGUwMzQxYzEyODQ5ZmY5YmE3ZDE2YjBhNDlhNGVh">“Damn, it didn’t lower the durability that much, but they could easily crunch through a shield given enough time.” Dave lamented.</p> <p class="cnM5ZjQxMmZiZjQ3NjQ0YjJhNWYxMDMxOGQzMWRlZDNi">“We’ll have to keep an eye out, as those bastard monsters are likely raising them as living weapons.” Smiter said. “What the hell were the other things they were throwing?” Bending down, he picked up a shattered shell.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="623"> <p class="cnM3NmIxMTMzNTI5NzRhOTBhOGIzMjFlODQ1YjQyMTk5"><strong>Razorshell clam</strong></p> <p class="cnMwNDE1ODQ3MmZjMjRkNTNiYTUzZGRmMzk0MDVlMjJm"><strong>Level 55</strong></p> <p class="cnNmYjA0ZWE2MzJiYjRlNTRiOGFhYjg1NjRiNDAyZjdm">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3NGVhYzBmNDNjNjRkOGRhODgwODY0NjQ0ODFlODEz">The razorshell clam has a shell with a spiral pattern and incredibly sharp edges. Normally used to deter predators, these have been raised by the Siyokoy’s to be easier to throw. Variants exist having been crossed with different types of jellyfish, lining the edges with stinging cells that can inject a multitude of venoms. Chain gloves are highly recommended for handling.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM3NzAyYmI2NTA1ZjQxNmRhZjdlNTA4MWVjNjViODE5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjNzU3ODYxNjYzZTQ1NjU5ZDRmNjJhYTM3NDJhYWM1">“Nasty.” King said, nodding at the description. “Slice open and bleed target, let predators come and finish it off.”</p> <p class="cnNmOWI3MGZmMTVjNTQyZmRhNzZlZjc2MDkxYmZkNjIy">“Yeah. At least they can’t get through metal, so only the mages and rogues are really vulnerable.” I agreed. “Well, we know what the big bad guys down here are, let’s keep an eye out. I think it’s safe to assume that one that ran away is going to be bringing back friends.”</p> <p class="cnNmM2VmZDVkZTFlNTQ1NmZiMzVmMjFkMzg1MzMyMDMx">“Is it just me, or is it getting darker?” Lucy asked ten minutes later. “I feel like I can’t see quite as far.”</p> <p class="cnMzNTgyMDA5MmJjMDRlYjI5YWY0MWEzM2VlZmE0ZGI4">I looked up, and couldn’t see the sun anymore. Looking around, the water had gone from crystal clear at the beginning of the level to ending in a deep blue color after about three hundred feet. “I think you’re right. I noticed the slightly clockwise curve to the road, but we must have been dropping slowly as well.”</p> <p class="cnM2MzA3OGJmY2E4YjQzOGQ4MTI0ZTdjMTA4MTA0Mzkz">“Holy crap, would you guys look at that current!” Blackthumb yelled from the left side of the road. “Watch this!” Taking a leaf he had plucked from the kelp, he slipped it over the edge. Once it had extended nearly a foot and a half past the edge of the road, it was ripped out of his hands and sucked out of sight within seconds.</p> <p class="cnNmMDhhNzVlNjIxMjRiYTM4MWM2NTUxZGY0N2YyMGYx">“Daaaaaaamn.” Diver said, tossing a leaf of his own just to watch it be sucked away.</p> <p class="cnM5YTZkZTVlZjBiZjRlNTViMjkzZDAxZTI5N2RmOWY1">“Stay away from the edge children!” Lucy chided in a motherly voice. “If you get sucked off the edge, you’ll die for sure.”</p> <p class="cnNiN2Y4YzQzNDE4YzRjNjFhMzQ0OWQ5NzQ0M2M0NzJm">“Yes mom!” Blackthumb chuckled, heading back.</p> <p class="cnNjZDg1ZWVlNjA4MTRiOWI5ZjlkOGM3NGQ0YzRlNjMz">“Enemies ahead.” King called out, not even a minute later. The welcoming committee this time was six of the siyokoys. Four had sharks heads and were considered hunters, while two had marlin heads. These were retiarii, and had nets in one hand and tridents in the other. The hunters spread out, and opened with a volley of clams.</p> <p class="cnMxYTAzM2Y4YjA5MDQwYTRiNTI2MDEzNWI5NDMwNzM5">“[<strong>Riptide</strong>].”</p> <p class="cnMzZDE1MTIxMWM1YTRkNWFhYTIxNGQ3YmIwMzcwNGU4">“[<strong>Magic bolt barrage</strong>].”</p> <p class="cnNiNDJjMTM5YWY0NjRmYmJhMWRkMGYwYjIyZmZlZjIy">“[<strong>Dark bolt</strong>].”</p> <p class="cnNjMTdjZGVkZWQ0MDRhZDQ5ZWUxYWU1OWI4NTk0ZWY3">“Enemies at the reaAAAAAAAAH!” I turned to see GoldGuard being shoved by a siyokoy that had one of those old Japanese blunt pole weapons that priests always had in anime. The end was a crescent moon that fit snugly around the his neck, and he was rapidly closing in on the inner edge of the road. GotYerBack was tied down with a net from a retiarius, while another of the priest ones was heading toward HolyDungeonDiver.</p> <p class="cnM4MjUzZTM3ZDcyMzRhNGQ5NWQ2NWI3ZDVhMzU5MjEz">“WATCH OUT!” Cinderfy yelled, shoving Diver out of the way and getting caught by the pole in his stead. The siyokoy wrenched him to the outside, and forced Cinder into the raging current. Just before he was dragged away, he grabbed the pole itself and managed to take his attacker with him.</p> <p class="cnM1MzJkY2U4OWRmYjRhMDU5ZDMyOWRhMGRkOGVjNGNj">“[<strong>Blink</strong>][<strong>Crippling blow</strong>].” I tried my best to save GoldGuard. What I didn’t expect was the siyokoy to use its tail to launch forward, sending both itself and GoldGuard over the inner edge of the road.</p> <p class="cnM2YmE1MTI4MjVjNzQ2ZDA5ZTkzYjJlMGYwNjU1Nzhk">“Ah!” I cried in pain, turning to see two hunters and another retiarius closing in on me. “Still got some back here to take care of!” I called out, just as several thorn bushes erupted and tangled the creatures. A few of the berserkers came to help, and we showed them no mercy. Lady Fisticuffs was particularly adept at interrupting an attack or tangling an enemy weapon just enough that someone else could land a devastating blow.</p> <p class="cnM4OGJiNWI5MjlkODQxN2U5NjAwYmY4ZjU1MDk3MDRi">“Thanks for the save.” I said, panting after taking out the last of the hunters.</p> <p class="cnNmZTJlYzRkNGUxYTQyMTc5NjczNTc2YmRjOTc3OTY2">“No problem.” Lady answered. “Did we lose anyone?”</p> <p class="cnMwMmEzOTRhYjIxNTQzNjVhYjQxMzgwM2M0NTJjYzEy">“Goldguard over the middle edge and Cinderfy to the currents.” I said. Walking up to Lucy, I asked her, “How about this side? Lose anyone?”</p> <p class="cnMxZjgwODhlMjY2NDRjZjNhM2E5MTNhN2QyODZiYTgw">“No. They were just a distraction. Only the net wielders engaged, while the others stayed back and took pot shots at us.”</p> <p class="cnNmZDZhMDExN2RiZDQyMzU5NTA0YzcyODhhOGFlMzYw">“Alright, listen up everyone. It seems these bastards have a new annoying plan. Distractions from one direction while a few kamikaze try and take people over the edge or into the current. We’ve been going for what, nearly 45 minutes or so? I need a small group to head back and pick up the bodies of GoldGuard and Cinderfy. The rest of us will wait here, and hope that these creatures will stay away from areas we have cleared. If the group isn’t back in an hour and a half, we will head back. Volunteers?”</p> <p class="cnM2YzMzOTU4NTRmNDQ4NWY5ZGZiNzgyZDNhMzU0MWE5">Rather quickly the group was set. King, Citadel, Dave, SpiceMix and NotABandaid took off at a run, and I had faith they would easily make it back before we took the second hit to defense. The rest of the raid settled down to wait, keeping sentries posted watching all directions. The siyokoy wouldn’t be climbing up from below without us knowing again.</p> </div>

| **Greetings, test subjects!**   Welcome to the water portion of the dungeon! Don’t worry, you are taking part in testing a brand new Drow enchantment. No potions of waterbreathing required! The enchantment should let you breath and communicate down here as if you are above water. You should be able to drink potions with no influx of seawater too, so don’t worry. If you would be so kind as to report any issues with the enchanter’s guild after your dungeon dive, it would be appreciated! | | --- |   | **Floor six: The Sargasso Sea**   This area of the sea is surrounded by powerful currents, trapping the exceptionally large plant life. Natives have formed large roads using the seaweed found only in this area. What treasures will you find hiding within this massive kelp forest? | | --- |   Ignoring the popup for a moment, I took a look at the beautiful vista. Strands of yellow, green and brown kelp floated in gentle currents of incredibly clear water. There was another magic wall preventing us from moving forward, but I recognized it now as a safe zone barrier. I looked up, and could barely make out a point of light that must be the sun. No way we were heading up. The platform we were on was an incredibly complex weave of plant leaves and stalks, strong enough to support all of us with ease. To my surprise, it was analyzable. | **Kelp highway**   Formed by the intertwining of countless kelp strands, this highway is incredibly durable. Thirty feet wide and fifty feet long, each section has massive durability. It’s light weight and flexibility means there will be some movement in strong currents, and it is highly vulnerable to poisons.   Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000 | | --- |   “Craaaaaap!” I groaned, finally reading the initial popup. Test subjects? I hate this dungeon. With a passion. “Everyone gather round, we have some testing to do. Go ahead and sound off with your names.” I waited, mentally going through the raid. When everyone stopped, the list felt short. “Are we missing people already?” “What do you mean?” Shocker asked. “That was everyone, wasn’t it?” “I don’t think so. Let’s go through it again. Rangers first.” “King.” “Shocker.” “DeathFromAbove.” “Alright, healers next.” “Jess.” “Bandaid.” I waited for a few seconds, then looked around. “Diver, HealYaButts, where are you two?” I called out, only to have Citadel bring them forward. “What’s going on with you two?” “Blurble?” “Glurbleblurble?” “Huh? Quit talking gibberish!” I growled out, getting annoyed. “They aren’t.” Citadel said. “They asked what you wanted with them.” “Greaaattt. Sounds like we found our first side effect. They can’t hear me, and I can’t hear them. Everyone gather round. Citadel is going to say something, and if you hear it come out as gibberish I want you to raise your hand.” Pointing at Citadel, I had him go. “I hate being underwater.” GotYerBack and Blackthumb raised their hands. “Can you two say something?” “I’m confused.” Back said. “Can I get some of these plant trimmings?” I looked at Citadel, and he shrugged. “I heard bubbles and gurgles.” “Last one everyone, Lucy. Say something.” “The curse of a thousand armpit hairs to whoever designed this dungeon.” That got a chuckle out of everyone except King and Raider Dave. “What did she say?” Dave asked. “Lucy, do you hear Dave as bubbles?” “Yeah.” “Crap. Ok, Citadel you get to repeat what I say for Diver and Heal. It looks like the first effect is miscommunication. Every member of the raid has two people who can’t hear them. Those two people also can’t be heard by the first person. So we will have to have a new chain. Citadel will repeat any orders from me for Heal and Diver. Jess, you will repeat any orders from Lucy for Dave and King. I want everyone to go around and figure out who their communications problems are with, and nominate someone as a workaround.” The raid took twenty minutes to get organized, but we settled on a formation. King would be center front, flanked by Dave and Smiter. Goldguard would be in the back with GotYerBack as rearguard, with Shocker and DeathFromAbove helping out to prevent ambushes. Healers in the center, with a cluster of mages, druids, guardians and berserkers spread around ready to respond to any threat. “Before we get going, I want to see just how limited we are under here. Cinder, you’re up first. Let’s take this wall down and step out of the safe zone, and see how well your flames work.” “UNDER DA SEA! DA SEA! -NDER DA SEA!” A chorus of irritating sounds assaulted us as soon as the wall fell, everyone immediately looking around for the source. A small red crab was crossing the road, occasionally stopping and raising its claws in the air. | **Sebastian Singing Crab** **Level 1**   A magical experiment that failed horribly. The original plan was to create a singing crab that would welcome new guests to a new life of wonder under the sea. Unfortunately, the meager brains of crabs weren’t taken into account, and they can only repeat the first three words at varying volumes. The goddess of misfortune must have had a hand in things, as a batch scheduled for extermination was mis-labeled and accidentally released into the wild, where their prolific breeding rates made extermination impossible. They now found the base of the food chain, even if the denizens of the deep have yet to discover the joys of eating them soaked in a butter sauce. | | --- |   “What in the everloving hells? SHUT THE HELL UP YOU ANNOYING CRAB! [**FIREBALL**]!” Cinderfy shouted, pointing a finger at the crab and attempting a skill. Instead of a fireball, a bubble of steam shot forward about a foot before buoyancy overcame its inertia and it started rising to the surface. “[**Azure firebolt**]!” The boosted element fared little better, though it did double the range and cook the offending crab. “Well, that is most unfortunate. You have any other spells?” “Fuck, I’m gonna be useless here. I went with damage, so my secondary element is lightning.” “Hey look! I think I see the next level! I’ll meet y’all down there, TALLYHOOOOOOO!” The raid turned to see PlayWithMe running toward the edge of the platform and taking a massive leap. We all watched as a dark shape shot out from within the kelp, and smashed into him, knocking him upward with an oversized fin. Several other shapes appeared, and also joined in knocking the berserker around. | **Largefin Porpoise** **Level 250**   Playfully sadistic creatures, these marine mammals use their oversized fin to knock unsuspecting creatures around in a form of game combined with a mating ritual. Anything with lower agility in the water is fair game to be used in the game, and it won’t stop until the ‘ball’ is dead. Creatures that have a high enough constitution to let the game play out for over five minutes will trigger mating instincts, with the two winners being the ones who controlled the ball the longest as well as the one that dealt the deathblow. These two males will be beset by females that watch the game from within the kelp beds. | | --- |   “I’ll at least get the bastards. [**Lightning bolt**]!” Cinder pointed a finger, and I was incredibly glad I blinked backwards to the edge of the platform. Instead of shooting out in a straight line, Cinder was surrounded by a crackling web of branched lighting. “Goddamnit!” I shouted, losing my temper. “We are in the ocean surrounded by salt water. CONDUCTIVE salt water! Nobody uses any spells until we have tested them in a controlled manner! Anyone else want to do stupid shit like Play just did, don’t be surprised when we leave you to die. Now we are in the ocean, where we are most definitely not the top of the food chain anymore. Play just proved it, and I hope everyone was paying attention. First thing, we will go through all the mages and test every type of elemental spell. Everyone with a bladed weapon, lose anything that adds bleed damage. Skills, special effects, I don’t care what it is, if it causes bleeding damage you aren’t to use it.” “Why no bleed? That’s how I get a good portion of my damage!” Someone shouted. “Because blood attracts predators! A shark can track blood at a concentration of one part per ten billion! The more bleed damage you cause, the higher that number gets. Do you want to fight off a feeding frenzy of dungeon sharks at the same time you are fighting whatever you were initially? Because I sure as hell don’t.” “Oh. Ok then.” Came the much subdued response. “What element do you want to try next?” “Let’s start with earth and light, then move on to ice and some of the druid spells.” I took several calming breaths as Brock and Brosef came forward. “What do you want first?” Brock asked. “Try earth wall, then something with stone.” “Alright. [**Earth wall**][**Stone grasp**][**Stone lance**].” The first spell drifted off in a cloud, slowly separating under the effects of the currents. The stone spells worked just fine though. “Huh, ‘bout what I figured. Good call testing it out of battle though.” He said, nodding and heading off. “What y’all want?” Brosef asked. “Try a tight beam spell, then that binding spell you used.” “Awlright.” He drawled. “[**Prismatic bolt**][**Cage of light**].” The first bolt split into a rainbow of bolts, spreading out in a wave. The second spell held together longer, though it did develop an odd sheen of vibrating colors along the edges. I slashed at it with a dagger, cutting about a quarter of the way through one of the bars before my dagger was repelled. “That normal?” I asked. “Naw. Shouldn’ta been able to cut it at all. Prolly gonna turn most of my attacks into area spreads. Can still bind.” “Alright. You know your skills best, think about how you can be effective.” I nodded. “Expecting a boost to my skills?” Ice Queen asked. “Possibly. Let’s start with a simple spear, then that ice lotus of yours. Follow it up with the same using the boosted element, but watch your mana expenses closely if you would.” “Sure.” She said, giving me an odd look. “[**Ice spear**][**Ice lotus**].” The ice lotus grew without any issues, but instead of firing forward like it should have the ice spear grew forward like an extending pole. “That’s, odd. [**Clear ice spear**][**Clear lotus**].” Again the results were the same, though the ice was clear. “How did you know?” “Know what?” “That the spells would cost more mana? I spent nearly 20% more mana for the same results.” “It’s the ocean. Salt lowers the freezing point, so you need to use more mana to freeze it.” I answered with a shrug. Going through the druid spells, things were starting to look up. The spells took less mana, and actually covered a larger area than normal but ended up dying in half the time. Before starting to explore the level, I called Cinderfy over for one last experiment. “Hey Cinder, can you give people a temporary electrical enchantment to electricity?” “Yeah. It probably isn’t as strong as one of the sages, but I can do it.” “Go ahead and buff me then, let’s see what happens.” “Alright. Here goes, [**Elemental blessing: electricity**].” I saw a new icon pop up, and swung my daggers a few times. “Oh, this is going to be great!” I said with a grin. The electricity didn’t discharge, even on a missed attack. “Your job is to keep everyone boosted with electrical attacks.” “Oh thank God, I’m not going to be bored out of my mind!” He relaxed, exhaling in relief. “Alright everyone, let’s get going. Keep an eye out for dangers, and don’t be afraid to call out issues. We are short on long range magic, and physical arrows tend to fly strangely so this is going to be an up close and personal floor.” We started off down the kelp highway, and I was immediately concerned as things were far too easy. HealYaButts had gone up a level and resurrected PlayWithMe once his body returned, and his sheepish apology to the raid kept me from absolutely tearing into him. He did apologize, but his mistake did lead me to some issues that I hadn’t considered. All of our movements were slightly slowed down. Jumping depended on how much armor you were wearing, and the tanks sank a lot quicker than the mages did. Every so often I would go through some of my skills, but only about a third of the raid was doing it. The walk was distractingly beautiful. Schools of small fish would shimmer around us, and several people got a kick out of pointing and watching a hole appear through the middle of the school. There were several small varieties of seadragons as well. They looked like the seadragons in reality, hiding with leafy body parts, but unlike the real life version these were decidedly omnivores and had small fangs and claws. “OH MY GOD, I HATE THESE EFFING CRABS!” Shocker shouted. Stomping around, he crushed several of the bastards, and I couldn’t help but agree with him. They dulled the senses, and raised tempers. “Hey, is that a treasure chest?” HolyDungeonDiver yelled out, pointing at a particularly thick stand of kelp. “Death, come check this out with me.” He said, heading over. I just shook my head, this wasn’t likely to be a good result. I was going to let them learn the hard lesson about letting a tank go first in case of enemies. They shoved aside some of the branches to reveal a hidden alcove with a coral treasure chest sitting in the middle. “You see any traps?” “[**Detect trap**].” Waiting a few seconds, Death made a full, slow circle of the chest. I was impressed with his thoroughness, as he was looking both above and below, as well as along the hinges. “No traps detected. If you would be so kind?” “With pleasure!” Diver responded, giddy. I thought for a half second I heard a click as he stepped in front of the chest, but must have been hearing things. “Ugh, thing’s gotta be rusted shut or something.” Grunting as he tugged at the latch holding it shut, it finally let go. When it did, the lid flew open and a cloud of pink exploded outward, painting the clothes of both members. “What? Why am I pink? What the hell is this shit?” They immediately complained, trying to rub it off but only managing to smear it around. “It won’t come off!” They were frantically flailing about. “Hey, calm it down! Do you guys have any odd status effects?” I shouted. “Huh? I’M PINK! OF COURSE IT’S AN ODD STATUS EFFECT!” Diver shouted. “No poisons or anything like that.” Death announced. “Then don’t worry about it. Call it a prank effect for everyone watching. Now on to important stuff, what was in the chest?” “Um, looks like we have a unique saber and chest guard. Here’s the stats.” | **Coral Saber (unique)**   Made of living coral, this saber possesses a keen edge and a unique metallic core that allows for easily channeling lightning energy.   Damage: 125-175 slashing Durability: 16,000/16,000 Adds 75-100 electrical damage per attack **Bonus**: Electrical buffs are twice as effective **Regeneration:** By consuming the blood of enemies or the wielder, this weapon can regenerate durability. | | --- |   | **Coral chest guard (rare)**   Molded out of a softer coral, this light armor is a mainstay for water dwelling creatures. Adds a slight resistance to water attacks.   Defense: 250 Durability: 15,000/15,000 Adds 10% water resist **Regeneration**: By consuming the blood of the wearer, this armor can regenerate durability. (Can’t be used in combat) | | --- | “Not a bad weapon, though the armor kinda sucks.” Death lamented, returning to the raid. Going back on the kelp road, we headed deeper into the dungeon. Sporadic treasure chests with comparable armor and weapons were spotted on occasion, the vast preference for weapons being tridents. King used telekinesis to open each chest from a distance, as nobody trusted detect trap anymore. None triggered a blast of pink, though one in three had a pink cloud slowly disperse after opening. We also started getting into the occasional battle, as a marine predator would randomly attack. These were easily repelled, as a fish attacking a raid would get whittled down in no time. “God, these blasted fish are disappointing.” Smiter griped after killing the tenth or eleventh barracuda. “At least send a variant or something. Even a level 200 fish is just a fish after all.” Several groans accompanied his moaning, a couple people even threatening him for cursing the floor. “Oh lighten up! Jinxing the dive is a bunch of superstitious nonsense!” “Enemies ahead!” King yelled out, cutting through the arguments. Slowly moving closer were two humanoids with shark heads. Aside from the scales, they also had a tail running down between their legs, and moved forward by hopping up and propelling themselves with a flick or two of the tail. | **Siyokoy Hunter** **Level 230**   Part fish, part human, all horror, the Siyokoy is not something to trifle with. Do not be fooled by the animalistic features, as they have a society that could rival those of races who dwell on land. With the enhanced senses offered by their beast parts, they have risen to some of the top rungs of the marine food chain. | | --- |   They wore coral armor like what the raid had found, and each was armed with a trident. Slung at one hip was a mesh bag, which they reached into and flung whatever they pulled out at King as soon as they were within range. ***CLANG**CLANG*** Dave and Smiter had stepped in front of King, and the clams that the creatures had thrown broke open when they struck the shields carried by the tanks. This caused the two to sneer, as they reached into their bags and started throwing something different at the two. They took no damage, but the clangs had a different sound and the hunters were more than happy to try and keep their distance. “Let’s close the distance. [**Shield rush**].” Dave activated his skill, only to grunt in annoyance. He launched forward about a foot, only to have the water disperse his momentum. “Crap, we need a way to get closer!” He called out. “[**Elemental barrage: dark bolt**].” King launched ten dark bolts at one of the creatures, taking out a large chunk of its life. That enraged it to the point where it shot forward, slamming through a clumsy attempt by Smiter to block it and biting down hard on King’s shoulder. I don’t know how King stopped from screaming, but he managed it as the barbarians surrounded him and started carving into the monster. Its physical defenses were better than its magical ones, but it still could only weather fifteen seconds of concentrated attacks. “I’ll bring the second one closer. [**Riptide**].” SpiceMix spoke calmly as she stepped to where she had a clear line on the second monster. All of a sudden there was an incredibly powerful current that sent the creature tumbling forward, to land disoriented at Dave’s feet. “Thanks Spice!” He said before plunging sword into the creature’s chest. As he went to attack it again, it deflected his stab with its trident before scrambling to the side and dropping down. Dave and several others ran over, but returned shaking their heads. “Blasted thing got away.” He muttered ***SCCCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEuuuunnnnncccchhhhh*** “Gah, what the hell is that noise?” SpiceMix shouted, as the entirety of the raid bent over in pain from the sound. It started out like nails across metal, and ended with the sound of crumpling plate metal. “I think it came from Smiter.” Someone behind me said. “What the eff is this on my shield?” Smiter yelled. | **Metallophage Barnacle** **Level 80**   This unique species has evolved to consume and incorporate metals into its defense. One of the only types of barnacles that are not completely immobile after securing a location, they will actively seek out and consume nearby sources of metal. Their varied diets ensure that no two share the same markings on their shells. | | --- |   “Kill it! The bastards are eating my shield!” Smiter yelled after reading the notification, impotently slamming his sword against the shell of the three creatures that had attached themselves. “Let me. [**Frozen touch**].” Ice Queen stepped forward, and froze the three solid while Peppermint moved to help Dave out with his own barnacles. The creatures fell off to reveal a quarter sized divot in the front of each shield. “Damn, it didn’t lower the durability that much, but they could easily crunch through a shield given enough time.” Dave lamented. “We’ll have to keep an eye out, as those bastard monsters are likely raising them as living weapons.” Smiter said. “What the hell were the other things they were throwing?” Bending down, he picked up a shattered shell. | **Razorshell clam** **Level 55**   The razorshell clam has a shell with a spiral pattern and incredibly sharp edges. Normally used to deter predators, these have been raised by the Siyokoy’s to be easier to throw. Variants exist having been crossed with different types of jellyfish, lining the edges with stinging cells that can inject a multitude of venoms. Chain gloves are highly recommended for handling. | | --- |   “Nasty.” King said, nodding at the description. “Slice open and bleed target, let predators come and finish it off.” “Yeah. At least they can’t get through metal, so only the mages and rogues are really vulnerable.” I agreed. “Well, we know what the big bad guys down here are, let’s keep an eye out. I think it’s safe to assume that one that ran away is going to be bringing back friends.” “Is it just me, or is it getting darker?” Lucy asked ten minutes later. “I feel like I can’t see quite as far.” I looked up, and couldn’t see the sun anymore. Looking around, the water had gone from crystal clear at the beginning of the level to ending in a deep blue color after about three hundred feet. “I think you’re right. I noticed the slightly clockwise curve to the road, but we must have been dropping slowly as well.” “Holy crap, would you guys look at that current!” Blackthumb yelled from the left side of the road. “Watch this!” Taking a leaf he had plucked from the kelp, he slipped it over the edge. Once it had extended nearly a foot and a half past the edge of the road, it was ripped out of his hands and sucked out of sight within seconds. “Daaaaaaamn.” Diver said, tossing a leaf of his own just to watch it be sucked away. “Stay away from the edge children!” Lucy chided in a motherly voice. “If you get sucked off the edge, you’ll die for sure.” “Yes mom!” Blackthumb chuckled, heading back. “Enemies ahead.” King called out, not even a minute later. The welcoming committee this time was six of the siyokoys. Four had sharks heads and were considered hunters, while two had marlin heads. These were retiarii, and had nets in one hand and tridents in the other. The hunters spread out, and opened with a volley of clams. “[**Riptide**].” “[**Magic bolt barrage**].” “[**Dark bolt**].” “Enemies at the reaAAAAAAAAH!” I turned to see GoldGuard being shoved by a siyokoy that had one of those old Japanese blunt pole weapons that priests always had in anime. The end was a crescent moon that fit snugly around the his neck, and he was rapidly closing in on the inner edge of the road. GotYerBack was tied down with a net from a retiarius, while another of the priest ones was heading toward HolyDungeonDiver. “WATCH OUT!” Cinderfy yelled, shoving Diver out of the way and getting caught by the pole in his stead. The siyokoy wrenched him to the outside, and forced Cinder into the raging current. Just before he was dragged away, he grabbed the pole itself and managed to take his attacker with him. “[**Blink**][**Crippling blow**].” I tried my best to save GoldGuard. What I didn’t expect was the siyokoy to use its tail to launch forward, sending both itself and GoldGuard over the inner edge of the road. “Ah!” I cried in pain, turning to see two hunters and another retiarius closing in on me. “Still got some back here to take care of!” I called out, just as several thorn bushes erupted and tangled the creatures. A few of the berserkers came to help, and we showed them no mercy. Lady Fisticuffs was particularly adept at interrupting an attack or tangling an enemy weapon just enough that someone else could land a devastating blow. “Thanks for the save.” I said, panting after taking out the last of the hunters. “No problem.” Lady answered. “Did we lose anyone?” “Goldguard over the middle edge and Cinderfy to the currents.” I said. Walking up to Lucy, I asked her, “How about this side? Lose anyone?” “No. They were just a distraction. Only the net wielders engaged, while the others stayed back and took pot shots at us.” “Alright, listen up everyone. It seems these bastards have a new annoying plan. Distractions from one direction while a few kamikaze try and take people over the edge or into the current. We’ve been going for what, nearly 45 minutes or so? I need a small group to head back and pick up the bodies of GoldGuard and Cinderfy. The rest of us will wait here, and hope that these creatures will stay away from areas we have cleared. If the group isn’t back in an hour and a half, we will head back. Volunteers?” Rather quickly the group was set. King, Citadel, Dave, SpiceMix and NotABandaid took off at a run, and I had faith they would easily make it back before we took the second hit to defense. The rest of the raid settled down to wait, keeping sentries posted watching all directions. The siyokoy wouldn’t be climbing up from below without us knowing again.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM1NjI5OThiNzkxYTRlZmU5NjFkYjkxMTEwYTE0NGZj">(This starts when the four mercenaries grab Joe with chains.)</p> <p class="cnNkZDdlNGNhZThiNzRlYTQ4MmQyODY5MGExZTA4YWU1">  During Joe's struggle, Elanor and Billy continue to clash. "Damn it, stupid bull spoiling my fun," Elanor curses.</p> <p class="cnM4NDZmNzYxYTcyNjRlYWU4ZWUyYWExNjIxYjk5NTIz">  "Ha, ha, looks like you can't be smug anymore," Billy laughs, relieved. Betraying Billy's expectations, the beauty's smile grows even larger. In his eyes, this was no longer the smile of a woman. The smile seems to consume her face, the muscles rippling strangely. This is the face of a man-eating monster that lures its prey with lust.</p> <p class="cnM2MmUyNWU5YjZkMjQ1YTRiY2FiZTlmYTI1MDYyZjEy">  Elanor's stance changes from a chaotic fighting style using only the strength of her arms. Her feet stamp the ground her knees bend into a lower stance giving her more control of her body. Her arms and leg muscles ripple as she becomes as solid as a mountain.</p> <p class="cnMzYjliYzdhOGNkMjQxMzJiY2EzNjk2ZThlNzViZjc2">  Elanor clutches her sword with her right hand and swings with the might of a giant. Billy shakes in fear at this sudden change.<em> 'My shield can't take this strike,'</em> he concludes. His only hope is to parry with his sword. So he counter-swings in the hope of deflecting this blow enough to save his life. As the two swords clash, Billy is shocked to see Elanor release her sword. Even without the mass from her body, Billy's muscles feel like the force is ripping them apart. Elanor's sword strikes the ground next to him, causing a chasm two feet wide and four feet deep. A tree 20 yards behind him is cut in twain by the energy of that one strike.</p> <p class="cnNiZTM4MTZjZTgxNzRhNTFhY2MzM2I2MGZhZTdmZjJk">  "hu," Billy releases his breath in relief. However, he's celebrated too soon. Elanor is now in very close range with him. Her feet are rooted to the ground like some ancient tree. Elanor’s left fist comes from behind the sword strike multiplying the force. Her fist smashes right into Billy's shield. The destruction is immediate. The shield blasts apart the shrapnel rips his body into shreds. Billy can't even feel the pain because he sees death right in front of him. The shield doesn’t slow Elanor’s left hook at all. The fist expands quickly towards his face. Billy barely manages to get his arms up into an X block.</p> <p class="cnNjNDM5YjRkNjYyYjRhZDg5ZTgzMzFlMjIzM2E2Mjdh">  Elanor's punch hits Billy's block directly. If he hadn't gotten it up in time, his head would be gone. Still, the force smashes his arms entirely. His bones turn into dust, his muscles into mush, as his arms pop like water balloons. "Argh," a blood-curdling scream escapes his mouth. He spins through the air, a stream of blood spraying around like a fountain. He smashes through three trees before tumbling brutally on the ground.</p> <p class="cnNmMmU0NDFmYzMwNTRmZjg4M2JlN2RiNTU2ZDc3N2Vj">  "MOOOO!" Joe yells with unwillingness. Elanor looks to the sky to see Joe being pierced by spears. John's leaves flutter. Joe's heart-shaking call shatters the heart of the villagers. Tears form in their eyes as their Guardian Spirit howls in pain. Their legs give out, and they huddle together for support.</p> <p class="cnM3NzJiZTVmZTE0YTQ4ZjVhYjliNDk5NmI0Zjg2ZjI5">  As the mercenaries' spear tips pierce the bull's hide, the world around them loses its color. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO JOE!" a raging voice blares in every living thing's head. The anger in this voice makes even the seasoned mercenaries shudder.</p> <p class="cnM2YTMwODk1M2FkYTQ5NDJiMGRiYzc1ODYwZjVjYjlk">  As the four continue to pierce the bull, they feel their bodies slow to a crawl. It was as if they'd sunk into the mud. The world around them seems to be rejecting their existence. "What the hell is going on!" Marvin yells in fear.</p> <p class="cnMxNTZhMjhhMjkwZjRkMTM4NDhhNTlhZWE5OGM3MTc0">  The villagers feel their blood boil with the rage of a thousand suns. A fire flows through their veins. It's almost unbearable. Every living thing within a mile is affected by the same phenomenon.</p> <p class="cnMzYjEzZmJhZmFjZTQxMjJiNzcwOWM2Mzk1NTBlMmFk">  <em>'This is the suppression force of facing an army,'</em> Jonathon realizes in surprise. They can all feel the rage in the air. It is as if every living thing will die to give them a paper cut. "Shit, why is a sovereignty expertise master here?" Steven curses in horror. With this revelation, all four of them have a cold sweat. <em>'A Sovereignty master has unleashed his territory!'</em> they all conclude at the same time. Their minds can barely keep up.<em> ‘How can someone with an upper six expertise be here?’</em></p> <p class="cnNhMDE0YzdmZTMzYTQ2ZmU5NmRlNWJiNDNmNmQ1OGJh">  Joe feels the bit of ancestral blood within him activate.<em> 'You fool, what are you doing? Bulls don't standstill. They charge forth!' </em>an ancient voice bellows from eons ago. The fiery energy he'd suddenly felt flow through his veins smashes the suppression of the chains. "MAAARRRROOOOO!" Joe explodes with ferocity. The spears have pierced a foot deep into his gut, causing Joe to bleed profusely. Yet, he never felt so powerful.</p> <p class="cnMxM2NlMWY2MWFlYzRkMzdhOWZiZjI1ZGM0Y2E5MzVl">  Joe burst forward with all his strength. His guts ripping open as the spears pull out sideways. The chains drag the four mercenaries behind him. "Flee for your lives!" Billy screeches while coughing up blood. The four don't need any goading. All four quickly disperse in separate directions.</p> <p class="cnNhYjVjNTlhYjJhYzQwNmI5NTVmNzk3OWM4N2MxN2Mw">  Still, they are being suppressed by a territory. Even at their fastest, it feels like they are snails racing a hair. Steven unluckily catches the eye of Joe first. The demonic bull can only see red as he charges at his attacker.</p> <p class="cnMyZDhkZjk1ZjE5MjQxY2Q5MDk4NWU2MjJiZjQzNGMx">  Joe’s ancestral truth boosts his attack. Steven has no chance to escape. He pulls out a defensive item from his interspatial ring. A ceramic bowl flies out, covering the mercenary. Joe pays no mind to this new obstacle crashing right into the bowl. His horns pierce the artifact causing cracks to spread out like spider webs. Then the thick bull skull makes contact, breaking the bowl into pieces as if it was fine china.</p> <p class="cnM5MjdhZDE5OGRhMzQ2Mzc4ZGMxMDE5YTQ3YjNjOGEy">  Steven spent so much on this life-saving item. Yet now it is garbage. Tears fall from his eyes as the bull's forehead lands on his chest. His chest caves in, and his ribs pierce his lungs blood spurts out of his mouth as he is sent flying. Even this is not the end of Steven’s suffering, though, as he lands on a large boulder that looks like a porcupine. Hundreds of spikes pierce his body. His lifeblood flowing out into the boulders cracked surface.</p> <p class="cnM0MTU5NjJiNzdhNzQ4YjY4OGM0OWM2NTk4YTAzNmQ2">  Billy drags his broken body to its feet as he joins his compatriots in escape. "Where do you think you're going?" Elanor inquires the mercenary. She quickly pursues the man with her fist clenched.</p> <p class="cnMwY2RlNWE4Nzk1NTQ2NmViNTJjNTMxNjAwMzAyODg5">  "Let him go," she hears in her head. "What have you gone insane? stupid bush," she yells back at the hill. "There is no time. You need to help heal Joe," John retorts quickly. She then sees the bull's shaky legs as he stumbles. Sighing while swishing back her hair, she stops her pursuit and returns.</p> <p class="cnMwZDg4NTg3NjU0ZDQ3YTZiMzdmYTk1YWRjZTNjZDI4">  As John's rage turns to worry, the world returns to normal. As he becomes level-headed, he feels something unusual from the plants. Everything that has his energy had felt his rage. But It feels as if the plant life owes him something that transcends one insignificant lifetime.</p> <p class="cnM2YjU3M2U0MWMyMDRlMjJiMDEzN2I5MmY4ZDBjYmRi">______________</p> <p class="cnMzNDllZDI5NGI0NTRhNzc4MzA5NDA2YmRmOWRiNDQz">  In an unknown location, a woman sits on a throne. She's adorned with a simple crown. Her form is not discernible by mortals. Her eyes long closed suddenly open. "Antheia, attend me!" she commands. Cloaked servants follow a young beauty into the throne room. They all kneel subserviently to the woman on the throne.</p> <p class="cnM3ZTZiNzQ4NjQxNjQxNWNiNTNmY2M1MzJkMmY2Mjk4">  "He has reincarnated. Find him at all costs!" She instructs.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTI0NTFlZmM3NTQ5NGRiNjQxMjkyMmEzMGUzY2Yw">  "Yes, mother!" The young beauty acknowledges.</p> </div>

