《Story of Vita》 Single Cell/ Chapter 0 (warning, I don''t know how to write.) Ouch, that hurt. I know the chance of getting hit by a car while crossing the road is high and all, but why did it hit ME in the middle of the DAY. I swear the driver was sleeping. If that bastard was drunk, I''m haunting their bloodline and making every child born from it have no butthole. But is this really the afterlife? I was kinda hoping to be sent to some sort of hell where I get to beat people up. What if the devil or whatever allowed me to torture someone else, that could be fun. For whatever this place is, it''s not that fun. If the afterlife is just some weird space place, then I will kick whatever god that made this the afterlife right in their godly balls. And where is this light coming from? Wow. That star is really close! I can''t even see the edges of it, it''s that big. That thing must be like billions of years old, too. That or it is just so big that it doesn''t matter where it is, it will always look huge. Or I''m just standing really close to it. Y''know, it kinda looks pretty weird, too. Like there is a line or something going from one side to the other. Like the eye of a giant reptile that is giving me the death stare. Didn''t that have a name when weird stuff happens on the surface of a sun or star?
"Be not scared child."
What?
"Do not panic, child."
No, I mean, what do you mean?
"It is well you are not afraid. A brave soul is good."
Aw, thanks man. But like what is this? Heaven, Hell? Nirvana? Some other weird place? Because I don''t remember praying to a Star.
"It matters not child, because you will be sent to a new world. A world of magical realms and powerful beasts. There will be other gods there to pray to if you wish to do so."
Nah, man, I''m good. So a new world, huh. How much magic are we talking about? Is the type of magic where I have to stick my nose in a book, eat the heart of someone, is there some kind of fancy screen that lets me level up to learn more magic?
"Wel-"
Will there be others like me? Because if I find someone like me, I''m going to kick them around. Maybe put me somewhere they aren''t around. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Tha-"
How much of the world is fantasy? And what kind of fantasy are we looking at, knights and dragons, space fantasy, superhero fantasy. I''m sure there are more, but I''m not too worried about them.
"if you wou-"
Will there be dragon girls with wide egg laying hips there?
"Enough!"
Ok
"That isnt something you would need to worry about. All you need to know is that I will help you this one time. Any ability, any power, anything you want."
Like what?
"The ability to spit fire is one example."
Cool, cool. But can I be really weird about it? Like the ability to make anyone sneeze brains out through the ass?
"...Yes..."
Then¡­ Man, this is kinda hard. I could have the powers like some sort of superhuman. Or I could choose to be a sentient liquid metal capable of shapeshifting into anything! Or¡­ EY BRE! I know what I want.
"Bre? No matter, what have you decided on?"
Ok, so if you know how biology works, right? Muscles, bacteria, cells and so on. Well, I want full control over that.
"Biology? Can you be more spesific?"
Like I can take over other cells, change them how I see fit and use them however I want.
"Like a disease?"
Eh, not really. But you know what I mean, right? Like The Thing, or one of the many creepy hiveminds that morph the bodies of its victims, It can''t be that hard?
"It wont be. Before you go, what will you call yourself?"
A name¡­ I know! Call me Vita, Latin for life. If I control something cool like a creatures'' biology, I must call myself something that reflects it in a cooler way, like Death or Rot.
"Vita, a good name. Your life will be interesting to watch over. Goodbye. Dont make too much of a mess with your second life."
Wait that quick? Are you sure you got what I wanted right, I could write it dow- Before Vita could say anything else, Vita was no longer there. Sent away. Who knows what this being by the calling of Vita would do in this strange world. Let''s hope that the abilities that come with this odd power of life won''t go out of control and spread like a cancer.
"It matters not. Im just happy that this is the first being that didnt go crazy, when it realised it''s destination."
I just hope this world won''t fall into stagnation like the many failed ones. An entity like Vita would surely force it into motion once more. (again. I don''t know what I''m doing.) Single Cell / Chapter 1 Now, then, where am I? I know that I got sent here by Bre and all that. And that I was asking for something cool and all that. But this isn''t what I expected. It seems that my body is now this empty thing. Ok, so I guess this is a cell. I see what I guess is a cell membrane and some ribosomes. But why is my cell core empty? Isn''t all life filled with chromosomes and DNA? Or are they so small that I can''t see them? Talking about seeing stuff, where am I again? I can''t see anything outside the membrane, and I can''t feel anything either. Am I even on a surface? Quite the tough pickle¡­ Alright, let''s just try to move around somehow. I know bacteria move with some weird hair looking limbs through liquids or on surfaces. Or tentacles. And some just kinda float around. Let''s go with the hair thingy. Pushing the membrane, trying to shape it from the inside. The thing is shaping out to be a nice spike. It feels odd, and it is rough to move around. But I can bend it! Now I can, sorta, move around! With all of my might, I shake my newly grown limb side to side. Yes! I can feel it! I''m¡­ I''m!¡­ Am I even moving? Well, I think from the outside it looks like I''m having a seizure, if something could see me. This is weirdly depressing. I don''t know if I''m doing any forward movement, but I must be going somewhere. Or at least moving in a circle. Stolen novel; please report. Could I use something inside me to see with? An empty nucleus, no. Cytoplasm. No. Cytoskeleton. I dunno, maybe? Mitochondria. Can''t use what I don''t have? Where is even the rest of my stuff! How am I even alive if I''m missing everything to keep me alive! Am I a zombie or an undead!? But zombies are usually just a virus or some mushroom messing with the brain, or nerves, right? This is supposed to be a magical world, right, so am I a magical zombie!? Am I a magical zombie girl disease sent to this world to introduce horrible music?! I will sue whatever fucking dumbass of a god designed this mess! Bre, if you have anyone working with you, kick them out of the company! You hear me, Bre! Kick them out! And if you are the one designed this, kick yourself in the ass! While our friend Vita is silently screaming something out to the void, a microscopic, tiny, itty bitty cell with a skinny cone-shaped tentacle is slowly but surely floating down to a magnificent and massive forest. Far to the north of this forest, a snowy mountain range is located. Looking like teeth swallowing the world, this mountain range is un-originally called The World''s Jaw. And soon, after Vita calms down, we will finally see what happens to our little friend. Single Cell / Chapter 2 When will this nightmare of nonexistence end. I''ve been doing nothing for who knows how long. Do you know how boring it is to just know what''s going on inside your own body? It''s boring! If there was actually something for me to look at, I wouldn''t complain too much, but there isn''t! My nucleus is somehow empty, there isn''t a single thing suggesting that I''m even alive and the only thing that I have done in this world is to create a single tentacle-arm-hair-thingy that doesn''t even work! I bet I look stupid too! Fuck! Where even am I? I swear if I ever manage to do anything, I will ea- Oh? My side flattened? Focusing on the flattened side, I can vaguely sense something. What could that mean? Using my arm to touch this new thing, oh wait, I can''t really sense anything with this thing¡­ I know! I could try to use it like a needle! Hm, if you listen closely, you can feel the weight of my intelligence. Bringing my focus back to my beloved arm, I focus it to sharpen. Or at least get thinner to stab with. Hey, I don''t know why it works, it just does. The mass on the tip of it slowly gets thinner and thinner. The walls of my body are nearly touching on the inside, with the overall length of the thing having gotten much longer than before. Not quite a stinger, but it is something to stab with. HAHA! Take this! My ultimate attack! Cell Needle! Bringing it down with all I have, I imagine the absolute destructive power of my attack will surely kill or effect whatever- I softly poke whatever is under me. ¡­ dafuck?¡­ REALLY, THAT''S IT! YOU FUCK, THIS IS WAR NOW! ILL UNLEASH A MULTICOMBO ON YOU POOR ASS OF A THING. With pure rage and spite, I send my tentacle down on the thing again and again. Poking it, punching it, tickling it and scraping its surface. But then something is happening! Aha! At last, this great foe will succumb to the devastating blows I''m delivering to it. Yes. YES! BE DESTRO- a small group of bacteria enters the chat through my cell wall. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. What? Who invited these assholes? What even are these things? They look like a certain other bacteria I saw on a picture once. Hmm¡­ Oh, no, wait, this isn''t bacteria. What kind of idiot am I? This is a bunch of molecules! Why did I think these were bacteria? Either way, this stuff came from whatever I was pummeling to death, so I guess that this is some kind of gore or some other thing. But if whatever that molecule is, it came out of my poor victim, meaning¡­ If I had a face, I would have a demonic smile plastered on it. Thinking you can stop me, imaginary enemy? En garde, fucker, for this battle is not over! Smack! Stab! Tickle- I mean PUNCH! As I utterly blast my enemy, more and more of these molecules appear. While a normal attacker would stop. I, Vita, am unique! These molecules are quite solid, and only makes my needle more deadly! You complete imbecile! You utter most fool! Whatever you are, become my body! After this long war, I finally did it! Oh, hohohoohhoho. I can feel it. Slowly, Unending, flowing liquid that could only be described as. Scrumptious. Oh, this is the good life! I take back all that I said about what I was going to do if I ever got my singular tentacle on something. Now, to take over this organism. Slowly entering the wound I made, I guess that the big eye god thing I talked to did some fixing to what I was talking about. But that doesn''t matter anymore, because now that I have this form, I can take on any organism in this world! A long, blade-like body, with endless amounts of limbs for me to strangle any foe. This new form. It is that of a common grass. ¡­ You know what? FUCK YO- Deep within the Forest, a single blade of grass seems to move, but if this is the wind or something else causing it to move. Is unknown. Single Cell / Chapter 3 This is getting bothersome. First, the time I spent doing nothing at all. Second, the time I spent trying my best to infiltrate something. Third, getting to realize that my opponent was a plant. Not even a cool plant, like a magical tree, but some grass. Grass. The kind you piss on. Is this a prank? At least the sun feels good. It is¡­ odd to describe. The best I can come up with is that it feels like a massage, but also like a superb meal. Something else I noticed is that my original body is still in this plant. I can still move my cell freely, but the plant cells are kinda stiff. It is probably because the plant cells got proper cell walls. But I can bend! And harden too! How that would work, I don''t know. But if something gets a little funky with me, it''s going to get real fucking bloody around these parts. Waiting with great calm for something to get close, always sharpening my blade grass blade. Maybe some dumbass will think I''m a legendary weapon if I get cool looking enough? Yeah, yeah! Let''s do that! But how? I''m not going to waste my time by doing my signature move over and over again, so how would a plant do it? It''s not so simple as to just grow quicker, right? It is. All I had to do was to spread my roots through the roots belonging to the dumber grass and cut off their supply of minerals and water! And there isn''t even a single thing those dumb fucks can do about it! Despite all of my suckling of resources, I''m not really growing upwards any quicker than the rest. Maybe the problem is with my host? My own nucleus is empty, but I didn''t check with the other inferior cells in here. I''m kinda scared, because they are alive. The hormones and other juices move around without me having to do anything. God, I feel like a child entering the principal office. Here goes! It''s beautiful. Not even fucking around. Ribosomes floating in random clusters. Towers of chloroplast organized in towers, with the nucleus looking like a small sun firing mRNA in random directions. The vacuole is the only ugly thing in here, but even then it still looks nice. Enough gawking at the insides of a plant cell, my own cell is so much cooler. Like how I don''t even need ATP to survive! Yeah, you assholes didn''t know that. Please, no need to get excited. Anyway. Let''s look closer at this, nucleus. Focusing closer at this thing. Yepp, a right fucking mess, alright. Chromosomes scattered all over the place, looking like a great pile of alphabet spaghetti. Mostly X and Y shaped, no Os. A lot of gene coding happening, yada yada, boring. How do I manual control this bad boy, daddy wants a new ride. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. From an outside perspective, the single odd blade of grass is slowly getting wider, then slightly thinner and finally growing slightly longer than the rest. Days go by. The moon, or rather the three moons, shines its glow on the forest. Howling in the distance can be heard, but with no ears and being too far away to feel it, Vita is slowly learning how to control the poor plant. It works! Look at my great work, and cry your souls out, you peasant grass relatives! Soon, something will come upon my edged form and take me with it for a great journey to slay whatever exists in this world! Thanks to the kind donations from my neighbors and my own intelligence, I am growing quite nicely. Plus, one of my edges are actually sharp, the others are a little thicker for more style points. Talking about style points, I think- I mean- I DID change the color on my body, so now I look even cooler. I know it is a red looking color, but I am a little worried how the wax will look like. But who wouldn''t love to have a sick, red colored living blade that keeps itself sharp no matter what. Oh!? What is that I sense with my roots? A shaking of the ground! Something is nearby, maybe it can see my dashing looks. C''mon, can''t you see how I sensually wiggle my form? It''s getting closer! Yes, pick me up and bring me close to your face, so I can cut into it and take over your body! Yessss. Closer¡­ Almost there..... N- A horned rabbit, common to the forest floor, can be seen nibbling on some dancing pink plant. The rabbit, lacking pigment in its fur, has red eyes and a small horn used for fighting. Eating its meal, a small, high-pitched noise can be heard. Unfortunately for Vita, the rabbit is too busy looking out for predators. Single Cell / Chapter 4 Finally, I''m safe! That was something I hope I never experience again. When that demon bit me, I didn''t expect to feel it. Being eaten alive. Your body being taken away, piece by piece. I didn''t know plants could feel pain to such a high degree. Either that or the pain has something to do with me. This scenario only gets worse because I can''t take over this stupid rabbit! There is some kind of weird force blocking me from hurting the cells, and because of that I''m stuck on the surface of it''s inside. Luckily, I did manage to grab some plant cells to use as shields. You wonder what could there be to defend against? Well, it isn''t hard to guess, really. It''s dirty as shit in here! Bacteria almost everywhere, trying to get their grubby arms on my cells! Hordes of the dirty fuckers, trying to out number me. But worry not, because I made my already godlike technique of stabbing even better! Instead of a single needle, I know have multiple needles without holes in them! So all I have done so far inside this piece of shit is stabbing bacteria and running from them. Not the bacteria, but it. A big white blob moving without purpose. I poked it for science, but I don''t think it liked that. Because half a second later it''s running after me! No, I couldn''t kill it. Because it tried to kill me back, by eating my needles! Why are animal cells so much harder to kill compared to plant cells?! In the end, it did get tired of chasing me and went back to crawling around like an idiot. I think it was a white blood cell, but I''m inside the guts of this creature, so I can''t be sure. Talking about the guts. The enzymes, acids, whatever it''s called, are just as annoying. The enzymes are slightly more annoying than the bacteria, but the white blob is worse. So, so much worse. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. But right now, I''m safe between some folds in small intestine street. My plant cells are doing well despite the lack of sunlight because of reasons unknown to me. A bummer, I can''t take over this rabbit right now. A bigger bummer that I can''t really do anything in here. The only positive is that I can''t really see with my lack of eyes, but I can still kinda do it. Odd, really odd. Maybe it has something to do with the number of cells under my control? I should test that in the future if my surroundings get safer. There is a fuck ton of shit I need to learn about my body. Like how I can sense when something is coming towards me. Wait, towards me? From behind the bumbs of the intestines, a large group of white blobs are moving towards me! Is this is what it feels like when a predator is chasing you?! C''mon, shitty plant cells, we gotta move! Hustling my cells with me, I make a mad dash away from the horde. Around one bump, over that bump over there, and behind that fold over here, I speed away. But they are still on my trail. What did I even do?! Fuck off! Picking up bacteria and throwing them together with some slurs. It seems to slow some of them down, but they are at least a dozen of them. Plus, they don''t seem to have any problems absorbing the poor bacteria. Shit! That''s it! Shit! If I could find a piece of shit to distract the enemy with, I could maybe escape with no losses! One more needle for more speed! Now I''m running on two tentacles, using the third to throw victims at the blobs and the plant cells to help balance myself. I have never moved so much my entire life. If I was a normal human, I probably would''ve fallen over and died! From above (not above as in a roof, but above as in above), a blob comes hurtling down. Come on, plant cells, do something! Moving the plant cells, placing them next to each other. New special move! Plant baton strike! Swinging my improvised biological weapon, I smack the bitch out of my path. It didn''t manage to devour my plant cells because of the speed and was sent flying away. Maybe I could fight these - nope, too many. Gotta keep running! Single Cell / Chapter 5 In the forest known as World''s Tongue, there is a vast biodiversity. Known to house countless species. Ranging from small creatures, like rats, all the way to rare green dragons. Many have tried to explore the vast forest. Many have also died in the forest. Despite the dangers of World''s Tongue, many intelligent species travel here for the scenery. The World''s Jaw, a mountain range, is said to serve as a wall to protect its inhabitants against the void. While it is not known what lies behind the mountain range, no one has managed to check if this claim is true or not. In World''s Tongue, a single horned rabbit is hidden in the underbrush. This creature looks similar to its relative, the wild rabbit, but the larger size and the horn located on its forehead is often enough to threaten any normal animal away. This particular horned rabbit seems to have abdominal pains. Poor thing. Because in a forest like this one, such a small problem can quickly lead to one''s death. The blobs are still chasing after all that I did. Poor bacteria sacrificing themselves to save me, you won''t be forgotten. I don''t know if it has to do with the one I smacked away, but the blobs are also ignoring the bacteria as well. They are even catching up with me! Some newer blobs show up further on the way, and I''m forced to bat them away with my baton. Plant cells are finally doing something for the family, I''m so proud of you guys. And while I have been moving, more and more of the former plant cells under my control show up. They aren''t alive, but the fact that they are rotten, and turd looking would mean that they are useless to me now. Dang. But that would also mean that there must be a big shit here somewhere! And here it is! The biggest piece of shit I have ever seen. So big that I can''t see the top of it! And with it is a huge amount of bacteria trying to break it down together with a small amount of enzymes and acids. Yeah that is what you deserve for trying to kill me, you dumb animal! While I am happy to know that the asshole is in pain, there is a big problem. That problem is how the fuck am I meant to get through? The blobs are still after me, and the shit in front seems to be stuck to something. Alright, move away you shit-eaters, watch and learn! Using the baton, I leap (or glide) through the air, I and cut away a portion of the shit. The enzymes go crazy, and start to devour the cut down shit. The blobs are trying to navigate through the bacteria, but I send more shit down to them. Eat well! When the shit lands on the blobs, the surrounding enzymes attack them. I would feel bad, but the blobs deserve it. Tch, stupid small things with no brains. Cut shit, throw shit on the blobs. Repeating while climbing up, the amount of shit falling down is slowly burying the blobs. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. *Rumble* What was that? Everything is shaking, and the fight between the blobs and the shit-eaters stops. Almost like, on command, they run and hide in between the folds. Some of the smaller enzymes melt into the cracks on in the intestines. As the rumbling continues, the walls seem to move. And following the crumbling of the huge shit, a dirty liquid is breaking it up with me on it! Oh god, it''s disgusting! The once massive and awe-inspiring shit is now nothing but a raft for me to float on. What I assume is water seems to have scared the blobs away. Or at least washed them away. Maybe I should test the waters with one of the passengers with me. Don''t run from me, little bacteria, this is important research for the best of cell kind! Firmly holding the bacteria, I dip one end of it into the water. Thrashing around in the liquid, I can see it melt away. No! Bacteria #2653 don''t die yet! Its innards are flowing out of it. Its movements are slowing down, from aggressive moving too little to no movement. The corpse is slowly falling apart in my arms, and the surrounding bacteria seem to quiet down at the sight. Poor thing. Either way! Throwing the corpse into the dangerous waters, the other bacteria shiver in fear. Before I can continue my testing, a wave hits them before I could. Oh right, I forgot where this shit is floating inside somethings guts. Swinging to left and right, spinning around and a rare time flipping over. Lucky for me, I can crawl quick enough to not get hit all the time. But nothing ever good happens to me, does it?! Piece of shit plant cells can defend for anything they are worth. Ouch! More wax! Spread it out evenly! What do I not pay you guys for!? There are some bacteria trying to survive the waters. But I don''t think melting is a way to live life. Don''t see any blobs either. Annoying pricks, hope they died a painful death. Woah! Almost got splashed. The shit pile is slowly turning into a shit particle, and the water is looking more threatening by the second. Gotta find a safe spot. And looking to the horizon, I think I see a wall. Is that what I think it is? It is! I''ts the asshole! Finally, I can get out of here! Poor horned rabbit never saw it coming. The berries that help with constipation did more pain instead of good. The berries were old, and the taste being horrible, the horned rabbit tried to wash it down with some water. The water did help somewhat, but the odd pink plant it ate some days ago was sharp and painful. Crying out in pain with feces shooting out of it, it was no wonder that a predator spotted it. A dire wolf, related to the common wolf, saw the poor thing and decided that the best way to help was to bite the horned rabbit in the groin. The taste of turd is awful but to survive in World''s Tongue, any meal is a good meal. Specially after a hard fight. The Forest King / Chapter 6 The dire wolf. A wild creature often used by nobility as symbols of power. Great size and strength, it also sought after for its fine fur. Not something a casual hunter can hunt, because the dire wolf is also known for its great intelligence. "Bleargh, ugh, urh." The dire wolf is dry heaving and staggering towards a river. The trees are sparse, with bushes and saplings in between. Some of the bushes had berries on them, and some small spiders are seen fixing their webs. The sun has just risen, casting a fine orange glow on the leafs. However, the dire wolf is not looking good. Its mouth was leaking blood. The fur around its mouth, originally a light color, bloodied. It would intimidate most of the wildlife, but the constant gagging noises ruin the moment. Some of the birds in the trees are even laughing at the dire wolf. "What the fuck did that rabbit eat?" Balto muttered to himself. "The rabbit was easy to kill, but that horrible taste won''t leave my mouth alone. At least the water will wash the shit out of my wounds. By the All Father, what did that rabbit eat? Rocks? The winter isn''t even here yet, so it didn''t need to be so desperate for food." Balto reached the river. It was by no means a big river, but it was enough for small fish creatures to swim in it. The water surface is clear, with some rocks poking through the water surface. Frogs are croaking, and a fish is swimming against the current. A small mouse like creature is also drinking some river water, but is clearly startled by the sight of Balto. And after washing his mouth and eating a small brown frog, He wondered where he was. Wolves are pack animals, and it feels odd being all alone. Balto tried all the old tricks his mother once taught him if he ever got lost from the pack. He didn''t pick up on any familiar scents, he didn''t see anything obvious, and he hasn''t tried howling. Why? Because unlike normal animals, a monster usually got better critical thinking. Balto knows that if his pack could hear him, others could as well. And that isnt a good thing. "Where is this place even? I know it''s the same forest, it looks familiar, but the smells are a bit different." He muttered while taking another whiff of the air. "*sniff* Water *sniff* old smells, *sniff* squirrel. No smells from the pack." After cleaning his mouth and taking in a breath of air, it was time for him to move again. The forest has a vast amount of wildlife and a lot of them are edible. Luckily for Balto, he isnt one of the monsters placed low on the picking line. But unluckily for him, and unknown to him, this usually only apply to dire wolves in groups. There are stronger monsters more than capable of killing a dire wolf. Such as the nemesis of all dire wolves. The bark bear for example is a dangerous monster. A bark bear is well known for its camouflage. Its skin and fur looks and feels like bark. It even smells like bark. Good thing this oddly shaped tree has this convenient big bump growing on it. It is also so comfortable and warm. I didnt know trees grew like this. Why didnt mother say anything about trees like this. It even vibrates in a steady rhythm. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. *Yawn,* A quick nap and then back to looking for the pack. Hm... Is the world moving? Balto moved away from the tree and the bump he was sleeping on turns around and lo and behold, it has a face that only a bear could love. Dire wolves are around 1.70 meters tall, and the bark bear is a staggering 2.50 meters tall. It stands up on its rear legs and releases a roar. The grass shakes with the roar, the force so great that Balto has to squint. It slams down back onto the ground and starts chasing Balto. The ground shakes as the bark bear sprints after Balto and after a half a second of panic, he runs as well. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-" Balto looks behind him and sees the face of the bark bear trying to bite his tail. With a yipe and a scream, Balto speeds up in fear of losing his tail. While Balto is trying to jump around trees and small rocks, the bear doesnt seem to care about it at all and crush them all with its massive momentum. If that thing fucking hits me, I''ll turn into a pulp of meat! I dont want to die like this, I need to find the pack! Wait the river! Maybe I can escape the bear by going over the river. Something that fat couldnt swim. The forest fauna runs away from the two huge monsters. While the dire wolf is trying to get rid of the bark bear, it seems to not bother with anything else. It breaks trees with ease, and the rocks that are in the way arent big enough to stop the rampaging beast. The splinters go flying and a poor bird that tried to escape is pierced right through the guts. And the dire wolf manages to get to the river and leaps for one of the rocks. And the bear stops by the water edge. "Haha fatty, get fucked!" He yells at it. The bear is standing next to the water, and is giving Balto a look of ridicule. The bear huffs, and turns away. "Yeah, get out of here!" Balto howls at it and does a little victory dance, but unknown to him, the bear is also mocking him. "Dumb dire wolf. It is a miracle that the dumb thing hasnt died yet of being stupid." The bark bear is shaking its head and walking away. And after the chase, Balto finally finds a small cave to rest in. A small hole made from two rocks being smashed together, and a small patch of moss growing on the ground inside of it. And with the sun fall, it looks like a comfortable little hole to sleep in. Quite nice, and if something else tries to enter, it won''t be able to because I am in here. It doesnt smell like something has been using this cave, either, so thats a nice bonus. Now to sleep. Curling up in the cave and covering his snout with his close-to-death tail, he is now trying to sleep. But an itch is annoying him. He is trying to ignore it, but it feels so uncomfortable. It starts in his neck, and he tries to scratch the spot, but it doesnt help. It moves down his spine and Balto is rubbing his entire back against the mossy floor. It creeps from his spine and into his limbs and guts. He tries to stretch it out, but that doesnt help either. And before he can scream in pain, it stops. Panting, Balto shakes his body and looks at his back. What the fuck was that itch? At least it is gone now. Going back to his original position, he closes his eyes and goes back to sleep. His back seems to have changed. Underneath the fur, the once normal pale skin has taken a slightly green and pink color. The Forest King / Chapter 7 A dark world. Running. Running. My paws are bleeding. The light is so far away. The ground hurts, and the darkness is getting closer. Faster. The light is going away! But Im so tired. Should I sleep in the dark? Maybe I should? Is it safe? Should I look behind me- "!" With a jump, Balto got up and hit the roof of the cave with a thump. "Ouch.". This cave is tiny. It wasnt this small when I got went into the cave. It is so cramped in here. Did the cave entrance get smaller as well? Squeezing out of the cave, Balto is struggling to get a grip on the rocky soil outside. And with a small yelp, he shoots out of the cave with a tumble and at the same time confusing a single crow sitting on a branch. While the crow is wondering about the lines, Balto has gotten back up and shakes the dust off his fur. Wolf, am I hungry. And Im thirsty too, I wasnt so thirsty when I went to sleep either. So I have got to find something to eat. Well, back to the river where I lost that bark bear. Hopefully it isnt near the river. Walking through the forest again, everything seems to be smaller for some reason. The tree branches are much closer than normal and the patches of grass seem to have shrunk too. For Balto, this is really odd. He is feeling hungry, but after walking outside in the sunlight, the hunger has subsided a bit. Which is also weird, because hunger isnt supposed to go away like that. Should just get to the river. On one side of the river, there is a small group of rodents. They are bigger than normal rats, with purple skin and skin-like armor like an armadillo. The bigger one is actually a darker shade of purple, a sign of it going to grow into a stronger version of the rest. Just like how there are normal wolves and dire wolves, or like how normal grizzly bears might turn into a bark bear. However, Balto bit down on it and killed it with a single bite before it could react. The other rodents jump and run away in fear. Balto bites down again on the already dead rodent and rips off a piece of meat off it before starting to chew. The crunch of the hard outside together with the bones makes it fun to chew on, and the soft insides makes it feel like a crispy chicken nugget. However, Balto does not know what a chicken nugget is, and therefore can''t make the comparison. The armored rat wasnt really filling for Balto, but a drink is needed right now. He walks over to the riverside and jumps back quickly. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "What the fuck was that!?". Looking at the river water from a distance, Balto takes slow steps and carefully looking at the water surface. Looking over the water, Balto sees what is in the water. He knows that water can works like a mirror, but that isnt what he usually looks like. His head looks normal, but it is way bigger than normal. Not only that, but he has a red stripe going from his snout all the way to the top of his head. Perplexed, Balto looks back to his back. And to his surprise, his back has a similar stripe going all the way down to his tail root. The part of the stripe going between his shoulders actually has much thicker fur, which is standing out more compared to the fur further down his spine. It almost looked like tightly grown grass. Panicking, Balto quickly got on his back and tried to rub it off. But for whatever reason the weird hair growth didnt get off. He got back up and tried to rub it off on a tree instead, but that didnt work either. Now, more worried than scared, powerwalked over to the river and rolled around in it. A Dozen of minutes later, Balto was panting and looked back over his back. And to his great disappointed, the red hair was still there. "Well shit.". Balto huffed as he shook the water out of his hide. If I can''t get it off, I guess I have got to live with it. I am still hungry, where did those rodents go? *Sniff,* I wouldnt get full of rodents, they are way too small. Something like a deer would be nice. Or maybe that weird meat Mother once brought me when I was young. So nice and soft. I am starting to drool at the thought. Mmmm. I never asked her what it was, if I knew what it was I would ask her what it was. But before Balto could continue fantasizing about the mysterious meat he ate in the past, the itch was back. He winced, and his skin started to shake. Seeing this, Balto got scared and started to scratch where it was moving. But just as quick the itch came, it went away again. Balto was properly confused. But also worried. Mother said that sometimes, monsters could grow wrong and become stupid. That they would try to fight anything they saw or eat everything as well. She said they are called Abominations. Could it be that I am turning into one? This morning has been a complete shitshow. First the cave is suddenly too small, then this weird red stuff is growing on me and now Im probably going to become an Abomination too. Or maybe Im just evolving? Mother did also say that when monsters evolve, they change a little. Am I evolving? I should''ve paid attention when Mother tried to teach me stuff. "Argh!" While not paying attention to where he was going, Balto somehow managed to slip on something, and landed snout first into a pile of shit. The smell. It smelled like rotten eggs times a hundred. Balto could feel his nose shrivel up in the stench. He whips his head up, but halfway he starts to projectile vomit, creating a beautiful scene of wonder and majesty. While running away in pain, he felt that something was laughing at him from somewhere. Balto could only care about getting to the river. The Forest King / Chapter 8 Hahaha! The stupid dog just landed in some shit, so embarrassing haha! Oh hey, didn''t see you there, totally real person not made by me. Welcome to my new house! Let me show you around. Funny story, actually, how I got this place. I was just dropped off to this world by some asshole, I know I sound amazing no need to flatter me, and then I got a flat with low rent. It did have some nice things in it, and the walls were really sturdy. Then some fuck destroyed it and forced me to live in a literal shithole. But I didnt give up! As a hardworking single cell, I studied the absolute shit out of the shit and boom! Now I live here in this dumb as bricks dog. Right now, we are inside the brain. Mysterious. You see those blinding lights surrounding us? Kinda hard not to see them, but these are the big cells. The boss cells, sending hormones and electronic signals to the rest of the body. Just make sure you never touch them directly, lost a plant cell to those. Poor bastard deserved better. It died for a good cause. Either way! It took me a while, but this specific group of brain cells let me see what the dog sees! Thats how I figured out this is a dog, or rather, wolf. But enough of the brain, follow me down here. This is the spine and the big moneymaker part of this wolf. Now to tell you some cool things about the stem cells! We all know that my wonderful body is perfect, with nothing being able to compare to it. But it seems like stem cells are the closest thing to my own cell. Kinda odd to explain, but in general I just scoop out all the insides and kinda just wiggled myself inside it. After that, I had direct control of two of clones of myself! A little bit weird at the start, but now that I have done it a bunch of times I have now stretched myself all the way from the spine and skull down to the toes and tail. Pretty cool right? There isnt really much else to say about what I have done in here, but the cool thing is that now my once limited amount of plant cells are now so plentiful that I could actually put them to use! Look at my babies, growing out from the back of this dog in such a natural manner that the surrounding cells cant tell the difference. The reason for why I am doing this because I am not a parasite. Fuck parasites. Ugly little shits. I will never be a parasite, because parasites are ugly. There was actually a tick growing on this wolf somehow that I had to deal with. The wolf/dog/whatever didnt even seem to be grateful when I did it either, trying to move around in some water for some reason. I should teach this dog some manners in the future. But right now I do have a tiny problem, but it isnt really that much of a problem yet. Oh? Hey, look at this, the wolf seems to have realised what it dug its face into earlier. This will be fun to look at. Let''s enjoy the show, my totally not made up friend. Inside Balto, Vita is holding a random cell in a tight grip, forcing it to follow. If the cell could think, it would be extremely confused to what is happening and why it is being moved away from where it was. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Elk." Balto sniffed the dung pile again. After having cleaned his nostrils in the river, the smell of elk was strong. He had actually slipped on dirt that was turned muddied due to the raw force of the elk pissing on the ground. Inhaling the scent a second time, Balto could tell where the elk had traveled to. It couldnt have traveled far, with the heat coming out of the pile. And looking closer, there are footprints going further away from the river, but kinda to the right of the cave I slept in. How did it manage to sneak past me. Must be a really quiet elk. By the Allfather, I can''t wait to have some elk meat. Hope it is just a weak old elk instead of one of those big elks. Guess it is time to hunt. The itch isnt there anymore, so I can finally have some fun! *Sniff,* The smell is stronger by this white tree, so it must''ve walked by here. There are marks on the ground here. There is some hair on this stick! *Sniff* *sniff* Smells like elk. It must have gone this way. Balto continues to move forward, stopping whenever he loses track of the elk. The smell isnt getting weaker, but the forest is new to him and the other scents of the wild are quite distracting. It has also nibbled on the leafs. But it is odd. Based of what Balto knows, elk are usually in massive groups, but he can only smell one. And the plants are a bit more destroyed than normal the closer he gets to the elk. At least the scent of elk is getting stronger. *EEEEEEEEEEEE* Balto immediately tenses up. His fur stands up, and the weird red hair does the same. Balto holds his breath and tries to move as little as possible. The sound was different from how he thought it was. It sounded. Dangerous. The itch is back, but it is softer and only in his head. Shaking, Balto decides to move up towards the clearing from where he heard it. Before he sees it, his smell is suddenly attack by a foul smell. Multiple carcasses are scattered around the clearing. Some are regular elks, but their bones are poking out of their flesh. The closest one to Balto was somehow severed in half, with its guts having spilled out from both halves. There were already flies and other small insects chewing on it. There is a bark bear there, still alive! It has countless wounds covering its body, and half of its face is clearly missing. The usually tough skin of bark bears has been shredded to pieces, but it is still alive, fighting it. By the Allfather. Elks are usually as tall as a dire wolf, but this one is much taller. Even taller than the bark bear. Its hind legs are normal looking, however, further up its body there are small protrusions covering it. It''s almost like thorns are growing underneath its skin. The closer up to the head, the bigger these thorns get. Its back and neck are covered in massive thorns, leaking puss. And its head. On top there is a massive set of antlers stabbing into itself. The thorns are covering its entire head, only reveling its multiple sets of eyes that have grown out of random places. One of the eyes lock with Balto''s. And all he can feel from the eyes are nothing but pure hatred. It somehow opens its mouth again, making snapping sounds as it opens up way too much for an elk. Balto is petrified, and the bark bear prepares for the noise. *EEEEEEEEEEE* The Forest King / Chapter 9 The elk closed its mouth after screaming. Twitching and looking at both the bark bear and Balto at the same time, it lowered its head. The puss is leaking out in a steady rhythm. Its breath is rough and spit is spilling out of its mouth. The bark bear is breathing heavily, half of its face missing and with multiple wounds over its front and back. Balto however, is not moving at all, barely breathing. What the fuck? How couldnt I notice the smell? Balto started panicking to himself. It doesnt make any sense, how could he not smell the blood and gore scattered around the place. He was so confused, but more than anything, he was scared beyond reason. That elk was obviously not normal, but the fact that it was having a standoff with a bark bear, was scaring him even more. That bark bear is huge, and the elk is also bigger than him. But for some reason, his legs won''t move! Absolutely petrified, but Balto wants to run away. He is locked in place, either because of the elk staring down on him with three eyes, or because of something else. He could feel his tail hiding between his legs. And the itch was back, but now he felt it inside his head. Right in his skull. The itch feels like a squirrel is gnawing on his brain as if it was a big nut. The elk noticed that Balto wasnt paying a lot of attention and took a step closer. Now Balto was more terrified. But his legs won''t work. Panic was rising up and if he could sweat, he would be drenched. The elk sees this and takes another step forward. But suddenly the bark bear dashes forward towards it. The elk spins around just in time, but not fast enough for the bark bear, tackling it down with a roar. The two of them slams down a meter away from Balto, landing with so much force that he loses his balance and falls even closer to them. The hot breath from both the elk and the bark bear is hitting Balto in the face. The elk is swings its antlers around, landing right into the bark bear''s already wounded face. The bark bear roars and backs off quickly, allowing the elk to get back up with its back towards Balto. The standoff was back, and the bark bear was bleeding harder from its face. The elk isnt looking any better, with more puss leaking out. Balto could just run away, but the itch was just getting stronger and stronger. The itch was annoying him, and that elk is looking at him at all. Plus, the hunger on top of that was making Balto''s thoughts scramble together. Sure, that elk is pretty scary, but look at elk butt. It looks perfectly good to chomp at. *EEEEE-EA!* On top of the elks behind, the odd dire wolf was biting down on its hip. The elk tries to shake it off, but the dire wolf is biting down with everything it got. The bark bear manages to slap the elk while it was distracted. The spikes punctured through its paw, but the bear didnt seem to mind. Enraged, the elk snaps it neck unnaturally and hits the dire wolf, and at the same time manages to kick it off. The dire wolf lands on the ground and the elk looks back to the bark bear. Its head snaps somewhat back in place and charges in. The bear tries to dodge, but is hit on the side. The bear roars in pain, and the elk pushes its horns deeper into it. The dire wolf gets back up and runs over to the elk, jumping on top of its back again. This time the elk snaps its neck again and lands a solid hit on the dire wolf, but for some reason the horns doesnt dig in as deep as they did last time. The distraction was good enough for the bear, however. It stands up on its hind legs, towering over the elk and the dire wolf, and smashes down with both paws. With a crunch, the whole throat of the elk rips open, the weight of the bear pushing it down to the ground with a boom. The elk is now spraying the bear with sickening puss, and before it gets to make another scream, the wolf and the bear bites down on the little neck there is of the elk. The elk releases a last weak scream before its head is ripped off and thrown away by the bear. It lands close to one of the other elk corpses, the two dead elks staring at each other with lifeless eyes. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "We did it." Balto muttered to himself in disbelief. "We did it!" Shouting to the sky, he dances around the corpse of the elk. The bark bear takes a few steps away from Balto, panting from the exhausting fight, and plops down to rest. Its still bleeding face is covered in puss, and it sticks like glue to the face of the bark bear. Not daring to touch the wound, the bark bear looks back to the dire wolf because it stopped making noise. Balto looks down to the dead elk. His spit is slowly drooling down from his mouth. He slowly leans down and takes a bite of the elk. Its blood is an odd yellow color, but it still smells like elk. The bark bear looks at Balto in disbelief as he swallows the chunk down. The meat itself doesnt taste like anything. Wonder why? Balto could try to think why he wasnt tasting anything, but he is awfully hungry and continues to eat some more of the yellow elk meat. Feeling a little hungry as well, the bark bear growls at Balto to scare it away. Balto looks up to the bark bear, looks back down to the elk with yellow puss leaking out from the flesh, and back up again. Thinking about it, Balto walks away slowly from the bear and leaves. The bear doesnt try to intimidate Balto, it''s half normal half torn to pieces face is enough. When it can''t see Balto any more it takes a whiff of the elk, grimaces, and tries to take a bite out of it. Immediately the bear regrets it, and the last thing it thought of before its insides decided to greet the falling sun is about that weird dire wolf eating so much of this disgusting shit. The Forest King / Chapter 10 Briskly walking away from the dead elk and bark bear, Balto is wondering about what just happened. He was honestly still shocked about everything that happened a few minutes ago. That elk that was turned into an abomination was something that Balto never thought he would see. At least not one that was alive. But by the Allfather it was a scary sight for sore eyes. How could that have happened in the first place? And then there is that bark bear. That bark bear was one mean looking bastard. Half of its face was missing! How?! Was it because of the elk abomination, or was it because of something else? Either way, it deserves a name for managing to fight the abomination. And for basically doing all the work when killing it. Hmm. A name for someone with half of their face missing. Two-F#ce? Sounds too evil for a bark bear. The something-face part does sound good, so maybe something like Half-Face? I mean, it does only have half a face. Half-Face, the bark bear that fought an abomination. If I ever see Half-Face again, I will be slightly less scared when me meet again in the future. After a fulfilling meal of the weird yellow meat, it is now for me to find a new place to sleep in! Balto started to think to himself. He can''t go back to the old cave he slept in before, because of his somehow bigger body. As someone who loves to sleep in caves and similar places, it has to be a cave like place. First criteria! I have to be able to stand up in the cave. After all, stretching is the best thing to do right after waking up in the morning. Second criteria! I have to feel somewhat safe in it. That previous cave was a perfect little space to sleep in. All cozy with a healthy moss growing inside. It is a shame that I got so big for no reason. Oh well, this place is huge, so I should be able to find a new cave or place to live in. Just gotta keep on walking until I find something interesting. "Ouch!" Balto suddenly cramped up. A sharp pain shot through his gut. The pain didn''t last long, but it was intense enough for him to think something stabbed him. Was it because of the antlers that stabbed into him? Couldn''t be that, because for some reason, his skin has gotten a lot harder. Not like it was uncomfortable, but it did go away shortly afterwards. Could it be because I ate the elk abominations yellow flesh? But if it was bad to eat, it would''ve tasted horrible, but it didn''t taste like anything at all? Wait, am I going to turn into an abomination for eating abomination meat? Argh, I should have used my brain to think! Of course, the meat from something that didn''t look normal wouldnt be good to eat! I hope it isn''t as bad as think it is. Maybe some water would help? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Meanwhile, inside Balto. Vita point of view. "GOGOGOGO, It''s TRYING TO GET OUT! KEEP THE FUCKER BUSY!" Producing new cells to replace the damaged insides of the belly is hard work, man, especially when the thing inside is trying to get out by viciously stabbing the gut with sharp bones. At first, it didn''t really do anything, at least the first piece of meat didn''t really do anything, but why is this one growing like it got a severe case of bone cancer? At least it isn''t too hard to melt it away with some acid to keep it small, but it is almost like it knows it is dying. Every time I try to spray it a bit more than it can handle, it keeps up by growing its bones faster. If this keeps up, the stupid dog of a host might die! And I am not going to let that happen, because that is something a parasite would do. God, I hate parasites. I have to think of a way to kill this thing, or at least stop it from growing through like a spike pierces through a poor construction worker. I don''t want to do too much with the wolves'' guts. Because I know for a fact that if I do touch something a little too hard, it might just burst! And I don''t think that is the best thing to do if I want to keep the host alive. Who knew, fucking with something delicate inside something alive might just make the alive thing dead. Alright, now that I have thought about this, it is time to approach this another way. Still covering it with juice, a tendril blessed with my amazing touch manages to snatch a small piece of bone from the many pieces of bone. Sure, producing too many cells would usually kill anyone from exhausting, but I am superior! And now that I have a bone cancer cell, it is time to create a hyper cancer cell! Hihihi, I am so smart. And now, time to look at this bone particle. Looks like normal from the outside, but if I remember correctly there is supposed to be something that helps the bones regrow, but here it would seem that the bone marrow is the part that is doing the growing. That isn''t odd, but the fact that the marrow is doing only the growing part and not anything else is odd. But this is good for the host and for myself. Host will have legendary boners- I mean bones. And I can protect myself in the future if anything would happen to the host! Because plant cells aren''t good enough if they come from a blade of grass. Gotta get my tentacles on a seed one day. Or a nut. But now that I have this, I can test something out. I know for a fact that the weird flesh must still be there, because I can actually see it sometimes. And you, my totally real friend, know how much I love my tentacles, so I don''t think I need to say anything else. Using the captured bone cancer to make a spear, the best way to kill something dangerous is with something else that is just as dangerous. New special attack! Spear of Bone Cancer! The Forest King / Chapter 11 Inside Balto and inside his stomach, a bulge forms, pointed at the odd piece of meat with countless bones jutting out. From the bulge, a small point sticks out, and the bulge condenses. As it does this, the point gets sharper and pointier. The bulge suddenly bursts open, and a spear made of bone shots out and twists clockwise, penetrating through the bones made by the abomination and pierces it. Stopping in front of the other wall inside the stomach, small openings open up inside the spear. The abomination, being covered from the outside and the inside with acid, starts to shake like crazy. But it simply can''t keep up with the onslaught of acid. As it stops shaking, what little meat that was left is broken down to be absorbed by Balto. Shivering, Balto stops and takes a look at his stomach. It did feel painful a while ago, and it has looked bloated for a while too, but seeing that uncomfortable feeling is gone he simply huffs and continues to walk. ''Mother should have told me that abominations couldn''t be eaten, if I knew that then I wouldnt have to deal with this. Hope I won''t run into something like that again. But meeting Half-Face would be fun, hope that bark bear will remember me.''. The sun is setting, it''s light casting the forest in a soft orange light. Balto walking through the grass, going up to trees and sniffing them. While normally animals would avoid predators in the wild, Balto could actually see some small animals rushing around inside bushes and in the trees he would sniff a crow would often land to caw at him. The only way Balto would react was the only thing Balto would know to do if something was cawing at him. Stare at whatever is making the noise and try to imitate the noise it makes. "CAW!" the crow shouts. "Barwk!" Balto yells back. This goes on for a while, with Balto and the crow yelling at each other while walking through the forest. For Balto, it was fun to make some noise together with someone. However, the crow, after screaming its lungs out, it decides to fly away from him. Balto would''ve liked to follow after it, but as his mother told him when he was young; If someone wants to be alone, leave them alone unless they are really important. The crow is fun to stick around, but the crow isnt that important, so it can go if it wants to. Balto walks away to the opposite direction of where the crow went. It is getting dark, so right now is a good time to find a new shelter. After all that walking, Balto has yet to find a good enough spot to sleep in. There were a lot of small caves and such, but none of them were big enough for Balto to fit inside. And there is no way that he will sleep in a small hole like some stupid animal. All self-respecting monsters live in places where they can fit perfectly in no matter what. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ''But wait a minute.'' Balto felt it. He looks at his back with the weird red stuff. ''I swear I felt something just now.'' Balto looks closer at the red hair. They are much wider than his hair on his paws or on his tail. But right now. ''Is that moving?'' He felt the old panic come back. The old panic from when he first saw the red stuff. And with the weird red stuff, there was also that itch. And he felt it this time too! But now he felt it strongly in his paws. As the itching gets stronger, it concentrates into his claws. It doesn''t go further up his limb, but it does get worse. As a matter of fact, it feels like it''s moving around in his paws. ''!?'' Balto couldn''t believe his eyes, his claws are moving! Wiggling side to side, sometimes slowly and sometimes fast. Balto could feel the fear gripping onto his hide. ''What the fuck!?'' Balto tries to run up to a tree to scratch his nails, but the moment he puts pressure on his paws, pain fires into him. Wincing at the pain, Balto tries to move slowly, taking slow steps towards the closest tree. But the pain makes it feel like forever, and the tree looks like it hasn''t moved at all. The itching only got worse and worse, the movement of the claws getting more energetic and violent. The pain gets so bad that in a fit of rage, Balto reaches down and bites off one of his claws! With a sick crunch, the nails cracks under the pressure coming from his jaw. And with a jerk of his head, the nails is sent flying and hits the tree that was supposed to be used as a scratching pole. Despite the blood coming from his paw, the itch did stop for a bit and his other nails did calm down a bit from that. Balto breathed a breath of satisfaction as the itch slowly disappears from him. With a flop, he lays down next to the traumatized tree and licks his bloodied paw. With the taste of his own blood in his mouth. And between licks, Balto noticed something weird. Licking his paw slowly this time, Balto feels something hard. Stopping in the middle of the lick, he slowly looks at the nails he ripped out. They are right next to him, with blood smeared up the tree. His eyes slowly move away from the ripped out nails and end on his paw. The one where he ripped out those nails. Something hard was poking out. Out from the place where his old nails were. Moving his tongue out of the way, to his utter shock, his nails were back! Balto''s tiny little brain didn''t know how to comprehend this whole thing. And if his nails are growing out from his wounded paw, what about the other three? Balto already knew what was going on, his gut feeling was telling him that either something was wrong or that he needed to poo. On the ground, next to his legs, right beside his paws. There lays all of his nails, somehow no longer connected to his body. The new nails that now replaced his old ones are slightly longer and much whiter than the old ones. The sight of his own body missing parts of himself despite already having the parts still on him and the pain that he felt, he couldn''t handle it anymore and passed out. The last thing he felt was the itch coming back, but this time in his jaw. Or rather, his teeth. The Forest King / Chapter 12 Balto is old. His paws hurt, and his brain itches. His back is covered with red plants. Red grass, red moss and red flowers. His belly has been growling at him for a while now, demanding something to eat. But Balto wasnt starving for some reason. For a fact, he hasnt been hungry for a long time. He did get a little hungry during the night, but not the day. Right now it was night, and he was starving for something. Fortunately, Balto had found a dead elk with his nose. The elk looks funny, but in the forest a meal is often hard to come by, so Balto bit right into the meat. But something was wrong. Not with the meat, but with Balto. His mouth felt odd. As if something has fallen off. Slowly letting go of the elk and feeling around in his mouth, he now knows the problem. His teeth had fallen out! His teeth are firmly stuck to the elks body, with saliva still covering them. And the shock only got worse when he felt something moving in his gums. Like maggots in rotten flesh, long tendrils pushes themselves out of his mouth. Moving and flexing in the air, covered in mucus and blood. Balto tries to bite them off and even scratch them, but they easily dodge out of the way. It is then he feels something else trying to force itself out. But it is big. Too big. Instead of coming out from his gums, it feels like it''s forcing its way through his throat. Couching and wheezing, Balto tries to get it out, but the size of it just makes it impossible. He can feel it ripping apart his throat, the taste of vomit strong on his tongue. It is finally in his mouth now, he can feel it. Its surface feels like bone, but also like rock. With a pop, Balto''s jaw is broken open by a huge, bone-covered tentacle. The pain of having his jaw broken and the surprising weight of the tentacle forces Balto to the ground. It continues to force itself out until it''s a whole meter out from his mouth. Its surface is covered with rock-like bones, and the tip has a dark red gleam to it. While horrified at the sight of what is going on, the tentacle slowly points its tip towards Balto. The tendrils dig into the ground, forcing Balto''s head in place. Struggling is all Balto can do as the tentacle suddenly launches itself towards his head. *!* Balto flies into the sky, almost reaching a nest of hornets, before landing on the ground again. He quickly scanned his surroundings and then his body. There were no tendrils coming out from his mouth, and there was not some huge tentacle coming from his mouth either. The only difference was that his teeth felt heavier than usual, if that makes any sense. Maybe something crawled into his mouth and pooped there? No, no poop and no weird animal crawling around in his mouth. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ''It was the second nightmare I have had that scared me like that. The first one where I ran away from something, and now this one with the weird stuff. Hopefully it doesnt mean anything.'' Balto thought to himself while walking in a random direction. But if one were to look closely at the spot where Balto slept, one could see teeth in the short grass, poking out like small pebbles. Sunshine covers the forest. While the horizon isnt visible from the ground level and while there are some more open spots, something that is visible from the ground level however is Balto. He hasnt gotten much bigger, but his nails and his teeth has gone from a gray color to a pale bone color. His fur still has a brown color. The fur on his back, or rather the stripe of fur, has grown slightly longer. It looks like he has a short, red Mohawk going from his head all the way down to the base of his tail. And to some such fur would look nice as a cape or as a kilt. The wind shifts from coming towards Balto, it now blows Balto from behind. And with the change of wind, a new smell occurs. It is a foul smell similar to rotten eggs and dirty scrotum. It''s a new smell for Balto, but it smells hostile. Looking behind him, Balto doesnt see anything. He slowly starts to walk forward again. However, the smell didnt go away and instead got closer. There is something in the bushes that Balto doesnt like. Right now, Balto is in the part of the forest with more bushes than trees, so it makes sense for something to be here. The problem is the smell. Because Balto doesnt know what it is. It doesnt smell like something you would eat, but rather something you would cover with dirt. The rustling in the bushes gets stronger the longer Balto moves, whenever Balto turns around to check whats going on, the rustling disappears. ''Wait, is that meat?'' Further up, a piece of meat is laying on the ground. ''Probably enough for me to not having to hunt for a while!''. Balto has completely forgotten about the rustling behind him and the smell, focusing only on the meat like some meathead. As the sight of the big piece of meat laying there. Right before Balto gets to eat it, the rustling starts again. From the bushes, something shoots out. *Pff-thump* "ARGH!". A stick is lodged into Balto''s side, but for some reason there isnt really any blood or pain. He was surprised, however. And from the bushes, a group of small green creatures. Green, scaly skin with no fur or feathers. Squinting yellow eyes and a grin with small needle like teeth. One of them is holding a small gray claw, while another is holding a stick. Two others are more normal looking, but the one in the back is even weirder, with some weird bent stick with another stick in it. Inside Balto''s brain, Vita is spitting out imaginary soda. Goblins?! So this is a fantasy world! The Forest King / Chapter 13 Are those goblins? So this is a fantasy world! I honestly thought that this would be a weird world with lots of forest in it and nothing else interesting, except for the weird cancerous meat that showed up. And that weird bear and that weird elk. But now that goblins are real, it means that all other sorts of things might be real as well! Orcs with bulging muscles, elves with no muscles, dwarfs with huge beards and so much more! Maybe even dragons! But right now these goblins are a trying to fight the dire wolf or wolf. Good thing that making skin thicker works almost all the time with nearly every type of animal. To think that goblins are able to use tools while looking so stupid. But I wonder if my current host can kill them without me having to stitch it up. Talking about stitching, let''s push this arrow out. Sure, a wild animal with a bunch of arrows and other weapons stuck to it does make it look like a badass. However, risking an infection is not fun. The arrow landed... almost in the lung! Dang, that was close, because if that arrow pierced the lung, I wouldnt have a place to live in rent-free. I could try and take over the corpse... Now that is a sight to behold. The arrow is covered in shit! Ah, the nostalgia of feces. Time to push the arrow out together with the shit particles. Move out of the way platelets, stop clogging the wound, I gotta get it out before the wound starts to get too infected. The white blood cells can deal with the bacteria when I am done. But still, goblins. Based on what I saw, which wasnt much, they look more like reptiles than mammals. Humanoid, height can''t really be measured because I am not the one doing the heavy lifting. The fact they are capable of using tools make it an interesting thing to think about. Crude tools will become sharpened with time, so either goblin are just starting to use them. Or they are so weak that they arent a real threat to the wildlife. I think it''s the latter, because if they are a threat, then this wolf would run away. Go, wolf, go! Eat some goblin ass! Not like sexually, but metaphorical. Not like you can hear me, but if you like to eat the asses of other species, go for it, I will totally judge. Oh, you killed one, neat! Balto is holding one of the unarmed goblins by the throat, with three of them around him and the archer further away. While he is growling with the dead goblin in his mouth, the three surrounding him are screaming and trying to hit him. Despite the sharp nails and the impressive goblin club, Balto is simply way too tough for them to do any proper damage. Only the goblin with the dagger and the one with the bow and arrow are able to get into his skin. Even then they are barely piercing the flesh and hitting anything important. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The goblin with nothing in its hand is clearly the weakest link. The problem is that whenever Balto tries to advance towards that one, dagger goblin and club goblin attack him from behind. And whenever he tries to ignore that specific goblin, it keeps trying to distract him by pulling at his tail. It is pissing off Balto and that rage is being directed at that goblin. A normal wolf is scary, a dire wolf is enough to send anyone running, but a bigger than average dire wolf nearly twice the size of the goblins would make any of them pass out in fear. The only reason it isnt running away is because of the other goblins shouting at it and the fact they have weapons. The most annoying one is the bow goblin with its pointy sticks. The arrows fly through the air and land sometimes on Balto, most just land on the ground near him. Balto is aware of it, but it can''t reach it. If only Balto knew how durable his body was. Balto has never seen goblins before, and the only thing he knows about them is what they look like and that the flying sticks are painful. But being stuck in this situation is just as painful, and if he doesnt do anything about it, he might actually get hurt. All he needs is a plan, but that isnt something he is good at, so he is going to need the closest thing to a plan there is. Improvise on the spot! "Kill it!" Gobu shrieks as he manages to hit the dire wolf with another arrow. He had finally managed to find something for the hoard to eat and looking at the fur of this dire wolf, he probably would get a nice reward from the chief if he manages to bring the hide to him too. Maybe even let him mate with one of the other goblins in his harem. The thought makes the little that is between his legs twitch in imaginary pleasure. "It tough!" Goba yells back, keeping his eyes on the dire wolf. A normal wolf would be easy to deal with if it was alone like this, but dire wolves are much harder to kill than that. There is also the problem of this being a bigger than average dire wolf, making any wrong moves lethal. They saw what happened when Gobli, the idiot that had eaten way too many mushrooms that day, tried to rush towards it. Despite the naturally cruel nature of goblins, they do have the imagination of what it would feel like to be bitten by it. "Hit with club!" Gobo swipes at the legs of the dire wolf, but missed. Before the dire wolf manages to do anything about it, he jumps back quickly. ''It too hard?!'' Gobo thought to himself. He did manage to land a hit earlier, but he barely made a mark. The fact that the dagger he made all by himself isnt working is beginning to piss him off. And that coward, Gobu, keeps screaming about killing it when all he is doing is shooting it with arrows that dont even work. He wants to yell at Goba again about hitting it on the head, this time for a change. Right when he opens his mouth to say anything, a flying goblin hits him straight in the chest! The Forest King / Chapter 14 The goblins are standing still and dumbfounded. Seeing this opening, Balto dashed towards the unarmed goblin. The already stressed out goblin fainted at the sight of the nearly 2 meter tall dire wolf moving towards him with a massive maw. While the goblin is on its way down towards the ground, Balto bites down on its neck and throws it again on the goblin with the dagger. The dagger goblin with 2 two dead goblins on it struggles to move them off, but the club-goblin tries to strike Balto on his head. However, the club does little to harm him. Balto quickly snaps on the club-goblins arm, breaking it almost in half with a single bite. The club-goblin screams out in both pain and shock. The bow-goblin regains his focus and knocks in another shit stained arrow. The ex club goblin drops to the ground, allowing Balto to finish it off with another bite. Goblin with dagger finally manages to throw off the other dead goblins, only to see the death of the club goblin. Now a two against one, the two remaining goblins against the big dire wolf. The archer goblin lets go of the arrow, letting it fly straight towards Balto. At the same time, the dagger goblin dashes forwards. Balto tries to dodge the arrow, but the arrow hits him in the stomach due to his large frame. He feels the pain of the arrow sticking into him and charges forward, meeting the dagger goblin face to face. Green skin, a big nose, sharp teeth and yellow eyes. And in these eyes, Balto can see two emotions. Fear. And greed. Balto goes down to bite, but the goblin manages to bring the dagger up. The taste of dirty dagger doesnt stop Balto, as he bites down even harder. He can feel the taste of his own blood in his mouth, but does not stop before he manages to break the dagger. Another arrow hits Balto in the shoulder, doing little to no damage. The arrow that hit him in the stomach already pushed out together with the feces it was covered in. The dagger goblin tries to run away from the monster that bit through the dagger. It doesnt get far, as Balto leaps forward again and catches the goblin by the spine. The goblin cries out in pain as it loses the feeling in its lower body before dying in Balto''s mouth. The archer goblin no longer has a chance to kill Balto in a one on one. It throws the bow on the ground before running away on all fours. Balto could of course let that one goblin go, but the fact it did try to take his life enrages Balto. The bark bear by the river and the elk abomination he could understand. He pissed off the bark bear and did attack the elk. He did not understand why these green little things would go after him. With that in thought, he chases after the goblin who has gotten a dozen meters away from Balto. With Balto''s larger size and unnatural stamina, he easily keeps up with the goblin. The problem is the surprising agility of the goblin. When Balto tries to bite the goblin, it ducks away just in time. When he tries to swipe at it with his paw, it jumps over it. Balto tries to be smart and do the two at the same time, but ends up biting his paw. Every time Balto tries to attack the goblin, it screams out in fear. Its screams are high-pitched and sounds itchy, like someone scraping a fork on a plate. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The goblin manages to reach a three and climbing up, with Balto''s jaw right behind it. If goblins had tails like squirrels, Balto would''ve had it. The goblin is squatting on one of the taller branches outside Balto''s reach. Balto jumps up to try and bite the goblin on its ugly little toes, but doesnt manage to reach. The goblin keeps screaming while Balto is looking up at it. ''Dang green thing with its weird body, why did it have to go up the tree? I can''t reach it even when I try to jump up to it, and I won''t try to copy what it did. But if it doesnt shut up soon, I will do something that will make it shut up.'' Balto takes a few steps back, his eyes locked onto the goblins eyes. Its panicking eyes go wide as Balto rams into the tree! The whole tree shakes from the hit, the goblin shaking just as much. Balto''s head hurts, but after the itch comes in, the pain subsides. Balto takes a few steps back again before ramming into the tree for a second time. The goblin is horrified of the sight. A dire wolf, is acting like a ram. The worst part is that it isnt stopping! No monster would actually try to headbutt a tree without having something like horns, but here is a dire wolf doing just that! Branches and leafs are falling down to the ground every time Balto rams into the tree. The goblin is hugging the tree with all of its might, branches hitting it on the nose before falling down to Balto. At first, Balto''s head hurt a lot at first. But after doing it for a while, it doesnt hurt as much as it did before. Right as Balto is about to ram into the tree for the tenth time- "What in the name of the Allfather are you doing!?" An angry growl comes from the side. Balto, who had all of his attention on the tree with the goblin on it, turns around to see another dire wolf! Not a single dire wolf, two of them! The two dire wolves, one with lots of scars covering its body with old gray fur while the other one looks younger with brighter fur, look at Balto with dumbfounded expressions. On a branch close to the two dire wolves is the crow that Balto was playing with a while ago, just as surprised as the rest. With all the attention on him, Balto looks on the ground and doesnt respond in embarrassment. The Forest King / Chapter 15 Balto was standing there, embarrassed of what he had done. Sure, he could''ve done something else, but headbutting is much easier than climbing up the tree. He lowered his head and looked down to the ground. But from the perspective of the other two dire wolves, they were on guard and worried. "Hey, Beowul, have you ever seen a dire wolf like that before?" The younger dire wolf whispered to the older and scarred dire wolf. Beowul, with his eyes still locked onto Balto, whispered back. "No, I have never seen anyone looking like that, but he seems to be dumber than you, Radolf." The old dire wolf answered back. Balto being a dire wolf is something the two can agree on. However, Balto was much too different from a regular dire wolf. The size of him can be easily explained. It isn''t impossible for Balto to be simply gigantic, but the red stripe is everything but normal for a dire wolf to have. The color of the stripe is a deep, bloody red. Instead of hair, it looked much more like grass to have grown on his back. They have been stalking him for a bit as well. Balto, in the eyes of Beowul, was way too clumsy for a normal dire wolf. As if he wasn''t used to his height. While Beowul is grumbling to himself about something, Radolf gets closer to Balto. "Radolf, don''t get too close to him. Something is wrong about him." Beowul harshly reminded him, but Radolf ignored him and walked to Balto. "Hey, I am Radolf and that stone over there is Beowul. Now that you know who we are, who are you?" Radolf said as he sniffed Balto all over. Balto was way too embarrassed to say anything. "Hey, hey? Can you hear me? Beowul, I think something is wrong with him!" Radolf shouts to the mumbling old dire wolf. "I know something is wrong with him, be careful. Who knows what disease or curse he has." He growled back and also went up to Balto to get a better smell. Balto''s eyes were darting between the two dire wolves, the crow and the goblin in the tree. The goblin has stopped long ago when the dire wolves showed up. As the dire wolves were too busy with doing other things, it slowly climbed down the tree, making sure that it made as little noise as possible. As the goblin was halfway down the tree, the crow let out a scream and Beowul dashed towards it. Beowul flew towards the goblin at incredible speed, faster than Balto could ever dream of. The goblin was startled by the crow scream and tried to climb back up the tree, but was too late. Beowul was already in the air, ripping the goblin off the tree. In one fell swoop, the goblin was dead on the ground with its throat ripped open. Balto stood there with wide open eyes, but Radolf didn''t care about that and kept sniffing Balto. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "Hey Beowul, I think you scared him. Hey, weirdo, are you alright. Blink once if you are OK, twice if you aren''t okay." Radolf has stopped sniffing Balto to ask the question. Beowul walked over to the two with goblin blood slowly dripping from his mouth. "Stop being all cozy with the stranger." Beowul stood in front of Balto with a raised head with a look of superiority in his eyes. "It doesn''t matter what his name is, he will either tell it to us on the way or he will tell it to the alpha. If not, well, I wonder what his guts look like under the sunlight." Beowul snarled, showing his teeth before walking away. The crow gives another screech out and disappears above the trees. Balto is standing there scared of the old dire wolf, but Radolf seems to be annoyed instead. "Don''t worry about what that rock says. He is just old and tired. Come on, you don''t have anything to be scared about. He might look tough when he killed that greenskin, but he can barely chew for his life." Radolf said while nudging Balto forward. Balto wasn''t as scared as Radolf thought he was, but rather he was way too embarrassed about headbutting the tree. Also, why were they so surprised to see him doing it? The bark bear did it, and that elk abomination also did it. ''Is it because I don''t have a big head?'' he thought to himself while following Beowul, with Radolf next to him throwing all sorts of questions to him. "Hey, hey, why are you so big?" Radolf said to Balto with big puppy eyes. Balto didn''t answer, because he didn''t know why he was so big, either. The silence didn''t stop Radolf. "Hey, hey, why are your nails so weird to look at? Did you step on something weird that you didn''t understand? Ulva says that if you don''t understand something, you shouldn''t touch it. Oh, right, you don''t know who Ulva is! Ulva is"- Balto now understood why that old dire wolf, Beowul, was so grumpy and scary. It was probably because of this Radolf who can''t shut up for a second. Hearing that Radolf has started to bombard Balto with questions, Beowul turned his head to look at Balto with an expression that said ''Sucks to be you, dumbass'' before looking ahead. If Balto could, he would love to throw one of those pointy sticks the green creatures had. ''Dang, I didn''t get to eat one of them. If I wasn''t so busy being attacked by them, I could''ve eaten one of them. They tasted kinda like turds, but I bet that maybe the guts would taste better?'' Balto thought to himself, with Radolf was talking into his ear about squirrels. They were stopped by Beowul, who had turned around to look the both of them. "Alright, now listen. If you try to run, you die. If you don''t answer any questions that the alpha asks you about, you die. If you start to get annoying, you die. Get it? And Radolf, could you be so kind and shut your mouth. I am pretty sure you filled the poor idiot''s brain with spit by the looks of it." Beowul looked at both of them before leading Balto to a small clearing. In the clearing, a silvery gray dire wolf slept. "Duke, I found someone weird. He wouldn''t speak to us where we found him, so I brought him here." Beowul said before leaving the two alone. Balto looked at the sleeping dire wolf, but noticed that one eye was open and looking right at him. The dire wolf got up and, to Balto''s surprise, he was almost as big as himself. The silvery dire wolf walked around Balto in silence, getting a good look at Balto''s size and form. After doing a full round around Balto, he sits down. "So, who are you?" Duke, the alpha, asks Balto and signals him to sit down as well. The Forest King / Chapter 16 "So, would you like to tell me who you are?" Duke looks at Balto as he slowly sits down as well. The two of them are massive, but there is lots of room for the both of them. Duke is looking at Balto with lazy, but sharp eyes. Balto on the other hand is squirming, and his eyes are moving all over the place. "No need to be so stressed out, you are safe here. Now, from the top, who are you? How did you manage to get to this part of the World''s Tongue? Because I know for a fact you have never been here." "Uh, I was with my family, and then I tried to eat a hedgehog because I was hungry. After that, I found a horned rabbit that was pooping everywhere, which I ate." Duke turns his head slightly to the side. If he was human, he would probably have one eyebrow raised too. "So you ate a hedgehog and a horned rabbit, that was. Defecating?" "Well, I was hungry, and the horned rabbit was there all alone and in pain." Despite the fact that Balto is the same size as Duke, but acts like a pup. Duke sights and continues. "So, what is your clan''s name?" Balto looks like he is about to say something, but for some reason he doesn''t say it. Duke notices this and pushes further. "You do know your clan''s name, right?" Balto is not answering, but the panic is visibly growing in his eyes. He couldnt remember his own clan. The unrest grew in him, and he started to yawn. "Calm down. If you dont wish to talk about your clan, you dont need to. Just tell me your name, please." Duke''s attempt at calming Balto down does work slightly, but Balto still had that thought in his mind. Why couldnt he remember his clan? "Right, my name. My name is Balto." Duke nods his head with approval. "Good. Nice to met you Balto. My name is Duke. I am the leader of the Gavir clan. Is there a reason for why you are here alone?" "Ok. I was alone when I bit that hedgehog. And I was alone when I ate the horned rabbit. I, I do not remember anything before that." Balto said depressingly. Duke nods again. "Then can you tell me about how you got that, red stripe, on you?" Duke looks at the stripe growing on Balto. From his forehead all the way down to the root of his tail. "Oh, that. I dont really know how I got that. I think I got it after that one bark bear chased me, or was it before that?" Balto looked at Duke, who was quite surprised. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "A bark bear? How did you survive against a bark bear all alone?" Duke ask. "Oh, I just ran away. I think bark bears are weak to water, because when I crossed a river it stopped chasing me." Balto said matter-of-factly. Duke on the other hand/paw didn''t quite believe what Balto just said. Considering the size and power of bark bears, there could be no way that for him to escape one of them. Either the bark bear had something better to do, or Balto is lying and actually killed the bark bear. If the latter is true, why would he lie about it. While Duke is thinking about this, Balto continued. "After I ran away from the bark bear, I found Half-Face and an elk abomination. It tasted weird, and I got a belly ache, but it stopped after a while." If the bark bear was surprising, the abomination surprised Duke even more! Abominations are the cancer of the World Tongue. The Abominations are unnatural beings of corruption. They come in all kinds of shapes, but the one thing they all have in common is the hunger and rage ruining the body. Balto must have killed the bark bear as well, but how? "How did you kill the abomination? What type of abomination was it?" Duke asked Balto "Half-Face was the one who did the most work, I think, I just bit it on the bum and ate it." "Two-Face?" "Half-Face. Im not sure if Half-face is a dude or a girl, but Half-Face is a bark bear." Now Duke was just dumbfounded. According to Balto, he survived a bark bear. Then fought together with a bark bear called Half-face against an Abomination, which usually kill bark bears quite quickly. Wait, did he say ate? "Did you eat an abominations flesh? And you lived?!" Duke''s eyes opened fully and got up, getting closer to Balto. Balto, surprised by the sudden movement, backpedaled low on the ground. "Balto, come with me for a second." Duke walked past Balto and walked out of the clearing. Balto follows after him, a mixture of surprise and fear in him. "Ulva, are you here?" Duke and Balto has walked up to a large tree stump. The dirt that usually surrounds the roots of tree stumps have been dug away, leaving room underneath. From underneath the stump, a smaller than average dire wolf comes up from the dirt. "Duke, hey, what do you need." The small dire wolf shakes dust and dirt off its dark fur. It looks at Balto and after a second, it turns back to Duke and asks. "Who is this? Someone new?" "Balto, this is Ulva. She is the best one when it comes to medicine and such things. Ulva, this is Balto. Someone who has eaten an abomination." Ulva froze on the spot, her gaze slowly moving from Duke to Balto. Before Balto could greet her, she dashed down into her hole. Duke sighed and just as quickly Ulva disappeared, she popped back up with something in her mouth. "P''tew. Here, gnaw on this and tell me how you feel." On the ground is some kind of grayish root with a dark sap seeping out. "... Why?" Balto went down and sniffed the root. It smells odd, like rotten fruit and honey. "Well because if you have eaten abomination meat, there might be something in it. Poison, a disease or something that shouldnt be inside you. It also works as a sleep medicine, so go find somewhere to sleep after you eat it." Ulva tells Balto. Duke turns to Balto and continues. "You are welcome to stay with the Gavir clan. There isn''t exactly a designated sleeping spot, but you can know that you will be safe here with us." After saying that, Duke walks back to his spot and Ulva goes back down into the hole she was in. Balto is left there by himself with the root. With nothing else to do, he picks up the root and walk away. He finds a massive log that has fallen on top of a rock and nudges himself in. It isnt as nice as he would like it to be, but it beats sleeping in the open. Balto then eats the root with his eyes closed. It tastes just like how it smells. The curtain of sleep quickly covered Balto''s eyes before he finally falls asleep. The Forest King / Chapter 17 Inside the sleeping Balto, Vita is raging through some cells. ''God damn it all, why the fuck can''t I mess with the genes more?! The grass on the back of the wolf is working perfectly, and the upgraded skeleton works too. Then why the hell can''t I do anything with the goblin genes? It can''t be a problem with genetics, because there are plant cells existing in harmony with the animal cells, so why can''t the goblin DNA go together with the wolf DNA? It''s not like I dont know how, but this!'' The two test cells in front of Vita, one goblin and one wolf, got closer and closer to each other. When the cells touched, Vita stepped in between the two and opening them up. Some of the plasma inside the cells leaked out, but Vita didnt care as he took some chromosomes and started to fuse them together. But right before he manages to swap the genes between the two chromosomes, a strange glow appears and destroys the two genes. At the same time, the two cells melts away into useless protein, leaving a pissed Vita all alone. ''Fuck! What is that! It showed up when I was stuck inside the horned rabbit, and now it shows up when I do this. It doesnt make sense for it to glow like that. Sure, cells do normally kill themselves whenever they detect that they might turn into cancer cells. Cells committing suicide is expected, but why do they glow? Maybe it''s like a weird magical law, like gravity and electricity?'' Vita tried to think harder about it, but being something that shouldnt exist in the first place, Vita stopped worrying about it and closed the opening on a ball-shaped piece of bone. The bone ball isnt connected to any other bones like in a normal skeleton, but is connected to Vita''s own form. Inside, there is a big number of cells. But not wolf cells or other bone cells, but cells of everything Vita has ever gotten in contact too. The original plant cells from the time Vita were small and fragile. The horned rabbit cells, the armored rat cells, goblin cells and even the cells from the abomination elk that didnt die or turn into bone. Also, that weird root that would''ve paralyzed Balto was in there too, Vita didnt really know why the wolf would''ve eaten something like that. The network of tendrils that are made out of Vita''s body is keeping the metabolism of those cells as close to death as possible to make sure that cell division wouldnt be possible. Vita had a smug feeling of superiority and went back to maintaining Balto''s body. For the first time in a long time, Balto didnt have any nightmares. Despite the annoying little hole he was sleeping in, it didnt matter much because of the amazing sleep he got. That root did its job well. The sun has already risen a long time ago, and Balto knew that he has slept well because of that. There wasnt any animals in the area, but some bugs could be seen crawling up trees. Getting out of the hole, Balto started to stretch after a good shake. Balto could hear his bones crack in a good way, and his muscles felt good. ''I havent felt this good in so long, I should thank Ulva for that.'' Balto started walking towards the place the where the tree stump was. As he was making his way over, Ulva got slowly got out from the tree stump and started to stretch. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Good morning Ulva! It was Ulva, right? Either way, thanks for that root. I really helped." said to her as he walked past. Ulva didnt see Balto when she got out from the tree stump, but hearing Balto from out of nowhere, she immediately locked her eyes on Balto''s back. "Hey, did you eat the root I gave you?" Balto stopped and thought about for a second before answering the question. "Yeah, it tasted funny. I still ate it." Balto didnt waste much time before moving towards the opening where Duke was. Ulva didnt really know what to think, but followed after Balto just to make sure in case he suddenly started to melt or something worse. In the clearing, Radolf and Beowul were talking with Duke. Duke hasnt really gotten up from his sleeping position and seeing Balto, he only raised his upper body. "Good morning Balto, did you sleep well?" Duke asks as Radolf turns to look at Balto. Beowul didnt even bother to do anything. "Yeah, that root Ulva gave me really helped." Balto was much more comfortable with the small group of dire wolves. Why? Because Balto isnt the smartest. "That is good to hear. You woke up just on time, too. Beowul and Radolf here told me that you were attacking some goblins, even trying to headbutt a tree. Correct?" At this point, Balto didnt really care about the headbutting thing. Beowul must''ve thought it was funny, because he was snickering a bit for himself before stopping. "Well, it seemed like the thing to do." Balto ignored the little snicker from Beowul. Duke nodded and continued. "Well, Balto, those goblins are a problem. There were originally more members in our clan, but then the goblins showed up." Duke then explained everything. The Gavir clan didnt originally live in the forest, but in a massive cave. Big enough for at least a dozen or more dire wolves to live in. At first, there were only one or two goblins that showed up in the area where we used to live. They were easy enough to get rid of. But the problem with goblins is that they always come in numbers. If the first couple of goblins won''t work, the numbers increase. From a few to a dozen. The Gavin clan managed to survive for months, but they were forced to move when the goblins boss showed up together with its elite. The goblins were the under the banner of an ogre. Massive, with enough strength to kill three dire wolves with one swing with its club. "The only reason we survived was because we were looking for Fridolf, Radolf''s mother." Duke nods at Radolf, who was a little down after the story, but immediately brightened up after being mentioned. "Oh right! You havent met my mother yet. She is super smart! Smarter than me!" Radolf was now walking around Balto in excitement. "Before you go to meet Radolf''s mother, there is something I want to know." Duke got up to his full size, dwarfing both Radolf and Beowul. Even if they are just as big as each other, Duke felt bigger because of the air surrounding him. "Balto, will you help us in reclaiming our birthplace?" Duke asked. As the words left his mouth, Beowul''s and Radolfs eyes went wide, both with different emotions. Balto didnt seem to notice the faces on the other two and simply said. "Sure why not? But I wanna met Radolf''s super smart mother." Balto said with a dumb smile on his face. The Forest King / Chapter 18 "Hey, hey, Balto. Your name is Balto, right?" Radolf ran circles around Balto while asking him random questions. Since Balto felt better after talking to Duke, so he answered most of the questions Radolf had. "Balto, is it true that you fought an abomination?" Radolf asked. "I didnt do much, it was Half-Face that fought it the most." Balto answered. "Half-Face? Is Half-Face your friend? But why Half-Face? I thought all dire wolves are born with at least a full face?" Radolf looked at Balto as if he was lying? Balto didnt think much about it. Before he got to answer, Radolf dashed through a giant berry bush. Balto had to lower himself a little bit before managing to get through. The inside of the big berry bush was oddly hollow, so that Radolf and Balto could both be inside with extra room to spare. For once, Radolf was quiet as he licked another dire wolf. This dire wolf had fur similar to Radolf, but much duller. She seemed to be even older than Beowul with how wrinkly she was. Not only that, but Balto was surprised to see that she had gray eyes with no color or focus in them. "Radolf, tell me, who is the young one with us?" The old dire wolf asked Radolf as she sniffed the air. "I think you are talking about Balto, mom. But he isnt a young one, he is way too big for that! Do you remember Duke? Duke and Balto are the same height!" Radolf said in a low voice. It was obvious that Radolf cared deeply about his mother. "Of course, I remember Duke. I might be old, but I am not that old. Besides, I am sure that your friend here is younger than you by a couple of years." Radolf''s mother said with her eyes pointing to where she thought Balto was. Hearing this, Radolf couldnt hold in the surprise, and shouted out loud. "WAIT BALTO. YOU ARE YOUNGER THAN ME?!" Radolf''s voice could be heard from outside the bush. Ulva, who was sneaking behind Balto and Radolf, was startled when she heard what Radolf said out loud. Normal wolves are considered adults when they are around 3 years old or older. For dire wolves, they are considered adults when they are 10 years old and can live to be 50 or 80 if they are lucky. "Radolf, dear. I understand you are surprised, but please remember that my ears are sensitive. Oh, where are my manners. My name is Fridolf." Fridolf, with her gray eyes, politely bowed to where she thought Balto was. Balto didnt say anything, but bowed to Fridolf as well. Ulva pushed herself into the bush, glancing at Balto before talking to Fridolf and Radolf. "Good morning Fridolf. Why did your son shout so loudly?" Ulva looked at Radolf while saying so. Fridolf didnt have to say anything because the energized Radolf couldnt help himself from speaking. "Ulva! Did you know that Im older than Balto! He is so huge, but also so young. Doesnt that make him the youngest one here! Maybe Balto will be even bigger than Duke in the future!" Radolf was still talking loudly, but manages somehow speak softly at the same time. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Just like how Radolf was surprised, so was Ulva. The only one who didnt look surprised was Fridolf. "Do you two not remember the old leader of the Gavir clan? It was a while ago, but not that long ago. He was as big as a bark bear, but you somehow managed to forget him." Fridolf sighed. "Are you talking about Tyr? Anyone who has seen Tyr won''t be able to forget him." Ulva said while thinking about the old leader. Tyr. The Giant King of Dire wolves. It was said that when he was born, he was the size of a normal wolf and killed his own mother during the birth. He never stopped growing in size, easily towering over all the other dire wolves. But when they were attacked by the goblins, Tyr was the last defense. The remains of the Gavir clan havent managed to find him, despite the size of the beast. While Fridolf, Radolf and Ulva were reminiscing and Balto was trying to imagine what Tyr looked like, Beowul poked his head into the berry bush and looked at everyone. "Radolf, we gotta go hunt together with Balto. Because we found goblins the other day, we have to go and look for more." Beowul pulled his head out of the bush and Radolf followed. "Bye Fridolf, it was nice to meet you." Balto said to Fridolf, who was scratching her ear. "It was nice to meet you, Balto. Take care of Radolf for me. That Beowul is always so grumpy." Balto left to go after Beowul and Radolf, leaving Ulva and Fridolf alone in the bush. After a while, Fridolf sighed. "What is it, Ulva, it is unusual for you to be so stressed like this." Ulva was surprised at how accurate Fridolfs nose was. Ulva hesitated before answering. "Fridolf, I know your nose can pick up on things no one else could. Did you smell something odd about Balto?" Ulva''s tone was serious. Fridolf could tell from Ulva''s heartbeat and her smell that she was stressed. "Could you be more specific on what you mean when you say ''odd''." Fridolf knew what Ulva was talking about, but didnt mention it. Ulva, knowing what Fridolf was probably thinking, took a deep breath before continuing. "I tried to paralyze him because he didnt feel right to me. I was surprised that he managed to wake up as if nothing happened to him." Fridolf was quiet for a couple of seconds, shocked of what she heard Ulva do. "... You tried to paralyze a stranger? No wonder it didnt work." "What do you mean?" Ulva was confused at what Fridolf said. ''Why wouldnt it work''. "There is something wrong with Balto, or rather. There might actually be something in Balto." Fridolfs voice went from a motherly voice to a one of worry. "You mean he might be an abomination? But if thats true, how is he able to speak to us?" Ulva asked, but Fridolf didnt answer. Whatever it is residing inside Balto couldnt be described with words. She didnt smell Vita, but rather, the other cells that Vita had implanted. The smell of grass mixed with the tiniest hint of death that abominations carried with them. There was also something else, but that wasnt a smell that Balto carried. Some monsters could sense the life force. Or rather, they could sense the soul or aura of others. While it was rather faint, Balto''s soul had something to it that wasnt right. Fridolf could sense auras and seemed to be able to faintly sense it too, but whatever it was that resided inside Balto could help the Gavir clan reclaim its old glory. Or it could be the doom for them all. The Forest King / Chapter 19 The hunt was a success. While Balto, Radolf and Beowul didnt manage to find any goblins in the territory, but they did manage to find a few horned rabbits to hunt. Enough for everyone to eat. The goblins that Balto fought were right outside the territory. There havent been any more goblins in the small territory. Nothing really happened that day, as whenever Radolf tried to speak to Balto, he was shushed down by Beowul. While they didnt spot any, the scent of goblin was strong in the north, where the old home of the Gavir clan is located. Radolf brought two of the horned rabbits with him. One of them is probably for Fridolf. Beowul brought also had two of the horned rabbits with him. Meaning that Balto had to give one to Ulva. Balto with the two horned rabbits in his mouth walked towards the tree stump where Ulva is. Standing there, Balto is just standing there with the horned rabbits. The taste of rabbit blood in his mouth making him hungrier. As time flies by, Balto is drooling all over them. Finally, Ulva crawls out from under the tree stump, only to see Balto with the two horned rabbits that are just covered with drool. "What are you doing?" Ulva looks at the two horned rabbits. "Arh yuu hnngr?" The horned rabbits dangle around as Balto tries to speak. Ulva doesnt say anything, but her gaze is more than enough to remind Balto that he can''t speak with the horned rabbits in his mouth. Spitting them out, Balto tries again "Are you hungry? We managed to get one horned rabbit for everyone." The horned rabbit on the ground is covered in blood, drool and dirt. Its eyes are wide open and its neck is broken. The original brown skin is now a crimson color. "Ugh, I''ll eat it later. Thanks." Ulva dragged it down the hole. Balto, having nothing better to do, decided to look for Duke. Out of everyone in the clan, Duke is the easiest to talk to. Maybe it''s because both of them are pretty big. As Balto walked towards where Duke is, he was chewing on the horned rabbit in his mouth. The crunching of bones and meat woke the sleeping Duke up. He had already eaten his food and the bones were buried in the ground. "Balto, I am surprised you still have energy in you to move around with food in your mouth." Duke had an amused look in his eyes. Balto sat down a meter away from him and released the long dead horned rabbit from his mouth. "What do you mean Duke?" Balto tilted his head. Balto understands that going out for a hunt might be tiring, but why would that matter? The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Despite being as big as me, you dont feel at least a bit tired after going out to hunt with Beowul and Radolf? I am pretty sure Beowul went to take a nap and Radolf is probably resting with Fridolf." Duke shook his head. Balto is one strange dire wolf. "Anyway. Balto, is there something you want to talk about?" "Not really. I just went to you because I dont have to look down all the time." Balto said as took a bite out of the horned rabbit''s leg. It''s bloody, but in a good way. There was a short silence of Balto chewing on the rabbit and Duke looking at the sky with lazy eyes. "Oh yeah, now I remember!" Balto''s head jolted up to look at Duke. "Why do you look out for the goblins? We didnt find any, plus they are easy to kill." Looking away from the sky and back to Balto, Duke looked at him for a few seconds. "Balto, we told you why yesterday. Goblins are a threat to all life. Unless you manage to kill them before they manage to grow too large in numbers. Or worse, the goblins manage to find a leader." Duke shuddered. "We were unlucky. Who would''ve thought that the goblins managed to gather under the rule of an ogre." "An ogre? Whats that? Is it related to goblins?" Balto asked. "No, it isnt related to goblins, but they rarely work together. The ogre that worked together with the goblins was a bit too smart for an ogre. While I didnt fight it, I saw it use an odd rock. The rock it used crushed dire wolves with a single swing with it." Duke looked at Balto again, this time with a serious look. "Balto, we need to kill that ogre. If not for revenge, then for the safety of others who live in the forest with us. I know I already said this to you, but are you with us?" There was a long pause. Duke and Balto looked each other right in the eyes. Balto quietly reached down and took a tiny bite out of the horned rabbit. The pause was unbearable. After a while, Balto looked around, before looking at Duke again. "Wait, you were talking to me? I was just thinking about goblins." Duke was about to say something, but was interrupted by Beowul and Radolf who walked in. "Hey Duke! I and Beowul found something interesting! Hey Balto! Why havent you have eaten your food yet. Can I have it?" Rudolf pranced towards Balto while Beowul calmly walked to Duke to tell him what they found. After being informed, Duke nodded. "Balto, could you go with Beowul and Radolf to find more traces. It might be left behind by other members of the Gavir clan." Radolf and Balto stopped play fighting over the meat. "Why didnt Radolf and Beowul look for traces?" Before Balto could get an answer from Duke, Radolf practically yelled at Balto. "It''s because it might be dangerous if there are only two of us!" Balto''s ears were in pain, but he could still hear the world around him. "I doubt that you could be any good at finding anything. If something tries to attacks us, they might be scared away by your ugly face or by Radolf''s loud voice. Let''s go right now." Beowul walked away, with Radolf and Balto following. Duke is left together with the half-eaten horned rabbit. The Forest King / Chapter 20 The traces were found north to the clan and east to the old home of the Gavir clan. They were found close to a large hill. There weren''t that many clues. The air did however have a slight scent of decay. Not the abomination kind, but the normal kind. Beowul and Radolf sniffed and looked over the place, searching for anything. Balto on the other hand looked at the first clue that was found. A small batch of fur was slightly bloodied on the ground near the hill. The fur was a slight brown in color. There were a couple of marks around the fur, but they didn''t lead to anywhere. "Hey. Beowul, Balto! I found something weird. Come look!" Radolf shouted from the top of the hill. Both walked up to where Radolf was with his head pointed to the ground. Right on the top of the hill is a small hole going down into the earth. Radolf raised his head and looked at the two. "The hole smells weird. Like. Weird." Beowul looked down the hole together with Balto. Despite the sun being in the middle of the sky, the hole was pitch black. The faint smell of rancid meat is coming out, but there is also the smell of blood coming out from the hole as well. They tried to get different angles to get a better look down the hole, but nothing worked. The hole is still dark. Radolf quickly ran down the hill and came back up with a stick. Beowul looked at him with a tired look, while Balto didn''t know what he is thinking. Radolf inserted a long stick into the hole, penetrating its hidden secrets. As the shaft went deeper into the hole, a moist noise of meat being squished. Suddenly, as soon as the squish noise was made, the entire hill started to shake! Beowul ran down the hill together with Radolf, leaving Balto on the top. As the shaking got stronger, Balto rolled down the hill, landing on the distracted Radolf. From the top of the hill, something moved out from the hole. Its body is dark, its back as dark as the night. It got two horns jutting out from its small face, with eyes in a deep blue color. It looks like a Goliath beetle, Hercules beetle and a dung beetle had a child, but they decided to remove the wings with odd sponge-like growths. And that it grew up in near a nuclear power plant. "What are those!?" Balto looked at the odd beetles pouring out from the top of the hill. At least a dozen appeared before it stopped. Neither Radolf nor Beowul could answer, a deep whistling could be heard from the hill. The beetles ran towards where they stood. While the beetles weren''t that big, only the size of a normal house cat, their numbers are a bigger problem. Beowul and Radolf move away from the hill. Balto on the other hand, decides to run straight towards them. Radolf and Beowul stares with wide eyes as Balto tackles into the beetles. Beetles are flung into the air, some of them are missing limbs. They try to get a grip on Balto, but they don''t manage to get a proper grip on him. With each bite that Balto takes, one of the beetles dies. Seeing this, Beowul and Radolf decides to join the fight. They aren''t as strong as Balto, but they are much quicker. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Carapaces are crushed under Balto''s teeth and guts are thrown all over the place. The only kind of damage he suffered was scratches on his skin and some of his fur being torn off. The one-sided massacre continued until the hill started to shake again. The beetles started to crawl towards the hill, but instead of going in from the top, they dig around it. The hill started to move side to side, dirt and beetles falling off. Revealing a massive beetle! Its appearance is the same as the smaller ones, but much bigger and with a bloody tint to it. As all the dirt has finally fallen off, it looks at the trio and the beetle corpses around them. Shaking with what seems to be anger, dust started to float out from the spongy back. Beowul saw this and immediately backed away, but Radolf and Balto breathed it in. It had no taste, but Radolf started to panic. He tried to run to where Beowul was, but before he could take more than two steps, he collapsed to the ground. Balto on the other hand didn''t show any reaction to the dust other than sneezing loudly. Suddenly, Beowul shouted out. "It''s a Nightmare Bug! Balto, try to distract it while I get Radolf away from here!" Beowul stayed low to the ground as he moved to where Radolf is. Hearing what Beowul said, Balto looked back to the huge beetle. It was easily bigger than Half-Face. Strangely enough, Balto didn''t feel any fear. Balto started to run towards the beetle and attempted to jump on its back. But before he managed to get on it, a sudden wall of darkness appeared out of nowhere and hit him right in the center. Balto flew through the sky and landed hard on the ground. A thick web-like mass was stuck to his fur, an audible hissing noise could be heard. Beowulf eyes widened even more as he saw what happened. ''It can use mana!''. Inside Balto, Vita was pushing the dust out through Balto''s nose when he saw what just happened. The shadowy wall was not biological. It didn''t come out from any specific opening. It did however do something to Balto''s body that didn''t make sense either. The active cells that got hit by the odd stuff were bursting in the thousands! Just by getting touched by the stuff, the cells burst open violently, spreading the shadowy stuff even further. ''Usually in video games or in books, you need magic to defeat magic. But fuck that! I ain''t no pushover, get the fuck out of here!''. The beetle huffed before walking towards Balto. Right when it got close enough, the shadows were pushed out and landed right on its head. With both its eyes and antenna covered, it spun around in an attempt to shake it off. Feeling its compound eyes starting to melt, it started to make a horrible screeching noise before running away in a random direction, smashing down trees with eyes. Beowul was amazed by what he saw, but quickly calmed down and started to drag Radolf. Balto ran over and sniffed Radolf all over. "Oh no, what happened to him!" Balto poked Radolf with his nose, but he didn''t respond. "Nightmare bugs are even more annoying than the two of you, but they aren''t that harmful. But if they manage to use mana, well, that''s a completely different story." Beowul continued to drag Radolf, but stopped to look at Balto. "You carry him. You are bigger after all." Dropping Radolf carefully on Balto''s back, Beowul followed from behind to make sure that none of the smaller nightmare bugs followed. Luckily, it ran further north. The Forest King / Chapter 21 The trio walked towards where the rest of the small clan is. Balto is carrying the sleeping Radolf on his back, which is now drooling on his back. Beowul is ahead of Balto, quietly grumbling to himself. Beowul is thinking about what he just saw. "Hey Beowul, what was that big bug thing?" Balto nudged Radolf to a more comfortable position, as the drool was dripping directly into his eyes. "That thing was a Nightmare bug. Simply put it, it''s like someone took a bunch of ants and made them stronger. They are almost as ugly as you, too." "OK, but why was there one big one? And what was that weird dust that the big one made, also what was that weird black stuff that got on me?" "First of all, I just told you about the ant thing. The big one was the queen. Secondly, the weird dust is how Nightmare bugs hunt. They ambush by covering the place with a special scent to put others to sleep. Usually all of them can do it, but it works quicker if the queen does it. For the last thing, it''s called mana. I spoke too much today, so annoy someone else." Beowul increased his speed a bit, leaving Balto behind. Balto didn''t have much else to say, because he got interrupted by Radolf releasing a devastating dust cloud himself. Beowul picked up the haste to get further away. It smelled like rotten eggs, and the little he had eaten was threatening to come out. Who would know more about this mana thing? Maybe Fridolf knows because she is super old, or perhaps Duke? He sure looks smart. After dropping Radolf off in front of the bush where Fridolf often is, Balto didn''t bother to annoy her and went to Duke. Duke probably won''t be busy with anything. As usual, Duke is resting/sleeping in the opening with the sun shining on him. He looks like a fluffy piece of warm silver, if that exist. "Hmm, is there something important?" Duke opened one of his eyes. It was relaxed to the point that it looked like he died with his eyes slightly open. "Duke, do you know what this mana thing is? Beowul doesn''t want to talk with me because he was speaking too much for today." Balto sat down near Duke. "Don''t worry about Beowul, he will warm up to you. Mana is, quite simply, a gift from the Allfather." "Did the Allfather make mana?" Balto tilted his head. "No, no. When the Allfather created the world, all life were simply too weak. And the only thing that could strengthen the life that was created, the Allfather broke down his body to give it power. Some use it for hunting, some use it for helping others. But not everyone can use it. Some life can''t use it no matter how hard they try. Some can learn to use it, and some are born to use it. For us, the children of the Allfather, we grow stronger with the more mana we have in our bodies." Ending the sentence with a long sigh, Duke closed his eyes and continued to sleep. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Balto didn''t want to disturb him and walked to the spot he previously slept at. He was in deep thought. The Allfather created mana to make life stronger. And the more mana someone has, the stronger they are. ''Then do I have mana?'' Balto thought. The sun has gone under, leaving the sky empty for the moon. He closed his eyes and went slept. The Nightmare bug queen was mad. Breaking smaller trees and pushing the larger ones over. She has never in her entire life been humiliated to such a degree! While the taste of dire wolves is, adequate, but that weird one! Oh, the blood was running through her dorsal vessel with fury. Her nobel and wonderful powers didn''t seem to effect the odd looking dire wolf. It even made her use the incredible powers bestowed upon her by the dark one! Her eyes and feelers were badly hurt. She couldn''t see what she was running over. So she couldn''t see the goblins she were running over. As she continued to run over more and more goblins, a group of goblins stood before her with hands raised. They mumbled something under their breath, causing balls of fire to shoot out and hit the Nightmare bug head on! The fire burned inside the queen''s head, causing her to stumble and stopping right in front of the goblins. These goblins are taller than normal, with two small horns poking out from their foreheads. Not only that, they were a mix of green with dark red spots instead of just green. The other goblins quickly got to work and started to cut into the still living Nightmare bug Queen. It tried to scream, but its molten mouth was cut open with shabby knifes. Its organs being pulled out and its blood being mixed with the dirt. The Hobgoblins looked on with gleeful eyes, but they didn''t join the goblins. They looked away to speak to each other. "Nightmare bug, not meant to come here. Why here?" One of them asked the rest. "Don''t know, ask Boss." One of the hobgoblins with asymmetrical horns spoke up. Another hobgoblin grimaced. This one had an eye missing. "Boss, still angry, didn''t make big dire wolf his pet. Boss killed big dire wolf to make cape." The hobgoblin rubbed his empty eye socket. Inside a massive cave, a huge figure is standing in front of an equally big figure. Its skull had a massive greatsword embedded into, its eyes still locked onto the wielder of the greatsword. To put it simply, it looked like a massive goblin. However, there are some difference between this one and the normal goblins. Its body is filled with muscles, but with a hunched back and a protruding belly made the muscles less significant. From its head, there are three horns instead of two, shaped to look like a crown. It was standing there for a long time, looking at the massive dire wolf. Slowly, it reached out for the greatsword and pulled it out. Brain and blood splattered on the ground. Its dark green skin turning to a shade of black as it lifted one arm. Dark mana covered it, forming a bigger hand. With a single swing, the head of the massive dire wolf was smashed to a pulp with enough force to crack the rocky ground. Its eyes flashed red for a second before going back to the normal yellow colour. Skinning something this big is going to take a long time. The Forest King / Chapter 22 It is the middle of the night. The moon is showing off its curve, its surface riddled with meteor craters. And on the surface, a large dire wolf with a red stripe on its back opens its eyes. Balto opened his eyes and crawled out from underneath the rock he was sleeping under. He stretched and scratched himself on a nearby tree before remembering why he woke up. He was thirsty and starving. His stomach was growling louder than a cub, and he felt dry over his entire body. The red stripe was also a bit darker as well. Balto thought for a second and realised that he hasnt drank that much water this week. And while drinking the blood from horned rabbits kinda work, he is still really thirsty. Moving silently as possible with his size, Balto goes past the opening where Duke usually is and past the spot where Radolf and his mother sleeps. As he went past the berry bush, Radolfs head shot out together with his body. Balto got hit right on the side, but didnt fall over. "Now dont go and hurt yourself dear, you can come back when you feel sleepy." Fridolfs voice was quiet, but strict sounding. Radolf tried to whimper to his mother all sad, but when Fridolf didnt respond, he immediately turned his head to Balto and smiled. "Hey, hey Balto, why are you awake. Wanna go do something like looking for food or playing with Crow?!" Radolf got up from the and shook off the imaginary dust from his body. Balto just nodded and followed him as the two walked away from the berry bush, where a tired Fridolf could finally get some sleep. The two walked around the vicinity of the camp looking for the crow named Crow. There were some animals trying to sleep in the trees, like odd looking squirrels sleeping upside down and orange parrots stacked on top of each other. Not quite Crow, but still interesting to look at with the odd colors. There also spiders. But unlike the rather normal looking spiders on our world, these are just straight up nightmarish. Luckily they are far up in the treetops and not down on the ground. Imagine what that would look like. "Hey Balto, what happened after I fell asleep? I remember that there was this HUGE bug and that I breathed in some sort of dust." Radolf was walking beside Balto when saying this. "When that happened, Beowul pulled you away, and I attacked it. After that, it got so scared that it ran away!" Balto jumped and moved around to show how it happened, be it a little exaggerated. He didnt exactly wrestle it down to the ground while Beowul had his tail between his legs. Beowul let out an annoyed growl in his sleep. Crow rustled its feathers. The bird was actually sleeping on a nearby tree close to Beowul, so it makes sense as to why the two didnt manage to find it. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. They continued to talk about all sorts of things, such as weird looking bugs and what they think about the life in the World''s tongue. They walked far until they heard the sound of running water and after some more walking, they found a river. Even in the middle of the night, there were animals running around. All from small bugs flying over the river, fish of different sizes swimming around to lizards and mammals drinking some water. The water is cold and refreshing as the two slurped it up. It didnt take long for the two to get something to eat. A comically round rabbit was caught by Radolf and Balto managed to get his teeth into a large beetle. "Wow Balto, I didnt know you could eat those! Those things are hard as rocks! Trust me, I have tried." Radolf was watching wide-eyed as Balto crunched the hard exoskeleton with ease between his teeth. He stopped eating it to take a better look at it. He only managed to get it because he saw it moving, and it felt cocky when Balto got near it. The beetle pissed him off, and seeing it try to scuttle away when he bit through it made it taste even better. Its exoskeleton is gray with some black spots on it, with chubby legs with a tiny head. If it was any bigger like the nightmare bug queen, it might have looked like a small rocky hill. "I dont know, it had that annoying smug look on it that annoyed me. Got a sticky texture to it too." Balto made smacking sounds with his mouth between each word. They continued to eat their fill and doing dumb shit, like smelling stinkbugs. Meanwhile, inside Balto''s guts, as the chewed up bug meat went on its way to be digested. From the walls of Balto''s stomach, countless tentacles sprang to life searching among the massive pile of flesh. Any parasites and harmful bacteria that could be identified were destroyed and ripped to pieces, while any fresh cells that still had any DNA in them were sucked up and transported away. Vita was looking on with an imaginary grin on his face. ''Now listen up, totally real friends! This, here, is the plan.'' Vita stood in front of a random cell, pointing on an imaginary chalkboard. ''Now, I have done some hard thinking. The blue flame thing that shows up whenever I try to turn this wolf into a freak show, might be connected to the dark stuff that the massive bug with a sponge on its back farted on us. Now, BRE did say that this is a magical world with sparkles, ponies and. Ugh, friendship. But since magic is a thing, maybe it works like an energy. If that is the case, it can''t be something biological. If it was, this world would be right fucked. So maybe it''s like a thing that is everywhere like energy as well.''. Vita walked side to side like some military general, while the poor cell was visibly drooping, either because it was dying a slow death or because it couldnt handle the massive amount of rambling. Vita suddenly shot forward, staring at the cell. ''If that piece of grass I took over long ago didnt react like this when getting mixed, maybe it''s an intelligence trait?! Answer me, you idiotic native! Your world was made by gods huffing intergalactic ass farts, you inferior bastard. I will crush you like I crushed your father''s balls! Tell me the secrets of this world!'' Vita shook the cell with a sudden rage. Its dying thoughts were empty, but if it did have any they might have been confused thoughts. The Forest King / Chapter 23 Vita looked through the dire wolves brain. Balto''s brain, to be exact. Going through someone''s memories is a challenging task, even if they belong to an animal. There is only surface level memories Vita can look through, everything else is blocked off by something that works like that godforsaken mana stuff. Whenever Vita tries to do something with the memories that are older than a day, nothing would happen. Almost as if he didnt exist. Sure, Vita can look through the brain cells and kinda guess what is going on, but the fact that something in this world is actually stopping any attempt at reading these wolves older memories is just irritating to the core! Or rather, the cell core. ''Maybe I should strangle- I mean, get another cell to educate me on the workings of this world.'' Vita slowly moved away from the skull area and went back to the stomach. As a non-bitch, Vita will and can solve this problem one day! "Wow, my head hurts!" Balto lowered his head and whimpered. Some bug innards fell out of his mouth and landed on the ground with a moist smack. Radolf got closer to the half-chewed bug in front of Balto and took a deep sniff. He quickly jumped away from the pile and dunked his noise in the river. "Bwah, Balto! How can you eat that stuff! I thought it was fine because I didnt smell anything, but that stuff is straight up deadly! I think you should stop eating it!" Radolf exhaled hard with his nose to get both the smell and water out. Balto looked at both Radolf and the meat with a confused look. It didnt smell bad to him, why did Radolf not like it? "What do you mean? It doesnt taste bad, are you sure it''s bad for me?" Balto took a good whiff of the meat, but still didnt smell anything. Radolf shook his head hard "Maybe when you were ramming that tree with the goblin on it, you hurt your head so much that it actually broke your nose!" Radolf said with a grave face. But he quickly changed to a light laughter when he saw how quiet Balto got. "Hey, Balto Im joking. Haha, you should see your face!" The light laughter continued for a bit before he noticed something. Balto was looking at something behind. Slowly, he turned his head around to see a silvery figure just as big as Balto. "So. Radolf, Balto, what are the two of you doing so late. You dont usually stay up so late, Radolf. I can understand if Balto is used to getting less sleep than the rest of us, but would you mind explaining?" Duke stood there with the same sleepy look on his face, but this time he was standing up properly. Balto didnt seem bothered, but Radolf was nervous. It was rare for Duke to be seen moving because he only did so during the night. Before he got to explain himself, Duke interrupted. "Forget it. Since the two of you are up and have clearly eaten, I guess helping me should be the best for the both of you. I imagine Fridolf would be quite angry if you ruin her sleep even more, Radolf." Duke walked towards the pile of bug meat, sniffed it, exhaled out his nose and looked at Balto. Stolen novel; please report. "You sure you should eat this?" Now Balto looked a bit annoyed. "What, it smells ok to me, why shouldnt I eat it?" Duke shook his head and walked along the river. Balto and Radolf looked at each other before following after. If there was one thing Radolf knew, it was to never wake a mother up if she was sleeping. The three dire wolves walked away from the bones of that one big and round bunny and that rock-like bug. Now and then, Duke would mark a certain number of trees. Whenever he marked a tree, Radolf and Balto would act as lookout in case something jumped out at them. Little was said, only Duke pissing on trees and nothing more. After a while, Duke stopped and looked back at the two. A scent was in the night air. "Be careful, there might be goblins in the area." Radolf and Balto took in the smell and noticed the scent as well. It was quite a strong smell, meaning that goblins could be near. They walked slowly, following the scent. The scent led them further north, closer to the old territory of the Gavir clan. They continued until they were stopped by Duke. The leafs were moving. "The wind is carrying our scent, we should go back. If we continue, the goblins might notice our scent instead." But before they could do anything, a ball of fire flew out from the trees and hit Balto! A group of goblins came charging over to the dire wolves, with all kinds of crude weaponry in their green hands. They all charged over to Balto who was busy screaming in pain. The light of the fire was lighting up both the dire wolves and the goblins. Behind the goblins, a much taller hobgoblin stood! A small fire was still burning in its raised hand. "GEGOGE" It screamed and threw another fireball aimed at Balto. The first one hit him on the side, but this one hit him right on the head, blinding him for the moment. The goblins reached Radolf and swung their weapons. But before they got their knifes, clubs, spears and claws into him, a silvery flash sent their heads flying. Duke, with goblin blood dribbling down, stood there looking at the remaining goblins and the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin locked eyes with Duke. The night was almost completely silent if you ignore the burning Balto who was currently screaming and rolling on the ground trying to get the fire off. As the two continued to stare at each other, one of the goblins freaked out and screamed. This caused the other goblins to scream out as well. But before they could run anywhere with no dire wolves, the hobgoblin burned the first screaming goblin and pointed at Balto. "Gogege!" The words of the hobgoblin calmed the group down as they looked on the dire wolves. Only the silvery one was dangerous, while one was on fire. The hobgoblin raised its hand again, and fire started to spread from its fingertips and up to its shoulder. Duke took in a deep breath before letting out a deafening howl. The goblins charged forward again, but this time the dire wolves charged as well. Back at the camp, Beowul opened one eye while Ulva poked her head out from underneath the tree stump. Both ran to where the sound came from. The only one not helping was Balto, who was still trying to put the fire out. Far in the distance, a group of dire wolves hidden in the dark raised their heads. They shared short glances before moving as well. The Forest King / Chapter 24 And the fight starts! Duke runs towards the charging goblins. Their feet stomping the grass flat and the hobgoblin behind them preparing another spell. Duke suddenly disappaered from infront of the goblins and appared to the right of them. The goblins on that side fell over with their heads ripped off. The other goblins that were charging at Duke stopped, before charging towards Radolf and Balto. Duke wanted to help them, but the hobgoblin threw a fireball at him. By now the hobgoblin had covered its back and hands with fire. Its eyes locked onto Duke, with another fireball ready to be thrown. "Hey Balto, they are coming at us!" Radolf tried to blow out the fires, which only made the fires spread further on Baltos fur. "Oh no! Sorry Balto, but there is only one way that I know of that can kill the fires! Please dont hate me for this!" Time seemed to slow down. The goblins charging, Duke and the hobgoblin getting ready for their fight and Balto still screaming. Radolf stood as close as possible next to Balto and raised one of his hind legs. Balto shut his eyes in anticipation of what was about to come. The goblins stopped charging for a second, looking at what was going on. The golden shower covered the flames and mist rised from Baltos fur. One of the goblins covered its mouth before puking and the rest of the goblins just looked on in disgust. Even to them, pissing on someone isnt proper etique. You should atleast make sure that they are dead before doing so. Radolf made sure to extinguish all of the flames he could and in the end, Balto was free from fire and covered in piss. He shook the golden liquid off him and stood up. The goblins didnt give them time to warm up and charged once more. Balto met their charge with one of his own and crashed through the frontline. The goblins that got hit by the charge flew a couple of meters away, one unlucky bastard with its chest caved in. Balto saw that the goblins hit him with all kinds of things, but he didnt really feel any pain. Radolf stood outside of the pile of goblins and picked out the ones furthest out. There was even a goblin trying to ride on Baltos back. The hobgoblin and Duke circled eachother, waiting for the other to move. The chaos caused by Balto caught the attention of Duke, who smirked. If he himself wasnt so incredibly fast, he might''ve fought in a similar way. The moment of carelessness created a opening for the hobgoblin. It threw a fireball aimed towards Dukes head. Right before the fireball hit, Duke ducked down and dashed towards the hobgoblin. It panicked and swiped its hand, causing fire to spew out from its hand. Duke jumped to the side to dodge the fire and dashed forward again. This time, the hobgoblin swiped upwards, causing the fire to shoot out from the ground underneath Duke. The fire took Duke by suprise and hit him in the chest, sending him flying. He landed on his paws and a silver flash removed the fire. The hobgoblin created another fireball in its hand, but this time threw it at Radolf. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The fireball went flying towards him, but was stopped by a flying goblin. Balto had thrown one of the many goblins that covered his body. There was actually five goblins on him now trying to stab into his skin, but its too thick for their teeths and nails. The goblin that got hit didnt have any fur or thick skin to protect it from the fire, so its skin immediately startet to roast. It let out a pained gargle before its lungs roasted away. This did however make some of the goblins attacking Balto turn to Radolf. To Balto, the goblins werent that threatening. His size and ridiculous tenacity made the goblins an annoyance at best. For the more normal sized Radolf, if the goblins managed to get on his back, he might get in trouble. But before that could happen, a crow flew over the trees and let out a caw before landing on a nearby branch. At the same time, Beowul and Ulva showed up. Beowul took a quick glance at Duke before moving to where Radolf stood. Ulva looked at Duke, wishing to help him. But she would only be in the way if she tried to. She turned and looked at Radolf who seemed to be fine, then at Balto who had a bunch of goblins on him. Looks like a turd with green flies on it. The number of direwolfs caused panic to rise even more within the goblin masses. The hobgoblin startet to get more frustrated as the fight went on. The fire covering it drained its strenght and the normal goblins are quite cowardly if their numbers get to low. "GEGA GIGI!" It shouted out before belching out large amounts of black smoke. It quickly covered everyone. Duke and the hobgoblin got covered in the thick smoke, hiding them from view. When the goblins saw this, nearly all of them freaked out and ran in random directions. The only ones that didnt run were the ones on Baltos back. They were smiling and laughing as Balto jumped around trying to get them off. Beowul calmy walked over and killed one of the goblins on his back and threw its corpse away. The goblins on Baltos back fell off and ran for to the horizon. The sound of fighting in the smoke suddenly increased, before abruptly stopping. Everyone turned to see what the smoke hid. As the smoke dissipated, Duke stood there with his eyes wide. Because where the hobgoblins still smoking body lay, a group of direwolfs stood! Beowul, Radolf and Ulva stood there frozen looking at the one leading the new group of direwolfs. There stood two identical direwolfs, the one on the right had a left eye missing. The one on the left had the right eye missing. The leading direwolf had a slight golden hint to its fur and a single large tooth sticking out of its mouth. It looked at Duke before speaking. "Hello brother. Seems like we had the same idea." The Forest King / Chapter 25 "Ibas!" Duke got up and approached his brother. The two brothers sniffed each other all over. "I cant belive that you survived. Didnt you stay to fight with Tyr when the goblins attacked?" "Well some things happened and now Im here." With his head raised high, Ibas tried to look cool with imaginary sparkles around him. Balto looked to the others for more details on who Ibas was, but they all had different reactions. Radolf was smiling with his usual face, Beowul was even more stonefaced than normal. Ulva just looked annoyed and hid behind Balto. Duke and Ibas was still talking to eachother, when Ibas noticed them. "Oh, Beowul and Radolf is here too! And... Who is the new one?" Ibas eyes were different from those of Dukes. While Dukes eyes were lazy, Ibas eyes were wide open and with a slight crazed look to them. The two direwolfs behind him didnt seem to be interestet in Balto. "That is Balto. He is new to the group, but he has his proven himself useful to the clan." Duke said as Ibas walked over and sniffed him all over, but came to a sudden stop when he saw Ulva. "U-U..." He stuttered while looking at Ulva with even wider eyes. Ulva crouched low to get ready to run. Balto was confused looking at what was going on. Why was she getting ready to ru- "Ulvaaaaa! Oh how I missed you!!! When I couldnt find you, I thought you were dead!!!" Ibas dashed towards Ulva, but she dodged underneath him and tripped his legs. Ibas quickly managed to get back on his paws and ran towards her. But now she stood behind Beowul, who looked at him with cold eyes. Ibas stopped, quickly acted as if nothing happened and went back to Balto. "That never happened. So, Balto, I guess you know whats going on with our clan and with the goblins. Long story made short, we want our old home back. I guess you sort of joined our clan, so lets work together!" He stood infront of Balto with a dignified look, but what Balto saw a couple of seconds ago would never dissappaer from his mind, which even Vita saw. Vita was currently smacking the top of another cell as if it was a table, laughing while doing so. "Ok. I dont like goblins either, so lets get rid of them." Balto nodded. He still remembers the goblin that threw a sharp stick at him and climbed up that tree. Good times. "Ibas, you said something about having the same plan as me. Could you tell me more later? Im sure Fridolf would be happy to see you." Duke led the direwolfs back to the usual spot. Fridolf poked her head out from the bush and looked at the big number of direwolfs. She saw the usual direwolfs that were with their group from the start, but was caught by suprise when she saw Ibas. Ibas himself also saw Fridolf and went over to socialise. Balto felt a bit left out, everyone was either busy or already talking with someone. Except for two direwolfs. The two stood behind Ibas when he showed up and right now the two was just sitting down next to each other. Balto walked towarsd them. They seemed to be the cool type, so Balto tried his best to appaer just as cool. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The one with a missing left eye looked at Balto from the corner of its eye. That look kinda felt like how Beowul looks at him, but with less ''Ill beat you with a branch'' and more ''I will put rocks in your meat''. But that wouldnt stop him from getting to know more members of the clan! "He-" "What do you want." The identical direwolfs said spoke at the same time. Both looked at him just like how Beowul would look at him. After a bit of an awkard silence. Balto then gathered his wits again and continued "Hey, might I know who you two are?" "Im Finn" The one without a left eye said. "Im Frode" The one without a right eye said. "Im Balto, bye now." He quickly walked away to where Duke and Ibas sat. Finn and Frode looked at each other, then going back to staring out into the void. Seems like there are a lot of different types of direwolfs here. Seemed like Ibus has said all he needed to Fridolf, because he, Duke and Beowul was talking about something when Balto found them. They made room for him before continuing. "As I said Ibas, are you sure your plan will work? It might get us all killed." "What could get us killed?" Balto asked them. Duke looked to Ibas, who nodded before starting again. "The plan is simple. Frode and Finn have been doing some scouting of the area where the goblins reside. It seems that they are spread out to cover large areas, with the hobgoblins spread out in a circle which they defend. Now this is where the problem occurs. The area with the most goblins is the center, but the hobgoblins are surrounding it. There is also that ogre that is a problem aswell." Balto looked around before whispering. "Whats an ogre?" Beowul looked a bit dissappointed and Duke smirked. "Its a really big goblin. Like really big. Also really ugly. The really simple plan is to get to the ogre without alerting the hobgoblins, kill the ogre and hunt down the panicking hobgoblins. They might look a bit tough, but they are just a bunch of cowards at their core." Duke nodded at what Ibas said and took over. "Now that one of the hobgoblins got killed, we have an opening to kill the ogre. But if we arent quick enough, we might get overrun just like in the past. Even the strongest creatures has to respect the masses after all." Balto nodded. That makes sense. Not everyone can fight like he and Duke can. If someone like Fridolf was to fight more than ten goblins, it wouldnt end in a good way. "What we need to do now, is to gather our strength before heading out. Me, Duke, Beowul and youself will try and bring down the ogre while everyone else will hold back the goblins. I hope you will fight with us and not run away." Ibas looked deep into Baltos eyes. Balto tried to stare back, but quickly blinked when Beowul blew air into his eyes. "Stop looking dumb Balto, we need you to be serious in the upcoming fight. You can joke around after we win this fight." For once, Beowul didnt act as if Balto had a massive shitstain on his face. ''Maybe, just maybe, I can finally get to sleep in a proper cave?'' Balto thought to himself before going to sleep after discussing the plan. Maybe he would get a gift for being such a good warrior? Like that delicious meat he ate as a cub? The Forest King / Chapter 26 Despite that the sun was already gone and the last rays of sunlight were fading away, the Gavir clan was still awake. Except for a few elders. Balto woke up quickly and got out from the hole he slept in. Yet again, he didnt have any scary dreams. Maybe the Allfather was finally treating him better? Balto, not really knowing where or with who he should be around at the moment, noticed that Ulva was standing in front of the tree stump she both slept in and kept her medicine. After a quick stretch, he walked over with child-like curiosity. "Good morning Ulva! Or is it good night? Either way, whats wrong? If you are hungry, I dont think you can eat the tree stump." Ulva turned to him, but her eyes had mixed emotions in them. Going from the tree stump to Balto and back. "Well, Balto, I." She paused to sigh. "Kind of wonder what the future will hold? I have all of my medicine down here, and even then, I almost never got a use of anything. Except for when Fridolf had trouble with relieving herself. But still, you understand what I mean, right?" Ulva swore she could see Baltos brain bounce around inside his skull. "I totally understand. As a matter of fact, I understand more because my head is big!" Balto nodded as if he was a professional that knew something. All he got from Ulva was another sigh. "It does not work like that, but maybe its the other way with some direwolfs." Ulva said before going back underneath the tree stump. Balto could hear her moving stuff around in there. He wanted to ask why Ibas acted so weirdly when he saw her, but for once he didnt do anything stupid and moved on. He had a quick chat with Ulva, Beowul is probably busy being grumpy, so now he should speak with Fridolf. It has been a while since he spoke with her. Balto walked into the bush where Fridolf usually was in and found her trying to scratch her ears, but she couldnt quite get to the spot. Balto tried to push himself deeper into the bush and whispered to the old direwolf. "Hello Fridolf, do you need help?" She jumped slightly because of the sudden noise and turned to see who it was. When she saw it was Balto, she calmed down. "Hello Balto dear, isnt it getting late? You youngsters should get all the sleep you can to grow strong." She went back to scratching her ear. But Balto was still there, so she stopped and looked back to him. "Is there something you need? Im not good at moving around anymore, so if you wanted to play with someone, go play with Radolf." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "Well, its something I was wondering about. I remember when Radolf said I was the youngest around and I didnt see anyone that looked young together with Ibas. Where are the younger direwolfs?" When Balto said that, Fridolf froze for a couple of seconds. "Balto, dear. Why do you think everyone wants revenge? If it was just for territory, then we could just find new territory. But it isnt just for territory. Its because they killed all of our youngest. And nearly all of the elders as well were killed too. Even Beowuls partner didnt survive. The only reason he hasnt killed himself is because Tyr told him to take care of his childern and mate, but they all died except for the one that disappaered." The weight of the information hit Balto like a charging barkbear. All of the younger direwolfs were killed? Tyr had kids and a mate, and one just disappaered? And most suprising of all, Beowul could feel love?! He had to shake his head for that one. "Then, how did Tyrs mate and children die? Was it the goblins?" Fridolf shook her head. "No, it wasnt the goblins. However, there were odd footprints where they died. And the most brutal part of it was that they took the skin of the mother and just left the cubs to die. The wounds were also strange... But enough of this depressing talk, what did you think of meeting Ibas?" Balto had to re-arrange his thoughts before answering. "Well, he is different from Duke. Duke is sleepy looking and big. Ibas is more awake, I think? And he also got a really big tooth. But he did act really weird when he saw Ulva for some reason." Fridolf chuckled softly when she heard that. "It seems that he hasnt changed after all these years. When they were younger, Ulva was always with the two brothers. They would play with each other, eat the same food. Even sleep together. But as they grew older, some emotions grew. Ibas loves Ulva, Ulva loves Duke and Duke loves too sleep. I really do hope that atleast one of them manage to find love." Fridolf had a dreamy look in her eyes when she said the last part before looking at Balto with a stern look. "Balto, when you grow." She looked him over. "When you finish growing, you should try and find a young direwolf and get some healthy kids. I will atleast live long enough to see them grow into adults." Fridolf laid down her head and just before she got to close her eyes, a two strong howls resounded through the air. Followed by multiple other howls, even Balto himself felt a urge to howl as well. "Go on, answe the call for war. But please go outside if you are going to do it, I dont want my ears to go away completly before my eyes. Balto took a step out from the bush and finally realised that she wasnt completly blind. The direwolfs had all of their heads raised high. Ibas and Duke startet the howl. Then, Beowul answered it, followed by Finn and Frode. All the other battle ready direwolfs raised their heads to howl aswell. The noise was nearly deafening. The air was vibrating and the trees shook. All of the nearby fauna ran away in fear of the noise. Far away, a large group of direwolfs were shaking in fear with their ears down low. The hobgoblin with a missing eye look at the direction of where the howl came from. He gave a quick order before moving away. Not towards the direwolfs or towards the ogre, but in a direction it knew there wasnt anything dangerous which could kill it that easily. His scouts did report on some rather interesting towards the west. The Forest King / Chapter 27 The Moon shone down on the Worlds tongue. In the forest, a rumbling sound could be heard. All of the nearby wildlife shivered in fear, trying to find any hiding spot that they would fit in. Large shadows flew between the trees, using cover of darkness to remain unseen. There was atleast a dozen of these shadows moving through the forest. A small group of goblins were moving through the forest, looking for anything to eat. The leader of their group suddenly dissappaered with a huge number of other goblins, so it was quite chaotic even now. In a powerstruggle, the weak usually either die off or leave. Two goblins were trying to push up a moss covered log to find any bugs, when they felt the shaking. It was weak at the start, something to be ignored. But when it started to get stronger and the moss was shaking, they knew something was wrong. It felt like a small earthquake was going to happen at any moment by the time they called out to their companions. As they banded together in a circle to look for whatever was making the ground shake, it was already too late. One of the goblins saw a massive maw before everything went dark. They were killed quickly and without a chance of escaping. At the base where the goblins lived. The lack of leadership was still causing a ruckus. Either the goblins were fighting for the top position, or they were fighting over random objects. Like teeth and shiny rocks. Their houses can barerly be called homes, unless a big amount of fur tossed over some branches and tied to some other trees is good enough to be called one. In the biggest tent, a group of female goblins were trying to defend their children from another goblin. Without the hobgoblin to keep the male goblins in check, their young would be in great danger. With their bodies being weakend after giving birth to so many goblins, they couldnt do much to defend themselfs. And the goblin threatening them knew this. It stood before them with a crude knife in its hand, but it didnt have any blood on it. Just dirt and rust. It managed to grab a hold of one of the babies and, despite the screams from the mother, opened its guts with the knife. It laughed madly and threw it away before going for another one. It reached out for another baby and a large direwolf suddenly burst in. The moment it saw the goblins, it bit down on the closest one. Which was the one with the knife. Its arm crunched and it dropped the knife before it was dragged out screaming. All of the older goblins in the tent tried to shush their children and tend to the heartbroken one. One of the younger goblins noticed that the noise outside was missing. The sound of fighting and shouting was so loud before that it couldnt think properly, but now. It was dead quiet. It slithered out from its mother grasp and moved towards the knife laying on the ground. It picked the knife up with both hands and used it to move the opening created by the direwolf. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Outside of the tent, goblin corpses were strewn around in a messy fashion. Some of the other tents have been torn down and whoever was inside, killed. There was a crow picking on one of the corpses. The crow suddenly stared right at the goblin, making it flinch. It let go of the knife and went back to its mother. The mother embraced her child and covered its head. Two of the direwolfs Balto didnt get to speak to went inside the large tent and started to do their job. He did tell Ibas and Duke about what was going on in the there. The two agreed to send someone back to kill the remaining goblins. They finally had a chance to get to the ogre and there is no way they would willingly leave some potential threats behind. Think we wont kill your kids? Screw off. We will even kill your grandma if it means we can get our revenge! "Duke, Ibas. Are we there yet? My jaw hurts from all the biting." "No Balto, you dont have to ask every time we stop moving for a second. It isnt that far away, so be patient while the grownups talk." Ibas said matter of factly. Duke shook his head. "But we are taking long, we should hurry. If the ogre or the hobgoblins figure out whats going on, we will be in a lot of trouble." Duke said seriously. This wasnt some kind of story where everything goes well for the main characters, this was real life. "Double tempo everyone! Hurry up, you wont break your hips quite yet!" Ibas yelled out to the others. They finally got to move again, the bloodlust was still shining through their eyes. They started to move again, leaving the two behind. They would be able to find the way on their own. They moved as a single group towards the old home. The way there had less and less trees around and the traces of goblins increased. Bones threwn around with rotten meat still on them and at some odd burning sticks were rooted into the ground. The entrance were guarded by a large number of goblins armed with knifes, clubs, spears and some even had bows with them. However, the number of goblins were simply too large. With the amount of direwolfs they had on their side, they would have to kill at least 10 goblins each. But the entrance of the cave migth be able to help them. With the size of the entrance they might be able to make their numbers useless. But getting there might be a problem. Ibas stood there and thought really hard with Duke and Balto beside him. Beowul stood further back with the Finn, Frode and the other direwolfs. It was then Balto finally got a good idea. He leaned in and whispered something to Ibas, who seemed to get excited. Ibas then whispered to Duke. All three turned and looked at Radolf. "Hey, Radolf, our most loyal friend." Ibas had a huge smile on his face, but his eyes were saying something completely else. Radolf turned to Balto, but his face still had the childish face. He turned to Duke, but Duke just looked like was about to pass out any second. Slowly, Radolf thought of turning to Beowul, but thought better of it. No way he would get any pity from that rock. The Forest King / Chapter 28 The cave has a tall roof, but the larger number of goblins live outside of it. There is barerly any inside of the cave. Only the ogre itself and a few female goblins live in there. Not because the goblins dont like the cave, on the contrary they would love to live in the cave, but because the ogre kills any other goblins who try to enter. Only the hobgoblins were allowed to enter, but even then they werent allowed to stay for long. There has been a couple of goblins trying to sneak in and take a few females for themself, which only made a few corpses show up infront of the mouth of the cave. Right now, there were a massive amount of goblins moving around the mouth of the cave. Some are chewing on bones and others are fighting each other for the same bones. Suddenly, from the tree line, a direwolf jumped out. It stood there looking at all of the goblins. One of the goblins saw it and started to shout. One shout turned to two, two to four. All of the goblins that could see the direwolf were shouting to warn the others. The stronger goblins picked up their weapons and charged towards the direwolf. Some threw rocks at it. The direwolf ran away, just slow enough for the goblins to keep up with it. A few of the goblins hesitated, but still decided to follow after them. The remaining goblins were weaker, they knew that they wouldnt be able to keep up with the stronger goblins. They felt the adrenaline going throught them and the infighting increased. None of the fights ended with deaths, but having your ankles bitten by someone you hit on the head is bound to piss you off. As they were punching and kicking among themselfs, the Gavir clan emerged from the bushes with speed. They dashed towards the goblins, biting down on anything in their way. Blood was sprayed on the ground. It took a while before they started to scream again. This time they were screaming in fear and pain. Panic spread and they ran in all directions. The direwolfs rushed towards the cave and entered. They stood shoulder to shoulder while a few of them went further inside. By now, the goblins that chased after Radolf realised what was going on and went back to the cave. The goblins quickly calmed down the others and gathered them in front of the direwolfs. They saw that the direwolfs were blocking the way and knew that something was wrong. The stronger goblins and the direwolfs locked eyes. The goblins made hissing noises and the direwolfs growled. The standstill between the two sides wouldnt last long. "Duke, where are we going?" Balto ran behind Ibas and Duke. The plan was simple really. Radolf distracted the goblins, the other direwolfs block of the goblins and the three of them were supposed to deal with the ogre. Pretty simple but if they werent quick enough or if the ogre was too strong. Then they would have done all this for nothing A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "The largest room is further inside. Something as large as that ogre will propably need a lot of space." Ibas said to him. The cave went further down and split into different ways. The passageways were lit up by a glowing moss, but it wasnt good for seeing anything that was far away or around corners. Some of the passageways led to small rooms filled with different objects. Some even had living creatures in them, tied up, but they didnt have time to check it out. They ran further into the cave, but stopped at the smell of blood that was stronger than the smell of goblins and filth. Down one of the slightly smaller passageways, the smell of blood wafted out. Ibas and Duke shared a glance before walking towards the smell. Balto followed behind them but didnt know why they slowed down. He wanted to ask about whats going on, the serious look in their eyes shut him up. Duke stepped into a puddle of some kind. He smelled before taking a step back. "By the Allfather." Duke whispered under his breath before turning to Ibas and Balto. "Get ready. This is were the smell of blood is coming from. It smells like direwolf." Dukes ears went back and Ibas lowered his head in case a goblin tried to attack him. Balto didnt seem to be bothered by the smell, but if what Duke said is true, there must be other reasons for why Balto is so calm. Duke went around the corner, but quickly backed away. His bum hit Ibas in the face, who hit Balto in the face with his bum. Ibas was about to say something, but knew something was wrong when he saw that Dukes tail was between his legs. Balto walked past them. "Whats wrong...." Baltos whisper slowly disappared when he turned the corner. Ibas was the only one now that didnt know what was in the other room. He walked past Duke and Balto before seeing what it was that had them so quiet. In front of them, a massive pile of meat was leaking blood down to the ground. Bone fragments and brain matter was strewn around the room. The pile of meat had equally large organs thrown out from its side. But the most horrific thing that Ibas saw was the large hide hung up on the wall. It was covered in blood, but the dark green colour could still be seen despite the dim lighting. What they were looking at was the skinned corpse of the previous leader of the Gavir clan. It was Tyr! They didnt have much time to do anything else, as the echo of heavy footsteps could be heard. If that was the ogre moving around, it was propably going to move towards the entrance. The direwolfs in the entrance wouldnt be able to defend themself from two sides, so there was only one thing to do. Fight the ogre while its in the hallways. But as Duke was about to attack it, he saw the massive ogre! The Forest King / Chapter 29 The moment the ogre saw Duke, it let out a rumbling roar and walked towards him. The plan to fight in the hallway was immediatly discarded as Duke ran back to the room where Balto and Ibas were. The ground shook with each step the ogre took. Duke and Ibas quickly moved behind the corpse of Tyr, but Balto wasnt quick enough. The ogre saw Balto standing in the room and its eyes glowed with deep hatred. It pulled on a massive sword behind it and it wouldnt be wrong to call it a massive piece of metal with a slightly sharpened edge. Its muscles flexed as it swung the sword infront of it, creating a howling wind that flattened the fur on Balto. If the ogre hit any of them with that sword, they would probably explode on impact. Balto took a few steps back. His tail was almost touching the corpse behind him. The ogre held the sword with one hand and walked over. It actually tried to rest the sword on its shoulder but it hit the roof. Rocks and dust fell down on its head, yet it didnt even blink. Its eyes were locked firmly on Balto. Despite standing dozens of meters away from it, Balto could feel a heavy pressure coming from it. He knew he should feel some level of fear, but it was such a faint feeling far behind in his head. Suddenly, with speed far too quick for its size, the ogre dashed forward and swung its sword at the same time. Balto barerly managed to dodge down. The massive sword hit the ground with so much force that it cracked the ground. Balto looked over his body for any missing parts, only to see that nearly all of the fur on his back was shaved off. The ogre might have shaved off some skin too, because he was bleeding slightly as well. The ogre let out a low chuckle before starting to pull its sword out. The sword was slightly stuck and the ogre used a bit more strength. But this second of carelessness was the opening that Duke and Ibas needed. They were scared at first, but seeing that Balto still chose to fight against that monster reignited their fighting spirit. Ibas jumped out from the side, barking, and ran towards the ogre. It looked at Ibas, but didnt seem to be worried. Duke jumped over Tyrs corpse and flashed towards the ogres head. This finally caught the ogre by suprise. Duke opened his mouth to bite, but got a mouthful of ogre arm. The skin was thick and the flesh was thicker. It felt like he was biting down on hardened fat. The ogre shook off Duke and prepared another swing aimed towards Duke. Balto and Ibas jumped up and grabbed onto it with their teeth, trying to weight its arm down. The sword still struck and spilled Dukes blood. The ogre then grabbed Baltos leg and squeezed with its brutal strength. Balto felt the bones in his leg turn to dust. He let go in pain and fell down. The ogre managed to shake off Ibas, but he rolled on the ground a couple of times before getting back on his four legs. The ogre looked on its arms and then looked at Balto who tried to get away. It grinned and slowly walked over with the sword lifted up high. The ogre held the sword with both hands before sending it down, tip first. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "Balto!" Above ground, in the cave entrance. The sounds of battle echoed up. Both the direwolfs and the stronger goblins heard it. No longer being able to wait, the goblins finally started their attack. They threw everything they had, from rocks to arrows dipped in shit. The direwolfs backed further into the cave, attempting to dodge as much as possible in the tight space. The stronger goblins shouted at the smaller ones and pushed them forward. The goblins that were pushed forwards looked behind them, unwilling to get any closer. With a short growl, the smaller goblins opened their eyes wide and ran towards the direwolfs. The frontline of direwolfs braced themself for the impact. Sure the goblins are much smaller, but enough goblins could easily swarm and defeat them. The two walls of flesh collided and chaos rose up once again. Biting, stabbing, thrashing. Blood was mixed on the ground together with the dirt. Yet the only ones dying at that moment was the goblins. Beowul stood in the frontlines together with Finn and Frode, biting down on the goblins. Their mouths were filled with the blood of goblins and they barerly had any wounds on their bodies. A few moments later, all of the smaller goblins were dead. The bigger goblins finally decided to move together with the smaller ones. These goblins were obviously bigger, but they also had better equipment on them. Back down in the cave, blood splattered. Balto felt a pain he never felt before in his back. He couldnt even feel anything behind him. He looked over and saw that the massive sword went right throught his spine. Baltos eyes went wide. Ibas ran over and jumped onto the ogres back. Duke got up and shook his head. He saw what happened to Balto and stood still for a couple of seconds before dashing towards the ogre. Both Ibas and Duke bit onto the ogres neck, trying to kill it. But its thick skin saved it. The ogre pulled the sword out from Baltos back and tried to shake the two direwolfs off. Balto felt a odd cold creep up in his mind. He fought it with all he had to stay awake. He finally had something like a family and he did not want to lose. ''Hmmm, that ogre sure is something, what to do now...''. Vita looked througth the freshest memories of fighting. That massive ogre sure did a number on this poor dog. ''I could try and save this creature to let it live a longer life.'' Vita scratched a random small organisms back. It seems to like it, but its hard to tell with the lack of social skills in the microscopic world. ''Back to topic!'' Vita raised a tentacle as if it was a proper hand, throwing away the organism. ''If this thing dies, I could try to take over. But if I keep it alive.... Hmmm.'' Even if Vita took over the body of this dying creature, was it even still possible to do anything with it? The Forest King / Chapter 30 The fighting sounded like it was far away for Balto. He still tried to hold onto the little life he could feel in him. His eyelids felt so heavy, like two big goblins were trying to force them down with all of their might. He moved his head weakly towards where he thought the ogre was fighting Ibas and Duke. Ibas has once again managed to get on the ogres arm, but would let go whenever he saw the other arm start to move. Whenever the ogre tried to swipe at Ibas, Duke would try to dash towards its neck. But the ogres reflexes were too quick. The ogre almost always managed to push back the two direwolfs, but wounds started to slowly stack up on its skin. Even if none of the wounds were lethal, they still stinging its skin. The ogre took in a deep breath and grabbed the sword with both hands in the *Nebenhut* pose. It held the sword down to the side, its gaze switching between Ibas and Duke. The two noticed the sudden change in behaviour and took a short breathing breath. "Duke, try to check on Balto. If he is still alive, we could get Ulva to check on him. And also you are quicker than me." Ibas said to Duke, keeping his eyes on the ogre. Duke quickly moved towards Balto while Ibas tried to get the ogres attention. But to his suprise, the ogre ignored him completely. It swung the sword with incredible speed, creating a massive blade of wind that flew towards Duke and Balto! With the little time left until impact, Duke held Balto in his mouth and dashed away. The windblade landed in the puddle of blood created by Balto, sending it everywhere. Balto yelped in pain from the sudden movement caused. Duke quickly put down Balto and looked him over. The massive wound made the spine and even some of Baltos guts visible, but he was still keeping eyecontact with Duke. "Balto! Your alive, thank the Allfather! Quick now, get out of here!" Duke didnt have time to speak any further, as he saw Ibas being send througth the air once more. Ibas did still land on his paws, but it was clear that he needed help. Dukes fur flashed with power as he dashed once more towards the ogres neck. The ogre still held the pose with the sword down to its side and when it saw the silver light, swung its sword one more time. Duke managed to somehow dodge to the side at the last second, but was disoriented by the wind made by the ogre. When he landed, his entire side was shaved down. Ibas saw his chance and bit right at the ogres achilles. It roared in both pain and anger. It swung the sword from up high to down low where Ibas stood. The ogre barerly missed once again. Back to the surface. The pained roar from the ogre halted the goblins push. The weaker goblins panicking once more, but now even some of the stronger goblins didnt look to be as willing to fight. It should be obvious, but Ogres arent considered goblins at that level. Goblins evolve to hobgoblin and then ogre. However, when a hobgoblin becomes an ogre, they tend to treat their previous families as food and pets. Even hobgoblins show some level of respect to lesser goblins. And now that the tyrant was letting out such noises, some of the goblins even wished to leave! Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The direwolfs also heard the ogres roar, the fire in their eyes burning even stronger than before. Talking about fire, a tiny goblin child managed to push its way to the front and throw a torch at the direwolfs. The torch didnt go far, but one of the stronger goblins suddenly had an idea. It smiled a wicked grin and left with a small group of goblins. The direwolfs that stood there couldnt exactly see every goblin that came to and fro. Back down to the ogre and three direwolfs The ogre roared in frustration, swinging the sword wildly. Ibas and Duke backed off. If the ogre kept wasting its energy like this, it wouldnt take long for them to kill it. But this ogre managed to kill Tyr, so they had to remain cautious to some degree. It was at this moment that it happened. The ogres eyes flashed to a different color. Duke and Ibas felt the change in the ogre. A shadow-like fire startet to spread from where its heart would be to other parts of its body. From its chest, down its arms and legs. The shadows even covered the massive sword and the loincloth covering its junk. The last part of its body that was covered was its head. The shadowfire covered the head with a much thinner layer compared to the rest of its body, but it covered its eyes much more densely. Its once bulging stomach disappaered and the ogre now actually touched the roof of the cave. Its now pitch black eyes stared straight into Ibas and Dukes souls. How did they know? Because they could feel it, as if they were standing infront of the grim reaper. It stopped at Balto, confused. There was something else there together with Baltos soul. No, it wasnt that something was there. It was more like wax covering a apple or soot covering a black pot. Whatever it was, it didnt look right in the ogres eyes. Therefore, it had to be removed together with these pesky direwolfs. It took slow and heavy steps towards Balto with its head held high. Ibas and Duke wanted to move and stop the ogre, but they knew that the flame covering it would probably hurt them a lot. If only the ogre could pay attention to the details, it might have known something was off. Balto wasnt bleeding anymore and the wound wasnt visible either. Hell, it didnt even notice the odd looking web covering the area where the wound shouldve been. The ogre only knew something was wrong at the last minute. Phfffompt! Out from Baltos body, a sharp needle shot out! The ogre grimaced, opening its mouth by mistake and letting the needle get into its throat. It choked and grabbed at its throat, trying to cough it out. The shadowfire consentrated around its throat, but nothing it did worked. It started to stagger before falling forwards, landing right next to Balto. Duke and Ibas stood there dumbfounded and wide eyed as they saw the They were even more suprised to see that Balto actually got up! His body was still shaking and his movements were weak. "Balto, how are you still moving! Didnt you have a massive hole in your back?!" Ibas ran to Balto and looked him all over. Other than the shaved fur and the bloodloss, he seemed fine. It was a miracle from the Allfather! The Forest King / Chapter 31 The goblins were still fighting and provoking the direwolfs, throwing a rock or two now and then. Only a minority of direwolfs had serious wounds, the rest only had fleshwounds. Beowul, Finn and Frode stood in the frontline for the entire fight and letting the other direwolfs rest whenever they needed too. Beowul finally noticed that the number of goblins were slightly smaller than what he thought. They did kill a lot of them, but so far only the weaker goblins were the ones who attacked and died. Something was amiss. He bit down on one of the goblins and threw it to the direwolfs in the back. Sure, goblin flesh tastes horrible, but right now they needed all the energy they could get. Both Finn and Frode were tiring out after all the fighting. He looked behind him to get a better look on how everyone was doing when a burning arrow landed right next to him. Beowul swung his head to where the arrow came from. There stood a dozen goblins with bows in their hands. Right infront of the goblins, a burning pile of leafs was ablaze. The goblins would cover their arrows with a couple of leafs and lit it. "Go deeper in!" Beowul pushed one of the direwolfs next to him further into the cave. The goblins raised their bows and let go. Arrows flew through the air. The direwolfs all went further into the cave to dodge the burning arrows. Most of the arrows missed, but one of the direwolfs got hit in the shoulder. Its flesh and fur burned quickly. It yelped and moved much quicker into the cave. It could have been worse, seeing that most of the arrows missed not because the arrows didnt manage to hit them, but rather that they hit their own with those burning arrows. Goblins were screaming in pain trying to put out the fire. The lucky ones managed to put the fire out but the unlucky ones fell to the ground, smoke wafting out of their corpses. Seeing that the direwolfs retreated, the larger goblins smiled wickedly and shouted at the goblins. They packed themself infront of the entrance to block the direwolfs way out. The goblins further at the back picked up everything they could find that could either be thrown or be used as fuel for the fire. They threw anything that was burning at the direwolfs. Arrows, spears, sticks, piles of leafs and even some dirty cloths that they used to cover their groins. The originally small and few flames had started to turn into a large fire. The heat burned the outermost layer of Beowuls fur, forcing both him and the other direwolfs to take a few steps back. One of the direwolfs started to panic and ran deeply into the cave. Beowul looked at the fleeing direwolf with distain. If Duke was here, he could probably just dash through the flames a couple of times to exstinguish them. Or Ibas could just charge through it and exstingush it some other way. Hell, maybe Balto could do something dumb and save the day. But right now they would be busy with that ogre. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Hey, why is it so hot in here?" Beowul looked suprised, but quickly hid his emotions before turning his head around. There they stood, bruised and battered. Duke had a nasty wound on his side. Ibas, discoloured by blood and dirt, helped a shaved Balto by pushing him up on his paws. Behind them was also the direwolf that tried to run away. It looked on the ground embarrased, not willing to raise its eyes. "Duke, Ibas, Balto. I guess its dead." Beowul felt a bit of emotion deep in his stone cold heart. Duke and Ibas nodded. Some of the direwolfs wagged their tails and looked thrilled on the thought of getting their old home back from the goblins. "It is, but lets get rid of this fire." Duke took in a deep breath before walking towards the fire. As he got closer and closer, he moved quicker and quicker, before dashing right through the fire like a fat kid running over the other kids to get first in line of the cafeteria. The fire immediatly dimmed when Duke went through it, allowing the rest of the direwolfs to run over the embers. The goblins didnt see them coming due to the fire hiding them from sight, but when Duke suddenly charged into them they all fell into chaos once more. The direwolfs morale quickly rose when they saw this, swiftly killing any goblins they saw. It was chaotic enough with one large direwolf in their ranks, but the sudden outburst of direwolfs attacking sent them further into chaos. They were quickly killed and none of the direwolfs died. Back in the cave, inside of the ogres body. Vita ''stood'' infront of something odd. The easiest way to describe it is that it looks like some odd crystal. It seemed to have been either put in here in some odd way, or that it was grown naturally and it somehow grew a bit too much in random directions. Well, natural crystals do grow in weird ways but still. Based of the flesh around it, it must have mutated or something. Can crystals even mutate? Is it even biological or is it some fantasy bullshit?Only one way to find out! Vita quickly jabbed the crystal with a sharp bone needle. One stab, two stabs. As the amount of stabs increased, a tiny crack appaered. Finally, the crack was just big enough for Vita to get enough needles inside of it to split it apart. As the crystal was split, a wave of heat and light started to shoot out of it. The heat and light quickly increased, way too quickly! Vita scooped up some ogre cells and packed them inside the cell vault Vita made to store cells in. Retreating to the furthest corner of the ogres body, Vita made a thick ball of bone and hid inside. Balto and Ibas slowly walked out of the cave, both quite exhausted after the fight with the ogre. Duke walked over to them, seemingly about to pass out. "Ibas, can you keep an eye out to make sure there arent any goblins hiding in the cave. I really need a nap." Just as Duke finished his sentence, a massive vibration was felt deep in the ground. Following the shaking, a deafening boom pushed everyone and everything away from the entrance before collapsing down on itself. Just about everything in the area looked dumbfounded on the large dustcloud covering the cave. Duke was quiet for a few moments before slumping straight down where he stood and fell asleep. The Forest King / Chapter 32 ... ... Am I alive? Is my own cells still empty? Yep. Is my safe still safe? Yep, my collection doesnt seem to be damaged. Except for a few of them, but I already have loads of wolf cells and goblin cells so it isnt that big of a problem. Good thing that the ogre cells i managed to scoop with me are in top condition. Hehe, it doesnt matter if you can create badass flames to cover yourself with. Your mouth or your asshole, it will not matter when facing me, the allmighty Vita! Killer of cells, bacteria and other small organisms. Genetic genius with a IQ beyond what was thought to be possible without a brain! Hmph, being superior is so difficult sometimes. Underneath a ton of dirt and rock, a tiny orb with white and red was buried. Its surface cracked and damaged. From its surface, a small tentacle slowly moved outwards. Poking and touching the surroundings. It stopped at a puddle of something and a moment later sucked some of it in. After that, it continued its search. It managed to find some of the glowing moss and took a tiny bite out of it. The faint sound of smacking lips could be heard every now and then. After eating its fill, the tentacle went back into the orb. With the power of stem cells and the cells of a bug, I create... Rocky and glowing beetle! My naming sense is on its peak as always. The orb shook from side to side, before cracks started to appaer on its surface. The cracks covering the orb slowly moved apart, making weird noises. Three pairs of legs, covered with shell, spread out to the sides. One part of the shell at the ''front'' moved up ever so slightly and underneath the shell, two tiny bugeyes grew out. The shell created a soft glow, lighting up the area. The new form Vita made would look cute if it wasnt covered in dirt and blood. Now, lets see. Muscles are in check, nicely done. Dont need guts right now because I wont be eating anything soon. Eyes and other sensory organs are weird to use, but work nicely. Now. Forward my noble steed! ... Oh yeah Im buried underground. You know, this feels somewhat nostalgic. Well I guess a somewhat easier form would be better to use. The rocky and glowing beetle slowly started to fall apart. It shook and some parts of it fell off. In the end, only the safe and Vitas web-like body was left. Hmm. Being a tentacle monster is fun and all, but I dont want to molest people like other tentacle monsters. Maybe something a bit scary with spikes? Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The tentacles grew spikes on their tips, allowing Vita to dig through the dirt. Digging and digging, moving forward inch by inch. Some of the rocks were too hard to dig through using just bones, so Vita moved around them instead. Squich~ Vita pulled one of the tentacles back before going in for a closer look. Or getting closer to get a better feel of whatever it was that squiched. Vita scraped some of it and examined it. Ah yes, the animal cells here are animal cells. And looking at the DNA, it is... Wolf cells! And they match with the DNA of the host! Nice. If I remember correctly, there was a large corpse in this cave that somewhat looked like a wolf too. With this new DNA, I could create a much larger body for myself. Wonderful! Talking about large bodies. That large creature must be an ogre or something. Because it looks like a big goblin so it kinda makes sense. But what was that crystal thingy? Think, think. This is a fantasy world, therefore, I must think with fantasy terms. Ok so, there was that fire that didnt seem natural that occured on the ogre. The ogre, that large beetle, the hobgoblins and that silvery wolf all did something that didnt seem natural. So its safe to assume that they are doing... Magic! Where is the inquisition when you need them, there are witches and bitches running around naked in the forest. Either way, that crystal must have been some kind of capsule or cocoon for magic to reside in. That would explain why it looked like that, but it doesnt make sense for it to explode. I mean, why would something grow to have a bomb inside of it that would explode when damaged? Maybe it was a defect that somehow survived? Or was that just a weird disease related to magic? I dont have the brains to think about that right now. Vita stored some of Tyrs cell before continuing to dig. On the way, Vita made sure to create a organ to figure out where up and down was. It works quite nicely, but its poorly made and crude. As time flashed by, Vita continued to study the cells and how different types of DNA would mix and react to each other. By now, Vita knows how to properly make new bodies. The rocky and glowing beetle was just a primitive creation, but now, Vita could create something that could live on its own. In theory atleast. The ground where the cave once stood, a tiny worm looking creature poked its head out and waved itself in the air. A nearby bird with a colorful dress saw it and flew down to eat it. Just when it managed to peck at the worm, it shot out and stabbed the bird right through its skull. With a puff of feathers, the bird disappaered from where it stood. A moment later, a small hand poked out from the dirt. It looked similar to the hand of a goblin, but its fingers were shorter while its nails were longer. Instead of skin, it had a odd mixture of wood and chitin. The back of its palm sparsely covered with fur. A second hand burst out and together they started to push a small creature out of the ground. It had a odd head. It seemed to be a mixture of elk and wolf, but it had multiple different eyes decorating its head. On top of its head sprouted a pair of elk horns. From the back of its head and down its back, it was covered in both feathers and grass. Its shoulders had grass and fur instead, with the fur growing thinner and thinner the further down it went. Its gut was slightly sunken in aswell with no fur, feathers or grass growing. Its hips and legs looked fairly normal in goblin terms, but it had the hooves of a elk instead of the feet if a goblin. Its elk eyes opened on the sides, then its wolfs eyes on the front and finally its goblin eyes that stood inbetween. The Forest King / Chapter 33 Vita stood there and forced a mouthful of air into its new body. The air moved down the trachea, filtered by the mucus for any dust and moving down into the lungs. However, these arent the normal mammal lungs we are used to. Vitas new lungs were that of a bird, four whole lungs. With this, Vitas oxygen intake would be double of normal mammals allowing Vitas enslaved cells to last much longer. As the air moved in, at the same time, air moved out from Vitas mouth. The air went in through the nose and out the mouth at the same time. As if that wasnt enough, the grass covering Vitas body did nearly the same thing. But the grass took in carbon dioxide and turning it into oxygen. On top of that, the grass produced ATP aswell. ATP is the pillar of all light. Without it, just about all life would die from lack of energy. Vitas body only needs water and a tiny amount of different vitamins to function properly. After the deep breath, Vita lifted one hoof. The first step of an entirely new and glorious lifeform. It then quickly lost balance and faceplanted into the ground. Vita panicked and tried to force the body to stand back up. Or atleast face the heavens instead of the dirt. At the cost of breaking a few bones, Vita managed to flip over like a turtle. There was a bit of dirt covering one of Vitas eyes, so it was only natural to try and get it out. The muscles in the arm on the other hand flexed with all of their might, sending a haymaker straight into the eye. The eyes on the left side of Vitas face all exploded together with cracks spreading out over the chitin covering the face. ARGH! My face, my beautiful face that I totally spent over a hour to make! Why in the seven or nine hells did it do that!? I just wanted to scratch the dirt of, not remodel my face with brute force... Wait a second. Oh of course! I can totally controll the manual movement, but how am I supposed to know how much force I am supposed to use. My poor muscle cells even ripped themself apart! It pains me to think this, but I might need a brain to live. Ough, my pride bleeds! Inside of Vitas skull, a small cluster of cells started to grow. The cells started to grow bigger and a thick strand of cells grew down the spine. After reaching the bottom of Vitas bottom, the cells again started to grow out long strands that spread throughout the body. The brain itself was that large, as the only thing it was ment to do was to keep the body in check. No muscles tearing themself apart, no accidental shitting of self, no stumbling around and no need to keep an eye out to see if anything is harming the body. Vita only really needed the instincts to effectively keep the body alive. And the nice things about instincts are that nearly all of them are the same. Well, there is built in fear and all that, but that can be ignored with some good old willpower. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. You always read in webnovels about super brave main characters capable of looking all kinds of evils in the eye. I could have asked for something lame like that, but this is way cooler. Now that the brain, or rather, the sub brain has finally grown into what I imagined it to, lets try this again. The body laying on the grass had already healed the self inflicted damage. It carefully used its arms to prop the upper body and with a push managed to get up in its feet/hooves. The hooves are a bit hard to balance on, as it gives the feeling of walking on stilts. But at the same time, with these, it would be possible to move in quick bursts. Perfect to use in any future fights. Not so perfect for walking. With wobbly steps, Vita moved away from the small pit that was made when Vita popped out. The previous goblin camp had been torn down by the direwolfs, leaving only a few scraps of wood and metal on the ground. The wood had started to rot ever so slightly and the metal had a bit of rust on it aswell. With this evidense, it was obvious that Vita was buried for a long time. But why would Vita be worried? There isnt anything chaining Vita to it, except for maybe Bre. But other than Bre, there isnt anything for Vita to care about in this world. Kings worry about their gold and farmers worry about their wheat. Vita reached the tree line and slowly moved past the trees. With a total of six eyes, there wasnt much that managed to escape its vision. Whenever Vita saw something interesting, All of its eyes would lock on to it and observe for as long as needed. A normal sized beetle with a soft exoskeleton that changed from gold to whatever it stood on. Could use some salt. A mass of ants fighting each other was also pretty cool to watch. The ants on one side were dark in color with spikes growing on their backs, while the other were much larger with slime drooping down. The ants fought with all of their might, trying to wittle down the numbers on the other side. The spiky black ants have greater numbers, but the large slimy ants have a tough defence. Too bad that they cant do anything against the looming figure over them. The spiky black ants however win in texture. A small creature roamed the forest, seemingly moving in random directions. It stumbled upon many odd things on its way. From animals to rocks. There was also a talking sword that was stuck in some rock, but Vita gave up after being unable to pull it out. It was however something to remember. Vita yawned and layed down to sleep. Sleeping on its stomach and pushing its legs underneath the soil, Vitas body quickly changed from its black brownish color to something more like a rock covered with moss. Sure, sleeping wasnt really necessary, but old habits are hard to get rid off. Besides, what was the worst that could happen. Someone trying to sell Vita as some kind of exotic pet to a rich person? The Forest King / Chapter 34 Hmm? Vita wasnt really asleep, the body Vita made was just ''cooling'' down after moving around for so long. Right now after the beauty sleep, there was something gnawing on Vitas shoulder. One of Vitas eyes opened to see what it was. And quickly shot up in the air and climbed up a tree. There, on the ground, was the skeleton of a rat. But the problem was that its still moving! The rat slowly moved its head to lock at Vita, its neck clicking and clacking as it did. There was still flesh stuck to its body and the worst of all was that its two empty eye sockets had purple flames in them. It shambled towards the tree Vita was up on and started to climb up it. Its bony claws dug deep into the bark and pulled itself upwards with its mouth wide open. After quickly calming down, Vita realised how stupid it was to be so scared of an undead rat. Vita let it get close enough for Vita to get a better look at it. It would look like a normal rat if it wasnt for that fire in its eyes. What is that even, soul flame or whatever the fuck? It smells like rotting flesh too. Its organs are even falling out from random spots where the skin is missing. Absolutely disgusting. The instincts in this body Vita made even wants to puke its guts out. Keep it in body, there isnt really much for you to vomit up. The undead rat finally reached Vita and bit at its fingers. Vita picked it up, smashed it into the tree and looked at the remains. Yet, its still dead. The purple fire is also gone, so maybe it was kept alive with that flame? So it is like a soul flame kind of deal. If I ever was to meet another thing like this again, I now know where to aim. Now that I am high up in a tree, couldnt I just swing around like an ape or a monkey? Nah, need that monkey instinct to do that. If I find any that is. Would human instinct work? I would love some human DNA to look more human. Climbing down the tree, Vita slips on some of the leaves laying on the ground. Basest of the weather and the color of the trees, it would seem to be in the middle of autumn. There are less plant and more mushroom. Some of the mushrooms are fairly normal looking, a smokey white with a round cap. There are also some mushrooms that look like fly mushrooms, but they are a icy blue instead of the normal red. A rather small mushroom with a purple cap with an oily stem. A skull symbol is on the cap and the surrounding nature is sickly and rotting. Clearly poisonous, but Vita picks it up either way and starts chewing on it. Any healthy minded creatures would never eat something so clearly deadly, but Vita doesnt seem to mind having a melting jaw and digestive system. Mhm, spicy. Shame my tongue just died after two seconds. If I ever were to find another one of those mushrooms, I should try boiling it with some other spices. Are there even spices here, I dont want to test everything I stumble upon. Maybe that one. And that one. Aaand maybe that one... "PIIII" Vita heard something nearby. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Hm what? "PIIIII PIPIPI" Looking around, Vita slowly brought the mushroom up to eat it. The sound came again, but now Vita heard it come from the mushroom. Taking a closer look at it, Vitas eyes widened. It has a face! Holy Shit! It had a brown cap with a rubbery feel to it, and a tiny itty bitty face right on the stem. Vita couldnt see if it had any eyeballs, but it did have three dark spots. One large hole and two smaller holes over it. Vita would squeeze it ever so slightly and it would let out a piii noise. It also seemed to have tiny chubby arms and legs, but they seem to be useless for mobility. Inferior. Vita threw the tiny mushroom over its shoulder. The mushroom lad landed rigth on its head, fell on its face and started to cry. "PIIIIIIIIIIII! PIPIPIIPIPIPIPIPIPIIIIIII!" It cried and slapped the ground with its tiny hands. It is like a child throwing a tantrum. It looked a bit silly. Vita wanted to continue bullying the mushroom lad, when the sound of breaking wood could be heard. Turning around, Vita saw a massive mushroom pushing its way through the trees. It looked like the mushroom lad, but much bigger and with no mouth. It looked at the mushroom lad and then at Vita, then back at the mushroom lad. "PHIIIIIII PHAAAAA!" The ground shook with each step the big mushroom took. It was well over three meters tall and its fists shattered a tree it hit. The splinters flew all over the place. Vita picked up the crying the mushroom lad and started to run away with it. The massive mushroom seemed to be angered by this and ran after Vita with much more anger in its roars. Vita climbed up a solid looking tree. The massive mushroom ground to a halt under the tree and looked up. It tried to reach up with its large arms, but its cap was in the way for its arms. It shouted at Vita while jumping a few centimeters of the ground. Vita looked at the mushroom lad and the massive mushroom and started to think. Small mushroom that acts like a child, because children make noise to alert its parents. That massive mushroom heard the screaming and tried to get it from me. Vita smiled a devilish grin while looking at the massive mushroom. It seemed to know what Vita was thinking and it sounded more panicked than before. Its eyes opened wide with horror as it saw Vita throw the mushroom lad in its mouth. The mushroom lad tried to reach for its parent in its last moments of life before being chomped down on. It stopped making noise, its arms fell down to its side. Its eyes were still wide open, but didnt seem to focus on anything in particular. Vita felt a bit bad for it, but what happens happens. Aint my falt you couldnt take care of your kid, fatty- BOOM The entire world was flipped upside down. The entire world seemed to slow by as it was Vitas turn to stare with horror. The massive mushroom had punched right through the tree, sending it flying. Its eyes were burning with rage. Its eyes quickly went to the airborne Vita. With movements way too quick for its size, its fist hit Vita right in the gut. Vita went flying with vomit and blood flying over the massive mushroom. Vita quickly turned into a small dot in the distance. The massive mushroom looked at the Vita shaped hole made through the trees and fell to its chubby knees. A slimer mushroom quickly ran over only too see the massive mushroom crying. It patted the massive mushroom on its back and the two mourned the loss of their child. The Forest King / Chapter 35 Yikes, that was brutal. Kind of regret doing that, but oh well. Now I know not to kill children, so long they arent asking for it. Good thing I managed to reinforce the area of impact. Still killed a lot of cells in the guts. Gonna have to fix that with some more animal cells, but that wouldnt be too difficult to do. Vita stood up on unsteady hooves, guts falling out from the cracks in the exoskeleton. Vita picked up some grubs, and the guts were sucked back in with a wet slurp. The cracks were also filling up, quick enough for the naked eye to see the progress. The new area Vita got to was a bit different from the usual. There were the usual trees that covered the land, but there was also a violent river with large boulders on it. On the side that Vita wasnt on, there was a large mountain wall with some smaller trees growing up its side. Every know and then, salmon could be seen jumping and moving up the river. They do have one thing that makes them a bit different from normal salmon however. They have a rather dragonic looking head, some of them even had a crystal in the space between their eyes. One of the salmons with a crystal saw Vita when it jumped up and stopped midair. No, rather, the water on and around the salmon was holding it in place. Water surged up towards this single salmon and lifted it higher over the river. The salmon that were caught in the floating water didnt seem to panic. They swam towards the one with the crystal and swarmed around it. The light from the crystal shining through both the fish and water. The large blob of water startet to change shape into something not quite blob like. The blob grew teeth,scales and horns made out of water. Its water eyes opened and stared down at Vita with malicious purpose and a cold light beaming out. Just as it was about to attack, the odd creature before it ran away without any prior signs of doing so. The large dragon head stood there confused. It looked toward where Vita had ran to, and fell apart. The salmon with the crystal in its head looked ashamed as the other salmons swam away with visible annoyance. A random salmon even slapped it as it swam past. God damn! Why is even the fish here able to use magic. It must be the crystals. The ogre had one and the salmon has one. I must get my hand on one of these motherfuckers in the future. Imagine if I could turn into a giant monster of death with the ability to breathe black fire and creature massive weapons of ice! Considering my skill of stealing other things genes, if I managed to get my hands on an magical infant, I could use magic too! Wait a second. The massive mushroom reacted so aggresively when I killed its child, so a magical parent would react with magical rage if I did the same thing again. Oh well, there arent exactly any of those here right now so no need to think about it for the moment. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Vita jogged through the forest, looking around for anything new or interesting to eat. Another horned rabbit, but with a blade instead of a horn on its head and with a more fantastical color scheme. No real need to eat it, but it wouldnt hurt to try. After all, who would care about being hurt when they dont have a real nervous system to feel pain with. Vita also found more ants, and even a snake! But it was as average as they get. Black on the top, pale on the bottom and a poison only strong enough to kill small animals. The only thing that made the snake worth anything is the ability just about every snake has. Heat-based eyesight and a tongue used to taste/smell the air! After Vita ate it, the space between the six eyes startled to bubble. One large bubble grew for a bit more before popping. In its place, a singular eye was seen. It, together with the other eyes, gave Vita a rather interesting look. It kind of looked like a hexagon with a point in the senter. If someone was to find the current Vita, they might have thought that they what they were seeing was a demon of some sorts. Vita took some time to get more used to the new vision before moving again. Further ahead, a roar was heard. Vita slowed down and sneaked into a bush to see what was going on. A massive bark bear was fighting with a dozen enemies. But these were undead like the rat from before! They even had the same kind of soul fire in their eyes. Even the bark bear looked familiar. It was Half-face! The bark bear still had half its face missing from when they fought the cancerous bone elk. Now it was fighting a group of skeletons who held rusty spears. Poor thing was always fighting something related to bones. Maybe I should help? Help the skeletons that is! Just look at all that biomass for me to use! If I could use all of that, I could become a massive monster of muscle and power! Hell, it might even have a magic crystal in it! Bao! Babao! On one of the trees, a couple of baby bark bears were making noise. Whenever one of the skeletons tried to move towards the tree with the cubs on it, Half-face would immediately bash it down and tear it to shreds. But whenever it did that, the other skeletons would charge into its large rear with their spears. Seeing the cubs, Vita felt a tinge of guilt for thinking about killing their mother. Maybe if I help with the skeletons, Half-face would maybe give a crystal to Vita? The Forest King / Chapter 36 She bashed down another skeleton. She didnt know why these things were moving, but she knew that they were no good. Never has any rational creature attacked her or any of her kind. The only ones that did try were either corrupted or extremely stupid. Undead werent really unheard of either, but these skeletons seems more unnatural than usual. These were fueled by magic instead of souls, so somewhere there must be something controlling them. But right now all she had to focus on was protecting her cubs. She could just destroy all of them quickly, but doing so would put her cubs in even more danger. Whenever she focused too long on the skeletons in front of her, some of them would try and attack the cubs with their pointy sticks. And when she focused on defending the cubs, some of the skeletons she thrashed reanimated and continued to stab at her. Being stung by small ants is still annoying even if you are the size of a small house. As she was thinking about how to save her children, Vita suddenly shot out from the bush! Like a cannonball, Vita hit a skeletons spine and broke it. While the skeleton was falling, Vita grabbed its skull and smashed it into the ground. It cracked open and the purple fire in its eyes disappaered. The nearby skeletons reacted and pushed their spears forwards. But in Vitas eyes, these undead werent much of a threat. Three spears were thrusted towards Vita, but two of them bounced of the exoskeleton. The third spear landed in one of the gaps, but it only got a tiny bit in before it was blocked by something hard. Vita grabbed the spearhead and swung it around, sending the skeleton flying. Vita pulled it out and threw it away. Half-face was suprised for a short moment before realising what was going on. A small, weird looking creature was helping her fight the skeletons. She felt grateful knowing that there were creatures willing to help others in need, but those horns felt familiar. Either way, now she could focus on protecting her cubs while the weird creature fought of the skeletons. Vitas fighting style was pretty simple. Vita would dash and jump onto the skeletons, aiming for their heads. It didnt matter if they tried to pierce Vitas body, they either didnt have the speed to catch Vita or they didnt have the power to draw blood. The fight ended quickly with broken skulls and bones littering the ground. Vita didnt have any visible wounds other than some feathers that were cut off. Vita felt prideful over the easy victory, but was also bummed out on the lack of biomass found on the skeletons. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Half-face was still vigilant with Vita nearby, because to a mother in the wild any creature that isnt herself could be after her cubs. She already lost some of them to the elk that tore half her face off. She kept her eyes on the odd creature in case it tried anything funny. She watched Vita eyeing her cubs before it left. She let out a sigh and signaled for her cubs to get down from the tree. They were terrified when the skeletons appaered, but now that they werent moving anymore so they climbed down the tree. With the curiosity of a child, they slowly walked towards the skeletons. They would look back to their massive mother to make sure she still was there. The one closest to the skeletons sniffed a bone before quickly running to Half-face. It climbed up her leg and rested on her massive back, humming to its mother about how brave it just was. The other cub picked up a bone with its mouth. Half-face told it to drop it, but when she saw its big innocent eyes staring deep into her soul she reluctantly let it keep the bone. They would need to eat lots of food if they wanted to survive the winter and she would need a safe shelter to keep her cubs safe. Moving through the forest, Vita though about what happened. I helped this parent with its children, so its only fair if I fuck over the next family i run into. So long the next family isnt like a human family or a elf family. Or like something that could live in a city of some sort. You never know when a random shit is related to a ruler of some sort. But what about the skeletons? I guess that because this is a magical world, there might be something that caused these skeletons to pop up. Would be fun to find like a necromancer to fight! It would be the start of my legend! The mighty Vita, the manipulator of flesh fighting a dark being of death! And all of the people of all of the lands bows down to me! And the gods will let me become their king! Hehe, I am so awesome. Vita kept daydreaming while walking through the forest, picking up small critters that were unfortunate enough to run into Vita. The space between the trees did slowly increase, but there were still a lot of them. As the days went by, Vita slowly grew taller and taller. Some bugs had better exoskeletons than the others, or some creatures had better organs. All for the growth for Vita. The skeletons were getting more common aswell and seeing the wildlife fight with the undead was quite the sight. From the smallest of mice, to some weird looking creature that was even taller than the bark bear. It looked like a daddy long legs, but easily over 10 meters tall with a large eye on its bottom side. Its way of fighting was horrifiying to watch. Hidden in the trees, easily piercing through the skeletons. Scary stuff. Finally, Vita found something interesting again. A cave. Or rather- A dungeon!? Why, this migth be my lucky day! A tunnel made out of bricks and some weird symbols over it to make it even more magical! Or maybe its a warning, telling daring adventurers to come prepared to fight for their lifes! Oh, how awesome this is. Enough of the chit-chat, is there something I could do to prepare myself... Who am I kidding, Im always prepared! Down we go! Vita steered the body to walk into the dungeon entrance, going deeper and deeper. The Forest King / Chapter 37 The walls inside of were made out of an insultingly boring grey brick with no flora growing on them. Vita even licked the walls to see if there was any micro-organisms on the walls or ground, but nothing. The bricks were sterile to the point that it would be worrying. But Vita didnt seem to be disturbed by this and continued down. This continued for a long time, slowly going downwards. Oh! Finally something to look at! A skeleton! Cue the RPG fighting music! A single skeleton stood there with a short sword, staring into the grey wall. Vita walked up casually and started a "idle animation", waiting for the skeleton to react. It only did so when Vita decided to throw a small piece of bone on it. The skeleton leaned to the side before turning around to look at the attacker. It moved forwards with the sword raised, ready to chop it down on Vitas form. Vita got ready to take the hit, increasing the heartbeat. Making sure that the exoskeleton and the bones would be able to take a hit. Then, when the sword finally swung down... It missed. The sword landed on the ground next to Vita, burying it inside of the bricks. It tried to pull the sword out, but lost its grip and fell on its back. Vita didnt know whether to cry or laugh. Finally a fair one on one fight, and the first attack missed completely. Vita continued down the dungeon after smashing the skeletons head in. There were some more skeletons, but they all fought the same way as the first one. Swing, miss, get their skulls crushed. There wasnt much challenge when fighting these skeletons. Finally, the tunnel stopped going one direction and split into a larger room. The larger room was lit up by torches and the ground was made out of sand instead of brick. The room itself had a lot of skeletons in it, with a large skeleton with four arms and two heads. However, it didnt seem biological nor magical. More like someone just melted the extra parts into the original skeleton without a care in the world. Inferior design! What a disgusting skeleton, I bet your original form was just as ugly! Have at you, four armed freak! Your mother was a cheat whore who fucked everything with a dick! Vita dashed into the crowd of skeletons, ending up right in front of the odd skeleton. To Vitas suprise, this one reacted much quicker than expected. Just as Vita was about to attack with a uppercut, the skeleton smacked Vita away with its two left hands. It wasnt strong enough to crush anything, but Vita did hit the wall. The normal skeletons shambled over with random weapons in their hands, while the larger skeleton stood there. Observing with its four eyes and two heads. The skeletons saw Vitas body laying there, propped up to the wall. Their instinct told them to kill the living, so seeing that the invader was still breathing pissed them off. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. They were ready to attack with hands, swords, spears and whatever else they had. Just as they were to strike, Vita jumped up and latched onto the closest skeleton. A nearby skeleton tried to land a hit, but Vita pulled at the skeleton and caused it to get a mouthful of sword. Vita jumped from skeleton to skeleton, either hitting them or getting the other skeletons to hit each other. The larger skeleton let out a silent roar before running towards Vita, and its quick. Much quicker than the normal skeletons. It grabbed one of the skeletons by the spine and used it as a weapon. It swung the poor skeleton at Vita who jumped of it. The two skeletons exploded into fragments that flew everywhere. That earlier swipe must have been half-assed if it could turn skeletons into dust with its bony arms. Vita landed not so gracefully on the ground, thrilled to finally get into a proper fight. Vita took the initiative by hocking a loogie right at what seemed to be the main head. By combining the slime found on the big ants and the natural stomach acid found on just about everything Vita ate, ''The acidic slime gun prototype'' was made! The loogie ball stuck to the skeletons face and vapor quickly started to rise into the air. After another silent scream, the skeleton ran towards Vita once more. Vita charged towards the skeleton as well both sides locking eyes. Just before they would collide, Vita went down low and tripped the skeleton. The skeletons center of gravity was quite high up and now that its legs were tripped up, it landed right on its melting face. Its melting face didnt seem to be able to last any longer and cracked open. However, the purple fire didnt dissipate. Instead, it flew into the still intact skull. The skeleton moved one of its arms and ripped of the broken skull. The two spines connected into the remaining head and its hips fell of together with its legs. Face two!? Sweet, just like a proper boss fight! Maybe Ill even get a cool weapon or something else? Like a bone greatsword? Come on, lets continue fighting! Vita tried to provoke the skeleton by throwing sand at it. This seemed to work, as it stared hatefully with its fiery eyes at Vita. Now on all fours, it was much quicker than before. It copied the moves Vita used before, latching on to Vita and then biting down with everything it could. It aimed right at Vitas throat as well. First there was a slight crack from the teeth in the skeletons mouth, then the crack from Vitas exoskeleton. It finally managed to make a proper wound on its enemy. A new corpse would mean more corpses for its dark lord to use. Maybe it would get to controll its body to get even stronger! While thinking about this, the skeleton didnt notice that Vita seemed completely fine. Even having enough time to check an imaginary clock, both on the body and on the cellular level. With a quick pierce, the skeleton was killed by a nail through the skull. Vita stood above the corpse of a corpse. Heh, nothing personal kid. But you are 10 billion lightyears too young to challenge me! The Forest King / Chapter 38 Haha, such a easy victory for someone like me. Now then, dungeons usually have like a treasure chest at the end or something cool. Where is it? Vita walked around the walls of the room. The room itself had a round shape, with one entrance. But that didnt matter. If something might be missing, look for it. Sending out long, sensitive hairs from the various bugs Vita ate, it didnt take long to find something that didnt quite fit in with the room. At the bottom of a segment of the wall, there was a lip with enough space to put some fingers in. With a heave and a puff, Vita dramatically lifted the wall up as dust and sand fell down. The new entrance was completely different area from the previous one. The first part of the dungeon had a clean, boring grey look to it. Now? It was a musty dark colour. Mold grew in different spots and there was dust in the air. Examining the particles breathed in, the dust was a mixture of. Well, dust. But there was also a tiny bit of mold spores in the air. Nothing too dangerous to Vita, but the mould wouldnt have a problem spreading if the right conditions were met. Storing some of the DNA, Vita continued down the new musty corridor. On the left wall of the corridor, an opening led into another room. This room kinda looked like a bedroom of sorts. The quite disgusting looking bed with more mold growing on it. There was also a night stand next to it as well. The room was quite low-key and small. However, Vita quickly noticed a certain leather-bound object. It was a book! A book! Oh, the sweet colletion of knowledge! What secrets do you hold! Is it the secrets to live? Or maybe it will teach me how to use magic! Open sesame! Vita held the book and opened it, only to reveal a language that Vita didnt understand. It looked like odd scribbles that gradually turned into messier and messier scribbles as the pages went by. There were some nice drawings too, but they didnt really say or mean much either. Vita tried to understand the language, but to no avail. But simply leaving the book here would be a waste, so Vita made a small pocket to put the book inside. Vita left the room and continued down the corridor. As Vita walked down the corridor, a faint echo tickled Vitas ears. It sounded like a groan of sorts. Something was either in pain or was getting freaky with a more quiet something. Slowing down as the sound got louder, the sound was easier to understand. It was definitly the sound of something in pain. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. There, in a much larger room than before, stood a bipedal creature wearing a hood and cloak. The surrounding walls had countless cages with various animals and monsters. Most of the monsters looked like they were dying inside, some like they were actually dying, but a few of them looked surpisingly healthy. In front of the cloaked figure, there was a table of some sorts with another humanoid figure on it. No no, wait a second. That is an actual human! Holy moly they exist! If I manage to get my multiple limbs on its brain, I could get an understanding of this world. But who is the cloaked figure, another human? Or one of those liches they write about in their fantasy books? Gonna have to wait and see whats going to happen. The human struggled with its chained hands and legs. Their face clearly filled with fear. It was a young male with a small stubble on his chin. With his mouth gagged, he didnt manage to get any proper words out, only muffled noises. The young man had a decently muscular build, the sort an adventurer would have. But right now their body was covered with different wounds. The cloaked figure finally removed their hood, revealing a bony head with only skin to cover it. When the adventurer saw this, he started to panic even more. The bony person lifted their hand and put a finger on the adventurers mouth while making a shushing sound. The sound didnt come out quite right, the voice sounded quite rusty. As if they havent spoken in a long time. Vita didnt understand a word of what they said. But seeing the fear in the mans eyes becoming even greater and slowly turning into despair, Vita knew that the time to act was coming closer. The obvious bad guy finally finished their speech. Before Vita could react however, the bad guy did something that suprised Vita. With one hand grasping the mans head, the bad guy stabbed directly into the space between the eyebrows. Blood started to spread around the mans face, as the blood started to drip down onto the table. Then, a purple light shot out from the mans eyes and mouth. The purple lights seemed to come out from the bony mans arms, as they had glowing veins traveling through them. After a while, what seemed to be a small soul flew out and entered the bony mans mouth. The bony man let out a creepy moan before the purple light spread further. The flesh melted and bubbled of like the weird fatty stuff that appaers when you boil meat. The bubbly mess splattered on the ground. One of the monsters in the cave reached out with a long tongue and tried to lick up the disgusting mess. What was left on the table was a skeleton. The hole in its brow quickly healed. The bony person was a necromancer. The necromancer gave a command to the new skeleton and sent it towards the corridor where Vita stood. When it got close enough, Vita reached out and crushed the skeletons head by bashing it into the wall. The necromancer were stunned and stood there for a few seconds before stumbling back. The necromancer finally said something Vita could understand. "W-wendigo" The necromancer used the table to balance themselfs while pointing a shaking finger at Vita. Wait, how the fuck am I a wendigo? I am clearly much better than some bumbling and primitive creature like that. And Wendigos are a thing too? Thats actually pretty badass. The Forest King / Chapter 39 Wait, more importantly, there are wendigoes in this world? I gotta meet one of those things. Vita continued to think about the world while the necromancer started to move again. He walked around the table and pushed it over, creating a cover for himself. After muttering something, dark purple shadows moved to the cages and opened them up, letting all of the monsters and animals free. The dark purple shadows entered the minds of the released monsters and their eyes changed color to purple. A few of them tried to resist, but to no avail. The monsters charged towards Vita who was still thinking about wendigoes. A horned rabbit with horns growing down its spine managed to bite Vitas shin. Kicking it away, Vita jumped onto the crowd like a wrestler jumping down on their enemies. Holding a small mutated goblin around the neck, using its body as a nunchaku to smack the rest of the monsters across their faces. The poor goblin only lasted for a few smacks before its neck cracked. The necromancer glanced over the bloodsoaked cover to see how the fighting went, only to get a faceful of dead goblin. Vita bit down on a small red boar, ignoring the suprisingly hot blood that assaulted Vitas teeth. Eating it quickly as it seemed cool, Vita continued to fight the masses. None of the monster were as strong as the four armed skeleton from before, but these took more of a beating than the skeletons in general. Flesh and potential scales and whatnot sure helps with making monsters more resilient. To the side however, there stood a fucked up looking deer. But it didnt have a head, more like a massive butthole for a face. It sucked in air, before spewing it out, aimed right at Vitas back. The sickly green vomit splashed across Vitas back, sizzling and burning away at the hairs, grass and feathers covering Vita. Vita command, this is Vita general. There seems to be a harmful substance attacking our back. Requesting permission to perform operation "touch the sky". Vita general, this is Vita command. Granting permission to perform operation "touch the sky". A slender creature tried to sneak up on Vita and strike from behind just as the acid was pushed off with enough force to hit it in the face. It started to scream and thrash around. It quickly fell down to the ground with its eyes melting off, twitching every now and then. The roars of different monsters and sounds of flesh being teared off from the different monsters echoed through the dungeon. Whenever Vita took a bit too much damage, a poor creature would lose its limbs or guts and the damage would heal up. It didnt matter what tried to attack, either they only scratched Vitas exoskeleton or the damage would be minimal. The number of monsters fighting Vita slowly but surely started to dwindle, something the necromancer was aware of. He acted so level headed and calm just moments ago, but now he was close to shitting himself in fear. Wendigoes arent the most magical monster, but its the myth behind them that makes them so terrifying. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. According to myths, the god known as the Allfather created The Worlds Tongue to satisfy the need to have children as none of the other gods wished to have descendants at the time. The Allfather created more and more, some of the creatures created got too curious about the world around them. What exactly was found by the Allfathers creations is forgotten by time, but the creatures turned on their siblings and attacked without care. One of these creatures was the wendigoes. So horrible was their actions that the Allfather was scolded by the other gods for lettign such a creature to live. The Allfather wouldnt dare kill one of his own creations, so instead planted a curse on them so that they would never be able to reproduce. Every scholar whos focus is in the history of gods or in the history of The Worlds Tongue knows of the horrors of wendigoes. Due to their curse, the wendigoes that manage to survive the test of time are ancient enough to challenge even the dragons in age. So for one of them to be here, there was little to no hope for the necromancer. If he was to survive, he would need something just as or even more powerful than the wendigo. Vita grabbed another mutated goblin by the nose and threw it at a dog like creature. Then, Vita grabbed the dog like creature and used it as a shield to block the jaws of a normal looking bear. Exept for its way too large jaw. It chomped down on the dog, breaking its spine and effectivly cutting it in half. Vita poked the bear in both eyes before grabbing another goblin to push down its throat together with the dog remains. A small bug with a large set of pincers tried to grab at Vitas legs, but was pulled up into the air and got its face eaten off. Out of the blue, a random sheep with large horns rammed into Vita. Vita flew through the air and landed next to the flipped over table. Vita quickly got back up and saw the sheep charging again. This time prepared, Vita managed to grab it by the horns and used its force against it. The sheep flew over the table and hit the cages. Luckily its thick wool saved it from breaking its spine. The necromancer reached out for the sheep with a bony hand with purple light coming out of it. The necromancer then produced a book from out of its cloak and started to chant. Purple shadows followed by purple lights spread towards the other creatures in the cave. The only one that wasnt effected by the purple light and shadows was Vita. The creatures were pulled by an invisible force towards the necromancer. When they got close enough to the necromancer, their flesh quickly burned off. Only their bones were left floating in the air, surrounding the necromancer. His face somehow turned even paler and his eyes even more hollowed. He looked like a mummified corpse at this point with purple lines moving through his body. Vita stood there, watching for a moment before leaping towards the necromancer. A sudden bone claw formed in the air and grabbed Vita with its massive claws. The dead corpses that were in the cages tore through the cages and flew into the mass of floating bones. Slowly the bones started to spin around the necromancer until there was nothing but a blurry sphere of white. The ball grew large enough that it startet to touch the roof of the cave, drilling through it. It pulled Vita behind as bones were pulled out from the ground. When they resurfaced from the ground in front of the dungeon, the claw let go of Vita. Vita looked up from the ground to see the bone ball slowly turn into something else. Wait a fucking second... That cant be what I think it is, right? The Forest King / Chapter 40 A long tail emerged from the white ball. A long bone tail to be more correct. It continued to grow until it pushed over multiple trees. Two massive bone legs shook the earth when they landed, with raptor like claws for nails. The legs didnt seem to belong to a bipedal creature like a human, but like the legs of a beast. Then two more legs, forelimbs most likely, came out. Just a tiny bit smaller, but with massive claws. They pierced into the ground, as if it was made out of boiled fat. Then, as Vita was just about ready to run away, two massive wings slowly opened up. They reached up to the air before swinging down. Despite the lack of sking between the fingers of the wings, they still generated winds strong enough to knock Vita to the ground. Hard. The back legs moved as the spine pushed them out. A massive ribcage and then the rest of the spine. Finally, the ball of white stopped creating a body. The white ball finally stopped spinning, slowly forming into a skull. With two massive horns, looking just as good as weapons and as a majestic crown. Unlike the rest of its body that was a bony white, the teeth were as white as clean marble. And just as terrifying as if they belonged to the jurassic era. Holy shit. Isnt that a dragon!? Four limbs for the ground, two wings, a tail and a head with horns. It is a dragon! Or a bone dragon, but that doesnt matter. What does matter is that it isnt looking my way. Lets just casually walk away. *Crunch* Oh no. Vita managed to step on the only dry branch in the vicinity, gaining the dragons attention. First the skull moved to look where Vita stood, then purple glowing flames burst out from its eyesockets. It let out a silent roar before pouncing at Vita. It reached out with its front claws, attempting to hold Vita in its massive claws. It was just slow enough for Vita to jump away from it. The ground where the claw landed exploded with dirt, sending it everywhere. Vita didnt get the chance to land on the ground before the dragon leaned forward and bit down. There goes Vitas left arm, crushed underneath the massive teeth of the dragon. This would easily send any other creature into shock, but this was Vita getting bitten. Not caring about the loss of an arm, Vita spat a glob of vile acids and poisons at the bone dragons forehead. The acid didnt seem to do any proper damage to the massive beast, but it threw Vita away. Vita went flying through some trees for the second time. Multiple bones broke on the flight, spines and ribs and some more. Even the exoskeleton broke on a couple of spaces. Vita finally stopped and rolled on the ground a couple of times. Vita kept an eye in the direction of where the dragon was, only to see it appaer in the air. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. It flew high above the trees. It somehow managed to fly without any proper wings, only bones. The purple fire in its eyes was also in its chest. The purple fire grew bigger and bigger until it moved upwards towards its mouth. As if it still had a throat. The fire peaked through its teeth before going down like a upside down volcano. Vita knew just from the reaction from all the other creatures in the area that the purple fire was no good. If even the bugs crawling on the trees were running, then the fire was something to run away from. The fire crashed down into the forest floor with a roar. It set everything on fire, as the screams of different animals could be heard. When the dragon saw Vita running underneath the trees, it let out another silent roar before chasing after Vita with more fire. The fires behind Vita got closer and closer. Stopping now would mean getting hit by the fire. Just as the fire was about to hit, it stopped. Maybe it has ran out of gass, Vita thought. But turning around showed something else. There it was, mouth wide, going down like a swooping owl catching a mouse. But this time, Vita was prepared. With a leap rivaling the leap of a snow leopard, Vita flew over the bone dragons still burning maw. Its teeth snapped shut with enough force to push the air out, creating a popping noise like that of a crocodile times a hundred. The bone dragon tried to hit Vita in the air with its horns. To its suprise, Vita didnt go flying, but instead stuck to its horns instead. It swung its head around trying to get Vita off, but Vita clutched onto its horns with suprising endurance. It tried to scratch Vita off with its claws, but Vita moved around like eye floaters in your eyes that show up sometimes. It let out a quiet roar of frustration before taking to the sky again. It roared, it swung its head, it tried to do air acrobatics. Everything it tried didnt work. Hahaha! Now I know why people back at earth loved playing games where you fought giant creatures, because this is fun! Ha, take some urine in the face, dragon! Would you like to have some shit smeared on your face too!? Maybe a moustache made out of shit! In its frustration, the dragon decided to do something. Destructive. It looked around for Vita and when it saw that Vita was still on its head, it took a dive. It flew straight down towards the earth with Vita at the front like some sick statue at the front of a pirates ship. The air around them started to bend, and Vita could feel the heat starting to build up as the ground got closer and closer to view. Brace for impact! We are going down. Who is piloting this stupid thing! The Forest King / Chapter 41 BABOOM! The area where the bone dragon landed exploded! Trees and dirt went everywhere in the air. Some poor creatures that didnt manage to get away in time got ripped to shreds by the flying debris. A large dustcloud rose above the remaining trees in the area. When the dustcloud finally fell, the bone dragon had its upper body stuck inside the soil. The ground around it was cracked open with soil still falling into them. The area was also littered with different corpses. Pieces of animals, monsters and plants were spread all over the place too. The bone dragon tried to pull its head out of the ground, but struggled for a while before its head popped out. The soil fell out of its eyesockets and some rocks were stuck in the spaces between its teeth. With a quick shake, the bone dragon shook the dirt and rocks off its head. It looked to the left and it looked to the right, but it couldnt see Vita. The fire in its eyes turned to a different hue of purple as it looked around once more. But then it saw something from the corner of its eye. It quickly looked over, worried that its enemy was still alive, but there was nothing there except for a puddle of gore. The bone dragon turned its head slowly, still remaining vigilant in case Vita had survived. It at least needed proof of Vitas death to feel at ease. As the dragon looked in another direction, a eye covered in blood and other liquids seemed to move a tiny bit. The puddle then quietly, but with suprising speed, slithered across the ground towads the goop littering the area. It left the faintest of marks behind when it moved and a small white pearl could be seen inside of it when the sun hit it just right. When it slithered over the goop like some fucked up snail, it also quickly absorbed it. The dragon turned its gaze around the area, but the puddle stopped moving when the bone dragon looked in its direction. Even the eyeball inside of the puddle looked in a random direction when the bone dragon looked at it. The bone dragon somehow squinted its eyes before it turned its head once more to survey its surroundings. The puddle was still busy collecting goop and meat. Even a couple of branches and tufts of grass were absorbed as well. The dragon slowly moved its burning eyes towards the puddle. It pretended to watch in another direction while keeping its eyes on the puddle. It saw the puddle absord a large amount of different things, even saw it absord a whole tree. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Feeling that it had seen enough, the bone dragon shot out a small ball of purple fire at it. But the puddle suprisingly enough shot out a glob that hit the fire. The fire and the glob of acid hit in the air and countered each other. The suprise in the bone dragons eyes at it saw the puddle suddenly grew a pair of legs. It now sprinted towards the corpses and ate them up. The dragon quickly regained its senses and spat out flames. But it somehow managed to jump over the fire. One of its legs caught on fire, but the part of the leg that caught fire simply fell off and grew out again. The bone dragon wasnt too suprised, but it was unusual to see. It continued to spew fire at the odd creature, but it moved with such speed that only small fires managed to touch it. As this continued on, an ominous feeling slowly krept over the dragon as it saw the running puddle growing larger and larger as it kept absorbing the surrounding fauna and flora. Somehow, it had managed to reach the bone dragon up to its neck. Then it suddenly stopped. The dragon didnt give it any chances, as it tried once more to blast it with fire. Just as the fire hit it, a massive amount of steam spread to around the area. The steam blocked the bone dragons view of its surroundings, but it didnt block its magical hearing. It heard some horrendous sounds. Bones snapping. Muscles tearing. Some weirdly thick bubbling sound, as if someone was trying to scream underneath a thick layer of tar. Not only that, to the bone dragons suprise, the mist was acidic! The bone dragon launched itself into the air to avoid the mist and to get a proper look at the situation. It flapped its wings to stay in the air and with each great movement, waves of mist would form under the air pressure created. (Just imagine a helicopter above the ocean and you will get a better image of what this would look like).'' As it was stationary in the air, it saw something moving in the mist. Then, further away, something moved again, but further away from the last movement. As time went by, the movement became more and more frequent. Finally the bone dragon had enough and decided to send some more fire out. But just as it was going to do this, something large started to rise underneath the mist. It grew out in a similar way like how a tree would grow out of the soil, but it was just wrong. The tree grew in the shape of a thumb or like a pillar with a rounded tip. It lacked any branches at the top, but these grew in random spots under the tip. Smaller tentacles poked out from the mist, shaking and wiggling in the air. But the entire thing was made out of mixture of flesh, wood and pieces of exoskeleton. Its surface was covered with different pieces of different animal. A direwolfs head over there and a ants mandibles over there. Its limbs were long and covered with different spikes that were dripping with acids and pus. The tips of these limbs were even worse, as the spikes formed into fake hands giving it massive claws. As it moved its body above the mist, the top suddenly split open with a crack. A massive maw opened up, with and endless ocean of teeth and other sharp objects. It let out a deafening roar so loud that one could see the air ripple. The Forest King / Chapter 42 Vita towered over the trees in the area. But honestly, it looked like a standing red turd with worms sticking out out and it was standing on a puddle of piss. But the dragon wasnt thinking of what Vita looked like at the moment. Inside the bone dragon, the necromancer was still alive. To summon the form of a dragon was a huge gamble, but he thought it was worth it when he managed to kill the "wendigo". Up until he saw it turn into a puddle and still live. He faintly remembered something about "abominations" from when he was a student. So not only was it a already dangerous creature, but now it had the bonus of being an abomination to top it off. The necromancer cursed his old self for being so hormonal and focusing too much on the professors body instead of her lectures. Now that the "wendigo" turned into whatever its new monstrous from could be called, he was unsure on what to do. On one deathly pale hand, he could try and escape, leaving everything behind. All of his hard work simply left behind to save himself. Or on the other, he could try and kill the abomination so that he could conduct some reseach on its corpse. Who was he kidding. He was called the Dark Lord back in his youth and no one, not even wendigoes turned abomination, would stop him from doing what he wishes to do! If he was to continue his research, he would have to kill the abomination somehow and also manage to get his diary back from the dungeon. He could only hope that the book didnt get damaged when he used his old mans magic. So now he would have to get creative with how he should approach the huge monster. Both the bone dragon and Vita were watching each other. The bone dragon with its burning eyes and Vita with countless eyes made up of different creatures. It was also at this point that Vita realised that the fires that the bone dragon created didnt produse any heat. The thermal vision that Vita got from that one snake was quite useful, making it much easier to find any other animals. But it was a first to see a fire not producing any heat. All the other visions could see it, but the thermal showed that the fire was actually draining the heat from its surroundings. But that doesnt make any sense. Its fire! Fire = hot. But it is magical fire, so maybe its the magical kind that doesnt burn? So if it drains heat from other places, it could be something related to the cold. No no, then it probably would have a cold icy color. Living bones are usually related to undead magic in most fantasy settings, so maybe its undead fire magic? How would that effect me? Screw it, let it get the initiative. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. As Vita finished that thought, the bone dragon finally decided to attack. It obviously kept its distance, spewing its purple fire. The fire hit Vita on the side, torching that area of Vitas massive body. When the fire landed, Vita quickly examined the cells that were hit. While making sure that the fire wouldnt spread, Vita saw that the the fire would directly attack the cells DNA. On top of that, it would also drain the cells of ADP, using it somehow to spread further. If some normal creature was to get affected by this fire it would not only lose all of its cells that were so much as even grazed by fire, it could probably get cancer if it didnt immediately remove them. Thats some scary stuff! If only I could learn to control this type of fire. What a shame that the bone dragon doesnt seem to be natural. Well maybe the bone marrow might still be present, but I strongly doubt that. But lets try something fun atleast. The fire that burned the monsters side was suddenly absorbed by it, a foolish action in the Dark lords mind. The undead fire was a strong counter to anything living. This creature actually trying to swallow it would just make it stronger. But something happened that the Dark lord didnt expect. The mouth on the top seemed to have more of a purpose than expected, as it opened up to reveal that the fire was still burning inside. While wondering on what it was going to do, it hocked it out like a loogie aimed at the Dark lord. It obviously didnt hit, as all he had to do was to fly a bit to the side for it to miss. But as it just passed, a tentacle shot out and latched on! The tentacle grabbed on tightly while the fire was burning it. As it did so, it also swung its mass around to cover the bone dragon. As it did so, the sudden extra mass caused it to also drop in height, sending it falling. The fire burned the flesh and the bone, but it didnt have a strong effect on the bone dragons body. It did send it closer to one of the tentacles hidden in the acid mist. The Dark lord flailed throught the air as it saw the acidic mist getting closer. The embarrasment he felt for being out-smarted by a tower of meat enraged him more than ever before. He managed to quickly remove the flesh with a bit of struggle and burning it even more to make sure it wouldnt be able to latch on again. The tentacle hidden in the acid mist launched out, but this time he was prepared. Using the spinning motion to dodge the tentacle and then launched himself into the air, dodging the extra tentacles that burst out from the previous tentacle. Quickly regaining his previous altitude, the Dark lord spewed out fire once more, but this time it was different. The fire didnt fly out as normal. It gathered together into the form of a ball. The fireball had odd symbols scattered over its surface as it changed to different colors. From purple to red to green. The Forest King / Chapter 43 Oh no! The big bad dragon is doing a big fireball with fancy magic! Fucking bastard, I will show you magical. The necromancer continued to funnel his magic into the spell. He never got to test it before, but now was as good as a time as ever. And according to few books he stole with him, this spell would be strong enough to wipe out an entire army. Althought the spell would need a lot of mana and time, he already had the mana and he doubted that the monster could reach him from so far up. Or so he thought. The tower of flesh leaned back, and out of its mouth a massive pillar of bone crawled out from its maw. With wide undead eyes, the necromancer saw as the pillar somehow turned from a mouth belonging to a worm to that of a hand belonging to something humanoid. It grasped the bone pillar that only now showed its speared tip. Its surface moved as if there were countless worms digging through its body. It slowly changed its body and ended up sharing a form similar to that of an arm. Four fingers and a thumb, with the maw in the middle of the palm. Its grip changed, and with movements horrifyingly quick it launched the spear. The winds created by the strong movement pushed away at the acidic mist below, showing the melted down earth. The necromancer didnt have enough time to react as the spear pierced through the magical ball. It actually hit one of the symbols covering the ball, creating a sound like pushing your finger into a cup of slime. The necromancer held back a non-existing breath and stared at the pierced ball, while Vita on the other hand gave a middle finger to the undead magician. At first, nothing happened. Vita was also looking at the ball, bored that nothing cool happened. So it only made sense to spice it up a little. With a snap of my fingers and a flick of my wrist, back to- yeah I cant bother. Guess this would be a good experiment to see what would happen if one of my own cells died. Just as the necromancer thought the primitive attack didnt work, he had to take a double take as the spear started to expand from the middle. Which was also the center of his spell. He watched as the spear somehow managed to balloon outwards and then explode while inside. At first, nothing. For the briefest of seconds, there was color. Then, white. Nearly all of Vitas sensory organs were destroyed. Eyes were popped and then melted shut by skin and other materials covering Vitas surface. Eardrums were pulverized and 99% of neurons were destroyed. The expanding sphere of pure energy continued to move outwards, the trees were turned to mere atoms and any living organisms close by suffered the same fate. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Then it exploded. The sphere lost its shape as all of the energy went wild, pushing away all of the melted down material. Dust flew with such speed that it fused into other objects before being blown away by the mere shockwave. And as the shockwave continued to move, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the air. The explosion was even heard from far, far away. Not to mention the cloud that was created was visible from far away. When it finally finished, there was little to nothing to see as that perticular part of the forest was turned into a flat hellscape. Ash was falling down like snow and the sky was grey. There were odd pits with still burning material that reached a dozen meters into the sky. Of the two who fought, there wasnt much. Only the teeth of the bone dragon remained and even they were cracked and broken. Surviving something so devastating while being so close to the source was impossible. Only someone, or something, with enough endurance and tenacity to rival the gods could survive such an attack. Even then, they would be left with only a tiny strand of life left and die on a later date. Except of course, for Vita Vitas wendigo-like form crawled out from under the crust of melted earth with great difficulty. Looking around, Vita was slightly confused. Huh, this wasnt were I was just a moment ago. That fucker made a nuclear bomb without telling me, that bastard. Hell, if I didnt have the weird bone cancers to grow around me during the explosion, I might''ve died right then and there. Not only that, I didnt get to check for what would happen if one of my already dead cells got any dead-er. Oh well, no point in wasting time. Oh hey, the book survived too! Vita finally started to move from the hole after checking every cell for anomalies. It took some walking before there were any signs of forest. Tall trees were burned to a crisp on one side, with a sad amount of green on the other side. It didnt take long after that to finally come back to a somewhat proper looking forest. If one ignored all of the dead animals. And the tougher animals that had blood leaking out from their ears. There was even one of those tall spider looking things with that eye on the bottom, but there wasnt anything unique about them. Its eye was just so-so in quality. Hey, wait a second. Vita stopped moving and sat down on a random rock. I managed to survive a magical nuke that blasted away the forest. I also didnt get my ears or internals burst from the blast. If I survived something that the forest didnt, doesnt that make me better than the forest? Then clearly someone so badass would need a proper title of sorts right? Yeah, something like God King of the Forest!? No, too cringy and there still is forest left. A bit more lowkey like, The Forest King? Yeah that sounds right. Not too narcissistic, but still cool sounding. And every king needs a cape! Out from Vitas back, long vines grew out and out of these vines leafs grew. These vines werent the purple noble color, but it was a bloody red color. Now Vita stood at a noble two and a half meters tall, with a red cape and a crown befitting a king. Althought the cape is made out of plants and the crown out of bones. The Forest King / Chapter 44 With a not so noble graze did Vita wander through the forest, taking in the different sights. There was two things that Vita did notice however. The further west Vita went, the flora and fauna became less magical. Althought there were some creatures that were completely different from the creatures on Earth. Like small monkeys that had the same tail as squirrels. Adorable little things, but they didnt have much genetic value to Vita. Well, they did have a bit of value, their tails were soft to the touch. Oh, there are sheep here! But why do they look like that? Their horns are a bit weird looking too. And their eyes are sorta placed at the wrong spot too. Vita stood in front on a small herd of sheep, but they had a brown earthy color with horns that went to the side like a water buffaloes instead of the battering horns they usually have. Walking up to some of the sheep, the larger ones looked at him with a odd gaze. As if he was a big hamburger of sorts. One of them were even drooling! The largest ram let out a loud bleat. The sheep that stood in the way parted, letting Vita get a good look at the large thing. It looked a lot like the rest, but its horns had a slight red tint to it and so did its eyes. And again, its eyes were more forward pointed compared to normal sheep from Vitas memory. It dug the ground with its foremost limb, obviously getting ready to charge. Vita, being the self proclaimed king of the forest would never say no to a duel. Rather than backing off, Vita got in a position so that they were both at the same height. The ram seemed to take offence to this, as it let out another loud bleat and charged over with suprising speed and determination in its eyes. The different cells in Vitas body got ready for the impact. The multiple eyes went further in the skull in case they would pop out. Right as they would hit each other, Vita shot forward. All of the nearby sheep recoiled when they heard the sound of something cracking. Vita managed to survive the collision with minimal injuries, just a few microfractures really. Blood flowed out from almost all holes on the poor rams body. Mouth, eyes, just blood flowing out. It layed sprawled out in front of Vita, letting out some pitiful bleats compared to the previous ones. With a sigh, Vita continued to walk right throught the crowd of odd looking sheep. The crowd surrounded the dying ram, but Vita didnt care much. Vita did start to care slighty more when the sound of flesh being torn. Oh, oh my. So thats why their eyes are like that. I shouldnt interfere, but since they arent going to save the thing, I should go get a piece. Somewhere quite far away. In a certain building. "No." An old man sitting behind a desk said with a stern look. He look the the stereotypical old war veteran type. Grey hair with lots of wrinkles. He did also have multiple scars on his face as well, but all they did was to make his face look even more wrinkly. Stolen novel; please report. Sitting on a chair in front of him sat a small gal. She had a small round face with big eyes. The typical babyface. It didnt help that she was pouting hard, blowing up her cheeks. It didnt matter to the old man however, as his eyes were colder than steel. A couple of seconds later the girl got out of the chair and walked out of the room, followed by a knight. "Milady, are you sure about this? Old man Noah said no, and his word is one of the few things these adventurers will listen too." The knight put some extra weight on the word adventurer. He clearly didnt like them. "Oh, dont be like that. Their so cool with their weapons and clothes! Didnt you see the one with the whip! She was so cool!" The young girl raised her hands up into the air while walking in front. The knight let out a silent sight. He also walked around with weapons and his armour was cooler too. "Besides, we dont need a *lot* of people helping us, just a few." "But Milady-" The knight tried to say something but was quickly cut off. "You dont need to call me *Milady* either when there arent any rich people nearby." The girl blew up her cheeks while looking at the knight behind her. He let out another sigh but didnt say anything. With a ''hmph'' the duo walked down the stairs. One could immediatly tell the difference from the top floor and the first floor. The first was clean with white stone to support the roof. The room where Noah worked had carpets on the floor and it was quiet in there. Downstairs on the other hand. There where loads of people either drinking, eating or talking loudly about their jobs. There were also people walking around serving people their foods and drinks. The bar was also busy, with people drunksinging to each other for finishing a difficult job. Some however werent as happy as the rest and seemed to be mourning. The little girl still couldnt get used to the smell of so many people and spices. Sir Knight walked up front this time with the girl behind him. Most people backed up when they saw the knight, and those who didnt got pushed away. When they turned around to see who pushed them, they quickly stopped in their tracks when they saw a knigth with a child behind him. They walked up to a table placed in one of the corners. There sat a bunch of different people there, but they all had a somewhat serious attitude. The one who seemed to be the leader put down his cup and looked at the two. He had a brown stubble and a bald head. "So, what did the old man say? Is the little princess allowed into to the scary woods?" He said with a grin. His teeth werent in perfect condition, but they were much better than having no teeth. "Im-" Sir knight started. "He said we shouldnt go to far into the forest and that we should be careful." The little girl interrupted. The knight turned around to look at the girl, but she just smiled at him. "Well aint that some good news. After that massive cloud appaered deep in the forest, no one would wanna go too deep in there either." The man drank his beer in one go and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Im Aaron, Adam here is our tracker and scout. Adi is our medic. Albert is too dumb to do anything smart, but he knows how to swing his axe around. And our esteemed guests are called?" Aaron held out his hand for a handshake. The girl shook his much bigger hand with a smile. "My name is Diana Wolfheart." Aaron let go of her hand, got up and placed a couple coins on the table. "Alright people, lets get out and get some fresh air." The group walked out, walking past more people. As they walked towards the large wooden doors, Aaron pulled off a note from a massive billboard. Lots of different notes were pinned on it, and the note he held in his hand read : Adventurers needed to help capture awesome monster, reward 10 gold coins. The Forest King / Chapter 45 Tree, tree. Larger tree. Smaller tree. Five small trees in a row. Man, stuff is getting more and more boring looking. There are barerly any magical creatures, just normal looking ones. Except for these fucking birds! Screw off, Im not a tree for you assholes to build a nest on. Vitas head turned 180 degrees to look at the different birds that were trying to rest on Vitas cape. A couple had somehow managed to create a small nest and were currently sitting right in front of Vitas face dumbfounded. In their glassy little eyes, Vita didnt see any form of intelligence. Only an empty void for a brain. Knowing that some of them managed to build a nest pissed Vita off, but it did make Vita look slightly cooler. At least there arent any parasites trying to get inside. Hate those bastards. Vitas head turned back to the front while contemplating the death of all parasitic life. It was while doing this evil thinking Vita heard something moving far ahead. Which was odd because nothing in the forest would make so much noise on purpose. Even bears would move with some silence, unlike these loud creatures. The closer Vita got, it got more and more obvious that whatever made so much noise wasnt from any forest creature. Reason? Language. They spoke, as in they spoke the way humans would speak. They did try to whisper to each other, but with Vitas sensitive ears it wasnt a problem to hear them. Vita didnt understand the language they spoke, but based of tone of their voice they seem to be really focused on something. Deciding that intruding on their job would be rude, Vita far stalked behind them to watch whatever they were doing without intruding on their business. The birds that were chirping near Vita seemed to create some sort of camuflage, because the bandits didnt seem to care about them and they started to make more noise. They spat at the ground after the person who seemed to be the leader said something while showing the people behind him a piece of paper. Holy moly that guy is ''Ugly.'' with a capital U and with a full stop after it. Dude probably takes baths in shit and drinks horse piss in the morning. And what is that zit on his forehead? Is he a teenager?! The sheer amount of ugly on that mans face forced Vita to stop, which was perfectly timed with team ugly stopping as well. The leader pointed, said some words and a part of the group quickly walked ahead while another part of the group walked to the left. They had split up, but for what? Vita used all 7 eyes to look and only then did Vita see the slight traces of a path further ahead. Wait a second. Super ugly, in a forest and splitting up when close to a path? These guys are the fantasy bandits the main character would defeat! But how could I, a noble king of the forest, touch such dirty and sinful peasants! Bah, lets see what tomfoolery they are up too first before we let them see our noble visage! This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ... Holy fuck I need therapy. Cant be speaking to myself this much. "Aaron, are you sure that we will be able to find anything at all? Even though I do not know too much about The Worlds Tongue, I do know that we wont be finding any noteworthy beasts when we have barerly traveled a mile inside." The knight said as he held the reins connected to the horse that Diana sat on. She wore a cloak in case it started to rain and to keep her dress clean from nature. It would work as a disguise too, if only she would wear the hood as well. "Sir knight, patience please. Everyone knows that the further in you go, the stronger the beast. But with the magic anomaly that occured, we might run into some dangerous fellows. There are even rumours that a dragon fought with some unknown monster which caused the anomaly." Aaron said as he turned to look at them. He looked at the both of them and then back to the front. Aaron and the rest of his merry band were organised in a U shape with Diana and the knight in the middle of it. But the knight didnt feel like they were in in the middle to be protected. For one reason or another, his gut feeling said that trouble was lurking nearby. And right he was, as he heard something move behind them. Turning around, he saw a group of dirty looking men approach them with different crude weapons in their hands. He didnt need any words from Diana and immedietly dashed towards them. The sudden burst took the bandits by suprise as the knight appaered in front of one of the bandits. Using the momentum created, he hit the bandit right in the gut. The bandit went flew a meter and landed hard. vomiting up both acid and blood as he flew. One of the closer bandits ran up to the knight with a sword held high and another bandit followed up with a dagger. The knight let them get closer before pulling out his sword and cutting deep into the sword wielding bandits chest. The bandit let out a scream as he felt the cold steel cutting through his lungs. The knight didnt let him fall just yet, as he used the dying man as a meatshield to block the dagger that came from the side. The bandit let out another scream and then went silent. The knight pushed the now dead corpse at the bandit who tried to stab him. The bandit pushed away the corpse only to see the cold shine of metal as it cut his head open, exposing his brain to the air. But before he got to continue the slaughter, he heard someone struggling behind him. He turned around in panic and saw what he feared. "Now now sir knight, no need to kill any more of us. Unless you want your little princess here to get her eyes poked out." Aaron stood there with Diana, bound with rope, underneath his arm. He had gagged her with a piece of rope, but how had he not heard anything at all? A figure moved from behind Aarons shadow. The first word that came to mind was ugly. But he had seen that ugly face before. Jakob the Ugly. He wasnt know to public, but he had seen a bounty poster once with his ugly face on it. He had also heard Dianas father talk about being on the lookout for someone calling themselfs Jakob. He would have never expected to meet this bastard. There were two reasons as for why Jakob was considered a problem. One, Jakob was a semi-infamous bandit known for his extreme ugliness. Second, he was a true degenerate who has broken nearly every rule known to humanity. Murder, rape, kidnappings and tax evasion. A danger to any village or city he might be hiding in. And now he stood here with with the marquess daughter tied up with rope under his arm. He could feel rage build up in him as Aaron sneered before talking. But he didnt get to let out a single sound. Out from the trees, something long flew out and hit everyone ,except for himself and Diana, in the head. The rage that was building up was quickly changed to cold fear at whatever was able to do something like this. He didnt ponder for too long on this as he remembered that Diana was next to the scum, so he quickly picked her up. She was covered in blood, terrified and shaking. Poor thing would probably never recover, how would he be able to talk to her father about this. The Forest King / Chapter 46 Well, that wasnt too difficult. Now, I was planning to just observe. But my noble and royal seven-chambered heart couldnt bear to see a child be so rudely handled by such ugly people! So with some quick eyes to spikes coordination and boom! They all drop like headless flies. Now enough monologuing to myself and lets greet this child and her slash his most noble knight! Hey, dont judge me. How can I know who wears what. Could be a psychic baby in that armor. The sun had started to set, casting long shadows on the ground and painting everything touching the light with a pinkish hue. The knight cradled Dianas small frame on his left arm while holding the sword in his right. He heard the chirping of different songbirds, but there was something so faint underneath. The sounds of footsteps. Could it be someone practicing the ways of the druid? No, it couldnt. He had managed to get a quick look at whatever it was that killed the Jakob and it didnt look like something a druid would make as a weapon. Could it be a magician or wizard of some kind who had been studying a new spell, then deciding to test it on these bandits? But that wouldnt explain the birdsong. It was while thinking Diana made a sound. He looked down to her and saw that she was looking a bit further up than he he was, so he followed her gaze. Into something he couldnt quite explain. It had what looked to be the head of an elk, but its slightly open mouth and the setting sun showed its sharp teeth. It had seven eyes that he could count, three of them seemed to be pairs with different pupils. It had a eye in the middle of these pairs, right on its forehead, which was looking straight at them. Its horns were a total mess of sharp points, but it looked like a tall crown made out of thorns. The creature took a step forwards, grasping at the trees it was hiding behind with massive hands and each finger had long dagger-like nails. Its back and chest was a combination of fur, feathers and what seemed to be blades of grass mixed together. It was only now that he realised the size of this creature too, as it looked down on them with its many eyes. It wore a cape of some kind, and due to the sunlight it looked like it was covered in blood. Its exposed belly look hollowed out, as if it had been starved for days without end. Its legs were the most normal looking part of the entire creature, ending with rather common looking hooves. But combined with the rest of its form only added to its demonic look. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Running was a thought that appaered in his mind, but he doubted either he or Diana would get far. Even if they couldnt escape, he doubted that he could fight it for long. Those nails seemed tough enough to tear him apart. For thought that raced throught his mind, he got more and more afraid. *tink tink* The sound of something hitting his armor brought him back to reality. He looked down to Diana for the second time. She was looking up at him, but she wasnt as afraid as before. "Sir knight, let me try to tame it." she whispered. Tame it!? He thought. The creature was not only terrifying to look at, but it most likely ate meat with those teeth. And even if she managed to get close to it, it wasnt garanteed that her magic would work on it. If he remembered correctly, both parties would have to agree for the magic to take effect. Meaning that if the monster wanted to, it could simply disagree and then kill he and after that it could kill him. But it being Dianas wish to try, he had to comply. She got down from his arm, shaking slightly as she took a step towards Vita. Sir knight came from behind catching her, make sure she didnt fall over. Aha, here they come to meet me. For a second I thought I scared them away when I dealt with these bandit looking fellows. They must be coming closer to admire my noble form! Yes, people of probably noble decent, come closer witness my royal looks! Hmm, no. Im cringing at what Im thinking. I should learn to keep quiet in my own mind. Diana stopped walking towards Vita when she was at arms length away. Vitas arm to be exact. She got down to one knee and brought her hands together. She muttered something and a soft light started to spread over the area. Sir knight behind her stood there without showing any emotion, but inside he was getting more and more paranoid. After a while, a ray of the light covered Vita. Normally Vita would have reacted violently to magic, but after surviving the magical version of a nuke Vita did start to look down on it. The light swam over Vitas surface, looking over every nook and cranny. As the time went by, Dianas muttering stopped. The light that covered the two started to take shape in front of them. The light took the shape of a piece of paper. It seemed almost alive as it fluttered in the air. The scroll in front of Diana quickly dissappaered as she touched it. Now, the only magical thing in the air was the piece of paper in front of Vita. What is this? Looks like one of those bootleg ancient scrolls you find in childrens toys. Not only that, I have no idea what this text is. What even are these chicken scratches supposed to mean. Use your superior mind Vita, it cant be too hard to understand. Okay, it has text at the top, some slightly smaller text in the middle and two lines at the bottom. One line got words on top of it while the other line doesnt. Is it a contract of sorts? It is magical and all that stuff so it might be something else. Eh, potato potato who cares. Let me just poke it. The Forest King? / Chapter 47 It felt like hours for Diana and Sir knight, standing there waiting for the monster in front of them to react. Diana was worried that the monster wouldnt accept the conditions. Her parents had warned her to keep the contract fair, as most monsters that were intelligent would also be prideful and therefore be hard to win over. To make things even worse, there was the side effect of weakening her if the contract failed. Sir knight was getting more and more stressed and one could almost see the sweat dripping out from the different holes in his armor. It took him so much self control just to not shit himself, his buttocks clutching hard to not let anything out. He was still holding the sword in his right hand. But he was wondering how he would be able fight with such a beast that he had never seen before. But they both were dumbfounded when they saw that the monster actually touched the contract. The light from the contract burned up the contract and the embers from it split in two directions. One half floated towards Diana and the other floated towards the monster. With Diana, it simply formed a bracelet around her arms. It was made out a fine golden material that wasnt quite gold. But it seemed that the golden ember had some trouble with Vita. It stayed around Vitas face, but it didnt take any shape yet. However, it did make Vita look even more noble than before. Sir knight looked to Diana to see if she knew anything, but she was just as confused as him. It seemed that after a while, the golden ember kinda gave up and just stayed as a mist around Vitas mane. Vita shook the mane to check if there would be any problems, but it managed to keep up with every shake. Ooooo, fancy. It would be annoying if it stayed around my face forever, but its nice to see that it decided to be around my neck and mane instead. And with my IQ that is higher than the weight of someones mother, I guess this is a pact of some kind. There are some things in mind of the type of pacts we are talking about. The likelyhood of it being a slave contract is low, because then these two could just have bought a slave. So it might be something like a pocket animals game, or like a gamble of actually getting what you want. I should follow the girl for now, considering that she is my boss now. But if I have to act as a parent any time in the future, I swear Im going to run away as fast as possible. The monster leaned forwards with its face a few centimeters away from Dianas face. It was also now that Sir knight managed to get a proper look at Dianas new ''companion''. It was to his suprise to see that the monster actually had an exoskeleton similar the kind bugs have. He couldnt see it before because of all the stuff covering it, but now it was quite clear to him that he had even less of a chance of winning than before. Not only that, but it was much bigger than he thought it was. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Diana ignored the scared Sir knight beside her and looked into Vitas eyes. At first she was happy, but she was supposed to feel a connection with the monster she bonded too. That was what her mother had told her, and her father before that. So the lack of anything from her new pet was dissappointing to say the least. She tried to find a place on its face to put her hand on, but with all of the eyes on its face, she decided to put her hand on its nose. It didnt flinch, it didnt even move its head to get rid of her hand. It simply sniffed once and let her keep her hand there. It wasnt too big of a problem if she couldnt feel anything from it. It stood before her and she had her hand on it. She looked at Sir knight while thinking of a for her new friend. It didnt take her long to figure out a name. With her noble status and it already looking like a noble, she decided on the name she best belived would fit. "King." She said as she looked back to its eyes. "I shall call you King, do you like it?" The two stared at each other and before Sir knight got to say something about intelligence of wild animals, it shook its head. Diana pouted, but didnt take it to heart. "Until you learn to speak, you can change your name. But for now your name will be King." She crossed her arms with confidence while nodding her head. Sir knight had seen this pose many times before and knew that she only did this when speaking as if she was the boss. Thinking about it, she is technically his boss. He could really do it with a strong drink when he got back. Now that they had not only managed to get Diana a pet of sorts, they could finally go back home. Sir knight made sure to count up the corpses on the floor, but stopped at Jakob. He nearly vomited when he saw that the odd spear penetrating his head had pierced the large zit. The zits insides had spilled out, revealing a slight brownish-ish yellow color that had mixed together with the blood on the forest floor. He quickly kicked some dirt on it before moving to the horse. He wasnt sure if ''King'' would carry or let Diana ride on it, so he had to make sure the horse was at least alive. He walked up to the horse to look for any wounds. Seeing that it wasnt hurt, he jumped on and gave it a weak kick on the sides. Instead of moving, it turned its head to look at Sir knight and then towards King with clear fear in its eyes. "It terrifies me too." Sir knight said softly as he rubbed its neck. The Forest King? / Chapter 48 The four, if counting the horse, finally got out from the forest and arrived at a large land with little to nothing to it. There was a road in the middle and a few hills here and there. Green grass and out in the open, it was nearly the same as the forest. Except the lack of trees and wildlife. While Sir knight rode on the poor horse, Diana was carried by Vita. At first Sir knight was going to ask Diana if she wished to ride on the horse as well. But seeing her so determined to ride on her pet, he decided to keep quiet about it. At first she tried climb up on Vitas back, but she wasnt quite strong enough to do so. She then tried to communicate that she wanted to be on Vitas back. This only caused Vita to mess with her, patting her on the back as if to help a small child to burp. Not only did this nearly make her cry in embarrasment as she actually did burp, but also because it hurt a lot too. There was a suprising amount of strenght in that seemingly weak pat. In the end, Diana was carried around by Vita in one hand in a similar manner to how one would carry ferrets or rats around. It was quite uncomfortable, as Vitas hands were hard as stone and that Vitas hands covered her nearly from hip to her armpits. If a stranger saw this, they might even think that she is being held hostage by some strange beast. Hell, even Sir knight was thinking that ''King'' would at any moment bite her head off. Worries about dead children aside, the road back to the city was short. It didnt take long for them to see a long wall streching far from side to side. The closer they got, the older the wall looked with noticeable cracks from such a distance. When they neared the city gates, a couple of guards quickly walked up to them. They seemed alarmed by ''King'' holding the marquiss daughter in its hands in such a brutish manner, but were immediatly calmed down after a few words with Sir knight who reassured them that the monster wasnt a threat to anyone or to Diana herself as it was her ''pet'' that was simply carrying her. After pulling on a piece of rope that led to the top of the wall, the two guards let them in through the first gate. The space inside wasnt too large, but it was suprisingly clean and would probably fit a couple of wagons in it if they were ok with being stuck. The wall had two gates and right now they were underneath the wall. The second opened and Vita got to see for the first time a fantasy city. It was hard to explain without pulling the magical part out of it. It was clean and looked like a typical rich medieval place. The roads were paved with grey stones or bricks. The houses werent tall in the area they were in at the moment, but they had enough space between them to not burn down if there were any accidents. Not only that, but the place was also well lit. Suprisingly so for only using what could be assumed to be lamps. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Despite it being quite late at night, there were still plenty of people walking outside. There was a mix of different people, but the majority of the people were either soldiers of some kind with leather armor on or adventurer looking people with nothing to eyecatching to notice. A party with swords on their backs over there, and a bunch of shady looking people over there. But nearly everyone immediatley stopped in their tracks when they saw Vita who was sticking out like a sore thumb. Taller than some of the houses with golden dust covering its mane. A crown, cape and even seven eyes. All of which were looking in different directions, except for the eye in the middle that stared straight ahead. And with a child in its massive hand, some people might even think that a new species was holding someone hostage. In the past, it was usually Sir knight who attracted the gazes of the people around him with his shiny armor. He used to hate it, but now he actually felt jealous. He would really need some alcohol to sleep tonight. After all that had happened that night, they did deserve some peace. Not a single problem occured on the way, not even when they walked throught the less lit area of the city. Whatever could be scaring away thugs at this hour? Perhaps the mix of noble knight and scary monster kept them at bay? Finally, after walking past the richer part of the city, they finally reached a large mansion looking area with a castle in the middle of it. The mansion had a large fence surrounding it, but with Vitas height there would be too much trouble just jumping over it. In front of the gate stood a half asleep servant looking fellow. *Cough Cough* Servant, would you open the gates for the marquess daughter. And while at it, could you lead this horse back to the stables." Sir knight had gotten off the horse and woken up the servant. He quickly woke up and quickly greeted both Sir knight and Diana, but had to take some time to put his thoughts together as he saw Vita. He stood there dumbfounded until Sir knight snapped him out of it by shaking his armored hand in front of his face. The gates were opened and the servant took the relieved horse with him. "Well Diana, I doubt you would like to stay up any longer. Im not completely sure about how your family will deal with your pet, but dont worry. I''ll explain what happened today to your father. Go get some rest." He walks off, leaving both Diana and Vita standing there. Vita still held on to Diana as she was half asleep and yawning softly. She simply pointed the way that they had to walk to get her to bed. The insides of the manor were grand, with candles and paintings on the walls. The floor had red carpets and other random rich people stuff were placed in the hallways, nothing Vita really cared about. Left, right, right , up those stairs and another left. The room that Vita finally entered had a massive bed with the head up to a wall. There was the typical bedroom stuff too, but it was all so disappointing and non-magical that it wasnt even worth mentioning. Vita pulled the sheets and went in, leaving Diana on the floor. It took a minute before Vita realised that Diana was the one supposed to be in bed. The Forest King? / Chapter 49 "My lord, I hope I''m not getting in the way of your work. To bring you some good news, your daughter managed to tame a monster. And to give you my honest opinion, I don''t think even a small army would be able to kill it." Sir knight left the dark office with sleepy eyes and with a sweaty body. The day so far for him had been tiring to say the least. In the room, there was a shadow of a man. Softly writing with a feather dipped in ink. For a moment, it slowed down before coming to a stop. After a second, however, the man continued to write on the paper. If the room was lit up, one would see the massive piles of papers stacked up around and behind him. In Diana''s room, she slept in her massive bed while hugging one of many pillows on the bed. Right next to the bed, Vita squatted there without moving. You could only see the head, mane and cape, while the rest of the body couldn''t be seen. But from Vita''s mouth, a small white ball fell out. It bounced once, twice, before stopping. Hell yeah, the best baby ball is back! Rocky and shiny bug is here, now with controllable light levels and upgraded to see with different eyes. So now I got the ''King'' body and the tiny little marble bug body. Wonderful stuff. Now, let''s take a proper look at this place. Maybe find potential escape routes like secret tunnels and easy to break windows. You never know if something happens that one doesn''t want to be around to witness. Like naked old people. If I do meet any, I should put them out of their misery. The small ball rolled towards the door before opening up. Six legs total, small mouth and big adorable eyes. Tentacles moved out from Vita''s mouth and pulled on the door handle. The door opened without a sound and a small, white ball rolled out. Whenever a corner was coming close or when something made a noise, Vita would slow down and open up to get a better look at what''s going on. There were mostly just maids or servants patrolling the halls, but none of them managed to spot Vita. Except for one maid. This maid was clearly older than the rest, but her gaze was cold as ice. The moment she saw a small, unknown creature peak around a corner, she immediately powerwalked towards it. The creature immediately disappeared around the corner. When she got there, she saw a small ball roll away. The ball stopped rolling, and it opened up to reveal that it was actually a strange bug of some sorts. It turned its head to her direction and a stare down started. And then the chase started. There weren''t many moving around that early, but there were a few who got to see the spectacle of the head maid chasing a small creature. Some maids had even tried to stop the creature in its path, but all of them failed. As if that wasn''t enough, the creature would unfurl and shoot out tentacles from its mouth to knock vases and different objects out of balance. The head maid however would pick up the different objects and put them back on their pedestals. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The sound of a small group of maids and servants running around had started to wake up the people who were sleeping. Some woke up due to the noise and started complaining. Others actually saw what was going on and decided to run after the mod of people. One poor servant walked out of their room only to have a bowling ball hit them in the scrotum. The head maid didn''t bother to help the man, but one of the maids behind her did, while almost all the other servants stopped moving to wince in the pain. Diana slowly woke up, yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. The sun wasn''t even up yet, but there was already so much noise in the manor. She smiled when she saw ''King'' sleeping on the foot of the bed. The cape served as a sheet for it, but she could see its hooves poking out. She was about to run to her fathers office to show off her pet when a small ball rolled into the room. It somehow jumped up into the air as ''King'' opened its mouth to let it in. Right as ''King'' closed its mouth, the head maid and many other maids and servants burst into the room. The head maid was clearly out of breath, breathing in out heavily. When she saw the shocked expression on Diana''s face, she quickly calmed herself down. She did a quick bow and looked around the room once more. She had seen ''King'' and Diana some hours earlier and was still getting used to the massive beast of a pet. "Good morning, my Lady. I''m sorry to have waked you from your sleep, but have you seen a small white creature go into your room?" The other maids and servants also collected their cool when they saw the young lady of the house being so rudely woken up. There was one servant who was a bit teary eyed, but other than that the crowd just seemed to be out of breath. But when the head maid saw that Diana was still in her nightwear, she quickly shooed everyone out of the room. Although the odd creature was suspicious, it shouldn''t be a threat with ''King'' around. Diana looked at the group of people leave the room. It was only when the door closed that she crawled over to ''King''. The part of the bed that ''King'' slept on was surprisingly enough not dirty. She looked into ''Kings'' eyes as she toyed around with its horns. "King, what was that weird ball that you ate. Is it your friend? Or is it a part of you. I know that a lot of creatures in the World''s Tongue tends to be weird sometimes, but you aren''t weird. You''re really cool." She continued to mumble odd things. All of which Vita didn''t understand. But Vita did roughly understand it as something positive. It was still early compared to Diana''s usual sleep schedule. That together with the little time she spent asleep caused her to fall asleep next to Vita. She still held onto Vita''s horn with her small hand. Ooo, the little baby is sleeping while holding onto me. Isn''t that just adorable. I''m going to vomit blood from all of this cuteness. The Forest King? / Chapter 50 Dear diary. The reason I started to write in this hypothetical diary is because I''m bored. Although I wasn''t in control of that dog/wolf some time back, at least I had some fun with the bacteria and other such things. So far, the only things I have been doing are what I would call "bonding time". Yes, it is as boring as it sounds. After she woke up, she put on her clothes with some help from the maids. Then it was all about names and words. Everything''s sounds weird to me, but at least names are super straightforward. Like, the kid''s name is Diana. The hero in metal is called Sir Knight. I do not know if that is actually his name, but it is easy enough to remember. Imagine calling your name "Sir Knight". I would cry for him if I could. The other things we do as "bonding" are activities. No, nothing like that, get your head out of the gutter. Bastards. I''ll kick every single one of you out of here! Diana would try to give me commands, and then I would do it. But I''m too cool for school. As a matter of fact, she is still trying to give commands. Dumbass. "King, jump!" Diana shouted as she demonstrated in front of Vita. Sir Knight stood further back with some maids. The land that Diana''s father owned wasn''t small, so they had plenty of space. It was a sad sight for the people watching. It would be fine if a pet followed their master''s command, but at least the worst pet would show some kind of reaction. ''King'' on the other hand was just standing there as a statue. The only signs that it was alive was the breathing and its seven eyes moving from time to time. "To think poor Diana managed to tame such a stupid animal". Sir knight said mostly to himself. The maids probably thought the same thing. To their surprise, ''King'' moved all eyes towards Sir Knight. Sir Knight had been stared down by plenty of people, but there was something uncomfortable about ''Kings'' stare. "King, it''s rude to stare at others. Now, jump!" Vita looked back to Diana and, by some divine intervention, jumped. And Vita jumped high. Sir Knight and the maids had disbelief written all over their faces, while Diana''s eyes positively shone with light. Vita had managed to jump over the manor and over the castle that the manor was build around. When Vita landed, the impact managed to crack the ground and send out a small shockwave! Diana was pushed over, but the look in her eyes didn''t go away. Instead, her eyes seemed to shine even brighter. And as a finishing touch, Vita''s raised the head a bit similarly as a true noble would to look even more noble. By now, the light from Diana''s eyes changed to lasers, but only she had that reaction. The people watching sat down on the chairs they had brought with them and didn''t bother to do anything else. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. After Diana tried playing fetch with Vita, another maid walked out of the manor and said some words to Sir Knight. "Diana and, uh, ''King''. It''s time to eat." Hearing this, Diana ran over to them, with Vita right behind her like some evil spirit. The people working in the manor quickly learned that Vita didn''t enjoy being treated like an animal. They found out when ''King'' stole from Diana''s plate and replaced it with the food they had originally given it. Which had included innards. Now ''King'' sat next to Diana with a plate to call their own. Diana''s dinner was a balanced meal with different greens and soup. And ''King'' got the same, but it didn''t look quite filling. Not only that, the forks and spoons looked comically small compared to the rest of its body. As the sun started to go down with the covers of rain-clouds, both Diana and Vita walked through the hallways. They finally reached a door that had was much darker. Diana brought up her hand and softly knocked on it three times. With Vita''s heat vision, totally not stolen from any animals, it was easy to know what was inside. There was just one person in there, but the heat that this human generated seemed to be less than the average. Wait a second. Lower than normal temperature. And the room, based on how the building is made, doesn''t have a window. And this is a fantasy realm. Could it mean that this girl''s father is a vampire! Keep your cool, Vita, you don''t know if vampires are accepted in this world. Hey, they might even be the good guys! Let''s keep our cool... "Come in." A raspy voice answered. Diana opened the door and walked in, and Vita followed after her. Having to crab walk into the room was a bit of a hassle, but doable. The room was dark, and there wasn''t a window in there either. But when seeing Diana''s father''s face, Vita understood why his body temperature was so low. The man looked depressed. Or at least he was crying a bit too much for it to be healthy. His eyes are all bloodshot and shit. But with so little light in the room, anyone else wouldn''t be able to see his face unless they went right up to the man. Or if they threw fire on him. But then again, you wouldn''t be able to see any actual face if it was covered in fire. And now both of them are crying, but Diana seems to be crying happy tears. So does the father too! The original coldness started to disappear when he hugged Diana. Aw, adorable. A parent''s love for their child is truly something else. Kinda makes me want to ruin it for the fun of it. The father and daughter couple spoke in whispers to each other. The depressed dad up at Vita, but there wasn''t any fear in his eyes. The look in the dads eyes were completely different from what Vita had ever seen before. Diana''s dad looked away from Vita when Diana said something to him. His eyes turned soft once more as he hugged Diana again. They stopped hugging and Diana left the room with a happy smile on her face. The dad was also smiling as he waved at the two leaving his room. He pulled a drawer out from his desk and pulled out an old picture. The picture had himself in it and a woman holding a baby. The man was crying happily while looking at the child. The woman however seemed to be asleep, or that she had her eyes closed. The man wiped away a tear as he put the picture back in the drawer as he continued working on the massive pile of documents. The Forest King? / Chapter 51 The days went by with Diana trying to teach Vita many different things. From simple commands to language and a lackluster potty training. As in Vita never really went to "inspect the bathrooms". The few people who came to visit either came to deliver papers to Dianas father or visiting for political reasons. The chats these strangers had were usually finished in a couple of hours and they all went smoothly. There werent anyone who came to visit Diana. Until the day the first snowflake came down from the sky. During Dianas and Vitas training, mostly Dianas training, a servant walked quickly over to Sir Knight. He said something that Diana couldnt hear, but Vita knew to a certain degree what they were saying. Vitas knowlegde of their language was yet to be completed, but they were referring to the two of them and some grand school of sorts. While they were talking, Dianas father was actually walking outside of his room with the head maid behind him. He waved his hand at the saluting people, allowing them to get back to their original task of watching over Diana and Vita. He stood in front of the two as the head maid handed a letter to Diana. It wasnt a big letter, but it had a dark purple wax seal. The seal had a sword with a open book as its guard. "Diana, this is something I could not bring myself to hide from you and Im sorry to tell you this on such a sort notice." He took a deep breath of the cold winter air before continuing. "Im sorry for not telling you too much about your mother. The magic you were born with, the magic you used to tame ''King'', comes from your mother. She loved animals and she loved most things alive. When she still was alive, she kept a direwolf as her pet and helped people where ever she could." He sighed as he wiped away the tears that the building up in his eyes. "Enough of me bantering about the past. The Univeristy Magi-Milians has sent a invitation to you. If you accept this invitation, you will have to have live on university grounds. It is against university rules to send Sir Knight with you, but I believe that they will allow any "pets" that are affected by personal magic." Dianas father pointed to Vita. Diana looked at the letter, then at her father and then to Vita. She seemed to think hard about it as she fiddled with the letter. She looked back to her fathers kind, but worried eyes. "How long will it take to get there?" She had a determined look as she firmly held the letter with both hands. Her father smiled at her daughters will. In his eyes, he saw a faint outline of a woman. He blinked and the outline was gone. He smiled as he patted her daughter on the head. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Diana sat in a well decorated carriage with her family crest, a calm wolfs head with a branch in its mouth. The carriage was built to have room for Vita, but most of the time Vita simply walked behind it or scared the few people that they met on the way. There wasnt much happening, so Diana took the time to read through the letter multiple times. Other than that, she tried to braid Vitas hair. The further west they moved, the cities they traveled through would have more and more people living in them. They didnt stay long enough in each city to learn of their cultures, but it didnt seem like there were too many differences. They traveled for a full week before they got closer to the university. They knew they were getting closer based of the increase in traveling young nobles. Diana didnt really interact with them and they didnt interact with her. There were some people who stared at Vitas. Some librarian looking people seemed to think they knew what Vita was, but none of them bothered to actually walk up to the group. They seemed to make more space between them, as if they were avoiding them. They finally reached the gathering spot for where they were supposed to meet. There were many camps set up by the university, each one having a guard in front of them holding a flag with the different noble houses crests. Diana arrived in front of the tent meant for them with their baggage. Because of the rule of no servants, most university students dragged behind them big bags of rich people stuff. But Diana had Vita to help her carry some of the stuff, so they had much more baggage with them. Diana showed the letter to the guard. The guard had both leather and metal armor on. The metal armor covered the legs, hands, chest and head while the rest of the armor was leather. He brought a crystal over the seal and after confirming that is was the real deal, gave it back to her before walking away. Diana seemed to regret her choice of coming here, but quickly walked in to the tent before anyone would want to visit her. Getting in the tent, Diana let out a breath that she had held in while walking throught the area. Luckily there was a very simple bed for her to sleep on. She sat down on it first, but then slept on it. She fell asleep quickly, as the large group of strangers had seemingly stressed her out. Vita took the letter to see what it was about. Vitas understanding of the written language was even worse than the understanding of the spoken language, but after looking throught it multiple times and then looking throught the memories stored in some neurons allowed Vita to somewhat understand what was written. Something something about being a noble. Something something about magic. Oh this part is interesting. I dont really understand the full thing, but I am seeing a big article with the word accept on it with the word fight some words later. Does this mean we get to fight people! Hell yeah, fighting boring animals and that one bone dragon didnt allow me to learn much about magic. But with this being a school of some kind I might get to learn a thing of two! I didnt learn much when I wasnt so badass, but this time its different! I WILL get to put "Genius of Magic" in my title, among such titles as "Noble", "Forest King", "Golden Maned" and "Guardian"! The Forest King? / Chapter 52 Diana and Vita did arrive to the university later than the rest, so they didnt get much time to prepare for the event they were going to participate in. In the morning, after they ate the breakfast brought to them by another guard, they walked out of the tent. Diana didnt sleep too well and her hair would have been a mess if Vita didnt help her out. Once outside, they realised that they werent the only ones who had a miserable time on the camp. A crowd of noble teenagers could be seen complaining to someone who looked like the boss of this place. The man was quite large, with a bald head and a tattoo going from under his left eye and down to his neck. Despite the many people complaining and shouting, he still had a smile on his face as he tried to explain to the mob what they were doing here. There were some people who didnt complain. These people were either normal looking people without all of the fancy clothes. There were also some noble looking people who didnt complain. There were lots of differnet looking people here, from people with pale skin and blond hair, people with dark skin and no hair and some who even had slightly blue hair with freckles. With some help from Vitas frightening apparence, Diana managed to get close enough to hear what the large man was saying. "You kids dont know when to give up. I have been standing here for a week, telling you people that the entrance exam for mages will be coming up as soon as the arena is finished. Complaining to me wont help with building it faster." The man said with a tired smile as he wiped away some sweat, despite the fact it was winter and snow was falling down to the ground. The group of nobles hadnt had enough yet, as they were still standing out there in the cold. Some of them didnt even pack proper winter clothes, so they might have been caught unprepared for it. Maybe that was a reason for why they were complaining? A guard with the university''s symbol on them walked up to the man and whispered something to him. The smile on the mans face grew wide as he cleared his throat. "Good news! It seems that the arena was completed and that we will be starting in a couple of hours. Remember, this entrance exam is based of how well you are able to fight in a duel. If any of you wish to change your entrance exam, you will have to change to a different subject to study in. If there are any more questions, please ask me or one of the guards for information." The man nodded at the end. The group of nobles disbanded and they walked back to their marked tents. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Diana wasnt quite sure on what was going on so she quickly walked up to the man. She was clearly stressed meeting someone new, but knowing that Vita was with her made her feel better. "Exscuse me, uhm." Diana started. The man turned around and was a bit suprised to see someone so small together with a tall monster like Vita. His gaze went up to Vita and back down to Diana. "Call me Hans. I assume you are Diana Wolfheart?" The man looked almost like one of those people who dress up as santa claus in malls, but bald. "How did you know?" Diana asked. Hans let out a small chuckle. "Your parents used to help us out every now and then. Those where the good days?" He smiled with his eyes closed, savoring the memories. "Now, did you have any questions?" Hans opened his eyes and look at Diana warmly, which only made Diana feel uncomfortable. "Hans, could you explain what we are going to do in the entrance exam? I came here late because I had to train with ''King''." Diana gestured to Vita, who stood there doing nothing in particular. Hans took a longer look at Vita. He thought deeply about what Vita was, but the only thing Vita reminded him of was a wendigo. Hans let out a long whistle before starting to talk again. "Your one lucky gal Diana. If that is a wendigo you got on your hands, then you might even scare away everyone in the entrance exam. Haha. The exam is quite simple. Every student who studies or trains in combat are going to fight in a small tournament. Its all controlled by the teachers and by the head of safety, which is me, and the further up you manage to get in the tournament the better treatment you will get. Quite simple if I say so my self!" Hans laughed a bit at the end. Hans noticed that Vita was staring at him and smiled with warmth. Vita stared, Hans started to feel weird. Vita stared some more, Hans started to sweat a bit more. Vita stared even more, Hans started to change colors. "King! Stop Uncle Hans! He was nice to us, so we should be nice to him." Vita walked over to Diana who had walked a couple of meteres away. Hans wiped away some more sweat after Vita and Diana walked back towards their tent. There were some people who looked at Diana with curiosity, but none were brave enough to approach her with Vita around. Hans pulled out a long list filled with names, some with and some without last names. Altought he wasnt supposed to do it, placing bets was common to do among the guards and Hans did join in on it. He had placed checkmarks next to some of the names on the list and gave one to Diana Wolfheart and her ''King''. Giving a pet such a name was odd, but it did fit a creature with a cape and crown. He laughed for himself and walked to the amphitheatre where the tournament would hold place. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 53 "Ladies and gentlemen, the annual University Tournament has now started!" The air in the amphitheatre was thick with the roaring applause from the audience, despite the snow falling down on them. They were a mixture of different people, rather normal civilians and the nobles either cheered or had someone else cheer for them. There were people who came from the Magi-milian University who also watched and these people got their fair share of respect and admiration from the audience as well. "As it has been tradition for countless years, we even got a member of the royal family here!" The announcer gestured respectfully with his hands to a seperated area which was clearly better taken care of. It had lavish decoration and had a roof above it to keep the people inside safe from the weather. They were placed further up than the others as well to keep them safe in case anything bothersome would happen. Due to it being elevated further up it was hard for people to see exactly which member of the royal family it was. Either way, the all showed their respect to them. "Now! The tournament rules are simple! It will be a one on one fight and the losing conditions are as follows! You fall out of the ring, and you lose! If you are knocked out cold, you lose! If you cheat, you not only lose, but you will never be accepted into the university ever again!" The announcer shouted and his voice traveled far enough to reach the would-be students. The space inside the amphitheatre was nearly as big as the Roman colosseum, and the would-be students had separate rooms to get ready in. They were all given clothes that perfectly fit them and a special ring. They were given a short explanation of what it did from Hans beforehand. It would remind them when it was their turn to fight, and if their badly damaged it would protect them as well. Diana held the ring up to the light in the hall get a better look at it. Vita stood next to her and looked down on the magical ring. The hall was massive and gave them plenty of space to wait in and most of the people there kept their distance from Diana and Vita. She didnt feel bad that the other kids didnt want to talk to her. She was actually glad. There were some other would-be students there who got the same treatment from the larger groups of kids and had a fair amount of space around them as well. Either because of respect, or in Dianas case, fear. Bleargh. The smell in here. This is exactly I keep my sense of smell dead. The scent of scared snots is disgusting and I''m pretty sure that someone here has pissed themself. Vita looked around and saw the culprit of the smell as one of the younger students awkwardly walked up to one of the guards. The guard didnt show any reaction to the smell and simply had the pisser follow them. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. One kid after the other had their rings blink in a bright white light, signaling that they were next up to fight the tournament. Some of the kids who were sent up had a variety of emotion on their faces. All the way from despair to raw willpower to win. And because they were sent up one first and the other second, the latter might get a clue to they were going to fight against. One would-be student with massive muscles that made Vita slightly envious walked up after the ring blinked. When a scrawny kid saw that his ring blinked after that hulk walked up, his face went pale and he passed out on the spot. Guards quickly picked up the kid before anyone could panic and brought him away. Diana did seem worried and looked back to her ring that she had put back on her finger. "King, you''re strong right. You wont lose to anyone, right?" She looked up to Vita, who was looking in all directions at the same time. She tried to grimace to get Vitas attention, but to her suprise the ring she had started to blink in that familiar white light. At once, Diana had the attention of nearly a hundred people. When they realised that it was the child-looking person with the terrifying monster, many started to panic. But there were some who looked at her with eager looks, clearly wishing to fight her and her ''King''. The many eyes on Diana made her uncomfortable and clearly made her panicky. To her suprise, Vita swooped her up. She almost lost her balance but she stuck to Vitas hand as if it was covered in glue. She stood atop Vitas hand as they walked out of the hall, towards the arena and where the audience was cheering for their arrival. When they arrived, the crowd went silent for but a moment before bursting with even more cheers. Probably because they realised that the next would-be student had to fight the large monster. The arena was large with a slightly elevated platform in the middle for people to fight on top of. "Diana Wolfheart! Are you ready to fight for you spot in the Magi-milian University!" The announcer shouted after taking in a mouthful of winter air. Diana regained her determination and nodded. "Then stand on the left side of the platform before you are disqualifed!" The crowd laughed as Vita brought the embarrased Diana to that side of the platform. Shortly after, a teenager with short red hair and a annoying face walked out of the hall. After getting the same treatment from the announcer, he walked to the opposite side. "Are both fighters ready?!" The announcer shouted. Both sides nodded as Vita placed Diana down. "Then start!" As soon as their fight was supposed to start, Vita shot forward with startling speed. in the blink of an eye, Vita held the opponent by the head and dropped him of the edge. It was dead silent, except for the sound of someone slurping on their hot beverage. Vita walked to the stunned Diana and stood next to her, waiting for whatever the announcer was going to say next. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 54 The deafening silence lasted for a whole five seconds as Vita walked back to Diana''s side. Even she was stunned at how quickly Vita had managed to move. There were some few people in the audience who quickly regained their. Someone from the separated area, where the member of royalty, started to clap their hands. This broke the trance everyone was in and a massive amount of applause was released. The people roared at the speed which Vita had won. Even the announcer had to clear his throat before he started to talk. "W-what an absolutely crushing victory! In my twenty-five years of working here, I have never seen such a merciless finish! Even the weakest of would-be students should be able to defend themselves, but this poor fellow wasn''t even allowed to blink!" Diana looked at Vita in awe, but quickly pretended to be Stoic and calmly walked towards a gate parallel to the one she had entered the arena through. But there were some who weren''t so happy with Diana''s quick victory. Diana probably didn''t see it, but there was a small group of annoyed looking teens who were giving her the stink-eye. Vita could hear them, despite the fact they were whispering to each other. "Seems like that Neville didn''t win his round." One of them whispered while looking at Diana. The disdain obvious in his eyes. "Cliff, you are good with your words. Go over there and destroy her. If you manage to mess with her head, it will probably make her lose faster!" One of the teens with glasses and red hair said to one with long blonde hair. "But what about that beast that she got. Earl, you saw what it did to Neville. What if it does that to me?" Whoever this Cliff was, he didn''t seem all too happy to approach the girl with the big creature next to her. A teen with a shaved head patted Cliff on the shoulder with a sinister smile on his face. "Don''t worry about it. Speaking to each other is okay, but hurting other would-be students isn''t. If either she or that thing harms you, they get disqualified. The worst she can do is cry about you hurting her feelings." This time, all three of them smiled. "Alright, Noel, get off me. But both of you owe me some gold after this!" Cliff shook off Noels hand and walked over to Diana. When he got close enough, he cleared his throat to grab Diana''s and started to speak to her. "Hello, are you Diana Wolfheart?" He asked. But before she got to answer, he continued speaking. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Either way, shouldn''t you go back to your mother and get some mother''s milk? Clearly you never got any based of how short you are." Cliff said with a condescending tone. Diana was blindsided by the sudden insult. She didn''t even get a chance to properly think as Cliff continued. "And what''s up with your pet. Are you too weak to fight on your own, so you need the help of some primitive creature to fight for you? Pathetic. And you are supposed to be a noble." He continued his verbal assault, not giving Diana a chance to talk back. To Vita, however, this was quite boring. Really, don''t tell me this is the best this world has to offer in terms of trash talking. Hell, I could probably come up with something more brutal than short jokes. How is Diana taking this, anyway? !? Using one eye, Vita saw that Diana was at the brink of crying! Despite the fact she is almost 17, she has never been in a scenario like this before. Especially in one where someone was attacking her with words. She was clearly trying to hold the tears back, but all that did was to intensify Cliff''s verbal attack. Oh, god-damn kid! It isn''t even that bad! But looking at her, it would be super awkward if she did actually start to cry. Fuck it, I haven''t used my vocal cords in forever. Better now than never. The verbal attack continued uninterrupted. Some people who were there before Diana and some who entered after her listened to what was being said. The tall, muscular would-be student arrived with a bag of nuts when he saw what was going on and didn''t like what he heard. He wasn''t the only one, either. There were a few other would-be students who seemed to think the same thing, but none of them had acted yet. Even Earl started to feel bad, but he quickly buried that feeling. Just as a guard was going to stop Cliff, Vita''s mouth moved. A deep raspy sound escaped Vita''s mouth, as if dozens of different creatures were being choked inside of Vita. The noise shocked everyone who heard it, even the guards were startled. Cliff''s words were stuck in his throat because of the noise, and before he got to continue, Vita started to speak. "Could you stop speaking, your voice reminds me of someone having an iron rod shoved down their penis. And your hair looks like the hair hanging off a cows'' vagina. Not only that, I''m pretty sure I saw your mother getting fucked by a couple of pigs and dogs. She sure seemed to enjoy eating their shit as well. Your mother is a whore fucking animals and your father loves to watch it happen." Despite Vita''s voice sounding so strange, every word was audible and understandable. If Cliffs words were like daggers, Vita''s words were like a bomb going off. Never has anyone heard such barbaric and disgusting words being uttered by such a creature. Cliffs face was changing colours, from red to purple to green. In the end, he fainted from the words alone. The others who wished to help Diana were stunned as well from Vita''s words. Earl, who at first felt bad for Diana, started feeling bad for the passed out Cliff. Only the muscular would-be student didn''t react like the others. As a matter of fact, he was silently giggling to himself. Even holding a hand over his mouth to try and muffle the giggle, spilling nuts on the floor. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 55 "Ladies and gentlemen! As it is, the very first round of our little tournament is just an elimination round! Those poor souls wont get to join the university this year, but they can try again next year. So dont be sad if any of you knew the ones who lost!" The announcer yelled out to the crowd. Despite how late it was, the crowd still had the energy to cheer. Although there were a small number of people in the crowd who had managed to fall asleep, despite all of the noise the people around them were making. After drinking some water from a small cup, the announcer continued. "The rules are the same as before, and the ring has the same function! The only difference is that the higher up you get now, the better you''ll get treated in the university!" Even with the thick walls blocking out the noise the crowds are making, the would-be students could still hear the announcers voice. Maybe some kind of magic was at work? Either way, they could also feel the room shake when the crowd outside stomped their feet or when they cheered. "And here is how the game shall go. A simple bracket to see who will fight with who and who will get to the top!" Just as he finished his sentence, magic coursed in the area over the arena for all to see. Even if some of the crowd has seen the lightshow every year, it was still a wonder to see for the normal people to see. All of the would-be students didnt get a nice lightshow, but instead some of the guards placed a large blackboard in the room with all of the would-be students. One of them held a clipboard and the other wrote on the blackboard with a piece of chalk. They left without the blackboard, showing all the people there who would be fighting who. Some of the would-be students didnt seem too stressed about who they had to fight early on, while some others were praying that the stronger would-be students knocked each other out. Diana and Vita werent there to see the brackets, because they had retreated to a less populated part of the hall. "King, you can finally speak! I know we only had a week to pratice reading and writing-" "Vita" Vitas voice had turned more harmonious from the previous low cries of different creatures. Diana just looked dumbly at Vita for a second before remembering. "Oh yeah! I did promise that until you decide on your own name, it will be King. Its good to know your name is Vita. A bit odd for a name- Wait a second! King-I mean- Vita! You cant say stuff like that to someone!" Although Diana was trying to sound serious, she was also trying to hold back a giggle when thinking about how Cliff had reacted to Vitas words. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. While they were talking to each other, someone muscular walked over with a bag of nuts. "Yo, little girl and big monster!" The voice was filled with a friendly vibe and the mans face was all smiles. Diana turned to the would-be student only to get a faceful of nut. "Want one? You can have the whole bag, I ate too many." He let out a hearty laugh while Diana took the heavy bag. "My names Heracles, Im from the Southeastern side of The Kingdom. Who are you?" He asked. He had a full head of hair that looked more like shrub instead. His barerly visible eyebrows were just as bushy as his hair and his eyes were brown. Despite all the hair on the top of his head, the rest of his face was clean shaven. "Im Diana Wolfheart, from the Eastern side of The Kingdom." Diana did a short bow as one of nobility should. Heracles laughed while clapping Diana on the shoulder a few times. "And who is the big fella?" He looked up to Vita. Sure, he was quite tall for a human, but not quite over three meters tall like Vita. Heracles reached out a hand for a handshake, but Vita didnt return the gesture. Heracles hand went down to his side with a awkward laugh. "Oh, this is Vita. He...She...Its my...my.... Anyway. Heracles, its kind of you to give me your, uh, nuts. But why are you here?" Diana tried her best to not sound rude, but in she probably failed from the glance she got from Vita. "Oh thats simple. If the both of us win all of our rounds, we would have to fight each other sooner or later." He turned around, waved his hand, and walked away with a happy smile on his face. The only thing he really thinking about at that moment was his fight with Vita. Diana walked back to blackboard to get a better look at it and lo and behold, if Diana and Vita did win their first couple of rounds, they would have to fight with him. Hmm. I doubt anyone here could win against me, but with Diana... Looking straight down on the tiny person, Diana looked up and stared back. It was strange. Usually when you look someone in the eye, you can see something more behind it. But there was nothing in Vitas eyes. Nothing hinted on what was going inside of Vitas head. But Diana still knew Vita was thinking of something. The sun had just started to rise on the horizon, dyeing the sky in a strong pink and orange glow. The announcer had been changed out for someone else, this time a much younger looking woman. "Ladies and gentlemen! From today and towards the future, the combatants you see fighting in the arena will be the future students of the Magi-Milians University! And who else to judge the performance of the students other than the teachers themselfs!" She waved a hand to a few figures who sat on closer to the arena. One of them were the always sweaty Hans. He smiled and waved at the audience while wiping away some sweat that was dripping down his nose. There was an ancient looking man sitting next to Hans. The mans skin was so impossibly wrinkly and tanned that one could mistake him for a wooden carving. The clothes he wore were a simple T-shirt and shorts, odd for someone like him to wear. The last teacher there was a beautiful woman with purple hair. But with a long scar going down her face, she was clearly someone not to mess with. "And for the first match of the morning, its between Diana Wolfheart and," The announcer pulled out a small note from a pocket. "her pet monster, Vita!". Tournament for Teens / Chapter 56 Diana walked out of the large gate and stood on the arena. It had been modified to be slightly larger and slightly bigger than before. But it was only a few square meters wider and a few steps taller, nothing too scary. Hans had a slightly dumbfounded look when he heard the "new" name for "King". But he didnt linger too long on it. Maybe something changed when Vita verbally attacked Cliff and he had to get some slight medical attention. Either way, he didnt pity anyone who betted on Diana losing this round. He could practically smell the gold coins. Odin was thinking the exact same thing, but didnt bother hiding his greedy smile. The only one with a stoic face among the three judges was Camille. She quietly let out a sigh while looking at the two gamblers with a tired look. Camille looked at Diana and Vita. Getting a proper look at Vita, she couldnt help but wonder how the two met. Dragons are rare enough, but wendigos can be considered rarer because of their inability to increase their numbers. She knew that Odin has fought one before, but she knew the old man was more worried about his money and body rather than something he has fought and killed. And then there was how Diana had managed to tame it. From what she knows of the family Wolfhearts hereditary magic was that it could be used to create a bond between monster and host. But for a wendigo to willingly join a humans side was strange. It must have been either tricked or caught of guard when the spell was used. There were many strange things Camille didnt have the answers too, but it didnt matter. "We all saw Dianas and Vitas victory, and will their opponment be able to react on time?!" The announcer looked around the audience before continuing. "Cliff Rowe, the voice of the wind, who blew away his enemy. Who will be pushed off first!?" Cliff walked to the arena with a frown and his hands curled into fists. The embarrasment from what happened in the waiting hall still lingered in his mind. Just thinking about it made him mad. "Are both fighters ready?!" Diana nodded and Cliff lifted his fists. Vita didnt move at all, just waiting to see what the ''voice of wind'' was supposed to look like. "Start!" With a wave of her hand, the match had begun! Right of the bat, Cliff shouted and a barerly visible airwave moved towards Diana! But a few vines from Vitas cape moved to block it. It didnt even make a dent in the wall of vines. Diana had only now reacted and was startled by the sudden wall of red. Cliff scoffed and let out another shout, aimed at Vitas face. Vita didnt even bother dodging as the airwave landed right on Vitas seven eyes. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Cliff was about to let out a laught, but it got stuck in his throat. Vita didnt even blink when the airwave landed. Was that magic? Suprisinly lame, but its ok. Doesnt really do anything on the microscopic level exept push things. It cant be just pushing stuff with wind, right? Well, I can''t complain. It isnt quite at the same level as the purple flames that the bone dragon created. Lets show this bitchboy how to properly use wind! Vita raised hand up high. And with it, vines moved up the hand. Cliff felt a creeping sense of dread as the vines gathered together into a massive handheld fan. With a wave of the massive fan, Vita created enough wind to lift a car up the air. Cliff couldnt even try to stay on the ground against such winds. While in the air, he didnt give up and let out a whistle. The airwave was concentraded this time, intended to pierce throught Vitas head. But nothing was pierced. A see-through carapace was covering Vitas eye, blocking the sharp airwave. With another wave of the massive vine fan, Vita blew Cliff away. Cliffs hair was all over the place as he was falling to the ground. But before falling, he let out a long scream. He tried to keep himself floating, but his wind magic wasnt strong enough. Cliff ended up landing on the ground, face first and letting out a weak groan. "And the winner is Diana and her pet Vita!" The announcer, well, announced. With that, the crowd went started to cheer Dianas victory. Cliff got on his knees while holding his nose. Two guards walked up to him and escorted him away from the arena and to the medical hall for the second time. The magical lightshow appaered in the sky one once, but this time Cliffs name was removed by a fire as Dianas name went further up the brackets. Most of the students were watching. Among the students, Heracles was smiling while holding a big stick kebab. Noel and Earl were watching too. Although Noel looked quite angry at the loss of of Cliff. Earl didnt seem to think too much of it, but he did seemed worried. "Hmm" A man with a long red hair and a equally red beard sat on a lavish chair. The clothes he wore were a simple tunic, but they were decorated with gold and jewels. He was thinking about Vita. Or rather, what Vita could be. He knew what a proper wendigo would look like. Him and ,the most-likely senile, Odin have seen and fought one before. It looks similar, but not quite. Its fighting style was different and it had vines. Not only that, but it had five too many eyes. He groomed his beard while thinking about it. He reached for a cup that was on a small table in front of him. The liquid was black, not reflecting any light at all, with slight steam rising up from it. After a short sip, he let out a sigh. With it, a small flame escaped his lips. He looked at the black liquid in the cup. His eyes looked at it while swirling it around. His eyes glowed slighly as the liquid started to bubble slightly. His eyes returned to normal, red with reptile eyes. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 57 "Damn it! How could Cliff lose to that brat." Noel was gritting his teeth. Earl had also seen what happened. ''Well, you did see it didnt you? Why are you asking me?'' Earl thought to himself. He did take a closer look at the brackets and who he might be up against, unlike his "friends". He had actually hoped for Diana to win the first few rounds. But her pet, or whatever it was labeled as, Vita would be a problem. He held his chin while thinking about what he could even do with his own magic. When Diana and Vita walked back to the waiting hall, two people walked over to them. One was the massive Heracles, who was chewing on a bone. The other was someone who they didnt know. "Well done! Vita, Diana, your fight was most wonderful to watch. Althought Mister Long Hair didnt wasnt as good at fighting as I hoped." His face was dramatically sad when he mentioned "Mister Long Hair" but for a moment, before changing back to a smile. He looked up to Vita who stood behind Diana and smiled to him, or her. He handed Vita a large piece of bone with a big piece of meat, the heat still coming off it. Vita stared, slowly reached for it and then took the bone out. Vita gave the meat back to the silent Heracles before eating the entire piece of bone without making any sounds. Diana and Heracles didnt seem to be too bothered by this, but the new girl was awestruck. "Oh right I almost forgot! Diana, Vita, this is Beatrice! She is a great friend of mine." He declared as he patted her on the shoulder, laughing. Beatrice was of average height with a round head of hair, almost like an afro. The hair was pink and there were two small ears poking out. Whoa whoa wait a second. She got non-human ears? Like, those look like cat ears. And no one is reacting on it? Why didnt get to see any catgirls before this? And if there are catgirls, were are my dragon girls! Dont think I forgot the dragon girls, Bre! There better be some! "Heracles, your too strong. I think my shoulder is going to fall off!" Rubbing her shoulder, she used her other hand to pull a flower out of nowhere. She breathed in deeply and a light glow emerged from her shoulder. Diana leaned in closer to get a closer look, staring at the glow. "Diana was it? Wanna smell some of my flowers?" Beatrice pulled a white rose from behind Dianas head. Vita however did see how the flower came to be. The flower actually shot out from her hand with a green light. Vita had now seen another type of magic. From the different creatures when with that wolf, to the different types of music these humans had used. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Wow! Was that magic, its so cool!" Diana held the rose in her hands and smelled it. It had a sweet smell and she could feel herself calm down. "It sure is. I can use my magic to create flowers and plants! Although I first used it for gardening." She whispered that last part while looking somewhere else. "Now that you guys have meet each other, are you ready for your fight?" Heracles looked between the two. Both Diana and Beatrice didnt quite understand what he meant by that until Vita leaned down to Diana and whispered into her ear. "If you had remembered it correctly, you''d know we were going to fight someone called ''Beatrice''" Diana was stunned and slowly moved her head to Beatrice. She smiled and reached out with her hand. "Lets have a good fight later. And please give me a few moments in there to show off my magic." Diana reached out with a shaky hand and shook Beatrices hand. Beatrice stood there with a smile on her face, while Heracles just laughed out loud with a lump of meat in his hands. The ring on Beatrices hand glowed. "Well, seem like Im out first. See you out there Diana!" She waved her hand on the way out. Diana, Heracles and Vita stood there for a bit longer. They talked about nothing important. Like how the ground was made out of bricks or wondering on how the torches were lit despite being so high up in the air. Dianas ring glowed, signaling her turn to walk up to the arena. It had been raised once more to be slightly higher off the ground. Diana walked up the platform and saw that Beatrice stood on one side of the platform. "Will Diana and her powerful beast be able to stay awake to see the end?" The announcer shouted to the excited crowd and they all cheered back to her. "Are both fighters ready!" Both Diana and Beatrice nodded. "Then get ready to fight!" Vita moved the red vines to create a cover for Diana to hide behind. But a bed of flowers appaered around and under Beatrice with a faint green glow. "Take a deep breath, okay?" Beatrice had a small flower on her hand and blew it, sending out a yellow mist from it. All of the other flowers send out a similar mist. The mist moved towards Diana and Vita. Diana was worried, but seeing that Vita didnt do anything she decided to wait. The mist covered the two, covering them in the yellow mist. The crowd waited with held breaths. Even if most of Beatrice matches were won quickly, it did give the crowd a chance to take a breather. After a minute, Beatrice felt that enough time had passed and controlled the mist to dissipate and dissappaer. But both Beatrice and the crowd were suprised by what they saw. Even the three judges raised an eyebrow. The red vines that Vita used as a cape was covering Dianas mouth and nose like a mask. The thorns on the vines were pointed outwards and didnt harm her. Someone in the audience quickly brought out a notebook and started drawing in it. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 58 "What is this! It would seem that Diana managed to keep herself safe from the mist by using Vitas cape as a mask! And not only that, but it seems that even Vita is immune to it too! What a twist!" The announcer shouted out in suprise. The people watching had many different reactions to this. Some were suprised as well, but some were actually annoyed. These people who were annoyed forked over a couple of coins and gave them to the gleeful person next to them. Diana touched the mask on her face and looked at Vita. She was ignored as Vita was examining the mist that was breathed in by Diana and catched by the vines. Hmhm, ah yes. I think this stuff isnt lethal. So this Beater of Rice has the magical ability to summon plants? Quite boring, but with potential. Luckily this isnt pollen and wont hatch inside someone either, if that was the case it would be a perfect biological weapon. Lets see how well Beatrice reacts to having a similar fart cloud sent her way. Vita leaned back while sucking in a massive amount of air. Cheeks, chest and gut ballooned up before Vita spewed out a thicker mist similar to the one Beatrice made. Beatrice, Diana and everyone else who were watching were suprised to different degrees. But for a certain someone watching, it was nothing special. The audience, Beatrice and Diana were about ready to freak out by how awesome the trick Vita used. It was only when the mist was right infront of her that Beatrice remembered where she was. Once more the flowers under her control released a mist slightly whiter in color compared to the one Vita made. When the two hit, Beatrice let out a sigh of relief thinking she was safe. But when she closed her eyes to take a breath, Vitas massive hand broke throught and flicked her forehead with a vine. Even if it didnt do too much damage, it still hurt and sent her stumbling back. Again she didnt get a chance to do anything as Vita fully walked throught the mist and picked her up, and put her down outside of the arena. "Amazing! Beatrice thought she had won when her ''Sleepy Mist'' , but it would seem that the rising duo star already slept well this morning! Will there be anyone able to stand their ground against them!?" After the announcer declared the victor, the crowd did the same old cheering, clapping their hands and stomping their feet. The same person who had forked over a few coins was seen forking over a few more coins. Even old man Odin gave a few to Hans, who quickly hid them from Camilles eye like a bunch of children hiding away bugs from their mom. Because Diana was being carried by Vitas hand, she looked down towards Beatrice who was laying on the ground. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Is this how people make friends?" Diana laughed with an uncertain smile, which Beatrice gave an equally determined smile back to. "Well, not quite. But Heracles would probably force us to become friends anyway." Together, mostly with Vitas help to pick Beatrice up, they walked towards the waiting hall while talking about flowers. When they got back in, Heracles was already waiting there and tried to hug the three of them. Vita managed to escape the crushing fate, but the two girls werent as lucky. Diana suffered the most, as her short size meant that Heracles arm went around it like a nutcracker. "Haha, sorry about that Diana. Im just happy that the two of you still decided to stay as friends, thats all!" He was all smiles as he said this. Diana sneaked a glance at Beatrice wondered if she could see into the future as well. Outside were the audience were and also inside of the waiting hall, multiple guards walked in with a massive table. The table itself seemed to hover above ground before a guard moved their hand to make it stop. A student walked over and asked them what they were doing. "Its quite obvious. Its a feast for the students who have been doing well so far. The rest of you guys can starve for all I care." The guard had a murderous aura up until another guard walked over and smacked the first one in the back of the head. "The people who lost can also eat from the feast, but the winners get to pick first the food they would like." The much nicer guard announced before dragging the meaner one away. Some of the winning students, including Heracles dragging Diana and Beatrice with him, moved to the table. The food was diverse with types of food. From different meats to different vegetables. From well cooked food and even some raw fruit. Strange eggs and the large body of a pig-like monster with four tusks and spikes on its spine. Heracles had already buried his teeth into the pig monsters thigh by the time Diana had managed to pick up a plate and the proper utensils. He ripped the entire leg off the pig and started to chug something from a large mug. There were many by the table, with all of those who had lost so far sulking further away. But some of the winning students had yet to touch any of the food. Diana looked at these people and one of them caught her eye. She could quite see their face because they were wearing a cloak and hoodie, but she was sure she saw something glow inside the shadows. Vita blocked her view of the stranger, holding a plate with different kinds of vegetables and grilled piece of fish. "Eat and you''ll grow, aight?" Diana smiled to the towering Vita, ignoring the last word. "Thank you!" Heracles, Beatrice were eating together while talking and laughing. Some of the winning students were even joking around as the two guards from earlier. And even if she wasnt quite comfortable with the crowd of loud people, she did feel safe with Vita right behind her. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 59 After eating and some slight tomfoolery, they were sent to the rooms they had to get dressed in. Even if it was early in the morning, most if not all the students present were tired to different degrees. Even Diana was a bit tired after eating so much food. Vita had more or less forced her to eat a bunch of, "healthy" food, as it had claimed. Which had involved lots of fish. A bit too much fish, as she had started to feel sick. Now she lay on a bed made of wood. It wasn''t quite as nice her bed at home, but it was OK. She started to think about her family while laying there. Her father, Sir Knight, and the many maids and servants who had played with her and taught her about the world. Sometimes she would follow Sir Knight and attempt to train with him. The head maid would never tell her what her name was, but she would just call her whatever she felt like. Lady Ice, Snow maid and so on. Diana looked at Vita, who stood in front of the door, facing towards her. Six of Vita''s eyes were staring into nothing, except for the one eye in the middle. It would move around from time to time, but mostly looking at her. Having nothing better to do, she had a staring contest with Vita. She stared. The eye in the middle of Vita''s face held the eye contact. Diana continued to stare, but her eyes started to hurt a bit. Vita didn''t even seem bothered. Diana started to squint to not blink. Vita was still staring. She used her hands now to not blink. Vita looked fine. Diana couldn''t keep her eyes open and started blinking. She rubbed her eyes and saw that Vita still hadn''t blinked, even with its other eyes. She decided to not think about it any more and tried to sleep. Only for a guard knock on the door before she got to lay down. "Vita, could you open the door for me." She laid back down, covering her entire body with the simple blanket. Vita opened the door with a creaking noise. The guard opened his mouth to speak, but closed his mouth. Looking up at the massive Vita who didn''t fit into the door frame, he was clearly not sure of what to say. "Uh, could you, uhm, tell your master that the tournament is starting again?" The guard stammered forth his message before powerwalking away. "What was it, Vita?" Diana peaked over the blanket. "Back to winning again." Vita announced to her. She smiled and posed. "I''m ready!" She got up and walked out to the waiting hall with Vita right behind her. When they arrived, the number of people had slightly decreased. Heracles was already there, but before they got to speak to each other, his ring started to glow. Shortly after he left, Noels ring started to glow as well. Stolen novel; please report. He didn''t go into the fight without looking at the brackets, unlike a certain few people. But that didn''t mean he was comfortable fighting a massive slab of meat. He ignored Earl''s attempt to cheer him up and walked out to the arena. There weren''t anyone she knew left in the arena, as she couldn''t see Beatrice anywhere. Sad because of the lack of friends, she decided to just wait for Heracles to come back. Vita oh so kindly reached out a hand for Diana to sit on. And so she sat there waiting, swinging her legs. Finally, Heracles walked back into the waiting hall with a few small bruise marks on his chest that quickly disappeared as he walked over. "Haha, Diana, how was your rest?" He asked. "I''m doing fine, thank you. Are you OK? You have a few bruises here and there." Diana pointed to the few remaining bruises, which were barely visible at this point. Heracles patted his chest with a wide smile. "Oh, I''ve been hit harder, I should tell you later about it!" He looked around, and his smile turned to a frown. "Where is Beatrice? I''m sure she was with us during the feast." Scratching his head, Heracles mumbled to himself. "Maybe she fell asleep in her room?" Diana guessed. Her ringed glowed. She and Heracles looked at it, then at each other. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up and left. Diana jumped off Vita''s hand and walked to the arena gate. After the announcer said her line, Earl walked in. "The liquid fire, the red ocean! Who will win between the unstoppable force that is Diana and Vita and the fire mage Earl!" They stood there waiting for the announcers signal to start the duel. But before that, Earl spoke up. "I''ll tell you this. I did feel a bit bad for you when Cliff spoke to you like that. But I am pretty sure that you don''t need me to say that. I just want to say sorry." He pulled out a sword and held it up to his chest. The sword itself looked simple, but one side of it was jagged while the other was smooth. The fight started and Earl quickly swung his sword. With it, fire spewed from it and landed on the ground in front of him. Without anything to burn of, the fire should have dissipated. But magical fire is something else. He didn''t stop spraying fire around, quickly covering the ground with fire. The heat building up with every swing of his sword. The sword at this point was also covered in fire, yet it didn''t show any signs of heating up. Vita picked up Diana just in case those flames got any closer. She didn''t seem to have any troubles with this and had a determined expression. When more than half of the arena was covered in flame, Earl took in a breath before focusing again. This time, when he swung his sword, the blade of fire moved towards Vita. Despite Diana''s protest, Vita let it land. The blade hit Vita in the arm and the fire stuck. But this was exactly what Vita wanted. Hmhmhmhm, so that''s why it''s burning. It''s like an alcoholic fire, no wonder it''s burning on the ground. But it''s not exactly alcohol either, so what should I call it? Earl fire? Oh, who cares. Should I just beat the shit out of him? Earl sent another blade of fire, but it Vita dodged it with ease. The flame landed on the ground. Earl continued to send out blades of fire towards Vita without stop. Except for the first blade that landed, all the other attempts at landing a hit never did so. "Diana, should I continue dodging?" Vita turned one of the eyes towards her. Maybe it was because of all the rapid movement or all the fish she ate, but she didn''t look too good. Vita dodged one more blade before leaping into the air towards Earl. Arms wide apart, mouth open. It looked like Vita was going to eat Earl up. With the moment of panic in Earl, Vita landed and used a single vine to punch Earl in the chest. He stumbled a few steps, getting closer to the edge. Vita sent another vine, using two vines to grasp around his shoulders and lowering him off the arena. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 60 "What a twist! Diana and Vita, for the first time, didn''t just roughhouse their opponent this time around." The crowd laughed. Camille sighed, maybe because she didn''t like how quickly these fights went by. She turned and looked at Odin. "Are you certain Diana, or rather Vita, wouldn''t fit into your classes more. So far, the only magic we could have possibly seen was that breath attack." She said dismissively with a wave of her hand. Odin let out a dry chuckle before talking. "Oh don be rud wit ta girl. She probable got som mana on her palms. Haha." Odin''s dialect was beyond understanding and sounded more like a different language, yet both Camille and Hans understood what he said. Diana had suggested to Vita to drop Earl softly on the ground when she heard that they had won. Although Vita did as asked, no one noticed the microscopic clump of cells that entered Earl''s body. Earl lay there on the ground with a Stoic face, looking up at the sky. A face with white hair entered his view with a curious look on it. "Hey, Earl, was it? Are you OK?" Diana asked. He just responded with a huff and slowly got up, dusting his clothes. "You go ahead, just gotta pat my chest a few times." Diana left with Vita with slight worry about him. After all, he had said sorry for what his friends did. When they did enter the waiting hall, Diana learned that the ones who had lost weren''t allowed in the waiting room anymore. However, they were still allowed to watch the matches. It was now the semi-finals. If she managed to win this round, she would at least get second place. For Diana, it was good enough. After all, she didn''t get so far with her own power. She sat on Vita''s makeshift vine-chair while looking at her hands. She did pay attention to the brackets this time, and now she knew who she was going to fight. Heracles, the first friend she made while away from her home, was the next one she had to fight. Well, she wasn''t actually going to fight Heracles, Vita was going to fight him. She wasn''t quite sure on how to feel about that fact, either. Everyone so far were using magic they had learned and worked with, but she just found Vita and won every round after a week of training. It wasn''t even proper training, Vita didn''t need it, and she was the one lagging behind during it. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The sudden wave of depression washed over her. Her shoulders dropped and she let out a sigh. A large clawed finger propped her head. Vita was looking right at her with the large blue eye in the middle of its face. "Stop being sad, it''s disgusting." She fell off the chair and landed on a pillow of vines. "Vita, you aren''t supposed to say something like that when someone is sad! We have to do something about that sharp tongue of yours!" Diana pouted and threw her shoe at Vita, who caught it with a vine. "Think fast." Vita launched the shoe back at her and hit her forehead. It wasn''t too hard, but it was painful nonetheless. "Vita, you!" She dragged the last word for long, but the ring on her finger started to glow. With a short ''Ah!'' she got the shoe back on and walked out to the arena with Vita behind her. The crowd were cheering with sore throats, and so was the announcer. Heracles walked in shortly after with a serious face. Before the announcer got to tell her line, Heracles shouted out. "Hey, Grandpa! Can we change the rules a tiny bit so that Diana doesn''t have to stand on the arena?!" The crowd quieted down and whispered among themselves. Camille and Hans looked at each other before slowly turning to Odin. He turned his head too, as if it was going to throw them off. "Odin, when did you have a grandchild. Hell, when did you have a kid?!" Hans placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it. Camille was also looking at him, but without the ''I will stab you in the throat'' stare. "The dwirp int meh blud. Aye foun''im in teh desert an decidet tu trein em up." Odin shook the hand off and crossed his arms. "Well, I don''t have any problems with what Heracles suggested. What do you think, Camille?" Hans asked. "Fine. Diana doesn''t have to be on the arena for this one fight if she wishes so." Camille nodded. The crowd weren''t too happy about this, but they didn''t complain loudly about it either. Diana looked at Vita and Heracles, and in the end she slowly walked off the stage. "Thank you grandpa, Diana. Now, Vita, let''s have some fun!" Heracles yelled out with arms stretched out to his sides. The moment the announcer gave them the signal, both sides suddenly burst out quicker than what the audience could see. They both met at the middle, with Vita aiming low and Heracles aiming high, yet their fists still managed to land at almost the same time. While Vita barely budged, Heracles was sent flying. Yet, he managed to stay on the platform by thrusting his leg into the arena, ripping a line into it while doing so. The physical strength needed to do that would be tremendous. "Not bad, Vita, but I''m just warming up!" He shouted. Golden lines starting to glow on Heracles body as he pulled his leg out. The rubble from the ripped up arena actually stuck to his leg, moving over his body and condensing on his fists. He laughed as he ran towards Vita, who waited for him. Heracles threw another punch, but this time it was much faster and hit much harder. But Vita still didn''t budge. Using the vines, Vita smacked Heracles away and followed it up with a headbutt. Heracles managed to block in time, saving him from being punctured by Vita''s horns. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 61 While stuck to Vitas horns, Heracles kicked Vita in the snout. Yet Vita was unfazed and picked him up. He tried to break free, but Vita was a step ahead. With enough force to crack the ground, Heracles was thrown.Yet he was still smiling with no blood seen anywhere. The crowd was loving the fight. This kind of violence was something everyone loved. Only the guards and the teachers were a bit worried about their fight. After all, they would have to deal with these brutes. Vita charged forwards once more, spinning and then sending most of the vines out like a wall of spikes. Heracles moved the rocks on his skin to cover his arms and belly. The hit sent him flying once more and this time he spun and used his arms to grab onto the arena, tearing up more of it. The rocks that appaered moved and covered more of his body like armor. He threw a shard of rock at Vita, yet all it did was to make the slightest of cracks in Vitas exoskeleton. Even then it was fixed in the blink of an eye. Yet Heracles smile didnt go away. Using his hands, he launched himself at Vita with tremendous speed. The impact send Vita sliding backwards on its hooves. With a frontflip that would seem impossible, Vita tried to stomp Heracles back. He managed to dodge it by jumping to the side. The stomp created a large crater, sending chunks of it everywhere. A faint yellow shield protected the audience from any debri that was sent their way. Hans hand was raised up and was glowing in a similar color. And with the other, he gave Odin a few more coins with a frown. The large amount of rock that was near Heracles stopped moving in the air and flew slowly to him. He was, by this point, nearly completely covered in rocks. Only small parts of his body and face werent covered. "Haha, Vita! I told you I was just warming up!" Heracles squatted down with his legs spread. He then raised one of his legs high, creating a vertical line from one foot to the other, before slamming it down into the ground with all of his might! The second crater was made that day, but there werent any debri this time flying around. The large pieces of rock all fell around and onto Heracles body. The audience were holding their breath while looking at this scene. Only Odin seemed to know what was going on. An egg? No no, its a ball. But whats the difference between an egg or a ball if they both allow you to transform? But what would my transformation look like? A ball and an egg doesnt sound too bad, but they arent cool... Oh Heracles is finally done with whatever he was doing. The ball started to move, slowly revealing what was going on inside. Heracles, now at the same height as Vita, stood tall with four arms! The spots where his eyes would have been were glowing with a golden light and the same golden light was leaking out from the few cracks in Heracles rocky body. The four arms on his body flexed. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Now, its shameful of me to say this, but I can only keep this form up for a short time. But lets but our hearts into it and fight like the gods are cheering us on!" He ran towards Vita with all four arms, ready to attack. Vita, ever quick to react, formed an extra pair of arms to compete with Heracles. The first hit this time around created a massive blast of sound and so did the second hit, third hit and so on. They picked up speed, continuing to attack each other. The blasts of noise blurred together, forming a single loud noise of pure power. Everyone watching, especially some of the more muscular men in the audience, were awestruck. They, for some reason, felt a primal emotion deep in their hearts. Instead of cheering, some of the men started to stand up and shout. Even an overweight noble with balding blonde hair tried standing up with a red face. "GO, HERACLES! KICK HIS ASS!". "VITA, YOU BETTER WIN THIS! SHOW THEM WHO IS THE STRONGEST!" The loud men shouted. There were even some muscular women shouting with them too. Its almost like they have forgotten that this is a tournament for teens (hehe). Heracles must have heard them, because he started to attack even faster than before and shouting with them. Slowly, Vita started to slide backwards. Uogh? Oyoyoyoyo! Im sliding! What the hell!? Damn it, I should have changed these hooves for something with more friction if I knew this was going to happen! Heracles was grinning inside of the rocky armor, but was immediatly suprised by what was happening to Vitas feet. Bones shot out from Vitas legs and pierced into what remained of the arena. Vita had finally stopped sliding and could finally start punching back. The knuckles on Vitas main hands and on the hands made out of vines were bruised and ruined, while Heracles was slowly losing rocks. Defending and attacking at the same time, the one who got hit first was Heracles! Although the hit landed and left as quick as lighting, it was still a hit. Odin was the one frowning this time and Hans eyes were starting to shine with the light of shining coins. And another hit! This time someone in the crowd noticed it. "H-Heracles got hit! Oh no he got hit again!" The spaces between each hit got shorter and shorter. The people who had cheered on Heracles, and betted on him, tried to cheer him on. Yet he was the one who had started to slide backwards, little by little with each hit. Ah, I''ll make sure to give you a dramatic finish! Take my super punch! As sudden as the bones that shot out from Vitas, all of the vines gathered into one massive fist! Heracles, who was caught offguard was in shook by the sudden change. "Peashooter Mega!" The fist, that was easily a meter wide, hit Heracles right in the chest. The hit was strong enough to send Heracles actual body flying out of the rocky one. The world seemed to slow down to a stop as Heracles hit the wall underneath under the audience. Everything was quiet as everyone watched with their mouths open. The first one to react however wasnt the announcer, the three teachers or any of the guards. It was the fat balding man, who had finally managed to stand up on his own. "VITA HAS WON!" He shouted with a powerful voice and his fat vibrating with power. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 62 Oh yeah! What the fuck you gonna do about that, wannabe Hercules! Man, this is so far the second most badass thing I have done in this world! And the fact that his ring didn''t activate means that he isn''t dead nor hurt that badly. Maybe I should get some DNA from him? Nah, maybe later. Odin suddenly appeared beside Heracles. "See, I''ve teld ye tha yu wer gunn av sum fuun ere." He picked up the much larger Heracles with one hand and handed him to the two guards who had walked over with a stretcher. Heracles was much heavier than expected, and both guards nearly buckled under the weight. Diana walked to Vita with a mixture of happiness and worry. She was happy that Vita won, but also worried about Heracles. Because she was much closer than anyone else, she heard bones cracking inside him when he was launched into the wall. She looked at Heracles as he was being carried away. The announcer was slightly annoyed by the audience taking over her job, but managed to take over and continue her work. "After the amazing battle between Heracles and Vita, the one who won was Vita with a powerful finishing move!" Completely ignoring the ruined arena platform, the announcer yelled out what everyone already knew. Diana and Vita were going to leave the arena, but someone stood in front of the gate leading to the waiting hall. It was a strange looking man with a handsome face and his hair was slowly changing colours over time. It was yellow when Diana first saw him, but over time the colour slowly changed to a yellowish red. Yet that wasn''t what Vita saw. The man''s face was painfully normal, with dimples and brown hair. There was nothing magical about him either, only his clothes were fancy with a small badge with the universitys badge on his chest. "P-president Victor Kastner!" Hans, Camille and the announcer stuttered at the same time. It would seem that Victor is popular among the ladies, as ''Kyaah!'' and other noises were heard. There was also a guy in the crowd screaming with the ladies for some reason. Victor smiled and waved at the crowd while walking to the teachers. He nodded at Diana and Vita and finally stopped next to the teachers present. "President." Camille and Hans both bowed slightly, while Odin walked back to his seat. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "A slight change of plans. For the last match we won''t repair the arena and there won''t be a platform either. Camille and Hans, you two will have to work together with me to make a proper barrier to protect the audience. Odin you make sure that if the barrier would break, you stop the students from fighting too close to them. No one here paid for something like that to happen." Victor told all three of them and signalled to the announcer and the guards of what was going to happen. A couple of guards walked over to the arena platform and the announcer cleared her throat. "Dear ladies and gentlemen, it would seem that there is a slight change of plans! Normally, we would fix the arena and let our two students rest. But due to the changes, the two will fight right now without worrying about the platform being in their way!" She announced. The guards had a light shine out from their hands, which slowly fell apart. After that, they used their magic once more to move the pieces away. The person with the hood and cloak walked in from the waiting hall to the new arena where Diana and Vita were waiting. When the teachers and Victor saw them, Hans put his hands on the ground with a glowing light. Victor placed a grey-glowing hand of his own onto Hans back. The large barrier touched the wall underneath where the audience were sitting and reached far up to the sky. Victor let go of Hans and walked to Camille. Camille raised a shining hand while Victor placed a hand on her shoulder. Large amounts of crystals grew up from the ground, covering parts of the barrier yet still letting people see what was going on inside. "Miss Margaret, you may continue your work." He smiled at Margaret, who was blushing ever so slightly. She got her emotions in check and yelled. "You all know what this means! This is the final fight for our tournament to fight for status and knowledge in our University of Magi-milian! Both fighters have fought with such ferocity and power that has been rarely ever seen, and now these two powerhouses will be fighting each other! Who will be the winner! The fan favourite combo, nicknamed "Beauty and the Beast", Diana and Vita! Or will it be the unknown master of fire who won''t tell us our name, The Master of Fire! The battle for first place can only be decided by a fight of strong wills!" She roared, with the crowd behind her roaring with her. Diana even saw a bandaged Heracles holding a bucket of chicken in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, Beatrice right next to him with a sandwich in her hand. She waved back to the wildly flailing chicken leg and sandwich. "Look ahead. They won''t turn to mush." Diana focused back on the fight ahead with Vitas reminder. The ''Master of Fire'' stood there on the opposite side with the hoodie still on with their eyes glowing like ambers. Heh, master of fire? Why don''t this kid master the ability to grow up? The only person who was any fun to fight was that caveman. Doing some basic thinking with my clearly superior thinking ability, I''m going to guess this tiny baby is going to be ever so slightly stronger than Heracles / Hercules... Wait a moment. If this dude is a stronger version of that previous redhead, then the tiny baby next to me might get burned. Eh, she will be fine. Probably. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 63 Oh? The temperature around this person is increasing before we even started. Eh, maybe they got cold feet or something like that. "Are both fighters ready?!" Yeah yeah I am ready just say go so I can break this dudes nose. Maybe I should pick up Diana, because its fire magic. Duh. "Fight!" Alright lets see whats going to- oh a wall of fire. Easy, jump over it while holding the kid with a few tentacles. And because this is the last person I have to beat up, lets send out a bone spear or two to see check their defense. Gotta be dramatic about this and use some other tentacles to fire the spears with. Or are they javelins? Who cares. The spears are flying out and~ Nice reflexes, they used their fire to fly to the side, dodging them. S+ for creativity. About time I start falling down to the ground too. Seems like the fire mage wasnt done with just moving to the side. Too bad that tiny fireball wont do much if its so tiny. But this is magic land, and I gotta be prepared for the worst. Therefore, that tiny fireball is actually a bomb! Dodge! And a safe landing. Diana seems fine, I''m not on fire and that fire mage is just standing there. Wait, no, they are moving their hand. Clearly they are moving the fireball! Therefore, rush in! Trying to stop me from rushing you by making another wall of fire? Well, that would have worked if I couldnt move quicker than your fire can grab on! Hello there! Nice eyes you got there, but they arent as nice as mine. Therefore, I''m going to punch you with a fist! Pow and there they go! They are flying towards the crystal barrier shield and they hit it pretty hard. They are still alive, so lets send another bone spear at them for the fun of it. And they dodged it again, those are some pretty good reflexes for someone who has to use nerves to react. It got their hood, so lets see who this is... Its a dude with red hair and red eyes. Other than that, his eyes are also magical looking too. Man, I gotta find out how to make one of my own eyes look all lava-like. Why are everyone reacting so loudly to this dudes face? What is he, a idol of some kind? Are there boybands in this world? Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Vita, that is Rubert-Ree Jacob Firebrand! He is the son of Lothair Alexander Firebrand, the older brother of the King! Why is he here!?" Diana half whispered half said in shock. What? What kind of fucking name is Rubert-Ree? Ree? This guy is going to ree? Is the name itself a kind of knowledge that harms the ones who know of it? He seems somewhat angry. Not pissed, but like he is going to punch a wall any second now. And he punched the ground. And his fist is on fire, is he copying Heracles? "V-Vita, be careful! The Firebrand side of the royal family are rumored to be blessed by dragons! Sir Knight even said that Lothair can turn into a dragon!" Oh really Diana, you dont say when Ree over here has those glowing eyes and a fire that looks like a dragon coming out from his arm. Not only that, but the temperature has definitivly risen by a lot. Eh, only one this is going to suck for is Diana. Securing the straps holding the baby before we do something chaotic here. And here he comes! Good thing I dont have a brain, so I dont need to comprehend anything. He got a ponytail and a girly face, maybe that''s why he used a hood? And there are some scales near his eyes and on his forehead. Vita general! Vita secondary here! Its too hot, evade! What!? If Vita secondary is the one saying this, then we gotta evade! Quick, tentacles into the ground to flip the dirt up and then jump back. Lets block their eyesight to regroup and come up with something strategic. Use our hands to pull it up and then jump! Fire?! His flame is much stronger now than before, did I piss him off or something when his hood fell off? Now he''s trying to box too? I''ve got to say, he is getting quicker and quicker with each punch. Shame I am even quicker. Wait for it, wait for it... Fingerslash! Yeah, scared you good didnt I. Where are you backing off to, come here. Why are you smiling? Masochist? Hm? YAOCH! FIRE FIRE! There is no pain but my pride was hurt!!! Wait, what about the baby and the book! Diana!? Oh thank Bre, She is fine. But extremly scared it seems. How she isnt hurt much be for some other reason. Maybe it''s because of her bracelet? That is glowing. And then the book. Book is fine, doesnt seem like the heat can do anything to it. Strange indeed. No need to bother with Diana if she isnt actually getting hurt either. Maybe I should try and make candy or something for her in the future. Oh right the fire. Uh, fucking, vomit maybe? Nah, too disgusting. Ah, right, bones! Gonna give Diana a breathing mask and then a bone dome to kill the fire. And there we go, no oxygen for the fire. And with no fire, I can continue with the fight. More heat incoming from the 4 o''clock direction! Dodge again, but leave most of the bones to block it. And we are back in the sunlight, how wonderful. Lost a bit of biomass though. No matter, seems like Ree is annoyed with my survival. Will he be able to see this move? Dash, grab his head and slam! All that in the blink of an eye and the only thing lost was some muscle in my legs. Peak~ Hateful eyes, yikes. Suprised he didnt get knocked out either. Lets try out something else then. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 64 Diana was scared, confused and worried. Scared because of the fire that surrounded her, the thing stuck to her mouth and the sudden darkness that followed. Confused because she didn''t feel any pain when the fire appeared. Only discomfort from the heat and the strange tube stuck to her face. And finally worried because Vita was caught in the fire as well. Yet it quickly went away when she was slowly raised over Vita''s shoulder. She saw Vita holding a student by the head, which was pressed up against the barrier created by the teachers. "Diana, the best spot to hit when approached by a stranger is right here." Vita pointed right to the prince''s jaw. She didn''t understand anything at all at the moment, so Vita flicked Rees jaw hard right in the with a tentacle. No blood, no more noise other than a slight grunt before he lost consciousness. Vita let him fall down to the ground before dramatically turning around with a fist in the air. The announcer was just about to say the magic words, but. A raging ball of fire suddenly spread out from where Rubert-Ree was laying. That was what it looked like to most, but a handful of people and thing knew what was happening. Ree had turned into what Vita had called an egg. And if Vita''s totally perfect memory wasn''t filled to the brim with memories of DNA sequences, Vita would''ve remembered that that egg would soon turn into a dragon. Vita was still standing further away with a fist in the air, waiting for the announcer, ignoring the worried sounds coming from Diana, who was staring at the fire-dragon-egg with wide eyes. Panicking, she pulled on Vita''s'' ear while mumbling something about ''fire'' and ''round''. What is the problem now, then? What, he is killing himself? Shit, was he like a sleeper agent programmed to kill himself like that? That cant be good. Should I help him? Hmmmhmhmhmm, nah... You know, when I look at it, it looks a bit familiar to something else. Let''s see, uh, there were scales on the guy. His fire had a dragon kinda in it. Reptile eyes. Well, they did look like reptile eyes, but they could be cat eyes. Then there was that guy from before who did something like this. So if I am correct then soon a- The ball of fire burst open, sending the fire all over the place. Some people in the audience jumped back. And in front of both Vita and Diana stood a small humanoid dragon on its hind legs. Most of the clothes on his body had burned away, except for his pants, which were badly burned. Standing there, his wings opened up, and an ear-piercing scream resounded throughout the arena. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Now turned into half a dragon, Ree tried blitzing Vita with a punch. The speed used was quick enough to break the ground under him and disappearing from others eyes. Vita attempted to jump up again, but Ree flew up above and kicked Vita down to the ground. While up there, he took in a deep breath and let out a fierce fire from his mouth. What little remained of Rees mind in this state knew how durable Vita was and didn''t stop until a full minute had passed. Still in the air, Ree looked domineering like an ancient beast of legends. The ground was cracked open, with the dirt still burning. Gasps and cries came from the audience. Heracles had to be held down by Earl and Beatrice to stop him from jumping in. Yet the teachers and Victor looked at Hans, who had his eyes closed. "The mana signal from the ring given to student Diana Wolfheart is still stable. No need to pick a winner just yet." He opened his eyes and wiped some sweat away from his forehead. Victor nodded and looked back to the arena. With a small earthquake, the ground burst open even more. Large pieces of dirt and rock were sent flying towards Ree, who dodged to the side. Right into a massive fist which knocked him into another, then into a large jaw made of rock that bit down on him. The jaw went down hard and slammed into the ground, revealing a series of blood-red vines. Before Ree even got to cough up blood, a pillar of rock and vines burst out of the ground. From underneath the pillar, a badly burned Vita with Diana still on the shoulder emerged. Vita nails grew longer and slashed open Rees back and with the momentum of the slash, slapped Ree away with a backhand. Ree managed to stabilize himself midair and landed in a crouched position on the barrier. His wings started burning as he shot out once more. The exoskeleton on Vita''s'' chest cracked open, yet Vita didn''t go flying as Ree had expected. A beam of acid pressed down on Ree, forcing him to take a knee. Badly damaged, Ree looked up to see that all seven eyes were staring down on him as Vita''s mouth closed. "You better surrender." Vita said and turned around to walk away. Ree was clearly unable to win this, yet he didn''t say anything at all. A bit of his humanity was shown in his eyes, yet they burned with clear anger and hate. Diana had yet to make a sound with her eyes being shut tight. She had closed them when the massive shift in movement almost made her lose her grip, yet Vita hadn''t let her fall off. "Is... Is it over?" Words came weakly out from her mouth as she opened an eye. With their backs turned from Ree, they couldn''t have seen him slowly raise his arm and hand. And as a glow started to gather on his fingertip, the man in the VIP area and Victor both tried to react. They were, however, too late. The glow had collected itself into a single point of light before releasing a laser which cut right through the shield that had formed around Diana at the last second. With the breaking shield, so did the ring on her finger, and a massive wound cut through the right side of her back and chest. The beam didn''t stop there and pierced Vita''s head and only stopping when it hit the barrier made by the teachers. Even then, it left a crack in the barrier protecting the audience. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 65 Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. There were still pieces of Vita flying in the air, as Victor and the member of royalty both started to glow from opposite sides. Yet the first one to react was Vita. ¡­ Oh, that bastard did not do what I think he did. He did! He shot me in the head! And even Diana looks hurt too! Well, more like she was hurt. Her face tells me that she just passed a kidney stone, but there isn''t a wound on her, tho. Despite the fact that the light of the beam and the angle and all that suggests that she DID get hit. Probably some funky magic she got. And wait a fucking second, why are all the cells in the right shoulder falling apart. Who the hell told them to do that?! That''s it. I am killing this fucker with a home-made club. Time was still moving slowly. The two mages were still getting ready, and Hans eyelids were moving down to a blink. Odins legs were flexing, showing well-tuned muscles covered with golden lines. Crystals were moving along the ground from where Camille was standing, but they have yet to reach over to either Ree or Diana and Vita. As a strange tentacle covered in bone and blood started to move through the air. With every centimetre it moved forward, the other mages nearby were moving as well. From Victor and the member of royalty, their glows extended off their body like an odd limb. One grey moving towards Diana, the other one was a bright red moving towards Ree. The ground around Odin started to crack as he bent down a tad bit more. The crystals on the ground finally started to split into two. Hans eyes were now closed as the blink was halfway done. In the blink of an eye, the arena was filled with magic and people. A large arm covered in flames and scales held Ree down. Victors grey mana had covered Diana like a bubble, but it went away when he released that she was fine. Vitas arm had started to fall off, with the blood being splattered onto the barrier. Creepily, the blood and the other chunks of flesh moved back to Vitas body. Camille had stopped her crystals and Odin relaxed his body when they saw the massive arm. With a closer look, the arm wasn''t covered with flames, but made of the flames instead. And it came out from the VIP area too. A man stood at the edge of the platform with the burning arm coming out of his burning red aura. His face was filled with suppressed anger, looking at Ree with fierce red eyes. Stolen novel; please report. "Your Highness! I, Victor Kastner, greets Lothair Alexander Firebrand." Victor bowed before the man, with everyone following soon after. Lothair looked around and coughed once. "Victor Kastner, you and your university do not need to worry about what happened here today. I will deal with this one myself." His grip on Ree tightened slightly. Victor nodded and turned his head to the burnt up tentacle on the ground, which was moving back to where the dead-looking wendigo stood. To Victors surprise, it was actually regenerating with surprising speed, visible to the naked eye. The arm that had fallen off was casually pushed into the gaping wound on its shoulder and reattached on its own. Diana, the poor girl, was knocked out cold. Even if there were no wounds on her body, the shock would have hurt her mind to some degree. Victor made a mental note to get a mind magician to check up on her in case any permanent damage was done to her. For the beast, it seemed fine enough. A bit too fine, but with the limited knowledge of wendigos, it''s expected for it to be different from previous examples. For now, we all know who is the winner. Victor waved to the stunned announcer, who had been standing up there with her mouth open. After taking a deep gulp of water and choking on it for a second, she shouted out loud with her hands in the air. "After a scary fight that even the teachers were scared of, it all finally comes to an end! After what can only be said to be a victory by the skin of their teeth, Diana and Vita have won the entire tournament! And with some insider knowledge, people who have been betting on Diana and her pet have earned a fortune!" The brackets showed up once more in the sky, but this time the bracket with Dianas name on it absorbed the other ones, before shooting up into the sky and blowing up like a massive firework. The crowd cheered loudly. The massive fat balding man had a strange glow coming out of his eyes while breathing hard, his servants trying to help him. Another person who was drawing something on a notebook finished the drawing and looked at it with a smile. Heracles calmed down and was happily munching on some new food. Beatrice was cheering with the crowd, and Earl let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Diana didn''t seem to be hurt. He couldn''t care less about the ''pet'' and the wounds it was regenerating. The multi-barrier slowly scattered in the wind as both Hans and Camille released the spell. Victor walked to where the announcer stood and nodded to her. She nodded back and stepped away to let him speak. Victor watched the masses staring back at him. "Although the finish to this tournament was a bit, rough, there is still the victory celebration which is going to take place later. There will be food, there will be drinks and there will be some gifts and other trinkets made by the university students and other businesses. And please give back at least some of the money you have won through gambling." The crowd laughed and clapped at the end of the tournament. The floor and walls lit up, leading the crowds outside to where many stalls were set up. And not too far away a massive building, easily over 150 meters tall, stood tall with a widespread forest surrounding it. Tournament for Teens / Chapter 66 The sound of different instruments moved across the sky as people were wandering around the market next to the amphitheatre, buying different products and bartering for the prices. Diana had woken up shortly after a mind magician affiliated to the university checked on her. But she wasn''t allowed to do anything too taxing on her mind. So there she was, together with her three new friends, Heracles, Beatrice, and Earl. When they found out of Diana''s condition, Heracles and Beatrice had tried to swarm her to get to know what was wrong. But with Vita laying on top of her like a wild animal protecting their cubs, they decided to wait. So there they stood. Waiting for Diana to feel better or for Vita to let them in. Earl walked down the hallway towards them with a box in hand. He looked at the two with one eyebrow raised and opened the door. ¡°Diana, are you still unwell?¡± He looked at Diana and ignored the menacing Vita. The room was well lit with a large, closed, window that looked out over the market from a rather expensive hotel. He placed the box on the nightstand next to the bed. ¡°Well, I''m feeling a little better after a bit of rest. But why are you here? Shouldn''t you be with your friends?¡± Diana braided Vita''s vines, which Vita would untie. Earl found a chair to sit down on and pushed up his glasses. ¡°Calling them friends is pushing it a bit. We mostly knew each other because we came from the same city and because we were the strongest of our generation there. And because I didn''t have anyone else to be with, I chose to be with them.¡± He leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. ¡°Oh. But what do you mean by ''not having anyone else to be with''? Don''t you have any family members or servants to keep you company?¡± Diana tilted her head. Vita was considering to vomit blood to end their conversation. ¡°Servants? I almost forgot your family is a part of the nobility. No, I didn''t have any servants back then or now.¡± He rubbed the back of his neck before continuing. ¡°I actually lived in poverty for a large part of my life.¡± Both Diana and Vita were confused now. Wait, what the fuck? Why is he telling Diana about this, is this dude good in the head? ¡°Ah-oh OK. But why are you telling me this?¡±. Diana out here asking the important questions. Good job, I will try to make candy just for you. ¡°I just thought I could be open to you for now, that''s all.¡± Earl got up and walked to the door. Only for it to smash into his face. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Vita! It is unfair for you to keep us from caring for our friend!¡± Heracles walked in with Beatrice behind him. ¡°Yeah Vita! We could be walking around in the market by now if it wasn''t for you!¡± Beatrice piped up before seeing Earl behind the door. His glasses were broken, and his eyebrows were furrowed. She gave him an awkward smile and hid behind Heracles. He finally noticed the person he smashed the door into. ¡°What are you doing behind the door? It doesn''t matter, because it seems like you are a friend of Diana. And a friend of my friend is my friend. Come, we can find new glasses in the market!¡± He picked up Earl with one hand and walked out the door. Both Diana and Beatrice used their puppy eyes to convince Vita. In the end, Diana was placed inside a small pouch made out of vines. Back in the VIP area. The red-haired man hadn''t bothered with Rubert-Ree as he knew the child was in good hands. On the sofa in front of him sat Victor. Victor sat there with a cup in hand, mimicking him before taking a small sip of his own drink. ¡°Victor, when are you going to get rid of that silly disguise.¡± An uncomfortable laugh escaped Victors mouth as his form changed. He rubbed the back of his neck as his true, boring, form was revealed. ¡°Oh come on, Lothaire, you know I don''t feel so comfortable looking like the boring old me.¡± He rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward smile, but quickly got serious again. ¡°Lothaire, you don''t have to worry about your son''s place in the university. He will still be allowed to study here, despite what he did. Consider it compensation for your eldest son.¡± The temperature in the room rose quickly before returning to normal. Lothaire stared at Victor for a moment before asking. ¡°Have you heard of what happened in The World''s Tongue?¡± He leaned in closer. Victor nodded. ¡°Yes. Anyone with sensitive enough of a mana sense would know. I assume that you know something more than just that?¡± ¡°I do. And to put it simply, I am not sure what exactly happened there.¡± Lothaire leaned back into the slightly burned sofa. Victor looked confused and signalled for Lothaire to continue. ¡°If you had actually sent someone over to see what happened, you''d find that a massive area have been morphed into something else. The only trees that remain standing were either dying or dead. The ground was filled with potholes that were covered in either acid or flesh.¡± Victor cut in, looking confused. ¡°Flesh?¡± ¡°Yes, flesh. No one could examine it, so I can''t say for sure what creature it belonged to. The worst part of it all is that the air is either poisonous or acidic to the point that advanced air magic must be used to breathe properly.¡± Lothaire pulled out a couple of papers from an inner pocket and handed them to Victor, who started to immediately read through them. His expression kept changing from time to time as he flipped through the papers. He finally put them down with a frown. ¡°What could have done this? From what you told me and these papers, I can''t be sure what caused this. I will have to look through the Soul Library and the university library as well to find some kind of clue.¡± Victor stood up and waved a hand, changing his face to the handsome and magical visage he wore before. ¡°The quicker this case is solved, the better. I will see what I can do from my side as well.¡± Lothaire stood up as well and finished his drink in one gulp. ¡°And next time, get me some finer magma.¡± He then walked out of the room, leaving Victor there. Waving his hand once more, Victor disappeared. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 67 The day would''ve gone quickly, but having people to consider as friends tends to mess with time. At least for Diana, it did. Despite looking like a caterpillar, she was all smiles. Heracles and Beatrice walked up front to whatever they thought looked interesting, from food to items to books. And the prices, oh lord. Vita didn''t have a clear understanding on how much a gold coin was worth in this world, but some of these books were clearly overpriced. "Woah! Hey, look at this! They got the story of when the first king, Akitio the Hero, fought the Demon King!" Heracles shouted with glee while picking up the book. They had wandered into a large tent with a lot of different books in it. Heracles was also looking through some books as well, but he wasn''t as loud when he picked one of them up. "Why are you acting so childish, doesn''t just about everyone know about this story?" Beatrice piped up behind him. "W-well, I can still like it! Nothing wrong with that!" Heracles refuted while trying to open the book, but a blue chain suddenly covered the book and kept it shut. "If you are wondering why it isn''t opening, it''s because it''s sealed, you broccoli-brain!" A shopkeeper walked up to Heracles with a frown on their face. The two started haggling with each other surprisingly quick, something Vita decided to shut out. Enough with that for now. Ah, sweet knowledge in the form of books! Based on the looks of these books alone, I''d say that they are quite ''modern'' compared to what I thought these people would have. At least the book I have from before looks ancient. Eh, I''ll read that one when I learn how to read better. Now let''s see what is here. Hm, a history book on the near two thousand years the Kingdom has existed. Lame that they call it just the Kingdom. A book on mana and its effects on the world, quite Thick. Useful to better understand this bullshit. ''The Body, the Mind and the Soul. An understanding of our reality.'' what kind of fuckery is this!? Better get this one as well. "Diana, can you afford this?" Vita looked at the tiny face of Diana. She looked up while rummaging through something hidden under all the vines. "Well, it was kind of those two guards to bring all my belongings back to me when I was in that room. But I don''t think we should buy those. Those are expensive, like really expensive." Diana''s pale little hand broke through and pointed at the price tag dangling off it. It had a couple of zeros on it and a what looked like a crown to the right of it. "But we can afford it, right?" Vita leaned down. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Yeah, but we shouldn''t-" "Right?" Vita leaned in closer. With a sigh, her hand went back into the vine cocoon and then reappeared with a couple of gold coins in it. If Vita had bothered to learn the currency that was being used in the Kingdom, it would be obvious that those books were greatly overpriced. But who cared? It''s way easier to spend someone else''s money than your own. After finally getting Heracles to let got of the book, they left the tent. Only for their rings to start glowing. A soft voice came from it. "Congratulations, students of the University of Maxi-milian. If you are hearing this, it means that you have been formally accepted. The large building surrounded by a forest to the north-west of where the tournament took place will the future grounds for your studies. When you arrive at the main entrance at the front of the building, please go to Professor Hans and Professor Michelle, who will wait for you there with more information available.". The voice disappeared with a shine before the ring went back to normal. Everyone in the group looked at each other, shrugged, and walked to the building with bags in their hands. A light amount of snow was covering the surroundings and the sound of it crunching underneath their feet. There were a few groups further up the road and a few people further behind them too, but all of them gave Diana''s fresh friend group a wide berth. "Hey Diana, who is the first king?" She looked up to Vita with a ''hm?'' before talking. "Well, I don''t really know all that much. It is said that he was born around 2000 years ago and that he banished the demon king. After that he made the Crown of Humanity and here we are now." She nodded, as if she held all the knowledge in the world inside her tiny head. "And the name?" Vita asked, staring at the bird that had somehow followed Vita from the World''s Tongue. "Ah, uh, that''s because..." Diana started the sentence, but never finished it. Beatrice must have heard them speak, as she turned around with a bright smile. "Oh I know! That''s because Akitio is from another world!" She was also going to smile, but Heracles butted in. "But isn''t that a conspiracy?" He asked with his head tilted to the side. The two started bickering, and somehow Earl got pulled into it. But Vita decided to ignore what was happening for the second time today and retreated deep within. Akitio, huh? So far, that''s the one name that doesn''t fit in this place. Unless I get to read these books to get some more, older, names then I could in theory make a random guess. Like, what if a name like that was more normal in the past? These baboons seem a bit too ''modern'' at the same time as they seem ''primitive''. Eh, who cares, something to think about later. The group had managed to talk on the way to the university building. However, it did look more like a massive castle compared to what Vita had seen before. There were spiky parts and flat parts, yet the size of it was so great that looking at top of it was getting more and more difficult the closer they got to it. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 68 "Wait, I forgot to ask!" Heracles stopped in the middle of his conversation with Beatrice and Earl to look back to Diana. "How did you manage to survive that attack from that asshole?" The words left his mouth and Beatrice fist connected with his stomach. While he was reeling over and getting healed by Beatrice, Diana started to speak. "No, it''s okay, you don''t have to punch him like that. It''s because of the magic I inherited from my mother. It allows a magician to create a contract with an animal or other type of object. Not only that, but it also transfers any harm that I would suffer from to Vita. But it seems that I still feel the pain." The last few words she muttered to herself in a hushed tone. Diana, baby, what the fuck you are talking about? If I wasn''t a living hack, I probably would have died back there. But don''t worry about it, your tiny growing brain can only handle so much right now. And I will ignore that last part for now, because I would have needed to smack you across the nose if I wasn''t so much stronger than you. "Now that Diana started this conversation. It''s your turn next, Heracles. What was that stone stuff you did anyway?" Beatrice turned to Heracles. "Oh that. Well, my Grandma calls it ''Ruler of Everything''. It was she who taught me it as well. I can use it to, uh, manipulate the world around me to make armour for myself. But right now I only know how to use earth," Everyone except Earl and Vita nodded. So only Diana and Beatrice. "Do you want to talk about your magic, Earl?" Heracles looked for him, but with a quick ''no'' it was Beatrice''s turn to speak about her magic. "I was actually born with this magic." She demonstrated by spreading her magic to the nearby ground, letting some flowers grow out from the snow. " When my dad found out, he wanted me to go here and get a deeper understanding of it. I figured out a lot on my own, but maybe I will learn some more," She finished her sentence and kept quiet as they had finally reached their location. The large mass of people made space for the group, so they walked up to the front to get the information they would need at the start of their year here at the Magi-milians University, the School of Soul. (-Meanwhile-) In a completely different place, back in the World''s Tongue. In a makeshift camp, a soldier pushed away a flap to enter the room with a stack of papers in his hands. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Sir." The soldier placed the multiple reports on a table in front of a higher ranking general. The general was reading through the papers, but quickly furrowed his brow when certain keywords popped up. Especially three words. The general looked back up to the soldier. "Abominations." He placed the papers on the table. "A dungeon." He pulled a metal bottle out of an inner pocket and took a quick swig. "And finally, the corpse of a true dragon." The general rubbed his stone-cold face with a groan. "You, don''t bother with the ''Yes sir'' crap now. This is now a matter that is above my position. Neither you nor anyone who was involved in this report are allowed to speak of this matter in public or in private under the law of the Crown, The Four Knights and the Royal families. Go find the soldiers from the Firebrand family and have them come here." The general paused before letting out a soft smile. "We won''t be staying near that shithole any longer, so I will allow a small celebration. But keep it quiet," The soldier was a bit shocked at all the info, but nodded and saluted before leaving the tent with a smile in his eyes. The general on the other hand let out another breath and placed the reports inside a large letter, stamping it and letting it sit on the table. Again, somewhere completely different. Victor was walking down something. It didn''t have a form, yet it made a clear sound whenever his shoes made contact with it. Either far in the distance or nearby, bundles of books flew around like flocks of birds. Some flocks had massive numbers and some with only a couple books. There were even some scrolls moving forwards similarly to caterpillars. Not only that, every second or so a new book would materialize. Suddenly, a dozen or so books were pulled down from the sky towards him by his grey mana. The books had multiple generations of difference between them, but Victor picked one with the title ''Legendary Monsters''. Flipping through the pages, he arrived at the section for Wendigos, which was a few pages short. Only having information on the total number of wendigos alive and information on the three wendigos who have been found in the Kingdom throughout its history. The one that was recruited by the Demon King of old, the one that both Odin and a younger Lothair had to fight together. "Hm?" Victor looked the page over and flipped back to the previous two. Except for the picture and some text describing what he already knew, no additional information was presented to him. Checking the other books, they were similar. Vita was in there, sure, but no useful information. Which should be impossible, unless Vita is somehow able to hide their soul. No matter, it barely mattered as Victor saw a couple of reports cartwheeling by him. Before he got to chase after them, a bipedal bug showed up and started chittering. "Fine, I''m leaving. I got what I wanted." He waved his hand before disappearing from the Soul Library. The bipedal bug tended to the books with an annoyed sound. Victor appeared again and left a bottle of alcohol before quickly leaving this time, which seemed to make the bug much happier. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 69 "Alright, I believe most of the students are here. At least 95%, at least." Hans rubbed his hands together and turned to an old woman next to him. "You may speak up whenever you feel like it, ma''am." "Thank you, Hans. Dear students, my name is Michelle Kjellberg, but you may call me Professor Michelle. Or whatever other nickname your minds might create." She looked over the crowd and smiled. "You are our newest generation of students here at the Magi-milian University of the soul, or the Soul University for short. For those of you who do not know, there are two more Magi-milian Universities. One for the Body, which has given form to countless knights and mighty warriors. The second is for the Mind, with focus on the creative and the productive. Here, in the Soul, we focus on mana," The old woman raised her hands and cast a simple spell that produced warmth, raising the temperature with a couple of notches. "There are many usages for mana by using a spell or to affect the world around us. Mana can be found in the wild, but for living things it can be found in the soul. The mana is then turned into a spell in our mind and then cast out with our bodies." The warmth turned into a soft ball with a wave of Michelle''s hand. "There are always some exceptions, of course, but they all have to follow a similar route to utilize more advanced spells. Soul, mind and then body. There are cases where one of these are missing, but these are never perfect. Now I won''t be using up all of your time, you all have things to do. If there are any questions you may have, both me and Hans will be waiting here for a couple of hours. You can also ask any of your seniors and other people who know a thing or two about this place if you have any other questions. You are all dismissed for today." Michelle had a soft smile on her face as she watched people leave. Most of the people walked into the massive building, but there was a small group still waiting around with some questions. And then there''s our group of misfits. "Professor Michelle, why does Magi-milian split itself? Wouldn''t it be better to have it all in one university?" One student asked. Michelle laughed. "Ohohoho, that is a question I never get tired of answering. It''s because the three fields have so much material to study that it would simply be ineffective to have it all in one place. It would be like having a kitchen in the bedroom and the bathroom in front of the door into the house. And we use teleporting magic if anyone wishes to travel to the other universities," The student nodded and left, allowing another student to ask a question. "Professor, I got two questions. How do we choose what to study? And my older brother told me that a point system is used here, how does that work? Isn''t it a bit old-fashioned to use such a system?" He pushed his glasses up and waited for the answers. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "To answer the first one, everyone may pick a subject they would like to study, whatever it might be and then to prove you have finished or completed that subject, you will take either a theoretical exam or a practical exam. When you enter the building from the main entrance, you can find the reception where someone can help you further. I believe Hans knows more on that second question than I do. Hans?" "Well, to give you the short answer, the Crown wants it like that, and so we can''t really say much against it. But with it, we don''t have to use up nearly as many resources as we would have to if we didn''t have it. Students get rewarded for helping other students, and the Universities help the other Universities sort of deal." Hans wiped away some sweat. Four-eyes let out a short ''thanks'' before leaving. Well, was that an infodump of sorts? So after getting your nipples twisted off, you just pick something? Huh, kinda weird. Well, I guess these bickering kids know already what they want to pick. If I were to guess, Heracles is going with body-something. Beatrice with plants. The wannabe edgelord with fire and Diana... Animals? Magical animals? Just magic in general? Well, magic in general would be pretty nice for me, I want a piece of that pie if you know what I mean. Vita nudged a random, hard-working, cell with a tentacle in hopes of a reaction. If the cell was able to, it would probably have filed a harassment complaint by now. Vita finished talking to themselves in their own mind and looked at the two extroverts and the two introverts. They were already standing in line, a rather long line, to get to speak with the people at the reception. The inside of the university was quite spacious and from time to time a person would use different methods to fly above the crowds. And then there were the odd groups of seniors looking at the fresh meat piling in. Whether curious, disinterested or so on. Well there were obviously a lot of people looking at Heracles, Diana and Vita in particular yet none had tried to approach them. "Yo, it''s the winner!" Bruh. Two students powerwalked towards the group. One of them had a bit of acne and the other had a strange haircut. The moment they crossed the five-meter mark, Vita covered the face hole for Diana and decided to ignore them again. Nothing would make speaking to someone worth it, at least they could have waited for them to finish their registration. Vita was already blocking out any words coming from the outside world, focusing on vision instead. Surprisingly enough, it was Beatrice who walked up to the two with a rather annoyed face and started talking about something before turning around. Was that a ''humph'' sound at the end? Well, whatever it was she did, the two walked away with defeated looks on their faces. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 70 Diana stood/existed there inside the cocoon, shocked. The reception lady in front of her had a bored and quite tired look on her face. Vita was, well, amused by the whole ordeal. Long story short, Diana is by law not allowed to have any unregistered ''animal companions'' in public spaces such as a university and must show the proper paperwork confirming that Vita can stay ''docile'' around other people unless a special situation occurs. ¡°A-b-b-bout that, uh, how do I get this pyre-uhm-paperwork done?¡± Stuttering all the way, Diana was scratching at the arm that had damaged a couple of hours ago. The reception lady somehow managed to notice this and sighed. ¡°Don''t worry about it, it only takes an hour or two to get the entire ordeal in order. Back in the day, having pets with had any trace of magical abilities or even non-natural effects to them were highly illegal and killed on the spot for the most part. Could you imagine my reaction when I was ten, when the police showed up because I had a pet cat that could sing? Either way, with your family heritage and with you being the champion of the tournament, you should get away scot-free in some scenarios. I''ll send a message to the department of magical beasts, in the meantime fill out these papers for me.¡± She handed over the papers to the hand sticking out of the cocoon and took in a breath, continuing to speak in a monotone voice. ¡°Remember to fill out at least two subjects you find interesting, don''t take too many as that may have negative effects on your mental health and make sure that you meet up in the right rooms on time. Are there any questions you have at the moment?¡± The old lady sagged down a tad bit after the massive amount of words that had flown out of her mouth. Diana moved her lips around thinking about something, hopefully, intelligent. ¡°Uhm, so what do I do now?¡± The light in the old lady''s eyes dimmed ever so slightly. ¡°Oh boy. Wait nearby, fill out the papers on what you want to study. Your ring functions as a communications device between the university and yourself, so it will light up whenever you get contacted by university staff. When it lights up, it will most likely be me contacting you so that you may get your papers. Fill those out, and you''ll get a message back within two to ten days. Any more questions?¡± She stared at Diana''s tiny face with a tired look in her eyes. Diana quickly shook her head and tried signalling for Vita to leave the line. The old reception lady took a long and loud sip from her cup of something. Her day was just getting longer and longer with each idiot who came by. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Vita walked over to the fresh friend group, all of them busy looking through their papers. Well except for Heracles, who had showed it down his pant-pocket like a brute. ¡°So what did everyone pick, have you found anything interesting?¡± Diana asked. Heracles started talking just as Earl opened his mouth. ¡°Easy. ''The ruler of everything'' needs a perfect balance of the three realms and the four elements. So the basics of the body, the mind, mana and the basics of the four biggest elements. Grandma told me that I should always understand the basics of everything so that I can understand everything." With an angry scowl, Earl spoke up. "Due to the nature of my magic, I will be picking up fire and water based subjects. I wish to improve my swordsmanship, so I''ll be picking that up as well." Finishing his sentence by pushing up his glasses, he looked at both Diana and Beatrice. "I haven''t fully decided yet, but I am thinking Normal Botany and Magic Botany. I should probably pick up on a subject with mana as well. Maybe I could pick up medicine?" She rubbed her chin with her index and thumb, reading through the list multiple times. "Mabe farming?" Heracles asked. Earl turned to ask Diana what she was picking while the other two were busy fighting. "Well, I am not quite sure what to pick. I could try to learn a different branch of magic or... No, I''m not sure." She pondered. Earl, and later Beatrice and Heracles, would suggest a subject that Diana could consider picking, but she was never sure about picking any of them. It was now Vita''s turn to finally speak up. "You should do like Heracles and learn the basics of magic. And because of me, you should consider something related to beasts and monsters. Maybe even a weapon with some reach so that we can fight more effectively." Vita said nonchalantly. "Wow, Vita, I think this is your longest sentence yet! Alright, I''ll do as you said." Smiling, she looked through the paper again and used one of Vita''s vines to write a checkmark on the subjects Vita recommended. After everyone picked what they wanted, there was a ''finished'' box at the end that burned up the paper. The ashes of the paper flew into their rings as they started to softly glow as well. But while the other three had their rings stop glowing, Diana''s started to glow even more as a voice came out from it. "Diana Wolfheart, please come to the reception area at the main entrance." With a ''phew'', the ring stopped glowing. "I''m sorry, but I need to go now. I will talk with you guys later then!" They said their goodbyes to each other as she walked away, still in the cocoon made out of vines. On the short way over, Diana was thinking over what kind of written test it would be, but to her surprise, a man with an odd cannon-like hairstyle stood there next to the reception lady. He looked like he would work for the government, and his face was as hard as steel. But his hair confused Diana more the longer she thought about it. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 71 Before anyone could say anything, the stranger appeared in front of Vita. ¡°Ah, is this the legendary wendigo. Marvelous, simply marvelous. It is so similar in so many ways to the previous two, but so different at the same time! Wonderful, simply wonderful. Diana Wolfheart, was it? What a miracle it must be for you to not only find a wendigo, but to manage to tame it too! Oh, simply a miracle! Look at these vines, how do they grow? Is it a part of the natural growth of wendigos? Is Vita an elite of the wendigos'' species? Or maybe Vita is a unique specimen. Oh, sorry.¡± The strange fellow took a step back before introducing himself. ¡°Berend Wurmwing, agent of the department of magical beasts at your service.¡± He bowed slightly and used his hands to fix up his hair. ¡°Diana, as you can see, this is a pervert. I mean, this is the agent that will help ''legalize'' Vita.¡± With a pencil, the reception lady pointed to the pervert-agent. Diana asked why the agent was here instead of the papers she was supposed to fill out, to which Berend answered. ¡°It is simple, really! Quite simple! Vita here is a legendary rank beast! If he were to go wild, who knows how much damage would be dealt to the Kingdom! Considering that dragons are the nemesis of wendigos says a lot for the power that a wendigo possesses in their manaless body! It would be quite explosive!¡± He finished his sentence by with a puff of smoke coming out of his hair-cannon. Pulling out a fancy pen of his own, a clipboard and a small camera, he started writing. The first couple of questions were simple enough. Name and species; Vita and wendigo. Blood type¡­ Don''t want to take a blood sample due to safety reasons. Height of beast during report; 3.53 meters in height. Bipedal with humanoid forelimbs. Odd vine-like growths; appears to have full control of all vines. Birth; Unknown. Sidenote; 10 000 years old at minimum. Magical abilities; None, however, its vines can be used in many creative ways. Also seem to be able to manipulate its own body to different degrees. And so on and so on¡­ ¡°Well, that should be enough information. But still, it''s quite the blast to be up close with a legendary beast! Quite the blast, I say!¡± He stored away everything and pulled out a small token with a cat and a dog on it. ¡°This is proof that Vita here is a legal beast, so there won''t be anyone offering you any trouble. Well, unless they are incredibly lacking in the brain department. Goodbye, Diana Wolfheart and Vita.¡± He bowed, a bit of gunpowder falling out from his hair, and vanished once more. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Well, that was something. Quite the eventful day, meeting with different types of weirdos. And now the only thing I can think of that needs to be done for Diana is to get a room for her to sleep in. Or we could just claim a random spot, that would be fun. Eh, can''t bother with anything anymore, I''ll go autopilot mode for now. Now that I know a bit more about this world, with its mana and its minds. Mhmhm, I have a bunch of dead cells that count as ''me''. And magic needs a mind, a body, and a soul. How the fuck am I supposed to do anything, then? Wait a fucking second, is that why I can''t look into people''s memories all that well? That would explain a decent amount of stuff. But without a mind or soul, I wouldn''t be able to use magic. Who requires magic anyway! Hope these magic snorting A-holes get magic cancer in the ass. I will use science to bend this world to my will! And then, magic will slowly crumble to my will as well! Yes Vita, wonderful idea! This is why I voted for Vita for president. Thank you all for choosing me to be the big Vita that makes all the rules. Back to the topic at hand. I''ve seen some stuff that magic can do, but without a deeper understanding of it, I won''t be able to fight against it as well I would like. Mhmhmhmh, and it''s not like I would be completely defenseless against someone using magic, either. Only that Ree dude was making me break a sweat. And I wouldn''t really lose. Hell, I don''t think I could lose. Maybe to the bigger guys, but not to any of the farts wandering this castle. I wonder if it would be like in the mangas and the animes. With a bunch of hormonal teens throwing a hissy fit. Wonder if murder would be ok with these people. Crushing someone''s skull because they tried to kill Diana. Oh, we found a room to stay in that quick? It was quite the modest living space, but to the poorer students it might be a miracle. Living room, bathroom, and a bedroom. A table with a couple of chairs, a normal bed and a toilet. But what''s this? When you flush the toilet, the water sprays out of a small crystal? Eh, magic probably. Vita''s massive frame crouch-walked from the bathroom and to the bedroom, where Diana was. She simply laid there on the bed, staring at the ceiling and holding a pillow up to her chin. Her eyes closed in thought, but her eyebrows seemed to ease up when Vita entered the room. She was about to say something, maybe something nice or heart-warming. But to her own surprise, Vita simply picked her up, and put her on the ground. The bed wasn''t even big enough for Vita, but down Vita went. The bed protested with a large amount of noise that was ignored by the ''beast''. Diana, as payback, simply crawled on top of Vita and pushed a couple of vines around to make a nest for herself to sleep in. And so she slept, while Vita pondered about how much more this world would differ from Earth. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 72 The entire day went by while Diana was sleeping. She would turn around in her little bird nest, pulling on vines to make a blanket. Vita didn''t really expect that she would do this, but at least someone has to be productive. On the nightstand next to the bed was a pamphlet with some smiling teenager on it. Opening up the pamphlet, there was a decent amount of information. A large map of the university with way to many levels. Info about the university and how to get started. And a lot more information that Vita couldn''t bother reading, except for one thing. The point system. Vita remembered that one student who had asked that question with the point system in mind. According to the pamphlet, a student could send in a request for just about anything legal that doesn''t involve anything that could potentially cause problems outside the university. They even showed examples of what was allowed and what wasn''t. You are allowed to put up a request for a certain book. You promise a couple of points, and then you wait. If another student manages to fulfil your request, you trade your own points for the book. It honestly feels like a shitty cultivation novel, who here agrees to abuse it? I do, me too. Good idea Vita, let''s abuse it¡­ How? Easy question Vita! If they ask for plants, we simply grow those plants in our body! If they need bones, we grow bones! Hell, if possible, let''s cause some inflation and send the market down to the ground! Vita was having a party deep within themselves, bringing out different molecules and bacteria to ''eat''. Diana woke up, feeling the ring starting to softly vibrate. With a yawn, she sat up and waited. And waited for a bit longer. It took a moment before she remembered that she wasn''t at home, and that there weren''t anyone to help her get up in the morning. Feeling the fear slowly build up in her, she started to breathe quickly as panic was starting to build up as well. But the feeling quickly went away when a bunch of blood-red vines slithered back into the room with a bundle of clean clothes. The overall color was black, but it had a rainbow-colored edge on it as well. Apparently, Vita had found it in the living room and had waited for Diana to wake up before telling her about it. After a lot, and I mean a lot, of struggle with putting on the clothes, Diana gave up. It would seem that with years of having someone help you take on your clothes, it becomes difficult when you try to do it alone. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. A Diana with her fancy new clothes stood there toying around with the ring. According to the pamphlet, it functioned as a communications device and as a way for students to know where and when their classes would take place. Last but not least, it was a watch. "Oh no! Vita, why didn''t you wake me up! How did I manage to sleep for a whole day!" With a pamphlet in one hand and using her thumb to control the map on the ring, she ran around with Vita behind her. Students who were walking around all calmly were pushed away by vines. "Check the cafeteria, Heracles seems to eat a lot." Diana took Vita''s advice and touched the ring a couple of times and changed direction. Lo and behold, there he was. The giant teenager had a massive amount of food and a whole table all for himself. There wasn''t anything as fancy as the food given during the tournament, but there sure were a lot of meat and veggies in there. "Mhmh! Diada, rhrorw bre u? Blib gju threr fwell?" He said, which roughly translates to; Mhm, Diana. How are you, did you sleep well. So the two sat there, one speaking normally and the other speaking with food in their mouth. It''s a miracle that Heracles hasn''t choked on anything yet. And right before Heracles and Diana were kicked out of the cafeteria (Heracles for making too much noise and Diana because Vita would steal food from the other students), Earl and Beatrice showed up. According to them, Heracles would be the easiest to find, so they looked for places where he would probably be. And they were right. After a minute of eating together as a group, they all went together to their very first lecture in the Magi-milian University of Soul. They weren''t the first students to show up, but they were definitely the ones everyone were looking at the moment they stepped in. Most looked in interest, but it didn''t take long for them all to go back to whatever they were doing. Which Diana was deeply thankful for. The room was rather large, but not massive. Multiple rows of desks and chairs were placed so that the further back you were, the more elevated you were as well. Diana and the group decided to sit down in the middle row, slightly to the left. It was also now that Diana realized just how unprepared she actually was. Everyone, including Heracles, had a notebook and pencils at the ready the moment the professor stepped into the classroom. Once more, she turned to Vita, and Vita pulled out a massive leaf for her to write on. "Get a notebook soon, ok." Vita whispered, as the professor started to write on the blackboard. "Alright, everyone, you may call me Michael. This subject will teach you the basics of mana and the soul. We shall start off the year by discussing the earliest notions of mana usage before and during the Demon Wars. But before we start with the subject properly, I wonder. Does anyone here know what exactly mana, or the soul, is. There aren''t many theories, but they are different." Micheal stopped writing on the wall and turned around. He was a slightly taller man with gray hair and a black beard. His eyes scanned the room, locking onto Vita for a second before looking around once more. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 73 One student, the same one with the glasses, raised a hand. ¡°Professor Michael, may I answer your question.¡± With a nod, the glasses kid started talking. ¡°Mana is a phenomenon that can occur nearly everywhere in the world, regardless of where that might be. And soul is similar, but a soul is what gives a creature it''s ability to express itself emotionally. But by using the soul to manipulate the latent mana in the surrounding area, or mana from inside your own body, you can create and use different spells.¡± Glasses sat back down again, but Vita did notice him sneaking a peek towards themselves and Diana with a hateful glare for just a split second. Professor Micheal nodded and used a piece of chalk to draw on the blackboard. A simple and crude drawing, but a drawing nonetheless. It was a drawing of the ground, a rock, a plant and different creatures. ¡°Good explanation, student¡­?¡± ¡°It''s Robert, sir.¡± Micheal and gestured back to the blackboard. ¡°Everything is coated in mana. The ground we walk upon contains faint traces of mana and there are different resources that can be mined that contains vast amounts of mana as well. Before the proper study of the soul, it was believed by most in the past that only humanoid creatures such as ourselves and our neighbors in the south had proper souls. Now with better understanding of the characteristics of the soul, we now know that anything can have a soul. Or a proto-soul at least.¡± He wrote a couple of keynotes with arrows pointing to the ground, the rock, and the plant. Looking around for any hands in the air, he saw one and gestured for them to speak. ¡°When you say that it was believed only humanoids had proper souls in the past, are you referring to the Wuxia Dynasty in the east?¡± A student asked. ¡°Have correct. It''s not only because of the Wuxia Dynasty, it''s also because of the other three nations that exists to the east. But this isn''t international studies, so we won''t stay any longer on that topic.¡± Woah, woah, hold on a second. What the hell do you mean by wuxia, I am sure as hell that wuxia is a genre of fiction. What the hell is it doing in here? Don''t tell me this Akitio fellow did more than playing hero¡­ For some reason, that felt wrong to say. Either way, that''s another strike on the ''I am not from here'' bingo card. And it''s not healthy to linger on things you don''t know, so what''s the kid doing? A singular eye moved to look towards Diana. She was multitasking between reading, writing and looking at the blackboard. Apparently, Professor Micheal had been talking for a while, and now everyone were to write down what they understood before he continued class. Of course, Diana was doing her best to understand everything that was told so far, but she did talk with her friends now and then. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Well shit. I don''t really want to do anything right now that catches too much attention. I send out some spores, but then what? Even if I try, I can''t do any massive changes to their bodies without anyone noticing, and some of these guys have crazy strong immune systems. Or it''s magic. Man, fuck magic. But wait a second, isn''t there a book I could read right now? Yeah, yeah, that evil looking book! Let''s see here. Vita manipulated the cells around to create an empty space big enough to read the first couple pages. Usually, opening something that absorbs moisture inside of something moist isn''t a bright idea. But that doesn''t matter when you can literally control every single cell, and to some extent bacteria too. Hell, some large viruses are effected by the strange abilities of Vita. Countless Vita cells flipped through a couple of pages of nonsense and came to a stop. The first page of actual information that could be useful. Attempting to translate a language you understand on a surface level while it looks like shit is quite the challenge, and took the entire class to complete the one page. And to Vita''s understanding, this page was borderline useless. Apparently, this book is a translation of a journal that was found deep in somewhere, that the original had strange symbols drawn on its surface, and was difficult to translate. This, however, doesn''t explain why the translation looked so horrible. There isn''t even a mention of any spells or anything like that which could benefit Vita in any way. Except for one single line; The crystals seem to fuse with their bodies. Why this line was written down at the start while it sounds so important, Vita had no idea. Maybe it was related to something else? Was it a puzzle that needed to be solved by a genius of some sorts. Whatever it was, when the sentence was broken down, it seems to be related to three things. Bodies, crystals and the word ''fuse'' in the middle. ... Dafaq? What do you mean fuse? Fuse like a ''taking over'' or fuse as in the fusion dance from dragon balls? And what crystals are we talking about? Rock-crystal, drug crystals or something new like mana crystals? Because mana crystals fused with flesh sounds interesting, and potentially it is related to that big ugly bastard with the crystal inside him? Hmmmm, I should read more. Is class over yet? Yes it has. Diana and her friends were walking at a relaxed pace towards what seemed to be an outside area. There were already a few students already walking around, but once again they kept their distance. The team found a nice bench to sit on, while Diana sat in Vita''s hands like a doll. But as they were getting comfortable, someone let out a shriek and ran over and nearly tackled Beatrice. She was picked up into a bear hug, and the stranger seemed oddly happy to see her. Everyone, confused, got up without knowing what to do. The stranger let go of Beatrice, still smiling, and started to introduce himself with a polite bow. "Oh, hello everyone, I assume you are Flowers friends? Oh, how wonderful this is, my name is Johnny Appleseed. How has Beatrice been with y''all. Good, I hope?" With striking yellow eyes, green hair and red cheeks, this Johnny Appleseed was an easy to notice fellow. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 74 Johnny Appleseed¡­ Johnny fucking Appleseed. The man, the legend, and for some reason this guy looks like an actual apple. Bastard even got a ''stem'' coming out of the top of his head, what cartoon did this guy get kicked out off?! He spoke with the group, mostly about Beatrice, and would joke around about Beatrice being the best and whatnot. Vita only bothered to pay attention when Johnny started talking about wendigos. ¡°Y''know, I am actually writing a paper on different types of legendary monsters and with one right here I was wondering if it would be alright for both you and Vita to answer some questions of mine?¡± He asked Diana, already with a notebook out ready to write away at a moment''s notice. Beatrice was already ready with a fist, but Johnny was surprisingly agile and dodged every strike coming his way. Clearly, this is proof of them being siblings. After Diana agreed, and Beatrice stopped trying to attack her brother, Johnny started with a simple question; ¡°So, how did you find Vita? I imagine that it wasn''t just looking at a pet store and BAM, there Vita is.¡± He dramatically waved his hand around, but stopped to let Diana speak. She was quiet for a moment, rubbing her shoulder while thinking, before deciding to speak up. ¡°Well, I was actually looking for a direwolf in the World''s Tongue. But then I- well, I was more or less saved by Vita.¡± She continued fiddling with the rim of her sleeve as she spoke the first week or so of living with Vita. Johnny on the other hand would ask questions about ''wendigo-physique'' and other habits that Vita has shown during its time with her. Beatrice, Heracles, and Earl would make a couple of comments based on when they fought, which Johnny would note down. And he didn''t use a pencil or a pen to write down the notes, no. He used an elongated apple seed to write down his notes. A couple of minutes later, Johnny seemed to be satisfied and put away his stuff with a small smile on his face. But right as he turned around to leave, he seemed to remember something and pulled out a strange flat device. ¡°Oh, and before I leave, is it alright if I take a photo of all of you? It''s sweet Beatrice''s first official day here in the University after all.¡± Smiling, he held up the device. It reminded Vita, strangely enough, of a camera. ¡°You managed to afford a camera?! Why''d you waste so much money on something like that?¡± Beatrice walked up to him and harshly grabbed it out of Johnny''s hand, examining it and tilting it around in the little sunlight that managed to get through the clouds. ¡°A camera? What does that do?¡± Heracles got closer to it and took it from her hands. Apparently, everyone except for Diana reacted when they saw the camera. Guess that''s what it is like to be rich. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡ª ¡°Alright, here it is.¡± Johnny showed the picture to the group. Beatrice in the middle and Diana, Heracles, Earl, and Vita to the sides and back. Honestly, everyone other than Beatrice were out of frame. But none got to complain, as Johnny ran away while waving his hand and yelling about; ¡°Gotta go! Time is running out!¡± So, everyone simply sat back down and relaxed for the hour of free time they had for the day. The sky was gray with clouds that the sunlight still managed to pierce, the light itself was spreading a spring-like warmth over the land. Everyone was sitting on a bench and enjoying the sunlight. The day wasn''t over, there were still a couple more classes they had to attend to. But for now they simply sat there. And they got bored quickly, so they started sharing notes. ¡°Heracles, what language did you write your notes in?¡± Earl looked over Heracles notes with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. The notes were scribbled down in such a way that none understood it. Even expert level linguists would have problems understanding these notes. Heracles looked over his own notes, traced the letters, and answered; ¡°Well, I don''t understand how you guys don''t understand it. It''s clearly written here about the nature of mana and how it covers everything.¡± Earl went over the notes again, but gave up on trying to understand it and simply shook his head. They were¡­ Having fun. They were laughing and making jokes. And Vita didn''t like that. Not in an evil kinda way where you need to stop their fun, but in a bored kinda way. Ugh, when will this torment end! They are giggling like a bunch of kids! Well, they are technically kids to some degree, but it''s still so boring. Oh, my oldest friend. Do you mind if I cry on your shoulder for a while? Only for so long these kids continue smiling. Vita held onto the old plant-cell that had far outlived its natural lifespan, and fake-cried. Streams of molecules streamed out from two holes on the Vita-cell, spilling all over the plant-cell. For but a moment, it felt emotion. But it was for but a moment, that quickly went away. ¡ªSomewhere else- Two figures landed in a clearance inside the World Tongue. They were covered from head to toe with tight-fitting fabrics that were dark red, a symbol of a dragon biting a sword stitched to their shoulder. One was tall, the other short, and both had daggers at their sides ready in case something were to happen. The tall one looked around, their eyes covered up by tinted googles. The short one went down to a knee and examined the ground. With a faint glow, markings all over the area lit up. There were traces. Traces of a fight. Footprints belonging to multiple people who seemed to have been in formation, but something had clearly gone wrong, considering that there were also traces of blood on the ground. Multiple spots further away had multiple charred spots and others effected by a large combination of different offensive and defensive spells. Using some mana, the short one relayed this information to their partner. Shortly after, an answer came. ¡°Burns; crippling level. Stay alert.¡± ¡°Copy that.¡± They started to move, with weapons drawn. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 75 Step after step, they both scanned the environment for anything that could give them a clue for what could''ve caused this. The report mentioned that abominations were nearby, but abominations have a tendency to make a bloody mess after themselves whenever they have had a meal. This was not nearly bloody enough. Hell, there wasn''t a single drop of blood to be found at all, as if everyone had simply left after a light struggle. The shorter one went up to a tree and examined its scars. They weren''t all that deep, but whatever it was, it had used some sort of poison to make attack more deadly. The taller one walked over and pulled down his mask, revealing a mustache. With a sniff and a frown, he pulled the mask back on and thought for a second before speaking up. "Rotcap poison, maybe something else." They walked away after carefully scooping some poison into a container, and they made sure to seal it multiple times. Rotcap is something no one wants on their skin, but the slight difference in its scent is worrying. With the help of the little moonlight that shone through the trees, the two maneuvered around fallen branches and small rocks to minimize the sound they might''ve made. Following the tracks, both of them kept their daggers ready. *Crack* With the sudden sound, all three of them jumped up to the trees and waited for a reaction from whatever it was that made the sound. Yet nothing showed up. It was still dark, still silent. But their training has taught them better. As the seconds went by, feeling like hours, the taller one placed a hand on their temple and spoke out to their partner. "Soy-sauce, do you copy?" He telepathically called out, but got no response back. Thinking what might be wrong, he thought shortly about the mission to freshen up. There was himself, nicknamed Stalagmite, his partner Soy-sauce and... And? Immediately, sweat started building up on his brow as he traced back his thoughts. Three, including himself, individuals had jumped up to the treetops. But there was only meant to be the two of them on this mission, so why was there one too many. And he couldn''t get in contact with Soy-sauce for some reason, but he knew that the message was received. Yet still no answer! "Soy-sauce, do you copy?" He calmed himself for a moment when sending out the other message. A ping came through, a simple noise to confirm that Soy-sauce had heard the psychic message. Looking around, he could feel the return-ping from further east. The direction of where the supposed dungeon filled with abominations was located. Looking down at the ground, the tracks told a similar story, pointing towards the east. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Now he could go and rush towards where his partner was, but he had to follow protocol and spend a few seconds to send a message back to his superior. The trees were much better for movement when compared to slowly walking on the ground, and it reduced the likelihood of actually running into something. The only drawback was that he wouldn''t be able to control the sound he would make, but right now it was definitely worth it to make a tiny amount of noise. With a sudden burst of movement, Stalagmite shot forward, which burned the branches that he landed on as he covered large amounts of ground in mere moments. The occasional wild animal would get a small spook by the quickly passing human, but there wasn''t any time to worry about the health of others. He was sensing the position of Soy-sauce and was slowly gaining on wherever they were going. But he had to stop moving eventually, as he noticed something very wrong with the forest. It was different. Normally, such a difference in the World''s Tongue meant that he had ventured too deeply into it and that there was more mana in the air, but this was different in a whole other way. The tree he was standing on was badly damaged on the side facing east, but he couldn''t determine what had done so. All the trees in the vicinity seemed to be damaged in the same way. And the air had something, together with the mana, burning away at the protective filter surrounding his suit. It seems that he had found the area detailed in the report he read. And his partner was in there somewhere. Circulating some extra mana through the suit to repair it, thank the crown for scientific magic, and prepared to venture forward through the nightmarish forest ahead. The ground was covered with holes of varying sizes, some smaller than a fist and others big enough to be called a small lake. The liquid was disgusting, filling the air with a stench strong enough to burn nose hairs. That was at least what Stalagmite reasoned, because even with the filter, the smell still managed to get to him. Even the trees had noticeably changed to such a degree that it was unnerving, like sharp teeth pointing to the invisible sky above. Even Stalagmite with enchanted vision couldn''t see through the mist, almost like he was inside the mouth of a massive monster. *Trtrtrtrtrtrt* Both his dagger and a prepared spell were ready to attack whatever it was that made that sound. It was the sound a larger bug might have made, but the noise it made was too sharp. There wasn''t much else to compare it too, other than that. One of the puddles had ripples on it surface, a couple of meters away from him. He stared at it, the ripples slowly going away. Double-checking the filter, he took a deep breath before slowly walking towards Soy-sauces location. But the strange sound kept following behind him, and every time he turned to check, there was nothing there but a ripple in another puddle. A little more of the crown-forsaken mist and the strange sound, then he would retreat, together with Soy-sauce. ... But that never happened. Because all that was there was nothing more than another ripple in the puddles. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 76 Arhghh, this is way worse than what I thought it would be. Why is nearly everything they do here so boring! I have been trying to be nice, but a whole ass week without a single incident of any kind?! Where is the teenage drama!? Why hasn''t some wannabe-bastard tried to do anything yet? Is it because I am too handsome and badass, causing everyone to run in fear? Well, I did use a random kid as an experiment to see how effective some of my poison combos were. But there is no way for anyone to trace that back to me, right? Nah, they wouldn''t know a single thing about what happened to that poor kid. Hey, I''m not evil for doing this. The poison wasn''t meant to kill, only to hurt. And he didn''t need those bones anyway. He got new ones too, so he should be thanking me. Vita focused back to the outside world to see how Diana was doing with her new ''training''. It would seem that the feeling of being useless has been pestering her to the point that she started training in her free time with her friends. However, living the life of a noble who never had to lift stuff doesn''t help her much. But she is giving it her best, which is nice to see. And she is getting better quicker than expected. Doesn''t mean she is any good, tho. Diana stumbled after managing to block a strike from Earl, who hasn''t even started to sweat. Diana raised her hand to catch her breath before going back at it... And she is down. "Why *wheeze* didn''t you *wheeze* do this in the tournament?" She, well, wheezed out and letting go of the wooden spear she had been using. Earl swung the wooden sword a couple of times in the air before answering. "You are aware how frightening it is to fight a wendigo, right? I am honestly surprised that people didn''t just give up the moment people realized what Vita is. Besides, entering melee with a beast or monster is never a good idea unless you know what it can do." He gave a hand to help Diana up with and walked over to a nearby bench to rest. They were in a large gym-like area, filled with different weapons made of wood and weights. Speaking of weights, Heracles is bench pressing a literal ton without too much trouble, with Vita functioning as a spotter. But to Vita, this place was horrible with all the stuff that fills the air in this gym-like area. There is old sweat and new sweat, with all kinds of other icky stuff moving through the air. And the thought of a bunch of kids training with improper form is absolutely mind-numbing. Oh, god, the broken spines! The building damage the stupid kids put on themselves just to impress someone else! The moment they hit 30 they will feel every single painful moment they spent doing this. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A frightened groan came from Heracles, who looked a bit red in the face. "Vita!" Heracles pushed out from his clenched teeth, turning redder with every second that passed. With a single arm, Vita put away the weight and continued crying about how boring it was. On the inside of course, on the outside Vita looked like a statue without any signs of emotion. Heracles sat up quickly to check on the weight that he had been using. 12 tons, six on each side. Impressive for someone his age, yet so far from the champions of the kingdom. And then a thought struck him. He had been trading punches with Vita during their fight, and he had to use a lot of power just to keep his avatar of earth stable. With the avatar of earth, the ground beneath him would become his strength, making a mere 12 tons feel like nothing. But here Vita had lifted the 12 tons with a single arm without showing any signs of strain. Fear came to him, but it was quickly washed away with pride. To be able to fight such a being and live was respectable, and it made the actual champions of the kingdom even more amazing in his eyes. Except for Odin. "Heracles is staring at Vita, again." Beatrice noted before sitting down. Unlike these fighting freaks and muscle heads, she preferred just running a few laps. Instead of drinking her water from a bottle, she simply created a small gourd looking fruit and ate it. "You sure know a lot about wendigos, Earl. Could you tell us some more?" Beatrice asked after finishing the strange fruit. He nodded and began talking. Dragons are treated as the apex of all monsters, with no other challengers other than the wendigo. While the wendigo is treated with as much respect as the dragon, being the unrivaled king of beasts. While the dragon are more famous due to their contribution during the war against demon king, wendigos sought out to do not only fight the intruding demons but also the growing human kingdom. After all, they were both unnatural and highly adept at using mana. The problem was, however, that it was only a single wendigo! It had managed to slaughter massive amounts of dragons, demons and humans alike as if they were all nothing but paper. It took the combined effort of an ancient dragon and a human army of magicians to bring it down. This is where most of the knowledge of wendigos act in battle comes from. There was also a wendigo that attacked the Kingdom in more recent times, but it was taken down with the combined strength of multiple high-class warriors. Yet even this was a hard fought battle. "Whoa, wait a second," Beatrice interrupted, "are you saying that Diana made friends with something that could kill dragons? How hasn''t there been a massive war against them?" Earl simply shrugged. "There aren''t any strong arguments to hunt down wendigos. In myth, it''s believed that the number of wendigos are limited and that they can''t reproduce because of a curse, so they tend to stay away from anything that even have a slight chance of harming them. But in reality they might just be solitary creatures." He finished talking. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 77 With a *flomph*, Diana threw herself onto her bed after a long day of hard work. It wasn''t easy to go through the different classes and dealing with the lack of her family, but at the same time she had made new friends to fill that void and was learning so many new things she knew so little of beforehand. And then there was Vita, who was always there for her. As a proper lady, she wore a proper pajama made of the finest materials in the Kingdom and depicting small animals rolling around. After getting comfortable by shuffling around for a minute, she looked over at Vita, who stood in the corner of her room like a guardian making sure that she was safe. She liked to think so at the very least, but she could never read Vita''s mind. Every attempt was met with a blank nothingness, like the thoughts inside a newly crafted weapon or a small bug. But it didn''t bother all that much. Although it was still odd with Vita''s, strange, behavior. "Sleep well, Vita." she spoke softly to the "maybe" sleeping wendigo. No reply back, other than a slight movement from the many vines covering Vita''s body. With that, she dozed off, entering the realm of dreams, with drool already trickling down onto the pillow. -Vita- Alright, every-me, I''ll keep this short and simple. This life is starting to become TOO boring for our tastes and something needs to be done. Any suggestions? We could murder Diana? ... Why? ... I don''t know... Then why suggest-you are getting deleted, fuck you. Now with one less Vita, anyone else with a brighter idea? Well, the wannabe hero is getting their special day soon, right? We could totally bomb that party and piss people off! Too easy. Besides, we don''t know what people higher up are capable off. Not only that, but there is a 100% chance that there is some kind of evil force that want to do something big on that day. Would be rude of us to butt in on their fun. Any other suggestions? The weird crystals mentioned in that book. Or is it diary? How would I know. But you are pulling up something interesting there. A big problem is that the crystals are only found in that certain location mentioned in the book. And there isn''t really a mention of where exactly this place is, only in some cave somewhere. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Well, we could try and get better material to make stuff with. Those posters do have requests for different, rare, creatures that we could take a bite out of. Alright, sounds like a plan. The meeting for now is over, back to your stations. Ay hold on a second someone is at the door. -Real World- Before the raised hand got a chance to knock on the door, it opened to reveal Vita''s massive frame. The student who stood there felt his voice lodge itself in his throat and started to stutter incomprehensibly. The wendigo just stood there, staring at him with its many eyes. No wonder he was the one chosen to hand out the invitation. They wanted him to die! "A-a-a lis-letter-invitation for Diana from the young Lady Michelle Rachel Seastar! More information can be found inthislettergoodbye!" And he took a step away, politely turned around to give the letter to the amused Vita before sprinting into the dimly lit hallway, mana flowing on his legs to boost him further. Vita looked at the letter and checked it for anything strange, and closed the door behind them. The letter itself was surprisingly ornate-looking, ignoring the sweat on it. There was even a wax seal on it, with what looked like a highly detailed crest, too. But the awe got shut down immediately because the crest is just a starfish. Why is their last name Seastar then? Yadayadayada, status and nobility, humdidum the nobles in this university. And it''s tonight in a few hours? And where is this place, a personal mansion? Vita turned to look at the sleeping Diana and kindly tried to wake her up. Yet Diana just turned around, mumbling something about not wanting cookies. So as any collection of cells mimicking a wendigo, Vita just ripped Diana out of the bed and shook her around. "What! I''m awake! I''m awake! Vita, put me down, why are you doing this!?" She shrieked as she was swung around in the air. Vita finally stopped, but kept her in the air as the letter was given to her. She read through the letter with wide eyes, and when finished reading it, she exploded with movement. "Vita! Hurry up, it''s an invitation from one of the royal families! Sleep can wait for tomorrow, we have to get dressed and ready to go right now!" She managed to shake herself free and ran to the wardrobe, where she started judging her clothes based on which ones were the most expensive looking. She showed one dress to Vita, but with Vita''s lack of cultural knowledge, Vita wasn''t helping much in finding the perfect clothing. But after much stress, she settled on a simple yet fancy dress with silvery high-heels and finishing it all off with a hairpin with her families crest on it. "Alright, I should be representable now. Now I know you don''t like strangers, but please for the sake of our future don''t harm anyone. Pretty please." Diana stood there with her hands together, looking at Vita with massive puppy eyes. "... Alright. But never do that with your face ever again." The two left the room, locking it, and headed towards the area that the message described. They ventured outside the university grounds and traveled towards a large mansion in the distance. Before some narcissistic prick could show up and lend a hand to Diana, Vita picked her up with the vines and sped up. The wind threw Diana''s hair around, but it didnt seem to be the thing on her mind. Instead, she held her hair and thought out loud. "I hope nothing goes wrong. I have heard some nasty rumors about the royals, and that Rubert-Ree fellow wasn''t nice at all." She yawned and sighed, looking at the large gate that had the same crest as the Seastar royal family had. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 78 Rubert-Ree stood there in his father''s office, sweat slowly going down his back. He held his hands behind his back to make sure that Lothair didn''t see how hard he clenched them. Everything, to make sure to not show any weakness in front of him. Lothair seemed relaxed, as he sat there. He looked through some documents and papers, looked into a crystal and sipped some flowing lava from an obsidian cup. Speaking of an obsidian cup, everything in the office was made of some kind of rock. Even the chair and the papers Lothair was reading were made out of rock. Hell, there wasnt even any normal light sources inside the office. Instead, small rivers of lava were continually flowing in the walls, floor and ceiling, lighting up the room from multiple angles. Eventually, Rubert-Ree felt the urge to gulp. Between making a small gulping noise and choking on it, he decided to risk it and swallow some of the stress that plagued him. *Gulp* Lothair was already giving him a side-eye from the stone desk. The face didnt show any particularly strong emotions, as Stoic as the surrounding stone. This had always been a source of dread for Rubert-Ree. Never being able to tell what his father was thinking was as frightening as it was confusing. A second went by, and Lothair looked back down to the stone tablets on his desk. "Rubert-Ree." He flinched. "The child from the Wolfheart family was invited to the Seastar brats mansion. Go there and at the very least restore your image." Lothair spoke with no emotion. Rubert-Ree stammered, but was stopped by Lothair glaring at him. Lothair''s eyes werent normal, not even by the standard of The Kingdom. His eyes were black with fire coming out from the pupil like a sun. Lothair kept his questions to himself as he stared right ahead. With a small gesture, Rubert-Ree was allowed to leave with badly hidden frustration on his face. He walked quickly, ignoring any golems that scurried around the place. The golems themselves, given life by the powerful mana released by the surrounding climate, didn''t seem to mind the young master''s behavior as if used to it. He walked up to a massive circle with an old man sleeping on a chair next to it. "Send me back to the Magi-milian university of Soul." he snarled, causing the old man to jolt awake. With an unintelligible grumble and some more magical grumble, the circle started to glow. The old man spoke to someone not in the room, but after a while he finished the spell and Rubert-Ree was gone. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Vita walked up to the mansion with Diana in hand. The ground was a fine cobblestone road, but without any bumps on it. On the sides of this road were multiple hedges and statues, both designed to look like different creatures of the sea and humans as well. There was even a statue of a woman holding what looked like a large serpent by the scruff of its neck. Multiple well-crafted statues in perfect condition. Vita even picked and ate a nearby flower because it looked interesting. As expected, no different from any other flower other than looks. They continued on, leaving impressive statues and other fancy things behind. Finally, they stood before the entrance of the impressive manor. White marble walls with large windows and even more decorations. All of which were related to the sea in some form. An older servant who stood in front of the massive doors raised his eyebrows ever so slightly when he saw how Diana was moving around. But he quickly changed his demeanor to a more respectful one as he walked up to both her and Vita. "Ah, the young Champion of the Magi-Millian University of Soul, lady Wolfheart. No need to show your invitation, the wendigo is more proof than needed. Please, come this way." The servant gestured with his hand to the inside of the manor. Diana tried to keep herself together, after all it''s the first time she has been invited by royalty, and gave the letter to Vita for safekeeping. Following the servant, they entered the mansion. The inside of the mansion had a white and blue coloration, with white marble walls and blue carpets covering the ground. And not to mention the large amount of paintings of different people and places. The servant would point to the paintings and talk on length about what they showcased. One of an ancestor, one of a place, and so on. Barely any of it managed to catch Vita''s attention, although Diana seemed quite interested. The only painting that was interesting was of a woman who seemed familiar. The woman was armored and holding what looked to be a halberd made out of water. In the background, however, was a massive snake-like creature that seemed to charge straight to her. Quite the action packed painting, whoever painted it did a great job. Diana, because Vita did stop moving, looked at the painting and asked about it to the servant. "Ah, This painting is quite spectacular indeed. The painting itself is a replica of another painting which is well over five hundred years old. It is a painting of Arabella Seastar, the founder of the Seastar royal family, fighting the demon king Leviathan during the age of demons. Despite being in a disadvantage, she still managed to defeat the demon with ease and help Akitio to fight the self-proclaimed god of the demons." The servant spoke with deep respect in his voice when talking about Arabella, and with slight disgust when he said the name of the demon king. -Vita- Well, look at that. Badass lady fighting a demon king? Thats quite the coincidence that she helped the ''hero'' too. Let me guess, it was a harem. Disgusting bastard. Ignoring the lady, that is supposed to be a demon? I need to find more about these things. There are so many additional details in the bodies of this world that there must be something of interest in these so called ''demons''. That can wait for now, I want to see how much incest the royalty of this world has compared to good ol'' Earth. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 79 Diana, Vita and the servant continued through the hallway, looking at other pictures depicting various men and women either fighting something or looking important. All of which also has something with water in the painting as well, either a body of water in the background or by seemingly manipulating water to form a halo behind their head. Some even depicted the member of the Seastar family together with a random sea animal that had almost every part of their body covered in jewelry. Especially that large squid, its tentacles tipped with golden hooks like a pirate. It even has an eye patch. But the sightseeing came to an end as the servant stopped in front of a large, ornate door. The door, of course, had carvings of anything and everything that could be related to either water or the ocean. Turning around, the servant looked at both Diana and briefly at Vita before speaking. "Now, Lady Wolfheart, in the ballroom there will be various households, noble lineages and individuals of importance. The normal ballroom etiquette is expected, and this humble servant dares only says this as a..." the old servant glances at Vita. " Wendigo has never been seen in a ballroom before. If any were to act in rude manners, please know that it isn''t always that a powerful creature is seen, and some people are more excitable than others when faced with legends." The old servant said with a surprisingly wise look to his eyes, and it seems that the old servant''s words had an effect on Diana, as she let out a sigh. She still looked excited, but it was much more contained than before. "Thank you for your advice." she whispered to the old servant as the doors opened and Diana got to see the ballroom proper. A large crystal chandelier shaped like a starfish hang from a painted ceiling that looked like a seafloor filled with different forms of life. The obviously magical light coming from the chandelier ebbed and moved as if they were truly under the water with the sea life. There were even the occasional sea creature made out of different colored liquids moving through the air, serving drinks to any of the guests who held a glass up. Large curtains blocked out the sunlight and had a similar motif as the ceiling, but of a beach with small seagulls embroidered at the very top. But no one really paid any attention to that. Surprisingly enough, the actual floor where everyone were located at was rather low-key, with the only decorations being found being the various tables with food and snacks on them. Food that rivaled or even surpassed the food in the university with the diversity. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. But there is no more time to explain the details, as the old servant walked into the room and spoke in a loud voice. "Ladies and gentlemen. Champion of the University, Lady Diana Wolfheart of the Wolfheart Household." Pause, probably unsure of how to address a monster. "And Wendigo Vita" he finished quickly before stepping to the side. People turned from where they stood to see the newcomers, most of them showing little interest in either Diana or Vita. The ones that didn''t turn at all simply glanced at the two before continuing their own conversations. Although, Diana did have some people walk up to her, but it was no one she knew well. Acquaintances or relatives of people that knew her father. She spoke with them all, greeting and speaking with them all as they moved closer to one of the tables with food. They even had the decency to only give as much attention to Vita as one would a random house pet. Although it was rather fun or even exciting for Diana, Vita couldn''t give a shit. It. Was. Dull. Imagine the feeling you get when your friend is speaking with a group of friends that you don''t know, and then pump it up a bit more as they treat you like a pet. The only saving grace was taking different samples of the food within vine''s reach. Not to taste anything, no. That was a function deemed useless by Vita long ago, its only use was to sample anything that could be used as a weapon or if it reacted to anything funnily. A rule of thumb when it came to sea creatures; they usually had some interesting biological properties not found in land dwelling creatures. For while creatures on land tend to be bigger, the money is in the tiny buggers and fish. And this mindset of Vita''s was proven right once more, because these snack-sized cuts of meat had some pretty interesting goodies hidden in their DNA. Nothing too impressive, unfortunately, the only remarkable thing was a creature that looked like an extra large lobster. On its hardest points, human teeth would break on it. But a solid shell didn''t mean anything if the rest of the creature had a normal amount of hardness that could be broken with a normal amount of force. But with Vitas ability to give evolution and normal growth the middle finger and do whatever, the structure could be used as a one-time shield. Or maybe it could be mixed with another existing shell creature? If the right one is found, it could lead to some pretty cool things to make. Maybe like a living armor type thing or a big brute version with a hard exoskeleton. "Ladies and Gentlemen! The inheritor of the Seastar name, The Ocean''s daughter, Lady Michelle Rachel Seastar has arrived." The same old servant spoke out loud, this time everyone turned and paid attention. She gracefully walked in to the room with a head of blue hair falling down over her left shoulder similar to a waterfall. Cold, blue eyes matching a variety of blue jewelry and a white blue dress. She could be called a stunner if it wasn''t for how stoic and cold her face was, like an ocean with no waves. And the few who could feel magic, like Diana, feel the power coming from her uncomfortably similar to water. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / Chapter 80 She walked into the room together with a rising applause and general praise from the people present. Some few seemingly even more important members of society stepped up to the young Seastar and spoke in comfortable but respectable tones. The ones that weren''t all that important, like the people around Diana, could only give a bow from a distance but get no closer. For they might be nobles or related to rich merchants, few could consider themselves acquainted with the royal families and even fewer would risk their ire. As this gets thought about, one of the people near Diana seems to turn a shade paler and starts beckoning for a grape-colored seahorse before speaking to Diana in a hushed tone. "Lady Diana, my memory might be a little foggy, did you not fight with a son of Firebrand?" Hearing this, everyone around Diana got to jog their memory and realized the same thing, they all looked to both Diana and glanced at Seastar. Luckily for their nerves, Michelle seemed content with simply speaking to her group and haven''t approached them yet. Diana didn''t seem to understand, and some guy who looked to be a few years older than Diana whispered to her with a tiny bit of fear. "Well, it is common knowledge to never try to anger those higher up the social ladder, but the royal families are at the very top. Your victory against the young Firebrand is not that much of an issue, considering how the Head of the Firebrand family is of a lawful breed, but that can not be said for the other royal families. If Lady Seastar seeks you for a conversation, please don''t get us involved." The others nodded as if what was said were the words of a great man, leaving Diana dazed at how quickly they were willing to get themselves uninvolved. As the group of nobodies continued talking to each other and not focusing on the world around them, Vita "eating" the food and Diana trying her hardest to talk about politics and economy. So of course, only one of them noticed a certain someone standing close to the group. Lifting multiple vines, not bothering to stop sampling the food, Vita used said vines to turn the group against their small outbursts of surprise. Stepping to the side, Vita revealed the form of Lady Michelle Rachel Seastar. Standing there, with the same stoic face as before except for a slightly raised eyebrow looking at Vita. The first thought the others had was, well, panic. \Holy shit, it''s young Lady Seastar!\ \Why the fuck is Lady Seastar here!?\ \I''m going to get my life ruined because I was in the same group as someone who fought a Royal, aren''t I?\ Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. But those thoughts were useless, and Seastar turned her cold gaze to Diana. Akin to a predator staring down prey. -Seastar- OH MY THRONE, SO SMALL! No, Rachel, keep it together. How you think affects how you act. Serious thoughts, serious face. The report doesn''t say much of her magical capabilities, but having a ''0-1'' type birth magic is most likely due to heritage. Judging by the holy shit, wendigo, it seems that true. Can''t be sure if Kip has had any effect on her birth magic, but it can''t be ruled out yet. Otherwise unremarkable, but still cute. Now, the wendigo, on the other hand. How is this, a rather large creature with no magical capabilities, able to go toe to toe with dragons? I can see how this thing might be a problem for those who lack any magical capabilities. Nothing that might hint on magical capabilities, yet it seems to be able to morph its own limbs to an unsettling degree. If the creature was magical, then she would''ve felt it. She could feel some of Diana''s magic coating the wendigos neck where the vines were coming out of, but that seems to be about it. Guess it would be improper to not introduce myself. -normal view- After a moment, Diana and the surrounding group greeted her and bowed down, making sure to keep their heads down until Rachel spoke. The only ones still standing tall were Lady Michelle Rachel Seastar and Vita. "It''s a fine night, is it not? You may stand." the other nobles calmed down and tried to breathe normally. "So, how was the victory against another noble. Sweet?" One of the nobles who tried to look nonchalant quietly choked on the drink and turned to avoid any further embarrassment. Diana tried to speak but stumbled on her breath, letting Vita take over. As if that was the better option. "The kid sucked. The only thing he was any good at, was getting his daddy involved." and silence dominated. But despite everything, Rachel didn''t react to the wording that was chosen. Instead, she surprisingly nodded, picked up on it and continued speaking. "Indeed. While I wouldn''t use such language, the young Firebrand is not that great of a combatant. But that is to be expected of those who rely on out speeding someone just as quick as themselves." On one hand, everyone were relieved that a member of the royal families weren''t too offended of the lack of respect, but on the other hand, Rachel was known for her lack of expressions. It was nearly impossible to tell if she was bothered by Vita''s wording. The best way to put it, everyone felt like they were watching a mexican standoff and bombs were used instead of guns. Yet little did they know, little did everyone there know, that standing in the doorway next to a pale old servant stood the man they had openly badmouthed. And unlike his fellow royal, the young Firebrand didn''t bother hiding the scowl on his face. It was only when the old servant received a weak kick to the shin that the old servant remembered what to do. "L-Ladies and gentlemen! Rubert-Ree Jacob Firebrand has arrived!" and panicked ensues, with only one entity''s being unbothered by the young dragon. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / chapter 81 They looked at Jacob and quickly tried getting as far away as possible without looking scared, going up to the walls and standing behind tables, just trying to keep as much distance between themselves and the smoldering young man. Even the elementals in the air seemed to cower in fear and flew higher up, some leaving stains on the pristine ceiling. But none of these inferiors were of concern to Jacob, only the two bastards that had talked about him mattered. And only these two bastards were worthy of the tiniest sliver of respect. The ice-cold bitch, Jacob didn''t care if someone was looking at his thoughts, was only respected because of the royal ties the two of them had. Other than that, he knew that she wouldn''t be able to win if they fought. They had already done that once when their parent''s had them spar each other, and he had come out on top, even being rewarded by his father with a nod. That had made him so happy that he didn''t mind it when his father doubled his training to make sure he didn''t let that small victory get to his head. If, anything, it meant that his father wanted to see him get stronger. But that wendigo. That bastard that had bested him in combat made Jacob seethe in rage, honing his wrath to a singular edge like a bladed weapon. Oh, how he hated and loathed that wendigo, to the point that his magical flames had increased in potency just to attempt to match his temper. Yet he couldn''t bring himself to disrespect it. Sure, he would best it in combat, maybe even kill it. But he knew, just as well as anyone else, that wendigos are equal in power to dragons. If only his blood was purer, if he was as lucky as his useless older brother, he would have won for sure. But enough of that, he let out a ¡°harrumph¡± before walking over to the two that were brave enough to look him in the eye. He knew for a fact that the wendigo did have eyes in the back of its head, since it didn''t even bother turning around. Either that, or it was an untamed beast with no sense of respect for others. Jacob, for his own mental health, refused to believe it was the latter because anything that could best him couldn''t be such a primitive thing. He walked towards Rachel, who he had bested in the past, and the wendigo, who had bested him in the present. The surrounding people who stood near the two, Diana not included, hurried to somewhere where Jacob wouldn''t be able to see them. Hiding behind Vita seemed like a good idea. And while he was walking, Rachel had the tiniest wrinkle show up on her otherwise stoic face. Obviously, she hadn''t invited him and certainly didn''t approve of Jacob''s attitude. And as the distance between the two got shorter and shorter, the ambient magical energy in the air grew more and more volatile. It felt like hours before Jacob stopped in front of Rachel, Vita, Diana and stared the three of them down. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Jacob, your appearance was unexpected.¡± Rachel said with a tone much colder than the one she used previously and with an endless ocean in her eyes. But Jacob didn''t buckle under the weight. ¡°It''s Rubert-Ree Jacob Firebrand to you, weakling. And I only listen to those that are superior.¡± He replied with venom and glanced up to Vita''s towering figure. While he did hide it well enough, there was a tiny flicker of uncertainty when he met Vita''s glassy gaze. Vita, however, didn''t seem bothered by Jacob''s presence and continued sampling the food like a machine. Trying her best to deescalate the situation, Diana stepped forward to greet the prince, but was stopped before she got a word out. ¡°You don''t get to speak, weakling, you let the wendigo do quite literary everything during the fight. You don''t deserve the title of champion or to be attending any of the universities.¡± The words hit her like a hammer, leaving her dumbstruck. ¡°I don''t appreciate the disrespectful wording, Rubert. If you believe that having a bond with a powerful creature makes one weak, then you are just like her.¡± Rachel countered with ice in her voice, the elementals seeming to grow braver and slowly approaching. But Jacob easily countered by increasing the surrounding temperature, forcing them back. ¡°The power I hold is my own, something I was born with and learned to wield. But using a pet or relying on numbers is a trait of the weak.¡± Jacob answered back, his back standing straight and cruel sparks burning in his eyes. The guests started to slowly try and leave the area, feeling more and more like their lives were in danger. Diana felt unsure of what to do, standing slightly behind the towering figure of Vita and held onto a vine and weakly tugged on it. One of Vita''s many eyes looked down at her, and after a moment before the fight started, Vita''s spoke in that voice made out of many things. Letting out a long, drawn out noise that seemed to unnerve not only the people in the large room, but even the elementals seemed spooked. ¡°Keep ruining the night, and I''ll eat both of you alive.¡± The words rolled out of Vita''s mouth like rocks grating on each other, but the threat was made. The room went silent with the pure shock. Threatening a royal?! That''s enough to get you killed, legally or in a dark alley. Rachel was baffled at the audacity and was going to act when, to her surprise, Jacob withdrew his hostility to a much more tolerable degree. By the throne, he even looked apologetic! ¡°My apologies, my original intent was to merely visit to better socialize with others.¡± Jacob did a small bow, another shock to the crowd, and stood there, slightly unsure of what he was supposed to do next. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / chapter 82 -Vita (hivemind?)- Well well well. It seems that this little boy, this little baby boy, is related to someone powerful! You hear that, people! People who are strong but still weaker as myself and I!? For too long, we have been eating mediocre beasts from different parts of the natural world! But no longer! This pushover with his dragon daddy will be the first step we take to being a hashtagging "cool guy". We won''t be attacking him, no, no, no. That would be primitive. Let''s just play it cool, be the "cool guy". And since I am supposed to work with Diana for the next couple of years, until whenever her life expires, let''s do something nice for her. Humans die in like, what, 5 years in these types of worlds? -normal world- The silence continued for half a second before Vita spoke up again. "Now that we are friendly and all, then a handshake is in order." A large, clawed hand reached out from the wall of vines. Jacob stared at the pseudo hand, feeling unsettled by its shape, but still reached out to shake it. And with that, Vita collected every piece of loose DNA that was easily available. Sweat? Stolen. Dead skin cells? Yoink-ed. Jacob, without knowing it, has gotten the surface of his palm and fingers cleaned and salvaged and deep inside the wendigo, Vita would have smiled if Vita had a mouth to smile with. Sure, there wasn''t really all that much diversity to take, but with the small chance that Jacobs ''normal'' DNA had anything related to his draconic side or even his daddy? It was something Vita was willing to take. All this happened in less than a second, and the handshake was ended. But the awkward silence still continued. Jacob looked somewhat unsure of himself, rubbing his hands. Rachel stared straight ahead, lost in her own thoughts and finally little Diana. Poor Diana was staring at the ground, still shocked by what was said to her. Was she truly useless? Her ability to fight on her own isn''t the greatest, this she knew beforehand. But to the point that someone would act this way didn''t make sense to her, since she has been training and trying to be useful. Her sight was turning blurry, but she did her best to blink away the tears. This was quite clearly noticed by Vita, but it was of no matter at the moment. What did matter was keeping up the facade that everyone present were happy with each other. The guests tried to start some small talk, but to no avail. The previous aggression shown by the monstrous trio had simply ruined the mood for many, some of them even used various degrees of mind related magic to calm themselves and their nearby acquaintances. And while that wasn''t an uncommon occurrence to use such magics, it did seem to strike a nerve with Rachel. With a sigh and a slight drop of her shoulders, she spoke. "Well, Rubert-Ree Jacob Firebrand, thank you for your visit, but as you can see," she turned her head to look at the people huddled together further away, "the people present doesn''t seem willing to continue this party. Therefore, I am considering to end it here." She continued, speaking to Jacob, with her eyes looking to the old servant still standing by the entrance. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Ah, what a shame. I better leave before anyone passes out. It was a short but pleasant talk we had here, goodbye." Jacob said, short and to the point, opening the door and leaving before the servant standing there could do it for him. The crowd, worried, looked at Rachel as she signaled to the same old servant with a sigh. And as the people started to walk out of the area after an announcement that the party was over, some saying their goodbyes to her, she called for one of the elementals to come down and pour her a drink. "I do apologize, Lady Diana, but that Jacob fellow is a troubled one. This is an open secret in the higher circles, so don''t speak of it openly." She nodded to the troubled Diana before taking a sip. "His father is responsible for the military aspects of The Kingdom -my mother being responsible for the sea- and can be quite harsh to those around him. That includes his children and with Jacob being the latest one, he has gotten even worse according to the people closer to him. And as you experienced, that behavior is affecting his son." She finished her drink and walked further into the room, the elementals following after her as she checked on each of them. Diana, deep in her own thoughts, walked towards the exit together with Vita, who looted each table they walked past, and promptly left the area. The only living being left was Rachel and the old servant, who at this point had walked up to her. A slight shudder washed over the servant as it fell apart, the color and clothes molding and changing to a different form altogether. The creature was humanoid, but the uncanny alley feeling painted it as wrong. The upper body was humanoid to a degree, but it had the face of a crustacean and no other details on its head. Its arms were covered in carapace adorned with needle sharp spikes, and its hands ended in large claws with two finger-like limbs underneath them. Its lower body was four carapace legs, with smaller spikes compared to the ones on its arms, and a powerful tail could most likely break the bones in a man. This, a mermaid of this world, creature stood next to Rachel for a second before lowering itself into a deep bow and waited for her to allow it to speak. Rachel, after tending to the elementals, brought out a small marble and broke it in her hand. A bubble of magical energy burst out and covered the two, and she signaled for the mermaid to speak. "Attempts on gathering data on the wendigo were unsuccessful." it spoke with the same voice it used while mimicking a human, but it couldn''t hide the natural clicking noise that followed the moving of its mouthparts. Rachel didn''t seem bothered by this and signaled for it to continue. "Any attempts to view its soul brought next to no results, however, it seems that the wendigo is keeping an item of unidentified magical properties inside it. Further attempts to scan the item were not attempted due to potentially angering the wendigo. Any attempts to view its mind brought no results." This caused Rachel to turn to the mermaid, her eyes questioning ''no results''. "No thoughts were detected, not even surface level thoughts. This is similar to most wild animals, but ''Vita'' showing higher level intellect makes this a contradiction." Rachel turned back to the elemental. "That could be a result by Diana''s magical capabilities. Anything else to report?" The mermaid took a second to respond. "... Jacob has gotten stronger." She sighed at the obvious and recalled the magical bubble, returning it to a simple marble. Freshmen and Fresh Meat / chapter 83 The journey back to the dorms was a quiet one. They got there, they talked for a minute or two, Diana got more or less yelled at, and it was over. No fun discussions with her peers or getting to know more people her age. And it was so late at night that the moon was starting to go down. A moonset? Either way, her mind was still going over the fact that she was being seen as undeserving. It wasn''t a complete lie when she thought of it. While she still lived with her father, she didn''t really do much training with Sir Knight. Especially after she got hurt, her father had reduced her training to the minimum after scraping her knee. But that didn''t mean she completely stopped. She knew how to use a spear, after all, although she wasn''t that good at using it. If she tried fighting in the tournament with just a spear, she would have been one of those that lost in the first round. But she knew all this already, meeting Vita didn''t mean she got cockier all of a sudden. She still acted the way she had before, and didn''t plan on being rude to people just for the fun of it. It''s just having someone call her out like that, it didn''t feel right. While she could have relied on Vita for who knows how long to fight for her, that didn''t mean she was guarantied to never get hurt. Her shoulder still hurt when she thought about how Jacob managed to harm her so easily. She had to get stronger, somehow. So that no one would doubt her strength, regardless of whether it was Vita standing right next to her while they fought or if she fought alone. Her hands clenched into fists as she started theorizing how to get stronger. She knew, somewhat, how to use a spear. She was here in the university to learn how to use soul-related magic, and the easiest type of this magic to learn would be magic that ether boosted her physical capabilities or to manipulate the elements. Knowing that doing things like Heracles, Beatrice and Earl won''t work, Diana should try to learn the basics of elemental magic - or just learn to boost her physical body like how Odin does it. But having her limbs grow to massive logs doesn''t sound like anything she wants. This turned into a bigger problem than what she had expected. But she genuinely didn''t want to solely rely on Vita. At the current time, one of the bigger things she should continue working on was her spearmanship. For now, Diana was starting her journey of self-improvement. And Vita was secretly sending out a tiny, but odd looking, beetle. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. As the distance between the two increased, the bug flew in whatever direction that didn''t have any humans in it. The moonlight reflecting off its oily carapace as it flew over the roads and the occasional village. To anyone on the ground, it was nothing more than an odd dot passing by. Finally, a large lake came into view. Different from the one that Rachel had her mansion next to, and much further away. This lake seemed to be one of those that old people and farmers liked fishing on. Too bad for them, Vita was going to experiment in this area and anyone who complained are going to get their bones turned to liquid. Other than that, the area was ripe with insects and freshwater fish. And probably other creatures or weird fucks, but Vita hasn''t seen any yet with the eyes of a bug. Alas, it was time. For experimenting! While flying towards the shore, the beetle grew and exploded into a fleshy mush before crash landing into the shallow waters with a splash, scaring some of the small aquatic creatures away. As the ball of flesh finally touched down onto the grimy, soggy dirt with a muffled pfv the wildlife slowly starting going about their ways. None of the creatures nearby wished to approach the odd piece of biomass, only ever getting close to it to get either a good look at it or a good whiff. -Vita- Ahahahahha, now we have secured a new land! For the Vita-land! Let us not be too hasty, let us simply enjoy the moment and look at some of the goodies we have attained but never used. Wouldn''t make much sense for a fake wendigo to turn into a fish. While it would be funny, someone might get the bright idea to actually attack me and me if they found out about that. Am I pretending to care about the humanoid Diana? Nuh-uh. It would get annoying so quick if I had to fight an army of bullshit powered humans. But having said that, seems like far away and larger amount of Vita-cells and the present amount of Vita-cells are connected. Somehow. Neat! That being said and thought, let''s test these DNA thingamabobs and see the effects. The interesting crustacean was, like, this, I think? Ok, it seems that it works, and it should be pretty solid, but the tension is insane on the sides of the reinforced bit. If I increase the tension, what happens? -World- One rather decently sized fish swam around the area where Vita landed. It was smart enough to know that the small clump of morphing flesh is not a normal thing to see, but it''s also dumb enough that it''s willing to ignore the morphing part of the fleshy thing. Meaning that it was looking at a piece of meat that was ripe for it to eat! It took its time strutting over, looking as smug as a generic fish could possibly look. Just as it was going to take a good taste-test and decide if eating it was good or not, a brownish-red piece shot out like a bullet with a strong enough force to boil the surrounding water and releasing a brief light. The fish died. Its dead. While it probably isn''t the first time something got shot and died in this world, it certainly is the first time it happened like it did here. And if the nearby creatures weren''t scared before, they had surely escaped as quickly could. Duality of Meat / Chapter 84 Of course, the moment Vita registered the death of something living nearby, it got gobbled up and added to the mass. But the mass only grew somewhat larger and with small bone spikes poking out from right underneath the surface. In case something just as stupid wandered nearby. As the urchin looking Vita finished assuming a form, it started slowly moving deeper into the lake. Like an unstoppable beast of death, anything that got too close was killed and eaten, no creature spared. From the smallest plankton to the ¡ª oh? As one of Vitas bullets shot out to kill, a rather long fish with blue stripes covering its body like the stripes of a tiger, it managed to dodge out of the way with a small flex of its body. It turned around to look at Vita and started slowly swimming forward. While it moved forward, its stripes shed a soft light that pulsed with its movements. But whatever that odd magic was meant to do, it had no effect on Vita. Another bullet shot out, and the fish managed to dodge it again. And then another and another. While the shots weren''t being fired at a rate similar to a modern weapon, the shots themselves were still quick enough to pierce flesh. And yet here was a magical fish capable of predicting where the shots would travel. Still glowing, the fish was technically within striking range for Vita. Yet the curiosity of how far this thing could push itself was of great interest and something to potentially implement into Wendigo-Vita. It kept getting closer, moving just enough to move out of the way from every bullet, but at this distance it seems to struggle ever so slightly. Finally, a line was cut out of its side, sending scales and flesh free. It reacted to this by attempting to turn around and potentially escape, but it was already too late. By the time the fourth bullet had missed, Vita had covered the bullets with the most potent poison/venom Vita had. The skullshroom of death. Even the urchin-like flesh blob had gotten signs of this odd rot. But now that didn''t matter, any damage taken was easy enough to recover from. There was after all a nice collection of meat right here! All Vita had to do was reach out ¡ª And get it stolen by an even larger fish that swam by like a torpedo, eating both the dodger fish and the limb Vita had reached out with. And it wouldn''t have been such a rage-inducing scenario if Vita had some Vita-cells in that limb. But there weren''t any! All that, all that potential that could have gone to upgrading Wendigo-Vita, was wasted. But then Vita recognized the small pieces still floating around the water! Of course, while having more to eat would be better, the DNA was still there to be eaten! Vita sent out multiple limbs, with Vita-cell filling, out to grab some samples. A fish similar to the previous torpedo snatched up the remains and broke off Vitas limbs. But there was no reason to get angry this time around, as Vita had successfully boarded the creature. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. *Vita* Hey Vita, come check this out. Fuck you mean, come check this out? Everything you see I see, just take a look yourself. No, you have to check this out! Look, the fast-moving fish is barely a fish, it looks more like a hollow tube if these DNA-strings are correct. How do you know what the fish looks like if ya don''t have the eyes to look at it? Realistic, you shouldn''t be able to ''see'' what it looks like from just a line of protein. And even then, what you are saying is nonsense. It doesn''t make sense for a living creature to be a straight-up tube, there is usually something closing off the tube. Even then, every creature is some kind of tube. First off, I''m not the one that made the rules for what I can or can''t see. Take that up with BRE if we ever meet that weirdo ever again. Second of all, this creature is quite literally a tube. Like a pipe made out of fish. It seems like it got some weird organs on the inside of the tube along its stomach that might be magical. While I or we don''t know what the fuck that does for the tubefish, I am willing to guess it''s the cause for its speed. Well let me take a look then¡­ Yeah, I have no clue from just looking at it. But it seems worth trying out some day, maybe later today, together with the DNA we stole from that doofus. In any case, let''s get to work with this thing first. Never know if I might learn something new from it. *World* A peculiar fish, popular in The Kingdom amongst those that can afford them, called Pommer is easily spotted with its odd body. Instead of having a mouth or closed anus, this fish has formed its body into the shape of a tube over many years of exposure to magical energies. Despite its reliance on magic, it has not been labeled as a monster, it does not need it to survive and can in controlled environments thrive just as well as any other non-magical fish or aquatic creature. The shape of its body and the magical organs in its body are able to rapidly suck in water, and in some rare cases air, with enough force to drive the creature forward and drive any food into its open mouth. Using these organs called by fishermen Inverted fins, the pommer moves with explosive speed through water and any prey animals it preys upon. It is therefore recommended that one uses bait that either produces light or reflects it to mimic the scales of smaller fish. This peculiar pommer has just managed to catch a hurt Mezmer, but after a few seconds of flying through the water it experienced a seizure. The pommer, having lost control of its body, crashed into the ground and kicking up a large dust cloud. But a moment later, the pommer darted out of the cloud at a much slower pace compared to before. The reason for this? An odd, almost cancerous, growth spreading from the lip of its mouth and to the brain that seemed to force its way into the skull of the creature. With a final spasm, it swam to where another ball of flesh had climbed up a dead stick and proceeded to swallow the little thing before moving towards the center of the lake. Duality of Meat / Chapter 85 Vita traveled further into the middle of the massive lake. This new form, while it wasn''t a shape that worked well, was still better than a ball of meat and bones. It did tickle Vitas nonexistent mind to be in control of something so silly, but it was a learning experience for sure. For example, swimming requires different motions compared to moving on land. The difference is especially notable when you''re swimming in the shape of a tube with no notable limbs. But this wasn''t a real problem, but a surprising tool to get more mass! Could Vita just grow some more cells on their own? Sure, but that''s boring, and there is so much fun to find in different lifeforms. Like a crustacean that was oddly similar to a certain type of punching shrimp, but much larger with actual limbs to punch with. Its arms were locked into position on its sides, and when fired, produced a similar amount of power as the rock-lobster bullets. The only issue being that touching Vita would spell the doom for anything made of flesh. Therefore, after a couple seconds, the punching shrimp joined the pommer. And by join, I mean fusing together by having the pommer ''eat'' the punching shrimp and forming an ugly chimera of the two. Is it practical? Not in the slightest, but at the end of the day it is just a vessel for Vita to travel and experiment with. So being a little lazy with mending the two together is only natural. Or unnatural. But a mezmer hasn''t been seen in a long time, not even with the multiple sensory organs that Vita had managed to collect, which was rather boring. It seems that a fish able to somehow dodge projectiles moving at massive speeds are hard to come by, while powerful but otherwise normal sea creatures are more common. Another thing that seems to be a problem, is that Vita hasn''t been able to figure out how the ''inverted fins'' worked for the pommer. For at a basic level, the fins move and the pommer gets a massive boost in speed. The more fins, the more speed. But here it didn''t seem to work as intended, it just acted as a normal fin when Vita tried replicating the speed the pommer showed previously. What could be the issue then, since there was no way for it to not work. Unless? Vita thought, with no mind to think with, about how magic worked in this world. Having seen plenty of examples already, and the whole university of the soul nonsense teaching people about magic, there must be something that Vita is missing somewhere. Maybe it''s a special resource that can''t be grown like a body can be grown? Is it learned then? But that wouldn''t explain the Mesmer or any of the other magical creatures Vita had seen before. If a wild creature could obtain it, then that would mean that Vita did not have something that random wild animals did have. But Vita quite literally had control over the bodies of wild animals. Some that has shown magical abilities. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It was annoying. It was something Vita would need to learn through Diana back in the wendigo body. But that is something to figure out later, like right now that Vita was getting closer to the center of the lake. While Vita was still a bit away, it was far enough that Vita could start with some experimenting. And the first thing to experiment with was the samples legally acquired from a royal donor. But for safety reasons, this had to be done slowly with perfection and a steady hand¡­ Good thing Vita doesn''t need hands! So it was a simple matter of figuring out how a human, or at least a humanoid, turns into a half-lizard. *Aqua-Vita* Alright then, beginning the operation of pipsqueak redhead bastard. Vita! Gloves! You don''t need gloves, dipshit. Stop talking to yourself and start looking into the samples, you quite literally need to stop doing this for your non-existing mental health. Fine, sheesh, talk about me being rude. Alright, let us see about this sample. We know from context clues that the kid seems to be related to something that might either be a dragon or something similar. Now let us see what is going on with this fella. Membrane or the outermost layer of the cell looks rather normal, if not slightly better than any cells that we have found at the moment. And now for a deep dive into this bad boy. Wow¡­ This isn''t as cool as I had hoped. Everything is dead. Or at least rotten. But it is to be expected with what is more or less waste material. There is the nucleus, Golgi apparatus, unknown, Mitochondria etc¡­ What the fuck? What is this thing? This isn''t normal, and it also isn''t nearly as damaged as the rest of the cell. The same goes for the other samples, but this one seems to be in the best condition compared to the rest. What is this thing, then? It couldn''t be something vital to living, since nothing else so far has had this in it so far. Interesting. Time to mess with it! *World* Vita, using the damaged versions to patch up the one that was in much better shape, started testing out the strange thing. Fixing it up and putting it together took a surprising amount of effort. Not to actually form the finished product, but to make sure it didn''t damage itself or damage Vita. For every time Vita attempted to finish it, a dangerous amount of heat would be produced and Vita would have to back down. Like a dance between blowing up or not seeing the end result, Vita was starting to get tired of it. While Vita-cells were easy to remake, don''t know why they are so easy to actually remake, it''s the surrounding flesh that would suffer if things went poorly. So with one last push, right as the odd draconic cell started igniting, Vita covered the small ball of energy with bones and pushed it further away from the main body. Duality of Meat / Chapter 86 The sun had just woken up from its rest, gracing The Kingdom with its presence. The early morning sunlight painted a beautiful painting over the landscape, reflecting its light off the dewdrops on the many different plants that woke up with it. In one of the larger lakes that could be found in The Kingdom, there were plenty of life doing its dance through existence. Some who were new to living basked in the light, while the bugs that were already used to it still took a moment to enjoy existence. A small group of various songbirds greeted the light and sang their wonderful melodies. The plants surrounding the lake and in it opened themselves up, and breathed. The scene was, simply, magical. And quite literary too, there are entities beyond what the mundane can witness moving around just like any other animal. These are creatures not made with their body being the main component, like a human, but with their soul. And anyone who could see these spirits would agree that they make the current scene that much more wonderful. And further into the lake, was a small boat. Nothing special to note about this boat other than the age of it, its paint peeling off at the edges. On the boat were two humans, clearly attempting to fish in a casual and peaceful manner. One older man, wrinkled and aged. One young boy, almost falling asleep, but still holding his fishing pole. The old man, seeing the wonderful morning, nudges the younger one. "Hey kid, wake up. Take a look". Another nudge woke up the young boy, no older than ten, but he still took a moment to yawn and rub his eyes. And when he did finally open them, he remained quiet. The old man was going to start talking once more, but saw a tear fall down the face of the kid. He grunted as he shuffled around to face the same direction and look at the sunrise together for a minute. The kid was still silent, so the old man took this opportunity to speak again. "I''m not going to pretend, saying that it will feel better, but your parents wouldn''t want you to be all sad. You got a tomorrow, so don''t waste the today with sleeping it all away. You''re like, what, ten next year? That''s an easy 90 whole years ahead of you, even more if you learn some magic. And if someone asks who told you all this, it wasn''t me." He finished with a gruff humph, but the little speech seemed to have an effect on the kid. He looked from the sunrise and back to his grandfather with a small smile, before he chuckled. "Can we go buy some food instead, we have been fishing for hours." They both looked at each other before chuckling to each other and putting away their fishing rods. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. And then the lake blew up. Well, not the entire lake, the explosion itself wasn''t big enough to blow up the entire lake. The explosion itself was just in an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And as the pieces of meat and wood fell back down, Vita attempted to grow out from the badly mangled pieces Vita still had control over. It was not what was expected to happen. While it was obvious that the strange organ was more or less a better mitochondria with how much energy it produced, but that it functioned as an explosive was cool. Cool enough that this organ was more than worth producing when Vita would need to just delete someone with a bomb. Hell, a large enough cluster of those cells could destroy someones home. Excellent. But a bummer nonetheless that, so far, its only function is blowing up. A point that has been repeated multiple times already. But that didn''t matter, Vita had grown back most of the submarine, and was going to leave for the center of the lake. But the smell of blood, human blood, intrigued Vita and brought up an idea. If Vita couldn''t control the odd organs that came out of the body of some scaled guy, then why couldn''t it be put inside of someone else? Surely having a test subject with a soul would make it easier to see the effects of magical organs. So Vita moved through the gore, collection anything and everything of use, searching for a body. If there was one to use that wasn''t completely mangled. *Aqua-Vita* Blood, bone, muscle, blood, so much blood. While I get it that someone blew up here, and it totally wasn''t my fault, but there should be just enough stuff here to make a brand-new human. What should we call the fresh body, if we even have the resources to make one? Billy Bob is a bit much, right? Or we could just not make a human body, we could just stay here and experiment with whatever Wendigo-Vita learns from the university of nerds? Would be safer than trying to remake a body in a place that seems to be somewhat populated area. Safe to say that one human going kaboom would lead to others trying to figure out why and how. Yeah, that''s true as well. We could just try and hide underneath the soil here, should be plenty of space for that. If we manage to learn something interesting, we could try and test it out here, the water should mask our activity. That''s true - ayo? Why is a random upper body floating down here. Wait, actually, this is perfect! The head and most of the upper body is still present, a quick little resurrection shouldn''t be too difficult to do. And it would be the perfect excuse to see how a human would handle the magical organs! Yes, yes! Now, then, we should help this poor bastard. It wouldn''t be right if we just left someone to die due to an unfortunate accident. Duality of Meat / Chapter 87 Everything felt weird to Benjamin. It wasn''t cold or hot, but there was a muted pain somewhere in his body that he couldn''t feel quite as well as he would like. But he didn''t mind it. The loss of feeling, that is. There were still some other sensations as well as the pain, like an odd weight in his chest, an unusual nothingness in his lower body. But overall he welcomed it, no sadness and no happiness. Sure, he would miss his Grandpa, but he would meet his Mom and Dad! He will meet them, and his Grandma! And if he was a good boy, he might even meet the Hero himself! He was finally free to leave this world and its pains behind. He would smile if he could, but he didn''t have the energy to do it. Benjamin stopped thinking, and started drifting away into whatever awaited him. But that pain was still there. Lingering, pulsing. Moving up his body and through it. It felt almost unnatural with its dedicated rhythm. And the weight in his lungs, he could feel more clearly, was getting too much. He tried to breathe again, but doing so just made that weight heavier. Benjamin''s mind started working again and panic started creeping in. The pain flared and he opened his eyes. He was underwater, the usual blueish lake water had an almost red tint to it. Like diluted blood. The memories of what happened that week hit him hard. His parent''s unexplained death, his grandpa trying to help him cope with the sudden loss, and finally the fishing trip. Something in the water blew up just as they were going to leave. And thinking about that reminded him of something that brought even more panic with it. Where was his grandpa! Benjamin struggled through the water, trying to find where he was. But he couldn''t move through the water as well as he would like. Trying to move, his lungs screaming for air, he attempts to at least move upwards. But in doing so, he gets to have a somewhat clouded look of his arm, and bringing his panic into a peak. It looked like it had been torn off in the explosion and if one limb had been destroyed, then it''s safe to assume another had been lost as well. It was all starting to become too much for poor Benjamin. He would have entered shock, he should have, but it suddenly went away. Sure, it was there together with the memories. But his body told him otherwise, if anything he was completely fine. The weight in his lungs was still there, but he didn''t feel the need to breathe. His limbs were numb, sure, but he could feel them again. He could actually see them now. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. He looked around the water for his Grandpa, but all he saw was dirty water and damaged surroundings. Worried, he swam up to see if his Grandpa was somewhere above the water. As he breached the water''s surface, there were only pieces of the old boat and some scraps of cloth soaking up the water. He rubbed the lake water out of his eyes and turned around to see if there was anything there, but it was all the same. Benjamin didn''t know what to do, but was sure that getting to shore was something he had to do. After that, he would have to find someone to help him find his Grandpa. Turning around and around, trying to find a shore, he decides on a direction and starts swimming. But as a 10-year-old who has barely been around any kind of large body of water, swimming was something he didn''t quite know how to do. Yet as a numbing sensation spread throughout his body, probably from the cold water, he managed to cross the distance in a much shorter time than expected. And finally reaching the shore, he flopped over onto his back and staring at the sky. The sunlight chasing away the stars, like a large kraken against fish. Benjamin wanted to cry, having lost so much in such a short time, but the tears didn''t flow as much as they would. Only a single, lone, tear that joined the lake water already on his face. He thought he wanted to scream, he wanted to do so many things, but he felt it in his body. It wouldn''t make any sense to cry over what has happened. Where this line of thought even came from didn''t make sense to him, he was only ten years old! But Vita knew where that line of thinking came from, for it was Vita that planted the thoughts there. Vita doesn''t have the greatest control over others minds, since that seems to be in a similar category as someone''s Soul. But the brain was something Vita could affect, and that would affect the mind in turn. Perfect to make sure a child doesn''t think about seeking help. Which sounds wrong, for sure. Evil even, but when did Vita care about being good? Benjamin was nothing more than a walking experiment waiting to make a reaction for Vita to document. And there had been a reaction. The reverse-fins from the pommer, which wouldn''t work for Vita, worked as intended when they grew out of Benjamin''s body. Of course, his body had to be numbed and the reverse-fins had to be recycled to keep them hidden. But this had proven something rather dangerous. It proved that Benjamin had a soul that could fuel the magical organs Vita might stumble upon. And would you know it, there was a magical organ smaller than a cell but strong as dynamite. And before this poor boy potentially explodes into a fine, red mist, it was time to introduce him to his new roommate. ¡­ Benjamin had by now placed his hands over his face to simply stop existing at the moment and simply breathe. Like how his mom and dad told him to do if he got angry. It was meant to help him calm down, but it wasn''t working. Probably since he wasn''t furious. He was having emotions, that he knew, but they were dulled by something inside him that he didn''t understand. It was frustrating. ¡°Ay lil''man, you mind me sharing your body with myself and I?¡± Benjamin froze, propped himself up using an arm, and looked around for who it was that spoke. Duality of Meat / Chapter 88 He swallowed spit and lake water, causing him to enter a coughing fit strong enough to send him falling. That voice had come from somewhere nearby, but all there was were the lake, with some wreckage disappearing into the water and some greenery nearby. Benjamin weakly pushed himself off the ground, his legs not feeling quite like his own. Numb, might have been a way to describe it. But he couldn''t know for sure. ¡°Hello, is anyone there?¡± He shouted out, scanning the surroundings for anything humanoid. But once more, nobody answered his call. He kept looking for another moment before breathing out, thinking he had only imagined it. ¡°You look kinda stupid there, kid, stop lazing around.¡± This time, Benjamin knew it was nearby and nearly jumped back into the water in fright. The slight panic in the back of the mind started to build up as he had figured out where the sound had appeared from. With dread being formed behind his muffled emotions, he looks down to his hand and slowly turns it around. With cold sweat, maybe it''s lake water, flowing down his brow he builds the courage to flip all the way to reveal¡­.!? Nothing? He let out a breath of relief and turned his hands once more before double-check his overall health. It was something his mother would do after he was outside, to make sure he hadn''t hurt himself after playing with any sticks or rocks. Starting with his legs, they were oddly pale compared to what they used to be. It was hard for him to say exactly how they felt wrong, they felt oddly numb, but they weren''t bleeding and didn''t have any scratches on them. Looking at his tattered underwear and pants, he guessed they equally intact. Poking a finger through the holes in his shirt, he didn''t see any wounds there either. Although it was odd to him how he didn''t seem all that hurt after that big explosion. He would have to find a way home and change his clothes, unless he wanted people to make fun of him. ¡­ wasn''t he just panicking over something? Right, he heard a voice! It came from somewhere nearby, almost right next to him. He looked down at his body again, just to make sure he wasn''t hurt anywhere. His body looked fairly normal, only he was wearing ragged clothes instead of the fairly normal ones he were wearing. Wait a second, he did have something that looked like a wound on his hand. Or maybe a scar, since it wasn''t bleeding. Either way, regardless of what it was, he felt like picking it since he didn''t have much else to do at the moment. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. As his hand reached over to the other hand, something in his mind was trying to warn him of something. Couldn''t be too important, so he touched the weird mark and gave it a good scratch. It felt odd, like scratching his mouth after eating something he thought was too spicy. It was also slightly numb, so it was properly a good idea to take a closer look in case he was actually hurt or not. But seeing the odd wound open up didn''t frighten him as much as it should. Neither did hearing a voice come out from it either. Odd. ¡°Finally, do you know how difficult it is to mess with a brain without messing with the important bits?¡± The mouth said, a voice strangely high-pitched but gravely at the same time coming out. Benjamin wasn''t quite sure what that meant, but having his seemingly important bits messed with didn''t sound good. ¡°Well, what did you do that for? I''m pretty sure I need the important bits. Since they are, important.¡± Benjamin nearly whispered to the hand, not sure what it was meant to be. But having something to talk to wasn''t so bad, especially after losing his family in a week. Which made him sad again. The mouth, maybe it noticed, made a click sound before blowing a raspberry. Perhaps it was meant to get his attention, which worked, but it didn''t make him feel any better. ¡°Ok kid, thanks to you thinking so hard about your family, I know you ain''t got any left in this world. Which makes me, you hand, the closest family you got left.¡± His reality being confirmed by his hand, Benjamin laid back down and stared at the sky. The sun was further up the sky than what he remembered, but it didn''t matter. He simply wasn''t sure about what to feel. His hand seemingly didn''t like this, coming into view above him. ¡°Hey, what the hell, are you really going to ignore me after I went through all that effort to keep you alive? Little bro, you have no idea what your future is going to be like now that I am around. Do you have anything you want to become, something revolving around having a strong body?¡± Well, that did make Benjamin think about what he wanted to be, and he did have someone in mind. Licking his lips that felt dry, he spoke. ¡°I want to be a hero, like Aki ¡ª Aiki -¡±. ¡°You mean Akitio?¡± His Hand finished for him. ¡°Yes, Akitio! I want to be a hero that saves people and brings peace and happiness. I want to beat up the old gods and free humanity!¡±. His excitement grew as he spoke, and he could feel a weak smile appear on his face. If he could be a super strong hero and save The Kingdom from something dangerous, then people would be nice to him and think he is cool. His Hand started talking again. ¡°I knew about the part about freeing humanity from the Demon King, but what is this about old gods? There were gods roaming around, and what type of gods were there? Before we even leave to where-ever you live, let''s talk about that.¡± His Hand, using its fingers to draw on the dirt. Duality of Meat / Chapter 89 ¡°You don''t know? You''re my hand, you should have known if I knew.¡± The logic of this 10-year-old was bulletproof. After all, if something you had with you your entire life, then it would be odd if it didn''t know the same things as you. But Vita was prepared. If Benjamin was bulletproof, then what Vita had cooking was a nuclear weapon. ¡°Of course I wouldn''t know, I''m a hand.¡± This shocked Benjamin, for it made sense! How would his hand know what he knew, when all it was just a hand! It must''ve been something magical that caused his hand to start speaking to him now instead of in the past. The hand had a mouth, and maybe teeth? He couldn''t tell from this angle, and he also didn''t want to be rude. Who is to tell if it would hurt his hands feelings if he asked about it? ¡°Well, aren''t you going to tell me? It would make me so happy to learn about these old gods.¡± It said, and Benjamin took a second to think about what he knew. Which wasn''t a lot, but it was the thought that counts. ¡°Well, the Hero, who beat up the bad Demon King for being too mean, found out that the gods from that time were also bad! The reason was that the gods weren''t human, so they shouldn''t be the boss of humans. So the Hero, together with his friends, goes to beat up the old gods! They fight so much and so hard and so strong, that they finally manage to win! But the gods didn''t fight fair, and many people got really hurt really badly. So the Hero made a crown to watch over us, and trusted his friends to protect people! That''s also how the Royals were made.¡± Benjamin finished with a small smile on his face. Clearly, he liked talking about Akitio the Hero. Vita also knew this due to the extra ''happy'' hormones starting to circulate in Benjamin''s blood. But it didn''t really matter, if anything it would make the questioning easier. ¡°Alright, so hero beat up demon king, then beat up the gods. Hero didn''t feel too good after the fight and did a bunch of stuff. Is that about it?¡± Vita asked. ¡°Yeah, I think so. I don''t work in a museum.¡± He would like to go there, and his parents had promised to take him there on his tenth birthday. But then they died. Then his Grandpa promised to take him there instead! But then he died too. Benjamin was sad again. His hand, or the monster we know as Vita, snapped its fingers again. ¡°Hey, c''mon, little guy, don''t start feeling down. You can do that while moving around, so start walking and talking.¡± Benjamin sniffled a little before doing as Vita said, unsure of where the way home was, and started walking in a direction that looked similar to the way he took to get here. He knew that he was in a pretty big wilderness area, usually kept to some greenery inside The Kingdom and dampen any strong wind. He knew also that there were some animals in it, but he wasn''t able to remember if any of those were dangerous. Luckily for him, his hand, Vita, was really talkative and kept his mind off any sensitive topics. They talked about any cool animals that Benjamin knew of, or any cool monsters he knew of as well. Not like he knew a lot about monsters, just that they like to pop up in places where there aren''t that many creatures walking around. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Hm, well, no point in speaking in lengths about something neither of us understand well. Got anything else interesting to speak about that is not about random stuff. Like your home, are we getting there yet?¡±. Vita asked. ¡°Oh, I forgot the way home, I was hoping you knew.¡± Benjamin answered, scratching his nose as he did. Vita was quiet for a moment before faking a sigh, after all, can''t sigh properly without the brains for it. But now that the two of them were lost now, there wasn''t much that could be done. Vita was more than content with letting Benjamin doing the boring stuff for now, but it was dragging on for far too long. There is quite literally a random little kid walking around in the wilderness, should a park ranger show up soon? Or at least a wild animal that is feeling a bit peckish? There were mostly rocky terrain and different plants that reach up to Benjamin''s shoulders for the biggest ones. But even then they were so painfully mundane compared to the ones found in the World''s Tongue. Which, apparently, was called so because it''s the biggest forest around. While that could be Benjamin just not knowing all that much, he would be too young to know anything important. He was also a commoner, meaning that he was neither from a powerful family nor a rich one. He was mundane. And Vita could help with that. If only something would happen soon, that would make for a decent enough excuse to mess with this poor boy''s anatomy even further. Gotta get a greenlight after all like any good symbiotic freak before doing anything. Yet it was peaceful. Birds and other bugs were making their noises, singing and buzzing around. But then it got quiet, as if someone had put an invisible dome around where Benjamin stood. And while Benjamin did not notice it at first, Vita did. And Vita knew what this meant. Something was here, and it was scary enough to make everything nearby close its mouth. Benjamin started to look around as he walked and realized this fact finally. ¡°Uh, Hand, why did it get quiet all of a sudden?¡± He looked over his shoulder and saw nothing. ¡°Oh, nothing to be scared about, just something that could hurt you REAL bad.¡± Vita answered. Which seemed to be the wrong answer for Benjamin''s slowly rising amount of adrenaline. And then the view of the world shifted as something took a hold of Benjamin''s foot and pulled him through the ground. Duality of Meat / Chapter 90 Benjamin was screaming as dirt and rocks flew past his face, scraping his already ruined clothes and leaving bruises on his body. He tried to grab at the earthy walls to no avail, only hurting his fingers even more. To the point that his fingertips were starting to tear. Screaming out in pain, he was scared. But it didn''t take long before the thing grasping his leg lets go and Benjamin falling hard on his legs, and then on his back. Knocking the air out of his lungs, he didn''t know what to think with the pain coursing through his entire body. He felt his hand move up, Vita opening its mouth to speak again. ¡°You don''t look healthy, all covered in bruises and blood. Want me to help?¡± Benjamin took a second to register what was said before nodding, not being quite sure what would happen. But the pain in his body lessened and the many wounds on his body started closing. Checking his body again, he was both surprised and thankful for the help his hand had given him. However, he still didn''t know where he was. Other than he knew was somewhere underground in the dark. He said a quick ''thank you'' to his hand before fumbling around in the dark. The floor felt hard and cold, something between a rock and bricks. It was also covered with what he guessed was dirt, since it smelled and felt like it. He crawled forward as he felt the ground, eventually bumping his head on a wall. After holding his head for a second, he checked and confirmed that the wall was the same as the ground. So, using the wall to feel his way forward, he started to slowly walk forward. The ground and wall didn''t change much, either being more dirty or less. But he did, at times, hear something. It sounded like his neighbor''s dog when it walked on the rocky road, but different. And then there was the slight ''yip'' sound that came with it. Yet without his sight, he couldn''t be sure of what was happening. Fear appeared in his mind, as muffled as it felt, and stopped moving. His hand moved up to him, he felt it. It urged him to move forward, but Benjamin shook his head. It was too much, too dark. His hand seemed to pick up on this and stretched out before him. And with his palm up and fingers stretched out, a small flame abruptly appeared above the hole in his hand. Unlike something like a torch or campfire, this flame stood almost perfectly still. ¡°Woah, hand, you can do magic?¡± He tried to lean closer to the flame, but his hand and arm moved further away. ¡°Woah to you too, why are you trying to move closer to a fire? This is not magic, and my name is Vita.¡± Vita finally revealed its name and while Benjamin was confused as to how it made a fire without magic, it was nice to finally be able to see where he was. It was some kind of tunnel made of large squares of rock and a dirt roof. It would explain why the place was so dirty and how he had been pulled through it. Now, what pulled him down, he wasn''t sure. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The sound of the maybe a dog came again, much closer than before. Both Benjamin and Vita turned towards the source and waited for whatever it was to come around the corner. He took a step back and tried pointing Vita towards the corner, and Vita allowed it. The creature that stepped around the corner had a face that laid somewhere between a dog and a crocodile, but its eyes had a certain amount of sharpness to them that hinted at its intelligence. Its torso was flat and wide, its shoulders small and its hands ending in small ape-like hands with blunt claws. Its lower body didn''t show anything inappropriate, and it had a distinctly reptilian tail and feet similar to a dog''s paws. It stood upright and was around the same height as the boy, if not a bit smaller. It was also brandishing a large root like a club and was giving our duo the stink eye. In a burst of movement, Benjamin turned around and ran for his life, the Kobold ran after him a moment later. It yipped and barked at Benjamin as they ran through the tunnels, skidding around corners as they did. It was the first time poor Benjamin had seen a monster with his own eyes. While he knew that kobolds weren''t considered a threat to even farmers, that was with a fully grown adult in mind using a weapon of some sorts. He, despite what Mom used to say, wasn''t quite an adult and didn''t have anything like a weapon on him. Doing the only logical thing left, he started screaming for help. ¡°Hey, hey! Why are you screaming for help!? The only other things nearby are that monster chasing us and its friends! You''ll have to either find a place to hide or find something to fight with.¡± Vita screamed back to Benjamin, but there were a couple problems with that¡ªHe had no idea where either of those were to be found. Sneaking a peak over his shoulder, the number of kobolds had risen to four, but he thought he could hear more of them. He jumped when he almost collided with a kobold that popped out from the side, but the small change in his position had saved him. As he ran around yet another corner, a thought crossed his mind. ¡°Vit- uh- Vita, couldn''t you use the ¡ª to scare them?¡± He gasped out between breaths, not being able to add in the part about using the fire. The air didn''t taste good anymore. But the small glances he managed to catch of his hand showed its mouth moving around in thought. The number of kobolds after him had increased to six somehow while he was talking. ¡°Well, I could do something that might be scary. It will keep you alive, and we might even look really cool. But since I am a good horror, I''ll ask for permission first.¡± Benjamin simply nodded, and after doing so started to feel a change. Duality of Meat / Chapter 91 Benjamin kept running as he felt the sensation of his body becoming heavier spread from his arm, the one Vita kept the flame in. He watched as his skin seemed to grow thicker, to the point of it looking like armor that knights use. With the increase in weight came a slowness in speed, allowing one of the faster kobolds to leap towards him with its mouth wide open. Benjamin retaliated by swinging his arm around to try to stop the monster, but to his own and the other kobolds surprise, sent the attacker flying through the air. The sound of the impact was that of bones snapping and flesh rupturing. It seemed that even his muscles had gotten stronger too, and monster and human alike stopped in their tracks. Both of them stood there, staring at the body of Benjamin that had completely transformed, to the point of looking non-human. Benjamin looked at his other limbs and realized that they too had transformed. Heavy, strong and knight-like were some of the words that crossed his mind. The kobolds seemed to have reignited their morale with yips and barks, before slowly moving towards the strange human. Benjamin, however, was busy staring at his hands and legs. One of the kobolds, must''ve been angered by this ignorance or found this as an opportunity, stepped up and swung its makeshift club at Benjamin''s head. Out of reflex, Benjamin raised his right arm up and actually managed to block the hit with his new arms. His other hand, the one with the flame still burning, delivered a fiery palm strike to the kobolds center. It fell to the ground with a nasty burn wound in its stomach, but this did not stop it from biting Benjamin''s legs. It held on to the leg, but didn''t manage to bite through it. Yet it was enough of a distraction for another kobold to repeat the leaping move and managing to land a strike right at Benjamin''s dome. The hit brought out a scream of pain from the kid before he got tackled by a kobold. Once he hit the ground, the rest of the kobolds swarmed him and attacked with everything they had. Biting and striking him with makeshift weapons. Benjamin was screaming through the pain and fear, but anger and frustration slowly built itself inside of him. Loss of his family, getting lost, and now this. He had had enough of it all, all he wanted was to go home. He struck out with a closed fist at one of the kobolds, landing a lucky hit, knocking it out before kicking off the one still gnawing on his leg. Trying standing up again despite the kobolds repeatedly striking his body, Benjamin protected his face as he managed to grab one of the kobolds and swinging it around like a sack of potatoes. Sending the kobolds sprawling around, he threw the battered kobold at one that tried standing up, he ran again. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He ran until he couldn''t hear any of the kobolds, ran until he could taste iron in his mouth. Slowing down to a stumble, Benjamin leaned onto the cold stone wall and coughed out some spit. To him, it was the first time he had been in a fight with a monster. He should be happy or at least feel good, he was doing something good after all. But the sounds and the violence of it all was too much for him. This time, he could feel all the emotions in his chest finally boiling out. It felt like too much, too much blood. He didn''t like the violence, didn''t like it at all. He slid down the wall, pushing his knees up to his chest and burying his head in his knees. Benjamin cried softly and wished for it all to be a bad dream, despite having done so for nearly a week. His features softened, and his skin returned to normal, as he let his tears fall in the dark. Vita slowly moved towards his face to wipe away a tear before rubbing his head. It was extremely awkward, not only since Vita didn''t know how to soothe a child, but also because it''s being done with Benjamin''s own hand. ¡°Are you good? You can cry properly when there aren''t monsters trying to beat you up.¡± Vita tried, yet it wasn''t quite good enough. Benjamin staggered up for the second time, sniffling and wiping his face, and started moving once more. ¡°Don''t act so dim, little guy. I''m sure everyone your age would''ve started crying if they were here, so be way cooler than them all by not crying.¡± Yeah, Benjamin liked the idea of that. Maybe if he was cool enough, then he could become a knight. Perhaps a hero! Vita was right, cooler kids didn''t cry. He gave his face a good wipe before walking with the determination of being cool, maybe even the coolest! With the sound of yips and barks coming back in much greater numbers, he looked at the hole that was Vita''s existence on his body. His eyes no longer needed that flame to look in the dark, his eyes had gotten used to it, but wielding flame as a weapon was cool. Vita seemed to pick up on this, and right behind his knuckles a blade of fire shot out. Consistent, stable, and most importantly, really cool. He could imagine it, the future where he becomes a hero of coolness that gets written down in all the history books. He would get to meet the many nobles and get to speak with the royal families. And finally, he would meet the Crown and they would become friends. As the horde of kobolds rounded the corner, his resolve had gotten ever so stronger and his eyes were steeled. But deep down in his bones, at the microscopic level where molecules were the only things visible and then beyond even that, Vita gave what could only be described as a gaze of madness. For the plans Vita had for this child of misfortune were filled with nothing but cruelty. And as any good monster of horror, it would be best to appear as a friend. Duality of Meat / Chapter 92 Benjamin, with the grace and technique only a child would have, fought through the hordes of kobolds. He ignored the sounds of pain they made and bulldozed through the masses like a proper hero. It wasn''t even his fault, but the kobolds. If they had an intelligence similar to or near that of a goblin, they would have realized that just rushing down someone that didn''t get hurt by their strikes was wasteful. Their stupidity would have worked on softer targets, but alas, Vita had increased the durability and toughness of just about everything inside and outside of Benjamin''s body. Skin was more uniform, bones were reinforced, muscles were tightened and reinforced on top of that. With this type of body, he had little to fear from normal kobolds. The mass of kobolds split down the middle to let a much larger, tougher, kobold to pass through. While the darkness hid the colors of the kobold, it was clearly larger and more lizard than dog. Its scales looked bigger, its claws sharper, while its mouth was short yet filled with much sharper teeth. It ran on all fours like a gorilla before it too leaped through the air, aimed squarely onto Benjamin. Benjamin on the other hand, with a subtle assistance from Vita, made a short jump and bringing his legs up at the same time. The alpha kobold got a dropkick to the chest as it was sent back, but this one had survived the kick and got back up. It charged once more, keeping to the ground as it closed the distance. It swung a massive overhead, which was crouched out of the way, and met with a punch to the face. Either luckily or unluckily, the alpha kobold had opened its mouth to bite the human, which resulted in a mouthful of fist. Which in turn resulted in a small torrent of flame to shoot through the back of its mouth, grilling its tiny brain. While Benjamin hadn''t shown it, he was still uncomfortable with killing the kobolds up close. Especially with all the sounds they made. He swung the large corpse like a club of his own, swiping the lesser kobolds out of the way as he stormed on. Despite the massive losses suffered on their side, the kobolds don''t seem to care about their own kind dying. After having either killed or scared away around 10 kobolds, again, Benjamin took some time to let his mind rest. Usually it would be the body that would need some time off, but ever since Vita showed up, he hadn''t felt physically tired. Only mentally and in the soul. And while he wasn''t sure what was considered the ''right'' way to feel quite yet, he did know he wanted to sleep soon. Less ''tired after running around a lot'' and more ''tired after trying to read a big book''. And just as last time and the time before that, he ran into yet another group of kobolds that were led by an alpha kobold. And just like the previous four groups, the alpha ran in first by leaping at him. It started to get old, killing them. The smell started getting old too, it made him sick at first. Yet now? It only reminded him of his Grandpas barbecue and how he would grill it so that it got a little char, just right. Oh, he would then tear into it like a hungry beast and getting the sauce all over his face. He turned his head to face whatever it was that smelled so good, then remembered it''s the smell of a kobold he had killed. That it didn''t smell nearly as good as the barbecue, but it did make him realize how that he was getting hungry. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Are you thinking of eating that?¡± Vita''s voice came. Benjamin quickly shook his head. ¡°No, that''s disgusting, I don''t want to eat a monster.¡± He denied. Vita pressed on. ¡°But you were building up drool in your mouth and looking at the cadaver.¡± A moment passed and Vita spoke up before Benjamin got to talk back. ¡°If you don''t want to eat it, I could do it for you.¡± Pulling him closer to the burnt body, Vita placed itself (and the boy''s hand) on it. At first, Benjamin wasn''t sure of what was happening, until an odd opening feeling appeared in his arm and chest. The soft sounds of flesh being torn was made that much louder in the silent corridors, the feeling of something moving up the new tunnel in his body grossed him out. Grimacing, he closed his eyes and let Vita continue eating for him. While disgusted by his hand and its actions, he was surprised by the fact he actually felt full. And with every good meal, came a good nap. Did it make sense to go to sleep in a tunnel system filled with monsters in it? No, but he felt like he needed it after everything had happened. He got down to the floor and curled up. Making sure his left hand was above his head and his right was below him, he sniffled again. ¡°I''m sleeping now, good night.¡± *Vita POV* ¡­ Really? Well shit, that was easier than I thought it would be. I mean, yeah, I did more or less drug a small child, but I have my reasons to do this! While the stomach acid in a human''s body is pretty nasty, his body can''t properly take in the nutrients from the kobolds body. There is also the fact that, unlike normal food, this was a monster. Who knows what kind of horrible diseases are to be found. Or a piece of shit parasite thinking of leeching off MY host body! Yeah, yeah yeah! Squirm in my newest and completely original attack! Vita Special attack; Big Gang Attack! Hahahaha, squirm all you want, but once I got you surrounded with myself, there is nothing you can do. So get crushed! ¡­ Now that I''ve gotten my fill of murder, it looks like kobolds produce pheromones. Hm, then would that mean there are smells that hint at bigger, or at least, a boss kobold? Vita-responsible-for-learning-stuff! Learn this thing as well! Motherfucker, I''m busy! You dare disapprove of what Vita is telling you!? What could be more important?! If you paid attention instead of focusing on small boys, weirdo, then you would know that Wendigo-Vita is helping Diana with an assignment. Oh ¡­ then multitask you asshole, you don''t have a brain to overwork. Duality of Meat / Chapter 93 Alright, now that the Vita responsible for learning new stuff has been sent to the shitter, let''s look at the pheromones proper. We got plenty of bug pheromones from marauding the forest with the stupid name. Seriously, who names anything ¡°the something tongue¡± with a straight face. Back to topic, there should be similarities between the two pheromones. Since all the ants found had similar enough smells to each other, it is easy enough to know what means what. This smell roughly means ¡°dispose waste here¡± and this one roughly means ¡°queen¡±. Is it literally the word ¡°queen¡±? No, not at all, but it''s the closest word a completely different form of communication can translate it to. Who would''ve thought that spoken and smelled language are different. Can you get back on track? Can you get back ¡ª Shut it Vita, Vita is hugging the old plant-cell and therefore gets to think for all Vita''s present! You can get back to monitoring little Benjamin''s blood for parasites and other nasty things. Ok, while comparing what is more or less two different languages, there should be traces of pheromones in the air to make this easier. The corpses, and also Benjamin, have a smell on them that can safely be assumed to be a ¡°killer here¡± type of signal for other kobolds to¡­ smell? It would explain why the kobolds always seem to find us in this maze. It could also be due to all the noise and general smell of blood in the air, but the pheromones surely would help them find enemies. And if there - SHUT IT, BACK TO MONITOR DUTY! NOW!!! If there is a smell for killer or enemy, then there must be a smell for ally or something. It should be a smell found in the bodies of these monsters, so it should be easy to find. Mhmhm, think this is it? Yeah, it should be it. Heh, wouldn''t it be hilarious if this was like a stronger version of the killer pheromone? Just causing everything down here to come swarming over like a fleshy flood? ¡­ Why is everything shaking? *World POV* The tunnels were indeed shaking. Small clumps of dirt fell down from the earthy roof, the pebbles on the ground were dancing along to the rhythm. It was odd how quickly the kobolds reacted, but the scent that was being sent through the air spread quickly. Vita manipulated Benjamin''s arm to smack him in the chest and face a couple of times to wake him up. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Benjamin stretched and groaned, his rest being uncomfortable, soul and mind still sore. But the combination of getting smacked and the ground shaking woke him up proper. He, with help from Vita, stood up and looked around nervously. Neither horror nor human knew for sure what was happening, but the creeping feeling of dread was building up in the human''s mind. Soon, the sound of screaming kobolds could be heard. Not wanting to face the horde at what sounded like a much larger scale, Benjamin turned to run away. What came around the corner was not what Benjamin expected. Not even Vita, who thought this was happening purely due to pheromones, was shocked for a nonexistent moment. As they both watched the kobolds run on all fours, behind the masses was a creature so big that it filled the entire tunnel with its body. And to put it simply, the creature that swallowed everything in its way was a slime. A kobold that had fallen over was quickly swallowed whole, and through the transparent body of the slime, it broke down into there was nothing left. Almost like it was dunked into a pool of acid. Bearing witness to this caused Benjamin and the other kobold to move through the dungeons as quickly as possible, running away from the monster. A quick sidenote on the nature of slimes. As is known by anyone with knowledge of monsters, they are creatures that rely on the existence of mana/spirit/magical energies/ki to exist. Should a monster be placed in a vacuum, it would slowly die from the lack of this energy. Slimes are one of these monsters, and a unique one at that. There is much study still being done on slimes, and are considered dangerous pests that adventurers and similar organizations have to regularly cull the numbers off. The danger of slimes comes in the form of their nature, they simply show up anywhere damp and dark. This causes them to show up in large numbers in sewer systems and underground areas. In addition, their liquid-like bodies allow multiple slimes to fuse together should they spawn in hostile areas. Finally, they lack nearly all forms of sensory organs. They rely solely on sensing light and taste to navigate the world around them. Should a slime smell that a large amount of potential food is nearby, it will become hyper aggressive and swallow anything edible in its path. And this slime has been smelling and eating the bodies of dead kobolds, when suddenly the smell of a truly MASSIVE amount of *dead* kobolds appeared. This slime has then experienced a microevolution to become hyper-aggressive and started chasing the strong scent. And this is why Benjamin is running side by side with an alpha kobold, trying to find safety from the slime chasing them. Even the extremely stupid kobolds knew to run from this monster, and that trying to fight now was even more stupid. They rounded corner after corner, causing more and more kobolds to both join the fleeing and the dead. The slime kept eating and chasing the smell, until all of them entered a much larger room. The room was a dead end, yet the space inside was humongous. Multiple crystals, similar to quartz, grew up from the corners and edges of the room and shedding a soft light. Which, for beings that have been in nearly complete darkness, was nearly blinding. Yet crouching near the crystals stood a much larger, white scaled, kobold. It turned to look at the crowd, clearly annoyed. But as it saw the slime and human, its annoyance turned to anger. Duality of Meat / Chapter 94 The leader of the kobold stood there and let out a deep rumble from the back of its throat. While angered, its tiny brain pointed out the fact that its underlings weren''t fighting the strange human, the whole group of them seemed to be running away from something else. Being the self-proclaimed smartest kobold in existence, it quickly did some thinking. Thinking that would give headaches to lesser member of its kind. Kobolds kill everything non-kobold. This human is alive. Both are running side to side. The only reason to do something like that would be if a stronger monster were chasing them. And it was right, a large slime entered the room that clearly had a kobold still melting inside of it. This angered the kobold leader, as it reached deep within its soul and to the surrounding crystals. With a sharp bark, a singular crystal rose from the ground like a spear, piercing the slime. While that would have killed any unruly kobolds, the slime only suffered minimal injuries. The two greater monsters ignored the group as they sized each other up for just a moment before bursting into movement. The slime, in normal circumstance, would be considered a higher threat than a kobold. But this kobold knew how to utilize magic, giving it an edge. As it ran forward, the ground ahead of it and to its sides spat out needles of crystal that haltered the slimes advance. As it got close enough, it did the one move that every kobold seemed to favor. A leap. But adding in the power of its own magical abilities, it shot forward like with just enough force to pierce the slime by covering itself with the crystals. But the slime managed to react quickly enough to grab onto the kobolds left leg, quickly melting through the protective layers it had made for itself. With a great yowl, the kobold shook itself free, yet the damage to its body was still there. The slime itself was rather damaged itself due to the magical attacks it had to suffer from, despite how hard it might be to notice. Another sudden spike of crystal attempted to pierce through the slime, which managed to react in time and dodge out of the attack. The kobold circled around the slime, but its non-geometrical body didn''t help it in any meaningful way. Neither did it care for the growling and various intimidation tactics the kobold tried to use. Once more the kobold leapt forwards, but with its powerful brain the size of a large grape, it jumped out of the way by causing a small wall to stop its momentum. The slime, not knowing any better, also leapt forward, only to get a mouthful of painful spikes. The kobold knew itself that victory was at proto-hand, but it knew better than to rush into the maw of something dying. Despite that, the slime was still moving steadily forwards toward it. Then it stopped. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. It seemed to smell the air before turning around, towards where a group of kobolds were standing, as well as Benjamin. Due to its shape, it took the kobold leader a few seconds to understand where it was moving. With a snarl and yip, it apparently ordered the lesser kobolds to flee away from it, but the alphas seemed unsure of what to do. Their love of the leap competing with the need to listen to their superior. Their hesitation was unfortunately rewarded with death, as the slime got close enough to swallow one of the alphas. This angered their leader as it threw a ball of crystals that exploded once it entered the slimes body. This caused its form to melt ever so slightly, its slime leaking out of its form. Taking advantage of the weakness shown, the kobold leader performed one last crystallized leap straight into and through its enemy. It landed on all fours and dragged lines to the ground before coming to a stop. The slime, on the other hand, shivered for seconds before finally and slowly collapsing in on itself with a wet squish. In its entirety, the battle only lasted for half a minute. Yet to the other kobolds it was a fight that lasted for an eternity, for without their leader there would be a big fight to find the next leader. Regardless, they no longer had to worry about the slime killing them all. There was only the worry of their leader being able to recover properly before anything or anyone else walks in to take advantage of their leader''s temporary weakness. They slowly crawled on their bellies towards their leader, showing that they are still submissive towards it. Licking its wounds, the crystal kobold allows them to get closer and reaffirm that everything is alright, almost like dogs or cats would. After cleaning its wounds, it stood up properly and started rumbling. It sounded somewhere between the hiss of a crocodile and a motor starting up. Other kobolds, both nearby and further in the tunnels, started to follow their leader a moment later. With their victory properly celebrated and its control over its hoard strong, the crystal kobold took a moment to inspect its defeated foe. It did the 3 steps that any good monster or beast uses to properly inspect the dead or strange. First step, it inspected the goop with its small black eyes. It was completely flat to the ground and stretched out without showing any signs of movements. Meaning that it looked dead and was therefore also dead. The second test is a smelling test, and nothing much needs to be said here. It smells like a slime and, well, there is no difference in smell. Finally, a taste test to determine if it is edible. After a quick chomp and spit, it tastes horrible and is inedible. It shook its head and neck before going back to its previous hobby of digging up crystals, commanding the kobolds and alpha kobolds to walk back to whatever they were doing before. Other than the sounds of its own existence, there were little else to listen to, and it almost went back to being absent-minded again. ¡­ Wait, wasn''t there a human? Foreign Flesh / Chapter 95 He woke up with a twitch once more, as usual. But he was happy about not having any nightmares as horrible as the one from way back. Was it way back? He couldn''t tell, and he didn''t have the brains to figure out time other than the seasons changing. And if he was to make a guess, he''d say it is getting close to fall. Many of the leafs are falling after all, and new stuff is popping up too. Funny mushrooms and new prey to eat from. They look kinda like the ones he grew up around, but larger and harder to kill. Well, not for him at least, but he did speak with Ibas and Duke about it, and it seems like it''s only a problem for the others. And while he was more than happy to help the others get something to eat, but it was such a hassle to go find something every single week. Yet another good reason to go out hunting was seeing all the new pups jumping and playing around him whenever he brings something home. There was also the new members to the pack that weren''t direwolfs. Half-face, the bark bear, has been fully accepted by the other direwolfs after she helped defend against some massive cat. He still didn''t know how she had figured out it had been stalking them. Her cubs were still too small to go either hunting or fighting properly, but they were still growing up well together with most of the juvenile direwolfs. He is pretty sure that the seniors of the pack, however, aren''t quite happy having her and her children around. He doesn''t really get the reason for why they don''t like her yet after all that she has done, so they will just have to understand for him. Crow, the crow, has surprisingly decided to stick around despite the fact it''s getting more dangerous for it to be with them. It''s only so much a bird can do against the beasts and monsters that roam around these woods. The beasts this deep were so far the usual stuff the other direwolfs expected to run into, but there were also a lot more bugs running around too. Crow, while flying around, got stuck onto a massive spiderweb that they had to rip him out of. Poor fella hadn''t grown back all the feathers that were left behind to that spider. And talking about Crow, the bird jumped down from his back and pecked at his ears. Balto tried to flick him away, which only made Crow double the effort of attacking his ear. A low rumble from his throat turned into a truly massive yawn as he stretched his back, satisfying pops running down his lower back. He was still a little stiff around the shoulders since they travelled deeper into the World''s Tongue. And it might have something to do with the small tree growing on his back. It seems that the red grass growing on his back was actual grass and not some weird hair that got all stuck together. And now a tree with red roots were growing steadily out of the spot between the shoulders that honestly? Didn''t look too bad with how big he had gotten. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Yeah, he didn''t stop growing and hasn''t stopped growing for a while now. It has, however, slowed down to the point that he is now sure that he''s either an adult or had reached the weird middle-stage between cub and adult. He still didn''t feel like an adult, but having the same amount of responsibilities as Duke and Ibas more or less made him act like an adult for the sake of others. Having to stand tall when something important and paying attention to exactly what happened wasn''t easy for him. No, he still preferred to just walk around and look at the trees. A tingle from his back, and he knew that the weird tree on his back also wished for him to move to another spot. How he knew, he had no idea. Ulva and the other more spiritually gifted direwolfs all agreed that a spirit of some kind had found the opportunity to grow on him due to reasons. Only time would tell if the tree was a good thing or not, but for now it wasn''t really doing anything. It sent another ping to his brain that carried the feeling of¡­ Pouting? He wasn''t sure what that would even look like, or how he knew the word for it, but that was the feeling the tree gave him. Another yawn and stretch for good measure, and Balto was up. He positively towered over all the other direwolfs nearby, making it extremely obvious that he was awake. Crow jumped, flapped its wings once, before landing on the few branches the tree spirit had before cawing for Balto to get to moving. Not like that wasn''t the reason for why he was standing, he had things to do, but Balto was still a bit sleepy. And for some reason, the tree found that amusing. He walked for a while, since he tended to sleep much further away from everyone else, until he was being followed by the pups who played around his legs. He saw Radolf, who was still sleeping in a pile of other direwolfs, and remembered the look in his eyes way back. It was sad, they were pretty much rivals in a way when they were the same size. Now? There was nothing he could really do to become better than Balto. He tried to argue otherwise, Radolf was smarter than him after all, but it didn''t help much. Balto sighed again. Balto was good at getting hit and hitting back, but not much else. He didn''t understand what there was to be jealous of. Tired, emotional and having to think about important things to do, Balto reached the strange tree stump that Duke, Ibas and himself were holding their meetings in the mornings. Duke looked majestic with his silver fur and sharp eyes, a much better leader than himself. Duke didn''t even look tired despite showing up first. They didn''t exchange any words, simply looked at each other and showed their respect to each other. And as Ibas made his way towards them, they finally were starting the meeting for the day. Foreign Flesh / Chapter 96 Balto looked at the two brothers, noting on how they had changed in recent times. Duke, had changed the least visually. He still had that silver glow to his fur, and had the noble look that a leader should have. Other than that, he had grown ever so slightly bigger from all the new and better food they had been eating. Ibas on the other hand/paw, was covered in scars. He is just as good of a leader as Duke, in Baltos opinion, but he was too much of a battle junkie. If Ibas got wind of something threatening nearby, he would be the first one to run over and rip whatever it was into ribbons. And often he would become the victor with a collection of new ¡°medals¡±, as he himself would call them. Much to the dislike of the healers and to Duke, Ibas would not listen when told to fight more carefully. Or to the very least bring someone with him to assist him. Ibas and Duke jumped onto the large stump and promptly sat down, while Balto rested his large head on it instead. Crow let out a small croak, which everyone present took as a start signal for the day''s meeting. ¡°No one got killed yet¡± Ibas started rather roughly. ¡°But this deep into the World''s Tongue, the things we fight and hunt get pretty strong.