(This starts when the four mercenaries grab Joe with chains.)   During Joe's struggle, Elanor and Billy continue to clash. "Damn it, stupid bull spoiling my fun," Elanor curses.   "Ha, ha, looks like you can't be smug anymore," Billy laughs, relieved. Betraying Billy's expectations, the beauty's smile grows even larger. In his eyes, this was no longer the smile of a woman. The smile seems to consume her face, the muscles rippling strangely. This is the face of a man-eating monster that lures its prey with lust.   Elanor's stance changes from a chaotic fighting style using only the strength of her arms. Her feet stamp the ground her knees bend into a lower stance giving her more control of her body. Her arms and leg muscles ripple as she becomes as solid as a mountain.   Elanor clutches her sword with her right hand and swings with the might of a giant. Billy shakes in fear at this sudden change. *'My shield can't take this strike,'* he concludes. His only hope is to parry with his sword. So he counter-swings in the hope of deflecting this blow enough to save his life. As the two swords clash, Billy is shocked to see Elanor release her sword. Even without the mass from her body, Billy's muscles feel like the force is ripping them apart. Elanor's sword strikes the ground next to him, causing a chasm two feet wide and four feet deep. A tree 20 yards behind him is cut in twain by the energy of that one strike.   "hu," Billy releases his breath in relief. However, he's celebrated too soon. Elanor is now in very close range with him. Her feet are rooted to the ground like some ancient tree. Elanor’s left fist comes from behind the sword strike multiplying the force. Her fist smashes right into Billy's shield. The destruction is immediate. The shield blasts apart the shrapnel rips his body into shreds. Billy can't even feel the pain because he sees death right in front of him. The shield doesn’t slow Elanor’s left hook at all. The fist expands quickly towards his face. Billy barely manages to get his arms up into an X block.   Elanor's punch hits Billy's block directly. If he hadn't gotten it up in time, his head would be gone. Still, the force smashes his arms entirely. His bones turn into dust, his muscles into mush, as his arms pop like water balloons. "Argh," a blood-curdling scream escapes his mouth. He spins through the air, a stream of blood spraying around like a fountain. He smashes through three trees before tumbling brutally on the ground.   "MOOOO!" Joe yells with unwillingness. Elanor looks to the sky to see Joe being pierced by spears. John's leaves flutter. Joe's heart-shaking call shatters the heart of the villagers. Tears form in their eyes as their Guardian Spirit howls in pain. Their legs give out, and they huddle together for support.   As the mercenaries' spear tips pierce the bull's hide, the world around them loses its color. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO JOE!" a raging voice blares in every living thing's head. The anger in this voice makes even the seasoned mercenaries shudder.   As the four continue to pierce the bull, they feel their bodies slow to a crawl. It was as if they'd sunk into the mud. The world around them seems to be rejecting their existence. "What the hell is going on!" Marvin yells in fear.   The villagers feel their blood boil with the rage of a thousand suns. A fire flows through their veins. It's almost unbearable. Every living thing within a mile is affected by the same phenomenon.   *'This is the suppression force of facing an army,'* Jonathon realizes in surprise. They can all feel the rage in the air. It is as if every living thing will die to give them a paper cut. "Shit, why is a sovereignty expertise master here?" Steven curses in horror. With this revelation, all four of them have a cold sweat. *'A Sovereignty master has unleashed his territory!'* they all conclude at the same time. Their minds can barely keep up. *‘How can someone with an upper six expertise be here?’*   Joe feels the bit of ancestral blood within him activate. *'You fool, what are you doing? Bulls don't standstill. They charge forth!'* an ancient voice bellows from eons ago. The fiery energy he'd suddenly felt flow through his veins smashes the suppression of the chains. "MAAARRRROOOOO!" Joe explodes with ferocity. The spears have pierced a foot deep into his gut, causing Joe to bleed profusely. Yet, he never felt so powerful.   Joe burst forward with all his strength. His guts ripping open as the spears pull out sideways. The chains drag the four mercenaries behind him. "Flee for your lives!" Billy screeches while coughing up blood. The four don't need any goading. All four quickly disperse in separate directions.   Still, they are being suppressed by a territory. Even at their fastest, it feels like they are snails racing a hair. Steven unluckily catches the eye of Joe first. The demonic bull can only see red as he charges at his attacker.   Joe’s ancestral truth boosts his attack. Steven has no chance to escape. He pulls out a defensive item from his interspatial ring. A ceramic bowl flies out, covering the mercenary. Joe pays no mind to this new obstacle crashing right into the bowl. His horns pierce the artifact causing cracks to spread out like spider webs. Then the thick bull skull makes contact, breaking the bowl into pieces as if it was fine china.   Steven spent so much on this life-saving item. Yet now it is garbage. Tears fall from his eyes as the bull's forehead lands on his chest. His chest caves in, and his ribs pierce his lungs blood spurts out of his mouth as he is sent flying. Even this is not the end of Steven’s suffering, though, as he lands on a large boulder that looks like a porcupine. Hundreds of spikes pierce his body. His lifeblood flowing out into the boulders cracked surface.   Billy drags his broken body to its feet as he joins his compatriots in escape. "Where do you think you're going?" Elanor inquires the mercenary. She quickly pursues the man with her fist clenched.   "Let him go," she hears in her head. "What have you gone insane? stupid bush," she yells back at the hill. "There is no time. You need to help heal Joe," John retorts quickly. She then sees the bull's shaky legs as he stumbles. Sighing while swishing back her hair, she stops her pursuit and returns.   As John's rage turns to worry, the world returns to normal. As he becomes level-headed, he feels something unusual from the plants. Everything that has his energy had felt his rage. But It feels as if the plant life owes him something that transcends one insignificant lifetime. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_   In an unknown location, a woman sits on a throne. She's adorned with a simple crown. Her form is not discernible by mortals. Her eyes long closed suddenly open. "Antheia, attend me!" she commands. Cloaked servants follow a young beauty into the throne room. They all kneel subserviently to the woman on the throne.   "He has reincarnated. Find him at all costs!" She instructs.   "Yes, mother!" The young beauty acknowledges.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMyNWQzYmZlNjg2MjRiYWM4MjkxMDFkN2ZmNzc0NjMw">  Joe stumbles on the hill before collapsing with a loud thud. Dust clouds flutter down on the village, signifying the fall of their guardian spirit. Gasps can be heard as Elanor leaps up to the top of the hill.</p> <p class="cnMxMjllMmVjOTI3YTRlNmY4NzJjYzcwZDNiMmJkY2Uz">  "You know I suck at healing," Elanor quips, glancing over her shoulder at the bush.</p> <p class="cnM0YTc3NDk0MWYyZDRjNmZhMDg0MmNlOWEwYjA4MDI2">  "Well, we don't have time to send for help. So just do what you can," John replies, sighing.</p> <p class="cnM1OWQ5ZWY0ZmM1YzRlYmJiOWE2ZDk2NWMxZDkzZjhh">  "Alright, what do I have?" the beauty ponders as she searches through her interspatial ring.</p> <p class="cnM3MTFjMWY0Yzg2YTRlNjU5ZjU1Y2UxNWVkNmRhNzY0">  John then looks at the man on the boulder pierced by the Stone Porcupine herb. It is quite a gruesome sight to see a human pin cushion. "Do you think they'll come back for revenge?" John asks with a sigh.</p> <p class="cnMzOGE2ZTY3NGJmNzQwODViNWE4N2NlNWNjMDFlODY0">  "Probably not. Thanks to your trick, they think an upper six master is around. I doubt that they will want to pick a fight with someone like that," the fairy replies.</p> <p class="cnM3OTE1YjJhYWU4NzQ4MzA4NDBkOTNiNWU1NGQxM2Q4">  Then she tips her head to the side in thought. She shakes her head before continuing, "Perhaps if they think your hurt and can extort you. But even that may be dangerous for them. It depends on whether they're idiots, I guess." When she finishes, she flips her hair in disdain.</p> <p class="cnM4N2EwZWFhY2JhYTQ5YTliOWYxMmE1ODIyZTFlYjJk">  "If you were going to be so upset about healing the big guy, you should have tried from the start," John lectures.</p> <p class="cnNhMTdkOTQzZmVlZDQyNmI4MzNmYjQxOWIzOWVmZDI1">   Elanor rolls her eyes and replies, "if I want lectures about proper etiquette, I'll just head back to my master." An awkward silence looms over the hill as the conversation ends.</p> <p class="cnNjZTFjOTYyZmI5NjQ4NWRiNGJkYmZiNzkzYzdmNjFk">  Gregory motions to Arron and Wilbur while saying, "we may not be able to help. But if we can, we owe it to him." The other two men nod before climbing the hill. The demonic beast has saved their lives twice now. He helps them out when they are in trouble and watches over them when they are not. Yet all they've done for the beast is feed it some vegetables. They owe this demonic beast too much.</p> <p class="cnNlMTkyMGY5Yjc3MjQwZGViMDdiMjg1ODA0YTA3NGY4">  "Alright, you guys stitch up his wounds," Elanor says without looking at the men who just arrived. She then throws needles and threads at the men. Gregory catches them and looks at the beast. "Even weaklings like you can use that needle. So if you want to save him, don't just stand there, work," Elanor says in a monotone voice as if reading their minds.</p> <p class="cnM0YmQ3MzVmYzhlODQzOTQ5YmJmMmZmNGI2Nzc0ZjU3">  "What a waste..." Elanor mumbles well, rubbing her head in frustration. She then winds up her arm, her muscles rippling as she smashes her fist into the ground. The massive force forms an enormous crater.</p> <p class="cnM1NWNjYmQyODYzODRlNzk5MGE2YWE2ZWQxNTFhOGQy">  Elanor then takes out a pitcher, which she pours into the hole. The water doesn't stop even after the pitcher should have long been empty. The large crater slowly forms into a small pond.</p> <p class="cnMyNTMzMzNhYzdhZTQ1MTRiYWNlZjJlNzJiYmEwMDMy">  Next, she throws some medicine into the pond. "Alright, are you happy, stupid bush?" she complains. The men look at her with an odd expression but quickly continue their work.</p> <p class="cnM5NzNkNGExMjRjMzQwYThhYTg4YzhhMzRhNGZlMDY3">  "Thanks for your help. I'll repay you someday. Now it's all up to him if he can survive or not," John says in Elanor's head while waving his branch.</p> <p class="cnMwZGNhNmE5YTk1MjRhODFhNjg1Njc5MzNlOWE0MGI2">  Down at the bottom of the hill, Marsha is looking around curiously. When she notices Laurel, she waves to the girl, "Laurel! Have you seen Donna around?"</p> <p class="cnNhOTQ4ZTU2OGQwMTQ4OWI4YzNkODliYzg3Y2I3MDAz">  Laurel nods, responding, "Yeah."</p> <p class="cnM3N2IxZTcyMzE1NzQwYTM4MDUyZTRjZmQ0ZjhjZmQw">   Marsha gives a queer smile before asking, "where is she then?"</p> <p class="cnMyMmU2OWYxYzcxMzQwM2E4NmNiNmI5MGI5MWU2OTE3">  "Didn't she follow her dad?" the girl replies with a shrug. Marsha looks up at the hill, and indeed the little girl is scrambling near the top.</p> <p class="cnNmNDAxMzJmODQ2ZDQ1NWJhNTA5ZDExZTc5MzkyNmYw">  The men grunt and sweat as they sew up the demonic beast's wounds. While Elanor had said it would be easy to pierce the hide, it actually took all their strength. However, the difficulty only makes them more determined to complete their task. Their eyes blaze with determination and focus.</p> <p class="cnMwMjVhMmU1ODc0NzQzNzc5Y2IwNTNjYzFjMTRiZjJm">  The tension in the air is palpable as a young girl's head peaks over the crest of the hill. "Big ball!" Donna yells in a high-pitched voice. All eyes fall on this girl covered in mud and grass. She runs over to the demonic bull's face. Wilbur turns stiff. "Donna, stay back," he calls.</p> <p class="cnMxYWVmNjdiZGYxODQ1OGY5ZjUzYWZkYTlkZWNkNDIy">  The girl ignores her dad and stumbles onto the bull's head. Joe just snorts at the girl questioningly to the relief of the men. "Big ball owies!" Donna cries as snot drains from her nose. She hugs the demonic beast's head while bawling.</p> <p class="cnM4YjFhN2ViNjZiOTQ4ZjM4YjkxNGRhNGVhMzRkOTlj">  "Princess, I know you're trying to..." Wilbur tries to control his daughter before being cut off. "Owies fly away! Owies fly away!" Donna yells over and over while flinging her arms in the air. Wilbur's eyes tear up. This is something his wife used to do. He was sure that Donna didn't remember her mother. Yet now, here she is, just like her mother. Wiping his tears away, he returns to his stitching with renewed determination.</p> <p class="cnNmN2UxN2YyY2U4ZTRkZjRiODc3MjE1MDNkM2MzZTAy">  Soon the work is done. Wilbur scoops up the girl making sure to block the view of the dead man. He is glad that she didn't seem to pay any attention to the corpse. "Alright, wimps, it's my turn now!" Elanor laughs. She grabs the bull by his horns and drags him over to the pool. She kicks the fat bull into his medicinal bath. She then claps her hands together in a job well done.</p> <p class="cnM0Y2E4ZjQ3NjViMjQyNjJhNjJkNDBkMWNjY2M5MWM1">  "It's up to luck now. You guys head home," Elanor says while waving the men away.</p> <p class="cnNhMDM1ZWEyYzUzZDQ4NjA4NWJmZTUzMzY0ZGQxOTdh">  "Thanks, I doubt we'll ever be able to repay the kindness you've shown us," Gregory responds while bowing deeply.</p> <p class="cnMzNDM1NjY1NzEwYTRhYTQ5OWUzNGM5MzQ5ZjM4NWI5">  Elanor bites her lip. "Don't worry about these small things. I just do what's fun," she says, pushing away the compliment.</p> <p class="cnM3OTI0YjNkY2RhZTRkNzdhMzU2NzViNGNiMzVkZGEz">  As they leave, Donna asks, "big ball get better?" Wilbur tousles the naive girl's hair. "You've done your best. Only the gods know when our time is up," Wilbur comforts his daughter. "I understand," the little girl agrees, scrunching her tiny fists.</p> <p class="cnNjZDZiZWU3YTY0ZDRlMWU5M2Y5ZWNkZWY5MTRiNzY3">  Elanor flops onto the ground lazily after the villagers leave. "Are you sure there is value in them cultivating? Yeah, peasants think it's some great feat to reach the foundation stage. But to most cultivators, they're still mortals at that stage," she frankly says while twiddling with her hair. Then, after a bit of thought, she adds, "you're not going to tell me some garbage like you were a foundation stage cultivator in your last life, are you?"</p> <p class="cnNhOTcwMDBkNGRmMDQyYzdhMjc3ZTFiYzc5YTY5NzQw">  "Of course not, I wasn't much, but I was from a respectable clan. Even a weakling won't be that much of a garbage person," the bush retorts, shaking his limbs angrily. "I wasn't a talent like you reaching such heights at a young age. Still, I was competent in the bottom six expertise when I was cut down," John tells the beauty while sighing.</p> <p class="cnM3YjA5YmVhMDFlOTRlN2Q5NGIyNzI4MTAwNjkxODFj">  Elanor yawns as she responds, "Competent? That's pretty garbage, old man. Still, you didn't answer my question."</p> <p class="cnNiZjhlZDRiN2Q0ODRlMGQ5ZmM3OTU5NGQ4NGMzYTJi">  "Yeah, my talent wasn't much good. You could've probably beaten me as you are now with out issue. Still, I want them to be able to stand on their own two feet. If only a little," he says, his branches drooping sadly. He gently waves at the girl continuing, "no one can force you to continue, though. If you truly think there is no value to it, then let them die here alone and scared."</p> <p class="cnM4ZDMxYWI5NWJlOTQyNDJiM2Y3NjZjYTc4MjBmZWZh">  Elanor gets to her feet and pats her bottom to remove any dirt. "When you put it like that... I guess I don't have the heart to stop," she states. Then, turning away with a seductive hair flick, she sways down the hill.</p> </div>

Joe stumbles on the hill before collapsing with a loud thud. Dust clouds flutter down on the village, signifying the fall of their guardian spirit. Gasps can be heard as Elanor leaps up to the top of the hill.   "You know I suck at healing," Elanor quips, glancing over her shoulder at the bush.   "Well, we don't have time to send for help. So just do what you can," John replies, sighing.   "Alright, what do I have?" the beauty ponders as she searches through her interspatial ring.   John then looks at the man on the boulder pierced by the Stone Porcupine herb. It is quite a gruesome sight to see a human pin cushion. "Do you think they'll come back for revenge?" John asks with a sigh.   "Probably not. Thanks to your trick, they think an upper six master is around. I doubt that they will want to pick a fight with someone like that," the fairy replies.   Then she tips her head to the side in thought. She shakes her head before continuing, "Perhaps if they think your hurt and can extort you. But even that may be dangerous for them. It depends on whether they're idiots, I guess." When she finishes, she flips her hair in disdain.   "If you were going to be so upset about healing the big guy, you should have tried from the start," John lectures.    Elanor rolls her eyes and replies, "if I want lectures about proper etiquette, I'll just head back to my master." An awkward silence looms over the hill as the conversation ends.   Gregory motions to Arron and Wilbur while saying, "we may not be able to help. But if we can, we owe it to him." The other two men nod before climbing the hill. The demonic beast has saved their lives twice now. He helps them out when they are in trouble and watches over them when they are not. Yet all they've done for the beast is feed it some vegetables. They owe this demonic beast too much.   "Alright, you guys stitch up his wounds," Elanor says without looking at the men who just arrived. She then throws needles and threads at the men. Gregory catches them and looks at the beast. "Even weaklings like you can use that needle. So if you want to save him, don't just stand there, work," Elanor says in a monotone voice as if reading their minds.   "What a waste..." Elanor mumbles well, rubbing her head in frustration. She then winds up her arm, her muscles rippling as she smashes her fist into the ground. The massive force forms an enormous crater.   Elanor then takes out a pitcher, which she pours into the hole. The water doesn't stop even after the pitcher should have long been empty. The large crater slowly forms into a small pond.   Next, she throws some medicine into the pond. "Alright, are you happy, stupid bush?" she complains. The men look at her with an odd expression but quickly continue their work.   "Thanks for your help. I'll repay you someday. Now it's all up to him if he can survive or not," John says in Elanor's head while waving his branch.   Down at the bottom of the hill, Marsha is looking around curiously. When she notices Laurel, she waves to the girl, "Laurel! Have you seen Donna around?"   Laurel nods, responding, "Yeah."    Marsha gives a queer smile before asking, "where is she then?"   "Didn't she follow her dad?" the girl replies with a shrug. Marsha looks up at the hill, and indeed the little girl is scrambling near the top.   The men grunt and sweat as they sew up the demonic beast's wounds. While Elanor had said it would be easy to pierce the hide, it actually took all their strength. However, the difficulty only makes them more determined to complete their task. Their eyes blaze with determination and focus.   The tension in the air is palpable as a young girl's head peaks over the crest of the hill. "Big ball!" Donna yells in a high-pitched voice. All eyes fall on this girl covered in mud and grass. She runs over to the demonic bull's face. Wilbur turns stiff. "Donna, stay back," he calls.   The girl ignores her dad and stumbles onto the bull's head. Joe just snorts at the girl questioningly to the relief of the men. "Big ball owies!" Donna cries as snot drains from her nose. She hugs the demonic beast's head while bawling.   "Princess, I know you're trying to..." Wilbur tries to control his daughter before being cut off. "Owies fly away! Owies fly away!" Donna yells over and over while flinging her arms in the air. Wilbur's eyes tear up. This is something his wife used to do. He was sure that Donna didn't remember her mother. Yet now, here she is, just like her mother. Wiping his tears away, he returns to his stitching with renewed determination.   Soon the work is done. Wilbur scoops up the girl making sure to block the view of the dead man. He is glad that she didn't seem to pay any attention to the corpse. "Alright, wimps, it's my turn now!" Elanor laughs. She grabs the bull by his horns and drags him over to the pool. She kicks the fat bull into his medicinal bath. She then claps her hands together in a job well done.   "It's up to luck now. You guys head home," Elanor says while waving the men away.   "Thanks, I doubt we'll ever be able to repay the kindness you've shown us," Gregory responds while bowing deeply.   Elanor bites her lip. "Don't worry about these small things. I just do what's fun," she says, pushing away the compliment.   As they leave, Donna asks, "big ball get better?" Wilbur tousles the naive girl's hair. "You've done your best. Only the gods know when our time is up," Wilbur comforts his daughter. "I understand," the little girl agrees, scrunching her tiny fists.   Elanor flops onto the ground lazily after the villagers leave. "Are you sure there is value in them cultivating? Yeah, peasants think it's some great feat to reach the foundation stage. But to most cultivators, they're still mortals at that stage," she frankly says while twiddling with her hair. Then, after a bit of thought, she adds, "you're not going to tell me some garbage like you were a foundation stage cultivator in your last life, are you?"   "Of course not, I wasn't much, but I was from a respectable clan. Even a weakling won't be that much of a garbage person," the bush retorts, shaking his limbs angrily. "I wasn't a talent like you reaching such heights at a young age. Still, I was competent in the bottom six expertise when I was cut down," John tells the beauty while sighing.   Elanor yawns as she responds, "Competent? That's pretty garbage, old man. Still, you didn't answer my question."   "Yeah, my talent wasn't much good. You could've probably beaten me as you are now with out issue. Still, I want them to be able to stand on their own two feet. If only a little," he says, his branches drooping sadly. He gently waves at the girl continuing, "no one can force you to continue, though. If you truly think there is no value to it, then let them die here alone and scared."   Elanor gets to her feet and pats her bottom to remove any dirt. "When you put it like that... I guess I don't have the heart to stop," she states. Then, turning away with a seductive hair flick, she sways down the hill.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlZTA1YjcyOTgyYTRmZDU4NmJkOWIzMmViY2ExMGQ2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMWU0ODJkNDNlNTQ3OTZhMzM5N2JlMmY0ZDc0ZWI5">As we go up the stairs things begin to look promising because the top few floors each have a fair number more doors than the lower floors do, so it looks like we made the right choice on going all the way to the top.</p> <p class="cnNhMTZjNzdiZWRhZjRiZjE5MjNmNzQ4YTRjYzI4MjY5">“Everyone listen up! We are going to be the ones that destroy that imitation crystal, and to do that you are going to have to toughen up, and toughen up fast. We are going to push through the rooms as fast as we can. As long as you are there you should acquire xp, so stay out of my way.”</p> <p class="cnM3ODA4Yjg2ODI3ZDRlYzA4N2NmNDBmOTcyYWJlYzFh">Chase: “Bandy, we have to train our new members properly!”</p> <p class="cnNlNjgxZDdlNWRkYzRkMDlhZjI4ZDQyNzk4ODJkNGFm">“Katie is far from new, and the others can learn by watching to see how it is done, all the while they will be leveling up just by being in the group.”</p> <p class="cnM5ZDUxODMwN2Q3YTQzOGU4MjlhMmFhYTJiMzBlZDBk">Katie: “I just need to acquire more levels to increase my crafting abilities, but these others are just starting out, levels won’t do them any good if they have no actual combat experience.”</p> <p class="cnM2ZTJlZWQwMWEzYzQwNmNhZWY5ZTdmNjUzNjU0ZWU5">“They can train in their own time, but if they want to level up they better keep up!”</p> <p class="cnMzZDc3YTcyZmY2ZDRkODk5ZjgwMzEyMWVlNWI3M2Ux">“We won’t let you down Mistress!” –Says Edmund the lizard beastkin as he attempts to suck up to me.-</p> <p class="cnMwYTY1OThhYjU0MjQyNmQ4NjhhZGUwOGRkMTU2ODE0">Katie: “You shouldn’t call Miss Bandy your Mistress, Edmund… We already have a Master, and people will think you are her slave if you call her that.”</p> <p class="cnM2NDI3YTM1OTMxOTRiYTRiZDVmOTA3YTNlZDY0ZmY5">“She is right Ed. I wouldn’t want anyone to think you were something I chose.”</p> <p class="cnM1OGEwM2M3ZWJmNDRhY2JhOWExNDNkN2Y1NDIxNzg0">Katie: “That’s not what I meant.”</p> <p class="cnMxMGYzMWM0MGYxODRhNzViOTEwNDRjZjQxNzNmZWE0">Ed: “It’s alright, I might not be much now, but I will prove to everyone I belong at Bandy’s side.” –He says while puffing out his chest, but seems to blush when he calls me by name.-</p> <p class="cnNiNzFjNjc1NjY2MTQxNTE4ZTVjNTM5MmEzZTM5N2Q4">“Good luck with that...” –I say sarcastically, but Ed seems to take it as encouragement.-</p> <p class="cnNkNzZhMTQ5OWY0NTQ5ODc5MDMzMmM0NzJhM2JmM2M3">Chase: “I am sure Ed will come to his senses after he gets a chance to see the real Bandy.”</p> <p class="cnMzODA3M2I0NjkxODQyNjU5MDQwNDY3NWMzMDU4MjE4">“You had your chance to leave!”</p> <p class="cnMyYzZhMWEzMTkyODRkMmRiZWRkZGE2ODQ2N2RiNTVh">Chase: “Someone has to keep you from disgracing Two-Twelve!”</p> <p class="cnNjZmFiZTE4NDAxYjQ1NzU4ZWY0ZjUzNjc2OTRkZTFm">“Looks like someone woke up and put his big boy pants on today. Let me guess, you are trying to impress Charlotte?”</p> <p class="cnMwOGQzMjA5ODJlZjQzYWY4NDg0YmY4NWE0ZjgzOTVi">This whole group was a mistake, if Ursus and Ed’s personalities were flipped it might not be too bad, but even Charlotte is making matters worse. Not only is she going to start stealing the gazes of the men when we stroll into a new village, but she is even causing Chase to grow a pair in hopes of impressing her.</p> <p class="cnM3MWVjOGEzYjlhNjRhY2RhNzZjMmY3Y2RkMjRmYmUy">Maybe if I level this group up quickly Two-Twelve will allow me to trade them off for another group more to my liking, I would have to start over <strong>again</strong>, but it beats this sack of disappointment.</p> <p class="cnNiZWZkMzgxZjJlODQ1MGI5NWM3ZWFkYzQ1M2UzZTY5">Chase: “This has nothing to do with Charlotte! You have always been impetuous…”</p> <p class="cnMzY2I2OGQ4ZmZjMDRlOGE4ZDRlY2U3MjcyZjRjYzRk">Charlotte: “Forgive me if I am speaking out of turn, but we are not gaining any training or xp by standing here arguing, shouldn’t we begin?”</p> <p class="cnMzM2Q4ZjQyZTczNjQ0ZTdiZWNkNWVjNTAwYjAyMGUy">“Look, even Charlotte is tired of listening to you prattle on. Now, if you want to live stick close without getting in the way!” –I say while picking out the fanciest door on the 10^th floor, readying my two weapons, and flinging open the door.-</p> <p class="cnM1MGY3MGNiYTBkOTQzZTI5NDU4MmY2YzczZWNlZDY0">The room appears to be as standard as they come. Even the size of the room is the default 20 feet by 20 feet the only change may be the fact the ceiling is a bit high for a default sized room, but overall it is boring.</p> <p class="cnMxODQxY2RiZTAyZTRhN2JiMDIzZDE4ODBmYzIxZTI0">There is another door on the other side of the room, but between us and the door is a small group of wolves standing their ground and growling at us. I wouldn’t exactly call them pups, but they are far from being full grown ones.</p> <p class="cnM5YmUwMzgyY2IxZTQwY2ZiYmNmYzk2MDVlNjM1YzIy">“Is this come kind of a joke?!”</p> <p class="cnM0NWUwMTBkMDczMjQxNTJhYTVjNTA5YTZiZDBmMGNm">Chase: “These rooms are for training new adventurers, so it makes sense that the first door has entry level monsters like this.”</p> <p class="cnNkM2NlNDM0NTJmMDQ3M2NiYjQ0MzEzYjFjOWExZTM5">“This is the 10^th floor!”</p> <p class="cnNkMDRiOTQzMTA3NzQzODY5MzBmNTU2OTZkOTYzYjgy">Katie: “Ceres did say that every floor contained the same xp amount of monsters.”</p> <p class="cnM1YWIyMzBiZTQ0MDRlYmU5MWQwNzdmMWY2MzUxNzQ1">“Fine, you can all do what you want, but I don’t have time for this!”</p> <p class="cnM4NTVmOWYwMTVjOTQwYWNhNDFkMjkzMDYwZTkxYjM5">I launch myself through the room taking out two of the wolves as I pass heading for the next door. Meanwhile the others move into the room and begin fighting the wolves. Once I reach the door however I find it is locked, but has no key hole.</p> <p class="cnM3ODg0OTdmYzI4ODQ5Mzg4NWEwYjY4YTJiMjU3ZGQ3">Even with Ed, Ursus, and Charlotte being level one, between them, Chase, and Katie, the remaining wolves fall before I have a chance to investigate the door any further, and once the final wolf falls, the lock on the door gives.</p> <p class="cnNhYzdkZDdhODEwNDQzYTVhMDRiMTMyNGRjNWI4MDRj">“Seriously!? We are going to have to kill all these puny wolves in every room before moving on to the next one?”</p> <p class="cnNjMjA1MjU5YTYwODRkMzdiMjNhZTM0YTJlODhkYTZh">Chase: “Have some patience. The wolves are good training for the new members of our group.”</p> <p class="cnMwOTIwMjY1MTljNjQwOGZhNmQwZTdhYzFmNzYxZjM5">“It doesn’t look like we have any choice anyway, so you better keep up.” –I then fling the door open and head into the next room.-</p> <p class="cnMxZGI0MzNiNzdhOTQ2MDU5OTQ4YjQxMzg0MTZjYjBj">The next room still contains only wolves, but at least this time they are at least fully grown ones, I wait only long enough for the others to enter the room, before moving forward to deal with the wolves, I stab the 'leader' up its chin and out the top of its skull as it lunged at me, then break the ribs of the one right behind it with a kick, throw the body of the first one at another, and lunge forth, re-impaling the first wolf, and giving it a mercy kill (it was somehow still alive) while taking out the one it got nailed to.</p> <p class="cnM4MjQ3N2FlNGYwMTQ2MThiMDYwN2MzMjk2ZDI5ZjFj">A fourth one tries jumping unto my back, but I move to the left and kick its butt while pulling my sword off (breaking some of the dead wolf’s bones in the process. I'm strong enough it doesn't really matter if the sword gets 'stuck' on these pups), then slicing its back legs right off. As I look back, I see the others are staring, and that includes the surviving wolves.</p> <p class="cnMzYzFlODE4MzM4ODRkYTViMzU0NjAxNzc1YTNlNTUx">"Well, what are you waiting for? These guys aren't killing themselves you know!?"</p> <p class="cnM5YTA5ZThiZGM5YzQzOWFiMmI3NzQ0OTJmZjViZDU1">Between the three of them they manage to take out the remaining wolves without any help, but we don’t know how far this path goes, and there are dozens of doors from the central room, so I don’t have time to be holding their hands.</p> <p class="cnM5MGYyZjRkZGIzZjQzNzNiNThkOGJhOTMwZWZlNTk0">“If you can’t pick up the pace, then stick to the sidelines. We have dozens of rooms to go through and we don’t have time for you to be patting each other on the back over a little wolf.”</p> <p class="cnMxODFjNWNiZGQ3NjRmOTc5YmViZjVjZTg2MTRjNzVh">Chase: “They are just starting out Bandy, it was good teamwork for them!”</p> <p class="cnM1OGZiZmM0MGM3MzQxMmU4MjU4ZGFmM2UzOWRjNmI1">“And I told them they can train their combat in their own time. Now, let’s go.”</p> <p class="cnNkYjdmYTA1NWY0ODQwYTQ4N2JhMTk0ZTkxYmQ2YWEz">The next room contains another set of wolves, and these ones are not only fully grown but much tougher looking as well. They are still just wolves though so I charge forth and leap up over their heads, twisting in mid-air to stab at their heads through their ears, quickly killing two of them, then grabbing the third one's hind legs as I land/slide on the floor and before it even gets to whine, pull it up, spin with it fast enough that its body makes a whizzing noise as it cuts the air, then slam it into the floor with a satisfyingly wet, yet crunchy, sound. With only two left alive I let Chase deal with one while Katie helps the new members slay the last one.</p> <p class="cnNiMDk1YmQzZGFhNjQ5ZWFhNjE4NGQ2NWUxNzNjZDg3">“That’s better. Let’s keep moving.”</p> <p class="cnM2N2Y3OWJmM2ZlYjQyMjJiYTgxYTA0NjdhMDNjMzJl">In the next room the wolves actually start getting a bit of a bite, because instead of normal wolves they are dire wolves. Even six dire wolves are no problem for me, but they have the new members shaking in their boots.</p> <p class="cnM4NzViY2RmNGY5MzQ0YjBhY2UxYjM1ODBlMzVhMjRl">One more room of even larger dire wolves brings us to a dead end, but I am hesitant in turning back right away…</p> <p class="cnNjMWJiNmZkZTk3MjRjOTlhZWNmYWMyYzlmMmI4MDRk">Chase: “There is nothing here, we should go back.”</p> <p class="cnNhOGIzNGRiZDhiMzRjYTVhMmYyYmFlNzkzY2JlMGFi">“Ceres said even if we were allowed to destroy the crystal, we wouldn’t find it, so I am sure she has hidden it somewhere, so damned if I am going to give up on this room just because it <strong>looks</strong> like a dead end.”</p> <p class="cnM0NTlhMGQyMTVlMTRmYWZiYTIyMmNhYTBkZDhjOGFj">Chase: “We need to continue everyone’s training, Bandy. <strong>That’s</strong> why we are here.”</p> <p class="cnNlY2MzY2U3MjY0NDQyMjViZTBmZDYzYTMzOThiZmUz">“I’m not leaving this room till I am sure the crystal isn’t here, if you want to train them, <strong>you</strong> take them to another room.”</p> <p class="cnM5NDQzOGY4MWE4NzQwNTBiZDQ4ZjJjZDFlMmJjYTE0">Chase: “Fine! I will!”</p> <p class="cnM3ZWQ1ZjMwNjljMzRjMWRiOGIzOGZlMzBlMDQ3MWYz">Edmund: “You are just going to leave Bandy here alone?! What if something happens? If Bandy stays, then so will I!”</p> <p class="cnNhNjRjNzgxZmFjMTRlOGE5ZDBhZGQ0MzgwMzBmNjAz">“What exactly do you expect to do, if I encounter anything that would be even remotely troublesome, you would make zero difference…”</p> <p class="cnNkZmZjZTY2NmZjMzRlMjQ4YTQzZDc2ODczODZlMTc4">Edmund: “I don’t have any delusions of being stronger then I actually am. I know the difference in our strengths, but if something does happen I can at least try to run and get help.”</p> <p class="cnM4ZDYwNmZjMTkwNzRkNDJhNTE2NTMyODE3MWQwZTM4">“Fine, do whatever you want.”</p> <p class="cnMyODg1YjllMmNkMzRhZmJhYzJhMjczNDdiY2Y0MGE1">Chase: “This is crazy! You need your training as well, you should come with us.”</p> <p class="cnM4MDg5M2Q1ODY1MDQ3NjE4NjRmOTgyZmIyMjQ5OTcw">Edmund: “If this is where Bandy is, this is where I want to be!”</p> <p class="cnMwMzE2ZDcwOWZmZDQ2MjhhZWRhYTU1YTE4OGI0NTRm">Katie: “Maybe we should all stay behind. Splitting up is never a good idea if it is avoidable…”</p> <p class="cnM5Y2Y3MjU1MjQyODQwNmJhYmU0ZjVjYzAwYjExMGZi">Chase: “Ceres said that the rules were that we could destroy the crystal if we found it, <strong>only if</strong> we are training our new members correctly, so even if Bandy did find the crystal it isn’t like she would be allowed to destroy it, because she is ignoring the training of the rest of you.”</p> <p class="cnM1MTNjMjEyZGE2MTRlN2Q4MTE3MmJhMTg3NWU2OGIx">Charlotte: “He is right… Please Edmund, come back with us, so we can do our training right!”</p> <p class="cnNmNmUyMTQwNzhhYTRmZjQ5YjMwNGI0Y2UzODNiZDEw">Edmund: “I’ll catch up later.”</p> <p class="cnNmYTdkNDk1ZjI0ODQyMTFiNGQxNDM5OTllYzE2NDY2">Chase: “Forget it! Let’s go. I can at least make sure two of you get proper training.”</p> <p class="cnM5ZWE4ZjY3ZDA4MjRkYzJhNWRhYzI0NDFhYzQxN2E1">Ed waves off the others while they leave while I continue looking for a hidden door, switch, or any kind of clue to the location of the crystal.</p> <p class="cnMxZDEyYjQ0OTIwNTRmYTRiZTY0NzkyYWJmYzk4NDE1">Edmund: “It’s just the two of us now…” –He says nervously.- “I-is there anything I can do to help?”</p> <p class="cnMzMDBjZjUzNDVmNTQ3MmViNTJkN2VmZDEwOGM5ZDBk">“Yea…”</p> <p class="cnMxNzgzOTdlMDVlOTRhZTU5MjdkYTFmMWUxNjExOTc5">Edmund: “What is it?!” –He quickly blurts out.-</p> <p class="cnM3ZDM4MzNiYjFjNDQ4ZDE4OTZjOGE2ODExMjgzMDJk">“Keep quiet, and stay out of the way. Don’t even for a minute think you did me some kind of favor. I am still not sleeping with your horny ass.”</p> <p class="cnM0M2E5ODhjYzFkNzQzYmZhOWMwOGY5YzU2MWRiYTQ1">Edmund: “That isn’t what this is about!”</p> <p class="cnNlMzI1ODcyZGMyNzQ1Mzg4NmRiOWViNmFhMzQyYTY2">Ed just watches me while I continue to search the room, but after a while he either gets embarrassed from staring so long, or grows bored as he begins searching the room as well. As if he could find anything that I couldn’t…</p> <p class="cnM2MGEyM2JiZjE3ZDRhNzg5YmRiYmE0MzRhZWZkNmUy">“You know, it isn’t too late, they probably have only made it through a couple rooms, you could catch up to them and the amount of xp you missed out on would barely be noticeable after a couple of days.”</p> <p class="cnM0MzBhOWY1ZGMzMDRlNGViMTc3ODRjZDRmZThmYjM5">Edmund: “No, you are the leader of the strongest group in Master’s dungeon, and you didn’t get there without knowing what you are doing, so if this is where you say we should be, then this is the <strong>only</strong> place I want to be.”</p> <p class="cnM5OGExMjMwMmFiMTQxMjZhNWY4MTk5MmZlNTc5OWM5">“Well you may be wrong, because I don’t see anything here, but with an attitude like that, you just might have a place in my group after all. Never in my bed, mind you, but at least in my group.”</p> <p class="cnM5OTFiYzcyOWRjMzQ1YzM5NmIwMjY4ODgxOTk4NTM2">Edmund: “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give for just that honor alone. And hearing you say that was well worth the xp.”</p> <p class="cnMzOTc0NTEyMGE3YTRiZjQ5NjQzZDM0ZDIwNDg3Yzlh">“I don’t have time for kiss asses either, if you want to be part of my group prove it with your strength. Now, we should catch up with the others before they reach the end of the next room, find the crystal, and get some kind of bright idea.”</p> <p class="cnM0MDkzNmIxY2Q4MjRlYjY5NjlhZjU1MjRmZmZjNGVk">We make our way back to the central room and enter the next room to find it much like the last one, only this time instead of young wolves, there is a half dozen young boars.</p> <p class="cnM5MTljYWE4ZTBmYTQ2YTY4MTJmN2E3ZDdiNTU0ZmE3">“None of the other monsters seemed to respawn, and if they did the others wouldn’t had time to go through them all and enter another room by now, so I think we went the wrong way.”</p> <p class="cnM0MTBkYmM5NGRjYjQ2OWU4MDRhNGY1M2YwMmEyNGU1">Edmund: “Should we go back?”</p> <p class="cnM1MTFkOWM2NDJhNTQ3NjI5OThjYmUxZWQwM2I2OWZh">I think about it for a minute and cross my arms while smirking. “No, you want to be part of my group, and those dire wolves alone should have been enough to give you a few levels, so show me what you got!”</p> <p class="cnMyZjRmNmYyNTc0YzQ2MmI5NTU5ZGZjZDA5ZTJmMzli">Edmund: “By myself, or are you going to help me?”</p> <p class="cnM4YjMwZmI2YTNlODRlYzNhMDdmYzQ5YTMyYWNiOTMz">“If you can’t take out some piglets on your own, I can’t really say that shows me you have any hope of proving your strength to join my group permanently.”</p> <p class="cnNhZDgwNjkyMmQyMTRhN2ZiMDkyNjg5YzRiNWVlNThj">Edmund: “Then do you mind if I get rid of this shield, and borrow another weapon from you? If I am going to do this alone, the shield is just going to get in my way.”</p> <p class="cnMzMWU2NDY1M2QwYTRjYTQ5NWUyYjc3NDAxYmFiMGY4">“There is no way I would even let you <strong>touch</strong> one of my swords, but I got an old stiletto in my boot for emergencies, if that works?”</p> <p class="cnNkZjkyZmNiY2QzZTRhNDY4YmRkZTUzYTBmOTYzYTM2">Edmund: “That would be fine.” –He says while unbuckling the strap that keeps him from dropping his shield, and lets it fall to the floor.-</p> <p class="cnMzNGZkZGEzODc0YTQ2NjVhM2M5NzMxNjg5MTY5Zjg0">“You sure you can handle two weapons at once?” –I say pulling the stiletto from my boot and slapping it into the palm of his hand.-</p> <p class="cnNhMTcxOTBjZDRmMjRiNTc5NjIzNWZiNjViNmI3YmM1">Edmund: “Not as well as you. At least, not yet. But more than enough to deal with a few pigs.”</p> <p class="cnNjN2NjNTcwMDZiNDQwOGZhMTg1YzYxNzgxOWEyMTMx">I still use the two Shima short swords that Two-Twelve gave me, but Ed had a full sized sword and a shield, so can he use the two vastly different sized weapons together effectively? I guess I am about to find out because he yells as he starts to run across the room.</p> <p class="cnNlYWY0YzBmMmQwMjQ3ZjRhMGVhNDIwMThjODY5MGJh">Normal wild boars that are the age in which these ones are, would run away from an idiot screaming and flailing weapons about, but these are dungeon monsters, so they bow up and charge Ed.</p> <p class="cnNiNDUyYzY1NTI4NDQwZGJiZjIyOWJkZjg4YWEwODI0">He runs in and tries to do a poor man's me, by dodging to the side and sinking the stiletto through the 1st boar's ear, but as he tries to pull it out, he ends up trying to drag the entire animal as it sticks to the blade, so another boar bites at his overextended wrist, and he has to swing the sword to hit at its back, twice, in order to bring it down by breaking its spine.</p> <p class="cnM1YTNhZDljYTY3YjQ3MmNiOWExNTQ0NWM4YmMzZDUw">Honestly, he probably got lucky, and as the third boar bites at his foot and starts pulling him away, it at least helps him get the stiletto free, so as soon as the fourth boar comes for him, he desperately stabs at its head and chest while sticking his right forearm into its mouth, wisely filling its muzzle to protect his face. I think he also stabbed his own arm a couple of times in the process, though.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDhiODlkZDBlOTQ1M2E5MTMzNjlhYTJhMGQ2NzE1">He finally brings it down, and gets busy with the boar that dragged him. At this point, I think he's running on pain, though since he starts chopping and stabbing while letting out a long monosyllabic warcry that could make you think he was charging a dragon instead. By the time he calms down all of the boars are dead, one of which skewered by the spikes on Ed’s shoulder after he body slammed it…</p> <p class="cnM0ZDNkMmQ2NDM2YzRlMTI5MjQwZmU3ZDAwNmIyYTk3">“You call that showing me your strength?”</p> <p class="cnMyNzJhMzVlZDU3NzQwZmQ4Nzc5Mjk3ODI4YTcyOTNj">Edmund: “They may have been just been boars, but they were dungeon monsters! That is much different than if they were just normal boars…”</p> <p class="cnMzNmM4ODQ4Zjc1MzQxMWJiZjIxMjkyN2E4ZTQ0ZDUz">“Well I don’t know if that proves anything or not, but are you ready for the next room?”</p> <p class="cnNhYjNiZTlkN2Y0ZDQ2N2Q5NmM5NjE0Zjk4Y2MyN2I5">Edmund: “By myself again, or with help this time?” –He says while getting back to his feet.-</p> <p class="cnNiMDc5NDJhODc5YzQ4MWQ4MzY3ZTM1NTM0YTBmZmU1">“If these rooms are anything like the last, I would say there are quite a few fully grown boars in the next room. Do you think you can handle that on your own?”</p> <p class="cnNjNzQ2ZTI0ZmM1ZjRhNDdhYTRhOGQ4YjE5ZmUxZjcw">Edmund: “I would like to show off and say yes, but realistically, not by myself…”</p> <p class="cnM3YjgxODE1MDlkYzQyNDE5YmNlYjY0ODBhNzM0YTgy">“What if I trimmed down their numbers for you a bit?”</p> <p class="cnNkMDM1Y2NmODk3MjRhZTFhMzEyYjUyOWVlYTE3MGMw">Edmund: “We don’t have a healer, and weren’t you worried that Chase to find the crystal in the room they went into?”</p> <p class="cnMwZDg1YWQ0OTQxODRiZTZhZTUxNWM2YzY3NjEzNDVk">“The odds of it being at the end of their door is just as likely as it being at the end of ours, or are you telling me you aren’t up to the task of being part of my group?”</p> <p class="cnMyODUwY2NlMjViZjQ5MzY4ZjU0Mjg1MmVmODhmMDhm">Edmund: “Of course I am!” –He says quickly preparing himself to enter the next door.-</p> <p class="cnNlZWZmYWJjMzQxMDQ1MWFhZDBiOTFhOTdhNzFhNjU0">“What about that? You plan on bringing it along?” –I say pointing at the boar skewered to his shoulder.-</p> <p class="cnM4MzJjMTFlMWM0ZTQ2MjliZGM3MzZkZjdhNzQ5YWJh">He quickly tries to pull the boar of the spikes sticking out of his shoulder, but they are pointing to his back, and are just far enough back that he can’t reach the boar with either hand. He then tries shaking it off, but hangs his head in defeat.</p> <p class="cnMzZjVkYzYxMzAxZTRhZDJhNjc2YTQ1MmQ2OWU1YjRm">Edmund: “Could you please assist me…”</p> <p class="cnM0YTgyNDEzNzBjMDRjZDY5OWU3MjEzNTM2NWNiZjRk">“I’ll pull it off this time, but you better figure out a better way to remove things from your spikes if you plan on charging things again!” –I say grabbing onto the mangled corpse stuck to his back and pulling it off. I then wipe my hands off on the front of his shirt before we move on to the next room.-</p> <p class="cnM0NzNhOGJiZjM1ZDQxM2ZiZDMzMTE5YmQ0Mjk1ZmM3">I leave Ed in the way for the couple of moments it takes me to deal with all but one of the larger boars, but I then kick the last one, pushing it in Ed’s direction. He is initially caught off guard as he was standing there practically drooling while watching me fight, but he charges in on the boar.</p> <p class="cnM4YWI5NGY1ZjhkNjQxODNhMDA5OWQ1MzdiMGVkZWZk">My kick alone was enough to cause some internal injury to the boar, but even still Ed takes just as long to drop the fully grown boar as I did for the other five.</p> <p class="cnMxZGM2MDg0NjIyYzQwYzBhMDI4ZDk2MDFjNGRlMjk4">Edmund: “I did it!”</p> <p class="cnNkZjkwNTY5NzQxNDQxYjNiNWM0MzE4MjljYzE4Mzhh">“People in my group don’t get excited over a simple boar, now if you are done wasting our time, are you ready to continue?”</p> <p class="cnM0YzBlMTgyYzAwZDRjZmQ4NGE4OTZjZjk1MDEzNzAz">Edmund: “I don’t know if I can fight any stronger then this on my own…”</p> <p class="cnM1ZWRlMjBjOTI3MzRkYjhiZjQ0Yjg3OTAyYzhjNTRj">“If these rooms here are like the wolf ones than we have at least three more to go.”</p> <p class="cnM5NjI4NzkzZjNjNzQwMWNiY2QxMzk4NjJhYmI4YWFm">Edmund: “You don’t expect me to fight in all of them do you…?”</p> <p class="cnMxNmY0OGI3MGIzOTRlMjQ4OWVmMDYxZDY1Mjg1MmFm">“If you want to be part of my group, you will fight till you don’t think you can fight any more, but you will fight some more anyway, because it is what I told you to do, and then, If I am feeling generous you can have a break. But only if I like what I see.”</p> <p class="cnNkYTQ0MTc5MTU2MzRhOTM5ODkyOWE4ZmVhNGZiMmE0">Ed seems to be wearing a difficult expression so I decide to add. “Whenever you decide that you don’t want to be part of my group, you can return to the others, and train with them.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZTJkZjhlNmEyNDQxNWNiNjAxYmUzODYzNDA2MGZi">Edmund: “No, I understand… I can’t promise I will be much help, but if you tell me to give it a shot. I will!”</p> <p class="cnM1NWM4NWU5NjUzNDQyMDI5NWZhYmE5M2VhMjQwMjJk">“Good, you enter the next room first.”</p> <p class="cnM4MjRiODdmZGRjMTQxYTNhZjAwMjIyYThjZjU2NzAy">Edmund: “Wait… What?! They will be even stronger then these ones and you want me to face all six of them by myself?”</p> <p class="cnMyMjg1MjYyZDY2YTQxZjg4M2JlNGQyNmEyOWYyYTUz">“Of course not, you would die, but I do want to see what your limits are, before I join in.”</p> <p class="cnM2OTVmYWY3ZWEzOTQ3OTY4ODU1MzBhNTBhMTg2NTli">Edmund: “What if they charge me and kill me before you have a chance to save me…?”</p> <p class="cnM4MDliN2E5ZWFmYjQ4YmU5OWFjNTgwOWI4NWM0MzBi">“I highly doubt they are faster than I am, and besides that Milo guy is supposed to be keeping an eye on you all, to make sure something like that doesn’t happen.”</p> <p class="cnNiMzI4Mjg2YTI0ZTRjNmZhMDYyNGFkYzVlMGY1OTcy">Ed then nervously approaches the door and opens it, peering inside while saying. “Oh… They are huge.” He readies his weapons, and steps past the door. I didn’t know if he was brave enough to step into the room alone, but he was, so I quickly rush to the door to catch up with him.</p> <p class="cnM2MzJlNTQzMDI1YjQ1ZTFhZDcwYTg1MjlmYzU3ZWIx">The boars are now almost chest high now, with tusks that could do a lot of damage if they manage to gore you with them. Standing a few feet behind Ed, neither he nor the boars have made a move yet staring each other down from across the room.</p> <p class="cnNjNGQ0YWI0YjlmMTQ0NmZhNWJiNzdlYmYwOGMzOTJi">I lean against the door frame to see what Ed does next. I half expected him to look back for me, but instead he tightens his grip on his weapons, takes a deep breath, and takes another step forward while yelling again.</p> <p class="cnMyMTYxMTE1YzViMzQ4YmE5MGE0NTYzY2VmMjAzYjMx">If all six hit at the same time, I couldn’t stop all of them from hitting him, and I don’t know if Milo would be able to hold back all six at once, so as the boars start rushing across the room towards Ed I launch myself forward as well.</p> <p class="cnM4YTY4OTk1MTA1ZjQ4MTQ4NzIwMGQ4ZWQ4MDYwNmE2">Ed stands between me and the boars, so I grab a few of the longer spikes on Ed’s body climbing him like a ladder. He is surprised at first by my weight on his body, but before he even has a chance to react, other than bracing himself against my weight, I’m already propelling myself off of his shoulders and into the group of boars.</p> <p class="cnMyYjMwNGZhZDdjNzRjODZiNjgwY2ZiMDVjYzkwNjA0">My sudden action seems to bolster Ed with courage as he charges forward to catch up to me, but he only arrives in enough time to deal a fatal blow to the last of the boars. He seems relieved though as he lets out a deep sigh of relief.</p> <p class="cnM3YmRlMjc3NzZmZTQxMWM5OTFiMGQ0MmZhMGVkMzk3">“Showing up just in time to lay out the final blow doesn’t count. If you want to be a permanent member of my group you better get quicker.”</p> <p class="cnMxMTcxMzE5Yzc3NzQ4ZTFhODNkMGRiOGRhMGVmNDlj">Edmund: “You startled the hell out of me when you grabbed me from behind. I thought I was getting attacked! It took me a second to realize what was going on, and by then you were already killing them left and right!”</p> <p class="cnM4NDBhOTg0ZmFlYjRkZDE5N2E3MTU2ZTM3MWQ2Zjcy">“I don’t want excuses, you need to do better. The next two rooms, if they are like the ones with the wolves they will be filled with dire boars, and there is no way you can handle them, so stay out of the way.”</p> <p class="cnMzYjVmYmY2NjdhNjQ1ZTVhNjhmNTQxZDU1NjE1MjI2">Edmund: “You said I need to get better, and in the same breath told me to back off! To get better I need to fight as well!”</p> <p class="cnMwYTVmY2FmNzhkNzRjNjg5ZGM3YjViNWU4YmI5ZWEy">“The xp you will get from both rooms of dire boars should be enough to give you a few more levels, and once we proceed to the next door you can have the first two rooms all to yourself then.”</p> <p class="cnM4YWIzNTAzM2VhMjQ3ODZhMGEzMDkxYjkwMTYxYjk0">Edmund: “What about the others? What if they find the crystal?”</p> <p class="cnNhYmQ4ZTcyNzdhOTQxZmQ4OGVjYzhjNDhkNDlkNTRj">“Chase is too chicken shit to even think about claiming the crystal himself, I don’t know about Katie, she wants power, but I don’t think she is the type to try to get it like that, and the others are not strong enough to try either. Besides I am sure the crystal is hidden and they aren’t even looking for it, so if they clear all the rooms past half the doors it gives us more time to look for the crystal instead of fighting worthless monsters.”</p> <p class="cnNjYWQyNmMzNzIyNDQ0NzlhNWU1ZGQ4NTljOGY2NWQz">Edmund: “But couldn’t we work faster as well if we joined them again?”</p> <p class="cnNjNjkwZDJlZGY3MTRkMTFiZWI1YjNlMTNhYjk1ZTM1">“Chase wanted to give the others training, so I am sure he is pussyfooting around holding their hands while they slowly push from room to room, but we don’t have that problem.”</p> <p class="cnNjMmYwYWJmMThiNzRlM2M4M2EwOTA5ZWIyNDZhZWU1">Edmund: “You are having to slow down because of me though…”</p> <p class="cnMwMTcxZWViNjhhZjRlODliNjMyOTM3OTVmZDE2OTI3">“Only when you stop to ask fifty questions, now are you ready, or do you want to go join them?”</p> <p class="cnMxNjgzNTIxMTM1ODQ4YTlhYzBhNmRkYzg1OTc0ZDlm">Edmund: “I’m ready...!”</p> <p class="cnM4ZjYwZGRjZWZlZDRkZTBiZWIzZTljM2YzYmZjYjY4">Ed waits nervously as I take out the dire boars in the next room, and again in the last room, but after spending another twenty or so minutes searching the room we still find no traces of the crystal here either, so we return to the central room.</p> <p class="cnM5NTE2OWZiNGQ1MDRlYTZiOGE3MmE3ZThlYjE1Mjk4">“Alright, now it is up to you. Are you going to show me what you got, or is it time to rejoin the others?”</p> <p class="cnMwOGJiN2EyNjAyNjRlNjQ5OTZlNzQ0Mzc5MTBiMWNm">Ed looks to the door on the other side of the one we started on, but quickly turns around and choses the door next to us. Once we enter the next door, a quick scan of the room makes it seem empty, until we look up and a few bats hang down from the ceiling.</p> <p class="cnNmZGIyOGNmNWUyYjQ3MDliZjFjZDA5MDlhOTIwZmIx">“Well this is going to be interesting, have at them.”</p> <p class="cnMyM2FmNTVjNTJlYTQ1MDhhNGJhNmY4NDE4MGYyZjlm">Just like the boars, wild bats like this would have just tried to run rather than attack, but as Ed steps forward they descend from the ceiling and quickly surround him. They scratch him up pretty good, but that seems like all they can do as they flutter around him. He has a little trouble swatting them out of the air with his weapons, but eventually manages to take them down without ending up much worse for wear.</p> <p class="cnNkOTQzYjc2MTA3YzQwMjBhYzc3ZDQ1MTI4NmJmZDQz">“Those were already full grown bats, so I don’t know what is in the next room. Perhaps it is a more aggressive type of bat, or maybe the bloodsucking kind, either way are you ready?”</p> <p class="cnNiMTRhNTZhM2NkZDQ5MDViMTZmNzExODU2MDdhMjdk">Edmund: “I guess I have to be, right?” –He says while checking over a few of the scrapes he received from the bats. He then makes his way for the next door.-</p> <p class="cnM3ZTkzNmNjMWI0NDRkNmQ4ODZlN2JjNzdiNWVmMmU2">The bats in the next room are definitely more aggressive and seem to be doing actual damage to Ed, but he manage to take them out regardless, but if it wasn’t for the fact that he is a dungeon monster, some of his wounds would be bleeding pretty badly.</p> <p class="cnMxMTRmMmIyN2QxMjQwYTNhMDIzMDU2YjgxNzRiYjMy">“You are still fighting without using any techniques. Did you get any interesting skills as you have been leveling up?”</p> <p class="cnNiNDYxYTAzOTZiNjRhM2Q4ZDRjODE4NmQ3OGQ0Yjdk">Edmund: “I haven’t thought about it.” –He says calling forth a <strong>[Menu]</strong> to look at his status- “I ranked up on the few skills I started with, but they are all just small boosts to my abilities, at level five I got the <strong>[Dual Weapon Training]</strong> skill that lets me use techniques when fighting with two weapons, but until it ranks up, it won’t be much use.”</p> <p class="cnNjODU5Yjc0ZmVkNTQ2YjBhYzJkM2UwZjZiN2Y0NmNm">“That is kind of a shame, skills like that are better acquired through training then from leveling up. You said it needs to rank up, I guess that means you haven’t reached level 10 yet?”</p> <p class="cnM0YzI5ZmE1ZDhkNjQ0ODZhMjIyM2MxODY3MWVjOGUx">Edmund: “Not yet, but I am getting close.”</p> <p class="cnM3Y2ZjNDY1YjRmNjRmNzliOTIzMjUxNjVmYjZjMDc2">“Well since the techniques aren’t much use to you right now, let’s find a better use for your magic.” –I say tossing him a small ruined magic stone.- “Just don’t over use it, since you don’t have a magic class I am sure you will run out of magic quickly if try to use it to much.”</p> <p class="cnNmMTU0NDkyYmNiOTRjOThhNWQxZDNlNmE2ZjM3NTcw">Ed starts focusing his magic into the stone causing his wounds to disappear, but before they are all gone you can tell he is already struggling to continue to use the stone.</p> <p class="cnMzMTg3YTYxODNiYjQ4Yjc5YzdlZThhM2NmYWQxYjQy">“Alright, that’s enough. I am not carrying your horny ass out of here. If you pass out on the floor.”</p> <p class="cnM3NjQwNDliNmQ2NjRhOTE5YzI4MDA5ZmVlYmJjZDc3">Edmund: “Thank you, I feel much better now…” –He says dropping the stone back into my hand.- “I feel like I can take on the next room with confidence now!”</p> <p class="cnNkZTY5NGY1ZjkwNzRmYjRhODM2MGY1ZmRjMGFkMDI0">“If you are feeling that good, then go right ahead.”</p> <p class="cnNlZmE5ZWRjYjBlNzQxM2E4OGI2MzA5OGZlMzBmNGI1">Edmund: “Well, you’re going to give me a hand, aren’t you?”</p> <p class="cnNmNjJlNTk4MTdkZDQyNTBiMDRmOTllMDY4NDc4OGE3">“I thought you said you were confident?”</p> <p class="cnMyNDYxNTIyMjVlMTQ3ZTNiZjUwNjQ0Y2I5YmY4YWVk">Edmund: “Yes, with your help!”</p> <p class="cnM5MjNjZjcxNjA1MzQxNDE4OGM0MGE0ZGNmNmM2NDU5">“Fine, but you first.”</p> <p class="cnNkZTMxZDUzOTVjNzQ4Y2M5YWI2YmZlOGQzNDQ5NDI2">Edmund: “You’re not going to use me as a spring board again, are you?”</p> <p class="cnM4ODkxYjQ3YzA5NDQ1ZTFiMzA2NmIyNWY4YTRhOTZk">“Don’t lie. You know you enjoyed me climbing on top of you.”</p> <p class="cnNiYjY1MmUwMjRhODRlNDc4NTMyZGQyODkxMzU1OTFi">Ed seems like he wants to say something else, but he begins to blush instead, he tries to hide it by turning around and marching through the next door. The next room has bats that are quite a bit larger than the last two rooms, but I don’t think they are quite large enough to be called dire bats yet.</p> <p class="cnNmMjkxNDNlMDIzZjRlODg4YmIyZGJmMGI5YmY2NThi">In any case larger just means easier to hit, and even though I have to help Ed with these ones he seems to fare much better against them than the last two groups of bats. The next room possesses the first set of bats that I would actually consider dire bats, and even though Ed tries to help out a little bit he mostly sits out the battle, and even more so when we tackle the final room through this door as well.</p> <p class="cnM3ODBkNGIyNjBhNjQ3MmRhZTk0OTZmNGY1ZWJkZTFl">Three doors off of the main room, and three dead ends with nothing to show for it, I don’t know how far the others have gone, but we still have plenty of daylight left, so Ed and I continue on. wolves, boars, bats, bears, snakes, lizards, three different types of cats, and even some monstrous spiders, are beyond the doors we go through, but spending the rest of the day we still don’t find a single hint to the location of the imitation crystal.</p> <p class="cnMzMDUzMTJkNjBlYTQ4YzU5NDg5Y2FhNDY3MDkwYmVk">Edmund: “It is getting late, should we keep going?”</p> <p class="cnM4Yjk5MDVkYTAwYjRmZTNhYTQ4YmVkODdlYWMwMmZi">“I don’t know how far the others have gotten, but we should probably make sure the crystal is not in their rooms either, before calling it a night. That way we have less rooms we have to cover tomorrow.”</p> <p class="cnM1NjEzNGE2ZjIwMDQ0YzBhYzAyMzZlYjQyMDMyN2Fj">Edmund: “How far do you think they got?”</p> <p class="cnM4YWM1ZWY0YmIwNDRmNWI4OTAzMWNmNTJlZmMyZDFm">“I doubt they got nearly as far as you did, and it was all because they said I was impatient and not taking your training seriously.”</p> <p class="cnNiYTE5OTEwODMyODRiMzk5ZDY5NGQ2ZTdkNzc3NTky">About that time, from the other side of the room the others step out from one of the doors, it looks like they made it through a door or two less than us, but seeing which door they came out of also means we know how many doors we got to search.</p> <p class="cnM1MjQ1Yzg0MzFhZTQxNzZiZDQ2ZmQ0Y2VmMTVhZmI0">When they spot us, they quickly come around the room to meet up with us, and Chase says. “Let me guess no crystal?”</p> <p class="cnM4MzkzNTU2NDNhZDQxZjI5ZGE4YzZhYzY0Njg1YzAw">“We searched for the crystal and still did better than you did, Ed is already level twelve.”</p> <p class="cnM3ZTA5N2UwZjk2YTRlMjM5ZDE2Y2U1MDQ3YzZjZDIy">Charlotte: “That’s great Edmund! We made it to level eight.”</p> <p class="cnNkMmU4MWQ3MzJkMTQ3MmI4MjQxYzIxMGRmMDQ1Zjll">“Only…? And you said I wasn’t taking the training seriously.”</p> <p class="cnNjMjdkZmRhZjNlYzRiZjE4NjI0MmJlYzRkZTU1ZTlm">Chase: “They might have only reached level eight, but they got actual combat experience!”</p> <p class="cnNiZDA3ZGIzNTM3YjQyNTY5YTRjZTQxMzgzYTc2NjFm">Edmund: “Bandy took it very seriously! I can even handle the third rooms completely by myself, and with her help the dire creatures aren’t that bad anymore either…”</p> <p class="cnNiOTMwNDhiNWIyNjQyOGVhYjhkMWU3NzIxMjZjZmM5">Ursus: “You fought the dire animals? We turned back before fighting them to make sure everyone stayed safe…”</p> <p class="cnM0NWIwNjM5MmQzMDQzNjk4MDQ2OTMxNmQwNTRjMGQ4">“Not only did you not go near as far as we did, but you even skipped rooms? We wanted to check for the crystal past the doors you went through, but I don’t feel like messing with that many more monsters tonight…”</p> <p class="cnNkOWM4ZmE5Yzc5OTQ1MDY5MzJhNmE4NDM0NjE2N2M2">Chase: “There are more important things than just finding the crystal… Did you even think of the possibility that once the imitation crystal is broken this dungeon will be gone, and the new members won’t be able to train any longer?”</p> <p class="cnMzOGI0MzZmNDQ3NDQ2Njg4YmZlNWY0N2I5MTg2YzNh">“Ceres said this was her main dungeon, so that means the imitation crystal is just a backup and I seriously doubt she would have built a dungeon this size, only to give us permission to take it out.”</p> <p class="cnM2YjJlOTYxZDg4YzRlZWRhOWIwZjQ2ZjkzNjMzMTBl">Chase: “Well either way, we have plenty of time, and we decided we are going to head back downstairs and rest for the evening.”</p> <p class="cnMwOTY4MGFhOGExZjRiMWZhYTA4ZTgyZmVjZDk4NzU3">Charlotte: “You should come with us, I would like to hear the kinds of monsters you got to fight!”</p> <p class="cnM5OTlhY2I4Y2I0ODQzY2RiYTI3MThiM2YzMjJkMTQ5">“What do you say Ed? Are you ready to give it up for the evening?”</p> <p class="cnM5NzdkNTM3NDRmNzRlNzg4MGJiN2FhMjExYWQ1M2Ri">Edmund: “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t, what did you say? Fight till I don’t think I can go any more, and then fight some more, so what do you say?”</p> <p class="cnM0ODhhMzM3MTJkNDQ4MTBiZGY0YjgxZTZmZjE3NjQw">“That right! On the other hand, the others are only two-thirds of your level, so you don’t want to show them up by too much. As a reward for your hard work we will let you get some rest.”</p> <p class="cnM1MjhjYmYzYzE2MDQ1NmQ5NjM0MzVhYzBjNmM5Mzkz">Chase: “You already said you didn’t want to fight any more of those dire creatures…”</p> <p class="cnM2MWVlZjQxYzFmOTQ2ODVhNTdmZGE5YTI1MjFmNDZh">Edmund: “Thank you Bandy, and I promise to go twice as far tomorrow as I did today!”</p> <p class="cnMwOThhMDQ1YTU5ZjRmYWJhZTFjNmQ0MDcyNDVmNGMx">We all start heading down the ten flights of stairs while Ursus and Charlotte ask Ed what kinds of creatures he fought. By the time we reach the base of the stairs it looks like we were left out, as we show up just in time for the ending of quite the celebration that even Ceres, Two-Twelve, and Two-Twelve’s wife and daughter attended…</p> </div>

As we go up the stairs things begin to look promising because the top few floors each have a fair number more doors than the lower floors do, so it looks like we made the right choice on going all the way to the top. “Everyone listen up! We are going to be the ones that destroy that imitation crystal, and to do that you are going to have to toughen up, and toughen up fast. We are going to push through the rooms as fast as we can. As long as you are there you should acquire xp, so stay out of my way.” Chase: “Bandy, we have to train our new members properly!” “Katie is far from new, and the others can learn by watching to see how it is done, all the while they will be leveling up just by being in the group.” Katie: “I just need to acquire more levels to increase my crafting abilities, but these others are just starting out, levels won’t do them any good if they have no actual combat experience.” “They can train in their own time, but if they want to level up they better keep up!” “We won’t let you down Mistress!” –Says Edmund the lizard beastkin as he attempts to suck up to me.- Katie: “You shouldn’t call Miss Bandy your Mistress, Edmund… We already have a Master, and people will think you are her slave if you call her that.” “She is right Ed. I wouldn’t want anyone to think you were something I chose.” Katie: “That’s not what I meant.” Ed: “It’s alright, I might not be much now, but I will prove to everyone I belong at Bandy’s side.” –He says while puffing out his chest, but seems to blush when he calls me by name.- “Good luck with that...” –I say sarcastically, but Ed seems to take it as encouragement.- Chase: “I am sure Ed will come to his senses after he gets a chance to see the real Bandy.” “You had your chance to leave!” Chase: “Someone has to keep you from disgracing Two-Twelve!” “Looks like someone woke up and put his big boy pants on today. Let me guess, you are trying to impress Charlotte?” This whole group was a mistake, if Ursus and Ed’s personalities were flipped it might not be too bad, but even Charlotte is making matters worse. Not only is she going to start stealing the gazes of the men when we stroll into a new village, but she is even causing Chase to grow a pair in hopes of impressing her. Maybe if I level this group up quickly Two-Twelve will allow me to trade them off for another group more to my liking, I would have to start over **again**, but it beats this sack of disappointment. Chase: “This has nothing to do with Charlotte! You have always been impetuous…” Charlotte: “Forgive me if I am speaking out of turn, but we are not gaining any training or xp by standing here arguing, shouldn’t we begin?” “Look, even Charlotte is tired of listening to you prattle on. Now, if you want to live stick close without getting in the way!” –I say while picking out the fanciest door on the 10th floor, readying my two weapons, and flinging open the door.- The room appears to be as standard as they come. Even the size of the room is the default 20 feet by 20 feet the only change may be the fact the ceiling is a bit high for a default sized room, but overall it is boring. There is another door on the other side of the room, but between us and the door is a small group of wolves standing their ground and growling at us. I wouldn’t exactly call them pups, but they are far from being full grown ones. “Is this come kind of a joke?!” Chase: “These rooms are for training new adventurers, so it makes sense that the first door has entry level monsters like this.” “This is the 10th floor!” Katie: “Ceres did say that every floor contained the same xp amount of monsters.” “Fine, you can all do what you want, but I don’t have time for this!” I launch myself through the room taking out two of the wolves as I pass heading for the next door. Meanwhile the others move into the room and begin fighting the wolves. Once I reach the door however I find it is locked, but has no key hole. Even with Ed, Ursus, and Charlotte being level one, between them, Chase, and Katie, the remaining wolves fall before I have a chance to investigate the door any further, and once the final wolf falls, the lock on the door gives. “Seriously!? We are going to have to kill all these puny wolves in every room before moving on to the next one?” Chase: “Have some patience. The wolves are good training for the new members of our group.” “It doesn’t look like we have any choice anyway, so you better keep up.” –I then fling the door open and head into the next room.- The next room still contains only wolves, but at least this time they are at least fully grown ones, I wait only long enough for the others to enter the room, before moving forward to deal with the wolves, I stab the 'leader' up its chin and out the top of its skull as it lunged at me, then break the ribs of the one right behind it with a kick, throw the body of the first one at another, and lunge forth, re-impaling the first wolf, and giving it a mercy kill (it was somehow still alive) while taking out the one it got nailed to. A fourth one tries jumping unto my back, but I move to the left and kick its butt while pulling my sword off (breaking some of the dead wolf’s bones in the process. I'm strong enough it doesn't really matter if the sword gets 'stuck' on these pups), then slicing its back legs right off. As I look back, I see the others are staring, and that includes the surviving wolves. "Well, what are you waiting for? These guys aren't killing themselves you know!?" Between the three of them they manage to take out the remaining wolves without any help, but we don’t know how far this path goes, and there are dozens of doors from the central room, so I don’t have time to be holding their hands. “If you can’t pick up the pace, then stick to the sidelines. We have dozens of rooms to go through and we don’t have time for you to be patting each other on the back over a little wolf.” Chase: “They are just starting out Bandy, it was good teamwork for them!” “And I told them they can train their combat in their own time. Now, let’s go.” The next room contains another set of wolves, and these ones are not only fully grown but much tougher looking as well. They are still just wolves though so I charge forth and leap up over their heads, twisting in mid-air to stab at their heads through their ears, quickly killing two of them, then grabbing the third one's hind legs as I land/slide on the floor and before it even gets to whine, pull it up, spin with it fast enough that its body makes a whizzing noise as it cuts the air, then slam it into the floor with a satisfyingly wet, yet crunchy, sound. With only two left alive I let Chase deal with one while Katie helps the new members slay the last one. “That’s better. Let’s keep moving.” In the next room the wolves actually start getting a bit of a bite, because instead of normal wolves they are dire wolves. Even six dire wolves are no problem for me, but they have the new members shaking in their boots. One more room of even larger dire wolves brings us to a dead end, but I am hesitant in turning back right away… Chase: “There is nothing here, we should go back.” “Ceres said even if we were allowed to destroy the crystal, we wouldn’t find it, so I am sure she has hidden it somewhere, so damned if I am going to give up on this room just because it **looks** like a dead end.” Chase: “We need to continue everyone’s training, Bandy. **That’s** why we are here.” “I’m not leaving this room till I am sure the crystal isn’t here, if you want to train them, **you** take them to another room.” Chase: “Fine! I will!” Edmund: “You are just going to leave Bandy here alone?! What if something happens? If Bandy stays, then so will I!” “What exactly do you expect to do, if I encounter anything that would be even remotely troublesome, you would make zero difference…” Edmund: “I don’t have any delusions of being stronger then I actually am. I know the difference in our strengths, but if something does happen I can at least try to run and get help.” “Fine, do whatever you want.” Chase: “This is crazy! You need your training as well, you should come with us.” Edmund: “If this is where Bandy is, this is where I want to be!” Katie: “Maybe we should all stay behind. Splitting up is never a good idea if it is avoidable…” Chase: “Ceres said that the rules were that we could destroy the crystal if we found it, **only if** we are training our new members correctly, so even if Bandy did find the crystal it isn’t like she would be allowed to destroy it, because she is ignoring the training of the rest of you.” Charlotte: “He is right… Please Edmund, come back with us, so we can do our training right!” Edmund: “I’ll catch up later.” Chase: “Forget it! Let’s go. I can at least make sure two of you get proper training.” Ed waves off the others while they leave while I continue looking for a hidden door, switch, or any kind of clue to the location of the crystal. Edmund: “It’s just the two of us now…” –He says nervously.- “I-is there anything I can do to help?” “Yea…” Edmund: “What is it?!” –He quickly blurts out.- “Keep quiet, and stay out of the way. Don’t even for a minute think you did me some kind of favor. I am still not sleeping with your horny ass.” Edmund: “That isn’t what this is about!” Ed just watches me while I continue to search the room, but after a while he either gets embarrassed from staring so long, or grows bored as he begins searching the room as well. As if he could find anything that I couldn’t… “You know, it isn’t too late, they probably have only made it through a couple rooms, you could catch up to them and the amount of xp you missed out on would barely be noticeable after a couple of days.” Edmund: “No, you are the leader of the strongest group in Master’s dungeon, and you didn’t get there without knowing what you are doing, so if this is where you say we should be, then this is the **only** place I want to be.” “Well you may be wrong, because I don’t see anything here, but with an attitude like that, you just might have a place in my group after all. Never in my bed, mind you, but at least in my group.” Edmund: “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give for just that honor alone. And hearing you say that was well worth the xp.” “I don’t have time for kiss asses either, if you want to be part of my group prove it with your strength. Now, we should catch up with the others before they reach the end of the next room, find the crystal, and get some kind of bright idea.” We make our way back to the central room and enter the next room to find it much like the last one, only this time instead of young wolves, there is a half dozen young boars. “None of the other monsters seemed to respawn, and if they did the others wouldn’t had time to go through them all and enter another room by now, so I think we went the wrong way.” Edmund: “Should we go back?” I think about it for a minute and cross my arms while smirking. “No, you want to be part of my group, and those dire wolves alone should have been enough to give you a few levels, so show me what you got!” Edmund: “By myself, or are you going to help me?” “If you can’t take out some piglets on your own, I can’t really say that shows me you have any hope of proving your strength to join my group permanently.” Edmund: “Then do you mind if I get rid of this shield, and borrow another weapon from you? If I am going to do this alone, the shield is just going to get in my way.” “There is no way I would even let you **touch** one of my swords, but I got an old stiletto in my boot for emergencies, if that works?” Edmund: “That would be fine.” –He says while unbuckling the strap that keeps him from dropping his shield, and lets it fall to the floor.- “You sure you can handle two weapons at once?” –I say pulling the stiletto from my boot and slapping it into the palm of his hand.- Edmund: “Not as well as you. At least, not yet. But more than enough to deal with a few pigs.” I still use the two Shima short swords that Two-Twelve gave me, but Ed had a full sized sword and a shield, so can he use the two vastly different sized weapons together effectively? I guess I am about to find out because he yells as he starts to run across the room. Normal wild boars that are the age in which these ones are, would run away from an idiot screaming and flailing weapons about, but these are dungeon monsters, so they bow up and charge Ed. He runs in and tries to do a poor man's me, by dodging to the side and sinking the stiletto through the 1st boar's ear, but as he tries to pull it out, he ends up trying to drag the entire animal as it sticks to the blade, so another boar bites at his overextended wrist, and he has to swing the sword to hit at its back, twice, in order to bring it down by breaking its spine. Honestly, he probably got lucky, and as the third boar bites at his foot and starts pulling him away, it at least helps him get the stiletto free, so as soon as the fourth boar comes for him, he desperately stabs at its head and chest while sticking his right forearm into its mouth, wisely filling its muzzle to protect his face. I think he also stabbed his own arm a couple of times in the process, though. He finally brings it down, and gets busy with the boar that dragged him. At this point, I think he's running on pain, though since he starts chopping and stabbing while letting out a long monosyllabic warcry that could make you think he was charging a dragon instead. By the time he calms down all of the boars are dead, one of which skewered by the spikes on Ed’s shoulder after he body slammed it… “You call that showing me your strength?” Edmund: “They may have been just been boars, but they were dungeon monsters! That is much different than if they were just normal boars…” “Well I don’t know if that proves anything or not, but are you ready for the next room?” Edmund: “By myself again, or with help this time?” –He says while getting back to his feet.