¡± He yawned and scratched at his jaw. And this was true. Balto was the heaviest hitter they had, and this far in, he usually had to fight of something together with Half-face. Duke nodded his head in agreement, but did not speak up. He knew his brother well enough to know there would be more to report. And on cue. ¡°There have also been some concerns about meeting some weird-looking wolves around these parts.¡± This was some proper news, to both Duke and Balto. Duke, Ibas and Balto all had their direwolfs who would report to them whenever they discovered something worthwhile. Such as an easy meal or a danger to the pack. A completely different group of direwolfs, who were only discovered by one group, could only mean that they were either stalking them or were incredibly well hidden. Either way, it was unnerving news. ¡°Do you have any details of them?¡± Duke leaned in as he asked this, clearly intrigued. Ibas took a moment to scratch at one of his scars before talking. ¡°Not enough to know if they are pups from a different clan, or if they are just normal wolves. But two things were easy enough to notice, they wore clothes like a human and moved around on two legs instead of four.¡± Ibas finished talking and went back to scratching at another scar, this one running from the corner of his jaw and down his throat. Duke was deep in thought while thinking this over, while Balto watched Crow play with the tree growing out of his back. How he knew they were playing, he wasn''t quite sure. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Finding something to bring up, Duke began to slowly speak. ¡°I recall an old tale, of a whole different world across the World''s Tongue. Where beasts acted like the standing races and fought like them too, but this is just an old fairy tale with no backing. But if this is true, however unlikely that might be, we need to be even more cautious than before.¡± He turned to give his brother a look. ¡°Which means you can''t attack everything you see.¡± Ibas made a face at Duke, but quickly became serious again as he turned to Balto. Duke quickly made the same realization and also turned. The third leader of the pack, the most eye-catching member of their pack as well, would be nearly impossible to hide. Even with the truly massive trees that littered the environment, Balto would still be visible unless he tucked his tail between his legs and looked straight down. That was simply not an option, ruining a leader''s image to hide from a potential foe. The more spiritually inclined members of their tribe did, at times, ask the spirits to aid them in various scenarios. But what could a spirit do for Balto, other than cover him in even more plant life? Balto noticed the two looking at him and tried his best to look at them both at the same time, not succeeding. Ibas barked out a laugh before speaking. ¡°Hey Balto, what do you think about this?¡± The question took him off guard, clearly he had been paying more attention to Crow than anything else. But after some serious concentration and with a determined look in his large eyes, he answered. ¡°Let''s try talking with them next time. They can''t be worse than the goblins, and they look like us, so maybe we can befriend them?¡± The sheer optimism that radiated from Balto not only blinded Ibas and Crow, it even made Duke squint in surprise. It was not nearly as easy as Balto made it out to be, befriending something so strange as a wolf imitating a human. Yet he himself could not think of any scenario where they could get the upper hand over the wolves. If they are better at staying hidden, then acting hostile could provoke them. On top of that, the direwolfs knew next to nothing, while the wolves must''ve learned so much more about them. So having a friendly approach, while extremely risky, it still had a chance of working. At the very least, they could try to communicate with them. Before Ibas could take the initiative to tease Balto, Duke hummed. ¡°I agree with Balto.¡± Ibas turned to his brother, clearly surprised. ¡°While it is a strange idea, it is also a good enough of an idea to work. If we could speak with the strange wolves, then we could learn more about the lands we wander. Best case scenario we gain new allies who have useful knowledge, worst case scenario we make a last stand and buy time for the pack to escape.¡± Duke concluded, lifting his head in the silent praise coming from Balto. Ibas gave it a thought and could only agree with a nod of his head. ¡°If the two of you think it worth trying, then I won''t fight against it. BUT!¡± Ibas paused for dramatic effect, which earned him a caw from Crow. ¡°We do it the classic way, a good old fashion howl to let them know we aren''t scared of them. And we haven''t heard you trying to do a proper howl yet, Balto. With your size, you could probably push over one of these trees with a strong enough howl.¡± Ibas said with pup-like glee. Foreign Flesh / Chapter 97 Balto breathed in and out slowly, taking a deeper and deeper breath each time. Something about stretching out your lungs for maximum howl volume, whatever that is supposed to mean. With the speed he was being forced to do this at, it felt like it would be a while for his lungs to be ready. Both Ibas and Duke had quickly agreed that Baltos first official howl was going to be done with properly, even bringing the spiritually inclined members to assist him in whatever ways they knew. Ulva standing near Duke, quietly giving a report on the spirits and the realm. While Balto didn''t catch all that was said, he managed to overhear small parts of it. Like that, the elders are having a hard time moving around, and the few cubs that have been born are growing healthier than expected. The tree growing on his back shook slightly and Crow jumped down to his face to peck at it, for the fourth time now. The two had been working hard to make sure Balto was focused on his breathing and not other things. But could they blame Balto for being curious about the next batch of cubs? They are so small and even cuter Half-Faces own cubs. Thinking about Half-Face made him start thinking about all the fighting she had done for the pack, which certainly takes its toll on her. But with her bark-like exterior, she would always hide in between the roots of some much bigger trees they rested near. Crow, angered by Balto''s lack of focus, dove its head straight into one of his massive nostrils. The sudden invasion of his nose made him shake his head around, trying to shake Crow out. Then Balto felt a sneeze coming. The tree spirit must''ve known this, as it started shaking around with panic. Crow realized its mistake a moment before disaster, as it managed to pull out and fly into the air, Balto let out all the breath he had stored up so far into a devastating sneeze. It caused whatever grass and moss nearby to fly off the dirt and rock, the force so great that it broke through any other sounds. Everything went silent after that as the cloud of debris, which included a shocked Crow, slowly fell away. Everyone had stopped going about their day to stare at the scene with various reactions and emotions on their faces. Duke simply stared with a painfully neutral face, likely holding back any potential reaction. Ibas was dumbfounded and Ulva was giving Balto the stink eye. Even Finn was there to look surprised at what he witnessed. The only one still moving was Beowul, who was headed right towards Balto with the scorching anger of the aged and old. As he closed the distance, more and more direwolfs were starting to switch from staring at the massive Balto to the scarred and old Beowul, being unsure of what was going to happen next. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Finally, Beowul got within speaking distance. Which in his case was looking almost straight up. ¡°Now, Balto, I know that you are really, really, huge now with some huge lungs. But could you use that really small brain of yours to sneeze quietly?¡± he asked with barely held back anger for having his nap ruined. Balto, in an attempt to play innocent, also decided to look up. Funnily enough, he could see what looked like a dire wolf far up in the trees. How did they get up there? ¡°If you keep looking stupid, I''m going to bite you.¡± That helped Balto pay attention again, crouching down to get face to face with his senior. ¡°Get that hot breath out of my face.¡± Balto went back up. Beowul looked behind him, towards Duke and Ibas, and quickly figured what had happened. Clearly, age hasn''t affected his mind. ¡°The breathing exercise is to get out a good howl and so that you don''t hurt yourself.¡± He sighed. ¡°But you are obviously durable enough to handle a poorly performed howl. No need to think too much about it. Fill your lungs, hold it for a few seconds as you get your body in the right position, and then howl.¡± After the quick advice, he proceeded to show the right movements to Balto while everyone else continued with their day. Breathe deep, take in everything you sense while you do so. Everything and anything, no matter how small or big it feels. The sound of Beowul scratching at the ground to the spirit tree on his back sharing its sugars and energies with him. The smell of the World''s Tongue, ancient woods that has been around for seemingly forever. The sight of the pack, everyone moving about with either a clear purpose or going to speak with someone for any kind of purpose. And that was only on the physical. Balto didn''t have the most powerful soul or mind to feel the more hidden parts of the world, but this deep in the World''s Tongue, someone like him could sense the spirits as he took it all in. They moved around them all, minding their own world. Balto saw the soul of the spirit tree slowly come into view like it was in water. A vaguely ball-shaped soul moved from one side of his vision and out of it, back to its abode on his back. He even sensed that the direwolfs they had lost on their journey moving among them, especially around those like Ulva who was more spiritually inclined. He sensed the world around him and felt good to be a part of it all, even if he wasn''t the best at being aware of it. So he decided to use what little he knew about spirits, or mana, to carry his feeling of goodness. Like the warm rays of the sun on a cold winter morning. If it could, at the very least, impress the strange wolves Ibas had spoken about, then it would be good enough for him. So he howled. Foreign Flesh / Chapter 98 Lang Mingzhi Yan watched the direwolfs move about from high above. The original mission given was to explore what had happened near the human empire to the west, because such a large amount of harmful QI being spread in the air was highly suspicious. And being one of the best people of the Shulin Empire at both stealth and speed, it was a given that Yan was chosen to explore exactly what had happened by the head of the clan. And while he was sure that the other clans had already sent some scouts earlier or used some technique to scry on the situation. There were simply too many, better, ways to gain the information. So Yan had planned to steal it from any competing clan. For the ¡°hunter in his blood¡±, and other sage words the elders liked using when they wanted to mess with the younger generations. He had then set up multiple traps around a large area to alert him whenever something of note passed by. If it didn''t alert him, they were either too weak to have anything of use or too strong and able to kill him in one strike or two. So when the trap was triggered, and he prepared to ambush whoever was unfortunate enough to be his prey, imagine his surprise when he saw a large group of oversized wolves walking through the World''s Tongue. At first, he had though someone had used a technique to put him under a spell of some sort. But after stalking them for a couple of days or so, he could only conclude that they were real. Racking his brain for anything related to large wolves, the only thing he could come up with was that some 2000 to 1500 years ago the ancestors traveled away from some great apocalyptic war to where they lived now. So it seemed that some ancestors didn''t migrate as far as others, or didn''t migrate at all. When Yan reached this thought, he allowed the smallest amount of happiness to reach his mind. While he was never one for culture or new experiences, he knew that this group of large wolves could benefit the clan if it went right. And he could maybe spar with some of them and figure out where their strengths lay, but that wasn''t as important. And so, this is where he found himself. High up in the ancient trees, looming over the wolves as he watched how they organized themselves. A bear of some kind was following after them with its cubs, so it must be follower of some kind. He could tell that the leaders were three different wolves, one in particular was a whole different breed of wolf when compared to the others. And it looked like that large one, with the tree growing out of it and the bird flying around it, was doing a breathing exercise for some purpose. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. At one point, it even looked like the large one had spotted him. But as a seasoned spy and assassin, he knew when he was being looked at or when his general direction was being looked at. Even then, it wasn''t that big of an issue for them to see him, since he was going to show himself to them at some point. It was all a matter of timing it rightly. Yan reached down to a pocket on his side, breaking his line of sight. The amulet he had was originally meant for spying on others who spoke a different language (or dialect if it was thick enough) and if he was lucky enough it would translate the language they spoke. The fur across his body rose with the goosebumps underneath, and he launched himself off the branch and braced for whatever technique was just used. He used both his hands and legs both to climb up the tree with enough speed to make anyone of the Mao clan impressed. But he was simply not quick enough, as the force of whatever it was hit him and pushed him further up. Yet despite what threat he felt from it at the beginning, it turned out to be wrong. The sound that was carried through that technique was primitive, yes, but the message it carried with it was so clear. As if it was spoken directly to his soul, letting him know the user meant no harm to him or anyone willing to peacefully communicate. A soothing, healing howl that reminded him of all that''s good in his life. Simply magical. Yan allowed himself to fall freely for a moment as he turned in the air to look down at, what he now knew as, dire wolves. A fitting name for their size and primitive ways. As he got closer to the ground, he let out a shout infused with QI to slow his fall. He landed in the middle of the four direwolfs with grace, before bowing down his head. ¡°Seniors. I am Lang Mingzhi Yan of the Lang clan, son of Mingzhi. I am honored to be the one to meet all of you.¡± he kept his head bowed down. ¡°If you wish, I could bring you to the territory of the clan, where you will be properly treated.¡± now, he raised his head to look between the four direwolves. While it was difficult to know what exactly they were thinking, he could roughly guess that he wouldn''t be attacked anytime soon. Other than the aged one with the scars, the other three seemed much more friendly. But that was to be expected of old warriors. They looked between each other, before all three settled their gaze upon the large one. Clearly, the one with a head as big as his whole body and a body so unique, it was the leader. The direwolf stood there, looking down at him with the tree on his back slowly moving in the wind that wasn''t there. A crow flew in and landed on a branch, letting out a caw with its wings raised. The direwolf looked to the others for confirmation, before turning back to him and answering with a smile so stupid it shocked Yan to his core. ¡°Hi! I''m Balto, and it''s so nice to meet you!¡± Yan choked on his own shock when he realized, with horror, he wasn''t speaking to an adult. Foreign Flesh / Chapter 99 They moved under the cover of night and wood, with surprising swiftness. Yan at the front of the group together with Duke, as Yan knew the path to the Lang Clan territory while Duke could question him on any relevant topics. They had traded both questions and answers between each other, but still had a lot to discuss. ¡°I find it hard to believe that Balto is considered young, is it connected to the spiritual tree growing out of his back?¡± Yan asked while toying with the talisman that allowed them to understand each other. Duke nodded in understanding. ¡°Hmm, I too found it hard to understand when we discovered Balto. We knew of his father, Tyr, a large dire wolf himself. But he had died fighting something closer to the human territories.¡± Duke stepped over a large root before continuing. ¡°By all accounts, Balto should be closer in size to the other adults due to his father''s blood. We still don''t understand why he got a growth spurt from. It could be related to a rather difficult fight against a mutated ogre, but we cannot say for sure.¡± Yan hummed in thought. ¡°It could be a boon or blessing of some kind, which could explain why he is the way he is.¡± Duke glanced at Yan as he said this. It was easy enough to guess what he meant by those words, but that wasn''t it either. He had spoken to both Ulva and Fridolf about what the situation with the spiritual tree was, and both said it had arrived to fill a hole in Baltos soul. A hole that something strange had left behind. And whatever that was, it had left him. Now that he was thinking about it, there was some sort of web that came out of Balto to kill the ogre. But it didn''t matter now, as it was gone for good. ¡°You mention these boons, do you have any in your family?¡± Duke asked. Yan continued to move forward in silence for a moment, his eyes to the treetops. ¡°None in my family has a boon of any kind, but I do know that the head of the clan has one. Not too much is known of it, but it gives him an innate control over the winds.¡± Yan blinked. ¡°Ah, I do not mean to be rude with this question, but do you and your clan know of any techniques?¡± Now it was Duke''s turn to ponder. While they did not have anything called techniques, they did have their connection to the spirits and the different ways individual direwolves fight. ¡°No, nothing that we have can really be called techniques.¡± Truly, it was clear to both Yan and Duke that the cultural difference was great. But it was not nearly great enough for them to not attempt to bond over things they had in common. They spoke of simple things afterward, of the young acting foolish over truly foolish things. And how the eldest would always have something sage to tell others, even if it doesn''t truly have any meaning behind it. Continuing this conversation, the old direwolves would occasionally butt in on their conversation. Especially Beowul, who was showing a lot of interest in the more combat oriented sides of this new culture. Stolen story; please report. Unlike the direwolfs, the many species that live in the multiple empires to the east of the World''s Tongue come in many shapes and sizes. As it was suggested by both Yans own abilities and the current head of the Lang clan, the members of their clan focused mostly on wind-based techniques and to a lesser degree martial and spiritual techniques. This has made their clan and many of their households able to live comfortable lives with various combat focused jobs. It also gave them a certain degree of freedom from the many laws that kept lesser clans in check. This did not mean they were without equal. If anything, there were eleven other clans that shared they shared the metaphorical mountain with. The Zhu clan, known for their great constitution that allows them to survive the harshest of conditions. The Shu clan, known for their great minds and pacifistic ways. Niu clan, powerful warriors and guardians more than capable of standing their ground against any foe. There were more, of course, but Yan did not wish to speak of the others, as they weren''t on friendly terms with them. And if they were unfriendly with the Lang clan, then they would be even more hostile to a dire wolf. Yet above even the twelve great clans, there was also the one clan that stood even above them all. This clan was made up of many species who did either do not wish to associate with their original clan, or those who were invited into this superior clan. And this clan was made by, and lead by, beings so powerful that even if all twelve clans rebelled. They would be slaughtered. The Ancients clan or as some call them, the Original clan. Legends has it that they were among the very first forms of complicated life that were born while the world was created. To the point that they were here long before the World''s Tongue was grown or the World''s Teeth grew out of the ground. And it wasn''t something they said out of ignorance or pride, this was simply the truth. More than once has an ancient artifact or mountain-splitting technique been found, only for it to be traced back to one of the Ancients clan''s founding members. There was even an incident where what was believed to have been a powerful technique that allowed one mastery over life and death was merely a failed alchemy experiment made by one of these founding members. Duke swallowed thickly upon learning this. It was frightening, quite frankly it made him feel tinier than the ants he would observe back in the west. He took a moment to gather himself before asking the simple question of whom these founding members were. And while Yan had no idea of what they looked like as it was a tightly kept secret, everyone knew what they were called. But he dared not say their name more than once a day, for anymore would bring bad luck to everyone who heard it. ¡°Wendigo.¡± Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 100 It was night in the world outside the microscopic reality that Vita and the other Vita''s existed in. The little teenage girl was fast asleep, using a dozen or so vines as pillow. Of course, no thorns or any other potentially harmful material were present in them. Across a large stretch of land and underneath it, the boy is half asleep and talking to Vita about his life before it all fell apart. While Vita doesn''t quite care about whatever he did or was before they met, it was only a fair trade to monitor and regulate any signals going through his brain so that he doesn''t break quite yet. Was it cruel of Vita? Vita doesn''t care, and wouldn''t want to deal with a kid bawling their eyes out at how their life turned out. But it did tickle Vita''s microscopic side that he was part of the reason Benjamin''s grandfather had died. Not like Vita would ever tell him. Because Benjamin was the perfect age where experiments with volatile organs didn''t result in explosions. Experiments with the draconic cells that were stolen from that Rubert-Ree guy would always react negatively when created outside of Benjamin, but pulling them back under the skin caused them to mellow out. And if too many of them were present in a single area, Benjamin would express discomfort in various ways, like sweating and having difficulty breathing. But since it was all in the name of figuring out how to use it for Vita''s own purposes, Benjamin would just have to deal with it. And hey, if Vita could use these cells, then of course Benjamin would reap some of the rewards too. Diana mumbled something in her sleep before flipping over in bed, pulling the vines with her. Vines which were much too durable for her to tear apart, so Vita silently shifted around to loosen the tension in them. Speaking of Diana, she was still more or less useless in battle. And despite her friends always trying to help her in their ways, there was simply no way for her to fight at the same level as either Wendigo-Vita or Heracles. This didn''t make much sense to either Earl or Beatrice, and they would argue again and again that trying to match a person who has been training in combat their entire life and a wendigo was silly. But that didn''t mean she didn''t stop training with a spear, at the very least she could learn how to defend herself in case Vita wasn''t around. With a spear, she could also fight from Vitas back as well. And since this way of fighting isn''t exactly rare, she was quick to learn how to fight in sync with Vita. She would always find openings when fighting from the safety of Vitas back, and in duels it made the already fatal duo slightly more lethal. If only her self-esteem would understand that. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Vita had, at first, thought about messing around with Diana''s DNA to see if anything fun could be done to her. But with all the people around and how much attention their group already got, Vita had to be satisfied with changes that weren''t visually present. Simply things, really, like modifying her bones to be more durable and her muscles to be stronger without getting too big. She still looks normal, and unless someone takes a closer look at her, and nobody would know what had happened. With two living test subjects to do some smaller experiments on, and some lethal ones on those who would whisper shit about Vita, there weren''t that many experiments Vita could actually do without someone catching on. So to not bring too much troublesome attention to Vita, and the group too to a lesser extent, some experiments had to be done on the current form Vita had built. Sure, every time Vita did try, it was met with catastrophic failure to almost the same degree as the draconic cells did. But it was fairly easy to use the somehow, infinity growing bone-like cancer to crush the result to a more easily torn apart material. The bone-cancer probably drained magic or produced magic on its own, but it wasn''t as important as what Vita was actually focused on. It was that book Vita had found, the one about a cave deep in the World''s Teeth where the explorers were turned into crystals and somehow still alive in that state. If this was true, there were plenty of questions that needed to be answered for how that is being done. With what little Vita had bothered remembering from the different classes Diana went to, was it using magic to transmute one biological creature to a material that could store souls in it? Did it simply kill the host and then mimic what the host would''ve reacted with to being in such a state? A highly unpopular option that was mentioned in the daily Vita meetings that Vita had with itself, was to send out another group of Vita''s into the wild and experiment there. But this was quickly shot down, and the Vita''s were sent to clean up duty on Diana''s skin to make sure she didn''t get any diseases on her. To experiment outside the Wendigo body would mean sending out the living-to-crystal book, a risk too big in an area where people highly in tune with the surrounding magic could find it. Especially that Professor Camille, she already used crystals for her magic and would no doubt be the first one to not only find the book, but be able to use it for her own gains. Vita had to move somewhere with plenty of opportunities for experimentation, where no one would bat an eye if Vita were to brutalize some poor thing. Picking up Diana''s hand that had the communications ring, Vita used the eye in the middle of its forehead to properly view the magical screen that appeared, and quickly found where the Questing Board was located. A nifty way for students to travel around the Kingdom to put their theory to the practical test. Perfect for Vita had in mind. And as luck would have it, there was a request from someone both Diana and Vita knew quite well. Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 101 The day started as usual for Diana and Vita. Vita would, as always, force her awake the moment she was aware. This would be met with some degree of resistance while Vita dressed her up, did her hair and brushed her teeth. It was, frankly, like having a large doll to dress up. And what better way to get rid of any drowsiness, by flushing out the melatonin from the brain and body. As they lived on university property and had their own living quarters, there was a cafeteria where breakfast was served. With Diana''s status as a Champion, the food was naturally free. Diana, tray in hand and a carefree smile on her face, walked to the table where her friends sat. Vita stood, as usual, right behind her with all 7 eyes open and looking in every direction. And oh how it tickled Vita to see some snotty teenager freak out in the background when Vita stared at them for a little too long. There had been some idiots during the first week or so who had tried to bully Diana in their own stupid ways, but with the things Vita had done, everyone had secretly learned their lesson. Hearing one stupid soul whisper to their friend about The Wendigo Curse was the highlight of that day. Even better was that no one had bothered to question either Vita or Diana about it. Winning that tournament was worth it, with how people just accepted nearly everything Diana wanted. She didn''t'' even need to pay for the breakfast. Vita watched them all do their greetings, and took petty joy in how none of them spoke to Vita. If none of them would speak to Vita, then it''s only fair to start the conversation for them. The design Vita had for the mouthpiece of Wendigo-Vita was actually made up of two parts. The actual mouth where the sound will normally come out of, like how people speak normally. But deep down the throat is another mouth, the one doing the human speaking. It was a little something Vita had experimented with, using the logic that a deep voice was deeper down the throat. Add some tweaks to a human voice box, add some bones to gnash against each other, and then repeat step one by having a couple more voice boxes to speak with to create the eerie effect Vita loved. ¡°Diana,¡± Vita giggled internally like a child at surprise on her face as she whipped around. ¡°I have set us up for a quest, invite your friends.¡± The surprise turned to annoyance and her grumbling about messing with her stuff, only for her to discover that indeed, there was a quest for her to complete. But as she was getting ready to complain, she also noticed where it was located. ¡°Hey, um, does any of you want to visit home city? I know we haven''t been friends for that long, but it would be nice. Right?¡± Diana looked around the table, not sure what the group would answer with. But to her surprise, all of them didn''t seem against the idea. Heracles took a break from eating a meaty stew to give her a thumbs up before going back in, and while Earl gave a quick ¡°sounds good¡± before going back to his meal. Only Beatrice was more vocal about it. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Oh, I would love to! It must be pretty close by if you want to invite us.¡± She smiled with pure joy in her eyes, despite the early hours. ¡°And don''t worry Diana, friends are less about the time you spend, but the feelings everyone has. Right guys?¡± Earl took that moment to wipe his mouth with a napkin. ¡°While it is a bit quick to invite us to your home city, it has been little over a week, but if it''s something we do quickly, I don''t see why not.¡± He nods to himself before continuing. ¡°So, when would we need to go? The closest city is a few hours away with a carriage. Maybe an hour if we use more magical ways of transport.¡± A valid question from Earl, and Vita would be damned if any of them thought Vita would carry them anywhere. It was acceptable enough to carry Diana around, with their relationship being that of cooperation between equals. To a degree at least. ¡°Well¡­ It''s Wolfheart, all the way to the east. Closest to the World''s Tongue? And we don''t have to worry about travel! Being Champion lets me and a party of nine travel around the Kingdom using teleportation circles, if I also have an approved reason for it.¡± She muttered out the last part, taking a spoonful of ¡°nutritious¡± sludge that Vita made out of the food she actually had wanted to eat. Vita had done it without on the way to the table, and only now did she notice. She shot Vita an annoyed look, which Vita answered with a dead-fish stare back. Grumbling some more, Diana reluctantly ate some before making a face and stopping. Oh well, Vita would just turn them into nutrient bars for her later. Maybe add some taste to them if Vita feels like being nice. Heracles, taking the silence his friends had made as an opportunity, stops eating to speak. ¡°Wow, Wolfheart must be a pretty city if your parents named you after it. I wanted to do the same, but apparently there are laws against doing that.¡± And right back to the stew he went. Earl took off his glasses to rub his eyes while Beatrice very kindly explained who Diana Wolfheart was. All Heracles responded back with was a quick ¡°cool¡± between bites. The teenagers continued eating their food and speaking about various topics of interest, usually studies or professors, while Vita watched over them. Vita, deep inside, covered the cursed book with a new layer of bone and durable tissue as the strange crystals were broken down. While Diana and co would be more than busy with the quest for a day at the shortest, plenty of time for a victim or two to be created out in the wild. And surely no one would bat an eye if a goblin or two went unaccounted for. Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 102 It was a simple thing, really, for Diana and her friends to find the closest teleportation circle. All they had to do was ask Vita to lead the way, because of course Vita knew where everything publicly available in the university was located after spreading insects over the entire place. And while a minor number of bugs got swatted, cleaning up the tiny crime scenes was convenient. And any Vitas that couldn''t be saved took the heroic ending of ending themselves. Would Vita think any deeper about effectively ending its own life? No, because that wouldn''t do anything good for Vita. It was better to think about how to better ruin the day for someone else. And the business of teleportation involved a lot of waiting, unfortunately. The teleportation circle was located inside its own building, and while it wasn''t exactly filled to the brim, there was still enough to make the lines long and boring to stand through. And it didn''t help that when they did finally manage to speak with the receptionist two hours later. Then, they had to wait in a private booth for the teleporter to be ready for them. Sure, it was less of a booth and more like the room of a high quality hotel. They still had to wait. The small room, made smaller with Vita in it, was only filled with the sound of what was happening inside their bodies. Various, complex, biological machines doing work that is rarely rewarded. All except Vita had something more happening, but even reading the same pages of the same cursed book starts getting boring after you have studied every effect it has on the cells you are willing to sacrifice. So, as any sane being with way too much time on their hands would do, Vita started looking around. The losers, or teenagers, were the same as always. Diana and Beatrice were making small talk while eating some baked goods that were given to them. Earl sat on a sofa, resting his head on his arm, and was either taking a quick nap or just resting. Heracles was in the same boat as Vita, bored and looking around. And so, we will go somewhere even Vita rarely goes. Clean-up duty. -Vita POV- Shuffling shit~ Shuffling this shit~ Don''t got much else going on, so I''m shuffling shit~ Vita! Shut it! We are all shuffling shit, so you don''t need to sing about it like some lunatic. Go over there if you are going to be annoying, there with the swarm of bacteria. Ok, first of all. Anything I do, is the same as you doing it because we are all Vita. So you only have yourself to blame. Second of all, I was calling it shit because saying general waste products doesn''t feel the same as shit. And finally, I am not going over there with the bacteria alone. They''re disgusting to look at. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Vita, please, they look like a wool sock and potato had a kid. All you have to do is surround them, pop them and break them down to the protein. Again, we are the same being. The Vitas in the wendigo body are us, we are Vita, and the ones sent out to Benjamin are also Vita. You KNOW I won''t do this on my own. The only reason we are even speaking is that we are bored. ¡­ Fine! I''ll help if you stop being a smart ass about it. Being Vita doesn''t stop you from being a bastard. HEY! You two better get back to shoveling shit around before I break you down. If I come back and neither the shit nor the bacteria have been dealt with, you''re going to actual shit-shoveling duty. And we all know- Yes, Vita, we know its shit. But I don''t want to be one of the few cocky Vitas that die to bacteria. I want to see Diana grow up and be all pretty. ¡­ This is getting lame. If you don''t want to deal with the bacteria, then I''ll do it. Hey Vita, do we need any bacteria to experiment with? Extracting DNA, making biological bombs, bioweapons or messing around with the cursed crystal book? You don''t have to worry about that, we have done more or less everything we can at the moment. You, on the other limb. Stop acting like a baby and get back to work. Fiiiiiine boss-vita, but I expect to be rewarded for dealing with this group of wild bacteria. Maybe give me a crystal tiara or a badass bone crown? No can do with the crystal tiara, you know what happened to Vita when we tested it. And a bone crown would be too big for a singular Vita to have. Besides, you don''t need either of those two things, and fashion in this microscopic world is redundant. Just find a plant cell buddy to carry around if you are that desperate. Alright, I''m sure there is one lying around here somewhere. But what about a fungus? Why don''t we use those more often, they''re everywhere. You know damn well why we don''t use mushrooms Because they are yucky, we get it. While you two were busy talking about dumb shit, I dealt with the bacteria and broke down the remains. So you, Vita, can stop acting cute when you are an eldritch horror. And you, Vita, can stop acting like our boss. It''s getting really confusing to keep track of where our thoughts are going or coming from. Fair enough. -World POV- Vita, in a move no one has expected nor has ever seen, yawned. While it was only done to mimic someone who is bored out of their mind, it came as a shock to everyone present. Even Earl, with his ever so collected self, had his eyes wide open at the sight. Diana rubbed her eyes before pinching her arm, then looking back to Vita. ¡°Wow! It must be really boring here if it made Vita yawn.¡± Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 103 ¡°Now, make sure to keep all of your limbs inside the circle and any spells, magical abilities or similar are to be kept at a minimum.¡± The old wizard, probably someone''s great-grandmother on account of the wrinkles and balding hair, told everyone as they stood on the teleportation platform. The platform itself was in a completely separate building behind the building where the reception was. Similar to a storage unit or gymnasium, there was simply a massive amount of space with multiple teleportation circles spread around the area of various sizes. Vita even noted some barely visible lines that could mean that the entire floor could become a teleportation circle if needed. Probably for emergencies, if those ever happened. They all stood in said circle, with the only one not being nervous is Heracles, who is trying his best to reassure everyone that it is safe and that nothing will happen. Even using Vita as an example of how to stay calm. But why would Vita panic? If anything, this was an exciting new experience to live through! Worst case scenario would be that Vita fully died, but something told it that Bre would show up to speak with that weird voice of theirs. Either way, the old wizard takes their time explaining all the little safety requirements one more time before stepping back and readying her old arms. She shook her hands, getting some blood into them, before starting to channel her mana through them. Gone was the somewhat childish look in her eyes, replaced completely with steel-like focus. Even Vita could tell there was mana being channeled on account of the purplish light starting to softly shine out of her hands and eyes. The same light then started to appear from the circle itself, first from the outermost parts, which then rose up in the air and formed a dome around them. The dome''s light condensed further and further, until eventually the group found themselves in a dome reminiscent of a foreign night sky. Every, bar Vita, showed various levels of stress and fear. Diana stood stock still watching it all play out, with her heart rate building up to worrying levels. In a rare moment of kindness, Vita reached out. A large, clawed hand instead of the usual vine. She took a moment to consider it, before slowly reaching out and holding on. It didn''t calm her down completely, but the gesture was calming enough. After a couple of moments later of standing inside the dome, it started to dissipate and surprisingly enough, there stood an old man with a truly massive mustache matched by his eyebrows. He had similar purple glow coming from his eyes and hands as well, carefully causing the dome to disappear. He raised his eyebrows is surprise seeing Vita, but quickly recovered. ¡°Welcome to Wolfheart, take a moment to reorient yourself over there if needed and enjoy your visit.¡± He said with practiced ease before shuffling over to another circle and starting to glow once more. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Every stepped to the side, letting Beatrice take a moment to calm down her upset stomach, before moving outside. Diana, Heracles, Beatrice, and Earl all took a deep breath of the Wolfheart air before letting it out. Diana seemed almost giddy with excitement, stepping up in front of her friends with a smile. ¡°Oh how I missed the air here! Nothing beats the fresh smell of nature in the air. Come on, let''s get to Old man Noah and get the details of our quest!¡± Beatrice tried to look as excited, but with her hand over her stomach and a tired look gave Diana pause. ¡°Or we could visit my place first. It''s a few minutes walk away from here. And I could spend that time telling you everything about Wolfheart.¡± She finished speaking and every else followed after her. She pointed out various buildings she recognized and told her friends anything interesting about them. Like how the house with the garden had a couple that would sing poetry to each other loudly at night. Or how the blacksmith was secretly in love with the next door baker, but was too shy to express himself. And as they got closer to the adventurers building, she spoke about nearly every single bar fight that had happened in the nearby taverns. Speaking of fights, out of a window, two men came flying out and crashed harshly into the house across the street. The men were adventurers, on account of their somewhat cheap armor and rugged faces. Despite fighting each other, and trying to pin the other man to the wall, neither drew their weapons and were clearly drunk on account of the strong smell of alcohol coming off their bodies and their awkward movements. One of them managed to get a knee in, forcing the other to double over and vomit, slamming both fists into his back before grabbing him and throwing him hard into the middle of the street. He laid there, blood, vomit, tears, and snot covering his face as he tried to both wipe his face and get up off the ground. He staggered up, hands on his knees, as he vomited one more time and looked up. Everyone was more or less disgusted by the sight, but not too concerned about the violence itself. The man squinted, mumbling something incoherent, trying to see who stood before him and if it was that other drunkard. And then he saw Vita. His eyes went wide, adrenaline immediately washed away the drunkenness clouding his movement, and reached for his axe. ¡°M-monster!¡± he shouted as loudly as he could, terrified of Vitas form. Taller than any man, more eyes than needed, and covered in thorny vines and a crown of antlers. But the other drunkard quickly caught his fellow in a sleeper hold and a hand on the axe. He tried getting loose, but fell to unconsciousness soon after. The standing drunk with scars covering much of his body with small piercing eyes. But seeing Diana, a big smile, made him look less intimidating. ¡°Hey guys and gals! Diana is back, and she got friends!¡± Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 104 After a couple of seconds of low rumbling, a stampede of men and women wearing various types of armor bust out of the tavern door, with some of the more impatient ones breaking open the windows to get out faster. And while everyone else were getting somewhat defensive, or ready for a fight in Heracles case, Diana and Vita were the only ones who weren''t surprised. Vita wasn''t surprised, simply because the adventurers weren''t a threat. Sure, with their mana being used to fuel their bodies, instead of fueling spells or similar effects, and giving them physical abilities far superior to most humans. Vita could just hijack their bodies or assimilate them fairly quickly. Diana knew them from sneaking out of her home. It was somewhat of an open secret in Wolfheart, that the young lady would sneak out to observe the people and their day-to-day lives. None took any real offense to her presence, and none could get too close, as she was rather skittish. Except for the adventurers, who with their very LOUD personalities had made them one of her favorite groups of people to seek out. To the battle-hardened warriors and dashing rogues, Diana was something adorable to look at after a long day of work. And while all knew to not directly interact with the girl, that didn''t stop them from making her their mascot. And seeing their usually anti-social mascot have not only friends surrounding her, but even a wendigo, was simply amazing to them. They almost had the poor girl surrounded until one of them shouted out ¡°the rule!¡±. They all quickly gathered their senses, muttering about the rule over and over again as they all went back into the tavern. Leaving the teens and monsters standing outside with the scarred man. His smile was a bit smaller, showing less teeth, but with his scars the intimidation factor had not gone down at all. Diana stepped forward and gave a courteous bow before speaking. ¡°It''s good to see you again, Scars.¡± It was short, polite, but Scars did not take any offense or show any annoyance. To people like him, having nobles talk with long-winded words was the worst. He chuckled as he touched a scar that was running across his throat, that looked much more recent compared to the other scars littering his skin. His choice of armor did show off a surprising amount of skin after all, but less like a pervert and more like a wrestler. ¡°Good to see you, too. My boys and I heard what happened to ya and did some shoveling to clear off some roadside dirt. Heh. But it is good to see you''re doing better!¡± His analogy was quickly picked up by both Beatrice and Earl, who started pondering over what that could possibly mean. Heracles was not one for pondering.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Wait, what happened to you, Diana?¡± She looked away, reaching out for one of Vitas vines. Scars was quick to notice her discomfort and changed his voice from somewhat warm to ice-cold, with his eyes piercing into Heracles own. Heracles, caught of guard by the sudden change in tension, swallowed his spit. ¡°She doesn''t have to tell you anything. Who are all of you, anyway. Including you, wendigo.¡± Vita spoke up quickly before Diana got to say anything. ¡°I met Diana in the World''s Tongue while wandering around, and I took pity in how miserable she looked. And for what happened, Heracles, apparently someone had dug up the paths snaking around the outskirts of the forest, which caused Diana to get lost.¡± Vita spoke, moving the vines around to stop Diana from braiding them together. Heracles wasn''t too happy with how the stranger acted, but let it pass with short nod. Scars rubbed his chin for a moment, looking Vita up and over. ¡°Ya''know, every myth and legend about wendigo claims they''re these all powerful monsters. You''re surprisingly tame.¡± An almost childish glint was in his eyes as he said this. Diana stepped up with an almost serious look on her face, which even children would find childish. ¡°That''s because Vita is strong! He, uh, she? Doesn''t need to act like a monster to prove how strong it? Is!¡± She said with a tone of finality and her arms crossed. Scars facial expression softened somewhat at seeing her stand up for others and let out a sigh. He put one hand in a pocket and rubbed his head with the other. ¡°Sorry, sorry, everyone is just worried about you. When everyone heard that you went away to study, a lot of innocent rumors started popping up about you and that wendigo.¡± Diana puffed her cheeks and frowned, which Beatrice had to actively hold back a giggle at how childish she is acting. Scars did not have the same self-discipline and let out a short laugh, even going as far as to wipe a false tear away. He said a short goodbye before Diana or anyone else could get a word in and entered the tavern, picking up the broken door after him and propping it up. Vita, using the many eyes covering its head, looked at the group to see their reactions. Heracles was annoyed by the fact someone managed to scare him like that, looking down on the ground with a frown like that. Beatrice tried to hide her shock by pretending to be tired, but such bodily things could not be hidden by Vitas extensive understanding of flesh. Earl, surprisingly enough, was trying to hide a laugh behind a cough. Even turning around to hide his face from the others too, but Vita knew. None of them could hide their emotions or expressions from Vita. After all, Vita had sent a small amount of Vita to all of them a long time ago. Of course, with nothing malicious in mind. That would be extremely cruel and distrustful to them. But who knows what could happen in the future, what if one of them got hurt while fighting out in the forest? Vita simply couldn''t let such an opportunity go. Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 105 After the short meeting with the strange adventurers of Wolfheart, the group continued on the way towards Diana''s home. There still was some awkwardness in the air, but Beatrice tried her best to ignore it as she engaged in some small talk with Diana. The boys stood further back, but Earl at the very least joined in whenever the topic interested him. Like fashion, and how glasses can completely change how others view you if you wear them. Which then spiraled into first impressions and clothes. They mostly spoke about what to wear, and Vita quickly decided to focus on other things. There were already plenty of people walking around, with small pockets of Vita walking around all over the territory called Wolfheart. Nothing was going to happen to them yet, but it was nice to have little pockets of Vita for emergencies or if something else would happen. And hey, if something did happen, then Vita could capitalize on it and get some more good reputation. And with cases like Scar earlier, Vita could observe their bodies. As it turns out, magic is nonsense. Their bodies are strong, sure. Way better than many other bodies that Vita has examined while in this world. But they aren''t strong enough to break the ground and cause cracks in solid walls. But this is where this magical energy or mana or whatever it is called comes in. Based on the temporary memories, Vita managed to look through in Scar and the other adventurers, it seems like that they are funneling mana just like wizards and sorcerers. Expect, they aren''t funneling this potential fire bolt into an actual fire bolt, but to and through their bodies. It coated the insides of their bodies passively, greatly strengthening just about everything in every way. More durable, able to do more with it, greater strength and so much more. Yet, based on the memories viewed, there are plenty of limitations as well. Just like when you overuse your muscles, overusing mana in this way will cause your body to tear itself down much more brutally if you aren''t careful. In Scars case, something he has been doing purposefully to harden his skin with scar tissues. Another issue in overuse is that it can cause one to become dependent on ambient mana or areas with heavy amounts of mana in the air. Its almost like how monsters are dependent on mana rich environments and slowly die without such places. But, with the small sample size that Vita has collected, it is hard to say if it''s really worth it or not for Vita to mimic this. Already, with no mana, Vita can manage much better results by mixing Vita cells with muscle cells. A quick and short explanation for why, is that Vita cells don''t break as easily as other cells. With the tests done, Vita could in theory, in theory, make a body out of purely Vita cells and outperform the current Wendigo-Vita body. Doing that, however, would be the same as throwing away all the little connections that have been built up and potentially painting a target on Vitas back. Choices, choices, so many choices.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. It was time for Vita to stop debating the awesomeness of Vita, as the group stood before the gate leading into the Wolfheart mansion. Diana was about to reach out to a magical knocker, made to alert the people inside the mansion that they were there, when she saw one of the maids already on her way to the gate. Pleasantly surprised to see Diana again, the maid quickly let her in and respectfully gushed about how nice it was to see her again. And when Diana asked if her father knew about this surprise visit, the maid let them all know she was leaving to buy some necessities. Giving Diana the perfect moment to surprise her father, and to show off her new friends to him. And they were more than willing to join in on it, seeing how giddy Diana got at the idea of this. So, with the maid leading the way, they made their way to the mansion. Compared to the grand mansion used by Lady Michelle Rachel Seastar during their get-together, Diana''s home was much more relaxed with its art, even gold or other riches weren''t to be seen anywhere. It felt like home. As the party moved towards her father''s office, they were informed he would be there by the maids, both Beatrice and Earl got increasingly more nervous. While, they weren''t anywhere as nervous as Diana usually got when meeting strangers. And Vita felt like socializing just a little. So with the same gravely voice, Vita asked them both why they were so nervous. Beatrice spoke up first. ¡°It is just that, I''ve never really met a noble properly like this. You might''ve not noticed it, Vita, but there is a pretty big difference in being born as a commoner and being born as a noble.¡± She said, with an awkward smile. She quickly, however, burst out with a little panic. ¡°But I don''t mean it in a bad way! It''s just so different, that''s all. I don''t think I could ever talk with someone like that scarred adventurer, so easily. And now we''re meeting with Dianas father, and I have no clue on how he''ll act seeing us.¡± Diana looked at her friend with an almost hurt expression, before it quickly turned into a friendlier one. ¡°Don''t worry, Beatrice, my dad is super nice to everyone! I''ve never seen him be angry at anyone, not even when I sneak out of the house. If anything, he''ll be super happy to know I brought over proper friends and not someone off the street!¡± Diana gave her a quick hug to assure her, a hug she returned. A show of friendship that made Vita cringe internally, but Vita let it go and turned slightly to Earl. Being look at directly like this, he fake-coughed to clear his own nervousness before speaking. ¡°I''ve never been good at meetings like this. My grandfather never held a good opinion on either nobles or royalty, and would often talk about anything negative done by either of the two. But I hold no doubt, that someone who managed to raise Diana into the person she is now, is a good father at the very least.¡± Diana moved to hug him as well, but was stopped with a quick ''no thanks'' from Earl. ¡°What about you, Heracles, ever meet a noble before?¡± Beatrice asked him, seeing how relaxed he was compared to herself. He shrugged while answering with, ¡°I''ll get nervous after seeing Dianas dad. Because so far he seems like a good guy.¡± He concluded, and after walking around a corner, they stood before the door leading to Kip Wolfhearts office. Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 106 Kip sat before his desk, with multiple stacks of papers like towers on his desk. The decorum of said room was lackluster to say the least, with the only decoration in said room being the painting of himself and Joan Wolfheart. He looked up to it with a drop of his shoulders and a sigh, before taking in a breath to concentrate. Immediately, with mana circulating through his body and mind, he got to work. With the mana flowing and reinforcing his mind with insane amounts of power, the world seemed to slow down to a crawl. The sounds of the world grew sluggish until it was nearly impossible to recognize them. He dropped his pencil to get a measure of how quick his mind had gotten by timing its fall in his mind. Counting the seconds for the pen to hit the desk, it took nearly a minute. Satisfied, he took the pen before it got a chance to either bounce or fall over, his hand made its slow journey to catch it, while his other hand went over to the mountain of papers he had to sort through. He read the paper while it was being pulled out of its envelope, spent some time thinking about his own problems and about his daughter, and slowly wrote down what was needed of him. For this was one of the major avenues of money that his household and city had, in addition to monsters and beasts. His technique of speeding up the mind to this level isn''t unheard of, adventurers can use it too if they train for it, but Kip was one of the few who could use it like this. It sounds like an extremely powerful ability to master, yet the drawbacks were just as powerful as its peaks. For one, it was only your mind that sped up and nothing else. Your body still moved as your body ever could, and for those that just learned to use this ability, it could be extremely disorienting even to experts. Having so much internal time to decide what to do could also be detrimental to those with less patience. This doesn''t mean those that are already impatient, but one did need godly levels of patience to avoid insanity or other mental damage that would build up with use - even he suffered with its use, despite his mastery. Half of the papers, envelopes and documents had been answered, solved, or discussed in what could only be described as machine perfect precision. It was even greater than that, for Kip could think for literal hours in a second. And as he read through an offer made by a merchant near the capital city, he started to think again. Fantasize, even, about his family.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Oh, how he grieved about the love of his life. How unfair it was for her to die with an infant Diana in her hands. And, remembering, how much emotion he had felt at that time. He was struck by grief like no other, watching the life of his love leave this world. Happiness at the sight of the infant named Diana in her arms, as their child opened her mouth to smile. Rage at the doctors, wizards, sorcerers and everything and everyone that could''ve caused this to happen with their possible incompetence. But taking an hour to think it through while a second passed, he couldn''t truly blame them. There wasn''t even any gods to blame, as those had been killed and exiled a thousand years prior. He could only watch as the light in his wife, his love, his everything, slowly grow dim. And the light in his smiling daughters freshly opened eyes slowly light up like the morning sun. Kip watched his eyelids slowly open again, having unknowingly closed them for three whole seconds of real time. The memories of Joan would always be with him, and he would be the best father he could be for Diana. He refocused on the letter again, reading through it once more. A noble with a focus on merchandise and other crafted goods, with the name of John Fox Junior, wished to collaborate with the Wolfheart family to manufacture and sell various merchandise using Vita and Diana as a focus for said merchandise. It would seem that John had been present in the tournament and was so caught up in the action that he managed to stand up, much to the worry of his assistants. It took a moment for him to remember the Fox family. A family known for their good work ethic and for never breaking a contract once made. The only oddity with the family is that every member of the core family suffered a physical condition or two. Kip remembered a drama made funded by John Fox Senior, where the whole point was to overcome one''s limitations. In this case, early onset male pattern baldness at the age of nineteen. He internally chuckled at that memory, and how Joan had giggled through a lot of it. And proceeded to spend another internal hour thinking about her. He had to focus. Yes, he would allow John Fox Junior to make merchandise using his only daughter likeness. On the condition that Diana is portrayed in a positive light. He didn''t care much about how Vita was depicted. Thinking about Vita, Kip noticed the door handle having moved downwards. Ah, it must either be one of the servants bringing him more papers to answer to or a maid bringing him some refreshments. So, with great focus, his perceived time slowly caught up to reality once more. The door handle, once so painfully slow, shot down and in came - "Diana?" He muttered, more to himself than to Diana. She waltzed in with such youthful glee, she actually skipped in with a big smile on her face and her hair in braids. She moved up to his desk, careful to not push anything around, and planted her elbows down with a smile that made one of his own to appear. Microscopic Boredom / Chapter 107 Vita stood in the doorway, blocking Diana''s friends to let her speak to her father. Not to be kind to her or to be rude to the others, but to observe Kip. It was pretty clear to Vita that the man didn''t like Vita at all. It might be difficult for others to tell, but Vita could tell right away. Just like every other time they would meet, Kips eyes would dilate, and his pupil would glow for just a moment. In the way a protective father would stare down someone who burnt their front lawn. Yet, this reaction lasted for a moment not nearly long enough for any human or similar creature to notice, but with Vitas senses, it was rather obvious. There was also the first time they met, when he stared daggers into Vitas wendigo body with the same glow. But that suspicion would be rewarded later, for now Vita would play along. Letting Diana speak to her father about nearly everything that had happened while she had been away, including the part where ''Vita opened his potty mouth'' against the loser Cliff. Then she gushed about how overpowered Vita was compared to all the other teens, to the point she even started to feel bad for letting Vita do all the hard work. She then complained about how difficult it was to use a spear without training for it. ¡°Oh! I nearly forgot, I brought friends over!¡± Diana half-shouted in embarrassment and excitement. Taking the cue, Vita moved into the room properly to allow Beatrice, Earl, and Heracles into the room. Vita took up much of the space inside the small office, forcing Diana''s friends to be closer to Kip than what they might''ve liked. And the moment Kip saw that two of the friends she made were teenage boys, one not wearing a shirt, his eyes glowed for a moment before his face settled on something closer to neutral. ¡°I see, friends.¡± Kip slowly let the words out, folding his hands and leaning forwards. The low light, the shadows covering his eyes and the subtle glow of magic seemed to have its desired effect on the boys, as their bodies showed all the signs of being intimidated. But Heracles managed to gather his composure and get over his anxiety, and took a step forward to bow. His left fist over where his heart is and an open palm to the side by his hip. Kip raised an eyebrow, while Heracles spoke with a tone much more formal. ¡°I am known as Heracles, student of Hera of the Elements and Noah the Fighting Sage. I come here as a friend to Diana.¡± He finished his word, but stood in place. This time, both of Kips eyebrows rose up, but composed himself quickly and motioned him to stand back up. ¡°I greet you, Heracles, but I am sorry to say I have neither experienced nor had anyone greet me in such a way. A downside to having governance of a city, rarely being able to leave it.¡± He said casually as Heracles stepped back and stood up properly, ignoring the way both Beatrice and Earl looked at him. And being a little embarrassed, but hiding it well to others, he nudged Earl forwards with his elbow. Not expecting it, Earl stumbled forwards a step and panicked into a proper greeting. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Greetings, Kip Wolfheart. My name is Earl Combs, a friend of your daughter. She is quite the example for others to follow, being able to become friends with something like Vita.¡± He pushed his red hair away from his face and pushed his glasses back up, a quick greeting from Kip, and Earl stepped back. Finally, it was Beatrice turn to introduce herself. She gathered herself, took a breath of old papers and stepped forwards with a smile. ¡°Hi!¡± And she, immediately, stopped herself and fake-coughed into her hand. ¡°Hello-no wait-Greetings, Noble Kip Wolfheart. My name is Beatrice, and I met your daughter during the ceremonial tournament. She obviously won against me, and she even won against a Firebrand! So you don''t have to worry about Diana''s safety.¡± She exclaimed with an awkward thumbs up and sweat drop running down the side of her face. Kips face focused greatly, and the glow from his eyes glowed much more clearly for a moment. To the point that Beatrice and the other humans noticed it and grew tense. A few seconds later, the glow subsided, and Kip spoke up with some strain to his voice. ¡°Hmm, was it the young Firebrand Prince or someone outside the immediate royal family?¡± Vita, wanting to fan any potential flames, formed the words for prince with its vines. ¡°¡­ Was the head of the Firebrand royal family there to witness his last son being defeated by a wendigo?¡± The tension in everyone''s faces thoroughly entertained Vita. ¡°Diana and I beat his son to the point he stepped in to stop us.¡± The rumble of Vitas voice rumbled in everyone''s ears. But to Vitas great disappointment and annoyance, this fact seemed to somehow make Kip more relaxed. Which in turn made everyone else more relaxed. ¡°That''s good to hear. Lothair Alexander Firebrand might be the head of a royal family, but he isn''t a human like the rest of us. So the fact he was willing to step in and stop the fight means that he has somewhat mellowed out, for now. I can''t imagine what the thought process of a dragon might be, but one can learn what to expect from Firebrand after studying his philosophies. But, please, do not interact with the royals any further. You''re all much too young to play around with them.¡± He sighed and took a moment to organize the many papers covering his desk. A moment that didn''t last long, as every teenager suddenly stepped forwards with their own questions. ¡°Dragons still exist?!¡± ¡ª ¡°Why would he not care about his son?!¡± ¡ª ¡°What''s wrong with the royals?¡± They all nearly shouted in Kips face. Formal Dump / Chapter 108 Raising a hand, Kip sighed and prepared for the impromptu lecture about the Firebrands and dragons. ¡°I will answer your questions one at the time, but please let me gather my thoughts first. And Heracles, how did you not know about dragons if you''ve been trained by Hera?¡± He asked. Heracles, with all the grace of a tortoise on its back, shrugged. Kip stared, dumbfounded and slightly disappointed, at Dianas friend before continuing. ¡°Yes, dragons still exist. They are rare, most of them don''t interact with The Kingdom all that much due to plenty of reasons that won''t be mentioned, and take a much longer time raising their young compared to a human. A couple of hundred years longer. They still haven''t recovered their numbers from the wars against the gods five hundred or so years ago, but you might see one in Crownfield if you''re lucky.¡± He paused, seeing if there were any followup questions for him. Vita had plenty of questions for the man, like what the god wars were even about, or where Vita could find dragons. Because going up to a dragon that was made of fire didn''t sound like an easy target to assimilate. Seeing that no one spoke up, Kip stood up with a grunt and walked over to a wall. With a wave of his hand and some mana to fuel it, a hidden bookshelf revealed itself. There were a surprising amount of books stacked up side by side, and the subtle blue glow covering them all hinted at some form of magical protection. The book he pulled out had a leather cover with an artistic rendition of a dragon sleeping drawn on it. Kip held the book, flipped it on its side, and allowed the pages to quickly flip over on their own while using his ability to read them. Looking around confused, Beatrice leaned over to Diana to whisper. ¡°What is your dad doing, Diana?¡± Diana''s smile hadn''t gone down since seeing her father, and Beatrice got a good look at her white teeth. ¡°It doesn''t really have a name, since everyone calls it something different, but he is more or less thinking super quickly, it''s why we can afford a lot of stuff with barely any export.¡± Beatrice nodded, understanding how such an ability would benefit a noble, while looking over all the papers littering Kips desk. Rubbing his chin, Heracles was staring at the ground while deep in thought about something, while Kip continued. ¡°Ah, during GW, the dragons lost 3451 members of their species to various gods and their slaves. Before that, they lost 2094 members of their species during the demonic era. Finally, during the demonic era, the first recorded instance of a wendigo arrived from the Words Tongue and caused mass casualties to every actively fighting army. The dragons lost 506 gold dragons and roughly a thousand other dragons to it before it was killed by the Hero and his companions.¡± Kip turned around to look at everyone present, and tried without success to not stare at Vita. Everyone was looking at Vita with different levels of awe, fear, and curiosity. While Diana didn''t look at Vita like the rest, she was worried regardless. Feeling the need to speak up for Vita, she does so.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Vita isn''t like that, Vita is really nice! Just because he got a potty mouth, doesn''t mean he''ll go do anything that horrible!¡± She spoke, trying to lower the tension. But Vita found their reactions to oh so funny. The smells they released that a human couldn''t register, the flush of hormones and chemicals running through their bodies as they looked at Vita. It was intoxicating. Yet also unproductive, them being scared to immobility just meant more seconds would pass without anything happening. Vita hated it when nothing was happening. ¡°No need to panic, I would never do something like that.¡± Vita''s words didn''t do much to easy everyone''s minds, but Kip did see the opportunity that was presented. He clapped his hands together once. ¡°Well, you kids must be tired after everything that has happened today. Diana, would you like to guide your friends to the guestrooms? Get yourselves comfortable while you''re in Wolfheart. If you have any questions, ask any of the maids or servants, and they''ll guide you to me.¡± He returned the book to its place and waved the shelf away, returning it to a regular wall. They shared a few quick pleasantries before walking out and down the halls once more. It was quiet, save for the sound of them walking and the distant sounds of work being done. Diana led them from the front in silence, Vita moving by her side. The three others were trailing along, with various expressions of their own. Beatrice, looked at Vita, imagined what Vita could do to them if a wendigo could slaughter dragons. Heracles was clenching and unclenching his hands and frowned heavily. Yet it was Earl who seemed to be more annoyed at them instead of at Vita. ¡°Ok, enough of being scared. It''s unfitting of all of us to be afraid of Vita.¡± Earl, surprisingly, declared. Everyone stopped, surprised at the sudden introduction of a voice. He continued. ¡°Anything done by a previous wendigo does not mean that Vita would act the same, and we all know this. If, and I mean purely in theory, Vita could''ve killed Diana when they first meet, but here they both are. Vita could''ve killed us in the tournament, or done more to harm us, but almost always held back in some way. It was only against Rubert-Ree Jacob that something went wrong, and that was in a fight against the son of both a Royal and a dragon.¡± Earl looked Vita directly in an eye that was placed in the back of Vitas head. ¡°I doubt any of us knows you as well as Diana, Vita, but I think I understand you well enough to say this. You are not a threat, because I know you are a friend.¡± He finished with a breath, and waited for a response. Everyone was shocked, even Vita was. But while everyone was shocked at how Earl had pointed out Vitas known behavior, Vita was shocked by something else. At how wrong Earl was. Formal Dump / Chapter 109 She sat at the foot of the bed with one of the pillows in a tight hug. The guestroom was nice, much better than the ones she grew up with. So was the bed, and the room didn''t even smell like dust. Despite it not being used in a long time, according to Diana at least. She couldn''t fathom how much the room would''ve costed, let alone the upkeep. Her own parents, the ones that adopted her, were well of sure. But not ¡°abandoned room not smelling like dust¡± type well off. By the crown, the ceiling was decorated! Where do you ever see or hear of a ceiling depicting the wildlife? She laid down on the bed with a sigh, still hugging the pillow, and looked up. While it was not as impressive as the few paintings in the hallways, they were carved into the ceiling, giving them further depth than any normal painting. Beatrice let her eyes wander across the ceiling, and idly named some of the flowers she recognized. She had an affinity to them, after all. Her power gave her a deeper understanding of nature and creating nature-like constructs with her mana. An awesome power to have as a child, but there wasn''t all that much use for it in The Kingdom as an adult. And so she had asked her parents for some books on botany to make perfume. Strange, sure, for a child to work towards such a goal. Beatrice had that as a goal because her mother loved perfume, and it was only natural for her to want to make perfume for her to make her happy. She looked at the ceiling for the flowers she knew about. She saw the normal rose, but she couldn''t know for sure without the colors. The ones on the ceiling were gray, after all. The red poppy, a couple of daisies there, some cornflowers here and even a Blood rose in the corner of the room! One incredibly rare flower due to its symbiotic relationship to bone mice. Its petals are a deep bloody red and its thorns were venomous, for all except the bone mice that lived in with it. The rose got its nutrition from any unfortunate creatures that got poked, and the mice fed on the remains. And the feces of the mice made for good fertilizer for the rose again, making it grow stronger and healthier. Despite how morbid it was, however, its scent could be diluted to a wonderful perfume used by the richer nobles. How did she know all this? She had looked into it when she read about it for the first time. It was so strange, how something so evil-looking protected something completely different and produced such incredible smells. And in a way, it reminded her of both Vita and Diana. It wasn''t a difficult comparison, either. A wendigo covered in vines helping a young human, it was nearly identical. But she couldn''t help being scared. Both for Diana having to rely on a wendigo of all things, and for herself for having to be around the wendigo. Crying out loud, a wendigo could fight and kill dragons! What else other than The Crown could do that!?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. She shuddered and flopped over on her belly and crawled over to the head of the large bed. Burying herself underneath the blanket and pulled another pillow into her hug. She was more than ready to fall asleep and leave this stressful day behind. --- Heracles never got used to the modern pleasures when it came to sleep. He understood food, and loved food. Especially when it was delicious and prepared well, like the food he ate in the tournament and at the university. It was way better than the burnt remains of whatever beast or monster he was forced to fight against by Hera. By the crown, he wasn''t even allowed to use any spices! He only had char and firewood to use. And monster meat wasn''t all that appetizing when prepared only with fire. Thinking about that evil hag made Heracles shudder in fear. He reached up and over to grab the blanket, and pulled it down under the bed where he was trying to sleep. Strange, maybe, to those who lived with a bed their whole life. That female gorilla didn''t allow him to sleep on anything comfortable like a pillow or soft rock. No, it was always the hard rocks that Hera made. She wouldn''t allow him to use any rocks he made, because ''it went against the spirit of his training''. Not his fault, Hera looked like she was made out of those same rocks. Even thinking about those times annoyed him like nothing else had. Until now, at least. He was accepted as a disciple of Odin, who in turn was the master of Hera. While he had feared what kind of horrible training that was waiting for him, Odin simply took Heracles with him to the University of Magi-milians. And it was there he met Diana. She...was cute. There wasn''t any other way to describe it for him. It wasn''t romantic, like so many adults like to imagine, but in a different way. Like seeing a small fuzzy animal with large black eyes. Like a tiny rabbit. Then you look behind her and see a wendigo. A wendigo. A creature that has only been recorded once in the past thousand years, and it was so stupidly powerful that it took THE hero and his party to defeat it. Not kill it like everyone thought, or as was written in the books the one time he bothered reading them. Odin had told him the true rendition of what had happened that day, and Heracles didn''t like it one bit. And seeing Vita now? It worried him greatly, and no one else seemed as worried as they should''ve been. Yet at the same time, it excited him. He got to fight a wendigo, he got to train besides a wendigo, and now he got to complete a quest with a wendigo. He is one of three others who could claim that. And one day? He would beat Vita.