- “If these rooms are anything like the last, I would say there are quite a few fully grown boars in the next room. Do you think you can handle that on your own?” Edmund: “I would like to show off and say yes, but realistically, not by myself…” “What if I trimmed down their numbers for you a bit?” Edmund: “We don’t have a healer, and weren’t you worried that Chase to find the crystal in the room they went into?” “The odds of it being at the end of their door is just as likely as it being at the end of ours, or are you telling me you aren’t up to the task of being part of my group?” Edmund: “Of course I am!” –He says quickly preparing himself to enter the next door.- “What about that? You plan on bringing it along?” –I say pointing at the boar skewered to his shoulder.- He quickly tries to pull the boar of the spikes sticking out of his shoulder, but they are pointing to his back, and are just far enough back that he can’t reach the boar with either hand. He then tries shaking it off, but hangs his head in defeat. Edmund: “Could you please assist me…” “I’ll pull it off this time, but you better figure out a better way to remove things from your spikes if you plan on charging things again!” –I say grabbing onto the mangled corpse stuck to his back and pulling it off. I then wipe my hands off on the front of his shirt before we move on to the next room.- I leave Ed in the way for the couple of moments it takes me to deal with all but one of the larger boars, but I then kick the last one, pushing it in Ed’s direction. He is initially caught off guard as he was standing there practically drooling while watching me fight, but he charges in on the boar. My kick alone was enough to cause some internal injury to the boar, but even still Ed takes just as long to drop the fully grown boar as I did for the other five. Edmund: “I did it!” “People in my group don’t get excited over a simple boar, now if you are done wasting our time, are you ready to continue?” Edmund: “I don’t know if I can fight any stronger then this on my own…” “If these rooms here are like the wolf ones than we have at least three more to go.” Edmund: “You don’t expect me to fight in all of them do you…?” “If you want to be part of my group, you will fight till you don’t think you can fight any more, but you will fight some more anyway, because it is what I told you to do, and then, If I am feeling generous you can have a break. But only if I like what I see.” Ed seems to be wearing a difficult expression so I decide to add. “Whenever you decide that you don’t want to be part of my group, you can return to the others, and train with them.” Edmund: “No, I understand… I can’t promise I will be much help, but if you tell me to give it a shot. I will!” “Good, you enter the next room first.” Edmund: “Wait… What?! They will be even stronger then these ones and you want me to face all six of them by myself?” “Of course not, you would die, but I do want to see what your limits are, before I join in.” Edmund: “What if they charge me and kill me before you have a chance to save me…?” “I highly doubt they are faster than I am, and besides that Milo guy is supposed to be keeping an eye on you all, to make sure something like that doesn’t happen.” Ed then nervously approaches the door and opens it, peering inside while saying. “Oh… They are huge.” He readies his weapons, and steps past the door. I didn’t know if he was brave enough to step into the room alone, but he was, so I quickly rush to the door to catch up with him. The boars are now almost chest high now, with tusks that could do a lot of damage if they manage to gore you with them. Standing a few feet behind Ed, neither he nor the boars have made a move yet staring each other down from across the room. I lean against the door frame to see what Ed does next. I half expected him to look back for me, but instead he tightens his grip on his weapons, takes a deep breath, and takes another step forward while yelling again. If all six hit at the same time, I couldn’t stop all of them from hitting him, and I don’t know if Milo would be able to hold back all six at once, so as the boars start rushing across the room towards Ed I launch myself forward as well. Ed stands between me and the boars, so I grab a few of the longer spikes on Ed’s body climbing him like a ladder. He is surprised at first by my weight on his body, but before he even has a chance to react, other than bracing himself against my weight, I’m already propelling myself off of his shoulders and into the group of boars. My sudden action seems to bolster Ed with courage as he charges forward to catch up to me, but he only arrives in enough time to deal a fatal blow to the last of the boars. He seems relieved though as he lets out a deep sigh of relief. “Showing up just in time to lay out the final blow doesn’t count. If you want to be a permanent member of my group you better get quicker.” Edmund: “You startled the hell out of me when you grabbed me from behind. I thought I was getting attacked! It took me a second to realize what was going on, and by then you were already killing them left and right!” “I don’t want excuses, you need to do better. The next two rooms, if they are like the ones with the wolves they will be filled with dire boars, and there is no way you can handle them, so stay out of the way.” Edmund: “You said I need to get better, and in the same breath told me to back off! To get better I need to fight as well!” “The xp you will get from both rooms of dire boars should be enough to give you a few more levels, and once we proceed to the next door you can have the first two rooms all to yourself then.” Edmund: “What about the others? What if they find the crystal?” “Chase is too chicken shit to even think about claiming the crystal himself, I don’t know about Katie, she wants power, but I don’t think she is the type to try to get it like that, and the others are not strong enough to try either. Besides I am sure the crystal is hidden and they aren’t even looking for it, so if they clear all the rooms past half the doors it gives us more time to look for the crystal instead of fighting worthless monsters.” Edmund: “But couldn’t we work faster as well if we joined them again?” “Chase wanted to give the others training, so I am sure he is pussyfooting around holding their hands while they slowly push from room to room, but we don’t have that problem.” Edmund: “You are having to slow down because of me though…” “Only when you stop to ask fifty questions, now are you ready, or do you want to go join them?” Edmund: “I’m ready...!” Ed waits nervously as I take out the dire boars in the next room, and again in the last room, but after spending another twenty or so minutes searching the room we still find no traces of the crystal here either, so we return to the central room. “Alright, now it is up to you. Are you going to show me what you got, or is it time to rejoin the others?” Ed looks to the door on the other side of the one we started on, but quickly turns around and choses the door next to us. Once we enter the next door, a quick scan of the room makes it seem empty, until we look up and a few bats hang down from the ceiling. “Well this is going to be interesting, have at them.” Just like the boars, wild bats like this would have just tried to run rather than attack, but as Ed steps forward they descend from the ceiling and quickly surround him. They scratch him up pretty good, but that seems like all they can do as they flutter around him. He has a little trouble swatting them out of the air with his weapons, but eventually manages to take them down without ending up much worse for wear. “Those were already full grown bats, so I don’t know what is in the next room. Perhaps it is a more aggressive type of bat, or maybe the bloodsucking kind, either way are you ready?” Edmund: “I guess I have to be, right?” –He says while checking over a few of the scrapes he received from the bats. He then makes his way for the next door.- The bats in the next room are definitely more aggressive and seem to be doing actual damage to Ed, but he manage to take them out regardless, but if it wasn’t for the fact that he is a dungeon monster, some of his wounds would be bleeding pretty badly. “You are still fighting without using any techniques. Did you get any interesting skills as you have been leveling up?” Edmund: “I haven’t thought about it.” –He says calling forth a **[Menu]** to look at his status- “I ranked up on the few skills I started with, but they are all just small boosts to my abilities, at level five I got the **[Dual Weapon Training]** skill that lets me use techniques when fighting with two weapons, but until it ranks up, it won’t be much use.” “That is kind of a shame, skills like that are better acquired through training then from leveling up. You said it needs to rank up, I guess that means you haven’t reached level 10 yet?” Edmund: “Not yet, but I am getting close.” “Well since the techniques aren’t much use to you right now, let’s find a better use for your magic.” –I say tossing him a small ruined magic stone.- “Just don’t over use it, since you don’t have a magic class I am sure you will run out of magic quickly if try to use it to much.” Ed starts focusing his magic into the stone causing his wounds to disappear, but before they are all gone you can tell he is already struggling to continue to use the stone. “Alright, that’s enough. I am not carrying your horny ass out of here. If you pass out on the floor.” Edmund: “Thank you, I feel much better now…” –He says dropping the stone back into my hand.- “I feel like I can take on the next room with confidence now!” “If you are feeling that good, then go right ahead.” Edmund: “Well, you’re going to give me a hand, aren’t you?” “I thought you said you were confident?” Edmund: “Yes, with your help!” “Fine, but you first.” Edmund: “You’re not going to use me as a spring board again, are you?” “Don’t lie. You know you enjoyed me climbing on top of you.” Ed seems like he wants to say something else, but he begins to blush instead, he tries to hide it by turning around and marching through the next door. The next room has bats that are quite a bit larger than the last two rooms, but I don’t think they are quite large enough to be called dire bats yet. In any case larger just means easier to hit, and even though I have to help Ed with these ones he seems to fare much better against them than the last two groups of bats. The next room possesses the first set of bats that I would actually consider dire bats, and even though Ed tries to help out a little bit he mostly sits out the battle, and even more so when we tackle the final room through this door as well. Three doors off of the main room, and three dead ends with nothing to show for it, I don’t know how far the others have gone, but we still have plenty of daylight left, so Ed and I continue on. wolves, boars, bats, bears, snakes, lizards, three different types of cats, and even some monstrous spiders, are beyond the doors we go through, but spending the rest of the day we still don’t find a single hint to the location of the imitation crystal. Edmund: “It is getting late, should we keep going?” “I don’t know how far the others have gotten, but we should probably make sure the crystal is not in their rooms either, before calling it a night. That way we have less rooms we have to cover tomorrow.” Edmund: “How far do you think they got?” “I doubt they got nearly as far as you did, and it was all because they said I was impatient and not taking your training seriously.” About that time, from the other side of the room the others step out from one of the doors, it looks like they made it through a door or two less than us, but seeing which door they came out of also means we know how many doors we got to search. When they spot us, they quickly come around the room to meet up with us, and Chase says. “Let me guess no crystal?” “We searched for the crystal and still did better than you did, Ed is already level twelve.” Charlotte: “That’s great Edmund! We made it to level eight.” “Only…? And you said I wasn’t taking the training seriously.” Chase: “They might have only reached level eight, but they got actual combat experience!” Edmund: “Bandy took it very seriously! I can even handle the third rooms completely by myself, and with her help the dire creatures aren’t that bad anymore either…” Ursus: “You fought the dire animals? We turned back before fighting them to make sure everyone stayed safe…” “Not only did you not go near as far as we did, but you even skipped rooms? We wanted to check for the crystal past the doors you went through, but I don’t feel like messing with that many more monsters tonight…” Chase: “There are more important things than just finding the crystal… Did you even think of the possibility that once the imitation crystal is broken this dungeon will be gone, and the new members won’t be able to train any longer?” “Ceres said this was her main dungeon, so that means the imitation crystal is just a backup and I seriously doubt she would have built a dungeon this size, only to give us permission to take it out.” Chase: “Well either way, we have plenty of time, and we decided we are going to head back downstairs and rest for the evening.” Charlotte: “You should come with us, I would like to hear the kinds of monsters you got to fight!” “What do you say Ed? Are you ready to give it up for the evening?” Edmund: “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t, what did you say? Fight till I don’t think I can go any more, and then fight some more, so what do you say?” “That right! On the other hand, the others are only two-thirds of your level, so you don’t want to show them up by too much. As a reward for your hard work we will let you get some rest.” Chase: “You already said you didn’t want to fight any more of those dire creatures…” Edmund: “Thank you Bandy, and I promise to go twice as far tomorrow as I did today!” We all start heading down the ten flights of stairs while Ursus and Charlotte ask Ed what kinds of creatures he fought. By the time we reach the base of the stairs it looks like we were left out, as we show up just in time for the ending of quite the celebration that even Ceres, Two-Twelve, and Two-Twelve’s wife and daughter attended…

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnMxZmZiMzI2NDkyMzQ1ZGE5ZGNlZDhhNTAxMjI4ZDhl">S’neli checked the map in her mind again.</p> <p class="cnNhMzVmMTY3YjE1ODQ1ZGFhMDkxZWMzZTA3NWI1ODEx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5YzgzM2E1N2RiOTRhNGFhYmI4NTAxOGFmOWU5OTk3">A left.</p> <p class="cnNjZTUzMTUxMDFhNDQ3Mzc4NDJjMGJhZTI2ODBjYTBk">A right.</p> <p class="cnMyNGQxZTQzZjg3MTQzMzBhMzdkMTJjNTk1MTI5NmIy">Two more lefts.</p> <p class="cnM1MmE5ZWJlYjZlNDRkNjc5Y2U2YWRjMjk2NWNjYzlh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwNzgzMjhlNjBkNjQ1OThiOTA1YTk1NThhMjcyNzBj">Why wasn’t this the same room marked in the mental map?</p> <p class="cnMzZWYyZDE2YWI0NTQwZWI5ZjJjZGE5ZmNmYmFlNTk4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3Zjg4OGVhMDg5MjQ2Y2ViOThlM2QwYjMyNjBlYmM4">Taking out a small stone from one of her numerous belt pouches S’neli said, “LeadtoGold calling Worldeater.”</p> <p class="cnM1ZTFlOTE3ZDNhYTQ2YzRhNGRmZDBiMGVlN2VhZWZh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1NDFjYTZlNDg3MTQ3ZTlhZDUxMjY5NDU0MzgxOTli">Tree’s voice responded, “Worldeater here, are you lost again?”</p> <p class="cnM3MjU1NTA3ZjZkYzQ0YmI5MDA5ZjVhZTUxNTQ1ZDQy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzOTM5Y2MzYjYxMjQ4ZjRiZDMzNDJmMGQ5NDQ1MDU3">S’neli frowned, it wasn’t her fault Tree’s map was wrong!</p> <p class="cnM2NDcwNDYwNTZkMTQ5OWY4OGM3ZjI1MzcwYmM4ZjA4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1MGMzNjBlYWY1MTQ2NTBiOTQxN2NhMzNkMDhiY2M2">How could Tree imply that an Alchemic genius like her was unable to find her way even with a map? The nerve!</p> <p class="cnMwNWUxYTlkM2EyZTQ1NzZhOGJjZmVlZjdjOTNkMDdk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM5ZWE4Njk2MzcwZTRhNjNiNGQxODgyZTkzNjY0YzIy">Who made walls with metal anyways? Where was the wood? The stone? The actual <em>useful</em> materials that she could query with her power for directions!</p> <p class="cnMwOWQzOGRlMTBhMjQyZTFiYzY5YjdmYjZhYzIzMzIz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzOTE2OGQyMTU5MTRmM2FhZjUyOGI3OTBjYmJjYTI5">Dammit, she was an Alchemist for the love of everything explodable, not a cursed dwarf!</p> <p class="cnNiMWExMGI3ODZjZDRlYjdiNTFkNTUzOGU0N2Y5MzAy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1ZWMzNjY4MGVjNTRiODFiYTQ5ZmYxZDZmY2RhYWFl">S’neli calmed herself and said, “I’m not lost. The map is wrong. The. Map.”</p> <p class="cnNmNDQzODA3OTY0YTQ5OGQ5ZjVjMWEzYTZhOWNlZDJj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyZmRkY2JlNmU4YTQ4ZjJhZWM4Yjc5YTdlNmYxYTA5">There was a pause before Tree said, “I got that map directly from combining all the captives memories we curr-”</p> <p class="cnM3MjA3NDBlMTc5ODRiMzE4NTQwNmFhYzVlYTcwMWYw">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmZGEwNzczNDVkODQ4NjlhOWQ0MTllZDQ0ZjQ3MDNi">S’neli cut Tree off and said, “The. Map. Is. Wrong.”</p> <p class="cnNhYTRmNTI1YzFjODQ5MzhiNDJjMzNkMTBkMDQ0YTU0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmZDMzYWRkMjRjYjQ3NTViY2Y5YzgzNjhmMjY5ZWM3">“…ok. I’ll send someone to help you along then. Just sit still, and don’t experiment with anything.” Tree said, his tone patient.</p> <p class="cnMyNGNmMmUwMjAzNjQ2YTI4NjA3YWZiMjFjNzAxNzQy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZjAyM2MwZjJkYTQwNTVhNThiMTNjNGEwNWRmYzA1">S’neli tapped her foot for a few seconds before a small girl appeared at the other end of the corridor. She instantly brightened up, without a doubt, this assistant was the best!</p> <p class="cnNjYWE4ODgzNDM5ZTRmYmRiNjE4YzVlZGZjOTNjNjAy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0ZTI2ZGY4YzI1YjQ0ZGI5ZGU4MWNlYTliOTlhODEy">“Wen!” S’neli said, hugging the small girl when she arrived.</p> <p class="cnM3MmVjNTU4YmMwMDRmMGNhN2MzYjQ1ZjM0NWM5YWZj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjMDAzNGE3MGY3YjRiZjI5ZjViNTQyYzFmMTFkZDBi">“Mm.” Wen murmured.</p> <p class="cnM5OGU2NTU4NTkwMzQxMTI5NGJkOWRhMTk1OWYwMWQ1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2M2IzOWZhNWFjMjRiMDI4MGEyMzdjMGM5NWM5Yjc2">“Snacks?!” S’neli said, her eyes imploring.</p> <p class="cnNiOWFmN2RmNjQ0NDRlNGZhYzQ0MjY2NjI5NjZjMWM1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM0Zjk1ZDc4MTI3YzRlYWRhZjY3YmExYTFmZTE2ZTgw">Wen seemed to stare at her for a long moment before reaching into one of several pouches at her side and removing a perfectly preserved snack set.</p> <p class="cnNmN2E5OTVlOTc3ZjRiYmZhNjM2NzBhNjUxZDJjNDhi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxMWNkNTJiNmVlOTQyMThiMGI2ZWQ4YTgzM2M5Yzkx">“The best, Wen! The. Best!” S’neli said, grabbing the snacks as she turned to walk forwards. Before she could even take a step a small hand reached up to grab her sleeve.</p> <p class="cnNmZDliY2ExMmQxYTRjYTBiYmVjNDQ3MzVhZWM5ZTAz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhMWY1ZGNjYmFjNjRkNDU4MGU0MGE0NjlkNmRjOTg1">“Ah, yes, of course. I’ll just follow you…” S’neli said, as Wen moved to the front. Pausing a moment, the young girl removed a loop of rope from her side pouch. With dexterous speed she tied the belts of both together, before nodding satisfied.</p> <p class="cnMyOGI1ZWQyNGY1ZjQ1Njc4YzFiMDhhZWQ0MzA0M2Nj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmN2VjNjZlODcxNjRiZDg4NDUxNGY5ZGYwZjk0ZWUz">“T-This isn’t really…” S’neli tried to argue.</p> <p class="cnM5YjY2NjRiZjMwNzQ3NGE4NzE5MmNkZGFjYTg2OWNm">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNzY0ZThhMGJiNzRkZWI4ZGI1ZmQ0MDE2MDE5NmY5">Wen glanced once at the snacks, and once at the rope, her meaning clear.</p> <p class="cnMyNGZlNjc2NmM1NDQ5NWRiMjZmMjA5YzZiMGQxNTY0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhZWRkOTAwMzBkZDRkNThiM2YwYjliZWNmZjFjYmI2">S’neli crumbled under the threat of going snackless in this strange place.</p> <p class="cnNhNzdkNmNlYzI5NTRkMjg5OThjM2U0MTRlZmZhMWY0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjZWJjZTkwOWEzMjQ1OTc4ODViOTQ2OTY2NzdjZDFk">A few minutes later, following Wen’s unerring directions, they approached a closed door.</p> <p class="cnNiOGU2OWE2ZTc0ZDRkYWFiMDI0NmIwODZhMTQxODUw">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3ZGFjYzVkYTFiYTRkY2ZiNDI4ODhhMTM3YzMyNjRk">S’neli grumbled as she pulled several potions out of her bag. Boost, Medium Boost, High Boost, Grand Boost, Elixir of Boost, and others. Unlike that training maniac Mishra, she relied on drugs to perform at her best.</p> <p class="cnNiZDhmNDc2N2QwZDRjZmM5MWZhNWYzODM1ZDQ2Zjgy">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNzJhODczYzhjNTRhMGY5ZTc1YzdhMmY3OTcxZmRi">What was the point of being an Alchemist if you couldn’t dope up and win?!</p> <p class="cnM5ODIyN2MxM2NkZjRhYmJhNzgyYjA2ZGQ1NmQ2ZmQ0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmMWIwMDk1MWYzMzRhMjU4Yzc1ZTgzNTYyYmVjMzYz">After consuming all the delicious drugs, S’neli motioned for Wen to cut the rope.</p> <p class="cnNiZTkzZWNmY2M4ZTQ2ZjFhMjRiZTJhZjQ0Y2I0NTA5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4OWM5MzNmMmQ4MzRhMGFiNTIyOTg0ZmVmMmMwYmZm">As soon as the chef’s knife sliced through the rope, S’neli flickered in front of the door. A single palm pressed against the cold metal surface, and seconds later a massive heatwave flowed outwards. The door’s surface began to glow, at first orange, then red, then white hot. Like acid dripping, where S’neli pressed her palm, the metal was eaten away until the door was completely open.</p> <p class="cnMwYjUxMDM2MTEyZjRhN2JiMDYyMjFkNGQ5NDVjNmJh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkYjUwYTA3NjY0NjQxYTY5ZmMwMDM0NmVkNmYzMTlh">Wen appeared impressed, so S’neli flexed for a moment. Glancing in she saw a group of impressive armored guards with both hands held up.</p> <p class="cnMyYTViM2MxMGVkODQ1MzI4NzZiNWQwZjU1ZjYxY2Yz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmNTI0NjZhYWE4NTQ5ZDliYTkzYTM4YTc2NGRjYzJi">“Eh?” S’neli said, trying to understand what was going on.</p> <p class="cnM5Y2VkNzM1NTAzZTQ0NDA4ZTQ2ZDBmZmYwN2EzMjc1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiZjVmNjhhZjU2ODRiYTFhOWVhMDRiNzNmZmQ2YjAz">Wen stared with her knife prepared to cut as well.</p> <p class="cnM5MWIzOGI4YjM5NjQwOTliZDYwMmFjYzRiNDVmZDNj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMGU4YmMxYWJiZjQ4NTNiZTAyN2MyMGI3NzQxYWZj">“…Tree?” Wen said, questioning S’neli.</p> <p class="cnM2YWFmYTVmNDE4YTRkODc5YTA3YTQ0ZDQzZGE3ZTRk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2NjM1MDU4OWI4NDQ4YjlhZGM0NmExMjI4NWE1ZDlk">“Ah!” S’neli said, taking out the communication stone.</p> <p class="cnM5OWY2YTZiZWIwOTQ4N2NiYjRiZjE4Nzg3M2M1OTM2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzMDg3ZWU5ZmQyMTQxMWZiOTU3YzZjYjBhZjY4MWU3">“LeadtoGold to Worldeater, uh, I’m not sure what to do here. All the guards are holding up their hands palms facing me.” S’neli said, her tone unsure.</p> <p class="cnMxNDNiYjkzMjExYzQwZDJhNTc3MDkzYmJlMWZmNjI3">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhZmJkZjQzZmQxNjQ2OGE4MWMwNzgxZjVkNDQ2ZWZk">“Ah, just have Wen take their guns and store them in a space pouch. The installation is surrendering, Dryad crushed their strongest force.” Tree said from the other end.</p> <p class="cnMzYTYxYmYyZjI2YjQ1YjU5OThmZjNmZGMxODBjMmUx">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1MzEyYzVhZTk0MjQ3OTJiNGE0NTVlNTlkMmFkZWQ1">S’neli counted ten deep breaths out before putting the stone away and turning to face Wen.</p> <p class="cnNiZTAzYzlkMDY2NjRkOGNhZDFlOGUzMDk5MmQyZWI2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxZTYxNGEwOTYyNDRjZGU5NDRjM2FmYzhmOWZiZGQ5">“Snacks. Now.” S’neli said, her eyes bright.</p> <p class="cnNjYjBmMWZiZDNhZjRlNWY5MWY3MmE5ZDgwN2UxY2Jh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjYzZmNmZlOGVmZjQ4MTNhZDA2N2UwNmE4MTAyNzFh">Wen put her knife away and handed a baggie of pre-made snacks before going to take the weapons of the guards.</p> <p class="cnNhNzE4NzY3NTI4YjQyMjdhNzhlMjNhYWVhYmUzZTg1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzMzMxNDBlOWExNjRhMTk5ZmNlNzgyZjY3NmZlNzhi">“So mean. So mean. Dryad, so mean!” S’neli said, as she began to devour her snack cookies while crying tears.</p> </div>

S’neli checked the map in her mind again.   A left. A right. Two more lefts.   Why wasn’t this the same room marked in the mental map?   Taking out a small stone from one of her numerous belt pouches S’neli said, “LeadtoGold calling Worldeater.”   Tree’s voice responded, “Worldeater here, are you lost again?”   S’neli frowned, it wasn’t her fault Tree’s map was wrong!   How could Tree imply that an Alchemic genius like her was unable to find her way even with a map? The nerve!   Who made walls with metal anyways? Where was the wood? The stone? The actual *useful* materials that she could query with her power for directions!   Dammit, she was an Alchemist for the love of everything explodable, not a cursed dwarf!   S’neli calmed herself and said, “I’m not lost. The map is wrong. The. Map.”   There was a pause before Tree said, “I got that map directly from combining all the captives memories we curr-”   S’neli cut Tree off and said, “The. Map. Is. Wrong.”   “…ok. I’ll send someone to help you along then. Just sit still, and don’t experiment with anything.” Tree said, his tone patient.   S’neli tapped her foot for a few seconds before a small girl appeared at the other end of the corridor. She instantly brightened up, without a doubt, this assistant was the best!   “Wen!” S’neli said, hugging the small girl when she arrived.   “Mm.” Wen murmured.   “Snacks?!” S’neli said, her eyes imploring.   Wen seemed to stare at her for a long moment before reaching into one of several pouches at her side and removing a perfectly preserved snack set.   “The best, Wen! The. Best!” S’neli said, grabbing the snacks as she turned to walk forwards. Before she could even take a step a small hand reached up to grab her sleeve.   “Ah, yes, of course. I’ll just follow you…” S’neli said, as Wen moved to the front. Pausing a moment, the young girl removed a loop of rope from her side pouch. With dexterous speed she tied the belts of both together, before nodding satisfied.   “T-This isn’t really…” S’neli tried to argue.   Wen glanced once at the snacks, and once at the rope, her meaning clear.   S’neli crumbled under the threat of going snackless in this strange place.   A few minutes later, following Wen’s unerring directions, they approached a closed door.   S’neli grumbled as she pulled several potions out of her bag. Boost, Medium Boost, High Boost, Grand Boost, Elixir of Boost, and others. Unlike that training maniac Mishra, she relied on drugs to perform at her best.   What was the point of being an Alchemist if you couldn’t dope up and win?!   After consuming all the delicious drugs, S’neli motioned for Wen to cut the rope.   As soon as the chef’s knife sliced through the rope, S’neli flickered in front of the door. A single palm pressed against the cold metal surface, and seconds later a massive heatwave flowed outwards. The door’s surface began to glow, at first orange, then red, then white hot. Like acid dripping, where S’neli pressed her palm, the metal was eaten away until the door was completely open.   Wen appeared impressed, so S’neli flexed for a moment. Glancing in she saw a group of impressive armored guards with both hands held up.   “Eh?” S’neli said, trying to understand what was going on.   Wen stared with her knife prepared to cut as well.   “…Tree?” Wen said, questioning S’neli.   “Ah!” S’neli said, taking out the communication stone.   “LeadtoGold to Worldeater, uh, I’m not sure what to do here. All the guards are holding up their hands palms facing me.” S’neli said, her tone unsure.   “Ah, just have Wen take their guns and store them in a space pouch. The installation is surrendering, Dryad crushed their strongest force.” Tree said from the other end.   S’neli counted ten deep breaths out before putting the stone away and turning to face Wen.   “Snacks. Now.” S’neli said, her eyes bright.   Wen put her knife away and handed a baggie of pre-made snacks before going to take the weapons of the guards.   “So mean. So mean. Dryad, so mean!” S’neli said, as she began to devour her snack cookies while crying tears.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNlMzdiNzg4NWZiZjRhNGVhMGJmMmQ4ODY2Njc1ZGRh">Impossible, impossible. It's ridiculous. How the hell did I lose to a runt like this.</p> <p class="cnM2NmQ4ZWUzYzNmYTQ4YWE4ZjU2NDA0MGRjMDQzNDRk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwZDQxNmJkMWZjMDQ5YzFhMjc5YmNmY2Y0NGI4ZTdh">Let me try again. I don't understand. Truly, I don't.</p> <p class="cnNhOGJlMmRlM2NiMDQ4ZmFhZmNiZDlmZmU4ZWY1MGM2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzOWI5OGYwZDExNzQ0MTM5NWRkMmUzYTQ4ODZmNzJh">The scene replayed in my mind, and I felt a slight shiver- I mean, I saw her hateful eyes staring at me.</p> <p class="cnNmMjEzOTliNDNjOTQ0MmE4ZmEzODg5MWNiMmU0Zjcz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNhNmQ4MDBkZWM2YjQwNzg5ZjA1NmMzOWJkNTlmNTZi">Look at how she took my sword, that little shit would've been nothing without it.</p> <p class="cnMzZGZlMDk0Y2UyZTRhMmNhOGYzZWIwZjA0MjZlMGI2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmODZlODZkMTg1NzQwOTVhNWZmOWY3Y2JiY2E2NjU0">Afterwards,Afterwards-</p> <p class="cnM3YzBlZmE1ZDYwNTQ0YjNhMGIxMTQ1ODZiM2UyNzhh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMzNDdmYjQxMWEyYjQ0NzBiNGEyZDBlYTQ0NWViZDcw">What happened afterwards.</p> <p class="cnM0NDUwM2YyMDkwZDQzZjM4MTM2YzhhNTZmNjRmMmZk">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNkMTU3NTE1Yzk2NjQ1ZTY4YWY5ZGMzZTJmZjJjYzg1">I hit her, I think. I remember her cold glare, though. Oh, and one time, while exchanging blows or something, I saw my reflection in her iris.</p> <p class="cnMxNzEyNjkwYjUzMTRkZjQ5MmVmNWQ5ZmE0MjE1ZmE0">If anything at all, I would say it was them that left an impression on me.</p> <p class="cnNmNmRjMTZjOTRjNTRiZDBiYTljMmMwMjBjMDJkY2Ex">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNjMzg1Y2Q2YzFkMDQzY2M5ZDc3YWJjMzI4MGNmZTA2">I wasn't scared at all, okay?</p> <p class="cnM3M2MzN2ExOTdlYzRmZGU5ZjQ3Zjg0YzBkNjZiY2M0">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM4Nzk0OWViYmJlMzQ0YjFhYTIwOThkMTQ1ODM5NGM4">But why, even though I know she had clear blue eyes, even though my brain tells me that, why do I only see them as scarlet red in my head?</p> <p class="cnM4NDZlNTE5M2E5ZDRkZWVhYTc5NThjOGVjYzNkMjk1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyN2VjYmRkNjEzYjQyMDk4YTg4YjdmMjgzYzJmNzNk">I know they weren't actually red, but I could see it, her thirst for blood. It's something you learn to do when you went through numerous battles, you learn who to mess with, and who the fuck to stay away from.</p> <p class="cnM5OWZiOTgwZjk4MTQxZTVhMGFlM2UyYjlhZGJjNDNj">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM2OGNkMDY5OGYwNzQzZGJiNGU3Mjk3ODkwYjg0ZGRh">While everyone human searches for water, they strive for blood. Go ahead, set them down into the wild. Let them walk freely and I guarantee you, they will come back with blood.</p> <p class="cnM2YmZlMWEyNDRkOTQ0NWZiYzJhNDhkZDVlY2EyNDMz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMyMWY1YjUzOThhMDQ0YmE4MzlhYWU4MDBhZWNiYWJl">If they haven't, well, then you better clench your butt.</p> <p class="cnNiOWE0MjdkMjNhNjRiODNhZWZlMTBkNzQ0NDFiMGFi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxNDBkYmUwNTdiYTQ2YjBiZmVlMDQ0OWEzZDQ1OWZl">I understand how they died now. How my companions got crushed so mercilessly. I can't really put the blame on them, though I really want to.</p> <p class="cnMxMGQyZTFiYzI0NTRmYzFiNmEzYzFhMjBkYWY5YmY1">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM3YTIyNzcxM2E2YzRiMmE5MTJkOTllYzQyOWE0ZDUy">That one guy, what was his name. Dumb shit didn't know how to appreciate his talent.</p> <p class="cnM5NWZjMmMyMTFiNDQ3NGY5NjdjMDQ2ZGQyZmEyNzRj">Always out killing and then hid his tail when danger approaches. If he wasn't snuffed by an enemy, then he'd have died sooner or later due to himself. The burden must have really weighed on him. Then again, he wouldn't have that power if he wasn't like that to begin with.</p> <p class="cnM3ZDE5ZjgwYTFiNjQwMGFhODFlNWFiOGU5ZGQ0NDUz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiNjMzNDM1MjNkNDRiNmRiY2ZmNjFhN2ZlYjBmMDBj">Tsk, why am I wasting my inner monologue on him. Can't wait to meet him and beat the shit out of him.</p> <p class="cnMzMmI3YzMxYzEyMDRjMzM5NzljM2YyM2M2MGY0ZTkz">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlYzFjMGMwOTYyNzRiNzc5ZDMwMjczMDViNDUwYTMw">Maybe the afterlife isn't too bad after all. Where would I be headed.</p> <p class="cnNhNWU5Y2I1MTAzZjRlNWM4NmMxNjc2OTQ0MWNlNTVi">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMxMDdkYjhhYjhjYzRlMzJhZGE2NjgzYmZhMDNkN2I5">Just kidding, it's hell. We all know it is. I'll send out a complaint if it isn't.</p> <p class="cnNhODRjZTYxZDE3ZTRjYjZiNWQwYWYwZjBkMjc5NDJl">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnMwZGYwZmNmNmYxYTQwYzM4ZWM1MjNlOWU4YmQ4NzJh">Shit, anything's better than being close to that demon. Even an actual demon.</p> <p class="cnMzNmM3OTA0NmJlMDQwNDNhNzJiZDMzZjlmODgxZjRl">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnM1MjE3NDYyMzJlNTRlYjZiOTA3MmJiY2Q4MmYxZDY5">From the beginning, she wasn't something I should've messed with. Foolishly, I thought I was the hunter when in reality I was the prey. Like a lamb entering the lions den, or a fly caught in a web.</p> <p class="cnNhNWQwNzIyZTQ1ZjRlZmM4OGQ5MmU0ZGM3MTQyNjI2">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNlNGQwZTIxZDJlMTQ1YmZiNGYwN2EzMzQ1MWExNjI0">This really is unfair. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone up against her.</p> <p class="cnMyYmU0NDJiMDcwNzQ2YTI4Y2FhZjRmYTIzM2UwMDIw">It was never about the money. Sure, it was alluring, but I just wanted to proof my worth to the princess.</p> <p class="cnNiYjM0ODg4Y2RhMjQwOTU5ZTRhOGRlOGJlOTg4MTU0">Why in the gods name above and below, did this have to happen to me.</p> <p class="cnMxMzNkM2I0MTNiYjQ5YTg5ODlmNThlY2UwYjg2YWFh">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNiMTllYmFmMDA4ZjQ5OWVhM2MxMjQ5MWUyMzk4OGQw">Oh lord, I don't know, lil princess, what you have gotten yourself into, but she is not something you can handle. For the first time, you were wrong. And what a grave mistake it was.</p> <p class="cnM0NzdhZDhjZmQ1OTQ3NzE4NmY1YmQ4NTg4ZWFkNGI4">&nbsp;</p> <p class="cnNmOTUwNmFmN2FhNjRkNGM5NDFlZDBmZmMyYjA0ZTcx">I pray for your safety and that you shall meet with good fortune. If not, I'll reserve a nice spot for you here.</p> </div>

Impossible, impossible. It's ridiculous. How the hell did I lose to a runt like this.   Let me try again. I don't understand. Truly, I don't.   The scene replayed in my mind, and I felt a slight shiver- I mean, I saw her hateful eyes staring at me.   Look at how she took my sword, that little shit would've been nothing without it.   Afterwards,Afterwards-   What happened afterwards.   I hit her, I think. I remember her cold glare, though. Oh, and one time, while exchanging blows or something, I saw my reflection in her iris. If anything at all, I would say it was them that left an impression on me.   I wasn't scared at all, okay?   But why, even though I know she had clear blue eyes, even though my brain tells me that, why do I only see them as scarlet red in my head?   I know they weren't actually red, but I could see it, her thirst for blood. It's something you learn to do when you went through numerous battles, you learn who to mess with, and who the fuck to stay away from.   While everyone human searches for water, they strive for blood. Go ahead, set them down into the wild. Let them walk freely and I guarantee you, they will come back with blood.   If they haven't, well, then you better clench your butt.   I understand how they died now. How my companions got crushed so mercilessly. I can't really put the blame on them, though I really want to.   That one guy, what was his name. Dumb shit didn't know how to appreciate his talent. Always out killing and then hid his tail when danger approaches. If he wasn't snuffed by an enemy, then he'd have died sooner or later due to himself. The burden must have really weighed on him. Then again, he wouldn't have that power if he wasn't like that to begin with.   Tsk, why am I wasting my inner monologue on him. Can't wait to meet him and beat the shit out of him.   Maybe the afterlife isn't too bad after all. Where would I be headed.   Just kidding, it's hell. We all know it is. I'll send out a complaint if it isn't.   Shit, anything's better than being close to that demon. Even an actual demon.   From the beginning, she wasn't something I should've messed with. Foolishly, I thought I was the hunter when in reality I was the prey. Like a lamb entering the lions den, or a fly caught in a web.   This really is unfair. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone up against her. It was never about the money. Sure, it was alluring, but I just wanted to proof my worth to the princess. Why in the gods name above and below, did this have to happen to me.   Oh lord, I don't know, lil princess, what you have gotten yourself into, but she is not something you can handle. For the first time, you were wrong. And what a grave mistake it was.   I pray for your safety and that you shall meet with good fortune. If not, I'll reserve a nice spot for you here.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM4OTg4ZDc3MjIyYzQxMDE5N2EzZGMzNzhmZmU5MDQ4">Aby watched as the final member of the last group to intrude was finally cut down, freeing the core from the hold on its own mana, something that was beginning to annoy the core about sapients. It relished the feeling, and was pleased that the next twelve hours would be its time to once more improve.</p> <p class="cnNhMDRiNjRiMTEyODQ5ZTZhZTRhMTQxY2Y3MTdmNTY2">It intended to start the night by improving what it felt was a weak link: the fifth floor boss, the star, which had been slowly getting countered more and more as the days wore on.The more it thought of it, the more Aby needed a way to fix that. While it was still growing ever larger, nearly being ranked A- by this point, and each of its limbs was three and a half meters long, it wasn’t enough against groups. It could still make successful getaways, but they were getting harder to perform as time wore on.</p> <p class="cnMwMDE4NDVjYjczZjQ1NWM4NzgwMTgyNjFhOTZiNTgw">Aby was upset at the loss of power it was seeing within the halls. The star was once the most powerful creature in the depths, and that title has been usurped time and time again. Aby decided to do something to the floor itself when it realized that the star was no longer considered a boss-level monster, instead of trying to find some way to simply increase the stars individual power.</p> <p class="cnM3YWUzZGQ0YjhjNzQyYTRiN2I2YjM5Y2NmN2NkZTUx">As it once more flexed its control over the huge amounts of mana in the dungeon, it decided to populate the floor with more than just a single creature. Mustering up a large amount of mana, it created four Trench Stars, far away from anything else in the dungeon, and warning the rest to ensure it stays that way.</p> <p class="cnMzMWMxODk1MjgxZjQ5OTRiMDlmMzIyMWU3MDViYTVm">And just like the last time one was spawned, they went <em>ballistic</em>. Only this time, there were four of them, and each of them was flailing, thrashing, and churning. One of them turned its many limbs on another while Aby was working on forcibly adapting them, and before the core was able to stop it, all four had joined into some kind of mass, writhing with tentacles and teeth, as the thick black ichor that was their blood seeped into the waters. One of the stars couldn’t hold out long enough to even be forcibly adapted, within seconds the ravenous hunger of the other three wound up reducing it to shreds and limbs, twitching and squirming aimlessly, whilst the smaller pieces were recycled.</p> <p class="cnM1MzUwMGVkZWJjNTRmNDY4NzEzN2Y1ZmY5ODIyZTA2">This was all in the span of seconds, too, they simply acted far too aggressively, and Aby was still entirely unused to having creatures it created acting outside of its instructions. It demanding them to cease only meant that they stopped attacking one another, and instead turned their sights on the dismembered pieces that remained.</p> <p class="cnNkZmI3NmFlYmE2ODQ5YzA5NGViZWIxNDE1YWRlNDJi">Before too long, Aby had once more reasserted its will onto the creatures, using up an amount of mana it had not actually thought possible. In such numbers the creatures managed to consume the dungeons supply faster than the corals could produce it. Thankfully, the core was able to force their adaptations into Dungeon stars before more than half of its supply was eaten, and the core felt the ambient mana rush back into it, quickly filling the void that the stars had created.</p> <p class="cnNiOWE3MGY5ZDZmYjQxN2NiNDhkNjdmODQ0YTI3NTM1">The stars were in the throes of change swiftly, and all three of them were quite unlike the first, and from one another. In fact, the only similarity they had with one another was color, all were still just as unnaturally black as the first, blending in completely with the void around them. The first, most similar to the star it knew was five meters wide, with eight long nub tipped arms radiating from its center, rather than the cilia of the original. It moved around, and showed itself to be marginally slower than the brittle star, though its flexible limbs were still just as swift to lash out.</p> <p class="cnNiZWE2MzBjYTQ4YzRjYTliMTgxODUxYTM2MGYwMDg4">The second was thick, four meters wide and yet at least thrice the weight of the original, all eighteen of its arms were dense and solid, and while they weren’t nearly as flexible, they seemed to be saturated with power. Making the creature smash a limb into the wall as a test, this thought was confirmed by the veritable crater that was left behind. Unfortunately, the movement speed of the creature could be best described as “lumbering”. Rather than using its limbs themselves for locomotion, the underside seemed to be lined in tens of thousands of tiny foot-like cilia, and the beast could use only them for a slow propulsion forward.</p> <p class="cnM1ZDMyZmU1ZDRlZjRkNjFiNmEyOGM5NTE2ZDE1OTU3">The third appeared unchanged in all but color to its former self, with dozens of appendages seemingly tacked onto its body haphazardly. Some were long, others short; some thick, others thin. It was hard to put a measurement to the invertebrate, there was no uniform shape to it, and to the numerous limbs, no specific size. Covered in cilia, nubs, even scales, feathers, and teeth, the creature looked truly horrific, and yet truly dangerous. As it began to move, Aby found itself questioning the logistics that go into such a disgustingly intricate dance of limbs and tendrils. It made absolutely no sense to witness, sometimes it was flinging itself forward by waving and thrusting in limbs strange motions. Other times, it simply spasmed, flipping and rolling forward in an alien rhythm. And strangely, it was <em>fast</em>. Very quickly, the thing had departed from the fifth floor, and Aby had to instruct it to return. It begrudgingly stopped its otherworldly dance forward, with looks ranging from terror of the surrounding fish to borderline infatuation on Carmine, and then reversed direction, flailing its multitude of arms in a horrific mockery of a squid before crashing into a wall and skittering forth.</p> <p class="cnMzNGFmMWRiODQ1MzQzYTU5NTY4ZWZiYmRlOTg5NjYx">The core inspected all three closer, intent on understanding just how they were even considered the same species. Oddly, it found that they weren’t. Respectively, they were now <em>Brisingida Dungeon Star, Abyssal Sunflower Star, and Chimeric Dungeon Star</em>, and this only led to more questions than answers. The biggest two were, why was the brittle star so different between its Dungeon and Trench variants, and why did all of them change to something that was decidedly not a brittle star. The knowledge it had taken from the various divers in the past had taught it about the Trenches, and what they were, but nobody knew anything concrete about them, and much of their knowledge wasn’t even objective to begin with. The contradictory opinions, ideas, anecdotal experiences, beliefs, and legends were overwhelmingly more common than any actual empiracal fact, and the core disliked that. It wanted to learn more, especially when such a conundrum has popped up, and having so little to go on made it difficult or even counterproductive to rely on what it takes from fallen invaders.</p> <p class="cnM0OTRiMzM3NDBhMDRkMGFhZGVjMzhiM2Q1ODc1Njlk">Sadly, it was left with the mystery, at least for now. Moving on, Aby sent concept to the brittle star, telling it that the process was finished, and allowed the curious star to go familiarize itself with the newcomers. And familiarize itself it did. The resulting display had been so fascinatingly unusual to bear witness to that the core found it difficult to parse the information it witnessed. Countless limbs of all sizes and shapes wound, unwound, knotted and danced while the main bodies were rather disturbingly swung around by each other. They rolled and roiled along the ground, and scuttled and skulked along the walls in their strange interaction.</p> <p class="cnNjMTE5NWQzMzIzMTQwNWViMmQ0NWE5MmYzOTg3NWIw">Eventually, the creatures broke off from one another, first the sunflower star sinking to the bottom, then the brisingida scampering off in a huff. When only the brittle and chimeric stars were left, the dance intensified, and the waters were disturbed all around. They battled to be on top of the other, yet struggled to stay underneath. It was intricately choreographed yet they&nbsp;lacked an audience beyond the core. Finally, when some unknown point was reached, the brittle star wrapped three of its arms around the chimera, and used the other two to brace against the wall, upon which it launched the apparent loser away from it at a scarily high velocity. A resounding thump could be heard, and the brittle star raised its all of its arms above its body and wiggled them in a strange dance, a soundless celebration at being <em>truly</em> the boss now.</p> <p class="cnNhMjkwYmMzMTA2OTQyZDQ4ZTRhNmQ2Nzk1MGFmY2M1">By this point, what Aby had started simply to be the first item on a checklist had devolved into a deep interest in these strange creatures, an interest that Aby was not alone in feeling. Carmine had overheard the brittle star asserting dominance over the chimeric star, the reverberating thump had been&nbsp;felt quite a few floors both above and beneath. Not to mention, after seeing the new “face”, she had been on the way in the first place. She was able to see, or at least perceive, in the total blackness of these halls incredibly well, and when she looked upon the sight of four strange critters of the abyss she couldn’t contain her enthusiasm.</p> <p class="cnM0ODI4YWM4NDZkODRhZGJiMWViMDA0NjMwMWRiYWVi">Fortunately, all five consciousnesses present were immune in some fashion to her Charm, as any casual listeners would no doubt find the sheer joy that suffused her Charm renders them into a state of vegetative bliss, and the hardier minded would likely have trouble shaking themselves out of the resulting stupor. The brittle star recognized her presence, and very quickly pulled itself over to her, enjoying her presence immensely. They exchanged greetings, a much tamer interaction compared to what the core had borne witness to not too long before, and then Carmine flitted off to inspect the new arrivals.</p> <p class="cnMyNGYyMDkxNDVkNzQwZmNiMTM2NjI2NTg0NzdmNDBj">The brisingida star seemed rather impassive, even against carmines infectious enthusiasm, and simply continued about its own business, though it did use two of its free arms to pat her back noncommittally when it realized she was looking for some form of acknowledgement. The sunflower star simply sat there, much as it had done and likely would do a lot of the time. It batted at her hands lightly, seemingly trying to catch them then curl around them, but being too slow to do this to any meaningful degree.</p> <p class="cnMzYTVlMzc3YTEzNjQ5MGNhMWU2NzYyM2Y5MmNkNGM1">The chimeric star had the strongest reaction though, at first it seemed enthused to have attention, and then suddenly tensing up in thought. After a second of reflection, it started shaking, then wound up rocketing into the distance in a stunning display of flexibility and disregard for walls along the way.</p> <p class="cnNiOTYzN2NlZDE1YzRjMzFiODcxMmI0Y2Q5ZTFkNTZl">So shocked was she by the sudden switch in attitude, and the not-so-graceful departure, that her hand simply hovered where it was, stock still as she pieced together the series of motions the creature took to propel itself away, and after to failing to do so she simply gathered the brittle star and played with it, sitting nearby the sunflower star.</p> <p class="cnM3ODU5MTQyZThmZjQ5MGRhOTFhZTU3ZThiYTA0MGE4">Seeing that the fifth floor had finally calmed down after what felt like the most surreal thirty minutes of Abys existence, the core withdrew most of its consciousness to the core room for a moment. It happily observed the sleeping form of Sela directly beside its pillar as it thought over all that had occurred that day. Aby felt that all of this had likely increased the capability for battle on the fifth floor, and so long as the brittle star could effectively teach the newcomers to fight even half as effectively as it, then they could likely reduce the number of under qualified invaders making it to Carmine’s level by a large amount. The core was curious to see how they would fight, though, and finally had something to look forward to about the invasions.</p> <p class="cnNiNjJjZjM3NjhiYzQwZTU5MzY0YWE2NjUzZWE3OWZm">However, the core was stuck dwelling on what it felt more important. It had so many questions raised in regards to exactly what the Trenches were, and the creatures therein. The stars, the siren, even the kelpie all originate from there, and were all so wildly different from everything else it had encountered. It seemed to be a place that worked entirely differently than what it knew, and it wished to be able to learn more.</p> </div>

Aby watched as the final member of the last group to intrude was finally cut down, freeing the core from the hold on its own mana, something that was beginning to annoy the core about sapients. It relished the feeling, and was pleased that the next twelve hours would be its time to once more improve. It intended to start the night by improving what it felt was a weak link: the fifth floor boss, the star, which had been slowly getting countered more and more as the days wore on.The more it thought of it, the more Aby needed a way to fix that. While it was still growing ever larger, nearly being ranked A- by this point, and each of its limbs was three and a half meters long, it wasn’t enough against groups. It could still make successful getaways, but they were getting harder to perform as time wore on. Aby was upset at the loss of power it was seeing within the halls. The star was once the most powerful creature in the depths, and that title has been usurped time and time again. Aby decided to do something to the floor itself when it realized that the star was no longer considered a boss-level monster, instead of trying to find some way to simply increase the stars individual power. As it once more flexed its control over the huge amounts of mana in the dungeon, it decided to populate the floor with more than just a single creature. Mustering up a large amount of mana, it created four Trench Stars, far away from anything else in the dungeon, and warning the rest to ensure it stays that way. And just like the last time one was spawned, they went *ballistic*. Only this time, there were four of them, and each of them was flailing, thrashing, and churning. One of them turned its many limbs on another while Aby was working on forcibly adapting them, and before the core was able to stop it, all four had joined into some kind of mass, writhing with tentacles and teeth, as the thick black ichor that was their blood seeped into the waters. One of the stars couldn’t hold out long enough to even be forcibly adapted, within seconds the ravenous hunger of the other three wound up reducing it to shreds and limbs, twitching and squirming aimlessly, whilst the smaller pieces were recycled. This was all in the span of seconds, too, they simply acted far too aggressively, and Aby was still entirely unused to having creatures it created acting outside of its instructions. It demanding them to cease only meant that they stopped attacking one another, and instead turned their sights on the dismembered pieces that remained. Before too long, Aby had once more reasserted its will onto the creatures, using up an amount of mana it had not actually thought possible. In such numbers the creatures managed to consume the dungeons supply faster than the corals could produce it. Thankfully, the core was able to force their adaptations into Dungeon stars before more than half of its supply was eaten, and the core felt the ambient mana rush back into it, quickly filling the void that the stars had created. The stars were in the throes of change swiftly, and all three of them were quite unlike the first, and from one another. In fact, the only similarity they had with one another was color, all were still just as unnaturally black as the first, blending in completely with the void around them. The first, most similar to the star it knew was five meters wide, with eight long nub tipped arms radiating from its center, rather than the cilia of the original. It moved around, and showed itself to be marginally slower than the brittle star, though its flexible limbs were still just as swift to lash out. The second was thick, four meters wide and yet at least thrice the weight of the original, all eighteen of its arms were dense and solid, and while they weren’t nearly as flexible, they seemed to be saturated with power. Making the creature smash a limb into the wall as a test, this thought was confirmed by the veritable crater that was left behind. Unfortunately, the movement speed of the creature could be best described as “lumbering”. Rather than using its limbs themselves for locomotion, the underside seemed to be lined in tens of thousands of tiny foot-like cilia, and the beast could use only them for a slow propulsion forward. The third appeared unchanged in all but color to its former self, with dozens of appendages seemingly tacked onto its body haphazardly. Some were long, others short; some thick, others thin. It was hard to put a measurement to the invertebrate, there was no uniform shape to it, and to the numerous limbs, no specific size. Covered in cilia, nubs, even scales, feathers, and teeth, the creature looked truly horrific, and yet truly dangerous. As it began to move, Aby found itself questioning the logistics that go into such a disgustingly intricate dance of limbs and tendrils. It made absolutely no sense to witness, sometimes it was flinging itself forward by waving and thrusting in limbs strange motions. Other times, it simply spasmed, flipping and rolling forward in an alien rhythm. And strangely, it was *fast*. Very quickly, the thing had departed from the fifth floor, and Aby had to instruct it to return. It begrudgingly stopped its otherworldly dance forward, with looks ranging from terror of the surrounding fish to borderline infatuation on Carmine, and then reversed direction, flailing its multitude of arms in a horrific mockery of a squid before crashing into a wall and skittering forth. The core inspected all three closer, intent on understanding just how they were even considered the same species. Oddly, it found that they weren’t. Respectively, they were now *Brisingida Dungeon Star, Abyssal Sunflower Star, and Chimeric Dungeon Star*, and this only led to more questions than answers. The biggest two were, why was the brittle star so different between its Dungeon and Trench variants, and why did all of them change to something that was decidedly not a brittle star. The knowledge it had taken from the various divers in the past had taught it about the Trenches, and what they were, but nobody knew anything concrete about them, and much of their knowledge wasn’t even objective to begin with. The contradictory opinions, ideas, anecdotal experiences, beliefs, and legends were overwhelmingly more common than any actual empiracal fact, and the core disliked that. It wanted to learn more, especially when such a conundrum has popped up, and having so little to go on made it difficult or even counterproductive to rely on what it takes from fallen invaders. Sadly, it was left with the mystery, at least for now. Moving on, Aby sent concept to the brittle star, telling it that the process was finished, and allowed the curious star to go familiarize itself with the newcomers. And familiarize itself it did. The resulting display had been so fascinatingly unusual to bear witness to that the core found it difficult to parse the information it witnessed. Countless limbs of all sizes and shapes wound, unwound, knotted and danced while the main bodies were rather disturbingly swung around by each other. They rolled and roiled along the ground, and scuttled and skulked along the walls in their strange interaction. Eventually, the creatures broke off from one another, first the sunflower star sinking to the bottom, then the brisingida scampering off in a huff. When only the brittle and chimeric stars were left, the dance intensified, and the waters were disturbed all around. They battled to be on top of the other, yet struggled to stay underneath. It was intricately choreographed yet they lacked an audience beyond the core. Finally, when some unknown point was reached, the brittle star wrapped three of its arms around the chimera, and used the other two to brace against the wall, upon which it launched the apparent loser away from it at a scarily high velocity. A resounding thump could be heard, and the brittle star raised its all of its arms above its body and wiggled them in a strange dance, a soundless celebration at being *truly* the boss now. By this point, what Aby had started simply to be the first item on a checklist had devolved into a deep interest in these strange creatures, an interest that Aby was not alone in feeling. Carmine had overheard the brittle star asserting dominance over the chimeric star, the reverberating thump had been felt quite a few floors both above and beneath. Not to mention, after seeing the new “face”, she had been on the way in the first place. She was able to see, or at least perceive, in the total blackness of these halls incredibly well, and when she looked upon the sight of four strange critters of the abyss she couldn’t contain her enthusiasm. Fortunately, all five consciousnesses present were immune in some fashion to her Charm, as any casual listeners would no doubt find the sheer joy that suffused her Charm renders them into a state of vegetative bliss, and the hardier minded would likely have trouble shaking themselves out of the resulting stupor. The brittle star recognized her presence, and very quickly pulled itself over to her, enjoying her presence immensely. They exchanged greetings, a much tamer interaction compared to what the core had borne witness to not too long before, and then Carmine flitted off to inspect the new arrivals. The brisingida star seemed rather impassive, even against carmines infectious enthusiasm, and simply continued about its own business, though it did use two of its free arms to pat her back noncommittally when it realized she was looking for some form of acknowledgement. The sunflower star simply sat there, much as it had done and likely would do a lot of the time. It batted at her hands lightly, seemingly trying to catch them then curl around them, but being too slow to do this to any meaningful degree. The chimeric star had the strongest reaction though, at first it seemed enthused to have attention, and then suddenly tensing up in thought. After a second of reflection, it started shaking, then wound up rocketing into the distance in a stunning display of flexibility and disregard for walls along the way. So shocked was she by the sudden switch in attitude, and the not-so-graceful departure, that her hand simply hovered where it was, stock still as she pieced together the series of motions the creature took to propel itself away, and after to failing to do so she simply gathered the brittle star and played with it, sitting nearby the sunflower star. Seeing that the fifth floor had finally calmed down after what felt like the most surreal thirty minutes of Abys existence, the core withdrew most of its consciousness to the core room for a moment. It happily observed the sleeping form of Sela directly beside its pillar as it thought over all that had occurred that day. Aby felt that all of this had likely increased the capability for battle on the fifth floor, and so long as the brittle star could effectively teach the newcomers to fight even half as effectively as it, then they could likely reduce the number of under qualified invaders making it to Carmine’s level by a large amount. The core was curious to see how they would fight, though, and finally had something to look forward to about the invasions. However, the core was stuck dwelling on what it felt more important. It had so many questions raised in regards to exactly what the Trenches were, and the creatures therein. The stars, the siren, even the kelpie all originate from there, and were all so wildly different from everything else it had encountered. It seemed to be a place that worked entirely differently than what it knew, and it wished to be able to learn more.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM0MmVlY2Y3MmQxMjRjYmRhYzU1ZDM3ZDg4ZmY0NzBi">Tess sighed. She was getting looks again. Pitiful looks. This was one of those days.</p> <p class="cnM5MGFhZjIxNmU2MjRkMzg4ZGUzNTlkYmI3NGZlYTVi">Princess Irulon had returned from her day’s activities with a bright smile on her face. A few of the other servants even reported humming. Normal days saw the princess return from the academy with a blank expression at best. Maybe a vapid smile with no real joy behind it. Her actually smiling threw up red flags for Tess’ fellow workers.</p> <p class="cnMyNTc3YWJkYTExZjQ5MDlhMmI5YTYzNDg4Y2Y4YmU1">Being a servant girl wasn’t easy. Being Irulon’s personal servant even less so. Her mornings consisted of waking up before everyone else in the palace—which wasn’t that hard, she barely slept most nights anyway. Bath water had to be heated. Chamber pots emptied. Meals retrieved from the cooks and set out. Clothes laid out. Then she had to wake up Irulon.</p> <p class="cnNjMjljZDVlMDY4ZjQ0M2ZhMDk4NDAwMjVhMDc5NTI3">That was… never fun. Tess had to be respectful, but Irulon was… not a morning person. That was putting it lightly. Speaking to her wouldn’t get the slightest reaction. Even physically nudging her couldn’t get her moving. It was bad enough that most days, Tess had to scoop up the princess, carry her to the bathroom, and dump her into the water. Even that didn’t usually wake her up all the way, but at least it got her morning underway. If Tess didn’t do that, Irulon would probably be late even to her evening appointments. By the time Tess finished scrubbing Irulon clean, she was usually awake enough to stand still while Tess dressed her.</p> <p class="cnM2MTQ2NTcyNmZmNDQwNzQ4ZTRhYjc5NzBmOTMzYjZm">And that was just the mornings.</p> <p class="cnMyMDYyZGM0ZDBhNDQ4YmRiZGE4YzE0MDU1Mjk0NGJk">But she didn’t get pitiful looks because of having to wake Irulon. Well, not always. Sometimes. However, most of the pitiful looks were because of things that happened before Tess even started working at the palace. <span style="font-style: italic">Allegedly</span>, many of Irulon’s personal attendants tended to… disappear. They weren’t publicly released from their stations or punished in any way. They weren’t executed. None of the other servants ever found bodies. They just vanished.</p> <p class="cnNlYmEyNmQ2OWU3MTQyNGQ4ZDA4MTYxMWYxYzEwM2Q2"><span style="font-style: italic">Apparently</span>. Tess had been here for almost a full year. The longest serving personal attendant according to the others. That didn’t stop the others from looking at her with sad eyes at times like this. Even when she stopped by the kitchens, the chef looked at her as if mentally saying, <span style="font-style: italic">it was nice working with you</span> as he handed her a plate of sauteed vegetables, thick slabs of roasted meat, and a loaf of freshly baked bread. It was irritating. Even worse, she would have to come back for more food and see him again. Irulon <span style="font-style: italic">never</span> ate her vegetables and <span style="font-style: italic">always</span> wanted more meat. Tess didn’t know why the chef bothered in the first place.</p> <p class="cnM2MzMyODRkZDM2NDQ0MTFhOGNlNjM5Zjk1YWFhMzE4">Carrying the plate with one hand, Tess picked up a large bottle of Tyrian wine and an emerald encrusted goblet with her other hand. Tyrian wine was Irulon’s favorite. Tess had tried a small glass once on a rare occasion when Irulon hadn’t finished off an entire bottle. It had a fairly unique flavor, similar to maple tree sap. Too sweet for her tastes. Also far too expensive. Even having been paid relatively well for working as the princess’ personal attendant over nearly a full year, her entire savings would only buy her a single bottle.</p> <p class="cnMwY2U3NDg2ZDE5YTQ5ZWJhN2YyNWUzYTA2NzQ3YzYx">Tess stepped lively up the stone staircase that led to the princess’ floor. It was a tight spiral with no decorations, used solely by the servants to get between their kitchen on the tenth highest floor and the royal family’s personal living quarters above.</p> <p class="cnNhYmQ5MGIxM2MzYTRkNzk4NTAwMWVmMTg2MDU1NGI0">The top three floors of the palace tower were reserved for the Pharaoh and his wives, the top two of which only the most trusted of servants were allowed on—an exclusive number that Tess couldn’t count herself in. From there, the children of the Great House each had their own floors. Irulon had six older brothers. She was the eldest girl. There were several younger siblings, but as the tower floors widened and their social importance lessened, none had an entire floor to call their own. Irulon often said that she was the luckiest child, having not only an entire floor to herself, but the largest as well. In Tess’ opinion, the entire tower was topsy-turvy. Who would ever want to climb from the ground floor all the way to the top every single day? If Tess were queen, she would definitely relocate to a far lower level. Maybe not completely ground floor, but maybe around the fifth floor.</p> <p class="cnM0Nzk5MTQzOTA5NjQzMTI5NTlkNmY1ZmJjZmZhOTlk">Of course, Irulon cheated with magic. As did her older brothers and the king. It was just the poor servants that had to clamber up and down thousands of stairs unless they were lucky enough to be walking alongside one of the royals.</p> <p class="cnMzNWFkMDljYjkyOTRmYTU5N2ZlM2I1YTgwYjI2YzNh">Letting out a small sigh, Tess stepped off the spiral staircase onto Irulon’s floor and started heading toward the wide open doors at the end of the hallway. With the doors to the princess’ bedroom wide open, she didn’t need to figure out how to knock with her hands full. So she just paused at the threshold. “Your meal is ready. Would you care for it in your dining room—” Her voice caught in her throat as she actually spotted the princess.</p> <p class="cnNhNTllZmNkOWQzNTQ2MjViMjY4M2YzN2NhZjE1OGVk">The bedroom was a wide room. Far too large for one person, in Tess’ opinion. The bed alone could fit ten people without any of them having to touch one another. It was a heavenly bed. Tess would never tell anyone, but there had been occasions during cleaning while Irulon had been absent that she had opted to take a short rest on the bed. The soft cushioning molded to her body, cradling her as if it were made from clouds. But the princess wasn’t on her bed.</p> <p class="cnM1ZDI4NTExZDQ1MTQyMGI5MjMzNDFkYjRiYWY4MTJl">Neither was she at her polished wood desk. Nor the chair near the bookcase and fire pit. The wardrobe door was closed, but Tess had never once seen Irulon enter there—getting clothing was a servant’s job, after all.</p> <p class="cnM1NWNiYmQ1NGU1NDQwMjI5OWY1Mjk4ODcyNzRkOTNk">No, the princess was beyond the wide glass doors that led outside. She stood on the balcony railing, standing with her arms outstretched and only her two bare feet anchoring her to the tower.</p> <p class="cnMyYmJmZTQ0YTliZDQyMDE4YzFmZmQzZWM0OTg3YjRi">“Princess!” Tess shouted as she rushed across the room. There was a limit to how reckless the princess could be. Even with magic. She didn’t even have the spell tome attached to her hip. If she fell, she wouldn’t be able to catch herself with a spell. All she had was an untied robe that billowed in the high winds. “Princess! Come down from there!”</p> <p class="cnM1YmNhNTEyYmE1NzQwYjBiMGQ0ZWVjMmZjMDFkYWE3">At her cry, Irulon spun around, picking up a foot to twist on a single toe. She stood there, still on the railing, staring down with her pale violet eyes. There was a hunger there. A hunger that shifted straight toward the plate in Tess’ hand. She slipped off the balcony, landing on the tips of her toes right in front of Tess. With her bare hands, she grabbed a slab of the roast and tore off a piece with her teeth as she leaned her back against the railing.</p> <p class="cnNjMzkwZjJhOTcwNjQzMjJiMDIzMzMxYTk5YzJmY2I0">Ignoring the impropriety of it all, Tess just sighed in relief. She was just glad the princess was safe. If Irulon had fallen, she wouldn’t have only lost the one she served—something Tess definitely didn’t want—but likely her life as well. She would have been hard pressed to convince anyone that she hadn’t thrown the princess from the balcony, being the only witness. Her head would have rolled in the city center, kicked around by children like it were a ball.</p> <p class="cnMyZTBiZGIxYjlmZDRkNDRhNjg5MDQyNDI0OTQ3MGQ2">Pushing the morbid thought from her mind, Tess knelt next to where the princess had leaned against the balcony railing to snack on her food.</p> <p class="cnM0NjllN2I0ZjNiYTRlZDBhZGI0MDliZDAyYzljN2Nh">“Excellent timing, Tess. I am absolutely famished. It has been an exhausting day. I can barely keep my eyes open.”</p> <p class="cnM5MGZkOTY1NWM2MDQ4YmQ5YTA2OTUyNGVhMDZmYzlj">“Did something good happen today?” she asked as she pulled the cork stopper from the bottle of Tyrian wine.</p> <p class="cnMzZGEzMzg5ZjJlMTRjNjhiMmEwYmRmNzA0NWM2Nzcx">“Something good? Hm. You could say that. She didn’t have a soul!”</p> <p class="cnNiZDgxOWVjMWFmMDQyOGI5MDdiZWVjNzMzYTMxODZi">Tess blinked. Out of all the possible things that Irulon could have found pleasing, that hadn’t even registered on the list. “No… soul? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”</p> <p class="cnNlZmQ0YmZkODYwMDRjNGM4OTkzNzM3YWJhY2M1ZWI2">“Neither do I! Even monsters have souls. I would say that she was using concealment magic, but I don’t think she’s ever used magic before today! Not much anyway. And when she did, she used a Rank Three spell without even straining. Hm. What is she? An elder lich?” Irulon bit down and tore off another strip of the tender meat.</p> <p class="cnMwNGMyNTk1MDJkNTQzOTlhMzg3MDllN2EzYmU3ZTI2">“A-A lich?” Tess shuddered. There were few things worse than monsters. A human who gave up their humanity to become a monster? Well, she had never met one, but it sounded ghastly. Who would even do that? A foolish question. The answer was simple. People who were afraid of the Divine Tenebrael’s embrace. Or people who didn’t believe in her at all. Still, didn’t they have a shred of decency? Betraying everyone like that to join humanity’s mortal enemies. It was worse than turning traitor to Lyria, fleeing northward across the desert to join the Juno Federation. “Should we contact the guards? Or bounty hunters? The guild maybe?”</p> <p class="cnNlY2FlODNiYTU5OTRhNjZiMTdmNmRjYTA2NzQ1ODYz">Irulon had her hand out, reaching for the wine. As soon as Tess spoke, that outstretched hand snapped to her mouth, clamping it shut. “No. No. We don’t tell anyone.” Her grip loosened, letting her hand fall. She skipped the goblet entirely, going straight for the wine bottle. “I want her.”</p> <p class="cnNhOTM3MTczZDY4NTRjNmQ5Y2ZmYmY4YjU3YmMzODcy">“What.”</p> <p class="cnMzZGNkOWM4MjE3NTQ4MzBiYmM4ZTRiMzAwYmU4YzAz">“If she is a lich, I want to take her apart. To pull off her skin and pry open her bones. Adventurers kill liches when they cause trouble, but what do we really know about them? They show up so infrequently. Do you think she has real meat in there? Or is she just wearing the skin over her bones like I wear a dress?”</p> <p class="cnMxYzliMDE0YWNlNDRhZWM4NDM4MjA4N2RmNmMzNzNk">“I don’t…” <span style="font-style: italic">have any idea how to answer that</span>. Tess could use magic. But she just used it for simple things. Lighting candles, filling the bath with water, cleaning, and other things useful for a servant girl. She certainly wasn’t obsessed with it, let alone with undead and monsters…</p> <p class="cnM0ZDc3ZTczZjJmNjQ5YWE4MWQ0ZWRkYWUwNGRmMmNi" style="text-indent: 36px; margin: 0px"> </p> <p class="cnNkZDMwMmNjNzUxMjRlNjhhMjJlYzg0NzVhMjhmMTc5">Smoke curling out from holes in the thatch roof. The coppery scent of blood, mixed with fire and screams. People running outside the home, leaving her stranded behind a fallen log. Midnight-black eyes with—</p> <p class="cnNlYjEzZmUzZjE5YTRlMDY5NDkwYmFlMmVmMjI5Yzll" style="text-indent: 36px; margin: 0px"> </p> <p class="cnMzNDUxNTA3MTdhNjQwYzhhMzljZDg0NzZiNTI3OGQ3">A firm hand clasped down on Tess’ shoulder. She gasped in a breath. Her heart beat in her chest, thumping hard enough to feel like it might explode. The hand gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, just as it had back then.</p> <p class="cnM5ZjQ3NjdhMGViYzQ1MjA5N2I0YTc2N2I5MTUyYzAy">“Don’t worry,” Irulon said. “You are mine. I won’t let <span style="font-style: italic">anyone</span> touch what is mine. Not my father. Not my siblings. Not some lich. Though if she is a lich, I wonder why she was reading such a beginner book of magic. Perhaps not a lich then. Or perhaps her true goal was to initiate contact with me. Ahhh, need more information to make an accurate assessment.”</p> <p class="cnNhZWFjNmJjN2U2MzQzYTk5NGFhNzI3ODQxYTViY2Yz">Tess gave a shaky nod of her head. Falling into bad memories—in front of Irulon, no less. <span style="font-style: italic">How embarrassing</span>. Drawing in another breath shook her chest with slight tremors. Something wet was running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped it away with the sleeve of her uniform. Thankfully, Irulon didn’t notice. The princess was doing her best to drain the bottle of wine in one go. And succeeding.</p> <p class="cnM5NTI4YTMzZTI1YjQxN2I4ZmY5NGEzOTAzMmUzMTQ2">“Ahhh.” Irulon let out her held breath in a sharp sigh. The empty bottle rolled across the open balcony, knocking against the small lip near the railing. She wolfed down the last of the meat but, as Tess had expected, didn’t touch the rest of the plate. However, it didn’t look like she would send for more food. Her eyes were already half-lidded and she wobbled slightly in place. It was still quite early for the princess to sleep, but then again, she had mentioned barely being able to stay awake. Maybe if she got to sleep now, she would wake at a reasonable time in the morning.</p> <p class="cnM2OTM4ZjdhNTM0MjQwODdhYWJiZmIyZWM2YTRmMDUz">“Shall we get you to bed?” Tess asked once she was sure that her voice wouldn’t tremble too much. The princess didn’t respond, but Tess knew her well enough to know what that meant. Slipping her arms behind the princess’ back and under her knees, Tess hefted her up.</p> <p class="cnNlNzg4MzViNjU1MzQ3MzliMGE1NWIzZjg4YzZhYzg2">Then she paused, getting her first real look of the landscape beyond the balcony’s railing. Night had fallen some time ago, but there was a great deal of light down in the distance. Down in the fields near the northern desert. Fire? And up closer near the wall, there was something going on there too. Occasional flashes of light. Magic.</p> <p class="cnNmM2MzZTNlNDRlYjRhOTY5NGEzNDE2ZmE2ZWQwYzNk">“Princess Irulon, what’s going on in the city tonight? The fields look like they’re on fire!”</p> <p class="cnNkY2FiNGNiZjdlZDRjZTliODI3MTYyYzM4YzNmMzU5">“‘S nothing to worry over. Brakkt left the palace with Juno and his personal knights. He’ll take care of it.”</p> <p class="cnM4MDYwM2QzODE1NDRlYmE5YTc4M2I3NGVmOTI3OTUx">“You’re not going to run off and cause trouble for me?”</p> <p class="cnM0MTJlN2RiMDcwYjQ1Yjg5MDY0MzI5ZGEwMDU3OWVi">“No,” Irulon said with a long yawn. “Bed now. Too much thinking today. My head hurts too much.”</p> <p class="cnNjYmFhNDQxYjAzNTQwZDQ5NzBjZDZmMDViNGIxNDhj"><span style="font-style: italic">Too much thinking? Or too much drinking?</span> Whatever the case, all the better if she wasn’t going to run off to try to collect corpses. Really. The clean-up was such a pain. “Alright,” Tess said softly as she carried the princess back inside.</p> <p class="cnM4ZTk3NGY3NGM4ZDRjMGVhNDQ2MmZlYWNmODJjOTUz">Irulon had said not to worry about it, so Tess put it completely out of her mind. Even if it was something to worry about, the fact that the Black Prince himself had gone to deal with the situation meant that nothing bad would happen to the palace. So Tess focused on her duties of preparing the princess for sleep.</p> <p class="cnMzZWZiNzFiMmZiMzRmMmI4YjI3Yjk0Y2VkNWYzYTRi">With her robe already open, it was a simple matter to slip her out of it and get her beneath the silk sheets of her bed. Irulon’s eyes were shut before she had even gotten fully tucked in. Tess was a bit envious of her ability to fall asleep like that, but at the same time, couldn’t help the smile on her face. She was the only person in the whole palace that got to see Irulon like this. Everyone else only saw <span style="font-style: italic">Princess </span>Irulon. Tess got to see the real her.</p> <p class="cnMxYjNjMWM0OTQwNjRmNmZhMGUzNWNmYmNjMDI0M2I0">It was why Tess had never worried. Maybe the other servants were right. Maybe Irulon had gotten rid of her past attendants. Maybe violently, maybe not. But they must have done something to deserve it. Tess would never betray her princess. Her savior. She knew just how kind Irulon truly was.</p> <p class="cnM5M2M2MmM2NGU0OTQ4NGViYzI5OTBhZDBjN2UyOGFj">Turning back to the balcony to clean up the remains of the meal, Tess froze as something clamped around her wrist. With a foot already in the air, a light tug was more than enough to send her off balance, falling into the cloud-like bed. Arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to the princess.</p> <p class="cnM4YTQxZmU0NGI5YzRhMjViZDkwMzMwOGQyMjRiNzhi">“Sleep with me,” Irulon mumbled without opening her eyes.</p> <p class="cnNlMDIxZjc0MmFmMTRiZmI4ZWNmMWUzNTBkOTAyNTUw">Tess smiled, but said nothing. Neither did she move. After counting to ten in her head, she carefully slipped out of Irulon’s arms and out of her bed. This time, when she made to move, nothing grabbed her hand. “Sorry, Princess.” She couldn’t sleep. There was work to do. The empty bottle. The plate. The goblet. After that, well, she <span style="font-style: italic">had</span> to find something else to do. She could clean the windows, sweep the floor, and polish up the handle on the big front door. After that, well, there was always work to do in the palace.</p> <p class="cnM4YmU3OTRlMDhkYTRlYWM4OTAzODc0ZGZkZjQyMzUy">She <span style="font-style: italic">couldn’t</span> sleep.</p> <p class="cnNkZmVhMzM0ZmI2MDQ0ZGI4ZTYwOTQzZmQ4NjJhODBj">Every time Tess closed her eyes, she saw those black eyes with the white rings, peering out of the smoke of her burning village.</p> </div>

Tess sighed. She was getting looks again. Pitiful looks. This was one of those days. Princess Irulon had returned from her day’s activities with a bright smile on her face. A few of the other servants even reported humming. Normal days saw the princess return from the academy with a blank expression at best. Maybe a vapid smile with no real joy behind it. Her actually smiling threw up red flags for Tess’ fellow workers. Being a servant girl wasn’t easy. Being Irulon’s personal servant even less so. Her mornings consisted of waking up before everyone else in the palace—which wasn’t that hard, she barely slept most nights anyway. Bath water had to be heated. Chamber pots emptied. Meals retrieved from the cooks and set out. Clothes laid out. Then she had to wake up Irulon. That was… never fun. Tess had to be respectful, but Irulon was… not a morning person. That was putting it lightly. Speaking to her wouldn’t get the slightest reaction. Even physically nudging her couldn’t get her moving. It was bad enough that most days, Tess had to scoop up the princess, carry her to the bathroom, and dump her into the water. Even that didn’t usually wake her up all the way, but at least it got her morning underway. If Tess didn’t do that, Irulon would probably be late even to her evening appointments. By the time Tess finished scrubbing Irulon clean, she was usually awake enough to stand still while Tess dressed her. And that was just the mornings. But she didn’t get pitiful looks because of having to wake Irulon. Well, not always. Sometimes. However, most of the pitiful looks were because of things that happened before Tess even started working at the palace. Allegedly, many of Irulon’s personal attendants tended to… disappear. They weren’t publicly released from their stations or punished in any way. They weren’t executed. None of the other servants ever found bodies. They just vanished. Apparently. Tess had been here for almost a full year. The longest serving personal attendant according to the others. That didn’t stop the others from looking at her with sad eyes at times like this. Even when she stopped by the kitchens, the chef looked at her as if mentally saying, it was nice working with you as he handed her a plate of sauteed vegetables, thick slabs of roasted meat, and a loaf of freshly baked bread. It was irritating. Even worse, she would have to come back for more food and see him again. Irulon never ate her vegetables and always wanted more meat. Tess didn’t know why the chef bothered in the first place. Carrying the plate with one hand, Tess picked up a large bottle of Tyrian wine and an emerald encrusted goblet with her other hand. Tyrian wine was Irulon’s favorite. Tess had tried a small glass once on a rare occasion when Irulon hadn’t finished off an entire bottle. It had a fairly unique flavor, similar to maple tree sap. Too sweet for her tastes. Also far too expensive. Even having been paid relatively well for working as the princess’ personal attendant over nearly a full year, her entire savings would only buy her a single bottle. Tess stepped lively up the stone staircase that led to the princess’ floor. It was a tight spiral with no decorations, used solely by the servants to get between their kitchen on the tenth highest floor and the royal family’s personal living quarters above. The top three floors of the palace tower were reserved for the Pharaoh and his wives, the top two of which only the most trusted of servants were allowed on—an exclusive number that Tess couldn’t count herself in. From there, the children of the Great House each had their own floors. Irulon had six older brothers. She was the eldest girl. There were several younger siblings, but as the tower floors widened and their social importance lessened, none had an entire floor to call their own. Irulon often said that she was the luckiest child, having not only an entire floor to herself, but the largest as well. In Tess’ opinion, the entire tower was topsy-turvy. Who would ever want to climb from the ground floor all the way to the top every single day? If Tess were queen, she would definitely relocate to a far lower level. Maybe not completely ground floor, but maybe around the fifth floor. Of course, Irulon cheated with magic. As did her older brothers and the king. It was just the poor servants that had to clamber up and down thousands of stairs unless they were lucky enough to be walking alongside one of the royals. Letting out a small sigh, Tess stepped off the spiral staircase onto Irulon’s floor and started heading toward the wide open doors at the end of the hallway. With the doors to the princess’ bedroom wide open, she didn’t need to figure out how to knock with her hands full. So she just paused at the threshold. “Your meal is ready. Would you care for it in your dining room—” Her voice caught in her throat as she actually spotted the princess. The bedroom was a wide room. Far too large for one person, in Tess’ opinion. The bed alone could fit ten people without any of them having to touch one another. It was a heavenly bed. Tess would never tell anyone, but there had been occasions during cleaning while Irulon had been absent that she had opted to take a short rest on the bed. The soft cushioning molded to her body, cradling her as if it were made from clouds. But the princess wasn’t on her bed. Neither was she at her polished wood desk. Nor the chair near the bookcase and fire pit. The wardrobe door was closed, but Tess had never once seen Irulon enter there—getting clothing was a servant’s job, after all. No, the princess was beyond the wide glass doors that led outside. She stood on the balcony railing, standing with her arms outstretched and only her two bare feet anchoring her to the tower. “Princess!” Tess shouted as she rushed across the room. There was a limit to how reckless the princess could be. Even with magic. She didn’t even have the spell tome attached to her hip. If she fell, she wouldn’t be able to catch herself with a spell. All she had was an untied robe that billowed in the high winds. “Princess! Come down from there!” At her cry, Irulon spun around, picking up a foot to twist on a single toe. She stood there, still on the railing, staring down with her pale violet eyes. There was a hunger there. A hunger that shifted straight toward the plate in Tess’ hand. She slipped off the balcony, landing on the tips of her toes right in front of Tess. With her bare hands, she grabbed a slab of the roast and tore off a piece with her teeth as she leaned her back against the railing. Ignoring the impropriety of it all, Tess just sighed in relief. She was just glad the princess was safe. If Irulon had fallen, she wouldn’t have only lost the one she served—something Tess definitely didn’t want—but likely her life as well. She would have been hard pressed to convince anyone that she hadn’t thrown the princess from the balcony, being the only witness. Her head would have rolled in the city center, kicked around by children like it were a ball. Pushing the morbid thought from her mind, Tess knelt next to where the princess had leaned against the balcony railing to snack on her food. “Excellent timing, Tess. I am absolutely famished. It has been an exhausting day. I can barely keep my eyes open.” “Did something good happen today?” she asked as she pulled the cork stopper from the bottle of Tyrian wine. “Something good? Hm. You could say that. She didn’t have a soul!” Tess blinked. Out of all the possible things that Irulon could have found pleasing, that hadn’t even registered on the list. “No… soul? I’m afraid I don’t understand.” “Neither do I! Even monsters have souls. I would say that she was using concealment magic, but I don’t think she’s ever used magic before today! Not much anyway. And when she did, she used a Rank Three spell without even straining. Hm. What is she? An elder lich?” Irulon bit down and tore off another strip of the tender meat. “A-A lich?” Tess shuddered. There were few things worse than monsters. A human who gave up their humanity to become a monster? Well, she had never met one, but it sounded ghastly. Who would even do that? A foolish question. The answer was simple. People who were afraid of the Divine Tenebrael’s embrace. Or people who didn’t believe in her at all. Still, didn’t they have a shred of decency? Betraying everyone like that to join humanity’s mortal enemies. It was worse than turning traitor to Lyria, fleeing northward across the desert to join the Juno Federation. “Should we contact the guards? Or bounty hunters? The guild maybe?” Irulon had her hand out, reaching for the wine. As soon as Tess spoke, that outstretched hand snapped to her mouth, clamping it shut. “No. No. We don’t tell anyone.” Her grip loosened, letting her hand fall. She skipped the goblet entirely, going straight for the wine bottle. “I want her.” “What.” “If she is a lich, I want to take her apart. To pull off her skin and pry open her bones. Adventurers kill liches when they cause trouble, but what do we really know about them? They show up so infrequently. Do you think she has real meat in there? Or is she just wearing the skin over her bones like I wear a dress?” “I don’t…” have any idea how to answer that. Tess could use magic. But she just used it for simple things. Lighting candles, filling the bath with water, cleaning, and other things useful for a servant girl. She certainly wasn’t obsessed with it, let alone with undead and monsters… Smoke curling out from holes in the thatch roof. The coppery scent of blood, mixed with fire and screams. People running outside the home, leaving her stranded behind a fallen log. Midnight-black eyes with— A firm hand clasped down on Tess’ shoulder. She gasped in a breath. Her heart beat in her chest, thumping hard enough to feel like it might explode. The hand gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, just as it had back then. “Don’t worry,” Irulon said. “You are mine. I won’t let anyone touch what is mine. Not my father. Not my siblings. Not some lich. Though if she is a lich, I wonder why she was reading such a beginner book of magic. Perhaps not a lich then. Or perhaps her true goal was to initiate contact with me. Ahhh, need more information to make an accurate assessment.” Tess gave a shaky nod of her head. Falling into bad memories—in front of Irulon, no less. How embarrassing. Drawing in another breath shook her chest with slight tremors. Something wet was running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped it away with the sleeve of her uniform. Thankfully, Irulon didn’t notice. The princess was doing her best to drain the bottle of wine in one go. And succeeding. “Ahhh.” Irulon let out her held breath in a sharp sigh. The empty bottle rolled across the open balcony, knocking against the small lip near the railing. She wolfed down the last of the meat but, as Tess had expected, didn’t touch the rest of the plate. However, it didn’t look like she would send for more food. Her eyes were already half-lidded and she wobbled slightly in place. It was still quite early for the princess to sleep, but then again, she had mentioned barely being able to stay awake. Maybe if she got to sleep now, she would wake at a reasonable time in the morning. “Shall we get you to bed?” Tess asked once she was sure that her voice wouldn’t tremble too much. The princess didn’t respond, but Tess knew her well enough to know what that meant. Slipping her arms behind the princess’ back and under her knees, Tess hefted her up. Then she paused, getting her first real look of the landscape beyond the balcony’s railing. Night had fallen some time ago, but there was a great deal of light down in the distance. Down in the fields near the northern desert. Fire? And up closer near the wall, there was something going on there too. Occasional flashes of light. Magic. “Princess Irulon, what’s going on in the city tonight? The fields look like they’re on fire!” “‘S nothing to worry over. Brakkt left the palace with Juno and his personal knights. He’ll take care of it.” “You’re not going to run off and cause trouble for me?” “No,” Irulon said with a long yawn. “Bed now. Too much thinking today. My head hurts too much.” Too much thinking? Or too much drinking? Whatever the case, all the better if she wasn’t going to run off to try to collect corpses. Really. The clean-up was such a pain. “Alright,” Tess said softly as she carried the princess back inside. Irulon had said not to worry about it, so Tess put it completely out of her mind. Even if it was something to worry about, the fact that the Black Prince himself had gone to deal with the situation meant that nothing bad would happen to the palace. So Tess focused on her duties of preparing the princess for sleep. With her robe already open, it was a simple matter to slip her out of it and get her beneath the silk sheets of her bed. Irulon’s eyes were shut before she had even gotten fully tucked in. Tess was a bit envious of her ability to fall asleep like that, but at the same time, couldn’t help the smile on her face. She was the only person in the whole palace that got to see Irulon like this. Everyone else only saw Princess Irulon. Tess got to see the real her. It was why Tess had never worried. Maybe the other servants were right. Maybe Irulon had gotten rid of her past attendants. Maybe violently, maybe not. But they must have done something to deserve it. Tess would never betray her princess. Her savior. She knew just how kind Irulon truly was. Turning back to the balcony to clean up the remains of the meal, Tess froze as something clamped around her wrist. With a foot already in the air, a light tug was more than enough to send her off balance, falling into the cloud-like bed. Arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to the princess. “Sleep with me,” Irulon mumbled without opening her eyes. Tess smiled, but said nothing. Neither did she move. After counting to ten in her head, she carefully slipped out of Irulon’s arms and out of her bed. This time, when she made to move, nothing grabbed her hand. “Sorry, Princess.” She couldn’t sleep. There was work to do. The empty bottle. The plate. The goblet. After that, well, she had to find something else to do. She could clean the windows, sweep the floor, and polish up the handle on the big front door. After that, well, there was always work to do in the palace. She couldn’t sleep. Every time Tess closed her eyes, she saw those black eyes with the white rings, peering out of the smoke of her burning village.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkNzNmM2QzOWRjMTQxYTY5NDBhNGQ2M2I0ZjNhN2Q4">Chapter 3</p> <p class="cnM4M2I4OWExMjViMjQ3NzA5NWRiZDg3ZGNjMjExZWIx">He watched his two capable friends absorb the current state of things. In particular, he watched the guileless First express consternation then consideration. She had mind that could set the world on fire but had no cunning whatsoever. He paused in his words a moment longer, considering how much to reveal and how much to obfuscate. These two were the most important weapons in his arsenal but more than that, they were the key players to ensure the Calling passed successfully. The old man could feel his memories scratching at the sphere of his internal awareness. He dismissed them mentally, forcing them away to remain in the present. “Civil unrest and emboldened enemies are the beginning of our problems but certainly not their limit. We three will need to usher and care for the Calling. It is not a whimsical moment, a quick sent thrill of magic, then all is well. We must guide things and make ready for our impending guests. For now, however Lady First, you have the gist of what must be done immediately. Once the Council has approved of measures to be taken, I will meet with you and the Army Marshall to discuss the redeployment. There cannot be any delay in this. I would have ordered the mobilisation before the Call but suffice to say, the time allotted for its signalling and conclusion is not given to allowances.” He watched them process this. The question occurred to both listeners but the impulse was stifled in the Dean. The First was not so burdened by concerns of proprietary so asked immediately, “Lord Sovereign, is the timing that exacting?” He smiled inwardly and her impulsiveness. It would be simple to blame it on her age but inaccurate. She was this way to the bone, regardless of years. As a grandmother she will be without restraint. “The timing is exacting and none of your concern. Now do you have any questions or would you like to be off about administering the Empire?” She blinked in response and stood abruptly, as was her way. “Sire I have one more question. The timing. Is it exacting because of its beginning of the Calling, or because of its ending?” He frowned deeply. Too clever by half. “I believe I already informed you that it was none of your concern, First. Dismissed!” She smiled slightly and bowed before retreating.</p> <p class="cnMyYzFkYTVhMGY1NTRiZTJhOTlhODdlYmMwNjFmZTc4">Now alone with his birdlike friend, the old man smirked in his direction. “Did you see that mind work?! She had the questions before you did.” A sigh escaped Leranda before he could trap it. “Yes Sire, she is a remarkable intellect. Possibly not the personage you should have supported for First of the Council but remarkable nonetheless. On a more important note, I need to know what to expect from the Calling?” The sovereign glared at the unsatisfactory reaction of the Dean. “Lerry, you old bastard! Firstly, I don’t decide the Council’s make up, they do. I merely supported the girl. And Secondly, you should be more respectful of you Sovereign and show some damned excitement when I do!” The Dean simply sat and stared back with a mild expression. “Yes, well sire, do you think perhaps given the nature of what is to come that you could start to fill me in on the Calling.” The old man’s face grew momentarily grim. “They’ll come, Leranda. I will inform you as you need to know. Explaining anything beforehand becomes problematic. You have the texts that are made available to the College, correct?” The Sovereign watched his friend nod and concern break across his features. “Sire yes, we do have texts. Most of them merely describe the reason for the Calling, which is self-evident and some esoteric ramblings on the subject. The Potentials are coming as you say my Lord Sovereign so I need to be armed with the knowledge necessary to prepare for them! Not to put a finer point on it, sire but there is no greater happening than this!” This time the old man snorted at his friend. “Oh calm down Lerry, you’ll give yourself a faint. Yes, this is the most truly momentous bollocks happenstance that has and will infect the world for the next century! I am well aware of its bothersome nature. Must I remind you as well as the pup that I lived through the last one of these?! And for bothers sake, its only the two of us! Call me by name.” As he was the only person alive able to call the old man by name, Leranda did so when they were both in private. “Very well, Atin. You must give me more information though. I cannot plan for all this with the little that is contained in the texts.” The sigh from the old man was resigned and contained more than a little tiredness. “Very well Leranda. I will explain it once though. Once you mind! And in as much detail as is permitted. I will wait for The First and The Marshall though. I’m too old to repeat myself and bloody Sovereign besides, so I shouldn’t have to! Now, there’s nothing more to be said on the subject so tell me about your grandson?!”</p> <p class="cnM3N2YzNzUzZTAzYTQxNDZhODM1ZmQ0ZDc5ZGUwNGY2">Tom tried not to shift uncomfortably as the two older men relaxed into a conversation about the Deans grandson and apple of his eye. Tom’s mind reeled with the details he had gleaned from the three people that had spoken. The Calling was indeed upon them. No one but the Sovereign really knew about the details and he seemed reticent to share. The First was even stranger than her reputation suggested. The Sovereign’s name was Atin. The list went on and on. So many thoughts and considerations. What exactly was the Calling? Why wasn’t it the simple matter most believed? As a scholar, Tom was concerned to think that he too hadn’t ever dwelt on how little was really known about the most important single event that could happen in the lives of the citizens of the Empire. He assumed that like most people, the basics were just always known and no one thought to question them. The Sovereign seemed the eternal constant, what else need be known. Surely the next calling would be so long from now that it wouldn’t matter. One thing was certain in Tom’s mind. He would hold absolutely still and hope no one sent him away. If he could remain where he was, he could hear the story directly from the Sovereign himself!</p> <p class="cnM1YTE3NWYwNGZhYzQ5ZWI5ZGNkNDVlZjQ3Nzk3YzUy"> </p> <p class="cnM0ZDJkMWE5ZGUwMDQxNDE5YTU3ZTIwOGVhZTcxYmZi"> </p> <p class="cnMzODgyN2M2ZmRkYzQ0MmViMzdiZWVjMTZhZjU2YWRl">Sera arrived in the Council chambers, her eyes falling upon the wood panelled walls. The firelight danced in the polished golden-brown surface, seeming to dance back and forth with the enthusiasm of children. The great Council Chamber Hall was a grand room easily the size of two ballrooms and almost as large as the Sovereign’s balcony. According to her research of the Keep’s history, the balcony was predminantly under a roof until the current Sovereign had ordered it removed to allow his vision of an open air reception and contemplation area to be born. The First strode to her place, waiving the table of men and women back to their seats as the rose to her. “Council, please be seated.” It was apparent that the few talented on the Council had filled in the others about the Calling. Twelve sets of eyes in twelve faces older than her own blinked at Sera as she dropped into her chair. The Council of the Empire sought to handle the day to day governance of the kingdom. Administering the laws of the realm and expressing the will of it’s people and to a lesser, more complicated extent, it’s Sovereign. The membership of the Council was decided by a vote of the existing members when a new one was to be chosen. There was always a fixed 13 members with their own specific concerns to administer including Law, Health, Education and Security. Sitting at the head of the table was the 13^th member who had no subject mandate and stood as the First among equals and represented the 13 and the Empire as a whole. Sera had reached her position by way of incredible Talent, the support of the Sovereign and her undeniable rare intellect. The Empire was egalitarian by design and promoted any who showed significant ability. In reality, it was as all societies are. The rich and affluent so often fell into positions of prominence. Without doubt they were intelligent and capable but the rareness of new blood at the Council table and all other halls of power throughout the Empire as glaringly obvious.</p> <p class="cnMxNTIxYTYwZmM4ODQ4MzE4ODUzNDRlMjQyZDYzYWJm">The First resisted the urge to clear her throat and swept the room with her green brown eyes. “The Call has been made. I am certain you know However it bears confirming. The Calling will be answered. We must stand ready for the Potentials.” The hum at the table was as immediate as it was furious. These were not the kinds of people that were accustomed to being caught off guard. “We were not consulted!” Shouted the strangled voice of Laws. “It is beyond unreasonable for the Sovereign to make this decision without our approval.” Came the even higher pitched voice of Agricultures. The cacophony grew as the same liveried messenger entered and delivered another missive, trailed by Ruby the wolfhound. The giant dog rested by her Lady’s side and took in the bickering shouts of the august body of representatives that held the Empire’s governance. Sera rested her hand on Ruby’s warm head for comfort and stood slowly. Immediately the noise reduced but did not cease. Her voice held a shadow of the Sovereigns snap of command as she spoke again, cutting through the remaining noise until it stopped. “Council folk, control yourselves. It is not the place of this body to decide upon the Calling. It is his Lord Sovereigns domain and the reasons for his decision are not required to be given! Now I have spoken to the Sovereign and he assures me that this decision was not taken lightly and was however, very necessary. It is time. It is his time.” Her words took the indignant wind out of the sails of the assembled personages. Now for the hard part. “The Sovereign has requested that the Council take a few steps before announcing the Call to the people. We must redeploy a good percentage of our armies to both our borders and the ‘Unrest’ locations throughout the Empire. We must stand ready for civil unrest and incursions on our borders if our enemies seek to test if we are weak.” Whatever more Sera could have said was drowned out. The noise of all the screaming Council members grew to such an incredible volume that Ruby turned away in disgust and left the chambers. Slowly, a broad and tall man stood at the opposite end of the table to the First. The Marshall of the Empire’s defensive legions was exactly what you would expect him to be. Wars, as he was referred to in this chamber was a bald man of about fifty years of age. He had no one gram of fat on his wiry form. He was a little over six foot two and had shoulders to match an even larger man but carried little excess muscle. His aura was one of barely contained violence. Yet all of his movements were utterly controlled. His first struck the table with just enough force to create a resounding thump that proved undeniable to the rest of the Council who finally fell silent. Wars didn’t speak but simply raised an open palm towards Sera who gratefully noted. She quickly glanced at the missive. Again in the old man’s hand, ‘You and Marshall Wars to get up here the second you are done with them.’ Sera sighed inwardly and set herself to continue the session. This might take a moment.</p> <p class="cnMwZmFjNzk4YzhmYTRmOGJhOTc5MjhiYTNkNjA4YWQ0"> </p> <p class="cnNkNWFmMzU2NGFkMDQwYmVhNjg4MmY3NzYwZWRjNmRi"> </p> <p class="cnM1MDFhZWFkNTIzYzQzOWNiMTk3Mzk4MzFhNjE0YTc1"> </p> </div>

Chapter 3 He watched his two capable friends absorb the current state of things. In particular, he watched the guileless First express consternation then consideration. She had mind that could set the world on fire but had no cunning whatsoever. He paused in his words a moment longer, considering how much to reveal and how much to obfuscate. These two were the most important weapons in his arsenal but more than that, they were the key players to ensure the Calling passed successfully. The old man could feel his memories scratching at the sphere of his internal awareness. He dismissed them mentally, forcing them away to remain in the present. “Civil unrest and emboldened enemies are the beginning of our problems but certainly not their limit. We three will need to usher and care for the Calling. It is not a whimsical moment, a quick sent thrill of magic, then all is well. We must guide things and make ready for our impending guests. For now, however Lady First, you have the gist of what must be done immediately. Once the Council has approved of measures to be taken, I will meet with you and the Army Marshall to discuss the redeployment. There cannot be any delay in this. I would have ordered the mobilisation before the Call but suffice to say, the time allotted for its signalling and conclusion is not given to allowances.” He watched them process this. The question occurred to both listeners but the impulse was stifled in the Dean. The First was not so burdened by concerns of proprietary so asked immediately, “Lord Sovereign, is the timing that exacting?” He smiled inwardly and her impulsiveness. It would be simple to blame it on her age but inaccurate. She was this way to the bone, regardless of years. As a grandmother she will be without restraint. “The timing is exacting and none of your concern. Now do you have any questions or would you like to be off about administering the Empire?” She blinked in response and stood abruptly, as was her way. “Sire I have one more question. The timing. Is it exacting because of its beginning of the Calling, or because of its ending?” He frowned deeply. Too clever by half. “I believe I already informed you that it was none of your concern, First. Dismissed!” She smiled slightly and bowed before retreating. Now alone with his birdlike friend, the old man smirked in his direction. “Did you see that mind work?! She had the questions before you did.” A sigh escaped Leranda before he could trap it. “Yes Sire, she is a remarkable intellect. Possibly not the personage you should have supported for First of the Council but remarkable nonetheless. On a more important note, I need to know what to expect from the Calling?” The sovereign glared at the unsatisfactory reaction of the Dean. “Lerry, you old bastard! Firstly, I don’t decide the Council’s make up, they do. I merely supported the girl. And Secondly, you should be more respectful of you Sovereign and show some damned excitement when I do!” The Dean simply sat and stared back with a mild expression. “Yes, well sire, do you think perhaps given the nature of what is to come that you could start to fill me in on the Calling.” The old man’s face grew momentarily grim. “They’ll come, Leranda. I will inform you as you need to know. Explaining anything beforehand becomes problematic. You have the texts that are made available to the College, correct?” The Sovereign watched his friend nod and concern break across his features. “Sire yes, we do have texts. Most of them merely describe the reason for the Calling, which is self-evident and some esoteric ramblings on the subject. The Potentials are coming as you say my Lord Sovereign so I need to be armed with the knowledge necessary to prepare for them! Not to put a finer point on it, sire but there is no greater happening than this!” This time the old man snorted at his friend. “Oh calm down Lerry, you’ll give yourself a faint. Yes, this is the most truly momentous bollocks happenstance that has and will infect the world for the next century! I am well aware of its bothersome nature. Must I remind you as well as the pup that I lived through the last one of these?! And for bothers sake, its only the two of us! Call me by name.” As he was the only person alive able to call the old man by name, Leranda did so when they were both in private. “Very well, Atin. You must give me more information though. I cannot plan for all this with the little that is contained in the texts.” The sigh from the old man was resigned and contained more than a little tiredness. “Very well Leranda. I will explain it once though. Once you mind! And in as much detail as is permitted. I will wait for The First and The Marshall though. I’m too old to repeat myself and bloody Sovereign besides, so I shouldn’t have to! Now, there’s nothing more to be said on the subject so tell me about your grandson?!” Tom tried not to shift uncomfortably as the two older men relaxed into a conversation about the Deans grandson and apple of his eye. Tom’s mind reeled with the details he had gleaned from the three people that had spoken. The Calling was indeed upon them. No one but the Sovereign really knew about the details and he seemed reticent to share. The First was even stranger than her reputation suggested. The Sovereign’s name was Atin. The list went on and on. So many thoughts and considerations. What exactly was the Calling? Why wasn’t it the simple matter most believed? As a scholar, Tom was concerned to think that he too hadn’t ever dwelt on how little was really known about the most important single event that could happen in the lives of the citizens of the Empire. He assumed that like most people, the basics were just always known and no one thought to question them. The Sovereign seemed the eternal constant, what else need be known. Surely the next calling would be so long from now that it wouldn’t matter. One thing was certain in Tom’s mind. He would hold absolutely still and hope no one sent him away. If he could remain where he was, he could hear the story directly from the Sovereign himself! Sera arrived in the Council chambers, her eyes falling upon the wood panelled walls. The firelight danced in the polished golden-brown surface, seeming to dance back and forth with the enthusiasm of children. The great Council Chamber Hall was a grand room easily the size of two ballrooms and almost as large as the Sovereign’s balcony. According to her research of the Keep’s history, the balcony was predminantly under a roof until the current Sovereign had ordered it removed to allow his vision of an open air reception and contemplation area to be born. The First strode to her place, waiving the table of men and women back to their seats as the rose to her. “Council, please be seated.” It was apparent that the few talented on the Council had filled in the others about the Calling. Twelve sets of eyes in twelve faces older than her own blinked at Sera as she dropped into her chair. The Council of the Empire sought to handle the day to day governance of the kingdom. Administering the laws of the realm and expressing the will of it’s people and to a lesser, more complicated extent, it’s Sovereign. The membership of the Council was decided by a vote of the existing members when a new one was to be chosen. There was always a fixed 13 members with their own specific concerns to administer including Law, Health, Education and Security. Sitting at the head of the table was the 13th member who had no subject mandate and stood as the First among equals and represented the 13 and the Empire as a whole. Sera had reached her position by way of incredible Talent, the support of the Sovereign and her undeniable rare intellect. The Empire was egalitarian by design and promoted any who showed significant ability. In reality, it was as all societies are. The rich and affluent so often fell into positions of prominence. Without doubt they were intelligent and capable but the rareness of new blood at the Council table and all other halls of power throughout the Empire as glaringly obvious. The First resisted the urge to clear her throat and swept the room with her green brown eyes. “The Call has been made. I am certain you know However it bears confirming. The Calling will be answered. We must stand ready for the Potentials.” The hum at the table was as immediate as it was furious. These were not the kinds of people that were accustomed to being caught off guard. “We were not consulted!” Shouted the strangled voice of Laws. “It is beyond unreasonable for the Sovereign to make this decision without our approval.” Came the even higher pitched voice of Agricultures. The cacophony grew as the same liveried messenger entered and delivered another missive, trailed by Ruby the wolfhound. The giant dog rested by her Lady’s side and took in the bickering shouts of the august body of representatives that held the Empire’s governance. Sera rested her hand on Ruby’s warm head for comfort and stood slowly. Immediately the noise reduced but did not cease. Her voice held a shadow of the Sovereigns snap of command as she spoke again, cutting through the remaining noise until it stopped. “Council folk, control yourselves. It is not the place of this body to decide upon the Calling. It is his Lord Sovereigns domain and the reasons for his decision are not required to be given! Now I have spoken to the Sovereign and he assures me that this decision was not taken lightly and was however, very necessary. It is time. It is his time.” Her words took the indignant wind out of the sails of the assembled personages. Now for the hard part. “The Sovereign has requested that the Council take a few steps before announcing the Call to the people. We must redeploy a good percentage of our armies to both our borders and the ‘Unrest’ locations throughout the Empire. We must stand ready for civil unrest and incursions on our borders if our enemies seek to test if we are weak.” Whatever more Sera could have said was drowned out. The noise of all the screaming Council members grew to such an incredible volume that Ruby turned away in disgust and left the chambers. Slowly, a broad and tall man stood at the opposite end of the table to the First. The Marshall of the Empire’s defensive legions was exactly what you would expect him to be. Wars, as he was referred to in this chamber was a bald man of about fifty years of age. He had no one gram of fat on his wiry form. He was a little over six foot two and had shoulders to match an even larger man but carried little excess muscle. His aura was one of barely contained violence. Yet all of his movements were utterly controlled. His first struck the table with just enough force to create a resounding thump that proved undeniable to the rest of the Council who finally fell silent. Wars didn’t speak but simply raised an open palm towards Sera who gratefully noted. She quickly glanced at the missive. Again in the old man’s hand, ‘You and Marshall Wars to get up here the second you are done with them.’ Sera sighed inwardly and set herself to continue the session. This might take a moment.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM3YWE2MGIxYTcwYjQ2ZWI4MTE4ZmNiODA4MzFhZTRk">I suddenly woke up In what appeared to be a forest. It seemed to be night here, but I felt wide awake now. I don't remember falling asleep though it's probably due to the new body, yeah let's go with that deciding to brush it aside.</p> <p class="cnMyYTI1ZjlmYjE1OTQ2M2NiZjNmMTdiNGI5MWZkNTJj">The first thing to check out my new body, I was in the first one today if I remember it was the Vampire one first. First things first let's see if I'm wearing anything thankfully I am. It was a basic green robe with shoes and everything. Thank god I didn't end up in the nude like some of the stories I've watched or read.</p> <p class="cnMwNzYxYjYxZjNjNjRjZTdhMzkyZjk5ZDIzZGYyZWZi">There was a pond nearby, so I decided to see what I looked like I had pure white skin with short black hair with some bangs hanging over my left eye. I was thin, but not to the point of being of looking frail. I pretty much would look like a stereotypical pretty boy vampire if I weren't wearing this ugly green robe. My stomach growled all the sudden, and a warning appeared in front of me.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Blood Lust: You must drink blood, or else your Stats and Health will decrease and you will eventually go into a mad frenzy after two hours of not getting blood, and you will attack anything determined to drink its blood.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM2N2JlMTVlN2ZmZDRmMzRhMDFiYmJjZGZiYTk3Nzk1">Crap better find some animal or something fast. After about 30 minutes of searching, I found a wild Giant Boar. Ok, let's see to get skills I have to perform actions to get skills right ok let's try that whole thing of trying to shoot energy out of your hand.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Dark Blast Level 1 Acquired(Cost 75 MP). Fires a blast of dark energy at the target. I shot the explosion at the boar weakening it. If I remember after&nbsp;diluting<span>&nbsp;it, you should</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4NmVjY2MyNmY4MjQyZmY5NTVmNzU0YjJhYzEwNjNm">.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Vampire Seduction Level 1 Acquired (Cost 20 MP). Seduces target so you can suck its blood.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMyMDAwM2ZjNTg1NDQxYzA5ZDhjZjhhODI2MGJjOTBh">So I used Vampire Seduction on it, followed by me sucking its blood. Now that's done, let's try to scope out my surroundings. So I looked around the forest for a couple of hours. Looking around for sapient life, When suddenly a warning came up.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Hostile Presence Detected.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnM4M2U0YmIxYjNiMDQxYTdhYTcxNWJkMGVmOTdlMTgy">I looked behind me, and I saw what appeared to a silver-haired some dog Beast-kin girl attacking me as she was attacking me as I was backing off to dodge her I took notice of the basic leather armor she was wearing. Why the fuck is she attacking me? I calmed down to think. Let's see going by what I know Vampire's and werewolves are usually enemies so apparently dog based Beast-kins are pretty much the same thing as a werewolf I guess. Ok, let's see if I can try to reason with her. "This is awkward I don't have much experience speaking to women outside of work" I realized I accidentally blurted out my thoughts.</p> <p class="cnMxZGE5Mzk0ZTRjYTRlODg5ZDBkYjk3ZjIwMzNhNGI2">She stopped her next attack after hearing this "She yelled&nbsp;HEY BOY WHAT CLAN DO YOU BELONG TO?" "Clan?" I responded somewhat confused. She sighed what "Vampire Clan do you belong to?" "I've never been a part of any clan I spouted back." "Let me see your status screen Boy." Unlike most stories, you have to show your status screen willingly to the other person. So I currently can't see hers.</p> <p class="cnMyYjAxZDhhNWE0ZjQyN2E4MDNkNzIxNTFiMDJlNmNl">So I showed her my status screen. She looked over it and said "While most of your status has question marks behind it. I have never heard of a Tepes clan at all." "Well, I'm a unique case. I have no family here." "So you are a Progenitor then?" 'Probably not" I dismissed her thought entirely.</p> <p class="cnM0NGM3Y2ZhOTIyODRjMjViYzllYzc3YTE1MzZjMDUx">She dazed off for a while muttering to her self. Finally seeming to come to terms with it she said: "My name is Sarah Locks of the Wolf Beastkin clan nice to meet you Boy." "My name is not Boy you saw my status screen right?" "Of course, I did, but that's too much to remember so your name is Boy since your younger than me."</p> <p class="cnM2YjAxMjRhYTFjZTRjZjA4ZGU5MzZkODIyODdjZGM4">"Wait I'm younger than you?" Aren't you around my age maybe a bit on the small side though?&nbsp;"Wait did you call me small?" She looked pissed all of the sudden I to try to calm her down the situation "Let's just forget I said that."I said, "I can show you proof ok." She said not seemingly convinced by my answer. "Fine, I said dejectedly." She showed me her status screen.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Name: Sarah Locks</td> <td>Height:5'0(152 cm)</td> <td>Weight:100(45 kg)</td> <td>Hair: Silver</td> <td>Eyes: Gold</td> <td>Age:20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Race: Beast-kin(Wolf)</td> <td>Weaknesses: Silver, Logic</td> <td>Unique Traits: Ancestral Calling</td> <td>Affinity: none</td> <td>&nbsp;</td> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Gender: Female</td> <td>Level: 50</td> <td>Health:4000</td> <td>MP:0</td> <td>QI:3000</td> <td>Class: Berserker, Warrior</td> </tr> <tr> <td>STR:80</td> <td>CON:100</td> <td>DEX:80</td> <td>INT:7</td> <td>WIS:5</td> <td>CHA:60</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnNkZTAzNWRhMjQ1YjRkNWU4MDY1NWNkNmE1ZmJiYTg2">It's been about 20 hours since I woke up most of the rest of the day was Sarah explaining things about this area to me and also hunting more beats which Increased my Level 3 as well as my Dark Blast and Vampire Seduction skills to level 3, After I was done hunting and returned to her. She looked at me and said, "Who is your Patron Deity?" "What's a Patron Deity?" I replied. I feel like this is similar to our conversation earlier when an announcement appeared not again I sighed.</p> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Due to waiting 20 hours without choosing a Patron Deity one has automatically selected for you.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table> <tbody> <tr> <td>Lucy is now your Patron God.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p class="cnMwOTIxNDVkZGJiNTQzOWE4ODk2ZjQ2MmZkY2IyMjY3">I feel sleepy all the sudden. I must stay......</p> </div>

I suddenly woke up In what appeared to be a forest. It seemed to be night here, but I felt wide awake now. I don't remember falling asleep though it's probably due to the new body, yeah let's go with that deciding to brush it aside. The first thing to check out my new body, I was in the first one today if I remember it was the Vampire one first. First things first let's see if I'm wearing anything thankfully I am. It was a basic green robe with shoes and everything. Thank god I didn't end up in the nude like some of the stories I've watched or read. There was a pond nearby, so I decided to see what I looked like I had pure white skin with short black hair with some bangs hanging over my left eye. I was thin, but not to the point of being of looking frail. I pretty much would look like a stereotypical pretty boy vampire if I weren't wearing this ugly green robe. My stomach growled all the sudden, and a warning appeared in front of me. | Blood Lust: You must drink blood, or else your Stats and Health will decrease and you will eventually go into a mad frenzy after two hours of not getting blood, and you will attack anything determined to drink its blood. | | --- | Crap better find some animal or something fast. After about 30 minutes of searching, I found a wild Giant Boar. Ok, let's see to get skills I have to perform actions to get skills right ok let's try that whole thing of trying to shoot energy out of your hand. | Dark Blast Level 1 Acquired(Cost 75 MP). Fires a blast of dark energy at the target. I shot the explosion at the boar weakening it. If I remember after diluting it, you should | | --- | . | Vampire Seduction Level 1 Acquired (Cost 20 MP). Seduces target so you can suck its blood. | | --- | So I used Vampire Seduction on it, followed by me sucking its blood. Now that's done, let's try to scope out my surroundings. So I looked around the forest for a couple of hours. Looking around for sapient life, When suddenly a warning came up. | Hostile Presence Detected. | | --- | I looked behind me, and I saw what appeared to a silver-haired some dog Beast-kin girl attacking me as she was attacking me as I was backing off to dodge her I took notice of the basic leather armor she was wearing. Why the fuck is she attacking me? I calmed down to think. Let's see going by what I know Vampire's and werewolves are usually enemies so apparently dog based Beast-kins are pretty much the same thing as a werewolf I guess. Ok, let's see if I can try to reason with her. "This is awkward I don't have much experience speaking to women outside of work" I realized I accidentally blurted out my thoughts. She stopped her next attack after hearing this "She yelled HEY BOY WHAT CLAN DO YOU BELONG TO?" "Clan?" I responded somewhat confused. She sighed what "Vampire Clan do you belong to?" "I've never been a part of any clan I spouted back." "Let me see your status screen Boy." Unlike most stories, you have to show your status screen willingly to the other person. So I currently can't see hers. So I showed her my status screen. She looked over it and said "While most of your status has question marks behind it. I have never heard of a Tepes clan at all." "Well, I'm a unique case. I have no family here." "So you are a Progenitor then?" 'Probably not" I dismissed her thought entirely. She dazed off for a while muttering to her self. Finally seeming to come to terms with it she said: "My name is Sarah Locks of the Wolf Beastkin clan nice to meet you Boy." "My name is not Boy you saw my status screen right?" "Of course, I did, but that's too much to remember so your name is Boy since your younger than me." "Wait I'm younger than you?" Aren't you around my age maybe a bit on the small side though? "Wait did you call me small?" She looked pissed all of the sudden I to try to calm her down the situation "Let's just forget I said that."I said, "I can show you proof ok." She said not seemingly convinced by my answer. "Fine, I said dejectedly." She showed me her status screen. | Name: Sarah Locks | Height:5'0(152 cm) | Weight:100(45 kg) | Hair: Silver | Eyes: Gold | Age:20 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Race: Beast-kin(Wolf) | Weaknesses: Silver, Logic | Unique Traits: Ancestral Calling | Affinity: none | | | | Gender: Female | Level: 50 | Health:4000 | MP:0 | QI:3000 | Class: Berserker, Warrior | | STR:80 | CON:100 | DEX:80 | INT:7 | WIS:5 | CHA:60 | It's been about 20 hours since I woke up most of the rest of the day was Sarah explaining things about this area to me and also hunting more beats which Increased my Level 3 as well as my Dark Blast and Vampire Seduction skills to level 3, After I was done hunting and returned to her. She looked at me and said, "Who is your Patron Deity?" "What's a Patron Deity?" I replied. I feel like this is similar to our conversation earlier when an announcement appeared not again I sighed. | Due to waiting 20 hours without choosing a Patron Deity one has automatically selected for you. | | --- | | Lucy is now your Patron God. | | --- | I feel sleepy all the sudden. I must stay......

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnNkZmFhN2VjMzc5YTRmYTViNGVmZTkyN2JkZGVjMjAx">~ Third Person POV ~</p> <p class="cnMzNWM1NTExZDBiMDRjMGI5MzBjYjM4NjlhMmNmNjQz">The large army of humanoid monsters marched through the unrealistic lands. Each step caused a rumble in the earth, making little tremors within a hundred meter radius from each end of the army.</p> <p class="cnM2ZjlkMDBiNzg0YjRhMWM5ZWI1YjRhZTkxZjRhOGNi">While this was ongoing, inside a platform which was carried by several Orcs, a strategy meeting was held by the tacticians of the humanoid monster army.</p> <p class="cnNjNTdlMGY2YzhkODRlYzdiYTdmMWQ1NmZmMGY2Mzgz">There were a Goblin Strategist, Kobold Tactician, and an Orclet Commander surrounding a wooden table.</p> <p class="cnNkY2FhZWZmMmNjNzQ2NjdiMGUxNzU3NmUyYjY5ODRi">“Gyuuhh. Gya gyuhya.”</p> <p class="cnM4OWQyN2JkNDFmMzQ3NmU5MzBiZjdkNjg0NzNjMDkw">“Wau waunnan. Wan wan.”</p> <p class="cnM2YTliOWU4YTQzNDQ2MGI5MDlmMTA2ODBmY2ZmOGI2">“Pigii gii gu gii.”</p> <p class="cnMzZjJkYzQ5NDY1YTQ5MmY5Y2MxMTYyMTdmYmNjM2Q1">Talking in a language incomprehensible to the human brain, the three of them continued creating strategies that will work when raiding the attacking dungeon with only few or no casualties. Because of the order from their master, “All of you are to prioritize your lives”, they became enthusiastic by the kindness of their master. But this was a misunderstanding brought due to not clarifying the reason why to not create needless losses.</p> <p class="cnM4YTUzNGJjNjc2OTQ5OWZiOTYyMzAzZTg5MWVmNzA3">Anyway, disregarding the misunderstandings, the three continued to brainstorm on ways to lessen the casualty numbers. After marching for about 40 minutes after fighting the Firedrake monster army, a dungeon with an appearance of a volcano appeared at the horizon.</p> <p class="cnNkZDA2M2MyMjA4MjQ1Y2ZiMjYzY2ExYmU5ZTA3NjA2">The volcano merging with the forest on one side and desert on another side made it seem really surreal, not that it has anything to do with the current circumstances.</p> <p class="cnMyMGUxYTQ5ODI4ODRjYTM4OGFkOTUwNjQ3NWY1MjQw">The monsters took a little rest a kilometer away from the dungeon to replenish their stamina, while some scouted out the entrance. Needless to say, the scouting monsters were Goblin Ninjas, and in case there are any chances, the Goblin Assassins were also accompanying them.</p> <p class="cnM0MmE2NmQ3NjVjYTQwYjM4Y2NkZjZmYjM4MGMxYmU2">One particularly large monster had an impatient look on its face. It had red skin, two horns protruding out of its head, stood for about 3.5 meters, and had the body of a full-fledged bodybuilder. It wore a loincloth over its waist, covering its private parts, and had a steel club resting on its shoulders. It was the Demon Troll that brought an end to the Firedrake with its enormous strength.</p> <p class="cnMxOGY5OTRhNGQzZDQxMzhhMGQ2ZWQzMzVjMzIzOTRm">As if to say that it wanted to fight, the Demon Troll expressed its displeasure by snorting through its nose and glaring at the three strategists. Naturally, under that kind of glare, anyone would flinch. The three strategists were no exception.</p> <p class="cnM2MjI3ZjllMTFmMTQ5ZWI4NjM3YTM4NWI2NDg4YWIz">While waiting impatiently, the Goblin Ninjas returned with a map of the dungeon in hand, along with the Goblin Assassins. Sadly, there were no openings for the Goblin Assassins to exploit, so they came back.</p> <p class="cnMyMmEyMzU2ZDg2ZDRiNWFhZDJiODM4ZTNjZjI0YzEx">With the map in the hands of the strategist monsters, the three monsters began cooking up methods to deal with the dungeon’s interior and monsters. The map was completely detailed, comprising with the number of monsters, traps, the layout, there was also the route for reaching the core room faster.</p> <p class="cnMzM2U2Yjk2ZWViMTRmNDk5MTJhMWU2N2U5YzA5MzA2">Taking this into account, the three strategists grinned and ordered to start the raid. Actually, they wanted to hurry up under the glare of the Demon Troll, so they rushed the march, reaching the dungeon in about 10 minutes.</p> <p class="cnMxZDAzZDU4Yzg0MTQxNTdiYWY1NWU2OTBmNmM2OWRh">At the entrance, there were some monsters taking their posts. The strategists deduced that they were monsters spawned by monster spawners. Since there were just Fire Lizards and Flame Wolves, it was not a problem because of their war potential. Without sustaining damage, the monsters guarding the entrance were anihilated.</p> <p class="cnNmY2FhNzc2N2MyYTRmZmZiZjU1YmYxYzc2MmEwMTlk">The entrance was in the guise of a cave, but do not be fooled by the cave appearance. Inside, where the magma of the volcano flows, it is very easy die just because of the heat. Thankfully, for the Demon Troll and some of the Orcs that were resistant to the heat, it posed no problem.</p> <p class="cnM5NDU0MDcyNzM2OTRjODE5MWRjNDdiZDQwYmZlNGE5">There were two parts of the main attack force for this particular raid. Because of the heat emitted from cave walls and magma, only about 50 were able to enter because of the [Fire Resistance] skill. Since heat is directly related to fire, it seems that heat is also resisted.</p> <p class="cnMxYTgyNmY3NTM1NjQ4YmE5ZTE3NDU0OTc4NGIwM2My">The two parts were the Raid Force, and the Lookout Force. The Raid Force’s job is just like its title, to raid the dungeon and kill the dungeon master or destroy the core. The Lookout Force is to check whether there are any approaching monsters from another dungeon and protect the Raid Force from two-sided attacks.</p> <p class="cnM0NjJmZWIwYzgyODQ4MTY4NjMxZGRjMzI1N2U0NjFj">With the Demon Troll as the leader of the Raid Force, the 50 so monsters entered the cave and advanced while killing the monsters in their path. Thanks to the [Fire Resistance] skill again, the damage sustained from the enemies were little, but they must take note that they have no healer. When injured, they must rely on their natural healing. Well, this is no problem for the Demon Troll as its regenration can actually recover lost limbs, even the head if the heart is still beating.</p> <p class="cnMyZWM0YjRhMTg0MDQxZjM4NTQwY2YzYmIwODQ2YzY1">While the Raid Force was advancing through with quick steps, the Lookout Force encountered a problem of their own. An opposing dungeon’s attack force came and assaulted the Lookout Force. Thankfully, they were able to endure the attacks because it was just from low-leveled monsters. If there was a monster in the same league as the Firedrake, then there would be no hope to the Lookout Force which consisted of about 100 battle troops, 300 support troops, and 100 healing troops.</p> <p class="cnMxYmRkN2IyODI4MzQ2ZmY4OWQ5ZTdjYmQ5NDQxZDMw">The reason why there were no healing troops in the Raid Force was they were unable to stand the heat. If they were to enter, they will only endure up to 30 minutes inside before dying because of the high temperature.</p> <p class="cnMzOGNkYzM3ZGRjOTRiNjNiNDJjNmJiOTVhNzg1OWY5">The number of support troops were numerous than the two because of the maintenance of equipment, the supply of food, water, and sometimes shelter, along with the most important mission of reporting to their master.</p> <p class="cnNmZjNiZDdmZjU1ZjRjZmFiN2FjMTExMWEwNzUwMjcz">Also, how they are able to report is via telepathic communication, and also a crystal ball that conjures the image of the receiver.</p> <p class="cnNiNDg1ZGIzYzgzNTQ1MTc4NzU5MzI3MzQ5MjY4ODZi">The frontline mostly consisted of Orc Crusaders while the backline, Goblin Shamans and Kobold Archers. Using the Orc Crusaders as the wall, the Goblin Shamans and Kobold Archers launch attacks after attacks to keep the enemy at bay.</p> <p class="cnM5NzYyZDY3ZWI0ZDQwMzliOTJhYjY0MjQ0YTc2NWI0">While the Lookout Force was protecting the backsie of the Raid Force, the Raid Force was also dealing in its own set of problems.</p> <p class="cnNhOTI1ZDUxMTcyNjRkOTViMGRiZGFkNDE1ZDM0MzY3">In front of them, were numerous monsters that can reach up to 800, and opposing them were a measly number of 50. The huge numerical gap of the two forces was extraordinarily huge that it can be said that the 50 monsters will face annihilation in the face of numerical might.</p> <p class="cnMxMGY4NjY3ZWUzNzRmYjE5YjUwMzM4MDkxMzFkMDBh">Sadly, in this world, there is the phenomenon called status, a phenomenon that bypass common sense that it can be said to be ridiculous.</p> <p class="cnM0MDU2Zjg3ZTUwMTQxYWNiZTk4YTUxYWJlYmJmNjRi">Take for example five-hundred level 1’s ganging up on a single level 500, the side with numerical advantage will be no doubt annihilated by the dominating force of the level 500.</p> <p class="cnM5OWIwZmIyYmYwMzQ2ZGU4ZWE4YzVhN2U3NDI4YTYx">That is what is happening right now. With a swing of its steel club, chunks of hot meat flies through the air, with just a stomp of its foot, tremors resulting in the shaking of the cave, with just a simple roar, enemies and allies alike froze on the spot in fear of the cause.</p> <p class="cnM3NDdlYjhjZTkyMTRlYzk5NzMxY2E0MGNmZTU3OGY3">Its huge frame towering 3.5 meters, red skin as if blood flows on the skin instead of the veins, horns that protrude out its head as if to symbolize a tyrant and strength that could rival that of a high dragon.</p> <p class="cnM0MGM1NzQ3YWNiYTRjNjU5NTJhOGQzYTc0NWNlYmVl">This is the time, this is the dance, this is the song …</p> <p class="cnM1NWUxNjJlYzc5MDRlMzZhMWUwYWYyMTUyMjE5NmNl">…</p> <p class="cnMyNWIxYjBiYjQ0MTQxZjFhMzQzNmVmZDM2YTU2MzQ2">This is the rampage of the Demon Troll…</p> <p class="cnM2MjMxMzZmNGE1ZTQ5MGE5ZjU2NWM2MzM5MDMxNGU1">“UUUUOOOOOOO!!!!!”</p> <p class="cnNlZTg4Y2IwYjg5ZDQ5NjViMzk5NDVkZDVjZDQyNTBk">***</p> <p class="cnNiZDAzMmY2Mzk3NTQ3NTE4ZGQ1OTQ3NDhlNzBlM2Q0">***</p> <p class="cnMyYzNlZWZhZmMyNjRmMjk5ODhkZDczZGRlYTUyNmE4">***</p> <p class="cnNlYzFiYzkxNmIxNzRjNzE4YmUwN2MwODc4OGE2Nzkx">***</p> <p class="cnNiMThjNWE5YjMyYTRhMTk5MjQ1ZjBiMTMxYzFmOWQ4">***</p> <p class="cnMxMTIzZTYwYmQ3OTRmMGZiZmFmYzc2NDRjYjJjN2Fm">***</p> <p class="cnMwYTI4ZjBjNWJiZTRlOWZhZmRhMDhlMDY4ZDVhNjk4">***</p> <p class="cnNhYmQ3Y2EwMjFhYjQ2NzJhZjJhNWYzNGY0NjYxOGVj">*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*</p> <p class="cnNkNzJjMDA2ZGNhNTRlNjdiMzMxMWNkYmY0ZmM2NmUx">Thundering sounds echoed through the caves, and with each sound, ten monsters are crushed or sent flying through the sheer force. The Demon Troll, with its huge build, mercilessly trampled on the surrounding enemies. Even if they run, even if they fight, even if they defend, nothing can stop its rampage.</p> <p class="cnNhY2YwNWJhMGM0ZTRkMmM5MzA5YmIxYjk1MDEyM2Mx">“GAHAHAHAHA!!! UOOOOOO!!!”</p> <p class="cnM2N2UzYTI2ZjM2MDQxYjNiNjQyOTVmYTg2OGI2ZTk0">With a laughing face as if to say, “SLAUGHTER IS THE BEST”, it continued crushing, mauling, trampling the surrounding enemy monsters.</p> <p class="cnNkNGQ0Y2I0ZWNlZTQ1ZTdhZDE0ZDM1YmU2MTFkZjcz">The 800 or more monsters were now reduced to a pitiful 200 in just half an hour. In just half an hour, monsters that would take more than 200 adventurers of B-class were defeated in just half an hour by a single Demon Troll.</p> <p class="cnNiN2UzMWViNDgyMDQ1ZTQ5ZDE3YTJiZmQ4MTk1Njk3">Demon Trolls were never this strong, it was just that the Demon Troll summoned was a variant. The red skin and two horns represent a ruler in Troll culture. With these two charecteristics, the Demon Troll rampaging is equal to a Ruler type of its species. Also, its full name was not a Demon Troll, it was a Demon Troll Tyrant.</p> <p class="cnNlNzcxMmE5MTNhYjQzYzBhN2FjYmFhZjIwNzA4Mzdh">With 20x the strength of an ordinary Demon Troll that could devestate a about 2 villages in a day, a Demon Toll Tyrant could devestate a capital city of a nation within a day.</p> <p class="cnMxNTk3MDkxYzQ5YTQxYmZhMDM1NzZjMGQxMTg2OGRh">The Demon Troll Tyrant is also considered S-rank because of its strength, and its love of battle and slaughter just made it to the top of subjugation lists if ever spotted.</p> <p class="cnNkODNmZjhkZGMwZTQ5NmY4YzJhNWYyYzVjN2E0Y2Rh">“UOOOOO!!!!”</p> <p class="cnM1Y2Y1YzUxMDEwODQxYmFiNGY1ODI3Y2RhZjg1ZjRk">Another roar echoed through the cave, just how many times had the monsters felt fear against this type of opponent where death is the only outcome. Those blindly charging in had already lost all hope and wished for a quick death.</p> <p class="cnNkZjY4YzNlNGJjZTQzMzhiZTY2ZGVjOGFmODQ4MWZi">*BOOM*</p> <p class="cnMzNjA2ODdlODUyYzQ4NmE4ZjQ2NGRiNDU4MTExOGFi">The club was swung another time and made a 2-meter diamter crater on the ground filled with smashed flesh and fresh blood.</p> <p class="cnNmYzAxYTA0OTNlNDRjNTRhOWVjNWE2ZTJiNWVkMDQ1">In just another 10 minutes, all 800 monsters disappeared from the cave. Actually, what disappeared were their lives, but their physical body, albeit unrecognizable, was still inside.</p> <p class="cnM4MzA0MDczNzk5NDRmN2JhOTU4YjE2YmEwOGNjYmY1">Fresh blood scattered on the floor and ground, chunks of meat from living monsters decorating the cave’s interiors, burn marks and drops from the ethereal type monsters, everything, lost their lives to this single Demon Troll Tyrant.</p> </div>

~ Third Person POV ~ The large army of humanoid monsters marched through the unrealistic lands. Each step caused a rumble in the earth, making little tremors within a hundred meter radius from each end of the army. While this was ongoing, inside a platform which was carried by several Orcs, a strategy meeting was held by the tacticians of the humanoid monster army. There were a Goblin Strategist, Kobold Tactician, and an Orclet Commander surrounding a wooden table. “Gyuuhh. Gya gyuhya.” “Wau waunnan. Wan wan.” “Pigii gii gu gii.” Talking in a language incomprehensible to the human brain, the three of them continued creating strategies that will work when raiding the attacking dungeon with only few or no casualties. Because of the order from their master, “All of you are to prioritize your lives”, they became enthusiastic by the kindness of their master. But this was a misunderstanding brought due to not clarifying the reason why to not create needless losses. Anyway, disregarding the misunderstandings, the three continued to brainstorm on ways to lessen the casualty numbers. After marching for about 40 minutes after fighting the Firedrake monster army, a dungeon with an appearance of a volcano appeared at the horizon. The volcano merging with the forest on one side and desert on another side made it seem really surreal, not that it has anything to do with the current circumstances. The monsters took a little rest a kilometer away from the dungeon to replenish their stamina, while some scouted out the entrance. Needless to say, the scouting monsters were Goblin Ninjas, and in case there are any chances, the Goblin Assassins were also accompanying them. One particularly large monster had an impatient look on its face. It had red skin, two horns protruding out of its head, stood for about 3.5 meters, and had the body of a full-fledged bodybuilder. It wore a loincloth over its waist, covering its private parts, and had a steel club resting on its shoulders. It was the Demon Troll that brought an end to the Firedrake with its enormous strength. As if to say that it wanted to fight, the Demon Troll expressed its displeasure by snorting through its nose and glaring at the three strategists. Naturally, under that kind of glare, anyone would flinch. The three strategists were no exception. While waiting impatiently, the Goblin Ninjas returned with a map of the dungeon in hand, along with the Goblin Assassins. Sadly, there were no openings for the Goblin Assassins to exploit, so they came back. With the map in the hands of the strategist monsters, the three monsters began cooking up methods to deal with the dungeon’s interior and monsters. The map was completely detailed, comprising with the number of monsters, traps, the layout, there was also the route for reaching the core room faster. Taking this into account, the three strategists grinned and ordered to start the raid. Actually, they wanted to hurry up under the glare of the Demon Troll, so they rushed the march, reaching the dungeon in about 10 minutes. At the entrance, there were some monsters taking their posts. The strategists deduced that they were monsters spawned by monster spawners. Since there were just Fire Lizards and Flame Wolves, it was not a problem because of their war potential. Without sustaining damage, the monsters guarding the entrance were anihilated. The entrance was in the guise of a cave, but do not be fooled by the cave appearance. Inside, where the magma of the volcano flows, it is very easy die just because of the heat. Thankfully, for the Demon Troll and some of the Orcs that were resistant to the heat, it posed no problem. There were two parts of the main attack force for this particular raid. Because of the heat emitted from cave walls and magma, only about 50 were able to enter because of the [Fire Resistance] skill. Since heat is directly related to fire, it seems that heat is also resisted. The two parts were the Raid Force, and the Lookout Force. The Raid Force’s job is just like its title, to raid the dungeon and kill the dungeon master or destroy the core. The Lookout Force is to check whether there are any approaching monsters from another dungeon and protect the Raid Force from two-sided attacks. With the Demon Troll as the leader of the Raid Force, the 50 so monsters entered the cave and advanced while killing the monsters in their path. Thanks to the [Fire Resistance] skill again, the damage sustained from the enemies were little, but they must take note that they have no healer. When injured, they must rely on their natural healing. Well, this is no problem for the Demon Troll as its regenration can actually recover lost limbs, even the head if the heart is still beating. While the Raid Force was advancing through with quick steps, the Lookout Force encountered a problem of their own. An opposing dungeon’s attack force came and assaulted the Lookout Force. Thankfully, they were able to endure the attacks because it was just from low-leveled monsters. If there was a monster in the same league as the Firedrake, then there would be no hope to the Lookout Force which consisted of about 100 battle troops, 300 support troops, and 100 healing troops. The reason why there were no healing troops in the Raid Force was they were unable to stand the heat. If they were to enter, they will only endure up to 30 minutes inside before dying because of the high temperature. The number of support troops were numerous than the two because of the maintenance of equipment, the supply of food, water, and sometimes shelter, along with the most important mission of reporting to their master. Also, how they are able to report is via telepathic communication, and also a crystal ball that conjures the image of the receiver. The frontline mostly consisted of Orc Crusaders while the backline, Goblin Shamans and Kobold Archers. Using the Orc Crusaders as the wall, the Goblin Shamans and Kobold Archers launch attacks after attacks to keep the enemy at bay. While the Lookout Force was protecting the backsie of the Raid Force, the Raid Force was also dealing in its own set of problems. In front of them, were numerous monsters that can reach up to 800, and opposing them were a measly number of 50. The huge numerical gap of the two forces was extraordinarily huge that it can be said that the 50 monsters will face annihilation in the face of numerical might. Sadly, in this world, there is the phenomenon called status, a phenomenon that bypass common sense that it can be said to be ridiculous. Take for example five-hundred level 1’s ganging up on a single level 500, the side with numerical advantage will be no doubt annihilated by the dominating force of the level 500. That is what is happening right now. With a swing of its steel club, chunks of hot meat flies through the air, with just a stomp of its foot, tremors resulting in the shaking of the cave, with just a simple roar, enemies and allies alike froze on the spot in fear of the cause. Its huge frame towering 3.5 meters, red skin as if blood flows on the skin instead of the veins, horns that protrude out its head as if to symbolize a tyrant and strength that could rival that of a high dragon. This is the time, this is the dance, this is the song … … This is the rampage of the Demon Troll… “UUUUOOOOOOO!!!!!” *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* Thundering sounds echoed through the caves, and with each sound, ten monsters are crushed or sent flying through the sheer force. The Demon Troll, with its huge build, mercilessly trampled on the surrounding enemies. Even if they run, even if they fight, even if they defend, nothing can stop its rampage. “GAHAHAHAHA!!! UOOOOOO!!!” With a laughing face as if to say, “SLAUGHTER IS THE BEST”, it continued crushing, mauling, trampling the surrounding enemy monsters. The 800 or more monsters were now reduced to a pitiful 200 in just half an hour. In just half an hour, monsters that would take more than 200 adventurers of B-class were defeated in just half an hour by a single Demon Troll. Demon Trolls were never this strong, it was just that the Demon Troll summoned was a variant. The red skin and two horns represent a ruler in Troll culture. With these two charecteristics, the Demon Troll rampaging is equal to a Ruler type of its species. Also, its full name was not a Demon Troll, it was a Demon Troll Tyrant. With 20x the strength of an ordinary Demon Troll that could devestate a about 2 villages in a day, a Demon Toll Tyrant could devestate a capital city of a nation within a day. The Demon Troll Tyrant is also considered S-rank because of its strength, and its love of battle and slaughter just made it to the top of subjugation lists if ever spotted. “UOOOOO!!!!” Another roar echoed through the cave, just how many times had the monsters felt fear against this type of opponent where death is the only outcome. Those blindly charging in had already lost all hope and wished for a quick death. *BOOM* The club was swung another time and made a 2-meter diamter crater on the ground filled with smashed flesh and fresh blood. In just another 10 minutes, all 800 monsters disappeared from the cave. Actually, what disappeared were their lives, but their physical body, albeit unrecognizable, was still inside. Fresh blood scattered on the floor and ground, chunks of meat from living monsters decorating the cave’s interiors, burn marks and drops from the ethereal type monsters, everything, lost their lives to this single Demon Troll Tyrant.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <p class="cnM2NzY5YWE2OGIwZTRiYjBhNTk0MWRkMTIzOTg0OTNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hmmmmm, hmmmmm, hmmmmm.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2MzdkNjFjYTI0ODQ2OGU5MjhiZTQwYjNmYmM3Yjg1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I keep walking through the rocky wilderness, humming a certain tune to myself as I replay it in my head. Since there’s practically nobody else around and the good part is coming up, I decide to fuck it and sing along.</span></p> <p class="cnNlOTE0MzYzMDQ4NDQ0MzVhZTY2Y2M0MmMyNjhjMDIz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Would you look at all that stuff…”</span></p> <p class="cnNiNjUzMjBiOTJmZTQwZDJiYTVjOWI2ZjA1MmUyMGU0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Pardon? What stuff?” Two-Five asks from behind.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZmZiYWMxNzViMjRjZmNhNjk1OGRjYTYyMDVmODA1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I turn on my heel and kindly tell him while continuing to walk backwards.</span></p> <p class="cnM2NzZhMDkzZDg2NjQ4MWZhYzg3ZjQ3YmQ5ZDRiY2Iw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“They've got allen wrenches, gerbil feeders, toilet seats, electric heaters, trash compactors, juice extractors, shower rods and water meters, walkie-talkies, copper wires, safety goggles, radial tires, BB pellets, rubber mallets, fans and dehumidifiers, picture hangers, paper cutters, waffle irons, window shutters, paint removers, window louvers, masking tape and plastic gutters, kitchen faucets, folding tables, weather stripping, jumper cables, hooks and tackle, grout and spackle, power foggers, spoons and ladles, pesticides for fumigation, high-performance lubrication, metal roofing, waterproofing, multi-purpose insulation, air compressors, brass connectors, wrecking chisels, smoke detectors, tire gauges, hamster cages, thermostats and bug deflectors, trailer hitch demagnetizers, automatic circumcisers, tennis rackets, angle brackets, Duracells and Energizers, soffit panels, circuit breakers, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, calculators, generators, matching salt and pepper shakers!”</span></p> <p class="cnNhMzg1ZWFkNzE4OTQ4ZjQ4MWEyNzkxYzcyNDM2M2Y1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Uh…”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNmZlMTVmODlkNzQ4YTFhNGQzNjhlYjc3NzEwNzNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">I face the front and keep going.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMDViY2Y0YzU5YTQyMGRiMWY5YmNjMzg3NWI5OWY5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I can't waaait, no, I can't waaait! When they gonna open up that doooor?”</span></p> <p class="cnMyNDY0N2Q1NTNkYTQxZWFhOTA2YjJlYzZiODVjMDgw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What door?!”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNGMyMTk4ZGY2OTQ1MmE5ZDZjY2E4M2JhNWQzOTRi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I'm goin’ yes I’m goin’, I'm a-goin’ to the, goin’ to the, we’re goin’ to the, I’m goin’ to the, a-go-ing to the hardwaaare stooore!”</span></p> <p class="cnNlNzY0OWUxMmI4MzRmNjZiZGYzMWNjMWU1YWMwODk5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“… Navigator’s log,” he mumbled into his jeweled bracelet. “The stress of our circumstances seems to have rendered navigator Seventeen mentally unstable.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyYWU3MTEzOWFkMjRjNDg5NTU1NDE5N2I5NjhkZWUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I am quite sane, thank you very much,” I playfully say over my shoulder. “It’s just hard to sing that last part with just the one mouth.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyYjA4OWIyYmUyYzRiZDU4NjhhZDA1ZWQ3ZGM4ODYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So you were singing?”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MjI2Mjg2MjhlMTQ1OGRhOWY2ZDY4ZTg0YjBlMTEw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yup. Just trying to lighten the mood a little.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NDljYzc5MmM4NTQ4NDk4YzkxMTZjYmFlNTAxZTZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried,” the orizian notes. “That ‘song’ nearly broke my translator matrix.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwZGQ0ZDMyYWQ0YjQ2YjliZWMwOTRmMjQ5NGNmNDdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“To be fair, even I don’t know what most of those words are, but I’ll be damned if I ever forget them.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkZTJhZTQ0MTM4ZTRkMmY5YWE3Njc5MDVkZjlhM2Ix"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Might I ask why you remember them with such clarity?”</span></p> <p class="cnMzMjFhZmIzYTM5MzQwZGNhMjIzNWEyNTcyODhhNWIy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“When I was first starting out as a navigator, my incompetence got me stranded on Juniper-7. Landed in one of its oceans, nothing but saltwater as far as the eye can see.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwMmZhZTMyZTYwMTQzMDg5MzQ3MmNkNGI3NWFhNjI1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“By the Omnissiah!” he exclaimed. “It’s a miracle you made it back at all!”</span></p> <p class="cnNmNDYxNzM5YjU1ZjRhYzNhZjI3Zjg3Mzg1YWJlOWM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">His reaction is understandable. When a breach opens up around body of water, it’s almost always near its bottom rather than on the surface. It then gets flooded by a few hundred litres of water and collapses within half a second.</span></p> <p class="cnMxOGZkMTBiNjdjYTQxNDQ5ZWJhYmNkM2QxZGFhM2U0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, tell me about it,” I grumbled. “It spent nearly two months floating around on a Lifesavers’ All-Purpose Emergency Raft™ before I managed to get to dry land. Another week until I found a breach.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZWNhZGUzYTg1NDQ3MzA4YzE3ODc0MmUyZDZlZTVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Incredible! How did you survive that long without food or water?!”</span></p> <p class="cnMxMjY4OTY0MzIwYzQyZmM4MTU3YTc5M2U1ZmViNTE2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh, I had plenty of food,” I say as I take out a fist-sized metal canister from one of my pockets. “Capsule Corp © Nutrimax Supplements™. Enough to keep me going for years. Only problem is they need fresh water to work, so I had to purify the salt water by boiling it into steam, catching the vapors in a plastic jar, then letting them condense.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkY2JkZmM3MjBmNzQyOTE5YTkzYTg5NWY1Mzk2Y2Ex"><span style="font-weight: 400">I was also lucky that ocean was full of regular old H-2-O and not one of those water-but-not-really liquids you sometimes come across through the breaches. That ordeal was also a huge wake up call. It showed me that all that training I was put through serves a purpose, even something as inane-sounding as ‘Low-Tech Survival 101.’</span></p> <p class="cnMxYWYxMjFkYTIwNjRjNTA5NjgwNzk5YmFmNGU3ZmM2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I see. No wonder you appear so carefree despite our dire situation.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzMDNiMmIyNTBjNjQyMDE5MWIyNmU0MTcyMWQzMzMx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh no, that’s not it. I just don’t see how being all doom and gloom is going to make it any better.”</span></p> <p class="cnNiZGY5ZjEyMDE2MzRkZTk4NGMzYzllYjhmNzM0ZGU5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Kek,” Two-Five chuckled. “I suppose that’s true.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3M2EwM2MyODY2ZjQxMDliY2IyOWI3Y2E1MjMzNDNj"><span style="font-weight: 400">This weird rock our little ‘accident’ stranded us on doesn’t seem to have too many breaches. When we arrived, the closest one was eight days away by foot. We started heading towards it, but it closed after a few hours. Another one popped up relatively nearby, but we missed that one, too. Been chasing breaches since, but the one we’re headed towards now seems to be a keeper. My PDA has had a firm lock on its location for the past forty hours and reads no sign of destabilization, so there’s a good chance it’ll last the two days it’ll take us to get there.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZmY2MjU0YmZlODQ2OTdiZjBkM2VmOTA5ZmI0N2I5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Seventeen? There is one other thing about that story that puzzles me.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5NWUwYTUyYTlhYTQ5NzhhODIwNmE0MTQwMjJmZmU2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What’s that, Two-Five?”</span></p> <p class="cnMwM2ZmZTYwNTYxZDQ0ZDc5NjdjZmE2MjU4ZWQ2Mjkw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“What does that weird song have to do with it?”</span></p> <p class="cnNjY2I5ZjdiNzk3MDQxMmFhOWZiM2E2ODdkMmMxNGVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh, right. That was a leftover from my helmet’s previous owner. Not sure what the story was, but my quartermaster must’ve neglected to scrub its data. It had a bunch of files uploaded into it, and that song was the only one that wasn’t corrupted. I must’ve listened to it thousands of times in some vague attempt to not go insane.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODNlMDc3OWFkNTQwYTM5YWJkOTZmOTE0MGIwNzE4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No wonder you know it by heart. And with our current circumstances being somewhat similar, I can understand why you would be reminded of it.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODhmNzI2NmU0MDRlYWI4M2YwYjZlZTgzNDY5MmVi"><span style="font-weight: 400">I sigh deeply at Two-Five’s sagely remark.</span></p> <p class="cnM0MmEyZjgxZWZhNjRkMmNhODk0ZmE5MWJiMGVhNmFl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No, see, you’re doing it all wrong,” I shake my head. “When I say ‘I did it to avoid going crazy,’ you’re supposed to retort with something like ‘I don’t think it worked,’ not ‘I understand.’ Seriously, get with the program already!”</span></p> <p class="cnNhZTMzZTVmMWEwMjQyNmY5ZjFlMmFiMjRlZmYwMmNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">If we’re going to work together, then this guy needs to learn how to banter. Otherwise I’ll just end up talking to myself. Well, I do that a lot anyway, but I don’t typically have an audience when I do.</span></p> <p class="cnNjMDM4ZjEwM2M4NzRiYzBiYmM1NDQ2MDc1YzcwN2Uz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“… Two-Five?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4M2YwM2MxODk1NDRhNTVhZmE3MmY5YmU4ZjhmN2Qy"><span style="font-weight: 400">I suddenly realize my companion’s gone quiet and turn around in a rush. Thankfully he’s still there, just crouching over a weird rock. I mean, ‘weird rock’ describes 90% of the terrain we’ve seen since we got here, but this one is a slightly different kind of weird. It’s about as big as my head and one half of it seems to be awfully sparkly.</span></p> <p class="cnMyMWIxYTE1YmVjODQxNzY5MTU5NjY0MDUyY2YzNmI0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Two-Five,” I call out as I approach. “You can’t just stop like that, I almost left you behind.”</span></p> <p class="cnNhMjJkMTI2MTg2ZTQ2OGM5MWI3OWRkZGFlZTMxNWFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">He turns his head at me, then back towards the rock.</span></p> <p class="cnNmZTY5ZmMyZTMwMjRjYTNiOGFhOGJiNjQ0ODc4YzY4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Do you know what this is?” he asks, pointing at it.</span></p> <p class="cnNhNmY3NDVlNTExMDQ4ZGU4OWQxNzk5MTc5ZGEwNDE0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“… No, but you clearly think it’s important.”</span></p> <p class="cnM4NzNkODdiY2NkNjQ0ZGQ5ZDVkY2E1ZDRkZDA4OWVm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It’s a mineral from my homeworld. I’d know it anywhere.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlYWMzNDRmZmFiMDRjM2Q5YjRlMmUwYmNkMTAzYmY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">I raise an eyebrow under my helmet and use my PDA to try and scan it. It fails to do so, but has no problem getting partial readings on the surrounding dirt and gravel. I guess that more or less means it really is alien in origin. It also raises a rather worrisome point.</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODM2NTg5YzYwNjQ0ZTZhODQ2ODJhZGE5NzFkZjUy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So… we’re closer to your home than mine?”</span></p> <p class="cnMxM2QxMmNkMmJmNDRkMjE4YjExMzRmMzY1NzgxZDZh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I severely doubt that. I had to pass through eleven breaches to reach Earth from Oriza. Our transfer might’ve been an anomalous one, but there’s no way it could’ve spanned that many layers.”</span></p> <p class="cnM1MWFhNjJlODI5MDQwMTlhZWJlNzM3NDZjYjViYjdl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Layers? Oh, right, your people subscribe to the ‘layered universe’ theory.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2MmFjYzk1M2RmNTQwN2M4NGI2NWIxMmI5YTEzOWU4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why, yes. I am surprised you know of it.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkNTQ1NTQwNTE2ZTQ2ZmY4NGJhYmQyNDdjYTdkZDEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Eh… ‘Know’ is way too strong a way of putting it. ‘Head of it’ is far more accurate.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0ODIwNjY4NGViYzRjNzU4MWMyZDY0NDhhYTU1OWFj"><span style="font-weight: 400">I’m not going to pretend I understand it, but the theory in question claims that all of the worlds connected by the breaches are arranged like a stack. A big ol’ mega-skyscraper where each floor holds an entire damn universe. It kinda makes sense with how the BMA has these dimensions grouped into ‘districts’ that have frequent travel between them, with breaches being massive holes in the floor or ceiling in that analogy. It’s one of the more popular beliefs behind this breach business, but ‘belief’ and ‘theory’ is as far as any world’s science has gotten with trying to explain exactly how it all works.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZTA4NzI1MDhlNjQ5YjZhNDUxOTc4YTBlYjA0NzJi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“But yes, you have point,” I get the conversation back on track. “This stone must’ve undergone quite the journey to get here.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2MzY1NjY1N2Y2YzRkZGRhZjEyNjUwZDNjNjM5ZTRm"><span style="font-weight: 400">That said, if recent memory serves, it’s also the second mysterious rock I’ve seen this far out of its place.</span></p> <p class="cnM2Y2FhZTgwMGNjNDQyZjZiNzgxZDk1OWQ1Nzg0YTM3"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Is this mineral vital to getting us the fuck out of here?”</span></p> <p class="cnNiNGFjYjBjZmY3MTQ1OTNhMTVkODkwNmM4YmQ4YWFk"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Not vital, but useful,” Two-Five corrected me. “I just need to… process it first.”</span></p> <p class="cnMyOTZkZTM0MGI0OTQzYzU4YzM0N2RmNmY4OWE5MzMz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh.”</span></p> <p class="cnNkNWU0MzlkMTg2ZDQ4MmRiMjhmMWM4Yzk3OWVjYjRj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“… So may I proceed?” he asks after a brief moment of silence.</span></p> <p class="cnNlM2UyNjQ2MjRiNjQ5ODQ4MTk4ZTNhNWIyMjdlYzJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why are you asking- Oh, right.”</span></p> <p class="cnMzNjMwYzYzN2Y1NDQ4Y2ZhZmZmMzdhNGU3ZmM0N2U1"><span style="font-weight: 400">I almost forgot, but I’m technically the commanding officer here. If he wants to interfere with the local environment in some way, then it’s up to me to judge whether he should or not. I can’t imagine there be any harm in him removing an alien element from the environment, but there is one other issue I need to consider.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNzY2MjViYTBiNzRkNjVhOTlkNzk3N2VmYzk2NTY2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Will it take long?”</span></p> <p class="cnM0MTNmMjQ1ZjdlZDRkY2U4YmRkNzliM2E3YjMxNTdm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“No more than three minutes.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxZmQyNTliNGFkZjRmNDA4M2UwZjgzYjBjODg4OGZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Then go ahead.”</span></p> <p class="cnMwZmJkZmUyYmY0YjQ3OTg5ODM4ZjBiZTU0MTQ3NDNi"><span style="font-weight: 400">He picks it up with both hands, and the rock starts to vibrate fast enough to become a blurry spot in my vision. A dust cloud emanates from it as god knows how many years’ worth of dust and grime are shaken off in a matter of seconds. Once it settles down, Two-Five is left holding what appears to be a bright blue glass sphere about half the width of the rock it used to be.</span></p> <p class="cnMyZDNlNWFlYmI2ZDRiNjdhZDczNTljN2UzNjc0MTA2"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So… should I bother asking what that was all about?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhYmY2NGE3ZjNhNTRhYWRiZmUxMjY0MmRiMDE0Yjg4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“You could, but I don’t think you’d be able to understand my explanation.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZmZiNjE3YTNiYTQ5NWVhN2E4NDlkZThhZjU4NmUx"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Yeah, probably not. What’s it do, though?”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ODU0Y2JiMzgzMTRjYjg4YTU1NzQ3MGU0ZGNlNWJl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“In simplest terms, its a type of fuel common to Oriza. I can use it to supercharge my equipment if need be.”</span></p> <p class="cnNjODNlMDZiNDBjZDQ2YjhhNjM1YTE2NTVlNmYyYjI4"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That’s good.”</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZmQ0ZDNlZWViZTQzMTM5MjJlZmU1ZTU0YjExN2Yz"><span style="font-weight: 400">I stare off in the direction of the only stable breach in the area, and at the volcano-looking thing sitting in the way.</span></p> <p class="cnNjNjNiNTVmYjAzMzRlZDA5MTcwOTQzMDllODZlMjcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I feel like that ‘need’ might come up pretty soon.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3YjRiN2E4NTJiMTRhZWY5MjAxZGZjMTg3YWI3ZGVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Agreed.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxMjY2NDBhNDZlOTRiZjI5ZGE3ODAzYzk2YWNmZDIx"><span style="font-weight: 400">We continue trudging along. The terrain is dry, unstable and uneven, so our progress is not the most stellar. Two-Five’s new battery-thing is slowing him down too. It’s heavier than it looks, but that’s not why it’s a problem. He has to use one or both arms to carry it, which means he’s not swinging them around. And if someone as tall and spindly has him isn’t swinging his arms around, he has trouble maintaining his balance, which means he has to be even more careful than usual to not trip or slip.</span></p> <p class="cnM5ZGNkOTU5MGM0ODRiMTdhZWYwNWY1ZDdhZWJmODBh"><span style="font-weight: 400">As for me, long hikes through an alien wilderness are basically 90% of my damn job, so I’m more or less used to it. It’s not like I have much of a choice. I have to get from one breach to the next somehow, and vehicles aren’t exactly worth their cost in the agency’s opinion. Yes, they would be handy for situations like these, which is why emergency response teams usually arrive with a set of wheels. They’re not amphibious though, so they couldn’t help me when I got stuck in the ocean. The only thing I would’ve accomplished if I asked for help back then would’ve been to get up to ten of us stranded for two months.</span></p> <p class="cnMzODFlOTA5Yzk0ZjQ0OWFhZGE2MTJkMjgzZDVkNjNm"><span style="font-weight: 400">But this situation is different. The ER guys’ souped-up ATVs would tear through this terrain like nothing. Problem is, my PDA can’t get my distress signal out. It keeps blaring ‘unknown error’ at me for some reason. Two-Five’s communicator is equally useless, though at least he knows why. Something about background energy interference. I’m not sure if I trust that, to be honest. Mostly because this world’s so stone dead and barren it’s hard to think of anything or anyone that might be putting off that much energy. There isn’t even any moss on any of these rocks, for fuck sake!</span></p> <p class="cnM4MjI4MmI2ZDAxYzRjN2U5MzQ5NDI5MjFjNDQ4MDUz"><span style="font-weight: 400">Okay, let’s calm down. Complaining inside my head is only going to make me feel miserable so I keep trying to chat to my gunner. ‘Trying’ being the operative word in that sentence. As previously established, Two-Five’s banter skills are terrible. I feel like I have to drag his words out with a crowbar. Then again, I have been asking him a bunch of personal questions, so he probably feels like he’s being interrogated. I’d ask if he knew any good jokes, but those never translate well, and not just because of the language barrier.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZjgxY2U3YmY0OTQ0NmFiOTcwOTdmNGJiOWRlYzJk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Actually screw it, what’s the worst that could happen?</span></p> <p class="cnNhMzRmMzU1YTg4NjQ4ZWI5YjhhOTYzNjU0ZDYyMTZm"><span style="font-weight: 400">“So Two-Five, know any good jokes?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4MzY5ZTkzM2NkZTQ5MGRhY2IwZTQxMTU4ODNjZjYz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Why, yes, actually,” he said, surprising me. “I’m told my sense of humor is above average.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZjQyMGMzNTYzOTRmY2Q4Y2QzMTdlN2RmZWZmZTlj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Oh? Let’s hear some, then.”</span></p> <p class="cnM2NzcxZTk3ZmVkMTRmMDE5M2M2M2YyNzNlYTJjOGEy"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Are you sure? I doubt they will be very funny without context.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3ZTk0YjU3ZWZmNTQ3NTBhMDU5ZjgxYzM1OTllNGNk"><span style="font-weight: 400">Took the words right out of my mouth.</span></p> <p class="cnM2ZGQ1ZTM2MzkzMjRkNjk4YzhkMjIwYTg4MWFkY2Uz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“It’s worth a try,” I shrug.</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZmQ0ZTJlZWI0YjQ1ZDA5MTU4MTQyNGM0NGU1Nzhi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Very well. Let me think for a moment… Alright. So. A famarian nationalist was arrested for publicly calling the Emperor a ‘fathead.’ He was sentenced to eleven years of hard labor. One for sedition, and ten for revealing a state secret.”</span></p> <p class="cnNmOWJmYzdmZWY3NTQ5NTU4ZGRjYzY4NTI1ZTZjOWVh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Hah! Okay, that was better than I was expecting. Got another?”</span></p> <p class="cnNhNTYwZGVmYWE1ZjQ2Y2I5ZmY0OGIwZGYzZjQ5OTYw"><span style="font-weight: 400">“There are three types of people in the world. Those who can count, and those who cannot.”</span></p> <p class="cnNlNDM1Mjk0MTNmZDQ4NzJhZWMwZGRkZGMzNWMyODlh"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Wow, you have that one, too?”</span></p> <p class="cnM5MTMwYjFhZWRmMTQyMjc5ZWRjMWRhMWM0Njk2ZTJj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Apparently. What about you, Seventeen? Do you have any good jokes?”</span></p> <p class="cnM5OTc2ZGYzNGFhOTQ5YTZhNGRjZTQ0MWI2MDdjZDdh"><span style="font-weight: 400">Sure I do. Mostly puns and wordplay, though. Those definitely do not cross the language barrier. I do have a certain ‘backup’ though, one that’s apparently relatively universal.</span></p> <p class="cnM4NmQxZmYxZWUxNzQ5M2M4YWExYjQzOGNmYzFiZmQ0"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Two hunters are out in the wilderness when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and shows no vital signs. The other guy whips out his communicator and calls emergency services. He gasps, ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator tells him ‘Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.’ There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the line, the guy says ‘Okay, now what?’”</span></p> <p class="cnNlNzE3Yjc4ZDNlNzRiOGI4MzgwOTJhNDcyMGJhZDBi"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Kek! Kekekekeke!” he starts giggling. “Kekheum! That was a good one. Okay, how about this one?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4ZTQwMzYzZDczMTRmNjY4MzNmNTFjYjZlM2YxMWQ2"><span style="font-weight: 400">We spend the next hour or so swapping jokes. Or we try to, but most of the ones that follow those first few end up bombing. I did notice that a lot of Two-Five’s material had something to do with famarians. I asked him about it and apparently ‘famarian’ is a nationality, not a race or species. Seems his country and theirs have had a rivalry that’s existed since forever, hence all the derisive jokes. I get it though, we have the same thing back home. The english and the french are </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400">still</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400"> at each other’s throats even though the Great Unification did away with borders long ago.</span></p> <p class="cnNkNWI4YzdiMzhhYjQ4MDI5OThlMTE4YTlmYjM0ZTY5"><span style="font-weight: 400">Then again, I can’t exactly blame them seeing as how the french are a bunch of pompous surrender monkeys.</span></p> <p class="cnMxZDliOGM2ZTZhNTRjNzg5MTY5ZmYzZTIxZjYwM2Fl"><span style="font-weight: 400">We eventually call it quits when we stop to rest for the day. Well, chronologically speaking. My PDA’s clock says it’s been eighty six hours since we ‘landed,’ but I’ve seen no hint of a day-night cycle. That thick cloud of smoke covering the sky hasn’t budged, either. But the time of day doesn’t matter when your feet are howling at you, so I park my butt in a shallow cave for shelter. Two-Five’s biological clock runs on a different scale from mine. Apparently a day on his home planet is about thirteen hours longer than the twenty-four I’m used to, so he’s been taking six hour ‘naps’ while I sleep like a rock.</span></p> <p class="cnNiYmZkMWY0OTcwYzRkYThiYWUzMzc5MDExYjY5ZGFm"><span style="font-weight: 400">It takes us another two terran days’ worth of mind-numbing walking before we finally close in on our destination. That part, at least, was as we’d estimated. However, the closer we got, the more my gut feeling was proving to be true.</span></p> <p class="cnNkMGE1MmU1ZTM1OTRhMDFiNDY4Yzk4MTZhNWVhNWRl"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Say, Two-Five, do you know what Murphy’s law is?” I ask while staring at my PDA’s readout.</span></p> <p class="cnNiZTU0MTJmZDhmNjRhMzA4YTQ1OWNjOWY2MjY2NmQ1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I cannot say that I do,” he responds from behind. “I know of most of your world’s scientific pioneers, like Eyesack New-ton and Albert One-Stain, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a ‘Murphy.’ What natural law did he discover?”</span></p> <p class="cnM4YTkxZGY3MzI0OTQ1ZDJhYzFlNWFkOTAwYjRjNGVj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“That whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxZTQ1NDgxMWVjMjQyNzE4ZTFjYTYzOTVkZGNlNzcz"><span style="font-weight: 400">“… That does not seem like a proper scientific theory.”</span></p> <p class="cnM0ZjU0ZDc0OGQzODQyYWZhZWIwZGRiNzk5YTYxYWE5"><span style="font-weight: 400">“Maybe not, but it’s hard to fault it.”</span></p> <p class="cnM3MzMzMzRjODNkZTQyZmJhNzA3NzFlODM4NjM4YTYy"><span style="font-weight: 400">I turn off my PDA and point at the massive active volcano at the end of the rocky valley before us.</span></p> <p class="cnM2MjcyM2MwNjRmZTRhNDY5Yjk0MzAzMjkzOGM4M2Jj"><span style="font-weight: 400">“If what my equipment is telling me is true, our way out is inside that fiery pit of lava.”</span></p> <p class="cnMxZGJmYjYyNjlmZDQyNzBhYTYyMjUwYWYwMjNiZjk2"><span style="font-weight: 400">Two-Five walks up to me and stares at the smoke-belching mountain for a moment.</span></p> <p class="cnNjYTY5OTc1ZGQ0NDQ4NmE4NGZmYzJiYjA3NmRmMDU1"><span style="font-weight: 400">“I take it back,” he mumbles after a bit. “This Murphy fellow might’ve been onto something.”</span></p> </div>

“Hmmmmm, hmmmmm, hmmmmm.” I keep walking through the rocky wilderness, humming a certain tune to myself as I replay it in my head. Since there’s practically nobody else around and the good part is coming up, I decide to fuck it and sing along. “Would you look at all that stuff…” “Pardon? What stuff?” Two-Five asks from behind. I turn on my heel and kindly tell him while continuing to walk backwards. “They've got allen wrenches, gerbil feeders, toilet seats, electric heaters, trash compactors, juice extractors, shower rods and water meters, walkie-talkies, copper wires, safety goggles, radial tires, BB pellets, rubber mallets, fans and dehumidifiers, picture hangers, paper cutters, waffle irons, window shutters, paint removers, window louvers, masking tape and plastic gutters, kitchen faucets, folding tables, weather stripping, jumper cables, hooks and tackle, grout and spackle, power foggers, spoons and ladles, pesticides for fumigation, high-performance lubrication, metal roofing, waterproofing, multi-purpose insulation, air compressors, brass connectors, wrecking chisels, smoke detectors, tire gauges, hamster cages, thermostats and bug deflectors, trailer hitch demagnetizers, automatic circumcisers, tennis rackets, angle brackets, Duracells and Energizers, soffit panels, circuit breakers, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, calculators, generators, matching salt and pepper shakers!” “Uh…” I face the front and keep going. “I can't waaait, no, I can't waaait! When they gonna open up that doooor?” “What door?!” “I'm goin’ yes I’m goin’, I'm a-goin’ to the, goin’ to the, we’re goin’ to the, I’m goin’ to the, a-go-ing to the hardwaaare stooore!” “… Navigator’s log,” he mumbled into his jeweled bracelet. “The stress of our circumstances seems to have rendered navigator Seventeen mentally unstable.” “I am quite sane, thank you very much,” I playfully say over my shoulder. “It’s just hard to sing that last part with just the one mouth.” “So you were singing?” “Yup. Just trying to lighten the mood a little.” “I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried,” the orizian notes. “That ‘song’ nearly broke my translator matrix.” “To be fair, even I don’t know what most of those words are, but I’ll be damned if I ever forget them.” “Might I ask why you remember them with such clarity?” “When I was first starting out as a navigator, my incompetence got me stranded on Juniper-7. Landed in one of its oceans, nothing but saltwater as far as the eye can see.” “By the Omnissiah!” he exclaimed. “It’s a miracle you made it back at all!” His reaction is understandable. When a breach opens up around body of water, it’s almost always near its bottom rather than on the surface. It then gets flooded by a few hundred litres of water and collapses within half a second. “Yeah, tell me about it,” I grumbled. “It spent nearly two months floating around on a Lifesavers’ All-Purpose Emergency Raft™ before I managed to get to dry land. Another week until I found a breach.” “Incredible! How did you survive that long without food or water?!” “Oh, I had plenty of food,” I say as I take out a fist-sized metal canister from one of my pockets. “Capsule Corp © Nutrimax Supplements™. Enough to keep me going for years. Only problem is they need fresh water to work, so I had to purify the salt water by boiling it into steam, catching the vapors in a plastic jar, then letting them condense.” I was also lucky that ocean was full of regular old H-2-O and not one of those water-but-not-really liquids you sometimes come across through the breaches. That ordeal was also a huge wake up call. It showed me that all that training I was put through serves a purpose, even something as inane-sounding as ‘Low-Tech Survival 101.’ “I see. No wonder you appear so carefree despite our dire situation.” “Oh no, that’s not it. I just don’t see how being all doom and gloom is going to make it any better.” “Kek,” Two-Five chuckled. “I suppose that’s true.” This weird rock our little ‘accident’ stranded us on doesn’t seem to have too many breaches. When we arrived, the closest one was eight days away by foot. We started heading towards it, but it closed after a few hours. Another one popped up relatively nearby, but we missed that one, too. Been chasing breaches since, but the one we’re headed towards now seems to be a keeper. My PDA has had a firm lock on its location for the past forty hours and reads no sign of destabilization, so there’s a good chance it’ll last the two days it’ll take us to get there. “Seventeen? There is one other thing about that story that puzzles me.” “What’s that, Two-Five?” “What does that weird song have to do with it?” “Oh, right. That was a leftover from my helmet’s previous owner. Not sure what the story was, but my quartermaster must’ve neglected to scrub its data. It had a bunch of files uploaded into it, and that song was the only one that wasn’t corrupted. I must’ve listened to it thousands of times in some vague attempt to not go insane.” “No wonder you know it by heart. And with our current circumstances being somewhat similar, I can understand why you would be reminded of it.” I sigh deeply at Two-Five’s sagely remark. “No, see, you’re doing it all wrong,” I shake my head. “When I say ‘I did it to avoid going crazy,’ you’re supposed to retort with something like ‘I don’t think it worked,’ not ‘I understand.’ Seriously, get with the program already!” If we’re going to work together, then this guy needs to learn how to banter. Otherwise I’ll just end up talking to myself. Well, I do that a lot anyway, but I don’t typically have an audience when I do. “… Two-Five?” I suddenly realize my companion’s gone quiet and turn around in a rush. Thankfully he’s still there, just crouching over a weird rock. I mean, ‘weird rock’ describes 90% of the terrain we’ve seen since we got here, but this one is a slightly different kind of weird. It’s about as big as my head and one half of it seems to be awfully sparkly. “Two-Five,” I call out as I approach. “You can’t just stop like that, I almost left you behind.” He turns his head at me, then back towards the rock. “Do you know what this is?” he asks, pointing at it. “… No, but you clearly think it’s important.” “It’s a mineral from my homeworld. I’d know it anywhere.” I raise an eyebrow under my helmet and use my PDA to try and scan it. It fails to do so, but has no problem getting partial readings on the surrounding dirt and gravel. I guess that more or less means it really is alien in origin. It also raises a rather worrisome point. “So… we’re closer to your home than mine?” “I severely doubt that. I had to pass through eleven breaches to reach Earth from Oriza. Our transfer might’ve been an anomalous one, but there’s no way it could’ve spanned that many layers.” “Layers? Oh, right, your people subscribe to the ‘layered universe’ theory.” “Why, yes. I am surprised you know of it.” “Eh… ‘Know’ is way too strong a way of putting it. ‘Head of it’ is far more accurate.” I’m not going to pretend I understand it, but the theory in question claims that all of the worlds connected by the breaches are arranged like a stack. A big ol’ mega-skyscraper where each floor holds an entire damn universe. It kinda makes sense with how the BMA has these dimensions grouped into ‘districts’ that have frequent travel between them, with breaches being massive holes in the floor or ceiling in that analogy. It’s one of the more popular beliefs behind this breach business, but ‘belief’ and ‘theory’ is as far as any world’s science has gotten with trying to explain exactly how it all works. “But yes, you have point,” I get the conversation back on track. “This stone must’ve undergone quite the journey to get here.” That said, if recent memory serves, it’s also the second mysterious rock I’ve seen this far out of its place. “Is this mineral vital to getting us the fuck out of here?” “Not vital, but useful,” Two-Five corrected me. “I just need to… process it first.” “Oh.” “… So may I proceed?” he asks after a brief moment of silence. “Why are you asking- Oh, right.” I almost forgot, but I’m technically the commanding officer here. If he wants to interfere with the local environment in some way, then it’s up to me to judge whether he should or not. I can’t imagine there be any harm in him removing an alien element from the environment, but there is one other issue I need to consider. “Will it take long?” “No more than three minutes.” “Then go ahead.” He picks it up with both hands, and the rock starts to vibrate fast enough to become a blurry spot in my vision. A dust cloud emanates from it as god knows how many years’ worth of dust and grime are shaken off in a matter of seconds. Once it settles down, Two-Five is left holding what appears to be a bright blue glass sphere about half the width of the rock it used to be. “So… should I bother asking what that was all about?” “You could, but I don’t think you’d be able to understand my explanation.” “Yeah, probably not. What’s it do, though?” “In simplest terms, its a type of fuel common to Oriza. I can use it to supercharge my equipment if need be.” “That’s good.” I stare off in the direction of the only stable breach in the area, and at the volcano-looking thing sitting in the way. “I feel like that ‘need’ might come up pretty soon.” “Agreed.” We continue trudging along. The terrain is dry, unstable and uneven, so our progress is not the most stellar. Two-Five’s new battery-thing is slowing him down too. It’s heavier than it looks, but that’s not why it’s a problem. He has to use one or both arms to carry it, which means he’s not swinging them around. And if someone as tall and spindly has him isn’t swinging his arms around, he has trouble maintaining his balance, which means he has to be even more careful than usual to not trip or slip. As for me, long hikes through an alien wilderness are basically 90% of my damn job, so I’m more or less used to it. It’s not like I have much of a choice. I have to get from one breach to the next somehow, and vehicles aren’t exactly worth their cost in the agency’s opinion. Yes, they would be handy for situations like these, which is why emergency response teams usually arrive with a set of wheels. They’re not amphibious though, so they couldn’t help me when I got stuck in the ocean. The only thing I would’ve accomplished if I asked for help back then would’ve been to get up to ten of us stranded for two months. But this situation is different. The ER guys’ souped-up ATVs would tear through this terrain like nothing. Problem is, my PDA can’t get my distress signal out. It keeps blaring ‘unknown error’ at me for some reason. Two-Five’s communicator is equally useless, though at least he knows why. Something about background energy interference. I’m not sure if I trust that, to be honest. Mostly because this world’s so stone dead and barren it’s hard to think of anything or anyone that might be putting off that much energy. There isn’t even any moss on any of these rocks, for fuck sake! Okay, let’s calm down. Complaining inside my head is only going to make me feel miserable so I keep trying to chat to my gunner. ‘Trying’ being the operative word in that sentence. As previously established, Two-Five’s banter skills are terrible. I feel like I have to drag his words out with a crowbar. Then again, I have been asking him a bunch of personal questions, so he probably feels like he’s being interrogated. I’d ask if he knew any good jokes, but those never translate well, and not just because of the language barrier. Actually screw it, what’s the worst that could happen? “So Two-Five, know any good jokes?” “Why, yes, actually,” he said, surprising me. “I’m told my sense of humor is above average.” “Oh? Let’s hear some, then.” “Are you sure? I doubt they will be very funny without context.” Took the words right out of my mouth. “It’s worth a try,” I shrug. “Very well. Let me think for a moment… Alright. So. A famarian nationalist was arrested for publicly calling the Emperor a ‘fathead.’ He was sentenced to eleven years of hard labor. One for sedition, and ten for revealing a state secret.” “Hah! Okay, that was better than I was expecting. Got another?” “There are three types of people in the world. Those who can count, and those who cannot.” “Wow, you have that one, too?” “Apparently. What about you, Seventeen? Do you have any good jokes?” Sure I do. Mostly puns and wordplay, though. Those definitely do not cross the language barrier. I do have a certain ‘backup’ though, one that’s apparently relatively universal. “Two hunters are out in the wilderness when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and shows no vital signs. The other guy whips out his communicator and calls emergency services. He gasps, ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator tells him ‘Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.’ There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the line, the guy says ‘Okay, now what?’” “Kek! Kekekekeke!” he starts giggling. “Kekheum! That was a good one. Okay, how about this one?” We spend the next hour or so swapping jokes. Or we try to, but most of the ones that follow those first few end up bombing. I did notice that a lot of Two-Five’s material had something to do with famarians. I asked him about it and apparently ‘famarian’ is a nationality, not a race or species. Seems his country and theirs have had a rivalry that’s existed since forever, hence all the derisive jokes. I get it though, we have the same thing back home. The english and the french are *still* at each other’s throats even though the Great Unification did away with borders long ago. Then again, I can’t exactly blame them seeing as how the french are a bunch of pompous surrender monkeys. We eventually call it quits when we stop to rest for the day. Well, chronologically speaking. My PDA’s clock says it’s been eighty six hours since we ‘landed,’ but I’ve seen no hint of a day-night cycle. That thick cloud of smoke covering the sky hasn’t budged, either. But the time of day doesn’t matter when your feet are howling at you, so I park my butt in a shallow cave for shelter. Two-Five’s biological clock runs on a different scale from mine. Apparently a day on his home planet is about thirteen hours longer than the twenty-four I’m used to, so he’s been taking six hour ‘naps’ while I sleep like a rock. It takes us another two terran days’ worth of mind-numbing walking before we finally close in on our destination. That part, at least, was as we’d estimated. However, the closer we got, the more my gut feeling was proving to be true. “Say, Two-Five, do you know what Murphy’s law is?” I ask while staring at my PDA’s readout. “I cannot say that I do,” he responds from behind. “I know of most of your world’s scientific pioneers, like Eyesack New-ton and Albert One-Stain, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a ‘Murphy.’ What natural law did he discover?” “That whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” “… That does not seem like a proper scientific theory.” “Maybe not, but it’s hard to fault it.” I turn off my PDA and point at the massive active volcano at the end of the rocky valley before us. “If what my equipment is telling me is true, our way out is inside that fiery pit of lava.” Two-Five walks up to me and stares at the smoke-belching mountain for a moment. “I take it back,” he mumbles after a bit. “This Murphy fellow might’ve been onto something.”